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It is manifeft the Apoftie fpeaks here upon SER M. the notice he had taken, that there were fome XIII. fons of very high pretenfions to religion, and the love of God, who were yet manifeftly and notoriously defective in the exercise and expreffion of love towards men, and even towards their FellowChristians, And he counts it therefore neceffary to caft a flur upon that empty kind of profeffion, and to give a dash unto that fpecious fancy and gilded nothing of a pretence to the love of GoD, disjoined or fevered from that other branch of love, namely that towards men.

IN speaking to this it will be requifite to do these three things, in order to the rendering this truth more capable of belief.

I. To fhew in what extent, or with what limitations, we are to understand this form of speech here in the text, the loving our brother.

II. To fhew whence it comes to pass, that any should take upon them to pretend love to GOD, who yet have no love to their brother. And

III. To fhew the abfurdity and falfhood of that pretence. Upon which the ufe will enfue.

I. IT will be needful to confider a little in what extent, or with what limitation this form of fpeech is to be understood, namely the love of our brother: that is, how we are to understand the expreffion, our brother; and what is meant by love, as it refers to him in this and other fuch like paffages.

VOL. I CONCEIVE we may very warrantably exI. tend the meaning of this expreffion, as was for

merly hinted to you in the first opening of the words, to fuch a latitude as to understand by it the duties of the fecond table; as love to GOD includes all the duties of the firft. So our Saviour hath taught us to understand both thefe, in the anfwer which he gave to that Querift, who afked him which was the great commandment of the law. The answer was this; Thou shalt love the Lord thy GOD with all thy heart, and with all thy foul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the fecond is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy felf. On thefe two commandments bang all the law and the prophets. And the Apoftle you know alfo tells us, that Love is the fulfilling of the law. All is fummed up in this one word LovE.

AND the fame A poftle in the very Epistle from whence my text is taken, in infisting so much upon love to our brethren, as he doth throughout this Epiftle, guides us to his own drift and scope; and particularly when he tells us, that, This is the love of GOD that we keep his commandments. It is manifeft, that fometimes in this Epistle he intends by this expreffion, the love of GoD, not merely that love which terminates upon him as the object of it, but that love which is from Go D, as the author of it, divine love. And he speaks of this divine love indefinitely, and fays it is the keep

a Math. XXII. 37, 38, 39, 40.

ing

Rom. xiii. 10.

C

1 John v. 3..

ing of God's commandments; and of these com- SER M. mandments too we are to understand him speakXIII. ing univerfally, and intimating that to love Go D is to keep all his commandments. It is love which runs forth in obedience to all his laws, which you know are divided into these two tables: the one is a comprehenfion of the precepts touching fuch things as relate to himself; the other of those which concern man. Therefore I doubt not but the word, brother, here in the text, may be taken in the fame latitude, that neighbour is taken in, when it expreffeth and fignifieth to us the duties of a Christian to his neighbour, as in that place before mentioned, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy felf, that is, any man. So that the duties that we owe to men, as men, are all to be collected and gathered up in this, as the great fummary, namely, love to our brother.

IT is very true indeed, brother is a title that many times in Scripture doth diftinctly, and with fome limitation hold forth to us a community and fraternity in religion; a brotherhood, who are in a ftate of subjection and devotedness to GOD, and are really his fervants and children, as we shall have occafion further to speak by and by. But it is plain alfo, that it is fometimes ufed in Scripture in a far more extensive sense; as Adam in a more extenfive sense is faid to be the fon of God. You find it was part of the accufation against Job (injurious enough no doubt, but that is nothing to our purpose) that he did take away the pledge from

I.

VOL. from his brother, and made the poor naked, and sent them away uncloathed. And so you know Paul befpeaks all that great affembly before whom he was convened, and with whom he was dif puting, after this manner, men and brethren ; though they were far from being all Chriftians, as he was.

AND I wish that there were not too much need to infift upon this business of love to our brother according to this latitude: that those were not many in our days, who make a very great fhew of piety towards Go D, and hold forth an appearance of religion even in a more eminent degree; and yet indulge in themselves a very great liberty (most injuriously affumed Go D knows) as to their difpofitions and deportment towards men as men, with whom they are caft into human fociety. Yea, and there hath been a way found out to make little of all matters of this nature: a way to depreciate and speak diminishingly of whatever is of that import, by affixing characters upon perfons which it is intended fhould leffen them; as fuch a one is a good moral man, and the like. Truly, if it were only to affign to each man his proper place, or to determine that to be of lefs value and account which really is fo, this were tolerable and very fit; but it is too manifeft that very often religion is profeffedly magnified, not to the leffening only, but even the nullifying and exclufion of what is called morality. As if the tables were again to be broken, by being dashed one against another:

other; or as if there were fuch incompatible things S ER M. in the laws of GOD, that it is altogether impof- XIII. fible that a man fhould carry it as does become him towards men with whom he has to do, but he must intrench upon, and offer violence to the duty he owes to Gop; or, as if on the other hand, the duty which immediately terminates upon GOD, muft quite fhut out the world, and whatsoever relates to men as men.

THOUGH yet by the way too, it is to be noted, there is all the while a very great mistake and mifapplication in the use of the term morality. And I wonder whence we or any of us have learned to appropriate moral to the duties of the fecond table; as if the duties of the first table were not as much moral, as thofe of the second, and in a higher and more eminent fense fo. Certainly he is but a perfon of bad morality that does not love GOD, and whofe heart is not fet upon him as the beft, the fupreme good. It is a great injury to take the term moral, and affix it only or chiefly to the duties of the fecond table. I hope there is fuch a thing, which ought to obtain in our notion and practice, as being well-manner'd unto GoD, or behaving our felves well and fitly towards him. And that is the meaning of morality, when a man is in general well-manner'd. Therefore he that behaves himself ill to Go D, doth very ill deserve the character of a moral man.

BUT the thing is, men intend civil by the term moral, and fo mistake morality for civility. Civility indeed is only between men and men, as

they