Know, by the way, that he is a voluntary head. Though he be an head of influence that flows into every member, yet he is a voluntary head, according to his own good pleasure, and the exigents of his members.
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Sometimes we have need of more gi'ace, and then it flows into us from him accordingly. Sometimes we have need to know our weakness, and then he leaves us to ourselves, that we may know that without him we cannot stand ; that we may know the necessity of his guidance to heaven, in the sense of our imperfections ; that we might see our weakness and corrup- tions, that we had thought we had not had in us : as Moses was tempted to murmur, a meek man, Num. xi. 21, seq., and David to cruelty, a mild man, 2 Sam. xi. 15, that thought they had not had those corruptions in them. God leaves Christians sometimes to themselves, that they may know that they are not strong by their own spirit. So the degrees are from Christ, sometimes more and sometimes less. Sometimes we are in desertion, that we may know the manner of Christ's governing us till we come to heaven.
Use 1. Well, I beseech you, let us know that out of Christ there is no grace. A civil man doth nothing in religion well. There cannot be a beam without the sun ; there cannot be a river without a spring ; there cannot be a good work without the spring of good works, Christ. There- fore, we should fetch all from him, since there is no grace out of him at all.
TJse 2. Again, let us be sure, in all particular actions, to be poor in spirit. When we have any temptation to resist, any trouble to bear, or any duty to do, let us empty ourselves. No grace is stronger than humility. No man is weaker than a proud man. For a proud man rests on nothing, and an humble man that empties himself, he stands upon the Rock. We should therefore make use of the strength of Christ, that hath not only abundance for himself, but an abundance for us, an ovei-flowing for every Christian for his good. Let us empty ourselves, as the prophet saith to the widow, Bring ' empty vessels' now, and we shall have oil enough, 2 Kings iv. 3. There is enough in Christ ; but first we must empty ourselves by humility, and then there is fulness in him. ' Of his fulness we receive grace for grace,' John i. 16. His fulness is like the fulness of the clouds that is ready to drop, and like the fulness of breasts, that are ready to yield what they have. He is willing. It is our fault, and baseness, and pride, that hinders us. Let us as much as we can empty ourselves of ourselves, and stir up the spirit of faith. Go to Christ. So much faith as we carry, so much grace we bring from him. If we do but touch him by faith, the issue of our corruptions wall be dried up in some measure, and we shall have a spring of graces in us answerable to the graces in him. Mat. ix. 20.
I beseech you, therefore, let us labour for these two graces, especially since all is out of us in the covenant of grace ; not only salvation is out of us, but grace that brings us to heaven is out of us, to empty ourselves in humility, and by faith to go to Christ. The one grace makes us go out of ourselves, the other carries us to Christ and to the promises of Christ. Learn to do this in every action, for we may be foiled in every particular action for want of humility and faith. We must not trust to any grace or any ability in us, but trust to our spring, go to Christ when we have anything to do.
Quest. What is the reason that Christians fail ?
Ans. They think, I had grace yesterday, and before, and hereupon they go not for supply of new strength to Christ. luiow that in every act, in every temptation, in every particular suffering, we need a particular new strength, and a greater strength than we had before, if the temptation be greater, if the work be greater. As it is with a porter, he cannot carry a new burden that is heavier than he did before, without a new strength,
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without more strength than he had before, so a Christian cannot bear a new ulHiction without now strength, without more strength. Thoreforo consider what the nature of the business is that wo are to do, and the strength of the temptation that we are to encounter with, and answerably go to Christ for a measure greater than we had before. He never upbraids us nor casts us in the teeth, as James saith, chap. i. 5 (c). There is an art, a skill of fetching strength from Christ to do all things, if we would leai'n it. As there is a skill to be a Christian, it is a trade, so there is a skill to fetch the strength that he hath from his spring, from Christ. Now, that skill in a word is this :