A Complete collection of farewell sermons preached by Mr. Calamy, Dr. Manton, Mr. Caryl…A Compleat collection of farewel sermons preached by Mr. Calamy, Dr. Manton, Mr. Caryl…

3. Let us consider what we shall be at the end of Faith: why, we shall be saved, 1 Pet. 1.4, 5. and 9. verses compared, He hath begotten us to an Inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, that fades not away, reserved in Heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last times; and in the ninth verse, saith he, receiving the end of your Faith, even the salvation of your souls; so that, it seems, to be weary of believing, it is to be weary of being saved; not to hold fast Faith, is not to hold fast Salvation; for, saith he, you are saved by Faith, and the end of your Faith is the Salvation of your souls. Can you be contented to be damned? can you have patience to think of going to Hell? Now, put all these together, and will you not hold fast? you that before Faith were but darkness, were but dead, were but children of wrath, who by Faith are made children of light, are made alive, and the children of God; and who at the end of Faith, shall receive the salvation of our Souls: And shall not we hold fast? shall we leave this Faith? but then secondly,

A second Argument in the Text shall be drawn from the Object, and that is two-fold; there is faith, and the profession of this faith, that is to be held fast; and there are Arguments from both; First Faith, hold fast faith: why are we so greatly concerned, and so highly obliged to hold fast Faith? I will give you this one reason for it, it is the most holy Faith; There are many things may be called Faith, that may not be called most holy Faith: there are many faiths that are at least called holy: Turkish faith, is by them called holy faith: the Romish faith, is by them called holy faith: I, but this is the most holy faith; there is an expression that Jude hath, to commend faith to us, in the 20 verse of his Epistle, But ye beloved, building up your selves on your most holy faith, &c. Let other pretenders be as holy as they can, they can never rise to the holiness of this, this is the most holy faith, it is so holy in so high a degree as to be beyond compare. I, but now, what is it that may denominate this faith to be the most holy faith? why, it hath for its Author the most holy God; it is the gift of God, and the work of God, if we take it for the Act of faith: and the doctrine of God, if we take it for the doctrine of faith. There are, as the Apostle saith, gods many, but we know but one most holy God: there are that will be called your Holiness in the world; but this is the most holy God, a God that is glorious in holiness; yea whose glory is to be holy. There is nothing stamps glory on any subject like holiness: what is the difference between the Angels in Heaven, and the Angels in Hell, but Holiness? that is their glory, the the holy Angels; and that is their shame, the sinful Angels: and what was it that made Canaan a better land than another? was it not the holiness? it was the holy Land: what was it that made the Temple? a better place than another? was it not because it was the holy Temple? Yea, it is the glory of all the Attributes of God, that they are holy. His Justice would look like severity, but that it is holy: His Power would look like Tyranny, were it not holy: His Love would look like fondness, were it not holy: His Patience would look like a toleration of sin, were it not holy: therefore it is said, the Lord God glorious in holiness.