[3.] Thirdly, A man that is affected and taken with the word as it is a holy word, he is always affected and taken with it ; he loves it and takes pleasure in it, as well in adversity as in prosperity : Ps. cxix. 59, ' Thy statutes have been my songs' — ay, but where? — 'in the house of my pilgrimage,' or ' pilgrimages,' as the Hebrew hath it.i When David was in his banishments, by reason of Saul, Absalom, and others, now the word of God was music to him, now it was matter of joy and rejoicing to him ; his whole life was the life of a pilgrim and stranger ; now as a pilgrim he sojourns here, and anon as a stranger he sojourns there. No man could take more pleasure, joy, and con- tentment in the rarest and choicest music than David did in the word of God, and that not only when he was in his royal palace, but also when he was in the house of his pilgrimage. He that loves the word, and that delights in the word for its holiness and purity, he will love it and delight in it in health and sickness, in strength and weakness, in honour and disgrace, in wealth and want, in life and in death. The
so a holy man delights in all the Bible. The Jewish Eabbins were wont to say that upon every letter of the law there hangs mountains of profitable matter.
^ The saints have commonly looked upon themselves as pilgrima and strangers in this world, Gen. xlvii. 9, 39 ; Ps. lii. 19 ; Heb. li. 9, 10, &c
136 THE NECESSITY, EXCELLENCY, RARITY, [HeB. XII. 14.
holiness of the word is a lasting holiness, and so will every man's affec- tions be towards it who affects it, and is taken with it for its holiness and pureness. Some there be that cry up the word, and that seem to be much affected, delighted, and ravished with the word, — as Herod, Ezekiel's hearers, and the stony ground was,Ezek. xxxiii. 30-33, and Mark iv. and vi.,&c,, — whilst the word is either a cheap word to them, or a profit- able and pleasing word to them, or whilst it is courted and countenanced in the world, or whilst it is the path to preferment, or a key to enlarge- ment, &c. But when the word gets within them, and discovers their own sinfulness and wretchedness to them, when it shews them how Christ- less, and graceless, and lifeless,, and helpless, and hopeless they are; when it discovers how far they are from heaven, and how near they are to hell, Jer, xliv. 15, 29 ; oh, then their hearts begin to rise against it, and to cry out. Away with it ; it was never good days since we have had so much preaching and hearing: or when the word comes to be scorned, slighted, disgraced, opposed, or persecuted, oh, then they turn their backs upon it, and quickly grow weary of it. As the lassians i in Strabo delighted themselves with the music of an ex- cellent harper till they heard the market-bell ring, and then they run all away save a deaf old man, that could take but little delight in the harper s ditties ; so let these men but hear the bell of lust, or the bell of profit, or the bell of pleasure,, or the bell of applause, or the bell of honour, or the bell of error, or the bell of superstition sound in their ears, and presently they will run from the sweet music of the word, to follow after any of these bells. But now a man that loves the word, and that is affected and taken with the word as it is a holy word, no bell can ring him from the word, no disgrace, no affliction, no opposition, no persecution, can take him off from affecting the word, and from taking pleasure in the word. The cause of his love is abid- ing and lasting, and therefore his love cannot but be lasting and con- tinuing. Not but that a holy heart may sometimes be more affected and taken with the word than at other times : as first, when a man enjoys much communion with God in the word ; or second, when God speaks much peace and comfort to the soul by the word ; or third, when God assures a man more clearly and fully of the goodness and happiness of his condition by the word ; or fourth, when God lets in very much quietness, or quickness, or sweetness, or seriousness, or spiritualness into a man's spirit by the word. Oh, then a man may more than ordinarily be affected and taken with the word. But now, though a holy Christian is not at all times in the same degree and measure taken with the word, yet take such a Christian when he is at worst, and you shall find two things in him : (1.) you shaU find in him a holy love to the word ; and (2.) you shall find in him a real love to holy Christians.
[4.] Fourthly, He that loves the word, and that is affected and taken with the word as it is a holy word, he is most affected and taken with those parts of the word that do most incite to holiness, that do most promote hoHness, and that do most provoke to holiness. As 1 Pet. i. 15, 16, * But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation ; because it is written, Be ye
HeB. XII. 14.] AND BEAUTY OF HOLINESS. " 137