318 SERMONS UPON 2 THESSALONIANS I. [SeR. XIII.
approvest the things that are excellent,' True love will con- strain us to live to God : 2 Cor. v. 14, 15, ' The love of Christ con- straineth us/ &c. Hope will be seen, not by some naked cold thoughts of heaven, but by an earnest pursuit : Acts xxvi. 7, ' To which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God, hope to come.' It quickeneth to the use of all the means by which we may obtain it. Of all graces it is said, 2 Peter i. 8, ' If these things be in you and abound, they make you that you shall not be barren and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ ; ' that is, you will behave yourselves so as becometh good christians. Where graces are lively, they can never be without works, or such fruits as will tend to God's honour ; it will not let him be quiet, or have any peace in himself, till he do some- thing considerable for God, as a thing that is ever seeking to break out.
2. Because the Spirit of God dwelleth and resideth in the heart, to keep these graces in continual work : John iv. 14, ' A well springing up into everlasting life ; ' and John vii. 38, irora^ol e'/c 7% KoiXlaq. It is springing up, it is flowing forth. A man is not to keep grace to himself, but to exercise it for the glory of God and the good of others. Therefore is the presence of the Holy Ghost necessary, that the grace which he hath wrought may not lie dead in sleepy habits, but be con- tinually acted and drawn forth, in such lively operations as may demon- strate the cause whence they do proceed.
3. When the work of faith is accomplished, internal and external acts concur. There is a principle within, and there is the effect with- out. Within there is faith, which is the most noble principle to pro- duce a holy life, without which bodily exercise profiteth little, 1 Tim. iv. 8. Faith partly doth it, as an assent to those sublime and weighty truths concerning redemption by Christ which breed love ; and so faith worketh, Gal. v. 6 ; and also the doctrine of everlasting life and death, which have great efficacy and moving power to sway us to obedience. Again, faith doth it as a hearty consent both of subjection and dependence. We consent to obey Christ, and trust him for our assist- ance, acceptance, and reward ; all this is within, and without there is the effect of serious holiness and doing good, whatever we suffer for it, without which all our pretence of subjection to Christ, and depend- ence upon him, is but talk and empty prattle. Now, when both internal and external acts concur we have these advantages : —
[1.] We have a surer rule to judge by. We judge others by exter- nal works alone, for the tree is known by its fruits, Mat, vii. 16. Charity forbids us to pry any further ; but we judge ourselves accord- ing to internal and external works together. If within there be a love of God, faith in Christ, hatred of evil, a delight in holiness, a deep sense of the world to come, and all this evidenced by a holy conversa- tion, we need no further proof. If a man would make a judgment of his own estate, he must consider the temper of his heart and course of his life both together.
[2.] Our religion is more noble and better tempered ; for though the internal acts in themselves are nobler and greater than the acts of the outward man ; that is, considering them abstractly and apart ; it is more to love God than to do an outward act of charity or piety >
VER. 11.] SERMONS UPON 2 THESSALONIANS I. 319
because the soul is more noble than the body ; yet outward duties are most frequently greater than internal acts only ; partly because in out- ward duties it is supposed that both parts concur, both soul and body, and the operations of both are more than of one alone ; partly because the nobler ends are obtained by both, more than by one only, for God is more honoured, and man benefited by them : John xv. 8, ' Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit ; ' and Phil. i. 11, 1 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are to the praise and glory of God.' Christ is not glorified by faith, but by the work of faith, as ver. 12 of this chapter. When it breaketh out in good fruits, then is Christ honoured. The reflection of the heat from the earth in ripe and pleasant fruits is more than the bare reflection of the heat alone from a dead wall. Take this rightly.
(1.) All outward duties are nothing unless they begin at the heart ; they are but as the washing of the outside of the platter ; therefore unless faith and love animate them, they are not valued by God : 1 Cor. xiii. 1-3, ' Though I give my body to be burnt, remove mountains, give all my goods to the poor, speak with the tongue of men and angels, understand all mysteries,' ovSev el/A, I am never the better for it ; for external acts, however materially good, are not valuable ; unless they come from a rectified will, faith in Christ, and love to God, they are of no respect.