if you had a monopoly of gifts and endowments, for God hath diftributed to every man a measure; every officer in his house hath his own fphere, and none of you hath all, and fo you fhould not defpife and undervalue others. 7. It is God that diftributeth thefe gifts in their measures, and every one of you hath that which God has thought fit to bestow upon you, and what God doth is done in wifdom and in juftice, and therefore you fhould not be puft up, as if you had that which you have not; for hereby you fhew your difcontentment at that meafure which God hath be.. ftowed, and repine at it, and fo in effect fay, that God hath wronged you, or that he hath not dealt wifely enough, in not giving you a greater measure; and this is a heinous fin, and therefore think not of yourself more highly than you ought. 8. There is another argument in this, Whatever portion or meafure you have, you have no caufe to be proud of it, for it is not a robe of your own fewing; it is the free gift of God: It is God who hath dealt to every one the measure of faith, and he is not bound to give but as he pleafeth; he measureth out as feemeth good in his eyes. By faith here is understood the knowledge of God by faith, or the knowledge of faith manifested in the word.

HENCE OBSERVE,

I. Pride and conceitednefs in thefe gifts and endowments which we have received, is a main hinderance to growth in grace and in holiness, God being thereby provoked to leave us to ourfelves, becaufe of the pride of our hearts, that we may find by experience how little ftrength there is in us for the acquiring of any thing, and may learn to be humble in time coming. This is clear from the connection with the former verfes, where he had been preffing them to holinefs, and then comes in with this exhortation, that they fhould not think highly of themfelves, with a for.

II. So ftrong is that corruption of innate

pride of heart within us, if once it get vent, and efpecially if it get any thing more than natural to ground upon, that it will hardly be got rooted out; and when folks once give way unto this evil, that is fo natural a weed to us, and fuffer it to grow up, even in that garden where there are flowers of God's own planting, they will not eafily be quit of it: This is clear from the many arguments which the apoftle maketh ufe of to diffuade them from it; and from this authoritative powerful way of commanding them, I say, or I command. III. It is the duty of faithful paftors, when they fee an evil deeply rooted among people, as feeming to be grounded upon, or to gather life from, feeming fair pretexts, to be fo much the more careful, painful, and ferious, in labouring to get that evil removed; for Paul faw what pretexts they might have had for their pride and undervaluing of others, viz. gifts betowed upon them by God, more than upon others; and knew that pride rifing upon any ground, and far more when fpringing from fuch a foil, can hardly be got rooted up, and therefore dealeth the more ferioufly, and preffeth his exhortation with the ftronger reafons, and more iercing convictions, and his example teacheth us to do the like.

IV. As minifters are men of authority, and in all the points of their office ought fo to demean themfelves as men clothed with authority, by their commiffion: And as it is an effectual way in dealing with proud finners, puft up with a vain conceit of their own worth and abilities, to let them fee God to be their party, who is not well pleased with them for their pride; fo in dealing with fuch finners, as feem moft hardly to be reclaimed, and efpecially in dealing with fuch as think of themselves more highly than they ought to think, they ought to put forth all their authority, as commiflioners of the great God of heaven, and not to rub over the fore gently, feeing thefe are fuch as think themselves fo

fure,

fure, that no reafon can perfuade them; therefore doth the apoftle, in dealing with iuch, put forth his authority, and fay, I jay.

fhip was given unto him, and he took it not ungiven, nor did he intrude himself. VIII. As minifters, in reproving fin, and exhorting to duty, ought to adhere to their

unto me.

VI. Howbeit the fimple exhortations and friendly requests and admonitions of the fervants of the Lord, ought to be regarded, they being clothed with a commiffion from the Lord; yet when they are put to ufe that authority, and to put forth that commanding power, wherewith the Lord hath impowered them, people ought to regard the more what they fay, and their words when backed exprefly with authority, ought to have great weight with people; and their neglecting of fuch authoritatively enjoined duties, will be a great fin, as being an avowed undervaluing, and palpable flighting, of the power and authority of God, who hath commiffionated them; therefore doth the apostle make use of this as an argument, I fay.

VII. As it is God's prerogative royal to fend forth whom he pleafeth, and erect and fet up in his church what kind of officers feemeth good in his eyes; fo the confideration of the weight of the employment, the hazard in cafe of mal-adminiftration, the many temptations and inconveniencies that do attend fuch as are employed, and the danger of runing unfent, fhould make men warry left they engage in that office without a clear call from the Lord; therefore Paul fays, this grace of apoftle

nothing but what they have a warrant for; fo it fhould be a ftrong inducement to move people to welcome minifters exhortations, and accept of their rebukes heartily, when they fee that they fpeak not of themselves, but by virtue of a commiflion, according to which they ought to walk; and it will highly aggravate their guilt who reject their counfels and advice, when they are or may be afcertained, that they hear nothingcharged upon them, or preffed, but what fuiteth with their commiffion, who are fent of the Lord to speak to them; for Paul here addeth, I fay, thro' the grace given unto me; by virtue of this office which is given to me, I command you to do this.

IX. It is a fingular favour, and a gracious gift of God to be imployed in and fitted for the miniftry, confidering how unworthy and finful fuch are in themselves, whom he employeth, and what a honour it is to be joint co-workers with God in that great work of carrying on the intereft of Chrift, and faving poor fouls, and bringing in to Jefus his ranfomed ones; and as it is fuch an act of grace in itself, fo fhould fuch as are employed therein, look upon it, that thereby they may be keeped humble, and may be stired up to thankfulness and diligence; for Paul's apoftleship is here called grace. See Rom. xv. 15..

X. As always minifters ought to be careful that they contradict not what they preach; that when they diffuade people from fin, and exhort them to duty, they be not found guilty of the fame fins themfelves, nor unwilling to put hand to the fame duty which they prefs upon others; fo, in a fpecial manner, when they are dehorting people from pride and felf-conceit, and ufing their authority thereanent, they fhould take heed that they appear not to be proud, and to boast of their power

and

and authority, left they put down with the one hand what they feem to build up with the other; therefore Paul in dehorting thefe church officers from pride and boafting in their parts and endowments, and exercing his authority, left they fhould think him guilty of the fame crime, when he fpeaketh of his apoftiefhip, he ufeth humble terms, that they might fee he was not proud of what God had given him, for he locked on it as an act of free grace and undeferved favour, and calleth it grace given to him.

XI. As the Lord hateth fin, and cannot away with it in whofoever it be; and as the Lord hath given commiffion to his fervants to rebuke fin in whomfoever they find it; and as all need to be warned of their fkaith and danger, and to be convinced of their guilt; fo it is the duty of minifters to walk answerable unto their commiflion, and to be no accepters of perfons, but to fpeak to all, feeing they have a charge over all; and to warn every man without exception, as Paul's example teacheth us here, who faith, I fay, to every man that is among

you.

XII. As minifters are overfeers of the flock, and other officers in their own place have fome kind of overfight; fo it is the duty of all fuch officers to be ftanding to their poft, ftaying among the people, converfing with them, and going in and out before them; therefore are the officers here ftiled fuch as are, abide, or exift, or live among you.

XIII. Howbeit we have no parts nor gifts but what we have received, and muft acknowledge God to be the giver of; yet fuch is our corruption, that we are ready to abuse the beft gifts of God, and grow proud thereof, and boast as if we needed thank none but ourselves for them, and are ready to be puit up as if we had more ability than we have, and could do more than indeed we can do, and as if there were none like to us; this we fee in thefe officers whom Paul taxeth here.

XIV. Altho' the gifts of God, how fmall foever they be, fhould not be undervalued by us, who are lefs than the least of all his mercies, but he duly acknowledged and heartily thanked therefore; yet it is a heinous fin when fuch, upon whom God hath beftowed gifts and parts, fweil fo with pride, as if there were none equal to them, but they, and they only, were the gifted and endued perfons, enabled with abilities to fearch out new and ftrange doctrices and pofitions, and interpretations never heard of before, 1 Tim. vi. 3. 4. and to dive in to the fecrets of the Lord, and fuch things as tend not to edifying, neglecting more neceffary and obvious truths; and to meddle with any purpose, tho' no way within the compafs of their ordinary calling and employment: This is the fin he dehorteth them from, viz. thinking more highly of themselves than they ought to think.

XV. The very heinoufnefs of the fin itfelf, as making a man a manifeft and notorious lyar, and naturally tending to make a man turn a fool, fo as not to know himfelf, nor how he ought to behave towards others, fhould fufficiently fcar Chriftians, and efpecially the fervants of the Lord, from this infatuating fin of thinking more highly of themfelves than they ought to do.

XVI. Whatever gifts or graces it pleafeth the Lord to beftow upon us, we fhould labour to have mean and low thoughts of ourselves, remembering what a company of infirmities we are compaffed about with, and how unworthy we are of the fame; and to have fettled contented thoughts with the meafure he hath given, knowing it is of his mercy and free love that we get any measure at all; and to ftudy what mainly tendeth to edification, and not questions that gender ftrife, and what may teach fobriety, therewith; for this he exhorteth them to, that they would think foberly, or unto fobriety.

XVII. Such is the wifdom of the Lord, who fendeth not a meffage by the hand of a fool, that whofoever he employs in the

work

work of the miniftry, or upon whomfoever he confers an office in his houfe, he fiteth them, in fome competent measure, for the work he employeth them in, and bestoweth upon them fome meafure and proportion of this faith; therefore faith he, God bath dealt to every man; that is, every of ficer, for of fuch he fpeaketh here.

XVIII. No man, however well gifted, can fay he hath attained unto perfection in thefe gifts, for how great foever an abundance he hath received of them, he hath but a meafure, and a certain proportion measured out to him, and the confideration hereof fhould lay the peacock feathers of fuch as are ready to be puffed up with a vain conceit of themfelves, becaufe of their abilities; others have their proportion as well as they have theirs, and they have not all: therefore faith Paul, according as God bath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

XIX. As fuch as have overweening thoughts of themfelves, do tacitely charge God of injuftice, in that he hath bestowed fewer abilities upon them, than they conceive they deferve; and befide this, are heinously guilty of ingratitude, in that they are fo far from acknowledging God's goodness in what he hath given, that rather they are difpleafed becaufe more is not given; fo the confideration of this, that it is the only wife God who difpenf eth as he pleaseth, and always freely and undefervedly, may keep folk from overweening thoughts of themfelves, and undervaluing thoughts of others; therefore to fear them from this fin, he telleth them that it is God who distributeth to every man his measure of faith, and no man can get more than what God pleaseth to give.

XX. As every good gift cometh down from above, and is not the fruit of any man's work or pains (tho' God is pleafed to confer gifts and endowments ordinarily, in fuch a way of painfulness) so a right look of this may, make men quiet, and put them far from boating, or to think of themfelves beyond what they ought; and

the fingle and rare backlooks unto the prime fountain of thofe gifts, and looking no higher than the neareft caufe, makes men fwell fo with big conceits of themfelves, as if there were none equal to them; where-fore Paul mindeth them, that it is the Lord that these gifts come from, and it is called: the meafure of faith, or of the knowledge of God thro' faith in Chrift, ar of the knowledge of the truth revealed by the Spirit in and by the word, and therefore called the miniftration of the Spirit, 1 Cor. xii. 7. and elsewhere the gift of Christ, Eph. iv. 7. now these are not attainable without help from God.

VERSES 4. 5. For as we have many members in one body, and all members havenot the fame office;

So we being many are one body in Chrift, and every one members one of another.

TN thefe verfes the apoftle is further

preffing his former exhortation, viz. that every one of them fhould labour to ufe the talent and measure of knowledge, which God hath bestowed upon them, unto edification, in all humility and modefty, and not to have high proud thoughts of themfelves, nor contemn others about them, upon whom poffibly God hath not bestowed fuch a measure of gifts and knowledge,. as on them: And his argument may be. thus taken up whole, In the universal, vifible church political, there are several employments, and for every diftinct employment there are diftinct officers, and thefe officers requiring distinct measures and proportions of qualifications; and all these of-ficers fo and fo qualified, for fuch and fuch employments, are acted by virtue of one head, Jesus Christ, from whom their power, qualifications, and the actual exercife thereof cometh, unto one end, viz. the mutual edifying one of another, and of the body: Therefore, no member, or officer, ought to be proud of his qualifications, feeing he is not all, nor hath all the qualifications;

and