SERMON XXV. OF THE LOVE OF OUR NEIGHBOUR. MATTH. xxii. 39. And the fecond is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. THE effential goodness of God, and his special benig- SERM. nity toward mankind, are to a confidering mind divers ways very apparent; the frame of the world, and the natural course of things, do with a thousand voices loudly and clearly proclaim them to us; every sense doth yield us affidavit to that speech of the holy Pfalmift, The earth Pfal. xxxiii. is full of the goodness of the Lord: we fee it in the glo- 5. cxix. 64. rious brightness of the fkies, and in the pleasant verdure of the fields; we tafte it in the various delicacies of food, supplied by land and fea; we fmell it in the fragrances of herbs and flowers; we hear it in the natural mufic of the woods; we feel it in the comfortable warmth of heaven, and in the cheering freshness of the air; we continually do poffefs and enjoy it in the numberless accommodations of life, prefented to us by the bountiful hand of nature. Of the fame goodness we may be well affured by that common providence which continually doth uphold us in our being, doth opportunely relieve our needs, doth protect us in dangers, and refcue us from imminent mischiefs, doth comport with our infirmities and mifdemeanours; SERM. the which, in the divine Pfalmift's ftyle, doth hold our foul XXV. in life, and fuffereth not our feet to be moved; doth redeem Pfal. lxvi. 9. our life from deftruction; doth crown us with loving-kindIvi. 18. ciii. nefs, and tender mercies. 4. cxlv. 16. Luke x. 27. The difpenfations of grace, in the revelation of heavenly truth, in the overtures of mercy, in the fuccours of our weakness, in the propofal of glorious rewards, in all the methods and means conducing to our falvation, do afford most admirable proofs and pledges of the fame immenfe benignity. But in nothing is the divine goodness toward us more illuftriously confpicuous, than in the nature and tendency of thofe laws which God hath been pleased, for the regulation of our lives, to prefcribe unto us, all which do palpably evidence his serious defire and provident care of our welfare; fo that, in impofing them, he plainly doth not fo much exercife his fovereignty over us, as exprefs his kindness toward us; neither do they more clearly declare his will, than demonftrate his good-will to us. And among all divine precepts this especially, contained in my text, doth argue the wonderful goodness of our heavenly Lawgiver, appearing both in the manner of the proposal, and in the substance of it. The fecond, faith our Lord, is like to it; that is, to the precept of loving the Lord our God with all our heart: and is not this a mighty argument of immense goodness in God, that he doth in such a manner commend this duty to us, coupling it with our main duty toward him, and requiring us with like earnestness to love our neighbour as to love himself? He is transcendently amiable for the excellency of his nature; he, by innumerable and inestimable benefits graciously conferred on us, hath deserved our utmost affection; so that naturally there can be no obligation bearing any proportion or confiderable semblance to that of loving him: yet hath he in goodness been pleased to create one, and to endue it with that privilege; making the love of a man (whom we cannot value but for his gifts, to whom we can owe nothing but what properly we owe to him) no less 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 correspondence, all our mind and heart, all our ftrength and endeavour, are due: and reasonably might he engross them to himself, excluding all other beings from any share in them; fo that we might be obliged only to fix our thoughts and set our affections on him, only to act directly for his honour and intereft; faying with the holy Pfalmift, Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is Pfal. Ixxiii. 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 so 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 difpenfeth 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 otherwise 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 befide the fovereign, 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 divineft law of love to God is the fairest character that can be affigned of a law: the which indeed reprefenteth it to be vóμ Baciλixòs as St. James calleth it; that is, a royal and Jam. ii. 8. sovereign law; exalted above all others, and bearing a fway 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 fcope 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 confum1 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 fpecial cognizance of John xiii. his followers, By this fhall 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; it produceth the like fruits of beneficence toward others, 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 ufe and confequence toward the regulation of our practice, and due management of our 7, 11. Matt. v. 45. 1, 2. whole life in fuch refpects, I fay, this law is like to the SERM. other; but it is however chiefly fo for that God hath XXV. pleased 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 demonftration of his immenfe 21. goodness toward us. But no lefs in the very fubftance of this duty will the benignity of him that prescribeth it shine forth, displaying itself in the rare beauty and sweetness of it; together with the vast benefit and utility, which it, being obferved, will yield to mankind; which will appear by what we may difcourfe for preffing its obfervance. 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 speaketh, from the com- Eph. ii. 12. monwealth of Ifrael, and strangers 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 supposed to stand 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 fame chapter xiv. 2. Exod. Deut. vii. 6. |