presenters went backward, or fell down; wine did so occupy their upper chambers. Now did appear in rich dress, Hope, Faith and Charity: Hope did essay to speak, but wine rendered her endeavors so feeble that she withdrew, and hoped the king would excuse her brevity: Faith was then all alone, for I am certain she was not joined with good works, and left the court in a staggering condition; Charity came to the king's feet, and seemed to cover the multitude of sins her sisters had committed in some sort she made obeisance and brought gifts; but said she would return home again, as there was no gift which Heaven had not already given his Majesty. She then returned to Hope and Faith who were both in the lower hall. Next came Victory, in bright armor, and presented a rich sword to the king, who did not accept it, but put it by with his hand; and, by a strange medley of versification, did endeavor to make suit to the king. But Victory did not triumph long; for, after much lamentable utterance, she was led away like a silly captive, and laid to sleep in the outer steps of the ante-chamber. Now did Peace make entry, and strive to get foremost to the king; but I grieve to tell how great wrath she did discover unto those of her attendants; and, much contrary to her semblance, most rudely made war with her olive branch, and laid on the pates of those who did oppose her coming.

I have much marvelled at these strange pageantries, and they do bring to my remembrance what passed of this sort in our queen's days; of which I was sometime an humble presenter and assissant; but I ne'er did see such lack of good order, discretion, and sobriety, as I have now done. I have passed much time in seeing the royal sports of hunting and hawking, where the manners were such as made me devise the beasts were pursuing the sober creation, and not man in quest of exercise or food. I will now, in good sooth, declare to you, who will not blab, that the gunpowder fright is got out of all our heads, and we are going on, hereabouts, as if the devil was contriving every man should blow up himself, by wild riot, excess, and devastation of time and temperance. The great ladies do go well masked, and indeed it be the only show of their modesty to conceal their countenance ; but, alack, they meet with such countenance to uphold their

strange doings, that I marvel not at aught that happens. The lord of the mansion is overwhelmed in preparations at Theobalds, and doth marvellously please both kings, with good meat, good drink, and good speeches. I do often say (but not aloud,) that the Danes have again conquered the Britons, for I see no man, or woman either, that can now command himself or herself. I wish I was at home:-O rus, quando te aspiciam?

148.-Examples of Spiritual Perfection.

BATES.

[DR. WILLIAM BATES was one of the most eminent of the divines whose conscientious scruples removed them from the Church of England in 1662, under the Act of Uniformity. He had previously been one of the king's chaplains; had been offered the deanery of Lichfield and Coventry; and at the time of his ejectment was vicar of St. Dunstan's in the West. There is something exceedingly touching in a passage in his farewell sermon to his parishioners: "It is neither fancy, faction, nor humor, that makes me not comply but merely the fear of offending God. And if, after the best means used for my illumination (as prayer to God, discourse, and study) I am not able to be satisfied as to the lawfulness of what is required; if it be my unhappiness to be in error; surely men will have no reason to be angry with me in this world, and I hope God will pardon me in the next," After his secession from the established Church, Dr. Bates became the minister of a congregation of Protestant Dissenters at Hackney, at which place he died in 1699, in his seventy-fourth year. His works were collected in 1700, in a folio volume, which has been several times reprinted.]

The Gospel proposes the most animating examples of perfec

tion.

We are commanded to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. There are some attributes of God, which are objects, not of our imitation, but of our highest veneration. Such are his eternity, immensity, omnipotence, immutability. There are other attributes, his moral perfections, which are imitable-holiness, goodness, justice, truth. These are fully declared in his law, and visibly in his providence. This command, as was before explained,

is to be understood, not of an equality, but of a resemblance. God is essentially, transcendently, and unchangeably holy, the original of holiness in intelligent creatures. There is a greater disproportion between the holiness of God and that of angels, though it be unspotted, than between the celerity of the sun in the heavens and the slow motion of the shadow upon the dial regulated by it. It should be our utmost aim, our most earnest endeavor, to imitate the divine perfection. Then is the soul godlike, when its principal powers, the understanding and the will, are influenced by God.

The heathen deities were distinguished by their vices-intemperance, impurity, and cruelty; and under such patronage their idolaters sinned boldly. The true God commands us to "be holy, as he is holy; to be followers of Him as dear children." Love produces desires and endeavors of likeness.

The life of Christ is a globe of precepts, a model of perfection set before us for our imitation. In some respects this is more proportionable to us; for in him were united the perfections of God with the infirmities of a man. He was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners." His purity was absolute, and every grace in the most divine degree was expressed in his actions. His life and death were a compounded miracle, of obedience to God and love to men. Whatever his Father ordered him to undertake, or undergo, he entirely consented to; he willingly took on him the form of a servant; it was not put upon him by compulsion. In his life, humility towards men, infinite descents below him, self-denial, zeal for the honor of God, ardent desires for the salvation and welfare of men, were as visible as the flame discovers fire. In his sufferings obedience and sacrifice were united. The willingness of his spirit was victorious over the repugnance of the natural will in the garden. "Not my will, but thine be done," was his unalterable choice. His patience was insuperable to all injuries. He was betrayed by a disciple for a vile price, and a murderer was preferred before him. He was scorned as a false prophet, as a feigned king, and as a deceitful saviour. He was spit on, scourged, crowned with thorns, and crucified; and in the height of his sufferings never expressed a spark of anger against his enemies, nor the least degree of impa

tience. Now consider, it was one principal reason of his obedience to instruct and oblige us to conform to his pattern, the certain and constant rule of our duty. We may not securely follow the best saints, who sometimes, through ignorance and infirmity, deviate from the narrow way; but our Saviour is "the way, the truth and the life." What he said, after his washing the disciple's feet, (an action wherein there was such an admirable mixture of humility and love, that it is not possible to conceive which excelled, for they were both in the highest perfection,) "I have given you an example, that as I have done to you, so do ye," is applicable to all the kinds of virtues and graces exhibited in his practice. He instructs us to do by his doings, and to suffer by his sufferings. He suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we may follow his steps." He levels the way by going before us. Those duties that are very harsh to sensible nature, he instructs us in by his preaching and by his passion. How can we decline them, when performed by him in whom the glorious Deity was personally united to the tender humanity? His life was a continual lecture of mortification. It is the observation of the natural historian, that the tender providence of nature is admirable, in preparing medicines for us in beautiful fragrant flowers; that we might not refuse the remedy, as more distasteful than our diseases. But how astonishing is the love of God, who sent his Son for our redemption from eternal death; and in his example has sweetened those remedies which are requisite for the cure of our distempered passions! Taking up the cross, and submitting to poverty and persecution, are made tolerable, by considering that in enduring them we follow our Redeemer. Can any motive more engage and encourage our obedience, than the persuasive pattern and commanding example of our Sovereign and Saviour? Can we be averse from our duty, when our lawgiver teaches us obedience by his own practice? Can any invitation be more attractive than to do that from love to him which he did for love to us and our vation? We are his subjects by the dearest titles, and our own consent; we are dedicated to his honor; and as the apostle tells the Galatians, "If ye are circumcised, ye are debtors to keep the whole law;" by the same reason, if we are baptized, we are obliged to obey the law of faith, to order our

lives according to the doctrine and example of Christ. An unholy Christian is a contradiction so direct and palpable, that one word destroys another; as if one should say, a living carcass, or a cold calenture. We must adorn the Gospel of Christ by the sacred splendor of our actions. A life innocent from gross notorious sins is a poor perfection; we must "show forth the virtues of him who hath called us to his kingdom and glory." Men usually observe what is eminently good, or extremely bad. The excellent goodness of Christians recommends the goodness of the Gospel, and ought to convince infidels that it came from the Fountain of goodness.

The primitive Christians endured the fiery trial with insuperable constancy; and the most powerful argument that inspired their courage, despising life and death, was, that Christ was their leader in those terrible conflicts; he was their spectator, when they encountered fierce beasts, and fiercer tyrants, for the defence of his truth, and glory of his name; and while they were suffering for him he was preparing immortal crowns for them. This St. Cyprian, in his pastoral letters to the Christians in Africa, represents with such powerful eloquence, as kindled in their breasts a love to Christ stronger than death.

The angels are propounded to us as a pattern for our imitation. Our Saviour directs our desires, that "the will of God may be done on earth, as it is done in heaven." The will of God is either decretive or preceptive. The decretive extends to all events; nothing falls out at random, nothing by rash chance and casualty; but all things come to pass according to the counsel of his will, by his efficiency or his permission. The preceptive will of God is the rule of our duty. This is the will of God, even your sanctification." This is intended here; for it is to be performed in conformity to the obedience of the angels. But it is comprehensive of our resigned submission to the will and wisdom of God in the disposals of providence, as well as to our active subjection to his commands. We are equally obliged to acknowledge and honor his dominion in ordering all things, as to yield obedience to his sovereignty declared in his laws. The psalmist addresses himself to the angels, as our pattern; "Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening to