4. It is more excellent than all the gifts of the gospel. The gifts of the gospel were glorious things — gifts of tongues, gifts of healing, gifts of knowledge and utterance : 1 Cor. xii. 31, ' Covet earnestly the best gifts ; and yet I show you a more excellent way.' What is that ? Love, charity, mercy. Though abilities are excellent things, to be able to edify and instruct others, yet no way to be compared with the grace of charity, and the performing all our duties to our brethren out of love to God.
5. I cannot say it is above the graces of the gospel — faith and love to God ; yet this I can say, that those graces are not real unless ac- companied with charity : 1 John iv. 20, ' If a man say he loveth God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar ; for if a man hateth his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen ? ' He speaketh there of love to Christ, ver. 19, ' We love him because he loved us first.' There may be a great deal of hypocrisy in profess- ing and pretending love to Christ ; and so he doth, certainly, who doth malign and persecute Christians, or not show mercy to them in their distresses. We daily converse with men, meet with objects of charity, whom we should pity ; but if we do not this, which is the more easy, we will not do that which is more difficult.
6. It is the qualification of finding mercy : Mat. v. 7, ' Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.' Compassion to other men's bodies and souls gives this hope and confidence of finding mercy with the Lord, and that is all our hope.
It will be inquired into at the day of judgment : Mat. xxv. 35-41, ' For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat : I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink : I was a stranger, and ye took me in : naked, and ye clothed me : I was sick, and ye visited me : I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying. Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee ? or thirsty, and gave thee drink ? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in ? or naked and clothed thee ? Or when saw we thee sick or in prison.
22 THE PREFERENCE OF DUTIES. [MaT. IX. 13.
and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Vetily, I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of ihese my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.'
Oh, then, let us make conscience of this duty more than ever we have done.
A DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUE CIRCUMCISION.
For toe are the circumcision, loMch ivorship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. — Phil. III. 3.
Among those that entertain thoughts of religion there ever have been and will be many contests who are the true church and people of God, The lazy place their plea and claim in external observations ; the serious look to the vitals and heart of religion, and cannot satisfy them- selves in an outward form without the life and power. This was the very difference between the true Christians and a certain sort of persons who took upon them to be the circumcision. The Jews are often called 'the circumcision,' therefore Christ is said to be 'a minister of the circumcision,' as being sent to the people that were to be circumcised, Kom. xv. 8. And Peter is called ' the apostle of the circumcision,' Gal. ii. 7, 8, as being appointed to deal with that people. Now these Judaizing Christians, who had a zeal for the ceremonies of the law, did falsely boast themselves to be the only people of God and the true circumcision. This was the difference between them : who were to be accounted the true circumcision, the Jewish zealots, who placed their justification in the ceremonies of the law, or those who adhered to Christ only, and looked for the mercy of God through him ? ' We are the circumcision ' say they, excluding the other and better sort of Christians. The one had the form, and the other the effect and power ; the one were circumcised outwardly, the other spiritually. The apostle judgeth for the latter ; the former were KaraTo/ir], ' the con- cision,' who, instead of circumcising themselves, did cut asunder the church of God ; but the sound believers were ireptro/j.i], ' the circum- cision ' indeed, as being cii-cumcised by the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by Christ, Col. ii. 11. They were the true children of Abraham, who did indeed per- form that for which circumcision was intended, ' for we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.'