Brief Exposition of Galatians and Ephesians, Exposition 2 · Chapter 6 · Verse and explication 6 – Verse and explication 8
Vers. 6. Not with eye-service, as men-pleasers, but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.
HEre are moe properties of the obedience required from servants, or rather an explanation of that property already expressed, to wit, singleness of heart: which he explaineth, 1. negatively, while he opposeth it to eye-service, which is here condemned in servants, who then are guilty of this sin when they seem respective to their masters person, and carefull of what concerneth him, himself being present; or, when they know their deportment will otherwayes come to his knowledge, but at other times are unfaithfull and carelesse: which sin of eye-service is aggreaged from this, that those who are guilty of it are men-pleasers; not as if it were simply unlawfull for servants to endeavour to please their masters, for that is commanded, Tit. 2. 9. but when they only seek to please them, and that they may seem to please them, care not to deceive them, by appearing to be that in their presence, which really they are not; and consequently, do not labour to approve themselves to the all-seeing eye of God: This is the sin of men-pleasing here condemned in servants, as being near of kin to eye-service. Next, positively, by shewing that then did they serve in singlenesse of heart, when, 1. they behaved themselves as the servants of Christ, knowing that they behoved to be countable to Him, who knoweth the double dealing even of the very heart, Jer. 17. 10. and that He will accept of their lawfull obedience unto their masters, as service done to Him. And, secondly, when taking God for their party, and looking upon the lawfull commands of their masters, as the will of God unto them, they do set about to execute them cordially and sincerely, even from the heart, without dissimulation and hypocrisie. Doct. 1. A single heart is alwayes constant in good, and the same in secret which it is before the view of others: for, eye-service, whereby servants are one thing before their masters, and another thing behind their backs, is here opposed to singlnesse of heart; not with eye-service. 2. A man may so walk, as to content the eye of those who behold; and to please men to the full, who can see no further than the outside, 1 Sam. 16. -7. and yet his way be highly displeasing unto God: for, though eye-service be a sin displeasing unto God; Yet servants may please men with it, as is here implyed: not with eye-service, as men-pleasers. 3. When a mans chief design is to gain applause, and to be well esteemed of by men, he hath no further regard of his duty, either to God or men, than what doth make way for the promoting of that design: for, men-pleasing is the fountain of eye-service in servants, or of their neglecting duty, but in so far only as they may be seen and approven by their masters; not with eye-service, as men-pleasers. 4. To propose unto our selves the pleasing of men, and gaining of approbation, good liking and applause from them, as our great design to be gained upon any tearmes, is inconsistent with the work of grace in the heart, and with that subjection which we owe to the Lord Christ: a man cannot serve two masters, Matth. 6. 24. for, he opposeth men-pleasers to the servants of Christ; not as men-pleasers, but as the servants of Christ, saith he. 5. The meanest and basest of services, which men go about in their lawfull callings, being done with the right qualifications, from right motives, for a right end, and in the right manner, is service done to Christ, and will be accepted of by Him, as such, because He doth command it; and it is done, if done a right in obedience to His command: for, he will have the meanest servants to go about their service as servants to Christ, and doing the will of God. 6. Then may we reckon the going about of our ordinary imploiments to be service done to Christ, when we look upon what we do as commanded by God, do it in obedience to His command, and are heartily sincere in what we do, as aiming singly without hypocrisie and dissimulation, at the honour of God, and the good of these whose good we pretend to, and ought to aim at: for, he explaineth how servants may reckon themselves as servants to Christ, even by their doing the will of God from their heart. 7. Our eyeing of God and taking Him for our partie, to whom we must give an accompt, even in those things which we do unto men, is a singular help to make us single and straight in all our affairs, and to banish all double dealing, deceit, hunting after applause, and all such-like vices, which our heart presumeth to make bold with, when we look to no higher partie than poor fecklesse man: for, that they may be single in heart, and eschew eye-service and man-pleasing, he directeth them to take God for their partie; but as servants to Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. 8. Then is the will of God acceptably done, when not only the outward man, as tongue, hand, and other members of the body, do act every one their part, but the heart and in-most affections are brought up to the work; otherwise our performances are but a lame sacrifice, as being destitute of that which God doth mainly call-for, Prov. 23. 26. for, he saith, doing the will of God from the heart.
Vers. 7. With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:
HEre is a third thing required to the service and obedience of servants in singlnesse of heart, even that it be with goodwill and love to their masters person, and to the thriving of his affairs, which is opposit to the doing of their service grudgingly, unpleasantly, or from fear of punishment and an eye to their own advantage only; and that they may be encouraged to do service from this principle, even to their unworthie masters, he directeth them to fasten their eye upon the Lord, who had subjected them unto such masters, and to know that in yeelding that obedience unto them, which was commanded by God, they did service to Him rather than to them, and might therefore do it with better will: for, the negative particle doth not deny simply, but comparativly: So that, as to the Lord, and not to men, is, to the Lord more than to men, Mark 9. 37. Doct. 1. Fear and love of one and the same person, may well consist, and both be a conjunct principle having influence upon one and the same duty; yea, then only is that duty, which floweth from fear, acceptable unto God, when the partie to whom the dutie is done, whether it be God or men, is not only feared, but also loved: for, the obedience of servants must not only flow from fear and trembling, ver. 5. but also from love and good-will; with good-will doing service. 2. That a man do service to God, whether in the duties af immediate worship, or of his ordinary calling, it is of necessity required, that he do it cheerfully, not as of necessity and constraint, but with a delight and pleasure in it, as in that which God doth call-for at his hands: the Lord doth love a cheerfull giver, 2 Cor. 9. -7. for, that servants may go about their service to their masters, as servants to Christ, and thereby do the will of God, it is required, that with good-will they do their service. 3. The most base, and meanest of imployments, which God doth call us to discharge, ought to be undertaken and discharged by us with cheerfulnesse and good will, it being no small credit for prodigal rebels to be entrusted in the meanest piece of service to Him: yea, and the more mean and fecklesse the service be which we discharge, it ought to be gone about with more of cheerfulnesse; that what is inlacking in the worth of the work, may be made up by the hearty affection and good-will of the worker: for, he will have even servants going about their basest imployments with good-will, because they did thereby service to God, and He did call them to it; with good-will doing service as to the Lord. 4. So ingrate is man for the most part, and so slow to reward those from whom he receiveth favour and advantage; yea, so prone to requite them evill for good, Judg. 9. 17, 18. that a man can never heartily and with such good-will as he ought, do service to the most of men, except he look to God in and above men, and know that they are thereby doing service to Him, whom to serve in the meanest imployment, is a sufficient reward for it self, 1 Chron. 29. 14. besides that He will have none to serve Him for nothing, as the following verse doth teach: for, the Apostle implyeth they can never serve their masters with good-will, except they look to God more than to man: therefore he saith, with good-will doing service as to the Lord, and not to men.
Vers. 8. Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.
THe Apostle, having thus held forth the necessary requisits of that obedience enjoyned unto servants, he doth, thirdly, perswade them to it in this verse, by an argument taken from the great advantage they should reap thereby, while he sheweth, that though their reward from their earthly masters was little, or none, yet so mercifull is God, that of His own free grace (Rom. 11. 35.) and not for any merit in mans service (which is none, Luke 17. 10.) He doth largely recompense (sometimes here, Mark 20. 30. and alwayes hereafter, Col. 3. 24.) all those who make conscience of doing good, or of going about their calling as service to Him; and that in this free retribution of a reward. He taketh notice of the poor bond-servant, who serveth God in his calling, as well as of free-men and masters. And that this argument may have the more force with them, he appealeth to their own conscience and knowledge for the truth of it, if it was not so as he had affirmed. Doct. 1. Then, and then only, may a man reckon himself to do good, or a good work acceptable to God, when the thing he doth is warranted by Gods will revealed in His Word, when he doth it in singlenesse of heart, from an inward principle of love and good-will within in the heart, and in obedience to Gods command, or as service unto Him: for, the obedience required from servants, was to be so qualified, ver. 5, 6, 7. and he doth here call it a doing good: Whatsoever good thing a man doth. 2. Even the basest drudgery of servants being so qualified, is a doing of good, and cometh within the compasse of good works, which the Lord will take notice of as such: for, it is with an eye to the imployment of servants mainly that he here speaketh: Whatsoever good thing a man doth, the same shall be receive. 3. As it is lawfull to eye the promised reward for our encouragement in the way of duty; So it is the mind of God that every one should in the due and right order, make particular application unto themselves of such promises as are in Scripture held forth unto all in general: for, he holdeth forth the promise of a reward, which is made unto all who do good in general, to be made use of by Christian servants, for their encouragement in particular; Whatsoever good a man doth, the same shall be receive of the Lord. 4. Promises have no influence to excite unto duty, except the truth of them be known and believed, so that ignorance and misbelief of divine truths, are a great cause of abounding profanity and neglect of duty in all ranks: for, he layeth the weight of their encouragement to duty from this promise upon the knowledge and faith which they had of it; knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doth, the same shall be receive of the Lord. 5. The Lord, in dispensing rewards, looketh not to the externall beauty, splendour, or greatnesse of the work, but to the honesty and sincerity of it, how mean or inconsiderable soever it be otherwise: for, the promise of a reward, is to the outwardly mean and base works of poor servants, if so they be honest and sincere, aswell as to the more splendid, honourable and expensive works of their rich masters: The same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.