Sermons and Discourses Volume 3, Sermon 2
A SERMON PREACHED At the Firſt General Meeting of the Gentlemen and others born within the County of YORK.
To my Honoured FRIENDS and COUNTRYMEN,
Mr. Hugh Frankland,
Mr. Leonard Robinſon,
Mr. Abrah. Fothergill.
Mr. William Fairfax,
Mr. Thomas Johnſon,
Mr. John Hardeſty,
Mr. Gervas Wilcockes,
Mr. George Pickering,
Mr. Edward Duffeild,
Mr. John Topham,
Mr. James Longbotham,
Mr. Nathan. Holroyd.
Stewards of the Yorkſhire Feaſt.
GENTLEMEN,
THIS Sermon, which was firſt Preached, and is now Publiſhed at your deſires, I dedicate to your Names, to whoſe prudence and care the direction and management of this Firſt general Meeting of our Country-men was committed; Heartily wiſhing that it may be ſome way ſerviceable to the healing of our unhappy Differences, and the reſtoring of Ʋnity and Charity among Chriſtians, eſpecially thoſe of the Proteſtant Reform'd Religion. I am
Gentlemen, Your affectionate Country-man and humble Servant, Jo. Tillotſon.
A SERMON PREACHED At the firſt general Meeting of the Gentlemen, and others, in and near London, who were born within the County of York.
JOHN XIII. 34, 35.
A new Commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye alſo love one another: By this ſhall all men know that ye are my Diſciples, if ye love one another.
AS the Chriſtian Religion in general, is the beſt Philoſophy and moſt perfect Inſtitution of Life; containing in it the moſt entire and compleat Syſtem of moral Rules and Precepts that was ever yet extant in the World: ſo it peculiarly excells in the Doctrine of Love and Charity; earneſtly recommending, ſtrictly enjoyning, and vehemently and almoſt perpetually preſſing and inculcating the excellency and neceſſity of this beſt of Graces and Vertues; and propounding to us for our imitation and encouragement the moſt lively and heroical Example of kindneſs and charity that ever was, in the Life and Death of the great Founder of our Religion, the author and finiſher of our Faith, Jeſus the Son of God.
So that the Goſpel, as it hath in all other parts of our Duty cleared the dimneſs and obſcurity of natural light and ſupplied the imperfections of former Revelations, ſo doth it moſt eminently reign and triumph in this great and bleſſed virtue of Charity; in which all the Philoſophy and Religions that had been before in the World, whether Jewiſh or Pagan, were ſo remarkably defective.
With great reaſon then doth our bleſſed Saviour call this a new Commandment, and aſſert it to himſelf as a thing peculiar to his Doctrine and Religion; conſidering how imperfectly it had been taught, and how little it had been practiſed in the World before: A new Commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye alſo love one another: By this ſhall all men know that ye are my Diſciples, if ye love one another.
I ſhall reduce my Diſcourſe upon theſe Words under theſe ſix Heads.
Firſt, To inquire in what ſenſe our Saviour calls this Commandment of loving one another a new Commandment.
Secondly, To declare to you the nature of this Commandment, by inſtancing in the chief Acts and Properties of Love.
Thirdly, To conſider the degrees and meaſures of our Charity with regard to the ſeveral Objects about which it is exerciſed.
Fourthly, Our Obligation to this Duty not only from our Saviours Authority, but likewiſe from our own Nature, and from the Reaſonableneſs and Excellency of the thing commanded.
Fifthly, The great Example which is here propounded to our imitation; as I have loved you, that ye alſo love one another.
Sixthly and Laſtly, The Place and Rank which this Precept holds in the Chriſtian Religion. Our Saviour makes it the proper badge of a Diſciple, the diſtinctive mark and character of our Profeſſion; By this ſhall all men know that ye are my Diſciples, if ye love one another.
I. In what ſenſe our Saviour calls this Commandment of loving one another a new Commaudment; Not that it is abſolutely and altogether New, but upon ſome ſpecial accounts. For it is a branch of the ancient and primitive Law of Nature. Aristotle truly obſerves that upon grounds of natural kindted and likeneſs all men are friends, and kindly diſpoſed towards one another. And it is a known Precept of the Jewiſh Religion, to love our Neighbour as our ſelves.
In ſome ſenſe then, it is no new Commandment; and ſo St. John, who was moſt likely to underſtand our Saviour's meaning in this particular, (all his preaching and writing being almoſt nothing elſe but an inculcating of this one Precept) explains this matter, telling us that in ſeveral reſpects it was, and it was not a new Commandment, 1 Joh. 2.7, 8. Brethren, I write no new Commandment unto you, but that which ye had from the beginning, that is, from ancient Times: But then he corrects himſelf; Again foreign, but yet, a new Commandment I write unto you. So that though it was not abſolutely new, yet upon divers conſiderable accounts it was ſo, and in a peculiar manner proper to the Evangelical Inſtitution; and is in ſo expreſs and particular a manner aſcribed to the teaching of the Holy Ghoſt, which was conferr'd upon Chriſtians by the Faith of the Goſpel, as if there hardly needed any outward inſtruction and exhortation to that purpoſe, 1 Theſſ. 4.9 But as touching brotherly love, ye need not that I write unto you, for ye your ſelves are foreign, divinely taught and inſpired to love one another.
This Commandment then of loving one another is by our Lord and Saviour ſo much enlarged as to the Object of it, beyond what either the Jews or Heathens did underſtand it to be, extending to all mankind, and even to our greateſt enemies; ſo greatly advanced and heightned as to the Degree of it, even to the laying down of our lives for one another; ſo effectually taught, ſo mightily encouraged, ſo very much urged and inſiſted upon, that it may very well be called a new Commandment: for though it was not altogether unknown to Mankind before, yet it was never ſo taught, ſo encouraged; never was ſuch an illuſtrious Example given of it, never ſo much weight and ſtreſs laid upon it by any Philoſophy or Religion that was before in the world.
II. I ſhall endeavour to declare to you the Nature of this Commandment, or the Duty required by it. And that will beſt be done, by inſtancing in the chief Acts and Properties of Love and Charity. As, humanity and kindneſs in all our carriage and behaviour towards one another; for Love ſmooths the diſpoſitions of men ſo that they are not apt to grate upon one another: Next, to rejoyce in the good and happineſs of one another, and to grieve at their evils and ſufferings; for Love unites the intereſts of men ſo as to make them affected with what happens to another as if it were in ſome ſort their own caſe: Then, to contribute as much as in us lies to the happineſs of one another, by relieving one anothers wants and redreſſing their misfortunes: Again, tenderneſs of their good name and reputation; a proneneſs to interpret all the words and actions of men to the beſt ſenſe; patience and forbearance towards one another; and when differences happen, to manage them with all poſſible calmneſs and kindneſs, and to be ready to forgive and to be reconciled to one another; to pray one for another; and if occaſion be, at leaſt if the publick good of Chriſtianity require it, to be ready to lay down our lives for our brethren, and to ſacrifice our ſelves for the furtherance of their Salvation.
III. We will conſider the Degrees and meaſures of our Charity, with regard to the various Objects about which it is exerciſed.
And as to the negative part of this Duty, it is to be extended equally towards all. We are not to hate or bear ill-will to any man, or to do him any harm or miſchief; Love worketh no evil to his neighbour. Thus much charity we are to exerciſe towards all without any exception, without any difference.
And as to the poſitive part of this Duty, we ſhould bear an univerſal good-will to all men, wiſhing every man's happineſs, and praying for it as heartily as for our own: And if we be ſincere herein, we ſhall be ready upon all occaſions to procure and promote the welfare of all men. But the outward acts and teſtimonies of our Charity neither can be actually extended to all, nor ought to be to all alike. We do not know the wants of all, and therefore our knowledg of perſons, and of their conditions doth neceſſarily limit the effects of our Charity within a certain compaſs; and of thoſe we do know, we can but relieve a ſmall part for want of ability. Whence it becomes neceſſary, that we ſet ſome rules to our ſelves for the more diſcreet ordering of our Charity; ſuch as theſe: Caſes of extremity ought to take place of all other. Obligations of Nature, and nearneſs of Relation, ſeem to challenge the next place. Obligations of kindneſs, and upon the account of benefits received, may well lay the next claim. And then the Houſhold of Faith is to be peculiarly conſidered. And after theſe, the merit of the perſons, and all circumſtances belonging to them, are to be weighed and valued: Thoſe who labour in an honeſt calling, but are oppreſs'd with their charge; thoſe who are fallen from a plentiful condition, eſpecially by misfortune, and the providence of God, without their own fault; thoſe who have relieved others, and have been eminently charitable and beneficial to mankind; and laſtly, thoſe whoſe viſible neceſſities and infirmities of body or mind, whether by age or by accident, do plead for them: All theſe do challenge our more eſpecial regard and conſideration.
IV. We will conſider our Obligations to this Duty, not only from our Saviour's Authority, but likewiſe from our own Nature, and from the reaſonableneſs and Excellency of the thing commanded. This is the Commandment of the Son of God, who came down from Heaven with full Authority to declare the Will of God to us. And this is peculiarly His Commandment, which he urgeth upon his Diſciples ſo earneſtly, and ſo as if he almoſt required nothing elſe in compariſon of this. Joh. 15.12. This is my Commandment, that ye love one another: And verſ. 17. Theſe things I command you, that ye love one another. As if this were the end of all his Precepts, and of his whole Doctrine, to bring us to the practice of this Duty. And ſo St. John, the loving and beloved Diſciple, ſpeaks of it as the great Meſſage which the Son of God was to deliver to mankind, 1 Joh. 3.11. This is the Meſſage which ye have heard from the beginning, that ye ſhould love one another. And ver. 23. This is his Commandment, that we ſhould believe on the Name of his Son Jeſus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us Commandment. And chap. 4. v. 21. This Commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God, love his Brother alſo.
But beſides the Authority of our Saviour, we have precedent obligation to it from our own Nature, and from the Reaſonableneſs and Excellency of the thing it ſelf. The frame of our Nature diſpoſeth us to it, and our inclination to Society, in which there can be no pleaſure, no advantage, without mutual love and kindneſs. And Equity alſo calls for it, for that we our ſelves wiſh and expect kindneſs from others is conviction enough to us that we owe it to others. The fulfilling of this Law is the great perfection of our Natures, the advancement and enlargement of our Souls, the chief ornament and beauty of a great mind. It makes us like to God, the beſt and moſt perfect and happieſt Being, in that which is the prime excellency and happineſs and glory of the Divine Nature.
And the advantages of this temper are unſpeakable and innumerable. It freeth our ſouls from thoſe unruly and Troubleſom and diſquieting Paſſions which are the great torment of our Spirits; from Anger and Envy, from Malice and Revenge, from Jealouſie and Diſcontent. It makes our minds calm and cheerful, and puts our ſouls into an eaſie poſture, and into good humour, and maintains us in the poſſeſſion and enjoyment of our ſelves: It preſerves men from many miſchiefs and inconveniences, to which enmity and ill-will do perpetually expoſe them: It is apt to make Friends, and to gain Enemies, and to render every condition either pleaſant, or eaſie, or tolerable to us. So that to love others, is the trueſt love to our ſelves, and doth redound to our own unſpeakable benefit and advantage in all reſpects.
It is a very conſiderable part of our Duty, and almoſt equall'd by our Saviour with the first and great Commandment of the Law. It is highly acceptable to God, moſt beneficial to others, and very comfortable to our ſelves. It is the eaſieſt of all Duties, and it makes all others eaſie; the pleaſure of it makes the pains to ſignifie nothing, and the delightful reflection upon it afterwards is a moſt ample reward of it. It is a Duty in every man's power to perform, how ſtrait and indigent ſoeever his fortune and condition be. The pooreſt man may be as charitable as a Prince; he may have as much kindneſs in his heart, though his hand cannot be ſo bountiful and munificent. Our Saviour inſtanceth in the giving of a cup of cold water, as a Charity that will be highly accepted and rewarded by God. And one of the moſt celebrated Charities that ever was, how ſmall was it for the matter of it, and yet how great in regard of the mind that gave it? I mean the Widow's two mites, which ſhe cast into the Treaſury: One could hardly give leſs, and yet none can give more, for ſhe gave all that ſhe had. All theſe excellencies and advantages of Love and Charity, which I have briefly recounted, are ſo many Arguments, ſo many obligations to the practice of this Duty.
V. We will conſider the great Inſtance and Example which is here propounded to our imitation; As I have loved you, that ye alſo love one another. The Son of God's becoming man, his whole Life, his bitter Death and Paſſion, all that he did and all that he ſuffered, was one great and continued proof and evidence of his mighty love to mankind. The greateſt Inſtance of love among men, and that too but very rare, is for a Man to lay down his life for another, for his Friend; but the Son of God died for all mankind, and we were all his enemies. And ſhould we not cheerfully imitate the Example of that great Love and Charity, the effects whereof are ſo comfortable, ſo beneficial, ſo happy to every one of us. Had he not loved us, and died for us, we had certainly periſh'd, we had been miſerable and undone to all eternity.
And to perpetuate this great Example of Charity, and that it might be always freſh in our memories, the great Sacrament of our Religion was on purpoſe inſtituted for the Commemoration of this great love of the Son of God, in laying down his life and ſhedding his precious blood for the wicked and rebellious Race of mankind. But I have not time to enlarge upon this noble Argument as it deſerves.
VI. The last thing to be conſidered is the place and rank which this Precept and Duty holds in the Chriſtian Religion. Our bleſſed Saviour here makes it the proper badg and cogniſance of our Profeſſion; By this ſhall all men know that ye are my Diſciples, if ye love one another. The different Sects among the Jews had ſome peculiar Character to diſtinguiſh them from one another: The Scholars of the ſeveral great Rabbi's among them had ſome peculiar Sayings and Opinions, ſome Cuſtoms and Traditions whereby they were ſeverally known; And ſo likewiſe the Diſciples of John the Baptiſt were particularly remarkable for their great Auſterities. In alluſion to theſe diſtinctions of Sects and Schools among the Jews, our Saviour fixeth upon this mark and character whereby his Diſciples ſhould be known from the Diſciples of any other Inſtitution, A mighty love and affection to one another.
Other Sects were diſtinguiſh'd by little Opinions, or by ſome external Rites and Obſervances in Religion; but our Saviour pitcheth upon that which is the moſt real and ſubſtantial, the moſt large and extenſive, the moſt uſeful and beneficial, the moſt humane and the moſt divine quality of which we are capable.
This was his great Commandment to his Diſciples, before he left the World: This was the Legacy he left them, and the effect of his laſt Prayers for them: And for this end, among others, he inſtituted the Sacrament of his bleſſed Body and Blood, to be a lively remembrance of his great Charity to mankind, and a perpetual bond of Love and Union amongſt his Followers.
And the Apoſtles of our Lord and Saviour do upon all occaſions recommend this to us, as a principal Duty and Part of our Religion; telling us, That in Chriſt Jeſus, that is, in the Chriſtian Religion, nothing will avail, no not Faith it ſelf, unleſs it be enlivened and inſpired by Charity; That Love is the end of the Commandment, foreign, the end of the Evangelical declaration, the firſt Fruit of the Spirit, the ſpring and root of all thoſe Graces and Virtues which concern our duty towards one another: That it is the ſum and abridgement, the accompliſhment and fulfilling of the whole Law: That without this, whatever we pretend to in Chriſtianity, we are nothing, and our Religion is vain: That this is the greateſt of all Graces and Virtues, greater than Faith and Hope; and of perpetual uſe and duration, Charity never fails.
And therefore they exhort us above all things to endeavour after it, as the Crown of all other Virtues; Above all things have fervent charity among your ſelves, ſaith St. Peter: And St. Paul, having enumerated moſt other Chriſtian Virtues, exhorts us above all to ſtrive after this, And above all theſe things put on charity, which is the bond of perfection. This St. John makes one of the moſt certain ſigns of our love to God, and the want of it an undeniable argument of the contrary: If a man ſay I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a lyar; for he who loveth not his brother whom he hath ſeen, how can he love God whom he hath not ſeen? This he declares to be one of the beſt evidences that we are in a ſtate of Grace and Salvation, Hereby we know that we are paſſed from death to life, becauſe we love the brethren.
So that well might our bleſſed Saviour chuſe this for the badge of his Diſciples, and make it the great Precept of the beſt and moſt perfect Inſtitution? Other things might have ſerved better for pomp and oſtentation, and have more gratified the Curioſity, or Enthuſiaſm, or Superſtition of mankind, but there is no quality in the World which upon a ſober and impartial conſideration is of a more ſolid and intrinſick value.
And in the firſt Ages of Chriſtianity, the Chriſtians were very eminent for this Vertue, and particularly noted for it; Nobis notam inurit apud quoſdam, it is a mark and brand ſet upan us by ſome, ſaith Tertullian; and he tells us that it was proverbially ſaid among the Heathen, Behold how theſe Chriſtians love one another. Lucian, that great ſcoffer at all Religion, acknowledgeth in behalf of Chriſtians, that this was the great Principle which their Maſter had inſtill'd into them: And Julian, the bittereſt Enemy that Chriſtianity ever had, could not forbear to propound to the Heathen for an example the charity of the Galileans, for ſo by way of reproach he calls the Chriſtians, who (ſays he) gave up themſelves to humanity and kindneſs; which he acknowledgeth to have been very much to the advantage and reputation of our Religion: And in the ſame Letter to Arſacius, the Heathen High Prieſt of Galatia, he gives this memorable Teſtimony of the Chriſtians, that their Charity was not limited and confin'd onelyonly to themſelves, but extended even to their Enemies; which could not be ſaid either of the Jews or Heathens: His words are theſe, It is a ſhame, that when the Jews ſuffer none of theirs to beg, and the impious Galileans relieve not onelyonly their own, but thoſe alſo of our Religion, that we onelyonly ſhould be defective in ſo neceſſary a Duty. By all which it is evident that Love and Charity is not onelyonly the great Precept of our Saviour, but was in thoſe firſt and beſt Times the general practice of his Diſciples, and acknowledged by the Heathens as a very peculiar and remarkable quality in them.
The application I ſhall make of this Diſcourſe ſhall be threefold.
1. With relation to the Church of Rome.
2. With regard to our ſelves who profeſs the Proteſtant Reform'd Religion.
3. With a more particular reſpect to the occaſion of this Meeting.
Firſt, With relation to the Church of Rome: Which we cannot chuſe but think of, whenever we ſpeak of Charity and loving one another; eſpecially having had ſo late a diſcovery of their affection to us, and ſo conſiderable a teſtimony of the kindneſs and charity which they deſign'd towards us: ſuch as may juſtly make the ears of all that hear it to tingle, and render Popery execrable and infamous, a frightful and a hateful thing to the end of the World.
It is now but too viſible how groſly this great Commandment of our Saviour is contradicted, not onelyonly by the Practices of thoſe in that Communion, from the Pope down to the meaneſt Fryar; but by the very Doctrines and Principles, by the Genius and Spirit of that Religion, which is wholly calculated for cruelty and perſecution. Where now is that mark of a Diſciple, ſo much inſiſted upon by our Lord and Maſter, to be found in that Church? And yet what is the Chriſtian Church but the Society and Community of Chriſts Diſciples? Surely in all reaſon, that which our Lord made the diſtinctive Mark and Character of his Diſciples, ſhould be the principal mark of a true Church. Bellarmine reckons up no leſs than fifteen marks of the rrue Church, all which the Church of Rome arrogates to her ſelf alone: But he wiſely forgot that which is worth all the reſt, and which our Saviour inſiſts upon as the chief of all other, A ſincere Love and Charity to all Chriſtians: This he knew would by no means agree to his own Church.
But for all that, it is very reaſonable that Churches as well as particular Chriſtians ſhould be judged by their Charity. The Church of Rome would engroſs all Faith to her ſelf; Faith in its utmoſt perfection, to the degree and pitch of Infallibility: And they allow no body in the world, beſides themſelves, no though they believe all the Articles of the Apoſtles Creed, to have one grain of true Faith; becauſe they do not believe upon the Authority of their Church, which they pretend to be the onelyonly foundation of true Faith. This is a moſt arrogant and vain pretence; but admit it were true, yet in the Judgement of St. Paul, Though they had all Faith, if they have not Charity, they are nothing.
The greateſt wonder of all is this, that they who hate and perſecute Chriſtians moſt, do all this while the moſt confidently of all others pretend to be the Diſciples of Chriſt, and will allow none to be ſo but themſelves, That Church which excommunicates all other Chriſtian Churches in the world, and if ſhe could, would extirpate them out of the world, will yet needs aſſume to her ſelf to be the only Chriſtian Church: As if our Saviour had ſaid, Hereby ſhall all men know that ye are my Diſciples, if ye hate, and excommunicate, and kill one another. What ſhall he done unto thee, thou falſe tongue? thou empty and impudent pretence of Chriſtianity!
Secondly, With relation to our ſeves, who profeſs the Proteſtant Reformed Religion. How is this great Precept of our Saviour not onelyonly ſhamefully neglected, but plainly violated by us? And that not only by private hatred and ill-will, quarrels and contentions in our civil converſation and entercourſe with one another; but by moſt unchriſtian diviſions and animoſities in that common relation wherein we ſtand to one another, as Brethren, as Chriſtians, as Proteſtants.
Have we not all one Father? hath not one God created us? And are we not in a more peculiar and eminent manner Brethren, being all the children of God by faith in Jeſus Chriſt? Are we not all members of the ſame Body, and partakers of the ſame Spirit, and Heirs of the ſame bleſſed Hopes of eternal life?
So that being Brethren upon ſo many accounts, and by ſo many bonds and endearments all united to one another, and all travelling towards the ſame heavenly Country, why do we fall out by the way, ſince we are Brethren? Why do we not as becomes Brethren, dwell together in unity? but are ſo apt to quarrel and break out into heats, to crumble into Sects and Parties, to divide and ſeparate from one another upon every ſlight and trifling occaſion.
Give me leave a little more fully to expoſtulate this matter, but very calmly and in the ſpirit of meekneſs, and in the name of our dear Lord who loved us all at ſuch a rate as to die for us, to recommend to you this new Commandment of his, that ye love one another: Which is almoſt a new Commandment ſtill, and hardly the worſe for wearing; ſo ſeldom it is put on, and ſo little hath it been practiſed among Chriſtians for ſeveral Ages.
Conſider ſeriouſly with your ſelves; ought not the great matters wherein we are agreed, our union in the Doctrines of the Chriſtian Religion and in all the neceſſary Articles of that Faith which was once delivered to the Saints, in the ſame Sacraments, and in all the ſubſtantial parts of God's worſhip, and in the great Duties and Vertues of the Chriſtian life, to be of greater force to unite us, than difference in doubtful Opinions, and in little Rites and Circumſtances of worſhip to divide and break us?
Are not the things about which we differ in their nature indifferent, that is, things about which there ought to be no difference among wiſe men? Are they not at a great diſtance from the life and eſſence of Religion, and rather good or bad as they tend to the Peace and Unity of the Church, or are made uſe of to Schiſm and Faction, than either neceſſary or evil in themſelves? And ſhall little ſcruples weigh ſo far with us, as by breaking the Peace of the Church about them to endanger our whole Religion? Shall we take one another by the throat for an hundred pence, when our common Adverſary ſtands ready to clap upon us an Action of ten thouſand talents? Can we in good earneſt be contented that rather than the Surplice ſhould not be thrown out, Popery ſhould come in; and rather than receive the Sacrament in the humble but indifferent poſture of kneeling, to ſwallow the Camel of Tranſubſtantiation, and adore the Elements of Bread and Wine for our God and Saviour? and rather than to ſubmit to a Set Form of Prayer, to have the Service of God perform'd in an unknown Tongue?
Are we not yet made ſenſible, at leaſt in this our Day, by ſo clear a Demonſtration as the Providence of God hath lately given us: and had not He been infinitely merciful to us, might have proved the deareſt and moſt dangerous Experiment that ever was: I ſay, are we not yet convinced, what mighty advantages our Enemies have made of our Diviſions, and what a plentiful harveſt they have had among us, during our Differences, and upon occaſion of them; and how near their Religion was to have entred in upon us at once, at thoſe wide breaches which we had made for it? And will we ſtill take counſel of our Enemies, and chuſe to follow that courſe to which, of all other, they who hate us and ſeek our ruine would moſt certainly adviſe and direct us? Will we freely offer them that advantage which they would be contented to purchaſe at any rate?
Let us after all our ſad experience, at laſt take Warning to keep a ſtedfaſt eye upon our chief Enemy, and not ſuffer our ſelves to be diverted from the conſideration and regard of our greateſt danger by the petty provocations of our Friends; ſo I chuſe to call thoſe who diſſent from us in leſſer matters, becauſe I would fain have them ſo, and they ought in all reaſon to be ſo: But however they behave themſelves, we ought not much to mind thoſe who only fling dirt at us, whilſt we are ſure there are others who fly at our throats, and ſtrike at our very hearts.
Let us learn this wiſdom of our Enemies, who though they have many great differences among themſelves, yet they have made a ſhift at this time to unite together to deſtroy us: And ſhall not we do as much to ſave our ſelves?
—fas est & ab hoſte doceri.
It was a Principle among the ancient Romans, a brave and a wiſe People, donare inimicitias Reip. to give up and ſacrifice their private enmities and quarrels to the publick good and the ſafety of the Common-wealth. And is it not to every conſiderate man as clear as the Sun at Noonday, that nothing can maintain and ſupport the Proteſtant Religion amongſt us, and found our Church upon a Rock, ſo that when the rain falls, and the winds blow, and the floods beat upon it, it ſhall ſtand firm and unſhaken: That nothing can be a Bulwark of ſufficient force to reſiſt all the arts and attempts of Popery, but an eſtabliſht National Religion, firmly united and compacted in all the parts of it? Is it not plain to every eye, that little Sects and ſeparate Congregations can never do it? but will be like a Foundation of ſand to a weighty Building, which whatever ſhew it may make cannot ſtand long, becauſe it wants▪ Union at the Foundation, and for that reaſon muſt neceſſarily want ſtrength and firmneſs.
It is not for private perſons to undertake in matters of publick concernment; but I think we have no cauſe to doubt, but the Governors of our Church (notwithſtanding all the advantages of Authority, and we think of reaſon too on our ſide) are Perſons of that Piety and Prudence, that for Peace ſake, and in order to a firm Union among Proteſtants, they would be content, if that would do it, not to inſiſt upon little things; but to yield them up, whether to the infirmity, or importunity, or, perhaps in ſome very few things, to the plauſible exceptions of thoſe who differ from us.
But then ſurely on the other ſide, men ought to bring along with them a peaceable diſpoſition, and a mind ready to comply with the Church in which they were born and baptized, in all reaſonable and lawful things, and deſirous upon any terms that are tolerable to return to the Communion of it: a mind free from paſſion and prejudice, from peeviſh exceptions, and groundleſs and endleſs ſcruples; not apt to inſiſt upon little cavils and objections, to which the very beſt things, and the greateſt and cleareſt Truths in the world are and always will be liable▪ And whatever they have been heretofore, to be henceforth no more children, toſſed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of Doctrine, by the ſleight of men and cunning craftineſs of thoſe who lie in wait to deceive.
And if we were thus affected on all hands, we might yet be a happy Church and Nation; if we would govern our ſelves by theſe Rules and walk according to them, peace would be upon us, and mercy, and on the Iſrael of God.
Thirdly, I ſhall conclude all with a few words in relation to the occaſion of this preſent meeting. I have all this while been recommending to you, from the Authority and Example of our Bleſſed Saviour, and from the nature and reaſon of the thing it ſelf, this moſt exellent Grace and Virtue of Charity, in the moſt proper Acts and Inſtances of it: But beſides particular Acts of Charity to be exerciſed upon emergent occaſions, there are likewiſe charitable Cuſtoms which are highly commendable, becauſe they are more certain and conſtant, of a larger extent, and of a longer continuance: As the Meeting of the Sons of the Clergy, which is now form'd and eſtabliſh'd into a charitable Corporation: And the Anniverſary Meetings of thoſe of the ſeveral Counties of England, who reſide, or happen to be in London; for two of the beſt and nobleſt ends that can be, the maintaining of Friendſhip, and the promoting of Charity. Theſe, and others of the like kind, I call charitable cuſtoms, which of late years have very much obtained in this great and famous City. And it cannot but be a great pleaſure and ſatisfaction to all good men, to ſee ſo generous, ſo humane, ſo Chriſtian a diſpoſition to prevail and reign ſo much amongſt us.
The ſtrange overflowing of vice and wickedneſs in our Land, and the prodigious increaſe and impudence of infidelity and impiety, hath of late years boaded very ill to us, and brought terrible Judgments upon this City and Nation, and ſeems ſtill to threaten us with more and greater: And the greateſt comfort I have had under theſe ſad apprehenſions of Gods diſpleaſure hath been this, that though bad men were perhaps never worſe in any Age, yet the good, who I hope are not a few, were never more truly and ſubſtantially good: I do verily believe there never were, in any Time, greater and more real effects of Charity; not from a blind ſuperſtition, and an ignorant zeal, and a mercenary and arrogant and preſumptuous principle of Merit, but from a ſound knowledg, and a ſincere love and obedience to God, or, as the Apoſtle expreſſes it, out of a pure heart, and of a good conſcience, and of faith unfeigned.
And who, that loves God and Religion, can chuſe but take great contentment to ſee ſo general and forward an inclination in People this way? Which hath been very much cheriſhed of late years by this ſort of Meetings: and that to very good purpoſe and effect, in many charitable contributions diſpoſed in the beſt and wiſeſt ways: and which likewiſe hath tended very much to the reconciling of the minds of men, and the allaying of thoſe fierce heats and animoſities which have ben cauſed by our Civil confuſions, and Religious diſtractions. For there is nothing many times wanting to take away prejudice, and to extinguiſh hatred and ill-will, but an opportunity for men to ſee and underſtand one another; by which they will quickly perceive, that they are not ſuch Monſters as they have been repreſented one to another at a diſtance.
We are, I think, one of the laſt Counties of England that have entred into this friendly and charitable kind of Society; Let us make amends for our late ſetting out by quickning our pace, that ſo we may overtake and outſtrip thoſe who are gone before us: Let not our Charity partake of the coldneſs of our Climate, but let us endeavour that it may be equal to the extent of our Country; and as we are incomparably the greateſt County of England, let it appear that we are ſo by the largeneſs and extent of our Charity.
O Lord, who haſt taught us that all our doings without Charity are nothing, ſend thy Holy Ghoſt, and pour into our hearts that moſt excellent gift of Charity, the very bond of Peace, and of all Vertues: Without which whoſover liveth, is counted dead before thee. Grant this for thy only Son Jeſus Chriſt's ſake.
Now the God of Peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, the great Shepherd of the Sheep, through the blood of the everlaſting Covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleaſing in his ſight, through Jeſus Chriſt, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.