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SERMON V.

Of being Imitators of Chrift.

I COR. iv. 16.

I beseech you be followers of me: or, I exhort you be imitators of me 2.

v.

T. PAUL, by an impartial reflection upon his s ER M. heart and life, being well affured, that he by the divine Spirit was enlightened with a certain knowledge of all neceffary truth, and endued with plentiful measures of divine grace; being conscious of a fincere zeal in himself to honour God, and benefit men; being satisfied, that with integrity he did fuit his converfation to the dictates of a good confcience, to the fure rule of God's law, and to the perfect example of his Lord; that his intentions were pure and right, his actions warrantable, and the tenor of his life confpicuoufly blameless, doth, upon all occafions (not out of any felf-conceitedness, arrogance, or oftentation, from which he, by frequent acknowledgment of his own defects and his miscarriages, and by afcribing all the good he had, or did, to the grace and mercy of God, doth fufficiently clear himself

2 Παρακαλῶ ὑμᾶς μιμηταί με γίνεσθε.

but

I

17.

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SER M. but from an earneft defire to glorify God, and edify his disciples) describe, and set forth his own practice, propofing it as a rule, preffing it upon them as an argument, an encouragement, an obligation to the performance of feveral duties. So by it he directeth and urgeth the Ephefians to a charitable compliance, or complaifance; a fweet and inoffenfive demeanour 1 Cor. x. 32, toward other: Give no offence, faith he, neither to 33. iv. 16. the fews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: even as I pleafe all men in all things, not feeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be faved: be ye followers of me: fo he guides and provokes the Philippians to endeavours of proficiency in grace, Phil. iii. 16, and the study of Chriftian perfection: Nevertheless, faith he to them, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the fame rule, let us mind the fame thing brethren, be followers together of me, and mark fuch as walk fo, as ye have us for an enfample. By the like inftance and argument, he moveth the Theffalonians to a fober and orderly conversation, to industry in their calling, to felf-denial, and a generous difregard 2 Theff. iii. of private intereft: For yourselves, faith he, know how 7, 8, 9. ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves diforderly among you; neither did we eat any man's bread for nought; but wrought with labour and travail day and night, that we might not be chargeable to any of you; not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an example to you to follow us. The fame perfons he commendeth, as having by this means been induced to Theff. i. a patient conftancy in faith and good works: Ye know, faith he, what manner of men we were among you for your fake, and ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction. The practice of all virtue and goodness he alfo thus recommendeth under this rule and obligation: Thofe things, which ye have learned, and received, and heard, and feen in me, do; and the God of peace shall be with you. Thus in our text (referring it to the context) he urgeth the Chriftians, his difciples at Corinth, to

.5, 6.

Phil. iv. 9.

fidelity

V.

fidelity and diligence in the charges and affairs com- s E R M. mitted to them, to humility, patience, and charity; wherein he declareth himself to have fet before them an evident and exact pattern. Which practice of St. Paul doth chiefly teach us two things; that we be careful to give, and that we be ready to follow good example: the latter of which duties more directly and immediately agreeth to the intent of this place; and it therefore I fhall only now infift upon : the fubject and fcope of my difcourfe fhall be to shew, that it is our duty and concernment to regard the practices of good men, and to follow their example. To which purpose we may observe,

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I. That it is the manner of the Apoftles, upon all occafions, to inculcate this duty: we heard St. Paul: hear St. James: Take, faith he, my brethren, the pro- Jam. v. 10. phets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of fuffering affliction: Ye have heard of the pa- Jam. v. 11. tience of fob, and have feen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy and the Apoftle to the Hebrews: We defire, faith he, that Heb. vi. 11, every one of you do fhew the fame diligence to the full 11. affurance of hope unto the end; that ye be not flothful, but followers of them, who through faith and patience inherit the promises: and again, Wherefore feeing we Heb.xii 1. are alfo compaffed about with fo great a cloud of witneffes, let us lay afide every weight, and the fin which doth fo eafily befet us, and let us run with patience the race that is fet before us. And St. Peter; Ye wives, be 1 Pet. iii. in fubjection to your own hufbands; even as Sarah obeyed 1. 6. Abraham, calling him Lord. And wherever the eminent deeds of holy men are mentioned, it is done with an intimation at leaft, or tacit fuppofition, that we are obliged to follow their example.

II. We may confider that to this end (that we might have worthy patterns to imitate) the goodness of God hath raised up in all ages fuch excellent perfons, furnishing them with rare endowments, and with continual influences of his grace affifting them, to

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SER M. this purpofe, that they might not only inftruct us with wholefome doctrine, but lead us alfo by good example in the paths of righteousness. For certainly what St. Paul faith concerning the fins and punishments of bad men, is no lefs applicable to the virCor. x..tuous deeds and happy examples of good men: All thefe things happened unto them for exfamples; and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

III. They are written for our admonition: it was a fpecial defign of God's Providence in recording and recommending to our regard the divine hiftories. They were not framed as monuments of a fruitless memory and fame to them; they were not propofed to us as entertainments of our curiofity, as objects of wonder, as matters of idle difcourfe; that unconcernedly we should gaze upon them, or talk about them, as children look on fine gays : but they are fet before us, as copies to tranfcribe, as lights to guide us in our way to happiness". So that if we will not ungratefully fruftrate the intentions of Divine Providence for our good, we muft difpofe ourfelves to imitate thofe illuftrious patterns of virtue and piety.

IV. We may farther confider, that, in the nature of the thing itself, good example is of fingular advantage to us, as being apt to have a mighty virtue, efficacy, and influence upon our practice: which confideration fhould much engage us to regard it, applying it as an inftrument of making ourselves good, and confequently of becoming happy. Good example is, as I fay, of exceeding advantage to practice upon many accounts.

• Μεγίςη δὲ ὁδὸς πρὸς τὴν τὸ καθήκοντος εὕρεσιν καὶ ἡ μελέτη τῶν θείοπνεύσων γραφῶν· ἐν ταύταις γὰρ καὶ αἱ τῶν πράξεων υποθήκαι εὑρίσκονται, κα οἱ βίοι τῶν μακαρίων ἀνδρῶν ἀνάγραπται παραδεδομένοι οἷον εἰκόνες τινὲς ἔμε ψυχοι τῆς κατὰ θεὸν πολιτείας, τῷ μιμήμα]ι τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἔργων πρόκειλαι. Baf. ad Greg. Ep. 2.

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1. Examples do more compendioufly, cafily, and s E R M. pleasantly inform our minds, and direct our practice, than precepts, or any other way or inftrument of dif cipline. Precepts are delivered in an univerfal and abstracted manner, naked, and void of all circumstantial attire, without any intervention, affistance, or fuffrage of fenfe; and, confequently, can have no vehement operation upon the fancy, and foon do fly the memory; like flashes of lightning, too fubtle to make any great impreffion, or to leave any remarkable footsteps, upon what they encounter; they must be expreffed in nice terms, and digefted in exact method; they are various, and in many disjointed pieces confpire to make up an entire body of direction: they do also admit of divers cafes, and require many exceptions, or reftrictions, which to apprehend diftinctly, and retain long in memory, needs a tedious labour, and continual attention of mind, together with a piercing and steady judgment. But good example, with lefs trouble, more fpeed, and greater efficacy, causes us to comprehend the bufinefs, representing it like a picture exposed to sense, having the parts orderly difpofed and completely united, fuitably clothed and dreffed up in its circumftances; contained in a narrow compafs, and perceptible by one glance, fo eafily infinuating itself into the fancy, and durably refting therein in it you fee at once described the thing done, the quality of the actor, the manner of doing, the minute seasons, measures, and adjuncts of the action; with all which you might not perhaps by numerous rules be acquainted; and this is the moft facile, familiar, and delightful way of inftruction, which is, by experience, history, and obfervation of fenfible events. A fyftem of precepts, though exquifitely compacted, is, in comparison, but a skeleton, a dry, meagre, lifeless bulk, exhibiting nothing of perfon, place, time, manner, degree, wherein chiefly the fleth and blood,

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