Of Nature and Grace, Book 2 · Part 8
Of ſanctification in this life and the meanes of direction therein,
ACcording to the order, which I propoſed to my ſelf to ſhew furth the frenes of Gods grace, and fauour, it remaineeth in this place next to ſpeake of ſanctification. For albeit S. Paul maketh it no expreſſe linke of that chaine wherein God doth all in all: and wherewith out of al cō trouerſie, there can be nothing in man, yet where he ſpeaketh of mās duty to God, he ſhewethe euer neceſſarilie, that they who are iuſtified by faith in Chriſt, are likewiſe ſanctified by his ſpirite. For being manumitted or freed from ſinn by Chriſt, we are there withall made the ſeruaunts of God to bring furth fruts vntounto ſanctificatiō.
Their owne Roffenſis ſaw ſomewhat when he ſayde: fides iuſtificat ante partum. Stapl. lib. 8. cap. 31. Illyr. in cla. par. 2. tract 6.Faith is the mother, works of ſanctificatiō are the children. The mother doth iuſtifie in order before the children be borne, and then ſhee bringeth furth a godly ofſpring, who like good childrē cheriſh their mother, and comfort her with naturall reſpect againe.
That no man miſtake me, it woulde be obſerued, that the word ſanctification is taken, either for iuſtification in Chriſt, who is our wiſedome, our righteouſnes, & ſanctification, or elſe for holynes of life in Chriſtiās, who hauing receaued the ſpirit of adoption, & a meaſure of grace, are ſanctified, renued in their minds, & reformed in their liues, dying to the world, & liuing vntounto God. Both theſe ſanctificatiōs, ar ours For Chriſt is ours, & therfore his holines & his righteouſnes are ours alſo. But there is a differēce betwixt that which is in Chriſt being perfit in nature, precedēt in order, & made ours but by imputation, and betweene our ſanctification, which is imperfit in it ſelfe, iſſuing from his goodnes, and really inherent in our ſelues. The one is receaued by faith, the other cōſiſteth in good works as of piety toward God, of vp right dealing with mē, & of tēperate vſage of our own perſons, of faith in Gods promiſes, of hope in his mercies, of louing his goodnes, of zeale in religion, of prayſing his name, of cōtinuance in prayers, of confeſſion of ſinnes, of ſeuerity againſt vice, of encreaſe in vertues, of paciēce in troubles, of goodnes towards al men, of meditation of death, of ſpirituall ioy & intentiue expectation of the ioyes to come. I am not to debate particulars, with intēt to dilate any thing. For that is not my purpoſe, and the rather becauſe looke what hath bene ſpoken of many the former matters, may with eaſe, or elſe without great labour be applied to this preſent argument.
Philoſophers make a differēce of bodies. & it is euident in ſenſe, howe ſome bodies are groſſe & darke, as wood & ſtone, ſome cleare and lightſome, & perſpicuous, that a mā may ſee through them, of which ſort, are the aire, fire, chriſtall, common glaſſe, oyld paper, and the like. Whereunto I may reſemble the outward actions of man, either his words or deeds. For through theſe a mā doth as it wer through a glaſ window look into a mans minde, frō whence as frō a ſpring both words & deeds do iſſue. I beleeue, & therefore I ſpake ſaith Dauid. Will you know a iuſtified man? look whether he be ſanctified & holy according to ſo holy a calling: will you know the goodnes of the tree? trie whether he bring furth according to his kinde as it is in Moſes.
In the ſecond of Kings,Geneſ. 1.2. Reg. 1. king Ahaziah fel through a lettaſſe window from his vpper chamber, & therby fel into an extream ſicknes. He calleth for his ſeruāts, ſendeth certaine of them to go & enquire of Beelzebub the idole of the Ekron concerning the recouery and euent of his diſeaſe. Vpō this the Angel of the Lord appeareth vntounto the Prophet Elias, and willeth him to goe and to meete Ahazias ſeruaunts & to ſay vntounto thē: Is it not becauſe there is no God in Iſraell, that he ſeeketh to belzebub? &c. Wherefore of Ahaziah the Lord ſaith: He ſhall not come down from the bed that he went vp into but ſhall die the death. Elias doth the meſſage to the ſeruauntes, the ſeruauntes returne to their king: he muſeth at their ſuddaine returne, declaration is made what befell. The king demaundeth what maner of man it was, that met them? they ſhew him, that he was an hearie man, girded with lether. Then ſaide he ſtraight, It is Helias the Thesbite.
Out of this ſtory ſundry inſtructiōs may be gathered. Firſt that as the oxe doth eat vppe the thiſtle, ſo may the axe ouerthrow the oke. i. as the poore ſinfull people ſhall ſurely be puniſhed, ſo the vnſanctified mightie man ſhall not euer eſcape. Againe in deſtreſſes ſinnefull men ſeeke for ſimple helps, and not vntounto God the God of help, & al to no purpoſe, but to their greater hurt. Where as the holy man knoweth that our very heares, our teares, our names ar in accoūpt with our almighty Iehouah, our heares are in his regiſter, our teares in his bottle, our names in his kooke. But the purpoſe, why I record the ſtory, principally is, to ſhew howe readily Ahaziah did geſſe by the Prophets attire, that it was Elias, & therby, by this exāple to declare, not that the hearines of our apparell, becauſe happily therwas ſome ſinguler thing in Elias attire, as likwiſe in Iohn Bapt. apparel, which was an other Elias, but that our attire & apparell in moſt modeſt maner generally be ſeemely, & that all our behauiour be ſuch either in gate, words, or deeds, that whē report is made therof, a man may ſtraight auouch, verily there is a Chriſtian.
There is no doubt, but diſſimulation is ſpun now adayes of ſo fine a thread, that it is hard to diſcerne who is who. Gardiner could make a booke of true obedience, & Bōner made the preface therto, & now we lack not, & if time ſerued (as God forbid) we ſhould hauehave experience, that we want nether ſubtle Gardiners, nor cruel Bonars. But becauſe ſome can ſemble to be that they are not, & diſſemble to ſeeme to be what they are, therefore yet may not the godly ceaſe both to be in deede, and profeſſe to be alſo true profeſſors. Coloures can not long cōtinue. A grape may ketch, or hang vponupon a brier, it groweth onelyonly & naturally vponupon the vine. Diſſimulation is like Hermogines learning,Volater. lib. 15. very towardly to ſhew a while, but after a while it becam fluſh and flue away: wheras the ſincere holy man groweth ſtill from faith to faith, frō ſtrength to ſtrength, from vertue to vertue, till he become a perfit man in Chriſt Ieſus, knowing that this is the will of God, euen his ſanctification.2. Theſ. 4.3.
And were there nothing elſe but the wil of God, & his cōmandemēt in this behalf, yet were this alone cauſe ſufficient, that we offer vp the ſacrifice of our obedience to our God, & we ſhould be holy, becauſe he is holy, who hath commanded vsus ſo to be,Ier. 35.14. euen as the children of Ionadab, the ſonne of Rechab obeyed their father, and abſtained from wine, becauſe their father, ſo commaunded them, but infinite are the reaſons that ſhould moue vsus to a godly life as not only his commandements therunto, but the inhibitiō of the cōtrary, denūtiatiō of penalty, if we liue ill, or promiſe of reward if we liue well: the hindrāce of Gods glory & the hurt to common weals, by the one, the edification of many by the other. Exāples of good mē to be followed, who were honorable mē in their generatiōs, & wel reported in their times as Enoch, Noe Abraham, and many moe, or the effect of ſinne vponupon ſinners, that threw Adam out of paradiſe, turned Nebuchadnezzer into a beaſt, and Iudas into a Diuel, ſlue kings, ouerthrew thouſandes, ſwallowed vp rebels, drowned Pharao & all his hoſt, burnt vp whole cities, and waſted nations. But what ſhall I ſtand to reckon vp reaſons, to proue that day hath light, & that the night is darke, that vertue is good and vice is naught, or that the one ought to be embraced, and the other auoided? For, he is farre gone, and paſt cōmon ſenſe, that wil not confeſſe all this. Howbeit in the practiſe of doing, it falleth out cleane contrarie. And the reaſon thereof, I take to be in them that hauehave any knowledge (for to ſpeake of the wilfull ignorant it is bootleſſe) becauſe their knowledge occupieth onelyonly ſome ſmall roome in their braines, but hath no firme poſſeſſion of the harte. My ſonne giuegive me thy hart (ſaith God by the pen of Solomon.) Keepe it not they ſelfe but giuegive it me,Prouer. 23. beſtowe it not vponupon pleaſures which feſter, nor vponupon meates wherin is exceſſe, nor vponupon riches, which will take the wings of the eagle & ſoone fly away, nor in honours, which man enioying becam a beaſt, nor in any corruptible vain thing vnderunder heauen. GiueGive me thy harte, ſayth the wiſedome of God, and he will teach thee to vnderſtand and follow righteouſnes, and iudgement, and equitie, & euerie good path. And as for riches, honor, pleaſures, &c. know this, godlines is great riches, and as the higheſt honor, & as the true and perfit pleaſure, & what not that good is?
Direction in the way of ſanctification out of the word of God and by his ſpirite.And now for directiō herein in the way of godlynes, whō ſhould we rather follow then God him ſelfe? &c. & not the vaine wordes of others, but (as the Apoſtle aduiſeth) walking as the children of the light, bringing furth the fruites of the ſpirite. Wherin we may note that to vaine words we muſt oppoſe the worde of God, and that the fruites of the ſpirite are ſpecified to be good works, to teach vsus from whēce good workes come. The one ſometimes is diſtinguiſhed frō, ſomtimes conteined vnderunder the other. The word ſerueth to direct in the right way, and whereby we diſcern who are out of the right way. The ſpirit is Chriſtes vicar on earth: and as Chriſt him ſelfe the ſonne of righteouſnes, and the day ſtar in our hartes, a conſuming fire of all diſtruſt, and burning vp the very rootes of diſobedience, and of all the ſtumbling blockes in the world. The one of theſe lightly is neuer receaued without the other. For the worde is vnprofitable without the Spirit. The Spirit of God leadeth into all truth. The things of God no man knoweth, but the Spirit of God. But yet the Spirit of Chriſt to them that hauehave age and opportunitie neuer commeth but with the word.
The Anabaptiſt. The Atheiſt. The PapiſtThere are three eſpecial enemies of this word of God, and therfore enemies to the rule of goodneſſe, and to the leuell of all ſanctimonie. The firſt is the fantaſticall Anabaptiſt, that dreameth of Reuelations: the ſecond is the wilfull Atheiſt, that thinketh the worde of God to be to troubleſome, it hindreth his fancies, it forbiddeth his delightes, and ſtoppeth all the bathes of his vaine pleaſure, it talketh to much of ſanctification. The third enemie is the wilie Papiſt ſubtiller then all the beaſts of the earth beſide, he knoweth his coine is adulterate, and therefore he feareth the touchſtone, his chaffe wolde not be winnowed. And no maruaile. For wold falſe prophets be ſifted, or vaine ſpirites be brought to their triall? Wherefore the man of ſinne goeth about to diſſwade mē from hearing, and reading this worke of God, and in ſteede of the waters of the Scriptures they hauehave digged vp puddles of wilworſhiping and ſuch like mud, fitter for the horſe and camel, then for Chriſtian ſouls: & in roome of the light of Gods word they hauehave ſubſtituted falſe & mocklights of their owne, in place of virgin wax, they hauehave giuen vsus tallow, in roome of a candle, they hauehave reached vsus a ſnuffe, & the candle of the Lords word, they hauehave detained, vnderunder a bed or a buſhell, that the faithfull men might neuer knowe what they did, nor diſcerne what they beleeued. As if to beleue well, were to beleue a mā knew not what, or to liue wel, were to liue in ignorance, and to do the works of darkneſſe. And yet they pretend great reaſon for all this, and ſo did he, that ſaid of one that could be mad with reaſon. I can not debate the controuerſie, I ſhall but touch a reaſon or two. The worde is vncertaine, the worde is obſcure, ergo not to be read and heard abſolutely of all, &c. Vncertaine? I know not what is blaſphemie, if this be not. Where & in what place dare they thus ſpeake? in the Church of God? before whome? before the Congregation of Saintes? The word is as a candle, which giueth light both to the houſe, and ſheweth withall what it ſelfe is, & is it then vncertaine? but it is obſcure. So you ſaie. We aske to whom? we aunſwere to them, that periſh. It is harder ſomwhere then in ſome, to ſtir vp thine attention, & therfore it is commaunded, Search the Scriptur, dig for wiſedome, ſeek for knowledge as after ſiluer and gold. Be it that it be obſcure. Yet as that ſaying in great part is moſt falſe, ſo is the reaſon moſt faultie. The candle burneth dimme, therfore toppe it. It is a good argument. There is a knotte in the weeke, therfore open it, that the light may hauehave eaſier entrance. It is a fit reaſon. But the candle burneth obſcurely, therefore put it out, or throw it away, or anie ſuch like cō cluſion is ſtarke naught. Yea the more obſcure the Scripture is, the more it muſt be laboured, & the more inceſſantlie ſtudied, becauſe it is that, wherein we knowe is life euerlaſting, and the way of life which is ſanctification.
To let go them that will not heare vsus, ſeeke after this waye, there are of thoſe, that ſeeke ſundrie ſortes. Some ſeeke onlie to the end they maie be knowen, to be verie ſkilfull men in good thinges: this is an ambitiouſe vanitie, ſome only to know: this is fond curioſitie, ſome to enſtruct them ſelues: this is true wiſedome, and ſome to edifie others, and this is perfit charitie. The two former ſorts are naught, the two later holy and good. For true religion and perfit holineſſe, is made neither of bragging wordes or peeuiſh fancies: but this is true deuotion, to viſit the ſicke, the widow, the fatherleſſe, & to keepe a mans ſelfe blameles from the ſoile of the world. He that neuer ſaw hony may talke & think how ſweete a thing it is: but he that taſteth therof, can better tell what a gratious taſt it hath in deede.
Again there ar others that though they cared litle for ſeeking them ſelues, yet are they content to let others alone with ſuch matters. But all their care is as they are caried awaye with ſome conceit or other. They riſe vp early in the morning, and go to bed late, and eate their bread in great care to compaſſe purpoſes. But alas what meane they? Suppoſe thou be a Monarch, a noble, a marchant man, or what thou wilt, if thou gaine all, and loſe a good conſcience, and thereby thy ſoule, thy loſſe is greater, then thy gaine. Thou art a iollie fellow in thy countrie, a king of a welthie land, a peere in a Realme, thou canſt preuent foes, & ioyne in with mighty friends, al the ſheaues of the field muſt bow to thé, the Sunne and the Moone muſt ſtoupe at thie preſence: or if thou be a meaner man as of a towne and corporation, thou canſt cudgell, and compaſſe matters, & conuey things at pleaſure, or if thou be a priuate occupier or a man of trade, thou canſt buy cheape, and ſell deare, all theſe and the like are but miſerable comforts in the day of death or iudgment. One ſanctified ſoule then will be more worth, then innumerable ſinners. O Lorde ſanctifie them and vsus with a liuely vnderſtanding of thy trueth. Thy word is the truth, teach vsus, O Lorde, good wayes therin, that we may know & do thy will.
I will record a ſtorie: Dauid being certified of Saules death among his lamentations he breaketh foorth on this wiſe:2. Sam. 1 O, tell it not in Gath, publiſh it not in the ſtreetes of Aſcalō, leſt the daughters of the Philiſtines reioyce, leſt the children of the vncircumciſed triumph. Gath and Aſkalō were of the chiefe cities of the vncircumciſed. Dauid wiſheth, that Saules death might be concealed from them: that it might not be told to the enemies of Saul, and of God. With like affection it is to be deſired, that ether there wer no Sauls at al, or that they might die either obſcurely, or liue otherwiſe then to the ſlaunder of the profeſſion they ſeeme to be of, but in truth are not. They that hauehave dwelt or dwell in Gath, & Aſkalon, in Louain, Doway, Rōe, or Rhemes, the enemies of vsus, of our Land, and of our God, wilbe glad to hear that he which is reckoned a iuſtified man by faith, were yet a prophane perſon like Eſau in the race of his life. The ſtreame of ſinne is ſtrong, and carieth the world with it, but he that thinketh he ſtandeth, let him take heede he fall not. If a piller fall, the houſe is in daunger, if a mightie tree fall, it beareth downe manie bowes and ſprigges with it. O, what a ſhame were it for anie that hauehave begun in the ſpirit to ende in the fleſh, to reioyce in the light and afterward to louelove darknes more then light, to receiue as it were a portion of faith, and then to miſpend it? The children of the vncircumciſed will make great triumphes, when they ſhall heare hereof, ſuppoſing they hauehave gayned much, when they can finde a man that hath fallen from his God: but to the godlie what ſorrowe is like to this, where ſuch euentes are found? Wherefore let euerie man looke to his wayes, & ſtand to his watch, that he offend not God, neither that he giuegive place to Sathan, cauſe, of ioy to the aduerſarie, or of griefe to the godly, that he defile not him ſelfe, driue away the ſpirit, receaue the word in vaine, ſtayne his profeſſion, and that he be not like the Aſſe and Mule, that carieth on his backe, wheate, or breade, or wine, and yet eateth onelie chaffe, and drinketh nothing but water. To carie the name of a Chriſtian is little woorth, except you feede on the properties of Chriſtianity, & expreſſe them in a good life. For not to talke of Chriſt, but to liue in Chriſt, is indeede to be a Chriſtian, vntounto whom it may & ſhold be ſaid, as it was vntounto Mary: thou ſhalt beare a ſonne, and thou ſhalt call his name Ieſus. For they that heare Goddes word with pure affection,Luc. 8.22 and bring foorth the frutes of the ſpirit, they are as it were, Chriſtes brethren and as deare as his mother, and after a ſort his verie mother, as in the wōb of whoſe faith Chriſt is conceiued, and in whoſe holie life Chriſt is ſpiritually born into the world dayly. And this is true ſanctification, allwayes to be perfourmed in vsus, taught in the word, imprinted by the Spirit, graūted of God through the merites of Chriſt, in whoſe name we pray euer, to be ſanctified more and more continually. And euē as Anna praied that God would giuegive her a man child, and ſhe would giuegive him the Lord againe, ſo wee pray that God will make vsus his holy adopted children. But the benefit of this holineſſe and of this adoption, as likewiſe of our creation, when we were not, & of our iuſtification, when we were naught, and of all things elſe, as he giueth them vsus, ſo we muſt giuegive them him againe, & render all the praiſe, to him alone the onelyonly giuer of all good giftes, who is to be bleſſed for euer, both for all and of all. So be it.