[2.] As to his work, he doeth good. What hath God been acting
264 SERMONS UPON EPllESIANS V. [SeU. IX.
upon the great theatre of the world but goodness for these six thousand years ? Acts xiv. 17, 'Nevertheless he hath not left himself without a witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.' He left not himself Avithout a witness, dyaOoTroicov, not by taking vengeance of their idolatries, but by inviting benefits, Noav this is propounded to our imitation, that our whole life may be nothing else but doing good : Mat. V. 48, ' Be ye perfect, as your heavenly Fatlier is perfect.' It is in Luke vi. 36, ' Be ye therefore merciful, as your heavenly Father is merciful ;' that is, learn of God how to exercise and show forth your goodness, not in a confined way to friends only, but to enemies ; not in a scanty measure, but in full proportion. The other example is Jesus Christ, or God incarnate : Acts x. 38, ' How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost, and with power, who went about doing good;' that is, to the bodies and souls of men, giving sight to the blind, limbs to the lame, health to the sick, and life to the dead. Christ did nothing by way of malice and revenge, he used not the power that he had to make men blind, or lame, or to kill any ; no, not his worst enemies, when he could easily do it, and justly might have done it. No ; he went up and down doing good. He rebuked his disciples when they requested him to destroy those that had con- temned tiiem by calling for fire from heaven, telling them, 'They knew not of what spirit they were of,' &c., Luke ix. 55, 56. It was unlike his spirit and design ; all his miracles were acts of relief and succour, not pompous nor destructive, bating only his blasting of the unfruitful fig-tree, which was an emblematical warning to the Jews, and suffering the devil's entering into the herd of swine, which was a necessary demonstration of the devil's malice and destructive cruelty, who, if he could not afflict men and destroy men, would enter into the herd of swine that the poor creatures might perish in the sea. I say nothing now of his abundant grace discovered in our redemption. Surely if it be true religion to be like what we worship as God, we must be like this God and this Christ. Certainly goodness should wholly possess us, and dispose of our lives and actions ; a religion that holdeth forth such a good God and a good Christ should breed a good people.
4. The arguments by which it enforceth this goodness, or the rewards and encourngements which it olTereth, which is the supreme blessedness or the chief good. We all desire good ; any good will serve a carnal brutish heart : Ps. iv. 6, ' There be many that say, Who will show us .any good ? ' but the sober and thinking part of mankind will not be put off so ; they are groping and feeling about for an eternal good ; and grope they may, but still fail of what they seek after, till they come to the gospel to find it. There God hath showed man what is his chief good and proper happiness, or the greatest good that can be attained or imagined, for beyond God there is nothing. And the happiness which the gospel offereth is —
[1.] God reconciled.
[2.] God finally and fully enjoyed. Our happiness by the way con- sists in reconciliation with God, but at the end of the journey, in the vision and fruition of God ; this is happiness indeed.
(L) Our reconciliation with God through Christ, as soon as we
VkK. 9.] SERMONS UPON EPHESIANS V. 265
enter into his peace. This is that which we only are capable of here, and the good we are now only admitted unto : Rom. v, 1, ' Being- justified by faith, we have peace with God tlirough Jesus Christ our Lord.' As soon as ever we turn to him by faith and repentance, he giveth us the pardon of all our sins, and accepteth us in Christ. The sentence of death is reversed, and we are delivered from wrath to come; and not only so, but are also made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. We have a right for the present, though not the pos- session ; and there is a long train of blessings which we enjoy by virtue of this right, as a comfortable sense of the love of God, peace in our own conscience, an interest in the care of God's providence, the audience of our prayers, the moderating and sanctifying of all our afflictions. Now all these should mollify and soften the heart, and melt it into love to God and man. Shall God be so good to us, and we so evil ? Surely such a lively sense of God's love and grace should highly and potently promote goodness in the world.
(2.) The vision and fruition of God in the heavenly glory, that is. the great good offered to us, when our nature shall be perfected, and by its most perfect acts be employed about the most perfect objects,, and God shall be all in all, giving out the fullest communications of his grace, and that for ever. The soul shall be perfect without spot or blemish, and this vile body made like Christ's glorious body, and we- shall for ever remain in the sight and love of God ; and what is sweeter than his presence ? Ps. xvi. 11, 'In thy presence is fulness of joy, and at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.' And this without fear of change : 1 Thes. iv. 17, ' And so shall we ever be with the Lord.' If anything be good, this is good, to live for ever in the sight of God,. and to love him, and be beloved of him. Now should not all this make us good ? and should we not train up ourselves in a way of loving and rejoicing in God now, that in our very work we may have a foretaste of our reward and end ? The object of our love and service is good, and what floweth from him but goodness ? and what do we expect from him but such goodness as our hearts cannot sufficiently conceive of?