THESE Words were spoken, by our Blessed Lord, to the Scribes, and Pharisees, in His Day; whom He severely re­proves, for several very great Errors, and Mistakes in their Conduct, with respect to the MoralLife. The Scribes and Pharisees were very remarkable, among the Jews, for their strict Observation of the Exter­nals, and Rituals of Religion; and not content with the many Ceremonies of the Law of Moses, [Page 2] had advanced various Customs, and Traditions, of their own Invention, into an Equality with those of Divine Appointment, and made them necessary Appendages of their Religion. The Evangelist Luke therefore, in his XI. Chap. at ver. 38. takes notice of the Occasion of our Lord's dispencing this Rebuke in my Text to them, namely, their finding Fault with Him, for not observing their Custom of Washing, before He sat down to Meat, when He was in­vited to dine with one of the Pharisees; which our Lord layes hold on as a good Opportunity, to shew them, the vanity of their pretentions to greater Piety and Holiness than other Men, because of their being so very punctillious with regard to the Externals, and Rituals of their Re­ligion; when at the same time, they were so very negligent of the more essential parts of true Religion.

The Jews had the Pharisees in such Venera­tion among them, for their Sanctity, because they were so critical in their Observation of the outwardForm of Religion, that they verily tho't, if there were but Two Men in the World that should get to Heaven, a Pharisee would be one of them. But our Lord, who better un­derstood Religion, and the Pharisee, lets them know, that notwithstanding all their exactness, in attending upon the outward Form & Rituals of Religion, they were so far from bidding fair for the Kingdom of Heaven, that the Wo of Hypocrites belonged to them, while they lived in the neglect of those more essential Parts and [Page 3] Duties of true Religion, Judgment, Mercy and Faith: Wo unto you, Scribes, and Pharisees, Hypocrites, (sayes he) for ye pay Tithe of Mint, and Annise, and Cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the Law, Judgment, Mercy and Faith, &c.

Some ^† have been ready to think that the Scribes and Pharisees are here reproved for their Covetousness, in exacting the Tithe of the people to the minutest part of it: but this does not seem to be the intent of the words, for the Scribes and Pharisees were not the Priests and Levites, to whom the Tithe belonged ^‖ But it plainly intimates to us, that they were a Ge­neration of Men, who made a great outward shew of Religion, insomuch, that they seemed to make Conscience of, and were exceeding scrupulous about the externals and modalities thereof, even to a critical paying the least part of their Tithe, tho' it were but a little Mint, Annise and Cummin.

Our Saviour does not reprove them for this their exactness in the outward duties of Religi­on, which he sayes, ought not to be left undone; but that under this outward shew, and mighty pretence of Zeal for the lesser parts and duties of Religion, they really neglected the greater,the weightier matters of the Law, Judgment, [Page 4] Mercy and Faith ^† which plainly spoke them Hypocrites at the bottom, to whom the Wo and Curse of God belonged.

In the further handling of these words, I crave your patience while I discourse, as briefly as I can, upon these Four or Five Things, which are plainly included in them.

I. That the Externals and Rituals of Religi­on ought to be observed by us. These ought not to be lest undone.

II. The Duties of Judgment, Mercy, and Faith, are specially to be observed, as the weightier matters of the Law. These ye ought to have done.

III. No exactness in the Observation of the Externals and Rituals of Religion will be an Excuse for our Neglect of the weightier matters of the Law.

IV. Tho' a Man should be ever so exact in the Externals of Religion, yet if he neg­lects Judgment, Mercy and Faith, he is but an Hypocrite after all.

V. While Judgment, Mercy and Faith are neglected, the greatest Criticalness in the Rituals of Religion will not secure a Man from the Wo.

[Page 5]All of these I think, are very fairly included in the words of my Text, and I shall offer some­thing to each of them, in their Order.

I. The Externals and Rituals of Religion ought to be observed by us. This is what the Scribes and Pharisees were very exact in. They were noted for their scrupulous niceness in every little Modality of Religion, & were such strict observers of the Letter of the Law of Moses, that they were very punctillious even in the most Minute part of their Tithe. So that their paying Tithe of Mint, Annise, and Cummin, seems to include in it, a Critical Ex­actness about the Externals & Rituals of Re­ligion; and these, said our Blessed Saviour, ye ought not to leave undone. Which shews they are to be observed by us.

By the Externals of Religion, I mean all those various ways by which we outwardly ex­press our Belief of, and Reverence to the Deity, whether in Word, or Gesture; as all our out­ward Acts of Religious Worship, whether more privately, in the Family, or more publickly, in the House of God; together with the Gravity and Seriousness of our Countenances, and Com­posure of our Bodies, while we are bowing be­fore the Lord our God. And by the Rituals of Religion, I mean those Rites and Ceremonies of our Holy Religion, which are of Divine Ap­pointment; whereby we take upon us the Badge and Token of our peculiar Relation to God, as his People, and express our Hope of [Page 6] the promised Mercy of God, and bring ourselves under explicit Obligations to be his Servants, obedient to all his Commands.

These Externals and Rituals of Religion, I say, ought not to be neglected by us; but are carefully to be observed, even to the minute Circumstance of paying Tithe of Mint, Annice and Cummin. For indeed the Light of Nature leads hereto, and the Command of God enjoyns it upon us.

The light of Nature leads to it; for upon Supposition of the Being of a God, infinitely Great and Powerful, Wife, Holy, Just & Good, it is one of the next and plain Consequences that then, this God ought to be reverenced, and Worshipped; that therefore we should be careful not to affront him, and cast Contempt and Indignity upon him, by Blasphemy, or any profane mentioning of his Holy Name; that we ought to pay our publick Honour to him, and so acknowledge him the Author of all our publick, as well as private and personal Mercies. Thus far the Light of Nature goes; tho' it does not dictate to us, how we are to Worship God, nor what are the Rites and Ceremonies, which are most acceptable and pleasing to him.

But then, these Externals and Rituals of Re­ligion are enjoyned us by the positive Com­mand of God. As we are commanded to enter into our Closet, and pray to our Father which seeth in secret, so a more publick and social Worship is required of us. This God required of his professing people of old, in the Days of [Page 7] the old Testament, as is plainly evident beyond dispute, from the whole History of the Old Testament ^(a). To this end served their Ta­bernacle and Temple, their Sacrifices & Feasts, and Sabbaths, all directing to the publick Wor­ship of the Supream Being. And no less plain is the Obligation upon us, in the Days of the Gospel, to this part of our Duty to our Maker, Preserver and Benefactor; and that, not only from the Consideration, that a Law once enacted remains in Force till repealed by the same, an equal, or Superiour power; and that no Change in the Modality, and particular Form of Wor­ship makes any alteration either in the Sub­stance, the Object, or the Subjects of that Wor­ship; but from the Practice of our Saviour and his Apostles ^(b) after they were wholly drawn off from the Jewish Mode and Form of Wor­ship, and had set up the Christian in the Room thereof; and from that most excellent Pattern for our Prayers ^(c) which our Saviour hath given us; and the Apostolical Exhortation ^(d) not to forsake the Assembling of ourselves to­gether: all of which plainly speak it our Duty in the Days of the Gospel, in an external visible way and manner, to uphold the Worship of God, Socially and together.

As to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Christi­an Religion, these are but few, and more posi­tively enjoyned. For when the Change was [Page 8] made from the Jewish, to the Christian Religion, the alteration chiefly consisted in the external Rites & Ceremonies; and therefore when the old were abolished, there needed a positive Law for the Instituting of New ones. And accor­dingly our Saviour, the great Head of the Christian Church, has positively instituted these; as the Baptism of the Lord, Matth. xxviii. 19. Go ye Disciple all nations, baptising, &c. which evidently means a water Baptism, as appear from the practice of the Apostles, and those Words of St. Peter, Act. x. 47. Who can forbid water, that these should not be baptised. So also, has He possitively instituted the Holy Supper, (Matth. xxvi. 26.) and commanded us to observe it in Remembrance of Him, (Luke xxii. 19.) and that, a literal feeding upon Bread and Wine, not transubstantiated into the Body and Blood of Christ, but as Commemorative of His Body broken, and His Blood shed for us, but yet remaining truely Bread and Wine after the Consecration, (1 Cor. xi. 26.)

There is also another Rite of the Christian Church, namely, the Discipline and Govern­ment thereof; concerning which, we have ma­ny particular directions, in the Acts, and Epistles of the Apostles; and our Saviour hath given us a more general and comprehensive Rule, in Matth. xviii. 15. These Rites and Ceremonies of the Christian Religion ought carefully to be observed by us, and no pretence to greater spi­rituality in Worship, without these external and carnal Ordinances, as some are pleased to call them, should exempt us there-from. These [Page 9] Ought not to be lest undone, no more than the tithing of Mint, Annise and Cummin, under the Jewish dispensation, because our Lord has commanded them; for it is not eno' to make us Christians, to fullfil one part of our duty, but we must observe whatsoever Christ has com­manded us, ^†

I proceed to say,

II. The Duties of Judgment, Mercy, and Faith, are especially to be observed, as the weightier Matters of the Law. These, says our Saviour, in my Text, are weightier Matters of the Law, and these ye ought to have done; That is, in an especial Manner; and He blames the Scribes and Pharisees for their neglect of them.

But that we may have a more clear and dis­tinct view of this Head, I will briefly shew you,

1. What are the Duties of Judgment, Mercy, and Faith.

2. That, these are the weightier Matters of the Law.

3. That, therefore these ought more especially to be done by us.

I begin with the first of these, namely,

1. To shew, what are the Duties, of Judg­ment, Mercy, and Faith.

And here,

[Page 10]1. By Judgment, [...], ^‖ is to be understood a clear Determination, whether in publick Ad­ministrations, or private Dealings; and so it means, both publick & private Justice. That there be publick Justice, in all publick Admini­strations, and Courts of Judicature. The want of this seems to be one thing for which the Scribes, and Pharisees, are faulted in my context. They sate in Moses's seat, were the Teachers and Rulers of the People; and yet they bound heavy burdens, and grievous to be born, and laid them upon mens shoulders, when they would not move or touch them themselves with one of their Fingers. That is, their Impositi­ons and Determinations in Judgment with res­pect unto others, were such as they would by no Means have submitted to themselves. This therefore shews us, that there must be just and equal Laws, reducing all things to Number, Weight, and Measure; and these Laws must be faithfully and impartially administred, without respect to persons. There must be publick Justice in a certain & unalterable ^(a) Standard, that the Weight and the Measure may be e­qual and steady, and not liable to be altered and changed by the greedy desire of worldly-minded Men. There must be publick Justice, in ren­dering to C [...]sar, the things that are C [...]sars; [Page 11] ^(b) Tribute to whom Tribute, and Honour to whom Honour is due.

But then by Judgment, is meant private Justice between Man and Man, or ^† that which is just and equal in the common Affairs of Life. This the Scribes and Pharisees are blamed for their neglect of; they devou [...]ed widows Hou­ses, and were full of Extortion & Excess. Tho' they put on a demure & religious Countenance, and strained at a Gnat, in a critical Observati­on of the outward Form, and the least Ritual and Modality in Religion, yet they could swal­low a Camel, and stick not to defraud, and wrong, and oppress their Neighbour, by very grievous acts of Injustice. So that this points us to the strictest Justice in our dealings with Mankind; that as we may not violently wrest from them their Right by Rapine, Plunder, Extortion, Oppression, whether by Form of Law, or without it; so neither may we under­handedly over-reach, and trick, and cheat them, by [...]alming false Wares, or false Weights, or false Accompts upon them, or by imposing up­on their Ignorance and Weakness, much less their Necessity, and the like; but we must be very careful to act in all our Dealings by the Rules of Justice, in our Weight, and Measure, in our Bargaining, and Acquisition, and in all Labour and Imployment. This I take to be meant by Judgment here.

[Page 12]2. By Mercy ^* is to be understood all the kind offices of Life: and it seems to refer very much to the government of our Appetites and Passions, as Judgment does to the regulating of our Actions; that we be kind, beneficent, tender-hearted, affectionate, pitiful, full of com­passion, and ready to every good work. That we be merciful, in our compassion, pity, and sympathy, with others in their Affliction and Sorrow, and under their Wants and Distresses, That we be merciful, in a readiness to afford our Help and Assistance to those that need it, to relieve the Miserable, and supply the Wants of the Indigent and Needy, and be full of Alms­deeds; doing good unto all Men, but especially to the Household of Faith, and not turn away our Bowels from our poor Brother, when we see him in distress and want. That we be mer­ciful, in the Benignity, Courtesy, Gentleness and Sweetness of our Temper & Disposition, living in Love and Peace, and follow after the Things that make for Peace; and put away all Anger, Clamour, and Strife, and Contention, and the like. That we be merciful, in our Patience, and Long-suffering, bearing with the Weaknesses, and over-looking the Frailties & Infirmities of our Neighbours; and not make Faults where there are none, or aggravate his little Weaknes­ses into great Crimes & Offences, and under the [Page 13] pretence thereof, pour Reproach and Contempt upon him, when he really deserves none. That we be mercifull, in our Forgiving those that injure us, being ready to put up Affronts, in­dignities, and Abuses that are offered to us; abstaining from all Retaliation and Revenge, seeking an Opportunity, or at least embracing it when it is offered, to do Good for Evil, to bless those that Curse us, and pray for those that dispitefully use and persecute us. This the Scribes and Pharisees were faulty in their neglect of; they layed grievous heavy Bur­den upon others, devot [...]ed the poor Widow, imtead of Helping her, and excommunicated, and scourged, and crucified the Servants of God, who were sent unto them; as our Savi­our gives us an Account of in this Chapter.

3. By Faith, ^‖ [...] is meant, the Constancy and Trust of our Word and Contract; and hence in the Verb, [...], it is used to ratify, confirm, establish; and in the Adjective, [...] for certain, indisputable, and faithfull: So that by Faith, here, is meant Truth and Fi­delity. And this may be considered either as publick or private. It means, that there be Truth and Fidelity, Constancy and steadfast­ness to the publick Faith, in all their Leagues, Covenants, and Contracts, with forreign Na­tions and States; and in all their Agreements, Promises, and Engagements, among themselves. This Publick Faith ought to be kept inviola­bly Sacred, as the Foundation of forreign Alli­ance, [Page 14] and Commerce; and the Cement of a People among themselves.

But then every Man must have regard to his own Private Faith. That is, that he be True in his word, and put away all Lying, Falshood, and Slander: that he be faithfull in the Depo­situm Committed to him, and the Trust repo­sed in him; and not alienate the Pledge, or willfully baulk the Dependance of another upon him; that he be constant to his Promise and see to the Fulfilment of it, according to the True Intent & Meaning of it; without vile Shifts and Evations, needless Delays, or a perfidious violating of it, that he be punctual to his Contract and Bargain, esteeming his word therein equal to the strongest Bond, and never allow himself to satisfy his Faith, from the Prospect of securing himself, or encreasing his Stores; but tho' what he hath promised, contracted, and agreed, may prove to his Hurt, yet must he not suffer his Worldly Interest to warp him from the Truth; for so the Good Man is characterised, Psal. xv. 4. if he swear to his Hurt, he changeth not. This is the Faith here meant.

I know some have been ready to suppose that by Faith, here, is to be understood, Faith in Jesus Christ; but I cannot but think, that our blessed Lord here speaks of the common Offices of Men one among another, respecting their Deeds, by Judgment; their Passions, by Mercy; and their Words, by Faith. And in this last Instance, the Scribes and Pharisees were deeply guilty, in that they made noth­ing [Page 15] of their Word, and promise, yea of their Oath, in many Cases, under the presence of a foolish and groundless Distinction, between the Obligation arising from their swearing by the Temple, or the Gold of the Temple, the Altar, or the Gift that was upon the Altar. So that by Judgment, Mercy, and Faith, are to be un­derstood the various Duties that we owe to our Neighbour, of Justice, Charity, and Truth, and all that is comprehended under them.

But

2. I am now to shew that Faith, Mercy, and Judgment, are the weightier Matters of the Law. That is, they are Matters of greater weight and Moment, than all the Externals, and Rituals of Religion. And this will suffi­ciently appear from these things.

1. They are most indispensibly required of us.

2. They are of greater Weight in the Inten­tion of the Incarnation and Death of Chri [...].

3. They render us most serviceable and Be­neficent to the world.

4. By these we become more like to God, reflect the greatest Honour upon Him, and are fitted for the Enjoyment of Him.

I shall speak something to each of these.

1. The Duties of Judgment, Mercy, and Faith are most indispensably required of us. The great Duties of Justice and Righteousness in all our Dealing and Commerce with Man­kind, of Truth & Faithfulness in all our Words, Promises and Contracts, and the Government of our Passions, subduing them to a patient and humble, meek and peaceable, charitable [Page 16] and kind Temper and Disposition, this is the great Law, which, together with the Love of God, was at first written on the Table of our Hearts. And when the Characters hereof were greatly obliterated and obscured, by the Ori­ginal Apostacy of Mankind, and the contracted Habits of Sin and Vice, the Main Designs of the Divine Revelation was, as to reveal a Sa­viour to us, so, to recover to us the Knowledge of this Law, and reduce us to the practice of these Vertues and Graces. As for the Externals and Rituals of Religion, these turn purely upon a positive Command, and result from the mere will and pleasure of our high Sovereign; but the Duties of Judgment, Mercy and Faith, re­sult from all the infinitely glorious perfections of the Deity, and remain unalterably the same, and are obligatory upon the Creature, capable of obeying them, antecedent to any positive Law and Command: So that they are weightier with respect to their original & stability. And when it pleased God to reveal his Mind unto the World, what has He more positively, and peremptorily insisted upon, than that our Faith in Christ, as the Lord our Righteousness, we should add these great Duties, and that both under the old Testament and the New. Hence Mi [...]ah vi. 8. He hath shewed thee, O Man, what is good, and what doth the Lord re­quire of thee, but to do justly and to love Mer­cy, and to walk humbly with thy God: And Tit. [...]. 11, 12. The Grace of God that [...]ing­et [...] Salvation, hath appeared to all Men; teaching us, that denying all ungodliness, and [Page 17] worldly Lusts, we should live soberly, Righ­teously, and Godly, in this present World. The Externals and Rituals of Religion may be dis­penced with, upon particular Times and Occa­sions, (as I shall shew afterwards;) but these Duties are indispensibly required, and are never at no Time, and upon no Occasion, to be neg­lected. Hence 'tis that our Saviour hath told us, Matth. V. 20. Except your Righteousness shall exceed the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no Case, enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. That is, if you do not go beyond the Externals & Rituals of Re­ligion, which the Scribes and Pharisees, were so remarkable for, but, like them, neglect Judg­ment, Mercy and Faith, it is impossible you should enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. And so the Apostle Paul tells us, 1 Cor. Vi. 9, 10. The unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God; be not deceived, neither For­nicators, nor Thieves, nor Covetous, nor Drunk­ards, nor Revilers, nor Extortioners, shall in­herit the Kingdom of God.

There is no great Difficulty in attending up­on the Externals and Rituals of Religion, these lay no such great Restraints upon our Lusts and Passions, nor call for any great Measure of Self­denyal; but the Practice of these great Vertues require all our Skill & Pains, in mortifying our Members, which are upon the Earth, in cru­cifing our Flesh, with its Affections and Lusts. It is a putting off the old Man, which is cor­rupt, according to deceitful Lusts, and a put­ting on the new Man, which, after God, is [Page 18] created in Righteousness, and true Holiness. ^(a) The Rituals of Religion are but the means to this End, that we may be led thereby, to such a reverend Regard to the Deity, the Pu­rity of His Nature, and the Holiness of His Law, as to put on, as the Elect of God, Bow­els of Mercy, Kindness, Humbleness of Mind, Meekness, Long-suffering, forbearing one an­other, and forgiving one an­other, and live in that Charity, which is the Bond of Perfect­ness. ^(b) Hence the Evangelist Luke st [...]es these, the Love of God, Luke xi. 42. And up­on no Terms whatever, are these great Duties to be dispensed with, but are forever to be made the constant and unalterable Rule of our Life.

And,

2. As they are indispensibly required, so they are of greater weight in the Intention of the In­carnation and Death of Christ. When Man­kind had sunk into the Ruins of the Apostacy, and into the lowest Dregs of Corruption, it pleased the Son of God to assume our Nature, and appear in the World, to lead a most Holy and Righteous Life, and at length to lay down His Life for us. And what was the great End and Intention of all this? Surely, not to estab­lish a few Externals and Rituals of Religion. No, this was too mean for the Son of God to undertake, (otherwise than as it, in part, fell in with the great End He had in View) nor had it been worth His while to have exposed Him­self to such Indignities and Suffering, as He did [Page 19] only to this purpose. Tho' it be true that the incarnate Son of God fulfilled all Righteousness, by a devout attendance upon all the externals and rituals of Religion, then belonging to the Jewish Church; and hath given us His Orders and Directions concerning such Rites as He has made the distinguishing Mark and Character of the visible Christian Church; yet this was not the great design of His coming into the World, and dying for us. But as one great end of his Death was, to make Expiation for Sin, that by Faith in His Blood we might obtain eternal Redemption, even the Forgiveness of our Sins, ^(c) so the main and chief design of His won­drous Incarnation, holy Life, and bitter Death, was, to recover us from our Apostacy, to raise us from the very Dregs of our Corruption and Depravity, and bring us home unto God; and so make us meet for the pardoning Mercy of a gracious God. And what is the bringing us home to God, but the bringing of us to Re­pentance, and a hearty, willing, universal Obe­dience and Subjection to the Law of God; and so, from a principle of Love to God, and in the Obedience of Faith to the Son of God to ob­serve these great Duties of Judgment, Mercy, and Faith. Therefore as a Prophet sent from God, He has taught us the way of Truth clearly and fully, and in His Doctrine, chiefly insisted upon these, as the Weightier Matters of the Law: So thro'out his whole excellent Sermon on the Mount, wherein he explains, and refines, and exalts the Law of Nature, and gives us the [Page 20] most perfect System of real Vertue and Good­ness; and begins His Sermon ^(a) with pro­nouncing the Blessing upon the Poor and hum­ble, the Meek, and Righteous, the Merciful, the pure, and peaceable, and such as are ready to overlook and forgive Injuries. And as He chiefly taught us this by his Doctrine, so also by His holy and righteous Life, wherein He hath set before us the most illustrious Pattern of Righteousness, Faith, and Mercy, that could be; and lest it to us as an Exemplar, that we should tread in His Steps.

To this very end and purpose also is He our King, the Head of Church, and of all In­fluences, that He might rule in the Hearts of His People, by His Word and Spirit, and sub­due all the workings of Self, and Love unto the World, in us, from whence proceed Cove­tousness, Fraud, Oppression, Injustice, Intem­perance, Variance, Wrath, Sedition, Envying, Murders, and the like; and that we might live in the Spirit, and walk in the Spirit, and bring sorth the Fruit of the Spirit, in all Joy, Peace, Long-suffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness, Temperance, ^(b) and the like.

And to this End also He Died for us, not only to purchase Pardon, but that we might be dead unto Sin, that we should live no longer therein, but be the Servants of Righteousness unto Holiness,^(c)He gave Himself for our Sins, that He might deliver us from this [Page 21] present Evil World ^(d); to redeem us from our Vain Conversation handed down by Custom and Example from our Fathers; ^(e); to re­deem us from iniquity, and purify us to Him­self a peculiar People, zealous of Good Works. Tit. xi. 4. And what does He Interc [...]de for? But that we might be kept from the Evil, might be Sanctified; might be made Perfect in one, and so come to behold His Glory. Joh. xvii. 15, 17, 23, 24. So that the Grace of God, in the Gift of His Son to bring Salva­tion, appears in teaching us to mortifie our Lust and Passions, and live soberly, and righ­teously, as well as godly, in this present world.

Thus these great Duties of Righteousness, Charity, and Fidelity, are the weightier Matters of the Law, far exceeding all the externals, rituals, and modalities of Religion in the End and Intention, of the Incarnation, Life, and Death of Christ.

But then,

3. These Vertues render us most Beneficent and serviceable to the World, while we are in it; and therefore are the weightier Matters of the Law. This Argument the Apostle urges, in his Epistle to Titus, Tit. iii. 8. This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they, which have believed in God, might be careful to main­tain Good Works; these things are Good, and Profitable unto Men.

The Divine Law is adapted, as to our rati­onal [Page 22] so, to our Social Nature; and our pre­sent state of Tryal and Probation in this World, is chiefly concerned about the Exercise of those Vertues and Graces, which more specially re­late to the Social Life. The Tryal of our Obedience to our Sovereign Lord, does notly, so much in a Compliance with the Exter­nals & Rituals of Religion, as in the Government of our Appetites & Passions, and the Practice of Vertues, of Righteousness, Meekness, Humi­lity, Patience, Temperance, Brotherly-kind­ness, and Charity: And in this Way it is, that we answer to the original Intention of our Ma­ker, in a common Beneficence, and Usefulness to all about us. For God made all things for His own Glory, in the subserviency and useful­ness of the Creatures; one unto another, whereby the glory of His Wisdom, and Goodness, as well as Power, are marvelously displayed. And it is the Law of the Gospel, 1. Cor. X. 24. Let no man seek his own, but every man anothers Wealth. We are not born for our selves, but for Society, for the Benefit, and Advantage of Mankind: and it is our great Duty, while we are in the World, so to lay out our selves in the Improvement of all our Talents, our Capacities, and Opportuni­ties, that Mankind may, some way or other, fare the better for us.

But what Benefit and Advantage is it to others, that we are very critical & exact in the observation of the Externals, and Rituals of Religion: all this may be, and yet we may, at the s [...]me time, injure, and oppress our Neigh­bour, and violate all the Laws of the social Life. [Page 23] Saul, the strict Pharisee, was, notwithstanding all his c [...]act conformity to the Mosaic Rites, and the ancient Traditions, a Persecuter and Injurious, ^(a)

But now, to make it our constant Care to live by our Saviour's established Rule, Matt. Vii. 12. To do unto others, as we would they should do unto us; to be as Just & Honest, as True and Faithful, as Kind & Charitable, to others, as we would they should be to us, were our cir­cumstances changed, this is to be truly beneficial and serviceable in the World. We shall then, not only, do no Hurt to any Man, by our Words, or Deeds, but, we shall really do them all the Good that lies in our Power, in the Exercise of these Vertues; and this will be indeed to Love our Neighbours, as our selves. And if the World would but once learn to live up to the Laws of the Gospel, in these respects, Heaven would come down upon Earth, (and possibly, something more of this than ever the World has yet seen, may be intended, by the Thousand Years Reign of Christ on Earth, and the New Jerusalem coming down from God out of Hea­ven;) where there is nothing but the greatest Serviceableness, accompanied with the highest Delight in each other, among the glorifyed In­habitants of that blissful Region. So that up­on this Account, Judgment, Mercy, and Faith, are the wightier matters of the Law.

4. Lastly; They are the wightier matters of the Law, in that hereby, we become more like to God, reflect the greatest Honour upon Him, [Page 24] and are fitted for the Injoyment of Him.

This renders us more like to God. For there is nothing in the Externals & Rituals of Religion that makes us any ways like to the ever blessed and Holy God. They are indeed appointed Means to lead us to this End, that we may in the use of them Ass [...]mi [...]ate ourselves to the Divine Nature: Because by them we have a Mediate Access to the Deity, whereby our Minds may be impressed with such an Aw and Reverence of Him, as to put us upon Endea­vour after a Likeness to Him. But to be Just, and True, and Kind and Charitable, this is the great End aimed at by them all; because this is the Moral Image of God, upon us, who is infinitely Just, and True, and Good. So that when we live in the Exercise of these Vertues, we are perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect, as our blessed Saviour exhorts us to be, Matth. V. 48. Not equal to Him in Degrees, but like Him in the Kinds of Excel­lency and Perfection. Whereas he ^(a) that doth not Righteousness, and loveth not his brother, is not of God, neither is he like Him. What is the New Man, in which we are renewed, after the Image of Him that created him: But the mortifying our Members which are on the Earth, formation, Uncleanness, inordinate Affection, evil Concupisence and Covetousness, which is Idolatry; that we put off Anger, Wrath, Malice, Evil speaking, filthy Com­munication; that we lye not one unto ano­ther; [Page 25] and that we put on Charity; that the Peace of God rule in our Hearts, to the which we are called in one Body. ^(a) This makes us shine with the Rays of the divine Likeness upon us, and then are we partakers of the di­vine Nature, when we have escaped the Cor­ruption that is in the world thro' Lust; and to our Faith, in God, and the word of His Grace, add these Vertues of Knowledge, Temperance, Patience, Godliness, Brotherly-kindness, and Charity: and this is to yield the obedience of Faith to the Son of God; for if these things be in us and abound, they make us that we shall neither be barren, nor unfruitful in the Knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ^(b)

And surely then, This reflects the highest Honour upon God. As it is the greatest Dig­nity & Glory of the Creature to be like the blessed God, so 'tis the highest Honour we can give to the supream-Being to endeavour after the nearest Resemblance of Him; so to own and acknowledge and approve the divine Ex­cellencies & Perfections, as to make it our great Care to imitate Him therein; this is to give to Him the Glory due unto His Name. The great End we were made for, is to glorify God; and then do we most effectually glorify Him, when we thus Shew forth the vertue and the Praise of Him, who calieth us out of dark­ness into His marvellous Light. For we can­not truly give any thing to the al-perfect, and al-sufficient One; all our glorifying God is, but the Acknowledgement of His glorious Ex­cellency, [Page 26] and a living answerable thereto: and in what way can this be so effectually done by us, as by our endeavouring after the highest Conformity to Him we are capable of, and transcribing His Excellencies into our own Life; by abstaining from fleshly Lust, which war a­gainst the soul, having our Conversation ho­nest among the Gentiles, that by our good works, which they shall behold, they may glo­rify God. ^(c) This gives the most illustrious Example of the divine Life unto the world, shews forth the Life of Christ, and is the most powerful Attractive, to allure & perswade o­thers to live the divine Life; and so reflect the highest Honour and Glory upon the divine Majesty. Thus our blessed Lord glorifyed His Father, on the Earth, manifesting His Name, ^(d) that is, the excellencies of the Deity: and thus He has commanded us, Matt.V. 16. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.

And can any thing then make us more fit to enjoy God? than by doing those things which make us most like unto Him, and by which we most glorify Him. The most constant Atten­dance upon the externals of Religion does no ways of it self fit us for the enjoyment of the blessed God, but may still leave us associated with those fallen Spirits, who know how to transform themselves into Angels of Light; because this neither alters our depraved Dispo­sition, nor glorifies God in those direct Acts of [Page 27] a rational Spirit, which we are capable of, and intended for. But when we have once so got the mastery over ourselves, and our vicious Inclina­tions, as, in the Faith of the Gospel, the Reve­lation, and the Promises of it, to exercise our selves to have always a Conscience void of of­fence both towards God, and towards Man, in the constant Practice of Judgment, Mercy, and Faith, and all those Vertues and Graces inclu­ded in them, as inseparable Companions of our religious Worship and Adoration, then, are we most like unto the infinitely pure & holy God, (as I have shewed already); then do we in the most direct-way and manner, we are capable of, glorify Him, and therefore are thereby best fitted for the Enjoyment of Him. For no Man shall enjoy God, and the happy state above, but those that are like Him; those that are Pure, as He is Pure, those that are Holy, as He is Holy; those that have their Hearts purifyed from Co­vetousness & Worldly-mindedness, from Pride and Insolence, from Falshood and Guile, from Malice and Envy, and the like, and live in the Exercise of that Love to their Neighbour, which is productive of all social Vertue, and fits them for Communion together in a better World. For the Vices above named would wholly un­fit for the happy Society above, because there can be no true Happiness in any Society where they are suffered to prevail; the very nature of the Vice, spoils the Harmony and Delight of Society, and rank us with infernal Spirits, who are a Torment to each other. Whereas be that dwelleth in love, which comprehends all those [Page 28] Vertues and Graces I am speaking of, dwelleth in God, and God in him ^(a) and therefore shall at last come down with God, being thus made meet to partake of the Inheritance of the Saints in Light, where the delightful Society of per­fected Spirits will be as pleasant and agreable, as uninterrupted and endless. In these respects & upon these accounts the great duties of Judg­ment, Mercy, and Faith, are of more Weight than all the Externals and Rituals of Religion. I shall not need to enlarge in speaking to the third Head, which now 1 come to; viz.

3. That therefore these duties of Judgment, Mercy, and Faith, ought especially to be done by us. For, if by these we are made most like to the blessed God, reflect the highest Honour upon, and are fitted for the Enjoyment of Him; if by these we are most Serviceable & beneficial to the World about; if it was the great Inten­tion of the Incarnation and Death of Christ, to recover us from our Depravity, to the Practice of these Vertues; and if these are most indis­pensably required of us, (all of which we have seen,) then certainly we need no other reason and argument to convince us, that they ought in an especial manner to be done by us. These ought ye to have done, says our Saviour; that is, "most punctually & exactly to have obser­ved ^† As these are the weightier matters of the Law, so they ought by no means to have been omitted. As for the Externals & Rituals of Religion, they are of no weight, in Compa­rison with Judgment, Mercy, and Faith. God [Page 29] Himself has declared He has no regard and esteem for them, that they are but mean, and low, and unacceptable, when compared with these. What can be plainer than that in the Prophet Isaiah, Chap. i. II.—17. To what purpose is the Multitude of your Sacrifices, unto me? saith the Lord. I am full of the Burnt Offerings of Rams, and the Fat of fed Beasts; and I delight not in the Blood of Bullocks, or of Lambs, or of He-Goats: when ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your Hand, to tread my Courts? Bring no more vain Oblations; Incence is an Abomination unto me; the New Moons, and Sabbaths, the calling of Assemblies, I cannot away with; it is Ini­quity, even the solemn Meeting your New Moons, and your appointed Feasts, my Soul hateth; they are a trouble unto me, I am weary to bear them:—Wash ye, make you clean, put away the Evil of your Doings, from before mine Eyes: cease to do Evil, learn to do Well; seek Judgment, relieve the Oppressed, Judge the Fatherless, plead for the Widow. And thus the Prophet Jere­miah Chap. vi. 19. 20. Hear, O Earth—they have not bearkened unto my Words, nor to my Law, but rejected it: to what purpose cometh there to me Incense from Sheba? and the sweet Cane from a far Country? Your Burnt-Offerings are not acceptable, not your Sacrifices sweet unto me. And he goes in the same strain, Chap. vii. 4.—7. Trust ye not in lying Words, saying, the Temple of [Page 30] the Lord, the Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord are these; for if ye throughly amend your ways, and your Doings, if you throughly excute Judgment between a Man and his Neighbour; if ye oppress not the Stranger, the Fatherless, and the Widdow, and shed not innocent Blood.—Then will I cause you to dwell in this Place, &c. So mean are all the Externals and Rituals of Religion, in the esteem of God, tho' He had appointed them, in Comparison with the greater Duties of Judgment, Mercy, & Faith, that He declares, He had no Delight in them, yea, the least of them were an Abomination to Him, and none of all their religious Services would render them acceptable to Him without These. And since there are no Externals of Religion of equal Value in the Sight of God, with Justice, Charity, and Truth to our Neighbours, there­fore none of them are equally to be regarded by us in our Practice; but tho' we are to ob­serve the Rituals of Religion, yet ought we to be much more careful to do these weightier Matters of the Law.

Tho' God has required us to Worship Him in the ways of His Appointment, yet these Externals of Religion are to give Place when they interfere with the greater Duties, of Judgment, Mercy, and Faith. Hence is that, 1. Sam. XV. 22. Hath the Lord as great Delight in Burnt-Offerings, and Sacri­fices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold to obey is better than Sacrifice, and to hearken, than the Fat of Rams. Sacrifice, [Page 31] tho' of Divine Institution, is scarce Obedience, if compared with moral Duties. Hence also is that of our Saviour, Matt. xii. 7. If ye had known what this meaneth, I will have Mercy, and not Sacrifice, ^† ye would not have condemned the guiltless. In which he plainly shews the Duties of Mercy and conse­quently of Justice, and Truth, are to be pre­ferred to those of Sacrifice, when they cannot, both of them be performed at the same Time. So that the Duties of Judgment, Mercy, and Faith, being the weighter Matters of the Law, ought more especially to be done by us.

I pass now unto the Third general Head I proposed to speak to, from these Words; and I shall be more brief in what remains.

III. No Exactness in the Observation of the Externals and Rituals of Religion, will be an Excuse for our neglect of the weightier Matters of the Law. Ye Tithe Mint, Annise and Cummin, and neglect the weightier Mat­ters of the Law, Judgment, Mercy, and Faith, these ought ye to have done. It is no Excuse ^‖ to you for your Neglect of these great Duties, that, ye are mighty exact and critical in the Observation of the Rituals of Religion. For these Vertues when performed [Page 32] from a Principle of Love to God, and our Neigh­bour, and not from Shew and Ostentation, are the main & essential Duties of Religion, even of the Christian, ^† that which Jesus Christ de­signed to bring us to the Practice of by His most holy Life, and by His Dying for us, and that which the Faith of the Son of God, when sincere, will forever produce in us; and there­fore by no means may be excused in the neg­lect of them.

It is a vain thing, for a Man to think, be­cause he is externally devout towards God, he is exact and constant in attending upon the Pub­lick Worship of God, and behaves himself with a great deal of apparent Devotion while he is there, or is very nice & critical in asserting and defending, and practicing the little Modalities of Instituted Worship, that this will be any plea or Excuse for his allowing himself in the grati­fying of his Lusts and Passions, for his Injustice in his Dealing, his Falsness to his Word and [Page 33] Promise, and his want of Charity, in his Heart and Actions, to his Neighbour. To what Purpose is it, that thou art punctual in obser­ving the Form and Fashion of the House of God, and yet obeyest not the great Com­mands of God, the Fundamental Laws that are taught in His House; but hatest thy Brother in thy Heart, or heapest up Slander and Re­proach upon him? He that hateth his Bro­ther is a Murderer, 1 Joh. iii. 15. For tho' the Observation of a greater Duty may be a just Excuse for the Neglect of a Lesser, at this or that particular Time, when they could not be both attended together; yet the Obser­vation of a Lesser Duty will by no means be an Excuse for the Neglect of a Greater: And therefore since Judgment, Mercy, and Faith, are the weightier Matters of the Law, the ut­most Exactness and Punctuality, in the external Mode and Form of Worship, will not in the least palliate and excuse our neglect of them. I do not mean here, that, under a Pretence of being Just, and True, and Charitable to our Neighbour, Men may hope to be excused for their Total Neglect, of the Duties of Religi­ous Worship, which God has required. For the Divine Command with respect hereto is always Obligatory, tho' not at all Times; and there is no Reason why one Command should wholly thrust out another. But yet of so much greater Weight and Consequence are the Duties of Justice, Charity and Truth, that they are to be preferred to Sacrifice, in our Estimation of them; and we are to be especially carefull in the constant Practice of these, tho' [Page 34] we may sometimes be obliged thereby to sus­pend any particular Duty of Sacrifice; while under no Pretence whatsoever, to attend upon our Sacrifices and the Rituals of Religion, may we be guilty of Injustice, Uncharitableness, or Falshood.

IV. Tho' a Man should be ever so exact in the Externals and Rituals of Religion, yet if he neglect the weightier Matters of the Law, judgment, Mercy, and Faith, he is but an Hypocriteafter all. Thus our Saviour here calls the Scribes, and Pharisees, Hypocrites, for their neglect of the weightier Matters of the Law, notwithstanding they were Men of such apparent Sanctity, and Critical Exactness in all the parts of the Formalities of Religion, that they were very carefull to pay their Tithe even to the most minute point, the little insig­nificent Herbs of Mint, Annise, and Cummin. And so let a Man be ever so constant in his Devotion, either private or Publick, let him come up to all the Ordinances of the Gospel, and make ever so great a Noise and Stir about the Modalities of Worship and Discipline in the church of God; yet, if after all, he is one that makes no Conscience of his Dealings, if he is full of Tricks, and Fraud, and Oppression; if he be false to his Word, & unfaithfull in his bu­siness, to his promise & Engagments: if he be full of Envy, & Malice, and Hatred, reproach­ing and calumniating his Neighbour, and with­hold his Bowels of Compassion from his poor Brother, when he is in want, and it is in the [Page 35] power of his Hands to relieve him; let his pretentions to Religion be ever so great & assu­ming, he is for all that but a very Hypocrite. Thus God articled against His People of old as Hypocrites, Isa. Iviii. 2, 7.Ye seek me daily, and delight to know my Ways, as a Nation that did Righteousness, and forsook net the Ordinances of their God: They ask of me the Ordinances of Justice; they take delight in approaching to God: Thus they seemed to be mighty devout and Religious to­wards God, and yet their solemn [...] were for strife and Debate, and to smite with the Fist of Wickedness; they made then very Re­ligion a Clock for their unjust and uncharita­ble Carriage towards their Neighbour: Tho' they hung down their Heads like Bulrushes, and were very demure in their external Devo­tions, yet did they not loose the Bands of wickedness, undo the heavy Burdens, nor let the oppressed go free; they dealt not their Bread to the Hungry, but cast the poor out of their Houses, and covered not the naked, yea, they hid themselves from their own Flesh. So that all the shew of Religion in them, who so trespass upon the Fundamental Rights of Equity, Charity, and Truth, is but vile Hy­pocrisie.

And the Reason is very obvious; such will­fully neglect Matters of the greatest-Weight and Moment, and satisfy themselves with the Lesser: Or they Observe but a part of their Duty, and that which is less hard and Diffi­cult, and would have others think of them, [Page 36] with respect to the whole as they observe them exact in these ^† The Hypocrite is willing to be religious as far as the outward shew of it will make him so, but he is not willing to take any Pains with himself to keep under his Body, to abridge his natural irregular Appe­tites, and Subdue his inordinate Passions. If making a few four countenances, and saying his Prayers, and crying the Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord, and insisting very rigidly upon outward Rites and Ceremo­nies, will carry him to Heaven; this is so easy a Way, that he is content eno' so to get thither: But if he cannot arrive at those Mansions without doing Violence to himself, in the crucifying the Flesh with it's Affections and Lusts, if he must pluck out his right Eye, and cut off his right Hand, he desires to be excused from going to Heaven in such a rough and rugged Way, and is ready to perswade himself that the Rewards of that World are not equal to the Pains he must take to obtain them.

What is an Hypocrite? But, one that takes upon him a Character that does not belong to him: And so does he, who would be esteemed a Religious and Good Man for his critical Ob­servation of a few External Rites, when he is defective in the Main Duties of Christianity. [Page 37] Religion goes into the Heart and Conscience of the Man, and means the government of him in the secret Springs of his Actions; it means to regulate his Desires and Cravings, his Volition and Choice, and the very Pathos of his Mind, and to correct all the Disorders the Man is prone to run into thro' the Depravity of his Nature. And therefore he that culti­vates his inordinate Desires, in a series of Un­righteousness, Oppression, Fraud, Falshood, Unmercifulness, Back-biting, Slander, and the like; And improves the vicious Bias of his Will, by prefering that which is Evil to that which is Good, as he certainly does who neglects these weightier Matters of the Law; he is verily nothing of a truly religious Man, under all the fair shew and Pretence of one. He is but like the whited Sepulchre, which indeed appears beautiful on the out-side, but within is full of all Uncleanness and Iniquity. ^(a) Hence the Apostle tells us of Charity, which comprehends all the Vertues spoken of in my Text as the weightier Matters of the Law, for he sayes of it, it suffereth long and is kind, envieth not, vaunteth not it self, is not puffed up, behaveth not it self unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no Evil, beareth all things, belie­veth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things; he sayes of this Charity, 1 Cor. Chap. xiii. That it is the greatestGrace and [Page 38] Vertue, greater than Faith ^† and Hope, and all pretences to other Vertues signify and profit nothing without it. So that if a Man should speak with the Tongue of Men and Angels, tho' he should attain unto all Gifts Natural and Acquired, and have the strongest Faith or Belief, it would be all to no purpose with­out this Charity; yea, if in a sudden fit of Devotion he should give all his Goods to the Poor, and be so tenacious of the Rites of Reli­gion as to offer his Body to the Flames rather than Part with them, yet without Charity, which puts him upon the Exercise of Judg­ment, Mercy, and Faith, it would be all in vain and to no purpose: his Eloquence would be but empty Babling, his Faith a vain Pre­sumption, and wild Enthusiasm, and all his external Devotion and exact observance of Rites and Ceremonies, but meer Grimace and Pageantry, while he neglected these weightier Matters of the Law.

The Last thing I proposed to speak to was, to shew,

V. That while Judgment, Mercy, and Faith are neglected, the greatest Exactness in the Rituals of Religion will not secure a Man from the Wo which God has denounced. Wo unto you, Scribes, & Pharisees, said our Saviour, for tho' you tit he Mint, & Annise, & Cummin, ye neglect the Weightier Matters of the Law, [Page 39] Judgment, Mercy, and Faith. God has requi­red Obedience of us unto the whole of our Duty, especially unto the great and essential Articles of it, and that upon Pain of His high Displeasure. And therefore if we wilfully omit the more essential Parts of our Duty, tho' we may be careful to practise the Lesser, we cannot rationally expect any Interest in the Divine Favour, nor solidly hope to escape the dreadful Threatning, which God has denounced against all Ungodliness and Unrighteousness, of Men. Every Breach of the Law of God, wil­ful and allowed and unrepented of, brings down the Wrath of God upon the guilty Head, of him that so rises up in Opposition to his Maker. We are therefore told, the wages of Sin is Death, Rom. vi. 23. and the Wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all Ungodliness and Unrighteousness of Men, Rom. i. 18.

Sins of omission will expose Persons to the Divine wrath as well as Sins of Commission. Hence in the Representation of the Judgment of the Great Day, Jesus Christ is introduced as saying to those who omitted these weightier Matters of the Law, Ye did it not, ye did it not, therefore depart ye cursed; and these wicked shall go away into Everlasting Punish­ment, Matt. xxv. 41, 45, 46. Especially when we consider that our Sinful Omissions are attended with Sinful Commissions as the neglect of Judgment, Mercy, and Faith are. They commit Unrighteousness & Injustice, In­humanity & Cruelty, Falshood & Deceit, or­dinarily [Page 40] at least, in the very Instance wherein they omit Judgment, Mercy, and Faith. And we are sure, that such cannot escape the righ­teous Judgments of God, without a very deep and unfeigned Repentance. For to them that are Contentious, and do not obey the Truth, but obey Unrighteousness, God will render Indignation and Wrath, Tribulation and Anguish, upon every Soul of Man that doth Evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile. Rom. ii. 8, 9. And Jesus Christ shall be re­vealed from Heaven in flaming Fire, taking Vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall be punished with everlast­ing Destruction from the Presence of the Lord, and the Glory of His power, 2 Thes. i. 7, 8, 9.

Nor will any Pretentions to Religion, the strictest Observation of the Rites of the Chris­tian Religion, and the most constant Atten­dance upon the Externals of Divine Worship, secure them herefrom, while they are negli­gent of the great Duties of Justice, Charity, and Truth; because no Performance of our Duty, in one Instance, will buy off the Punish­ment due to us, for our neglect in another, and a Greater. But indeed the Nice Attendance upon the Externals of Religion will but the rather encrease the Woupon us; because it is evident from hence, that we have at least had the advantage to know our Duty, and have some Sense of our Obligations to the Deity to perform it, and therefore the neglect of it in [Page 41] any Part, especially in such great Instances, will render our Punishment the greater, the Lashes of our own Consciences the more severe and pungent, and consequently will be so far from securing us from the Wo,that it will make it fit the heavier upon us. For to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin; Jam. iv. 17. and that Servant that knew his Lords will, and prepared not himself neither did according to his will shall be beaten with many Stripes, Luk. xii. 47.

Thus I have, as briefly as I could, spoken to the several things I proposed, as included in the words of my Text. What remains is to apply these things to our selves, in one word, namely,