fanctification, and that you may be holy. More particularly, for motives, confider the neceflity of holiness in these following particulars.

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(1.) It is neceffary in refpect of God; and here (to use the method of a great divine on this head) confider how the will of God, the love of God, the glory of God, obliges you in particular, believer, to live unto God. 1. The fovereign will of God obliges you to holiness, 1 Theff. iv. 3. This is the will of God, even your fanctification. It is the will of God the Father; he hath ordained it: We are his workmanship, created in Chrift Jefus unto good works, which God before had ordained that we should walk therein. It is the will of God the Son, John xv. 16. I have ordained you that ye should bring forth fruit, and that it should remain. It is the will of God the Holy Ghoft, whom we grieve by our fins, if we do not ftudy holiness. 2. The love of God obliges you to holiness; yea, this is the end of the electing love of the Father, the purchafing love of the Son, and the operating love of the Holy Ghoft. It is the peculiar end of the electing love of the Father, who hath chofen us, that we should be holy and unblameable, Epb. i. 4. before him in love; he hath chofen us to falvation, through fanctification of the Spirit. It is the peculiar end of the purchafing love of the Son, who gave bimfelf for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify to himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works, Tit. ii. 14. And who loved his Church, and gave himfelf for it, that he might fanctify and cleanfe it by the washing of water, and prefent it to bimfelf a glorious church, not having pot nor wrinkle, nor any fuch thing, but that it should be holy and with-out blemish, Eph. v. 25, 26, 27. It is also the pe

culiar end of the operating love of the Holy Ghost, his whole work in us, and for us, confifting in preparing us for, and enabling us to the duties of holinefs, and bringing forth the fruit thereof in us. Believer, if you have any regard to the fovereignty of God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, any regard to the love of God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, it obliges you to holiness of heart and life. 3. The glory of God obliges you to holiness, and makes it neceffary. Would you glorify the Father, then let your light fo fhine before men, that they seeing your good works, may glorify God. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit. Would you glorify the Son? It is the will of God, that all men honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. And how is this done? Even by believing in him, and obeying him; Ye are my friends, ye evidence yourselves to be so, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Would you glorify the Holy Ghoft? It is by ftudying holiness; for we are his temple, and holiness becomes his house and temple for ever; and he is dishonoured when his temple is defiled. Surely, believer, when I fpeak to you, I cannot be fuppofed to fpeak to one, that neither regards the fovereign will, love nor glory of God, Father, Son and Holy Ghoft; though your holiness fhould all be loft, and never regarded, which is impoffible, yet here is reafon enough for it.

(2.) In refpect of yourselves, you're neceffarily obliged to holiness; your own honour and peace are concerned here: It is gainful; Godliness is great gain, baving the promise of this life and that which is It is pleafant; For wildom's ways are pleafantnefs, and all her paths are peace. There is no peace, faith my God, to the wicked; but the fruit of

to come.

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righteousness is peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and affurance for ever. Yea, it is honourable, and the greatest honour you can be advanced unto; to be holy is to be like unto God.

(3.) In refpect of others, you're obliged to holinefs; it may tend to their conviction and converfion. On the one hand, it may tend to their conviction, and to stop their mouths, who are enemies of God, and that both here and hereafter. 1. It may stop their mouths here, as you fee, 1 Pet. ii. 15. This is the will of God, that with well-doing, you may put to filence the ignorance of foolish men. Ignorant fools may call you hypocrites, they may call you Antinomians, and enemies to the law: Now, by welldoing, you give them an unanfwerable document, that tho' you be dead to the law as a covenant, yet you put honour upon the law as a rule of holiness, and fo make them afhamed of their bafe calumny, according to that, 2 Pet. iii. 16. Having a good conScience, that whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falfly accufe your good converfation in Chrift. And, 2. Hereafter, in the day of judgment, it is faid, the faints fhall judge the world, not only as they will be affeffors with the Son of God, and applaud him in all his judicial proceedings; but in regard their holiness and good works will tend to the confufion and conviction of the wicked: And indeed the good works of the faints will meet them one day, with fo changed a countenance, that they fhall fcarce know them: They see them now to be all black, defiled and deformed; but they will then be brought forth beautiful and glorious, to the fhame of the wicked, Matth. xxv. On the other hand, your holiness may tend to the converfion of others, 1 Pet. ii. 12. The

holiness

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holiness of profeffors hath fometimes tended to the converfion of the profane, who, when the day of their gracious vifitation hath come, have glorified God upon that account, 1 Pet. iii. 1, 2. and therefore fays Paul, Tit. iii. 18. This is a faithful faying, and thefe things I will, that thou affirm conftantly, that they which have believed in God, be careful to maintain good works; for these things are good and profitable unto men.

(4.) In refpect of your fate, you stand obliged to holiness. Are you in a juftified ftate, accepted into friendship with a holy God, of purer eyes than to behold iniquity? Should you not evidence your juftification by your fanctification? Is it not neceffary that you fhould be holy, if you dwell in the prefence, walk in the fight, and lie in the bofom of fuch a holy God? Are you in a fanctified state? Wherefore was you regenerated? Wherefore got you a new heart, and a new nature, and a holy principle of grace, but that you fhould be holy? Are you in an adopted state? Why fo? but that you should live like the children of God, and be followers of God, as dear children? O, was you not juftified, adopted, and fanctified for this end, that you might live unto God? If we be believers, what a fhame is it for us, to live fo unfuitably to our state, as many times we do? Is that all the thanks we give to God for his favours, that we should trample his ftatutes under our feet, dishonour his name, break his law, and grieve his Spirit? It does not become you, it is not like you, believer. He hath loved you with an everlasting love, and drawn you with loving-kindness; will you act like a devil in enmity against him, becaufe he hath acted like a God of love towards you?

O fy for fhame, believer, Tell it not in Gath, &c. Have we not the hope of glory? And fhall we not, having this hope, purify ourfelves, even as he is pure? Are we partakers of the precious promifes? Then, having these promifes, dearly beloved, let us cleanfe ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh, &c. Are we heirs of glory? And thall we not feek to have our right and title unto glory cleared? Rev. xxii. 14. Bleffed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates to the city; that is, either that your right may be made evident, according to that word, Ye are my friends, if ye do whatfoever I command you; that is, you thus evidence yourselves to be my friends; or, concerning this right, know there is a right of merit and a right of meetness, both neceffary; a right of merit, believer, you have not in yourself, but in Chrift; and that is eftablished in juftification, through the righteousness of Chrift; a right of meetness you must have in yourfelf from Chrift, and that is in fanctification and holiness: What shall I fay? Are you not dead to the law, that you may live unto God? Are you not to teflify your gratitude towards him, that hath provided another law-righteoufnefs than your own? Are you not to feparate yourself from the world, that are walking in the broad way to hell and damnation, and under the curfe of the law and the wrath of God? Are you not delivered from the wrath to come, and of all men in the world under the greatest obligations to be holy? Should you not study to please that God who hath pitied you? Hath he not washed you in his blood, and ought you not, through his grace, to study to let it be known to the world, that