HeB. XII. 14.] AND BEAUTY OF HOLINESS. 337
to enjoy him as much as I can whilst I live. When one of the martyrs was offered riches and honours if he would recant, he gave this excel- lent answer, Do but offer me somewhat that is better than my Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall see what I will say to you.i When Valens the emperor offered large preferments to Basil, and told him what a great man he would make him, he answered. Offer these things to children, and not to Christians. When Bernard was tempted, Tell me not, Satan, said he, what I have been, but what I am and will be through grace. And so when Beza was tempted in the like case, he answered, Whatsoever I was, I am now in Christ a new creature, and that is it which troubles thee, Satan ; I might have continued in my sins long enough ere thou wouldst have vexed at it, but now I see thou dost envy me the grace of my Saviour. And when Augustine was sadly reviled by the Donatists for the wickedness of his youth, he answered. The more desperate my disease was, so much the more I admire the physician. Thus men eminently holy have stood their ground in the face of all temptations and motions to sin ; but, alas ! in these times how easily, how readily, and how frequently do multitudes fall before every temptation ! As soon as Achan had but cast his eye upon the Babylonish garment and shekels of silver and wedge of gold, his fingers itched to be handling of them. Josh. vii. 21 ; so many in these days, as soon as they do but see the way to honour or preferment, or a great place, or a high office, &c., oh, how do their fingers itch, how do their souls long after these things ! and though they savour and smell never so strong of Babylon or of Rome, yet have them they must. Such persons may do well to remember, that Achan's Babylon- ish garment was but a shroud to shroud him, and his golden wedge was but a wedge to cleave him, and his shekels of silver were but shekels to hold him the faster, both under the wrath of God and man. Such as can turn with every wind, and close with every worship, and bow to every idol that man sets up, have either no holiness, or else but very little holiness, in their hearts. Such as easily and readily fall before temptations from within or without, have never attained to any great measures of holiness. But,
[5.] Fifthly, You have but a little holiness ; witness the strange be- haviour and carriage of your souls, when the Lord smites you in some near and dear enjoyment. If the Lord does but frown upon your Joseph, or touch your Isaac, or call for your Benjamin, or wither your gourd, oh, now with Rachel you will not be comforted, or with Jacob you will go mourning into the grave, or with David you will cry out, ' 0 Absalom, my son, my son ! would God I had died for thee ! ' or with Jonah you will tell God to his face that you do well to be angry .2 Oh, now you can't look up and trust in God, you can't look up and delight in God, you can't look up and hope in God, you can't look up and solace yourselves in God, you can't look up and lie down in the good pleasure of God, you can't look up and justify God, you can't look up and say God is your God, &c. Oh, now God has touched you in your fii'st-born, you can neither eat, nor drink, nor sleep ; now you can
^ And the young convert when he was tempted, answered, Ego non sum ego, I am not the man that I was, &c.
' Jer. xxxi. 15 ; Gen. xxxvii. 35; 2 Sam. xviii. 33; Jonah iv. 9. VOL. IV. Y
338 THE NECESSITY, EXCELLENCY, RARITY, [HeB. XII. 14
taste no sweet, nor take no comfort, nor find no content in any of all your enjoyments ; now God has touched the apple of your eye, you can neither think well of God, nor speak well of God, nor carry it well towards God. Oh, now nobody can please you, nor nothing can satisfy you ; now you think that there is no sorrow to your sorrow, no cross to your cross, nor no loss to your loss, &c. ; now every sweet is bitter, and every comfort is a cross ; and accordingly you carry it both towards God and towards man. Lam. i. 12, 18 ; all which speaks out holiness to be at a very low ebb in your souls. 0 sirs, were holiness but risen to some considerable height in your souls, you would with Job, who was eminent in holiness, bless a taking God, as well as a giving God, Job i. 21 ; and you would carry it sweetly and ingenuously towards God, as well when he writes bitter things against you as when he is a-multiplying of favours and kindnesses upon you ; but if when the rod smarts you kick, and fling, and fret, and fume, and vex, and tear your comforts in pieces, and your souls in pieces, and yom* God in pieces, as much as in you lies, certainly the streams of holiness runs low in your souls. But,
[6.] Sixthly, You have but little holiness ; witness the ebhings and the flowing s of your spirits according to the ivorldng of secondary causes. As secondary causes work, so you are up and down, high and low ; now you are full of hopes, and anon you are full of fears ; now you believe, and anon despair ; now you are steadfast, and anon you are wavering ; now you say, surely God will once more own us, and anon you say, verily God has forsaken us ; now you say you see the clouds begin to scatter, and anon you say you see the clouds grow darker and thicker ; now you say the winter is past, and the singing of birds is come, and anon you say your winter is like to be longer than ever ; ^ now you say there is balm in Gilead, and anon you say your wound is incurable ; now you say all is your own, and anon you are ready to give up all as lost, &c. ; and thus your hearts rise and fall according to the working of second causes. When you have full purses, and powerful armies, and subtle counsellors, and great allies, then you are ready to say, surely our mountain is strong, and we shall never be removed, Ps. xxx. 6-8 ; but when your bags are empty, and your forces broken, and your counsels dissipated, and your allies fallen off, then you are ready to cry out. Oh, now there is no hope, there is no help ! Oh, but now were you eminent in holiness, then, under the saddest and Grossest workings of second causes, you would say with Asa, ' 0 Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power,' 2 Chron. xiv. 11 ; and with Elisha, ' They that be with us are more than they that be with them,' 2 Kings vi. 16, 17 ; and with Moses, ' Stand still and see the salvation of God,' Exod. xiv. 13 ; and with David, ' The Lord is on my side, I will not fear what man can do unto me,' Ps. cxviii. 6. Holiness in any consider- able height will set the power of God in opposition to all the power of the world, and then divinely triumph over them, Ps. Ixv. 6-11. Pompey once gloried in this, that with one stamp of his foot he could raise all Italy up in arms ; 2 but the great God with one stamp of his foot, or with one word of his mouth, can raise not only Italy, but also