SERM. fections should be buried in his grave with him. LXXVI. 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 comparison, to the prejudice and disadvantage of the living; mortui non mordent; the example of the dead is not so 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 distance; 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 just commendation of their worth. Even the scribes and pharifees (as bad a fort of men as we can well imagine) though they were just like their fathers in perfecuting and slaying 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 those prophets, or those prophets had lived in their days, as our SAVIOUR plainly told them.

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

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

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2. To encourage us to piety and goodness, from SERM. this confideration; that "the righteous shall be in LXXVI. "everlasting remembrance."

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

1. To vindicate the honour, which the christian church hath for many ages done to the first teachers and martyrs of our religion; I mean more especially to the holy apofstles of our Lord and SAVIOUR; to whose honour, the christian church hath thought fit to fet apart folemn times, for the commemoration of their piety and fuffering, and to ftir 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 says, " the righteous "shall be in everlasting remembrance;" he cannot certainly be thought to exclude the most solemn way of commemorating their piety and virtue.

I do not pretend, this custom can be derived from the very first ages of chriftianity; 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 best way to preserve 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 setting 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 so ancient, as some vainly pretend; yet it is of great antiquity in the church, and did begin in fome of the best ages of chriftianity. Memorie Martyrum, the meetings of christians at the tombs VOL. V.

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of

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LXXVI.

SERM.cellent persons, who have gone before us; the apo stles of our LORD and SAVIOUR, and all those blefsed saints 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 constancy of their fufferings, that we may imitate their virtues, and "be "followers of them, who through faith and patience, " have inherited the promises; and feeing we are "compassed about with fuch a cloud of witnesses," we should "lay aside every weight, and run with " patience the race that is set before us."

Let us imagine all those 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 witnesses! and how should we be ashamed to do any thing, that is unworthy of such excellent patterns, and blush to look upon our own lives, when we remember theirs! Good GOD! at what a distance do the greatest part of Christians follow those examples! and while we honour them with our lips, how unlike are we to them in our lives!

Why do we thus reproach our selves with these 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 saints and holy men, and yet contradict them in our lives, we either mock them, or upbraid our felves.

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

SER

SERMON LXXVII.

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Preached • on Allsaints day, 1684.

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

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HEB. XIII. 7.

The latter part of the verse.

Whose faith follow, confidering the end of their con

The whole verse runs thus,

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

T

LXXVII.

HE great scope and design of this epistle, SERM. is to perfuade the Jews, who were newly converted to chriftianity, to continue stedfast in the profession of it, notwithstanding all the sufferings 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 epistle 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 shew the fame di

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ligence, to the full assurance of hope, unto the " end: that ye be not slothful; but followers of " them,

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SERM.“ them, who through faith and patience inherit the LXXVII. promises." And chap. xi. he gives a catalogue

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of the eminent heroes and faints of the old teftament, who by faith had done such 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 such examples, to persevere in our christian course; "wherefore seeing we also are com

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paffed about with so great a cloud of" martyrs, or witnesses, let us lay afide every weight, and the

fin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run " with patience the race that is set before us;" especially 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 disciples and apostles 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 set before him, " endured the cross, despising the shame:" ver. 3. "For confider him who endured fuch contradiction " of finners against himself, left ye be wearied, and " faint in your minds." This indeed is the great pattern of Chriftians, and, in regard of the great perfection of it, surpasseth all other patterns, and feems to make them useless; as having in it the perfection of the divinity, not in its full brightness, (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,

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