Exposition of John 17, Exposition · Part 22
JOHN 17.6.
Thine they were, &c. thou gaveſt them to me.
ANd thus far of the deſcription of the perſons to whom our Saviour had made known his Fathers Name; not by their own condition, or their own action, but by his Fathers act upon them, or in reference to them, his giving them to Jeſus Chriſt out of the world. I have manifeſted thy Name to the men whom thou gaveſt me out of the world.
The following words ſeem to be added to anticipate a ſcruple that might be raiſed in the hearts of thoſe who heard him praying to his Father thus; or who in after-times might come to read this prayer of our Saviour, as it is here recorded in the Goſpel. They might conſider with themſelves on this occaſion; if Ieſus Chriſt have none belonging to him, none that are indeed his own, but thoſe that are beſtowed upon him by his Father; why then it ſeems all were the Fathers in the firſt place. For no one gives that to another which he hath not firſt himſelf. Nihil dat quod non habet. True, ſaith our Saviour, ſo it is indeed, they were my Fathers, and I had them all from him. Thine they were, and thou gaveſt them to me. So that you ſee the Obſervation lies before you.
DOCTRINE. That all the people of the Lord Chriſt were firſt of all belonging to the Father.
His they were in the firſt place, and he gave them to the Son. And indeed he could not give them, if they were not firſt his own: For he that gives a thing, alters the property of that which he beſtowes; paſſes away the right he had, and makes it over to another. And ſo doth God in reference to Ieſus Chriſt. He gives him all the people that he hath. Ieſus Chriſt hath not a man but by donation from the Father, and therefore they were his firſt. And this is that which Ieſus Chriſt acknowledges in this place, thine they were, and thou gaveſt them to me. And to the ſame effect he ſpeakes, ver. 10. of this Chapter, Thine are mine, and I am glorified in them. They that were ſometimes thine, are now mine. Thy intereſt was firſt, and mine in the ſecond place by donation and conveyance from thy ſelf.
You ſee then all the People of the Lord Chriſt were firſt of all belonging to the Father.
Now to unfold the point a little further to you, becauſe indeed it needs not proof ſo much as explication; We will examine and reſolve a few things. Firſt, who the Father is, to whom the people of our Saviour Chriſt do firſt belong? Secondly, how and in what reſpect they do firſt belong to him? Thirdly, how far the Father parteth with the right he had in thoſe whom he beſtows upon our Saviour Chriſt? Whether he makes them over to him ſo, that he himſelf hath now no longer any right at all in them? Or whether only ſo, that Chriſt and he do ſhare together, and have a joynt and mixed right and intereſt in thoſe people. And laſtly, ſeeing all do firſt of all belong to God the Father, why he doth not keep them to himſelf, but makes them over to his Son Chriſt. Theſe things would be a little looked into before we come to application.
As for the firſt of theſe my Brethren, Who the Father is to whom the people of our Saviour Chriſt do firſt belong? We muſt be ſure that we be right in this, or elſe we miſs in the foundation of the whole buſineſs. I ſhall be brief upon the reſolution of it now, becauſe you may remember I have done it largely heretofore in another caſe, and on another occaſion. This I deſire you to take notice of, which Calvin alſo carefully obſerves, that our Saviour in the Goſpel, eſpecially in this of John, ſpeaking as man and not as God, under the name of Father, intimates and comprehends the whole Godhead. Nor let this ſeem ſtrange to you; for Chriſt as man is Gods Son, not God the Fathers Son alone, but the Son of the whole God-head. Indeed as God, he is the Son of the firſt perſon only, but as man, he is the Son of all the perſons. As man, he is a Creature, and he is not God the Fathers Creature only, for the works of the Trinity without are individed. And therefore Chriſt is made the Son of God in the ſame way that Adam is, Luk. 3.33. &c. And it is very evident, that in my Text he ſpakes to God the Father, as a Creature and as a Man: for he ſpeakes to him in prayer, and prayer is a part of worſhip, and God doth not worſhip God. And when as man he prayes to God, you muſt not think he prayes to the firſt perſon only and excluſively, but he prayes to all the perſons. And therefore when he ſaith to God in prayer, thine they were, the people which I have, were ſometimes thine, he cannot mean that they were the firſt perſons only, (for certainly one perſon prayes not to another) but they were the whole Godheads. You ſee then who the Father is, to whom the people of our Saviour Chriſt do firſt belong. Not God perſonally taken for the firſt perſon of the Godhead, but God eſſentially taken for the whole eſſence of the Godhead, as ſubſiſting in the perſons. And God ſo taken is the Father of our Saviour Chriſt as he is man, and ſo he prayes to him in this place.
So that now the way is open to the ſecond Quaere, how and in what reſpect the people of the Lord Chriſt were firſt of all belonging to his Father, that is to the whole Godhead, before they came to his hands as he is man and Mediator of the Church. Beloved▪ they were firſt of all belonging to his Father in that ſenſe that we have ſaid, eſpecially in two reſpects; either as his Created ones; or as his Elected ones, as his Creatures, or his Choſen.
1. All the people of the Lord Chriſt were firſt of all belonging to his Father as his Creatures. His they were, for he made them. It is the greateſt reaſon in the world, that he that makes a thing ſhould own it too, that it ſhould be his that made it; That he that gives a thing being, ſhould have a title to it while it hath a being, unleſs he voluntarily and freely make it over to another. And by this means, God hath a primitive original and native right in all the world and all the people that are in it. Jeſus Chriſt as he is man, hath not right to one perſon; I mean originally of himſelf. But how then ſhall he come to have a people to be his members, and to make up a Church a body for him? Why God his Father is content to furniſh him out of his ſtore. Rather then he ſhall want a Company of men to be his members, he will ſpare him ſome of his, and others he will keep for other purpoſes to execute his wrath and manifeſt the glory of his Juſtice on. There are a people for thee, ſaith the Father, thou ſhalt have ſuch and ſuch of mine. All the world are mine, thou knoweſt; and ſuch a number I will give thee out of the world; So many thou ſhalt have among the Jews, and if that be not ſufficient, thou ſhalt have as many more as thou wilt ask among the Gentiles. Ask of me and I will give thee, Pſal. 2.7. And hence our Saviour ſpeaking of his people, acknowledgeth they were his Fathers firſt, I have manifeſted thy name unto the men which thou gaveſt me out of the world. Thine they were, and thou gaveſt them to me.
2. All the people of the Lord Chriſt were firſt of all belonging to his Father as his choſen. Not only as his Creatures, but as his Elect too. And thus he hath a neerer intereſt in thoſe whom he beſtows on Jeſus Chriſt, then he hath in any other. All the world are his indeed, but then there are ſome certain people whom he chooſes for himſelf in a peculiar and a ſpecial way. As he that is the Owner of a goodly Wood, all the Trees are his indeed, but yet there is a Tree or two, or more, which he chooſes to himſelf and which he marks out to himſelf, and for his own particular and private uſe. So the earth is the Lords, and all the people that are in it; but yet there are ſome certain men whom he hath ſet a part from everlaſting to be his, to be the Veſſells of his own Houſe, the Servants of his own Family. As it is ſaid of Jacob, Pſal. 135.4. The Lord hath choſen Jacob to himſelf, and Iſrael for his peculiar treaſure. And therefore when he gives theſe up to Chriſt, and makes them actually his, no marvail though he anſwer him as in my text, thine they were, and thou haſt given them to me. And here indeed the gift of God is moſt to be obſerved. He doth not give our Saviour all that are his by Creation, all the wicked; he gives him but ſome of them, and therefore he is ſaid to give them out of the world. But he gives him all that are his by Election, he doth not keep one man from him. God hath a ſpecial intereſt in them above the reſt, they are his own peculiar treaſure, as you heard but now, and every one of them he gives to Chriſt. Jeſus Chriſt hath all his treaſure, take his traſh who will.
Now for the third particular, how far the Father parteth with the right he hath in thoſe whom he beſtows on Jeſus Chriſt. A man would think, by the expreſſion of our Saviour in my text, that he parted with it wholly. That he makes over all the intereſt he hath, in thoſe whom he beſtows on Jeſus Chriſt. That when he gives them up to him, he utterly deveſts himſelf of all his former intereſt, ſo that he hath no longer any right at all in them. Thine they were, ſaith Jeſus Chriſt, why then it ſeems they are not now; thine they were, but now they are no longer thine; for thou haſt given them to me.
But certainly we muſt not underſtand it in ſuch an abſolute and rigid ſenſe, but with ſome grains of mitigation. For when the Father hath actually given men to Jeſus Chriſt to be his members, they do not ceaſe to be his Creatures, they do not ceaſe to be his choſen, and therefore in a ſence, my brethren, they are his ſtill. And this our Saviour Chriſt acknowledgeth expreſly, but a little after at ver. 9, 10. I pray not for the world, but for them which thou haſt given me, and mine are thine. Obſerve it well, he ſaith not to the Father, mine were thine, before thou gaveſt them to me, but mine are thine, notwithſtanding thou haſt given them to me. So that the Father doth ſo beſtow his people on the Son, that after the donation, Chriſt and he do ſhare together, and have a joint and mixed intereſt and right in thoſe people; and however they that appertain to Chriſt, are ſtiled his peculiar people. Tit. 2.14. which is a term that intimates not a right in common, but an unmixed and undivided right; you muſt not underſtand it in oppoſition to the Father, but to themſelves, and to the world and to the Devil. They are his peculiar ſo, that though they were once their own, now they are their own no longer. Though they were once the worlds, now they are the worlds no longer. Though they were once the Devils, now they are his no longer. But they are not his peculiar ſo, that they are no more the Fathers. No, God and Chriſt do alwayes ſhare, as I have ſaid, and as he himſelf confeſſeth, in the fore-alledged verſe, All mine are thine, and thine are mine. And in this ſenſe, you muſt conceive the Expreſſion in my text, Thine they were. They were once wholly and entirely thine; now they are not ſo thine, for thou haſt given them to me, and therefore I muſt ſtrike in for a ſhare with thee. Once they were thine only, now it is ſo no longer, for they are thine and mine too.
There is one thing yet behind; That ſeeing all do firſt belong to God the Father, why he doth not keep them to himſelf, but makes them over to his Son Chriſt. And the reaſon is apparent, becauſe if he ſhould keep them to himſelf (as things are ordered) he muſt loſe them: And therefore gives them up to Chriſt, that he may ſave them.
Firſt, Thoſe that belong to God, are his created ones, or as his Creatures; if he ſhould keep them ſtill in that Condition, and ſhould not give them up to Jeſus Chriſt, there were no other way but they muſt periſh. All that the Creator made, by Adams fall have brought themſelves into a loſt condition. His work is wholly ſpoyled and marr'd by ſin that is come in upon it, and hath defaced it, and deſtroyed it ſo that unleſs there be a reparation, all mankind is caſt away and loſt for ever. This reparation is the work of Jeſus Chriſt; it is his buſineſs to repair the ruines of decayed mankind, and to reſtore them to that beauty and felicity from which they are declined and departed by the fall. If God the Father give him any broken piece to be amended and recovered by him, he doth his work upon him, and he ſaves him to the utmoſt. But if the Father keep him to himſelf as a created one, if he leave him in the condition of a Creature, and do not make him over to his Son, that he may be a redeeemed one, that he may be recovered and reſtored by him, he even remaineth in that miſerable and undone eſtate wherein the whole race of mankind is involved by the fall. And therefore when the Father looks on the Creation, and ſees his work is wholly ſpoiled, he conſiders with himſelf, I will not leave it all in this condition; no, ſome of it ſhall be repaired again, and that ſhall be my Sons buſineſs. And ſo accordingly he picks out ſuch and ſuch a ſoul, and brings it to the Lord Chriſt; There take that ſoul, and ſet it right again: I give it thee to this end that thou maiſt repair it, and reſtore it to all the happineſs which it hath loſt by Adams fall.
Secondly they that belong to God as his Elected ones, or as his Choſen, if he ſhould keep them ſtill in that Condition, and ſhould not give them up to Jeſus Chriſt (this cannot be, but if this ſhould be ſuppoſed,) there were no other way but they muſt periſh; for it is not enough to the ſalvation of a ſoul, that it be choſen, unleſs withal it be delivered up to Jeſus Chriſt, and made a real living member of his body. And therefore God Electeth every ſoul in Chriſt; he chooſeth it in him, as the Apoſtle ſpeaks, Eph. 1.4. That is, he looks on it in Chriſt, in the inſtant of Election, deſigneth it in time to be a part of Chriſt. And ſo accordingly when the appointed ſeaſon comes, he brings this Choſen one of his to Chriſt, and gives it him, yea puts it into him; There take it to thy ſelf (ſaith he) mine it hath been from everlaſting by election, and now I make it thine by actual union and incorporation. I have done my part for it, and now do thou do thine. I have choſen it, do thou ſave it.
This ſhall ſuffice for clearing of the obſervation. I ſhall but add a word or two of application.
And is it ſo that all the people of the Lord Chriſt were firſt of all belonging Ʋſe 1 to the Father? then ſurely he will keep them for the Fathers ſake. Before he let them go, he will conſider with himſelf, of whom he had them. Brethren, you may be confident that Jeſus Chriſt will never loſe his people, but that he will be infinitely chary and extreamly tender of them, becauſe he had them of his Father. How do we eſteem a Ring, a piece of Plate or ſome thing elſe that was our Fathers? If any one deſire it of us, if he offer money for it, no, will ſuch a perſon ſay, I will not take an hundred times the value for it, it was my Fathers and I will not part with it. And do you think my Brethren, that Jeſus Chriſt doth not love his Father, as well as we love ours? And therefore when the Devil or the world, do go about to get away his people from him, when they bid fair for them, when they pluck hard at them; No, ſaith our Saviour, it is in vain; I had theſe people; theſe precious Jewels of my Father, and therefore you may ſpare your labour. His they were, and he gave them to me, and I will ſurely keep them for his ſake that gave them me, yea he gave them to me to this end, that I ſhould keep them. So Chriſt himſelf acknowledges, John 6.39. This is the Fathers will, that of all which he hath given me, I ſhould loſe nothing. His Father gave them to him, bequeathed them to him, by his will. And this was upon the Will, that he ſhould not loſe them too. O what a ground of confidence is here that Chriſt will keep us? though we be apt to fall away, though the Devil and the world pluck violently at us, we may depend upon it, they ſhall not get us out of Chriſts hands. We were his Fathers, and he gave us him by Will, and that with this Condition that he ſhould not loſe us. And therefore let us reſt upon it, he will be carefull of his Fathers Will, and he will keep us for his Fathers ſake.
And thus far of the firſt particular whereof our Saviour minds his Father by way of preparation to the prayer which he makes for his Apoſtles and Diſciples: that which he had done for them. I have manifeſted thy name to the men which thou gaveſt me out of the world, thine they were, and thou gaveſt them to me.
The ſecond follows now in order to be handled, that which they themſelves had done in reference to God the Father, they have kept thy word.
And here you may take notice with me of theſe two things, which ſhew themſelves to any one, that doth but look upon the words. Firſt the act of theſe Apoſtles and Diſciples of our Saviour, they have kept; And then the object of this act of theirs, the thing which he affirmeth they have kept, the word of God, They have kept thy word.
And this our Saviour mentions (as he doth the reſt) by way of preparation to his prayer for them, to ſhew what cauſe there was, why they ſhould be remembred in his prayers, what did induce him to pray and to be confident that he ſhould ſpeed with God in prayer for them, becauſe they had been faithfull and obedient. They had kept the word of God, and therefore they ſhall have his word to God in prayer for them, he makes no doubt, they ſhall have a word from God, by way of mercifull return and gracious anſwer to his prayer.
There is the inward and eſſential, and there is the outward and declaratory word of God. The inward word, the word God. The outward word, the word of God, or the word which comes from God: Though not immediately from God to us, yet mediately by his Prophets and Apoſtles, and Jeſus Chriſt himſelf as he was man, whom he made his Scribes, and Heralds, and Embaſſadors and Mouth, God ſpake in times paſt to the Fathers by the Prophets, Heb. 1.1. he ſpake by the mouth of the holy Prophets, Luke 1.10. The Prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God ſpake as they were moved by the Holy Ghoſt. 2 Pet. 1.21. And ſo for the New Teſtament, the Apoſtle tell us, that in theſe laſt dayes God hath ſpoken to us by his Son, Heb. 1.2. and that which God ſpeaks, is Gods word.
Now it is called the word of God in my Text and elſewhere often, becauſe it manifeſteth and makes known the mind and will of God. For as the word of man diſcovers to us, what the man means, what he conceiveth in his mind and heart within, which elſe we were by no means able to imagine; ſo the word of God (my brethren) ſhews us the heart and mind of God, as far as he is pleaſed to expreſs it, and to make it known to us; it ſhewes us what his will and pleaſure is. What he will have us to do, and what he means to do with us.
And this word the Apoſtles and Diſciples kept: that is the term our Saviour uſes in my text. He made it known to them, he ſhewed them what his Fathers mind and will was, and they kept it. I have manifeſted thy name unto the men which thou gaveſt me out of the world, and they have kept thy word. What is intended by that phraſe of keeping, ſhall be fully opened, when I come to explication of the point; in the mean time the obſervation ſhall be this.
DOCTRINE. They whom the Father gives to Jeſus Chriſt, do keep his word.
You ſee it is the Character he gives of thoſe that are beſtowed upon him by his Father. Thine they were, and thou haſt given them to me, and they have kept thy word. And after to the ſame effect, they have received thy word; It is uſually ſet down as the property of thoſe who belong to Jeſus Chriſt, that they keep his ſayings, John 14.23, if a man love me, ſaith our Saviour there, he will keep my words; and his words and the Fathers words are all one. And hence there is a bleſſing poured out on ſuch, Luke 11.28. Bleſſed are they that hear the word of God and keep it.
But not to ſtay upon the proof in general, becauſe the term is for ſomewhat dark, I ſhall proceed to ſhew you more particularly and diſtinctly what it is to keep the word of God, which is the main thing in the obſervation, They whom the Father gives to Jeſus Chriſt, do keep his word. Now this imports and carries in it divers things.
To keep the word of God is to retain it in the memory, not only to receive it, but alſo to retain it there. To hold faſt what we have received, as the expeſſion is, Rev. 3.11. Reprobis effluit ſermo dei, ſaith Calvin on my Text. The word of God flows away from reprobates and wicked men. It is like water ſhed upon the ground, which is gone upon the ſuddain. But it ſticks with the Elect, it takes deep root there. It is obſerved to the praiſe of Mary, that ſhe kept the ſayings of our Saviour, all his ſayings, Luke 2.50. Others loſt them, but ſhe kept them and therefore ſhe is ſet in oppoſition to them. They underſtood not the ſayings which he ſpake to them, they knew not what he meant, and therefore it was quickly gone with them; for what you do not underſtand you ſhall be hardly able to remember. But Mary kept theſe ſayings in her heart, while many others, who underſtood not theſe diſcourſes of our Saviour, let them go. They valued them as things of nothing, and looked upon them but as looſe words, and therefore had no mind to keep them. She laid them up with extraordinary care, as ſingular and choice things. And this is that which the Apoſtle Paul exhorts us to, Heb. 2.1. We ought to give the more earneſt heed to the things which we have heard, that is to the words of God, leaſt at any time we ſhould let them ſlip. foreign, leaſt we prove like leaking veſſels that hold not what is poured into them, but leak it out again upon a ſuddain, Leſt we forget the word of God. That is the firſt thing then, to keep the word of God, is to retain it in the memory. And thoſe whom he beſtows on Chriſt, do thus keep it.
And as there is a keeping of it in the memory, ſo in the ſecond place, there is a keeping of it in the heart. As in the memory by retaining, ſo in the heart by believing. And of this ſort of keeping ſpeaks our Saviour, John 8.51. Verily I ſay unto you, if a man keep my ſaying, he ſhall never ſee death. His ſaying is the doctrine of the Goſpell which is more properly the word of Chriſt. He cannot mean if a man keep my ſaying, if he remember it, he ſhall never ſee death. But if a man keep my ſaying, if he believe it, if he keep it in his heart (for with the heart a man believeth to ſalvation) then he ſhall never ſee death. And ſo the words are parallel with thoſe which he delivers in another place, John 11.2. Whoſoever believeth in me ſhall never die. That is the ſecond ſort of keeping then, in the heart by believing.
There is a keeping of the word of God, as in the mind by remembring, and in the heart by believing, ſo in the affections by loving. They are the Cabinet in which it is laid up, and it is very ſafe there. So David kept the word of God very dear in his affections, as he profeſſeth very often; ſometimes he ſaith that it is ſweeter to him then hony or the hony-comb ſometimes that is dearer to him then thouſands of Gold and Silver; That he loves it above Gold, yea above fine Gold. He loves it not as Silver, but as Gold, not equall unto Gold, but above Gold. Not above ordinary baſe Gold, but above fine Gold. That place is notable in which he ſeems to be tranſported, Pſal. 119.97. O how do I love thy Law! It is, out of all meaſure, it is ſo great that I am no way able to expreſs it.
There is a keeping of the word as in the mind by remembring, and in the heart by believing, and in the affections by loving, ſo in the life by obeying. And in this ſence the phraſe is uſually taken in the Scripture; to keep and to obey is all one. And ſo the Lord himſelf explains it. Deut. 13.4. Ye ſhall walk after the Lord your God and keep his Commandments; And what is that? you ſhall obey his voice and ſerve him, as it is added in the next words.
Now the word of God is kept as I ſhall ſhew you very clearly both by active and by paſſive obedience. Firſt it is kept by active obedience to it; and Secondly it is kept by paſſive obedience for it.
1. There is a keeping of the word of God by active obedience to it, by doing that which it commands, and by avoiding that which it forbids. This is the common acceptation of the term. This ſenſe the Holy Ghoſt himſelf (the beſt Interpreter) gives of it, 1 John 5.22. Whatſoever we ask we receive of him, becauſe we keep his Commandments. Keep his Commandments! how ſo? you have it clearly in the following words, And do thoſe things that are pleaſing in his ſight And thus you muſt conceive the meaning of the Holy Ghoſt in the forealledged Scripture. Luke 11.28. Bleſſed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it, that is; that hear it, and obey it.
2. And as the word of God is kept by obedience active to it, ſo by obedience paſſive for it. And this is clearly intimated in the atteſtation that he gives the Church of Sardis, Apoc. 3.10. thou haſt kept the word of my patience, that is, as thou haſt kept my word in general, ſo more particularly thou haſt kept thoſe portions of my word, and thoſe parcels of my truth which muſt have patience to the keeping of them. A man may keep ſome part of Gods word without patience, as being as being univerſally received by all, oppoſed by none. But then there are ſome other portions of the Word and Truth of God, which if a man maintain and hold, and practiſe, he ſhall ſurely ſuffer, he ſhall be perſecuted for them. A man might have gone clear along with ſome truth, even in the Marian days themſelves. But if he held and openly profeſſed the truth againſt the real Preſence in the Sacrament, and ſo in many other things, he brought himſelf into extream danger. And ſo in every age there are ſome paſſages of holy Scripture, and the truths delivered in them that are more oppoſed then others, ſo that whoever ſticks to them, ſhall be ſure to meet with trouble, and ſo to exerciſe his patience. And he that keeps theſe notwithſtanding, that maintains them, and that yeilds obedience to them, he keeps the Word of Gods patience. And therefore it is noted of the good ground that it receives the Word of God aright, and brings forth fruit with patience, Luke 8.15. That on the good ground are they, which in a good and honeſt heart having heard the Word keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience, That is, the Word is fruitful in them, notwithſtanding perſecutions and afflictions. So was it in the Theſſalonians, as the Apoſtle teſtifies of them, 1 Epiſt. 2.13. When ye received the Word of God, ſaid he, ye received it not as the word of man, but as it is in truth the Word of God, which effectually alſo worketh in you. And what was this effectual operation? Conſtancy in ſharp ſufferings, as you may ſee in the next verſe. And yet they would not let it go, though they ſuffered much for it. That of the Prophet David is remarkable, Pſal. 119.161. Princes have perſecuted me without cauſe, but my heart ſtandeth in awe of thy Word. He had rather have them againſt him, then have the Word of God againſt him. They threatned him if he obeyed and kept the Word. The Word on the other ſide that threatned him if he renounced and diſobeyed it. Whom did he fear moſt? why, ſaith the Pſalmiſt, My heart ſtandeth in awe of thy Word. Though they be Princes, very great men, and though they threaten me, and perſecute me too, yet I fear the Word of God more then I fear them. I dare not diſobey it, how much ſoever I diſpleaſe them, how much ſoever I may ſuffer from them. This is to keep the Word by obedience paſſive for it.
Thus much ſhall ſerve for the Explication of the point.
Now is it ſo, that they whom the Father gives to Jeſus, Ʋſe. do keep his Word? Here is a touch-ſtone then, my Brethen, by which you may try your ſelves, whether you be given up to Chriſt, or no. I have ſhewed you heretofore of how great Conſequence it is, for every one of us to be among the number of the men whom God makes over to his Son Chriſt. Indeed ſo great, that all our happineſs both in the preſent life, and that to come, conſiſts in it. If God the Father beſtow us not on Jeſus Chriſt, it had been infinitely better for us that we had never been born, that he had never made us. For we continue in the power and the poſſeſſion of the Prince of this world, his we are, and with him muſt remain for ever. Now my Beloved, would you know whether you be yet made over to the Son of God, or no? Examine diligently whether you have kept the Word of God. Thine they were, ſaith Chriſt to God the Father, and thou gaveſt them to me, and they have kept thy Word. And is it ſo with you my Brethren? Conſider it a little and proceed in the diſcovery according to the branches laid before in Explication of the point.
Have you kept it in your memories? Abundance of you have read and heard much of the Word of God. Theſe many years it hath been preached to you, you have had precept upon precept, and line upon line, here a little and there a little; you have not been overlaid and dulled ou… with long Sermons, but you had a little and a little. A little on a Sabbath day, and a little on a Lecture day. Your leſſons have been ſhort, that you might the better learn them. But what have you retained of all this? Indeed ſome of you have laid up theſe ſayings in your hearts as Mary did, you have them ſure and ſafe there. You have them ready and at hand to bring them forth on all occaſions for the Direction and the Conſolation of your ſelves and of your Brethren; But for the greater number, they have loſt all, nothing at all ſticks by them. The Word of God hath come to them as the Apoſtle ſays, and they have let it go again. I muſt acknowledge there is difference in the memories of men, and ſome are ſubject to a natural defect, ſo that they fail them ſtrangely in their own affairs, which are of moſt concernment to them. But when the memories of men are ſure and faithful to them in all other things, but hold the Word of God no better then a Sive holds water, that lets every drop go, this is a very ſad caſe. It is a ſhrewd preſumption that they are none of Chriſts Diſciples. But you will ſay, How ſhall we amend this, how ſhall we do that we may keep the Word of God in this reſpect? I will give you two or three Directions.
1. Keep your minds cloſe to it, let them not rove and wander while you hear it; if they do, you loſe all. This is the Apoſtles counſel to give earneſt heed, to be intent upon the things we hear, to watch the words as they come forth out of the Preachers mouths, Heb 2.1. and why ſo? leaſt at any time we let them ſlip. If we would remember well, there muſt not be the leaſt diverſion.
2. Get a good underſtanding in the Word of God. The obſervation of the Holy Ghoſt is notable for this purpoſe, Luk 2.19. They underſtood not the ſayings which he ſpake unto them. But Mary kept all theſe ſayings in her heart. They kept them not, becauſe they did not underſtand them; that which is not underſtood will very hardly be remembred. They are our underſtanding hearers that carry all away, while ignorant and ſottiſh people keep nothing.
3. Value the Word of God more, and you ſhall find you will remember it the better. See the neceſſity, the excellency of it, and then you will be careful how you loſe it. Eſteem it as the Prophet David did above gold, yea, above fine gold. He whoſe memory is weakeſt, ſeldom forgets where he hath laid his gold.
4. Strengthen memory by meditation, repetition, conference of what you hear. If it be hard to take in holy Truths, chafe them in, rub them in, and ſettle them by this means. Let them be as a nail well faſtned (as the expreſſion of the Wiſeman is) and ſet home with many ſtrokes that they may not out again.
5. Set inſtantly upon the practice of the truth delivered to you; aſſoon as you hear it, act it. That which you do, you will remember. Mark that of the Apoſtle James 1.25. Not being a forgetful hearer but a doer of the Word; The doer then is no forgetful hearer. Many men remember nothing becauſe indeed they do nothing.
6. When holy truths are gone with you, when they are ſlipt away, entreat the Holy Spirit to recal them. Mind him humbly of his Office, and of the end for which your Saviour ſent him down into this lower world, to bring things to remembrance which have been taught you, Joh. 14.26.