2. This being the Cafe, that Self-Love leads Men fo much to cultivate Friendships, in order to their own Subfiftence and Security, it follows plainly, that if we go no farther in this Duty of Love, than to direct it to our Friends, and them that love us, we are governed in it, not by Principles of Religion, but by Principles of Self-Love and worldly Intereft: And therefore if we would be fure of our own Sincerity, that we are acted by Confiderations of pure Religion, and an eye to God, it will be neceffary, that to our Love of Friends, and of those that love us, we add the Love of Enemies, of those that hate and perfecute us, that revile us, and do us all the Harm they poffibly can.

By the way, this may account for a pretended Defect, which a late (a) Favourer of Deifm thinks he has discovered in the Gospel, namely, that the Duty of Friendship is not recommended there. For taking off this Afperfion; not to infift now that the Duty of brotherly Love, which is made the Badge and Cognizance of Chriftians, is nothing elfe but an exalted Friendship, as appeared by the Practice of the firft Chriftians, who joined their Hearts, and Souls, Tongues, Pens, Purfes, and Estates, in fuch a firm Friendship, as the World never faw before; not to fay any thing of this, but to confine my felf to my Text; does not the preffing the more exalted Duty of the Love of Enemies, a fortiori, include the Love of Friends? Is not the Love of Friends prefuppofed here as a lower Form of Goodnels, which not

(a) Lord Shaftesbury's Memoirs,

only

[SERM. only the Jews, but even Heathens, went into. It is here approved by our Saviour; only we are commanded not to reft there, but to go on to greater Perfection, even the Love of Enemies. By this false Way of arguing, they might as well pretend, that our Saviour fays nothing against Murder when he condemns all Anger in the Heart, and all Provocations of affronting Words; and they might pretend that he says nothing against Fornication and Adultery, when he condemns the inward Lufting in the Heart; and that he says nothing against Blafphemy and Perjury, when he banishes all Oaths out of our Converfation; for by forbidding the leffer Sins, he doth much more forbid the greater; and by requiring the higher and more perfect Duties, he doth much more require the more common and ordinary ones. But to return from this Digreffion, which yet has not led us one Step out of the Way of the Text, I proceed to

IV. The fourth Thing I obferved from the Words, namely, that upon occafion of any good Thing we fee in others, we fhould ftir up our felves to an holy Emulation to equal or exceed them, as the Principles and Duties of our Religion do require; as here, from the Example of the very Publicans, our Saviour excites us to the highest Degrees of Duty. We are all fo apt to forget what we ought chiefly to mind, that it is a Piece of good Spiritual Husbandry, to take all the Affiftance we can from the Examples of others, to adinonish our felves, and to ftir us up to a more diligent Performance of Duty. Sometimes the very brute Creatures are taken notice of as Patterns of fome kinds of Virtues which Men ne

glect:

glect: So Solomon fends the Sluggard to the Ant, to learn Diligence and Providence, Prov. vi. 6. Go to the Ant thou Sluggard, confider her Ways, and be wife: which having no Guide, Overfeer or Ruler, provideth her Meat in the Summer, and gathereth her Food in the Harvest. So to convince the People of Ifrael of Ingratitude and Inconfideration, God brings in the Examples of the Ox and the Afs, Ifa. i. 3. The Ox knoweth his Owner, and the Afs his Mafter's Crib, but Ifrael doth not know, my People doth not confider. And the Prophet Jeremiah makes ufe of feveral Birds and Fowls, to reprehend Ifrael for neglecting the Time of their Vifitation. Jer. viii. 7. Yea the Stork in the Heaven knoweth her appointed Times, and the Turtle, and the Crane, and the Swallow obferve the Time of their coming; but my People know not the Judgment of the Lord. And fo our Saviour, in the next Chapter, fends us to the Fowls of the Air to learn a chearful Dependance on Providence. Sometimes again we are shamed into our Duty by the Examples of the Heathen World; So fer. ii. 10. Pafs over the Iles of Chittim, and fee; and fend unto Kedar, and confider diligently, and fee if there be fuch a Thing. Hath a Nation changed her Gods, which yet are no Gods? But my People have changed their Glory, for that which doth not profit. And fo in my Text, the Example of the Publicans is made ufe of to shame us into fome higher Degree of Love than theirs, which was the Love of Friends. and the fhewing Courtesy and Civility to their Brethren; that is, all that were of their own Sect and Party. Thus we fee Examples are brought in both for Imitation and Caution; Imitation, as that of the VOL. II. Rechabites,

F f

Rechabites, who payed fuch a Deference to the Commands of their Father Jonadab, as God would have his People pay to his Commands; and Caution, as that of the disobedient Ifraelites, that we may take Warning, and avoid it; Now thefe Things were our Examples, faith St Paul, 1 Cor. x. 6. to the Intent we should not luft after evil Things, as they alfo lufted. Neither be ye Idolaters, as were fome of them. Neither let us commit Fornication, as fome of them committed. Neither let us tempt Chrift, as fome of them alfo tempted. Neither murmur ye, as fome of them alfo murmured. So here, the very Publicans, Men of the lowest Character for moral Goodness, shew Courtesy and Kindness to their own Friends and Party; and therefore let not us Christians reft in that low Degree of Goodnefs, but extend our Charity, Courtesy, and Beneficence to our Enemies. And this leads me to the fifth and last Thing I observed in the Words, namely,

V. That if we would approve our felves true Christians, and if we expect to go to Heaven, we must not content our felves to live like the common Men of the World, but even in those Things wherein they seem to give us good Examples, fhould outstrip them, and diftinguish ourselves by endeavouring after higher Degrees of all Chriftian Virtues. This is implied in these Words, What

do ye more than others? It is a fatal Mistake, that we do not usually confider fo much, what the Duty and Dignity of our Profeffion requires, as what will fatisfy the present Customs and Demands of the World; whereas we should indeed have much higher Notions of Christianity, as being the most perfect Difpenfation; and fo be poffeffed

with that only commendable Piece of Ambition and Emulation, to outstrip all others in all manner of Virtue. What do y more than others, is a Queftion which should continually be founding in our Ears, and fpurring us on to greater Perfection in Chriftian Graces. The Reason of this Doctrine is taken from the many Advantages of Christianity beyond any other Difpenfation, towards the planting an accomplished Virtue in the World. I fhall name a few of the chief of them, and leave it to your felves to confider whether they ought not to have another manner of Efficacy, in leading us to an higher Degree of Virtue, beyond what could be expected from the World before, or from any other Institution fince.

1. First then, confider how little the rest of the World knew of any Reward of Virtue, to what we Chriftians know from the Principles of our Religion. We find Socrates, and Tully, and Seneca, and fuch other Heathen Moralifts, as had the best Apprehenfions of a future State, talking of it very conjecturally, as if they hoped for fome fuch Thing, but knew not certainly whether it would be fo, or no. Only they had fome confused Apprehenfions that good Men would be rewarded, and bad Men punished in the future State; which, if it made any little Impreffion upon them, they were taught to truft fo much to the various Sacrifices, and other Rites of their falfe Religions, for expiating their Crimes, that thefe Principles could have no great Influence, towards the fanctifying their Hearts, or the Amendment of their Lives. Moft of the Promifes which were made to the Jews were temporal, a Land flowing with Milk and Honey, Wealth, and Peace, and Ff2 Victory