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
theirs as Gods That 's not Rebellion against Rulers and Superiours vvherein not the will so much of the Inferiour gives sin a Negative vote as the Conscience and Conscience rightly informed by the word of God Yoke-fellows Love ye one another souls Love one another to heaven Let not the flesh go away with all your time and strength and affections nor the elder serve the younger Live together as heirs of the grace of life that your prayers be not hindred 1 Pet. 3.7 3. Look upon her as a Mistris in her Family 3. A Governess She was an excellent Governess her government was oâ— a Scripture constitution It was made up of sweetness and gravity sweetness without levity or remisness gravity without bitterness and severity There was no severity in her discipline save what was in the Pattern she proposed to them her own Conversation Indeed she was severely good her government was made up of Intreaties rather then Commands or Reproâ—fâ— She knew not how to be angry unless it were against sin and even that she exprest rather in grief then in passion Her great Care was that her family might know God and Jesus Christ Joh. 17.3 whom to know his life eternal She was of a Joshuah-like resolution Jos 24.13 As for me and my house we will serve the Lord. She thought it not enough to go to heaven alone but laboured to carry as many as she could with her especially them of her own Family To that end she was very exact and constant in Family-duties Her exactness in family-duties sc Reading the Scripture Prayer Catechising as deeply sensible how gainfull God had made that Domestick duty to her own soul in the Family of her education I say being conscious what good she had got by being diligently instructed in the principles of Religion she was conscientious in the discharge of that duty towards those whom God had committed to her trust not only in a way of exercising their memories in a bare verbal repetition of words but according to her faculty which verily was not ordinary in her sex in a way of helping them to understand the sence and meaning and by impressing upon conscience what was imprinted in their memeries In the absence of her dear Husband she constantly performed the duty of prayer in her own person save only when she could call in the assistance of her own pious Pastour or other faithful Ministers whom the present Providence had cast into her neighbourhood all which her Christian obliging converse had so marvellously endeared that she had as many Chaplains as if she had bin one of the greatest Ladies in the Land A true Gospel-Sabbatarian she was and thought it no Judaism to keep the Christian Sabbath as an holy Rest rather envying her body that it should have six dayes to her souls one then sacrilegiously filching out of that precious one any parcells of time for the uses and purposes of the flesh truth is she counted every moment of Sabbath-time too good for any time but Sabbath-work unless it were vvhere divine indulgence had made allowance for vvorks of Mercy and Necessity In reference to both vvhich notvvithstanding she vvell knevv how to spiritualize even them also into Sabbath-exercises Further then these two she durst not exact any of her servants labour As knovving 1. That the Sabbath vvas the servants priviledge as vvell as her ovvn Thou and thy servant c. 2. That her Servants souls were as precious to God as her own and cost Jesus Christ as much blood to redeem Therefore she vvas careful that every one in her Family should not only attend the publick Ordinances but that they should improve the whole overplus of Sabbath time in the holy exercises of Religion And as God had given her an excellent faculty in taking Sermons so she made it her vvork constantly to repeat both the former and latter Sermon to her Family vvhich she did vvith such a judicious accurateness that the hearer could hardly miss in the repetition vvhat he had heard from the Pulpit at least not any head or material enlargment of the Sermon The other void spaces of the day she commended to her Family as Gods and their own time for divine uses calling upon them to redeem it accordingly You that are Governours of Families imitate this blessed Saint herein also The Sabbath is exceedingly fallen amongst us not in our Publike Assemblies streets only but even vvithin our private vvalls The spirit of Ignatius dyed with him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let every one that loves the Lord sanctify the Lords-day Ignat. ep ad Magn. Hovv art thou fallen Thou Morning-Starr Thou Queen of days thou golden spot of the week Thou Map of Heaven Thou birth-day of immortality Hovv art thou fallen You that love the Lord Jesus and his Resurrection I charge you by all that right and interest you claim in either help to lift up the head of this glorious day of Jehovah for the love of God do not put avvay the Pillovv from under the head of this dying day as you vvould not be found guilty of the blood of Christ and of his Resurrection Christians stirr up your selves for the recovery of the life and honour of this Holy-day 4. As a Friend and Neighbour 4. As a Friend She vvas of a most sweet and obliging converse As many loved her as knew her as ambitious she vvas to do good offices to the poorest as others are to those that can requite them But that vvhich vvas eminent in her converse vvas her profitable improvement of it she was not one of those professors that with the holy could shew her self holy and with the prophane could shew her self prophane that could talk religiously in one company and vainely and frothily with others She was not one of them that could shape themselves into any form and garb of the present Company but she was gracious and uniform in every Company which providence cast her upon spending the time in Christian and profitable Communication alwayes either doing good or receiving good as opportunity served But if the Company were such as admitted neither her silence should argue her dissent and her withdrawment as far as might consist with civility should at once ease â—hem and her self of a burden Christians Oh that every one would herein become her followers Oh what a deal of pretious time is wasted in idle alk and foolish jestings which are not convenient how many precious hours are pent in vain and unprofitable complehents Yea in carnal mirth foolish talkâ—g and jesting which might be improved to spiritual soul-edifying conferences as if Christians had forgotten there were such a word in the Bible Let your speech be alwayes with grâ—ce seasoned with salt Col. 4.6 or that other Redeem the time for the dayes are evil Eph. 5.1 15 16. The Lord make you wise to salvation I might easily enlarge in these her Relative excellencies but I must
such a Child never to have been Husband to such a Wife never to have been adopted to such a Mother or Servant to such a Mistris never to have enjoyed fellowship with such a friend then when all is done to have her come in as a witness against us in the great day of Judgement Oh to have bin possest of such a mercy so many years as it were for no other end then to render our sin the greater and our condemnation the more grievious that the very remembrance of her should add to our torment this will be intollerable Oh that the serious consideration of our danger might awaken us to a fruitful contention of being like her A Second Motive 2. Motive It will prevent a double sin 1 Envy This will prevent a double sin The first is that whereby we are very apt to envy the praises of them which are better then our selves The Scripture observes such a baseness in our degenerate natures Jam. 4.5 the spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy It is usual in Scripture to call the bent and strong inclination of the soul either to good or evil Spirit so it calls a worldly frame of heart the spirit of the world 1 Cor. 2.12 Hos 4.12 Isa 19.14 An whorish disposition the spirit of whoredome frowardness of heart a perverse spirit c. So here a malignant disposition towards others a spirit lusting to envy carrying men strongly to fret and envy at the graces or praises of our brethren We have it as soon as we come into the world and it is an hard matter to kill it wholly before we die our selves it is almost an epidemical disease We cannot bear the praises of them that out-shine us And there is pride and self-love at the bottom of it whereby we are ready to think that those Eulogies and Commendations which are ascribed to others are due rather to our selves the Laurel of praises would better become our Temples Hence Saint James having mentioned envy speaks in the verse immediately following of pride as the root of that bitter fruit God resists the proud c. Hence the humble mans question is Who am I The proud mans question is Who am I not Am not I as good as such a one Wherein am I inferiour to such and such Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses Num. 12.2 hath he not spoken also by us Thus Aaron and Mirian envyed Moses Jam. 4.5 Ad solamen calamitatis suae non desinit perditus perdere Men. Fel. Oct. It is a sin as the Text that dwelleth in the Saints but it reigns in the wicked the Devils proper sin He is an envious spirit envying God his glory and the Saints their felicity and honour the Devil first envyed us the favour of God and ever since we have envyed one another Well it is our disease Yea but an holy imitation of our betters will help us to mortifie and cure it by an humble and conscientious reflection upon our selves Thus I am ready to envy them which excel in grace but am I as careful to imitate them their graces and excellencies will carry them to heaven but my envy may sink me to Hell from whence it came while I should imitate the Saints in their graces behold I imitate the Devil in envying those graces Ah what will become of such a wretch as I am A second sin 2 Sin Flattery which Imitation of those that excel us will happily prevent is that whereby we are prone to rest in a sleight commendation of their persons If we give them a few good words If we can but say Oh such a Minister was an excellent Preacher he had a rare gift in prayer a man of admirable parts and of singular piety c. Such a man was a man of great worth and incomparable abilities Such a woman was a woman of a meek spirit one that had much communion with God an holy woman of large bowels and compassions to the afflicted Church and people of God c. I say if we can but give them a good Character though we never contend after an holy imitation of their virtues we think we have done enough and there 's an end But my Beloved know we thus much First that Commendation without Imitation is but an unprofitable Complement Jam. 2.16 just such another thing as in the matter of Charity is as Saint James his Be ye warmed be ye filled and give them neither fire nor food c. or like an handful of flowers strewed upon the Graves of the dead which makes the Corps smell never the sweeter Secondly Yea Commendation without Imâ—tation is but our Condemnation we condemn our selves of gross hypocrisie while we commend them for if we believe that precious which we commend why do we not imitate them If we do not why do we commend them Thou Hypocrite why doth thy tongue belie thy heart or thy life contradict thy tongue Out of thine own mouth thou shalt be condemned For the curing therefore of this vanity apply we our selves to a sincere and industrious following of their gracious examples If we did really believe that conformity to them were our duty and that such choice Patterns whether of the departed or of the surviving Saints were a talent for which we must be responsable to our Lord as well as for the Word and Sacraments and other helps to salvation that our non-improvement of our Patterns as well as of our Precepts will render us unprofitable servants it would frighten us out of our torpor and sluggishness and make us tremble to satisfie our selves with a frigid and fruitless commendation of their shining excellencies A Third Motive By a faithful imitation of her vertues 3. Motive Imitation makes the absent person present we may still enjoy our lost Relation Imitation like Faith brings the object and the faculty together The Limner draws not his Picture without the Person or the Effigies before him Imitation makes absent persons to dwell together by our imitation of our deceased Relation we may preserve our converse with her and she being dead will yet speak with us that in a more excellent manner then while she was yet in the body We may have Communion with her pure spiritual unmixt self her self abstracted from what ever was carnal or terene in her a communion of an higher more Angelical nature advantage then that which the best of Saints are capable of in this lower region what Prelation the Apostle ascribeth to the Communion which the Apostles and other Saints had with Christ after his Ascention above that which they attained while he was with them on earth namely that whereas the converse they had with him in the dayes of his flesh was but after the flesh in a Civil Natural Humane way such as poor weak ignorant indigent servants have with a rich powerful wise bountiful Lord they converst not with him in his