The Christian Governor in the Commonwealth and Private Families, Exposition 2 · Part 5
Verse 17.Then hee came to himselfe, and said: How many hired Seruants at my Fathers hauehave bread enough, and I dye for hunger?
IN this occasion, or second dore to the yong mans repentance, two things are spoken of: as the worke of his minde, hee came to himselfe: and the words of his lips; for hee said, How many hired Seruants? &c. We hauehave heard what was his first step or occasion to this his repentance, as namely, the great necessitie that hee was in. The wolfe of hunger had much already consumed his flesh, and was ready now to seaze on all that was left, to bring it downe to Rotennesse and Wormes, for hee said, I dye for hunger. This hee well considered, and beginning to thinke of his Fathers house and the plentie there, came to himselfe, who before had gone so farre and dissolutely from himselfe, and was found of himselfe, who had so long beene lost vntounto himselfe; and remembred himselfe, vvho had so and so much forgotten himselfe. Now he began to thinke, and in such debate with himselfe, to say; How many hyred Seruants of my Fathers hauehave bread enough? or, how many are kept there at the full racke, in all plentie, and with all sufficiencie and fulnesse, hauing bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger? As if hee had said; They are Hirelings, I am the Sonne; they hauehave abundance, I hauehave nothing, they liue in plenty, I dye for hunger; they are many, I am but one; hee is their Master, but my pittifull Father, whom I hauehave offended, and who, being so good to hyred Seruants, will not be vnmercifull to a penitent Son.
Thus he came to himselfe; and after, by opening, with this key, the Closet of his heart where his Bookes of account lay, came to his Father. But hee came to himselfe before hee came to his Father, and reckoned with himselfe before hee accounted with him, and considered what to doe before he did it.
The Doctrines are many that might be gathered from hence: as that it is the knowledge of Gods goodnesse, and out confidence in such his goodnes, that maketh vsus to turne to him from vanitie and the errour of life.
And secondly, that particular faith giueth vsus this boldnesse towards God, when we can reason thus, He that receiueth sinners, will receiue me a repentant sinner.
And thirdly, that we must consider before wee come into Gods presence, how we should behaue our selues in it, that we may doe wisely.
Doctr.But that which I purpose, with the help of God to obserue, is; that our first step to repentance is to take our selues aside for our former impenitencie and straying wayes. For, if we will repent kindely, we must consider particularly, what we hauehave done, Ier. 8.6. Which made the Lord comming to Adam after his sinne, as Iudge and visitor, to bring him to a consideration of what hee had done saying; Adam, where art thou? Gen. 3.9. as if hee had said, dost thou know what thou wast, and what thou art? I speake not of the place where, but condition wherein thou now art a wanderer and stray from mee. Thou wast beautifull in my Image, thou art disfigured in the shape of Sin. So Nathan tooke Dauid aside in a familiar Parable, and held him the glasse, till he beheld himselfe, in one supposed like himselfe, 2 Sam. 12.1.2.3. &c. And wherefore did Nathan so? but to make him to come to himselfe with this lost Sonne, and with him, to arise, to goe to his father? Lu. 15.20. What made Ephraim to repent? Ephraim (himselfe) telleth vsus, When I was instructed I repented, Ier. 31.19. his meaning is, when hee saw in what case and taking hee was whiles hee colted from God (as wanton… now do) he came to himselfe, and (home) to God by conuersion.
The want of this eye-sight is cause why so many neuer see that gaping pit of danger which is so neere, till they fall into it by remediles ignorance. And (therefore) as the carelesse Iewes neuer saw (being without knowledge) that captiuitie and those chainea they were led in to Babylon, till the enemie had pend them vp in Ierusalem, with a straite siege, to driue them out of their owne land, Esay 5.13. So foolish Christians and carelesse, blindfolded with the veile of irreligious negligence, neuer mistrust the like or greater inconuenience, till, pent vp with their last sickenesse, or the straite bed, as it were siege, of their vnquiet consciences, they be ready to be carryed in chaines to hell, not by Nabuchadnezar and his Souldiers, but by the Diuell and his Angels.
I might be large in this field: but it is euident that who will truely disclaime and amend their euill wayes, must take themselues aside for them by this blessed spirit of thinking what they hauehave done.
The Reasons are. The heart is as a thing shut vp, that must be opened with some key, Acts 16.14. This key to the hart, lockt vp by custome of sinne, is this taking of our selues aside, with Faith for our dangerous hardnings. And it is the Lords key (euen) to a hard heart, by grace, to open it to better wayes. For, when a man shall consider with some remorse and yeelding… in how dangerous a way he walketh, and in how damnable a state he liueth, who liueth in sinne… and walketh in the dangerous and broad way of Death with the worlds sinners; and that the longer he so liueth, and further he so walketh, the more he increaseth his iust damnation, and runneth further from the God of his help; it cannot but make him to looke backe in some reasonable time, and while there is hope of comming home to the Father by repentance, vvith this lost Sonne. An vnwise man will not know this, nor a foole vnderstand it, Psa. 92.6 but he that once comes to himselfe, will lay it to his heart, and be better by it.
Secondly,This point is further treated of by Mr. Rich. Stock, in his book of Repentance; who hath laboured faithfully in the whole doctrine thereof. the ignorance of a mans bad estate is seldome seperated from a false conceipt of the …ame mans good estate: for, hee thinkes hee is happy, no man more: and that he doth well, no man better. And who, in such an errour, so yeelded vntounto, will desire any change? He that thinkes himselfe whole, though hee be sicke, will seeke no Physitian: and he that thinkes himselfe good, so good that hee needs no amendment, wil spare thoughts and care of amending.
Thirdly, he that considers aright how sharply sinne shall be punished, and how righteous he is that will punish it without repentance… must needs repent, at least in fained manner, to saue himselfe from so great wrath to come. Mat. 37. very Nature will worke in him a certaine shewing Repentance, as in Ahab, 1 King. 21.27.29. and nature sanctified, true repentance, as in Gods children.
Vses.
Vse 1.This teacheth that there are few vvho hauehave set one foote ouer the threshold of true repentance: for, how many can be brought to this first step of wisedome, wisely and with feare to looke into themselues, to cast vp their estate, & to reckon vponupon the booke for their debts to God, which are in so many sinnes, and strange kindes of sinning against him, from their childhood till now? And while men cannot be perswaded, nor drawne, thus to gage themselues for their faults and doings, what hope is there that they will be sory for them, with a godly sorrow, to repentance? Will a man that knowes not his estate, suspect it? and can he, that suspects it not, fall into thoughts about it? So, who will be truely grieued for his wretched estate; who neither knoweth his wretchednesse what it is, nor spirituall estate, how poore it is. S. Paul in the life of nature, and sect of a Pharisie, knew not that Concupiscence was a sin, till he beheld himselfe in the glasse of that law that saith; Thou shalt not lust, Rom. 7.7. till he cast vp his bookes, he was aliue, that is, seemed to himselfe and appeared to others to be in very good plight and …aking for this life, & for eternall life. But when the Commandement came, and looked vponupon him, & he, by it, into himselfe, he found that he was no body, a dead man, sold vntounto sin, and laid in the graue of a dead body, or body of death; a man wo…ully and pittifully miserable: and therefore cryeth out, as in great pain, to be deliuered from such a body, or from the body of such a death, Ro. 7.19.24. The Church of the Laodiceans thought her selfe to be better gold then the Touch could finde her: for, she thought her selfe to be rich and increased with goods, and to hauehave need of nothing, where she was wretched, and miserable, and poore, & blinde, and naked, Apoc. 3.17. But this she knew not, or cared not to know. The reason was, shee neuer entred into her selfe with purpose of inquirie, and search in what tearmes she stood with God, how short shee was of the welfare and good health shee boasted of, and how neare to that desperate death which she neuer feared. And this made her to boast of her righteousnes, when she should hauehave beene humbled for her sins: and to thinke her selfe rich she was poore. Our common people at this day (and not the worst sort of them) looke no further into their doings, then that they carry some good shew of opennesse to the world. And when vvil such be sorie for their imperfect and hypocriticall righteousnesse? And for desperate and bold sinners, they dare not (like bank-rupt debters) looke with any eye of particular search, into their poore and vvretched life, lest they be tormented too soone, or, (as the diuels cryed out) before their time, vvith sorrow and horrible feare, Mat. 8.29. And vvhen vvill such come to repentance, that they may be saued? vvill they not rather blesse themselues in their heart, saying; they shall hauehave peace; vvhen the Lord vvill not be mercifull to such, Deut. 29.19.20. Let all Pharisaicall Papists consider, vvho must needes be farre from repentance, seeing, by resting in themselues for saluation, they affect to be ignorant of that poore estate, vvherein the best are borne, that by man are borne of a woman. For, though they be, and be borne poore in Grace, and corrupt in Nature, as all that came from Adam, are: yet they so conceit themselues of a supposed vvealth of naturall righteousnes abiding in them, & of works of merit, proceeding from them, that they can neuer truly know how miserable, how wretched, how naked, and how nothing they are in themselues, that they may be beholden to him onelyonly for all their spirituall increase, who giueth liberally to all, and reprocheth no man? Iam. 1.5. It is the feeling of a disease that maketh vsus so to desire the cure of it, and so to esteeme of him that can cure it: and it is the feeling of misery that maketh mercy to be mercy: for, till we feele our misery and weake estate, we will boast as he of whom it is said; There is, who maketh himselfe rich and hath nothing. Prou. 13.7.
An admonition to Christians (that wouldVse 2. be truely repentant) to reckon vvith themselues for their life past, particularly, and vponupon speciall bill, at night before they goe to bed, or in the morning before they rise from bed; and not generally, and in grosse onelyonly, as most do. It is the exhortation of the godly, in the Booke of Lamentations, that men would search & try their wayes, and so turne to the Lord, Lament. 3.40. that is, that they would not sleightly and runningly goe ouer their sinnes, but pausingly and with standing vponupon them, seeking eueryevery sin, as with a candle, till they finde it, if it be to be found, and trying it by the touch of Gods Words, when they hauehave met with it, that they may come to amendment. This is to turne to the Lord, when we (first) turne out Sin, and eueryevery sin; when wee sit downe and account with our selues (impartially) for eueryevery disobedience, that wee can remember, bee it in greater or lesser euils or, when we consider our wayes, and hauing run along goale of foolish vaniies, such as Ephraim …an, & this lost Son after him; doe, with Ephraim, smite vponupon the thigh, and, with the lost Sonne, come to our selues, for our returning to God, and for the healing of all our errors past, that the Lord may hauehave mercy vponupon vsus, and receiue his lost Sonnes in our conuersion. Ier. 31.18.19. &c.
As (therefore) the lost Son here, so at the end of our stage, such as he ran, we must (if we will repent soundly) come to our selues; & in particular words, thus say to our selues, (as *Mr. Dent, in his Sermon of Repentance.a zealous Preacher sometimes taught) In such a place, at such a time, and in such a company, I wr…tchedly and desperately offended GOD; my good conscience, and the consciences of Gods children, by talking filthily, by swearing horribly, by drinking excessiuely, and by …ailing damnably, & bitterly, against Gods word, and his Ministers. In such a priuate place, on such a day, and in such a corner, in the darke, I committed fornication, or adulterie, closely, when the walles couered mee, and no mans eye sawe me… I made no conscience of a Lie, where I might be beleeued, if it had beene for an aduantage, & to saue my credit; and as little conscience to defraud my simple brother, where I might doe it cunningly & without blame. On the Lords Sabbath, when others w…nt to Gods house, I went directly to an Ale-house, or from Prayer to Playes, and from the Sermon to the Stage. The time, that was giuen mee for repentance, I abused to sinne, and can giuegive no good account of time, that is pretious, and should be redeemed, Eph. 5.16. For, how hauehave I redeemed it; that is, bought it out of Satans hands, and the hand of sinne, for good employments? or, how (rather) hauehave I wasted and powred forth the good houres of time to vaine pleasures, to idle talke, to much sleepe, & wantonnes? If God should account with me for yeres, I can not with comfort answere him for day…s: nor well for one day in a yeere, well and holily spent in good duties. O, how many Items may be found written in Gods Books of prouidence & last iudgement, for pleasures, and sports, and fleshly daliances, and worldly couetousnes; & scarce a line seene registred in the same for any good exercise, wayes, and doings of good report? Thus should eueryevery Christian make a kinde of backe reckoning with the compassing of his wayes. Thus should he retire himselfe for the due consideration of his life past; and hauing opportunitie, in secret, beate his sins vponupon his naked conscience by aggrauation, and say: I hauehave not onelyonly sinned, but most traiterously, obstinately, carelesly, continually, and rebelliously sinned, and am not only a sinner, but a most filthy leper and sinner: not an ordinary offender, but a stubborne offendor, and disloyall person; whose whole nature, soule and body, will and affections, minde and iudgement, words and deeds, are onelyonly euill, and perfectly euill, and continually so, Gen. 6.5. Thus (no doubt) the lost Sonne came to himselfe, and thus (without doubt) must we come to our selues, if we will come home with him, confesse with him, and triumph vvith him. So much for the worke of his minde: the words of his lips follow.
[How many hired seruants of my Fathers hauehave bread enough?] This yong man considered, that the meanest seruant, his Father kept, was in better case then he: for, he was wel prouided for, hauing bread enough and to spare, where he had nothing. And this made him, looking homeward, (it is like) with teares in his eyes, and repentance in his heart, for his former lewd life, to say, how many hired seruants of my Fathers? &c. as if he had said, this necessitie that I am in, is caused by my selfe, who forsook the house of plenty for this land of dearth, & my Fathers house, for the house where the dead are, Pro. 9.18. EueryEvery one there is prouided for, and I perish with hunger in my absence thence.
This being his meaning,Doctr. the thing taught is, God prouideth all things necessarie for those that serue him. Dauid neuer found it otherwaies, and therefore saith, he neuer saw the righteous forsaken, Psa. 37.25. as if he had said, he neuer saw any long destitute, or vnprouided for, who followed righteousnesse, and serued the Lord. S. Iohn sheweth, that they who followed Christ, were fed, though Christ wrought a miracle of Loaues and Fishes, to feede them, Ioh 6.9.12. And how did God feede his people fourtie yeeres in the vvildernesse, when they could not plow the Earth, did not he plow the Heauens for bread? and vvanting ordinarie food, had they not Angels food? for the Wheat of the Land, the Wheat of Heauen? Psa. 78.24.27. the Text saith, it rained downe Manna, v. 24. and they had meat enough, ver. 25. Elijah was zealous for the Lord, and his altars: therefore, when men would not feed him, the Rauens fed him, 1 Kin. 17.6. and when men forsooke him, an Angell looked vntounto him, 1 Kin. 19.5.6.7. Did God forget the widow of that Prophets son that feared the Lord, and died in some debt? did he not strangely prouide for her by Elisha, and so, as she had enough both to pay her debt, and to finde her selfe and her children vvith the ouerplus? 2 King. 4.1.7. To be short: of all the righteous it is sayd, they shall not be confounded in the euill time, and in the day of famine they shall be satisfied, Psa 37.19. that is, whosoeuer is ashamed, they shal not take shame, and vvhen others are famished, they shall hauehave enough. Thus, nothing shall be wanting to them that serue God: the reasons are: First, God hath promised to feed al his seruants, Psal. 37.3. Now, God will doe what he promiseth to doe; for, he is faithfull: and can doe what he will; for, he is Almightie. Secondly, Gods seruants depend on his promise, and take his word for their vvhole estate: their eyes are vntounto him, Psal. 123.1.2. and their repose is in his prouidence: and vvill he cause their eyes to faile? Iob 31.16. Thirdly, if it be a iust thing that the Master of a Familie should prouide for all he hath in his familie, vvhether the children of the house, or seruants in the house: will not the iust God count it as iust and fitting for him to doe as much for his Familie and household: to wit, for the familie of his Saints, and the household of Faith.
Vses.
A comfort to all that truly serue God:Vse 1. for they shall hauehave good wages for that they do, who faithfully serue him: they shall want nothing that is good: that is, that is good indeed; or good for them, Ps. 34.10. When meanes faile, God can, and will, without meanes, and against them, prouide for his. The Sea shal run back, and serue the Lords prouidence, for the glorie of his name, and safetie of his people, vvhen Pharao, with his fierce armie pursueth them to the sea, Exo. 14.21. When men can not make tillage, God can, and hath giuen bread vvithout tillage, as in the dayes of Hezekiah, and Esa. Esa. 37.30. This Sommer, the Lord laid his rod in Water: the continuall raine, that fell, did much weaken the force and plentie of our common bread. Yet if all our Graine had beene washed away with the waters that so preuailed: God could hauehave set, euen in those waters, an Arke of reliefe for his Noahs, that obey his word and sayings, to enter into. As the vvaters rose, so rose the Arke, Gen. 7.17 and so as the markets rise (which are floods to the poore, that lift vp their waues, Psal. 93.3.) God vvill arise to the helpe of his people.
Vse 2.An admonition to liue in Gods seruice, and not out of our fathers house, in the seruice of sin, if we would be prouided for, and not perish vvith vvant in the day of famine. For, as they, who serue God in his House, and by his Word, are sure to be fed: so (contrarily) they cannot expect with comfort, any such assurance who serue their lusts, and sinne in their mortall bodies. In our seruice of God, the creatures are ready to serue vsus, the Heauens with their blessing, the Earth vvith her increase: in our seruice of sinne, all is contrarie. For, God vvill shut vp the Heauens as a Purse, and turne a fruitfull Land into barrennesse. Much raine shall destroy our fruits or lacke of raine much hinder them. The Earth shall yeeld nothing, or, but store of vveedes, good for nothing.
Obedience, (I meane to God in his Seruice and Word) is the Chaine that bindeth all the creatures from hurting vsus; vvhere disobedience breaketh that Chaine, and turneth them loose vponupon vsus, for euill, and not for good, in the day of our necessitie. In it, there is perfect freedome; and vvith it, assured riches, and blessed contentment. To be called the seruant of God, is an honorable title, a title, giuen to Angels, Hebr. 1.14. and taken by Kings, Psal. 116 16. but to be, and not to be called onelyonly his seruant, or to adorne the name vvith obedience, as Abraham, Dauid, Hezekiah, Iehosanha…, the Apostles, Peter, Paul, and other Saints hauehave done, is an honorable thing. Not to be signes without the thing signified, is the true grace and perfection of true Christians: vvhichwhich I speake, because many would be called seruants, and seruants of God, that are Masterlesse, and be Christs seruants in sinnes seruice. But, if vvee vvould bee the seruants whom God will protect in danger, and prouide for in vvant, vve must serue our heauenly Master, not by bearing the name, but by doing the worke of his seruants. In true sorrow for our sinnes past, and vvith an earnest purpose neuer to returne vntounto them, but vnfainedly to hate them, and vtterly to forsake them: our care must bee to spend that small time, that remaineth, in the feare of God, and in the obedience of that truth, vvhichwhich is according to godlines. And if wee know these things, blessed are we if we doe them. Iohn 13.17. This true and sound blessedness…, to know to obedience, he grant to vsus, for IESVS CHRIST his sake, who is GOD, blessed for euer. AMEN.
ECCLESIASTES 11.9.
Reioyce, O young man in thy youth, and let thine heart cheere thee in the dayes of thy youth: and walke in the wayes of thine hart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know that for all these things, God will bring thee to iudgement.
FINIS.
End of the text · Robert Horne, The Christian Governor in the Commonwealth and Private Families (1614)