I. THE Cafe of those who think themfelves to SER M.

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be under no obligation to love wicked men, efpe- XVI. cially fuch as are perfons of profligate wickednefs. In fpeaking to which we have briefly fhewn what fort of exercise love ought to have in this cafe. The

II. CASE is that of thofe who think they may be difpenfed with or excufed from loving thofe that are their enemies, which we now proceed to confider. In the former cafe, as we have obferved, perfons are prone to think they may be dispensed with out of respect to Go D, or on his account; in the latter cafe, out of respect to themfelves. A great piece of hardship many think it to be compelled to love them who they know are no friends of theirs, but are continually contriving mischievous defigns against them. What room or place can there be for the exercife of love in fuch a cafe? We fhall here briefly fhew you, and then upon what confiderations it ought to be vigorously exercised. On the former of thefe I fhall not in fift very largely.

I. THERE ought to be the exercise of love, éven to enemies, in calming and fubduing whatever is contrary thereunto in our selves. All oppofite paffions, and the workings of them muft be restrained; every thing of anger, wrath, malignity, bitterness of fpirit, revenge or vindictivenefs more especially. Thus ought love to be exercifed in the maintaining of a calm in our own minds and hearts, that there may be no tumultuations

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VOL. tuations of any undue or forbidden paffion upon any fuch account. Yea and again,

I.

and pray for them

2. THERE ought to be love exercised in a more pofitive way; in forgiving or paffing by whatever trefpaffes are done against us, as we expect to be forgiven our felves. Love ought to be exercifed to fuch even in doing them good, which is yet more pofitive. Do good, fays our Saviour, to them that hate you, that defpitefully ufe you. We fhould do them what good we can our felves, and pray for them that they may have that good cure for them. The order precept is very obfervable. ral injoined to love our enemies, to bless them that curfe us; and then we are injoined to do them good, and to pray for them. As if our Lord had faid, First do all the good you can to them your felves; but when you are gone as far as you can, then ingage and fet on work an almighty agent by prayer. Pray that Go D would do them good when you can do them none.

which we cannot proand gradation of this We are first in gene

WE fhould take heed of looking on this as a Platonical chimæra; as a thing that can only have place in the imagination, or as a matter altogether impracticable. Chrift has injoined us no impracticable things. And there have been great ex-. amples in the world, that of his own and others, who have been fo influenced by the grace of Go D as to give demonstration that this was no impracticable matter. And have we never heard of any

a Math. v. 44.

that

that have rendered themselves remarkable on this S ER M. account? of thofe of whom it hath been faid, XVI. "No man could take a readier courfe to make

"fuch a one his friend, than by doing him an

injury?" I believe fome of us have heard of fuch inftances even in thefe lower dregs of time.

THIS we fhould then fix with our felves as our refolutions." Doth any man make it his buhis_bu"finefs and defign to trouble and moleft me? Is "he from time to time feeking occafions to vex "me? The next opportunity that occurs to me "of doing that man a good turn, I will be fure "to lay hold upon it. I will be even with him "that way. If I can do him good, I will. This "I would fix upon my heart as a law.”

I WILL now proceed to give you some confiderations that evince to us the reafonableness of fuch an exercife of love to our enemies; to fuch as bear us ill will, and are ready to do us an ill

1. CONSIDER it Christianity to do fo.

is the law and glory of That it is the Chriftian law is plain, and you have heard it already. You fee how in the Sermon on the mount our Saviour reflects upon that mean, fordid, narrow principle of the Jews, which moftly in those times did poffefs and fteer that people. You have heard that it hath been faid, Thou shalt love thy neighbour and bate thine enemy. But I fay unto you love your enemies, &c. He then plainly, as to the matter of the exercife of love, takes away the distinction between

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Math. v. 43.

VOL. between neighbour and enemy. L will allow no fuch diftinction. plain, that by neighbour and

Our Saviour And it is very brother he means the fame thing in that fifth chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel. Where expounding the fixth commandment, Thou shalt not kill, according to its fpiritual fenfe and meaning, he makes the object of that law to be our brother; plainly intending by brother all thofe, whom it was unlawful to kill. I fay unto you that whofoever is angry with bis brother without a caufe fhall be in danger of the judgement. It is plain he means anger and killing with respect to the fame object. We are therefore to love our enemies under that common notion of brother. This, I fay then, is most clear that our Lord Chrift hath made this law with respect to enemies. Love them, blefs them, pray for them, and do good to them, are his exprefs precepts.

AND it is the particular glory of Chriftianity, that fuch a conftitution as this is, is to be found in it as a law. This must be acknowledged to be peculiar to Christianity. "To love friends, that "is common to all men; to love enemies, that "is proper to Chriftians;" as faid an Antient in the Chriftian Church long ago. It is true indeed fuch a temper as this hath been well spoken of among the heathen: but a great deal more praised, than practised; more applauded, than imitated, I remember one of them fays, that "It is to imi"tate Go D himself not to hate any one at all,

and

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" and more especially to terminate the exercise of SER M. our most fervent and complacential love upon XVI.. "the best." And we have heard of fome who in lower things have done fomewhat like this. As a great man of Athens, when on a certain night one followed him all along the ftreet, reviling him and calling him moft injurious and contumelious names, as foon as he came to his own houfe, he only commanded his fervant to light the man home again. And every man muft acknowledge it an amiable and lovely thing, when but a fpecimen has appeared, though never fo faint, of fuch a kind of practice.

BUT I fay it is the peculiar glory of Chriftianity to form and habituate the fpirits of those who are fincere unto this temper; that fo the inftances of this nature may not be rare, and that love may be exemplified in men's courfe and behaviour, according as the occafions of human life do require. And who can but reckon it a glory? For is not every creature upon that account the more excellent as his fpirit is more conformed unto God? It is with this inforcement that this law is given by our Saviour, in the verfe immediately after the precepts efore mentioned; That ye may be the children of your Father who is in heaven, for he maketh bis fun to rife on the evil and the good, and fendeth rain on the just and on the unjuste. As if he had faid, Love your enemies, and do good to them that ufe you ill, that you may hold forth a vifible resemblance of GOD; that his image in

Math. v. 45.

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this