Mat. IX. 13.] morals before rituals. 9
rituals; certainly without them we shall be of no account with God. And partly toi that, when moral duties come in competition with ceremonial, the moral duties at that time must take place of the other, and all positive commands concerning the externals of relij^ion give way to them. The Lord never appointed the ceremonies of the first table to hinder works of mercy prescribed in the second ; therefore the mercy must be done, and the sacrifice left undone : as the Sabbath is both broken and kept when there is an evident necessity of preserving the creature. When David fainted, it was a moral duty to relieve him, though there were no bread at hand but the shew-bread: 1 Sam. xxi. 4, ' There is no common bread under my hands.' And Cbrist urgeth that, Mat. xii. 3, 4, ' Have ye not read, what David did when he was an hungered ; how he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shew-bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for them which were with him, but only for the priests ?' In an extraordinary case of necessity, the shew-bread is as common bread. Now the reason is plain, because positives bind only in certain cases, but we are ever- lastingly obliged to things moral. Therefore externals must give way both to obedience and mercy. Internal acts of worship are never dispensed with.
5. Sacrifices come under a double consideration, as they relate to Christ, the substance of them all, or as external performances rested in by that people.
[1.] In the first consideration, their gospel lay much in sacrifices, and the main duties of godliness were exercised about them, as bro- kenness of heart : Ps. li. 17, ' The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit ; a broken and a contrite heart, 0 God, thou wilt not despise.' And faith in Christ, Heb. ix. 13, 14, ' For if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh : How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your consciences from dead works, to serve the living God ? ' And covenanting with God, Ps. 1. 5, ' Gather my saints together unto me, those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice;' and Piom. xii. 1, ' I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.'
[2.] In the second consideration, the outward bare offering, consi- dered in itself, without faith and repentance, so God disclaimeth it : Isa-. i. 11, ' Bring no more vain oblations; ' and Isa. Ixvi. 2, 3, ' He that killeth an ox, is as if he slew a man ; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck ; he that oftereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood ; he that burnetii incense, as if he blessed an idol.' Their great confidence was in their sacrifices. God, therefore, showeth how loathsome these things were to him, without that disposi- tion of soul which should accompany them ; being such persons as those were, he would take no offering at their hands. The Lord in all ages is uniform and like himself, in approving and enjoining duty, and in disliking sin. I^Iorals are always prized by him before externals, and an impartial respect to necessary duties was more to him than the iQu. 'too'?— Ed.
10 THE PREFERENCE OF DUTIES I [MaT. IX. 13.
greatest pomp of outward worship. It was so then, and it is so now. Pride, and malice, and envy, arc <;reater evils than ceremonial imclean- ness, and to fear God and work righteousness a greater duty than tlie best sacrifices. The pcriorniance of external duties is not, and never was, a sufficient testimony of true piety ; nay, witliout the love of God and men, and a uniform obedience to his holy will, is mere hypocrisy. G. When the breach of a ceremonial precept bringeth with it the transgression of a moral precept, and is (without any absolute necessity) imposed in neglect and contem])t of the law of God, then we are to run all hazards, rather than to transgress in the smallest externals ; because though the matter enjoined be but small, yet the contempt of God is a great sin, and our sincerity and obedience to God is a great matter. As for instance, when Antiochus pressed the Jews to eat swine's flesh, which in case of great extremity no question they might do, yet when he pressed them out of contempt of the law, they clioso rather to be tortured to death than to yield to it. And for this they are registered martyrs : lleb. xi. 35, ' They were tortured, not accept- ing deliverance, that they might receive a better resurrection.' There is a plain allusion to the story in the book of the j\Iaccabees, concerning Eleazar, and the woman with her seven sons, so cruelly tortured. But these commands were contrary to the laws of God. Should they have said, ' God will have mercy, and not sacrifice' ? No ; in such a case God will have sacrifice, and not mercy. Though often advised to yield, they would not abate a jot of their zeal. For though the case be but in externals, yet there is a renunciation of our relation and obedience to God's law. So Daniel opening his windows, and praying three times a day, as he was wont to do, Dan. vi. 10. That circum- stance might have been forborne, you will think, in a case of such immi- nent peril of life. No ; he would neither forbear praying nor opening his windows ; he had wont to do so before, and without dishonouring God and renouncing his profession, he could not forbear to do so now. The promise of audience, made to Solomon at the dedication of the temple, required this ceremony as an effect of faith: 1 Kings viii. 42, 43, * When they shall pray towards this house, then hear thou in heaven.' And David saith, Ps. v. 7, ' In thy fear I will worship to- wards thy holy temple.' The temple did shadow forth the body of our Lord Christ, the mediator, in whom only our prayers and services are accepted with the Father, which Solomon respected in looking to- wards the temple. But the chief reason is, the necessity of profession, and open profession too, against this impious law, contrived by the malice of his enemies to make him afraid. Now, to show he was not frighted from his duty, he openeth his windows, and would not forego any circumstance of his duty to God. I might instance in circum- cision (as urged by the false apostles), as necessary to our justification : Gal. V. 2-4, ' Beliold, I Paul say unto you, that if you be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole hiw: Christ is become of none effect unto you. Whosoever of you are justified by the law, you are fallen from grace.' Such is the difference when God calleth us to the profession of a lesser truth. Therefore the case may be such that externals may bear great weight.