These things he did, the text goes on to fay, for the joy that was fet before him: the joy of illuftrating at once the holiness and goodness of God, who appointed and accepted this method of our falvation; the joy of reforming and making happy, in themselves and one another, in time and to eternity, all thofe multitudes, who in every generation should embrace his offers; and laftly, the joy of being deservedly honoured, as the bleffed inftrument of thefe ineftimable benefits. Accordingly he hath the honour, as the apoftle proceeds to obferve, of fitting down at the right hand of the throne of God: being placed, in respect of that nature which he condescended to affume, and the fufferings of which are thus properly rewarded, in a state of fupreme felicity, at the head of the whole creation, angels and authorities being made fubject unto him*. And in this exalted station he shall remain, fuperintending the affairs of the universe, till he returns to our earth at the day of judgement. Then every eye fall fee him, and they alfo which pierced him, they which blafpheme him, and they which profeffing, yet obey not bis gofpel; who shall be punished with everlasting deftruction from the prefence of the Lord, when he shall come to be glorified in his faints, and to be admired in all them that believe. This then is he, to whom we are directed to look: to look off, for fo the word fignifies, from other objects, unsafe or unworthy, and contemplate him: nor only as the most excellent of men, but being raised far above every name that is named either in this world, or that which is to come§; nor only as thus eminent in himself, but as our greatest benefactor and trueft friend; our wife lawgiver and potlefs example; the facrifice by whofe blood we are washed from our fins; the head of the body, of which we are members; the judge, on whofe fentence our everlasting ftate depends: our prophet, our priest and our king; our Saviour, our Lord and our God¶¶ Surely of fuch a one it feems impoffible to think lowly: and almost unavoidable to think often and much. Yet were we to examine ourfelves, how frequently or how feldom we recollect his perfections, and our most interefting relations to him; whether we are ftrongly or flightly affected by them; whether we principally attend to his rules of life, or those which are fuggefted by inconfiderate custom, vicious inclination, or vain felf-opinion, falfely called reafon; whether, even if we mean to do well, we pray with humility for his grace, or truft our own imagined ftrength; and lastly, whether after doing all we can, we rely on his merits, as unprofitable fervants*, or hope for falvation by our own finful good deeds; what answer muft the confciences of many of us make? Such undoubtedly as will at least evidence the need of fixing our thoughts upon him much more fteadily, than we have done; of ftirring up in our hearts the warmest fentiments of reverence, gratitude and love towards him; (for who can be equally intitled to them, or what employment fo delightful or beneficial?) and of exerting them in every act, which he hath appointed, or his followers found ferviceable. External acts of themselves indeed are nothing: but when they proceed from a good principle within, and are chofen and used with difcretion, and keep up the vigour of the mind, and strengthen good habits inexpreffibly. The importance of them in civil affairs is every where acknowledged: and how can we fancy it to be lefs in religious? Therefore if indeed we honour our Redeemer, we must fhew that we honour his facraments, his ordinances, the weekly, the yearly days confecrated to him, the places of his worship: permit me to add, his minifters, only being careful to diftinguish, for the fake of our master and of mankind, the devout, the laborious, the difinterested, from the lovers of pleasure or gain, of power or applaufe, from the formal, the thoughtless, the luke warm. Nor will he, whofe refpect to the author and finisher of our faith is real, either feek or wish to fhelter himself from infidel scorn by leaving the motives of his conduct in religious matters doubtful: but openly, though decently, make it known to all men, of which fide he in truth is; and do at least as much for the caufe of God, as he could with propriety for any other, that he hath at heart recollecting that thus the pious will be animated, the oppofers ftaggered, the indolent awakened; and likewife, that them only who confefs him before men, will Jefus confefs before his Father which is in heavent. I 2 But But zeal for his miffion and doctrines will be of no avail, without imitation of his example and obedience to his laws. As on the one hand, the virtue which men profess without religion, the religion which they profess without christianity, the chriftianity which they profess without affection to Chrift, is effentially imperfect, and moftly nominal; they model it into what they please, and it waftes away to nothing: fo on the other, not only hypocritical, but partial, attachment to him, fondness for him as the obtainer of pardon and future happiness, and flight of him as the director of life; hoping to be faved by faith without works, or waiting for his grace to amend us without taking pains to amend ourselves; these things put his gospel and him to open fbame". We must look unto Jefus, as our exemplar and legislator: elfe we shall look to him in vain as our Saviour. Some of his actions indeed were appropriated to his office; and fome of his precepts, to that of his apoftles. But whatever was temporary or fingular in either, is eafily discerned, and the reft binds us all. Therefore we must learn of him to be meek and lowly: for fo fball we find reft for our fouls‡. We must condefcend, when oocafion requires, to the meanest inftances of mutual fervice for our Mafter and Lord washed his difciples feet, that they should do as he had done to them. We must take the most injurious provocations patiently for he, when he was reviled, reviled not again, when he suffered, be threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteous. We must forgive one another, as God for Chrifl's Jake is ready to forgive us. We must speak the truth every man with his neighbour¶, for there was no guile found in bis mouth. We must be harmless and undefiled, feparate from Jinners, in our temper and practice, even when obliged to be moft in their company; for fo was be, converfing with them, as a phyfician with the fick. In a word, the fame mind must be in us, which was in Chrift Jefus‡‡ our Lord. And we must not only avoid grofs tranfgreffions and omiffions; but purify ourselves as he is pure§§, and perfect holiness in the fear of God. Ambition, worldlinefs, delicacy, volup. tuoufnefs, diffipation, eagerness for amufements and trifles, are utterly beneath us, and unfuitable to our profeffion. A christian is a character of dignity: and though he submits with a graceful willingness to whatever his condition here. demands; yet he fets his affection only on the things above†; and from the view of his Redeemer placed there at the right hand of God, draws his directions for his conduct below: reafoning with St. Paul, the love of Chrift conftraineth us, becaufe we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead; and he died for all, that they which live, should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rofe again. Such as are duly moved by this confideration will faithfully perform, not only the general duties of life, but the particular ones of their rank and circumftances, Perfons in authority will reflect, that he who is Lord of Lords§, and the prince of the kings of the earth, hath deputed them for a work, fimilar to his own final one, the punishment of evildoers, and the praife of them that do well; and confequently will inform themselves concerning both. He needed not, when upon earth, that any should teftify of man'; for he knew what was in man**. But fagacious inquiry and ftrict obfervation are neceffary for their executing that noble plan, which David hath laid down for them in the 101ft Pfalm. Happy the nation, where it is purfued with gentleness and candor, yet with fpirit and efficacy, that the ill-inclined may bear and fear and do no more prefumptuouslytt. Again: the minifters of the gospel, if they look unto and love the Lord Jefus in fincerity‡‡, will imitate his affiduity in giv. ing inftruction, his compaffion to penitents, his plain denunciations against obftinate finners, his contempt of unjust reproach, yet his caution to guard against needleis offence; will accommodate their difcourfes as he did, to the wants, the difpofitions, the capacities of their hearers; condefcending in this and all things to men of low eftate§§ will remember that his kingdom is not of this world¶¶, and use whatever advantages they enjoy in it, to the purposes of the next be in every * 2 Cor. vii. 1. every good fenfe, as he was, but in no bad one, the friends of publicans and finners*; neither act as being lords over God's heritage, but enfamples to the flock, that when the chief shepherd shall appear, they may receive a crown of gloryț. Wherefore, boly brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, confider the apostle and high priest of our profeffiont. Further yet : thofe who have large incomes, if they fix their thoughts on him, who for our fakes became poor, that we, through his po- · verty, might become rich in good works and heavenly treafures, will be powerfully excited not to place their happiness either in the acquifition or poffeffion of wealth, or the enjoyment of any of thofe pleasures which wealth can help to procure: but in doing good, as the bleffed Jefus did, and benefiting their brethers for whom he died. To do this more ef fectually, they will fet an example of prudent self-restraint and frugality, which may preferve multitudes of others, if not themselves, from follies and diftreffes: they will employ what is thus faved in acts of judicious charity; and have conftantly in their minds what many, who are extremely liberal, ftrangely forget, that all expences, and feeming bounties, which tend to corrupt morals, are mifchievous; and ufing methods to make men pious and virtuous, providing for their fouls at the fame time with their bodies, which our Saviour did continually, conduces beyond all things even to their prefent welfare. Laftly, they who are afflicted, (and who is not often fo in one refpect or another?) if they dwell, as the text was meant tó advise them particularly, on the contemplation of our compaffionate high-priest, the man of forrows and acquainted with grief **, will learn from him to endure all the contradiction of finners, and all the heavy yoke that is laid on the fons of Adam††, difesteem, ingratitude, perverseness, insolence, disappointment, poverty, pain and death, without being weary er faint in their minds 1. He, though faultlefs, endured much more than we finners fhall be called to: under every trial his grace will be fufficient for us§§: if we suffer with him we fall alfo reign with bim¶¶; the more we undergo, the greater will be our reward: and what have we then to re Matth. xi. 19. tret. v. 3, 4. 1 Tim. vi. 18. Ecclus. xi. 1. 11 Tim. ii. 12. fent Heb. iii. 1. # Heb. xii. 3. |