One-Hundred Forty-Five Sermons Upon John 17, Sermon 55
SERMON LV. The Great Lord-Keeper of Iſrael from inevitable Ruine both of Body and Soul extolled.
JOH. 17.11.
Holy Father, keep through thy own Name thoſe thou haſt given me, &c.
WE have diſpatched the Introductory Compellation, and now proceed to the Petition it ſelf, and in that Conſider,
1. The mercy praied for, and
2. The Amplification of it.
The mercy praied for is Keep.
The amplification is,
1. From the Subject, deſcribed by their Election from Eternity.
And 2. Actuall donation to Chriſt in time, Thoſe thou haſt given me; This is often repeated by our Saviour, as being a main Argument why nothing ſhould he denied them that were thus indeared both to Father and Son, and alſo the frequent Iteration of this might produce the more faith and confidence in the Diſciples.
3. This is amplified by the manner or inſtrumental cauſe how they are to be kept, Through thy own Name.
4. The End or Conſequent of all this, That they may be one as Thou and I are one.
Of the Mercy praied for Keep, and the Subject, Thoſe thou haſt given me in the firſt place; I ſhall not enlarge any thing more upon this Deſcription; Neither is there any difficulty in the words, only foreign is rendred by ſome ſerva, and they take it properly, for thoſe were ſaid to be ſervari who were taken in warre, and ſo the Conquerour had full power over them to put them to death, but of his clemency he ſaved them, and thereupon were called ſervi, but the Greek word hath no ſuch alluſion; Only there is a twofold keeping external and temporal from the violence and rage of wicked men in reſpect of their bodies and lives becauſe the world hates them: And 2. Spiriutal and internal in grace and holineſſe, and this he doth principally pray for, as appeareth by the matter inſtanced in; Keep them in their outward condition that they be not deſtroid, keep them in their ſpiritual condition that they loſe not their faith or other graces; Keep them in bono that they be not undone deficiendo; Keep them a malo that it hurt them not Inficiendo; If they do ſinne, keep them reficiendo by repairing and raiſing them up again; If then the Diſciples though thus wonderfully given by the Father to Chriſt, do need a daily keeping leſt they be undone every way, then it holds true alſo of all beleevers.
Obſ.Doct. That all the people of God if not kept by Gods grace would be undone in ſoul and body. That even all the People of God were they not kept by Gods grace and power they would every moment be undone both in Soul and body; It is not our grace, our Prayer, our Watchfulneſſe keeps us, but it is the power of God, his right arm ſupports us: We may ſee David praying to God that he would keep him in both theſe reſpects from temporal dangers, Pſa. 17.8, 9. Keep me as the Apple of thy Eye from the wicked that oppoſe me; Where he doth not only pray to be kept, but he doth inſinuate how carefully God keeps his people, and in what precious account their ſafety is, even as the apple of the Eye, and for ſpiritual preſervation he often begs it, Pſa. 19.13. Keep back thy Servant from preſumptuous ſinnes; Though David be Gods Servant, yet he will like a wilde Horſe run violently and that into preſumptuous ſinnes if God keep him not back, yea, he prayeth that God would keep the particular parts of his body that they ſinne not, Pſa. 141.3. Keep the door of my Lips, he entreateth God to keep his Lips, and to ſet a watch about his mouth, as if he were not able to ſet guard ſure enough; Thus much more are we to pray that God would keep our hearts, our mindes, our wils, our affections, for they are more maſterfull.
Let us briefly conſider the firſt, God keepeth us from temporal dangers,That God keeps all his from temporal dangers, prove and that upon theſe grounds.
1. Man hath by ſinne forfeited all his temporall mercies, there is nothing due to him, no health, no wealth; not the leaſt comfort, but every man here upon the earth, might be like Dives in hell, begging for a drop of water, and not able to attain it, Gal. 3. Curſed is he that keepeth not the Law, and Gen. 3. upon ſinne, death in all the concomitants of it, came into the world, ſo that if all theſe curſes of the Law be not every moment inflicted upon us, it's becauſe God keepeth us; He beareth off the blows that Juſtice and the Law would lay upon us; So that it's Gods goodneſſe that keepeth thee alive, that keeps thee on this ſide hell, that keeps thee from that proper doom which belongs to thee▪ The Sentence of death is paſſed upon all long agoe, onelyonly the execution of it is put off till God pleaſeth: Who art thou then that repineſt and art troubled under ſuch a loſſe, ſuch an affliction? how many thouſands more are there that God keeps thee from? None is ſo miſerable, but he may ſee others more miſerable then himſelf; It is the Lord that keeps all theſe curſes from thee, and thee from them.
2. The godly man would be undone if God did not keep him from his own imbecility and infirmity; He hath no power to preſerve himſelf from miſery; Hence man is called Enoch, and in the New Teſtament foreign, So that he doth not only deſerve all miſery but he is prone of himſelf to fall into it, did not God keep him, Job 14.1. and Job 5.1. Man that is born of a woman is full of trouble, even as the Sparks fly upwards; So that as the Spark if not ſtopt doth of it ſelf aſcend upward; Thus man of himſelf though there were no outward cauſe to drive him, yet would ſtumble and fall into all deſolation; Therefore the great troubles men lye under are ſelf-created, they come by our indiſcretion, blindeneſſe, or ſome ſinful way or other; Therefore Solomon obſerveth that a mans miſery is great on the Earth, becauſe he hath not judgement to diſcern the times and ſeaſons of things, Eccl. 8.6. If therefore God did not keep the Godly man, no Childe would ſooner fall or run into the fire then he would into miſchief; You may reade of that good King Joſiah for whom the Kingdom made ſuch Lamentation, how fooliſhly he ran upon his own Death, 2 Chro. 33.22.
3. Did not God keep us the devils rage and enmity is ſuch that he would not onelyonly deſtroy the Soul but the body: You ſee his malice when he had liberty to poſſeſſe the bodies of many, how miſerably he tormented them, and when God gave him leave to afflict Job in his Eſtate and body, he did it to the utmoſt; There wanted no evil while he could do it; Now there is no reaſon why the Devil ſhould not do thee the ſame miſchief continually, but onelyonly God bindes up this roaring Lyon; The Devil is ſaid to be a Murderer from the beginning, and that for the body as well as the Soul, he tempted Cain to murther Abel, he tempted Judas to betray Chriſt; Oh then wonder that God keeps thee when there are ſuch Legions of Devils crafty and potent enough to procure thy deſtruction.
4. Did not God keep the godly he would be undone temporally, becauſe of the hatred and malice wicked men bear to every godly man; Therefore Chriſt ſaid, they were as Sheep among Wolves; Can they hope for mercy from a Wolf? David complained that his Soul was among Lions, and Ezechiel complained he dwelt among Scorpions; Now then ſeeing the world is ſo full of malice, and the number of wicked men is like the Sand upon the Sea-ſhoar to them; They are as the Iſraelites Army ſeemed to the great power that came againſt them, like a Flock of Birds; Now what is the reaſon that wicked men have not their will of deſtroying the Godly; It is onelyonly God that keeps them, yea, God keeps every part of them, He keepeth their feet, Every ſtone elſe might be their Death; Yea, Pſa. 34 20. He keepeth all their bones, he maketh their Beds in their ſickneſſe; What an expreſſion is that? There is no Nurſe can ſo diligently and tenderly look to the ſick as God doth to a godly man diſeaſed: Oh then that we ſhould attribute our Eſtates to ſuch care and diligence of our lives, to ſuch places, to ſuch ſecond cauſes! and not rather look up to God who keepeth us all the day long; His keeping of all the godly doth not diminiſh his care in keeping every particular man, for it's God that keepeth every man, and that keepeth the Church in generall; How could this Ark that had no Sails, no Pilot, no Stern have been kept in the midſt of the Deluge? but that God preſerveth it, Pſa. 121.3. God is ſaid to be the Keeper of Iſrael, and ſuch an one that neither flumbreth or ſleepeth; Certainly could the people of God for their Eſtates, Lives, and all they have, commit all to this Keeper, they would live with more joy; Thou ſaiſt, who will keep me? Who will keep mine? Oh remember a better Keeper then if thou hadſt all the Monarchs in the world; Whence then ariſe your fears and doubts, but becauſe you are your own Keepers, or Friends muſt keep, or ſuch an Eſtate, and ſo much wealth muſt keep you; See what David tels us, Pſal. 121.1. Except the Lord keep the City even the Watchmen watcheth in vain; Though he watch and doe not ſleep, yet there muſt be a better Keeper: Say ſo of thy Houſe, of thy Family, of thy Children, and of all outward worldly things.
Therefore let the Uſe of this Branch of the Doctrine be to all that are godly, to caſt off all fears and perplexities about any worldly thing; They have a faithfull Keeper, all their mercies are in his hand; The world, nor the devil cannot take them away; Is not the Childe ſecure becauſe he hath a Loving Father who keeps all things for him? We are not our own Keepers no more then our Creators: And if thou loſeſt any outward comfort, ſtay thy ſelf with this, I have a wiſe and an holy Keeper, who would not have ſuffered this or that loſſe to fall out, but that it was beſt for me to do ſo, and thou maiſt be encouraged to this holy Security, becauſe
1. God is an Omnipotent God, None (ſaith Chriſt) is ſtronger then my Father; Joh. 10. We betruſt men with things, and there comes a ſtronger then they who takes all away, but none can do ſo here.
2. He is a faithfull and wiſe Keeper; He will not lye or deceive thee; Thou wilt have no cauſe to complain as Jacob did to Laban, That he had defrauded him ſo many times; Thou canſt not truſt in riches, or in men, for theſe are unfaithfull, Theſe are a lye, but God is not like man, he will not deny himſelf.
3. He doth not onelyonly keep thee himſelf but appoints others alſo to keep thee; Armies of Angels are appointed by him to keep thee, yea, all the creatures are a Safeguard to thee; The ſtones in the Field are at peace with him who feareth God: Did not thy Faith lie aſleep in thee, as Chriſt in the Ship, there would never be ſo many dangerous Tempeſts to overwhelm thee.
But I proceed to the ſecond part, which is more principally intended by our Saviour, and of greater conſequence to the godly, for what i… their Goods and their bodies be kept, but their Souls loſt? Will this keeping avail them, if he keeps us that an hair of our head do not fall to the Ground,Of Gods keeping all true beleevers from ſpiritual evils. but our graces they are loſt, a man could take little comfort, therefore let the godly know of a Truth, That it's the power of God that keeps them to Salvation.
1.1. God keeps the truth of grace in them. It's God onelyonly that preſerveth and keeps the Truth of Grace once wrought in thee; We ſee Adam and Angels loſt their precious Treaſure of Grace; And can we think to be better Conſervators then they were? No, thou wouldeſt immediately of a Paradiſe become a noiſome dunghill, and a hell, did not the Lord keep thee; Hence the Apoſtle praieth ſo often, that God would ſtrengthen and ſettle them; No Leaf would fall ſooner to the ground then our Graces wither, did not God keep them; We ſee then upon what Rock the godly are built, what it is, that though they are in the midſt of ſpiritual Thieves and Robbers, yet their Jewels are not ſtolen, it is becauſe God keeps them; Hence is the perſeverance of the godly; Hence it is that Peters Faith is not totally and finally loſt: David and Peter were in ſad and great Temptations, in danger to loſe all the Truth of grace put into them, and all had been gone but that God kept them; So that as in natural things God is not only the Creator but Preſerver of all things, And if he did not uphold them by his arm, they would fall into their firſt nothing: Thus did not God graciouſly keep thee, thou wouldeſt fall into that old deſperate ſtate of impiety again, and be as prophane and wicked as ever before.
2. The Lord doth not onelyonly keep the habits and being of grace, 2. He keeps in the actual ſtirrings of the ſoul to good.but alſo all the quickenings and actuall ſtirrings of the Soul to good; Such Sparks would quickly go out, did not the Lord keep them alive; We might ſay of them as of mans life, They are but a Vapour and a Bubble; Thus 1 Chro. 29.18. When David and the people had with ſo much willingneſſe and delight offered unto God, he praieth that God would keep this for ever in their hearts; If then thou finde thy heart at any time raiſed up to actual hungrings and thirſtings after God, if it break for the longing it hath to God alwaies, then runne to God that he would keep this excellent frame of heart alwaies in thee; That the world and the Temptations thereof may not bring thee down again from this Mountain of Transfiguration; Say, O Lord, It's not in me to keep this frame of heart alwaies, I ſhall quickly loſe it; Something or other will take away this live Childe and put a dead one in the room of it; Oh therefore O Lord do thou help me and keep me, I renounce my own ſtrength, I ſee my own weakneſſe, and certainly if we are to pray to God for daily bread, though we have a B…rn full of Corn, becauſe he can immediatly blaſt all, and within an hour or moment make us like Job, how much more have we cauſe to pray for this daily Keeping, even though we were the ſtrongeſt Chriſtians, for we ſee what many of the chiefeſt Rank in Piety, even David and Peter did when without this actual Cuſtody or preſervation; They fell into the Dunghill, and from thence would have fallen into hell, had not the grace of God ſtopt them.
Now you muſt know, There is a great difference between the Degrees or quickenings of Grace and the Eſſence of Grace: Chriſt did not ſo pray that his Diſciples might not fall from any Degree of their Grace, Neither doth God ſo keep them as that they never ſtumble; No, we ſee the contrary to this, For the Diſciples fled through fear when Chriſt was apprehended, and though Chriſt in particular praied for Peter, That his Faith might not fail him, yet it did in ſome meaſure, otherwiſe he could not with curſing and ſwearing ſo ſadly have denied the Lord Chriſt; Chriſts Prayer therefore, and Gods keeping doth infallibly extend to the Eſſence and Truth of Grace: They ſhall never loſe that, but for the Degrees and Intenſions they are amiſſible, yea, ſo farre loſeable, that to the eye of others there is no difference between a wicked man and them; As in the dead of Winter we cannot by the outward appearance tell which is a dead Tree, or a living, onelyonly there is inward ſap in one which is not in another; And thus there is an inward principle of Life in one which is not in the wicked man; The Godly then notwithſtanding Gods keeping and Chriſts praying may loſe much of their grace, fall into ſad waies, and run much into debt, though they do not prove Bankrupts.
3. He makes them hold out to the end.Therefore Thirdly, God keeps them ſpiritual by making them to perſevere and to hold out till the very laſt; So that notwithſtanding all the difficulties which are in the way to Heaven, yet as it is ſaid of Chriſt, He will not ſuffer his Holy One to ſee Corruption; So neither will he ſuffer his Holy Ones eternally to periſh: Here we ſee Chriſt praying for his D…ſciples, and afterwards for all Beleevers, that they may be kept by his power, and be one with him; ſo that this is a ſure Argument for the perſeverance of the Saints: Chriſt hath praied to God to keep them, and the Father heareth him in all that he prayeth. For hence God hath promiſed Jerem. 32.40. to put his fear into the godly wans heart, that he ſhall never depart from him, and he hath the immortall Seed within him, keeping of him that he cannot ſinne, viz. unto Death, and ſo as Cain and wicked men ſinne who are altogether corrupted: Oh then what matter of Encouragement is this to the Godly man, who is apt to fear his entrance into Canaan, when he ſeeth ſo many Anakims and tall Giants in the way; He begins to tremble when he thinks of the Apoſtles Exclamation who ſhall be ſaved? If it be ſuch a difficult thing to get to Heaven, the way be ſo ſtreight, and ſo many prove Hypocrites and Apoſtates; What will become of me? How ſhall I doe? When the Godly are thus afflicted, let them remember God keeps them and with him all things are not onelyonly poſſible but eaſie; He that could keep the Iſraelites ſhoes that they did not wear out, he can much more preſerve and deliver thee from being tyred out in thy way toward Heaven.
4. God keeps his people from the Temptation of ſinne or their hearts in the Temptation, Rev. 3.10. Becauſe the Church kept Gods Word, therefore God promiſeth to keep her from the hour of Temptation; This keeping Auſtin acknowledged with much affection, ſaying, O Lord, when I had a heart to ſinne thou keptſt off the Temptation, and when I had the Temptation thou keptſt off my heart: Had Joſephs heart been as ready as his Temptarion was ſtrong, he had been wholly overcome; Oh then how great a Favour and Mercy is this which the Godly enjoy every Day; They may as ſoon Number the Starres in the Heavens as the preventing Graces of God to them continually; This is ſo great a matter that as often as we are to pray we are commanded to pray that God would not leade us into Temptation: But how un-apprehenſive are we of all Gods Goodneſſe and Kindeneſſe toward us herein, but even as the Sucking Infant apprehends not all the care and love the tender Mother vouchſafeth to it, ſo neither are we affected with all that grace of God in keeping us continually.
Ʋſe of Admonition to the people of God, To whom all their praiſe is due, while they are not undone in ſoul or body, and to whom their Praiers are to be directed in Fears or Danger of either: Even unto this mighty and wiſe God who is the Keeper of Iſrael, Every Day would bring forth evil to undoe thee, were not Gods gracious Power ready to ſtop it: Be then humbled under thy own Weakneſſe; Say, O Lord, I lean and depend wholly and continually upon thee; Thou art my Refuge, my Strength, and my ſtrong Tower, All other things they are but Reeds and tottering Wals, Eſpecially deſire Gods ſpirituall Preſervation; Thy own Danger and Sence will make thee pray to God to be kept corporally, but a man muſt have a ſpirituall Eye and a tender heart that can fear his Spirituall Deſtruction: In the midſt of bloudy Warres what a wonderfull Mercy was it thought to have your Eſtates, Houſes, yea, and your Lives kept from the Fury and Violence of an Enemy? Oh that we could every Day and every hour be as ſenſible of the Danger of hell, and the Devil with his ſubtle Suggeſtions and Temptations ſeeking to allure us, and thereby fly unto God for his Defence.
Ʋſe of Terrour to wicked men, who are given up to Spirituall Judgements; For God neither ſoftens their heart nor removeth Temptations, but a ready Door is ſet open to act all their wickedneſſe; Thus Solomon ſaith, Eccleſ. 7.26. He that is abhorred of the Lord ſhall be enticed by an whoriſh Woman; And Rom. 1. Men are there given up to vile affections, Oh the heavy doom of ungodly men that have none to keep them from falling in the Mire; They have many Occaſions to ſinne and they love and embrace them.