Thing; fo perfecuted they the Prophets for doing Good. And as ye fhall have the Honour to imitate them in their Sufferings, ye fhall alfo partake with them in their high Reward. 13. I think it so much the more neceffary to guard you,my Difciples, against this corrupt worldly Spirit, and to infuse into you better Principles; becaufe I defign not only to make you good Men and Women your felves: But, by Means of your good Lives and found Do&trine, to preferve and rescue the rest of Mankind from their corrupt Principles, and vicious Practices. And therefore ye muft remarkably distinguish your felves from the reft of the World. Ye are the Salt, who are to preferve others from Corruption. It is abfolutely neceffary that ye be Men of found Principles, and exemplary Lives your felves. For if notwithstanding the good Principles I fhall teach you, they should have no Effect upon you,but ye should be as much carried away with the worldly and carnal Spirit,as other Men are, there is no further Means left to recover you from that Corruption, or to restore 14. Ye are the light of the world. ACity that is fet on an Hill cannot be bid. 15. Neither store you to a found Temper of Heart and Life. There is no new Difpenfation whereby to reclaim thofe who continue wicked, notwithstanding the Doctrine of the Gofpel. And therefore corrupt Chriftians being a Contradiction to their Profeffion and Institution; like Salt without any Taste or Savourinefs in it felf, when it is to give a good Relish to other Things; like fuch unfavoury Salt, they fhall be of all Men the most contemned and despised. 14. Ye are the Light of the World; as the Sun difpels Darknefs, the Light of your good Example is to enlighten the ignorant and vicious World; therefore do not indulge your felves, no not in fecret Wickednefs; for the Eyes of all will be upon you; and ye may as well think a City feated high on the Top of an Hill will not be feen, as that your Life and Actions will not be publickly expofed and obferved. 15. And fo I defign they fhould; for Men do not light a Candle to hide it in an obfcure Place, where no Body will be the better for the Light of it; but they place it in fome etb do men light a candle, and put it under a bufhel: but on a candlefick, and it giv very eth light to all that are in the boufe. C: 16. Let your light fo fhine before men, that they may fee your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. 17. Think Think not that I am come to deftroy the Law or the Prophets: I am not come to deftroy, but to fulfil + Perfect them. πληρῶσαι. very confpicuous Station, from whence it may most advantageously fpread its Light to all Comers and Goers. So by gathering Difciples,and fetting up a Church, my Defign is, that in their good Lives, the World may have a clear Pattern, what fort of Perfons they themselves ought to be; and what an excellent Reformation my Dotrine, if throughly believed and practised, will introduce. 16. Take care therefore to give the World fo bright Examples of Holiness and Virtue, that they may observe a great Reformation in your Lives, to the Honour of God, who has called you first to the Knowledge of the Truth, and has chofen by your Means to communicate it to others. 1 ¶ 17. I know this is very unexpected 'Doctrine to moft of you, that instead of military Difcipline, I should infift fo much on your exemplary Holinefs and Virtue. Ye were in Hopes that I would rather ease you of the Burden of the ftrict Duties of the Moral Law, enjoined by Mofes and the Prophets, that ye may, without Controul, carry on the Bufinefs of the Conquefts Conquefts and worldly Kingdom ye are fo fond of. Ye expected that I would difpenfe with the Fifth Commandment, that ye may shake off Obedience to your Superiors; and with the Sixth Commandment, that' ye may freely cut off all the Meffiah's Enemies, or whofoever fhall obftruct the fetting up of his Kingdom; and with the Seventh Commandment, that as other earthly Conquerors, ye may gratify your Lufts with all the beautiful Captives ye can lay your Hands on; and with the Eighth and Tenth Com-' mandments, that without any other Right than that of Conqueft, ye may invade the Wealth and Poffeffions of other Men; and fo get great Eftates to your felves. But thefe are all grofs Miftakes, flowing from the wrong Notions of the Meffiah's worldly Kingdom; which by all Means I muft utterly root out of your Minds. Think not therefore that I will difpenfe with any of the Duties enjoined in the Moral Law, and explained and preached up by the Prophets. I am fo far from abrogating thofe Laws, that I am refolved to teach them to a greater 18. For verily I fay unto you, till heaven and earth pass,one jot or one tittle fhall in no wife pass from the Law + till all be fulfilled. 19.Whosoever therefore fhall break one of thefe leaft Commandments, and fhall teach men fo, be fhall be called the leaft in the kingdom of heaven: but whofoever fball do, and teach them, the fame fhall be called great in the kingdom of bea ven. Till all things are at an End, ἕως ἂν πάντα γένηται. * 19. And therefore if any Perfon profeffing himself a Subject of the Meffiab's Kingdom, fhall by his Life and Doctrine destroy any one of the Precepts of the Moral Law, and by that Means let in loofe and immoral Principles and Practices into the Church, this fhall be accounted fo great a Crime, that in the great Day of Judgment, fuch a Perfon fhall be reckoned one of the very worst of all the Profeffors of Chriftianity; and as fuch, fhall be most exemplarily punished. And on the other hand, whofoever fhall carefully, both by his Life and Do&trine, promote holy Life and good Morals, he fhall in the great Day be adjudged to be a moft |