HOly Saint Paul being deputed by God to be the Apostle of the Gentiles, made it his business to reveal the glorious Mysteries of the Gospel to those for­lorn heathens, who sate in darkness and under the region of the shadow of death; and Heaven blessing his at­tempts and spiritual enterprizes, he was a main instrument in the constitution of several flourishing Churches, whereof this of Philippi was one; which was a famous city and the Metropolis of Macedonia: and to the believers here he writes by Epaphroditus from Rome, where he was in bonds for the sake of the Gospel. Like as an indulgent Father fearing that his child being distant from him should run into some miscarriage or irregularity, writes a pathetical and mo­ving Epistle to him that he may observe a right decorum; so our Apostle, being absent from his Philippians, writes his counselling lines to them, that their Conversation may be suitable to their profession; and that they may keep within the due bounds and just dimensions of holiness and piety. And whereas some had made a sad excursion, lest the way to Sion and turned their faces towards Sodom, neglecting God and serving their lusts, therefore he advises them not to imi­tate such men of Belial and children of perdition, but that they would follow the holy steps and pious example of him [Page 2]their spiritual guide, and other eminent servants of Jesus Christ, who were [...] burning and shining lights in their generation; and the reason why they should walk after his pattern and write after his copy (he tells them) is this, Our Conversation is in Heaven. Which words have vari­ous interpretations amongst the learned:Grot. in locum. Grotius opposes them to the [...] minding earthly things; and makes this the sense, nos animo in Coelo sumus & Coe­lestia cogitamus, our hearts are in heaven, and heavenly things are the objects of our meditations.Erasm. in lo­cum. Erasmus makes them run thus, nos ad Coelestem civitatem non terrenam per­tinemus, Heaven is the countrey to which we do belong, and which we are hastning to.Beza in locum. Beza makes the words sound thus, ut municipes Coeli nos gerimus, we are free citizens and denizens of Heaven, having a right and a title to all its pri­viledges; for say he and others, the word [...] signifies magistratum gerere, vel munus aut of ficium aliquod concredi­tum administrare, the management of some great office which hath worth and dignity annexed to it. But for all this 'tis well enough translated, our Conversation: for Saint Paul speaking of his private Conversation says, [...], I have lived in all good conscience before God to this day. And Grotius cōmenting upon the words,Acts 23.1. Grot. ibid. acknowledges that [...] Graecis scriptoribus est vitae genus sequi, this word may have relation to any private course or state of living: and Beza speaks the same upon the same words. Cornelius à Lapide & Gorran amongst other interpretations express the sense of the words thus,Cornel. à La­pide & Gorran in locum. in terris agimus vitam puram & sanctam, qualem Angeli ag [...]nt in Coelis: our Conversation is suited and squared according to the carriage and demeanour of the Angels in Heaven; and Piscator tells us, that the word [...], which we translate to have a Conversati­on, generali sens [...] accipitur de moribus & actionibus exter­nis, in its general notion hath relation to manners and ex­ternal [Page 3]actions, and so the signification of the Text in a good sense may be this, We lead a heavenly life, we have an eye to the glorious and unspotted Angels, and with them do spend our time in the serving, obeying and prai­sing of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; we do as the Angels do, therefore make us your patterns and examples. Now because these words are usually spo­ken of, and treated upon according to some of the other interpretations, I shall not make any other enlargement upon the former glosses, but shall handle them in this last acceptation, and so from hence insist upon this propo­sition or Doctrine,

And here I shall examine the Angelical Conversation, and shew how ours ought to be similar and proportionable thereunto.

1. And first the Angels in Heaven lead a Conversation full of purity, there is no filthiness or uncleanness amongst these Spiritual essences; holiness is there drawn to the life, and purity is in its flower; there is no filthy Sodomite, no prophane Esau, or defiled Reuben; no pitch of iniquity stains their white robes, all pure Ermins, none wallowing in the mire of any sinful abomination. 'Tis true indeed,Job 4.18. the Heavens are not pure in Gods sight, and his Angels he chargeth with folly; not as if there were any reall pollution in the Angelical nature, but 'tis spoken in a comparative way, as if Eliphaz should say, All the holiness of Angels is impurity, and all their wisdom darkness and folly, if it be laid in the ballance with the wisdom and holiness of the ever-glorious God; according to that in the 1 Corinth. 1 Chap. 25. ver. the foolishness of God is wiser then men, and the weakness of God is stronger then men; but as to the [Page 4]Angels this we know, that as they are mighty in respect of their power, 2 Thes. 1.7. so they may be termed holy in respect of their unspotted purity.

So Christians should evidence an Heavenly Conversati­on by their purity, they name the name of Christ & should depart from iniquity: for indeed Christianity is nothing else but an imitation of the divine nature, and a reducing of a mans self to the image of God, which consists in righ­teousness and holiness. That Christians should be pure was shadowed out in the first Centuries of the Church, when as those who were baptized, for certain days toge­ther wore their white Stoles,Niceph. betokening the holiness of the state into which they were translated; which made the Deacon bring out the white garment to one Elpidophorus that had revolted from the faith, telling him that he would keep it as a monument and memorial of his Apo­stacy.Sic Plinius secun. ad Trajā. So the Primitive Christians made a strict Covenant that they would not run into the noted crimes of theft, robbery, or adultery; or into the more private evils of breaking trust,Euseb. lib. 3. cap. 30. or denying to restore the committed pledge: thus it becometh us. And

1. Let purity go along with our meditations. God hath implanted in man a pondering,The moralist calls it [...], which he de­fines to be [...], Aristot. consulting faculty; whereby he can exercise a reflex act, and hold a conference with his own soul: sometimes we retire and sequester our selves (as is our duty) from the clamours of our worldly trans­actions, then should our thoughts be holy, then should we meditate of Gods works of wonder, of his acts of crea­tion and providence, of his power in forming, and care in preserving sublunary things; thus David considered the Heavens,Psal. 8.3. the Moon, and the Stars which God had ordained. We should think of our primitive purity, our wilful aposta­cy, our gracious recovery by Jesus Christ; of our pre­sent estate and condition, our future decay and dissolution; [Page 5]the joyes of Heaven, and the misery of those that shall suffer a separation from God. Two Cardinals riding to the Councel of Trent, found a poor man mourning over a Toad; being asked the reason, he told them he was in contemplation of Gods goodness, who had not made him like that sorry and contemptible creature; which made one of them cry out with Saint August. In­docti coelum rapiunt, the illiterate take Heaven by vio­lence. We should have a care that in our meditations we entertain not a thought derogatory to the Divine Gran­deur, or an imagination which opposes it self against the interest of Christ; that our thoughts be not as the filthy steamings of the bottomless pit; that we devise not ini­quity upon our beds,Micah 2.1. and in the morning practise it when it is in the power of our hands: that we be not as the fool who said in his heart there is no God; let us rather be as David whose meditation of God was sweet; and as the blessed man whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates in it day and night.

2. Let purity also accompany our expressions. The tongue is a member ever in use, let us accustom it to speak the language of Canaan, and words savoury and gracious, and tending to the edification of the hearers. Evil com­munication, and filthy speaking, let it be far from us; [...] Colos. 3.8. let us not use our tongues to daub over a specious sin, a noto­rious crime, lest we prove the Devils Oratours; [...]. Chrysost. in 4. Ephe. Hom. 14. that our words be not as poisonous arrows let fly against holiness and piety, wounding Christ through the sides of religion: let us beware that our tongues be not set on fire from Hell, venting nothing but wrath and passion, and so we be incendiaries and disturbers of those communities and so­cieties in which we are placed. Above all let us take heed of vain swearing, Atheistical expressions, profane and frothy jests, the Dialect of the ungodly, and the mode of [Page 6]our licentious times; remembring that blasphemy is a sin which directly strikes at the Divine Majesty,Non minùs peccant qui Christum bla­sphemant re­gnantem in Coelis, quam qui crucifixe­ [...]unt ambulan­tem in terris. Augustin. and they are as inexcusable who abuse Christs Name, now he is reign­ing in Heaven, as those Jews who managed his Crucifixi­on here upon earth. Let us therefore imitate the kingly Prophet, who kept his mouth with a bit and a bridle, lest he should offend: and as those pious ones, Mal. 3.17. who spake often one to another, and encouraged each other in the service of God in times of profaneness and Apo­stacy.Fur vel ra­ptor contume­liam insert Deo in possessionibus subditorum, homicida in subditis; blasphemus verò ei contume­liam fert in propriâ personá: secundùm enim sublimitatem personae cui committitur offensa, aug­mentatur culpa. Parald. lib. 2. do vitio Linguae.

3. Purity also should go along with our actions; and we should have engraven upon them, holiness unto the Lord: a bribe should not cleave to our fingers, nor with Ephraim should we hold the balances of deceit; fraud and cousenage, oppression and rapine should be abhorred by us: the tears of the needy must not be our drink, nor their groans our musick. We should not build our cities with bloud, nor establish our houses by iniquity, lest the stone cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber an­swer it, and so we consult shame to our houses, and sin against our souls. We should not use Ziba's policy to get an estate; nor Jezabels cunning, to obtain a vineyard; nor the subtilty of the Roman Emperour, Suetonius de Vespas. who did ad­vance to the highest offices, the covetous and most rapa­cious extortioners, on purpose that after they had notably enricht themselves, to make them criminals, and so to seize upon their fortunes. Let us not do so, considering riches ill got prove like mountains of snow which present­ly melt away, and seldome make happy the third gene­ration. Therefore let that of the Apostle sound in our ears [Page 7]continually as a counterbane against all in justice, 1 Thes. 4.6. Let no man go beyond or defraud his brother in any matter, for the Lord is the avenger of all such.

2 The Angels in Heaven lead a conversation full of Unity; there are no strifes or unnecessary jarrings; no di­visions amongst them, like those of Reuben; no strug­gling, like Jacob and Esau, for priority in the new Jeru­salem. There is no opposing Jannes or Jambres; no Sheba to blow the trump of rebellion; no hot disputes and unbrotherly cavils; no Harpyes or Vultures amongst these birds of Paradise, but a rare harmony, a sweet com­posure, united affections, the spiritual love-knot firm­ly tied; all agreeing in the service of the great Creatour: so we should manifest our Conversation to be Heavenly, by our Unity; and should endeavour to promoteit,

1. In the state or kingdom in which we live; and to this purpose should have a care of civil and intestine dis­sentions, of taking the gantlet up one against another, of setting Manasseh against Ephraim, and Ephraim against Manasseh; this will tend to our hurt and prejudice, divisi­on being the true forerunner of destruction; which the heathen represented to his sons by a parcel of arrows, which being in a bundle could not be broken,Scylurus. but taken singly were presently snapt asunder. unity makes a peo­ple strong and victorious, formidable and powerful, but when they crumble into Sects and Factions, then like Reuben they lose their excellency, and become weak as water. The Grecian Monarchy was glorious while the power was concentred in Alexander; but when divided, Ptolemaeus Lagus ruling Egypt, Antigonus in the lesser Asia, and Perdiccas in Macedon, Fulcrum est imperiorum ser­vare religio­nem & unita­tem. Lipsius. it lost much of its primi­tive lustre, and was overtopped with the Roman great­ness. It is most true of Kingdoms what is reported of the pumice stone, grandis innatat, comminutus mergitur, being [Page 8]in one entire lump it swims, but when once broken it sinks in the water; so they; Unanimity makes them stand and number out their peaceable Centuries, but division takes the Crown from the head, and lays their honour in the dust; so that those places that looked big in the records of fame, lye now obscure under the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness. Therefore let us strive to preserve national peace, and then we may expect it shall be with us, as with the holy tribes in the days of Solomon, Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his Vine and Fig-tree, from Dan even unto Beer-sheba, 1 King. 4.25.

2. Let us labour after Unity in the Church and Ec­clesiastical assemblies; imitating the Primitive Converts, who were all of one mind; Unus Deus enim, & Chri­stus unus, Ec­clesia ejus una, & fides una, & plebs in so­lidam corporis unitatem con­cordiae glutino copulata. Cyprian. de unit. Eccles. and like to the people in Zepha­niah, Chap. 3. ver. 9. who were to serve the Lord with one consent. We should be careful to shun the Corinthi­ans Schism, I am of Paul, I am of Apollos; and the alter­cations of the Church in the days of Arius and Athana­sius, who differed so much in their Doxologies. Nothing is more sad and un-edifying then contentions among Professours; when the Preachers Pulpit, and the peoples pews clash one against another, it takes off the beauty from our Religion, and shuts the door against those, that (it may be otherwise) would have entred into the fold of Christ. So sharp and virulent they were in the Sacramentarian Controversie,Melch. Ada. in vit. Theol. Germ. that Strigelius wished himself in the grave; and it was one of Luthers prayers about the same time, a piece of his Litany, ab inutilibus quaestionibus liberet Do­minus suam ecclesiam, that God would deliver his Church from needless and distracting questions: and the truth is, axes and hammers, troublesome disputes, and contenti­ous broiles, should not be heard in Gods Sanctuary; smooth Evangelical Doctrines, and the New Command­ment (our Saviours Legacy) should be imbraced by [Page 9]us. There was little of God in the earthquake,1 Kin. 19.11, 12. the ren­ding wind, and the flaming fire; the soft still voyce was his Emblem. Passion and animosities are not off-springs of heaven, but branches issuing from the root of bitter­ness: therefore let us follow peace,Non invenitur Deus in turbine impetuoso, in fragore vel igne, sed in vo­ce placidâ, i. e. in Spiritu man­suetudinis, Clarius in loc. Citat. let not the cloak of jealousie, but the garments of love be in fashion amongst us: and if we will be medling with Drum and Trumpet, let it be to sound a retreat, and beat a parley in order to the allay of those hostilities which have pestred the Church of God; remembring alway beati pacifici, blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.

3. The Angels lead a conversation full of order and regularity. That there is a beautiful order amongst these celestial spirits almost all the Fathers have asserted,Vide Grot. in Rom. 8.38. ubi affirmat esse aliquos majo­res angelos & in Regno Coe­lorum, & in regno Satanae. espe­cially Dionysius and Gregory have been so positive, as to divide them into three ranks or Ternions. As

• 1. Seraphim, Thrones, Cherubins.
• 2. Dominations, Principalities and Powers.
• 3. Mights, Arch-angels and Angels

And the above na­med Gregory allegorizing upon that place where 'tis said, the woman having ten pieces of money lost one, applies it to our purpose; the piece which was lost, says he,Gregor. in 15. Homil. super Luc. Ordines Ange­lorum approbat Aquinas, & affirmat cos manere quoad distinctionem graduum post diem judicii, Aquin. prim. part. Quast. 108. art. 7. Vide Mede in locum. was the part of the faln Angels, the other nine were the nine orders of Angels who kept their station; and the find­ing of the money again was by making man in their stead: and commenting upon the 28 of Ezek. and 13. ver. he makes the nine pretious stones there mentioned to be the nine orders of Angels. The Jews also have an anci­ent tradition, that there are seven principal Angels which minister before the throne of God and are called Arch­angels; these they say are the seven eyes of the Lord which run to and fro through the whole earth, Zech. 4.10. [Page 10]And those that are against the Hierarchies of Dionysius, Hiero. Zanc. de operib. Dei, lib. 2. cap. 14. yet acknowledge an order amongst the Angels quoad offi­cium, though not quoad naturam, as they determine. But especially the holy Scriptures seem to countenance this assertion, by telling us of the Archangel, of Thrones, Dominions and Principalities, which make it at least a probable doctrine. So we; our Conversation should be heavenly as to its order, which as I said of our Unity, ought to be conspicuous both in our Civil and Ecclesiastical polity.

1. As to the Civil Government, order should be there:Grues unam sequuntur ordi­ne literato. Hiero. epist. ad Rust. every one ought to know and keep his station: Order was observed by God in making the greater and lesser lights, and by giving to man, as a more noble creature, the preheminence: Order is observed by the irrational creatures, the fowls of the air, and beasts of the field follow their respective leaders;Rex unus api­bus, dux unus gregibus, & in armentis re­ctor unus. Mi­nut. in octav. The starrs in their courses fought against Sisera. It is not fit that every Swain should get into the Oak of Reforma­tion, nor that the vulgar multitude should equalize themselves with those whom God hath dignified with nobility. God hath made high and low, rich and poor; not onely the heards-men, but the Nobles of Tekoah. Aulus gell. noct. Attic. Plutarch. in vit. Anton. The very heathens cried out of irregularity, when Vendidius Bassus (one of a mean parentage) was chosen Consul; and looked upon it as the greatest rarity their times had produced. Add to this, [...]. Arist. in Me­taph. how the book of God hath declared to us the fatal Exit of Corah, Dathan and Abiram, who were fa­mous (or rather infamous) for their conspiracy against Moses and Aaron. A levelling principle hath no warrant from the divine oracles, therefore let us all order our selves lowly and reverently to our superiours; let not [Page 11]the child behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable, Isa. 5.3. remem­bring, that it is but fit and reasonable, that the lesser Spo­rades should always vail to the starrs of the first mag­nitude.

2.Neque euim a­liunde natae sunt haereses, & aborta sunt schismata, quàm indè quòd sacerdoti Del non obtem­peratur, &c. Cyprian. Epist. 55. Order in like manner should be observed as to the Ecclesiastical regiment. 'Tis not fit every ignaro should turn Preacher, that the Gibeonite who is a hewer of wood, should take upon him [...] to divide the Word of Truth, or that the tradesman should throw off the leathern apron and invest him­self with the linen Ephod; or that those should climb into the mount with Moses, who ought to stand below with the people. God is not the God of con­fusion, but of Order in the Churches, 1 Cor. 14.33. Separate me, says he, Barnabas and Saul, for the work I have for them to do: and how critical would Saint Paul have Timothy in Imposition of hands;Videns diabole [...]s templa daemo­num deseri, & in nomen libe­rantis mediato­ris currere hu­manum genus, haereticos movit, qui sub vocabu­lo Christiano do­ctrinae resiste­rent Christianae. August. Civit. Dei, lib. 18. cap. 51. shewing that Ordination should not be given for fear and fa­vour, but to the most holy and deserving; as Alexan­der lest the Empire [...] to him that was the best and meetest for rule and government. And in­deed want of Order hath been the rise of those most pregnant Heresies which have been the trouble of our Church and the bane of our Religion; this hath been the worm that hath consumed our flourishing gourd, and hath made our Church resemble Antigonus, who was painted imagine luscâ, with one eye or half a face, wanting its becoming features: therefore let us imi­tate the Colossians, who had not onely [...] but [...],Metaph. à mili­tibus qui statio­nem non ser­vant, Beza in locum. Faith towards God, but Order amongst themselves, Colos. 2.5. not as some of the Thessalonians, who walked [...] not keeping their stations; let us not [Page 12]follow those erratical starrs and unsettled meteors that cannot abide confinement to their proper orbes: or as the untamed Colt that cannot endure fences and in­closures. Let us not with forgetful Shimei, Ecce habes Ec­clesiam per to­tum mundum, noli sequifalsos justificatores, & veros praecipita­tores, in illo monte esto qui implevit orbem terrarum, August. in Epist. S. Johan. pass over the brook Kidron, but let that of the Apostle take place with us, Brethren let every man wherein he is called therein abide with God, 1 Corinth. 7.24.

4. The Angels in heaven lead a Conversation full of obedience and service. Augustine and Gregory both tell us, that Angelorum vocabulum nomen est officii non natu­rae, that the word Angel is more suitable to their im­ployments and offices, then to their natures and essences; for in propriety of speech it signifies a messenger sent from this or the other superiour concerning such affairs as are most emergent: hence these blessed ones in Heb. 1.14. are stiled [...] ministring spirits; and indeed very ready and active they are in the obser­vance of the divine mandates, and in the execution of their Makers pleasure. There is no torpor or laziness seizes on them, they are not as Solomons sluggard, or the se­cure Sidonians; but as the wheels of Amminadab so are they, or as the nimble lightning which with incre­dible swiftness darts it self through the airy region: One goes and feeds Eliah, another directs Cornelius, ano­ther destroyes Sennacheribs army, another releases Peter; and at the last day they shall gather the Elect from the four winds of Heaven, to the new Jerusalem.

So we; let us shew our Conversation to be Heaven­ly by our obedience, and let us serve our God

1. Timely and early, in the morning and spring of our days: let us not sacrifice to our lusts and Satan the flow­er of our youth, and give the Almighty the lame and blind offering of our decrepit age. Let us be like Obadi­ah, [Page 13]who feared the Lord from his youth; remembring that under the law God would have the first fruits of the ears of corn, as well as of their riper grain; and that a young Timothy, a Solomon, and a Samuel, have ever been the greatest favourites of the King of Heaven.

2. Let us obey our God willingly and freely;Miles in castris animo, ocu is, auribus paratus ad omne impe­rium & inten­tu [...]idem nobis sit, in hâc mili­tia sequantur alacres & pleno gradu quocun (que) vecantem impe­ratorem, Lips. de Const. lib. 1. cap. 14. not as the slave that is afraid of the lash of his Master, and so tugs at the Oar: let not a slavish fear, but a holy love be the incentive to our duty; let us serve our great Sovereign as well out of choice as necessity; let our tempers and dispositions in this particular comply not with the sturdy Oak, but the bending Willow, that when God says seek my face, our ingenuous souls may eccho out the Psal­mists respond, Lord thy face we will seek.

3. let us serve our God indifferently; not to pick and chuse of his precepts, minding onely those that are most feasible and least repugnant to our sensual ap­petites. Let us meekly perform even a difficult com­mandment, and with Jacob, endure the heat of the day and the cold of the night. let us be willing, with Abraham, to sacrifice the Son of the promise, if God call for him, and to go to Calvary and Moriah as well as Olivet, if it be the injunction of Our Heavenly Father.

4. Let us serve God constantly: let him have the morning and the evening sacrifice, the daily tribute of a pure devotion; and if a day have passed wherein we have not yielded unto God our bounden duty, let us mark it in our Calendar, as the Roman Emperour,Non dormienti­bus provenit regnum Coelo­rum, nec otio torpentibus bea­titudo aternita­tis ingeritur, Prosp. with diem perdidi, this was a piece of lost time. Let our loyns be always girded and our lamps continually burning, that the Son of man may not find us idle. As the Heavens do not cease their motions, nor the sun to pace it through the Zodiack, and the fountains of water to [Page 14]send forth their refreshing streams, so let not Christians give over their spiritual exercises; let them not erect their Hercules pillars, but let their motto be plus ultra, we press forward toward the mark for the prize of the high cal­ling of God in Christ Jesus, Phil. 3.14.

5. The Angels in Heaven lead a conversation full of abstractedness from the world and all its enjoyments. Angels are not taken with our sensual pleasures and earth­ly delights; the plenty of the fields, the income of the flocks, and the fruit of the vine, to them are insignificant; the most Epicurean dainties are by them despised. If Heliogabalus were to make his feast, and Cleopatra to brew her cups with the most orient pearl, they would be as an insipid thing to the Angelical palate. Let us kill a kid for thee, says Manoah to the Angel, but he replied, though thou detain me, yet I will not eat of thy bread, Judg. 13.15, 16. So we; let us shew our Conversation to be heavenly, by our undervaluing of earthly things; let not the world be our beloved Delilah, neither let us idolize a creature enjoyment. Let not our hearts long after the fleshpots of Egypt, nor say to the wedge of gold, thou art my confidence. Let us consider, these things are unsuit­able to our immortal souls, which are buds of Heaven, and blossoms of eternity, bubbled from the fountain of spirits, and which cannot be truly satisfied till they center and repose themselves in God the onely complement of real happiness and felicity. Besides, earthly comforts are inconstant and uncertain, and so not fit objects for our love; there is a deal of imposture in sublunary content­ments, and they have their flux and reflux, like the floating Euripus. You shall see one to day upon mount Pisgah, and by and by he takes up his lodging in Hadadrimmon the vale of tears: [...], says the Apo­stle, [Page 15] the fashion of the world passes away, 1 Corinth. 7.31.Locutio desum­pta est à then­tro, Grot. in locum. Noli huic tran­quillitati con­fidere, momento temporis mare evertitur, & eodem die in quo luserunt navi­gia, absorhen­tur, Sen. Epist. 4. The best Emblems we can set out the world by, is a dying Taper, a fading Meteor, or an Abortive which in one day fills the Calendar both with its birth and dissolution. Such a fickleness in these terrene acquirements, that Alexander made a sword to be portrayed upon a table within a wheel, intimating that what he had got be con­quest was subject to be changed and altered by the wheel of fortune.

And Sesostris having his Chariot drawn with four ca­ptive Kings, observed one of them ever and anon to look behind him; being asked the reason, said,Foelices enim vel nos vel filios nostros, non di­vitiae terrenae faciunt, aut nobis viventi­bus amittendae, Deus est qui foe­aut nobis mortuis à quibus nescimus (vel forte à quibus nolumus) possidendae, lices facit, qui est mentium vera opulentia, August. de Civit. Dei lib. 5. cap. 18. cogito de mutabilitate fortunae, I am meditating of the alterations of fortune, for that part of the wheel which is the highest, is presently again the lowest, which to me is an emblem of the inconstancy of earthly joyes.

Let us also take a survey of their uselesness as to the help of our afflicted bodies; a velvet slipper cannot cure the gout, nor the gold of Ophir ransom us from a distem­per. All our affluence cannot repair a breach in our clay cottages, but we lie and die upon our languishing couches notwithstanding worldly assistances. Neither can they in the least advantage our souls: all the oyl in the world cannot smooth the face of a galled conscience,Nec fortuna nec solitudines protegebant, quin tormenta pectoris fatere­tur, Tacitus. nor all the wine exhilarate the spirit of a guilty criminal. Tis said of Tiberius, that all the divertisements of the Empire were not able to secure him from inward scourges, and as for the redemption of our souls, we know that cannot be with corruptible things, as silver and gold, but onely with the bloud of Jesus Christ, 1 Pet. 1.18.

Therefore let us live by faith and not by sight;Sic tenete quae sunt hujus mundi, ut non teneamini in mundo, terre­na res possidea­tur, non possi­deat, sit res tem­poralis in usu, aeterna in desi­derio, Gregor. Homil. 14. in Luc. mind those things that are eternal, and not dote on those that are transitory and temporal. Let us not content our selves with the prodigals husks, when as we may eat of the tree of life in the midst of the paradise of God. Let us not a­dore the broken Cisterns and despise the water of the heavenly Bethlehem. Let us with Moses have an eye to the recompence of reward, to the Crown of Righteousness, and to the exceeding eternal weight of glory; and though we must use these worldly things, yet let them be onely as a necessary viaticum in our journey towards our desired home.

Lastly, the Angels in heaven lead a Conversation eminent for praise and thankfulness. This is the Saints everlasting work, they make up a heavenly quire, and are ever ecchoing out their melodious notes. There the sons of the morning shout with joy: David tunes his harp, and Moses and Deborah sing their songs of deliver­ance. Were we but a while rapt with Saint Paul into the third Heaven, what praises should we hear them give to the Father of Spirits, who hath settled them in eter­nal bliss, ransomed them from the flames of the infernal Tophet, and hath made them Kings and Priests unto himself. The Scriptures record some of their Anthems, how they say Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, Thou art worthy to receive honour and glory and power, for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created, Revel. 4.11.

So we; let our Conversation be Heavenly in respect of our continued praises;Vid. praeconia Constant. mag. in ejus vita, re­forent. Euseb. cap. 56, 57, 58. lib. 2. they are a special sacrifice we owe to God, he ought to have the Calves of our lips, and most rightly doth inherit the praises of Israel: hence the Jews had this godly usage, that in their writings when they [Page 17]named God, they did insert this abbreviature, the holy, or the blessed one; and when they celebrated the pass­over, at the end thereof they had the great Halelujah, consisting of several Eucharistical Psalms. Let us in like manner speak good of his name with Jacob, Quisquis es mortalium, hoc mihi extremum calamitatis ge­nus accidit, ut pro tanto bene­ficio dignas tibi grates referre nequeam; at re­ferat Alexan­der, Alexandro verò dii, pro ejus summaá in meos humanitate & clementiá, Ju­stin. lib. 2. Gen. 32.10. and with Abraham, ever and anon erect an al­tar to the Lord the everlasting God. Plato thanked God he was a man, not a bruit; a Grecian, not a Barba­rian. How highly did Darius resent the kindness of Poly­stratus, who brought him a little water before his depar­ture. Let not the heathens out-vie us who have a nobler and diviner light to guide us, and more rich and glorious priviledges; Let us praise our God for the formation of our bodies, which are fearfully and wonderfully made, which are animated with rational and immortal souls, when as we might have been as the horse and the mule in whom there is no understanding: as also for the redemption of us, that he hath kept us from sink­ing in that sad abyss of sin and misery whereinto we were plunged; that when by our prevarication we had made our selves children of wrath, that he gave his Son to make an atonement for us, and to reconcile us to himself through the Bloud of the everlasting Covenant. Let us bless him for our preservation, that we are se­cured from sad mischances and direful casualties; that we escape the snare of the fowler and the net of the hunter; that he protects us from the rage of bruits, the fury of Elements, the rod of the oppressour, and the hand of the enemy: Bless we him likewise for the conservatives of life; that we have bread to eat and raiment to put on, that the gates are not black with famine, nor the wells dry without water; but that we have the dew of heaven, the fat of the Earth, the [Page 18]kidneys of wheat, and the pure bloud of the grape; that the clouds drop fatness, affording us the former and later rain in their seasons; that he makes peace within our bor­ders, that our swords are turned into plowshares, and our instruments of war into pruning hooks, so that we sit peaceably under our vines and fig-trees, having none to make us afraid. Let not the stains of a base ingrati­tude cleave to us, that we lightly esteem the Rock of our salvation. Let us not be as the Athenians, who banished most of their noble Philosophers after they had done such worthy atchievements for them; or as the Romans who exiled Scipio Africanus, after he had made their City the mistress of the World; this is not handsom carriage towards so good a Benefactour: But let us say, Dens nobis haec otia fecit, the Lord hath done great things for us whereof we are glad; and therefore bless the Lord O our souls, and all that is within us magnifie His holy Name: Bless the Lord O house of Israel, bless the Lord O house of Aaron; blessed be the Lord out of Sion who dwelleth in Jerusalem, Psal. 135.19. These gratulations will be acceptable to the Almighty, and speedily enter the ears of the Lord of Sabbaoth, these are [...],Chrysost. a foretast of Heaven, and a sweet preludium to our everlasting duty.

Use 1 All which by way of improvement and Application may teach us to learn this great lesson of imitating the holy Angels, and to follow their divine example. Con­formity to the Church Militant is the scruple of many, and is yet the dispute of our times; but none, I hope, will be so bold as to quarrel with the Church Trium­phant; they above can pretend to the doctrine of In­fallibility in a higher measure then the Papal chair; and so we may safely be their imitatours. Therefore as [Page 19]the Israelites in their passage to the earthly Canaan, had an eye to the Cloud and Pillar of fire; thus we in our jour­ney to the heavenly, ought well to heed those glorious Seraphims, those burning lights, for so their name im­ports, the Septuagint rendring them [...], combu­rentes vel incendentes, because they were inflamed with the fire of the Divine love.

Seneca used to say, wheresoever I go I carry Demetri­us along with me; and writing to his friend Lucilius, Elige Catonem vel remissioris animi virum Laelium, illum semper tibi o­stende, vel cu­stodem, vel ex­emplum, Senec. Epist. 11. he bids him set before him Cato or Lelius, or some person that walked most exactly according to the Canon of Mo­rality. So let us set before us these Angelical Beings, tread in their steps, that our Conversations may be re­gular, and we may take the right road to Eternal Glory. Neither let us object and say, alas how can we imitate them, they are spotless and perfect Creatures, not com­posed of contrary qualities; but we are kept down with the poize of the body, the tyes of sense, and the solici­tations of a carnal appetite. Well if we cannot be as ab­solutely holy as they, must we use no endeavours to be holy at all? must the Scholar throw away his Book, because he cannot arrive at the knowledge of his teach­er? or the Apprentice his tools, because he cannot equa­lize the Master Workman?Si ad portum pervehi vis, ma­vum remis ad­moveas oportet, & vela expan­das, non ut oti­osus captes & expectes ab alm ventum, Lips. de Constant. lib. 1. cap. 22. Let us strive and bestir our selves and beg of God the assistance of his enlivening Spirit, that we may walk and not be weary, and run and not faint. Let us do in this case as Phaltiel the son of Laish, who went weeping behind his wise to Bahurim; so seeing in the paths of righteousness we cannot hold an Angels pace, let us follow behind lamenting the defects of our duty, and the blemishes of our Conversation; and what is wanting in our obedience as to its perfection, let it be supplied in the sincerity.

Use 2 But in the second place, if we are to imitate the holy Angels, how may it reprove many who having taken up­on them the profession of Christianity, have nothing of an Heavenly resemblance in their Conversations. Come to Purity, their souls are sinks of sin and cages of un­cleanness; their tables are full of vomit, their mouthes full of cursings and execrations, their hands besmeared with bloud, and by their custom in sinning they have con­tracted the spots of the Leopard, and the blackness of the Ethiopian. Come to Unity, they spurn at it together with brotherly love: like Salamanders they live in the fire of contention, set open the temple of Janus and sa­crifice unto fury. They are for the torrid Zone of quarrels and disputations, as if the temperate climate of moderation were inhabitable; and with Nero strive to make a confla­gration, hoping to warm their hands at these destructive flames. Come to Order, many regard not this; they would turn Monarchy into Democracy, and make the nobles of Israel servile Chams, they would have the spade and scepter of equal value, and upon all magisterial Supremacy would pronounce the Edomites language, down with it, down with it, even to the ground? How disorderly are many as to the Church, they would have Aaron to lay a­side his breast-plate,Qui contemptis Episcopis, & Dei sacerdoti­bus, constituere audent aliud altare, Cypr. de unit. Eccles. and think that any as well as the law­ful Priest may offer the Divine incense, setting a temple upon mount Gerizin in opposition to that of Jerusalem, placing men over Congregations without the Divine di­sposition, make Ministers without Ordination, the plague and bane of Religion sitting not in the Pastoral but in the Pestilential Chair,Cypr. Ibid. as Cyprian complains. Come to Obedience, how many neglect the Duties of the first and second Table, they are for an easie Religion, & can be con­tent to be perswaded that the Antinomian Doctrines are [Page 21]the greatest verities. Come to Abstractedness from the world, how many are strangers to it?Eccemundus in seipso aruit, & tamen in cordi­bus nostris flo­ret, fugientem sequimur, & labenti inhaere­mus, Gregor. Homil. super Evang. Johan. the world and their souls cleave one to another, as Jonathans did to David: the mammon of unrighteousness is their adored Deity: they labour for the bread that perishes and heap up gold as dust; as if they made an agreement with Hell, and a Covenant with the grave, and as if their bodies were like the scales of Leviathan which could not be pierced with the Spear of death.

And lastly come to praise, how many have a taking hand, but no praise-speaking mouth? they take no notice of the Divine Goodness, but applaud onely their own industry, and rest upon second causes: like the Egyptian Husbandmen that worshipped Nilus, but never looked up to him that made it overflow its banks. This is the case of too many who name the Name of Christ: and such untoward Conversations many of us lead that 'tis to be feared God will yet send destroying Angels against us, that seeing we will not regard them as examples, we shall feel them as executioners.

Use 3 It we are to imitate the holy Angels, let it be matter of Caution to us that we do not follow Satan and his Apo­state Legions, those gross revolters from God, who for their Crimes were thrown out of the third Heaven into the lower regions, and are kept in chains of darkness till the judgement of the Great Day. What a Conversation the Devil leads I shall shew in a few Particulars.

1. He is a sworn enemy to Christ and the Gospel. No sooner came the holy Jesus into the world but Satan devi­sed his overthrow, First he set Herod his proxie awork, who by a desparate stratagem thought to have involved him in the massacre of the martyred Innocents; that fail­ing, the Devil comes and personally holds a contest with [Page 22]him in the wilderness, thinking to foil him as he did our first parents in the Garden of Eden. No sooner was the Gospel propagated, but he stirred up Jews and Gen­tiles, Epicureans and Stoicks, and all the kingdoms of the Earth, least it should run and be glorified. When Saint Paul would have come to Thessalonica, Satan hindred him; and afterwards when Christianity got some footing, how did he stir up the Roman Emperours who battered it with ten successive persecutions; more especially he got Ju­lian to use policy as well as power,Julianus vetu­it, nè Christia­norum liberi poetas, & alios seriptores Gen­tiles perdisce­rent, nève ho­rum doctores audirent, So­zom. lib. 5. cap. 17. who strove to raze the name of Christ from under heaven, commanding that the children of Christians should not be trained up in Arts and Sciences, that the vail of darkness and ignorance might cover their faces, and so Christ and Gospel mysteries might be riddles to them. But let us have a care of such a carriage as this. Who ever magnified himself against Christ and prospered? who can brag of his triumphs o­ver the Son of God? the fatal Exit of Antiochus, Julian, Maxentius and such like,Vide Hieron. ad Heliodor. lib. 2. Epist. 22. may discourage us from such at­tempts. What are we to stand it out against Divinity? A head of glass to a head of brass? There is as great a dispro­portion betwixt a victorious Messiah and a frail mortal,Exquisitior cru­delitas vestra magìsest illece­bra sectae, plures efficimur quo­ties metimur, metimur, semen est san­guis Christia­norum, Tertul. in Apol. in fi­ne. as betwixt the thistle and the Cedar in Lebanon; the small Ant and the great Behemoth, whose bones are as pieces of Brass and barrs of Iron. Neither let us lay blocks in the way of the Gospel, it is the truth and shall prevail; it hath the seal of Heaven upon it, and the malice of Earth and Hell shall never foil it: therefore let this be our passionate wish that in all things the Lord Jesus may have the preheminence, that all the kingdoms of the earth may be the kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ; and that the House of the Lord may be established upon the tops of the mountains, and all nations may flow thither, Isa. 2.2.

2. The Devil spends his time in enticing men to sin: he hath his [...] and [...] his depths and devices as the Scripture speaks,Rev. 2.24. Quos non deti­nere potest in viae veteris coe­citate, circum­scribit & deci­pit novi itineris errore, Cypr. de unit. Eccles. he can suit himself to all humours, and dish up meat for every palate; he hath an Apple for Eve, a Grape for Noah, a Bag for Judas, and changes of Raiment for Gehezi. Rather then men shall keep the even way he will draw them to some extream or other, either make them lean to an old superstition, or cheat them with a new light or revelation, or cause them to be given up to a ranting licentiousness: but let us not be the Devils journey-men in alluring men to sin: we have transgressions enough of our own, and had not need to have the bloud of others to answer for; therefore let us not put the bottle to our neighbour, nor say, Come cast in thy lot amongst us; or lay a stumbling block as Balaam did;Si ta [...]ta mer­cedis est à mor­te eripere car­nem, quamvis morituram, quanti est me­riti à morte a­nimam libera­re, Gregor. but let us rather induce men to holiness by our savoury counsels and pious examples. Let us see if we can stop the furious Jehues in their march towards Hell and eter­nal Damnation. See if we can make the Shunammite re­turn, and hast the Prodigal home to his fathers house, knowing that he who converts a sinner from the errour of his way, shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins, as it is, Fames 5.20.

3. The Devil is a slanderer, an accuser,Scias hoc tempo­re esse opus Dia­boli, ut servos Dei mendacio laceret, & glo­riosum nomen falsis opinioni­bus infamet, us qui conscientiae sua luce clares­cunt, alienis rumoribus sor­didentur, Cyprian. Epist. 52. for so his name imports, hence he is stiled Rev. 12.10. the accuser of the brethren who accuses them before God day and night, he spoke evil of Job to God, and told him if he touched his flesh he would curse him to the face. Thus he calumnia­ted Joshua the high Priest and the Church of Israel, till the Lord rebuked him: and to our shame be it spoken, ma­ny come too nigh Satan in this particular, they strive con­tinually to defame their brethren and to make their names which should be as a pretious ointment, like the snuff of a [Page 24]candle, altogether offensive and unsavoury. All their A­rithmetick is to reckon their neighbours crimes, all their business to observe the Errataes of mens Conversation, and are Chymists onely in this to extract the sweetness out of their associates reputations. Thus the Primitive Christians were abused with nick-names and words of re­proach, by men of Belial; all their holy actions mis-inter­preted;Sic pontificii accusahant pro­testantes & San­der. Stapleton. Fevarden. vide R. P. Morton. in Antidot. contra merita, cap. 20. sect. 2. which made Tertullian, Justin Martyr and others write their defensive Apologies; and as it was then, so now none can go without a censure. If a man be of a quiet and sedate temper, he passes for a Lukewarm Laodicean; if he be active and stirring then he is a fiery Zelot; if he seem to stand up for the doctrine of Justification by Faith, he is accounted a Solifidian; and if he be inclined to good works and alms-deeds,Detractores sunt canes Dia­boli, gregem ejus custodien­tes, &c. Paral. de vitio ling. lib. 2. Tractar. 9. then he is for Papistical merit. But let us beware of this, and exercise Christian Charity which thinketh no evil, but beareth all things, and hopeth all things. Let us not make blots where there be none, magnifie Peccadillo's, as if they were gross impieties, and if our brother should offend, let us not trumpet out his sin and shame: it behoves us rather with Sem and Japheth to cover his nakedness, and if we can, restore him with the spirit of meekness, considering as the Apostle says, that we our selves may also be tempted, Gal. 6.1.

4. The Devil is full of pride: So far as we can see, that was his Primitive sin, and so much seems to be intimated in the 1 Tim. 3.6.Cornel. à La­pide. Piscat. in locum. Ait Augu­stinus, Dia­bolum elatione inflatum, vo­luisse nominari Deum, in quaest. vet. & nov. Test. where it is commanded that a Bishop should not be a novice (that is, one newly come to the faith) lest being puffed up with pride, he fall into the condemnation of the Devil: and this he retained after his Apostacy; Surely it was his haughty humour led him to contest with our blessed Saviour, and to dispute with Michael about the body of Moses, though it may be, other ends too were [Page 25]proposed in these altercations. And thus he remains a defi­er of God, an opposite to Jesus Christ, and a sworn enemy to the sons of Adam. But let us avoid this sin: And first let us take heed of an Atheistical pride. Some live as if they were Independents, and were not obliged to the glo­rious God: with Pherycides they laugh at a Deity, esteem the exercises of Religion as a piece of the Kingdom, as if they were delusive Doctrines, and the most Romantick fooleries. But this pride will be humbled ere long: God sometimes takes them to task here, and makes them fired Beacons of his indignation, that others may hear and fear, and do no more so wickedly; and if such be not met with presently, yet He whom it may be with Julian, they call the Carpenters Son, will provide a Coffin, (and a worse thing too) for them (as the holy man predicted.)Sozom. lib. 6. cap. 2.

2. Others have a spiritual conceitedness: they look upon themselves as the Grandees of Religion; the great Monopolizers of Grace and Piety; the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof: they look on others as punies and underlings, and vaunt it with the Pharisee, God I thank thee I am not as other men are: If a man have been brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, or with Moses be skil­led in the learning of the Egyptians; they shake their heads at him as an Epicurean or a Stoick: As if spiritual graces and natural acquirements could not reside in one and the same subject. If there be another that strives to be an active Christian rather then a talking one; they hoot at him as a ceremonious Legalist, and pass their rash censures upon the soberest Saints, as if they were acquainted with the counsels of Heaven, and knew who were Apostles and who Apostates: but know, God hath not intailed his grace and favour upon two or three individuals. There is [Page 26]a fountain set open for Judah and Jerusalem; and in every nation, he that feareth God and worketh righteousness, is accepted by him. And surely I should most distrust those persons that boast they are so cock-sure of salvation, that brag in every company of shinings and sealings, of sonship and adoption: certain I am, the truest Christians work out their salvation with fear and trembling, and walk humbly with their God: That traveller always makes the least noise that hath the greatest charge of treasure. Therefore let us be cloathed with humility; let us confess with Abraham, Vera pietas ne­scis supercilium, simulata san­ctitas gravis est asperitate morum. Erasm. in 1 Corinth. 13.4. we are but as dust and ashes before the Lord; and learn of Christ to be meek and lowly in Spirit, utter­ing the Publicans miserere, God be merciful to us sinners. And let us have an affectionate carriage towards our bre­thren, let the law of kindness be in our tongue, account­ing our selves rather with the holy Apostle the greatest of sinners, and the least of Saints; and owning all the pro­fessours of the truth as members of the same mystical body, whereof Jesus Christ is the head.

There be several other particulars in which we may imi­tate Satan;Quamobremhoc tene, differri a­liquando impios non dimitti, nec crimen quenquam i [...] ­pectore. [...] are, qui non [...]m N [...]l [...]in in ter­go, Lips. de Constant. lib. 2. cap. 13. as in his Apostacy, envy and malice, lusting to do mischief, which I shall not now insist upon; all which we are to avoid as so many rocks and precipices in our passage to the land of promise: knowing this, that hose that are fellows with him in sin, shall be co-partners with him in punishment, and shall take up their lodgings with him in the infernal dungeons, where they shall do severe penance for their impieties, till eternity confess a period.

Use last. But rather be we exhorted to follow the best examples, and to choose the safest road, even that path which the blessed Angels have chalked out unto us. Every noted Philosopher of old had his train, to whom his dictates [Page 27]were as so many Oracles, and who received his precepts with the highest reverence and veneration; let us not then slight these noble Heroes, who do afford us an exact me­thod and lively representations of our incumbent duty.Si necessariam habemus fami­liaritatem dig­nationis Ange­licae, cavenda est nobis eorum offensa, & in his maximè ex­ercendum, qui­bus novimus eos oblectari. Bernard. Let us not sit and pore upon the earth, make circles in the dust, and tye our selves to the modes and forms of de­praved mortals, when we have such a rare copy and exem­plar given us by those Divine intelligences. Let not our untamed passions hurry us out of the strait road of piety and vertue, lest we vex their ingenuous natures, and cause them to deplore our sad excursions and eccentrical moti­ons. But let it be our care and study to perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord, that they may rejoyce over us, and congratulate our proficiency. In a word to wind up all, let our Purity be conspicuous, and our Unity be obli­ging; Let our Order be exact, and our obedience Univer­sal: Let our abstractedness from the world be through, and real, our praises large and persevering; then shall we truly be [...], like to the Angels as in duty, so in glo­ry; then shall we be taken up to them to mount Sion and the new Jerusalem which is above, where we shall see God face to face, and know even as also we are known, where our heads shall be environed with glorious Crowns, our hands dignified with graceful Palms, our bodies clo­thed with garments of light and immortality, our tong [...] also shall always sound out Canticles of Triumph, to the ever blessed and adored Trinity,R [...] 13. even that of the Saints and Angels, Blessing, honour, glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon the Throne, and to the Lamb for ever and ever. Amen.