SERMON XLIII.
O righteous Father, the world hath not known
thee: but
I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent
our Lord had laid down the object of his prayers and the matter of
them, and now he comes to the reasons, though in each affectionate addresses to God we should not be anxious m stating the
method. Some conceive this a doxology; as Mat. xi. 25,
26, 'I thank thee, Ο Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these
things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so,
Father, for so it seemed good in thy eight' He had fully discharged his office
as a prophet, and therefore giveth thanks. But I
rather look upon it as a part of the supplication. He had made his will and
testament, and now allegeth the equity of it. Here
1. A compellation, 'O righteous Father.'
2. The qualification of the disciples for that glory which he
sought for them, saving knowledge. Which is illustrated;
[1.] By its opposite, the affected and obstinate ignorance of the
world, 'The world bath not known thee.'
[2.] By its efficient and exemplary cause, 'But I have known thee.'
First, A compellation,
'Righteous Father.' In which there is an argument secretly couched, for always titles
of God are suited to the matter in hand. It is brought to show the reason why
the world is excluded the participation of heavenly glory, and the equity in bestowing
it upon the elect He had before called him 'Holy Father,' now' Righteous
Father.'
God is just and righteous two manner of ways—in a legal and in an
evangelical sense. In a legal sense, his justice is rewarding men according to
the merit of weir actions. Thus he dealeth with the
reprobate lost world. In the evangelical sense, God's righteousness doth not
regard the merit of their actions, but the state of the person; and judgeth them rather according to what they have received
than what they have done. And so God dealeth with the
elect and reprobate; the one are rewarded according to their works, the other
according to their state evidenced by their works; to both God is just So that
I might;
Observe, first, that in the condemnation of the world, God is
just, though they remain in blindness.
1. Because God hath done
enough; God is aforehand with them; they have more
means than they use well. The Gentile world had light enough from the creatures
to convince them of the true God: Rom. i. 19,
20, 'Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath
showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the
world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his
eternal power and godhead; so that they are \~anapologhtoi\~, without excuse.' Yet they would not acknowledge the true God. The
Jewish world had miracles enough to convince them of the true Messiah: John xv.
24, 'If I had [Pg. 115] not done among them the works that no
other man did, they had not had sin; but now they have both seen and hated me
and my Father.'
The carnal world within the pale of the church have had means
enough to be better; and though it be blind in the things of God, yet the Lord
is clear: lea. v. 4, 'What could I have done more for my vineyard than I have
done?' in point of external administration. The Lord loveth
'to be clear when he judgeth,' Ps. li. 4, compared with Rom. iii. 26. In all debates he loveth the victory: Isaiah lxv. 2, 'I have spread out my hands all
the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a
way which was not good, after their own thoughts.' None goeth
to hell for want of warning: Mat. xxiii. 37, 'O Jerusalem,
2. They have not done their part. They dally with means, scorn
wisdom; their weakness is wilful, and their blindness
affected. The things of God must be spiritually discerned. But they are folly
to them: 1 Cor. ii. 14, 'For the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are
foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned.' There is not only an impotency, but a scorn; there is a positive
enmity, as well as an incapacity: John iii. 19, 'This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world,
and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.' Man
is in love with his own misery; when we should hate sins, we hate the light
that discovereth them. An ignorant people love a sottish ministry; the faithful witnesses are the world's
torment: Rev. xi. 10, 'These two prophets tormented
them that dwelt on the earth.' The world would fain lie down upon the bed of
ease, and sleep. Light is troublesome to· sore eyes. Ignorant priests are the
people's idols; the blind lead the blind, and they both fall into the ditch.
They do not only err in their minds, but err in their hearts; the one is sad,
the other worse. It is evil that we do not know, it is
doubly evil that we desire not to know: Job xxi. 14, 'Therefore they say unto
God, Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.' Spiritual
blindness is worse than bodily. When Elymas was
stricken blind, he desired somebody to· lead him by the hand, Acts xiii. 11. We
count it our happiness to have fit guides; but in spiritual blindness it is
quite otherwise; we cannot endure a faithful guide: 'the prophets prophesy lies
and the people love to have it so.' Blind people are all for blind guides.
Use 1. Let it set God clear. He loveth to have it so. When he cometh to judgment, 'the
books shall be opened,' Rev. xx. 12.
We are apt to quarrel his justice, for leaving so great a part of the world in
the dark. Remember he is aforehand with means, and
they love the state they are in. God leaveth no man
without a sufficient conviction and witness of himself.
Use 2. Let sottish
men know that God is not all mercy and all honey. Usually our desires transform
God into that shape which we fancy. A libertine would have God all mercy and
all patience, because he desires him to be so. Affections make opinions: Ps. l.
21, 'Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself.' But [Pg. 116] be not
deceived; to the blind world God will be severe, but just: lea, xxvii. 11, 'It
is a people of no understanding; therefore he that made them will not have
mercy on them, and he that formed them will show them no favour.'
Ignorance is fatal and deadly to the heathens: 2 Thes.
i. 8, 'In flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that
know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.' We pity
them, and say, Poor ignorant creatures! We hate a drunkard, but we pity an
ignorant man. But God is very angry with them, because he knoweth
the wickedness of their hearts, how many means they have withstood, and how
much light they have abused. God doth not measure sins by the foulness of the
act, but by the unkindness and ingratitude of it. The blind and the lame are
equally an abomination to the Lord. To want knowledge is as bad as to want
obedience; it will be no excuse.
Object. Ay t but they have good meanings, and surely God
will not deal in justice and rigour with them: we are
ignorant, but our heart is good.
Ans. Prov. xix. 21, 'Without knowledge the
heart is not good.' Ignorance is so far from being the mother of devotion, as
the Papists say, that it is the great hindrance of it Simple credulity may be
more awful and scrupulous, as men in the night have many fears; but God loveth rational service, not blind obedience: 1 Chron. xxviii. 9, 'And thon, Solomon my
son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and a
willing mind.' Worship without knowledge is but a blind guess and loose
aim, as Christ reproveth the Samaritans for
worshipping they knew not what, John iv. 22. Certainly
we are not so sensible of the danger of ignorance as
we should be. Men live sensually, and die sottishly,
and then perish eternally; they live by guess at best, and some devout aims;
and when they come to die, they die by guess, in a doubtful uncertain way; like
men that leap over a deep gulf blindfold, they know not where their feet shall
light.
Observe, secondly, that God is not only merciful, but just, in the
reward of the godly or glorifying the elect. Christ is praying and arguing for
heavenly glory, and he giveth God the title of'
Righteous Father.' Ton shall see all your privileges are made to come from
righteousness. Pardon of sins, which is one of the freest acts of God, and
wherein he discovereth most of his mercy: 1 John i. 9, 'If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This is the
mystery of divine grace. So also for eternal rewards: 2 Thes.
i. 6, 7, 'Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to
recompense tribulation to them that trouble you.' You will think that it is
righteous indeed that God should punish the wicked; but read on: 'But to you
who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed,' &c.
But how is God's righteousness and justice interested in our
rewards?
1. Partly it is engaged by
Christ's merit. Though to us it be mere grace, yet as to Christ it is just,
Christ's satisfaction being equivalent to the violation of God's majesty, and
therefore it is just to pardon us. It is just for the creditor to forgive the
debtor when the surety hath paid. So Christ's blood is not only \~lutron\~, a
ransom, but \~antallagma\~, a price. It is just with God
to glorify us; Christ's [Pg. 117] righteousness giveth
us a right This reason you have, Rom. iii. 24-26,
'Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus
Christ; whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation, through faith in his
blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past,
through the forbearance of God. To declare, I say, at this time his
righteousness; that he may be just, and the justifier of him that believeth in
Jesus.' God being satisfied by Christ, can be gracious
to the creature without disparagement to his justice; the mediator interposeth, his satisfaction is accepted. This was that
the wise men of all times busied themselves in, how God could do good to the creature without disparagement to his justice.
But all their devices were frustrate; Christ alone bringeth
the blood to the mercy-seat
2. God is fast bound by his own promise: James i.
12, 'Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for
when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath
promised to them that love him.' And it is a part of justice to make good his
word. Promittendo se facit debitorem.
The qualification being supposed, we may challenge him upon it: Pa cxix. 49, 'Remember thy word unto
thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope.' He biddeth
us put him in remembrance he hath drawn us to these hopes: 2 Tim. iv. 8, 'Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day,
and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.' Upon which
Bernard noteth, Paulus
expectat coronam justitiae; sed justiae Dei, non suae: justum est
ut reddat quod debet, debet
autem quod pollicitus est. It is just with God to pay what he oweth, and he oweth what he
promised. Therefore Chrysostom saith it was \~stefampv\~ \~eleouv\~ \~kai\~ \~dikaiosunhv\~. We may
say to God, Redde quod
promisisti, though not Redde
quod debes.
3. By positive ordinance, that every man
shall receive according to the kind of his work, the wicked according to their
wicked actions, and the good according to their good actions: Mat xvi. 27,
'Then he shall reward every man according to his works.' Now, lest any should think
it is meant of wicked men only, the apostle tells us, 2 Cor.
v. 10, 'Every one shall receive the things done in his body, according to that
he hath done, whether it be good or bad.' God is not arbitrary in his judgment, it is the rule of process. All shall be rewarded
in the general, quoad genus, according
to the kind of their works; wicked men quoad
meritum, because eternal punishment is due to
evil works, out of the nature of the works; but for the godly, the kind of
their works is judged, but not in rigorous justice; they shall not be weighed
in the balance, then all would be found wanting, but brought to the touchstone.
Vae laudabili
vitae hominum, si (remota misencordia) discutias eam, saith Gregory.
And the apostle, James ii. 12, 'So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of
liberty.'
Use 1. See how careful God is to
preserve the honour and the awe in us of his justice,
even in his rewards of grace. God will be just; he is very careful to preserve the
notions which the creature hath of his own essence inviolable. He will not
exercise mercy to the prejudice of his justice; there must be some way to
represent him still a righteous Father.' God would give his own Son to the
death that he [Pg. 118] might appear righteous. God will not love that honour. Therefore stand in awe, and sin not, lest thou come
short of the grace offered in Christ; lest you find him just in a legal sense,
while you abuse the mercy of the gospel.
Use 2. It is to give us a sure ground
of hope: Heb. νί 10, 'For God is not unrighteous, to forget your
work and labour of love.' That which is most terrible
in God is the pawn and pledge of our salvation. Conscience, which is God's
deputy, is never satisfied till God be satisfied; for this thought cannot be
plucked out of our minds, that God is an avenger. If we had not a sufficient
satisfaction, we should always be troubled. Wherewith shall he be appeased?
Micah vi. 6, 7, 'Wherewith shall I come before the
Lord, and bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before him with
burnt-offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with
thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my
first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?'
If a poor creature were in debt» and haling to prison, and a king should say, I
will engage my whole revenue but I will pay it, how would this comfort him!
Certainly Christ was responsible enough. We are not 80 cheerful in his service
as we should be, now justice is made our friend Make use of it in great
dejections and pangs of conscience: Job xxxiii. 24, 'Then he is gracious to
him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit, I have found a ransom.'
When the ram was taken, Isaac was let go. God will show mercy to our
persons, for justice is satisfied in our surety. You have a double claim and
hold fast upon him in every court; you may come before the tribunal of justice
as well as the throne of grace. When you are fainting in service, encourage
yourselves: 'Verily there is a reward for the righteous,' Ps. lviii. 11. One day or another the saints shall be rewarded,
their labour and service shall not be lost
Secondly, The qualification, saving
knowledge 'These have known that thou hast sent me.' It is urged as a reason
why they should behold his glory hereafter, because they make it their care to
know God in Christ here. Here are two propositions:
1. The only way to come to blessedness is by the knowledge of the
true God.
2. There is no knowledge of the true God without the knowledge of
Jesus Christ as mediator.
First proposition, That the only way to
blessedness is by the knowledge of the true God. This I prove
1. Because the foundation of
the eternal state must be laid in this life. Now the foundation and
superstructure must carry a proportion. What is the
great happiness of heaven, and the blessedness of the creature? The beatifical vision; and therefore we must begin it here in
knowledge, and in the study of God: John xvii. 3, 'This
is life eternal, to know thee the only and true God;' that is, this is the
beginning of life eternal. When there is a saving light in the soul, there is a
spark kindled that will never be quenched. In the barn corn doth not grow, but
in the field. Here we labour after knowledge, there
we enjoy the perfection of it; and according to the degrees of
[Pg. 119] knowledge and
grace we attain in this life, so will be our happiness hereafter. The state of
the wicked is a growing darkness: Mat viii. 12, 'The children of the kingdom
shall be cast out into utter darkness.' \~eiv\~
\~to\~ \~skotov\~ \~to\~ \~exwteron\~. What is
that? A darkness beyond a darkness—in tenebras ex tenebris infaeliciter exclusi: they
shall be cast out from one darkness into another. Here they are under the darkness
of ignorance and sin, and there they shall be under the darkness of horror and
terror for evermore. The state of the wicked in hell is a darkness that grows
out of a darkness; here they are dark, and care not to know God, or know his
ways, and the mists of darkness are reserved for them for evermore. But now the
state of the godly is an increasing light: Prov. iv. 18, 'The path of the just is as
the shining light, that shineth more and more unto
the perfect day.' Look, as the just do increase, and go on from knowledge to
knowledge, till they attain the light of glory, as the sun climbeth
up to the top of the meridian by degrees, so the way of the wicked is darkness;
they go on from darkness to darkness, and the mist of darkness is reserved for
them. Ignorance makes way for sin, and sin for hell. They are hastening
downwards from darkness to darkness, and we hasten to the perfect day, from
grace to glory.
2 There is no serving or
enjoying of God but by knowledge. I do not plead for a naked knowledge, and an
inactive speculation, out such as is accompanied with faith, love, and
obedience, otherwise it is no tree knowledge. No knowledge, no faith: Rom. x.
14, 'How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?' We must know
what Christ is before we can trust him with our souls. Would a woman accept of
a man when she knows not what he is, nor from whence he came? Can the soul rest
itself with Christ, and venture its salvation upon him, till it knows what he
is? 2 Tim. i. 12, Ί know whom I have believed,
and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto mm
against that day.' Faith is an advised act, it is a child of light Presumption
is but a blind adventure, an act that is done hand-over-head, without advice and
care; but faith certainly presupposeth knowledge. The
blind man speaks reason in this, when Christ asked him, 'Post thon believe on
the Son of God?' John ix. 35. He answered,
ver. 36, 'Who is he, Lord, that I may believe on him?' And
then for love. No knowledge, no love. An unknown object never affects
us. Love proceeds from sight Those that have a sight
of the excellences of God, by the light of the Spirit accompanying the word,
they love the Lord, And then where there is no love, there is no knowledge: 1
John iv. 8, 'He that loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is love.' And then for
worship and obedience, that is also the fruit of knowledge; that worship which
is performed to the unknown God is never right As those fruits that grow out of
the sun are crabbed and sour, so all such dots of worship as proceed not from
light and knowledge are not right and genuine. There cannot be a greater
preservative from sin than Knowledge: 3 John 11, 'He that doeth evil hath not
seen God.' Certainly he that makes a trade and course of sin was never
acquainted with God: 1 John ii. 4, 'He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is
not in him.' And there [Pg. 120]
can be no enjoyment of God without knowledge, neither
in a way of grace nor in a way of comfort Not in a way of grace: there can be
no grace without knowledge; if we be renewed and changed, it is by knowledge:
Col. iii. 10, 'And have put on the new man, which is
renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.' If we be
strengthened in affliction, and enabled for the duties of every condition, it
is by knowledge: Phil. iv. 12, 'I know both how to be
abased, and I know how to abound; everywhere and in all things I am instructed
both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.' All
communications of grace are conveyed by light. Nor can there be any enjoyment
of God in a way of comfort without light and knowledge. Fears are in the dark;
till we have a distinct knowledge of the nature and tenor of the covenant we
are full of fears and doubts, which vanish as a mist before the sun when knowledge
is wrought.
Second proposition, There is no knowledge of the true God without
the knowledge of Christ as mediator. For two reasons:
1. Because God will accept no honour
from the creature but in and through Jesus Christ: John v. 23, 'That all men
should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth
not the Son honoureth not the Father that hath sent
him.' God hath revealed himself in Christ, and you make God an idol if you
think of him otherwise.
2. Because God out of Christ is not comfortable, but terrible. The
fallen creature cannot converse with God without a mediator. As waters, which
are salt in the sea, strained through the earth, are sweet in rivers, so are
the attributes of God in and through Christ sweet and comfortable to the soul;
for we cannot draw nigh to God without a screen.
Use. To press us
to get knowledge. The more knowledge, the more a man; the more ignorant, the more brutish:
Ps. xlix. 20, 'Man that is in honour, and void of
understanding, is like the beasts that perish.' And again, as knowledge doth
distinguish you from beasts, so the knowledge of God doth distinguish you from
other men; to know God is your excellency
above other men: Jer. ix. 23. 24, 'Let not the wise
man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not
the rich man glory in his riches. But let him that glorieth,
glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord,' Ac. As if he had said, If
you will needs glory, it is not who is most wealthy, nor most mighty, nor most
wise, but who hath the greatest knowledge of God in Christ Above all, know God
in Christ that is most comfortable. Horrible est de Deo extra Christum cogitare. It is a
horrible thing to think of God out of Christ. God in Christ is the greatest
mercy the world was ever acquainted with; this is a speculation fit for angels:
1 Peter i. 12, 'Which things the angels desire to
look into;' Eph. iii. 10, 'To the intent that now unto the
principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the
manifold wisdom of God.' And therefore much more should it be the study
of saints. But do not rest in a naked contemplation; there is 'a form of
knowledge,' Rom. ii. 20, as well as 'a form of
godliness,' 2 Tim. iii. 5, which is nothing [Pg. 121] else but an artificial speculation, a naked
model of truth in the brain, which, as the winter sun, shines but warms not.
But what is true knowledge? How shall we discover it? I answer—1. It must be a
serious prudent knowledge, &c. [See on ver. 8.]
I now come to speak to the illustration of this qualification of
saving knowledge. It is illustrated
1. By its opposite, the affected and obstinate ignorance of the
world, 'The world hath not known thee.'
2. By its efficient and exemplary cause, 'But I have known thee.'
The first illustration is from the opposite ignorance and
obstinacy of the world,' The world hath not known thee.'
Why is this alleged? I answer—Partly to
show the reason why they should be otherwise dealt withal than the blind world.
As if he had said, By thy righteous and wise constitution, thou hast appointed
different recompenses to men of different states; but now 'they have known
thee,' but' the world hath not known thee.' Partly to commend their
acknowledgment of Christ, the world neither knowing nor believing, yea, rather
hating and persecuting thee. In the original there is \~kai\~, though; so that, neither hindered by fears nor snares, the rulers and
great men were against the acknowledging of Christ, the multitude blind and
obstinate; yet the disciples knew him, and owned him as the Messiah, or one
sent of God.
Observe, first, that it is exceeding praiseworthy to own Christ
when others disown him and reject him, to own him in the midst of the world's
blindness and madness against him. Now he is publicly received among the
nations, it is no great matter to own him now; as those that followed Christ in
his lifetime for the loaves, John vi. 26, when honours, and conveniences, and
interests, look that way. But to own him then, when the powers of the
world, the heads and rulers of the church are against him, when the stone is
refused by the builders, this is praiseworthy.
Now the reasons are two. It is a sign God hath a great love to
them, and it is a sign of their great love to God; of his choice, and their
sincerity. There are two things hinder us from the sight of truth—prejudices and interests. Now it is a sign of the special
direction of God's Spirit when we can overlook prejudices; and it is a sign of
our unfeigned zeal when we can deny interests.
1. It is an argument of God's
love to us. This looketh like election: Mat. xxiv. 24,
'If it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect' There are some favourites whom God taketh into
his special care, that he may show them his counsel, and lead them into all
truth. In times when error is so countenanced, and appeareth
with a plausible face, it is a matter of great skill to find out the truth.
There are some choice ones to whom God manifests
himself, when others are left to perish in their own ways. So it is said, Ps.
xxv. 14, 'The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him.' By the secret of
the Lord is not meant the counsels of his providence; they are revealed but to
a few, to the prophets; this is a promise common to all that fear him;
therefore by it is intended the counsels of the word; those that are his favourites, that lie in his bosom, they shall know his
secrets; as the disciples, when they would know anything of Christ, pointed to
[Pg. 122] the disciple whom Jesus loved: John xiii. 23, 24, 'Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of the disciples
whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should
ask who it should be of whom he spake.'
2. It is an argument of our sincerity, to own God in times of
public contest, when it is dangerous to own him. There are some times when God crieth, 'Who is on my side?' Exod. xxxii. 26, when he calleth upon us to manifest
ourselves, and providence calleth for a public
acknowledgment. Errors by God's permission are sent into the world to
try us. The Lord trieth you to see if you will be led
by every fancy, and swim with the stream. Many times the delusion is very
strong, that our trial may be the greater; so 1 Cor.
xi. 19, 'There must be heresies, that, \~dokimoi\~, they which are approved may be made manifest among you.' Winds are
let loose to try who are chaff, who are solid grain;
especially an error backed with power, as when a tree is shaken, rotten apples
fall down; such times discover hypocrites: Prov.
xxvi. 26, 'Whose hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be showed
before the whole congregation.' But now it is a great argument of sincerity to
own the truth, when the error is so plausible, and the inconvenience is great:
1 Kings xix. 10, 'I have been very jealous for the
Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant,
thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I
only, am left; and they seek my life to take it away.' When we are left alone
to contest, that is a great trial.
Use 1. Information.
1. That true zeal is not seen so much in fighting with antiquated
errors, as in being 'established in the present truth.' 2
Peter i. 12, \~en\~ \~th\~
\~paroush\~ \~alhyeia\~.
The present truth of that age was to acknowledge Christ to be the Messiah.
When truths are upon the stage, then to give our testimony to them, this is to
be God's witnesses. To declaim against the errors of former ages is but a safe
and wary zeal. The Jews that opposed Christ yet pleaded for the prophets slain
by their fathers. Corah, Dathan,
and Abiram were as hateful to them as Judas to us;
but they had no eyes to see for the present. Christ taxeth
the hypocrisy of them that maligned the living prophets, and garnished the
tombs of the dead, Mat xxiii. 29. It is no thank to own Christ in the day of
his exaltation, as when he is opposed and slighted. Old truths are only opposed
by natural prejudices, but present truths by carnal interests.
2. That it is a great folly
in them that will profess nothing till the world be
agreed. Laziness is apt to pretend want of certainty. This is the old
prejudice. Chrysostom bringeth
in a heathen disputing—I would fain become a Christian, but there are so many
divisions among you, that I know not what to choose.
Men are loath to put themselves to the trouble of prayer and search, and would
have all fitted to their hands, and therefore, till all be agreed, keep
themselves in a wary reservation. Should a traveller
stand still because he meeteth with many ways? Jer. vi. 16, 'Thus saith the Lord,
Stand ye in the way, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way,
and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.' Or should a man that
is sick refuse physic till all physicians be of one
mind? It is your [Pg. 123] duty to search, and it is praiseworthy to own Christ in
times of contest
3. It informeth us that a multitude is
no excuse, because all went that way. We should own Christ though the world know him not, though it hate him, though it persecute
him. We should have an eagle eye. The old world was not spared for the
multitude; there were but eight persons of another judgment We often presume
that many eyes see more than one, and so spare the labour
of examination; but one man that hath the use of his eyes seeth
more than a thousand blind men; and often-times it falleth
out that a few find the true way: Mat. vii. 14, 'Strait is the gate and narrow
is the way that leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it' Therefore it is brutish to follow the
track. We should examine, because mostly the world is out, and the multitude followeth that which is evil; nay, it is rather a ground of
suspicion; the most are not the best
Use 2. It presseth
us to be more earnest to get a clear and satisfactory knowledge in the
controversies of the age, in the truths that are now upon the stage. To that
end—
1. Desire the direction of Christ and consult with him. As the
woman of
2. Search and prove all things: 1 Thes.
v. 21, 'Prove all things, hold fast that which is
good.' We should stand in the ways and see: Jer. vi. 16, 'Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old
paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your
souls.' We should be able to render \~logon\~.' 1 Peter
iii. 15, 'A reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.'
And we have \~idion\~ \~sthrigma\~, 'a steadfastness of our own,' 2 Peter iii. 17. We must not only
regard the consent of others, but our judgments must be balanced with sound and
weighty grounds, otherwise we shall be carried about with every wind of
doctrine, when the posture of interest is changed, or a new opinion is started.
Non exploratis traditionum rationibus probabilem fidem portant. Such men have no principles.
But must we not hold fast what we have received? must we always be searching, and keeping ourselves in a wary
reservation, and be never settled? I answer
[1.] For principles and fundamental doctrines, we are not to doubt
of them: Deut. xii. 30, 'Thou shalt not inquire after
their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their
gods? even so will I do likewise.' It is dangerous to
loosen foundation-stones, though with an intent to settle them better. Here we
should be at a certainty.
[2.] For lesser truths, when
they are already cleared, and God hath taught them, it is good to hold fast
what we have already received, and not to loosen the assent, or keep the soul suspensive, out of a jealousy or supposal that something
may be said against what we now hold. 'Ever learning, and never coming \~eiv\~ \~epugnwsin\~, to the knowledge of the truth, 'But in case of actual doubt, it is
good to search. [Pg. 124] Doubts smothered make way for atheism or hardness of
heart. Therefore, in cases of anxiety, it is good to bring things to an issue.
Smoke maketh way for flame.
[3.] In your choice, be not
swayed with interests, nor vulgar prejudices, nor vile affections.
(1.) Not with interests. God puts us to trial, to see if we can
love a hated truth. The world is a blinding thing: 2 Cor.
iv. 4, 'The god of the world hath blinded the minds of
them which believe not' Why is Satan called 'the god of the world'? He throweth the dust of the world in our eyes, and then we
cannot see. We easily believe what we readily desire, and are loath to search
when we have a mind to hate. Let the weights be never so equal, yet, if the
balances be not equal, you can never judge of the weight of anything. When the
mind is prepossessed and infected with interests, we are not capable of making
a right judgment; as the water, when it is muddied, doth not render and
represent the face.
(2.) Not with vulgar prejudices, as prepossessions of custom and
long tradition, the opinions of holy and learned men, general consent,
pretences of s stricter way. Men would fain judge upon slight grounds, without
entering into the merits of the cause, to save the pains of study and prayer.
This is but to put a fallacy upon yourselves. Some are
against novelty, and when the ways of God are revived, they are hardened, they will not change; as if there were no
obstinacy as well as constancy, obstinacy in the bad angels, as well as
constancy in the good. Others are swayed by the opinions of godly learned men,
whose persons they have in admiration. There is no ipse dixil
in the church but the Lord's. It is observed that the corruptions of the
Roman synagogue were occasioned by admiration of some venerable pastors of that
church. Paul withstood Peter to the face, Gal. ii. 12, when his credit and
example was like to do hurt Others are swayed by general consent; but it is
dangerous following the multitude; the world hath been against Christ, when a
few only have owned him. Others by pretences of a stricter way: Col. ii. 23, 'Which things have indeed a show of wisdom in
will-worship and humility, and neglecting of the body.' This is to be wiser
than God, and to judge the law.
(3.) Not by vile affections, pride, passion, envy. Pride, or an overweening opinion of our own wit and
learning: John ix. 40, 'The pharisees said, Are we blind also?' Proud persons, as the great rabbies, will not seem to be in an error. Men choose rather
to be wicked than to be accounted weak. So envy at others,
when men cannot be admitted into such places as they affect; and that puts them
upon error and opposition: 1 Cor. iii. 3, 'For
whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not
carnal, and walk as men?' So passion, revenge, and discontent The devil worketh much upon spleen
and anger, when offence is taken, whether justly, or upon supposed occasion, it
mattereth not. Many in spite and stomach have turned
atheists or heretics. Carnal Ham, when cursed of his father, began the way of
atheism.
Observe, secondly, that the
reprobate world can never have any true knowledge of God: 'The world hath not
known thee.' [Pg. 125]
1. The reprobate world can go as far as nature can go: 1 Cor. ii. 14, 'The natural man receiveth
not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither
can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned;' \~anyrwpov\~ \~qucikov\~, not \~sapkikov\~. There
are two reasons urged by the apostle—a natural incapacity and a positive
enmity. (1.) A natural incapacity. He supposeth a
sufficient revelation: 'They are spiritually discerned.' There must be a
cognation between the object and the faculty. Spiritual things must be seen by
a spiritual light. Sense, which is the light of beasts, cannot trace the
workings and flights of reason; we cannot see a soul or an angel by the light
of a candle. So that the object must not only be revealed, but there must be an
answerable light in the faculty. There is light enough, but we have not eyes.
There needeth not a plainer revelation. David prays,
not that God would make a plainer rule, but open his eyes: Ps. cxix. 18, 'Open thou mine eyes,
that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.' The understanding must be
opened, as well as the scriptures: Luke xxiv. 45, 'Then opened he their
understanding, that they might understand the scriptures.' (2.) Positive
enmity: 'They are foolishness to him.' He looketh
upon the things of God and solid piety as frivolous and vain. When Paul came to
2. Experience shows it Take
mere nature itself, and, like plants neglected, it soon runneth
wild; as the nations that are barbarous, and not polished with arts and
civility, hare more of the beast than of the man in them: Jude 10, 'What they
know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.'
Suppose they use the spectacles of art to help the native light of reason with
industry, yet their eyes are blind, now erroneous in religion were the civil
nations! Rom. i. 22, 'Professing themselves to be
wise, they became fools;' very foolish in matters of worship. The Romans placed
fear, human passions, and every paltry thing among their gods. The ruder and
more brutish nations worshipped only the sun and thunder, things great and
wonderful. And still now we see great scholars given over to fond
superstitions. Nay, go higher; suppose, besides the spectacles of art, nature
be furnished with the glass of the word, yet we see great scholars very
defective in the most useful and practical points. Nicodemus, a teacher in
But here is an objection; many carnal men have great parts, and
profess the knowledge of the true God. I answer
[1.] The greatest part of the world lieth
in ignorance; they are horn in darkness, live in darkness, love darkness more
than light, and are under the powers of darkness: Eph. vi.
12, 'The rulers of the darkness of this world.' The devil hath a large
territory over all the blind nations.
[2.] Carnal men, that own the true God, and profess him, yet in a
scripture sense they do not know him. For knowledge not being affective, it is
reputed ignorance: John viii. 54, 55, 'Of whom ye say, that he is your God. Yet
ye have not known him, hut I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I
shall be a liar like unto you; but I know him, and keep his saying.' It is a
lie to pretend to knowledge without obedience: 1 John ii. 4, 5, 'And hereby we
know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him,
and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the
truth is not in him.' For all their great parts, they are but spiritual fools;
they have no true wisdom, \~anahtoi\~ So are all carnal men: Titus
iii. 3, 'We ourselves also were sometimes foolish,' out of our wits. They do
not understand things spiritual, and such as tend to maintain communion with
God; they love and do those things with delight that are against all reason,
hurtful to body and soul. Natural men are sometimes represented as fools that
judge amiss, sometimes as infants that know nothing: Isa. xxviii. 9, 'Whom
shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to
understand doctrine? they that are weaned from the
milk, and drawn from the breast' Sometimes as beasts, that are incapable of
understanding: Ps. xxxii. 9, 4 Be ye not as
the horse, or as the mule, that hath no understanding.' Fools they are in their
choice that prefer a nut or an apple before a jewel;
they spend all their time in looking after riches, and honours,
and such kind of things as do not conduce to eternity; for carnal pleasures
forfeit their souls, and yet think themselves very wise. In their course they
make war with heaven, and enter into the lists with God, as if they were
stronger than he. In their presumption, they give out themselves for the sons
of God, when they are the devil's children; as if a man, born of a beggar,
should pretend to be the son of a king. Fools and madmen challenge all lands as
theirs, so do they all promises and comforts. Within a
little while experience will show them to be fools; their eyes are never opened
to see their folly till it be too late: Luke xii. 20,
'Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee;' Jer.
xvii. 11, 'As a partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not, so he that getteth
riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.' There is no fool to
the carnal fool; godly men are only wise, that are wise to save their souls.
Use. It informeth
us
1. Of
our misery by nature. For as the reprobate lost world are,
so are we all by nature; we have no knowledge of the true God: [Pg. 127] Job
xi. 12, 'Vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass's colt' We are apt to think ourselves angels, but we are beasts.
Every one affects the repute of wisdom; we would rather be accounted wicked
than weak. If a man were born with an ass's head, or were monstrous and
misshapen in his body, this were sad. It is worse to
be born with the heart of an ass, to be born like a wild ass's colt, with such
gross and rude conceits of God and holy things. This is our estate by nature.
2. The danger of ignorance; it is the state of the reprobate
world. It is good to think of it, partly that we may avoid it ourselves, and
strive for knowledge; partly that we may be thankful if we have obtained
knowledge; and partly that we might pity others, as Christ wept over
3. Positive ignorance is a sign that we are of the world; I mean,
where we have means and opportunities to the contrary, and do not come to the
knowledge of God, and of his ways: 1 John ii. 13, 'I write unto you little
children, because ye have known the Father.' God hath no child so little but he
knows his Father. The blind world knows him not; when there is night in the
understanding, or frost in the heart, it is a sign of a worldling;
when men are ignorant, unteachable, and do not grow
in knowledge. God's children many times may be ignorant, and do not profit
according to their advantages: John xiv. 9, 'Have I been so long with thee, and
yet hast thou not known me, Philip?' that is, not known so distinctly God the
Father, and me, as coming out from him. But God's children are not altogether unteachable.
4. We have no reason to trust the judgment of carnal men in
matters of godliness, for they do not know God. Can blind men judge of colours? I urge it, that you may not be discouraged though
the world scoff at holiness. Who would take notice of
the judgment of fools?
5. That ignorance is not only the badge of silly weak persons, but
of great men, and those that are carnally wise: Mat xi. 25, 'I thank thee, 0
Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the
wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.' Whatever parts they have,
they have no saving knowledge of God. The godly man is the only knowing and
wise man; all others they are but fools, however they swell with an opinion of
knowledge, and count it a reproach to be so called.
The second illustration is by the efficient and exemplary cause of
our knowledge, 'But I have known thee.' &c. All
along our likeness to Christ and unlikeness to the world is asserted.
Observe, that Christ's knowledge is
the pattern and cause of ours. [Pg. 128] We have all things at the second,
hand: 'I have known.' and 'they have known.' All the candles are lighted at
this torch; or, to use a comparison more celestial, all the stars receive their
light from the sun. Therefore he is called, 'the Father of lights,' James L 17,
and 'the Sun of righteousness,' Mal. iv. 2.
Christ giveth us knowledge two ways—by
his word and by his Spirit Now none is fit to establish the word, none to pour
out the Spirit, but Christ
1. None can give us a sufficient revelation of the Father but
Christ, that came out of his bosom, that knew all his
counsels: John i. 18, 'No man hath seen God at any
time; the only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath
declared him. Our knowledge is by the senses, by sight and hearsay. Now no man
hath seen God, but Christ, that was God-man, who came out of his bosom. So Mat
xi. 27, 'No man knoweth the Son but the Father;
neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son, and
he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.' To know him perfectly and
comprehensively, so neither men nor angels know him. To know him originally, so
as to establish a revelation with authority, and so as fit to offer the light
and knowledge of him to the creature, so none but Christ knows him; our faith
is built on God. Human authority begets but a human faith and credulity. It was
necessary that in the bede-roll of gospel preachers
the Son of God should have the first place, that in the latter times he should
preach to us by his Son, that the ultimate resolution
of faith might be into divine authority: John vii. 29, 'But I know him, for I
am from him, and he hath sent me;' and John z. 15, 'As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father.' It is for our
confidence that the full discovery of this doctrine was reserved for the Son of
God.
2. None else can give us a capacity to learn. Jesus Christ is such
a teacher, that he doth not only give the lesson, but the wit and skill to
learn: 1 John v. 20, 'We know that, the Son of God is come, and hath given us
an understanding, that we may know him that is true.' No matter what the
scholar is, when we have such a master. We use to inquire whether any one hath
a capacity to learn. He openeth the scriptures, and openeth the understanding to learn: Luke xxiv. 27, 'And
beginning at Moses, and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the
scriptures, the things concerning himself;' and ver. 45, 'Then opened he their
understandings, that they might understand the scriptures.' There is a double
veil—upon the doctrine and upon the heart; Christ removeth
both.
Use 1. If that the true knowledge
of God is only to be had from Christ, it directeth us
in the use of all ordinances to look up to him; there must our trust be fixed,
in reading, hearing, meditating. We must use helps and means, else we tempt
God, but our trust must be elsewhere. In reading, Ps. cxix. 18, 'Open thou mine
eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.' There are wonders in
the law, but our eyes must be opened to see them, otherwise we shall have but a
superficial and literal knowledge, when men think to find more in books than in
Christ. So in hearing, cathedram habet in caelis: Isa ii. 3,
'Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the [Pg. 129] Lord, to the
house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his ways.' You come to the
word to be taught by man, and yet not to be taught by man; in obedience you use
the means, but your confidence is on Christ, that you may hear his voice to the
soul, that he that brought the gospel out of the bosom of God may bring it into
your hearts. The dial is of no use without the sun; except the sun shine, you
cannot see what is a-clock by the dial; so in
meditation and study; Christ is 'Wonderful, counsellor.'
lea. ix. 6; Prov. viii. 14,
'Counsel is mine and sound wisdom; I am understanding,
I have strength.' How are men befooled that go forth
in the confidence of their own wit I Flesh and blood are apt to stumble in
God's plainest ways. Carnal hearts turn all to a carnal purpose: Prov. xxvi. 9, 'As a thorn goeth up into the hand of
a drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools.' The same cloud that was
light to the Israelites was darkness to the Egyptians. Luther calleth the promises 'bloody promises, 'through our
perverse applications. Truth is only renewing as taught by Christ: Eph. iv. 21, 'If so be that ye have heard him,
and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus.' We cannot tell
how to master corruptions without this. The light of common conviction is like
a March sun, that draweth up
aguish vapours; it discovereth
sins, but cannot quell them. We should be apt to forsake truth upon every
temptation, unless it were for Christ's teaching: Ps. cxix. 102, 'I have not departed from thy judgments, for
thou hast taught me;' 1 John ii. 20, 'Ye have an unction from the holy one, and
ye know all things.' When men lead us into truth, others may lead us out again.
Those that have made trial can best judge of the difference between being
taught of God and men: 1 Cor. ii. 4, 'My
speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of
man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.' When the arrow cometh out of God's quiver, it sticketh
in our sides. Then we see truths with application.
Use 2. It teacheth
us how to direct our prayers to Christ Seek to him with confidence, and with
all earnestness of affection.
1. With confidence; we
despair many times because of our blockishness: Col. ii.
3, 'In him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge.' Hidden, not that they should not be found out,
but because they are seen by the eye of faith: hidden, because deposited there,
to be dispensed to us. God made Christ a storehouse to furnish all our
necessities: 1 Cor. L 30, Of
him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and
righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.' Wisdom to
give us spiritual illumination. Be not discouraged; it is not the
pregnancy of the scholar that prevaileth here, but
the excellency of the
teacher. If Christ be the teacher, no matter how dull the scholar be. Pride in parts hath been a hindrance, but simpleness hath never been a hindrance: Ps. xix. '7, 'The
testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;' Jer.
xxxi. 33, 34, 'I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their
hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people: and they shall
teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man
his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know me from the least
of them to the greatest of them, eaith the Lord;'
Mat. xi. 25, [Pg. 130] 'I thank thee, 0 Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed
them unto babes.' God can give to shallow and weak people great understanding
in spiritual things, as he cured him that was born blind, John ix.
2. With earnestness: 'Cry for knowledge,
and lift up thy voice for understanding,' Prov. ii.
3. Many times God withholdeth knowledge that we may
cry for it, especially when the case is doubtful and litigious. John wept when
the book was sealed with seven seals, Rev. v. 4. We
need to cry for all grace, but especially for saving knowledge. Let us groan
and sigh when we are in the dark
[1.] Consider the necessity of knowledge. The blind man cried
after Christ, because he knew what it was to want eyes: Luke xviii. 41, 'Lord,
that I may receive my sight.' We are not sensible of our natural blindness as
we ought to be. There is ignorance and folly in all, but treasures of wisdom and
knowledge in Christ. If we are not ignorant, yet we are indiscreet Men know not
how to guide and order their course. Certainly if you were acquainted with yourselves,
you would not hold your peace.
[2.1 Consider the excellency
of knowledge. All knowledge is excellent, as all light is comfortable.
Knowledge is your excellency
above the beasts; that you have receptive faculties capable of knowing and
understanding things, that you are intelligent creatures, this is your
advantage above the beasts. But saving knowledge is far more excellent, even
the knowledge of God in Christ This is the glory of a
man: Jer. xxix. 23, 24, 'Let not the wise man glory
in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might; let not the rich
man glory in his riches; but let him that glorieth,
glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord,' &c. If men should be
able to dispute of everything that might be known, from the highest star to the
lowest shrub, this knowledge is nothing to the knowledge of God in Christ,
which is far better than all the knowledge of the ques-tioniste
and dispute» of this world. The fear of God, that is the best excellency, and that is it which
Christ teacheth. I observe the providence of God in
that one thing, viz., Solomon had wrote many nooks of philosophy which are not
extant, when the books of some heathens, as Aristotle's book de Animalibus, &c., are extant; but his books of the
fear of God are preserved by a special providence, not one of them lost We may
want the other without any loss of true wisdom, but we cannot want these. And
therefore you are more concerned in the getting of saving knowledge than you
are aware of. Light was the first creature that God made, so it is the way by
which all grace is wrought in the soul; for in all communications of grace God beginneth with the understanding: Jer.
xxxi. 19, 'After I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh.' He makes the
creature to submit to his providence, to be contented in all estates and
conditions: Phil. iv. 12, 'In all
things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to
suffer need.' God draws you to Christ, but his drawing is accompanied
with a teaching: John vi. 44, 'No man can come to me,
except the Father, which hath sent me, draw him;' ver. 45, 'And they shall be
all taught of God. Everyman therefore that hath heard, [Pg.
131] and hath learned of the Father,
cometh unto me.' God's drawing is not a blind force, but there is a
teaching with it God loves rational service, not blind obedience; and therefore
cry for knowledge, and run to Christ that he may teach you, and lead you into
the paths of righteousness.