Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/4_400.lzh/4_427.TXT

Text File | 1994-09-15 | 7KB | 127 lines

trusts to his own righteousness, and despises others,
and even the righteousness of Christ; or however does
not sttbmit to it, but tramples upon him, and counts
the blood of the covenant an unholy thing, and so is
deserving of sorer punishment than the profane sin-
ner; yet on account of his good works, as he calls
them, fancies himself to be in a fair way for heaven and
· happiness; so Popery, through the pomp and grandeur
and g'audiness of worship, through the lying miracles
of the priests, and the air of devotion that appears in
them, seems to be a right way. But tile end thereof
are the ways of death; which !end unto eternal death;
for that is the wages of sin, let it appear in what shape
it will.
Vet. 13. Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful, &c.]
As Belshazzar's was in the midst of his feast and jol-
lity, when he saw the Writing on the wall; so sin may
stare a man in the face, and guilt load his conscience
and fill him with sorrow, amidst his merriment; a
man may put on a merry countenance, and feign a
laugh, when his heart is very sorrowful; and often-
times this sorrow comes by sinful laughter, by mock-
ing at sin and jesting at religion. And the end of that
mirtk is heaviness: sometimes in this life a sinner mourns
at last, and mourns fbr his wicked mirth, or that he
has made himself so merry with religious persons and
things, and oftentimes when it is too late; so the end
of that mirth the/bol in the Gospel promised himself
was heaviness, when his soul was required of him; this
was the case of the rich man who had his good things
here, and his evil things hereafter.
Ver. 14. The batckslider in heart shall be filled with
his own wa?!s, &c.] One that is a backslider at heart,
whose heart departeth from the Lord; in whom there
is an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living
God; and indeed spaslacy begins at the heart, and
shews itself in the life and conversation: there may
be a backsliding when the heart does not wickedly
depart frotn God; but is through the infirmity of the
tlesh and the force of temptation; fi'om which back-
slidlugs the Lord's people are recovered, and which
are healed by his grace; but here such an one is meant
who willingly and heartily backslides; and such shall
have the reward of their hands and actions given them,
or the full and due punishment of their sins; they
shall have their b.ellyful of their own wicked ways
and works, the just recompense of reward for them.
And a ..o',ood man shall be satisfied from himself; shall
eat the fi'uit of his own doings, shall be blessed in his
dce,ts, and have peace and satisfaction therein; though
not salvation hy them, or for them: he shall be satis-
fied with the gr~tce of God bestowed on him and
wrought in him; and, fi'om a feeling experience of the
grace of God within him, shall be satisfied that he has in
heaven a better and an enduring' substance; or he shall
be satisfied from above himself {m}, from the grace that
is in Christ, out of the fulness which is in him; and
shall be filled with all the fulness of God he is capable
of; and especially in the other world, when he shall
awake in his likeness. The Targum !s, "a good
"man shall be satisfied with his fear;' and so the
Syriac version, with the fear of his soul; it may be ren-
dered, as by the Vulgate Latin version, a good man shall
be above him {u}; that is, ubove the backslider; shall be
better tilled, and be more happy than he.
Vet. 15. The simple believerb every word, &c.] Every
thing that is said to him. every story that is told him,
and every promise that is made him; and so is easily
imposed upon, and drawn in to his hurt: every worit
of God, or doctrine of his, ought to be believed; be-
cause whatever he says is true, he'cannot lie; every
word of his is pure, fi'ee from all error and falsehood ;
it is a tried word, and found to bear a faithful testi-
mony, and, if we receive the witness oF then, the wit-
ness of God is greater; besides, his word is profitable
for instruction, and for the increase of peace, joy, and
comfort, and is effectual to saving purposes: every
word of Christ is to be believed, who is a teacher sent
from God; whose mission is contirmed by miracles,
and whose doctrine is not his own as man, but his
father's; he is the faithful witness, and truth itself;
his words are more than human, and besides are plea-
sant and wholesome: and every word and doctrine of
his apostles, who received their mission. commission,
and doctrines from him, is also to be believed; but
every spirit, or every one that pretends to be a spiritual
man, and to have spiritual gifts, is not to be believed;
but the words and doctrines of ordinary men and mi-
nisters are to be first tried by the unerring rule of the
sacred Scriptures; yea, the doctrines of the apostles
were examined by them; see 1 John iv. 1. Acts xvii.
11. they are simple, weak, silly, foolish persons, that
believe all they hear, whether right or wrong, true or
false, good or hurtful; they are children in knowledge,
who are tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine,
and are deceived with good words and fair speeches,
Ephes. iv. 14. Ram. xvi. 18. This truly describes the
followers of the man of sin; who give heed to seducing
spirits, and doctrines of devils; who believe as the
church believes; that believe with an implicit faith;
believe every word and doctrine. the pope and court-
.ells say they should, though ever so absurd; as, for
instance, the doctrine of transubstantiation: these are
simple or fools with a witness, who give up their un-
derstandings, and even their senses unto, and pin their
thith upon, another. But the prudent nlan loo/ceth well
to his going; or its going °; to the course and tend-
ency of the word he hears, or the doctrine which is
proposed to his faith; he considers well whether it is
agreeable or is contrary to the perfections of God;
whether it derogates froth the glory of any of the divine
Persons; whether it makes for the magnifying the
riches of God's grace, and for the debasing of men; or
tbr the depreciating of the one, and setting up of the
other; and whether it is a. doctrine according to god-
liness, or no, that tends to promote holiness of heart
and life, or to indulge a loose conversation; and ac-
cording to these criteria he judges and determines whe-
ther he shall believe it or no. Or, to his going; that
is, to the going or' the deceiver and impostor; he ob-
serves narrowly the methods he takes, the artifices he
makes use of, the cunning sleight by which he lies in

{m} \^wylem\^ de super eo, Montanus; de super semet, Schultens.
{n} Et super cum erit vir bonus, V. L. De Dieu.
{o} \^wrval\^ gressum illius, sc. sermonis, Baynus, so some in Mercerus.