Page:An Exposition of the Old and New Testament (1828) vol 6.djvu/150

144 of their ministry, if they suffered the people to continue in this mistake, and so they might make a good hand of an ill thing. No, God's truth needs not the service of man's lie; Christ had put honour enough upon them in making them apostles, they needed not assume either the honour of princes or the honour of gods; they appeared with much more magnificent titles when they were called the ambassadors of Christ, and the stewards of the mysteries of God, than when they were called Jupiter and Mercury.

Let us see how they prevented it:

(1.) They ran in among the people, as soon as they heard of it, and would not so much as stay awhile to see what the people would do. Their running in, like servants, among the people, shewed that they were far from looking upon themselves as gods, or taking state upon them; they did not stand still, expecting honours to be done them, but plainly declined them by thrusting themselves into the crowd. They ran in, as men in earnest, with as much concern as Aaron ran in between the living and the dead, when the plague was begun.

(2.) They reasoned with them, crying out, that all might hear, "Sirs, why do ye these things? Why do ye go about to make gods of us? It is the most absurd thing ye can do; for,"

[1.] "Our nature will not admit it; We also are men of like passions with you"—: it is the same word that is used concerning Elias, Jam. 5. 17, where we render it, subject to like passions as we are. "We are men, and therefore you wrong yourselves if you expect that from us which is to be had in God only; and you wrong God if you give that honour to us, or to any other man, which is to be given to God only. We not only have such bodies as you see, but are of like passions with you, have hearts fashioned like as other men; (Ps. 33. 15.) for, as in water face answers to face, so doth the heart of man to man, Prov. 27. 19. We are naturally subject to the same infirmities of the human nature, and liable to the same calamities of the human life; not only men, but sinful men and suffering men, and therefore will not be deified.

[2.] "Our doctrine is directly against it. Must we be added to the number of your gods, whose business it is to abolish the gods you have? We preach unto you, that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God. If we should suffer this, we should confirm you in that which it is our business to convert you from:" and so they take this occasion to shew them how just and necessary it was that they should turn to God from idols, 1 Thess. 1. 9. When they preached to the Jews, who hated idolatry, they had nothing to do but to preach the grace of God in Christ, and needed not, as the prophets in dealing with their fathers, to preach against idolatry; but when they had to do with the Gentiles, they must rectify their mistakes in natural religion, and bring them off from the gross corruption of that.

See here what they preached to the Gentiles:

First, That the gods which they and their fathers worshipped, and all the ceremonies of their worship of them, were vanities, idle things, unreasonable, unprofitable, which no rational account could be given of, nor any real advantage gained from. Idols are often called vanities in the Old Testament, Deut. 32. 21. 1 Kings 16. 13. Jer. 14. 22. An idol is nothing in the world; (1 Cor. 8. 4.) it is not at all what it is pretended to be, it is a cheat, it is a counterfeit; it deceives those that trust to it and expect relief from it. Therefore turn from these vanities, turn from them with abhorrence and detestation, as Ephraim did; (Hos. 14. 8.) "What have I to do any more with idols? I will never again be thus imposed upon."

Secondly, That the God whom they would have them turn to, is the living God. They had hitherto worshipped dead images, that were utterly unable to help them, (Isa. 44. 9.) or (as they now attempted) dying men, that would soon be disabled to help them; but now they are persuaded to worship a living God, who has life in himself, and life for us, and lives for evermore.

Thirdly, That this God is the Creator of the world, the Fountain of all being and power; "He made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all things therein; even those things which you worship as gods, so that he is the God of your gods; you worship gods which you made, the creatures of your own fancy, and the work of your own hands; we call you to worship the God that made you and all the world; worship the true God, and cheat not yourselves with pretenders; worship the sovereign Lord of all, and disparage not yourselves in bowing down to his creatures and subjects."

Fourthly, That the world owed it to his patience, that he had not destroyed them long ere this for their idolatry; (v. 16.) In times past, for many ages, unto this day, he suffered all nations to walk in their own ways. These idolaters, that were called from the service of other gods, might think, "Have we not served these gods hitherto, and our fathers before us, time out of mind; and why may we not as well go on to serve them still?"—"No, your serving of them was a trial of God's patience, and it was a miracle of mercy that you were not cut off for it. But though he did not destroy you for it, while you were in ignorance, and knew no better, (ch. 17. 30.) yet now that he has sent his gospel into the world, and by it has made a clear discovery of himself and his will to all nations, and not to the Jews only, if yet you continue in your idolatry, he will not bear with you as he has done." All the nations that had not the benefit of divine revelation, that is, all but the Jews, he suffered to walk in their own ways, for they had nothing to check them, or control them, but their own consciences, their own thoughts; (Rom. 2. 15.) no scriptures, no prophets; and then they were the more excusable if they mistook their way: but now that God has sent a revelation into the world, which is to be published to all nations, the case is altered. We may understand it as a judgment upon all nations, that God suffered them to walk in their own ways, gave them up to their own hearts' lusts; but now the time is come when the veil of the covering spread over all nations should be taken off, (Isa. 25. 7.) and now you will no longer be excused in these vanities, but must turn from them. Note, 1. God's patience with us hitherto should lead us to repentance, and not encourage us to presume upon the continuance of it, while we continue to provoke him. 2. Our having done ill while we were in ignorance, will not bear us out in doing ill when we are better taught.

Fifthly, That even then when they were not under the direction and correction of the word of God, yet they might have known, and should have known, to do better by the works of God, v. 17. Though the Gentiles had not the statutes and judgments that the Jews had, to witness for God against all pretenders, no tables of testimony, or tabernacle of testimony, yet he left not himself without witness; beside the witness for God within them—the dictates of natural conscience, they had witnesses for God round about them—the bounty of common providence. Their having no scriptures did in part excuse them, and therefore God did not destroy them for their idolatry, as he did the Jewish nation; but that did not wholly excuse them, but that, notwithstanding that, they were highly criminal, and deeply guilty, before God; for there were other witnesses for God, sufficient to inform them that he, and he