I. licet form, and that for "deliverance from battle and mur- SERM. I have sufficiently shewed you in what sense these words have no truth in them; it is time I proceed to shew you in what sense they have: and that will be either, 1. By telling you that this prophetic form is but a phrase to express the duty and obligation of Christians; "they shall beat their swords into plough-shares," i. e. it is most certainly their duty to do so. Charity is the only precept, peace the only depositum, that Christ took any care to leave among them; and then, be there never so many swords in Christian nations, yet it were more obediently and more christianly done, if they were beaten into plough-shares there is a thousand times more need of amending men's lives, than of taking them away, of reforming ourselves, than of hating or killing our brethren; one broken heart is a richer and more acceptable sacrifice to God, than a whole pile of such bloody offerings, such Mosaical consecrating ourselves to God upon our brethren; and then, as Clemens speaks of seals or rings, that those that have the impressions and sculptures (as of idols, so) of bow, or sword, must not be worn by the disciple of Christ, the pacific Christian; or as the Polonian, being asked concerning two brethren that desired to be of his congregation, as being of a trade which was suspected to be unlawful, the making of images or faces to put upon guns, or ordnances,-gave answer, that he knew no great danger in those images; if there were any thing unchristian, it was sure in the guns, which they were used to adorn : so certainly that Christ that came to cast idolatry and heathenism out of the world, desired also to cast out that heathenish custom of wallowing in one another's blood, of hunting, and worrying, and devouring one another, and with the Christian faith to introduce the brotherly charity into His Church, this being the most strict, and most frequently reiterated command of d 4 [αἱ δὲ σφραγίδες ἡμῖν ἔστων πελειάς, ἢ ἰχθὺς, ἡ ναῦς οὐρανοδραμοῦσα· ἢ λύρα μουσική, ᾗ κέχρηται Πολυκράτης ἢ ἄγ κυρα ναυτικὴ ἣν Σέλευκος ἐνεχράττετο τῇ γλυφῇ· κἂν ἁλιεύων τὶς ᾖ ἀποστό λου μεμνήσεται, καὶ τῶν ἐξ ὕδατος ἀνα HAMMOND. C σπωμένων παιδίων· οὐ γὰρ εἰδώλων πρός- 1 SERM. Christ, and that the importance of this prophecy, in the first I. [John xiii. 35.] place. 2. The truth of this prophecy will be most clear, if you observe the "They" in the front, and the reflection of that [Isa. ii. 4.] on the former part of the verse, "Christ shall judge among nations, and rebuke many people;" He shall set up His kingdom in men's hearts, subdue and conquer them; that is the meaning of judging, as the administrators of the Jewish nation, and they that subdued their enemies, were called judges for some time,-and He shall mould men anew into an evangelical temper, that is the interpretation of rebuking; and then, "They," i. e. these subjects of this kingdom of His, these malleable tame evangelical new creatures, that are effectually changed by the spirit and power of Christ's doctrine in their hearts, they that are His disciples indeed, they shall beat their swords into those more edifying shapes, shall profess more christianly trades, and if they do not, be sure they are at the best, if not anti, yet pseudo-christians, either professed enemies, or false friends. of Christ; "By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if you love one another:" no other character of difference to distinguish a disciple of Christ from any man else, but the ecce ut se invicem diligunt, "behold how they love," how they embrace, not how they pursue, or slaughter, "one another" and so there you have the difficulty cleared, how it comes to pass that there is so little charity among Christians; why? because there is so little Christianity among Christians, so much of the hypocritical guise, of the form of Christian piety, but so little, so nothing of the power of it discernible among us; had but Christ the least real influence on our hearts, it would inflame and animate us with love; had we any of that "salt within us," the only preservation from putrefaction and rottenness of spirit, it would be as the naturalists observe of it, évwTIKOV, unitive, and bring along what our Saviour hath joined with it, the peace with others; it is the propriety and peculiarity of the gospel, where it is entertained, to impress this well-natured quality; and wherever it is not impressed, it will not be censorious to affirm, in despite of all the glorious appearances to the contrary, that those men have received the gospel, the name, the grace of Mark ix. 50. I. [2 Cor. vi. Christ in vain, which will be demonstrated to you, if I pro- SERM. ceed to my second, or last particular, to shew you by what means Christianity undertakes to work this great work, to beat our swords into plough-shares, and our spears, &c. And that is by three strokes, as it were, and impressions upon our souls, 1. by inculcating a peculiar strain of doctrines; 2. by prescribing a peculiar spirit; 3. by setting before us a peculiar example. Every of these very proper moral instruments to this end, though (God knows) the stubborn unmalleable weapons of our warfare have too too often the honour of resisting and vanquishing them all. Matt. v. For the first, his peculiar strains of doctrines, they are of two sorts; either they are the direct contrary to these swords and spears, or else such by way of consequence and result. Directly contrary; such is that of "not avenging ourselves," [Rom. xii. 19.] the μὴ ἀντιστῆναι τῷ πονηρῷ, not retributing of trouble or violence to the injurious, but leaving God and His vicege- [39.] rents to work all these necessary acts of revenge, or repayment; such is that of loving, blessing, praying for enemies; [Matt. 5. and, let me tell you, not only our own, but (which is worth 44.] the considering) our God's enemies: for, 1. such are all the cursers and persecutors of disciples; the true Christian's enemies there spoken of, they are all God's enemies also, as Saul's persecuting of Christians was the persecuting of Christ there is no possible separating the hatred of the brethren from enmity to Christ, and therefore Polycarpus an apostolical person and bishop and martyr, one of the first angels of Smyrna in the Revelation, commanding to pray for them that persecute us, takes in not only the heathen powers, and princes, the greatest enemies of God then living, but in plain words the exopoì σтavрoû, the re- [Phil. iii. 18.] nouncers and enemies of the cross, i. e. certainly of Christ Himself. 2. Such were the Samaritans, direct enemies of Christ, and yet such it will not be permitted the disciples to Luke ix. curse. 3. Because the commandment of mercifulness lying on us proportionably to God's pattern,-to be merciful as our Father in heaven is merciful,-it is there said, that He [Luke vi. e [S. Polycarp. Ep. ad Philip. cap. 12. The passage does not occur in Greek. The Latin version is, Orate etiam pro regibus et potestatibus et principibus, atque pro persequentibus 55. 36.] 19. 1. [2 Kings x. 16.] SERM. is merciful to the evil, as well as to the unthankful, to those that have sinned against virtue, in general, as well as against that particular of gratitude; and it is clear, God loves His enemies as well as ours, and out of that love gave His Son for those that had sinned against the first, as well as the second table, and consequently, so are we obliged to do also. Lastly, because St. Paul's reason against avenging ourselves is grounded on God's sole prerogative of punishing maleRom. xii. factors. "As it is written, Vengeance is Mine, I will repay it," saith the Lord; and this privilege of God's sure extends to the punishing of His own, as well as our enemies. Having named this, I need not mention any more plain doctrines of direct contrariety to these hostile weapons; if God hath left us no kind of enemies to hate, neither our own, nor His, the first, the ordinary object of our animosity and revenge; the second, of our very piety and zeal: and so the furious and the pious sword, the Jehu-zeal for the Lord of hosts, as well as that other for ourselves, the slaughtering of Christ's or the Christian's enemies, be quite excluded out of our commissions, then sure there is no excuse for keeping so much profitable metal in that unprofitable, cutting, piercing shape; there is far more use of those materials in another form, in that of the plough-share and pruning-hook, the work of repentance being still as necessary, as that other of uncharitableness is unchristian. But then this is not all that Christ hath done by way of pacific doctrines, some other doctrines He hath as effectually contrary to swords and spears, though not so directly and visibly, some mines more secretly to supplant this bloody temper; such are His teaching His disciples humility, and meekness, and patience, and contentedness with our own, four graces, which íf once received into our hearts, are the "breaking the bow," the "knapping the spear asunder," the rending up all unpeaceableness by the roots. What are the roots of strife [Jas. iv. 1.] and contentions among men? or in St. James' style, "from whence come wars, and fightings among you?" Toλeμol and μáxai, of the greater and lesser size, the piracies of the first or second magnitude, "are they not from the lusts that war and rage in your members?" what be those lusts? why, the spawn of those two great sensual [Ps. xlvi. 9.] I. principles, anger and desire, sometimes pride, sometimes SER M. stomach, sometimes impatience of injuries, and sometimes, and most especially, covetousness, the desiring to have somewhat which God had not made my lot; and nothing but huddling, and blending, and confusion of proprieties, throwing the lots into the helmet again, can give me hope of attaining it; all the irregular swords and spears in the world are in the hands of these lusts, both to forge and manage, and the graces that Christ prescribes, are sent to drive these all out of the field: the humility that Christ prescribes is directly contrary to that pride; the meekness or obedience to superiors, so inculcated in the New Testament, is the mortifying that stomach; the patience, and taking up the cross, and denying myself that hellish piece of sensuality, that of revenge, ἀντιπαρατάττεται, is sent out to dwell with that impatience; and contentedness with whatever lot, with that of ravening and coveting. O let but the beatitudes in Matt. v. plant these blessed seeds in us, and our swords will presently be out of fashion, and within a while assaulted and eaten through with the tamest creatures, the rust that themselves beget; your carnal affections will lie useless by you, or else be undiscernibly transformed into calmer and more profitable shapes; and that is the first part of Christ's method in working this change, by a new strain of precepts or doctrines. His second way is by a new kind of spirit, whether by that we mean the spirit of Christ, or the spirit of the gospel. 1. The spirit of Christ, taken almost in the naturalist's acception of the word "spirit" for a kind of vital or animal spirit. For this flowing from Christ our head, and passing freely through all the members, unites not only to Him, but one to the other also in a vital fellow-membership, to which you know nothing is more contrary or destructive than the sword, division or separation; and this is the argument in St. Paul for the strictest charity, not so much as to tell a falsity one to another,-which is sure less than drawing of swords, calling down fire from heaven one upon another,because, saith he, "you are members one of another;" all [Eph. iv. 25.] members are united in one spirit. And then though some members are sometimes corrupt and diseased, and therefore |