about things to come, than about things present. And this is the great subject of conversation. Even the weakest minds must descant upon all things; as if the weakest capacities could judge of the greatest matters, by a strange levelling of understandings, more absurd and irrational than that of fortunes! Most men are beside themselves, never at home, but always roving. It is true, a man may live in solitude to little purpose, as Domitian catching flies in his closet. Many noisome thoughts break in upon one when alone; so that when one converseth with himself, it had need be said, Vide ut sit cum bono viro. A man alone shall be in worse company than are in all the world, if he bring not into him better company than himself or all the world, which is, the followship of God and the Holy Spirit. Yet, the matters of the Church seem to concern all, and so indeed they do; but every sober man must say, all truths are not alike clear, alike necessary, nor of alike concernment to every one. Christians should keep within their line. Whether it be the will of our Great Master, that the order that hath been so long in the Church continue in it, or not, What is that to thee? It is certainly a great error, to let our zeal run out from the excellent things of religion, to matters which have little or no connexion with them. A man, though he err, if he do it calmly and meekly, may be a better man than he who is stormy and furiously orthodox. Our business is to follow JESUS, and to trace his life upon earth, and to wait his return in the clouds. Had I a strong voice, as it is the weakest alive, yea, could I lift it up as a trumpet, I would sound a retreat from our unnatural contentions and irreligious strivings for religion. Oh! what are the things we fight for, compared to the great things of God? There must be a great abatement of the inwards of religion, when it runs wholly to a scurf. God forbid any should think, that except all be according to our mind, we must break the bond of peace. If we have no kindness to our brethren, yet, let us have pity on our mother, and not tear her bowels. And indeed, next to the grave and the silent shades of death, a cottage in some wilderness is to be wished for, to mourn for the pride and passion of mankind. How do the profane wretches take advantage from our breaches! But, if there be such here, because of the weakness, folly, and passions of some men, is it folly to follow Jesus? Are some ridiculous, and for that, will you turn religion into ridicule ? If you do, it will at least turn to a Sardonic laughter. Because we contend for a little, is the whole an invention? Will the pillars be brangled, because of the swarms of flies that are about them? There is an Eternal Mind that made all things, that stretched out the heavens, and formed the spirit of man within him, Let us tremble before Him, and love the Lord Jesus. Our souls have indelible characters of their own excellency in them and deep apprehensions of another state, wherein we shall receive according to what we have done upon earth. Was not Jesus, the Son of God, declared to be such by his miracles, but chiefly by his resurrection from the dead? Hath there not been received and transmitted to us, through all ages many martyrs following him through racks and fires, and their own blood, to his glory? And shall we throw off all these? Better be the poorest, weakest, and most distempered person upon earth, with the true fear of God, than the greatest wit and highest mind in the world, if profane, or, though not such, if void of any just or deep sense of the fear of God, For a living dog is better than a dead lion. Some religious persons are perhaps weak persons, yet, in all ages, there have been greater nobles and more generous souls truly religious, than ever were in the whole tribe of atheists and libertines. Let us therefore follow the holy Jesus. Our own concernments concern us not, compared to this. What is that to thee? may be said of all things besides this. All the world is one great impertinency to him who contemplates God and his Son Jesus. Great things, coaches, furniture, or houses, concern the outward pomp or state of the world, but not the necessities of life; neither can they give ease to him that is pinched with any one trouble. He that hath twenty houses, lies but in one at once. He that hath twenty dishes on his table, hath but one belly to fill. So it is, ad supervacua sudatur. All are uncertain: sudden storms fall on, and riches fly away as a bird to heaven, and leave those who look after them, sinking to hell in sorrow. A Christian is solicitous about nothing. If he be raised higher, it is that he desires not: if he fall down again, he is where he was. A well-fixed mind, though the world should crack about him, shall be in quiet. But when we come to be stretched on our death-bed, things will have another visage. It will pull the rich from his treasure, strip the great of his robes and glory, and snatch the amorous gallant from his fair, beloved mistress, and from all we either have or grasp at. Only sin will stick fast and follow us. Those black troops will clap fatal arrests on us, and deliver us over to the jailor. Are these contrivances, or the dark dreams of melancholy? All the sublimities of holiness may be arrived at, by the deep and profound belief of these things. Let us, therefore, ask, Have we walked thus, and dressed our souls by this pattern? But this hath a nearer aspect to pastors, who should be copies of the fair original, and second patterns, who follow nearer Christ. They should be imitating him in humility, meekness, and contempt of the world, and particularly, in affection to souls, feeding the flock of God. Should we spare labour when he spared not his own blood? How precious must the sheep be, who were bought at so high a rate as the blood of God! Oh, for more of this divine and evangelic heat, instead of our distempered heat. This is the substance of religion, to imitate Him whom we worship. Can there be a higher or nobler de sign in the world, than to be God-like, and like Jesus Christ? He became like us, that we might be the more like him. He took our nature upon him, that he might transfuse his into us. His life was a track of doing good, and suffering ill. He spent the days in preaching and healing, and often the nights in prayers. He was holy, harmless, and undefiled, and separate from sinners. How then can heirs of wrath follow the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world? Humility, meekness, and charity were the darling virtues of Christ. He came to expiate and to extirpate our pride; and when that Majesty did so humble himself, shall a worm swell? No grace can be where the mind is so swelled with this airy tumour. He was meek, and reviled not again; nor did he vent his anger, though he met with the greatest injuries. The rack of his cross could make him confess no anger against those who were draining him of his life and blood: all he did, was, to pray for them. Charity was so dear to him, that he recommended it as the characteristic by which all might know his disciples, if they loved one another. But alas! by this may all know we are not his disciples, because we hate one another. But that we may imitate him in his life, we must run the backtrade, and begin with his death, and must die with him. Love is a death. He that loves, is gone and lost in God, and can esteem or take pleasure in nothing besides Him. When the bitter cup of the Father's wrath was presented to our Lord, one drop of this elixir of love and union to the Father's will, sweetened it so, that he drank it over without more complaining. This death of Jesus mystically acted in us, must strike down all things else, and he must become our all. Oh, that we would resolve to live to him that died, and to be only his, and All else will be quickly humbly to follow the crucified Jesus! gone. How soon will the shadows that now amuse us, and please our eyes, fly away! SERMON XXIX. MATTHEW Xxii. 37, 39. Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. THE wisdom and meekness of our Saviour is the more remark able, and shines the brighter, by the malice of his adversaries; and their cavils and tempting questions, occasion our benefit and instruction. Thus was it here. We see, the words are the sum of the whole Law, and they are taken out of the book of the Law. They are are called two commandments: the former is the sum of the first, the latter, of the second table. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God. That is, says our Saviour, the first and great commandment. Our first obligation is to God, and then, through Him and for His sake, to men. The second is like unto it.] Seems it not rather contrary than like to the former? Whereas in the former, the whole stream of love is directed in one undivided current towards God, this other commandment seems to cut out a new channel for it, and to turn a great part of it to men: Thy neighbour as thyself. No, they are not contrary, if we take them right; yea, they do not only agree, but are inseparable. They do not divide our love, but they set it in its right course; first, wholly to God, as the sovereign good, and only for Himself worthy to be loved; and then, back from Him, it is, according to His own will, derived downwards to our neighbour. For then only we love both ourselves and others aright, when we make our love to Him the reason and the rule of both *. So then, our **Minus euim te amat, qui aliquid præter te amat, et non propter te. Incipiat homo amare Deum, et non amabit in homine nisi Deum. [AUGUSTINE], VOL. III. 2 E |