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1 Cor. xiii.

5, 7.

his credit and good name, as in his other goods, (for they perhaps may be as much valued by him, may really be of as much confequence to him, as any thing that he hath ;) which bindeth us to abstain from hurting him, as Prov. x. 12. well in word as in deed; how oppofite they are to charity, which obligeth us to think the best of our neighbour, and to endeavour that others alfo may do fo; to conceal his real faults and blemishes; much more not to devife and affix falfe ones to him, not to gather and difperfe ill reports to his prejudice; of how mifchievous confequence also they are, breeding ill-will, and sowing Prov. xvi. ftrife in all focieties both public and private, (even separating chief friends, as the Wife Man telleth us,) common fenfe and experience do fhew: they consequently must be very odious in the fight of God, who loveth the peace and welfare of men; and very offenfive to men, who do the mischiefs springing from them.

28.

11.

Pfal. xv. 2.

To this law may be reduced our obligations to be candid in our opinions and difcourfes concerning others, (ac1 Cor, xiii. cording to St. Paul's excellent description of charity ;) to forbear all rash and harfh cenfure, as you know our Saviour in his moft divine fermon on the Mount chargeth us; to be veracious, fincere, and faithful in all our converfation; which duties are so often taught and preffed Levit. xix. in both Teftaments: Ye shall not, faith the Law, steal, nor deal falfely, nor lie one to another; and, To walk uprightly, and work righteoufnefs, and Speak the truth from his heart, are the first lineaments in the good man's character Zech. vii. drawn by the Pfalmift; and, These are the things ye fhall do, faith God in the Prophet; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and Eph. iv. 25. peace in your gates: and in the New Teftament, To lay Col. iii. 9. afde lying, to speak the truth every man with his neigh1 Pet. ii. 1. bour; to lay afide all malice, all guile, all hypocrifies, envyings, and backbitings, are apoftolical commands.

16.

mandment.

Thou shalt not cover thy Neighbour's House; thoux. Comhalt not cover the Neighbour's Wife; nor his Man-fervant, noz his Paid-servant, noz his Dr, noz his Als, noz anp thing that is thy Neighbour's.

19.

THIS law is comprehenfive and recapitulatory, as it were, of the reft concerning our neighbour, prescribing univerfal juftice toward him; (whence St. Mark, it seems, meaneth to render it in one word, by un áяоσтерhops, de- Mark x. 19. prive not, or bereave not your neighbour of any thing ;) and this not only in outward deed and dealing, but in inward thought and defire, the spring whence they do iffue forth, (for, from the heart, as our Saviour teacheth, do proceed Matt. xv. evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, falfe-1 witnefs, blafphemies;) we are obliged to be fo far from depriving our neighbour of any good thing belonging to him, that we are not fo much as to wish or defire it; not only to abstain from injurious action, but to reprefs covetous inclinations: wherein is alfo implied, that we should have a delight and complacence in our neighbour's good; not envying him any enjoyment; being in our minds content with the portion God pleaseth to vouchfafe us; and entirely trusting in him, that he will supply us with what is needful or befitting to us, without the damage of our neighbour. Thus God's law is, as St. Paul obferved, Spi- Rom. vii. ritual; not only restraining exterior acts, but regulating our inmost thoughts, quelling all inordinate appetites and affections of heart within us; the which may be extended fo as to respect not only matters of juftice toward our neighbour, but all objects whatever of our practice; so as to import that which in the Chriftian law is fo frequently enjoined us, as the life of our religion, circum- Phil. iii. 3. cifing our hearts, crucifying the flesh with its paffions defires, mortifying our earthly members, putting to by the Spirit the deeds of the body, putting off the old which is corrupted according to the deceitful lufts: Ovx èπ¡- Eph. iv. 22.

7, 14.

Rom. ii. 29.

Gal. v. 24.

and Col. ii. 11. death Rom. vi. 6.

Col. iii. 5.

man, ii. 11.

Rom. viii.

Svμnoas, Thou shalt not unlawfully or irregularly defire, doth, according to the spiritual intent, import all this.

I have done; and shall only add, that the fum and end of these, and all other good laws, of all religion, and all our duty, is (as we often are taught in the New Tefta1 Tim. i. 5. ment) comprised in those two rules, of loving God with all our heart, and loving our neighbour as ourselves; seriously and honestly attending unto which, we can hardly fail of knowing what in any cafe our duty is: it remains that we employ our best care and endeavour on the conscientious practice thereof; imploring therewith the affiftance of God's grace, and that good Spirit, which God hath most graciously promised to those who duly ask it, by which alone we can be enabled to keep God's commandments: to him be all glory and praise. Amen.

THE

DOCTRINE

OF

THE SACRAMENTS.

IT is a peculiar excellency of our religion, that it doth Cypr. Ep.

76.

not much employ men's care, pains, and time, about matters of ceremonial obfervance; but doth chiefly (and in a manner wholly) exercise them in works of substantial duty, agreeable to reason, perfective of man's nature, productive of true glory to God, and folid benefit to men. Its defign is not to amufe our fancies with empty fhows, nor to take up our endeavours in fruitless performances; but to render us truly good, and like unto God; first in interior dispofition of mind, then in exterior practice; full of hearty love and reverence to God, of tender charity and goodwill toward men; of moderation and purity in the enjoyment of these things; of all true piety and virtue; whereby we may become qualified for that life of blifs which it tendereth and promiseth; for conversation in that holy society above, to which it defigneth and calleth us. Yet because fancy is naturally a medium, and an It hath, effectual inftrument of action; and because fenfible ob- efpecially jects are apt ftrongly to affect our minds; it hath pleafed gar and the divine Wisdom to apply them, in fit measure, and to minds, a fanctify them to those good purposes, by appointing fome ftrong effifew folemn and fignificant rites to be observed by us, being in their own nature proper and useful, and by God defigned to declare his mind and gracious intents to us; to confign and convey his grace into our fouls, to confirm

upon vul

weaker

cacy,

our faith in him, to raise our devotion toward him, to quicken our refolutions of obeying his will; to enable and excite us to the practice of thofe great duties which he requireth of us; a Our Lord Jefus Chrift, faith St. Austin, hath subjected us to his gentle yoke and light burden; whence, with facraments most few in number, most eafy for obfervance, most excellent in fignification, he bound together the fociety of new people: and, The mercy of God, faith he again, would have religion free, by the celebration of a moft few and moft clear facraments.

Of these there appear two (and St. Austin in the place cited could inftance in no more) of general and principal use, inftituted by our Lord himself; which, because they represent to us fomewhat not fubject to fenfe, and have a secret influence upon us; because what is intended by them is not immediately difcernible by what is done, without fome explication, (their fignificancy being not wholly grounded in the nature, but depending upon arbitrary institution, as that of words, which is of kin to them; whence St. Auftin calls a facrament, Verbum vifibile,) have usually been called mysteries, (that is, actions of a close and occult importance, of deeper meaning and design than is obvious to ordinary perception ;) and thence are also called facraments, for no other reason, I conceive, than because the ancienteft tranflators of the Bible into Latin did usually render the word uus pov by the word facramentum; whence every thing containing under it somewhat of abftruse meaning is by ancient writers termExod. xii. ed a facrament. (So Tertullian calls all Christianity the 26. facrament of Chriftian religion; and Elifha's ax he calls natura di- the facrament of wood; and St. Austin speaks of the faplane excrament of bread, of fish, of numbers, of the rock, &c. In primitur. fhort, he says of all figns, that when they belong to divine

Sacramenti

ferte et

■ Dominus nofter leni jugo fuo nos fubdidit, et farcinæ levi; unde facramentis numero pauciffimis, obfervatione facillimis, fignificatione præftantiffimis focietatem novi populi colligavit: ficut eft baptifmus Trinitatis nomine confecratus, communicatio corporis et fanguinis ipfius; et fi quid aliud in Scripturis canonicis commendatur, &c. Ep. 118. Religionem pauciffimis et manifeftiffimis celebrationum facramentis mifericordia Dei liberam effe voluit. Id. Ep. 119.

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