SERM. How does this condemn our rudeness and im CXXVI. patience with one another in our religious differences! We think no terms bad enough to use to wards one another and yet one of the most famous difputes that we find mentioned in fcripture, and that between the most oppofite parties that can be imagined, was managed after another fafhion; I mean that recorded by St. Jude between Michael the archangel, and the devil, ver. 9. "Yet "Michael the archangel, when contending with "the devil, he difputed about the body of Mofes, "durft not bring a railing accufation ;" he durft not allow himself this, no not in the heat of dif pute, when perfons are most apt to fly out into paffion, because it was indecent, and would have been difpleafing to GOD; this I believe is the true reafon why it is faid," he durft not bring a railing accu"fation." And yet I may add another, which is not improper for our confideration, I am fure it hath a good moral; the devil would have been too hard for him at railing, he was better fkill'd at that weapon, and more expert at that kind of difpute. Which confideration may be a good argument to us against reviling any man. If we revile the good, we are unjust, because they deserve it not; if we revile the bad, we are unwife, because we fhall get nothing by it. I could almoft envy the character which was given of one of the Romans; nefcivit quid effet maledicere, "he knew not what "it was to give bad language." I proceed. "Son, remember that thou in thy life"time receivedit thy good things." "Thy good "things," thofe which thou didit value and efteem fo CXXVI. fo highly, and didft place thy chief happiness in, S ERM. as if there had been no other good to be fought after. 66 Thy good things," and indeed fo he used them, as if he had been the fole lord and proprietor of them, and they had not been committed to him, as a steward, to be dispensed for his mafter's ufe, for the clothing of the naked, and the feeding of the hungry, and the relieving of those in diftrefs. Ver. 27, 28. "Then he said, I pray thee there"fore, father, that thou wouldst fend him to "my father's houfe: for I have five brethren; that "he may testify unto them, left they also come "into this place of torment." Here the rich man, tho' in hell, is reprefented as retaining fome tenderness for his relations, as folicitous left they should be involved in the fame mifery with himself. The laft piece of that which commonly remains in men, is natural affection, which is not fo much a virtue, as a natural principle, and is common to many brute beafts. When a man puts off this, we may give him up for loft to all manner of goodness. To be" without natural affection," is the worst character can be given of a man. Our SAVIOUR reprefents this rich man in hell as not fo totally degenerate as to be quite deftitute of this. I think fome attribute this motion of the rich man concerning his brethren to another caufe; as if he had defired it, not out of kindness to them, but out of regard to himself, as being afraid that if his brethren who probably were corrupted by his example, had perifh'd by that means, it would have been an aggravation of his torments. But this conjecture is too fubtile, and without any good VOL. VII. A a ground; SERM. ground; for every man carries his burden of guilt CXXVI. with him out of this world, and it is not increa fed by any confequence of our actions here. For the crime of a bad example is the fame whether men follow it or not, because he that gives bad example to others, does what in him lies to draw them into fin; and if they do not follow it, that is no mitigation of his fault. I have but one obfervation more, and that is from the mention of his brethren as his nearest relations, which is a great aggravation of the rich man's uncharitablenefs, because he is represented as having no children to take care for, and yet he would not confider the poor. And thus I have, as briefly as I could, endeavour'd to explain this parable, and have made fuch obfervations from the circumftances of it, as may be useful for our inftruction. But as I premised at firft; I will not warrant all thefe obfervations to be certainly intended by our SAVIOUR; I know very well that every circumftance of a parable is not to be prest too far, the moral accommodation does chiefly belong to the main fcope of it, and many circumstances are only brought in to fill up the parable, and to make handfomer way up that which is moft material, and principally intended: but fo long as the obfervations are true and useful, and have a fair colour and occafion from the circumstances, it is well enough; to be fure there is no harm done. I proceed to the fecond fort of observations, namely, fuch as are drawn from the main scope and intent of the parable, which I promifed to fpeak more largely to; and they are fix, which I fhall handle in order. for First, I obferve that uncharitableness and unmerci- SER M CXXVI. fulness to the poor, is a great and damning fin. We find no other fault imputed to the rich man but this, that he took no care out of his fuperfluity and abundance to relieve this poor man that lay at his gate. He is not charged for want of justice, but of charity; not for having got a great estate by fraud or oppreffion, but that in the midst of this abundance he had no confideration and pity for those that were in want. the I fhall endeavour to make out this obfervation by ift, That unmercifulness and uncharitableness to the poor is a great fin. 2dly, Such a fin, as alone and without any other guilt, is fufficient to ruin a man for ever. I fhall fpeak to these severally ift, That unmercifulness and uncharitableness to the poor is a very great fin. It contains in its very nature two black crimes, inhumanity and impiety. 1. Inhumanity; it is an argument of a cruel and favage difpofition, not to pity those that are in want and mifery. And he doth not truly pity the miseries of others, that doth not relieve them when he hath ability and opportunity in his hands. Tendernefs and compaffion for the fufferings of others is a virtue fo proper to our nature, that it is therefore call'd humanity, as if it were effential to human nature, and as if without this, we did not deferve the name of men. To fee men like ourselves," bone of our bone, and flesh of our "flesh," labour under want and neceffity, and yet not to be moved to commiferate them, this is CXXVI. SERM a fign that we have put off our own nature, otherwife we fhould pity the fufferings of it in others. For whenever we behold a man like ourselves groning under want, and preft with neceffity, and do not relent towards him, and are not ready to relieve him, we are hard-hearted to our own nature, and do in fome fenfe what the apoftle fays "no man ever did" (that is, none retaining the temper and affections of a man) "hate his own "flesh." This the fcripture fpeaks of as a most barbarous fort of inhumanity, and calls it murder, 1 John iii. 15. Wholo hateth his brother is a mur"derer;" and not to relieve our brother in want, is to hate him; for this is the inftance which the apostle gives at the 17th verfe, "whofo hath this "world's goods, and feeth his brother in want, and "fhuttéth up his bowels of compaffion from him;" whofo doth not confider the poor, is a manflayer and a murderer, he is cruel to his own nature, nay were he fufficiently fenfible of the condition of huinan nature, he is cruel to himself. Seeft thou a poor man in great mifery and want, there is nothing that hath befallen him, but what is common to man, what might have been thy lot and portion as well as his, and what may happen to thee or thine another time. Make it therefore thine own cafe; (for fo the providence of GOD may make it one time or other, and thou provokeft him to make it fo fpeedily by thy unmerciful difpofition toward the poor;) I fay, make it thine own cafe, if thou wert in the poor man's condition, and he in thine, confult thine own bowels, and tell me how thou wouldst wifh him to be af |