L

We feel in our hearts, we might have read in the feriptures before ever we felt it.

That the blefling of God may go forth with it, and accompany it to thy foul, reader, is the heart's defire and prayer

of,

·Thine, and the Church's

Servant in CHRIST,
JOHN FLAVEL.

THE

TOUCHSTONE OF SINCERITY:

OR,

The Signs of GRACE, and Symptoms of HYPOCRISY:
Opened in a Treatise upon Revelation iii. 17, 18.

Because thou sayest I am rich, and increased with goods, and
have need of nothing; and knorveft not that thou art wretched,
and miferable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counfel thee
to buy of me GOLD TRIED in the FIRE, that thou
mayeft be rich, &c.

Wherein the text is opened, and the doctrines are propounded.

A

Lthough the Revelation be a compendium of intricate vifions, and obfcure prophecies, containing almost as many myfteries as words yet that cloud overfhadows the prophetical part only; which begins where this chapter (with the doctrinal part) ends: here the waters are found no deeper than in other places of the Scripture, but if we go a little farther, they become an overflowing flood: Hitherto we touch

VOL. VIL

Tot myfteria quot verba. Hieron.
P

ground, but a ftep further delivers us into the deeps, which are above the heads of the tallest Christians: Here the Spirit fpeaks doctrinally, and perfpicuoufly; but in the following chapters mystically, and in great obfeurity.

Seven epiftles are found in this doctrinal part, immediately dictated from heaven, and fent by John to the feven churches of Afia, to inftruct, correct, encourage, and confirm them, as their several cafes required.

My text falls in the last epistle, fent to the church of Laodicea; the worft and moft degenerate of all the reft. The best had their defects and infirmities, but this laboured under the most dangerous difeafe of all. The faireft face of the seven had fome pots, but a dangerous disease seems to have invaded the very heart of this.

Not that all were equally guilty, but the greatest part (from which the whole is denominated) were lukewarm profeffors; who had a name to live, but were dead; who being never thoroughly engaged in religion, easily embraced that principle of the Gnoftics, which made it adapopor, a matter of indifferency to own or deny Chrift in time of perfecution; the most faving doctrine that fome profeffors are acquainted with. This lukewarm temper Chrift hated; he was fiek of them, and loathed their indifferency; "I with (faith he) ver. 16. thou wert ei "ther cold or hot." An expreffion of the fame amount with that in 1 Kings xviii. 21. "How long halt you between two "opinions?" and is manifeftly tranflated from the qualities of water *, which is either cold or hot; or lukewarm, a middle temper betwixt both, and more naufeous to the ftomach than either of the former. Cold, is the complection and natural temper of those that are wholly alienated and eftranged from Christ and religion: Hot, is the gracious temper of thofe that know and love Jefus Chrift in an excelling degree! lukewarm, or tepid, is the temper of those who have too much religion to be efteemed carnal, and too little to be truly fpiritual;' a generation that is too politic, to venture much, and yet fo foolish as to lofe all; they are loath to forfake truth wholly, and more loath to follow it too clofely: the form of religion they affect as an honour, the power of it they judge a burden.

Fervidos, vera

*Frigidos vocat plane a Chrifto alienos. Chrifti cognitione in excellenti gradu præditos. Tepidos, qui cum Chriftiani dici velint, nec caufam religionis ferio agunt, nec vitam confessioni conformem dignamque ducunt, Sol, Glaff. Rhet. Sacra. par. 3, p. 165.

This is that temper which the Lord hates, and this was the difeafe of Laodicea, which Chrift, the great and only heart-anatomift and foul-phyfician, discovers in ver. 17. and prescribes a cure for it in ver. 18. So that the words refolve themselvesTM into two parts; viz.

First, A faithful difcovery of the difeafe of Laodicea.
Secondly, A proper remedy

1. First, Their disease is faithfully discovered to them, both in its symptoms, cause and aggravations.

Firft, Its fymptoms, an unconcerned, indifferent, regardless fpirit in matters of religion, neither hot, nor cold; the true temper of formal-profeffors, who never engaged themselves thoroughly and heartily in the ways of God, but can take or leave as times govern, and worldly interest come to be concerned.

Secondly, Its cause and root, which is the defect and want of the truth, and power of inward grace, noted in these expreffions, "Thou art wretched, and miferable, poor, blind, " and naked;" i. e. thou art deftitute of a real principle, a folid work of grace. These five epithets do all point at one and the fame thing; namely, the defective and rottennefs of their foundation. The two first, o tahalπwpos xaι o ensivos, wretched and miferable are more general, concluding them in a fad condition, a very finful and lamentable eftate; the three laft, Dlaxos, tuQhos, xat yuuvos, viz. poor, blind, and naked, are more particular, pointing at thofe grand defects and flaws in the foundation, which made their condition fo wretched and miferable.

First, Poor, that is, * void of righteousness and true holiness before God: These are the true riches of Chriftians; and whofoever wants them, is poor and miferable, how rich foever he be in gifts of the mind, or treasures of the earth.

Secondly, Blind; † i. e. without fpiritual illumination, and fo neither knowing their disease, nor their remedy; the evil of fin, or neceffity of Chrift.

Thirdly, Naked, without Chrift, and his righteousness. Sin is the foul's fhame and nakednefs; Chrift's pure and perfect righteousness is its covering or garment; this they wanted, P 2

*wxos deftitutus juftitia, et fanctitate vera, coram Deo. Grotius.

Tuphos Nec morbam fciens, nec remedium-----Durham in loc, ‡youvés Carens juftitia quæ veftitus eft Chriftianorum. Pareus.

how richly foever their bodies were adorned. Thefe were Laodiceans; i. e. a juft, or righteous people (according to the notation of that word) whofe garments with which they covered themselves, were made of the home-fpun thread of their own righteousness.

Thirdly, The difeafe of Laodicea is here opened to them in its' aggravation: "Thou faidft I am rich, and increafed "with goods, and have need of nothing; but knoweft not," &c.

To be really graceless and Chriftlefs, is a miferable condition *; but to be fo, and yet confidently perfuaded of the contrary, is moft miferable: to have the very fymptoms of death upon us, and yet tell thofe that pity us we are as well as they, is lamentable indeed!

O the efficacy of a spiritual delufion! this was theit difeafe, gracelesnefs; and the aggravation of it, was their fenfeless ness.

Secondly, We have a proper remedy prescribed, ver. 18. "I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou "mayeft be rich," &c. In which we have to confider, First, what is prefcribed for the cure. Secondly, Where it is to be had. Thirdly, How to be obtained.

First, What are the remedies prefcribed; and they are three; Gold, white raiment, and eye-falve. Firft, gold, the cure of poverty, yea, Gold tried in the fire; i. e. grace that hath been varioufly proved already; and the more it is proved, the more its truth will be confpicuous. The next is white raiment, the remedy against nakedness. And, laftly, eye-falve, the effec tual cure of blindnefs. Under all thefe choice metaphors, more choice and excellent things are fhadowed, even spiritual graces, real holiness, more precious than gold. Chrift's im pated righteoufnefs, the richeft garment in all the wardrobe of heaven; and fpiritual illumination, the moft excellent collyrium or eye-falve that ever was, or can be applied to the mental eye or underftanding of man in this world.

Secondly, Where thefe precious remedies may be had; and you find Chrift hath the monopoly of them all; Buy of me, faith Chrift in the text; he is the repofitory of all graces. Angels, minifters, ordinances cannot furnifh you with them with out Christ.

*Nil miferius mifero non miferante feipfum,

2. c. None is more to be pitied than a pityable finner who does not pity himself.

Hoc povoz Kiev eft Chrifti, extrà quod nulla eft fatus.

Thirdly, How they may be obtained from him; Buy of me. On this place Eftius, and others, build their doctrine of merit ; which is to build a fuperftructure of hay and stubble upon a foundation of gold. The exigence of the very text itself de ftroys fuch conceits: for what have they that are poor, wretched, miferable, and want all things, to give as a price, or by way of merit for thofe ineftimable treafures of grace? Buying therefore in this place can fignify or intend no more than the acquifition, compaffing, or obtaining these things from Jefus Chrift, in the use of fuch means and methods as he hath appointed and in the use of them we merit grace no more than the patient merits of his phyfician by coming to him, and carefully following his prefcriptions in the ufe of fuch medicaments as he freely gives him: And that place, Ifa. lv.- 1. (from which this phrafe feems to be borrowed) fully clears it; He that hath no money, let him come and buy wine and "milk without money, and without price."

From all which, thefe three obfervations fairly offer themfelves to us.

Doct. 1. That many professors of religion are under very great and dangerous mistakes in their profeffion.

Doct. 2. That true grace is exceeding precious, and greatly enriches the foul that poffeffeth it.

Doct. 3. That only is to be accounted true grace, which is able to endure all thofe trials appointed, or permitted for the difcovery of it.

The first doctrine naturally rifes out of the fcope of the text, which is to awaken and convince unfound profeffors.

The fecond, from the ufe the Holy Ghoft makes of the best and choiceft things in nature, to fhadow forth the inestimable worth and precioufnefs of grace.

And the third, from that particular, and moft fignificant metaphor of gold tried in the fire; by which I here understand a real and folid work of grace, evidencing itself to be so in all the proofs and trials that are made of it; for whatsoever is probational of grace, and puts its foundness and fincerity to the teft, is that to it which fire is to gold: In this fense it is used in fcripture, Pfal. Ixvi. 1o. "Thou haft tried us as filver is "tried:" And Zech. xiii. 9. "I will bring the third part "through the fire, and will refine them as filver is refined, " and try them as gold is tried." So that whatsoever it is which examines and tries grace whether it be found and fincere, that is the fire Chrift here fpeaks of; and fuch grace as abides these trials, is the gold here intended.