05. III. A further continuation of the Praecognita, things to be premised.
III. A further continuation of the Praecognita, things to be premised.
8. ALL these ranks and states, and each of them have a measure to which they are appointed and a degree wherein they are fixed. The Foot is fixed to its place and measure, so are the rest of the members; so ’tis in this body (though with this difference that some, who yet are Babes, may be little Children and so go on from degree to degree, yet) there is constantly these fixed states of Babes, Children, &c. so that they who are appointed to be but Babes, go no higher; and so of Children, that come not to be Young-men; and Young-men that come not to be Fathers. Though I cannot say, this or that person is fixed to be a Babe, a little Child, &c. and shall be no other; yet I can say that the state of a Babe, &c. is fixed, and that they who are appointed thereunto proceed no further. Some die young, as Jeroboams Son, who run his race as soon as he could go almost. The Thief on the Cross died almost in the moment (or hour) wherein he was new born, and yet might have more grace (and be of a higher degree) than some that were converted before him, and lived longer after it. God saith in this case as to the Sea, Thus far shalt thou go and no further: As he appoints the times and habitations, so their estates and riches to, which (as ’tis said of their days) they cannot pass. There is the measure of every part, Ephes. 4.16, and the measure of the Stature, Vers. 12, and of the gist of Christ, Vers. 7, of Faith, Rom 2:3. And as God hath appointed who shall be members, so also what growth each of these members shall attain to, for they increase with the increase of God, viz. of his appointment as well as blessing and production, Col 2:19, as all Christ’s members were written in God’s Book, so the growth of them to; they are not to be all of the same stature, but according to the measure, that is allotted to them: some live and die Babes, &c.
9. Everyone shall have grace suitable and sufficient to his state and degree: The Father for his, the Young-man for his, and so of the rest. God will seed them all with the food of their allowance, or food convenient for them, to allude to that of Agur, Pro 30:8. A Babe shall have Babes grace, Babes food and raiment. Babes allowance and portion, and so shall all the rest have what is suitable to and sufficient for them. That which will fit and suffice one, will not another, but the God of all grace (of all sorts and degrees) will sit and furnish them all. As our Fathers according to the flesh dispose of and to their Children according to their age and capacity, so doth the Father of spirits his Children. As to Talents, The Lord gave to every man according to his ability, or faculty, as Erasmus, or as Dr. Hammond in his Paraphrase, what was competent for that employment, place, office, exigence of business entrusted to him, and agreeable to his capacity. In case of temptation, he will not suffer them to be tempted above that they are able, 1Co 10:13. In case of duties, he lays on them nothing but what is necessary (to their state and condition) Acts 15:28. Our Savior would not put new Wine into old Bottles, i.e. he would not put his Disciples on Fasting, which was at that time a duty too hard for them, Matth 9.15, —17. He would not lay men’s duties on Babes or Children; no, he hath a special tenderness for his little ones, he (as Jacob did his) drives them gently, as they can go, as he doth also them that are with young, and if his Lambs saint, he takes them into his bosom, Isa 40:11. He doth not (as the Pharisees) bind heavy burdens, or if he do, he will put to his helping hand. God keeps a good Table, he hath several Dishes; Milk for Babes, and strong meat for grown persons: And in the first place he takes care that Peter feed his Lambs, and then his Sheep, John 21. The Mother forgets not her sucking Child to be sure, though she doth not neglect the rest; the weak little ones shall be made much of, and have the breast or the spoon often, because they cannot digest much at a time; that I may allude to that in Isa 28:9-10. Precept shall be upon Precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little. God will give all their portion in due season, and divide his Word aright among them, they shall have suitable dividends. He will give the tongue of the learned to one or other, that he shall know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary (Matth. 17.28.) and to others also, as John did to Fathers, Young-men and Children. He will not break the bruised Reed, nor quench the smoking Flax, but support that and cherish this; he will not cocker the wantons, but use the Rod, as well as rebuke them sharply, that they may be found in the Faith. Still as their case and condition is, such is the administration to them. Our Savior would not say more to his Disciples than they could bear, John 16:12, and so he hath taught his Apostles to tread in his steps; when Paul found the Corinthians to be but Babes, he speaks to and treats them accordingly, 1Co 3:1-2. And so he did the Hebrews, Chap. 5, who were dull of hearing. ’It is to do hurt and not good, to Preach to persons otherwise than their capacities are. There is a time for all things, Non omnibus omnia, nec omnibus horis, everything is beautiful in its season; sometimes new and sometimes old things must be brought out of the treasury; sometimes promises, other times threatening’s; that is best which is fittest and most agreeable: We must not study what we can best Preach, but what the people can best bear; we must not teach a Babe, as we would a Child or a Young-man; A word fitly spoken is like Apples of God in Pictures of Silver, i.e. both inviting and taking, being lovely and desirable, because both pleasing and profitable.
Whatever we do, to be sure God doth feed his people with food convenient for them, giving everyone their portion suitably, which is the beauty of it. He knows what everyone needs, and will supply it: The grace that Paul had already received might have been sufficient for others, yea for himself perhaps in another case, but being buffered by Satan he needed more; and accordingly God told him, My grace shall be sufficient for thee, q.d. I will give thee more strength than thou yet hast; for so Paul understands it, 1Co 12:9-10, and accordingly rejoiceth at it. If thou be a Babe he will feed thee (though it be but with Milk) and thou shalt not lack what’s fittest for thee: if thou be a little Child he will smile on thee and show thee his love: if thou be a Young-man be will strengthen thee, and thou shalt overcome the wicked one; if thou be a Father, he will rub up thy memory, and cause thee to remember, and tell others the stories of what acquaintance thou hast had with him that is from the beginning. If thy work be great, and temptations strong, he will not be an Egyptian task-master to thee, but will enable thee with strength in thy Soul. If thou be but a weakling, yet he will uphold and succor thee: whatever thy state be, his grace shall be sufficient for thee.
10. ’It is seldom that any of these (unless the Fathers) be eminent in the exercise of all graces, at least all alike: Though every grace be seminally and radically in everyone, yet they do not spring up and grow in all alike. ’It is certain the Classis of Babes is not eminent in any grace, no not in them which are their proper Acts, and by which they are denominated; their repentance, desire, and saith is imperfect and weak, though true: The little Children are for Love, and live the less by Faith, because they live by a sensible knowledge of (the love of) the Father. The Young-men are strong, viz. in Faith: The Fathers have gone through all these and are filled with assurance and the riches of its joy.
There have been some persons eminent in some special graces, as Abraham for Faith, Job for patience, Moses for meekness, but few that have been eminent in all grace, which argues that there are but few in the uppermost Form (the Classis of Fathers) in the School of Christ, All have grace in some degree, but few have all grace in an high degree. As ’tis in gifts, ’tis in graces also many times, 1Co 12:8, —18, —28. Some excel in one thing and some in another: The highest estate is the Fathers; the next the Young-men, and so downward; now the lower the Form, the less and lower is the grace: and I fear that many who pretend high (perhaps so high as to be above all Forms) will be found to be as low as Babes, and that they need to learn their very Alphabet again. But,
11. Some (viz. such as are appointed to pass and proceed from one state to another) grow up faster than others: some that shall be Children, Young-men, &c. are not so, so soon as others. ’It is not here as in our University degrees, where at such a time, after such a standing persons may Commence, though not of equal learning and proficiency, and be called Masters of Arts, though they be Master of none, and Doctor of Divinity, though they be yet to learn it: No, ’tis not so here, God gives not his grace as men do. Some grow up suddenly, per soltum. Others by degrees and more leisurely, Paul starts up in a trice, and is so great a proficient, that he hath the right hand given him by James, Cephas, and John, to do more than allude to Gal 2:9, the Thessalonians grew exceedingly, beyond expectation, 2Th 1:3-4, Others come on more slowly (like some Gram) first the Blade, then the Ear, then the full Corn in the Ear, Mark 4:18. As some are long in travail, and have hard labor ere they be delivered: so some are long at the breast before they are weaned, and ’tis a great while before they can go or speak. Time is required to the most, as the Apostle hints, Heb 5:12. But some shoot up and become men in a far less time than others do. The reason of this in general is from the distinguishing grace of God, who causes the increase of some to be more expeditious than others: all increase and fruit is from him; but some he blesseth more abundantly, waters them every moment, pours out much of his Spirit upon them at the very beginning, more than others have all their life long, as was the case of Paul, who had a huge stock bestowed upon him at the very first. So he that had five Talents at the first had more, than he that had sour by improvement after a long time; such get the start so much at first that others cannot overtake them by all their industry. God gives what and how much he pleaseth. Yet usually he doth this when such men are appointed to great undertakings and sufferings as Paul was, what was told him at his first Conversion, and as the reason why he was so filled with the Holy Ghost. Acts 9:15-17, which was accordingly done and forthwith to the amazement of them that heard him, Vers. 20, 21, and on a sudden he increased the more in strength. Vers. 12, or else, when such persons have not only much work to do, but a little time to do it in (being newly called & converted) as they that came late into the Vineyard, but, (it seems) wrought as much as, and it may be better than, them that came in before them. And perhaps it was so with the Thies on the Cross, for he acted a great deal of grace in that little time, and had not only hopes but assurance too of being with Christ in Paradise. So when great things do suffer, God fills them full, as ’twere, at first, as Stephen was, Acts 6:5, who suffered death in a little time after, chap. 7.
12. But though some upon these accounts grow faster than others, and are Fathers sooner than others that were born before them, yet each of them shall sooner or later grow up to that measure of the stature of Christ to which they are appointed. The Babe that is to be a Child by appointment, shall be so by attainment, and so of the rest. No Saint shall die till he have attained the utmost of what he was designed to. As none of God’s Elect (I speak de adultis of them come to years) die before they are converted, so no converted ones die till they come to their maturity and be ripe (like a shock of Corn) for the Garner of God. God gathers none but ripe fruit, though some be riper sooner than other, and as I may say, some be Summer and others Winter fruit, some die young and others old, yet there shall not be an Infant of days, nor an old man that hath not fulfilled his years, but everyone shall attain to his full stature, Isa 65:20. Our Savior could not, as he told that Fox, be perfected till he had finished his work; and then his hour came, Luk 13:32-33. When any of the Saints (like him) have glorified God on Earth by finishing the work God hath given him to do (and everyone hath his task set him, and his work cut out to his hands, Ecc 9:10) then shall he go to be glorified, as Christ did, John 17:4-5, as he could not die till then, so he then would not but die.
David was a man of a public spirit, and served his Generation according to the Will of God; and what then? Why then he fell asleep; when his work was done he went to bed, to rest in the bosom of God, Acts 13:36, though his body saw corruption, which Christ’s Body (who was without sin) did not see. Indeed David thought to have done more work (viz. to build the Temple) but that was reserved for another, and therefore having done his devoir, he fell asleep. So it was with Paul, when the time of his departure was at hand, he was ready to be offered, for saith he, 2Ti 4:6, —8. I have finished my course, I have run to the end of my race, I have nothing to do but to die. So the reverend good old man (Simeon) could not die till he had seen (and could not but die when he had seen) the Salvation of God, This then is the thing in hand, that God (having begun a good work) will finish it before he take any of his converted ones out of this world: he will bring them to their appointed stature: it may be some may die in the good old age of Fathers; others while Young-men in their prime, their marrow in their bones, after great and glorious achievements and victories; others in their Child-hood, while their love is fervent and strong; and others in their Babe-state with the milk in their mouth: but everyone (before the time of his departure come) shall finish that work which was appointed for him to do.
13. ’It is necessary (to avoid scruples and objections) that I premise this also; these states are not so constantly fixed and immutable, but that sometimes for a season there may be a variation: A Babe may have a Spring-tide now and then, but he ebbs again quickly, and comes to low water mark again. The Child of Light and Love may walk in darkness; God may so hide his face, that the Child may not know his Father. The Young-man conqueror may be buffeted again, and perhaps led captive and made a prisoner to a temptation; a fit of forgetfulness or sickness may befall a Father, and make him forgetful, that he may seem to be a Child again; but these intermissions (rising of the low, and fallings of the high) do not alter their state: No, God measures none by particular acts or cases, but according to the tenor and constant course of their frames and exercises. The Corinthians made a great show, kept a great deal ado, yet were Babes: Paul himself was buffeted, because apt to be puffed up, prayed thrice before he had any Answer, and yet he was a Father, even at that time. There may be some unevenness in the high and low and yet no alteration of their states. The Church of Ephesus, her love and works were more at first, than when our Savior sent her that Epistle; and the Church of Thyatica her works more at last than at first; yet we cannot conclude from the partial decay of the former, or advance of the latter, which was best at last, for that might repent, and this not hold fast, which were the duties called for; that from Ephesus, and this from Thyatira; but this we may clearly see, that great beginning; of zeal may be intermitted and decay; and on the other hand that small beginnings may increase to more and more godliness. Some persons run without weariness, and walk without faintness, grow without intermission, they meet with no rubs nor lets, they are not nipped in the bud, and put back by a hard season, as some others are. ’It is said of the Colossians, that from the very day they heard of the Gospel and knew the grace of God in truth, that they brought forth fruit, Col 1:6, there was no decay but a growth; but the Hebrews they (like the idle servant) stood still at a stay, and were but Babes for a long time; and indeed they met with many a stumbling block in their way, which the Apostle endeavored to remove in that Epistle, that they (if yet at last) might go on to perfection. There is a great variety in these things, the first last, and the last first very often; the younger born is the elder grown in grace. No man can conclude infallibly as to particular persons, what their estate is at present, or shall be for the future: which brings me to a
14. Premise, seeing no man knows nor any man can tell him what he is appointed to, everyone should aim at and propound to himself to attain the highest state; as many a common Soldier doth to be a Captain; many a young Student to be a Master; and many an Apprentice to be not only a free-man, or Common-council man, but an Alderman. This I speak that none may be idle or negligent, but pursue after perfection: Great things have been attempted upon a peradventure, and an it may be. If thou be but a Babe at present, and hast been so for many years, yet who knows but thou mayest be a Father at last? Let none therefore say, I have heard, prayed and waited so long, and yet I see no more comes than did at first, therefore I will take up with this stint which I have; On let none say so, for who knows but that after you have been planted in the House of the Lord and become well rooted & grounded, you may flourish as the Palm-tree, & grow up as the Cedars in Lebanon, you may be fat and flourishing, and shall bring forth more fruit in your old age than you did in your youth, Psal. 92.12, —14. If God water thee with the dew of his blessing, thou wilt not only blossom as the Lily, but cast forth thy roots as Lebanon, thy branches and beauty shall spread and be as the Olive-tree, Hos. 14.5.6. The cloud that was at first but as a hand-breadth did at last cover the face of the Heavens, and there was an abundance of rain, 1 King. 18.44 45. The water that was at first but to the ankles, ascended to the Knees, and thence upward to the Loins, at last it was a river to swim in and not sortable, it rose so high, Ezck. 47.3,—5. The Mustard-seed is but little, yet grows to a great Tree: So are the workings of Grace in many a Soul growing up more and more to perfection. Many a man that began with little, yet being faithful and industrious hath become master of a great estate. Do not despond because great things are difficult and thou art but little in Israel, who knows what he may come to? Therefore press forward. Our degrees (like times and seasons) are in the Fathers power, and are hid from us but to make us the more watchful and industrious. If thou have a mind to know the way and means of growing rich, then,
15. And lastly, I premise this, that God usually builds us up by that which he brought us in by, viz. his Word and Spirit. Nutrimur ex iisdem e quibus constituimur. While we behold the glory of the Lord in the Gospel glass, we are transformed into its Image from glory to glory by the spirit of the Lord, 2Co 3:18. The same Spirit that convinceth of sin, doth convince of righteousness yea of judgment and victory too, John 16:8. The gifts given to Pastors and Teachers as well as those given to Apostles, &c. are for the perfecting of the Saints, the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to a perfect man, i.e., to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, Ephes. 4.13. Now that every part of the Body hath a several measure is clear, Vers. 16. But the Gospel and the gifts of Ministers are lest to carry on this measure and perfect it in everyone, till all come to make up the whole body complete, which body is the fullness of Christ, who filleth all in all, i.e., supplies what every part hath, Ephes. 1.23. The Apostle tells Timothy how useful the Word is to make every man of God perfect, for ’tis profitable for four things, which haply may refer to these four states, for surely ’twas not only to make the Preaching, but the hearing men of God perfect, 2Ti 3:16-17. ’It is profitable for Doctrine, to teach even Fathers themselves; for reproof of Young-men if rash and proud; for correction of little Children if wanton; for instruction in righteousness, which refers to Babes, of whom it is expressly said, that they are unskillful in the word of righteousness, Heb 5:13. We are born again not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever; and this is the Word which by the Gospel is preached unto you, 1Pe 1:23, —25, and it follows, Chap 2. 1, 2. Wherefore laying aside &c. As new-born Babes desire the sincere milk of the Word that you may grow thereby. God brings us in and builds us up by his Word. And this I hint that the Preaching of the Gospel may not be despicable in any of your eyes, as if when a man were once converted or had attained to some degree of Grace, he were past hearing; Oh no, you see plainly that that by which he begets us, he brings us up by, we grow by the Word as well as we are begotten by it: and ’tis not till one or two, but till we all come (everyone) to our perfect stature, so that the whole body and every member is perfect and entire lacking nothing, as to its proper complement.
Having thus endeavored to clear my way I shall now, God willing and enabling, proceed to treat of the several Classes and Forms in their order, from the several scriptures which are to be sound speaking on these Subjects; of which sort I hope to find more than are ordinarily thought of, this being a Subject that I never yet met with handled distinctly, or conjunctly by any person.