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APPENDIX.

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LL Imprecations breathing the leaft Male volence and Malignancy of Spirit have been readily perceived, and generally allowed, to be wholly inconfiftent with, and directly repugnant to, the Genius of the Gospel; yet, it has been almost as generally fuppofed, that fuch were very agreeable to the Spirit of the mosaic Law, and therefore might be very innocently and lawfully used under the mofaic Difpenfation*; the fame Perfection of Virtue and Liberality of Mind being not then either required, or expected.

This groundless Suppofition has derived fome confiderable Acceffion of Credit and Popularity, from fome equally ill-founded Apprehenfions unhappily

*See Grotius on Pfalm cix,

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happily entertained concerning our Saviour's Expofition of the mosaic Law in his Sermon on the Mount. Our Saviour has been there confidered as pointing out to his Hearers the Imperfection of the Jewish Law, representing the Morality it taught as lax and defective, and the Charity it prescribed as much too narrow and confined. Whereas his real Intention was quite the reverse : his Design was not to depreciate the Law, but to magnify, and make it honorable; not to make it void, but to establish it; not to alter it, add to it, or make any Improvement upon it, but EXPLAIN it; to vindicate it from the false and corrupt Gloffes of the Scribes and Pharafees, to reprefent it as a compleat Syftem of moral Precepts, and breathing a Spirit of unbounded Benevolence and Kindness.

Of the ceremonial Law he makes no Mention; that Law was foon to be a dead Letter, and of -no Manner of Consequence, it having been defigned to be only a Guide to lead the Jews to himself, and was a mere Shadow, of which he was the Body. However, as he appeared as a public Teacher of Religion, and preached very differently from all other Teachers, not as the Scribes and Pharifees, it was not unnatural for the Jews to apprehend, that he defigned to abolish, or en

tirely to make void their Religion; and to fubftitute fome other enitrely different in its Room.

To remove every Sufpicion of this Kind he exprefly informed them, he fo far approved of the moral Part of their Law according to its full Extent and true Meaning, the only Part that ever was of any effential Moment, that he determined to admit it entirely into the Religion of his Difciples. And to the End his Audience might form a clearer and more adequate Idea of the Religion he proposed to preach, and establish; he proceeds to give them an Expofition of the Law, especially fuch Parts of it as stood in most Need of Illuftration, and to vindicate it from the the corrupt and falfe Glofles of the jewish Doctors.

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Our Saviour's Expofition is here fubjoined, with a Paraphafe upon it, chiefly in the Words of the late Doctor Doddridge. I have chofen to infert Doctor Doddridge's Paraphrase, as he was a Perfon of a very amiable, liberal Spirit, and has, in my Opinion, more fully comprehended

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*The only Part that ever was of any effential Moment.] The ceremonial Law was never, compared to the moral, any Thing more than as a beggarly Element, a worldly Rudiment; it was only a Figure for the Time then prefent, that could make no Man, who did the Service required by it, perfect, as pertaining to the Conference.

our Saviour's Meaning, and given a juster and clearer Explanation of it, than any other Commentator that I have feen, either antient or modern. Our Saviour's Expofition is interwoven with the Paraphrafe, and carefully distinguished from it by the Italic Character.

The few Remarks I have thought proper to make are diftinguished by this Signature. The Reader is particularly defired, in perusing our Lord's Expofition, to confider him, through the whole, only as a faithful Commentator of the Law, not as adding to it, or prefcribing any new Rules of Duty and moral Conduct not contained in it.

The Expofition and Paraphrafe here follow, as they stand in the Doctor's Family Expofitor.

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Our Lord declares his Purpose of establishing and vindicating the moral Law, and enters on his divine Expofition of it. Mat, v. 17-26.

That the great Defign of our Lord's Appearance might be more fully understood by the Multitudes that were now affembled around him, he proceeded in his Difcourfe and faid,

(v. 17.) Suppofe not that I am come to diffolve that goodly Fabric of holy Precepts contained in the facred

facred Writings of the Law, or the Prophets; for I folemnly affuure you, that I am not come to diffolve [or destroy] but rather to vindicate and illuftrate, to

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compleat and adorn them both by my Example

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and

* To vindicate and illuftrate to complete and adorn them] I was willing to take the Word wλnpwoat in its most extenfive Senfe as comprehending what Christ has done to answer the End of the ceremonial Law, || as well as to vindicate and enforce the moral: yet by the Connection, it seems that the later was chiefly [I belive he might have faid folely,] intended; and the Phrafe, the Law and the Prophets is used in this Sense [in this Senfe only] in Mat. xxii. 40. It is frange, that any should have questioned, whether the Precepts of Mofes required such Spirituality of Obedience as Chrift here demands. [i. e. in his Expofition of them.] That great Command of loving the Lord our God with all the Heart &c. and our Neighbour as ourselves, Mat. xxii. 37. must furely comprehend all this. [i. e. all that our Saviour fays in his Expofition of the moral Law from Verfe 47 of this Chapter to the End of it.] I fhall only add that Vitringa's Interpretation of whnpow, who here fuppofes it to answer to the Chaldee GEMAR, which fignifies to paraphrafe, illuftrate, open, or explain, seems to be worthy of Confideration [compare Rom. xv. 19. πεπληρωκέναι το ευαγίελιon. I have fully Explained the Gofpels and Col. iv. 12. πεπληρωμένος εν θεληματα TO 8, completely inftructed in the Will of Gud.

I was willing to take the Word @λnpwoas in its most extensive Sense as comprehending what Christ has done to answer the End of the ceremonial &c.] As our Saviour feems here to have had no Reference to the ceremonial Law, and to confine

him

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