I. First, Betwixt us and the blessed state we aim at there is much opposi- tion ; and therefore there must be violence. The state of the church here, the state of grace and the enjoyment of the means of grace, it is a state of opposition. Good persons and good things they are opposed in the world. Christ rules in this world, ' in the midst of his enemies.' He must have enemies therefore to rule in the midst of ; he must be opposed ; and where there is opposition between us and the good things that we must of neces- sity have, we must break through the opposition, which cannot be done without violence. Now the means and graces of salvation they are opposed every waj', within us and without us.
(1.) They are opposed from icithin us; and that is the worst opposition. For Satan hath a party within us that holds correspondency with him, our own traitorous flesh. In all the degrees of salvation there is violence. Hence, in effectual calling, when we are called out of the kingdom of Satan, he is not willing to let us go ; he will keep us there still ; and when we come to have our sins forgiven in justification, there is opposition ; proud flesh and blood will not yield to the righteousness of the gospel ; it will not rest in Christ ; it will seek somewhat in itself. In sanctification there is opposi- tion between ' the flesh and the Spirit.' Every good work we do it is got- ten out of the fire, as it were,, it is gotten by violence. In every good action, whether it be to get grace, or to give thanks to God, how man}'^ car- nal reasonings are there ! If a man be to give to others, the flesh sug- gests, I may want myself. If he be to reform abuses in others, he is ready to think, others will have somewhat to say to me ; and I shall be oflensive to such and such men. And then the afiection of earthly things chains us to the things below, and self- love prompts a man to sleep in a whole skin. We love our wealth, and peace, and favour with men. So that a man can- not come to the state of grace without breaking through these ; and here- upon comes the necessity of violence, from the opposition from within us. We must offer violence to ourselves, to our own reason, to our own wills and affections. ' You have not yet resisted unto blood,' saith the apostle, Heb. xii. 4. We do not resist by killing others, but we ourselves resist to death, when, rather than we will miss heaven and happiness, and rather than we will not stand for the truth, we will suffer death.
(2.) Again, There is opposition /ro?/i the world : on the right hand, by the snares and delights of the world, to quench the delight in the good things of the Spirit ; and on the left hand, by fears, and terrors, and scandals, to scare us from doing what we ought to do.
VIOLENCE VIOTOEIOUS. 301
(3.) And then there is opposition from Satan, in every good action. He besets us in prayer with distracted thoughts ; and in every duty, for he knows they tend to the ruin of him and of his kingdom. There is no good action but it is opposed from within us and without us. The means of salvation, and the attending on them, they are not without slander and dis- grace in the world. God will have this violence therefore, because there is opposition to the means, to the attendance on them, to grace, to every good action, to everything that is spiritually good.
Nay, sometimes God himself becomes a personated enemy ;* in spiritual desertions he seems to forsake and leave us ; and not only to forsake us, but to be an enemy, * to write bitter things against us,' Job xiii. 26 ; and that is a heavy temptation.
II. Again, God will have this violence and striving, as a character of dif- ference, to shew who are bastard professors and who are not : who will go to the price of Christianity, and who will not. If men will go to heaven they must be violent, they must be at the cost and charges, sometimes to venture life itself, and whatsoever is dear and precious in the world. A man must be so violent, that he must go through all, even death itself, though it be a bloody death, to Christ. This discards all lukewarm, carnal professors, who shake off this violence. In all estates of the church, it is almost equally difficult to be a sound Christian ; for God requires this violence even in the most peaceable times. Now, the truth and religion are counte- nanced by the laws, yet the power of it is by many much opposed. There- fore he now that in spite of reproach, in spite of slander, will bear the scorns cast upon the gospel, that will ' go with Christ without the gate, bearing his reproach,' Heb. xiii. 13, such a man may be said to be thus violent. It is an easy thing to have so much Christianity as will stand vidth our commodity or with pleasure, &c. ; but to have so much as will bring us to heaven, I say, it is equally hard in all times of the church, it requires violence to carry us through these lesser oppositions.