I.

VOL, thing of the Emperor Alexander Severus, who caufed it to be infcribed up and down in the moft noted places of his palace; and profeffed to bear fo high an honour unto Chrift, upon the account of his being the author of fo good a rule, as to defire to have him placed among the other 1 Deities. This indeed was defigned before, but providence ordered it fo as that it fhould not be faid he came into fo mean a copartnership for a Deity.

AND that rule it is plain doth oblige us in reference to men indefinitely, or to any man whatfoever. For we would not only wifh that this or that good man fhould deal well with us, or regret he should deal ill, but that any man whatsoever fhould do fo. We take it ill to be traduced, detracted, oppreffed by any man. And so we have the object of our love in that extent plainly pointed out to us. Now we might here fhew you, how this royal law is violated: namely by fuch carriages and difpofitions as are directly repugnant to love; or elfe by fuch a temper, difpofition, and behaviour, which (though it doth not carry in it repugnancy to love, but would confift very well with it) proceeds from other principles, and not from a genuine, and pure principle of love. And here

1. WE fhall animadvert upon fome things which are more directly repugnant to this love. As (1) A MOROSE unconverfible frame and temper. When men are become unfociable, and no body knows how to deal with them; fuch fons

of

terms.

of Belial (as was faid concerning Nabal) that one SER M. knows not how to fpeak to them. Such as, al- XV. though it has been a proverb that every man hath two handles, have themselves never a one that one can tell how to take hold of them by. It is impoffible to know how to converse with them, fo as not to give them offence; always four, captious, fnarling, fupercilious, and tractable on no And this is a great deal more odious when religion is pretended for it; and when because they would be taken for perfons more strictly and feverely godly, they muft needs therefore in their great zeal for fuch a reputation fhew themfelves uncivil and humourfome. As if religion, which beyond all things elfe tends to cultivate men's minds and manners, muft quite destroy humanity out of the world, and render men uncapable of civil converfe.

If we did but read and confider fuch paffages of Scripture, where we are injoined to be courteous, and kindly affected to men; or confider fuch inftances and examples as that of Abraham treating with the fons of Heth, or that of the Apostle Paul's deportment towards Felix, Feftus, and Agrippa: we should foon fee that much acquaintance with GOD is no way at all inconfiftent with the most comely, fair, and even genteel deportment unto men; and that there is no inconfiftency at all between religion, even at the very highest pitch, and a civil and ingenuous behaviour to them with whom we have to do.

(2) WE may inftance in what is ftill worfe, namely,

S 3

VOL. namely, an unmerciful temper and difpofition,

I.

and a practice fuitable to it. There is a heart that is hard as a ftone, which hath no bowels, no compaffion, even towards the most moving objects, which do from day to day occur. And this the Apostle in this very epistle tells us very plainly doth argue the love of Gop not to have place in us. And again,

(3) INJUSTICE, or unrighteousness is fitly reducible hither alfo, as a violation of that royal law of love, in as much as love ought to be the principle of all the duties of righteoufnefs. Elfe how can the duties of the fecond table be gathered up in that fum, as you heard before, of love to our neighbour as our felves?

AND here comes in all falfhood, the violations of men's words and promises, so that one does not know whom to truft; which is the thing that directly tends to break up all human fociety. For every thing of commerce between man and man depends upon human faith, as commerce with GoD depends upon a divine faith. A man that cannot trust in GoD can have no fellowship with him; and when there is no fuch thing as truft in men, there is no place for commerce between man and man. For if that fhould be once banifhed out of the univerfe, the world muft difband, all human focieties muft break up; men muft refolve to live as beasts, retired in cells and caves and wilderneffes.

ALL that oppreffion alfo, extortion, and fraudulent commerce that are among men, belong to this head. If men did but love others as them

felves,

felves, or if they would but do to others as they SER M. would be done unto, (which is the great mea- XV.· fure of the exercife of love) none of this would

be.

(4) We may add, as another inftance, furious paffions, rafh anger, and precipitous choler, and the contentions and ftrife which are fo frequent, and fo hotly maintained among men. And we may add to thefe, fretting, envy, fecret repining in men's fpirits when others are better, or do better than themselves. This is a difaffection of foul, which, as fome heathens have noted, fpeaks a direct quarrel with GOD, and-a fighting with him. Because a wife providence fees fit to favour fuch and fuch perfons, therefore we will be fure to be none of their friends. And moft of all repugnant to this duty of love are hatred, malice, revengefulness, a continual watching, and waiting for opportunities to do others. an ill turn, from whom we conceive our felves to have received one. And I instance,

LASTLY, In that from whence almoft all this doth proceed, namely, inordinate felf-love which hath fet all the world at variance. This is what the Apostle means by luft; an affectation of drawing all to our felves, by an inordinate and extravagant affection to which we indulge our felves and our own intereft, each minding his own things. And fo, whereas we should each of us fill up the fphere we converfe in with love, that fo dwelling in love we might dwell in GOD who is love, moft men fhrink their sphere

I.

VOL. into one point. They make themselves the only object of their love; all is confined there, and terminateth there. *

}

AND therefore, because men's private interefts do interfere and clafh with one another, hence it comes to pass that the world is filled with all thofe ftrifes, quarrels, contentions, wars, and blood, with which it is afflicted from day to day and age to age. age to age. Whence are all these but from lufts? and what are thofe lufts all ga. thered up into one but inordinate felf-love, that knows no regulation and will be confined by no just measures? It is a most apt and elegant expreffion of the Roman emperor Marcus Antoninus to this purpose, who says, "Such an inordinate "felf-love is like an ulcer, or impofthumated se part,

*THERE is an excellent paffage to this purpofe, which I beg leave to tranfcribe verbatim from one of the author's difcourfes on felf-denial, never yet published.

"CONSIDER the great incongruity, yea the monstrous "incongruity of this felf-addictedness, that a creature should "be addicted to it felf; a creature, I fay be it as good and

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great as it will! For what is the creation itself, the whole collection of all creatures together, but a mere drop unto "the ocean, the drop of a bucket? Such a minute thing, "a little inconfiderable thing that fprung up out of nothing

66

..

into fomething but the other day, now to fet up for it felt! "Monftrous incongruity, horrid abfurdity! most of all for "that felf, that moft addict themselves to ferve, fleshly self. A fit thing to be a Deity! a thing whofe wants and cravings continually might convince one, that it is not nor can "be alone. How does it hug, and cleave, and cling to a fojourning foul for a merely borrowed life! feeling it felf a "going when the foul is going. Is this a fit thing to fubfift "alone; by it felf and of it felf?" And fo the Author goes on to fhew, that "to fet up for our felves as if we were born "for our felves alone, or as if we owed nothing to our brɔ“ther, nor had any dependence upon GoD, cuts us off from him and forfeits all intereft in his common care."