4. The difficulty of salvation lies not in a respect to the end but the means, and therefore the trial of our sincerity must rather be looked for there. There is some difficulty about the end, to convince men of an unseen felicity ; but that may be done in part by reason, but savingly and thoroughly by the Spirit of revelation : Eph. i. 18, 'The eyes of your understandings being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.' But man is sooner convinced than converted, than drawn ofi' from worldly vanities, that he may seek after this happiness ; and usually we have a quicker ear for offers of
Mat. XVII. 4.] Christ's transfiguration. 379
happiness than precepts of duty and obedience. Balaam, Num. xxiii. 10, ' Oh that I could die the death of the righteous, and that my latter end were like his ! ' John vi. 34, ' Evermore give us this bread' of life ; but a true Christian, ' If by any means I may attain to the resurrection of the dead,' Phil. iii. 11.
5. The necessity of this self-denying resignation of ourselves to God, to bring us to heaven in his own way, is necessary. That we may begin with God : Luke xiv. 26, 'If any man come to me, and hate not father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.' And also that we may be true to him, and go on with him, and be fortified against all the difficulties we meet with in the way to heaven : Heb. xi. 35, ' Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance ; that they might obtain a better resurrection.' ' But none of these things move us,' Acts XX. 24 : Mat. xx. 22, ' Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am bap- tized with ? '
6. There is such an inseparable connexion between the end and means, that God will not give us the one without the other. If we believe, mortify, wait, suffer, then shall we reign with him — other- wise not.
Doct. 3. Much evil would ensue if we had our desires in all those things that we think good for us.
Peter said, ' It is good for us to be here ; ' but, alas ! how ill would it have been for the world if Christ had abode still in the mount. Peter's instance showeth us two things : —
1. That we are apt to consult with our own profit rather than public good. The world needed him, he had great business to do in the valley ; but he would be in the mount. It is our nature, if it be well with ourselves, to forget others. Peter little minded his fellow- apostles, the redemption of the world, the conversion of nations, &c.
2. How much we are out when we judge by present sense and the judgment of flesh. We consult with the ease of the flesh, and so desire rest more than pains and labour ; what pleaseth rather than what profiteth. Peter saitli, ' It is good to be here,' but he must labour first, suffer first, before he entereth into glory.
Well, then, let us learn by what measure to determine good or evil.
1. Good is not to be determined by our fancies and conceits, but by the wisdom of God ; for he knoweth what is better for us than we do for ourselves, and the divine choices are to be preferred before our foolish fancies ; and what he sendeth and permitteth to fall out is better for us than anything else. Could we be persuaded of this, how would we be prepared for a cheerful entertainment of all that is, or can, or shall come, upon us. God is wiser than we, and loves us better than we do ourselves. The child is not to be governed by his own fancy, but his father's discretion, nor the sick man by his own appetite, but the skill of the physician. It is expedient God should displease his people, for their advantage : John xvi. 6, 7, ' Because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. Never- theless I tell you the truth : it is expedient for you that I go away.'
380 Christ's transfiguration. [Ser. IV.
We are too mucli addicted to our owa conceits : Christ's dealing is expedient and useful, when yet it is very unsatisfactory to us. He is to be judge of what is good for us, his going or tarrying, and not we ourselves. We are short-sighted creatures, distempered with passions ; our requests many times are but ravings, we ask of God we know not what, as the two brethren, Mat. xx. 22, we pray ourselves into a mis- chief and a snare, and it were the greatest misery if Grod would carve out our condition according to our own fancies and desires.
2. That good is to be determined with respect to the chief good and true happiness. Now what is our chief happiness, but the enjoy- ment of God ? Our happiness doth not consist in outward comforts, riches, health, honour, civil liberty ; or comfortable relations, as hus- band, wife, children ; but our relation to and acceptance with God. Other things are but additional appendages to our happiness : Mat. vi. 33, irpoaTedrjcreTai,, ' they shall be added to you.' Therefore poverty is good, afflictions are good ; they take nothing from our essential, solid happiness, rather help us in the enjoyment of it, as it increaseth grace and holiness, and so we enjoy God more. Surely that is good that sets us nearer to God, and that evil that separateth us from him. Therefore sin is evil because it makes an estrangement between us and God : Isa. lix. 2, ' Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his fiice from you.' But affliction is good, because many times it makes us the more earnestly to seek after him : Hosea v. 16, ' In their affliction they will seek me early.' Therefore every condition is good or evil, as it sets us farther off or draweth us nearer to God ; that is good that tendeth to make us better, more like imto God, capable of communion with him, and conduceth to our everlasting happiness. So it is good that man ' bear the yoke from his youth,' that he be trained up under the cross, in a constant obedience to God, and subjection to him, and so be fitted to entertain communion with him. If afflictions conduce to this end they are good, for then they help us to enjoy the chief good.