his Entry in fo poor a Figure, and, from a Throne of Glory, ftooping down to Swadling Clothes and a Manger. Never the Splendor and Magnificence of Courts, and numerous Trains, and noble Retinue, fet in a truer Light; than by the Kings of Kings, contenting himself with the Ministry of his meek Mother, and choofing to receive the first Respects, and have his first Prefence compofed,of a few humble Shepherds. Never was the true ufe of Power more nicely taught, nor the cold Neglects, the haughty Arrogance, and infolent Abuses, it is apt to tempt Men to, more effectually reproached; than by this Proof, that God was then strongest, when he put on the greateft Appearance of Weakness; And, that the Princes, and Great Ones of this World, are then moft truly great, most like their glorious Original above; when they think no Condefcenfion below them for a general Good; when they do not look down from on high with Difdain, upon the pooreft, the meaneft, those who leaft deferve, at the fame time that they most need, their Pity and Relief. And, Who indeed can fcorn or neglect the vileft of his Fellow-Creatures, when provoked by fuch a Pattern of Condefcenfion before his Eyes? For, let the Distance be as wide, as Fortune, or Station, or Birth, or even Imagination can make it; ftill can it carry no manner of Proportion, between Creator and Creature, God and Man. And let the kind Office, or the Love to be exercised, be magnified never fo much; ftill all is nothing, in Comparison of that God not abborring the Womb of the Virgin, and, that he might deliver Man from Mifery, fubmitting to be made Man, and to endure the fame Affliction, with those, whom he took upon him to deliver. Faith then,and Love of God, univerfal Charity, and unaffected Humility, are the pious Difpofitions fuited to this Occafion. Such are the Graces, fuch the Ornaments, with which every Soul fhall be deck'd in this Festival of Peace and Love. And Ye, whofe truly Christian Spirits have thus put on Chrift, Come forth, and prepare to meet your God in the kind Approaches he makes towards you. Meet him firft in your Clofets, with fervent Devotion and Heavenly Meditations. And, when these more retired Exercises of Piety have wrought your Souls up to a holy Warmth; Go your way into his Gates with Thanksgiving, and into his Courts with Praife; There fan and cherish the holy Flame your private Thoughts have kindled, by a zealous joining in the Prayers of the Church; By hearkning to the Story of this Birth, and all its Circumstances, with fixed Attention and Holy Wonder: By carefully improving thofe facred Truths, which the Man of God fhall find feasonable to be now inculcated: But above all, by feeding, and feasting upon, the Figures of that Flesh, which God, as at this time, clothed himself with for Your fakes; By dedicating to Him, in most folemn Manner, every Faculty and part of that Nature, which he not only came to fatisfy for, but to fanctify; and hath acquired a full Right to, by this ftupendous Union with his own. When this is done, Let no prophane or worldly Thoughts prefume to mingle themselves with your religious ones; But give a Truce to Business and Care, tc Grief, and every disorderly and melancholy Paffion; And let this whole Day be facred to Quiet and Calmness of Mind, to fpiritual Comforts and uninterrupted Joys: Joys, in which your Bodies may very decently partake too, by a more liberal Provifion than ordinary of thofe good Creatures, you are blefs'd with for their Sustenance and Refreshment. But take good heed, that this Liberality degenerate not into Luxury and Riot. And now, leaft of any time, be guilty of difhonouring that Body, which the God of all Holiness and Purity vouchfafed to appear in the Likeness of. No, let your Plenty be made a Virtue, by opening your Hearts and Hands wide, to the Neceffities of thofe Naked and Hungry, for whom, as well as for You, this Saviour was born. So far as in you lies, let there be no sign of Want, no Crying or Complaining in your Streets, to pollute the the Rejoicings of that Bleffed Day, when the Lord of all began to be made poor, that we through his Poverty might be made rich. Let no Voice now be heard, but that of Pfalms, and Hymns, and Hearts making Melody to the Lord. With fuch the Angels brought him into the Body. Nor can we think it strange, that They, who conceive a fresh Joy at the Converfion of a fingle Sinner, fhould now publifh their general Joy, at the Salvation of a whole World fet on Foot. But ftrange it may very well be thought, if Angels should fing, and Men fhould be filent upon this Occafion; if They should even overflow with Gladness at the Happinefs of Others, and We should express no feeling of our Own. Once more, and to conclude all, Remember, that the Calves of your Lips, even when most devoutly offered, are not a fufficient Sacrifice; but, as this Day was to Jefus, fo let it be to You, the beginning of a new Life. Remember, He was made the Son of Man, to make Us the Sons of God; that none can receive the Benefit of His being the Former, who do not Themselves become the latter: And, that none are the Sons of God, any farther, than they make it their Business to be holy as their Heavenly Father is Holy. In vain, alas! was this Divine Babe born into the World, except he be likewise born in Our Hearts. In vain did I fay? Nay good were it for us, that he had never been born, if we do not live up to the Light this Word hath fshed abroad, and follow the Example this Word made Flesh hath left us. Of fuch mighty Importance, fuch abfolute Neceffity, it is, that we should aspire to His Likenefs, who hath fo graciously condefcended to Ours; And, being made God's Children by Adoption and Grace, fhould, not this Day only, but every Day, be renewed by his Holy Spirit. A Bleffing, which, as we are taught to afk in the folemn Devotions of this Morning, fo fhall we not fail to receive, if this Festival, and the Joys of it, be rightly improved, to the Honour of Him, who in marvellous Compaffion to poor poor loft Man, came as at this time into his own World, and took our Nature upon him: Even Jefus Chrift, the eternal and only begotten Son of God, the wonderful Son of a pure Virgin; To whom with the Father and Holy Spirit, ever one God, be all Glory and Thankfgiving, Adoration and Obedience, World without End. G St. Stephen's Day. The COLLECT. Rant, O Lord, that in all our fufferings here upon earth, for the teftimony of thy truth, we may fted I faftly look up to heaven, and by faith behold the glory 60. that fhall be revealed; and being filled with the Holy Ghoft, Acts vii. 55. may learn to love and blefs our perfecutors, by the example of thy firft Martyr Saint Stephen, who prayed for his murderers to thee, O Bleffed Jefus, who ftandeft at the right hand of God, to fuccour all thofe that fuffer for thee, our only 56. Mediator and Advocate. Amen. IN ACTS vii. 55. N order to a clear Understanding, and due Improvement, of the Portion of Scripture appointed for this Festival; it will be expedient to premife fomewhat, concerning the Occafion of it in particular, and the Perfon, whofe Martyrdom it relates, and the Church enjoins us to commemorate. Acts ii. 44, 45. iv. 34, 35, The Author of the Book of Acts takes notice, in his Second and Fourth Chapters, that, among other Testimonies of the Unanimity and Charity of the first Christians, this was very remarkable; that they voluntarily parted with their Property, and, to fupply the prefent Neceffities of the Church, brought their Subftance into one common Bank; Out of which Diftribution was made, according to the Needs of each Believer. The Difficulty of making this Distribution, to every one's Content, would na Q 2 turally turally increase, with the Numbers of the Parties concerned to receive it. This proved to be foon the Case, when converts of feveral forts came in. The Grecians Pearfon Pofth. John vii. 35. (fuch by Birth but Profelytes to Judaism, (as fome think) Or (as Others) Jews by Defcent, but of the Difperfion; (as they are elsewhere called) and fo ufing, not the Syriack, but the Greek Language in their Synagogues) thought an undue Preference given to the Hebrew Widows; and Their Complaints first ministred Occafion, to that Order in the Church, which hath ever fince continued, under the Title of Deacons. Acts vi. 2, 3, 4. Ch. viii. 5, 12, 35, 38. The End then, which the Apostles chiefly had in view, at the first Institution of this Order, was to appoint proper Perfons, to affift them in the Affairs of the Church. Particularly in the Care of the Poor: Which now grew a Burden too heavy for a few; And efpecially for thofe, who had Matters of greater Importance upon their Hands, from which, it was not fit, This fhould be fuffered to divert them. How far the Commiffion, then given to these Perfons, extended, as to the Performance of Holy Offices, is befide the Defign of this Treatife to difpute. It fhall fuffice to obferve, that we have, in the Eighth Chapter of this Book, an Account of One of them, both Preaching, and Baptizing, in the Abfence of the Apoftles. The Care taken in their Qualifications for this Office, speaks it to have been esteemed of great Importance to Religion; and Many are of Opinion, that thofe, who were now chosen into it, were of the Number of our Lord's Seventy Disciples. Cb. vi. 3. Pearfon ubi fupra. Among These the First was the Saint of this Day. Whofe Zeal for the Faith enflamed the Envy of its Adverfaries, and engaged him in warm Difputes, with the Members of the Synagogues then at Jerufalem. Thefe |