every other good one man ought to do to another, is a thing extrinfecal to man as man, and depends as to the Obligation thereto, on prudential Motives, or mutual Confent explicit or implicit, or formal Contracts, for the Prefervation or Comfort of the animal Life, and is not fo much as to be abfolutely prayed for, even for our felves, (Sect. 15. Par. 3.) and then certainly, not of neceffity to be abfolutely wifhed or done to others, as their final good Eftate, and what neceffarily conduceth to the obtaining of it, evermore are.

8. Seeing then to love a mans Neighbour as himself is heartily to wifh and defire that he may enjoy the fame neceffary good with himfelf, and to contribute his Affiftance, when occafion requires, to the furthering thereof, and that eternal Felicity is that neceffary good confifting in the perfect Love of God, (Sect. 4. Par. 13.) it is plain, that in heartily wishing and endeavouring allo (when occafion ferves) that our Neighbour may attain to the fincere Love of God here, and the perfect Love of God hereafter, We love our Neighbour as our felves, and thereby keep all the fix last Commandments.

9. And forafmuch as no man can poffibly heartily wish to another either Grace or Glo

ry,

but because of his own real defire thereto for himself first,had, it is manifeft, that he who loves his Neighbour as himself, doth evermore firft, (at leaft in order of nature) love God as his chiefeft Good.

3

10. And because the fincere Love of God or Charity is formal Righteousness, and that formal Righteoufnefs doth formally juftifie (Sect. 11. Par. 8.) it directly follows that a man is formally Righteous or juftified before (in order of Nature at least) he love his Neighbour as himself, and consequently that the Love of our Neighbour is not any part of formal Righteousness, but a neceffary Effect and Confequent thereof; which will farther appear to be a Truth from hence, that as on the one fide, he who defires and endeavours by his Council and Prayers his Neighbours Felicity, though he never attain thereto, performs his Duty to him, and thereby fulfils the Precepts of the latter Table, if fo be he did them for the Love he bears to God, because fuch Love doth juftifie, fo on the other fide, that he, who for Lucres fake, or for Oftentation of his Parts, or the like unworthy End, by rightly inftructing his Neighbour and advising him well, truly converts him to God, is no more righteous thereby, than

if

if he had done him no good at all; fo that it is neither by reason of the Benefit which befalls a mans Neighbour by his Endeavours for his good; nor by reason of the Endea vours themselves, but because of the true Love of God in the Heart exciting him to profit his Neighbour,in reference to Salvation, what he can, that a man is juftified. Yea, that Love we owe to our Neighbour is of a different Kind or Species, from that wherewith we love God, the former being the Love of Benevolence, the latter the Love of Complacency; for we do not make our Neighbour the Object of Felicity, or any coordinate part thereof with God; but defire that he may enjoy the fame Object together with us, which will make us both for ever happy.

Object. 3. If formal Righteousness, or the fulfilling of the whole Moral Law confists in the fincere Love of God, and not at all in the loving a man's Neighbour as himself, it should feem that the Love to a man's Neigh bour is not abfolutely neceffary to Salvation, because a juftified Perfon, if he depart this World in that Condition, cannot at last fail of being for ever bleffed.

Solut. When a man has attained to the fincere Love of God himfelf, and knows

(as he cannot otherwife chufe but do from the Light of Nature) that he ought in a matter of neceffary Concern to do as he would be done unto; and that eternal Felicity is fuch to all others, as well as to himfelf; he muft, except he'l contradict his own Thoughts, and forfake his true Love to God, wish, and promote likewife (when opportunity ferves) his Neighbours Felicity; which evidently makes it out, that a man cannot poffibly be faved unless he love his Neighbour as himself. At length then it fufficiently appears in general, that the formal reason of keeping the fix laft Precepts of the Decalogue, as well as the four first, is placed in that Charity, which is the Love of God above all things; and by confequence, that in the Privation of that Love is the formal Breach of the whole Moral Law; the truth of both which, as to the fix laft Commandments,fhall (for clearer evidence) be in particular explicated and declared in the next Section.

SECT

SECT. XIX.

There is not any one Precept of the latter Table of the Decalogue truly kept, but when it is obferved out of Love to God; nor is there a real Breach of any of them, but when the Soul is either deprived of the Love of God, or has the fame abated and weakned in it, by the Omiffion of fomething which is required, or by the Commiffion of fomething which is forbidden.

I.

"TH

HE fifth Commandment of the Decalogue, or firft of the Second Table, is, Honour thy Father and Mother; where by Father and Mother I take to be understood, according to the ufual Paraphrafe, not our natural Parents only, but the Father of our Country alfo, and those whom he sets over us in the Civil Magistracy, as likewife our Spiritual Fathers, and other Inftructers in good Literature and Virtue. All and every one of thefe we are by this Precept bound to honour; which is, if the act be internal, to acknowledg and own in our Minds an Excellency or Eminency in the Perfon to be honoured above our felves;