Use, Let me exhort you to come to God, and to walk with him ; you have all the encouragement in the world to do both.
1. Come to God. You may come, and you must come ; you may come, you are invited — ' Come to me,' saith Christ, Mat. xi. 28. Though you are poor, guilty sinners, harassed and worn-out with your own fears and dissatisfactions, you may come, and you must come ; either you must come to Christ, or lose eternal life : and it is very sweet to come to Christ. All good is in the chiefest good ; the nearer we are to God, the nearer to the centre of rest and happiness ; therefore every day and in every duty make nearer accesses and approaches to God by Christ.
2. When you are come to God, walk with him. Consider what encouragement you have : God is our companion, the Son is our saviour, and heaven is our patrimony ; the way is safe, and the end
62 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [vSI':R. XXIII.
is glorious. It is a great honour when a great man will take you into his company and walk with you. The Lord hath put this honour upon all his saints, that they shall walk with him in a way of federal communion.
SEKMON XXIII.
For he/ore Ms translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. —
Heb. xi. 5.
Secondly, Now I come to the other hranch, to confirm the point l)y showing — (1.) The necessity of pleasing God ; (2.) The necessity of pleasing God in the present life.
First, The necessity of pleasing God ; for whosoever will live happily with the Lord in glory must have a care to please him in the present life.
1. Because this is the means and condition without which we shall never come to enjoy God ; it is the way to fit the sons of God for glory, though not the cause of glory : Heb. xii. 14, ' Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.' The apostle presseth there peace and holiness ; but mark what he saith of holhiess — without which no man shall see the Lord. He presseth them to follow both ; but observe the difi'erence : we must follow peace, that we may walk with men ; and holiness, that we may walk with (iod. They that prefer peace before holiness may gain favour with men, but they lose fellowship and communion with God. God's stipulation with mankind is not made up together of promises ; he promiseth much, but he requireth something ; as he giveth many bless- ings, so he requireth many duties ; not for which, but without which we shall never be blessed ; it implies not a condignity of merit, but an ordinability to the reward. It is required of all those that will be saved : holiness is appointed by God as the way, heaven as the end of the journey. Wherever the scripture speaks either of the decrees of God, or those ordinances of judgment and justice by which he will govern the world, or the covenant of God, tliere is a duty left upon man. Thus the apostle, Eph. ii. 10, ' We are created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God hath before ordained, that we should walk therein.' They are not the cause of our salvation, or the merit by which we acquire a right, but they are the way and path by which we get to it. There is a great deal of dispute about the necessity of walks ; ^there is necessitas p^resentice though not efficientiai. Observe the constitutions of heaven, this is the order : he will appoint first holiness, then happiness ; there is no causality, but order. God's decrees have put salvation into this way and course — first faith, then works, then glory : Eph, i. 4, ' He hath chosen us, that we should be holy.' The eternal counsel of God respecteth both the end and the means. Holiness is a necessary effect of election, and it must have a room ; it is necessary, not as a cause, but as a condition. We are not chosen because we were holy, but that we miglit be holy : Eom. viii. 29,
^ Qu. ' Works ? '—Ed.
VeR. 5.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XT. 63
* Whom he did foreknow he did also predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son/ This was the solemn appointment of God, that those whom he had marked out by his own choice and eternal counsel to be heirs of the grace of life should be conformed to his Son, first in holiness, then in glory. God hath bound himself by promise to deal this way with the creatures, that whosoever shall embrace the agree- ment of the new covenant shall be saved.
2. There is a necessity of it by way of sign, and as a pledge of our livinsr with God hereafter — ' Before his translation he had this testi- mony, that he pleased God.' This is that testimony which witnesseth to us our interest in the everlasting state. When holiness is our care, it is a token that heaven is our portion : God will not own us for his own, neither can we take this honour upon ourselves unless we have this mark. The merit of Christ, apprehended by faith, gives us our right and title ; but holiness doth evidence and confirm our right and title ; we can have no assurance till then. Good works are etemcB felicitatis prcesagia, the necessary forerunners and presages of eternal happiness. Never can there be a sound hope towards God where there is not a religious and conscionable desire of walking before God in all well-pleasing ; otherwise men do but confute their hopes, and live down their own expectations. In establishing assurance there is a double witness — the spirit and conscience : both have a voice ; the Spirit hath a voice, but none can hear it but holy persons. The person must be qualified first to receive the testimony of the Spirit ; for the Spirit when he comes to witness to us, doth not reveal to us so much the purposes of God as the gifts of God : 1 Cor. ii. 11, ' For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him ? ' The Spirit's testimony is always subsequent to that of the renewed con- science ; for the Spirit's testimony is nothing but the evidencing and owning of its own work ; and the testimony that we have from the Holy Ghost is not intuitive, but discoursive ; the Spirit doth not comport at first with such a report as this is, that mercy is prepared for thee from all eternity ; but thou art holy, and therefore thou art in a state of grace and favour. Then conscience hath a voice. Now the testi- mony of conscience ariseth from comparing our actions with the rule, the conversation of men with the stipulation of God. By a single apprehension it looks up to what God requires, then by reflection how we answer it ; and so gives sentence : Heb. xiii. 18, ' We trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly ; ' 1 John ii. 3, ^ Hereby we know that we know him, because we keep his command- ments.' The soul is persuaded that it hath an interest in God because it keeps his commandments ; there is some ground and warrant for the report of conscience. General hopes are but a deceit, and fond credulity without ground.'