Thomas Watson · 14 of 31

2.4 The Fourth Commandment · Part 2

(2) Meditate on God’s holiness. ‘Holy and reverend is his name.’ Psa 111: 9. ‘Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil.’ Hab 1: 13. God is essentially, originally, and efficiently holy. A11 the holiness in men and angels is but a crystal stream that runs from this glorious fountain. God loves holiness because it is his own image. A king cannot but love to see his own effigies stamped on coin. God counts holiness his glory, and the most sparkling jewel of his crown. ‘Glorious unholiness.’ Exod 15: 2: Here is meditation fit for the first entrance upon a Sabbath. The contemplation of this would work in us such a frame of heart as is suitable to a holy God; it would make us reverence his name and hallow his day. While musing; upon the holiness of God’s nature, we shall begin to be transformed into his likeness.

(3) Meditate on Christ’s love in redeeming us. Rev 1: 5. Redemption exceeds creation; the one is a monument of God’s power, the other of his love. Here is fit work for a Sabbath. Oh, the infinite stupendous love of Christ in raising poor lapsed creatures from a state of guilt and damnation! That Christ who was God should die! that this glorious Sun of Righteousness should be in an eclipse! We can never admire enough this love, no, not in heaven. That Christ should die for sinners! not sinful angels, but sinful men. That such clods of earth and sin should be made bright stars of glory! Oh, the amazing love of Christ! This was Illustre amoris Christi mnemosynum. Brugensis. That Christ should not only die for sinners, but die as a sinner! ‘He has made him to be sin for us’ 2 Cor 5: 21. He who was among the glorious persons of the Trinity, ‘was numbered with the transgressors.’ Isa 53: 12. Not that he had sin, but he was like a sinner, having our sins imputed to him. Sin did not live in him, but it was laid upon him. Here was an hyperbole of love enough to strike us with astonishment. That Christ should redeem us, when he could not expect to gain anything, or to be advantaged at all by us! Men will not lay out their money upon purchase unless it will turn to their profit; but what benefit could Christ expect in purchasing and redeeming us? We were in such a condition that we could neither deserve nor recompense Christ’s love. We could not deserve it; for we were in our blood. Ezek 16: 6. We had no spiritual beauty to tempt him. Nay, we were not only in our blood, but we were in arms against him. ‘When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son;’ Rom 5: 10. When he was shedding his blood, we were spitting out poison. As we could not deserve, so neither could we recompense it. After he had died for us, we could not so much as love him, till he made us love him. We could give him nothing in lieu of his love. ‘Who has first given to him?’ Rom 11: 35. We were fallen into poverty. If we have any beauty, it is from him, ‘It was perfect through my comeliness which I had put upon thee.’ Ezek 16: 14. If we bring forth any good fruit, it is not of our own growth, it comes from him, the true vine. ‘From me is thy fruit found.’ Hos 14: 8. It was nothing but pure love for Christ to lay out his blood to redeem such as he could not expect to be really bettered by. That Christ should die so willingly! ‘I lay down my life.’ John 10: 17. The Jews could not have taken it away if he had not laid it down. He could have called to his Father for legions of angels to be his life-guard; but what need for even that, when his own Godhead could have defended himself from all assaults? He laid down his life. The Jews did not so much thirst for his death, as he thirsted for our redemption. ‘I have a baptism to be baptised with, and how am I straitened till it be accomplished?’ Luke 12: 50. He called his sufferings a baptism; he was to be baptised and sprinkled with his own blood; and he thought the time long before he suffered. To show Christ’s willingness to die, his sufferings are called an offering. ‘Through the offering of the body of Jesus.’ Heb 10: 10. His death was a free-will offering. That Christ should not grudge nor think much of all his sufferings! Though he was scourged and crucified, he was well contented with what he had done, and, if it were needful, he would do it again. ‘He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.’ Isa 53: 11. As the mother who has had hard labour, does not repent of her pangs when she sees a child brought forth, but is well contented; so Christ, though he had hard travail upon the cross, does not think much of it; he is not troubled, but thinks his sweat and blood well bestowed, because he sees the man-child of redemption brought forth into the world. That Christ should make redemption effectual to some, and not to others! Here is surprising love. Though there is sufficiency in his merits to save all, yet some only partake of their saving virtue; all do not believe. ‘There are some of you that believe not.’ John 6: 64. Christ does not pray for all. John 17: 9. Some refuse him. This is ‘the stone which the builders refused.’ Psa 118: 22. Others deride him. Luke 16: 14. Others throw off his yoke. ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’ Luke 19: 14. SO that all have not the benefit of salvation by him. Herein appears the distinguishing love of Christ, that the virtue of his death should reach some, and not others. ‘Not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called.’ 1 Cor 1: 26. That Christ should pass by many of birth and parts, and that the lot of free grace should fall upon thee; that he should sprinkle his blood upon thee; ‘Oh, the depth of the love of Christ!’ That Christ should love us with such a transcendent love! The apostle calls it ‘Love which passeth knowledge.’ Eph 3: 19. That he should love us more than the angels. He loves them as his friends, but believers as his spouse. He loves them with such a kind of love as God the Father bears to him. ‘As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.’ John 15: 9. Oh, what an hyperbole of love does Christ show in redeeming us! That Christ’s love in our redemption should be everlasting! ‘Having loved his own, he loved them unto the end.’ John 13: 1. As Christ’s love is matchless, so it is endless. The flower of his love is sweet; and that which makes it sweeter is that it never dies. His love is eternized. Jer 31: 3. He will never divorce his elect spouse. The failings of his people cannot quite take off his love; they may eclipse it, but not wholly remove it; their failings may make Christ angry with them, but not hate them. Every failing does not break the marriagebond. Christ’s love is not like the saint’s love. They sometimes have strong affections towards him, at other times the fit is off, and they find little or no love stirring in them; but it is not so with Christ’s love to them, it is a love of eternity. When the sunshine of Christ’s electing love is once risen upon the soul, it never finally sets. Death may take away our life from us, but not Christ’s love. Behold here a rare subject for meditation on a Sabbath morning. The meditation of Christ’s wonderful love in redeeming us would work in us a Sabbath-frame of heart.

It would melt us in tears for our spiritual unkindness, that we should sin against so sweet a Saviour; that we should be no more affected with his love, but requite evil for good; that like the Athenians, who, notwithstanding all the good service Aristides had done them, banished him out of their city, we should banish him from our temple; that we should grieve him with our pride, rash anger, unfruitfulness, animosities, and strange factions. Have we none to abuse but our friend? Have we nothing to kick against but the bowels of our Saviour? Did not Christ suffer enough upon the cross, but we must needs make him suffer more? Do we give him more ‘gall and vinegar to drink?’ Oh, if anything can dissolve the heart in sorrow, and melt the eyes to tears, it is unkindness offered to Christ. When Peter thought of Christ’s love to him, how he had made him an apostle, and revealed his bosom-secrets to him, and taken him to the mount of transfiguration, and yet that he should deny him; it broke his heart with sorrow; ‘he went out and wept bitterly.’ Matt 26: 75. What a blessed thing is it to have the eyes dropping tears on a Sabbath! and nothing would sooner fetch tears than to meditate on Christ’s love to us, and our unkindness to him.

Meditating on a Lord’s-day morning on Christ’s love, would kindle love in our hearts to him. How can we look on his bleeding and dying for us and our hearts not be warmed with love to him? Love is the soul of religion, the purest affection. It is not rivers of oil, but sparks of love that Christ values. And sure, as David said, ‘While I was musing the fire burned’ (Psa 39: 3), so, while we are musing of Christ’s love in redeeming us, the fire of our love will burn towards him; and then the Christian is in a blessed Sabbath-frame, when, like a seraphim, he is burning in love to Christ.

(4) On a Sabbath morning meditate on the glory of heaven. Heaven is the extract and essence of happiness. It is called a kingdom. Matt 25: 34. A kingdom for its riches and magnificence. It is set forth by precious stones, and gates of pearl. Rev 21: 19, 21. There is all that is truly glorious; transparent light, perfect love, unstained honour, unmixed joy; and that which crowns the joy of the celestial paradise is eternity. Suppose earthly kingdoms were more glorious than they are, their foundations of gold, their walls of pearl, their windows of sapphire, yet they are corruptible; but the kingdom of heaven is eternal; those rivers of pleasure run ‘for evermore.’ Psa 16: 11. That wherein the essence of glory consists, and makes heaven to be heaven, is the immediate sight and fruition of the blessed God. ‘I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.’ Psa 17: 15. Oh, think of the Jerusalem above!

This is proper for a Sabbath. The meditation of heaven would raise our hearts above the world. oh, how would earthly things disappear and shrink into nothing, if our minds were mounted above visible things, and we had a prospect of glory! How would the meditation of heaven make us heavenly in our Sabbath exercises! It would quicken affection, would add wings to devotion, and cause us to be ‘in the Spirit on the Lord’s-day.’ Rev 1: 10. How vigorously does he serve God who has a crown of glory always in his eye!

[3] We dress our souls on a Sabbath-morning by prayer; ‘When thou prayest, enter into thy closet,’ &c. Matt 6: 6. Prayer sanctifies a Sabbath.

(1) The things we should pray for in the morning of the Sabbath. Let us beg a blessing upon the word which is to be preached; that it may be a savour of life to us; that by it our minds may be more illuminated, our corruptions more weakened, and our stock of grace more increased. Let us pray that God’s special presence may be with us, that our hearts may burn within us while God speaks, that we may receive the word into meek and humble hearts, and that we may submit to it, and bring forth fruits. James 1: 21. Nor should we only pray for ourselves, but for others.

Pray for him who dispenses the word; that his tongue may be touched with a coal from God’s altar; that God would warm his heart who is to help to warm others. Your prayers may be a means to quicken the minister. Some complain they find no benefit by the word preached; perhaps they did not pray for their minister as they should. Prayer is like the whetting and sharpening of an instrument, which makes it cut better. Pray with and for your family. Yea, pray for all the congregations that meet on this day in the fear of the Lord; that the dew of the Spirit may fall with the manna of the word; that some souls may be converted, and others strengthened; that gospel ordinances may be continued, and have no restraint put upon them. These are the things we should pray for. The tree of mercy will not drop its fruit, useless it be shaken by the hand of prayer.

(2) The manner of our prayer. It is not enough to say a prayer; to pray in a dull, cold manner, which asks God to deny; but we must pray with reverence, humility, fervency, and hope in God’s mercy. Luke 22: 44. Christ prayed more earnestly. That we may pray with more fervency, we must pray with a sense of our wants. He who is pinched with wants, will be earnest in craving alms. He prays most fervently who prays most feelingly. This is to sanctify the morning of a Sabbath; and it is a good preparation for the word preached. When the ground is broken up by the slough, it is fit to receive the seed; when the heart has been broken by prayer, it is fit to receive the seed of the preached word.

V. Having thus dressed your souls on a morning, for the further sanctification of the Sabbath, address yourself to the hearing of the preached word.

When you sit down in your seat, lift up your eyes to heaven for a blessing upon the word to be dispensed; for you must know that the word preached does not work as physic, by its own inherent virtue, but by a virtue from heaven, and the co-operation of the Holy Ghost. Therefore put up a short ejaculatory prayer for a blessing upon the word, that it may be made effectual to you.

The word being begun to be preached, hear it with reverence and holy attention. ‘A certain woman, named Lydia, attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.’ Acts 16: 14. Constantine, the emperor, was noted for his reverent attention to the word. Christ taught daily in the temple: and ‘all the people were very attentive to hear him.’ Luke 19: 48. In the Greek, ‘they hung upon his lip.’ Could we tell men of a rich purchase, they would diligently attend; and should they not much more, when the gospel of grace is preached unto them? That we may sanctify and hallow the Sabbath by attentive hearing, beware of these two things in hearing: distraction and drowsiness.

[1] Distraction. ‘That ye may attend open the Lord without distraction.’ 1 Cor 7: 35. It is said of Bernard, that when he came to the church-door, he would say, ‘Stay here all my earthly thoughts.’ So should we say to ourselves, when we are at the door of God’s house, ‘Stay here all my worldly cares and wandering cogitations; I am now going to hear what the Lord will say to me.’ Distraction hinders devotion. The mind is tossed with vain thoughts, and diverted from the business in hand. It is hard to make a quicksilver heart fix. Jerome complains of himself, ‘Sometimes when I am about God’s service, per porticus diambulo, I am walking in the galleries, and sometimes casting up accounts.’ How often in hearing the word, the thoughts dance up and down; and, when the eye is upon the minister, the mind is upon other things. Distracted hearing is far from sanctifying the Sabbath. It is very sinful to give way to vain thoughts at this time; because, when we are hearing the word, we are in God’s special presence. To do any treasonable action in the king’s presence is high great impudence. ‘Yea, in my house have I found their wickedness.’ Jer 23: 11. So the Lord may say, ‘In my house, while they are hearing my word, I have found wickedness; they have wanton eyes, and their soul is set on vanity.’

Whence do these roving and distracting thoughts in hearing come?

(1) Partly from Satan. The devil is sure to be present in our assemblies. If he cannot hinder us from hearing, he will hinder us in hearing. ‘When the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, Satan came also among them.’ Job 1: 6. The devil sets vain objects before the fancy to cause a diversion. His great design is to render the word fruitless. As when one is writing, another jogs him that he cannot write even, so when we are hearing, the devil will be jogging us with a temptation, that we should not attend to the word preached. ‘He shewed me Joshua the high-priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.’ Zech 3: 1.

(2) These wandering thoughts in hearing come partly from ourselves. We must not lay all the blame upon Satan.

They come from the eye. A wandering eye causes wandering thoughts. As a thief may come into the house at a window, so vain thoughts may be at the eye. As we are bid to keep our feet when we enter into the house of God (Eccl 5: 1), so we had need make a covenant with our eyes, that we be not distracted by beholding other objects. Job 31: 1.

Wandering thoughts in hearing rise out of the heart. These sparks come out of our own furnace. Vain thoughts are the mud which the heart, as from a troubled sea, casts up. ‘For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts.’ Mark 7: 21. As the foulness of the stomach sends up fumes into the head, so the corruption of the heart sends up evil thoughts into the mind.

Distracted thoughts in hearing proceed from an evil habit. We inure ourselves to vain thoughts at other times, and therefore we cannot hinder them on a Sabbath. Habit is a second nature. ‘Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good that are accustomed to do evil?’ Jer 13: 23. He that is used to bad company, knows not how to leave it; so such as have vain thoughts to keep them company all the week, know not how to get rid of them on the Sabbath. Let me show you how evil these vain distracting thoughts in hearing are: —

[1] To have the heart distracted in hearing, is a disrespect to God’s omniscience. God is an all-seeing Spirit; and thoughts speak louder in his ears than words do in ours. ‘He declareth unto man what is his thought.’ Amos 4: 13. To make no conscience of wandering thoughts in hearing, is an affront to God’s omniscience, as if he knew not our heart, or did not hear the language of our thoughts.

[2] To give way to wandering thoughts in hearing is hypocrisy. We pretend to hear what God says, and our minds are quite upon another thing. We present God with our bodies, but do not give him our hearts. Hos 7: 11. This hypocrisy God complains of. ‘This people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their hearts far from me.’ Isa 29: 13. This is to prevaricate and deal falsely with God.

[3] Vain thoughts in hearing discover much want of love to God. Did we love him we should listen to his words as oracles, and write them upon the table of our heart. Prov 3: 3. When a friend whom we love speaks to us, and gives us advice, we attend with seriousness, and suck in every word. Giving our thoughts leave to ramble in holy duties, shows a great defect in our love to God.

[4] Vain impertinent thoughts in hearing defile an ordinance. They are as dead flies in the box of ointment. When a string of a lute is out of tune, it spoils the music; so distraction of thought puts the mind out of tune, and makes our services sound harsh and unpleasant. Wandering thoughts poison a duty, and turn it into sin. ‘Let his prayer become sin.’ Psa 109: 7. What can be worse than to have a man’s praying and hearing of the word become sin? Would it not be sad, if the meat we eat should increase bad humours? How much more when hearing the word, which is the food of the soul, is turned into sin!

[5] Vain thoughts in hearing offend God. If the king were speaking to one of his subjects, and he should not give heed to what the king says, but be thinking on another business, or playing with a feather, would not the king be provoked? So, when we are in God’s presence, and he is speaking to us in his word, and we mind not much what he says, but our hearts go after covetousness, will it not offend God to be thus slighted? Ezek 33: 31. He has pronounced a curse upon such. ‘Cursed be the deceiver, which has in his flock a male, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing.’ Mal 1: 14. To have strong lively affections is to have a male in the flock; but to hear the word with distraction, is to give God duties fly-blown with vain thoughts, and to offer to the Lord a corrupt thing, which brings a curse. ‘Cursed be the deceiver.’

[6] Vain thoughts in hearing, when allowed and not resisted, make way for hardening the heart. A stone in the heart is worse than in the kidneys. Distracted thoughts in hearing do not better the heart, but harden it. Vain thoughts take away the holy awe of God which should be upon the heart; they make conscience less tender, and hinder the efficacy the word should have upon the heart.

[7] Vain and distracting thoughts rob us of the comfort of an ordinance. A gracious soul often meets with God in the sanctuary, and can say, ‘I found him whom my soul loveth.’ Cant 3: 4. He is like Jonathan, who, when he had tasted the honey on the rod, had his eyes enlightened. But vain thoughts hinder the comfort of an ordinance, as a black cloud hides the warm comfortable beams of the sun. Will God speak peace to us when our minds are wandering and our thoughts are travelling to the ends of the earth? Prov 17: 24. If ever you would hear the word with attention, do as Abraham when he drove away the fowls from the sacrifice. Gen 15: 2. When you find these excursions and sinful wanderings in hearing, labour to drive away the fowls; get rid of these vain thoughts; they are vagrants, and must not be entertained.

How shall we get rid of these vagabond thoughts?

(1) Pray and watch against them. (2) Let the sense of God’s omniscient eye overawe your hearts. The servant will not sport in his master’s presence. (3) Labour for a holy frame of heart. Were the heart more spiritual, the mind would be less feathery. (4) Bring more love to the word. We fix our minds upon that which we love. He that loves his pleasures and recreations, fixes his mind upon them, and can follow them without distraction. Were our love more set upon the preached word, our minds would be more fixed upon it; and surely there is enough to make us love the word preached; for it is the word of life, the inlet to knowledge, the antidote against sin, the quickener of all holy affections. It is the true manna, which has all sorts of sweet tastes in it; the pool of Bethesda, in which the rivers of life spring forth to heal the broken in heart; and a sovereign elixir or cordial to revive the sorrowful spirit. Get love to the word preached, and you will not be so distracted in hearing. What the heart delights in, the thoughts dwell upon.

[2] Take heed of drowsiness in hearing. Drowsiness shows much irreverence. How lively are many when they are about the world, but in the worship of God how drowsy, as if the devil had given them opium to make them sleep! A drowsy feeling here is very sinful. Are you not in prayer asking pardon of sin? Will the prisoner fall asleep when he is begging pardon? In the preaching of the word, is not the bread of life broken to you? and will a man fall asleep over his food? Which is worse, to stay from a sermon, or sleep at a sermon? While you slept, perhaps the truth was delivered which might have converted your souls. Besides, sleeping is very offensive in a holy assembly; it not only grieves the Spirit of God, but makes the hearts of the righteous sad. Ezek 13: 22. It troubles them to see any show such contempt of God and his worship; to see them busy in the shop, but drowsy in the temple. Therefore, as Christ said, ‘Could ye not watch one hour?’ so, can ye not wake one hour? Matt 26: 40. I deny not but a child of God may sometimes, through weakness and indisposition of body, drop asleep at a sermon, but not voluntarily or ordinarily. The sun may be in an eclipse, but not often. If sleeping be customary and allowed, it is a very bad sign, and a profanation of the ordinance. A good remedy against drowsiness is to use a spare diet upon the Sabbath. Such as indulge their appetite too much on a Sabbath, are fitter to sleep on a couch than pray in the temple. That you may throw off distracting thoughts and drowsiness on the Lord’s-day, and may hear the word with reverend attention, consider —

(1) It is God that speaks to us in his word; therefore the preaching of the word is called the ‘breath of his lips.’ Isa 11: 4. Christ is said now to speak to us ‘from heaven,’ as a king speaks in his ambassador. Heb 12: 25. Ministers are but pipes and organs, it is the Spirit of the living God that breathes in them. When we come to the word, we should think within ourselves, God is speaking in this preacher. The Thessalonians heard the word Paul preached, as if God himself had spoken unto them. ‘When ye received the word of God, which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but (as it is in truth) the word of God.’ 1 Thess 2: 13. When Samuel knew it was the Lord that spake to him, he lent his ear. 1 Sam 3: 10. If we do not regard God when he speaks to us, he will not regard us when we pray to him.

(2) Consider how serious and weighty the matters delivered to us are. Moses said, ‘I call heaven and earth to record this day, that I have set before you life and death.’ Deut 30: 19. Can men be regardless of the word, or drowsy when the weighty matters of eternity are set before them? We preach faith, and holiness of life, and the day of judgement and eternal retribution. Here life and death are set before you; and does not all this call for serious attention? If a letter were read to one of special business, wherein his life and estate were concerned, would he not be very serious in listening to it? In the preaching of the word your salvation is concerned; and if ever you would attend, it should be now. ‘It is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life.’ Deut 32: 47.

(3) To give way to vain thoughts and drowsiness in hearing, gratifies Satan. He knows that not to mind a duty, is all one in religion as not to do it. ‘What the heart does not do, is not done.’ Therefore Christ says of some, ‘Hearing, they hear not.’ Matt 13: 13. How could that be? Because, though the word sounded in their ear, yet they minded not what was said to them, their thoughts were upon other things; therefore, it was all as one as if they did not hear. Does it not please Satan to see men come to the word, and as good stay away? They are haunted with vain thoughts; they are taken off from the duty while they are in it; their body is in the assembly, their heart in their shop. ‘Hearing, they hear not.’

(4) Each Sabbath may be the last we shall ever keep; we may go from the place of hearing to the place of judging; and shall not we give reverend attention to the word? Did we think when we come into God’s house ‘Perhaps this will be the last time that ever God will counsel us about our souls, and before another sermon death’s alarm will sound in our ears; with what attention and devotion should we feel, and our affections would be all on fire in hearing!