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mercy, the pardon and forgiveness of our fins, we find more especially and exprefly promis'd, as the reward of that branch of mercy in a Chriftian, the forgiveness of the wrongs and injuries done to him by others: *For if ye forgive men their trefpaffes, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. And, When ye ftand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any, that your Father alfo which is in heaven may forgive you your trefpaffes. Not that the forgiving others will, without more ado, entitle us to forgiveness, for by the whole tenor of the New Teftament, 'tis plain there must be alfo true repentance, and the practice of all other virtues required of us in the Gofpel, without which, we fhall certainly fail, nevertheless, of pardon and falvation; but forgiveness is promis'd peculiarly to him, who from his heart forgives his brother, becaufe he who obeys this command in hopes of pardon, will by the fame motive be induced to obey the reft of God's commands, which are neceffary for the obtaining forgiveness of fins. And the negative holds always and abfolutely true, that let our other virtues be as great and as many as they will, if we do not forgive, we fhall not be forgiven.

I muft add, that notwithstanding the immediate connexion betwixt the grace of forgiving others, and the reward for it, of being our felves forgiven, mercy is fuch a general word, that confidering it as a chriftian virtue, it must not be reftrained to that one branch, the forgiving and doing good to enemies, but extends alfo to all the other parts and inftances of mercy; and confidering it as a reward, it implies not only pardon and forgivenefs, but all the confequents thereof, that immenfe variety of happiness, that eternal fpring of glory and delights,

*Matth. vi. 14. † Mark xi. 25.
xviii. 35. Mark xi. 26.
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Matth. vi. 15.

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which shall be the portion of all pardoned fouls in heaven. And though no good thing we do can deferve this pardon, and the exceeding great reward which follows thereupon; yet to the merciful, as fuch, if they are fo on the score of confcience and the command of God, belongs this valuable promife, in whatever way they exprefs that excellent temper, on which the bleffing is entail'd.

CHAP. VI.

Of PURITY of HEART.

MATTH. V. 8.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall fee God.

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HIS is the fixth in order, of the Beatitudes, and contains in it a farther character of that difpofition or temper of mind, which is required under the ftate of the Gofpel; together with an encouragement or reward propounded. The difpofition is purity of heart; the encouragement thereto, a promise of the fight of God. We will first, therefore, confider the meaning and extent of this difpofition, and then the bleffing pronounc'd upon it.

I. FIRST,

I. FIRST, For the extent and meaning of this purity of heart recommended to us in the text. And for the explaining of this, I fhall fol low the observation which expofitors have made in the cafe, that things are commonly faid to be pure in two refpects; (1.) As they are fimple, unmix'd, and uncompounded with any other fubftance; and (2.) As they are unftain'd and free from any pollu→ tion or defilement, of which they may be capable. Now this being apply'd to the heart, will give occafion to a double argument of difcourfe; (1.) Concerning fincerity and fimplicity, opposed to mixture and compofition; (2.) Concerning purity, properly fo called, as oppofite to pollution or defilement.

FIRST then, The pure in heart are the fincere and honeft, fuch as have but one heart and one appearance, exercifing an undivided affection, an undiffembled integrity; oppofed to thofe * doubleminded men St. James fpeaks of, who are unstable in all their ways, and whom he calls upon to †purify their hearts. And this difpofition being re fpectively to be exercised both towards God, and towards Man, let us take a view of it in relation to both.

I. IN relation to God; and as fuch,

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(1.) THIS purity of heart reftrains us to the ac knowledgment and worship of one God only, and forbids idolatry; for what communion hath light with darkness? and what concord hath Chrift with Belial? The Lord our God is one Lord, and we ought to love him with all our heart, and with all our foul, and with all our might. :. His glory be will not give to another, nor his praife to graven images. Now that this may not feem a needless

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and an useless Topic to infift upon with Chriftians, who all profefs to worship one God, and Jefus Chrift whom he has fent, it will be requifite to take notice that whatever that object or enjoyment is, which we inordinately fet our hearts upon, and fo unreafonably affect, that we will rather break through the obedience we owe to God, than crofs our appetite and defire of it, that thing, whatever it is, is an idol, and another God to us, and our diforderly affection to it is idolatry. Thus St. Paul has exprefly taught us, in the cafe of two great vices, covetoufnels and luxury. Of the firit of thefe, the too eager defire and love of money, in that paffage, *Mortify therefore your members which are on the earth, inordinate affection, evil concupifcence, and covetousness, which is idolatry. And elfewhere he calls the covetous man an idolater. Of luxury or intemperance, excefs in eating and drinking, the fame Apoftle gives the fame character; + For many walk, of whom I told you often, and now tell you even weeping, whofe God is their belly, whofe glory is their fhame, who mind earthly things. The covetous man regards not the fervice of God fo much as the encrease of his riches; he puts his truft in his money, and acknowledges no other Providence than his own; confiders it as his only treafure, his only happiness and fafeguard, and therefore in truth it is his only God; or if he do fometimes, for fafhion fake, prefent himself amongst the worshippers of the true God, his heart is ftill upon his money, and 'tis to this he pays his best and most intense devotion. The luxurious and intemperate do the fame by pleasure, as the other does by riches; their fenfual appetites entirely govern them; the indulgence of thefe is all the heaven they know or care for; the laws of God (and very often the

* Col. iii. 5.

f Eph. v. 5.

Phil. iii, 18, 19.

time which should be spent in the publick worship of him) are facrificed to them. So that thefe men are also double-dealers with their Maker, whom outwardly they pretend to own; their appetites are gods to them as well as he, and much more honour'd and obey'd. If therefore that be true, as certainly it is, which Chrift has told us, that we cannot ferve God and mammon; and that of the Apoftle, to whom we yield our felves fervants to obey, his fervants we are to whom we obey; it must neceffarily follow, that fo much as we withdraw from the faithful fervice of God, and give to any other object; fo much we are guilty of fetting up to our felves an idol or falfe deity, notwithstanding all our pretences to be the fervants of the true God; than which there cannot be a greater of‐ fence against the faithfulness or fimplicity of heart, described under the first general article.

(2.) THE fame fimplicity of heart, requires not only that we should worship God alone, but alfo that we should worship him in the way of his own appointment; not affecting innovations and will-worthip in his fervice, which neither divine precept, the example of the primitive Chriftians, or the standing order, cuftom, or direction of the Church, (the governors of which have authority from God to appoint the outward circumftances of religion, as may be moft to decency and edification) have prescribed. And it requires alfo that we fhould prefent to him the entire and uniform fervice of all our faculties, the humble pofture of our bodies, as well as the fincere devotion of our fouls, in our addreffes to him, or attendance upon him. For we read of Chrift himself, that he kneeled down and prayed; and the fame is recorded of ‡ St. Stephen alfo,

*

Matth. vi. 24. Rom. vi. 16. * Luke xx 41. Acts vii. 60.

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