SAint Augustine relates of himself ( most Sacred Majesty ) that being in great perplexity of mind , S. Aug. Confes . l. 8. c . 12. and agitation of his thoughts ; his Reason at war with it self , inventing Arguments for , and against the speedy amendment of his Life , a suddain gust of Sorrow swell'd his Heart , and while that was spending it self in a flood of Tears , he heard an unexpected Voice , Tolle , lege , Take up the Book , and Read . He open'd the Holy Scripture , as it were by chance , but casting his Eye upon such words , as at the same time search'd and cur'd the ulcer in his Heart ; he was oblig'd to acknowledg the Finger of God pointing them out to him , and imbracing the happy opportunity , he took that resolution upon the place , which turn'd a witty but loose young Man into one of the greatest Doctors and most Saintly persons that ever illustrated the Church of God .

The Application will not be difficult to those that consider the temper of this Age , which seems to revive the Parts of St. Augustine in Men of the most piercing Judgments , of the brightest Invention , of the smoothest and most eloquent Expression ; but Men , for the most part , whose Excesses and Corruption run as high as their Wit ; Who wanting not boldness to follow him thro' all the dark Mazes of a sinful Life , the mean time as uneasie in themselves , and as dissatisfi'd with their present Condition , yet shake hands with him and fall back when he shews them by Example the noblest trial of a thoro ' courage , and the soundest proof of good sence ; Repentance . But that there may be as great a proportion in the Means of their Conversion , as there is resemblance in their Lives , the Divine Wisdom which has the Hearts of Kings in his hands , and turns them like Water , Prov. 21.1 . has made those of your Sacred Majesties so pliant and yielding to the Necessities of your People , that you are graciously condescending to have them awaken'd with a Voice that was never yet heard within these Walls . St. George's Chappel . I mean the ancient Religion of this Kingdom calling upon them in their native Language , and even this Day , if they harden not their hearts , they shall hear what will make for their peace . For tho' it has pleas'd the Almighty to judge the Cause , and assert the Right of his Representative upon Earth , to settle you upon the Hereditary Throne of your Ancestors , and lay your Enemies in the dust ; yet there is still a Peace behind which the World cannot give , and Kings and Queens cannot otherwise promote , then by exhibiting themselves , as at this Day , the Nursing Fathers and Nursing Mothers of the Church ; then by encouraging Piety and countenancing Religion by Word and Example ; Ut sit Pax & Veritas , 4 Reg . 20.19 . that Truth as well as Peace may be the Guardian of the Throne , and Happiness of the Subject . This is what St Augustine calls Regem de duplici Regno , to be more then a single King , to double the lustre of your sacred Temples , while your Interests are inseparable from those of God , and the Equity , Justice , and Clemency of your Reign , so merit the Hearts and Affection of Your People , as to confine them not to your own Breast ; but as the Angels do our Prayers , to carry them towards the Sovereign King , that they may love him with all their heart , with all their soul , and with all their mind . Words not of my own choice , but put into my Mouth by the Church to entertain you with this Day , her unerring Assistant the Holy Ghost wisely providing , this First Commandment shou'd be the Subject of your First Attention , and to confound those who feign labour and difficulty in the Precepts of the Gospel , commands me to shew , that as there is nothing more easie then love , so a well-order'd love is all that is requir'd at your hands . This I shall endeavour by the assistance of Him who is eternal and subsisting Love , and which I hope to obtain by the Intercession of His Blessed Mother , who came to shed this sacred fire upon the earth . Luc . 12.49 .

Indeed I cannot without reluctance take off your thoughts from attending on the Triumph of this Day , which the Holy Church has set apart to render her grateful Acknowledgments to the Lord of Hosts , Victory of Lepanto , in memory of which the principal Solemnity of the Rosary is assign'd to the first Sunday of October . for that memorable Victory obtain'd at Sea against the Enemies of the Christian Name . Where the Blessed Mother of God was the Moses whose lifted-up Hands , fervent Prayer and Intercession , prevail'd , at once over the far greater Strength of the Turks , and over Sins of the Christians . But this is too vast a Subject to be reduc'd within the limits of a short Discourse ; and I shou'd be oblig'd to say such glorious things of this City of God , the Protectrix and Bulwark of the Church , S. Aug. Pas . sim crede ut intelligas . Tr. 29. in Joan . that nisi credideritis non intelligetis ; such of my Auditors as do not believe cannot understand . Wherefore in these Circumstances the Behaviour of St. Paul to the Corinthians ought ( in my judgment ) to be a standing Rule to all Preachers , to fit their Doctrine to the capacity of the Hearers , it being more pardonable to deprive the well-prepar'd and healthful Stomachs of some degree of Nourishment , then that the weaker shou'd be overcharg'd and offended with solid and wholsom Food , 1 Cor . 3.2 . but such as yet they cannot digest : Lac vobis potum dedi non escam ; nondum enim poteratis , sed nec nunc quidem potestis : I have fed you with Milk , and not with Meat ; for hitherto you were not able to bear it , neither yet are you able . Wherefore leaving the Mysteries of the Holy Rosary to the private Devotion of every one that is penetrated with the love of Mary , let us beg her Intercession , that I may speak worthily of that which was the crown of all her Vertues , and principally qualifi'd her to become the Mother of God , while the Angel Saluted her , saying , Ave Maria .

THE Holy Evangelist in this Chapter records three nice and labour'd Questions which the Pharisees and Sadducees put to our Blessed Redeemer , with a design to take advantage of his Answers , very confident they shou'd convince him either of Impiety or Ignorance , or at least expose him to the Indignation of the People , which wou'd serve their turn as well . The First Question was Practical ; Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar ? The Second meerly Speculative , concerning the Nature and Affections of a glorifi'd Body . The Third touching Matter of Fact , Which is the first and greatest commandment in the law ? But these malicious Proposals gave our Blessed Master occasion to clear three important Difficulties ; And in the First place , not only to exempt the Prince from Injustice in demanding Tribute , but also to declare the paying of it to be a matter of Conscience , and point of Duty in the Subject . Next he disperses the gross and carnal Idea which the Jews then had , and corrupted Nature is ready enough to suggest touching the Appetites and Inclinations of humane Bodies in another Life : and then concludes with declaring the great Legal as well as Evangelical Precept of the love of God ; Hoc est maximum & primum mandatum . In order to the Examination whereof , I beg leave to consider Three things ; I. The state of the Question , and whence the Difficulty arises , Quod est mandatum magnum ? II . The Answer , why the Precept of Dilection is stil'd First and Greatest ? III . And lastly , The nature and extent of the Precept , With all thy heart , &c.

I. The Question ; which seems to carry so little difficulty with it , and to lie so open to the meanest capacity , that the Resolution could no more evidence the profound Learning of the Respondent , then a catechistical Answer of a vulgar Catholick to the number of the Sacraments or Commandments might qualifie him to Commence Doctor . For was it not as obvious to the Jew , as it is now to the Christian , that God is the final happiness of Man , the sovereign good , and by necessary consequence , that the Precept which exacts our love of him , must needs be the basis and foundation of the rest , the first and greatest of all ? How comes it then to pass , that the Pharisees , who were continually beating their Brains upon the Criticisms of the Law ; and spinning fine Threds which could never be of any use to them , unless to insnare Jesus in his words ; Who to that end were contented to advise with their profess'd Enemies , the Sadducees , and came warm from Dispute , and big with selected Queries : How chanc'd they to stumble upon such a Question as naturally begat another in reference to themselves , Whether their Ignorance or their Envy was their first and greatest Crime ? Whether their Envy blinded their Understanding , or their want of Understanding expos'd them to such a brutal and violent Passion ?

This face ( B. C. ) it bears at the first sight ; but if we draw the Prospect nearer , we shall find a great deal of artifice in the Proposition , and difficulty in the Resolution ; and that it partakes of the nature of a curious Picture , which to a distant view discovers only confus'd Layings of Colours , but when the nearer Eye begins to examine each Proportion , and run over every Lineament and Feature , it is not easie to determine whether the curious Spectator more admire his own precipitate Judgment , or the Ingenuity of the Painter . Origen in hunc locum . For Origen ; who was excellently versed in the Rabinical or Jewish Theology , assures us , that the Doctors of the Synagogue agreed in the number of the Precepts contain'd in their Law , but never in the order of them ; and while they generally admitted 613 , some of greater , others of lesser importance , they were at perpetual variance , even to his time , concerning the disposition of them , quid prius , quidve posterius , so far were they from ranging them methodically , much further from deciding which of that multitude was to be fix'd in the head of the rest .

And as to the Precept before us , they had no warrant from the holy Text to assign it the first place , since it was deliver'd among the latest , in the last Book of the Law , and no sooner then in the sixth Chapter of the Recapitulation of it , that is in Deuteronomy .

And to increase the difficulty , the Pharisees propound the Question not only concerning the greatest , but also concerning the first ; for tho' S. Matthew in my Text fixes it only upon the Great Commandment , yet St. Mark assigns it to the First ; Marc. 12.31 . and from our Blessed Saviours Reply , it seems clear that the Proposal comprehended as well the one as the other .

Wherefore in the Question , Wit and Deceit , Sophistry and Learning are woven together : For taking the words conjoyntly , What is the first and greatest , the Question is wholly captious and sophistical in the Proponent : For the Pharisees thought that there was no one and the same Precept both first and greatest , all of them seeming to be deliver'd confusedly , or according as necessity requir'd . 2ly . If the Sentence be sever'd into two , What is the first , and What is the greatest , the Question is very knotty , and was to the Jewish Rabbies what many of the highest Metaphysical Abstractions are to our Modern Schoolmen , an unexhausted Subject of Study to the Masters , and of Dispute among the Scholars .

But as the Prophet long before alledg'd , whilst he dehorts bold and rash Man from tempting the Divinity , Prov. 21.30 . Non est sapientia , non est prudentia , non est consilium contra Dominum ; There is no wisdom , ( that 's for their Learning ) There is no prudence , ( the original word signifies craft ) There is no counsel , there is no Plotting ( non est consilium ) against the Almighty . For Jesus Christ , who as the eternal Wisdom of his Father , was himself the Law-giver , and therefore the best Interpreter of the Law , at the same time to instruct and humble the Understandings of those half-learned , but thro'ly proud Men , declares in express terms , that there is a first and greatest Commandment ; And 2ly . That it is what they were the least willing to admit for such ; Thou shalt love thy Lord God , obliquely impeaching them at the same time of the want of that love , while out of envy and malice they came to oppress their Messias with insnaring Questions . This for the Question ; now

II . We come to consider the Answer , and why the Precept of Dilection is stil'd Primum & Maximum , the First and Greatest .

And surely that must needs be the First Commandment to which all the other are but subservient , as Means to the End ; or Ministerial , as Instruments to the Work ; or issuing from it , as Rivulets from the Fountain .

The Law is the Summary or Collection of all the Precepts . And if we inquire what is the end of the Law , the Apostle acquaints us , that Finis Praecepti Charitas , 1 Tim . 1.5 . Charity is the end of the Precept : And if it be the end of every Precept , and as it were the Centre where all the Lines meet , it is the end of the Law , as elsewhere he expresses , Qui diligit , Legem implevit ; Therefore it is the end of every Vertue , and of every good and perfect gift that descends from the Father of lights . And accordingly the Holy Moses in Deuteronomy making repetition of the Law , analyseth all the Precepts , and draws them to this only Head , of loving God and of serving him ( which is the proof of Love ) with all your heart , Deut . 11.13 . and with all your soul . Si ergo . obedieritis mandatis meis , quae ego hodie praecipio vobis , ut diligatis Dominum Deum vestrum , &c. And his Successor Josue . Chap. 23.11 . Hoc tantum diligentissimè praecavete , ut diligatis Dominum Deum vestrum ; Only ( or principally ) take care of this , that you love your Lord God ; Aug. in Epist. Joan . cap . 7. Which S. Aug. without doubt , alluded to , when he utter'd that memorable Sentence , Dilige , & fac quod vis ; Love , and do what you will : For as the Apostle says , Rom. 13. Dilectio malum non operatur ; Love restrains us from committing any crime , and thence concludes , Ergo plenitudo legis est dilectio ; Therefore the fulfilling of the law is loving .

II . If Love be the First Precept , because it is the end of the Law ; it is the Greatest , because in it consists our final Beatitude . The spiritual growth of Man is aptly compar'd by holy Writers to the raising of a Structure : many Hands , and much Labour ; many Instruments , and much Art ; many Ladders , Scaffolds , Engines , and Materials are necessary before the Work be brought to perfection : but when the Building is finish'd , and the last Hand taken off , the Scaffolds must down , the Tools and Engines are laid by , the remaining Materials must be removed ; and what was requisite while the Foundation was laying , while the Building was rising , must now be carry'd off as indecent to the Eye , and offensive to the Inhabitant . Thus it fares with those who , in the Language of the Royal Prophet , Psal . 83.6 . lay Ascensions in their hearts , heap one vertuous Practice upon another , and follow on that with a third , till , as by several Stages of the spiritual Building , they arrive to the finishing Point , to see the God of Gods in Sion . Then all the Vertues which were Instrumental and Ministerial to that end , are of no longer use : we throw them by with the state of Mortality ; and cast them from us , as no longer Helps but Impediments . For what Vertue in this Life so necessary to advance us towards the Happiness of the next , Psal . 110. as the Fear of God , so often stil'd The beginning of wisdom ? 1 John 4.18 . but Perfect charity casts out fear . What so essential to a Christian as Faith , upon which depends the Promises of the life which now is , 2 Pet . 10.1.19 . and that which is to come ? yet it is only a Candle shining in an obscure place , till the morning star rise in our hearts , chasing darkness from every corner , dispersing the cloud between us and the Divinity ; 1 Cor . 13.12 . For We shall see him no more , Per speculum in aenigmate , thro' a Glass , and as it were in a Riddle , but as he is in himself , face to face . What so necessary to Salvation as relieving the Poor , defending the Cause of the Widow and Orphan , forgiving Injuries , praying for our Enemies , bridling our Passions ? But to that happy State all necessity is foreign , where every one drinks of the Torrent of ineffable Pleasure , Affliction can never approach , Enemies are not to be found , Concupiscence is no more . O thou Father of mercies , and God of all consolation ! how amiable are thy Tabernacles ? 1 Cor . 2.9 . For the eye has not seen , nor the ear heard , nor can it enter into the heart of man , how comprehensive , and never-failing a Happiness thou hast prepar'd ! But for whom hast thou prepar'd it ? for those that seek vanity and love a lye , the false and glittering Joys of this Life , which may amuse , but can never fill ? No ; their place shall be with the Hypocrites , because they love to be deceived , and shut their Eyes lest they should see the slippery Precipice where they are standing , I should say , whence they are falling . Is it for them then that add Heap to Heap , Field to Field , and to whom there is no end of their Acquisition , at lest of their Desires ? No ; their love is their weight , St. Aug. Amor tuus pondus tuum , it bears them downwards ; the Earth they loved shall be their Portion , they shall descend into the inferiour parts of it . Is it for those that will not take the Almighty's Word that he has laid up Pleasures for them , but impiously as well as childishly strive to anticipate their Happiness , by laying hold on the first they see , those vile and impure ones which the World and the Flesh tender them ? But nothing unclean can enter there ; Apoc . 21.27 . and those that will have the Paradice of a Mahomet in this Life , shall share his Torment in the next . For whom therefore are these Pleasures in store ? ah ! Diligentibus se , for those , and only those that love him . Faith shall vanish , Prophecies shall be vacated , Tongues and Sermons shall cease , 1 Cor . 13.8 . Sed charitas nunquam excidit ; Divine Love , like its Object , endures for ever .

And this brings us upon the Third and last Consideration , the Extent of the Precept ; Diliges Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo , & in tota anima tua , & in tota mente tua ; Words at which the Heart of Man shrinks ; Hebr . 4.12 . Words more piercing then a two-edged sword , penetrating to the division of the soul and the spirit ; Words that may justly strike the Sinner with terror , and make even the Just cry out with holy Job , Job 9.28 . Verebar omnia opera mea ; I fear and apprehend all my works , lest when they come to be weighed in this Ballance of the Sanctuary , they should be found too light . And tho' Almighty God by inforcing the Precept with so many almost synonimous Words , intended principally to sink this First and Greatest Commandment deeper into our hearts , yet it has produc'd so contrary an effect , even in the Minds of Learned Men , that some have not wanted confidence to pronounce the Commandment impossible . Indeed , if he that lays it upon us did not withal promise us strength to perform it , Pelagius and his Followers wou'd never have been condemn'd for that Doctrine . But since our Divine Master has told us , that His yoke is easie , Matth . 11.30 . and his burden light ; and the beloved Disciple , that His commandments are not grievous ; 1 John 5.3 . is it not a Prodigy , that under the Gospel this shou'd appear so difficult to us , who are incompass'd with those Divine Fires which Jesus brought upon the Earth , and live under a Law which commands nothing but Love , says St. Augustine ; Lex nova nihil nisi amorem jubet ; Especially since this is not one of those Precepts whose perfection was reserv'd till the new Law , but is equally inforc'd upon Jew and Christian .

For Moses presses this with no less energy of words upon that stiff-neck'd and stonyhearted People , then Jesus Christ , who gives what he commands ; for in the forecited Chapter of Deuteronomy , Deut . 6.1 , 2 , 5. the Prophet says that God lays all those Injunctions upon them , to try whether they love him in toto corde & tota anima ; and again , Diliges Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo , & ex tota anima tua , & ex tota fortitudine tua , with thy whole strength ; a word of greater force then ex tota mente , with all thy mind . But St. Mark puts an Equivalent , ex tota virtute , with all thy strength or power .

For as to the substance of the Precept , no rational Creature can dispute the verity of St. S. Basil . Reg . Fus . q . 2. Basil's Doctrine , That the love of God is not a thing to be taught ; for if we have not any need of instruction to learn that we are to be pleas'd with Life , to love Health , and what is agreeable to our Nature , to affect those that are instrumental to our Being , or concurring to our better Life , our Education ; we have far more reason to believe that Nature her self is the only Mistress in this Point , and that in the first moment the rational Soul enters the the Body , the reasonable Faculty finds in it self an inclination to love God : 't is a Debt that we are indispensibly oblig'd to pay him , and the greatest misery that can happen to a Soul , is to be insensible of the Obligation .

If the Obligation therefore be evident , that 't is our Duty to love God , the modus rei , or manner of doing it cannot found any new difficulty : For we are not to learn that we love nothing but as far as it is good , either in it self , or in the value we have of it . Goodness therefore is the measure of Love , and we enlarge or restrain our affection to a Thing , according as we discover more or fewer degrees of goodness in the Object ; And since the perfection of every created Thing is bounded and determinate , the degree of love must be commensurate to the Thing beloved , or the affection exceeds the merit . And since God is the Source and Fountain of all goodness , immense , increated and infinite , the Heart ought to be carry'd upon God with an infinite love . True indeed , the Action cannot exceed the Faculty acting , and an infinite Affection cannot issue from a limited Capacity ; yet the Heart is ungrateful and disloyal , if it give not it self the full reins and scope of its activity : And this is to love God with all our heart , with all our soul , and with all our mind , and with all our strength ; Quantum scis , quantum potes , quantum vales . Let us consider each Clause apart .

We love God with all our heart , when we approach unto him by the motion of the Heart , that is , when we adhere to him by Affection and Prayer .

We love him with all our mind , when our thoughts are taken up with the meditation of heavenly Things , when he is the principal Object of our Thoughts , when his Divine Perfections , Benefits and reveal'd Truths , are the exercise of our Understanding .

We love him with all our soul , when we have God before our eyes in the use of all the Faculties of our Souls , and both the outward and inward Man unite and conspire in his Service .

We love him with all our strength , when we serve him with a right intention in all the Duties he requires at our hands , and keeping even the least of his Commandments as religiously as the greatest , we propose him as the only end of all our Actions . Si diligitis me , mandata mea servate , John 14.15 . If you love me , keep my Commandments . Commandments so closely knit and woven together , that Qui in uno offendit , James 2.10 . He that allows himself in any one Crime , he that dispenses with himself in any one Duty , becomes guilty of violating the whole ; because he has broken the Tie of union , because he has withdrawn his Affection : For you cease to Love , when you cease to Obey .

Hence I shall make one or two Inferences , and conclude .

1. That this Commandment is not fulfill'd by a meer external Obedience , a litteral compliance with the Laws of God and the Church ; or by outward Exercises of Piety that strike the Eye , Fasting , Mortifications , &c. For the Love of God is wholly interiour ; and tho' it break forth into sensible Practices , 't is the Heart only that Loves . When the Heart do's not accompany those Actions , they are inanimate and fruitless : And the Heart do's not Cooperate , when it do's not Love .

For what opinion wou'd you have of a Courtier , that after a thousand particular Favours , and most endearing Instances of Esteem , shou'd bluntly tell his Royal Benefactor , I will obey you in all things , and execute your Commands to a tittle ; but I cannot feel in my Heart the least sense of Gratitude , or the least affection for your Royal Person ? Wou'd you not be ready to impeach him of the most brutish Insensibility , and condemn him to be for ever effac'd out of the memory of his Prince ? and can you judge more favourably of a Christian , that being indebted to Jesus Christ the King of Kings , of whose Fulness he receives all he has , of whose Bounty he holds his Being , his Life , his Subsistance , his Salvation ; and yet sits down contented with paying him only a cold legal Obedience , Timore paenae , St. Aug. Passim . non amore justitiae ? complying exteriourly with his Commands ; And indeed , keeping the Letter of his Law , but without endeavouring after any sense of his Benefits , love of his Person , or of the Law which he servilely obeys ? Why are you less impartial to this unprofitable servant then to the other , 2 Kings 12.7 . unless because Tu es ille vir , as Nathan upon the like occasion impropriated to King David , You your self are the man , and are guilty of the same Crime in a higher measure ? Have you not read , that after the promulgation of the new Law , John 4.23 . the true worshippers shall adore the Father in spirit and truth ? 't is the excellence of the Gospel , wherein it surpasses the ancient Alliance . And S. Augustine teaches us , Aug. lib . 10. de Civ . Dei cap . 4. that God is not worshipped but by loving . Deus non colitur nisi amando .

2ly . I infer , That as it is impossible to arrive to the End without making use of the necessary Means ; as 't is impossible to flie without Wings , or to go to any term of place without passing the middle distance : So 't is impossible to arrive at the love of God but by the love of our Neighbour . Diliges proximum , &c. Secundum simile est huic . Our Blessed Master assimilates the second Commandment to the first , not in reference to the Objects , which are infinitely unlike , but as to the necessity , the one leading to the other , and being both first in their kinds : The love of God first in the Line of Precept and Obligation ; but the love of our Neighbour first in Execution . Dilectio Dei prior est ordine praecipiendi , Aug. Tr. 17. in Joan . proximi dilectio prior est ordine faciendi . We do not indeed refer the love we bear Almighty God to our Neighbour , yet when you come to practice , we shew to what degree we love God by exhibiting charitable Offices to our Neighbour . For as he has made the reciprocal love we bear the one to the other , the distinctive Sign and Badge of a Christian , John 13.35 . In this they shall know you to be my disciples , if you love one another ; So has he appointed the love of our Neighbour to be a Signaculum Clausum , a private Index to our selves , and , as it were , a Water-mark to our own Hearts , to discover by it how much the love of God ebbs or flows within us . 1 John 4.20 . He that says he loves God , and yet hates his brother , is a lyar . And thro' all the course of the New Testament he urges this fraternal Charity with so much earnestness , that he wou'd seem to postpone the love of Himself to that of our Brethren , were it not certain , that the Brotherly love is the only way to the Divine . So St. Paul , Gal. 5.14 . For all the law is fulfill'd in one word , Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self ; Omnis enim lex , in uno sermone impletur , diliges proximum tuum sicut teipsum . And again Rom. 13.8 . Qui diligit proximum legem implevit ; He that loves his neighbour has fulfill'd the law .

Ah! Christian , deceive not thy self , thou mayst easily impose upon thy own Heart in the love of God ; the trials of which do not so often occur , and when they do , Nature and Education take up the better half . 't is a thing indeed we all have frequently in our Mouths , we are perswaded we have it in our Hearts , while at the same time we find some reason to doubt whether we have that Charity we ought for our Neighbour ; nay , while we actually harbour malice and envy in our heart , while we are murthering our Neighbour by Detraction , while we are committing violence upon his Person or his Goods , if any one shou'd interrogate us of the love of God , we shou'd take it for a great Affront to have it so much as call'd in question . Psal . 26.12 . But so it is , Mentitarest iniquitas sibi ; Iniquity lies to it self : And that Argument of the beloved Disciple invincibly concludes all unjust and uncharitable Men , 1 John 4.20 . If you do not love your brother whom you see , how can you love God that you do not see ? How can you reverence the Prototype , and prophane his Image ? How can you respect the Master , and lay violent hands on the Servant ? How can you honour the King , and at the same time contemn his Officers ? Mentita est iniquitas sibi .

I will sum up all that has been said in those excellent words of S. Aug. lib . de . sp . & anim . cap . 36. Augustine ; Amat nos Deus ut ametur , &c. God loves us , to the end that he may be loved again ; And when he bestows his Affection upon us , he expects only the return of his own Gift , Cum amat nihil aliud vult quam amari ; knowing that his Love is the svereign Happiness of those that enjoy it : For to love sovereign Good is sovereign Felicity ; since the love of Goodness makes Men good , and Goodness is Happiness ; Si bonus , ergo beatus . Matth . 7.17 . A good tree cannot bring forth bad fruit . Wherefore when the love of God is the root of our Actions ; our Words , our Conversation , and all our Practices Amorem redolent , breath forth the sweet odour of the Holy Spirit . But because humane Affection , good Education , and the Formalities of Religion do often put on the mask of divine Love , the Divinity has impress'd his Seal upon fraternal Charity ; John 13.35 . In this they shall know that you are my disciples , they that will not believe it upon any other account , si diligitis invicem , If you love one another .

But God has bestow'd on you a rational Soul to know this Truth , and a flexible Will to reduce it to Practice , and you bid defiance to him with his own Weapons : You do not only contemn his Commandment , but do it with that frightful Aggravation , that you pretend reason for your Contempt . You make it a piece of Wit to disobey , as if Religion were not calculated for Men of Parts . You feign labour in the Precept , and shew your liberty to do good only in a free election of evil . But the Decree of the Holy Ghost pronounc'd by the Mouth of the Preacher , shall never be revers'd , Eccl. 8.8 . Non salvabit impietas impium . The deordinate love of Creatures ( which constitutes all the Sins we commit ) can never make the Sinner happy ; because there is no peace to the wicked , says my God . He may dissemble the torment of his Conscience , Isa . 66.24 . but his worm shall never die : he shall ever and anon feel the gnawing and gripes of an irregular Love . Let him plunge himself never so deep in Pleasures , he can never stifle his Remorses ; His Hony is mixt with Gall , his Wine is imbitter'd with Wormwood , Deut . 32.32 . Uva eorum , uva fellis , &c. In a word , let him commit as many fresh Crimes as he pleases , to escape reflecting on the old , it is decreed that Sin shall ever be the punishment of Sin . As his Affections wander after new Idols , they meet with new Torments , till this miserable Soul , quite tir'd in the ways of Iniquity , becomes like the Doemon in the Gospel , Luc . 11.24 . Walking through dry places , seeking rest , and finding none .