Meditations the Parable of the Prodigal Son, Chapter 13
CHAP. XIII.
Representeth, how natural men are driven further from God by all the good he doth for them; whence it is thus; and what Ʋses are to be made hereof; from the same Clause,
And took his Journey into a far Countrey.
I Have done with the first Doctrine from this Clause of the 13th. Verse: I now proceed to the second, which is this,
Doct. 2 That whatever good God bestowes on natural men, it drives them the further from him.
The more the Sun shines on the Dunghil, the more it stinks. This baseness is in every man by nature; Isa. 1.2.Hear O heavens, and give ear O earth, for the Lord hath spoken; I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The Lord calls heaven and earth to witness in this strange case; which, as it is an Apostrophe to Angels, and all the Gentile world, Numb. 20.8. Psal. 105.31.concerning the Jews; so may it also imply, that the whole Creation, even of sensless Creatures, are (as I may say) more obedient to God than natural men are.
Moses in Deut. 32.15. charges Israel thus; Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: Thou art waxed fat &c. Then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the rock of his salvation. This people were worse towards God after their wonderful deliverance from Egypt than before, and worse in Canaan than in the Wilderness. The Lord made no such complaints of Saul, as after he made him King; 1 Sam. 15.11.then Saul so miscarried, as It repented the Lord that he had made him King: And we may find many instances besides Saul.
1. Look into the world, and you shall see many men of great parts and learning to imply them against God, rather than for him; their learning serves them to reason against God and Christ and the Spirit, and the Scriptures, and against the Lord's day, and the Saints; as the Lord said to Chaldea, Thy wisdome and thy knowledge hath perverted thee; Isa. 47.10.and thou hast said in thy heart, I am, and none else besides me. And the Apostle to the Corinthians saith, 1 Cor. 1.21:The world by wisdom knew not God. Their great parts, natural and acquired, made them the more ignorant of God: 2 Pet. 3.5.Willingly ignorant, as St. Peter saith.
2. As some use their sine naturals, so others their neat morals against God: Their morality makes them to reason against thorow convictions of sin, and against deep humiliation for sin; and they are loath to leave their own righteousness to take sanctuary at Christs; their morals fill them with self-esteem, to think of themselves as that Pharisee said of himself, Luke 18.11. God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men, or even as this Publican; I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
Moral men are apt to dote upon self-righteousness like the Jews; of whom it's said, Rom. 10.3.They being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God. There is a Meiosis in the last sentence, a gentler word is used than might have been; for whereas he saith, they have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God, he means they have zealously opposed it.
3. There are many who abuse their health, and wealth, and strength, and beauty, and dignity, and turn all against God. Hos. 2.8.When he gave Israel Corn and Oyl, and Wine, and multiplied their Silver and Gold, they prepared it for Baal; or made the Idol Baal of it. Natural men do usually make all the kindness which the Lord sheweth them, to be fewel for their lusts; they spend all upon their lusts, James 4.3.as St. James saith.
That goodness of God which should lead them to repentance, keeps them from it, Rom. 2.4.and hardens them against it.
4. Natural men are too apt to turn God's Ordinances and means of grace against him; as the Scribes and Pharisees would neither go into the Kingdom of Heaven themselves, Matth. 23.13.nor suffer those that were entring to go in. Christ's offers of himself to many men make them resist the more; All the day long have I stretched out my hands unto a gainsaying people.Rom. 10.21.
5. They turn his greatest deliverances God hath wrought for them against him; Jer. 7.10. Ye come and stand before me in this House, which is called by my Name, and say, we are delivered to do all these abominations.
6. Many imploy the power which God hath given them against his word, and ways, and people: this is plain, if we look upon many, if not most of the powers of the world; Rom. 13.God gives them power to be a terrour to evil works, and they make it a terrour to good.
Our blessed Saviour foretold this to his Disciples, Matth. 10.18.Ye shall be brought before Governours and Kings for my sake; Mark 13.and in the Synagogues ye shall be beaten. And thus we see that God's goodness to many men makes them the worse; they abuse his lovely attributes, as his mercy and patience, to more eagerness in sinning: Eccles. 8.11.Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
Reasons of the Point
1. Now this comes to pass from the exceeding sinfulness of sin in men, Rom. 7.13.insomuch as sin by the Commandment becomes exceeding sinful; sin was more exasperated by the Commandment which was to restrain it. Some men are of such a strange constitution, that their Physick works quite contrary to the Physicians meaning; as it is a saying, That the Bee sucks honey, but the Spider poison out of sweet Herbs. O the vile and base nature of sin!
Reas. 2. Because men are prone to ascribe to themselves the good things they receive from God: They said not, Jer. 2.6.where is the Lord that brought us up out of the Land of Egypt. Men attribute that to their own power or parts, which belongs to God. This the Lord knew, when he would not let Gideon and Israel beat and conquer the Midianites with a great force; Judges 7.2.Lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.
And saith the Lord to the same people, Deut. 8.12, 14, 17. Beware lest when thou hast eaten, and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of Egypt, &c. And then say in thine heart, My power, and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.
Application of the Point.
1. This tells us how little reason there is to exalt and magnifie the nature of man, and man's naturals in order to grace, as some men do. For man by nature is a most disingenuous Creature; he is prone to be worse towards God, by all the good that God does him. What the Lord said to Israel, he may say to all natural men very often, Do ye thus requite the Lord, Deut. 32.6.O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee? Observe the ill requital; God was their Lord, their Father, their Maker, their Redeemer, their Establisher: And Israel was foolish, unwise, corrupt, perverse, and crooked. So that there is more reason to debase, than exalt the nature of man, in his behaviour towards God and his grace. A disingenuous nature in man towards man sounds harsh; Isa. 5.4.much more towards God. What could I have done more for my Vineyard that I have not done? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? They tempted God, Psal. 106.7.and provoked him at the Sea, even at the red Sea; where he wonderfully delivered them.
A natural man is an unthankful Creature to God; this is one of his black marks, 2 Tim. 3.2.unthankful. This is his manner from his youth; he treads in the steps of unkind Israel: 1 Sam. 10.18, 19.I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all Kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you: And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities, and your tribulations; yet ye have this day rejected your God.
It is said of Amazia, 2 Chron. 25.14. That after God had given him a great victory over the Edomites, he brought their gods, and set them up to be his gods: A strange and sad requital of the strength which the Lord had lent him to conquer his enemies. And of Ʋzziah his Son it is said, That when God had marvellously helped him, till he was strong, 2 Chron. 26.15, 16.then his heart was lifted up, and he transgressed against the Lord his God.
2. This bespeaks you all to observe and try your own spirits in this point. O if you, or any of you find upon observation, the goodness of God obliging to your hearts, and that you use to dedicate your Mercies to God, as Hannah did her Son; 2 Sam. 3. Rom. 12.1.and your selves as well as your mercies, this is a good sign. Do you lay your selves below your mercies, Gen. 32.10.as Jacob did? I am less than the least of all thy mercies thou hast shewed unto thy servant: And do you set God above your mercies, and above your selves also? Let him do unto me what seemeth good unto him, 2 Sam. 15.26. And do you use to admire God when you see how mindful he is of you? saying in your hearts as David did, 2 Sam. 7.18. Who am I, O Lord God? or what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? Now you may conclude that you have more than meer nature in you, that you have grace, which is of the Divine Nature, which begins to exert it self here, in the everlasting imployment you shall have in heaven.
3. Yet because you are not all spirit and grace here, but have sinful flesh, and the flesh lusting against the spirit; therefore beware of the leaven of natural men, in turning God's goodness to you against him. 1 Cor. 3.1.Spiritual men may be carnal in some things: So good a man as Hezekiah may pride it after famous deliverances: 2 Chro. 32.25.And so holy a man as Paul may, if not prevented, 2 Cor. 12.be exalted above measure, after the abundance of revelations. Psal. 30.And David may wax wanton and secure, when God hath made his mountain strong.
O take heed, Christians; if your Portion here make you proud, because it is great, or discontented because it is little, as you think it, be sure you shall come under Providences to humble you, and bring you to your selves. O let grace watch the corruption of nature, James 4.6.and use its power over it; for God giveth more grace, grace that is too strong for the corruption of nature; but if good days carry you from God, be sure that evil days shall bring you back.