CIII.

SERM of any positive inftitution; and God hath plainly faid, "that he will have mercy rather than facri"fice," yea rather than the facrifice of the mass,.' if it were what they pretend it is, the offering of the natural body, and, blood of CHRIST; because it would be, needlefs: for propitiation of fin being once made by "CHRIST's offering himfelf once for. "all" upon the crofs; "there needs no more fa-. "crifice for fin." Nay, I will go further yet; I had rather never adminifter the facrament, nor ever receive it, than, take away any man's life about it;: because the facrament is but a pofitive rite and inftitution of the chriftian religion, and GoD prefers mercy, which is a duty of natural religion, before any rite or inftitution whatsoever. Befides, that all acts of malice and cruelty are directly contrary to the particular nature and defign of this bleffed facrament, which is to commemorate the fufferings of the Son of GOD for our fakes, and to give us an example of the greatest love that ever was, and thereby to excite us to the imitation of it..

2. What hath been faid gives us, a right notion and character of that church and religion, which prefers the positive rites, and inftitutions of religion, and the obfervance of them, to thofe duties which are of natural and eternal obligation, mercy and goodness, fidelity and juftice; and which for the fake of a pretended article of religion, or rite of worship, (which if it were certain that they were revealed, and instituted by GoD are yet merely pofitive) will break the greatest of God's commandments, and teach men fo.

CIII.

It is too plain to be denied, that the principlesS ER M. and precepts of natural religion were never fo effectually undermined, and the morality of the chriftian religion never fo intolerably corrupted and debauched, by any thing that ever had the face of religion in the world, as by the allowed doctrines and practices of the church of Rome, and this out of a blind and furious zeal for fome imaginary doctrines and rites of the chriftian religion, which at the best are of mere pofitive inftitution, and of the fame I rank among chriftians, that facrifices were in the jewish religion. For which we need go no further for an inftance, than in the occafion of this day's folemnity; upon which day, (about fourscore years ago) there was defigned a mighty facrifice indeed, the greatest and richest burnt-offering that ever was pretended to be offered up to almighty God, by thofe of any religion whatsoever; not "the blood "of bulls and goats," but of king, and princes, and nobles, more in value than " thousands of rams, " and ten thousands of rivers of oil; than all the beafts of the foreft, and the cattle upon a thoufand hills,"

Here was a prodigious facrifice indeed; but where was mercy? the thing GOD chiefly defires, and which above all other things is acceptable to him; no mercy, not even to thofe of their own religion, whom thefe nice and tender cafuifts, after a folemn debate of the cafe, had refolved to involve in the fame common deftruction with the reft; rather no mercy, than that this facrifice which their mad zeal had prompted them to, fhould be omit*ted.

Το

To conclude, they that can do fuch inhuman things, and think them to be religion, do not understand the nature of it, but had need to be taught the first rudiments of natural religion; that natural duties are not to be violated upon pretence, no, not for the fake of positive inftitutions; because natural religion is the foundation of that which is inftituted; and therefore to violate any natural duty for the fake of that which is inftituted, is for religion to undermine and blow up itself. Let those who do fuch things, and teach men fo, "go and learn what "that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not facrifice.”

CIV.

this text.

SERMON

CIV.

Christianity doth not deftroy, but perfect the law of Mofes.

MATTH. v. 17.

Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets. I am not come to deftroy, but to fulfil.

TH

SERM. HERE is no faying in the whole gospel, which the Jews did fo frequently object to The firft the chriftians as this of our bleffed SAVIOUR, as if fermon on his words and actions were plainly repugnant, and contrary to one another: for when it is evident, fay they, that he took away fo many ceremonies, purifications, diftinctions of meats, facrifices, judicial laws, and many other things; yet he fays," he "came not to destroy the law or the prophets;"

fo

CIV.

fo that it is plain, that he did throw down the law SER M. of Mofes, and in fo doing contradicted his own saying, that he did not intend" to deftroy the law." To clear our SAVIOUR'S words of this objection, it will be requifite to confider the scope and design of his discourse in this chapter; by which we fhall fully understand the fenfe and meaning of these words in the text.

Our SAVIOUR in this fermon, (which contains the fum and fubftance of his religion) doth earnestly recommend to his difciples and followers, and strictly enjoins the perfect practice of all goodness and virtue, declaring to them, that he came to bring in and establish that righteousness, which the jewifh religion indeed aimed at, but through the weakness and imperfection of that difpenfation, was not able to effect and accomplish. And to take away all fufpicion of a defign, to contradict the former revelations of GOD, made to the Jews by Mofes and the prophets, or to destroy their divine authority, by carrying on a design contrary to them, I fay, to prevent any imagination of this kind, he does here in the text exprefly declare the contrary; "Think "not, &c." intimating that fome either did, or at least might be apt to fufpect, that his defign was to deftroy the obligation of the law, and to undermine the authority of Mofes and the prophets; to free them from this jealoufy, he declares plainly, that he had no fuch thought and intention, it was far from him.

"I come not to destroy, xalaλurai, to abrogate or diffolve the law," to encourage men to the breach and violation of it; for the word is of the

fame

❝ments;

SERM. the fame fenfe with aus, at the 19th verfe, "whoCIV. "foever fhall break one of thefe leaft command" and with xarapynas, Rom. iii. 31. vóμov αтαрyμE," do we then make void the νόμον ἐν καταργέμεν, "law by faith?" which is the fame question with that of the fame apoftle, Gal. iii. 21. "Is the law "then against the promises of GOD?" that is," are "the law and the gofpel contrary? do they con"tradict one another; " fo that the meaning of our SAVIOUR'S declaration is this, that he was not come to diffolve, and abrogate, and make void the law, or to encourage men to the breach of it; that the precepts of his religion were in no wife contrary to thofe of the law and the prophets, did not thwart and oppose them, or any ways contradict the main defign and intention of the law and the prophets; that is, of the jewish religion; for fo the law and the prophets do frequently fignify, Matth. vii. 12.

Therefore all things whatfoever ye would that "men fhould do to you, do ye even so to them; for

this is the law and the prophets;" that is, this is the main fcope and intention of what your religion, -contained in the law and the prophets," teacheth, concerning your duty to one another. So likewife, Matth. xxii. 40. "On these two commandments "hang all the law and the prophets;" that is, this is the fum of all the duties of religion; to these two laws, all that the jewish religion teacheth, may be referred. "I am not come to destroy but to fulfil;" to carry on the fame design which was intended by the jewish religion, and to perfect and accomplish it; to fupply all the defects and weakneffes and imperfections of that difpenfation; this is the plain mean