THE DEAD MAN.*
And you hath he quickened, v)ho were dead in trespasses and sins. — Eph. IL 1.
The matter of this excellent epistle is partly doctrinal and partly exhor- tatory, as it was St Paul's course in all his epistles to lay the foundation of practice in doctrine. The heart must he moved, hut the brain must be instructed first. There is a sympathy between those two parts; as in nature, so in grace. The doctrinal part of the epistle sets out the riches of Christ — chiefly in the first chapter — in regard of the spring of them, God's eternal election. Then in this chapter, by way of comparison, by comparing the state of grace to the state of nature : ' You hath he quick- ened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.'
The dependence of this verse, I take it to be from the 19th verse of the first chapter. The apostle there prays that the Ephesians might have * the eye of their understandings opened and enlightened,' that they might know, among other things, what the exceeding great power of God is towards us that beheve : ' According to the working of his mighty power that he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead,' that they might have experience of that mighty power that raised Christ from the dead. Now, here in this chapter he saith, ' They were raised together with Christ, and set together with him in heavenly places.' His reason is in this manner : those that are raised up and quickened with Christ to sit in heavenly places with him, have experience of a mighty power; but you are raised up and quickened with Christ to sit in heavenly places with him ; therefore you have experience of a mighty power that raised Christ, for those that are raised and quickened with Christ have experience of that power that Christ had when he was raised up.
The second thing that he intends especially in this chapter is, to shew that, being raised with Christ, they are brought nearer to God, both Jews and
* ' The Dead Man ' forms another of the Sermons in the ' Beams of Divine Light' (4to, 1639), being No. 3 therein. Its title-page is as follows: — 'The Dead- Man, or, The State of Every Man by Nature. In one Sermon. By the late Keve- rend and Learned Divine Eichard Sibs, Doctor in Divinity, Master of Katherine Hall in Cambridge, and sometimes Preacher at Grayes Inne. John v. 25. Verily, verily I say unto you, the honre is comraing and now is when the dead shall heare the voice of the Sonne of God. and they that heare shall live. London, Printed by G. M. for Nicholas Bourne and Kapha Harford. MDCXXXIX.'— G.
THE DEAD MAN. 399
GentiUs, that of themselves were far off. Now, he shews that they 'were raised and quickened with Christ, and brought near to God in Christ,' that they might magnify the free grace of God in Christ — all is by grace — and thereupon to be stirred up to a suitable, comfortable, and gracious life. To come to the words, ' And you hath he quickened,' &c. They are an application of the former comfortable truths to them, ' you hath he quickened,' &c. These words, ' hath he quickened,' are not in the original in this place. They are after in verse 5, ' When we were dead in sins, he quickened us ;' but they are put in in the translation, because they must be understood to make the full sense.
In the words consider these things :
First of all, here the apostle puts them in mind of their former condition.
And then he sets down in particular what it was : ' they were dead in trespasses and sins.'
Then he tells them u-herein they were dead, what was the cause of their death, and the element wherein they were dead : ' in trespasses and sins.'
Lastly, Not in one trespass and in one sin, but ' in trespasses and sins.'
And then to speak a little of ' quickening,' to take it out of the 5th verse : ' You hath he quickened.' There is the benefit with the condition. That which I aim at is especially to shew our estate by nature, and how we are raised out of that. I shall touch the points briefly as 1 have pro- pounded them.
1. St Paul here first minds them of their former condition — 'You were dead in trespasses and sins,' — for contraries give lustre one to another ; and it magnifies grace marvellously to consider the opposite condition. He that never knew the 'height, and breadth, and depth' of his natural corruption, will never be able to conceive ' the height, and breadth, and depth' of God's infinite love in Jesus Christ. St Paul had deep thoughts of both as ever man had ; therefore he could never enter into the argu- ment of abasing man and extolling the love of God in Christ, that he could satisfy himself, but his spirit carries him from one thing to another, till he set it out to the full. And every one of us should be skilful in this double mystery, the mystery of the corruption of nature, that is unsearch- able. There is corruption in the heart that none knows but God only ; and we must plough with his heifer, that carries a light into the hidden parts of the soul, and discovers corruption. There is a mystery of that as well as of the gospel, of our deliverance out of that cursed estate from the guilt and thraldom of it. I do but touch it only, to shew the scope of the apostle.