The Excellency of the Gospel Above the Law, Treatise · Part 18
From glory to glory.
We see then that there must be an increase,Grace of a growing nature. a growing from glory to glory, there is no stoppe nor stay to be made in religion, there must be of necessity a desire to grow better and better, for glory will grow still to glory, grace will never cease till it end in glory.
Both in our dispositions that have it wrought in us,From our disposition. we shall desire it may increase in us the Image of God and Christ, more and more:
And in Gods purpose where he beginnes heeFrom Gods purpose. makes an end, whether we looke to him, that will not have us, in a state of imperfection, he hath not chosen us to imperfection, but to perfection; and he hath called us not to imperfection, but to perfection, he hath elected us to perfection, he hath chosen us to be spotlesse, not to be conflicting with our corruptions, and to bee halting alway as Iacob, we shal have perfect strength, we are called and elected to perfection, therefore there is no standing at a stay in religion, there must be a perpetuall growth, it is our disposition to desire and endeavour it still.
For beloved it is that that is inbred to all things that are imperfect, to hasten to perfection, till they come to their ubi, to their pitch, we see it in graine, weake graine, till it come to the full growth, it breakes through clods, through harder things than it selfe, there is a nature in corne and seedes, that have a beginning of life in their kinde in them, till those seedes come to growth, they put out themselves with a great deale of strength against opposition, so grace is of such a strong nature, being intended by God to perfection, it will not rest in meane beginnings, but puts it selfe forward still, and breakes through opposition: I will not stand upon the common place of growth in grace, it is a large discourse, and I touched it upon many occasions, you see the necessity of it, there must be a growth from glory to glory.
A growth not in parts as we say, for at the first regeneration, in the first beginning, when we are gracious, there is the beginning of a new life, and there is the seedes of all graces, but especially this growth is in intention, and extention, grace growes more and more in strength and extends, and reacheth it selfe further and further to the use of many; grace growes I say in the intention of it selfe, and extends, and reacheth it selfe to the use of more, the more a Christian lives, when he is in a right state, and frame as a Christian should be, he is of more strength in all particular graces, and doth the more good, and shines more in his life and conversation to others.
And likewise as there is a growth in intention, and extention, so there is a growth in the quality and purity of grace: for the longer a man lives, those graces that he hath grow more refined; when a Christian is but a new Christian, he tasts much of the old stocke, as all fruite at the first will taste of the stocke,Simil. so there is no fruite of righteousnesse that comes from a man, at his first conversion, but it tasts a great deale of old Adam, it savours of the old stock, the more hee live, and growes spirituall, the more that that comes from him relisheth of the Spirit, the more refined is his wisedome, the more refined is his love, the more refined from selfelove, his joy and delight is more refined.
Object. Hence we may answere an objection by the way, an old man seemes not to grow in grace, he seemes not to be so good a man, not to be so zealous, as when he was young, not so forward.
Answ. Beloved, in those that are young,Grace more refined in aged Christians. there is a great deale of nature joyned with a little grace, and that grace in them makes a greater expression, because it is carryed with the current of nature, but in age it is more refined, that that is, that knowledge they have is more pure, and more setled, and that love and affection is more refined, there is lesse selfe-love, and that zeale they have it is joyned with more heavenly discretion, there is lesse wild fire, there is lesse strange fire with, though there be lesse heate of nature, that it doe not worke in outward demonstrations to the eye of the world, yet it is more refined, and pure, so grace growes thus likewise in the purity and perfection of it; Not altogether pure, for somewhat will sticke to our best performances, savouring of the worst principle in nature, for as we carry flesh and spirit alway, so that that comes from them will savour of corruption, yet lesse in a growne Christian, that is a father in Christianity than in another.