[2.] Be more careful of the substantial than of the ceremonials of religion, and to mind the power of godliness more than the form. The substantials of religion are the love of God and our neighbour. The circumstantials are those ways of worship which God hath ap- pointed, whereby we are visibly to express our love to him. Now, our main care should be, in the first place, to be entirely devoted and subject to God. That was Job's character, ' one that feared God and eschewed evil,' Job i. 11. To do that we do out of love to him ; obeying his laws as our rule, and depending upon his rewards as our happiness. And as to men, let us be faithful, and walk holily in our
^ There is no good reason for believing that the woman alluded to was Mary Ua^- dalene. — Ed.
20 THE PREFERENCE OF DUTIES : [MaT. IX. 13.
places, callings, and relations, being just and kind unto all, but having an exceeding dear love for our fellow-saints and everlasting companions. This is more })leasing to God than the costliest sacrifices, than all our flocks and herds, or any outward thing that we do for him. I take notice of those words of God to Solomon, wlien he was building him a magnificent temple, 1 Kings vi. 11, 12, 'And the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying. Concerning this house which thou art building, if thou wilt walk iu my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them, then will I perform my word to thee, which I spake to David thy father.' God hath more respect to Solomon's faithful obedience than to that glorious building. So far do morals exceed ceremonials in religion.
[3.] That you prefer a broken-hearted, thankful sense of our Re- deemer's love, before legal and conceited righteousness of our own. Christ's love to sinners is that which the pharisees mainly stumbled at. An external show and fair pretence of a good life, which had no bottom of regeneration, was the superficial righteousness of the phari.sees. Nico- demus, who had been of that sect, wondered when that was pressed upon him, John iii. 4, 5. An outward conformity, which was more in show than in substance, in form and fashion than in power, was their religion ; abstaining from gross sins, as murder and adultery, but not purifying the heart from lusts. Murder they made conscience of, but not of envy, malice, and hatred ; theft, but not covetousness and close extortion ; adultery, but not wantonness or looking upon a woman to lust after her, as you may see at large, Mat. v. Thus Christ presseth us to exceed the pharisees, who turned all obedience into an empty formality, wherein they puffed up themselves as mere men, and so liad never been at the market of free grace. All their wares were their own, and their righteousness of their own spinning, and therein stood upon their own bottom, without seeking the reconciling and renewing grace of the Redeemer : Luke xviii., The proud pharisee pleadeth his own merits rather than God's grace, but the publican pleaded mercy. It was long ere Paul was brought to count all but dung and dross for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ, Phil. iii. 7-9. But on the other side, a Christian, though he maketh progress in holiness, yet, from first to last, cherisheth a broken-hearted sense of his own wants, and a tiiankful remembrance of his Redeemer's love, who is all in all with him, both for justification and sanctification. Before pardon, the sinner is weakened and humbled Avith a sense of his lost condition, and tlien there is a constant watchfulness, with repentance and broken- ncss of heart, which followeth j)ardon ; ' loving much, because much is forgiven,' Luke vii. 47 ; and loathing himself, in his own sight, be- cause of his viloness and sinfulness, after God is reconciled to l]im, Ezek. xvi. 63. This is the frame of heart which suiteth with the gos- pel state.
III. I come to the third thing — the value of mercy. I shall not speak of it at large, but only with respect to this scripture.
1. It is better than sacrifice. To sacrifice is to serve God, but to show mercy is to be like God : Luke vi. 36, ' Be ye therefore merci- ful, as your heavenly Father is merciful.' Now, conformity to God is more noble than subjection to God; it hath more of perfection and
Mat. IX. 13.] morals before rituals. 21
blessedness in it especially, than a particular external mode and way of subjection to God.
2. As it is preferred before sacrifice, so it is preferred before the external observation of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is the great insti- tution conducing to the enlivening of other duties ; mercy, not only to the souls of men as here, or bodies of men, but mercy to the bodies of the beasts : to help a beast out of a pit is a Sabbath-day's work, Mat. xii. 11, 12.
3. It is more than gospel externals of worship. The apostle had spoken of being 'not hearers of the word only, but doers also,' James i. 22. Then saith, verse 27, ' Pure religion, and undefiled before God, is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and keep himself unspotted from the world.' Is this religion, to come to church, to hear the strictest preachers ? Doth the apostle reckon this another part of religion ? No ; but to ' visit the fatherless and widows.' They who are truly religious have such a deep sense of God's mercy to them that they are changed into the divine nature, that they cannot but pity the miserable and afflicted. Now, the ordinances of the gospel are rational, not so carnal and servile as the ordinances under the law.