apostle hath assured me, that if we be of one mind, and live in peace, the God of love and peace will be with us; (2 Cor. xiii. 11) I cannot but, upon these grounds, verily persuade myself, that if we would, with a sincere eye to the glory of God, the interest of the gospel, and the peace of the church, (which things ought to be most dear unto us) set ourselves, with a spirit of meekness and moderation, to heal the breaches, and reconcile the differences which are amongst us, that so (if possible) we might be like the primitive Christians, of "one heart and one soul;"--the Lord would say unto us as he did unto his people, when they laid the foundation of his temple, (Hag. ii. 19) "From this day I will bless you." And if this would not effectually do it, that which I have last to say, I am sure, would. Which is,

3. To persuade all who profess the gospel, to lead their lives agreeable thereunto; to hold the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience, and to express the lineaments of Christ in their conversation. There is no precept more frequently inculcated in the writings of the apostles than this; therefore I shall give it you in their words, as having most of awe and authority in them. "How shall we that are dead to sin, live any longer therein ?—There is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit.-If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.-Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called. Put off the old man; put on the new man: if ye have heard Christ, and been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus. As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. He that saith he abideth in him, ought himself to walk even as he walked.-Let your conversation be, as becometh the gospel of Christ.-Adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.--Show forth the virtues of him who calleth you out of darkness into his marvellous light.-Let every one that nameth the name of Christ, depart from iniquity.— Having these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Since we call God Father, let us pass the time of our sojourning here in fear. For this end Christ was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil'."

Eph. iv. 1. xxi. 24. Col. ii. 6. 1 John ii. 6. Phil. i. 27. Tit. ii. 20. 1 Pet. ii. 9. 2 Tim. ii. 19. 1 Pet. i. 14, 17. 11 John iii. 8.

O let us not be like Gadarenes, to send Christ away", because he comes to drown our swine, to destroy our lusts. Let us not let go our Saviour, to hold fast our sins; nor prefer the momentary, stinging, and perishing contents of the world, before the joys of salvation here, and the enjoyments of it for ever hereafter. Let us, with fear and trembling, consider that it will be at the last day more tolerable for Sodom, than for wicked Christians; whose judgement will be so much the heavier, by how much the more glorious mercies have been revealed unto them, and despised by them. The Wise man telleth us", that "the righteous is more excellent than his neighbour," as walking by a more excellent rule, and designing a more excellent end. O let us show the excellency of our religion by the excellency of our conversation, and shine as celestial luminaries, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. And as many as walk according unto this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. P

Now the God of peace who brought again from the dead the Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will; working in you that which is pleasing in his sight; through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

m Luke viii. 37.

P Gal. vi. 16.

Prov. xii. 26. Psalm xvi. 3.
Heb. xiii. 20. 21.

o Phil. ii. 15.

A

SERMON

PREACHED IN ST. PAUL'S,

BEFORE THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE

LORD MAYOR.

THE STATIONER TO THE READER.

COURTEOUS READER,

I HERE present thee with a Sermon many years since preached in St. Paul's, before the Lord Mayor and his brethren, by the late Right Reverend Father in God, Dr. Edward Reynolds, late Lord Bishop of Norwich. This copy I received from the hands of a gentleman, who being an auditor himself of the Sermon, and of good acquaintance with the said Lord Bishop, obtained it of him fairly written in his own hand, with liberty to transcribe it: which being carefully done, and revised by the original, is here presented to thy view. This gentleman bade me further assure thee, that notwithstanding he knows his copy to be exact, he would not have taken that boldness to have printed it, had he not first obtained from the author a willingness that it might be printed, which himself would have done, but could not readily find his papers. This encouragement made him willing to let the world be partaker of this excellent and elaborated discourse, by which, he, being dead, yet speaks to thee in the words of the prophet, "To do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God."

Thine in all service,

J[ohn] M[artyn].

At the Bell, in St. Paul's Church Yard, 1678.

MICAH vi. 6, 7, 8.

Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

In the beginning of this chapter, we find mention of a controversy between God the plaintiff, and his people the delinquent. The action, an action of unkindness and ingratitude after two great deliverances; from the tyranny of Pharaoh in Egypt, from the subtilty of Balaam in Moab. And this is a high aggravation of injury, when it is done by a friend, the philosopher tells us, Rhet. lib. 1. Kaí ov, téxvov, you know, was the deepest wound that Cæsar felt. And Moses is at the self-same figure; "Do ye thus requite the Lord, O foolish people, and unwise? Is not he thy Father?" (Deut. xxxii. 6) Job complains of it as of one of his greatest afflictions," They whom I loved, are turned against me." (Job xix. 19) Yea, he that was greater than Job at Job's greatest excellence of patience, cannot but complain of this, that his wounds, like Amnon's, were given him in the house of a friend. (Zach. xiii. 6) The kiss of a disciple did no less pierce him, than the nails of a soldier. His enemies that wounded him, found mercy, when his friends that betrayed him, found none.

The people being cited to appear to this action, and being condemned by their own witness, begin to betake themselves. to counsel: not how they may come and stand before God, (which is the gesture of men that can abide a trial, Isa. 1. 8) but how they may come and bow before him to deprecate the judgement, which they are forced to acknowledge.

And when they have advised upon a course of their own,

and made tender of performances of their own to make an expiation, they all come short, and are rejected. God himself is pleased to be of their counsel: and he who, in the beginning of the suit, was the plaintiff to accuse them,- in the issue, becomes their advocate to instruct them: and when he had a judgement entered against them upon their own confession, doth himself notwithstanding direct the way, how that judgement may be reversed, and avoided.

"He hath showed thee, O man," &c.

But what then are the counsels that he gave? Surely one would judge but such as were very obvious, and which any man might have given to himself;—" to be just, merciful, humble, religious."-Who could not have said as much as this?

Certainly, how mean instructions soever we may judge them, there is not a man can learn them but of God. Let Israel alone here to counsel himself: we find him at his sacrifices, and holocausts, with rams, and oils, with thousands, and ten thousands, with a child, a first-born, with as many costly and hyperbolical evasions, and circuitions of his own carnal worship, will-worship, as rhetorick can express: sacrifices more sumptuous, than justice could provide ; sacrifices more bloody, than mercy would allow: but, all this while, not a word of justice, or mercy themselves.

But what? did not God show those as well as these? did not Moses as well receive the pattern of the sanctuary, as the tables of the law? did not the law give an express indicavit for these too? Surely we may not deny it. But it is still with respect to judgement and mercy. Commanded they were, but not as principal, either in point of obedience, for they must yield to the great duties of the law; or in point of expiation, for they must lead to the great sacrifice of the gospel. Leave these things out, and then ask of God whether he required those or no? and he will answer you with a Quis requisivit?' (Isa. i. 12) Ask whether he will own them or no? and he will tell you, They are yours, and not his. (Amos v. 21) Nay, ask him whether they be good or no? and he will tell you plainly, "Dedi eis præcepta non bona;" I gave them statutes which were not good, and judgements whereby they should not live.

Well then, my people, if you will needs be saved by offer