SERM. I. If in humility we seek for grace from God, knowing that we have it not of ourselves, we shall receive it from God, for 1 Pet. 5. 5. He "giveth grace to the humble." Seeing then that in us there is no ability, no not so much as "to think any thing," and all ability cometh from God, we are Lam. 5. 21. to learn from hence that if God say, Turn to Me, and I will turn to you, we must pray, Convert Thou us, O Lord, and 31. 66 to us, say Ezek. 18. we shall be converted. If He Joh. 11. 26. When Christ saith, "Believest thou this ?" forasmuch as Eph. 2. 8. faith" is the gift of God," we are to pray with the disciples, Lu. 17. 5. Domine, adde nobis fidem. When the Apostle exhorteth, 1Pet. 1.13. Perfecte sperate, we should say with the Prophet, "Lord my Ps. 39. 7. hope is even in Thee." And where our duty is to love with all our hearts, because we cannot perform this without the Rom. 5. 5. assistance of God's Spirit, we are to pray that "the love of God may be shed in our hearts by the Holy Ghost." A PREPARATION TO PRAYER. SERMON II. JAMES i. 16, 17. Err not, my dear brethren. Every good giving and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with Whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. [Nolite itaque errare, fratres mei dilectissimi. Omne datum optimum et omne donum perfectum desursum est, descendens a Patre luminum, apud Quem non est transmutatio, nec vicissitudinis obumbratio. Lat. Vulg.] [Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with Whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Eng. Trans.] As St. Paul tells us, "that we are not sufficient to think" a 2 Cor. 3.5. good thought, "but our sufficiency is of God;" so the Apostle saith, It is God only from Whom "every good giving and every perfect gift" cometh; and that we shall err if we either think that any good thing which we enjoy cometh from any other but from God, or that any thing else but good proceedeth from Him; so that as well the ability which man had by nature, as our enabling in the state of grace, is from God. He is the fountain out of Whom, as the Wise Man saith, we must [Prov. 12. 2.] draw grace by prayer, which is situla gratiæ, the conduit or bucket of grace.' Therefore He promiseth in the Old Testament to pour upon His Church both "the Spirit of grace Zech. 12. and of prayer," that as they sue for grace by the one, so they receive it in by the other. Unto this doctrine of the may 10. II. SERM. Apostle in this place, even those that otherwise have no care of grace do subscribe, when they confess themselves to be destitute of the good things of this life, and therefore cry, Quis ostendet nobis bona? Ps. 4. 6. As before the Apostle shewed that God is not the cause of any evil, so in this verse he teacheth there is no good thing but God is the author of it; if He be the fountain of every Jas. 3. 11. good thing, then He cannot be the cause of evil, for "no one fountain" doth out of the same hole "yield sweet and bitter water." Secondly, if every good thing be of God only, then have we need to sue to Him by prayer, that from Him we may receive that which we have not of ourselves. Wherefore as this Scripture serves to kindle in us the love of God, forasmuch as He contains all good things that we can desire, so it is a special means to provoke us to the duty of prayer. This proposition hath two parts: first, an universal affirmative in these words, "Every good giving;" secondly, a prevention; for where it may be objected, that howsoever some good things come of God yet evil things also may successively come from Him, even as the heathens say that Jupiter hath divers boxes out of which he doth pour both good and evil, the Apostle preventeth that objection and saith, "that with God there is no variableness nor shadow of changing." So that as the meaning of these words in the Hos. 13. 9. Prophet Osec, Salus tua tantummodo ex Me, is both that salvation is only of God, and that nothing else but salvation cometh from Him; so the Apostle's meaning in these words is, both that God is only the cause of good, and that He is the cause of nothing else but good, lest when we are tempted unto evil, we should make God the author of all such temptations. 66 The former part of the proposition called subjectum is, Every good giving, &c." The latter part called prædicatum is, "descendeth from above." Where the heathen call all virtues and good qualities which they have, eğeis, of having, the Apostle calleth them doσes Kaì dwρńμaтa, of giving, to teach us that whatsoever good quality is in any man, he hath it not as a quality within himself, but he receiveth it from without as it is a gift. Lu. 12. 19. Esau speaking of the blessings bestowed upon him saith, "I have enough;" and the rich man, Anima, "Soul, thou Gen. 33. 9. hast much good;" as though they had not received them from God: but the saints of God spake otherwise. Jacob saith, "These are the children which God hath given me." Again, Gen. 33. 5. when Pilate without all respect of God of Whom the Apostle saith, "There is no power but of God," said, "Knowest Thou Rom.13.1. not, that I have power to crucify and to loose Thee?" our Saviour said again, "Thou shouldest have no power over Me, Joh. 19. 10, except it were given thee from above." 11. The consideration hereof serveth to exclude our "boast- Rom.3.27. ing;" that "the wise man boast not of his wisdom,” seeing Jer. 9. 23. wisdom, strength, and whatsoever good things we have, it is the good gift of God, as the Apostle tells us, Quid habes quod 1 Cor. 4. 7. non accepisti? Secondly, this division is to be marked, that of the good things which come from God some are called donationes, others dona; and to these two substantives are added two adjectives, whereof one doth answer to the givings of God's goodness, the other to the gifts of God ascribeth perfection. The first error the Apostle willeth them to beware is, that they think not that God is the cause of any evil, because every good thing cometh from Him; the second error is, that they should not conceive this opinion, that the main benefits are from God, and the lesser benefits are from ourselves; not so, for the Apostle tells us, that as well "every good giving,” as "every perfect gift, is from above." That which the Apostle calls donatio, is a transitory thing; but by gift he meaneth that which is permanent and lasting. 21. Joseph is recorded to have given to his brethren not only corn, "but victuals to spend by the way." So by "giving," the Gen. 45. Apostle here understandeth such things as we need in this life, while we travel towards our heavenly country; but that which he calleth "gifts," are the treasures which are laid up for us in the life to come; and thus the words are used in these several senses. Of things transitory the Apostle saith, "No Church dealt Phil. 4. 15. with me in the matter of giving;" there the word is dóσis but speaking of the good things that come to us by Christ he saith, "The gift is not as the fault," where the word is dúpnua. Rom.5.16. SERM. II. By "giving" he understandeth beauty, strength, riches, and every transitory thing whereof we stand in need, while we are yet in our journey towards our heavenly country; such Job 1. 21. as Job speaks of, Dominus dedit, Dominus abstulit. By "gift" he meaneth the felicity that is reserved for us after this life, the kingdom of heaven, that whereof our Saviour saith to Lu. 10. 42. Martha, "Mary hath chosen the better part, which shall not be taken from her." 1 Cor. 2. 9. 66 That which is a stay to us in this life is doors, but "the things which neither eye hath seen, nor ear heard, all which are reserved for them that love God," these are dwρńμata, and as well the one as the other come from God. So much we are taught by the adjectives that are joined to these words. Givings" are called "good," and the "gifts" of God are called "perfect;" in which words the Apostle's purpose is to teach us that not only the great benefits of the life to come, such as are perfect, are of Him; but that even that good which we have in this life, though it be yet imperfect and may be made better, is received from Him and not elsewhere. Zech.4.10. "Who doth despise little things?" saith the Prophet. God is the author both of "perfect" and "good things:" as the image of the prince is to be seen as well in a small piece of coin as in a piece of greater value, so we are to consider the goodness of God, as well in the things of this life as in the graces that concern the life to come, yea even in this, 2 Cor. 3. 5. "to think that which is good." [Mat. 6. 10, 11.] Of Him are the small things as well as the great. Therefore our Saviour teacheth us to pray, not only for that "perfect gift," ut adveniat Regnum, but even for these lesser good things, which are but His "givings," namely, that He would give us our daily bread.” 66 Under "good" are contained all gifts, both natural or temporal. Those "givings" which are natural, as to live, to move, and have understanding, are good, for of them it is said, Gen. 1. 31. "God saw all that He made, and lo, all was good." Of gifts temporal, the heathen have doubted whether they were good, to wit, riches, honour, &c., but the Christians are 1 Joh.3.17. resolved that they are good. So our Saviour teacheth us to Lu. 11. 13. esteem them, when speaking of fish and bread, He saith, " If you which are evil can give your children good things." And |