Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount, Chapter 5 · Verse 12
Vers. 12.
Reioyce and be glad, for great is your reward in heauen: for so persecuted they the Prophets which were before you.
Here Christ drawes a conclusion from the former Rule; for hauing said in generall, that they which suffer for righteousnesse sake are blessed, v. 10. and applied it in particular to his Disciples, ver. 11. hereupon hee infers, that they must reioyce in affliction, euen then, or as (Luke gLuk 6. 23. foreign.saith) in that day: yea, they must be glad; which word signifieth exceeding ioy, such as we vse to expresse by outward signes in the body; as skipping and dauncing; such as h2. Sam. 6. 14. 1….Dauid vsed to testifie his ioy, for the returne of the Arke of God to his citie. This is a most worthy conclusion, often vrged and commended vntounto vsus in Scripture, Iam. 1. 2. Brethren, count it exceeding great ioy, when yee fall into diuers temptations. Rom. 5. 3. We reioyce in tribulation, knowing that tribulation bringeth forth patience: and Act. 5. 41. The Disciples reioyced, that they were counted worthy to suffer rebuke for the name of Christ.
Here we learne then, that Gods church and people, that suffer in a good cause must reioyce and be glad: This must be remembred, for we …aue bene many times in great danger of our enemies for the Gospels …ake; and it may please God to leaue vsus in their hands, for our manifold sinnes, and great abuse of his heauenly blessings; which if he doe, what must be our behauiour? must we be swallowed vp with sorrow and griefe? no, but humbling our selues for our sinnes, we must remember for what we doe suffer, and reioyce and be glad in that behalfe; for though our outward man perish▪ yet the inner man shall bee reuiued.
Now because it is a hard thing to reioyce in grieuous afflictions, therefore Christ doth giuegive two reasons to mooue them hereunto; first, from the Recompense of reward after this life, in these words, for great is your reward in heauen. This point I hauehave handled heretofore, & therforeRe…l. … Rhemis… this verse. I will here onelyonly shewe how the Papists abuse this text, to prooué the merits of mans workes of grace; for hence they reason thus, Where there is a reward, there is merit: But in heauen there is a reward for mans works of grace; and therefore in this life, there is merit by them. To this, it is answered diuers waies: I will touch the heads of the principall. First, the word reward must not bee vnderstood properly,1. but figuratiuely; for Christs speech is borrowed from labourers, who after they hauehave done their worke, doe receiue their wages, which is the reward thereof: euen so, after Christs disciples and seruants hauehave suffered afflictions for the name of Christ, at the end of this life they shall receiue life euerlasting. Secondly, when wee read of wages and reward2▪ in Scripture, wee must not dreame of any thing due by right of debt and merit, but conceiue thereby, that which is giuen by promise, and of meere merciemercy; like as when an earthly Father promiseth to his sonne, to giuegive him this or that thing, if hee will learne; now the Fathers gift is not merited by the childe, but is freely giuen, the more to incite the childe to learne his booke. Thirdly, if we vnderstand reward properly,3▪ then we must referre it, not to our sufferings, but to the sufferings of Christ: for there is no proportion betweene our sufferings, and life eternall: the afflictions of this present life, are not worthy of the glory which shall be shewed vntounto vsus, Rom. 8. 18.
The second reason is taken from the example of the auncient Prophets; for so persecuted they the Prophets which were before you. In this Reason, Christ intendeth two things; First, to teach his Disciples and vsus, that persecu…ion for good causes, is no newe or strange thing: Secondly, to comfort his Disciples and seruants in their sufferings; for that thereby, they should bee made comformable to the ancient worthy Prophets, who were of old renowned among men, and are now glori fied of God in heauen. Hereto wee must compare the words of Luke' spoken to the same purpose: iLuk. 6. 23.for after this manner did the Fathers to the Prophets. By Fathers, we must needs meane the auncient people of the Iewes, for here hee speaketh to his Disciples and others that were Iewes by nation. Now hence obserue a strange point; to wit, that the auncient Prophets, who were most worthy men of God, were persecuted in their time, not so much by forrainers and enemies to religion, as by those that were outwardly members of the Church of God, and professors of religion. This may seeme strange, that men liuing in Gods Church, should growe to this height of impietie, to become persecutors of Gods Saints: but Saint Stephen giueth the reason hereof; namely, their kAct. 7. 51.hard hearts, whereby they resisted the holy Ghost in the ministerie of the word; for which God left them to themselues, so as they ran headlong to this height of impiety, to persecute Gods deerest seruants. The like we may see in these our daies; some that hauehave beene professors, after long hearing, breake forth into open Atheisme, calling this into question, whether there be a God: and among others, there is also to be seene as vile crueltie and oppression in their particular dealings, and as abhominable filthinesse, as is to be found among the heathen, or Idolaters: all which, and many other enormous sinnes proceed from this; that though men professe religion, yet they denie subiection to the Gospel preached, so as it is not in them a Word of power: for which cause, God in his iustice giues them vp to hardnes of heart, to commit sinne without remorse. And therefore if wee would escape the fearefull iudgement of a reprobate sense, let vsus labour with feare & trembling, to become obedient to the word which we heare; for if we doe not glorifie God in the meanes wherein he offers grace and merciemercy, God will bee sure to glorifie himselfe in our deserued confusion.