[2.] /Secondly, They that have highly improved their graces, ivill comply with those commands of God that cross nature, that are con- trary to nature. And doubtless that man hath improved his graces to a very high rate, whose heart complies with those commands of God that are cross and contrary to nature ; as for a man to love them that loathe him, to bless them that curse him, to pray for them that perse- cute him, &c., Mat. v. 44. It is nothiog to love them that love us, and to speak well of them that speak well of us ; and to do well, and carry it well towards them, that carry it well towards us. Oh, but for a man to love those that hate him, to be courteous to them that are currish to him, to be sweet to them that are bitter to him, &c., this strongly demonstrates a high improvement of gi-ace.- Certainly that man is very, very good, who hath learned that holy lesson of ' overcoming exiX with good,' Rom. xii. 21. Such a one was Stephen, Acts vii. 55, xx. 9. He was a man full of the Holy Ghost, that is, of the gifts and graces of the Holy Ghost ; he was much in the exercise of grace, he can pray and sigh for them, yea, even weep tears of blood for them, who rejoiced to shed his blood. So did Christ weep over Jerusalem, so did Titus, so did Marcellus over Syracuse, so did Scipio over Carthage ; but they shed tears for them, whose blood they were to shed, but Christ shed tears for them who were to shed his blood. So Abraham ' being strong in faith gave glory to God,' Rom. iv. 20. How ? Why, by complying with those commands of God that were contrary to flesh and blood, as the offering up of his son, his only son, his beloved son, his son of the promise, and by leaving his own country, and his near and dear rela- tions, upon a word of command. The commands of God so change the whole man and make him new, that you can hardly know him to be the .same one, saith one.^ Well, sirs, remember thi.s, it is a dangerous thing to neglect one of his commands, though it be never so cross to flesh and blood, who by another is able to command you into nothing or into hell. ' Let Luther hate me, and in his wrath call me a thousand times devil, yet I will love him, and acknowledge him to be a most precious servant of God,' saith Calvin.*
' Many are seemingly good till they come to be great, and then they prove stark naught, like the monk in the fable. [See Index under ' monk.' — U.]
• They use to say, If any man would have Mr Foxo do him a good turn, let him do liim an injury, &c. [The Martyrologist, as before. — G.]
■' Lactant. defaha sapient, lib. iii. cap. 27.
* One of the precious numorabilia of Calvin's Letters, and of every Life of him. — G.
EpH. III. 8.] RICHES OF CHRIST. J 4-9
[3.] Thirdly, Consider this, swc/i souls icill follcnv the Lord fully, that have made an improvement of their graces. Oh, this was the glorious commendations of Caleb and Joshua in Numb. xiv. 24, that ' they followed the Lord fully,' in the face of all difficulties and dis- couragements. ' They had another spirit in them,' says the text, they would go up and possess the land ; though the walls were as high as heaven, and the sons of Anak were there, they made no more of it than to go, see, and conquer.^
' They followed the Lord fully.' In the Hebrew it is, ' They fulfilled after me.* The Hebrew word is a metaphor taken from a ship under sail, that is carried with a strong wind, as fearing neither sands, nor rocks, nor shelves, &c. Such have little if anything of Christ within, who follow him by halves or haltingly.
I remember Cyprian brings in the devil triumphing over Christ thus : ' As for my followers, I never died for them as Christ did for his ; 1 never promised them so great rewai'd as Christ hath done to hivS, and yet I have more followers than he, and they do more for me than his do for him.' Oh, where is that spirif in these days that was upon those worthies ? Ps. xliv. 7, ' All this is come upon us, yet have we not for- gotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant ; our heart is not turned back, neither have aur steps declined from thy way, though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death.'
[4.] Fourthly, Such souls that have improved their graces to a con- siderable height, tviU bless God as ivell when he frc/ivns as when he smiles.
As, well when he takes as when he gives, when he strikes as when he strokes, as you may see by comparing the scriptures in the margin together.^ When the Lord kad stripped Job of all, and had set him naked upon the dunghill, why then says Job, ' The Lord gives, and the Lord taketh away, and blessed be the name of the Lord.' Where grace is improved to a considerable height, it will work a soul to sit down satisfied with the naked enjoyment of God, without other things : John xiv. 8, ' Shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.' The sight of the Father, without honours, the sight of the Father, without riches, the sight of the Father, without men's favour, will suffice the soul. As Jacob said, ' It is enough that Joseph is alive ;' so says the soul that is high in grace, It is enough that Jesus is alive, &c.^
[5.] Fifthly, Souls that have improved their graces to a considerable height, ivill be good in bc(,d times and in bad places.
Such souls will bear up against the stream of evil examples, in the worst of times and in the worst of places.* Abraham was righteous in Chaldea ; Lot was just in Sodom ; Daniel holy in Babylon ; Job upright and fearing God in the land of Uz, which was a profane and most abominable superstitious place ; Nehemiah zealous in Damascus. Oh, take me a man that hath improved his grace, and the worser the times
' Veni, vidi, vici, I came, I saw, I overcame, said that emperor. [Julius Cjesar — G.] 2 Job i. 21 ; Lev. x. 3 ; 2 Sam. xv. 25, 26 ; Isa. Ixiii. 14, 15.
^ Christus est mihi pro omnibus, says a Christian ; as he said, Plato est mihi pro ornni- hus.
* Though the fishes live in the salt sea, yet they are fresh. So though souls eminently racious live among the -wicked, yet they retain their spiritualuess, freshness, and life.
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are the better that man will be ; he will bear up bravely against the stream of evil examples, he will be very good when times and all round about him are very bad.
Some say that roses grow the sweeter when they are planted by garlic. Verily, Christians that have gloriously improved their graces are like those roses, they grow sweeter and sweeter, holier and holier, by wicked men. The best diamonds shine most in the dark, and so do the best Christians shine most in the worst times.
[6.] Sixthly, Such turn their principles into practice. They turn their speculations into power, their notions into spirit, their gloTious inside into a golden outside, Ps. xlv. ] 3.