men might make from the trouble that usually accompanieth both the
preaching and profession of the blessed truths of God. And he setteth it
* Qu. ' have ' ? — Ed. t That is, ' anticipating.' — G.
2 CORINTHIANS CHAP. IV, VER. 10. 413
down by waj- of opposition and contrariety. He grants all that the adversary can say, and then sheweth on the contrary how God is present graciously in the midst of the troubles of his children. And this in five particulars.
1. ' We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed.'
2. ' Perplexed, yet not in despair.'
3. ' Persecuted, yet not forsaken.'
4. ' We are cast down, yet not destroyed altogether.' Every [one] of these is worse than [thej other. The waters of trouble do arise, but as the waters of trouble do arise, so comforts arise in every one, especially in the fifth, which is the worst of all.
5. * Always bearing about in our bodies the dying of our Lord Jesus.' It is true, yet for all that ' the life of Jesus is made manifest in our bodies,' beside these unspeakable comforts that are [preserved for reli- gion in the world to come, God doth not desert his children nor his cause even in this. It is a happy condition when they be at the worst ; so that the blessed apostle, though he had something in the fiesh to dis- courage him that he had no better in him than nature, yet notwithstand- ing, he had something whereby he was encouraged, whereby he should be able to retort all upon any that should object anything in religion to his discouragement ; a blessed art and skill which we should all learn, not to look altogether upon the grievances, but consider likewise what is in our condition wherein we may be comforted ; nay, more comfort if we have spiritual eyes than grounds of discouragement. God is gracious ; he never taketh anything from his children but he makes it up in a better kind.
We came the last day to the beginning of the 10th verse. ' We bear about in our bodies the dyings of the Lord Jesus ' ; the end of it is, ' that the life of Jesus may be made manifest in our bodies.'
God afflicts not any one of his children but he makes it up by a gracious and blessed recompence ; and what he takes away he maketh up ; and in what measure the outward man decayeth by mortification, in that measure, in a more excellent kind, he makes it up in the life of Jesus ; and what is the decay of the life of nature, or the life of condition, that stands in riches, and pleasures, and honom-s, suitable to the growth in a life of a higher kind, the life of Jesus ?
' AVe always bear in our bodies the dying of the Lord Jesus.'
The words are a yielding to that objection that might be made concern- ing the aflliction of the outward man. It is true, ' we bear in our bodies the dying of the Lord Jesus.' We spake of that first part the last day.
That is, such afflictions whereby we are conformed to Christ, not only which Christ permits and suffers, and which are like to the dyings of Christ, and conformable to him, which is called the mortification of Christ and the dying of the Lord Jesus, but also such a dying wherein we have the Lord Jesus to be partners with us, and which is for his sake, and whereby we are framed to be like to him, and conformed to his image.
Obs. Whatsoever ice suffer for Christ's sake, ice have Christ a partner with us in it. Even as by virtue of communion with him we die with him and rise with him, so by virtue of communion with us he sufl'ers with us and dieth with us. He was stoned in Stephen, he was beheaded in Paul, he was reproached in Moses. Christ suflers in all those that sufler for him. There is that near communion between Christ and his church. And there- fore it is the mortification* of Christ, because he bears part with his children * That is, 'dying.'— G-
414 COMMENTARY ON
in it, and likewise because we arc framed thereby to be like imto him. For, beloved, not to say any more in this argument, there must be a great deal of alteration in the outward man before it will be like Christ. Our flesh and outward man is so tainted with original corruption, that there must be a great deal of change to fashion it to bo like to the pure nature of Christ. Ye know the nature that Christ took upon him. It was an afflicted nature, but a human nature, before it was a glorious nature in heaven. And so likewise this nature of ours, this outward man, before it can be a glorious nature, must be a human nature, it must be an afflicted nature. For sin hath eaten so deeply into our natures, that there needs, as it were, a spirit of burning to consume and waste the corruption that is in us ; and therefore it is called the mortification* of Jesus, because by it we are conformable to Jesus in our natures and dispositions, by little and little, till at length our bodies and souls be for ever conformable to him in the heavens, death being the accomplishing of mortification.