תמונות בעמוד
PDF
ePub
[ocr errors]

way of Salvation. Now let us confider a little both the Truth and the Importance of this Doc'trine. As to the Truth of it, I take it from our Saviour's Words; for the wife Builder here, whofe Labours in Religion fhall stand, and be approved of, is he that heareth thefe Sayings of our Saviour's, and doeth them. Now what can be meant by these Words, thefe Sayings of mine, but the Doctrine which he had been then delivering? It is obfervable that St Luke, who gives us but a part of this Sermon, when he gives an Account of this Expreffion of our Lord's, Luke vi. 47. does not restrain it to the Sayings he had there fet down, but extends it indefinitely to all our Saviour's Sayings, Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my Sayings, and doeth them, I will Thew you to whom he is like; he is like a Man which built a Houfe, and digged deep, and laid the Foundation on a Rock, &c. Now what St Luke calls my Sayings, St. Matthew calls, thefe Sayings of mine, giving us to understand, that he had given us a perfect Account of that Difcourfe, with relation to which our Saviour pronounced this comfortable Promise, that the Obfervers of it fhould be approved in the great Day of Trial. Now as to the Importance of this Obfervation, it may ferve at once to inform us what it is we are principally to aim at, and to bend all our Care after; namely, not the ftuffing our Heads with many curious Notions and Speculations, but the forming of our Hearts, and the reforming of our Lives according to the Model of our Saviour's Precepts and Directions, the Sum and Subftance of which we have in this excellent Sermon on the Mount; and there

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

fore

301 fore we have little more to do, than to acquaint our felves thoroughly with the Doctrine of this Sermon, and study how to put it in PraЄtice.

But against this Doctrine of the great Perfection and Compleatnefs of this Sermon, as containing all Things neceffary to Salvation, I foresee feveral Things may be objected, relating to the uncompleatness of it, both as to our Faith, and Hope, and Manners. All which I fhall eafily answer, if ye do but remember that what I affert from my Text is, that it contains all Things that were then wanting and neceffary to the Salvation of those Hearers, to whom our Saviour then addreffed himself. For it was not every Thing neceffary to Salvation that was then wanting to them. They had been taught by the Jewish Religion, which they profeffed, to believe in the true God; they had been well principled against Idolatry, fo common in other Nations of the World; they had been inftructed to have the Name of God in Veneration, only the Scribes and Pharifees had, in fome Things, corrupted that Doctrine of the Third Commandment, and our Saviour had restored it to its native Truth, in this fame Sermon on the Mount. So that in fo far as related to the immediate Belief and Worship of God, they were very well principled.

.

Then as to Faith in Chrift, it is probable they had it, as far as was then neceffary for Perfons in their Circumftances. For, they all expected a great and eminent Perfon, whom they called the Meffiab or the Chrift. They greedily embraced our Saviour's Doctrine, that the Kingdom of the

Meffiah

Meffiah (in Scripture, called the Kingdom of Heaven) was at hand. Most of them believed that Jefus was the Perfon; and that tho' he appeared at prefent in low Circumftances, he would, in a fhort Time, take upon him the Title and Character of the Meffiah; at leaft they looked upon him as an extraordinary Prophet fent by God; and this was a divine Faith, though in a low Degree, and I doubt not it was accepted at that Time from them who knew no further. They had fuch an Ardour too to follow Jefus, that they left House and Home, in hope of making their Fortune in his Service. Their chief Error was, that they were mistaken in the Nature of his Kingdom, and of the Dif pofitions and Preparations of Mind fit for it; for, taking it for a Temporal Kingdom, they were only prepared to fight and conquer, and hoped to enjoy all the Wealth and Pleasure of their Conquefts. Now our Saviour had undeceived them as to all these Things, in this Divine Sermon; and fo in their prefent Circumstances, to fit them for Happiness, they wanted nothing but to reduce his Doctrine into Practice.

As to Chriftian Hope, befides what the Jews knew before of a future State, our Saviour had, in this Sermon, acquainted them with the great Rewards in Heaven, and everlasting Life, to which the narrow Way of Duty leads, and with that Destruction which attends the going on fecurely in the broad Way of Sin. He had acquainted them likewife with the great Day of Accounts, and what would, and what would not, be ac cepted as a Discharge of their Duty,

Some

Some perhaps may think they were not fufficiently inftructed in the great Myfteries of the Trinity, and the Divinity and Humanity of Chrift. But to this, two Things may be anfwered: First, That we know not to what Degree the Knowledge of these is neceffary to Salvation; it must be confeffed, that to this Day, we know them only by an Implicit, that is, by a very dark fort of Faith; and that under the Law, they were known in a yet much darker Manner And, Secondly, it is to be confidered, that there had been a late Revelation of thefe Things at our Saviour's Baptifm, when a Voice came from the Father, giving Teftimony to our Saviour's being the Son of God; and the Holy Ghoft too defcended in a vifible Shape, the Shape of a Dove, and refted upon him; fo that it is probable, they had fome Knowledge of these adorable Mysteries of the Trinity, and the Divinity of Chrift, as far as was neceffary in that imperfect State. As for our Saviour's Sufferings, Refurrection, and Afcenfion, and the Defcent of the Holy Ghoft, all these became afterwards the Objects of Belief, but were not neceffary to be exprefsly believed at the Time of this Sermon. Some perhaps may fancy, that even the Morals here taught, are not a compleat System of that Part of Religion, as faying little or nothing of the firft Table of the Law, and spending itself wholly about the fecond. But befides what I have already faid to this, from the Jews being well principled in the Knowledge and WorThip of the true God, I defire it may be further confidered, that our Saviour has expressly affumed into the Doctrine of this Sermon, the whole

Moral

Moral Law, Matth. v. 17, 18. with the Explications of the Prophets; and befides, he has taught us all along this Sermon, to do all our Duties with an Eye to God, and has extended them all to the very Thoughts of the Heart, of which God only is the Infpector; he has taught us, on all Occafions, to flee to God for Supplies of Grace; and has laid down our whole Intercourfe with God in a Pattern of a most excellent Prayer, the firft Word of which, teaches us the grand Duty of the Love of God, which is the Sum and Subftance of all our other Duties to him. So that our Duty to God is excellently interfperfed, and it is one of the chief Excellencies of this Sermon, and what diftinguishes it from, and raises it above all Heathen Morality, that it makes the Duty to our Neighbour but the bare outward Carcafe of Duty, unless it be animated with the Love of God, and an Afpect to him, and with an Eye of Faith to that Recompence of Reward, which he alone has in his Hand to beftow.

But what is that to us, may fome think, if the Sermon on the Mount was fo adapted to the Circumftances of the Jewish Hearers in those Days, that it contained all Things neceffary to their Salvation? There are many more Articles of Faith, and Duties of Life, required of us Chriftians, and therefore we have not the fame Encouragement to ftudy and obey the Doctrine of this Sermon which they had. In anfwer to this, it would be no hard Matter to fhew, that there is very little Addition either to the one or the other, and the Additions which are, bear home this Doctrine upon us with greater Advantage.

« הקודםהמשך »