agreeable passion of love is too often exercised upon unworthy objects pursued and enjoyed after an unreasonable manner But notwithstanding that whether the object be wisely chosen or foolishly whether the beauty apprehended be real or imaginary wheresoever delight and desire are there beauty or goodness in the object is however apprehended and supposed And from this general account of the nature and Principles of Love we may most firmly establish the notion of Love to God Wherefore then to Love the Lord our God is so to apprehend the excellencies of the Divine nature his absolute perfections in themselves and his infinite grace and goodness towards us as that we most sincerely and heartily admire and adore his Majesty and earnestly desire the most intimate enjoyment of Him and the most perfect union with Him that we are capable of This is the nature of the Duty in the general And the Qualifications with which it ought to be exercised are three with all thine Heart and with all thy Soul and with all thy Mind The Text is taken out of Deut. 6.5 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine Heart and with all thy Soul and with all thy Might St. Mark Luke 10.27 and St. Luke express it with all thy Strength And because of this indifferent variation of the phrase and because the same thing is sometimes expressed by one of these phrases only as with all thy Heart 1 Sam. 7.3 Sometimes the Heart and Soul without the Mind or Strength as in the 2 Kings 23.3 Therefore some Expositors consider the Heart the Soul and Mind as words of the same or of equal signification accumulated only to press and inculcate the duty more effectually upon us but not as a Climax of perfection in the practice of it But because we may observe a real and material difference in the common use and acceptation of the words expressing the degrees of Intention and desire in the acts and operations of the Soul and because it will very much administer to the just explication of the duty therefore I shall presume and with good authority to consider the Heart the Soul and Mind as qualifications of gradual Excellency as a Scale of Perfection in the practice and exercise of Love to God And first With all thy Heart By the Heart according to the usual signification of that Metaphor we understand Integrity Sincerity of affection Ye have obeyed from the heart Rom. 6.17 the form of doctrine that was delivered you that is sincerely and without hypocrisie And innumerable other places Secondly with all thy Soul that is with Understanding and Knowledge that our Love of God be not only Sincere but grounded well proceeding from Causes proper and considered not with Passion only but with Judgment The Soul here may be understood of Reason and Discretion whereby we distinguish of Good and Evil base and worthy and to whose determinations the Will Desires and instruments of Action are obedient Thirdly with all thy Mind By the Mind may be understood the more Spiritual Principle in Man whereby he feels and enjoys the truth of such Propositions as Reason by comparing one thing with another shall discover Reason is as it were an Artificial Mechanical deduction of Conclusions from Premises but the Mind enjoys them really by an intire agreement with the Proposition And upon this account the wicked in Scripture are said to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 such as are able to collect the truths of Religion or any other Propositions by Scholastick inference but the Pious and Regenerate have an inward sensation of things Intellectual and Divine and are therefore called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to whose Body and Soul is added Mind or Spirit Wherefore then to Love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart and with all thy Soul and with all thy Mind is sincerely to Adore and Delight in God from a distinct perception from an inward sensation as well of his absolute Perfections in themselves as of His infinite Bounty and Goodness towards us And thus I have explained the Terms and stated the Nature of the duty in general I proceed as I proposed in the second place to consider the particular parts the necessary acts and exercises of Love to God First with all our Heart and with all our Soul Secondly with all our Mind And First the particular acts implyed in the Love of God with all the Heart and with all the Soul are chiefly these First the Preference of God to all other objects whatsoever He that loves with Judgment esteems and values according to weight and measure according to the degrees of beauty and excellence in the object As he readily acknowledges whatsoever worth or goodness he any where discerns so he suffers not his Passion and desire to go before his understanding But God is a Being that exists of himself in whom is implied whatsoever can be supposed to be and in whom all being is resolved as into its proper and most perfect cause Defect supposes impotence and controul but Omnipotence implies the most absolute perfection Desire of Good when known is necessary But can any instance of goodness or perfection be hid from his knowledge or kept from his possession who is the cause of all things Wherefore then since all perfections are essential to this first and Original Good one of the necessary acts of Love to such a being is the preference of him to all other Beings whatsoever If our Love of God be with all the Soul with judgment and understanding then we know that there is none in heaven but God and none upon earth to be desired in comparison of Him That he is the fountain of all the imperfect excellencies of all created Beings that he is the most constant and the most potent friend and benefactor who made us by his Power and sustains us by his Providence guides us by his Council assists us by his Spirit pities our Weakness pardons our Sins and is ready at last to receive us into Glory Wheresoever therefore He is understood all other objects habits and desires will necessarily fall before him For whatsoever beauty or goodness may be found in any other object they are all derived from God in whom all fullness dwells That is the first The Second particular implyed in the Love of God with all the Heart and with all the Soul is a stedfast Faith in whatsoever he reveals A sincere affection is apt in its nature to beget an unreasonable credulity It is very difficult to perswade our selves that our friend whose happiness we know is our greatest pleasure should abuse our Passion by deceit and guile to sport or private ends and therefore notwithstanding all the infirmities of humane Nature all the insincerities which may proceed from wicked dispositions and violent temptations yet Love creates an intire and perfect confidence in one another How much more if our Love of God be with all our Heart and Soul shall we
with kindness wait to be gracious not easily provoked longer before He punishes That his love to Man should be equal and universal but managed with the most perfect wisdom diffused more warm and lively where it is necessary withdrawn and eclips'd as the temper of the subject may require it and all this without any cause or motive from without himself but it is the pure effort and energy of his own nature no sudden passion to beget it no slight mistaken injury no pride or envy to withdraw it but goodness sincere and pure equal and impartial exerted with the most perfect wisdom towards the whole Creation from the beginning of the world till time shall be no more O the depth of the riches both of the Wisdom and Goodness of God! These depths and these riches of his goodness are not to be understood but by a due intention of the mind But whosoever thus exerts his Mind his utmost self in the contemplation of God will love Him with his Mind too because Desire and Love are always equal to our knowledge That is the First The Second particular implied in the Love of God with all our Mind is the Highest and most extreme Delight in such conversation with Him and enjoyment of Him as is sutable to our present state Desire of conversation with the object is a necessary act of Love The nearer we approach it the more we expect to be pleased and when once we have attained to an intimate conversation then all our previous passion and desire is perfected We now enjoy the object in continual assurances of mutual affection we communicate our hopes and fears our Joys and griefs we consult advise and assist each other and this indeed was the end at first proposed Thus also in respect of God wheresoever the Glories of his nature are apprehended there the humble profession of our Love the desire of his acceptance the discovery of our needs the opening of our hearts the imploring his assistance the expression of our passion in Hallelujahs and Songs of Praise will follow of necessity Where these are wanting there can be no opinion of the Goodness and Omniscience of the Wisdom and Power of God But if our love of God be with all the Mind with a more quick sensation of these perfections acts of Religion will be our greatest pleasure our most ravishing Delight For by these we converse with that invisible Majesty we adore receive returns and pledges of his love assurances of his favour and encouragement in our choice That 's the Second The last particular act implied in the love of God with all the Mind is a fervent desire of perfect union with Him and the Everlasting Fruition of Him Desire of the most intimate union according as the object is capable of being enjoyed is a necessary part of love And in respect of God there is no one thing that the Scriptures do more plainly assert and inculcate than the union of pious Men with God Good men are said to be joyned 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 glued to the Lord and to be one spirit to dwell in Christ to put on Christ to be as closely united as the Vine and branches as husband and wife as the foundation and the building as the Soul and body Finally as God and our blessed Saviour for so our Saviour prays Joh 17.21 that those whom thou hast given me may be One as thou Father art in me and I in Thee that they also may be one in us May be one in us not essentially or hypostatically but in the consent of their will in likeness of disposition temper and design as if they were acted by the same Principle and in this the proper unity of Souls consists And thus our Saviour explains the Unity of Believers with himself by bringing forth the fruits of righteousness John 15.15 Indeed the effects of this Union the delights and pleasures which fill the minds of those who are thus united to God are ineffable and therefore according to S. Paul Eph. 5.32 it is a great mystery Whosoever therefore loves the Lord his God with all his mind with clearer knowledge and more pure desire will be impatient of a perfect Vnion of the most full and satisfying fruition of God in Heaven The more we know of God the more our Souls will desire him because he is absolutly perfect and therefore we are sure to be for ever entertained with fresh discoveries of Beauty and Glory Enjoyment will inflame our desire till our Souls shall be wholly resolved into the object O how despicable will all the World appear even Lise it self in comparison of a more perfect participation of the Divine Nature How earnestly shall we expect till our Knowledge shall be improved into its utmost capacity that we may see him face to face How shall we long for such a compleat enjoyment as shall not be allayed by infirmities and sins by temptations and despondencies by natural corruptions and impure affections but continue for ever vigorous and fruitful constant and indissoluble And as these higher and more perfect degrees of Knowledge and desire ought to be pursued as a duty so they are sometimes bestowed upon the diligent and sincere as a reward God is pleased to manifest himself unto them to raise their desires and refresh them with returns of his Love and cause them to drink of the rivers of His pleasure But if we never attain to this more spiritual frame if our minds through worldly impediments shall never be improved into a distinct and clear perception of the Attributes of God Yet if our love of God be with competent knowledge and great sincerity if it be fruitful in the necessary acts of Imitation Faith Obedience and the rest it will be rewarded and made perfect hereafter though it never arrive at the more perfect Knowledge and Desire of God here And thus I have considered the particular parts the necessary acts and exercises of love to God First with all thy Heart and with all thy Soul secondly with all thy Mind And the duty so particularly stated and examined we may easily discern the reason of that primacy and precedency which our Saviour ascribes to this above all the Commands of God This is the first and great Commandment And this was the Third head of discourse proposed It is first in the disposition of God himself He begins his Instituion of Laws with Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart and with all thy Soul and with all thy Mind Deut. 6.5 It is first in the order of Nature it is the root the principle and reason of all other duties whatsoever It is first in respect of the Object end or final resolution of the Duty being chiefly exercised upon the Majesty of God himself It is first in respect of Amplitude and Capacity forasmuch as all the other duties of Religion have a necessary dependance upon it and relation to it And the
do with me whatsoever pleases Thee Though Thou shouldst slay me yet will I trust in Thee I throw my self into the Arms of Thy mercy beseeching Thee to lay no more upon me than Thou shalt enable me to bear 1 Cor. 10.13 and all I beg upon the alone Account of the Merits and Mediation of Jesus Christ my Lord and only Saviour Amen A Prayer for Protection with Thanksgiving O Eternal God! Thou art the Almighty Father of the world I was created by thy Power and am preserved by thy Wisdom and Goodness I am truly sensible of Thy particular Grace and favour towards me in all the periods and states of life thro' which I have passed * Mention here the particular blessings of your condition whether in pious Parents or in hopeful Children prosperous estate faithful friends bountiful benefactors good busband discreet or virtuoâ— wife c. O blessed God affect my mind as it ought to be with a sense of thy bounty and beneficence that I may rely upon Thy Providence for the time to come that I may be wholly resign'd to Thy most blessed Will and fully satisfied under all Thy dispensations towards me Endue me O Lord with all those gifts and graces that may enable me to acquit my self as I ought to do in all the conditions of life which thou shalt be pleased to call me to open mine understanding rectifie mine errors quicken my diligence strengthen my faith and with my capacities inlarge my Charity that Thou mayst still continue to be gracious to me to direct my Counsel to preserve my health to guide my hand and to bless me in all my ways and works thro' Jesus Christ our Lord in whose most holy name and words I conclude mine imperfect prayers saying Our Father c. THE END Matth. xxii 37 38 39. Jesus said unto him Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind This is the first and great Commandment And the second is like unto it Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self THE Immortality of the Soul and a future state of Bliss or Misery according as our actions in the flesh have been good or evil are the common Notions the indeleble Opinions the universal expectation of Mankind And therefore a distinct and perfect knowledge of Religion or of such an Institution of Faith and Manners as will certainly be accepted of God procure his favour here and everlasting blessedness in the Life to come is a matter of the highest concernment to us No reasonable Man that believes a future Judgment with the consequent Rewards and Punishments can find any peace or contentment in his Mind till by a clear understanding of his duty and a firm resolution to fulfil it he has founded to himself a rational hope of a happy life in the other World But though the thing it self has been always steddily believed yet a consistent regular account of this future Life was never stated nor the methods by which it might certainly be obtained which so much concerns us discovered to the World till the light of the Gentiles and the glory of Israel appeared to give us the knowledge of Salvation Even the Jews had no distinct and clear conception of the Life to come The opinions of the Pharisees themselves concerning it who were the most zealous assertors of it were very absurd and sensual insomuch that Josephus compares the heaven of the Phanisees to that of the Greeks who dream'd of fortunate Islands replenished with all imaginable delights of the Body quick and more curious appetites and more perfect objects of satisfaction But by the Ministry of our Blessed Saviour Life and Immortality are brought to light proposed intelligibly and asserted with Divine Authority Hence the Pharisees having heard of the Wisdom of our Saviour that he had put the Sadducees to silence cleared the Doctrine of the Resurrection and was able to answer all the doubts and questions concerning the life to come sent a Lawyer from amongst themselves V. 35. to make an experiment of his Judgment who enquires of our Saviour under the style of Master Which is the great Commandment Jesus said unto him Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind and thy neighbour as thy self The Text is a general Account of the way and method whereby we may attain everlasting life of such a conversation and course of action here as will procure to us everlasting blessedness in the world to come And all the Duties Qualities and Habits which are required of us as conditions of Eternal life are comprehended by our Saviour under these Two Heads The first respects our duty towards God Thou shalt love the Lord thy God c. The second respects our duty towards our Neighbour Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self I begin with the first of these which respects our Duty towards God Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine Heart and with all thy Soul and with all thy Mind This is the first and great Commandment And in the handling of this copious Argument I shall confine my thoughts to this following Method First I shall explain the terms and give you a more general account of the nature of the duty and the Principles into which it is resolved Secondly I shall consider the particular parts the necessary acts and exercises of Love to God First With all the Heart and with all the Soul And Secondly With all the Mind Thirdly I shall consider upon what Accounts the Love of God with all the Heart and with all the Soul and with all the Mind may be said to be the First and Great Commandment Fourthly I shall perswade and encourage you to the practice of this duty and the pursuit of this habit of Love to God by several motives couched and implied in this one word Thou shalt love the Lord thy God Fifthly and Lastly I shall make Application of the whole I begin with the first of these the Explication of the terms and the consideration of the nature of the duty in the general and the Principles into which it is resolved Thou shalt love the Lord thy God To Love is to take delight and pleasure in the Object with a desire of such an enjoyment of it as the nature of the thing will bear and Reason will permit and the causes or reasons of such Delight and Desire are only two however various the objects about which they are exercised may be namely an opinion of personal excellency in the object it self or a sense of kindness or benefits received from it These are the onely Principles of Love these are the onely causes of all the delight and desire in the world that is voluntary and chosen Persons 't is true may be and very frequently are mistaken in their apprehensions of beauty and goodness whereby this best and most
believe his Word and rely upon his Promises because he is Truth it self and cannot be deceived he is Wisdom it self and cannot propose or promise at adventure he is Power it self and can bring into act whatsoever he decrees He is Goodness it self and neither can nor will deceive us If therefore our Love of God be sincere and with understanding the most intire and perfect confidence in his Word and Promises are necessary We shall inquire into his Will study his Laws submit our apprehensions to his determinations and stedfastly believe whatsoever he reveals If there arise among you a Prophet or a dreamer of dreams Deut. 13.1 2 3. and giveth you a sign or a wonder and the sign or wonder come to pass whereof he spake unto thee saying go after other gods which thou hast not known and serve them thou shalt not hearken to that Prophet or that dreamer of dreams for the Lord thy God proveth thee to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul The adhering firmly to the Word of God though a Wonder should be wrought in confirmation of a contrary doctrine is made a test of our Love of God by God himself That is the Second The Third particular implied in the Love of God with all the heart and with all the Soul is such an imitation of the Divine Perfections as our present state and capacity will permit Self-love or a desire of being happy and perfect in the kind is the necessary inclination or the first principle of every being And therefore whatsoever Good or excellence we clearly understand as essential to or perfective of our being or conducible to the ease and convenience of our life we cannot chuse but desire the possession of it It is not so properly an act of reason as an instinct of nature But if we love the Lord our God with all our Heart and Soul with sincerity and understanding we shall discern the beauty capacity and perfection of our own nature in the Qualities and the life of the first and most perfect of rational Beings and shall therefore necessarily desire to imitate those Divine vertues which we so adore and love The abstracted essence of God is impossible to be comprehended by a finite understanding but we judge of the Divinity as of all things else by effects and operations by his works of Creation and Providence by his Universal righteousness wisdom purity and goodness so visible in the government of the World If we therefore apprehend and admire these glorious Attributes of God we shall endeavour to transcribe his Copy and model our Souls according to this Exemplar because the resolution of the mind that such a quality is worthy and excellent includes desire and imitation we shall endeavour to be holy as God is holy in all our conversation that as he is so we may be in the World wise in the management of our ends just in our dealings merciful to the distressed ready to forgive our enemies in all things aspiring after the Divine perfections and setting the Life of God before us as the Rule of our Conversation That 's the Third The fourth particular implied in the Love of God with all the Heart and with all the Soul is a constant uniform Obedience to his Will What a chearful flexibility what a readiness to do any thing that may be grateful and pleasant to each other may be observed in the love of equals If therefore love has such a power where the authority is precarious only and by consent how much more will the Love of God oblige us to the most diligent observance of His will forasmuch as the love of our Superiors includes obedience in its nature No man can intirely love a Prince or a Father that does not approve and obey his Precepts and therefore St. John defines the Love of God by keeping his Commandments 1 Joh. 5.3 This is the Love of God that we keep his Commandments We cannot add to infinite perfection we cannot oblige Him in any real services who is already Lord of all there remains therefore no possible testimony of our Love to God without the resignation of our opinions desires and actions to his will This is all we have to offer If a man Love me says our Saviour he will keep my words Joh. 14.23 and he that hath my Commandments and doth them he it is that loves me Would it not be the greatest solecism in love if our friend should prescribe us a method of happiness promise his assistance assure us of success and we should receive it civilly applaud his judgment believe all he says but never proceed to accomplish the methods he proposes Hence those who live in disobedience to the Laws of God are said to hate Him Exod. 20.6 Indeed if we have any true conceptions of the Divine perfections which love supposes we know that God is infinite in wisdom to direct and guide us infinite in goodness and will suit his commands to our abilities full of mercy and compassion and will pity our weakness and pardon our failings If therefore love wheresoever it is sincere is apt to create an extravagant desire of pleasing the object even with the utmost hazard and sometimes by unlawful practices by humouring vices flattering deformities serving the basest ends any thing indeed that they think may gratifie the person How much more will the love of God oblige us to the strictest care and observance of His will because we know that His will is perfect He can command us nothing nor can he be pleased with any thing that is not truly Good He cannot be giddy and inconstant frequish and uncertain humorsome and hard to be pleased as imperfect objects are but He will receive our addresses and accept our services He will enable us to obey him and make the best construction of all our sincere endeavours and at last compleat our love in the everlasting enjoyment of Himself That 's the 4th The last particular implyed in the Love of God with all the heart and with all the Soul is the most hearty sorrow whensoever we shall offend him with an earnest desire to be reconciled Whosoever loves will endeavour to recommend himself by an obliging deportment to the good opinion of the object pursues a kind acceptance waits a sutable return and expects at length the enjoyment of his hopes If therefore he has given any just occasion of Offence by omitting what was necessary to be done or by doing any thing that was contrary to his Pretensions or inconsistent with his Love it must needs affect him with indignation against himself that he should bring his own sincerity into question injure the person whose happiness is his greatest Joy retard his progress towards that end he chiefly aims at and superinduce a Cloud upon that Sun by whose influence he lives Thus also in respect of God if we love him with Understanding we cannot but
pursue his favour and most earnestly desire to be loved again because we know that our Love of God if it be sincere and pure will be returned in the most ravishing delights we know that his Love is Life that it is not an empty Passion but exerted in the most substantial effects and happy instances And therefore that we should have sinned against him must needs be the most insupportable affliction because in proportion to the nature of our offence our chief design of obtaining his favour and the light of his countenance will be hindred and all our work of so great importance may be to begin again And as we shall be deeply sensible of our offence so shall we also be very sollicitous to be reconciled One of the most essential acts of Love is a desire of the good opinion of the object nor is any thing more directly contrary to that Passion than stoutness and indifference No man can sit down and be satisfied under the displeasure of his friend till he has acknowledged his offence dimulced his anger by sutable mediations and all such other acts as reason in his case will suggest unto him Thus as our Love of God will make us very careful to obtain and preserve his favour so shall we also be extremely solicitous in case of offences to be reconciled If our love of God was ever real it can never be withdrawn when once we have understood and have been warmed with the love of God it is not possible in the nature of the thing that we should ever be reduced to indifference for the glory of God is immutable and his Beauty perfect which where they are understood will of necessity both attract and continue Desire and Love as being the only object that can fully delight and satisfie the faculty Neither is this all but we know moreover that we cannot be happy without his Love if He hide his face we are wretched and undone that Impartial Justice towards offenders is as certain an Attribute of God as Infinite Goodness Nothing therefore can discourage us we shall never give over our Confessions and Tears our Vows and Resolutions and the tender of all such satisfactions as are possible for us to make till we have reason to hope that our sins are pardoned and our persons are again received into his favour These are the essential parts the necessary acts of Love to God viz. That we prefer Him to all other objects whatsoever believe his Word and rely upon his Promises imitate his Life and obey his Laws be deeply sorrowful whensoever we offend him and earnestly endeavour to be reconciled All these several expressions are of the essence of Love and flow from the nature of the thing And so I proceed as I proposed in the second place to consider the more perfect exercises of Love to God with all thy Mind Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Mind In the explication of the Words it has been already noted that the Love of God with all the soul is such an adoration of God as proceeds from a sense of the Glories and excellencies of His Being as they are apprehended by reason and inferr'd from his Definition Nature and Operations but the Love of God with all the mind is with a more quick and sensible perception of the Divine perfections with reason improved into a more lively apprehension of the object A young Philosopher shall acknowledge the benefits of frugality suppose or of any other Vertue and shall be able himself to deduce the advantages of it by the rules of Logic and shall believe his deductions to be regular and true But a man of Age and Experience besides what reason suggests from causes to effects has a sense and feeling of the thing he is affected with it it has seized and taken possession of him he is one with the Notion Thus Reason infers the Perfections of God from necessary Principles the Judgment is satisfied and the Will performs such acts as are sutable and consonant to such opinions and apprehensions of the Soul But he whose knowledge has affected his mind not only knows believes and acts accordingly but he has also a more quick and sensible perception and enjoyment of the Divine Perfections by an inexplicable agreement harmony and delight he is one with them ravished and overcome of Desire and Love And the particular acts implied in the Love of God with all the Mind are chiefly Three The first is frequent Meditation and a due intention of the Mind upon the beauty and excellencies of the object This is both an act and a cause of the love of God with all the Mind Where our affections are fixed there all our faculties will be employed Love therefore will provoke us to the meditation of God and Meditation will improve our Knowledge and perfect our Love For since it is impossible to discover a blemish in absolute perfection the more we pry into Him the more of necessity we shall love him Whosoever then is affected sensibly and in his Mind with the love of God will separate considerable portions of his time for the contemplation of the Divine Perfections He will abstract his mind from sensible things that it may be purer and more free more apt to apprehend more easily impressed by objects Divine and Spiritual Nothing hinders our clearer Knowledge and more ardent love of God but the prepossession of our affections by the beauty and goodness of the World These we converse with these we admire and court but as for the infinite perfections of God we believe them as the Doctrine of the Church and hope to enjoy them through the merits of Christ according to the Tradition of the Fathers We resolve that God is incomprehensible as indeed He is and therefore we never endeavour to find out so much of his beauty as by a due disposition of Soul without revelation or ecstasie we might Whereas if our lives were more retired castigate and sober our spirits would be purer our minds more quick and vigorous objects Divine and Spiritual would be more agreeable more easily felt and enjoyed by us It were easie to consider particulars and show how a due intention of mind upon the attributes of God will more sensibly affect us Do we adore Him for so much of his Infinite Goodness as appears at the first view in the general or towards our selves How much more should we be affected if we look it round and consider throughly this perfection of the will of God That God who is Omnipotent and under no controle should be bounded in his Will by the Laws of Goodness Righteousness and Mercy That He should vouchsafe to communicate his own likeness and subject the whole Creation to the use and convenience of Man that He should love us when we were his enemies and restore our corrupted nature to its first integrity by the passion of his only Son That He should still follow us
the purity of our hearts and the sincerity of our intentions shall be now accepted and all our manifold transgressions through humane frailty shall be now forgiven through the satisfaction and intercession of our Blessed Saviour That if we sin as we all do and repent and amend as we all should do 1 Joh. 2.1 we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the Righteous and He is the propitiation for our sins We have one that will plead our cause and urge a Right that repenting Sinners have to Pardon Gal. 3.13 because by being made a curse he has delivered us from the curse that is from the punishment of the Law Heb 7.25 and is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for us And that all this blessed Mystery of our Redemption through the Cross of Christ is both signified and confirmed unto us in the Holy Sacrament This is my Body which is given for you This Cup is the New Testament in my blood And therefore you cannot be qualified to receive untill you understand these Principles of the Christian Faith You cannot be qualified to enter into Covenant with God till you understand the contents and articles of the Indenture Again Is the Sacrament a Recognition of your Christianity Do you by partaking of the visible signs of our Saviour's death by assisting in the solemn Ordinance of distinction profess and own your self to be his disciple 1 Cor. 10.18 19 20 21 c. as those who ate things offered to Idols were understood to consent with the Sacrifices to own and profess the heathen gods and worship Does God by his Minister offer and confirm his Covenant of Pardon to us in the blood of Christ and are we understood to consent with all our hearts to accept the Conditions with all humility and gratitude to enter into Coveant with God our selves that we will perform the Conditions required of us Then you cannot be worthy to receive unless you stedfastly believe his Revelation trust intirely in his Propositions depend upon his Promises and chearfully resign your self to be governed by his Laws It is therefore absolutely necessary to examine well the steddiness of your Faith the seriousness of your Repentance the purity of your Intentions and the sincerity of your Obedience at least in serious resolution for the time to come since it is evident that without these qualifications you prophane this Holy Ordinance whilst you make profession solemnly of that Religion 1 Cor. 11.26 which you neither understand believe nor practise Par. Sir I am clearly of your opinion I think if we communicate in the most solemn Ordinance of our Religion we certainly ought to understand it believe it and intend at least to practise it But are we obliged whensoever we receive the Sacrament to have the History the Principles and the Duties of our Religion distinctly in our minds this seems to be very hard and almost impossible Min. No surely you mistake me very much These ought to be confidered and examined well before you presume to present your self or before you are admitted to the Holy Table But when you are entred confirmed and setled in your Religion there is no necessity of such a particular recollection your Faith will become a habit and if you have no doubt of any Article you may boldly make profession of your Faith at any time and if you are not conscious of any Vice you wilfully indulge you may profess the sincerity of your heart and your resolution of persevering in a course of universal righteousness without a particular examination of your self upon the several duties of Christianity The ordinary preparation after you have been throughly instructed and admitted to the Holy Table is this Namely first to consider and weigh the doubts and scruples that are upon your mind concerning any Branch or Article of your Religion if any be and clear them fully to your self by consideration inctruction and advice And secondly to observe your own particular infirmities what those evils are to which you are most inclined and which are aptest to prevail upon you and are subdued with the greatest difficulty and how you may prevent their return for the time to come what business what conversation what occasion what company are apt to expose you to temptation that so your humble resolutions and professions may be well considered and perfectly sincere and with particular respect to the present state of your Soul with earnest desire to be better instructed and reformed by the grace of God Par. This is but reasonable indeed and now I hope I apprehend both the nature of the Sacrament and the duty of the Communicant Min. I pray God enable you to perform it but there is one thing more that concerns our preparation which must not be omitted and that is this Is the Sacrament the Death and Passion of our Lord exhibited in proper signs Is our Saviour slain before our eyes 1 Cor. 11.26 Is his death shewed forth represented to us till he come as St. Paul expresses it then we ought to raise in our minds such a feeling sense such a sympathy such passions affections and devotions as the sight of such a stupendous passage would have stirred up and excited in us if we had been Spectators of it Had we been the Disciples of our Saviour as we now profess to be and had we seen Him at his Trial under his scourging in his Agony and on the Cross should we not have adored and magnified the love of God that he should send His only begotten Son into the world to bear the punishment of our sins should we not have been astonished at the love of our blessed Saviour that He should be contented to divest himself of all his glory for our sakes and humble himself even to death upon the Cross to save our souls Would we not have reflected with indignation upon the cause of all this grief to so good so great so innocent a Person even the sins of men should we not have resolved for our own part Heb. 10.29 never to contribute to his pain again but to live in all Obedience Love and Gratitude to God and our Blessed Saviour to the end of our lives should we not have made the most passionate professions of Fidelity and Constancy to him that has thus redeemed and purchased us by His blood should we not have exercised acts of faith affiance trust and confidence in his Word and Promises that if we fulfil our resolutions and perform our duty as well as our weak and frail condition will allow that then we shall be accepted of Him received into his Favour and made partakers of the great and precious promises of His Gospel and when you have considered all these things and understand them competently well and have prayed to God to enlighten your mind and purge your soul from all
then that comes to the Holy Communion with evil will or malice in his heart must needs be out of countenance as a man that wants the wedding Garment Matt. 22.11 But he whose soul is free from that unchristian vice he who is an enemy to none but delights in the happiness of all and is ready to assist whom he may he who loves his Neighbour as himself may approach with an humble confidence such a suitable temper will give him courage rational expectation and a modest assurance that his address will be accepted and his sins forgiven Finally and above all the particular necessity of universal Charity at the Holy Sacrament is grounded chiefly upon that passage of S. Paul 1 Cor. 10.16 17. The Cup of blessing which we bless is it not the Communion of the blood of Christ The bread which we break is it not the Communion of the body of Christ for we being many are one bread and one body for we are all partakers of that one bread In the 16th Verse you see the Apostle affirms that the faithful in the Holy Sacrament communicate together of the body and blood of Christ The bread which we break is it not the Communion of the body of Christ and from thence in the following words he infers the most perfect Love and Unity amongst themselves v. 17. For we being many are i. e. we ought to be one bread and one body why because we all partake of that one bread or loas which words of the Apostle may be understood in a double sense according to the several significations and constructions of the Holy Sacrament First The first interpretation of the 16th ver as this Supper of our Lord is the Christian Passover and bears an Analogy to the Jewish feast upon the Sacrifice of the Paschal Lamb which they are together after the Priest had presented and offered it up to God And to this the Sacrament succeeds and is understood as a perpetual feast upon the Sacrifice of our Blessed Saviour whose body was offered once for all Heb. 10.10 which body and blood we eat in the sign and figure to the end of the world by his own Command Christ our Passover says the same Apostle is sacrificed for us therefore let us keep the feast 1 Cor. 5.7 8. Now thus to eat and drink together at the Table The first interpretation of the 17th ver and upon the Sacrifice of our Lord engages us to one another in the strictest tyes of Love and Charity as children of the same Father redeemed by the same Lord co-heirs of the same inheritance fed at the same Table and nourished by the same Loaf which by common acceptation and fair construction is both a Token a Profession and a solemn League of Love and Friendship Again The second interpretation of the 16. v. according to the second Notion of the Holy Sacrament as it is an inward and spiritual grace a Seal of the New Testament a confirmation of all the blessings of the Gospel to every individual Person that accepts the terms and will fulfil the Counterpart the sense of the 16th Verse is this viz. that all who perform the Conditions required of them shall as surely enjoy the benefits of our Saviour's death as they partake of the visible signs thereof as they eat the Bread and drink the Wine by which it is shewed forth and represented The Cup of blessing which we bless is it not the Communion of the blood of Christ The Bread which we break is it not the Communion of the body of Christ that is of the benefits of both Now this consent to the Conditions of the Gospel this entring into Covenant with God this sincere and chearful dedication of our selves to the Government of our blessed Saviour which render the Elements the Body and Blood of Christ to the receiver is expressed in Scripture by all such Metaphors as denote the most intire and perfect union which can be possibly conceived between us as that between the Husband and the Wife Eph. 5.23 Jo. 15.1 Jo. 10. 1 Cor. 12.27 the Vine and the Branches the Shepherd and the Flock the Head and Members the Soul and Body which Unity is not natural and personal that were Blasphemy to imagine but Intellectual and Moral one Vital Principle moves them one spirit acts and inhabits in them both our Saviour and his true Disciples have the same opinions of what is good and evil the same affections to every thing that is good the same will to proceed and act according to the most perfect reason Rom. 8.10 If Christ be in you says St. Paul the body is dead Now the manner of His being in us is explained in the former Verse V. 9. by His temper spirit and disposition For if any man have not the spirit of Christ he is none of his as in another place it is explained by his Mind That the same Mind may be in us which was in him Phil. 2.5 Eph. 3.17 And again That He may dwell in our hearts by Faith Now from this spiritual Union betwixt our Saviour The second interpretation of the 17. v. and those who worthily receive the Sacrament that is who have resigned themselves to the obedience of the Gospel the Apostle infers the most intire and perfect unity of the whole body of faithful Christians amongst themselves Ye are says he united to Christ by eating His Body and drinking His Blood He becomes a principle of new life to every one that receives the Sacrament as he ought to do Now says he the union is the very same and upon the same account between the faithful amongst themselves For carrying on the Metaphor We being many are one body and one bread V. 17. because we are all partakers of that one bread We all receive nourishment from the same root and are therefore vitally united to one another We are all made to drink speaking of the Cup in the holy Sacrament into one spirit All which laying aside the Allegory is thus to be understood that forasmuch as all sincere and faithful Christians have entred themselves into the same Society undertaken the same institution and rule of life consent and agree in the same mind affections desires and converfation therefore they are morally united to one another as well as to our blessed Saviour For our Saviour is not divided He is one and the same in his Nature his Life his Gospel his Laws and Promises so that if innumerable individuals devote themselves to the belief of his Propositions to the love and obedience of his instructions if they resign themselves their wills and affections to his Command Jo. 17.21 whereby they become in a Moral sense united to him these of necessity by the same Moral unity are joyned and knit amongst themselves One common soul and spirit acts and influences them all they have parted from their own private will and conduct
and Virtue which are the indispensable conditions of our acceptance We may prevent our growth in Grace by thinking our selves unfit to use the means thereof An hearty desire of perfection with such endeavours Improvements Devotions and preparations as our capacity and opportunity will permit intitle us to the use and to the benefits of the Holy Sacraments For how could they be said to be the means of Grace if none but persons already vested with it in great degrees were allowed to use them So that the sincere though imperfect Christian at the present has a particular propriety in the Holy Sacrament because they are appointed of God to be the means of obtaining that which these especially want For I am not come Matt. 9.12 13. says our Saviour to call the righteous but sinners to repentance And again The whole need not a Physician but the sick Not that there are any so righteous as not to need Repentance or so whole as not to need a Physician but the more confirmed and establisht Men are in a course of Obedience to God the more they are under the power of Religion and the longer they have so continued These comparatively speaking have the less occasion to use the means I say not this to encourage carelesness or indifference in the worship of God in any God knows the frailties of the best are so great and so many that there is little fear of diverting a good Man from the worship of God because of the comfort and support he feels therein and the great necessity in this state of uncertainty and war that he finds thereof But since our Saviour allows it I would by His own similitudes expel and dissipate all fatal scruples out of the minds of the sincere though young Beginners in Religion Par. Sir I thank you for your pains and I hope they are not ill bestowed by the Grace of God you shall see the good effect thereof in a little time Min. Ay that is the end of all I pray God confirm your Resolutions and be sure you let me see you as often as you can that I may explain or enlarge upon any Article of our Discourse or refresh your Memory as occasion may require THE END Proper Prayers suited to the foregoing Account of the Holy Sacrament A Preparatory Prayer OAlmighty God! although thy Councils are unsearchable Rom. 11.33 and thy ways past finding out tho' neither I nor the Angels of thy presence shall ever comprehend the mystery of Man's Redemption thro' Jesus Christ 1 Pet. 1.12 yet it is enough for me that thus it is revealed and therefore I believe with all mine heart I adore the mystery and resolve my hope and trust into the merits of the Cross I will now and ever implore thy Pardon Grace and Assistance for His sake alone whose Body was broken and whose Blood was shed for the Remission of my sins mine only Saviour and Redeemer And O that I might meet my Lord this day in the appointed Signs and Sacrament of his Passion with an heart as sted fast in the Faith as if I had seen his Miracles as full of Love as if I had been healed of my diseases by his Power as full of Joy as if Himself had said unto me Be of good chear thy sins are all forgiven Matt. 9.2 as constant in my Resolutions against all Impiety and sin as if I had seen my Lord in his Agony and heard Him say My God my God why hast Thou forsaken me Matt. 27.46 O Lord encourage my sincere desires and enable me to perform the intended duties with these and all such holy dispositions as Thou requirest of me assist my weakness by thy power support and strengthen all those Graces which Thou hast begun and perfect them at last in habits of Obedience Love and Praise through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A short Ejaculation upon the receiving of the Bread O Lord I am a sinful man Matt. 8.8 not worthy that thou shouldst come under my roof O cleanse my soul from all impurity and filth make me fit to receive so glorious a guest and then abide and dwell in me for ever thro' Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A short Ejaculation upon receiving of the Cup. Lord Mar. 9.24 I believe help thou mine unbelief that the Bread which I eat and the Wine which I drink thus blessed and given by thy Command may be indeed the Body and Blood of Christ to me the Seal of my Pardon and the earnest of Eternal life thro' Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A Prayer to be said immediately after you have received the Elements O Most merciful God and Father How wonderful is Thy love to me a wretched sinner that Thou now vouchsafest to receive me as a guest to thine own Table and hast fed me with the Bread of Heaven Joh. 6.55 That thou shouldst make an offer of peace and reconciliation to me That Thou shouldst never be weary of shewing mercy That the blood of our Saviour should be salutary still and exhibited for ever to the relief of all that are willing to be healed Lord what is man that thou art so mindful of him Psal 8.4 or the Son of Man that Thou so regardest him O make me worthy of this inestimable blessing purifie my thoughts rectifie my will sanctifie mine affections strengthen my resolutions that I may go on from one degree of grace unto another Col. 1.28 Mat. 25.23 till I come to be perfect in Christ Jesus that I may improve my Talent and be the better sensible for every Sacrament I receive till my Faith shall at last be perfected in Vision and the Communion of thy Body and Blood shall be finally resolved into the full enjoyment of thine Eternal Deity O Blessed Jesus Amen A Prayer to be said in your Closet after your return from the Holy Communion O Eternal God! Ps 7.9 Rev. 2.23 Ps 51.6 That searchest the hearts and triest the reins of men Thou that requirest truth in the inner parts O purge my soul from all Hypocrisie and guile that I may now and always serve thee with that sincerity and purity as I ought to do O Lord I hope my inward self my very soul and heart did indite the Praises Prayers and Vows of my Tongue this day before thee O thou that remembrest whereof we are made Ps 103 14. and considerest that we are but men Heb 4.15 O Thou our great High Priest who art touched with the feeling of our infirmities accept of my good intentions and forgive the coldness of my Devotions and the remisness of my mind the wandring of my thoughts and the many imperfections of this and of all mine Holy things and O Lord I beseech thee continue upon my soul that Holy disposition that Religious sense which by thy Grace I have been affected with this day that I may be united to thy self in the same affections and
by the assistance of thy most holy and eternal Spirit Amen A Prayer for Divine Assistance and increase of Grace MOST Glorious and Blessed God! Thou art Infinite in all perfections thy Will is pure and all thine Excellencies are unchangeable But though thou hast been pleased to derive upon us some small degrees of thy glorious Nature though we act for the sake of such ends as we our selves propose and chuse yet our faculties are weak our sensitive appetites impose upon our reason The law of our members prevails upon the law of our mind â—om 7.15 16 c. that we cannot do the thing that we would O work in me O Lord what thou wouldst have me both to will and do â—hil 2.13 assist me by thy Grace that the power of evil habits may decay and dye in me that the life of God and all the Graces of the Holy Spirit may grow more vigorous and strong Break not O Lord Mat. 12.20 the bruised reed nor quench the smoaking flax but assist my weakness strengthen my faint desires encourage my sincerity confirm my Faith inflame my Love cherish mine Hope and enlarge my Charity support me under all my conflicts and carry me through all temptations that I may chearfully do and suffer whatsoever pleases thee Matt. 5 6. Psal 63.1.84.2.42.1 Phil. 3.14 O how I hunger and thirst after righteousness how my soul longeth after God! how chearfully could I leave all things that hinder me behind and press forwards for the prize of the high calling of God in Jesus Christ if by any means I may attain the resurrection of the dead O perfect what thou hast begun Eph. 3.47 Gal. 4.19 Ps 73.24 dwell in mine heart by faith and form thy self in me Guide me by thy counsels here and receive me at last into thine everlasting glory through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen A Prayer for a due intention of Mind in the Celebration of Religious Duties O Father of Mercies and God of all our Consolations It was Thine own essential Goodness that first inclined thee to create us that thou mightest communicate thy self unto us and exercise thy Grace and Bounty upon us Thou hast given us all the assurances that our hearts can wish That thou delightest to do us good and that thine ears are open to our prayers 1 Pet 3.12 How justly then art thou the desire and the Worship of all nations O that I could praise thee with understanding and recount thine Excellencies with that Sense and Adoration as I ought O that I could make my Prayers unto thee with a perfect Heart with true desire and sutable endeavour that in all the Solemnities of Religion I could approach thy presence with such an holy frame with such a temper and affection of mind as the duty may require But O Lord I cannot enough bewail mine own formality and deadness in things Divine and Spiritual How difficult do I find it to raise in my mind a lively sense of God even in the most solemn duties How hard it is to bring my Soul to such a perfect Unity to such an intire concurrence as it ought to have with the outward celebrations of Religion But O blessed Jesus who once didst pity and forgive the infirmities of thine own disciples Matt. 26.45 who could not watch with thee an hour have mercy upon me Warm mine Affections by the irradiations of thy Love refine my Nature and raise me above the body Enlighten my Mind that I may know Thee correct the perverseness of my Will that I may chearfully obey Thee mortifie all mine inordinate desires that I may prefer and chuse Thee heal all my bodily distempers ease my worldly cares subdue mine unruly passions and preserve me from too strong temptations that my Mind may be always steddy and composed always fit to serve Thee here that I may sing an eternal Hallelujah to thy Praise hereafter through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A Prayer to be said by well meaning persons under any dejection or despondencies of Mind O Most Merciful God and Father Thou correctest Jer. 10.24 but it is with judgment not thine anger that thou shouldst bring us to nothing Heb. 12.6 thou chastenest every son whom thou dost receive All the evils that we suffer in the world are the directions of thy Wisdom for our Good Heb. 12.10 I therefore bless thy Holy Name for all thy Fatherly corrections wherewith in Mercy thou hast ever visited me And I humbly implore thy Divine Assistance that I may now behave my self with the most intire and perfect resignation to thy Will under that confusion fear and terror of mind which thou art pleased to lay upon me I rejoyce in the midst of this sore affliction as it is a token of thy care and Love how severely soever it may affect me Lord bring me nearer to thy self and preserve me stedfast in my duty to the end how sharp soever the means may be But O most gracious Father if the hiding of thy Countenance from me for a time has wrought those happy effects upon me for which thy Wisdom and Goodness did design it Restore me O restore me for Jesus Christ his sake to a sense of thy Love to peace in my Mind again Ps 6.6 I am weary of my groaning all the night long do I water my couch with my tears my Soul is disquieted within me sunk down into the dust of death even into the pit of hell Visit me O God Ps 106.4 with thy salvation cause thine Holy Spirit to descend into mine heart that he may defend and guard me in all my tryals support and quiet my dejected Mind Is 50 2. 59.1 Matt 8.8 Thy hand is not shortned that it cannot save say but the word O Lord and thy servant shall be healed O how would I magnifie thy Glory imitate thy Life and obey thy Will if Thou shouldst be pleased to trust me with Health and Peace again Lord pardon and hear the importunity of thy servant my heart is full Psal 6.4.55.5.142.1 Psal 60.1 Lam. 5.20 21. my soul also is sore troubled Lord how long wilt thou punish me O turn Thee again and have mercy upon me consider my complaint and let my crying come unto Thee O how chearfully would I do or suffer any thing whereby I might testifie the sincerity of mine Adoration Love and Duty to Thy Sacred Majesty I have none in Heaven but God Ps 73.25 and there is none upon Earth that I desire in comparison of Thee O when shall I feel that joy and peace in my mind which Thou hast promised to those that Love Thy Law Ps 119 165. O when wilt thou dispel those clouds of diffidence and fear which depress and trouble me even now that I find in my self the most sincere desires to do my duty in the World Yet not my will Matt. 26.42 O Lord but Thine be done here I am
Neighbour the object of the duty we understand the whole Society of humane Kind every Man that lives Amongst the Jews indeed this word was never understood to comprehend the Gentiles but however it was used indifferently for any Israelite as in the Ninth Commandment Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy Neighbour Exod. 20. and again Thou shalt not stand against the life of thy Neighbour Lev. 19.18 that is of any Jew though not of any Man for they hated the Gentiles and esteemed them accursed But under the dispensation of the Gospel our Charity is inlarged to every individual Person over the face of the whole Earth and therefore our Saviour declares expresly that the good Samaritan was Neighbour to the Jew that was wounded St. Luke 12.38 And St. Paul reciting this very passage Rom. 13.8 changes the word Neighbour for that of Another a word of the most indefinite signification of any that is used He that loveth another hath fulfilled the Law for all duties are comprehended in this saying namely V. 9. Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self This for the object of the duty our Neighbour every man I proceed as I proposed in the second place to consider the nature of the duty it self What it is and when a Man may be said to love his Neighbour And forasmuch as all Mankind are made the object of our love it would be absurd to explain the nature of that love by such intimate acts of affection and desire as arise from a chosen friendship or a near Relation but our definition of universal Love ought to be very general that it may be practicable in the utmost and the true extent thereof as a duty that reaches to the farthest corners of the Earth and is exercised upon Persons and Countreys we never saw or heard of as well as upon those with whom we do converse To love our Neighbour then or the whole Society of Humane nature wheresoever dispersed and scattered about the World is sincerely and heartily to desire and wish the happiness of every Man to be contented and pleased that our Brethren should share with us in all the blessings and advantages we are capable of enjoying to promote our own particular good with safety and regard to the interest of the whole In a word to Love our Neighbour is to prosecute a publick interest to consent and assist with all our hearts in the mutual good of one another That is the Second I proceed in the Third Place to consider what we are to understand by Loving our Neighbour as our selves To Love our Neighbour is the Duty to love our Neighbour as our selves is the Rule or measure in the practice of it or the qualification with vvhich it ought to be exercised And there cannot surely be a better or a more easie copy proposed to our Imitation A Rule that is so streight and perfect in it self and impossible to be mistaken by us Self-love is the first and most evident principle of our being every man understands and feels the nature of it how sincere and pure it is how vigorous and strong how constant and immoveable But thus are we enjoyned by our Saviour to love our Neighbour even as our selves with the same most ardent desires with the same sincere endeavours to divert impendent evils and procure all possible good to others as we would do to our selves This in general More particularly I shall consider the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as thy self in a double sense First as obliging us to an intire and perfect Love that we have a regard to all our Neighbours interests that we love him in the same extent and latitude that we love our selves Secondly as obliging us to love him after the same manner that we love our selves to pursue his good with the same affections and dispositions of mind that we find in our selves in the prosecution of our own First to Love our Neighbour as our selves implies a perfect and intire affection to all his several interests that we love him in the same extent and latitude that we love our selves All our possibilities of happiness are contain'd and comprehended in these four particulars viz. our Soul our Life our Estate and Reputation Every man has a tender respect for these it is the business of our Lives and the object of our Reason to become as happy in all these several capacities as we can no man chuses folly or iniquity disgrace or poverty diseases or death simply and under the proper notion of them but according to our measure of knowledge and the opinion that we have of things we endeavour to avoid them as evil and procure the good that is contrary thereunto Wherefore then to love our Neighbour as our selves according to this interpretation of the words is to desire his good as we do our own in all his several capacities to be really pleased with his happiness in any of his interests and ready to assist him according to our power First in the interest of his Soul a man of universal Charity envyes no mans parts or Vertue but is delighted with the Image of God wheresoever he discerns it with the rays of Wisdom and Righteousness which are scattered amongst men He is troubled for the wickedness of the wicked passionately sensible of the horrid consequences of their proceedings his eyes with David run down with tears because men keep not the Law of God He is ready to communicate his Knowledge to give his Counsel to instruct the ignorant to recal the erring to reprove the foolish 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as S. Paul says of himself Not seeking his own profit but the profit of many that they may be saved To love our Neighbour as our selves implies a regard to his Life his Estate and Property A man of universal Charity is not only just to all men ◠Thes 4.6 not defrauding or oppressing his Neighbour in any matter Neither is he indifferent only to his Neighbours interest doing no unhandsom thing to any man but he positively seeks and studies his Neighbours weal. He rejoyceth at any opportunity of doing kindnesses to men he receives and addresses the complaints of the Oppressed visits the Sick cloaths the Naked feeds the Hungry he is ready to distribute Rom. 12. and is given to hospitality According to S. Paul's description of a Charitable man 1 Cor. 13. to which we shall have a particular respect in our present disquisition v. 5. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Charity seeks not his own is not circumscribed within the narrow compass of his own advantage is not frozen into dry sterility but fruitful and abounding in acts of Mercy and Beneficence He considers himself as a member of the one Society of humane Nature and therefore as a partner with all the World he prosecutes a publick interest is glad of the prosperity of those above him obliging by all the arts of Civility and handsome conversation
and cold in his own pursuits We think no pains too great we leave no stone unturn'd we grudge no present self-denial in the prosecution of our own designs Thus also thou shalt love thy Neighbour even as thy self with fervency of affection with a Zeal for his Good It is not a tender expression a friendly wish an unwilling word a cold essay that fulfils the duty but a chearful service ready motions effectual assistances that we be patient to hear and willing to understand and be concern'd in a case that is worthy of us that we lay it to our heart and put it forward according to discretion by our counsel our friend our person our purse as the occasion may require for thus we love our selves with passion and solicitude Thirdly With constancy and everlasting affection Self-love can never abate or cool every Man pursues what he thinks to be good to the last it is a natural principle an essential property of our Being which can never be extinguished But thus are we obliged to love our Neighbour even as our selves all the days of our life This duty of universal love is never perfected It is not enough that we have been useful and beneficial in some particular instance but we must never stop never contract our selves never imagine that we have paid this debt of universal Charity but so long as we have ability and opportunity so long as we have objects before us that is so long as we live we must dilate and expatiate our selves to the benefit of our Neighbour for Thou shalt love him as thy self as well in all the several instances wherein thou lovest thy self as with the same affections and dispositions of thy mind with tenderness and passion with fervency and Zeal with steddiness and constancy And thus as briefly as I could I have explained the duty of universal Love and by comparing the temper of our Souls and the course of our conversation with the rules and measures I have now laid down we may know infallibly whether we are endowed with this grace of Charity or no whether we love our neighbour as our selves Are we pleased with the practice of Vertue or any worthy quality wheresoever we discern it or rather are not the infirmities nay the debaucheries of Men our delight and sport Do we govern our desires and aimes by the rules of equity and love Do we use no tricks no mines no unhandsome arts to circumvent another Are we content that every Man should prosper and be happy Are we ready for every good work Do the Loins of the poor bless us Job 31.20 are they warmed with the fleeces of our wool Job 31.20.22.22 Do we govern our Authority over inferiour Men with Justice Do we not trouble our own flesh Prov. 11.17 Do we not rob the poor because he is poor and oppress the afflicted in the gate May it not be said of us as Solomon complains Eccles 4.1 On the side of the oppressor there was power but the oppressed had no Comforter Are we willing to discern and praise the vertues of our Neighbour and to hide his faults Can we chearfully hear the Commendation of another and not embase the Character by some malicious insinuation Does not our Soul desire evil Pro. 21.10 and does our neighbour find any favour in our eyes Are we civil and ingenuous in our Carriage towards all Are we meek and approachable sincere and plain gentle and easie to be intreated Are we never weary of well doing never discouraged by our own mistakes in objects by the tricks and deceits that may sometimes be put upon us by the ingratitude of those we have obliged or the disappointments of those from whom we had expectation by the errours that a Zealous Charity may run into or the censures of unworthy Men to which it may sometimes be exposed Do we centre in a sense of Duty and the sincerity of our principle and design resolving never to look back or faint but persevere in a steddy course of universal Charity to the end This is to love thy neighbour as thy self And so I proceed as I proposed in the second place to perswade you to the practice of this duty of universal Charity by certain motives and encouragements couched and implied in these words Thy neighbour We are obliged to prosecute a publick interest to be kind and compassionate to all because we are neighbours and that implies First The Necessity of the thing To love our neighbour as our selves is our real Interest because of our Cohabitation and necessary converse with one another No affection or property of humane nature is more evident than a disposition to Society Our innate impresses of natural Affection Goodness and Compassion our passions of Desire and Love our abilities of inventing useful Art our faculty of Speech which is peculiar to Man and what only serves the purposes of Society do all suppose it and the impotence and inability of man in a loose and separate state to perfect his capacities to satisfie his natural desires nay to support and defend his life demonstrate it But without an hearty consent in the mutual good of one another without policy and a publick interest Society would be dangerous and useless black and uncomfortable solitude our only refuge 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Reason without Goodness is mischievous subtlety and would prove the greatest instrument of evil in the World The fierceness of the Leopard and the strength of the Lyon would not be so dreadful as the understanding of Rational Nature devoid of Justice Every man would be against his Brother our life would be a state of war a continual hostility Here an attempt by force there by subtlety and circumvention every where distrust and fears guards and preparations of defence So that according to the Principles of our Nature and the design of our Being we are one Society one interest one common happiness is amongst us all And no man that separates himself from the Community and proposeth with himself to stand on his own legs and acquire whatsoever pleases him by any means without respect to others can ever prosper or be safe because he can never hope to be endured Every man has a tender respect for his Life his Honour and his Interest which whensoever they are forcibly invaded will provoke him to retaliate the injury No man can expect with reason to be treated more civilly himself than he treats his neighbour Such a conceit is Vanity there is no foundation for such a deference in Nature but he raises the whole Society against himself and how he should acquit himself in such an unequal combat is not easie to imagine And therefore Qui se amat hunc alios sic amare Epist 6. Lips in Loc. says Seneca nec sibi sed toti genitum se credere mundo He that loves himself will love his neighbour and consider himself as born for the benefit of the
World He that hates his brother says S. John 1 Ep. 2.11 walks in darkness but he that loves his brother abideth in the light The Metaphor of light and darkness signifies the knowledge or ignorance of our interest the selfish man is as wretched as those who are blind or travel in the dark exposed to grievous evils dangerous precipices sharp and rugged ways But he that loveth his brother abideth in the light acts wisely proceeds with confidence and good success lives safely and securely 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 there is no danger of his stumbling of his offending others or being himself offended The Second motive to universal Love and Charity couch'd and implyed in these words thy Neighbour is the propriety in and the relation that we have to one another He is thy Neighbour All Mankind are of the same extraction and original sons of the same God Vno patre conditi unâ matre tanquam fratres uterini editi as the Father speaks S. Ambrose stamped with the same Divine Image equally inspirited with the breath of God The meanest man in the world agrees with him that is the greatest in that that is truly Great and Noble in him his Reason and Understanding Wherefore then since we are all children of the same Family and which is more professors of the same most holy Faith Citizens with the Saints of the houshold of Faith Eph. 2.19 Nay farther since our union is more intimate and we are members one of another Eph. 4.25 we ought to love as brethren to sympathize as parts of the same body to be easily touch'd with a sense of each others evils forasmuch as the case of our Neighbour is in a moral sense our own and we are stupid if we neglect it There is something of our selves in every man the same Divine Principle inlivens us the same blood runs in all our veins We have therefore a propriety a real interest in one another So that to love thy Neighbour is indeed to love thy self That is the second Thirdly From the necessity of a publick spirit in order to our Happiness and from the Relation that we stand in to our Neighbour arises another motive to universal Charity namely the beauty the harmony and the pleasure of the thing Whatsoever actions necessarily tend to the good of man and are agreeable to the Laws and impressions of humane Nature must of necessity be full of ease and pleasure The Soul exults and enjoys her self in the practice of them as her proper acts and operations As on the other hand an irrational course of proceeding is unnatural and therefore a violence to our frame and constitution as poyson or the sharpest pains are to the body But to love our Neighbour as our selves is not so properly a rational act a thing that is fit to be done as Reason it self our essential difference our very form To pursue the satisfaction of naturai desires by strength by craft or by any means is the property of Beings meerly sensitive But there is no other notion of humane Nature than that of making a distinction of actions nor of Rational Ends but Good nor of Good but publick Interest And therefore universal Love or a regard to others as well as to our selves is the perfection of our Being For let our distinctions otherwise be never so many or so great yet if our Will by nature be unbounded there is no Essential difference between us and Brutes Hence Love according to St. John is the very definition of God himself who is the standard of Rational perfection 1 Joh. 4.8 Beloved Let us love one another for God is Love How easie then would all Men be in this their most Divine and perfect state What a confidence would Love create what delight what trust what assurance what a free and chearful intercourse No Man would be diffident of his Neighbour as averse to his interest or cross him as an enemy but we should enjoy the unvaluable blessings of society with ease and peace But a Man of a shrivell'd narrow spirit that is wholly resolved into himself proceeds against universal Law and Right Rows against the stream with difficulty and fear with perplexity and danger he cannot live alone and yet he can never be sure of the good will of those with whom he must converse he is always practising hypocrisie and must accomplish himself with arts of disguise and tricks of deceit that undiscern'd which is impossible he may deceive the World He is under a perpetual constraint in the management of his conversation for fear he should be betrayed into that shame confusion and hazard which attend the detection of base designs and which they deserve who depart from this Royal Law of Love thy Neighbour as thy self a Law which in the practice of it would put a new face upon the World would banish gnawing cares and angry fears and give sincerity and chearfulness to every countenance There could be no misery amongst Men. We should all be happy in one another and anticipate that concord harmony and love which are supposed to constitute the joys of Heaven And thus I have explain'd the duty of universal Love and considered the beauty and necessity thereof from the words Thy Neighbour Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self It now remains that I should represent the likeness of this Command to the former that of Love to God and the second is like unto it Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self First In the nature of the duty they both oblige us to the same office of Love Secondly In extent and amplitude they are both comprehensive duties the former containing all the severals of the first the latter of the second Table Thirdly In that they suppose and are predicated of each other He that loveth God will love his Brother also 1 Joh. 4.20 As Philo truly says of moral vertues in the general they follow and are linked together As also Lastly I should have considered both the construction and the reason of this expression On these two Commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They consent and agree with these St. Paul interprets the word by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rom. 13.9 If there be any other Commandment it is briefly comprehended in this saying namely Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self This is the end the scope and the design of the Law and the Prophets All the Precepts of the Jewish and the Christian Religion have their ground and existence in these two and into these they are finally resolved out of these universals flow all the particulars of both Religions And therefore for a Conclusion of the whole I shall only pray to God Vse that he would affect our minds with a sense of his goodness to us who has given us a Religion so easie to be learn'd and understood If we heartily believe the Being of a God we cannot but desire his favour and to