COUNSEL AND COMFORT FOR THE GODLY

COUNSEL AND COMFORT FOR THE GODLY

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Let me, in the next place, direct myself to those who have a real work of godliness in their hearts, and I would speak to them by way of:

1. Caution.

2. Counsel.

3. Comfort.

1. By way of CAUTION

Do not blur these characteristics of grace in your souls. Though God's children cannot quite deface their graces—yet they may disfigure them. Too much carnal liberty may weaken their evidences, and so dim their luster that they cannot be read. These characteristics of the godly are precious things. Gold and diamonds cannot be compared with them. Oh, keep them well written in your hearts and they will be so many living comforts in a dying hour. It will not frighten a Christian to have all the signs of death in his body, when he can see all the signs of grace in his soul. He will say with Simeon, "Lord, now let you your servant depart in peace" (Luke 2:29).

2. By way of COUNSEL

You who are enriched with the treasures of godliness—bless God for it! This flower does not grow in nature's garden! You had enlisted yourselves under the devil and taken pay on his side, fighting against your own happiness—and then God came with converting grace and put forth a loving and gentle violence, causing you to espouse his cause against Satan! You had lain many years soaking in wickedness, as if you had been parboiled for hell—and then God laid you steeping in Christ's blood and breathed holiness into your heart! Oh, what cause you have to write yourselves down—as eternal debtors to free grace! He who does not give God the praise for his grace denies that God is its author. Oh, acknowledge the sovereign love of God! Admire distinguishing mercy! Set the crown of your praise—on the head of free grace! If we are to be thankful for the fruits of the earth, how much more for the fruits of the Spirit. It is good that there is an eternity coming, when the saints shall triumph in God and make his praise glorious!

3. By way of COMFORT

You who have only the least grain of godliness in sincerity, let me give you rich consolation: Jesus Christ will not discourage the weakest grace, but will nourish and preserve it to eternity. Grace which has only newly budded shall, by the beams of the Sun of righteousness, be prepared and ripened for glory. This I shall speak about more fully in the next chapter.

COMFORT to the Godly

"A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory." Matthew 12:20 

This text is spoken prophetically of Christ. He will not crow over the infirmities of his people; he will not crush grace in its infancy. I begin with the first, "the bruised reed." 

Question: What is to be understood here by a reed?

Answer: It is not to be taken literally—but figuratively. It is a rational reed, the spiritual part of man, the soul, which may well be compared to a reed—because it is subject to imbecility and shaking in this life, until it grows up unto a firm cedar in heaven.

Question: What is meant by a bruised reed?

Answer: It is a soul humbled and bruised by the sense of sin. It weeps—but does not despair; it is tossed upon the waves of fear—yet not without the anchor of hope.

Question: What is meant by Christ's not breaking this reed?

Answer: The sense is that Christ will not discourage any mournful spirit who is in the pangs of the new birth. If the bruise of sin is felt, it shall not be mortal: "A bruised reed shall he not break." In the words there is an understatement; he will not break, that is, he will bind up the bruised reed, he will comfort it.

The result of the whole is to show Christ's compassion to a poor dejected sinner who smites on his breast and dare hardly lift up his eye for mercy. The heart of the Lord Jesus yearns for him; this bruised reed, he will not break.

In the text there are two parts: 

(1) A supposition: a soul penitentially bruised. 

(2) A proposition: it shall not be broken.

Doctrine: The bruised soul shall not be broken: "He binds up their wounds" (Psalm 147:3). For this purpose Christ received both his mission and his unction, that he might bind up the bruised soul: "the Lord has anointed me to bind up the broken-hearted" (Isaiah 61:1). But why will Christ not break a bruised reed?

1. Out of the sweetness of his nature. "The Lord is full of compassion and mercy" (James 5:11). He begets compassion in other creatures and is therefore called "the Father of mercies" (2 Cor. 1:3). And surely he himself is not without compassion. When a poor soul is afflicted in spirit, God will not exercise harshness towards it, lest he should be thought to lay aside his own tender disposition.

Hence it is, that the Lord has always been most solicitous for his bruised ones. As the mother is most careful of her children who are weak and sickly, "He shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom" (Isaiah 40:11). Those who have been spiritually bruised, who like lambs are weakly and tender, Christ will carry in the arms of free grace.

2. Because a contrite heart is his sacrifice. (Psalm 51:17). A bruised spirit sends forth tears which are like precious wine (Psalm 56:8). A bruised soul is big with holy desires, yes, is love-sick. Therefore, if a bruised reed has such virtue in it, Christ will not break it. No spices, when they are bruised, are so fragrant to us—as a contrite spirit is to God.

3. Because it so closely resembles Christ. Jesus Christ was once bruised on the cross: "it pleased the Lord to bruise him" (Isaiah 53:10). His hands and feet were bruised with the nails; his side was bruised with the spear. A bruised reed resembles a bruised Savior. No, a bruised reed is a member of Christ; and though it is weak, Christ will not cut it off—but will cherish it so much the more.

(1) Will Christ not break the bruised reed? This tacitly implies that he will break unbruised reeds. Those who were never touched with trouble of spirit—but live and die in impenitence, are hard reeds or, rather, rocks. Christ will not break a bruised reed—but he will break a hard reed. Many do not know what it is to be bruised reeds. They are bruised outwardly by affliction—but they are not bruised for sin. They never knew what the pangs of the new birth meant. You will hear some thank God that they were always at peace, they never had any anxiety of spirit. These bless God for the greatest curse! Those who are not bruised penitentially—shall be broken judicially. Those whose hearts would not break for sin—shall break with despair. In hell there is nothing to be seen but a heap of stones and a hammer. A heap of stones—that is hard hearts; a hammer—that is God's power and justice, breaking them in pieces.

A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory. Matthew 12:20 

(2) Will Christ not break a bruised reed? See, then, the gracious disposition of Jesus Christ—he is full of mercy and sympathy. Though he may bruise the soul for sin, he will not break  it. The surgeon may lance the body and make it bleed—but he will  bind up the wound. As Christ has beams of majesty, so he has a  heart of mercy. Christ has both the lion and the lamb in his escutcheon: the lion, in respect of his fierceness to the wicked (Psalm 50:22), and the lamb, in respect of his mildness to his people. His name is Jesus, a Savior, and his office is a healer (Mal. 4:2). Christ made a plaster of his own blood—to heal a broken heart! Christ is the quintessence of love. Someone said, "If the sweetness of all flowers were in one flower, how sweet that flower would be!" Christ is that flower. How full of mercy is Christ, in whom all mercy meets! Christ has a  skillful hand and a tender heart. "He will not break a bruised reed."

Some are so full of harshness and cruelty, as to add affliction to affliction, which is to lay a greater burden on a dying man. But our Lord Jesus is a compassionate High Priest (Heb. 2:17). He is touched with the feeling of our infirmity. Every bruise of the soul goes to his heart! None refuse Christ—but such as do not know him. He is nothing but love incarnate! He himself was bruised to heal those who are bruised.  

(3) Will Christ not break a bruised reed? See, then, what encouragement there is here for faith! Had Christ said that he would break the bruised reed, then indeed there would be ground for despair. But when Christ said that he will not break a bruised reed—this opens a door of hope for humble, bruised souls! If we can say that we have been bruised for sin, why do we not believe? Why do we droop under our fears and discouragements, as if there were no mercy for us? Christ says, "He heals the broken in heart" (Psalm 147:3). "No," says unbelief, "he will not heal me." Christ says that he will cure the bruised soul. "No," says unbelief, "he will kill it." As unbelief makes our comforts void, so it tries to make the Word void, as if all God's promises were but forgeries. Has the Lord said that he will not break a bruised reed? Can truth lie? Oh, what a sin unbelief is! Some think it dreadful to be among the number of drunkards, swearers and whoremongers. Let me tell you, it is no less dreadful to be among the number of unbelievers (Rev. 21:8). Unbelief is worse than any other sin, because it brings God, his Word, and his promises into suspicion. It robs him of the richest jewel in his crown, which is his truth: "He who believes not God, has made him a liar" (1 John 5:10).

Oh then, let all humbled sinners go to Jesus Christ. Christ was bruised with desertion, to heal those who are bruised with sin. If you can show Christ your sores and touch him by faith—you shall be healed of all your soul bruises! Will Christ not break you? Then do not undo yourself by despair.  

Use 1: Will Jesus Christ not break a bruised reed? Then it reproves those who do what they can, to break the bruised reed. And they are such as try to hinder the work of conversion in others. When they see them wounded and troubled for sin, they dishearten them, telling them that piety is a sour, melancholy thing; and they had better return to their former pleasures. When an arrow of conviction is shot into their conscience, these pull it out again, and will not allow the work of conviction to go forward. Thus, when the soul is almost bruised, they hinder it from a thorough bruise. This is for men to be devils  to others. If to shed the blood of another makes a man guilty, what is it to damn another's soul?  

Use 2: This text is a spiritual honeycomb, dropping consolation into all bruised hearts. As we give stimulants to a body suffering from a fainting fit, so when sinners are bruised for their sins, I shall give some stimulant to revive them. This text is comforting to a poor soul who sits with Job among the ashes, and is dejected at the sense of its unworthiness. "Ah!" says the soul, "I am unworthy of mercy; what am I, that ever God should look on me? Those who have greater gifts and graces perhaps may obtain a look from God—but alas! I am unworthy." Does your unworthiness trouble you? What more unworthy than a bruised reed? Yet there is a promise made to that condition: "a bruised reed he will not break." The promise is not made to the fig tree or olive tree, which are fertile plants—but to the bruised reed. Though you are despicable in your own eyes, a poor shattered reed—yet you may be glorious in the eyes of the Lord. Do not let your unworthiness discourage you. If you see yourself as vile and Christ as precious—this promise is yours!  Christ will not break you—but will bind up your wounds.

Question: But how shall I know that I am savingly bruised?

Answer: Did God ever bring you to your knees? Has your proud heart been humbled? Did you ever see yourself as a sinner and nothing but a sinner? Did you ever, with a weeping eye, look on Christ? (Zech. 12:10) And did those tears drop from the eye of faith? (Mark 9:24) This is gospel bruising. Can you say, "Lord, though I do not see you—yet I love you; though I am in the dark—yet I cast anchor on you!" This is to be a bruised reed.

Objection 1: But I fear I am not bruised enough.

Answer: It is hard to prescribe a just measure of humiliation. It is the same in the new birth as in the natural. Some give birth with more pangs, and some with fewer. But would you like to know when you are bruised enough? When your spirit is so troubled that you are willing to let go those lusts which brought in the greatest income of pleasure and delight. When not only is sin discarded but you are disgusted with it, then you have been bruised enough. The medicine is strong enough when it has purged out the disease. The soul is bruised enough when the love of sin is purged out.

Objection 2: But I fear I am not bruised as I should be. I find my heart so hard.

Answer 1. We must distinguish between hardness of heart and a hard heart. The best heart may have some hardness—but though there is some hardness in it, it is not a hard heart. Names are given according to the better part. If we come into a field that has tares and wheat in it, we do not call it a field of tares, but a wheat field. So though there is hardness in the heart as well as softness—yet God, who judges by that part which is more excellent, looks on it as a soft heart.

Answer 2: There is a great difference between the hardness in the wicked, and hardness in the godly. The one is natural, the other is only accidental. The hardness in a wicked man is like the hardness of a stone, which is an innate continued hardness. The hardness in a child of God, is like the hardness of ice, which is soon melted by the sunbeams. Perhaps God has at present withdrawn his Spirit, so the heart is congealed like ice. But let God's Spirit, like the sun, return and shine on the heart, and then it has a gracious thaw on it and it melts in love.

Answer 3: Do you not grieve under your hardness? You sigh for lack of groans, you weep for lack of tears. The hard reed cannot weep. If you were not a bruised reed, all this weeping could not come from you.

Objection 3: But I am a barren reed; I bear no fruit; therefore I fear I shall be broken.

Answer: Gracious hearts are apt to overlook the good that is in them. They can spy the worm in the leaf—but not the  fruit. Why do you say you are barren? If you are a bruised reed, you are not barren. The spiritual reed ingrafted into the true vine is fruitful. There is so much sap in Christ that it makes all who are ingrafted into him bear fruit. Christ distills grace like drops of dew on the soul: "I will be as the dew unto Israel; he shall grow as the lily; his branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree" (Hos. 14:5,6). The God who made the dry rod blossom—will make the dry reed flourish.

So much for the first expression in the text. I proceed to the second: "the smoking flax shall he not quench." 

Question: What is meant by smoking?

Answer: By smoke is meant corruption. Smoke is offensive to the eye, so sin offends the pure eye of God. 

Question: What is meant by smoking flax?

Answer: It means grace mingled with corruption. As with a little fire there may be much smoke, so with a little grace there may be much corruption.

Question: What is meant by Christ's not quenching the smoking flax?

Answer: The meaning is that though there is only a spark of grace with much sin, Christ will not put out this spark. In the words there is a figure; "he will not quench", that is, he will increase. Nothing is easier than to quench smoking flax; the least touch does it. But Christ will not quench it. He will not blow the spark of grace out—but will blow it up into a flame, he will make this smoking flax into a burning candle.

Doctrine: That a little grace mixed with much corruption shall not be quenched. For the illustrating of this I shall show you:

1. That a little grace is often mixed with much corruption.

2. That this little grace mixed with corruption shall not be quenched.

3. The reasons for the proposition.

1. Often in the godly, a little grace is mingled with much corruption

"Lord, I believe"—there was some faith; "help my unbelief" (Mark 9:24)—there was corruption mixed with it. There are, in the best saints, inter-weavings of sin and grace: a dark side with the light; much pride mixed with humility; much earthliness with heavenliness. Grace in the godly smacks of an old crabtree stock.

No, in many of the regenerate there is more corruption than grace. So much smoke that you can scarcely discern any fire; so much distrust that you can hardly see any faith (1 Sam. 27:1); so much passion that you can hardly see any meekness. Jonah, a peevish prophet, quarrels with God, no, he justifies his passion: "I do well to be angry, even unto death!" (Jonah 4:9). Here there was so much passion that it was hard to see any grace. A Christian in this life is like a glass that has more froth than wine, or like a diseased body that has more illness than vigor. It may humble the best to consider how much corruption is interlarded with their grace.

2. This little grace mixed with much corruption shall not be quenched

"The smoking flax he will not quench." The disciples" faith was at first only small: "they forsook Christ, and fled" (Matt. 26:56). Here there was smoking flax—but Christ did not quench that little grace but nourished and animated it. Their faith afterwards grew stronger and they openly confessed Christ (Acts 4:29,30). Here the flax was flaming.

3. The reasons why Christ will not quench the smoking flax  

(1) Because this little spark which is in the smoking flax, is of divine production. It comes from the Father of lights, and the Lord will not quench the work of his own grace. Everything by the instinct of nature will preserve its own. The hen that hatches her young will preserve and nourish them; she will not destroy them as soon as they are hatched. God, who has put this tenderness into the creature to preserve its young, will much more nourish the work of his own Spirit in the heart. Will he light up the lamp of grace in the soul—and then put it out? This would be neither for his interest—nor for his honor.  

(2) Christ will not quench the beginnings of grace, because a little grace is as precious as much grace. A small pearl is of value. Though the pearl of faith is little—yet if it is a true pearl, it shines gloriously in God's eyes. A goldsmith takes account of the least filings of gold, and will not throw them away. The pupil of the eye is only little—yet it is of great use; it can at once view a huge part of the heavens. A little faith can justify. A weak hand can tie the nuptial knot. A weak faith can unite to Christ—as well as a strong faith. A little grace makes us like God. A silver penny bears the king's image on it, as well as a larger coin. The least grain of grace bears God's image on it—and will God destroy his own image? When the temples in Greece were demolished, Xerxes caused the temple of Diana to be preserved for the beauty of its structure. When God destroys all the glory of the world and sets it on fire—yet he will not destroy the least grace, because it bears a print of his own likeness on it. That little spark in the smoking flax, is a ray and beam of God's own glory.  

(3) Christ will not quench the smoking flax, because this little light in the flax may grow into a flame. Grace is compared to a grain of mustard seed; it is the smallest of all seeds—but when it has grown, it is the largest of herbs, and becomes a tree (Matt. 13:31,32). The greatest grace was once little. The oak was once an acorn. The most renowned faith in the world, was once in its spiritual infancy. The greatest flame of zeal was once only smoking flax. Grace, like the waters of the sanctuary, rises higher (Ezek. 47:1-5). If, then, the smallest embryo and seed of holiness has a ripening and growing nature, the Lord will not allow it to be abortive.  

(4) Christ will not quench the smoking flax, because when he preserves a little light in a great deal of smoke—here the glory of his power shines forth. The trembling soul thinks it will be swallowed up by sin. But God preserves a little quantity of grace in the heart—no, no, he makes that spark prevail over corruption, as the fire from heaven "licked up the water in the trench" (1 Kings 18:38). So God gets himself a glorious name and carries away the trophies of honor: "My strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9).  

1. See the different dealings of God and men. Men, for a little smoke—will quench a great deal of light; God, for a great deal of smoke—will not quench a little light. It is the manner of the world, if they see a little failure in another, to pass by and quench a great deal of worth because of that failure. This is our nature, to aggravate a little fault and diminish a great deal of virtue; to see the infirmities and darken the excellences of others—as we take more notice of the twinkling of a star, than the shining of a star. We censure others for their passion—but do not admire them for their piety. Thus, because of a little smoke that we see in others, we quench much light.

God does not act like that. For a great deal of smoke, he will not quench a little light. He sees the sincerity—and overlooks many infirmities. The least sparks of grace he nourishes, and blows them gently with the breath of his Spirit until they break forth into a flame!  

2. If Christ will not quench the smoking flax—then we must not quench the smoking flax in ourselves. If grace does not increase into so great a flame as we see in others, and we therefore conclude that we have no fire of the Spirit in us—that is to quench the smoking flax and to bear false witness against ourselves. As we must not credit false evidence, so neither must we deny true evidences of godliness. As fire may be hidden in the embers, so grace may be hidden under many disorders of soul. Some Christians are so skillful at this—accusing themselves for lack of grace—as if they had received a fee from Satan to plead for him against themselves.

It is a great mistake to argue from the weakness  of grace—to its absence. It is one thing to be weak in faith—and another to lack faith. He whose eyesight is dim has defective sight—but he is not without sight. A little grace is grace, though it is smothered under much corruption.  

3. If the least spark of grace shall not be quenched, then it follows as a great truth—that there is no falling from grace. If the least grain of grace should perish, then the smoking flax would be quenched. Grace may be shaken by fears and doubts—but not torn up by the roots. I grant that seeming grace may be lost; this wildfire may be blown out—but not the fire of the Spirit's kindling. Grace may be  dormant in the soul—but not dead. As a man in a coma does not exert vital energy, grace may be eclipsed, not extinct. A Christian may lose his comfort, like a tree in autumn which has shed its fruit—but there is still sap in the vine and "the seed of God remains in him" (1 John 3:9). Grace is a flower of eternity.

This smoking flax cannot be quenched by affliction—but is like those trees of which Pliny writes—trees growing in the Red Sea, which though beaten by the waves, stand immovable, and though sometimes covered with water, flourish the more. Grace is like a true oriental diamond—which sparkles and cannot be broken.

I confess it is a matter of astonishment, that grace should not be wholly annihilated, especially if we consider two things:

(1) The malice of Satan. He is a malignant spirit and lays barriers in our way to heaven. The devil, with the wind of temptation, tries to blow out the spark of grace in our hearts. If this will not do, he stirs up wicked men and raises the militia of hell against us. What a wonder it is that this bright star of grace, should not be swept down by the tail of the dragon!

(2) The world of corruption in our hearts. Sin makes up the major part in a Christian. There are more dregs than grace in the holiest heart. The heart swarms with sin. What a great deal of pride and atheism there is in the soul! Now is it not astonishing that this lily of grace should be able to grow among so many thorns? It is as great a wonder that a little grace should be preserved in the midst of so much corruption—as to see a candle burning in the sea and not extinguished.

But though grace lives with so much difficulty, like the infant that struggles for breath—yet being born of God, it is immortal. Grace conflicting with corruption is like a ship tossed and beaten by the waves—yet it weathers the storm and at last gets to the desired haven. If grace should expire, how could this text be verified, "The smoking flax he will not quench"?

Question: But how is it that grace, even the least degree of it, is not quenched?

Answer: It is from the mighty operation of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God, who is the source, continually excites and awakens grace in the heart. He is at work in a believer every day. He pours in oil, and keeps the lamp of grace burning. Grace is compared to a river of life (John 7:38). The river of grace can never be dried up, for the Spirit of God is the spring which feeds it.

Now it is evident from the covenant of grace, that the smoking flax cannot be quenched. "The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but the covenant of my peace shall not be removed, says the Lord" (Isaiah 54:10). If there is falling from grace, how is it an immovable covenant? If grace dies and the smoking flax is quenched, how is our state in Christ, better than it was in Adam? The covenant of grace is called "a better covenant" (Heb. 7:22). How is it a better covenant than that which was made with Adam? Not only because it has a better Surety and contains better privileges—but because it has better conditions annexed to it: "It is ordered in all things, and sure" (2 Sam. 23:5). Those who are taken into the covenant shall be like stars fixed in their orbit and shall never fall away. If grace might die and be quenched, then it would not be a better covenant.

Objection: But we are bidden not to quench the Spirit (1 Thes. 5:19), which implies that the grace of the Spirit may be lost and the smoking flax quenched.

Answer: We must distinguish between the common  work of the Spirit and the sanctifying work. The one may be quenched, but not the other. The common work of the Spirit is like a picture drawn on the ice, which is soon defaced; the sanctifying work is like a statue carved in gold, which endures. The gifts of the Spirit may be quenched, but not the grace of the Spirit. There is the enlightening of the Spirit, and the anointing. The enlightening of the Spirit may fail—but the anointing of the Spirit abides: "the anointing which you have received from him abides in you" (1 John 2:27). The hypocrite's blaze goes out, the true believer's spark lives and flourishes. The one is the light of a comet which wastes and evaporates (Matt. 25:8); the other is the light of a star which retains its luster.

From all that has been said, let a saint of the Lord be persuaded to do these two things:

1. To believe his privilege.

2. To pursue his duty.

1. To believe his privilege

It is the incomparable and unparalleled happiness of a saint, that his coal of grace shall not be quenched (2 Sam. 14:7). That grace in his soul which is weak and languid, shall not die—but recover its strength and increase. The Lord will make the smoking flax into a burning lamp. It would be very sad for a Christian to be continually chopping and changing: one day a member of Christ and the next day a limb of Satan; one day to have grace shine in his soul and the next day his light be put out in obscurity. This would spoil a Christian's comfort and break asunder the golden chain of salvation. But be assured, O Christian, that he who has begun a good work, will ripen it to perfection (Phil. 1:6). Christ will send forth judgment unto victory. He will make grace victorious over all opposing corruption. If grace should finally perish, what would become of the smoking flax? And how would that title properly be given to Christ, "Finisher of the faith" (Heb. 12:2)?

Objection: There is no question that this is an undoubted privilege to those who are smoking flax and have the least beginnings of grace—but I fear I am not smoking flax; I cannot see the light of grace in myself.

Answer: So that I may comfort the smoking flax, why do you thus dispute against yourself? What makes you think you have no grace? I believe you have more than you would be willing to part with. You value grace above the gold of Ophir. How could you see the worth and luster of this jewel—if God's Spirit had not opened your eyes? You desire to believe and mourn—that you cannot believe. Are these tears not the beginnings of faith? You desire Christ and cannot be satisfied without him. This beating of the pulse evidences life. The iron could not move upwards if the loadstone did not draw it. The heart could not ascend in holy desires for God, if some heavenly loadstone had not been drawing it. Christian, can you say that sin is your burden, Christ is your delight and, as Peter once said, "Lord, you know that I love you!" (John 21:17) This is smoking flax and the Lord will not quench it. Your grace shall flourish into glory. God will sooner extinguish the light of the sun, than extinguish the dawning light of his Spirit in your heart.

2. To pursue his duty

There are two duties required of believers:  

(1) Love. Will the Lord not quench the smoking flax—but make it at last victorious over all opposition? How the smoking flax should flame in love to God! "Oh, love the Lord, all his saints" (Psalm 31:23). The saints owe much to God, and when they have nothing to pay, it is hard if they cannot love him. O you saints, it is God who carries on grace progressively in your souls. He is like a father who gives his son a small stock of money to begin with, and when he has traded a little, he adds more to the stock. So God adds continually to your stock. He drops oil into the lamp of your grace every day, and so keeps the lamp burning. This may inflame your love to God, who will not let the work of grace fail but will bring it to perfection: "the smoking flax he will not quench." How God's people should long for heaven, when it will be their constant work to breathe out love and sound out praise!  

(2) Labor. Some may think that if Christ will not quench the smoking flax—but make it burn brighter to the meridian of glory, then we need take no pains but leave God to do his own work. Take heed of drawing so bad a conclusion from such good premises. What I have spoken is to encourage faith—not to indulge sloth! Do not think God will do our work for us—while we sit still. As God will blow up the spark of grace by his Spirit—so we must be blowing it up by holy efforts. God will not bring us to heaven sleeping—but praying. The Lord told Paul that all in the ship would come safely to shore—but it must be by the use of means: "Except these abide in the ship, you cannot be saved" (Acts 27:31). So the saints shall certainly arrive at salvation. They shall come to shore at last—but they must stay in the ship, in the use of ordinances, else they cannot be saved. Christ assures his disciples: "None shall pluck them out of my hand" (John 10:28). But he still gives that counsel, "Watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation" (Matt. 26:41). The seed of God shall not die—but we must water it with our tears. The smoking flax shall not be quenched—but we must blow it up with the breath of our effort.

The second comfort to the godly is that godliness promotes them to a close and glorious union with Jesus Christ. But I reserve this for the next chapter.

AN EXHORTATION TO PRESERVE IN GODLINESS

AN EXHORTATION TO PRESERVE IN GODLINESS

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Those who wear the mantle of godliness—and in the judgment of others are looked upon as godly—let me exhort you to persevere: "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith" (Heb. 10:23). This is a seasonable exhortation in these times—when the devil's agents are abroad, whose whole work is to unsettle people and make them fall away from that former strictness in piety which they have professed. 

1. It is much to be lamented—to see professing Christians wavering in religion. How many we see unresolved and unsteady, like Reuben, "unstable as water" (Gen. 49:4). These the apostle rightly compares to "waves of the sea . . . and wandering stars" (Jude 13). They are not fixed in the principles of godliness. Beza writes of one Bolsechus, that "his religion changed like the moon." Such were the Ebionites, who kept  both the Jewish and the Christian Sabbath. Many professors are like the river Euripus, ebbing and flowing in matters of piety. They are like reeds bending every way, either to the Mass or to the  Koran. They are like the planet Mercury, which constantly varies, and is seldom constant in its motion. When men think of heaven and the recompense of reward, then they want to be godly—but when they think of persecution, then they are like the Jews who deserted Christ and "walked no more with him" (John 6:66). If men's faces altered as fast as their  opinions—we would not recognize them! To be thus vacillating and wavering in religion, argues lightness of thought. Feathers are blown in every direction, and so are feathery professors.

2. It is much to be lamented—to see professing Christians falling from that godliness which once they seemed to have. They have turned to worldliness and wantonness. The very mantle of their profession has fallen off; and indeed, if they were not fixed  stars—it is no wonder to see them as falling stars. This spiritual epilepsy, or falling sickness, was never more rife. 

It is a dreadful sin for men to fall from that godliness, which they once seemed to have. Chrysostom says, "Apostates are worse than those who are openly wicked. They give godliness a bad name." "The apostate", says Tertullian, "Seems to put God and Satan in the balance, and having weighed both their services, prefers the devil's service, and proclaims him to be the best master!" In that respect the apostate is said to put Christ to open shame (Heb. 6:6).

This will be bitter in the end (Heb. 10:38). What a worm, the apostate Spira felt in his conscience! In what horror of mind did the apostate Stephen Gardiner cry out upon his deathbed—that with Peter, he had denied his Master! But he had not repented with Peter!

That we may be steadfast in godliness and persevere, let us do two things: 

1. Let us TAKE HEED of those things which will make us by degrees fall away from our profession. Let us:  

(1) Beware of COVETOUSNESS. "Men shall be covetous . . . having a form of godliness—but denying the power" (2 Tim. 3:2,5). One of Christ's own apostles was caught with this silver bait! Covetousness will make a man betray a good cause, and make shipwreck of a good conscience. I have read of some in the time of the Emperor Valens, who denied the Christian faith to prevent the confiscation of their goods.  

(2) Beware of UNBELIEF. "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God" (Heb. 3:12). There is no evil like an evil heart; no evil heart like an unbelieving heart. Why so? It makes men depart from the blessed God. He who does not believe God's mercy—will not dread his justice. Unbelief is the nurse of apostasy; therefore unbelieving and unstable go together: "they believed not in God . . . they turned back and tempted God" (Psalm 78:22,41).  

(3) Take heed of COWARDICE. He who is afraid to be godly, must surely be evil: "The fear of man brings a snare" (Proverbs 29:25). They who fear danger more than sin—will commit sin to avoid danger! Origen, out of fear of persecution, offered incense to the idol. Aristotle says, "The reason why the chameleon turns so many colors, is through excessive fear." Fear will make men change their religion, as often as the chameleon does her color! Christian, you who have made a profession of godliness so long, and others have noted you for a saint in their calendar, why do you fear and begin to shrink back? The cause which you have embarked on is good; you are fighting against sin; you have a good Captain who is marching before you: Christ, "the captain of your salvation" (Heb. 2:10). 

What is it, that you fear? Is it loss of liberty? What is liberty worth, when conscience is in bonds? It is better to lose your liberty and keep your peace—than to lose your peace and keep your liberty. Is it loss of estate? Do you say, like Amaziah, "What should I do about the silver I paid?" (2 Chron. 25:9) I would answer with the prophet, "The Lord can give you much more than this" (v. 10). He has promised you "an hundredfold" in this life—and if that is nothing, he will give you life everlasting (Matt. 19:29).

2. Let us use all MEANS for perseverance

(1) Strive for a real work of grace in your soul. Grace is the best fortification: "it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace" (Heb. 13:9).

Question: What is this real work of grace?

Answer: It consists in two things:

1. Grace lies in a heart-humbling work. The thorn of sin pricked Paul's conscience: "Sin revived, and I died" (Romans 7:9). Though some are less humbled than others—as some bring forth children with less pangs—yet all have pangs.

2. Grace lies in a heart-changing work. "But you are washed—but you are sanctified" (1 Cor. 6:11). A man is so changed as if another soul lived in the same body! If ever you would hold out in the ways of God, get this vital principle of grace. Why do men change their religion—but because their hearts were never changed? They do not fall away from grace—but for lack of grace.  

(2) Be deliberate and judicious. Weigh things well in the balance: "Who of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn't first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?" (Luke 14:28). Think to yourselves, what it will cost you to be godly. You must expect the hatred of the world (John 15:19). The wicked hate the godly for their piety. It is strange that they should do so. Do we hate a flower because it is sweet? The godly are hated for the perfume of their graces. Is a virgin hated for her beauty? The wicked hate the godly for the beauty of holiness which shines in them. Secret hatred will break forth into open violence (2 Tim. 3:12). Christians must count the cost before they build. Why are people so hasty in abandoning religion—if not because they were so hasty in taking it up?  

(3) Get a clear, distinct knowledge of God. Know the love of the Father, the merit of the Son, the efficacy of the Holy Spirit. Those who do not know God aright, will by degrees renounce their profession. The Samaritans sometimes sided with the Jews, when they were in favor. Afterwards they disclaimed all kindred with the Jews, when they were persecuted by Antiochus. And no wonder they shuffled so in their religion, if you consider what Christ said of the Samaritans, "You Samaritans worship what you do not know!" (John 4:22). They were enveloped by ignorance. Blind men are apt to fall, and so are those who are blinded in their minds.  

(4) Enter on it purely out of choice. "I have chosen the way of truth" (Psalm 119:30). Espouse godliness for its own worth. Whoever wishes to persevere must rather choose godliness with reproach—than sin with all its worldly pomp. Whoever takes up religion for fear—will lay it down again for fear. Whoever embraces godliness for gain—will desert it when the jewels of promotion are pulled off. Do not be godly from worldly design—but from pious choice.  

(5) Strive for sincerity. This will be a golden pillar to support you. A tree that is hollow, must of necessity be blown down. The hypocrite sets up in the trade of religion—but he will soon break: "their heart was not right with him, neither were they steadfast" (Psalm 78:37). Judas was first a sly hypocrite and then a traitor. If a piece of copper is gilded, the gilding will wash off. Nothing will hold out but sincerity: "May integrity and honesty protect me, for I put my hope in you" (Psalm 25:21). How many storms was Job in! Not only Satan—but God himself set on him (Job 7:20), which was enough to have made him desist from being godly. Yet Job stood fast—because he stood upright: "My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go; my heart shall not reproach me as long as I live" (Job 27:6). Those colors hold best, which are fixed in oils. If we wish to have our profession hold its color, it must be fixed in the oil of sincerity.  

(6) Hold up the life and fervor of duty. "Fervent in spirit, serving the Lord" (Romans 12:11). We put coals on the fire to keep it from going out. When Christians grow into a dull formality, they begin to be dispirited, and by degrees abate in their godliness. No one is so fit to make an apostate—as a lukewarm professing Christian.  

(7) Exercise great self-denial. "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. (Luke 9:23). Self-ease, self-ends, whatever comes in competition with (or stands in opposition to) Christ's glory and interest—must be denied! Self is the great snare; self-love undermines the power of godliness. The young man in the Gospel might have followed Christ—but something of self hindered (Matt. 19:20-22). Self-love is self-hatred. The man who cannot get beyond himself—will never get to heaven.  

(8) Preserve a holy watchfulness over your hearts.  The man who has gunpowder in his house, fears lest it should catch fire and explode. Sin in the heart is like gunpowder; it may make us fear lest a spark of temptation should fall on us and blow us up. There are two things which may make us always watchful of our hearts: the  deceits of our hearts and the lusts of our hearts. When Peter was afraid that he should sink and cried to Christ, "Lord, save me", then Christ took him by the hand and helped him (Matt. 14:30,31); but when Peter grew confident and thought he could stand alone, then Christ allowed him to fall. Oh, let us be suspicious of ourselves and in a holy sense "clothe ourselves with trembling" (Ezek. 26:16).  

(9) Strive for assurance. "Give diligence to make your calling and election sure" (2 Pet. 1:10). The man who is sure that God is his God, is like a castle built on a rock—all the powers of hell cannot shake him. How can that man be constant in piety—who is at a loss about his spiritual estate, and does not know whether he has grace or not? It will be a difficult matter for a man to die for Christ, if he does not know that Christ has died for him. Assurance establishes a Christian in shaking times. He who has the Spirit of God bearing witness to his heart is the most likely to bear witness to the truth (Romans 8:16). Oh, give diligence! Be much in prayer, reading, holy conversation. These things are the oil, without which the lamp of assurance will not shine.  

(10) Lay hold of God's strength. God is called the Strength of Israel (1 Sam. 15:29). It is in his strength that we stand, more than our own. The child is safest in the father's hands. It is not our holding God—but his holding us—which preserves us. A little boat tied fast to a rock is safe, and so are we, when we are tied to the "rock of ages." 

MOTIVES to Persevere in Godliness

So that I may encourage Christians to persevere in the profession of godliness, I shall propose these four considerations:

1. It is the glory and crown of a Christian to be grey-headed in godliness

"Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple" (Acts 21:16). What an honor it is to see a Christian's garments red with blood—yet his  conscience pure white and his graces green and flourishing!

2. How sinners persevere in their sins!

They are settled on their lees (Zeph. 1:12). The judgments of God will not deter or remove them. They say to their sin, as Ruth said to Naomi, "Where you go, I will go . . . the Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me" (Ruth 1:16,17). So nothing shall part men from their sins. Oh, what a shame it is that the wicked should be fixed in evil—and we unfixed in good; that they should be more constant in the devil's service—than we are in  Christ's service!

3. Our perseverance in godliness may be a means of confirming others

Cyprian's hearers followed him to the place of his suffering, and when they saw his steadfastness in the faith, they cried out, "Let us also die with our holy pastor!" "Many of the brethren, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word" (Phil. 1:14). Paul's zeal and constancy animated the onlookers. His prison chains made converts in Nero's court—and two of those converts were afterwards martyrs, as history relates.

4. We shall lose nothing by our perseverance in godliness 

There are eight glorious promises which God has entailed on the persevering saints:

(1) "Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life." (Rev. 2:10). Christian, you may lose the breath of life, but not the crown of life.

(2) "To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God" (Rev. 2:7). This tree of life is the Lord Jesus. This tree infuses life—and prevents death. The day we eat of this tree—our eyes shall indeed be opened to see God!

(3) "To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it." (Rev. 2:17). This promise consists of three branches:

(a) "I will give to eat of the hidden manna." This is mysterious. It signifies the love of God—which is manna for sweetness and hidden for its rarity.

(b) "I will give him a white stone", that is,  absolution. "It may be called a precious stone," says Jerome.

(c) "And in the stone anew name", that is, adoption. He shall be reputed an heir of heaven, and no one can know it, except the one who has the privy seal of the Spirit to assure him of it.

(4) "He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels" (Rev. 3:5). The persevering saint shall be clothed in white. This is an emblem of joy (Eccles. 9:8). He shall put off his mourning clothes, and be clothed in the white robe of glory. 

"I will never blot out his name from the book of life." God will blot a believer's sins out—but he will not blot his name out. The book of God's decree has no errata in it. 

"But I will acknowledge his name." If anyone has owned Christ on earth and worn his colors when it was death to wear them, Christ will not be ashamed of him—but will acknowledge his name before his Father and the holy angels. Oh, what a comfort and honor it will be to have a good look from Christ, at the last day! More—to have Christ own us by name and say, "These were those who stood up for my truth and kept their garments pure, in a defiling age. These shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy."

(5) "Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name." (Rev. 3:12). There are many excellent things couched in this promise: 

"I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God." The hypocrite is a reed shaken by the wind—but the conquering saint shall be a glorious pillar, a pillar of strength and a pillar in the temple for sanctity. 

"Never again will he leave it." I understand this of a glorified state. "Never again will he leave it," that is, after he has overcome, he shall not go out to the wars any more. He shall never have any more sin or temptation to conflict with. No more noise of drum or cannon shall be heard—but having won the field, the believer shall now stay at home and divide the spoil. 

"And I will write upon him the name of my God", that is, he shall be openly acknowledged as my child, just as the Son bears his Father's name. How honorable that saint must be, who has God's own name written on him! 

"And I will write upon him the name of the city of my God", that is, he shall be enrolled as a citizen of the Jerusalem above. He shall be made free in the angelic society.

(6) "To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations" (Rev. 2:26). This may have a double mystery. Either it may be understood of the saints living on earth: they shall have power over the nations; their zeal and patience shall overpower the adversaries of truth (Acts 6:10); or, principally, it may be understood of the saints triumphing in heaven. They shall have power over the nations: they shall share with Christ in some of his power; they shall join with him in judging the world in the last days: "the saints shall judge the world" (1 Cor. 6:2).

(7) "To him who overcomes, I will give the right to  sit with me on my throne" (Rev. 3:21):

(a) Here is, first, the saints' dignity: they shall sit upon the throne.

(b) Their safety: they shall sit with Christ. Christ holds them fast and no one shall pluck them off his throne. The saints may be turned out of their houses—but they cannot be turned out of Christ's throne! Men may as well pluck a star out of the sky—as a saint out of the throne!

(8) "I will give him the morning star" (Rev. 2:28). Though the saints may be sullied with reproach in this life, though they may be termed factious and disloyal—Paul himself suffered trouble, in the opinion of some, as an evildoer (2 Tim. 2:9)—yet God will bring forth the saints' righteousness as the light, and they shall shine like the morning star, which is brighter than the rest. "I will give him the morning star." This morning star is meant of Christ, as if Christ had said, "I will give the persevering saint some of my beauty; I will put some of my splendid rays on him; he shall have the nearest degree of glory to me, as the morning star is nearest the sun!

Oh, what soul-ravishing promises there are here! Who would not persevere in godliness! Whoever is not affected by these promises is either a stone or a brute.

PRESCRIBING SOME HELPS TO GODLINESS

PRESCRIBING SOME HELPS TO GODLINESS

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Question: But what shall we do, that we may be godly?
Answer: I shall briefly lay down some rules or helps to godliness.  
1. Be diligent in the use of all MEANS that may promote godliness. "Strive to enter in at the strait gate" (Luke 13:24). What is purpose, without pursuit? When you have made your estimate of godliness, pursue those means which are most expedient for obtaining it.  
2. Take heed of the WORLD. It is hard for a  clod of dust—to become a star. "Love not the world" (1 John 2:15). Many would like to be godly—but the honors and profits of the world divert them. Where the world fills both head and heart—there is no room for Christ. He whose mind is rooted in the earth, is likely enough to deride godliness. When our Savior was preaching against sin, "the Pharisees, who were covetous, derided him" (Luke 16:14). The world eats the heart out of godliness, as the ivy eats the heart out of the oak. The world kills with her golden darts!  
3. Accustom yourselves to holy THOUGHTS.  Serious meditation represents everything in its true color. It shows the evil of sin, and the luster of grace. By holy thoughts, the head grows clearer and the heart better: "I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto your testimonies" (Psalm 119:59). If men would step aside a little out of the noise and hurry of business, and spend only half-an-hour every day thinking about their souls and eternity, it would produce a wonderful alteration in them!   
4. Watch your HEARTS. This was Christ's watchword to his disciples: "Watch, therefore" (Matt. 24:42). The heart will incline us to sin, before we are aware. A subtle heart needs a watchful eye. Watch your thoughts, your affections. The heart has a thousand doors to run out from. Oh, keep close watch on your souls! Stand continually on your watch-towers (Hab. 2:1). When you have prayed against sin, watch against temptation. Most wickedness in the world is committed for lack of watchfulness. Watchfulness maintains godliness. It is the edging which keeps piety from fraying.  
5. Make spending your TIME a matter of conscience. "Redeeming the time" (Eph. 5:16). Many people fool away their time, some in idle visits, others in recreations and pleasures which secretly bewitch the heart and take it away from better things. What are our golden hours for—but to attend to our souls? Time misspent is not time lived—but time  lost! Time is a precious commodity. A piece of wax in itself is not worth much—but when it is affixed to the label of a will and conveys an estate, it is of great value. Thus, time simply in itself is not so considerable—but as salvation is to be worked out in it, and a conveyance of heaven depends on using it well—it is of infinite concern! 
6. Think of your SHORT STAY in the world. "We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a shadow, gone so soon without a trace!" (1 Chron. 29:15). There is only a span between the cradle and the grave. Solomon says there is a time to be born and a time to die (Eccles. 3:2)—but mentions no time of living—as if that were so short it was not worth naming! Time, when it has once gone, cannot be recalled. "My life passes more swiftly than a runner. It flees away, filled with tragedy. It disappears like a swift boat, like an eagle that swoops down on its prey." Job 9:25-26. This Scripture compares time to a flying eagle. Yet time differs from the eagle in this: the eagle flies forward and then back again--but time has wings only to fly forward --it never returns! "Time flies irrevocably."
The serious thoughts of our short stay here would be a great means of promoting godliness. What if death should come before we are ready? What if our life should breathe out before God's Spirit has breathed in? Whoever considers how flitting and winged his life is—will hasten his repentance!  
7. Make this maxim your own—that godliness is the purpose of your creation. God never sent men into the world only to eat and drink and put on fine clothes—but that they might "Serve him in holiness and righteousness" (Luke 1:74,75). God made the world only as a dressing room—to dress our souls in. He sent us here on the grand errand of godliness. Should nothing but the body (the brutish part) be looked after, this would be basely to degenerate, yes, to invert and frustrate the very purpose of our being!  
8. Be often among the godly. They are the  salt of the earth—and will help to season you. Their counsel may direct you; their prayers may enliven you. Such holy sparks may be thrown into your breasts as may kindle devotion in you. It is good to be among the saints, to learn the trade of godliness: "He who walks with wise men shall be wise" (Proverbs 13:20).

AN EXHORTATION TO GODLINESS

AN EXHORTATION TO GODLINESS 

Those who are still in their natural condition, who have never yet

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relished any sweetness in the things of God—let me beseech them, for the love of Christ, to strive to get these characteristics of the godly engraved on their hearts. Though godliness is the object of the world's scorn and hatred (as in Tertullian's days, the name of a Christian was a crime)—yet do not be ashamed to espouse godliness. Know that persecuted godliness is better than prosperous wickedness! What will all the world avail a man without godliness? To be learned and ungodly—is like a devil transformed into an angel of light; to be beautiful and ungodly—is like a lovely picture hung in an infected room; to be  honorable in the world and ungodly—is like an ape in purple, or like that image which had a head of gold on feet of clay (Dan. 2:32,33). It is godliness which ennobles and consecrates the heart, making God and angels fall in love with it.

Strive for the reality of godliness. Do not rest in the common workings of God's Spirit. Do not think that it is enough to be intelligent and discursive. A man may discourse of piety to the admiration of others—yet not feel the sweetness of those things in his own soul. The lute gives a melodious sound to others—but does not at all feel the sound itself. Judas could make an elegant discourse about Christ—but did not feel virtue from him.

Do not rest in having your affections a little stirred. A hypocrite may have affections of sorrow like Ahab, or affections of desire like Balaam. These are slight and flashy, and do not amount to real godliness. Oh, strive to be like the king's daughter, "all glorious within!" (Psalm 45:13)

In order that I may persuade men to become godly, I shall lay down some forcible motives and arguments, and may the Lord make them like nails fastened by his Spirit.

A. Let men seriously weigh their misery while they remain in a state of ungodliness It may make them run out of this Sodom. The misery of ungodly men appears in nine particulars:  

1. They are in a state of spiritual death

"Dead in trespasses" (Eph. 2:1). Dead they must surely be, who are cut off from Christ, the principle of life. For as the body without the soul is dead, so is the soul without Christ. This spiritual death is visible in the effect. It bereaves men of their senses. Sinners have no sense of God in them: "Having lost all sensitivity" (Eph. 4:19). All their moral endowments, are only flowers strewn on a dead corpse, and what is hell but a sepulcher to bury the spiritually dead in?

2. Their offerings are polluted

Not only the ploughing of the wicked is sin, but the praying of the wicked is sin! "The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord" (Proverbs 15:8; 21:4). If the water is foul in the well—it cannot be clean in the bucket. If the heart is full of sin—the duties cannot be pure. What straits every ungodly person is in, if he does not come to the ordinance. If he does not come—he despises it; if he does come—he defiles it.

3. Those who live and die ungodly, have no right to the covenant of grace

"At that time you were without Christ, strangers from the covenants of promise" (Eph. 2:12). And to be outside covenant, is to be like anyone in the old world outside the ark. The covenant is the gospel charter, which is enriched with many glorious privileges. But who may plead the benefit of this covenant? Surely only those whose hearts are inlaid with grace. Read the charter: "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you . . . I will be your God" (Ezek. 36:26,28). A person dying in his ungodliness has no more to do with the new covenant, than a ploughman has to do with the privileges of a city corporation.

God's writing always comes before his seal. "You are declared to be the epistle of Christ, written not with ink—but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone—but in fleshy tables of the heart" (2 Cor. 3:3). Here is a golden epistle: the writing is the work of faith; the tablet it is written on, is the heart; the finger that writes it is the Spirit. Now, after the Spirit's writing, comes the Spirit's sealing: "after you believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit" (Eph. 1:13). That is, you were sealed with an assurance of glory. What have ungodly men—those who have no writing—to do with the seal of the covenant?

4. The ungodly are spiritual fools

If a parent had a child who was very beautiful—but a fool, he would take little joy in him. The Scripture has dressed the sinner in a fool's coat and let me tell you—better be a fool void of reason, than a fool void of grace. This is the devil's fool, "Fools make a mock at sin" (Proverbs 14:9). Is not that man a fool who refuses a rich share? God offers Christ and salvation—but the sinner refuses this share: "Israel would not submit to me" (Psalm 81:11). Is not that man a fool who prefers a shiny penny before an inheritance? Is not that man a fool who tends his mortal part and neglects his angelic part, as if a man should paint the wall of his house and let the timber rot? Is not that man a fool who will feed the devil with his soul—like that emperor who fed his lion with pheasant? Is not that man a fool who lays a snare for himself (Proverbs 1:18); who consults his own shame (Hab. 2:10); who loves death (Proverbs 8:36)?

5. The ungodly are vile people

"I will make your grave; for you are vile" (Nah. 1:14). Sin makes men base; it blots their name; it taints their blood. "They are all together become filthy" (Psalm 14:3). In the Hebrew it is "they have become stinking." If you call wicked men ever so bad, you cannot call them worse than their name deserves: they are swine (Matt. 7:6); vipers (Matt. 3:7); devils (John 6:70). The wicked are dross and refuse (Psalm 119:119), and heaven is too pure to have any dross mingled with it.

6. Their temporal mercies are continued in judgment 

The wicked may have health and estate, yes, more than heart can wish (Psalm 73:7)—but "their table is a snare" (Psalm 69:22). Sinners have their mercies with God's permission, but not with his  love. The people of Israel would have been better without their quail, than to have had such sour sauce. The ungodly are usurpers; they lack a spiritual title to what they possess. Their good things are like cloth picked up at the draper's which is not paid for. Death will bring a sad reckoning at last.

7. Their temporal judgments are not removed in mercy 

Pharaoh had ten arrows shot at him (ten plagues) and all those plagues were removed; but as his heart remained hard, those plagues were not removed in mercy. It was not a preservation—but a reservation. God reserved him as a signal monument of his justice, when he was drowned in the depths of the sea. God may reprieve men's lives, when he does not remit their sins. The wicked may have sparing mercy, but not saving mercy.  

8. The ungodly, while they live, are exposed to the wrath of God  

"He who believes not, the wrath of God abides on him" (John 3:36). Whoever lacks grace is like someone who lacks a pardon; every hour he is in fear of execution. How can a wicked man rejoice? Over his head hangs the sword of God's justice; and under him hell-fire burns.

9. The ungodly at death, must undergo God's fury and indignation

"The wicked shall be turned into hell" (Psalm 9:17). I have read of a lodestone in Ethiopia which has two corners. With one it attracts iron and with the other it repels it. So God has two hands: one of mercy and one of justice. With the one, he will draw the godly to heaven; with the other, he will thrust the sinner to hell. 

And oh, how dreadful is that place! It is called a fiery lake (Rev. 20:15). That is, a lake to denote the many torments in hell; and a fiery lake to show the fierceness of the punishment. Strabo in his "Geography" mentions a lake in Galilee of such a pestiferous nature that it scalds off the skin of whatever is thrown into it. But alas, that lake is cool, compared with this fiery lake into which the damned are thrown. To demonstrate that this fire is terrible, there are two most pernicious qualities in it:

(1) It is sulphurous; it is mixed with brimstone (Rev. 21:8), which is unsavory and suffocating.

(2) It is inextinguishable: the wicked shall be choked in the flames, though not consumed: "And the devil was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever" (Rev. 20:10). See the deplorable condition of all ungodly people! In the eternal world, they shall have a life which always dies, and a death which always lives. May this not frighten men off their sins and make them become godly, unless they are resolved to feel how hot hell-fire is?

B. What rare people the godly are

"The righteous is more excellent than his neighbor" (Proverbs 12:26). Like the flower of the sun, like the wine of Lebanon, like the sparkling on Aaron's breastplate, such is the oriental splendor of a person embellished with godliness. The excellence of the godly appears in seven particulars:

1. The godly are PRECIOUS

Therefore they are set apart for God: "know that the Lord has set apart him who is godly for himself" (Psalm 4:3). We set apart things that are precious. The godly are set apart as God's peculiar treasure (Psalm 135:4); as his garden of delight (Song 4:12); as his royal diadem (Isaiah 62:3). The godly are the excellent of the earth (Psalm 16:3), comparable to fine gold (Lam. 4:2); doubly refined (Zech. 13:9); they are the glory of creation (Isaiah 46:13.) Origen compares the saints to sapphires and crystal. God calls them his jewels (Mal. 3:17). They are jewels:  

(1) For their value. Diamonds (says Pliny) were not known for a long time except among princes, and were hung on their diadems. God so values his people that he will give kingdoms for their ransom (Isaiah 43:3); He put his best Jewel (Christ) in pawn for them (John 3:16).  

(2) For their luster. If one pearl of grace shines so brightly that it delights Christ's heart—"You have ravished my heart with one of your eyes" (Song 4:9), that is, one of your graces—then how illustrious are all the graces together in a constellation!

2. The godly are HONORABLE

"You have been honorable" (Isaiah 43:4). The godly are "a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord" (Isaiah 62:3). They are "plants of renown" (Ezek. 16:14). They are not only vessels of mercy but vessels of honor (2 Tim. 2:21). Aristotle calls honor the chief good thing. The godly are near akin to the blessed Trinity: they have the tutelage and guardianship of angels; they have "God's name written upon them" (Rev. 3:12) and "the Holy Spirit dwelling in them" (2 Tim. 1:14).

The godly are a sacred priesthood. The priesthood under the law was honorable. The king's daughter was wife to Jehoiada the priest (2 Chron. 22:11). It was a custom among the Egyptians to have their kings chosen from their priests. The saints are a divine priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices (1 Pet 2:9). They are co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17). They are kings (Rev. 1:6). Novarinus tells of an ancient king who invited a company of poor Christians and made them a great feast. On being asked why he showed so much respect to people of such poor birth and extraction, he told them, "These I must honor as the children of the most high God. They will be kings and princes with me in the eternal world." 

The godly are in some sense higher than the angels. The angels are Christ's friends; these are his spouse. The angels are called morning stars (Job 38:7)—but the saints are clothed with the Sun of righteousness (Rev. 12:1). All men, says Chrysostom, are ambitious for honor. See, then, the honor of the godly! "Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. Esteem her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you." (Proverbs 4:7,8). The trophies of the saints' renown, will be erected in the eternal world.

3. The godly are LOVED by God

"The excellency of Jacob, whom he loved" (Psalm 47:4). A holy heart is the garden where God plants the flower of his love. God's love to his people is an ancient love, it dates from eternity (Eph. 1:4). He loves them with a choice, distinguishing love; they are the "dearly beloved of his soul" (Jer. 12:7). The men of the world have bounty dropping from God's fingers—but the godly have love dropping from God's heart. He gives to one, a golden cup—to the other, a golden kiss. He loves the godly as he loves Christ (John 17:26). It is the same love in kind, though not in degree. Here the saints merely sip God's love; in heaven they shall drink of rivers of pleasure (Psalm 36:8). The love of God to His people is permanent. Death may take their life away from them—but not God's love: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness" (Jer. 31:3).

4. The godly are PRUDENT people

They have good insight and foresight:  

(1) They have good INSIGHT. "He who is spiritual judges all things" (1 Cor. 2:15). The godly have insight into people and things. They have insight into people, because they have the anointing of God, and by a spirit of discerning they can see some differences between the precious and the vile (Jer. 15:19). God's people are not censorious—but they are judicious. They can see a foul heart—through a naked breast and a painted face. They can see a revengeful spirit—through a bitter tongue. They can guess at the tree—by the  fruit (Matt. 12:33). They can see the plague tokens of sin appearing in the wicked, which makes them leave the tents of those sinners (Numb. 16:26).

The godly have insight into things mysterious. They can see much of the mystery of their own hearts. Take the greatest politician who understands the mysteries of state—he still does not understand the mystery of his own heart. You will sometimes hear him swear that his heart is good—but a child of God sees much heart corruption (1 Kings 8:38). Though some flowers of grace grow there, he still sees how fast the weeds of sin grow, and is therefore continually weeding his heart by repentance and mortification.

The godly can discern the mystery of the times: "The children of Issachar were men who had understanding of the times" (1 Chron. 12:32). The godly can see when an age runs to seed—when God's name is dishonored, his messengers despised, his gospel eclipsed. The people of God strive to keep their garments pure (Rev. 16:15). Their care is that the times may not be the worse because of them; nor they the worse because of the times.

The godly understand the mystery of living by faith: "The just shall live by faith" (Heb. 10:38). They can trust God's heart—where they cannot trace his hand. They can get comfort out of a promise, as Moses got water out of the rock (Exod. 17:6). "Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vine; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation" (Hab. 3:17,18).  

(2) They have good FORESIGHT. They foresee the evil of a temptation: "we are not ignorant of his devices" (2 Cor. 2:11). The wicked swallow temptations like pills, and when it is too late, feel these pills afflict their conscience. But the godly foresee a temptation, and will not come near. They see a snake under the beautiful flowers! They know that Satan's kindness—is craftiness!

The godly foresee temporal dangers: "A prudent man foresees the evil, and hides himself" (Proverbs 22:3). The people of God see when the cloud of wrath is ready to drop on a nation, and they get into their rooms (Isaiah 26:20)—the attributes and promises of God; and into the clefts of the rocks—the bleeding wounds of Christ—and hide themselves. Well therefore, may they be baptized with the name of wise virgins.

5. The godly are the bulwark of a nation

The godly are the pillars to keep a city and nation from falling; they stave off judgment from a land. It was said of old, that so long as Hector lived, Troy could not be demolished. God could do nothing to Sodom—until Lot had gone out of it (Gen. 19:22). Golden Christians are bronze walls. The Lord would soon execute judgment in the world—were it not for the sake of a few pious people. Would God preserve the world only for drunkards and swearers? He would soon sink the ship—but for the fact that some of his elect are in it. Yet such is the indiscretion of men that they injure the saints and count as burdens, those who are the chief blessings (Isaiah 19:24).

6. The godly are of a BRAVE, heroic spirit

"My servant Caleb, because he had another spirit" (Numb. 14:24). An excellent spirit was found in Daniel (Dan. 5:12). The godly hate that which is base and sordid. They will not enrich their purses by enslaving their consciences. They are noble and courageous in God's cause: "the righteous are bold as a lion" (Proverbs 28.1). The saints live in accordance with their high birth: they yearn for God's love; they aspire to glory; they set their feet where worldly men set their heart; they display the banner of the gospel, lifting up Christ's name and interest in the world.

7. The godly are HAPPY people

King Balak sent to curse the people of God—but the Lord would not allow it. "God said unto Balaam, You shall not curse the people: for they are blessed" (Numb. 22:12). And Moses afterwards records it as a memorable thing that God turned the king's intended curse into a blessing: "the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing unto you" (Deut. 23:5). Those who are always on the strongest side must of necessity be happy: "The Lord is on my side" (Psalm 118:6). They are happy—who have all conditions sanctified to them (Romans 8:28), who are crowned with peace while they live (Psalm 119:165) and with glory when they die (Psalm 73:24). And may this not tempt everyone to become godly? "Happy are you, O Israel: a people saved by the Lord!" (Deut. 33:29).

C. To strive for godliness is most rational

1. It is the highest act of reason, to become a Christian

If, while he remains in nature's soil, he is poisoned with sin—no more actually fit for communion with God than a toad is fit to be made an angel—then it is very consonant to reason that he should strive for a change.

2. It is rational because this change is for the better

"Now are you light in the Lord" (Eph. 5:8). Will not anyone be willing to exchange a dark prison—for a king's palace? Will he not exchange his brass—for gold? You who become godly change for the better: you change your pride—for humility; you change your uncleanness—for holiness. You change a lust that will damn you—for a Christ who will save you. If men were not besotted, if their fall had not knocked their brains out—they would see that it is the most rational thing in the world to become godly.

D. The excellence of godliness

The excellence of godliness appears in several ways:

1. Godliness is our spiritual beauty

"The beauties of holiness" (Psalm 110:3). Godliness is to the soul, what the light is to the world—to illustrate and adorn it. It is not greatness which approves us in God's eye—but goodness. What is the beauty of the angels—but their sanctity? Godliness is the intricate embroidery and workmanship of the Holy Spirit. A soul furnished with godliness is filled with beauty, it is enameled with purity. This is the clothing of wrought gold which makes the King of heaven fall in love with us. Were there no excellence in holiness, the hypocrite would never try to paint it. Godliness sheds a glory and luster on the saints. What are the graces—but the golden feathers in which Christ's dove shines! (Psalm 68:13)

2. Godliness is our defense

Grace is called "the armor of light" (Romans 13:12). It is light for beauty, and armor for defense. A Christian has armor of God's making, which cannot be shot through. He has the shield of faith, the helmet of hope, the breastplate of righteousness. This armor defends against the assaults of temptation, and the terror of hell.

3. Godliness breeds solid peace

"Great peace have those who love your law" (Psalm 119:165). Godliness composes the heart, making it quiet and calm like the upper region, where there are no winds and tempests. How can that heart be unquiet—where the Prince of Peace dwells? "Christ in you" (Col. 1:27). A holy heart may be compared to the doors of Solomon's temple, which were made of olive tree, carved with open flowers (1 Kings 6:32). The olive of peace and the open flowers of joy are in that heart.

"I have spoken these things to you so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete." John 15:11. Godliness does not destroy a Christian's joy—but refines it. His rose is without prickles, his wine without froth. He who is a favorite of heaven must of necessity be full of joy and peace. He may truly sing a sonnet to his soul and say, "Soul, take your ease" (Luke 12:19). King Ptolemy asked someone how he might be at rest when he dreamed. He replied, "Let piety be the scope of all your actions." If anyone should ask me how he should be at rest when he is awake, I would return a similar answer: "Let his soul be inlaid with godliness."

4. Godliness is the best trade we can engage in

It brings profit. Wicked men say, "It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it?" (Mal. 3:14). To be sure, there is no profit in sin: "Treasures of wickedness profit nothing" (Proverbs 10:2). But godliness is profitable (1 Tim. 4:8). It is like digging in a gold mine, where there is gain, as well as toil. Godliness makes God himself our portion: "The Lord is the portion of my inheritance" (Psalm 16:5). If God is our portion—all our estate lies in jewels! Where God gives himself, he gives everything else. Whoever has the castle, has all the royalties belonging to it. God is a portion that can be neither spent nor lost. "God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever!" (Psalm 73:26). Thus we see that godliness is a thriving trade.

And as godliness brings profit with it, so it is profitable "for all things" (1 Tim. 4:8). What else is profitable, besides godliness? Food will not give a man wisdom; gold will not give him health; honor will not give him beauty. But godliness is useful for all things: it fences off all troubles; it supplies all needs; it makes soul and body completely happy.

5. Godliness is an enduring substance

It knows no fall of the leaf. All worldly  delights have a death's-head set on them. They are only shadows and they are fleeting. Earthly comforts are like Paul's friends, who took him to the ship and left him there (Acts 20:38). So these will bring a man to his grave and then take their farewell. But godliness is a possession we cannot be robbed of. It runs parallel with eternity. Force cannot weaken it; age cannot wither it. It outbraves sufferings; it outlives death (Proverbs 10:2). Death may pluck the stalk of the body—but the flower of grace  is not hurt.

6. Godliness is so excellent that the worst men would like to have it, after they die

Though at present godliness is despised and under a cloud—yet at death all would like to be godly. A philosopher asked a young man whether he would like to be rich Croesus or virtuous  Socrates. He answered that he would like to live with Croesus—and die with Socrates. So men would like to live with the wicked in pleasure—but die with the godly: "Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!" (Numb. 23:10). If, then, godliness is so desirable at death, why should we not pursue it now?

E. There are only a few godly people

They are like the gleanings after vintage. Most receive the mark of the beast (Rev. 13:17). The devil keeps open house for all comers, and he is never without guests. This may prevail with us to be godly. If the number of the saints is so small, how we should strive to be found among these pearls! "But a remnant shall be saved" (Romans 9:27). It is better to go to heaven with the few—than to hell in the crowd! Christ's flock is a little one. "Don't be afraid, little  flock, because your Father delights to give you the kingdom!" Luke 12:32 

F. Consider how vain and contemptible other things are, which people void of godliness, busy themselves about

Men are taken up with the things of this life, and "what profit has he who has labored for the wind?" (Eccles. 5:16). Can the wind fill? What is gold but dust (Amos 2:7), which will sooner choke than satisfy? Pull off the mask of the most beautiful thing under the sun—and look what is inside. There is care and vexation! And the greatest care is still to come—and that is to give account to God. Worldly joys are as fleeting as a bubble floating down the stream.

But godliness has real worth in it. If you speak of true honor, it is to be born of God; if of true valor, it is to fight the good fight of faith; if of true delight, it is to have joy in the Holy Spirit. Oh, then, espouse godliness! Here reality is to be had. Of other things we may say, "They comfort in vain!" (Zech. 10:2)

PALM SUNDAY

PALM SUNDAY

In the New Testament you have it written that Jesus entered Jerusalem for the last time riding on a colt, the foal of an ass. Two of his disciples, acting upon the instructions of their Master, had entered a village near the Mount of Olives, and there they found the colt by the door without, in a place where two ways met. They unloosed the animal, telling those that stood by and questioned them, that the Master had need of him. Then they brought the colt to Jesus, who mounted upon its back, after some of the disciples had spread their garments thereon. It was thus that Jesus rode into Jerusalem to his death. And when the great multitude of people who were gathered to the Passover saw him coming they cut branches from the palm trees by the side of the way, and spread them on the ground before Jesus, while they cried with joyful voices: "Hosanna; blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord."

In this incident you have the origin of Palm Sunday. It is the first day of Holy Week, the week which is dedicated by the Catholic Church to the commemoration of the sufferings and death of Jesus. With the early church throughout Europe it was the custom to lay the branches of a tree upon the altar on this day, and as the palm tree does not grow in Europe, the box, the yew, and especially the willow tree, were used instead. The branches were blessed by the priest, sprinkled with holy water, and then carried in procession through the town. As part of this procession it was sometimes arranged to have a figure representing Jesus sitting upon an ass—either a living figure or one made of wood, sitting upon a wooden animal. This wooden effigy was drawn along upon wheels, and the people in the street scattered the consecrated branches before it. Flowers were sometimes used as well as the branches of trees.

It is a beautiful ceremony, this blessing of flowers and tree-branches upon Palm Sunday in memory of Christ's entry into Jerusalem, and it is one to interest all you children. But in the Middle Ages a great many unworthy things, such as the selling of palm-branches in order to avert diseases, became associated
 with Palm Sunday. Indeed, that whole week, the week that should have been so solemn and sacred, was turned into an occasion of feasting and frivolity. At the Reformation many of these unworthy things were abolished, and the ceremonies in connection with Palm Sunday were considerably modified here in England. Yet in some parts of the country it is still a custom to go a-palming—that is to say, to gather willow-branches—on the day before Palm Sunday.

With the Roman Catholic Church, however, and especially in the ceremonies at Rome during Holy Week, an important place is given to Palm Sunday. The officiating priest blesses the branches, which are then distributed. In the solemn mass that follows, the people in the congregation hold the branches in their hands to the end of the service. In most cases these consecrated branches are taken home and preserved during the year; then they are burned and the ashes used upon Ash Wednesday.

PRAYER TO START THE HOLY WEEK

Lord Jesus, You are the true Passover Lamb! Anti-type of all Types! The Reality of all Shadows, what tender longings for my welfare 

glowed in Your Heart! May my chief preparation for Communion with Thee, at Your Table, consist in a pure and ardent longing after Thee, such as may truly be called hungering and thirsting after Righteousness.  

Grant me the grace daily to remember Your earnest desire; 

yea, do Thou Thyself remind me of it by Your Holy Spirit. May my cold and insensible heart be inflamed thereby. 

Let me daily bring that evil, torpid heart to Thee, to be warmed and quickened, and to be made like-minded with Thine.  And if my wandering heart should by manifold occurrences be detained from coming to Thee throughout the day, grant that this Hour,which with desire Thou desire to see, may be the blessed Time of my enjoying Communion with Thee! May I feel it as the greatest misfortune when my Heart is estranged from Thine I May offer up all I have, and all I am, to Thee, as heartily as Thou did offer Thyself for Me! 

May I meet Shame, Suffering, and Death itself, as willingly as Thou did give up Thyself to Death for my Sake.

I pray that my heart learn to embrace and meditate on the wonderful work that you have accomplished on my behalf. Amen ! 

TWO CONCLUSIONS

TWO CONCLUSIONS

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Concerning the characteristic signs aforementioned, I shall lay down two conclusions:

1. These characteristics are a Christian's box of evidences

For as an impenitent sinner has the signs of reprobation on him, by which, as by so many spots and tokens, he may know he shall die, so whoever can show these happy signs of a godly man, may see the evidences of salvation in his soul, and may know he has "passed from death unto life" (John 5:24). He is as sure to go to heaven as if he were in heaven already. Such a person is undoubtedly a member of Christ—and if he should perish, then a member of Christ might perish. These blessed characteristics may comfort a Christian under all worldly dejection and diabolical suggestions. Satan tempts a child of God with this—that he is a hypocrite and has no title to the land of promise. A Christian may pull out these evidences and challenge the devil to prove that any wicked man or hypocrite ever had such a good certificate to show for heaven. Satan may sooner prove himself a liar, than the saint a hypocrite.

2. Whoever has one of these characteristics in truth, has everything in embryo

Whoever has one link of a chain has the whole chain.

Objection: But may a child of God say, "Either I do not have all these characteristics or else they are so faintly stamped in me that I cannot discern them"?

Answer: To satisfy this scruple you must diligently observe the distinctions which the Scripture makes between Christians. It puts them into several classes and orders. Some are little children  who have only recently begun breast-feeding on the gospel; others are young men who have grown up to more maturity of grace; others are  fathers who are ready to take their degree of glory (1 John 2:12-14). Now, you who are only in the first rank or class may still have the  vitals of godliness, as well as those who have arrived at a higher stature in Christ. 

The Scripture speaks of the cedar and the  bruised reed; the latter of which is as true a plant of the heavenly paradise, as the other. So the weakest ought not to be discouraged. Not all have these characteristics of godliness written in capital letters. If they are only faintly stamped on their souls, God can read the work of his Spirit there. Though the seal is only faintly set on the wax, it ratifies the will and gives a real conveyance of an estate. If there is found just some good thing towards the Lord (as it was said of Abijah), God will accept it (1 Kings 14:13).

A GODLY MAN STRIVES TO BE AN INSTRUMENT FOR MAKING OTHERS GODLY

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A GODLY MAN STRIVES TO BE AN INSTRUMENT FOR MAKING OTHERS GODLY

He is not content to go to heaven alone, but wants to take others there. Spiders work only for themselves—but bees  work for others. A godly man is both a diamond and a magnet—a diamond for the sparkling luster of grace, and a magnet for his attractiveness. He is always drawing others to embrace piety. Living things have a propagating virtue. Where piety lives in the heart, there will be an endeavor to propagate the life of grace in those we converse with: "My son, Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds" (Philem. 10). Though God is the  fountain of grace—yet the saints are the pipes which transmit the living streams to others.

This great effort for the conversion of souls proceeds:

From the nature of godliness

Grace is like fire--which assimilates and turns everything into its own nature. Where there is the fire of grace in the heart, it will endeavor to inflame others. Grace is a holy leaven, which will be seasoning and leavening others with divine principles. Paul would gladly have converted Agrippa—how he courted him with rhetoric! "King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do" (Acts 26:27). His zeal and eloquence had almost captivated the king (v. 28). Then Agrippa said to Paul, "Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?"

From a spirit of compassion

Grace makes the heart tender. A godly man pities those who are in the gall of bitterness. He sees what a deadly cup is brewing for the wicked! They must, without repentance, be bound over to God's wrath! The fire which rained on Sodom was but a painted fire in comparison with hell fire. This is a fire with a vengeance: "Suffering the vengeance of eternal fire" (Jude 7). Now when a godly man sees Satan's captives ready to be damned, he strives to convert them from the error of their way: "Knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men" (2 Cor. 5:11).

From a holy zeal he has for Christ's glory

The glory of Christ is as dear to him as his own salvation. Therefore, that this may be promoted--he strives with the greatest effort to bring souls to Christ.

It is a glory to Christ, when multitudes are born to him. Every star adds a luster to the sky; every convert is a member added to Christ's body, and a jewel adorning his crown. Though Christ's glory cannot be increased, as he is God—yet as he is Mediator, it may. The more that are saved, the more Christ is exalted. Why else should the angels rejoice at the conversion of a sinner—but because Christ's glory now shines the more? (Luke 15:10)  

Use 1: This excludes those who are  spiritual eunuchs from the number of the godly. They do not strive to promote the salvation of others. "The one through whom no one else is born--is himself born unworthily."

If men loved Christ, they would try to draw as many as they could to him. He who loves his captain will persuade others to come under his banner. This unmasks the hypocrite. Though a hypocrite may make a show of grace himself—yet he never bothers to procure grace in others. He is without compassion. I may allude to the verse: "Let the dying die, and the perishing perish. Let those who are left eat one another's flesh" (Zech. 11:9). Let souls go to the devil, he cares not.

How far from being godly are those who instead of striving for grace in others, work to destroy all hopeful beginnings of grace in them! Instead of drawing them to Christ, they draw them from Christ. Their work is to poison and harm souls. This harming of souls occurs in three ways:

(1) By bad edicts. So Jeroboam made Israel sin (1 Kings 16:26). He forced them to idolatry.

(2) By bad examples. Examples speak louder than precepts—but principally the examples of great men are influential. Men placed on high, are like the "pillar of cloud." When that went, Israel went. If great men live sinfully, others will follow them.

(3) By bad company. The breath of sinners is infectious. They are like the dragon which "cast a flood out of his mouth" (Rev. 12:15). They cast a flood of oaths out of their mouths. Wicked tongues are set on fire by hell (Jas. 3:6). The sinner brings match and gunpowder--and the devil brings the fire! The wicked are forever setting snares and temptations before others, as the prophet speaks in another sense: "I set pots full of wine, and cups, and I said unto them--Drink" (Jer . 35:5). So the wicked set pots of wine before others and make them drink, until reason is stupefied and lust inflamed. These who make men proselytes to the devil--are prodigiously wicked. How sad will be the doom of those who, besides their own sins, have the blood of others to answer for!

If it is the sign of a godly man to promote grace in others--then how much more ought he to promote it in his near relations. A godly man will be careful that his children should know God. He would be very sad if any of his family should burn in hell. He labors to see Christ formed in those who are himself in another edition. Augustine says that his mother Monica travailed with greater care and pain for his spiritual than for his natural birth.

The time of childhood is the fittest time to be sowing  seeds of piety in our children. "Who is it he is trying to teach? To whom is he explaining his message? To children weaned from their milk, to those just taken from the breast" (Isaiah 28:9). The wax, while it is soft and tender, will take any impression. Children, while they are young, will fear a reproof; when they are old, they will hate it.

(1) It is pleasing to God that our children should know him early in life. When you come into a garden, you love to pluck the young bud and smell it. God loves a saint in the bud. Of all the trees which the Lord could have chosen in a prophetic vision (Jer. 1:11), he chose the almond tree, which is one of the first of the trees to blossom. Such an almond tree is an early convert.

(2) By endeavoring to bring up our children in the fear of the Lord, we shall provide for God's glory when we are dead. A godly man should not only honor God while he lives—but do something that may promote God's glory when he is dead. If our children are seasoned with gracious principles, they will stand up in our place when we have gone, and will glorify God in their generation. A good piece of ground bears not only a  fore-crop but an after-crop. He who is godly does not only bear God a good crop of obedience himself while he lives—but by training his child in the principles of piety, he bears God an after-crop when he is dead.  

Use 2: Let all who have God's name placed on them, do what in them lies to advance piety in others. A knife touched with a magnet, will attract the needle. He whose heart is divinely touched with the magnet of God's Spirit, will endeavor to attract those who are near him to Christ. The heathen could say, "We are not born for ourselves only." The more excellent anything is, the more diffusive it is. In the body every member is diffusive: the eye conveys light; the head, spirits; the heart, blood. A Christian must not move altogether within his own circle—but seek the welfare of others. To be diffusively good makes us resemble God, whose sacred influence is universal.

And surely it will be no grief of heart, when conscience can witness for us that we have brought glory to God in this matter by working to fill heaven.

Not that this is in any way meritorious, or has any causal influence on our salvation. Christ's blood is the sole cause—but our promoting God's glory in the conversion of others--is a signal evidence of our salvation. As the rainbow is not a cause why God will not drown the world—but is a sign that he will not drown it; or as Rahab's scarlet thread hung out of the window (Joshua 2:18) was not a cause why she was exempted from destruction—but was a sign of her being exempted; just so, our building up others in the faith is not a cause why we are saved--but it is a symbol of our piety and a presage of our eternal felicity!

And thus I have shown the marks and characteristics of a godly man. If a person thus described is reputed a fanatic, then Abraham and Moses and David and Paul were fanatics, which I think none but atheists will dare to affirm!