so much as in the minds of Christians, let be in their
practice. It is the special command which Christ left to his disciples
when he was going away, John xiii. 35. But, alas! we have forgotten it, it
is so long since.

Sermon II.

1 John iii. 23.--"This is his commandment, that," &c.

We commonly make many rules in religion, and turn it into a laborious art,
full of intricate questions, precepts, and contentions. As there hath been
a great deal of vanity in the conception of speculative divinity, by a
multitude of vain and unedifying questions which have no profit in them,
or are beneficial to them that are occupied therein, but only have stirred
up strife and envy, and raised the flame of contention in the Christian
world; so I fear that practical divinity is no less vitiated and spoiled
in this age amongst true Christians (by many perplexed cases relating to
every condition), than the other among the schoolmen. Hereby it seems to
me, that Christ and his apostles did not suppose it to be so perplexed a
business as we now do make it; neither did the hearers weary themselves or
others with so many various objections against the practice of the
fundamental commandment of the gospel, believing in Jesus Christ. The
plain nature of the gospel being holden forth and received, I am
persuaded, was and is able (like the sun arising in brightness) to dispel
and scatter all these mists and clouds which do arise both in the one and
other, from ignorance at first, and which are elevated to a greater height
by the custom of the times. The matter, my brethren, is not so dark as you
make it. Here it is plainly and simply expressed: "This is his
commandment, that ye believe in the name of his Son;" and then, "love one
another." Ye all know that we had commandments given us by God, which were
by nature impressed on the heart of man; but by his fall into sin, the
tables of the law (which I may say were in Adam's mind and heart,
understanding and affection), those two tables were broken in the fall,
and since there could be no obedience, because of ignorance and
perversion, the tables breaking in pieces, their ruptures have produced
these two opposite principles. The fall of man hath broken his mind, and
so darkened his understanding, and broken his will, and put it in a wrong
set. This appointed it, set it in a posture of enmity against God.
However, we are by this fall utterly disabled to stand up before God in
acceptabl