bration of his laft fupper, did with his own hands give away his own natural body into the hands of his difciples; and give his blood fhed, before it was fhed; that the whole doctrine of Christianity fhould mainly rely upon the evidence of miracles, the affurance of which depends upon the certainty of fenfe; and yet that an effential part of that doctrine should overthrow the certainty of fenfe. I can never while I live believe thefe two things, that the laft thing our Saviour did before his death, fhould be to teach his difciples not to believe their own fenfes, as he must do if he taught them tranfubftantiation; and that the very first thing he did after he was rifen from the dead, fhould be to teach them the quite contrary, by appealing to the certainty of fenfe for the proof of his refurrection; for when they doubted of his refurrection, Luke xxiv. 38. He faid unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arife in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and fee, for a Spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye fee me have. If this be a good argument, that it was a real body which they faw, because they faw and felt flesh and bones: is it not as good an argument on the other fide, that what they faw in the facrament was not his real and natural body, because they could neither fee nor handle flesh and bones? So that I cannot believe transubstantiation, unless I can believe that truth itself can contradict and destroy itself.

You fee of what ufe it is to have right and fteady apprehenfions of the divine perfections; that, thefe being laid for a foundation, we may, upon all occafions, have recourfe to them, and govern our opini-ons and reasonings in religion, about all doubtful matters, by fuch principles as are clear and unqueftionable. The

II. Inference is, That the trueft and most fubftantial practice of religion, confifts in the imitation of the divine perfections, especially the moral perfections of the divine nature, which the fcripture is wont to comprehend under the name of holinefs; and fuch are the goodnefs, and mercy, and

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patience

patience of God, his juftice and truth, and faithfulnefs. To imitate God in thefe, is true religion; or as St. James expreffes it, pure religion, and undefiled, piales, without any flaw or blemish, alluding to precious stones, the greatest commendation of which is to be clear and without flaw. Religio eft, imitari quem colis; That is religion, to imitate him whom we worship. This the Heathen, by the light of nature, did discover to be the great end of religion, and the best worship of the deity, to be like God. Pythagoras was wont to fay, "That we honour "God most, when we are moft like him in the

temper and difpofition of our minds." And Plato to the fame purpose, "That the height "and perfection of goodnefs, is to resemble God,

as near as is poffible; and that we refemble God, in being juft, and holy, and wife." So likewife Hierocles, "That a good man imitates God, in the measures of love and friendship, who hates no man, and extends his benignity to all man"kind." Plutarch hath an excellent difcourfe about the patience of God towards finners, and gives this as one reason why God doth not prefently punifh offenders, "That he might give an example to us of gentleness and patience, and check the fury and violence of men in revenging injuries upon one another; which nothing will do more effeAtually, than to confider that gentleness and forbearance are an imitation of the divine perfecti"on." And then he cites an excellent faying of Plato, "That God manifested himself, and difplayed

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his perfections in the world, for our imitation; "true virtue being nothing else but an imitation of

the divine nature." For there is no greater benefit man can receive from God's hand, than to become virtuous by the imitation and purfuit of those excellencies and perfections which are in God. Seneca likewise hath many paffages to this purpose, Inter viros bonos ac Deum amicitia eft, imò etiam neceffitudo & fimilitudo; Between God and good men there is a friendship, yea, and an intimacy and likeness: And that a virtuous man is difcipulus amulatorque

vera progenies Dei; a difciple and imitator, and the very genuine offspring of God. So that the light of nature, and the reafon of mankind, have always placed the perfection of religion in the imitation of the divine excellencies and perfections.

And this is very agreeable to the language and fenfe of the holy fcriptures, which every where make the practice of religion to confift in our conformity to God, and the laws which he hath given us; which are nothing elfe but a tranfcript of his nature. The great bufinefs of religion is to do the will of God; and this is the will of God, our fanEtification; and our fanctification is our conformity to the holiness of God; and this is the fcope of the general exhortations of fcripture, to perfuade us to holinefs, that is, to an imitation of the moral perfections of the divine nature, 2 Cor. vii. 1. Having therefore thefe promifes, dearly beloved; let us cleanfe ourfelves from all filthiness of flesh and fpirit, and perfect holiness in the fear of God. r Pet. i. 15, 16. As he which hath called you is holy, fo be ye holy in all manner of converfation, because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy. 2 Pet. i. 3, 4. speaking of the Chriftian religion, which he calls the knowledge of him who hath called us to glory and virtue, whereby alfo (fays he) are given unto us exceeding great and precious promifes, that by these we might be partakers of a divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through luft. So that the holinefs the gofpel defigns to bring us to, is a participation of the divine nature, which we can no otherwife partake of, but by an imitation of the divine perfections. This is that which the fcripture expreffes to us by the terms of regeneration, the new man, and the new creature. And therefore those who are converted from a wicked and finful ftate, and reclaimed to goodness, are faid to put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness, and the holiness of truth. Eph. iv. 23. To be renewed after the image of him that created us, Colof. iii. 10. This is to be the fons and children of God, to imitate and refemble God in our dif pofitions

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pofitions and manners. Eph. v. 1. Be ye therefore, Minai Tou ou, imitators of God, as dear children. Phil. ii. 15. That ye may be blameless and fincere, the fons of God without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation. 1 John iii. 10. In this the children of God are manifeft, and the children of the devils whosoever doth not righteousness is not of God. There have been great enquiries concerning the marks of a child of God; this is the true character, and that which in effect comprehends all others, our imitation and refemblance of God in thofe perfections, wherein he is fet forth for a pattern to

us.

And in this mainly confifts the practice both of natural religion, and of true Christianity.

But does not religion confift very much in the duties of God's worthip, in the exercife of piety and devotion, in conftant and frequent prayers to God, and in the celebration of his goodness by praise and thanksgiving, in reading and hearing, and meditating upon God's word, in fafting and abftinence, and keeping our bodies in fubjection to our fpirits, and in frequent receiving of the holy facrament? To this I anfwer, that religion doth confift very much in the due performance of thefe duties, and they are unquestionable and neceffary parts of religion, and the means appointed by God for the begetting and increafing in us fuch difpofitions of mind as render us most like to God, and for the production of all the fruits of goodness, and holiness, and righteousnefs in our lives.

But then it is to be confidered, that these exer cifes of piety and devotion are but the means of religion, and not the ultimate end and design of it. All thefe do but ferve to bring us to a nearer refemblance of God; and where they fail of this end, and are performed for their own fakes only, and we reft in them, without aiming at any thing farther, they lofe their nature, because they are not used as means, but refted in, as if they were the end of religion. And it is to be feared there are many which fall into this fatal mistake about religion, and think that if they do but serve God in their families, and

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go to church, and behave themselves there with devotion and reverence, and at certain feasons receive the facrament, they are truly religious, and very good Chriftians; when all this while they take no care to improve themselves in real goodness, by an inward conformity of their minds to God, and the real reformation and amendment of their lives, by mortifying their lufts, and fubduing their appetites and paffions to the laws of reafon and religion, by putting on, as the elect of God, bowels of kindness; by being true and faithful, righteous and juft, patient and merciful, as their Father which is in heaven is fo; and by forbearing one another, in cafe of provocation, and forgiving one another, even as God, for Chrift's fake, hath forgiven us; by purifying themselves as God is pure, and endeavouring to be holy in all manner of converfation, as he who hath called them is holy; when all this while they are as covetous, and earthly minded, and, to ferve their covetoufnefs, will ftrain a point of truth or justice, and hardly do an act of charity in their whole lives, but what is extorted from them by mere importunity, or fome fuch urgent neceffity, in point of decency and reputation, that for fhame of the world they know not how to avoid it; when their paffions are as fierce and ungoverned, their hearts as full of gall and bitterness, their tongues of flander and evil-fpeaking, their humours as proud and furly, and cenforious, as theirs. can be who are openly profane, and seem to neglect and defpife all religion: and yet because they ferve God, (as they call it) and make an external appearance of piety and devotion, are good churchmen, and attend upon the ordinances of God, they think they have difcharged the whole business of religion admirably well, and are very good children of God, and in a state of great grace and favour with him. Whereas the performance of all thefe duties, and the ufe of all thefe means feparated from that which is the great end of religion, the conformity of ourselves to God, in thofe qualities and difpofitions which I have mentioned, is fo

far