flowing in till there be fullness and then they never flee away concerning Babylon's wealth the cry will be Alas alas in one hour so great Riches are come to nought Rev. 18.16.17 but Sion's Riches never came to nought being the durable Riches Prov. 8.18 2. They many times hinder Mens entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven 't is hard for â— Rich Man to enter thither because Riches are loved more than that Kingdom but being rich in Christ and having Vertue and Knowledge Temporance and Godliness added to Faith so you may know that Entrance shall be administred abundantly into the Everlasting Kingdom of Christ 2. Pet. 1.8 11. 3. The love of Money is the Root of all Evill a Root bearing Gall and Wormwood as Lying Deceit Violence Apostacy Pride c. on the other side the love of Christ's Riches will be a Root out of which much good will grow as Obedience Zeal of following Christ Boldness to Confess him a heavenly Conversation with contentment with food convenient as the love of Money is the Root of Sin so of piercing Sorrow and distracting Cares but the love of Christ's Riches will be a Root out of which much Peace and Joy will grow even that Peace which passeth Understanding and Joy unspeakable and full of Glory 2. Let those that are partakers of Christ's Riches take these Instructions 1. Be poor in Spirit when you are rich in Christ being rich in the Spirit of Christ given you be poor in your own Spirits Paul said in nothing came I behind the very chiefest Apostles though I be nothing 2 Cor. 12.11 whatever I have now there was a time when I had nothing and was nothing I see now but I was blind I am Righteous now but I was a Sinner and by the Grace of God I am that I am 1 Cor. 15.10 I have no Sufficiency of my self but his Grace is sufficient for me thus be poor in Spirit then you are blessed for yours is the Kingdom of God Math. 5.3 blessed are those that are thus poor in Spirit for they are rich blessed are they that are empty for they are full blessed are they that are thus nothing in Christ they have all 2. Know that it is by your Faith you are Rich Jam. 2.5 rich in Faith Faith seeing Christ Faith receiving Christ and staying upon him makes Rich. Thou standest thou livest thou lovest thou followest Christ by Faith therefore be not high minded but fear be not low minded but believe 3. Such as are rich in Christ should be rich towards Christ 1 Tim. 6.17 18. Charge them that are rich in this World that they be rich in good works much more should those that are rich in Christ be rich in good works abounding in the work of the Lord. 1 Cor. 15 58. 6. 20. 4. Prize the Riches of Grace as well as the Riches of Glory Isa 33.6 the fear of the Lord is his treasure as the fear of the Lord and zeal of worshiping God was that which brought so much treasure to Hezekiah and filled his Treasures with precious things so the Worship and Service of God was esteemed by him as a great Treasure the Treasures of Grace which he had in his Heart were better than the house of his precious things he is a sound Christian that looks on the favour of God and the fear of God as his Treasure 5. Communicate of your Riches As the Ministration of the Spirit so the Riches of Christ are given to profit withal and we should be good Stewards of them in trusting as we are intrusted comforting as we are comforted when Christ gives his Riches he gives his Charge with them Occupy till I come Luk. 19.13 with 1 Pet. 4.10 6. Honour the Lord with your earthly Riches feed Christ hungry and cloath Christ naked we may argue as the Apostle 1 Cor. 9.11 If we have sown Spirituals is it a great matter if we reap your Carnal things If Christ sows his Heavenly Spiritual Incorruptible Riches is it a great matter for him to reap our Carnal make you Friends of the Mammon of Vnrighteousness Covetuos Men look on Mammon as their best Friend Saints should not do so but make themselves Friends with it Not Christ we can't make him our Friend by our Riches Believe come to him Reverence him and so he will be our Friend our Riches cannot purchase his Friendship but make the Saints our Friends do good to the Houshold of Faith and then when these fail they shall receive you with Joy and consecrate your Gain to the Lord If Men have not a heart to it themselves the Lord will do it for them Mich. 4.13 I will consecrate their Gain to the Lord c. when covetous Men make a God of their Wealth Saints should Honour God with it 2 Sam. 1.21 Ye Mountains of Gilboa let their be no Rain nor Dew nor Fields of Offerings the Fields of Canaan were Fields of Offerings of the Fruits of them were made Offerings to the Lord so shâ—â—ld the Fields of Saints be Fields of Offâ—rings tâ—eir Riches the Riches of Offerings and 〈◊〉 â—hat is in the hands of wicked Men is the Mammon of Unrighteousness but shall in the handâ— of Saints be the Riches of Righteousnesâ— 3. Comfort to such as have Christ and his Riches with him Those tâ—at have theâ—â— Portion only in this life and enjoy their good things here hereafter mâ—y have torment and as Jam. 4.1 Go too now ye Rich Men weep and howl for the Miseries that are to come upon you But go too now ye Sainâ—s that are so much scorned and contemned in the World so much persecuted c. rejoyce and be exceeding glad great are your Riches â—n Christ much have you received mo e is laid up for you great is your reward on Earth but far greater in Heaven If you are of the Poor of the World you are rich in Christ if you loose outward Riches for Chrâ—st's sake you have an hundred fold and in the World to come Everlasting Life and the fulness of heavenly Riches In every State you may know how to want and how to abound having Food and Rayment you may very well be content and account Food convenient as all Phil. 4.18 I have all and abâ—und having received of Epaphroditus the things sent from you what an Excellent frame of Spirit was there and most worthy of our Imitation and what cause is there to rejoyce in filling up that which is behind of the Sufferings of Christ as Paul did Coll. 1.24 seeing Christ is filling up that which is behind of our Grace and Glory and is the Lord Proving and Trying you as Silver is tried doth he bring you into a Net and lay Afflictions upon your Loins doth he at any time cause Men to ride over your Heads what is the Issue of all Psa 66.12 Thou ledd'st us through fire and Water and brought'st us out into a wealthy Place Heaven is the wealthy place thither at
know perfectly Brethren I count not my self to have apprehended I follow after I do not sit down satisfied with that I have but I follow after that which I have not that I may apprehend that for which I am apprehended of God God apprehends the Elect in Love he apprehends by his Spirit to bring nigh to himself to make Vessels of Mercy and Glory and they desire to apprehend God and to be nigh him and to be filled brim full with Mercy and Glory they that are full already are most empty Luk. 1.53 Use 2. To stir up the Saints with more diligence to labour to work out their Salvation as Peter exhorts Believers 2 Pet. 1.5 Giving all diligence add to your Faith Vertue to Vertue Knowledge c. So to add Faith to Faith Vertue to Vertue Knowledge to Knowledge Holiness to Holiness Hos 6.3 Then shall we know if we follow on to know the Lord. You that know any thing of Christ should follow on to know more and you shall know more if you hear if you search the Scriptures if you ask more Wisdom and Knowledge 2 Pet. 3.18 Grow in Grace and in the Knowledge of the Lord. Grow in all Graces in Faith Humility Heavenly mindedness and as a great furtherance hereto grow in Knowledge That Salvation may be perfected Consider what it is The Apostle describes it by two parts 1. Wee shall see him as he is 2. We shall be like him To see Christ as the Express Image of the Fathers Person to know God in Christ and to enjoy him as your God and to bear the Image of Christ perfectly in your Soul and Body this is compleat Salvation To see him in whom all fulness dwels and to be like him that is the brightness of the Fathers Glory is Glory enough So these are two great things that ought to be your mark 1. Grow in the Knowledge of Christ Math. 13.11 To you it is given to know the Mystery of Christ To know the great Mystery of Godliness to you a Spirit is given to lead you into all Truth to you the Promises are made of being taught of God Desire Knowledge and believe this Promise so more and more still of the Fulness Excellency and Glory of Christ shall be revealed to you 2. Grow in a conformity to Christ Christ is perfectly Holy labour to be more like him in Holiness let the same mind be in you as in Christ the same Meekness Compassion Heavenly mindedness and Zeal for the Glory of the Father Fashion not your selves to the World but fashion your selves according to the Pattern of Christ and believe that your vile Bodies shall be fashioned like to his Glorious Body and let this Hope he your Happiness till you actually enjoy this Happiness Use 3. Direction about this great work of working out our Salvation 1. Propose right ends to your selves Intermediate and Mediate 1. Intermediate ends that you may have perfect Happiness perfect Redemption from all Evils and that an end may be put to Sin and Sorrow that there may be no more sinning nor no more sorrowing The desire of your own good is not unlawful if you desire Heaven as your Happiness Christ as your Life the presence of God as your best portion this you ought to desire as your happiness the enjoyment of God as your chief good and perfect likeness to Christ as the most perfection that you can be made partakers of Thus did Paul desire his own happiness and good 2 Cor. 6. We which are in this Tabernacle do groan c To be cloathed upon that immortality may be swallowed up of life that Vanitv may be swallowed up of fulness Earthly things of Heavenly Temporal of Eternal that is you must not make it your Business to be Rich Great Renowned and Happy in the World but to be Rich Glorious and Happy in Heaven Lay not up for your selves Treasure on Earth but in Heaven say not to your Souls there are Goods laid up on Earth but much Glory in Heaven Treasures which Moth and Rust cannot corrupt nor Thief break through and steal 2. Your own Happiness must not be your chief and ultimate end but the Glory of God Desire that perfection of Glory may be given you that God may have all that Glory which he expects from you Mark that Petition Father glorify thy Son that thy Son also may glorify thee Joh. 17.1 Desire your own Glory for the Glory of God Desire perfect Knowledge and perfect Holiness that you may do nothing besides Glorifying God that you may not come short of any degree of Glory that he expects from you It is the Everlasting Exercise of the Saints in Heaven to sing Hallelujahs 2. Lay aside every Weight As those that run in a Race will not load themselves with unnecessary weights and he that strives for Masteries is temperate in all things 1 Cor. 9.15 He will take heed of Surfeiting and Drunkeness so in running this Spiritual Race towards Heaven lay aside every weight whatever may be a clog to your hearts to slacken your diligence from endeavouring after the encrease of Heavenly perfections whatever may draw down your hearts from Heaven what may remit your desire of Christ's appearing and of being in his presence As 1. The Love of the World This will be a heavy weight on hearts to hinder their ascending to Heaven If the Mountains should fall upon your Bodies these would be such a weight that you would not be able to stir in the least motion under them the love of the World in the heart is as great weight upon the Spirit it suppresses breathings of Spirit after Heaven it quenches thirstings after Heavenly Glory Take heed of loading your hearts with this weight do not load your selves with thick clay So much immoderate love as there is to the World so much weight is in your Spirits pressing them down from Heaven 2. The cares of the World These are a weight they beget Heaviness in your Spirits and deadness unto Spiritual things Luke 20.34 Take heed of surfeiting and drunkeness and the cares of the World Provident cave is not forbidden but immoderate carâ—king cares take heed of being drunken with cares these cares are choaking things Spiritual desires joys motions and breathings are in danger to be choak'd by worldly cares This our Saviour shews in that parable of the Sower Some Seed shall fall among Thorns and the Thorns sprang up with it and choaked it Luke 8.7 By this is meant such hearers as hear the word and go forth and are choaked with the cares riches and pleasures of the World and bring no fruit to perfection ver 14. If you give up your selves to these this will hinder the bringing Fruit to perfection Worldly Men bar Fruit but not Fruits to perfection no Faith no Love Repentance Reformation so if Saints be overtaken with these this will hinder much their growing onwards to perfection in Knowledge in Grace 3. Worldly Sorrow
of God which is the only solid ground of Faith in the most plain and edifying way this was his Commission And his Practice is answerable hereto which he declares in the beginning of this Chapter I came not with Excellency of Speech with enticing words but sound wholsome edifying Language not that he disliked Eloquence and Elegancy of Speech which is to be perceived in many places of his Epistles but he came not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 cum Eminentia that is not with vain ostentation of his Gifts to gain applause of Men by Excellency of Speech he did not compose his Language in the likeliest manner to win applause but so as to edifie Rhetorick is useful whilst it may help on good grounds towards the embracing of Divine Truths Non laudatur Ruditas sed simplicitas nec vituperatur Eruditio sed Ostentatio And as he came not with Excellency of Speech so not of Wisdom He did not labour to work upon them by Natural Wisdom by Rational Arguments but did declare the Testimony of God We may say of Wisdom Reason Philosophy Humane Learning c. as the Apostle of the Law it is good if a Man use it lawfully if Natural Reason Wisdom and Learning be made subservient as a Handmaid to Faith and Religion there is a good use of them but if it be made the Mistriss and Lord of Faith and Religion the Standard for trial of Truths to be embraced then they are Enemies to Faith and Religion but Divine Truths must be urged upon a Divine Testimony and Authority In the next place now Paul declares further the grounds of this his Practâ—ce viz. 1. From the great esteem he had of the Knowledge of Jesus Christ and him Crucified I determined to know nothing among you but Jesus Christ 2. From the powerfulness and effectualness of the plain Pâ—eaching of Christ Crucified it is the power of God to Salvation in this way God's power woâ—kâ— on Men to the begetting of Faith and Repentance and bringing them to Salvation Chap. 1.18 3. From the powerfulness and ineffectualness of that way of Preaching by the excellency of speech c. the Faith and Obedience begotten hereby stands not in the power of God but in the wisdom of Men this is the foundation of it and so 't is but like the House built on the Sand 't will not endure a stormy blast of wind a Tempest a little Persecution arising the whole Fabrick is overturned 'T is observed of Paul Ast. 14. Preaching at Lystra with great Elegancy of Speech for which the People admired him and called him Mercurius seemed to imbrace him with much Affection so that they were ready to offer Sacrifice to him that we find no real good wrought amongst them Their affection stood in the wisdom of Man and so suddenly vanishes away no sooner came the Jews among them who were Enemies to Paul but they perswaded them another way and now verse 19. they stoned Paul to whom before they were ready to offer Sacrifice as a God that Man's Religion is vain that is not grounded on the Authority and Testimony of God that stands not on the Power of God This Introduction makes way for the better understanding of the sense and scope of the Text also to shew you what Preaching it is you should look after and have in highest esteem viz. that wherein divine Soul-saving Truths are in the plainest manner brought home unto you and urged upon your Consciences from the Testimony of God as Truths which God requires you to believe and imbrace and practice for the Salvation of your Souls and this is Preaching in the demonstration of the Spirit and of Power The words of the Text are one reason laid down of Paul's way of Preaching practised by him in plainess of Speech and declaration of the Testimony of God concerning Christ and him Crucified because he esteemed it the most excellent knowledge to know Christ and the cheifest piece of service he could perform for to bring honour to God or procure good to Men to Preach and to make known Jesus Christ and him Crucified They contain a Determination or Resolution of Paul in the great work he had to do among the Corinthians which he sets forth 1. by way of Negation or Comparative disesteem of the knowledge of other things not to know any thing I count nothing so worthy of my study or pains to make known or of your Search Diligence or Labour to know 2. By way of Affirmation setting forth the highest esteem of the knowledge of Christ in these words But Jesus Christ and him Crucified Him I account worth knowing Here you have 1. an Evangelical preacher mentioned take him for a Pattern Paul 2. His holy Resolution and Affection he had to his work I determined I fix'd this Resolution this I counted my choicest work 3. The Persons among whom he had a mind to work viz. the Corinthians although by many he was accounted a Fool for his labour and his Preaching Foolishness 4. The subject or matter of his Preaching Jesus Christ and him Crucified Something it will be needful to speak for the meaning of words I have determined 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 says Calvin is often used to the same sense 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 tanquam pretiosum Seligere to make choice of as a thing most precious therefore he translates the word Non eximium duxi I counted it not excellent or valuable Herein concur Peter Martyr and Beza who gives an Instance of that use of the Verb Rom. 14.5 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 One man esteemeth a Day so in our Text I have not esteemed any thing so precious and worthy to be made known c. Not to know i. e. to Preach or make known as the following words among you declare to be the sense Any thing Non quod respuendae sint Artes c. Muscul Not as is the knowledge of Arts and Sciences were to be rejected and Secular Learning despised which Paul was not unacquainted with and sometimes expresly makes good use of citing that verse of Epimenides in Tit. 1.12 But he accounted all other knowledge as nothing in comparison with the knowledge of Jesus Christ. This could not add any weight to the knowledge of Christ. But Jesus Christ But was he not to Preach many other things concerning the Father and the Holy Ghost c. yea but the meaning is nothing but Christ because there is no other Name whereby we can be saved c. nothing else as the way and means of Salvation he alone is the Way Truth aud Life he that knows him knows the Father by whom 't is we come to know and enjoy God from whom the Spirit is to be received And him Crucified Although Crucified I am not ashamed to Preach a Crucified Saviour proud Spirits disdain believing in one hanged on a Cross but the Ignominy of the Cross shall be no stumbling block to me Something further seems intimated that