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those and other obligations, they be active and zealous in all parts of their duty, and especially strict and exact in all holy conversation, that so they may become examples to the flock.

. III. To this end, that they be constantly resident upon their cures in their incumbent houses, and keep sober hospitality there, according to their ability.

IV. That they diligently catechise the children and youth of their parishes, (as the rubric of the Common Prayer Book and the 59th Canon enjoin), and so prepare them to be brought in due time to Confirmation, when there shall be opportunity and that they also, at the same time, expound the grounds of religion and our common Christianity in the method of the catechism, for the instruction and benefit of the whole parish, teaching them what they are to believe, and what to do, and what to pray for; and particularly often and earnestly inculcating upon them the importance and obligation of their baptismal vows.

V. That they perform the daily office publicly (with all decency, affection, and gravity) in all market and other great towns; and, even in villages and less populous places, bring people to public prayers as frequently as may be; especially on such days and at such times as the rubric and canons appoint; on holy days, and their eves, on Ember and Rogation days, on Wednesdays and Fridays in each week, especially in Advent and Lent.

VI. That they use their utmost endeavour, both in their sermons, and by private application, to prevail with such of their flock as are of competent age to receive frequently the holy communion; and to this end, that they administer it in the greater towns once in every month, and even in the lesser too, if communicants may be procured, or, however, as often as they may: and that they take all due care, both by preaching and otherwise,

to prepare all for the worthy re ceiving of it.

VII. That in their sermons they teach and inform their people (four times a-year at the least, as the first canon requires) that all usurped and foreign jurisdiction is, for most just causes, taken away and abolish ed in this realm, and no manner of obedience or subjection due to the same, or to any that pretend to act by virtue of it; but that, the king's power being in his dominions highest under God, they upon all occasions persuade the people to loyalty and obedience to his majesty in all things lawful, and to patient submission in the rest; promoting (as far as in them lies) the public peace and quiet of the world.

VIII. That they maintain fair correspondence (full of the kindest respects of all sorts) with the gentry and persons of quality in their neigh bourhood, as being sensible what seasonable assistance and counte nance this poor church hath received from them in her necessities.

IX. That they often exhort all those of our communion to continue

stedfast to the end in their most holy faith, and constant to their profession; and to that end, to take heed of all seducers, and especially of popish emissaries, who are now in great numbers gone forth amongst them, and are more busy and active than ever. And that they take all occasions to convince our own, that it is not enough for them to be members of an excellent church, rightly and duly reformed, both in faith and worship, unless they do also reform and amend their own lives, and so order their conversation in all things as becomes the Gospel of Christ.

X. And forasmuch as those Romish emissaries, like the old serpent, insidiantur calcaneo, are wont to be most busy and troublesome to our people at the end of their lives, labouring to unsettle and perplex them in the time of sickness, and at the hour of death: that: there. fore all who have the cure of souls.

be more especially vigilant over them at that dangerous season: that they stay not till they be sent for, but inquire out the sick in their respective parishes, and visit them frequently: that they examine them particularly concerning the state of their souls, and instruct them in their duties, and settle them in their doubts, and comfort them in their sorrows and sufferings, and pray often with them and for them; and, by all the methods which our church prescribes, prepare them for the due and worthy receiving of the holy Eucharist, the pledge of their happy resurrection: thus with their utmost diligence watching over every sheep within their fold (especially in that critical moment) lest those evening wolves devour them.

XI. That they also walk in wisdom towards those that are not of our communion; and if there be in our parishes any such, that they neglect not frequently to confer with them in the spirit of meekness, seeking by all good ways and means to gain and win them over to our communion: more especially, that they have a very tender regard to our brethren the Protestant Dissenters: that, upon occasion offered, they visit them at their houses, and receive them kindly at their own, and treat them fairly wherever they meet them, discoursing calmly and civilly with them; persuading them (if it may be) to a full compliance with our church, or at least that "whereto we have already attained we may all walk by the same rule, and mind the same thing." And in order hereunto, that they take all opportunities of assuring and convincing them, that the bishops of this church are really and sincerely irreconcilable enemies to the errors, superstitions, idolatries, and tyrannies of the Church of Rome; and that the very unkind jealousies which some have had of us to the contrary were altogether groundless. And, in the last place, that they warmly and most affectionately exhort them to join with us in daily fervent prayer

to the God of peace, for the universal blessed union of all Reformed Churches both at home and abroad against our common enemies; that all they who do confess the holy name of our dear Lord, and do agree in the truth of his holy word, may also meet in one holy communion, and live in perfect unity and godly love.

FAMILY SERMONS.-No. CLXXXVIII.

Ephes. iv. 1.-I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.

WHEN St. Paul wrote this Epistle, he was a prisoner at Rome for the sake of the Gospel. He could not visit the churches he had planted; he could not comfort them by his presence, or perform among them those pastoral and apostolic offices which it was the delight of his soul to exercise; but he could pray for them to Him who seeth in secret, and he could instruct and warn and console them by means of his pen. And both these he most gladly did. In the very verses which go before the text, forming the conclusion of the third chapter, we find him exhibiting in a most earnest manner the former of these marks of care for his beloved flock. "I bow my knees," he says, "unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, and to know the love of God, which passeth knowledge." Having thus uttered his earnest prayers for them, he goes on in the text, and throughout the Epistle, to exhort them to a faithful and di

gent discharge of their obligations as Christians; which he sums up in one expressive phrase, "to walk worthy of the vocation with which they were called.". What, then, is the Christian's vocation; and what is it to walk worthy of it? These 'two inquiries will furnish the subject of our present meditation.

First, What is the Christian's vocation?-A person's vocation, in ordinary language, means his profession or employment in life. Now the Christian has a spiritual calling, which the Apostle defines when he addresses the Romans as "beloved of God and called to be saints." The Christian is called to salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. It is spoken of in Scripture as a "high calling," a "holy calling," and a "heavenly calling. But we shall see its nature more fully, if we consider what the Christian is called from, and what he is called to; in other words, what was his condition before his conversion to God, and what is his condition afterwards.

1. With regard to the first of these particulars, all mankind are by nature in a state of sin and death. The Ephesian converts had been heathen idolaters, the worshippers, of the fabled goddess Diana. Their state is described in the second chapter of this Epistle, where the Apostle speaks of them as having been dead in trespasses and sins; walking according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air; having their conversation in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and children of wrath even as others. Now, with the exception of gross heathen idolatry, to which we have no temptation, our state by nature differs nothing from theirs; we walk in the same evil ways, and are like them "children of wrath." We profess indeed in our baptism "to renounce the devil and all his works, the pomps and vanity of this wicked world, and all the sinful lusts of the flesh;" but

till we truly, as well as by profession, become "new creatures in Christ Jesus," we fulfil no one article of this solemn stipulation. The Gospel addresses us as in a state of guilt and misery, under the dominion of sin, exposed to the anger of God, and heirs of destruction. There is no exception in this respect. "We have proved," says the Apostle, "both Jews and Gentiles to be all under sin." Such, then, is the state of sinfulness and misery out of which the Christian is called.

2. To what is he called? He is called to a state the very opposite of his natural condition. He is called "from darkness to light, and from the kingdom of Satan to the kingdom of God's dear Son." "Ye," says the Apostle Peter, addressing the Christian converts who had formerly been heathens, but were now called by the grace of God to the knowledge and belief of the faith of Christ, and to obedience to its precepts," yẹ are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people." This state of privilege is also ours, if we are true Christians. Were we by nature ignorant of God, of ourselves, and of the things that belong to our peace? Christ is made unto us "wisdom:" we have learned our sinfulness, our need of an atonement, and the mercy of God in revealing to us the means of pardon through Christ Jesus, and offering it to our acceptance. Were we living without God and without hope in the world? says St. Paul, "called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ," or, as the same Apostle elsewhere expresses it, “called into the grace of Christ." Were we exposed to the displeasure of God for our sins, and to eternal punishment in the world to come? we are called to a state of pardon and acceptance, of peace and hope, of salvation and eternal glory. How insignificant are all other distinctions among men compared with this! A high station in society is usually coveted; and

we are now,

we are apt to look upon it as a grievous misfortune to be cast down to a low one. But there is one vocation, the vocation of a Christian, which can shed a ray of happiness and of dignity over the most obscure earthly lot; while without it the highest would only end in vanity and bitter disappointment. Our calling as Christians, our Church well explains in the Baptismal Service; it is "to follow the example of our Saviour Christ, and to be made like unto him." This calling is recommended to us by all that is truly valuable and praise-worthy. In selecting an earthly calling, some men choose that which is most likely to lead to wealth: but here is a vocation which introduces us to "durable riches and righteousness," to treasures which moth and rust cannot corrupt, or thieves break through and steal, reserved in heaven for us. Others of a more ambitious character choose that which opens the most probable road to worldly dignities and preferments: but here is a calling which brings upon us "the honour that cometh from God," an alliance to the sovereign and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, as his children, and heirs to a crown of glory that fadeth not away. Others prefer some profession which, with less splendid results of riches or honour in the end, allows of greater ease and enjoyment during its prosecution: here is a service which is perfect freedom; a yoke which is easy, and a burden which is light; a way of pleasantness and a path of peace. Thus our heavenly vocation as Christians unites all that can gladden and benefit the soul of man; it is a state of life infinitely desirable; it restores us, through Christ, to the purity and happiness which we lost by the fall of Adam; it is the gate of admission to whatever is really good, and the only sure road of escape from whatever is evil. It is purified, by its connexion with Him -whose name is holy; it is rendered blessed, by leading us to Him who

is the eternal Fountain of all true enjoyment; it is surpassingly honourable, from its union with the sacred Majesty of heaven and the splendours of the unseen world.

Secondly, Let us inquire what is meant by walking worthy of this vocation. In every rank of human life, there is a suitableness of deportment according to the age, station, and circumstances of the individual. We easily perceive what line of conduct is befitting in those above us, around us, or below us, and are shocked at the slightest deviations from the course of due propriety. In like manner the vocation of the Christian requires a deportment conformable to its character. Before his conversion to God, he was "in the world and of the world;" he acted consistently with his corrupt nature; he was led away by the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eye, or the pride of life. But, now that he has received a new and spiritual character, his natural tastes, desires, and conduct are overruled by the prevalence of higher principles. To love the world and the things of the world, and to make these the objects of his highest hopes and wishes, would be utterly inconsistent with his renovation of mind. Being buried with Christ, he dies to sin; being risen with Christ, he seeks the things which are above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. The vocation which he has been led by the Holy Spirit to choose, is to be the servant of God: "one is his master, even Christ." It becomes, then, the servant to do the will of his Lord. He has professed that Christ is his Prophet; it becomes this profession that he should meekly receive his instructions. He has professed that Christ is his Priest; it becomes this profession that he should rest upon his atoning sacrifice, and apply for the pardoning and cleansing application of his blood to his guilty conscience. He has professed that Christ is his King; it becomes this profession that he should strive to

obey his laws. His calling, as we have seen, is a "holy calling;" his thoughts therefore, his affections, his words, and his actions, should be holy. What were those thoughts by nature? We learn from the page of inspiration, that " God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." It is becoming, therefore, the Christian's renovated nature that his thoughts and imaginations should now be the very contrary of this; that they should be employed on holy objects; that "his delight should be in the law of the Lord, and that in that law he should me ditate day and night." It is becoming his profession also, that his affections should be holy; that he should love God with all his heart, and soul, and mind, and strength; and hate every sinful way. His words likewise should be holy; he should "purpose that his mouth shall not transgress;" his "tongue should talk of righteousness all the day long;" he should "put away all clamour and evil speaking;" all blasphemy and filthy communication," and should "let his speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt." His actions also should be holy; springing from holy motives and directed to holy ends. Having repented, he should do works meet for repentance; he should "serve God in newness of spirit;" he should "yield himself unto Him, as alive from the dead, and his members as instruments of righteousness;" he should "walk honestly, as in the day," "putting on the Lord Jesus, and making no provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof." If the Christian would know what conduct suits his profession, let him consider the invaluable privileges which he has received; the price paid for his redemption; the love displayed in the pardon of his sins, notwithstanding their number and magnitude; the infinite obligations conferred upon him; the inestima

ble hopes made sure to him through faith in the Son of God; the sanctifying nature of the doctrines which he has received; the sacred influence of Christian principle; the sanctity of the Divine commands; the example of his Saviour; and the promised grace of the Holy Spirit to purify his soul. After such considerations he can be at no loss to know what becomes, and what is inconsistent with, his professed cha racter. He can feel no doubt as to what manner of men Christians ought to be in all holy conversation and godliness; how those ought to live, and speak, and act, who are "not their own, but are bought with the price of the blood of Christ;" who profess themselves tó be "pilgrims and strangers upon earth," who believe in an all-seeing God, a holy law, a future judgment, and an eternal state of rewards and punishments.

The Apostle has explained at length, in the verses which follow the text, and the remaining chapters of the Epistle, what he included in the expression which we are considering. He enlarges upon the various duties of Christians, as husbands and wives, parents and children, masters and servants; and grounds them all upon the principles of the Gospel of Christ, as fruits of faith, obedience, and love. He exhorts the Ephesians to lowli ness and meekness; to long-suffering and forbearance; to peace and unity; to truth and purity; in a word, "to put off, concerning the former conversation, the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and to put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." This is to walk worthy of our vocation, and to adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour.

But it may be asked, in conclusion, Why should we thus endeavour to walk worthy of the Christian character? Will it not render life burdensome, and keep us under a constant restraint? In answer to

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