The True Excellency Of A
Gospel Minister
By Jonathan Edwards
Preached at Pelham, August 30, 1744, at the
ordination of the Rev. Mr. Robert Abercrombie, to the work of the gospel
ministry in that place.
John 5:35
He was a burning and a shining light.
THAT discourse of our blessed Savior we have an account of
in this chapter from the 17th verse to the end, was occasioned by the Jews’
murmuring against him, and persecuting him for his healing the impotent man at
the pool of Bethesda, and bidding him to take up his bed and walk on the
sabbath day. Christ largely vindicates himself in this discourse by asserting
his fellowship with God the Father in nature and operations. And thereby
implicitly showing himself to be Lord of the sabbath, and by declaring to the
Jews that God the Father, and he with him, did work hitherto, to even to
this time. Although it be said that God rested on the seventh day from all his
works, yet indeed God continues to work hitherto, even to this very day, with
respect to his greatest work, the work of redemption, or new creation, which he
carries on by Jesus Christ, his Son. Pursuant to the designs of which work was
his showing mercy to fallen men by healing their diseases, and delivering them
from the calamities they brought on themselves by sin. This great work of
redemption God carries on from the beginning of the world to this time; and his
rest from it will not come till the resurrection, which Christ speaks of in the
21st and following verses: the finishing of this redemption as to its
procurement, being in his own resurrection; and as to the application, in the
general resurrection and eternal judgment, spoken of from verse 20 to verse 30.
So that notwithstanding both the rest on the seventh day, and also the rest
that Joshua gave the children of Israel in Canaan; yet the great rest of the
Redeemer from his work, and so of his people with him and in him, yet remains,
as the apostle observes, Heb. Chap. 4. This will be at the resurrection and
general judgment; which Christ here teaches the Jews was to be brought to pass
by the Son of God by the Father’s appointment, and so the works of God to be
finished by him.
And inasmuch as this vindication was so far from
satisfying the Jews, that it did but further enrage them, because hereby he
made himself equal with God, Christ therefore refers them to the witness of
John the Baptist; whose testimony they must acquiesce in, or else be inconsistent
with themselves; because they had generally acknowledged John to be a great
prophet, and seemed for a while mightily affected and taken with it, that God
after so long a withholding the spirit of prophecy, had raised up so great a
prophet among them and it is concerning him that Christ speaks in this verse
wherein is the text, “He was a burning and a shining light; and ye were willing
for a season to rejoice in his light.”
In order to a right understanding and improvement of the
words of the text, we may observe,
1. What Christ here takes notice of in John, and declares
concerning him, viz. That he was a burning and a shining light.
He was a light to the church of Israel, to reveal the mind and will of God to
them, after a long-continued dark season, and after they had been destitute of
any prophet to instruct them for some ages. He arose on Israel, as the morning
star, the forerunner of the Sun of righteousness, to introduce the day-spring,
or dawning of the gospel day, to give light to them that till then had sat in
the darkness of perfect night, which was the shadow of death; to give them the
knowledge of salvation; as Zacharias his father declares at his circumcision.
Luke 1:76-79, “And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for
thou shalt go before the face of the Lord, to prepare his ways; to give
knowledge of salvation unto his people, by the remission of their sins, through
the tender mercy of our God; whereby the day-spring from on high hath visited
us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to
guide our feet into the way of peace.”
And he was a burning light, as he was full of a spirit of
fervent piety and holiness, being filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother’s
womb, having his heart warmed and inflamed with a great love to Christ, being
that friend of the bridegroom that stood and heard him, and rejoiced greatly
because of the bridegroom’s voice; and was glad that Christ increased,
though he decreased, John 3:29, 30. And was animated with a holy zeal in the
work of the ministry: he came, in this respect, in the spirit and power of
Elias. As Elias was zealous in bearing testimony against the corruption,
apostasies, and idolatries of Israel in his day, so was John the Baptist in
testifying against the wickedness of the Jews in his day. As Elias zealously
reproved the sins of all sorts of persons in Israel, not only the sins of the
common people, but of their great ones, Ahab, Ahaziah, and Jezebel, and their
false prophets; with what zeal did John the Baptist reprove all sorts of
persons, not only the publicans and soldiers, but the Pharisees and Sadducees,
telling them plainly that they were a generation of vipers, and rebuked the
wickedness of Herod in his most beloved lust, though Herod sought his life for
it, as Ahab and Ahaziah did Elijah’s! As Elias was much in warning the people
of God’s approaching judgments, denouncing God’s awful wrath against Ahab,
Jezebel, and Ahaziah, and the prophets of Baal, and the people in general; so
was John the Baptist much in warning the people to fly from the wrath to come,
telling them in the most awakening manner, that the “axe was laid at the root
of the tree, and that every tree that brought not forth good fruit should be
hewn down and cast into the fire; and that he that came after him had his fan
in his hand, and that he would thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat
into the garner, and burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
John the Baptist was not only a burning but a shining
light. He was so in his doctrine, having more of the gospel in his preaching
than the former prophets, or at least the gospel exhibited with greater light
and clearness, more plainly pointing forth the person that was to be the great
Redeemer, and declaring his errand into the world, to take away the sin of the
world, as a lamb offered in sacrifice to God, and the necessity that all, even
the most strictly moral God, and the necessity that all, even the most strictly
moral and religious, stood in front of him, being by nature a generation of
vipers. And the spiritual nature of his kingdom, consisting not in
circumcision, or outward baptism, or any other external performance or
privileges, but in the powerful influences of the Holy Ghost in their hearts, a
being baptized with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.
In this clearness with which he gave knowledge of
salvation to God’s people, John was a bright light, and among them that had
been born of women there had not arisen a greater than he. In this
brightness this harbinger of the gospel day excelled all the other prophets, as
the morning star reflects more of the light of the sun than any other star, and
is the brightest of all the stars.
He also shown bright in his conversation, and his eminent
mortification and renunciation of the enjoyments of the world. His great
diligence and laboriousness in his work, his impartiality in it, declaring the
mind and will of God to all sorts without distinction; his great humility,
rejoicing in the increase of the honor of Christ, though his honor was
diminished, as the brightness of the morning star diminishes as the light of
the sun increases; and in his faithfulness and courage, still declaring the
mind and will of God, though it cost him his own life. Thus his light shone
before men.
2. We may observe to what purpose Christ declares these
things of John in the text, viz., to show how great and excellent a
person he was, and worthy that the Jews should regard his testimony: great are
the things which Christ elsewhere says of John the Baptist, as in Mat. 11:7-14.
He speaks of him as a prophet; and more than a prophet; and one, than
whom, there had not risen a greater among them that had been born of women.
He observes how great and excellent a light he was in the text, to show the
Jews how inexcusable they were in not receiving the testimony he had given of
him; as you may see (John 5:31-33).
Therefore that which I would observe from the text to be
the subject of my present discourse is this:
It is the excellency of a minister of the gospel to be both
a burning and a shining light.
Thus we see it is in Christ’s esteem, the great Prophet of
God, and Light of the world, Head of the church, and Lord of the harvest, and
the great Lord and Master, whose messengers all ministers of the gospel are.
John the Baptist was a minister of the gospel. And he was
so more eminently than the ancient prophets. For though God at sundry times,
and in divers manners, spake the gospel by them; yet John the Baptist was a
great minister of the gospel in a manner distinguished from them. He is
reckoned in Scripture the first that introduced the gospel day, after the law
and the prophets, Luke 16:16, “The law and the prophets were until John; since
that time the kingdom of God is preached.” And his preaching is called the beginning
of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the son of God, Mark 1:1. He came on that
errand, to give knowledge of salvation to God’s people, through the remission
of their sins (as his father Zacharias observes, Luke 1:77), and to preach
these glad tidings that the kingdom of heaven was at hand.
John being thus eminently a minister of the gospel, and a
burning and shining light, being taken notice of by Christ as his great
excellency, we may justly hence observe, that herein consists the proper
excellency of ministers of the gospel.
I would, by divine assistance, handle the subject in the
following method:
I. I would show that Christ’s design in the appointment of
the order and office of ministers of the gospel is that they may be lights to
the souls of men.
II. I would show what is implied in their being burning
lights.
III. I would show what is implied in their being shining
lights.
IV. I would show that it is the proper excellency of
ministers of the gospel to have these things united in them, to be both burning
and shining lights.
V. I would apply these things to all that Christ has
called to the work of the gospel ministry, showing how much it concerns them
earnestly to endeavor that they may be burning and shining lights.
VI. Show what ministers of the gospel ought to do that
they may be so.
VII. Say something briefly concerning the duty of a people
that are under the care of a gospel minister, correspondent to those things
that Christ has taught us concerning the end and excellency of a gospel
minister.
I. I would observe that Christ’s design in the appointment
of the order and office of ministers of the gospel was, that they might be
lights to the souls of men.
Satan’s kingdom is a kingdom of darkness. The devils are
the rulers of the darkness of this world. But Christ’s kingdom is a kingdom of
light. The designs of his kingdom are carried on by light. His people are
not of the night, nor of darkness, but are the children of the light,
as they are the children of God, who is the Father of lights, and as it
were a boundless fountain of infinite pure and bright light. 1 John 1:5; Jam.
1:17.
Man by the fall extinguished that divine light that shone
in this world in its first estate. The Scripture represents the wickedness of
man as reducing the world to that state wherein it was when it was yet without
form and void, and darkness filled it. Jer. 4:22, 23, “For my people is
foolish, they have not known me: they are sottish children; and they have non
understanding: they are wise to do evil; but to do good they have no knowledge.
I beheld the earth, and lo, it was without form and void; and the heavens, and
they had no light.” But God in infinite mercy has made glorious provision for
the restoration of light to this fallen dark world. He has sent him who is the
brightness of his own glory into the world, to be the light of the world. “He
is the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world,” i.e.
every man in the world that ever has any true light. But in his wisdom and
mercy, he is pleased to convey his light to men by means and instruments. And
has sent forth his messengers, and appointed ministers in his church to be subordinate
lights, and to shine with the communications of his light, and to reflect the
beams of his glory on the souls of men.
There is an analogy between the divine constitution and
disposition of things in the natural and in the spiritual world. The wise Creator
has not left the natural world without light. But in this our solar system has
set one great light, immensely exceeding all the rest, shining perpetually with
a transcendent fullness and strength, to enlighten the whole. And he hath
appointed other lesser, subordinate, or dependent lights, that shine with the
communications and reflections of something of his brightness. So it is in the
spiritual world; there God hath appointed Jesus Christ as the Sun of
righteousness. The church of God has not the sun to be her light by day, nor
for brightness does the moon give light to her, but the Lord is her everlasting
light, and her God her glory. The new Jerusalem has no need of the sun, nor the
moon; for the Lamb is the light thereof. And the ministers of Christ are, as it
were, the stars that encompass this glorious fountain of light, to receive and
reflect his beams, and give light to the souls of men. As Christ therefore is
in Scripture called the Sun, so are his ministers called stars. So are the
twelve apostles, the chief ministers of the Christian church, called, Rev.
12:1, “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven, a woman clothed with the
sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.”
And so are the ordinary ministers of the gospel called, Rev. 1:16, “And he had
in his right hand seven stars.” And verse 20, “The mystery of the seven stars
which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks; the
seven stars are the angels of the seven churches.” Here also ministers of the
gospel are implicitly compared to those lamps that enlightened the temple at
Jerusalem, upon the tops of the golden candlesticks: and more expressly in Zec.
4:2, “I have looked, and behold a candlestick, all of gold, with a bowl upon the
top of it, and his seven lamps thereon.”
These lamps have all their oil from Christ, and are
enkindled by his flame, and shine by his beams; and being thus dependent on
him, they are near to him, and held in his right hand, that they may receive
light from him, to communicate to others.
The use of a light is threefold; to discover, to refresh,
and to direct.
The first use of a light is to discover things, or make
them manifest. Without light nothing is to be seen. Eph. 5:13, “Whatsoever doth
make manifest is light.” Ministers are set to be lights to the souls of men in
this respect, as they are to be the means of imparting divine truth to them,
and bringing into their view the most glorious and excellent objects, and of
leading them to and assisting them in the contemplation of those things that
angels desire to look into. The means of their obtaining that knowledge is
infinitely more important, and more excellent and useful, than that of the
greatest statesmen or philosophers, even that which is spiritual and divine.
They are set to be the means of bringing men out of darkness into God’s
marvelous light, and of bringing them to the infinite fountain of light, that
in his light they may see light: they are set to instruct men, and impart to
them that knowledge by which they may know God and Jesus Christ, whom to know
is life eternal.
Another use of light is to refresh and delight the
beholders. Darkness is dismal. The light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is
to behold the sun. Light is refreshing to those who have long sat in darkness.
They therefore that watch and keep awake through a dark night, long and wait
for the light of the morning; and the wise man observes, Pro. 15:30, “That the
light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart.” Spiritual light is especially refreshing
and joyful. Psa. 97:11, “Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the
upright in heart.” They that see the light of Christ, the star that hath arisen
out of Jacob, are refreshed and do rejoice, and the wise men that saw the star
that showed them where Christ was, Mat. 2:10, “And when they saw the star, they
rejoiced with exceeding great joy.”
Ministers are set in the church of God to be the
instruments of this comfort and refreshment to the souls of men, to be the
instruments of leading souls to the God of all consolation, and fountain of
their happiness. They are sent as Christ was, and as coworkers with him, to
preach good tidings to the meek, to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim
liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound,
and to comfort all that mourn. They are to lead those that “labor and are heavy
laden” to their true rest, and to speak a word in season to him that is weary.
They are set to be ministers of the consolation and joy of the saints. 2 Cor.
1:24, “We have not dominion over your faith; but are helpers of your joy.”
The third use of light is to direct. ’Tis by light that we
see where to go. “He that walks in darkness knows not whither he goes,” and is
in danger of stumbling and falling into mischief. 'Tis by light that men see
what to do, and are enabled to work. In the night, Christ tells us, no man can
work. Ministers are set to be lights to men’s souls in this respect also. As
Zacharias observes of John the Baptist, Luke 1:79, “To guide our feet in the
way of peace.” Ministers have the record of God committed to them that they may
hold that forth, which God has given to be to man as a light shining in a dark
place, to guide them in the way through this dark world, to regions of eternal
light. Ministers are set to be instruments of conveying to men that true wisdom
spoken of Job 28, “Which cannot be gotten for gold, nor shall silver be weighed
for the price thereof; which cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the
precious onyx, or the sapphire.”
I proceed now to the
II. Thing proposed, viz. to show what is implied in
a minister of the gospel’s being a burning light.
There are these two things that seem naturally to be
understood by this expression, viz. that his heart be filled with much
of the holy ardor of a spirit of true piety; and that he be fervent and zealous
in his administrations.
First, that his heart be full of much of the holy
ardor of a spirit of true piety. We read of the power of godliness. True grace
is no dull, inactive, ineffectual principle. It is a powerful thing. There is
an exceeding energy in it. And the reason is, that God is in it; it is a divine
principle, a participation of the divine nature, and a communication of divine
life, of the life of a risen Savior, who exerts himself in the hearts of the
saints, after the power of an endless life. They that have true grace in them, they
live; but not by their own life; but Christ lives in them. His Holy
Spirit becomes in them a living principle and spring of divine life; the energy
and power of which is in Scripture compared to fire. Mat. 3:11, “ I indeed
baptize you with water; but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose
shoes I am not worthy to bear; he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and
with fire.” True piety is not a thing remaining only in the head, or consisting
in any speculative knowledge or opinions, or outward morality, or forms of
religion. It reaches the heart, is chiefly seated there, and burns there. There
is a holy ardor in everything that belongs to true grace. True faith is an
ardent thing, and so is true repentance. There is a holy power and ardor in
true spiritual comfort and joy; yea, even in true Christian humility,
submission, and meekness. The reason is, that divine love or charity is the sum
of all true grace, which is a holy flame enkindled in the soul. It is by this
therefore especially, that a minister of the gospel is a burning light.
A minister that is so has his soul enkindled with the heavenly flame. His heart
burns with love to Christ, and fervent desires of the advancement of his
kingdom and glory. And also [it burns] with ardent love to the souls of men,
and desires for their salvation.
Second, the inward holy ardor of his soul is
exercised and manifested in his being zealous and fervent in his
administrations. For he is a burning light. [This] implies that his
spiritual heat and holy ardor is not for himself only, but is communicative and
for the benefit of others. He is ardent, as he is a light, or in the
performance of the duties of that office wherein he is set to be a light in the
church of Christ. His fervent zeal, which has its foundation and spring in that
holy and powerful flame of love to God and man, that is in his heart, appears
in the fervency of his prayers to God, for and with his people. And in the
earnestness and power with which he preaches the Word of God, declares to
sinners their misery, and warns them to fly from the wrath to come, and
reproves and testifies against all ungodliness; and the unfeigned earnestness
and compassion with which he invites the weary and heavy laden to their Savior;
and the fervent love with which he counsels and comforts the saints; and the
holy zeal, courage, and stedfastness, with which he maintains the exercise of
discipline in the house of God, notwithstanding all the opposition he meets
with in that difficult part of the ministerial work; and in the diligence and
earnestness with which he attends every duty of his ministerial function,
whether public or private.
But I hasten to the
III. Thing proposed in the handling of this subject, viz.
to show what is implied in a minister’s being a shining light.
There are three things that seem to be naturally signified
by it.
First, that he be pure, clear, and full in his
doctrine. A minister is set to be a light to men’s souls, by teaching, or
doctrine. And if he be a shining light in this respect, the light of his
doctrine must be bright and full. It must be pure without mixtures of darkness.
And therefore he must be sound in the faith, not one that is of a reprobate
mind. In doctrine he must show uncorruptness; otherwise his light will
be darkness. He must not lead his people into errors, but teach them the truth
only, guiding their feet into the way of peace, and leading them in the right
ways of the Lord.
He must be one that is able to teach; not one that
is raw, ignorant, or unlearned, and but little versed in the things that he is
to teach others; not a novice, or one that is unskillful in the
word of righteousness. He must be one that is well studied in divinity,
well acquainted with the written Word of God, mighty in the Scriptures, and
able to instruct and convince gainsayers.
And in order to be a shining light, he must be one
that really knows what religion is; one that is truly acquainted with that
Savior and way of salvation, that he is to teach to others, that he may speak
the things that he knows, and testify the things that he has seen, and not
be a blind leader of the blind. He must be one that is acquainted with
experimental religion, and not ignorant of the inward operations of the Spirit
of God, nor of Satan’ s devices; able to guide souls under their particular
difficulties. Thus he must be a scribe well instructed in things that
pertain to the kingdom of God; one that brings forth out of his treasures
things new and old.
And in order to his being a shining light, his
doctrine must be full. He must not only be able to teach, but apt to
teach, ready to instruct the ignorant, and them that are out of the way, and
diligent in teaching in public and private; and careful and faithful to declare
the whole counsel of God, and not keep back anything that may be profitable to
his hearers.
Also his being a shining light implies that his
instructions are clear and plain, accommodated to the capacity of his hearers,
and tending to convey light to their understandings.
Second, another thing requisite in order to a
minister’s being a shining light, is that he be discreet in all his
administrations. The fervent zeal that thus should animate and actuate him
in his administrations should be regulated by discretion. He should not only be
knowing, and able to communicate knowledge and formed to do it; but also wise,
and know how to conduct himself in the house of God, as a wise builder, and a
wise steward. And as he is one that God hath sent forth to labor in his field,
and committed the care of his vineyard to, so he should conduct himself there
as one whom his God doth instruct to discretion. He should not only be
as harmless as a dove, but as wise as a serpent; showing himself
a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth; and
one that knows how to govern the church of God, and to walk in wisdom
towards those that are without.
Third, another thing implied in a minister’s being
a shining light is that he shines in his conversation. If he
shines never so much in his doctrine and administrations in the house of God,
yet if there be not an answerable brightness in his conversation, it will have
a tendency to render all ineffectual. Christ, in Mat. 5:14, 15, 16, says to his
disciples (having undoubtedly a special respect to those of them that were to
be sent forth to preach the gospel), “Ye are the light of the world: Men do not
light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth
light unto all that are in the house.” And how does Christ direct them to give
light to others? “Let your light,” says he, “so shine before men, that others,
seeing your good works, may glorify your Father which is in heaven,” And
he tells the same disciples again, John 15:8, “Herein is my Father glorified,
that ye bear much fruit.” And how should they bring forth fruit? Christ tells
them, verse 10, “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love,” and
verse 14, “Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you.”
God sent his Son into the world to be the light of the
world these two ways, viz. by revealing his mind and will to the world,
and also by setting the world a perfect example. So ministers are set to be
lights, not only as teachers, but as ensamples to the flock, 1 Peter 5:3.
The same things that ministers recommend to their hearers
in their doctrine, they should also show them an example of in their practice.
Thus the apostle says to Timothy, 1 Tim. 4:11, “These things command and
teach,” and then adds in the next verse, “Be thou an example of the believers,
in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” So he
directs Titus, in his teaching, to recommend sobriety, gravity, temperance,
patience, and other virtues, in the beginning of the second chapter of Titus.
But then adds in the 7th verse, “In all things showing thyself a pattern of
good works.”
We see in natural bodies, that when heat is raised in them
to a high degree, at length they begin to shine. And, as I observed before, a
principle of true grace in the soul is like an inward heat, a holy ardor of a
heavenly fire enkindled in the soul. This in ministers of the gospel ought to
be to that degree, as to shine forth brightly in all their conversation. And
there should as it were be a light about them wherever they go, exhibiting to
all that behold them, the amiable, delightful image of the beauty and
brightness of their glorious Master.
I proceed to the
IV. Thing proposed, which is to show that the excellency
of a minister of the gospel consists in his being thus both a burning and a
shining light.
This is manifest in two things:
First, herein his ministry is acceptable and
amiable in the sight of God and men.
When light and heat are thus united in a minister of the
gospel, it shows that each is genuine, and of a right kind, and that both are
divine. Divine light is attended with heat. And so, on the other hand, a truly
divine and holy heat and ardor is ever accompanied with light.
It is the glory of the sun that such a bright and glorious
light, and such a powerful, refreshing, vivifying heat, are both together
diffused from that luminary. When there is light in a minister, consisting in
human learning, great speculative knowledge, and the wisdom of this world,
without a spiritual warmth and ardor in his heart, and a holy zeal in his
ministrations, his light is like the light of an ignis fatuus, and some
kinds of putrefying carcasses that shine in the dark, though they are of a
stinking savor. And if on the other hand a minister has warmth and zeal,
without light, his heat has nothing excellent in it, but is rather to be
abhorred; being like the heat of the bottomless pit, where though the fire be
great, yet there is no light. To be hot in this manner, and not lightsome, is
to be like an angel of darkness. But ministers by having light and heat united
in them, will be like the angels of light; which for their light and brightness
are called morning stars. Job 38:7, “When the morning stars sang together, and
all the sons of God shouted for joy.” And because of that holy ardor of divine
love and zeal with which they burn, they are compared to a flaming fire. Psa.
4, “Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flaming fire,” and are
therefore called seraphims, which is a word that is derived from a root that
signifies to burn. So that by ministers of the gospel being burning
and shining lights, the angels of the churches will become like the angels
of heaven, and those stars held in the right hand of Christ here below,
will be like those morning stars above, and which is much more. Hereby
ministers will be like their glorious Lord and Master; who is not only the
Master of ministers of the gospel, but is the Head and Lord of the glorious
angels, whom they adore, and who communicates to them the brightness in which
they shine, and the flame with which they burn, and is the glorious luminary
and sun of the heavenly world, from whence all the inhabitants of that world
have their light and life, and all their glory. In this Sun of righteousness is
that light, whose brightness is such that the light of the sun in the firmament
in comparison of it is as darkness, yea, black as sackcloth of hair. For
he is the infinite brightness of God’s glory; and of him it is said, Isa.
24:23, “Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord
of hosts shall reign in mount of Zion, and in Jerusalem, before his ancients,
gloriously.” And accompanying this bright light in him, is the infinitely
intense flame of love. There is no love to be compared to his; nor ever was
love both to God and man so manifested, as has been in what Christ has done and
suffered. For herein was love! Ministers, by being burning and shining
lights, become the sons of God, of whom we read that he is light, and
that he is love. 1 John 1:5, “This then is the message which we have
heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no
darkness at all.” And chap. 4:16, “And we have known and believed the love that
God hath to us: God is love, and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in
God, and God in him.”
Therefore it must needs be that ministers, by being
burning and shining lights, are acceptable and amiable in the sight of God, as
he delights in his own image and in the image of his Son. And hereby also they
will be honorable and amiable in the sight of men, all such as have any sense
of that which is truly excellent and beautiful. And it is the way to have their
ministry pleasant and delightful to those of this character that sit under it.
Second, herein a minister of the gospel will be
likely to answer the ends of his ministry. By this means his ministry will not
only be amiable, but profitable. If a minister has light without heat, and
entertains his auditory with learned discourses, without a savior of the power
of godliness, or any appearance of fervency of spirit, and zeal for God and the
good of souls, he may gratify itching ears, and fill the heads of his people
with empty notions. But it will not be very likely to reach their hearts, or
save their souls. And if, on the other hand, he be driven on with a fierce and
intemperate zeal, and vehement heat, without light, he will be likely to kindle
the like unhallowed flame in his people, and to fire their corrupt passions and
affections; but will make them never the better, nor lead them a step towards
heaven, but drive them apace the other way.
But if he approves himself in his ministry, as both a
burning a shining light, this will be the way to promote true Christianity
amongst his people, and to make them both wise, good, and cause religion to
flourish among them in the purity and beauty of it.
When divine light and heat attend each other in ministers
of the gospel, their light will be like the beams of the sun, that do not only
convey light, but give life. And converts will be likely to spring up under
their ministry, as the grass and the plants of the field under the influences
of the sun. And the souls of the saints will be likely to grow, and appear
beautiful as the lily, and to revive as the corn, and grow as the
vine, and their scent to be as the wine of Lebanon; and their light will be
like the light of Christ, which is the light of life, John 8:12.
If the sun should shine upon the earth with the same
brightness that it doth now, yet if it were without any heat, it would give
life to nothing. The world would be a desolate wilderness, with nothing growing
in it. The death of every living thing must be the consequence. And the sun’s
light could be of no service to us, but to cause us to see our own and others’
misery, without being able to help ourselves or them. On the other hand, if the
sun diffused the same heat that now it does, but the world was destitute at the
same time of any light, it would be equally unserviceable. Mankind having no
light to guide them in their business, in tilling the field, or gathering the
produce of the earth, we should be like the Egyptians in the three days’
darkness, who saw not one another, nor rose from their place. And thus also
death would be the unavoidable consequence. But by light and heat accompanying
one another, the whole face of the earth becomes fruitful, and is adorned, and
all things are quickened and flourish, and mankind enjoy both life and comfort.
I proceed to the
V. Thing proposed in handling the doctrine, to apply these
things to all here present, that Christ has called to the work of the gospel
ministry, observing how much it concerns such to endeavor to be burning and
shining lights.
Our office and work is most honorable, in that we are set
by Christ to be lights or luminaries in the spiritual world. Light is the most
glorious thing in the material world, and there are, it may be, no parts of the
natural world that have so great an image of the goodness of God, as the lights
or luminaries of heaven; and especially the sun, who is constantly
communicating his benign influence to enlighten, quicken, and refresh the world
by his beams; which is probably the reason that the worship of the sun was (as
is supposed) the first idolatry that mankind fell into. But so are ministers
honored by their great Lord and Master, that they are set to be that to men’s
souls, that the lights of heaven are to their bodies; and that they might be
the instruments and vehicles of God’s greatest goodness, and the most precious
fruits of his eternal love to them, and means of that life, and refreshment,
and joy, that are spiritual and eternal, and infinitely more precious than any
benefit received by the benign beams of the sun in the firmament. And we shall
be likely indeed to be the instruments of those unspeakable benefits to the
souls of our fellow-creatures, if we have those qualifications, which have been
shown to be the true and proper excellency of ministers of the gospel. Herein
our glory will answer the honorable station Christ has set us in. And hereby
our ministry will be likely to be as beneficial as our office is honorable. We
shall be like Christ, and shall shine with his beams. Christ will live in us,
and be seen in his life and beauty in our ministry, and in our conversation,
and we shall be most likely to be the means of bringing others to him, and of
their receiving of his light, and being made partakers of his life, and having
his joy fulfilled in them. And this will be the way for us hereafter to be as
much advanced and distinguished in our reward, as we are honored in the office
and business we are called to here. In this way, those whom Christ has set to
be lights in his church, and to be stars in the spiritual world here, shall be
lights also in the church triumphant, and shine as stars for ever in heaven.
Dan. 12:3, “And they that be wise, shall shine as the brightness of the
firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars for ever and ever.
But if we fail of the proper excellency of ministers of
the gospel, we shall not be in the sight of God the more worthy or honorable
for our high office, but the more abominable and inexcusable. Our wickedness
being aggravated by God’s great goodness and condescension to us, and the
peculiar obligations that he laid upon us; and instead of being eminently
beneficial and great blessings, as lights to reflect the beams of Christ’s
glory and love, we shall be so much the more hurtful and pernicious, for our
being in such a station. And so shall be likely hereafter to suffer a so much
more dreadful punishment. The devils in hell are so much the more odious to
God, and more the objects of his wrath, because he set them in the dignity and
glory of angels, the excellency of which state they are fallen from. And it is
likely that those in hell that will be nearest to the fallen angels, in their
state of misery, will be those that Christ once set to be angels of the
churches, but through their unfaithfulness, failed of their proper excellency
and end.
Here I would apply myself in a few words to the person
whose intended ordination, this day, to the great work of the gospel ministry,
is the occasion of this discourse.
You have now, dear sir, heard something of the nature and
design of that office to which you are this day, in the name of Christ, to be
solemnly set apart. You are therein called to be a light to the souls of men, a
lamp in God’s temple, and a star in the spiritual world. And you have heard
wherein, in Christ’s esteem, consists the proper excellency of one in that
office, and how in this a minister of the gospel becomes like his glorious
Master, and glorifies him, and is likely to be the instrument of the salvation
and happiness of the souls of men, and to receive a glorious reward from the
hands of God.
These, sir, are the motives that you are to be influenced
by, to endeavor to be a burning and a shining light in the work of the
ministry. As to the things of this world, you are not to expect outward ease,
pleasure, and plenty; nor are you to depend on the friendship and respect of
men; but should prepare to endure hardness, as one that is going forth as a
soldier to war. But they are higher things than these, more excellent benefits
than the world can afford, that Christ offers to those that approve themselves
to him in this work.
God in his providence has brought you far from your native
land, and from your friends and acquaintance there. But you will have reason,
not withstanding, to acknowledge the good hand of his providence towards you,
if he is pleased to make you a burning and shining light in this part of his
church, and by the influence of your light and heat (or rather by his divine
influence with your ministry) to cause this wilderness to bud and blossom as
the rose, and give it the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, and to cause you to
shine in the midst of this people with warm and lightsome, quickening and
comforting, beams, causing their souls to flourish, rejoice, and bear fruit
like a garden of pleasant fruits under the beams of the sun.
By this means you will be to their souls the vehicle of
the influences and blessings of the heavenly world, which is a world of light
and love, shall be ever held in Christ’s right hand, and shall be terrible to
the powers of darkness; and shall see more and more of the light of Christ’s
glory and grace in this place, with you and this people, and shall hereafter
not only shine yourself, as the brightness of the firmament, but shall meet
with them in glory also, who shall shine there around you, as a bright
constellation in the highest heaven; where they shall be your everlasting crown
of rejoicing.
But I hasten to the
VI. Thing proposed, which was to show what course
ministers of the gospel ought to take, or what things they should do, that they
may be burning and shining lights.
And here I shall be just mention things, without
enlarging.
And in order to this, ministers should be diligent in
their studies, and in the work of the ministry to which they are called; giving
themselves wholly to it; taking heed to themselves that their hearts be not
engaged, and their minds swallowed up, and their time consumed, in pursuits
after the profits and vain glory of the world.
And particularly, ministers should be very conversant with
the Holy Scriptures; making it very much their business, with the utmost
diligence and strictness, to search those holy writings. For they are as it
were the beams of the light of the Sun of righteousness; they are the light by
which ministers must be enlightened, and the light they are to hold forth to
their hearers; and they are the fire whence their hearts and the hearts of
their hearers must be enkindled.
They should earnestly seek after much of the spiritual
knowledge of Christ, and that they may live in the clear views of his glory.
For by this means they will be changed into the image of the same glory and
brightness, and will come to their people as Moses came down to the
congregation of Israel, after he had seen God’s back parts in the mount, with
his face shining. If the light of Christ’s glory shines upon them, it will be
the way for them to shine with the same kind of light on their hearers, and to
reflect the same beams, which have heat, as well of as brightness. The light of
the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, is the treasure
the apostle speaks of, that ministers have, as in earthen vessels. 2 Cor. 4:6,
7, “For God, who commanded the light to shined out of darkness, hath shines
into your hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in
the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels.” This
was probably typified of old, by the burning lights and lamps which Gideon’s
soldiers had in one hand in earthen pitchers, while they held a trumpet in the
other, with which they sounded (typifying the preaching of the gospel). And
thus with the sound of these trumpets, and these burning lights or earthen
vessels, they overcame the enemies of God and his people.
Ministers, in order to their being burning and shining
lights, should walk closely with God, and keep near to Christ; that they may
ever be enlightened and enkindled by him. And they should be much in seeking
God, and conversing with him by prayer, who is the fountain of light and love.
And knowing their own emptiness and helplessness, [they] should be ever
dependent on Christ; being sensible with Jeremiah that they are children,
should sit as children at Christ’s feet to hear his word, and be instructed by
him. And being sensible with Isaiah that they are men of unclean lips, should
seek that their lips may be, as it were, touched with a live coal from the
altar, as it were by the bright and burning seraphim.
I come now to the
VII. And last things proposed, to say something very
briefly concerning the duties of a people that are under the care of a
minister, corresponding with these things that Christ has taught us concerning
the nature and end of this sacred office. And here I would have a special
respect to the people of God in this place, who are about to have the care of
their souls committed to him, that is now solemnly to be set apart to the work
of the ministry.
If it be, as you have heard, the proper excellency of a
minister of the gospel to be a burning and a shining light, then it is your
duty earnestly to pray for your minister, that he may be filled with divine
light, and with the power of the Holy Ghost, to make him so. For herein you
will but pray for the greatest benefit to yourselves. For if your minister
burns and shines, it will be for your light and life. That which has been
spoken of, as it is the chief excellency of a minister, so it renders a
minister the greatest blessing of anything in the world that ever God bestows
on a people.
And as it is your duty, to pray that your minister may by
this mean become such a blessing to you, so you should do your part to make him
so, by supporting him, and putting him under the best advantage, with a mind
free from worldly cares, and the pressure of outward wants and difficulties, to
give himself wholly to his work. And by all proper acts of respect, and
kindness, and assistance, [you are] to encourage his heart, and strengthen his
hands. And to take heed that instead of this you do not take a course to
obscure and extinguish the light that would shine among you, and to smother and
suppress the flame, by casting dirt upon it; by necessitating your minister by
your penuriousness towards him, to be involved in worldly care; and by
discouraging his heart by disrespect unkindness. And particularly when your
minister shows himself to be a burning light, by burning with a proper zeal
against any wickedness that may be breaking out amongst his people, and
manifests it by bearing a proper testimony against it in the preaching of the
word, or by a faithful exercise of the discipline of God’s house, instead of
taking it thankfully, and yielding to him in it, as you ought, does not raise
another fire of a contrary nature against it. Viz. the fire of your
unhallowed passions, reflecting upon and reproaching him for his faithfulness.
Herein you will act very unbecoming a Christian people, and show yourselves
very ungrateful to your minister, and to Christ, who has bestowed upon you so
faithful a minister. And will also, while you fight against him, and against
Christ, fight most effectually against your own souls. If Christ gives you a
minister that is a burning and shining light, take heed that you do not hate
the light, because your deeds are reproved by it. But love and rejoice in his
light; and that not only for a season, like John the Baptist’s apostatizing
hearers; and come to the light. Let your frequent resort be to your minister
for instruction in soul cases, and under all spiritual difficulties. And be
open to the light and willing to receive it. And be obedient to it. And thus
walk as the children of light, and follow your minister wherein he is a
follower of Christ, i.e. wherein he is as a burning and shining light.
If you continue so to do, your path will be the path of the just, which shines
more and more to the perfect day, and the end of your course shall be in those
blissful regions of everlasting light above, where you shall shine forth with
your minister, and both with Christ, as the sun, in the kingdom of the
heavenly Father.