no lefs obligatory, to declare it near as acceptable as the SERM. love of himself, to whom we owe all. To him, as the XXV. fole author and free donor of all our good, by juft cor 心 respondence, all our mind and heart, all our frength and endeavour, are due: and reafonably might he engross them to himself, excluding all other beings from any fhare in them; fo that we might be obliged only to fix our thoughts and fet our affections on him, only to act directly for his honour and intereft; faying with the holyPfalmift, Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is Pfal. lxxiii. none on earth that I defire befide thee: yet doth he freely please to impart a fhare of these performances on mankind; yet doth he charge us to place our affection on one another; to place it there, indeed, in a measure fo large, that we can hardly imagine a greater; according to a rule, than which none can be devised more complete or certain. 25. O marvellous condefcenfion, O goodnefs truly divine; which furpaffeth the nature of things, which dispenseth with the highest right, and foregoeth the greatest interest that can be! Doth not God in a fort debase himself, that he might advance us? Doth he not appear to wave his own due, and neglect his own honour for our advantage? How otherwife could the love of man be capable of any resemblance to the love of God, and not ftand at an infinite distance, or in an extreme disparity from it? How otherwife could we be obliged to affect or regard any thing beside the sovereign, the only goodness? How otherwise could there be any fecond or like to that first, that great, Matt. xix. that peerless command, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God 17. with all thy heart? Matt. xxii. 38. This indeed is the highest commendation whereof any law is capable for as to be like God is the highest praise that can be given to a perfon; fo to resemble the divinest law of love to God is the faireft character that can be affigned of a law: the which indeed reprefenteth it to be vóμ Baixòs as St. James calleth it; that is, a royal and Jam. ii. s. fovereign law; exalted above all others, and bearing a sway on them. St. Paul telleth us, that the end of the 8, 9. 1 Cor. xiii. 13. Col. iii. 14. 14. SERM. commandment (or, the main scope of the evangelical docXXV. trine) is charity out of a pure heart, and a good confcience, 1 Tim. i. 6. and faith unfeigned; that charity is the fum and substance Rom. xiii. of all other duties, and that he that loveth another hath Gal. v. 14. fulfilled the whole law; that charity is the chief of the theological virtues, and the prime fruit of the divine Spirit; Gal. v. 22. and the bond of perfection, which combineth and consum1 Cor. xvi. mateth all other graces, and the general principle of all our doings. St. Peter enjoineth us that to all other vir2 Pet. i. 7. tues we add charity, as the top and crown of them; and, 1 Pet. iv. 8. Above all things, faith he, have fervent charity among yourfelves. St. John calleth this law, in way of excellence, 1 John iii. the commandment of God; and our Lord himself claimeth 23, 11. iv. it as his peculiar precept, This, faith he, is my commandJohn xv.12. ment, that ye love one another as I have loved you; A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another: and maketh the obfervance of it the special cognizance of John xiii. his followers, By this shall all men know that ye are my difciples, if ye love one another. 21. John xiii. 34. 35. These indeed are lofty commendations thereof, yet all of them may worthily veil to this; all of them feem verified in virtue of this, becaufe God hath vouchfafed to place this command in fo near adjacency to the first great law, conjoining the two tables; making charity contiguous, and, as it were, commenfurate to piety. It is true, that in many respects charity doth resemble piety; for it is the most genuine daughter of piety, thence in complexion, in features, in humour much favouring its fweet mother: it doth confift in like difpofitions and motions of foul: it doth grow from the fame roots and principles of benignity, ingenuity, equity, gratitude, planted in our original conftitution by the breath of God, 1 John iv. and improved in our hearts by the divine Spirit of love; Matt. v. 45. it produceth the like fruits of beneficence toward others, Eph. v. 7, 11. 1, 2. and of comfort in ourselves; it in like manner doth affimilate us to God, rendering us conformable to his nature, followers of his practice, and partakers of his felicity it is of like use and consequence toward the regulation of our practice, and due management of our whole life in fuch refpects, I fay, this law is like to the SER M. other; but it is however chiefly fo for that God hath XXV. pleafed to lay fo great ftrefs thereon, as to make it the other half of our religion and duty; or because, as St. John faith, This commandment have we from him, that he Matt. xxii. who loveth God, love his brother alfo; which is to his 1 John iv. praise a most pregnant demonstration of his immenfe 21. goodness toward us. But no less in the very fubftance of this duty will the benignity of him that prescribeth it shine forth, difplaying itself in the rare beauty and fweetnefs of it; together with the vast benefit and utility, which it, being obferved, will yield to mankind; which will appear by what we may discourse for preffing its observance. But first let us explain it, as it lieth before us expreffed in the words of the text, wherein we shall confider two particulars obfervable: first, the object of the duty; fecondly, the qualification annexed to it: the object of it, our neighbour; the qualification, as ourselves. I. The object of charity is our neighbour; that is, (it being understood, as the precept now concerneth us, according to our Lord's expofition, or according to his intent and the tenor of his doctrine) every man, with whom we have to do, or who is capable of our love, especially every Christian. 40. 18. The Law, as it was given to God's ancient people, did openly regard only those among them who were linked together in a holy neighbourhood or fociety, from which all other men being excluded were deemed ftrangers and foreigners; (aliens, as St. Paul fpeaketh, from the com- Eph. ii. 12. monwealth of Ifrael, and ftrangers from the covenants of promife.) For thus the Law runneth in Leviticus, Thou Levit. xix. fhalt not bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself; where plainly Jews and neighbours are terms equivalent; other men being fuppofed to ftand at diftance without the fold or Levit. xx. politic enclosure, which God by feveral ordinances had 26, 24. fenced, to keep that nation unmixt and separate: nor can xxxiii. 16. it be excepted against this notion, that in the same chapter xiv. 2. Exod. Deut. vii. 6. 34. SERM. it is enjoined, But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall XXV. be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him Levit. xix. as thyself; for by that ftranger (as the Jewish mafters will interpret it) is meant a profelyte of righteoufness; or one who, although a stranger by birth, was yet a brother in religion, having voluntarily fubmitted to their Law, being engaged in the fame covenant, and thence admitted to the fame privileges, as an adopted child of that holy family. Eph. ii. 14. Gal. iii. 28. Acts x. 36. John iii. 16. But now, such distinctions of men being voided, and that wall of partition demolished, all the world is become one people; fubject to the laws of one common Lord; and capable of the mercies purchased by one Redeemer. Tit. iii. 4. God's love to mankind did move him to fend our Lord into the world, to affume human nature, and therein to become 1 Tim ii. 5. a mediator between God and men. Our Lord's kindness to all his brethren difpofed him to undertake their fal1 John ii. 2. vation, and to expiate their fins, and to taste death for every man; the effect whereof is an univerfal reconciliation of God to the world, and an union of mer Heb. ii. 9. 2 Cor. v. 19. Col. i. 20. Eph. i. 10. together. ii. 13. Now the blood of Chrift hath cemented mankind; the favour of God embracing all hath approximated and combined all together; fo that now every man is our brother, not only by nature, as derived from the fame ftock, but by grace, as partaker of the common redemption; now 1 Tim ii. 4. God defiring the falvation of all men, and inviting all men Col. i. 28. to mercy, our duty must be coextended with God's grace, and our charity muft follow that of our Saviour. Tit. ii. 11. We are therefore now to all men, that which one Jew was to another; yea more than fuch, our Christianity having induced much higher obligations, firicter alliances, and stronger endearments, than were thofe, whereby Judaifm did engage its followers to mutual amity. The duties of common humanity (to which our natural frame and sense do incline us, which philofophy recommendeth and natural religion doth prescribe, being grounded upon our community of nature and cognation of blood, upon apparent equity, upon general convenience and utility) our religion doth not only enforce and confirm, but enhance SERM. and improve; fuperadding higher inftances and fafter ties XXV. of spiritual relation, reaching in a fort to all men, (as being in duty, in defign, in remote capacity our fpiritual brethren ;) but in especial manner to all Chriftians, who actually are fellow members of the fame holy fraternity, contracted by fpiritual regeneration from one heavenly feed, supported by a common faith and hope, strengthened 1 Pet. i. 23. by communion in acts of devotion and charity. ii. 17. 12. Hereon therefore are grounded thofe evangelical com- . mands, explicatory of this Law as it now ftandeth in force; that as we have opportunity we should do good unto all Gal. vi. 10. men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith; that we should abound in love one towards another, and 1 Theff. iii. towards all men; that we should glorify God in our pro-2 Cor. ix. feffed fubjection unto the Gospel of Chrift, by liberally dif- 12, 13. tributing to the faints, and to all men; that we should follow peace with all men, fhould be patient toward all Heb. xii. men; and gentle toward all men, and shew all meekness Theff. v. toward all men; and ever follow that which is good both 14. among ourselves, and to all men; that we should fupplications, intercessions, and thanksgivings for all men, vai especially for all faints, or all our fellow Chriftians; and wgòs wúva exprefs moderation, or ingenuity, to all men. 24. 1 Tit. iii. 2 make 1 The v. 15. τας. 1Tim. ii. 1. Luke x, 29. Such is the object of our charity; and thus did our 24. Lord himself expound it, when by a Jewish lawyer being Eph. vi. 18. put to refolve this question, And who is my neighbour? he "Phili 5. did propound a cafe, or history, whereby he did extort may from that Rabbi this confeffion, that even a Samaritan, dif-vers &δὲν ἄλλο ἐστ charging a notable office of humanity and mercy to a TJew, did thereby most truly approve himself a good s neighbour to him; and confequently that reciprocal per- &c. Juft. formances of fuch offices were due from a Jew to a Samaritan; whence it might appear, that this relation of 320. neighbourhood is univerfal and unlimited. So much for the object. II. As for the qualification annexed and couched in those words, as thyself; that, as I conceive, may import both a rule declaring the nature, and a measure determin λογικὸν ζῶον, Mart, contr. Tryph. p. |