are yet taken Care of without Anxiety, and live merry chearful Lives, as the Birds and Fowls of the Air, which can neither Jow, nor reap, nor gather into Barns, all which ye can do; why should

ye be more distrustful and anxious than they? Here, I fay, is a very commodious Sense of these Words, without being driven to fuch Extremity.

But left the deferved Authority of this great and learned Man fhould carry it for his Expofition, I will, over and above the fuggefting the right Sense, briefly vindicate this Text from this new Interpretation, by fhewing feveral Defects in it, from which it will plainly appear that there is no Manner of Ground for it, and confequently that our Affertion holds good, that all the Duties of this Sermon are enjoined to all Chriftians, and none of them limited to Apostles.

1. Then, that the Duty here enjoined, un eριμνᾶτε τῇ ψυχῇ ὑμῶν τὶ φάγητε καὶ τὶ πίητε, which we render, Take no Thought for your Life, what je fhall eat, or what ye Jhall drink, was not peculiar to the Apostles, is plain, from St. Paul's recommending it to private Chriftians, Ph. iv. 6. Μηδὲν μεριμνᾶτε, which we render, Be careful for nothing; and if for nothing, then certainly not for Food and Raiment, which was our Saviour's Precept. St. Peter doth the fame, 1 Pet. v. 7. Cafting all your Care upon him, for he careth for you; the fame Argument which our Saviour ufes against the fame uigura, or anxious Care in this Place; for your heavenly Father, fays he, knoweth that ye have Need of all thefe Things; and the fame Thing which our Saviour condemns in the Parable of the Sower, Mat. xiii. 22. as a common

H 4

Vice

Vice incident to all Hearers. He, fays he, that received Seed among the Thorns, is he that heareth the Word; and the Care of this World, ʼn μégiva zê dievos tét8, and the Deceitfulness of Riches choak the Word, and he becometh unfruitful. In the New Testament Stile, this is an usual Description of Covetousness, and the inordinate Cares of the World; a Vice than which there is none more cautioned against by the facred Writers, in the whole Catalogue of Vices.

2. Let it be confidered, that in the Context, which is all a Diffuafive from Covetoufnefs, beginning Chap. vi. 19. and continuing for fixteen Verfes together, to the End of the Chapter; the other Precepts, both before and after, are all univerfal, belonging to all Chriftians; Lay not up for your felves Treafures upon Earth; but lay up for your felves Treatures in Heaven: Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his Righteoufness, and all these Things fhall be added unto you, &c. and are so interpreted even by this great Author himself. Now how improbable is it, that this of taking no I bought in the Middle of the fame very Discourse, and addreffed to the fame Perfons, must be limited to Apostles, more than the rest?

3. But further, if the immediate Connexion is obferved, all Limitation is exprefly excluded; for this Precept of taking no Thought is an Inference drawn from another general Obfervation relating to all Mankind, Ver. 24. No Man can ferve two Mafters: For either he will hate the one, and love the other; or elfe he will hold to the one and defpife the other; ye cannot ferve God and Mammon. Is this faid only to Apostles? It follows immediately, Therefore I fay unto you, take no Thought for your

Life, &c. Now if this is a plain Confequence, from that other Doctrine, that No Man can ferve two Mafters, deduced by our Saviour himself with an Ergo, Therefore I say unto you; the Conclufion will hold as general as the Premifes, and fo extend to all Mankind.

4. Further, that this Doctrine belongs to all Chriftians, and not only to Apostles, is plain, from another Argument our Saviour uses Ver. 32. where, after repeating the very fame Precept, of taking no Thought, Jaying, What fall we eat? Or what Shall we drink? Or wherewithal fhall we be cloathed? It follows, For after all thefe Things do the Heathen or the Gentiles feek. Now which is most probable, that the Antithefis to the Heathen here, are Chriftians, or only Apoftles? And, indeed,

5. In general, it is a great Demonstration to me that our Saviour intended not this Duty to be limited to Apostles, but to be extended to all Chriftians; because of the many Arguments he makes Ufe of to prefs it, I obferve there is not one taken from the apoftolical Function, but from fuch Confiderations as are equally binding either upon all Mankind, or at least upon all Chriftians. Such as thefe, That the Life is more than Meat, and the Body than Raiment; That we are better than the Fowls; That by taking Thought we can't add one Cubit unto our Stature; That God will much more cloath us than the worthless Lillies which grow to Day, and to Morrow are caft into the Still or Furnace; That after all thefe earthly Things the Gentiles feek; That our heavenly Father knows that we have Need of all thefe Things; That if we feck first the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness, all thefe Things fhall be fuperadded; And that the Future

will bring Cares and Troubles enough along with it, and the Prefent has enough already, and therefore they ought not to be anticipated.

6. I believe it will always be found, that whenever the Word épiuva, which fignifies the Height of Care and Concern, is joined with any worldly Thing, it is taken for a Vice in whatever Perfons it is found, and therefore is not to be forbid to Apoftles only, but to all other Men: It is such a Vice, that our Saviour joins it with Surfeiting and Drunkenness, Luke xxi. 34. Take Heed to your felves, fays he, left at any Time your Hearts be overcharged with Surfeiting and Drunkenness,and Cares of this Life.

7. To think that all, even moderate and regular Care, was forbid to Apoftles, is, gratis dictum, there is no Ground that I can fee, in any Part of the New Teftament, for fuch an Affertion; for in that firft Commiffion of theirs, which looks most like it, Mat. x. 9. tho' they were not to provide two Coats, (that is, Change of Raiment,) nor more than one Pair of Shoes, and one Staff, and were promifed that the Gofpel-Labourer fhould find Meat; yet fome moderate Care it would require to provide thefe few Neceffaries. And afterwards we find, that where People were not careful to fupply them, (c) fome of them fupplied both their own and their Fellow-Travellers Neceffities out of their own Industry and handy Labour.

8. Whereas our learned Author fixes the Cornparison taken from the Fowls of the Air in this Point, that they are fufficiently provided for, without any Care and Industry of theirs, which has indeed led him into this New Opinion; I defire it

(c) Acts xx. 34.

may

may be confidered whether the Simile is not wrong placed: For the Birds and Fowls of the Air, tho' they are good Examples of a light and merry Heart, and confequently good Patterns of a Freedom from Anxiety, for which End they are here introduced, and fo much the more proper Patterns of it, because they are not furnished with fuch Forecast and Ingeniousness as we Men are Masters of, to help to provide for their own Subfiftence; for they can neither fow nor reap, nor gather into Barns, all which we can and may do: Which makes it an excellent Simile à fortiori: Yet it is a Mistake to think that they employ no Pains or Industry towards their own Subfiftence; on the contrary, they are very nimble, diligent, and industrious, and take abundance of Pains to look out and gather up the proper Food, of Worms, Infects, wild Fruits, Seeds, and Grain, or whatever fuits their Natures, both for themselves and their young: And therefore there is not any Reafon from this Similitude to condemn lawful Care and Providence in any Men, tho' there is to condemn Anxiety in all Men, as well as Apoftles.

I have faid enough, I think, to confute this new Notion, that the Duty enjoined against taking Thought, is to be limited to the Twelve chofen Dif ciples; and therefore, for all this Objection, with Reverence to that great Name which has deserved fo well of the Church, we may conclude, that all the Duties recommended in this Sermon, are Chriftian Duties in general, and not any of them limited to Apostles.

And indeed, tho' this great Author argues this his Opinion at large, I am apt to think he was of another Mind before his Death; for in a pofte