PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Complete Works of Thomas Manton — Volume 7
Thomas Manton · 317,571 words · 317 reading sections
Section 241
them: ' It is not for the king's profit to suffer them,' Esther iv. 8 ; an'l 1 Cor. iv. 13, TrepiKaOdp/xara, ' We are made as the filth of the woild, and are the offscouringof all things.' So Heb. xiii. 13, ' Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing liis reproach.' At that time they were cast out of…
1,337 wordsSECTION 242Section 242
^ Qu. 'revive ' ? — Ed. VeR. 83.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 377 labours, without our being false or unfaithful to men. We need not make a foul retreat in the day of trial, nor shift for ourselves by com- plying with the lusts of men. nor wax weary of our duty as quite dis- couraged and disheartened, Heb. xii. 3, as we…
1,025 wordsSECTION 243Section 243
2. A sincere love to God will make us adhere to him when he seeraeth to deal most hardly with us. Among all his corrections, God hath not a rod smai-t enough to drive away a gracious and loving soul from himself: Ps. xliv. 17, 'All this is come upon us, yet have we not forgotten thee, nor dealt falsely in thy covenant.…
902 wordsSECTION 244Section 244
v>-alketli upriglitly?' God deligliteth not in dealing harshly with his people. The rod is not that he taketh pleasure in, if our case do not call for it : Lam. iii. 33, ' He afflicts not willingly.' We provoke him to it. And shall we grow weary of his service because we suffer justly for our sins ? There is reason ind…
956 wordsSECTION 245Section 245
Which are not after thy laio. — Heb., 'Not after thy law.' It may refer to the men or the practice ; who walk not according to thy law, or which fraudulent practices of theirs are not agreeable to thy law. The law of God condemned pits for tame beasts : Exod. xxi. 33, 34, ' It' a man open a pit, or dig a pit, and not c…
946 wordsSECTION 246Section 246
2. To divide between them and their rulers. The devil knoweth what an advantage it is to religion to have the countenance of princes, and, on the other side, how jealous they are of their authority and prerogative; and therefore by his instruments seeketh to prejudice and prepossess them against it, and those that prof…
908 wordsSECTION 247Section 247
2. Another was to put none to death for religion, but to oppress them with all manner of vexations and discouragements. To put them to death he apprehended to be glorious ; but sometimes banished them towns. As Athanasius i deprived them of all offices civil and military, wasted them with burdensome levies and exaction…
999 wordsSECTION 248Section 248
Second point. That these plots usually begin in pride ; for David saith here, ' The proud have digged pits for me.'' Therefore it is pride that puts men upon designs of mischief and ruin to others. Pride showeth itself in the envy of superiors, contention with equals, or the disdain of inferiors. 1. Take pride as it v…
908 wordsSECTION 249Section 249
Ob.serve, again, how God's wisdom is set forth by these three words, v.nderstandinrj, counsel, ivisdom, to assure the hearts of the faithful that ' the gates of hell shall not prevail against' the church of God, Mat. xvi. 18. In the gates anciently was their strength, and there their magistrates and council sat. Now, t…
1,005 wordsSECTION 250Section 250
Use 1. To direct us to carry the cause to God, as David in the text : Ps. Ixxxiii. 2-4, ' Por lo, thine enemies make a tumult, and they that hate thee have lift up the head : they have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones : they have said, Come, and let us cut them off from bei…
921 wordsSECTION 251Section 251
2. Walk with greater simplicity, without that guile and double- dealing and serpentine wisdom that is so proper to wicked men. He that walketh uprightly walketh safely. Protection holds good for the road and not for byways, 2 Cor. i. 12. The jn'oud are those that dig pits ; the character of those that shall have pardon…
902 wordsSECTION 252Section 252
name of the Lord, the everlasting God.' The gods of the nations were upstart gods, but lately found out and soon destroyed ; but he is the eternal God, who ever was, and is, and ever will be : Job xxxvi. 26, ' Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out.' He speaketh o…
1,038 wordsSECTION 253Section 253
4. That God showeth himself as an eternal being, both as a governor and beneflictor. [1.] As a governor. His eternity is seen in his government, in 394 SERMONS UPON PSALM cxix. [Ser. XCIII. threatening eternal miseiy to the wicked, and appointing eternal happiness to the godly: Mat. xxv. 46, ' These shall go away in…
1,025 wordsSECTION 254Section 254
5. When the creatures are spoken of as eternal, it must be under- stood ; it is a comnumicated, dependent, half eternity, and so no deroga- tion to this perfection which is proper to God. [1.] It is communicated to us, for originally God only hath immor- tality, 1 Tim. vi. 16. AVe have it by derivation, God hath it or…
991 wordsSECTION 255Section 255
VeR. 89.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 397 Jacob are not consumed ;' Ps. cii. 27, 28, * Thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end ; the children of thy servants shall con- tinue.' So when the flourishing of the wicked is spoken of, when they spring as grass : Ps. xcii. 8, ' But thou, 0 Lord, art most high for eve…
976 wordsSECTION 256Section 256
4. You will shortly be summoned to give an account, Luke xvi. 2. You have received so much from me, such riches, honours, parts, sufficiencies, such invitations to draw you home to me, what will you answer ? Nay ; there is not only a little time between you and judg- ment, but a little time between you and execution ; …
1,000 wordsSECTION 257Section 257
1. To choose end and means together : Mat. vii. 13, 14, ' Enter ye 400 SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. [SeU. XCIV. in at tlie strait gate ; for wide is the gate and broad is tlie way that ieadeth to destruction, and many there be that go in thereat. Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way that Ieadeth to Ufe, and …
975 wordsSECTION 258Section 258
1. I shall give you the reasons. 2. The emblem and representation. 3. The profit and usefulness of this meditation. First, The reasons. In every promise, that it be certain and firm, three things are required: — 1. That it may be made seriously and heartily, with a purpose to perform it. 2. That he that hath promi…
1,119 wordsSECTION 259Section 259
2. God's constancy and truth doth appear in the heavens also ; there is a witness there of his eternal truth ; for when he had once said, ' Let there be heavens,' &c., they presently were, and ever since have kept one constant tenor and course. Yea, heaven shall sooner fail than God's word fail ; he will not retract wh…
1,054 wordsSECTION 260Section 260
Use 2. Whenever you look to heaven, remember that within you VeR. 89.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 405 have a God who hath fixed his residence and shown his glory there, and made it the seat botli of his mercy and justice. You have also there a Saviour, who, after he had died for our sins, sat down at the right hand of …
912 wordsSECTION 261Section 261
5. If the covenant be settled, never expect to alter it, or model it, and bring it down to your fancies and humours. It is God only that can prescribe conditions and laws of commerce between us and him ; man is not allowed to prescribe the conditions, or treat about the making of them, but is only bound to submit to wh…
923 wordsSECTION 262Section 262
4. That the experience of all generations doth confirm God's faith- fulness in his promises; for it is said in the text, ' His faithfulness is unto all generations.' In the Hebrew it is, 'From generation to generation.' 408 SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. [SeR. XCV. The point may be amplified by two considerations : — Firs…
905 wordsSECTION 263Section 263
[2.] Internal, in conversion to God, the comforts of his Spirit, estab- lishment of the soul in the hopes of tlie gospel, as to the pardon of sins and eternal life. Certainly God, that hath blessed the word throughout many successions of ages, to the converting and comforting of many souls, showeth that we may depend u…
1,049 wordsSECTION 264Section 264
VeR. 90.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 411 guilt of sin : 1 John i. 9, ' If we confess our sins, lie is faithful and just to foi-give us our sius, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.' And the power of sin: 1 Thes. v. 24, 'Faithful is he who calleth you, who also will do it.' Supported in great distress: 1 Cor. x. 13,…
998 wordsSECTION 265Section 265
5. In upholding the frame of the world, all those attributes are seen which are a firm stay to a believer's heart, such as wisdom, power, and goodness. Wisdom : Prov. iii. 19, ' The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth, by understanding hath he established the heavens.' Look on it, it is the woi-k of a wise agent. So …
916 wordsSECTION 266Section 266
414 SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. [SeR. XCVI. onl}' the heavens and the earth, but all thuigs which are contained therein, from the angel to the worm, they all serve God; they attend upon him as their supreme Lord and master every moment. Doct. That it is a great help to faith to consider Grod as the omni- potent creator,…
950 wordsSECTION 267Section 267
o 3. He hath a right of using and disposing, and governing all things thus in his possession, according to his own pleasure. Certainly the use and benefit and utility of anything belongeth to him whose it is. Now God, who is the disposer of all things, made them for himself ; he governeth them ultimately and terminati…
902 wordsSECTION 268Section 268
Now I shall prove to you that no creature can decline or avoid this dominion. The text saith, ' They are all his servants ;' that is, all at the beck and will of God. 1. The celestial bodies are his servants : Isa. xlviii. 13, 'Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the he…
1,137 wordsSECTION 269Section 269
[3.] Here is a power to which they are subject, ' For they are his servants ;' and be they never so averse and opposite to God, they can- not hinder his work, for he performeth what he will, and who can let ? Certainly what God hath engaged himself to do he will not fail to bring it to j)ass, to give grace at present a…
1,030 wordsSECTION 270Section 270
420 SERMONS upox PSALM cxix. [Ser. XCVII. [2.] Obedience to his commanding will. All creatures do serve God as his word hath ordained ; so should we do. We have law and ordinances too. Shall man only be eccentric and exorbitant and trans- gress his bounds ? Winds and sea serve him, only man, made after his image, diso…
1,080 wordsSECTION 271Section 271
422 SERMONS UPON PSALM cxix. [Ser. XCVII. and appetites, they should come to us as special evidences of God's love. 2. Afflictions are necessaiy to the best. Certain it is God will con- duct his people to glory, not only by his internal, but external pro- vidence. Now to humble us, to wean us from the world, there is…
918 wordsSECTION 272Section 272
[4.] Keligion itself entendereth the heart ; a father's anger is no slight thing to a gracious soul. When we are afflicted, and God is angry, the trouble is the more grievous, and it is hard to steer right be- tween the two rocks of slighting and fainting. Well, then, pity poor ■creatures under their burden, and help t…
944 wordsSECTION 273Section 273
VeR. 92.] SERMONS UPON PSALJI CXIX. 425 1. Faith is necessary ; for the comforts of the word are received and improved by faith. Unless we expect the sure accompKshment of God's promises, how can we be supported by them ? Ps. xxvii. 13, * I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land …
1,278 wordsSECTION 274Section 274
Tec. 92.] sermons upon psalm cxix. 427 dreams and visions ; I am well contented with the gift of the scrip- tures. 4. It shows how much they are to blame that are under a scripture institution and do so little honour it by their patience or comfort under troubles. "Wherefore were the great mysteries of godliness made…
977 wordsSECTION 275Section 275
2. The duty promised, ' I will never forget.' Forgetting or remem- bering is sometimes taken in scripture for a notional remembrance or notional forgetting, when we retain the notions of such a truth, or the notions of it vanish out of our minds. And sometimes it is taken practically, when we are suitably affected, as …
801 wordsSECTION 276Section 276
fully repented of. God smites tliem with deadness and hardness of heart, and the spiritual life for awhile is greatly obstructed and impaired, that it cannot discover itself, and they have not those lively influences of grace as formerly. Thus it was with David when he had strayed so greatly from God, and begs God not …
986 wordsSECTION 277Section 277
4. Pride in gifts ; for we are told, James iv. 6, ' God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble.' The garland we put on our own heads soon withers, and those gifts which we are puffed up with are presently blasted, and have deadness upon them ; for he will teach us to ascribe all to himself, 5. Some great …
993 wordsSECTION 278Section 278
YeR. 93.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 433 in the word there are most quickening considerations ; or it from troubles, we have enough in God, Christ, the covenant, the promise of eternal life to support us. This is the first reason ; the word of God is the only means to comfort us, because it contains proper quickening co…
1,074 wordsSECTION 279Section 279
Fourthly, These powerful experiences in this kind will be and should be i-ecorded and remembered by us ; for, saith David, ' I will never forget thy precepts.' 1. They will be remembered if we have met Avith any powerful experiences of the Lord's quickening and awakening the heart. (1.) We will remember Avhat most con…
925 wordsSECTION 280Section 280
436 SERMONS UPON PSALM cxix. [Ser. XCVIII. niightil}', I have a secondary confirmation. When I have eyes to see the impress of God upon the word, then I feel the power of it ; and when I have felt the power of it, it is confirmed in my soul, 1 Cor. i. 6. When we feel the blessed effects, the quickenings and comforts o…
941 wordsSECTION 281Section 281
(2.) It is of great use to increase our loye to the word, for the ex- cellency and worth of the word is found experimentally by belieyers, so that their loye and estimation of it is more fixed and settled upon their hearts, so that they purpose to make use of it always for their comfort and direction ; it is a great en…
967 wordsSECTION 282Section 282
Use 2. By way of reflection upon ourselves. Have we had any of these experiences? David found life in God's word, therefore resolves never to forego it or forget it. Therefore, what experience have you had of the word of God ? Surely at least at first YeR. 93.] SERMONS UPON PSAOI CXIX. 439 conversion there was the w…
1,020 wordsSECTION 283Section 283
4. I answer — That no certain rule can be given as to this different dispensation, why some are so gently used, and others so violently brought home to God. Sometimes they which have had good educa- tion, and less errors of life, have less terrors of heart, as being restrained from gross sins ; at other times they have…
940 wordsSECTION 284Section 284
442 SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. [SeR. XCIX. work for God ; if this holy care be the constant business and drift of your lives, you have the effect of this conversion, though the first im- pression of it not so sensible. SEKMON XCIX. I am thine, save me : for I have sought thy precepts. — Yer. 94. In these words you ha…
976 wordsSECTION 285Section 285
Use 1. For trial. Are we of the number of God's peculiar people? As David said to the Egyptian, ' To whom belongest thou ? wdience art thou ? ' 1 Sam. xxx. 13. So, if the question should be put to you, Whence are you ? to whom do you belong ? Can you answer, ' Lord, I am thine,' I belong to thee ? If it be so, then : —…
950 wordsSECTION 286Section 286
YeR. 94.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 445 2, 'I dwell in a house of cedar, and the ark of God dwells within curtains.' Here the Lord hath abundantly provided for me, but what have I done for God ? When you are in all things seeking the things of God, and laying out yourselves for the glory of God, and if God needs anythi…
1,012 wordsSECTION 287Section 287
4. You cannot give other things to him unless you give up your- selves to him. 2 Cor. viii. 4, it is rendered as a reason of their for- wardness in a good work, ' They first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.' AVhen a man hath given himself to God, all things else will succeed more easil…
974 wordsSECTION 288Section 288
1. Because this is first in our apprehension. We know God to be ours by giving up ourselves to be his. His choice and election of us is a secret till it be evidenced by our choice of him, till we choose him for our portion. Well, then, a believer cannot always say God is his, but a believer is always resolved to be the…
910 wordsSECTION 289Section 289
It may be pleaded as a ground of his care for their safety, Lord, I am thine, and therefore save me ; this is David's plea in a time of danger. And so Christ, Avhen he was to leave his disciples to the troubles of a furious opposite world, how doth he plead for them 1 John xvii. G, ' Thine they were, and thou gavest th…
961 wordsSECTION 290Section 290
4. Because by covenant all that is God's is theirs, for their use. His strength is theirs : Eph. vi. 10, ' Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.' And his salvation is theirs : Ps. Ixviii. 20, ' He that is our God is the God of salvation.' If God be a God of salva- tion, he is our God. If he hath salvati…
912 wordsSECTION 291Section 291
First, I begin with the thesis or proposition, / have seen an end of all perfection ; and there you may take notice — 1. Of the suhject or matter here spoken of, it is perfection ; under- stand it in a natural and worldly sense, the most excellent of all the creatures, and the greatest glory of all natural accomplishm…
953 wordsSECTION 292Section 292
3. It cannot stead you in your greatest and deepest necessities, and therefore they are but limited. There are two great necessities vrhere- in all creature comforts will fail : — [1.] In troubles of conscience. Men do pretty well with their worldly portion and happiness till God sets their consciences awork, and begi…
969 wordsSECTION 293Section 293
Secondly, by their time and period as to continuance. All these Ver. 9G.] sermons upox psalm cxix. 455 things perish in the using ; like flowers, they wither in our hands while we smell at them : ' The fashion of this world passeth away,' 1 Cor. vii. 31 ; and wliosoever liveth here for a while must look for changes, …
1,152 wordsSECTION 294Section 294
3. ' I have seen.' Happy they that have such eyes ! But alas ! there is a great deal of difference between the sight of the senses and the sight of the understanding. When Ave see things with our eyes, there is a natural blindness or brutishness, or a veil upon our hearts, that wo mind them not. ]\Ien have eyes to see,…
925 wordsSECTION 295Section 295
458 SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. [SeR. C. the feast will be at an end, and tlien we begin to feel the gripes of a surfeit. Use 2. Let it moderate our sorrows and fears. Our sorrows ; when these things befjill us, it is no strange thing, 1 Peter iv. 12 ; it is do more strange than to see the night succeed the day, or to s…
985 wordsSECTION 296Section 296
More particularly in this antithesis I observe — 1. The subject, or thing spoken of, thy commandment ; that is, the whole word of God. 2. The predicate or attribute, what is said of it ; it is broad. 3. The amplification of this attribute, it is eJ.'ceeding hroad ; you cannot easily understand the use and benefit of…
965 wordsSECTION 297Section 297
YeI:. 96.] SERMONS UPON PSALM cxix. 4G1 world. Rhetoric serves to move affection ; this to kindle divine love. Poetry eauseth natural delight ; this delight in God : no writing like this. [2.] As it hath a breadth for use, so for duration and continuance ; it is the eternal truth of God, that shall live for ever : Ma…
1,300 wordsSECTION 298Section 298
VeR. 97.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 4()3 SERMON CI. Oil, how love I ill]) laio! it is my meditation all the day. — Ver. 97. In this psalm you have a perfect character of a regenerate man, what he is, and what he ought to be, in his meditations, his exercises, his affections ; and all this recommended to us from the f…
1,287 wordsSECTION 299Section 299
VeR. 97.1 SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 465 more sure than an oracle or voice from heaven: 2 Peter i. 19, 'We have also a more sure word of prophecy.' More sure than what ? Than tliat voice which he heard from heaven, ' This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well ])leased.' This was a confirmation indeed, you will think ; an…
1,126 wordsSECTION 300Section 300
2. If goodness can gain the hearts and affections of men, the word of God is good as well as true. There is a double desire in man — a desire of truth and a desire of immortality ; to know the truth, and to enjoy the chiefest good ; the happiness of the intellect, of the under- standing, that lies in the contemplation …
920 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.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.