PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Complete Works of Thomas Manton — Volume 9
Thomas Manton · 312,957 words · 314 reading sections
Section 121
3. It is contrary to that obedience to God which we do profess. There is a practical lie as well as a virtual lie, when our practices do not correspond with our profession ; there is a lie acted, as well as a lie told. So Ephraim is said to compass God about with lies, Hosea xi. 12. To say we have fellowship with God, …
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3. God's righteous judgments afflicting of us doth also yield matter of praise, as they work together for good to such as love him, Rom. viii. 28 ; and the saddest corrections afford necessary and profitable instructions: Ps. xciv. 12, 'Blessed is the man whom thou chastenesi. and teachest him out of thy law ;' Ps. cxi…
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192 sermons upon psalm cxix. [Ser. CLXXVIII. James iii. 5). As our understanding was given us to know God, and think on him, so our speech to speak of God, to declare his excellent perfections, and to stir up others to praise him with us. 4. Holiness, the fruit of it ; for as Job said, the sides of the poor blessed h…
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1. That there is continual occasion of praising God. God is con- tinually beneficial to us, blessing and delivering his people every day, and by new mercies giveth new matter of praise and thanksgiving. And there are some standing mercies which should never be forgotten, but be remembered before God every day, as redem…
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VeR. 164.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 195 straight and certain way to glory, but the word of God ? This is the hook of books, the food and comfort of our souls : Ps. lvi. 10, ' In God I will praise his word, in the Lord I will praise his word/ The best hold that faith can have of God is by his word. Let us own his word,…
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Use. Let me press you now to three things : — 1. To the work. 2. Frequency and constancy herein. 3. To suit often God's word and works together. First, To the work of praising God. Many are often complaining or begging, but seldom praising or giving thanks. Oh ! surely this should be more regarded, not always taken…
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Ans. 1. It is a truth that our whole time must be given to God, for a Christian is a dedicated thing, a living sacrifice, Kom. xii. 1. Now the beast offered in sacrifice with all the appurtenances was God's ; a Christian, by the consent of his own vows, is not master of anything. After a vow of all, we must not keep ba…
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2. The qualification, that love thy law. 3. The effect, nothing shall offend them. Let me open these branches. First, The privilege is peace, and that is threefold — (1.) External ; (2.) Internal; (3.) Eternal. 1. External, in the house, the city, or country, and societies where we live. In this sense it is taken, P…
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But why is it called great peace ? It noteth the excellency of this kind of peace ; it is not only peace, but great peace, such as is rich and glorious: Phil. iv. 7, ' A peace that passeth all understanding ;' or it may note the degree and quantity of it, abundance of peace, as it is, Ps. xxix. 11, and Ps. Ixxii. 3 ; I…
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VEK. 165.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 203 2. It is a good word, because it is suited to our necessities ; so we read, Heb. vi. 5, ' If so be ye have tasted the good word.' Is food good when a man is hungry ? Is drink good when a man is thirsty ? Then the word of God is good, for it suiteth with the necessities of our so…
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Reason 3. There is no keeping the law without loving the law. There is a keeping the commandments by way of defence, and by way of obedience ; a keeping of them by way of preservation, when we will not suffer them to be violated or wrested from us by others ; and a keeping of them by way of observation, when we are min…
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2. Do you heartily take Christ's yoke upon you, and frame your- selves to practise what he hath required of you ? They that love the law cannot rest in mere speculations, and be careless in the duties required of them. Love cannot be hidden, but it will break forth into action. If it be in your hearts, it will break ou…
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(1.) Your first resignation in faith and repentance is a ground of peace, and wrought in us by the Spirit : Horn. xv. 13, ' Now the God of peace fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.' Together with our faith, and in and by our faith, the Holy Ghos…
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Ver. 1G5.J SERB10NS UPON PSALM CXIX. 209 xlviii. 22 ; Ps. lvii. 20, 21. It is not allowed to wicked men, nor vouchsafed to them. It is true they may have a peace, but it is either in sin or from sin ; they do not mind the condition of their souls, a blind presumption that merely cometh from God's forbearance, or world…
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VEK. 165.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 211 2. Offence may be given where none is taken, as when men counsel others to evil, or reproach the holy ways of God ; as when Peter dissuaded Christ from suffering : Mat. xvi. 23, ' Get thee behind me, Satan, for thou art a-KaSaXov, an offence to me.' It was scandalum ■in se, thou…
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Thirdly, With respect to the double faculty the devil seeketh to work upon, which is our irascible or concupiscible faculty, our eschewing or pursuing power ; the flesh with its Trddij ml e-widv^ilai, Gal. v. 24, it is passions and lusts, what we render affections ; and these are suited to the temptations that most men…
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Secondly, Let us consider how a believer is preserved. Unsound professors are turned by scandal from the ways of godliness, which they seemed to walk in ; but for the sincere believer, there may be many stumbling-blocks laid in his way, but he falleth not at them, escapeth those heinous sins into which others fall, thr…
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[2.] The particular nature of this experience ; it is peace, which doth guard heart and mind, Phil. iv. 7, that they are not disturbed or distracted by anything that befalleth them, but enjoy a calm in their souls, whatever storms overtake or befall them in the way of their duty : Eph. vi. 15, ' Having our feet shod wi…
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3. Consider the necessity of standing to God's law, whatever perse- cutions and sufferings you meet with. There is no other way to be saved : John vi. 68, ' Lord, whither shall Ave go ? thou hast the words of eternal life/ Such as have a mind to quit Christ have need to con- sider where they shall find a better master.…
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VeK. 166.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 219 cast away his hope in the deepest calamities ; but much more when the concernments of the world to come are of the greatest force with him, and his heart is wholly taken up about them : ' Looking for the blessed hope,' Titus ii. 13 ; there is the character of a Christian. Peace …
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[2.] There is rational and probable hope, but yet not so firm and certain ; it is likely it will be so, but we have no absolute certainty : 2 Cor. ix. 10, ' He that plougheth, plougheth in hope ; and he that thresheth, is partaker of his hope.' This is necessary for the carrying on of all human actions, that a man shou…
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222 sermons upon psalm cxix. [See. CLXXXI. jected. Again, it is compared to an anchor : Heb. vi. 19, ' Which liope we have, as an anchor, both sure and steadfast, which entereth into that which is within the veil.' As the anchor holdeth the ship in a tempest, so doth hope keep the mind in a constant temper in the mids…
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But is not this plea a proud word for a creature to say, ' I have done thy commandments ' ? Who can thus say, and aver it to the face of God? Ans. There is a twofold keeping or doing of the commandments — ■ legal and evangelical. 1. Legal, when we do them so exactly as is answerable to the rigour of the law, and the …
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VER. 166.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 225 doth he meditate day and night.' So Ps. cxix. 1, 2, ' Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord : blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and seek him with the whole heart ; ' and many such places, which intimate that blessedness belongeth to such…
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VER. 167.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 227 SERMON CLXXXIL My sold hath kept thy testimonies, and I love them exceedingly. — Ver. 167. The man of God goeth on in his plea. In the former verse he had spoken of the influence of his hope upon obedience ; now of the influ- ence of his love, and so more expressly and direct…
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VER. 167.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 229 Christ,' 1 Thes. v. 23. Otherwise your souls cannot be joined to God in heaven, if they be divided from him on earth. 2. Because this is service suitable to his nature, when we serve him and obey him with our souls. God is an all-seeing spirit, and there- fore will be worshippe…
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4. It is thy hearty soul-service that will only bear weight in the balance of the gospel. There may be many defects in the action, yet if the heart be right, God will accept the will for the deed, and you will find comfort in that another day, when you most need: Isa. xxxviii. 3, ' Remember now, 0 Lord, I beseech thee,…
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2. God will accept of no other, for he looketh for the heart, and knoweth whether we give it him, yea or no. Men care not for fawning and the obsequiousness of empty courtships, but look for reality, if they could discern it : 2 Kings x. 15, ' Is thy heart right, as my heart is with thy heart?' It was Jehu's question t…
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2. Except we obey because we love, our obedience is not sincere and acceptable : 1 Cor. xiii. 1, 2, 'Though I speak with the tongue of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding- brass, or a tinkling cymbal : and though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge, …
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4. Ex debito. We owe so much love to God, that everything that he requireth should be welcome to us for God's sake : they are his testimonies, therefore your souls should love them, and bind them upon your hearts, and the rather because we are to do our duty not as servants but as friends : John xv. 14, ' Ye are my fri…
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Well, then, rest not in some general approbation of the ways of God, or inclination to good, but this prevailing affection that jostleth sin out of the soul. SERMON OLXXXIII. I have kept thy 'precepts and thy testimonies, for all my icays are before thee. — Vek. 168. David still goeth on in his plea. He had spoken o…
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[3.] We are not only to remember God's eye in the duties of piety which we perform directly to God, but also in the duties of righteous- ness which we owe to men : Luke i. 75, ' In holiness and righteous- ness before him all the days of our lives.' Holiness hath relation to God, and righteousness to men ; in both we mu…
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240 sermons upon psalm cxix. [Ser. CLXXXIII. More particularly. 1. It is a great means to make us serious in all our addresses to God, that we may behave ourselves with that reverence and awefulness that will become the divine majesty. What is the reason men are so slight and customary in their prayers and other acts…
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1 Qu. ' aloft ' ?— Ed. VOL. IX. Q 242 sermons upon psalm cxix. [Seb. CLXXXIII. your masters according to the flesh ; not with eye-service, as men- pleasers ; but in singleness of heart, fearing God : and whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.' Still the con- sideration of God's eye is sug…
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2. We must often revive this thought, for the oftener we think of it, the more deeply it is impressed upon the soul : Ps. ix. 17, ' The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.' It' is not said, that deny him, but forget him. On the other side, there is a book of remembrance for those that…
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[4.] Consider upon what good reason God's knowing all things is built; his creation and providence. If he made all things, and sus- taineth all things, surely he knoweth all things in particular, for every wise man knoweth what he doth. A father cannot forget how many children he hath. He that leadeth us by the hand wh…
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3. That we should praise God especially for spiritual benefits. Usually those are overlooked, but they deserve the greatest acknow- ledgment ; these are discriminating, and come from special love. Corn, wine, and oil are bestowed upon the world, but knowledge and grace upon his saints ; these are the favour of his pecu…
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248 sermons upon psalm cxix. [Ser. CLXXXIV. in our knowledge, or any other grace; and besides, by it we are suitably affected to what we know. (2.) There is a special knowledge of divine mysteries wrought in us by the special and sanctifying work of the Holy Ghost ; this is ' the wisdom which comethfrom above,' which…
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[2.] Let me speak of the worth of this divine illumination in itself. The worth of it appeareth in four things : — (1.) Its author. God, by his efficacious teaching, doth cure the blindness of our minds, and doth open and incline our hearts towards spiritual and heavenly things : John vi. 45, ' They shall all be taugh…
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VEE. 171.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 251 And the sanctifying work of the Holy Ghost, by which we are wrought and prepared for everlasting life. (2d.) So necessary and useful to know the way of salvation, the disease and remedy of our souls, our danger and the cure, our work and our wages, the business of life and our …
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(2d.) With more certainty. There is a great deal of difference between taking up religion out of inspiration, and out of opinion or tradition. Faith is the gift of God, but credulity is received by the report of men. Men may guess at the truth by their own wit, they may talk of it by rote, and according to what they re…
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Use 3. Exhortation to press you to glorify God and praise him, if he hath given you any knowledge of himself and of the way of salvation. 1. This is God's end in bestowing his grace, that in word and deed we should be to the praise of his glorious grace : 1 Peter ii. 9, ' That ye should show forth the praises of him w…
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2. More particularly I shall show you that we are not left to run at random in our ordinary discourse, as if our tongues were our own, to speak what we please. This I shall show — (1.) Negatively ; (2.) Positively. First, Negatively ; no profane, no idle discourse. 1. No profane discourse : Eph. iv. 29, ' Let no corr…
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(1.) ljecau.se this allowed and habituated, argueth a rotten and un- renewed heart : Mat, xii. 34, ' Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.' Words much discover the temper of the heart, there being a quick intercourse between the heart and the tongue. (2.) Because it is noisome and offensive to honest e…
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Secondly, Positively ; we are to edify one another, as David pro- fesseth here that his tongue should speak of God's word ; his confer- ences and discourses should be filled up of no other matter. 1. Because our tongue is our glory : Ps. x. 9, ' My heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth.' Compare Acts ii. 26, 'My heart…
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4. The well ordering of our words is a great point of Christianity, and argueth a good degree of grace : ' He that bridleth his tongue is a perfect man,' James iii. 2. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, saith Solomon, Prov. xviii. 21 ; upon the good or ill use of it a man's safety doth depend. Not only temp…
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5. Wisdom is necessary: Col. iv. 6, 'Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how to answer every man ;' that is, seasoned with the salt of holy and divine wisdom, that it may be savoury and acceptable to the hearers ; and both delight and edify. Without this holy skill and wisdom, ho…
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Ans. 1. Christianity must not be judged by the rabble of nominal, literal Christians, no more than we will judge of the cleanness of a street by the foulness of a sink or kennel, or of the sound grapes in a bunch by the rotten ones, or of the fidelity of subjects by the rebel- lion of traitors, or the honesty and justi…
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VER. 173.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 265 Here I shall inquire — 1; What it is to choose God's precepts. 2. Give some reasons why they must be chosen, else they can never be rightly kept, or why this is so necessary. First, What is choosing God's precepts ? It implies five things — (1.) Deliberation ; (2.) Esteem or …
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3. Choosing the ways of God implies a voluntary inclination, that we should of our own accord follow them ; for choice is free, and it is opposed to force and constraint, and a man is said to choose those things which he likes, which he loves, which his soul inclines to, when he is carried to them not by the compulsion…
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1. The necessity of it. It must needs be so that God's ways must be taken up upon choice, because there are several competitors that bid for the heart of man : where there is but one thing, there is no choice. 268 sermons upon psalm cxix. [Ser. CLXXXVI. There is the devil, by the world, through the flesh, seeks to ge…
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3. Let me reason from the utility and benefit. A man that takes up the ways of God upon choice — [1.] He is able to justify the ways of God, for he seeth a reason for what he chooseth. When temptations come strong, there will be many misgiving thoughts. Ay ! but then wisdom should be justified of all her children, Mat…
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[2.] Not only these, but also those who stumble upon the profession of religion they know not how, and those who in a pang and sudden motion are all for God and for heavenly things, but this vanisheth into VEB. 173.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 271 nothing ; as fire in straw, which is soon kindled and soon out. This is …
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3. Some do good out of craft and design, there is some by-end in the cause ; as Jehu was not so much zealous for God as his own interests, 2 Kings x. 16; and our Lord telleth us of some that make long prayers to devour widows' houses, Mat. xxiii. 14 ; made piety a colour and pretext to oppression, and, that they might …
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VOL. ix. s 274 sermons upon psalm cxix. [Ser. CLXXXVI. 4. Motive. Choose, for you will never have cause to repent of your choice. The Lord stands upon his justification, is very tender of giving his people any cause to repent of his service : Micah vi. 3, ' 0 my people ! what have I done unto thee, and wherein have I…
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3. There are the effects of this choice. What are they ? Delight, diligence, and patience. [1.] Delight : Ps. xl. 8, ' I delight to do thy will, 0 my God ; yea, thy law is within my heart.' When the law is not only written in the book but written in the heart, then there is a delight, a ready and willing obedience. It…
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— Ver. 174. In this verse you have a twofold assertion or protestation — 1. Of a vehement desire of the salvation promised, I have longed for thy salvation. 2. A great love and complacency in the word of God, and thy law is my delight. This verse may he understood either of temporal salvation or eternal salvation ;…
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3. Holy desires vented in prayer ; there we express and act our longings. Words are but the body of prayer, but desires are the life and soul of it. The children of God are described once and again to be such as love his salvation, Ps. xl. 16. Now there are but two acts of love — desire and delight ; the one concerneth…
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[3.] He hath love enough. God doth concern himself in all our affairs: 1 Tim. iv. 10, 'We trust in the living God, who is the saviour of all men, especially of those that believe.' A protector and deliverer ; yea, it is said he saveth man and beast, Ps. xxxvi. 6. The object of his providence is very large. All creature…
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Use. In times of trouble let us look to God, and continue looking all the time that God will exercise our faith and patience, and express our longings and desires of God's salvation in humble and earnest prayer. 1. It is no time to look elsewhere ; for God will show us that vain is the help of man by many disappointme…
1,171 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.