A SERMON Preached at St Catherine Cree Church, UPON Sunday the 29th of June, 1696.  
By NICH. BRADY, M.A. Minister of Richmond in the County of Surry, and Chaplain in Ordinary to His Majesty.  
Published at the Desire of the Parishioners.  
LONDON, Printed for Rich. Parker, at the Unicorn under the Piazza of the Royal Exchange, 1696.   

To my worthy Friends, the Gentlemen of the Select and General Vestry, and others the Parishioners of St. Catherine Cree-Church.  
Gentlemen,  
AS this Farewell Sermon was not barely intended for a solemn formality upon quitting my employment; but was the result of sentiments both tender and serious, expressed with all imaginable sincerity and heartiness; so I flatter myself with the Belief, that your desiring me to make it public, was something more than a ceremonious Compliment, being a fresh instance of that kindness and good will, with which you have always been pleased to favour me.  
And therefore, however fairly I might excuse myself, by the plainness and indigestedness of the following Discourse; yet I cannot refuse you the absolute disposal of that which is so justly and entirely your own; and shall please myself with the agreeable opinion, That your Affection to me is the cause of Publishing, what my Affection to you was the occasion of Composing.  
That you may still continue steadfast and  in the profession of that Faith which I have preached amongst you, and always abound in that Work of the Lord, to the performance of which I have constantly exhorted you; that so, neither my Labour in Preaching, nor yours in practising, may be in vain in the Lord; shall be the earnest and continual Prayer of  
Gentlemen, Your most obliged Friend, and most humble Servant, N. Brady.   
ACTS XX. 32. And now Brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his Grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an Inheritance among all them which are sanctified. 
THough it is not without a very senfible concern, that I appear before you upon the present occasion, that I find myself so near being separated from those, with whom I have conversed in five years' Ministry, and from whom I have received such obliging instances of affection, as shall ever be precious to my memory; yet since neither the respect I so justly own you, nor the deference we pay to a prevailing custom, will suffer me to wave the melancholy task, of taking a solemn and public leave. I thought I could not more properly address to you, than in these words of the great Apostle of the Gentiles. They are a part of his farewell Sermon, which he made to the Elders of Ephesus and Miletus, among whom he had gone preaching the Kingdom of God: He foresaw that this would be their last meeting, and that they to whom he spoke should see his face no more, and therefore thought himself obliged to transfer the care of them, to him who was best able to support and defend them; and to commit the guidance of them to that Gospel of his, which was both capable of establishing them in the truth, and of intitling them to that reward which is the consequence of it: and now Brethren (says he) I commend you to God and to the word of his Grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance, among all them which are sanctified.  
Blessed be God, the circumstances of our parting, are not so dismal as those of the Apostle and his friends; instead of not seeing one another's faces any more; I trust we shall have many happy opportunities, of keeping up a mutual correspondence and intimacy: However, since providence has thought fit to withdraw me, from the more immediate care of the spiritual concernments, I cannot better express my solicitude for your welfare, I cannot consign you into better hands, than by commending you to God for favour and protection, and to the word of his Grace for counsel and instruction.  
And here I must entreat that you would not expect from me, a discourse that is methodical and artificial, that is the result usually of well composed thoughts, not the product of a mind under disturbance and perplexity: I shall only take the words just as they lie before me, and expound them to you with all the plainness imaginable, and  
First, my Brethren, I commend you to God.  
Whatsoever dangers may at any time alarm you, whatsoever apprehensions or afflictions you may lie under, if you have but recourse to an all-sufficient Guardian, if you find yourselves entitled to his favour and protection, you have then got such a refuge as will never fail you, but will enable you in all difficulties to be more than conquerors. Can any condition be supposed so miserable, wherein the eye of a father will not look upon you? can any estate be so wretchedly forlorn, wherein the bowels of a Redeemer will not yearn over you? can any circumstances be so deplorable, as to set bounds to a goodness which is infinite? can any of those friends whose assistance you may value, whose support and secure you may depend upon, produce such evidences of their kindness towards you, or show such strong credentials of an unalterable affection, as those which you have received from your almighty benefactors. Was it not he who drew you out of the dark womb of nothing? is it not in him that you live and move and have your being? has not his careful providence continually watched over you? are you not indebted for whatever you enjoy, to him that is the giver of every good and perfect gift? has not his goodness been exerted wonderfully in your behalf, and magnified its self by most remarkable mercies? does not he compassionate all your necessities, favourably accept of your imperfect performances kindly overlook your manifold infirmities, and patiently bear with your grosser provocations? is he not willing to be reconciled whensoever you offend him? not ready to cast you off in anger, upon every the least transgression of your duty? but waiting for your submission with gentleness and long-suffering, and opening his arms wide to the returning penitent? and how then can you wish for a more affectionate Protector? to whose tenderness can I recommend you more justly than to his? but farther, have not his wisdom and his power been frequently exercised, in securing you against all the malice of your enemies, whether in private stratagems or open violences? is it not he that brings the counsel of the heathen to nought, and makes the devices of the people of none effect? is it not he that does whatsoever pleases him, in heaven and in earth, and in all deep places? Can any thing frustrate or disappoint his intentions, with whom all Wisdom is for ever? or pretend to oppose the irresistible force of him that is girded about with strength? Has he not many times unravelled all the secret designs, which your intriguing Adversaries had leveled against you; and turned the wisdom of their wise men into foolishness? Has he not often baffled and defeated all their boasted might, with his own right hand, and with his outstretched arm? Has not he overruled the most unlikely events, and made all things work together to you for good? Either obviating all inconveniences by his wise dispensations, or else overcoming them by his powerful assistance? And how then can you desire a more available Guardianship? To whose conduct can I resign you more securely than to His? Can the care of your safety be better consulted than by him, who is not only your best of friends, but the most fitly qualified for exercising that office? Can the sum of your concerns be more assuredly reposed, than upon boundless Wisdom and unlimited Power? Such is the Protector to whose patronage I commend you, disposed by his Goodness, qualified by his Wisdom, and enabled by his Power, to support and sustain you under the greatest exigencies, and to give you a happy issue out of all your adversities. May then that God, whose mercy is over all his works, whose knowledge is unfathomable by humane Reason, and whose power delights to be glorified in our weakness be your merciful Saviour and mighty Deliverer; may he be your firm support in all extremities, your constant refuge in all necessities, your certain comfort in all calamities; and as he influenced you by his good Spirit, to those offices of love which I have received at your hands, so may he reward all the kindness you have shown me seven fold into your own bosoms. This will God most assuredly perform; unless you render yourselves uncapable of the sweet refresh of his goodness, by not paying a due obedience to his commands, nor walking by the rule which he prescribes; and therefore, my brethren, I commend you  
2dly, To the word of his Grace.  
The Law (says the Apostle) was given by Moses, but Grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ. The Gospel is a most comfortable conveyance of the divine love and favour to us; it is a Covenant made up of mercy and tenderness, free from all the burdensome hardships and uneasinesses, with which the legal dispensation was clogged and encumbered: In this God seems to have laid aside his absolute prerogative, and to consult at once the ease and the delight of his servants; the bloody initiation of circumcision, is exchanged for the milder Sacrament of Baptism; expensive Sacrifices are abolished, that prayers and praises may succeed them, and the dreadful menace, of draw not near lest I consume thee, is turned into the obliging invitation, of come unto me and I will give you rest. Well then may a message of such comfortable importance, deserve to be styled the word of his Grace, since it exhibits to us the most gracious promises, it holds forth to us the most  rewards, it prescribes the most reasonable measures of obedience, and the most easy methods of reconciliation. By this we are allowed to recover ourselves, when through humane frailty we at any time fall, to reinstate ourselves in the favour of our God, and regain our forfeited interest by a sincere repentance; by this we are adopted into his own family, and put on the character of his Favourites and Sons; by this we are admitted to a free access, to a kind of intimacy and familiarity with our God; by this we are made capable of celestial entertainments, and of tasting the powers of the world to come. These are some of those inestimable privileges, of that word of God's Grace to which I commend you; and I cannot consign you over to any thing more valuable, but to what I have already, even to God himself. I exhort you therefore to adhere carefully to those admirable rules which it lays down for your direction; to attend heedfully to the lessons which it gives; to make that the standard of all your actions, and to let your whole conversation be agreeable to that model. The excellency of the doctrines which it would establish, is enough to recommend it to any prudent considerer; what can more considerably exalt your nature, than that universal purity which it prescribes? what can more effectually preserve Society, than that impartial Justice which it exacts? what can more secure your health and vigour, than that strict temperance which it requires at your hands? what can more promote mutual amity and concord, than that obliging benignity which it would infuse into your natures? Thus if you would but examine the Doctrines which it contains, you would find it to deserve your most serious observation. But if you farther reflect upon the person that delivered it, you will find fresh arguments for the fixing it in your esteem: God who in times past spoke to your fathers by the Prophets, hath in these later days spoken unto you by his Son; who being the brightness of his glory, and the express Image of his person, deserves your attention to what he delivers, more than any other person of a less elevated quality. I say unto you, is his constant form of speaking, with which he ushers in his most weighty instructions; and a due contemplation of the majesty of the Speaker, should make you attend to what he utters with a becoming reverence and respect. Again, the vast importance of the things imparted in it, should forcibly oblige you to value it as you ought: This explains to you the nature and the attributes of God, and shows you his way of dealing with the sons of men; this gives you a prospect into the invisible world, and makes you acquainted with that land of spirits; it shows you by what methods God will dispense his unconceivable rewards or punishments; and gives you directions by which you may be enaabled to secure to yourselves the former, and to avoid the latter: the mighty moment therefore of the matters which it treats of, is sufficient to engage you to an awful attention; but farther yet, the intimate concern which you yourselves have in those sacred truths which the Gospel unfolds to you, should powerfully engage you to give heed to its directions: it contains no account of foreign news or idle transactions, to which you may either listen or turn a deaf ear, without any considerable consequences to yourselves; but rules for the management of your own lives and conversations; precepts which exact your own obedience; your own interest is at stake in every part of it; and an eternal portion of happiness or misery will be your own lot, according as your application to the duties it enjoins, is more or less serious and considerate: The immediate dependence therefore which you have, upon that word of Grace to which I commend you, should abundantly persuade you to pay a due regard to it. These are some of those strong and considerable motives, which I hope will incline you to put a just value upon the maxims and instructions of Christianity.  
Give me leave to instance in some peculiar duties in general, which I would recommend more particularly to your practice and performance; and the first that I single out shall be Humility, because it is the necessary preparative for all other graces and perfections of the soul: Repress, I beseech you, all unnatural swell of the mind, all extravagant opinions of your own self-sufficiency, copy the example of your Saviour and learn of him, for he was meek and lowly in heart: avoid that Pride which was a tempter even to the Devil himself; which changed that brightest created resemblance of the Deity, into a loathsome and detested Fiend: This it was that lost us Paradise, and exposed the whole race of miserable mankind to the heavy wrath of an offended God; but as by Pride the humane nature fell, so by Humility it risen again; and what was lost by the vanity of the first Adam, was regained by the condescension of the second. Let then this grace be your darling favourite, let it always be your bosom jewel, which though here it may look meanly, like a Diamond in the Ore, yet will shine hereafter with an amazing lustre, and be the brightest ornament of your immortal Diadem. Another Grace in which I must entreat you to be conversant is Charity; I mean that part only of this comprehensive duty, which is employed in relieving the necessities of such as want. Forfeit not, I conjure you, that well deserved Commendation of being one of the most charitable Parishes within the City; keep up that Distinction above most others, which your large Contributions upon any signal occasion have given you by the confession of all Unprejudiced Observers. This is a virtue so amiable in its self, that the pleasure which results from its performances, were enough to make any one enamoured of it, though no other reward were consequent upon it; and therefore it is hard to find a Man who has once been charitable, and ceased afterwards to be so: the very satisfaction which arises from the action, being sufficient to retain him in the practice of it; and yet such is the goodness of Almighty God, that he has affixed rewards both temporal and eternal, to that which is so amply its own recompense: this will cover a multitude of your faults, and cast a veil over your numerous transgressions; this will give a value to all your other good deeds, which without charity are nothing worth: this is that by which you must be tried and sentenced in the great and terrible day of the Lord, and this is that only which will accompany you to heaven, and make up a part of your everlasting felicity. Let this then be your constant entertainment, let it be made your business, as it will be your delight, and it will liken you to the Angels, who still minister to our necessities, and resemble you to your Saviour, who went about doing good. A third duty to which I shall more especially exhort you, is Peace. Remove (I adjure you) all that bitterness of spirit which is wont to incline people to quarrels and animosities; let all narrow distinctions be done away of Parties and of Factions, and converse together with brotherly affection, under the comprehensive characters of Men and Christians. Bear with one another's errors and infirmities, endeavour to overcome with meekness and affability, and never to exasperate with sourness and reproaches: This is an obliging temper of mind, which will make even your enemies to be at peace with you, and will shame them into kindness and condescension; if a Brother be overtaken in a fault, whether it be an error in judgement or in practice, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, and if it is possible as much as in you lies live peaceably with all men; avoid all malicious invectives and backbitings, all reflecting stories and ill-natured raillery; and endeavour by your favourablest and most charitable construction to make the best of one another's failings; so will you find by a happy experience, how good and pleasant a thing it is for brethren to dwell together in unity, and will have a title to those benefits which attend it, for there God has promised his blessing and life for evermore Let this then be at once your employment and your pleasure, and it will possess you of that precious Legacy which our dying Saviour left to his Disciples, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you; and will also conduct you by the surest method to that peace of God which passeth all understanding. A fourth duty which I think myself more particularly obliged to recommend to you, is Loyalty and Obedience to the present Government. Give not way, I beseech you, to any little uneasinesses, which the present circumstances of affairs may lay upon some of you; do not murmur or repine at every disappointment cast not the blame of unavoidable miscarriages, upon those who are concerned in the management of affairs; but contentedly resolve such unexpected occurrences into the overruling Providence of an Alwise God: Let nothing tempt you to speak evil of dignities, or lavishly to censure the conduct of your Governors: be contented to think, that God can choose for you as well as yourselves, and pay a cheerful obedience to the King he has set over you, who consents to bear the burden of a war in his person, which touches you only in your purses; contribute readily to the support of those Forces, which are well employed to keep the danger from your doors; and think not much to give some part of your fortune for the security of the rest, and your Religion into the bargain. Then will God give his blessing to you as the due reward of your submission to his Will, by whom King's reign and Princes decree justice; and he himself will not fail to acknowledge that respect, which is paid to his image and his substitute. These than are some of those more useful duties, which whilst you I commend you to the word of God's grace, I have thought fitting out of that to recommend to your practice; and may that word of grace so thrive within your hearts, that it may take root downwards, and bring forth fruit upwards; may it sh●d abroad within your souls the more eminent graces and fruits of the spirit, such as Humility, Charity a peaceable disposition, and a hearty obedience to the Government which you live under; that so the good seed which has been carefully sown which was planted and watered by my unworthy Ministry, may, by God's assistance; have a suitable increase; and may not lie dead or ineffectual in any amongst you, but produce; according to the several measures of his grace, in some a hund●d-fold, in some sixty fold, in some thirty fold. This will commend you more successfully to God, than all my endeavours are capable without it, and will both be able of itself to build you up here, and 〈◊〉 here after to give you an inheritance among all them 〈◊〉 are sanctified. I shall briefly consider these two great advantages, which our due regard t● the word of God's grace, is here said to be able to impart unto us, and then I shall make haste to a conclusion. And  
1st. A due regard to the word of God's grace, is able to build us up. This is a Metaphor taken from a House, and it gives us to understand thus much, that in order to our deserving the commendation, of being built up by the word of God's grace, there are two necessary qualifications required, without which no edifice can be thought complete; and those are a foundation and a superstructure: that which in a spiritual building answers to the former of these, is faith; and that which is agreeable to the latter, is a good life and conversation; for, to believe rightly, and to act accordingly, comprehends the whole duty of a Christian.  
1st then, I say, in this spiritual building, there must be faith as a foundation. God, who is a wise and skilful Master-builder, will not allow his House to be built upon the sand, but takes care to have it founded upon a rock; as knowing that a failure in that principal part, can never be redressed by any thing done afterwards: let the other parts be managed with never so much care, let them be beautified and adorned with never so much cost, yet cannot all this make amends for the first miscarriage; it will be but a gaiety of short standing, overwhelmed by the violence of the first storm that shocks it: Unless our faith be steadfast and unmoveable, unless it be settled beyond wavering and doubtfulness, it will never be able to sustain the weight of those good works which must be raived upon it: But the word of God's grace, the Gospel of our Saviour, is able to fix our faith so firmly and unalterably, as that it shall be subject to no variableness, neither shadow of turning: it carries with it such a power of conviction, and the divine authority shines through it so clearly, that whoever attends to it seriously and without prejudice, must needs be convinced by the demonstration of the spirit; and therefore, my brethren, if any amongst you find their saith at any time to be tottering and unsteady, I commend you then especially to the word of God's grace, apply yourselves to it with the greatest assiduity; and God, who is never wanting to those, who are not first neglectful of him and of themselves, will not fail to assist you with such a portion of his Spirit, as will enable you to profit by that, and will make that able to build you up. But as this spiritual building must in the first place have faith for its foundation, so must it  
2dly, Have a good life and conversation for the superstructure. A foundation is but useless of itself, and only supposes the folly of the undertaker, unless he proceeds to complete the work, and finishes the upper stories for ornament and use; and thus faith also is dead and insignificant, and serves only to enhance the guilt of him that has it, unless it be made the groundwork of good actions, and has a happy influence upon the course of our whole life. Our Saviour tells us, that when any man gins to build a tower, he ought to compute whether he have sufficient to finish it; lest haply after he have laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him: and it is upon this very occasion, that he speaks this significant parable, namely to expose the folly of those men who attempt to enter upon a course of piety, and are not so far masters of their resolutions as to go through with it, and persevere in it to the end. These men perhaps are willing to give their assent to all the mysteries contained in the Gospel to confess the truth of whatever it affects, and not to call in question the equity of any of its doctrines; and this they think is sufficient for them, without ever applying themselves to the practice of those duties, which it strictly requires of all believers; they are contented indeed to be speculative Christians, but it is upon the condition that they may be practical Atheists; but this deserves no better a character, than the knowing, of our Masters will without the doing it, and we are assured that the consequence of that shall be many stripes. In vain then shall we plead, that we believe the Gospel; in vain shall we avow ourselves to be professors of Christianity, unless our practice be answerable to our profession, and our faith is manifested by our works; our Saviour will declare that he knows us not, and will say to us, depart from me ye workers of iniquity: we may make our passionate addresses at the door, and with repeated exclamations cry, Lord, Lord, open unto us; but we shall be turned away as the foolish Virgins were, because our Lamps have not been filled and trimmed. But the Gospel of Christ is such a light unto our steps, and lantern to our paths, as if we attend to it with a becoming reverence, will direct our feet into the ways of godliness: we shall there see, if we are not wilfully blind, that the design of our Saviour's coming into the world, was not barely to inform our understanding, but chief and most especially to regulate out practice; that his business was not to form a set of Disputants; who should contest and wrangle about points of controversy, but to purify to himself a peculiar people zealous of good works: it will convince us that all the promises of the Gospel, all the gracious overtures which it exhibits, have this express condition annexed unto them, that we lead a pious and a godly life. Whenever therefore, my Brethren, at any time you find yourselves in danger to be misled by your lusts, into the commission of any gross enormity, I then especially commend you to the word of God's grace; and advise you to betake yourselves to that set of Sacred Oracles, which will give you such assistance as may baffle your temptations, and prove itself able to build you up.  
But there is, secondly, another advantage, which a due regard to the word of God's grace is here said to be able to impart unto you, it is able (says the Text) to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.  
And this is an advantage of so considerable a value, as is sufficient to engage you to a due regard, if the word of God's grace had nothing else to recommend it. To have an inheritance among all them which are sanctified, and to share in that possession which is reserved for Gods Elect, what a noble privilege ought this to be esteemed, and how zealously should you contend to qualify yourselves for it! There are two things considerable in the description of it. 1. That it is said to be an inheritance: and 2. That it is such among all them which are sanctified. 1. then, It is said to be an inheritance; and this shows you the certainty of that possession, the surest tenure is that of inheritance; and especially amongst the Jews, it was looked upon as a thing sacred, and not to be alienated upon any occasion: thus Naboth chose rather to expose himself to the King's anger, and to that unjust prosecution which cost him his life, than he would transgress against this solemn custom, by parting with the Vineyard which he desired; the Lord forbidden it me (says he) that I should give thee the inheritance of my fathers. Yet this secure and unalterable title is that by which you are allowed to make your claim; and it is upon a due regard to the word of God's grace, that the right we pretend to is grounded and established; it is that which gives you the happy assurances of your being heirs of God, and coheirs with Christ; from thence you gain that spirit of adoption, by which you cry Abba, Father; and if you are led by the directions which that gives, you shall find yourselves thereby made members of that general Assembly and Church of the first born, whose names are written and registered in heaven; and happily admitted to be common partakers of the glorious liberty of the children of God. But 2dly, This is an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. Nothing that is unclean can gain any admittance into this most holy and immaculate fellowship; purity of life is the only qualification by which you may be fitted for this blessed society: Those who would be looked upon as the brethren of Christ, must put on him, and wear his resemblance; and whoever has his hope in him, must purify himself even as he is pure. This is what the word of God's grace, inculcates to you almost in every page: he that will ascend into the hill of the Lord and abide in his holy place, must have clean hands and a pure heart; if you expect that God should be a father unto you, and that you should he his sons and daughters, you must come out from among the wicked and be separate, and not touch the unclean thing: having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the sear of God. Thus if you give a careful attention, to these and such other rules and instructions, which are every where contained in the word of God's grace, you will find that sufficient to secure to you these advantages, you will find it able to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.  
Thus in a confused and indigested manner (such as my present concern will give me leave to make use of) I have touched upon all the material observations, which the words of my Text have furnished me withal; and having all along applied them to your more particular use, I shall add nothing more to what I have said already. I shall only offer up, as I am in dispensably obliged, by all the ties of gratitude and duty, my most hearty prayers to Almighty God, that he would sanctify to you all what I have now been preaching, and what at any time heretofore I have delivered to you; that so being defended by the protection of your God, and fully instructed by the word of his grace, you may be built up and established in your holy profession here, and have your inheritance hereafter among all them which are sanctified  
Give me leave to conclude the whole with St Paul's exhortation to his Corinthians: Finally, brethren, farewel be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace, and the God of love and peace shall be with you. To him the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, three persons but one God of love, be ascribed all honour, power, might, majesty and dominion, henceforth and for evermore.  
Amen.  
FINIS.   

Sermons Preached by the Reverend Mr. Brady, and Sold by R. Parker.  
A Sermon preached at Helmingham in Suffolk, June 30th, 1694. At the Funeral of Lieutenant General Talmach.  
A Sermon preached at Whitehall, March 3d. 1695. upon occasion of her late Majesty's Death, before the Right Honourable the Countess of Derby, and the rest of the Mourning Ladies.  
A Sermon preached at the Parish-Church of St. Martin's Ludgate, Septemb. 12th. 1695. before the Incorporated Society of Apothecaries of London.  
A Sermon preached at St. Catherine Cree-Church, upon Sunday the 1st of March 1696. upon occasion of the late horrid Plot.