fevere in that Judgment; making Faults where there were none; and aggravating them where they were. 4. When they had made this rafh Judgment in their own Minds, they did not content themselves to contemplate it there, but took all Opportunities to vent it in their Words and Actions; carrying themselves haughtily and fuperciliously to others: Stand by thy felf, come not near to me, for I am holier than thou; Ifa. lxv. 5. was the Language of their Tongue as well as their Heart; then they made no fcruple moft unmercifully to flander, defame, and injure all that were not of their own Kidney; and to oppose them in all their Interefts and Pretenfions. And often these rafh Judgments of theirs proceeded a great deal further, even to the stirring up of violent Perfecutions against all that stood in their Way; thinking they did God good Service by fo doing. 5. In all Companies they were the Dictators, the Obfervators, the Reprovers, and Monitors. It was a Crime for a Man to fee with his own Eyes, and not with theirs; or to own Reason to any other Purposes, except to promote their Notions and Interefts. They were a violent, unmerciful Party, which carried all down before them; and would cram their Sentiments right or wrong down Peoples Throats, or elfe there was no Quarter to any one that differed in the leaft from them. make use of his 6. In admonishing and reproving their Neighbour, their Aim was not fo much his Edification and Amendment of Life, as the gaining him over to their Party; or if they could not compafs that, the running him down, and expofing him. B 3 One One Thing perhaps ye may wonder at, in this Defcription of the raih Judgment of the Pharifees, that it feems to be rather a Defcription of fome perfonal Faults, than of the Spirit and Principles of a Party; and therefore fome may think that it doth not belong fo properly to this Subject, where our Saviour is correcting the Pharifaical Righteousness. But I answer to this, that it is not their perfonal Faults, but the Spirit of the Party, our Saviour is here guarding against; and that all thefe Things I have mentioned are fuch, as had the general Approbation and Practice of that Sect; and therefore that it was exceeding proper and pertinent to mention them in this Difcourfe, where our Saviour is directly faulting that, in which the Scribes and Pharifees placed a great Part of their Righteoufnefs and Holiness, namely, the falfe Zeal which led them fo much to rah Judgments and fevere Cenfures and Condemnations of others; and blinded them fo much as to their own wrong Opinions and Practices. Having thus discovered what Views our Saviour had in bringing in this Difcourse against rafh Judgments, even the fame which he has been regularly purfuing from the 20th Verfe of the 5th Chapter, as I have feveral Times obferved, in explaining the particular Branches of that Difcourfe; namely, the training up his Difciples. and Followers to a more perfect Way of Duty than was taught by the greatest Doctors among the Jews, the Scribes and Pharifees; this will help us not a little, in finding out the true Meaning of this Precept, or Prohibition, Judge not, to which I fhall now apply my felf; begging your your serious Attention, the Subject being full of Difficulty, and of fo large Dimenfions, that it will scarce be poffible to handle it in its full Ex tent. To begin then, The Word to judge, is one of that fort of Words, which tho' of themselves they are of a middle Signification, yet being frequently abused to wrong Purpofes, are come at laft, when applied to private Perfons, to be understood in an evil Senfe. But for finding out the true Sense of it in this Place, we are to confider, that in general an unjust Severity and Cenforiousness is here understood, fuch as is defigned to expose, wrong, or rafhly and unjustly to condemn our Neighbour. This I gather both from our Saviour's general Intent, to correct the Spirit and Practice of the Scribes and Pharifees; and from his particular taxing of this Practice in this Place, with Blindnefs, Self-conceit, Hypocrify, and want of Charity and from fome further aggravating Words joined to it in the parallel Place of St. Luke, Luk. vi. 37. from which I conclude, that Hardheartednefs, Uncharitablenefs, Cruelty, and Unmercifulness, enter into the Character of the Judging here spoken of. The Words there run thus: Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven. Before I confider the Particulars of the Cenforiousness or rafh Judgment here prohibited, it will be neceffary to remove from it fome law ful or commendable Practices, which otherwise might feem to fall under these general Words, judge not. B 4 1. First ་ 1. First then, We are not in the leaft to understand, that the Office of Judges or Magiftrates, was intended to be prohibited by these Words. For, firft, our Saviour was now preaching to a Multitude of private Perfons, fhewing them their Duty. And therefore his forbidding them to judge or condemn, makes nothing against the Magiftrate's Office it felf; tho' no doubt it makes against a cenforious or spiteful Execution of that Office: against an employing of publick Justice to the private Ends of Spite, Malice, or Revenge. We fhall be the more convinced of this, if we confider, that in other Paffages of Holy Scripture, the Magiftrate's Office is established, and his Duty directed, that he is not to carry the Sword in vain, Rom. xiii. 3, 4. but to use it for the Terror of evil Doers, and for the Praise of them that do well. And we are always to interpret Scripture fo, as that one Paffage of it may not contradict another. The Quakers and Anabaptists at first made ufe of this our Text against the very Office of the Magiftrate, before they had any City or Country of their own to govern. But now, wherever they have any such, they find a Neceffity of appointing Judges and Magiftrates and know by Experience, that no Government upon Earth can fubfift without them. 2. Nor is the Authority of any other Superiours over their Inferiours defigned to be taken away or encroached upon by this Prohibition notwithstanding this, Parents may and ought to administer Admonition, Reproof, and Correction to their Children; Mafters and Miftreffes, and Overfeers, may by Authority judge of their Ser vants Actions, and following the Rules of Equity and Discretion, may reward or punish, as before. The fame may be faid of Teachers and Scholars, Officers and Soldiers, Governours and Governed, who are all to take their Measures as to their Duty, from the known Laws of God and Man, and the laudable Cuftoms of the Places where they live, and not to think themselves prohibited by this Rule, or hindred from judging according to the best of their Skill and Confcience; provided always, in the Exercise of their several Offices, they abftain from all Harshness, and Severity, and Cenforioufnefs; which, as we shall fee presently, is the Thing here prohibited. 3. Nor, Thirdly, is it defigned by these Words, judge not, that any Man should not ufe a Judgment of Difcretion as far as relates to the Conduct of himself and his Affairs. I ought, for Example, not to believe every Teacher that pretends to be guided by the Spirit of God as to his Doctrine; but I must try the Spirits, as well as I can, whether they are of God or no; 1 Joh. iv. 1. and order my own Practice accordingly. Solomon fays, Prov. xxii. 24. Make no Friendship with an angry Man, and with a furious Man thou shalt not go. And St. Paul fays, 2 Theff. iii. 6. We command you, Brethren, in the name of our Lord Jefus Chrift, that ye withdraw your felves from every Brother that walketh diforderly. Now, how can we know the angry Man, or the diforderly Brother, but by making ufe of our Judgment, in fo far as relates to our own Conduct? And tho' we should happen to be mistaken, yet while our Judgment goes no further than this, that we judge it more proper for us to forbear the |