knows it, shall have two heavens — a heaven of joy, comfort, peace, content, and assurance here, and a heaven of happiness and blessed- ness hereafter ; but he that hath holiness and doth not know it, shall certainly be saved, yet so as by fire ; he shall have a heaven at last, but he must pass to it by the flaming sword, 1 Cor. iii. 11, 16. When Ti person is heir to a great estate, and knows it, when a person is son to a king, and knows it, when a person is highly in favour, and knows it, when a person is out of all hazard and danger, and knows it, when a person's pardon is sealed, and he knows it, then the spring of joy and comfort rises in him ; so when a man is holy, and knows it, then the spring of divine joy and comfort rises in his soul, as the waters rise in Ezekiel's sanctuary, Ezek. xlvii. 2-5. The knowledge of the goodness and holiness of thy estate will make heavy afflictions light, long afflic- tions short, and bitter afflictions sweet, 2 Cor. iv. 16-18 ; 1 Cor. xv. 58. The knowledge of the goodness and holiness of thy estate will make thee frequent, fervent, constant, and abundant in the work of the Lord. The knowledge of the goodness and holiness of thy estate will strengthen thy faith, raise thy hope, inflame thy love, increase thy patience, and brighten thy zeaL The knowledge of the goodness and holiness of thy estate will make every mercy sweet, every duty sweet, every ordinance sweet, and every providence sweet. The know- ledge of the goodness and holiness of thy estate will rid thee of all thy sinful fears and cares ; it will give thee ease under every burden, and it will make death more desirable than life, Phil. i. 22, 23 ; 2 Cor. v. 1, 10. The knowledge of the goodness and holiness of thy estate will make thee more strong to resist temptation, more victorious over op- position, and more silent in every condition. The knowledge of the goodness and holiness of thy estate will turn every winter night into a summer's day, every cross into a crown, and every wilderness into a paradise. The knowledge of the goodness and holiness of thy estate will be a sword to defend thee, a staff" to support thee, a cordial to strengthen thee, a plaster to heal thee, and a star to lead thee. And oh, who then will not take some pains with his own heart to know the goodness and holiness of his own estate ? Well, remember this, next to a man's being holy, it is the greatest mercy in this world to know that he is holy. But if upon trial a man shall find that his estate is bad, and that his holiness is not of the right stamp, yet this will be many ways a mercy and an advantage to him. For the way to be found, is to see yourselves lost : the way to infinite merpy ;§ to see your own misery ; the way to Canaan is througvVthe wilc|erii6ss ; the way to heaven is by the gates of hell. Upon the kno\^ledge of the badness and sadness of thy estate, thou wilt be awakened out of thy security and thou wait be alarmed to loathe thyself, to judge thyself, to condi^n^n thyself, to be sick of sin, to break with Satan, and to cloMa with Christ. Now the daily language of thy soul will be, ' Men and brethren, what shall I do to be saved ? ' Acts il 37, 42, and xvi. 22, 35. Oh, what shall I do to get my sinful nature changed, my hard heart softened, my blind mind enlightened, my polluted conscience purged, and my poor naked soul with grace and holiness adorned ? Now the daily language of thy soul will be that of the martyr, ' Oh, none but Christ, none but Christ ! ' Oh, none but Christ to pardon me ; none but Christ
102 THE NECESSITY, EXCELLENCY, RAEITY, [HeB. XII. 14.
to justify me ; none but Christ to command me ; none but Christ to save me ; and none but Christ to reign over me. Now the language of thy soul will be this, Oh, though I have formerly thought myself to be wise, yet now I see myself to be a fool ! Oh that Christ would be wisdom to me ! 1 Cor. i. 30, 31. Oh, now I see myself to be red with guilt, and black with filth ! Oh that Christ would be righteous- ness to me 1 Oh, now I see myself to be unclean, unclean ! Oh that Christ would be sanctification to me 1 Oh, now I see myself to be in a damnable condition ! Oh that Christ would be redemption to me ! Eev. iii. 16-18. Oh, now I see myself naked ! Oh that Christ would clothe me ! Now I see myself poor and miserable ! Oh that Christ would enrich me ! Now I feel myself to be hungry ! Oh that Christ would be bread of life to feed me ! Now I perceive myself to be lost ! Oh that Christ would seek me ! Now I fear that I am perishing ! Oh that Christ would save me 1 Now the language of your souls wiU be that of the lepers, ' If we stay here, we die,' 2 Kings vii. 3-6 ; if we stay in our unsanctified and unrenewed estate, we die ; if we stay in our sins, we die ; if we stay on our duties, we die ; if we stay on a conceited or counterfeit holiness, we die ; if we stay on a form of god- liness, we die ; if we stay on a name to live, we die ; if we stay where the world stays, we die ; if we stay in anything a-this side Christ and real holiness, we die, we eternally die ; and therefore, let us arise and make a venture of our souls upon Christ, and pursue after that holi- ness without which there is no happiness. But,