grace and goodness to us, and our unspeakable misery, and corruption, and estrangement from our heavenly Father; and hath put us again into a capacity of being his children, he himself becoming our elder brother. He hath raised us unto the hopes of the enjoyment of God for evermore in boundless felicity, that we might thus purify ourselves as God is pure. He hath breathed his Holy Spirit into the world, to inspire us with his life, and changed us into his image; and he hath told us, that without this we shall never see the face of God. We have therefore all the obligations in the world to make Christ our life, and to follow Jesus. This is the only mark and character whereby God will own and acknowledge us for his. It is, besides, our greatest glory and honour, to imitate so blessed an example, and a wonderful expression of goodness and condescension, for the Son of God to come down from heaven, to give us this pattern. He is the most perfect example of purity and holiness, in whom there was no spot nor blemish; who had no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth; but his life was uniform, and always pure, and constant to himself. And yet he hath given us the most plain and familiar copy, and the most exactly fitted to the state and condition of men in this world. He did not retire into cells and cloisters, as if none could walk as he walked, but monks and recluses; but he conversed freely in the world, and lived in cities and villages, in company and converse with others. His piety did not break forth into severe fasting, and an excess of other bodily austerities, in ecstatic raptures, and enthusiastic fits, such as the lives of the famed saints of the Romish church are stuffed with; but it was a plain life, of justice and charity, meekness and humility, patience and contentedness, and a readiness to do good to all men ; a life that is imitable by all, from the greatest prince to the poorest peasant. The very importance of our

name and profession, the calling ourselves Christians, obliges us to follow the example, and lead the life of Christ. And, if we mean not this by it, we mean nothing to the purpose: for he that saith he abideth' in him, ought himself also to walk, even as he walked. Nay, it is this only, the being endued with his Spirit, that can entitle us to his interest in him, and that happiness which he has purchased for us: for if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his; so great and many are the obligations we have to follow Jesus. His commands are nothing but the transcript of his own life and spirit: we ought always to have him in our eye; and in every disposition of our soul, in every undertaking and design; to consider how our blessed master would have done in these circumstances, and aspire always to have the same mind that was in him; and never rest till Christ be formed in us.

But, alas! how unlike are we to the holy Jesus! Christians in name and profession, but not in deed and in truth. How unworthy a character would it make of him, to measure him by the lives and spirits of those who call themselves his followers. Alas! in what passages or period of life can we say sincerely, To me to live is Christ? Do we propose to ourselves the same designs? Are we endued with any spark of his boundless charity? Do our souls burn with love to God, or have we such a sincere good-will to our neighbours? Are our desires and affections crucified to this world, and enlivened towards heaven? what conformity is there in our outward lives unto his most holy laws? Where is that forwardness to do good to all men, that meek suffering of injuries, and ready forgiving of enemies, and doing them good? Is scraping and scrambling after wealth, and this world's trifles is rioting and wallowing in sensual pleasures, and living like brutes; is contending for places and glory among men; is strife and envy,

M

Yea,

contention and evil-speaking, and other such-like works of the flesh-are these, I say, becoming the followers of Jesus Christ? Is this to live like him, or are they the fruits of his spirit? Nay, sure, in this our hearts must condemn us; and, alas! our lives do testify against us.

But, indeed, well might the Apostle say, To me to live is Christ, who was so much endued with his Spirit, and conformed to his life; whom nothing could separate from the love of God; who rejoiced as much in suffering his will, as in doing it: who was so often in labour, and stripes, and prisons, and perils of all sorts, in watching, and hunger, and thirst, in fastings, and cold, and nakedness; so far was he from enjoying the pleasures of the world : who knew so well both how to abound and be in want, and in whatsoever state, therewith to be content; who so much crucified to the world, and the world unto him: whose love and charity was so exuberant and boundless towards his brethren, being ready to spend and to be spent for them, though the more he loved the less he was loved again; who travelled through the world to make men better, and spared no labour or pains to make them happy ; spending his life in this employment, and enduring all kinds of hardships in it. So that, in a word, he lived; yet not so much he, as Christ that lived in him.

II. But, secondly, these words do import, that his heart and life were devoted to the service of Christ; that he loved him above all things, and minded nothing more than his interest, and employed his life in serving his designs, and doing his will, and lived by his faith. The life of man in this world, is to be considered both as to the inward and outward The former, which is that of the soul, consists in the understanding, the will, and the affections; the other, being the outward life and conver

man.

sation, is regulated according to the inward dispositions of the soul. And as a man's sentiments and dispositions are, such is his life. Now, as the life of the body is strangely disordered, when the blood and spirits do not run in their ordinary course, but make convulsive and involuntary motions, which are nothing useful to the body, nor guided by the will; so the life of our souls is so corrupted, as that we may be said to be dead while we live, when our judgement is blind and false, our will perverse and crooked, our affections earthly and carnal, and we do not follow the will of God. And this is the state of our life by nature. What a strange blindness is there in the spirit of man? We understand almost nothing of the greatest things, and judge perversely of other things. How little do we know of God, of our souls, of their misery, or wherein their true happines consists, or of the state after this life? And how perversely do we judge of the trifles of this life, as if our happiness and our all were summed up in them? How corrupt are the affections and dispositions of our hearts! We love what we ought to hate; we trust what will certainly fail us, and distrust that which should be our only confidence; we fear that which can do us no harm, and are regardless of our greatest dangers: we busy ourselves about trifles, or things that will certainly ruin us, and do not mind our greatest interests. Now Jesus Christ is come into the world full of grace and truth, to renew the spirit of our minds, and to change the disposition of our hearts, and the course of our lives: and the life that we ought to lead, is by the faith of the Son of God, who loved us, and gave himself for us. We must not live by sense and our own foolish passions, and sentiments of things; but according to those sentiments, and that faith, that he by his word and Spirit inspires us with. To serve Jesus Christ, is to live by his faith; and to live by the faith of the Son of

God, is to judge and esteem of things as he has revealed them, and as he would have us, and accordingly to guide and direct our hearts and lives; to love what he bids us love, and hate what he would have us to hate; to hope and trust in his promises; to do what he commands, and forbear and avoid what he forbids; and to employ our life in doing his will, and serving his designs. He hath taught us to make a right judgement and estimate of things: to have a deep sense of the unspeakable misery and sinfulness of our corrupt nature, of the infinite greatness, goodness, and mercy of God, and the wonderful contrivance and value of our redemption. He has shewn us the worth and the degeneracy of our souls, and what great things they are capable of by the pure grace and favour of God. He bath laid open the deceitful appearances of this present world, and the great moment of that eternity of joy or misery that awaits us hereafter. He hath made known to us what great things he hath done and suffered for us, and what boundless compassion and love he has for such undeserving creatures. Now, the spring of that life we should live by the faith of Jesus Christ, is, to have our understandings renewed and enlightened, and to judge sincerely and aright of these things, according as he, who is truth itself, hath revealed them unto us: and that not to gratify our curiosity in knowing them, or making them matter of vanity, and talk to others; for then we know nothing as we ought: but to have such a deep sense and feeling of them, as to enliven our hearts, and guide our practices. For then do we truly live by the faith of Christ, when the sense of our own sinfulness and misery sinks us into the deepest humility, and sincere abhorrence of ourselves; and the thoughts of the unspeakable goodness, love, and mercy of God, and what our ever-blessed Redeemer hath done, suffered, and purchased for us, inspires our hearts with ardent love