The great Evil and Danger of Little Si;;;:--- Chrift lays down in oppofition to the common and corrupt Docl:rine of rhe Scribes a~d Phari{tes, the ]twifh Teachers ; w~o by their Tradirions fought to make v01d the Law of God. Now, fays Chnfi, unlefs they can remove rhe Earth, ~nd rowl up the ~-f~avens, an? carry the World wirbouc rhe World, it is bur a vam Attempt; for tt IS decreed tn Heaven, That ti/J Heaven and Earth pPjs not a tittle of the Law jlJall fail; but nl!Jlmll be fulfilled. ' As it is in this lower World, norwichftanding it is maimain'd by a continual flux and viciffitude by the perpetual change ot one Being im:o anorher . one corrupting, and another riling up in a new form and fhape om of its Ruins • and yet nor rhe leaft duft of Matcer is, or can be confumed ; but rhe fame Mat~ rer, and che fame Quantity fHll continues which were ac fir!t created. So is it with the Law of God ; lee Scribes and Phari[w corrupt it by their erroneous Gloff~s and f~ lf~ ~n~erpretations, .purring what Forr:ls and ShaPes chey pleafe upon 1t; yet as 1t ts tn the corruption of earthly Bod1es, not the leafi piece of Matter c~n peri~1, or be. an~ihilated; foneirher in their ~orr~pting of the Law fuall one JOt or mtle of Jt faiL Not hue chat the Law dtd f<lt l of its ohfervacion; never yet was it exactly and puntlually fulfilled by any, except by our Lord Jefus Chr~fr; but yet the O.bligation and binding Powe~ of iris everla!ting,and /hall conunue while. there 1.s an. E~rrh, and Men upon tt; yea, while there is a Heaven, and glonfied Sauus m It ; for the Morall.aw is of an eternal v~ lidity; on Earth .it is a perf~lt Rule tee down in the. Word; in Heaven, it is a perfect Nature Implanted tn the Bleffed, from whxch all their Actions Ihall flow, and by which they Jhall all be guided to Eternity. This A.fferdon being laid down,Gur Savi our proceeds to draw an Inference from it and chat he doth in the Words of theTrxt: If every jottnnd tietle of the Law be of fuch a permanent and everlafiing Obligation, then, 7vhoforoer jiJalt break one of tbe[e leaf! Commandments, and teach MenjO, he Jball be calltd, chat is, he fuall be or, he deferves to be the leafl in fht JSingdom of He.1ven. ' Opem'ng of And here, ~ef.o.re we can arr.tve ac die full and practical ?enfe of the W~rds, :he Words. we mufi enquiCe tnto Two Thmgs. · 1,. Firft, What is here meant by the leaft Cmomandm~nt. Secondly, What is meant by being leafl in the Kingdom of Heaven. Whflt is For the.Firft of thefe: When Chrifi fpeaks here of the leaft Commandment, it meant~ muft not be fo underftood,asifone Commandment were lefsneceffary tdbe obferrhe ltajt ved than another: God's Commands are all alike nece!fary,and that with a two~ c~mmaud~ fold Neccfficy; Necelfitate Prtecepti, & Neceflitate Medii. The one arifeth from mmt. the Authority of the Law~ giver; the other fcom·rheRequifirenefs rof Obedience to eternal Life; One Command therefore is not lefs than another. N• Com· Firft, In refped: of the Authority enjoyni-ng them. The-ftmeholy and jufi 1nanJ lit- God who hath commanded us to love and fear him wirh all our Souls and with all tle in re- our Might,hath alfocommanded us to abfiainjrom every vain Thought,and_from fpe~ of every idle and fuperHuous Word. The leafl Commflndhath powev to bind the Con- ?bm:y~~~· fcimce to Obedience,as well as the grenreft;. becaufe the l~llfl is enacted by that Sovereign God ro whom all Souls and Confctences are fubJetl:,as well as the greareft. It is not the greatnefsorfmallnefsof the Coin,hue the Image of the K~ng lt-amP.'d -upon it, that authorizerh it, and makes ir current : So truly. the Hblinels ahd Purity of. G?d's Nature ?nee impri~te.d upon the t:aft Commnnd, m.akes it fully as Authonrauve and Obligatory, as If H w~re the h:ghefl and the chufiJI. ~ No Com. Nor, Secondly, is one'Command lefs than ano~her, as if it wereAefs neceifary eo mand lefl be performed in order to Eternal Life. The .Breach of the leafrCommandment nmjfiJry u doth as certainly fuut the Soul out ofHeaven,and fhu,t it upund~r Wr~th and Con- "! obqtd. demnation as the breach of the greateft: In neither of thefe fenfes therefo\7 muft· theWords be underft0od, as if our Obediend: Vvere required ~ Q1pre rem\ITJ., or tefc more ar~q::ary1 to the one than ~~the.oth~f; or as if the 'obferv~don qf ' ein all were noc equally c~nducible unto Happmefs, or ~h.e rranfgref1ionof thetn equally liable uo'o P~ndhment . .When therefor~ Chnft fpeaks of the lenJI Com7nandmmt, the.d.preffion may ad~itof a twofold fignificarion: ~ J ftirjf That herein he alludes to the eommon a-nd Corrupt Dodnne qfthe u and Ph;rifeesdillinguifhing God'!! e-ommands into great and fma!J. The gr ac ~Commandments they beta eo be chofe only whi~h concemed r~e ~xFernal Ads ~f ~IteUe::iousWodhip; fuch as Paftings-, andWapJingt, andSacrific)J., •and/crup_~luts :'hli1,J * Tithmgs,
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