draw him." But we can never expect that he should draw us, unless we desire it of him; and therefore it must be our daily prayer and petition at the throne of grace, that God would vouchsafe us his especial grace and assistance, without which I cannot see how any one that knows his own heart, can expect to be saved. But our comfort is, if we do what we can, God will hear our prayers, and enable us to do what otherwise we cannot; for he never yet did, nor ever will fail any man that sincerely endeavours to serve and honour him.

Lastly, Although we are to trust in God for the answer of our prayers in this particular, yet we must not expect that he should do it immediately from himself, but we must use those means which himself hath appointed whereby to work faith, and, by consequence, all other graces in us. Now the Scripture tells us that faith comes by hearing. Wherefore, if we desire to believe, so as to be saved, we must wait upon God in his public ordinances, and there expect such influences of his grace and Spirit whereby we may be enabled to walk in the narrow way, and enter in at the strait gate that leads to life.

Thus I have shown you in a few terms, how to do the great work which you came into the world about, even how to get to heaven. For however hard it is to come hither, let us but resolve, as we have seen, to mind it before all things else, fear God and keep his commandments to the utmost of our power, believe in Christ for the pardon of our sins, and acceptance both of our persons and performances; pray sincerely to God, and wait diligently upon him for the assistance of his grace, to do what he re

quires from us. Let us do this, and we need not fear but our souls shall live. If we leave this undone, we ourselves shall be undone for ever. And therefore let me advise all to dally no longer in a matter of such consequence as this, but now know the way to heaven, to turn immediately into it, and walk constantly in it. Though the way be narrow, it is not long, and though the gate be strait, it opens into eternal life. And therefore to conclude, let us remember we have now been told how to get to heaven; it is not in my power to force men thither, whether they will or not; I can only show them the way. It is their interest as well as duty to walk in it; which if they do, I dare assure them in the name of Christ, it is not long till they will be admitted into the choir of heaven, to sing hallelujahs for ever

more.

THOUGHTS ON THE IMITATION OF CHRIST.

Ir we seriously consider with ourselves, that wonder of all wonders, that mystery of all mysteries, the incarnation of the Son of God, it may justly strike us into astonishment, and an admiration what should be the reason and the end of it; why the great and glorious, the almighty and eternal God, should take our weak and finite nature into his in

finite and incomprehensible person. Why the Creator of all things should himself become a crea

ture? And he that made the world be himself made into it? Why the supreme Being of all beings, that gives essence and existence to all things in the world, whose glory the heaven of heavens is not able to contain, should clothe himself with flesh and become man, of the self-same nature and substance with us, who live and move, and have our being in him? Certainly it was not upon any frivolous or ordinary account that the most high God manifested himself to the sons of men in so wonderful and extraordinary a manner as this was. But he did it questionless upon some design that was as great and glorious as the act itself. And if we would know

what his end and design in coming into the world was, the scriptures assure us in general, that it was for the salvation of mankind whose nature he assumed. "For this is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” And he himself tells us, that "God so loved the world, that he sent his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life." Now for the accomplishment of this no less glorious than gracious design, there are two things which it was necessary he should do for us, whilst he was upon earth, even expiate our former sins, and direct us unto holiness for the future; both which he hath effected for us: the one by his death, and the other by his life.

For, by his death he hath paid that debt which we owed to God, having made complete satisfaction to God's justice for those sins whereby we have incurred his displeasure: for death was threatened to

all mankind in case of disobedience, and, by consequence, all mankind being disobedient, are obnoxious to it. Neither would it stand with the justice of God, to falsify his word, nor yet with his glory, to put up with the injuries that we have committed against him, without having satisfaction made unto him for them. But it being impossible that a finite creature should satisfy for those sins which were committed against the infinite God, hence the infinite God himself was pleased to undertake it for us, even to satisfy himself for those sins which were committed against him; which he did, by undergoing that death which he had threatened to us in our own nature, united to the person of his own and only Son, God co-equal, co-essential, co-eternal, with himself, who is therefore said "to be a propitiation for our sins." Neither can there any reason imaginable be alleged, why the Son of God himself should suffer death, unless it was upon our account, and in our stead, whose nature he assumed, and in which he suffered it. But not to insist upon that now, the human nature in general having thus suffered that death in the person of the Son of God, which all mankind was otherwise bound to have undergone in their own persons; hence it comes to pass, that we are all in a capacity of avoiding that death which we have deserved by our sins, if we do but rightly believe in Christ, and apply his suffering to ourselves.

And as Christ by his death and passion hath thus satisfied for our sins, so hath he by his life and actions given us an exact pattern of true piety and virtue. And although I cannot say, it was the only, yet questionless one great end wherefore he

continued so long on earth, and conversed so much amongst men, and that so many of his actions are delivered to us with so many circumstances as they are, was, that we, by his example, might learn how to carry and behave ourselves in this lower world. For as from that time to this, so from the beginning of the world to that time, there had never been a man upon the face of the earth, that had lived so conformable to the law of God, that it was safe or lawful for another to follow him in all things. For all flesh was corrupt, and the very best men were still but men, subject to failures in their lives, as well as errors in their judgments; yea those very persons whom the scriptures record, and God himself attesteth to have been eminent in their generation, for piety and justice, did oftentimes fail in both. Noah is asserted by God himself to have been righteous in his generation, Abraham to be the father of the faithful, Moses to be the meekest man upon earth, David to be a man after God's own heart, Solomon to have been the wisest man that ever lived, and Job to be a "perfect and upright man, one that feared God and eschewed evil;" yet none of these most excellent persons but had their vices as well as virtues: and it is observable that the more eminent any were in piety, the more notorious sins God hath sometimes suffered them to slip into, to keep them humble. So that from the first to the second Adam, there never lived a man of whom it could be said, this man never sinned, never transgressed the laws of God, and therefore may in all things be imitated by men.

But now as the first was made, the second Adam