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hibits all private Revenge, referving the Office of Vengeance entirely to the publick Magiftrate, who is God's Avenger, and is poffeffed of the Sword of Justice for the Punishment of evil Doers. But,

Secondly, I take our Saviour's chief Design here, to be the instructing of his Difciples in that better way, namely, the way of Patience and Forgiveness, that they should not only abstain from taking Satisfaction themselves, but also forbear feeking and profecuting the legal Satisfaction before the Judges, which in ftrictness of Juftice is lawful. This is certainly the Meaning of these Words, But I fay unto you, that ye refift not the evil or injurious Man; efpecially if we confider the feveral Inftances of thefe forts of Injuries immediately mentioned, bodily Injuries by fmiting on the Cheek; Injuries in our Eftate, by taking away our Coat; and Injuries in point of Liberty, by compelling us to go a Mile; all which our Saviour advises us to bear, though with the hazard of having a second Injury offered us, rather than avenge.

But because this Doctrine is liable to very great Exceptions, and therefore may be judged improbable by fome, to be the true Senfe of our Saviour, however favoured by the Letter of the Words; I fhall therefore briefly confider, both the Inconveniencies and Conveniencies of it, after I have first added an Obfervation or two, tending to the better Explication of it.

The first Thing I would obferve, is, that our Saviour in thefe Words, But I fay unto you, that ye refift not Evil, is preparing his Difciples, that is, all Chriftians, for that State of Perfecution which

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he knew they were to meet with in the World; q. d. Although this Privilege was allowed the Jews, that when they were injured, they might repair to the Magiftrate, who was to do them right upon their Adverfary, according to the Proportion of Wrong they had fuffered from him; Life for Life, Eye for Eye, Tooth for Tooth; yet ye, my Difciples, are to expect no fuch thing; I foretell you that Perfecution fhall be your Lot, without any Privilege of Retaliation; and therefore ye are to prepare your felves to bear Injuries, without either avenging your felves perfonally, or expecting that the Magiftrate will avenge you in the way of publick Juftice. And if this be the Senfe, (as it is highly probable) then this Doctrine of fuffering all manner of Injuries without Reparation, relates chiefly to Chriftians under a State of Perfecution, when the Laws and Magistrates are against them, but not to Christians who enjoy the Protection of Laws and Government; for no doubt they may be righted by thofe Laws, as well as the Jews under the Law of Mofes. So that our Lord is here only preparing Chriftians for what was then immediately, and often afterwards, like to be their Lot, namely, the State of Perfecution.

But then there is another thing I must likewife obferve, which will justify this Doctrine, though it should be extended to all times of the Church; profperous as well as adverse, peaceable as well as perfecuted; namely, that the Injuries here mentioned, are fuch as were reckoned the fmaller fort of Injuries, fuch as none but a litigious Perfon would go to Law for; and fome of thefe too, Injuries inflicted by the Opprefliveness

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[SERM. of the Law itself, in both which Cafes we may fafely pronounce that Retaliation is prohibited. First, I fay, in the cafe of light, tolerable Injuries; for to feek to right our felves by Law for fuch, fhews a very impatient litigious Spirit; and befides, the Remedy is worse than the Disease, it being much easier to bear with small Injuries, than to undergo the Charge and Trouble of righting our felves by Law. But then, Secondly, if the Injury is fuch as is brought upon us by Courfe of Law, as no doubt there be many fuch; one inftance of which, is this taking away the Coat by Suit at Law in the Text, then there remains nothing but Patience; for the refifting the Laws, or the Judges, and Magiftrates, in the Execution of them, though they happen to err, and to be guilty of Acts of Hardship and Oppreffion to particular Men, is certainly unlawful in itself, and prohibited by our Saviour to all Chriftians.

Having premised these Obfervations, for the better understanding of our Saviour's Doctrine in the Text, I come now, as I propofed, briefly to confider the Inconveniencies and Conveniencies of it, the better to reconcile it to the Reafon and current Opinions of Mankind. The present Inconveniencies of fuffering a light Injury, can be but small to the injured Perfon, confifting all in a little Self-denial, and Mortification of his Pride and Paffion, which are much more tolerable than what follow upon the ways of Contention. And as to the future Inconveniencies; whereas fome may be apt to fufpect that the patient bearing of one Injury, may invite another, I believe it will be found quite otherwise, that the revenging of one

Injury brings on another; the one is like the withdrawing of Fewel or combustible Matter, which will foon put out the Fire; and the other is continually furnishing fresh Fewel, mixed with Oil and Gunpowder, and fuch enflaming Materials, as are apt to spread the Fire of Contention, but not to extinguish it.

So I am led infenfibly to the third thing in our Saviour's Doctrine, which is his obviating of an Objection very natural to be started, namely, that this way of Patience will expofe us to be abused and affronted ftill more and more, when Men know they can do it unpunished. Our Saviour answers this Objection very briefly, by advising us to venture the being further injured, the turning the other Cheek, the lofing the Cloak as well as the Coat, the going two Miles instead of one, rather than flying to Revenge or Retaliation. For this I take to be the Meaning of all these Expreffions, that we should rather venture the receiving of a fecond Injury, than revenge the firft; for the Words are not to be interpreted literally, the turning of the Cheek being a proverbial Phrafe for expofing one's felf to an Injury, and patiently bearing it; fo Lam. iii. 30. He giveth his Cheek to him that fmiteth him, i. e. he patiently beareth Injuries and Affronts. But that it is not to be understood literally, when we are smitten on one Cheek, that we are to turn the other, appears from the Examples of our Saviour and of St Paul, who did not turn the other Cheek when they were smitten. Now that we had better venture the fuffering a fecond Injury, than revenge the firft, will appear, if we confider thefe two Things. 1. That the Evil of Suffering is not to

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[SERM. be compared with the Evil of Sin. The Preparation of the Mind to bear a fecond Injury, can at worst expose us only to the Evil of Suffering; but the Study of Revenge exposes us exceedingly to the Evil of Sin. 2. Even as to the Evil of fuffering Injuries, the not revenging pacifies the Wrath of the Adverfary, and fo makes an end of the Strife; but retaliating of Injuries perpetuates Strife, because then they study who fhall have the laft ill Word, and who fhall do the laft ill Action.

III. I come now, in the laft Place, as I propofed, to answer fome Doubts and Objections which rife from this Doctrine and to make Application of it. There are many Doubts of great Confequence have been started, and many dan gerous Errors have been broached from this Doctrine of our Saviour's mifunderstood and mifinterpreted; and these not fpeculative, but practical Errors, which are therefore the more neceffary to be guarded against.

1. First, From this Doctrine of not refifting Evil, or the evil and injurious Man, fome have inferred the Unlawfulness of Self-Defence in any Cafe whatsoever. But this Doubt may quickly be removed, by confidering the Force of the Original Word, as it is explained by the most fkilful in that Language; for it doth not fignify to defend, but to refift by way of Revenge; and therefore I conclude, that it is not lawful Defence, but Revenge, or retaliating Injury for Injury, which is here prohibited; the fame which St Paul calls rendring Evil for Evil.

2. Secondly, There are fome Enthusiasts, Quakers, and Anabaptifts, who, from this Doctrine, conclude

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