Chap. 12. die and expire. Hence it appears, that an holy Man as long as his Faith discovers a vanity and nothingness in the fairest profpects of the World, must needs overcome the World, and the lufts of it. Again, An holy Man, according to that fupernatural Confecration which is upon him, furrenders up his Love, and Joy, and Delight to God and Chrift and Heavenly things; the stream of his Heart, which before run out upon the lying vanities here below, is now turned to the excellent things above; his Conversation is in Heaven; his Treasure and his Heart are both there; and then what must become of Sin? must it not needs die away, and become as a Body without a Spirit in it? It is the Love, and the Joy, and the Delight of Man which animate Sin; but if these are not here any longer, but rifen and gone away into the upper World, to place and center themselves upon the excellent objects which are there, then Sin must needs languish and die away; it hath nothing to animate or enliven it any more: were this Divine furrender in perfection, Sin could not fo much as be; and proportionably where it is but in truth only, Sin must needs grow heartless and powerlefs. Notable is that of the Apoftle, Walk in the Spirit, i. e. in the Elevations of holy Faith and Love, and ye shall not fulfill the lufts of Flesh, Gal. 5. 16. Sin fhall grow weak, and by little and little give up the Ghost.

To conclude this Character; An holy Man, which way foever he looks, fees juft reafon to mortify Sin; the rectitude of the Law faith, It must die for its crookedness and ataxy: the threatning of Death faith, It muft die, or the Soul muft die in the room of it. The bleeding Wounds of our dying Lord fay,That the Crucifier must not be fpared,but die after that manner.

That

any

That excellent Gueft, the holy Spirit, faith, It is too Chap. 12. vile a thing to live under the fame roof with it self. The precious immortal Soul faith, The wounds and. turpitudes of it are too intolerable to be endured longer. Heaven, that bleffed Region, faith, It is not to be tolerated by any who mean to enter into that place: We must then mortifie the deeds of the Body,.. that we may live, Rom. 8. 13. that we may live a Life of Holiness here, and a Life of Glory in another. World.

Sixthly, An holy Life is not made up of the Exer-cife of this or that Grace in particular; but of the Exercise of all Graces, pro hic & nunc, as occafion ferves. St. Peter faith, That we must add to our Faith Vertue, to Vertue Knowledge, to Knowledge Tempe rance, to Temperance Patience, to Patience Godliness, to Godliness Brotherly kindness, and to Brotherly kindnefs Charity, 2 Pet. 1. 5, 6, 7. Holy Men, who are partakers of the Divine Nature,fpoken of immediateTy before, have Grace upon Grace; and must, as occafion ferves, exercise one after another, that there may be a Constellation of Graces appearing in their Lives, to give the more full refemblance of the Perfections which are in their Father in Heaven; our Saviour Christ (in whom all Graces are fet forth in lively and Orient colours, and are really and practi-.. cally exemplified to our view) had this character juft ly given him, he went up and down down doing good; every step one odour of Grace or other brake forth from him: Subjection to Parents or Magiftrates, or Zeal towards God, or Humility in washing his Di-fciples feet, or Meeknefs under falfe Accufations, or melting Compaffions letting out cures on the Bodies and Heavenly truths on the Souls of Men, or admi

rable

;

Chap. 12. rable Patience under great forrows and sufferings; one glorious way of Holiness or other was always coming from him: Proportionably, an holy Man, Who is a living Member of Christ,must be in his meafure holy in all manner of Converfation, 1 Pet. 1. 15. *In the Original it is, más vase, which way foever he turn himself, he must be holy in it: he muft have a refpect to God at every turn; this will beft appear by the particular parts of his Life.

ἐν

Take an holy Man in Divine Ordinances, there he is holy: He would first be fure that he is in a right Church, and in a right Ordinance; in a right Church; for there the Lord commands the Bleffing, even_Life for evermore; in a right Ordinance, for unless the Institution be from God, the Benediction cannot be expected from him: and then he would ferve God in a right manner, and fanctify his Name in his approaches; when he comes to an Ordinance, he hath high thoughts of God, as being the Infinite Majefty of Heaven, the Excellency of all Perfections; one whom Angels adore,and Devils tremble at: accordingly he lies low before God; he ferves him with Reverence and godly Fear; he draws nigh to him, yet forgets not the infinite diftance between them; he blushes to think that he must go before fo pure a Majefty, with the duft of Mortality about him: and again he blushes to think, that he muft do fo in the fpots and rags of many Infirmities, which being in the Soul are much more abafive than those in the Body. The Beams of the Divine Glory ftrike an holy awe into him, and make him conclude, That a Soul, though entirely given up, is to God but a little, very little thing; but as a Beam to the Sun, or a drop to the Ocean; and,

which is matter of more fhame and abasement; the Chap. 12. Soul is much less, in that the innate corruption holds back, and the bewitching World steals away a great deal of it from God: very little or rather nothing it is, that we can give to him; however the holy Man, fuch is his Divine temper, would not abate any thing, but endeavour in Ordinances to give God his Spirit and highest Intention; he knows that God is a Spirit, and meer bodily worship is as nothing to him: what is the bowing of the Knee, when there is an Iron Sinew of Rebellion within? or the lifting up of the Hands orEyes,when there is an earthly depreffion upon the affections? towhat purpose is an open Ear,when the Heart is deaf and fhut up against holy Truths? And what a fhadow, a meer lye in worthip is the Body, when the Mind is stole away and gone after Vanity? He therefore fets himself to ferve God in fpirit and truth; while God is speaking to him in his Sacred Word, he would have no converfe at all with worldly objects; he bids these stand by, and not interrupt his attention, while he is fpeaking to God in prayer; he would not only pour out words to God, but his very Heart and Spirit, if it were poffible, all of it, without referving fo much as a glance or a piece of a broken thought towards carnal things; a Duty to the Great God is a thing of vast import and confequence; therefore he would do it with the greatest strength of intention and affection. David like he calls upon his Soul, and all that is within him to intend the thing in hand; but because when he hath done his utmoft, there will yet be many failures and infirmities; the holy Man looks up to Mercy for a Pardon, and offers up all his Duties in and through Jefus Chrift the great Mediator. In the Old Te

Iii

ftament

Chap. 12.

stament the holy Man prayed thus, Remember, O my God, and spare me, Neh. 13. 22. Enter not into judgment with thy Servant, Pfal.143.2. If thou, Lord, fhouldeft mark iniquities,who shall stand? Pfal.130.3. The fenfe of their many imperfections made them fly to a Mercy-feat: In the New Testament we are exprefly directed, To do all in the Name of the Lord Jefus, Col. 3. 17. To make our approaches to God in and through him, Eph. 2. 18. To offer up spiritual Sacrifices acceptable to God by him, 1 Pet. 2. 5. Every Duty must be tendred unto God in and through the Mediator: therefore the holy Man doth not stand upon the Perfection of his Services, but implore a Pardon of his Infirmities; neither doth he tender his Services immediately unto God, but he puts them into the hand of Chrift, that being perfumed, and as it were, glorified by his merits, they might from thence afcend up before God, and be graciously accepted by him. Moreover, because Ordinances are but Medium's and Chanels of Grace, the Holy Man in the use of them lifts up his Eyes to God, to have them filled with the Divine Spirit and Bleffing; a meer outward Sanctuary of Ordinances will not ferve his turn; he would fee the Power and the Glory, the goings of God in it: He cannot live by Bread only; not the Life of Nature by the Bread of Creatures only; not the Life of Grace by the Bread of Ordinances only: in both he waits for that word of Blessing, which proceeds out of God's Mouth; this is that which makes the Ordinance communicate Grace and Comfort to us: When the Word is preached, it is not enough to the holy Man to have the Sacred Truths outwardly propofed, or to hear the voice of a Man teaching the fame; but his Heart

and