helps to make us holy O the pains the care the cost the charge that God hath been at and that God is daily at to make us holy Hath he not sent Jer. 7.13 25. Chap. 25.3 4. and chap. 35.14 15. Isa 49.4 5. 2 Cor. 12.14 15. Rom. 13.11 ult and doth he not still send his Messengers rising up early and going to bed late and all to provoke you to be holy Have not many of them spent their time and spent their strength and spent their spirits and spit up their lungs and spent their very lives to make you holy O Sirs what do holy Ordinances call for but holy hearts and holy lives What do dayes of light call for but walking in the light and casting off the deeds of darkness What is the voice of all the means of grace but this O labour to be gracious And what is the voice of the holy Spirit but this O labour to be holy And what is the voice of all the miracles of mercy that God hath wrote in the midst of you but this Be ye holy be ye holy O Sirs what could the Lord have done that he hath not done to make you holy Hath he not lifted you up to heaven in respect of holy helps Hath he not to this very day followed you close with holy offers and holy intreaties and holy counsels and holy encouragements and all to make you holy And will you be loose still and proud still and worldly still and malicious still and envious still and contentious still and unholy still O what is this Rev. 2 4 5. Isa 32.25 but to provoke the Lord to put out all the lights of heaven to drive your Teachers into corners to remove your Candlesticks and to send his everlasting Gospel that hath stood long a tip-toe among a people that may more highly prize it and dearly love it and stoutly defend it and conscientiously practice it then you have done to this very day By what hath been said I suppose there is nothing more evident then that the times and seasons wherein we live calls aloud upon every one to look after holinesse and to labour for holinesse never complain of the times but cease to do evil and labour to do well Isa 1.16 17 18 19. and all will be well Get but better hearts and better lives and you will quickly see better times Fourteenthly Consider that holinesse will render you most like to a holy God a holy Christ and to holy Angels God is frequently called the holy one in Scripture he is called the holy one above thirty times in the old Testament Gold being the most precious mettal you lay it over those things that are most precious to you so doth God lay holiness over all those things that are most precious to him Angels are holy and Saints are holy but it is God alone that is the holy one His person is holy Isa 6.3 his name is holy Luke 1.49 his works are holy Psalm 45.17 his judgements are holy Psalm 22.1 2 3. his habitation is holy Isa 57.15 his Temple is holy 1 Cor. 3.17 his Kingdom is holy Rev. 21.27 his Word is holy Psalm 19. and his Sabbaths are holy Exod. 16.23 Now this is Gods own Argument Be ye holy for I am holy Lev. 19.2 1 Pet. 1.15 16. Concerning the holinesse of God I shall speak at large by divine assistance when I come to press you upon perfecting of holinesse and therefore let this touch suffice for the present Sirs you cannot be lâ—ke to God in many other things but you may be like to God in this one thing in this noble thing in this most necessary thing Holinesse and therefore labour after it Again as holinesse will render you most like to a holy God so holinesse will render you most like to a holy Christ The Apostle calls him the holy one 1 John 2.20 Christ is essentially holy he is infinitely holy he is originally holy he is singularly holy he is eminently holy he is perfectly holy he is transcendently holy and he is immutably holy And so much the Devil himself confesseth in Mark 1.24 I know thee who thou art Alluding as some think to Exod. 28.36 the holy one of God or rather as the Greek hath it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that holy one by way of excellency and eminency Yea Christ takes delight to characterize himself by this title in Rev. 3.7 These things saith he that is holy And in Dan. 9.24 he is called the most holy or as the Hebrew hath it Kodesh kâ—dashim the holiness of holinesses These abstracts speak out the vigour and strength the eminency and excellency of Christs holiness Christ is holiness it self yea holinesses and what do these abstracts speak out but that perfect and compleat holiness that is in Christ The Angels in Isa 6.3 do three times iterate or repeat holy holy holy now though some do conceive that this three-fold repetition hath reference to all the three persons holy Father holy Son and holy Spirit yet they that will but compare the Text with John 12.37 42. shall plainly see that it relates only to our Lord Jesus Christ and so the three-fold repetition denotes only the superlative eminency of Christs holiness Christ is holy in his natures in his offices in his purposes in his counsels in his word and in his works Acts 4.23 Luke 1.35 Ephes 4. Gal. 2.20 His conception was holy his conversation was holy his converse was holy c. Holiness is the image of Christ it is the picture of Christ the perfections of Christ it makes a man conformable to the life of Christ Christs Holiness is that noble copy after which we should all endeavour to write Subjects may without Treason or offence attempt to be like their Prince in wisdom goodness righteousness holiness peace piety clemency and sanctity though they cannot without rebellion and disobedience endeavour to be like him in power greatness might majesty splendour and glory so we may safely and honourably attempt to be like to Jesus Christ in wisdom righteousness and holiness c. It is Christs particular honour to be imitated in all morals absolutely Though we may not attempt to be like him in his miracles signs and wonders O Sirs Some have counted it their greatest honour and glory in this world that they have been like such and such who have been high and glorious in the world and why then should not you reckon it your greatest glory and happiness to be like to Christ in holiness though not in measure or quantity yet in truth and reality As you would resemble Christ to the life labour to be holy in other things you cannot be like to Christ but in holiness you may you cannot be like to Christ in his greatness majesty or glory nor yet in his omnipotency omnisciency nor omnipresence nor yet in his general or special providence nor in a thousand other things but
you may be like to Christ in his holiness Look as face answers to face as Solomon speaks so you may reach to that holiness that in reality may answer to the very holiness of Christ And this is your only way to be like to Christ All Angels in respect of their nature are alike but what the particular differences are between Angels Archangels principalities and powers and what their distinct offices are I confess with Austin I understand not neither is it my duty to know nor my danger to be ignorant of these things c. Again as holiness will render you most like to a holy Christ so holiness will render you most like to the blessed Angels The blessed Angels are holy in their nature and holy in their offices and holy in their actings they are called holy Angels Mat. 25.31 When the son of man shall come in his glory and all his holy Angels with him and so in Rev. 14.9 10. And he that worshippeth the beast or that receives his mark in his fore-head or in his hand he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy Angels and in the presence of the Lamb. The Angels holiness is their conformity to the original pattern of purity and excellency The Crown of holiness was set upon the heads of Angels at their Creation those Princes of glory were crowned with holiness as it were in the cradle The Angels are holy in their praises and holy in their waitings and holy in their operations and holy in all their ministrations Boddin tells a story of one who desired of God the guidance and assistance of an holy Angel and accordingly he had sensible manifestations of a holy Spirit that assisted him and followed him to his death if in company he spake any unwary words he was sure to be advertised and reproved for it by a dream in the night or if he read any book that was not good the Angel would strike upon the book to cause him to leave reading in it When that Sorcerer Balaam went to curse the people of God a holy Angel stood in the way drew his sword upon him and justled his bones against the wall and all to prevent the execution of his wicked and cursed intentions Numb 22.22 O! how much more then do they stand in the way of the Saints to prevent those weaknesses and miscarriages which Satan and their own corruptions would otherwise carry them to And doubtless as they have a hand to restrain the Saints from evil so they have an eye and an influence upon them for good 1 Tim. 5.21 I charge you before God and our Lord Jesus Christ and the Elect Angels c. The holy Angels have their eyes and their influences upon us they are our observers and overseers they are called watchers in Dan. 4.17 for they watch our words and they watch our works 1 Cor. 11.10 Hebr. 1. ult Rev. 22.9 The Angels watch you in all places cases and conditions c. and they watch our wayes they watch us before duties and they watch us in duties and they watch us after duties they watch us before duties to see how we prepare and fit our selves to meet with God and they watch us in duties to see how our graces are acted upon God and how our hearts and affections are running out after God and they watch us after duties to see whether we walk worthy of God and worthy of our duties and worthy of our profession and worthy of our high calling In times of health strength peace prosperity c. they watch to see how wisely holily humbly fruitfully cheerfully and thankfully we will walk with God and in times of adversity they watch to see how believingly how contentedly how self-denyingly and how patiently we will submit to God c. All which speaks out the holiness of the Angels O! Sirs you cannot in this world be like to the Angels in power strength might nor in agility activity splendour beauty or glory but yet you may be like to them in purity and sanctity Sirs do not deceive your selves you shall never be like to the Angels in glory if you will not be like to them now in grace if you will not with them now put on the robe of holiness you shall not with them hereafter put on the crown of happiness We are to follow the examples of the best men 1 Cor. 11.1 not an inch further then they were followers of Christ Christians saith father Latimer are not bound to be the Saints Apes they are not to imitate them in every thing where their examples were good it is good to imitate them and where they were bad it is duty to decline them The fairest copies that ever were written by Saints have their blots their blurs and their errata's and therefore it is best it is safest it is noblest to set the most exact the most perfect and the most excellent copy of the Angels before us who as they excell in strength so they excell in holiness also Psalm 103.20 Bless the Lord ye his Angels that excell in strength that do his Commandments hearkening unto the voice of his Word The Angels obey divine commands readily cheerfully faithfully universally reverentially humbly affectionately and unweariedly O Sirs such obedience such holiness will be your honour here and your happiness hereafter To gather up all as ever you would be like to a holy God a holy Christ and the holy Angels labour to be holy In holiness you may be like them in other things you cannot resemble them But In the fifteenth and last place to provoke you to labour after holinesse consider the stinging Argument in the text viz. That without it no man shall see the Lord The expression is exclusive now to see is an Hebraeism and implies both vision and fruition now without holiness no man be he high or low noble or ignoble rich or poor c. shall ever come to a blessed acquaintance with God here or to a glorious fruition of God hereafter Gen. 3. chap. 4.13 and Levit. 14. 2 Sam. 14.13 14. Jonah 2. Rev. 1.9 O friends if it were so great a misery to Adam to be cast out of Paradise and so great a punishment to Cain to be cast out of his fathers family which was the only visible Church of God on earth and such a sore affliction for the Lepers in the Law to be shut out from all converse with men and so great a trouble and torment to Absalom to be banished his fathers Court and so great a hell to Jonah to be seemingly cast out of Gods sight and so great a tribulation to John to be confined to the Isle oâ— Patmos O! how great a misery how great a punishment how great an affliction how great a trouble and torment how great a tribulation how great a hell will it be for all unholy persons for ever and ever to be banished the Court of heaven
of holiness But Secondly If ever you would perfect holiness if ever you would attain to higher degrees of holiness Psal 41.12 1 Sam. 2.1.3 then set the Lord alwaies before your eyes set your selves alwaies as in his presence David was a man that was very high and eminent in holiness but how came hee to so great a height why hee tells you how in that 16. Psal 8. Athenodorus a Heathen could say that all men ought to bee careful in the actions of their lives because God was every where and beheld all that was done 1 King 20.39 Psal 39.1 Jer. 20.10 Job 10.12 I have set the Lord alwaies before mee because hee is at my right hand I shall not bee moved David did not by fits and starts set the Lord before him but hee alwaies set the Lord before him in his course hee had his eye upon the Lord and so much the Hebrew word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 imports I have equally set the Lord before mee that is the force of the original word that is I have set the Lord before mee at one time as well as another without any irregular affections or passions c. in every place in every condition in every company in every imployment and in every enjoyment I have set the Lord equally before mee and this raised him and this will raise any Christian by degrees to a very great height of holiness Psa 119.168 I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies for all my waies are before thee The Hebrew word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 shamar that is here rendred kept signifies to keep carefully diligently studiously exactly it signifies to keep as men keep prisoners and to keep as a watchman keeps the City or the Garison yea to keep as a man would keep his very life but now mark what was the reason that David kept the Precepts and the testimonies of the Lord so carefully so sincerely so diligently so studiously and so exactly why the reason you have in the latter part of the verse for all my waies are before thee O Sirs t is as necessary for him that would bee eminent in holiness to set the Lord alwaies before him as t is necessary for him to breathe in that 31. of Job you have a very large narrative of that heigth and perfection of holiness that Job had attained to and the great reason that hee gives you for this is in the 4. verse Doth not hee see my waies and count all my steps the eye of God had so strong an influence upon his heart life that it wrought him up to a very high pitch of holiness The Schollar writes most exactly whilest his Masters eye is upon him and the Childe walks most exactly whilest his Fathers eye is upon him and the Servant works most exactly whilest his Masters eye is upon him and so certainly all the Sons and Servants of the most high God do hear most exactly and pray most exactly and walk most exactly when they set themselves most as in the presence of the great God who is all sight who is Totus oculus all eye Ah friends as ever you would bee high in holiness possess your hearts with a serious apprehension of Gods presence set your selves dayly as in his sight as under his eye and remember though a man may easily baffle his conscience and put out his light and deceive the world like that counterfeit Alexander in Josephus his story yet hee shall never be able to baffle or deceive the eye of Gods omnisciency you shall as soon get out of the reach of his hand as you shall get from under the view of his eye God hath his windows in all our brests and curiously and narrowly observes all that is done within us and all that is done by us and if the serious consideration of his all seeing eye will not influence us to labour after the highest degrees of holiness I know not what will It was Seneca's advice to his friend Jucilius that whatsoever hee was doing hee should imagine that Cato did behold him and Plutarch advised his friends to demean themselves so circumspectly as if their enemies did alwaies behold them But my advice to you shall bee this upon every occasion in every condition and in every action set the Lord alwaies before you if the sharp and severe eye of a holy man or of a holy friend or of a holy relation will so over-awe you and so exceedingly influence you to the best of actions then certainly the sharp peircing and all-seeing eye of God will do much more and therefore let the Lord bee alwaies in your sight But Thirdly If ever you would attain ro higher degrees of holiness then fix and settle your selves under a holy Ministry resigne and give up your selves to his Ministry who makes it his great business and work to preach holiness to promote holiness to countenance holiness to encourage holiness to exalt holiness and to remove all obstructions that may any waies hinder the progress of holiness Some there bee that spend their time rather to please Isa 30.10 than to profit and to tickle their hearers ears than to touch their hearts from these turn aside and some there bee who make it their work rather to destroy Churches than to build them up in faith and holiness and from these turn aside Gal. 1.23 some there are who make it their business to delude and deceive the simple Phil. 4.14 Jer. 14.14 by venting and setting to sale the devices of their own heads and the deceits and visions of their own hearts How many are there in these daies whose glorious visions are but golden delusions and whose Seraphical phrases are but brain-sick phantasies and whose new notions are but new nothings from these turn aside And others there be that build the things that they have destroyed Gal. 2.18 2 Pet. 2.20 21 22. and are returned after they had been seemingly washt with the Dog to his vomit and with the Sow to her wallowing in the mire They say that if tame Foxes break loose and turn wilde they do more mischief than any Julian was once a Professor but turning back to Heathenism hee drew more from the Faith by his fraud than his predecessors did by force therefore from these turn aside Mat. 15 1. 7. Mark 7.1 14. Some there be that cry up the commandements of men above the Commandements of God and that set up the ordinances of men above the Ordinances of God and that prefer humane institutions before divine institutions from these turn aside 1 King 20. 26. 2 Cor. 10.10 And others there be that have a vein of scorning and reproaching of disdaining and triumphing over the persons names and credits of those faithful Ministers of Christ who upon all accounts excel them and whom upon a dying-bed and before a Judgement-seat they will wish that they had imitated and not envied These labour to darken and
except there be sound repentance on their sides and pardoning mercy on Gods they are so abominable debauched and wicked But Eightly When God hath separated and severed his people from the corrupt and sinful customes and manners of the world and brought them into fellowship with himself and into Gospel-Communion with one another O then in a special manner hee calls aloud upon them to be holy Levit. 20.23 24 26. And yee shall not walk in the manners of the Nation which I cast out before you for they committed all these things and therefore I abhorred them But I have said unto you ye shall inherit their Land and I will give it unto you to possess it a Land that floweth with milk and hony I am the Lord your God which have separated you from other people And yee shall be holy unto mee for I the Lord am holy and have severed you from other people that yee should bee mine Distinguishing mercies should breed and nourish distinguishing qualities O Sirs 't is not for you who are separated and severed from the world by God to be proud and carnal and formal and distrustful and hypocritical and earthly and froward c. as the world is 't is not for you to deny your principles to debauch your consciences to change your notes to turn your coats to defile your souls to blot your names and to scandalize your profession O Sirs if God hath separated you and severed you from the world by a call from Heaven it highly concerns you not to think as the world thinks nor to speak as the world speaks nor to judge as the world judges nor to walk as the world walks nor to worship as the world worships but so to think speak judge walk and worship as may make most for the honour of God the glory of the Gospel and as best becomes those that have had the honour and the happiness of being separated and severed by God from the world But Ninthly When the day of the Lord draws neer and when wee look for the accomplishment of great things O then God calls aloud upon his people to bee holy 2 Pet. 3.10 11 12 13 14. But the day of the Lord will come as a Theif in the night in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise and the Element shall melt with fervent heat the Earth also and the works that are therein shall bee burnt up Seeing then that all these things shall bee desolved what manner of persons ought yee to bee in all holy conversation and godliness Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God wherein the Heavens being on fire shall bee desolved and the Element shall melt with fervent heat Never-the-less wee according to his promise look for a new Heaven and new Earth wherein dwelleth righteousness Wherefore Beloved seeing that yee look for such things bee diligent that yee may bee found of him in peace without spot and blameless The neerer the day of Christ is to us and the more great and glorious things wee expect from God Isa 65.17 18 19 20. the more holy the more spotless and the more blameless wee must labour to bee I know there are many that look for new heavens and a new earth that is for a glorious Church-state here on earrh wherein shall dwell righteousness 't is certain that the highest Heavens where God keeps his Royal Court was never without righteousness righteousness hath been alwaies the habitation of his Throne righteousness hath alwaies dwelt in the highest Heavens and indeed Heaven would bee no Heaven yea it would rather hee a Hell than a Heaven if righteousness did not alwaies dwell there neither can the highest Heaven ever wax old neither were they ever made of Earth or Brittle mouldering matter the Pallace of the great King will bee alwaies new fresh shining and gloriousness but indeed the Earth in all Ages have been full of injustice unrighteousness wickedness tyranny cruelty and oppression so that righteousness seems to have been banished out of the world ever since Adam fell from his primitive righteousness and holiness O! but there is a glorious day a coming wherein the Earth shall bee full of righteousness and holiness as I have formerly proved at large from other Scriptures Now Christians the more great and glorious things you expect from God as the downfall of Antichrist the conversion of the Jews the conquest of the nations to Christ the breaking off of all yoâ—ks the new Jerusalems coming down from above the extraordinary pouring out of the spirit and a more general union among all Saints the more holy yea the more eminently holy in all your waies and actings it becomes you to bee many there bee that will talke high and speak big words and tell you stories of great things that they expect and look for in these daies which are the last of the last times and yet if you look into their lives you shall finde them loose and vain and what not O! that these would for ever remember that the more great and glorious things wee expect and look for from God the more holiness God expects and looks for from us and therefore as wee would not have God fail our expectation let not us frustrate his and the higher your expectation rises the higher alwaies let your holiness rise Eccle. 12 2 3 4 5. for there is nothing that will hasten that desirable day of glory upon the world like this But Tenthly and lastly When you draw neer your end when there are but a few steps between you and the Grave between you and Eternity when you have but a little time to live when death stands at your backs and treads on your heels and knocks at your doors when the eyes begin to grow dark when the grinders begin to cease when the keepers of the house the hands and the arms begin to tremble and when the strong men the legs and thighs begin to bow and stagger and totter as being too weak to bear the bodies burden O then what a holy people should you bee this very consideration had a very great influence upon that great Apostles spirit in that 2 Pet. 1.12 13 14 15. Wherefore I will not bee negligent to put you alwaies in remembrance of these things though yee know them and bee established in the present truth Yea I think it meet as long as I am in this tabernacle * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 To rouse you up The Greek word signifies to awaken rouse and raise such as are a sleep There is a sinful slugishness and drousiness that often hangs upon the best of men and therefore they stand in much need of being awakned and roused up to look after their spiritual and eternal concernments to stir you up by putting you in remembrance knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle even as our Lord Jesus Christ shewed me Moreover I will endeavour that you
out but an unspeakable readinesse and willingnesse in Jesus Christ to sanctifie you and save you as well as others A man might write volumes on this subject there is so much said in Scripture and History upon this account but in an Epistle a touch must suffice c. All knowing men can tell you that many Ladies and Gentlewomen in all Ages have been very famous for all Natural Moral Spiritual and Acquired excellencies yea more famous then many men that yet have done worthily in their Generation and by their attainments you may easily see what is possible for you to attain unto both in respect of gifts and grace Of all things gracious examples are most awakening convincing and encouraging for in them you may see that both the attainment of holinesse and the exercise of holinesse is possible though difficult in eying of examples it is alwayes best to eye the highest the holiest and the worthiest examples for as he that shooteth at the Sun though he falls short of his mark yet will shoot higher then he that aimeth only at a shrub so those that set up the highest examples of holinesse for their mark for their imitation will certainly attain to greater degrees of holinesse then those that propose to themselves the meanest and the lowest examples of holinesse for their pattern and imitation Well Ladies and Gentlewomen do you think that it is good going to hell Isa 33.14 2 Thes 1.7 8 9 10. that it is good dwelling with the devouring fire that it is good dwelling with everlasting burnings that it is good for ever to be separated from the presence of God Christ Angels and the spirits of just men made perfect that it is good for ever to lie a sweltering under the wrath of an infinite just God and to abide for ever and ever under those pains and torments that are endlesse easelesse hopelesse and remedilesse and that it is good to be associated and fettered with Devils and damned spirits to all eternity O no this cannot be good for the very serious thoughts of these things are enough even to raise a hell a this side hell in our hearts O then Ladies and Gentlewomen pray that you may be holy hear that you may be holy read that you may be holy and with all your might presse after holinesse and pursue hard after holinesse as after the one thing necessary for without holinesse you will as certainly go to hell as holy persons shall certainly go to heaven and this you will find as clearly and fully proved in this following Treatise as heart can wish O that you would for ever remember this that without all peradventure you shall never be saved unlesse you are sanctified you shall never be truly happy unlesse you are really holy except God should do five things that are not possible for him to do viz. 1. Change his purpose 2. Make null and void his decree 3. Make a new Gospel 4. Find out a new way to heaven And 5. ungod himself God must undo himself and ungod himself if ever he make you happy before he hath made you holy and therefore O what infinite cause have you to read this following Treatise and to study this Treatise and to meditate on this Treatise and to pray over this Treatise and to look up to heaven for counsel and strength to make such an improvement of the means helps and directions that are here prescribed for the attaining of holinesse as that you may be made really holy that so you may be everlastingly happy And to quicken and encourage your hearts in this work I could heartily wish that as soon as you have read over the Epistle you would read from page 433. to page 447. for there you will finde many Arguments that are of a particular concernment to your selves and that ought to be no small obligations upon you to work you to pursue after holinesse with all your might c. If this Treatise should fall into the hands of any faithful serious gracious conscientious laboririous Ministers hands as I suppose it may I would then say Reverend Sirs let my weak endeavours be a spur a provocation to you to lay out your choicest and your chiefest gifts parts strength time and opportunities to promote holinesse of life and holinesse in Doctrine Worship Discipline and in all your sacred Communions Certainly had we all eyed holinesse more and preached holinesse more and practised holinesse more and cryed up holinesse more and encouraged holinesse more and countenanced holinesse more the countenance both of God and man might have been set more pleasingly towards us then they are this day When once maintenance comes to be more in Ministers eyes then holinesse and when their studies and endeavours are more to make men Proselytes to this or that way this or that form this or that party then to make men holy it is no wonder if God writes out bitter things against them I doubt not but providential dispensations have bad such a teaching vertue in them as to lead you to lay your fingers upon several such like sores and to mourn over them and to justifie the holy One of Israel who is holy in all his wayes and righteous in all his works Truly Brethren I have alwayes lookt upon the great work of the Ministry to lie in two things First in making unholy men holy and secondly in making them that are already holy to be more and more holy First to beget holinesse and then to nurse up holinesse first to bring souls to Christ and then to build up souls in Christ is without all peradventure the work of works that should be most in every Ministers eye and that should alwayes lie nearest and warmest upon every Ministers heart c. And through grace I have reade this my grand design in the course of my Ministry and throughout all my writings and now it yields me that joy that comfort that content and that satisfaction that I would not be without for all the world Besides I know it will turn most to my account at the great day O that all of you that yet have any opportunities and advantages in your hands to preach the everlasting Gospel would make this your great businesse to promote holinesse and to exalt and lift up holinesse in the world For as this great principle of holinesse shall gain ground upon the hearts consciences and lives of men so all the things of Antichrist and all the Trade of Antichrist and all those grand mischiefs and miseries that threaten the sons of men will fall before it as Dagon fell before the Ark. If this Treatise should fall into the hands of any of Gods sanctified ones of what degree or rank soever they are of as I suppose it may fall into the hands of many such I would then say Dear friends In this Treatise you will find many strong Motives to provoke you to perfect holinesse in the fear of the Lord
3.17 Because thou saiest I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked They had a great opinion of their own goodness worth and excellent state having need of nothing when they they had nothing of a Christian in them Thou sayest thou art rich I but thou dost but say so thou boastest and braggest of thy riches as many proud Beggars do of that wealth they have not for all thou deemest thy self rich thou art but poor and beggarly It is mans sin and judgement that ever since he ceased to be what he should be he striveth to seem to be what he is not Thou sayest thou art increased with goods and needest nothing I but thou dost but say so thou dost but dream it is so for thou art ignorant of thine own wretched and lamentable estate Thou sayest thou art rich but I know thou art poor and beggarly if a dram of grace would save thy life thy soul thy family nay the whole world thou hast it not Thou sayest thou seest but thou art blind thou art destitute of spiritual eye-sight thou seest not thine own wants nor Christs worth thine own emptiness nor Christs fulness thine own sinfulness nor Christs holiness thine own poverty nor Christs riches and plenty thine own misery nor Christs mercy thine own insufficiency nor Christs alsufficiency thine own vanity nor Christs glory c. Multi multa sciunt se autem nemo Many know much but few know themselves or their own danger infelicity or misery and indeed no misery to this The Chineses use to say of themselves that all other Nations of the world did see but with one eye they only with two and of this spirit and temper were those blind Laodiceans they thought they knew all things when they knew nothing that they should nor as they should By all which you may see that there is an imaginary holiness a conceited holiness where there is no real holiness but an imaginary holiness will bring a man but to an imaginary blessedness a conceited holiness will bring a man but to a conceited happiness he that doth but dream that he is holy he doth but dream that he shall be happy Bastards of old were not to inherit Gen. 21.10 but to be thrust out from among the true heirs Judges 11.1 2. Now Jepthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour and he was the son of a harlot and Gilead begat Jephthah And Gileads wife bare him sons and his wives sons grew up and they thrust out Jephthah and said unto him Thou shalt not inherit in our Fathers house for thou art the son of a strange woman Ah Sirs you that are but bastard Christians bastard Professors bastard Believers bastard Saints you shall never inherit among the heirs of glory 2 Thes 1.8 9. Matth. 8.12 Ch. 22.13 but shall be thrust out for ever from the presence of the Lord and the glory of his power and thrust into utter darkness because you have pleased your selves and satisfied your spirits and blest your souls in a bastard holiness in a conceited holiness Deut. 23.2 A bastard shall not inherit in the Congregation of the Lord he shall have no fellowship nor communion with the people of God the door of Admission shall be shut upon him Mat. 25.10 11 12. Ch. 7.21 22 23. The foolish Virgins had but a Bastard holiness a conceited holiness an outward dress of holiness and therefore the door of life the door of hope the door of help the door of grace the door of mercy the door of glory was shut upon them William the Conquerour was much slighted and scorned because he was a Bastard God and his people will slight such and scorn such and turn their backs at last upon such that have no more then a bastardly holiness and therefore this cannot be the holiness here meant But Thirdly There is an outward external visible holiness which includes mens freedom from scandalous vices and their ordinary performance of religious duties Luke 1.5 6. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they were both saith the Vulgar Sine querela without complaint their conversation was such as none could justly complain of it It was irreprehensible it could not be reprehended Now in this sense Zacharias and Elizabeth were both holy persons for they walked in all the commandments and ordinances of God blameless And so the Apostles 1 Thess 2.10 For ye are witnesses and God also how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved our selves among you that believe Answerable to this is that of the Apostle in 2 Cor. 1.12 For our rejoycing is this the testimony of our conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity Not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God we have had our conversation in the world and more abundantly to you-wards These precious souls behaved themselves holily towards God justly towards the world and unblameably towards believers they were holy in Religious work they were just in their Civil affairs and Commerce and unblameable in their private carriage and behaviour amongst their familiar and most bosome friends And this is that the Apostle presses upon Christians in Phil. 2.15 That ye may be blameless and harmeless the sons of God without rebuke or unblemished in the midst of a crooked and perverse Nation among whom ye shine or shine ye as lights in the world Christians must be the spotless sons of God Deut. 32.5 they must have no spots upon them that are inconsistent with Sonship or Saintship Now it is certain without this outward visible holiness there is no happiness there is no fruition of God in everlasting blessedness They that pretend their hearts are as good as the best when their lives are as bad as the worst shall experience this truth at last to their shame and cost that without visible holiness here there can be no fruition of God hereafter Yet this must be granted 2 Tim. 3.5 They say of Halifax Nuts that they are all shells no kirnels There are many that make a glorious shew before men that are abominable in the sight of God Luke 16.15 that are Aurum hominibus lutum Deo Gold in mans eyes dirt in Gods sight Gregor Mor. c. 34. l. 13. that a man may be visibly holy that is not inwardly holy A man may be outwardly holy that is not throughout holy a man may have an outward dress of holiness upon him that hath not the spirit and vitals of holiness in him As Judas had and Simon Magus had and Demas had and the Scribes and Pharisees had Matth. 23.25 27 28. We unto you Scribes and Pharisees hypocrites for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter but within they are full of extortion and excess Wo unto you Scribes and Pharisees hypocrites for ye are like unto whited Sepulchres which indeed appear beautifull outward but are within
given unto me by the vertue of which gift I do rightly lay claim unto it and am not confounded Though we cannot lay claim to heaven nor to a blessed fruition of God by any inherent holiness in us it being weak and imperfect yet we may lay claim to both by the mediatory holiness of Christ imputed to us As Christs Essential holiness gives him an hereditary right to everlasting happiness So his Mediatory holiness gives us a right to everlasting blessedness The costly cloak of Alcisthenes which Dionysius sold to the Carthaginians for an hundred Talents was but a mean and beggarly ragg to that embroidered royal Robe of Christs mediatory holiness that is imputed or reckoned to us And therefore as ever you would come to a vision of God in happiness you must labour to be interested by faith in Christs mediatory holiness But Sixthly and Lastly there is an inherent internal qualitative holiness Holiness is not any single grace alone but a conjunction a constellation of all graces together Now this inherent holiness lies in two things First in the infusing of holy principles divine qualities or supernatural graces into the soul such as the Apostle mentions in Gal. 5.22 23. But the fruit of the Spirit is love joy peace long-suffering gentleness goodness faith meekness temperance against such there is no Law These habits of grace which are severally distinguished by the names of faith love hope meekness c. are nothing else but the new nature or new-man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness Ephes 4.24 These seeds of holiness these habits of grace are those sweet ointments with which all must be annointed 1 John 3.9 2 Cor. 1.21 1 John 2.27 that shall ever come to a blessed sight or vision of God You may know much of God you may hear much of God you may talk much of God and you may boast much of your hopes and interest in God and yet without these habits of holiness you shall never come to a blessed fruition of God in happiness without these feeds of holiness you shall never reap a crop of blessedness But Secondly This inherent this qualitative holiness lies in an holy use and exercise of those supernatural graces in a way of holy walking Acts 10.35 1 John 1.3.7 Tit. 2.12 Luke 1.73 2 Pet. 1.8 1 Pet. 1.15 16. Isa 35.8 all holy habits must be brought forth into holy acts gracious habits must be attended with gratious motions gratious operations and a gracious conversation outward works must be suitable to inward habits it is with spiritual habits as it is with natural habits the more they are acted and exercised the more they are increased and strengthened holy habits are golden Talents that must be imployed and improved Gracious habits are the candles of the Lord set up in us and God hath set up those candles of heaven not to idle by not to sleep by but to work by and to walk by Where there is holiness of disposition there must be nay there will be holiness of conversation a holy heart is alwayes attended with a holy life Where there are the seeds of holiness there will be the flowers of holiness you may separate a man from his friend but you can never separate though you may distinguish acts of holiness from the habits of holiness now it is certain without this holiness you shall never come to a sight or fruition of God in happiness And thus I have shewed you what that holiness is without which there is no hope no possibility of ever seeing the Lord. I come now to the second thing and that is to prove the truth of the Proposition viz. That without men are holy they can never be happy without holiness on earth none of the sons of men shall ever come to a blessed vision and fruition of God in heaven Now this great and weighty truth I shall make good by an induction of particulars thus First God hath by very plain and clear Scriptures bolted and barred the door of heaven and happiness against all unholy ones See also Mat. 7.21 22 23. Ch. 25.10 11 12. Witness 1 Cor. 6.9 10. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God be not deceived neither fornicators nor Idolaters nor adulterers nor effeminate nor abusers of themselves with mankind nor thieves nor covetous nor revilers nor extortioners shall inherit the Kingdom of God Heaven is an undefiled inheritance 1 Pet. 1.4 and none that are defiled can enter into the possession of it When the Angels fell from their righteousness heaven rejected them it would no longer hold them and will it now accept of the unrighteous will it now entertain and welcome them surely no. Such sinners make the very earth to mourn and groan now and shall they make heaven to mourn and groan hereafter Surely no. What though the Serpent did wind himself into an earthy Paradise yet none of the seed of the Serpent so remaining shall ever be able to wind themselves into a heavenly Paradise witness Gal. 19.20 21. Now the works of the flesh are manifest which are these Adultery fornication uncleanness lasciviousness Idolatry witchcraft hatred variance emulations wrath strife seditions heresies envying murders drunkenness revellings and such like of the which I tell you before as I also have told you in time past that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God Before they go to hell he tells them again and again that they shall not inherit the kingdom of God By the Kingdom of God we are to to understand the kingdom of Heaven the kingdom of glory now the kingdom of heaven of glory is called the kingdom of God 1. Because he hath prepared it 2. Mat. 20.23 Luke 12 32. Because it is a royal gift that he confers and bestows upon his little little flock Augustus in his Solemn Feasts gave trifles to some and Gold to others Rev. 4.10 11. Chap. 20.6 Dan. 4.16 17. The trifles of this world God often gives to the worst and basest of men but the kingdom of heaven he only gives to his bosome friends 3. Because that of and under him the Saints hold it and possess it 4. Because with him they shall for ever reign in the fruition of it And so that in John 3.3 Jesus answered and said unto him Verily verily I say unto thee Except a man be born again be cannot see the kingdom of God To give a little light into the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Truth truth or truly truly Verily verily the Greek is Amen amen The word Amen is Hebrew and in the Old Testament is most commonly used by way of wishing or imprecation but here and in other places of the New Testament the sense of it is altered from precatory to assertory or from the way of wishing to the way of affirming This phrase Amen amen or Verily verily imports First The
to have any thing to do with those that have no principles of holiness in them It is a principle of holinesse that fits a man for the service of God that fits a man for fellowship with God that fits a man for walking with God that fits a man for correspondency with God and that fits a man for the delight of God and that fits a man for an everlasting fruition of God And therefore certainly without holinesse there is no happinesse without a principle of purity there can be no seeing of the face of God in glory Reason 3 A third Reason why Without real holiness there is no happinesse c. is this because heaven is a holy place and therefore no unholy souls can enter there it is called the high and holy place Isa 57.15 the inheritance of the Saints in heaven is an inheritance that is incorruptible and undefiled 1 Pet. 1.4 Holinesse dwells in heaven 2 Pet. 3.13 as a man dwells in his house Heaven is the house of Gods holinesse and therefore certainly without holinesse there is no entring into that house Exod. 26.34 Psalm 78.69 Hebrews 9.8 Chap. 12.24 Rev. 21.27 The Holy of Holies in the Temple was a Type of heaven And as none might enter into the Holy of holies that were unholy so none can enter into heaven which is the true Holy of holies but those that are holy Heaven was so holy that it cast out the Angels when they fell from their holinesse Paradise was a Type of heaven and no sooner did Adam lose his holinesse but he was shut out of Paradise Heaven is a City of holinesse and none can enter into that City but such as are holy Rev. 22.14 Heaven is so holy that it would groan to bare one unholy soul Well heaven is a holy place and the inhabitants are all holy and the work of heaven is holy and what then should unholy souls do there Reason 4 A fourth Reason why Without real holiness there is no happinesse Coelum est altera gehenna damnatorum Heaven is another hell to the damned said One. Isa 66.3 4. c. is this Because unholy persons have no hearts to go to heaven though now and then they may talk of heaven and now and then lift up their eyes and hands to heaven and now and then expresse a few cold wishes and lazy desires after heaven it is no difficult thing to demonstrate that in good earnest they have no heart to go to heaven For First How often hath God set life and death heaven and hell before them and they have chosen death rather then life and hell rather then heaven 2. Do you â—hink that that man hath any heart to heaven that will not so much as part with a lust for heaven Luke 13.33 34. 3. Will you say that that man hath a heart to go to heaven that hath not so much as a hand to lay hold on the opportunities of grace that might bring him to heaven 4. Will you say that that man hath a heart to go to heaven that daily hardens his heart against him who is the way to heaven 5. John 14.6 Isa 63.10 Will you say that that man hath a heart to go to heaven who is still a grieving vexing and quenching that spirit of holinesse that can only fit frame and form him for heaven 6. Will you say that that man hath a heart to go to heaven that rarely spends a serious thought of heaven and that lives in this world as if there were no heaven 7. Will you say that that man hath a heart to go to heaven whose sinfull courses speak him out to be one of those who have made a covenant with death Isa 18.15 18. and an agreement with hell 8. Do you think that that man hath a heart to go to heaven Rom. 3.8 1 Cor. 4.9 10. that detests those most that are the best woers for heaven 9. Do you think that that man hath any heart to go to heaven who can take no pleasure nor delight in those that are travailing towards heaven 10. Will you say that that man hath a heart to go to heaven that will do nothing affectionately for heaven that will not hear for heaven nor pray for heaven nor trade for heaven nor look for heaven nor long for heaven nor strive for heaven No man ever went to heaven sleeping nor wait for heaven The heart commands all it carries all if the heart were bent for heaven the head would contrive for heaven the eye would look out for heaven and the ear would hear for heaven and the tongue would speak for heaven and the foot would walk towards heaven and the hand would do for heaven By all which it is most evident that unholy persons are not cordially willing to go to heaven it is most certain that unholy persons have no such great mind to go to heaven as some imagine when Dives was in hell his desire was not to be with Abraham in heaven Luke 16.24 27 28 29. but that Lazarus might come and give him a little ease in hell he preferred a little ease in hell before his being with Abraham in heaven Neither did he desire that his five brethren might go to heaven but that they might be kept out of hell and that not out of love to them but out of love to himself he knowing that their company would be no small increase of his own torments Heauen would be a very hell to an unholy heart If now the presence of God in his servants and the presence of God in his Ordinances be such a hell to unholy souls Ah what a hell would the presence of God in heaven be to unholy hearts It is true an unholy heart may desire heaven as it is a place of freedom from troubles afflictions oppressions vexations c. and as it is a place of peace rest ease safety c. but this is the least and lowest part of heaven but to desire it as it is a place of purity of grace of holinesse of enjoying of God c. is above the reach of an unholy heart The company of heaven are all holy the imployments of heaven are all holy and the enjoyments of heaven are all holy and therefore heaven cannot but be an undesireable thing to unholy hearts An unholy heart is no ways desirous nor ambitious of such a heaven as will rid him of his darling sins as will make him conformable to a holy God as will everlastingly divorce him from his old companions and link him for ever to those gratious souls that he hath scorned despised and persecuted in this world Ergo c. Reason 5 Fifthly and Lastly Because without real holinesse men are good for nothing they are fit for nothing without holinesse men are neither good for Church nor State they are neither fit to Rule nor to be ruled to command nor to be commanded to guide nor to be guided
c. Men void of holinesse are in the Scripture resembled to chaff Psalm 1.4 Isa 41.2 Zeph. 1.17 Ezekiel 2.6 Isa 9.18 Ch. 10.6.17 Chap. 57.27 to dust to dirt to briars and thorns which are things that are good for nothing that are fit for nothing And what should such men do in heaven who are good for nothing on earth The Horse is good to carry the Ox is good to draw the Sheep is good for cloth the Cow is good to give milk the Asse is good to bear and the Dog is good to keep the house but what is a man void of holinesse good for An unholy person is good for nothing but to be destroyed and to make some room for a better person to stand up in that place which he takes up in the world As the Hogg in the Arabick fable tells us that a Butcher carrying three creatures upon his Horse A Sheep a Goat and a Hog the two former lay very quiet and still but the Hog kicked and cried and would never be quiet thereupon the Butcher said Why are thou so impatient when the other two are so quiet the Hog answered Every one knows himself the Sheep knows that he is brought into the City for his wool sake and the Goat knows that he is brought into the City for his milk sake and so they need not fear nor care but alasse I know very well that I have neither wool nor milk but that assoon as I am come into the City I must be killed for that is all I am good for Matth. 7.6 An unholy soul is like a Hog good for nothing but to be killed Certainly heaven-happinesse is too great and too glorious a thing to be possest by them that are good for nothing We look upon such as are fit for nothing to be worthy of banishment from the society of men But oh how much more worthy are they to be banished from the presence of the Lord and the glory of his power 2 Thess 1.8 9. Heb. 12.22 23. Romans 2.5 and to be shut out for ever from the society of Angels and the spirits of just men made perfect who are fit for nothing but to dishonour the Lord undo their own souls and to treasure up wrath against the day of wrath And thus I have given you an account of the Reasons of the Point Vse VVEE shall now come to make some improvement of this great truth to our own souls Is it so That real holinesse is the only way to happinesse and that without holinesse here no man shall ever come to a blessed vision or fruition of God hereafter Then the first Use shall be a Use of Conviction This then may serve to convince the world of several things As First That the number of those that shall be eternally happy the number of those that shall attain to a blessed vision and glorious fruition of God in heaven are very few for there are but a few that reach to this holinesse without which there is no happinesse Rev. 3.4 Thou hast a few names A few names that is a few persons â—cts 1.15 who are all known to Christ by name as he said to Moses I know thee by name Ex. 33 12 17. by these Scriptures it is evident that few shall be saved Jer. 5.1 Ezek. 22.30 Ch. 9.4 6 7. Mich. 1.13 Luke 23. Rom. 9.21 Matth. 22.14 1 Cor. 1.20 even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments and they shall walk with me in white for they are worthy Among the many in Sardis there were but a few that had holy insides and pure outsides Among the multitude that made a holy profession there were but few that walkt answerable to their holy calling and therefore but a few that should walk with Christ in white White in antient times was the Habit of Nobles to walk with Christ in white is to partake with Christ in his glory they and only they at last shall be cloathed nobly royally gloriously who maintain inward and outward purity The holy seed is a little little flock Luke 12.32 here are two Diminitives in the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 little little flock to shew the exceeding littleness of it They were little in their own eyes and little in their enemies eyes and little in regard of that world of Wolves among whom they were preserved as a spark of fire in the midst of the wide Ocean When the Syrians came up against Israel in the time of Ahab it is said that the children of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of Kids but the Syrians filled the countrey 1 Kings 20.27 holy souls are but like two little flocks of kids but the unholy fill the world Gracious souls are like the three hundred men of Gideon but graceless souls are as the Midianites that were like Grashoppers for multitude Judges 7.7.12 Straight is the gate and narrow is the way that leads unto life and few there be that find it Matth. 7.14 The way of holiness that leads to happiness is a narrow way there is but just room enough for a holy God and a holy soul to walk together And few there be that find it And no wonder for there are but few that minds it that loves it that likes it or that enquires after it The whole world lies in wickedness 1 Joh. 5.19 and will die in their wickedness Amongst the millions in Rome there are but a few Senators and they too none of the best John 8.21 Geographers say that if all the known parts of the world were divided into one and thirty parts there will be found but five parts that do so much as profess the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ For at this day nineteen parts of the world are possest by unholy Turks and Jews which do not nor will not so much as acknowledge Jesus Christ to be the King and Head of his Church And seven parts of the world is possest this day meerly by Heathens who worship stocks and stones And of those five parts that are possest by Christians how many are Papists Atheists Hypocrites Drunkards Swearers Lyars Adulterers Idolaters Oppressors How many are proud covetous carnal formal lukewarm indifferent c Now should all these sorts of sinners be separated as they shall in the great day from those that are gracious and holy would it not quickly appear that the flock of Christ is a little little flock Ah how few among the great ones are found to be gracious How few among the rich are found to be rich in Christ rich in grace rich in good works 1 Cor. 1.16 1 Tim. 6.16 17. Flavus Vopiscus Lips de Constantia lib. 2. cap. 25. how few among those that are high born can you find that are new born It was the saying of One that all the names of good Emperours might be engraven in a little Ring And so saith Lipsius that the names of all good Princes may easily be
not only to holy men but also to all ingenious men and to all civil and moral honest men As the scorners tongue and hand is against every man so every mans tongue and hand shall be against him Now if the scorners of men be abominable to men then much more are the scorners of holiness abominable to God and therefore certainly such shall be shut out from a glorious fruition of God Thirdly If real holiness be the only way to happiness and that if men be not holy on earth they shall never come to a blessed vision or fruition of God in heaven Then by way of conviction this looks sowerly and sadly upon all Formalists who have only a form a shew a profession of holiness but have nothing of the reality spirit life or power of holiness in them 2 Tim. 3.5 Isa 58.1.2 3. Zach. 7.4.5 6. Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof from such turn away They have 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a face a vizard a mask a shew of godliness but they have nothing of the pith sap life or marrow of godliness their devotion their godliness lies in good words and in fair shews and in religious gestures if you hearken to their voice if you look upon their eyes if you observe the motion of their hands and the bowing of their knees and the shaking of their heads c. you would think that they were men of much religion of much godliness But if you look into their hearts and lives you will find them to be the greatest renouncers and denyers of Religion and godliliness in the world They have the semblance of goliness but not the substance they have the lineaments of godliness but not the life they have the face of godliness but not the heart they have the form the shadow of godliness but not the power They are like a well drawn picture which hath all the lineaments of a man but wants life wants a principle of motion and operation Mark 1. A form of godliness is Englands Epidemical disease The form of godliness is common but the power of godliness is rare 2. The form of godliness is cheap but the power of godliness is dear 3. The form of godliness is easie but the power of godliness is difficult 4. The form of godliness is a credit but the power of godliness is a reproach 5. The form of godliness is pleasurable and delightfull but the power of godliness is displeasing and undelightful to the ignoble part of a Christian 6. The form of godliness will stand with secret and with open wickednesse as you see in Saul 1 Peter 1.17 Jer. 44.17 Jehu Judas Simon Magus Demas and the Scribes and Pharisees but the power of godliness will not the power of godliness layes the Ax to the very root of all sin both secret and open Rachel was very fair and beautifull to the eye but she was barren and that marred all So the Formalist he is a very fair and beautifull Christian to the eye but he is barren God-wards and Christ-wards and Heaven-wards he is fruitless sapless and lifeless and that marrs all The Formalist takes up a form of godliness 1. To quiet his conscience 2. To get himself a name 3. To cloak over his sins 4. To advance his worldly interest and 5. To avoid opposition and persecution from the world the flesh and the Devil 6. And to conform to old customs And what should such Formalists do in heaven A formal Christian is but a figure a flaunt a flourish a flash and all he doth is but the shadow of what he should do A formalist is more light then life more notion then motion more head then heart more outside then inside more leaves then fruit more shadow then substance A formalist is a blazing Comet a painted Tomb a Stage-player a white devil or a devil in an Angels habit and what should such devils do in heaven Certainly if without real holiness no man shall see the Lord then the formalist that hath only the shape the shew the form of godliness but nothing of the reality and power of it shall never be blest with such a sight A formalist is neither hot nor cold of all sorts of sinners he is the worst and God so loaths him that he is resolved he will rid his stomack of him Rev. 3.16 I will spue thee out of my mouth and certainly heaven is too holy a place to lick up that gorge God hath cast up Lukewarm water cannot be so loathsome to our stomacks as a formalist is to Gods God is never at such ease as when he hath cast up and cast out the formal Christian Magdenburge Cent. 5. I have read of Anastasius the Emperour how God shot him to death with a thunder-bolt because of his lukewarmness and formality God hath a thunder-boult for every formalist by which he will at last certainly strike them down to the lowest hell A formalist is too loathsome a thing too heavy a burden for heaven to bear Fourthly If real holiness be the only way to happiness if men must be holy on earth or else they shall never see the face of God in heaven Then this truth by way of conviction looks sowerly and sadly upon all those who please and satisfie themselves with civility and common honesty who are good negative Christians who bless themselves that they are no swearers nor drunkards Luke 18.10 11 12 13 14. Mat. 5.21 Chap. 19.20 21 22. nor extortioners nor adulterers c. they pay every man his own they are just and righteous in their dealings no man can say black is their eye their carriage is civil comely harmless and blamelesse They make a fair shew in the flesh Gal. 6.12 or as the Greek hath it they set a good face on it But as good a face as they do set on it I must crave leave to tell them that civility is not sanctity civility rested in is but a beautifull abomination a smooth way to hell and destruction I may truly say of all civil men who are disstitute of that real holiness that leads to happiness what Erasmus said of Seneca If you look upon him as a heathen then he seemeth to write as if he were a Christian but if you look upon him as a Christian then he seemeth to write as a heathen So if you look upon many civil moral mens lives you will find them so full of ingenuity equity righteousness sweetness and justice that you will be ready to say Sure these are holy men But then do but observe how unacquainted they are with God with Christ with the Scripture with the way and working of the spirit with the filthiness of sin with the depths and devices of Satan with their own hearts with the new-birth and with the great concernments of eternity and you will judge them to be meer heathens to be men void of all principles of grace and holiness and to
exercises of Religion But Eleventhly True holinesse is conformable to the holinesse of Christ The holinesse of Christ is that first and noble pattern that real holinesse makes us conformable to 1 John 4.17 1 John 2.6 Herein is our love made perfect that we may have boldnesse in the day of judgement because as he is so are we in this world there is no grace in Christ which is not in some degree formed in a holy heart and therefore the work of grace and holinesse is called a forming of Christ in the soul Gratiam super gratiam say some Gratiam gratiae accumalatam say others Certainly Christ is a seminary of graces He is clara Epitome virtutum An exact Epitome of graces Gal. 4.19 Holy hearts have the very prints stamps and impressions of the graces of Jesus Christ upon them 1 John 16. Of his fulnesse we have all received grace for grace Look as face answers to face so the graces that are in real Christians answer to the graces that are in Jesus there is such love as answers to the love of Christ and such lowlinesse as answers to the lowlinesse of Christ and such heavenly mindednesse as answers to the heavenly mindednesse of Christ and such meeknesse as answers to the meeknesse of Christ and such patience as answers to the patience of Christ and such faith as answers to the faith of Christ and such zeal as answers to the zeal of Christ and such fear as answers to the fear of Christ in truth and reality though not in degree and quantity Look as in generation the child receives member for member or as the paper from the Presse letter for letter or the glasse from the face image for image or as the wax from the seal stamp for stamp so holy hearts receive from Christ grace for grace Look as wine in the bottle is conformable to that in the Butt and as water in the Cistern is conformable to that in the river and as light in the Air is conformable to that in the Sun and as milk in the sawcer is conformable to milk in the breasts and as money in the pocket is conformable to money in the bagg So the graces that are in a holy Christian are conformable to the graces that are in Christ 2 Cor. 3.17 18. To be a Philosopher saith Plato is to know God to be in love with God and to imitate God So say I to be a holy person is to know a holy Christ to be in love with a holy Christ and to imitate the vertues of a holy Christ It was the height of Caesars glory to walk in the steps of Alexander And of Selymus a Turkish Emperour to walk in the steps of Caesar And of Themistocles to walk in the steps of Miltiades so it is the height of a Christians glory to tread in the vertuous steps of his dearest Lord. And as Scipio accounted it no small disparagement for him to walk one foot awry from that course of life which Cyrus in Xenophon had gone before him in so a holy heart counts it no small disparagement to him in the least to step awry from that holy pattern that Christ hath set him Look as the holy Prophet did lay his mouth to the Shunamites childs mouth 2 Kings 4.34 and his eyes to his eyes and his hands to his hands So a holy Christian layes his mouth to the mouth of Christ and his eys to the eyes of Christ and his hands to the hands of Christ and his breasts to the breasts of Christ and his heart to the heart of Christ that is 1 Pet. 2.9 he doth in all things labour to resemble Christ to be like to Christ especially in those holy vertues which were most shining in the heart and life of Christ Now certainly they are far from being holy who count it a crime to be vertuous and so are they who walk directly contrary to Jesus Christ he was holy but they are prophane he was humble but they are proud he was heavenly but they are earthly he was spiritual but they are carnal he was zealous but they are luke-warm he was meek but they are contentions he was charitable but they are covetous he was courteous but they are malitious Will you call these men holy surely no. But Twelfthly He that is truly holy Joshua 7.9 Psalm 69.9 Ezra 9.3 Nehemiah 9. Daniel 9. Micah 1.8 Ierem. 13.17 is much affected and afflicted with the unholinesse of others Psal 119.53 Horror hath taken hold upon me because of the wicked that forsake thy Law Ver. 158. I beheld the transgressors and was grieved because they kept not thy Word Ver. 136. Rivers of waters run down mine eyes because they keep not thy Law By this Hyperbolical phrase he sets forth the greatnesse of his sorrows and that not because his enemies had wronged him but because they had dishonoured his God It was a great grief to him ro see others a grieving his God So Jer. 9.1 2 3. O that my head were waters and mine eyes a fountain of tears that I might weep day and night Oh that I had in the wildernesse a lodging place of wayfaring men that I might leave my people and go from them But why doth the holy Prophet thus take on why doth he thus lament why doth he wish himself turned into waters and into a fountain of tears why doth he prefer a habitation amongst the wild beasts before his habitation among his own people Why the cause you have in the following words for they be all Adulterers an Assembly of treacherous men And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth for they proceed from evil to evil and they know not me saith the Lord. So Ezek. 9.4 And the Lord said unto him Go through the midst of the City through the midst of Jerusalem and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof There were holy hearts in Jerusalem that did sigh and cry and cry and sigh for the wickednesse of the times the abominations of the times did lye in such full weight upon them that they did fetch many a sigh from their hearts and many a tear from their eyes Holy hearts are able to tell you many sad stories of the groans griefs and gripes that other mens sins hath cost them When most were a sinning Gods marked ones were a mourning when others were with a high hand a cursing blaspheming and a rebelling Gods marked ones were deeply sorrowing they mourned cordially they sighed greatly they grieved wonderfully they groaned lamentably and that not for some but for all for all Court sins and Church sins and City sins and family sins And so holy Paul could not with dry eyes make mention of those belly-gods and earth-worms that were in his time Phil. 3.18 So holy Lot was
the holy dispensers of the Word for their work sake Acts 10.24 25 26. Gal. 4.14 Isa 52.7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings that publisheth peace that bringeth good tidings of good that publisheth salvation that saith unto Zion thy God reigneth If the very feet of those that brought good tidings though they were afar off â—nd sweaty dusty and dirty with traveling upon the mountains 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 were so desirable and amiable honourable and comfortable Oh then what was their faces what was their messages surely they were much more amiable and desireable So in 1 Thes 5.12 13. And we beseech you Brethren to know them which labour among you in the Lord Acts 26.16 17 18. If a Minister had as many eyes as Argus to watch as many heads as Typheus to dispose and as many hands as Briareus to labour he might find employment enough for them all in the faithful discharge of his Ministerial function and admonish you And to esteem them very highly or more then abundantly as the Greek hath it in love for their work sake and be at peace among your selves Their work is to bring Christ and your souls together and to keep Christ and your souls together Their work is to turn you from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to Jesus Christ Their work is gradual first they are to bring you to a saving acquaintance with Christ and then they are to bring you to a holy acceptance of Christ and then they are to bring you to a willing resignation of your selves to Christ and then they are to bring you to a sweet and blessed assurance of your interest in Christ and so to fit you and prepare you for a glorious fruition of Christ and therefore certainly their work is high and honourable excellent and eminent laborious and glorious and why then should you not have a high and honourable esteem of them even for their work sake I have read of Ambrose that being once to leave the Church of Milan the people of the place flocked about him laid hold of him protesting that they had rather lose their lives then lose their Pastor beseeching him to remain and to promote among them the Gospel and Government of Christ professing and promising for his encouragement their ready submission to Christ Chrysostoms hearers were wont to say that they had as good be without the Sun in the Firmament as to be without Chrysostom in the Pulpit Some of the antients have long since concluded that Herod might have kept his oath Mark 6.23 and yet have spared John Baptists head because Johns head Johns life was more worth then all Herods Kingdom O Sirs Shall Titus Sabinus his dog bring meat to the mouth of his dead master and hold up his head in Tyber from sinking because sometimes he gave him a crust of bread And will not you highly love honour and esteem of those Pastors who feed your souls with the bread of life yea with that bread that came down from heaven Certainly the more any man is affected and taken with the holiness of the Word the more highly they will honour and prize the holy and faithful dispensers of the Word Holy men know that their place is honourable their calling honourable and their work honourable and therefore they cannot but honour them Holy men know that if they do not honour them they dishonour him whose Embassadors they are Holy men know that Christ takes all the affronts that are put upon them Luke 10.16 Mat. 22.4 8. chap. 21.33 44. and chap. 23.37 38 39. 2 Chron. 36.14 22. 2 Sam. 10.1 7. compared with chap. 12. ver 31. as put upon himself and will accordingly revenge them as you may see by comparing the Scriptures in the margin together Embassadors are inviolable by the Law of Nations David never played any such harsh part as he did to the Ammonites that despitefully used his Embassadors that he sent unto them when they shaved off one half of their beards and cut off their garments in the middle c. I have read that Rome was destroyed to the ground for some abuses that were offered to an Embassador that was sent unto it And the Romans sacked the famous City of Corinth and razed it to the ground for a little discourtesie that they offered to their Embassadors No wonder then if God deal so severely with those that slight his Embassadors who come with messages of grace and favour from the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and whose great work is to make a firm an everlasting peace between God and sinners souls and that all differences between God and them may be for ever decided and a free trade to heaven fully opened and maintained As for such as slight scorn and despise the holy and faithfull dispensers of the word I think they are as far from real holinesse as hell is from true happinesse And so doubtlesse are they that grumble at the expence of a penny for the maintenance of that divine Candle that wasteth it self to give light to them 2 Cor. 12.14 15 16. that will rather die to save charges then spend a little money to save their lives yea their souls In the fourteenth place A man that is really holy will be holy among the unholy he will retain and keep his holinesse Psal 119.112 Psal 106.3 1 Joh. 3.9 10. let the times be never so unholy Principles of grace and holinesse are lasting they are not like the morning cloud nor the early dew Holy Abraham was righteous in Caldea holy Lot was just in Sodom holy Job was upright in the land of Vzz which was a place of much prophanesse and superstition Holy Nehemiah was couragious and zealous in Damasco And so was holy Daniel in Babylon The several generations wherein these holy men lived were wholly devoted to wickednesse and superstition and yet these precious souls had wholly devoted themselves to godlinesse And of the same spirit mind and mettal was holy David Psalm 119.20 My soul breaketh for the longing it hath to thy judgements at all times Let the times be never so dangerous licentious superstitious or erroneous yet Davids heart was strongly carried forth to Gods judgements that is to his word for under this title Judgements you are to understand the whole word of God And so there were some in Sardis that were of the same spirit with the Worthies above mentioned Rev. 3.4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments Rev. 14.4 5. and they shall walk with me in white for they are worthy In polluting times pure hearts will keep themselves pure A holy heart will keep himself undefiled even in defiling times when others are besmeared all over he will keep his garments white and clean Let the times never so often turn you shall find that he that is really holy will be holy
him The daily language of their Souls is Non nobis Domine Rom. 13.7 non nobis Domine Not unto us Lord not unto us Lord but to thy name be all the glory Holy men make conscience of giving men their dues 1 Chron. 29.10.18 how much more then do they make conscience of giving God his due So in Psal 96.7 8. Now glory is Gods due and God stands upon nothing more then that we give him the glory due unto his name as you may see in Psalm 29.1 2. There are three gives in those two verses Give unto the Lord give unto the Lord give unto the Lord the glory that is due unto his name Glory is Gods right and he stands upon his right and this holy men know and therefore they give him his right they give him the honour and the glory that is due unto his name Holy hearts do habitually eye the glory of Christ in all things 1 Cor. 10.31 Quicquid agas propter Deum agas was an Eastern Apothegm saith Drusius When they eat they eat to his glory and when they drink they drink to his glory and when they sleep they sleep to his glory when they buy they buy for his glory and when they sell they sell for his glory and when they give they give for his glory and when they recreate themselves they recreate themselves for his glory so when they hear they hear for his glory and when they pray they pray for his glory and when they fast they fast for his glory and when they read they read for his glory and when they come to the Lords Table they come to his glory in all natural moral and religious actions Holy hearts have an habitual eye to divine glory Do not mistake me I do not say that such as are really holy do actually eye the glory of Christ in all their actions Oh no this is a happinesse desirable on earth but shall never be attained till we come to heaven By and base ends and aims will too often creep into the holiest hearts but holy hearts sigh and groan under them they complain to God of them and they cry for Justice Justice upon them And it is the strong and earnest desires of their souls to be rid of them But take a holy Christian in his ordinary usual and habitual course and so he hath holy aims and ends in all his actions and undertakings But now such whose holinesse is counterfeit they never look at divine glory in what they do sometimes their eye is upon their credit Mar. 6.5 John 6.26 Zach. 7.5 6 7. and sometimes their eyes are upon applause sometimes they have pleasure in their eyes and sometimes they have profit in their eyes and sometimes they have preferments in their eyes c. They will be very godly when they can make a gain of godlinesse they will be very holy when holinesse is the way to outward happinesse but this religious wickednesse will double damn them at last This is most certain that some carnal or worldly consideration or other alwayes acts him who hath not real principles of holinesse in him but he that is really holy makes the glory of God his Center Propter te Domine propter te was once and is still a holy mans Motto Quest But how may a person know when he makes the glory of God his aim his end in this or that service which he performs I shall answer this Question briefly thus Answ First Such a man as makes the glory of God his aim his end he will do duty when all outward incouragements to duty fail when the eye of men the favour of men Antimachus the famous Poet held on in his exercise when all his hearers had left him but Plato saying Plato est mihi pro omnibus Plato is to me instead of all So a holy Minister when he is deserted by some and cast off by others yet he will hold on in his work the respects of men and all other incouragements from men fails yet then a holy man will hold up and hold on in his work and way yea when all outward incouragements from God shall fail yet such a person will keep close to his duty Hab. 3.17 18. Although the fig-tree shall not blossome neither shall fruit be in the vines the labour of the Olive shall fail and the fields shall yield no meat the flock shall be cut off from the fold and there shall be no herds in the stalls Yet I will rejoyce in the Lord I will joy in the God of my salvation When all necessary and delightfull mercies fail yet he will not fail in his duty though God withholds his blessings yet he will not withhold his service in the want of a livelyhood he will be lively in his duty when he hath nothing to subsist by yet then he will live upon his God Though war and want come yet he will not be wanting in his duty There are three things in a holy heart that strongly incline it to duty when all outward incouragements fail The first is a forcible principle divine love The second is a mighty aid the Spirit of God The third is a high aim 2 Cor. 5.14 Phil 4.12 13. the glory of God but now it is otherwise with those that have only a shew of godlinesse let but their outward incouragements fail them let but the eye the ear the applause of the creature fail them if they cannot make some gain of their godlinesse some profit of their profession some advantage of their religion they are ready with Demas to throw up and throw off all Profit and applause are usually the baits that these men bite at Hac omnia tibi dabo was the devils great argument to prevail with Christ and if they misse these baits then farewell profession farewell religion farewell all But now look as Ruth kept close to her mother in the want of all outward incouragements Ruth 1. So souls that eye the glory of God in duties they will keep close to duties when all outward incouragements fail Though outward incouragements be sometimes as a side wind or as oil or as chariot wheels means to move a Christian to go on more sweetly easily and comfortably in the wayes of God yet when this wind shall fail and these chariot wheels shall be knockt off a real Christian will hold on his way Job 17.9 Secondly When a man aims at the glory of God in what he doth then he labours to hide and conceal all his humane excellencies that may any wayes tend to obscure ecclipse or darken the glory of God 1 Cor. 2.3 4 5. And I was with you in weaknesse and in fear and in much trembling And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of mans wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men but in the power of God Holy
moves and perswades men to holiness it is he that presents holiness in its beauty and glory to the soul it is he that sows seeds of holiness in the soul and it is he that causes those seeds to grow up to maturity and ripeness Nil nisi sanctum à sancto spiritu prodire potest Nothing can come from the holy spirit but that which is holy The holy Spirit is the great principle of all the holiness that is in the world and this holy Spirit God hath engaged himself to give to those that are unholy Ezek. 36.25 26 27. I will sprinkle clean water upon you and ye shall be clean from all your filthiness and from all your Idols will I cleanse you A new heart will I also give you and a new spirit well I put within you and I well take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will give you a heart of flesh and I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my Statutes and ye shall keep my Judgements and do them The holy spirit is a gift a free gift a noble gift a precious gift a glorious gift 2 Tim. 2.21 that God will bestow upon the unclean upon the unsanctified that they may be cleansed and sanctified and so fitted for the Lords service and use It is possible that you may be holy Witness 2. His holy word that he hath given on purpose to make men holy and to keep men holy Deut. 4.6 7 8 9. Rom. 7.12 Luke 1.70 to 76. his commandments are holy just and good his threatnings are holy just and good and all his promises are holy just and good The holy Scriptures were written with a finger of holinesse so as to move to holiness and to work holinesse the whole word of God is an intire love-letter to provoke to holiness and to promote holiness Holy commands should sweetly perswade us to holiness and holy threatnings should divinely force us to holiness and holy promises should effectually allure us to the love of holiness to the embracing of holiness and to the practise of holiness The great design of God in sending this sacred volume in golden letters from heaven was to enamour men with the love and beauty of holiness Again it is possible that you may attain to true holiness Witness 3. Those holy Embassadors that he hath sent on purpose to turn men from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to Jesus Christ Acts 26.18 2 Corin. 5.18 19 20. Their great business and work is to treat with you about holiness it is to woo you to match with holiness and to follow after holiness it is to remove all lets and impediments that may any wayes hinder your embracing of holiness and it is to propose all manner of encouragements that may win you over to make holiness your great All. Again it is possible that you may be holy Witnesse 4. The holy Examples of all the Patriarchs Prophets Apostles Praecepta docent exempla movent and Saints that are left on record on purpose to provoke you to an imitation of them in holiness their holy examples as so many shining stars are left upon record to influence us to holiness In the holy examples of those that are now triumphant in heaven you may run and read that holiness is attainable In their holy examples as in so many looking-glasses you may see that holiness is a Jewel that may be procured by that holiness that others have reached to sinners may see that it is possible that they may be made Saints Again it is possible that you may be holy Witnesse 5. All those notorious sinners that the Scripture declares have been sanctified and made holy to instance only in a few Adam you know was created in an estate of innocency Gen. 1.26 integrity and perfect holiness he being made in the image of God and after the likeness and similitude of God it was agreed upon in the Parliament of heaven that man should be made glorious in holiness In this Scripture he speaks plainly of the Renovation of that knowledge holiness and righteousness that Adam somtimes had but lost it by his fall Psal 8.4 5 6. Gen. 2.20 and so he was for he was made after Gods own image And this the Apostle clearly and fully evidences in that famous Scripture Ephes 4.22 23 24. That Adam was invested and endowed with righteousness and holiness in his first glorious estate with righteousness that he might carry it fairly justly evenly and righteously towards man and with holiness that he might carry it wisely lovingly reverentially and holily towards God And that he might take up in God as his chiefest good as in his great All might be fufficiently made good out of this Scripture last cited but I shall not now stand upon the discovery of Adams beauty authority dominion dignity honour and glory with which he was adorned invested and crowned in innocency Let this satisfie that Adams first estate was a state of perfect knowledge wisdom and understanding it was a perfect state of holiness righteousness and happiness there was nothing within him but what was desirable and delectable there was nothing without him but what was amiable and commendable nor nothing about him but what was serviceable and comfortable and yet in the height of all his glory he falls to Apostasie and open Rebellion against God he takes part with Satan against God himself he transgresses his righteous Law he affronts his justice he provokes his anger he stirrs up his wrath against himself and his posterity The sin of Adam was a voluminous sin all kinds of notorious sins were bound up in it as backsliding rebellion treason pride unbelief blasphemy contempt of God unthankfulness theft murder and idolatry c. The Philosopher being asked which was the best member of the body answered The tongue for if it be good it is the best Trumpet of Gods glory And being asked again which was the worst answered The tongue for if it be bad it is the worst fire-brand of hell So if any should ask me Which was the best creature of God I would answer Man in honour before his fall If you should ask me Which is the worst I must answer Man in his fall Adam was once the wonder of all understanding the mirrour of wisdom and knowledge the image of God the delight of heaven the glory of the creation the worlds great Lord and the Lords great darling but being faln ah how low how poor how miserable how sottish how sensless how brutish yea how much below the beast that perisheth was he and yet God pardoned changed and sanctified him and stampt his image of holiness afresh upon him when he made a Covenant with him in Christ Genesis 3. So Manasseh he was a notorious sinner he was a sinner of the greatest magnitude his sins reached up to heaven his soul was ripe for hell he had sold
sanctified the same Spirit the same Grace the same Power the same Presence that hath sanctified any of these may sanctifie all of these there is no heart so unholy but a holy God can make it holy there is no spirit so unclean but a holy Spirit can make it clean Well sinners there are many living and standing witnesses of divine grace among you and about you that do sufficiently declare that it is possible that you may be sanctified and saved Again it is possible that you may be sanctified and made holy Witness 7. The Oath of a holy God Ezek. 33.11 Say unto them As I live saith the Lord God Ezek. 18.31 32. I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that the wicked turn from his way and live Turn ye turn ye from your evil wayes for why will you die O house of Israel As I live is the form of an Oath and is much used in the Scripture by God himself wicked men are very hardly perswaded to believe that God is willing that they should be sanctified and saved and therefore God takes his oath on it that he is infinitely more willing that wicked men should turn from their evil wayes and be sanctified and saved then that they should perish in their sins and be damned for ever As I live is a weighty oath and imports the certainty of that which follows it is absolute without evasion or revocation As sure as I live and am God I have no pleasure in destroying and damning of souls but desire that they would turn from their evil wayes and that they would be sanctified and saved let me not live let me be no longer a God if I would not have the wicked to live and be happy for ever The possibility of your being holy God hath confirmed by an oath and therefore you may no longer question it As Paulus Fagius observeth in his comment on Genesis The Egyptians though Heathens so hated perjury that if any man did but swear by the life of the King and did not perform his oath that man was to die and no gold was to redeem his life And do you think that a holy God doth not stand more upon his oath then Heathens yea then the worst of Heathens Certainly he doth 8. Lastly it is possible that you may be a holy Witness The great designs and undertakings of Jesus Christ to make lost man holy His great design in leaving his fathers bosom and coming into this world 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dissolve unravel the works of the Devil was the destroying the dissolving of the works of the Devil 1 John 3.8 For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the Devil Sin is Satans work and Christ comes to destroy it and break it all in pieces Mens sins are Satans chains by which he links them fast to himself but Christ was therefore manifested that he might loose and knock off these chains Satan had knit many sinful knots in our souls but Christ comes to unty those knots he had laid many snares but Christ comes to discover and to break those snares It was the great design of Christ in the divesting of himself as it were of his divine honour glory and dignity Phil. 2.6 7 8 15. and in his taking on him the nature of man to destroy Satan and to sanctifie the souls of men Heb. 2.11 14 15. It was the great design of Jesus Christ in giving of himself for us in giving his soul his body his life to justice to death to wrath for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity Titus 2.14 and purifie unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works The crown of holiness was faln from our heads and Christ freely and willingly uncrowns himself that once more we might be crowned with holiness immortality and glory Christ was resolved that he would lose all that was near and dear unto him but he would recover our lost holiness for us Christ knew that heaven had been but a poor purchase had he not purchased holiness for us As heaven is but a low thing without God so heaven is but a low thing without holiness It is holiness that is the sparkling Diamond in the Ring of happiness a man were better be holy in hell then unholy in heaven and therefore Christ ventures his All for holiness The great design of Christ in redeeming of souls with the choicest the purest the costliest the noblest blood that ever run in veins Luke 1.74 75. was that they should serve him in righteousness and holiness all the daies of their lives In a word Christ had never taken so great a journey from heaven to earth but to make men holy he had never taken upon him the form of a servant but to make us the servants of the most high God He had never lyen in a manger he had never trod the Wine-press of his fathers wrath but to make you holy he prayed he sweat he bled and he hung on the Cross and all to make you holy he was holy in his birth and holy in his life and holy in his death and holy in all his sufferings and all to make you holy The great design of Christ in all he did and in all he suffered was to make man holy And thus you see by all these Arguments that holiness is attainable Thirdly Consider this that real holiness is the honour and the glory of the creature and therefore the Apostle links holiness and honour together 1 Thes 4.3 4. 2 Cor. 3. ult Eph. 5.27 For this is the will of God even your sanctification that ye should abstain from fornication That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour The vessel is mans body which is the great utensil or instrument of the soul and contains it as in a vessel now the sanctity and chastity of this vessel is the honour of a Christian even bodily purity is a Christians glory he that keeps his vessel in holiness keeps it in honour A heathen could say Nobilitas sola est atque unica vertus Vertue is the only true nobility Holiness is the greatest dignity that mortal man is capable of it is mans highest promotion it is his highest exaltation holiness is the true gentility and the true nobility of the soul Deut. 26. ult And to make thee high above all Nations which he hath made in praise and in name and in honour and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the Lord thy God There is nothing that lifts a people so high and that makes them so truly famous and glorious as holiness doth Holiness is the praise the renown the crown and glory of a people Holiness is the diadem the beauty and the excellency of a people Holiness is the strength the honour and the riches of a people Holiness is the image of God
unholiness of thy heart the unholiness of thy affections the unholiness of thy intentions the unholiness of thy resolutions the unholyness of thy expressions and the unholiness of thy conversation Joel 2.12 Turne ye to the Lord with weeping and with mourning The foundation of a thorough reformation must be laid in a deep humiliation the best way to be holy is to accuse Ezra 6.2 Jer. 50.4 Psal 51.5 indict arraign and condemn thy self for thy unholiness you shall as soon espouse light and darkness and marry midnight to the noon day as you shall espouse or marry a holy God to an unhumbled sinner O! who can look upon sin as an offence against a holy God as the breach of a holy law as the wounding and crucifying of a holy Saviour as the grieving and sadding of a holy sanctifier and as an eternal loss and undoing of his own soul and not mourn over it O! who can cast a serious eye upon the nature of sin or upon the exceeding sinfulness of sin or upon the aggravations of sin and not have his heart humbled his soul grieved and his Spirit melted for sin O! who can look upon sin as it strikes at the honor of God the name of God the being of God the glory of God and the design of God and not have his mouth full of penitential confessions his eyes full of penitential tears and his heart full of penitential sorrow Some as they say of witches cannot weep for sin but they that weep not for sin here where there are handerchiefs in the hands of Christ to wipe off their tears shall weep out their eyes in hell hereafter 't is better to weep bitterly for thy sins on earth then to weep eternally for thy folly in hell Ah how hard is that heart that can sadly lament and bewail the loss of a groat a chick a child a sheep a ship a friend c. and yet can't let fall a tear to save a lost soul Jacob weeps and prevails with God Hosea 12.4 His tears made a happy conquest upon God Jacob weeps and prevailes with God for his life and what dost thou know but that by thy penitential tears thou maist prevail with God for thy soul he weeps and prevails with God for temporals and why mayest not thou by weeping prevail with God for eternals he weeps and prevails with God for some outward happiness and why maist not thou by weeping prevail with God for inward holiness 'T is an old observation that the tears of repenting sinners are the wine of Angels Certainly God himself can smile to see a sinner grieve for his sins and to see him grieve that he can grieve no more Psal 51.17 for that he has sinned against a God so great so gracious so bountiful so merciful c. though God be displeased with a sinners sins yet he is very well pleased with a sinners tears and therefore as he has a bagg for the one so he has a bottle for the other It can't but be a pleasure to God to see a sinner drown his sins in a deluge of penitential tears though tears of indignation as was Esaus and tears of dissimulation as was Ishmaels and tears of desperation as was Judas's be abominable to God yet tears of godly compunction and contrition are acceptable and delightful unto God A sinner never looks so sweetly as when he weeps most penitentially witness Mary Magdalen Manasseh and those murderers of Christ Acts 2. A sinners face never shines so beautiful as when 't is bedewed with penitential tears tears have a voice as well as blood Psal 6.8 And God has an eye as well upon a mans tears as upon his prayers Penitent tears are divine Ambassadors that never return from the throne of grace without answers of grace Isa 38.5 Peter said nothing but went out and wept bitterly and obtained mercy Mat. 26. ult Tears are a kind of silent prayers that will at last prevail for mercy Naaman the Syrian was cleansed of his leprosie by the waters of Jordan 2 King 5. penitential tears may do much towards the cleansing of thy leprous soul from sin he that really grieves that he cannot grieve for sin is grieved for sin he that is truely sorry that he cannot be sorry for sin is in a measure sorry for sin he that truly desires to drown his sins in his tears he has in Divine account drowned his sins in his tears The Maid in Scaliger swooned at the sight of a Lilly O! how much more should you at the sight of your unholiness Basil wept when he saw the Rose because it brought to his mind the first sin from whence it had the prickles O! how should a sinner fall a weeping when he looks upon the greatness of his wickedness and his want of holiness As ever you would be holy mourn over your own unholiness But Secondly If ever thou wouldest be holy thou must seek the holy Spirit the spirit is the efficient cause of all that holiness that is in the world The Spirit of God is a Spirit of holiness Rom. 1.4 he is frequently called the holy Spirit Cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy holy spirit from me Psal 5.11 But they rebelled and vexed his holy spirit Isa 63.10 And grieve not the holy spirit of God whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption Eph. 4.30 He therefore that despiseth despiseth not man but God who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit 1 Thes 4.8 In whom also after that ye believed ye were sealed by the holy spirit of promise Eph. 1.13 To make a man holy is more then to create a world 't is a work too high and too hard for Angels or men it becomes none and it can be done by none but by the holy spirit sanctification is made the spirits personal operation in that 2 Thess 2.13 and in that 1 Pet. 1.2 'T is the great work of the spirit to shape form and fashion the new creature holiness in all the vessels of glory The spirit is the root of all holiness and therefore the several parts of holiness are called the fruits of the spirit Gal. 5.22 'T is true God purposes holiness to his people and Christ has purchased holiness for his people but 't is onely the spirit that is the efficient cause or worker of holiness in his people though the Father Son and Spirit hath designed to re-imprint holiness upon mans heart yet the spirit has the greatest hand in that work When man was in his primitive glory holiness was his loveliness and his likeness to God but being now faln that image is so broken and mar'd that no hand can repaire it or restore it but the hand of the spirit The great principle of holiness which was in Christ as to his humane nature was the holy Spirit which he had above measure for he was anointed with the Unction of the Spirit above his fellows So that
heart be one of the hardest works in the world yet this may be done by the word There are no lusts so strong but the word can cast them downe nor no staines so deep but the word can wash them out Three thousand sinners were made Saints by one Sermon Acts 2.41 and five thousand more were converted and sanctified by another Sermon Chap. 4.4 Here were eight thousand men cleansed sanctified and saved by two Sermons and doubtless most of them were young Oh Sirs as ever you would have holy principles laid in your souls and holy affections raised in your souls and holy ends aimed at by your souls heare the word in season and out of season oh attend it oh waite on it 't will be sope to cleanse you and fire to purge you and water to wash you and a winde to turne you from darknesse to light and from the power of Satan to Jesus Christ Acts 26.16 24. The Gospel preached hath been the power of God to the salvation of multitudes of souls Rom. 1.16 The word is that immortall seed by which holiness which is not only a grace but the conjunction of all graces is formed in the soule 1 Pet. 1.23 'T is the word that gives a spiritual Birth and Being to men Gal. 4.19 The word enlightens the eye Psal 119.105 It softens the heart Deut. 32.2 It purges the conscience and it converts the soule Psal 19.7 It dethrones Satan it casts downe strong holds 2 Cor. 10.4 5. It quickens the dull Psal 119.50 and it raises the dead Joh. 5.24 25. Oh therefore heare it and waite on it and come to it that you may be made holy by it many come to heare the word to censure it others to mock at it others to inrich their curious notions by it and others come to catch the Minister at it but doe thou come to it that thou mayest be made holy by it and doubtless first or last thou shalt obtaine thy end yea 't is good for a man to come to the word though his designe in coming be bad 't is good for a man to sit under that great ordinance of the word though he sits upon thornes as it were all the while he is there They that come to see who hath got the newest fashions may have their hearts fashioned into a conformity with the word They came to catch but were caught in that John 7.46 Austin coming to Ambrose to have his ears tickled had his heart touched and turned Come saith old Father Latimer in a Sermon before King Edward the Sixt to the publick meeting 1550. though thou comest to sleepe it may be God may take thee napping When thou comest though it be but to taste the Ministers spirit yet then God may take hold on thy spirit and make it the day of his power upon thy soule though thou comest with a heart full of prejudices against Christ yet by the word thou mayest be brought to a love of Christ to a liking of Christ and to a choice of Christ and to a blessed close and resignation of thy selfe to Christ They that came to surprize Christ were so taken with Christ that being filled with admiration they could not but proclaime his divine Excellencies Never man spake like this man The word is the word of the Lord let the hand be what it will that brings it When gold is offered men care not how noble or ignoble how great or how base he is that offers it so men should not look so much at the hand that brings the word as at the word it selfe the word of the Lord was as much the word of the Lord in the hand and mouth of Amos who was raised a Prophet from amongst the Heardsmen of Tekoa as it was the word of the Lord in the hand and mouth of Isaiah who as some think was a Prophet of the blood-royall Ambrose observes of the Woman of Samaria John 4.7 that she came peccatrix to Jacobs Well but she went away praedicatrix she came a sinner but she went away a Prophetess Oh Sirs let nothing hinder you from coming to the word oh come to the word though you come sinners yet come for though you doe come sinners yet you may goe away Saints though the dew of heaven hath richly and sweetly fallen upon your hearts and yet like Gideons sleece you are still dry yet come to the word still for who can tell but that by the very next Sermon God may make thy soule like a watered garden and like a spring of water whose waters faile not Isa 58.11 It is reported of young King Edward the Sixth Sir John Hayward in vita that being about to lay hold on some thing that was above the reach of his short Arme one that stood by espying a great Boss'd Bible lying on the Table offered to lay that under his feete to heighten him but the good young King disliked the motion and instead of treading it under his feete he laid it to his heart oh come to the word but come not to trample upon it come not to scoff or mock at it come not to despise it or to revile it but come and lay it to your hearts and it may doe you good for ever there is no better way to make thee holy then to attend on the holy word But Fourthly If ever you would be holy then associate your selves with those that are holy Look as he that walkes with the wise shall be wise Prov. 13.20 so he that walkes with the holy shall certainly be prest and provok't to be holy As Socrates made it his business to better others by his company so a holy man will make it his business to make others holy by his counsell prayers and example he knowes that it is one of the most noble and divine imployments in the world to make others holy and therefore he sets upon that worke with all his might Psal 119.115 Psal 1.1 Look as there is no greater a hinderance to holiness then the society of the wicked so there is no greater a help to holiness then the society of those that are godly Look as the beginning of ungodliness is to keep Company with those that are ungodly so the beginning of holiness is to keep company with those that are holy Look as one drunkard makes another and one swearer makes another and one proud person makes another and one worldling makes another and one formalist makes another so one holy man makes another or look as one sober man makes another and one prudent man makes another and one resolute man makes another and one zealous man makes another and one heavenly minded man makes another so one holy man makes another Ah sinners sinners there are no companions in the world that will pitty you as these that will weep and mourn over you as these Rom. 10.1 1 Pet. 3.1 that will strive and wrestle with God for you as these there
strangely converted by hearing a voice from heaven saying Tolle lege Tolle lege Take and read take and read and taking up the Bible the first passage of Scripture that he cast his eyes upon was that Rom. 13.13 14. Let us walk honestly as in the day not in gluttony and drunkenness not in chambering and wantonness not in strife and envying But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof and no sooner had he read the verses but the work of conversion was finished and pious resolutions for a through reformation of life was settled in him The Gospel read is sometimes the power of God to salvation as well as the Gospel heard Rom. 1.16 Cyprian confesseth that he was converted from Idolatry and Negromancy by hearing the history of the Prophet Jonas read and expounded by Cecilius whom therefore he calleth the father of his new life And Luther confesseth that he was converted by reading I have read of a scandalous Minister that was struck at the heart and converted in reading that Rom. 2.21 22. Thou therefore which teachest another teachest thou not thy self thou that preachest a man should not steal doest thou steal Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery doest thou commit adultery thou that abhorrest Idols doest thou commit sacriledge There is a Schollar now alive who being perswaded by an honest poor man to leave reading of Poetry and to fall upon reading of the Bible did so and before he had read out Genesis his heart was changed and he was converted O sirs as you tender your conversion your salvation make more conscience of reading the Scripture then ever you have done be often in wheting of these Scriptures upon your hearts Deut. 6.6 7 8 9. ch 31.11 12. Jer. 36.6 7. John 5.39 In these Scriptures God requires all sorts of people both men women children and strangers both learned and unlearned to read the Scriptures and to search after the heavenly treasures that are laid up in them as men search for Gold and silver in the Oar. And Paul charges Timothy that he gives attendance to reading And blessed is he saith John 1 Tim. 4.13 Rev. 1.3 that heareth and readeth the words of this Book Yea Christ himself hath highly honored reading with his own example for coming to Nazareth as his custom was he stood up to read the Scriptures Luk. 4.16.21 and the Bereans for reading and searching of the Scriptures are stiled more noble then the Jews of Thessalonica or as the Greek has it Acts 17.11 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they were better born and bred they were better Gentlemen they were of a more noble and ingenious disposition though they did belong to the Country Town of Barea then the Thessalonians were who dwelt in the rich and stately City of Thessalonica sometimes there is more true nobility and ingenuity under a Russet coat then there is under a Sattin suit The Holy Ghost gives a very large Encomium high commendation of the Scriptures in that 2 Tim. 3.15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy Scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus 'T is observable that in these words you have not simply 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Holy Scriptures but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Holy Scriptures the Article 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 there is very emphatical and 't is used by the Holy Ghost to distinguish these sacred writings from all prophane writings and to note the eminency and excellency of the holy Scriptures above all other mens writings whatâ—oever Now the Scriptures have this adjunct this Epithet Holy given them in five respects 1. In respect of their Author and original viz. a Holy God 2. They are holy in respect of the Pen-men who were holy men of God 2 Pet. 1.21 3. They are holy in respect of their matter they treat of the holy things of God a vein of holiness runs through every line of Scripture the Scripture calls for holy hearts and holy lives it calls for holy principles and holy practises holy words and holy works holy affections and holy conversations 1 Pet. 1.15 4. They are holy in respect of their effects and operations they are a means to effect and work holiness and they are a means to compleat and perfect holiness Joh. 17.17 The word is not onely a pure word but also a purifying word 't is not only a clean word but also a cleansing word Psal 19.8 9. 5. They are called holy by way of distinction and in opposition not onely to all humane and prophane writings but also to the writings of the best and choicest men that ever wrote for they have had their failings weaknesses and infirmities and therefore must have their many grains of allowance but the holy Scripture is most perfect and compleat Now sirs if ever you would be holy it stands you upon to make more conscience of reading the holy Scriptures then ever yet you have done many a man has been made holy by reading the holy Scriptures and why maist not thou also be made holy by reading of the same holy word Certainly all the Angels in heaven and all the men on earth can't tell to the contrary but that thou mayest be made holy even by reading of the holy word the Holy Ghost is a free Agent and he can as well work holiness in thy heart by reading as by hearing and therefore set thy self about this noble and necessary work Ah friends the Scriptures are Gods Epistle they are Gods love-letter to the sons of men and why then will you not read them Count Anhalt that princely preacher was wont to say that the Scriptures were Christs swadling bands the child Jesus being to be found almost in every page in every verse and in every line Oh who would not therefore be often in looking upon and in handling of these swadling bands O sirs there are no histories that are comparable to the histories of the Scripture First For Antiquity Moses is found more antient then all those whom the Grecians make most ancient as Homer Hesiod and Jupiter himself whom the Greeks have seated in the top of their divinity Secondly For rarity Thirdly For brevity here you have much wrapt up in a little room heâ— you have Homers Iliads compriz'd in a Nut-shell Fourthly For perspicuity the foundations of Religion and happiness are so plain and clear that every one may run and read them 'T was a true saying of Augustin Inclinavis Deus Scripturas ad infantium lactentium capacitatem That God hath bowed down the Scriptures to the capacities even of Babes and Sucklings Fifthly For harmony though there may seem to be a contrariety between Scripture and Scripture yet there is a blessed harmony between all the parts of Scripture the contrariety is seeming not real As when a man is drawing water out of a well with two
for a man to reade other mens books to reade other mens holy works c. Answ Doubtless it is lawfull and that First Because other mens holy works so far as they are holy are but the fruits products and operations of the holy Spirit c. Secondly Because their holy labours are of singular use for the clearing up of many hard difficult and mysterious Scriptures c. Thirdly Because they have been the means of many mens conversion John Hus confesseth that the reading of Luthers works was the maine cause of his conversion And whilest Vergerius read Luthers books with an intent to confute them himselfe was converted by them I doubt not but that there are many now in heaven and multitudes now on earth that have been converted by the books and writings of holy men and therefore it cannot but be lawfull to reade such books c. Fourthly Though it be lawfull to reade other mens holy works yet the holy Scriptures must still have the preheminence they must be firstly chiefly and mostly read all other books in comparison of the book of God must be cast by 't is Gods book that is indeed the book of Books Lib. 20. cap. 4. Josephus in his book of Antiquities makes mention of one Cumanus a Governour of Judea that though he were but a Heathen and a wicked man yet he caused a Souldier to be beheaded for tearing a Copy of the book of Moses Law which he found at the sacking of a Towne And venerable in all Ages and among all Nations have been the books wherein the Laws either of their belief or politie have been contained As the Talmud among the Jews and the Laws of the twelve Tables among the Romans and the Alcoran among the Turkes yea all Pagans have highly valued the Laws of their Legislators and shall not Christians much more set an high esteeme upon the holy Scriptures which are the Map of Gods mercy and mans misery the touchstone of truth the shop of remedies against all maladies the Hammer of vices and the treasury of vertues the displayer of all sensual and worldly vanities the Ballance of equitie and the most perfect Rule of all Justice and honesty What Chrysostom said of old to his hearers viz. Get you Bibles for they are your souls Physick that I say to you all oh get you Bibles for they are your souls Physick your souls food your souls happiness Ah friends no book becomes your hands like the Bible 't was this book that made David wiser then his Teachers this is the book that makes the best preachers and this is the book that is the best preacher This book this preacher will preach to you in your Shops in your Chambers in your Closets yea in your own bosomes This book will preach to you at home and abroad 't will preach to you in all companies whether they are good or bad and 't will preach to you in all conditions whether they are prosperous or afflictive by this book you shall be saved or by this book you shall be damned by this book you must live by this book you must die and by this book you shall be judged in the great day John 12.48 Oh therefore love this book above all other books and prize this book above all other books and buy this book before all other books in king Henry the Eighths time and in Queen Maries dayes Christians would have given Cart-loads of Hay and Corne for a few Chapters in the new Testament and will not you part with three or foure shillings to buy a Bible that may save your souls that may make you holy here and happy hereafter and reade this book before all other books and study this book more then all other books for he that reads much and understands nothing is like him that hunts much and catcheth nothing And let this suffice for this 7th direction Eighthly If ever you would be holy then be much in prayer Prayer is the most prevalent Orator at the throne of grace many that have gon to that throne with tears in their eyes have come away with praises in their hearts and many that have gon to that throne with hearts full of sin have returned with hearts full of grace Hosea 14.4 Jacob wep't and prayed and prayed and wep't and in the close as a Prince he prevailed with God so many a sinner has wep't and prayed and prayed and wep't and in the close as a Prince he has prevailed with God Ah Sirs it may be that there are but a few weeks nay a few dayes peradventure but a few houres between your souls and eternity between your souls and everlasting burnings between your souls and a devouring fire between your souls and damnation and will you not then pray and mourn and mourn and pray for that holiness without which there is no happiness yea without which hell and destruction will be for ever your portion Oh take that blessed promise Ezek. 36.25 26 27. and urge God with it oh tell him that he has said that he will sprinkle clean water upon you and that ye shall be clean from all your filthiness and that from all your Idols he will cleanse you c. Oh tell him First That he stands engaged by promise to give his holy Spirit to them that aske it Luke 11.13 Secondly Oh tell him that none can make an unholy heart holy but a holy God Thirdly Tell him that surely 't is no sin to beg holiness of a holy God Fourthly Tell him that he has made such who were once notorious in wickedness to become eminent in holiness witness Manasses Mary Magdalen Paul the murderers of Christ and those vile Corinthians 1 Cor. 5.6 9 10 11. Fifthly Tell him that he has given holiness to them that have not sought it and how then can it stand with his honour to deny it to them that seek it surely if he has been found of them that sought him not he will not hide himselfe from them that seek him Isa 65.1 2. Sixthly Tell him that thou hadst rather that he should deny thee any thing then that he should deny thee holiness say to him Lord health is the Prince of outward mercies and wealth is the spring of many mercies and wife children and friends are the set offs of mercies the creame of mercies and that liberty is the sweetner of all thy mercies and yet tell him that thou hadst rather that he should strip thee of any of these nay that he should deny thee all of these then that he should deny thee holiness Seventhly Tell him that thou didst never reade of any man that did ever make a hearty request for holiness but his request was granted The Leper would faine be clean and Christs answer is I will be thou clean Math. 8.2 3. Christ do's neither delay him nor deny him the poor Leper could no sooner desire to be clean but Christ commands him to be clean I will
the smiles of a Prince c and will not you lament and mourne for the loss of holiness which is the choicest Jewel in a Christians Crowne Tears instead of Gemmes were the ornaments of Davids bed when he was fallen from his holiness Psal 51. And though the Persian Kings would have no mourning nor mourning apparel worne in their presence yet the King of kings loves to see his people a mourning for the falls of holiness as well as for the heights of wickedness When news was brought to Xenophon of his Sons death Val. Max. lib. 5. c. 10. he put off his Crowne from his head and wept O my Brethren who can heare of the death of holiness and behold the death of holiness in mens hearts lives and families and not put off his crowne and weep and not put off his ornaments and weep till he can weep no more c. But Sixthly Evidence the truth and reality of your holiness by pursuing pressing and following after the highest degrees of holiness Bernard in Cant. crys out I would not upon the sudden attaine to my highest pitch but grow towards it by little and little 2 Pet. 1.5 13. Rom. 1.17 Psal 84.7 Mushromes grow up to perfection in one night O sit not down satisfied with some drops or sips of holiness but labour after the perfection of holiness O don't content your selves with so much holiness as will bring you to happiness or with so much holiness as will keep wrath and your souls asunder or hell and your souls asunder or eternal ruine and your souls asunder The exhortation in the Text Follow peace with all men and holiness is an exhortation that was given out to Saints that were holy before and the life and force of it lyes in this that those that were holy should labour to be more and more holy they should still be adding of grace to grace holiness to holiness they should still be a going on from faith to faith and from strength to strength As holiness hath its conception birth and infancy so it hath its full growth and after that all Christians must strive Holiness is not like to Jonahs Gourd that shoote up in a night but 't is like Plants and Trees that grows up by degrees Psal 92.14 and after the highest degrees we must endeavour 1 Kings 19.4 5. After the Prophet Elias had travelled a dayes journey in the wilderness he sate downe and slept under a Juniper Tree and there God calls upon him up and eate and when he found him the second time he calls againe upon him Ver. 7. up and eate because thou hast a great journey to goe O Christians you have a howling wilderness to travell through you have a great journey to goe you have many a mountaine to walke over and many an enemy to vanquish even the world the flesh and the devil and many a cross to bare and many a mercy to improve c. and therefore you have very great cause to up and eate I say to up and eate that is to grow stronger and stronger in holiness and to walke from grace to grace and from vertue to vertue and to come off from your milke Heb. 5.12 13 14. and to feed upon strong meate that you may hold out to the end of your journey and not faint nor fall short of that great salvation which attends perfection of holiness And this progress in holiness is that maine thing that the Apostle presses upon the believing Corinthians in that 2 Cor. 7.1 Having therefore these promises dearely beloved let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit perfecting holiness in the feare of God The Apostle having in the former Chapter armed the believing Corinthians with many strong Arguments against all communion and fellowship with Idolaters he comes at last to touch upon those great and glorious promises Ver. 16 17 18. which upon the account of their high and holy calling they were interested in and he presents them as singular motives and as choice and precious encouragements to move them to perfect holiness in the feare of God There is no work on earth that so well becomes the Heirs of such precious promises as that of cleansing themselves from all filthiness on the one hand and that of perfecting holiness in the feare of God on the other hand Now this being a point of the highest concernment and of the greatest importance imaginable to the Saints I shall therefore endeavour these three things First To lay downe some motives to provoke you to perfect holiness in the feare of God c. Secondly I shall propound some meanes some directions that may help you to make a progress in holiness c. Thirdly I shall shew you how you may know whether you have attained to such a perfection of holiness as we are all to strive after c. I shall first begin with the motives that may whet and stir up your spirits to labour after greater degrees and higher measures of holiness then yet you have attained to and to that purpose I beseech you seriously to consider of these following particulars First Consider that notwithstanding all the means and all the advantages and all the opportunities that you have enjoyed to worke you to perfect holiness in the feare of God yet you have obtain'd but to very small measures of holiness you are rather Babes then Men in holines you are rather shrubs then Cedars in grace you are rather Dwarfs then Giants in godliness to this very day And this sad charge I shall briefly make good against you by an Induction of eight particulars thus First The strength the power the activity and the prevalancy of sin in you to this day do's witness to your faces that you have yet obtain'd but small measures of holiness Rom. 7.22 23 24. Isa 59.12 Oh my Brethren are not many of your corruptions as powerfull and as strong as they were five ten yea twenty years agoe notwithstanding all the prayers that you have made and all the Sermons that you have heard and all the tears that you have shed and all the resolutions that you have taken and all the promises that you have made and all the conflicts that you have had and what do's this speak out but that holiness is at a low ebbe in your souls O Sirs were but holiness risen to a greater height in your souls Ch. 8.10 how readily would you trample upon your lusts and how easily would you leade captivity captive As the house of David grew stronger and stronger 2 Sam. 3.1 so the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker As holiness rises in the soul by degrees so sin dies in the soul by degrees and the more any man abounds in holiness the more he abounds in his spirituall conquests over the world Gal. 8.14 the flesh and the devill O Sirs your pride testifies to your faces and your self-love
matters Job was the onely man he was chosen by all and advanced by all above all in all Assemblies and places of Judicature c. whoever was of the Committee yet Job was still Chair-man who ever was of the counsel yet Job was still President and whoever was of the Court yet Job was still King yea he dwelt as a King in the Army Job was guarded as a King in the Army and honored as a King in the Army and beloved and admired as a King in the Army and obeyed and served as a King in the Army and feared and reverenced as a King in the Army I might give you further instances of this in Joseph Moses Nehemiah Mordecai the three Children and Daniel but I shall forbear Faith is but a piece a part a branch of holiness and yet O what an honorable mention doth Paul make of the Romans faith in that Rom. 1.8 First This is a figurative expression according to the stile and manner of speaking then I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all that your faith is spoken of throughout the world The Romans had attained to an eminency in faith and the report thereof sounded thoroughout the Roman Empire yea throughout the world for there being a great resort to Rome from all parts of the world and by every ones discoursing and admiring of the Romans faith their faith came to be spread abroad among all the Churches all the world over Look as Christs fulness of grace was his highest glory in this world Psal 45.1 2. so a Christians fulness of holiness is his highest honor in this world O sirs there is no such way to be high in honor and renown both in the consciences of sinners and Saints as to be high in holiness Jewel was a man eminent in holiness and his holiness set him high in the very judgements and consciences of the Papists The Dean of the Colledge though a Papist yet speaks thus of him In thy faith I hold thee an Heretick but surely in thy life thou art an Angel thou art very good and honest but a Lutheran Among the very Heathens those were most highly honored that were most excellent and eminent in moral vertues Aristides was so famous among the Athenians for his Justice Plutarch that he was called Aristides the Just c. O Christians 't is your highest honor and glory in this world to be so eminent and famous for holiness that men may point at you and say there goes such a one the wise there goes such a one the humble there goes such a one the heavenly and there goes such a one the meek there goes such a one the patient and there goes such a one the contented and there goes such a one the Just and there goes such a one the merciful and there goes such a one the zealous and there goes such a one the couragious and there goes such a one the sincere and there goes such a one the faithful c. well for a close remember this that though great places great offices great revenues and great honours c. may exalt you set you high in the uppermost seats and roomes among men yet 't is only an eminency in holiness that will exalt you and set you high in the consciences of sinners and Saints But Fourteenthly To provoke you to labour after higher degrees of holiness Consider that the times wherein you live calls for this at your hands Jer. 51.5 Ah how is this Land filled with sin yea with the worst of sins against the holy One of Israel Hell seems to be broken loose and men strive to exceed and excell one another in all kinds of wickedness O the scarlet sins that are now to be found under many scarlet Robes O the black transgressions that are now to be found under many black Cassocks O the new-found oaths the hellish blasphemies the horrid filthinesses and the abominable debaucheries that are committed daily in the face of the Sun ah how shameless how sensless are sinners grown in these dayes Jer. 3.3 sin every where now appears with a whores forehead ah what open opposition do's Christ meet with in his Gospel offices Math. 24.12 members wayes worship and works ah how do's all iniquity abound and how bold and resolute are multitudes now in dishonoring of God in profaning his Sabbaths in poluting his ordinances in destroying their own souls and in treasuring up of wrath against the day of wrath Rom. 2.5 c. Now the worser the times are the better every Christian must labour to be the more profane the Age is wherein we live the more holy we must endeavour to be O Sirs how else will you recompence the great God if I may so speak for all the dishonors that are cast upon him by the matchless loosness and wickedness of the present times Phil. 2.15 how else will you shine as lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse Nation how else will you convince the consciences 1 Pet. 2.15 and stop or button up the mouths of wicked and unreasonable men how else will you be the Lords witnesses against this sinful and adulterous Generation Isa 43.10 12. And ch 44.8 how else will you manifest your great love to Christ and your exceeding tenderness of the honor and glory of Christ how else will you give an undeniable testimony of the glorious operations of the Spirit in you how else will you satisfie your own consciences Psal 18.20 25. Heb. 11.7 that your hearts are upright with God and how else will you with Noah condemne a wicked world well Christians remember this 't is more then time for you to perfect holiness in the feare of the Lord when so many thousands labour day and night to perfect wickedness in despite of the Lord 't is time for you to be Angels in holiness when multitudes strive to exceed the very devill in wickedness since Christ was on earth there has been no times that have called louder for the perfecting of holiness then the present times wherein we live But Fifteenthly To provoke you to lâ—bour after higher degrees of holiness consider how the men of the world do study and strive to abound and encrease in worldly blessings O what ado is there among worldlings to lay house to house and field to field Isa 5.8 to make a hundred a thousand and a thousand ten c Many men rise early and go to bed late yea they cross their light Psal 127.1 2. wound their consciences and decline their principles and endanger their immortall souls and all to adde to their worldly stores This Age is ful of such Ahabs 1 Kings 21. that are even sick for their neighbours Vineyards yea that rather then they will goe without them will wade through Naboths blood to them And how many rich fools be there amongst us who instead of minding their souls and
so when wee come to view a Parable 't is enough that wee cast our eye principally upon the general intention and scope of it hee that is very exact and curious to view and observe every particular circumstance about Parables may easily draw blood instead of milk out of the breasts of Parables Ezek. 2.10 Hier. in cap. 2. Ezek. Parables are like to the Role which Ezekiel saw in a Vision spread before him which was written within and without without the History was written and within the mystery was written Now though the out-side the history of a Parable be like the Golden Pot yet the inside the mystery of a Parable is like the Manna that was hid therein and 't is the Manna the Manna that wee must seek after Look as 't is their wisdome who deal in curious rich stuffs that are wrought on both sides to cast a special eye upon the flowers that are on the inside of those stuffs So 't is our wisdome to cast a special eye upon the inside of Parables upon the mystical reference that Parables have than to lye poring upon the outside of Parables Now the scope of this Parable is not to prove that there is an equality of glory in Heaven but to reprove the Jews who being called into the Lords Vineyard betimes in the morning repined and murmured that the Gentiles who were called in at the latter end of the day who were called in some thousand years after them that they should through the riches of grace have an equal share with them in the reward and stand upon as good and as noble terms with God as themselves who had so long bore the heat of the day God to shew that his gifts his grace and his rewards are free will give his pennies as well to those who have laboured but a little as to those who have laboured much and this is no prejudice at all to his truth and justice that his grace is free But Thirdly and lastly That by the Penny wee cannot nor wee may not understand everlasting happiness and blessedness but some other reward that Hypocrites may attain to as well as sincere-hearted-Christians and the reason is obvious for hee that was sent away for his envious grumbling and grunting was sent away also with his Penny Some by the Penny do understand worldly honour and the estimation and approbation of men take thy Penny and be packing By the Penny some pious Interpreters do understand some competent gift or other whatever it were which might be well managed and improved to advantage The Vineyard is the Church and every one that is called to labour in the Vineyard is called to labour in the use and improvement of Ordinances Now every one that is laborious in the use of Ordinances shall be sure to get something no man shall kindle a fire on Gods Altar for nought And yet it many times comes to pass that those who have been called and converted long before others do yet make no greater nor no better yearnings on it than those do that have been called and converted long after them hee that is called at the first hour sometimes gets no more than hee that is called at the eleventh hour 'T is in the Trade of Christianity as it is in other Trades Now you know that many men who have been set up in this or that Trade ten nay twenty years before others yet they many times make no more yearnings no more advantage of their Trade than they that have set up but the other day as wee say Why so many that have been called long to the Trade of Christianity before others yet they make no more yearnings no more advantage of that Trade than those that have been called to it but yesterday as I may speak his gifts his gain his yearnings that is called in at the eleventh hour of the day is many times equal to his that was called in at the first hour of the day Yea I have formerly proved that sometimes many that are called later than others do yet in gifts and grace excel those that were called long before them Now these Objections being answered that Truth stands firm like Mount Zion viz. That the more holiness you have here the more happiness you shall have hereafter the more grace you have here on Earth the more glory you shall have when you come to Heaven And so I come to the second thing proposed namely To acquaint you with some means helps and directions that may inable you to make a progress in holiness and to perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord. And First If ever you would perfect holiness if ever you would attain to higher degrees of holiness than any yet you have attained to then labour to bee more and more sensible of your spiritual wants and deficiencies of grace and holiness Ah Christians you must bee often in casting up your accounts and in looking over the defects of your holiness hee that hath most holiness yet wants much more than what hee hath attained to witness the prevalency of his corruptions witness his easie falling before temptation witness his aptness to faint in the day of affliction witness his staggering in the day of opposition witness his shifts in the day of persecution and witness his actual unpreparedness and unfitness for the day of his dissolution The more any Christian sees himself defective in holiness the more hee will labour after holiness Psa 119.59 60. I thought on my wayes and turned my feet unto thy testimonies I made haste and delayed not to keep thy Commandements The Hebrew word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is here used for thinking signifies to think on a mans waies accurately advisedly seriously studiously curiously this holy man of God thought exactly and curiously on all his purposes and practises on all his doings and sayings on all his words and works and finding too many of them to be short of the rule yea to bee against the rule hee turns his feet to Gods testimonies having found out his errors upon a diligent search a strict scrutiny he turns over a new leaf and frames his course more exactly by rule O Christians you must look as well to your spiritual wants as to your spiritual enjoyments you must look as well to your layings out as to your layings up you must looke as well forward to what you should be as backward to what you are certainly that Christian will never be eminent in holiness that hath many eyes to behold a little holiness and never an eye to see his further want of holiness hee that is more affected with that holiness hee hath than hee is afflicted about those great measures of holiness that hee needs will never bee but a Puny a Dwarf in holiness the more sensible wee are of our own weakness and emptiness the more pleasure God will take to fill us with his own fulness and to perfect in us the work
obscure others that their own Sun may shine the brighter these labour to lessen others reputation hoping thereby to greaten their own these admire themselves and contemn others these look upon themselves as the greatest Doctors and upon all others as the worst of Dunces from these turn aside Some there be that spend their time and their strength in studying and preaching of dry and sapless controversies which are so far from bettering of mens hearts and from reforming of mens lives that they leave men as much and many times more under the power of sin and dominion of Satan than they were before from these turn aside And others there be that stand most upon easie things and little things upon things of least worth and weight and in these they will be very nice and curious 1 Tim. 1.5 6 7. Mat. 23.25 ch 6.3 4 5. and yet readily pass over the great and the weighty things both of the Law and of the Gospel they stand more upon circumstantials than upon substantials upon a Saints-day than upon a Sabbath-day upon an Easter-offering than upon offering up of themselves to the Lord upon a Pipe a Vesture a Gesture than upon saving of immortal souls from these turn aside Some there be that speak two words for Christ Ezek. 13. 2 Pet. 2.1 2 3 4 Rev. 18.11 12 13. and ten for themselves that are very zealous to fleece their flocks but are neither headed nor hearted to feed their flocks that minde mens goods more than their good and the serving of themselves than the saving of souls So they may be clad sprucely and fate deliciously and live lazily they care not though millions of souls go to Hell yearly to pick your purses they will indulge your consciences and so it may go well with them in this world they care not what becomes of you in the other world from these turn aside And others there be that take more pains to make Proselites than to make men holy they make it their great business to win over men to their opinions Mat. 23.15 when they should be a winning of men over to Jesus Christ they make it more their work to convert men to their way than they make it their work to better mens hearts or mend their lives or save their souls they will compass Sea and Land to make men one with themselves and yet think all that time and pains lost that is spent in indeavouring to make men one with Christ these are Factors for Hell and resemble the Prince of darkness to the life for as hee so they will spare no pains to gain Proselytes from these turn aside And give up your selves to their labours who make it the top of their glory to preach holiness to advance holiness to magnifie holiness and to practise holiness and this will be an excellent means to raise you up to higher degrees of holiness But Fourthly Be most in with them that are most eminent and excellent in holiness let the delight and joy of your hearts run most out to them who are still adding to their stock of holiness Thus it was with that Princely Prophet in that Psal 16.2 3. My goodness extendeth not to thee But to the Saints that are in the Earth and to the Excellent in whom is all my delight The Disciples by discoursing with Christ had a holy flame raised up in them Luk. 24.32 And they said one to another did not our hearts burn within us while hee talked with us by the way Act. 18.5 and opened to us the Scriptures And when Paul met Silas and Timotheus hee burned in spirit these two men were eminent in holiness and by their company and communion the zeal and courage of the Apostle Paul was very much heated and raised Look as one flaming Bavin may kindle a thousand so one precious Saint in whom grace is strong and holiness is high may by a divine and secret operation convey heat and life power and vigour into all that touch him or come neer unto him even as the Load-stone by a secret operation conveyeth power and vigour into Iron The prayers the conferences the counsels and all the carriages of a man eminent in holiness will mightily help on the work of holiness in their hearts where the streams of holiness runs but low Look as rich and costly Banquets do refresh and raise and strengthen their spirits that are weak and faint So men that are rich in grace and holiness will raise and strengthen their spirits who are weak in grace and who for want of greater measures of holiness are apt to faint Look as young plants will not thrive under dropping-trees so such as are weak in holiness will never thrive so long as they only associate themselves with those that are weak Look as many times one rich man makes many poor men rich so many times one man rich in holiness makes many rich in holiness and therefore as over you would abound in holiness look not so much at gifts as at grace look not so much at Saints out-sides as at their in sides look not so much at their external Garb as at their internal worth and alwaies make them your choicest and your chiefest companions who do most excel in grace and holiness their tongues their lips their lives will still be a droping divine marrow and farness and therefore be sure to keep most in with them But Fifthly If ever you would attain to higher degrees of holiness then be much in the exercise and actings of that holiness you have all the honour and glory that God hath from us in this world is from the exercise of holiness Look as the frequent actings of sin is the strengthening of sin so the frequent actings of holiness is the strengthening of holiness Look as the non-exercise of holiness brings upon the soul a decay of holiness so the exercise of holiness breeds in the sould an increase of holiness Holiness is alwaies made more and more perfect by acting Look as Wells are the sweeter for drawing and Fountains the better for overflowing so holiness is sweerest and best when it is drawn into action Look as the running-water is the best and sweetest water so the active Christian is the best and sweetest Christian That musical Instrument alwaies makes the sweetest melody that is most frequently used and so doth that Christian that is most frequent in the exercise of grace and holiness Wee get nothing by dead and useless habits talents hid in a Napkin gather rust and the noblest faculties are imbased when not improved in exercise and therefore the Apostle exhorts Timothy to stir up the gift of God that was in him in that 2 Tim. 1.6 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It signifies to rekindle or revive when the world the flesh and the Devil go about to put out that Divine Fire that should bee alwaies â—â—â—ning in our hearts wee must do all wee can to foster it and keep
and who are much in the Publick trade of Christianity viz. hearing the word conferences family duties c. but very rarely shall you finde them in their closets as ever you would bee eminent and excellent in holiness keep up your private trade with God maintain your closet communion with the holy one of Israel But Seventhly If ever you would attain to higher degrees of holiness then fall with all your might upon subduing and crucifying your most raging corruptions and your most darling-lusts O do not defer O do not delay the work of spiritual mortification O do not think that you can both fight and overcome fight and triumph in one day O do not think that your golden and your silver Idols will lay down their Arms Isa 2.20 and yeeld the field and lye at your feet and let you trample them to death without striking a blow O remember that bosome-sins will do all they can to keep their ground and therefore you must arise with all your strength against them and bray them in a morter and stamp them to powder and burn them to ashes O deal with them as they dealt with the Leviets Concubine force them to death and cut them to peeces Judg. 19. 2 King 9. O leave not the Palm the skull of this cursed Jezabel undevoured undestroyed O deal by your most inraged lusts as the Philistims did deal by Sampson pluck out their eyes and make them to grinde in the Mill of Mortification till their strength be utterly consumed and wasted Whilst Saul lived and kept the Throne and was in his strength little David was kept exceeding weak and low but when Saul was dethroned and slain little David quickly grew stronger and stronger 2 Sam. 3.1 so all the while a darling sin lives and keeps the Throne in the hearâ—â— grace and holiness will be kept exceeding weak and low but when your darling Rom. 8.10 13. sin is dethroned and slain by the power and the sword of the Spirit grace and holiness will quickly grow stronger and stronger and rise higher and higher When men would have a rough field fitted for the plow and fitted to bring forth fruit will they not first fall with all their strength and with all their might upon grubbing up by the roots the strongest Trees and the sturdiest Oaks knowing that when these are grubbed up weaker trees will easily fall So as ever you would have your hearts and lives full of the fruits of righteousness and holiness fall with all your strength and with all your might upon grubbing up by the very roots your beloved sins your strongest lusts and then the rest of your corruptions will easily fall When Galiah was slain the Philistims fled and were easily brought under when a General in an Army is cut off the common souldiers are quickly routed down but with your darling-sins and then the conquest of other sins will be easie When a man hath eat poison nothing will make him thrive till hee hath vomited up the poison that hee hath eaten 't is not the most wholsome food the choicest dainties nor the richest cordials under Heaven that will increase blood and spirits and strength in such a person hee will throw up all and nothing will stay with him to do him good till his poison be cast up and cast out Beloved-sins they are the poison of the soul and till these are vomited up and cast out by sound repentance and the exercise of Faith in the Blood of Christ the soul will never thrive in grace and holiness all the wholesome food of the Gospel and all the dainties and cordials of Heaven will never beger good blood nor noble spirits nor divine strength in their souls that upon no terms will part with their darling sins and therefore as ever you would be strong in the grace of the Lord draw up all the strength that ever you are able to make and fall on with the greatest courage upon your bosome-sins and never cease till in the strength of Christ you have got a compleat victory and conquest over them In the Law 't was the blood of the Sacrifice and the Oil that cleansed the Leper and that by them was meant the blood of Christ and the Spirit of Grace is agreed by all Ah friends as ever you would be cleansed from your darling-sins which do so exceedingly hinder the increase of holiness be often in looking upon a crucified Christ and in the application of his blood to your own souls I have read of five men that being asked what was the best means to mortifie sin gave these Answers saith the first The best means to mortifie sin is to meditate of death Saith the second The best means is to meditate of the judgement-day Saith the third The best means is to meditate on the Joyes of Heaven Saith the fourth The best means is to meditate on the torments of Hell But saith the fifth The best means is to meditate on the blood and sufferings of Christâ— and doubtless the last hit it to a hair If any thing under Heaven will subdue and bring under darling-sins it will be the daily sight of a bleeding groaning dying Saviour Phylosophy saith Lactantius may cover vices but it never cuts off vices it may hide a lust but it can never quench a lust As black-patches instead of plaisters may cover some deformities in nature but they can never cure them Ah Sirs if you do not kill your darling-sins they will kill your precious souls Isa 37. When Senacheribs Army was destroyed by an Angel and hee returned home with a hook in his nose and a bridle in his lips hee enquired of one about him what hee thought the reason might be why God so favoured the Jews to which hee replied That there was one Abraham their Father that was willing to sacrifice his beloved Son to death at the command of God and that ever since that time God favoured that people well said Senacherib if that be it I have two beloved Sons and I will sacrifize them both to death if that will procure their God to favour mee which when his two Sons heard they as the story goes slew their Father being more willing to kill Isa 37.38 than be killed Oh friends you must kill or be killed if you are not the death of your beloved sins your beloved sins will prove the death and ruine of your immortal souls and therefore never leave looking up to a crucified Christ till vertue flow from him to the crucifying of those special sins that do most obstruct and hinder the growth and increase of holiness But Eighthly and lastly If ever you would attain to higher degrees of holiness then dwell much upon the holiness of God O be still a musing be still a pondering upon the holiness of God Certainly if there be any means under Heaven to raise you up to higher degrees of holiness 't is this and therefore keep alwaies
a fixed eye upon the infinite and most glorious holiness of God Now that this direction may the better work premise with mee these eight things concerning the holiness of God First Premise this with mee that God is essentially holy Mat. 19.17 There is none good but God that is there is none essentially good but God c. and in this sense none is holy but himself Now essential holiness is all one with God himself Gods essential holiness is Gods conformity to himself holiness in God is not a quality but his essence Quicquid est in Deo est ipse Deus whatsoever is in God is God holiness in Angels and Saints is but a quality but in God it is his essence The fallen Angels keep their natures though they have lost their holiness for that holiness in them was a quality and not their essence Look as created holiness is the conformity of the reasonable creature to the Rule so the increated holiness of God is Gods conformity unto himself Gods holiness and his nature are not two things they are but one Gods holiness is his nature and Gods nature is his holiness God is a pure Act and therefore whatsoever is in God is God 't is Gods prerogative royal to be essentially holy the most glorious creatures in Heaven and the choicest souls on Earth are only holy by participation 1 Sam. 2.2 There is none holy as the Lord Gods holiness is so essential and co-natural to him that hee can as soon cease to be as cease to be holy Holiness in God is a substance but in Angels and men 't is only an accident or a quality the essence of the creature may remain when the holiness of the creature is lost As you may see in Adam and the fallen Angels but Gods essence and his holiness are alwaies the same his very nature is holy Exod. 3.14 and therefore 't is that hee is called Jehovah and I Am because what hee is really that hee is essentially Though men for our information do distinguish between the Attributes of God and the Nature of God yet in him they are the same Look as the Wisdome of God is the wise God and the Truth of God the true God and the Power of God the powerful God and the Justice of God the just God and the Mercy of God the merciful God and the Mightiness of God the mighty God and the Righteousness of God the righteous God and the graciousness of God the gracious God so the Holiness of God is the holy God Gods Nature and his Name are one and the same God is essentially holy and that is the top of all his glory But Secondly As God is essentially holy so God is unmixedly holy the Holiness of God is a pure Holiness 't is an unmixed Holiness 1 Joh. 1.5 God is light and in him is no darkness at all There are no mixtures in God God is a most clear bright-shining light yea hee is all light and in him is no darknesse at all The Moon indeed when it shines brightest Plato calls God the horn of plenty and the Ocean of beauty without the least spot of injustice c. hath her dark spots and specks but God is a light that shines gloriously without the least spot or speck Now look as that darknesse which hath not the least light attending it is the grossest the thickest Egyptian darknesse that can be so that light that hath not the least cloud of darknesse attending it must be the most clear splendid light that possible can be and such a light is the holy one of Israel 'T is very observable the Apostle to illustrate the perfect purity and sanctity of God adds a Negative to his Affirmative In him is no darkness at all that is God is so pure that not the least spot the smallest speck can cleave to him hee is so holy that no iniquity can be found in him there is no defect not default in the Nature of God hee is a God of Truth and without iniquity just and right is hee As Moses spake in that Deut. 32.4 God is a pure a most pure Act without the least potentiality defectability or mutability and therefore in the highest sense hee is light and in him is no darkness at all Surely there is no unrighteousnesse in God no evil can dwell with him or come neer unto him God stands at such a distance from iniquity yea hee so abhors it that hee never did nor never will bestow a good look upon it Hab. 1.13 Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil and canst not look on iniquity There are four things that God cannot do 1. He cannot lye 2. Hee cannot dye 3. Hee cannot deny himself nor 4. Hee cannot look with a favourable eye upon iniquity God doth indeed look upon iniquity with a hateful eye with an angry eye with a revengeful eye and with a vindictive eye but hee never did nor will look upon iniquity with an eye of delectation or with an eye of approbation witnesse his hurling the fallen Angels out of Heaven and his banishing of sinning Adam out of Paradise By all this you see that the Holinesse of God is a pure Holinesse 't is a Holinesse without mixture but now all the holinesse that is in the best and choicest Saints in the world is but a dreggy holinesse a mixt holinesse a weak and imperfect holinesse their unholinesse is alwaies more than their holinesse Ah what a deal of pride is mixt with a little humility and what a deal of unbeleef is mixt with a little faith and what a deal of passion is mixt with a little meeknesse and what a deal of earthlinesse is mixt with a little heavenlinesse and what a deal of carnalnesse is mixt with a little spiritualnesse and what a deal of hardnesse is mixt with a little tendernesse O but now the Holinesse of God is a pure Holinesse 't is a Holinesse without mixture there is not the least drop nor the least dregge of unholinesse in God 't is true the Gods of the Heathen were such as had been impure beastly filthy men Arnobius Austin Tertullian c. and therefore several writers have taken a great deal of pains to convince Heathens of their impiety and folly in worshipping such for gods upon whom they fastened many horrid ridiculous lascivious and impious actions and therefore they conclude against them that they are no gods t is most certain that the true God that Hee that is the high and the holy one cannot bee charged with any iniquity no nor with the least shew or shadow of vanity In God there is wisdome without folly truth without falshood light without darkness holiness without sinfulness But Thirdly As God is unmixedly holy so God is Universally holy hee is holy in all his waies and holy in all his works his precepts are holy precepts and his promises are holy promises and his threatnings are holy threatnings his
ever was or that is this day in the world all the seeds of holiness and all the roots of holiness that are to be found in Angels or men Phil. 1.11 are of the Lords sowing and planting All that holiness that the Angels had in Heaven and all that holiness that Adam had in Paradise and all that holiness that Christ had in his humane nature and all that holiness that ever any Saints have had was from God and all that holiness that any Saints now have is from God The Divine Nature is the first root and original fountain of all sanctity and purity James 1.17 Ministers may pray that their people may be holy and Parents may pray that their children may be holy and Masters may pray that their servants may be holy and husbands may pray that their wives may be holy and Wives may pray that their husbands may be holy but none of these can give holinesse none of these can communicate holinesse to their nearest and dearest relations t is only God that is the giver and the Author of all holinesse If holy persons could convey holinesse into others souls they would never suffer them to go to Hell for want of holiness to hand out holiness to others is a work too high for Angels and too hard for all mortals 't is only the Holy One that can cause holiness to flow into sinners hearts 't is only hee that can form and frame and infuse holiness into the souls of men A man shall sooner make a man yea make a world and unmake himself than hee shall make another holy t is only a holy God that can enlighten the mind and bow the will and melt the heart and raise the affections and purge the conscience and reform the life and put the whole man into a holy gracious frame and temper But Sixthly As God is originally radically and fundamentally holy Isa 44.24 Rev. 1.18 so God is independently holy the Holiness of God depends upon nothing below God God is the Alpha the fountain from â—â—ence all holinesse springs and hee is the Omega the Sea to which all glory runs As all our holiness is from God so all our holiness must terminate in the honour and glory of God 'T is God alone that is independently holy All that holiness that is in Angels and men is a dependent holiness it depends upon the Holiness of God as the streams depend upon the Fountain the beams upon the Sun the branches upon the Root and the members upon the Head God is Unum principium ex quo cuncta dependent one beginning upon whom all things depend God hath his Being only of himself and 't is hee alone that gives Being unto all other things God is the first cause and without all causes himself the very Beings that Angels and men have they have by participation from God And 't is the first cause that giveth unto all causes their proper operations Isa 44.6 I am the first and I am the last and besides mee there is no God God never had a cause of his Being as all other creatures have He is a glorious being a holy being without all causes either efficient or formal or material or final and therefore hee must needs be independently holy Look as the power of God is an independent power and the wisdome of God an independent wisdome and the goodness of God an independent goodness and the righteousness of God an independent righteousness so the holiness of God is an independent holiness And as it is the glory of his power that his power is an independent power and the glory of his goodnesse that his goodnesse is an independent goodnesse so 't is the glory of his holinesse that his holinesse is an independent holinesse And look as all that power that Angels and men have depends upon the power of God and as all that wisdome that Angels and men have depends upon the wisdome of God and as all that goodnesse that Angels and men have depends upon the goodnesse of God so all that holinesse that Angels and men have depends upon the holinesse of God c. Philo could say that God is such a fountain that hee breaks forth with the streams of his goodnesse upon all things but receives nothing back again from any to better himself therewith There are none in Heaven nor none on Earth that are absolutely independent but God alone Seventhly As God is independently holy so God is constantly holy hee is unchangeably holy hee was holy yesterday and hee is holy to day and hee will be holy for ever What is natural is constant and lasting Now Gods holinesse is natural to him 't is as natural for God to be holy as 't is for us to breathe yea as 't is for us to bee unholy God can as well and as soon cease to bee as hee can cease to be holy Holinesse is his nature as well as his name and therefore his holinesse cannot decay though ours may whatever wee may lose of our holinesse yet 't is certain that God can never lose one grain of that holinesse that is in him Here our holinesse ebbs and flows but the Holinesse of God never ebbs but is alwaies a flowing and over-flowing there is still a full tyde of Holinesse in God Though the Saints cannot fall from that seed of holinesse that is sown in their hearts 1 Joh. 3.9 yet they may fall from some degrees of holinesse that they have formerly attained to they that have been old men in holinesse may fall from being old men to be but young men in holinesse and they that have been young men in holinesse 1 Joh. 2.12 13 14. 2 Pet. 2.1 2 3. may fall from being young men to be but children in holinesse and they that have been children in holiness may fall from being children to be but babes in holiness but now that holiness that is in God is never subject to any decayings abatings or languishing that spring that Sea of holiness that is in God is no waies capable of diminution nor of Augmentation Plato could say that God is one and the same Pierius and alwaies like himself And it was a custome among the Turks to cry out every morning from a high Tower God alwaies was and alwaies will bee and so salute their Mahomet O Sirs God hath been alwaies holy and God will bee alwaies holy whatever men may lose yet God is resolved that hee will never lose his honour nor his holiness But Eighthly and lastly As God is continually holy so God is exemplarily holy Levit. 20.26 Remember this you and I must answer for examples as well as precepts Hee is the Rule Pattern and Example of holiness 1 Pet. 1.15 Bee yee holy as I am holy Gods Holiness is the great example and pattern of all that holiness which is in the creatures Gods holiness is the Copy that we must alwaies have in our eye and indeavour most
exactly to write after Carnal friends and this blinde world and Antichrist and such as love to Lord it over the conscience will be still a presenting to you other examples and patterns but 't is your wisdome and your work to cast them all behinde your backs and to trample them under your feet and to follow that form and pattern that the Lord hath set before you And that is to bee holy as hee is holy All our holiness is to be brought to the Holiness of God as the standard and measure of it and therefore oh what cause have wee to be still a perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord. And thus I have done with the second thing viz. Means to increase holiness and to raise you up to the highest pitches and degrees of holiness And so I come to the third thing proposed and that was to lay down some signs or evidences whereby persons may know whether they have attained to any high pitch or eminent degrees of holiness or no. Now Sirs if you desire in good earnest to know whether you have attained to any perfection of holiness or no then seriously weigh these following particulars and try your selves by them First The more a man can warm his heart at the Promises and cleave to the Promises and rest upon the Promises and suck marrow and fatness and sweetness out of the breasts of the Promises when Divine Providences seem to run cross to Divine Promises The greater measure of holiness that man hath attained to where there are but little measures of holiness there every seeming contrariety to the Promise troubles a man and every little cloud that hangs over the Promise will mightily perplex a man c. But where holiness is raised to any considerable height there that man will suck hony out of the flint hee will suck sweetness out of the Promise even then when providence looks sowrely upon the Promise yea when Providence seems to bid defiance to the Promise witness Jacob in that Gen. 32.6 7 8. compared with v. 9 11 12. And the Messengers returned to Jacob saying Wee came to thy Brother Esau and also hee cometh to meet thee and four hundred men with him Then Jaâ—ob was greatly afraid and distressed and hee divided the people that were with him and the Flocks and Herds and the Camels into two bands And said if Esau come to the one company and smite it then the other company which is left shall escape And Jacob said O God of my Father Abraham and God of my Father Isaac the Lord which saidst unto mee return unto thy Country and to thy Kindred and I will deal well with thee Deliver mee I pray thee from the hand of my Brother from the hand of Esau For I fear him lest hee will come and smite mee and the Mother with the children And thou saidst I will surely do thee good and make thy seed as the sand of the Sea which cannot bee numbred for multitude Now here you see holy Jacob in the midst of all his fears and frights in the midst of all his perils and dangers in the midst of all his damps and dreads and in the midst of all cross amazing and amusing providences hee turns himself to the breasts of the Promise and sucks marrow and sweetness out of those breasts Jacob puts the Promise into suit hee sues God upon his own bond and so bears up sweetly under dark and dismal providences And so did Moses in that Numb 10.29 And Moses said unto Hobab the Son of Raguel the Medianite Moses Father-in law wee are journying unto the place of which the Lord said I will give it you come thou with us and wee will do thee good for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel Moses had been almost now forty years in the wilderness and many thousands were fallen on his right hand and on his left yet saith hee to Hobab in the face of all those dismal providences come go along with us and be as eyes unto us and wee will certainly do thee good Vers 31. but Hobab might have objected Alas what good can I expect in a wilderness condition where so many are weak and so many are sick and so many thousands are fallen asleep and where all the people are every day surrounded with a thousand dangers difficulties and deaths well saith hee though al this be true yet go along with us and be serviceable and useful to us and wee will do thee good for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel Here this holy man Moses turns himself to the Promise and in the face of all sad providences hee draws comfort and incouragement from the Pâ—omise And so did Jehosaphat in that 2 Chron. 20. When the children of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir came against him to battel v. 1.10 hee turns himself to the Promise v. 7 8 9. and gathers life and spirit from thence And so did David in that Psal 60. in the 1 2 3. v. you have a Narrative of many cross and dreadful Providences and yet in the face of them all holy David sucks strong consolation out of the breasts of the Promise vers 6. God hath spoken in hâ—s holiness I will rejoyce I will divide Shechem and mete out the valley of Succoth God hath promised in his Holiness that David should bee King over all Israel and therefore notwithstanding all strange providences David triumphs in the Promise and looks upon himself as Master of all those strong-holds that are mentioned in v. 7 8 9. And so Abraham hee wanted a Son and God promised him an Isaac Now in the face of all his own deadness and natural inâ—biâ—ities as to generation and Sarah's deadness and barrenness Rom. 4.17 18 19 20 1. hee turns about to the Promise and his Faith and Holiness being high hee draws sweetness and satisfaction from thence Notwithstanding present providences the nâ—keâ— Promise was a well of Life and Salvation to him O Sirs 't is an Argument of a very great measure of holiness when troubles and difficulties vanish upon the sight of a Promise when all things work quire cross and contrary to sense and feeling Now for a man to imbrace a Promise to hug a Promise to kiss a Promise and to draw content and satisfaction from a Promise argues a great degree of holiness 'T is a very hard and difficult thing for a man exactly to take the picture of Divine Providence at any time for many aâ—e the voices and the faces of providence and there are as great deeps in Providences as there are in Prophecies and many Texts of Providence are as hard as dark and as difficult to be understood as many Texts of Scripture are 't is as hard to reconcile the Works of God Psal 36.6 Rom. 11.33 as 't is to reconcile the Word of God for as in the Word of God there are many seeming contradictions so in the Works of God there are many
you yet let this support you let this rejoyce you that you are high in the favour of God But Tenthly If thou art a holy person if thou art one that hast that real holiness without which there is no happiness then know for thy comfort that all thy duties and services are very pleasing Act. 10.4 Mal. 3.3 2 Tim. 2.21 delightful and acceptable to the Lord and this roundly follows upon the former for when ever a mans person comes to bee accepted of God and to bee high in favour with God then all his services and sacrifices comes to bee acceptable to God Gen. 4.4 And Abel hee also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof and the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering God had first a respect to his person in Christ and then to his offering and so his sacrifice was accepted for the man and not the man for the sacrifice Heb. 11.4 By Faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Kain by which hee obtained witness that hee was righteous God testifying of his gifts and by it hee being dead yet speaketh God will alwaies welcome the holy man into his presence and hee shall alwaies have his ear at command God will still bee a warming his heart Isa 45.11 and a cheering up his spirit and a satisfying of his soul in meeting of him in all holy means and in giving gracious answers to all his requests Isa 64.5 Thou meetest him that rejoyceth and worketh righteousness those that remember thee in thy waies Prov. 21.8 The way of man that is of unholy man is froward and strange but as for the pure his work is right When God hath cleansed ◠mans heart and sanctified his nature then his work his religious work is right 't is then right in the eye of God and in the account of God and in estimation of God and therefore his Petitions are as soon granted Isa 65.24 as they are offered and his requests performed Sealh here is a special note of observation to work us to a serious marking of the things that are mentioned as things that are of special weight and of highest concernment to us as soon as they are mentioned Psal 32.5 I said I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin Selah Holy David had an inward purpose and resolution to confess his sin but before hee could do it God throws him his pardon thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin God loves to bee before-hand with his people in acts of grace and favour Gods eye and his ear was in Davids heart before Davids confession could bee in his tongue O! the delight of God O! the pleasedness of God with the duties and services of his holy ones Psal 4.3 But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself the Lord will hear when I call upon him that is the Lord will approve of my prayer hee will accept of my prayer he will delight in my prayer and hee will answer my prayer when I call unto him and what can the Godly man desire more Psal 61.1 Hear my cry O God attend unto my prayer Aquinas saith that some read the words thus Intende ad cantica mea attend unto my songs and so the words may bee safely read from the Hebrew word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ranah which signifies to shout or shrill out for joy to note that the prayers of the Saints are like pleasant songs and delightful dirties in the ears of God no mirth no musick can bee so pleasing to us as the prayers of the Saints are pleasing to God Cant. 2.14 Psal 141.2 Let my prayer come before thee as incense and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifize What 's more sweet what 's more pleasing and what 's more perfuming then incense why the prayers of the Saints Rev. 5.8 ch 8.3 4 as they are in the hands of a Mediatour are as sweet and pleasing to God as incense that is made up of the choicest and sweetest spices are sweet and pleasing unto us 1 Pet. 3.12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous and his ears are open unto their prayers or rather as the Greek hath it his ears are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to their prayers that is when their prayers are so faint and weak that they cannot reach to God that they cannot travel as far as Heaven then God will come down to them and lay his ears as it were unto their prayers O what matter of joy and comfort is this to all the holy seed that God will graciously bow his ears to their prayers when hee turns his back with the greatest disdain and indignation upon the most costly sacrifices of the wicked O you precious Sons of Zion that are daily lamenting and mourning over the weaknesses that cleaves to your best services know for your comfort and joy that though with Moses you can but stammer out a prayer God once accepted of a handfull of Meal for a sacrifice and of a gripe of Goats hair for an oblation Artaxerxes the Persian monarch accepted with a cheerful countenance a little water as a present from the hand of a poor labourer c. or with Hannah weep out a prayer or with Hezekiah chatter out a prayer or with Paul sigh and groan out a prayer yet the Lord will own your prayers and accept your prayers and delight in your prayers O what a rare comfort is this for a Christian to consider that when hee is under outward wants and inward distresses that when hee hath sickness upon his body and reproach upon his name and death knocking at his door that in all these cases and in all other cases hee may run to God as to a Father and tell God how 't is with him and when hee hath done that hee may sit down satisfied and assured of Audience and Acceptance in Heaven O Sirs this is a priviledge more worth than a thousand worlds and had unsanctified persons as many Kingdomes to give as they have haires on their heads they would give them all for an interest in this priviledge when guilt and wrath is upon their consciences and when the arrows of the Almighty stick fast in them and when the terrours of death are round about them and when the dreadful day of their account is every moment remembred by them O! if it bee so great a favour to have the ears of an earthly King at pleasure what a transcendent savour must it bee to have his ear at pleasure who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and yet this favour hath all his Saints But Eleventhly If thou art a Holy Person if thou art one that hast that real holiness without which there is no happiness then know for thy comfort that Jesus Christ will certainly preserve thy holiness Next to Christ holiness is a
may bee able after my decease to have these things alwaies in remembrance The Apostle having the sentence of death in himself O! how doth hee bestir himself and how doth hee stir up all that grace and holiness that was in his heart yea and all his Ministerial and Apostolical gifts and all to better himself and to make those that were really holy to bee eminently holy Peter being very sensible of the neer approaches of death did very earnestly desire and greatly endeavour so to act his part before he went off the stage of live that when his head was in the dust and his soul in heaven those Saints that should survive him might bee very famous in grace and holiness That of Eleazer is very remarkable who would not do any thing which might seem to bee evil because he would not spot his white head O Sirs when once the Gray hairs of holiness and righteousness are upon you it highly concerns you to shun the very shews and appearances of evil that so you may not spot nor stain the honour of your white head I have read of Joshua that valliant Souldier that when hee was a young man and in the prime and flower of his daies when his bones were full of marrow and his breasts full of milk as Job speaks that then hee was least in vigour and valour for God and how that sometimes in cases of eminent danger hee would conceal himself but when hee grew older and found the strength of nature declining and decaying then hee bestired himself exceedingly for God O Sirs when you have one foot in the Grave God calls aloud upon you to bestir your selves exceedingly for his honour and glory and for your own internal and eternal welfare Solon was not ashamed to say that hee learned much in his old age And Julianius the Lawyer was wont to say that when hee had one foot in the Grave hee would have the other in the School O Sirs shall nature do more than grace shall morality excel real piety 'T was the glorious commendation of the Church of Thiatira that her last works were more than her first Rev. 2.19 I know thy works and charity and service and faith and thy patience and thy work and the last to bee more than the first O the happiness of that man that is best at last that brings forth most of the fruits of Righteousness and Holiness in old age O the blessedness of that man whose Faith is more strong at last than at first and whose love is more inflamed at last than at first and whose hopes are more raised and elevated at last than at first and whole knowledge is more clear at last than at first whose zeal is warmer at last than at first and whose thoughts are more heavenly at last than at first and whose heart is more spiritual at last than at first and whose communion with God is more high at last than at first and whose life is more holy at last than at first If there be any man in the world that is ripe for Heaven and that injoyes a Heaven in his own soul on this side Heaven this is the man whose graces and whose gracious works are more at last than at first Well Christians for ever remember this the neerer death makes her approaches to you the louder God calls upon you to be holy And thus by a hand of grace that hath been in mee upon mee and with me I have shewed you what those special times and seasons are wherein God calls loudest for holiness and so according to my weak measure I have given out all that the Lord hath graciously given in concerning that most necessary that most noble that most glorious and that most useful point of points viz. Holiness and therefore I have nothing more to do but earnestly to pray that what hath been spoken and written may be so blest from on high that it may work mightily to the internal and eternal welfare both of Writer Reader and Hearer that so when their Race is run and their Work done here on earth they may be everlastingly blest with a happy sight of the Beatifical Vision of God in Heaven Amen FINIS Books sold by Henry Cripps in Popes-Head-Alley SIbbs Saints Cordials Reynors Government of the Tongue Armetages Sermons Roman Antiquities Burtons Melancholy Youngs whole duty of a Christian Supplication of Saints Cradocks Works Huit on Daniel Sarah Wight Cotton on the seven Viols Hookers Souls-preparation for Christ Goodwins Childe of Light walking in darkness Reynolds on Hosea Tichburns Cluster of Canaans-Grapes Baxters Doctrine of Self-poseing An Abstract of the Assemblies Catechism J. Goodwins Saints Interest in God Dingly of Thunder Books sold by Henry Mortlock at the sign of the Phoenix in St. Pauls Church-yard near the Little North-door Folios A Commentary upon the whole Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians wherein the text is learnedly and fruitfully opened with a Logical Analysis spiritual and holy Observations Confutation of Armianism and Popery By Mr. Paul Bain A Commentary on the Proverbs Ecclesiastes Canticles and the Major Prophets By John Trapp M. A. Quartoes An Exposition of the Prophecy of Ezekiel By W. Greenhill Some Sermons preached upon several occasions By P. Sterry A Way to Zion sought out and found for Beleevers to walk in By Daniel King Preacher of the Word neer Coventry Funebria Florae The Downfall of May-Games By Tho. Hall B.D. and Pastor of Kings-Norton in VVorcestershire The loathsomness of long Hair or A Treatise wherein you have the Question stated many Arguments against it produced and the most material arguments for it refelled and answered with an Appendix against Painting Spots naked-breasts c. By the same Author Samuel in Sackcloth or a Sermon assaying to restrain our bitter Animosities and commending a spirit of moderation and right constitution of soul and behaviour towards our Brethren upon 1 Sam. 15.35 Large Octavoes The Hypocrites Ladder or Looking-Glass or a Discourse of the dangerous and destructive nature of Hypocrisie the reigning and provoking sin of this age wherein is shewed how far the Hypocrite or formal Professor may go towards Heaven yet utterly perish by three Ladders of sixty steps of his Ascending By John Sheffield Minister of the Word at Swithins London An Improvement of the Sea upon the nine Nautical Verses in the 107. Psalm wherein among other things you have a very full and delightful Description of all those many various and multitudinous Objects which they behold in their Travels through the Lords Creation both on Sea in Sea and on Land viz. All sorts and kinds of Fish Fowl and Beasts whether wilde or tame all sorts of Trees and Fruit all sorts of People Cities Towns and Countries By Daniel Pell Preacher of the Word A Caveat against Seducers in a Sermon preached by Rich. Stand-fast Rector of Christ-Church in Bristol Together with the Blind Mans Meditations by the same Author A Treatise of Divine Meditation by
to rise against it and to cry out Away with it it was never good dayes since we have had so much preaching and hearing Or when the Word comes to be scorned slighted disgraced opposed or persecuted oh then they turn their backs upon it and quickly grow weary of it As the Jussians in Strabo delighted themselves with the musick of an excellent Harper till they heard the market bell ring then they run all away save a deaf old man that could take but little delight in the Harpers ditties So let these men but hear the bell of lust or the bell of profit or the bell of pleasure or the bell of applause or the bell of honour or the bell of errour or the bell of superstition sound in their ears and presently they will run from the sweet musick of the Word to follow after any of these bells But now a man that loves the Word and that is affected and taken with the Word as it is a holy Word no bell can ring him from the Word no disgrace no affliction no opposition no persecution can take him off from affecting the Word and from taking pleasure in the Word The cause of his love is abiding and lasting and therefore his love cannot but be lasting and continuing Not but that a holy heart may sometimes be more affected and taken with the Word then at other times As first when a man enjoyes much communion with God in the Word Or 2. when God speaks much peace and comfort to the soul by the Word Or 3. when God assures a man more clearly and fully of the goodness and happiness of his condition by the Word Or 4. when God lets in very much quietness or quickness or sweetness or seriousness or spiritualness into a mans spirit by the Word Oh then a man may more then ordinarily be affected and taken with the Word But now though a holy Christian is not at all times in the same degree and measure taken with the Word yet take such a Christian when he is at worst and you shall find two things in him 1. You shall find in him a holy love to the Word And 2. you shall find in him a real love to holy Christians Fourthly He that loves the Word and that is affected and taken with the Word as it is a holy Word he is most affected and taken with those parts of the Word that do most incite to holiness that do most promote holiness and that do most provoke to holiness As 1 Pet. 1.15.16 But as he which hath called you is holy so be ye holy in all manner of conversation because it is written Be ye holy for I am holy I shall give you light into these words when I come to open the holiness of God to you Ad similitudinem non aequalitatem Calv. So Mat. 5.48 Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect Our summum bonum in this world consists in our conformity to the heavenly pattern in all imitations it is best to chuse the most perfect pattern There is nothing more laudable and commendable then for a Christian to endeavour more and more to resemble his God in the highest perfections of righteousness and holiness So Ephes 5.15 16. See then that ye walk circumspectly not as fools but as wise 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Redeeming the time because the dayes are evil Christians must walk precisely curiously exactly accurately As the Carpenter works by line and rule so a Christian must walk by line and rule he must labour to get up to the very top of godliness he must go to the utmost of every command as the original word importeth So Phil. 2.15 That ye may be blameless and harmless or sincere the sons of God without rebuke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. Sine querela sine reprehensione in the midst of a crooked and perverse Nation among whom ye shine or shine ye as lights in the world Gods sons should be spotless sons as the Greek imports that is they should be without all such spots as are inconsistent with Sonship or Saintship And so in Col. 2.6 As ye have therefore received Jesus Christ the Lord so walk ye in him They had received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Law-giver they had received Christ as a ruling Christ as a reigning Christ and as a commanding Christ and now the great duty incumbent upon them is to walk at such a rate of holiness as may evidence that they have thus received Christ And so in 1 John 2.6 Iohn 13.15 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked Christians are to set all Christs moral actions before them as a pattern for their imitation in his life a Christian may behold the lively picture or lineaments of all vertues and accordingly he ought to order his conversation in this world To walk as Christ walked is to walk humbly holily justly righteously meekly lowly lovingly fruitfully faithfully Matth. 4. uprightly with an As of quality or similitude but no◠with an As of equality for that is impossible for any Saint on earth to walk so purely so holily so blamelesly Mat. 5.44 45 46 47. so unspottedly so spiritually so heavenly as Christ walked that is with an as of equality To walk as Christ walked is to slight the world and contemn the world and make a footstool of the world and to live above the world and to triumph over the world as Christ did that is 1 Pet. 2.20 21 22 23. with an As of quality but not with an As of equality To walk as Christ walked is to love them that hate us to pray for them that persecute us to bless them that curse us and to do good to them that do evil to us but still with an As of similitude but not with an As of equality To walk as Christ walked is to be patient and silent and submissive and thankful under the vilest reproaches the heaviest afflictions and the greatest sufferings with an As of quality but not with an As of equality Now a holy heart that is taken with the holiness of the Word he is certainly taken most with those parts of the Word that do most call for holiness and that do most strongly press the soul to make a progress in holiness I have given you a taste of some of the most principal Scriptures that do incite most to holiness and I shall leave it to your own consciences to give in witness for you or against you according to what you find in your own spirits Certainly to a holy man there are no Prayers no Sermons no Discourses no Conferences no books nor no parts of Scripture to those that do most encourage and provoke to holiness But Fifthly and lastly He that loves the Word and that is affected and taken with the Word as it is a holy Word he highly prizes and values
vessels of a different mettal the water at the first seemeth to be of a different colour but when he draweth up the vessels nearer to him the diversity of colours vanish and the water appeareth to be of one and the same colour and when he tasteth them they have one and the same relish So though at first sight there may seem to be some contradictions in the Scriptures yet when we look more nearly and narrowly into them and compare one place with another we shall finde no contrariety no repugnancy in them at all but a perfect harmony and a full and sweet consent and agreement between one place and another between text and text Scripture and Scripture Sixthly For verity the Scriptures are most sure and certain heaven and earth shall pass away before one jot or tittle of the Scripture shall pass unfulfilled Seventhly For variety there are no varieties to those that are to be found in Scripture as in Noahs Ark all sorts of creatures were to be found so in this heavenly Ark the Scriptures all varieties are to be found here you may finde Physick for every disease and Balm for every wound and a plaister for every sore Here the Lamb may wade and here the Elephant may swim here is milk for Babes and here is meat for strong men here is comfort for the afflicted and succour for the tempted and support for the distressed and ease for the wearied here is a staff to support the feeble and a sword to defend the mighty That which a Papist reports lyingly of their Sacraments of the Mass viz. That there are as many misteries in it as there are drops in the sea dust on the earth Angels in heaven Stars in the sky Atoms in the Sun-beams or sands on the Sea shore c. may be truly asserted of the holy Scriptures there are many thousand thousand varieties in this garden of Paradise the Scripture Eighthly For fulness the Scriptures are full of light and full of life and full of love they are full of righteousness and full of holiness and full of all goodness 'T was a weighty saying of Tertullian Adoro plenitudinem scripturarum I adore the fulness of the Scripture Many men talk much of the Philosophers Stone that it turns Copper into Gold and of Cornucopia that it had all things necessary for food in it and of the Herb Panaces that it was good for all diseases and of the Drugg Catholicon that it is instead of all purges and of Vulcans armor that it was full proof against all thrusts and blows but that which they vainly attribute to these things for bodily good may safely and honorably be attributed to the blessed Scriptures in a spiritual manner the Scriptures turns hearts of Copper into hearts of Gold 't is a Paradise that is full of the Trees of life Rev. 22.2 and these trees of life are both for food Physick here is all manner of fruit to feed you fill you to delight you and satisfie you and the very leaves of these Trees are singular medicines to heal you and cure you the Scripture prescribes the choicest druggs to purge you viz. Repentance and the blood of Christ and 't is the Scripture that furnishes you with the best armor of proof against all principalities and powers and against all spiritual wickednesses in high places Eph. 6.11.18 Oh how should the consideration of all these things work you to be much in reading of the holy Scriptures if you will but make trial you should be sure to finde in them stories more true more various more pleasant more profitable and more comfortable then any you will find in all ancient or modern writers Ah friends if you would but in good earnest set upon reading of the holy Scriptures you may finde in them so many happinesses as cannot be numbred and so great happinesses as cannot be measured and so copious happinesses as cannot be defined and such precious happinesses as cannot be valued and if all this woâ—â—t draw you to read the holy Scriptures conscientiously and frequently I know not what will It 's said of Mary that she spent the third part of her time in reading of the word and Caecilia a Roman Maiden of noble parentage carried always about her the New Testament and spent much time in reading it Alfredus once King of England compiled Psalms and prayers into one book and called it a Manuel which he always carried about him and spent much time in the perusal of it Augustin Vide Pos in vita Aug. caused Davids penitential Psalms to be drawn upon the walls of his Chamber that he might read them as he lay in his bed he read and wep't and wept and read Well if all this will not prevail with you to be much in reading of the Scriptures consider that Agesilaus an excellent King of Sparta would never go to bed nor rise up before he had looked into Homer whom he called Amasium suum his sweet heart but what was Homers books to Gods Book which is the book of books as Charles the great did signifie when he crowned it with his own crown And Scipio Africanus was much commended Plutarch Moral for that he usually had in his hands the books of Xenophon But Oh how much more commendable will it be for you to have always in your hands the book of God Alphonsus had always in his bosom the commentaries of Caesar and he was so much delighted with the history of Titus Livius that he once commanded certain Musitians that were very skilful in that Art to depart his presence saying he could read a more pleasant story out of Livius Alas what are Livius his stories to the blessed stories that be in the Bible Oh sirs if Lipsius when he did but read Seneca thought that he was even on the top of Olympus above mortality and humane things And if Julius Scaliger thought twelve verses in Lucan better then the German Empire O then of what infinite worth and value is the blessed Scripture shall Heathens take such pleasure in reading of the Works of Heathens and shall not Christians take as much pleasure in reading of the holy Scriptures wherein there is so much of the Spirit hand and heart of God Shall they set so high a price upon the books of Heathens and shall we so slight and undervalue the books of God as not to thinke it worth a opening once a day verily I am afraid I am afraid that there are some among us that hardly open their Bibles once a weeke and others that hardly open their Bibles once a moneth and not a few that hardly open their Bibles once a quarter c. Certainly as the rustiness of some mens gold Jam. 5.1 2 3. will be a witness against them in the great day of the Lord so the mustiness of some mens Bibles will be a witness against them in that great day Quest But is it not lawfull
holiness 'T was a good saying of One Da quod Jubes Augustine jube quod vis Give what thou commandest and command what thou wilt O goe to God and tell him that what he has commanded in some Scriptures he has promised to give in other Scriptures and therefore press him to make good his promises that so you may obey his precepts O tell him that if he will but sprinkle clean water upon thee and put his Spirit within thee Ezek. 36.25 26 27 28. and give a new heart unto thee according to his promise that then thou wilt walke in his Statutes and keep his Judgments and doe them O tell him that if he will but put his feare into thy heart according to his promise Jer. 32.40 that then thou wilt never depart from him O tell him Phil. 1.29 James 5.17 that he has commanded thee to believe and that he has also promised to give thee faith and therefore if he will but make good his promise thou shalt be sure to obey his precepts O tell him that he has frequently commanded thee to repent Acts 5.31 2 Tim. 2.25 and that he has also graciously promised to give repentance and therefore if he will but performe his promise thou shalt not faile to obey his precepts c. O tell him that thou hast no mind to be damn'd tell him that thou tremblest at the thoughts of hell tell him that thou canst not without much horror think of dwelling with a devouring fire of dwelling with everlasting burnings O tell him Isa 33.14 2 Thes 1.7 8 9 10. that thou dreadest an eternall separation from him and therefore earnestly beseech him for his Sons sake and for his glory sake and his promise sake and thy souls sake that he would renew thy nature and sanctifie thy soul that so thou mayest not perish to all eternity But Sixthly and lastly What dis-ingenuity yea what injustice and unrighteousness is this that thou shouldest lye complaining of the want of power when thou doest not use and improve the power thou hast without the power and assistance of special grace thou hast power to attend religious duties and services thou hast power to turne thy back upon the infectious and dangerous society of wicked and ungodly men thou hast power to keep at a distance from the Harlots door Prov. 7. thou hast power to keep thy mouth of blasphemy shut thou hast power to keep thy hands from stealing James 3.10 Ephe. 4.28 Rom. 3.15 and thy feete from being swift to shed innocent blood thou hast power to bring thy body to an Ordinance though thou hast not power to bring thy soul to the Ordinance the Noble Bereans brought their bodies to the Ordinance Acts 17.11 12. and they took the heads of the Apostles Sermon and compared them with the Scripture and yet they were in an unrenewed and unsanctified estate O Sirs you have power to come to publick Ordinances and to set your selves under the droppings of a Gospel powerful Ministry you have power to lie at the poole of Bethesda and there to waite till the cure be wrought but where is the unsanctified soul that improves the power he has Tell me O vaine man why should God trust thee with a greater power when thou makest no conscience of improving that power thou hast Why should God trust thee with Ten Tallents when thou hast no heart to improve the two that he has already trusted thee withall What wise Father or Master will trust that child or servant with hundreds or thousands who makes no conscience of improving far lesser sums to the honour and advantage of the Father or the Master how doest thou know O man but that upon the faithfull improvement of that power thou hast God may adde a greater power to thee if thou wilt but goe that two miles thou canst God may strike in with thee and inable thee to goe Ten. 'T is a dangerous thing to neglect the doing of that which thou canst doe because that thou canst not doe every thing that thou shouldest doe Suppose a Father or a Master should say to his Son or servant take such and such wares and commodities and carry them to such and such places for such and such Chapmen and the Son or servant should say well though there be some small light burthens that I can well enough carry yet there are many heavie burthens that I cannot carry and therefore I will carry none at all may not the Father of such a Son or the Master of such a servant in much Justice and righteousness severely punish such a Son or servant doubtless yes Why this is the very case of all unsanctified souls God commands them to believe and repent and to love him with all their hearts and to set him up as the object of their feare and to give him the preheminence in all things c. But these are supernaturall acts beyond their power And he commands them to attend on the meanes of grace and to waire at Wisdoms door he commands them to apply themselves to publike ordinances and to keep close to family duties and to turne their backs upon such and such vicious societies c. and these are things they can doe and yet because they cannot doe the former they wilfully and wickedly refuse to doe the latter because they cannot bare the heaviest burthen they are resolved they will bare none at all and because they cannot doe every thing they should they will doe nothing at all except it be to complaine that God is a hard Master and expects to reape where he do's not sowe now how just and righteous a thing it is with God to deale severely with such I will leave you to judge And let this suffice for answer to the first objection Object Object 2 But hereafter may be time enough to look after holiness I may yet pursue after the pleasures and profits of the world I may yet spend some years in gratifying mine own lusts and in walking after the course of the world I have time enough before me and therefore some years hence may be time enough to look after holiness Now to this objection I shall give these Answers First Thou wilt not say that thou canst be saved too soon nor happie too soon nor blessed too soon nor pardoned too soon nor in the favour of God too soon nor out of the danger of wrath hell and everlasting burnings too soon and if so then certainly thou canst not be holy too soon for thou canst never be truly happie till thou art truly holy No man will be so foolish and mad as to say he may be rich too soon and great too soon and high and honorable in the world too soon and in faâ—â—â—r and esteeme with men especially with great men too soon and why then shouldest thou be so mad and foolish as practically to say that thou canst be holy too soon
and yet thus much thou doest proclaime upon the house-top when thou cryest out hereafter hereafter will be time enough to seek after holiness But Secondly I answer that 't is thy wisdom and thy work to set one may be against another Eccl. 7.14 thou say'st now that hereafter may be time enough to look after holiness O set another maybe against this may-be Isa 55.6 and say if I now neglect this season of grace it may-be I shall never have another if I now slight the offers of mercy Pro. 1.20 to the 33. Heb. 2.1 2 3. Luke 19 41. 45. Gen. 6.3 it may be I shall never have such offers more if I now despise this day of salvation it may be I shall never have such another day if I now withstand the tenders of Christ it may-be Christ will never make a tender to me more if I now resist the strivings of the Spirit it may be the Spirit will never strive with my soule more and then wo wo to me that ever I was borne O don't put off God don't put off thy soule don't put off the thoughts of holiness don't put off eternity with may-bees Heb. 3.18 least the Lord should sweare in his wrath that thou shalt never enter into his rest and seeing that thou wilt not suffer holiness to enter into thee thou shalt never enter into thy Masters joy O! why shouldest thou put off thy poor soule so as thou wouldest not have God to put it off thou wouldest not have God to put off thy soule with may-bees as with a may-bee I will pardon thee it may-bee I wilt lift up the light of my countenance upon thee it may-bee I will change thy nature and save thy soule it may-bee I will fill thee with my Spirit and adorne thee with my grace it may-bee I will bring thee to my kingdome and glory O thou wouldst not have God to put thee off with such may-bees and why then shouldst thou deale more hardly and cruelly with thine own soule then thou wouldst have God to deale with thee But Thirdly I answer 't is a cleare argument that thou art not truly nor throughly sensible of thy present condition and danger who thus objectest wert thou but truly sensible of thy lost and undone estate out of Christ didst thou but indeed know what 't is to live one houre in a Christ-less and grace-less condition didst thou but see that wrath that hangs over thy head didst thou but reade the curses that are pronounced in the book of God against thee didst thou but behold how hell gapes to devoure thee didst thou but see how farre off thou art from God Christ the Covenant Acts 2.39 Ephe. 2.12 and all the glory and happiness of another world ah how wouldst thou every day cry out give me holiness or I die give me holiness or I eternally die The Patient that is truly sensible of his disease will not say hereafter will be time enough to send for the Physitian nor the wounded man will not say hereafter will be time enough to fetch the Surgeon nor the condemned man will not say hereafter will be time enough to sue for a pardon nor the needy man will not say hereafter will be time enough to look for reliefe nor the fallen man will not say hereafter will be time enough to lift me up nor the drowning man will not say hereafter will be time enough to bring a Boate to save my life now this is the very case of all unsanctified persons in the world and why then should they cry our hereafter hereafter will be time enough to be holy The Boare in the Fable being questioned why he stood wherting his teeth so when no body was neare to hurt him wisely answered that it would then be too late to whet them when he was to use them and therefore he whetted them so before danger that he might have them ready in danger Ah Sirs there is nothing more dangerous then for you to have your holiness to seek when temporal spiritual and eternal dangers are at your heels there is no wisdom to that which leads men forth to a present pursuit after holiness nor no hell to that for a man to have his holiness to seek when he should use it Fourthly I answer that the brevity shortness and preciousness of time Sumptus protiocissimus tempus Theophrastus calls aloud upon thee to pursue after holiness without delay time past is irrecoverable time to come is uncertaine the present time is the only time and on this moment of time depends eternity this very day is a day of grace O that thou hadst but grace to take notice of it this very time is an acceptable time O that thou hadst but a heart to accept of it and to improve it he that hath a great way to goe and a great deale of worke to doe in a little time had not need to trifle away his time and this is the case of every unsanctified soule O the sins that such a soule has to repent of O the graces that such a soule has to seek O the evidences for heaven that such a soule has to secure O the miseries that such a soule has to escape O the mercies that such a soule has to press after c. and therefore of all men in the world it stands unsanctified persons upon well to husband and improve their present time O 't is a dangerous thing to put off that worke to another day which must be done to day or else thou mayest be eternally undone to morrow the old saying was Nunc aut nunquam now or never if not now done it may be never done and if so then thou art undone for ever Many sinners are now in hell who when they were on earth were wont to put off the motions of the Spirit by crying out eras cras to morrow to morrow Time is so precious a thing that mountaines of gold and rocks of pearle cannot redeem one lost moment which that great Lady well understood when on her death-bed she cryed out Queen Elizabeth Call time againe call time againe a world of wealth for an inch of time ah what a precious and gainfull commodity would time be in hell where for one day to repent yea for one hour to seek after holiness a man would give ten thousand worlds were they in his hands to dispose of Time is so costly a Jewel that few know how to value it and prize it at a due rate witness that sad and frequent complaint among many O what shall we doe to drive away the time come let 's goe to Cards to drive away the time or let 's goe to Tables to drive away the time or let 's goe to the Taverne and take a pint and a pipe to drive away the time or le ts goe and take a walke in the fields to drive away the time c. Thus most are lavishly and