1. Because it would have been tedious to convince him of all his defects, and therefore Christ would take the more compendious way, and insist but upon one thing, which was enough to show that he was not perfect, as he vainly dreamed. If a man brag that he is able to pay a hundred pounds, you convince him of his penury when you press him to pay one penny, and he cannot.
2. This one thing was sure, and would strike home ; for our Lord knew his heart, and therefore was resolved to touch his privy sore, and doth propose such a precept as would cross his darling sin ; and there- fore he would only come with one thing, which would try him to the purpose. Men that esteem too highly of themselves, and yet have a secret idol in their hearts, they shall be put upon some special trial that will discover their weakness to the full.
3. That one thing which he lacked was the main thing, the prin- cipal thing of the law, which was loving God above all things ; the sum of the law is, to love God above all, and our neighbours as ourselves. Now our Lord (who had power to try his love by any way he thought fit), by this particular injunction trieth him in his love to God and his neighbour. Chiefly he would convince him of want of love to God, or spiritual idolatry, making wealth his summuvi bonum, his chiefest good ; this was the main thing in which he failed, and the cause of his other failings : and yet Christ doth it in such a way as to take in the other part of the precept, the love of our neighbour : ' Go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor.'
4. Because the young man erred out of ignorance, Christ would not deal roughly with him, or by way of sharp reproof ; he doth not rate him, and call him proud hypocrite, for saying, ' All these have I kept ; ' but he gently minds him of his defect, ' One thing thou lackest ; ' words of a mild condescension to one that was tractable. And while men are facile and teachable, we should not use roughness, but convince them of their errors by using all mildness and all condescension, as we our- selves would be dealt withal, if we lay under the power of prejudice and a dark understanding. Let this suffice from that clause ; only learn from Christ's practice here, when we have to deal with such kind of men, two or three things —
[1.] That proud sinners must not be soothed up in their self-conceit, but convinced of their defects : ' One thing thou lackest.' To flatter men in their presumption is very dangerous : Luke xvi. 15, ' Te are they which justify yourselves before men, but God knoweth your hearts, for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.'
[2.] That the way to convince them is by representing their prin- cipal and chief faults, some one sin ; so Christ dealt with this young man, and so he deals with the woman of Samaria, convincing her of her sin, that though she had spent her time in marriage with five husbands.
470 SERMONS UPON MARK X. 17-27. [SeR. VI.
yet after all this commits adultery : Jolm iv. 18, ' Thou hast had five husbands, and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband.' We are not to shoot at rovers, but convince those we have to do with of those sins they are most guilty of.
[3.] The more our failings strike deep upon the main articles of our obedience to God, the greater our conviction, and the more sense we should have of our condition before God. To love God above all is a fundamental article of the covenant. Now, when we are convinced that we fail in this, and want love, trust, and faith in God, we are nothing ; therefore such kind of defects should make us look after our estate better.
Secondly, We come to Christ's precept, command, and injunction ; and there —
First, Something of particular concernment, ' Go thy way, sell what- soever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven.' Where observe — (1.) The duty ; (2.) The motive.
I. The duty, ' Go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor.' The precept you see is very strict, and falls upon the heart of this young man, who was addicted to the world. ' Go,' without delay ; * sell,' not a part, but all, * whatsoever thou hast ; ' and ' give,' not to thy friends that may relieve thee when thou art in straits, not to the rich that may recompense thee, but ' to the poor,' from whom thou canst look for nothing again : ' Sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor.' This advice of Christ I will — (1.) Explicate ; (2.) Vindicate ; (3.) Improve to some practical use.
1. Explain how far this is a duty ; for the misunderstanding of this sentence hath filled monasteries with monks, and deserts with anchor- ites. The great difl&culty is, whether this be a precept or an evangel- ical counsel. The papists fancy some things to be evangelical counsels, that is, necessary to an higher and more perfect sort of living, which are not absolutely necessary in themselves, but counsels that he that can receive it, let him receive it, counsels of perfection, and not necessary precepts. I shall not deal with the thing in general, but only so far as it concerns this place, which, among others, is brought for this doctrine, but vainly ; for the words here run in the manner of a flat and absolute precept, and not of counsel and arbitrary advice. Christ enjoins him to ' go and sell whatsoever he had ; ' and they are spoken in answer to his question, ' What shall I do that I may inherit eternal life ? ' And in prosecution of the debate between Christ and him, when he asked, ' What shall I do ? ' Christ referred him to liis own covenant, or the tenor of the law : q.d., thou expectest eternal life according to the covenant of works, which covenant requires thus and thus: ' Thou knowest the commandments.' To this the young man replies ' All these things have I kept, what lack I yet ? ' Then says Christ, ' Go sell whatsoever thou hast,' &c. Our Saviour would not contradict his own course of referring him to the covenant of works ; nor would he else have spoken to the purpose, for the young man did not demand how he should attain an extraordinary state of perfection, but what he should do to be saved, or to obtain eternal life ; therefore Christ would not only give him an evangelical counsel, or instruct him about an extraordinary state of perfection, but a necessary duty. Well,