Application.

2. As it is a duty.

Use 1: It showeth the folly of them who count an earnest pursuance of eternal life to be more than needs, and that a little holiness will serve the turn. Oh no! A christian should always be growing and always improving, still pressing nearer and nearer towards the mark, going on from strength to strength. There is no nimium [too much] in holiness; you cannot have too much holiness, or too much of the love of God, nor of the fear of God, nor of faith in him.

There are many that come near and never enter: Luke xiii. 24, ‘Strive to enter in at the strait gate; for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.’ Certainly he that knoweth what was lost in Adam, and must be recovered in Christ, cannot think he can do enough or too much.

How hard a matter is it to keep what we have! Such is the vanity, lightness, and inconstancy of our hearts in good, and so furious are the assaults of sundry temptations, and so great is our impotency to resist them; our proneness to turn from the ways of God so great; so strong, subtle and assiduous are our spiritual adversaries; so many are these difficulties, discouragements, diversions, and hindrances which we have to wrestle with and overcome in the way to heaven, that it concerneth us to give all diligence to advance in our christian course.

Once more, there is so much promised, that certainly a man knoweth not what christianity meaneth if he striveth not to be more holy. So exact is our rule, and strict, so holy is our God, so great are our obligations from all the means and providences of God, that such a vain [useless] conceit cannot possess the soul of a serious christian.

Use 2: It reproveth those who, if they have gotten such a measure of grace, whereby they think they may be assured they are in a state of grace, they never look further, but set up their rest, and think hereafter Christ will make them perfect when they die. Consider—

Use 3: It showeth the miserable estate of them that do not go strength to strength, but from weakness to weakness; that waste their strength by sin, that are fallen back, and have lost the savouriness of their spirits, and their delight in communion with God, and grow more careless and neglectful of holy things, weak in faith, impatient under the cross, formal in holy duties; their heart is not watched, their tongue is not bridled, their conversation is more vain [useless], they wax worse and worse. Oh! take heed of such a declining estate. When men fall from their first love: Rev. ii. 4, ‘I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.’ First faith: 1 Tim. v .12, ‘Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith.’ Or first obedience: 2 Chron. xvii. 3, ‘The Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David.’ David in his later time fell into scandalous crimes.

Use 4: Is to persuade you to go on from strength to strength. It is the gift of God’s free grace, and the work of the Spirit: Eph. iii. 16, ‘That he would grant you to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man.’ By maintaining and actuating grace, notwithstanding all difficulties.

3. To negligent and sensual worldlings, who wholly busy themselves about the matters of this life, and are hurried hither and thither: Ps. xxxix. 6, ‘Surely every man walketh in a vain show; they are disquieted in vain.’ Our life is but a picture, image, shadow, or dream of life; it vanisheth in a trice. All must be suddenly parted with here, all the riches and honours; and yet we cark and labour and turmoil to get these transitory things, as if they would continue with us to all eternity, and had some durable satisfaction in them. Present pleasures and profits cloud our minds, and till we can get this veil drawn aside, this cloud scattered, we do not discern our mistake. Oh, consider who “would redeem the short pleasure of a dream with the torment of many days!

Our days upon earth are as a shadow, and yet this shadow do we cleave to instead of the substance, and though earthly things be short in their continuance, and uncomfortable in their end, yet these take up our life, and love, and care, and thoughts. Just as those that want children take pleasure in keeping little dogs and cats, so do they embrace the shadow for the substance, vainglory for eternal glory, a little pelf for the true riches, a little paltry business for the great work and end of our lives; and when all is done, it is but a spider’s web, Job viii. 14. The trust of the carnal man shall be but as the spider’s web. As the spider out of his own bowels weaveth a web to catch flies, and frameth it with a great deal of art, but it is gone with the turn of the besom [a broom made of twigs tied around a stick], so is the fruit of all their plots, and cares, and labours, and running up and down, when in the meantime we are unmindful of eternity.

Oh, when will these distracting worldlings find a time for God and everlasting happiness? Childhood is not serious enough, youth must take their pleasure, manly age is too full of business, and old age is too feeble.

4. It reproveth God’s children, who are too lazy, and have not that life and seriousness in a spiritual business which they have in an earthly. If eternity be your aim, why are you so dead and dull in a course of holiness? The apostle biddeth Timothy to follow after holiness: ‘To fight the good fight, to lay hold on eternal life,’ 1 Tim. vi. 12; implying if the one were his aim, he would do the other.

If we press towards the mark, why are we so frozen and cold in our zeal for God, so inclinable to every motion of sin, so easily overcome by temptations? Alas! making eternal things our scope is but a notion, unless we provide forthwith with greater care, exactness, and diligence. There should be a suitableness and proportion between the exactness of our conversation [behavior] and the greatness of our hopes: 1 Thes. ii. 12, ‘Walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.’ That worthiness is the worthiness of condignity [as if our reward for works was heaven], congruity [appropriateness], and condecency [the decency of living a holy life].

But alas! do we labour as for eternity? so follow after righteousness, so fight the good fight of faith, so despise the world, deny ourselves, run through all straits, triumph over all difficulties, mortify and subdue our own carnal inclinations? Alas! we are so bold in sinning, so cold in holy things, and do so little exercise ourselves unto godliness, as if we had no such great matters in view and chase; and carry it so as if our hopes were only in this world, and not as if the eternal God had promised these eternal things to us. Surely if our belief of them were stronger we should be other persons than we are, in all holy conversation and godliness, 2 Peter iii. 11.

Use 1. This shows us the reason of that presumption which is so common. We used to say that despair kills thousands, but presumption its ten thousands. What’s the reason that many presume? O the difficulties of salvation are not well weighed. True hope is a middle thing between presumption and despair. … Hope considers its object as hard, for that which is easy to come by is as if it were already enjoyed; a man cannot be said to hope for that which he may have with the turn of his hand. Well then, it considers the good to come as difficult, to awaken diligence and serious endeavours; but then it considers it as possible, for otherwise we are really discouraged from looking after it; for why should we look after that which is impossible? Paul’s mariners gave over working when all hope that they should be saved was taken away, Acts 27.20.

But now presumption leaves out the difficulty, and reflects only upon the possibility: some may be saved, surely God will not damn all his creatures, therefore I shall be saved: but suppose the contrary, few are saved, then what shall become of me?

On the other side, despair reflects only upon the difficulty, and leaves out the possibility: O it is hard, it is impossible with men, therefore they give it over! I shall make no work of it, saith despair. Now the scripture that would breed and nourish in us a true hope, doth all along lay forth the difficulty, to prevent slightness of spirit, and yet represents the possibility to prevent despair: the difficulties to quicken our endeavours, and the possibility to encourage men to hope for the grace of God.

Use 2. It presseth us to mortify our addictedness to present things. O Christians! If you could overcome the world, you pluck out the root of all temptations, and then the commandments of God would not be grievous, John 5:3-4, ‘For this is the victory whereby we overcome the world, even our faith’. The world is the great let [preventer] which hinders us from keeping the command, from being so exact, punctual, and sincere with God: overcome the world, and the work will be easy.

Take heed of pleasing the flesh, or letting the world have too great an interest in your hearts; let it not seem a great thing in your eye. Until your hearts are drawn off from present things, and you are wholly baptized into that spirit that suits with the world to come, to make that your main care and desire, you will never prosper in heavens way, until your thoughts be loosened from the world, and you are carried out more to heaven and heavenly things. Consider, why should you be addicted to present things? You that are strangers and not inhabitants, your happiness lies not here; if our hopes were only in this life, we were of all men most miserable, 1 Cor. 15.19. We are but probationers for heaven: our conversation [behavior] should be in heaven, Phil. 3.20.

Use 3. To fortify us against the difficulties in the way of salvation. You must be at some pains and labour, John 6:27, ‘Labour not for the meat that perisheth, but for that meat that endureth unto everlasting life’: do not slacken your endeavours. To quicken you, consider

Use 4. Let us look to our own selves, how is it with us? Are we in the way to hell or heaven? Let us look to our own standing, do we leave the boat to the stream? Do we give up our selves to the sway of our corrupt and carnal affections? Or else do we row against the stream and current of flesh and blood? It is no easy matter to be saved.

I do not ask now what will become of those that never minded salvation; that never busied their thoughts about it; but even in effect say, Let them take heaven that list [will]: but I ask, what will become of those slothful perfunctory Christians that count a little slight and formal religion enough, which is without any life, alacrity and power? Will this do the deed? Such will fall short of heaven.