There is scarce any point of religion but hath this savour in it. And who finds not this, that our nature is prone to the contrary ? But when a man finds this, that he can justify things from experience, he resolves with himself, I know this, not because I have been taught it, but from experience I know it.
And so peace and joy that ariseth from judgment. I know I have found peace and joy in believing. When I was in a desertion, and when my conscience was awakened, I found this a comfortable point upon experi- ence. By this means a man shall not easily fall from this truth. As for example, * All things work together for the best to them that love God,' Rom. viii. 28. Few can by experience speak this, I have found God at such a time making this good unto me. But a Christian man can absolutely say this is true by experience. Wherefore we should beg of
* Cf. Concio in the present volume. — G.
312 THE COMING OF CHRIST.
God that he would engraft his truth into our soul ; for this is the promise of grace, that he will teach our hearts, not our brains.
Christians are taught of God to love one another, therefore we should beg this of God. If that we will keep our garments close, we must labour every day more and more to grow in all grace, and then we shall have graces ready upon all advantages, and we must desire God to bless the words and sacraments for this end, and to use our profession as it should be, not to have an upper garment, to cover a naughty heart, but to labour more and more to put off the old man, and not to make religion a cloak and veil of hypocrisy ; for besides all the sins we have, to make religion serve our turns, it makes our sin the greater.
When a man's religion shall be a cover to his sinful courses, that increases his sin, and makes his sins abominable.
* What hast thou to do to take my word into thy mouth, and hatest to be reformed ?' Ps. 1. 17. * Take him, bind him hand and foot, and cast him into utter darkness,' Mat. xxii. 13.
It is a good phrase that is used in the sixth of the Komans : ' Let us be cast into the mould,' Rom. vi. 17 (a). We must fit ourselves for the word. That is the mould we must be cast into. If we hear any duty, say, * Lord, fasten my soul to this duty, and when we are fastened to divine truths, then who shall come between truth and us, when truth is engrafted in us ? But when it lies loose in the brain it may be removed, but when it hath gotten into the affections, who shall get Christ thereout.
A good conscience is a casket to keep divine truths in, and when we have gotten soul-saving truths, let us keep them by a good conscience.
Do nothing against the truth. Keep it in love. The affection of love must keep it.
If we have religion only in the brain, and not in love, we shall be stripped of all. Satan will rob us of any truth. Therefore it would be a great advantage for the putting on of Christ, if those tha+ are young would labour to know all the points of religion betimes, that so they may get them rooted in the soul, that they may oversway our lusts, and strengthen the soul against temptations.
What is the reason many begin not to be religious till they be old ? They have not divine truths engrafted into their hearts. They have a great advantage that are seasoned from the beginning ; for that strengthens the soul against temptations. And if they fall into any sin they can recover themselves, because they have truth within them, and they are the readier to give way to any good counsel, because there is somewhat therein that will answer.
We must earnestly labour that the soul may be open to all divine truths, and then our hearts must close with them, so that thereby we may have comfort in all temptations, that when sickness, Satan, and the hour of death approaches, our knowledge fail us not, being rooted in our hearts.
And then we shall keep it .in our affections, whereof love is the seat. In the Thessalonians, because they ' kept not the truth in the love of the truth,' they fell into gross errors, 2 Thes. ii. 10. Whatsoever, therefore, "we know to be good, we should get it into our affections. Love all that is supernatural, keep all graces, and be in love with every one of them, as you have it, 2 Peter i. 5, seq. There is a furniture of graces, that if a man have one he must have another. We must keep all our graces, we must not lose one. Every part must be clothed. We must be clothed in our understanding with knowledge, and in our will with obedience, and in
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our affections with love. Our tongue must not only be clothed with good words, but we must labour that our hearts may be clothed also.