pose it with Perfecution; now this Change of the World makes two different States of the Church, but without making any Difference in the inward personal Holiness of Chriftians, which is to be always the fame, whether the World fmiles or frowns upon it.

WHATEVER Degrees therefore of perfonal Holiness or inward Perfection, was requir'd of the firft Followers of Christ, is ftill in the fame Degree and for the fame Reasons requir'd of all Christians to the End of the World.

HUMILITY, Meeknefs, heavenly_Affection, Devotion, Charity, and a Contempt of the World, are all internal Qualities of perfonal Holiness, they constitute that Spirit and Temper of Religion, which is required for its own Excellence, and is therefore of conftant and eternal Obligation. There is always the fame Fitness and Reafonableness in them, the fame Perfection in practiling of them, and the fame Rewards always due to them.

WE must therefore look carefully into the Nature of the Things, which we find were requir'd of the firft Chriftians; if we find that they were call'd to Sufferings from other People, this may perhaps not be our Cafe; but if we fee they are call'd to Sufferings from themfelves, to voluntary Self

Self-denials, and renouncing their own Rights, we may judge amifs, if we think this was their particular Duty, as the first Difciples of Christ.

FOR it is undeniable, that these Inftances of making themfelves Sufferers from themselves, of voluntary Self-denial, and Renunciation of all worldly Enjoyments, are as truly Parts of perfonal Holiness and Devotion to God, as any Inftances of Charity, Humility, and Love of God, that can poffibly be fuppos'd.

AND it will be difficult to fhew, why all Chriftians are now oblig'd in Imitation of Chrift to be meek and lowly in Heart, if they like the firft Chriftians are not oblig'd to these Inftances of Lowlinefs and Meeknefs, or if they are oblig'd ftill to imitate Chrift, how they can be faid to do it, if they excufe themselves from thefe plain and required Ways of fhewing it.

IF therefore Chriftians will fhew that they are not oblig'd to thofe Renunciations of the World, which Chrift required of his firft Followers, they muft fhew that fuch Renunciations, fuch voluntary Self-denials, were not Inftances of perfonal Holinefs and Devotion, did not enter into the Spirit of Chriftianity, or conftitute that Drath to the World, or new Birth in Chrift, which the Gofpel requireth. But this is as abford to

imagine, as to fuppofe that praying for our Enemies, is no part of Charity.

LET US therefore not deceive our felves, the Gofpel preaches the fame Doctrines to us, that our Saviour taught his first Disciples, and though it may not call us to the fame external State of the Church, yet it infallibly calls us to the fame inward State of Holinefs and Newness of Life.

IT is out of all Question that this Renunciation of the World was then requir'd, because of the Excellency of fuch a Temper, because of its Suitablenefs to the Spirit of Christianity, because of its being in fome Degree like to the Temper of Chrift, because it was a Temper that became fuch as were born again of God, and were made Heirs of eternal Glory, because it was a right Inftance of their loving God with all their Heart, and with all their Soul, and with all their Strength, and with all their Mind, because it was a proper Way of fhewing their Difregard to the Vanity of earthly Comforts, and their Refolution to attend only to the one Thing needful.

IF therefore we are not obliged to be like them in thefe Refpects, if we may be lefs holy and heavenly in our Tempers, if we need not act upon fuch high Principles of Devotion to God, and Difregard of earthly Goods, as they did, we must preach

a new

a new Gospel of our own, we must say that we need not be meek and lowly as the firft Christians were, and that those high Doctrines of Charity, of bleffing and doing Good to our worft Enemies, were Duties only for the first State of the Church.

FOR this is undeniable, that if any Heights of Piety, any Degrees of Devotion to God, of Heavenly Affection, were neceffary for the firft Chriftians, which are not fo now, that the fame may be faid of every other Virtue and Grace of the Chriftian Life.

ALL our Saviour's divine Sermon upon the Mount, may as well be confin'd to his firft Difciples, as thefe Doctrines, and it is as found in Divinity, as well founded in Reafon, to affert, that our Saviour had only Regard to his firft Difciples, when he faid, Ye cannot ferve God and Mammon, as when he faith, Whosoever he be of you that forfaketh not all that he bath, he cannot be my Difciple.

FOR let any one think, if he can find the leaft Shadow of a Reafon, why Chriftians fhould at firft be called to higher Degrees of Heavenly Affection, Devotion to God, and Difregard of the World, than they are now.

IT will be as easy to fhew that they were obliged to a stronger Faith, a more lively Hope, than we are now.

BUT if Faith and Hope are Graces of too excellent a Nature, too effential to the Life and Spirit of a Chriftian, to admit of any Abatements in any Age of the Church, 1 fhould think, that heavenly Affection, Devotion to God, and dying to the World, are Tempers equally effential to the Spirit of Religion, and too neceffary to the Perfection of the Soul, to be lefs requir'd in one Age, than in another.

BESIDES, it is to be confidered, that these Tempers are the natural and ge nuine Effects of Faith and Hope, fo that if they are changed, or abated, Faith and Hope must have fo far fuffered Abatements, and failed in their most proper and excellent Effects.

ALL Men will readily grant, that it would be very abfurd, to fuppofe, that more Articles of Faith fhould have been neceffary to be believed by our Saviour's first Followers, than by Chriftians of After-ages.

LET it then be confidered, why this would be abfurd, and it will plainly appear, that the fame Reason, which makes it abfurd to fuppofe, that any thing which was once neceffary to be believed, should ever lofe that Neceffity, will equally fhew,

that