The Crown and Glory of Christianity, Uses · Use and exhortation 3 (1 of 4)
Ʋſe 3.
THe third Uſe ſhall be a Uſe of Exhortation, and that both to unſanctified and ſanctified ones. Firſt, let me ſpeak to unſanctified ones; is it ſo, that real holineſs is the only way to happineſs, and that without men are holy on earth, they ſhall never come to the beatifical viſion or bleſſed fruition of God in heaven: O then, how ſhould this provoke and ſtir up all unholy perſons to ſtrive and labour, as for life, after this real holineſs, without which they ſhall never come to have any thing to do with God in everlaſting happineſs, &c?
Now that I may the better prevail with unſanctified ſouls; I ſhall,
Firſt, propound ſome motives to ſtir and provoke their hearts to look and labour after real holineſs, &c.
Secondly, I ſhall propoſe ſome means for the obtaining of holineſs.
Thirdly, I ſhall endeavour to anſwer thoſe objections, and remove thoſe impediments that hinder and keep men off from labouring after real holineſs.
For the firſt, I ſhall propound theſe following conſiderations to provoke all unſanctified perſons to look after holineſs.
Firſt, Conſider the neceſſity of holineſſe: It is impoſſible that ever you ſhould be happy, except you are holy. No holineſſe here, no happineſſe hereafter. The Scripture ſpeaks of three bodily inhabitants of heaven: Enoch before the Law; Elijah under the Law; and Jeſus Chriſt under the Goſpel; all three eminent in holineſſe, to teach us, that even in an ordinary courſe there is no going to heaven without holineſſe. There are many thouſand thouſands now in heaven, but not one unholy one among them all: There is not one ſinner among all thoſe Saints; not one Goat among all thoſe Sheep; not one weed among all thoſe flowers; not one thorn or prickle among all thoſe Roſes, not one Pibble among all thoſe gliſtering Diamonds: There is not one Cain among all thoſe Abels: nor one Iſhmael among all thoſe Iſaacs; nor one Eſau among all thoſe Jacobs in heaven:Rev. 5.11. Chap 7.9. Heb. 12.22, 23. Thoſe that would be immortally happy, they muſt live holily and juſtly, ſaith Antiſthenes the Heathen. there is not one Seth among all the Patriarchs: not one Saul among all the Prophets: nor one Judas among all the Apoſtles; nor one Demas among all the Preachers: nor one Simon Magus among all the profeſſors. Heaven is only for the holy man, and the holy man is only for heaven: Heaven is a garment of glory, that is only ſuited to him that is holy. God who is truth it ſelf, and cannot lie, hath ſaid it, that without holineſſe no man ſhall ſee the Lord. Mark that word, no man; without holineſſe the rich man ſhall not ſee the Lord: nor without holineſſe the poor man ſhall not ſee the Lord; Without holineſſe the Noble man ſhall not ſee the Lord; nor without holineſſe the mean man ſhall not ſee the Lord. Without holineſſe the Prince ſhall not ſee the Lord; nor without holineſſe the Peaſant ſhall not ſee the Lord. Without holineſſe the Ruler ſhall not ſee the Lord; nor without holineſſe the Ruled ſhall not ſee the Lord. Without holineſſe the learned man ſhall not ſee the Lord; nor without holineſſe the ignorant man ſhall not ſee the Lord. Without holineſſe the husband ſhall not ſee the Lord; nor without holineſſe the wife ſhall not ſee the Lord. Without holineſſe the Father ſhall not ſee the Lord; nor without holineſſe the child ſhall not ſee the Lord. Without holineſſe the Maſter ſhall not ſee the Lord; nor without holineſſe the ſervant ſhall not ſee the Lord. For faithfull and ſtrong is the Lord of hoſts that hath ſpoken it. Joſh. 23.14.In this day ſome cry up one form, ſome another; ſome cry up one Church-ſtate, ſome another: ſome cry up one way, ſome another: but certainly the way of holineſſe is the good old way; it is the King of Kings high-way to heaven and happineſs,Jerem. 6.16. Iſa. 35.8. And a high-way ſhall be there, and a way, and it ſhall be called the way of holineſſe, the unclean ſhall not paſſe over it, but it ſhall be for thoſe: the way-faring men, though fools, ſhall not err therein. Some men ſay, lo, here is the way; Other men ſay, lo, there is the way; but certainly the way of holineſſe is the ſureſt, the ſafeſt, the eaſieſt, the nobleſt, and the ſhorteſt way to happineſſe. Among the Heathens, no man could enter into the Temple of Honour, but muſt firſt enter into the Temple of Vertue. There is no entring into the Temple of happineſſe, except you enter into the Temple of holineſſe. Holineſſe muſt firſt enter into you, before you can enter into Gods holy hill. As Sampſon cried out, Give me water, or I die: or as Rachel cried out, Give me children or I die; ſo all unſanctified ſouls may well cry out, Lord give me holineſſe or I die:Pſalm 15. throughout. give me holineſſe, or I eternally die. If the Angels, thoſe Princes of glory fall once from their holineſſe, they ſhall be for ever excluded from everlaſting happineſſe and bleſſedneſſe. If Adam in Paradiſe fall from his purity, he ſhall quickly be driven out from the preſence of divine glory. Auſtin would not be a wicked man, an unholy man one hour for all the world, becauſe he did not know but that he might die that hour: and ſhould he die in an unholy eſtate, he knew he ſhould be for ever ſeparated from the preſence of the Lord, and the glory of his power. O Sirs, do not deceive your own ſouls: holineſſe is of abſolute neceſſity,2 Theſſ. 1.8, 9, 10. without it you ſhall never ſee the Lord; it is not abſolutely neceſſary that you ſhould be great or rich in the world: but it is abſolutely neceſſary that you ſhould be holy: it is not abſolutely neceſſary that you ſhould enjoy health, ſtrength, friends, liberty, life, but it is abſolutely neceſſary that you ſhould be holy. A man may ſee the Lord without worldly proſperity; but he can never ſee the Lord except he be holy. A man may to heaven, to happineſſe without honour or worldly glory, but he can never to heaven, to happineſs, without holineſs: without holineſſe here, no heaven hereafter, Rev. 21.27. And there ſhall in no wiſe enter into it any thing that defileth. God will at laſt ſhut the gates of glory againſt every perſon that is without heart purity. Ah Sirs, holineſſe is a flower that grows not in natures garden. Men are not born with holineſſe in their hearts, as they are born with tongues in their mouths: holineſſe is of a divine off-ſpring: it is a pearl of price, that is to be found in no nature but a renewed nature, in no boſome but a ſanctified boſome. There is not the leaſt beam or ſpark of holineſſe in any natural man in the world.I have read that the Iſle of Arren in Ireland hath ſuch a pure Air that it was never yet infected with the Plague, but ſuch is not the nature of man. Gen. 6.5. Every imagination of the thoughts of mans heart is only evil continually. Job 25.4. How can man be clean that is born of a woman? The interrogation carries in it a ſtrong negation, How can man be clean? that is, man cannot be clean that is born of a woman: man that is born of a woman, is born in ſin, and born both under wrath and under the curſe. And who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Job 14.4. Iſa. 64.6. But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteouſneſſes are as filthy rags, Rom. 3.10, 11. There is none righteous, no not one; there is none that underſtandeth, there is none thot ſeeketh after God. Every man by nature is a ſtranger, yea, an enemy to holineſſe. Rom. 8.7. Every man that comes into this world, comes with his face towards ſin and hell, and with his back upon God and holineſſe. Such is the corruption of our nature, that propound any divine good to it, it is entertained as fire by water, or wet wood with hiſſing. Propound any evil, then it is like a fire to ſtraw; it is like the fooliſh Satyr that made haſte to kiſſe the fire; it is like that unctious matter which the Naturaliſts ſay, ſucks and ſnatches the fire to it, with which it is conſumed. All men are born ſinners, and there is nothing but an infinite power that can make them Saints. All men would be happy, and yet they naturally loath to be holy. By all which you may clearly ſee that food is not more neceſſary for the preſervation of natural life, then holineſs is neceſſary for the preſervation and ſalvation of the ſoul. If a man had the wiſdom of Solomon, the ſtrength of Sampſon, the courage of Joſhua, the policy of Ahitophell, the dignities of Haman, the power of Ahaſhueros, and the eloquence of Apollos, yet all theſe without holineſſe would never ſave him.
Secondly, Conſider there is a poſſibility of obtaining holineſs.Prov. 2.2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Holineſs is a golden mine that may be come at if you will but digg, and ſweat, and take pains for it; it is a flower of Paradiſe that may be gathered: it is a crown that may be put on;Rom. 13.12, 13, 14. it is a pearl of price that may be obtained, if you will but part with the wicked mans Trinity, the world, the fleſh, and the devil to enjoy it. Though ſome of the Attributes of God be incommunicable, yet holineſſe is a communicable attribute; and this ſhould mightily encourage you to look after holineſs. Well ſinners, remember this, it is poſſible that thoſe proud hearts of yours may be humbled, it is poſſible that thoſe hard hearts of yours may be ſoftned, it is poſſible that thoſe unclean hearts of yours may be ſanctified; it is poſſible that thoſe blind minds of yours may be enlightened; it is poſſible that thoſe ſtubborn wills of yours may be tamed; it is poſſible that thoſe diſordered affections of yours may be regulated; it is poſſible that thoſe drowſie and defiled conſciences of yours may be awakened and purged; it is poſſible that thoſe vile and polluted natures of yours may be changed and purified. There are ſeveral things that do witneſs that holineſs is attainable. As,
1. Witneſs Gods promiſe to give his holy Spirit to them that ask it, Luke 11.13. If ye then being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more ſhall your heavenly Father give the holy Spirit to them that ask him! The holy Spirit is a gift more worth then a world, yea, then heaven it ſelf, and yet to make men holy, God is willing to give his holy ſpirit upon very eaſie terms; They ſhall have it for asking:John 3.6. Titus 3.5. 1 Cor. 6.11. the Spirit is a ſpirit of holineſs, he is holy in himſelf, and the Author of all that holineſs that is in man; it is he that moſt powerfully 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 himſelf to work all manner of wickedneſs, as you may ſee in 2 Chron. 33. in verſ. 3. He reared up Altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worſhipped all the hoaſt of heaven, and ſerved them. verſ. 4. He built Altars in the houſe of God. verſ. 5. Yea for all the hoaſt of heaven did he build Altars in the Courts of the houſe of God. This was a horrid piece of impudence to provoke God to his very face, by equalizing his Altars to Gods Altar. verſ. 6. And he cauſed his children to paſs through the fire in the valley of the ſon of Hinnom. Here was inhumane ſuperſtition, and inhumane cruelty, to offer his own children in ſacrifice to the Devil. Alſo he obſerved times, and uſed witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar ſpirit, and with wizards; he wrought much evil in the ſight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger. The complaint is antient in Seneca, that commonly men live not ad rationem, but ad ſimilitudinem. Seneca de vita beata. cap. 1.verſ. 9. He made Judah and Jeruſalem to err, by his example, and to do worſe then the Heathens. The actions of Rulers, are moſt commonly rules for the peoples actions, and their example paſſeth as currant as their coin. The common people dare practiſe the very worſt of wickedneſs that they ſee acted in a ſcarlet Robe; they are like tempered wax, eaſily receiving impreſſions from the ſeals of great mens vices; they make no bones on it to ſin by preſcription, and to damn themſelves with authority. The heathen brings in a young man, who hearing of the adulteries and wickedneſſes of the gods, ſaid, What, do they ſo, and ſhall I ſtick at it? ſo ſay moſt, when great ones are greatly wicked, Why, they do thus and thus, and why ſhould we ſtick at it? The Egyptians eſteemed it graceful and their duty, to halt on that leg on which their King limped; moſt men think it a grace to imitate the greateſt authority in their moſt graceleſs actings: Which made the Poet ſay,
Subjects and Kingdoms commonly do chuſe,
The manners that their Princes daily uſe.
Verſ. 10. And the Lord ſpake unto Manaſſeh, but he would not hearken. He was ſettled in idolatry, and ſtopt his ears againſt all the counſel and admonitions of the Prophets that were ſent to reclaim him. Now who would ever have thought that one ſo abominably wicked and wretched, ſhould ever have obtained ſuch favour with God, as to be pardoned, renewed and ſanctified! and yet verſ. 12, 13. He beſought the Lord, and humbled himſelf greatly before the Lord, and prayed unto him, and God was intreated of him, and heard his ſupplication, and brought him again to Jeruſalem into his Kingdom. Then Manaſſeh knew that the Lord he was God. He now acknowledges Jehovah to be the true God, and renounces all other gods, that he may cleave to God alone. There is no heart ſo wicked, but grace can make it holy.
So Paul was once ſo great a ſinner, that had he ſtept but one ſtep further, he had faln into the unpardonable ſin againſt the Holy-Ghoſt; in 1 Tim. 1.13. you have a brief ſurvey of his great tranſgreſſions.
He was a Blaſphemer, he blaſphemed God, and Chriſt, and his wayes and truth; he made a mock and ſcoff at holineſs; he made nothing of blaſpheming that God that he ſhould have feared, and of blaſpheming that Chriſt that he ſhould have ſweetly embraced; and of blaſpheming thoſe Truths that he ſhould have readily entertained. Paul was a great proficient in the School of blaſphemy, he made nothing of belching out blaſphemy in the very face of heaven. And he was a perſecutor too,Acts 9. Chap. 26.11. he perſecuted holineſs to the death; yea he was mad in perſecuting the poor Saints and ſervants of Chriſt; he did all he could to make their lives a hell, and to rid them out of this world; he thought them not worthy to live, though they were ſuch Worthies of whom this world was not worthy;Chap. 8.3. he was a ravening and an untired Woolf that was never weary in worrying Chriſts little flock, and in ſucking out the blood of his Lambs. Yea, and he was an injurious perſon too, he made no conſcience of wronging others,Mat. 7.12. or of ſquaring his carriage by that golden rule, Do to others, as you would have others do to you: This Royal Law, this ſtandard of equity he regarded not; he made nothing of haling men and women to priſon, and of compelling them to blaſpheme by his cruelty and wicked example; he ſpared no ſex, but practiſed the higheſt cruelty upon all that had any thing of ſanctity in them; he would adventure the torments of hell, rather then not be a tormenter of the Saints here; and the more active any were in holineſs, the more injurious was he to them. And yet behold this blaſphemer, this perſecutor, this injurious perſon, became a ſanctified Chriſtian, an eminent Saint, a pattern of holineſs to all Chriſtians in all ages.
Once more, witneſs that ſad bed-rool of unſanctified perſons that are mentioned in 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 drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners ſhall inherit the Kingdom of God. Theſe monſtrous ſinners and prodigious ſins, were enough to have brought another flood upon the world, or to have provoked the Lord to rain hell out of heaven upon them, as once he did upon Sodom and Gomorah, or to have cauſed the ground to open and ſwallow them up, as once it did Corah, Dathan and Abiram, and yet behold ſome of theſe are changed and ſanctified! v. 11. And ſuch were ſome of you; but ye are waſhed, but ye are ſanctified, but ye are juſtified, in the name of our Lord Jeſus, and by the Spirit of our God. Oh! the infinite goodneſs,Matthew, Zacheus, Mary Magdalen, the Jaylor, and the murderers of Chriſt, Acts. 2. are clear inſtances of this truth. 1 Cor. 7.14.16. 1 Pet. 3.1.6. Oh! the infinte grace, Oh! the infinite wiſdom and power of God, that hath pardoned, waſhed, ſanctified and cleanſed ſuch guilty, filthy, and polluted ſouls! The worſt of ſinners ſhould never deſpair of being made Saints, conſidering what unholy ones have been made holy. It is poſſible that you may be made holy. Witneſs,
6. All thoſe ſanctified ones among whom you live, who once were as unholy or more unholy it may be, then ever you were; the ſanctified husband is a clear witneſs to the unſanctified wife, that ſhe may be ſanctified; the ſanctified father is a witneſs to the unſanctified child that he may be ſanctified; the ſanctified maſter is a witneſs to the unſanctified ſervant that he may be ſanctified; the ſanctified Prince is a witneſs to his unſanctified people that they may be ſanctified; and the ſanctified Miniſter is a witneſs to his unſanctified hearers that they may be 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,foreign, 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, the character of Chriſt; it is a beam of the divine nature, a ſpark of glory, it is the life of your lives, and the ſoul of your ſouls; it is only holineſs that makes men to excell in honour all other people in the world. Look as Gods holineſs is his glory,Exod. 15.11. Iſa. 6.2, 3. Pſalm 93.5. Eph. 5.27. and the Angels holineſs is their glory, and the Churches holineſs is their glory; ſo the holineſs of any particular perſon, is the glory of that perſon. Why was Jabez reputed more honourable then his brethren, but becauſe he was more holy then his brethren! 1 Chron. 4.9, 10. And Jabez was more honourable then his brethren; And his mother called his name Jabez, ſaying, becauſe I bare him with ſorrow. And Jabez called on the God of Iſrael, ſaying, Oh that thou wouldſt bleſs me indeed, and enlarge my coaſt, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldſt keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requeſted. Holineſs is the trueſt and the greateſt nobility and honour in the world. It is very obſervable, that among Turks, Jews, Indians, Perſians, and Papiſts, the ſtricteſt and holieſt among them are moſt highly eſteemed and honoured. Romanus the Martyr, who was born of noble parentage, intreated his perſecutors that they would not favour him for his nobility; for it is not (ſaid he) the blood of my anceſtors, but my Chriſtian faith that makes me noble. David thought it not ſo happy, nor ſo honourable a thing to be a King in his own houſe, as to be a door-keeper in Gods houſe. Solomon did prefer the title of Eccleſiaſtes, (that is, a ſoul reconciled to the Church) before the title of the King of Jeruſalem: Holy Theodoſius the Emperour preferred the title of membrum Eccleſiae, a member of the Church, before that of Caput imperii, the head of the Empire, profeſſing that he had rather be a Saint and no King, then a King and no Saint. And holy Conſtantine rejoyced more in being the ſervant of Chriſt, then in being the Emperour of the world. And Luther had rather be (Chriſtianus ruſticus, then Ethnicus Alexander) a Chriſtian clown then a Pagan Emperour. Theſe holy men well knew that holineſs was the top of all their honour and glory. Well ſinners, remember this, that holineſs is the high and ready way to the higheſt honour; and therefore as ever you would be truly honourable, labour to be truly holy. Great ſwelling titles are but as ſo many Rattles, or as ſo many Fethers in mens caps, without holineſs; he that can be content to live without holineſs, muſt be contented to ſee his honour intombed whileſt he lives. Honour without holineſs, is but a wind that will blow a man the ſooner to hell. Honour without holineſs,Acts 25.23. foreign, with great fantaſie or vain ſhew; all the honour, pomp and ſtate of this world is but a fantaſie. is but magnum nihil, a great nothing, a glorious fancy. Many a man hath been the worſe, but where lives that man that hath been ever the better for his worldly honour? A man ſwelled with honour (without holineſs) is like a man in a Dropſie, whoſe bigneſs is his diſeaſe. Well, let Ambitioniſts and all others who hunt after the breath of popular applauſe, know, that that honour which attends holineſs, is the trueſt honour, the higheſt honour, the greateſt honour, the happieſt honour, the ſureſt honour, the pureſt honour, and the moſt laſting and abiding honour. Mollerus upon Pſalm 73.20. concludes that wicked mens earthly honours and dignities are but as idle dreams, and their ſplendid braveries, but lucid fantaſies. Adonibezek, a mighty Prince, is quickly made a fellow-commoner with the dogs, Judg. 1.7. And Nebuchadnezzar, a mighty conqueror,Dan. 4.28. Acts 12.23. turned a grazing among the Oxen. And Herod reduced from a conceited god, to be the moſt loathſom of men, a living carrion arreſted by the vileſt of creatures, upon the ſuit of his affronted Creator. And great Haman feaſted with the King one day,Eſt. 7.10. and made a feaſt for Crows the next; but that honour that waits on holineſs, is honour that will abide with a man, that will to the grave with a man, yea that will to heaven with a man. Some heathens have been weary of their honours,Maximus, &c. but the honour that attends holineſs is no burden to a Chriſtian; and others have rejected honours when they have been offered them, becauſe of the cumber and danger that attends them: High ſeats are never but uneaſie, and Crowns are uſually ſtuft with thorns. But the honour that attends holineſs, is a Roſe without prickles, it is a Crown without thorns; that honour that ſprings from a root of holineſs, ſhall be both ſanctified and ſweetened by God, ſo as that it ſhall not hurt nor harm a gracious ſoul. Ah ſinners, ſinners, if you will be ambitious, be ambitious of that honour that comes in upon the foot of holineſs, for there is no honour to that honour. The Romans were inſatiable in their deſires after worldly honour, which is but as a blaſt, a ſhadow, a dream. O! how much more inſatiable ſhould you be in your deſires and endeavours after that honour that is linkt to holineſs, and that is ſubſtantial and laſting!
Fourthly, To ſtir you up to look after real holineſs; Conſider that holineſs is very attractive,Hiſtory tells us of many Infidels that have been woon to the Chriſtian faith by the holy lives of the Saints, &c. drawing, and winning; it draws love, it draws deſire, it draws delight. Holineſs is like a precious perfume, whoſe ſavour ſpreads it ſelf, and is pleaſing and delightful to all that come near it. 2 Kings 4.9, 10. And ſhe ſaid unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God, which paſſeth by us continually. Let us make a little chamber I pray thee, on the wall, and let us ſet for him there a bed, a table, and a ſtool, and a candleſtick; and it ſhall be, when he cometh to us, that he ſhall turn in thither. The holineſs of the Prophets ſpirit, the holineſs of his principles, the holineſs of his behaviour, and the holineſs of his converſation, did ſo allure and win upon this great Lady, that ſhe becomes an importunate ſuitor to her huſband, that he might be lovingly, freely, courteouſly, and commodiouſly entertained and accommodated as often as he came that way. So Acts 2.46, 47. And they continued daily with one accord in the Temple, and breaking bread from houſe to houſe, did eat their meat with gladneſs and ſingleneſs of heart; Praiſing God, and having favour with all the people. That which did grace and ingratiate theſe holy Converts into the favour of the people, was the exerciſe of their grace and holineſs. It was their ſweet unity, their noble charity, their holy familiarity, their bleſſed harmony, their ſingular ſincerity, and their Chriſtian conſtancy, that brought them into favour with all the people; viſible holineſs is a loadſtone that will draw eyes and hearts after it. 1 Pet. 3.1. Likewiſe ye wives, be in ſubjection to your own husbands, that if any obey not the Word, they alſo may without the Word be woon by the converſation of the wife. A holy converſation is a winning converſation;Phil. 2.15. 1 Cor. 7.16. the holy converſation of the wife, may be the converſion of the husband; the holy, the wiſe, the watchful, the circumſpect converſation of the wife, may iſſue in the ſalvation of the husband; many a husband hath been woon to Chriſt by the holy converſation of the wife, and many a wife hath been woon by the holy converſation of the husband;Monica woon her husband Patricia from being an impure Manichee, not by force of argument, but by purity and chaſtity of life, ſaith Auguſtine. many a ſervant hath been woon by the holy converſation of the Maſter; and many a Maſter hath been woon by the holy converſation of the ſervant. Zozomen reports, that the holy life of a poor captive Chriſtian maide, made a King and all his family to embrace the Chriſtian faith. I have read of Cicilia a poor virgin, who by her holy and gracious behaviour in her martyrdom, was the means of converting four hundred to Chriſt. Many a ſoul hath been woon by the dumb Oratory of a holy life. Juſtin Martyr confeſſeth, that the conſtancy of Chriſtians in their piety and ſufferings, was the chiefeſt motive that converted him to Chriſtianity. For I my ſelf (ſaith he) was once a Platoniſt, and did gladly hear the Chriſtians reviled: but when I ſaw they feared not death, nor any of thoſe miſeries which did moſt frighten all other men, I began to conſider with my ſelf, that it was impoſſible for ſuch men to be lovers of pleaſure more then lovers of piety; and that made me firſt think of turning Chriſtian. 1 Pet. 2.12. Chap. 15.3, 16.There is nothing that hath that influence upon the judgements of men to perſwade them, upon the conſciences of men to awe them, upon the mouthes of men to ſtop them, upon the hearts of men to convince them, and upon the lives of men to reform them, as holineſs. What Plato once ſaid of his moral vertue, viz. that if it could be ſeen with bodily eyes, it would be beloved of all, and draw all hearts to it ſelf: That is moſt true of this Theological grace, holineſs; holineſs is ſo beautiful and ſo lovely a thing, that it renders men amiable and lovely in the very eyes of their enemies. Tilligny for his rare vertues,Vide the French Hiſtory in the life of Charles the ninth. was reſcued from death by his greateſt enemies, at the maſſacre of Paris. Holineſs makes a mans face to ſhine, as it did Moſes his, and Stephens; nothing pleaſes the eye, nor wins the heart, like holineſs: What is gold to godlineſs, gifts to grace, parts to piety? a ſpark, a ray, a beam of holineſs, will certainly have an influence upon the ſpirits of men, either to reſtrain them, or change them, or allay them, or ſweeten them, or win them, or one way or another to better them. Look as the unholy lives and converſations of many profeſſors do occaſion ſome to blaſpheme God, others to belye God, others to withſtand God, and others to forſake God; Look as the looſneſs of many Chriſtians doth work ſome to reproach Chriſt, others to deny Chriſt, others to refuſe Chriſt, others to revile the good wayes of Chriſt, and others to oppoſe and deſpiſe the faithful followers of Chriſt: As Lactantius reports, that the looſe lives of many Chriſtians was made by the Heathens the reproach of Chriſt himſelf, (Quomodo bonus Magiſter, cujus tam pravos videmus diſcipulos?) How can we think the Maſter to be good, whoſe diſciples we ſee to be ſo bad? And Salvian alſo complains, that the looſe walking of many Chriſtians, was made by the Heathen the reproach of Chriſt himſelf, ſaying, If Chriſt had taught holy doctrine, ſurely his followers had led better lives.Salvianus de G. D. l. 4. And further the ſame Author relates, how the Heathens did reproach ſome Chriſtians, who by their lewd lives made the Goſpel of Chriſt to be a reproach: Where (ſaid they) is that good Law which they do believe? Where are thoſe rules of godlineſs which they do learn? they read the holy Goſpel, and yet are unclean; they hear the Apoſtles writings, and yet are drunk; they follow Chriſt, and yet diſobey Chriſt; they profeſs a holy Law, and yet do lead impure lives. Now, I ſay, look as the holineſs of many profeſſors is a diſhonour to God,Ezek. 13.22. a reproach to Chriſt, a ſcandal to Religion, a blot to profeſſion, and a grief to many whom God would not have grieved: So the power of holineſs, the practice of holineſs, is very influential upon the worſt of men, to win and work them to the Lord, and to a love and liking of his wayes. The holy lives of the Saints made the very Heathens to ſay, Surely this is a good God, whoſe ſervants are ſo good! Ambroſe his holineſs did very much draw out the heart of Theodoſius the Emperour to him; and the holineſs of Paphnutius did very much draw out the heart of Conſtantine the great to him; there is nothing that gives a man that heart-room and that hearty room in the ſouls of others,2 Theſ. 1.3, 4, 5. read it. as holineſs, it is the holy man that is a man of a thouſand. But,
Fifthly, Conſider, that real holineſs is the excellency of all a mans excellencies. As holineſs is the glory of God, a part of the divine nature, a ſpark of heaven, a ray of glory; ſo it is the excellency of all a mans excellencies, it is the excellency of all our natural excellencies, it is the excellency of all our moral excellencies, and it is the excellency of all our intellectual excellencies. Look as Gods holineſs is the excellency of all his excellencies, as the Angels, who beſt know what is the top of his excellency, do evidence by that three-fold repetition, Holy, holy, holy, Iſa. 6.3.Rev. 4.8. Some Greek Copics have the word foreign, holy, nine times over, &c. theſe multiplied acclamations of holineſs, denote the ſuperlative eminency, excellency, and perfection of Gods holineſs. Both among the Hebrews, and among the Grecians, the holineſs of God is the excellency of his omniſciencie, omnipotencie, and omnipreſence; it is the excellency of his eternity, immutability, and fidelity; it is the excellency of his wiſdom, love, care and goodneſs. Pſalm 111.9. Holy and reverend is his name. Gods name comes to be reverend by holineſs; if his name were not holy, it would never be reverend; and why is God called ſo often the holy one, but to ſhew us that holineſs is the very top of all his glory, and excellency! God could not be glorious in any thing,Exod. 15.11. That which God accounts his higheſt honour, is his holineſs. if he were not glorious in holineſs; That which ſpeaks his power to be glorious power, is his holineſs; and that which ſpeaks his wiſdom to be glorious wiſdom, is his holineſs; and that which ſpeaks his mercy to be glorious mercy, is his holineſs, &c. Were not the power of God a holy power, it could never be a glorious power; were not the wiſdom of God a holy wiſdom, it could never be glorious wiſdom; and were not the mercy of God holy mercy, it could never be glorious mercy, &c. So the holineſs of a man, is the glory and excellency of all a mans excellencies; it is the perfection of all a mans perfections; in Paradiſe,Heb. 12.23. mans perfect holineſs was his perfect bleſſedneſs; and in heaven, mans perfect holineſs will be his perfect happineſs. Holineſs adds an excellency to all a mans excellencies; that which adds an excellency to a mans wiſdom is holineſs; when a mans wiſdom is a holy wiſdom, then it is excellent wiſdom. So holy courage is excellent courage; and holy zeal is excellent zeal, and holy knowledge is excellent knowledge, and holy faith is excellent faith, and holy love …s ex…ellent love, and holy fear is excellent fear; it is the adding of holineſs to all theſe, that renders theſe vertues truly excellent; it is holineſſe that is the top of all theſe royalties.0000000 theſe ſignifie nothing, but if you do but add a figure to them, 10000000. then they ſignifie much. Look as all ciphers ſignifie nothing except you add a figure to them: ſo all the excellencies that be in men, whether they are natural, moral, or acquired, they ſignifie nothing, except you add holineſſe to them. Birth and breeding, wit and wealth, honour and learning, are but the ſhadows and ſhapes of nobleneſs and true excellency; it is holineſſe that is the ſoul and ſubſtance of all; and without holineſſe all other things are of no worth, all other excellencies have no excellency at all in them.2 King. 5 1. Naaman was General of the Kings Army, he was a man in great favour with his Prince, a man much honoured among the people for being a ſaviour and deliverer to them. He was alſo a mighty man in valour, but he was a Leper; this But he was a Leper, was a cloud upon all his glory, it was a vail upon all his honour, greatneſſe and nobleneſſe: So to ſay, there is a wiſe man, but unholy; and there is a great man, but unholy; and there is an ingenuous man, but unholy; and there is a noble-man, but unholy; and there is a valiant man, but unholy; and there is a good natured man, but unholy; and there is a learned man, but unholy, &c. What is this But unholy, but a cloud of darkneſs upon all the excellencies that are in theſe perſons? But let now holineſs be but added to each of theſe, and then they will ſhine as ſo many Suns. Holineſs is a garment that ſets off arts, and parts, and all other excellencies that be in man; let but this garment be wanting, and the nakedneſſe of all things will quickly appear. And this made Hierom to ſay, that he had rather have Saint Pauls coat with his heavenly graces, then the purple of Kings with their Kingdoms. Look as a precious Jewel ſet in gold, makes that much more conſpicuous and glorious, which was glorious before: So holineſs adds beauty, ſplendour and glory to a mans parts, birth, honour, and eſtate, &c. But,
Sixthly, Conſider that holineſs is not only an honour, and an ornament to the perſon that hath it, but it is alſo an honour and an ornament both to the perſons and places to whom he ſtands related; the holineſſe of the father is an honour and ornament to the child,So holy Eliakim was a throne of glory to his fathers houſe. Iſa. 22.23. The Hebrew is, A woman of of ſtrength, or a valiant woman; that is, a woman that is made ſtrong and valiant by grace, by holineſs, to withſtand ſin, to conquer temptation, and to triumph in affliction, &c. ſo was Abrahams to Iſaac; and the holineſſe of the child is an honour and an ornament to the father, ſo was Iſaacs to Abraham; the holineſſe of the husband is an honour and ornament to the wife, ſo was Abrahams to Sarah; and the holineſſe of the wife is an honour and an ornament to the husband, ſo was Sarahs to Abraham: So in Prov. 12.4. A vertuous woman is a crown to her husband. (A crown is the top of honour, it is the top of royaltie and glory; why a vertuous wife is ſuch a thing.) A ſweet, a good natured wife, is as a gold ring upon her husbands finger; a gifted wife is as a gold chain about her husbands neck, but a holy vertuous wife is as a crown upon her husbands head. The holineſſe of the Prince is an honour and an ornament to the people; and the holineſſe of the people is an honour and an ornament to the Prince. The holineſſe of the maſter is an honour and an ornament to the ſervant; and the holineſſe of the ſervant is an honour and an ornament to the maſter. And the holineſſe of one brother, is an honour to another brother. Jude glories in this, that he was the brother of James, Verſ. 1. James was famous for his ſanctity; for his holineſſe he was called the juſt, as Euſebius writes;Euſeb. lib. 2. c. 23. where you have many memorable things concerning the holineſs of his life, and the manner of his death. his holineſſe did ſo ſparkle and ſhine, that the Jews were generally convinced that in holineſſe he was more eminent and excellent then others. Now Jude took it for a very high honour to be related to one ſo eminent in holineſſe: Holy perſons reflect a credit and an honour upon their relations: It was the ſpeech of a Heathen notably qualified, though but meanly bred and born, to a diſſolute perſon well born, upbraiding him with his birth, I am a grace to my ſtock, but thou art a blot to thy linage. Yea holy perſons are an honour to the places where they have been born and bred. Pſalm 87.5, 6. And of Zion it ſhall be ſaid, this and that man was born in her: and the higheſt himſelf ſhall eſtabliſh her. The Lord ſhall count when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there. Selah. God ſeems to be very much affected and taken with the very places where holy men are born;Some Antiquaries ſay, that the Primitive Church had her publick Tables, where…n the names of the perſons that were moſt noted for piety and holineſs were recorded. he loves the very ground that holy men tread on, and he delights in the very air that holy men breath in; holy perſons reflect honour upon the very places where they were born; the holy Patriarchs, Prophets, and Apoſtles, were the honour and the glory of the ages and places where they lived. They were as ſo many bright morning Stars, they were as ſo many riſing Suns in the places where they were bred and born. Melancthon was called the Phenix of Germany, and Luther was the glory of the age wherein he lived. And ſo were many of the antients before them, and many ſince, who have been burning and ſhining lights in the places of their abode. Look as an unholy perſon is a plague and a curſe to the very place he lives in, and haſteneth down wrath and vengeance upon it: as Bias the Philoſopher hath long ſince obſerved; for he being at Sea in a great tempeſt, among many prophane debauched fellows, and perceiving them to call upon their gods (as the worſt of men uſually do in ſuch caſes) he comes to them, and deſires them to hold their peace, leſt the gods ſhould take notice that they were in the Ship, and ſo not only themſelves but others alſo ſhould ſuffer for their ſakes. It was the wickedneſſe of the wicked, that brought the ſweeping flood upon the old world; and it was the wickedneſſe and filthyneſſe of the Sodomites, that cauſed God to rain hell out of heaven upon the Cities where they lived: Let men be never ſo honourable, or never ſo potent, or never ſo witty, or never ſo wealthy, &c. yet if they are prophane, if they are wicked, they will haſten down the wrath and vengeance of God upon the places of their abode. So a holy perſon is an honour and a bleſſing to the very place he lives in: As you may ſee in Jacob and Joſeph, who were choice and noble bleſſings to the very families where they lived. O Sirs, as ever you would be an honour to your relations, to your Countrey, and to the places of your abode, labour for holineſs. Some venture life and limb,As many of the Romans did. and many a better thing, to reflect honour upon their relations, and upon their Countrey; and why then ſhould not you venture far, and venture high for holineſſe, which will be not only an honour to your ſelves, but alſo an honour and a glory to all perſons and places that you have relation to?
Seventhly, Conſider, that holineſſe is the very ear-mark, the very livery and badge of Chriſts ſervants and ſubjects. Iſa. 63.8. For he ſaid, Surely they are my people, children that will not lye; ſo he was their ſaviour, And ver. 18. they are called the people of his holineſs. Gods people are too holy to lye, they will not lye for his glory, nor for their own worldly good. They will rather die then lye,Job 13.7. Rom. 3.7, 8. Rev. 14.5. with that brave woman that Jerom writes of, who being upon the Rack, bade her perſecutors do their worſt; for ſhe was reſolved rather to die then lye. Neither the merry lye, nor the jeſting lye, nor the officious lye, nor the pernicious lye, will down with thoſe that are the people of Gods holineſſe, or that are his holy people: ſaith God,It is ſaid of golden mouthed Chryſoſtom; that he never lyed, anſwerable to this, Iſa. 63.8. I have been at ſo much coſt and charge about them, I have carried it ſo kindly, ſo bountifully, ſo ſweetly, ſo favourably, ſo nobly, to them I have been ſuch an all-ſufficient Saviour, ſuch a mighty preſerver, and ſuch a glorious deliverer of them, that certainly they will not lye, they will not deceive my expectation, they will not deny me, they will not deal diſloyally nor unworthily by me; they are of Auguſtines opinion, who hath long ſince told us, that we muſt not tell ſo much as an officious lye, though it were to ſave all the world. So Jer. 2.3. Iſrael was holineſs unto the Lord, and the firſt fruits of his increaſe: all that devour him ſhall offend: evil ſhall come upon them ſaith the Lord. Holineſſe to the Lord, is the mark that God ſets upon all his precious ones. Pſalm 4.3. Know that God hath ſet apart him that is godly for himſelf. God hath wonderfully, gloriouſly, marvelouſly, yea miraculouſly ſet apart the pious, the holy, the merciful, the godly man, the gracious Saint, by ſome mark of diſtinction for himſelf,The Hebrew word, Chaſid, imports as much, Joſh. 2. Judg. 11. 2 King. 9. Matth. 26. that is for his own honour, and glory, and ſervice, and delight. Look as Rahahs houſe was known by a red thred, and the Ephraimites by their liſping, and Jehu by his driving, and Peter by his ſpeaking: ſo real Chriſtians are known by their holineſſe. Holineſſe is King Jeſus his Livery, by which all his ſubjects and ſervants are known and differenced from all other perſons in the world. And in the Primitive times a Chriſtian was known from another man, only by the holineſſe of his converſation, as Tertullian witneſſes. Look as our Lord Jeſus Chriſt by the ſpirit of holineſs raiſing him up from the dead,Rom. 1.4. was declared to be the Son of God: ſo it is the ſpirit of holineſſe, it is principles of holineſſe, it is the life and practice of holineſſe,2 Cor. 6.17, 18. that declares us to be the ſons of God. Holineſſe is that golden character by which God differences and diſtinguiſheth his people from all others in the world.Rev. 13.16. chap. 14.9, 10. & chap. 19.20. A man were better be a beaſt, then to have the mark of the beaſt upon him. Look as the worſhippers of the Beaſt are known by the mark of the Beaſt that is upon them, ſo the worſhippers of Chriſt, the people of Chriſt, are known by that mark of holineſſe that Chriſt hath ſet upon them. This title, this compellation, Saints, is given fourſcore times to the people of God in Scripture, as if God took a greater delight to have his children known by this badge and livery, then by any other. As for ſuch that have the name of Saints upon them,The Title of a Saint is but an empty thing without holineſs. but nothing of the nature of a Saint in them; that have a name to be holy, and yet are unholy; that have a name to be gracious, and yet are graceleſſe; that have a name to live, and yet are dead; theſe God will in that day unmask, when he ſhall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity. An unholy Saint is a white Devil, he is a monſter among men. Chriſt ſweat, and prayed, and died, and was raiſed to make ſinners Saints, to make the rebellious religious, and the licentious conſcientious; all he did and ſuffered was to ſtamp the ſeal and impreſſe of holineſſe upon them. And therefore as ever you would be owned and honoured by Chriſt another day, look that the holy Spirit ſets the ſeal of holineſſe upon you. If the impreſſe of holineſſe be upon you in the day that the Lord makes up his Jewels, he will declare you to be his before all the world. He will ſay, Theſe are my ſheep, theſe are my ſons, I know them by that mark of holineſs that I find upon them. But,
Eighthly, Conſider this, that a man of holineſſe, or a holy man, is a common good, a common bleſſing. All fare the better for a holy man; all in the family, all in the Court, all in the City, all in the Countrey fare the better for the holy mans ſake.Gen. 30.27. chap. 19.21, 22, 23, 24. chap. 41, &c. All in Labans family did fare the better for Jacobs ſake; and all in the City of Zoar did fare the better for Lots ſake; and all Pharoahs Court, and the whole Countrey of Egypt did fare the better for Joſephs ſake. Sodom was ſafe whileſt holy Lot was in it:2 Kings 2.12. Pſalm 106.23. Holy Elijah was the chariots and horſemen of Iſrael: whileſt holy Moſes ſtood in the gap, deſtroying judgements were diverted: when holy Phineas took up his Cenſer and ſtood between the living and the dead, the plague was ſtayed.Numb. 26.46, 49. Holy perſons are publike mercies, publike bleſſings. Job 22.30.God will ſometimes deliver a whole Countrey, for the ſake of the inocent, &c. He ſhall deliver the Iſland of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureneſs of thine hands: or as ſome read the words, the innocent ſhall deliver the Iſland; that is, the inhabitants of the Iſland; the innocent ſhall deliver thoſe that are not innocent; had there been but ten innocent, but ten righteous perſons in Sodom, Sodom might have been a glorious city to this day; had there been but ten righteous ſouls among them,Gen. 18.32. to the end. God would never have rained hell out of heaven upon them. The guiltleſs ſhall deliver the guilty in an Iſland; the guiltleſs by lifting up pure hands to God in prayer, ſhall ſtay the hand of God, that it deſtroyes not the guilty. It is the holy ſeed that upholdeth the civil ſtate. Iſa. 6.13.I will ſeek thy good, was holy Davids royal and religious reſolution, Pſalm. 122.9. Kings are for Kingdoms, not Kingdoms for Kings. But yet in it ſhall be a tenth, and it ſhall return, and ſhall he eaten: as a teyltree, and as an oak whoſe ſubſtance is in them, when they caſt their leaves: ſo the holy ſeed ſhall be the ſubſtance thereof. The holy ſeed were the ſtay and prop of their Land, and this the Lord evidences by a very familiar inſtance or ſimilitude; it is as if he ſhould ſay, You ſee the way or cawſey leading from the Kings houſe to the Temple (ſpoken of in 1 Kings 10.5. and 2 Kings 12.21. 1 Chron. 26.16, 17. and 2 Chron. 9.11.) how by reaſon of the oaks and trees on either ſide thereof, the earth between is ſtayed and held up firm, which otherwiſe would fall to decay and moulder away: So ſaith God, it is the holy ſeed that bears up the whole ſtate, and were it not for them, deſolation and deſtruction would come in as a flood upon you. Prov. 10.25. The righteous is an everlaſting foundation; the Hebrew Doctors ſenſe it thus, The righteous are the foundation of the world, which would ſoon ſhatter and fall to ruine, but for their ſakes. The whole world fares the better every day for the righteous ſake. If it were not for this holy ſeed, the chaff of this world would ſoon be ſet on fire; if the number of the holy ſeed were but called and converted, God would quickly turn the whole world into flames and aſhes; it is they that bear up the pillars of the earth. Pſalm 75.3. I bare up the pillars of the earth; holy perſons are the true Atlaſſes both of Church and ſtate; they are the pillars on whom all do reſt, the props on whom all do lean; do but overturn theſe pillars, and all will fall about your ears, as the houſe did about the Philiſtines when Sampſon ſhook it; let but Kingdoms and Common-wealths wrack theſe, and they ſhall quickly be ſhip-wrackt themſelves. There is not a ſinner in the world, but enjoyes his eſtate, his relations, his outward accommodations, yea his very life, upon the account of the Saints, and therefore they muſt needs be bewitcht, or fools, or mad men, that are ſtill a lifting and a thruſting at theſe very pillars that bear them up. Look as Sampſons ſtrength did lie in his locks, ſo the ſtrength and ſafety of the Nation lies in the holy ſeed, they are the Bullwarks and Ammunition of the Nation; the ſafety and felicity of the whole is bound up in them; it is not Armies, nor Navies, nor walled Cities, nor fortified Caſiles, nor golden Mines, nor grave Counſells, that will ſecure a Nation; if once the people of Gods holineſſe be caſt by as broken pitchers:Lam. 4.1, 2. Eſt. 4. and chap. the laſt compared. it is their piety and prayers that keeps off ſweeping judgements from a Nation, and that brings down variety of mercies upon a Nation. Holy perſons are the clouds that water the earth, as a common bleſſing; and they are the riſing Sun that ſcatters all clouds and darkneſſe. A holy man is (foreign) a publke diffuſive bleſſing in the place where he lives; look as one ſinner deſtroyes much good,Eccleſ. 9.18. ſo one Saint may ſave a Land, a Countrey. Jer. 5.1. Run ye to and fro through the ſtreets of Jeruſalem, and ſee now and know, and ſeek in the broad places thereof, if ye can finde a man, if there bee any that executeth judgement, If among the rabb…, if among the noble, if among the rich, if among the fearned, a man could have been found that loved holineſs, that was ſtout for righteouſneſs, and that practiſed uprightneſs, God would have ſpared Jeruſalem.that ſeeketh the truth, and I will pardon it. Though Jeruſalem was far larger and more populous, I ſay not only then Sodom, but then all the other Cities that ſinned and periſhed with it, yet God makes ſo large and noble an offer, that if there could be found in it but one man divinely qualified, but a man of juſtice, a man of faithfulneſſe, a man of uprightneſſe, a man of holineſſe, the Lord would pardon it, that is, hee would ſpare it, hee would not deſtroy it, not ruine it: God once made an offer to Abraham, that if there were but ten righteous ſouls in Sadome, he would ſave it; but here he falls ſo low as to make an offer, that if there could bee but one righteous ſoul found in Jeruſalem, hee would not deſtroy it. One Saint may ſave a City, yea, a world of ſinners from confuſion and deſtruction. Luther, whileſt he lived, by Faith and Prayer, kept off troubles from Germany, but ſoon after he was gone to his grave in Peace; O! the wars, the miſeries and miſchiefs, the diſtractions and confuſions that came in like a ſtood upon them! Poſſidonius in the life of Auguſtine tells us, that the famous City of Hippo could never bee ſpoyled whileſt Auguſtine lived. The flood could not drown the old world till holy. Meth…ſ…lah was laid up in peace. O Sirs! as ever you would be a publick bleſſing, labour to bee holy. But,
Ninthly, Conſider the antiquity of holineſſe; holineſſe is of the greateſt, higheſt, and antienteſt antiquity; the firſt ſuit that ever was put upon the back of mans Nature, was holineſſe; ſin is of a later edition then holineſſe, holineſſe was when ſin was not:Deut. 32.7. &c. Gen. 1.26. Let us make man (ſaith God) in our own Image: Sin is againſt nature, it is a def…ct in nature, it came in by a lye, and by the by, through the ſubtilty of the Father of lyes.Joh. 8.44. God ſtampt his Image of holineſſe upon man, before ever Satan aſſayed to tempt him. Holineſſe is of the antienteſt houſe, of the greateſt antiquity. Sin is but an upſtart, holineſſe is the firſt-born; the way of holineſſe is the oldeſt way. Jer. 6.16. Thus ſaith the Lord, Stand yee in the waies and ſee and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and yee ſhall find… reſt for your ſouls, but they ſaid wee will not walk therein. Lin ſh…b…th gnolam; paths of eternity, the paths of piety; the paths of purity are paths of eternity, &c.The way of holineſſe was that old way in which Adam at firſt, and in which all the holy Patriarchs and Prophets walked. In this ſenſe it is moſt certain, that the oldeſt way is the beſt way; the way of ſanctity is of greateſt antiqui…y: Let Papiſts and carnal ſuperſtitious Proteſtants cry up their ſuperſtitious waies, as waie… of greateſt antiquity, yet when they have ſaid all they can, there is no Antiquity to that of holineſſe; the way of Will-worſhip was not the firſt way of worſhipping God in the world. Many carnal men cry out that they are for the good old way, they care not for this new way, they care not for this new Religion (as they call it), they ſay that we have never had good daies ſince there hath been ſo much Praying, and ſo much Preaching, and ſo much Faſting, and ſo much Printing, and ſo much ado about c…oſe walking with God: 'Tis moſt certain that a carnal Religion is beſt pleaſing to a carnal heart; and this you may ſee evidently among the Turks, whoſe Religion gives much carnal liberty to the profeſſors of it; and whoſe Religion promiſes them a Paradiſe of ſenſual pleaſures in another world: And the ſame is very obſervable among the Papiſts, and all the carnal Proteſtants in the world, who cry up that for the beſt Religion, and for the true Religion, and for the good old Religion, that is moſt ſuitable to their carnal reaſon, and moſt pleaſing and indulging to their luſts. Socrates is ſufficiently condemned, for his preſcribing of men to worſhip God according to the manner of the country where they lived; and what was this, but to gratifie the luſt of men by ſubjecting the rule of Gods worſhip, to the laws and cuſtomes of men, but from the beginning it was not ſo. Holy Noah, holy Enoch, and the reſt of the holy Patriarches, Prophets, and Apoſtles, walked only in waies of Piety and Purity. Holy Abraham, holy Iſaac, and holy Jacob; never walked in thoſe waies that are now by looſe, formal, carnal and ſuperſtitious perſons, cryed up for the good old way, but in waies of holineſſe and righteouſneſſe. I have read of the Cretians, that when they curſed their enemies, they did not wiſh their houſes on fire, nor a ſword at their hearts, but that they might bee delighted and given up to an ill cuſtome. It is one of the greateſt and bittereſt Curſes and Woes, to be delighted and given up to ill cuſtomes; and the older the cuſtome is of evil, the worſe it is; and ah how many are faln under theſe curſes in theſe daies, wherein multitudes are addicted and given up to carnal and ſuperſtitious cuſtomes and chuſe rather to follow an ill cuſtome, though it be never ſo abſurd, irregular, vain, and ſuperſtitious, then to walk in a way of peace and holineſs. Well Sirs, ſhall the Antiquity of holineſſe provoke you to be holy? Many will do much for Antiquity ſake, and why then ſhould not you do much for holineſs ſake? Holineſſe is Gods firſt-born, it is as antient as the antient of daies: The way of holineſſe is gray-headed, and of antienteſt inſtitution; all other waies are but of yeſterday, they are but new waies to the way of holineſs. And O that this might alaram you to look after holineſſe! The Gibeonites cheated Joſhua with their old clouted ſhooes, and with their old ſacks, and old boots,Joſh. 9.4, 5. and old garments; And ſo doth Rome this day cheat and delude multitudes of poor, blinde, ignorant ſouls, with their old cuſtomes, and with their old ceremonies, and old traditions, and old inventions, under a pretence of the good old way, and the good old religion; but certainly the way of holineſs, the way of purity, is of the greateſt Antiquity, and therefore O embrace it! O walk in it! Look as the ſtamp of Antiquity upon ſome things is a diſparagement and a diſhonour to them, as an old garment that is paſt wearing, and an old houſe that is paſt mending, and an old ſhip that is paſt rigging; ſo the ſtamp of Antiquity upon other things is a praiſe and an honour to them, as old gold, old friends, old manuſcripts, old monuments, old ſcars, and old holineſſe; the ſtamp of Antiquity upon holineſs, is the praiſe and honour of holineſſe. Look as it is an honour to a man to be deſcended of an antient houſe; ſo it is an honour to a man to bee allyed to holineſſe, becauſe ſanctity is of greateſt Antiquity; and therefore above all gettings, get holineſſe. But,
Tenthly, Conſider, that of all things holineſſe will render you moſt beautiful and amiable; as holineſs is the beauty of God,Exod. 15.11. Plato called God the horn of plenty, and the ocean of beauty, without the leaſt ſpot of injuſtice. God is ipſa eſſentialis pulchritudo, beauty it ſelf, the very eſſential Idea, and pure Sampler of all beauties. and the beauty of Angels, ſo it is the beauty and glory of a Chriſtian too: holineſſe is a Chriſtians greateſt honour and ornament. Pſalm, 93.5. Holineſs becometh thine houſe (that is thy Church) O Lord for ever. There is no garment that ſuits the Church, that becomes the Church, like the garment of holineſſe; it is ſancti…y that is the Churches excellency and glory; it is purity that is the Churches ornament and beauty. Holineſſe is a beauty that beautifies the Church; it is the gracefulneſs and comlineſs of the Church; holineſs is ſo beautiful a thing, that it puts a beauty on all things elſe; as holineſſe is the greateſt ornament of the Church Triumphant, ſo it is the greateſt ornament of the Church Millitant, Ephe. 5.26, 27. The redneſs of the Roſe, the whiteneſs of the Lilly, and all the beauties of Sun, Moon, and Stars, are but deformities to that beauty that holineſſe puts upon us. If all natural and artificial beauty were contracted into one beauty, yet it would be but an obſcure and an unlovely beauty, to that beauty that holineſſe puts upon us. Pſalm. 29.2. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name, worſhip the Lord in the beauty of holineſſe. Pſalm. 96.9. O worſhip the Lord in the beauty of holineſſe. Pſalm. 110.3. Thy people ſhall bee willing in the day of thy power, in the beauty of holineſſe. You ſee beauty and holineſſe is by God himſelf ſtill linked together, and thoſe whom God hath ſo cloſely joyned together, no man may put a ſunder. The Scripture laſt cited doth not only ſpeak our holineſſe to be a beautiful thing, but it ſpeaks out many beauties to be in holineſſe. Thoſe Chriſtians that are voluntiers in the beauties of holineſſe, they ſhall be very beautiful and ſhining through holineſſe: Holineſs caſts ſuch a beauty upon man, as makes him very amiable and deſirable. The holineſſe of parents renders them very amiable and deſireable in the eyes of their children; and the holineſſe of children renders them very amiable and deſirable in the eyes of their paren…s. When that incomparable Lady Cornelia preſented her ſons to the Common-wealth;Iſa. 22, 22. ſhe ſaid, (Haec ſunt mea ornamenta) theſe are my Jewels, theſe are my ornaments. Holy children are their parents crown, their parents ornaments; no gliſtering gold, no ſparkling diamonds,Xenophon in Plutarch never prayed that his ſon Gryllus might be long lived, but that he might be a good man. no ſhining or glittering apparel, renders children ſo amiable and lovely in the eyes of their parents, as holineſſe doth. The holineſſe of the husband renders him very amiable in the eyes of the wife, and the holineſſe of the wife renders her very deſirable in the eyes of her husband. The holineſſe of the maſter renders him very lovely in the eyes of his ſervants, and the holineſſe of the ſervants renders them very comely in the eyes of their maſters, &c. Jewels holineſſe, Bradfords holineſſe, and Bucers holineſſe, rendred them very amiable and lovely, not only in the eyes of their friends, but alſo in the eyes of their enemies. There is nothing in this world that will render all ſorts and ranks of people ſo glorious and famous in the eyes of one another, as holineſſe will do: Were all ranks and orders of men more holy, they would certainly be more lovely in the eyes of one another. O that all men would ceaſe from being injurious one to another, and labour to be more holy, and then I am ſure they would be more comely in one anothers eyes. Holineſſe is lovely, yea lovelineſs it ſelf; purity is a Chriſtians ſplendor and glory; there is no beauty to that of ſanctity; nothing beautifies and beſpangles a man like holineſſe: Holineſſe is ſo lovely and ſo comely a thing, that it draws all eyes and hearts to an admiration of it. Holineſſe is ſo great a beauty, that it puts a beauty upon all other excellencies in a man. That holineſſe is a very beautiful thing, and that it makes all thoſe beautiful that have it, is a truth that no Devil can deny. And therefore, O Sirs, as ever you would be ebautiful and lovely, labour to be holy. The natural beauty of Sarah, Rebeccah, Rachel, 2 Sam. 14.25.Joſeph and Abſalom was no beauty to that beauty, luſtre and glory that holineſſe puts upon a man. Demetrius (ſaith Plutarch Plutarch in the life of Demetrius.) was ſo paſſing fair of face and countenance, that no Painter was able to draw him; Holineſſe puts ſo rare a beauty upon man, that no Painter under heaven is able to draw him. Scipio Africanus was ſo comely a perſon, that the Barbarians in Spain ſtood amazed at his comelineſſe: Holineſſe puts ſuch a comlineſſe,Mark 6.20. and ſuch an amiableneſſe upon a perſon, that many admire it, and ſtand amazed at it. O Sirs, as ever you would be amiable and deſirable, be holy; as ever you would be lovely and comely, be holy; as ever you would be famous and glorious, be holy; as ever you would outſhine the Sun in ſplendor and glory, labour to be holy. Many have ventured their names, their eſtates, their liberties, their lives, yea their very ſouls to enjoy a lovely Bathſheba, David, Theſeus, Prince Paris, Mark Antony, &c.a fair Helena, a beautiful Diana, a comely Cleopatra, &c. whoſe beauties have been but clay well coloured: O how much more then ſhould you be provoked to labour and venture your All for holineſſe, that will imprint upon you that moſt excellent and moſt exquiſite beauty, that will to the grave and to glory with you; yea that will render you not only amiable and excellent in the eyes of men, but alſo lovely and comely in the eyes of God! I remember Bernard writing to a noble Virgin that was holy, tells her, that others were cloathed with purple and ſilk,Pſalm 45.13, 14. but their conſciences were poor and beggerly; they gliſtered with their Jewels, but were looſe in their manners; but you, (ſaith he) are without meanly clad, but within ſhine exceeding beautiful, not to humane, but to divine eyes; both in the eyes of God, Angels and men,Ezek. 16.1, 12. none ſhine and gliſter ſo gloriouſly, as thoſe that are holy. Unholy ſouls are foul ſouls, ugly ſouls, deformed ſouls, withered ſouls, wrinkled ſouls, they are altogether unlovely and uncomely ſouls. I have read of Acco an old woman, who ſeeing her deformity in a glaſs, run mad. Should God but ſhew unholy men their deformity in the glaſs of the Law, it would either make them ſpiritually mad, or elſe it would make them fall in love with holineſſe; that ſo they might be made comely and lovely, by being made pure and holy. But,
Eleventhly, Conſider this to provoke you to be holy; that holineſſe is the moſt gainfulleſt and the moſt thriving trade in the world. Now that every one cryes out that all trading is gone; O that every one would ſettle to the trade of holineſſe! O there is no gain, there is no advantage, to the gain that comes in upon the account of godlineſſe, 1 Tim. 6.6. But godlineſſe with contentment is great gain. Though godlineſſe it ſelf be great gain,Godlineſs is the greateſt riches, the beſt treaſure, the higheſt honor, and the moſt laſting fame. yet godlineſſe brings in a great deal of gain beſides it ſelf. The godly man is ſtill of the gaining ſide, his piety brings him in the greateſt plenty. chap. 4.8. Godlineſſe is profitable to all things. A man is as well able to tell the ſtars of heaven, and to number the hairs of his head, as he is able to tell the ſeveral commodities, or to number up the variety of bleſſings, or multitude of mercies that comes flying in upon the wings of godlineſſe. Godlineſſe hath the promiſe of both lives, that is, both of earthly favours, and of eternal bleſſings alſo. It is profitable, not for ſome things, but for every thing; both temporal, ſpiritual and eternal bleſſings do grow upon this Tree of life, holineſſe. There is no trade to the trade of godlineſſe. Prov. 22.4. By humility and the fear of the Lord, are riches, and honour, and life. Godlineſſe hath the promiſe of Gold as well as of Grace, of honour as well as of heaven; of life and happineſſe here, as well as of glory and bleſſedneſſe hereafter. The good things of this life, as well as the great things of a better life, follows holineſſe hard at heels. Holineſſe is not a barren but a fruitful womb; it is like that tree in Rev. 22.2. which did bear twelve manner of fruits, and that yielded fruit every monethmonth. What is of greater value among men then riches? and what is more glorious among men then honour? and what is more ſweet among men then life? Why, all theſe fruits and ten thouſand more, grow upon the tree of holineſſe. The bag of riches, the robe of honour, and life, that is the comfort and ſweet of both, hangs all upon the back of holineſs.There is no argument to that which is drawn ab utili. Haec omnia tibi Dabo, ſaid Satan to Chriſt. But that I may the more effectually win upon you, and provoke you to look after holineſſe, let me by an induction of particulars, further confirm the truth of this laſt conſideration, eſpecially conſidering that there is no argument under heaven that is ſo taking with all men as this of gain. Profit is a bait that all bite at; it is the great god of the world. And therefore thus,