but rich;' and that which Paul saith of the apostles may be said of all, they are poor and rich, base and honourable, dying and yet living, having nothing, and yet possessing all things, 2 Cor. iv. 8, et seq. And why? Reason 1. Needs it must be so, for being converted, they obtain a new name, Rev. ii. 17; yea, they have this peculiar favour granted, as 1 John iii. 1, to be called the sons of God.' This is set down with a 'behold,' to admire the wonderful love of God and excellency of the saints, who are also called princes on earth, as Ps. xlv. 16. 2. Secondly, they have a new nature, being made partakers of the image of God, and so of the divine nature; as it is, 2 Pet. i. 4, having escaped that corruption which is in the world through lust.' 3.-Thirdly, they have a new estate; Christ Jesus makes them free, as John viii. 35, and he makes them also rich, supplying all their wants with the riches of his glory: as Ps. iv. 3, the prophet says, 'But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself,' &c. 4. Lastly, they have a new kindred and guide. God is their Father, they are members of Christ: 1 Cor. xii. 13, they are led by the Spirit of God.' God dwelleth in them, and the Spirit of glory rests upon them even in affliction, 1 Pet. iv. 14, and filleth them with glorious faith and precious graces. [1.] This first discovers a wonderful blindness in us, who can see no such matter in the saints of God. Christians shine in the world as stars in a dark night, and as far excel all others as corn weeds, chaff; yea, as far as lilies and roses do thorns and briars; and yet we cannot see it, unless we have riches, titles, fashions, wit, beauty to grace them. We see no beauty in them, we do not regard nor reverence them, we neglect, nay, despise them. Oh hearts of flesh, oh carnal eyes, that can see nothing but outward gauds and toys! How do we stick in the outward mud of this world, that serve only the world! How do we judge by the outward appearance! How carnal to have the glorious faith of Christ in respect of persons! Jude 16. How blind are we who cannot see the sunshine, and no excellency in those whom all the glorious angels serve, whom the King of glory terms the fairest of women!' Brethren, what shall I say to you? If your eyes be so blinded that you cannot see the church like Solomon's curtains, cannot see beauty in a Christian's face, wisdom in his language, glory in his behaviour, even in affliction; when their happiness is revealed, it will be a proof against you that you have not that anointing of God which teaches you all things, that you are but natural. Ask yourselves, therefore, the question, what men do I most admire, reverence, and who is most glorious in my eye? And if the Christian be not, you have but fleshly eyes, hearts, and affections. Strive and labour reformation. 6 [2.] Secondly, This is comfort to saints now and hereafter. Now they be glorious, but yet they are but in the way going to glory; as Prov. iv. 18, The path of the just is as the shining light' that waxeth more and more unto the perfect day.' Yet their life is hid with God in Christ.' When Christ, which is their life, shall appear, then shall they likewise appear in glory,' Col. ii. 3. Now they are the sons of God; but it appeareth not in this world what they shall be; and if they be now such, whilst black, what when in heaven, when Christ is made glorious in them? If thus in their pilgrimage, what at home in their country? If thus, imperfect, what in perfection? If thus, in corruption, what when this corruption shall put on incorruption? And if thus, in mortality, what when mortality shall be swallowed up of life? 1 Thus we have heard the church's apology for her blackness. The next verse, which I cannot now speak of as I would, contains the remainder of her answer, wherein she proceeds to shew thus much, that the church and Christians, even at the worst, are not to be despised for infirmities. This she takes for granted, as formerly proved, and then goes on to shew the causes which wrought her blackness and misery. 1. First, outwardly; The sun had parched her, that is, many afflictions had overtaken her; and then, in her particular, her mother's sons had crossed her; false hypocrites, erroneous, proud professors, carrying the name of brethren, had vilified and taken all occasions to put base drudgery upon her. 2. The second cause was inward; She kept not her own vineyard, that is, she did not husband her own soul aright; she looked not to her own work and charge; which words contain not an extenuation of her blackness, but an amplification of the causes of it rather. Thus you see the church's mind: she thinks men should rather comfort and encourage her, than despise her for her many afflictions, seeing she doth so freely confess them; and those who are in misery ought to be comforted. Not to stand upon it : hence we learn, Doct. 4. We must not still be poring into the deformities of God's church and people, like flies on galled places, or dogs upon garbage and raw flesh. For, Reason 1. First, This is a practice which utterly crosseth God in his commandments, who chargeth us not to despise the day of small things,' Zech. iv. 10. Reason 2. Secondly, This is quite against justice; for Christians have beauty as well as blackness, graces as well as corruptions. Reason 3. Thirdly, This neither cometh from any good, nor worketh good. It ariseth from pride, ignorance, &c., and sheweth that a man neither knows his own estate, nor God's proceedings with his people, who brings them to honour through baseness, and confounds the glory of the world with base things. Use 1. This condemneth those Christians who have their eyes still upon the blackness of the church, who are of three sorts: First, papists, who deck a whore, and call her Christ's spouse, and in the mean time despise the church of Christ for blackness and outward deformities. Secondly, against such who stumble as much at our inward deformities, as these at our outward debasements, at our discipline, preaching, ministry, sacraments, calling, ordinances, as though all were antichristian. Why will not such see white with black? good with bad? We confess that in our church, as in every church visible, there is corn and tares, fish, good and bad, sometimes children, sometimes bastards, only sons by the mothers' side: we never knew it otherwise in any church. Thirdly, This is against such as like bats can see to fly in the dark only. The prosperity of Christians they cannot see, or graces, nor comforts, nor good works, to be provoked thereby to obedience; but if any one be crossed in his profession, they speak of it; if any fall into sin, they remember him; if any suffer shipwreck, if any live less comfortably, or die less cheerfully, oh then there is work enough: who would be a Christian? How doth it make men mopish and lumpish, and bring men out of their wits? And whence is all this; but from ignorance or great hypocrisy, or malice? In love there is no such offence, as John speaks, and therefore to these the church speaks, Look not upon me, because I am black, &c. A word only of the causes of her affliction, and so I have done which came by her mother's sons, such as live in the church. So that we see the church hath those who afflict her and persecute her even within herself. See for this point: Rebekah's sorrow and struggling within her, two nations, Gen. xxv. 22. Next, see how they use her, and why? They take her by violence, and force her to slavery, and exercise too much hardness over her; and the reason that she apprehends is, the neglects in her own business; lay these together: so we learn, Doct. 5. Then God's children pay for it, when they do not their own work, not keeping their own standing. It is with them as soldiers and scholars, when they keep not their own places, and learn not their own lessons: they are met with on every side. And that, Reason 1. First, because no man speeds well out of his own place, but Christians worst of all; as Prov. xxvii. 8, a thousand inconveniences befall to one's self, to his charge, when absent. God will be upon him, and leave him to himself, till he hath wound himself into woeful brakes.* Reason 2. Secondly, Men will be upon his back, as Paul on Peter's, or else grow strange till he be humbled; but bad men they will curse him, all the hypocrites in the town will be at his heels. Reason 3. Thirdly, The devil will be upon them, and having drawn them out of the way, will either still mislead them, or else cut their throats and steal all, or hold them, if possible he may, from returning unto God; as in the prodigal son. Reason 4. Fourthly, Their own consciences will be upon them, and it is with them as with a child that plays truant, his heart throbs, he hath no peace: so a Christian, whether he prosper or not prospers, he hath no peace, he eats not, he sleeps not in peace. The uses briefly are two. Use 1. Is this true? It first teacheth us to do as the church doth, to examine ourselves when troubles come, when the Lord sends officers to arrest us, sets dogs upon us to fetch us in. When we meet stirs and storms abroad, when wicked men bark and brawl, when they tyrannize and task, when good men look strangely on us, when God hides his face, and our consciences be not comfortable unto us, oh, then, let us ask ourselves the question, where am I? what have I done? wherein have I been negligent? This, this is that which God aimeth at. Therefore he makes our paths uncomfortable, to the end we should examine our vaunts; therefore he turneth loose wicked men, that we might inquire. This is that which will work us patience in all provocations, drive us to repentance, and bring us home; this will make one lay his face in the dust, and rather justify God, than charge him foolishly. Therefore let us not fret or chafe at men, their pride, malice, &c., but say, why doth living man fret? He suffers for sin: Lament. iii. 1, et seq., say with the church here, I kept not mine own vine: and this hath hurt me.' And then howsoever God's people may sometimes smart for not keeping their vines, and performing their own duties; yet those crosses sting not, but comfort; they then ere long abound with joy, peace, increase of love and watchfulness, which are let in most an end by former negligences. God saw his people drowsy, worldly, secure, and therefore is constrained to send persecution, so that if evils be upon us, we have cause to say, 'I kept not mine own vine;' time was when I was idle all day in the vineyard, and did nothing, and yet I am too negligent. * That is, thickets' difficulties.-G. All Use 2. Secondly, Here see what is the best way to prevent crosses. crosses be rods, as Christ speaks in the gospel, and scourges. Now if a child will do well, what father will whip him? If we will learn the lessons of our salvation, Christ, God will not scourge us; if we would follow the shepherd and not stray, what need dogs run at us? Why then, let us know the duties of our place and do them, and keep ourselves close to them, for all our safety, peace, comfort, lieth there. Our place is a ship on the seas. Now two ways we fail in our course. First, by out-running our callings. We grow too far over-busy, and indeed this is most incident to the church in her first beginning. She is then too nimble with others, and too busy; her zeal, as she thinks, carries her captive. Secondly, by running too slowly. This is incident to Christians of riper years. After a while they slack, cooling apace, and it is with us as with children, so eager to go to school at first, that there is no quiet, but after hardly* drawn. So it is with us. Amend, amend therefore these: turn neither to the right hand nor the left; for if thou doest, thou art like to smart for it. Then up and upon your callings as Christians, as masters, as servants, as magistrates, as husbands, as wives. Every one hath a vine to look to, look to your callings; and then whatsoever befall you, if you suffer not as evil doers, blessed are you,' 1 Peter iii. 14. * That is, 'with difficulty.-G. NOTES. (a) P. 96.—' They dwelt in tents, covered with hair (as Solymus and [as] Pliny speaks).' The tents of the Kedareens, a nomadic tribe of North Arabia (Gen. xxv. 13, Isa. xxi. 17), were and still are made of coarse cloth obtained from the shaggy hair of their black goats (Rosenmüller, Orient. iv. 939; Saalschütz, Archäologie der Hebräer, Erster Theil. p. 63). Cf. Guisburg among modern, and Robotham and Trapp among early, commentators in loco. For Sibbes's references to Pliny, see Natural History, lib. vi. c. 28; and for Solinus (not Solymus), c. 26 ; i. e., Caius Julius Solinus, who has been called the 'ape of Pliny,' for the large use he makes of that writer's works. Among the many services to our early English literature by Arthur Golding, was a translation-racy and finely touched-of Solinus. (b) P. 96.—For the meaning, we will not be prejudicial to any man's opinion.' Commentators named in above, note a, will shew the various opinions,' the Puritans having much quaint fancy, and not less quaint lore. G. |