Divine Drops Distilled from the Fountain of Holy Scripture, Part 17
Expoſitions and Obſervations on EPHESIANS 5. 1, 2.
Be ye therefore followers of God as dear children, and walk in love, &c.
THe Apoſtle in this Chapter, and eſpecially in that going before, exhorts the Saints to walk worthy of their calling, that is, to walk humbly and meekly, &c. towards God and men; and there he ſhews ſometimes the good they ſhould follow, and the evil they ſhould leave, promiſcuouſly, which is meant by walking worthy of their calling. And here in this firſt verſe, ſaith he, I beſeech you be followers of God as dear children. He puts in this motive to all the holineſs he ſpeaks of before, and after; that as dear children of a bleſſed father, they would hearken to him, that they would hate all the evil, and cleave to all the good he had propoſed to them, ſo that the Leſſon is this, That
The Do∣ctrine. Our ſpiritual priviledges ſhould as much ingage us to holineſs, as they ſhould help on our comfort.
My meaning is this; you know in this wicked world wherein we are, this is one Goſpel way, that we uſe and practiſe, and have been taught, that whenſoever we came near the Lord (eſpecially then) we ſhould indeavor to raiſe up our ſouls, by the conſideration of our Goſpel-priviledges, and the relations between us and God. When you and I come to pray, we ſtudy as much as we can to look on him as a father (and we do well) and to look on our ſelves as ſons and daughters, as thoſe that are in Chriſt, as thoſe that have their ſins pardoned and covered in him: to look on our ſelves as the Spouſe and Wife of Chriſt. And all the relations we can make out, and all the priviledges that are laid down in Scripture, we ſeek to own them whereby to get up our ſouls to ſome joy and comfort before the Lord, and this is a good and bleſſed thing when we do ſo; for the Lord would have his children, as to live holily, ſo he delights to ſee them live comfortably: The Lord takes delight in the proſperity of his people. But here now, you and I miſs, we do this out of a kinde of Self-love, becauſe we would have comfort we make uſe of our priviledges, and plead our relations, but we ſhould alſo make uſe of them to move us to holineſs, and to reſiſt ſin and evil, as well as to raiſe us to comfort and conſolation: And thence it is that we are ſo oft foyled with ſin, becauſe we walk as men, as the children of men, as the Scripture ſaith; we forget in what a ſtation God hath put us, in what grace and glory we ſtand through Jeſus Chriſt. Therefore when we are walking, and converſing in the world, we look on our ſelves as men, we think of our neighbours what they would have done in ſuch a caſe, and it may be we thinke of natural reaſon, it may be of corrupt reaſon; but we do not ſtate our ſelves all the day as ſons and daughters of God.
Man naturally doth not love to reflect upon himſelf, which (ſaith Dr. Preſton) is the difference between a man and a beaſt: take two or three children, it may be one is a Lords ſon, and another the ſon of a Begger, they reflect upon themſelves, you ſhall ſee by their carriage; the poor childe carries himſelf reſpectively to the other, the other carries himſelf diſdainfully to him. So all people, every one hath a kinde of concluſion upon himſelf from natural conſiderations. Such a one carries himſelf high, he reflects ſo upon himſelf. Why? he thinks he is a man of ſuch parts, of ſuch fortunes, and breeding and feature, and the like, and he carries himſelf accordingly: It is ſo with all mankinde. Now if we would have the Spirit of God ſhine upon our ſouls, and draw ſuch concluſions alway that lie in our breaſts, that I am a ſon, a daughter of God, one in Chriſt, married to Chriſt, bone of his bone, and fleſh of his fleſh, that I may walk all the day thus cloathed with theſe reflexions: then when we come to ſin, when temptation is offered, it may be the devil will ſay, ſuch a one did it that is wiſer then thou, and ſuch a one that is a fellow, of the ſame calling, then, this poſitive actual reflexion upon the ſoul that thou art in Chriſt; this would make thee ſay, O, but how ſhall I do it? Jeſus Chriſt died for me, Jeſus Chriſt hath waſhed me in his blood, I am one with him. What if the children of darkneſs do ſo, is it fit for a childe of light? what if ſinners do ſo, is it fit for a man that God hath called out of ſin, and out of the world, is it fit for him to do ſo?
We ſeldome carry thoſe reflexions about us when The Saints ſhould reflect upon their high condition.we go abroad among the ſnares of the world, therefore we fall into ſin: for the older we are in grace, the more full of ſnares the world is. I could ſhew that you can name no place in the new Teſtament, where our priviledges, and relations are mentioned: but as the holy Ghoſt mentions them to raiſe up the ſoul for comfort, ſo expreſly to ſtir us up to holineſs, 1 John 3. 1. Behold what manner of love God hath beſtowed upon us, that we ſhould be called the ſons of God! I am perſwaded that the Primitive Saints in the new Teſtament, did generally look upon themſelves, diſtinct as a Common wealth, and a people redeemed out of the world, and in the light of that they did ſo walk, they did alway ſpeak ſo of themſelves, We are the firſt fruits of the ſpirit, we are the ſons of God, we are redeemed and bought with a price. We are the ſons of God, but it doth not appear what we ſhall be, but when he ſhall come, we ſhall be like him; O this gives comfort; but what then? what follows? He that hath this hope purifieth himſelf as he is pure. This hope is ſomewhat like that reflexion I am ſpeaking of, when there is an actual hope in the ſoul of being with the Lord, and an actuall poſitive perſwaſion that I am the Lords, then a man will purify himſelf as God is pure. I might mention a hundred places in the new Teſtament, 2 Cor. 6. Come out from among them, ſeperate your ſelves, and touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you, and I will be your father, and you ſhall be my ſons and daughters, ſaith the Lord Almighty. This is very comfortable, that we ſhall be his ſons and daughters, and that he will be our Father. What then? In the beginning of the next Chapter, Having therefore theſe promiſes, let us cleanſe our ſelves from all filthineſs of fleſh and ſpirit, perfecting holineſs in the fear of God. If we be the ſons and daughters of God, and he be our Father, therefore we ſhould be holy in ſoul, and body, and ſpirit. I remember a little Story of a great Monarch (though I do not much trouble you with them, but it doth a little illuſtrate what we ſpeak of) walking with his ſon, a Prince; the great Emperor ſeeing little poor children to play and tumble in the dirt, he ſaid to his ſon, Why doſt not thou go and play with them? Saith he, I would, if I did ſee any Kings and Princes children play with them, he reflected upon himſelf that he was a Prince, a Kings ſon, and it was not fit for them to tumble in the dirt. So you may ſay, when you ſee Drunkards, and Whoremongers, and Extortioners, if the devil tempt you in your hearts, and ſay, Why doſt not thou do ſo? why doſt not thou get money as yonder man doth? or labor to be great in the world? O, ſay, do the ſons of God uſe to do ſo? to cozen, and cheat, and be drunk, and lie? If the Saints did ſo, then it were another thing, but ſhall I that am a Prince, that am a ſon of God, ſhall I be a Scullion, and wallow in the dirt? Therefore I ſay it is enough to an honeſt heart to propoſe a pitch that is above him, that he never attained, and what will he do? he will ſeek, and not give over till God have wrought it: God wrought it in moſt of the Saints of old: therefore let us labor with the Lord, that we may have ſuch conſiderations alway about us.
O how gloriouſly ſhould we walk, if we had ſtill actuall conſiderations, I am a ſon, I am a daughter of God! How humbly ſhould we walk towards our brethren? how weaned from this world? what Pilgrims would we be here upon earth? doubtleſs we run, and lanch into the world by forgetting of our relations and ſtations; ſo that as in Gen. 6. The ſons of God married the daughters of men. We walk as the ſons of men, and miſcarry as the ſons and daughters of mem. If we did alway walk, and look upon our ſelves as the ſons and daughters of God, we ſhould in ſome poor meaſure expreſs ſomething of the ſons and daughters of God in every word, and carriage, and action towards God and men, &c.