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BX 9339 .S52 186''^'^' v. '3 Sibbes, Richard, 1577-1635 The complete works of Richard Sibbes, D.D
Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive
in 2009 witii funding from
Princeton Tlieological Seminary Library
Iittp://www.archive.org/details/completeworkso03sibb
NICHOL'S SERIES OF STANDARD DIVINES.
PURITAN PERIOD.
ixi\i ^^rnral "^xdwcit
By JOHN C. MILLEE, D.D.,
LINCOtS COLLEGE ; HONORABT CANON OF WORCESTER; KECToa OF ST MAKTIS'S.DIKMINGHAM.
THE
WOEKS OF RICHARD SIBBES, D.D.
VOL. III.
COUNCIL OF PUBLICATION.
W. LINDSAY ALEXANDER, D.D., Professor of Theology, Congregational Union, Edinburgh.
.JAMES BEGG, D.D., Minister of Newington Free Church, Edinburgh.
THOMAS J. CRAWFORD, D.D., S.T.P., Professor of Divinity, University Edinburgh.
D. T. K. DRUMMOND, M.A., Minister of St Thomas's Episcopal Church Edinburgh.
WILLIAM H. GOOLD, D.D., Professor of Biblical Literature and Church History, Reformed Presbyterian Church, Edinburgh.
ANDREW THOMSON, D.D., Minister of Broughton Place United Presby- terian Church, Edinburgh,
General ffiUttor. REV. THOMAS SMITH. M.A., Edinbuegh.
THE COMPLETE WORKS
RICHARD SIBBES, D.D.
MASTEE OF CATHERINE HALL, CAMBRIDGE ; PREACHER OF GRAY S INN,
LONDON.
BY THE REV. ALEXANDER BALLOCH GROSART,
(cor. MEMB. SOC. ANTIQ. op SCOTLAND)
KINROSS.
0
VOL. III. CONTAINING A COMMENTARY
ON THE FIRST CHAPTER
OF THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS.
EDINBURGH: JAMES NICHOL.
LONDON: JAMES NISBET AND CO. DUBLIN: W. ROBERTSON.
M.DCCC.LXII.
EDINBLrKGH :
PRIMTKD l;i' JOHK GUtIG AND SON.
OLD I'HTSIC aAiiDE.;-^.
EXPOSITION OF 2D CORINTHIANS CHAPTER I.
in.
EXPOSITION OF SECOND CORINTHIANS CHAPTER I.
NOTE.
The ' Exposition ' of 2i Corinthians chapter 1., was published in a handsome folio, under the editorial supervision of Dr Manton. The original title-page is given be- low.* Prefixed to the volume is a very fine portrait of Sibbes, after the same original evidently with that earlier engraved for ' Bowels Opened,' and other works, in quarto and smaller size, but in the style of Hollar. The admirers of Puritan litera- ture will find it no less interesting than rewarding, to compare the present ' Exposi- tion ' of Sibbes with that of a man of kindred intellect and character, viz., Anthony Burgesse, ' Pastor of Sutton-Coldfield, in Warwickshire.' His ' sermons' on the same portion of Holy Scripture bear the following title, ' An Expository Comment, Doc- trinal, Controversal '[sic], and Practical, upon the whole First Chapter of the Second Epistle of St Paul to the Corinthians ' (London, folio, 1G61). Our copy has the rare autograph of the excellent Bishop Beveridge, cm the title-page, with a note of its price, 'pret 12. s.' G.
• Original title : —
A Learned COMMENTARY ^
OR
EXPOSITION
UPON
The first Chapter of the Second Epistle of S. Paul to the CORINTHIANS.
BEING
The Substance of many Sermons formerly
Preached at Grayes-Inne, London,
By that Eeverend and Judicious Divine,
RICHARD SIBBS, D.D.
Sometimes Master of Catherine-Hall, in Cambridge, and Preacher
to that Honourable Society.
Published for the Publick Good and Benefit of the Church
of CHRIST. By The. Manton, B. D. and Preacher of the Gospel at Stoake- Newington, near London.
• ■ Vivit post funera virtus.
Psalm 112. 6.
The Righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.
2 Pet. 1. 15.
Moreover, I will endeavour that you may be able after my decease, to have these
things always in remembrance.
LONDON,
Printed by F. L. for N. B. and are to be sold by Tho. Parkhurst, at his Shop
at the sign of the three Crowns over against the Great Conduit, at
the Lower end of Cheapside. 1655.
/^PHIITC.
TO THE EEADEE.
Good Reader, — There is no end of books, and yet we seem to need more every day. There was such a darkness brought in by the fall, as will not thoroughly be dispelled till we come to heaven ; where the sun shineth with- out either cloud or night. For the present, all should contribute theii- help according to the rate and measure of their abilities. Some can only hold up a candle, others a torch ; but all are useful. The press is an excellent means to scatter knowledge, were it not so often abused. AU complain there is enough written, and think that now there should be a stop. In- deed, it were well if in this scribbling age there were some restraint. Use- less pamphlets are grown almost as great a mischief as the erroneous and profane. Yet 'tis not good to shut the door upon industry and diligence. There is yet room left to discover more, above all that hath been said, of the wisdom of God and the riches of his grace in the gospel ; yea, more of the stratagems of Satan and the deceitfulness of man's heart. Means need to be increased every day to weaken sin and strengthen trust, and quicken us to holiness. Fundamentals are the same in all ages, but the constant necessities if the church and private Christians, will continually enforce a further exphcation. As the arts and slights of besieging and battering in- crease, so doth skill in fortification. If we have no other benefit by the multitude of books that are written, we shall have this benefit : an oppor- tunity to observe the various workings of the same Spirit about the same truths, and indeed the speculation is neither idle nor unfruitful.
There is a diversity of gifts as there is of tempers, and of tempers as there is of faces, that in all this variety, God may be the more glorified. The penmen of Scripture, that aU wrote by the same Spirit, and by an in- faUible conduct, do not write in the same style. In the Old Testament, there is a plain difference between the lofty, courtly style of Isaiah, and the priestly, grave style of Jeremiah. In Amos there are some marks of his caUing* in his prophecy. In the New Testament, you will find John sublime and seraphical, and Paul rational and argumentative. 'Tis easy to track both by their pecuHar phrases, native elegances, and distinct man- ner of expression. This variety and * manifold grace,' 1 Pet. iv. lO,-]- still
* That is, a ' herdsman.' — G.
t Ubi Vulgat. Dispensatio multiformis gratire. The more acciirate rendering from the Vulgate is, ' Unusquisque, sicut accepit gratiam, in alterutrum illam adminis- trantes, sicut boni dispensatores multiformis gratise Dei.' — Ed. Paris, 2 vols. 12mo. 1851.— G.
4 TO THE READER.
continueth. The stones that lie in the building of God's house are not all of a sort. There are sapphires, carbuncles, and agates, all which have their peculiar use and lustre, Isa. liv. 12.* Some are doctrinal, and good for information, to clear up the truth and vindicate it from the sophisms of ■wretched men ; others have a great force and skill in application. Some are more evangelical, their souls are melted out in sweetness ; others are sons of thunder, more rousing and stirring, gifted for a rougher strain, which also hath its use in the art of winning souls to God. 'Twas observed of the three ministers of Geneva, that none thundered more loudly than Farel, none piped more sweetly than Virct, none taught more learnedly and solidly than Calvin.f So variously doth the Lord dispense his gifts, to shew the liberty of the spirit, and for the greater beauty and order of the chui'ch ; for difierence with proportion causeth beauty ; and to prevent schism, eveiy member having his distinct excellency. So that what is wanting in one, may be supplied by another ; and all have something to commend them to the church, that they may be not despised ; as in several countries they have several commodities to maintain traffic between them all. We are apt to abuse the diversity of gifts to divisions and partiaUties, whereas God hath given them to maintain a communion.;^ In the church's vestment there is variety, but no rent. Varietas sit, scissura non sit.
All this is the rather mentioned, because of that excellent and peculiar gift which the worthy and reverend author had in unfolding and applying the great myst«iries of the gospel in a sweet and melhfluous way ; and there- fore was by his hearers usually termed The Siveet Dropper, sweet and hea- venly distillations usually dropping from him with such a native elegance as is not easily to be imitated. I would not set the gifts of God on quar- relling, but of all ministries, that which is most evangelical seemeth most useful. ' The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy,' Rev. xix. 10. ' Tis spoken by the angel to dissuade the apostle fi-om worshipping him. You that preach Jesus Christ and him crucified and risen from the dead, have a like dignity with us angels that foretell things to come, your mes- sage is ' the spirit of prophecy ; ' as if he had said. This is the great and fundamental truth wherein runneth the life, and the heart-blood of religion.
The same spirit is breathing in these discourses that are now put into thy hand, wherein thou wilt find much of the comforts of the gospel, of the seahng of the Spiiit, and the constant courses of God's love to his people, fruitfully and faithfully improved for thy edification.
* Varia gemmarum genera propter varia dona quae sunt in Ecclesia. — Sanctpus].
t Gallica mirata est Calvinum Ecclesia nuper ; quo nemo docuit doctius. Est quoque te nuper mirata Farelle tonantem ; quo nemo tonuit fortius. Et miratur adliuc fundentem mella Viretum ; quo nemo fatur dulcius. Scilicet aut tribus his eervabere testibus olim, aut interibis Gallia. — Beza. (Poemata et Epigrammata, p. 90, 32mo, Ludg. Bat., 1G14).— G.
t Tunc bene multiformis Dei gratia dispensatur, quaudo acceptura donum etiam ejus qui hoc non habet, creditur, quando propter eum cui impcnditur sibi datum putatur. — Gregor. Moral., lib. xxviii., c. 6.
TO THE READER, 5
Let it not stumble thee that the work is posthume* and cometh out so long after the author's death. It were to be wished that those who excel in public gifts would, during Ufe, publish their own labours, to prevent spurious obtrusions upon the world, and to give them their last hand and pohshment, as the apostle Peter was careful to ' write before his decease,' 2 Pet. i. 12-14. But usually the church's treasure is most increased by legacies. As Elijah let faU his mantle when he was taken up into heaven, so God's eminent servants, when their persons could no longer remain in the world, have left behind them some worthy pieces as a monument of their graces and zeal for the pubhc welfare. Whether it be out of a mo- dest sense of their own endeavours, as being loath upon choice, or of their own accord to venture abroad into the world, or whether it be that bein" occupied and taken up with other labours, or whether it be in a conformity to Christ, who would not leave his Spirit till his departure, or whether it be out of an hope that their works would find a more kindly reception after their death, the living being more hable to emy and reproach (but when the author is in heaven the work is more esteemed upon earth), whether for this or that cause, usually it is, that not only the life, but the death of God's servants hath been profitable to his church, by that means many use- ful treatises being freed from the privacy and obscureness to which, by modesty of the author, they were formerly confined.
Which, as it hath commonly fallen out, so especially in the works of this reverend author, all which (some few only excepted!) saw the hght after the author's death, which also hath been the lot of this useful comment ; only it hath this advantage above the rest, that it was perused by the author during hfe, and corrected by his own hand, and hath the plain signature and marks of his own spirit, which will easily appear to those that have been any way conversant with his former works. This being signified (for farther commendation it needeth none), I ' commend thee to God, and to the word of his grace,' which is able to build thee up, and to give thee an inheritance among the sanctified, remaining
Thy servant in the Lord's work,
Thomas Manton.J
• That is, ' posthumous.' — G.
t ' Some few only excepted,* viz., those which form vol. I. of tliis collective edition of his works. — G.
I It were supererogatory to annotate a name so illustrious in the roll of Puritans as is that of Thomas Manton. His memoir will appear as an introduction to hia works in the present series, by one admirably qualified for doing it justice. But it may be here noticed that he was born at Lawrence-Lydiard fnow Lydeard, St Law- rencej, Somersetshire, in 1620, and died on October 18. 1677. Consult ' Life,' by Harris, prefixed to Sermons on 119th Psalm, and ' Nonconformists' Memorial,' i., pp. 175-179, 426-431. He was one of the ' ejected' of 1662.— G.
A COMMENTARY
UPON
THE FIEST CHAPTER OE THE SECOND EPTSTLE OF ST PAUL TO THE COEINTHIANS.
Paul, an aposUe of Jesr. Ckrist ,y t^e^Ul of G^ -^J^SX^'S unto the church of God which rsat ^«'f ^'^ ^f^ f /^X^^nd /rom t;^. all Achaia : Grace be to you, and peace, from God oiu t atlier, a j Lord Jesus Christ.— 2 CoK. I. 1, 2.
Thk preface to this epistle is the -^ -J.^^^^^^^^^
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sevU duties as we «^f .^^/^^^^ /^S'thll the ministerial labour is The general scope f,^^^''^^^^^ 'X fruit of the first Epistle to the ' not in vain in the Lord, 1 Coi. xv. o». ^^".tip tnnlv effect Therefore Cormthians is seen in this second ; t^^^^^/J^^pi^^^^^^^^^^^ we should not be discouraged, neither ^^^^^^f^s a ev^ man should
vindicate our credit, when the tnitli may ""^ . ^ to dear
apostle stands here upon his reputation, ^^^^^'^'l^ Sl'C^.. life, for himself from all imputations But ^^P^^f^y^^^/^^ '^'^^.,},^ ^ould not that is the best apology. But because ^^^^J^J^f^^^^^, ^'^'Li this epistle, speak loud enough, therefore he makes an excellent apology m
8 COMMENTARY ON
' Paid, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, and Timothy our brother.'' This chapter is apolorjetical, especially after the preface. He stands in defence of himself against the imputations : first, that he was a man neglected of God — he was so persecuted, and oppressed with so many afflictions. And the second is the imputation of inconstancy — that he came not to them when he had made a promise to come. This chapter is espe- cially in defence of these two.
In an excellent heavenly ^vasdom, he turns ofi" the imputation of afflic- tions, and inverts the imputation the clean contrary way. And he begins with thanksgiving, ' Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, the God of all comfort, who hath comforted us in all our tribulations : ' as if God had done him a great favour in them, as we shall see when we come to those words.
For the preface, it is common with all his epistles, therefore we make it not a principal part of the chapter. Yet because these prefaces have the seeds of the gospel in them, the seeds of heavenly comfort and doctrine, I will speak something of it. Here is an inscription, and a salutation.
In the inscription, there are the parties from whom this epistle was writ- ten, ' Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the wiU of God, and Timothy our brother.' And the persons to whom : * To the church of God at Corinth, and all the saints in Achaia.'
The salutation : ' Grace and Peace ;' in the form of a blessing, * Grace and peace.'
From whom : ' From God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.'
* Paul an apostle,' do. In this inscription he sets down his office, * an apostle,' and ' an apostle of Jesus Christ.' How apostles difier from other ministers, it is an ordinary point. St Paul was called to be an apostle by Christ himself, 1 Cor ix. 1. ' Am I not an apostle ? have I not seen Christ ?' It was the privilege of the apostles to see Christ. They were taught imme- diately by Christ, and they had a general commission to teach all, and they bad extraordinary gifts. All these were in St Paul eminently. And this was his prerogative, that he was chosen by Christ in heaven, in glory. The other were chosen by Christ when he was in abasement, in a state of humiliation. ' Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ.'
' By the ivill of God.' By the appointment of God, by the designment* of Christ ; for every man in his particular calling is placed in it ' by the will of God. St Paul saith, he was an apostle * by the will of God, not by the will of man.' This is the same word as is iu the beginning of the Epistle to the Philippians.f
In a word, it teacheth us this first observation. That we should think our- selves in our standings and callings to be there by the will of God.
And therefore should serve him by whose will we are placed in that standing. Let every man consider, who placed me here ? God. If a hair cannot fall from my head without his providence, Mat. x. 30, much less can the disposing of my calling, which is a greater matter ; therefore I will seek his glorj^, and frame myself and courses answerable to the wiU of him by whose will I am in this place.
Men have not their callings only to get riches, and to get preferment. Those are base ends of their own to serve themselves. God placeth us in our particular callings, not to serve ourselves, but to serve him; and he
* That is, ' designation.' — G. t This is a slip for Ephesians.— G.
2 CORINTHIANS CHAP. I, YER. 1. 9
will cast in those riches, honour, preferment, dignity, and esteem, so much as is fit for us in the serving of him in our places.
The other party* in the inscription, from whom the epistle is, is,
' Timothy our brother.' He sends his Epistle from Timothy as well as from himself. This he doth to win the more acceptance among the Co- rinthians, by the consent of so blessed a man as Timothy was, who was an evangelist. Unity by consent is stronger. And there is a natural weak- ness in men to regard the consent and authority of others, more than the things themselves. And indeed, if God himself in heavenly love and mercy condescend to help our weakness, much more should all that are ' led by the Spirit of God,' Gal. v. 18. We are subject to call in question the truths of God. Therefore he helps us with sacraments, and with other means and allurements ; and although that be truth that he saith, yet be- cause he would undermine our distrustful dispositions by aU means, he useth those courses. So St Paul, that they might respect what he wi'ote the more, as from a joint spirit, he writes, ' Paul, and Timothy our brother.'
It was an argument of much modesty and humility in this blessed apostle, that he would not of himself seem, as it were, to monopoUze their respect, as if aU should look to him, but he joins Timothy with him ; so great an apostle joins an inferior.
There is a spirit of singularity in many ; they will seem to do aU them- selves, and cany all themselves before them ; and they will not speak the truths that others have spoken before them without some disdain. As a proud critic said, ' I would they had never been men that spake our things before we were, that we might have had all the credit of it' [a). Oh, no ! Those that are led with the Spirit of God, they are content in modesty and humility to have others joined with them ; and they know it is available! for others likewise ; they wiU respect the truth the more.
And thus far we yield to the papists when we speak of this, whether the church can give authority to the word of God or no. In regard of us, the church hath some power, in regard of our weakness ; but what is that power ? It is an inducing power, an alluring power, a propounding power, to propound the mysteries of salvation. But the inward work, the con- vincing power, is from the evidence of the Spirit of God, and from the Scrip- ture itself. All that the church doth is to move, to induce, and to propound this, quoad nos. It hath some power in the hearts of men.
The church thus far gives authority to the Scriptures in the hearts of men, though it be an improper phrase to say it gives authority ; for, as the men said to the woman of Samaria, ' Now we believe it ourselves, not be- cause thou toldest us,' &c., John iv. 42. The church allures us to respect the Scriptui'es ; but then there is an inward power, an inward majesty in the Scriptures, and that bears down all before it.
Again, here is a ground why St Paul alleged human authority sometimes in his epistles, and in his dealing with men ; because he was to deal with men, that would be rhamed the more with them. Anything that may strengthen the truth in regard of the weakness of those with whom we have to deal, may be used in a heavenly poUcy. ' One of your own prophets,' saith St Paul, towards the end, i. 12. And so in the Acts of the Apostles, xvii. 28, he quotes a saying out of an atheist (b).
* This use of ' party ' = person, which is not uncommon in Sibhes and his con- temporaries, shews that it is not the modern vulgarism (so-called) which precisians would make it. — G. t That is, ' advantageous.' — G.
10
COMMENTARY ON
' Tiviothij our brother.' 'Brother:' he means not only by grace but by calling. As we know in the law and other professions, those of the same profession are called before brethren ; so Timothy was St Paul's brother, not only by grace, but by calling ; and two bonds bind stronger. Here is a treble bond, nature, grace, calling. They were men, they were fellow Christians, and they were teachers of the gospel. Therefore he saith, ' Timothy our brother.' Timothy was an evangehyt, yet notwithstanding it was a greater honour to him to be a brother to St Paul than to be an evan- gehst. An hypocrite may be an evangehst ; but a true brother of St Paul none but a true Christian can be. All Christians ai-e brethren. It is a word that levels all ; for it takes do^\-n the mountains, and fills up the valleys. The greatest men in the world, the mountains, if they be Chris- tians, they are brethren to the lowest. And it fills up the valleys. The lowest, if they be Christians, are brethren to the highest ; howsoever in worldly respects, they cease in death ; as personal differences, and dif- ferences in calhng, they all cease in death. All are brethren ; therefore he useth it for great respect. St Paul was a great apostle ; Timothy an in- ferior man, yet both brethren, * Timothy our brother.'
' To the church of God at Corinth.' We have seen the persons from whom, ' Paul and Timothy.' Now here are the persons to whom, ' to the church of God at Corinth.' Corinth was a very wicked city, as, where there is a great confluence of many people, there is a contagion of many sins of the people ; and yet notwithstanding in this Corinth there was a church. For as Christ saith, ' No man can come to me, except my Father draw him,' John vi. 44 ; so where the Father will draw, who can draw back ? Even in Corinth God hath his church. He raiseth up a generation of men, a church, which is a company of creatm-es differing as much from the com- mon, as men do from beasts. And yet such is the power and efiicacy of the blessed gospel of salvation, having the Spirit of God accompanying it, that even in Corinth, a wretched city, this word and this Spirit raised up a company of men, called here by the name of a church, and saints. And such power indeed hath the word of God with the Spirit, not only in wicked places, but in our wicked hearts too.
Let a man have a world of wickedness in him, and let him come and pre- sent himself meekly and constantly to the means of salvation, and God in time by his Spirit will raise a new frame of grace in his heart, he will make a new creation. As at the first he created all out of nothing, order out of confusion ; so out of the heart, which is nothing but a chaos of confusion, of blindness, and darkness, and terror (there is a world of confusion in the heart of man) ; God by his creating word (for his word of the gospel is creating, as well as his word was at the first in the creation of the world ; it hath a creating power) he raiseth an excellent frame in the heart of a man, he scatters his natural blindness, he sets in order his natural confusion, that a man becomes a new creature, and an heir of a new world.
Let no people despau', nor no person; for God hath his chm'ch in ' Co- rinth.'
But what is become of this chm-ch now ? Why, alas ! it is under the slavery of the Turks, it is under miserable captivity at this day. At the first, Corinth was overthrown by Numeus,=!= a Roman captain, for the abusing the Roman ambassadors ; it was ruinated for the unfit carnage to the ambassadors, who would not suffer themselves to be contemned, nor the * Qu. 'Mummius?'— Ed.
2 COEINTHIANS CHAP. I, VER. 1. 11
majesty of the Roman empire. But Augustus Cassar afterwards repaired it (c). And now for neglecting of God's ambassadors, the preachers of the gospel, it is under another miseiy, but spiiitual ; it is under the bondage, I say, of that tp'ant.
What is become of Rome, that glorious city ? It is now ' the habitation of devils, a cage of unclean birds,' Rev. xviii. 2. "WTiat is become of those glorious churches which St John wrote those epistles to in his Revelation ? and which St Paul wrote unto ? Alas, they are gone ! the gospel is now come into the western parts. And shall we think all shall be safe with us, as the Jews did, ciying, ' The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord ? ' Jer. vii. 4, No, no ! unless we respect Christ's blessed gospel of salvation, except we bring forth fruits worthy of it, except we maintain and defend it, and think it our honour and our crown, and be zealous for it. If we suffer the insolent enemies of it to grow as vipers in the very bosom of the church, what is like to become of us ? If there were no foreign enemies to invade us, we would let slip the glorious gospel of salvation. God will not suffer this indignity to this blessed jewel, his truth ; he will not suffer the doctrine of the gospel to be so disrespected. You see the fearful example of the church of Corinth. Let those whom it may concern, that have any advan- tage and authority, let them put in for God's cause, put in for the gospel, labour to propagate and to derive* this blessed truth we enjoy to posterity, by suppressing as much as they may the underminers of it. It is an acceptable service. ' To the church of God at Corinth.'
' And all the saints in Achuia.' Corinth was the city, Achaia the country wherein Corinth was. There were then saints, holy men in all Achaia. And St Paul writes to ' all saints,' to weak saints, to strong saints, to rich saints, to poor saints ; because every saint hath somewhat that is lovely and respec- tive! in them, somewhat to be respected. The least grace deserves respect from the greatest apostle. And all have one head, all have one hope of glory, all are redeemed with the same ' precious blood of Christ,' 1 Pet. i. 19 (and so I might run on). The many privileges agi'ee to all. There- fore, all should have place in our respect. * To all saints,' that the least should not think themselves undervalued. "Weakness is most of all subject to complaining if it be disrespected. Therefore, in heavenly wisdom and prudence, the apostle puts in ' all saints,' in all Achaia whatsoever. Be- sides the mother city, the metropolis of that country, which was Corinth, there were saints scattered. God in heavenly wisdom scatters his saints. As seed, when it is scattered in the ground, it doth more good than when it is on heaps in the barn ; so God scatters his saints as jewels, as the lights of the world. Here he will have one to shine and there another. Here he will have one fruitful to condemn the wicked world where they are, and by their good example, and their heavenly and fruitful conversation, to draw out of the wicked estate of nature those with whom they are. Therefore he will have them scattered here and there, not only at Corinth, but ' saints in all Achaia,' besides scattered in other places.
But we must know, by the way, that these saints had reference to some particular church : for though it be sufficient to make a Christian to have union with Christ (there is the main, the head) ; yet notwithstanding,^ he must be a branch, he must be a member of some particular congregation. Therefore we have it in Acts ii. 47 : ' God added to the church such as should be saved.' Those that are added to salvation must be added to the * That is, 'transmit,'— G. t That is, ' respect-worthy.'— G.
12
COMMENTARY ON
church ; a man must be a member of some particular church. So, though these were scattered, they were members of some church. God's children are as stones in some building ; and there is an influence of grace comes from Chi-ist, the Head, to every particular member, as it is in the body. God quickens not straggling members, that have no reference to any parti- cular church. That I note by the way. ' To the church of God at Corinth, and all the saints in Achaia.'
'Saints.' Quest. The apostle calls them saints. All believers are called saints. Are they so ? Are all in the visible church saintst ? Yes, say some, and therefore they say that our church is not a true visible church ; because many of them are not saints, say some that went out from among us.
uins. I answer, alt are, or should be saints. St Paul wrote here to those that were sacramental* saints, and such as by outward covenant and pro- fession were saints ; not that they were all of them inwardly so ; but all should be so done. He calls them so, to put them in mind of their duty. To clear this point a little.
1. Sometimes the church of God in the Scripture hath its narae from the commixtion of good and bad in it. So it is called a field where there is a mixtm-e of good and bad seed, Mat. xiii. 19, 20 ; so it is called a house wherein there are vessels of honour and vessels of dishonour, 2 Tim. ii. 20 ; because there is such a mixture in the visible church.
2. Sometimes the chm-ch hath the name from the better part, and so it is the spouse of Christ, the love of Christ, ' a pecuUar people,' ' an holy nation,' 1 Pet. ii. 9, and * saints,' as it is here. Not that all are so, but it hath the denomination from the better part ; aU should be so, and the best are so, and it is suflicient that the denomination of a company be from the better part. As we say of gold ore : though there be much earth mixed with it, yet in regard of the better part we call it gold, we give it that name ; so, in regard that the best are saints, and that all should be so, therefore he calls them all saints.
Quest. Should all in the visible church be saints by profession, and by sacrament ? Should all that are baptized, and receive the communion, enter into a profession of sanctity ? What say you then to a profane, atheistical generation, that, forsooth, make a show of holiness, and therefore we must look for none of them ?
Ans. I say all profane persons are gross hypocrites. Why ? for are you members of the church or no ? Yes, will every one say ; will you make me an infidel ? will you make me a pagan ? Well, take your own word then. WTiat is it to be a member of the church but to be a saint ? Must thou be a saint ? Doth not thy profession, as thou art a member, bind thee to be a saint ? In baptism, was not thy promise to ' renounce the devil, the world, and the flesh ? ' In renewing thy covenant in the communion, dost not thou purpose to cleave to God in all things ? Thou that takest liberty, therefore, in the church of God, under the profession of religion, to live as a libertine, thou art a gross hypocrite, and this aggravates thy sin, and makes it worse than a pagan's. Thou which art in the bosom of the church, in the kingdom of saints, as it is in Dan. vii. 18, ' the people of the saints of the Most High,' the people of God in the church wherein thou art a professed member ; and yet dost thou take liberty grossly to offend God ?
Quest. What doth make a saint ?
Ans. In a word, to the constitution of a true saint, there is * That is, ' professed.' ' avowed ' — Q
2 CORINTHIANS CHAP. I, VER. 1. 13
A separation, dedication, qualification , conversation.
1. There is a separation preseutly. When a man is a saint, he is separate from the confused company of the world, from the kingdom of Satan. Therefore those that have all companies alike, that carry themselves in- differently in all companies, as men that profess a kind of ci\ility, that are taken up with the complement* of the times, men that learn the language of the times, that are for all sorts, they know not what belongs to the high profession of Christianity.
There is a due to all, I confess ; there is a benevolence and a beneficence to all ; but there is a kind of complacency, a sweet familiarity, and amity which should be reserved to a few, only to those in whom we see the evi- dences and signs of grace. If there be not a separation in respect of grace, there is no hoUness at all ; a saint must be separated. Not locally, but in regard of amity, in regard of intimate friendship. As we see it is in out- ward things, in some of our houses. There is a court where all come, poor and rich ; and there is the house where those of nearer acquaintance come ; and then there is the innermost room, the closet, where only ourselves and those which are nearest to us come. So it is in the passages of the soul. There are some remote courtesies that come from us, as men, to all, be they what they will ; there are other respects to others that are nearer, that we admit nearer, that are of better quality ; and there are other that are nearest of all, that we admit even into the closet of our hearts : and those are they with whom we hope to have communion for ever in heaven, the blessed people of God, termed here ' saints.' It is an evidence of our translation from a cursed estate to a better when we love such. ' Hereby we know,' saith St John, * that we are translated from death to life, because we love the brethren,' 1 John iii. 14. There must be a separation.
2. And withal there must be a dedication of ourselves to tfie service of God. A Christian, when he knows himself by the word of truth and by the work of the Spirit, to be God's child, he dedicates himself to better services than before. He thinks himself too good, he thinks too highh' of himself to be a base blasphemer, or swearer, to be a filthy person. He considers himself as 'the temple of the Holy Ghost,' 1 Cor. iii. 16, and he useth himself to better purposes, to better studies, to do good.
3. And then with dedication, there is an imvard qualification to inablef him with light never to forget the image of God. Herein this saiutship stands, especially in this inward qualification, whereby we resemble Christ the King of saints. All our sanctificatiou comes from him. As Aaron's ointment went down from his head to his beard, and so to his skirts, Ps. cxxxiii. 2, so all our sauctification is from Christ. Eveiy saint is quahfied from the Spirit of Christ. ' Of his fulness,' John i. 16, we receive this in- ward qualification, that we have another judgment of things than this world hath ; what is good and what is bad, what is true and what is false, what is comfortable and what tends to discomfort. He hath another conceit of things. He hath another light than he had before, and than other carnal men have. He hath a heavenly light. He hath another language. He gives himself to prayer and to thanksgiving. He is given to savoury dis- course. He hath other courses in his particular calling and in his genei^al calling than other refuse; company have, or than himself had before his calling. This is from his qualification.
4. And this qualification and conversation go together. He hath a new
* That is, ' compliment ' = line manners. — G. f Tliat is, ' enable ' = endow. — G. t That is, ' worthless.' — G.
14 COMMENTARY ON
conversation. He carries Limself even like to him that ' hath called him out of darkness into marvellous light,' 1 Pet, ii. 9. So a true saint, as every professor of religion ought to be, he is dedicate to God, and he is qualified in some degree, as Christ was, by his Holy Spirit. He is a new creature. * He that is in Christ is a new creature,' 2 Cor. v. 17, and he shews this by his conversation, or else he is no saint.
Quest. How shall we know a saint from a mere civil-:-' man ? (as there be many that live and die in that estate, which is to be pitied ; and one main end of our calling is not only to reduce profane men to a better fashion of life, but to shew civil men their danger.)
Ans. A mere civil man looks to the second table. He is smooth in his carriage and conversation with men, but negligent in his service to God. A civil man he looks to his outward carriage, but he makes no conscience of secret sins. He is not ' holy in all manner of conversation,' as St Peter saith, 1 Pet. i. 15. ' Be ye holy in all manner of conversation,' in private, in public, in your retired carriage. • He makes no conscience of his thoughts, of his speeches, of all.
You may know an hypocrite so, that carries himself smoothly and ac- ceptably in the eye of the world ; but he makes no conscience of his thoughts, he makes no conscience of his affections, of his desires, of his lusts, and such things. He makes no conscience of lesser oaths, nor per- haps of rotten discourses. No ; they are all for this, that they may pass in the world, that they may carry themselves wdth acceptance. As for what belongs to the ' new creature,' to saints, they care not ; for they have vain conceits of these, and judge them as hypocrites. Because such a one knows himself should be an hypocrite, if he should do otherwise than he doth, therefore he thinks that others that are above his pitch are hypocrites, and they make a show of that that is not in them ; because if he should make show of that, his heart would tell him that he were an hypocrite.
A true saint differs from an hypocrite in many respects ; but in this one mainly, that a true saint of God is altered in the inward frame and qualifi- cation of his soul. He is a ' new creature.' Therefore there is a spring of better thoughts, of better desires, of better aims in him than in other men. And he labours more after the inward frame of his heart than after his outward carriage. What he is ashamed to do, he is ashamed to think, he is ashamed to lust after. What he desires to do, he desires to love in his heart. He labours that all may be true in the inward man ; because grace, as well as nature, begins from the heart, from the inward parts.
An hypocrite never cares for that. All his care is for the outward parts. He is sale-work. So his carriage be acceptable to others, all his care is taken. He lives to the view. Therefore he looks not to the substance and the truth, but to the shadow and appearance.
Now I come to the salutation itself.
VEESE 2.
'Grace be mito you,'' &c. 'Grace' doth enter into the whole conver- sation of a Christian, and doth sweeten his very salutations. Which I observe, because many men confine their religion to places, to actions, and to times. There is a relish of holiness in everything that comes from a Christian ; in his salutations and courtesies. St Paul salutes them, * That is, ' moral.'— G.
2 CORINTHIANS CHAP. I, VER. 2. 15
* Grace and peace from God,' &c. And the use of holy salutations are to shew [and] win love.
To shew love and respect. Therefore he salutes them ; and by shewing love, to gain love ; for there is a loadstone in love. And thirdly, the use of salutations is by them to convey some good. For these salutations are not mere wishes, but prayers, nay, blessings. God's people are a blessed people, and they are full of blessing. They carry a blessmg in their very speeches.
Quest. What is a hlessing ?
Ans. A hlessing is a prayer, with the apj)lication of the thing prayed for. It is somewhat more than a prayer, ' Grace be with you, and peace.' It is not only a mere wish, I desire it ; nay, my desire of it is with an applying of it. ' Grace shall be with you, and peace,' and the more because I heartily wish it to you. It is no light matter to have the benediction and salutation of a holy man, especially those that are superiors; for the superiors bless the inferiors. There is a grace goes even with the very salutations, with the common prayers of a holy man. It is a comfortable sign when God doth enlarge the heart of a holy man to wish well to a man.
And surely the very consideration of that should move us to let them have such encouragement from our carriage and demeanour, that they may have hearts to think of us to the throne of grace, to give us a good wish, to give us a good desire. For every gracious desire, every prayer, hath 'its effect when it comes from a favourite of God, especially frorn such a man as St Paul was ; from a minister, a holy man in a calling, a man of God. They have their efficacy with them. They are not empty words, ' grace and peace.'
The popes think it a great favour when they bestow their apostoHcal benediction and blessing. Their blessing is not much worth. Their curse is better than their blessing. But surely the blessing of a man rightly called, those that are true ministers of Christ, they are clothed with power and efficacy from God. ' Grace be with you, and peace ;' it is no idle com- pliment.
And here you see likewise what should be the manner of the salutation of Christians. As they ought to salute, to shew love, and to gain love, so aU their salutations should be holy. There is a taking the name of God in vain in salutations ofttimes, ' God save you,' &c., and it must be done with a kind of scorn ; and if there be any demonstration of religion, it becomes them not, that which should become them most. What should become a saint, but to carry himself saint-Hke ? And yet men must do it with a kmd of scorn, with a kind of graceless grace. That which in the religious use of it is a comfortable and sweet thing, and is alway with a comfortable and gracious effect in God's childi-en ; either it hath effect, and is made grace to them to whom it is spoken, or returns to them that speak it. As Chi-ist saith to his disciples, ' When you come into a house, pronounce peace to them ; and if the house be not worthy, your peace shall return to you,' Mat. x. 13. So the salutations of a good man, if they be not effec- tual to the parties, if they be unworthy, rebeUious creatures, they return again to himself ; they have effect one way or other. Let it not be done, therefore, with a taking the name of God in vain in a scornful manner, but with gravity and reverence, as becometh a holy action. There is some limita- tion and exception of this. Salutations, in some cases, may be omitted.
1. As in serious business, 'salute no man by the way,' as Christ saith to his apostles, Luke x. 4. A neglect sometimes is good manners, when
16 COMMENTARY ON
respect is swallowed up in a greater duty. As it was good manners for David to dance and to carry himself, as it were, unseemly before the ark, 2 Sam. vi. 14 ; because he was to neglect respect to meaner persons, to for- get the respect he was to shew to men. Being altogether taken up with higher matters, it was a kind of decency and comeliness. And overmuch scrupulousness and niceness in lesser things, when men are called to greater, is but unmannerly manners. In these cases, these lesser must give way and place to the greater. * Salute no man by the way.' Despatch the business you are about ; that is, if it may be a hindrance in the way, salute not. This is in respect of time.
2. And as for time, so for persons. A notorious, incorrigible heretic, salute not. To salute such a one would be, as it were, a connivance or an indulgence to him. 'Salute him not' (tZ). The denying of a salutation many times hath the force of a censure. The party neglected may think there is somewhat in him for which he is neglected in that manner. In these cases, salutations may be omitted sometimes. But I go unto the particulars.
' 6rrace be unto yoti and peace.' These are the good things wished. "We see the apostle, a blessed man, that had been ' in the third heaven ' rapt up, 2 Cor. xii. 2, that had been taught of Christ what things were most excellent, and had himself seen ' excellent things which he could not utter,' 2 Cor. xii. 4, when he comes to wishes, we see out of heavenly wisdom and experience he draws them to two heads, all good things to 'grace and peace.' If there had been better things to be wished, he would have wished them, but grace and peace are the principal things.
Quest. What is meant by grace here ?
Ans. Grace, in this place, is the free favour and love of God from his oum bowels ; not for any desert, or worth, or strength of love of ours. It is his own free grace and love, which is shed by the Holy Ghost, and springs only from his own goodness and loving nature, and not from us at all. This is grace. It must be distinguished from the fruits of it ; as the apostle doth distinguish them, ' grace, and the gifts of grace,' Rom. v. 15. There is favour and the gifts of favour, which is grace inherent in us. Here espe- cially is meant the fountain and spring of all the favour of God, with the manifestation of it, with the increase of it, with the continuance of it. He wisheth these things, the favour of God, with the manifestation of it to their souls ; that God would be gracious to them, so that he would shew his grace ; that he would discover it, and shine upon them ; and to that end that he would give them his Holy Spirit, to shed ' his love into their hearts,' Rom. v. 5. This shining of God into the heart, this shedding of the love of God into the heart, is the grace here meant ; God's fiivour, with the manifestation of it to the soul, and with the continuance of it, and the increase of it still. ' Grace unto you.' As if he should have said, I wish you the favour of God, and the report of it to your souls ; that as he loves you through his Christ, so he would witness as much by his Holy Spirit to your souls. And I wish you likewise the continuance of it, and the in- crease of it, and the fruits of it likewise (for that must not be excluded), all particular graces, which are likewise called graces. They have the name of favours, because they come from favour ; and favour is the chief thing in them. What is the chief thing in joy, in faith, in love ? They are graces. They cannot be considered as qualifications, as earthly things in us. They proceed from the gi'aee and love of God, and have their especial value from
1! COHINTHIANS CHAP. I, VER. '2,. 17
thence. So I wish you the manifestation, the continuance and increase of favour, with all the fruits of God's favour, especially such as concern a better life. The word is easily understood after the common sense. Grace is the loving and free respect of a superior to an inferior ; the respect of a magistrate to such as are under him. Such a one is in grace with the prince, we say. We mean not any inherent thing, but fi-ee grace. So in religion it is not any inherent, habitual thing, gi-ace ; but it is free favour, and whatsoever issues from free favour. This must be the rather observed, this phrase, against the papists. We say we are justified by gi-ace, and so do they. What do they mean by being justified by grace ? That is, by in- herent grace. We say, No ; we are justified by grace ; that is, by the free favour of God in Jesus Christ. So is the acception * of the word. But, to come to the point, that which I will now note is this, that Doct.^A Christian, though he be in the state of grace and favour with God, yet still he needs the continuance of it.
He stands in need of the continuance of God. St Paul here prays for grace and peace, to those that were in the state of grace already. Why ? The reason of it is, that we run into new breaches every day, of ourselves. As long as there is a spring of corruption in us, a cursed issue of connip- tion, so long there will be some actions, and speeches, and thoughts, that will issue, that would of themselves break our peace with God, or at least hinder the sweet sense of it. Therefore, we have continual occasion to renew our desires of the sense and feeling of the favour of God, and to renew our pardon every day, to take out a pardon of course, as we have now the liberty to do. So oft as we confess our sins, * he is merciful to forgive us,' 1 John i. 9. And to win his favour, we have need every day still of grace. I list not to join in conflict here with the papists concerning their opinion.
1 will but touch it by the way, to shew the danger of it. They will not have all of mere grace. But Christians are under grace while they are in this world, as St Paul saith, all is grace, grace still : nay, at the day of judgment, ' The Lord shew mercy to the house of Onesiphorus at that day,'
2 Tim. i. 16, at the day of judgment. Grace and mercy must be our plea, till we come to heaven. They stand upon grace to enable f us to the work ; and then by the work we may merit our own salvation, and so they will not have it of grace, of gift; but as a stipend, a thing of merit, directly contrary to St Paul, Rom. vi. 23, Eternal life is ^d^iofia. The word comes of %af' 5, of gift. ' The gift of God, a free gift through Jesus Christ our Lord.' So from the first gi-ace, to eternal life, which is the complement of all, all is grace.
As for the New Testament, it is the covenant of grace. The whole car- riage of our salvation is called the covenant of grace ; because, God of grace doth enter into covenant with us. He sent Christ of gi-ace, who is the foundation of the covenant. The fulfilling of it, on our part, is of grace. He gives us faith. ' Faith is the gift of God,' Eph. ii. 8. ' He puts his fear in our hearts that we should not depart from him,' Jeremiah xxxii. 40. And when he enters into covenant with us, it is of grace and love. It was of grace that he sent Christ to be the foundation of the covenant ; that in the satisfying of his justice he might be gi-acious to us, without disparagement to his justice. Of grace he fulfils the condition on our part. We are no more able to beUeve than we are to fulfil the law ; but he enables us by his word and Spirit, attending upon the means of salvation, to fulfil the covenant. And when we have done all, he gives us of grace, eternal life ; all is of grace. * That is, ' acceptation.' — G. t That is, ' qualify.' — G.
VOL. III. A. B
f
18 COIIMKNTARY ON
There is nothing in the gosj^el but grace. Therefore in the Ephesians, i. 6, it is stood upon by the apostle, ' To the praise of the glory of his rich grace.' From election to glorification, all is to the glory of his grace.
We ought to conceive of God as a gracious Father, withholding his anger, which we deserve to be poured upon us ; by the intercession of Christ, withholding that anger, and the fruits of it. And, notwithstanding we are in grace, if we neglect to seek to God the Father, if we neglect to seek to Christ, who makes intercession for us, then, though we be in the first grace still, we are not cast away yet ; we are filil sub ira, sons under wrath ; we ai'e- under anger, though not under hatred.
Therefore, eveiy day we should labour to maintain the grace of God with the assm'ance of it. It is a great matter to carry ourselves so, as we may be under the sense and feeling of the grace of God. It is not suflB- cient to be in the grace of God, but to have the report of it to our own hearts, have it to shine upon us.
Quest. How should we carry ourselves so, that we may be in [a] state of grace ? that is, in such a state as we may find the sweet evidence and com- fortable feeling continually, that we are God's children.
Ans. First of all, there must be a loerpetual, daily 2)ractice of abasing our- selves, of making ourselves j^oor ; that is, every day to see the vanity of all things in the world out of us ; to see the weakness of grace in us ; to see the return of our corruptions that foil us every day ; that so we may see , in what need we stand of the favour of God : considering that all comforts without are vanity, and that all the graces in us are stained with cor- ruption ; considering, besides the stains of our graces, that there is a conti- nual issue of corruption. These things will make our spirits poor, and make us hunger and thirst after the sense and feeling of free pardon every day. This will enforce us to renew our patent, to renew our portion in the covenant of grace, to have daily pardon. This should be our daily practice, to enter deeper and deeper into ourselves.
This is to ' live by faith,' Gal. ii. 20. As God is continually ready to shew us favour in Christ, not only at the fii'st in acquitting us from our sins, but continually doth shew us favour upon all occasions, and is justifying and pardoning, and speaking peace continually to us ; so there must be an action answerable in us, that is depending upon God by faith, living by faith. This we do by seeing in what need we stand of grace. ' God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble,' James iv. 6.
2. Then, again, that we may walk in the grace of God, and in the sense of it, let us every da}' labour to have our souls more and more enriched with the endomncnts and graces of GocVs Spirit, that we may be objects of God's delight. Let us labour to be aflected to things as he is afiected. Two can- not ' walk together except they be agreed,' Amos iii. 3. Let us hate that which God hates, and delight in that which God delights in, that we may have a kind of complacency, and be in love with the blessed work of the Spirit of God more and more. Let us labour to delight in them that grow in grace, as the nearer any one comes to our likeness, the more we grow in famiharity with them. Labour also to preserve a clear soul, that God may shine upon us. God delights not in strangeness to us. His desire is that we may walk in the sense and assurance of his grace and favour.
Quest. How shall we know that we are in a state of grace with God ?
Ans. I answer, that we do not deceive ourselves ;
1. We must look to the ivork of God's grace. God's grace is a fruitful grace. His favour is fruitful. It is not a barren favour ; it is not a winter sun.
2 CORINTHIANS CHAP. I, VER, 2. 19
The sun in the winter, it carries a goodly countenance, but it heats not to any pm-pose ; it doth not quicken. But God's grace, it carries life and heat where it comes. Therefore, if we be in a state of grace and favour with God, we may discern it.
But in times of desertion, though a person be in grace and favour with God, yet many times he thinks he is not so.
It is true. Then, we must not always go to our feeling at such times, and the enlargement of our hearts by the Spirit of comfort, but go to the work of grace. For,
2. Where grace and favour is, there are the graces of the Spirit. As it is not a bare favour in regard of comfort, so it is not a barren favour in regard of graces ; for eveiy heart that is in favour with God hath some graces of the Spirit. God enriches the soul where he shews favour. His love- tokens are some graces. Therefore, if the witness and comfort of the Spirit cease in case of desertion, let us go to the work of the Spirit, and by that we may know if we be in grace with God. For God's people are a ' peculiar people :' and God's children have always some peculiar grace. Some ornaments, some jewels the spouse of Christ hath, which others have not.
Therefore, examine thy heart, what work of God there is, and what de- sire thou hast after better things, what inward hatred against that which is ill, what strength thou hast against it. Go to some mark of regenera- tion, of the ' new creature,' and these will evidence that we are in a state of grace with God, because these are pecuhar favours. And though we feel not the comfort, yet there is a work, and that work will comfort us more than the comfort itself will do.
3. And this is one thing whereby we may know w^e are in favour with God, when we can comfort ourselves, and can go to the throne of grace through Christ. When ice can go boldly to God it is a sign of favour. When we can call upon him, when we can go in any desertion to prayer, when in any affliction we can have enlarged hearts, it is a sign of favour with God. A mere hypocrite, or a man that hath not this peculiar grace, he trusts to outward things ; and when they are gone, when he is in trouble, he hath not the heart to go to God. His heart is shut up, he sinks down, because he relied upon common matters. He did not rely upon the favour of God and the best fruit of it, which are graces, but upon common favours. Therefore, he sinks in despair.
But a sound Christian, take him at the worst, he can sigh to God, he can go to him, and open his soul to him. ' By Christ we have an en- trance to the Father,' Eph. ii. 18 ; ' We have boldness through faith,' Eph. iii. 12. Every Christian hath this in the worst extremity, he hath a spirit of prayer. Though he cannot enlarge himself, yet he can sigh and groan to God, and God will hear the sighs of his own Spirit ; they are loud in his ears. David, at the worst, he prays to God ; Saul, at the Y/orst, he goes to the witch, 1 Sam. xxviii. 7, seq., and from thence to his sword's point, 1 Sam. xxxi. 4. But usually, the usual temper and disposition of a man in the state of gi'ace is joy ; for, as one saith, grace is the begettel of joy ; for they both have one root in the Greek language. There is the same root for favour and for joy (e). So favour is usually and ordinarily with a sweet enlargement of heart. AVe may thank ourselves else, that do not walk so warily and so jealously as we should.
The reward that God gives his children that are careful is a spirit of joy. ' Being justified by faith, we have peace with God, and joy in tribula-
20 COMMENTARY ON
tion,' Rom. v. 1. For, even as it is in human matters, the favour and countenance of the king, it is as a shower of rain after a drought, it comforts his subjects. There is a wondrous joy in the favour and gi'ace of great persons ahvay ; and as the favourable aspect of the heavens upon ' inferior bodies promiseth good things,* and men promise themselves from that fa^our and good, so the favour and grace of God enlarge the soul with joy and comfort. And there is that measure of joy in those that are in the free favour of God, that they will honour God freely, to cast them- selves upon his mercy.
And it is with a disesteem of all things in the world besides. It is such a joy as works in the soul a base esteem of all things else. St Paul esteemed all dross, ' in comparison of the knowledge of Christ,* Phih'p. iii. 8, and the favour of God in Christ. So in Ps. iv., David saith of some, ' There be many that will saj, Who will shew us any good ? ' ver. 6. Any good ! It is no matter. But saith the Holy Spirit in David, ' Lord, lift up the light of thy countenance upon me,' ver. 6. He goes to prayer. He saith not, ' Who will shew us any good ? ' It is no matter what, or how we come by it, any earthly good worldly men desire. No ; saith he, ' Lord, shew us the light of thy countenance.' He desires that above all things, so he saith, ' The lovingkindness of the Lord is better than life itself,' Ps. Ixiii. 3. Life is a sweet thing, the sweetest thing in the world ; but the grace and favour of God is better than that. For in this, when all comforts fail, the children of God have assurance, that ' neither life, nor death, nor things present, nor things to come, nor any- thing, can separate us from the love of God in Christ,' Rom. viii. 38, which shews itself better than life itself. When life fails, this favour shall never fail. Nothing shall be able to separ-ate us from the favour of God in Christ. It is an everlasting favour, and therefore everlasting because it is free. If it were originally in us, it would fail when we fail ; but it is an everlasting favour because it is free. God hath founded the cause of love to us in himself. So much for that, * Grace be unto you.'
' And peace.' All that I will say of peace in this place is this, to shew,
Obs. That true j^eace issues from grace.
It is to be had thence. Peace, we take here for that sweet peace with God, and peace of conscience, and likewise peace with all things, when aU things are peaceable to us, when there is a sweet success in all business, with a security in a good estate. It is a blessed thing when we know that all will be well with us. This quiet and peaceable estate issues fi-'om grace, peace of conscience especially. I observe it the rather [be- cause] it hath been the en-or of the world to seek peace where it is not, to seek peace in sanctification, to seek it in the work of grace within a man, not to speak of worldly men, that seek peace in outward content- ments, in recreations, in friends, and the like. Alas ! it is a poor peace. But I speak of religious persons that are of a higher strain. They have sought peace, but not high enough. True peace must be selected from grace, the free favour in Christ. This will quiet and still the clamours of an accusing conscience. God reconciled in Christ will pacify the con- science ; nothing else will do it. For if our chief peace were fetched from sanctification, as many fetch it thence in error of judgment, alas! the
* That is, according to (the now exploded, but in time of Sibbes accredited sys- tem of) astrology. Even Bacon and Milton believed in the influence of the stars. -G.
2 CORINTHIANS CHAP. I, VER. 2. 21
conscience would be dismayed, and always doubt whether it had sanctifi- cation enough or no. Indeed, sanctification and grace within is required as a qualification, to shew that we are not hypocrites, but are in the state and covenant of gi-ace. It is not required as a foundation of comfort, but as a qualification of the persons to whom comfort belongs. There- fore, David, and St Paul, and the rest, that knew the true power and efla- cacy of the gospel, they sought for peace m the grace and free favour of God.
Let us lay it up to put it in practice in the time of dissolution, in the time of spiritual conflict, in the time when our consciences shall be awakened, and perhaps upon the rack, and Satan will be busy to trouble our peace, that we may shut our eyes to all things below, and see God shining on [us] in Christ ; that we may see the favour of God in Christ, by whose death and passion he is reconciled to us, and in the grace and free favour of God in Christ we shall see peace enough.
It is true, likewise, besides peace of conscience, of all other peace, peace of success and peace of state. That all creatures and all conditions are peaceable to us, whence is it ? It is from grace. For God, being recon- ciled, he reconciles all. When God himself is ours, all is ours. When he is turned, all is tm-ned with him. When he becomes our Father in Christ, and is at peace with us, all are at peace besides. So that all conditions, all estates, all creatures, they work for our good. _ It is from hence, when God is turned, all are turned with him. He being the God of the creature, that sustains and upholds the creatm-e, in whom the creature hath his being and working, he must needs therefore turn it for the good of them that are in covenant with him. All that are joined in covenant with him, he fills them wdth peace, because they are in grace with him.
This should stir up our hearts, above all things in the world, to pray for grace, to get grace, to empty om-selves of self-confidence, that we may be vessels for grace, to make grace our plea, to magnify the grace of God.
We must never look in this world for a peace altogether absolute. That is reserved for heaven. Our peace here is a troubled peace. God will have a distinction between heaven and earth. But when our peace is in- terrupted, when the waters ' are come into our souls,' Ps. Ixix. 1, what must be our course ? When we would have peace, go to grace, go to the free promise of grace in Christ. ' Grace and peace.'
' From God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ: The spring of grace and peace are here mentioned.
After the preface, he comes to the argument which he intends ; and begins with blessing.
One part of the scope of this blessed apostle is, to avoid the scandal of his suflerings ; for he was a man of sorrows, if ever man was. Next Christ, who was a true man of sorrow, the blessed apostle was_ a man of miseries and sorrow. Now, weak, shallow Christians thought him to be a man deserted of God. They thought it was impossible for God to regard a man so forlorn, so despicable as this man was. What doth he ? Before he comes to other matters, he wipes away this imputation and clears this scandal. You lay my crosses, and sufferings, and disgraces in the world to my shame ! It is your weakness. That which you account my shame is a matter of praise. I am so far fi-om being disheartened or discouraged from what I sufi'er, that,
* That is, ' to take away the stumblingblock.'— G.
22 OOMMENTAKY ON
VERSE 3.
'Blessed he God, the Father of Christ, the Father of mercies,^ dc. That which to the flesh is matter of scandal and offence, that to the spirit and to a spiritual man is matter of glory, so contrary is the flesh and the spirit, and so opposite is the disposition and the current of the fleshly man to the spiritual man. Job was so far from cursing God for taking away, that he saith, ' Blessed be the name of God,' not only for giving, but for taking away too. Job i. 21.
What ground there is in troubles and persecutions to bless God we shall see in the cui'rent and passages of the chapter.
To come, then, to the very verse itself, where there is a blessing and praising of God first ; and in this praising consider
The act, object, reasons.
1. The act, ' Blessed be God,' which is a praising. '
2. The object is ' God the Father.
3. The reasons are enwrapped in the object, ' Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.'
(1.) Because he is the God and Father of Jesus Christ, therefore blessed be he. Another reason is,
(2.) Because he is the ' Father of mercies.' Another reason is, (3.) From the act of this disposition of mercy in God, he is the ' God of all comfort,' and as he is comfortable, so he doth comfort. * Thou art good and doest good,' saith the psalmist, Ps. cxix. 68. Thou art a God of comfort, and thou dost comfort. For as he is, so he doth. He shews his nature in his working, * Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and God of comfort,' of which I shall speak when I come to them.
* Blessed be God, the Father,' <&c. We see here the heart of the blessed apostle, being warmed with the sense and taste of the sweet mercy of God, stirs up his tongue to bless God ; a full heart and a full tongue. We have here the exuberancy, the abundance of his thankfulness breaking forth in his speech. His heart had first tasted of the sweet mercies and comforts of God before he praiseth God. The first thing that we will ob- serve hence is, that
It is the disposition of God's children, after they have tasted the sweet mercy and comfort and love of God, to break forth into the praising of God and to thanksgiving.
It is as natural for the new creature to do so as for the birds to sing in the spring. When tJje sun hath warmed the poor creature, it shews its thankfulness in singing ; and that little blood and spirits that it hath being warmed after winter, it is natural for those creatures so to do, and we de- light in them.
It is as natural for the new creature, when it feels the Sun of righteous- ness warming the soul, when it tastes of the mercy of God in Christ, to shew forth itself in thankfulness and praise ; and it can no more be kept from it, than fire can keep from burning, or water from cooling. It is the nature of the new creature so to do.
The reason is, every creature must do the work for which God hath enabled* it, to the which God hath framed it. The happiness of the * That is, ' qualified.' — G.
2 COEINTniANS CHAP. I, VER. 3. 28
creature is in well-doing, in working according to its nature. The heathen could see that. Now all the creatures, the new creature especiaUj^ is for the glory of God in Christ Jesus. All the new creature, and what privileges it hath, and what graces it hath, all is, that God may have the glory of grace. Why then, it must needs work answerable to that which God hath created it for. Therefore it must shew forth the praise and glory of God. * Blessed be God,' saith the apostle, Eph. i. 3 ; and the blessed apostle Peter begins his epistle, ' Blessed be the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath begotten us to an inheritance immortal and undefiled, which fadeth not away, reserved for us in heaven,' 1 Pet. i. 3.
I shall not need to set down with the exposition of the word ' blessed :' how God blesseth us, and how we bless God. His blessing is a conferring of blessing ; our blessing is a declaring of his goodness. It is a thing well enough known. Our blessing of God is a praising of God, a setting out what is in him.
Only one thing is to be cleared. What good can we do to God in bless- ing of him ? He is blessed, though we bless him not ; and he is praised, whether we praise him or no. He had glory enough before he made the world. He contented himself in the Trinity, the blessed Trinity in itself, before there were either angels, or men, or other creatures to bless him ; and now he can be blessed enough, though we do not bless him.
It is true he can be so ; and he can have heaven, though thou hast it not, but be a damned creature ; and he will be blessed, whether thou bless him or no.
1. Om' blessing of him is required as a duty, to make us more capable of his graces, ' To him that hath shall be given,' Mat. xiii. 12. To him that hath, and useth that he hath to the glory of God, shall be given more. We give nothing.
The stream gives nothing to the fountain. The beam gives nothing to the sun, for it issues from the sun. Our very blessing of God is a blessing of his.
It is from his grace that we can praise his gi-ace ; and we ran still into a new debt, when we have hearts enlarged to bless him.
We ought to have our hearts more enlarged, that we can be enlarged to praise God.
2. And to others it is good, for others are stirred up by it. God's good- ness and mercy is enlarged in regard of the manifestation of it to others, by our blessing of God.
3. Yea, this good comes to our souls. Besides the increase of grace, we shall find an increase of joy and comfort. That is one end why God requires it of us. Though he himself, in his essence, be alway alike blessed, yet he requires that we should be thankful to him alway ; that we should bless and praise him even in misery and aifliction. And why, then ?
1. Because, if we can tvork upon our hearts a disposition to see God's love, and to praise ayid bless him, we can never he uncomfortable. We have some comfort against all estates and conditions, by studjdng to praise God, by working of our hearts to a disposition to praise and bless God ; for then crosses are Kght, crosses are no crosses then. That is the reason that the apostles and holy men so stirred up their hearts to praise and thanksgiving, that they might feel their crosses the less, that they might be less sensible oi their discomforts. For undoubtedly, when we search for matter of praising God in any affliction, and when we see there is some mercy yet reserved, that we are not consumed, the consideration that there is alway
24 COMMENTAKY ON
some mercy, that we are yet unthankful for, will enlarge our hearts ; and God, when he hath thanks and praise from us, he gives us still more matter of thankfulness, and the more we thank him and praise him, the more we have matter of praise.
This being a trath, that God's children, when they have tasted of his mercy, break forth into his praise, it being the end of his favours ; and nature being inclined thereto, this should stir us up to this duty. And that we may the better perform this holy duty, let us take notice of all God's favours and blessings. Knowledge stirs up the affections. Blessing of God springs immediately from an enlarged heart, but enlargement of heart is stirred up from apprehension. For as things are reported to the know- ledge, so the understanding reports them to the heart and affections. Therefore it is a duty that we ought to take notice of God's favours, and with taking notice of them,
2. To mind them, to remember them, forget not all his benefits. * Praise the Lord, 0 my soul, and forget not all his benefits,' Ps. ciii. 2, insinuating that the cause why we praise not God is the forgetting of his benefits.
Let us take notice of them, let us register them, let us mind them, let us keep diaries of his mercies and favours every day.* He renews his mercies and favours every day, and we ought to renew our blessing of him every day. We should labour to do here, as we shall do when we are in heaven, where we shall do nothing else but praise and bless him. We ought to be in heaven, while we are on the earth, as much as we may. Let us register his favours and mercies.
Quest. But what favours ?
Ans. Especially spiritual, nay, first spiritual favours, without which we cannot heartily give thanks for any outward thing. For the soul will cast with itself, till it feel itself in covenant with God in Christ, that a man is the child of God.
Indeed I have many mercies and favours. God is good to me. But perhaps all these are but favours of the traitor in the prison, that hath the liberty of the tower, and all things that his heart can desire ; but then he looks for an execution, he looks for a writ to draw him forth to make him a spectacle to all. And so this trembling for fear of a future ill which the soul looks for, it keeps the soul from thankfulness. It cannot be heartily thankful for any mercy, till it can be thankful for spiritual favours.
Therefore first let us see that our state be good, that we are in Christ, that we are in covenant of grace, that though we are weak Christians, yet we are true, [that] there is truth in grace wrought in us. And then, when we have tasted the best mercies, spiritual mercies ; when we see we are taken out of the state of nature (for then all is in love to us), when we have the first mercy, pardoning mercy, that our sins are forgiven in Christ, then the other are mercies indeed to us, not as favours to a condemned man.
And that is the reason that a carnal man, he hath his heart shut, he can- not praise God, he cannot trust in God ; because he staggers in his estate, because he is not assured. He thinks, it may be God ' fattens me against the day of slaughter,' Jer. xii. 3. Therefore I know not whether I should )raise him for this or no. But he is deceived in that. For if he had his heart enlarged to bless God for that, God would shew further favour still ; but the heart will not yield hearty praise to God, till it be persuaded of God's love. For all om* love is by reflection. * We love him, because he
* ' Diaries.' As a fine spccimon of, and connsels in regard to, this kind of diary, see Beadle's ' Diary of a Thaukful Christian,' 12mo, 1656.
2 CORINTHIANS CHAP. I, VER. 3. 25
loved us first,' 1 John iv. 19, and we praise and bless him, because he hath blessed us first in heavenly blessings in Christ.
Let us take notice of his favours, let us remind them, let us register them, especially favours and mercies in Christ. Let us after* think how we were pulled out of the cursed estate of nature, by what ministry, by what acquaintance, by what speech, and how God hath followed that mercy with new acquaintance, with new comfort to our souls, with new refreshings ; that by his Spirit he hath repressed our corruptions, that he hath sanctified us, made us more humble, more careful, that he hath made us more jealous, more watchful. These mercies and favours will make others sweet unto us.
And then learn to prize and value the mercies of God, which will not be unless we compare them with our own unworthiness. Lay his mercies together with om- own unworthiness, and it will make us break forth into blessing of God, when we consider what we are ourselves, as Jacob said, ' less than the least of God's mercies,' Gen. xxxii. 10.
We forget God's mercies every day. He strives with our unthankful- uess. The comparing of his mercies with our unworthiness, and our desei-t on the contrary, will make us to bless God for his goodness and patience, that he will not only be good to us, in not inflicting that which our sins have deserved. * Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.'
And, to name no more but this one, above all, beg of God his Hohj Spint. For this blessing of God is nothing else but a vent from the Spirit. For as organs and wind instruments do never sound except they be blown, they are dead and make no music till there be breath put into them ; so we are dead and dull instruments. Therefore it is said, we are ' filled with the Holy Ghost,' Acts ix. 17. All God's childi-en, they are filled with the Spirit before they can praise God. The Spirit stirs them up to praise him, and as it gives them matter to praise him ; for so it gives the sacrifice of praise itself. God gives to his children both the benefits to bless him for, and he gives the blessing of a heart to bless him. And we must beg both of God ; beg a heart able to discern spiritual favours, to taste and relish them, and to see our own unworthiness of them ; and beg of God his Holy Spirit to awaken, and quicken, and enlarge our dead and dull hearts to praise his name.
Let us stir up our hearts to it, stir up the Spirit of God in us. Every one that hath the Spirit of God should labour to stir up the Spirit. As St Paul writes to Timothy, 2 Tim. i. 6, and as David stirs up himself, ' Praise the Lord, 0 my soul : and all that is within me, praise his holy name,' Ps. ciii. 1, seq., so we should raise up ourselves, and stir up our- selves, to this duty.
And shame ourselves. What ! hath God freed me from so great misery ? And hath he advanced me to so happy an estate in this world ? Doth he put me in so certain a hope of glory in the world to come ? Have I a certain promise to be carried to salvation ? that neither * things present, nor things to come, shall be able to separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus ' ? Horn. viii. 38. Doth he renew his mercies eveiy day upon me ? And can I be thus dead, can I be thus dull-hearted "? Let us shame ourselves. ^ And certainly if a man were to teach a child of God a ground of humiliation, if a child of God that is in the state of grace should ask how he might grow humble and be abased more and more, a man could
* Qu. 'often?'— £d.
26
COMMENT.UIY ON
give no one direction better than this, to consider how God hath been good continually; how he hath been patient and good, and upon what ground we hope that he will be so ; and to consider the disposition of our own drooping, di-owsy souls. If this will not abase a soul that hath tasted the love and mercy of God, nothing in the world will do it. There never was a child of God of a dull temper and disposition, but he was ashamed that, being under such a covenant of favour, that he should yet not have a heart more enlarged to bless God.
To stir us up to this duty, for arguments to persuade us, what need we use «nany ?
1 . It should be our duty in this world to be as mucJi in heaven and heavenly employment. ' Our conversation is in heaven,' saith the apostle, Phil. iii. 20. How can we be in heaven more than by practising of that which the saints and angels, and the cherubins and seraphins, spend all their strength in there ? How do they spend all that blessed strength with cheerfulness and joy, that are in that place of joy ? How do they spend it but in setting forth the praise of God, the wonderful goodness of God, that hath brought them to that happiness ? Certainly that which we shall do for ever in heaven, we ought to do as much as we may do on earth.
2. And it is, as I said before, in all afflictions and troubles the only special way to mitigate them, to work our hearts to thankfulness for mercies and favours that ice enjoy. We have cause indeed at the first to be abased and humbled ; but we have more cause to rejoice in working our hearts to comfort, in blessing of God. It will ease the cross, any cross whatsoever. I will not dwell further upon the point. I shall have occasion oft to digress upon this duty.
The object of praise here is God, clothed with a comfortable descrip- tion ; not God simply, for, alas ! we have no hearts to praise God, take God only armed with justice, clothed with majesty. Consider God thus, indeed he deserves glory and praise, but the guilty soul will not praise him thus considered, and abstracted from mercy, and goodness, and love. There- fore saith he, 'Blessed be God.' God how considered ? ' Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.'
First, he is Father of Christ, and then Father of mercies, and God of comfort. God, so considered, be blessed !
Obs. God, as he is to be prayed unto, so he is to be praised, and only God.
This sacrifice, this perfume, this incense, it must not be misspent upon any creature. We have all of his grace, and we should return all to his glory. That is a duty. But consider him as he is described here, first, ' the Father of Christ,' and then the ' Father of mercies, and God of all comfort.' And it is not to be omitted, that first begins with this.
1. * Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.' Not the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ only as he is God, but the Father of our Lord Jesua Christ as ho is man. For God being the Father of whole Christ, being Father of the person, he is Father of the manhood, taken into unity with that person. So he is Father both of God and man. They cannot be divided in Christ. He being the Father of whole Christ, he is the Father of God and man. And he is first the Father of Christ, and then the Father of us, and the Father of mercies. For, alas ! unless he had been the Father of Christ, God and man, mediator, he could never have been the Father of such cursed creatures as we are. But because he is the Father of Christ, of that blessed manhood, which Christ hath taken into
2 CORINTHIANS CHAP. I, VER. 3. 27
unity of person with the Godhead, therefore he is the Father of us who bv union are one with Christ. ' ^
The point then is, that,
Doct. God, thus considered, as the Father of Jesus Christ, is to he praised Here is the reason of blessing and praising him, in this, that he is the father oi Jesus Christ, for thence he comes to be our Father. It is a point that we think not oft enough on, but it is the ground of all comfort- for we have all at the second hand. Christ hath all first, and we have all trom him. He is the first Son, and we are sons. He is the first beloved of God, and we are beloved in him. He is filled first with all grace, and we are filled from him : ' of his fuhiess we receive grace for grace,' John 1. 16. He was first acquitted of our sins, as our surety, and then we are justified, because he was justified from our sins, being our surety He is ascended into heaven, we shaU ascend. He sits at the riaht hand of God and we sit with him in heavenly places. He judgeth,"we shall judge.* Whatsoever we do, Christ doth it first. We have it in Christ, and through Christ, and from Christ. He is the Father of Christ, and our Father _ Use I. Therefore we ought to bless God for Christ, that he would predes- tinate Christ to be our Head, to be our Saviom-; that he would take the human nature of Christ and make it one person with his divine nature and BO predestinate us, and elect, and choose us to salvation in him. Blessed be God, that he would be the Father of Jesus Christ !
Use 2. And as this should stir us up to bless God for Jesus Christ so likewise it shoidd direct us to comfortable meditations, to see our nature in Christ first, and then in ourselves. See thy nature abased in Christ, see thv nature glorified in Christ, see thy nature filled with all grace in Christ and see this, that thou art knit to that nature, thou art flesh of Christ's flesh and bone of his bone, and thou shalt be so as he is. In that Christ's nature was fii-st abased, and then glorified, this nature shall first be abased to death and dust, and then be glorified. Christ died, ' and rose again, ' Rom XIV. 9. Thou art predestinated to be conformable to Christ. For as his flesh was fii-st humbled and then glorious, so thine must be first humble and then glorious. His flesh was holy, humble, and glorious, and so must ?"?"^ Sf • . Whatsoever we look for m ourselves, that is good, we must see it m Christ first.
And when we hear in the gospel, in the articles of the creed, of Christ
''•T. V '/ r^^'f * P'""^' °^ ^^""*^ ^^'^^g' ascending, and sitting at the rigut hand ot God ; let us see ourselves in him, see ourselves dyina in him and rising m him, and sitting at the right hand of God. For the same God that raised Christ natural, will raise Christ mystical. He will raise whole Christ ; for he is not glorified by pieces. As whole Christ natural, in his body and members, was raised, so shall whole Christ mystical be There- fore in every article of the creed bless God, bless God for abasing of Christ bless God for raising him up, bless God for raising us up. ' Blessed be God who hath raised us up to an immortal hope, by the resurrection of Christ, saith St Peter, 1 Peter i. 3. Bless God for the ascension of Christ that our head is m heaven. Let us bless God, not for personal favours only' but go to the sprmg. Bless God for shewing it to Christ, and to us in him' ihis point the apostle had learned well. Therefore he begins with praise 'Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ' If the Virgin Mary thought herself blessed, ' and all generations should call her blesse'd,' Luke 1. 48, for bearing our Saviour in her womb, and so being his mother, then * ' Him ' is added here, an evident misprint. — G.
28 OOMMENTAEY ON
all generations must needs do this duty to call God blessed, because he is the Father of Christ. So God the Father is to be blessed as the spring of favours ; for he gave Christ, All generations call the Virgin Mary blessed, because she was the mother of Christ : but that was in a lower degree than God was his Father. This point ought to take up our meditations, to think we have aU in Christ first. To think of ourselves in Christ, it is comfort- able ; and Christ shall have more glory by it. God the Father and the Son shall have glory by it, and we shall have comfort.
The second consideration of God is, not only as he is the Father of Christ, but as he is
2. ' The Father of mercies.'' God is the Father of Christ, and our Father, * and the Father of mercies.' But as I said before in this method, he is first the Father of Christ, and then our Father, and then * the Father of mer- cies.' For he could never be the Father of mercies to us, except he were the Father of Christ. For mercy must see justice contented.- One attri- bute in God must not devour another. All must have satisfaction. His justice must have no wrong. Nor it hath not now. It is fully satisfied by Christ.
Therefore God is the Father of Christ, that Christ in our nature might die for us, and so he might be our Father notwithstanding our sins, having punished our sins in our siu-ety, Christ. So being the Father of Christ, and our Father, he is the Father of mercies ; his justice hath no loss by it.
If God had not found out a way, out of the bowels of his mercy, how he might shew good to us, by reconciling mercy and justice in the mediator Christ, in punishing him for our sins, to set us free, he had never been a Father of mercy ; if he had not been the Father of Christ first. For we being in such contrary terms as God and we were, he being holiness, and we nothing but a mass of sin and corruption ; without sufficient satisfaction of an infinite person there could be no reconciliation. Therefore he is the Father of Christ, who died for us. He took our nature upon him to satisfy God's justice, and then Father of us, and so Father of mercy to us.
He may well be the Father of mercies now, being the Father of Christ, of our nature in Christ : for, as I said, he is the Father of Chi-ist as man, as well as he is God. Being the Father of our nature, being taken into the unity with his own Son's nature, for both make one Christ, he becomes * the Father of mercies.' He is a Father to him by nature, to us by grace and adoption. * The Father of Christ, and Father of mercies.' It is a necessary method, for God out of Christ is a fountain indeed, but he is a ' fountain sealed up.' He is a God merciful and gracioiis in his own nature, but there is sin that stops the fountain, that stops the current of the mercy. There must be therefore satisfaction to his justice and wrath, before there can be reconciliation, before there can any mercy flow from him. He is first the Father of Christ, and then the ' Father of mercies.' We have all from Christ. If he were not the Father of Christ, he should be the Father of nobody ; for immediatelyf no man is able to appear before God without a mediator.
' Father of mercies.' By Father, which is a kind of hebraism (/), is meant be is the original, the spring of mercies, he is the ' Father of mercies.' He doth not say the Father of one mercy, but the * Father of mercies.' His mercy is one ; it is his nature, it is himself. As he is one, so mercy in him is one. It is one in the fountain, but many in the streams. It is one * That is, ' satisfied.'— G. f That is, ^ ' in Iiimself.'— G.
2 CORINTHIANS CHAP. I, VER. 3. 29
in him, one nature, and one mercy. But because we have not one sin, but many sins, we have not one misery, but many, that lies upon this frail nature of ours. Therefore according to the exigencies of us wretched creatures, according to our sins and miseries, his mercies stream out. They ai'e derived* and run out to all kind of sin and misery v/hatsoever.
' The Father of mercies.' If all mercies were lost, they must be found in him. He is ' the Father of mercies.' They are his bowels, as it were, and mercy pleaseth him as a man is pleased with his own natural child, f ' The Father of mercies.' He doth not say the Author of mercies, but the Father of them. He gives them the sweetest name that can be. He doth not say the Father of revenge, or of judgment, though he be the Father of them too ; but to his children the Father of mercies. A sweet name under which none should despair !
But to shew some reasons why he is so styled.
1. There is good reason. Being the Father of Christ, his justice being fully contented, sin being taken away that stopped the current of his mercies, he being naturally merciful, his mercies run freely, ' Father of Christ, and Father of mercies.' It follows well. He is the Father of mercies, because he is the Father of Christ ; and because his justice is satisfied in him, and he being naturally merciful, what hinders but that mercy may run amain, freely, and abundantly upon those that are in covenant with him in Chrst, that are members of Christ. That is one reason, because his justice is satisfied.
2. And because he is naturally merciful, therefore he is the * Father oi mercies.' The sea doth not more naturally flow, and is moist, and the sun doth not more naturally shine, the fire doth not more naturally bum, heavy bodies do not more naturally sink to the centre, than God doth naturally shew pity and mercy where his justice is satisfied ; for it is his nature, it is himself.
The apostle doth not name other attributes, for, alas ! other attributes would scare us. As, for example, if the guilty conscience consider him as a God of justice, it will reason thus : What is this to me ? I am a sinner, and he will be just in punishing. If he consider he is a God of wisdom, the conscience considers he is the more wise to find out my -n^indings and turnings from him, and my covering of my sins ; he is the more wise to find me out in my courses, and to shame me. He doth not say, he is a God of power, the father of power. The guilty conscience then would reason, he is the more able to crush me and to send me^to hell.
Indeed, there is no attribute of God, but it k matter of terror, being secluded from mercy ; but considering God the Father of mercies, then we may consider sweetly and comfortably of all other attributes. He is mer- ciful and good to me ; therefore his wisdom, that shall serve to do me good, to devise good things for me ; his power shall serve to free me from mine enemies ; his justice to revenge my quarrel ; and so all otlier attributes shall be serviceable to my comfort. They may be thought upon sweetly, where mercy is laid claim unto before. Therefore, here he is called ' the Father of mercies,' and not the Father of other attributes.
' Of mercies.' To unfold the word a little, ' mercy' is here the same with grace to a person in misery. Mercy is but free favour shewed to a miser- able person. Grace shews the freeness of it, and mercy shews the state of
* That is, ' transmitted.'— G.
t That is, = ' marriage-born, not in the modern sense, in Scotland, of illegiti- mate.'— G.
30 COMMENTABY ON
the person to whom it is shewn. Alway where mercy is, either there 13 present or else possible misery.
There was mercy shewed to angels that stood, to free them, to give them grace to stand. They might have fallen as the de-vils did when they were angels. None are the subjects of mercy, but such as either are in misery, or are possible to fall into miser}'. Now, when God keeps and upholds the creatm'e from falling into that which he is subject to fall into (he being a creature taken out of nothing, and therefore subject to fall to nothing with- out assistance), to hold him from that whereto he would fall without being upheld, this makes him the object of mercy, whatsoever the misery be, spiritual or outward.
Thus Grod is the Father of mercy ; he upholds his children from that which else they would fall into continually. He is ' the Father of mercy,' before conversion, offering and enjoining mercy to them, that as they will be good to their souls, they would receive mercy. He joins his glory and his mercy together, that he will be glorified in shewing mercy ; and he presseth it upon us. What a mercy is this, that he should press mercy upon us for our own good ? ' Why will ye die, 0 house of Israel,' Jer. xxvii. 13. And, ' Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden,' Mat. xi. 28. There is mercy before conversion. And there is mercy in prolonging his wrath, in not punishing ; and there is mercy in pardoning sin freely, in pardoning all sin, the punishment and the guilt, and all. And when we are in the state of grace, and have our sins pardoned, still it is his mercy to forbear the punishments due to us, in mitigating his corrections, and in seasonable corrections. For it is a mercy for God to correct his children seasonably. * Therefore we are corrected of God, that we should not be damned with the world,' 1 Cor. xi. 32.
It is a mercy to have seasonable correction. It is a mercy to have cor- rection mitigated and sweetened with some comforts. It is a mercy after we are in the state of grace, besides this, to have the continuance of out- ward blessings.
God renews his mercies every day. His mercies fail not,' Lament, iii. 22. His mercies are renewed continually upon us.
So he is Father of all kind of mercies; privative* mercies, in freeing us from ill ; and positive mercies, in bestowing good. Pardoning mercies, healing mercies, preserving mercijes, all mercies come from this Father of I will not stand to unfold them in particular ; for indeed every thing that comes from God to his children, it is a mercy. It is as it were dipt in mercy before it comes to us. It is a mercy, that is, there is a freedom in it, and a pity to his creature. For the creature is alway in some neces- sity and in some dependence. We are in a state of necessities in this life, in some misery or other, and that, as I said, is the object of mercy.
Besides, we are dependent for the good we have. It is at God's mercy to continue or to take away any comfort that he gives us. Every thing is a mercy. And in every thing we take from God we ought to conceive a mercy in it, and to think this is a mercy from God. If we have health, it is a mercy ; if we have strength, it is a mercy ; if we have deliverance, it is a mercy. It comes in the respect and relation of a mercy, all that comes from God. He is not said to be the father of the thing ; but the ' Father of mercies.' There is a mercy contained in the thing. They come from the pity and love of God, and that is the sweetest. Therefore, he is said to be the ' Father of mercies.'
* That is, = ' negative.' — G.
2 CORINTHIANS CHAP. I, VER. 3. 81
Quest. What use may we make of this, that God is tlie * Father of mercies ' ?
Ans. It is a point full of sweet and comfortable uses, to those that are not in the state of grace, and to those that are in the state of grace.
Use 1. To those that are not in the state of grace, they should see here a haven to flee to ; a city of refuge to flee unto. Do but consider, thou wretched soul, how God is styled a * Father of mercies ' to thee, a God of bounty. All is to allure thee to repentance, to allm-e thee to come in. He is not merciful by accident, but he is naturally merciful in himself. He hath bowels of mercy in himself. * Mercy pleaseth him,' Micah vii. 18.
Therefore, despair not, thou drooping soul, whosoever thou art that are under the guilt of sin ! come to the Father of mercies ! cast thyself into this sea of his mercy ! hide thyself in these bowels ! be not an enemy to thine own mercy ! As Jonah saith, ' Refuse not th}^ own mercy,' Jonah ii. 8, that is offered. There is mercy pressed upon thee, mercy with threatening if thou beUeve not mercy, now thou art called to receive it. The wrath of God hangs over thee as a weight, or as a sword ready to fall upon thee. As Christ saith, ' The wrath of God hangs over us,' John iii. 36, if we do not receive mercy offered us.
Allege not thy sins against mercy. Thy sins are the sins of a creature ; God is the ' Father of mercies.' He is infinite. Christ thy Saviour hath made an infinite satisfaction, and thy sins are finite, and in that respect there is mercy for thee if thou wilt come in, if thou apprehend and receive mercy.
' One deep calls upon another deep,' Ps. xhi. 7. The depth of thy sins and misery draws unto it, and calls upon the depth of mercy. * The mercy of God is above all his works,' Ps. cxlv. 9. It is not only above all his works to cover them all, and under them to uphold them, but it is beyond them all. His mercy exceeds all other attributes to the creature. It is above his works, and upon his works, and under his works, and it is above thy works too. He is more glorious in his mercy than in any other attri- bute. He doth all for the glory of his mercy, both in the creation and in the gospel. His mercy, therefore, is above his own works, and above thy works if tliou come in.
Oil is of a kingly nature. It swims above all other Hquids. So the mercy of God, like oil, it swims above all other attributes in him, and above aU sin in thee, if thou wilt receive it.
* Father of mercies.' In a corrupt estate the special mercy is forgiving mercy. If it were not for forgiving mercies, all other gifts and mercies were to little purpose. For it were but a reserving of us to eternal judg- ment, but a feeding the traitor to the day of execution, a giving him the liberty of the prison, which is nothing unless his treason be pardoned. So the forgiving mercy leads to all the rest. Nov.^ these forgiving mercies, they are unlimited mercies, there is no bounds of them. For he being the Father of Christ, who is an infijiite person, and having received an infinite satisfaction from an infinite Person, he may well be infinitely merciful ; and himself is an infinite God. His mercies are like himself. The satisfaction whereby he may be merciful is infinite. Hereupon it is that he may par- don, and will pardon all sin without limitation, if they be never so great, never so many.
This I observe, the rather to appease the conscience of a sinner when it is suppressed* with terror and fear of the greatness of his sins. Consider * Qu. ' oppressed? — G.
32 COMMENTARY ON
how God hath set down himself, and will be known and apprehended of us, not only as merciful, but a ' Father of mercies,' and not of one mercy, but of aU mercies, not only giving, but, forgiving especially, ' Which forgiveth all thy sins, and healeth all thy infirmities,' Ps. ciii. 3. This I observe against a proneness in us to despair. We are not now proner in the time of peace to presume, than when conscience is awakened, to despair ; we are prone to both alike. For here is the poison of man's corruption. Is God 80 merciful ? Surely, I may go on in sin, and cry God mercy, and there is an end. God is merciful, nay, the Father of mercies.
Now, in the time of peace, sin is nothing with us. Swearing is nothing, rotten discourse is nothing, going beyond others in our dealing and com- merce is nothing, getting an estate by fi-aud and deceit is nothing. * The bread of deceit is sweet,' Prov. xx. 17. Loose, licentious, libertine life, is nothing. And those that do not follow the same excess, and are [not] dis- solute, it is a strange matter with us,' they are strange people. We think it strange that others do not so, and if they be better than we, it is but hypocrisy. Men measure all by themselves. So all is nothing. Great, gross swearing is nothing. Men glory in it, and to make scruple of it, it is thus and thus. They have terms for it. And what is the bawd* for all this ? Oh ! God is merciful, and Christ he is wondrous mercifd : he took our nature that he might die for us, &c.
It is true indeed. But when the conscience is awakened, then the con- science will tell thee another lesson. The conscience will set God as just, and Satan will help conscience with accusations and aggravations. It is true, it is too true. The conscience will take part with God and with his word. It is true thou hast done thus and thus. These are thy sins, and God is just.
And especially at the hour of death, when earthly comforts fail, and there is nothing but sin set before a man's eyes, the comforts that are set before him can do him no good. Then the conscience will hardly f receive any comfort : especially the consciences of such as have gone on in a course of sin, in spite of good means. A conscience of such a man as either refuseth or rejects the means, because it would favour itself in sin ; or a conscience that being under means, having had its sins discovered to it, that conscience will hardly admit of any comfort. And there is none, but they find it another manner of matter than they think it. Sin is a blacker thing than they imagine. Their oaths that they trifle with, and their dissolute and their rotten discourse, when they should be better affected |, upon the Sab- bath, and such like. Therefore we ought to look to it.
Well ! to press this point of presumption a little further, now I am in it, we are wondrous prone to abuse this mercy to presumption, and after to despair.
I consider this beforehand, that however God's mercy be unlimited, as indeed it is in itself, it is so unlimited to those that repent, and to those that receive and embrace mercy, and mercy in one kind as well as another. It is so to those that repent of their sins. For God is so the ' Father of mercy,' as that he is the ' God of vengeance ' too, Deut. xxxii. 5. He is a just God too.
The conscience will tell you this well enough, when the outward com- forts, that now you dally with and set as gods in the room of God, and drown yourselves in sensuality and idolatry with the creature, and put them
* Sic Qu. ' bode ?' = bid, meaning bait. — G.
t That is, ' affectioned' = disposed. — G. t That is, ' with difficulty.' — G,
2 COi'JNTHIANS CHAP. I, VER. 3. 33
in the place of God, — when they arc taken away, conscience will tell yor that God is merciftd indeed ; but he is just to such that refuse mercies.
Therefore, though his mercy be unlimited to such as are broken-hearted to such as repent of their sins (for he will glorify his mercy as he may glorify his other attributes), he is wisely merciful. If he should be mer- ciful to such as go on in sin, he should not be wisely merciful.
Who among men, if he be wise, would be merciful to a child or servant without acknowledgment of the fault ?
Was not David over- merciful to Absalom ? Yes ; it was his fault. Yet, out of wisdom, he would not admit him into his presence till he was humbled for his fault and made intercession, though he doated upon him, 2 Sam. xiv. 28. God is infinitely wise, as he is merciful. Therefore , ha will not be merciful to him that goes on in wickedness and sin. ''This cannot be too often pressed, for the most of the auditors, wheresoever v.'t! speak, the devil hath them in this snare, that God is merciful, &c. Ami doth he not know how to use it ? He is so indeed, but it is to repentant souls that mean to break off their course of sin.
Otherwise, if the mercy of God work the other way, hearken to thy doom, ' He that blesseth himself,' saith God by Moses, and saith, ' These curses shall not come to me,' he that blesseth himself and saith. Oh, all shall be well, God is merciful, &c., ' my Avi'ath shall smoke against him,' Deut. xxix. 16, 20, and I will not be merciful to him that goes on in his sins. God will ' wound the hahy scalp of him that goes on in sin,' Ps. Ixviii. 21. As the apostle saith, he that abuseth the bounty and patience of God, that should lead him to repentance, ' he treasureth up wrath against the day of wrath,' Rom. ii. 5. The Scripture is never in any case more terrible than this way. In Isa. xxviii. 15, ' You have made a cove- nant with hell and death,' with God's judgments ; but hell and death hath not made a covenant with you. You make a covenant, and think you shall do well ; but God is terrible to such. His wrath shall smoke against such as make a covenant with his judgments, and treasure up wrath against the day of wrath.
Take heed. IS the proclamation of mercy call thee not in, if thou stand out as a rebel and come not in, but go on still, then justice lays hold on thee, God's wrath shall smoke against thee, as we see in Prov. i. 26, ' I will laugh at your destruction,' speaking of those that would not come in • and as* it is in Isa. xxvii. 11, 'He that formed them and made them will have no mercy on them, nor shew them favour.' He will have no de- light in them. They are ignorant sots, and will not labour to know God and his will, to do and obey it. ' Ho that made them will have no de- light in them, and he that formed them will reject them.' It is a pitiful thing when God, that made them and fonned them in their mother's womb, whose creatures they are, shall have no delight in them ; when he that made them, his heart shall not pity them, Ezek. xviii. 18. He that goes on in a course of sin presumptuously and doth not repent, God's eye shall not pity him. ' He that made him will have no delight in him.'
Therefore the apostle, because we are disposed and prone to abuse the goodness and longsuffering of God and the mercies of Christ, he saith, ' Be not deceived, be not deceived' (he oft presseth this), * for neither the covetous nor licentious persons shall enter into heaven,' 1 Cor. vi. 10.
Though God be merciful, if thou live in these sins, be not deceived,
* By a strange misprint, the words ' and as,' appear in the unmeaning form of ' Chidas,' in the folio. It is plain that ' and as' was intended Ly Sihhes. — G.
VOL. III. 0
34 COMMENTARY ON
thou shalt never enter into heaven. God will not be merciful to the most of those that even now live in the bosom of the church, because they make mercy a baud to their sinful courses. God will harden him- self. He will not bless such. He hath no mercy for such. To such he is a God of vengeance.
His mercy is to such as are weary of their sinful courses. As I said, he is merciful, but so as he is wise.
What prince will prostitute a pardon to one that is a rebel, and yet thinks himself a good subject all the while ? He is no rebel ; cares he for a pardon ? and shall he have a pardon when he cares not for it ? Those that are not humbled in the sight and sense of their sins, that think themselves in a good estate, they are rebels, that have not sued out their pardon. There is no mercy to them yet. ' He that made them will not pity them,' because they are ignorant, hardened wretches, that live in blasphemy, in swearing, in corrupt courses, in hardness of heart, that live in sins, that their own conscience and the conscience of others about them know that they are sins, devouring sins, that devour all their comfort ; and 3'et, notwithstanding, they dream of mercy. Mercy ! Hell is their por- tion, and not mercy, that make an idol of God.
Thus it is with us ; we are prone to presume upon God's mercy. I speak this that we should not surfeit of this sweet doctrine, that God is the ' Father of mercies.' He is so to repentant sinners, to those that believe. To those mercy is sweet. We know oil is above all liquors. God's mercy is above all his own works and above our sins. But what is the vessel for this oil ? This oil of mercy, it is put in broken vessels ; it is kept best there. A broken heart, a humble heart, receives and keeps mercy.
As for proud dispositions, as all sinners that go on in a course of sin, the psalmist terms them proud men ; he is a proud man that sets his own will against God's command. ' God resists the proud,' James iv. 6. It is the humble, yielding heart, that will be led and lured by God, that is a vessel to receive mercy. It must be a deep vessel, it must be a broken vessel, deep with humiliation, broken by contrition, that must receive mercy. And it must be a large vessel laid open, capable to receive mercy, and all mercy, not only pardoning mercy, but healing mercy, as I said out of that psalm, ' That forgiveth all thy sins, and healeth all thy transgres- sions,' Ps. ciii. 3.
Therefore those that have not grace and mercy, to heal then' corruptions, to dry up that issue in some comfortable measure, they have no pardoning mercy ; and those that desire not their corruptions to be healed, they never desire heartily their corruptions to be pardoned. Those mercies go together.
He is not the ' Father of mercy,' but of all mercies that belong to salva- tion, and he gives them every one, and he that desires the one, desires the other.
Let us consider how the sweet descriptions of God, and how his pro- mises work upon us. If they work on us to make us presume, it is a fear- ful case. It is as bad a sign as may be, to be ill, because God is good, ' to turn the grace of God into wantonness,' Jude ver. 4.
But as we are thus prone to presume ; so when conscience is awaked we are as prone to despair. Therefore if they work with us this way, ' there is mercy with God, therefore I will come in ;' * therefore I will cast down my weapons at his feet,' ' I will cease to resist him,' ' I wiU come in, and take
2 COEINTHIANS CHAP. I, VER. B. 35
terms of peace with him,' ' I will yield him obedience for the time to come;' ' therefore I will fear and love so good a God.' If it work thus, it is a sign of an elect soul, of a gracious disposition. And then if thou come in, never consider what thy sins have been; if thou come in, God will embrace thee in his mercy. Thy sins are all as a spark of fire that falls into the ocean, that is drowned presently. So are thy sins in the ocean of God's mercy.
There is not more light in the sun, there is not more water in the sea, than there is mercy in the ' Father of mercy,' whose bowels are opened to thee if thou be weary of thy sinful courses, and come in, and embrace mercy.
In the tabernacle, we know, there was a mercy-seat. We call it a pro- pitiatory. In the ark, which this mercy-seat covered, was the law. Now in the law there were curses against all sinners.
The mercy-seat was a type of Chi-ist, covering the law, covering the curse. Though thou be guilty of the curse a thousand times, God in Christ is merciful. Christ is the mercy-seat. Come to God in Christ. There is mercy in Israel notwithstanding thy gi-eat sins. If we cast away a purpose of Hving in sin, and cast away our weapons, and submit ourselves to him, he is the Father of mercies. That is, he is merciful from himself, he is the spring of them, and hath them from his own bowels. They are free mercies, because he is the Father of them.
For he is just by our feult, he is severe from us, he takes occasion from our sins ; but he is merciful from his own bowels. He is good from him- self. We provoke him to be severe and just. Therefore be we never so miserable in regard of sin, and the fruits of sin, yet he is the Father of mercy, of free mercy ; mercy from himself. ' Mercy pleascth him,' Micah vii. 18. He is dehghted in it.
Now that which is natural comes easily, as water from the fountain comes without violence, and heat from the fire comes without any violence, because it is natm-al. A mother pities her child, because it is natm-al. There is a sweet instinct of nature that moves and pricks forward nature to that affection of love that she bears to her child. So it is with God. It is nature in him to be merciful to his, because they are his. Mercy is his nature. We are his. We being his, his nature being merciful, he will be merciful to all that are his, to such as repent of theii- sins, and lay hold of his mercy by a true fixith.
His word shews likewise his mercy. There is not one atti'ibute set down more in Scripture than mercy. It is the name whereby he will be known, Exod. xxxiv. 6, where he describes it, and tells us his name. What is the name of God ? His longsuflfering, and mercy, &c. There is a long de- scription of God in that place. David, in Ps. iii., besides that which is in every prophet almost, hath the same description of God, to comfort God's people in his time. In Ps. Ixxxvi., ciii., cxlv., there is the same descrip- tion of God as there is in Moses. He is merciful and longsuflfering, &c. He describes himself to be so, and his promises are promises of mercy. At what time soever a sinner repents, and without hmitation of sins, all sins shall be forgiven. ' The blood of Christ purgeth us from all sin,' 1 John i. 7.
If there be no limitation of persons whomsoever, of sins whatsoever, or of time whensoever, here is a ground that we should never despair. * God is the Father of mercies.'
It is excellent that the prophet hath, to prevent the thoughts of a de-
86 COMMENTARY ON
jected soul, ' Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and return to the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon,' Isa. Iv. 7.
Obj. Aye, but I have abused mercy a long time ; I have lived in sin, and committed great sins. Well, notwithstanding that, see how he answers it : * My thoughts are not your thoughts.' You are vindictive. If a man offend you, you are ready to aggravate the fault, and to take revenge, &c. ' But my thoughts are not as your thoughts, nor my ways as your ways,' saith the Lord ; ' for as far as the heaven is above the earth, so are my thoughts above your thoughts, and my w^ays above yom'ways,' Ps. ciii. 11. We have narrow, poor thoughts of mercy, because we ourselves are given to revenge, and we are ready, when we think of our sins, to say, Can God forgive them ? can God be merciful to such ? &c. ' My thoughts are not as your thoughts, nor my ways as your ways.'
It is good to consider this, and it is a sweet meditation ; for the time undoubtedly will come, that unless God's mercy and God's thoughts should be, as himself is, infinite, unless his ways should be infinitely above our ways, and his thoughts infinitely above ours in mercy, certainly the soul would receive no comfort.
The soul of a Christian acquainted with the word of God knows that God's mercy is, as himself is, infinite, and his thoughts this w^ay are, as himself is, infiaiite. Therefore the Scripture sets down the mercies of God by all dimensions. There is the depth of wisdom, but when he comes to speak of love and mercy, as it is in Eph. iii. 18, ' Oh, the depth, and breadth, and height of this ! '
Indeed, for height, it is higher than the heavens ; for depth, it fetcheth the soul from the nethermost deep. We have deep misery, ' Out of the deep I cried to thee,' Ps. cxxx. 1 ; yet notwithstanding, his mercy is deeper than our misery. 0 the depth of his mercy ! There is a depth of mercy deeper than any misery or rebellion of ours, though we have sunk deep in rebellion. And for the extent of them, as I said before, ' his mercy is over all his works,' Ps. cxlv. 9. It extends to the utmost parts of the earth. The Scripture doth wonderfully enlarge his mercy be- yond all dimensions whatsoever. These things are to good purpose ; and it is a mercy to us that he sets forth himself in mercy in his word, because the soul, sometime or other when it is awakened, as every one that God de- lights in is awakened, first or last, it needs all that is, it is all little enough.
God is merciful to those that are heavy laden, that feel the burden of their sins upon their souls. Such as are touched with the sense of their sins, God still meets them half-way. He is more ready to pardon than they are to ask mercy. As we see in the prodigal, when he had wasted all, when he was as low as a man could be, when he was come to husks, and when he had despised his father's admonition, yet upon resolution to return, when he was stung with the sense of his sins, his father meets him and entertains him ; he upbraids him not with his sin, Luke xv. 20, seq.
Take sin, with all the aggravations we can, yet if we repent and resolve upon new courses, there is comfort, though we relapse into sin again and again. If we must pardon ten times seven-times, as Christ saith, Luke xvii. 4,* certainly there cannot be more mercy in the cistern than there is
* "With reference to a former note (vol. I. page 231), Sibbes's phrase should have been printed ' seventy seven-times.' The question to our Lord was, ' till seven- times ? ' ' Yes,' he replied, ' till seventy seven-times,' which is = seventy times seven. Sibbes's quotation above is a slip. — G.
2 CORINTHIANS CHAP. I, VER. 3. 37
in the fountain ; there cannot be more mercy in us than there is in the ' Father of mercies,' as God is.
Take sin in the aggravations, in the greatness of it, Manassch's sm, Peter's denying of his Master, the thief on the cross, and Paul's persecu- tion ! Take sin as gi'eat as you will, he is the ' Father of mercies.' If we consider that God is infinite in mercy, and that the Scripture reveals him as the ' Father of mercies,' there is no question but there is abundance, a world of comfort to any disti'essed soul that is ready to cast itself on God's
mercy. t n j
Use 2. Fo7- those that are converted, that are in the state of grace — Is God ' the Father of mercies ?' let this stir ?*s nj) to embrace mercy, every day to live by mercy, to 'plead mercy ivith God in our daily breaches ; to love and fear God, because there is mercy with him that ' he might bo feared,' Ps.cxxx. 4. It is a harder matter to make a daily sweet use of this than it is taken for. Those that are the fittest subjects for mercy, they think themselves furthest off from mercy. Come to a broken soul, who is catched in the snare ; whose conscience is on the rack, he thmks, alas ! there is no mercy for me ! I have been such a sinner, God hath shewed me mercy before, and now I have offended him again and again. Those that are the subjects of mercy, that are the nearest to mercy, when their conscience is awakened, they think themselves fm-thest off, and we have need to press abundance of mercy, and all little enough to set the soul in frame. There is none of us all, but we shall see a necessity of pressmg this one time or other, before we die. David when he had sinned, he knew well enough that God was merciful. Oh, but it was not a slight mercy that would satisfy him, as we see, Ps. U., how he prcsseth upon God for mercy, and will a httle serve him? No! 'according to thy abundant mercy,' ver. 1. He i^resseth mercy, and abundance of mercy, a multitude of mercies ; and unless he had seen infinite mercy, abundant mercy in God, when his conscience was awaked with the fouhiess of his sin (there being such a cry for vengeance, his sin caUed and cried) ; if the blood of Christ had not cried above it, ' Mercy, mercy,' and abundance of mercy, multitudes of compassion, the soul of Da^-id would not have been stilled.
So other saints of God, when they have considered the fouhiess of sni, how odious it is to God, they could not be quieted and comforted, but that they saw mercy, and abundance of mercy. As the apostle St Peter saith, ' Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, of his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again to a lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, to an inheritance, immortal,' &c., 1 Pet. i. 3.
' God is the Father of mercies.' For faith will not have sufficient footmg, but in infinite mercy. In the tune of despair, in the time of torment of conscience, in the time of desertion, it must be mercy, and ' the Father of mercies,' and multitudes of compassions, and bowels of love ; and all little enough for faith to fix on, the faith of a conscience on the rack. But when faithlionsiders of God set out— not as Satan sets him forth, a God of ven- geance, a ' consuming fire,' Heb. xii. 29,— when faith considers God pictured out in the gospel, it sees him the Father of Christ and our Father, and the Father of mercies and God of comfort, faith seeing infinite mercy m an infinite God ; and secirg mercy triumph against justice, and all other attri- butes, here faith hath some footing, and stays itself, or else the converted, sanctified soul, seeing the odiousness of sin, and the clamorousness of sm, such that it will not be satisfied, but with abundant mercy ; and God must be pre- sented to it as a ' Father of mercy ' and compassion, before it can have peace.
38 COMMENTARY ON
Therefore, if so be at any time our conscience be awakened, and tbe devil lays hard to us, let us think of God as he hath made himself known in his word, as a ' Father of mercies and God of comfort,' represent him to our souls, as he represents himself in his word. Times of desertion, when we seem to be forsaken of God, will enforce this. Times of desertion will come, when the soul will think God hath forgotten to be merciful, and hath shut up his love in displeasure. Oh, no ! he is the Father of mercy, he never shuts up his bowels altogether, he never stops the spring of his mercy. He doth to our feeling, but it is his mercy that he doth that ; it is his mercy that he hinders the sense of mercy. He doth that in mercy. It is to make us more capable of mercy afterward.
Therefore, saith the Father, when he comes to us in his love, and the sense of it, it is for our good ; and when he takes the sense of his love from us, it is for our good. For when he takes away the sense of his love fi'om us, it is to enlarge our souls to be more capable of mercy after, to prize it more, to walk warily, and jealously, to look to our corruptions better. Therefore in the time of desertion think of this, when God seems to forget us. ' Can a mother forget her child?' Isa. xlix. 15. Suppose she should be so u^nnatural as to do it, which can hardly be believed, that a mother should forget her child, ' Yet not^\'ithstanding I mil not forget you ; ' you are ' written upon the palms of my hands,' ver. 16, that is, I have you alway in my eye. So that if there were no mercies to be found in nature, no bowels to be found in a mother (where usually they are most abundant), yet notwithstanding there is mercy to be found in ' the Father of mercies ' still. Therefore in such times let us make use of this.
And another thing that we ought to learn hence is this, if God be so in Christ Jesus, for we must alway put that in, for he is merciful with satis- faction. And yet it is his mercy that he would admit of satisfaction. His mercy devised a way to content justice. His mercy set all on work. Mercy is above justice in the work of salvation. Justice hath received content- ment from mercy. But that by the way, to make us have higher thoughts of mercy, than any other attribute of God in the doctrine of the gospel, in that kingdom of Christ. It is a kingdom of grace and mercy, if we have hearts to embrace it.
Let this encourage us to come to God, and to cast ourselves into the arms of this merciful Father. If we have lived in other courses before, let the mercy of God work upon our souls. In Rom. ii. 4, it is pressed there excellently. ' This mercy of God should lead us to repentance,' it should encourage us. What makes a thief or a traitor come in, when there is pro- clamation out against him ? If there be a pardon sent after him, it makes him come in, or else he runs out still further and further, while the hue and ciy pursues him. But hope of mercy and pardon will bring him in again. So it is that that brings us in again to God, the very hope of mercy and pardon. If we be never so ill, or have been never so ill, do not put off, but take this day now; * Now is the time,' now, * while it is called to-day,' Ps. xcv. 7, 8, take the present time. Here is our error, if God be ' the Father of mercy,' I will cry him mercy at the hour of death. Aye, thou mayest go to hell with mercy in thy mouth. He is merciful to those that truly repent. But how dost thou know that thy repentance on thy deathbed will be true ? It is not soiTow for sickness, and grief for death, and fear of that. But there must be a hatred of sin. And how shall conscience tell thee now thou hast repented, that it is a hating of thy sinful courses, rather than the fear of damnation ? that is rather from the sense of grief. Conscience will
2 CORINTHIANS CHAP. I, VKR. 3. 39
hardly be comforted ia this, for it will upbraid. Aye, now, now j'ou would have mercy.
We see by many that have recovered again, that have promised great matters in their sickness, that it is hypocritical repentance, for they have been worse after than they were before (f^). It is not a sufficient matter to yield thee comfort, that thou art much humbled in thy sickness, and at the hour of death ; for it is hard for thee to determine whether it be true repent- ance, or mere sorrow for sin as it brings judgment. Fear of damnation is not sufficient to bring a man to heaven. Thy nature must be changed before thou come to heaven. Thou must love righteousness because it is righteousness. Thou must love God because he is good. Thou must hate sin because it is sin.
How canst thou tell, when thou hast been naught before affliction, whe- ther affliction have wrought this, that thou repentest only out of hatred of judgment, to shun that, or out of hatred of sin, because it is sm "? There- fore now a httle repentance in thy health, and in the enjoying of thy pro- sperity, a little hatred of ill ways now, will more comfort thee than a thousand times more prayer and striving wiU then. Although, if thou canst do it truly then, yet the gate of mercy is open, but thy heart vvdll scarce say it is truly done, because it is forced.
Then, again, perhaps thou shalt not have the honour of it, thou shalt not have the mercy. Thou that hast refused m^rcy, and lived in a loose, profane course, thou that hast despised mercy all the while, God will not honour thee so much as to have a good word, or a sorrowful word, that even very grief shall not extort it from thee. But as thou hast forgotten God in thy life, and wouldst not own his admonitions, thou shalt forget thyself in death, and be taken away suddenly, or else with some violent disease that shall take away the use of the parts that God hath given thee, as in- flammation of the spu-its, or the like, that shall take away the use of sound reason. It is madness, and no better, to live as the most hve, to cry God is merciful, &c. Thou mayest go to hell for all that. Repentance must be from a true hatred of sin ; and that that must comfort thee, must be a dis- position for the present, for then it is unforced.
Therefore all these sweet comforts are to you that come in and leave your wicked courses. If you have been swearers, to swear no more ; if you have been deceivers, to deceive no more ; if you have been licentious, to be so no more, but to break off the course of your sins as God shall enable you. Or else this one thing, think of it, that you now daub your conscience withal, and go on in sin with that, will be most terror to you, even mercy. Nothing will vex you so much as mercy afterward. Then thou shalt think with thyself, I have heard comfortable [tidings] of the promises, and of the nature of God, but I put off and despised all, I regarded my sinful courses more than the mercy of God in Chiist, they were sweeter to me than mercy. I Uved in sins, out of the abundance of profaneness that did me no good ; I lived in sins, out of the superfluity of profaneness that I had neither profit nor pleasure by, and neglected mercy. The con- sideration of mercy neglected, with the continuing in a wretched com-se, it will more aggravate the soul's torment.
Let us be encouraged to come in. Such as intend to leave their sinful courses, let them remember that then they come to a Father of mercy that is more ready to pardon than you are to ask it, as you see in the prodigal son, which I instanced in before ; it is a notable, sweet story. I have a Father, saith he, when he had spent all, and was come to husks, Luke
40 COMMENTARY ON
XV. 16. Affliction is a notable means to naake us to taste and relish mercy. I have a Father, and there is plenty in his house ; and he comes and confesseth his sin. He had no sooner resolved, but his Father, he doth not stay for him, but he meets him, and kisseth him, Luke xv. 20, seq.
Let us consider of this description of Grod, the Father of mercy. It should move any that are in ill and lewd courses before, ' In my Father's house there are good things,' and in his heart there are bowels of mercy. I have a Father, and a Father of mercy. I will go home, and submit myself to him, and say to him, I have been thus and thus, but I will be so no more. You shall find that God, by his Spirit, will be readier to meet you than you are to cast yourselves at the feet of his mercy, and into the arms of his mercy. He will come and meet you, and kiss you. You shall find much comfort upon your resolution to come in, if it be a sound resolution.
The son fears his father's displeasure ; but saith the father, ' My thoughts are not as your thoughts.' Oh ! I fear he will not receive me ! Yes, yes, he is willing to embrace you. Mercy pleaseth him ; ' and why will you perish, 0 house of Israel?' Jer. xxvii. 13.
Again, ' God is the Father of mercies ' This should stir us up to an imitation of this our gracious Father ; for every father begets to his own likeness, and all the sons of this Father are like the Father, They are merciful. * The kings of Israel are merciful kings,' 1 Kings xx. 31, saith the heathen king Benhadad ; and the God of Israel is a merciful God, and all that are under God are merciful. His sons are ' merciful as their hea- venly Father is merciful, Luke vi. 36. Therefore, if we would make it good to our own hearts, and the opinion and judgment of others of us, that we are children of this merciful Father, we must put on bowels of mercy om-selves as in Col. iii. 12, ' Now, therefore, as the elect of God,' as you will make it good that God hath elected you, ' put on the bowels of mercy.' Whatsoever we have from God, it comes in the respect of a mercy, and so it should do from God's children. Everything that comes from them to them that are in misery, it should be a mercy. They should not only be- stow the thing, but a sweet mercy with the thing. A child of God he pours out his bowels to his brother, as Isaiah saith, ' Pour out thy bowels,' &c., Isa. Ixiii. 15. There is some bowels, that is, there is an afiection in God's children. They give not only the thing, the relief, but mercy with it, that hath a sweet report to the soul. There is pity, that more comforts a sanctified soul than the thing itself. We must not do works of mercy proudly (r/). It is not the thing that God stands on, but the afiection in the thing. His benefits are with a fatherly pity. So should ours be with a pitiful respect, with a tender heart. ' The veiy mercies of the wicked are cruel,' Prov. xii. 10. If they be merciful, there is some pride of spirit, there is some taste of a hard heart, of an hypocritical spirit. Somewhat is not as it should be. Their mercies are not mercies. We must in our mercy imitate the Father of mercies.
Alas ! it is the fault of our time. There is little mercy to those that are in misery. What a cruel thing is it that so many, I would I could say Christian souls, I cannot say so, but they are a company of men that have the image of God upon them, men that live miserable poor, such as, for aught I know, God's mercy hath purchased with the blood of his Son, and may belong to God's kingdom. They have the image of God upon them, yet they live without laws, without church, without commonwealth, irregular persons, that have no order taken for them, or not executed at the least, to
2 CORINTHIANS CHAP. I. VER. 3. 41
repress the sturdy of them, and to relieve those that are to be relieved for age or impotency (r/*).
It is a pitiful thing and a foul blemish to this commonwealth, and will bring some ill upon wealth, and plague it from such irregular persons. He will plague the commonwealth for such enormities. How do they live ? As beasts, and worse. They submit themselves to no orders of the church. They have none, and submit to none. Here is an object of mercy to those that it concerns.
And likewise, mercy ought to be shewed to the souls of men, as well as to their miserable and wretched estates. Is popery antichristian ? What mercy is it to suffer poisoners ? What a mercy were it in a commonwealth to suffer men that are incendiaries to have liberty to do what mischief they would ? or men that should poison fountains, and all that should refi'esh and nourish men ? Were this any policy for the body ? And is it any policy to suffer those to poison the judgments of people with heresies to God, and treason to their prince ? to draw the affections of men from religion and the state, where is merc}^ all the while ?
Oh ! is it a mercy to them not to restrain them ? Mercy ! Is it mercy to the sheep to let the wolves at liberty ? No. If you will be merciful, to shew mercy to the souls of these men is to use them hardly, that they may know their error. They may now impute the liberty they have to the ap- probation of their cause ; and so they are cruel, not only to others, but to their own souls.
I speak this the rather, [that] it may be a seasonable speech at this time, to enforce good laws this way. It is a great mercy. Mercy to the soul, it is the greatest mercy ; and so cruelty to the soul is the greatest cruelty that can be.
What should I speak of mercy to others ? Oh, that we would be merci- ful to our own souls ! God is merciful to our souls. He sent his Son to ' visit us from on high,' in bowels of compassion. He sent Christ, as Zacharias saith, Luke i. 68, and yet we are not merciful to ourselves. How many sinful, wretched persons pierce their hearts through with covetous- ness, and other wicked courses, that are more dangerous to the soul than poison is to the body ! They stab their souls with cares, and lusts, and other such kind of courses. What a mockery is this of God, to ask him mercy, when wo will not be merciful to our own souls ! and to entreat others to pray for us, when we will not be merciful to ourselves ! Shall we go to God for mercy, when we will not shew mercy to ourselves ? Shall we desire him to spare us, when we will not spare ourselves ? It is a mocking of God to come and offer our devotions here, and come with an intent yet to live in any sin. God will not hear us, if we purpose to live in sin. ' If I regard iniquity in my heart, God will not hear my prayer,' Ps. Ixvi. 18. As we ought to be merciful to the souls of others, and to the estates of others, so we should to our own souls.
How can they reform evils abroad, those that are governors, when they do not care to reform themselves ? Can they be merciful to the souls of others, that are cruel to their own ? They cannot. Let mercy begin at home.
This is that that the Scripture aims at. Mercy and the right use of it, is the way to come to salvation ; and the abuse of it is that that damns ; and they are damned most that abuse mercy. Oh, the sins against the gospel will lie upon the conscience another day. The sins against the law, they help, with the gospel, to see mercy ; but sins against mercy prefer
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our sins above mercy ; and in temptations to despair, to extenuate mercy, hereafter it will be the veiy hell of hell, that we have sinned against mercy, that we have not embraced it with faith, that we have not repented to be capable of it.
Use 8. But to end the point with that which is the most proper use of all, which is an use of comfort in all estates, to go to God in all. ' He is the Father of mercy.' And when all is taken from us in losses and crosses, to think, well, our fathers may die, and our mothers may die, and our nearest and dearest friends that have most bowels of pity, may die ; but we have a Father of mercy, that hath eternal mercy in him. His mercies are tender mercies, and everlasting mercies, as himself is. We are everlasting. Our souls are immortal. We have an everlasting Father, that is the ' Father of mercies.' When all are taken away, God takes not himself away. He is the Father of mercy still.
Now that we may make ourselves still capable of mercy, still fit for mercy, let us take this daily course.
1. Let us labour every day, to have broken and deep soids. As I said before, it is the broken heart that is the vessel that contains mercy, a deeper heart that holds all the mercy. We need, therefore, to empty our- selves by confession of our sins, and search our own thoughts and ways, and afflict our souls by repentance ; and when* we shall be fit objects for God the Father of mercy to shed mercy into misery. It is the loadstone of mercy, misery left discerned and complained of. Let us search and see our misery, our spiritual misery especially ; for God begins mercy to the soul in his children, he begins mercy there especially. General mercy he shews to beasts, to all creatures ; but special mercy begins at the soul. Now, I say, misery being the loadstone of mercy, let us lay before God by confession and humiliation, the sores and sins of our souls. And then make use of this mercy every day ; for God is not only merciful in pardoning mercy at the first, in forgiving our sins at the first, but every day he is ready to pardon new sins, as it is Lam. iii. 23, ' He renews his mercies every day, every morning.' God renews his mercies not only for body, but for soul. There is a throne of grace and mercy every day open to go to, and a sceptre of mercy held out every day to lay hold on, and a ' fountain for Judah and Jerusalem to wash in every day,' Zech. xiii. 1. It is never stopped up, or drawn dry. The fountain is ever open, the sceptre is ever held forth, and the throne is ever kept,
God keeps not terms. Now the Com't of Chancery is open, and now it is shut. But he keeps court every day. Therefore Christ in the gospel enjoins us to go to God every day. Eveiy day we say the Lord's prayer,
* forgive us our trespasses,' Luke xi. 4, insinuating that the court of mercy is kept every day to take out our pardon. Every day there is a pardon of course taken out, ' at what time soever a sinner repents,' &c., 1 Kings viii. 38, seq.
QiLest. How shall we improve this mercy every day ?
Alls. 1. Do this ; when thou hast made a breach in thy conscience, every day believe this, that God is ' the Father of mercies,' and he may well be merciful now, because he hath been sufficiently satisfied by the death of Christ. ' He is the Father of Christ, and the Father of mercies.' This do every day.
2. And withal consider our condition and estate is a state of dependence.
• In him we live and move and have our being,' Acts xvii. 28. This will
* Qu. ' then ? '—Ed.
2 CORINTHIANS CHAP. I, VKK, 3. 43
force us to mercy, that he would hold us in the same estate we are in, and go on with the work of gi-ace, that he would uphold us in health, for that depends upon him ; that he would uphold us in peace, for that depends upon him : he is ' the God of peace,' 1 Cor. xiv. 33, that he would uphold us in comfort and strength, to do good and resist evil. We are in a dependent state and condition in all good of hody and soul. He upholds the whole world, and every particular. Let him take away his hand of merciful protection and sustaining fi'om us, and we sink presently.
3. And every day consider how we are environed with any danger. Remember, we have compassing mercies, as we have compassing dangers, as it is, ' Mercy compasseth us round about,' Ps. xxxii. 10. Every day, indeed, we have need of mercy. That is the way to have mercy. Here is a fountain of mercy, ' the Father of mercy,' bowels opened. The only way to use it is to see what need we have of mercy, and to fly to God ; to see what need we have in our souls, and in regard of outward estate, and to see that our condition is a dependent condition.
Use 4. And lastly, to make a uae of thankfuluess, ' Blessed be God, the Father of mercy,' we have the mercy of jiuhlic contintted peace, u-hen others have ivar, and their estates are consumed. * Blessed be God, the Father of mercy, we sit under our own vines, and under our own fig-trees,' Micah iv. 4. K we have any personal mercies, ' Blessed be God, the Father of mercies,' this way. If he shew mercy to our souls, and pardon our sins, ' Blessed be God, the Father of mercies,' in this kind ; that he hath taken us and redeemed us out of that cursed estate, that others walk in that are yet in their sins. Oh ! it is a mercy, and for this we should have enlarged hearts.
And withal consider the fearful estate of others, that God doth not shew mercy to, and this will make us thankful. As for instance, if a man would be thanldul, that hath a pardon, let him see another executed, that is, broken upon the wheel or the rack, or cut in pieces and tortured, and then he will think, I was in the same estate as this man is, and I am pardoned. Oh ! what a gracious Sovereign have I ! The consideration of the fearful estate out of mercy, what a fearful estate those are in that live in sins against conscience, that they are ready to di'op into hell when God strikes them with death ; if they die so, what a fearful estate they are in ! and that God should give me pardon and grace to enter into another course of life ; that though I have not much grace, yet I know it is true I am the child of God ; the consideration of the misery of others, in part in this world without repentance, and especially what they shall sufier in hell ; to consider the torment of the souls that are not in the state of grace, this will make us thankful for mercies, for pardoning and forgiving mercies, for protecting mercies, that God hath left thousands in the course of nature, going on in a wilful course of sin. This is that that the apostle here practiseth. ' Blessed be God, the Father of mercies.' The other stj'le here is,
' The God of all comfort.'' The life of a Christian is a mystery ; as in many respects, so in this, that whereas the flesh in him, though he be not altogether flesh, thinks him to be a man disconsolate, the spirit finds matter of comfort and glory. From whonce the world begins discouragement and the flesh upbraiding, from thence the Spirit of God in holy St Paul begins matter of glory. They thought him a man neglected of God, because he was afiiicted. No ! saith he, ' blessed be the God of all comfort.' Our
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comforts ai"o above our discomforts. As the wisdom of the flesh is enmity to God and his Spirit in all things, so in this, in the judgment of the cross ; for that which is bitterest to the flesh is sweetest to the spirit. St Paul therefore opposeth his comforts spiritual to his disgraces outward ; and because it is unfit to mention any comfort, any good from God with- out blessing of him, that is the spring and fountain from whence we have all, he takes occasion, together with the mention of comfort, to bless God, ' the God of all comfort.'
The verse contains a wise prevention of scandal at the cross. St Paul was a man of sorrows if ever any was, next to Christ himself, and that [he] might prevent all scandal at his crosses, and disgraceful afilicted usage, he doth shew his comforts under the cross, which he would not have wanted to have been without his cross. Therefore he begins here with praising of God.
We praise God for favours, and indeed the comforts he had in his crosses were more than the grievance he had by them ; therefore had cause to bless God ; ' Blessed be God,' &c.
' The God of all comfort.' ' The God of comfort, and the God of all comfort.' We must give St Paul leave to be thus large, for his heart was full ; and a full heart, a full expression. And he speaks not out of books, but from sense and feeling. Though he knew well enough that ' God was the Father of mercy and God of all comfort,' that way ; yet these be words that come from the heart, come from feeling rather than from the tongue. They came not from St Paul's pen only. His pen was first dipped in his heart and soul when he wrote this. ' God is the Father of mercy, and God of all comfort.' I feel him so ; he comforts me in all tribulations.
' The God of all comfort.' To explain the word a little. Comfort is either the thing itself, a comfortable outward thing, a blessing of God wherein comfort is hid, or else it is reasons ; because a man is an under- standing creature, reasons from which comfort is grounded ; or it is a real comfort, inward and spiritual, by the assistance and strength of the Spirit of God, when perhaps there is no outward thing to comfort. And perhaps reasons and discourse are not present at that time, yet there is a presence of the Spirit that comforts, as we see ofttimes a man is comforted with the very sight of his friend, without discourse. To a man endued with reason, whose discomforts are spiritual, for the most part, in the soul, the very presence of a man that he loves puts much delight into him. What is God then ? ' The God of comfort.' His very presence must needs comfort. Comfort is taken many other ways, but these are the principal, to this purpose.
1. First, comfort is the thing itself. There is comfort in every creature of God, and God is the God of that comfort. In hunger, meat comforts ; in thirst, drink comforts ; in cold, garments comfort ; in want of advice, friends comfort, and it is a sweet comfort. ' God is the God of all comfort ; ' of the comfortable things. But besides the necessary things, every sense hath somewhat to comfort it. The eye, besides ordinary colours, hath delightful colours to behold ; and so the ear, besides ordinary noise and sounds, it hath music to delight it ; the smell, besides ordinary savours, it hath sweet flowers to refresh it ; and so every part of the body, besides that which is ordinary, it hath somewhat to comfort it. Because God is nothing but comfort to his creature, if it be as it should be, he is God of these com- forts, ' the God of all comfort,' of the comfort of outward things, of friends, &c.
2 CORINTHIANS CHAP. I, Y^U, 3. 45
2. So he is the God of the second comfort, of comfortable reasons and arguments. For a man, especially in inward troubles, must have grounds of comfort from strong reasons. God ministereth these. He is the God of these. For he hath given us his Scriptures, his word ; and the comforts that are fetched from thence are strong ones, because they are his com- forts. It is his word. The word of a prince comforts, though he be not there to speak it. Though it be a letter, or by a messenger, yet he whose word it is, is one that is able to make his word good. He is Lord and Master of his word. The word of God is comfortable, and all the reasons that are in it, and that are deduced from it, upon good ground and conse- quence, they are comfortable, because it is God's word. He is the God of all. And those comforts in God's word, and reasons from thence, they are wonderful in the variety of them. There is comfort from the liberty of a Christian laid out there, that he hath free access to the throne of grace ; comfort from the prerogatives of a Christian, that he is the child of God, that he is justified, that he is the heir of heaven, and such like ; comforts from the promises of grace, of the presence of God, of assistance by his presence. These things out of the word of God are wondrous plentiful. Indeed, the word of God is a breast of comfort, as the prophet calls it : ' Suck comfort out of the breasts of comfort,' Isa. Ixvi. 11.
The books of God are breasts of comfort, wells of comfort. There are springs of comfort.
God's word is a paradise, as it were. In paradise, there were sweet streams that ran through; and in paradise stirred the voice of God, not only calling, ' Adam, where art thou ? ' terrifying of him, but the voice of God promising Adam the blessed seed. Gen. iii. 9.
So in the word of God, there is God rousing out of sin, and there is God speaking peace to the soul. There is a sweet current of mercy mns from the paradise of God ; and there is the ' tree of life,' Kev. ii. 7, Christ him- self, and trees of all manner of fruit, comforts of all sorts whatsoever. And there is no angel there, to keep the door and gate of paradise with a fieiy, flaming sword. No ! this paradise is open for all. And they are cruel tyrants that stop this paradise, that stop this fountain, as the papists do. As God is the God of comfort, so he is the God of comfoi-t in that respect.
But this is not enough, to make him the God of comfort. We may have the word of God, and all the reasons from thence, from privileges and pre- rogatives, and examples, and yet not be comfortable, if
3. We have not the God of comfort, with the word of comfort, the Spirit of God, that must apply the comfort to the soul, and be the God of com- fort there.
For there must be application, and working of comfort out of God's word upon the soul, by the Spirit. The Spmt must set it on strongly and sweetly, that the soul may be affected.
You may have a carnal man — he for fashion or custom reads the Scrip- tures, and he is as dead-hearted when he hath done as when he began. He never looks to the Spirit of comfort. There must be the Spirit of God, to work, and to apply comfort to the heart, and to teach us to discourse and to reason from the word ; not only to shew the reasons of the word, but to teach us to draw reasons from the word, and to apply them to our particular state and condition. The Spirit teachcth this wisdom. And therefore it is well called the Comforter. ' I will send you the Comforter,' John xiv. 26. The poor disciples had many comforts from Christ, but be-
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cause the Comforter was not come, they were not comfortable, but hea\7'. What was the reason ? Because ' the Comforter was not come.' When the Holy Ghost was come, after the resurrection and ascension of Christ, when he had sent the Comforter, then they were so full of comfort, that they rejoiced that they * were thought worthy to suffer an3iihing for Christ,' Acts V. 41 ; and the more they suffered, the more joyful, and comfortable, and glorious they are.
You see what a comfort is. It is the things themselves, and the word, and reasons from it, and likewise the Spirit of God with the reasons, and with pi'esence. Sometimes without any reasons, with present strength, God doth establish the soul. Together with reasons, there is a strengthen- ing power of the Spirit, a vigour that goes with the Spirit of God, that joins with the spirit of the afflicted person. So whether it be the outward thing, as reasons and discourse, or the presence of the Spirit, God joining with our spirit, God is the God of that comfort, the ' God of all cornfort.'
A comfort is anything that allays a malady, that either takes it away, oi allays and mitigates it. A comfort is anything that raiseth up the soul. The comforts that we have in this life, they are not such as do altogether take away sorrow and grief, but they mitigate them. Comfort is that which is above a malady. It is such a remedy as is stronger to support the soul from being cast down over much with the grievance, whether it be grievance felt, that we are in the sense of such a grievance as is feared. When the soul apprehends anything, to set against the ill we fear that is stronger than it ; when the soul hath somewhat that it can set against the present sense of the grievance that is stronger than it, though it do not wholly ex- pel it, but the discomfort remains still in some degree, it may be said well to be a comfort.
The reason why I speak of this mitigation is, because in this hfe God never so wholly comforts his children, but there will be flesh left in them ; and that will murmur, and there will be some resistance against comfort. While there are remainders of sin, there will be ground of discomfort, by reason of the conflict between the flesh and spirit.
For instance, a man hath some cross on him : what saith the flesh ? God is mine enemy, and I will take such and such courses. I will not endure this. This is the voice of the flesh, of the ' old man.' What saith the spirit ? Surely God is not mine enemy. He intends my good by these things. So while these fight, here is the ' flesh against the spirit,' Gal. V. 17. Yet here is comfort, because the spirit is predominant. But it is not fully comfort, because there is the ' old man ' in him, that withstands comfort in the whole measure of comfort.
Therefore we must take this degree. We cannot have the full comfort till we come to heaven. There all tears shall be wiped fi'om our eyes. In this world we must be content to have comfort with some grief. The malady is not wholly purged.
Sometimes God removes the outward grievance more fully. God helps many times altogether, as in sickness to health perfectly. But I speak not of that. Comfort is that which is opposite to misery, and it must be stronger, for there is no prevailing but by a stronger. When the agent is not above the patient, there is no prevailing. There is a conflict till one have got the mastery.
' The God of all comfort.' ' All,' that is, of all comfortable things, and of all divine reasons. It must be most substantial comfort. The soul in some maladies will not be comforted by philosophical reasons. Saith the
2 CORINTHIANS CHAP. I, ^'ER. 8. 47
heathen, ' The disease is stronger than the physic,' ^hen he considers Plato's comforts and the like. So we may say of the reasons of philoso- phical men, Romanists, and moralists. When they come to terror ol con- science, when they come to inward grievances, inward stmgs that are m a man, from a man's conscience (as all discomforts usually when they press hard, it is with a guilty conscience), what can aU such reasons do .-' io say it is the state of other men, and it is in vain to munnur,^ and I know not what, such reasons as Seneca and Plato and others have, it wiU scarce still the conscience for a fit. They are ignorant of the root. Alas ! how can they tell the remedy, when they know not the ground of the malady !
It must be God, it must be his word, his trath. The conscience must know it to be God's truth, and then it mil comfort. God is the God ot comfort, of the things, and of the reasons. They must be his reasons.
And he also is the author of that spiritual presence ; he is with his children. When ' they are in the fire, he goes with them into the water, as it is in Isa. xliii. 2. He is with them ' m the valley of death. Vs. xxiii. 4. They shall find God with them to comfort them. So there is a kind of presence with God's comforts, and a banishing of all discomfort.
And this comfort is as large as the maladies, as large as the ills are. He is a God of comfort against everj^ particular iU. If there be diverse ills, he hath diverse comforts ; if they be long ills, he hath long comforts ; it there be strong iUs, he hath strong comforts ; if there be new ills, he hath new comforts. Take the ills in what extent and degree you wiU, God hath somewhat to set against them that is stronger than they, and that is the blessed estate of God's children. He is the ' God of all comfort. _
St Chrj'sostom, an excellent preacher, yields me one observation upon this very place {h). It is the wisdom of a Christian to see how God de- scribes himself, there bemg something in God answerable to whatsoever is iU in the world. The Spirit of God in the Scripture sets forth God fitting to the particular occasions. Speaking here of the misery and the disgi-ace- ful usage of St Paul, being taught by the Spii'it of God, he considereth God as a ' Father of mercies' and a ' God of comfort.' Speaking of the ven- geance on his enemies, the psahnist saith, * Thou God of vengeance, shew thyself,' Ps. xciv. 1. In God there is help for every malady.
Therefore the wisdom of a Christian is to single out of God what is fat- tin» his present occasion. In crosses and miseries, think of him as a ' Father of mercies ;' in discomforts, think of him as a ' God of comfort ; in perplexities and distress, think of him as a God of wisdom ; and oppres- sion of others, and difficulties which we cannot wade out of, think of him as a God and Father Almighty, as a God of vengeance ; and so every way to think of God appliable to the present occasion. And though many ol us have no gi'eat afiliction upon us for the present, yet we should lay up store against the evil day ; and therefore it is good to treasure up these descrip- tions of God, ' the Father of mercies, and God of all comfort.'
To explain the word a little. What doth he mean by ' God ' in this place ? That he is the God of comfort, that hath a further comfort m it, m the very title that is called the God of comfort. In that he is called the God of comfort, it implies two things.
1. Fu-st, it shews that he is a Creator of it ; that he can work it out ot what he will, out of nothmg. • i r i,i. +
2. And then, that he can raise it out of the contrary, as he raised light out ■ ot darkness in the creation, and in the government of this worid he raiseth
his children out of misery. As he raised all out of nothing, order out ot
48 COMMENTARY ON
confusion, so in his church he is the God of comfort. He can raise com- fort out of nothing ; out of nothing that is hkely to yield comfort. Put the case that there be neither medicine, nor meat, nor drink, nor nothing to comfort us in this world, as we shall have none of these things in heaven, he is the God of comfort that shall supply all our wants. As he shall then be all in all, so in this world, when it is by the manifestation of his gloiy. When Moses was forty days in the mountain, he wanted outward comforts ; but he had the God of comfort with him, and he supplied the want of meat and drink and all other comforts, because he is the God of all comfort. In him are all comforts originally and fundamentally ; and if there be none, he can create and make them of nothing.
God, as a God properly, makes something of nothing. That is to be a God ; for nothing but God can make something of nothing. Gods upon earth call men their creatures, in a kind of imitation of God ; but that is but a phrase that puffs them up. They are but gods in a kind of sense, and the other are but creatures in a kind of sense ; because, perhaps they have nothing in them, and in that sense, deservedly creatures. But it is proper to God, to make somewhat of nothing ; and so he is the ' God of comfort.' Where there is no comfort at all, he can raise comfort, as he made the world of nothing by his veiy word.
And which is more, it is the property of God as God, it is peculiar to God to make comfort out of that which is contrary. Therein he shews himself most to be a God of all. He can raise comfort out of discomfort, life out of death. When Christ had been three days in the grave, he raised him. As it is with the head of comfort, with the head of believers, so it is with every particular Christian. He raiseth them out of death. Those that sow in sorrow, they reap in joy. What cannot he do that can raise com- fort out of discomfort ? and discomforts oftentimes are the occasions of the greatest comforts. Let a Christian go back to the former course of his life, and he shall find that the greatest crosses that ever he sufiered will yield him most comfort, and who did this ? Certainly it must be God, that can raise all out of nothing, and that can make comfort not only out of comfortable creatures that are ordained for comfort ; but he can draw honey out of the lion's belly. ' Out of the eater came meat, and out of the strong came sweetness,' saith Samson in his riddle. Judges xiv. 14. When a honeycomb shall come out of the lion's belly, certainly this is a miracle, this may well be a riddle. This is the riddle of Christianity, that God who is the God of comfort, he raiseth comforts out of our chiefest discomforts. He can create it out of that which is contrary.
Therefore Luther's speech is very good, ' All things come from God to his church, especially in contraries ;' as he is righteousness, but it is in sin felt. He is comfort, but it is in misery. He is life, but it is in death. We must die before we live. Indeed, he is all, but it is in nothing, in the soul that feels itself to be nothing. There is the foundation for God to work on. Therefore the God of comfort can create comfort. If none be, he can make comfort. If the contrary be, he can raise contraries out of con- traries. He is the * God of all comfort.' Every word hath emphasis and strength in it.
* The God of all comfort.' Amongst divers other things that flow from hence, mark the order. He is the ' God and Father of Christ' first, and then the ' Father of mercy,' and ' the God of comfort.'
Take him out of this order, and think not of him as a God of comfort, but as a ' consuming fire,' Heb. xii. 29. But take the method of the text,
2 CORINTHIANS CHAP. I, VER. 3. 49
now he is the ' God of comfort after he is the Father of Christ.' This being laid as a ground, the text itself as a doctrine, what subordinate truths arise hence ?
First of all, if God be ' God of all comfort,' there is this conclusion hence ; that, whatsoever the means of comfort be, God is the spring of it.
Christ is the conduit next to God ; for he is close to God. God is the God of Christ, and the Holy Ghost is usually the stream. The streams of comfort come through Chiist the conduit ; from God the Father, the fountain, by the graces of the Spirit. But I speak of outward comforts. ' Blessed be God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.' All are comforters ! God the Father is the father of comfort ; the Holy Ghost is the comforter ; Christ Jesus likewise is the God of comfort. Whatsoever the outward means be, yet God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are the comforters. Take them together. That is tlie conclusion hence.
I observe it the rather, to cure a disposition to atheism in -men that look brutishly to the thing. They look to the comfort, and never look to the comforter, even for outward comforts. Wicked men, their bellies are filled with the comforts of God, but it is with things that are comfortable, that are abstracted from the comforter. They care not for the root, the favour and mercy of God, So they have the thing, they care not.
Therefore they are not thankful to God, nor in their wants, they go not to the God of comfort. Why ? They think they have supply enough, they have friends, they have riches, that ' are their stronghold,' Ps. Ixxxix. 40, and if they have outward necessaries to supply and comfort them, that is all they care for. As for the ' God of comfort,' they trouble not their hands-= wath him,
A Christian, whatsoever the comfort be, if it be outward, he knows that the God of comfort sends it, and that is the reason he is so thankful for all outward comforts. If they be the necessaries for this life, in meat he tastes the comfort of God, in drink he tastes the comfort of God, in the ornaments of this life he tastes the comfort of God. It is God that heats him with fire, it is God that clothes him with garments, it ia God that feeds him with meat, it is God that refresheth his senses in these comforts.
Therefore the heathen, out of their ignorance, they made every thing a god that was comfortable, out of which they received comfort. They made a god of the fire, and of the water. These are but instruments of the God of comfort, but the heathen made gods of them. A Christian doth not so, but he sees God in them, and drivesf these streams from the fountain, God is seen to be the God of comfort in them all.
Again, considering that God is ' the God of all comfort,' this should teach us as thankfulness to God, so jjrayer in the want of any comfort, that he would both give the thing, and the comfort of the thing. We may have the thing and the wrath of God with it. But thou that art the God of comfort, vouchsafe the outward comforts to us, and vouchsafe comfort with them. Thou that art the God of every thing, and of the comfort of the thing, vouchsafe both.
Again, if God be the God of all comfort whatsoever, then here is a gi'ound of divers other tniths ; as, for instance, that if we look for any com- fort from the things, or from reasons and discourse, or from God, we should go to God in the use of the thing, before the use, after the use, at all times. Before the use, that God would suggest, either by reading, or hearing, &c., * Qu. ' heads.' — Q. f Qu. 'derives?' == traces. — G.
VOL. III. D
50 COMMENTAKY OX
reasons of comfort. lu the use, that he would settle and seal comfort to our souls. Lord, I hear many sweet things. I read many comfortable things. These would affect a stone almost ; yet unless thou set them on my soul, they will never comfort me. Thou art the God of comfort. The materials are from thee. But except with revelation and discovery thou join application, all will not comfort, unless with revelation and apphcation thou open my soul to join with these comforts.
3. In the third place. There must be a dlscovenj and application, and an openi)ig of the sold to them. As there be divers flowers that open and shut with the sun, so the soul, by the Spirit of God, it opens to comforts. Though comforts be put close to the soul, if that do not open to them, there is no comfort given ; for all is in the application. There is a double application, of the thing to the soul, and of the soul to the thing. God must do all.
Quest. What is the reason that many hear sermons, and read sweet dis- courses, and yet when they come to suffer crosses and afliictions they are to see ?*
Ans. They go to the stream, they cut the conduits from the spring, they go not to the well head, they see not the derivation of comfort. It is neces- sary for the deriving of comfort to the soul, to take the scales from the eye of the soul. They see not the necessity of a divine presence to apply it, and to lay it close to the soul, and to open the soul, to join the soul to those comforts. ' God is the God of all comfort.' If anything will stir up devo- tion much to pray to God, undoubtedly this will be eftectual, that whatso- ever the comfort be, whether it be outward things or reasons and discourses whatsoever, we may go to God that he would give it.
Well, this being so, if God be the ' God of aU comfort,' the well of com- fort, the Father of comfort, and hath remedies for every malady, then you see here whither to go. You see a Christian in all estates hath ground of comfort, for he is in covenant with the God of comfort.
Quest. You will say to me, What is the reason that Christians are no more comfortable, having the ' God of comfort ' for their God ?
Ans. I answer: 1. It is partly /ro»i ignorance. We have remainders of ignorance, that we know not our own comfort. Satan doth veil the eye of the soul in the time of trouble, that we cannot see that there is a well of comfort. Poor Hagar, when she was almost undone for thirst, yet she had a fountain of water near hand ; but she saw it not, she was so overtaken with grief. Gen. xxi. 15, seq. Ignorance and, 2, passion hinder the sight of comfort. When we give way so much to the present malady, as if there were no God of comfort in heaven, as if there were no Scripture that hath breasts of comfort, that is as full as a breast that is willing to discharge itself of comfort. As if there were no matter of comfort, they feed upon grief, and delight to flatter theirselves in grief, as Rachel, ' that mourned, and would not be comforted,' Mat. ii. 18. So out of a kind of ignorance, and passion, and wilfulness they will not be comforted.
And again, 3, ar/gravatinfj the grievance. As Bildad saith, ' Are the comforts of God light to thee?' Job xv. 11. These are good words, but my discomforts are greater, my malady is greater. So the comforts of the Holy Ghost, the comforts of God's Spirit, seem light to them. Ignorance, and passion, and dwelling too much, makes us neglect comfort. It makes us to see comfort to be no comfort in a manner. Mary, when Christ was before her eyes, they were so blubbered with tears, with fear that her Lord
* Qu. 'seek.' — G.
2 CORINTHIANS CHAP. I, XEH. 3. 51
was lost, that she could not see him, even when he was before her, John XX. 15. So grief and passion hinder the soul so much from seeing God's comforts, that we see them not when they are before us, when they are present. So men are guilty of their own discomfort. It is their own fault.
4. Again, ofttimes forgetfulness. As the apostle saith, ' Have ye for- gotten the consolation that speaks?' Heb. xii. 5. Have ye forgotten that every son that God chastiseth not is a bastard ? Have ye forgotten ? Insinuating that, if they had remembered this, it would have comforted them. ' Have ye forgotten ? '
5. And then one especial cause is, that I spake of before, the looking to things present, forgetting the spring, the well-head of comfort, God himself; the looking too much to the means. Oh ! say some, if they be in distress, if I had such a book, if I had such a man to comfort me, certainly it would be otherwise with me, I should be better than I am. Put case he were with thee, alas ! he is not at the spring ! It is the God of comfort that must comfort thee, man, in all thy distresses whatsoever. Therefore if thou attribute not more to God than to the creature, nay, than to an angel, if he were to comfort thee, thou shalt find no comfort. ' I, even I, am he that comforts thee,' Isa. li. 12. I am he that pardons thy sins, which is the cause of all discomfort. That is comfort ! That is the sting of all. ' I am he that pardons thy sins.'
We, as criers, may speak pardon to the soul ; but God must give it. We may speak comfort, but God must give it. He must say to the soul, * I am thy salvation,' Ps. xxxv. 3. When men idolise any discourse in books, or any particular man over much (though we may value those that are instrumental above others, there may be a difference of gifts, but), the resting too much in the creature, it is an enemy to comfort ; and some grow to that wilfulness in that kind, that they will neglect all because they have not that they would have, whereas if they would look to God, meaner means would serve the tm-n ofttimes, if they would go to the God of comfort.
YERSE 4.
* Who comforteth us in all tribulation.' Afflictions and crosses, as they are irksome in suffering, so they are likewise disgraceful ; and as it was in the cross of Christ, there were* two things, torment and shame. The one he felt himself, the other he had from others ; those two. Dis- grace is proper to the cross. So it is in all the crosses that we suffer, i,her is some disgi-ace with it. Therefore St Paul, to prevent the scandal and disgrace of the cross, as I said before, he doth here begin with prais- ing God even for crosses in the midst of them. * Blessed be God, the Father of mercies, the God of all comfort ; who comforteth us in all tribu- lations,' &c.
' Who comforteth us in all tribulation.' These words contain a making good of the former title, 'He is a God of comfort, and doth comfort; he is good, and doth good.' He fills up his name by his works. He shews what he is. The Scripture doth especially describe God, not in all things as he is in himself; but as he is, and works to his poor church. And they are useful terms, all of them. He is ' the Father of mercy,' be- cause he is so to his chui'ch. He is the ' God of comfort,' because he * Misprinted 'was.'— G.
52 COMMENTARY ON
is SO to bis people. Therefore be saith here, as be is ' the God of comfort ; ' so be doth comfort us in all tribulation. He doth not say, who keeps us out of misery. Blessed be the God of comfort, that never suffers us to faU into discomfort ! No ! but ' blessed be the God of comfort, that comforts us in all tribulation.' It is more to raise good out of evil, than not to suffer evil to be at all. It shews gi'eater power, it manifests greater goodness, to triumph over ill, when it [is] suffered to be, and so not to keep ill from us, but to comfort us in it.
He doth not say for the time past, which bath comforted us, or which can comfort us if it please him. No ! He doth it. It is bis use.* He doth it alway. It springs from bis love. He never at any instant or moment of time forgets bis children. And he saith not, he doth comfort us in one or two, or a few tribulations ; but be comfortetb us in ' all tribu- lations,' of what kind or degree soever.
Obj. It may be objected, to clear the sense a little, he doth not alway comfort : for then there could be no time of discomfort.
A71S. I answer: He doth alway comfort in some degree ; for take a Chris- tian at the lowest, yet he hath so much comfort as to keep him from sinking, "When be is at the depth of miseiy, there is a depth of mei'cy lower than be. ' Out of the deep have I cried unto thee, Lord,' Ps. cxxx. 1 ; and this is a comfort that be bath in the midst of discomforts, that be hath a spirit of prayer ; and if not a spirit of prayer, yet a spirit of sighing and groaning to God, and God hears the sighs and groans of his own Spu'it in his chil- dren. When they cannot distinctly pray, there is a spirit to look up to God. ' Though thou kill me, yet will I trust in thee,' saith Job, Job xiii. 15, in the midst of his miseries. So though God, more notoriously to the view of the world, sometime doth comfort before we come to trouble, that we may bear it the better, and sometime he doth comfort more apparently after we come out ; yet notwithstanding, in the midst of discomforts, he doth alway comfort so far as that we sink not into despair. There is somewhat to uphold the soul. For when Solomon saith, ' A wounded spirit, who can bear ? ' Prov. xviii. 14 ; that is, none can bear it ; it is the greatest grief. Then I would know, what keeps a wounded spirit from sinking that it doth not despair ? Is it not a spirit stronger than the wounded spirit? It isf not God that is greater than the wounded con- science ? Yes ! Then there is comfort greater than the discomfort of a wounded conscience, that keeps it from despair. Those that finally despair, they are none of God's. So that, take the words in what regard or in what sense you will, yet there is a sweet and comfortable sense of them, and the apostle might well say, he is the ' God of all comfort, that doth comfort us in all tribulation.'
It is here a ground supposed, that God's children are subject to tribulation.
We are subject here to tribulation of all kinds, for God comforts us in all our tribulations. We are here in a state, therefore, needing comfort, because we are in tribulation.
And the second is that God doth answer our state. God doth comfort his children in all tribulation.
And the ground is from himself. ' He is the God of comfort.' He doth but like himself, when be doth it. The God of comfort shews that be is BO, by comforting us in all tribulations.
First, It is supposed that in this icorld we are in tribidations.
Indeed, that I need not be long in. We must, at one time or other, be * That is, his ' wont.'— G. t Qu. ' is it? '—Ed.
2 COKINTHlAiSS CHAP. I, VER. 4. 53
in trilmlation, some or other. For though, in regard of outward afflictions, we are free from them sometimes, we have a few hoUdays, as we say ; yet notwithstanding, there is in the greatest enlargements of God's children in this world, somewhat that troubles thefr minds. For either there is some desertion, God withholds comfort from them in some measure, he shews himself a stranger, which humbles them much ; or else they have strong temptations of Satan, to sin by prosperity, &c., which grieves them as much as the outward cross ; or else their gi-ievance is, that they cannot serve God with that cheerftilness of spirit. Is there nothing, whoever thou art, that troubles thee as much as the cross in the day of affliction ? Cer- tainly there is somewhat or other that troubleth the soul of a Christian. He is never out of one grievance or other.
The life of a Christian is as a web, that is woven of good and ill. He hath good days and ill days ; he hath tribulations and comforts. As St Austin saith very well, between these two, tribulation on om* part, and comfort on God's part, our life runs between these two. Our crosses and God's comforts, they are both mingled together.
There is no child of God, but knows what these things mean, troubles either from friends or enemies, or both, domestical or personal, in body or mind, one way or other. That is supposed, and it were not an unproper argument to the text ; for when he saith ' in all tribulations,' it is laid as a ground that every man suffers tribulation one way or other. But I shall have fitter occasion after to enlarge this.
Again we see here, that God comforts Ms children in all tribulation.
And his comforts are answerable to their discomforts, and beyond them. They are stronger to master all opposites whatsoever, and all grievances. There could be no comfort else. Alas ! what are all discomforts, when God sets himself to comfort ? When he will be a God of comfort, one look, one glance of his fatherly countenance in Jesus Christ, will banish all terrors whatsoever, and make even a very dungeon to be a paradise. ' He comforteth us in all tribulation.'
And this he doth, as you may perceive by the unfolding of the words, either by some outward thing applied to the outward want or cross, or by some inward reasons, that are opposite to the inward malady, or by an inward presence. His comforts are appliable to the tribulation, and to the strength, and length, and variety of it. We may know it by his course in this life. What misery are we subject to in this life ! but we have comfort fit for it ? So good is God.
We may reason thus very well. If so be that in our pilgrimage here, in this life of ours, which is but the gallerj^, as it were, to heaven ; if in this short life, which is but a way or passage, we have, both day and night, so many comforts : in the very night, if we look up to heaven, we see what glorious things there are towards the earth here, on this side the heaven, the stars of the light,* &c. And if so be upon the earth there be such comforts, especially in the spring and summer time, if the very earth, the basest dregs of the world, yield such comfort and delights to all the senses, then a man may reason very strongly, what comforts shall we have at home ? If God by the creatures thus comforts us in our outward wants, what are the inward comforts of his Spirit here to his children ? and what are the last comforts of all, the comforts reserved at home, when God * shall be all in aU?' 1 Cor. XV. 28.
Now there are some drops of comfort conveyed in smells, some in gar- * Qu. ' the light of the stars ? '—Ed.
54 COMMENTABY ON
ments, some in friends, some in diet ; here a drop, and there a drop. But when we shall have immediate communion there with the God of comfort himself, what comforts shall we have there ? God comforts us here, by providing for us, and giving us things that are comfortable.
Or by giving reasons and grounds of comfort, which are stronger than the reasons and grounds of discomfort, reasons from the privileges and prerogative of Christians, &c. The Scripture is full of them.
But likewise, which is the best of all, and most intended, the inward inspring of comfort, with the reasons and grounds, he inwardly conveys comforts to the soul, and strengtheneth and supports the soul. And he doth this not only by the application of the reasons, and the things that we understand, to the soul, but by opening the soul to embrace them. For sometime the soul may be in such a case as it may reject comfort, that ' the consolation of the Almighty,' Job xv. 11, may seem light to it. Sometime there may be such a disposition of soul, that the chiefest com- forts in Scripture yield it no comfort. They are not embraced. The soul is shut to them. God provides reasons and grounds of comfort, and like- wise he applies these comforts by his Spirit to the soul, and he inwardly warms and opens the soul to embrace comfort. He opens the understand- ing to understand, and the will and affections to embrace, or else there will be no cflmfort.
Many are like Rachel. Her children were gone, and it is said of her, ' She would not be comforted,' Mat. ii. 18. God is the * God of comfort.' As he gives the matter and ground of comfort, and reasons out of his holy word above all discomforts ; so by his Spirit he frames and fits the heart to entertain these, to take the benefit of them,
' He comforts us in all tribulation.' To comfort is to support the soul against the grievance past, or felt, or feared.
There may be some remainders of grief for what is past. Grief present presseth most, and grief feared. Now God comforteth, whatsoever the grievance is, by supporting the soul against it, as I said before.
"We are in tribulation in this life, and yet in all tribulations God doth comfort us. To add to that I said before of this point, let us therefore go to God in all the means of comfort, because he is the God of it, and he must comfort us.
Therefore, when we send for divines, or read holy books, for we must use all means, we must not set God against his means, but join them to- gether : to add that caution by the way.
We may not, therefore, necessitate the God of comfort, that because he comforts us, therefore we will neglect reading and prayer, and conference with them that God hath exercised in the school of Christ, who should speak comfort to the weary soul by their ofiice.
No, no ! God and his means must he joined together. We must trust God, but not tempt him. To set God against his means is to tempt him ; that because he is the God of comfort, therefore we will use no means, no physician for the body or for the soul. This is absurd. He is the God of comfort in the means. He comforts us * in all tribulation,' by means, if they be to be had.
K there be no means to be had, he is the God of comfort, he can create them ; and if it be so far that there be no means, but the contrary, he is a God that can comfort out of discomfort, and can, as I said, make the great- est grounds of comfort out of the greatest discomforts. But he is a God of the means, if they be to be had. K there be none, then let us go to him,
2 COEINTHIANS CHAP. I, VER. 4. 55
and say, Thou God of comfort, if thou do not comfort, none can comfort ; if thou help not, none can help ; and then he will help, and help strongly. It is necessary to look to God, whatever the means be. It is he that com- forts by them. Therefore let him have the praise. If we have any friend, any comfort of the outward man, or any solace of the inward man, by seasonable speech, &c., blessed be the ' God of comfort' who hath sent this comforter ; who hath sent me comfort by such, and such, let him have the praise. Whatsoever the means be, the comfort is his.
And that is the cause that many have no more comfort. They trust to the means over much, or neglect the means.
Again, if ' God comfort in all tribulation,' let Christians be ashamed to be overmuch disconsolate, that have the ' God of comfort' for their God, ' who comforteth in all tribulation.' ' Why art thou so cast down ?' Ps. xlii. 11. 'Is there no balm in Gilead for thee ? Jer. viii. 22. ' Is there not a God in Israel ?' 1 Sam. xvii. 46. It is the fault of Christians ; they pore too much on their troubles, they look all one way. They look to the grievance, and not to the comfort.
There is a God of comfort that answers his name every way in the exer- cise of that attribute to his church. Therefore Christians must blame them- selves if they be too much cast down ; and laboui- for faith to draw near to this God of comfort.
It should make them ashamed of themselves that think it even a duty, as it were, to walk drooping, and disconsolately, and deadly, to have flat and dead spirits. What ! is this beseeming a Christian that is in covenant with God, that is the ' God of comfort,' and that answers his title in deal- ing with his children, that is ready to comfort them in all tribulation ? What if particular comforts be taken from thee, is there not a God of com- fort left ? he hath not taken away himself. What if thou be restrained, and shut up from other comforts, can any shut up God's Spirit ? can any shut up God and our prayers ?
Is not this a comfort, that we may go to God alway ? and he is with us in all estates and in all wants whatsoever ? So long as we are in covenant with the ' God of comfort,' why should we be overmuch cast down ?' ' Why art thou so troubled, 0 my soul?' Ps. xlii. 11. David checks his soul thrice together for distrust in God. He is thy God, the God of all comfort.
Qii£st. What course shall we take that we may derive to ourselves com- fort from this God of comfort, who comforteth us in all om* tribulations ?
Ans. 1. Let us consider what our vmlachj and grievance is, especially let us look to our spiritual grievance and malady, sin : for sin is the cause of all other evils. Therefore it is the worst evil. And sin makes us loathed of God, the fountain of good. It drives us from him, when other evils drive us to him ; and therefore it is the worst evil in that sense too.
2. Again, in the second place, look to the discomforts of sin, especially in the discomforts of conscience of those that are awakened ; and Satan useth that as a means to despair in every cross.
(1.) Therefore let us search and try our souls for our sins; for our chief discomforts are from sin. For, alas ! what are all other comforts ? and what are all other discomforts ? If a man's conscience be quiet, what are all discomforts ? and if conscience be on the rack, what ai-e all comforts ? The disquiet and vexation of sin is the gi'eatest of all ; because then we have to deal with God. When sin is presented before us, and the judg- ments of God, and God as an angry judge, and conscience is awaked and
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on the rack, ^Yllat in the world can take up the quarrel and appease con- science, when we and God are at difference, when the soul speaks nothing but discomfort ?
In this case remember that God doth so far prevent objections in this kind from the accusations of conscience, that he reasons that he will com- fort us, from that that conscience reasons against comfort. He doth this in the hearts of his children to whom he means to shew mercy : as we see in the poor publican. ' Lord, be merciful to me a sinner,' saith he, Luke xviii. 13. God taught him that reasoning. Nature would have taught him to reason as Peter did, ' Lord, depart from me, I am a sinful man,' Luke V. 8, and therefore I have nothing to do with God.
So our Saviour Christ, ' Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden,' Mat. xi. 28. They think, of all people they ought to run from God, they are so laden with sin, they have nothing to do with God. ' Oh, come unto me,' saith Christ. Therefore, when thy conscience is awakened with the sense of sin, remember what is said in the gospel, ' Be of good comfort, he calleth thee,' Mark x. 49; be thou of good comfort, thou art one that Christ calls, ' Come unto me, ye that are weary and heavy laden ;' and ' Blessed are those that mourn,' Mat. v. 4.
That which thou and the devil with thy conscience would move thee to use as an argument to run away, our Saviour Christ in the gospel useth as an argument to draw thee forward. He comes for such, ' to seek, and to save the lost sinners.' This is a faithful saying, saith St Paul, that ' Christ came to save sinners.' Therefore, believe not Satan. He presents God to the soul that is humbled, and terrified in the sight of sin, as cruel, as a ter- rible judge, &c. He hides the mercy of God from such. To men that are in a sinful course he shews nothing but mercy. Aye, but now there is nothing but comfort to thee that art cast down and afflicted in the sense of thy sins ; for all the comforts in the gospel of forgiveness of sins, and all the comforts from Christ's incarnation, the end of his coming in the flesh, the end of his death, and of all, is to save sinners.
Look thou, therefore, to the throne of mercy and grace, when thy con- science shall be awakened with the sense of sin, and Satan shall use that as an argument to draw thee from God. Consider the Scripture useth this as an argument to drive me to God, to allure me to him. * Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden.' And ' Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost.' Luther, a man much exercised in spiritual con- flicts, he confessed this was the balm that did most refresh his soul, ' God hath shut up all under sin, that he might have mercy upon all,' Rom. iii. 19. He shut up all under sin as prisoners, to see themselves under sin, and under the curse, that he might ' have mercy upon all ;' upon all those that are convinced with the sense and sight of their sins. He hath shut up all under sin, that he might have mercy upon all those that belong to him.
This raised up that blessed man. Therefore, let us not be much dis- comforted, but ' be of good comfort, Christ calls us.'
For such as are sinners, that are given to the sins of the tongue, and of the life, to rotten discourse, to swearing and such like, to such as mean to be so, and think their case good. Oh ! God is ' the God of comfort !' To such, as I said before, I can speak no comfort, nor the word of God speaks none. They must have another word and another Scripture ; for this word speaks no comfort to such that are sinful and wretched, and will be so, and justify themselves to be so.
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All the judgments in the Scripture are theirs. Hell and damnation and wrath, that is their portion to drink.
We can speak no comfort to such, nor the word of God that we unfold. It hath not a drop of comfort for them, God will not be merciful to such as go on in wicked, rotten, scandalous courses, that because hell hath not yet taken them, they may live long, and so make a ' covenant with hell and death,' Isa. xxviii. 18, and bless themselves.
Oh ! but thou hast made no covenant with God, nor he hath made none with thee ; and hell and death have made no covenant valh thee, though thou hast made one with them. But there are two words go to a covenant. Death and hell shall seize upon thee, notwithstanding thy covenant.
Those that will live in sin in despite of the ministiy, in spite of afflic- tions, there is no comfort to such. I speak only to the broken heart, which are fit vessels for comfort. God is ' the God of comfort ' to such. What shall we say, then, to such as, after they have had some evidence of their good estate, that they are Christians, are fallen into sin? Is there any comfort for such ?
Yes. Doth not St Paul, in 2 Cor. v. 20, desire such to be ' reconciled to God ? ' ' We are, as ambassadors of Christ, desiring you to be recon- ciled,' if you have sinned. So God hath comfort for those that have sinned. Christ knew that we should every day run into sins unawares. Therefore, he teaches us in the Lord's prayer to say every day, * Forgive us our debts, our trespasses,' Mat. vi. 12. There is ' balm in Gilead,' there is mercy in Israel, for such daily trespasses as we run into.
Therefore, let none be discouraged, but fly presently to the ' God of comfort and Father of mercies.' And think not that he is weary of pardon- ing, as man is, for he is infinite in mercy ; and though he be the party offended, yet he desires peace with us.
Caution. But yet, notwithstanding that we shall not love to run into his books, he doth, with giving the comfort of the pardon of sin, when we fall into it, add such sharp crosses, as we shall wish we had not given him occasion to correct us so sharply. We shall buy our comfort dear. We had better not have given him occasion.
God forgave the sin of David after he had repented, though he were a good man before ; but David bought the pleasure of his sin dear. He wished a thousand times that he had never given occasion to God to raise good out of his evil, to turn his sin to his comfort. Yet God will do this, because God would never have us in a state of despair.
2. For other grievances besides sin, the comforts that we are to apply are more easy, and they are infinite, if we could reckon the particular comforts that God comforts his children withal.
It is good to have general comforts ready for all kind of maladies and grievances, and* this poor, wretched life of ours, in our absence from God, is subject to.
(1.) As, for instance, that general comfort, the covenant of grace. That is a spring of comfort, that God is our God and Father in Christ. What can come from a gracious and good God in covenant with us but that which is good ? — nothing but what is favourably good, I mean. For the covenant is everlasting. When God takes once upon him to be our Father in covenant, he is so for ever. Bum. castigas pater, dc. While he cor- rects, he is a Father ; and when he smiles upon us, he is a Father.
God in the covenant of grace takes upon him a relation that ever holds. * Qu. 'that?'— Ed.
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As he is for ever the Father of Christ, so he is for ever the Father of those that are members of Christ ; and whatsoever comes from the Father of mercy, whether he correct or smile, whatsoever he doth, is in mercy.
(2.) Again, in the midst of any grievance remember the gracious pro- mise of mitigation, 1 Cor. x. 13. * God will not suffer us to be tempted above our strength, but he will give an issue to the temptation.' He will give a mitigation, and either he will raise our strength to the tempta- tion, or he will bring