33 o Book IV. JLoolttng unto 'jjcfug. chap. 5· ~ea.7. _ __:_:__-:i-n_y_o-ur--:-:li-ve_s_a_n-:d-c-o-nv-e~r-,.fa-tl:-. o-n-s_y_o_u-;ll;-1o-u--;1:-;d_e_x_p-re-;fi;-s-t!;--Jo-;£;-e-g-r-ac_e_s-a-nd. virtue; ;! 1 ic h~e;;, fo eminent and exemplary in Jefus Chri~; that you th?uld not only have them, but that you th011ld hold them forth; J;"»''(.v, tbe ~ord l1gnifies properly to preach; fo dearly ll10uld we exprefs thevmuesof Chnfl, as If our lives were fo many Sermons of the life of Chrifl. In refpe:9: of all his ads, pradifes, duties of moral obedierce · we find in the Jife of Chrifl many particular carriages, and ads of obedience to his hea~enly Father ; whereof fomewere moral, and fome ceremomal : now all thefe are not for our imitation but only fuch moral ads, as concerning which, we have both hispmern and precept.CO!ne · let us mark this one Rule, aad we need no more; Whatfoever he commanded, andwhat~ (oever he did, of precifc Mor~lity, we arc therein bound to follow h1s fteps. I join tooecher his Commands and Deeds, .becaufe inthofe things which he did, bur commandsno~, we need not to conform; but m chofe thmgs whiCh he both did and commanded, we are bound ro follow him ; in fucha cafe his Laws and PraClice differ, bur as aMap and guide aLaw, a Judge, aRule, and Precedent. ' In refpeCl: of all rhefe particulars, and efpecially in 'Ypec't of Chrifr's moral obedi– ence, the whole life of Chri_ft was a Difcipline, a living,_ ll1ining: and exemplary pre– cept unro men; and hence It IS that we find fuch names gtven ro bun in Scripture as fig– nilies not only prehemin_:'nce, but exemplarinefs; thus he was called" Pri~ce, Da~.9,25• a Leader, Ifa. 55· 4· a uovernour, Mar. 2. 6. aCaptam, 2. 10. a chzef Snepherd, 1 Pet. S-4· af.remnner or cond~t&imoglory, Heb. 2. 20. alight to the_Jews, Exod. 13. 2r. a light to the Gewtiles, Luke 2. 3. t1 light to every manthat entreth into the world, John 1. 9 • All which rides, as they declared his dignity, fo hisexemplarinefs, rhat he was the Au– ~h~r and pattern ?f h?li?efs to his people. And as for all orher Saints, though they are Imitable, yet wuh limitation unto fnm, only fo far as they exprefs lus life in their con- • Cor. u. •· verfarion : Beye followers of me, even a< I am of Chrift. For thefecond; why we mufl:conform? upon what Motives? I anfwer, r. Be– caufe Chrifl harh done and fulfered very much to that end and purpofe. Sometimes I have wondred why Chrift would do fo much, and fulfer fo much as the Evangeliils in rheir hiftories relate. This I believe, that Jefu• was perfect God, and perfect man. and thateveryaCl:ionof his life, and but one hour of his Paffion and dearhmioht hav; been farisfactory, and enough for the expiation and reconcilement of ten ~houfand worlds; but now I am anfwered, that all rhofe inftances of holinefs, and all thofe kinds of virrues, and all thofe degrees of paffion, and all that elfulion of his bloud, was partly on this account, r):Jat he might become an example to us, that he might thine t() all the ages and generations of the world, and fo be a guiding fiar, and a pillar of lire to rhem in their journey towards heaven : 0 my foul_., how doth this call on thee w conform ro Chrift? What? that a fmaller expence llwuld be enough to rhy juftilica– tion, and yet that the whole Magazine llwuld not procure thy fanctificarion ? t!Jat at a Jelfer furn of obedience God might have pardoned thy fin, and yet at agreareF fum rhoa wilt not fo much as imitate his holinefs? In a dark night, if an Igni; Fatutu go be– fore rhee thou art fo amuzed with char little flame, rhat thou art apc ro follow it, and lofe rhy 'relf; and wilt thou not follow the glories of rhe Sun of Righceoufnes, who by fo many inftances calls upon thee, and who will gUJde thee_ Hllo fafery , and fe– cure thee againfl all imaginable dangers? God forb1d! If It had nor been for thy imitation, I cannot think that Chrill: would have_ lived on earrh fo. many years , to have done fo many gracious and memorwus works. 0 thmk of Rom. s.,9: Co!.r.t8. this! · · 2 • Becaufe Chrifl: is the bell: and higheft Exemplar of holmefs that ever the world ever had : hence we mull: Aecds conform to ~brill: (as the Apoftfe argues) becaufe he i; the firft born am•ng many Brethren; the lirft_m_every kmd Is propounded a~ a pattern of the refl: · nowChrifl isrhe firfl-born. Chnfl1srheheadof all the predeftmare, asrhe firfl-bor~ was wont ro be the head in all Familie;. The old fay~ng is, Regfs a_d exemplar, &c. A very dtformiry was fometimes counted an honour, If It were m 1m1tauon. of the Prince. It is ftoried of Nero, that havmg a wry neck, there was fuch an amb1t1on in men to follow the Court, char it became the fafltion and Gallantry of rhofe rir:te;, to hold their necks awry; and 01all not Chrift, the King of Saints, be much more Imi– tated by his Saints? Chrift is the head of the body~thc begmnmg,thc firft,b•mfromthe dead, in all things hchath the preheminence;and the r!Jle ts general,rlur, that whiCh wfirjJ andb'/:,
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