fails, you have a gale, but they lie wind-bound, heart-bound, and can do nothing fpiritually in a way of duty.

Fourthly, and laftly, to mention no more, You have a further advantage to this holy life, by all the rods of God, that are at any time upon you. I might fhew you in many particulars, the advantages this way alfo, but I fhall only prefent these three to your obfervation at this time.

First, By these you are clogged, to prevent your straying and wandering. Others may wander even as far as hell, and God will not spend a fanctified rod upon them, to reduce or stop them; but faith, "Let them alone," Hof. iv. 17. But if you wander out of the way of holinefs, he will clog you with one trouble or other, to keep you within bounds, 2 Cor. xii. 7. "Left I should be "lifted up, a thorn in the flesh; a meffenger of Satan, was "fent to buffet me." So David, Pfal. cxix. 67. “Before I was "afflicted, I went aftray; but now I have kept thy word." Afflictions are used by, God, as thorns by husband-men, to ftop the gaps and keep you from breaking out of God's way, Hof. ii. 6. "I will hedge up her way with thorns, and build a wall, "that she shall not find her paths." A double allufion; 1. To cattle that are apt to ftray, I will hedge up thy way with thorns. 2. To the fea, which is apt to overflow the country, I will build a wall to prevent inundations. Holy Bafil was a long time forely afflicted with an inveterate head-ach, he often prayed for the removal of it; at laft, God removed it, but, in the room of it, he was forely exercifed with the motions and temptations of luft; which, when he perceived, he heartily defired his headach again, to prevent a worfe evil. You little know the ends and ules of many of your afflictions. Are you exercised with bodily weakness? it is a mercy you are fo; and if these pains and infirmities were removed, these clogs taken off, you may with Bafil, wish for them again, to prevent worse evils. Are you poor? why, with that poverty God hath clogged your pride. Are you reproached? with these reproaches God hath clogged your ambition. Corruptions are prevented by your afflictions. And, is not this a marvellous help to holiness of life?

Secondly, By your afflictions, your corruptions are not only clogged, but purged. By thefe God dries up and confumnes that fpring of fin, that defiles your lives, Ifa. xxvii. 9. "By this "therefore fhall the iniquity of Jacob be purged; and this is "all the fruit to take away fin." God orders your wants to kill your wantonnefs; and makes your poverty poifon to your pride. They are God's phyfic, to purge ill humours out of

your fouls.

* "When they fall by the fword, and by famine, and by captivity, and by fpoil, it is to try them, and to purge "them, and to make them white?" They are both purges and lavatories to your fouls. Others have the fame afflictions that you have, but they do not work on them as on you; they are to you as fire for purging, and water for cleaning; and yet, fhall not your lives be clean? It is true, (as one well obferves upon that place of Daniel), Chrift is the only lavatory, and his blood the only fountain to wash away fin: but, in the virtue and efficacy of that blood, fanctified afflictions are cleanfers and purgers too.

A crofs without a Chrift never made any man better, but, with Chrift, faints are much the better for the crofs. Hath God been (as it were) fo many days and nights a whitening you, and yet is not the hue of your converfation altered? Hath he put you fo many times into the furnace, and yet is not your drofs feparated? The more afflictious you have been under, the more affistance you have had for this life of holiness.

Thirdly, By all your troubles, God hath been weaning you from the world, the lufts, loves, and pleasures of it; and drawing out your fouls to a more excellent life and state than this. He makes your forrows, in this life, give a luftre to the glory of the next. Whoever hath, be fure you fhall have no rest here; and all, that you may long more ardently for that to come. He often makes you groan, "being burdened, to be "cloathed with your house from heaven," Cor. v. 4. And yet will you not be weaned from the lufts, customs, and evils of it? O what manner of perfons should you be for heavenly and holy converfations? You ftand upon the higher ground. You have, as it were, the wind and tide with you. None are affifted for this life as you are. Put all this together, and fee what this fecond argument contributes towards your further conviction, and perfuafion to holinefs of life. Have you received a fupernatural principle, fitting you for, and inclining you to, holy actions, refifting and holding you back from fin Hath God alfo fet before you fuch eminent patterns to encourage, and quicken you, in your way? Doth the Spirit himself ftand ready, fo many ways, to affift and help you in all difficulties, and hath God hedged up the way of fin, with the thorns of affliction, to prevent your wandering, and yet will you turn afide? Will you offer violence to your own principles, and new nature? Refufe to follow fuch leaders as have beaten the way

*Dan. xi. 33, 34, 35.

before you? Refift, or neglect the gracious affiftances of the bleffed Spirit, which he offers you in every need, and venture upon fin, though God hath hedged up your way with afflictions? O how can you do fuch great wickedness, and fin against such grace as this! Methinks, I need fay no more to convince you how much you are concerned to keep the iffues of life pure, none being so much obliged to it, or affifted for it, as you are. But when I remember that Joafh loft the compleat victory over the Syrians, because he fmote not his arrows often enough upon the ground, 2 Kings xiii. 8. I fhall level one arrow more at this mark: For, indeed, that can never be enough pressed, which can never be enough practifed. And therefore,

Confid. 3. Thirdly, It will yet farther appear to be your high concernment, to exalt holiness in your converfations, because of the manifold and great ufes which God hath to make of the vifible holiness and purity of your lives, both in this world and that to come. The ufes God puts the converfation-holinefs of his people in this world, are these, among others.

It

First, To win over fouls to Chrift, and bring them in love with religion. Practical holiness is a very lovely, attractive, and obliging thing. If the Heathen could call moral virtue verticordia, turn-heart, from that obliging and winning power it exercifes upon the hearts of men: if they could fay of it, that were it visible to human eyes, all men would adore it, and fall in love with it; how much rather may we fay fo of true holiness, made vifible in the lives of faints! This is the turn-heart indeed. makes the fouls of men to cling and cleave to the persons in whom it is; as it is prophefied, Zech. viii. 23. of the Jews, when they shall be called (which fhall be a time of great holinefs)" in that day, ten men out of all languages of the nations "fhall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, faying, we "will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you." So much of God as appears in men, fo much drawing excellency there is in them. And this is the apoftle's argument, 1 John "That ye may have fellowship with us." Why, what is there in your fellowship to invite men to you?" Truly our "fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Christ Jesus." Who can choose but covet their company, that keep company every day with God? Great is the efficacy of vifible holiness to work upon the hearts of men; either as a concause, working in fellowship with the word, or as a fingle inftrument, working folitarily without the word.

i. 3.

Where God is pleafed to afford the word unto men, there the VOL. II.

N

practical holiness of faints is of fingular use, to assist and help it in its operation upon the hearts of men. When the lives of Chriftians fentibly exhibit that to the eyes of men, which the gofpel doth to their cars; when so we preach, and fo ye believe and live; when we draw by our doctrines, and you draw with us by our examples, when we hold forth the word of life doctrinally, and you hold it forth practically; as Phil. ii. 16. Where is the heart that can stand before us? O! when the plain and powerful gopel pierces the ears of men, and, at the fame time, the vifible holiness of profeffurs fhines fo full in their faces, that they must rather put out their own eyes, or else be forced to acknowledge, that God is in you of a truth; then it wil work to purpose upon fouls. Then will Chrift fee of the travail of his foul daily.

Yea, if God deny the word to men, yet this practical holiness I am fpeaking of, may be to them an ordinance for converfion. This way, fouls may be won to Chrift without the word, as the apoftle fpeaks, 1 Pet. iii. 1. Though pulpits fhould be filent, and vifion fail; yet, if you would this way turn preachers, if your lives may but preach the reality, excellency, and fweetnefs of Jefus Chrift, and his ways; and, if you would this way preach down the love of the world, and let men fee what poor vanities thefe are; and preach up the neceffity and beauty of ho linefs; furely you, even you, might be honoured to bring many fouls to Chrift, to turn many to righteoufnefs, and caufe many to blefs God, on your behalf, in the day of vifitation. This is the ufe God hath for the holiness and purity of your lives, and doth not this engage you strongly to it? What, not when it may prove the means of eternal life to others? Surely, if you have any bowels of mercy in you, you cannot hide from others that whereby they may be faved. How can you inftead of holding forth the word of life, (which is your manifeft duty) vifibly hold forth the works of death before men? Have you been behold. ing to others, and fhall none be beholding to you for help towards heaven? Dare you fay, let others fhift as well as they can, find the way to heaven by themielves if they can, they thall have no benefit by your light? If you be Chriftians, you are Chriftians of a different ftamp and fpirit from all those we find defcribed in fcripture. Should not you rather fay as the Lepers did, 2 Kings vii. 6. "Do we well to hold our peace," whilft others are perishing?. Shall the lips of minifters, and the lives of Chriflians, be both filenced together? Shall poor finners neither hear any thing from us, nor fee any thing from you, that may help them to Chrift? The Lord have mercy then upon the

poor world, and pity it, for its cafe is defperate. O put on, as the elect of God, bowels of mercy. Deftroy not, by the loofe nefs of your converfations, fo many fouls; for your fcandalous mifcarriages are like a bag of poifon put into the fpring, which fupplies the whole city with water.

Ire

Secondly, Another ufe God hath for it, is to recover and falve the credit of religion, which by the apoftacies of hypocrites, and fcandalous falls of careless Chriftians, is wounded, and expofed to contempt. Much reproach by this means is brought upon religion, and how fhall that reproach be rolled away, but by your ftrictnefs and purity? By this the world must be convinced that all are not fo. Though fome be a blot to the name of Chrift, yet others are his glory. The more others flur and difgrace religion, the more God expects you to honour and adorn it. member Chryfoftome brings in the perfecutors fpeaking to two renowned martyrs, after this manner, Nonne videtis alios veftri ordinis hoc feciffe? (i. e.) Why are you fo nice and fcrupulous ? See you not that others of your rank and profeffion have done thefe things? To which they returned this brave anfwer, Nos hac potiffimum ratione viriliter ftabimus, (i. c.) have they done it? For that very reason we will stand it out like men, and will never yield to it. There is an holy Antiperiftafis in the zeal of a Chriftian, which makes it, like fire, burn most vehemently in the coldest weather. If men make void God's law, therefore will David love his commandments above gold, Pfal. cxix. 127. If there be many Pendletons among profeffors who will betray Chrift and his truth to fave their flesh; God will have feme Sanders to repair that breach, by their conftancy and courage in appearing for them.

Thirdly, God makes ufe of it for the encouragement of his minifters, who labour among you. And indeed it is of no fmail use to refresh their hearts, and ftrengthen their hands, in their painful work: "Now we live (faith the apoftle) if ye ftand faft in "the Lord," I Theff. iii. 8. He speaks, as if their very life lay at the mercy of the people, becaufe fo much of the joy and comfort of it is wrapt up in their regularity and stedfaftness. God knows what an hard providence his poor minifters have, and how many difcouragements attend them in their work; hear how * one of them expreffes it, "Minifters would not be gray-headed "fo foon, nor die fo faft, notwithstanding their great labours, if "they were but fuccefsful; but this cuts to the heart, and makes bleed in fecret, that though we do much, yet it comes to nothing. Our work dies, therefore we die. Not fo much

us

* Lockyer upon the Colofiians, p. 523, 529.