MAT. 19. 20.
THis Text is a remarkable History, wherein many excellent practicall doctrines are contained. The whole scope being to represent a man that hath good affections and desires for heaven, yet because of some strong corruption and temptation violently detained from it; for in the close of the History he goeth away, not reviling and raging at Christ, as the Pharisees used to do, but […], exceeding sorrowfull, and as Mark hath it […], as sadly affected, as the sky seemeth to be, when it’s black with clouds, and threatens rain; so that in this posture with Christ he is like the Poets Medea, or like Aristotles incontinent person, who hath great conviction, but strong corruption.
In the History observe the Person and his Question propounded: The person, as appeareth by the Harmony of three Evangelists was a rich man, a great man in power and place, and a young man: All which three were sore temptations to prejudice him against Christ and his way: Yet by his Question it seemed he was not altogether prophane and worldly, for his desire is to know What he might do to have eternall life. In which Question although we may perceive a Pharisaicall leaven in him, thinking by works to be saved, yet there appeareth for the main a good desire in him. Our Saviour intending to beat down his Pharisaicall confidence, which is as great an enemy to Christ as Publican sinnes, first reproveth him for his compellation, and then answereth his Question. His reproof is, Why callest thou me good, there is none good but God? Christ refused this title, partly because he called him good in no other sense, then as some eminent and singular Prophet, not as indeed the Son of God: but especially to teach the young man that he was wholly corrupted, and therefore whatsoever good is in us, is to be acknowledged, as coming from God; it is his gift, it is none of our work.
In the next place our Saviour directs him to keep the Commandements, instancing not in the Ceremoniall, but the morall, nor in the morall duties that relate to God, but that belong to our neighbour, which were most vulgar, that hereby he might teach this Pharisaicall man, that he never yet performed any one Commandment aright. Therefore the ignorance and the arrogance of this young man in the text is remarkable; All these have I kept from my youth up; he thought he had kept not some but all, and that from his youth up, as soon as ever he could act with reason; some Expositors think, that he grosly lyed against his own conscience in saying so: but that is not likely because Mark saith Christ loved him, upon this speech, and that could not be if he were such a dissembler; and if you take the word love, for to praise or kindely to speak to a man; as the Septuagint sometimes do, Caut. 1. 1, 4. 2 Chron. 18. it will argue that he was no hypocrite, and hereby we see, that it is a Ministers duty to love and encourage those men, who though they have not the truth of grace, yet have a fair, civill, honest life, and have generall desires for heaven. He did not therefore lie against his conscience, but yet he spake that which was false, for he had not kept one of those Commandements perfectly, as appeareth by that tryall or exploratory precept Christ puts him upon: only he knew no better: He was brought up in ignorance about the spirituall latitude and extent of the Law, and so thought a meer negative, or not doing grosse wickednesse, to be a positive keeping of the Law.
Obs. It is a very difficult thing to drive an unregenerate man out of this false sign1 of his good estate, viz. that he keeps the Commandements of God. This was the […]. In this was the fundamentall miscarriage of this great man, that he had a confident perswasion of his good estate, because he did no murder, he committed no Adultery, he bore no false witnesse against his neighbour, Now falsly judging this to be all the Law required, he concludeth that unlesse Christ hath some new and extraordinary way about this, these matters are so low and easie, that he observed them along while ago. Upon this point was our Saviours greatest controversie with the Pharisees, who like Serpents, though they had a fine skin and colour, yet inwardly were full of poyson: and the great work that the Ministers of God have to do in their Congregations in these times, Is it not to shew to men the pure glasse of the Law, that they looking therein, may see their deformities, and be wonderfully out of love with themselves? Doth not every man walk with this self-damning principle, that his heart is good? What would you have him to do more then he doth? Is he any Drunkard, Whoremonger? and thus he pleaseth himself with an externall righteousnesse, being altogether ignorant of the pure and excellent work of regeneration, and from hence it is, that our auditors are filled with so much stupidity and security, that it is a wonder to hear of a man or woman, with fear and trembling, expostulating after this manner: The Law is so spirituall, and I am so carnall; regeneration and a new nature is so necessary, but I am so plunged in that sinfull estate and corruption I was born in, That I fear my self, I quake at my condition, Oh for the Lords sake, help ye Ministers by your praiers and directions, that I may be put in a safe way.