are not to rob spoil and take away the substance and estates of wicked men meerly quà wicked because the Israelites robbed the Aegyptians unless we had immediate Authority and command for it from him who is the absolute and Supream Lord of the Creature Psa 75.7 and may dispose of the whole Creation to whomsoever he please as they had We may not offer up our Sons and Daughters in sacrifice to God because God tempted Abraham to offer up his Isaac for tryal of his obedience and Self-denyal Nor yet again may any man or woman take a Wife or Husband of Whoredome as the Prophet did Hos 1.2 whether in vision only or in reality we enquire not here uness we had the same special dispensation and allowance from the Supream Law-giver Thus Negatively We are not to follow the Saints 2. Affirmatively Therefore we are to imitate the Saints in their graces only and in their holy Conversations in the world and in whatever they did in a way of obedience and conformity to the revealed will of God the standing rule of the word A more distinct and particular account whereof I shall give before I finish this discourse 3. 3 Qu. How we must imitate the Saints Querie How must we imitate the Saints of God Answer Here again our Negative Rule meets us scil We are not to follow the Saints Universally not all over And the reason is because all that is in the Saints is not Sanctity All that is in the Godly is not Godliness Saints have their infirmities and in them they are not to be imitated The best of men are but men at the best Affirmatively Therefore our imitation of the Saints it must be but With limitation 1. A limited Imitation And that Limitation one of the best of men that were but men the great Apostle hath given us in his own Person 1 Cor. 11.1 Be ye followers of me How as I am of Christ If we find holy Paul not following Christ he doth not require us to follow him It was Jehosophat's honour that he made choice of the first wayes of David to walk in Indeed we have these intermediate Copies written for our learning God therein condescending to our infirmity lest our tender eies should be too much dazled in continual beholding the transcendent brightnesse of the Supream light 1 Joh. 1.5 But God and Christ and the Spirit are the Supream Original Standard of our Conformity The Father Mat. 5.48 Be you perfect as your Father which is in heaven is perfect Jesus Christ 1 Pet. 1.15 As he which hath called you is holy so be ye holy in all manner of Conversation The Holy Ghost Rom. 8.7.14 They that are after the Spirit do mind the things of the Spirit And again As many as are led by the Spirit are the Sons of God Next to these the Saints and Angels in Heaven are our lights of a second magnitude Petit. 3d. Thy will be done on Earth as it is done in Heaven These are our exact and perfect Exemplars in which there is no defect or imperfection But all our Earthly Patterns be they never so excellent have their errours and deficiencies which may mislead us if we follow them without due limitation And therefore all these inferiâ—ur Patterns are to be reduced to the Original Standard and Exemplar and wherein they are found either erroneous or defective we are to correct and perfect them by the Original we must by faith eye the Pattern in the Mount we may imitate our terrestrial Copies but we must not terminate in them The Saints are good Leaders but not infallible useful Copies but such as have need to be corrected by the Original Our imitation of them therefore must be bounded by Scripture-limitation 2. Uniform Nemo agit unum nisi sapiens caeterimultiformes sunt Sen. Ep. Phil. 4.8 2. Our Imitation of the Saints must be exact and uniform though we are not to imitate the Saints in all their actions yet we are to imitate them in all their Graces and gracious conversation Whatsoever things are true whatsâ—ever things are just Whatsoever things are pure whatsoever things are lovely whatsoever things are of good report if there be any virtue if there be any praise in the Saints and Servants of God these things we must think of and in these things we must labour to be like unto them We must take heed of Partiality in our following the Saints of preferring one before another one Saint before another or one Grace in the Saints before another unless it be such Saints and such Graces as God himself hath preferred by putting upon them more abundant honour some special remark of excellency we must take heed of picking and chusing taking what vve please and rejecting what we list according to our own private fancies and interest We must follow them in every path and in every step wherein they have fâ—llowed the Captain of their salvation Whether in their doing-work or in their suffering-work St. Paul's charge to Timothy will not in this case be improper for us I charge thee before God and the Lord Jesus Christ 1 Tim. 5.21 and the elect Angels that thou observe these things without preferring one before another doing nothing by Pa tiality To this end 3. Vigorous 3. Our Imitation of the Saints must be a vigorous and industrious Imitation Truly to follow the Saints fully and exactly is not a business of an easie and ordinary dispatch it will require a vigorous and industrious intention and contention of our spirits as a work that will take up all the faculties of our souls and parts of our bodies Our Judgments to discern according to the word what is to be chosen and what to be eschewed in the Patterns we propound to our selves Our Undeâ—standings to discover the beauty and amiableness of the Graces and Holiness that is in the Saints Our Memories to keep alwaies before our eyes these excellent Presidents lest at any time we let them slip we shall stand in need of such Looking-glasses continually to see our faces in we shall want our Guides at every turning to tell us the way when we are turning to the right hand or to the left Our Wills and Affection to love our Guides to take delight and complâ—cency in beholding these beautifull pieces if we see no beauty in the Saints why we should desire them we shall never be zealous imitators of their Persons Our Consciences we stand in need of the impartial Testimony of an awakened conscience to accuse or excuse us according to our fidelity or neglect in this duty of so great concernment Moreover it will cost us much prayer meditaâ—ion often reflection upon our selves watchfull observation self-denial mortification c. Yea much labour and pains even of the outward man much fasting striving wrestling and watchfulness to carry on this great important duty of imitating the Saints Surely a slothful lazy
scandal and disgust of the world Oh the blindness and folly of the wisdom of the flesh That wherein the Saints are most like God therein only the unregenerate world careth lest to be like unto them That which God accounteth his Glory for that is his Name Glorious in holiness and therefore fearful in praises the reprobate world account their abasement Oh ye Sons of men how long will ye turn Gods glory into shame how long will ye love vanity and seek after leasing Surely carnal men are Gods Antipodes they stand upon their heads and shake their heeles against Heaven They glory in their shame and are ashamed of their glory they vilifie what they should admire and admire what they should vilifie they imitate whom and what they should abhor and abhor what they should imitate Ah how have the Sons of men lost not their conscience only but their judgement How have they divested themselves not of Religion only but of Reason and put off the Man as well as the Saint This is a lamentation and shall be for a lamentation I come now to a more particular Application of this Doctrine to our selves of this family together with other Relations and Friends more especially concerned in our sorrows Suffer I beseech you a word of Exhortation Vse Exhor My dearly Beloved God hath made a fore breach upon us He hath smitten us and made us sick in smiting us The Crown is fallen from our Head The Ornament of our Family is taken away A Wife a Moth r a Friend a Guide the delight of our eyes is gone the blessing of all her Relations at home and Acquaintance abroad Wo unto us for we have sinned And now dear Friends what shall we do Shall we give up our selves to sorrow shall we lie down and roar as men and woemen that have no hope This were to wrong our selves Or shall we make it our work to forget Her to cast her out of our thoughts and to bury her memory with her Ashes This were to wrong Her who has deserved better at our hands Shall we then spend our thoughts and enquires where and how we may recruit our selves with new Relations and to make up our Lots with other Comforts or let out our hearts more greedily to them we have yet remaining This were infinitely to wrong God and to pervert the designes and purposes of his grace in this severe dispensation Or shall we lastly satisfie our selves with a few cold fruitless Commendations of the things which were excellent and praise-worthy in Her This were but to mock our selves and Her and God also Behold therefore I will yet shevv you a more excellent way and it is that in my Text Be ye followers of her study to imitate so excellent a Pattern as she hath left us for me thinks I hear her crying to us out of her grave or rather from Heaven where her triumphant soul is placed amongst the spirits of just men made perfect as sometimes Her Lord and ours bespake his Disciples Joh. 13.15 I have given you an example that you should do as I have done Now therefore that I may not beat the aire nor spend time unprofitably only in Generals I shall propose Her to your view in a twofold Capacity But with this preface That here it must not be expected from me that I should either proclaim her extraction which was generous or describe the loveliness of her person though I maysay with modesty Her soul did benè habitare 't was lodged in a beautiful habitation her body which was an elegant piece of natures artifice did give as well as receive a grace to what ever she did or spake 1. In her Relational Capacity 2. In her Personal Capacity Her Relational Capacity In both which you will find her worthy of your most exact and vigorous imitation Take her 1. In her Relational Capacity 1. As a Child and there look upon her first as a Child and a most du ifull and obedient Child she was not only where the Relation was natural but even where it was but Legal and Adoptitious She never disobeyed or neglected the Commands of her Parents in the least vvhile she was under the charge of their education She was of a most teachable and tractable spirit there was nothing of a perverse or peevish disposition in her her Will vvas bound up in the Will of her Parents and Governours she had no will of her own She was a most exact observer of the fifth Commandment in honoring her Father and Mother in Word Gesture and Actions there was never heard an unbecoming coming vvord fall from her lips towards them nor undecent carriage observed nor any thing that might be interpreted as the least defect of that honour which was due unto them by the Law of God and Nature But her whole deportment was fraught with as much sweet reverential pleasing subjection to thâ—m as their hearts could desire You that are Children or under the just obligation of Children see you be followers of Her in this Child-like vertue Keep this excellent Pattern of filial obedience alwayes before your eyes as a singular exemplification of the fifth Commandment expounded by the Apostle Eph. 6.1.2 3. Children obey your Parents in the Lord for this is right Or if this Instance of obedience seems too inferiour take that Instance of an higher authority That of the Son of God Incarnate of whom it is said He went down with his Parents Luk. 2.51 and came to Nazareth and was subject to them 2. As a Wife 2. Take her in the Conjugal Relation and there you may behold Her a most Chast Loyal Loving Tender and according to her audibly avowed engagement at her Marriage in the publick Assembly An obedient Wife as two loving Husbands have successively experienced and testified She studied to please and not to be pleased Prov. 5.19 sweet as the loving Hinde and as the pleasant Ree She never dissâ—nted from them but as the word did vvarrant her dissent and then if possibly such a then there vvas proposing rather then opposing perswading by Scripture-rule rather then contradicting by self-vvill Above all she vvas tenderly affected to and covetuously desirous of the Spiritual good of her Conjugal Relations A true help she vvas a Soul-Help unto them Gen. 2.18 answering fully to the Law of her Creation themselves have successively acknowledged they have had cause to bless God for her with the excellent Woman in the Proverbs ch 31.12 She did them good and not evill all her daies You that are Wives be ye followers of such a Pattern she was subject to her own Husband as the Church is subject to Christ As she did imitate the Church so do ye imitate her Wives be you obedient in all things to your own Husbands in all things save wherein in your obedience to them may possibly be disobedience to God and therein not opposing your wills so much to
Christ Her Temperance and Sobriety In Temperance and Sobriety she exceeded many not only of the ordinary rate of vvomen but even of such as not without cause have the repute of Religion In Apparel In her Habit she affected nothing of the pride and curiosity of the present generation Accounting it more honour to beautifie her Attire then to owe any beauty to it Nor was she in love with any fashion but that which the examples of the most pious and modest of her rank commended to her She was of great temperance in her diet Temperance she did as much disgust whatever might savor of delicacy and indulgence to the flesh as the delicate do what is mean and ordinary eating and drinking at such a rate as one whom not Nature only had dieted but Grace Provident she was without avarice frugal Providence not that she might get the more goods but that she might do the more good accounting that het best riches not which she laid up for her self but that which she laid out for God Her Charity was very extensive Charity not knowing any other limits but want of opportunity nor any other partiality but the Houshold of Faith Gal. 6.10 Her Mercy refused not the lowest office Mercy to the lowest object her enquiry being not what the person was but what vvas the need She thought it no robbery to impoverish her self that she might make others rich Heroick spirit She had a tender and yet an Heroick Spirit she feared nothing but sin and could bear any thing but Gods dishonour and the reproach of Religion A Coward she was when Christ possibly might suffer by her but couragious when she was called to suffer any thing for Christ Her whole deportment was made up of Sweetness and Gravity Gravity which put such a Grace upon her that she Commenced a Matron in Religion before her time as if nature had over reckoned it self one age of her life at least and took the degree of old age before she was forty Her sincerity Lastly Her sincerity commended her to God and Man She vvas fully as much as she appeared to be to God without hipocrisie to Man without fraud a true Nathaniel in whose spirit there was no guile These Vertues as they were eminent in her so they deserve a larger share in her just Character but it is time to give you some account of her Death Her Death of which though much might be spoken worthy observation yet take the Epitome of it in a few words Three things she did upon her Death-Bed The first thing she did was to give a clear and full account of the work of Grace wrought in her soul both in the Methods and Progress of it The foundation whereof she acknowledged was laid in the Catechistical principles of her Parental education the rudiments of Religion were by their care and her diligence so distinctly imprinted in her understanding that they became a good foundation upon which the superstructure of more practical and spiritual truths of the Gospel were more prosperously and fruitfully raised After that by Precept and Pattern she had learned the necessity of secret duties instruction and experience soon taught her the insignificancy of them without regard to the manner as vvell as to the matter From thenceforth she began seriously to study a Duty-frame of spirit and to eye the Pattern in the Mount John 4.24 After this notwithstanding in the progress of the Ministry under which she lived during the time of her single state she found her self at a loss the Holy Ghost convincing her of a present absolute and indispensable need of Jesus Christ in point of Righteousness She well perceived her own Righteousness too short a garment to cover her nakedness from the all-piercing eye of Divine Justice From thenceforth with the Apostle she accounted all things even the best of her own Righteousness but loss and dung that she might win Christ and be found in him not having her own Righteousness which is of the Law but that which is through the Faith of Christ the Righteousness which is of God by Faith According to the Original Method asserted by our Lord Joh. 16.9 10 11. But the Conviction stayed not long there but soon was improved by the same spirit into a Conviction and discovery of the beauty and excellencies that is in Jesus Christ A Christ she must have as a fountain of Holiness as well as of Happiness for a Soveraign as well as for a Saviour for his Person as well as for his Portion A Christ for Himself as well as for Her self she was sick of Love But yet further Interest would not serve her turn without evidence Scripture evidence This she now made her business she was very diligent to bring her Hopes and Evidences to the Scripture and to compare them and the word together by the light whereof as she discovered any fault or defect in them or cause to be jealous of them She repaired to the judicious faithful Ministers of the Gospel for the help of their judgement especially that near and tender Relation whom she trusted above any with her spiritual concerns whom she acknowledged God had made of singular use and advantage to her in the doubts and difficulties of this nature But above all she constantly made her address to Him whose Name and Office is The searcher of Hearts and tryer of the Reins with holy Davids Petition Search me O God and know my Heart try me Psa 139.23 24. and know my Thoughts And see if there be any way of wickedness in me and lead me in the way everlasting From evidence at length she put in for assurance in the serious and vigorous pursuit whereof death met her as well in the midst of her work as of her dayes unexpectedly indeed but blessed be God not unpreparedly and though her sickness was not fraught with extraordinary joyes and ravishments Yet she was sustained with a sweet peace and serenity of Spirit which God did not permit Satan to interrupt all her sickness long and this was not the fruit of a blind unsensible security as in most that cry up a Lamb-like death for she was able to give answer to any one that asked her reason of the hope that was in her with meekness and judgement 1 Pet. 3.15 It was the account she her self gave why neither in her sickness nor health she had experienc't any great raptures or extraordinary joyes of the Spirit of Adoption as some do for said she neither was I brought in with any extraordinary terrors or tremblings of the spirit of bondage Nevertheless it pleased the Lord not to leave Himself nor his poor Handmaid without witness not only in giving her a sweet serenity of spirit insomuch that she suffered no Ecclipse of that Sun of Righteousness in all the time of her confinement to her Chamber who Himself upon the Cross suffered
an Ecclipse of the light of his Fathers Countenance at what time He cried out to the astonishment of Heaven and Earth My God my God why hast thou forsaken me But much more in vouchsafing her some immediate irradiations of his face and favour on the evening before she died at what time a gracious intimate friend sitting at a little distance from her Bed-side forbearing to speak to her knowing her to be very much spent and supposing her to be in a slumber at length she opened her eyes as if it had bin out of a sleep and seeing her friend whom she loved sitting by she bespake her thus Oh my dear friend are you there I have had a full answer of all my prayers God hath not denyed me any of the requests of my soul but hath fully satisfied my desires Hathe he so said her friend Then I hope he hath heard you in that you feared meaning the fear of death To your God and my God to your Father my Father These Words she often used which formerly had held her in some bondage Heb. 2.14 She replyed He hath He hath I know whom I have believed and I am now going to him and I shall see him shortly with these very eyes You that have prayed to God for me I desire you would joyn with me in giving him praise for this gratious answer of peace vouchsafed me poor me She added moreover she did not desire prayer for the Continuance of life but that she might he resigned up to God in prayer Eph. 1.6 and might be accepted in the beloved And resigned up she was in a solemn manner first by several godly Ministers then present and last of all by that hand which by the power of the Holy Ghost had Midwived her into Christ in her Regeneration during all which time her spirit accompanied that solemn transaction with strong and vigorous affections to the extream expence of her natural spirits and when all was finished being asked whether she had gone along with the Petition which had bin lifted up to God for her She answered Yes I bless God I have they were very sweet and precious The Lord return your kindness and love into your bosom a thousand fold Whereupon leaving her to try what rest she could take being very much wasted in her spirits we had not bin long in our Beds ere we were call'd out in hast to take our last leave of her but her precious soul impatient of longer distance from her Beloved did upon her Lords day in the morning as early as the light might serve to denominate it day take its flight to the mountains of spices there to celebrate an eternal Sabbath in the bosom and embraces of her Heavenly-Bridegroom A Second thing she did upon her Dying-Bed was before the Lord Jesus Christ his Elect Angels and those Christians which were about her to make a full and clear Profession of her Faith Wherein though she took the Creed commonly called Apostolical for her Text Yet she did not content her self to do it in that steril verbal way of a literal repetion as the mode of most ignorant people is but upon evey Article and Clause as she went enlarged her self in so spiritual and savory a Paraphrase of her own as did marvelloufly affect the hearers in so much that they afterward accused themselves of robbery against their own souls that they had not taken the paines to make that legible to their eyes which she had made audible to their eares Her third and last dying work was to give Counsels and Instructions to her surviving Relations that were about her which were so full serious and suitable that she seemed as indeed she vvas to be acted above her self her spiritual and Heavenly self acting the weak Organ of her body as long as there was any passive capacity left in it In a word she hath left as many Mourners behind her as knew her whether good or bad The worst in the place where she lived have given her this Testimony That if she be not gone to Heaven never any went thither which puts us to find out a new exposition of our Lords Text Woe unto you Luk. 6.20 when all men shall speak well of you c. As for you Beloved remember the Text and make it your work to be her followers to imitate her in her Graces and gracious Conversation vvhose Faith follow Heb. 13.7 It is time to conclude But though I have given you divers Motives in the Grounds and Reasons of the Doctrine yet for your special provocation and encouragement who are of her Family and dear Relations give me leave to add some special Incentives and Considerations to quicken you to a vigorous imitation of so excellent a Pattern It were a fruitless sorrow to go to the Sepulchre with Mary to weep there Joh. 11.13 It is a more profitable work to enquire how vve may recruit our loss how we may expound Sampsons Riddle to get meat out of the Eater and out of the strong sweetness hovv to make a gain of our great affliction and that is the thing I would gladly press upon you in a fevv Motives and Considerations First Without a serious imitation of her pious example that which was our mercy and priviledge in the enjoying of her will turn to our sin and the aggravation of our loss Heb. 11.7 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It is said of Noah He cocondemned the World c. How his Preaching and his Pattern being not followed should rise up in judgement against that Reprobaâ—e generation Mat. 12 21 22. and condemn them so likewise our Lord tells the impenitent Jews that the Men of Niniveh and the Queen of the South should rise up in judgement with that generation and condemn them i.e. The example of those poor Infidels not prevailing with them to move them to repentance and timely and serious diligence in the great concerments of salvation having Christ himself a greater then Jonas or Solomon to be their Preacher should in the day of judgement rise up as a witness and an aggravation of their obstinate impenitency Dear Sirs We have had the light of this most excellent pattern shining within our Walls for diverse years last past some of us more some fewer give me leave to tell you even weeping 〈…〉 it leave no bettering influence upon us 〈◊〉 will give in a judicial testimony against 〈◊〉 in the great day She hath bin a witness from God to us if by a practical improvement of what we have seen divine and excellent in her we receive not her testimony she will be a witness for God against us when our Lord shall come to call us to an account And O how terrible will that be What a dreadful addition to our misery when to the loss of such a blessing shall be added the Curse of our non-improvement of it Friends it had been better never to have been Mother to