* Qu. ' with his Spirit his own ordinance ' ? — Ed.
866 COirMENTARY ON
And wliat is the end of this ? That God will have such an excellent treasure, as is in the dispensing of the mysteries of Christ, out of earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.
Wherein is considerable, first of all, that there is a power, and an excel- lency of the power, in the sweet truths of God, discovered in the gospel, especially in the dispensation of it by weak vessels ; so powerful, so excel- lently powerful it is, that it may be known that it is of God. It is of God, but that it may ' appear to be of God ; ' for things are said to be when they appear in regard of men. Now that it may appear to all, that the power and efficacy of the ministry of the gospel is of God, and not of man, God would have such a disproportion between the vessels and the treasure. The treasure shall be rich and heavenly, the vessels shall be earthly, that whatsoever is good, it may appear it cometh not from the vessels, but from the treasure itself.
That there is a power, and excellent power, in the truths of God, especially dispensed by the ministry, we have in part shewed heretofore, but we will follow the point. God hath furnished everything in the world with power. Every creature hath power, together with being. The heavens have a power of influence ; the dull earth hath a power to put forth what it I'eceiveth from the influence of heaven, into this and that creature, being the common mother of many excellent things, but all the power is from God. God hath put a power into the creatures, which we call an eternal law. Besides the law made to man, there is a statute given to the creature. Heaven shall move, and by moving limit time, and beaven shall bestow influence upon inferior bodies. There is a law for the sea that it shall ebb and flow, and not pass the bounds God hath set it ; and by the law of God there is a centre immoveable on which the earth shall stand. These keep the statutes and the laws that God hath given them eternally. God to shew a miracle can make the sun stand still, or the earth move, or the sea to overflow. But the power we are to speak of is another manner of power, a spiritual power, and excellency of power.
There is a power, then, in the ordinance of God, and a spiritual power. There is in every ordinance of God something that hath an heavenly relish. There is in the word, in the sacraments, that that maketh a heavenly relish. And God, by the word and the ministry, doth create spiritual sense suitable to the relish that is in spiritual things. Had we not by the word created in us spiritual sense to relish those heavenly things in the ordinances, they were to no purpose ; God should lose his glory, and man should lose his benefit thereof. God createth spiritual eyes to see, and spiritual taste connatural and homogeneal to spiritual things. As there is a sweet taste in the word, so God altereth the taste of the soul, that the word should be found better than the appointed food, sweeter than the honey-comb. Nothing so sweet as divine promises to a sanctified soul ; because God, that hath put a sweet taste into the ordinances, altereth the relish of the soul, the taste, and sight, and spiritual feeling of all divine truths. The spiritual heart feeleth the comforts of the sacrament in strengthening faith, and tasteth the goodness of God in Christ in giving his body and shedding his blood, so that there is a relish and virtue in the things themselves, and by them the soul is fitted to take the benefit that is hidden in the things.
There is in divine ordinances not onl}' a light to convince, but likewise a power, together with the light, to open the eyes. There is light and power to open the eyes of the soul together. What if all were light ? If there were not the eye to see, the light would be of no use at all. There is
2 CORINTHIANS CHAP. IV, YER. 7. 3G7
power in tlie ordinances not only to offer light, but it hath a spirit accom- panying it to open the eyes of the soul to see that light, so that there is extraordinary power in God's ordinances. What light can give sight, and what meat can give relish to him that wanteth it ? There is therefore an excellent power in the ordinances.
Now, there is a power (pvsn ct (prjasi, there is a power of a thing in nature, and there is a power by institution. Now the power of the ordinances and the ministry is drawn from God's institution, who hath appointed it and sanctified it to have such power, where he will accompany them with his Holy Spirit.
Now this power that is in the ordinances of God, it is set out and illus- trated b}- many speeches and comparisons that are very clear and excellent for that purpose.