* Let thy desires be before God, ' and he which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly ;' thy desire is thy prayer, and if thy desire be continual, thy prayer is con- tinual, &c.
366 A CABINET OF JEWELS. [ChAP. IL
they would stir up in the heart extrordinary flames of admiration and love. I might say much more of grace, 1 Cor. ii. 14, seq. Grace (1.) puts an excellency, it puts a lustre and beauty upon men's persons. ' The rio-hteous is more excellent than his neighbour,' Prov. xii. 26 ; and pray what makes him so but grace ? Wisdom makes a man's face to ^ shine ; riches, and honours, and dignities, and ro}Til ornaments, and costly fare, and noble attendants, don't put an excellency and glory upon man, Dan. xi. 21 ; witness Antiochus, Saul, Haman, Herod, Dives, &c., but saving grace does, 1 Peter iii. 4, 5, &c. The graces of the Spirit are that chain of pearl that adorns Christ's bride. (2.) Grace puts an ex- cellency upon all a man's duties ; ' By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain ;' faith put an excellency upon Abel's sacrifice. (8.) Grace puts an excellency upon all a man's natural and acquired excellencies. It puts an excellency upon beauty, honour, riches, name, arts, parts, gifts. Now, how excellent and glorious must that be that puts an excellency upon all our excellencies ? (4.) Grace makes a man conformable to God and Christ. (5.) Grace fits a man for communion and fellowship with Father, Son, and Spirit. (6.) Grace fits a man for the choicest services. (7.) Grace turns all things into a blessino". (8.) Grace fills the soul with all spiritual excellencies. (9.) Grace preserves a Christian from the worst of evils, viz., sin. (10.) Grace sweetens death, it makes the king of terrors to be the king of desires. (11.) Grace renders a man acceptable to God, and that is the height of a Christian's ambition in this world : 2 Cor, v. 9, ' Where- fore we labour' {tpiXon/Mov/Mi&a, we are ambitious), 'that whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him/ The apostles made it their ambition to get acceptance in heaven. Riches, and lionours, and gifts, and arts, and parts, Szc, may commend us to men, but it is only grace that commends us to God, and that renders us lovely in his eyes. (12.) Grace will eternalise your names, grace will perfume and embalm your names : Heb. xi. 2, ' By faith the elders obtained a good report.' Ver. 39, ' And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the premise.' Nothing raises a man's name and fame in the world like grace.^ A man may obtain a great report without orace, but he can never obtain a good report without grace. No- thino- below grace will perpetuate a man's name. The seven dea- cons that the church chose. Acts vi. 3, 5, were gracious men, and they were men of ' good report,' they were men well witnessed unto, well testified of, as the Greek word imports, Acts x. 1—4, 22. Cornelius was a gracious man, and he was a man of good report among all the nation of the Jews, Acts ix. 10, 20, comp. with chap. xxii. 12. Ananias was a gracious man, and he was a man of a ' good report.' Gains and Demetrius, they were both gracious men, and they were men of good report ; witness that third epistle of John. How renowned was Abra- ham for his faith ! and Moses for his meekness ! and Jacob for his plain- heartedness ! and Job for his uprightness ! and David for his zeal ! and Joshua for his courage ? Holy Abel hath been dead above this five thou- sand years, and yet his name is as fresh and fragrant as a rose to this very day, Heb. xi. 4. Grace will make your names immortal. ' The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance,' Ps. cxii. 6. 'The memory of the just » 1 John iv. 17, i. 1, 2; 2 Cor. xiii. 14; Zech. iii. 7; Mai, ii. 2; Prov. ii. 11, 12.
Chap. II.] a cabinet of jewels. 367
is blessed, but the name of the wicked shall rot/ Prov. x. 7. Wicked men many times outlive their names, but the names of just men outlive them. When a giacious man dies, he leaves his name as a sweet and as a lasting scent behind him ; his fame shall live when he is dead. According to the Hebrew the words may be read thus : ' The memory of the just shall be for a blessing.' The very remembering of the just shall bring a blessing upon them that remember them. When a gi'acious man dies, as he carries a good conscience with him, so he leaves a per- fumed name behind him. Grace is the image of God, the delight of God, the honour of God, the glory of God ; grace is the purchase of Christ, and the birth of the Spirit, and the pledge of glory ; gTace is the joy of angels, the glory of man, and the wonder of the w^orld. What is the body without the soul ? what is the cabinet without the jewels ? what is the sun without light ? what is the fountain without w^ater ? what is paradise without the tree of life? what is heaven without Christ ? That is a soul without grace. Now, every gracious soul sees a real eternal excellency, beauty, and glory in grace, and accordingly it is carried out in its desires after it. It sees such an innate excellency, beauty, and glory in that faith, wisdom, humility, meekness, patience, zeal, self-denial, heavenly-mindedness, uprightness, &c., that sjDarkles and shines in such and such saints, that it many times strives with God in a corner, even to sweat and tears, that it may be bedecked and enriched w'ith those singular graces that are so shining in others. Oh that I had the wisdom of such a Christian, and the faith of such a Christian, and the love of such a Christian, and the humilit}^ of such a Christian, and the meek- ness of such a Christian, and the zeal of such a Christian, and the in- tegrity of such a Christian, &c. Oh that my soul was but in their case ! I don't covet their riches, but their graces. Oh that I had but those graces ! Oh that I had much of those gi'aces that sparkles and shines in the hearts and lives of such and such Christians ! I see a beauty and glory upon sun, moon, and stars, yea, upon the whole creation, but what is that to that beauty and glory that I see stamped upon grace ? And this fires his heart with desires after grace. But,