the worke of holinesse we striue against the streame of our affections and if we desist or be slacke in weldoing they draw vs backe to cuill Vse 1 1. To teach vs the danger of apostacy as of those which fall from their holinesse which begin with Peter and end with Iudas hauing entred the couenant of grace they fall away like vntimely fruites trees that are twise dead and plucked vp by the roots Iude v. 12 whose end is to be burned which turne to their old bias of iniquitie as the dog to his vomite and as the sow that is washed to her wallowing in the mire Gen. 19.29 Lots wife for this we know was turned into a pillar of salt and set vp in example to season others and that we forget not our Sauiour sets a memento before her name Remember Lots wife Luk. 17. 31. for as it was with her Vbirespexit ibiremansit where she looked backe there she stood so no man putting his hand to the plough of holinesse and looketh backe is fit for the kingdome of God Saint Paul giueth the reason which who so considereth in heart it will cause the heart-strings to ake and the bones to quake for feare It is impossible saith he that they which were once enlightened and haue tasted of the heauenly gift and were made partakers of the holy Ghost and haue tasted of the good word of God and the powers of the world to come if they fall away that they should be renewed againe by repentance Heb. 6.4.5 For they after they haue escaped the fil thinesse of the world saith Saint Peter 2. Pet. 2.20 through the knowledge of the Lord lesus Christ and are againe intangled therein and ouercome the latter end is worse then the beginning for it had bene better for them not to haue knowne the way of righteousnesse then after they haue knowne it to turne from the holy commandement giuen vnto them 2. It serueth to condemne our standing still our dulnesse and slacknesse in the pursuite of holinesse A miserie it is to see how the men of this our age are fallen from their stedfastnesse from zeale to coldnesse For where is that discipline in manners zeale to the word hunger and thirst after righteousnesse which doth become and adorne the Gospell of Christ May I not speake in generall and your consciences beare me witnesse Reu 2.4 that as the Church of Ephesus was charged so you are become changelings and haue forsaken your first loue And what should I name in particular that stedfastnesse in faith modestie in words that vprightnesse in actions mercie in workes that discipline in manners loue and vnitie among brethren which in the primitiue Church was the glorie of the first Christians Yea and brethren I must tell you that you did runne well and what should turne you out of the way of holinesse that you should haue an euill heart to depart from the liuing God This you know of a suretie that to him that striueth and contendeth to him is the kingdome giuen The kingdome of God suffereth violence and the violent take it by force To him that ouercometh to him will I giue the crowne of life Math. 11.12 Reu. 2.17 Math. 24 13. Reuel 2.17 And againe He that endureth to the end he and he onely shall be saued And of full holinesse we haue thus farre heard and spoken And now followeth the measure thereof viz. in the feare of God in the feare of God This last part of my text and labour sets downe 1. the measure of our holinesse viz. in feare and 2. the obiect of this feare viz. God For the former I finde by obseruation generally three kinds of feare a naturall feare a foolish feare and a feare of God the two former I finde not in my text neither will the time giue me leaue to seeke them out But for the last I finde it generally to be of two forts the feare of God it is either seruile or filiall the obiect of the former is Gods iudgement but the ground of the latter are the effects of his loue and mercie and both these in a different maner are the measure and foundation of holinesse And looke what difference is betwixt a seruant and a son they feare to offend the one for punishment the other for loue so howsoeuer good men loue God euen of zeale vnto his glorie yet it is not amisse to be restrained from sinne euen for feare of iudgement It is best saith Augustine to be a sonne yet better to be a seruant then an enemie Si non potes propter amorem iustitiae fac propter timorem poenae The affection of an enemie is hatred of a seruant is the rod of punishment but of a sonne is loue and reuerence And accordingly I find three sorts of feare the first of which is meerly slauish lumpish vnprofitable and dogged kind of feare full of hatred and diuellish despite and indeed the feare of diuels and reprobate spirits which findes no mercie because it seekes no mercie And the diuels do thus beiecue and tremble But there is a feare of Gods righteous iudgements which euen in good men hath a good effect for it restraineth from impietie Et maxima est poena timorem amisisse poenae Bernard I considered my wayes Psal 119.59 saith Dauid and so I turned my feete vnto thy testimonies For who so considereth his wayes shall find his wants and withall remembring the terrour of Gods iudgements and the necessitie of his iustice to punish yea and to punish according to the nature of offence it will daunt and terrifie the heart of any from offending if it be not past feeling And this is that which Augustine hath to like purpose Atimore tenera conscientia à tenera conscientia bona vita hinc decrescit timor seruitutis atque inde dulcescit Deus peccanti and thus the feare of Gods righteous iudgements is to good purpose for it is a bridle to restraine from finne and a step to beget the third which is the filiall feare of loue But Saint Iohn saith Perfect loue casts out feare 1. Ioh. 4.18 viz. this seruile feare and begets another borne of the free Spirit Psal 51. viz. this filiall feare the feare and reuerence of a sonne to a louing father Of this the Prophet speaketh There is mercie with thee O Lord therefore shalt thou be feared And this is that of which Saint Luke speaketh We must serue God without feare Luk. 1. Luk. 1.74 And Saint Paul makes it more plaine Rom. 8. not in the spirit of bondage for feare of punishment but in the spirit of adoption and freedome euen of zeale vnto his glorie And this is the best and most excellent way of feare which I do take to be the principall aime and intendment of my text And so to bring this feare backe to my text and my text home to your selues First because we must grow to full holinesse in feare
of herbes then a tree and lastly hath boughes and branches wherein the fowles of heauen make their neasts And so the kingdome of heauen is oft compared to things increasing to teach our growth and progresse in weldoing if we haue faith to confirme it Lord I beleeue helpe my vnbeleefe Mar. 9.24 Luk. 7.47 Psal 129.139 if loue to increase it Many sinnes are forgiuen her for she loued much if zeale to enkindle it The zeale of thy house hath euen eaten me vp And as God hath begun and continued a chaine of his high fauours towards vs in predestinating calling Rom. 8.30 iustifying sanctifying and glorifying his Church so let vs encounter his loue with all diligence ioyning to our vertue faith to faith knowledge to knowledge temperance to temperance patience to patience godlinesse to godlinesse brotherly kindnesse to brotherly kindnesse loue 2 Pet. 1.5.6 And thus by ioyning together the linkes of this golden chaine of his graces we must grow vp from grace to grace Reason 1. Because we are as new borne babes and as a building begun As new borne babes desire the sincere milke of the word that you may grow thereby 1 Pet. 2.2 Now as babes which are not fed do perish and as a building begun and not followed comes to nothing it is euen so in the nursing and building of the inward man 2. Because we haue tasted of the good word of God and the powers of the world to come and therefore if we proceede not in well doing we crucifie the Lord anew vnto our selues and make a mocke of his fauours Heb. 6.6 Vse 1 1. This serueth for the examination and condemnation of those which the world calls harmelesse men who haue set vp their pride in this viz. To do no harme But he which proceeds no further is as one that hauing a long iourney to trauell doth pitch downe his rest in the midst of the way but as the Israelits that staied and died in the desert they saw not the land of Canaan no more shall any such see the saluation of God for the breach of the law is not onely commission but omission and the wages of sinne is death and omission of duty is commission of iniquitie This I say that he which endeuoureth an harmelesse life to deale vprightly and iustly and not to defraud or wrong his brother this man is in the way to the king dome of heauen but if thou wilt be perfect Hoc vnum restat do well and endeauour thy selfe to euery good work and thus we must grow in grace that we may attaine to ful holinesse and that is the perfection of our worke and the part that now ensueth To full holinesse The Apostle would haue vs like the wise builder in the Gospel who gaue not ouer his worke till he brought it to perfection we must grow to full holinesse from whence obserue No man must content himselfe with the beginnings of viuification but endeauour perfection The Israelits gathered Manna euery day but vpon the Saboath day to teach vs and teach thē that vntil that euerlasting Saboath of rest where we shall be glorified bodies and soules we must neuer stand still in our Christian growth But as the waters spoken of in Ezechiel grew vp by degrees first to the ankles then to the knees then to the loynes and lastly to the head and as the wheate our Sauiour spoke of grew vp by degrees first there was the blade thē came the stalke after that the full corne but lastly came the haruest euen so like that water we must grow higher and higher til we come to our head Christ and like that corne riper and riper vntill the end of the world when the Lord shall winnow the chaffe from the wheate the wheate he shall receiue into his garner but the chaffe to be burnt vp with vnquenchable fire Thus we must grow vnto full holinesse Mat. 2.9 For as the starre which directed the wise men in their search ceassed not till it came to the place where Christ was and there it stayed so must we not stay in the course of holinesse till we come to heauen where God is And as the kine of the Philistims which drew the Arke of God 1. Sam. 6. though they were milch and had calues at home the one to weaken them the other to withdraw them yet without turning to the right hand or left they kept on their way till they came to Bethshemesh so hauing once ioyned our selues to the yoake of Christ and bearing the arke of his law vpon our shoulders in the way of a vertuous life though we haue many hindrances wordly allurements the diuels temptations and our owne sinfull prouocations yet must we keepe on the way of holinesse to perfection and so the apostle exhorteth Phil. 3. Let vs as many as be perfect be thus mindid Luk. 1. like Zachary and Elizabeth of whom Saint Luke reporteth that they were both righteous befor God walking in all the commandements and iustifications of the Lord without rebuke that is without iust exception to be taken against them yet to dreame of an absolute and Angelicall perfection in a mortall man was the errour of the Pelagian heretikes but our perfection is in part not wholly in respect not absolute or perfect we may be said towards men but not in relation to God There is also a perfection by way of comparison with others and so optimus ille est qui minimis vrgetur he is the most perfect man which hath the fewest faults Yea and further there is a perfection of holinesse secundùm huius vitae modum according to the measure and proportion of this life and this perfection euery good man must haue Saint Paule describes it thus Phil. 3.3 I account not my selfe that I haue attained perfection but one thing I do I forget that which is behind and endeauour my selfe to that which is before and follow hard toward the marke for the price of the high calling of God in Christ Iesus So that this is the point We must resolue endeauour contend and striue for perfection as for a prize euer be adding grace till we are in some sort according to the capacity of our humane nature perfect men in Christ Ie sus and to this our Sauiour exhorts Beye perfect as your heauenly Father is perfect Math. 5.48 neither must we desist till we come to full holinesse Reason Because non progreds est regredi and our life is like the tumbling of a bowle vp an high hil which if it be throwne part of the way or halfe or more it returneth againe but if it be throwne to the top there it resteth so the hauen of holinesse it is Olympus an high hill which we must climbe to the top for to sticke or stay in the midst is but lost labour Againe our life is as a Boate rowed against the streame where if the rowers stay it goeth backeward of it selfe so in
Abraham to Moses Gen. 17.4 from Moses to Christ Luk. 18.5 Luk. 20,27 Gal. 4.4 Exod. 14.10 Heb. 9.15 And in the fulnesse of time God sent our Sauiour according to his promise Luk. 1. 54. Act. 3.12 and our Sauiour Christ did mightily shew himselfe to be the Sonne of God and the Redeemer of his people Israel Luk. 24 19. in whō all the prophecies promises and figures did meet as many lines in the center These promises also The Apostle doth alledge onely two texts of these promises which are like the grapes and fruites of Eschol which the spies brought from the land of Canaan as if he should say By these few you may taste and see how sweete the Lord is and if I should labour to go through them all I suppose they are moe in number then the haires of my head and the plenty of them would beget want of strength in me to deliuer them Moses the man of God doth giue vs to wit 1. Promissiones rarae that these promises are first Rarae inauditae worthy his performance onely who in all things with his holy arme doth get himselfe the victorie Psal 98.2 Who would haue thought that a wombe of ninety yeares barrennesse should be a ioyfull mother of children God promised it Gen. 17.17 and he performed it Gen. 21.6 Who would imagine that God would bring Israel out of Aegypt thus as it is said and after so strange a maner by tentations by signes and by wonders by warre by a mightie hand and by a stretched out arme and by great terrors according to all that the Lord did for them in Aegypt Deut. 4.34 Who could haue thought that the Red sea should be diuided or Iordan driuē back Exod. 14.21 Iosh 10.12 Exod. 16.13 Num. 20.8 or the Moon should stay her course and the Sunne forget his going downe that Manna should be rained from heauen that liuing waters should flow from the flintie rocke These things God promised Exod. 3.19 and these and greater then these the Lord hath done in their due season for he is the God who made all things of nothing which quickneth the dead and calleth those things which are not as though they were Rom. 4.17 2. 2. Promissiones certissime Mal. 3.6 Most sure and certaine as proceeding from the eternitie and immutabilitie of his will and verity with whom is no change nor shadow of changing God saith concerning him that promiseth by vow or oath Implebit omne quod promisit Numb 30.3 He shall not breake his promise but do according to all that he hath promised And shall the Lord say and not do it promise and not performe it Surely God shall as soone not be himselfe as his proceedings not be the truth he were not omnipotent but impotent if it were otherwise Therfore the Apostle doth thus stile him God that cannot lie Tit. 1.2 The faithfull God Deut. 7.8 with whom is no change his promises are therefore Yea and Amen 2. Cor. 1.20 certissimae 3. 3. Promissiones gratuitae Gratuitae the effects of his mercie and goodnesse without any merite or desert of ours Deut. 7.7 He set not his loue vpon you saith Moses to Israel nor chose you because you were moe in number then other people for you were the fewest of all people but because the Lord loued you c. And in the riches of his mercie God chose this people first and his first promise he made to them Leuit. 26.12 I will walke with you I will be your God and you shall be my people yea and enlargeth the same Ier. 31.1 I will be the God of all the families of Israel and they shal be my people c. When Adam sinned against God God had compassion towards him yea when he maketh Gods liberalitie the patrone of his iniquitie saying The woman which thou gauest me c. then did he promise The seed of the woman should breake the Serpents head Genes 3.12 These and the like are gratuitae promissiones without any precedent merit of man as a motiue to moue him thereunto the free donations and enlargements of his goodnesse and bountie 4. 4. Promissiones magnae pretiosae Magnae pretiosae so Saint Peter teacheth vs to esteem them 2. Pet. 1.3 For these that our God will be with vs wheresoeuer we go ruling and assisting vs in whatsoeuer we do these are magnae pretiosae Oh how sweete are thy promises Exod. 5.18 Psal 119. He ruleth vs according to his promise not as Pharaoh ruled Israel with a rod of iron toyling them in their taskes of bricke allowing no straw but he commands vs weldoing and helpes vs to do it and when our seruice is done of dutie herein his bountifull dealing passeth our conceiuing when for a broken seruice on earth he makes a promise of heauen not as they are now subiect to corruption 2. Pet. 3.10 For the heauens shall passe away with a noise and the elements shall be consumed with heate but as they shall be then refined most glorious and stable for the comfort and crowning of his Saints Magnae pretiosae So that as a Father saith The children of God hauing tasted hereof in the life to come do mourne and grieue in the heauens that their repentance was no sooner their thankfulnesse no more and their obedience no greater to glorifie God on earth so that as it is said of the glorious Church Quà m mirabilia de te narrantur ô Ciuitas Dei Oh how great and wonderfull things are spoken of thee O thou Citie of God! such are his promises according to the excellencie of his wisedome and power Magnae pretiosae And in the fift place that we may inherite the promises 5. Promissiones futurae I must informe you that they are futurae viz. of things to come the promises of hope Our life saith Paul is hid with Christ and it appeares not what we shall be Peraduenture some will say better to haue something certaine But to them I say our hope is not a dead but a liuely hope 1. Pet. 1.3 2. Pet 3.8 not depending vpon man whose breath is in his nostrils but vpon our God with whom one day is as a thousand yeares and a thousand yeares as one day The Apostle saith God is faithfull and We know whom we haue beleeued If our life therefore be a warfare our hope is an helmet Eph. 6. if a sea-faring hope is our anchor to stay our ships in danger Act. 27.33 till the day appeare Act. 28. And in a word in all things this is our stay God is faithfull he hath promised and will performe it but all in his due time his I say and not ours Psal 40.1 that we should keepe our soules still waiting on the Lord therefore they are futurae 6. 6. Promissiones augustissimae To comprise many in one and not to totall all in iust account in briefe