Two Treatises, Commentary on verse · Verse 4, 5
VERS. 4, 5.
I giuegive thankes to my God, alwayes making mention of you in my prayers,
Hearing of thy louelove and faith, &c.
HEre beginneth the third part of the Preface of this Epiſtle, namely, an Inſinuation; whereby PAVL, in godly wiſedome, to make a more eaſie way for his Petition, doth labour to poſſeſſe PHILEMON with an opinion and conceit of his owne louelove and affection towards him; and this hee doth, by letting him vnderſtand two effects of his louelove towards him: firſt, his congratulation and reioycing with him for his good, namely, thoſe Graces God had beſtowed vponupon him; the which gratulation is propounded in a Thankſgiuing, I giuegive thanks to my God: ſecondly, his continuall praying for him; both theſe, viz. both Thankſgiuing and Prayer, ſet forth by the cauſes which cauſed him to pray and giuegive thankes, VERS. 5. Hearing of thy louelove, &c. More ſpecially the Prayer is ſet forth by the matter thereof, VERS. 6. And then the Thankſgiuing, by the ſpeciall and proper cauſe thereof, VERS. 7. Of all which in their places.
Firſt, For his Gratulation, or reioycing with Doct. PHILEMON in his Graces, it is ſet downe in the The manner of true congratulation.forme of Thankſgiuing, I thanke my God. Where obſerue, firſt, the manner of true Chriſtian congratulating and reioycing with our friends, for any good thing they hauehave; namely, to reioyce in the Lord; giuing him firſt of all his due, the prayſe of all that good they hauehave. The reioycing of the world is carnall and prophane. God is neuer ſo much as thought vponupon. The parties whom wee congratulate, they are dignified and almoſt deified. O, I admire your Wiſdome, Eloquence, Learning, &c. will the Flatterer, or the inordinate louer of his friend, ſay. But PAVL would ſay, I admire the goodneſſe and merciemercy of God towards you, in enriching you with theſe gifts, I thanke God for your wiſdome, &c. ſo all the prayſe is giuen wholly to God, whereas before it was wholly deriued from God to man, and ſo God was defrauded and defeated of his right. Not that it is vnlawfull to prayſe men, endued with the graces and gifts of Gods Spirit; nay, it is a dutie we owe vntounto them; but it muſt be performed in that wiſe ſort, that God in the firſt place be prayſed: for by this meanes we ſhall both in our ſelues take away ſuſpition of flatterie, and in our brother commended, ſuſpition of pride. And this is the ſpeciall difference betwixt Chriſtian encouragement and flatterie. The former hath reſpect to Gods glorie, and the good of the partie encouraged; who hearing God prayſed for his gifts, is taught not to ſwell in a conceit of his owne worthineſſe, but to referre all to the glorie of God. The latter regardeth neyther; but as it robbeth God of his glorie, and transferreth it to the inſtrument, ſo it driueth the man flattered vponupon the Rocks of Pride, Ambition, Vaine-glorie, and there often to make ſhipwracke of a good conſcience.
Secondly, The Title that PAVL giueth God in this his Thankſgiuing, My God. Here obſerue theſe two points.
Firſt, The priuiledge of eueryevery true Chriſtian. Doct. 1 Hee hath a peculiaritie and ſpeciall proprietie in The priuiledge of a true Chriſtian.God; That looke as a man may ſay of his Inheritance, his Houſe and Lands, Theſe be mine; ſo hee may as truely ſay of God, God is mine; I am righted and intereſſed in him. This priuiledge is conferred vponupon vsus in the Couenant of Grace, which runnes in this tenor, I will be thy God, and thou ſhalt be one of my people. Wee aſſenting to the Condition of this Couenant, to become Gods, God forthwith becomes ours, ſo that we may now lay claime to him as our owne, hee hauing made ouer himſelfe to vsus by Couenant. Hence it is, that the Apoſtle ſayth, Rom. 5. 11. Wee glorie or boaſt of God, namely, as of our owne, being bound to vsus, as the Husband to the Wife, by the Couenant of Marriage. Looke then, as the Husband is not his owne, but the proper poſſeſſion of his Wife; ſo God is now no longer his owne, as it were, but the peculiar poſſeſſion of his Saints.
This is a Doctrine of great comfort, That though thou haſt not Houſe, Lands, Mony, Friends, to call thine, yet there is a God in Heauen, whom thou mayeſt call thine; who being thy portion and poſſeſſion, thou mayeſt ioyfully ſing with DAVID, Pſal. 16. The lines are falne to mee in a goodly ground, I hauehave a faire Heritage. But this belongeth not to the wicked, becauſe the Couenant is not made with them, by reaſon they agree not to the Condition of becomming Gods people. Therefore Pſal. 50. God ſayth to the wicked, What haſt thou to doe to take my Name in thy mouth? to brag of me as thy God, ſince thou hateſt to be reformed?
Secondly, The nature of true iuſtifying faith, Doct. 2 which is, to apply God in ſpeciall to the Beleeuer. True faith doth not onelyonly beleeue, that God is the God of his Elect in generall, but that hee is his God in ſpeciall, as PAVL here ſayth, My God. And Chriſt on the Croſſe, My Lord, My God. Chriſt preſently anſwered THOMAS, Becauſe thou haſt ſeene, thou haſt beleeued. Here then is true faith, when with PAVL, Galat. 2. 2. we can ſay, Chriſt hath loued me, hath giuen himſelfe for me. This is more then an hypocrite and a temporarie profeſſor can doe.
The ſecond effect whereby PAVL declareth his louelove towards them, is his dayly praying for them, Making mention of you alwayes in my prayers. Firſt, in my priuate prayers.
Firſt, euen in our priuate, and ſolitarie prayers, Doct. 1 we muſt be mindfull of our Brethren. Many there In our Prayers we muſt be mindfull of others.are that in priuate Prayer not at all. Others, though they doe ſometime pray priuately by themſelues, yet then onelyonly they pray for themſelues. And ſo their priuate Prayers are too too priuate, priuate not onelyonly in regard of the place where, but alſo in regard of the Spirit by which they are conceiued, they come from a priuate ſpirit, regarding themſelues onelyonly, and not touched with a feeling of the want of others. Saint PAVL writes not to any Church or particular man, but hee tells them, hee made mention of them in his Prayers. And we are to thinke, that hee did no leſſe for many others, that hee neuer wrote to. Had he not the Spirit of louelove, it would hauehave beene tedious vntounto him, to hauehave rehearſed ſo many names. For we are not to imagine that this mention was onelyonly in generall, vnderunder the name of Gods Church, for ſo hee prayed for thoſe whoſe faith he neuer heard of. But moſt commonly hee makes this to be the cauſe of thoſe prayers, which, he ſayes, he daily offered for thoſe he writes vntounto, The hearing of their faith and louelove, as here in this place.
Let vsus therefore, according to this example of Saint PAVL, euen by name remember our Chriſtian friends in our prayers, knowing that the performance of this dutie is one ſpeciall part of the communion of Saints.
Secondly, obſerue, That PAVL did pray euen for thoſe for whom hee gaue thanks: from whence Doct. 2 it followeth, That there is no man ſo perfect, that hee hath need only to giuegive thanks for that good hee hath receiued, and not to aske ſome good thing he wanteth.
VntoUnto thankſgiuing therefore for our ſelues or Thankſgiuing and Petition muſt goe together.others, Petition muſt be annexed both for the continuance and increaſe of that good wee giuegive thanks for. And to ſpeake the truth, thankſgiuing doth neceſſarily carry vsus to Petition, for in that wee giuegive thanks to God for any bleſſing, wee acknowledge him to be the Author thereof, then alſo the Continuer and Encreaſer, and therefore to hauehave power to decreaſe, and take it away. When therefore we conſider of thoſe good things, which wee or others hauehave, and thereby in the ioy of our ſoules are prouoked to the prayſing of Gods name; we muſt then withall conſider and meditate thus with our ſelues: This or that grace God hath begun in me, and I am wholly beholding to him for it. But vnleſſe his grace follow mee to preſerue that which hee hath begun, I ſhall loſe all, for he it is that worketh both to will and to doe. Thus muſt wee reioyce with trembling, and giuegive thanks with prayer, tempering the ioy of our thankſgiuing, with the Chriſtian feare of Prayer. And moſt true it is, that he which feeleth moſt ioy in the fruition of any bleſſing, is moſt fearfull of loſing it. And therefore in his feare of loſing it, vntounto that thankſgiuing which his ioy cauſed, hee will adioyne earneſt Prayer for the continuance of it. Wee muſt not then be like the Phariſe in the Goſpell, who onelyonly giueth thanks, but thinking himſelfe full and perfect, and complete, asketh nothing. But as the feeling of Gods goodneſſe muſt ſtirre vsus to thankſgiuing; ſo the feeling of our wants and weakneſſes, mixed alwayes with thoſe things wherein Gods goodneſſe ſheweth it ſelfe, muſt driue vsus to prayer.
Thirdly, wee may obſerue, that PHILEMON Doct. 3 was ſuch an one as miniſtred to PAVL iuſt occaſion, as of Prayer, ſo likewiſe of Thankſgiuing. Wee muſt labour herein to be like him, that others, ſpecially Gods Miniſters, who eyther ſee vsus, or heare of vsus, may hauehave cauſe not onelyonly to pray for vsus, but alſo to prayſe God for vsus.
Many there are that we hauehave cauſe to pray for, and that with great griefe that they are ſo bad. But there is ſmall matter for thankſgiuing in them. But we ſhould be ſuch, that our friends may pray for vsus, not with griefe, but ioy, and giuing of thankes vntounto God for vsus.