The Beauty of Holiness, Chapter 6
CHAP. VI.
THe fifth Use is for Exhortation.
1. To those that want holinesse; seek it and seek it earnestly, be diligent, give all diligence to get it, fill heaven Q…ae … magna magnè.and earth with cries for it, resolve to give no rest to the temples of thy head till thou hast attained it; let God see that thou art in earnest, and that this is the greatest and chiefest desire of thy soul, and then he cannot, he will not deny thee. Learn of the wise Merchant, who seeking for goodly Pearls, and finding one of great price, went and sold all that he had, & bought it, Mat. 13. 45. Piety is a Pearl of more worth foreign. Stobaeus.then all the pearles in the world, a man may be loaded with them (as it is said Queen Mary was on the day of her Coronation, so that her head could not bear them) and yet be miserable; but piety hath the promise, and makes men venerable, not only in the eies of good men, Psal. 15. 4. but even in the eies of a wicked Nebuchadnezzar, Darius, Herod, &c. Yea when we are thus glorious within, God himself will delight in us, and greatly desire our beauty, Psal. 45. 11.
Oh then let us labour for pure affections and pure actions, let purity dwell in our houses, and be engraven even on our ordinary actions of eating, drinking, recreations, &c. It was prophesied that in Gospel-times holinesse should abound, Zach. 14, 20, 21. it must be imprinted on the pots we drink in, and plates that we eat on, the houses we dwell in, the riches we possesse, yea the horse-bridles, the instruments of warre and labour, our garments and attire must have holinesse written on them, we must have an eye to Gods glory in them all; but alas! upon the houses and furniture of most, we may write violence and cruelty; upon their dishes and cups, oppression and luxury; upon their apparell and attire, pride and prophanenesse, &c, But we have not so learned Christ; our piety must so shine before men, that they may see it: It is not sufficient that we have it in us, but the power and life of it must appear in our lives. As the Apostle sayes of moderation, Phil. 4. 5. it must be so apparent, that it may be known, not to one or two, but to All, both friends and foes, both good and bad; so our sanctification must not lie concealed in our breasts, but it must be See more D. Reynolds Hos 14. 5, 6. p. 37, 38.made visible in our lives, we must be burning and shining lights, carrying about us convincing lives, that we may win many to God.
Now to quicken thee, consider these fo ur things:
1. Consider seriously who it is that cals on thee and intreats thee to be holy; is it not the great & the mighty God? he whose frowns make rocks to rend, and Princes quake and tremble? he whose thou art in all relations? should but a mortall man, a friend intreat thee to observe some rules and directions which might tend to thy bodily health, how readily wouldst thou obey him? & shall the great God become a suppliant unto thee (whose bare commands were sufficient to move thee, and who will have his will on thee whether thou wilt or no) shall the most high condescend so low as to stoop to thee, and his grace (as twere) kneel to thee for entertainment? and hast thou a face to deny him?
2. Yet consider to what he cals thee, it is not to sin, it is not to destruction, it is not to any thing that should hurt thee, that is the devils work; but he cals thee to holinesse, and so to happinesse, that it may be well with thee and with thine for ever. Now should the meanest person in the world desire thee to do such or such a thing as would do thee good for ever, wouldst thou not hearken to him? And shall the great God intreat thee to be holy that thou maiest be happy, and canst thou reject his intreaties?
3. Yet thirdly, Consider from what he cals thee; Not from any thing that might comfort thee, but only from sin, which is the greatest evil; to himself, which is the chiefest good; he cals thee from hell to heaven, from darknesse to light, and from the power of Satan to himself. Now did you but know the horror and uglinesse of sin, with the terrours and torments that attend it, God and man should not then stand thus intreating of you to forsake it.
4. Yet consider the rationality and reasonablenesse of Gods commands. Reason should rule and command reasonable creatures (for though the waies of Religion be above reason, yet they are not contrary to reason, for there is the greatest reason in the world for them.) Now there are clear, full, convincing reasons (enough to move a rock, had it but reason to understand them) to perswade us to be holy; Reasons from God, reasons from his word, reasons from his mercies, reasons from his judgements, reasons from heaven, reasons from hell, and above all, reasons from the blood of Christ; sit down but one hour a…d consider what thy sin cost thy Saviour, bring but one such an argument for thy sinnes, and hold them fast for ever. Thus we see what convincing reasons there are why we should See more in M. Ant. Burgess 120. Ser. Ser. 60. p. 373.be holy; yet it is not sufficient that we have holinesse, but
2. We must grow in holinesse, we must go forward from one degree of holinesse to another, perfecting holinesse in the fear of God, *See Trapp on this place.2 Cor. 7. 1. We must strive after perfection, going from strength to strength: as an infant grows from one age to another; and as the seed which is cast into the ground comes to perfection by degrees, Mark. 4. 28. so we must all be graduates, taking our degrees in the school of Christ, growing up into him, not in some, but in all the graces of his Spirit, Ephes. 4. 13. He that is holy, must be holy still, Revel. 22. 11. proceeding and persevering therein. Keep it and preserve it, for it is your life: What we say of modesty, Perit, …ui …eriit pietas.is most true of piety, Lose it and you lose all. God hath made many gracious promises that his people shall grow stronger and stronger, Job 17. 9. Psal. 92. 12. Hos. 14. 5, 6, 7. When others fall, yet they shall not be moved, but shall enjoy peace of conscience, sweet contentment, communion with God here, and the blessed vision of him for ever. Oh then let us suffer this word of exhortation to work upon our hearts; let us not out-sit all the intreaties of God, nor despise this day of our visitation, least the Lord in wrath should seal up thy condemnation, and say, Let him EZek. 24. 13.that is filthy be filthy still; since I would have cleansed them, but they would not Ezek. 24. 13.be cleansed, therefore they shall never be cleansed; but as they would live, so shall they die in their sins: Since I have tried all conclusions to better them, but in vain, therefore my spirit shall no more contend with them. They could not say Nay to a tempter, but they could say Nay to Me; they could not resist a temptation from a drunkard or some lewd companion, but the least hint or call from them is readily obeyed; but My Spirit must be denied, My invitations rejected, and a very base lust preferred before it; therefore My Spirit shall no more contend with you, but I will forsake you, and then Hosea 9. 17. Woe unto them when I depart from them.
It will be our wisdom then to pursue this Royal game with an holy eagernesse for fear we should misse of it, and though it fly from us, yet let us still pursue it; many run, but it is on a false sent, they neither pursue peace nor holinesse, when they should with diligence pursue both: For as in temporals, so in spirituals, it is the diligent that maketh rich. Hence we are commanded not barely to seek, but to follow holinesse, nor simply Heb. 12. 14. foreign, sectam. … persequimini. Metaph. sig… singulare studium sanctitatis obtinendae.to follow it, but to pursue it, as the Hound doth the Hare, eagerly, delightfully, unweariedly; or as the cruel persecutor, who will never rest till he hath taken him whom he pursueth. We must look for much opposition in this way; the devil he will raise a thousand discouragementts, our own lazy corrupt hearts will cry out of lions in the way, Prov. 22. 13. and the world will raise mountains of dangers and difficulties, &c. but all these will but heighten heroick spirits; As that valiant souldier, when one told him of a vast Army coming against him, answered, The greater their number, the more glorious …ntò plus Tori… refeglemus, quonirm eò plures auperabimus.will the victory be. A gratious spirit knows not what discouragēent means; Jacob will lose all rather then lose the blessing, Gen. 32. 24. He came for a blessing, Christ sayes to us as Alexander said to one of his name; Aut nomen depone, aut fortiterpugna.and he is resolved to have it ere God and he part; and therefore he tels him plainly, I will not let thee go until thou blesse me; though God crush him, lame him, shrink his sinews, and bi… him leave his hold, yet he hold, the faster, and is resolved to lose sinews and bones, life and limbs rather then los… the blessing: See the issue; for this God doth not blame him, but highly commends him, and cals him Israel, (i.) a Prince and prevailer with God, and over men also, ver. 28. so that Esau instead of killing him doth kiss him. Thus we see it is good to be zealous in a good thing.
Many are the objections and Cavils which are made against holinesse, which now come in order to be handled.