Page images
PDF
EPUB

LXXVI.

SERM. fections fhould be buried in his grave with him. Death hath put him out of the reach of malice and envy, his worth and excellency does now no longer stand in other mens light; his great virtues are at a distance, and not fo apt to be brought into comparifon, to the prejudice and disadvantage of the living;, mortui non mordent; the example of the dead is not fo cutting a reproof to the vice of the living; the good man is removed out of the way, and his example, how bright foever, is not so scorching and troublesom at a diftance; and therefore men are generally contented, to give him his due character.

Besides, that there is a certain civility in human nature, which will not fuffer men to wrong the dead, and to deny them the juft commendation of their worth. Even the fcribes and pharifees (as bad a fort of men as we can well imagine) though they were juft like their fathers in perfecuting and flaying the prophets, while they were alive; yet had they a mighty veneration for their piety and virtue after they were dead, and thought no honour too great to be done to them. They would be at the charge of raising monuments to the memory of those good men, whom their fathers had flain; and whom they would certainly have used in the very fame manner, had they either lived in the days of thofe prophets, or those prophets had lived in their days, as our SAVIOUR plainly told them.

All that now remains is, to draw fome inferences from what hath been faid, by way of application; and they fhall be thefe three.

1. To vindicate the honour and refpect which the chriftian church, for many ages, hath paid to the memory of the first teachers and martyrs of our religion.

5

2. To

LXXVI.

2. To encourage us to piety and goodnefs, from $ ERM. this confideration; that "the righteous fhall be in "everlafting remembrance."

3. That when we pretend to honour the memory of good men, we would be careful to imitate their holiness and virtue.

I. To vindicate the honour, which the chriftian church hath for many ages done to the first teachers and martyrs of our religion; I mean more especially to the holy apostles of our LORD and SAVIOUR; to whose honour, the chriftian church hath thought fit to fet apart folemn times, for the commemoration of their piety and suffering, and to stir up others to the imitation of them.

This certainly can with no good colour, either from scripture or reason, be pretended to be unlawful; and when David here fays, "the righteous "shall be in everlasting remembrance;" he cannot certainly be thought to exclude the most folemn way of commemorating their piety and virtue.

I do not pretend, this cuftom can be derived from the very firft ages of christianity; but furely it is fuffcient, for the lawfulness of it, that it is no where forbidden; nay it is rather required here in the text; the beft way to preferve the memory of good men, being thus to commemorate them. And it may be of great ufe to us, if it be not our own fault; the fetting before our eyes, the holy lives of excellent men, being in its own nature apt to excite us to the imitation of them.

Befides that I could tell you, that though this cannot be proved fo ancient, as fome vainly pretend; yet it is of great antiquity in the church, and did begin in fome of the best ages of chriftianity. Memoria Martyrum, the meetings of chriftians at the tombs VOL. V. X

of

LXXVI.

SER M.cellent perfons, who have gone before us; the apo ftles of our LORD and SAVIOUR, and all thofe bleffed faints and martyrs, "who were faithful to the death," and have received a crown of life and im"mortality."

We should represent to ourselves the piety of their actions, and the patience and conftancy of their fufferings, that we may imitate their virtues, and "be "followers of them, who through faith and patience, "have inherited the promises; and seeing we are

compaffed about with fuch a cloud of witneffes," we should "lay afide every weight, and run with "patience the race that is fet before us."

Let us imagine all thofe great examples of piety and virtue, standing about us in a throng, and fixing their eyes upon us. How ought we to demean ourselves in fuch a prefence, and under the eye of fuch witneffes! and how fhould we be afhamed to do any thing, that is unworthy of fuch excellent patterns, and blufh to look upon our own lives, when we remember theirs! Good GOD! at what a distance do the greatest part of Chriftians follow thofe examples! and while we honour them with our lips, how unlike are we to them in our lives!

Why do we thus reproach our felves with thefe glorious patterns? Let us either refolve to imitate their virtues, or to make no mention of their names'; for while we celebrate the examples of faints and holy men, and yet contradict them in our lives, we either mock them, or upbraid our felves.

[ocr errors]

Now the GOD of peace, who brought again from the dead our LORD JESUS CHRIST, &C.

SER

SERMON LXXVII.

The duty of imitating the primitive teachers, and patterns of christianity.

1209

Preached

⚫ on Allfaints day, 1684.

HEB. XIII. 7.

The latter part of the verse.

Whofe faith follow, confidering the end of their converfation.

The whole verse runs thus,

Remember them which have the rule over you, who have Spoken unto you the word of GOD; whofe faith follow, confidering the end of their converfation.

T

LXXVII.

HE great scope and defign of this epiftle, SER M. is to perfuade the Jews, who were newly converted to christianity, to continue stedfast in the profeffion of it, notwithstanding all the fufferings and perfecutions it was attended withal; and to en, courage them hereto, among many other arguments which the apostle makes use of, he doth feveral times in this epiftle propound to them the examples and patterns of faints and holy men, that were gone before them; especially those of their own nation, who in their respective ages had given remarkable teftimony of their faith in GOD, and conftant adherence to the truth, chap. vi. 11, 12. "And we de

fire, that every one of you do fhew the fame diligence, to the full affurance of hope, unto the "end that ye be not flothful; but followers of

66

X 3

"them,

SERM." them, who through faith and patience inherit the LXXVII... promises." And chap. xi. he gives a catalogue of the eminent heroes and faints of the old teftament, who by faith had done fuch wonders, and given fuch teftimony of their patience and conftancy, in doing and fuffering the will of God; from whence he infers, chap. xii. 1. that we ought to take pattern and heart from fuch examples, to perfevere in our christian course; "wherefore feeing we alfo are com

66

[ocr errors]

paffed about with fo great a cloud of" martyrs, or witneffes, let us lay afide every weight, and the "fin which doth fo eafily befet us, and let us run "with patience the race that is fet before us;" efpecially fince they had greater examples than these, nearer to them, and more fresh in memory; the great example of our LORD, the founder of our religion; and of the first teachers of chriftianity, the difciples and apoftles of our LORD and SAVIOUR. The example of our LORD himself, the captain and rewarder of our faith, ver. 2. of that xiith chap. Looking unto JESUS the author and finisher of our faith, who, for the joy that was fet before him, endured the crofs, defpifing the fhame:" ver. 3. "For confider him who endured fuch contradiction

of finners againft himself, left ye be wearied, and "faint in your minds." This indeed is the great pattern of Christians, and, in regard of the great perfection of it, furpaffeth all other patterns, and feems to make them ufelefs; as having in it the perfection of the divinity, not in its full brightnefs, (which would be apt to dazzle rather than direct us) but allayed and fhadowed with the infirmities of human nature; and for that reason, more accommodate and familiar to us, than the divine perfections abstractedly confidered,

But

« PreviousContinue »