The Natural Mans Case, Part 1 · Sermon 1
SERMON, I.
EPHES. 2. 12.
That at that time ye were without Chriſt, being Aliens from the Common-wealth of Iſrael, and ſtrangers from the Covenants of promiſe; having no hope, and without God in the world.
THis Chapter out of which my Text is taken, is like a little Map, containing in it a deſcription of the little world Man, and that in a double capacity; conſidering man either in the ſtate of Grace, or in the ſtate of Nature; If you conſider Man in the firſt capacity, in the ſtate of Grace, this chapter layes down a five fold deſcription of bringing Man into the ſtate of Grace.
1. Here is laid down the efficient cauſe of bringing Man out of the ſtate of Nature, into the ſtate of Grace, and that is God, in the 4. verſ.
2. Here is laid down the impulſive cauſe, and that is the riches of Gods mercy in the ſame verſe, But God who is rich in mercy for the great love wherewith he loved us, &c.
3. Here is laid down the meritorious cauſe of it, which is Chriſt in his ſufferings, in the 7. verſe, that in the ages to come, he might ſhew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindneſſe towards us, through Jeſus Chriſt.
4. Here is laid down the finall cauſe of it in the ſame verſe alſo, that in Ages to come, he might ſhew the exceeding riches of his grace. And,
Laſtly, here is the inſtrumentall cauſe of bringing man out of the ſtate of Nature into the ſtate of Grace, and that is Faith, in the 8. verſe: For by grace are you ſaved through Faith, and that not of your ſelves, it is the gift of God.
Now the other part of the Map deſcribes man in the ſecond capacity, in the ſtate of Nature, and herein it gives a twofold deſcription of Mans condition;
1. Poſitively, what he is.
2. Privatively, what he wants.
1. It deſcribes Man in the ſtate of Nature poſitively what he is, and that in five particulars;
1. Men in their naturall condition, are deſcribed to bee dead in treſpaſſes and ſinnes.
2. They walk according to the courſe of this world, as Pagans and Heathens do.
3. According to the Prince of the power of the air, that is, the Devill; now the Devill is called the Prince of the air, either becauſe he doth reſide in the air, or elſe, becauſe he hath the power of the winde and of the air.
4. They are called Children of diſobe dience; that is, bor n in a ſtate of diſobedience quite contrary to the commands of God.
5. That they fulfill the luſts of the fleſh and of the minde, and are by nature children of wrath.
Thus far you have the poſitive deſcription of Man in the ſtate of Nature.
2. Now in the ſecond place, the Apoſtle deſcribes him privatively what he wants; and that in the words of my Text, in five particulars, wherein hee plainly ſhews that he is the pooreſt man in the world that wants Jeſus Chriſt, and the moſt miſerable: That at that time you were without Chriſt; that is the firſt: You were Aliens from the Common-wealth of Iſrael; that is the ſecond: You were ſtrangers to the Covenants of promiſe; that is the third: You were without hope; that is the fourth: And you were without God in the world; that's the fift.
Now theſe comprehenſive expreſſions, contain in them the whole miſery of Man, and that in theſe five particulars here named; 2. here is deſcribed the time how long, a man is in this condition, that at that time, that is, the time during your unconverted eſtate; as long as you are unconverted, ſo long you are without Chriſt, and an Alien from the Common wealth of Iſrael, and a ſtranger to the Covenants of promiſe, without hope and without God in the world.
And now what a diſmall Text have I here to handle, and what a doleful tragedy am I now to act? but yet out of every one of theſe, there is a great deal of comfort which may flow forth; I ſhall only at preſent make entrance into the words, and ſpeak more fully to them afterwards; that at that time you were without Christ; That at that time: Beloved here wants ſomething to ſupply the ſenſe of the words, and therefore read the foregoing words, and you will finde what muſt be brought in; the verſe before runs thus, Wherefore remember, that you being in times paſt Gentiles in the fleſh, &c. wherefore remember, theſe words muſt be prefixt; Wherefore remember, that at that time you were without Chriſt, and aliens to the Commonwealth of Iſrael, &c. I ſhall here by the way only draw out this one doctrine from the coherence of the words, Wherefore remember that at that time; the Apoſtle would have theſe converted Epheſians to remember, that they were men without Chriſt, and aliens to the Common-wealth of Iſrael, and ſtrangers to the covenants of promiſe, without hope, and without God in the world: now from hence I would commend this obſervation to you.
Doct. That it is the will of God that men in a converted eſtate ſhould often call to minde the ſinfulneſſe and miſery they were guilty of before their converſion.
Beloved, this is a ſubject I could never have occaſion to ſpeak to you of before, and yet it is a point of admirable uſe, eſpecially in theſe times, wherein people think that when once they are brought into a ſtate of Grace, they muſt live in divine raptures, and revelations, and ſpirituall joyes, above duties and ordinances, and never look back into their former ſinfulneſſe and wickedneſſe they were guilty of before their converſion: Why, here the Epheſians were converted men, and had extraordinary priviledges, they were brought to ſit in heavenly places in Chriſt Jeſus; and yet the Apoſtle bids them remember their former ſinfulneſſe and miſery, Remember O you Epheſians that ye were once without Chriſt, and you were Aliens to the Common-wealth of Iſrael, &c. therefore you muſt take heed of this, to think that when you are converted, you muſt be only rapt up into the third heavens, and never look back into your former condition; you ſee here the Apoſtle bids you remember what you were at that time during your unconverted eſtate, that you were then without Chriſt, and ſtrangers to the Covenants of promiſe, &c. So that you ſee it is the will of God, that men in a converted eſtate ſhould often cal to minde the ſins and miſerie they were in before converſion.
Now before I come to give you the Reaſons of the point, give me leave to premiſe theſe three Cautions; when I tell you, that after your cōverſion, you ſhould call to minde your ſin and miſery before converſion, you muſt not do it 1. with complacency of ſpirit; nor 2. with ſtupidity of heart; nor 3. with deſpondency of minde.
Caution 1 1. You muſt not cal to minde your former ſinfulneſſe with complacency of ſpirit, to pleaſe your humors; you muſt not do as ſome great men uſe to do, that have been guilty of great and crying ſins; as adultery, drunkenneſſe, ſwearing, and the like, in their youth; go tell and boaſt of them in their age; this is a very great wickedneſſe: you muſt call to minde your former ſinfulneſſe not with complacency, but with bitterneſſe of ſpirit, with grief, ſorrow, and perplexity of heart: Many men will tel you large ſtories of the wickedneſſe, that they have committed; but they do it with delight, and if they had ſtrength and abilities, they would be guilty of the ſame ſins and wickedneſſes ſtil; which is a moſt ungodly practiſe, and that which the Scripture condemns men for, as in the 23. of Ezek. 23. 19, 21. Yet ſhe multiplyed her whoredomes, Ezek. 23. 19, 21.in calling to remembrance the dayes of her youth, wherein ſhe had played the harlot in the land of Egypt; Thus thou calledſt to remembrance the lewdneſſe of thy youth: the meaning of this is, ſhe called her ſins to remembrance, but it was ſo as to play the whore ſtil, and to be unclean ſtil, ſhe did it with delight and complacency, with content and joy; now I ſay you ſhould call your ſins to remembrance with a great deal of grief and ſorrow, and bitterneſſe of ſpirit: and therefore when young gallants wil boaſt of their ſins, and tel how often they have been drunk, and have made others to be ſo; and how often they have plaid the whoremaſter, and have drawn others to do ſo; this is a moſt Diabolical remembrance.
2. You muſt not cal your former ſins to remembrance, with ſtupidity of heart neither: Beloved, there are many men can remember what lewd courſes they have taken, and what wicked lives they have lived; how often they have been drunk and unclean, and the like; and yet are never troubled at the remembrance of it; their hearts do not ſmite them with remorſe and ſorrow, but are like a rock; the ſenſe of ſin never troubles them: this is no way of calling ſin to remembrance, with a blockiſh and ſtupid heart, this is not thanks worthy; but it muſt be done with a broken, and a bleeding, and a contrite heart: And,
3. Take in this caution too, it muſt not be done with deſpondency of minde neither. There are many converted ones, that do cal their ſins to remembrance, but it makes them diſcouraged and unwilling to come to Chriſt, it makes them think that they have no intereſt in the covenant of grace; but this ſhould not be, the true effect that the conſideration of your former ſinfulneſſe ſhould produce, ſhould be your laying your ſouls low, and making them humble, and the more ſenſible of that indiſpenſable need you have of Chriſt, of going unto him for ſalvation and comfort.
Theſe are the Cautions neceſſary to be premiſed; I come now to give you the Reaſons of the point, why it is the will of God, that people in a converted eſtate, ſhould often cal to minde the ſin and miſery they were in before converſion, and Reaſ 1 1. God will have it ſo, becauſe by ſo doing, you will be provoked the more highly to magnifie and admire the greatneſſe and riches of Gods grace to you; there are none in the World greater admirers of Gods grace and mercy, then thoſe that are moſt ſtudious of their own ſin and miſery: thou wilt never ſolemnly and throughly magnifie Gods mercy, till thou art plunged into a deep ſenſibleneſſe of thine own miſery, till the Lord hath brought thee to ſee in what a miſerable and deplorable condition thou wert in before converſion, thou wilt then admire and magnifie the riches of Gods free grace, in bringing thee out of that condition, into the eſtate of grace, as in 1 Tim. 1. 13. the Apoſtle Paul when he 1 Tim. 1. 13.would magnifie the free grace of God to him, ſaith he, I was a blaſphemer, and a perſecutor, and injurious; and yet through the abundance of Gods free grace and mercy, I have obtained mercy: the conſideration of his former ſinfulneſſe did elevate and ſcrue up his heart, to make him admire the free grace of God to his ſoul; that man can never prize liberty as he ſhould do, that never was in priſon: But,
Reaſ 2 2. Another reaſon why God wil have it ſo is, becauſe this will be as a ſpur to quicken and engage men to be more eminent in grace, after their converſion: when a man doth frequently and ſeriouſly conſider how bad and ſinful he was before converſion, it cannot but provoke him now to be more humble and holy, after his converſion. It is very obſervable in Paul, that all thoſe ſins and wickedneſſes he was guilty of before converſion, he did moſt of all ſtrive againſt, and labour to excell in the contrary graces after converſion: as firſt before converſion he did labour to hale others to priſon, for worſhipping of Chriſt; but after his converſion, he did labour to draw others to Chriſt: Act. 26. 10, 11. Many of the Saints Act. 26. 10, 11.did I ſhut up in priſon, and gave my voice againſt them, and puniſhed them oft in every City, and I was exceeding mad againſt them, and baniſhed them into other Cities: and now you ſhall ſee that after converſion, Paul did labour to outvie in grace, that evil courſe he was in before; as before converſion, he did impriſon thoſe that did belong to Chriſt, ſo after converſion, he was ſhut up himſelf in priſon, for the cauſe of Chriſt; before converſion, he gave his voice againſt the people of God, but after converſion, he did pray to God for them; before converſion, he did puniſh them often, but afterward he did preach to them often; before converſion, he did compell men to blaſpheme Chriſt, but after converſion, he was very earneſt to perſwade people to beleive in Chriſt; he was exceeding mad againſt them before converſion, but afterward hee was ſo exceeding zealous for the people of God, that every one thought hee had been mad: and laſtly, before converſion he did perſecute Saints to ſtrange Cities, but afterwards he did go preaching of the Goſpel to ſtrange Cities: Oh my Beloved, let Pauls pattern be your task, cal to minde your ſin and wickedneſſe in your unconverted condition, but ſo that it may provoke you, that now you are converted, you may labour to abound in grace, as formerly you have abounded in ſin.
Reaſ 3 3. Another reaſon why God will have us call to minde the ſin and miſery we were in before converſion, is, becauſe this will be a means to kindle a great deal of pity and compaſſion in our ſouls, towards thoſe that remain yet unconverted: this the Apoſtle exhorts us to in Tit. 3. 2, 3. Speak evill of no man, ſayes he, be no brawler, Tit. 3. 2, 3.but gentle, Shewing all meekneſſe unto all men, for we our ſelves alſo were ſometime fooliſh, diſobedient, deceived, ſerving divers luſts and pleaſures, living in malice and envy, hatefull, and hating one another; as if the Apoſtle ſhould have ſaid, I Paul, and thou Titus, we were ſinful as wel as they, and did ſerve divers luſts as wel as they once, let us therefore be pitiful, and merciful, and compaſſionate towards them, this conſideration wil greatly provoke us to commiſerate poor ſinful ſouls; the great reaſon why we pity them no more then we do, is becauſe we do not cal to mind our own ſinfulneſſe, and what we were before converſion.
Reaſ 4 4. Another reaſon may be this, becauſe the conſideration of our former miſery, will greatly abate pride in the hearts of converted men; this will be a great means to abate and keep under pride, and advance humility in the hearts of Gods people: Beloved, a good man naturally is apt to be proud, we are not proud of our ſins, but of our graces; pride is apt to grow in the beſt mans heart, and therefore God would have us ſometime look back upon what we were in our unconverted eſtate, that ſo that might abate the pride of our ſpirits: you have an excellent place for this in Ezek. 16. 3, 4, 5. compared with the laſt Ezek. 16. 3, 4, 5.verſe of that chapter. Sayes God there to Jeruſalem, Thy Birth and thy Nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy Father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite; and as for thy Nativity, in the day that thou waſt born, thy Navill was not cut, neither wert thou waſhed in water to ſupple thee, no eye pitied thee to do any of theſe unto thee, but thou wert caſt out into the open field, to the loathing of thy perſon in the day that thou waſt born; that thou maiſt remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more, becauſe of thy ſhame, when I am pacified towards thee for all that thou haſt done, ſaith the Lord: They muſt remember their guilt and their ſhame when God is pacified towards them, and when God is reconciled to them; and ſo you have another place for the ſame purpoſe, in Ezek. 20. 43. And there ſhall you remember your wayes, and your doings, wherein you have Ezek. 20. 43.been defiled, and you ſhal loath your ſelves in your ſight, for al the evil that you have committed. I remember what Plutarch relates of one Agathocles, who was advanced from a potters ſon, a low, mean, and contemptible condition, to be King of Sicilie, this man when he might have been ſerved every day in golden diſhes, yet he would ſtil have his proviſions brought in earthen diſhes, becauſe ſayes he, I may remember what I was, and what I am, a potters ſon, that ſo I may not be too much lifted up and exalted: why, ſo do you remember what you were, your Father a potter, and you a poor miſerable ſinfull creature, and this will abate the pride of your hearts.
Reaſ 5 5. And laſtly, God wil have us cal to minde our former ſinfulneſſe, becauſe this wil make us more watchful and circumſpect, that we do not run again into thoſe ſins that we were guilty of before converſion; God would not have us do it, to drive us into deſpair, or to queſtion our evidences for heaven, but to make us humble and watchful, that we run not again into the ſame ſins. Thou maiſt thus think with thy ſelf, Before converſion, I ſpent my dayes in ſin and wickedneſſe, and conſumed my years in vanity and pleaſures, in fulfilling the luſts of the fleſh and of the mind; and the conſideration of this, will lay an engagement upon thy ſoul, to walk more carefully, and prudently, and holily in time to come; this the Apoſtle makes uſe of, in Epheſ. 5. 8. You were ſometimes Epheſ. 5. 8.darkneſſe (ſaith he) but now are you light in the Lord, walk therefore as children of the light; we ſhould now hate and abhorre thoſe ſins that formerly we have delighted in.
Uſe. Theſe are the reaſons of the point; I ſhal only make one ſhort uſe of it; which ſhal be of reprehenſion to thoſe, that (notwithſtanding it is the will of God, that men after converſion ſhould cal to minde the ſin they were guilty of before converſion) do yet croſſe this doctrine either in their judgement, or practice.
1. This reproves thoſe that do contradict this Doctrine in their judgement, and think that when once they are converted, they muſt never look back upon their former wretchedneſſe, but only now live in Divine raptures, and revelations, and ſpirituall joyes, and comforts; for, 1. If Pauls precept be warrantable, then this opinion is unwarrantable, for he tels us that we muſt remember what we were in our unconverted eſtate, that we were at that time without Chriſt, and without hope, and without God in the World. 2. Paul tels the Epheſians, that were an elected people, who were elected before the beginning of the world, that they muſt remember that they were dead in treſpaſſes and ſinnes heretofore, though now they were quickened: and if Paul bids them call to minde their former ſinfulneſſe, then why ſhould not we do it?
2. This reproves thoſe that though they do not deny this Doctrine in judgement, yet do not make it their practiſe, to call to minde their former ſins that they were guilty of before converſion: I dare warrant, that many of you can remember what you have done, and what debts have been owing you twenty years agoe, but yet cannot cal to minde what ſins you have committed 20. yeares agoe, it may be ſome of you have been cheaters and ſwearers, adulterers and prophaners, and yet now you never think of it, but imagine all is well: I doe not know how to expreſſe what ſad, diſmall and deplorable condition thy poor ſoul is in, thou that doſt never call to mind thy former ſins: But thus much ſhall ſuffice for this firſt Doctrine.