Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount, Chapter · Verse 24,25
Verse 24.
Whosoeuer then heareth of me these words, and doth the same, I will liken him to a wise man which hath builded his house on a rocke.
25. And the raine fell, and the floods came, and the windes blew and beat vponupon that house, and it fell not; for it was grounded on a rocke.
After the deliuery of many notable instructions in this sermon of ourConclusion of Christs sermon. Sauiour Christ, whereby he hath sufficiently shewed himselfe to be the true Prophet and Doctor of his Church; in this verse, and those which follow, to the 28. he comes to lay downe the conclusion of this excellēt sermon, wherein he doth stirre vp his hearers to a notable duty; namely, that they should not make light account of his doctrine, contenting themselues barely to heare, reade, or to learne the same; but further, to goe about the practise thereof in their liues and conuersations. And for the effecting hereof, hee laies downe here at large, the fruite of true obedience to the word. In this conclusion are these points contained: I. A maine dutie to be done of all his hearers; that is, to heare and doe the words of Christ. Whosoeuer heareth these my words, & doth the same. II. The propertie of this dutie; it is a note of great wisedome. I will liken him to a wise man, &c. III. The fruite of this dutie; Safetie and securitie against all per…ls of bodie and soule, in the 25. verse: all which are amplified by their contraries, in the 26. and 27. verses, as we shal see in their place.
The first point is the maine dutie of eueryevery good hearer, namely, toThe dutie of eueryevery good hearer. ioyne practise with knowledge of the word of Christ. This dutie is oft vrged vponupon vsus by the holy Ghost, Rom. 2. 12. Not the hearers of the Law, but the doers thereof shall bee iustified before God: and Saint Iames stands long on this dutie, Iam. 1. 22. Be the doers of the word, and not hearers onelyonly, deceiuing your own… soules: which after he enforceth both by the vanitie of hearing without doing, v. 23, 24. & by the blessing that accompanies obedient hearing, v. 25. & Luk. 11. 27, 28. when a woman in admiration at Christs doctrine, pronounced her blessed that bare him; Christ answered, …ay rath…r blessed are they that hear the word of God, & keepe it. And in the parable of the sower, Mat. 13. there are 4. kinds of hearers, three bad, & one onelyonly good, who doe heare, know, receiue, embrace the word of God, & withall bring forth fruit plentifully. And naturall reason may perswade vsus of the waight of this duty; for the best learning that men hauehave in humane things is too little, or of no vse, without practise▪ much lesse can diuine doctrine then profit a man, without obedience be ioyned therewith.
Use. The consideration hereof, must mooue vsus to pray to God the Father in the name of Christ, that he would vouchsafe his spirit vntounto vsus, wherby our hearts might be enclined, disposed, & bent to an vnfained louelove & obedience of Gods precepts, deliuered in his holy word, because it is our dutie to liue in the practise of that we heare. Yea, we must pray so to performe obedience in our life, that our consciences may not only not accuse vsus, but also excuse vsus before God in regard therof; or at least, in regard of our true endeauour & desire to obey. This duty being practised, will minister true comfort vntounto vsus in time of distresse, yea in the fearefull case of death it selfe. Hereby did good king Hezekias comfort himselfe at his death, that hee had walked before the Lord with an vpright & perfect heart, Isay, 38. And the word of God is plaine for this comfort, If our hearts condemne vsus not we hauehave boldnes towards God, 1. Ioh. 3. 21. alwaies prouided, we hauehave a good vnderstanding of our duty to God, for an ignorant conscience will falsly excuse.
II. Point. The property of this dutie. It is a part of great wisdom, forObedient hearing is true wisdo… he that heareth and obeyeth, is the only wise man. I will liken him (saith Christ) vntounto a wise man. This point is likewise with care to bee remembred, that the hearing & doing of the word of God, is a speciall part of true wisdome: this is notably verefied in the 32. Psalme, which is intituled Dauids learning; and indeed it is a notable psalme of learning, cōtaining the summe of all religion; which Dauid bringeth to these two heads, his repentance, & new obedience. So Deut. 4. 6. the peoples obedience to Gods commandements, is counted by Moses, their wisdome: & for this cause he there saith, they shal be counted the wisest people vnderunder heauen, because they serued & obeyed the true God: to which purpose it is said, The feare of God is the beginning of wisdome, a good vnderstanding hauehave all they that doe thereafter, Psal. 111. 10.
Hence we learne these instructions: 1. all superiours, magi…rates, masters,Superiours dutie. & parents, are bound to goe before their inferiours in wisdome, as they are aboue them in authoritie; & therfore considering obedience is true wisdome, eueryevery superiour ought to goe before his inferiours in obedience to Gods commaundements: for this onelyonly is true wisedome, without which all other wisdome is but folly and madnesse.
2. Hence all students that professe themselues to seeke for wisdomeStudents dutie. and learning, are taught especially to giuegive themselues to learne & obey the will and commandements of God; for this is true wisdom, both before God and man. And it is a great blemish and disgrace for any man of knowledge to lead a loose and dissolute life; this argues their want of Gods feare, which is the very ground of true wisedome.
3. This giues a good caueat to ignorant persons, who perswade themselues they may continue in their ignorance, because they are not book-learned; but they deceiue themselues, for obedience is true wisdome: and therefore they must labour for so much knowledge as will bring them to this wisdome here commended.
Now to come more specially to this true wisdom, we must search outThe true wisdome of prof…ssors. wherein it lieth. This is expressed in these words, which hath builded his house on a rocke: which S. Luke setteth down more largely, ch. 6. 48. saying, he digged deep, & Laid his foundation on a rocke. In which words, 3. part… of this wisdome are propounded: 1. to dig deep: 2. to make choice of a rocke for a foundation: & 3. to build thereon. The builder is the professor1. part of it. of the name of Christ; and this digging deepe to finde out a fit foundation, signifieth thus much; that he that would make sure his owne saluation, must come to a deepe search & examination of his own corrupt heart, that he may know the iniquitie therof: also he must renoūce himselfe & his pleasures; & whatsoeuer may hinder him in this building he must cast out: for without this deepe search & ransacking of the heart, there can be no sure foundation laid, nor certainty of saluatiō attained.
The second point of this wisdom, is to choose a foundatiō to lay our2. part of it. saluation vponupon; & that is the rocke Christ Iesus himselfe alone, God and man, he is the chiefe corner stone, on which the whole building is coupled. Eph. 2. 20, 21. neither is their saluatiō in any other: for among men there is giuen no other name vnderunder heauen, by which wee must bee saued, then Christ Iesus onelyonly, Act. 4. 12. and no other foundation can any man la…e, then that which is alreadie laid, which is Iesus Christ, 1. Cor. 3. 11. Christ is the rocke and corner stone, & true Christians are liuing st…nes built vp… him, 1. Pet. 2. 5. As for our works, they are fruits, but no part of this foū dation, vnlesse to them that build on the sand, like foolis… builders.
Thirdly, hauing found a good foundation we must build thereon. Our soules and our saluation must be builded on Christ. This is done3. Part. How we are built on Christ. by our faith in Christ: for as mutuall louelove ioynes one man vntounto an other; so true faith makes vsus one with Christ▪ Eph. 3. 17. the holy Ghost saith, that Christ doth dwell in our hearts by faith: and, Psal. 125. 1. He that trusts in the Lord is as mount Sion that cannot be remooued. Yet here two ca…ats must be remembred: I. That Christ is a rocke, yet not eueryevery way that man frames in his owne heart, but onelyonly so as he hath offered himselfe in the promise of the Gospel, which is the word of the couenant of grace. And for this cause we must labour that this word of Gods grace may be rooted and grounded in our hearts by faith: for it is all one to beleeue in Christ, and to beleeue the word that reueales Christ vntounto vsus: so saith our Sauiour, He that refuseth me and receiueth not my word, hath one that iudgeth him, Ioh. 12. 48. And, If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, Ioh. 15. 7. We therefore must be like the good ground: for as it receiues and keepes the good seede, so doth the good heart receiue and keepe the word of grace, which beeing rooted in our hearts keepes vsus vnited vntounto Christ, and therefore it is called the engraffed word, Iam. 1. 21. which beeing mingled with faith in our hearts is profitable, for it knits vsus fast to Christ, and makes vsus growe vp in him vntounto perfection. II. Caueat. We must set all the maine affections of our heart on Christ: for hereby must we shew forth our faith. We must so esteeme and louelove Christ, as that in regard of him we count all things losse, and dung, with the Apostle; yea we must so delight in Christ, that we desire him wholly, and receiue nothing into our hearts but Christ alone. Thomas desired but to put his finger into his side, but we must goe further, and desire to hauehave our soules washed in the blood that issued thence, and to hauehave our hearts possessed by his spirit, whome he giueth to his Church.
Use. Seeing Christ Iesus is the rocke of our saluation, our dutie is to hauehave our hearts rooted and founded on Christ. They which be as the stonie ground, heare and receiue the word, and it takes some rooting in them, and brings forth some fruit: but as the rooting is not deepe, so the fruit is neuer ripe, and therefore when heat commeth it withereth: so it is with professors; a man may be one in name, and bring forth some fruit of the word which he heares, and yet be deceiued in the matter of his saluation, because he is not rooted and founded in Christ. This is the point which Paul stands much vponupon in sundrie of his Epistles:Eph. 2. 20, 21. and 3. 17. Coloss. 2. 7. for shew of grace will not serue the turne. Indeede in these happie daies of peace any grace makes a man seeme to be a Christian: but when the parching heat of persecution comes, vnlesse we be throughly rooted in Christ, we shall neuer continue to the ende, nor bring forth fruit with patience.
III. Point. The fruite of this true obedience in which men byThe fruit of true obedience. faith build themselues on Christ Iesus, is Securitie and safetie against all temptations of the Deuill, the flesh, and the world: meant by the standing of the house that was built vponupon the rock…, notwithstanding the the falling of the raine, the beating of the floods, and the blowing of the windes, vers. 25. A most notable fruite which nothing els but true obedience can procure vntounto vsus: wealth cannot minister this comfortable securitie; nay the more wealth, oft times the more trouble; and vntounto many, riches are the causes of a fearefull downefall. No strength of man, nor power of any Princes can procure this safetie, & yet Christ vouchsafeth the same to them that heare his word and keepe it.
The consideration hereof must mooue vsus to be most willing and readieA motiue to obedience. to performe obedience to that holy word of God which we read and heare: for such a benefite comes by it as no creature in the world can procure besides: and the rather we must inu…e our selues hereto, because our sinnes deserue an ende of these happie dayes of peace, and we may iustly looke for the blacke daies of persecution, which when they come will surely be our ruine, vnlesse in these dayes of peace we heare the word and doe it.
Secondly, from this fruite of true obedience we may gather, thatTrue faith cannot be lost. he which once hath true saith in Christ rooted in his heart, shall neuer loose the same either wholly or finally, but shall continue therein vntounto the ende and enioy the fruite thereof for euer. For by faith a man is truly built on Christ as on a most sure foundation, so as neither temptations nor persecutions can driue him off: though they may assault and shake him▪ yet they can neuer throw him down: but if a man might quite loose his faith, then might he be beaten downe that is built on Christ, which thing this text denieth.
Lastly, this teacheth vsus that he that is built on Christ by faith,True beleeuers must hauehave their trialls. must looke for fearefull tryalls and temptations: for he is like an house built one the sea banke, against which winde and raine and waues doe all beate and rage. Gods seruants must not looke to goe to heauen in ease; but they must waite for trialls and temptations comming hand in hand, as winde and raine, and winde and waue commonly doe: and therefore the more carefull and earnestly must we labour to be surely grounded on Christ, that though they assault vsus, yet they may not throw vsus downe.