SERMON XI. A SERMON PREACHED TO THE CLERGY OF THE DEANERY OF SHORHAM IN KENT, AT ST. MARY-CRAY. THE PASTOR'S MOTTO. 2 COR. xii. 14. For I seek not yours, but you. XI. THIS text hath somewhat in it seasonable both for the SERM. assembly and the times I speak in; for the first, it is the word or motto of an Apostle, non vestra sed vos, "not yours but you," transmitted to us with his apostleship, to be transcribed not into our rings or seals of orders, but our hearts, there, if you please, to be engraven with a diamond, set as the stones in our ephod, the jewels in our breast-plate, gloriously legible to all that behold us. And for the second, consider but the occasion that extorted from our humble saint this so magnificent elogy of himself; you shall find it that which is no small part of the infelicity of his successors at this time, the contempt and vileness of his ministry, a sad joyless subject of an epistle, which would have been all spent in superstruction of heavenly doctrine upon that precious foundation formerly laid, in dressing of those noble plants, that generous vine, that had cost him so much care to plant, Is. v. [2.] but is fain to divert from that to a comfortless Tápeрyov, a parenthesis of two or three chapters long, to vindicate himself from present danger of being despised, and that even by his own children, whom he had begotten in the Gospel, but other pseudos, made up all of lying and depraving, had debauched out of all respect to his doctrine, or estimation to his person. I should have given a St. Paul leave to have hoped XI. SERM. for better returns from his Corinthians, and now he finds it otherwise, to have expressed that sense in a sharper strain of passion and indignation than Tully could do against Antonya, when on the same exacerbation he brake out into that stout piece of eloquence, Quid putem? contemptumne me? non video quid sit in moribus aut vita mea, quod despicere possit Antonius. But there was another consideration, which, as it composes our Apostle's style, so it enlarges it with arguments, all that he can invent to ingratiate himself unto them, because this contempt of their Apostle was a most heinous, provoking sin, and withal that which was sure to make his apostleship successless among them. And then, though he can contemn reputation, respect, any thing that is his own, yet he cannot the quæro vos, "seeking of them," that office that is intrusted him by Christ, of bringing Corinthians to heaven. Though he can absolutely expose his credit to all the cagles and vultures on the mountains, yet can he not so harden his bowels against his converts, their pining, gasping souls, as to see them with patience posting down this precipice; by despising of him, prostituting their own salvation. And therefore in this ecstatic fit of love and jealousy in the beginning of chap. xi. you may see him resolve to do that that was most contrary to his disposition, boast, and vaunt, and play the fool, give them the whole tragedy of his love, what he had done and suffered for them, by this means to raise them out of that pit, force them out of that hell, that the contempt of his ministry had almost engulphed them in. And among the many topics that he had provided to this purpose, this is one he thought most fit to insist on, his no design on any thing of theirs, but only their souls; their wealth was petty inconsiderable pillage and spoil for an Apostle in his warfare; too poor, inferior gain for him to stoop to; a flock, an army, a whole Church full of ransomed souls, fetched out of the jaws of the lion and the bear, was the only honourable rexvii. 34.] ward for him to pitch design on, non quæro vestra sed vos, "I seek not yours, but you." [1 Sam. a In handling which words, should I allow myself licence to [Quod putem? contemtumne me? non video nec in vita, nec in gratia, mediocritate ingenii quid despicere possit Antonius. Cic. Orat. Phil. ii. 1.] XI. observe and mention to you the many changes that are rung SER M. upon them in the world, my sermon would turn all into satire, my discourse divide itself not into so many parts, but into so many declamations: 1. against them that are neither for the vos nor vestra, the "you," nor "yours;" 2. those that are for the vestra, but not vos, the "yours" but "not you;" 3. those that are for the vos, "you," but in subordination to the vestra, "yours," and at last perhaps meet with a handful of gleanings of pastors that are either for the vestra, "yours," in subordination to the vos, "you;" or the vos, "you," but not vestra, "yours." Instead of this looser variety I shall set my discourse these strict limits, which will be just the doctrine and use of this text; 1. consider the Tò pηròv, the truth of the words in St. Paul's practice; 2. the Tò λoyixòv, the end for which they are here mentioned by him; 3. the Tò nikov, how far that practice and that end will be imitable to us that here are now assembled; and then I shall have no more to tempt or importune your patience. 25; Phil. i. First of the first, St. Paul's practice in seeking of the vos, "you." That his earnest pursuit of the good of his auditors' souls, though it have one very competent testimony from this place, ἥδιστα δαπανήσω καὶ ἐκδαπανηθήσομαι ὑπὲρ τῶν ver. 15. vxŵv iμwv, “most willingly will I spend and be spent for your souls," even sacrifice my soul for the saving of yours, yet many other places there are which are as punctual and exact for that as this in this text; nay, it is but a (ητŵ, “seek,” here, but you shall find it an ȧywviçoμai, "contend," in many other places; all the agonistical phrases in use among the [1 Cor. ix. ancient Grecians culled out and scattered among his epistles, 30; Col. ii. fetched from Olympus to Sion, from Athens to Jerusalem, 1; 1 Thess. and all little enough to express the earnest holy violence of xii. 4.] his soul in this kaλòs ȧyov, "good fight;" as he calls his [1 Tim. vi. ministry, running and wrestling with all the difficulties in the iv. 7.1 world, and no ẞpaßeîov or åλov, "price" or "reward" of all that industry and that patience, but only the vμâs, “you,” gaining so many colonies to heaven. But then for the non vestra, "not yours," his absolute disclaiming of all pay for this his service; this text and the verses about it are more punctual than any that are to be met with. In other places [1 Cor. ix. he can think fit the soldier, i. e. minister, "should not war 7,9; 1Tim. v. 17, 18.] ii. 2; Heb. 12; 2 Tim. XI. ver. 13. ver. 14. ver. 16. ver. 17. SERM. at his own charges," that the "ox's mouth should not be muzzled," and that the "labourer should be thought worthy of his reward," and a "double honour for some of those [Heb. xii. labourers," the πрwтотókia, "elder brother's portion," the 16.] privilege of primogeniture for some, and that consisting not 1Tim.v.17. only in a poσтaσía," precedence," but diλn Tiμn, " double honour," and that of maintenance too, as well as dignity. But in this chapter to these Corinthians the Apostle renounces receiving, or looking after any such revenue, or encouragement to his apostleship; what he saith here où T, "I seek not," for the present, he specifies both for time past and to come, οὐ κατενάρκησα, “ I have not,” and οὐ καταναρkýσw, “I will not ;" i. e., saith Hesychius', that best understood the Hellenists' dialect, KaTeváρкησα, éẞúрvva, it signifies to lay burdens on others, and the Apostle in that very word oй Kaτeßáρnoa vμâs, “I have not laid weights on you;" and yet further, oùk éπλeоvékтησa", "I have not coveted," all to this same purpose, that St. Paul, on some special considerations, would never finger one penny of the Corinthians' wealth, but still used some other means to sustain himself, that he might be sure not to be burdensome to them. What these means were will not be easy to say exactly, yet I think one may collect them to be one or more of these three: 1. "Labouring with his own hands," earning his maintenance Acts xviii. on the week-days by his trade of making tents, as we read, and that particularly at Corinth; 2. receiving pensions of other Churches, which furnished him with a subsistence, though he had none from Corinth; and that is more than a conjecture, he mentions it himself, and calls it the "robbing of other Churches, taking wages of them to do your service;" and perhaps, 3. being relieved by some Christians that accompanied and ministered to his necessities; for that was the practice of other Apostles, whatever it was of St. Paul; and that I con1 Cor. ix. 5. ceive the meaning of that mistaken phrase, "Have we not power,” ἀδελφὴν γυναῖκα περιάγειν, " to carry about a believing or a sister woman," or matron, (for so ȧdeλpòs, "a brother," is every where a believer, and adeλon, "sister," is but the varying the gender or sex,) as many others did, to 3. ver. 1. [2 Cor. xi. 8.] C [Hesych. Lex. in verb. p. 508.] [μή τινα ὧν ἀπέσταλκα πρὸς ὑμᾶς, δι' αὐτοῦ ἐπλεονέκτησα ὑμᾶς;] XI. ver. 4. maintain and defray the charge of their journey, that so they SERM. might uǹ épyáseolaι, "forbear working, and yet eat and drink,” not starve themselves by preaching the Gospel. Such ver. 6. an one was Phoebe, who therefore is called diákovos, "a servant of the Church of Cenchrea," i. e., one that out of "her Rom.xvi.1. wealth," dinкóvel," ministered to the Apostles," and sustained them, and particularly St. Paul at Corinth, as will appear if you put together that second verse of Rom. xvi. and the date or subscription in the conclusion of the epistle. In ver. 2. she is called προστάτις πολλῶν καὶ αὐτοῦ ἐμοῦ, προστάτις, i. e., πρόevos, "entertainer" and "succourer of many," and of St. Paul himself, and this it seems at Corinth, for there she was with him, and from thence she went on St. Paul's errand to carry this epistle to the Romans, as it is in the subscription. The same he affirms distinctly of the brethren, i. e., the "faithful that came from Macedonia,” ὑστέρημά μου προσανεπλήρωoav, "they supplied my wants." And so still the Corinthians [2 Cor. xi. 9.] had the Gospel for nothing. By these three means the Apostle kept himself from being burdensome to them. But you will wonder, perhaps, why St. Paul was so favourable to these Corinthians, so strictly and almost superstitiously careful not to be burdensome or chargeable to them. This I confess was a receding from a right of his apostleship, and more than will be obligatory or exemplary to us; nay, more than he would yield to, as matter of prescription to himself, in other Churches, for there, it is apparent, he made use of that privilege; but then it is still the more strange he did it not at Corinth. The reason I can but guess at to be this; the Church of Christ in other parts at that time, particularly in Jerusalem, was in some distress, and it was committed to St. Paul's trust to get a contribution out of all other parts for them; this contribution is called by an unusual phrase, Xápis, "grace," I know not how many times in chap. viii. of [ver. 1, 4, this epistle, which I conceive the very word which in Latin and English is called charity, caritas, àñò TŶs xápiтos, in a sense that Aristotle uses xápis; and as it is all one with KOLvovía, "communication," "distribution," "ministering to ver. 4. κοινωνία, the saints," and as in the benediction xápis, "grace," and κοινωνία, "communion," are words of the like importance. [2 Cor. xiii. 13.] 4 καθ ̓ ἣν ὁ ἔχων λέγεται χάριν ὑπουργεῖν τῷ δεομένῳ. Rhet. ii. 7. 6, 7, 9, 19.] |