*

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like suffering graces and dispositions, must Christians store up, that they may suffer according to the will of God, both for cause, and call, and carriage, in the sharpest conflicts they may meet with upon earth. The truth is, sirs, you little know what lies betwixt you and the grave; you have not yet resisted unto blood, but you may; you little know what religion may cost you; you may go through a long "vale of the shadow of death," to death, and " fight with beasts at Ephesus," and then mount up in a fiery chariot to heaven. Sit down then and reckon the charges in building the tower of religion, and whether you have armour of proof to carry you through an army of dangers and difficulties. Stock yourselves for a storm; frame your backs for a burden; melt your wills into God's will, as you desire to hold out against fainting and despair, and as you desire to hear that blessed euge, and sweet encomium, from Jesus Christ, Revel. ii. 3, 7," Thou hast born, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted; to him that overcometh I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God."

3. Endeavour to treasure up profiting graces, I mean such as will help you both in doing and receiving good. For the first, lay up such graces as will render you serviceable in your places, Rom. xiv. 19, "Let us follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another," such as brotherly love, or kindness, charity, meekness, forbearance, gentleness, condescension, mutual sympathy, compassion to souls, and zeal for God's glory; a public spirit and a heart to lament the sins and sufferings of the church. It is a blessed thing to be of public use; it adds lustre to what is truly good, to be diffusive and

*Luke xiv. 26–34.

communicative. Some Christians have those useful gifts and graces, that others, though truly good, may want. The more good you have, the more good you may do. The "manifestation of the Spirit" is given to every man to profit withal.-1 Cor. xii. 7. God lays in, that we may lay out, and we are to lay up great treasures on purpose that we may do the more good. That is an excellent expression of Luther's, that "all things are made free by faith, and all things are made serviceable by charity or love." * It is the property and pleasure of a good soul to be doing good. Living springs send forth streams of water, dead pits must have all that they afford drawn out with buckets. The fuller a gracious soul is, the more free will be the communication. There is as much comfort in doing, as in receiving good. You must be fitted for both, therefore, pray for, and put on, as the elect of God, bowels of mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long suffering, Col. iii. 12, 13, that you may be disposed to glorify God, edify others, and serve your generation, according to the will of God, and at last give a good account of your talents and stewardship. Blessed is the man that hath his quiver full of these valuable shafts, and his boxes full of cordial receipts, whereby he may both wound sinners by admonition, and heal them with the sweet words of consolation. And then, secondly, you had need treasure up profiting graces, that is, such as will help you to get good to your own souls by all God's dealings with you. Mix trials as well as the word with faith, receive all with meekness, bring forth fruit with patience. All that God doth is for our profit, even tokens of his anger are for our advantage; corrections are for our instruction; partaking of his holiness is the peaceable fruit of righte* Omnia libera per fidem, omnia serva per charitatem.-Luth. VOL. II.

L

ousness that God aims at in all our troubles.* All things would work together for our good, if we had a receptive principle; to him that hath a treasure shall more be given, according to the proportion of grace received and improved. Ordinances would do us more good if we had grace to get good by them. A heart sanctified and stored with improving graces, is like tinder, which soon takes fire, and is apt to keep it, till it be forced out. Naturalists observe, that transmutation is easy in symbolical elements, such as agree in some prime qualities. Water is more easily turned into air than into fire; even so, a holy and spiritual heart will be easily wrought on by holy and spiritual ordinances; for here is an agreement in qualities. Gracious qualities make the soul both receptive and retentive of heavenly impressions. Grow in grace every day, and then you will get good by all that God doth. There are several graces that dispose the soul to spiritual proficiency, as sensibleness, brokenness, and tenderness of heart, fit to receive divine impressions, which plough up, and prepare the ground for the seed; † and then, apprehensiveness of spiritual wants, being burdened with sin, breathing after God and grace, with longing, hungering desires, which capacitate the soul for both sanctifying and satisfying incomes. Strength of grace is usually seconded with sweet discoveries. "I write unto you, young men, because ye are strong and the word of God abideth in you."-1 John ii. 14. Strong and stored Christians have many precious epistles from heaven.

4. Treasure up persevering, perfecting and crowning graces. Furnish your hearts with such graces as may help you through this world, and through death, and land you safe on the shore of eternity; such as *Heb xii. 6, 10.

+ Jer. iv. 3.

these, sincerity, humility, faith, hope, love, the fear of God, delight in him, resignation to him, resolution for him, contempt of the world, desire of heaven; if you have these graces you shall never fail or fall. Unsound professors may and will fall away, but such as are thus rooted, shall grow up as high as heaven; hypocrites may ascend many steps towards heaven, but he that hath sincerity at the bottom, and perseverance at the top, of this ladder, shall not miss of glory. O, see to the uprightness of your hearts, and truth of your graces; be not mistaken about your state; build high by laying the foundation low; if the root of the matter be in you, it shall not be eradicated; saving grace will end in eternal glory. "The girdle of truth, the breastplate of righteousness," the shoes of heroic resolution, "the shield of faith, the helmet of hope," the sword of Scripture truths, and constant, fervent prayer, will help the conflicting soul to a glorious conquest, and God will set an imperishable crown upon the conquering head of a persevering saint. If you lay up persevering graces, you will hold on and hold out; "if your love abound in knowledge and in all judgment, your souls shall be without offence till the day of Christ." Phil. i. 9, 10. What would you give, sirs, to come safely to heaven? Why! do but lay up a good foundation for yourselves, against the time to come, and thereby you do, as it were, lay hold upon eternal life, 1 Tim. vi. 19. Press forward, and be aiming at perfection; beware of, so much as, seeming to fall short; heap up such graces, so many, and such degrees and measures of them, that an abundant entrance may be made for "6 you into the kingdom of Christ, 2 Pet. i. 11; the great direction there prescribed is an addition of one degree of grace to another, or rather of one sort ▪ Eph. vi. 14-18.

Oh,

of graces to another, and the word in Greek, which is translated, "add ye," 2 Pet. i. 5, is an elegant allusion to virgins' dances, * who link themselves hand in hand, and observe a decent order in their recreating exercises ; and it is observable that the same word† is used in 2 Pet. i. 11, to express the adding or ministering to such a soul the entrance into glory, to note to us, the nearness and propinquity betwixt the highest degrees of grace and the state of glory. The link, or rather chain of divine graces, reacheth from the first uniting grace of faith, to the God-enjoying grace of perfect love, and these virgin-graces going hand in hand in a believing soul, lead it higher and higher, till they bring it into the Prince's presence, and bridegroom's chamber. how merrily will you dance to heaven, with these concatenated graces! the Lord still holding the end of this golden chain, and drawing your souls every day nearer to glory; for the same Apostle saith, "We are kept by the power of God, through faith, to salvation, 1 Pet. i. 5; so that the soul is happy, by the Lord's keeping and strengthening the grace of faith; we shall persevere, by the assistance of God, as the efficient cause, and in the exercise and increase of all graces, especially faith, as the means. Thus are Christians to treasure up all persevering graces, that they may not faint by the way, but hold out, and that their last may be more than their first, and this brave fabric of grace may be raised up as high as heaven; only I intreat you, be sure that you lay Christ for a foundation, and dig deep in humiliation. You will never have a perfection of

Επιχορηγήσατε, proprie significat chorum ducere, ab ἐπὶ, χώρος et άγω, duco.Beza.

† Επιχορηγήθησεται.

Psalm xlv. 14, 15.