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who upholdeth all things by the Word of his Power, to have unfolded to us all the Mysteries of Nature, which must of Neceffity be very familiar to him who first made and ftill upholds them? Whereas thefe are the things he has entirely overlook'd, and confin'd his Inftructions to Matters of Morality and Religion only, as being the most important and beneficial.

Now notwithstanding these moral and religious Truths have been acknowledg'd in all Ages to be the principal Concern of Mankind, and have, in confequence thereof, been their common and chief Study; notwithstanding there have been innumerable Volumes written concerning them; Books which the whole World could scarce contain; notwithstanding God has from the Beginning taken this Matter into his own Hands, and given forth his moral and religious Inftructions in a Succeffion of Revelations;

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lations; notwithstanding there has been a conftant Order of Men fet apart for the fole Business of explaining, and enforcing thefe Revelations; notwithftanding we live in an Age and Nation, as I obferv'd before, in which the utmost Liberty of Enquiry and Debate is allow'd, practis'd and gloried in; notwithstanding all this, it is but too evident that many of thefe important Truths are not, to this Day, generally and rightly understood. Difputes about them are fcarce less various, than if we were but juft entering upon our firft Enquiries; as tho' Mankind were doom'd to be tof'd to and fro, and carried about with every Wind of Doctrine; to be always learning and never able to come to the Knowledge of the Truth.

It must indeed be own'd, that Mankind are at this time, where they have Liberty, very inquifitive after Truth ; and that almost every Sett of Men

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think themselves in the full Poffeffion of it. But this, instead of putting a ftop to our Enquiry, is the thing which, above all others, fhould fet us to work, and quicken our Diligence: Where all oppofe each other, and are equally fatisfied in their feveral Perfuafions, all but one at the most, must be in the wrong: And the Security of all in this Cafe is the Danger of all, and what ought in Reason, tho' 'tis not expected it should in fact,

excite all to a Re-examination.

The little that has been faid on this Subject, may fuffice to fhew us, what is meant by Speaking the Truth in this Paffage of St. Paul, and to convince us that the Apoftle's Exhortation is as applicable to us, as it could well be to thofe to whom it was more immediately directed. I now proceed as I propos'd to fhew

Secondly, what is to be understood by speaking and fearching after the Truth in Love.

Love

Love, in the Writings of the New Teftament, is a Term of the utmost Importance; it every where occurs; it is declared to be the end of the Commandment, and the fulfilling of the Law; it is therefore, abfolutely neceffary that we have the most diftinc Idea of the true Import of this Term, and that we poffefs our felves of whatsoever it denotes or implies.

I observe then, that the Term Love in the New-Teftament is us'd in a peculiar Senfe, fuch as is not to be found in any other Writings. When it is faid that neither Circumcifion availeth any thing in Chrift Fefus, nor Uncircumcifion, but Faith which worketh by Love That Knowledge puffeth up, but Charity or Love edifieth ---- and, in the Words of the Text, that we should fearch after the Truth in Love, we fee the Term Love is us'd in a general and unrestrained Sense, without any particular Object affign'd it. In

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Cor. xiii. where St. Paul gives us a very large and beautiful Description of Love, it is in this general Way: Love, fays he, fuffereth long and is kind, envieth not, vaunteth not it felf, is not puffed up, doth not behave it felf unfeemly, feeketh not her own, is not eafily provoked; thinketh no Evil, rejoiceth not in Iniquity, but rejoiceth in the Truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things St. Paul here feems rather to fet forth a Syftem of Virtues than to defcribe a fingle Affection restrain'd to a particular Object. If we look back into our Lord's History, we shall fee how this Ufage of the Term Love was introduced, and what was the fpecial Import of it. Our Lord in his last Difcourfe with his Difciples, immediately before he was betrayed, gives them a new Commandment which is feveral times repeated in that Difcourfe, That they

Should

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