God himself, or the divine nature in its holy perfections, is the ultimate object and idea of our transformation in the renewing of our minds. And, therefore, under the Old Testament, before the incarnation of the Son, he proposed his own holiness immediately as the pattern of the church : " Be ye holy, for the Lord your God is holy," Lev. xi. 44, xix. 2, xx. 26. But the law made nothing per- fect. For to complete this great injunction, there was yet wanting an express example of the holiness required; which is not given us but in him who is " the first-bom, the image of the invisible God."
There was a notion, even among the philosophers, that the prin- cipal endeavour of a wise man was to be like unto God. But in the improvement of it, the best of them fell into foolish and proud imaginations. Howbeit, the notion itself was the principal beam of our primigenial light, the best relic of our natural perfections ; and
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those who are not some way under the power of a design to be like unto God are every way like unto the devil. But those persons who had nothing but the absolute essential properties of the divine nature to contemplate on in the light of reason, failed all of them, both in the notion itself of conformity unto God, and especially in the practical improvement of it. Whatever men may fancy to the contrary, it is the design of the apostle, in sundry places of his writ- ings, to prove that they did so, especially Rom. i. ; 1 Cor. i. Where- fore, it was an infinite condescension of divine wisdom and grace, gloriously to implant that image of his which we are to endeavour conformity unto in the human nature of Christ, and then so fully to represent and propose it unto us in the revelation of the Gospel.
The infinite perfections of God, considered absolutely in them- selves, are accompanied Avith such an incomprehensible glory as it is hard to conceive how they are the object of our imitation. But the representation that is made of them in Christ, as the image of the invisible God, is so suited to the renewed faculties of our souls, so congenial unto the new creature or the gracious principle of spiritual life in us, that the mind can dwell on the contemplation of them, and be thereby transformed into the same image.
Herein lies much of the life and power of Christian religion, as it resides in the souls of men. This is the prevailing design of the minds of them that truly believe the Gospel ; they would in all things be like unto Jesus Christ. And I shall briefly show — (1.) What is required hereunto ; and, (2.) What is to be done in a way of duty for the attaining that end.
(1.) A spiritual light, to discern the beauty, glory, and amiable- ness of grace in Christ, is required hereunto. We can have no real design of confomiity unto him, unless we have their eyes who "be- held his glory, the glory of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth," John i. 14. Nor is it enough that we seem to discern the glory of his person, unless we see a beauty and excellency in every grace that is in him. " Learn of me," saith he; " for I am meek and lowly in heart," Matt. xi. 29. If we are not able to dis- cern an excellency in meekness and lowliness of heart, (as they are things generally despised,) how shall we sincerely endeavour after conformity unto Christ in them ? The like may be said of all his other gracious qualifications. His zeal, his patience, his self-denial, his readiness for the cross, his love unto his enemies, his benignity to all mankind, his faith and fer\^ency in prayer, his love to God, his compassion towards the souls of men, his unweariedness in doing good, his purity, his universal holiness ; — unless we have a spiritual light to discern the glory and amiableness of them all, as they were in him, we speak in vain of any design for conformity unto him.
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And this we have not, unless God shine into our hearts, to give us the hght of the knowledge of his glory in the face of Jesus Christ. It is, I say, a foolish thing to talk of the imitation of Christ, whilst really, through the darkness of our minds, we discern not that there is an excellency in the things wherein we ought to be like unto him.
(2.) Love unto them so discovered in a beam of heavenly light, is required unto the same end. No soul can have a design of confor- mity unto Christ but his who so likes and loves the graces that were in him, as to esteem a participation of them in their power to be the greatest advantage, to be the most invaluable pri\41ege, that can in this world be attained. It is the savour of his good ointments for which the virgins love him, cleave unto him, and endeavour to be like him. In that whereof we now discourse — namely, of con- foraiity unto him — he is the representative of the image of God unto us. And, if we do not love and prize above all things those gracious qualifications and dispositions of mind wherein it doth consist, what- ever we may pretend of the imitation of Christ in any outward acts or duties of obedience, we have no design of confonnity unto him. He who sees and admires the glory of Christ as filled with these graces — as he " was fairer than the children of men,'' because " grace was poured into his lips" — unto whom nothing is so desirable as to have the same mind, the same heart, the same spirit that was in Christ Jesus — is prepared to press after conformity unto him. And unto such a soul the representation of all these excellencies in the person of Christ is the great incentive, motive, and guide, in and imto all internal obedience unto God.