THE WITHERBLOG

Thomas Watson, A Divine Cordial (part 1).

WE shall consider, first, what things work for good to the godly; and here we shall show that both the best things and the worst things work for their good. We begin with the best things.

1. God’s attributes work for good to the godly.

(1). God’s power works for good. It is a glorious power (Col. i. 11), and it is engaged for the good of the elect.

God’s power works for good, in supporting us in trouble. ” Underneath are the everlasting arms ” (Deut. xxxiii. 27). What upheld Daniel in the lion’s den? Jonah in the whale’s belly? The three Hebrews in the furnace? Only the power of God. Is it not strange to see a bruised reed grow and flourish? How is a weak Christian able, not only to endure affliction, but to rejoice in it? He is upheld by the arms of the Almighty. ” My strength is made perfect in weakness ” (2 Cor. xii. 9).

The power of God works for us by supplying our wants. God creates comforts when means fail. He that brought food to the prophet Elijah by ravens, will bring sustenance to His people. God can preserve the ” oil in the cruse ” (I Kings xvii. 14). The Lord made the sun on Ahaz’s dial go ten degrees backward: so when our outward comforts are declining, and the sun is almost setting, God often causes a revival, and brings the sun many degrees backward.

The power of God subdues our corruptions. ” He will subdue our iniquities ” (Micah vii. 19). Is your sin strong? God is powerful, He will break the head of this leviathan. Is your heart hard? God will dissolve that stone in Christ’s blood. ” The Almighty maketh my heart soft ” (Job xxiii. 16). When we say as Jehoshaphat, ” We have no might against this great army ” ; the Lord goes up with us, and helps us to fight our battles. He strikes off the heads of those goliath lusts which are too strong for us.

The power of God conquers our enemies. He stains the pride, and breaks the confidence of adversaries. ” Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron ” (Psalm ii. 9). There is rage in the enemy, malice in the devil, but power in God. How easily can He rout all the forces of the wicked! ” It is nothing for thee, Lord, to help ” (2 Chr. xiv. 11). God’s power is on the side of His church. ” Happy art thou, O Israel, O people saved by the Lord, who is the shield of thy help, and the sword of thy excellency ” (Deut. xxxiii. 29).

(2). The wisdom of God works for good. God’s wisdom is our oracle to instruct us. As He is the mighty God, so also the Counsellor (Isa. ix. 6). We are oftentimes in the dark, and, in matters intricate and doubtful know not which way to take; here God comes in with light. ” I will guide thee with mine eye ” (Psa. xxxxii. 8). ” Eye, ” there, is put for God’s wisdom. Why is it the saints can see further than the most quick-sighted politicians? They foresee the evil, and hide themselves; they see Satan’s sophisms. God’s wisdom is the pillar of fire to go before, and guide them.

(3). The goodness of God works for good to the godly. God’s goodness is a means to make us good. ” The goodness of God leadeth to repentance ” (Rom. ii. 4). The goodness of God is a spiritual sunbeam to melt the heart into tears. Oh, says the soul, has God been so good to me? Has He reprieved me so long from hell, and shall I grieve His Spirit any more? Shall I sin against goodness?

The goodness of God works for good, as it ushers in all blessings. The favours we receive, are the silver streams which flow from the fountain of God’s goodness. This divine attribute of goodness brings in two sorts of blessings. Common blessings: all partake of these, the bad as well as the good; this sweet dew falls upon the thistle as well as the rose. Crowning blessings: these only the godly partake of. ” Who crowneth us with loving-kindness ” (Psalm ciii. 4). Thus the blessed attributes of God work for good to the saints.

2. The promises of God work for good to the godly.

The promises are notes of God’s hand; is it not good to have security? The promises are the milk of the gospel; and is not the milk for the good of the infant? They are called ” precious promises ” (2 Pet. i. 4). They are as cordials to a soul that is ready to faint. The promises are full of virtue.

Are we under the guilt of sin? There is a promise, ” The Lord merciful and gracious ” (Exod. xxiv. 6), where God as it were puts on His glorious embroidery, and holds out the golden sceptre, to encourage poor trembling sinners to come to Him. ” The Lord, merciful. ” God is more willing to pardon than to punish. Mercy does more multiply in Him than sin in us. Mercy is His nature. The bee naturally gives honey; it stings only when it is provoked. ” But, ” says the guilty sinner, ” I cannot deserve mercy.” Yet He is gracious: He shows mercy, not because we deserve mercy, but because He delights in mercy. But what is that to me? Perhaps my name is not in the pardon. ” He keeps mercy for thousands ” : the exchequer of mercy is not exhausted. God has treasures lying by, and why should not you come in for a child’s part?

Are we under the defilement of sin? There is a promise working for good. ” I will heal their backslidings ” (Hosxiv. 4). God will not only bestow mercy, but grace. And He has made a promise of sending His Spirit (Isa. xliv. 3), which for its sanctifying nature, is in Scripture compared sometimes to water, which cleanses the vessel; sometimes to the fan, which winnows corn, and purifies the air; sometimes to fire, which refines metals. Thus the Spirit of God shall cleanse and consecrate the soul, making it partake of the divine nature.

Are we in great trouble? There is a promise works for our good, ” I will be with him in trouble ” (Psalm xci. 15). God does not bring His people into troubles, and leave them there. He will stand by them; He will hold their heads and hearts when they are fainting. And there is another promise, ” He is their strength in the time of trouble ” (Psalm xxxvii. 39). ” Oh, ” says the soul, ” I shall faint in the day of trial. ” But God will be the strength of our hearts; He will join His forces with us. Either He will make His hand lighter, or our faith stronger.

Do we fear outward wants? There is a promise. ” They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing ” (Psalm xxxiv. 10). If it is good for us, we shall have it; if it is not good for us, then the withholding of it is good. ” I will bless thy bread and thy water ” (Exod. xxiii. 25). This blessing falls as the honey dew upon the leaf; it sweetens that little we possess. Let me want the venison, so I may have the blessing. But I fear I shall not get a livelihood? Peruse that Scripture, ” I have been young, and now am old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread ” (Psalm xxxvii. 25). How must we understand this? David speaks it as his own observation; he never beheld such an eclipse, he never saw a godly man brought so low that he had not a bit of bread to put in his mouth. David never saw the righteous and their seed lacking. Though the Lord might try godly parents a while by want, yet not their seed too; the seed of the godly shall be provided for. David never saw the righteous begging bread, and forsaken. Though he might be reduced to great straits, yet not forsaken; still he is an heir of heaven, and God loves him.

Quest. How do the promises work for good?

Ans. They are food for faith; and that which strengthens faith works for good. The promises are the milk of faith; faith sucks nourishment from them, as the child from the breast. ” Jacob feared exceedingly ” (Gen. xxxii. 7). His spirits were ready to faint; now he goes to the promise, ” Lord, thou hast said thou wilt do me good ” (Gen. xxxii. 12). This promise was his food. He got so much strength from this promise, that he was able to wrestle with the Lord all night in prayer, and would not let Him go till He had blessed him.

The promises also are springs of joy. There is more in the promises to comfort than in the world to perplex. Ursin was comforted by that promise: ” No man shall pluck them out of my Father’s hands ” (John x. 29). The promises are cordials in a fainting fit. ” Unless thy word had been my delight, I had perished in my affliction ” (Psalm cxix. 92). The promises are as cork to the net, to bear up the heart from sinking in the deep waters of distress.

3. The mercies of God work for good to the godly.

The mercies of God humble. ” Then went king David, and sat before the Lord, and said, Who am I, 0 Lord God, and what is my father’s house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? ” (2 Sam. vii. 18). Lord, why is such honour conferred upon me, that I should be king? That I who followed the sheep, should go in and out before Thy people? So says a gracious heart, ” Lord, what am I, that it should be better with me than others? That I should drink of the fruit of the vine, when others drink, not only a cup of wormwood, but a cup of blood (or suffering to death). What am I, that I should have those mercies which others want, who are better than I? Lord, why is it, that notwithstanding all my unworthiness, a fresh tide of mercy comes in every day? ” The mercies of God make a sinner proud, but a saint humble.

The mercies of God have a melting influence upon the soul; they dissolve it in love to God. God’s judgments make us fear Him, His mercies make us love Him. How was Saul wrought upon by kindness! David had him at the advantage, and might have cut off, not only the skirt of his robe, but his head; yet he spares his life. This kindness melted Saul’s heart. ” Is this thy voice, my son David? and Saul lift up his voice, and wept ” (1Sam. xxiv. 16). Such a melting influence has God’s mercy; it makes the eyes drop with tears of love.

The mercies of God make the heart fruitful. When you lay out more cost upon a field, it bears a better crop. A gracious soul honours the Lord with his substance. He does not do with his mercies, as Israel with their jewels and ear rings, make a golden calf; but, as Solomon did with the money thrown into the treasury, build a temple for the Lord. The golden showers of mercy cause fertility.

The mercies of God make the heart thankful. ” What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me? I will take the cup of salvation ” (Psalm cxvi. 12, 13). David alludes to the people of Israel, who at their peace offerings used to take a cup in their hands, and give thanks to God for deliverances. Every mercy is an alms of free grace; and this enlarges the soul in gratitude. A good Christian is not a grave to bury God’s mercies, but a temple to sing His praises. If every bird in its kind, as Ambrose says, chirps forth thankfullness to its Maker, much more will an ingenuous Christian, whose life is enriched and perfumed with mercy.

The mercies of God quicken. As they are loadstones to love, so they are whetstones to obedience. ” I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living ” (Psalm cxvi. 9). He that takes a review of his blessings, looks upon himself as a person engaged for God. He argues from the sweetness of mercy to the swiftness of duty. He spends and is spent for Christ; he dedicates himself to God. Among the Romans, when one had redeemed another, he was afterwards to serve him. A soul encompassed with mercy is zealously active in God’s service.

The mercies of God work compassion to others. A Christian is a temporal saviour. He feeds the hungry, clothes the naked, and visits the widow and orphan in their distress; among them he sows the golden seeds of his charity. ” A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth ” (Psalm cxii. 5). Charity drops from him freely, as myrrh from the tree. Thus to the godly, the mercies of God work for good; they are wings to lift them up to heaven.

Spiritual mercies also work for good.

The word preached works for good. It is a savour of life, it is a soul transforming word, it assimilates the heart into Christ’s likeness; it produces assurance. ” Our gospel came to you not in word only, but in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance ” (IThess. i. 5). It is the chariot of salvation.

Prayer works for good. Prayer is the bellows of the affection; it blows up holy desires and ardours of soul. Prayer has power with God. ” Command ye me ” (Isa. xiv. 11). It is a key that unlocks the treasury of God’s mercy. Prayer keeps the heart open to God, and shut to sin; it assuages the intemperate hearts and swellings of lust. It was Luther’s counsel to a friend, when he perceived a temptation begin to arise, to betake himself to prayer. Prayer is the Christian’s gun, which he discharges against his enemies. Prayer is the sovereign medicine of the soul. Prayer sanctifies every mercy (I Tim. iv. 5). It is the dispeller of sorrow: by venting the grief it eases the heart. When Hannah had prayed, ” she went away, and was no more sad ” (I Sam. i. 18). And if it has these rare effects, then it works for good.

The Lord’s Supper works for good. It is an emblem of the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev. xix. 9), and an earnest of that communion we shall have with Christ in glory. It is a feast of fat things; it gives us bread from Heaven, such as preserves life, and prevents death. It has glorious effects in the hearts of the godly. It quickens their affections, strengthens their graces, mortifies their corruptions, revives their hopes, and increases their joy. Luther says, ” It is as great a work to comfort a dejected soul, as to raise the dead to life ” ; yet this may and sometimes is done to the souls of the godly in the blessed supper.

4. The graces of the Spirit work for good.

Grace is to the soul, as light to the eye, as health to the body. Grace does to the soul, as a virtuous wife to her husband, ” She will do him good all the days of her life ” (Prov. xxxi. 12). How incomparably useful are the graces! Faith and fear go hand in hand. Faith keeps the heart cheerful, fear keeps the heart serious. Faith keeps the heart from sinking in despair, fear keeps it from floating in presumption. All the graces display themselves in their beauty: hope is ” the helmet ” (I Thess. v. 8), meekness ” the ornament ” (I Pet. iii. 4), love ” the bond of perfectness ” (Col. iii. 14). The saints’ graces are weapons to defend them, wings to elevate them, jewels to enrich them, spices to perfume them, stars to adorn them, cordials to refresh them. And does not all this work for good? The graces are our evidences for heaven. Is it not good to have our evidences at the hour of death?

5. The Angels work for the good of the Saints.

The good angels are ready to do all offices of love to the people of God. ” Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? ” (Heb. i. 14). Some of the fathers were of opinion that every believer has his guardian angel. This subject needs no hot debate. It may suffice us to know the whole hierarchy of angels is employed for the good of the saints.

The good angels do service to the saints in life. The angel did comfort the virgin Mary (Luke i. 28). The angels stopped the mouths of the lions, that they could not hurt Daniel (Dan. vi. 22). A Christian has an invisible guard of angels about him. ” He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways ” (Psalm xci. 11). The angels are of the saints’ life guard, yea, the chief of the angels: ” Are they not all ministering spirits? ” The highest angels take care of the lowest saints.

The good angels do service at death. The angels are about the saints’ sick beds to comfort them. As God comforts by His Spirit, so by His angels. Christ in His agony was refreshed by an angel (Luke xxii. 43); so are believers in the agony of death: and when the saints’ breath expires, their souls are carried up to heaven by a convoy of angels (Luke xvi. 22).

The good angels also do service at the day of judgment. The angels shall open the saints’ graves, and shall conduct them into the presence of Christ, when they shall be made like His glorious body. ” He shall send his angels, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the one end of heaven to the other ” (Matt. xxiv. 31). The angels at the day of judgment shall rid the godly of all their enemies. Here the saints are plagued with enemies. ” They are mine adversaries, because I follow the thing that is good ” (Psalm xxxviii. 20). Well, the angels will shortly give God’s people a writ of ease, and set them free from all their enemies: ” The tares are the children of the wicked one, the harvest is the end of the world, the reapers are the angels; as therefore the tares are gathered and burnt in the fire, so shall it be in the end of the world: the Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things which offend, and them which do iniquity, and cast them into a furnace of fire ” (Matt. xiii. 38 42). At the day of judgment the angels of God will take the wicked, which are the tares, and will bundle them up, and throw them into hell furnace, and then the godly will not be troubled with enemies any more: thus the good angels work for good. See here the honour and dignity of a believer. He has God’s name written upon him (Rev. iii. 12), the Holy Ghost dwelling in him (2 Tim. i. 14), and a guard of angels attending him.

6. The Communion of Saints works for good.

” We are helpers of your joy ” (2 Cor. i. 24). One Christian conversing with another is a means to confirm him. As the stones in an arch help to strengthen one another, one Christian by imparting his experience, heats and quickens another. ” Let us provoke one another to love, and to good works ” (Heb. x. 24). How does grace flourish by holy conference! A Christian by good discourse drops that oil upon another, which makes the lamp of his faith burn the brighter.

7. Christ’s intercession works for good.

Christ is in heaven, as Aaron with his golden plate upon his forehead, and his precious incense; and He prays for all believers as well as He did for the apostles. ” Neither pray I for these alone but for all them that shall believe in me ” (John xvii. 20). When a Christian is weak, and can hardly pray for himself, Jesus Christ is praying for him; and He prays for three things. First, that the saints may be kept from sin (John xvii. 15). ” I pray that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. ” We live in the world as in a pest house; Christ prays that His saints may not be infected with the contagious evil of the times. Second, for His people’s progress in holiness. ” Sanctify them ” (John xvii. 17). Let them have constant supplies of the Spirit, and be anointed with fresh oil. Third, for their glorification ” Father, I will that those which thou hast given me, be with me where I am ” (John xvii. 24). Christ is not content till the saints are in His arms. This prayer, which He made on earth, is the copy and pattern of His prayer in heaven. What a comfort is this; when Satan is tempting, Christ is praying! This works for good.

Christ’s prayer takes away the sins of our prayers. As a child says Ambrose, that is willing to present his father with a posy, goes into the garden, and there gathers some flowers and some weeds together, but coming to his mother, she picks out the weeds and binds the flowers, and so it is presented to the father: thus when we have put up our prayers, Christ comes, and picks away the weeds, the sin of our prayer, and presents nothing but flowers to His Father, which are a sweet smelling savour.

8. The prayers of Saints work for good to the godly.

The saints pray for all the members of the body mystical, their prayers prevail much. They prevail for recovery from sickness ” Thy prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up ” (James v. 15). They prevail for victory over enemies. ” Lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left ” (Isa. xxxvii. 4). ” Then the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote, in the camp of the Assyrians, an hundred and fourscore and five thousand ” (Isa. xxxvii. 36). They prevail for deliverance out of prison. ” Prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. And behold the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison, and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, and his chains fell off ” (Acts xii. 5-7). The angel fetched Peter out of prison, but it was prayer fetched the angel. They prevail for forgiveness of sin. ” My servant lob shall pray for you, for him will I accept ” (Job xiii. 8). Thus the prayers of the saints work for good to the body mystical. And this is no small privilege to a child of God, that he has a constant trade of prayer driven for him. When he comes into any place, he may say, ” I have some prayer here, nay, all the world over I have a stock of prayer going for me. When I am indisposed, and out of tune, others are praying for me, who are quick and lively. ” Thus the best things work for good to the people of God.

THOMAS WATSON, “THE TEN COMMANDMENTS”

Thomas Watson

Of consolation to the righteous who are under dejection of spirit. God esteems them more excellent than others. It is comfort:
1. When they are humbled by sin. They have mean thoughts of themselves, and see so much corruption that they think they have no grace. Aye, but here is comfort; God sees an excellency in them though they can see none in themselves. He can distinguish between the grace in them and the infirmity; and He judges them not by their worst part but by their best. God prizes His people, notwithstanding their failings. A man values his corn though it is mingled with chaff.

2. When the righteous are humbled by affliction. “He hath covered me with ashes,” Lamentations 3:16. My outward comforts are, as it were, in the grave and have ashes thrown upon them. The godly are apt to mistake and think God does not care for them be-cause He afflicts them. “If the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us?” Judges 6:13.

But let not the righteous be troubled or cast away their anchor Still God makes great account of them and, though they are more afflicted than others, yet they are more excellent. God esteemed highly of Hezekiah on his sickbed. He heard his prayer and bottled his tears, Isaiah 38:5. Job, when full of biles and sores, was dear to God. Job on the dunghill was more excellent than Pharaoh on the throne. God boasted of Job to Satan, “There is none like him in the earth,” Job 2:3. A goldsmith esteems his gold though it is in the furnace. God sees an excellence in the saints when they are bleeding under their sufferings. A piece of porcelain is of great value though it is battered. Grapes are precious though they are in the winepress. Jesus Christ was on the cross, yet He had been proclaimed to be God’s beloved Son by a voice from heaven, Matthew 3:1″.

3. It is comfort when the righteous are humbled by desertion. “The arrows of the Almighty are within me,” Job 6:4. The Hebrew word for arrow comes from a root that signifies “to cut”, to show that the poisoned arrow of desertion cuts to the heart The Psalmist cries out, “Thy wrath lieth hard upon me,” Psalm 88:7; which is to say, “Like a mountain of lead, it even sinks my spirits.” In this forlorn state, the saints think God esteems them vile and has cast them off. “Lord, why castest Thou off my soul?” Psalm 88:14. God holds His deserted ones, as it were, over the fire of hell, and they think they are ready to drop in. But, Christian, you may be sorely deserted, yet God may judge you excellent! Zion thought she was quite forsaken. Zion said, “The Lord bath forsaken me,” Isaiah 49:14. But, at that time, God had a dear respect for her. “I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands,” Isaiah 49:16. God may have the face of an enemy yet the heart of a father. The Lord deserts His people for their profit, Hebrews 12:10. While He is humbling them, He is healing them. He seems to put them away from Him, but it is to draw them nearer to Him. He would exercise their faith and prayers the more. God is all this while preparing the saints for the sweet embraces of His love. Desertion is like a purging medicine. The Lord will purge out some ill humour of sin and, after-wards, will manifest His love to His children. The cordial is kept till the working of the medicine is over.

CONCLUSION. Thus, good reader, I have, with all convenient brevity, endeavored to vindicate the true saint and take him out of the fog. I have set be-fore your eyes a child of light. “Mark the perfect man,” Psalm 37:37, and imitate him. If, notwithstanding all this surpassing excellency of the righteous, any shall be so wicked as to persist in unrighteousness, they love death. If they shall glory in their unrighteousness, it is as if beggars should boast of their sores; if they shall disparage holiness, it is like a blind man reproaching the sun. Let the righteous bind reproaches as a crown about their head and be no more troubled than they would be to have mad men laugh at them. “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him,” Psalm 37:7. The time is shortly coming when God will clear the innocence of His servants after He has wiped away all tears from their eyes. He will wipe off reproach from their name and, then, this text shall he universally subscribed to, “The righteous is more excellent than his neighbors”

If the righteous are thus excellent, let it encourage us all to true piety. No sooner do we be-come gracious than we become precious. This day have “I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you,” Joshua 5:9. That day we become righteous, our reproach is rolled away from us. Faith raises our fame; righteousness exchanges our fetters for a crown. A crown of glory shall she deliver to you. By espousing godliness, we are better and richer than others, being possessed of a gold mine – the un-searchable riches of Christ! We have from Christ the riches of justification, consolation, and glorification. We are as rich as the angels. Oh, then, let this excite every one to be godly! Righteousness puts a splendid excellence upon a man, as if you should see a clod of dust turned into a star.

1. If the righteous are so excellent in God’s eye, then let God be excellent in their eye. If they are high in God’s thoughts, let God be high in theirs. Let the saints have adoring thoughts of God. “Thy righteousness, O God, is very high. Thou whose name is Jehovah, art the Most High over all the earth,” Psalm 83.18. God is the most super-eminent blessing; who can show forth all His praise? God surpasses the praises of the archangels. He is encircled with glory and majesty. He infinitely outvies all the powers of the earth. Princes hold their crowns by immediate tenure from Him; His dominions are largest, His possession longest. “Thy throne, 0 God, is forever and ever,” Psalm 45:6. Those excellencies which lie scattered in the creature are infinitely united in God. Austin complains that man can admire the magnitude of the stars and not admire Him who is the Father of lights. Oh, esteem God most excellent!

God’s wisdom is excellent. He is wise in heart. He knows the causes of things; yea, at one instant. Angels light their lamps at this sun.

God’s power is excellent. He is Almighty. His power is as large as His will. What His soul desires, even that He does. He bridles the proud waves. He cuts off the spirit of princes. God’s holiness is excellent. This is the most sparkling jewel of His crown. “Glorious in holiness.” Exodus 15:11. God is first transcendently holy: “There is none holy as the Lord,” 1 Samuel 2:2. The blessed seraphims cover their faces and cry “Holy, holy, holy”, but what angels can take the just dimensions of His sanctity? They are too low in stature to measure these pyramids.

God is communicatively holy: “I am the Lord which sanctify you,” Leviticus ‘2O:8. He is not only a pattern of holiness but a fountain. He empties His golden oil through the pipes of the sanctuary. His holiness is imparted, not impaired.

God is unchangeably holy. His holiness can no more cease than His godhead. He never lost a drop of His holiness. As He cannot have more holiness, because He is perfectly holy, so He cannot have less holiness, because He is unchangeably holy.

God’s love is excellent. “How excellent is Thy loving-kindness, 0 God!” Psalm 36:7. This drops as the honeycomb; it dulcifies and sweetens the waters of Marah; it is better than life; it has a hyper-hyperbole in it. “It passes knowledge,” Ephesians 3:19. God’s love may be felt but not fathomed. Oh, then, let the saints have God-admiring thoughts! The psalmist esteemed Him above the glory of heaven and the comforts of the earth, Psalm 73:25. God is the mar-row and quintessence of all good. his beauty is amazing; His love is ravishing. All divine perfections meet in God as the lines in the center. Let us, then, with Paul, count all things loss for Him. If God puts such a value and appreciation upon the righteous, that they are highest in His esteem, let Him be highest in theirs.

2. If God has so honored the righteous and made them better than others, let not the righteous debase themselves or lose any of their excellency. Has God made them precious? Let not them make themselves vile.

(1) Let them not debase themselves with earth. An earthly saint is as great a contradiction as an orthodox heretic. It is called filthy lucre because it makes a person so filthy. Earthliness is an enemy to grace. It is Aristotle’s observation that dogs can-not hunt among sweet flowers because the smell of the flowers diverts the scent of the hare. Those can scarcely run after Christ in the savor of His ointments who are diverted by the smell of earthly de-lights. Whom the Helena of the world kisses, she be-trays. It is below a Christian – and too much resembles Satan – to be always compassing the earth. ‘And seekest thou great things for thyself”Jeremiah 45:5. As if God had asked Baruch, Jeremiah’s secretary, ‘Baruch, who are by your new birth excellent, akin to angels; by your office excellent; a Levite; do you now seek earthly things? I am going to pluck up, and are you planting? The ship is sinking, and are you decorating your cabin? Oh, Baruch, do not so degrade yourself of your honor! Do you seek great things? Seek them not.” Though the wicked, like eels, wrap themselves in the mud, yet let the birds of paradise fly aloft. The higher grace is, the less earthly-minded should Christians be; the higher the sun is, the shorter the shadow.

(2) Let not the righteous debase themselves by sinful compliance. Such as profess themselves to be regenerate should not be malleable to every opinion and humor. Shall the excellent cedar bend like the pliant willow? “Issachar is a strong ass, couching down between two burdens,” Genesis 49:14. Issachar was a strong tribe but lacked courage. You who are righteous, be not too pliant. Do not choose iniquity rather than affliction, Job 36:21. Do not so value your liberty as to wound your integrity. God is a great God; dare not to offend Him. He is a good God; venture not to lose Him. Be not swayed by the evil examples of others. Dead fish only swim downstream. The righteous greatly lessen both their esteem and re-ward by fraternizing with sinners. Let not the godly violate their conscience. The dust will be wiped off this glass and then it will represent guilt. When Crankier had, with some reticence of mind, sub-scribed to the popish articles, lie was afterwards in great horror; his conscience was like Moses’ rod turned into a serpent. He could have no peace till he had recanted his subscription. By sordid, unworthy actions, the Holy Spirit will be grieved, the godly will be offended, the wicked will insult, and conscience will accuse. Conscience is like a bee: If a man does well, it gives honey; if ill, it puts forth a sting.

(3) If the righteous are more excellent than others, let not them envy the prosperity of the wicked. “Let not thy heart envy sinners,” Proverbs 23:17. God has made you better than they. He has given you His Spirit to sanctify you and His Son to save you. Envy is an ill humor. It hurts a man’s self most. Envy drinks its own venom; it corrodes the body as canker does iron.

The first man born in the world was envious. Ibeodoret observes that it was not so much Cain’s own sin that troubled him as to see his brother’s offering accepted. It is unbecoming for God’s people to feed this fretting disease; it is bad to feed an envy. What if God wrings out the water of a full cup to the wicked? It is but a sugared poison. Prosperity, Like Circe (the mythological witch), with its enchantments turns men into swine; it makes them grow worse. The moon never suffers an eclipse but when it is at the full. The world is given to the wicked in anger. When Belshazzar was in the midst of his jollity, the hand of God was writing bitter things against him. The hot day of prosperity presages thunder at night. Haman’s banquet was but a preface to the hangman’s noose. Oh, Christian, shake off envy as Paul did the viper! God has made more excellent than others, He has given you better riches and preferment. They have a golden apple, you have a crown, 2 Timothy 4:8. God keeps the best wine till last. Let this divine harp drive away the evil spirit of envy and discontent.

(4) If the righteous are so excellent, let it persuade people to get into their company and choose to be of their acquaintance. Next to being good, it is wisdom to converse with those who are so. “The excellent in whom is all My delight,” Psalm 16:3. Be not like swine, who would rather lie in the dung than in a fair meadow. The righteous are the light of the world, and it is prudence to follow them who carry the light. Seek for the olive; but if the bramble takes hold of you, cast it away. There is much good to be gotten in the society of the godly. Their speeches edify. their prayers quicken) their examples teach. Graft among the saints. A slip grafted into a good stock partakes of the virtue and influence of the root. The righteous are more excellent. Be often among these spices and you will smell them. “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise,” Proverbs 13:20.

(5) It exhorts the righteous to walk worthy of the high honor which God has raised them to. “Walk as children of light,” Ephesians 5:8. As you are more excellent by your high calling, so be more excellent in your walking. Adorn religion by your prudent holy carriage “Shine as lights in the world,” Philippians 2:15. Some Antinomians of old taught that whatever a man’s life was, yet he was justified. So they believed the false gospel which Luther confuted. Such as are a royal priesthood should be a peculiar people. The Lord has dignified the righteous above the rest of the world, and they must not take the same latitude others do. For example, “It is not for kings, 0 Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink,” Proverbs 31:4. It is becoming not them who are high-born to be in-temperate. So it is not for you who are of a sacred pedigree – whom God has made superior to others -to be vain and loose in your behavior. Alexander would have the Grecians known not only by their garments but also by their virtues.

A child of God should be known by the exemplary nature of his life. “Be ye holy in all manner of conversation,” 1 Peter 1:15. Christ has anointed His people with the graces as those virgins were purified with sweet odors, Esther 2:12, and He expects that they should send abroad a sweet perfume of holiness. Christians must observe that which is lovely and of good report, Philippians 4:8. They need to walk accurately, Ephesians 5:15, because so many watch for their halting. If the wicked find anything the people of God dishonorable to their profession, they lay the blame upon religion. It is noted by the fifth-century Christian writer, “What will the pagans say when they see Christians loose and ‘The Christians live so bad because Christ taught them no better.’ How should the righteous off occasion from those who seek occasion? 2 Corinthians 11:12. Daniel’s piety sealed up the lips of his enemies, Daniel 6:4. Martin Bucer was so unblamable in his life that those who most maligned had nothing justly to lay to his charge.

Oh, Christians, look to your steps! When you ‘e prayed against sin, then watch against temptation, A spot in a royal robe cannot be hid; a dash of ink would quickly have been spied in Aaron’s white If there is a blemish in a professor, everyone’s eye is upon it. The sin of such a person causes rig among the saints, as the patriarchs could not help but be ashamed when the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. Oh, that all who profess the name would depart from iniquity, 2 Timothy 2:19! Dare not blaspheme that worthy name by which you called, James 2:7! Such as are more excellent others, God expects some singular thing from them. They should bring more glory to God and, by exemplary piety, make proselytes to religion. Better fruit is expected from a vineyard than from a wild forest.

(6) Has God so enabled the righteous and given them a superexcellency above other? Then let the righteous be thankful. “He raiseth the poor Out of the dust, that He may set him with princes,” Psalm 113:7-8.

God has raised you out of the low estate wherein you were by nature, and has made you more illustrious than others that He may set you with angels, those princes above. “0 let the high praises of God be in your mouth,” Psalm 149:6. God has done more for believers than for all the world besides. He has given them the “holy anointing”, the “new name”, the “white stone”, which is “the earnest of the inheritance.” At the day of judgment, Jesus Christ will confess their names before His Father and the holy angels, Revelation 3:5. And their souls and bodies, being re-united, shall be fully invested with glory. After their session at Christ’s right hand, it shall be proclaimed, “Thus shall it be done to the persons whom the King of heaven will honor.”

Does not all this deserve thankfulness? “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord,” Psalm 100:1. In the Hebrew it is’ “Sound for His praise as with a trumpet,” Praise God with the best instrument, the heart, and let it be screwed up to the highest peg. Do it with the whole heart. You who are righteous, speak well of God and tell others what He has done for you. His blessings bestowed are legacies, not debts. Praise is glorifying God, Psalm 50:23, and will not you cheerfully pay this debt? Will you not do it constantly? “I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being,” Psalm 146:2. The people of Carthage at first used to send a tenth of their yearly revenue to Hercules, but by degrees they grew weary and stopped sending. Christians fail much in their thank-offering. Do not be like those who play a fit or two of music in a year and then the violin must be hung up. Be often upon Mount Gerizim blessing God. Consider that thankfulness is the work of heaven; you who shall have angels’ reward, do angels’ work. Sound forth the memorial of God’s holiness and celebrate His fame. Praise is thc music of heaven; do not let God lack His music. While others murmur, you bless. Wait and long for that time when you shall be called up to the heavenly mount and placed among the glorious cherubims, where your employment to all eternity will be to breathe forth love and sound forth praise.

THOMAS WATSON 1620-1686 From his book “THE TEN COMMANDMENTS”

Let us try whether we are in the number of these righteous ones; whether we are indeed more excellent than others.

1. A righteous man is a humble man. He who is proud of his righteousness is unrighteous. “God I thank Thee that I am not as other men are. . . . I fast. . . I give tithes. . .” Luke 18:11-12. Here was a triple crown of pride the Pharisee wore. Righteousness, though it raises the name, depresses the heart. “If I am righteous, I will not lift up my head,” Job 10:15. The violet is a sweet flower, yet hangs down the head; such a flower was Job. The righteous are like the silkworm. While she weaves her curious works, she hides her-self in the silk. The righteous man is more likely to judge himself than to play the critic on another. He shrinks into nothing in his own thoughts. David cried out, “I am a worm and no man”; though a saint, though a king, yet a worm.

St. Austin said, “Lord, I am not worthy of Thy love.” Bishop Hooper said, “Lord I am hell, but Thou art heaven ” One of the martyrs subscribed his letter, “The most hard-hearted sinner, John Brad-ford.” He who is righteous puts a greater value upon others than upon himself. “Let each esteem other better than themselves,” Philippians 2:3. The higher grace is, the lower the heart is. The more gold you put into the scale, the lower it descends. The richer the ship is laden, the lower it sails- When the soul looks black in its own eye, it is most comely. “I dwell with him also that is of an humble spirit,” Isaiah 57:15. God has two heavens, and the humble heart is one of them.

2. A righteous man is devoted to holiness. The priests under the law were not only washed in the great laver but also adorned with glorious apparel, Exodus 28:2, the emblem of a righteous man who is not only washed from gross sin, but adorned with inward sanctity. He is what he seems. He does not have holiness painted on him but living in him. It is said of Zachariah and Elizabeth that “they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless,” Luke 1:6. A good Christian is God’s temple. His body is the outward court of the temple and his soul the holy of holies. He is pure in heart, Matthew 5:8. His work is to serve God and his end is to enjoy Him. Man, having a principle of reason, must not live as a beast, and, having a principle of righteousness, he must not live as a sinner. He is not metamorphosed; “he lives godly,” Titus 2:12. Christ is not only his Priest, but his Pattern. As he makes use of Christ’s death for his salvation, so of Christ’s life for his imitation.

3. A righteous man is just in his dealings. “Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? He that hath clean hands,” Psalm 24:3-4. He who is righteous has not only his heart purged from unholiness but his hands from injustice. He abhors all indirect ways; he will not defraud to grow rich. He will not sell his conscience for a wedge of gold. A good Christian is zealous for duties of both tables; he makes piety and justice kiss each other.

4. A Righteous man serves God out of a principle of love. Grace now biases the heart and carries it strongly towards God in ardent affection. A righteous man S serving God is not by constraint but consent. It is heaven to him to serve God! He mounts up in the fiery chariot of love and breathes forth his soul into his Savior’s bosom. Love is the shibboleth that differentiates a righteous man from others. The carnal man says, “What a weariness is it to serve the Lord!” Malachi 1:13. The righteous man says, ‘What a plea-sure is it!” “I delight in the law of God in the inner man,” Romans 7:22. As the bee delights to suck the flower, so a holy person delights to obey God. He does duty out of love to duty; he prays out of love to prayer. When he sings, he makes melody in his heart to the Lord. Love lines the yoke of religion and makes it easy. As a bride delights in putting on her jewels, as a musician delights in playing on his violin, so a gracious soul delights in obeying God. love to duty is better than duty; serving God with de-light is angelic. The seraphims are described as having wings, Isaiah 6:2, to show their cheerfulness as well as their ability in God’s service.

5. A righteous man perseveres in religion. He who gives over his work before he has finished it is but half a workman; and he that gives over in religion before he has finished his faith is but half a Christian The promise is to him who overcomes. Who makes reckoning of corn that sheds before harvest? It was the glory of the church of Thyatira that her last works were more than her first. Perseverance carries away the garland. A true Christian not only sets out in the race but holds out. “The righteous also shall hold on his way,” Job 17:9, be that way what it will. Though strewn with thorns, though there is a lion in the way, he is resolved to hold on his way “Bonds and afflictions abide me, but none of these things move me,” Acts 20:23-24 The troubles a godly man meets with for conscience enflame his zeal all the more. Sufferings cannot make Christ stop loving the saints, nor make the saints stop loving Christ. Though Job lost all, he held fast his integrity. Unsound hearts, when they see the swords and staves are up, leave Christ and shift for themselves. A right-spirited saint is made of mettle that will not wear out. Athanasius (the Church Father) was the glory of his age; he had a counter motion to the times; he kept his piety when the world turned Arian. Melancthon, who was called the phoenix of Germany, was, as Ambrose said, like the cypress tree that keeps its greenness in the winter season. The church of Pergamus held fast to Christ’s name though she dwelt where Satan’s seat was. This is to be righteous: to be faithful to the death and not suffer the breastplate of holiness to be shot through. My foot has held His steps; His way have I kept and not declined. And whoever is thus divinely qualified is entitled to the privilege in the text. He is more excellent than others.

FROM THOMAS WATSON’S “THE TEN COMMANDMENTS”