(2) Love.
waters made them sweet, so the promise of God viewed by the eye of faith, sweetens the troubles and crosses of our callings.
(2) Love. The second virtue is love. Faith which is alone in justification, does not go alone in life and conversation, but love and faith are both joined together: for faith works by love.Gal 5.6 And yet they are not one and the same virtue, but differ in their actions. As the man that serves a mason on the ladder has use of both his hands
— with one he steadies himself, and with the other he reaches up his burden — so every man in his calling has the use of two spiritual hands: the hand of faith keeps him in compass and steadies the mind on the word of God; and the hand of love reaches itself out to others in duties of love towards God and man. And thus faith and love differ.
Now the practice of love stands in two things.
First, we must refer all the works of our callings to the honor, praise, and glory of God, and here is the principal thing in which love consists. And therefore Paul says notably of himself, The love of Christ constrains me (2Cor 5.14), signifying thereby that because
Christ had so loved him as to shed His blood for him, that very love constrained Paul to refer all that he could do, to the honor and praise of Christ. Now look at what Paul says here — every man in his own particular calling must say this same thing: that the love of Christ in shedding His blood for him, constrains him to do all things for the honor and praise of his name.
The second duty of love is to apply the works, duties, and labors of our callings to the good of the Church and Commonwealth, and the place of which we are members. Thus Paul says to the Galatians,
Serve one another by love (Gal 5.13). And this is done when we employ our labor for the good of our brothers.
And thus briefly we see how love is put into practice.
If we examine ourselves by these two points, it will appear that most men come short of their duties; for whereas it is the property of
unfeigned love not to seek its own things,1Cor 13.5 but the good of others,1Cor 10.24 the common practice of men is to employ their pains for themselves according to the saying, "Every man for himself, and God for us all." Now are the evil days in which men are lovers of themselves.2Tim 3.2 The moving cause in almost every man that causes him to do the duties of his calling, is a regard for private benefit. It is hard to find a man that labors in his calling upon love to God's glory and the good of his brethren.
Thus we see how GOD'S WORD gives direction for the holy use of our callings.
2. Prayer. The second means to sanctify our callings and their works is Prayer. This prayer is that by which we not only pray to God for the pardon of our sins, and for the supply of such graces as concern eternal life, but particularly for a blessing on the labors of our callings whose beginning must be with prayer, and in due season must end with thanksgiving. The commandment to this purpose is plain, Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God (Col 3.17). The meaning is that when we attempt any business, either in speech or action, we must first call on God for His blessing, and give him thanks in the end.
David says, Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain that build it; and unless the Lord keeps the City, the watchman keeps the watch in vain (Psa 127.1).
If Paul, before he boarded the ship, prayed on the shore,Act 21.5 then much more must we do it in the main and weighty works of our callings. Parents in their families teach their children to say, Father,
I pray you bless me; Mother I pray you bless me. Well, God's Church is His family, and men that live in it are the children of God;
He is the Father and the Master of that family. Therefore let this practice of earthly parents teach us, when we begin the actions of our calling, to go to our heavenly Father for His blessing. This we must remember to practice, and so shall we sanctify the works of our callings.