The Works of Jeremiah Burroughs 9-11, Treatise 1 · Chapter 1
CHAP. 1.
The Meaning of the Words of the Text.
IN the Preface, or Frontispiece to this Second Epistle (which is sum'd up in these two first Verses) are legible Three Things.
First, A Prescription of the Person Saluting, by his Name Simon Peter: his Condition, a Servant: his Office, an Apostle: his Master, Jesus Christ.
Secondly, A Description of the Persons saluted: To them that have obtained like precious Faith with us, &c.
Thirdly, The Apostolical Benediction, or Salutation it self; Grace and Peace be multiplied unto you, &c.
Those Words which are usefully to be treated on here, are those that relate to the Persons saluted, who are thus Charactarized by the Spirit of the Lord in this Description, To them that have obtained like precious Faith with us.
This Epistle was written and sent to the Jews that were converted and dispersed on the face of the Earth, generally to al the converted Jews: Now (no question but) there were many of them that were Rich and Honorable, so that many high Titles might have been attributed unto them; but the Apostle gives them no other Title but this To them that have obtained like precious Faith with us. When we write Epistles, we use in the Superscriptions to give the most respectful Titles to those we write unto that they are capable of, according to their Place and Trust: if we write to any that are Persons of Honor, we usually give them the Title of Honor, as the Honorable ones; yet the Apostle, though he did write to many that were rich and great too, puts no other Title upon them than thus, To them that have obtained like precious Faith with us; accounting this (as indeed it is) to be the most Noble Christian Title, and badg of Honor that he could crown them with, That they have obtained like precious Faith with us.
Precious, Faith.
Faith of price.
And Obtained.
Faith is here compared to a precious Stone, to a goodly Pearl, to a Diamond. And to them that have Obtained, to them that have had precious faith given unto them by lot (that's the meaning of the word) That word I say in the Gre…k that you have translated in your Books, [Obtained] it signifies to have a thing by lot foreign sortior, Luk. 1. 9. apud Latinos sortiri Quemadmodum apud Graecos foreign significat non solum sortem projicere, sive sortes ducere, sed etiam sortione aliquid consequi, sorte aliquid accipere, vel obtinere. Beza, & Gorh. in loc. It is used also Joh. 19. 24. Act. 1. 17.foreign So in the first of Luke, the ninth verse, it is said of Zacharias he went to burn Incense by lot, it was his lot for to do the work: it's the same word that you have in Luke with that in Peter, which is translated, Obtained; and so I might shew you divers other places of Scripture where this word is used to have a thing by lot.
To you that have obtained like precious Faith.
To you that by lot have obtained like precious Faith, that's the propriety of the word.
Quest. But you will say, What's the meaning of that, to have it by lot?
Answ. There is much in this for the setting out the blessed condition of Beleevers; there's this in it, the Faith that they have, they have it meerly by the free grace of God, by his Providence, and by his Work, and by no other cause whatsoever that hath made any difference between them and unbeleevers; As thus, that which a man hath by lot, there's little or nothing to be attributed to second causes; as in a Lottery, if one hath a better lot than another, it is not to be attributed at all to his skil that draweth it out, but meerly to be attributed to the Providence of God: God in his free Grace did so order things that this man should have a good lot, and the other should not have so good; as when the Lord gave the Land of Canaan to the People of Israel, he gave it, but it was by lot, to the end that they might know that if one man had a better portion than another, it was only the Free grace of God, so that no man could boast himself of it, and say, I am better than you, or I am richer than you, or I am wor…hyer than you; no, it was meerly by Gods free grace and love, and not from any thing in themselves: For you have obtained like precious faith with us, as if the Apostle should say, whereas all the world was in his presence, only God through his free grace made it your lot to have precious faith, that you should be inriched with this unspeakable gift, that this lot should be your portion, and others should have their lot fall to have some part of the Earth, he gives the Earth to the children of men. Take a whol Congregation of Town, all of them to come into the presence of God for to receive their lot, saith God, I will give such a man such an estate in the world, he shal be a Master of a Ship, and he shall have so much Money or Lands, that shall be his lot; another he comes to have his lot, and he shall have excellent parts, I'le give him the tongue of the Learned, and so get credit that way; and another he shall be born of such and such Parentage, he shall spring from the Loyns of Nobles, and their blood shall run in his veins: thus God casts from all eternity the lots of men: and there comes another, he shall not have much in this world, but he shall have faith in Jesus, and he shall have Heaven and Eternal Life, that shall be his lot: And thus God from all Eternity gives every one their several lot and portion. Your lot is to have precious Faith, Oh your lot is fallen into a good ground, you have a blessed Inheritance, you were in the presence of God when there were all men before the Lord, Unbeleevers, Heathens, and Infidels, they were before God, it might have been their lot to have had Faith, and you might have had what they have: No, but it's your lot to have precious Faith, and it is their lot to possess the world. This is the meaning of the word Obtained, and the elegancy of the Phrase is by the English word exceedingly much darkned and eclipsed. Obtained like precious Faith; not only precious faith, but LIKE precious Faith, Like with us; as if the Apostle should say, it's true, we are Apostles, and we have the priviledg in that, that we are the Apostles of Jesus Christ, and are called to this great Office, and so Jesus Christ hath graced us with gifts fit for such an Office as he hath called us unto, but there's not any one of you, the poorest and meanest Beleever that is, the weakest Christian that is a Beleever, that hath the lowest parts of you all, but your Faith is like precious with our Faith; God hath in this made you equal with us, though perhaps the Lord hath not given unto you such gifts as to us, though you are not able to preach as we are able to preach; as if the Apostle should say, you have not the gift of miracles as we have, nor call'd to such a publick work; perhaps some of you are servants and yong ones, I but you have the like precious Faith with us, we own you to be our Brethren, we cannot look upon our selves as at such a great distance, though you be meaner otherwise, yet in regard of Faith (which is the most excellent grace of all) that you have the same with us; he doth not say you have as much faith as we, it may be the Apostles had more faith in degree than many of them, but you have the like precious faith in quality with us, it's of the same nature with ours, and by your Faith you are invested in the same Priviledges that we are, so that the Apostle would teach all such as are eminent Christians, and have more grace and gifts than others, and are imployed in more excellent things than others are, yet he would teach them not to despise the weakest and meanest Christians, but look upon them with high esteem, as those that have obtained like precious Faith with them, it's a mighty expression that the poorest and meanest Beleever in the world is here rank'd with the Apostles, and so by the same reason may be rank'd with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, you have the same precious Faith that they had, and that al the Prophets, Patriarchs, and the Apostles and Martyrs had: This the Apostle speaks to the encouragement of very Babes in Christ that can only cry Abba Father with a spirit of faith, To those that have obtained the same precious faith with us. Thus you have the meaning of the words: The precious Doctrinal Truths which arise▪ from the words thus opened, are these Three.