in the meditation and practice of the commands of God. So the first Chriftians, / who spent their lives in devotion, faith, and charity, are said, Acts ii. 46. to have eaten their meat with gladness and fingleness of beart. And 'tis a delightful defcription we have of the apofties, 2 Cor vi. 10. As forrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet pofJeffing all things.

3. Vigour and activity, or much earnestnefs and application of mind, is a third property of an habit. 'Tis impoffible not to be intent upon thofe things for which we have even an habitual paffion, if this expreffion may be allow'd me; an inclination, which has gathered ftrength and authority from cuftom, will exert itself with fome warmth and brisknefs. Now certainly there is nothing more frequently required of, or attributed to the perfect man in fcripture, than zeal and fervency of fpirit in the ways of God; and no wonder; for when actions flow at once from principles and cuftom; when they fpring from love, and are attended by pleafure, and are incited and quickened by faith and hope too; how can it be, but that we fhould repeat them with fome eagerness, and feel an holy impatience as often as we are hindered or disappointed? and as the nature of the thing hews, that thus it ought

ought to be, fo are there innumerable instances in the Old Teftament and the New, which make it evident that thus it was. Shall I mention the example of our Lord, who went about doing good, Acts x. 38 ? fhall I propose the labours and travels of St. Paul? thefe patterns it may be will be judged by fome too bright and dazling a light for us to look on, or at least too perfect for us to copy after; and yet St. John tells us, that be, who fays he abides in him, ought himself alfo so to walk, even as he walked, 1 John ii. 6. And we are exhorted to be followers of the apostles, as they were of Chrift. But if the fervency of Chrift and St. Paul seemed to have foared out of the reach of our imitation, we have inferior inftances enough, to prove the zeal and fruitfulness of habitual goodness. Thus David fays of himself, Pfal. cxix. 10. With my whole heart have I fought thee. And Jofiah, 2 Kings xxiii. 25. is faid to have turned to the Lord with all his foul, and with all his might. How fervent was Anna, who departed not from the temple, but ferved God with faftings and prayers night and day, Luke ii. ? How charitable Tabitha, who was full of good works and alms-deeds which she did, Acts ix. 36? where fhall I place Cornelius? with what words fhall I fet out his virtues? with what but thofe of the Holy Ghoft, Acts x. 2. He was a devout

37

man,

man, and one that feared God with all his boufe, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway. But peradventure fome may imagine, that there is fomething fingular and extraordinary in these eminent perfons, which we must never hope to equal; but must be content to follow them at a vaft diftance. Well, let this be fo; what have we to fay to whole churches animated by the fame spirit of zeal? what are we to think of the churches of Macedonia, whofe charity St. Paul thus magnifies, 2 Cor. viii. 2, 3. In a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded to the riches of their liberality. For to their power I bear record, yea, and beyond their power, they were willing of themselves. And St. Paul declares himfelf perfuaded of the Romans, that they were full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, Rom. xv. 14. And of the Corinthians he teftifies, that they were inriched in every thing, and came behind in no gift. 1 Cor. i. 5, 6. That they did abound in all things, in faith, in diligence, &c. 2 Cor. viii. 7. I will ftop here; 'tis in vain to heap up more inftances: I have faid enough to fhew, that vigour and fervency in the fervice of God, is no miraculous gift, no extraordinary prerogative of fome peculiar favourite of heaven, but the natural and infeparable property of a well-confirmed babit of holiness.

Laftly;

Laftly; Is conftancy and steadiness the property of an habit? it is an undoubted property of perfection too. In fcripture good men are every-where reprefented as Standing faft in the faith, stedfaft and unmoveable in the works of God; holding faft their integrity: in one word, as conftantly following after righteoufnefs, and maintaining a good confcience towards God and man. And fo natural is this to one habitually good, that St. John affirms of fuch a one, that he cannot fin; 1 John iii. 9. Whosoever is born of God, doth not commit fin, for his feed remaineth in him, and be cannot fin, because he is born of God. Accordingly, Job is faid to have feared God, and efchewed evil, which muft be underftood of the conftant courfe of his life. Zachary and Elizabeth are faid to be righteous, walking in all the commandments of God blameless, Lukei. 6. Enoch, Noah, Devid, and other excellent perfons, who are pronounced by God righteous, and juft, and perfect, are faid in fcripture, to walk with God, to ferve him with a perfect heart with a full purpose of heart to cleave to him, and the like. And this is that conftancy which Chriftians are often exhorted to; watch ye, ftand faft in the faith, quit ye like men, be strong, 1 Cor. xvi. 13. And of which the first followers of our Lord left us fuch remarkable examples. The difciples are

faid to have been continually in the temple bleffing and praifing God, Luke xxiv. And the firft Chriftians are faid to have continued ftedfaftly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers, Acts ii. 42.

Thus I think I have fufficiently cleared my notion of Perfection from fcripture : nor need I multiply more texts, to prove 'what I think no man can doubt of, unless he mistake the main defign and end of the gofpel; which is to raise and exalt us to a fteady habit of holiness: The end of the commandment, faith St. Paul, 1 Tim. i. 5. is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good confcience, and of faith unfeigned. This is the utmost Perfection man is capable of, to have his mind enlightened, and his heart purified; and to be informed, acted, and influenced by faith and love, as by a vital principle and all this is effential to habitual goodness.

If any one defire further light or fatiffaction in this matter, let him read the eighth chapter to the Romans, and he will foon acknowledge, that he there finds the fubftance of what I have hitherto advanced. There, though the word itself be not found, the thing called Perfection is described in all the ftrength and beauty, in all the pleasure and advantages of it: there the difciple of Jefus is reprefented

as