Bread, and drinking of the Cup, without a Broken Heart, without a Change of Mind, without full purpose and Refolution to mend your Lives, and to serve God in true Holinefs and Righteousness all your days. For this is the true end and Scope of Chrift's Religion, without the Practice whereof, all outward Obfervances are but forry and empty Formalities; things which are very confiftent with a Life of Sin (though that be the great thing which Chrift came into the World, and dyed upon the Cross, that he might deftroy) nor do I fee by the Principles of fome Men, how any of those External Rites can lay the leaft restraint upon our Vices and Lufts; but must be rather Encouragements to all manner of Sin and Wickedness; it being fuch a ftrong Temptation to Men to run prefently upon a new Score, after the Sacrament is over; when they believe that all their accounts may be wiped out by thofe mean and eafie methods, which reach not the Heart, nor meddle with Lufts, but let all manner of inward impurities alone, though those be the great things which God is angry at.

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EXTERNAL Penance is one thing, but the Repentance of the Heart, and the Mortification of the Spirit is another,

and

and a far different Matter; and that which infinitely more deferves our ftricteft regard; for it is the Original of a Divine Temper, and of a Life that is truly Chriftian. And I have been the more Copious in Difcourfing upon it; not only because it is a neceffary Preparative to this Heavenly Mystery, but also because it is the great business of our whole Life; 'tis the root of all Religion, out of which spring all those particular and va rious branches of Godliness, Righteousness, and Sobriety, which together make up the whole Duty of Man, and are the Genuine and Salutary Fruits of Repen

tance.

CHAP. VIII.
Of Charity.

PROCEED next to the Subject of Charity; for that is another neceffary Preparative; it being impoffible for Men rightly to Celebrate the memorial of Gods infinite Love to Them, or to an fwer the Love of God in any due measure, unless their own Souls be inflamed with an Unfeigned and Univerfal Love to

those

thofe for whom Chrift dyed. It is the Apostles own inference, i Joh. 4. 11. Beloved, if God fo Loved us, we ought also to Love one another. In Difcourfing upon this Point, I am to fpeak, 1. Of the Nature; 2. Of the Exercife of Charity.

1. AS to its Nature; Charity is a Virtue of vast Extent and Latitude, so that St. Paul calls it the fulfilling of the Law, Rom. 13. Tho' the vulgar fort are apt to reftrain it to Alms-deeds; yet that is but one Branch of Charity, nay, when 'tis done out of Oftentation, and for Popular applaufe, it lofeth the Reward, and deferves not the very Name of Charity, as we find by the Apostle, where he tells us, that though I beflow all my goods to feed the Poor, yet if I have not Charity, it profiteth me nothing, 1 Cor. 13. In which Chapter, we have a large defcription of Charity, that it fuffereth long, and is kind, that it Enviet not, that it vaunteth not it self, that it is not puffed up, that it behaveth not it felf unfeemly, that it feeketh not her own, that it is not eafily provoked, that it thinketh no evil, that it rejoyceth not in iniquity, but rejoyceth in the Truth; that it beareth all Things, believeth all Things, hopeth all I Things, endureth all Things. By which feveral Expreffions is meant, that true Charity hath fuch an Univerfal influence

upon

1

upon a Man's Mind, that it creates in him an entire Goodness and Loveliness of Nature, and reftrains him from every thing that is either inhumane, or inju rious, or unbecoming the temper of one that profeffeth himself a Difciple of the Meek, Humble, and Beneficent Jefus. Therefore before you go to the Lord's. Table, you should examine and look into your Temper, and endeavour to rectifie it, wherever any crookedness appears, wherever it croffeth the Christian Law, wherever it fwerves from that Divine Nature and Spirit which was in the great Exemplar of Charity. People that are impatient of every little provocation; that are rough, uncompaffionate, insenfible of other Men's Miferies; that begrudge any good which the providence of God calleth into their Neighbour's bofome; that out of a Towring and Lofty Conceit of their own Merits, look contemptuously and fpightfully down upon their Brethren; that are intractable, diforderly, and pursue only their own private fatisfaction; that are full of rancour and malice; that employ their minds upon wicked and mischievous Contrivances; that take pleasure in the Sins or Frailties of others; that inftead of covering and concealing them, fpread the in

famy

1

famy of them abroad, and proclaim them as it were from the House top; that are prone to believe any thing that is Evil of those they have no kindness for; to judge the worst of them, to turn every thing they do to a hard Conftruction, and to treat them fo as if they were no other than Reprobates, and Caft-aways: People I fay, of this harsh and fower difpofition, fhould new-mould their Tempers before they come to the Supper of the Lamb, which was Meek, Innocent, and Spotless, and which readily offer'd up himself a Sacrifice and Atonement for the Crimes of the whole World. Purge out therefore the old Leaven, faith the Apostle, I that ye may be a new Lump; for even Christ our Paffeover is Sacrificed for us; therefore let us keep the Feaft, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of Malice and Wickedness, but with the unleavened Bread of Purity and Truth, 1 Cor. 5.7,.8.

I

But there are two fpecial acts of Cha rity, which I am more particularly to fpeak of, because there are at this So1 lemnity fome Special Reasons for them; fome special Confiderations to ftir us up to the exercise of them, and to fingle them out particularly from the reft; and they

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