TO THE READER. O
and thistles. The sons of Adam have the earth, though the curse with it. A title therefore they have, though not the same title with the righteous. The godly have them as from a loving Father, the wicked as from a liberal Lord, who out of goodness makes the ' sun to shine both upon the just and unjust,' Mat. v. 45. Therefore a Christian's right doth not exclude, but excel theirs.
Let not therefore a godly man trouble himself to argue them out of their good things here received ; they are all they shall have. Let the wicked make much of what they have, for they shall have no more. The servant of the Lord must seek his portion in another life. The greatest part of the things he hath here is the least part of the things he shall have hereafter.
But then take the right course, and first make God thine, and then all shall be thine. But before God can be thine, Christ must be thine ; and before him, faith must be thine ; and before faith, the vord must be thine. Therefore so order thy afiairs as to hear, and so order thy hearing as to believe, and so thy faith as to find Christ in thy heart ; and then thou shalt find God in Christ, and all in God.
But I entreat thee for the mercies of Christ, if thou undertakest a Chris- tian profession, walk answerably to it ; and to a good profession, add a good confession. * Oh ! that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and declare the wonders that he doth for the children of men,' Ps. cvii. 8. Bless God for all thou hast and shalt have ; yea, for this work, &c., the man that in- dited it : a man, for matter always full, for notions sublime, for expression clear, for style concise ; a man spiritually rational, and rationally spiritual ; one that seemed to see the insides of nature and grace, and the world and heaven, by those perfect anatomies he hath made of them all. But his work needs no letter of commendation from any, much less from one so un- worthy as I am. Therefore pardon me, and read him, and try thyself, and glorify God. Farewell. J- B.'"
* These initials probably represent Jeremiah. Burroughs, than whom none of the Puritans more nearly resembled Sibbes either as a man or as a writer. He died November 14. 1646. He is one of Fuller's ' Worthies.' For a short memoir, consult Brook's Lives of the Puritans, III. pp. 18-25. — G.
A CHRISTIAN'S PORTION;
OE,
A CHEISTIAN'S CHAETEE.
Therefore let no ynan glory in men: for all things are yours; trhether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things j)'>''^se)it, or things to come ; all are yours ; and ye are Christ's ; and Christ is God's,~l Cor. III. 21-23.
One man is prone to idolise and set up another man in his soul higher than is fit, which is never without great danger and derogation from Christ. Men, for the love of that good that is in others, whom they reve- rence overmuch, take in ill, and all. We are very prone to this fault when we look too much to persons who are subject to like infirmities with ourselves. That is the reason why the apostle is so careful in this chap- ter to abase man in the beginning of this 21st verse. ' Let no man glory in men;' that is, so far as to depend upon them in matters of faith. This, therefore, is the principal scope of the apostle, in this place, to cut off" fac- tion and overmuch dependence upon men. There were some vainglorious teachers that had crept into the consciences of people (as it is their use),* and drew factions, and so set up themselves instead of Christ. The apostle, to prevent this, saith, ' Let no man glory in men.' Do not glory in your teachers ; they are but your servants and Christ's servants ; ' for all things are yours.' By means of those vain-glorious teachers the people grew divided, and began to set up one and cry down another. To redress this, the apostle saith, ' All things are yours ;' whether Paul, meaning himself, or Apollos, f another excellent man ; yea, Cephas, Peter himself. Paul with all his learning, Apollos with his eloquence, Peter with his vehe- mency of spirit ; what he is, and what he hath, all his endowments are for the good of the church.
So that here we have, first, a dehortation : ' Let no man glory in man.' Then a reason of it ; ' For all things are yours.'
He sets down the reason, first, in gross in the whole, ' All things are yours.'
And then parcels it out, as it were, by retail : ' whether Paul, or Apollos,
•■■ That is = ' custom, way.' — G.
t Again, aud tliroughout, spelled Apollo. — G.
A CHRISTIAN S PORTION. 7
or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come.' And so by induction of particulars he lays open and unfolds this tapestry, that they may see the riches of this ' all,' and then he wraps up all again, ' all are yours.' Those things that I have named are yours, nay, things that are most unlike, ' life and death are yours.' What need we doubt of other things, when death is ours '? He that hath the power of death, the devil, is not excluded ; ' he is ours.'