(2.) Not out of pomp and vainglory ; which appeareth because none of his miracles were fitted for the stage, but done only upon weighty occasions, in case of great necessity, when humbly asked and believingly expected. If a miracle were asked in wantonness, he refused to do it ; as Herod, to satisfy his vain curiosity, was desirous to have seen some miracles done by him : Luke xxiii. 8, 9, ' And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad, for he was desirous to see him of a long season ; because he had heard many things of him, and he hoped to have seen some miracles done by him. Then he questioned with him in many words, but he answered him nothing.' Christ would not satisfy him in that point, nor let his divine power lackey upon men's idle humours. They that desire to show juggling tricks are not shy of doing their feats at any time. Besides, that ostentation had no influence upon him appeareth by his frequent injunctions of silence : ' He charged them to tell no man ; ' so often repeated in the Gospel, and in the verse before the text. When his own mother asked a miracle for the credit of her kinsfolk rather than the glory of God, he rebuked her : John ii. 1-4, ' And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. And both Jesus and his disciples were called to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee ? mine hour is not yet come/
(3.) Not by conspiracy with the devil, or to befriend his design. This speech of the people is supposed to be a vindication or answer to the calumny of the pharisees, who, to divert the people from owning him as the son of David or true Messiah, said, Mat. xii. 24, ' This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub, the prince of devils ; ' which was the last refuge of their infidelity ; for when they could not deny the evidence of the fact, they calumniate the power, as if it were done by co-operation with the devil, or magical imposture ; which Christ refuteth by sundry arguments, but especially by this, that every kingdom, city, or family set against itself is ruined : ver. 25, 26, ' And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation ; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand : and if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself ; how then shall his kingdom stand ? ' There- fore if Christ, who was a declared enemy to Satan, and came to draw off men from sin to God, should work by Satan, he would make Satan an enemy to himself, and lend his power to destroy that kingdom of
366 SERMON UPON MARK VII. 37,
sin which by all means he seeketh to uphold, and so consent to his own ruin ; for what was the great design of the Son of God but to dispossess Satan, and cast him out of his empire over the bodies and souls of men? and so Satan must cast out Satan, which is an unreasonable conceit.
[2.] Positively, he did all things well.
(1.) Suitably to the dignity of his person, or the nature and power of God, which was in him. God's nature is to do good : Acts xiv. 17, ' Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.' This was Paul's witness of God, that he was dja6o7roia>v, ' doing good,' not taking vengeance of their idolatries, but inviting them by many temporal mercies. So it is said of Jesus of Nazareth, that he was ivepyertav, ' doing well : ' Acts x. 38, ' He went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil ; for God was with him.' Mark that clause, ' God was with him.' How was God with him ? It was a plain proof of his divine power and authority : ' No man can do such miracles that thou doest, except God be with him,' saith Nicodemus, John iii. 2. Object. But God is with all his people : Kom. viii. 31, ' If God be with us, who can be against us ? ' I answer — God was with Christ in another manner than he is with us. He is with us by his love and gracious assistance, as he doth own us, and defend us ; but God was with Christ by personal union and inhabitation : ' The fulness of the Godhead dwelt in him bodily,' Col. ii. 9. Not only with him, but in him, as he was true God, as well as man ; and so he did all things becoming his divine power.
(2.) He did all things suitably to the nature of his office, which was that of a mediator ; and so he did all things well. The Mediator came not to destroy, but to save : John iii. 17, ' God sent not his Son into the wrorld to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.' This mission was all in mercy and charity, not to punish and condemn man, but to save him from punishment. So John xii. 47, ' And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not; for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.' His first coming was as a meek saviour and mediator, to purchase mercy, and to make an offer of life to lost man. So Luke ix. 56, ' For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them ; ' not to kill any, but to preserve and rescue them from death and all that is evil. Therefore the people give him such a testimony as implied the true characters of a mediator ; one that was God, and came from God, to succour and relieve men from all their miseries and necessities.