Heart to quake and tremble As for Paul he is rude in Speech homely in his Expressions and hath no Majesty nor Presence in a Pulpit I admire therefore their Ignorance that are for him I am for Apollos A Third I am for Cephas How doth he stoop to the lowest and meanest capacity doth not Preach about such deep Mysteries as Paul nor with such flaunting Eloquence as Apollos but feeds us with the sincere Milk of the Word and teaches so plainly that the most Ignorant may understand him I wonder therefore he is no more followed and that Paul and Apollos are preferred before him I am for Cephas Thus we may suppose the Corinthians might jangle among themselves for which St. Paul so sharply reproves them and may not we take his Reproofs to our selves are not we apt to heap up to our selves Teachers and have Mens Persons in admiration so to value some as unreasonably to scorn and slight others forgetting that they are all the Servants of Christ deputed and sent by him that in much Wisdom and Mercy hath given them various Gifts for the Edification of the Church that as one is eminent in some respects so in others 〈◊〉 Brethren may exceed them 〈◊〉 must consider they all Preach 〈◊〉 same Doctrin and direct to the same way to Salvation and it is more the fault of our own corrupt Hearts than of the Minister if we profit not by their Labours 2. Be much in Contemplation of the Love of God in Christ This will blow up a holy Flame of Love to him and all his Members when we remember how dearly and tenderly Christ loves all his Saints this will constrain us to lay aside all Wrath and Bitterness and live in Peace such a glorious precedent must needs be a cogent Argument and can hardly be resisted Love and Peace is the very Image of our Heavenly Father the Copy Christ hath set us and the Lesson he hath written for our Learning in Lines of his own Blood An hearty Love to God will engage us to be at peace with the whole fraternity of Christians and love them without Dissimulation 3. Make the great design of Religion yours viz. the advancement of Holiness and recovery of the Image of God in the Souls of Men Remember Religion is not designed meerly to fill your Heads with airy notions to tip your Tongues for Discourse or enable you to talk plausibly for the truth that it consists not in little Speculative Opinions or Ceremonious Trifles but the great design of it is to direct us in the government of our Passions subduing our Lusts and conquering the Impediments that hinder our Recovery and Salvation In a word Religion consists in a penitent return to God by Faith in Christ and Obedience to his Gospel let us take this to be our main business then we shall have so much work to do at home that we shall have little inclination to pry into the Infirmities of others or quarrel with them That Man would be esteemed by all as bereav'd of his Wits that should be picking causless Quarrels with his Neighbours about a Chip of Wood or a broken Hedge when a Fire in his House is consuming his Goods and Children We all stand on the Borders of the Grave and Confines of Eternity our great business is to quench the Flames of Lust which otherwise will prepare us for Everlasting Burnings and therefore surely we should not waste our precious Minutes in strife and contention 4. Avoid Extreams in disputable Points Every Truth lyes in the middle between two Falshoods and he that goes far from one is apt to slip into the other After all the confidence and boast of disputers there will be uncertainty in lesser Points and when we travel in uncertain Roads 't is best to chuse the middle here we may be sure to meet with Charity and Peace and very probably Truth in their Company The great occasion of our Differences hath been that Men have look'd so much at the evil of one Extream as to forget the Error on the other side like an ignorant Physician who to Cure a Man of a dead Palsie casts him into a Phrenzy I dare with some confidence affirm that most of those Disputes that are so hotly agitated among Protestants are in the Extreams and consist more in words than things because the Curse of Babel has so confounded our Languages that though our Sentiments are much the same we understand not one anothers meaning And if Men would but hearken to calm dispassionate Reason they might soon find out such healing Reconciling Principles as would quickly make us one among our selves and a terror to our Romish Adversaries Let the Apostles Counsel be in this sense therefore obeyed Phil. 4. 5. Let your Moderation be known unto all Men. 5. Avoid unpeaceable Dividers those who make it their work to soment Differences and stir up Strife and sow Seeds of Discord among Brethren are said to be an abomination to the Lord take upon them a very ill imployment and carry on a design quite contrary to the Gospel of Peace and therefore are to be avoided that they may be ashamed I speak not this of my self but the Apostle Paul is very earnest in the same Advice Rom. 16. 17 18. Now I beseech you Brethren mark them which cause Divisions and Offences contrary to the Doctrin which ye◠have learned and avoid them for they that are such serve not our Lord Iesus Christ but their own Belly and by good Words and fair Speeches deceive the Hearts of the Simple 6. Frequently joyn together in the same Exercises of Religious Worship When Christians come together in the same Assemblies this naturally tends to abate their strangeness calm their Spirits remove unreasonable Jealousies and Suspicions and inclines them to a Cordial Endeared Love This was one great means of promoting that hearty affection which was among the Members of the primitive Church They continu'd stedfastly in the Apostles Doctrin and Fellowship and breaking of Bread and Prayer Acts 2. 42. And the same method would retrieve that love and peace the want of which hath crumbl'd us into parties and been the unhappy occasion of so many woful Effects Did we but more frequently resort to the House of Prayer more diligently hearken to and more faithfully improve Ministerial Instructions more readily submit to Pastoral Discipline more carefully watch over one another and more tenderly advise and reprove and edifie one another more solemnly pray with and for one another and more constantly celebrate that uniting Ordinance the Lords Supper together we should soon see the Blessed peaceful effects of so doing Did Neighbouring Churches counsel each other and maintain mutual correspondences for the advancement of Love and Holiness occasionally communicate together when convenient and look upon themselves not as divided Bodies or carrying on separate Interests but all united under the same Head acting according to the same Rule and for the
Observation I shall raise from them is this That the last and great Command of our dying Saviour is that Christians should love one another as Christ hath loved them In Handling of which I shall observe this Method 1. I shall inquire who are the Objects of this Love 2. In what respects must we love one another as Christ hath loved us 3. Make some Practical improvement of the whole Discourse 1. The Objects of this Love 1. There is a common Love due to Men as Men all Men are God's Workmanship bearing his natural Image and capable of being serviceable to his Glory Thus Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self all Men are our Neighbours as partakers of the same Nature and capable of the same Happiness Special love to Christians doth not diminish but enlarge our common love to Men Wherever we see any part of Gods Image we must love it Our Saviour when he beheld that rich young Gentleman Mark 10. 21. he loved him he could not but be well pleased with his Morality though he was displeased he went no further Thus all the footsteps of Divine Goodness must be lov'd Vertue even in an Heathen is to be admired This will constrain us to Pity Pray for and hâ—lp all in distress according to our ability We must not be like the unconcerned Priest and merciless Levite in the Parable Luke 10. 30. who passed by the wounded Man and would not relieve him but like the good Samaritan who spoke comfortably to him supplied his Wants and bound up his Wounds 2. There is a Love due to Enemies Other Mens Faults and Sins against us give us no dispensation for the non-payment of this great Debt of Natures Law Loving all of the same kind Christ came to mortifie all Inclinations to Rage and Revenge and commands Affections and Words and Actions of Kindness and Benignity to those that have expressed the contrary unto us We must love our Enemies Mat. 5. 44. be cordially affected towards them wish them all the good in the World especially when they most need the good of their Souls Their Conviction Reformation and Amendment Other Mens Enmity must not pervert or blind our Judgments or hinder us from discerning what is amiable in them nor must it corrupt our Affections or hinder us from loving what is truly lovely We must bless them that curse us Not render reviling for reviling but give them friendly courteous words though they rail against us We must do good to them feed and cloth them if hungry or naked rescue them if in danger comfort them if in distress and all without the least Tincture of Malice or Revenge We must pray for them Forgive them our selves and pray to God to forgive them too Thus did our Saviour in the midst of his dying Agonies forgets not this Testimony of his Love to his imbitter'd Adversaries and with a generosity beyond Example pleads excuses for their Sin saying Father forgive them for they know not what they do Luke 23. 34. 3. There is a special Love due to all whom we charitably hope to be true Christians To this we are directed by the Text. Whoever makes a seemingly serious profession of Faith and Holiness and doth not disprove it by a contrary practice is to be allow'd the Name and special Love of a Christian. 'T is Gods Prerogative to see the Heart 'T is our Duty to observe the Life and he that makes a credible Profession and doth not live in wilful Sin is charitably to be esteemed as a Member of Christ. Though he differ from us in many Points yet if he holds the Foundations of the Christian Faith and manifests the Grace of God in his Life 't is uncharitable for us to judge he is not the object of Gods special Love and therefore it is unreasonable he should not be the object of ours Though he be weak in Parts and Gifts subject to many Passions and Infirmities consistent with real Grace though his Profession reach not to that heigth as to make him Eminent and his Conversation be not so exact as to make you confident of his Sincerity yet if he profess to be a true Christian and live not in any Sin which is the certain mark of an unbeliever he is to be lov'd as Christ hath loved us Gods Love indeed is Guided by Infallibility he loves none with a special Affection but sincere penitent Believers but our Love must be guided by our own weak and fallible discerning Where we see the Fruits of Piety in Mens Lives we must judge of the truth of their Graces according to the probability which those signs discover Though all be not so Eminent in Grace as Peter Iames and Iohn yet as the weakest Disciples it sincere are accepted by God so ought they to be embrac'd by us Christ will not break the bruised Reed nor quench the smoaking Flax. Nor ought we to despise the Babes in Christ but love them as Members of the same Body and Heirs of the same Inheritance 2. In what respects must we love one another as Christ hath loved us Ans. Not in all Respects Christ so loved us as to purchase Grace and Glory for us But we are not capable of thus Loving one another We cannot pay down a valuable satisfaction for our own Sins much less can we super-erogate or purchase pardon for others Our own Oyl must be perfum'd with the Incense of Christs Merits before it can make our Faces shine before God and we have so little for our selves that we have none to spare for our Brethren Christ alone paid down a compleat satisfaction for them and us nor can we love our Brethren with an equal degree of Love to what Christ did He had not the Spirit by measure but the fulness of the Godhead dwelt in him and therefore he lov'd us without any sinful mixture or imperfection but our Love as well as other Graces admit of very great defects The word As therefore doth not denote equality in degree but likeness in kind Our Love to one another must bear some likeness and resemblance of Christs Love to us 1. In the Inward Properties of it 2. In the outward Expressions of it 1. In the inward Properties of it 1. Our Love must be sincere and unfeigned as Christ's was Christ did not Hypocritically pretend Love or Dissemblingly feign Affection to us but sincerely lov'd us His Protestations of Love were all real and hearty not in Word and in Tongue only but in Deed and in Truth Thus ought our Love to be without Dissimulation Rom. 2. 9. A pretended Disciple indeed may like Iudas kiss and betray make large Protestations of kindness to the Saints and under this pretext of Affection hide a malicious heart and contrive their ruin But the true Christians Professions of Love as well as Prayers to God proceed not from feigned Lips 2. Our Love to one another must be fervent as Christ's was 'T was Love incomprehensibly great
and ardent that brought our Lord from Heaven to Earth carry'd him through the difficulties of Poverty Reproach and Scorn enabled him to bear the contradiction of Sinners and the pain and shame of the Cross herein Christ as well as God the Father commended his love towards us Rom. 5. 8. rendred it great and admirable beyond all expression or parallel In that while we were yet Sinners Christ died for us We must act according to this pattern Love one another with a pure heart fervently 1 Pet. 1. 22. Our Love must not be cold and indifferent frozen or congeal'd but we must entertain a fervent Affection one for another 3. Our Love must be prevailing as Christ's was Christ lov'd us above Gold or Silver or Earthly Pomp and Greatness above his own Temporal Ease and Delight and was ready to wade through Storms and Dangers and Difficulties for our sakes So must we love our Brethren above our Carnal Interest Honour Wealth and Pleasure Thus Moses evidenc'd his Love to the people of God by forsaking the dazling Honours and bewitching Pleasures of Pharaoh's Court and chusing Affliction with them rather than Sin Thus must we be willing to renounce our own Ease and Liberty for their sakes when God and his Honour calls Nay we must Love them better than the nearest ungodly Relations Christ lov'd those that were related to him in the Spirit far better than the nearest ungodly Relations according to the Flesh. There is indeed a natural sensitive Love and Propension towards near Relations and we are ordinarily bound in the first place to provide for them supply their wants and give them these outward effects of our Love But still we must have a higher rational esteem of the godly and value their Graces above the most lovely natural perfections of others and the best must be prefer'd in point of Honour though others may be prefer'd in point of Maintenance 4. Our Love must be impartial and universal as Christ's was He did not confine it to his own Countrymen the Jews and die to procure Pardon Grace and Glory for them only but for us Gentiles also while he was upon Earth The Faith of the Centurion and importunity of the Canaanitish Woman tho' Aliens from the Common-wealth of Israel attracted his Esteem and Admiration and where-ever he beheld the Grace of God and Image of Holiness he lov'd it 'T is very observable he is more sharp and severe in his Invectives against the Pharisees than any other Persons because of their stingy narrow Spirit confining Religion to their own particular Sect and scorning and despising all that were not of their own Party as if all the rest of Mankind were in a Reprobate Damnable State Our Christian Love must thus resemble our Saviours It must be enlarg'd to all Saints to the whole Fraternity of Christians To be partial in our Love is a sign 't is unsound to make our own Opinions the Shiboleth to distinguish between a true and counterfeit Christian is very unreasonable Where there is a Profession of the Baptismal Covenant the Essentials of the Christian Faith and a Life in some measure answerable we must love such as Christians not withstanding their mistakes and erroneous Principles in lesser points We justly condemn the Church of Rome for confining Salvation to themselves and Damning all the World besides Let us take heed how we condemn our selves by contracting the Church of God into a narrower compass lest we censoriously damn those whom Christ will save and perhaps place on higher Seats of Glory than our selves We know who it was that said Lord I thank thee I am not as this Publican when he was really in a far worse condition Our Love to a Party must not blind our Judgments or pervert our Affections as to all the rest Keep up therefore an impartial universal Love to all professed Christians as such and hate a dividing Spirit Take heed how you stigmatize those with the Name of Hereticks who shall stand at the Right Hand of Christ and take not up the Devils accursed Imployment to become Accusers of those that are really your Brethren 5. Our Love must be proportion'd to the degrees of their Grace as Christ's was Christ that certainly knows who are most furnish'd with Divine Grace must needs love these with an higher degree than others of a lower Form and Classis in Christianity St. Iohn who it seems had the most ardent love and Eminent degrees of Grace among the Apostles was his peculiar Favourite and Darling Disciple had the highect place next his Lord lay in his Bosom according to the custom of those Eastern Countreys which was to lye and not to sit at Meals and is call'd the Disciple whom Iesus loved John 13. 23. Christs love was not a fond unaccountable Passion but the result of his Reason and Judgment Because he lov'd him best we may therefore justly conclude he was really above the rest in Piety Thus must our love be proportion'd Some are but weak Christians and we can have but small and doubtful perswasions of their sincerity Others are stronger and we may be more confident as to them The one must be lov'd as Christians but the other with an higher degree as bearing more lively representations of the holy God We must not respect the Persons of any but their goodness and love those best that are really so This Property will discover the Hypocrisie of many who will bear with Holiness in a lower degree and speak well of those who though Godly in the main are too remiss and careless in their Conversations but swell with Rage and Malice against those that are most Eminent for Piety What doth this Temper shew but a Graceless Heart if we bear not the highest Love to the best Christians how dwelleth the Love of God in us Alas can infinite perfect Holiness be lov'd by him that loves not the best Representations of it that this imperfect state affords If the light of the Moon which is not without its spots doth offend us how can we bear the far more resplendent brightness of the Sun it self How unmeet is he for the Communion of Angels and perfected Spirits that is not pleas'd much more that is offended with the highest degrees of Holiness in this state of Imperfection The true Christian having a prevailing Love to God will Love his Image where-ever he finds it and where it is more clear and unsullied and drawn out in more Beautiful Characters his Love will be proportionably greater and more affectionate 6. Our Love must be compassionate and sympathizing Christ could not refrain from weeping when he beheld Ierusalem where was the then visible Church of God and laments her foreseen destruction When Peter deny'd him not once but thrice with Curses and Imprecations He did not disregard him as he might justly do such a perfidious Servant but though he was unconcern'd for himself and silently bore the