Divine Drops Distilled from the Fountain of Holy Scripture, Part 18
Expoſitions and Obſervations on PHILIPPIANS 2. 1, 2, 3.
If there be therefore any conſolation in Chriſt, if any comfort of love, if any fellowſhip of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies;
Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be like minded, having the ſame love, being of one accord, of one minde.
Let nothing be done through ſtrife or vaine glory, but in lowlineſs of minde, let each eſteem other better then themſelves.
THe Leſſon that the Lord gave you and me lately to conſider of, and to do, was rightly to love the Saints, to love Saints ought to love though they be not beloved.our brethren, and the way, you remember was, that we ſhould not make that the ground of our love to our brethren, becauſe they love us, but becauſe we are beloved of God; we ſhould love, though we be not beloved of men.
He that will not love his brethren, till he be loved of them, nor no further, nor no longer then he is beloved, he ſhall never love them much, nor love them rightly at all, becauſe all goes upon a wrong ground, and by a falſe rule: And therefore we ſhould ſet upon the practice of that duty in theſe times of diviſion, that whatſoever man I look on as a Saint, or ſee the Image of God in him, I ſhould indeavor to bring my heart to love him: If he love not me, let him look to that, I ſhall not anſwer for that, that ſhall be laid on his ſcore: but if I love not my brother, that ſhall be laid on my ſcore, and as my account, ſo my comfort, I mean true ſpiritual comfort, both here and hereafter, it is not in this, that I am much beloved, but that I love much. I ſpake to you of that more at large then, and I hope you will indeavor to bring your ſouls to be doers of this bleſſed truth, as well as hearers.
There is one thing more which is here laid down in this Scripture that we muſt indeavor to do, though when I ſpeak of doing, when we teach you any ſpiritual, Goſpel duty, you muſt underſtand it in a Goſpel way; not as though (I ſay) we can do this or that, but we through the grace of Chriſt may do any thing that is commanded in the Goſpel. Therefore go not home, and ſay, we are dead, and can do nothing, &c. To what end are all theſe precepts laid on us, but that we by the power of the holy Ghoſt may do them? Therefore I ſay, there is one thing more for us to do before we can come rightly to love the brethren: truly, there are many things, but that that I am now upon, is the foundation; (what is for the building of us up I meddle not with now) for till we come to do this, we cannot love at all, we cannot go one ſtep in this bleſſed work; and that is it I ſhall indeavor to tell you now, ſaith the Apoſtle, Fulfil my joy, and be like minded, If there be any conſolation in Chriſt, or any comfort of love, if there be any fellowſhip of the Spirit, if there be any bowels and mercies. The meaning is, the Apoſtle exhorts them to theſe duties upon theſe motives, to the following duties upon the foregoing motives, As if he ſhould ſay, for the conſolation ſake that you feel in Chriſt Jeſus, that is ſweet and dear: for the comforts ſake that you feel, when you love, how ful your ſouls are of comfort! for the ſake of that ſweetneſs and pleaſure that you have in the fellowſhip of the Spirit: If there be any bowels of mercy in you, any ſweetneſs of the mercy of God in your ſouls, or any workings of mercy, or pity, or affections in you, grant me one deſire, at which I ſhall exceedingly rejoyce, that is, be like minded, and have the ſame love, &c.
The Apoſtle doth here, as it is uſually his manner, when he exhorts to any thing, he tells them not, Do this, or you ſhall be damned, do this or elſe you are hypocrites, or elſe the curſe of God will fall on you: for he carries that clearly in all his Epiſtles that there is no damnation to them that are in Chriſt, and you are are not appointed unto wrath, ſaith he, but he preſſeth them unto it out of the ſweetneſs, and dearneſs of ſpiritual things that they apprehended. Indeed to preſs them from arguments of hell or the curſe, that would have faſtned a ſpirit of bondage on them. To preſs them from worldly things, thoſe vanities would never have moved them, therefore he takes the choiſeſt things always, as Iob ſaith, I ſpake to my ſervants, and to my wife, and ſhe anſwered not, though I beſought her for the children of my body, that is the deareſt thing between man and wife: ſo the Apoſtle deſires them by ſuch things as theſe, by the coming of the Lord Jeſus, that is the ſweeteſt thing to a Saint; ſaith he, by theſe ſweet and dear things. I talk not of hell, and it is in vain to talk of worldly motives: but for the ſweetneſs that is in ſpiritual things, and for that price ſake, and the dearneſs that is of them, and in them, I beſeech you grant me this requeſt, that is, that ye
Be like minded, and have the ſame love.
That is, mutual love each to other, and be of one accord, and of one minde. This is the Motive that I Mutual love enjoyned.ſhall open.
But how ſhall we come to love one another, or to love mutually? O (ſaith he) Let nothing be done through The means to attain it.ſtrife or vain glory, but in lowlineſs of minde, let each eſteem other better then themſelves. I told you, a man is to lay this as the foundation of his love, to love becauſe God loves him, not becauſe he is beloved of men. Now that he may do ſo, he muſt lay this alſo as a general rule in his ſoul by the grace of Chriſt, that he account himſelf, and lookt on himſelf as leſs then any other of the Saints, every man muſt account another better then himſelf. A man muſt look upon himſelf, nay, I ſay more, he muſt be content that others look upon him as the leaſt Saint, or elſe he will never love his brethren aright. Beloved, this above all things, I finde (it may be you finde more) to be the greateſt enemy to love, high-mindedneſs, that you look upon your ſelves, either as the greateſt of Saints, you think you are ſome body: or elſe you look upon your ſelves as of the ſecond form, near to the greateſt. Therefore you ſhall obſerve by experience, that when you come to love any Saint, if you finde that though he love you, yet if he love another better, and account more of the Image of God in …other then in you; you alway account that love no better then hatred: you ſay, ſuch a man hates you, why ſo? becauſe he loves three or four better then you. This is pride of heart in a man, he had as lieve a man ſhould hate him, as love one Saint in the world better or before him, it is a ſign of a devilliſh heart: If there be a Saint or two in the Family, or a woman, or a ſervant in the Congregation that is more reſpected then he, he thinks ſuch a one doth not love him, he concludes, I am not beloved. There is ſuch a deſperate pride, (as pride is a deſperate thing alway in ſpiritual, and in earthly things) in the heart of man, that makes him ſo deſperate, that if he be not loved to the height above all others, that he accounts all love hatred.
You will not be right till you come to this, that Paul ſaith, 1 Cor. 15. I am the leaſt of all Saints, ſaith he; and 1 Tim. 1. 7. I am the greateſt of all ſinners; you will never be in a right frame, in a Goſpel frame to love your brethren, till when you look on ſinners, you account your ſelves the greateſt, and when you look on Saints, you reckon your ſelves the leaſt. Therefore this is a plain, ſhort Leſſon. I mean not to ſpeak much of it, but truly it needs a large comment on your hearts, it needs a great deal of ſetting home upon your ſpirits.
Therefore let us every one look to our ſelves in this, let us conſider our condition, my condition that I ſtand in, and yours where you are. Is not this the frame of my ſoul, and the diſpoſition of your ſouls, that you never love another, nor never eſteem anothers love (for both go together in a proud heart) unleſs he look principally upon you …ve all others. Beloved, it is much for thee and me, if we underſtand our ſelves, what we are, and rightly judge of our ſelves, and our courſe, and how things are really in us, and before the eyes of him that ſearcheth the hearts; it is much for me if the pooreſt Saint give me but a ſmile, or a good look, yet this is our diſpoſition, if the Saints do not obſerve us, if one go by and do not obſerve us in the ſtreet, and put not off his hat, and ſpeak, and give us idle viſitations when he knows not what to do, he loves us not. It is a great deal if a Saint do but come over the threſhold, or look upon me in the ſtreet.
This is that that breeds endleſs quarrels (for they are here put together, Strife and Vain glory, and the like) for thou wilt be alway like the Salamander feeding upon ſome quarrel, for every man naturally hath ſome one thing that he feeds on principally; children feed on one cate more then another, and ſo do men, ſome upon Husbandry, ſome upon Navigation, ſome upon Policy, every one upon one thing or other. All men have ſome one thing that carries the ſtream of their hearts; ſome Profeſſors, the very ſtream of their ſpirits goes in quarrelling with others, they no ſooner end a quarrel with one Saint; but they begin another, they can no more live without jangling and quarrelling, and ſtrife, then the Salamander can live without fire. This is the reaſon, a proud heart therefore can never cloſe with the Saints, it cannot be content with a little meaſure of love from the Saints. A Saint if he be as he ſhould be, can love though he be not loved, and can rejoyce wonderfully if he have the leaſt meaſure of love from others. The Lord make this ſhort word ſpiritual, and powerful to thee, and me: If this leſſon were rightly learned, a world of diviſion among the Saints would ceaſe.