Josephs Party-Colored Coat, Sermon 6
HOVV FARRE GRACE CAN BE ENTAILED.
2 TIM. 1.5.
When I call to remembrance, the unfained faith, which is in thee, which dwelt first in thy Grand-mother Lois, and thy Mother Eunice; and I am perswaded that it is in thee also.
WHEN I call to remembrance. Observ. 1.It is good to feed our soules on the memories of pious persons: Partly that we may be moved to prayse God in, and for his Graces, given to his Saints; and partly that we may bee incited to imitate the vertues of the deceased. Ahaz was so taken with the Altar at Damascus, 2 King. 16.10. that hee would needs have one at Ierusalem, made according to all the worke-manship thereof. When we call to mind the vertues of the deceased, and cannot but be delighted with their Goodnesse; let us labour to fashion our selves after their frame, and to erect the like vertues in our owne soules.
Obser. 2.Godly Children occasion their Parents to bee called to memory: Saint Paul beholding Timothies Goodnesse, is minded thereby to remember his Mother, and Grand-mother Eunice and Lois; they can never bee dead, whiles hee is alive. Good children are the most lasting monument, to perpetuate their Parents, and make them survive after death. Dost thou desire to have thy memory continued? Art thou ambitious to be revenged of death, and to out-last her spight? It matters not for building great houses, and calling them after thy name, give thy children godly education, and the fight of their goodnesse will furbish up thy memory, in the mouthes and minds of others, that it never rusts in oblivion.
Which dwelt first.
That is, which was an Inhabitant in their hearts: Faith in temporary Believers, is as a Guest, comes for a night, and is gone, at the best is but as a Sojourner, lodges there for a time; but it dwelleth, maketh her constant residence, and aboad in the Saints, and servants of God.
Grand-mother Lois, and Mother Eunice.
Why doth not Saint Paul mention the Father of Timothy;Quest. but as it were blanch him over with silence?
First, it is probable that Saint Paul had not any speciall notice of him,Answ. 1. or that hee was dead before the Apostles acquaintance in that Family.
2. Likely it is, he was not so eminent, and appearing in Piety; the weaker vessell may sometimes be a stronger vessel of honour: yea, the Text intimateth as much, Act. 16.1. Behold a certaine Disciple was there named Timotheus, the sonne of a certaine woman, which was a Iewesse, and beleeved, but his Father was a Greeke. Let women labour in an holy Emulation, to excell their husbands in Goodnesse; it is no trespasse of their modesty, nor breach of the obedience they vowed to their husbands in marriage, to strive to bee Superiours, and above them in Piety.
3. Eunice and Lois, the Mother and Grand-mother, are onelyonly particularly mentioned, because deserving most commendation for instructing Timothy in his youth; as it is in the Chap. 3. ver. 16. Knowing of whom thou hast learned them, and that from a Child thou hast knowne the Holy Scriptures. For the same reason the names of the Mothers of the Kings of Iudah, are so precisely recorded for their credit, or disgrace, according to the goodnesse or badnesse of their sonnes. Let Mothers drop instruction into their children with their milke, and teach them to pray, when they beginne to prattle.
Doct.Though Grace bee not entayled from Parent to Child; yet the Children of goldy Parents have a great advantage to Religion; yea that five-fold.
1. The advantage of the promise; yea though they come but of the halfe blood, (much more if true borne on both sides) if one of their Parents bee godly, 1 Corinth. 7.14. For the unbeleeving Husband is sanctified by the unbeleeving Wife; and the unbeleeving Wife is sanctified by the Husband, else were your Children uncleane, but now they are holy.
2. Of good Precepts, some taught them in their Infancy, so that they can easier remember what they learned, then when they learned it, Gen. 28.19. For I know Abraham that hee will command his children, and his Houshold after him to feare the Lord.
3. Of good Presidents, Habent domi unde discant; whereas the children of evill Parents see daily what they ought to shun, and avoyd, these behold what they should follow, and imitate.
4. Of Correction, which though untoothsome to the palat to taste, is not unwholsome to the stomacke to digest.
5. Of many a good prayer, and some no doubt steept in teares, made for them before, some of them were made, Filius tantarum lachrymarum non peribit, said Saint Ambrose to Monica, of Saint Augustine her son; Disdaine thou then out of an holy pride, to bee the vitious sonne to a vertuous Father, to bee the prophane Daughter of a pious Mother; but labour to succeed, as well to the lives, as to the Livings, the Goodnesse, as the Goods of the Parents.
Yea,Object. but may the Children of bad Parents say; This is but cold comfort for us, and they may take up the words of the Souldiers, Luke 3.14. And what shall wee doe?
First,Answ. 1. if thy Parents be living, conceive not that their badnesse dispenceth with thy duty unto them, thou hast the same cause, though not the same comfort, with good children to obey thy Parents; this doe labour, to gaine them with thy conversation. It was Incest, and a fowle sinne in Lot, to bee Husband to his Daughters, and beget children on them; but it would bee no spirituall Incest in thee, to be Father to thy Father, to beget him in grace, who begat thee in nature; and by the Piety and Amiablenesse of thy carriage, to be the occasion by Gods blessing, of his Regeneration; and what Samuel said to the people of Israel, 1 Sam. 12.23. God forbid that I should sinne against the Lord, in ceasing to pray for you; so God forbid thou shouldest ever leave off to have thy knees bended, and thy hands lifted up, for the conversion of thy bad Father. Moreover, labour more especially to shun and avoyd those sinnes, to which thy Father was addicted; and chiefly such sinnes, the Inclination whereto may depend from the temper and constitution of the body; so that a pronenesse thereto, may in some sort seem to be intayled to Posterity. Was thy Father notorious for wantonnesse? strive then to be noted for chastity; was hee infamous for Pride? Labour thou to be famous for Humility. And though thou must not be dejected with griefe, at the consideration of the badnesse of thy Parents; yet mayest thou make a Soveraigneuse thereof, to bee a just cause of Humiliation to thy selfe.
If thy Parents bee dead, and if thou canst speake little good of them, speake little of them. What Sullennesse did in Absolon, 2 Sam. 13.22. Hee spake to his Brother Amnon, neither good nor bad: Let Discretion do in thee, seale up thy lips in silence, say nothing of thy Parents: He is either a Foole, or a mad man, who being in much company, and not being urged thereunto, by any occasion will tell others, My Father lyes in the Fleet, my Father lyes in Prison, in the Counter: More witlesse is hee, who will speake both words, Vncharitable, and Vnnaturall, concerning the finall estate of his Father, in an eternall bad condition.
And I am perswaded, there is a three-fold kind of Perswasion, whereby one may be perswaded of good in another man.
1. The perswasion of Infallibility, and this onelyonly God hath, Act. 5.18. Knowne unto God are all his workes from the beginning of the World, hee alone searcheth and tryeth the hearts and reines. And they also have it to whom God immediately reveales it. Thus Ananias knew that Paul was a true servant of God, after it was revealed to him, Act. 9.15. For hee is a chosen Vessell unto me, to beare my name, before the Gentiles, and Kings, and the children of Israel. And in this sense of infallible perswasion, we may understand, Saint Paul in the Text, because it is said 1 Tim. 1.18. This Commandement write I unto thee, sonne Timotheus, according to the prophecies which went before upon thee, that thou by them shouldst fight a good fight.
2. The perswasion of Charity, and this I must confesse is but weake, and rather a presumption, than a perswasion. Charity, 1 Corinth. 13.17. Thinketh no evill, it beleeveth all things, hopeth all things; And in this kind of Perswasion wee conceive that all men have faith dwelling in them, of whom wee know no just reason to conceive the contrary.
3. The Perswasion of a well, and strong grounded opinion, to make which, these three things must concurre; first the party that conceives this opinion, must have a good judgement, and discerning Spirit, well to dive and pierce into the natures and dispositions of men. Secondly, He must be long acquainted with that person, of whom hee hath such an opinion, that faith dwelleth in him. Too bold are these men, who upon a superficiall knowledge, and short conversing with any, dare peremptorily pronounce, that such an one hath saving grace and sanctity in him. These are Professors of spirituall Palmestry, who thinke that upon small experience they can see the Life-line (the Line of Eternall life in the hands of mens souls) where as for all their skil they often mistake the hands of Esau, for the hands of Iacob: Lastly, they must have intimate familiarity with them, and be not onelyonly their acquaintance large, but in Ordinary. Te intus & in cute novi. Put all these three together, that one hath a discerning Spirit, long and intimate acquaintance with one, and hee may arrive at Saint Pauls perswasion in my Text, to be perswaded of faith dwelling in in him, with whom hee hath beene thus long, and intimately acquainted. And in this sense (though it may bee of the infallible Perswasion by Revelation) understand wee that, 2 King. 4.1. Now there cryed a certaine Woman, of the Wives of the sonnes of the Prophets unto Elisha, saying; Thy Servant, my Husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy Servant did feare the Lord.
Yet for all this wee may set this downe for a true Position; that the wisest of men easily may, and sometimes are deceived in counting them good, which are very counterfeits, and especially in these cases.
First, in close natured men, such as lye in at a close Guard, and offer no play, whose Well is deepe, and men generally want Buckets to measure them; so that one may live twenty yeares with them, and bee never a whit the wiser, in knowing their disposition.
2. In various, and inconstant men, which like Proteus, never appeare twise in the same shape, but differ as much from themselves, as from other men, and are onelyonly certaine in uncertainty; so that one can build no certaine Conclusion on such floting, flitting Sands; and even know not what to make of them.
3. In men of an excellent nature, such as Titus Vespatian, was called Deliciae humani generis. This Euphuia presents it selfe in all outward signes and Symptomes; So like to Grace that it is often mistaken for it. Whereas on the other side, men of a rugged, unbrusht nature, such as were never lickt, hewen, or polisht, may bee slaundered in many mens judgements, to bee altogether devoyd of Piety.
4. In affected Dissemblers, Hypocrisie is as like Piety, as Hemlocke to Parsley; and many one hath beene deceived therein.
To conclude, if wee desire to passe a rationall Judgement on Faith in others, and Piety in their hearts: Let us first labour to have true Sanctity in our owne. One complayned to a Philosopher; that it was an hard thing to find a wise man. It is true (said hee) for hee must first bee a wise man that seekes him, and knowes when hee hath found him: So that on the matter, it is not one wise man, but two wise men, must meete together. So it is an hard thing to know true Sanctity in another man; because hee must have true Piety in himselfe, that knowes it, or else hee is an Incompetent Iudge, to passe a Verdict on a another. Let us therefore labour first to have true Grace in our hearts, that so with Saint Paul, wee may bee perswaded of Grace that dwels in another.