Works of Joseph Hall, Part 40
Matthew called.
THE number of the Apoſtles was not yet full, One roome is left void for a future occupant; who can but expect, that it is reſerued for ſome eminent perſon? and behold, Matthew the Publican is the man: Oh the ſtrange election of Chriſt; Thoſe other diſciples, whoſe calling is recorded, were from the Fiſher-boat, this from the Tole booth; They were vnlettered, this infamous; The condition was not in it ſelfe ſinfull, but as the taxes which the Romans impoſed on Gods free people, were odious, ſo the Collectors, the Farmers of them abominable; Beſides, that it was hard to hold that ſeat without oppreſſion, without exaction; One that beſt knew it, branded it with poling, and ſycophancie: And now, behold a griping Publican called to the familie, to the Apoſtle-ſhip, to the Secretary-ſhip of God; Who can deſpaire in the conſcience of his vnworthineſſe; when hee ſees this patterne of the free bounty of him that calleth vsus? Merits doe not cary it in the gracious election of God, but his meere fauour. There ſate Matthew the Publican buſie in his Counting-houſe, reckoning vp the ſums of his Rentals; raking vp his arerages, and wrangling for denied duties, & did ſo little thinke of a Sauior, that he did not ſo much as look at his paſſage, but, Ieſus, as he paſſed by, ſaw a man ſitting at the receit of cuſtome, named Matthew: As if this proſpect had bin ſudden and caſuall, Ieſus ſaw him in paſsing by; Oh Sauiour, before the world was, thou ſaweſt that man ſitting there, thou ſaweſt thine own paſſage; thou ſaweſt his call in thy paſſage; and now thou goeſt purpoſely that way, that thou mighteſt ſee, and call: Nothing can be hid from that piercing eye, one glance wherof hath diſcerned a Diſciple in the cloathes of a Publican; That habit that ſhop of extortion cannot conceale from thee a veſſel of election: In all formes thou knoweſt thine own, and in thine own time ſhalt fetch them out of the diſguiſes of their foule ſinnes, or vnfit conditions: What ſaweſt thou, O Sauior, in that Publican, that might either allure thine eye, or not offend it? What but an hatefull trade, an euill eye, a gripple hand, bloody tables, heapes of ſpoile? yet now thou ſaidſt, Follow me; Thou that ſaidſt once to Ieruſalem, Thy birth and natiuitie is of the land of Canaan; Thy father was an Amorite, thy mother an Hittite; Thy nauell was not cut, neither wert thou waſhed in water, to ſupple thee, thou waſt not ſalted at all; thou waſt not ſwadled at all: None eye pitied thee, but thou muſt caſt out in the open fields, to the loathing of thy perſon, in the day that thou waſt borne: And when I paſſed by thee, and ſaw thee polluted in thine owne blood, I ſaid vntounto thee, Liue, yea, I ſaid vntounto thee, when thou waſt in thy blood, Liue: Now alſo, when thou paſſed it by, and ſaweſt Matthew ſitting at the receit of cuſtome, ſaideſt to him, Follow mee: The life of this Publican was ſo much worſe, then the birth of that forlorne Amorite, as, Follow me, was more then, Liue; What canſt thou ſee in vsus, O God, but vgly deformities, horrible ſinnes, deſpicable miſeries, yet doth it pleaſe thy mercy to ſay vntounto vsus, both, Liue, and, Follow me?
The iuſt man is the firſt accuſer of himſelfe; whom doe wee heare to blazon the ſhame of Matthew, but his owne mouth? Matthew the Euangeliſt tels vsus of Matthew the Publican: His fellowes call him Leui, as willing to lay their finger vponupon the ſpot of his vnpleaſing profeſſion; himſelfe will not ſmother, nor blanche it a whit, but publiſhes it to all the world, in a thankfull recognition of the mercy that called him; as liking well that his baſeneſſe ſhould ſerue for a fit foyle to ſet off the glorious luſtre of his grace by whom he was elected; What matters it how vile we are, O God, ſo thy glory may riſe in our abaſement?
That word was enough, Follow mee; ſpoken by the ſame tongue, that ſaid to the corps, at Nain, Young man I ſay to thee, Ariſe: Hee that ſaid, at firſt, Let there bee light, ſayes now, Follow mee: That power ſweetly inclines which could forcibly command: the force is not more vnreſiſtable, then the inclination: When the Sunne ſhines vponupon the Iſicles, can they chooſe but melt, and fall? When it lookes into a dungeon, can the place chooſe but be inlightened? Doe wee ſee the Iet drawing vp ſtrawes to it, the Load-ſtone iron, and doe wee maruell if the omnipotent Sauiour, by the influence of his grace, attract the heart of a Publican? Hee aroſe and followed him. We are all naturally auerſe from thee, O God; doe thou but bid vsus Follow thee; draw vsus by thy powerfull word, and we ſhall runne after thee. Alas, thou ſpeakeſt, and wee ſit ſtill: thou ſpeakeſt by thine outward Word to our eare, and wee ſtir not, ſpeake thou by the ſecret, and effectuall word of thy ſpirit, to our heart: The world cannot hold vsus downe, Satan cannot ſtop our way, we ſhall ariſe, and follow thee.
It was not a more buſie then gainfull trade that Matthew abandoned to follow Chriſt into pouertie: and now hee caſt away his Counters, and ſtrucke his Tallies, and croſſed his bookes, and contemned his heapes of caſh in compariſon of that better treaſure, which he fore-ſaw lie open in that happy attendance. If any commoditie bee valued of vsus too deare to bee parted with, for Chriſt, we are more fit to bee Publicans, then Diſciples; Our Sauiour inuites Matthew to a Diſcipleſhip; Matthew inuites him to a feaſt. The ioy of his call makes him to beginne his abdication of the world, in a banquet.
Here was not a more cheerefull thankfulnes in the inuiter, then a gracious humilitie in the gueſt: The new ſeruant bids his Maſter, the Publican his Sauiour, and is honoured with ſo bleſſed a preſence. I doe not finde where Ieſus was euer bidden to any table, and refuſed; If a Phariſee, if a Publican inuited him, he made not dainty to goe: Not for the pleaſure of the diſhes, what was that to him who began his worke in a whole Lent of dayes? But (as it was his meat and drinke to doe the will of his Father) for the benefit of ſo winning a conuerſation: If he ſate with ſinners, he conuerted them; If with conuerts, he confirmed and inſtructed them; If with the poore, he fed them; If with the rich in ſubſtance, he made them richer in grace. At whoſe board did hee euer fit, and left not his hoſt a gainer? The poore Bridegroome entertaines him, and hath his water-pots filled with Wine: Simon the Phariſee entertaines him, and hath his table honoured with the publique remiſſion of a penitent ſinner, with the heauenly doctrine of remiſſion: Zacheus entertaines him, ſaluation came that day to his houſe, with the author of it; that preſence made the Publican a ſonne of Abraham; Matthew is recompenced for his feaſt with an Apoſtleſhip: Martha, and Mary entertaine him, and beſides diuine inſtruction receiue their brother from the dead; O Sauiour, whether thou feaſt vsus, or we feaſt thee, in both of them is bleſſedneſſe.
Where a Publican is the Feaſt-maſter, it is no maruell if the gueſts be Publicans, and ſinners, whether they came alone out of the hope of that mercy, which they ſaw their fellow had found; or whether Matthew inuited them to be partners of that plentifull grace, whereof he had taſted, I inquire not: Publicans and ſinners will flocke together; the one, hatefull for their trade, the other for their vitious life. Common contempt hath wrought them to an vnanimitie, and ſends them to ſeeke mutuall comfort in that ſociety, which all others held loathſome and contagious. Moderate correction humbleth, and ſhameth the offender: whereas a cruell ſeueritie makes men deſperate, and driues them to thoſe courſes, whereby they are more dangerouſly infected: How many hauehave gone into the priſon faulty, and returned flagitious? If Publicans were not ſinners, they were no whit beholden to their neighbours.
What a table full was here? The Sonne of God beſet with Publicans, and ſinners: O happy Publicans, and ſinners, that had found out their Sauiour: O mercifull Sauiour, that diſdained not Publicans and ſinners.
What ſinner can feare to kneele before thee, when he ſees Publicans and ſinners ſit with thee? Who can feare to be deſpiſed of thy meekneſſe, and mercy, which didſt not abhorre, to conuerſe with the outcaſts of men? Thou didſt not deſpiſe the Thiefe confeſſing vponupon the Croſſe, nor the ſinner weeping vponupon thy feet, nor the Canaanite crying to thee in the way, not the bluſhing adultereſſe, nor the odious Publican, nor the forſwearing Diſciple, nor the perſecutor of Diſciples, nor thine owne executioners, how can wee bee vnwelcome to thee, if wee come with teares in our eyes, faith in our hearts, reſtitution in our hands? Oh Sauiour, our breſts are too oft ſhut vponupon thee, thy boſome is euer open to vsus; wee are as great ſinners as the conſorts of theſe Publicans, why ſhould wee deſpaire of a roome at thy Table?
The ſquint-eid Phariſees looke a-croſſe at all the actions of Chriſt; where they ſhould hauehave admired his mercy, they cauill at his holineſſe; They ſaid to his Diſciples; why eateth your Maſter with Publicans, and ſinners? They durſt not ſay thus to the Maſter, whoſe anſwer (they knew) would ſoone hauehave conuinced them; This winde (they hoped) might ſhake the weake faith of the Diſciples; They ſpeake where they may bee moſt likely to hurt: All the crue of Satanicall inſtruments hauehave learnt this craft of their old Tutor in Paradiſe: We cannot reuerence that man, whom wee thinke vnholy; Chriſt had loſt the hearts of his followers, if they had entertained the leaſt ſuſpition of his impuritie; which the murmure of theſe enuious Phariſees would faine inſinuate; He cannot be worthy to be followed that is vncleane; He cannot but be vncleane that eateth with Publicans and ſinners: Proud & fooliſh Phariſees, ye faſt whiles Chriſt eateth; ye faſt in your houſes, whiles Chriſt eateth in other mens; ye faſt with your owne, whiles Chriſt feaſts with ſinners: but if ye faſt in pride, whiles Chriſt eates in humilitie: if ye faſt at home, for merit, or popularitie, whiles Chriſt feaſts with ſinners for compaſſion, for edification, for conuerſion, your faſt is vncleane, his feaſt is holy, ye ſhall hauehave your portion with hypocrites, when thoſe Publicans and ſinners ſhall be glorious.
When theſe cenſurers thought the Diſciples had offended, they ſpeak not to them but to their Maſter; Why doe thy Diſciples that which is not lawfull? now, when they thought Chriſt offended, they ſpeake not to him, but to the Diſciples; Thus, like true make-bates they goe about to make a breach in the family of Chriſt, by ſetting off the one from the other; The quicke eye of our Sauiour hath ſoone eſpied the packe of their fraud, and therefore hee takes the words out of the mouthes of his Diſciples, into his own: They had ſpoke of Chriſt to the Diſciples; Chriſt anſwers for the Diſciples concerning himſelfe, The whole need not the Phyſitian but the ſicke. According to the two qualities of pride, ſcorne, and ouer-weening, theſe inſolent Phariſees ouer-rated their owne holineſſe, contemned the noted vnholineſſe of others; As if themſelues were not tainted with ſecret ſinnes, as if others could not be cleanſed by repentance; The ſearcher of hearts meets with their arrogance, and finds thoſe iuſticiaries ſinfull, thoſe ſinners iuſt: The ſpirituall Phyſitian findes the ſickneſſe of thoſe ſinners wholſome, the health of thoſe Phariſees deſperate: that, wholſome, becauſe it cals for the helpe of the Phyſitian, this, deſperate, becauſe it needs not. EueryEvery ſoule is ſicke; thoſe moſt, that feele it not; Thoſe that feele it, complaine; thoſe that complaine, hauehave cure; thoſe that feele it not ſhall finde themſelues dying ere they can wiſh to recouer. Oh bleſſed Phyſitian, by whoſe ſtripes we are healed, by whoſe death we liue, happy are they that are vnderunder thy hands, ſicke, as of ſinne, ſo of ſorrow for ſinne; it is as vnpoſſible they ſhould dye, as it is vnpoſſible for thee to want either skill, or power, or mercy: Sinne hath made vsus ſicke vntounto death, make thou vsus but as ſicke of our ſinnes, we are as ſafe, as thou are gracious.