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The Defign then of this Conclufion is, to perfuade us all of the utter Neceffity of learning the true Spirit of Chriftianity, which is to be done by a diligent putting in Practice our Saviour's Precepts. This is a Foundation on which we may hope daily to build a noble Superftructure of all Virtue. This is the Way to grow in Grace, and in the Knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

To him, with the Father, and the Holy Ghoft, &c.

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SERMON XXIV.

MAT. VII. 28.

And it came to pass when Jefus had ended thefe Sayings, the People were aftonished at his Do

Etrine.

V. 29. For he taught them as one having Autho rity, and not as the Scribes.

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UR Saviour's divine Sermon on the Mount being now finished, St. Matthew, the Relator of it, as he had introduced it with a very ufeful Prologue, in the two firft Verses of the fifth Chapter, which gave us a great Light into the Occafion and Scope of the whole Difcourfe; fo he now concludes it with this Epilogue, giving us an Account what Effect it had among the Hearers; namely, that they were ftruck with Admiration, aftonished at his Doctrine, and at the Divine Power, Force, and Energy, wherewith he had delivered it; in both which, I mean, both in the Matter and Manner of the Doctrine, they obferved a great Difference between Jefus, and their ufual Teachers, the Scribes.

In the Words, there are feveral Things well worthy of our Obfervation, and which, I think, had they been carefully minded, would have pre

vented divers Errors, and loofe Interpretations, with Relation to the Sermon itself. I fhall endeavour, First, to speak to fome Obfervations from the Words, and, if Time will allow, make fome Application of them to ourselves.

I. From the first Words of the Text, And it came to pass when Jefus had ended these Sayings; I obferved that this Sermon was all delivered at one Time to this Auditory, and should therefore be interpreted as one uniform Difcourfe. I cannot fee what St. Matthew could do more to give us this Conception of it. For in the Beginning he acquaints us, that the Discourse was occafioned by our Saviour's looking on the Multitudes; that is, as I then interpreted it, from his Confideration of their Condition, and Circumstances; which gives us an Intimation, that it was all defigned to answer their prefent Occafions; then he tells us of his going up into the Mountain, and his Difciples following him, and his making this Difcourfe. And that it was defigned to the Multitudes, as well as to them, we learn from my Text, which informs us, that the People stayed to the End of the Sermon, and, were mightily ftruck with Admiration of it, for that our Saviour taught them with Authority, and not as the Scribes; ye may justly wonder why I fhould be at any Pains to prove this was one Difcourfe, all fpoke at one Time to one and the fame Auditory, when St. Matthew's Account is fo very clear and plain in this Matter. But as clear as it is, fome very confiderable Authors have reprefented the Matter quite otherwife, as if St. Matthew had made a Collection of our Saviour's

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viour's moral Inftructions, spoken at different Times and Places, and thrown them altogether into this Sermon: but how to reconcile this with the Sincerity of the Evangelift, who gives us a quite different Account of the Thing, in as exprefs Words as he could put it, as of a Discourse all delivered at one Time, and in one certain Place, and to one and the fame Auditory, I confess is beyond my Capacity. And if this could be folved, I think it is much more for our Saviour's Honour, to represent him, as the Evangelist here doth, as delivering a moft pertinent, regular Difcourse, all calculated for the immediate Occafions and Circumftances of his Hearers, than as these others do, to bring in an Heap, as they make them, of incoherent Directions, fome for all Men, fome for all Chriftians, fome for Apostles, fo intermixed, that without any other Reason, befides the Puzzle they give the Interpreter, they are jumbled without any Order or Method whatsoever. I am apt to think this Opinion is owing chiefly either to the Interpreters Ignorance, or their Inadvertency of our Saviour's true Scope and Defign, and confequently of the Coherence and Connexion of the feveral Parts of the Difcourfe, which reduced them to this miferable Shift, that they made it a strange Mixture of incoherent Doctrines; whereas to take it in its right Senfe, it is a moft regular and methodical Pursuit of one Defign, all fitted to correct the wrong Notions the Jews had of the Kingdom of the Meffiah, and to teach them the right Difpofitions of Mind that were neceffary for the Meffiah's Difciples.

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Now I think it is no reasonable Objection against this that I obferve, concerning this Sermon being all delivered at once, that fome Parts of it are found repeated on fome other Occafions. For I think it was very fuitable with our Saviour's Wifdom, frequently to inculcate and prefs Truths of fuch great Importance, whenever there was any Occafion given for it, as there was oftener than once.

II. Secondly, I obferve from what is faid here, that when Jefus had ended thefe Sayings, the People were aftonished at his Doctrine, for he taught them with Authority: I obferve, I fay, that the chief Auditors for whom this Sermon was intended, were the People in general. It was to take off the general Errors and Prejudices of Mankind, with relation to the Meffiah and his Kingdom, and to acquaint all Men what Difpofitions of Mind were neceffary for them, if they intended to be his Difciples, that this Sermon was preached. And therefore to ftrain any of these Sayings of it to find out the Duty of Paftors or Magiftrates, as fome have done, is in fo far a miffing of the Scope, and a wandring from the main Design of this Difcourfe. And if fo, what wild Interpretations must these be, which exclude ordinary private Chriftians from the Obligations to obferve feveral of the Precepts here delivered? If the People were here defigned to be taught, as is very plain, both from the Prologue and Epilogue, and the whole Subject Matter, as I fhewed in the Explication of the Prologue, then let no Man think to creep out from any of the strict Duties here enjoined, under Pretence that they belong to Apoftles,

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