23. xi. 32. Eph. ii. 17. our race had forfeited and was fallen from God'ss ER M. favour; having injured him beyond all power of IV. making him any reparation or fatisfaction; that thence it was fecluded from all means and hopes ap- Rom. iii. parent of happiness, was expofed and tended down- Gal. iii. 22. right unto mifery; that we consequently had no ground to hope that God (from whom, no less in mind and in deed, than by reafon of our guilt and ftate of condemnation, we were eftranged,) would, in kindness, bestow any good upon us, or from us accept favourably any thing we should do. But that, by our Saviour's performances, the cafe is altered; he, by his entire obedience, having fo pleafed God, by his patient fubmiffion to God's will, having fo appeased his anger, and satisfied his juftice, that God is not only reconciled, but hath an especial favour, bears an earnest good-will toward us. That now the good things we poffefs, we may truly efteem as bleffings, and enjoy them with real comfort, as proceeding from mercy and kindness; now what we Acts iii. 26. honeftly endeavour, we may hope fhall please God iii. 12. now we have a free accefs to God, and may cheer-Ev fully present our facrifices of duty and devotion, Eph. i. 6. with a full perfuafion that they fhall be accepted. But all this happinefs, all thefe favours and privileges, we must always remember to come from the continued procurement and mediation of the Beloved; fo as ever to be ready to acknowledge it, and to return our thanks therefore. To this fense that our Apostle here had an especial regard, the words immediately following imply-Doing all in the name of the Lord Jefus, giving thanks to God and the Father, by him; that is, in all things we do, taking occafion to render thanks to God, as for his fake being merciful and bountiful to us; bestowing upon us the good we enjoy, bleffing our endeavours, accepting our performances. We must not conceit, that any regard, any mercy, any favour, any reward is due to us in equity, is in effect conferred upon us, upon σει. IV. SER M. upon our perfonal fcore; (for, how mean things are we in comparison of his greatnefs; how vile and filthy things muft we appear to his most pure and all-difcerning eyes; how unworthy of his regard and of his affection must we needs take ourselves to be, if we do but well confider, and are acquainted with ourselves?) but that in him (i. e. for his fake, and Eph. i. 3.6. by his means) God hath blessed us with all spiritual bleffings, in him ixagitwσ nuas, God hath favoured, and caft his grace upon us; valuing us notwithstanding all our imperfections; loving us notwithftanding all the fpots with which we are defiled; notwithstanding all the offences we have committed; for the relation and alliance we have to Jefus. Nor muft we look on our fervices (the best we are able to perform) as in themselves grateful or fatisfactory : for all of them, if we mark them well, we fhall find not only quite unprofitable to God, but very defective in many respects; for, who can fay, he performs any thing both in kind, in manner, in degree thoroughly right and good; with that ardency of love he owes to God, with that purity of intention, with that earnest vigour of fpirit, with that undistractednefs of mind, with which he should perform it? No; in all our flock we cannot pick out a facrifice entire and unblemished; fuch as God requires, fuch as duty exacts of us. They need therefore (all our fervices need) to be commended and completed by the beloved Son's perfectly well-pleafing performHeb. vii. ances; they need to be cleanfed and hallowed, by paffing through the hands of our most holy and undefiled High-prieft; to become fweet and favoury Eph. v. 2. (or to receive that dun días, which St. Paul speaks Rev. viii. 3 of) from being offered up in his cenfer. In fine, as all our actions should, in our intention, be works of religion dedicated to God's fervice and honour; facrifices, as it were, of gratitude and homage to God ; fo they ought all to be offered up in the name of Jefus. I add farther, 26. 5. IV. VII. Laftly, that to do in the name of Jefus, s ER M. may well imply doing with invocation of him: thus we may understand that place of St. James, where the elders are advised to pray, and anoint the fick in theJam. v. 14. Lord's name, for, to anoint them, imploring our Lord's bleffing upon them, and upon those means used for their cure. And thus St. Chryfoftom expounds the words; do all in Jefus's name, that is, faith he, imploring him for your helper in all things; always firft praying to him, undertake your business. Doing thus, will indeed Chriften and confecrate our actions; for all things, faith our Apostle, are fanctified by the word 1 Tim. iv. God, and prayer; that is, by God's bleffing im-5. plored, and obtained by prayer; or, if God's word be there taken for his law, or revealed will, it is there fignified, that our actions are not only fanctified by their lawfulness, or conformity to that good rule, God's declared will; but alfo by the invocation of his name; however, all our actions, it seems, are unhallowed and profane, if not accompanied with devotion. That to do thus is our duty, appears by those frequent injunctions, to pray indefinently, to Theff. v. pray always, to abide inftantly in prayer; which do not Luk.xviii.r. only import, that we fhould pray often, and con-Ro. xii. 12. tinue with patience and earneftnefs in prayer; but ExTavas. that we should annex it to, or interpofe it among, all our actions, undertaking nothing (at least of confideration or moment) without it. We fhould do it (our Saviour commands) v Tavri xaig, that is, on Luke xi. 36. every occafion and St. Paul gives the fame direction; Praying, fays he, i Tarri xaig, on all opportunities, Eph. vi. 18. 1 In locum. Αὐτὸν καλῶν βοηθὸν, ἐπὶ πάντων πρότερον αὐτῷ εὐχόμενος, ἅπτε τῶν πραγμάτων. • Δεῖ πάσης τῆς πράξεως προηγεῖαι την προσευχήν. Μ. Erem. Μηδὲν μήτε ποιῶμεν μήτε λέγωμεν πρὶν ἢ τὸν θεὸν καλέσω και παρακα λίσαι συνεφάψαθαι τῶν ἐν χερσὶν ἡμῖν ἁπάντων. Chryf. Τῦτο δέγε πάντες ὅσοι καὶ κατὰ βραχὺ σωφροσύνης μετέχεσιν ἐπὶ πάση ὁρμῇ καὶ σμικροῦ τις μεγάλες πράγματος θεὸν αεί το καλύσιν. Plato. Τim. Vid. Epift. 8. Arr. Epict. 11. 18. with 17. Col. iv. 2. IV. Εν καρδίᾳ. SER M. with all prayer and fupplication in fpirit; (in fpirit, that is, I take it, in our hearts at least, and with fecret elevations of our mind, if not with our mouth and Eph. v. 19. voice.) And more explicitly otherwhere faith he, Phil. iv.6,7. Be careful for nothing, but in every thing (in all your Ev Tar. affairs) by prayer and fupplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God". And thus to do (to accompany all our undertakings with prayer) we Job xviii. 7.are indeed concerned upon many accounts. Ifa. xxx. I. 30. cvii. 11. 24. xvi. 9. We need God's direction (being ourselves very blind Prov. i. 25. and ignorant) in the choice of what we attempt; Pfal. evi. that our ends and defigns may be good, condu13. xvi. 7. cible to God's honour, and our own true advantage. Ixxiii. 24. For, as the Prophet tells us, The way of man is not Jer. x. 23. in himself, neither is it in man that walketh to direct his Prov. xx. Steps; and, as the Wife Man adds, Man's goings are of the Lord; how then can a man understand his own way? (implying, fince God only knows what is best for us, that we of ourfelves without his direction know not what to do, whither to go.) The holy Pfalmift fignifies the fame in those words, (very enPfal. xxv. couraging to the practice of this duty) What man is be that feareth the Lord? (that feareth him, that is, who worshippeth him, and feeketh his guidance,) him Shall be teach in the way that he shall choose. We need alfo (being ourselves not only weak and infirm, but inconftant and unstable) God's affiftance, and upholding hand in the pursuance of our well-chosen defigns, (that we may use the best means, and proceed in a ftraight course; that we may perfift upright and steady in our proceedings,) that which the Wife Man feems to call, the establishing of our thoughts and promises, as a confequence, upon our teeking God's affiftance in our actions, and relying 12.9. n Bene ac fapienter majores inftituerunt, ut rerum agendarum, ita dicendi initium a precationibus caperetur; quod nihil rite, nihilque providenter homines fine Deorum immortalium ope, confilio, honore aufpicarentur. Plin. in Paneg. thereon; IV. 23,24. 133 thereon; Commit, faith he, thy works unto the Lord, s E R M. and thy thoughts fhall be established; (thou fhalt drive on thy good purposes fteadily, without ftumbling or falling; at least irrecoverably.) So the Pfalmift Prov. xvi. 3. affures us concerning a good man; The fieps of a Pl. xxxvii. good man are ordered by the Lord; none of his fteps 23› 2++ Shall fide: though he fall, he shall not utterly be cast down; for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. We also farther, as to the final fuccefs of our affairs, ftand in need of God's bleffing; that he, upon whose will altogether depends the difpofal of all events, fhould beftow a good iffue unto our endeavours, that they prove not matter of difcouragement or discomfort to us; that which alfo the Pfalmift affures us of obtaining, upon condition of our imploring and depending upon God for it: Commit thy way, faith he, unto the Lord; truft alfo in Pl. xxxvii. him, and he fhall bring it to pass. We do thus need 5. cxix. 5. in all our affairs the direction, affiftance, and bleffing of our Lord; but fhall not have them without prayer; for the rule is, Afk and have, feek and find. Luke xi. 9, Without asking we are not likely to obtain thofe 10. gifts; without feeking we must not hope to find 13. those benefits from God. If we are fo proud as to Pfal. ix. 10. think we do not need them, or fo negligent as not to mind them, or fo diftruftful of the divine power or goodness, that we imagine he cannot or will not afford them to us, we are like to be fo unhappy as to want them. God expects from us, that we should, in whatever we do, acknowledge him: (it is the Wife Man's expreffion, In all thy ways acknow- Prov. iii. 6. ledge bim, and be fhall direct thy paths ;) acknowledge him as the only faithful guide and counsellor; as the only fufficient helper and protector; as the only free arbitrator and donor of good fuccefs. Nothing therefore is well done, which is not thus done: we cannot be fatisfied in what we do; we cannot hope for a comfortable end thereof; we cannot expect a bleffing from God, if we have refufed, or if we have I 2 John xiv. |