than that of the richest sinner. Let the wicked man point to his heaps
of money, and run over the names of his farms and manors, and call
himself the lord and master of them all; it is but a narrow and poor
survey, that a few pieces of shining earth can give us; or the fields
that lie within the prospect of a mile or two, when compared with this
vast and universal treasure, _all things are yours_! It is true,
christians, that you have not the civil property and power over the
earth, or the heavens; but you receive a divine advantage from all
things, and that is more than the sinner can say concerning any one
thing that he possesses in the way of civil property.
II. This treasure of the saints is more secure, and more durable than
any thing that a sinner enjoys; therefore the apostle calls the wealth
of this world, _uncertain riches, that cannot be trusted in_; 1 Tim. vi.
17. _Riches make to themselves wings, and fly away as an eagle towards
heaven_; Prov. xxiii. 5. and leave the owner poor and destitute: Many a
wealthy man who flourished yesterday, in abundance of ease and plenty,
may be stripped of all to-morrow, and want the common supports of
nature. What possessions soever are built upon the foundations of civil
property, may be taken away from the saint or the sinner, by robbing and
plunder, by cheating and knavery, by inundations of water, or the rage
of fire, or by the invasion of a foreign enemy, but the beneficial
interest that a christian has in all things is preserved to him by the
covenant of grace. He may be stripped of all earthly possessions, but
the loss of his temporal estate shall turn to his real benefit, as well
as the possession of it. Losses and crosses, as well as plenty and
peace, are numbered among the items of his inventory, and make up his
treasure; so that though the outward scenes of things on earth are
perpetually changing, his real and everlasting treasure is the same; for
all things that appear in nature, that occur in present providence, or
shall arise in future ages, shall work for his advantage: He may lose
money or lands as well as a sinner; but that very loss shall turn to his
gain.
This sort of treasure he cannot be dispossessed of by death itself for
when he quits his visible interest in all things in this lower world, he
enters into a new world of spirits, which he has never seen: and yet all
things in that world are his too: All things in those unknown regions,
where the departing spirit goes, are made over to the saint, by the same
covenant as the things of this world; they shall all administer some
divine profit to him, and be a part of his happiness in the world to
come.
III. This treasure of a christian is ever growing, at least in the
possession; for the occurrences of every day make some addition to it;
whereas the wealth of sinners is impaired with using. The largest
earthly estate may be wasted: Money decreases daily by procuring the
supports of life; but a christian’s treasure still improves. He lives
upon it every day, and yet it grows still.
The providences of God here on earth, present us daily with some new
affairs, new occurrences: Whether they be pleasant or painful, still the
spiritual man finds his interest in them; and when he reviews his
account in the evening, if his heart has been in a proper frame, he may
write himself gainer. He has possessed and enjoyed the very crosses and
sorrows of his former days: He has treasured up a store of divine
experiences, in the midst of plenty and want, health and sickness: New
scenes of life arise, new appearances of things; he is still like the
bee, ready to suck honey from every flower that blows: He gathers his
food and his riches from weeds that are unsavoury, as well as from the
blossoms of perfume: If he is by this means adding daily to the number
and strength of his graces and virtues, he is, as it were, treasuring up
a good foundation for time to come, and, shall I be bold to say, adding
beauties and ornaments to his robes of glory, and lustre to his heavenly
crown.
IV. This large inheritance of a christian is all sanctified, which is
more than can be said of any part of a sinner’s estate. The riches of
this world may be abused to luxury and debauchery, to iniquity and sore
vexations. They may be abused to profaneness and impiety, to dishonour
God, and corrupt the conversation of men, and to ruin their souls for
ever: But this large and extensive treasure of a christian, is designed
for his real happiness, as well as for the honour of his God; whatsoever
he has to do with in the world, he uses it to the glory of his God, to
the honour of his Saviour, to the benefit of his fellow-creatures, and
to his own sublimest advantage. And concerning this sacred treasure, it
may be said, that it is the property, or in the possession of a
christian, no farther than it is sanctified to him, or than he receives
it with a sanctified mind. _To the pure all things are pure_; Tit. i.
15. for _every thing is sanctified by the word of God and prayer_; 1
Tim. iv. 5. The exercise of piety among the saints puts a sort of
consecration upon all creatures, so far as they use or enjoy them.
Thus it is made sufficiently evident, that the treasure of a saint
vastly exceeds all the richest possessions of a sinner. I cannot enter
now upon the third branch of my design, which was to shew, how a
christian comes to be made heir and possesser of all things. Let us
therefore shut up the present discourse with this one reflection:
Reflection.—“How unreasonable is it for a christian to forsake his
profession, or his practice, for any thing which this world can tempt
him with? For his treasures and enjoyments already are greater than any
thing he can hope for in the ways of sin.
“What a powerful motive may be drawn hence, to persevere in faith and
holiness? Christians, _all things are yours_; every thing you converse
with shall turn to your benefit; _this world, and the other, things
present and things to come, life and death are yours_.
“What valuable pretences can the world make, to tempt you to lose this
inheritance, to quit these hopes, and to part with these possessions?
Can you, by complying with any temptation, provide yourself with such
riches as these; or with any thing that shall answer the loss of them?
Sin and the world can promise you but a little, narrow share of good
things: The gospel of Christ gives you a most extensive treasure, for it
bestows all things upon you. The world can make nothing secure, but the
treasures of christianity are everlasting; they reach beyond the grave,
into unknown worlds and ages. All the wealth and pleasures, and
enjoyments of this life perish with the using; but your inheritance is
ever upon the increase: As fast as time and providence bring forth days,
and seasons, and new scenes, so fast this treasure grows; and you may
receive the daily profit of it. What can sin and the world give you but
what hath a secret curse in it? These your treasures are sanctified
blessings, and the foretastes of them are designed to assist you onward
in the ways of holiness and peace, till you arrive at the brightest and
sweetest part of them, the full enjoyment of God and happiness in the
upper world.
“Go on then, christians, with zeal and courage in the profession of your
faith: Go on with constancy in the practice of duty: Feed daily upon
that portion of your inheritance, which your heavenly Father appoints to
sustain you in your travels homeward; and expect the rest in your
Father’s house. When the world would tempt you to forego your sacred
interest in the gospel, by the alluring offer of any temporal
enjoyments, tell the world, that _life and death, things present and
things to come, are yours_ already: Let the world know that Christ has
engaged and secured your heart for ever to himself, by outbidding all
that the world can offer; for he has written down and sealed your title
to a larger and richer inheritance, and annexed it to his own: _Ye are
joint-heirs with Christ_. And he has appointed it to stand recorded in
his holy book to the view of men and angels, that _all things are
yours_.”
The Recollection.—“And is it possible that so worthless a creature as I
am, should be really entitled to all these blessings: Can it be true,
that so rich an interest in the good things of time and eternity belongs
to me? To me, who am less than the least of all the mercies of God? To
me, who in the days of sin and ignorance, have abused all things, O my
God, to thy dishonour? To me, who have provoked thy justice to strip me
of all the common blessings of nature and life, and to make me for ever
poor and miserable? Is the mercy of God so vast and overflowing, as not
only to forgive these provocations, and to admit me into his favour, but
to bless me also with so rich an inheritance? Fall down prostrate, O my
soul, at the foot of sovereign and all-sufficient grace. Remember thy
guilt, thy poverty, and thy wretchedness, and be ever humble before God
thy infinite benefactor. Mourn over all thy unworthiness, and maintain a
constant temper of penitent love, and self-abasing gratitude. I deserve
to be cut off for ever, O Lord, from thy house, from thy family, and
from all the blessings of thy children: But thou hast called me to the
knowledge of thy Son Jesus, thou hast taught me to lay hold on the arm
of thy salvation, thou hast made me willing in the day of thy power to
renounce every sin, to subject myself to thy sceptre of righteousness,
and to accept the grace of thy gospel. Thou hast opened the treasures of
thy love, treasures that contain in them the good things of earth and
heaven, things visible and invisible, things present and things to come:
And while these treasures stood open to my view, in the voice of thy
gospel thou hast told me, _All is yours_.
“O for an enlarged exercise of faith, to survey this inheritance! to
rejoice in this extensive bounty of the Most High! to read the blessed
language of this text, and to believe it with a humble claim and
appropriation! Surely here is enough for faith to live upon, through all
the remaining years of my pilgrimage, and my hope, till faith shall be
turned into perfect sight, and hope into full and final enjoyment. I
would not change my portion with the richest sinner on earth: My estate
is larger, and my interests are more extensive. His gold and silver, his
houses and lands can reach no farther than this world and time; but my
inheritance runs into eternity, and my enjoyment of it has no period.
“My treasures are secure against all the invasions and plunder of
enemies, against all the rage of the winds, and waves, and fire; against
all the confusions of the world, against all the overwhelming changes of
time and nature; even against death itself, and the last conflagration.
These lower heavens may be dissolved, the elements may melt with fervent
heat, and the earth, and the works thereof, with all the fields, and the
palaces, and the treasures of it, may be burned up, but my inheritance
stands ever secure, for God himself, who is the original Creator and
Possessor of all things, has secured life and happiness to me in his
covenant: He has secured a possession of every thing that can be
necessary to my happiness, or to my eternal life.
“O that I were taught to enjoy these blessings daily; and to observe the
daily accessions that are made to my treasures, by all the new scenes of
providence that are ever rising! May I be instructed to make a
sanctified improvement of them all, and thus add something hourly to my
best interest, to my everlasting hope! May life itself, with all the
daily comforts and crosses of it, minister to me some sacred
meditations, some holy and heavenly thoughts! May a divine consecration
come down on all my affairs and concerns in this present state! and by a
wise improvement of all those parcels of my inheritance, which my
heavenly Father puts into my hands here on earth, may I be trained up
and grow fitter daily for those brighter talents, those more glorious
enjoyments, which he keeps in reserve for me when time shall be no more.
_Amen._”
HYMN FOR SERMON XXXVII.
_A Christian’s Treasure:—All things are yours, whether Paul, or Apollos,
or Cephas, &c._
How vast the treasures we possess!
How rich thy bounty, King of grace!
This world is ours, and worlds to come:
Earth is our lodge, and heaven our home.
Paul is our teacher: while he speaks,
The shadows flee, the morning breaks;
His words like beams of knowledge shine,
And fill our souls with light divine.
Cephas is ours: he makes us feel
The kindlings of celestial zeal:
While sweet Apollos’ charming voice
Gives us a taste of heav’nly joys.
The springing corn, the stately wood,
Grow to provide us house and food:
Fire, air, earth, water, join their force;
All nature serves us in her course.
The sun rolls round to make our day,
The moon directs our nightly way;
While angels bear us in their arms,
And shield us from ten thousand harms.
O glorious portion of the saints!
Let faith suppress our sore complaints,
And tune our hearts and tongues to sing
Our bounteous God, our sovereign King.
SERMON XXXVIII.
_The Christian’s Treasure._
1 COR. iii. 21,——All things are yours.
There is nothing that a wise man can wish for in order to make him
happy, but the gospel proposes it to encourage the faith and practice of
christians. What honour is there to be enjoyed among the sons of men,
that is wont to gratify our ambition, but the gospel assures us of
higher honours than this, when it makes us the sons of God? What
pleasures are there to be tasted in the satisfaction of animal nature,
but the gospel invites us to more refined, and more lasting pleasures,
which are to be derived from the love of God, and the company of our
Saviour with all his saints? What riches can be possessed or desired by
the most covetous mind, but the gospel proposes a far more extensive, a
more durable, and more useful treasure, when it tells us in the words of
my text, _all things are yours_?
The former discourse has made it appear in what sense these words are to
be understood: Not that we have a present possession of till things, a
power over them, or a civil right to seize and enjoy them; but the
meaning is this, that so far as a christian can have any thing to do
with the things of this world, or of another, things present or to come,
they shall all be made to work together for his real good. It has been
also proved in the second place, that this inheritance of the saints is
incomparably richer, and more valuable than any thing which sinners can
possess. I proceed now to the:
Third general proposition, and that is, to enquire how christians come
to be partakers of so fair and rich a treasure.
I. It is the kind and eternal purpose of God their Father, that it
should be so. Christians, God has created all things in the world of
nature with this design, that you should derive some benefit from them,
as far as they can come within your reach or notice, your service or
use: He appointed all things in the counsels of his providence, to bear
some blessing for you. He has ordained all things in his kingdom of
grace for your advantage: and there are unknown regions of light and
glory which he has provided for you. His elect were ever nearest to his
heart, next to the man Christ Jesus, next to his only begotten Son; _for
they were all chosen in him before the foundation of the world_; Eph. i.
4. Whether creation or providence, whether nature, grace or glory, _all
things are for your sakes_; 2 Cor. iv. 15.
I would caution you again, that you are not to understand it in such an
incredible sense, as though God made every particular creature in the
upper and the lower worlds, only to give the possession of them to the
saints, or that he manages all his providential kingdom, merely for the
sake of his own people without any other view. No, this is stretching
the words into an extent too large and unreasonable; for there are
millions of creatures, millions of plants and animals in earth and sea,
that are born, and grow, and live, and die again, which the saints of
God never saw, nor know, nor shall know; nor can they receive any
immediate benefit from them. But the meaning is this, that all things
whatsoever the saints can or shall have to do with in this or other
worlds, were intended to yield some profit to them, and especially while
they maintain their character as the children of God, and walk as
becomes their dignity and their profession. In all God’s general
counsels of creation, and providence, and grace, he kept his eye, as I
may say, still upon his saints: He designed their good in ten thousand
instances, in his great and glorious works, and resolved that nothing in
all his kingdoms should interfere with their last and best interest.
Though what he has written down in the book of his decrees, is read only
at large by his Son Christ Jesus, yet he has written out a sweet
abstract of it in the book of his promises, that the saints on earth
might read and know it; Rom. viii. 28. _And we know that all things work
together for good, to them that love God, to them who are the called
according to his purpose._ It was for their sakes the promises were
written, that they might have not only a present relish of divine
blessings, but a sweet foretaste of joys long to come. The blessings of
the children of God were numbered up, and written down originally for
them, in the book of God’s everlasting counsels; and in the book of his
word has he copied out for them, the blessings of heaven from above, and
of the deep from beneath; the precious things brought forth by the sun,
and under the influence of the moon; the chief things of the ancient
mountains on earth, so far as is needful for them here, and the precious
things of the everlasting hills of paradise hereafter.
Does the great Creator and Lord of all keep the wheels of nature in
their settled courses? It is for his people’s good. _The stars in their
courses shall fight for Israel_: Or does he countermand nature in any of
its motions, and bid the _sun stand still in Gibeon, and the moon in the
valley of Ajalon_? It is that the armies of his people may have long
day-light, to subdue their enemies. Hail-stones and thunder shall break
out of the clouds to destroy the Canaanites, when Israel is at war with
them: But if Israel want bread in the wilderness, the clouds shall drop
down manna, and give them bread from heaven. The Lord gave up Egypt with
her armies to the waves of the Red-sea, for the ransom and redemption of
his people: He gave Ethiopia and Seba to the sword for the safety of his
servant Jacob; Is. xliii. 7. _I have loved thee, O Israel, therefore I
gave men for thee, and people for thy life._ And it is no wonder that
God has given all things to his children, since he has given himself to
them, and told them, _I am your God_: It is no wonder he has bestowed
all things upon them, since he has bestowed his Son upon them: His own,
his only Son, who is dearer to him than all the creation; Rom. viii. 32.
“He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how
shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”
II. The saints have an interest in all things, for Christ is made Lord
over all things for his people’s good; Eph. i. 22. “God hath put all
things under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to his
church.” Thus the names of the saints are, as it were, inserted into
that divine patent that exalts and constitutes Christ Lord of all.
And indeed, Christ has not only a right to all things by the mere
donation of the Father, but it may be said, he has purchased all things
for his own honour, and his people’s good. “Because he was obedient unto
death, therefore God has so highly exalted him;” Phil. ii. 8. “and made
him Lord of the dead and the living;” Rom. xiv. 9. And perhaps it is in
this sense, that the inheritance of the saints may be called “the
purchased possession;” Eph. i. 14. Now, christians, since all the
affairs of nature, grace, and glory, are put into the hands of such a
friend in trust for you, that they may be managed and employed for your
advantage, it is as well, nay, it is much better than if all things were
at present in your possession, that is, under your present state of
weakness and folly; for his wisdom and goodness shall govern all for
your truest interest. Ye are Christ’s, so the apostle expresses it in
the verse next to my text: And Christ, who has all in his hands, will
take care of you who are his own.
“Christ is made heir of all things;” Heb. i. 2. And if ye belong to
Christ, _then are ye heirs of God, and joint heirs of Christ_; Rom.
viii. 17. And the express promise of the Father confirms it, that all
things are yours; Rev. xxi. 7. “He that overcometh shall inherit all
things, and I will be his God, and he shall be my son;” 1 Cor. xii. 27.
“Ye are the members of the body, and Christ is the head.” Now the
members must in their measure become sharers of what the head possesses.
In your proportion, O christians, you shall have communion with Christ
your Lord, in his royalties and his wide dominion: for he hath promised
that “ye shall sit down on his throne, when ye have overcome your
enemies, even as he overcame, and is set down on the throne with his
Father;” Rev. iii. 21. Ye are one with Christ, and therefore in your
measure, O believers, and according to your capacity, ye shall possess
and enjoy all things which he possesses, so far as is requisite for your
benefit in this world, and your truest happiness for ever.
III. The saints are actually invested with this privilege, by believing
on the Son of God, by accepting the covenant of his grace, by receiving
Christ Jesus the Saviour, according to the appointed methods of the
gospel. When a poor, destitute, guilty, and perishing creature is made
willing by divine grace, to give up himself to Christ as his Saviour and
his Lord, he is divested of his guilt, he is clothed with the robes of
salvation, he is translated out of a state of sin, poverty, and
wretchedness, into a state of rich grace, and becomes a child of God,
and an heir of all things. A living faith, which has all the springs of
holiness in it, is ordained to carry in it all the springs of treasure
and felicity. This unites the soul to Christ, this gives a humble claim
to all the blessings laid up in the eternal decrees and purposes of God;
blessings purchased by the blood of his Son Jesus; blessings promised in
the word of the gospel, wherein all things are given for a possession to
the children of the Most High.
IV. All things may be said to belong to the saints, or shall turn to
their advantage, because the blessed Spirit is given them, to teach them
to improve all things for their own benefit; 1 Cor. ii. 12. _We have
received—the Spirit, which is of God, that we might know the things that
are freely given to us of God_: And that not only that christians might
know what their treasures are, but learn how to make a right use of them
too. They are taught by the Holy Spirit, to receive the common blessings
of nature from the hands of God, as a Father and a Friend, and a God in
covenant: And they rejoice in them as such, with humble thankfulness;
they are instructed to derive useful meditations from the sun, moon, and
stars; and to read the wisdom, the power, and the glory of their
Creator, and their Father there, and to rejoice in his goodness. The
peaceful state of kingdoms, or battles, wars and earthquakes, and the
convulsion of nations, are all made useful lessons to a child of God;
and he gains something from all of them, by the teachings of the blessed
Spirit.