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ftand by him, when any Danger appears; and confequently hath never arriv'd to the Perfection of Love, nor will ever find the Comfort and Reward of it.

But is Love then accompanied with, no kind of Fear? Are we not bid to fear God, as well as to love him? And may not these well enough confift together? Is not Perfection afcrib'd as much to the Fear as to the Love of God? And why then must these caft out or exclude each other? In answer to this we may note, that there is,

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It, A base cowardly Fear, that fhrinks from all Trouble, and will run no hazards for the beloved Object: and fuch a Fear as that, is void of all true Love, and is utterly inconsistent with it. And there is,

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adly, A prudent and cautious Fear, that prevents needlefs Trouble, and preferves from unneceffary Dangers and this may very well confift with true Love, and indeed ought to go with it; for we are bid to be wife as Serpents, to avoid all unneceffary Danger and Trouble; and alfo harmless as Daves, which are Emblems of Love and Innocence. fide, we may obferve farther a fervile Fear, which is the Fear of Slaves and Vaffals, who do nothing but from a Dread of Punishment, or Fear of the Lafh: and this like-wife is void of all true Love, and is caft out by it. As alfo a filial Fear, which is the Fear of Sons or Children towards their Parents, who are afraid of offending them, and watchful againft all Occafions of it; and this is not only confiftent with Love, but is a good Sign and Effect of it.

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This is the Love that we owe unto God, and is indeed the mere Duty of Gratitude; for he began with us, and when we were Enemies to him, that deferv'd nothing but Wrath and Vengeance, he fent his Son to die for us, and reconcile us to himfelf: for which reafon (as St. John tells us in the next words) we may well enough love him, because he first loved us. Love, we fay, is the Loadstone of Love, that draws very strongly, and by an invisible Influence conftrains us to return it; but the unparallel'd Inftances of the Divine Love fhould powerfully move and excite our Affections, and kindle the warmeft Flames of Love in our breasts towards God. And this, as we have before feen, is to be exprefs'd by our Love to the Brethren; infomuch (as the Apostle here adds) If a Man fay, I love God and hateth his Brother, he is a Lyar: for he that loveth not his Brother, whom he hath Jeen, how can he love God whom he hath not feen? The Love of God and our Neigh

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bour are infeparable, being the two great Commandments, that are often link'd and join'd together, as we read, Mat. 22. 38, 39. And he that would put them afunder by pretending to love the one without the other, doth but falfify and deceive both himself and others: for 'tis impoffible truly to love God, and not to do as he bids; especially in fo reasonable a Command, as fhewing Kindness to those who are fo nearly ally'd both to him and us. He that loves another, will fhew fome Regard to his Children, and Friends, and fuch as appertain to him, for his fake: And if we love God as we ought, we fhall exprefs it to those that bear his Image and belong to him. Likeness is a usual Caufe and Motive of Love, and God having made Man in his own Likeness, and in the fame Likeness to each other, we should be thereby mov'd to love God and one another.

Moreover, Sight and Converfation are apt to breed Love and Friendship; it being much easier to love one, whom we daily behold and converfe with, than one that we never faw. And hence the Apostle argues, that if a Man loves not his Brother, whom he daily fees, he cannot love God, whom he never faw.

From all which the beloved Difciple concludes with these words, And this Commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God, loves his Brother alfo. Both of them are enjoin'd by the fame Authority, and he that violates the one, is guilty of the Breach of the other.

This is briefly the Senfe and Sum of this Day's Epiftle, which breathes out nothing but Love to God in the firft place; whofe tranfcendent Greatness in himself, and Good. nefs to his Creatures, may juftly challenge and exact it from us. To our Brethren and Neighbours, in the next place, whofe Affinity in Nature and Blood doth likewife require it. There is implanted in us a natural Difpofition to love thofe of the fame kind: we fee fomething of it among brute Beafts, who agree well enough among themfelves; and we must be more favage than they, if we hate and prey upon one another. Again,

There is a great deal of folid and fubftantial Pleasure in loving and doing good to one another; 'tis a Divine and God-like thing, and nothing makes us more like, or more acceptable to him, it chears the Mind with fuch an inward Peace and Tranquillity, as far exceed all fenfual Pleasures and Delights..

Finally,

Finally, Love will be attended at laft, with an ample and everlasting Reward, and fill the Soul with Joy unfpeakable and full of Glory: It will draw the Affections of God to us, and fix them fo, that we fhall live for ever in the unquenchable Flames of the Divine Love. Indeed the Love of God and our Brother, is the beft Qualification for those heavenly Manfions, where Love reigns, and is advanc'd to its higheft Perfection; to which if we ever hope to come, we muft, as Chrift hath given commandment, love one another: for there no Hatred, Malice, or Difcord enter; nothing but perfect Love and Amity can inhabit in thofe pure and happy Regions. For which therefore let us prepare our felves by an unfeign'd Love to God and the Brethren.

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The GOSPEL for the First Sunday after Trinity, St. Luke xvi. 19, to the end.

There was a certain rich Man, who was clothed in Purple and fine Linen, and fared fumptuously every Day. And there was a certain Beggar, nam'd Lazarus, who was laid at his Gate full of Sores, and defiring to be fed with the Crumbs that fell from the rich Man's Table: Moreover, the Dogs came and lick'd his Sores, &c.

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N the Epiftle for this Day, St. Joha had been preffing by fundry Arguments, taken from the Nature, the Precepts, and the Example of God himself, the great Duty of brotherly Love, to be exprefs'd in all Acts of Humanity and Charity. And here in the Gospel for the Day, St. Luke fets forth the extreme Danger of neglecting this Duty, or cafting it off by Hardheartedness and Inhumanity. And this he doth here in these words; There was a certain rich Man, &c. The Words are understood by fome

as a Hiftory, by others, and that the greater Number, as a Parable, wherein are fymbolically reprefented the diffe rent State and Condition of good and bad Men in the next World; that is, the great Miferies that will follow abus'd Profperity, and likewife the unfpeakable Comforts that attend an honeft, humble, and afflicted Poverty: Both which are here plainly fet forth. Where we are to confider,

First, The Perfons here related, and they are Dives and Lazarus, the poor and the rich Man: with the different Carriage and Behaviour of each, And,

Secondly, The different Fate or End of both: which things contain the Substance and Design of this Parable.

Firft then, The Parable begins with an Account of a cerrain rich Man, nam'd Dives, who was clothed in Purple and fine Linen, and far'd fumptuously every Day: which is a brief Defcription of one fwimming in all manner of Plenty and Luxury; and deck'd in all the Gaiety and Gallantry that Gaiety a this World can afford; his Apparel confifting of Purple, the Clothing of Princes; and fine Linen, the gorgeous Attire of Courts and Palaces. Accordingly Babylon with its Riches is defcrib'd by a great City cloth'd in fine Linen, and Purple, and Scarlet, and deck'd with Gold, and precious Stones and Pearls, Rev. 18. 16. For his Diet, that is defcrib'd by his faring fumptuously every Day; meaning, that his Table was daily pred with all manner of rich and costly Provifions, the Air, the Sea, and the Land were ranfack'd to furnish him with all forts of Dainties and Varieties. In a word, both his Difhes and his Dreffes were fet forth with the utmost Pomp and Bravery, all which he enjoy'd and indulg'd himself in, without the leaft Regard to, or Relief of the Wants and Neceflities of others. Again,

The next Verfe tells us, of a certain Beggar nam'd Lazarus, who was laid at his Gate full of Sores, and defiring to be fed with the Crumbs that fell from the rich Man's Table: Moreover, the Dogs came and lick'd his Sores. This is a Defcription of one finking under the greatest Burden of earthly Mifery and Diftrefs, and groaning under the pinching Neceflities of Hunger and Thirst: his Body full of Sores, and yet expos'd to the fharp and open Air, without any Friend to fuccour or help him; infomuch that the very Dogs

Dogs came and lick'd his Sores; his Flefh pining away for lack of the Crumbs that fell from the Rich Man's Table, and having nothing to fatisfy the Wants and Cravings of his Nature. This poor Man in this fad Condition was laid. at the rich Man's Gate, in hopes of fome Relief; but found none from that hard-hearted Wretch, tho his Defires were fo modeft, as to ask only for Crumbs to comfort and fupport him yea, the very Dogs that ate the Crumbs under the Table, fhew'd more Compaflion than he, for they came and lick'd his Sores, when the Master fhew'd no manner of Pity.

By which we fee the different and unequal Fortunes, States and Conditions of Men in this World, fome flowing in all manner of Affluence and Plenty, and others labouring under the Calamities of Want and Scarcity and likewife the different Tempers and Difpofitions of Men here, fome commiferating and relieving, others flighting and turning the deaf Ear to the loudeft Cries and Wants of the Needy: both which are fo well known, as to need no infifting on. But,

Secondly, What follow'd hereupon? Why, the next words acquaint us, that the Beggar foon after died. Perhaps starv'd with Hunger, and perifhing for lack of Neceffaries: but however that be, the poor Man was carry'd by Angels into Abraham's Bofom; the place of Reft and Peace, where the Souls of good Men go after Death, and remain till the Refurrection and Day of Judgment: call'd fometimes Paradife, where our Saviour's Soul, with that of the penitent Thief, went after their Crucifixion; and here 'tis call'd Abraham's Bofom, a Manfion for those bleffed Souls, that depart hence in the Lord, where they reft from their Labours, and abide in a comfortable. Expectation of farther Blifs and Glory and this our Saviour foretold should be the Portion of found Believers, to fit down with Abraham, &c, Mat, 8. 11, &c.

And it came to pass (faith the Parable) that the Rich Man alfo died and was buried, Death is the common Lot of all Mankind; Poor and Rich, Bafe and Honourable, none are exempted from that fatal Stroke, but all meet in the Houfe appointed for all the living. There the Duft of one Man will not give place to the Duft of another, but all lie promifcuoufly mingled and fhuffled together; and they who have fared moft deliciously, become but the fatter Feast for

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