Now to encourage you to go to the grace of God, to go to the fountain, and not to be held under carnal wisdom, under these j)retexts. Oh ! if I do not * That is, 'wondered at.' — G.
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hearken to carnal wisdom, I shall ho a heggar, I shall never rise, I shall never do this or that in the workl, I shall never escape this and that danger. Fie upon those hase conceits. St Paul here renounceth the regiment of carnal wisdom. What hecame of him ? Did he want a guide '? Grace took him up. ' Not hy carnal wisdom, hut by the grace of God,' When we come under the government of God, we come under the government of grace. And we shall want nothing either for heaven or earth that is for our good.
Whatsoever we had that was good before we were gracious, that we keep still, and it is under a better guide. Were we learned before ? were we wise before '? had we authority before ? were we noble before ? We lose none of these when we come under Christ; but he advancelh and elevates these, he makes them better. If we were wise, he makes us graciously wise ; if we were learned, if we were noble, he makes us doubly noble. We lose nothing, but we are under a sweeter government, the government of grace, which is a mild government ; a government that tends to the advancing of us above ourselves, that advanceth us to be the spouse of Christ and the heirs of heaven.
Those that are in Christ Jesus, and are led by his Spirit, they are his. In Rom. viii. 1, seq., there is excellently set down the prerogatives that they* have. Those that lead their conversation ' in simplicity and sincerity,' those that are in Christ, and in. the Spirit, and in grace, there is ' no damnation to them.' And then again, if the}' suffer anything, saith he, ' The afflictions of this world are not worthy of the gloiy that shall be re- vealed,' Rom. viii. 18. If they have any infirmities, saith he, ' the Spirit helps our infirmities,' ver. 26. The ' Spirit teacheth us how to pra}',' ver. 26, when we know not how to pray. If we sufi'er an}' evil, God ' turns all to good.' ' All things shall work together for the best to them that fear God,' ver. 28. For infirmities in other things we have Christ, and he makes intercession in heaven. ' Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's people ' that are in Christ, ver. 33, that are in grace, that are in the Spirit, such as St Paul was here ? ' It is Christ that is dead, or rather that is risen again, and makes intercession for us,' ver. 34. And ' if he have given us Christ, shall he not with him give us all things else ? ' ver. 32. If he have given us Christ, he will give us grace to bring us to heaven. See the excellent estate of a Christian that is under the regiment of Christ, that is led by the Spirit. That chapter may serve instead of all.
And see the sweet combination here, how he knits these things together. ' My rejoicing is this, that I have not had my conversation in fleshly wis- dom, but by the grace of God.' Here is a knitting together of divers things that seem to difler, as here is ' wisdom ' a)id ' simplicity.' I have had my conversation by the grace of God, by wisdom, and yet in simplicity. For it is wisdom to be simple. WTien a man hath strength of parts, it is wis- dom to bring them parts of simplicity.
It is wisdom to be simple concerning that which is evil ; for a man to be simple there is his best way. There is ' wisdom ' joined with his * sim- phcity.' Then, again, besides wisdom and simplicity, here is ' our conver- sation ' and ' God's grace,' both joined together. St Paul by grace guided his conversation. So God stirs us to do all that we do. We see, but he opens our eyes to see ; we hear, but he opens our ears ; we believe, but he opens our hearts to believe.
This I speak to reconcile some seeming difierence. Doth God's Spirit do all, and we do nothing ? We do all subordinately ; we move as we are
2 CORINTHIANS CHAP. I, VER. 12. 287
moved ; we see as we are enlightened ; we hear as we are made to hear ; wo are wise as far as he makes us wise. We do, but it is he that makes us do.
St Paul here led his conversation, but it was grace that moved him to lead it graciously. Well, then, he that joins simplicity and wisdom to- gether, the wisdom of the serpent and the simplicity of the dove ; he that trusts in God and grace, and yet in trusting to grace doth all that he can, and goes on in a Christian course, he shall rejoice. ' Our rejoicing is this, that we have had our conversation in simplicity, and according to the rule of grace, not by fleshly wisdom.'