1. Grace hath a soul-quickening excellen- cy in it, Heb. x. 38. " The just shall live by faith." Men void of grace are dead ; they have breath, yet want life ; they are walking ghosts, Eph. ii. 1. The life of sin in the death of the soul: a sinner hath all the signs of one that is dead ; he hath no pulse ; the affections are the pulse of the soul ; his pulse doth not beat after God, he hath no sense, Eph. iv. 19. " Who being past feel- ino-." Dead things have no beauty, there is no beauty in a dead flower ; dead things are not capable of privilege ; the dead heir is not crowned ; but grace is the vital artery of the soul ; it doth not only irradiate, but auimate; therefore it is called " the light of life," John viii. 12. And believers are said to have their grave clothes pulled off, and to be alive from the dead, Rom. vi. 13. By grace the sold is grafted into Christ the true vine, John XV. 5. and is made not only living but lively, 1 Pet i. 3. Grace puts forth a divine energy into the soul.
2. Grace hath a soul-enriching excellency, 1 Cor. i. 5. " Ye are enriched in all know- ledare." As the sun enricheth the world with its golden beams, so doth knowledge be- spangle and enrich the miiul. Faith is an enriching- grace, James ii. 5. " Rich in faith;" faith brings Christ's riches into th# soul, it entitles to the promises ; the promises are full of riches, justification, adoption, gh> ry : faith is the key that unlocks this cabi- net of the promises, and empties out their treasure into the soul. The riches of grace excel all other riches. " The merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver," Prov. iii. 14.
1. These riches make a man wise : wisdom is the best possession ; other riches c-ann(»t make one wise. A man may hiwo a tiiil purse, and an empty brain. Many a rich heir, though he lives till he become of age, yet he never comes to years of discretion: but these riches of grace have power to make a man wise, Psal. cxi. 10. " The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Tiie saints are compared to wise virgins, Maiw
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THE BEAUTY OF GRACE,
XXV. Grace makes a man wise to know Sa- tan's devices and subtleties, 2 Cor. ii. 11. it makes him wise unto salvation, 2 Tim. iii. 15. Grace gives the serpent's eye in the dove's head.
2. These spiritual riches sanctify other riches. Riches without grace are hurtful, they are golden snares ; they are the bellows of pride, the fuel of lust; they set open hell gates for men ; they are unblest blessings ; but grace sanctifies our riches, it corrects the poison, it takes away the curse, it makes them beneficial to us ; riches shall be certificates of God's love, wings to lift us up to para- dise. Thus grace, by a divine chemistry, extracts heaven out of earth, and gives us not only venison but the blessing.
3. Grace satisfies ; other riches cannot, Eccl. v. 10. Riches can no more fill the heart, than a triangle can fill a circle ; but grace fills up every chink and hiatus of the soul ; it dilates the heart, it ravisheth the affections with joy, Rom, xv. 13. which joy, as Chry- sostom, saith, is a foretaste of heaven.
3. Excellency. Grace hath a soul-adorning excellency, it puts a beauty and lustre upon a person, 1 Pet. iii. 4, 5. " Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, but let it be the hidden man of the heart, even the orna- ment of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price; for after this manner in the old time, the holy women also who trusted in God adorned themselves." If a man hath plate and jewels, cloth of gold, hangings of arras, these adorn the house, not the man ; the glory of a man is grace, Prov. iv. 9. " She shall give to thine head an or- nament of grace." The graces are a chain of pearl that adorns Christ's bride ; the heart inlaid and enamelled with grace, is like the *' King's daughter, all glorious within," Psal. xlv. 13. A gracious soul is the image of God, curiously drawn with the pencil of the Holy Ghost ; a heart beautified with grace, is the angels* joy. Luke xv. 7. and is God's lesser heaven, Isa. Ivii. 15. Eph. iii. 17. Reason doth not so far exceed sense, as grace doth reason ; grace changeth corrup- tion into perfection ; nothing so graceth a man as grace doth ; grace is the purest com- plexion of the soul, for it makes it like God.
Grace is the flower of delight which Christ loves to smell to ; grace is to the soul, as the eye to the body, as the sun to the world, as the diamond to the ring, it doth bespangle and beautify. A soul decked with grace, is as the dove covered with silver wings, and golden feathers.