in the Book of the Maccabees concerning Eleazar and the Woman with her seven Sons so cruelly tortured But these Commands were contrary to the Laws of God Should they have said God will have Mercy and not Sacrifice No in such a case God will have Sacrifice and not Mercy Tho often advised to yield they would not abate a Jot of their Zeal For tho the Case be but in Externals yet there is a Renunciation of our Relation and Obedience to God's Law So Daniel opening his Windows and praying three times a day as he was wont to do Dan. 6. 10. That Circumstance might have been forborn you will think in a Case of such imminent Peril of Life No he would neither forbear praying nor opening his Windows he had wont to do so before and without dishonouring God and renouncing his Profession he could not forbear to do so now The Promise of Audience made to Solomon at the Dedication of the Temple required this Ceremony as an Effect of Faith 1 Kings 8. 42 43. When they shall pray towards this House then hear thou in Heaven And David saith Psal. 5. 7. In thy Fear I will worship towards thy holy Temple The Temple did shadow forth the Body of our Lord Christ the Mediator in whom only our Prayers and Services are accepted with the Father which Solomon respected in looking towards the Temple But the chief Reason is the Necessity of Profession and open Profession too against this impious Law contrived by the Malice of his Enemies to make him afraid Now to shew he was not frighted from his Duty he openeth his Windows and would not forgo any Circumstance of his Duty to God I might instance in Circumcision as urged by the false Apostles as necessary to our Justification Gal. 5. 2 3 4. Behold I Paul say unto you that if you be circumcised Christ shall profit you nothing For I testify again to every Man that is circumcised that he is a Debtor to do the whole Law Christ is become of none effect unto you Whosoever of you are justified by the Law you are fallen from Grace Such is the difference when God calleth us to the profession of a lesser Truth Therefore the Case may be such that Externals may bear great Weight 7. If the Externals of God's Worship instituted by himself must give place to Mercy then Externals of Humane Institution ought much more to give place to Mercy Sacrifices were of God's Institution and a way of expressing their Obedience and Thankfulness in his Worship yet God saith I will have Mercy and not Sacrifice And twice is this applied by Christ to Mercy towards the Souls of Men in the Text and Mercy concerning the Bodies of Men Mat. 12. to defend the Disciples rubbing the Ears of Corn because they fainted for Hunger Then by like Reason where the urging of Externals may cross Mercy to the Souls of Men by depriving them of the Means of Edification and the Gifts of a lively Ministry or crossing Mercy to the Bodies of Men by depriving them and their Families of their necessary Support and Maintenance in such a case they should learn what that meaneth I will have Mercy and not Sacrifice And the Peace and Edification of the Church is more valuable than that of a private Man In all External positive Institutions the Apostles often urge Charity to the Souls of Men for which Christ died that we neither wound them with Sorrow or Sin as the sure Rule to guide us either in practising or forbearing our Liberty Rom. 14. 15. Destroy not him with thy Meat for whom Christ died So 1 Cor. 8. 11. And through thy Knowledg shall the weak Brother perish for whom Christ died That is the scandalous Abuse of this Knowledg In short if any great dammage to the Souls or Bodies scandal or inconveniece should come upon urging these Externals surely they should be forborn for if it be the Will and Pleasure of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords that Matters commanded by his Affirmative Precepts should be forborn for Charity 's sake Men should be perswaded to remit of the rigor of their Impositions in this kind though the things imposed were indifferent and the practice of them in some Cases a Duty yet if it would destroy Charity we are to leave our Prayers publick and private forsake a Sermon to save the Life of our Neighbour nay to quench the Fire burning his House nay to help his Cattle out of the Ditch But I will prosecute this no further Let me now make some use of what hath been said 1. Let us take heed that we be not of the number of them that are serious and zealous in some things but not in all Partial Zeal hath always been the Note of Hypocrites as the Pharisees were earnest for Externals but neglected Justice and Charity Saul is an Instance of Partial Zeal in destroying the Gibeonites and sparing the Amalekites 2 Sam. 21. 2. Saul sought to sâ—ay them in his zeal to the Children of Israel and Iudah He was expresly commanded to root out the Amalekites but he spared Agag out of seeming pity but useth barbarous Cruelty in seeking to root out the Gibeonites who were to be preserved by Oath and Covenant and this he is said to do in his Zeal Not a true Zeal surely as aiming at God's Glory for it tended much to his dishonour to have them destroyed who were new Proselytes and professing Religion and had put themselves under God's Protection but a preposterous hypocritical Zeal of aiming as he pretended at the welfare of the Common-Wealth of Israel his main Intent was popular Applause and to gratify them who envied the Gentiles should be incorporated into God's People An Hypocrite's Conscience is not uniform but brought upon the Stage for a Turn I shall give you another Instance in Iehâ— mighty zealous in destroying the Idolatry of Baal which was the Idolatry of the House of Ahab but not only cold and indifferent but resolute against the destroying the Calves of Dan and Bethel which was the Idolatry of Ieroboam 2 Kings 10. 28 29. Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel Howbeit from the Sins of Jeroboam wherewith he made Israel to sin Jehu departed not from them to wit the Golden Calves in Dan and Bethel Reason of State perswaded the one and disswaded the other His Interest lay in ruining the House of Ahab and in taking care that the Tribes might not revert to the House of David Thus you see Men zealous in some things may griâ—vously sin in others Therefore my Beloved be you careful to regard all God's Commands in their place Piety in its place Justice in its place Mercy in its place The Jews after they had smarted in Babylon were zealous against Idols but robbed God of his Dues never took care to restore the Riches of the Temple Therefore the Apostle taxeth this partiality of Zeal Rom. 2. 22. Thou that abhorrest Idols dost thou commit
so much as a sound sense of Religion and a solemn exercising our selves to Godliness maketh us see and loath our selves and pity oâ—hers I find the Pharisees Enemies ever to the â—reeness of God's Grace to Sinners and the Work of Repentance And that the bringing of poor Sinners to Salvation was the great eye-sore They call Christ a â—ine-bibber and a Friend of Publicans and Sinners because of his social and free but sanctified Converse with all sorts of Men Mat. 11. 18. He would not take such a strict form as Iohn did because he would not seem to justify their Pharisaical Rigors So again Luke 15. 2. This Man receiveth Sinners and eateth with them Because he went to them as a Physician to heal their Souls Christ refused not familiarity with the poorest and worst as was needful for their Cure and would not observe the humour of proud Pharisaical Separation by the Parables of the lost Sheep and the lost Groat but confuteth it sheweth that this is the Spirit of the Elder Brother who envied the Prodigal's Return And telleth them in another place that Publicans and Harlots enter into the Kingdom of Heaven before them Mat. 21. 30. pleadeth the Case of the Woman against Simon the Pharisee Luke 7. 30. If this Man had been a Prophet he would have known who and what manner of Woman this is that touched him Luke 7. 47. Christ telleth him She had much forgiven her for she loved much Well then a penitent broken hearted sense of our own being indebted to Grace and tender compassion towards others that yet go astray discovereth the true Spirit of the Gospel But to stand aloof from others by a foolish singularity Isa. 65. 5. which say Stand by thy self come not near to me for I am â—â—lier than thou Some though impure and prophane counted all others unholy and unclean but themselves This inclosing Spirit is the Spirit of Pharisaism An outside strictness without that Faith Love Charity Meekness Usefulness and Humility which is the very Soul and Life of Christianity Usually Gifts and outward strictness puff up Men with a vain conceit of their own Righteousness and a censuring and despising others This one Text sheweth us both the Spirit of Pharisaism and the Spirit of Christianity The Pharisees who abounded in External Observances censured Christ for his free Converse disdained these penitent People whom he invited to a better Life But now true Religion maketh Men humble and lowly in their own Eyes by acquainting them with the desert of Sin and their own Misery and maketh Men pitiful and compassionate towards others more ready to help than to censure them and to use all ways and means to do them good But when Men would shine alone in the repute of Holiness they are envious to those who penitently return to their Duty as those Servants who had wrought all the day envied those that came in at the last hour Mat. 22. 12. or as the elder Brother envied the Prodigal or Simon the Pharisee repined at Mary Magdalen's observance of Christ. They esteem much of their own Works Merits Sufferings and Righteousness O take heed of this Spirit The use of this Bâ—anch is to press us to regard Internals more than Externals and the Substantials more than the Ceremonials of Worship and a broken-hearted thankful sense of our Redeemer's Love before a Legal Righteousness Inward Worship is Love Fear and Trust outward Worship is Prayer Praise Hearing Reading Outward Worship is not a Duty at all times but inward Worship is a Duty at all times for we should always love God and delight in God and trust in God Outward Worship may be omitted for a Work of Mercy and in case of invincible Necessities but inward Worship may never be omitted never dispensed with We always owe Love and renewed Obedience to God and must depend upon him and delight in him Outward Worship may be counterfeited and External Worship without Holiness is highly displeasing to God and never pleasing but when 't is in conjunction with it Hypocrites may abound in Externals but Hypocrites will not delight themselves in the Lord nor heartily devote themselves to him so as to serve please and glorify him the inward Graces cannot be counterfeited but the outward Expression may 2. Be more careful of the Substantials than of the Ceremonials of Religion and to mind the Power of Godliness more than the Form The Substantials of Religion are the Love of God and our Neighbour The Circumstantials are those ways of Worship which God hath appointed whereby we are visibly to express our love to him Now our main care should be in the first place to be intirely devoted and subject to God That was Iob's Character One that feared God and eschewed Evil Job 1. 11. To do that we do out of love to him obeying his Laws as our Rule and depending upon his Rewards as our Happiness And as to Men let us be faithful and walk holily in our Places Callings and Relations being just and kind unto all but having an exceeding dear love for our fellow-Saints and everlasting Companions This is more pleasing to God than the costliest Sacrifices than all our Flocks and Herds or any outward thing that we do for him I take notice of those words of God to Solomon when he was building him a magnificent Temple 1 Kings 6. 11 12. And the Word of the Lord came to Solomon saying Concerning this House which thou art building if thou wilt walk in my Statutes and execute my Iudgments and keep all my Commandments to walk in them then will I perform my Word to thee which I spake to David thy Father God hath more respect to Solomon's faithful Obedience than to that glorious Building So far do Morals exceed Ceremonials in Religion 3. That you prefer a broken-hearted thankful sense of our Redeemer's Love before legal and conceited Righteousness of our own Christ's love to Sinners is that which the Pharisees mainly stumbled at An external shew and fair pretence of a good Life which had no bottom of Regeneration was the superficial Righteousness of the Pharisees Nicodemus who had been of that Sect wondred when that was pressed upon him Iohn 3. 4 5. an outward Conformity which was more in Shew than in Substance in Form and Fashion than in Power was their Religion abstaining from gross Sins as Murder and Adultery but not purifying the Heart from Lusts. Murder they made Conscience of but not of Envy Malice and Hatred Theft but not Covetousness and close Extortion Adultery but not Wantonness or looking upon a Woman to lust after her as you may see at large Matth. 5. Thus Christ presseth us to exceed the Pharisees who turned all Obedience into an empty Formality wherein they puffed up themselves as meer Men and so had never been at the Market of Free Grace all their Wares were their own and their Righteousness of their own spinning and therein stood upon their own Bottom
Pride and Arrogancy and Self-willedness in all the Sons and Daughters of Adam which makes them uncomfortable in their Relations A Wife would soon prove a Iezabel and not an Abigail and a Husband a Nabal and not a David by Satan's Malice and our own Corruption an Help would soon become a Snare They that would perform the Duties of this Relation need strongly to be supported with the Assistance of God's Spirit Finally my Brethren be strong in the Lord and in the Power of his Might Ephes. 6. 10. So that since God giveth all surely his Providence must be owned and acknowledged and you ought to say This is the Wife God hath chosen for me and this is the Husband God hath chosen for me II. Why is this so necâ—ssâ—ry a Duty It doth in a great measure appear from what is said already But farther 1. It will be a great engagement upon us to give God all the Glory of the Comfort we have in such a Relation when you do more sensibly and explicitly take one another out of God's Hands We are apt to look to second Causes he that sendeth the Present is the giver not he that bringeth it to us The Romans were wont once a Year to cast Garlands into their Fountains by that superstition owning the benefit they had by them However it hath a good Moral to us in the Bosom of it that we should own the Fountain of our Blessings and not ascribe them to our own Wisdom and Foresight but the Grace and Favour of God who in the meer Lottery and Chance of humane Affairs was pleased to chuse so well for us Iacob owned his Fountain when he was become two Bands Gen. 32. 10. So should we of him through him to him do mutually infer one another What we have from God must be used for God God is very jealous that we will not look to the Original and first cause of our Mercies Hos. 2. 8. She did not know that I gave her Corn and Wine and Oil and multiplied her Silver and Gold and therefore will I return and take away my Corn and Wine and Oil and Flax c. It is the way to lose our Comforts when we do not own and acknowledg God's Hand in them We are drowned in sense inured and accustomed to second Causes so that God's Hand is invisible and little regarded we know it not or heed it not Now that we may look up and own the first Cause and give him his due Honour it is good to have explicit and actual thoughts in the receiving of our Mercies so as to take them out of God's Hand to draw aside the Vail and Covering of the Creature that you may remember the Giver 2. That we may carry our selves more holily in our Relations it is good to see God's Hand in them Every Relation is a new Talent wherewith God intrusteth us to trade for his Glory and to that end we must make Conscience to use it In Mat. 25. the Master delivered to every one his Goods apart and they that had the Benefit received the Charge We are often pressed to do things as in and to the Lord upon religious and gracious Reasons It hath been the credit of Religion Dent tales Mercatores tales Maritos tales Exactores fisci c. Let History shew such Husbands such Wives c. The Christian Religion maketh a Man conscientiously careful and tender of his Duty to Man not from a natural Principle or from our own Ease Peace and Credit but from the Conscience of our Duty to God Now it must not lose this Credit by you God puts us into Relations to see how we will glorify him in them there is something more required of you then as single Christians God that puts a Man into the Ministry requireth that he should honour him not only as a Christian but as a Minister And God that calleth a Man into Magistracy requireth that he should honour him as a Magistrate So to be a Master of a Family and a Wife or Husband there is another Talent to be accounted for An Ambassador that is sent into a Foreign Country about special Business must give an account not only as a Traveller but as an Ambassor of the Business he was intrusted with God will have honour by you as a Wife or as a Husband you have a new opportunity to make Religion amiable that the unbelieving World may see how profitable the heavenly Life is to humane Society 3. That we may more patiently bear the Crosses incident to this state of Life if God call us to them They that launch forth into the World sail in a troublesome and tempestuous Sea and cannot expect but to meet with a Storm before they come to the end of their Voyage The married Life hath its Comforts and also its Encumbrances and Sorrows Now it will sweeten all our Crosses incident to this Condition when we remember we did not rashly enter into it by our own choice but were led by the fair directure and fair invitation of God's Providence we need not much be troubled at what overtaketh us in the way of our Duty and the Relations to which we are called that Hand that sent the Trouble will sanctify it or he will over-rule things so that they shall work for our good If God call us into this Estate â—he will support us in it It is a great satisfaction to you that you are acting that part in the World which God would have you act that you can say I am there where God hath set me and therefore will bear the Troubles that attend that state and condition of Life If a Man run on his own Head and Inconveniences arise they are more uncomfortably born It is true that God doth fetch off his People from the Afflictions they have brought upon themselves by their Sin and Folly such is the indulgence of his Grace yet those Sufferings are the more uncomfortable that take us out of the way of our Duty and God hath undertaken only to keep us in all our Ways but not out of our Duty Psalm 91. 11. The Promises are not to foster Men in their running after Folly but to encourage them in their several Callings and state of Life wherein God hath set them there we may abide with comfort and expectation either of God's Blessing or his Support We tempt God when we venture upon a state of Life which he hath not called us to and have not his Warrant but when it is not good for us to be alone and the Lord sends an help-meet for us he will not forsake us 4. We may with the more confidence apply our sâ—lves to God and depend on him for a Blessing upon a Wife of God's chusing or an Husband of God's chusing We have access to the Throne of Grace with more hope because we have given up our selves to his Direction Prov. 3. 6. In all thy ways acknowledg him and he shall direct