Divine Truths in Jesus Christ, Chapter 12

Divine Truths in Jesus Christ · Chapter 12

p. 390CHAP. XII.

Chap. 12 Touching an Holy Life: It is not from Principles of Nature; it is the fruit of a renewed, regenerated heart; it iſſues out of Faith and Love; it proceeds out of a pure intention towards the Will and Glory of God; it is humble, and dependant upon the influences of Grace; it requires a ſincere mortification of Sin without any Salvo or exception; it ſtands in an exerciſe of all Graces; it makes a man holy in Ordinances, alms, proſperity, adverſity, contracts, calling; there is ſuch an exerciſe of graces as cauſeth them to grow: The concluſion of the Chapter.

HAving treated of Juſtification, I come in the Laſt place to ſpeak of an Holy Life; which is an inſeparable companion of the other: Where Grace juſtifies and pardons, there it heals; where Chriſt is made Righteouſneſs, there he is made Sanctification: theſe Twins of Grace can never be parted; but ye are ſanctified, but ye are juſtified, ſaith the Apoſtle, 1 Cor. 6.11. Juſtification and Sanctification are ever in conjunction, as in God Juſtice and Holineſs: In Chriſt the Prieſtly and Kingly Offices; in the Goſpel the Promiſes and the Precepts; and in the Sinner the Guilt and the Power of Sin are in Conjunction; ſo in Believers Juſtification and Sanctification are in Conjunction: Were this Conjunction diſſolved, the other could not well together conſiſt; the perſon being Juſtified and yet not Sanctified: Gods Juſtice muſt ſpare him, yet his p. 391Holineſs muſt hate him; Chriſt muſt ſatisfie and ſave him as a Prieſt, yet not command him as a King: The Promiſes muſt ſpeak comfort to him, yet are the Precepts broken by him; the guilt of Sin muſt be done away, yet the power and love of it muſt remain; but none of theſe can ſtand together, neither can Juſtification ſtand without Sanctification.

An Holy life is a life ſeparate and conſecrated unto God; the life of Senſe is common to bruits; a life of Reaſon is common to Men; but a life of Holineſs is ſeparate and conſecrated unto God; the Epicurean would frui carne, enjoy the Fleſh; the Stoick would frui mente, enjoy his Mind and Reaſon; but the Holy Man would frui Deo, enjoy his God: The Jewiſh Doctors call God, foreign, place, and the holy Man makes him ſuch; he would not go out from God, or ſeek any other Being but in him; he would not dwell in the barren Region of Self or Creatures, but in God the Fountain and Ocean of all goodneſs; his works are all wrought in God; his reſt and center are only in his Will and Glory; he is not his own any longer. The great Titles of Creator and Redeemer proper to his God, will not ſuffer him to be ſo; it is no leſs than Sacriledge in his eyes to be his own, or ſo much as in a thought to ſteal away ought from God, to whom his Spirit, Soul, Body, all is due; his Reaſon is not his own, as one who knows it to be a borrowed light; he reſigns it up to God the Father of lights, to be illuminated by him, and to the holy myſteries, to be ruled by them, without asking any why's or wherefores; Thoſe two words, Deus Dixit, God ſaith, is Satisfaction p. 392enough to him; his Will is not his own, it is not a Rule or Law to it ſelf. God is indeed ſuch to himſelf; but the Holy man will not perverſely imitate God; or like the Prince of Tyrus, Cum homo vult aliquid per propriam voluntatem, Deo aufert quaſi ſuam Coronam. Anſel. de ſimil. cap. 8.ſet his Heart as the Heart of God, Ezek. 28.2. He will not ſnatch at God's Crown, or aſſume his Glory; he knows that his Will was made to be ſubject to Gods, and in that ſubjection ſtands his Liberty and true Freedom: His will doth not ſtand upon its own bottom; but reſignes up it ſelf to his Grace to be made free indeed, and to his commands as the ſupream Law; his affections are not his own; he ſuffers them not to wander up and down among the Creatures; there to gather Hay and Stubble, a falſe happineſs to himſelf; but he diſpatches them away into the other World, and makes them aſcend up to God the true Center of Souls, and Fountain of Goodneſs; he ſurrenders up his Soul and all to God; the Image of Heaven, which is upon him, plainly tells him, that all is due to him who is above; to keep back part of the price or ſubſtract ought from him, is to lie to that Holy Spirit, who hath ſet his ſtamp upon every part of the new Creature, and by an Univerſal Sanctification ſealed up the whole Man for his own: The life of an Holy Man is a life foreign, according to God. 1 Pet. 4.6. It aſpires after an Imitation of the holy one; it complies with his holy commands, and in all aims at his glory as the ſupream end of all. The Apoſtle notably ſets forth this Conſecration of Man to God, they gave themſelves to the Lord, 2 Cor. 8.5. p. 393They would be their own no longer. They ſurrendred up themſelves to God; they dedicated themſelves to his Will and Glory: All Chriſtians, nay, almoſt all Men will at leaſt ſeem to cry up an holy Life; but that we may ſee wherein it doth conſiſt, I ſhall ſet down ſeveral things.

Firſt, An holy Life is not the product of our Natural Reaſon and Will;Aug. in Job. Tract. 81. that of Pelagius (A Deo habemus quod Homines ſumus, à nobis ipſis quod juſti ſumus; That we are Men is from God, that we are juſt Men is from our ſelves) is impium effatum, a very wicked Saying, ſuch as juſtly grates upon the Ears of good Men; becauſe it utterly evacuates the Grace of Chriſt: Its true, Reaſon is a very excellent thing; it can dive into Nature, and bring up ſome of the ſecrets of it. It can teem out many Arts and Sciences; it can meaſure out Rules and Moral Vertues to Men; but it cannot make a Man holy; it can of it ſelf tell us, That God is an Infinite, Wiſe, Juſt, Good, Superexcellent Being; but after all is done, it cannot raiſe up that Love to him, which is the Spring of an holy Life; that Love is from God, and a fruit of the Holy Spirit. Bellarmine laies down this very fairly and roundly, Non poſſe Deum ſine ope ipſius diligi, De Grat. & Lib. Ar. l. 6. c. 7.neque ut Authorem Naturae, neque ut Largitorem Gratiae, neque perfectè, neque imperfectè ullo modo; That without the help of Grace we cannot love God, neither as the Author of Nature, nor as the Giver of Grace, neither perfectly nor imperfectly any way: If Reaſon cannot elevate our Love to God, then it cannot produce an holy Life, which is a fruit of that Love. Further, it may, having the Goſpel ſet before it, gather up a great ſtock of Notions touching God, and Chriſt, and the holy Commands in the p. 394Word, and the incomparable Rewards in Heaven; but it cannot raiſe up holy Principles and Actions in us; if it could, then the very firſt and rudeſt draught of Pelagius, which made all Grace to conſiſt in Doctrinâ & Libero Arbitrio, muſt be a very Truth; then internal Grace, which renews the Soul, and rectifies the Faculties thereof, muſt be a fancy needleſs and altogether ſuperfluous; its true, the Will in Man is a free Principle; but to Divine objects it is not at all free till it be made ſo by Grace: There is ſuch a gravedo Liberi Arbitrii, ſuch a preſſure of innate corruption in it, that it cannot aſcend above it ſelf to love God above all; and dedicate the Life to him: Thus we ſee, that an Holy Life is too high a thing to iſſue forth from meer Principles of Nature, when the Apoſtle tells us, That Love, Joy, Peace, Longſuffering, Gentleneſs, Goodneſs, Faith, Meekneſs, Temperance, are Fruits of the Spirit, Gal 5.22. It is no leſs than prophane to put our Spirit in the room of God's; and to ſay, theſe are the fruits of our Reaſon and Will; when again he tells us, that We are his Workmanſhip created in Chriſt Jeſus unto good Works, Epheſ. 2.10. It is horrible preſumption in us to put by the New Creation, and think that the Old may ſerve the turn for an holy Life; I can as eaſily believe that Jewiſh Fable, That there is in the Body a Luz, a little Bone never putrifying, from whence the Reſurrection begins, as that there is any thing left in fallen Man which in it ſelf may become a Principle of Regeneration and holy Living; could there be any ſuch thing found in us, there would be no neceſſity of Grace, but of Nature only; a Creator we might praiſe, but a Redeemer we need not; our own Spirit may ſerve the turn, God's may be ſpared.

p. 395Secondly, An holy Life is the fruit of a renewed and regenerated Heart; it is the budding and bloſſoming of a Divine Nature in us; in it a Man ſhews himſelf to be a Man off from the old ſtock of Adam, and to be ingraffed into Chriſt; and as a branch in him, to have Life and Spirit from him to dedicate and conſecrate himſelf unto a God. Without this New ſtate there can be no ſuch thing as an holy Life: upon this account St. Auſtin tells the Pelagians, Contr. Jul. lib. 5. c. 4.thoſe enemies of Grace, That they were in their Doctrine Ruina morum, the ruin of good Life: For if you take away that Grace which makes the New Creatures, there can be no ſuch thing as an holy Life; that muſt ſtand upon ſome foundation, and in lapſed Nature there is, there can be no other but a New Creature. To ſhew this more fully, I ſhall lay dawn two things diſtinctly: The one is this, An unregenerate Man cannot lead an holy Life: The other is this, An holy Life iſſues out of a Principle of Regeneration. Theſe two will fully clear the Point.

The firſt thing is, An unregenerate Man cannot lead an holy Life; I ſay not, That an unregenerate Man cannot become regenerate; but that an unregenerate Man, whilſt ſuch, cannot live holily; not that there is a natural impotency, a want of the Faculties of Underſtanding and Will; but that there is a Moral one, and in-dwelling corruption which renders him uncapable to attain to it. That of our Saviour, A corrupt Tree cannot bring forth good Fruit, Matth. 7.18. carries a great evidence of Reaſon in it; the Fruit cannot exceed the Tree; the effect will not be better than the procreant cauſe is; if an unregenerate Man be a corrupt Tree; if an holy Life be good Fruit, the one cannot proceed from the other. It is vanity p. 396and folly to expect Grapes from Thorns, or Figs from Thiſtles; and to look for an holy Life from an unregenerate Heart is no leſs: It is the Apoſtle's Concluſion, They that are in the Fleſh cannot pleaſe God, Rom. 8.8. By thoſe in the Fleſh is not meant the Regenerate, who, if any on Earth, do ſurely pleaſe him; but the Unregenerate: accordingly the Apoſtle oppoſes thoſe in the Fleſh, verſ. 8. to thoſe in the Spirit, in whom the Holy Spirit dwells, verſ. 9. That is, the Unregenerate to the Regenerate. Hence we may conclude thus, The Unregenerate are in the Fleſh, in their corrupt Nature; and becauſe ſuch, they cannot pleaſe God; they cannot live that holy Life which is grateful to him: Therefore the Apoſtle in this Chapter doth not only diſtinguiſh between the Regenerate and Unregenerate; the one being in the Spirit, and the other in the Fleſh; but between the acting of the one and of the other. The Regenerate or thoſe in the Spirit, are after the Spirit, and mind the things of the Spirit; the Unregenerate or thoſe in the Fleſh, are after the Fleſh, and mind the things of the Fleſh, verſ. 5. We have here two diſtinct Principles and Actings; the Regenerate Nature acts in a way of Holineſs and Obedience; but the Old corrupt Nature acts in a way of ſin and wickedneſs; and unleſs a Man be new made by Grace, it will continue to do ſo: neither need we wonder at it; the Proverb is no leſs rational than ancient, Wickedneſs proceedeth from the wicked, 1 Sam. 24.13. A Sinner ſtudies ſin, and hath it in the very frame of his Heart; he thirſts after it, and drinks it as water; he rejoyces in it, and makes a ſport at it; he is never ſo much in his Element as when he is committing it: But in an holy Life there is nothing congruous or connatural to p. 397him; his carnal Mind is enmity againſt God; it is not ſubject to the Law of God, neither indeed can be, Rom. 8.7. His Will is contrary to God's; the way of Holineſs is a burden to him, too grievous to be born: and how can we expect that in this unregenerate ſtate he ſhould in the leaſt enter upon an holy Life? In all reaſon firſt there muſt be a Power or Divine Principle, and then an Act: it is unnatural and croſs to the Method of Wiſdom, that the beam ſhould preceed the Sun, or the Fruit the Root; that acts of Sence or Reaſon ſhould go before their Faculties; or that an holy Life ſhould be imagined to take place before that Divine Nature which is the vital Root of it.De Concord. cap. 13. The Eye (ſaith Anſelm) muſt be acute, before it can ſee acutely. The Wheel (ſaith St. Auſtin **Ad Simpl. L. 1.) muſt be round, before it can move regularly: The Will muſt be firſt illuminated and rectified in Regeneration, before it can rightly will and move. Repairing Grace, ſaith Hugo, firſt aſpires, that there may be a good Will, and then inſpires, that it may move rightly. Charity, ſaith the Apoſtle, is out of a pure Heart, a good Conſcience and Faith unfained, 1 Tim. 1.5. But alas! in the Unregenerate what Principles are there? can ought be found there which may tend to an holy Life? His Heart is impure through the many vile luſts which dwell there; his Conſcience is defiled through the many guilts which he hath contracted; his Faith is a vain Fancy or Preſumption, and not a Faith; and how can he live holily, or what Principles hath he for it? There muſt be a proportion between the Power and the Act: And ſo there is in the Regenerate, between the Seed of God and the crop of Holineſs; between the holy Unction and the Odours of Good Works; But what proportion p. 398can be imagined between an unregenerate Heart, and an holy Life? An unregenerate Man, as he is deſcribed in Scripture, is weak and without ſtrength; and what can he do towards it? He is unclean and polluted, and how can ſuch a thing as an holy Life proceed from him? He is dark, nay, darkneſs it ſelf, and how can he walk in the Light? He is dead in ſins and treſpaſſes, and how can he live a Divine Life? He is a Stranger, nay, and an Enemy to God and his Law, and how can he walk with God, or comply with his Law? In an holy Life we walk in the Spirit, and ſhew forth the Vertues of God; and how can he walk in that, or ſhew forth that which he hath not? An holy Life points directly to Heaven as its center, but the Principles in a Carnal man tend to Hell and Death: Inſtead of bearing a Proportion to Holineſs and Life eternal, they carry in them a black contrariety and oppoſition to both; I will only add one thing more; to ſay, That there may be an holy Life in one unregenerate, is a contradiction. The very light of Nature tells us, That God muſt be conſecrated in the Heart, and worſhipped purâ mente. In the Heathen Sacrifices the Prieſt firſt looked on the Heart, to ſee that it was right. The Perſians thought, that God regarded nothing but the Soul in the Sacrifice; God loves Spiritualitèr immolantes, thoſe that offer up the Spirit to him in every Duty; an holy Life, if it be ſuch in ſubſtance, and not in ſhadow only, muſt be from a pure Heart; and who can find ſuch an one in an unregenerate Man? Or if if it could be found there, what need could there be of Regenerating Grace? If an holy Life muſt be from a pure Heart, and ſuch an Heart cannot be in a Man unregenerate, then it is not at all poſſible that an holy p. 399Life ſhould be in him, till Regenerating Grace hath made his heart Right. It is ſaid of Amaziah, That He did that which was right in the ſight of the Lord, but not with a perfect Heart, 2 Chr. 25.2. In the firſt part of the Verſe his Obedience looks very fair and amiable; but in the latter part of it there is a black mark ſet upon it, to ſhew that it was not right: the like mark muſt be ſet upon all that ſeeming Sanctity which is in unregenerate Men.

The next thing propoſed is this, An holy Life iſſues out of a Principle of Regeneration: The Socinians (who deny original ſin, and therefore cannot ſpeak cordially of Regeneration) do ſometimes ſpeak ſo blindly and perverſly of the Holy Spirit; as if they meant to confound an holy Life, and its Principle together. Thus Socinus, Chriſti Spiritus obedientia eſt, The Spirit of Chriſt is Obedience;De Servat. par. 4. c. 6. as if the cauſe and effect were all one. Thus Volkelius will underſtand by the Spirit,De Ver Rel. l. 4. c. 23. either the mind of Man informed with Chriſt's Doctrine, or elſe the Doctrine it ſelf; as being loth to own the Regenerating Spirit. But it is evident in Scripture, that an holy Life is diſtinct from Regeneration, and iſſues from it as a Bleſſed Fruit thereof: Firſt God creates us in Chriſt, and then there is a Progeny of good Works; firſt he quickens and gives us a Spiritual Being, and then we walk, and live an holy Life; firſt there is a good Treaſure of Grace in the Heart, and then the good things are brought forth out of it, Matth. 12.35. Ye have obeyed from the heart that form of Doctrine, whereto, or into which, you were delivered, ſaith St. Paul Rom. 6.17. Here we ſee whence an holy Life ſprings; the Goſpel was not only delivered to them, but by the Regenerating Spirit they were delivered into it, p. 400and caſt into the holy Mould of it; and this was the true Reaſon of their Obedience in an holy Life: Of his own Will begat he us with the Word of Truth, that we ſhould be a kind of Firſt-fruits of his Creatures, Jam. 1.18. The Apoſtle in the precedent verſe ſhews us the infinite Sun or Fountain of all good things, and in this Verſe he gives us a famous inſtance in Regeneration, oppoſing it to that concupiſcence which is immediately before ſpoken of; conpiſcence is the Fountain of ſin, and ſo is Regeneratition of holy Obedience; the very end of Regeneration is, that we might be a kind of Firſt-fruits of his Creatures, ſeparate from the World, and conſecrated unto God in an holy Life, living as thoſe who by Regenerating Grace are made a choice portion and peculiar People to him. It is obſerved by ſome Divines, That the Holy Patriarchs had barren Wives, that their Poſterity might ſhadow out the Church, which is not produced by the power of Nature, but of Grace; the end of which production is, that Fruit might be brought forth unto God in an Holy Life. The Hebrew Doctors ſay, That God out of his great Name Jehovah, added the Letter He to the Names of Abraham and Sarah. Hence that of the Cabaliſts, Abram non gignit, ſed Abraham; Sarai non parit, ſed Sarah: In alluſion to this, I may ſay, It is not the Humane Principles, but the Divine Nature (which Believers the Children of Abraham partake of) that makes them bring forth the Fruits of an holy Life: We have this exemplified in a greater than Abraham, even in Jeſus Chriſt; he was firſt conceived of the Holy Ghoſt, and then gave us that incomparable Pattern of Holineſs in his excellent Life. Sutably, we are firſt ſupernaturally begotten to a Spiritual p. 401Being, and then we live an Holy life: He that Sanctifieth, and they who are Sanctified are all of one. Hebr. 2.11. Hence Camero obſerves,De Eccleſ. 223. that between Chriſt and Believers there is a wonderful Communion of Nature: Both have an humane Nature Sanctified by the Holy Spirit; he was conceived by the Holy Spirit; they are regenerated by it, that they may live unto God: but to make this point the clearer, I ſhall conſider the two parts of the new Creature; that is, Faith, and Love: I call them ſo, becauſe the Apoſtle, who ſaith, Neither Circumciſion availeth any thing, nor uncircumciſion, but a new Creature, Gal. 6.15. ſaith alſo, Neither Circumciſion availeth, nor uncircumciſion, but Faith which worketh by Love, Gal. 5.6. intimating, that Faith and Love are two great parts of the new Creature: an holy Life flows from both theſe; Hence ſome Learned Divines obſerve, that the good Acts of Heathens have an eſſential defect in them, the good Acts of Believers have only a gradual defect; but the good Acts of Heathens have an eſſential one; in that they do not flow from Faith and Love, and ſo cannot Center in the Glory of God; Therefore St. Auſtin retracts that Speech, wherein he ſaid,Retr. lib. 1. cap. 3. Philoſophos virtutis luce fulciſſe, that the Philoſophers did ſhine with the light of virtue: But to ſpeak diſtinctly of theſe two Graces.

Firſt, An Holy Life-iſſues out of Faith; an holy Life is virtually in Faith, and proceeds actually from it; Faith ſees the commands of God to be, as they are, richly Engraven with the Stamps and Signatures of Divine purity and equity; ſuch as Proclaim that God is in them of a truth, and that they are the very Counterpains of his Heart; and from hence p. 402it preſſes the Believer unto obedience, and ſecretly dictates, that theſe are the very Will of God, and muſt be done; Thy word is very pure, therefore thy Servant loveth it: Saith David, Pſal. 119.140. The Emphatical [therefore] in the Text cannot be practically underſtood by any thing but Faith; the Carnal Mind, which is enmity to God, would argue from the purity of the command to the hatred of it; but Faith, ſuch is its Divine Genius, argues from thence to Love and Obedience. It doth not only point out the Divine Authority which is ſtampt upon the command, but ſhew the purity and rectitude which is there to attract us into our duty; and that we may do it in a free filial manner. Faith derives a free Spirit from Chriſt to make obedience eaſie and natural to us; a Man with his old Heart drudges in the ways of God, and brings forth duties as the Bond-woman did her Son, in a dead Servile manner; but when Faith comes, the commands are eaſie; and the Will is upon the Wheel, ready to move ſweetly and ſtrongly in compliance thereunto: The Believer is Spirited and new Natured for Obedience; his Heart is in a poſture to do the Will of God; every where Faith finds Arguments and Impulſives for it: Doth it look upon the Life of Chriſt? it immediately concludes, theſe are the ſteps of our dear Lord, and ſhall we not follow him? After whom ſhall we walk if not after him? It's true he walked in pure ſinleſs perfection, ſuch as we cannot reach; but the gracious Covenant hath ſtooped to our frailty, and made us ſure that ſincerity will be aceepted, and how can we deny it, or refuſe to comply with ſuch condeſcending Grace? Doth it look upon Chriſts wounds and bloody Death? p. 403theſe will caſt ſhame and confuſion upon an unholy life: May any one imagine that our Saviour bore the Curſe and Wrath of God, that we might provoke it; or expiated our ſins at ſo dear a rate, as his own Blood and Life, that we might indulge them? who ſees not now that Sin is bloody, and holineſs amiable? and what eaſie terms are propoſed to us, when the Death and Curſe was only Chriſt's, and the ſincere Obedience is all that is required to be ours? Doth it look up for the Spirit, the purchaſe of Chriſt's death? We well know where that is to be found: the more we walk in the holy Commands and ways of God, the more are we like to have of the gales and Divine comforts of it; while we are obeying and doing the Will of God, that Spirit will uſher in aſſiſtances and Heavenly conſolations upon us; to give us an experimental proof of that Promiſe, That the Holy Spirit is given to them that obey him: doth it look within the vail, to the Rivers of pleaſures and plenitudes of joy in Heaven, where pious Souls ſee Truth in the original, and drink good at the Fountain head? Nothing is more obvious than this, that an holy Life is the true way thither; who can rationally think that he can carry the blots and turpitudes of an impure Life into ſuch a place, or that any thing leſs than ſincere Obedience can make him meet to enjoy God and holy Angels there? nothing can be more vain than ſuch an imagination; as ſure as Heaven is Heaven, an holy Life muſt be the way thither: Thus we ſee what a mighty influence Faith hath into Holineſs; hence Ignatius ſaith, foreign, Faith is the beginning of Life; Epiſt. ad Epheſ.without Faith a Man cannot live an holy Life: And St. Auſtin calls Faith, Omnium Bonorum Fundamentum, De Fide ad Petr. Proli.The Foundation of all good things. So good a thing as an holy p. 404Life cannot ſtand without it. A Fide (ſaith another) venitur ad bona opera; Unleſs we begin at Faith, we ſhall never come to an holy Life. To conclude this with that of the Apoſtle, Without Faith it is impoſſible to pleaſe God, Hebr. 11.6. Therefore without Faith it is impoſſible to lead an holy Life, which is very acceptable to him.

The next thing is, An holy Life iſſues out of Divine Love; without this neither Heart nor Life can be right; not the Heart; the Will without Divine Love in it, is tota cupiditas, all concupiſcence, pouring out it ſelf to every vanity that paſſes by; not the Life; whatever good is done without that Love, is done ſervilitèr, non liberalitèr: whate ever is in the hand, it is not done out of choice; in animo non facit, his Will concurres not as it ought; in God's account it is as if it were not done at all: Love is the root of an holy Life, the ſummary of the Law; though the Precepts of the Law are many in diverſitate operis, in the diverſity of the Work, yet they are but one in radice Charitatis, in the root of Charity. True Love is Donum amantis in amatum; the Soul, being drawn and called out of it ſelf by the object loved, yields and ſurrenders up it ſelf thereunto; if thus we love God, there muſt needs be an holy Life: the Heart, when given up and conſecrated unto him, cannot chuſe but carry the Life with it. It would be a prodigy in Nature if the Heart ſhould go one way, and the Life another: True Love ſets a great price upon its object; and if the object be, as God is, ſupreme, it rates it above all things; if we ſet the higheſt eſtimate upon God's Will and Glory, nothing can divert us from an holy Life, which complies with his Will, and promotes his Glory; it is irrational to neglect that which we value above all p. 405other things: True Love ſeeks more and more Union with God, to be one Spirit with him; to have idem velle, & idem nolle; to love as he loves, that is, Holineſs; to hate as he hates, that is Sin. It aſpires after a further transformation into the Divine Image and likeneſs: it never thinks the Soul like enough or near enough to him; where it is thus, there an holy Life cannot be wanting; the Heart being aſſimilated to God, the Life muſt needs anſwer the Heart, and ſhine with the rays of the Divine Image which is there. True Love deſires to have a complacential reſt and delight in God; it flies to him like Noah's Dove to the Ark, there to repoſe it ſelf; what weight is in a Body, that Love is in the Soul;Amor meus Pondus meum, Auſt. weight makes the Body move towards its center: Love makes the Soul tend, by an holy Life, to center in God the Supreme goodneſs, leaving all other things as the Woman of Samaria did her Pitcher. It haſtens in a way of Obedience to enjoy him: Thus we ſee how an holy Life iſſues out of a Regenerate Heart, and particularly out of Faith and Love; the Doctrine of it is not to be ſlubbered over, as if it did meerly conſiſt in external Actions or Moralities. But we muſt ſearch and ſee, Whether there be a new Creature, a Work of Regeneration at the bottom of it. Job, being by his Friends charged as an hypocrite, tells them, That the root of the matter was found in him, Job 19.28. He was not a Man of leaves, and outward appearances only, but the root of true Piety was in him; without this all good actions, how ſpecious ſoever, are but like the Apples of Sodom, which, though fair to the Eye, upon a touch fall into aſhes and ſmoak.

Thirdly, An holy Life proceeds out of a pure Intention; Bonum opus Intentio facit, Intentionem Fides p. 406dirigit, ſaith St. Auſtin **In Pſal. 31.Ps 31; The Intention makes the Work good, and Faith directs the Intention. This is the ſingle Eye mentioned by our Saviour; If thine Eye be ſingle, thy whole Body ſhall be full of light; If thine Eye be evil, thy whole Body ſhall be full of darkneſs, Matth. 6.22, & 23. A pure Intention caſts a Spiritual Light and Luſtre upon the Body of our good Works; but that being wanting, the whole Body of our Works is dead and dark, like a carcaſs void of all Beauty and Excellency. Let thine Eyes look right on, ſaith the Wiſeman Prov. 4.25. That is, Have a pure Intention to the Will and Glory of God: This is one thing in the Church, which raviſhes the Heart of Chriſt; Thou haſt raviſhed my Heart with one of thine Eyes, with one chain of thy Neck, Cant. 4.9. The firſt thing which excordiated Chriſt, and took away his Heart, was the One, the ſingle Eye; and then the Chain of Obedience raviſhed him alſo: without a pure intention a Man, in his faireſt Actions, ſquints and looks awry; by a tacit blaſphemy he makes as if there were ſomething more excellent than the Will and Glory of God for him to look unto; and when Man ſquints, God looks off, and will have none of his Obedience. Iſrael is an empty Vine, he bringeth forth fruit to himſelf, Hoſ. 10.1. Fruit, and yet empty, is a ſeeming contradiction, but the words reconcile themſelves. He bringeth forth to himſelf, foreign, he weighs out his Fruit to himſelf; he proportions his Religion to himſelf; all being for himſelf, God accepts it not, but eſteems it as nothing at all: ſuch Fruit, and meer emptineſs are much one before God. He tells them Levit. 26.27. That they did walk with him foreign in accidente, at all adventures, when they chanced to light upon him, by the by; and beſides p. 407their intention, quaſi aliud agentes, as if the Service of God were a foreign, a buſineſs only by the by; but would God accept them, or take it well at their hands! No, he will walk with them foreign too, by chance, at all adventures; his Bleſſings ſhall come upon them, as it were per accidens; his Mind is not towards them, as it is towards thoſe which ſerve him ſpiritually: A Man's Life cannot be holy praeterintentionally, or by accident: it is a pure Intention which ſpiritualizes and ſanctifies the Life before God. To clear this, it is to be conſidered, That the Life muſt be dedicated to God in a double reſpect; it muſt be dedicated to him by a conformity to his Will. And again, It muſt be dedicated to him by a tendency to his Glory. In both theſe there muſt be a pure intention to direct the ſame.

The firſt thing is, There muſt be a pure Intention in our conformity to the Will of God. Socinus ſaith, That there is a Verbum quoddam interius, a kind of internal word in Man; that is, a Reaſon to diſcern between that which is juſt, and that which is unjuſt:Praelect. Theol. c. 2. And then he Adds, He that obeys this internal word, obeys God himſelf, Etiamſi ipſum Deum non eſſe quidèm aut ſciat aut cogitet; although he do not know or think that there be a God. And after concludes, That ſuch an Obedience is grateful to God: But as great an Admirer of Holineſs as this Heretick would ſeem to be, it was no leſs than a prophane Aſſertion, to ſay, That there might be a grateful Obedience without any reſpect at all had to God, or his Will. Doth not St. Paul condemn in the Athenians the worſhip of an unknown God? Doth not Chriſt charge the Samaritans, that they did worſhip they knew not what? Yet theſe are the portenta opinionum, which p. 408this Maſter of Reaſon vents to the World: But to paſs over this; It is not enough for an holy Life, that the thing done be materially good; but it muſt be therefore done, becauſe God commands it ſo to be; an holy Man follows after Holineſs, becauſe this is the Will of God. Now that the material goodneſs of a thing is not enough, may appear by theſe Inſtances. Jehu in deſtroying the Houſe of Ahab did do that which God commanded him to do; yet God ſaith, That he will avenge that Blood upon the Houſe of Jehu, Hoſ. 1.4. And why ſo? Jehu did that which God commanded, but he did not obey in it; he did it not in compliance with God's command, but in purſuance of his own deſign; as it is with the hand of a ruſty Dial which ſtands ſtill (ſuppoſe) at ten of the Clock, to a Traveller paſſing at that hour it ſeemeth to go right, but it is but by accident; ſo was it with Jehu. He ſeemed to obey in that which hit with his own Will; but he did it not upon the account of God's; for then he would have done other things. But though he deſtroyed Ahab's Houſe, yet he did not deſtroy the Calves at Dan and Bethel. For there God's Will did not fall in with his. Another Inſtance we have in the acts of Moral Virtue in the Heathen; thoſe acts were materially good, yet they did not in them ſerve God, but their own Reaſon: It's true, right Reaſon ſignifies the very Will of God; but they did them not in compliance with Reaſon, as ſignificative of God's Will; but in compliance with it as a chief part of themſelves. This is evident upon a double account; the one is this, That they were animals of Glory. They did what they did, not in an humble ſubjection to the Will of God, but in a proud ſelf-glorying way; they arrogated all the praiſe and p. 409honour to themſelves; in all they did but ſacrifice to the pride of their own Reaſon. The other is this, They did not only follow right Reaſon in their Moral Vertues, but corrupt Reaſon in their Idolatries: The Apoſtle ſaith, Their fooliſh Heart was darkned, Rom. 1.21. Here they followed Reaſon as a part of their corrupt ſelf; which thoſe, who follow it as ſignificative of God's Will, cannot be ſuppoſed to do: Right Reaſon, which imports God's Will, was againſt their Idolatries; yet they continued in them. Hence it appears, that in their Moral Vertues they did not ſerve God, but their own Reaſon. Hence St. Auſtin contends,Contr. Jul. l. 4. c. 3. that their Vertues were not true Vertues. They might be juſt, ſober, merciful; but they did all infidelitèr, without reſpect to the Will and Glory of God; Malè bonum facit, qui infidelitèr facit. Hence, as Camero obſerves,Cam. fol. 356. Lucretia hated Immodeſty, and Cato Perfidiouſneſs; not out of love to God, but becauſe thoſe things were incongruous to Reaſon. Another Inſtance we have in Carnal Profeſſors under the Goſpel; they hear, read, pray, give Alms; but they do not do theſe ſpiritually, in compliance with the Will of God; the Duties are high, but the aims in them are low and carnal: Vaſt is the difference between an Holy and a Carnal Man: An Holy Man is holy even in Natural and Civil Actions; the Kingdom of Heaven is by a pure Intention brought down into his Trade: Nay, into his very Meat and Drink. His deeds are by a Prerogative wrought in God: when he toils as a Servant in ſervile Employment, yet he ſerves the Lord Chriſt; all is ſpiritualized by a pure Intention: But on the other hand, a Carnal Man is carnal even in ſpiritual Actions. There is indeed the Opus operatum; p. 410the Fleſh, the outward body of a Duty; but there is no Soul or Spirit in it. No pure Intention to carry it up to the Will and Glory of God, to which it is conſecrated. Thus we ſee, that it is not enough for an holy Life that the thing done be materially good: No; it muſt be done in compliance to the Divine Will: I will keep the Commandments of my God, ſaith David, Pſal. 119.115. He would keep them, not upon any by-account, but becauſe they were God's, to whoſe Will he dedicated himſelf. Lo, I come to do thy Will, O God, ſaith our Saviour, Hebr. 10.7. And again, I ſeek not my own Will, but the Will of the Father, which hath ſent me, Joh. 5.30. Here we have the great Pattern of Holineſs; his Will was devoted and ſwallowed up in God's: all that he did and ſuffered was in conformity to the Divine Will. We muſt not dream of any true Holineſs, till we do what good we do, out of compliance with the Divine Will; as in matters of Faith we muſt believe, quià Deus dixit; ſo in matters of Practice we muſt obey, quià Deus voluit: His Command muſt ſway and caſt the Balance in Heart and Life; the Nature of holy Obedience is this, to do what God willeth, intuitu voluntatis, becauſe he willeth it: And hence an holy Man doth not pick and chuſe among the commands of God, but carry a reſpect to all of them.

The next thing is this: There muſt be a pure Intention to direct our good Actions to the Glory of God: ſeing God is Alpha, he muſt be Omega; ſeeing he is the Supream good, he muſt be the Ultimate end of all things. Nothing can be more rational than this, That a Creature ſhould be referred to its Creator; that a finite good ſhould run and do homage p. 411to an Infinite one; nothing can be more abſurd and inordinate than this, That a Creature ſhould be a center to it ſelf, or ſhould be loved or enjoyed for it ſelf; or that God, the moſt excellent Being, ſhould be made but a Medium, or ſhould be loved or uſed for ſome other thing. This is practically to blaſpheme, and ſay, God is not God, there is ſomething better than he to be loved and enjoyed for it ſelf. When the Angels would ſtay at home, and frui ſeipſis, enjoy themſelves, they became Devils, and loſt all their glory in a moment. All things therefore muſt be referred unto God; his Glory muſt be the ſupream End; to this Angels fly with Eagles wings; to this holy Men walk; to this irrational Creatures by a ſecret Inſtinct are carried; to this Devils, Will they, nill they, muſt be drawn; this is the great End of all things; for a rational Creature not to aim at this, is againſt Nature and Reaſon; the want of this made an eſſential defect in the Moral Vertues of the Pagans; here they fall ſhort; They did not in them aim at the glory of God. This appears in divers things: they at the beſt made Vertue but pretium ſui, the Reward of it ſelf for the honeſty which was in it. But they looked no further to the glory of God, as they ought; they looked on themſelves as the chief object of their Love; and ſo this Love never aſcended to God; they boaſted and gloried in their Vertues, as meerly their own, and never ſaw any center but themſelves; they did not therefore aim at the glory of God in them. Hence St. Auſtin, who pronounces them no true Vertues, ſaith, That true Vertues are to be diſcerned,Contr. Jul. l. 4. non officiis, ſed finibus; not by the Work it ſelf, but by the end; and that their Vertues were good only in p. 412officio, in the work done; not in fine, in a right end: And that not only the Epicureans, who would taſte of Carnal Pleaſures;Aug. de Verb. Apoſt. Serm. 13. But the Stoicks, who would ſet up Right Reaſon, did live after the Fleſh; their Vertues were referred to themſelves, and that was corrupt Fleſh; they were no longer Vertues, but pieces of Pride and Preſumption. Virtutes, ſaith the ſame Author,De Civ. Dei l. 19. c. 25. cum ad ſeipſas referuntur, inflatae & ſuperbae ſunt, Vertues if referred to themſelves, are proud and blown up with their own excellency. Julianus the Pelagian, Auſt. contr. Jul. l. 4. c. 3.was ſo far convinced of this, that he ſaid, They were ſteriliter boni, becauſe they acted not for God: their Vertues would do them no good in another World; in all reaſon, thoſe Vertues which are not referred to God as the ultimate End, cannot poſſibly have any thing of Holineſs in them. They cannot be holy without a conſecration to God; and that cannot be without a pure Intention towards his glory. It is not therefore enough for an holy Life to have Moral Vertues, but we muſt ſearch our Hearts, and ſee what our end is; what forms are in Naturals, that the end is in Morals, As the Man thinketh, ſo is he. Prov. 23.7. Mens cujuſque id eſt quiſque, The Man is as his Mind is, and his Mind is as his End is; though the End be extrinſecal to the Act in genere entis, yet it is eſſential to it in genere moris; the Act cannot be holy, unleſs the end be ſo: Hence the Apoſtle tells us, That whatſoever we do, all muſt be done to the Glory of God, 1 Cor. 10.31. The Jewiſh Rabbins ſay the ſame, That whatever we do, muſt be done in Nomine Dei, in the Name of God: an Act not dedicated to that great End, is cut off and ſeparate from its center. And upon that account it is not p. 413holy, but common and profane; no leſs a nullity in Spirituals than a Creature, if cut off from God the Fountain of Being, would be in Naturals: Hence St. Auſtin tells us, That which is good in officio, may yet be ſin in fine; For,Quicquid boni fit, & non propter hoc fit propter quod fieri debet, etſi officio videtur bonum, ipſo non recto fine peccatum eſt, Contra Jul. l. 4. c. 3. as the Schools ſpeak, Finis dat ſpeciem in Moralibus. Thoſe Acts which are good in the matter of them, may be utterly marred by perverſe Intention: It becomes us than to look to the ſcope of our Actions. Our Saviour Chriſt, the great Exemplar of Sanctity, tells us, That he ſought not his own Glory, but his Father's, Joh. 8.50. compared with Joh. 7.18. He was Deus de Deo, God of God; the Eternal Greator; yet as he was in formâ ſervi, in the form of a Servant, a Man in time, he ſought not his own Glory, but his Father's. We ſee here what is the Deſign of an holy Life; it is that God may be glorified: our Holineſs ſhould ſhine as a little Beam or Spark from the Holy one; the drops and meaſures of Mercy in us ſhould point out that infinite Ocean of Mercy which is in him: We ſhould by our Obedience tell the World, that God is Supream, and by our ſincerity teſtifie, that he is omniſcient, and preſent every where; we ſhould ſtudy how to ſerve the Intereſt of the Bleſſed God, how to ſhew forth his Praiſe, how to unfold his Glory in an holy righteous, humble, heavenly Converſation; ſtill there ſhould be Oculus in metam, a pure Intention at the Glory of God: If we are by a pure Intention joyned to that great End, then our Works will be ſpiritualized; our Holineſs will never ſee corruption; there will be be a kind of Immortality in every good Action: but if we are off from that great End, our Holineſs periſhes, p. 414or rather is none at all. There is a worm at the Root; one baſe, low, inferiour End or other putrifies the good Work, and makes it moulder into nothing. When the Woman in the Revelations was ready to be delivered, the Dragon ſtood before her to devour her Child, but it was caught up to God and his Throne. A devout Papiſt gloſſes it thus;Nerimb. de Vit. Div. When we bring forth our good Works, Satan ſtands before us to devour them by one falſe Intention or other, and will certainly do it, unleſs by a pure one they be caught up to God and his Glory. Another expoſtulates thus, Quid juvat bonorum operum prolem gignere, & eam per Intention is depravationem necare? What profits it to beget a progeny of Good Works, and to kill it by a depraved Intention? A Man, who wants a right Intention, murders his beſt progeny. The Church therefore tells us, That all her fruits were laid up for Chriſt, Cant. 7.13. Propter te, Domine, propter te, is the holy Man's Motto; all his good Works are by a pure Intention conſecrated unto God: When an Hypocrite doeth good Works, the center and compaſs of all is himſelf only; and upon that account, thoſe Works are not good in the Eyes of God: But when a Saint doeth good Works, they fall into God's Boſom, and center in his Glory. To conclude; Where pure Love adheres to God as the Supream Good, there a pure Intention will dedicate the Life to his Glory, as the ultimate End; then and not before may we call the Life holy.

Fourthly, An holy Life is humble and dependant upon the influences of God's Spirit and Grace. Hence the Apoſtle bids us, Work out our Salvation with fear and trembling, Phil. 2.12. That is, with all humility: And the Reaſon is added, For God worketh to p. 415will, and to do of his good pleaſure, verſ. 13. which would be no Reaſon at all, if we could ſtand upon our own bottom, and work out our Salvation without any dependance upon that Grace, which worketh the Will and the Deed: But if, as the reaſon tells us, God works the Will and the deed of his good pleaſure, then we have all the reaſon in the World to work it out with fear and trembling; as knowing our dependance upon God and his Grace. Again; The Apoſtle ſaith of himſelf, I laboured more abundantly than they all; yet not I, but the Grace of God, which was with me, 1 Cor. 15.10. Obſerve his great caution; he aſcribes nothing to himſelf, but all to Grace. He ſaid indeed, I laboured; yet he piouſlly retracts it, ſaying, yet not I, but the Grace of God. He aſcribes all to Grace, becauſe in all his labours he was in an humble dependance upon it, as being that without which he could do nothing. This note of an holy Life doth alſo ſhew, that the Moral Vertues of the Heathens were not right: they were indeed wiſe, ſober, juſt, merciful; but what was their poſture in their doing theſe things? how did they crow, and reflect upon themſelves, and cry up their own Reaſon and Will, as the only Fountains of Vertue? The Philoſopher, ſaith Epictetus, expects all foreign from himſelf. Ench. c. 17.Deorum immortalium munus eſt, quod vivimus, Philoſophiae, quod benè vivimus, Epiſt. 90.Our Life is from the Gods; but, which is greater than Life, our Vertue is from Philoſophy. Thus Seneca, their Virtuoſo, could vie perfection with God himſelf:Epiſt. 48. Hoc eſt quod Philoſophia mihi promittit, ut me parem Deo faciat, ſaith Seneca: Philoſophy was to make him equal to God. Nay, there is a ſtrain higher;Epiſt. 53. Eſt aliquid, quo Sapiens antecedet Deum, ille Naturae beneficio, non p. 416ſuo, ſapiens eſt, ſaith he; There is ſomething wherein a wiſe Man hath the precedence of God: God is God by Nature, but the wiſe Man is ſo by his Reaſon and Will. They ſcorned that Vertue ſhould be Res beneficiaria, a thing precarious or dependant upon the Grace of God; they would have it to be meerly and entirely their own.De Natura Deor. Virtutem nemo unquàm acceptam Deo retulit, nimirùm rectè propter virtutem jure laudamur; in virtute rectè gloriamur; quod non contingeret, ſi id donum à Deo, non à nobis haberemus, thus Cicero; No Man ever thank't God for being vertuous; for Vertue we are juſtly praiſed, in Vertue we rightly glory; which we could not do if it were from God, and not from our ſelves: And may we call this Holineſs? No ſurely; it's horrible Impiety, and deſperate Pride, for them thus to lift up themſelves, and dethrone God the great Donor. The Angels by reflecting on their own excellencies in a thought, were turned into Devils: And, I confidently ſay it, Vertues, which by a proud reflex are turned back upon themſelves, loſe their Nature; being altogether independant upon God, the Fountain of goodneſs, they are no longer Vertues, but Fancies and Nullities. A proud Self-ſubſiſter is a Man in a poſture as croſs to the Goſpel as poſſibly can be: the tumor in his Heart makes him uncapable of that Grace which is given to the humble; the Self-ſufficiency there makes it impoſſible for him to live by Faith, as the Juſt do; he depends not on God's Grace, and how can he live to his Glory? he is all to himſelf, and what can God be to him?Praef. in Pſal. 31.Ps 31 Some Pagans, ſaith St. Auſtin, would not be Chriſtians, quià ſufficiunt ſibi de bonâ vitâ ſuâ, becauſe they could live well of themſelves: If a Man can ſtand upon his own bottom, and work out of his p. 417own ſtock, to what purpoſe are Chriſt and Grace? if he may be a Principle and End to himſelf, what need he go out of his own Circle? Such a Man as this, is an Idol to himſelf, fraught with Vanity and horrible Preſumption; but utterly void of God and an holy Life. I ſhall ſay no more to this: An holy Life is a Life of dependance; the Juſt or holy Man lives by Faith; he looks to God, and is ſaved; he waits till Mercy come; he commits himſelf to God and his Grace; he leans and rolls upon him, as not bearing up his own weight; he caſts his burden on him, as being too much for himſelf. He gives himſelf to the Lord, reſigning up all his property in himſelf, that God may be all in all; ſtill he is in dependance upon him: He moves but under the Firſt Mover; he acts but under the great Agent; when he ſails towards Heaven, he looks for the holy gales; when he ſows precious Seed, he waits for the Heavenly dews and Sun-beams: Still he depends upon Grace. In the 119. Pſal. where we have the breathings of Vital Religion, David admirably ſets forth, how in all his holy actings he did depend upon God: Thou haſt commanded us to keep thy Precepts; but O that my ways were directed to do ſo, verſ. 4, & 5. I will keep thy Statutes; but O forſake me not utterly; verſ. 8. With my whole Heart have I ſought thee, but O let me not wander from thy Commandments, verſ. 10. I will run the way of thy Commandments, but do thou enlarge my Heart, verſ. 32. I love thy Precepts; but quicken me, O Lord, according to thy loving kindneſs, verſ. 159. I have choſen thy Precepts; O let thine Hand help me, verſ. 173. We ſee here the true Picture of an holy Life: It is working and depending; it is Obedience and Influence in Conjunction. The holy Man very well knows, that the new Creature, p. 418though it be in it ſelf an excellent thing, and more worth than the Soul it ſelf, is defectible, and cannot ſtand alone, or ſubſiſt without a Divine concourſe: it was breathed out from God; and, without his continual ſpirations to ſupport it, it will vaniſh into nothing; ſhould God tell him, That he ſhould ſtand alone, and upon his own bottom; he would, though richly furniſhed with divine Graces, fall into an Agony, and be ready to ſink into deſpair; his Heart would immediately ſuggeſt to him, that he might, with David, roll in Adultery and Blood; or, with Peter, deny the Lord Chriſt; or, with Julian, turn total, final Apoſtate, were he left in the hand of his own counſel; he knows he might do any thing which hath been done by others. St. Auſtin brings in one ſpeaking thus; Non multa peccavi, I have ſinned little, yet love much: And then anſwers thus;Hom. 23. Tom. 10. Tu dicis te non multa commiſſiſſe: Quare? quo regente? Hoc tibi dicit Deus tuus, Regebam te mihi, ſervabam te mihi, agnoſce gratiam ejus, cui debes & quod non admiſiſti? Thou ſay'ſt, That thou haſt not ſinned much: Why? who ruled thee? Thy God ſaith to thee, I ruled thee, I preſerved thee; acknowledg then his Grace, to which thou oweſt even this, That thou haſt not ſinned as others. The holy Man is very ſenſible, that unleſs God bear him up with his Grace, he ſhall ſoon ſink into all manner of fin. Hence that of Luther, Vita hominis nihil aliud eſt niſi oratio, gemitus, deſiderium, ſuſpirium ad miſericordiam Dei: Our Life ſhould be a perpetual breathing after that Grace of God, upon which we depend: Were we full of divine Light, yet if we ſhould ſhut the windows, and go about to poſſeſs it in a Self-ſubſiſtence, we ſhould ſoon be in the dark, p. 419and find by experience that every Beam hangs upon that Grace which is above: were we never ſo rich in inherent Graces, unleſs there were influences from Heaven alſo, we ſhould ſoon ſpend our ſtock, and become bankrupts. The holy Man is a Part or Member of Chriſt, and lives in dependance upon him as the Head. There is, as St. Chryſoſtom ſaith, foreign, a Spirit deſcending from Chriſt above, which touches all his Members, and makes a kind of Spiritual continuity between him and them: Hence they are ſaid in Scripture to live in the Spirit, pray in the Spirit, walk in the Spirit, do all in the Influence of that Spirit, which comes down from the Head to actuate their Graces: Hence St. Paul ſaith, I live; yet not I, but Chriſt liveth in me, Gal. 2.20. His Graces as they had their Being from Chriſt the true Immanuel, ſo were they continued and actuated by the Influences of his Spirit; which in a ſober ſence are a kind of Immanuel, God with us, to uphold and quicken us to all holy Obedience. As the humane Nature of Chriſt acted not in a ſeparate way, but in union with the Divine; ſo the Believers Graces do nothing apart, but all in union with Chriſt. Still there muſt be, as the Milevitan Councel tells us, an Adjutorium Gratiae, a ſupernatural Aid to work in us to will and to do. When we do good, then, as the Arauſican Councel hath it, Deus in nobis at que nobiſcum, ut operemur, operatur; God works in and with us, to make us work: The Holy Man's Powers and Graces cannot go alone. He is therefore depending upon that Spirit which acts the Sons of God in pure ways towards Heaven: To deny this dependance, is, like the worſhippers of Angels, Not to hold the Head, from which all the Body by p. 420joynts and bands, having nouriſhment miniſtred, and knit together, increaſeth with the increaſe of God, Col. 2.19. Were the holy Man off from the Head, what would become of him? what illapſes of the Spirit or Influences of Grace could he look for in a ſtate ſeparate from him? how could he remain holy, or continue in the Divine Life any longer? In ſuch a caſe he would be no longer a living Branch, but foreign, a quaſi Branch, dead and withered, and fit for the Fire, as the Expoſition is, Joh. 15.6. He could no more walk in Holineſs, than the old Dionyſius, (as the Fable runs) could walk a great way with his Head off. We ſee then what manner of thing a true holy Life is; it is that which ſtands in doing the Will of God in a way of humble dependance upon his Grace; it is not enough to do that which is good, but we muſt do it waiting, and looking up to the God of Grace, that he would ſtrengthen our inner Man, order our ſteps, hold up our goings in his paths, encline our Hearts, and work all our works in us; that he would by the continual ſupplies of his Spirit enlighten us when dark, quicken us when dead, draw us when backward, hold us when falling, enlarge us when in ſtraits, and actuate our Graces in the midſt of our infirmities: How excellent is the Life, when God's Arm joyns it ſelf to ours to ſet it a working; when the Spirit breaths on our Graces, and the Spices flow out; when the Influences of Auxiliary Grace are as Dew; and the Roots of Habitual Graces caſt forth themſelves in holy works ſutable thereunto; when there is Grace with our Spirit: and, in a ſence, a kind of Immanuel, God with us, to incline our Hearts to do all the Will of God; and in the power of his Grace we ſet our ſelves ſeriouſly to the doing of it? p. 421This is indeed an holy Life; not only good in the matter, but pious in the manner of it; a vein of Faith and dependance runs through every Good Work: God, the Fountain and Original of Holineſs, is ſanctified in every ſtep we take: there is an holy Life in us; but the Fountain of Life is above; we do Good Works, but God is the Great Operator, he works all our Works in us. I ſhall conclude with that of the Arauſican Councel, Adjutorium Dei etiàm renatis ac ſanctis ſemper eſt implorandum, ut ad finem bonum pervenire, vel in bono opere perdurare poſſint, Can. 10. Help from the Holy One muſt be ever implored, even by the Saints themſelves, that they may arrive at the good End, and abide in the Good Work.

Fifthly, In an holy Life there muſt be a ſincere mortification of ſin, without any ſalvo or exception; no known ſin may be indulged or ſpared: It's true, in an holy Man there are reliques of in-dwelling ſin adhering to him; there are quotidian Infirmities, Effluvium's of Humane Frailty, breathing forth from him; but neither of theſe are indulged; both are inevitable in this Life: Original Corruption is a very great burden to him; it is the grief of his Heart, to have ſuch an evil in his Boſom; to be a clog upon his Faculties, a damp upon his Prayers, a cooler upon his Zeal and Charity, and a ſtain upon all his Duties and Good Works. This makes him groan, and cry out, Oh! wretched Man that I am! who ſhall deliver me from this Body of Death? This is an Evil always preſent; the holy Man ſhakes himſelf, and yet it adheres; he flies, and yet it encompaſſes; he mortifies, and yet he muſt mortify on; it is not, it will not be extinct till Death diſſolves him into duſt: He p. 422prays, weeps, ſweats, fights, runs, labours, and yet he cannot make a total riddance of it. However, he indulges it not; in like manner is it with his daily Infirmities; theſe are not indulged, but they lie as an heavy burden upon him: he wiſhes for, he breaths after Perfection: Oh! that there were no remaining Sin, no moats of Infirmity: But alas! it will not be here;Auſt. de Temp. Serm. 45. Concupiſcere nolo; & concupiſco, ſaith the Father; Innate corruption will be ſtirring and bubling up in us; all that can be done on Earth; is to war and fight againſt it; the Triumph, the Crown of ſinleſs Perfection can be found no where but in Heaven: But to clear this Particular, I ſhall ſet down two things.

The one is this: A Man, who indulges or allows ſin in himſelf, cannot, while he doth ſo, lead an holy Life: he hath no Principles for it; no Principle of Repentance; he cannot mourn over ſin, while he joys in it; he cannot hate ſin, while he loves it; he cannot forſake ſin, while he follows after it. No Principle of Faith; he cannot truſt in God's Mercy, when he rebels, and is in Arms againſt him; he cannot receive the Lord Chriſt, when he hath another Maſter to rule over him; he cannot cloſe in with the precious Promiſes of the Goſpel, when he embraces the lying Promiſes of Sin. No Principle of Holy Love; he cannot truly love God, with an Idol in his Heart; he cannot love him, and cloſe in with ſin his great Enemy; he cannot love him, and habitually, willingly violate his Commands: Such an one can have no pure Intention towards God's Will or Glory: not towards God's Will; he obeys with a ſalvo or exception; he picks and chuſes among the Divine Commands; he complies only with thoſe Commands p. 423which croſs not his darling Luſt. The Jewiſh Rabbins ſay; He that ſaith, I receive the whole Law, except one word only, deſpiſes the Command of God. The ſame Divine Authority is upon all the Commands; and that Obedience, which is with the exception of one Command which croſſes the indulged Luſt, is as none at all: Nor yet towards God's Glory: How can he glorify God, who by willful ſinning diſhonours him? or how can he aim at that Glory, who aims at the ſatisfaction of his own Luſt? or which way can one promote two ſuch contrary ends, as that Glory, and his own Satisfaction? Heaven and Hell, Light and Darkneſs, Holineſs and Impurity may as ſoon be reconciled, as two ſuch contrary ends can meet together. Every indulged Luſt is one Idol or other; either it is Baal, Pride and Lorlineſs, or Aſhtaroth, Wealth and Riches, or Venus, carnal and ſenſual pleaſure, or Mauzzim, Force and earthly Power; unleſs the Idol be put away, we cannot ſerve God in in an holy Life.

The other thing is this: It is of high concern to an holy Life to mortify Sin. An holy Man is one in Covenant with God; therefore he muſt maintain war againſt Sin, the Enemy of God; Sin is an oppoſite to God, a rebellion againſt his Sovereignty, a contradiction to his Holineſs, an abuſe to his Grace, a provocation to his Juſtice, a diſparagement to his Glory; and how can an holy Man, a Friend of God do leſs than ſet himſelf againſt it, that he may kill and utterly deſtroy it? Ye that love the Lord, hate evil, ſaith the Pſalmiſt, Pſal. 97.10. The Exhortation is pregnant with excellent Reaſon: If you do indeed love God, who is Purity, Power, Wiſdom, Excellency it ſelf; ye can do no leſs than hate Sin, which is Pollution, p. 424Weakneſs, Folly, and Vileneſs; and if you do hate it, you will ſeek the utter ruine and extirpation of it: an holy Man is one in union with Chriſt, and upon that account he muſt mortify Sin: in Chriſt crucified he hath a pattern of Mortification; what was done to his pure Fleſh in a way of Expiation, muſt be done to our corrupt Fleſh in a way of Mortification. The Nails which faſtned him to the Croſs, tell us, that our corruption muſt have ſuch a reſtraint upon it, that it may, like one on a Croſs, be diſabled to go forth into thoſe acts of ſin which it is propenſe unto; the piercing and letting out his Heart-blood, ſhews us that the Old Man muſt not only be reſtrained, but pierced; that the vital Blood, the internal love of ſin may be let out of the Heart; he was active in his Paſſion; he freely laid down his Life, yet violence was done to him; in like manner we muſt freely ſacrifice our Luſts; we muſt willingly die to ſin, yet ſin muſt not die a Natural Death, but a violent one; it muſt be ſtabb'd at the heart, and die of its wounds: And, becauſe it will not die all at once, it muſt by little and little languiſh away till it give up the Ghoſt; there muſt be Mortification upon Mortification, becauſe ſin is long a dying. But further we have from Chriſt not an Examplar of mortification only, but a Spirit and Divine Power for the Work, while by Faith we converſe about the wounds of Chriſt; We have that Spirit from him, which mortifies the deeds of the Body, Rom. 8.13. That mind of Chriſt which makes us ſuffer in the Fleſh, ceaſing from ſin, That we may no longer live to the Luſts of Men, but to the Will of God, 1 Pet. 4.1, & 2. If then the holy Man will live like himſelf, and as becomes a Member of Chriſt, he muſt by that Vertue and Spirit, which he p. 425hath from him, crucify his Luſts and Corruptions: Thus the Apoſtle, They that are Chriſt's, have crucified the Fleſh with the Affections and Luſts, Gal. 5.24. They ought to crucify them; they do crucify them ſo far, that ſin can reign no longer; they go on crucifying every day more and more, that the body of ſin may be deſtroyed.

Moreover, An holy Man hath ſuch a Divine Faith, as blaſts all the World in compariſon of Heavenly things; in the Eyes of Faith, Earthly Riches are not the true ones: thoſe Treaſures which glitter ſo much to Senſe, are but poor moth-eaten things; the World's ſubſtance is but a ſhadow, an apparition, a thing that is not; too low for an immortal Soul to aim at; too mean to enrich the inward Man; the ſenſual pleaſures which raviſh Fleſh and Blood, are but the vain titillations of the outward Man; Momentary things; ſuch as periſh in the uſing, and die in the embraces, leaving nothing behind them but a ſting and worm in the Conſcience of the poor voluptuary. Mundane Glories, which take carnal Men ſo much, appear to be but a blaſt; a little popular Air: to a Man up among the Stars, the whole Earth would be but a ſmall thing; and to a Man who by Faith converſes in Heaven, Earthly Crowns and Scepters are no better. Now when Sin, which uſes to wrap up it ſelf in one piece of the World or other, is blaſted in its Covers and Dreſſes of apparent Good; when thoſe Pomps and Fancies of the World, which uſually paint and cover Sin, to render it eligible unto Men, are diſcovered by Faith to be but vanities and empty Nothings, Sin will be loved no longer: nay, it will look according to its own hue like a vile, baſe, deformed thing, fit for nothing but to be hung upon a Croſs; there to p. 426die and expire. Hence it appears, that an holy Man as long as his Faith diſcovers a vanity and nothingneſs in the faireſt proſpects of the World, muſt needs overcome the World, and the luſts of it. Again, An holy Man, according to that ſupernatural Conſecration which is upon him, ſurrenders up his Love, and Joy, and Delight to God and Chriſt and Heavenly things; the ſtream of his Heart, which before run out upon the lying vanities here below, is now turned to the excellent things above; his Converſation is in Heaven; his Treaſure and his Heart are both there; and then what muſt become of Sin? muſt it not needs die away, and become as a Body without a Spirit in it? It is the Love, and the Joy, and the Delight of Man which animate Sin; but if theſe are not here any longer, but riſen and gone away into the upper World, to place and center themſelves upon the excellent objects which are there, then Sin muſt needs languiſh and die away; it hath nothing to animate or enliven it any more: were this Divine ſurrender in perfection, Sin could not ſo much as be; and proportionably where it is but in truth only, Sin muſt needs grow heartleſs and powerleſs. Notable is that of the Apoſtle, Walk in the Spirit, i.e. in the Elevations of holy Faith and Love, and ye ſhall not fulfill the luſts of Fleſh, Gal. 5.16. Sin ſhall grow weak, and by little and little give up the Ghoſt.

To conclude this Character; An holy Man, which way ſoever he looks, ſees juſt reaſon to mortify Sin; the rectitude of the Law ſaith, It muſt die for its crookedneſs and ataxy: the threatning of Death ſaith, It muſt die, or the Soul muſt die in the room of it. The bleeding Wounds of our dying Lord ſay, That the Crucifier muſt not be ſpared, but die after that manner. p. 427That excellent Gueſt, the holy Spirit, ſaith, It is too vile a thing to live under the ſame roof with it ſelf. The precious immortal Soul ſaith, The wounds and turpitudes of it are too intolerable to be endured any longer. Heaven, that bleſſed Region, ſaith, It is not to be tolerated by any who mean to enter into that place: We muſt then mortifie the deeds of the Body, that we may live, Rom. 8.13. that we may live a Life of Holineſs here, and a Life of Glory in another World.

Sixthly, An holy Life is not made up of the Exerciſe of this or that Grace in particular; but of the Exerciſe of all Graces, pro hic & nunc, as occaſion ſerves. St. Peter ſaith, That we muſt add to our Faith Vertue, to Vertue Knowledge, to Knowledge Temperance, to Temperance Patience, to Patience Godlineſs, to Godlineſs Brotherly kindneſs, and to Brotherly kindneſs Charity, 2 Pet. 1.5, 6, 7. Holy Men, who are partakers of the Divine Nature, ſpoken of immediately before, have Grace upon Grace; and muſt, as occaſion ſerves, exerciſe one after another, that there may be a Conſtellation of Graces appearing in their Lives, to give the more full reſemblance of the Perfections which are in their Father in Heaven; our Saviour Chriſt (in whom all Graces are ſet forth in lively and Orient colours, and are really and practically exemplified to our view) had this character juſtly given him, he went up and down down doing good; every ſtep one odour of Grace or other brake forth from him: Subjection to Parents or Magiſtrates, or Zeal towards God, or Humility in waſhing his Diſciples feet, or Meekneſs under falſe Accuſations, or melting Compaſſions letting out cures on the Bodies and Heavenly truths on the Souls of Men, or admirable p. 428Patience under great ſorrows and ſufferings; one glorious way of Holineſs or other was always coming from him: Proportionably, an holy Man, Who is a living Member of Chriſt, muſt be in his meaſure holy in all manner of Converſation, 1 Pet. 1.15. In the Original it is, foreign, which way ſoever he turn himſelf, he muſt be holy in it: he muſt have a reſpect to God at every turn; this will beſt appear by the particular parts of his Life.

Take an holy Man in Divine Ordinances, there he is holy: He would firſt be ſure that he is in a right Church, and in a right Ordinance; in a right Church; for there the Lord commands the Bleſſing, even Life for evermore; in a right Ordinance, for unleſs the Inſtitution be from God, the Benediction cannot be expected from him: and then he would ſerve God in a right manner, and ſanctify his Name in his approaches; when he comes to an Ordinance, he hath high thoughts of God, as being the Infinite Majeſty of Heaven, the Excellency of all Perfections; one whom Angels adore, and Devils tremble at: accordingly he lies low before God; he ſerves him with Reverence and godly Fear; he draws nigh to him, yet forgets not the infinite diſtance between them; he bluſhes to think that he muſt go before ſo pure a Majeſty, with the duſt of Mortality about him: and again he bluſhes to think, that he muſt do ſo in the ſpots and rags of many Infirmities, which being in the Soul are much more abaſive than thoſe in the Body. The Beams of the Divine Glory ſtrike an holy awe into him, and make him conclude, That a Soul, though entirely given up, is to God but a little, very little thing; but as a Beam to the Sun, or a drop to the Ocean; and, p. 429which is matter of more ſhame and abaſement; the Soul is much leſs, in that the innate corruption holds back, and the bewitching World ſteals away a great deal of it from God: very little or rather nothing it is, that we can give to him; however the holy Man, ſuch is his Divine temper, would not abate any thing, but endeavour in Ordinances to give God his Spirit and higheſt Intention; he knows that God is a Spirit, and meer bodily worſhip is as nothing to him: what is the bowing of the Knee, when there is an Iron Sinew of Rebellion within? or the lifting up of the Hands or Eyes, when there is an earthly depreſſion upon the affections? towhat purpoſe is an open Ear, when the Heart is deaf and ſhut up againſt holy Truths? And what a ſhadow, a meer lye in worſhip is the Body, when the Mind is ſtole away and gone after Vanity? He therefore ſets himſelf to ſerve God in ſpirit and truth; while God is ſpeaking to him in his Sacred Word, he would have no converſe at all with worldly objects; he bids theſe ſtand by, and not interrupt his attention, while he is ſpeaking to God in prayer; he would not only pour out words to God, but his very Heart and Spirit, if it were poſſible, all of it, without reſerving ſo much as a glance or a piece of a broken thought towards carnal things; a Duty to the Great God is a thing of vaſt import and conſequence; therefore he would do it with the greateſt ſtrength of intention and affection. David like he calls upon his Soul, and all that is within him to intend the thing in hand; but becauſe when he hath done his utmoſt, there will yet be many failures and infirmities; the holy Man looks up to Mercy for a Pardon, and offers up all his Duties in and through Jeſus Chriſt the great Mediator. In the Old Teſtament p. 430the holy Man prayed thus, Remember, O my God, and ſpare me, Neh. 13.22. Enter not into judgment with thy Servant, Pſal. 143.2. If thou, Lord, ſhouldeſt mark iniquities, who ſhall ſtand? Pſal. 130.3. The ſenſe of their many imperfections made them fly to a Mercy-ſeat: In the New Teſtament we are expreſly directed, To do all in the Name of the Lord Jeſus, Col. 3.17. To make our approaches to God in and through him, Eph. 2.18. To offer up ſpiritual Sacrifices acceptable to God by him, 1 Pet. 2.5. Every Duty muſt be tendred unto God in and through the Mediator: therefore the holy Man doth not ſtand upon the Perfection of his Services, but implore a Pardon of his Infirmities; neither doth he tender his Services immediately unto God, but he puts them into the hand of Chriſt, that being perfumed, and as it were, glorified by his merits, they might from thence aſcend up before God, and be graciouſly accepted by him. Moreover, becauſe Ordinances are but Medium's and Chanels of Grace, the Holy Man in the uſe of them lifts up his Eyes to God, to have them filled with the Divine Spirit and Bleſſing; a meer outward Sanctuary of Ordinances will not ſerve his turn; he would ſee the Power and the Glory, the goings of God in it: He cannot live by Bread only; not the Life of Nature by the Bread of Creatures only; not the Life of Grace by the Bread of Ordinances only: in both he waits for that word of Bleſſing, which proceeds out of God's Mouth; this is that which makes the Ordinance communicate Grace and Comfort to us: When the Word is preached, it is not enough to the holy Man to have the Sacred Truths outwardly propoſed, or to hear the voice of a Man teaching the ſame; but his Heart p. 431and his Fleſh cry out for the Living God. Oh! that God would ſpeak inwardly in words of Life and Power! that deep and Divine impreſſions might be made upon the Heart, to ſanctify it by the Truth, and to caſt it more and more into the mould of the Divine Will! Oh! that God would come and ſhine into the Heart, that he would uncover the holy things, and bring forth Evangelical Myſteries to the view, that the Heart might be raviſhed in the ſweet odours of Chriſt; that the Promiſes might flow out as a Conduit of Celeſtial Wine, and make the Soul taſte ſome drops of the pure Rivers of pleaſure which are above! This is the deſire and expectation of the holy Man in hearing; in like manner in Prayer it is not enough to him to pour out words before God, but he looks for the holy Spirit, to help his Infirmities, and breath upon his Devotions; that as Chriſt pleads above by his Merits and Sweet-ſmelling Sacrifice, ſo the Holy Spirit may plead in the Heart with ſighs and groans that cannot be uttered; being conſcious to himſelf, what a thing his Heart is; how much coldneſs, hardneſs, ſtraitneſs is yet remaining there; he waits for the Spirit to be as fire from Heaven to inflame the Heart, and make it aſcend up unto God; to melt it, and make it open and expand towards Heaven, to ſet it a running in Spiritual fluency and enlargements towards God. The holy Man eſteems all to be loſt and to no purpoſe, unleſs he can have ſome converſe and communion with God in every ordinance: his Heart and the Ordinance have both the ſame ſcope and tendency, that there may be a Divine intercourſe between God and him; God draws, and he runs, Cant. 1.4. God ſaith, Seek ye my Face; And the Soul anſwers, Thy Face, Lord, will I ſeek, Pſal. 27.8. p. 432There are Divine Influences and Spirations on God's part, and there are compliances and reſponſes in the holy Heart; in Prayer it burns and aſpires after him who ſet it a fire by the communications of his Grace and Love; in Praiſe it carries back the received Bleſſings, and lays them down at the feet of the great Donor; in the hearing of the Word, it hath ſomething or other to anſwer to every part; it trembles at the threatning; it leaps up, and in triumphs of Faith embraces the Promiſe; it complies with the pure Command in holy Love and Obedience: without this Communion, in which God and Man ſpiritually meet together, the holy Man looks on Ordinances, but as dry empty things, void of Life; and ſeparate from their chief end; but if the holy Spirit breath upon the Heart, and that breath out it ſelf to God; if the Soul ſet it ſelf to ſeek God's Face, and that irradiate the Duty; then the Ordinance is full of Life, and reaches its end. The holy Man then perceives that God is in it of a truth: hence one, as Bellarmine relates, uſed to riſe from Duty with theſe words, Claudimini oculi mei, claudimini, nihil enim pulchrius jàm videbitis; Be ſhut, O my Eyes, be ſhut, for I ſhall never behold a fairer object than God's Face, which I have now beheld.

Take him in Alms and Charity, he is holy there; he knows that he was born, nay, and by a Divine Generation born again, that he might do good: It was a notable Speech of the Philoſoper, The Beaſts, Plants, Sun, Stars were deſigned for ſome work or other, foreign; and what are you for? When he thinks that he is a Man, a rational Creature, and, which is more, a new Creature, and by Adoption one of the Seed Royal of Heaven; he ſees a p. 433neceſſity laid upon him to be fruitful in Charity and Good Works: If he who hath a firſt and a ſecond Birth, who hath the good things of Nature and Grace, do not do good, who ſhall do it? or where may it be expected? The holy Man therefore ſets himſelf to do good; he doth not only do the outward work of Charity, but he doth it readily and freely; when an object of Charity meets him, he doth not ſay, Go and come again, when he himſelf goes to the Mercy-ſeat, he would not have God delay or turn him off after that manner: Neither will he do ſo to his poor Brother, not only the command of God, but the taſte; that he hath, of the Divine Grace, make him ready and free in good Works; his Good Works have not only a Body, but there is a free Spirit in them; and as the thing given ſupplies the Receiver's want, ſo the manner of giving revives his Spirit: The holy Man doth not only give Alms, but he doth it out of Love and Compaſſion; Beneficentiâ ex Benevolentiâ manare debet; he doth good out of good will; he opens his heart as well as his hand; he doth not only draw out his Alms, but his Soul to the hungry; he doth not only give outward things, but himſelf in real compaſſions to the afflicted: he knows that Sacrifice is not acceptable to God without Mercy; no more is the outward Almsdeed without inward Pity; he therefore as the Elect of God, puts on Bowels of Mercy, that when his hand is diſtributing, his Bowels may be moved towards thoſe in miſery; that he may not give a meer external thing, but aliquid ſui ipſius, ſomething of himſelf; I mean, his Compaſſion;Si nihil habes, da lacrymulam; magnum enim ſolatium afflicto eſt miſericordia, Naz. Orat. 16. it doubles the Alms to give it with Pity; meer Mercy in it ſelf is a comfort to the afflicted, but when it comes with a ſupply p. 434of neceſſaries in its hand; it is then a comfort in matter and manner. Moreover, the holy Man hath not only humane Bowels, but Chriſtian; in all his acts of Charity he moves from an high Principle, and unto an high end: and upon that account the Apoſtle calls thoſe acts Pure Religion, Jam. 1.27. And St.Ipſa miſericordia, ſi propter Deum non fit, non eſt Sacrificium: Sacrificium res divina eſt. Auſt. de Civ. Dei l. 10. c. 6. Auſtin call them a Sacrifice, a Divine thing. Firſt, I ſay, He acts from an high Principle; he doth not extend Mercy to Men in miſery, only out of humanity, but out of love to God; he doth not reſpect them, meerly becauſe they are his own Fleſh, ſuch as are in conjunction of Nature with him; but chiefly becauſe they are rational Creatures, ſuch as ſtand in Relation to God, and are capable of union with him; the love of God, (who alone is to be loved for himſelf) is the great Wheel which moves our Love and Mercy towards our Neighbour. St. John argues thus, Whoſo ſeeth his Brother have need, and ſhutteth up his Bowels of compaſſion from him, how dwelleth the Love of God in him? 1 Joh. 3. 17. It is all one, as if he had ſaid, There is no Love of God at all in him; for if there were any that would open his Bowels towards his Brother, Piety towards God is the right Fountain of Charity towards Men. Again,De Doctr. Chriſt. l. 3. c. 10. He acts unto an high end; Charitas eſt motus animi ad fruendum Deo propter ipſum, & ſe & proximo propter Deum, ſaith St. Auſtin, Charity is the motion of the Soul to enjoy God for himſelf, and it ſelf and its Neighbour for God. The holy Man in his acts of Charity hath a Supream reſpect unto God; he would reſemble and glorify God in them; there is nothing wherein he can ſhew himſelf more like unto God than in Mercy and Love: God, when he p. 435proclaims his Name, Exod. 34.6. inſiſts very much upon Mercy. He is good, and doth good, Pſal. 119.68. Therefore the holy Man would be ſtill a doing of good, that he might in his Sphear, though but a little one, reſemble that God; who doth good in the great Sphear of Nature; God makes his Sun to ſhine and rain to fall every where: and the holy Man, who would be like him, endeavours to ſhine in good works, and drop in Charities upon all occaſions; in all he would have no other center than God and his Glory; his aim is, that thoſe drops and models of Mercy which are in him may bear witneſs to the infinite Fountain and Ocean of Mercy which is above; ſtill he deſires that God in all things may be glorified.

Take him in proſperity, he is holy there. I may ſay of him what the Hiſtorian ſaith of Mauritius the Emperour, His Proſperity doth not make him leave his Piety. He eſteems himſelf leſs than the leaſt of God's Mercies; he holds all that he hath in capite of God the great Donor; he deſires to ſee free Grace in every crum of Bread, drop of drink, and moments patitience; when there is a Table ſpread, and a Cup running over, and an affluence of all good things; he ſuffers nothing to be loſt; but returns all in a thankful acknowledgment unto the giver: Thus holy David, All things are of thee, 1 Chr. 29.14. Life, Health, Peace, Proſperity, the whole Catalogue of Bleſſings are from God; the holy Man looks on it as no leſs than Sacriledge to ſubſtract the leaſt fragment from him. He looks upon Bleſſings in dependance upon their Original; he ſees the ſence and meaning of them to be this, that our hearts may be guided and directed by them to the infinite Fountain of Goodneſs. He poſſeſſes them, but he p. 436will not be poſſeſſed by them; they may flow round about him, but they muſt keep their diſtance, and not enter into the heart, which is reſerved as an holy place for God; while they ſtand without and miniſter to the outward Man, they are Bleſſings, and Glaſſes of the Divine Goodneſs; but if once they lean their ſtation, and are taken into the Heart, they are Idols and Vanities; there is a blaſt and a curſe upon them, becauſe they turn away the Heart from God the Fountain of Living Waters: In the midſt of all outward Bleſſings, the holy Man is but a Pilgrim in this World; here is not his Happineſs his happineſs or center of reſt; he looks after far greater and nobler things tha… thoſe which grow here below; Corn, and Wine, and Oil are in his Eyes but poor things in compariſon of God's favour: Heaven is his Country, and by a Divine touch, from thence, his Heart, though courted by the World, will point thither; he reſolves with himſelf, he will be happy only in God, and in nothing elſe: whilſt he is here, he uſes his outward good things in the fear of God. He knows that The Earth is the Lord's, and the fulneſs thereof: God is the abſolute Proprietor, and Man but a Steward only. The poor Man in his neceſſities hath a right to have ſupply out of the ſuperfluities of the Rich; the Charity of the Rich is but Fidelitas in alieno, Faithfulneſs in that which is another Man's, Luke 16.12. Riches are a Talent and muſt be accounted for; if oppreſſion make the beam cry out of the wall, or if outward things become the fuel of of luſt, or if the non-uſer bring a ruſt upon them, it will be a very ill reckoning at the laſt day; therefore the holy Man endeavours to perform his truſt; he is, what his Riches call for, rich in good Works; the p. 437Goodneſs of God to him makes him good to others; the open hand of the great Donor makes him aſhamed to ſhut his own: his great intereſt lies in the other World; and upon that account the exchanges his outwards things thither, by ſuch acts of Charity as follow him, and live for ever.

Take him in adverſity, he is holy there; as in proſperity his anſwer is (what was ſo much in the mouth of the ancient Chriſtians) Deo gratias, Auſt. in Pſal. 132.Ps 132God be thanked for this Mercy and that Mercy; ſo in adverſity, his anſwer is an holy Silence under God's hand: or if he open his mouth, it is in ſome ſuch Language as that, It is the Lord, let him do what ſeemeth him good: who ſhould ſit at the Stern, and rule all, but he? his Will is ſupream, and a law to it ſelf; his actions are all juſt and wiſe; the holy Man will not murmur or charge him fooliſhly; he will not interpoſe in the Government, or ſo much as ſtart a thought that things might be better ordered than they are; what ever his ſufferings be, ſtill he would have God govern; ſtill he concludes, nothing can be better than that which God doth. When he is toſſed on Earth, he caſts his Anchor in Heaven; his Heart is fixed, truſting in the Lord; in an admirable manner he hangs upon him who ſmites him; he adheres to him who ſeems to caſt him off; he looks for a ſecret ſupport from him, who preſſes him down; he expects that the very hand which wounded, ſhould heal him; though all outward things take wing, and fly away; he will not part with God; though God wrap up himſelf in a cloud of black Providences, yet he will wait at the door of one Promiſe or other, till he have a ſmile or glimpſe of the Divine favour; and, if that be ſuſpended, yet he will wait on, and comfort himſelf, the affliction is not Hell; all the p. 438troubles of this Life are but the aſhes of the furnace, a little time will blow them away; and then comes an Heaven, an Eternity of joy and comfort which pays for all: The holy Man will wait, but that is not all, he ſets himſelf ſeriouſly to read the meaning of the Croſs; and by comparing his Heart and this affliction, he picks out the ſence thus, Here, ſaith he, pointing to his Heart, is the vanity, and there's the Fan which drives away the Chaff; here's the droſs of earthly affections, and there's the Fire which melts it away; here are the ill humours, and there the bitters Pills which purge them out; and while he is humbling himſelf in ſuch conſiderations as theſe, at laſt he comes to read Love in the Croſs; and to have a ſweet experience, that even that works for his good; God doth it in faithfulneſs to wean him from the Breaſts of Creatures; and to endear Heaven to him; to make him learn that great Leſſon, To be ſubject to the Father of Spirits, and live for ever; to make his Faith and Patience come forth as gold doth out of the Furnace, in their pure luſtre and glory: and, as ſoon as he perceives this, all is well; he can now ſit down, and ſing Deo gratias; not to Bleſſings only, but alſo to Afflictions; upon the whole account he finds, That it was good for him that he was afflicted. Thus he ſanctifies God under the Croſs.

Take him in his Contracts and Dealings in the World, he is holy there; he doth, according to that golden Rule, Do to others as he would have them do to him. In his Contracts he deals Bonâ fide, truly and honeſtly: ſo he makes, and ſo he performs them. In Selling, he will have no more gain than what is reaſonable, and in a juſt proportion: In Buying, he will allow as much; he impoſes not upon an p. 439unskillful Perſon, but uſes him as one would a Child, in a fair manner; he will not foreign, go beyond his Brother; he will not have Lucrum in Arcâ, damnum in Conſcientiâ, gain in the Purſe, with loſs in the Conſcience. No; he loves plainneſs, he ſpeaks the truth, he doth that which is juſt and right; he carries himſelf like a true honeſt Man; and this he doth with a reſpect to God. Three great things God calls for in the Prophet, To do juſtly, and to love Mercy, and to walk humbly with God, Micah 6.8. If there be no Righteouſneſs, there will be no Mercy; if there be no Mercy, there will be no humble Walking with God. Three great things the Goſpel Grace calls for in the Apoſtle, To live ſoberly, righteouſly, and godly in the World, Tit. 2.12. Here is Summa Vitae Chriſtianae, the total of Chriſtianity, to live ſoberly, as to our ſelves; righteouſly as to others; and godly as to God. Still Righteouſneſs is one of the three; the holy Man deals juſtly, not meerly becauſe it is congruous to his own Reaſon, but becauſe it is congruous to the will of God: the fear of God urges him to it; If he did oppreſs, Deſtruction from God would be a terror to him, Job 31.23. A Divine Nemeſis would purſue and overtake him: the love of God conſtrains him to it; God is true to him, and he will not be falſe to others. God is mercifull to him, and he will not be unjuſt to others. The honour of Religion calls for it from him; He that is pious in the firſt Table, muſt not be wicked in the ſecond: A Chriſtian muſt not in Honeſty be below a Pagan; the Child of Grace muſt not live againſt Principles of Nature; Grace is not to take away Morality, but to refine and ſpiritualize it. An horrible ſhame and blot it would be upon Chriſtianity, if Pagans ſhould p. 440live as Men in juſt and fair dealing among themſelves; and yet Chriſtians ſhould live as Wolves or Beaſts of prey, tearing and devouring one another. In nobis Chriſtus patitur opprobrium, De Gub. Dei lib. 4.ſaith Salvian, As often as we do wrong, the Holy JESVS ſuffers a Reproach in us: The Holy Man therefore will deal juſtly, that Religion may not ſuffer by him.

Laſtly, Take him in a Calling, he is holy there; he knows he muſt not be idle. That of Cato hath been received as an Oracle, Nihil agendo, malè agere diſcis; Idleneſs teaches to do evil; it opens an ear to every extravagant motion; it entertains every ſinful fancy; it tempts the Devil, the great Tempter, to tempt us. St. Jerom adviſeth his Friends thus, Semper aliquid boni operis facito, ut Diabolus te ſemper inveniat occupatum, Be always a doing of ſome good thing, that the Devil may not find thee at leiſure: the Holy Man therefore will have a Calling, and therein he will abide with God, 1 Cor. 7.24. and his Works, by a Divine Prerogative, are wrought in God, Joh. 3.21. The Ordinance of God, which ſaith, That he muſt eat in ſudore vultûs, in the ſweat of his brow, preſſes him to diligence, that he may do what the idle Man cannot, eat his own Bread. The Allſeeing Eye of God, which is upon all his ways, makes him faithful in his ſtation: A mean Servant, if holy, ſerves in ſingleneſs of Heart, fearing God, Col. 3.22. The Eye of God which is upon him, cauſes him to be upright in the ſervice; the Holy Man in the Works of his Calling ſo carries himſelf,Davenant in Col. c. 3.Col 3 ac ſi nihil aliud in hoc mundo eſſet praeter illum & Deum, as if there were none in all the World beſides himſelf and God; ſtill his Eye is upon God; what ever he doth he doth it heartily, as unto the Lord, and not unto Men, p. 441Col. 3.23. The great end and center of his actions is God's Glory, and under that he deſigns to do good to Men; he would conferre aliquid in publicum, caſts in ſomething into the common good of Mankind: An Holy Magiſtrate hath the fear of God upon him; he judges not for Man, but for the Lord; he judges righteous Judgment; and that, as the Rabbins ſay, is a ſure ſign that the Shecinah, the Divine Preſence is with him in the judgment: An Holy Miniſter carries with him an Ʋrim and Thummim, Light in his Doctrine, and Integrity in his Life. He burns in zeal for God and Chriſt; he melts in labours and compaſſions for the Souls of Men. His Motto is the ſame with that of Mr. Perkins, Verbi Miniſter es, hoc age. In a word, whatever the Calling be, the Holy Man is active, faithful, bent for the Glory of God; ſtill he remembers that he is a Chriſtian; Religion hath an influence upon his Calling. His particular Calling, which is Vocatio ad munus, to a courſe of Life, is made ſubordinate to his general Calling, which is Vocatio ad Faedus, to the Faith and Obedience of the Goſpel.

Thus wee ſee, An Holy Man is like himſelf at every turn, as occaſion is; one odour of Grace or other is ſtill a breaking forth from him.

Seventhly, In an Holy Life there is not only an exerciſe of Graces, but in that Exerciſe a growth of them; the Holy Man of a Plant comes to be a Tree of Righteouſneſs; of a Babe he comes to be a Man in Chriſt; he goes from ſtrength to ſtrength; his path is as the ſhining Light, which ſhines more and more unto the perfect day, Prov. 4.18. He travels on from Vertue to Vertue, to meet the everlaſting day: He grows in every part of the New Creature, till he p. 442come to Heaven, where Grace is perfected in Glory. His Knowledg grows; by following on to know the Lord, he comes to know more of him; by doing of God's Will, he comes to underſtand it better than ever he did; the Eye is more open, the Heart is more unvailed, the Truth is more ſealed to the Mind, the Underſtanding is more quick in the Fear of the Lord, the Taſte and Savour of Divine things is higher than it was before: he had at his firſt Converſion a ſpiritual Knowledg and Underſtanding, but exerciſing himſelf to Godlineſs, he comes by degrees to all Knowledg, 1 Cor. 1.5. and to Riches of Ʋnderſtanding, Col. 2.2. Notions are enlarged, and withal Heavenly things are known per guſtum ſpiritualem, by a Spiritual taſte of them: his Faith grows; at firſt there was but contactus; but upon the Exerciſe of Graces there comes to be complexus fidei; the touch of Chriſt by Faith is advanced into an embrace; the recumbency on his Blood and Righteouſneſs is ſtronger; the ſubjection to his Royal Scepter is more full than it was; the reliance on Promiſes and compliance with Commands are both raiſed up to an higher pitch than they were before; at laſt Adherence comes to be Aſſurance. His Love grows; there comes to be an higher eſtimate ſet upon God, a cloſer union with him, a greater complacence in him than there was before. At laſt Love becomes a vehement flame, Cant. 8.6. Flamma Dei, the Flame of God, which burns up the earthly Affections, and aſpires after the full fruition of God in the Holy Heavens. Alſo, his Obedience and Patience are upon the increaſe: by much obeying, the Intention becomes more pure, the Will more free, the Obedience more eaſy and abundant; he doth not only do the Work of the Lord, but he p. 443abounds in it; he doth not only bring forth Fruit, but much Fruit, Joh. 15.8. By patient bearing of Afflictions, the Art or Divine Myſtery of ſuffering comes to be underſtood; the Heart is yielded and reſigned up to the Divine pleaſure; he would be what God would have him be; he hath not only patience, but all patience, Col. 1.11. Patience hath not only a Work, but a perfect Work, Jam. 1.4. Thus in the Holy Man Grace is ſtill a growing.

Further, The Holy Man grows every way; he grows inward; by exerciſing himſelf to Godlineſs his Vital Principles become more ſtrong, his Supernatural Heat is increaſed; his inner Man is ſtrengthened more than ever it was before: he hath a Divine vigor to overcome corruptions, to repel temptations, to live above earthly things, to perform Heavenly duties, and to endure ſufferings. He is ſtrengthened in the inner Man, Epheſ. 3.16. and that foreign, in all Power, Col. 1.11. to do what is decorous to his ſpiritual Nature: he grows outward; he hath not only the fruits of Righteouſneſs, but he is filled with them, Phil. 1.11. The influences of Grace, and ſupplies of the Spirit make him to bring forth much fruit, and that with great variety; as occaſion ſerves, all the fruits of the Spirit, Love, Joy, Peace, Longſuffering, Gentleneſs, Goodneſs, Faith, Meekneſs, Temperance, (which the Apoſtle mentions, Gal. 5.22, & 23.) break forth from him in their ſpiritual Glory: He is like the Tree planted by the Rivers of Waters, Pſ. 1.3. which hath a fruit for every Seaſon; or like Joſeph's Fruitful bough by a Well, whoſe Branches run over the Wall, Gen. 49.22. There is a redundance and exuberancy of Holy Fruits, which ſhew that he hath a Divine Spirit, a Well of living Water in him ſpringing, p. 444up into all Obedience and good Works. He grows upward; by converſing in holy things, he is unearthed and unſelved; he converſes more than ever in Heaven; the Glory of God is more precious to him; his Intention towards it is more pure than it hath been; he waits and longs to be in that Bleſſed Region where God is all in all: Every Duty and Good Work looks up more directly than was uſual to God the great Center and End of all things: He grows downwards, I mean in Humility; by converſing with God he comes to have a greater Light than ever; which diſcovers the Majeſty and purity of God, the rectitude and Holineſs of the Law, the infirmity and reliques of Corruption in the lapſed Nature of Man; and this Diſcovery makes him very humble and vile in his own Eyes, even his very lapſes and falls ſerve occaſionally to this growth:De Corr. & Grat. c. 9. Hence St. Auſtin, treating on thoſe words, All things work together for good to them that love God, Rom. 8. adds, Etiam ſi deviant & exorbitant, hoc ipſum eis faciat proficere in bonum, quia humiliores redeunt & doctiores; Experience tells him, that he is nothing, and Grace is all.

Morever, the Holy Man never thinks that he hath Grace enough; never ſaith, I am perfect, or, I have attained;Inceptio bonae vitae in quovis gradu ſine deſiderio aſcendendi ad altiorem, non poteſt eſſe ſine fundamento praeſumptionis, nec ſine incluſione tepiditatis, nec ſine periculo vivendi in vitiis ſpiritualibus. Niremb. this would ſhew him to be no Holy Man, to have no Grace at all. He is ſtill a breathing and preſſing after more Grace; the Divine touch, which in Converſion was made upon his Heart, cauſes it ever after to point towards God the Fountain of Grace: The ſweet taſte of Grace, which he hath had, makes him earneſtly thirſt after p. 445more; it's true, he has not a thirſt of total indigence; in this reſpect he ſhall never thirſt, John 4.14. but he hath a thirſt of Holy deſires after more Grace; his Soul pants after more of the Divine Image: Oh! that he were more like unto God! that his Will were ſwallowed up in the Divine Will! Nothing can ſatisfie him, unleſs he be made more Holy. He avoids thoſe things which hinder Spiritual growth; he will not lie in a ſink of ſenſual Pleaſures, he will not clog himſelf with a burden of earthly things, he will not fret away himſelf in Envy; he will not puff up himſelf with Pride and Preſumption; he will not wither away in an empty fruitleſs Profeſſion; he will not grieve the Holy Spirit of Grace, or willfully make any wounds in Conſcience. All theſe will be impediments to growth in Grace: therefore he puts them away from him; he buſies himſelf in thoſe things which may make him grow: he is much in prayer, that God would give the increaſe; that the ſhowres of Holy Ordinances may not drop and come down in vain; that the Gales of the Holy Spirit may fill every Ordinance, that the Sun-ſhine of God's Favour may make every thing proſper: He knows that none can bleſs but he who inſtitutes; nothing can make rich in Grace but the Bleſſing; for that he waits in all his Devotions. He is much in the Holy Word; he hears, reads, meditates, digeſts it, lays it up as a Treaſure; keeps it as his Life; feeds on it as his Meat; hath his Being in it; and all that he may grow in Grace, that beholding as in a Glaſs the Glory of the Lord, he may be changed into the ſame Image from Glory to Glory as by the Spirit of the Lord, 2 Cor. 3.18. That the Face of his Heart and Life may ſhine with a Divine Luſtre and Beauty: He acts his Faith p. 446upon Chriſt, he adheres and cleaves to him: He aſpires after more cloſe Union and Communion with him, that by a Divine Spirit and Life from him he may increaſe with the increaſe of God, Col. 2.19. that he may live like one in Union and Conjunction with Chriſt; that he may honour that Glorious Head, in whom the Spirit is above all meaſure, and from whom it flows down upon all his Members: He exerciſes himſelf unto Godlineſs; he ſtirs or blows up his Holy Graces: He repents, believes, loves, obeys, runs, ſtrives, labours to do the Will of God; and all that he may hold on his way, and grow ſtronger and ſtronger, Job 17.9. In a word, he eſteems it an horrible ſhame and diſparagement to be barren and unfruitful under the Goſpel. What? Is the Divine Nature, which he partakes of, for nothing? every little living Creature propagates and brings forth its Image, and ſhall the Divine Nature have no progeny of good Works to reſemble its Father in Heaven? Are Ordinances given in vain? the outward Rain hath its return in Herbs and Flowers, and excellent Fruits of the Earth; and ſhall the Showers of Ordinances, which come from an higher Heaven than the viſible one, have no return at all? to what purpoſe is Chriſt an Head to Believers? An Head is to communicate life and motion to the Members; and can the Members of ſo glorious an Head as he is, be dry and wither away in an empty unfruitfulneſs? Why is the Spirit communicated, but to profit withal? when it moved upon the Waters at firſt, it brought forth abundance of excellent Creatures in the Material World; and ſhall it it do nothing in the Spiritual one? or ſhall it produce Heavenly Principles in Men, and not bring them into act or exerciſe? Nothing can be more p. 447incongruous than ſuch things as theſe. The Holy Man therefore makes it his great buſineſs in the World, to grow in Grace and in the Knowledg of of Chriſt; to abound more and more in Obedience and Holy Walking, till he come to the Crown of Life and Righteouſneſs in Heaven.

We ſee what an Holy Life is; nothing remains but that we labour after it; lapſed Nature lies too low to elevate it ſelf into Holy Principles and Actions; how ſhould we caſt down our ſelves at God's feet for Regenerating Grace? How much doth it concern us to wait upon him in the uſe of means? to have our Minds enlightened to ſee Spiritual things? to have our Hearts new made and moulded into the Divine Will? to have a precious Faith to receive Chriſt in all his Offices? to have an Holy Love to inflame the Heart towards God? It is God's Prerogative to work ſupernatural Principles in us; let us then look up to him to have them wrought in us. We have loſt the Crown and Glory of our Creation; we are ſunk into an horrible gulf of ſin and miſery: but, Oh! let our Eyes be upon God; he can ſet to his Hand a ſecond time, and create us again unto Good Works; he can let down an Arm of Power, and lift us up out of the pit of Corruption; nothing is too hard for him, he can turn our ſtony Heart into Fleſh; he can by an omnipotent Suavity make our unwilling Will to be a willing one. Oh! wait for this day of Power; and when it comes, give all the Glory to Free-grace, and live as becomes the Sons of God, who are born not of the Will of Man, but of God; it is too too much time we have ſpent in doing the Will of the Fleſh; let us now conſecrate and dedicate our ſelves to the Will of God. In the doing of it let's p. 448live a Life of Faith and dependance upon the influences of Grace: let's get a ſingle Eye, a pure Intention towards the Will and Glory of God. What good we do, let's do it in an holy Compliance with his Will, in a ſincere ſubſerviency to his Glory. This is right genuine Obedience, in which God is owned as the firſt Principle, and the laſt End; if we depend not on him the Fountain of Grace, how ſhall we ſtand or walk in Holineſs? If we direct not all our good Works to his Will and Glory, how are our Works Holy or Conſecrated unto God? Let's put away our high thoughts and proud reflexes upon ſelf, that we may wholly depend upon his Grace. Let's caſt away all our Squints and corrupt aims from us, that we may directly look to his Will and Glory. Still let us remember, that the work of Mortification muſt be carried on; if we indulge ſin, we rent off our ſelves from God the chief Good and Ultimate End: if we conſecrate our ſelves to God, we muſt needs caſt away ſin from us; the Spirit and Fleſh are contrary Principles, and cannot rule together; the Works of the one and of the other cannot be compounded; the great Centers Heaven and Hell are at a vaſt diſtance, and cannot meet: We muſt therefore die to Sin, or elſe we cannot live to God; let us labour to be Holy in all manner of Converſation; let us go forth and meet God in every diſpenſation; in Ordinances let us meet him with Devotion and holy Affection; in Alms with Love and a free Spirit: in Proſperity with Praiſes and Good Works; in Adverſity with Patience and Silence; in our Dealings with Juſtice and Righteouſneſs; in our Callings with Faithfulneſs and Diligence: In every thing let us walk foreign, worthy of God; as becomes thoſe p. 449who are conſecrated unto him. Let us ſo exerciſe our ſelves unto Piety, that we may grow in all Graces; that our Faith may be more lively, our Love more ardent, our Humility more low, our Heavenlineſs more high, our Obedience more full, our Patience more perfect; that we may have our fruit unto Holineſs, and the End Everlaſting Life. Let us be ever making our ſelves ready for that Bleſſed Region; where there are plenitudes of Joy, Crowns of Immortality, Rivers of Pleaſures; where God is the Light, Life, Love, All in all to the Saints.

FINIS.

ERRATA'S.

PAge 57. Line 10. read burned, p. 72. l. 27. formally, p. 75. l. 4. Vajored, p. 90. l. 19. ears, p. 138. l. 14. Sun, p. 141. l. 6. Vos p. 148. l. 14. plenal, p. 150. l. 17. Carnal Ordinances, p. 167. l. 6. often caſt, p. 203. l. 10. heart, p. 247. l. 7. poſſibly, p. 327. l. 20. none for the Promiſe, Ib. l. 21. capable of, p. 330. l. 2. true, p. 339. l. 3. Righteouſneſs of God, p. 343. l. 1. is it a Jus Impunitatis, p. 355. in the marg. Note, r. conſecratum eſt, p. 366. l. 4. its ſubject, p. 371. l. 12. the Glory of it, it is ours, p. 420. l. 10. expreſſion, p. 428. l. 2. ray.

Reader, the miſplaced Points or Stops do ſometimes very much alter or obſcure the Sence; let ſuch places be read without any reſpect to them, and then the Sence will appear.