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The holy apostle has been exhorting these people of Corinth to whom he writes, in the chapter going before, to take heed unto themselves that they keep no society or company with idolaters, lest, if they do so, they be defiled with their pollutions. And he gives them a reason why they should not have anything ado with them, from a fivefold opposition between their estate and the estate of idolaters. 1. “What fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?” 2. “What communion hath light with darkness?” 3. “What concord hath Christ with Belial?” 4. “What part hath he that believeth with an infidel?” 5. “What agreement hath the temple of God with idols?” Then he says, “Ye are the temple of God; as God himself hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I shall be their God, and they shall be my people.” Even as a man who dwells into his own house, and walks up and down in it, and commands his children and his servants, he desires that the house may be clean, and no filthiness into it; even so the Lord, he desires that they would depart from that pollution of idolatry, and would come out from among these idolaters; and being separate from them, they may look for his presence among them. Then says he, “If ye will do so, I shall be a Father to you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, sayeth the Lord God Almighty.” And so ye see that there are fair promises made here—that they shall be the temple of God; that God shall dwell in them, and rule there; he shall be their God, and they shall be his people; he shall be their Father, and they shall be his sons and daughters. And therefore, seeing that they have these promises, they should have no fellowship with idols nor with idolaters.
And then he brings, in the beginning of this chapter, by way of inference, a more general exhortation. As if he said, Since that these people has such fair and great promises —that they shall be the temple of God; that he will dwell in them, and walk in them; that he will be their God, and they shall be his people; that he will be their Father, and they shall be his sons and daughters—I would not only have them to abstain from idolatry, and all other sins whereunto idolaters are given, but I would also have them to abstain from all other filthiness and uncleanness, both of the flesh and of the spirit. And I would have them first to acquaint themselves with the promises, and then to fall to and cleanse themselves both in body and soul. And then, upon the other part, as holiness is begun into them, so I would have them to strive to bring it on to a perfection; and there is not a more ready way to get this done than to be always touched with the sense of God’s presence at all times, and to walk in the fear of the Lord.
The purposes that are to be considered here, ye may see them to be clear, as they are set down in the words. 1. There is the title, or style, or compellation that he gives them. Albeit he was far absent from them, he calls them, “Dearly beloved.” 2. There is the ground that he uses for his exhortation, “Seeing ye have these promises,” or, “Having therefore these promises,” which are laid down in the former chapter. 3. There is the exhortation that he uses, consisting of two branches especially. First, “That they should purge themselves of all filthiness of the flesh and of the spirit.” Second, “To perfect holiness.” And lastly, there is the mean that he recommends to them for obedience to the exhortation, that is, “the fear of God.” For where the fear of God is, that is sure, there will be a labouring to purge themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and of the spirit, and a studying to perfect holiness; but where the fear of God is not, there is no care of these.
I. He calls them “Dearly beloved.” Ye may say here, how could he call them dearly beloved, for he was far from them at this time? for this epistle was written at Philippi, and they to whom he wrote it were at Corinth. We cannot now stand to determine the particular distance between them; but the distance, it was great, albeit that both of them were cities of Grecia, and so they were both in one country, yet both of them were not in one province. I would have you to consider here, that a pastor or a minister may be far from a people and yet have a care of them, love them dearly, and wish them well; for God forbid that distance in place should evermore make absence in heart! No, no; it will not be so. And therefore the apostle says, Colossians 2:5, to them, “For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.” There, ye see, the apostle in his body was absent from these people, yet his spirit was present with them; and in token that he had not forgot them, he remembers them by his letter, telling them what they should do; and he was also daily making mention of them in his prayers to God, and pleading with God for them; rejoicing in their good order, and in the steadfastness of their faith, and praying to God that they might still remain so. And therefore, when he heard of the good order that was among them, and of the steadfastness of their faith, he says this was the matter of his rejoicing.
Beloved, for apologizing, I hope I need not to make great apologies to you for my absence at this time; for howsoever I grant there be no comparison between these who are ministers and preachers of the gospel now and the apostles then, yet, in obedience to the commandment of these whom God has set above us, we must leave our particular charge for the good of the whole body of the laud. And I wish from my heart that when we are absent, we might have matter of rejoicing in you, and not of grief and sorrow. I take not occasion to speak of this for that end that I may excuse myself; for I leave not my charge for my own profit or pleasure, nor is it my desire so to do: the Lord, he knoweth that. But I take occasion to speak of it that I may forewarn you to take heed unto yourselves, especially now at this season of the year. For when 1 myself was present here, and still staying amongst you, ye have been found labouring among your corns upon the Sabbath day;1 and if ye have sinned so heinously, and fallen so foul, while I was among you, and ye had your elders in all the nuiks (corners) of the paroch to look unto you, how soon will Satan make you to forget yourselves now, and make you to forget God and your covenant that ye have lately made, when your pastor is absent from you, even in so far that it may be many of you put to your hand to work upon the Lord’s day. I speak not this to make any of you take occasion through my absence to work upon the Lord’s day; but I speak it to that end, that ye may abstain from it.
And therefore, I would requeist you, that ye would not be a matter of grief to your minister, but a matter of rejoicing, by the good order that shall be seen to be amongst you, and by your steadfastness in the faith. Although your minister be absent from you in body, (yet I promise, by God’s grace, shall not be absent from you in spirit, but shall be making mention of you to God ofter nor once or twice), yet remember that God is always present with you, and is still looking upon you. And therefore provoke not God to anger against you, by the breaking of his Sabbath; and be not a cause of grief and sorrow to your minister: but keep the sabbath holy, and even abstain from other sins also. And remember that your sinning against God now is of greater consequence than before ye entered in covenant with him. Ye have not only promised to live soberly and righteously toward yourselves and others, but ye have also promised and sworn to live holily towards God: and this is a special point of holiness that he requires, that ye should sanctify his Sabbath. And this is a special time of the year, when ye should keep it best, that so God may bless your corns unto you, and he may send you good and seasonable weather now, and ye may get the use and blessing of them afterwards. Your rudeness makes me to stay longer upon this than my custom is, or than I desire to stay.2 And therefore I beseech you to take heed to it.
Observe from the compellation that he gives them, that not only does a minister or a pastor give testimony of his love and affection to a people, when he is comforting them, but he gives also testimony of his love and affection to them, when he is exhorting them to the duties of holiness. Yea, he kythed (showed) his affection to them, when he puts them in mind of their uncleanness, and desires them to purge themselves both in body and soul. The apostle calls the people to whom he writes “dearly beloved,” when he is speaking of consolations to them; yea, even when he is calling them rebels, and is exhorting them to obedience, he calls them “dearly beloved.” And, beloved, it is not only a token of love between a pastor and a people, to do this—to exhort ane another, and to instruct them of the right way, and to bring them to it, if it be possible; but it is a token of love and affection, and it is a duty that is required of every private Christian to another; as ye will see it is set down, Hebrews 10:24-25, “Let us consider one another to provoke one another to good works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” And Leviticus 19:17, “Thou shall not hate thy brother in thy heart; thou shall in any ways rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.” And, indeed, thou hates thy brother in thy heart, when thou sees him lying in any sort of sin and uncleanness, and exhorts him not to leave, yea, and rebukes him not for it. Thou cannot testify thy hatred more against him in anything than by passing by him, when he is lying into the mire of sin, and will not exhort him to rise out of it, and help him, so far as thou may or can.
I speak this the rather, because in our late journey towards the north, there were some demands presented unto us at our coming thither. The first whereof was, By what power and authority we came there, and what our warrant was so to do? What was answered to these will appear when they are published.3 But this, I am sure, every Christian may say, Albeit we had no commandment from king or council, or any judicatory, civil or ecclesiastical, yet we have warrant sufficient for the doing thereof. Because every Christian and brother is bound and obleist, out of that love that they ought to carry one to the soul of another, to consider and to admonish one another; and if he see his brother in a course of defection, to bring him from it, if possibly he can. And there needeth not human authority for the warranting of this; it is sufficiently warranted by divine authority, and by the Spirit of God.
II. Now after the compellation, which, as I have told you, is a word of love, follows the ground of his exhortation: “Having, therefore, these promises.” I told you that the words, they are deduced by way of inference: he has made mention of these promises, what they are, in the former chapter.
That ye may understand the purpose the better, ye must consider somewhat of the promises. There is none of you, I think, but ye understand what a promise is; and it may be that ye know better what it is before I tell you nor when I have told you: as Augustine says, concerning another purpose, of one, “Before ye tell me of a thing, I know it, but when ye have told me of it, then I know it not.” I would have you to consider that there be three sorts of promises. 1. There are civil promises, such as one of us makes to another. As that promise which Laban (or Nabal, so to call him, for it is only but the changing of the letters of his name; and when he is styled so, he is not miscalled, for he was of a churlish disposition) made to Jacob, when he promised to him his daughter Rachel. And such promises as passed between David and Jonathan; but these were better promises than the former—they made promises each one mutually to another, and entered in a strait band together. These are civil promises. 2. There are religious promises which men makes unto God. David says, Psalm 119:106, “I have sworn, and I will perform, thy righteous judgments;” “I will keep the vows that my lips have made unto thee.”4 He had made a promise to God, and he resolved that he would keep it. 3. There are divine promises, which God makes unto men, and ye know that there are great plenty and store of these in the word of God. And these promises, in respect of their truth, and for the assurance of the performance of them, they are called, “Yea and Amen,” and in respect of the excellency and worth of them, they are called “good.” And these two properties are required in a promise. First, that it be good; for if a man be never so sure of the performance of a promise, yet, if it be not good, the remembrance of that certainty rather discourages him nor comforts him. Secondly, it is required that it be true; for if a man be not sure of the performance of the thing that is promised, albeit it were never so good, it serves only “to make fools fain,”5 and to beguile bairns with moonshine and shadows, instead of a substance. All the three sorts of promises are spoken of in the word of God, but the promise that is here spoken of is the divine promise especially; for that is sure, we will not make conscience of any promise that we make to man, nor will we make conscience of these promises that we make to God, in covenanting with him, if we be not acquainted with these promises that God makes to us. That makes us willing to keep our promise to man, and it is the consideration of these promises that makes us willing and able to keep our promise that we make to God. For these promises that God makes unto us, they are means whereby grace is infused into our souls; and once getting grace infused into our souls, we endeavour ourselves to live righteously towards men, and holily towards God; and so we will keep our word both to God and man, and we will be loath to prove perfidious. And assure yourselves, if so be that ye break promise to God, ye will find it a greater guiltiness than to break a promise to a man. Ye think it something when ye are called before court or constry,6 and ye give your oath there, and hold up your hand and swear, and all will tell who hears you that ye are a mensworn (perjured) man—that is a very ill-favoured thing; but I will assure you, it is another matter to come to the kirk and swear anything to God, and then to prove perfidious again. And therefore, that ye may keep these promises that ye make both to God and man, labour to be acquainted with the promises of the word of God.
There be three divers sorts of purposes written in the word of God. 1. Precepts or commandments. 2. Threatenings. 3. Promises. First, there are precepts and commandments; these are to tell us what we should do, commanding us to do such and such things. Secondly, there are threatenings, which are limits set about us that we debord7 not, or as hedges of thorns set on each side of the way, that we may not go out of it. Thirdly, there are promises also in the word, and there are many good things promised unto us, if we will walk in the way of the commandment, and obey the precept. There be some who goes no farder for their obedience, but looks only to the commandment, and seeks no more; and they are still complaining that their knowledge increases not, that they may obey, but looks to no more. And there be some, again, who knows not the commandment of God. Speir (ask) at them what is the will of God in such a thing, they cannot tell you; they may well say over the words of the ten commandments, but cannot tell what is the meaning of them, neither towards God, themselves, nor their neighbours. And there be some, again, who has the knowledge of the will of God in some measure, but walks not in obedience to that which they know; they are neither affected with threatenings nor promises. And there be some, again, who has the knowledge of the commandment, and preasses (strives) to obey, but gives place to the threatening only, and not to the promise. They will say, I know there is a threatening pronounced against these who does not obey such and such commandments and precepts, and I am feared for the wrath and for the threatenings of God’s word, and therefore T will strive to keep the precept so far as I can. Such a man will abstain from many things that are forbidden in the word, and will also do many things that God commands, albeit there be no renovation into his heart, but even from a restraint that is put upon him. But that is a more powerful sort of obedience, when any are moved by the promises of God, and that is a more hearty obedience than when they obey by reason of the threatening. I grant there is more required in a hearty and cheerful obedience, even the love of God constraining us to do his will. When the love of God is as the fountain, and we do things again out of love, as streams flowing from that fountain, that is the most powerful way to move us to give obedience to the commandment of God. It is lawful, indeed, for us any way to give obedience to the commandment of God, even when we do it as being feared by the threatenings; but this is most acceptable to God, and comfortable to our own souls, when we do it having our eye upon the promises of God, and when his love constrains us to obey him. But upon the other part, again, it is the most fearful thing that can be, when the commandment of God ‘is revealed to us, when the threatenings of the word are daily sounding in our ears to terrify and persuade us to do the will of God, and we are also daily hearing of the promises to allure us, and yet, for all that, there is no understanding of the will of God, no fear of God’s judgments, nor allurements by his promises to obey, albeit we have some measure of understanding. And yet, nevertheless, for as fearful a thing as it is, it has been so almost in all ages from the beginning. It was so in the time of the old world before the flood: albeit Noah preached to them of all these the space of six score years, yet still they remained in their old courses, and went on into their former old ways, not being wakened till the deluge came upon them. And albeit there were but few persons who were saved into the ark, there was a cursed Ham amongst them: his heart was not renewed for all that was spoken, or all that was done. There are some who are so far in possession of sin, and has gotten such a custom thereof, that albeit they saw the visible judgment of God coming upon them who lie in that sin wherein they lie, yet nevertheless they would go on in that sin, albeit the like should come upon themselves. And all this is by reason of that blindness of mind, and hardness of heart, whereunto man is given naturally.
Now, these promises in the word, being distinguished from the threatenings, they are either promises of the law, or promises of the gospel. The promises of the law, they are made upon this condition, if we give perfect obedience to the duties that are enjoined, then we shall get the promise performed. Yea, we must give perfect obedience to all the commandments of the law, or otherwise we are accursed; for this axiom abideth alway true in this respect, “Cursed is every one that abideth not in everything that is written in this law, to do them.” There are many things contained in that. 'We must do them, and do the command perfectly; yea, we must do all the commandments perfectly: this is a legal obedience, and upon this obedience the promise is made. Secondly, there are evangelical promises, and these are contained in the new covenant, and in the New Testament: no (not) but there are promises that are contained in the law in the New Testament, and promises that are contained in the gospel in the Old Testament. But the evangelical promise is this, when God promises anything that is contained either in the law or in the gospel, not upon the condition of perfect obedience, but upon the conditions of faith and of repentance, and promises also to work faith and repentance in us: these properly are evangelical promises. For, in the new covenant there are two sorts of promises made. 1. There are conditional promises;—If we believe and repent, then we shall have salvation. 2. There are also absolute promises (and that is it only that makes the evangelical promises to be so far beyond the legal), that he shall infuse these conditions of faith and repentance in us. We have these promises made unto us, and therefore we must consider of them.
All of you are running backward from the way of life, instead of running into the way thereof; and there is no way of salvation but by faith and repentance. But there be many who thinks they have been walking into the way of life, because they can say, God be thanked, I did never no ill to nobody; I was not a thief nor a unclean person, a liar nor a drunkard: and so thinks to merit heaven by their own doings, but looks not to Christ. But I say, albeit thou nad lived as innocently as any who ever lived upon the earth, except Christ alone, thou cannot attain to salvation, unless thou believe and repent. And thou cannot have faith and repentance, unless thou get them from Christ; and we must live by him in that estate. And this is more than the first Adam had, for God revealed his will to the first Adam, and he lived according to that, in obedience to it, but had not faith, nor knew not what it was. But we, because we cannot obey, and so live by doing, therefore we must continually run to Christ, and live by faith in him, having his promise. These promises that Christ has made, we must have them and receive them, otherwise they can do us no good; for many times God makes promises to us when we receive them not, and so they become unprofitable.
And we may not say that we have the promises, because we have the Bible in our house, or in our cabinet; that is not to have them as is meant here: but first, we must have them in our heart as the Apostle Paul says, for there is no cleansing of the heart, unless the promises be there. Secondly, we must have them in our understanding and reason; for God has given understanding and reason to men and women by (above) beasts; and therefore to that end that we may not be beastly, let us acquaint ourselves with the promises. Job 22:21, we are bidden “acquaint ourselves with the Lord;” and I know no better way how to be acquainted with him, nor by his promises: for how are we acquainted with a man, but when we have seen him, we know him by his face, and when we hear him speak? Yea, if we be well acquainted with him, albeit we see him not, if we hear him speak, we will know him. So we should look upon God in Christ in the mirror of the gospel, and in his promises, and be so acquainted with him that, when we hear a promise out of the word, we can say it is God who has spoken it. Thirdly, we should have the promises in faith also, that so we may understand and believe them. Many has the understanding of a thing, who in the meantime believes not that it is true; they can conceive and take up well enough what is spoken, but it is not mixed with faith, and so it does them no good: but we must mix the word with faith, especially the promises, or otherwise they cannot do us good. But when they are mixed with faith, there is no separating of us and them. Even as we strive to mix . meat and drink together in our stomach as well as they can, that so they may abide and do us the more good; for when the word and faith are mixed together, then they are sure; and it is only faith that keeps the word fast into our hearts that it slip not from us, and makes us to embrace it and keep it fast. And therefore the Apostle says of these rehearsal of believers, Hebrews 11:13, “They embraced the promises;” even as a man does his dear friend who has been long absent from him: he sees him coming to him, and he runs and meets him, and embraces him heartily in his arms. So when I would have a promise of God for anything, and I have been secking after it; and then, when I hear it spoken, or reads it, then I glaum (grasp) and grip to it, and embraces it in the arms of my faith, as one whom I love most dearly. This is like that grip that old Simeon gat of Christ in the temple: he gets him in his arms, and not only in the arms of his body, but also in the arms of his soul by faith, and says, “Now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.” And, indeed, he had him faster in the arms of his faith nor he had him in his bosom; and there is not a better way to embrace Christ nor in the promises. And there is no other way to be partakers of Christ now, as he is absent from us, but only to be partakers of him by faith in the word and sacraments. Fourthly, we must have the promises also in our memories, that so we may at fit opportunities and occasions bring them out there in the time of our need. For wherefore serves all my having the promises in my heart, and understanding of them, if so be that I have not faith to believe them, and if I have not the use of them, when I have ado with them? When in trouble and distress, and when the soul is wounded through sin, and in fear of the justice and anger of God, and then I cannot remember of one promise to comfort me, wherefore serves all then? And for this end there is a promise made, that the Spirit shall bring all things to your remembrance. That is, what was spoken to you before, and in the meantime ye understand it not, and so could not believe it, yet in the day when ye have ado with it, I shall bring it to your remembrance. And this has been very sensible at some times to some poor souls, who has applied themselves to take up the promises, and to believe and remember them. At that time they could not get it done, and it may be, chop8 them when they were come out of the kirk from the preaching, they could not tell ten words of it, yet nevertheless in the day of their trouble and distress they have found great light and also great comfort therein. Fifthly, we should have the promises also in our mouths, that so we may tell to others what the Lord has done to us. He says not, because the promises are written, cleanse yourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and of the spirit, but “Having therefore these promises, cleanse yourselves, etc.”
And therefore, I would have all of you to strive to have these promises in your understanding and heart; then to have faith to believe them; and then have them in your memories, to bring them out when ye have ado with them; and have them in your mouth, to make profession of them. And having the promises so, ye may say a great word— that ye have very much. Ephesians 3:16, they are called the riches of the saints; and indeed, if so be that we have the promises, then we have riches enough. The promises, they are like unto rich mynds (mines); each one sees not, nor knows not, of the riches that is in them, but the man who has it knows himself to be rich enough, so long as that is to the fore: so the child of God, when he has gotten a grip of the promises, and knows that they belong to him, he esteems himself to have unsearchable riches that are past finding out. Psalm 119:111, David speaking of the promises and judgments of God, he says, “They are my heritage for ever.” That is, he thought them not to be such riches as moveables were, that might easily be removed from him, but they were his heritage: and then they were not such heritage to him as his kingdom was, for he was only to bruik (possess) that during his lifetime; but they were his heritage for ever. As we use to say, they were his Magna Charta, his great charter. And then, for the excellency of the promises, there is nothing can uphold us under afHiction, or can give us ease, but only the promises of God: it is only the promises that upholds under afflictions. And therefore, I would exhort you that ye be not strangers to the promises; for if ye be strangers to them, ye will be strangers to God, to Christ, and to the Holy Spirit, and to all the means of your comfort. And yet it is a pitiful thing that ye should be such strangers to the Word of God, wherein the promises are contained. Now, how many of you is there, and{ pose you upon it presently before God, that could say, I have a word of promise to uphold me in such a thing? And yet there is nothing that can uphold but the word of promise, accompanied by the Spirit of God. And therefore I would exhort you, in the name of Jesus Christ, to be acquainted with the promises; for they are pabulum fidei, the food and nourishment of faith: and therefore, lay up the word of promise into your hearts, that ye may feed upon it. And then ye need not to fear to be overcome by any tentations; it shall be like a plank to one when they are casten to shipwrack: when the ship breaks, they may take them to that plank, and while they keep it, they shall not perish; whereas these who has it not perishes. And therefore pray to the Lord, that whenever ye come to hear the word, ye may understand what is spoken to you, and lay it up in your heart, that ye may have faith to believe, that ye may keep it into your memory, and the Spirit may bring it to your remembrance, and that ye may have the word of promise also into your mouths, to bring it out there as need is. And learn to souk (suck) consolations out of these breasts of the promises, to uphold you in your straits; as it is Isaiah 66:11, the promises there are called “the breasts of consolations,” for the promises, they are the paps of the kirk, whereby milk is furnished to every Christian soul within the kirk, to feed and nourish them; and if so be that any want the comfort of the promises, they are like new-born babes, who wants the mother to give them suck. If all that ye have been hearing, all your time, evanish out of your memories, and there abide none of it there, then miserable shall your case be. But these who has the promises in their understanding or heart, in faith, in their memory, and in their heart (mouth?), O but they may say a great word!—they can be in no case, but they know where to find a remedy. They are like a garden wherein a man has all sort of medicinal herbs healthful for the body, and he can chap out (choose) a herb there for any disease that can be. As such a garden is for the/body, sc is the promises a garden of spiritual herbs for the soul; and he who is a spiritual herbister (herbalist) will find out a herb there for what disease the soul can be in. These promises are as the pool of Bethesda, that was a cure for all sort of diseases of the body: so this pool of the promises is able to cure all sort of diseases that can be upon the soul, if so be that they be sensible of their disease. Now he makes this having of the promises even the ground of his exhortation. Then we may see here, that the having of the promises of God are a band (bond) of obedience to us. Because God has made promises to us, and we have received promises from him, therefore it is that we should obey the commandment of God, whatever it be. And therefore ye see that the Spirit of God in Scripture proceeds after this manner: “Let every one that calleth upon the name of the Lord,” or “has called upon the name of the Lord,” that is, every one who by profession are Christians, what should they do? “depart from iniquity.” So the profession that thou calls upon the name of the Lord, and art called a Christian, is a band sufficient wherefore ye should depart from iniquity. And the Apostle Paul, he has had mind of this: Romans 12 at the beginning, he says, “I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God.” Now what would he infer upon this? Even this; I would exhort and beseech you by these mercies, “that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” And the Apostle Peter, he strikes upon this string also when he says,9 “And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth every man according to his works, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear.” As if he said, Ye call God your Father, and by virtue of the covenant of grace ye are his children; and therefore, seeing it is so, it becometh you, as dutiful children, to pass the time of your sojourning here in fear. And 1 John 3:3 “Every one that has this hope purifieth himself, even as Christ himself is pure.” Not that any man can get this done in quantity, but he labours to this same pureness in quality; he strives to be like Christ in everything, although he cannot attain to that same measure of perfection.
First. This is a suitable thing for Christians, to look upon the covenant of grace, and to have it dwelling in their hearts, and for you to let it have a residence into your souls, that so ye may still have fire there to consume your sacrifices always, as there was always a fire upon the altar in the temple. This is a suitable thing then for us, to labour to have our souls purged by faith and repentance, if we would have Christ to dwell there. But if so be that we be making no preparation for him, then it is unsuitable, and it is also unlikely that he will dwell there. Any would think it a meet and a likely thing, if any man said to you that a king were coming to his house, if ye saw him dressing them and putting them up, if he had any hingings (hangings), and putting all in the best order he could: but if so be that ye saw him not dressing his house anyway, ye would say, it were all but idle tales and jeists (jests), that this man said the king was coming to his house, for he is making no preparation for him. Even so, shall it be said that God has chosen you for a habitation for his Spirit to dwell into, and yet, for all that, ye shall remain in all sort of filthiness that a pagan commits? Or if ye abstain from any sin, it is not for respect to God or to Christ, but for some other by-respect, it is a unsuitable and a unlikely thing to say that Christ is to dwell there. Secondly. If we will lay hold upon the promises, it is also possible that we may get faith and repentance; for when God makes a promise to us, and we receive it from him, then it changes the heart and makes it new. When man makes any promise to us, it changes not our heart any whit; but when God makes a promise to us, it changes our heart, and changes us without also. And therefore, if we lay hold upon the promises, we must labour to this sanctification and cleansing, both outwardly and inwardly, by all possible means.
Now, if we will examine ourselves by this, we will find that that same mean, whereby the Lord uses to induce natural men to the obedience of his commandments, that same is the very mean how they embolden themselves to break all his commandments: and this is, indeed, to turn the grace of God into wantonness. They say, God is merciful, and exceeding merciful; therefore I will continue in my sins and my wicked life a while, and yet in end I will repent, and then God will be merciful to me. Men, indeed, are not that (so) shameless, for the most part, to say this with their mouths, but their mind is evermore running that way in this mad course. Ezekiel 33:11, it is said, “As I live, sayeth the Lord, I delight not in the death of a sinner.” O then, says one, what needs me to be solist (solicitous) for my salvation, seeing God delights not in the death of a sinner ! for I know that I am a sinner; but he delights not in my death, and so I shall not die. But what says hein the next words? “But that he should repent, and be saved.” And so every sinner must repent him of his sins, otherwise he cannot attain to salvation. And likewise it is said, “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved,”10 O then, says one, I shall be saved, for I call upon the name of the Lord. But see what is said in another place: “Let every one that nameth the name of the Lord, depart from iniquity.”11 So if thou join calling on the name of the Lord and departing from iniquity together, then thou needs not to doubt but thou shall be saved; but if thou depart not from iniquity, thou shall not get salvation by calling upon the name of the Lord. Again, “God will have all to be saved.” But how? “He will have all to come to salvation, by the knowledge of the truth.”12 This is nothing else but mere presumption, when men are emboldened by the promises of God to go on in sin, and therefore beware of this. Is it not strange, that we should think that the Lord will choose us to be temples for him, and yet in the meantime that we shall not purify ourselves, and that he who is in heaven should make promises to us who are on earth, and yet that we should not cleave unto him? He says, “If I be your father, where is my love? if I be your God where is my fear?”13 If thou be the child of God, then thou will love him; and if thou love him, then thou will be loath to present a foul soul to him to dwell in, and not to grip to (lay hold of) his promise, when he makes it to thee.
III. Now for the exhortation of purging, I will not stay now upon the particular parts thereof, to point them out unto you. Only this one word now, and we shall refer the rest to the afternoon.
There be three Christian duties that, one or another of them, are continual actors in the life of a Christian, so long as he is in this life: 1. Watching, 2. Trying, 3. Purging and cleansing.14 First, there is watching, which is opposite to that slumbering that is naturally upon the soul of men and women. Because the Christian knows that he is subject to slumbering and to security always, but especially when he should be most watchful; and therefore he strives to watch diligently and circumspectly over his ways. Secondly. But because he knows he cannot so watch but he is beguiled, and some enemies win (get) in, therefore he begins to try what has wun in that should have been holden out. And having tried, then he finds great uncleanness and filthiness both in thoughts, words, and actions; so that he cannot deny but he has failed, and drawn on guiltiness upon himself. And therefore in the third roum (place), he begins to purge himself by repentance, and to make his apology. And he goes to the throne of grace, and presents himself there in the name of Jesus Christ, and makes his confession, and says, I set myself to watch over my ways; and now I have tried how I have watched, and I have found that I have failed many ways, in my affections, words, and deeds. And therefore I desire that I may be cleansed from my guiltiness, contracted thereby, by the blood of Jesus Christ, shed upon the cross to take away the guiltiness of sin, and from my filthiness, that I sin no more for time to come, by thy holy Spirit; that so my labour of this kind may be less afterwards. And, indeed, I know no other purgatory but this, to crave to be purged of the guiltiness of sin by the blood of Christ, and so to get justification, and of the filthiness thereof by the holy Spirit, and so to get sanctification.
Beloved, if ye would carry but this much away with you of this whole practice, and put it in practice afterwards, then I would say that ye had profited well for your coming here this day. 1. That ye would resolve henceforth to bend up your watch, and never to let it rest, but hold it continually going night and day. 2. That all of you would resolve, that at least every day once I will try myself wherein 1 have failed. 3. When I have watched, and tried, and found out my faults, then I will not cease till I purge myself. TFor it is a hard matter for any to go to bed before they perform these duties, for they cannot tell if ever they shall rise again. And it is a harder matter, when they have watched, and tried, and found, and yet resolves that they will not, nor cannot forsake them,—whenas their sin is to them as their right eye, or their right hand, that they cannot quite it: That they will say, I know this to be a sin, and yet I have found it so sweet to me this day that I cannot quite it, but I must fall to it the next day again: or, I know this to be a sin, but I have found great profit by following of it, and therefore I cannot quite it, etc. But whatever it be, thou must resolve to quite it, if it be sin, or otherwise it shall make a separation between God and thee eternally: for to do so is to put up another God beside the true God, whereas the first commandment says, Thou shall have no other gods before my face. But let us watch over our ways, try ourselves daily, and having found out our sins, labour to be purged of them, and then resolve to forsake them, how dear soever they be unto us. Thus shall we have peace in our souls here, and salvation in the world to come, through Jesus Christ. To whom, etc.