(5.) Fifthly, To provoke you to endeavour after higher degrees of holiness, consider that the more holiness thou hast, the more he ivill give thee. At first God gives holiness where there is none, and where this holiness is improved, there God will be still augmenting and in- creasing of it. Do thou but make it thy business to ' perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord,' Heb. vi. 7, and the Lord will not fail to make new and fresh additions of more grace and holiness to that thou hast : Ps. Ixxxiv. 11, ' The Lord will give grace and glory, and no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.' Mark those words, viz., that ' the Lord will give grace and glory,' that is, grace imto glory, he will still be adding more grace to that thou hast, till the bud of grace be turned into the flower of glory, till thy grace on earth commenceth glory in heaven; the more holiness any man has, the more still God will give him : Mat. xiii. 12, ' For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance.' He that hath principles of grace and holiness laid into his soul, he shall find a plen- tiful increase of those sanctifying and saving principles ; he shall have more abundance ; his spark of holiness shall grow into a flame, his drops of holiness shall be turned into a sea, and his mite of holiness shall be multiplied into millions. The greater harvest of holiness a Christian brings forth, the greater increase of holiness shall he experience; every exercise of grace and holiness is always attended with new increase of grace and holiness. Mat. xxv. 29. Look, as that arm is greatest and strongest that is most used and exercised, so that particular grace that is most exercised and used is most strengthened and greatened. Look, as earthly parents, when they see their children to husband and im- prove a little stock to great advantage, then they add to their stock, they increase their stock, they double their stock ; so, when the Father
HeB. XII. 14,] AND BEAUTY OF HOLINESS. 353
of spirits sees his children to husband and improve a little stock of grace and holiness to the great advantage of their souls, then he will increase their spiritual stock, he will be still a-adding to their stock, yea, he will double their stock : John xv. 2, ' Every branch that beareth fruit he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.' Such as are fruitful shall be made more fruitful. Christ will take most pains to make them better who are already very good. Of all Christians in the world, there are none that have so much grace as humble Christians have, and yet God delights to pour in grace into their souls, as men pour liquor into empty vessels, James iv. 6. Humility is both a grace, and a vessel to receive more grace. And thus much for this fifth argu- ment. But,
(6.) Sixthly, To provoke you to labour after higher degrees of holi- ness, consider that the more holiness you attain to, the greater loill be your heaven of joy and comfort in this world. Though the least spark of true holiness will bring a man to heaven certainly, yet it is only an eminency in holiness that will make a man walk to heaven comfortably. The more holiness any man has, the more he shall enjoy him, in whose presence is fulness of joy, Ps. xvi. 11 ; and the more any man enjoys the presence of God with his spirit, the greater will be his heaven of joy in this world. Look, as a little star yields but a little light, so a little holiness yields but a little comfort ; and look, as the greatest stars yields the greatest light, so the greatest measures of holiness always yields the greatest comforts. Divine joy ebbs and flows as holiness ebbs and flows. Soul comforts rises and falls as holiness rises and falls. Great measures of holiness carries with them the greatest evidence of the reality of holiness. Now the more clearly and evidently the reality and sincerity of a man's holiness appears, the higher will the springs of joy and comfort arise in his soul. Great measures of holiness carry with them the greatest evidence of a man's union and communion with God ; and the more evident a man's union and communion is with God, the more will that man's soul be flUed with that joy that is un- speakable and full of glory, 1 Pet, i, 8. In great measures of holiness a man may see and read most of the love of God, the face of God, the favour of God, and the heart of God, Acts ix. 31 ; and the more a man is blessed with such a sight as this is, the more will that babe of grace, divine joy, spring in his soul. The greater measures of holiness and sanctification any man attains to, the clearer and brighter will the evi- dences of his justification be. Now the clearer evidences any man has of his justification, the stronger wiU be his consolation, Eom. v. 1-3, and viii. 30, 33-35 ; and indeed the strongest waters of consolation do always flow from a clear sight and a true sense of a man's justification. No man lives so comfortably, no man bears the cross so sweetly, no man resists the devil and the world so stoutly, nor no man will die so cheerfully, as he that lives and dies in a clear sight of his justification. The more holiness any man attains to, the more his fears will be scattered, his doubts resolved, and all those impediments re- moved that commonly bar out joy and comfort : and what will be the happy issue of these things, but the bringing in of a sea of joy and comifort into the soul ! It is not riches, nor honours, nor applause, nor learning, nor friends, nor a great name in the world, but an eminency
354 THE NECESSITY, EXCELLENCY, RARITY, [HeB. XII, 14.
in holiness, that can highly raise the springs of divine joy in a Chris- tian's soul. Though the windows of the temple were broad without hut narrow within, yet the joy and comfort of a Christian that is emi- nent in holiness is broad and full within, though it be narrow and con- tracted without. 0 sirs, as ever you would have your joy full, labour for a heart filled with holiness. Your comforts will be always few and low, if your holiness be low. Why have the angels always harps in their hands, and hallelujahs in their mouths, but because they have attained to a fulness of holiness ? But,