a man of a most violent, bitter, passionate spirit) had woefully wronged him, and reviled him, yet, saith he, let Luther hate me, and in his wrath call me a thousand times devil, yet I will love him, and honour him, and acknowledge him a choice and precious servant of God. Mr Foxe, that writ the ' Book of Martyrs,' was so famous in the practice of this hard piece of Christianity, that it became a proverb : If any man would have Mr Foxe do him a good turn, let him do him an injury, and he will be sure to do him a good turn for it. Send me to my toads again, in the dungeon, where I may pray for your lordship's conversion, said Mr Sanders the martyr, to the bishop of Winchester. Thus you see that the more eminent any persons are in holiness, the more they overcome evil with good, the more good they will do them that do evil to them ; and thus to do, is but to conform to Christ your head, for he shed tears for them that were to shed his blood, and he gave them his blood to drink, who gave him gall to drink and vinegar to drink. That man is almost got up to the very top of holiness, whose soul is habituated to overcome evil with good, upon holy and precious accounts. Julius Csesar, and Augustus Ceesar, in whose time Christ was born, and Titus Vespasian, Camillus, Darius, Lycurgus, Plato, Pericles, and Herod that is mentioned in Acts xii. 23, with many other heathens, have done something this way, but what they did, they did by fits and starts, and from poor, low principles, and to vainglorious ends ; and therefore all that they did this way is not worth a reciting. Well, Christians, the more you can overcome evil with good, the more certainly your hearts are filled with good. That man's heart is full of the fruits of righteousness and holiness, that, upon divine considerations is accustomed, not to be overcome of evil, but to overcome evil with good. But,
[3.] Thirdly, When men in the mam — I say, in the main — are as holy out of religious duties, as they are in religious duties; when in the main of their lives they are as spiritual, as heavenly, as humble, as gracious, as serious, as watchful, as circumspect, &c., as they are in their most religious performances and duties; this argues not only the truth of holiness, hut a very high degree of holiness. Moses's face did shine as gloriously when he came off from the mount, as ever it did shine when he was upon the mount, Exod. xxxiv. 29, 30, 33, 35. 0 sirs I if when you come off from the mount of duties, there remains some rays and shinings of God upon you, it is an argument that the waters of sanctity are risen to a considerable height in your souls, Ezek. xlvii, 2-6. Ah, how lively, how warm, how enlarged, how holy, how humble, how heavenly, how spiritual, how serious, how zealous, how religious, how gracious are many in duties, in ordin- ances ; but ah ! how dead, how cold, how straitened, how unholy, how proud, how worldly, how carnal, how shght, and how irreligious are they out of duties, out of ordinances. Now, oertainly, these have either no holiness at all, or else they have attained to but a very little measure of holiness. But now, when a man in the main, when a man in his course is the same out of duties, out of ordinances, that he is in duties, in ordinances, it is a very great and glorious argument that such a person hath in a very great measure perfected holiness in the fear of the Lord. But.
Heb. XII. 14.] AND BEAUTY OF HOLINESS. 403
[4.] Fourthly, The more a man can divinely joy and rejoice under tribulations and ajfflictions, the greater measure of holiness he hath attained to. It is a mercy not to grumble, not to mutter, not to murmur, not to fret, not to faint, not to despond, nor not to despair. It is much to be silent under afflictions, and to be quiet and patient under tribulations ; oh, but divinely to joy and rejoice under afflictions, under tribulations, argues a very great height of holiness, Rom. v. 3, 4, * And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience expe- rience, and experience hope.' That glorying and rejoicing are both one in the New Testament, is sufficiently known ; they differ only in degrees, glorying being a step above rejoicing. It is much to rejoice in tribulations, but it is more to glory in tribulations ; yea, to glory in them as an old soldier glories in all those marks and scars of honour that he hath met with in the service of his king and country ; and yet to this height the believing Romans were raised,' which argues a very great measure of holiness in them. And so in that 2 Cor. vii. 4, ' Great is my boldness of speech towards you, great is my glorying of you : I' am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation,' or as the Greek runs, I do over-abound exceedingly with joy, I have a superabundance of joy in all our tribulation, vTrepTrepiaaevofiat ; and so in chap xii. 9, 10, 'Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ might rest upon me : therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecu- tions, in distresses for Christ's sake : for when I am weak, then am I strong.' Paul rejoices and glories more in his heavy afflictions, and in his various tribulations, than he did in his glorious and mysterious revelations. The more he was afflicted and distressed, the more he had of the visible presence of Christ, and the more he had of the glorious assistance of Christ, and the more he had of sweet communion and fellowship with Christ, and the more he had of the choice supports and singular comforts of Christ, and therefore he takes pleasure in all the pressures that were upon him ; and so in that James i. 2, ' My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations,' that is, into divers afflictions. 0 sirs ! to be divinely merry in misery, to rejoice in the cross as men rejoice in a crown, to rejoice in adversity as others rejoice in prosperity, to rejoice in a stinking prison as others rejoice in their stately palaces, to rejoice in restraint as others rejoice in liberty, to rejoice in wants as others rejoice in abundance, to rejoice in reproaches as others rejoice in their honours, &c., is very much ; but to be joyful in such cases, not with a little joy, but with exceeding great joy, is more. 'AH joy' is a Hebraism, and it signifies gi'eat joy, full joy, exceeding joy, perfect joy. Oh ! thus to rejoice, and that not only when you fall into some afflictions, but when you fall into divers afflictions, argues a very great measure'of holiness ; but ah ! how rare is it to find such souls in these days, that can not only bear the cross, but also rejoice in the cross, that can not only bear reproaches, but also wear reproaches as their crown and glory. But,