Josephs Party-Colored Coat, Sermon 1
GROWTH IN GRACE.
1 PET. 2.18.
But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Iesus Christ.
1 PHilosophers make a double growth. One per aggregationem materiae, by gayning of more matter: Thus Rivers grow by the accession of tributary Brooks; heaps of Corne waxe greater by the addition of more graine; and thus stones grow, as some would have it, though this more properly bee termed an augmentation, or increase then a growth. The other per intro receptionem nutrimenti, by receiving of nourishment within, as plants, beasts, and men grow. Of the latter growth, wee understand the Apostle in the Text, and will prosecute the Metaphor of the growth of vegetables, as that which the Holy Spirit seemes most to favour, and intend in these expressions.
2. Here is one thing presupposed in the text, & laid down for a foundation; namely, that those to whom S. Peter writes, were already rooted in grace & goodness. These must be an Vnit at least, before any multiplication, a Basis before any building upon it: no doubt they were such as to whom S. Paul writes, Eph. 3.18. foreign, Being rooted and grounded in love, such as the Colossians were, Col. 2.7. Rooted in Christ, and established in faith. And such I trust you are, to whom my discourse is directed, or else it were in vaine for me, or any to give you instructions for Growth in Grace.
Object.3. But why is it said in the Text, first in Grace, and then in Knowledge; this seemes to be an foreign, the Lanthorne is to go first, Knowledge is to be the Vsher of Grace, information in the understanding must goe before reformation in the will and affections.
Answ.I could answer, the holy Spirit is no whit curious in marshalling these graces, which he putteth first, they need no herauld to shew their pedigree, wch wil not fal out for precedency. But to the point, their is a two-fold knowledge, one precedent grace, as disposing one therto, & making capable therof; the other subsequent, & is an effect therof, & a reward of it through Gods mercy. These that have gracious hearts do daily better, & improve their knowledge, in matters of salvatiō, & some herein arrive at a great heigth, as David, Psa. 119.99. I have more understanding than al my teachers, for thy testimonies are my meditations. 4 However see the Apostle puts grace & Knowledge together, What God hath joyned, let no man put asunder. We must grow according to both demensions, both in heigth, in knowledge, & in bredth, in piety, both in head and in heart, both in speculation and practise, we must not all run up in heigth, like an Hoppole, but also burnish, & spread in bredth, then shall we be wel proportioned and compleat, and indeed practise without knowledge is blind, and knowledge without practise is lame.
5. Three things are required to make a plant to grow; first that it hath life within it. Thus the Christian must have in his soul a quickning vivifying faith. Secondly it must be watered in a man with the dew of Gods Word, Isa. 55.10. For as the rain commeth down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater, so shal my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth, &c. And the same allegory is followed by Moses, Deut. 32.2. My doctrine shal drop as the rain, my speech shal distil as the dew, as the smal rain upon the tender herb, & as the showers upon the grass. Thirdly, the blessing of God is requisite, without which both the former are nothing worth; Paul may plant, and Apollo may water, but God giveth the increase. It was observed of Master Greenham, that painefull and zealous Preacher of Gods Word; that though hee was very industrious in his calling, yet his people still remayned most ignorant; and as one saith,
Greenham had Pastures green,
But sheepe full leane.
So true it is, that Gods blessing is the Key of the worke, without which all is but labour in vaine.
6. Now wee may take notice of two remarkeables in the growth of a Christian. First plants have their foreign, their bounds, both in heigth and bredth set by nature: (Hither shalt thou come and no further) to which when they have attayned they grow down-ward, and waxe lesse; yea all sublunary things, Habent suos terminos, quo cum venerint sistunt retrocedunt ruunt. But growth in grace admits of no such period, but still there is Plus ultra: What Saint Paul saith, Pray continually, rejoyce evermore, 1 Thess. 5.17. is as true of spirituall growth, grow continually, encrease evermore, never stop nor stay in grace, till thou commest to glory. Secondly, trees dote as well as men in their old age; yea then they are barren, and bring forth little or no fruit; whereas Christians on the contrary, Psal. 92.13.14. That bee planted in the house of the Lord, shall flourish in the Court of our God, they shall still bring forth fruit in old age: They shall be fat and flourishing. Like wine, they are best when they are oldest; like Caleb, able and active men, even at four-score years of age.
7. Come wee now to set downe those things, which doe either in part hinder, or in whole destroy mens growth in Grace. For the first let us take heed of Suckers in our soule, such superfluous excrementall sprigs, which like so many theeves, steale away the nourishment, which should maintaine the tree. By these Suckers we may understand those felonious avocations of worldly employments, which either out of season, or out of measure, busie our soules in earthly things, when they should bee employed in heavenly matters. The onelyonly way to prevent this mischiefe, is to prune and cut off these Suckers, and speedily to stop up these Emissaries, by out-lets and private sluces, lest they drain dry the very main channell of grace in our hearts.
8. As for destroyers of grace it is two-fold: first the blighting or blasting of a conscience-wasting sinne: Thus drunkennesse and Incest destroyed grace in Lot for that very instant, till hee recovered himselfe againe by unfained repentance. Secondly, the drowth, and scorching heat of persecution. How promising a Plant? what a shoot in Goodnesse did he give on a sudden, who said to our Saviour, Master I will follow thee whether soever thou goest? But how quickly was he withered with one scorching beame, when Christ told him, how hard service he must undergoe?
9 Observe by the way: There is a double rooting in Grace, the one a sound and sure one, the other but shallow and superficiall: The former rooting belongs to the Saints of God, and these though they may bee blighted with sinne, or scorched with persecution, yet still as I may say, there is a secret sprig of life in the root, though in outward appearance, the leaves and bowes may seeme quite dead, and in Gods due time they grow out of their sins by repentance, out of their afflictions by patience. Let us therefore take heed of being too tyrannicall, in passing sentence of condemnation upon them before the time.Cambd. Brit. in Northumberland. Scotus that famous Schoole-man being in a strong fit of an Apoplexy, was by the cruell kindnesse of his over officious friends, buried before he was dead. Many over hasty in their uncharitable censures, seeing one fallen into a sinne, bury him alive in their judgements, counting him a Cast-away and Reprobate, when by Gods mercy, and his owne repentance he may recover againe, as still retaining in his heart some sparkes of spirituall life. As for the wicked, which have onelyonly a superficiall hold in grace, rather sticked than rooted in it; wee see what our Saviour saith of them, Mat. 13.4. And forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepenesse of earth; and when the sunne was up they were scorched, and because they had not root they withered away. They were quite dryed up, and here made fuell for hell, never recovering themselves any more; whereas the godly, though they seeme dead in the winter, they may grow againe next spring.Vse 1.
10. This Doctrine if applyed, serves to confute many: First, those that grow backward in grace, and are worse now, then they were seven yeares before; like the Galatians, You have run well, who hindred you? Secondly, those who stand still in goodnesse; like those women, whereof the Apostle complayneth, that they were Ever learing, and never come to the knowledge of the truth. Thirdly, those that grow, but not proportionably to the long time, wherein they have beene planted, the fat soyle wherein they have beene set. The long time wherein they have beene planted, Heb. 5.12. For when for the time yee ought to bee teachers, you have need that one teach you againe, which be the first principles of the Oracles of God, and are become such as have need of milke, and not of strong meat. The fatnesse of the soyle wherin they have beene set, and plenty of water powred on them, and herein no countrey comes neere to ours; and therefore wee are most unexcusable, if wee grow not in grace. Out-landish men call our Iland the Rainy Iland; because wee have such plenty therof, arising of the store of vapours, from the vicinity of the sea. They call it also the Ringing Iland, because it hath bels, so many and so tuneable; I am sure without flattering it maybe thus called in an higher sense, the dew of Gods Word is no where powred more plentifully, and we have (God increase their number) many and melodious bels, tuneable amongst themselves, and loud-sounding the Word of God to others: Most heavie therefore will be our account, if wee yeeld not some proportionable growth in grace, to these great means God affords us.
11 Now in examining themselves, I find three sorts of men to be deceived. Some account themselves to be growne in grace when they are not: others esteeme themselves to be not growne, when they are. Of the former some account themselves to bee improved in goodnesse, when God takes from them the ability to commit sinne they had formerly. An old man saith, I thanke God I am growne in grace: well, how shall this appeare? Thus, saith the old man: Twenty yeares agoe I was given to lust and wantonnesse; now I have left it. Alas hee puts a fallacy on his owne soule; for the sinne hath left him, his moysture is spent, his heate abated, and hee disabled from performing the taske of wickednesse. So the Prodigall, who hath spent his estate, hugs himselfe in his owne happinesse, that now hee is growne in grace; because hee hath left Vanity in clothes, Curiosity in dyet, Excessivenesse in gaming; when alas needs must the fire goe out, when the fuell is taken away; he is not growne in grace, but decreased in estate. Others construe it to be growth of grace in themselves, when only God takes away from them the temptations to sinne. Hee that living in a populous place was given to drunkennesse, who now being retyred to a private Village, takes himselfe to bee turned very sober. Alas, it is not hee that is altered, but his place, he wanteth now (a want with gain) a crue of bad good fellowes to solicite him to the taverne; but had he the same temptation; let him examine himselfe, whether he would not be as bad, as ever hee was before.
A third sort count themselves, growne in grace, when they have not left, but onelyonly exchanged their sin; and perchance a lesse for a greater: Thou that abhorrest Idols, committest thou sacriledge? Rom. 2. Some thinke themselves improved in piety, because they left prodigality, and reele into Covetousnesse: left Profanenesse, and fallen into spirituall Pride, or peevish affecting of out-side holinesse. Thus like the Sea, what they loose in one place, they gaine in another, and are no whit growne in Grace.
12. Others conceive themselves not to bee growne in grace when they are growne; and that in these foure cases. First sometimes they thinke that they have lesse grace now, than they had seven yeares agoe; because they are more sensible of their badnesse. They daily see and grieve to see how spirituall the Law of God is, and how carnall they are; how they sinne both against Gods will, and their owne, and sorrow after their sinne, and sinne after their sorrow. This makes many mistake themselves, to be worse than they have beene formerly; whereas indeed the sick-man begins to amend, when hee begins to feele his paine.
13. Many thinke themselves to have lesse saving Knowledge now, than they had at their first conversion; both because (as we said before of Grace) they are now more sensible of their ignorance; and because their knowledge at their first conversion seemed a great deale, which since seemeth not increast, because increast insensibly, and by unappearing degrees. One that hath lived all his life time in a most darke Dungeon, and at last is brought out but into the twi-light, more admires at the clearnesse and brightnesse thereof, than hee will wonder a monethmonth after at the sun at noon-day. So a Christian newly regenerated, and brought out of the darke state of nature, into the life of grace, is more apprehensive at the first illumination, of the knowledge hee receives, than of farre greater degrees of knowledge which hee receiveth afterwards.
14. Some thinke they have lesse grace now, than they had some yeares since, because a great measure of grace seemes but little to him that desires more. As in worldly wealth, Crescit amor nummi quantum ipsa pecunia crescit; So is there an holy, heavenly, and laudable covetousnesse of grace, which deceives the eye of the soule, and makes a great deale of goodnesse seeme but a little.
15 Many thinke they are growne lesse and weaker in grace, when indeed they are assaulted with stronger temptations. One saith seven years since, I vanquished such temptations, as at this day foyle me; therefore surely I am decreased in grace. Non sequitur, for though it be the same temptation in kind, it may not be the same in degree and strength; thou mayest still be as valiant, yet thy enemies may conquer thee, as assaulting thee with more force and fury: when thou wert newly converted, God proportioned the weight to the weaknesse of thy souldiers, bound up the Devill, that hee should set upon thee with no more force, than thou couldest resist and subdue. Now thou hast gotten a greater stock of grace, God suffers the devil to buffet thee with greater blows.
16 Some thinke grace is lesse in them now than it was at their first conversion, because they find not in their souls, such violent flashes, such strong impetuous (I had almost said) furious raptures of goodnesse, and flashes of grace and heavenly illumination: But let them seriously consider, that these raptures which they then had, and now complaine they want, were but fits short and sudden, Nimbus erat, cito preterijt, not setled and constant, but such as quickly spent themselves with their own violence: Whereas grace in them now may bee more solid, reduced, digested, and concocted: Bos lassus fortius figit pedem, more slow, but more sure, lesse violent, but more constant; though grace be not so thicke at one time, yet now it is beaten and hammered out to bee broader and longer; yea I might adde also, it is more pure and refined: This we may see in Saint Peter, when hee was a young man in a bravery, he would walk on the water, yea and so daring was hee in his promises; Though all forsake thee, yet will not I: But afterwards in his old age hee was not so bold and daring; experience had not only corrected the ranknesse of his Spirit, but also in some sort quenched, surely tempered the flashes of his zeale for the adventurousnesse of it; yet was he never a whit the worse, but the better Christian, though he was not so quick to run into danger, yet hee vvould answer the spur when need required, and not flinch for persecution, when just occasion vvas offered; as at last hee suffered martyrdome gloriously for Christ.
17 To conclude; Grace in the good Thiefe on the Crosse, like Ionah's Gourd, grew up presently, for hee was an extraordinary example; but in us it is like the growth of an Oak, slow and insensible; so that wee may sooner find it crevisse, then crescere, it must therefore bee our daily taske all the dayes of our lives; to which end let us remember to pray to God for his blessing on us: our Saviour saith, Matth. 6.27. Which of you by taking care is able to adde one cubit unto his stature in the corporall growth? Much lesse able are wee in the spirituall growth, to adde one inch or haires bredth to the heigth of our soules. Then vvhat vvas pride in the Builders of Babel, vvill be piety in us, to mount and raise our soules so high, till the top of them shal reach to Heaven. Amen.