Beloved, it concerneth us nearly and very much, for if we do find the power of divine truths in our hearts. Oh happy men ! If we find it hath wrought a change and alteration, it will make the weakest Christian stronger than all the gates of hell. Take a weak Christian that hath digested the word and mingled it with faith, a few divine truths digested and mingled with faith will stand out against the devil and all temptations, even at the hour of death, because they be divine truths, and God gocth with them ; the truths being divine of themselves, and likewise divine power going with * Cf. Eph. i. 17. 2 Cor. iii. 14.— G. f That is, ' moral.'— G.
88-4 COMMENTARY ON
them, having the strength of God for every word. As a man is, the word of a man is. It is as powerful as himself, and the word of a laoble man, the word of an honest man, is as the man is. Now consider what word it is, and what power is annexed to it. Labour to feci the power of these divine trutlis, and all hell let loose cannot overcome the weakest Christian, not a fool, not a novice, not a child in religion, much less a strong Christian. But the tongue of men and angels, if men will be drowsy, and lazy, and dead, will not make them atlected with these things, but those that belong to God understand what these things mean.
We are speaking of the end of this dispensation of God, that he would have this blessed treasure of divine truths carried in ' earthen vessels,' that ' the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.' Now in the end three things are considerable.
1. First, That there is a ' power' in the ordinances of God, and an ' excellency of power.'
2. That this excellent power of the ordinances of God ' is of God.' It is not of the * earthen vessel.' No. It is not in the treasure itself. It is not in the gospel, distinct and abstracted from divine power accompanying it, but it is of God, exclusively set down, and not of us.
3. The intention why God would have this power, and excellent power, to be in earthen vessels and not of us. See how he demonstrateth it, that it may appear that the power is of God and not of us. There is excellent power, and it is of God. How doth it appear '? Compare the meanness of the vessel with the excellency of the treasure, and it shall appear that all the good done by the ordinance is not by the vessel, but h'om the treasure, or rather from God himself, whose treasure it is.
That there is a power, and an excellent power, of God's ordinance, wo have shewed at large.
We have shewed wherein this power consisteth, and how it is of God. All the power is of God, else the ordinance is dead ; and indeed unless God's virtue go along with it, what can do the soul good ? AfHictions make men worse. The law hath only a power to harden us. The law by the power of God killeth, but it quickeneth not. Let not the power of God go with the ministry of Christ, it doth no good.
How many sermons did Christ preach which did no good ? ' He piped and they would not dance.' They would not ' mourn' when he preached matter of humiliation, when he preached matter of comfort ' they would not dance,' Mat. xi. 17, but, like froward children, they were untractable, and nothing would work upon them ; and therefore without God and the work of the Spirit, not man, not an angel, not Christ himself, can work upon an obstinate stubborn soul.
I shewed that the excellency of this power must be of God and not of us. I propounded divers cases and questions, and answered some. I will briefly answer some now, as.
Quest. First, Not to speak of what I then delivered, if there be no jwu-er in the ordinances, ivhij do ive exhort people and stir them up to believe and to repent, if all ]ioicer be conveyed from God, as ive inoved the last day at large, and that they have no poiver at all in themselves ?
Ans. I answer, God's word in the ordinance is an operating word, a working word, as in the creation, ' Let there be light, and there was light,' Gen. i. 3. So in miracles, ' Lazarus, come forth,' John xi. 43. There went an almighty power with the word of Christ, and Lazarus comes out.
2 CORINTHIANS CHAP. IV, VKR. 7. 385
* Believe and repent.' There goeth out an almighty power with the minis- terial word, and giveth power to believers. Dam jahet jurat, where God commandeth he helpeth. His word is clothed with an almighty power. And therefore though we exhort men to do so and so, we say not, they can do it themselves, but together with the speech there goeth a commanding power. The Spirit of God clotheth the word. Loquitur Dens ad viodum nostrum, agit ad madam suum, God speaketh according to our measure, worketh according to his own. Wc are men, and are to do things by reason and understanding. God speaks to us by way of open reason, and shewing grounds of reason, because loquitur ad modnm nostrum. But when he comes to give strength and power to reason, all moral power or reason will do no good without inward strength, and therefore ar/it ad modum suum, mightily, powerfully, and by way of persuasion and reason, and all to con- descend to our manner, yet still all the while as a God.