PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Complete Works of Thomas Manton — Volume 7
Thomas Manton · 317,571 words · 317 reading sections
Section 121
Prop. 5. His goodness to all the creatures should confirm his people in hoping for saving grace or spiritual good things. Why, all the business will be to show you the force of this argument, and that it is a prop to faith. 1. We may reason from the less to the greater. Our Lord hath taught us so for food and clothing…
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3. God doth good to every one according to their necessity and capa- city. He doth not give meat to the trees, nor stones to the beasts, but provideth food and nourishment convenient for them ; so to his people, according to their condition of nature and special capacity. The general capacity is the condition of their …
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2. It is a great motive to repentance. As the prodigal thought of his father, so should we return : 'Jer. iii. 12, ' Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say. Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord, and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you ; 192 SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. [SeR. LXXIII. for…
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3. The object, to ' thy servant.' It is an honourable comfortable style ; David delighteth in it. God is a bountiful and a gracious master, ready to do good to his servants, rewarding them with grace here, and crowning that grace with glory hereafter : Heb. xi. 6, ' He that Cometh to God must believe that he is, and th…
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VeR. 65.1 SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 19^ Ps. Ixxiii. 1, ' Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as arc of a pure heart.' Therefore we had need to fortify our hearts and forearm ourselves with strong consolations and arguments. 1. He doth good to his enemies, and therefore certainly he wilJ much more to his servants…
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5. The evil things of this world, which are not good in themselves, he turneth to good : Eom. viii. 28, ' All things shall work together for good to them that love God.' He is able to bring light out of darkness, or give light in darkness, or turn darkness into light ; to give inward joy and comfort under all calamitie…
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198 SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. [SeR. LXXIII. master, good work, good wages. Certainly the more good any man findetli God to be, and the more good he himself hath received, the more good lie ought to be : the goodness of God should melt us and awe us. Tliere are two questions every one of you should put to yourselves, AV…
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5. It prevents many sins. I shall name two: — [1.] Hardness of heart. When we are not thankful for blessings, ihey prove an occasion to the flesh, and so our table is made a snare, Ps. Ixix. 22, and our welfare a tra}). Men go on stupidly receiving- blessings, but do not acknowledge the donor ; but when we own God upo…
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Ver, G5.] sermons uroN psalm cxix. 201 3. Let US trace the benefits we enjoy to the founttain of them, the love of God ; then we will say, Ps. cxxxviii. 2, 'I will praise thy name for thy lovino^-kindness and truth.' This is not only to drink of the stream, hut of the fountain ; there the water is sweetest ; when we s…
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2. As to others, you will invite, encourage, and strengthen them in believing. You are witnesses of his fidelity: Ps. xviii. 30, 'As for God, his way is perfect ; the word of the Lord is tried.' I can assure you I have found more than letters and syllables in a promise, it is a tried word ; I can tell you what God hath…
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2. To determine and resolve, practicum dictamen. The taste of the soul is for God, that bindeth our duty upon us, when there is a decree issued forth in the soul, that after we know our duty there may be a resolvedness of mind never to swerve from it. First the distin- guishing work proceedeth ; there is a clear and di…
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206 SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. [SeR. LXXIV. liness will not be orderly ; we shall either be guilty of a profane neglect of that course of duty that is necessary to keep in the life of grace, or turn religion into a sour superstition and rigorous course of obser- vances. Charity will not be orderly ; we shall give to was…
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(3.) Without the directing act of judgment, how easily shall we miscarry, and make religion a burden to ourselves, or else a scorn to the world! Want of judgment causeth different effects, not only in divers, but in the same person : sometimes a superstitious scrupulous- ness, at other times a profane negligence ; some…
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2. If you would have it, you must ask it of God. We can have no sound knowledge till God teach it us. By nature we are all blind, ignorant, vain ; after grace received, though our ignorance be helped, it is not altogether cured ; you must still fetch it from heaven by strong hand. Without his Spirit we cannot discern s…
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VeR. 66.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 211 to be saved. Other writings, thonf;li good in their kind, will not leave such a lively impression upon the soul. All the moral sentences of Seneca and Plutarch do not come with such force upon the con- science as one saying of God's word. God's language hath a special energy ; he…
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1. Certainly there is a faith in the commandments, as well as in the promises, as I shall fully prove by and by. 2. The one is as necessary as the other ; for as the promises are not esteemed, embraced, and improved, unless they are believed to be of God, so neither are the precepts ; they do not sway the conscience a…
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[3.] That these laws are holy, just, and good: Eom. vii. 12, 'Where- fore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.' This is necessary, because, in believing the commandments, not only assent is required, but also consent to them, as the fittest laws we could be governed by : Eom. vii. 16, ' If, th…
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[4.] How indispensably obedience to his commandments is required of us. As long as the heart is left loose and arbitrary, such is the un- ruliness and self-willedness of man's nature, Eom. viii. 7, ' The carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.' Thecarnalist wil…
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218 SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX, [SeE. LXXV. M'as pleased to offer and prescribe. We are not left free to model and brinsf down the terms to our own liking, to take hold of them, not to appoint them : Isa. Ivi. 4, ' For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and do the things that please me, and take …
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3. The utility. [1.] That we may begin with God, to yield up our wills absolutely to his will ; it is upon a belief that this is his will concerning us ; for his will concerning our duty is revealed in his precepts : ' He hath showed thee, 0 man, what is good ; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly,…
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2. Those that would strongly believe the promises, but weakly believe that part of the word that requireth their duty from them, all for privileges, seldom reflect upon their own qualification : it is a good temper when both go together : Ps. cxix. 166, ' I have hoped for thy salvation, and have done thy commandments ;…
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[2.] It giveth us an intimation of the necessity of growth : none believe so much but they may believe more : 1 John v. 13, ' These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye rnay believe on the name of the Son of God;' and they may…
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224 SERMONS UPON PSALM cxix. [Sek. LXXVI. ourselves, how soon are we out of the rig-bt way? into what sad errors do we run ourselves ? Ps. xix. 12, ' Who can understand his errors ? cleanse thou me from secret sins.' Since grace, we all have our de- viations ; though our hearts be set to walk with Grod for the main, y…
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VOL. VII. p 226 SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. [SeR. LXXVI. selves miserable by an imagined cross ! and so, when all things without are well, their own humours and passions make them a burden to themselves, and when they are not wounded in point of honour, nor lessened and cut short in estate, nor assaulted in their health…
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[1.] It is a means of our first conversion. How many begin with God upon the occasion of afflictions ! The time of sorrows is a time of loves. The hot furnace is Christ's workhouse, where he formeth the most excellent vessels of honour and praise for his own use, Manasseh, Paul, and the jailer in the Acts, were all cho…
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VeR. 67.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 229 therefore we need to be disturbed, to have the world crucified to us, Gal. vi. 14, that the cumber of the world may drive us to seek for rest where it is only to be found, and to humble us by outward defects, that we may look after inward abundance, that, by being poor in this wo…
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VeR. 67.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 231 mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.' Wo can subscribe to this in the general ; all will affirm that afflictions are profitable, and that it is a good thing to be patient and submissive under them ; but when any cross cometh to knock at our door, we are l…
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Use 1. Let us consider these things, that we may profit by all the chastenings of the Lord. It is now a time of affliction, both as to pub- lic judgments and as to the private condition of many of the people of God. We have been long straying from God, from our duty, from one another ; it was high time for the Lord to …
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2. Let us not faint. AVhen the afflictions sit close and near, then we are apt to fall into the other extreme, to be dejected out of measure. An over-sense worketh on our anger, and then it is fretting ; or on our sorrow, and then it is fainting. The former is the worse of the two, for that is to set up an anti-provide…
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1. A compellation and confession of God's goodness, both in his nature and actions. 2. A petition for grace, teach me thy statutes. First, The compellation used to God, ' Thou art good, and doest good.' Divers have been the glosses of interpreters upon these words. Aben Ezra, Bonus es non 2)&tenti, et henefacis j^ete…
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[2.] That he hath a strong inclination to let out his fulness, and is ready to do good upon all occasions : ' Thou art good and dost good.' BoNU^f est primum, et i^otissimum nomen Dei, saith Damascene — the ohiefest name by which we conceive of God is his goodness. By that we know him, for that we love him and make our…
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[1.] Common and general to all creatures, especially to mankind : Ps. cxlv. 9, ' The Lord is good to all, his tender mercy is over all his works.' Upon all things and all persons he bestoweth many common blessings, as natural life, being, health, wealth, beauty, strength, and supplies necessary for them. There are none…
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this kind ; every ex]>erience and new proof should put ns upon this acknowledgment. Certainly they are the wisest sort of men who do observe God's providence. [3.] It is the fruit of deep and ponderous meditation. Glances never warm the heart ; it is our serious and deliberate thoughts which affect us; therefore the c…
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[4.] God's goodness is the life of our faith and trust. So long as the goodness of God endureth for ever, we have no cause to be dis- couraged. If we want direction, in the text it is said, ' Thou art good, and dost good; teach me thy statutes.' If we want support and deliverance, Kahum i. 7, ' The Lord is good, a stro…
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[6.] The goodness of God is the great argument to move us to love God. If he be good, he is worthy to be loved, and that with a super- lative love ; for God is both the object and the measure of love. A less good should be loved less, and a greater good more. All that is not God is but a finite and limited good, and mu…
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[8.] It is the ground of prayer ; if we lack any good thing, he hath it, and is ready to communicate it. The goodness of God, as it doth stir up desire in us, so hope ; as it stirreth a desire to communicate of his fulness, so a hope that surely the good God will hear us. He is not sparing of what he can do for us : Ja…
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4. To desire more communion with him, and to long after the blessed fruition of him, when God shall be all in all, not only be chief, but all, when we shall perfectly enjoy the infinite God, when the chief est good will give us the greatest blessings, and an infinite eternal God will give us a far more exceeding and et…
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[2.] They would not willingly sin against God, either out of igno- rance or perverse aflections ; therefore, if God will direct them and a,ssist them in the work of obedience, their great care and trouble is over. It is a good sign that a man hath a simple, honest spirit, when there is rooted in his heart a fear to ofi…
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1. It showeth what should be the matter of our prayers. David beggeth not to increase him in riches and honours, nor to flow in temporal delights. No ; if God would show himself a good God to him, he desireth it may be in giving him the spirit of understanding, and some increase of holiness ; this he would take as the …
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250 * SERMONS UPON PSALM cxix. [Seu. LXXVIII. liave dominion over me ;' and Ps. xxvii. 7, ' Hear me, 0 God, when I cry witli my voice ; have mercy upon me, and answer me ;' if we do not suffer this desire to languish and die, but still it be recommended to God daily. My business is rightly to understand and perfectly …
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SERMOX LXXIX. It is good for me that I Jiave been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes. — Yer. 71. The context speaketh of afflictions by occasion of persecutions. The proud had forged a lie against him, and involved him in many troubles, when in the meantime ' their heart was as fat as grease.' They wal- lowed…
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child is not to be governed by bis own fancy, but the father's discre- tion ; nor the sick man by bis own appetite, but the physician's skiU. It is expedient sometimes that God should make his people sad and displease them for their advantage : John xvi. 6, 7, ' Because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath fi…
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3. That good is not always the good of the flesh, or the good of outward prosperity ; and therefore the good of our condition is not to be deter- mined by the interest of the flesh, but the welfare of our souls. If God should bestow upon us so much of the good of the outward and animal life as we desire, we could not b…
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Secondly, That according to these measures you will find it good to be afflicted. 1. It is good as it is minus malum, it keepeth us from greater evils. Afflictions to the righteous are either cures of or preservatives from spiritual evils, which would occasion greater troubles and crosses. They prevent sin : 2 Cor. xi…
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(2.) It quickeneth others to be more careful of their duty, more watchful against sin, and doth exercise and improve us in heavenly virtues and graces of spirit, which lay dormant in us through n^lect, since pleasing objects, which deaden the heart, are removed. Even God's best children, when they have gotten a carnal …
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3. We must distinguish between that which is really best for us, and what we judge best for us : Deut. viii. 15, 1(5, ' Who led thee through VeR. 71.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 259 that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents and scor- pions and drought, where there was no water ; who brought thee o…
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4. Diligence and heedfulness — (1.) To observe afflictions ; (2.) To improve them. [l.] To observe what falleth out, from what hand it cometh, to what issue it tendeth ; otherwise, if we observe it not, how can we acknowledge it, give God the glory of his wisdom and goodness ? In heaven, when we shall know as we are k…
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(2.) On the other side, ' thousands of gold and silver.' Where wealth is set out — (1.) By the species and kind of it — gold and silver ; gold for hoarding and portage, silver for present commerce. (2.) The quantity, ' thousands,' that is, thousands of pieces, as that addition is used, Ps. Ixviii. 30, ' They shall subm…
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264 SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. [SeR, LXXX. Angels are not poor though they have not flocks and herds and yearly revenues ; they have an excellency suitable to their natures. So a Christian is not poor while he possesseth him who possesseth all things. But that I may not seem only to say that the treasures of grace are t…
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2. Let us come to the use and end of these things, the use of the law of God's mouth, and the use of wealth. The use of wealth is to support and maintain the present life and the bodily state during our pilgrimage and passage through the world ; but the use of the word is to guide and direct us in the way to the blesse…
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3. Let us look to the duration. There is a vanity and uncertainty in all these outward things ; they soon take the wing, and leave us in sorrow. If they continue with us till death, then they have done all their work. VVealth may bring you to the grave, but it can stead you no further ; then wealth is gone, but horror …
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4. They have had trial and experience of the word, what a comfort and support it hath been to them : 1 Peter ii. 2, 3, ' As new-born babes desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby ; if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.' There is an appetite followeth the new nature, and makes us desir…
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4. It is more refinedly done by them wlio by earthly things are drawn off from the pursuit of heavenly, and are night and day cumbered with much serving, and never take time to refresh their souls with the ] pleasure of the word ; like Martha, cumbered about many things, while Mary sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his wor…
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Docf. That as we are creatures, we are some way encouraged to ask of God the grace of the new creature. I shall draw forth 'the sense of the text and the doctrine in these propositions. 1. That man was made by God, or is GxkI's immediate workman- ship. We have the first notice of it, Gen. i. 26, ' Let us make man aft…
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YeE. 73.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 273 3. Man, that was created by God, was created to serve him : ' He formed us from the womb to be his servants,' as well as the first man, Isa. xlix. 5. Adam indeed was appointed for this use; all other creatures were made to serve God, but man especially by the design of liis creat…
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5. We must be new made and born again before we can be apt or able to know or do the will of God ; as Christ inferreth th-^ necessity of regeneration from the corruption of nature — he had been discoursing with Nicodemus — ' You cannot enter into the kingdom of God ; for that which is born of the flesh is flesh,' John …
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[2.] God beareth much affection to man as he is his creature and the work of his hands ; and the saints plead it when they would be spared and when they would be saved. As Job, chap. x. 3, ' Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouklest despise the work of thine hands ? ' So ver. 8 of that chapt…
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[6.] If we consider the manner of pleading, and the good frame of heart implied in the pleader, we may better understand the cogency of the argument ; and though the argument itself doth not necessarily infer the help of grace, yet the manner of pleading showeth some pre- parative work of gi'ace. and such meet the Lord…
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(4.) It implies an earnest desire after grace ; and that is a good frame of heart, when not satisfied with common benefits. David was not satisfied with his natural being, but seeketh after a spiritual being. What is that he prayeth so earnestly for, but an enlightened mind and a renewed heart, and all that he might be…
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1. How comfortable it is for the heirs of promise to see one another, or meet together ! Aspectus boni viri delectat — the very look of a good man is delightful; it is a pleasure to converse with those that are careful to please God, and awe-ful to offend him. 2. How much affected they are with one another's mercies :…
1,130 wordsSource & rights
Public-domain historical edition (1870); OCR text from Internet Archive. OCR may contain scanning/transcription errors. Verify quotations against page images when precision matters.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.