A practicall commentary, or an exposition with observations, reasons, and vses upon the first Epistle generall of John by ... John Cotton ...

1 JOHN 3.3.

And every man that hath this hope in him, purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

IN these words you have; A description of a childe of God. He is such a one as hath hope in Christ.

2. This hope is set forth by its proper work and efficacy, purging.

3. The pattern or rule, according to which it purgeth, even as Christ is pure.

Doct. 1. That every childe of God hath hope in Christ, to be made like him at his appearing.

Every man that is begotten again, is begotten to a lively hope, 1 Pet. 1.3, 4, 5. An hypocrites hope is dead, it hath neither comfort, nor power in it to cleanse or purge. A childe in the wombe, when they doubt of the life of it, though the parent be very wealthy, yet hath not lively hope of his possession; but if the childe be born alive, then there is a comfortable hope: so if we be not born again, all our hopes of eternall life are but vain, 1 Cor. 15.19. It's the property of the Israel of God to hope in their God, Psalm. 130.7.

Q. What is this hope?

Answ. It is a patient, certain, and grounded expectation of all those promi∣ses in Christ, which by faith we beleeve to belong unto us. It's a sure and patient expectation.

There are two acts of hope:

• 1. Expectation.
• 2. Waiting.

This is not an expectation of meer opinion, but a sure expectation. The Apostle puts both together, Rom. 8.25. Heb. 6.11, 18, 19. An anchor is a sure and stedfast stay to the ship, that though it waves up and downe; yet it hath a certaine stay. And so a Christians hope, it's like an anchor to stay the soul, the object of hope is the accomplishment of the promises to come, and so differs from faith; no man hopes for that which is present or past, but that which we see not, promises that belong to us in reversion. Tit. 2.13, 14. Heb. 11.1. Faith looks at all promises as present, faith beleeves that all the promises are true, and then hope stirs up it selfe to look for accomplish∣ment, and if God tarry long, it waits, Rom. 5.5. It's a sure hope, never was any man disappointed; and yet hope, though it be sure, it is not without all doubting. No true Christian but hath this hope.

Reas. That Gods children might not be tossed and hurryed up and down the world. A childe of God is never carryed far, an anchor sticks in the foundation, Heb. 6.18, 19. While he hold on our hopes, and they are fastned to Christ, we have strong cansolation, hereby are we kept from dashing against rocks, and sands, and shoars; here is the difference be∣tween an anchor and hope, an anchor is fastened in the earth, and hope in heaven.

Ʋse 1. This may shew you the dignity and honour of a Christian. He is a man of great hopes, he will not give his hopes for the best mans estate in the world, he hath a stedfast hope of being like Christ when he sees him; though the cloathes he now wears be mean, yet he hopes to be clad with Christs righteousnesse; and though his house be mean, yet he hopes for an house

not made with hands; this is his anchor, and this will hold whithersoever we sail:

2: This may be a ground of tryall, What be the hopes you build upon? There is a double difference between the hopes of a godly and wicked man.

1. The wicked mans hopes are groundlesse, he hath no grounds but hopes:

2. It is fruitlesse, Job 8 11. The hope of an hypocrite that is with∣out ground, is like a rush or flag without water or mire. Grasse if it have got head, will do well enough without much moysture or water. Hope without a promise wants water to nourish it. A spiders web looks like a curious work but it's drawn out of its own bowels, and is soone swept away; so a hypocrite hath no hope but what he spins out of his own bowels, he builds upon present or future duties, his hope is fruitlesse, it neither yeelds comfort nor selfe-purging. A true Christian rejoyceth in tribulation, but an hypocrite is overthrowne with it, Rom. 5 2, 3. The hope of an hypocrite makes him carelesse, he takes no pains with his heart, Prov. 14.23. Take an hypo∣crite while he is in prosperity, and he hath great hopes; takes away prosperi∣ty, and perhaps it may hold still, for he may hope that friends will do some∣thing; when he is sick, he hopes to recover; when he fears death, he hopes for another life, but when death comes, all his hopes are crusht: But a godly man, he hopes in death, he hopes for Gods goodnesse, his hope will never fail him, nor make him ashamed.

3. Hence learn, that hope and knowledge of the same thing may well stand together; In the former verse; he saith, We know, here he hopes. A mans hope ceaseth not in order to another world; for do not the Saints beleeve that their bodies shall rise again? and do not they hope for it; They know the perperpetuity of their estates, and they hope for it, 2 Cor. 13.13.

4. This should stir us up, as we would have a comfortable death, and safe, not to goe to Sea without this anchor of hope. The world is full of per∣plexities, carry your anchor about with you, see your hope well wrought, and you shall be safe. Mariners goe not to Sea without an anchor, but per∣haps sometimes though they have pitched their anchor in the bottome of the Sea, yet the storms may be so great, that they may be forced to cut the cable; woman in childebed may be put to distresse, but hope in heaven will carry her through.

Q. How may we get this hope?

Answ. 1. We can never come to it, till we be out of hope of any goodnesse in our selves.

2: We must attend upon God in his ordinances, that so he may work faith in us; and where there is faith, there will be strings of hope, hope is built up∣on faith.

Q. How shall we carry it about with us?

Answ. Look at it as a mercy that you have it, stay your selves upon your anchor, look afresh at the promises, and believe them, then thou shalt have hope enough: That which makes unquiet, is because we have not visited the promises many a day, nor renewed our faith in them.

Doct. 2: That every Christian man that doth hope to be like Christ in glory hereafter, doth purge himselfe, to be like Christ in grace here▪

The lively hope of a Christian here, is set forth by the lively fruit of selfe-purging, 2 Pet. 3.12, 13, 14. Titus 2.11, 12, 13, 14.

How doth this hope thus purifie us?

1: By the holy meditations it doth suggest into the heart of every hope∣full Christian:

1. A Christian that knows he hath long been imprisoned in the fetters of corruption, and knows he shall shortly be called to appear before God; it makes him to put off all superfluity of uncleannesse, and to put on the gar∣ments of holinesse. Shall I come before Christ invested in pride and wanton∣nesse? This makes him carefull to purifie himselfe, Jer. 2.32. Can a Maid forget her ornaments when she is to be married? and can a Christian forget such ornaments as may befit him for such a Kingdome?

2. A second meditation which provokes a hoping Christian to purifie himselfe, is this, He considers, the more he is purged and purified, the more he is cleansed, the greater shall his glory be, 2 Pet. 3.10, 11, 12.

2. Hope purifies by setting some graces on work, which doe cleanse and purifie: As,

1. Repentance is a grace that purgeth us from sin, Psalm 130.1, 2, 3

2. Faith purifies our hearts, Acts 15.9. If God stir but up our hearts to wait on him, we may certainly know that he will do so as we have desired, else our hope would make us ashamed, Psalm 119. 49. Remember thou the word un∣to thy servant in which thou hast made me to trust.

3 The meditation of the graces in Christ transform us into their image, 2 Cor. 3.18. There is such a power in the promises of God, that they fashion us like unto Christ.

4. Hope cleanseth us, by giving us hearts fastening on the Word, and ap∣plying it; and the Word applyed hath a strong power to cleanse even young men, Psal. 119.9.

5. This hope hath a power to stir us up to faithfulnesse, which hope per∣swades us our labour shall not be in vain in the Lord, and this faithfulnesse sets God on work to purge us, Joh. 15.2. that we may bring forth more fruits. When God seeth us to stand at a stay, and to wax b••rren, then he is ready to cut us down, that we cumber not the ground.

3. Hope to be made like to Christ in glory hereafter makes us to abandon such impediments as hinder our purification, 1 Cor. 5.6. When he saith, that every one that hath this hope purifies himself, it implyes it is a continued work, he makes it a part of his daily work.

2. He purgeth himselfe, he doth not say from what, from wantonnesse; and leaves covetousnesse behinde, he leaves it indefinitely, he includes all, and ex∣cludes none, James 1.21. This hope purgeth the whole man, the understan∣ding, will, and affections, 2 Cor. 7.1. 1 Thess. 5.23. Well then may it be called a lively fruitfull hope.

Reas. Hope comes to all the ordinances of God, with expectation that it shall finde benefit from the Word, prayer, and good company. Hope waits on God for good in every ordinance, and then it never goes away empty; it strive, before it comes to prepare the heart, and to cleanse it from all filthi∣nesse.

Ʋse 1. This may discover unto us the wonderfull loathsomnesse of sin. If sin were not an excrement, why should we purge it out? We purge out nothing but filthy loathsome things, and therefore when hope is said to purge, it implyes that sin is loathsome.

2. Hence discern the soundnesse of our hope. Do you finde your hearts daily striving to ••leanse your selves? if not thy hope will make thee ashamed. If thy hope do not set thee on work every day to cleanse thy heart, truly thy hope is nothing but a vain delusion, and nothing will more sting thee at the last day, when thou shalt hope for heaven, thou shalt be cast out of Gods presence.

3. Let it teach all Christians, as they would not be ashamed of their hopes, to make their calling and election sure. Let their hopes make them purge and cleanse themselves. And let not Christians think it is enough to purge themselves, but they must purge their families. A Christian must suffer none in his family to be uncircumcised. God would have killed Moses

because he had one uncircumcised. Magistrates must cleanse their Towns and places where they live. Good Josiah when he was to celebrate the Passover, he set himselfe with all his heart to purge Jerusalem and Judah.

Doct. 3. The purity of Christ is the pattern of every Christians purity. Or thus: Every hopefull Christian makes Christs purity the pattern of his, 1 Cor. 11.1. Heb. 12.12. Be ye followers of me, as I am of Christ.

Set before you a pattern of a cloud of witnesses, 1 John 2.6. He that abides in Christ, ought to walk as he hath walked.

Why should every Christian make Christ the pattern of his purity?

1. From the end of Gods predestination. He hath predestinated us to be con∣formed to the image of his Son, Rom. 8.29. And God in all things requires that we should grow up to the fellowship of the stature of Jesus Christ.

2. From the perfection of the pattern. All other patterns of godly men will fail us in some things, but Christ is a perfect pattern, he will fail us in no∣thing,

Ʋse 1. This should teach us to reject the society of such men as inwardly loath the name of Puritans; alas if they cannot endure the name of purity in poor weak Christians, how would they hate the purity of Christ? If they cannot endure the brightnesse of a candle, how will they endure the brightness of the Sun? and yet they say, they love Christ. But if they have not purity, how can they love Christ? and if they love not Christ, they are accursed for ever.

2. This reproves those, who though they do not hate purity, yet, they think themselves very well, if they exceed the worst sort of men; they are no whore-mongers, nor theeves, nor deceivers. Alas, if there be no more then morall honesty, they shall come far short of Hea∣ven.

3. This reproves the Romish Church, that think ordinary Christians are not bound to so strict a pattern as their regular Christians. Did ever any of them reach higher then Christ? and is not every Christian exhorted to set Christ as a pattern?

4. This reproves another sort of Christians, who if they have got but such a measure of grace, as they are assured to be in a state of grace, they never look further, but now they look out for themselves in the world, as if they might rest in what is behinde, and never presse forward to what is before them, contrary to Paul: Know, O Christian, it is not enough to get truth of grace, nor some purity, but you must grow pure as Christ is pure.

Ʋse 2. This may exhort us all, as we would maintain our hope to be made like Christ hereafter, so to strive to this exactnesse of purity, to purifie our selves as he is pure. If you would be hopefull Christians, you must be growing Christians, growing up to the measure of the purity of Christ; decay in growing▪ and you decay in hope. No Christian so full of joy and hope, as he that is every day getting something, and growing up to perfection, 1 John 2.6. Phil. 3.12, 13, 14.

Motives to stir us up to grow in grace.

1. So soon as you slack this care, your hope, faith, and grace waxeth weak. If we see our bodies do not voyd excrements for many dayes, we think our bodies are not in a good state but some diseases lye on us. How can we have an healthfull soul, when we purge not our corruption many a day?

2. From the great uncomelinesse that is in us, if we do not strive to be pure. Is it not an uncomely thing to see the head to be of gold, and the mem∣bers partly brasse, partly clay and dirt?

3. It's very grievous to the Spirit of God, that we should be no better for all it hath dwelt so long in us. When Christ had been long with his Disci∣ples,

and they were not bettered by him, he up braids them, O foolish and slow of heart to believe! how long shall I be with you? It was a griefe to Christ that he should be long with his Disciples, and they not to grow up to strength of grace.

Obj. But doth not virtue consist in a golden mean?

Ans. Virtue consists not in a mean between two degrees, but in a mean between two extreams. You may exceed the bounds of righteousnesse, and so be unrighteous; but you cannot exceed the degrees of righteousnesse, Christ saith, Be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect. Can you then be too pure and holy. No you cannot, though you were as full of g••ace and holinesse as Christ himselfe.

4. As ever you desire to be worthy partakers of the Sacrament, then labour to purifie your selves. The reason why many a christian comes to the Sacra∣ment, and finds no comfort, is, because they grieved the Spirit of God before they came, by neglecting to cast out those obstructions which hinder the influ∣ence of the head to the members, 1 Cor. 11.30, 31.

Means to help us to purifie our selves.

1. Be perswaded that you are not in a safe estate, till you are grown up to some good measure of purity. You would think him in a poor case, that should live 200 years, and yet for want of evacuation should live in sicknesse and weaknesse. And so a christian is in an uncomfortable estate unlesse he purge himselfe.

2. Be very watchfull over thy wayes.

3. Use the ordinances of God constantly. Say not after conversion, It is no matter whether we be alwayes conversant in Gods ordinances, but at some times, when the Spirit moves us. Labour we to carry our selves not as idle hearers, but as faithfull doers; labour we to see our spots and deformities, and strive to purge them, labour we to practise new duties, as they are renewed to us.