2. "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works: so far let a Christian be from ever designing, or desiring to conceal his Religion. On the contrary, let it be your desire, not to conceal it; not to put the 66 light under a bushel." Let it be your care, to place it on a candlestick, that it may give light to all that are in the house." Only take heed, not to seek your own praise herein, not to desire any honour to yourselves. But let it be your sole aim that all, who see your good works, may "glorify your Father which is in heaven.

3. Be this your one ultimate end in all things. With this view, be plain, open, undisguised. Let your love be without dissimulation: why should you hide fair, disinterested love? Let there be no guile found in your mouth: let your words be the genuine picture of your heart. Let there be no darkness or reservedness in your conversation, no disguise in your behaviour. Leave this to those who have other designs in view; designs which will not bear the light. Be ye artless and simple to all mankind; that all may see the grace of God which is in you. And though some will harden their hearts, yet others will take knowledge, that ye have been with Jesus, and by returning themselves "to the great Bishop of their souls, glorify your Father which is in heaven."

4. With this one design, that men may glorify God in you, go on in his name, and in the power of his might. Be not ashamed, even to stand alone, so it be in the ways of God. Let the light which is in your heart, shine in all good works, both works of piety and works of mercy. And in order to enlarge your ability of doing good, renounce all superfluities. Cut off all unnecessary expense, in food, in furniture, in apparel. Be a good steward of every gift of God, even of these his lowest gifts. Cut off all unnecessary expense of time, all needless or useless employments. And "whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.' In a word, be thou full of faith and love; do good: suffer evil. And herein be thou "steadfast, immovable: yea, always abounding in the work of the Lord; forasmuch as thou knowest that thy labour is not in vain in the Lord."

SERMON XXVII.

DISCOURSE V.

ON OUR LORD's SERMON ON THE MOUNT.

MATTHEW v. 17-20.

V.

"Think not that I am come to destroy the Law or the Prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the Law, till all be fulfilled.

"Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least Commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do, and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

"For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven."

1. AMONG the multitude of reproaches which fell upon him who " was despised and rejected of men," it could not fail to be one, That he was a Teacher of novelties, an Introducer of a new Religion. This might be affirmed with the more colour, because many of the expressions he had used were not common among the Jews: either they did not use them at all, or not in the same sense, not in so full and strong a meaning. Add to this, that the worshipping God

"in spirit and in truth," must always appear a new Religion to those who have hitherto known nothing but outside worship, nothing but the form of godliness.

2. And it is not improbable, some might hope it was so : that he was abolishing the old Religion, and bringing in another; one which, they might flatter themselves, would be an easier way to heaven. But our Lord refutes in these words both the vain hopes of the one, and the groundless calumnies of the other.

I shall consider them in the same order as they lie, taking each verse for a distinct head of Discourse.

I. 1. And, first, "Think not that I am come to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I am not come to destroy but to fulfil."

The ritual or ceremonial law, delivered by Moses to the children of Israel, containing all the injunctions and ordinances which related to the old sacrifices and service of the temple, our Lord indeed did come to destroy, to dissolve and utterly abolish. To this bear all the Apostles witness: not only Barnabas and Paul, who vehemently withstood those who taught, That Christians "ought to keep the law of Moses," Acts xv. 6: not only St. Peter, who termed the insisting on this, on the observance of the ritual law, a

tempting God, and putting a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers," saith he, "nor we were able to bear:" but "all the Apostles, elders, and brethren, being assembled with one accord," ver. 10, declared, That to command them to keep this law, was to "subvert their souls: and that it seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to them, to lay no such burthen upon them." This "hand-writing of ordinances our Lord did blot out, take away, and nail to his cross," ver. 24.

2. But the Moral Law, contained in the Ten Commandments, and enforced by the prophets, he did not take away. It was not the design of his coming to revoke any part of this. This is a law which never can be broken, which "stands fast as the faithful witness in heaven." The moral stands on an entirely different foundation from the cere

monial, ritual law; which was only designed for a tempo rary restraint upon a disobedient and stiff-necked people: whereas this was from the beginning of the world; being "written not on tables of stone," but on the hearts of all the children of men, when they came out of the hands of the Creator. And, however the letters once written by the finger of God, are now in a great measure defaced by sin, yet can they not wholly be blotted out, while we have any consciousness of good and evil. Every part of this law must remain in force, upon all mankind, and in all ages: as not depending either on time or place, or any other circumstances liable to change; but on the nature of God, and the nature of man, and their unchangeable relation to each other.

3. "I am not come to destroy but to fulfil." Some have conceived our Lord to mean, I am come to fulfil this, by my entire and perfect obedience to it. And it cannot be doubted but he did, in this sense, fulfil every part of it. But this does not appear to be what he intends here, being foreign to the scope of his present discourse. Without question his meaning in this place is, (consistently with all that goes before and follows after,) I am come to establish it in its fulness, in spite of all the glosses of men. I am come to place in a full and clear view, whatsoever was dark or obscure therein. I am come to declare the true and full import of every part of it: to shew the length and breadth, the entire extent of every commandment contained therein : and the height and depth, the inconceivable purity and spirituality of it in all its branches.

4. And this our Lord has abundantly performed in the preceding and subsequent parts of the discourse before us : in which he has not introduced a new Religion into the world, but the same which was from the beginning: a Religion, the substance of which is without question, as old as the creation; being coeval with man, and having proceeded from God, at the very time when "man became a living soul:" (the substance, I say, for some circumstances of it, now relate to man as a fallen creature.) A Religion witnessed

to both by the law, and by the prophets in all succeeding generations. Yet was it never so fully explained, nor so thoroughly understood, till the great Author of it himself condescended to give mankind this authentic comment on all the essential branches of it: at the same time declaring it should never be changed, but remain in force to the end of the world.

II. 1. "For verily I say unto you," (a solemn preface, which denotes both the importance and certainty of what is spoken,)" till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”

One jot-It is literally, not one iota, not the most inconsiderable vowel, or one tittle, ia иɛgaia, one corner or point of a consonant. It is a proverbial expression, which signifies that no one commandment contained in the moral law, nor the least part of any one, however inconsiderable it might seem, should ever be disannulled.

"Shall in no wise pass from the law:" & un mugɛλDn awo το νομό. The double negative here used, strengthens the sense, so as to admit of no contradiction. And the word παρελθη, Tagɛλn, it may be observed, is not barely future; declaring what will be: but has likewise the force of an imperative; ordering what shall be. It is a word of authority, expressing the sovereign will and power of him that spake: of him whose Word is the law of heaven and earth, and stands fast for ever and ever.

"One jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass, till heaven and earth pass;" or, as it is expressed immediately after, EWS AV HAVTA YEVNτa, till all (or rather all things) be fulfilled, till the consummation of all things. Here is therefore no room for that poor evasion, (with which some have delighted themselves greatly,) That "no part of the law was to pass away, till all the law was fulfilled: but it has been fulfilled by Christ; and therefore now must pass away for the gospel to be established." Not so; the word all does not mean all the law, but all things in the universe; as neither has the term fulfilled any reference to the law, but to all things in heaven and earth.