I.

VOL. in the cafe is altogether at a lofs to account for it. For a long while he obferves fuch a one to grow a ftranger to him, and he cannot devife what should be the reason, or whence it should proceed, but upon a furmife. As if it were so great a difficulty to afk a person the question, Is it fo? or if fo, were it well? but instead of this, alienation must be the next thing, the first thing done without any more ado.

How intolerable is this among Chriftians! And furely if we should live to fee a day wherein the Chriftian community should be scattered, and we toffed and driven to and fro, it may be it would be a grateful fight to meet fuch a man, to fee fuch a face in a wilderness or upon the tops of the mountains, whom formerly we could not indure. Cordial then perhaps would be the embraces amongst those perfons, who almost mortally hated one another before. We have reason to pray to GoD, that such distempers of mind among us be not thought fit to be cured by fuch means.

6. ANOTHER inftance is neglect of mutual admonition and exhortation among Chriftians, concerning known fins or manifeft neglects of duties. We know that this is frequently preffed in Scripture, and the charge and weight of it is laid upon our love. Yea to neglect this is an interpretative hatred. Thou shalt not bate thy brother in thine heart, thou shalt in any wife rebuke thy neighbour, and not fuffer fin upon bim'. How

f Levit. xix. 17.

1

How often are we called upon to exhort and ad-S ERM.
monish one another? Exhort one another daily XVII.
while it is called, To-day; left any of you be
bardened through the deceitfulness of fin. And
how ftrange a thing is it, that any should take
upon them to pafs over fuch commands as these,
as if they were reverfed, as if they were repealed,
as if fuch laws were abolished! Do we take upon
our felves arbitrarily, and at our own pleasure to
abolish the bible? or to abandon in our practice
things as plainly preffed upon us, as any thing in
the world can be? And how little is it confidered
how great a fhare fuch perfons as neglect this
duty of admonition, hath in the miscarriages of
fuch as they converfe with? How much do they
partake of their fins! "Such a man would have
"been a more reformed man, lefs paffionate,
"more orderly in his family, not fo light and
"vain, if I had but, when occafion was offered
"to me, dropt a feasonable word to him." And
fo instead of having the benefit of Chriftian fo-
ciety, and partaking the fruits of one another's
graces, we partake of one another's fins, and
fhare the guilt with them. That is a fad part of
Christian community!

AND there is many times as much fault in the
undue manner of reproving, as in the neglect of
the thing it felf; when it is done in so proud,
and imperious, and paffionate a way, as if the
defign was not to correct fuch a man's faults, but
only to vent my own paffion. Or while I pre-
tend

Heb. 111. 13.

I.

VOL. tend to mend the faults of another, I my fell
fhall commit a greater. For it may be the fault
in the manner of reproving, is greater than the
matter which I take upon me to reprove. But
when this duty iffues from love, and is fo ma
naged as that it may plainly be feen to be the
product of love, then as it is in it self a great
duty, so a great bleffing doth often accompany
and go along with it.

7. THE neglect of doing good and kind offi-
ces for one another, as occafion doth require and
call for, is altogether unfuitable to this law of
love. For you know how we are charged and
required, as we have opportunity, to do good
to all, but especially to thofe who are of the houf-
hold of faith". And undoubtedly the Apostle,
afing expreffions of fuch import as he does there,
is not to be understood as if he meant that this
kindness, or doing good, was to be confined to
the poor and indigent only, or to neceflitous per-
fons; though that is one great part of the fenfe :
It is then to be referred to thofe good offices we
fhould do to all who ftand in need of our help,
though it may be they are not indigent; but
notwithstanding are the objects of our love, in
fuch or fuch a particular cafe, wherein they may
poffibly receive affiftance from us. But when
perfons are bound up in themfelves, and fo are
little capable of minding any one's interest but
their own, how greatly is love hereby fuppreffed,
and ftifled in the exercise of it! But befides thefe
privative inftances
II. WE

h Gal. vi. 10.

1

II. WE fhall give fome pofitive inftances too SER M. of the violation of this law of love, and fo haften XVII. to a clofe.

And

1. HARD thoughts and rafh cenfures of one another do very little comport with the love that fhould be exercifed towards brethren. With refpect to their particular actions, words or expreffions, we are many times guilty of great injuftice, and wrong is done to this law of love. That is, when upon this or that action that we fee done by fuch or fuch a one, it may be againft our inclination or judgement, we put the worst conftruction upon it that we poffibly can devise. So in like manner we are faulty when we torture the words of another, and wiredraw them, that we may if poffible make them speak a bad fenfe, when it may be a much better might be put upon them. Perfons also are guilty in this regard, when they are prone to load the differing opinions of others in fome fmaller matters with the most odious, and many times with the moft ill-grounded confequences; putting them as it were into bears and wolves fkins (as fome did the Chriftians in the primitive times) that they be the more exquifitely worried, and torn all to pieces.

may

BUT the matter rifes many times much higher than this; and men proceed, upon fome small matters of difference, to pafs cenfures concerning fuch and fuch perfons, as to their ftates Godward. They fit in judgement upon their fouls, and pass determinations concerning them in reference to

I.

VOL, their very life or death. And yet it many times fo happens, that fuch as contend for that small matter of difference are hypocrites, and they that are against it are hypocrites also. The one party is cenfured and judged as formal, fuperftitious hypocrites; and the other as phantaftical, felf-conceited, perverfe hypocrites: and nothing less than the charge of hypocrify will serve the turn, in this case, on the one hand or the other. So perfons arrogate to themselves the peculiar business of the Almighty. But Who art thou that judgeft another man's fervant? (This is fpoken of fuch smaller matters as we are speaking of) Why doft thou judge thy brother? or why doft thou fet at nought thy brother? for we fhall all ftand before the judgement-feat of Chrift. Let us therefore (as it is afterwards inculcated and urged) follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.

2. RASH anger is another pofitive violation of this law of love: or tumultuous and infolent paffions, that fuddenly rife and ftorm and rage in Chriftian breafts one against another; many times on very small and little provocations, but to that height as no provocation can justify. How little is it confidered that our Saviour, in the interpretation which he gives of the law in his fermon on the mount, does fo interpret the fixth Commandment, Thou shalt not kill, as to make anger against our brother a kind of murder, and to bring it within the compass of that prohibition! Moreover,

3. WHICH