having my own Righteoufnefs, which is by the Law; that is to fay, Not being content with thofe outward Privileges, and that outward Obedience which by my own natural Strength I am able to yield to the Precepts of the Law; (which is that Righteousness in which the Jews place all their Confidence, and by which they expect to be juftified before God) but that which is by the Faith of Jefus Chrift: that is, The Righteousness which I defire, and in which only I fhall have the Confidence to appear before God, is, that inward fpiritual Obedience to his Laws, which he doth require as the Terms and Conditions of his Favour and Acceptance, and which I can never attain to, but by the Faith of Chrift, by becoming a Chriftian. This is none of my own Righteoufnefs, but the Righteoufnefs of God, as being revealed from Heaven by Jefus Chrift, and wrought in me by God's Spirit accompanying the Preaching of the Gofpel. And as it is his Gift, fo he will own it, and reward it at the last Day. I will appeal to any Man that will carefully read this whole Paffage, whether he must not in his Confcience believe that this Account I have given is the true Sense and Importance of the Apoftle's Words. And now, whether they make any thing against our being righteous and holy, as well as Christ was righteous and holy; against the

Neceffity

Neceffity of walking, as Chrift walked, do ye judge.

But I am fenfible I have made too long a Digreffion upon these two Texts. But I thought it worth the while to give a plain Account of them. I now return to my Argument: And that which I have further to say upon it, shall be dispatch'd in a few Words.

My Business is to prefs upon you the Obligation and Neceffity of following Chrift's Example, if we would approve our felves Chriftians: And in order thereunto, befides what I have before said, I would defire you to take into your Confideration these two or three Things.

First, I beseech you, confider how folemnly our Saviour and his Apostles call upon you to the Practice of this. As for our Saviour, I might quote many Paffages in his Difcourfes to this Purpose; but I will only take notice of two, because I faid I would be fhort. And I mention one of them the rather, because the Beginning of it seems to favour the Pretences of thofe Men we have been now talking of.

The Text is in the 11th of St. Matt. v. 28, 29. There our Saviour makes a general and folemn Invitation to all Sinners to come to him. Come unto me, faith he, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you Reft. What Words can be sweeter

X 4

than

than these? Whoever is oppreffed with the Guilt of his Sins, it is but coming to Christ, that is, as they usually expound it, believing in him, and cafting themfelves wholly upon him, and they fhall have their Burdens taken off, and be at perfect Eafe and Reft. But what follows? Take, faith our Saviour, my Yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in Heart, and then ye shall find Reft for your Souls. Here our Saviour fhews that he means fomething more by coming to him: Coming to Chrift in his Senfe, is to take his Yoke upon ourfelves, (and a most easy and comfortable Yoke it is) and to learn of him, to imitate his Example, to frame our Minds, and Spirits, and Tempers to a Conformity with his Mind, and Spirit, and Temper; to be meek and lowly in Heart, as he was; and fo in all other Inftances. This is that which every one muft do, if he means to find Reft for his Soul.

Again, When our Saviour gave that unheard-of Inftance of Kindnefs and Condefcenfion to his Difciples in vouchfafing to wash their Feet, pray mind the Application he makes of it, John 13. 15. I have given you (faith he) an Example, that fhould do to one another as i have done unto you. If I, fays he, your Lord and Master, have walked your Feet, then ought ye to wash one another's Feet.

ye

You

You fee by this, that his Example was intended by him to have all the Force and Obligation of a Command; only in this it had the Advantage, that it was more moying and perfuafive.

look

As for the Apoftles, it would be endless to repeat all the Paffages wherein they propose our Saviour to us as a Pattern and Example of Living: How they bid us to up to Jefus the Author and Finisher of our Faith, left at any Time we fhould be weary and faint in our Minds! How they call upon us to walk in his Steps, to be Followers of him, nay, to be Followers of them, because they were Followers of him! How often do they mention his Patience, his Humility, his Meeknefs, his boundless Love and Charity, as Arguments and Encouragements to us to proceed in thofe Virtues? Laftly, they lay fuch Stress upon this Point of Conforming ourfelves to the Example of Chrift in all Things, that they make the very Notion of Discipleship to him, to confist in it. Whoever (fays St. John, Ep. 1. ch. 2.) faith that he abideth in him, (that is, pretends to be a Disciple of his) ought himself also to walk even as he walketh ; without this he cannot be accounted a Disciple of Chrift.

And indeed it mufts needs be true in the Reafon of the Thing. Which is the 2d Thing I would defire you to confider. For

what

what is it to be any one's Difciple, but to be a Follower of him in the Mystery that he profeffeth. If a Man fets up for a Mafter in any Science or fpeculative Matters, in that Cafe to be a Difciple of his, is to embrace his Notions and Sentiments of the Thing he pretends to teach. If he be a Teacher of fome Art, or Matters of Practice, why then his Difciples are those that conform themfelves to his Methods and Ways of Practice in that Art. This is the Notion that all the World has of a Difciple.

If now we would know what it is to be a Difciple of Chrift, the Way must be to know what it is that Chrift profeffeth; what Mystery it was that he pretended to teach to the World. If his Bufinefs among Mankind was only to teach Men fome new Notions they knew not before, then I grant there is no more required to the being his Difciple, than only to believe and understand thofe Notions he deliver'd: Or if his Bufinefs was further, to gather together a Number of Men that should openly profefs fuch a Set of Propofitions, and to oblige them thereto, they should all of them, upon the Entrance of that Profeffion, be baptized with Water, as a folemn Ceremony of Initiation into it; then indeed to make one a Difciple of his, it would be fufficient that he was a Profeffor

and