by the constant familiarity of every day's attendance upon them, will be apt to take the strongeft impreffions from their example, and to practise accordingly, when they set forward in the world themselves. If a parent or master shews himself pious and virtuous in all his conversation, 'tis to be hop'd, that all his dependants will hereafter, in their several families, pursue the fame good methods of keeping up religion by daily prayers, and reading of the holy Scriptures, by a serious observation of the Lord's day, and bringing their children and servants constantly to Church, in which themselves have been train'd up, and propagating it to late pofterity. THERE remains now only the fourth general head to be confidered; and that is, IV. HOW we may be said to glorify God by our good works. God is essential and eternal glory, to be himself is to be infinitely glorious, and glorious only from himself. His justice, his mercy, his power, his wisdom, his truth, his unchangeableness, his every attribute, is a distinct and perpetual ray, and such an abundant stream of glory from his own divine and excellent nature, as renders it impoffible, for either men or angels, in a strict sense, to glorify him; that is, to add any new honour or luftre to him, by any thing they can fay or do. But though we cannot make him more glorious than he is, we may so declare his glory to our fellow-creatures, both by our words and actions, as may make them more deeply sensible of it, and draw them to the like acknowledgment and admiration of him. And in this sense, I suppose it is, that we are fo frequently enjoined to * glorify God, and to † do all to the glory of God. And we are told, not only in this paragraph of our Saviour's sermon, but in several other places of the New Teftament, that God is pleased to look upon himfelf as then especially glorified by us, when by an holy conversation, fruitful in good works, we imitate him, and live according to his laws: Herein is my Father glorified, fays Christ, that ye bear much fruit. So St. Paul also, || Being fill'd with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Christ Jesus unto the glory and praise of God. And St. Peter exhorts Chriftians, so to behave themselves amongit the Gentiles, That by their good works, which these shall behold, they may glorify God in the day of visitation. Now God is glorified by our good works; or, in other terms, we do by our good works fet forth the glory of God, and recommend him to the veneration and esteem of our fellow creatures. (1.) As he is our Creator. He made mankind in his own image, and stamp'd upon him the impreffions of his own holiness, goodness, and beneficence. By the fall we became wretchedly degenerate, and loft this likeness to him in which we were created; but by the assistance of his gracé given unto us in the new Covenant by Jefus Chrift, we are enabled in some measure to recover it; and the more holy our conversations are, and the more beneficent we are to others, the more honourably we represent our great Creator, whose image we were made to bear. Whatever goodness we have, must necessarily be derived from him: for the moral, as well as natural excellence of our being, can be no more our own primary act or improvement, than our being it felf. If so, the glorious God who made us must be infinitely good, or he could not have communicated any thing of goodness to us. + John xv. 8. || Phil. i. tr. 41 Pet. ii. 12. By By our good works therefore, we represent, tho' imperfectly, the goodness of God who has ftamp'd his own image upon us, and who has qualified us for, and incites us to the practise of them. We glorify God thereby, as we lead men to the confideration of him, as the fountain of every excellence, the * author of every good and perfect gift; the main spring of all the benefits which men receive from us, from one another, or from the ministration of any other creature, as well as from the immediate hand of his own Providence. But, (2.) By our holy conversation and good works, we also set forth the glory of God as our redeemer, and law-giver. We are exprefly told by St Paul, what the design of our redemption was: Chrift +gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. And in another place, that we are created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained, that we should walk in them. Now when we answer the design of our redemption, and walk in that order, and in the practise of those things which are prescribed to us thereupon, we may be faid to glorify our redeemer, as we publickly justify his undertaking, acknowledge our selves to have been in a state of misery and condemnation, confefs the necessity of his redeeming love, and that the method which he has appointed, is the only way to be safe and happy. By our ready compliance with him on his own terms, we necessarily imply all this, and by embracing the strict conditions of holiness, purely at his direction, against the current of our sensual appetites, our natural paffions, and our worldly interefts; we plainly declare our estimation and veneration of him; we subscribe to the wisdom of the : *James i. 17. † Tit. ii. 14. † Eph. ii. 10. law law-giver, and to the excellence of his laws, and we recommend them by our example to the liking and obedience of others, as holy, just and good. And thus it is, that by our good works we glorify God. We add no glory to him, which he had not infinitely and essentially in himself before: But we declare his glory to the world, and recommend him to the love and admiration of our fellow creatures. Let us therefore, as we are bound by all the ties of gratitude and duty to God, and by the intereft of our eternal hopes, so cause the light of our chriftian and holy conversation to shine before men, that they seeing our good works, may glorify our Father which is in heaven. Of the Excellence of the Christian Morality above that of the Jews. MATTH. V. 17, 18, 19, 20. Think not that I am come to destroy the law and the Prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men So, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do, and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no cafe enter into the kingdom of heaven. 2 UR blessed Saviour being now about to correct certain errors, which were crept into the morality of the Jews; to enforce some duties, which were not be fore look'd upon as obligatory, and to explain others which were not rightly understood; thought it necessary to usher in these improvements with a protestation, that he was not come to destroy, but to fulfil the law and the Prophets; lest either the Jews, who were always jealous of any innovations in their law, should be prejudiced againft, and offended at him, as derogating from their inftitution; or left his own Disciples should think, that because he gave them new precepts, he made void their obligation to the ancient scriptural morality. He therefore adds, For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, &c. as though he should say, "The moral law, the precepts of piety, and vir"tue, which ye have received from Mofes and the "Prophets, are of perpetual force, and your obli"gation to them cannot by any means be diffolved, " till the world it felf, and all things in it, have ८८ an end. Whosoever therefore shall pretend a " liberty from my institution, to flight the least of "those commandments, and to teach men that " they ر |