He that hath set his heart upon an estate, or a commodious dwelling and lands, or upon an healthful and long life, cannot but be in continued alarms of renewed fears concerning them; especially in troublous times, the least rumour of any thing that threateneth his deprivement of those advantages strikes him to the heart; because his heart is in them. I am well seated, thinks he, and I am of a sound strong constitution, and may have many a good day. Oh! but besides the arrows of pestilence that are flying round about, the sword of a cruel enemy is not far off. This will affright and trouble a heart void of God; but, if thou wouldst readily answer and dispel all these, and such like fears, sanctify the Lord God in thy heart. The soul that eyes God renounces these things, looks on them at a great distance, as things far from the heart, and therefore that cannot easily trouble it, but it looks on God as within the heart, sanctifies him in it, and rests on him.

The word of God cures the many foolish hopes and fears that we are naturally sick of, by representing to us hopes and fears of a far higher nature, which swallow up and drown the other: as inundations and land-floods do the little ditches in those meadows that they overflow. Fear not, says our Saviour, him that can kill the body, what then? Fear must have some work, he adds, but fear Him, that can kill both soul and body. Thus in the passage cited here, Fear not their fear, but sanctify the Lord, and let him be your fear and your dread. And so for the hopes of the world, care not though you lose them for God; there is a hope in you (as it follows here) that is far above them.

Be ready always to give an answer.] The real christian is all for Christ, hath given up all right of himself to his Lord and master; to be all his, to do and suffer for him; and therefore sure will not fail in this which is least, to speak for him upon all occasions. If he sanctify him in his heart, the tongue

b Matt. x. 28.

will follow, and be ready [gos añoλoyíav] to give an answer, a defence or apology. Of this here are four things to be noted.

1st.

2dle need of it, Men will ask an account.

2dly. The matter or subject of it, the hope in you.

3dly. The manner, with meekness and fear.
4thly. The faculty for it, Be ready.

1. For the first, the need of a defence or apology. Religion is always the thing in the world that hath the greatest calumnies and prejudices cast upon it; and this engages those that love it to endeavour to clear and disburthen it of them. This they do chiefly by the tract of their lives. The saints, by their blameless actions and patient sufferings, do write most real and convincing apologies; yet sometimes it is expedient, yea, necessary to add verbal defences, and to vindicate not so much themselves, as their Lord and his truth, suffering in the reproaches cast upon them. Did they rest in their own persons, a regardless contempt of them were usually the fittest answer; but where the holy profession of christians is likely to receive either the main or the indirect blow, and a word of defence may do any thing to ward it off, there we ought not to spare to do it.

Christian prudence goes a great way in the regulating of this; for holy things are not to be cast to dogs. Some are not capable of rational answers, especially in divine things; they were not only lost upon them, but religion indignified by contesting. But we are to answer every one that inquires a reason or an account; which supposes something receptive of it. We ought to judge ourselves engaged to give it, be it an enemy, if he will hear: if it gain him not, it may in part convince and cool him; much more be it one that ingenuously inquires for satisfaction, and possibly inclines to receive the truth, but is prejudiced against it by false misrepresentations of it: as satan and the profane world are very inventive of such shapes and colours as may Spreta vilescerent.

d Matt. vii. 6.

make truth most odious, drawing monstrous misconsequences out of it, and belying the practices of christians, making their assemblies horrible and vile by false imputations; and thus are they often necessitated to declare the true tenor, both of their belief and lives, in confessions of faith, and remonstrances of their carriage and custom.

.

The very name of christians, in the primitive times, was made hateful by the foulest aspersions of strange wickednesses committed in their meetings; and they passed credibly through with all that were not particularly acquainted with them. Thus it also was with the Waldenses; and so both were forced to publish apologies; and, as here, every one was and is bound, seasonably, to clear himself, and his brethren, and religion. Such is the expression here, be ye always ready; which intimates it was not always to be done to every one; but we, being ready to do, are to consider when, and to whom, and how far.

2. We have the matter or subject of the apology. All that they are to give account of is comprised here under this, the hope that is in you. Faith is the root of all graces, and of all obedience and holiness; and hope is so near in nature to it, that the one is commonly named for the other: for, the things that faith apprehends, and lays hold on, as present in the truth of divine promises, hope looks out for as to come in their certain performance. To believe a promise to be true before it be performed, is no other but to believe that it'shall be peformed; and hope expects that.

Many rich and excellent things do the saints receive, even in this mean despised condition they have here; but their hope is rather mentioned as the subject they may speak and give account of with most advantage; both because all they receive at present is but as nothing, compared to what they hope for; and because, such as it is, it cannot be made known at all to a natural man, and is so clouded with their afflictions and sorrows. These he sees, but their VOL. II. D

graces and comforts he cannot see; and therefore the very ground of higher hopes somewhat to come, though he knows not what it is, speaks more satisfaction. To hear of another life, and a happiness hoped for, any man will confess it says something, and deserves to be considered.

So, then, the whole sum of religion goes under this word, the hope that is in you, for two reasons, 1. As it terminates in hope: And, 2. as that is, by way of eminence, the hope, the most noble of all others.

1. For that it doth indeed all resolve and terminate into things to come, and leads and carries on the soul towards them by all the graces in it, and all the exercise of them, and through all services and sufferings; still it aims at this, as its main scope, to keep that life to come in the believers's eye, till he get it in his hand; to entertain the hope of it, and bring him home to possess it. And,

2. It is eminently The hope; therefore the Apostle calls faith the substance of things hoped for, that which makes them be before they be, gives a solidity and substance to them. The name of hope, in other things, scarce suits with such a meaning, but sounds a kind of uncertainty, and is somewhat airy. For, of all other hopes but this, it is a very true word, that hope is the name of an uncertain good: But the gospel, being entertained by faith, furnishes a hope that hath substance and reality in it; and all its truth do concentre into this, to give such a hope. There was in St. Paul's word, besides the fitness for his stratagem at that time, a truth suitable to this, where he assigns his whole cause for which he was in question, by the name of his hope of the resurrection".

And, indeed, this hope carries its own apology in it, for itself and for religion. What can more pertinently answer all exceptions against the way of godliness than this, to represent what hopes the saints have, that walk in that way. If you ask, Whither tends all this, your preciseness and singularity? Why Spes est nomen boni incerti. Sen.

Acts xxiii. 6.

cannot you live as your neighbours, and the rest of the world about you? Truly the reason is this, we have somewhat further to look to than our present condition, and far more considerable than any thing here; we have a hope of blessedness after time, a hope to dwell in the presence of God, where our Lord Christ is gone before us; and we know that as many as have this hope, must purify themselves even as he is pure. The city we tend to is holy, and no unclean thing shall enter into it. The hopes we have cannot subsist in the way of the ungodly world; they can not breathe in that air, but are choaked and stifled with it; and therefore we must take another way, un less we will forego our hopes, and ruin ourselves for company. "But all that bustle of godliness you "make, is but ostentation and hypocrisy." That may be your judgment; but, if it were so, we had but a poor bargain: They have their reward, that which they desire (to be seen of men) is given them, and they can look for no more; but we should be loath to have it so with us. That which our eye is on, is to come; our hopes are the thing which upholds us. We know that we shall appear before the judge of hearts, where shews and formalities will not pass: and we are persuaded, that the hope of the hypocrite shall perish; no man shall be so much disappointed and ashamed as he; but the hope that we have makes not ashamed". And while we consider that, so far are we from the regard of men's eyes, that, were it not we are bound to profess our hope, and avow religion, and to walk like it, even before men, we would be content to pass through altogether unseen, and desire to pass as if it were so; as regardless either of the approbation, or of the reproaches and mistakes, of men; as if there were no such thing," for it is indeed nothing.

Yea, the hopes we have make all things sweet. Therefore do we go through disgraces and sufferings with patience, yea with joy, because of that hope 1 Jobin iii. 3. d Rev. xxi. 17. e Mat. vi. f Job. viii. 13.

• Rom. v. 5.