5, 0 The ExcellencyandUniver, fality of V01.11. made them neceffary parts of our duty. It commands univerfal Love and Kindneís and goodwill among men, and perfe& Forgivenefs of the greateft injuries and offen- ces ; and inculcatesthefe Precepts more vehemently, and forbids all malice and re- venge more ftri&ly and peremptorily, than any Religion or Philofophy had done before ; as will fully appear to any one that will but attentively read and confider our Saviour'sSermon upon the Mount. I cannot now enlarge, in giving a particular account of the excelIen_t Laws and Precepts of our Religion, relating to God, our Neighbour, and our felves; I (hall only fay of them that they all tend to the perfe&ion of our Nature, and the raifing of it to the higheft pitch ofVertue and Goodnefs that we are 'capable of in this Life, and to qualifie and difpofe us for the felicity of thenext ; that they everyway con- duce to the Benefit andAdvantage ofparticular Perfons, fingly confidered, and to the peace and welfare ofhumane Society ; in a word, they all confpire in the glory of God, and thecomfort and happinefsofMan : and no Religion that ever was in the World, nor no Philofophy, can Phew fuch a Syftem of Moral Precepts, in which, as there is nothing vain and faulty, fo neither is there any thing defeetive and wanting ; fo that St. James doth with great reafon call it aperfeEl Law. 5. The Gofpeldoth alfo difcover and offer to us a molt powerful afíìftance for the aid and encouragement of our Obedience, abundant help and ftrength to enable us to the performance of all that which God requires of us. It offers us Wifdom to enlighten our dark Minds, and to dire us in doubtful and difficult Cafes. Yames I. 5. Ifany ofyou lackwifdom, let him a(k ofGod, thatgiveth to all Men liberally, and upbraideth not ; and it fballbe given him. Our Saviour hathpromifed to give his holySpirit to them that afk it, to help our weaknefs, and to raife our courage, to ftrengthen us againft the power and force of ftrongand violent temptations, and to affiift us in all our Conflil'ts with our fpiritual Enemies, and to comfort and fupport us in all our Affli&ions and Sufferings. And without this, all the other Advantages which our Religion affords us would fignifie little. For what would the knowledge of our finful and miferable fiate a- vail us, without power to refcue our felves out of it ? What is the pardon of our fins paft, without ftrength againft them for the future ? What would fignifie the moft, complete Rule of Life, and the moft perfe& Pattern of Holinefs andVirtue, without ability inRime meafure to obferve it and live up to it? Without thisnecef- fary aid and fupport, we might defpair of refilling the Temptations, and mattering the difficulties ofa Chriftian courfe, of fubduing the power ofbad inclinations, and breaking the force of vicious habits, and bearingup againft the violenceof extreme Suffering and Perfecution for Righteoufnefs fake : without this gracious affiflance we can do nothing of all this ; and by the help of this, we may become, as St. Paul expreffes it, more than Conquerours. 6. And lafily, The Gofpel hath clearly difcovered to us, the eternal Rewards and Punifhments of another World, which are the great Incentives and Arguments to Obedience, and a patient and confiant continuance inwell-doing, The Gofpel (as the Apoftle to the Hebrews tells us) is in this refpe& a better Covenantthan the Law, being ofablifhed upon betterpromifes, and having the fan&ionof more fevere and ter- rible threatnings. Thefe great and powerful Arguments do keep Mankind Within the bounds of their duty, which the wifeft of the Heathen had fome doubt of; and which were but very imperfe&lyrevealed to thejews, are clearly made manifefl by the Gofpel. So the Apoftle tells us, that life and immortality are brought to light by the Gofpel ; and that therein the wrath ofGod is revealedfrom Heaven, againgall uüyodlinefs and unrighteoufnefs ofmen. And this givesthe Gofpel a mighty power and influence over the mindsof men. Now God commands all men every where to repent, and obey his Laws; becaufe he bath appointed a day in which he willjudge the world in Righteoufnefs by that man, whereofhe haingiven aAmance unto all men, in that, he bathraifedhim from the dead. TheRefurre&ion ofChriftfrom theDead is a fenfible Demonflration toall Mankind ofanother life after this, and confequent- lÿ ofa future Judgment. I might proceedto thew, in the Second place, That as the Gofpel is a Light ; ìu refpect of its clear difcovery of other things to us, fo likewife ofits felt, and its own Divine Authority. It
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