Thirty-One Select Sermons 2, Sermon collection · Sermon 8
CHRISTS Inſtrumental Fitneſs, FOR His Fathers Ends.
ISAIAH 42.2.
Behold my ſervant whom I have choſen, &c.
CHriſt is the Treaſure hid in the Goſpel, and the Pearl of great price: he is the Sun in the Firmament of the Scriptures, whom to know is everlaſting life; and therefore men are to lift up their heads, to pry into him; for the Angels do bow down theirs, and the Cherubims bow down theirs toward the Mercy-Seat: And in Chriſt there are mainly two things that ſhould take up our ſtudies; his perſonal fulneſs, and his inſtrumental fitneſs; for the one, it pleaſed the Father that in him ſhould all fulneſs dwell; we ſaw his glory, as the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth: and for the other, this Text holds it forth; and that in theſe three things.
Firſt, he is a ſervant, foreign the term notes a ſubordination to do the work of another, and to ſerve another mans ends: to have no will of his own, but what is his Lords: the Philoſopher ſaith, that ſervants are but foreign, living Inſtruments and they are foreign. and the leſs inſtrumental any one is, the leſs a ſervant he is; the nature of the relation lies in this properly, to be inſtrumental to another, 1 Cor. 3. ult. All things are yours, ye are Chriſts, and Chriſt is Gods, &c. there is a three-fold ſubordination; as the creatures be your ſervants, and were made wholly for you, and ye are Chriſts ſervants, ſo Chriſt is Gods ſervant, 1 Cor. 11.3. the head of Chriſt is God, and the head of the woman is the man, &c. So that there is a ſubordination and a ſubſerviencie inſtrumentally in Chriſt.
Secondly, he is a choſen ſervant; the Lord had a work to do that was extraordinary, that men and Angels his ordinary ſervants could not perform; and that is to bring the creature as fallen from God, to God again, in reconciliation and Communion; and therefore the Lord muſt raiſe up a new ſervant of purpoſe, who only could do this great work: and therefore the word is, foreign which doth ſignifie firſt probare, and then eligere: Firſt, examine and approve, and then to chuſe: to chuſe after a tryal and examination, my tryed, approved and choſen ſervant.
Thirdly, God having choſen him, he doth ſo fully anſwer his will, that he ſaith, his ſoul delights in him, or is ſatisfied: for the leſs ſuitable ſervants are to their maſters ends, the leſs delight they can take in them, for all delight ariſeth from ſuitableneſs: but he did the work of his maſter ſo fully, that the Lord had a perfect delight and full contentment in him; and therefore whereas we render, whom I upheld, it is in the original foreign innitar in eo, MontanusMontanus: upon whom I rely: other ſervants are unconſtant; God puts no confidence in Angels, but leans and relies on Chriſt.
Doctrine.
The Doctrine from hence is this: That Ieſus Chriſt as Mediator, is God the Fathers ſervant, and hath in him an Inſtrumental fitneſs to ſerve all the Fathers ends.
Firſt, for the proof of this, the Lord doth everywhere ſtile him his ſervant, to ſet forth his ſubordination, and his inſtrumentality to God, Iſa. 43.10. ye are my witneſſes, and my ſervant alſo whom I have choſen: potiſsime ſpectat ad Chriſtum: it is ſpoken of Chriſt who was the great Prophet, and under whom all other Prophets were witneſſes unto God: and therefore Rev. 1.5. he is called, the faithful and true witneſſe. Iſa. 52.13. he ſpeaks of the great reſtitution of his people the Jews; put on thy ſtrength O Zion, &c. the Lord hath made bare his arm, &c. My ſervant ſhall deal prudently, and proſperouſly, he having undertaken the Churches reſtauration, the pleaſure of the Lord ſhall proſper in his hand, Zach. 3.8. There were great difficulties that did hinder them in building the Temple: a mighty Samaritan faction, a mountain, the whole power of the Perſian Monarchie againſt it: but ſaith the Lord, be not diſcouraged; for, I will bring forth my ſervant the Branch; Ezek. 37.24,25. Servum vocat propter officium, & germen propter Humanitatem, Cameron.Cameron. David my ſervant ſhall be their King for ever: David was dead long ago, but this is at the return of the laſt captivity of the Jews, when the two ſticks ſhall become one, and then Typical David ſhall be King over them: and he ſhall ſit upon the Throne of his Father David, and become the glory of his people Iſrael.
The Temple was the type of Chriſt, Joh. 2.19. there was no ſervice to be done in the Temple, but there were all manner of neceſſary utenſils for it; there were Altars, Lavers, Cenſors and Snuffers, &c. to ſhew that Chriſt the ſpiritual Temple was himſelf furniſhed with whatever was neceſſary for the ſervice required of him, to be performed by him, Pſal. 80.17. Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand: which is expounded three waies.
Firſt, as an expreſſion of ſpecial love and favour, ſo Iacob called his youngeſt ſon, Benjamin the ſon of my right hand.
Secondly, it is an expreſſion of ſpecial honour: Solomon did ſet his mother at his right hand; and ſo Chriſt glorified in heaven, is ſaid to ſit down at the right hand of God.
Thirdly, an expreſſion of inſtrumentality; the right hand being the main inſtrument of action, therefore Chriſt being deareſt to God, becauſe moſt ſervicable; in this reſpect Chriſt may be well ſtiled, the man of Gods right hand.
But how came Chirſt to be a ſervant? Servants are of two ſorts. Firſt, nati, ſome are ad mancipium nati, born ſervants, as Iſhmael, for partus ſequitur ventrem, and therefore was a bond-man. Gal. 4. Hence it is, he is made the type of all uuregenerate men; the two mothers are the two Covenants; Iſaac theſon of the one, a type of the regenerate: Iſhmael of the unregenerate, who are born ſlaves, becauſe they are born under a broken Covenant; Hence is that Covenant ſaid, To gender to bondage. Secondly, facti, ſome are made, and that alſo two waies. Firſt, by conſtraint, or by purchaſe, or by conqueſt; and in al theſe waies the creatures are ſervants to Chriſt. Secondly, by conſent, when one being ſui juris, doth freely and willingly conſent and enter into Covenant with another, to yield up his will unto him, to do his work, and to be ſubſervient unto his ends: Now Chriſt was not born a ſervant, for he was the only begotten Son of God. There is a threefold ſervice introduced by ſin.
Firſt, a ſervice of men to Satan, Ioh. 8.44. to be led Captive by him at his pleaſure; and in the higheſt manner, as a God, to worſhip him: hence he became the God of this world.
Secondly, that civil ſubjection of one man to another; there was a Dominion that man had over all the other creatures: and there was a natural ſubjection of children to their parents: but a civil ſubjection of man to man came in by ſin, by the curſe: Nomen illud culpa meruit non natura, Auſtin.Auſtin.
Thirdly, Chriſt as Mediator becomes a ſervant unto God the Father; had man ſtood, all the creatures had been every way fit for the ends for which they were created, and they would have anſwered Gods expectation in them all; but when ſin came into the world, there is now a new work to do, to raiſe up the decaies of mankind, foreign, to take away ſin, and let the ſinner live: and this no creature in heaven or earth was fit for: the Lord muſt make a new ſervant, raiſe one a purpoſe for it, and unto this Chriſt did give conſent freely and willingly: he took upon him the form of a ſervant, Phil. 2.7. Heb. 10. he ſaith, Loe I come to do thy work O God, &c. Now that it may appear there was in him ſuch an inſtrumental fitneſs for all God the Fathers ends, we muſt examine what theſe ends are for which he is appointed: and they are of two ſorts. Firſt, principal. Secondly, additional and over-plus ends, &c.
Firſt, the principal ends are four: two of them are in reſpect of God, and two of them are in reſpect of man. Firſt, in reſpect of God. Firſt, the higheſt manifeſtation of all his glorious excellencies; the Lord had ſhewed forth much of himſelf before, but he will now ſet forth a new Syſtem of all his attributes, and he will ſo manifeſt them in Chriſt, as they were never known before: and if he had created millions of ſons, they would never have been ſo fit inſtruments for the manifeſtation of God as Chriſt is. Firſt, God had ſhewed much wiſdom before in the creation of the world, but much more in its reparation, &c. but now to take away ſin, and let the ſinner live, ſin damned and the ſinner ſaved, and that by ſo unimaginable a way as by the ſecond perſon to be made fleſh, it is that which the Angels admire and ſtudy, &c.
Secondly, God had before ſhewed a great deal of mercy and goodneſs to the creature, making him after his own Image, and entred into Covenant with him: but for to take up a creature into perſonal union with himſelf, and to make up one perſon, and he never to put off that clay again for ever: how great is this goodneſs?
Thirdly, God had ſhewed much Juſtice before, both upon Angels and men: but all this was but Juſtice upon creatures, yea guilty creatures; now Gods Juſtice is far greater: he will not ſpare his ſon when ſin was but imputed, and it is ſaid, he delighted to grinde him to powder, the word in the Hebrew, foreign Iſa. 53. as the word is uſed, to beat a thing in a morter, &c. it was the higheſt act both of mercy and Juſtice, that he did not ſpare his ſon, that we might thereby be freed from the puniſhment due to ſin.
Fourthly, it was the higheſt act of ſoveraignty; he had an abſolute ſoveraignty over all the creation before: he gives what Law he will, and appoints to what end he will: but for the Son to become a ſervant, he that thought it no robberie to be equal with God, and yet to take upon him the form of a ſervant, &c. and to be made under the Law, herein the ſoveraignty of God was marvellouſly declared, &c. therefore if God will manifeſt himſelf unto the world, there is more ſeen of him in Chriſt then can be in all the creatures in heaven and earrh.
Secondly, for Communication of himſelf in the higheſt way. Now this is the higheſt way of all other: for the ground of Communication is union: and the higher the union is, the more glorious the Communication. Now the Lord having taken the Lord Chriſt into the higheſt union with the God-head, there muſt needs be the fulleſt Communication, and ſo God will diſpenſe nothing unto the creatures but by the ſon, 1 Ioh. 5.11. and the more abundantly the Lord doth communicate himſelf unto Chriſt, the more gloriouſly will Chriſt communicate himſelf unto us; for he hath made him the ſecond Adam, A publick perſon, a fountain, a common Treaſury, and by him he will diſpenſe himſelf to us; therefore in reſpect of God the Father, whether we conſider Gods intention by manifeſtation, or ſelf-communication, Chriſt is the fitteſt Inſtrument to accompliſh Gods ends in reſpect of God.
Secondly, in reſpect of us, and ſo Gods ends are ſet down, Luk. 2.14. peace and good will towards men: reconciliation and communion; and there is a fitneſs in Chriſt for them both.
Firſt, for reconciliation; there muſt be ſatisfaction given unto God, ſomething anſwerable to the wrong that God hath ſuſtained by ſin; for it muſt be foreign, for if he will make the peace, he muſt pay the debt; and this none was able to do but Chriſt. Conſider, ſin hath wronged God in point of goods, and hath deſtroyed all the creatures; but Chriſt hath a world to lay down, for he is heir of all things, he is haeres natus, and he laies down his natural right, and takes it by a new title, as it were, Heb. 1.3. he is become haeres conſtitutus, an heir appointed, &c. Sin did wrong God in point of ſervice, it took away the ſervice of all the creatures from him, but now Jeſus Chriſt becoming a ſervant, he can do God more ſervice then all men or Angels could have done to eternity, and that in a higher and far more glorious way: and ſin did alſo wrong God in point of honour; and there it is impoſſible for a creature to make ſatisfaction. If all the Stars ſhould be Ecclipſed, they do never anſwer an Ecclipſe of the Sun, it is nothing in compariſon of the Suns Ecclipſe; but if the Sun ſhould be contented to be Ecclipſed, as Chriſt the Sun of righteouſneſs, he who in glory thought it no robberie to be equal with him: and Ioh. 17.2. he had a glory with God before the world was: and he did lay, down this glory for a time, and now he having finiſhed his work in the daies of his humiliation, he deſires that it may be reſtored to him again, glorifie me with that glory which I had with thee before the world was: for upon earth he had emptied himſelf, and took upon him the form of a ſervant; ſatisfactio eſt redditio aequivalentis; but this no creature could do, and therefore none could make peace for us, or ever accompliſh Gods end in our reconciliation.
Secondly, God will take man alſo into Communion with himſelf; man is Non ſolum inſtauratus, ſed melioratus, Auſtin.Auſtin. And there is none can do it but Chriſt having once paid the debt, and received his diſcharge, the Angel rolled away the ſtone, as a publike Officer, to let him out of priſon; he went unto the Father, and ſate down at the right hand of the Majeſty on high, and he that is gone ſo neer unto God who is the Son of his love, that lies in his boſom, which is the ſeat of ſecrets, and of love, who can give us Communion with him, and bring us unto the Father but he? Eph. 3.12. we have a foreign. Who can give Son-ſhip, but he that is the Son? and who can give an inheritance, but he that is the heir? who can renew our Image, but he that is the Image of the Father? and who can ſet us at the right hand of God, but he that is himſelf ſet down there? therefore as union is the higheſt ground of the higheſt Communion, ſo all the Communion that we have depends upon the Communion that he hath with the Father; and he being the neereſt, we have the greateſt ground of boldneſs and of confidence, when we come unto God by him: thus he is every way a fit inſtrument for all the principal ends, whether they reſpect God or man.
Secondly, there are ſome additional ends to be accompliſhed alſo, and Chriſt ſutes them all.
Firſt, conſider the Lord eſtabliſhes the earth for the Elects ſake; that all the creatures that are for mans uſe be not deſtroyed, it is for the Elects ſake: for Juſtice did require as ſpeedy vengeance upon men, as it did upon the Angels, Iſa. 49.8. now it is by the ſecond Covenant that God doth eſtabliſh the earth, by undertaking to pay the debt; for the ſentence had been executed immediately, had not this Covenant taken place; and therfore, Col. 1.17. it is by him that all things conſiſt, therefore his name is called Adonai, which doth ſignifie a baſis, which doth ſupport and uphold the building, that it fall not to ruine.
Secondly, will God have the ſervices of all the creatures brought about unto him again, that they ſhall do him more ſervice then ever they ſhould have done, and bring him in more glory one way or other? 2 Pet. 2.1. they are ſaid to deny the Lord that bought them: he hath bought all the world, ſome as ſons, to live with him and enjoy him for ever; and ſome as ſlaves, as wicked men and Devils, to do him ſervice: the perſons of the one, and the ſervices of the other, 2 Tim. 2.20. the world is a great houſe, in which are Veſſels, ſome of honour, and ſome of diſhonour, but all for the maſters uſe: and all the croſs actions and ſinful ends of men and Devils, he doth as a skilful Phyſitian temper as ſo many croſs ingredients that make one wholſom medicine: or as a skilful Muſitian, out of the diſcord of ſeveral ſtrings, makes a ſweet and a pleaſant harmony.
Thirdly, if he will have the world ruled; for according to the rules of the firſt Covenant, he will rule men no more, but he muſt deſtroy them: and therefore God the Father cannot govern immediatly: together with a change of the Covenant, there muſt needs be a change of the Government: Now who ſhall govern the world? there is none ſo fit to do it as Chriſt himſelf; and therefore Iſa. 9.6. the Government is upon his ſhoulders. Ioh. 5.23. and therefore the Saints of God do rejoyce in this, that the Lord raigns, and that not only in the Church, as ſome have conceived, but in all the Kingdoms of the world, Pſalm 8. Heb. 2. What is man that thou remembereſt him? thou haſt put all things in ſubjection to him: and for him are all things: and by him are all things: it is ſpoken of him as Mediator, God-man, Eph. 1. ult. he is made head over all things to the Church; over the Church, and over all things in the world for the Churches ſake, and ſo he is the perſon that diſpenſeth both Covenants, and he is the great Executioner of all the decrees of God: for God hath committed all Judgement to the Son; yea, as he is the ſon of man.
Fourthly, will God have the creatures reconciled one to another? there is none ſo fit to do it as Chriſt; ſin did make a breach in the whole creation: and when man ſinned, all the creatures became enemies to him, and one to another, that a man is affraid of the ſtones of the field; Job 5.23.but now in Chriſt there is an foreign, Eph. 1.10. and in him Angels and men are reconciled, Ioh. 1. ult. and all the creatures, Hoſ. 2.18. there is a Covenant that the Lord made with the beaſts, and the creeping things, &c. So that being one with Chriſt, all the creatures being his ſervants, they do all become your ſervants, Heb. 1.14. 1 Cor. 3. ult. all things are yours, for ye are Chriſts, and Chriſt is Gods.
Fifthly, would God have the creatures not only reſtored but inriched? Firſt, thoſe inferiour creatures that the ſin of man hath defaced, as we ſee in this earth, but the old ruines of glory, and the beauty of them all is gone, 2 Pet. 3.13. we look for new heavens, and a new earth, &c. Acts 3.21. there ſhall come a time of the reſtauration of all things; and who ſhall do this? Rev. 21.5. he ſaith, Behold I make all things new: and it is admirable to conſider the reſtauration of things, and that golden age which the Lord hath promiſed in the latter daies of the world, when all perſecuting Monarchies ſhall be taken down &c.
Secondly, in men, will the Lord not only reſtore, but redeem; melioratus eſt; he will give them a higher righteouſneſs, the righteouſneſs of God in him, even that righteouſneſs to which the God-head gave efficacie & excellency; the members of Chriſt have a higher and a neerer union then the Angels had; for theirs was but a moral union, but the Saints have a myſtical union, & a higher Son-ſhip then the Angels had; for theirs was but by creation, but ours by adoption, & a more glorious inherirance in this that we enter into our Maſters Ioy, &c.
Thirdly, the Angels that never fell have, Firſt, a glorious head in him, who hath undertaken both guidance and influence.
Secondly, a high imployment, principalities and powers, which came in with the ſecond Covenant; when Chriſts adminiſtration upon earth ſhall ceaſe, then alſo he will put down all rule, and authority and power, &c.
Thirdly, they receive the Spirit of God that acts them, Ezek. 1.12. and they receive many gifts from this ſpirit, even a ſpirit of Propheſie, Rev. 19.10.
Sixthly, will God have the world Judged? there is none fit but he that is the Son of man to Judge the world; Acts 17.31. he will Judge the world by the man whom he hath appointed; and who is able to do this but Chriſt? to take the accounts of all the world, or tell them what they owe unto God, and what is due in puniſhments or rewards from God unto them again, he only can open the Books: the Book of Conſcience, and the Book of Gods decrees: and diſcover the hidden things of darkneſs, and make manifeſt the counſels of the heart, &c. and when he hath performed this laſt and great ſervice, and given up the Kingdom of the Church to God the Father, then God ſhall be all in all in the Son, as well as in the Saints: and it will appear that he is the higheſt end, and his glory the utmoſt aim of both: and that all the glory that Chriſt hath, he hath as the Fathers ſervant, and ſo it is with the Saints alſo, &c.
Thus if we conſider all the ends of God, Chriſt hath in him a fitneſs that doth anſwer them all.
Uſe 1.
Take notice of the goodneſs of God in this: it was a great mercy to provide a Mediator, and an act meerly of free-grace: and to do all this for you when you fell from him, when he did not catch after the Angels but let them go; but the Lord adds to his mercy much in the ſuitableneſs of it, that your Mediator ſhould be taken up amongſt your brethren, and he that ſanctifies, and they that are ſanctified to be of one; for it is the ſuitableneſs of the mercy that doth make it much the greater; for God to give Adam a help, when amongſt the creatures there was none found, was a mercy; but now for the Lord to give him a meet help, a friend of a ſuitable ſpirit; and a calling ſuitable to a mans diſpoſition (for all ſweetneſs doth ariſe from fitneſs) O what a great mercy is this, for God to give a man ſuch a relation, which is as his own ſoul! Now how ſhould this ſweeten the Lord Chriſt unto a man? and how ſhould we ſtudy his ſuitableneſs unto Gods ends? as he is Gods ſervant, we ſhould labour to bring our hearts into ſuch a holy frame that the Lord may delight in our ſuitableneſs alſo, with all his ends and purpoſes; we ſhould take comfort in a ſuitable wife, eſtate, employment, but above all in a meet Mediator.
Secondly, this doth plainly argue, that God will give us all things, Rom. 8.32. A wiſe builder doth make his building in ſome meaſure anſwerable to the foundation; ſurely he that hath laid a foundation of Saphires, he will not build upon it mud-walls, and cover them with a roof of ſtraw; he hath laid the foundation in Chriſt his only ſon: and if he did not ſpare him, ſurely he will with him give us all things, &c. So he that hath fitted you with a Mediator anſwerable to all Gods ends and your ends, he will ſurely fit you with all things; ſo that thou ſhalt want nothing that thou ſtandſt in need of: he will give thee a ſutable eſtate, and feed thee with food convenient for thee; he will diſpenſe mercies to thee in the fitteſt time, for the Lord waits to be gracious; he takes meaſure of mens ſpirits; you may think, It would be fit for me to have ſuch a mercy, but the Lord denyes it you; let me tell thee, mercies in thy time, without Gods time, will do thee hurt: if thou have a mercy before thou be ripe for it, before God ſee a fitneſs in thee to receive it, it will be unſeaſonable; God takes meaſure of mens ſpirits I ſay, and defers mercies that his children long for, till they be made meet to receive them; therefore if God with-hold any good thing from thee, do you conclude, Surely it is not fit for me; for elſe he that hath fitted us with a Mediator, he would never fail to fit you with all things elſe.
Uſe 2.
If an inſtrumental fitneſs be an honour to Chriſt, then it muſt needs be ſo unto us, to be veſſels of honour fitted for the Maſters uſe: and here Conſider,
Firſt, to be employed by God is the greateſt honour to the creature, as the greateſt diſhonour is for God to lay a man aſide, 2 Tim. 2.21. &c. The great title of honour that Moſes had, was the Lords owning him as his ſervant, Moſes my ſervant, &c. and David my ſervant: and the Angels, their great honour lies in their ſervices, they are principalities and powers, Rom. 15.20. but in all this they are miniſtering ſpirits; and Paul, yea ſo have I ſtrived to Preach the Goſpel, foreign. He lookt upon it as his duty, and as his glory alſo: their ambition lay in this, who ſhould do moſt work, not who ſhould receive moſt wages; truly to be a Door-keeper, Pſal. 84.10. the meaneſt office, the loweſt employment for God is an honour to the greateſt Prince in the world: and therefore if the Lord employ men in eminent ſervices, it is the greater favour and the greater honour.
Secondly, it is a great honour to be uſeful amongſt the creatures; Eliakim was highly exalted by God, I will faſten him as a nayl in a ſure place, &c. Iſa. 22.23,24. Much people ſhall hang upon him, &c. Mich. 5.7. And the remnant of Jacob ſhall be in the midſt of many people as a dew from the Lord; and Elijah a man mighty ſerviceable to God in his generation, he is called the Chariot of Iſrael, and the horſe-men thereof, &c. It is the honour of godlineſs to be profitable for all things, &c.
Thirdly, the Lord is exceedingly pleaſed with the ſervices of his people, Hoſ. 9.10. I found Iſrael as grapes in the Wilderneſs, &c. but they are then more ſpecially acceptable, if their ſervices proceed from a ſpirit ſuited and prepared for them: for a good work from an unprepared heart, is a provocation unto God, and a ſign of hypocriſie in the man, 2 Chron. 12.14. and truly if our ſervices be not acceptable to God, they will never be comfortable unto us.
Queſtion.
The great Queſtion therefore which we ſhould ſtudy all our daies, ſhould be, What will make a man fit for ſervice?
I will give you a few things briefly.
Firſt, he that will be fitted for ſervice, muſt be acted by the ſame principle Chriſt was, and he muſt do all from a principle of union and unction; Chriſt did his from a perſonal union, and from an unction without meaſure, being cloathed with the Spirit; but we, from a myſtical union, and an unction from the ſame ſpirit, according to our meaſure, 1 John 2.20. having received this ſpirit as a ſpirit of regeneration and ſanctification: for there are no ſervices of an unregenerate man, that can either pleaſe God or profit himſelf, becauſe of the corrupt principle from which they flow; for he prayes from the ſame principle that he ſins, and the ſpirit of Satan doth as truly work in him in the one, as it doth in the other; and therefore his religious performances are turned into ſins, only his ſins proceed from a principle of open enmity, and his duties from a principle of ſecret flatterie. Semen naturae, &c. and therefore ſaies Luther, Bona opera non faciunt bonum virum, ſed vir bonus facit opera bona: Luther.A good tree bringeth forth good fruit: fructus non faciunt arbores bonas vel malas. The tree goes before the fruit, and the fruit is anſwerable to it; therefore if the tree be evil, and thou have not in thee an inward principle of union and unction, thou art not fitted for ſervice, &c.
Secondly, Chriſt was fitted for ſervice by this, that as he did not his own will, ſo he ſought not his own glory, but did all his ſervices from a principle of ſelf-denyal. I ſeek not mine own glory, but the glory of him that ſent me; that was all the gain he ſought for, that his Father ſhould be glorified: Non tantum poſſeſſio, ſed proprietas acquiritur à Domino. There is a twofold faithfulneſs, as there is a two-fold integrity: there is an uprightneſs particularly in ſome one act, as there was in Abimelech, In the integrity of my heart did I this, Gen. 20.6. and Iſa. 8.2. and I took unto me faithful witneſſes, Uriah the Prieſt, who was not faithful to the things of God, &c. a man may be faithful in particular actions between man and man, and yet be very falſe and unfaithful in the univerſal courſe of his life between him and God, as this Uriah was, who made the new faſhioned Altar for Ahaz. Whileſt the Lord Chriſt was upon earth, he had not the poſſeſſion of any thing in the earth; though he was Lord of al, he was maintained by the benevolence of his ſervants, denyed himſelf in his honour, and in his eaſe, had no will of his own, but the will of duty overcame the will of nature: O why ſhould not we aſpire to be like our Maſter! &c. but how few make this example theirs! Hoſ. 10.11. Men are willing to tread out the corn, &c. but it is hard to find men that in ſervice are carried with a ſingle eye; it is eaſie with Jehu to pretend Reformation, and alſo proffer to do much for God, under a cloak of covetouſneſs or preheminence, to make themſelves rich and great; I fear that is the deſign of many, and its ſtrange to ſee what poor reſpects will ſway with men in this kind, in things of the greateſt conſequence, as Saul, honour me before the people; and Mal. 1. the Table of the Lord is polluted by the Prieſts, they offered polluted bread, they would have been glad it had been better, but the people were newly come out of Captivity, and did ſnuff at the ſacrifices, and therefore they ſaid they muſt take what the people would bring, elſe they ſhould get nothing; the worſhip of God would ceaſe they thought, potius omnia rejiciunt; and ſo men do, foreign; Men that bend with the times, and maintain truth in an artificial middle way, &c.
Thirdly, Chriſt did all his ſervices from a principle of love and deſire to pleaſe God, Joh. 14. ult. he did all, that the world may know that I love the Father. Chriſt indeed loved the Church, but his great argument that prevailed moſt with him, is love to his Father: Amor eſt pondus animae: the byas of his ſoul: Amore deſiderii, to be united to him; Amore complacentiae, delighting in him; and the love of benevolence too returns all to him again; for this principle lies at his heart as coals of Juniper, &c. and all this was to pleaſe God; for Chriſt did not pleaſe himſelf in what he did; there is ſelf-pleaſing, and men-pleaſing, which acts many men in their ſervices; but there are few with Chriſt and Paul, that do all they do that they may pleaſe God. Iohn 8.29. I am not alone, but the Father is with me, for I do alwaies the things that pleaſe him, &c.
Fourthly, Chriſt was zealous for God in all things, and the things of God were dear to him: with how much earneſtneſs doth he aſſert the truth againſt the Hereticks, the Phariſees, Sadduces, and Herodians in his time? he whipt buyers and ſellers out of the Temple: nay if his Diſciple be an Inſtrument of Satan, he ſaith, Get thee behind me Satan, &c. 2 Ioh. 10. if they bring not this word, receive them not: give them no entertainment, ſhew no friendſhip to them, nor familiarity with them, leaſt you thereby encourage them in an evil way, as Polycarpus ſaies to Marcion the Heretick, Novi…te eſſe primogenitum Satanae. Men are but as Carbuncles, have a great ſhew of zeal for God, but when they come to act any thing, they are key-cold, &c. Tranſlucent ad modum ardentis prunae.
Fifthly, he acted with reſolution, and was not diſcouraged for want of ſucceſs. Iſa. 49.4. I have laboured in vain, I have ſpent my ſtrength for nought, &c. Yet ſurely my Iudgement is with thee, &c.
There is a curſe pronounced upon him that doth the work of the Lord negligently, or deceitfully, &c. and he ſaith, though Iſrael were not gathered, my reward is with the Lord. Duty is ours, ſucceſs is Gods, ſhould be a Chriſtians Motto; when we undertake any ſervice for God, we ſhould caſt our burden upon him alone, all the burden of ſucceſs: for many men do promiſe themſelves much ſucceſs, and undertake a great ſervice for God, and think to go through the difficulties they meet withal, yet afterward they ſay as he did, Old Adam is too ſtrong for young Melancthon, &c.
Sixthly, Chriſt did ſerve God ſo in his publike Miniſtery, that he neglected not his private Communion; he Preached publikely all the day, when it might have been ſaid, Maſter ſpare thy ſelf; yet he got into a Mountain at night alone to pray: he roſe up a great while before it was day, to ſpend ſome time in ſecret fellowſhip with God: and is not this our duty to maintain our private Communion? It is an evil way we are all ſubject to, to neglect private benefits to our ſouls, under the pretence of publike ſervice and employments: and let me tell you, ſins of omiſſion at the laſt day will be their deſtruction, when many ſhall guaſh their teeth and ſay, I have been employed in ſaving Kingdoms: I bore up the Pillars of the earth, but now I am ſhut out: I have been employed in that great work in ſaving ſouls, but now I my ſelf am a caſt-away: I ſhone as a ſtar upon earth, but now I muſt for ever be in the horror of darkneſs. Oh who would not tremble at theſe ſad apprehenſions, and labour for a ſuitable frame of ſpirit with the Lord Chriſt, in all our ſervices! that the Lord may ſay unto us, Well done good and faithful ſervant, enter thou into the Ioy of thy Lord.