It is too plain to be denied, that the principles 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 yet 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 Christian religion, which at the best are of mere pofitive inftitution, and of the fame rank among Chriftians, that facrifices were in the Jewith religion. For which we need go no further for an inftance, than in the occafion of this day's folemnity; upon which day, (about fourfcore years ago), there was defigned a mighty facrifice indeed, the greatest and richest burntoffering that ever was pretended to be offered up to Almighty God by thofe of any religion whatfoever; 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 thousand 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 merey, 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 destruction with the reft; rather no mercy, than that this facrifice, which their mad zeal had prompted them to, fhould be omitted..

To conclude, They that can do fuch inhuman things, and think them to be religion, do not underftand 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 pofitive 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.

SER

SERMON

CIV.

261

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

MATTH. v. 17.

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

The first fermon on this text.

Here is no faying in the whole gospel, which the Jews did fo frequently object to the Chriftians as this of our bleffed Saviour, as if his words and actions were plainly repugnant, and contrary to one an other: 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 deftroy the law or the Prophets fo that it is plain, that he did throw down the law of Mofes, and in fo doing contradicted his own faying, that he did not intend to destroy the law. To clear our Saviour's words of this objection, it will be requifite to confider the fcope and defign of his difcourfe 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 substance of his religion), doth earnestly recommend to his difciples and followers, and ftrictly injoins the perfect practice of all goodness and virtue, declaring to them, that he came to bring in and eftablish that righteoufnefs, which the Jewish 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

made to the Jews by Mofes and the Prophets, or to destroy their divine authority, by carrying on a defign contrary to them, I fay, to prevent any imagination of this kind, he does here in the text exprefsly declare the contrary: Think not, &c. intimating, that fome either did, or at leaft 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 am not come to deftroy, xaraλucat, to abrogate, or diffolve the law, to encourage men to the breach and violation of it; for the word is of the same sense with Av, at the 19th ver. Whosoever shall break one of thefe leaft commandments; and with xarapynoa, Rom. iii. 31. nóμov v naraрyouμer; do we then make void the law by faith? Which is the fame queftion with that of the fame Apostle, Gal. iii. 21. Is the law then against the promifes of God? that is, are the law and the gofpet contrary? do they contradict one another? So 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 wife 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, Matt. vii. 12. Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even fo 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, Matt. xxiii. 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 deftroy, but to fulfil to carry on the fame defign which was intended

tended 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 meaning of this caution and declaration of our Saviour's, Think not, &c.

For the clearing of this matter, viz. That the defign of our Saviour's doctrine and religion is not contrary to those former revelations which God made to the Jews by Mofes and the Prophets; this will evidently appear, whether we confider the prophecies and predictions of the Old Teftament, or the laws and precepts therein contained.

Firft, The prophecies and predictions of the Old Teftament. Our Saviour came not to contradict and overthrow thefe, but to fulfil them. The chief predictions of the law and the Prophets were concerning the Meffias, and his fpiritual kingdom. In the law it was foretold, that God would raife to them a Prophet like unto Mofes, whom they ought to hear and obey ; and to him all the Prophets of the Old Teftament gave witness, foretelling the time of his coming, his extraction, the manner and circumftances of his birth, the purity and efficacy of his doctrine, the actions and miracles of his life, his paffion, death, and burial, with the particular circumftances of them, his refurrection from the dead, and his afcenfion into heaven, and exaltation at the right hand of God; fo that this part of the law and the Prophets, he did accomplish and fulfil in a most eminent and remarkable manner; all things that the Prophets had foretold concerning the Meffias, were punctually made good in the perfon, and actions, and fufferings of our Saviour.

Secondly, As to the laws and precepts of the Jewish religion, the doctrine and the laws of Chriftianity did not clash with them, nor properly abrogate them, and make them void, efpecially as to the moral precepts, which were the very life and fpirit, the ultimate scope and defign of that religion; nay, fo far was it from doing fo, that the main and proper intention of Chriftianity, was to clear and establish that which was the main defign of the law and the Prophets

phets, to perfect the law in this part, and to raise and advance morality to its highest pitch, to fupply all the defects and imperfections of the Jewish religion, and to make men much better than that weak and imperfect institution was able to do. This was the great defign of Christianity; and it is very probable, that our Saviour had a principal, if not a fole respect to the precepts of the moral law, when he here fays, that he came not to deftroy the law and the Prophets, but to perfect and fulfil them, as I fhall have occafion by and by to fhew more at large.

But that we may give a full answer to the objec tion of the Jews against this faying of our Saviour's, I fhall fhew that he did not come to thwart and contradict, and properly to abrogate and make void the Jewish law in any part of it, neither the civil and judicial, nor the ritual and ceremonial, much less the moral and natural precepts of it. This is more than I think to be abfolutely neceffary to reconcile this faying of our Saviour with the reft of his doctrine and actions for though he had properly abrogated the ceremonial law, and in no fenfe fulfilled it; yet notwithstanding this, it may be true, that he came not to deftroy the law and the Prophets; that is, to destroy the obligation of moral duties, which he fpeaks of in this chapter, and elsewhere declares to be the ultimate fcope, the fum and substance, of the law and the Pro phets. For if the ceremonial law was not defigned by God to be perpetual, but to give way to a more perfect difpenfation, then our Saviour did no way thwart and contradict the law and the Prophets, by abrogating the ceremonial law, at that time when God defigned that a period fhould be put to it. But yet, for the fuller fatisfaction to this objection, I fhall fhew, that our Saviour did not properly abrogate any part of the Jewish law, no, not the ritual and ceremonial part of it, but did fulfil it.

1. Not their civil and judicial laws. Thefe, in the original intention of them, were not laws defigned for mankind, but fuited and fitted to the difpo fition and temper, the condition and circumstances, of a particular people and nation; to these our Sa