THE Gospel hath promised forgiveness of Sins to us upon two Conditions; That we sincerely repent of the Sins which we have committed against God; and, That we heartily forgive to men the injuries and offences which they have been guilty of towards us.

I shall at this time, by Gods Assistance, treat of the latter of these, from the Words which I have recited to you; which are part of our [Page 2] Saviours excellent Sermon upon the Mount. In which he doth not only explain, but enlarge and perfect the Moral and Natural Law, by ad­ding to it Precepts and Prohibitions of greater per­fection, than either the Law of Moses or the Na­tural Law, in their largest extent, did contain.

He forbids Polygamy, and Divorce, except only in case of Adultery; and likewise Revenge; none of which were forbidden either by the Law of Nature, or by the Law which was given by Moses.

And to these Prohibitions our Blessed Saviour adds several new Precepts of greater perfection than any Laws that were extant before. But I say unto you, love your enemies. The Jewish Law commanded them to love their. Neighbour, meaning their brethren and those of their own Nation: But our Saviour, by commanding us to love our enemies, hath in the most emphatical manner that can be commanded us to love all men. For if any were to be excluded from our Charity, none so likely to be so as our Enemies. So that after a command to love our Enemies it was needless to name any others; because men are naturally apt to love those that love them.

I say unto you, love your enemies; here the in­ward affection is requir'd. Bless them that curse you; here outward Civility and Affability are [Page 3] requir'd, in opposition to rude and uncivil Lan­guage; for so blessing and cursing do in Scripture frequently signify. Do good to them that hate you; here real acts of kindness are commanded to be done by us to our bitterest and most malicious Enemies. Pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you. These are the highest expres­sions of Enmity that can be, calumny and cruelty; and yet we are commanded to pray for those that touch us in these two tenderest Points of all other, our Reputation and our Life. And to se­cure the sincerity of our Charity towards our Enemies, we are requir'd to express it by our hearty Prayers to God for them: To God, I say, before whom it is both impious and dangerous to dissemble; and from whom we can expect no mercy for our selves, if with feigned Lips we beg it of Him for others.

You see what is the Duty here required; That we bear a sincere affection to our most malici­ous and implacable Enemies, and be ready upon occasion to give real testimony of it.

And because this may seem a hard duty, and not so easie to be reconciled either to our Incli­nation, or our Reason; I shall endeavour to shew, that this Law is not onely reasonable, but much more perfect and excellent, and the [Page 4] practice of it more easie and delightful, and up­on all accounts much more for our benefit and advantage, than the contrary: And that up­on four Considerations; which I shall endea­vour to represent with their just advantage, and so as may, I hope, not onely convince our Judg­ments of the reasonableness of this Precept, but likewise bend and sway our Wills to the obedi­ence and practice of it.

I. If we consider the nature of the act here requir'd, which is to Love; which when it is not a meer Passion, but under the government of our Reason, is the most natural, and easie, and delightful of all the Affections which God hath planted in Humane Nature: Whereas ill-will, and hatred, and revenge, are very troublesome and vexatious Passions. Both the devising of mischief, and the accomplishment of it, and the reflection upon it afterwards, are all uneasie; and the consequences of it many times pernici­ous to our selves, The very design of Revenge is troublesome, and puts the Spirits into an un­natural fermentation and tumult. The man that meditates it is always restless, his very soul is stung, swells and boiles, is in pain and an­guish, hath no ease, no enjoyment of it self so long as this Passion reigns. The execution of [Page 5] it may perhaps be attended with some present pleasure, but that pleasure is unreasonable and brutish, momentany and short, like a flash of Lightning which vanisheth in the twinkling of an Eye.

It is commonly said that Revenge is sweet, but to a calm and considerate mind Patience and Forgiveness are sweeter, and do afford a much more rational and solid and durable pleasure than Revenge. The Monuments of our Mercy and Goodness are a far more pleasing and de­lightful spectacle, than of our Rage and Cruelty. And no sort of thought does usually haunt men with more terrour, than the reflection upon what they have done in way of Revenge.

Besides that the consequences of this Passion do commonly prove very prejudicial to our selves. For the Revenge of one injury doth naturally draw on more, and will oblige us for the same reason to a new Revenge of them; and this brings on a perpetual and endless circulation of Injuries and Revenges. So that whoever seeks Revenge upon another doth commonly in the issue take it upon himself, and whilst he thinks to transfer the injury which he hath re­ceiv'd upon him that did it, he doubles it upon himself.

[Page 6] Such, and so great are the troubles and in­conveniences of a malicious and revengeful tem­per: but there is no torment in Love, as St. John excellently sayes. To be kindly affection'd to­wards all, to bear no grudge or ill-will, no thought of displeasure or revenge towards any man, is the easiest posture, the most pleasant state of the Mind. So that if not for their sakes, yet for our own, we should Love our Enemies and do good to them that hate us; because to be thus af­fected towards all men, is as great kindness to our selves as it is charity to others.

II. If we consider the qualification of the Object; it is our Enemy whom we are requir'd to Love. In whom though there be something that is justly disgustful, yet there is something also that is lovely; and if we persist in our kind­ness to him, notwithstanding his enmity to us, the enmity may wear off, and perhaps at length be chang'd into a sincere and firm friendship.

'Tis true indeed, that with regard to our selves personal enmity towards us is one of the most inconvenient qualities that a man can have, but not therefore the worst in it self. If we could be impartial and lay aside prejudice, we might perhaps discern several very lovely quali­ties [Page 7] in him which hates us: And Vertue is to be own'd, and prais'd, and lov'd, even in an Enemy. And perhaps his enmity to­wards us is not so great and inexcusable a fault, as we apprehend; he is not perhaps our Enemy to that degree, nor so altogether with­out cause, as we imagine; possibly we have provok'd him, or by his own mistake, or through the malicious representation of others, he may be induc'd to think so: And are not we our selves lyable to the like misapprehensions con­cerning others? of which we are many times afterwards convinc'd and asham'd: and so may he, and then his enmity will cease, if we will but have a little patience with him, as we al­wayes wish in the like case that others would have with us.

At the worst, though never so sore and cause­less an Enemy, though never so bad a Man, yet he is a Man, and as such, hath something in him which the blindest Passion cannot deny to be good and amiable. He hath the same Na­ture with our selves, which we cannot hate, or despise, without hatred and contempt of our selves. Let a mans faults be what they will, they do not destroy his Nature and make him cease to be a Man.

[Page 8] The two great Foundations of Love are Rela­tion and Likeness. No one thing, sayes Tully, is so like, so equal to another, as one man is to another. What difference soever there may be between us and another man, yea, though he be our Enemy, yet he is still like us in the main; and perhaps, but too like us in that for which we find so much fault with him, a proneness to offer affronts and injuries.

And there is an essential Relation, as well as Likeness, between one man and another; which nothing can ever dissolve, because it is founded in that which no man can devest himself of, in Humane Nature. Dr. Barrow. So far is it from being true, which Mr. Hobbs asserts as the fundamental Principle of his Politicks, That men are naturally in a state of War and enmity with one another; that the contrary Principle, laid down by a much deeper and wiser man, I mean Aristotle, is most certain­ly true, That men are naturally akin and friends to each other. Some unhappy accidents and occa­sions may make men Enemies, but naturally every man is friend to another: and that is the surest and most unalterable reason of things which is foun­ded in Nature, not that which springs from mu­table accidents and occasions. So that whoever is recommended to us under the notion of a [Page 9] Man, ought not to be look'd upon by us and treated as an Enemy.

Consider farther that an Enemy, even whilst he is exercising his enmity towards us, may do us many acts of real advantage; which though they do not proceed from kindness, yet in truth are benefits. The malicious Censures of our Enemies, if we make a right use of them, may prove of greater advantage to us, than the Ci­vilities of our best friends. We can easily af­ford, nay the wisest Men can hardly forbear, to love a Flatterer; to embrace him, and to take him into our bosom; and yet an open Enemy is a thousands times better and less dangerous than he. It is good for many men that they have had Enemies, who have many times been to them the happy occasion of reforming those faults, which none but an Enemy would have taken the free­dom, I had almost said would have had the Friendship, to have told them of.

But what if after all, this Enemy of ours, this hated man, prove to be one of our best Friends? For so reconciled Enemies usually are. And if any thing will reconcile an Enemy, Love and Kindness will. An obstinate good­ness is apt to conquer even the worst of Men. It is hardly in the nature of man to withstand [Page 10] the kindness of one whom, by all that we could do, we have not been able to make our enemy. After a man hath done the greatest injury to a­nother, not onely to find no revenge following upon it, but the first opportunity taken to ob­lige him, is so very surprizing, that it can hard­ly fail to gain upon the worst disposition and to melt down the hardest temper. So that we should love our Enemies, if not for what they are at present, yet for what they may be, and in hope that by these means they may in time be­come our Friends.

III. If we consider the Excellency and Ge­nerosity of the thing it self. To love our enemies, and to do good to them that hate us, is the perfection of goodness, and the advancement of it to its highest pitch. It is the most excellent and per­fect act of the greatest and most perfect of all Graces and Vertues, I mean Charity; which by St. Paul is call'd the bond of perfection; and by St. James, the perfect and the Royal Law: because it inspires men with a greatness of Mind fit for Kings and Princes, in whom nothing is more admirable than a generous Goodness and Cle­mency, even towards great Enemies and Offen­ders, so far as is consistent with the Publick Good. [Page 11] Love for love is but Justice and Gratitude; Love for no love is favour and kindness; but Love for hatred and enmity is a most Divine Temper, a steddy and immutable Goodness that is not to be stirr'd by provocation, and so far from being con­quer'd that it is rather confirm'd by its con­trary: For if Hatred and Enmity do not extin­guish Love, what can? This is Goodness in­deed; not only without Merit and Obligation, without Invitation or Motive; but against all reasonable expectation, and in despite of all Temptation and Provocation to the contrary.

So that to return good for evil and love for hatred, is one of the greatest arguments of a great Mind, and of deep wisdom and conside­ration: For naturally our first inclinations and thoughts towards our Enemies are full of Anger and Revenge; but our second and wiser thoughts will tell us, that Forgiveness is much more ge­nerous than Revenge. And a more glorious Vi­ctory cannot be gain'd over another man than this, that when the Injury began on his part the Kindness should begin on ours. If both the wayes were equally in our power, yet it is a much more desirable Conquest to overcome evil with good, than with evil. By this, we can on­ly Conquer our Enemy, and may perhaps fail [Page 12] in that; but by the other, we certainly Conquer our selves, and perhaps our Enemy too; over­coming him in the noblest manner, and walk­ing him gently till he be cool, and without force effectually subduing him to be our Friend. This, Dr. Barrow. as One fitly compares it, is like a great and wise General, by Art and Stratagem, by meer dint of Skill and Conduct, by Patience and wise delay; without ever striking a stroke, or shedding one drop of blood, to vanquish an E­nemy, and to make an end of the War without ever putting it to the hazard of a Battel.

Revenge is blind and rash, and does alwayes proceed from impotency and weakness of Mind. 'Tis Anger that spurrs men on to it; and Anger is certainly one of the foolishest Passions of Hu­mane Nature, and which commonly betrays men to the most imprudent and unreasonable things. Prov. 14. 29. So Solomon observes, He that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly; Eccl. 7. 9. and again, Anger resteth in the bo­som of Fools: But to be able to bear provocation, is an argument of great Wisdom; and to forgive it, of a great Mind: So the same Wise-man tells us, He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty, Prov. 16. 32. and he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a City. It is a greater thing, in case of great Provocation, to calm a mans own spirit, than to storm and take a strong City.

[Page 13] Whereas the Angry Man loseth and lets fall the government of himself, and lays the Reins upon the neck of the Wild Beast, his own brutish Appetite and Passion; which hurries him on first to Revenge, and then to Repentance for the folly which he hath been guilty of in grati­fying so unreasonable a Passion. For it very seldom happens that any man executes an act of Revenge, but the very next moment after he hath done it, he is sorry for it, and wisheth he had not done it: Whereas Patience and Forgiveness do wisely prevent both the mischief to others, and the trouble to our selves, which is usually consequent upon Revenge.

IV. If we consider the perfection and preva­lency of the Examples which the Gospel proposeth to us, to allure and engage us to the practice of this Duty. And they are the Examples of God himself, and of the Son of God in the Nature of Man.

1. The Example of God himself. The Scrip­ture doth frequently set before us the goodness of Gods common Providence to Sinners, for our Pattern. And this is the Argument whereby our Blessed Saviour presseth the Duty in the Text upon us, Ver. 45. in the Verse immediately after it; That [Page 14] ye may be the children of your heavenly Father, who mak­eth his Sun to rise on the evil and the good, and his Rain to fall on the just and the unjust. The same Argu­ment Seneca also urgeth to the same purpose. How many (sayes he) are unworthy of the light, and yet the Day visits them? And speaking of the Gods, They bestow, (sayes he) their benefits upon the un­thankful, and are ready to help those who make a bad construction and use of their kindness. And almost in the very words of our Saviour, Etiam sceleratis Sol oritur, &c. The Sun riseth even upon the most vile and profligate persons, and the Seas are open to Pirates.

Thus is God affected towards those who are guilty of the greatest provocations towards Him. He bestows upon them the gifts of his Common Providence; and not onely so, but is ready to forgive innumerable Offences to them for Christ's sake. This Pattern the Apostle pro­poseth to our imitation, Eph. 4. 32. Be ye kind, tender-heart­ed, forbearing one another, forgiving one another, even as God for Christs sake hath forgiven you: chap. 5. 1. Be ye therefore imitaters of God as dear children. This temper and disposition of Mind, is the prime excellency and perfection of the Divine Nature; and who would not be ambitious to be like the most per­fect and best of Beings? And so our B. Saviour [Page 15] concludes this Argument, in the last Verse of this Chapter, Be ye therefore perfect, as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect, which St. Luke ren­ders, Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father which is in Heaven is merciful. So that in that very thing which we think to be so hard and difficult, you see that we have Perfection it self for our Pattern. And this Example ought to be of so much greater force with us, by how much grea­ter reason there is why we should do thus to one another, than why God should do thus to us. Our Offences against God are more and greater, than any man ever was or could be guilty of to­wards us: Besides, that there are many Consi­derations which ought to tye up our hands, and may reasonably restrain us from falling furiously upon one another, which can have no place at all in God. We may justly fear, that the con­sequence of our Revenge may return upon our selves, and that it may come to be our own case to stand in need of Mercy and Forgiveness from others: And therefore out of necessary caution and prudence, we should take heed not to set any bad example in this kind, lest it should recoyle upon our selves. We who stand so much in need of Forgiveness our selves, ought in all reason to be very easie to forgive others. [Page 16] But now the Divine Nature is infinitely above any real injury or suffering. God can ne­ver stand in need of pity or forgiveness; and yet of his own meer Goodness, without any interest or design, how slow is he to anger, and how ready to forgive?

And, which comes yet nearer to us, there is also the Example of the Son of God, our Blessed Saviour; who in our Nature, and in case of the greatest Injuries and Provocations imaginable, did practise this Vertue to the height: And all this for our sakes, as well as for our Example. So that he requires nothing of us, but what he himself submitted to with the greatest Patience and Constancy of Mind; in our stead, and wholy for our advantage.

He render'd good for evil to all Mankind, and shew'd greater Love to us, whilst we were Ene­mies to Him, than ever any man did to his Friend.

He pray'd for those that despitefully used him and persecuted him. And this, not upon cool consi­deration, after the injury was done, and the pain of his Sufferings was over; but whilst the sense and smart of them was upon him, and in the very Agony and bitterness of Death: In the [Page 17] height of all his anguish, he pour'd out his Soul an Offering for the Sins of Men, and his Blood a Sacrifice to God, for the expiation of the Guilt of that very Sin whereby they shed it; pleading with God, in the behalf of his Murder­ers, the only Excuse that was possible to be made for their Malice, that is their Ignorance; and spending his last breath in that most charitable Prayer for them, Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.

The last Declaration which he made of his mind, was Love to his Enemies; and the last Legacy he bequeath'd was an earnest Request to God for the Forgiveness of his Persecutors and Murderers.

So that if any Example ought to be dear to us, and effectually to engage us to the imitati­on of it, this of our Blessed Saviour should; since the Injuries which he suffer'd have saved us from suffering, and the greatest Blessing and Happiness that ever befel Mankind is due to this excellent Example: And then with what Confidence, nay with what Conscience, can we pretend to share in the Benefits of this Ex­ample, without imitating the Vertues of it?

Can we seriously contemplate the excessive Kindness and Charity of the Son of God to the [Page 18] sinful Sons of Men, after all our bitterest En­mity towards him, and most cruel and injuri­ous Usage of him; and all this Charity exer­cis'd towards us, whilst he was under the actual sense and suffering of these things: and yet not be provok'd by an Example so admirable in it self, and of such mighty advantage to us, to go and do likewise?

But notwithstanding the power of these Ar­guments to perswade to this Duty, I must not dissemble some Objections which are, I believe, in many of your minds against it; and to which for the full clearing of this matter, it will be fit to give some satisfaction. And they are these:

1. That this Precept in the Text does not seem so well to agree with another of our Blessed Saviour's, in another Evangelist, If thy brother trespass against thee, Luke 17. 3, 4. rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent, thou shalt forgive him. Here our Blessed Saviour seems not to require Forgiveness, unless he that hath done the Injury declare his Repentance for it: but the Text plainly requires us to forgive those who are so far from repenting of their Enmity, [Page 19] that they still pursue it, and exercise it upon us. Thus our Lord teacheth us, and thus He himself practised towards his Persecutors.

But this appearance of Contradiction will quickly vanish, if we consider that Forgiveness is sometimes taken chiefly for abstaining from Revenge; and so far we are to forgive our E­nemies, even whilst they continue so, and though they do not repent: And not only so, but we are also to pray for them, and to do good offices to them, especially of common Hu­manity: and this is the meaning of the Precept in the Text. But sometimes Forgiveness does signifie a perfect Reconciliation to those that have offended us, so as to take them again into our Friendship; which they are by no means fit for, till they have repented of their Enmity, and laid it aside. And this is plainly the mean­ing of the other Text.

2. It is further objected, That this seems to be a very imprudent thing, and of dange­rous consequence to our selves; because by bearing one Injury so patiently, and forgiving it so easily, we invite more; and not only tempt our Enemie to go on, but others also by his Example to do the like: Which will make ill natur'd Men to provoke us on pur­pose, [Page 20] with a crafty design to wrest benefits from us: For what better Trade can a man drive, than to gain Benefits in exchange for Injuries? To this I answer three things:

First, It is to be feared that there are but few so very good, as to make this kind return for Injuries: Perhaps, of those that call them­selves Christians, not one in a hundred. And he is not a cunning man that will venture to make an Enemy, when there is the odds of a hundred to one against him, that this Enemy of his will take the first opportunity to take his Revenge upon him.

Secondly, It is also on the other hand to be hoped, that but very few are so prodigiously bad, as to make so barbarous a return for the unexpected kindness of a generous Enemy. And this is encouragement enough to the pra­ctice of this Duty, if there be a probable hope that it will have a good effect; and however, if it should fall out otherwise, yet this would not be reason enough to discourage our good­ness, especially since the kindness which we do to our Friends is lyable almost to an equal Ob­jection, that they may prove ungrateful, and become our Enemies: it having been often [Page 21] seen that great Benefits, and such are beyond requital, instead of making a man more a Friend have made him an Enemy.

Thirdly, Our Saviour never intended by this Precept, that our goodness should be blind and void of all prudence and discretion, but that it should be so managed; as to make our Ene­my sensible both of his own fault, and of our favour; and so, as to give him as little encou­ragement, as there is reason for it, to hope to find the like favour again upon the like pro­vocation. Our Saviour commands us to do the thing, but hath left it to our prudence to do it in such a manner as may be most ef­fectual, both to reclaim the Offender, and like­wise to secure ourselves against future and fur­ther Injuries.

3. Lastly, It is objected, What can we do more to our best Friends, than to love them and bless them, than to do good to them and to pray for them? And are we then to make no difference betwixt our Enemies and our Friends?

Yes surely; and so we may, notwithstand­ing this Precept: For there are degrees of Love, and there are Benefits of several rates [Page 22] and sizes. Those of the first rate we may with reason bestow upon our Friends, and with those of a second or third rate there is all the reason in the World why our Enemies should be very well contented. Besides that we may abstain from Revenge, yea, and love our Enemy, and wish him and do him good; and yet it will not presently be necessary that we should take him into our bosom, and treat and trust him as our intimate and familiar Friend. For every one that is not our Ene­my is not fit to be our Friend; much less one that hath been our Enemy, and perhaps is so still. There must be a great change in him that hath been our Enemy, and we must have had long experience of him, before it will be fit, if ever it be so, to take him into our Friend­ship.

All that now remains is to make some In­ferences from the Discourse which I have made upon this Argument, by way of Application. And they shall be these four:

I I. If we think it so very difficult to demean ourselves towards our Enemies, as the Christi­an Religion doth plainly require us to do; to forgive them, and love them, and pray for [Page 23] them, and to do good offices to them, then certainly it concerns us in prudence to be very careful how we make Enemies to ourselves. One of the first Principles of Humane Wis­dom, in the conduct of our Lives, I have ever thought to be this, To have a few intimate Friends, and to make no Enemies, if it be possible, to ourselves▪ St. Paul lays a great stress upon this, and presseth it very earnest­ly. For after he had forbidden Revenge, Re­compence to no man evil for evil. Rom. 12. 17. As if he were very sensible how hard a matter it is to bring men to this, he adviseth in the next words, to prevent, if it be possible, the occasions of Revenge, V. 18. If it be possible, and as much as ly­eth in you, live peaceably with all men: That is, if we can avoid it, have no Enmity with a­ny man. And that for two very weighty Rea­sons.

The first I have already intimated; because it is so very hard to behave ourselves towards Enemies as we ought. This we shall find to be a difficult Duty to Flesh and Blood; and it will require great Wisdom, and Considerati­on, and Humility of Mind, for a Man to bring down his Spirit to the Obedience of this Com­mand: For the fewer Enemies we have, the [Page 24] less occasion will there be of contesting this hard Point with ourselves.

And the other Reason is, I think, yet plain­er and more convincing, because Enemies will come of themselves, and let a man do what he can, he shall have some. Friendship is a thing that needs to be cultivated, if we would have it come to any thing; but Enemies, like ill Weeds, will spring up of themselves without our care and toil. The Enemy, as our Saviour calls the Devil, will sow these Tares in the night, and when we least discern it, will scatter the Seeds of Discord and Enmity among men; and will take an advantage either from the Envy, or the Malice, or the Mistakes of Men, to make them Enemies to one another. Which would make one wonder to see what care and pains some men will take, to provoke Mankind against them; how they will lay a­bout them, and snatch at opportunities to make themselves Enemies, as if they were afraid to let the happy occasion slip by them: But all this care and fear surely is needless; we may safely trust an ill-natur'd World, that we shall have Enemies enough, without our doing things on our part to provoke and procure them.

[Page 25] But above all, it concerns every man in prudence to take great care not to make personal Enemies to himself; for these are the sorest and the surest of all other, and when there is an opportunity for it, will sit hard­est upon us. Injuries done to the Publick are certainly the greatest, and yet they are many times more easily forgiven, than those which are done to particular Persons. For when Revenge is every bodies work, it may prove to be no bodies. The general Wrongs which are done to Humane Socie­ty, do not so sensibly touch and sting men, as personal Injuries and Provocations. The Law is never angry or in passion, and it is not only a great indecency, but a fault, when the Judges of it are so. Heat of Prosecuti­on belongs to particular Persons; and it is their memory of Injuries, and desire to Re­venge them, and diligence to set on and sharpen the Law, that is chiefly to be dread­ed: And if the truth were known, it is much to be fear'd that there are almost as few private as publick Acts of Oblivion pass'd in the World; and they commonly pass as slowly, and with as much difficulty, [Page 26] and not till the grace and good effect of them is almost quite lost.

II II. Secondly, If we ought to be thus af­fected towards our Enemies, how great ought our kindness, and the expressions of it, to be to others? To those who never disobliged us, nor did us any Injury by word or deed; to those more especially, who stand in a nearer relation to us; to our na­tural Kindred, and to our spiritual Brethren to whom we are so strongly link'd and u­nited by common Bond of Christianity; and lastly, to our Benefactors, and those who have been before-hand with us in obligati­on: For all these are so many special Ties and Endearments of men to one another, founded either in Nature or Religion, or in common Justice and Gratitude. And there­fore between all these and our Enemies we ought to make a very wide and sensible dif­ference, in our Carriage and Kindness to­wards them. And if we do not do so, we represent our Saviour as an unreasonable Law-giver, and do perversly interpret this Precept of his contrary to the reasonable and [Page 27] equitable meaning of it. For whatever degree of Kindness is here required towards our Enemies, it is certain that so much more is due to others, as according to the true proportion of our tie and obligation to them they have deserved at our hands: nothing being more certain than that our Blessed Saviour, the Founder of our Religi­on, did never intend by any Precept of it to cancel any real Obligation of Nature, or Justice, or Gratitude; or to offer Vio­lence in the least to the common Reason of Mankind.

III. Thirdly, Hence we learn the excel­lency III and the Reasonableness of the Christi­an Religion, which hath carried our Duty so high in things which do so directly tend to the Perfection of Humane Nature, and to the Peace of Humane Society; and, which if all things be rightly consider'd, are most a­greeable to the clearest and best Reason of Mankind: So that those things which were heretofore look'd upon, and that only by some few of the wiser sort, as Heroical Instances of Goodness, and above [Page 28] the common rate of Humanity, are now by the Christian Religion made the indispensable Duties of all Mankind. And the Precepts of no other Religion, that ever yet appear­ed in the World, have advanced Humane Nature so much above itself, and are so well calculated for the Peace and Happiness of the World, as the Precepts of the Christian Religion are: for they strictly forbid the doing of Injuries, by way of prevention; and in case they happen, they endeavour to put a present stop to the progress of them, by so severely forbidding the reveng­ing of them.

And yet after all this, it must be aknow­ledg'd to be a very untoward Objection a­gainst the Excellency and the Efficacy of the Christian Religion, that the Practice of so many Christians is so unequal to the Per­fection of these Precepts. For who is there in the Changes and Revolutions of Humane Affairs, and when the Wheel of Provi­dence turns them uppermost, and lays their Enemies at their Feet, that will give them any Quarter? Nay, that does not greedily seize upon the first opportunities of Re­venge, [Page 29] and like an Eagle, hungry for his Prey, make a sudden stoop upon them with all his force and violence; and when he hath them in his Pounces, and at his Mercy, is not ready to tear them in pieces?

So that after all our Boasts of the Excel­lency of our Religion, where is the pra­ctice of it? This, I confess, is a terrible Objection indeed; and I must entreat of you, my Brethren, to help me to the best An­swer to it: Not by any nice Distinctions and Speculations about it, but by the careful and honest Practice of this Precept of our Re­ligion.

This was the old Objection against Philoso­phy, that many that were Philosophers in their Opinions were faulty in their Lives: But yet this was never thought by wise men to be a good Objection against Philo­sophy. And unless we will lay more weight upon the Objections against Religion, and press them harder than we think it reason­able to do in any other Case, we must ac­knowledge likewise, that this Objection a­gainst Religion is of no force. Men do not cast off the Art of Physick, because ma­ny [Page 30] Physicians do not live up to their own Rules, and do not themselves follow those Prescriptions which they think fit to give to others: and there is a plain reason for it, because their swerving from their own Rules doth not necessarily signifie that their Rules are not good, but only that their Appe­tites are unruly, and too hard and head­strong for their Reason: Nothing being more certain than this, That Rules may be very reasonable, and yet they that give them may not follow them.

IV IV. The fourth and last Inference from this whole Discourse shall be this, That be­ing convinced by what hath been said upon this Argument, of the Reasonableness of this Duty, we would resolve upon the Pra­ctice of it, when ever there is occasion of­fer'd for it in the course of our Lives. I need not to put you in mind, that there is now like to be great occasion for it: I shall only say, that whenever there is so, nothing can be tied more strictly upon us than this Duty is.

It hath often been a great Comfort and [Page 31] Confirmation to me, to see the Humanity of the Protestant Religion, so plainly discover­ing it self, upon so many occasions, in the practice of the Professours of it. And set­ting aside all other advantages which our Religion hath been evidently shewn to have above Popery in point of Reason and Ar­gument, I cannot for my life but think that to be the best Religion which makes the best Men, and from the nature of its Prin­ciples is apt to make them so; most kind, and merciful, and charitable; and most free from Malice, and Revenge, and Cruel­ty.

And therefore our Blessed Saviour, who knew what was in man better than any man that ever was, knowing our great reluctancy and backwardness to the practice of this Duty, hath urged it upon us by such for­cible and almost violent Arguments, that if we have any tenderness for our selves, we cannot refuse Obedience to it. For he plainly tells us, That no Sacrifice that we can offer will appease God towards us, so long as we our selves are implacable to Men; Verse 23d of this Chapter, If thou bring thy [Page 32] gift to the Altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee, leave thy gift before the Altar, and go thy way: first go and be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. To recommend this Du­ty effectually to us, He gives it a preference to all the positive Duties of Religion: First go and be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. Till this Duty be discharged, God will accept of no Service, no Sacrifice at our hands. And therefore our Liturgy doth with great reason declare it to be a necessary Qualification for our Worthy Receiving of the Sacrament, that we be in Love and Charity with our Neigh­bours; because this is a Moral Duty, and of eternal Obligation, without which no po­sitive part of Religion, such as the Sacra­ments are, can be acceptable to GOD; especially since in this Blessed Sacrament of Christ's Body and Blood we expect to have the Forgiveness of our Sins ratified and con­firmed to us: Which how can we hope for from GOD, if we our selves be not rea­dy to forgive one another?

He shall have judgment without mercy, [Page 33] says St. James, who hath shewed no mercy. And in that excellent Form of Prayer which our Lord himself hath given us, He hath taught us so to ask Forgiveness of God, as not to expect it from Him, if we do not forgive one another. So that if we do not practise this Duty, as hard as we think it is, every time that we put up this Petition to God, [Forgive us our Trespasses, as we forgive them that Trespass against us;] we send up a terrible Imprecation against our selves, and do in effect beg of God not to forgive us. And therefore, to imprint this matter the deeper upon our minds, our Blessed Saviour immediately after the reci­tal of this Prayer, hath thought fit to add a very remarkable enforcement of this Pe­tition, above all the rest; For if, says He, ye forgive men their trespasses, Matth. 6. 14, 15. your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye for­give not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

And our Saviour hath likewise in his Gospel represented to us, both the reason­ableness of this Duty, and the Danger of doing contrary to it, in a very lively and [Page 34] affecting Parable, deliver'd by him to this purpose: Mat. 18. 23. Concerning a wicked Servant, who, when his Lord had but just before forgiven him a vast Debt of ten thousand Talents, took his poor Fellow-servant by the throat, and, notwithstanding his humble Submission and earnest Entreaties to be fa­vourable to him, haled him to Prison for a trifling Debt of an hundred Pence. And the Application which he makes of this Pa­rable, at the end of it, is very terrible, and such as ought never to go out of our minds; V. 35. So likewise, says He, shall my hea­venly Father do also unto you, if ye do not from your hearts forgive every one his bro­ther his trespasses. One might be apt to think at first view, that this Parable was o­ver done, and wanted something of a due Decorum; it being hardly credible, that a man after he had been so mercifully and generously dealt withall, as upon his hum­ble Request to have so huge a Debt so free­ly forgiven, should whilst the memory of so much Mercy was fresh upon him, even the very next moment, handle his Fellow-Ser­vant, who had made the same humble [Page 35] submission and request to him which he had done to his Lord, with so much rough­ness and cruelty, for so inconsiderable a Sum. This, I say, would hardly seem credible; did we not see in experience how very unreasonable and unmerciful some men are, and with what confidence they can ask and expect great mercy from GOD, when they will shew none to Men.

The greatness of the Injuries which are done to us, is the reason commonly pleaded by us why we cannot forgive them. But whoever thou art, that makest this an Ar­gument why thou canst not forgive thy Brother, lay thine hand upon thy heart, and bethink thy self how many more and much greater Offences thou hast been guil­ty of against God: Look up to that Just and Powerful Being that is above, and con­sider well, Whether thou dost not both expect and stand in need of more Mer­cy and Favour from Him, than thou canst find in thy heart to shew to thine offending Brother?

We have all certainly great reason to ex­pect that as we use one another, God will [Page 36] likewise deal with us. And yet after all this, how little is this Duty practis'd among Christians? And how hardly are the best of us brought to love our Enemies, and to forgive them? And this, notwithstanding that all our hopes of Mercy and Forgive­ness from God do depend upon it. How strangely inconsistent is our practice and our hope? And what a wide distance is there between our expectations from GOD, and our dealings with Men? How very partial and unequal are we, to hope so ea­sily to be forgiven, and yet to be so hard to forgive?

Would we have GOD, for Christ's sake, to forgive us those numberless and mon­strous provocations which we have been guilty of against His Divine Majesty? And shall we not for His sake, for whose sake we our selves are forgiven, be willing to forgive one another?

We think it hard to be oblig'd to for­give great Injuries, and often repeated; and yet Woe be to us all, and most mise­rable shall we be to all Eternity, if GOD do not all this to us, which we think to [Page 37] be so very hard and unreasonable for us to do to one another.

I have sometimes wonder'd how it should come to pass, that so many persons should be so apt to despair of the Mercy and For­giveness of GOD to them; especially con­sidering what clear and express Declarations GOD hath made of his readiness to for­give our greatest Sins and Provocations up­on our sincere Repentance: But the won­der will be very much abated, when we shall consider with how much difficulty men are brought to remit great Injuries, and how hardly we are perswaded to refrain from flying upon those who have given us any considerable provocation. So that when men look into themselves, and shall carefully observe the motions of their own minds towards those against whom they have been justly exasperated, they will see but too much reason to think that Forgiveness is no such easie matter.

But our comfort in this case is, That GOD is not as Man; that his ways are not as our ways, nor his thoughts as our thoughts; but as the Heavens are high above the Earth, [Page 38] so are his ways above our ways, and his thoughts above our thoughts.

And the best way to keep our selves from despairing of GOD's Mercy and For­giveness to us, is to be easie to grant For­giveness to others: And without this, as GOD hath reason to deny Forgiveness to us, so we our selves have all the reason in the World utterly to despair of it.

It would almost transport a Christian to read that admirable Passage of the Great Heathen Emperour and Philosopher M. Au­relius Antoninus, M. Aur. An­toni. lib. 7. Can the Gods, says he, that are Immortal, for the continuance of so many Ages, bear without impatience with such and so many Sinners as have ever been; and not only so, but likewise take care of them, and provide for them that they want nothing: And dost thou so grievously take on, as one that can bear with them no longer? Thou, that art but for a moment of time; yea, Thou that art one of those Sinners thy self.

I will conclude this whole Discourse with those weighty and pungent Sayings of the wise Son of Sirach, Eccl. 23, 1, 2, 3, 4. He that revengeth shall [Page 39] find vengeance from the Lord, and he will cer­tainly retain his Sins. Forgive thy neigh­bour that hath hurt thee, so shall thy Sins also be forgiven when thou prayest. One man bear­eth hatred against another, and doth he seek pardon of the Lord? He sheweth no mercy to a man like himself, and doth he ask forgive­ness of his own Sins?

Enable us, O Lord, by thy Grace, to practise this excellent and difficult Duty of our Religion: And then, Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass a­gainst us: For thy mercies sake, in Jesus Christ; to whom with Thee, O Father, and the Holy Ghost, be all Honour and Glory, A­doration and Obedience, both now and ever. Amen.