Chapter 6
Use 1. From all that has been said, I would draw three great Uses.
First, Such as are still in their natural estate, who never yet did relish any sweetness in the things of God; let me beseech them in the bowels of Christ, that they would labor to get these Characters of the Godly, engraven upon their hearts; though godliness be the object of the worlds scorn and hated (as in Tertullian's days, the name of a Christian was a crime) yet be not ashamed to espouse godliness; know, that persecuted godliness, is better than prosperous wickedness; what will all the world avail a man, without godliness? To be learned and ungodly, is like a Devil transformed into an Angel of light; to be beautiful and ungodly, is like a fair picture hung in an infected room; to be honorable in the world and ungodly, is like an Ape in purple, or like that Image, which had a head of gold upon feet of clay; it is godliness, that ennobles and consecrates the heart, making God and Angels fall in love with it.
Labor for the reality of godliness, rest not in the common workings of God's spirit; think not that it is enough to be intelligent and discursive, a man may discourse of Religion to the admiration of others, yet not feel the sweetness of those things in his own Soul: the Lute gives a melodious sound to others, but is not at all sensible of the sound itself; Judas could make an elegant discourse of Christ, but did not feel virtue from him.
Rest not in having your affections a little stirred; an hypocrite may have affections of sorrow, as Ahab; affections of desire, as Balaam, these are slight and flashy, and do not amount to real godliness. Oh I labor to be as the King's daughter, glorious within, Psalm 45:13.
That I may persuade the sons of men to become godly, I shall lay down some forcible Motives and Arguments, and the Lord make them as nails fastened by his spirit.
1. Let men seriously weigh their misery, while they remain in a state of ungodliness; which may make them hasten out of this Sodom: the misery of ungodly men appears in nine particulars.
1. They are in a state of death, Ephesians 2:1. dead in Trespasses: dead they must needs be, who are cut off from Christ, the principle of life; for as the body without the soul is dead, so is the soul without Christ. This spiritual death is visible in the effect, it bereaves men of their senses: sinners have no sense of God in them, Ephesians 4:19. who being without feeling: all their moral endowments, are but strewing flowers upon a dead corpse; and what is hell, but a sepulchre to bury the dead in.
2. Their offerings are polluted; not only the Plowing, but the praying of the wicked is sin, Proverbs 15:8. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord: If the water be foul in the well, it cannot be clean in the bucket; if the heart be full of sin, the duties cannot be pure: In what a strait is every ungodly person, if he does not come to the Ordinance, he is a contemner of it, if he does come, he is a defiler of it.
3. Such as live and die ungodly, have no right to the Covenant of Grace, Ephesians 2:12. At that time ye were without Christ, strangers from the Covenants of Promise. And to be without Covenant, is to be like one in the old World, without an Ark. The Covenant is the Gospel-Charter, which is enriched with many glorious privileges, but who may plead the benefit of this Covenant? Surely only such whose hearts are inlaid with grace. Read the Charter, Ezekiel 36:26. A new heart will I give you, and I will put my spirit within you: Then it follows, verse 28. I will be your God. A person dying in his ungodliness, has no more to do with the New Covenant, than a Plowman has to do with the privileges of a Corporation.
God's Writing is always before his Seal, 2 Corinthians 3:3. You are declared to be the Epistle of Christ, written not with ink, but with the spirit of the living God, not in Tables of stone, but in fleshy Tables of the heart. Here is a golden Epistle, the writing is the work of Faith, the Table it is written in, is the heart, the finger that writes it is the spirit: Now, after the Spirit's writing, follows the Spirit's sealing, Ephesians 1:13. After you believed you were sealed with the Spirit; that is, you were sealed up to an assurance of glory: What have ungodly men to do with the seal of the Covenant, who have not the writing?
4. The ungodly are spiritual fools; Psalm 75:4. I said to the fools deal not foolishly, and to the wicked, lift not up the horn. If one had a Child very beautiful, yet if he were a fool, the Parent would take little joy in him: The Scripture has dressed the Sinner in a Fool's Coat; and let me tell you, better be a fool void of Reason, than a fool void of Grace: This is the Devil's fool, Proverbs 14:9. Is not he a fool who refuses a rich portion? God offers Christ and Salvation, but the Sinner refuses this portion, Psalm 81:11. Israel would none of me. Is not he a fool who prefers an Annuity before an Inheritance? Is not he a fool who tends his mortal part, and neglects his Angelical part? As if one should paint the wall of his house, and let the Timber rot: Is not he a fool who will feed the Devil with his Soul? As that Emperor who fed his Lion with Pheasant: Is not he a fool who lays a snare for himself? Proverbs 1:18. Who consults his own shame, Habakkuk 2:10. who loves death, Proverbs 8:36.
5. The ungodly are vile persons, Nahum 1:14. I will make your grave, for you are vile. It makes men base, it blots their name, it taints their blood, Psalm 14:3. They are altogether become filthy: In the Hebrew it is, rancidi facti sunt, they are become stinking. Call wicked men never so bad, you cannot call them out of their name; they are swine, Matthew 7:6. Vipers, Matthew 3:7. Devils, John 6:70. The wicked are scoria & gluma, the dross and refuse, Psalm 119:119. And heaven is too pure to have any dross mingle with it.
6. Their Temporal Mercies are continued in Judgment: The wicked may have health and estate, yea more than heart can wish, Psalm 73:7. But their Table is a snare, Psalm 69:22. Sinners have their mercies with God's leave, but not with his love: The people of Israel had better been without their Quails, than to have had such sour sauce. The ungodly are Usurpers, they want a spiritual Title to what they possess; their good things are like cloth taken up at the Drapers, which is not paid for; death will bring in a sad reckoning at last.
7. Their Temporal Judgments are not removed in Mercy: Pharaoh had ten Arrows shot at him (ten Plagues) and all those Plagues were removed, but his heart remaining hard those Plagues were not removed in Mercy; it was not a preservation but a reservation: God reserved him for a signal Monument of his Justice, when he was drowned in the depth of the Sea: God may reprieve men's persons when he does not remit their sins: The wicked may have sparing Mercy, but not saving Mercy.
8. The ungodly while they live are exposed to the wrath of God, John 3:36. He that believeth not, the wrath of God abideth on him. He who wants Grace, is like one who wants a pardon, he is every hour in fear of Execution: How can a wicked man rejoice? Over his head the Sword of God's Justice hangs, and under him hell fire burns.
9. The ungodly at death must undergo God's fury and indignation, Psalm 9:17. The wicked shall be turned into hell. I have read of a Loadstone in Ethiopia, which has two corners, with one it draws the iron to it, with the other it puts the iron from it: So God has two hands, of Mercy and Justice, with the one he will draw the godly to heaven, with the other he will thrust the sinner to hell: And O how dreadful is that place! It is called a fiery lake, Revelation 20:15. A lake, to denote the plenty of Torments in hell; a fiery lake, to show the fierceness of them: Fire is the most torturing Element. Strabo in his Geography mentions a Lake in Galilee, of such a pestiferous nature, that it scaldeth off the skin of whatsoever is cast into it: But alas, that Lake is cool, compared with this fiery Lake, into which the damned are thrown. To demonstrate this fire terrible, there are two most pernicious qualities in it. 1. It is Sulfurous, it is mixed with brimstone, Revelation 21:8. which is unsavory and suffocating. 2. It is unextinguishable; though the wicked shall be choked in the flames, yet not consumed, Revelation 20:10. And the Devil was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the Beast and the False Prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. Behold the deplorable condition of all ungodly ones, in the other world, they shall have a life that always dies, and a death that always lives: May not this affright men out of their sins, and make them become godly, unless they are resolved to try how hot hell fire is?
2. What rare persons the godly are, Proverbs 12:26. The righteous is more excellent than his Neighbour. As the Flower of the Sun, as the Wine of Lebanon, as the sparkling upon Aaron's Breast-plate, such is the Orient splendor of a person embellished with godliness: The excellency of the persons of the godly, appears in seven particulars.
1. They are precious; therefore they are set apart for God, Psalm 4:3. Know that the Lord has set apart him that is godly for himself: We set apart things that are precious; the godly are set apart as God's peculiar treasure, Psalm 135:4. As his garden of delight, Canticles 4:12. As his Royal Diadem, Isaiah 62:3. The godly are the excellent of the earth, Psalm 16:2. Comparable to fine gold, Lamentations 4:2. Double refined, Zechariah 13:9. They are the glory of the Creation, Isaiah 46:13. Origen compares the Saints to Sapphires and Crystal: God calls them Jewels, Malachi 3:17. They are so:
1. For their value; Diamonds (says Pliny) were not known a long time but among Princes, and were hung upon their Diadem: God does so value his people, that he will give Kingdoms for their ransom, Isaiah 43:5. He laid his best Jewel to pawn for them, John 3:6.
2. They are Jewels for their lustre: If one Pearl of grace does shine so bright that it does delight Christ's heart, Canticles 4:9. You have ravished my heart with one of your eyes; that is, one of your Graces: Then how illustrious are all the Graces met in a Constellation?
2. The godly are honorable, Isaiah 43:4. You have been honorable: The godly are a Crown of glory in the hand of God, Isaiah 62:3. They are plants of Renown, Ezekiel 16:14. They are not only Vessels of Mercy, but Vessels of Honor, 2 Timothy 2:21. Aristotle calls Honor, the chief good thing. The godly are near of Kin to the blessed Trinity, they have the Tutelage and Guardianship of Angels; they have God's Name written upon them, Revelation 3:12. and the Holy Ghost dwelling in them, 2 Timothy 1:14.
The godly are a sacred Priesthood; the Priesthood under the Law was honorable; the King's Daughter was wife to Jehoiada the Priest, 2 Chronicles 22:11. It was a custom among the Egyptians, to have their Kings chosen out of their Priests: The Saints are a Divine Priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices, 1 Peter 2:9. They are [〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉], Coheirs with Christ, Romans 8:17. They are Kings, Revelation 1:6. Novarinus relates of an ancient King who invited a Company of poor Christians, and made them a great Feast, and being asked why he showed so much respect to persons of such mean birth and Extract, he told them, these I must honor as the Children of the most high God, they will be Kings and Princes with me in another world. The godly are in some sense higher than the Angels, the Angels are Christ's friends, these are his spouse; the Angels are called morning-stars, Job 38:7, but the Saints are clothed with the Sun of righteousness, Revelation 12:1. All men says Chrysostome, are ambitious of honor; behold then the honor of the godly! Proverbs 7:8. Wisdom is the principal thing, therefore get wisdom, exalt her, and she shall promote you, she shall bring you to honor, when you embrace her: The Trophies of the Saints' renown, will be erected in another world. —Famaque post cineres major—
3 The godly are beloved of God, Psalm 47:4. The excellency of Jacob whom he loved: An holy heart, is the garden where God plants the flower of his love: God's love to his people is an ancient love, it bears date from eternity, Ephesians 1:4. He loves them with a choice distinguishing love, they are the dearly beloved of his soul, Jeremiah 12:7. The men of the world have bounty dropping from God's fingers, but the godly have love dropping from God's heart; he gives the one a golden cup; the other a golden kiss; he loves the godly, as he loves Christ, John 17:26. It is the same love for kind, though not for degree: here the Saints do but pitissare, sip of God's love, in heaven they shall drink of Rivers of pleasure, Psalm 36:8. And this love of God is permanent; death may take away their life from them, but not God's love from them, Jeremiah 31:4. I have loved you with a love ofperpetuity.
4 The godly are prudent persons, they have good Insight and Foresight.
1 They have good insight, 1 Corinthians 2:10. He that is spiritual judges all things: the godly have insight into Persons and Things.
1 They have insight into persons, they have the anointing of God, and by a spirit of discerning, they can see some difference between the precious and the vile, Jeremiah 15:19. God's people are not censorious, but they are judicious; they can see a wanton heart, through a naked breast, and a spotted face; they can see a revengeful spirit, through a bitter tongue; they can guess at the Tree by the fruit, Matthew 12:33. They can see the Plague-tokens of sin, appear in the wicked, which makes them remove from the tents of those sinners, Numbers 16:26.
2 The godly have insight into Things Mysterious.
1 They can see much of the mystery of their own hearts: Take the greatest Politician, who understands the mysteries of state, yet he does not understand the mystery of his own heart; you shall sometimes hear him swear, his heart is good; but a Child of God sees much heart-corruption, 1 Kings 8:38. Though some flowers of grace grow there, yet he sees how fast the weeds of sin grow, therefore he is continually weeding his heart by repentance and mortification.
2 The godly can discern the mystery of the times, 1 Chronicles 12:32. The children of Issachar were men that had understanding of the times: The godly can see when an age runs dregs, when God's name is dishonored, his messengers despised, his Gospel eclipsed; the people of God labor to keep their garments pure, Revelation 16:15. Their care is, that the times may not be the worse for them, nor they the worse for the times.
3 The godly understand the mystery of living by faith, Hebrews 10:38. The just shall live by faith: they can trust God, where they cannot trace him; they can fetch comfort out of a promise, as Moses did water out of the rock: Habakkuk 3:17. Though the Fig-tree does not blossom, yet I will rejoice in the Lord.
2 The godly have good foresight:
1 They foresee the evil of a Temptation, 2 Corinthians 2:11. We are not ignorant of his devices; The wicked swallow temptations like Pills, and when it is too late, feel these Pills gripe their Conscience; but the godly fore-see a Temptation and will not come near; they see a snake under the green grass, they know Satan's kindness, is craftiness; he does as Jephthah's daughter, he brings forth the Timbrel, and dances before men with a temptation, and then brings them very low, Judges 11:35.
2. The godly fore-see temporal dangers, Proverbs 22:3. A prudent man foresees the evil, and hides himself. The people of God see when the Cloud of wrath is ready to drop upon a Nation, and they get into their Chambers, Isaiah 26:20. The Attributes and Promises of God; and into the clefts of the Rock, the bleeding wounds of Christ, and hide themselves; well therefore may they be baptized with the name of Wise Virgins.
5. The godly are the bulwark of a Nation, 2 Kings 2:12. O my Father, the Chariots of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. The godly are the Pillars to keep a City and Nation from falling; they stave off Judgment from a Land: It was said of old, so long as Hector lived, Troy could not be demolished: God could do nothing to Sodom till Lot was gone out of it, Genesis 19:22. Golden Christians are Brazen Walls. The Lord would soon break up house in the world, were it not for the sakes of a few Religious ones: Would God (think we) preserve the world only for Drunkards and Swearers? He would soon sink the Ship of Church and State, but that some of his Elect are in it: Yet such is the indiscretion of men as to injure the Saints, and to count them burdens which are the chief blessings.
6. The godly are of a brave Heroic spirit, Numbers 14:24. My servant Caleb, because he had another spirit. An excellent spirit was found in Daniel, Chapter 5:12. The godly hate that which is base and sordid, they will not enrich their purses by enslaving their Consciences; they are Noble and courageous in God's Cause, Proverbs 28:1. The righteous are bold as a Lion. The Saints live suitably to their high birth, they breathe after God's love, they aspire after glory, they set their feet where worldly men set their heart; they display the Banner of the Gospel, lifting up Christ's Name and interest in the world.
7. The godly are happy persons: King Balak sent to curse the people of God, but the Lord would not suffer it, Numbers 22:12. God said unto Balaam, you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed: And Moses afterwards records it as a thing memorable, that that intended Curse of the King, God did convert into a blessing, Deuteronomy 23:5. The Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing unto you. They must needs be happy who are always on the strongest side, Psalm 118:6. The Lord is on my side: they are happy who have all conditions sanctified to them, Romans 8:28. Who are crowned with peace while they live, Psalm 119:165, and with glory when they die, Psalm 73:24. And may not this tempt all to become godly? Deuteronomy 33:29. Happy are you, O Israel; a people saved by the Lord.
3. To endeavor after godliness, is most rational.
1. It is the highest act of Reason, for a man to become another man: If while he remains in Nature's Soil, he is poisoned with sin, no more actually fit for communion with God, than a Toad is fit to be made an Angel, then it is very consonant to Reason, that he should endeavor after a change.
2. It is rational, because this change is for the better, Ephesians 5:8. Now are you light in the Lord. Will not any man be willing to exchange a dark prison for a King's Palace? Will he not change away his brass for gold? You who become godly change for the better; you change your pride for humility, your uncleanness for holiness; you change a lust that will damn you for a Christ that will save you: Were not men besotted, had not their fall beat off their head-piece, they would see it were the most rational thing in the world to become godly.
4. The excellency of godliness. Auro quid melius? jaspis, quid jaspide? virtus.
The excellency of godliness appears several ways.
1. Godliness is our spiritual beauty, Psalm 110:3. The beauties of holiness: Godliness is to the soul as the light to the world, to illustrate and adorn it: 'Tis not greatness sets us off in God's eye, but goodness: What is the beauty of the Angels but their sanctity? Godliness is the curious embroidery and workmanship of the Holy Ghost: A soul furnished with godliness, is damasked with beauty, it is enameled with purity, this is the clothing of wrought gold, which makes the King of heaven fall in love with us: were there not an excellency in holiness, the hypocrite would never go about to paint it: Godliness sheds a glory and luster upon the Saints: What are the Graces, but the golden feathers in which Christ's Dove shines?
2. Godliness is our defense: Grace is called the Armor of Light, Romans 13:12. It is light for beauty, and armor for defense. A Christian has armor of God's making, which cannot be shot through; he has the Shield of Faith, the Helmet of Hope, the Breast-plate of Righteousness; this is armor of proof, which defends against the assaults of temptation, and the terror of hell.
3 Godliness breeds solid peace, Psalm 119:165. Great peace have they that love thy Law. Godliness composes the heart, making it sedate and calm, like the upper Region, where there are no winds and tempests. How can that heart be unquiet where the Prince of Peace dwells, Colossians 1:27. Christ in you. An holy heart may be compared to the doors of Solomon's Temple, 1 Kings 6:32, which were made of Olive-tree, carved with open Flowers. There is the Olive of peace, and the open Flowers of joy in that heart: godliness does not destroy a Christian's mirth, but refine it; his Rose is without prickles, his wine without froth; he must needs be full of joy and peace, who is a favorite of heaven; he may truly sing a Requiem to his soul, and say, Soul take your ease. King Ptolomy asked one how he might be in rest when he dreamed? He replied, Let piety be the scope of all your actions: If one should ask me how he should be in rest when he is awake? I would return the like answer, Let his soul be in-laid with godliness.
4. Godliness is the best Trade we can drive, it brings profit; wicked men say, It is vain to serve God, and what profit is it? Malachi 3:14. To be sure there is no profit in sin, Proverbs 10:2. Treasures of wickedness profit nothing. But, godliness is profitable, 1 Timothy 4:8. It is like digging in a gold Mine, where there is gain as well as toil: godliness makes God himself over to us as a portion, Psalm 16:5. The Lord is the portion of my Inheritance: If God be our portion, all our estate lies in Jewels; where God gives himself, he gives every thing else; he who has the Manor has all the Royalties belonging to it: God is a portion that can neither be spent nor lost, Psalm 73:26. Thus we see godliness is a thriving Trade.
And as godliness brings profit with it, so it is profitable [〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉]for all things, 1 Timothy 4:8. What is so besides godliness? Food will not give a man wisdom, gold will not give him health, honor will not give him beauty; but godliness is useful for all things, it fences off all troubles, it supplies all wants, it makes soul and body completely happy.
5. Godliness is an enduring substance, it knows no fall of the leaf.
All worldly delights have a Death's-Head set upon them; they are but shadows, and they are flying: Earthly comforts are like Paul's friends, who brought him to the Ship, and there left him, Acts 20:38. So these will bring a man to his grave, and then take their farewell; but godliness is [⟨ in non-Latin alphabet ⟩], a possession we cannot be robbed of, it runs parallel with Eternity; force cannot weaken it, age cannot wither it; it outbraves sufferings, it outlives death, Proverbs 10 [•]. Death may pluck the stalk of the body, but the Flower of grace is not hurt. —numquam stygias fertur ad umbras inclyta virtus.
6 Godliness is so excellent, that the worst men would have it when they are going hence; though at present godliness be despised, and under a cloud, yet at death all would be godly: A Philosopher asking a young man, whether he would be rich Croesus, or virtuous Socrates? answered, he would live with Croesus, and die with Socrates: So men would live with the wicked in pleasure, but die with the godly, Numbers 23:10. Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my end be like his: If then godliness be so desirable at death, why should we not pursue after it now? Godliness is as needful now, and would be more feasible.
5 There are but few godly; they are as the gleanings after vintage; most receive the Mark of the Beast, Revelation 13:17. The Devil keeps open house for all comers, and he is never without guests; this may prevail with us to be godly, if the number of the Saints be so small, how should we labor to be found among these pearls? Romans 9:27. but a remnant shall be saved: it is better going to Heaven with a few, than to Hell in the crowd.
6 Consider how vain and contemptible other things are, about which, persons void of godliness busy themselves; men are taken up about the [⟨ in non-Latin alphabet ⟩] things of this life, and what profit hath he that hath labored for the wind? Ecclesiastes 5:16. Can the wind fill? What is gold but dust? Amos 2:8. Which will sooner choke, than satisfy: pull off the mask of the most beautiful thing under the Sun, and look what is within, there is care and vexation; and the greatest care is yet behind, and that is account: The things of the world, are but as a bubble in the water, or a Meteor in the air.
But godliness hath a real worth in it, if you speak of true honor, it is to be born of God; if of true valor, it is to fight the good fight of faith; if of true delight, it is to have joy in the Holy Ghost. Oh then espouse godliness! Here is reality to be had; of other things, we may say as Zechariah 10:2. They comfort in vain.
From everything said so far, I want to draw three great applications.
First, I appeal to those who are still in their natural condition — those who have never tasted any sweetness in the things of God. I urge them with all the compassion I have to labor to get these marks of godliness engraved on their hearts. Even though godliness is scorned by the world — just as in Tertullian's day the very name of Christian was treated as a crime — do not be ashamed to embrace it. Know that persecuted godliness is better than prosperous wickedness. What good is the whole world to a person without godliness? To be learned and ungodly is like a devil transformed into an angel of light. To be beautiful and ungodly is like a fine painting hung in a diseased room. To be honored in the world and ungodly is like an ape dressed in royal robes, or like that image with a head of gold on feet of clay. It is godliness that truly ennobles the heart — making both God and angels fall in love with it.
Labor for genuine godliness. Do not rest satisfied with the common workings of God's Spirit. Do not think it is enough to be intelligent and articulate. A person can talk about religion in ways that amaze others yet never feel the sweetness of those things in his own soul. A lute produces beautiful music for listeners but feels none of the sound itself. Judas could give an impressive speech about Christ but felt no power from Him.
Do not rest in having your emotions stirred a little. A hypocrite may have feelings of sorrow, like Ahab, or feelings of desire, like Balaam — but these are passing and superficial and do not amount to real godliness. Strive instead to be like the king's daughter — glorious within, as Psalm 45:13 says.
To persuade people to become godly, let me lay out some powerful motives and arguments. May the Lord drive them home like nails fastened by His Spirit.
1. Let people seriously consider how miserable they are while they remain in a state of ungodliness. This should motivate them to flee as from Sodom. The misery of ungodly people appears in nine particulars.
1. They are in a state of death. Ephesians 2:1: dead in trespasses. They must be dead, because they are cut off from Christ, who is the source of life. Just as the body without the soul is dead, so the soul without Christ is dead. This spiritual death shows itself in its effects — it robs people of all their spiritual senses. Sinners have no awareness of God within them. Ephesians 4:19: having no sensitivity. All their moral qualities are like flowers strewn on a corpse. And what is hell but a tomb to bury the dead in?
2. Their worship is polluted. Not only the plowing but also the praying of the wicked is sin. Proverbs 15:8: The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. If the water in a well is foul, it cannot be clean in the bucket. If the heart is full of sin, the religious duties cannot be pure. This puts every ungodly person in a dilemma: if he does not attend the means of grace, he is a despiser of them; if he does attend, he defiles them.
3. Those who live and die in ungodliness have no right to the covenant of grace. Ephesians 2:12: At that time you were without Christ, strangers from the covenants of promise. To be without the covenant is like being in the days of Noah without an ark. The covenant is the gospel charter, full of glorious privileges — but who can claim those privileges? Only those whose hearts have been filled with grace. Read the charter: Ezekiel 36:26: A new heart I will give you, and I will put My Spirit within you. And what follows in verse 28: I will be your God. A person who dies in his ungodliness has no more claim to the new covenant than a common farmer has to the privileges of a chartered city.
God's writing always comes before His seal. 2 Corinthians 3:3: You are declared to be the epistle of Christ, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Here is a golden letter: the writing is the work of faith, the surface it is written on is the heart, and the finger that writes it is the Spirit. After the Spirit writes, the Spirit seals — Ephesians 1:13: After you believed, you were sealed with the Spirit. That is, you were sealed up to the assurance of glory. What claim do ungodly people have to the seal of the covenant when they do not even have the writing?
4. The ungodly are spiritual fools. Psalm 75:4: I said to the fools, deal not foolishly, and to the wicked, lift not up the horn. If a parent had a very beautiful child who was a fool, the parent would take little joy in him. Scripture dresses the sinner in a fool's coat. And let me tell you: it is better to be without reason than to be without grace. The sinner without grace is the devil's fool, as Proverbs 14:9 implies. Is it not foolish to refuse a rich gift? God offers Christ and salvation, but the sinner refuses the offer. Psalm 81:11: Israel would have none of Me. Is it not foolish to prefer a temporary income over a permanent inheritance? Is it not foolish to care for your mortal body while neglecting your immortal soul — like painting the walls of a house while the timber rots? Is it not foolish to feed your soul to the devil — like that emperor who fed his lion with pheasants? Is it not foolish to lay a snare for yourself, as Proverbs 1:18 says — to pursue your own shame, as Habakkuk 2:10 says — and to love death, as Proverbs 8:36 says?
5. The ungodly are vile people. Nahum 1:14: I will make your grave, for you are vile. Ungodliness makes people base. It stains their name and corrupts their character. Psalm 14:3: They have all become filthy. In the Hebrew the word means they have become rotten and stinking. Call wicked people whatever bad names you like — you cannot call them worse than they are. They are swine, as Matthew 7:6 says. Vipers, as Matthew 3:7 says. Devils, as John 6:70 says. The wicked are the dross and refuse, as Psalm 119:119 says. And heaven is too pure to allow any dross inside it.
6. The temporal blessings that ungodly people enjoy come to them as judgment, not as favor. The wicked may have health and wealth — more than heart could wish, as Psalm 73:7 says — but their table becomes a snare, as Psalm 69:22 says. Sinners receive their blessings with God's permission, but not with His love. The people of Israel would have been better off without the quail than to have received it with such bitter consequences. The ungodly are intruders. They have no spiritual title to what they possess. What they enjoy is like goods taken from a shop that have not been paid for. Death will bring a terrible reckoning at last.
7. The temporal judgments that come upon ungodly people are never lifted as an act of mercy. Pharaoh had ten arrows shot at him — the ten plagues — and all those plagues were eventually removed. But because his heart remained hard, those plagues were not removed in mercy. It was not preservation but reservation: God was reserving him as a striking monument of His justice, until he was drowned in the depths of the sea. God may spare a person's life without forgiving his sins. The wicked may receive sparing mercy, but not saving mercy.
8. While the ungodly are alive, they live under the wrath of God. John 3:36: He who does not believe — the wrath of God abides on him. The person without grace is like someone without a pardon, living every hour in fear of execution. How can a wicked man truly rejoice? Above his head hangs the sword of God's justice, and beneath him burns the fire of hell.
9. At death, the ungodly must face God's fury and indignation. Psalm 9:17: The wicked shall be turned into hell. I have read of a certain stone in Ethiopia with two poles: with one it draws iron toward it, with the other it repels iron. In the same way, God has two hands — one of mercy and one of justice. With the one He draws the godly to heaven; with the other He thrusts the sinner into hell. And what a dreadful place that is! It is called a fiery lake in Revelation 20:15. The word lake suggests the overwhelming abundance of torments in hell. The phrase fiery lake points to their intensity. Fire is the most agonizing of all elements. The geographer Strabo mentions a lake in Galilee so caustic in nature that it scaldeth off the skin of whatever is cast into it. But that lake is cool by comparison with the fiery lake into which the damned are thrown. This fire has two especially terrible qualities. 1. It is sulfurous — mixed with brimstone, as Revelation 21:8 says. Brimstone is both suffocating and foul. 2. It is inextinguishable. Though the wicked will be engulfed in the flames, they will not be consumed. Revelation 20:10: And the devil was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever. This is the desperate condition of all who die ungodly. In the next world they will have a life that is always dying and a death that never dies. Should not this drive people away from their sins and move them to become godly — unless they have resolved to find out for themselves how hot hell's fire is?
2. Consider what remarkable people the godly are. Proverbs 12:26: The righteous is more excellent than his neighbor. Like the sunflower, like the wine of Lebanon, like the gleaming stones on Aaron's breastplate — such is the radiant splendor of a person adorned with godliness. The excellence of the godly appears in seven particulars.
1. They are precious. They are therefore set apart for God. Psalm 4:3: Know that the Lord has set apart him who is godly for Himself. We set apart the things we value most. The godly are set apart as God's own special treasure, as Psalm 135:4 says. As His garden of delight, as Song of Songs 4:12 says. As His royal crown, as Isaiah 62:3 says. The godly are the excellent of the earth, as Psalm 16:2 says — comparable to fine gold, as Lamentations 4:2 says. Double refined, as Zechariah 13:9 says. They are the glory of the creation. Isaiah 46:13. Origen compared the saints to sapphires and crystal. God calls them jewels in Malachi 3:17. And they are jewels in two ways:
1. For their value. Pliny says diamonds were for a long time known only among princes and were mounted on their crowns. God values His people so highly that He will give kingdoms as their ransom, as Isaiah 43:5 says. He pledged His greatest treasure for them, as John 3:16 says.
2. They are jewels for their brilliance. If one single pearl of grace shines so brightly that it ravishes Christ's heart — Song of Songs 4:9: You have ravished my heart with one of your eyes, that is, with one of your graces — then how glorious are all the graces gathered together in a constellation?
2. The godly are honorable. Isaiah 43:4: You have been honorable. The godly are a crown of glory in the hand of God, as Isaiah 62:3 says. They are plants of renown, as Ezekiel 16:14 says. They are not only vessels of mercy but vessels of honor, as 2 Timothy 2:21 says. Aristotle called honor the highest good. The godly are near relations to the blessed Trinity. They have the guardianship of angels. They have God's name written on them, as Revelation 3:12 says, and the Holy Spirit dwelling within them, as 2 Timothy 1:14 says.
The godly are a sacred priesthood. The priesthood under the law was an honor — even the king's daughter married Jehoiada the priest, as 2 Chronicles 22:11 records. It was a custom among the Egyptians to choose their kings from among their priests. The saints are a divine priesthood, offering up spiritual sacrifices, as 1 Peter 2:9 says. They are co-heirs with Christ, as Romans 8:17 says. They are kings, as Revelation 1:6 says. Novarinus tells of an ancient king who invited a group of poor Christians to a great feast. When asked why he showed such honor to people of such humble origin, he replied: These I must honor as the children of the most high God — they will be kings and princes with me in another world. The godly are in some sense exalted above the angels. The angels are Christ's friends; the saints are His bride. The angels are called morning stars in Job 38:7, but the saints are clothed with the Sun of righteousness in Revelation 12:1. Chrysostom says all people are ambitious for honor — then behold the honor of the godly! Proverbs 4:8: Exalt wisdom, and she will promote you; she will bring you to honor when you embrace her. The trophies of the saints' honor will be set up in the world to come — fame greater after death.
3. The godly are beloved of God. Psalm 47:4: The excellency of Jacob whom He loved. A holy heart is the garden where God plants the flower of His love. God's love for His people is an ancient love — it goes back to eternity, as Ephesians 1:4 says. He loves them with a special, distinguishing love. They are the dearly beloved of His soul, as Jeremiah 12:7 says. Worldly people receive bounty dropping from God's fingers, but the godly receive love dropping from God's heart. He gives the one a golden cup, but the other a golden kiss. He loves the godly as He loves Christ, as John 17:26 says. The love is the same in kind, though not in degree. Here on earth the saints only sip of God's love; in heaven they will drink from rivers of pleasure, as Psalm 36:8 says. And this love is permanent. Death may take their life from them, but it cannot take God's love from them. Jeremiah 31:3: I have loved you with an everlasting love.
4. The godly are prudent people. They have both good insight and good foresight.
1. They have good insight. 1 Corinthians 2:15: He who is spiritual judges all things. The godly have insight into persons and things.
1. They have insight into people. They have the anointing of God, and through a spirit of discernment they can see the difference between the precious and the vile, as Jeremiah 15:19 says. God's people are not quick to judge, but they are discerning. They can see a proud and self-indulgent heart beneath an outward appearance. They can detect a vengeful spirit behind a sharp tongue. They can read the tree by its fruit, as Matthew 12:33 says. They can see the warning signs of sin on the wicked, which moves them to distance themselves from those sinners, as Numbers 16:26 records.
2. The godly have insight into things that are mysterious.
1. They can see much of the mystery of their own hearts. Take the most sophisticated political thinker — someone who understands the complexities of statecraft — and yet he does not understand the mystery of his own heart. You will sometimes hear him swear that his heart is good. But a child of God sees the deep corruption within, as 1 Kings 8:38 suggests. Though some flowers of grace grow there, he also sees how quickly the weeds of sin grow — and so he is constantly weeding his heart through repentance and mortification.
2. The godly can read the signs of the times. 1 Chronicles 12:32: The men of Issachar had understanding of the times. The godly can see when an age is degenerating — when God's name is dishonored, His messengers despised, and His gospel pushed aside. God's people work to keep their garments clean, as Revelation 16:15 says. Their concern is that the times will not be worse because of them, and that they will not be made worse by the times.
3. The godly understand the mystery of living by faith. Hebrews 10:38: The just shall live by faith. They can trust God where they cannot trace Him. They can draw comfort out of a promise, as Moses drew water out of the rock. Habakkuk 3:17: Though the fig tree does not blossom, yet I will rejoice in the Lord.
2. The godly have good foresight.
1. They foresee the danger of a temptation before it strikes. 2 Corinthians 2:11: We are not ignorant of his schemes. The wicked swallow temptations like pills and later feel those pills tearing at their conscience. But the godly see a temptation coming and refuse to go near it. They see the snake hidden under the green grass. They know that Satan's kindness is craftiness. He does as Jephthah's daughter did — he brings out the tambourine and dances before people with a temptation, and then brings them very low, as Judges 11:35 says.
2. The godly foresee temporal dangers. Proverbs 22:3: A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself. God's people see when a storm of divine judgment is about to break over a nation, and they take shelter — into their inner rooms, as Isaiah 26:20 says. They shelter in the attributes and promises of God, and in the clefts of the rock — the wounds of Christ — and hide themselves. No wonder they are called wise virgins.
5. The godly are a bulwark to a nation. 2 Kings 2:12: O my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen! The godly are the pillars that keep a city and nation from collapse. They hold back judgment from a land. It was said of old that as long as Hector lived, Troy could not be destroyed. God could do nothing to Sodom until Lot had gone out of it, as Genesis 19:22 says. Truly godly people are a bronze wall around their communities. The Lord would soon be done with this world were it not for the sake of a few faithful ones. Would God preserve the world for drunkards and blasphemers alone? He would soon sink the ship of church and state, but some of His elect are on board. Yet how foolish people are to mistreat the saints and count them a burden — when they are in fact the greatest blessing.
6. The godly are people of a bold and noble spirit. Numbers 14:24: My servant Caleb, because he had a different spirit. An excellent spirit was found in Daniel, as chapter 5:12 says. The godly refuse what is base and corrupt. They will not fill their pockets by selling out their conscience. They are courageous in God's cause. Proverbs 28:1: The righteous are as bold as a lion. The saints live in keeping with their high calling. They long for God's love. They reach upward toward glory. They set their feet where worldly people set their hearts. They display the banner of the gospel, lifting up Christ's name and cause in the world.
7. The godly are truly happy people. King Balak sent Balaam to curse the people of God, but the Lord would not allow it. Numbers 22:12: God said to Balaam, You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed. And Moses later recorded it as something worth remembering — that what the king intended as a curse, God turned into a blessing. Deuteronomy 23:5: The Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you. They must be happy who are always on the strongest side. Psalm 118:6: The Lord is on my side. They are happy who have all their circumstances working for their good, as Romans 8:28 says. They are crowned with peace while they live, as Psalm 119:165 says, and with glory when they die, as Psalm 73:24 says. Should not all this draw people to pursue godliness? Deuteronomy 33:29: Happy are you, O Israel — a people saved by the Lord.
3. Pursuing godliness is the most rational thing a person can do.
1. It is the highest act of reason for a person to be fundamentally changed. While a person remains in his natural condition, he is poisoned with sin — no more actually fit for communion with God than a toad is fit to be made an angel. Given that, it is entirely reasonable that he should seek a change.
2. It is rational because this change is a change for the better. Ephesians 5:8: Now you are light in the Lord. Would any man refuse to trade a dark prison for a king's palace? Would he refuse to exchange brass for gold? When you become godly, you are trading up: pride for humility, impurity for holiness — a lust that will damn you for a Christ who will save you. If people were not so spiritually dazed, if the fall had not knocked off their good judgment, they would see that becoming godly is the most rational thing in the world.
4. Consider the excellence of godliness itself. What is better than gold? A precious stone. What is better than a precious stone? Virtue.
The excellence of godliness appears in several ways.
1. Godliness is our spiritual beauty. Psalm 110:3: The beauties of holiness. Godliness is to the soul what light is to the world — it illuminates and adorns it. It is not greatness that makes us beautiful in God's eyes, but goodness. What is the beauty of angels but their holiness? Godliness is the fine and detailed workmanship of the Holy Spirit. A soul filled with godliness is embroidered with beauty and polished with purity. This is the clothing of worked gold that makes the King of heaven fall in love with us. If there were no true excellence in holiness, the hypocrite would never bother to imitate it. Godliness sheds glory and brilliance on the saints. What are the graces but the golden feathers in which Christ's dove shines?
2. Godliness is our defense. Grace is called the armor of light in Romans 13:12. It is light for beauty and armor for defense. A Christian wears armor made by God — armor that cannot be pierced. He carries the shield of faith, the helmet of hope, and the breastplate of righteousness. This is proven armor that holds against every assault of temptation and every terror of hell.
3. Godliness produces solid peace. Psalm 119:165: Great peace have they who love Your law. Godliness settles the heart, making it calm and still — like the upper atmosphere where no storms or winds reach. How could that heart ever be troubled where the Prince of Peace dwells? Colossians 1:27: Christ in you. A holy heart may be compared to the doors of Solomon's temple in 1 Kings 6:32 — made of olive wood and carved with open flowers. There is the olive of peace and the open flowers of joy in that heart. Godliness does not destroy a Christian's happiness — it refines it. His rose has no thorns; his wine has no froth. The person who is a favorite of heaven must be full of joy and peace. He can sing a song of rest to his soul and say: Soul, take your ease. King Ptolemy once asked a philosopher how he might sleep peacefully at night. The philosopher answered: Let piety be the goal of all your actions. If someone asked me how to have peace while awake, I would give the same answer: Let your soul be filled with godliness.
4. Godliness is the best trade we can pursue — it brings real profit. Wicked people say: It is pointless to serve God; what do we gain from it? Malachi 3:14. To be sure, there is no profit in sin. Proverbs 10:2: Treasures of wickedness profit nothing. But godliness is profitable, as 1 Timothy 4:8 says. It is like mining for gold — there is gain alongside the labor. Godliness makes God Himself our portion. Psalm 16:5: The Lord is the portion of my inheritance. If God is our portion, our entire estate consists of jewels. When God gives Himself, He gives everything else with Him. The one who owns the estate has all the rights that belong to it. And God is a portion that can never be used up or lost, as Psalm 73:26 says. This is why godliness is a thriving investment.
And as godliness brings profit, so it is profitable for all things, as 1 Timothy 4:8 says. What else can claim that? Food cannot give a person wisdom. Gold cannot give him health. Honor cannot give him beauty. But godliness serves every need — it fends off every trouble, supplies every want, and makes soul and body completely happy.
5. Godliness is an enduring possession — it never loses its value.
All worldly pleasures have death written on them. They are shadows, and they are fleeting. Earthly comforts are like Paul's friends who walked with him to the ship and then said their farewells, as Acts 20:38 records. In the same way, worldly comforts will accompany a man to his grave and then leave him. But godliness is a possession that cannot be taken from us — it runs alongside eternity. Force cannot weaken it; age cannot wear it out. It outlasts suffering and outlives death, as Proverbs 10 says. Death may cut the stalk of the body, but the flower of grace is untouched. As the saying goes: noble virtue is never carried down to the shadows of death.
6. Godliness is so excellent that even the worst of people want it when the end is near. Though godliness is now despised and treated with contempt, at death everyone wants it. A philosopher once asked a young man whether he would rather be the wealthy Croesus or the virtuous Socrates. The young man replied: I would live like Croesus but die like Socrates. So people want to live with the wicked in pleasure but die with the godly in peace. Numbers 23:10: Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my end be like his. If godliness is so desirable at death, why not pursue it now? Godliness is just as necessary today — and far more attainable now than at the last moment.
5. There are very few godly people. They are like gleanings left after the harvest. Most people bear the mark of the beast, as Revelation 13:17 says. The devil keeps open house for all who will come, and he is never short of guests. This should motivate us: if the number of the saints is so small, how earnestly should we labor to be found among them? Romans 9:27: But a remnant shall be saved. It is better to go to heaven with a few than to go to hell in a crowd.
6. Consider how empty and worthless the things are that people without godliness spend their lives chasing. People consume themselves with the outward and temporary things of this life. And what does a person gain who has labored for the wind? Ecclesiastes 5:16. Can wind satisfy hunger? What is gold but dust? Amos 2:8. It will sooner choke a person than satisfy him. Pull back the mask from the most attractive thing under the sun and see what is underneath — worry and frustration. And the greatest concern of all still waits ahead: giving an account. The things of this world are no more than a bubble on water or a flash of light in the sky.
But godliness has real worth. If you speak of true honor, it is to be born of God. If of true courage, it is to fight the good fight of faith. If of true delight, it is to have joy in the Holy Spirit. Embrace godliness, then! Here is something real. Of all other things, we might say what Zechariah 10:2 says: They comfort in vain.
