and would rather deny himself the due Satisfactions of Nature, than that they fhould not be benefited. How many fick Perfons did he reftore to their Health, Blind to their Sight, and Lame to their Joints, and Dumb to their Speech, and poffeffed and diftracted Perfons to their right Minds? Nor was he lefs kind to the Souls than the Bodies of Men. How zealous, how conftant, how laborious, how indefatigable was he in preaching the glad Tidings of God's Grace and Favour to all poor Souls! How did he take every Opportunity of making Men better by his Difcourfes! No Converfation that he was engaged in, though the Subject of it was never fo ordinary and indifferent, but he would improve it to the Purposes of doing Good to Mens Souls, taking every Occafion that offered itself in Discourse, to raise up the Minds of the Hearers from carnal and fenfible Things, to fpiritual and heavenly.

Oh, with what Plainness and Condefcention would he inftruct the Ignorant! With what Power would he convince Gainfayers! With what Freedom, and with what Authority would he reprove Vice and Sin where-ever he found it!

Oh, how gently would he deal with weak Perfons, never breaking a bruised

Reed,

Reed, nor quenching the Flax that had the leaft Smoak in it!

ye

Oh, how affectionately would he embrace all thofe that came unto him, and how tenderly would he even weep over thofe that obftinately refused their own Mercy! Witness, the kind Tears that ran down his Cheeks when he beheld his incorrigible City. O Jerufalem, Jerufalem, (faith he) thou that killed the Prophets, and ftoned them that were fent unto thee! How often would I have gathered thee as a Hen gathereth her Chickens under her Wings, but would not! but now your House is left unto you defolate: and then the gentle Jefus wept. What should I fay more of the large, intenfe, univerfal Charity and good Will with which our Saviour endeayoured to oblige the World. The Time would fail to reckon up the Instances of it. The Sum of all is, as he lived a Miracle of Love, fo he died one. That fame Jefus, who had every Moment of his Life been doing Good to fome one or other; and that fame Jefus, that had never received any other Requital from the World for all this Goodness, but Affronts and Injuries, Contempt and Reproaches; yet this fame Jefus, fo far was his Love from being abated by all this unworthy Ufage, that, as if what he had hitherto done for Mankind had fig

nified

nified nothing, he offers up his precious Life as a Ranfom for the World: He voluntarily fubmits to all the Outrages that Malice could invent, to lewd Mockings, and Buffetings, and Scourgings, to an unjuft Sentence of an unjuft Judge, to a cruel, painful, ignominious Death in ignominious Company.

This did the most innocent, the most virtuous, the most noble of Mankind do, that he might purchase Happiness for the World, not for his Friends only, but his Enemies, even thofe very Enemies that thus contumeliously treated him; and at the fame Time that they were expreffing the utmost of the Cruelties and Malice against him, loading him with new Torments, did not only forgive them, but with a Generosity without Example, prayed to God to forgive them alfo; nay, and made Excufes and Apologies for them, Father, (faith he) forgive them, for they know not what they do.

Oh, how heroical was this Goodness! how unparallelled was this Kindnefs! Who can declare the Greatnefs and the Strength, the Height and the Depth of thy Love, O thou great Benefactor to Mankind! We can never utter it, but we stand amazed at it, and we will for ever adore it. O Holy and Immaculate Jefus ! Bleffed,

for

for ever bleffed be thy glorious Name, O thou King of Love, for thy inexhausted Treafures of Love towards us, and the excellent Example thou haft hereby given

to ns.

And now we have fome Part of the Picture of our bleffed Saviour, tho' it must be confeffed it is very rudely drawn, and infinitely short of the Original; yet these are the Lineaments in which he himself defired chiefly to be expreffed and reprefented to the Sons of Men. This is the Temper, and thefe are the Qualities which he was most of all to be known by, and which God moft valued in him, and which he himself hath moft laid his Commands upon us to imitate him in.

And Oh, that we would fo long and fo carneftly fix our Eyes upon this loving Saviour, as to be transformed into his Love!

Oh, that we were fo affected with his Goodness, as ourselves to become all Goodnefs, all Kindness to our Brethren! Oh, - that this Flame of Love that was in him, would feize upon our Hearts, and utterly turn out of them all Self-love and Narrownefs of Spirit, that we, with as extended Arms as Jefus, did embrace the whole Creation of God! Oh, when will the Time come, that, laying afide all Piques, and Quarrels,

Quarrels, and Contentions, all Hatred and Animofity, all Parties and Factions, all Wrath, and Bitternefs, and Evil-fpeaking, all Malice and Cenforioufnefs, all Sournefs and Morofenefs of Temper; we fhall be kind and affectionate one to another, bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, even as God for Chrift's fake hath forgiven us, doing all the Good we can, obliging all forts of Perfons, as much as is in our Power, being eafy of Accefs, ready to do Kindneffes, relieving, according to our Abilities, every one's Neceffities, and, as much as in us lies, fetting forward the Salvation of all Men.

This is to imitate Jefus; this is to walk as we have him for an Example; and in vain do we call ourselves his Difciples, if we do not thus walk, if we do not poffefs ourselves of this Spirit and Temper. If we would have Recourfe to Jefus himself, and defire to know of him what Evidences he would have us give to him, and to the World, that we are truly his Followers and Difciples, he hath already refolved us, John 13. 34. Hereby (faith he shall all Men know that ye are my Difciples, if ye love one another. And if we further defire to know of him how we muft love one' another, what kind of Love he expects from us, he hath, in the foregoing Verfe,

VOL. V.

B b

told