nation.

CII.

"He hath fhewed thee, O man, what isS ERM. "good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, " but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy GOD?"

! I have but one word more, and that is to put you presently upon the practice of one of thefe duties that I have been perfuading you to, and that is mercy, and alms to the poor." If what I have already faid, have had its effect upon you, I need not use any other arguments; if it have not, I have hardly the heart to use any. I shall only put you in mind again, that God values this above all cur external devotion," he will have mercy rather than "facrifice," that this is the way to find mercy with God, and to have our prayers speed in heaven; and without this, all our fafting and humiliation fignifies nothing. And to this purpose I will only read to you those plain and perfuafive words of the prophet, which do fo fully declare unto us the whole duty of this day, and particularly urge us to this of charity, Ifa. lviii. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. "Is it fuch a faft that I have "chofen? a day for a man to afflict his foul? is it "to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread "fackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this "a fast, and an acceptable day unto the LORD? is "not this the faft that I have chofen? to loose the "bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, "and to let the oppreffed go free, and that ye break ἐσ every yoke? is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are caft out to thy houfe? when thou feeft the naked, that thou cover him, and that thou hide not thyfelf from thine own flefh? then fhall thy light "break

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"break forth as the morning, and thy falvation fhaff spring forth speedily, and thy righteousness fhall go before thee, and the glory of the LORD fhall "be thy rereward. Then thou fhalt call, and the "LORD fhall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall fay, here I am."

66

A

SERM.

CIII.

SERMON

СІІІ.

Inftituted religion not intended to undermine natural.

MATTH. ix. 13.

But go ye and learn what that meaneth; I will have mercy, and not facrifice.

NE of the moft fuccefsful attempts that have

been made upon religion, by the devil and his inftruments, hath been by fetting the laws of GOD at variance with themfelves, and by dafhing the several parts of religion, and the two tables of the law against one another, to break all in pieces; and under a pretence of advancing that part of religion which is inftituted and revealed, to undermine and deftroy that which is natural, and of primary obligation.

To manifeft and lay open the mischievous confequences of this defign, I fhall at this time (by GOD's affiftance) endeavour to make out these two things.

CIII.

First, that natural religion is the foundation ofS ERM. all instituted and revealed religion.

Secondly, that no revealed or inftituted religion was ever defigned to take away the obligation of natural duties, but to confirm and establish them.

And to this purpose, I have chofen these words of our SAVIOUR for the foundation of my following difcourfe; "but go ye and learn what that meaneth; "I will have mercy, and not facrifice." The occafion of which words was briefly this; the pharisees found fault with him for keeping company, and eating with publicans and finners. He owns the thing which they objected to him, and endeavours to vindicate himself from any crime or fault in fo doing; and that, these two ways..

1. By telling them, that it was allowed to a physician, and proper for his office and profeffion, to converse with the fick, in order to their cure and recovery. He may abftain, if he pleaseth, from the conversation of others; but the fick have need of him, and are his proper care, and his bufinefs and employment lies among them; "he faid unto them, "they that be whole need not a physician, but they "that are fick; I came not to call the righteous,' "but finners to repentance;" they who were already good, needed not to be call'd upon to amend and reform their lives, and they that were fo conceited of their own righteousness, as the pharifees were, and fo confident that they were found and whole, would not admit of a physician, and thereby rendred themfelves incapable of cure; and therefore he did not apply himself to them; but to the publicans and finners, who were acknowledged on all hands, both by them, felves

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SER M. felves and others, to be bad men; fo that it could CIII. not be denied to be the proper work of a spiritual physician to converse with such persons.

2. By endeavouring to convince them of their ignorance of the true nature of religion, and of the rank and order of the feveral duties thereby required; "but go ye and learn what that meaneth; "I will have mercy and not facrifice;" which fay"ing is quoted by him out of the prophet Hofea, chap. vi. 6. "I defired mercy and not facrifice; "and the knowledge of GoD more than burnt"offerings;" which text our SAVIOUR cites and applies upon two feveral occafions; the confidering and comparing of which, will give full light to the true meaning of it.

The first is here in the text, upon occafion of the pharifees finding fault with him, for converfing with publicans and finners; the other is Matth. xii. 7, where the Pharifees blaming the difciples of our SAVIOUR for plucking the ears of corn on the fabbath-day, our SAVIOUR tells them, " if he had "known what this meaneth, I will have mercy and "not facrifice, ye would not have condemned the "guiltless;" that is, if they had understood the true nature of religion, and what duties of it are chiefly and in the first place to be regarded, they would not have been fo forward to cenfure this action of his disciples.

So that the plain meaning of this faying is this, that in comparing the parts of religion and the obligation of duties together, thofe duties which are of moral and natural obligation are most valued by God, and ought to take place of thofe which are pofitive

and

CIII.

and ritual. "I will have mercy, and not facrifice," S ERM. that is," rather than facrifice," according to the, true meaning of this Hebrew phrafe, which is to be understood in a comparative sense, as is evident from the text itself, in Hofea, "I defired mercy, and not "facrifice; and the knowledge of GOD rather than "burnt offerings;" if they cannot be obferved together, let facrifice be neglected, and the work of mercy be done.

And the reason of this feems very plain; because fhewing mercy, or doing good in any kind is a prime inftance of thofe moral duties, which do naturally and perpetually oblige; but facrifice is an inftance of pofitive and ritual obfervances, and one of the chief of the kind: fo that when moral duties, and ritual obfervances come in competition, and do clash with one another, the observation of a rite, or positive inftitution, is to give way to a moral duty; and it is no fin in that cafe to neglect the obfervation of fuch a rite, yea though it were commanded and appointed by GOD himself. And though this may feem to be a breach of the letter of the law; yet it is according to the true mind and meaning of the law; it being a tacit condition implied in all laws of a ritual and pofitive nature, provided the obfervance of them be not to the hindrance and prejudice of any duty, which is of a higher and better nature; in that case the obligation of it does for that time give way and is fufpended.

And this will appear to be the true meaning of this rule, by comparing more particularly the instances to which our SAVIOUR applies it. His difciples paffing through the corn on the fabbath-day,

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and