438 Ifa. 55.6. 1'John i 2. Vie 2. Hopes 4nchQr-hold, or, Is this fo, then here is the iffue of this plea í It is this, that thereforenow ifever now eirnever,wemuff leek to fee whetherwe have thefe -feeds ofGrace in us yea or no; We muffgetthem,and we muft Pet them, and we muft fee to them; boththat they come up, and how they come up, and how they come on: Now is the time when the fpccial care muft be taken concerning thefefeedsofGrace. 1f we will be. lieve, we muff believenow,for hereafter there will be no time to believeanymore : If we will bechildren ofGrace we muft be it now ; for hereafterth'eie will be no (pace for Grace therefore faith the Lord, now while,he will be found; and he will be found of thofe thatfeek him ; and feekñim now, for NOW is the acceptable time, NOW ú the day offalliation : when the date of this day,,; when the day of this life of fàlvation is down, ispart, then there is no more fecking, then there is no more find- ing; therefore if thou wilt be faithful,be it now ; if thou wilt be fruitfll,beit now, now we are the Sons of God ; as if he fhould fay, if webenot the Sons ofGod now, we (hall never be. Is this fo,add a further degree to this duty inthe nest place,and that is; when you have gotten thefe feeds in you, to examine and prove your felves whether they he there ; not onely fo ; but whether they abide there; not onlyfo, but whether they live there, and not only fo, but whether they grow and live there,: they rnuft not only be, but theymuft continue there and abide; andthey muft not only be, and a. bide,but theymuft bealive there and not dead ; and they Inuit not only bealive, but they muff thrive-too, and not be idle: for ifthefe things be inyou, they willmake you neither idle nor unfruitful in the work of the Lord.. Haft thouFaith.? be fore thou haft it,and then/hew methy faith by thefruits ofit, Asew me that it is not a dead faith, thatfaith cannotfavethee; do not think it fhall,for Saint ,ames explodethit for aJeft,that any Chriftian fhould think fo.hlaft thou love?look thou haft it,and let thy love abound; letthy love be love unfeigned, for as thereisawork offaith, fo there is a labourof love. Haft thou hope ? let it befledfafl,entring intothat within the vail,as an Anchorfirm and ftable,fothe Apoftle faith. Haft thouknowledge?Look itbe Ea- sing knowledge,fan&ifying knowledge; fuch as will favourand feafon.all the reff of. thy knowlege: And letnot thy knowledge be only fo,but let it begrowing too; let 1 it thrive andprofper, get more to it, or elfe thou doll not husband thebufinefs well; thoumull go (according to the phrafe of theHoly Ghoft in the Pfalm)fromfirength I to firengab,as a good Soutdierand Commander goeth from one watch-towertoano- thee tofee ifatl be well ; Gofromfirength toflrengtb,tillthou appear before God inZi- on. With this the Apoihie Saint Peter conclsideth his latter Epiffle, buegrow in graces and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour fefut Chrifi : this is the dutyof a Chriftian. Wilt thouhave Chrift to be the obje&, either of thy faithor hope, and wilt thou not grow then in thefe ? W, ,onprogredi eft regredi, 1Vot to goforward is to go backward ; and not togrow the better, is togrow the,wor(e. , The contemplationof thefetwo points fhould teach Chriltians,a Chriftian fedu- lity, to kindle, to keep that grace that is in them; and it fhould kill carnal fecu- city. I. A Chriffianfedulity,acare,aftrife,aninduftry ,anendeavourtobeChriftians in- deed, to improve their talents ; Let everyman in that calling whereto be is called, thereinabide; he mutt not give itout : IseArchippur called tobe a Minifter? then fay toArchippies, take heedto the miniflry that thou haft received, that thoufulfil it ; and fo it belongeth to every man elfe to perform theduty and office ofhis place, and not togo backwards, but to ufe diligence, and endeavour for theencreafing of his gifts, that he benot barren, nor unfruitfulin Gods Vineyard. z. It ferveth on the other fide to kill that carnal fecurity that is in men. It is a ftrange thing to conceive, that Chriftians are grown to filch fecurity as they are, that they fhouldbe fo fupine and negligent in their Cervices; I fay it is a lamentable cafe ; and I do wonder the more, that they fhould betaken with this kindof teanf- grefiion, when I confider that Paying of a Father, that there is fecurity in noplace: there is no fecurity in heaven,nor tnParadife,muchlefs in the world ; in heaven the Angelsfell; in Paradife Adam fell,inthe world ludic, fell ; 7udat,I hefell from the in- ftitutionof the beftSchool,andSchool-matter that ever was in thewerld;thereisr s manner 2 Pet. i. S.
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