he goes through it without fear, without Caligula's Quo vadis? Though riches, honours, and all the glories of this world are with a man, yet he fears, yea, he fears the more for these, because here they must end. But the good man looks death out of countenance, in the words of David: Though I walk through the valley and shadow of death, yet will I fear no evil, for Thou art with me.

1 Evidently alluding to Adrian's "Farewell to his Soul," to which also he alludes in the close of his sermon on Isaiah lx. 1, without naming Adrian, "Quo nunc abibis? Whither goest thou? said that Emperor to his soul." The address runs thus :

Animula, vagula, blandula
Hospes comesque corporis,
Quae nunc abibis in loca
Pallidula, rigida, nudula,
Nec ut soles dabis joca.

Pope has imitated the address in his ode of The Dying Christian to his Soul-" Vital spark of heavenly flame," etc.

II.

HOLINESS.

Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.-2 COR. VII. 1.

Ir is a thing both of unspeakable sweetness and usefulness for a Christian often to consider the excellency of that estate to which he is called. It cannot fail to put him upon very high resolutions, and carry him on in the Divine ambition of being daily more suitable to his high calling and hopes. Therefore, these are often set before Christians in the Scripture, and are pressed here by the Apostle upon a particular occasion of the avoidance of near combinements with unbelievers. He mentions some choice promises that God makes to His own people, and of their near relation to, and communion with, Himself; and upon these he enlarges and raises the exhortation to the universal endeavour of all holiness, and that, as aiming at the very top and high degree of it.

G

In the words are-1. The Thing to which he would persuade. 2. The Motive.

I. The THING-Holiness in its full extension and intention; purging ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, and perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

The purging out of filthiness and perfecting of holiness express, as usually they are distinguished, those two parts of renewing grace, Mortification and Vivification. But I conceive they are not so truly different parts as a different notion of the same thing, the decrease of sin and the increase of grace being truly one thing, as the dispelling of darkness and augmenting of light. So here, the one is rendered as the necessary result, yea, as the equivalent of the other; the same thing indeed, purging from filthiness, and in so doing perfecting holiness: perfecting holiness and in so doing purging from filthiness; that perfection, by which is meant a growing, progressive advance towards perfection.

The words, without straining, give us, as it were, the several dimensions of holiness: the breadth,purging all filthiness; the length parallel to man's composure, running all along through his soul and body, purging filthiness of the flesh and spirit:

the height, perfecting holiness: the depth, that which is the bottom whence it rises up, a deep impress of the fear of God, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Cleanse ourselves.-It is the Lord that is the Sanctifier of His people; He purges away their dross and tin, He pours clean water, according to His promises, yet doth He call us to cleanse ourselves even having such promises, let us cleanse ourselves. He puts a new life into us and causes us to act, and excites us to excite it and call it up to act in the progress of sanctification. Men are strangely inclined to a perverse construction of things; tell them that we are to act, and work, and give diligence, then they would fancy a doing in their own strength and be their own saviours. Again, tell them that God works all our works in us, and for us, then they would take the ease of doing nothing; if they cannot have the praise of doing all, they will sit still with folded hands and use no diligence at all. But this is the corrupt logic of the flesh, its base sophistry. The Apostle reasons just contrary, Phil. ii. 12, It is God that worketh in us both to will and to do; therefore, would a carnal heart say, we need not work, or at least may work very carelessly. But he infers, Therefore let us work out our salvation with fear

and trembling, in the more humble obedience to God and dependence on Him, not obstructing the influences of His grace, and by sloth and negligence provoking Him to withdraw or abate it. Certainly many in whom there is truth of grace are kept low in the growth of it by their own slothfulness, sitting still, and not bestirring themselves and exercising the proper actions of that spiritual life by which it is entertained and advanced.

From all filthiness.-All kind of sinful pollutions; not, as men commonly do, reform some things and take to themselves dispensations in others, at least in some one peculiar sin, their Mistress and their Herodias, their Delilah. No parting with that; yea, they rather forego many other things, as a kind of composition for the retaining of that.

Of flesh and spirit.-The whole man must be purified and consecrated to God; not only refined from the gross outward acts, but from the inward affection to it, and motions of it, that so the heart go not after it (Psalm cxxxi.), which under restraints of outward committing sin it may do, and very often does; as the Israelites lusted after the flesh-pots, their hearts remained in Egypt still, though their bodies were brought out. This is then to be done; affection to sin to be purged out,