An Expository Comment on 2 Corinthians 1, Exposition · Sermon 44
SERM. XLIV.
That the ſame Grounds of Comfort, which revive the Hearts of one Godly man, may do the ſame likewiſe to another.
2 COR. 1. 4.
By the comfort wherewith we our ſelves are comforted of God.
WE ſhall at this time finiſh the Text. For whereas two things remain in the Diviſion, The Manner, how the Apoſtles do comfort others, and that is, By the comfort wherewith they themſelves are comforted. And the Fontal Cauſe of all, who is ſaid to be God. Of this later, we have ſaid enough already. We ſhall therefore at this time diſpatch the former. That comfort by which the Apoſtles themſelves were refreſhed, by that did they revive others, even thoſe that were farre inferiour to them both in gifts and graces. So that as by the ſame Sunne both the rich and the poor do ſee; one finds the ſweetneſs of the light as well as the other. Thus alſo by the ſame grounds of comfort, that any godly man may be ſupported, all may be. Obſerve,
That thoſe grounds of comfort which revive the heart of one godly man may The ſame grounds of comfort that revive the heart of one godly man, may do ſo to another too.alſo do another.
That which is wine to make glad the heart of Paul, will alſo exhilarate the hearts of others, who believe in Chriſt. That which is honey to one cannot be gall to another.
This truth hath its great practical uſe. And
Firſt, Let us conſider, That there are general grounds of comfort for all the 1. There are both general and particular grounds of comfort.godly in all their tribulations, and there are ſpecial particular ones. The general grounds of comfort are ſuch, that all the godly may make uſe of at all times, be they Jew or Gentile, bond or free, eye or foot in the body of Chriſt, there is no difference, no exemption, this fountain is ſet open. Neither is it like the pool of Betheſda, wherein the firſt only that ſtept in could be healed, for here all are invited to drink, firſt and laſt, and that abundantly. There are Catholicon comforts, that let our diſeaſes be what they will be, theſe are proper to cure us. There are ſome promiſes ſo full of general comfort for every condition, that they are made for the meridian of every godly man.
Let us give you ſome ſummary draught of them: As
1. That all afflictions do come from the love of a Father to ſuch as believe. What are the general grounds of comfort. 1. All afflictions come from a Father.So that although they be grievous to fleſh and bloud, and have a bitter taſte, yet they come from a ſweet root. Theſe thorns do grow upon a vine. Theſe bitter ſtreams come from a ſweet fountain. Now this ground of comfort belongs to all that have an unfeigned love to God. Canſt thou make out thy evidence of being in Chriſt? Is thy name to be found in the book of life? Then this comfort thou mayeſt apply to thy ſelf; be thy condition or quality what it can be, thou mayeſt boldly take this cordial, and it is as proper for thee, as a David or Paul, any of thoſe who are pillars in godlineſs. Heb. 12. 6. For whom he loveth, he chaſteneth. So that you ſee here is ſuch an argument of comfort, that every member of the body of Chriſt may uſe.
2. Another general ground of comfort, is, The end and fruit of afflictions. As they come from Gods love, ſo they are to ſubdue ſinne, to bring us nearer 2. The end is good.to God. Hence afflictions are compared to the fire that purgeth away the droſs, to winnowing that driveth away the chaff; to pruning that cuts off the luxuriant branches, and makes the other branches more fruitfull. They are given by Chriſt the wiſe Phyſician of our ſouls as heavenly phyſick, and admirable remedies to crucifie to ſinne, and to quicken to righteouſneſſe. If God denieth thee ſuch outward comforts thou deſireſt, know that this very denial is for thy good; and dareſt thou ſay, Lord, let me have them, though they damn me; Let me not be afflicted, though it will do me good, Quid …ſit v…l proſit, novit medicus, non egrotus. Thus the Apoſtle Rom. 8. All things ſhall work together for the good of thoſe who love God. The Apoſtle alſo ſpeaketh notably of theſe afflictions in reſpect of the iſſue of them, as well as of the original whence they flow, Heb. 12. 9, 10, 11. where a three-fold advantage is ſaid to come by them:
1. By yeelding to the Father of Spirits chastiſing us, we live. Tribulations therefore are the way to make us live ſpiritually here, and eternally hereafter. If it were not for afflictions thou mightſt die and be damned; They have prevented much ſinne; They have been like a file to the iron to get off the ruſt; They have been like the plowing and harrowing of the ground to fit thee to bring forth fruit. And
2. God is ſaid to chastiſe us for our profit, which is expreſſed to be, That we might be partakers of holineſſe. Tribulations then are very profitable and advantagious things, though fleſh and blood can hardly ſay ſo. It may be thy afflictions have done thee more good, than all the mercies thou ever hadſt. And therefore under every exerciſe, examine, What profit have I got? Wherein am I made more holy? And then
3. At the 11th verſe, after the grievous and burdenſome way of them for the preſent, afterwards they will yeeld a peaceable fruit of righteouſneſſe. The chaſtening doth but ſeem grievous, and that for the preſent, but afterwards it makes more holy, which is ſaid to be the peaceable fruit of it. The ſoul that raged and fretted, finding the benefit, begins then in a peaceable quiet manner to bleſſe and praiſe God for it. This is a General comfort. Every godly man may ſay, this belongs to me in my afflictions, as well as to any other.
3. Not to be too large here, The benefits and heavenly advantages, 3. The advantages that come from Chriſt.which come from Christ, being ours, theſe alſo are comforts in common. There is no fiery ſword to keep out of this Paradiſe. Rom. 8. Doth not the Apoſtle conclude thoſe great priviledges of Juſtification, of Perſeverance in that ſtate, of conqueſt over all ſpiritual enemies, and that from ſuch general grounds, as all the people of God may claim to it, Becauſe Christ died, and becauſe Christ is riſen; becauſe he hath given us Chriſt, and how then not with him all things elſe? Is there any believer ſo weak, ſo contemptible, that Chriſt did not die for, and riſe for? Is there any to whom the Father hath not given Chriſt? If ſo, you ſee, that what comforted Paul may comfort you. It is a vain Poſition of Papiſts, that Paul ſpeaketh ſo aſſuredly in that condition, becauſe of an extraordinary revelation that he had, that Chriſt was his; for he grounds his perſwaſion upon thoſe general arguments which belong to every godly man. Chriſt then, and his preſence, with all his benefits, is a cordial to every believer. This Sunne of Righteouſneſſe ariſeth with healing in his wings to the leaſt believer; as well as the greateſt: The The Dwarfe as well as the Gyant may hold this pearle in his hand. But
In the ſecond place, beſides ſuch general comforts, which are (as ſome Of the ſpecial and particular grounds of comfort.ſay of Manna) anſwering all dainties, and was to every mans palate, that which he moſt delighted in: There are ſpecial and particular comforts for ſpecial and particular temptations. So that as every diſeaſe needeth a peculiar remedy, ſo every temptation a proper comfort: And therefore that ſpecial comfort will not ſerve one in his temptation, which doth another in a different one. And hence it is, that it is an art of arts, and much heavenly wiſdome is required, to adminiſter the proper comfort for ſuch a grief. This makes Caſuistical Divinity, which is applied wholly to rectifie and comfort a wounded conſcience, more difficult than Polemical is. The afflicted ſoul hath its foreign, its deeps; and Satan alſo in their temptations hath his deeps likewiſe: Inſomuch that it is choice prudence to give the proper cordial, and to find out the true way of comforting ſuch, yet though there be ſpecial comforts in ſpecial caſes, yet all the godly that are in like temptations, may, and ought to take the like comforts. That which hath done any godly man good under ſuch an exerciſe, may do thee alſo good, if thou art not froward and unbelieving.
In the next place, let us conſider, Why thoſe arguments which ſome godly The grounds of the point.men have found powerfull to comfort them, ſhould alſo be very conducible to others. And
Firſt, Becauſe all the Godly they are (as I may ſo ſay) Ejuſdem ſpeciei. 1. Becauſe all godly men are of the ſame nature.They have all the ſame ſubſtantial ſundamentall worke of grace in their hearts. That as you ſee all men have the ſame ſpecifical humane Nature, though there be many individual properties, and differences. Thus all the godly do partake of the ſame Divine Nature; They are all borne of God; they are all become new creatures. Although indeed for the manner of converſion, and the degrees of grace; as alſo experiences of Gods favour and love in theſe things, there may be much variation, yet in the main, as they all have the image of God, and ſo are like him: So they are alſo like one another. It's the common faith; it's the common love; it's the common Image of God, which they all doe partake of. So that godly men, though they may differ in their gifts, in degrees of graces, in their judgements and opinions, yet becauſe the Image of God is ſtampt on them all, there is a likeneſſe and ſimilitude between one another: What one feeleth, the other feeleth: How one is affected, the other is affected; they underſtand one another; they do (as it were) ſee themſelves in one another. We have an expreſſion, Prov. 27. 19. As face anſwereth face in water, ſo the heart of man to man. There is a two-fold expoſition of this place, and that contrary. Some ſay, it is brought to ſhew the falſhood and deceitfulneſſe of mans heart. That as in water, there is not a true repreſentation of the face, ſo one mans heart is not truly known to another. Others they goe on the contrary, As (ſay they) the face of a man, and the reflexion of it in the water are alike; ſo is the heart of man to man, that is of one friend to another. Therefore a friend is Alter Ego: They have all things common, one ſoul (as it were) and one heart. Now if this be true of moral friendſhip, that their hearts are fo alike, how much more of the people of God, who are all made one in the Lord, cis, not foreign, Gal. 3. 21. They are all but one Perſon; their hearts muſt needs anſwer one another. Let a godly man read David's Pſalmes, wherein he doth experimentally declare what the workings of his ſoul were: will not a godly man ſay, he ſpeaketh his heart, his doubts, his complaints? Seeing then there is the ſame fundamental work of grace in all, no wonder if what is ſuitable to one, is alſo to another.
Secondly, Another ground of the Doctrine is, From the ſameneſſe and 2. Becauſe all have the ſame ſpirit.identity of that Spirit of God, which enliveneth all, and worketh in all. For as it is with the body, though it hath different parts, yet all thoſe are informed and animated by the ſame ſoul. It is not one ſoul that informeth the arms, another the feet, but it's one and the ſame ſoul that informeth all. Thus it is alſo with all the people of God, they may differ much in externals, their condition, their eſtate; yea in internals alſo, in illumination and ſanctification, yet it is the ſame Spirit of God, that liveth and worketh in them all. If therefore the ſame root give nouriſhment to all of them, they all grow upon the ſame ſtock; if the ſame ſpirit diffuſe it ſelf through all, no wonder if what comforts one may alſo comfort another; no wonder if the ſame promiſes revive one that doth another. He ſaid, Homo ſum, & nihil humani alienum, &c. He was a man; and ſo nothing of a man was ſtrange to him. Thus thou art a believer, a new creature, and ſo nothing that is proper to ſuch, ſhould be ſtrange to thee.
If you ſay, Seeing they are all animated by the ſame Spirit, which is a Comforter, then it would follow, they are all comforted alike, all have joy alike, but experience confuteth that: Two have the Spirit of God, and one is comforted, the other is dejected, walking in darkneſſe; ſo that you would ſay, certainly the ſame Spirit is not in both.
The anſwer is, Though the Spirit of God, which is a Comforter be in all the godly, yet it is a free agent, he diſpenceth this voluntarily as he pleaſeth. And again, Though the Spirit of God in the godly encline to comfort, yet it is in an ordered and appointed way. If thou art unbelieving, froward, then thou reſiſteſt the Spirit of God within thee. The Jewes have a Proverb, Super maeſtum non cadit Spiritus Sanctus, which in a good ſenſe may be true. As it is in matter of Doctrine, ſo it is alſo in reſpect of Conſolation. All the godly have the ſame Spirit, whoſe work it is to lead into truth; yet what wonderfull differences in judgement may be amongſt them that have the ſame Spirit, yet they all hold the foundation, becauſe the Spirit of God doth communicate it ſelf by degrees, and in meaſure, to one more, to another leſſe. Thus it is alſo in reſpect of Conſolation; though they have the ſame Spirit of comfort, yet the out-goings of this, are in one more than the other. And why ſhould it ſeem a ſtrange thing, for all the godly under the Goſpel to have the ſame Spirit, ſeeing the holy ones under the Old Teſtament, and thoſe under the New are led by the ſame Spirit? Whatſoever Marcionites of old, and Socinians of late ſay to the contrary, as appeareth notably, 2 Cor. 4. 13. We having the ſame Spirit of faith, as it is written, I believe, and therefore have ſpoken, we alſo believe, and therefore ſpeak, ſo we alſo believe, and therefore rejoyce.
Thirdly, Another ground of the Doctrine is, Becauſe the main arguments 3. Becauſe promiſes are made alike to all.of comfort promiſed in the Word, are not upon perſonal conſiderations, neither are particular priviledges, but from that common reaſon which belongs to every believer. Paul is comforted, not becauſe Paul, not because an Apoſtle. So David findeth God putting gladneſſe into his heart, not becauſe a King, not becauſe a Prophet, but because godly. If therefore comforts (Fundamental, I mean) are given upon a publick intereſt, which belongs to all the godly, then it followeth, what comforts one, may, and ſhould comfort another. The Scripture which was ſpoken peculiarly to Joſhua, Paul applieth, (Heb. 13.) to every true believer: Chriſt is a Chriſt equally to one believer, as well as another. The godly cannot ſtrive about Chriſt, as thoſe women before Solomon about a childe, one ſaid, It was mine; and the other, It is mine; one cannot ſay, It is my Chriſt, and not thine; but Chriſt is every believers, and yet not divided.
Let the Uſe be of Direction to the godly, In their application of comforts, not to obſerve perſonal conſiderations ſo much. To ſay a Paul may take comfort, a David may, but ſhall ſuch an one as I? This is to impropriate where God hath made common.