VeR. 6.] SERMONS UPON EPHESIANS V. 231
in ray heart.' So fear of hell : ' Destruction from God was a terror to me,' Job xxxi. 23. Hope of heaven : Heb. xi. 26, ' He had respect to the recompense of reward.' Their state of happiness is a state of like- ness to God. These principles with others do well. So also thankful- ness and love to God : Kom. xii. 1, ' Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service ; ' Titus ii, 11, ' The grace of God, which bringeth salvation to all men, hath appeared,' &g. ; 1 John iv. 19, ' We love him, because he first loved us.' The glory of God : 1 Cor. x. 31, ' Whether ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.' Love to the work for the work's sake, when holiness hath our very hearts : Ps. cxix. 140, * Thy word is very pure, therefore thy servant loveth it.' And then —
4. Some are rare and excellent ; as when we love God not only for his benignity, but holiness, and eye our reward for his sake, and love the glory of God above our own happiness, and can subordinate the happy part of our eternal estate to his glory : Kom. ix. 3, ' For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ, for my brethren and kinsmen according to the flesh.' Now we are brought from one prin- ciple to another, from rotten to tolerable, from tolerable to sound, from sound to rare and excellent.
Doct. 3. That their condition is of all most miserable who are not only sinners, but stubborn and obstinate in their sin. The wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience.
1. Who are the disobedient ? It may be said of two sorts — First of all, men in their natural condition with respect to the law : Rom. viii. 7, ' The carnal mind is enmity against God ; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.' And, secondly, of those that refuse the gospel : 2 Thes. i. 8, ' In flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the gospel ; ' 1 Peter iv. 17, ' What shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel ? ' viz., those that will not submit themselves to God, or be persuaded to for- sake their sins.
2. Now as to tlie disobedient sinners — (1.) They are slaves to sin : Titus iii. 3, 'We were sometime foolish, disobedient, serving divers lusts.' They do what their lusts bid them, are at the whistle of a temptation ; but all the reasons in the world shall not persuade them to do what God commandeth them. (2.) They are of the devil's party : Eph. ii. 2, ' According to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.' (3.) They are rebels to God : Job xxiv. 13, ' They are of those that rebel against the light ; they know not the ways thereof, they abide not in the paths thereof.' They have light enough to condemn their practices, but yet they live in them: 'Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge?' Ps. liii. 4. Tiieir light hath no authority to bind them to their duty, 'but rather irritateth their corru{)tions : ' They are a very f roward gene- ration, children in v»'hom is no faith,' Deut. xxxii. 20.
Use. Well, then, let us be none of these. A man may err and ■straggle out of the way through ignorance, incogitancy, or being over- come by the violent incursion of a temptation, but let us have a care of being children of disobedience. When we wander out of the way of our duty, let us look to God's word for direction in our way, and
232 SERMONS UPON EPHESIANS V. [SeK. VIL
follow the guidance of it ; as the wise men, that look a long journey to see Christ, followed the star that went before them, till it brought them to the house where Christ was, Mat. ii. 9, 10. [See this more largely handled in the next sermon.]
SERMON VII.
Be not ye tlierefore partakers luitJi them. — Eph. v. 7.
We have handled in the 6th verse —
1. A caution, ' Let no man deceive you with vain words.'
2. A denunciation, ' For these things' sake the wrath of God cometh upon the children of disobedience,'
Now I come to —
3. A dissuasion ; this is in the text, and is inferred out of the former verse ; where we have —
[1.] The evil dissuaded from, avfi/xero-xot avrcov, ' Be not partakers Avith them,' that is, do not join with them in their evil ways, by com- mitting these and the like sins.
[2.] The reason, ' Therefore ; ' that is, because the wrath of God cometh upon the children of disobedience, do not join in their sins,, that you may not be involved in their punishment ; as Rev. xviii. 4, * Be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.'