lost time, as profane hearts judge it, but only time gained. All blessings attend this work. It is the richest traffic in the world, for it trades with heaven, and brings home what is most precious there. And as holiness disposes to prayer, so prayer befriends holiness, increases it much. Nothing so refines and purifies the soul, as frequent prayer. If the often conversing with wise men doth so teach and advance the soul in wisdom, how much more then will converse with God! This makes the soul despise the things of the world, and in a manner makes it divine; winds it up from the earth, acquainting it with delights that are infinitely sweeter. The main conclusion is, that happiness is the certain consequent and fruit of holiness; all good, even outward good, so far as it is not inconsistent with a higher good. If we did believe this more, we should feel it more, and so, upon feeling and experiment, believe it more strongly. All the heavy judgments we feel or fear, are they not the fruit of our own ways, of profaneness, and pride, and malice, and abounding ungodliness? All cry out of hard times, evil days; and yet who is taking the right way to better them? Yea, who is not still helping to make them worse? Are we not ourselves the greatest enemies of our own peace? The Lord's face is against them that do evil. And yet, how many sleep sound under this misery! But believe it, it is a deadly sleep; the Lord standing in terms of enmity with thee, and yet thy soul at ease! Pitiful, accursed ease! I regard not the differences of your outward estate; that is not a thing worth the speaking of. If thou be poor and base, and in the world's eye but a wretch, and withal under the hatred of God, as being an impenitent, hardened sinner, those other things are nothing; this is the top, yea, the total sum of thy misery. Or be thou beautiful, or rich, or noble, or witty, or all these together, or what thou wilt, yet, is the face of the Lord against thee? Think as thou wilt, thy estate is not to be envied, but lamented. I cannot say, Much good may it do thee, for it is certain thy enjoyments can do thee no good; and if thou dost not believe this now, the day is at hand wherein thou wilt be forced to believe .it, finding it then irrevocably true. If you will, you may still follow the things of the world, walk after the lusts of your own hearts, neglect God, and please yourselves, but remember that the face of the Lord is against thee, and in the judgment he will unvail it, and let thee see it against thee. O the most terrible of all sights! The godly often do not see the Lord's favorable looks, while he is eyeing them; and the wicked usually do not see nor perceive, neither will believe that his face is against them; but the Lord doth sometimes let both the one and the other know somewhat how he stands affected towards them. In peculiar deliverances and mercies, he tells his own, that he forgets them not, but both sees and hears them, when they think he does neither, after that loving and gracious manner which they desire and which is here meant; and sometimes he lets forth. glances of his bright countenance, darts in a beam upon their souls that is worth more than many worlds. And, on the other side, he is pleased sometimes to make it known that his face is against the wicked, either by remarkable outward judgments, which to them are the vent of his just enmity against them, or to some he speaks it more home in horrors and affrights of conscience, which to them are earnests and pledges of their full misery, that inheritance of reserved woe, as the joys and comforts of believers are of their inheritance of glory. Therefore, if you have any belief of these things, be persuaded, be entreated to forsake the way of ungodliness. Do not flatter yourselves and dream of escaping, when you hear of outward judgments on your neighbours and brethren, but tremble and be humbled. Remember our Saviour's words, Think ye that those on whom the tower of Siloam fell, were greater sinners than others? I tell you, nay, but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. This seeming harsh word, he who was wisdom and sweetness itself uttered, and even in it spoke like a Saviour: he speaks of perishing, that they might not perish, and presses repentance by the heavy doom of impenitence. When you hear of this, there is none of you would willingly choose it, that the Lord's face should be against you; you think, that the very sound of it is somewhat fearful; and on the other side, have possibly some confused notion of his favor as a thing desirable; and yet do not bestir yourselves, to avoid the one and inquire after the other. This is certainly by reason of your un belief; for if you think of the love of God, as his word speaks of it, whence is it, I pray you, that there is no trifle in this world that will not take more deeply with you, and which you follow not with more earnestness, than this great business of reconciliation with God, in order to your finding his face not only not against you, but graciously towards you? Your blessedness is not, no, believe it, it is not where most of you seek it, in things below you. How can that be? It must be a higher good to make you happy. While you labor and sweat for it in any thing under the sun, your pains run all to waste; you seek a happy life in the region of death. Here, here it is alone, in the love and favor of God, in having his countenance, and friendship, and free access, and converse; and this is no where to be found, but in the ways of holiness. Ver. 13. And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good. THIS the apostle adds, as a further reason of the safety and happiness of the way he points out, a reason drawn from its own nature. There is something in a meek, and upright, and holy carriage, that is apt, in part, to free a man from many evils and mischiefs which the ungodly are exposed to, and do readily draw upon themselves. Your spotless and harmless deportment will much bind up the hands even of your enemies, and sometimes possibly somewhat allay and cool the malice of their hearts, that they cannot so rage against you as otherwise they might. It will be somewhat strange and monstrous to rage against the innocent. Who is he that will harm you? Here are two things-I. the carriage; II. the advantage of it. I. The carriage is expressed; followers of that which is good; the Greek word is imitators. The word of God contains our copy in its perfection, and so the imitation of good, in the complete rule of it, is the regulating of our ways by the word. But even there we find, besides general rules, the particular tracks of life of divers eminently holy persons, and those on purpose set before us, that we may know holiness not to be an idle imaginary thing, but that men have really been holy; though not altogether sinless, yet holy and spiritual in some good measure; have shined as lights amidst a perverse generation, as greater stars in a dark night, and were yet men, as St. James says of Elias, like us in nature and in the frailty of it; subject to like passions as we are. Why may we not then aspire to be holy as they were, and attain to it ?-following them in the way they went, though at a distance; not reaching them, and yet walking, yea, running after them as fast as we can; not judging of holiness by our own sloth and natural averseness, taking it for a singularity fit only for rare extraordinary persons. Do you not know that holiness, this following of good is the path wherein all the children of God must walk, one following after another, each striving to equal, and, if he could, to outstrip even those he looks on as most advanced in it? Is it thus with us? Are we zealous and emulous followers of that which is good, exciting each other by our example to a holy and Christian conversation, provoking one another to love and to good works? Or are not the most of mankind mutual corrupters of each other, and of the places and societies where they live; some leading, and others following, in their ungodliness; not regarding the course of those who are most desirous to walk holily, or, if regarding at all, doing it with a corrupt and evil eye, not in order to study and follow what is good in them, but to espy any the least wrong step, to take exact notice of any imperfection or malignant slander, and by this either to reproach religion, or to hearten or harden themselves in their irreligion and ungodliness, seeking warrant for their own willing licentiousness in the unwilling failings of Gods children? And in their converse with such as No. VII. Div. 2 H themselves, they are following their profane way, and flattering and blessing one another in it, saying, "Why need we be so precise?"-and, "If I should not do as others, they would laugh at me; I should pass for a fool." Well, thou wilt be a fool of the most wretched kind, rather than be accounted one by such as are fools, and know not at all wherein true wisdom consists. Thus most men are carried with the stream of this wicked world, their own inward corruption easily agreeing and suiting with it; every man, as a drop, falling into a torrent, and running along with it into that dead sea wherein it empties itself. But those whom the Lord hath a purpose to sever and save, he carries in a course contrary to this violent stream. And these are the students of holiness, the followers of good, who bend their endeavours thus, and look on all sides diligently on what may animate and advance them; on the example of the saints in former times, and on the good they espy in those who live together with them; and, above all, studying that perfect rule in the scriptures, and that highest and first pattern there so often set before them, even the Author of that rule, the Lord himself, to be holy as he is holy, to be bountiful and merciful as their heavenly Father, and in all things laboring to be followers of God as dear children. But this excellent pattern is drawn down nearer their view in the Son, Jesus Christ; where we have that highest example made low, and yet losing nothing of its perfection, so that we may study God in man, and read all our lesson without any blot even in our own nature. And this is truly the only way to be the best proficients in this following and imitating of all good. In him we may learn all, even those lessons which men most despise, God teaching them by acting them, and calling us to follow; Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart. Would you advance in all grace? Study Christ much, and you will find not only the pattern in him, but strength and skill from him to follow it. II. The advantage; Who is he that will harm you? The very name of it says so much; it is a good, worthy the following for its own sake. But there is this fur |