one of the first maxims of religion, that ' God is, and that lie is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him/ Heb. xi. 6. Next to his being, we believe his bounty, that God's service, first or last, will turn to a good account. And it is the rather to be believed by us, because carnal and corrupted nature begrudgeth everything, and in the eye of sense all is lost that is laid out upon God. We say with Judas, ' What needeth this waste ? ' The same opinion that Seneca had of the Jewish sabbath, the same thoughts have carnal men of the service of God. He said the Jews were a foolish people, quia scptimam cetatis partem perdunt vacando, because a full, seventh part of their lives was lost in idleness and rest. While men are under the influence of such thoughts, they will never do anything for God that is great and worthy. And therefore, to confute this false conceit during the time of his patience, the superficial service he getteth from us hath its reward. He giveth many temporal blessings to those that worship him in the sliglitest fashion ; as he suspended his judgments upon Ahab's mock humiliation, 1 Kings xxi. 29 ; and his present providence plainly declareth that none shall be a loser by God, nor do anything for nought. He pleaded by the prophet against this people for their sorry services and contemptuous usage of him : Mai. i. 10, ' Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought ? Neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand;' that is, the porters of the temple did not open and shut the doors for nought, nor the Levites that kindled the fire, nor the priests attend upon the burnt-offering for nought ; they were all well rewarded with tithes, portions, and oblations, and this by the Lord's own appointment and allowance. And again, if anything be done sincerely, though never so mean and inconsiderable, it hath its reward : Mat. x. 42, ' And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, he shall in no wise lose his reward.' The smallness and meanness of the benefit, help, and refreshing, done to any in Christ's name, shall not make it lose its estimation and recompense. This, though hardly credited by the unbelieving world, is very true : * Verily 1 say unto you,' and ' he shall in no wise,' &c. ; they are emphatical expressions. But now the more eminent services, which are carried on with hazard and difficulty and very considerable self-denial, surely they shall not fail of their recompense. Whatever we lose for Christ, we shall receive again with infinite advantage : Mark x. 29, 30, ' And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, there is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lauds, for my sake and the gospel's, but he shall receive an hundred-fold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecution, and in the world to come eternal life.' He shall in this life, in the midst of his persecutions, and the time of his trials and troubles, have an hundred-fold ; not in kind, an hundred wives and mothers (as Julian and Nero scoffed at the christians), but in value, in peace of conscience, and joy in the Holy Ghost, and the satisfaction of having discharged his duty. But God will not rest there ; in the world to come he shall have eternal life.
SERMONS UPON 1 CORINTHIANS XV. 19. 137
Now, then, the argument groweth upon our hands. If self-denying obedience would be not only man's loss but utter ruin, and he be made miserable by his duty without any recompense, God would not only be not the best, but the worst master ; and they that suffer tlie loss of life and all things by the cruelty of their persecutors would be utter losers by their faithfulness and obedience to God, which is contrary to the experience of all mankind, and all that natural light and sense of religion that is in men's hearts. Surely Christ would never proselyte us to a religion that is our undoing, nor shall any of his people be losers by him, or they that venture the most for him be in the worst condition ; and therefore there must be another life, wherein he will fulfil the good he hath promised, and execute the evil threatened.
2. From the nature, state, and condition of man.
[1.] He is God's subject ; not left at liberty to break or keep God's laws at his own pleasure, which he would seem to be if no harm would come of it, yea, present good and profit ; for we see here the wicked live a life of pomp and ease, and often have their will upon the godly, and oppress them at their pleasure ; their wickedness is their advantage. Now this is not only a great discouragement to the gracious and heavenly-minded, but would quite destroy all obedience, if there were not assurance of a better estate. Therefore God expresses himself as particularly engaged to punish such as flatter themselves with hopes of impunity, though they go on in their wickedness : Deut. xxix. 19, 20,. ' And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst. The Lord will not spare him, but then the anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven.' They that add the moist to the dry, and the dry to the moist. So Zeph. i. 12, 'And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled upon their lees, that say- in their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil/ And on the other side, he considereth the case of the faithful, that they have an opposite principle against their duty within their hearts, which must be always curbed and suppressed ; and they meet with many temptations from the oppositions and reproaches of those that like not that sort of life which they addict and apply themselves unto ; and thei-efore if they have not sufficient motives to keep them in the love of God and obedience to the end, how shall they bear up against all these blasts of persecution, when all the world is against them ? They need both their cordials and their solaces from another and better world. Therefore God assureth them that their fidelity and obedience shall not be lost, that they are blessed already, and shall be perfectly blessed hereafter : James i. 12, ' Blessed is the man that endureth temptation ; for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him ; ' 1 Peter iv. 13, ' But rejoice inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, that when his glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy ; ' that is, that these sufferings are sure pledges of the glory that