[2.] The second end to which you must improve your gifts and graces, is to the good of otliers : Ps. Ixvi. 16, ' Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul ;' Ps. xxxiv. 8, ' Oh taste and see that the Lord is good : blessed is the man that trust- eth in him ;' Isa. ii. 3 ; Acts v. 26-29. Bonum est com'municafivwm. God hath given you gifts and grace, to that very end, that you should improve them for others' good. It is the very nature of grace to be diffusive and communicative. Grace cannot be long concealed. The better anything is, the more communicative it will be. Grace is as fire in the bones, as new wine in the bottles ; you cannot hide it, you must give vent to it : Acts iv. 28, ' We cannot but speak the things that we have heard and seen ;' as Croesus his dumb son did for his father.' Can the fire cease to turn all combustible matter into fire ? can the candle, once thoroughly lighted, cease to spend itself for the enlightening of others ? Then may the precious sons of Zion cease to give light to others, by their examples, counsels, and communicating their experiences. No way to honour God, no way to win souls, nor no way to increase your own gifts and graces, than to exercise them for the good of others. Grace is not like to worldly vanities, that diminish by distribution ; nor like candles which keep the same light, though a thousand are lighted by them. Grace is like the widow's oil, which multiplied by pouring out, 2 Kings iv ; and like those talents which doubled by employment. Mat. xxv.
It was a good saying of one, ' For insensible riches those Avho pay their money do diminish their substance, and they who receive are made richer,^ but these not so, but both he who numbereth doth much increase his substance, and doth add much to the riches of the receiver.
Again, by how much more we pour out of these flowing spiritual things, by so much those spreading in abundance are greater to us ; for in this case it doth not happen as in money, for there they who tell out to their neighbour diminish their own substance, and by how much the more he spendeth, by so much the less money he possesseth ; but in spirituals it is quite otherwise.^
No way to advance the kingdom of Christ in the world like this, of improving your gifts and graces to the advantage and profit of others ; no love nor pity to the precious souls of men like this; no way to abound in grace, to be rich in grace like this ; nor no way to be high in heaven like this.^ Art thou, O Christian, bound to do good to others, by com- municating earthly things ? And art thou not much more bound to do
1 As before. See Index under Croesus. — G.
2 Chrysost. Horn. Gen. xv. * Chrysost. [Horn, in Gen. viii — G.]
* Rom. i. 11, 12 ; 2 Cor. ix. 6. Suetonius tells of Augustus, that in reading all sorts of good authors, he skilfully picked out the prime precepts and patterns of valour and virtue, and sent the same to such of his servants and under-ofEcers for tokens, as he thought they might do most good unto. [Historiae Cajsarum : Augustus. — G.]
140 THE UNSEARCHABLE [EPH. III. 8.
them good by communicating of spiritual things ? Surely thou art. Why are Christians so. often in Scripture compared to trees, but because of their fruitfulness and usefulness to others ? And why are they called ' stewards of the manifold gifts of God,' but to note to us, that their gifts are not to be enclosed, but employed for the good of others ? And why hath Christ put a box of precious ointment into every Christian's hand, but that it should be opened for the benefit of others ? Certainly, he that is good is bound to do good ; for gifts and gi'aces are given, not only to make us good, and keep us good, but also to make us, yea, to provoke us to do good. Lihnod lelammed, ' We therefore learn that we may teach,' is a proverb among the rabbins. ' And I do therefore lay in, and lay up,' saith the heathen, ' that I may draw forth again, and lay out for the good of many.' I think they are no good Christians that shall scorn to learn this good lesson, though of a heathen. And oh that all that write themselves Christians, were so good as to imitate the good that shined in many heathens ! To me it is very sad, that Christians that live and act below the very heathens, should be offended to hear now and then of those excellencies that sparkled in the very heathens. I think that is a very evil spirit, that cannot endure to hear of those excellencies in others that he wants himself Certainly he is a brave Christian, and hath much of Christ within, that accounts no- thing his own that he doth not communicate to others. The bee doth store her hive out of all sorts of flowers for the common benefit, and why then in this should not every Christian be like a bee ?
Synesius speaks of some, who having a treasure of rare abilities in them, would as soon part with their hearts as their corruptions. I think they are rather monsters than real Christians, that are of such a spirit.
[3.] The third and last thing to which you are to improve your gifts and graces is, to the benefit and profit of your own soids. Not to im- prove them to your own internal and eternal good, is with a high hand to cross the main end of God's conferring them upon you. All, Chris- tians ! you must improve them to the strengthening of you against temptations, to the supporting of you under afflictions, to the keeping under of strong corruptions, to the sweetening of all mutations, and to the preparing and fitting of you for the days of your dissolution.'
I shall content myself with giving you this hint, because I have be- fore spoken more fully to this head.
And thus we have done with the doctrinal part.
We shall come now to make some use and application of this point to ourselves.
If this be so, that it is the duty of Christians to improve and exercise the gifts and graces that the Lord hath given them.
Then, in the first ip\a,ce, this looks very sourly and wishly upon all lazy, idle, negligent Christians, that do not stir up themselves to lay hold on God, that do not stir up the grace of the Lord in them. It is sad to consider how many Christians can stir up themselves to lay hold on all opportunities to make themselves great and rich in the world, and yet suffer their golden gifts and graces even to grow rusty for want of
' The good of the soul is specially to be minded : (1.) because it is the most notable part of man ; (2.) because the image of God is most fairly stamped upon it ; (3.) because it is first converted ; (4.) because it shall be first glorified.
EpH. III. 8.] • EICHES OF CHRIST. 141
exercise.^ It is sad to see how busy many men are to exercise and im- prove a talent of riches, who yet bind up their talents of gifts and grace in a napkin. By these God loses much honour and praise, and them- selves lose much comfort and content, and others lose much profit and benefit, and the gospel loses much credit and glory.