Heaven hereafter. If ye know these Things, happy are ye if ye do them.

Now to God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, let us render, as is due, all Praise, Honour, and Glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

SERMON XXIV.

MAT. V. 13.

Ye are the Salt of the Earth: But if the Salt have loft his Savour, wherewith fhall it be falted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be caft out, and to be troden under Foot of Men.

Ver. 14. Ye are the Light of the World. that is Jet on an Hill cannot be hid.

A City

Ver. 15. Neither do Men light a Candle, and put it under a Bufbel: But on a Candlestick, and it giveth Light to all that are in the Houfe. Ver. 16. Let your Light fo fhine before Men, that they may fee your good Works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.

B

The Firft Sermon on this Text.

EFORE we enter on the Explication of this Part of our Saviour's Difcourfe, it may not be improper to confider

briefly the Connexion of it with what went before, and with what follows, in the fame Sermon. In the former Part of the Sermon our Lord had corrected a great many falfe carnal Notions his Hearers had of the Meffiab's Kingdom, and the wrong Difpofitions of Mind which naturally followed upon thofe carnal Notions; inftilling into them, at the fame Time, fuch Vir

2

tues,

405 tues, as might put them in the beft Preparation for his fpiritual Kingdom. Now to excite them to a Diligence in these fame Virtues, and to teach them that it was an eminent high Degree of Proficiency in them, which he expected at their Hands, he acquaints them here, that all Chrifians, and they his firft Difciples efpecially, were the Perfons by whofe Means he propofed to himfelf to reform the reft of the World; and therefore that they must be very exemplary and exact in the Practice of all Chriftian Virtues themselves. For which Reafon, likewife, he thought it neceffary to give them very exact Inftructions, and not only to guard them against the grofs carnal Notions of the Meffiab's Kingdom, which led them in a way quite contrary to that of their Duty; but, likewife, against the imperfect Gloffes the Jewish Doctors had given of the Law, which tended to the making them fit down contented with a very flight and fuperficial Performance of it: Now what could be more proper,' either to excite them to a Diligence in thofe excellent Virtues he had taught in the foregoing Beatitudes, or to a greater Perfection in all the Duties of the Law, which he was now about to vindicate from the imperfect Interpretations of the Jewish Doctors; than to acquaint them with the high Honour he defigned them, to be the great Reformers of Mankind; for which Reafon, the Eyes of all Men, he told them, would be fet upon them, their Vices could not be concealed, and very eminent Degrees of Virtue would be expected of them who were to be the Mafters and Patterns of Virtue to others? So much for the Connexion. In the Words we have these two Things: I. The

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I. The honourable Employment Chrift defigned for his Difciples, namely, that they should be the great Reformers of Mankind. This is expreffed under two noble Similitudes, one taken from the moft fpirituous, active Part of the Earth, the Salt of the Earth; the other from the most glorious of the heavenly Bodies, the Sun, the Light of the World. The one to make Mankind favoury, and to preferve them from Corruption; the other to direct them in the Way wherein they were to walk.

II. We have fome Confequences drawn from each of these Similitudes, with relation to the main Design for which our Saviour brought them.

I intend to confider the Similitudes apart, together with the Confequences our Saviour draws from them, in the fame Order as the Words lie in the Text.

But before I begin the Explication of the Similitudes, there is one previous Queftion, common to them both, must be enquired into, namely, Who are the Perfons addreffed to by this Word re? Ye are the Salt of the Earth; and Ye are the Light of the World. As to this, (notwithftanding the contrary Opinions of the greater Number of Commentators,) I can fee no Reafon to believe they are any other than those who are addreffed to, both in the preceding and subsequent Parts of this Sermon: And thofe, in my fecond and third Difcourfes upon it, I proved, by many Arguments, to be all our Saviour's Difciples, not the Twelve only; and, confequently, that the Doctrine of this Sermon belongs to all

Chriftians,

Chriftians, and is neither to be limited to the Twelve, in their extraordinary apoftolick Capacity, nor to the Clergy in their paftoral Capacity; tho', no doubt, as they are to be Examples of the Believers, whatever Chriftian Virtues or Endowments are required of all Chriftians, are in an higher Measure and Degree required of the Paftors and Guides of the Church. But there is a great Number of Expofitors will needs limit thefe Expreffions, Ye are the Salt of the Earth, and Ye are the Light of the World, to the twelve Apoftles; as if our Saviour had here made fome particular Addrefs to them; for which I can fee no Countenance from the Words, it being the fame Auditory to which the whole Difcourfe is addreffed: Nor any the leaft Incongruity in addreffing this to all Chriftians, but far otherwife. For what could be more reasonable, than that our Saviour should first make Men good Chriftians, before he taught them the Duties of Apoftles or Paftors? But having argued this Matter at large in that fecond and third Difcourfe on this Sermon on the Mount, I fhall not now repeat what was there faid: But fince the Words now before us feem to be the only Part of the whole Sermon. that found this Way, and fo may have led Expofitors to that incongruous and ungrammatical Senfe, which may likewife have terrible Confequences, for by the fame Licenfe they may interpret away whatever other Parts of the Sermon. they please from private Chriftians, a Thing which by all Means ought to be prevented, this being the very fulleft Collection of Chriftian Duties we have in all the Gofpels: I fhall therefore now endeavour to fhew, that there is nothing contained Dd 4

in