ANDREW GRAY
Sermon being Treatise
1
A DOOR UNTO EVERLASTING
LIFE
READER - I have always thought that good books (being
silent teachers of goodness) are the best part of a man's furniture in his
house, and the choicest goods of a commonwealth. Yet, many are so far from
reading, that they revile them, and employ their wicked wits in jeering
whatsoever tends to make them wise to salvation. The profaneness and corruption
of this present age is too visible. Many who bear the Name of Christ are
enemies of the cross of Christ, and of the power of Christianity. They are even
sunk below beasts in enormous sensuality, and whoever doth not approve of, yes,
and practice such detestable wickedness, such beastly and satanical sins as
they do; whoever is not metamorphosed into a devil incarnate, is reproached by
them as a devilish hypocrite.
With such this plain piece will find no
cordial respect, no practical entertainment; it will be as an unsavory breath
in their nostrils. Yet if thou art serious and solicitous for savory and
wholesome truths; if to have the kingdom of Christ set up in thy heart and life
be that thou dost breathe after; if thou be really sick of sin and sick of love
for Him who is altogether lovely; if thou be one of Zion's mourners, one whose
heart is shaken with devils, scruples, and fears concerning the condition of
thy soul; if thou be one of Zion's citizens, one whose conversation is in
heaven, and wouldest have thy heart and affections more elevated, and set upon
the things above, I am confident the ensuing treatises will be grateful and
welcome to thee. The very subject matter of them will allure thee to read them,
and I question not, but through divine blessing, this little book will be a
great blessing unto thee. Let not any despise it because it is destitute of
those elaborate and rhetorical flourishes wherewith many pieces are beautified,
for the design of it is not to please the fancy, but to profit the soul, and to
warm the heart. Sure I am that what profits the soul, and makes a Christian
more devout and pious, is to be valued far above what only tickles the fancy of
the curious.
Read it therefore, yea, read it seriously. It may be thou may
find something that may refresh thy heart and do thy soul good. What human
frailties thou discernest in this small piece (which doubtless are not a few),
pity them, and so much the more pray for me that God would pardon and amend all
the errors both of my heart and life. Good reader, I shall detain thee no
longer in the porch, but only beg of thee, that when thou dost begin to read
this book, thou wouldst at least send up some short petitions to that God from
whom all our fruit is found, that by His blessing upon it (without which thou
may read it often over, and yet profit little or nothing by reading it), it may
distil as the precious dew upon the tender herb. May it make thy barren soul
more fruitful, thy treacherous soul more faithful, thy weak soul more powerful,
thy troubled soul more joyful. It may pour thee out a blessing of light for thy
understanding, a blessing of life for thy affections, a blessing of peace for
thy conscience, and a blessing of joy and gladness for thy heart and soul; in
the attaining whereof I shall think my pains well bestowed, and my labors
abundantly recompensed, especially if thou wilt gratify with thy remembrance at
the throne of grace, him whose utmost design and ambition is to be serviceable
in promoting the eternal interest of souls.
THE FIRST TREATISE
Containing Several Arguments For LEAVING SIN
AND LIVING HOLILY
It is a very sad, but yet an apparent truth,
that there is no creature in the world so merciless and mischievous to itself
as man is. For whereas everything naturally desires, or tends to its own
preservation, man unweariedly endeavours his own destruction. He becomes his
own murderer and executioner, by loving vice, and hating virtue, by forsaking
Christ, to follow the world, by poisoning his soul to please his senses, by
leaving the safe and pleasant way of holiness, to walk in the dangerous and
destructive way of wickedness. Wicked men turn their backs upon God, and are
ruled by sin and Satan at their pleasure. Such profane beasts are many. They
glory in their shame. Like Sodom, they carried their sin in their foreheads,
oathing it, telling of their cheats, how many they have defrauded, and of their
whoredoms, how many they have defiled. Alas, they have not so much as one grain
of grace in their hearts, nor the least sign of holiness in their lives.
Though, by the ministry of the word, they be called upon to be holy, yet the
more they are called unto holiness, the further do they run into all sin and
wickedness.
Yea, God's own children make but little progress in holiness.
The estate of many is a declining estate. They have lost the savouriness of
their spirits, and their delight in communion with God. They are weak in
resisting temptations to sin, from the devil, the world, and the flesh. They
are often overcome by sensuality, pride, worldliness, envy, etc. Their heart is
less watched, their tongue less bridled, and their conversation more vain than
formerly. What then more needful, than to have before our eyes such arguments,
as are most likely to deter us from sin, to prevail with us to loath and
leave all our lusts and transgressions, and to walk humbly and holily before
God all our days. May the Lord open our eyes, to see the baseness of sin, and
sanctify our hearts, that we may never welcome nor embrace it anymore, but may
grow holier every day than the other. So living holily, may we die happily, and
after death, reign with God gloriously forever.
In order to realize this,
let these following considerations sink into our hearts. We must be holy,
because the Lord our God is holy. "Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God
am holy" (Lev. 19:2). "It is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy" (1
Pet. 1:16). God's holiness is the great ground and cause of our holiness, and
the motive of all obedience. "Let them praise Thy great and terrible Name,
for it is holy" (Psalm 99:3). "Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at
His holy hill; for the Lord our God is holy" (Psalm 99:9). We are not bound
to be essentially and infinitely holy, as God is holy; yet are we bound to be
perfectly holy for our state, as God is holy. Thou callest God Father, and if
He be thy Father indeed, thou wilt be like Him in holiness. You will both have
the same nature for likeness. Thou readest a Holy Bible, servest an holy God,
pretendest to be led by a Holy Spirit. Oh, what shame and trembling then should
cover thee, if thou be unholy! Thou pretendest to love God, and why art thou
not an imitator of God? Is it not a known saying, likeness makes love? Likeness
is the cause of love, and an effect of it. If thou wouldst have God to love
thee, thou must labor to be like Him. If thou remain unholy, think with
thyself, how can an, infinitely holy God delight in such an unholy wretch, in
such an uncomely and loathsome soul, in such a vile abominable sinner? How
unfit am I for His love and embracements! If unholy, thou wilt not endure the
purity and presence of God, nor will God's purity and presence endure thee.
We must leave sin and live holily, because to sin is very unsuitable work;
and very unbecoming to Christians: for (1) Are we not strangers, and therefore
to abstain from whatsoever is contrary to holiness? "Dearly beloved, I
beseech you, as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war
against the soul" (I Peter 2:11). We are traveling to an higher country,
where pure souls breathe in an uninfected air and are partakers of heavenly
visions to the full. Oh, do not by living unholily, belie your great and
glorious hopes. "Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself,
even as he is pure" (1 John 3:3). Show yourselves to be the right seed of
the woman, by flying from the face of the old serpent, and abhorring his image.
Strangers must not be meddlers; oh, meddle not with sin, but put off the old
man with his deceitful lusts. Trouble not yourselves with anything that will
hinder you in your journey heavenward. You expect a room among the angels, and
will you live as slaves in the world? You are in the way to Canaan, why then
are you in love with the flesh-pots of Egypt? "Having therefore these
promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the
flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Cor. 7:1).
(2) Are not your relative conditions changed? Once ye were Satan's slaves,
now God's servants. Once in darkness, now children of the light. Once the
devil's factors, now Christ's followers. Are your relative conditions thus
changed, and shall not your work be altered? "Ye are all the children of the
light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
Therefore, let us not sleep as do others; but let us watch and be sober" (1
Thess. 5:5-6). "As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to
the former lusts in your ignorance; but as He which hath called you is holy, so
be ye holy in all manner of conversation" (1 Pet. 1:14-15). Is not sin the
devil's creature? His old sorceress? And will ye have any communion with it?
Oh, ye children of the Most High!
(3) What does baptism into the name of
Christ stand for? Why were ye baptized? Was it not for the renunciation of all
sin, and the mortification of every lust? "How shall we, that are dead to
sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized
into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we are buried with
Him by baptism into death that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by
the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life"
(Rom. 6:2-4). So often as thou hearest thy own name, call to mind the covenant
betwixt God and thee in baptism. As God promised on His part to be thy God, so
thou promised to forsake His enemies, to dedicate thyself to His service, to
obediently keep God's holy will and commandments, and to walk in the same all
the days of thy life. Surely it is a most wretched forgetfulness, to forget
thyself to be a Christian. Live holily, because the wicked lives of Christians
are far more sinful than the wicked lives of pagans and heathens: for
(1)
The sins of pagans are only against natural light; but the sins of Christians,
both against natural and supernatural. And to sin, not only against a natural
conscience, but an enlightened conscience, is a great aggravation of sin. Was
it not an aggravation of Solomon's sin, that "his heart was turned from the
Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice"? (1 Kings 11:9).
(2) The sins of pagans may have fairer excuses than others; they may plead
in another sense than the apostle. How can we call on Him, of whom we have not
heard? And how shall we hear without a preacher? (Rom. 10:14). The sun, moon,
and stars were but dumb preachers. Had we, 0 God, heard the joyful sound, we
would have received it gladly. We never knew that thy Son was crucified, for
had we known it, we would have believed in Him. We would have taken Him for our
rightful Sovereign, and obeyed His laws; but what will ye pretend? Can ye say,
ye never heard of heaven and hell? Never heard of faith, repentance, and
remission of sins preached? Never heard a strict and circumspect course of life
pressed upon you? Did ye not know that drunkenness, cursing, etc. were sins?
That piety, sobriety, and righteousness was your duty? Why then do ye the one,
and leave the other undone? Surely, if heathens shall be damned, wicked
Christians cannot think to be saved.
(3) The sins of heathens bring not so
much dishonour to God and Christ, as our sins do. We pretend greater holiness
than they, and shall our holiness better than theirs, as if the death and
resurrection of Christ was not able to make us live more holily, than the
foundation of civility and morality among them? What scandal and reproach this
brings to Christ. "The Name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through
you" (Rom. 2:24). What! Hath the gospel no more efficacy than a pagan's
ethics, or a Turkish Koran? Devout Salvian brings in the pagans insultingly
over the Christians, whose lives were not agreeable to their knowledge. Both
Christ and His law are scandalized by us: behold, this is the common report of
pagans concerning us. Where is this catholic law which they believe? Where are
those precepts of piety and chastity which they learn? They read the gospel,
and yet are unclean; they hear the apostles, and frequent sermons, and yet are
drunkards. They follow Christ, and yet are thieves. They lead a wicked life,
and yet boast that they have a righteous law. It is altogether false (say the
heathens) that they learn good things, and retain the rules of an holy law, for
if these things which they learn were good, they then would be good themselves.
Thus we who would be accounted Christians, do bring our God, our religion, and
our profession into contempt, if our lives be not answerable to our knowledge.
I would to God that everyone of us would take this into his consideration,
so that, at length, we may be careful to adorn our holy religion with an holy
and circumspect life and conversation. The love of God in giving His Son for
us, should forcibly overcome us to live holily. "The grace of God, that
bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying
ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly,
in this present world" (Titus 2:11-12). What moved God to give His Son, but
His own grace and love? That pure love, that lodged in His bosom from all
eternity. "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son"
(John 3:16). If like Gideon, He had had threescore and ten sons, it had still
been much to part with one of them. Oh, but it was His only Son. Jacob rent his
clothes, and went mourning many days, for losing one son of twelve (Gen.
37:34). Even an harlot pitied the fruit of her womb (1 Kings 3:26). But God
gave the only Son of His love, and doth not this eternal and astonishing love
teach us to deny ungodliness, etc.? I denied not, saith the Lord, My Son a
suffering body for thy sake. I denied not His precious blood. The consolations
of the Spirit, and the joys of the higher world I was sore of nothing,
but exposed all for thy sake. Oh, deny not thy sins a sacrifice unto Me, but
give them up to be condemned and crucified, and to be nailed to the cross of
Christ, that they may languish and give up the ghost. I crave nothing of thee
that thou can not easily deny. It is not thy estate, thy life, or thy little
ones I require. Nothing, but what thou can well spare; nothing, but what is
better parted with than kept. Nothing, but what, if it were never required at
thy hands, yet were it thy wisdom and happiness to reject: even thy base, vile,
scarlet lusts. That sin may die in thee, and thou may live to God.
Oh, what
will prevail with us to leave sin, and live holily, if love does not? Shall the
consideration of death, or heaven, or hell move us? And shall not the
consideration of Christ's wonderful love move us much more? Death is certain,
saith one. It may come suddenly, and will come certainly; therefore, I will
avoid sin, and serve God. I care not so much for death, saith another. It is
but parting soul and body for a season. Oh, but I fear hell-torments, the worm
that never dies, and the fire that never shall be quenched! Therefore I will
leave sin, and live holily. I hope, saith a third, for the joys of heaven: that
I shall live though I die; and that I shall eat and drink at Christ's table in
His celestial kingdom. Therefore I will reject the fawning pleasures of sin,
that would beguile me of the pleasures of heaven. Oh, but Christ loved me,
saith a fourth, and gave Himself for me, that He might redeem me from all
iniquity. And this love of Christ constraineth me, that I dare not, I will not
sin. This is the best motive. Holiness will not hinder you, but bring a
blessing upon you, in your private and particular callings. Say not, I shall
suffer loss, by leaving my worldly concerns to mind religion. Suppose your
estate suffered, and your body fared the worse by it; yet, sure I am, the
cumberings and carings of worldlings bring them more grief, than religious
duties bring loss to you. Say not, "My affairs and employments in the world are
so great, and so many, that I cannot spare time." The more and greater thy
affairs are, the more need to mind religion, lest thy heart be swallowed up of
thy affairs.
Are not the affairs of a kingdom more, and greater, than those
of an household? And yet David, had the affairs of a kingdom to look after,
made religion his chief care. Say not, "My children must be educated and
provided for." What! will you lose salvation, and damn your souls, to gather an
estate, and to provide a portion for them? Provide for them a portion in God's
Name: but especially let God be their Portion forever. Give them pious
education and an holy example. Is it not more comfortable to see children, in
their parent's lifetime, just heirs of their parents' graces, than to see them,
when parents are dead, heirs of their parents unjust gains? Oh remember, that
providing for your children's bodies, will not answer the damning of your own
soul. Your present welfare lies in divorcing sin and living holily. Were there
no commandment from heaven to leave sin, yet should you leave it, because it
is the ulcer that sits on a creature's heart, and robs him of all true
contentment and sound joy. Suppose no torment, no horror did follow sin
hereafter; yet it disquiets and torments for the present. Oh the secret
gnawings and pulls that envy, and pride, and covetousness give a man's soul.
Oh, what a sweet life leads the contented and quiet spirited Christian when God
and he are both of a mind! Compare him with the fretful and discontented, who
would be always correcting God's providence, and vex themselves daily with
crosses to no purpose. Oh, what peace and comfort crowns the heart of the
godly! Oh, what outward miseries and inward horror fall upon the wicked!
Besides, sin is the soul's disease, a burning fever; it blinds the mind,
hardens the heart, enthrals the will, defiles the conscience, deadens the
affection, and hurls the whole man into confusion. It brings more evils,
external and internal, for the present, than either tongue can speak or heart
can think. Shall it not be divorced? Holiness is the way to the enjoyment of
all visible blessings. "Godliness is profitable unto all things, having
promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come" (1 Tim.
4:8). "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these
things shall be added unto you" (Matt. 6:33). Who hath not seen or heard,
how large revenues, riches, and estates, have been wasted by vice and
wickedness? There is a secret consuming cancer in the wicked man's estate; a
worm in the gourd. Some men's wealth melts away, but how does this come about?
Alas, it is banished by impiety. "Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and
cursed shalt thou be in the field. Cursed shall be thy basket and thy
store" (Deut. 28:16-17). Oh but, "All these blessings shall come on
thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy
God. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the
field" (Deut. 28:2-3).
Thus the Lord puts a difference between the
godly and the wicked, as He did between the Egyptians and the Israelites
(Exodus 11:7). Will holiness bring disgrace? No. "By humility and the fear
of the Lord are riches, and the honour, and life" (Prov. 22:4). Will
holiness bring poverty and want? No. "If ye be willing and obedient, ye
shall eat the good of the land" (Isa. 1:19). "The young lions do lack,
and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good
thing" (Psalm 34:10). See Job 22:21-30. God will be the godly mans gold
and silver. Many of the godly have fuller treasure, and more riches than ever
they enjoyed in their unregenerate condition. Who ever lost by serving God? Sin
and the world have made many a beggar, but never did God and Christ, for in
their worst and poorest condition, the godly are rich. "As dying, and behold
we live: as chastened, and not killed: as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing: as
poor, yet making many rich: as having nothing, and yet possessing all
things" (2 Cor. 6:9-10), all things in hope and all things in the promise.
God s people are possessors of Him that possesseth all. Godliness with
contentment is great gain.
Christian, when thou art about to die, gather up
thy accounts, and see how much thou hast laid out for God, and how much He hath
rewarded thee. Thou must needs confess that God is not behind-hand with thee as
thy debtor, should He deny thee heaven. Look on Abraham, Lot, Jacob,
Jehoshaphat, Job, David, etc. I grant, a good man may suffer hardships and
scarcity, but it is not due to his godliness, but because of some unmortified
corruption, idleness, indiscretion, voluptuousness, or the like. He that lives
wickedly is self-condemned:
(1) Condemned in his own conscience. What Saint
Paul said of the heretic, in Titus 3:11, may be said of every wicked man, he is
condemned of himself. "Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing
which he allows" (Rom. l4:22). But wicked men condemn themselves in that
thing which they allow. Ask even the grossest and most profane wretch in a
country, Is it not excellent and desirable to live holily, to beware of open
impiety, and resist Satan's temptations, to be pure, and holy, and chaste, and
temperate? Yea, without question, will he say, it is very good. And yet he will
hate what he hath commended, and do what he hath condemned. He will hate
sanctity, and act wickedly. He says, he detests wickedness; but his own
wickedness he detests not.
(2) He is condemned by his profession, because
his most holy faith is contradicted by an unholy life. Baptism, wherein he gave
his name to Christ, engageth him to obey Christ as his Lord; but though he was
baptized into the name of Christ, yet he obeyeth Him not. His profession is
sacred, but his practice is sinful. The one is pure, the other impure. Now
could any but dumb idols, stocks and stones, live without sense and shame of
this contradiction? He is condemned in conscience, and condemned by profession.
There is no true comfort outside of the ways of holiness. All earthly
contentments are dead, bitter and inconstant. No course gives such solid
foundation for comfort as an holy course. A worldly course does not, for the
worldling is filled and fed from day to day with vexing cares, and tormenting
thoughts, and in a time of common calamity and affliction, he is cast down. His
face waxes pale; his mind is amazed and his heart trembles. His cares and fears
devour all his joy whereas the godly man is careful for nothing and rejoices in
tribulation. He takes a providential and moderate care, but not an unbelieving
and excessive thoughtfulness. He walks by faith, not by sense; he trusts in God
in the midst of want, and finds faith and trust an universal remedy for
trouble. No way is so full of pleasantness as the ways of holiness. "Her
ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace" (Prov. 3:17).
The paths of sin are void of peace, but great peace have they, who keep God's
law (Gal. 6:16). What peace, what joy like that of a good conscience, in a time
of affliction! When old age creeps up on a man, death approaches, and eternity
prevents him. Oh, then a world for a good conscience! The sinner's mirth and
merriment is downright madness. "I said of laughter, It is mad: and of
mirth, What doeth it?" (Eccles. 2:2). Christianity will not deprive you of
your joy, it will only rectify, moderate, and sanctify the same. I grant, some
of God's people are of sad, dark, uncomfortable spirits, but yet I affirm that
godliness is not the proper cause of their sadness. And suppose it were, were
it not better for a man to suffer qualms, and fits of melancholic sadness all
his life, than to suffer hell torments even for one hour? I leave the wicked,
when sober and settled in their wits, to judge and determine. The mercies of
God engage and bind us unto holiness. Every mercy is a silent sermon, preaching
to us the doctrine of holiness. Every blessing is a suitor, wooing us to live
holily. "That we being delivered out of the hands of our enemies might serve
Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our
life" (Luke 1:74-75).
God, by His blessings, would allure and invite us
unto holiness. Hath not God caused our lot to fall in a pleasant land? Whereas
we might have been born in Meshech, or in the tents of Kedar, in a barren land,
a land of spiritual drought. Hath He not kept us back from presumptuous,
scandalous sins? And, at least from that unrepentable sin against the Holy
Ghost? Hath He not kept us safe from deadly dangers? Might not fire have
suddenly broken out and laid our houses in ashes? Might not the devil, in the
night time, have murdered us and our children in bed? Who was it that bound the
devil to his good behaviour, that he did not roar and tear both us and them in
pieces? Was it not God? God's outward providential mercies are innumerable. Is
it not pure mercy, that thou hast a dwelling house, though but a mean cottage?
Thou might have been a vagabond, and run up and down begging thy bread. Is it
not pure mercy, that thou hast a spread table, when God might justly have
caused thee to have eaten thine own dung? Hast thou an healthful state of body,
when others thy betters are crying out from day to day sick, sick? And are not
children, which are an heritage from the Lord, multiplied unto thee, and are
continued with thee, whilst others are fast burying their dead? Is it not pure
mercy, that thou hast sufficient riches, and a soft bed, when Christ Himself
lived in poverty, and had nowhere to lay His weary head? Hast thou not liberty
and plenty of ordinances, burning and shining lights, while others have not the
gospel preached to them, but live and die in gross darkness?
Therefore when
thou art tempted to sin, say as Joseph did, "How can I do this great
wickedness, and sin against God?" (Gen. 39:9). Shall I thus requite the
Lord for the innumerable mercies bestowed upon me? Hath He surrounded me with
blessings and loaded me with His benefits? Hath He crowned me with
lovingkindness, and many rich blessings here; and hath He promised to crown me
with eternal blessedness hereafter? And shall I be so unkind and disingenuous
as to wrong that God, who hath been so kind to me, and is continually doing me
good? Shall I not hear Him calling on me to be holy, who hath so often heard me
crying to Him for help? Hath He denied nothing to me, and shall I not deny my
lusts for His sake? Is He my friend and benefactor, and shall I do service to
His enemy? Hath He honoured me, and shall I dishonour Him? Doth He promise me
blessedness, and is a wicked life the way to come to it? Have I tasted and seen
that the Lord is good, and shall I continue to do what is evil? Do showers of
precious mercies distil on mine head, and shall they all miscarry? Shall I
displease and dishonor that high and dreadful Majesty, whose free grace is the
well-head and fountain of all these mercies? Or shall I not rather express my
thankfulness in such a manner, as may become the mercies of God? Oh, the
mercies of God are a mighty motive to prevent sin and promote holiness.
Therefore, dwell much in your thoughts upon the mercies and love-tokens of
God. I read of one, that said, he had but one book, and that book had but two
leaves, a white leaf, and a red. Yet he could never read over these two leaves,
though he lived many years, and read diligently, so much matter was contained
in them. For in the red leaf (he said) were laid down all God's fearful
judgments poured out upon sinners who were disobedient and would not be
reformed; and in who the white leaf were laid down, all the mercies and favours
of God vouchsafed to mankind, either in general or particular. This book
remains to this day, and happy is the man who is most careful to exercise
therein day and night. All a man's spiritual relations call for holiness. Our
relation to duties calls for it. What is our praising God without an holy
heart, but blessing of an idol? What good will our prayers do, if we lift not
up pure hands without wrath and doubting? What are sacraments and ordinances,
but abominations to the eye of God, when profaned by the sins of men? Prayers,
praises, sacraments, and ordinances, are holy things, and what should swine and
dogs do with such? Our relation to the saints calls for holiness. The saints
are called an holy nation, and what are we but withered branches in the vine,
masks of saints, and hypocritical counterfeits in the church, without holiness?
Are not the saints above closely allied to the Church of God on earth? Are we
not akin to the spirits of just men made perfect? Have we not the same father?
The same mother? The same Redeemer? The same Sanctifier and Savior? Who is our
Head? Is it not the holy child Jesus? The holy, and just, and righteous One,
who is white and ruddy (Cant. v. 10)? He is white for sanctity, purity, and
innocency; and ruddy in His sufferings, bloody stripes, gallings, woundings,
and crucifixion. Now, must we not be conformed to our Head? Must the Head be of
gold, and yet the thighs of brass, and feet of clay? The duties we engage in
are holy; the Christians we converse with are holy. Christ our Head is holy;
and yet will we be unholy? Holiness will make you blessings to the places where
you live. Wicked men are the firebrands of a nation, but good men are as props
and pillars to it. St. Paul, indeed, was called a "pestilent fellow, and a
mover of sedition.. .throughout the world" (Acts 24:5), as if he was no less
to be avoided than a man coming out of a pest- house, with running
plague-sores. But this was only a malicious slander. The turning of the world
upside down, seditions, uproars, tumults, wars, and plagues are the fruits of
unholiness, the effects of iniquity. Whereas godliness is gainful, and a whole
family and nation hath sometimes fared better for a single godly servant's
sake. Witness Laban's family, for the sake of upright and plain-hearted Jacob.
Witness also the house of Pharaoh, and the land of Egypt, for Joseph's sake.
Witness the many souls in the ship, that had all perished, but for Paul's sake.
Witness the Israelites that had been destroyed, while they wandered and wavered
in the wilderness, but for Moses sake.
Therefore be ye holy, that ye also
may be props and pillars to the nation, and your names may be fragrant, and
dear, and precious to others. Holiness is an excellent help to prolong our
days. "That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all His statutes
and His commandments, which I command thee.. .that thy days may be
prolonged" (Deut. 6:2). Religion teacheth temperance. A sober care of the
body, and a religious and virtuous course of life, doth naturally tend to the
prolonging of our days, and hath very frequently the blessing of health and
long life attending upon it.
Objection: Wicked men sometimes live
long, and good men die soon.
Answer: 1. Though wicked men sometimes
live a long life, yet theirs is not a promised life. "Bloody and deceitful
men shall not live out half their days" (Psalm 55:23). Now every wicked man
is a bloody and deceitful man, he is a self-deceiver, and embrues his hands in
the blood of his own soul.
2. Though good men sometimes lose life soon, yet
firstly, they live in a spiritual, comfortable manner while they live. And
secondly, by losing a temporal life, they gain an eternal life; the life which
they gain, is infinitely better than the life which they lose. It is not a hard
and difficult thing to live holily, after a man hath obtained a willing mind,
and made an entrance into heaven s way. It is not so much want of power to live
holily, as want of will that is the cause of so much unholiness. Many pretend
they cannot, but the truth is they will not. I would have gathered thee, as a
hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not (Matt. 23:37).
"Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life" (John 5:40).
"Knowledge is easy unto him that understandeth" (Prov. 14:6). Therefore
up and be doing! Use an holy violence, an holy accustomedness. If there be only
an hearty willingness, and gracious assistance, what will these not do? What
difficulties can hinder a resolved and encouraged Christian? There is honey in
the carcass of the lion, for such as will not stumble at the cost. There is
glory as well as duty, and yet wilt thou say that duty is hard? Be but
persuaded of the reward that attends duty, and thou shalt acknowledge that
Christ s yoke is easy. Compare the freedom of God's servants, with the service
of Satan. Is not Satan's service a terrible task, an intolerable burden, an
iron yoke, in comparison to God's service? Is it not easier to tell the truth,
than by telling forgeries to bring upon ourselves shame and fear? Is it not
easier to employ our thoughts in the service of God, than to waste our estates
in satisfying our lusts? A wicked life will arm death with dread and terror. An
holy life is always sure to be concluded with a happy death. St. Augustine used
to say, that man cannot die ill, that liveth well; and seldom doth he die well,
who lived ill. I grant, a bad life may sometimes be attended with a good death,
where there is the interposition of an unfeigned late repentance.
Oh but,
Serapenitentia raro vera. He who hath lived wickedly, for the most part,
laments ruefully when he comes to die. "Alas! Alas," saith he, "the end is now
come, the end of all my mirth and jollity, of all mine honors and prosperity.
My wife weeps, my children wail, and all my friends are troubled for me, but
alas, not one of them will go with me to the judgment seat, to plead for me.
Now all my delicious hours are past and gone; all my joys and pleasures, all my
mirth and pastimes, are now finished. Where are all my companions, that were
wont to laugh with me, and seemed as if they would never have forsaken me? Now
they are all gone, and have left me here alone to answer the reckoning for all.
None of them will do so much, as to go with me to judgment, or speak one word
on my behalf. Oh, fool that I was, not to think of this day sooner, not to
change my life sooner! Oh, unfortunate wretch that I am, now I must change
whether I will or no! I must change earth for hell, pleasure for pain, light
for darkness, and companions for devils. Now I see the difference betwixt the
ends of good and evil. Now I see, it is unprofitable service to serve the
devil, the world and the flesh. It is no profit to me now, that I have been
beautiful, rich, and prosperous upon earth. It is no profit that I have
glittered in gold, and borne a great sway in the world. Now I would give all my
estate, all I ever had in the world, yea, mountains of gold and silver, if I
had them, but for one mite of true gospel-grace and holiness. But alas, it is
not to be bought, and if it were, I have now no time to buy it! Now death is
come, I must away, and yet, alas, I know not whither."
Oh, when death
comes, a little grace will be worth all the world! Poor sinner, art not thou
tumbling as well as others towards the grave? Every moment of life thou comest
near death. Thy strength is but ashes, thy glory but a flower. Thou eatest
today of the flesh of fowls and fed beasts, and soon, it may be in two or three
months time, thy flesh may be dished out for crawling worms. Oh, it is but one
spurn with God's foot, one touch with God's finger, and thou art gone, and
whither, oh whither! Thinkest thou art then going without holiness? Catch
therefore fleeing time, and make the best of it. Bid farewell to self, and
welcome holiness. Abandon vanity, and embrace true piety. So live every day,
that thou may not be afraid of the day of death. Thou mayest be wise, and rich,
and formal, and yet damned at last, if not holy. For all the wicked shall be
turned into hell. And God will wound the hairy scalp of every one that goeth on
in His trespasses (Psalm 68:21). Many that are clothed with infamy, and
poverty, shall be saved; but none that die in unholiness, can escape hell and
damnation. What but everlasting death, is the issue and consequence of a sinful
and vicious course of life? "The end of these things is death... .The wages
of sin is death" (Rom. 6:21-23), even eternal death. A death that
comprehends in it all those fearful and astonishing miseries, wherewith the
wrath of God will afflict and pursue sinners, in another world. "But unto
them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness,
indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that
doth evil" (Rom. 2:8-9).
So that, no matter how quietly a wicked man
may pass out of this world, yet unspeakable and intolerable misery will most
certainly overtake him at last. Sin is the highway to hell. Those who persevere
in sin while they live, cannot escape hell when they die. Such may read their
doom, "The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is
poured Out without mixture into the cup of His indignation" (Rev. 14:10).
It is mixed with all stinging ingredients, but unmixed with any relief or
temperature of mercy! No tortures so great as fire, and no fire worse than that
of brimstone. Yet, the impenitent sinner shall be tormented with fire and
brimstone, in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb.
How did the poor scalded Sodomites run, howling and yelling, and lamenting
their pains, when God rained hell out of heaven upon them? How then will poor
damned creatures howl and lament their pains, in that lake of fire and
brimstone! What can be more horrible than that place, where both soul and body
must be crowded into a fiery dungeon, with torments that can neither be avoided
nor endured! There the sun, much less the face of God, never shines! There the
eyes shall distil like fountains, and the teeth clatter like armed men, and the
mind muse on nothing but sad despair, and that forever! Oh, the bitterness, the
multitude, the everlastingness of their pains! Oh, eternity, eternity! Who can
comprehend it? After the expiration of millions of years, eternity will not be
one minute less. Oh, when eternity is added to extremity, then hell is hell
indeed! If dissolute sinners of our age were allowed to have a sight of hell,
what a fear and astonishment would it strike into their hearts! How would they
weep, yea, bleed for their sins? How constantly would they pray for pardon? How
would they rectify their crooked and cursed steps, that they might never come
to such a place? How would they loathe and leave sin, which only can endanger
them thither?
There is a story of one, that gave a young gallant a curious
ring, with a death's head on it, upon this condition, that for a certain time,
he should spend one hour every day in looking and thinking upon it. He took the
ring in wantonness, but performing the condition with diligence wrought a
wonder upon him - so a desperate ruffian became a conscionable Christian. Did a
Christian spend but one half hour fixedly every day, in meditating seriously on
hell, the sad yet certain consequence of a sinful life, I doubt not, but by
God's grace, he would find a blessed alteration, both in his heart and life.
Bishop Babington, in his comforting notes upon the book of Exodus, tells us of
an unconcerned woman, who, spending her time in sin, desired her wicked
associate, to bestow on her a new gown. When he hesitated, she instantly
answered, "Do I desperately cast away both body and soul forever to content
thee, and dost thou deny me so so small a request? Henceforward, I am resolved
to look to myself better, and to avoid both thee and this wicked life." If she
did turn from her wickedness, the denial was made a blessing unto her.
We
also read of a covetous father, who raking up riches sinfully, suddenly called
for his eldest son and for a chafing-dish of coals, and required his son to put
his finger in and burn it off. At first, he thought his father had jested, but
in the end, perceiving his settled resolution, he prayed to be excused, for he
would not do it. Thereupon the father answered, "Shall I, to make thee a great
man in the world, so heap up riches by all unlawful means, that I am sure to
burn for it, both body and soul, eternally in hell, and wilt not thou endure
the loss of one finger for me? Now I will alter my course, and consider in time
that which hereafter cannot be redressed."
Oh, it is good to meditate often
on the wages of sin! I know, such thoughts, and meditations are held as being
too melancholy, but it is the way to prevent sin, and consequently destruction.
Now is the time to think of these things. The torments of hell are without
measure, and the continuance in these torments is without end. The damned shall
be punished in hell, so long as there is a God in heaven; and yet, wilt thou, 0
Christian, for the pleasure of an hour, incur these everlasting pains? Wilt
thou rather lose thy soul, than leave thy sins? Is sin more sweet, than the
wrath of God would be bitter? I think the very thought of the end of issue of a
wicked life (that the end of these things is death, that tribulation and
anguish, far greater than we can imagine, shall be to every soul of man that
doth evil), should be more than enough to dishearten any man from a wicked life
and to bring him to a better course. Remember, oh man, if thou who bearest the
name of Christ, live wickedly, thy hell will be far hotter than the hell of
superstitious Pagans! If Turks and Tartars shall be damned, wicked and
debauched Christians shall be doubly damned. And believe it, the brick-kilns of
Egypt, and Babel's fiery furnace, are but shadows and pictures of pain, if
compared with the fiery Tophet. Resolve, therefore henceforward so to live and
conduct thyself, that thou may be of the number of those, who shall be
accounted worthy to escape all these things, and to stand before the Son of
man. Holiness is the only way to happiness. Grace is the only way to glory.
No holiness, no heaven. "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord"
(Heb. 12:14). Holiness is the highway to that high and holy place. "And an
highway shall be there, and it shall be called the way of holiness" (Isaiah
35:8). "The pure in heart shall see God" (Matt. 5:8). Heaven is the
inheritance of saints (Col. 1:12). No unclean thing can enter into God's
kingdom. They who live in those sins which are the works of the devil, and mock
those that are sanctified, shall have no place with God and His glorious
angels. Heaven was never prepared for the workers of iniquity. "To sit on My
right hand, and on My left... .it shall be given unto them for whom it is
prepared of My Father" (Matt. 20:23). Who are the blessed royal guests? Men
who are gracious and holy. Heaven is no common inn. "Come, ye blessed of My
Father, inherit the kingdom" (Matt. 25:34). Ye that fed Me and clothed Me,
ye that visited the fatherless, which is pure religion (James 1:27). A wicked
man hath not so much as half a promise of heaven in the whole Bible. The poor
man hath a promise (James 2:5), but the wicked man hath none. Oh, thou enemy of
gospel holiness, show thy warrant. Why dost thou look for heaven? Thou hast
received no promise from God; and if thou hast no promise, thou canst expect no
performance.
It may be, at present, thou dost taste some comfort from thy
self-flattery; oh, but in the end thou shalt reap the sorrow of thy woeful
self-deceit. God is sometimes better than His Word, but never contradicts His
Word, which He must do, if the unholy, unhumbled sinner come to heaven. Heaven
begins in holiness, and our expectation of future glory, obligeth us to present
sanctity. "Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens
and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing
that ye look for such things, be diligent, that ye may be found of Him in
peace, without spot, and blameless" (2 Peter 3:13-14). What will move us to
holiness, if glory does not? Shall the devil, by showing the fading glory of
this world, prevail with thousands to serve him? And shall not Jesus, by
showing us the everlasting glory of the world to come, prevail with us to serve
Him? Are we called to this glory, and shall we not walk worthy of Him who hath
called us to it? (1 Thess. 2:12). Surely the enjoyment of God Himself
hereafter, in all His perfections, sufficiency, blessedness, and goodness to
us, according to our capacity, should make us study holiness, for how can an
impure and filthy soul enjoy God? Alas, there is no suitableness, no fitness in
such a soul. The more holy we are, the more we are like the glorified saints.
Holiness will be our perfection and delight in Heaven, and shall it not be our
desire and study here on earth? Will we rather part with eternal life, than
with our lust? Is our sin to be reckoned or compared with heavenly glory? Oh,
let us choose an holy life, if we would be happy both in life and death. Let us
become the servants of God, and have our fruit unto holiness, if we ever expect
that the end shall be everlasting life. God calls us from sin to holiness,
which is most reasonable (1 Thess. 4:7). God calls us to follow Him in the way
of holiness to eternal glory. The devil calls us to follow him in the way of
sin to eternal torments. Now whether it be right that we obey God or the devil,
judge ye. "Follow peace with all men and holiness" (Heb. 12:14). Though
lions be in the way, and discouragements be multiplied, though Satan interpose,
and corruptions stop our course, we are yet to follow holiness. Who calls us?
Is it not He, whose presence and breath is consuming? He who can command us
into nothing, and shall not His call be complied with? Must the eternal God
become a humble condescending suppliant to man? Majesty and mercy kneel and
entreat us to be holy, and yet we live in sin still! What are we called from?
Is it not from sin and destruction to purity and salvation? Is it not from
Satan to God, from embracing of sensual pleasures, to the pursuing of
spirituality? And who can withstand such reasonable entreaties? Our profession
of Christianity obligeth us to holiness. Christianity is a matter of free
acceptation; it is our own voluntary choice. When we take upon us the Name of
Christ, we bind ourselves to leave sin, and live holily. "Let every one that
nameth the Name of Christ, depart from iniquity" (2 Tim. 2:19).
Our
Christian profession obligeth us to a Christian conversation. What! Will we
plow with an ox and an ass together? I mean, will we have the face of a
Christian, and yet the life of a heathen! Oh, let us not be almost Christians,
lest we be at last almost saved, that is, altogether damned. Oh, let this truth
be like the water of jealousy, like fire in our bones, like the archangel's
trumpet to awaken us. Thou that possessest Christ art bound to follow Christ,
both in inward and outward holiness. Thou hast taken upon thee to be holy in
part, and this obligeth thee to be holy in all. As he that believes one
fundamental article is bound to believe all fundamental points, so he that
obeyeth God in one practical duty, is bound to obey all. As for example,
suppose thou being a professor of Christianity, comest to the Lord 's house
upon His blessed day. Now I tell thee thou art the greatest self-condemned man
in the world, if thou do not also cast by all profaneness, and make religion
thy chief business, both at home and abroad. For upon the same ground thou
comest to Christ, upon that same ground thou shouldst pray with thy family,
educate thy children christianly, live strictly, and do all that is required.
"He that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill; Now if thou
commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the
law" (James 2:11). Thou that out of conscience, and from the command of God
doest one thing, ought likewise to do all. The same law, the same God, and the
same authority that binds thee to one, binds thee to another. If thou endeavor
not to obey God in all, thou obeyest Him sincerely or not at all. A Christian
that endeavors not to be strict, exact, circumspect, and holy in practice shall
never by me be called a Christian. Your virtue and piety will profit your
posterity after you. It will help to keep wrath from your children, and to
procure a blessing upon them. This is that which God cannot forget, neither
will He forget His goodness sake. "Shewing mercy unto thousands of them that
love Me, and keep My commandments" (Ex. 20:6). "Oh that there were such
an heart in them that they would fear Me, and keep all My commandments always,
that it might be well with them, and their children for ever" (Deut. 5:29);
1 Kings 6:34). "The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed
after him" (Prov. 20:7).
According as we demean ourselves towards God
(saith an ancient writer) we entail a lasting blessing, or a great curse upon
our children. As wicked parents entail God's anger and curse upon their
posterity, so God reserves mercy for the posterity of the godly. He will be
good, even to thousands of their seed, who diligently serve Him. Lo, here is
the fruit of your prayers and tears, of your hearing God's Word, and leading
your lives according to the sacred rules thereof. This sealeth up the Lord's
favor not only to yourselves, but to your children after you. I beseech you,
Christians, think seriously of all this, and as you would ever wish well to
your own souls, as to their dear pledges, that are as your own heart, be afraid
to offend God. And be constantly careful to lead your lives according to the
rules of His most Holy Word. If God hath irresistibly and effectually called
thee, amongst those few, very few called ones, whom He hath chosen for Himself,
let this engage thee to be holy yet more and more. Did not the Spirit of grace
knock at thy door with infinite holy motions, before thou condescended to open?
Thou refused to obey, until He called, not a third time, as to Samuel, but many
an hundred times. As Lot was loath to depart out of Sodom, till the angels laid
hold upon his hand, and brought him forth; so thou was loath to leave thy sins,
and sinful companions, till the hand of the Lord laid hold upon thine heart.
God's arbitrary and free grace called thee and left others. Oh, how should this
make thee to admire God's love, and to strive for God's holiness! When God took
thee, He left others; he passed by thousands and ten thousands in the world,
and left them in their impenitency and carnal security under the bondage and
vassalage of Satan. Consider, how few there are that shall be saved, in
comparison of the multitude that shall be eternally destroyed. Consider that
God should call thee with an holy calling, and bring thee in to be one of that
little flock, that is under the care of the good Shepherd Jesus Christ. If thou
should be chosen and singled out from the rest, when they are left in a state
of sin to perish eternally, what astonishing distinguishing mercy is this! How
should this engage thee to be eminently holy. Was thou called in thy younger
years? Oh, be holy in all manner of conversation for a requital of God's love
that suffered thee not to stab thy soul to old age.
It is a greater mercy
to be called at the first, or third, than at the eleventh hour; to be called in
thine infancy and early days, than in the afternoon, and evening, and twilight
of thine age. Being early called, thou never made such sad shipwrecks, never
involved thyself in such gross wickedness as others have done. Thou hast had
long trial of the sweetness of holiness, therefore follow after it still. Was
thou called of later times? Labor to make requital for the many hours, days,
and years, thou lost before thou was acquainted with God. Surely holiness
becomes thee forever. Oh, be holy, ye old disciples, for your time to gather
grace in will not be long. Oh, be holy, ye young converts, for ye want
liveliness, strength, and vigour in the way and work of the Lord. Your
experiences are but short; some tastings you have had, oh, but desire more, for
the more holiness you have, the more sweetness you shall find. The richest wine
lies in the lowest cellar. Hath Christ come and laid Him down under thy roof?
Oh, be pure and holy that thou vex not His righteous soul. Oh, how should thou
please Him, who hath so highly honoured and advanced thee! If a peasant's
daughter were married to a prince, would she put on her old rags, or eat her
old country diet again? Christ the Prince of Peace hath married thee to
Himself, and appointed thee a rich jointure. Wilt not thou forever lay aside
the filthy garments of sin, and slight those husks on which thou fed before? It
may be that thou art so poor, that of thine own thou hast nowhere to lay thine
head, and it is certain thou possessest not one foot of land that is thine own
for ever. Yet art thou an heir, a child, dearly beloved, both by God and
angels. This honour have all the saints. Once thou wast a great, a filthy
sinner; oh, be holy, for Christ hath washed thee in His blood, justified thee
by His righteousness, and sanctified thee by His Spirit, even when thou wast
filthy to look upon. Moses once married a Blackamoor, David had vile men for
his soldiers, and Christ had publicans, harlots, and sinners for His
companions. So God chose thee when thou had little morality, little ingenuity,
or natural goodness. Thou art of the number of those few that shall be saved,
and so strongly bound to be eminently holy.
Home | Sermons | Links |
Literature | Letter | Photos