Chapter 9

That I may excite Christians to persevere in the profession of godliness, I shall propose these four considerations.

1 It is the glory and Crown of a Christian, to be gray-headed in godliness, Acts 21. 16. Mnason of Cyprus, an old Disciple: What an honour is it to see a Christian's garments red with blood, yet his conscience pure white, and his graces green and flourishing?

2 How do sinners persevere in their sins, they are settled on their lees, Zephaniah 1. 12. The judgments of God will not deter or remove them; they say to their sin, as Ruth to Naomi, Ruth 1. 16. Where you go, I will go, the Lord do so to me, and more, if anything but death part you and me; so nothing shall part between men and their sins; Oh! what a shame is it, that the wicked should be fixed in evil, and we unfixed in good? that they should be more constant in the Devil's service than we are in Christ's.

3 Our perseverance in godliness, may be a means to confirm others; Cyprian's hearers followed him to the place of his suffering, and seeing his steadfastness in the faith, cried out, Let us also die with our holy Pastor, Philippians 4. 14. Many of the Brethren waxing confident by my Bonds, are much more bold to speak the Word. Saint Paul's zeal and constancy, did animate the beholders; his Prison-chain made converts in Nero's Court; and two of those Converts were afterwards Martyrs, as History relates.

4 We shall lose nothing by our perseverance in Godliness: There are eight glorious Promises which God has entailed upon the persevering Saints.

The first is Revelation 2. 10. Be constant to the death, and I will give you a Crown of life. Christian, you may lose the breath of life, but not the Crown of life.

The second promise is Revelation 2. 7. To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the tree of life. This Tree of life is the Lord Jesus. This tree infuses life, and prevents death; in the day we eat of this tree, our eyes shall indeed be opened to see God.

The third promise is Revelation 2. 17. To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the hidden Manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knows, saving he that receives it. This Promise consists of three branches.

1 I will give to eat of the hidden Manna, This is mysterious, it signifies the love of God; which is Manna, for its sweetness, and hidden for its rarity.

2 I will give him a white stone; that is absolution, it may be called a precious stone says Jerome.

3 And in the stone a new name; That is, Adoption, he shall be reputed an Heir of Heaven, and no man can know it, saving he who has the privy seal of the spirit to assure him of it.

The fourth promise is, Revelation 3. 5. He that overcomes the same shall be clothed in white raiment, and I will not blot his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his Angels. The persevering Saint shall be clothed in White; This is an Emblem of joy, Ecclesiastes 9. 8. He shall put off his mourning, and be clothed in the white robe of glory; and I will not blot his name out of the book of life: God will blot a Believer's sins out, but he will not blot his name out; the Book of God's Decree has no Errata in it. But I will confess his Name; he who has owned Christ on earth, and worn his colors, when it was death to wear them, Christ will not be ashamed of him, but will confess his Name before his Father, and the holy Angels. Oh what a comfort and honor will it be to have a good look from Christ at the last day; nay, to have Christ own us, by Name, and say, these were they who stood up for my truth, and kept their garments pure, in a defiling age; These shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy.

The fifth promise is, Revelation 3. 12. Him that overcomes will I make a Pillar in the Temple of my God, and he shall go no more out, and I will write upon him the Name of my God, and the Name of the City of my God. Here are many excellent things couched in this Promise; I will make him a Pillar in the Temple of my God; The Hypocrite is calamus, a Reed shaken with the wind, but the conquering Saint shall be columna, a glorious Pillar; a Pillar for strength, and a Pillar in the Temple, for sanctity; and he shall go no more out; I understand this of a glorified state, He shall go no more out; that is, after he has overcome, he shall go no more out to the Wars; he shall never have sin or temptation more to conflict with, no more noise of Drum, or Cannon shall be heard, but the Believer having won the field, he shall now stay at home, and divide the spoil. And I will write upon him the Name of my God. That is, he shall be openly acknowledged for my Child; as the Son bears his Father's Name. How honourable must that Saint be who has God's own Name written upon him! And I will write upon him, the Name of the City of my God. That is, he shall be enrolled as a Denizen or Citizen of the Jerusalem above, he shall be made free of the Angelical society.

The sixth promise is, Revelation 2. 26. He that overcomes, and keeps my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: this may have a double mystery, either it may be understood of the Saints dwelling upon earth; they shall have power over the nations; their zeal and patience shall over-power the adversaries of truth, Acts 6. 10. or principally, it may be understood of the Saints triumphing in heaven, they shall have power over the nations; they shall share with Christ in some of his power; they shall join with him in judging the world at the last day; 1 Corinthians 6. 2. Do you not know, that the Saints shall judge the world?

The seventh promise is, Revelation 3. 21. To him that overcomes, will I grant to sit with me upon my throne.

1 Here is first the Saints dignity, they shall sit upon the throne.

2 Their safety, they shall sit with Christ; Christ holds them fast, and none shall pluck them out of his throne; the Saints may be turned out of their houses, but they cannot be turned out of Christ's throne; men may as well pluck a star out of the sky, as a Saint out of the throne.

The eighth promise is, Revelation 2. 28. I will give him the morning-star: Though the Saints may be sullied with reproach in this life, they may be termed factious and disloyal; Saint Paul himself suffered trouble (in the opinion of some) as an evil doer, 2 Timothy 2. 9. yet God will bring forth the Saints' righteousness, as the light, and they shall shine as the Morning-star, which is brighter than the rest, I will give him the morning-star.— This morning star is meant of Christ, as if Christ had said, I will give the persevering Saint, some of my beauty, I will put some of my splendid rays upon him, he shall have the next degree of glory to me, as the morning Star is next the Sun.

O what soul-ravishing promises are here! who would not persevere in godliness? he that is not wrought upon by these promises, is either a stone or a brute.

To stir Christians to persevere in the practice of godliness, I will offer four considerations.

1. It is the glory and crown of a Christian to grow gray-headed in godliness. Acts 21:16 mentions Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple. What an honor it is to see a Christian whose life has been marked by hardship, yet whose conscience remains pure white and whose graces stay green and flourishing!

2. Consider how sinners persevere in their sins. They are settled on their dregs (Zephaniah 1:12). God's judgments will not deter or remove them. They say to their sin what Ruth said to Naomi: Where you go, I will go. The Lord do so to me, and more, if anything but death parts you and me (Ruth 1:16). Nothing will separate them from their sins. What a shame it is that the wicked should be more fixed in evil than we are in good — more constant in the devil's service than we are in Christ's!

3. Our perseverance in godliness can be a means of confirming others. Cyprian's congregation followed him to the place of his execution, and seeing his steadfastness in the faith, they cried out: Let us also die with our holy pastor! Philippians 1:14: Most of the brothers, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word. Paul's zeal and constancy fired up those who watched. His prison chain produced converts in Nero's own court. Two of those converts later became martyrs, as history records.

4. We will lose nothing by persevering in godliness. God has attached eight glorious promises to the saints who persevere.

The first promise is Revelation 2:10. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. Christian, you may lose the breath of life, but not the crown of life.

The second promise is Revelation 2:7. To the one who overcomes I will grant to eat of the tree of life. This tree of life is the Lord Jesus. This tree pours life into us and conquers death. On the day we eat of this tree, our eyes will truly be opened to see God.

The third promise is Revelation 2:17. To the one who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it. This promise has three branches.

First: I will give him some of the hidden manna. This is a rich image. It signifies the love of God — called manna for its sweetness, and hidden because it is rare and precious.

Second: I will give him a white stone. This means acquittal. Jerome calls it a precious stone.

Third: And on the stone a new name. This means adoption — he will be recognized as an heir of heaven. No one can know it except the one who has the inner seal of the Spirit assuring him of it.

The fourth promise is Revelation 3:5. The one who overcomes will be clothed in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. The persevering saint will be clothed in white — an image of joy, as Ecclesiastes 9:8 says. He will put off his mourning and be dressed in the white robe of glory. And I will not blot his name out of the book of life. God will blot out a believer's sins, but He will not blot out his name. The book of God's decree has no errors in it. But I will confess his name. The one who has owned Christ on earth and worn His colors when it was death to wear them — Christ will not be ashamed of him. He will acknowledge his name before His Father and the holy angels. What a comfort and honor it will be to receive a favorable look from Christ on the last day! Even more, to have Christ call us by name and say: These are the ones who stood up for My truth and kept their garments clean in a defiling age. These shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.

The fifth promise is Revelation 3:12. The one who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will never go out of it. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God. Many excellent things are packed into this promise. I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God. The hypocrite is a reed shaken by the wind, but the conquering saint will be a glorious pillar — a pillar for strength, and a pillar in the temple for holiness. And he will go out no more. I understand this as describing the glorified state. He will go out no more — meaning he will never go back to war. He will never face sin or temptation again. No more drums or cannons will be heard. Having won the field, the believer will stay home and divide the reward. And I will write on him the name of My God. That is, he will be openly acknowledged as God's child, just as a son bears his father's name. How honored that saint must be who has God's own name written on him! And I will write on him the name of the city of My God. That is, he will be enrolled as a citizen of the heavenly Jerusalem, made a full member of the angelic fellowship.

The sixth promise is Revelation 2:26. The one who overcomes and keeps My works until the end — to him I will give authority over the nations. This may have a double meaning. First, it may refer to the saints living on earth: their zeal and patience will overpower the enemies of truth (Acts 6:10). Or more importantly, it may describe the saints triumphing in heaven. They will share in some of Christ's authority and will join Him in judging the world on the last day. 1 Corinthians 6:2: Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?

The seventh promise is Revelation 3:21. To the one who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne.

First, here is the saints' dignity: they will sit on the throne.

Second, their safety: they will sit with Christ. Christ holds them fast, and no one can pull them from His throne. The saints may be turned out of their homes, but they cannot be turned out of Christ's throne. You might as well try to pluck a star from the sky as pull a saint from that throne.

The eighth promise is Revelation 2:28. I will give him the morning star. Though the saints may be stained with reproach in this life — labeled troublemakers and traitors — Paul himself was treated as a criminal in the eyes of some (2 Timothy 2:9). Yet God will bring forth the saints' righteousness as the light, and they will shine like the morning star, which is brighter than all the rest. I will give him the morning star. This morning star means Christ Himself. It is as if Christ said: I will give the persevering saint some of My own beauty. I will place some of My radiant beams on him. He will have the nearest degree of glory to Mine, just as the morning star stands closest to the sun.

What soul-captivating promises these are! Who would not persevere in godliness? Anyone not moved by these promises is either stone or beast.