“Reformation ends not in contemplation, but in action”
When Daniel understood by books that the seventy years of Jerusalem's
desolation were at an end, and that the time of building the temple again
was at hand, then he saith, "I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by
prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes." O let
us do as he did! O let us "cry mightily unto God," Jonah iii. 8; and let
us, with all our soul, and all our might, give ourselves to fasting and
prayer. Now, if ever, "the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man
availeth much," James v. 16.
Secondly, And the more actively you must go about the business. "Be ye
stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch
as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord," 1 Cor. xv. 58.
What greater motive to action than to know that you shall prosper in it?
"Arise therefore, and be doing."
And so I am led upon the third and last part of the text, of which I shall
speak but very little.
The doctrine is this: Reformation ends not in contemplation, but in
action. The pattern of the house of God is set before us to the end it may
be followed; and the ordinances thereof to the end they may be obeyed:
"Give me understanding (saith David), and I shall keep thy law; yea, I
shall observe it with my whole heart," Psal. cxix. 34; "If ye know these
things (saith Christ), happy are ye if ye do them," John xiii. 17. The
point is plain, and needeth no proof but application.
Let me therefore, honourable worthies, leave in your bosoms this one point
more: Many of the servants of God who have stood in this place, and could
do it better than I can, have been calling upon you to go on in the work
of reformation: O "be not slothful in business," Rom. xii. 11; and forget
not to do as you have been taught. Had you begun at this work, and gone
about the building of the house of God as your first and chief business, I
dare say you should have prospered better. It was one cause, among others,
why the children of Israel (though the greater number, and having the
better cause too) did twice fall before Benjamin, because, while they made
so great a business for the villainy committed upon the Levites'
concubine, they had taken no course with the graven image of the children
of Dan (Jud.
“O God, Thou art a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in Thy being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.”
Various obstacles, however,
interposed, and so greatly impeded the progress of the Assembly, that the
Catechism was not so speedily completed as had been expected. It was,
however, presented to the House of Commons on the 5th of November 1647,
and the Larger, in the spring of the following year.
There is one anecdote connected with the formation of the Shorter
Catechism both full of interest and so very beautiful, that it must not be
omitted. In one of the earliest meetings of the Committee, the subject of
deliberation was to frame an answer to the question "_What is God_?" Each
man felt the unapproachable sublimity of the divine idea suggested by
these words; but who could venture to give it expression in human
language! All shrunk from the too sacred task in awe-struck reverential
fear. At length it was resolved, as an expression of the Committee's deep
humility, that the youngest member should first make the attempt. He
consented; but begged that the brethren would first unite with him in
prayer for divine enlightenment. Then in slow and solemn accents he thus
began his prayer:--"O God, Thou art a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and
unchangeable, in Thy being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and
truth."--When he ceased, the first sentence of his prayer was immediately
written down and adopted, as the most perfect answer that could be
conceived, as, indeed, in a very sacred sense, God's own answer,
descriptive of Himself.(4) Who, then, was the youngest member of the
Committee? When we compare the birth-dates of the respective members of
the Committee, we find that George Gillespie was the youngest by more than
a dozen years. We may, therefore, safely conclude, that George Gillespie
was the man who was thus guided to frame this marvellous answer.
Without further enlarging on these points, we may, without hazard, affirm,
that however eminent Gillespie was in the department of controversy, he
was scarcely, if at all, less so in that of systematic theology, while his
personal piety was of the most elevated and spiritual character. Rarely,
indeed, have such qualities met in any one man, as were united in him; but
when God requires such a man, he creates, endows and trains him, so as to
meet the necessity.
“The Lord Jesus will be revealed mightily, and will make bare his holy Arm, as well in the confusion of Antichrist, as in the conversion of the Jews, before the last judgment, and the end of all things.”
He hath at divers times come and
manifested himself to his churches; and this present time is a time of the
revelation of the Son of God, and a day of his coming. We look also for a
more glorious coming of Jesus Christ before the end be: for "the Redeemer
shall come to Sion" (Isa. lix. 20), "and shall turn away ungodliness from
Jacob" (Rom. xi. 26); and he shall destroy Antichrist "with the brightness
of his coming," 2 Thess. ii. 8; in which place the Apostle hath respect to
Isa. xi. 4, where it is said of Christ, the rod of Jesse, "with the breath
of his lips shall he slay the wicked." There, withal, you have the
church's tranquillity, the filling of the earth with the knowledge of the
Lord, and the restoring of the dispersed Jews, as you may read in that
chapter. Some have observed(1404) (which ought not to pass without
observation) that the Chaldee Paraphrase had there added the word
_Romilus_: "He shall slay the wicked Romilus;" whereupon they challenge
Arias Montanus for leaving out that word to wipe off the reproach from the
Pope. However, the Scriptures teach us, that the Lord Jesus will be
revealed mightily, and will make bare his holy arm, as well in the
confusion of Antichrist, as in the conversion of the Jews, before the last
judgment and the end of all things.
By this time you may understand what is meant in the text by the day of
Christ's coming, or {~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON~},--_coming in_, as the Septuagint read, meaning
his coming, or entering into his temple, mentioned in the first verse; by
which temple Jerome upon the place rightly understandeth the church, or
spiritual temple.
When this temple is built, Christ cometh into it, to fill the house with
the cloud of his glory, and to walk in the midst of the seven golden
candlesticks. The same thing is meant by his appearing: "When he
appeareth," saith our translation; "When he shall be revealed,"; others
read, "When he shall be seen," or "in seeing of him." The original word I
find used to express more remarkable, divine, and glorious sights, as Gen.
xvi. 13, "Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?
“How small regard is had to the oath of God by men professing the name of God.”
I leave it to be judged by men
of knowledge and piety, whether such an one doth not give them some ground
to apprehend that he is {~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~}, that is, self-judged, who first
calleth so eagerly for making out a charge against him, and then when it
is made out, doth decline the charge, and not answer the arguments; and
such as esteem the charge of covenant-breaking to be a _nihil respondes_,
and the argument of the covenant too low to be thought on in a controversy
about church government, "O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto
their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united." It is in vain for them
to palliate or shelter their covenant-breaking with appealing from the
covenant to the Scripture, for _subordinata non pugnant_. The covenant is
_norma recta_,--a right rule, though the Scripture alone be _norma
recti_,--the rule of right. If they hold the covenant to be unlawful, or to
have anything in it contrary to the word of God, let them speak out. But
to profess the breach of the covenant to be a grievous and great fault,
and worthy of a severe censure, and yet to decline the charge and proofs
thereof, is a most horrible scandal; yea, be astonished, O ye heavens, at
this, and give ear, O earth! how small regard is had to the oath of God by
men professing the name of God.
As for that little which the reverend brother hath replied unto; first, he
takes notice of a passage of his sermon at the taking of the covenant,
which I had put him in mind of, but he answereth only to one particular,
viz., concerning that clause, "Doubtless many materials of Prelacy must of
necessity be retained, as absolutely necessary." I asked what he
understood by this clause? Now observe his answer: "I answer ingenuously,
as he desires, and fully, as I conceive, These materials of Prelacy are
ordination." Remember you said, "_many_ materials of Prelacy." I beseech
you, Sir, How many is ordination? Ordination, ordination, ordination; tell
on till you think you have made many materials; and, withal, tell us (if
this be the meaning, that ordination should be retained without any power
of ecclesiastical government in the ministry) how was it imaginable that
he could hereby satisfy that scruple which then he spoke to, viz., the
scruple about the purging away of the exorbitances of Prelacy, and
retaining a regulated Prelacy?
“If any of these be wanting, a Christian is not perfect, so much as in the perfection of parts. He is but half a Christian who is an orthodox believer, if he be not practical also; and he is but half a Christian who is practical, if he be not an orthodox believer. These ends of Scripture do not consist nor stand sure one without another.”
“Those that refuse the covenant, reproach it, or rail against it, ought to be looked at as enemies to it and dealt with accordingly.”
“The pride of life hath corrupted the judgment of others, and perverted them in the way of religion.”
“His fruit is but such as grows upon the stony ground, but stay till the sun of persecution arise and scorch him.”
It has been observed of the warring Turks, that often they used this notable deceit - to send a lying rumor and a vain tumult of war to one place, but, in the meanwhile, to address their true forces to another place, that so they might surprise those who have been unwarily led by pernicious credulity. So have we manifest (alas! too, too manifest) reasons to make us conceive, that whilst the chief urgers of the course of conformity are skirmishing with us about the trifling ceremonies (as some men count them), they are but laboring to hold our thoughts so bent and intent upon those smaller quarrels, that we may forget to distinguish between evils immanent and evils imminent, and that we be not too much awake to espy their secret slight in compassing further aims.
All your winning or losing of a good conscience, is in your first buying; for such is the deceitfulness of sin, and the cunning conveyance of that old serpent, that if his head be once entering in, his whole body will easily follow after; and if he make you handsomely to swallow gnats at first, he will make you swallow camels ere all be done. Oh, happy they who dash the little ones of Babylon against the stones (Ps. 137:9)!
here is nothing which any way pertains to the the worship of God left to the determination of human laws, besides the mere circumstances, which neither have any holiness in them, forasmuch as they have no other use and praise in sacred than which have in civil things, nor yet were particularly determinable in Scripture.
The apostle only commands that each action and ceremony of Gods worship be decently and orderly performed, but gives us no leave to excogitate [contrive] or devise new ceremonies, which have not been instituted before. He has spoken in that chapter of assembling in the church, prophesying and preaching, praying and praising there. Now let all these things, and every other action of Gods worship, ceremonies and all, be done decently and in order.
It is the privilege of the new Jerusalem which is above, that there is no temple therein, Rev. 21.22, no ministry, no preaching, no sacraments in heaven, but God shall be all in all. An immediate enjoyment of God in this world without ordinances is but a delusion. In the church triumphant prophecies shall fail, 1 Cor. 13.8; but in the church militant, despise not prophesyings, 1 Thess. 5.20.
