and Truth is oppressed We may lawfully appeal to God by War and consequently pray to him for success and desire him to abate the Pride and confound the Devices of the Common Enemy This does not clash at all with the Precept in my Text. For in this case the Enemies are not considered as our Enemies so much as the Common Enemies of God and of his Truth VI. After all if we consider the places singly and separately we shall not find them import so much harm as may be supposed at the first sight That our Enemies should be ashamed and confounded that their way should be dark and slippery in short comes but to thus much that they may be disappointed in their Evil attempts I have not time to descend to particulars Thus much is certain that some places sound harsh and appear very severely in our Version when they do not so in the Original I will give an instance or two Psal lv 16. Let death come hastily upon them and let them go down quick into Hell Here the word we render Hell commonly signifies no more but the Grave or place of the dead And he that looks on the words as they lye in the Hebrew can infer no more than this that the Psalmist predicts the sudden death of men in whose dwellings is wickedness There is nothing farther that the words do import Again where we read of the good man's seeing his desire upon his Enemies The expression is indeed Elliptical but his desire is added to supply the Ellipsis 't is not in the Original Text. Psal cxij. 8. cxviij 7. I shall now proceed to make some application of what hath bin said I. If we stand obliged by the Law of Jesus to love our Enemies c. And Jesus hath in this Law obliged us to a greater extent and degree of Charity and Kindness than the Letter of the Law of Moses How inexcusable are those men who instead of obeying these Precepts of Jesus come short of what Moses requited These men certainly deserve reproof and are very unworthy of the title of Christians There are two sorts of these First Those who are so far from loving their Enemies that they do not love one another They are so far from coming up to the pitch of Charity which Jesus requires that they come short of the lowest measure which was taught by Moses By the Law of Moses the Jews were obliged to love those of their own Nation and Religion tho' otherwise they were Enemies I wish we went thus far I am sure our Saviour goes higher And we must do so too as we hope to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Secondly There are others who are so far from loving their Enemies as our Saviour requires that they are Enemies without any cause at all to their Brethren Instead of loving our Enemies blessing them that curse us doing good to them that hate us praying for our Persecutors there are those who hate who curse who injure who reproach those who have done them no harm They speak Evil of them of whom they know none They contend with those that are for Peace They are so far from obeying Jesus that they have not complyed with Solomon's easie lesson Prov. iij. 30. Strive not with a man without cause if he have done thee no harm These are so far from the Christian and Divine Charity that they come short of the Jewish So far are they from loving their Enemies that they hate the most conspicuous Vertue and the greatest Benefactors to mankind No Vertue can be a security against such as these These men can hardly love those that love them They are so far from the Jewish and Christian that they hardly arrive at the unrewardable Charity of the Publicane Matt. v. 46. These men are in the Gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity God open their eyes and turn their hearts II. Let me exhort you to the practice of the lesson laid before us in the words of my Text. Love your Enemies c. We shall never want an occasion to exercise this vertue Our Saviour that gives us this Rule gave us also the greatest Example of it Hence it is most powerfully commended to us It may be thought difficult but we may be reconciled to it when we consider that He who requires it did Himself practice it also We call him Lord and 't is fit we should obey and follow him We need God's pardon and if we have a due sense of what that imports and that this is the way to obtain it we shall not think much to forgive one another Let me speak in the Apostles words Eph. iv 31,32 v. 1,2 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil-speaking be put away from you with all malice And be ye kind one to another tender-hearted forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you Be ye therefore followers of God as dear Children And walk in love as Christ also hath loved us and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God To God the Father Son and Holy Ghost be all honour and praise Amen FINIS BOOKS Writ by RICHARD Lord Bishop of Bath and Wells A Demonstration of the Messias in which the Truth of the Christian Religion is proved especially against the Jews The Judgment of Private Discretion in Matters of Religion defended in a Sermon on 1 Thess V. 21. Preached at St. Paul's Covent-Garden Feb. 23. 86. A Sermon preached before the Lord Mayor at S. Sepulchres Church on Easter Tuesday Apr. 21. 1690. A Sermon preached before the House of Peers on January 30. 1691 2. The Charge of Richard Lord Bishop of Bath and Wells to the Clergy of his Diocese at his Primary Visitation begun at Axebridge June 2. 1692. A Sermon preached before the King and Queen at White-hall March 12. 1692. being the Second Sunday in Lent Newly published Four Sermons concerning the Divinity and Incarnation of our Blessed Saviour by his Grace John Lord Arch-bishop of Canterbury in 8o. Of Industry in five Discourses Viz. In General In our General Calling as Christians In our Particular Calling as Gentlemen In our Particular Calling as Scholars By Isaac Barrow D.D. late Master of Trinity-College in Cambridge Published by his Grace John Lord Arch-bishop of Canterbury All sold by B. Aylmer