Ser. 189. nations, and finful frailties to which it is incident; and his human nature was affifted in an extraordinary manner by the Spirit of God, which was not communicated to him by measure, but he was anointed with that holy unction above his fellows, above all the fons of men, above all the Prophets and meffengers of God that ever were fent to mankind; he had no fin, neither was guile found in his mouth And indeed it was requifite, that he that was manifefted to take away our fins, and to make expiation for them, should himself be without fin, as the A- poftle to the Hebrews reasons, Heb. vii. 26. Such an

bigh priest became us, who was holy, harmless, undefiled, feparate from finners: and had he not been fo, he could neither have been an example, nor an expiation.

And this is no small advantage to mankind, to have fo excellent a pattern of the same nature with ourselves to imitate, so perfect a copy to write after. For whoever would excel in any kind, muft (as Quintilian fays) optima quaque exempla ad imitandu proponere, ་་ pro"pose to himself the highest and most perfect examples "of that kind for his imitation;" and the example of our bleffed Saviour is unquestionably fuch a perfect pattern of all goodness and virtue, to the perfection whereof, though we can never attain, yet it is a great advantage to have it always before us, and in our eye, that we may correct the errors and deformities of our lives, by the unfpotted purity and perfect innocency of his life, and that we may be always afpiring after farther degrees of goodnefs; for furely we can no way better learn how God would have men to live in this world, than by feeing how God himfelf lived, when he was pleased to become man, to affume our nature, and dwell among us.

II. As the life of our bleffed Saviour is a moft perfect, fo likewife it is a familiar and eafy example. The divine nature is the great pattern of perfection: but that is too remote from us, and above our fight; no man bath seen God at any time, nor can fee him; and though his perfections are reprefented to our minds in fome degree, yet they are fo glorious and dazzling an object, that we cannot bear to behold them with that ftedfaftnefs, with

which we ought to eye our pattern; and therefore God hath been pleased to condefcend fo far to our weakness, as to give us a visible example of those virtues he requires of us, in his own Son, appearing in the likeness of finful flesh; and the Son of God is an example of equal perfection with God himself, but much more eafy and familiar, and level to us, in which we may fee the feveral virtues of a good life practised in such inftances, and upon fuch occafions, as do frequently happen in human life.

Nothing ever was more fimple and open, more obvious and easy to common imitation, than the life of our bleffed Saviour, in which there was nothing dark and mysterious, abftruse and intricate; it was all perfect innocency and goodness, and he carried on one plain and intelligible, and uniform defign, which was to do all the good he poffibly could to all men: this he purfued with all his might, with the greatest vigour and industry, with an undaunted courage and refolution, with an unwearied diligence, with a conftant chearfulness and ferenity of mind; this was his meat and drink, his great bufinefs and delight, his life and his happiness; he was not fuperciliously morofe, had no affected fingularities, no peculiar aufterities in habit or diet, different from the common ufage of men; his converfation was kind and innocent, free and familiar, open and indifferent to all forts of perfons; for he was a phyfician, and every body had need of him, all mankind were his patients. He did not place religion (as fome have done fince) in retirement from the world, and fhunning the converfation of men, and taking great care to do no body good; not in profound myfteries and fine fpeculations, but in the plain and honeft practice of the folid and fubftantial virtues of a good life; in meeknefs and humility, in kindnefs and charity, in contentednefs in a low and mean condition, and a calm compofure of mind under all accidents and events, in patience under the greateft reproaches and fufferings, and a perfect fubmiffion to the will of God in all his difpenfations, how harsh and unpleafant foever.

Now there is nothing in all this, but what lies open to every man's understanding, and is eafy to our practice and imitation, requiring nothing but an honeft mind,

and

and due care and diligence to do what we may easily know, to follow our guide in a plain way, and in all the actions of our lives, to tread in thofe fteps in which the Son of God, and the best man that ever was, hath gone before us.

III. The life of our bleffed Saviour is likewife an encouraging example. It cannot but give great life to all good refolutions and endeavours, to fee all that which God requires of us, performed by one in our nature, by a man like ourselves. Our Saviour, indeed, had many advantages above us, being God as well as man; and his humanity being fupported by the divine nature to which it was united, being clear from all the ill effects of original fin, and from all kind of vicious and inordinate inclinations: but then, it is a great encouragement to us, to confider, that God doth not require at our hands a perfect and unfinning obedience, as the condition of our falvation and happiness; but only fuch an obedience to his laws, as is fincere and continually aspi ring after greater perfection, which is very poffible to us by the grace of Chrift, even in this imperfect state; that God confiders our weakness, and how much we ftand in need of his grace and affiftance, and hath affured us, that it fhall not be wanting to us, if we heartily and earnestJy beg it of him; and that ftrength which we may have for afking, is as good as if it were our own. If Chrift were the Son of God, fo are we, in a lower degree, by grace and adoption; and if we be the fons of God, the Spirit of God dwells in us, to quicken and to raise us to newness of life. And he that hath left us fuch an example, on purpose that we might follow it, will not furely leave us deftitute of power to enable us to do fo It is a good argument to us, that he will enable us to do that in fome degree in our own perfons, which he himself did for our example in our nature.

An example more fuitable to our weakness might feem to have had more encouragement in it; but we are to confider, that the Son of God affumed our nature, as compaffed with infirmities, and liable to be tempted in all things as we are, only without fin; fo that his ex

ample

ample could not poffibly have come nearer to us than it does, without great difadvantage to us, without wanting that perfection which is neceffary to a compleat and abfolute pattern. In fhort, the fpirit of Chrift dwells in us; and the fame fpirit, which kept and preferved him from all fin, is equally able to mortify fin in us, and to enable us to do the will of God in fuch manner as he will accept to our juftification.

IV. It is an univerfal pattern. As the doctrine of our Saviour, fo his example was of an univerfal nature' and defign, calculated for all times, and places, and, as much as was poffible, abftracted from the circumstances of a particular condition, that it might be the more equally fuited to all callings, and conditions, and capaci ties of men, and fitted for general direction and imitation in all forts of goodness and virtue, either in the general principle, or in the particular inftances of them. And for this reafon he would not engage himself in any particular calling, or way of life, that his pattern might more equally and indifferently regard all mankind.

He was really a great perfon, the greateft that ever was in birth and dignity, being the only Son of God, the maker and heir of all things: and yet he fubmitted to the lowest condition, to all the degrees of poverty and meanness of contempt and fufferings, to teach men of high degree to be humble and ferviceable to the good of others; and men of low degree to be contented and chearful in the meaneft condition, and the hardest cir cumstances that the providence of God fhall fee good to place them in.

He had the deepest and most comprehenfive know ledge; in him, as the Apoftle expreffeth it, were hid all the treafures of wisdom and knowledge: and yet he made no vain show and oftentation of it; he did not puzzle his hearers with abftrufe fpeculations and fublime myfteries, but in a way of plain and familiar inftruction, declared to his hearers thofe things which were moft ufe ful and neceffary for them to know. He confuted the doctors, and confounded the wifdom of the wife, those who were conceited of their own knowledge and skill in

divine things; but was always ready to condescend to the weakness and ignorance of the meaneft capacity; giving herein an example to the wife and learned, not to make a fhow of their knowledge, but to make the best use of it; not to lift up themselves above others, but to condefcend and stoop to them for their good.

He fometimes retired from converfation and company, that he might be alone and at leisure to attend upon God, and meditate on divine and heavenly things, without interruption and diftraction; but moft frequently he converfed with others, and mingled himself with all forts of perfons, that he might give all the advantage, and do all the good he could to all men. Nay, he did not decline the converfation of the worft of men, and it was really true which was objected to him, that he was a friend of publicans and finners, being fincerely defirous to do them the greatest kindness in the world, to reform their manners, and reclaim them to a better courfe; fo that he was a pattern both of the contemplative and active life, and fhews us how to mix these to the greatest advantage; and by his own example teacheth us, that we ferve God better than by doing good to men; and that he is as well pleased, when we lay out ourselves for the benefit of others fpiritual and temporal, as if we employed all our thoughts and meditations wholly upon himself and divine things; that a perpetual retirement from the world, and fhunning the converfation of men, is not the moft religious life, but living among men, and doing good to them.

cannot

More particularly, the life of our bleffed Saviour is a pattern to us,

1. Of the greatest and most substantial virtues. 2. Of the most rare and unufual.

3. Of the most useful and beneficial.

4. Of the moft hard and difficult: and,

5. Of fuch virtues as are moft needful; and for the practice of which there is the greatest and most frequent occafion in human life.

1. It is a pattern of the greatest and most fubftantial virtues.

Of