842 COMMENTARY ON
bo a poor despised man. It is true, but I carry the excellent treasures of tlio love of God in Christ; nay, wo carry it in earthen vessels; but it is a treasuix', though in earlhen vessels, though conveyed by despised persons. And God hath a wise end in it. I look to God's end ; which is, that in the meanness of my condition tho power and excellency of what I teach may come from him, and nut from nie ; therefore ho useth mean instru- ments in his great work. So that the words have a prevention of an objection.
And there is a double answer to tho objection.
1. We are ' earthen vessels,' but wo carry a ' treasure' in them.
2. Again, God doth it ' that the excellency of the power' of my preaching * may bo of God, and net of us.' To come to the particulars.
1. That the gospel, and the knowledge of God in tho face of Christ, it is a treasure.
2. And the way to come to it is by the ministry. Our ministerial dis- pensation of it is the way to convey it to others.
3. That ministers, as well as others, are but frail, empty vessels. Indeed, they have a treasure conveyed by the dispensation that God. hath set upon his church, but it is all but by earthen vessels. These be the three things.
Then the next part is, ' that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.' So that there is a power, and an excellent power, shewed iu the miuistr}' to all them that shall be saved.
There is a power in them that be reprobate wretches, and they feel it at length, to harden them more and more, to make them more bitter and worse ; but in them that be saved there is a power, and excelleney of power, in the ordinances of God.
This power is of God, and not of men. It is conveyed by man, but the power originally, tanqiiam dfonte, cometh from God. These be the parts.
1. ' "We have this treasure in earthen vessels,' the gospel, the knowledge of God in the face of Jesus Christ. The knowledge of Christ, and of God in Christ, it is a treasure.
"What is a treasure ? We all know. Experience sheweth that it implieth plenty, and variety of things of price, and rare thiilgs, not common, and them of excellent and special use for the time present and to come, for ornament, or for security, or defence, or for discharge of debt and trouble, or for help and comfort. When any want lieth upon a man, he hath recourse to his treasure.
The gospel is a trer^sure in these and all other respects that may be comfortable.
For here is plenty, variety, rarity, price, usefulness in the highest degree ; for in Christ, who is the chief thing in the gospel, we have all.
(1.) There is j)lenty in Christ, treasures of wisdom and of all good hidden in him for our good. The apostle saith, ' In him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,' Col. ii. 8 ; and he is all in all, he is our riches. The particulars I have unfolded out of a portion of Scripture heretofore.* He is 'wisdom,' he is 'righteousness,' and ' sauctification,' and 'redemp- tion,' 2 Cor. i. 30 : wisdom to supply our ignorance, righteousness to supply the guilt which we stand charged before God with ; and so he is righteousness to our consciences. He is sauctification to the defilement of our natures, our conditions and persons being miserable. He is redemption to us, partly of our souls in this life, and of soul and body in * Cf. Vol. III. on 2 Cor. i. 30.— G.
2 CORINTHIANS CHAP. IV, VER. 6. 343
the life to come. He hath all by grace of union ; for our natures being so near as to be hypostatically united, and taken into one person with God. . . .*
As there be three ways of conveying excellency — union, revelation, and vision — so Christ hath it by union, we by revelation in this world, by vision in the world to come.
Now Christ hath a fulness in him, partly by virtue of this union, and partly ratione ojftcii, as he is the head of the church ; for where should we be but in the head ? The head is wisdom for the body. All the senses are in the head. It sees, it hears, it understandeth for the body, it doth all for the body ; so that the riches of a Christian is hid in Christ, but for the good of the hodj. Whatsoever we stand in need of, God is all-sufficient, and Christ is God-man, and we are knit to Christ by faith, so that Christ and we are all one, and therefore a Christian hath a rich treasure in Christ.
(2.) And then he hath ]irice and excellency ui the things ive have in him. If any things be excellent, these things are. They raise our condition above the common condition of the world ; nay, above angels in some sort, making us heirs and fellow-heirs with Christ. It makes us the sons of God, sets us at liberty from our cursed condition, and not only at liberty, but in a state of advancement as high as our natures can reach unto. Liberatio d siimmo mala, siimmi honi hahet rationem, freedom from the greatest evil, which is damnation and destruction. It hath respect to the greatest good ; but then, together with freedom from the greatest evil, we have advance- ment to the greatest good. Indeed, we can hardly conceive of the excel- lency of the things we have in Christ. Every grace is precious.