1 On Ps. iv. 2. HomiL— G.
2 Isa. Ixiii. 3; John xvii. 22; Luke iv. 24; 1 Cor. vi. 20; 1 Pet. i. 18-20; Heb. ix. 12-15. " Misspelled ' woe.'— G.
36 THE NECESSITY, EXCELLENCY, RARITY, [HeB. XII. 14.
imports. Now, though there is a great deal of art required to take birds, yet there is ten thousand times more art required to take souls. In a word, to convert a soul is a greater work than to sway a sceptre, or than it is to pour out ten thousand talents into the baskets of the poor.i
My desigu in choosing this text is the winning of souls, it is the salvation of souls, it is the bringing in and building up of souls. I have read of Louis the Ninth, king of France, that he was found instructing his poor kitchen-boy in the way to heaven ; and being asked the reason of it, he answered, ' The meanest hath a soul as precious as my own, and bought by the same blood of Christ.' He who only went to the price of souls, hath long since told us that a soul is more worth than a world. Mat. xvi. 26. That I may catch some poor soul or other by a holy craft, 2 Cor. xii. 16, and establish and strengthen others in the love and liking of holiness, and in the power and practice of holiness, I have cast my thoughts upon this scripture.
But to draw nearer to my text.
As no means hath more enriched hell than beautiful faces, so no means hath more enriched heaven than the beauty of holiness. Now that I may discover the necessity, beauty, rarity, and excellency of holiness, I have chosen this text, ' Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.' I shall give a little light into the words, and then come to that main point I intend to stand upon.
' Follow peace with all men.' The Greek word AccoKere, translated follow, signifies to pursue and press after peace, as the persecutor pursues and presses after him he persecutes. It notes an earnest, an eager, an affectionate, and an incessant pressing and following after peace with all men; Ps. xxxiv. 14, 'Seek peace, and pursue it.'^ Here the Hebrew word, ^p2, translated seek, signifies to ' seek ear- nestly,' vehemently, studiously, industriously. Thus peace with God, and peace with conscience, and peace with men must be sought. ' Seek peace and pursue it.' The word translated pursue, IHS)!'!'), from ^1"), signifies an ' earnest pursuit.' It is a metaphor taken from the earnestness of wild beasts, or ravenous fowl, which will run or fly fast and far, eagerly and unweariedly, rather than be disappointed of their prey. Though Christians meet with many rubs and remoras, yet peace must be resolutely pursued. The Spirit of God is a Spirit of peace, and God delights to be styled Deus pacts, the God of peace, and Christ affects 3 to be Princeps pads, the Prince of peace, and King of Salem, i.e.. King of peace. ^ JJbi pax, ibi Christus, quia Christus pax: Where peace is, tJiere is Christ, because Christ is peace. Therefore let all that are interested in Christ pursue after peace. But this is not the point that I have in my eye at this time. I shall hasten to it ' With all men ;' that is, with all orders, ranks, and sorts of men.
* And holiness,' &c.5 We must so pursue after peace as that we do
^ Chrysostom. ^ Dtdce nomen pads — The very name of peace is sweet.
» ' Chooses.'— G. * Gal. v. 22; 2 Cor. xiii. 11 ; Isa. ix. 6, 7; Heb. i. 2.
\ A man may be miserable under peace, but never under holiness.
HeB. XII. 14.] AND BEAUTY OF HOLINESS. 37
not neglect holiness for peace sake. Better is holiness without peace, than peace without holiness. Holiness dilFers nothing from happiness but in name. Holiness is happiness in the bud, and happiness is holiness at the full. Happiness is nothing but the quintessence of holiness. A man were better be holy in hell, than unholy in heaven. Holiness would make hell to be no hell, as the fire was no fire to those holy worthies, Dan. iii. 27. Look, as unholiness would make heaven to be no heaven, yea, turn a heaven into a very hell, so holiness would turn a hell into a very heaven. What holiness this is in the text, I shall discover to you in the opening of that point I intend to stand - upon.
' Without which no man.' This expression is exclusive, ' no man,* be he rich or poor, high or low, honourable or base, young or old, Jew or Gentile, bond or free, under one form or another, &c.
' Shall see the Lord.' To ' see,' in the Hebrew phrase, is ordin- arily used to ' enjoy :' Ps. iv. 6, '^ Who will shew us any good ?' The word in the Hebrew is from HkSi, to ' see,' ' Who will make us to see any good?' that is, to enjoy any good. 'Without holiness no man shall see the Lord ;' that is, without holiness no man shall ever come to a blessed, to a glorious fruition and enjoyment of the Lord. There was once a holy man [Chrysostom] who professed that the want of the enjoyment of Grod would be a far greater hell to him than the feeling of any punishment ; and yet this great hell, every one shall be sure to feel that lives and dies without holiness. The Jews say of holy Moses, that he died ad osculum oris Dei, at the kisses of God's mouth, and in divine embraces, Ps. xxxvii. 37. When a man of holiness dies, he shall be sure to die in divine embraces, and live for ever in divine embraces. When Socrates was to die, he comforted himself with this, that he should go to a place where he should enjoy Homer and Musaeus, and other worthies who lived before him.i But ah, what an unspeakable comfort is this to a holy man when he comes to die, to consider that he is going to a place where he shall see the Lord, not as now, through a glass darkly, but in all his heavenly bravery, and in all his divine embroidery and bespangled glory! 1 Cor. xiii. 12. And let this suffice for the opening of the words.
In my text you have two things : First, An exhortation to ' follow peace and holiness.' Secondly, The reason or argument to enforce the duty pressed, viz., ' without which no man shall see the Lord.' The words will afford us many weighty observations. , I shall onl> name one, which I intend to insist upon, and that is this — viz. :
Doct. That real holiness is the only way to happiness. All men must he holy on earth, or they shall never see the beatifical vision, they shall never reach to a glorious fruition of God in heaven.
For the clearing up, and making good of this great and glorious truth, I shall endeavour these three things : —
First, to shew you what this holiness is, ' without which no man shall see the Lord.'
Secondly, I shall, by an induction of particulars, make good the pro- position.
^ Plato, Phaedo; Xenophon, Mem. iv. 8, § 4, &c.— G.
38 * THE NECESSITY, EXCELLENCY, RARITY, [HeB. XII. 14.
Tliirdly, Give you the reasons of tlie point.
I. First, What is this holiness ' without which no man shall see the Lord '? I answer, there is a sixfold holiness.