over sin and temptation by lazy wishes, without earnest struggles against it? And to enter in at the strait gate, without striving and agonizing for it! How absurd to profess a belief of the Bible, and yet hope for happiness without, yea, contrary to scriptural grounds! to expect the end without the appointed mcans! Yea, in the use of methods, which contradict and defeat it! Such hopes as these, not only imply the mad expectation of absolute impossibilities, but also the impious presumption, that God will prove false to himself, to his own essential attributes and declared constitution, for the sake of honouring, and saving us in our perverse and rebellious dispositions!

Let those, who have hitherto cherished such infatuated, wicked, and ruinous hopes, be entreated immediately to abandon them; or else they, and their delusive expectations will soon perish together in the pit of destruction; for what is the hope of the hypocrite, when God shall take away his soul! But if we possess the purifying hope above described, let us rejoice in it, bless God for it, walk worthy of it, hold it fast unto the end, and under its enlivening influence press forward to still higher degrees of Christian purity, confidence, and joy. Dearly beloved, having such precious promises as the ground and object of our elevated hopes, "Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."

The Christian Pattern.

PHIL. ii. 5.

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. THE Christian religion has this unspeakable advantage

above all other systems, that it holds out a perfect model of virtue in the life of its Founder; a model, which fully exemplifies and enforces his excellent doctrines and precepts; which exhibits at once the express image and glory of God, and a safe and complete directory for the conduct of man; and agreeably, one main object of Christ's appearing in our nature, and living in our world, was to mark out by his life as well, as by his instructions, the path to immortality.

The apostle in the text and following verses pathetically urges upon Christians a studious imitation of this glorious pattern, particularly in the amiable virtues of love and meekness, of humility and condescension. Accordingly, I shall take occasion to illustrate and enforce the great duty of copying the spirit and life of our blessed Master.

The first inquiry, which this passage suggests, is, in what respects is Christ an example to his followers? The answer is, He is our pattern in those things only, which are common to him and us, He is not an object of imitation in those things, which were peculiar to him, as the Son of God and Redeemer of the world; nor did he exemplify those duties, which result from

our peculiar situation, as sinful and redeemed creatures; such as repentance of sin, and faith in the divine mercy through a Mediator. But Christ is our exemplar in all those right dispositions and actions, which belong to human nature in its uncorrupted state, and to which it is gradually recovered by gospel faith and repentance. We are therefore bound to imitate him in all those moral excellencies, which he exhibited, as a subject of that law, of those relations and circumstances, which were common to him and us. In these particulars he is a pattern admirably fitted to guide and encourage our imitation. For

First, He possessed the same nature, and was placed in the same condition with ourselves; and his example, therefore, being human, exhibits to us the same kind of virtues, practised in the same manner, and under similar circumstances of difficulty and temptation, as belong to ourselves; and thus naturally affects our minds with a far more insinuating and engaging force, than different instances of virtue or even the same, in a different nature. In this view the example of perfect angels or even of the Deity could not be so suitable, so complete, or so encouraging to us: it could not enforce those duties, which are proper to embodied and imperfect, to guilty and redeemed creatures. But Christ was in all things made like unto us, sin only excepted; he was subject to the same infirmities and passions, to the same troubles and temptations as well, as to the same general ties of duty. His example also takes in a very great compass of virtue. It is so wonderfully ordered, as either directly to exemplify, or strikingly to enforce the duties of almost every station and relation of human life. Filial piety towards both his earthly parents and his heavenly Father shone in his early and private life. He condescended to teach

us contentment and industry in our various secular callings, however mean and laborious, by following the mechanical employment of his reputed father. By submitting to a poor, dependent, and suffering mode of life, and ever feeling and behaving suitably to it, he has rendered his example exceedingly precious and useful to the bulk of mankind, whom Providence places in a lowly or trying condition. On the other hand, his voluntary debasement of himself from his original dignity and riches to a poor and servile state, affords the most affecting lessons of humility, condescension, and self denial to the wealthy and honourable. By his gentle, discreet, yet authoritative government of his own family of disciples, by carrying the same wisdom and authority into all his public ministrations, and thus holding both the people and their rulers in awe, he gave instructive hints of the true spirit and model of government in domestic, civil, and sacred departments. Though he could not literally exemplify the conjugal and parental duties, because he never sustained these relations; yet he is really our example here to the greatest advantage, on account of that spiritual relation of husband and father to the church, which he fills with corresponding affections and acts. In a word, his conversation was so free, so open, and affable; it preserved such a happy medium between affected singularity and unlimited compliance, between rigorous austerity and unbecoming levity, as rendered it at once very endearing, and admirably fitted for general imitation.

The notoriety of his example likewise greatly increases its utility. Not only were the leading traits of his character conspicuously displayed in the country where he lived; not only were his principal actions and discourses performed before great numbers of witnesses; but

his excellent life is exhibited to all future ages in authentic and inspired narratives, whose artless, open, unaffected manner admirably resembles the beautiful simpli city of character, which distinguished the subject of their history.

Finally, The absolute perfection of Christ's example forms its crowning excellence. His whole temper

and conduct from his birth to his death were pure from the least moral defect: they in no instance fell short of the utmost demand of the moral law, or the perfect moral rectitude and dignity of human nature. Far from this, the excellency of his obedience was greatly enhanced by his trials and sufferings, be, yond that which the primitive state of man could admit. While his unblameable life, his entire exemption from guile, both in heart, conversation and behaviour, his total separation from sin and sinners, instruct us to abstain even from the appearance of evil; his careful fulfilment of all righteousness teaches and animates us to do well, to perform every duty to God, our neighbour, and ourselves, in the most exact, engaged, and exemplary manner. In short, his example being equally perfect with the divine law, becomes a safe, easy, and complete rule of duty to his followers; a rule, which warrants and demands their implicit and constant regard.

The usefulness of such a perfect example appears from its tendency to impress mankind with the reasonableness of the divine law in all its requirements, and to guard them against light or indulgent thoughts of any deviations from it. Had no example appeared in our world of obedience fully equal to the law of our nature, men would too readily have concluded that the law was originally set too high for such a creature as man; they would have satisfied themselves with aiming at less than