of God, thought it not Robbery to be equal SERM. with God; but made himself of no Repu- III. tation, and took upon him the Form of a Servant: And being found in Fashion as a Man, be humbled himself, and became obedient unto Death, even the Death of the Crofs.

A Fifth thing I would recommend to you, from confidering the Incarnation of Christ, is, that we would take care to trace all the Steps of that Example which he fet us in the Flesh; and which that he might fet us, was one great End of his taking our Nature upon him. And, Oh, let not this End be fruftrated, by our neglecting to look up to that admirable Pattern of all Vertue and Holiness in the Life of the Immaculate Jefus, which the four Gospels have afforded us! A Life, as useful to be handed down to us in all its Circumstances, as his very Precepts themselves. For in that he Exemplified his Precepts, and gave an Inftance of the Practicablenefs, the Beauty, and the Power of them. Such an Inftance, as charms the VOL. I. G

the

18.

SERM. the Eyes, and engages the Hearts of all III. that behold it; and will, if well attended to, have the fame Influence upon us, that the Enjoying the immediate View of God, Face to Face, once had upon Mofes: It will make us fhine with Part of that Luftre we are looking upon, and transform us into fome Kind of Refem2 Cor. iii. blance with it. We all with open Face, beholding as in a Glafs the Glory of the Lord, that is, viewing carefully the Image of our Lord's Life, as it is drawn to us in the Glafs of the Evangelifts, and studying to exprefs it in ourselves, we shall be changed (as it follows) into the fame Image from Glory to Glory; from one Degree of Vertue and Perfection to another, till at last we arrive at the very Measure of the Stature of the Fulness of Chrift.

Ephef. iv.

13.

I fhall mention but one Improvement more of the Doctrine of the Day, and then conclude. And that is, that we fhould take Occafion from hence, highly to esteem and reverence the Evangelical Difpenfation: To value and prize that Everlasting

Everlasting Gofpel, which Chrift fealed SERM to us with his Blood, above all other III. Books, Religions and Philofophies; above all other Methods of Living and Dying that have been ever taught, or practifed in the World.

15.

Were there nothing contained in it,' but that one faithful Saying, worthy of: Tim. i. all Acceptation, that Chrift Jefus came into the World to fave Sinners; even that fhould recommend it more to us, and make us take greater Delight in perufing it, than turning over all the Volumes of Wit and Reason, all the Discourses of Moral Vertue, all the Treatifes of Arts and Sciences, which the Learned Part of Mankind among the Gentiles have afforded us: We fhould count them all but Dross and Dung, in comparison of the Excellency of the Know- Phil. iii. ledge of Chrift Fefus.

8.

But the best Expreffion of our Reverence towards this Gospel, is, to comply with the Terms of it. Let us remember, that the last Scope of the whole Mystery of Godliness is, to oblige Mankind

G 2

SERM. kind to be good and vertuous; and to
III. lead Lives anfwerable to fuch bright

Discoveries and Motives, as Revelation
has proposed to us. And therefore let
me Exhort and Befeech every one of you
this Day, as ye would not (as far as in
you lies) frustrate the Design of our Sa-
viour's Birth; as ye would not baffle
the Truth of those Prophecies concern-
ing the Innocence and Purity of the
Lives of Men under the Reign of the
Meffiah; and, as ye would not bereaf-
ter wish, that your Saviour had never
been born, nor you yourselves neither;
to be careful for your Parts to answer
the great End of his Incarnation, and
to live as becomes a People, that have
been thus Redeemed of the Lord.
For how shall ye escape, if ye neglect
So great Salvation?

TEMP.

TEMPTATIONS

NOT

IRRESISTIBLE.

G3