' And Constantine, that great emperor, made it his constant practice, aa Eusebiua reports, to shut up himself daily in a secret place in his palace, where he went to private prayer.
2 Compare these scriptures together, Mat. xiv. 23 ; Mark vi. 46 ; Luke v. 16, and vi. 12; Mat. xxvi. 26, 36, 39, 42, 44; Luke xxii. 32, 44, 45; John xvii. 17.
Heb. XII. 14.] AND BEAUTY OF HOLINESS. 391
trade with God, maintain your closet communion with the Holy One of Israel. But,
[7.] Seventhly, If ever you would attain to higher degrees of holi- ness, then fall with all your might upon subduing and crucifying your most raging corruptions, a7id your most daring lusts. Oh do not defer 1 Oh do not delay the work of spiritual mortification 1 Oh do not think that you can both fight and overcome, fight and triumph in one day ! Oh do not think that your golden and your silver idols will lay down their arms, and yield the field, and lie at your feet, and let you trample them to death without striking a blow ! Isa. ii. 20. Oh remember that bosom-sins will do all they can to keep their ground, and therefore you must arise with all your strength against them, and bray them in a mortar, and stamp them to powder, and burn them to ashes 1 Oh deal with them as they dealt with the Levite's concubine, force them to death, and cut them to pieces ! Judges xix. Oh leave not the palm, the skull of this cursed Jezebel undevoured, undestroyed ! 2 Kings ix. Oh deal by your most enraged lusts as the Philistines did deal by Samson, pluck out their eyes, and make them to grind in the mill of mortification, till their strength be utterly consumed and wasted. Whilst Saul lived and kept the throne, and was in his strength, little David was kept exceeding weak and low ; but when Saul was dethroned and slain, little David quickly grew stronger and stronger, 2 Sam. iii. 1 : so all the while a darling sin lives and keeps the throne in the heart, grace and holiness will be kept exceeding weak and low ; but when your darling sin is dethroned and slain by the power and the sword of the Spirit, grace and holiness will quickly grow stronger and stronger, and rise higher and higher, Kom. viii. 10, 13. When men would have a rough field fitted for the plough, and fitted to bring forth fruit, will they not first fall with all their strength, and with all their might, upon grubbing up by the roots the strongest trees, and the sturdiest oaks, knowing that when these are grubbed up, weaker trees will easily fall ? So, as ever you would have your hearts and lives full of the fruits of righteousness and holiness, fall with all your strength, and with all your might, upon grubbing up by the very roots your be- loved sins, your strongest lusts, and then the rest of your corruptions will easily fall. When Goliath was slain, the Philistines fled, and were easily brought under. When a general in an army is cut off, the common soldiers are quickly routed. Down but with yom* darling sins, and then the conquest of other sins will be easy.
When a man hath eat poison, nothing will make him thrive, till he hath vomited up the poison that he hath eaten. It is not the most wholesome food, the choicest dainties, nor the richest cordials under heaven that will increase blood, and spirits, and strength, in such a person ; he will throw up all, and nothing will stay with him to do him good, till his poison be cast up and cast out. Beloved sins, they are the poison of the soul, and till these are vomited up, and cast out by sound repentance, and the exercise of faith in the blood of Christ, the soul will never thrive in grace and holiness ; all the wholesome food of the gospel, and all the dainties and cordials of heaven, will never beget good blood, nor noble spirits, nor divine strength in their souls, that upon no terms will part with their darling sins ; and therefore, as ever you would be
392 THE NECESSITY, EXCELLENCY, RARITY, [HeB. XII. 14.
Btrong in the grace of the Lord, draw up all the strength that ever you are able to make, and fall on with the greatest courage upon your bosoms-sins, and never cease till in the strength of Christ you have got a complete victory and conquest over them. In the law it was the blood of the sacrifice, and the oil, that cleansed the leper, and that by them was meant the blood of Christ and the Spirit of grace is agreed by all. Ah friends ! as ever you would be cleansed from your darling sins, which do so exceedingly hinder the increase of holiness, be often in looking upon a crucified Christ, and in the application of his blood to your own souls.
I have read of five men, that being asked what was the best means to mortify sin, gave these answers. Saith the first. The best means to mortify sin is to meditate of death. Saith the second. The best means is to meditate of the judgment -day. Saith the third, The best means is to meditate on the joys of heaven. Saith the fourth. The best means is to meditate on the torments of hell. But saith the fifth, The best means is to meditate on the blood and sufferings of Christ ; and doubtless the last hit it to a hair. If anything under heaven wUl sub- due and bring under darling sins, it will be the daily sight of a bleed- ing, groaning, dying Saviour. Philosophy, saith Lactantius, may cover vices, but it never cuts off vices ; it may hide a lust, but it can never ' quench a lust, as black patches, instead of plasters, may cover some deformities in nature, but they can never cure them. Ah sirs ! if you \ do not kiU your darling sins, they will kill your precious souls. When Sennacherib's army was destroyed by an angel, Isa. xxxvii., and he j returned home with a hook in his nose and a bridle in his lips, he in- 1 quired of one about him, what he thought the reason might he why God so favoured the Jews ; to which he replied. That there was one Abraham their father, that was willing to sacrifice his beloved son to j death at the command of God, and that ever since that time God ! favoured that people. WeU, said Sennacherib, if that be it, I have two ' beloved sons, and I will sacrifice them both to death, if that will pro- cure their God to favour me ; which when his two sons heard, they, as the story goes, slew their father, being more willing to kill than be killed, Isa. xxxvii. 38. 0 friends! you must kill or be killed; if ■you are not the death of your beloved sins, your beloved sins will prove the death and ruin of your immortal souls ; and therefore never leave looking up to a crucified Christ, till virtue flow from him to the cruci- fying of those special sins that do most obstruct and hinder the growth and increase of holiness. But,