The Thirty-Eighth Sermon, which is the sixth upon the fifth Chapter - Ephesians 5:18-21
may learn to forsake the world and serve Him with a more willing mind, knowing that He is not only our master and has all superiority and dominion over us but also our Father and is desirous to win us by His goodness.
Now, let us fall down before the majesty of our good God, with acknowledgment of our faults, praying Him to make us so to feel them, that we may truly repent of them, and always resort unto Him to ask Him for forgiveness of them in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and that He bear with us until He has drawn us quite and clean away from all the corruptions of the world and of our flesh, and that we be so reformed as we may seek nothing but by all means to come to the perfect righteousness whereunto He exhorts us. And let us all say, Almighty God, heavenly Father.
The Thirty-Eighth Sermon, which is the sixth upon the fifth Chapter.
18. And be not drunken with wine, wherein is looseness; but be ye filled with the Spirit.
19. Speaking among yourselves in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.
20. Giving thanks always to God the Father for all things, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
21. Being subject one to another in the fear of God.
We have seen this morning how God is offended when men abuse the benefits which He would have to be applied to such ends as He shows by His Word; and therefore that all excess and drunkenness ought to be shunned by the faithful, because they know that God shows Himself a Father towards them by nourishing them in this world. However, this is not as when they shall have come to the heavenly heritage, but by having at least some taste of His goodness; for they are continually confirmed in the hope given to them by our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, if instead of being drawn upward, men become so brutish as to lose all reason and manhood, it is a complete perversion of the order of nature; it is as if they are defying God for His own benefits. But yet, when drunkenness draws a long tail after it, and men flush forth into all lewdness, so as they are past all shame—and yet their shamefulness may make others loathe and abhor it—the mischief is increased so much the more. Therefore, to keep us in sobriety and orderly conversation, Saint Paul says we must keep ourselves from being so overcome and vanquished by wine.
And now, on the contrary part, he addeth that we must rather be filled with the Spirit. For they that burst themselves with eating and drinking, and keep no measure till they can no more, do well show that they have no feeling of the kingdom of God, nor have ever tasted what the heavenly life is. This remedy, therefore, is right convenient to correct all the excesses and superfluities that reign among heathenish men and such as never conceived any inkling of God's grace and spiritual benefits.
Like as if a man who were empty should devour and swallow up all without chewing, it would be rather an overloading of his stomach
than a taking of sustenance and repast. And therefore, if another man saw that vice in him, he would restrain him. Even so it is with all such as have inordinate lusts: it is a token that they are too empty.
And of what? Of faith, of the fear of God, and of the joy which is in the Holy Ghost. They know not a whit of God's goodness and favor towards them, nor of the grace which He shows us in our Lord Jesus
Christ. For had we once our bellies full of such victuals, surely we would not play the wolves in ravening, but we would keep measure.
That then is the cause why Saint Paul says that we must be filled with the Holy Ghost. As if he should say, the despisers of God and such as have no other religion but to live at ease here and to have all their delights and pleasures, are excessively full beyond all reason and measure. And that is a defiling of God's benefits and a despising of the order of nature, as I said before.
Now then, if you are so eager to know what God is and what it is to profit in His Word, come your ways to devour it, as they do who have eaten no meat for two days before. Be not afraid of eating too much of that food, for it will never burst our souls. Therefore, let us readily fill ourselves with the gifts of God's Spirit and with His spiritual benefits, whereby He feeds us in the hope of the heavenly life; for in so doing we cannot do amiss. But we cannot give in to our lusts in taking food for the body without immediately following some evil and offense.
The matter which we have, in effect, to remember upon this strain is that all they who glut themselves after that fashion, and cannot satisfy themselves but by playing the beasts, show well that they have not so much as one drop of faith, nor of the fear of God, nor of religion in them, but that their belly overrules them, and they are so subjugated thereto as to their peculiar and principal idol. Now,
seeing it is so, let us learn to long after the food of our souls. And forasmuch as it is liberally offered us from day to day, insomuch that it is God's whole desire that we should have all that suffices for our salvation, let us sharpen our appetites to take such repast, and then we shall be sure that our other meats shall not allure us to such gluttony that we shall become as insatiable gulfs, but we shall be contented with having that which is meet for us and sufficient for our necessity, at leastwise to our behoof.
Furthermore, this similitude which Saint Paul uses must not be thought strange when he says that we must drink our fill of God's
Spirit. For we know that the Prophet Isaiah says that God's Spirit is likened to water, and to milk, and to wine, whereby we are invited to come unto God, to take our repast, and to have whatsoever is needful for us. "Come on," says he, "and take at your pleasure both milk, wine, and water, without money or money's worth" (Isaiah 55:1).
Hereby, therefore, God declares unto us that we shall have an abundance of all spiritual benefits and sufficient to content us to the full, if so be that we will but open our mouths (as it is said in the Psalms), and not be so forepossessed of our own inordinate lusts as we cannot find in our hearts to seek the principal (Psalm 81:10). That is the further meaning of the similitude that Saint Paul uses here.
Now, forasmuch as this doctrine is so ill put in use everywhere, we ought to think the better of it. If a man considers how great emptiness there is in those that profess Christianity, he shall find that they can scarcely say three words to yield confession of their faith. For had they any in their hearts, surely their mouths would utter it, according to this saying: "We believe with the heart unto righteousness, and confess with the mouth unto salvation" (Romans
10:10).
However, if we are desirous to be filled, we need not be counseled to go seek the things that we need; we need but only to receive the food that is offered us and set before us. Yea, and this serves well to upbraid us with our lewdness, in that we vouchsafe not to go unto
God though He calls us, nor to make account of that which He offers us. We will not forget to eat and to drink for the refreshing of our bodies, and yet that will not content us either; for we could find in our hearts to cobble up (as ye would say) the whole world. Yet, notwithstanding, even the soberest are willing to have their ordinary repast. The other sort do cram in meat and drink four or five times a day, and in the meantime, the wretched souls of them are hungry still.
Therefore, we must bear in mind that the warning which Saint Paul gives us here tells us that to be sober and well-ruled, and to use measurably the benefits that God bestows upon us, the soul must not be forgotten. We must feed upon the spiritual gifts, to lead us to the heavenly life, and to maintain us in the hope thereof until the full possession and fruition thereof be given us at the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
Hereupon, Saint Paul adds that we should talk together in songs and hymns, and also that the same should be done with the heart, because the tongue would but unhallow God's Word if the mind matches not with the speech. Now, whereas he says that we must talk together in hymns, praises, and songs, it is to correct all fond talk to which we are too much given. For we see that all of us have, as it were, itching ears: there is none of us who is not well pleased to hear trifling babble. He who has received in on one side is ready to deliver out on the other side, and so the day passes away in things of nothing; or else our talk shall be wanton and loose, meet to infect good manners, and God shall be offended with it.
You see then that the thing to which men are too much inclined is that, to please one another, they banish all talk that may edify and discuss petty trifles to provoke laughter, as they say. Now, Saint Paul, perceiving this vice to be too common in the world, shows us here the remedy for it, that is to wit, that we should talk to one another in songs and hymns—that is to say, that men might hear the praises of God at our mouths. He pursues still the similitude that he had used heretofore. For drunkards are not contented to become beasts themselves, but they also draw others. And riot always has this inconvenience with it, that men encourage one another to drinking, saying: "Come on, let us eat and drink," in the same manner that the Prophet Isaiah speaks of (Isaiah 22:13).
Forasmuch then as rioters, after they have well stuffed themselves, would have that same vice range abroad everywhere, Saint Paul says, on the contrary part, that when we have taken our repast of the gifts of God's Spirit, the same must not serve for ourselves only but also to give refection and food to others who have need. The true feasting, therefore, which we ought to make to one another to cheer ourselves well, is that he who has profited in God's Word should endeavor to deal some part and portion of it to his neighbors according to his own measure.
Now, he mentions here songs, psalms, and hymns, which differ nothing at all one from another; and therefore, I need not to busy myself in setting forth any curious distinction of them. For all comes to this end, that all our mirth should ever tend to the glorifying of God. And surely, we should take pleasure enough in the minding of God's grace if we were not withheld by our own maliciousness.
And it is a wonder to see how desirous every man is that God should show Himself liberal and loving towards him. We would gladly enjoy
His benefits, and yet in the meantime, we put the remembrance of them underfoot and labor (as much as in us is) even to bury them. To our thinking, the time is lost that is spent in acknowledging how many ways we are bound unto God, and yet, notwithstanding, it is the very thing in which we ought to occupy ourselves. It is the thing wherein our life ought to be chiefly employed.
And truly, if men were well advised, there is no mirth comparable to this, nor any meet to be matched with it, namely, with the acknowledging of how many ways God has witnessed His goodness and love towards us. For (as I said) it serves to further us in the hope of the heavenly life. Undoubtedly, none of the things that we receive at God's hand have any true savor unless we come to put our trust in Him, can call upon His name, flee to Him for refuge, and yield Him
His due and deserved praise.
Therefore, let us mark well what is said here, namely, that when we talk one with another, we must always magnify God's name. True, we cannot attain such perfection in this life, but we must still talk much of the needs to which we are subject, of the dealings we have with one another, and of various things besides. Yet, for all that, the principal point must not be left alone and cast behind our backs: that is, we must not fail to acknowledge the benefits by which we are bound unto God, and thereby be provoked to praise Him, so that each of us not only does his duty in secret but also draws one another to it by mutual example. That, therefore, is the essence of what we are to remember in this passage.
Now, by the way, Saint Paul makes us understand that we must sing unto God in spirit, so that we do not imagine we can discharge ourselves, as many hypocrites do, who magnify God only with their tongues while their hearts remain full of coldness within. Here,
therefore, he sets down two things which ought not to be put asunder. The one is that we should sing unto God, and the other is that we should talk with our neighbors. The whole foundation of our matter, then, is that the benefits God has bestowed upon us should be commended, and that the remembrance of them should provoke us to love Him, serve Him, and wholly give ourselves to Him—to seek
Him and to know that to cleave unto Him is our full happiness. That is the foundation of the matter that Saint Paul sets down here.
First of all, we must (says he) sing unto God, and that cannot be done but with the heart. For we know that God accepts nothing which is not agreeable to His own nature. Therefore, if we will sing so that He may approve of it and accept our songs, we must do so with a heartfelt affection. For if there is any pretense in our doings, such that we make a great show before men, while being stingy in our hearts and having no zeal at all, and all is done merely for appearance's sake, surely we unhallow God's name in so doing. And for this reason, He says by His prophet Isaiah, "These people draw near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me" (Isaiah 29:13).
Therefore, let us mark well how it is said here that to sing God's praises, the heart must go before and, as you would say, make a thundering within. For that is the chief melody that can be, and therein we agree with the angels of heaven. If the mouth speaks alone, surely it is but flat mockery. Although men may approve of us for it, yet God refuses our payment with such coin, that is to say, with foolishness and things of no value.
Notwithstanding, when we have been zealous in praising God, and He can well be our judge and witness that we lay open our hearts before Him, then we must also do our duty toward our neighbors so
that every man may be encouraged and drawn forward by our example. Here we see, first of all, how little account is made of God nowadays. For all the countenance that men make of singing His praises is but a howling and yelling. It is one of the grossest abuses in papistry, that they think God ought to hold Himself well pleased when they have barked at their parchment, as they say. But in so doing, the Holy Scripture is unhallowed, torn to pieces, yea, and utterly falsified.
However the case stands, there is neither advisement, wit, nor understanding in their doings; for it is enough with them that the throat has yelled it out aloud. Yea, and even among us too, it is certain that such as pretend to set forth God's praises commonly seek nothing but to glorify themselves by it and keep back the principal thing, making it seem as if they are paying God some portion of their arrearages.
Again, let us consider how cold and slender this exercise of talking to one another in songs, hymns, and praises of God is among us. Hardly can one word be wrung out of us that may edify. Lewd talk can by no means be banished from us: all the world shall hear us sing unchaste and ribald songs, and such things cannot be plucked out of men's minds. But then ought this matter to be raised out of the Holy
Scripture. However the case stands, if men pardon themselves, they shall answer for it before God, according to the sentence that Saint
Paul pronounces here by the authority of God and by the power of His Holy Spirit.
And by the way, let us mark that his touching on three words here together, which import all one thing, is not for nothing. It is to show that we shall have enough with which to entertain one another if we acknowledge the sundry benefits that God has bestowed upon us, as
becomes us. If variety delights men, let us consider how many ways God lays forth the treasures of His goodness towards us. Look at how many there are of them, and so many songs there are. If we had a hundred melodies to delight us in all the things that we occupy ourselves about, it would be nothing in comparison to the inestimable diversity of benefits we receive at God's hand.
Saint Paul, therefore, has here corrected our unthankfulness by adding these diverse words to show that it must needs be that we are too dull if we are not moved when our Lord stirs us up in so many ways, seeing we cannot set our minds unto anything but that His benefits must needs come into our sight.
For the same cause, he also adds, "Yielding always thanks." As if he said that, if we were well advised, the continual repeating of God's praises and the harping upon them should never grieve us nor weary us. And why? Seeing that God continues His benefiting of us, is it not reasonable that there should be an answerableness on our part, to hold out in doing Him honor for His good turns?
Does any one day pass wherein we do not receive at the least a hundred good turns at God's hand? Now, is it meet that we should think that when we have thanked Him twice or thrice for the great number of benefits which we receive from Him all our life long, we have leisure to occupy ourselves otherwise ever after? When our
Lord renews and refreshes the remembrance of His goodness, is it not meet that we should be moved by it? Therefore, it behooves us always to mark well this saying, whereby Saint Paul declares that we are too unmindful of God if we are not provoked to acknowledge His benefits from year to year, from month to month, from day to day, and from hour to hour, and to yield Him the sacrifice that He requires of us, which is that we should protest ourselves to be wholly
at His will, to be beholden to Him for all good things, and that it is impossible for us to perform the hundredth part of our duty.
As we hear how David says, "What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord" (Psalm 116:12-13). And in the fortieth
Psalm, he says expressly that the order which God keeps in governing us is so wonderful a thing that it passes the hairs of our heads in number, insomuch that we must needs be amazed at it.
Therefore, seeing we cannot come near the infinite goodness of God, though we endeavor to apply all our wits thereto, at least let us aim towards it. And just as we see that God is never weary of showing
Himself liberal towards us, but flows continually like a fountain— yea, even by so many streams as are able to satisfy us in all things— let us also show continually, without ceasing, how much we are bound and beholden to so good and kind-hearted a Father.
And he adds yet further, that we must thank God for all things.
Hereby he shows us that men are too blockish, in that they do not consider how many ways God allures and spurs them, notwithstanding the slothfulness that is in them. As if he should say,
"My friends, considering how much we are bound unto God, both in respect of our bodies and in respect of our souls, can we comprehend it?" No, it is not possible, for we have too small and narrow a wit.
And when we have, after a sort, comprehended God's benefits, yet have we not tongue to express anything near how much we are bound unto Him.
So then, why is it that we are so cold, that as soon as we have spoken but one word, we think it is enough, and that we are discharged until another time, and return to it again as slowly as may be? Wherefrom comes such slackness? Even from our shutting of our eyes. Although
God shows us by all means that it becomes us to be occupied in blessing His holy name, yet we will not see it one whit.
Again, as touching the body, we bear ourselves in mind that our goods come to us either by our own cunning, or by good fortune, or by favor of the world; as for God, He is always left alone, and as for His goodness, we think not on it. Now then, when we intend to do our duty in yielding God His due praise, which is the chief sacrifice that He requires (as I said before), let us have regard to consider better what we are,* 1.10 and what our state is, and how we are subject to so many necessities, as God must be fain to succor us in infinite ways.
And when we have considered our wretchedness, both in body and soul, and on the contrary part also considered how God provides for all and suffers us not to have any penury without relief at His hand, surely we shall have wherewith to continue the praising of His holy name without ceasing. And Saint Paul will have us not only to thank
God for the benefits which we feel apparently, but also, although He afflicts us and handles us diverse times otherwise than we would, yet will he have us to praise Him still, after the example of Job,* 1.11 who (as we see) not only thanked God when he had his children at his table and they made merry in feasting one another, but also when he was bereft of his issue and left desolate in his house, when all his goods were taken away, partly by robbers and partly by lightning that fell from heaven, and when he was so miserable, as it seemed that lice should eat him up. He ceased not to say, "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21).
So then, Saint Paul shows us that even in our sorrows, and when we receive chastisements that are rough and bitter to us, yet let us not grudge against God, but rather persevere in praising His name, as he
exhorts us in another place, where he says that in praying to Him, we must always praise Him.* 1.12 Although we have not the things that we crave,* 1.13 and in our petitions, we show ourselves to lack this and that, and are pinched with grief and care, yet thanksgiving must still be mingled with our prayers.
There are a great number who pray unto God, but yet they do but provoke God's wrath because they intermingle their grudgings and repinings, gnashing their teeth at Him. They will indeed say, "My
God, help me." But which is that God? If they could pluck Him out of heaven, they would do it with all their heart, to the end He might have no more power over them. You see then, that a number, thinking to pray unto God, do but provoke Him to wrath because their requests are full of pride, spitefulness, and defiance.
And therefore Saint Paul tells us to the Philippians,* 1.14 that all our petitions and requests must be matched with thanksgiving, to show that we patiently abide to be governed by the hand of God. Likewise, in this text, he says that we must thank God for all things, not only when we are in prosperity, and all things fall out as we would wish, so that God gives us our heart's desire, and we live in delight and pleasure: that is not the only fit time and season to yield praise unto
God. But although He scourges us, yet must we acknowledge that He procures our salvation and welfare by that means.
Let us see then if we have not cause to bless God in all our adversities. Yes, for first, whatsoever befalls us, He bears with us, insomuch that if He should touch us but with one of His fingers in good earnest, we should be overwhelmed at the first blow. Seeing then, that we hold out, it is a token that He spares us: and have we not cause to thank Him for it? Again, when He turns His chastisings to our benefit, for that He purges us by that means, to further us
continually toward the kingdom of heaven, and to lift us up because we are too much tied to the world, to the end we should be gathered together, to come to the full perfection that is prepared for us in heaven. When we see all this, have we not cause to praise our God, notwithstanding that we are full of grief, care, fear, and doubts?
Yes, certainly, but our own unthankfulness hinders it. So much the more does it behoove us to mark well what St. Paul tells us here, namely that we have cause to praise God without end or ceasing. And if our mouths are sometimes stopped with grief, so that we seem to be barred from praising God and cannot apply ourselves freely thereto, let us understand that God never shows Himself so rough and rigorous towards us that He does not assuage the bitterness in our afflictions to draw us to Him, so that we might thank Him and glorify Him for it.
For as much as we receive no grace except through our Lord Jesus Christ, who also turns the corrections to our welfare, which we should suffer as punishments for our sins, therefore it is said that we should yield thanks to our God and Father, namely by our Lord Jesus
Christ. Now, he sets down on the one side God the Father and afterward shows how God is our Father in all respects: that is to say, by means of the Mediator, through whom we are reconciled unto
Him, and He has so put away all our sins that whatever things we endure in this world are all furtherances of our salvation, as is said of them in the Epistle to the Romans (Romans 8:28).
Here we have to mark first of all that without faith we cannot praise God as we ought to, insomuch that whatever praises we sing with our mouths, all is but feigning and hypocrisy unless we are thoroughly persuaded that God is our Father. And mark here what is meant by faith. It is not as the Papists suppose it, namely to believe that there
is a God in heaven and, in the meanwhile, to know nothing of His will. But St. Paul tells us we must be thoroughly resolved that God accepts us as His children, or else we shall never be able to praise
Him with a pure and free affection.
And how may that be done, except by being grounded upon the free adoption whereby He takes us to Himself for our Lord Jesus Christ's sake? For is it by inheritance, or by any worthiness of ours, that God is our Father and we His children? Alas, no! But quite the contrary, we are called the children of wrath (Ephesians 2:3), and God must needs disown us because there is nothing but sin and wickedness in us. Until we come to our Lord Jesus Christ, it is certain that we cannot be sure of God's favor or that He will accept our service.
Therefore, St. Paul, having said that we must yield thanks unto God in and for all things because He is our Father, rightly adds that this is done by our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us understand, then, that all who are afraid of God's majesty, and cannot trust Him, nor rest upon the promises of His favor to call upon Him as their Father, can never praise Him. Indeed, they may well use some ceremonies, but all shall be but lies. Therefore, whenever we will pray unto God and give Him praise and thanks, faith must lead the way. Mark that for one point.
However, (as I said before) it is impossible for us to be grounded in any certainty of faith to take God for our Father until we know that we are made one in our Lord Jesus Christ and that, for as much as we are members of His body, we are also partakers of the benefits that He has purchased. His death and passion are our righteousness,
His holiness our cleansing from all our own defilements, and the sacrifice which He has offered sets us clear, drawing us out of the
damnation wherein we were and finally setting us free from the bondage of sin and purchasing us full righteousness.
For as much as we have all these things in our Lord Jesus Christ, we ought also to give thanks unto God by His means. And that is the reason why the Papists cannot frame even one request that God allows. Yea, and indeed, they are as good as dumb. For though one may hear hymns and canticles enough (as they term them) among them, yet God cannot be praised at their hands. Although they wind up all things with the saying, "By our Lord Jesus Christ," yet they do not believe that God is merciful to them, nor are they worthy of it, because they disclaim our Lord Jesus Christ and so entangle Him with patrons and advocates of their own making that He cannot be discerned from others, insomuch that they coop Him up in a corner or set Him behind in the rearward, while in the meantime they are hunting after the merits and intercessions of saints. That is their trust, the root of their devilish presumption, namely that they can make amends for their sins and redeem themselves.
But as for us, when we are told that we must thank God in all things, it is to the end that we should always abase ourselves. And for that cause, I say that faith opens us the way both to pray unto God and also to give Him thanks for the benefits we have received at His hand.
Now hereupon Saint Paul adds that we must be subject one to another in the fear of Christ, or in the fear of God, for either will fit the text well enough. In saying that we must be subject, he shows that just as God will have His children exercise themselves in His praises, so also He will not have them be unprofitable here below but to serve one another's turn. For inasmuch as we are not able to do either good or harm to God, He is content that we do but praise His
name. For even if we employ all our ability, what is there in us that can enrich or benefit God? He gives us all things and needs nothing
Himself.
Therefore, it is an inestimable goodness that He releases us from all that we owe Him, provided we declare ourselves so greatly beholden and bound to Him that we cannot discharge our obligation. If we come with all humility and confess the bond in which we stand bound to God, this is the payment He requires of us, and for His own part, He seeks no more. Yet He will have us be serviceable one to another and not seek our private profit in such a way as to forget that we are knit together in a mutual bond of charity. That is the thing He intends to bring us to now in this text.
At first glance, a man might think it strange that we ought to be subject one to another. For it does not seem fitting that the father should be subject to his children, the husband to his wife, or the magistrate to the people whom he governs. Nor that even those who are equal in degree should be subject to one another. But if we look carefully upon all things, we shall find that Saint Paul has not without cause placed all Christians under this subjection.
Why? The magistrates, who are advanced in authority and glory above other men, are nonetheless bound to those whom they govern.
They are not ordained as rulers for their own sakes but for the sake of the commonwealth. For God's ordaining of principalities, kingdoms, and states was not to the end that some should have preeminence above others but because it is for our benefit to have some bridle to hold us in obedience under laws, to have some power and authority over us, and to stand in fear and awe of magistrates because we cannot do without such a remedy. Seeing then that God
has set magistrates in such a state, it is certain that they are therefore subject to those whom they ought to serve by reigning over them.
The same must be said of fathers. It is true that the father ought to be honored by his children. Yet, for as much as it is an honorable title, it will cost them dearly if they do not govern their households discreetly. And in that governance, there is also subjection. Likewise, it is between the husband and the wife. For is it not a subjection that the husband bears with the frailty of his wife and has the discretion to forbear harshness towards her, holding her as his companion, and taking upon him a part of her burden, both in sickness and in health?
Is not that subjection? Yes. Not without cause, then, does Saint Paul pronounce here generally that all who would prove themselves faithful must be subject one to another, namely every man in his state and degree.
Let those who are highly advanced consider well that God's advancement of them is so that they should the more willingly submit themselves to bear the pains and cares that belong to their office. And let those who are inferiors understand that they ought much rather to humble themselves and to bear the yoke that is laid upon their necks. And let those who are equals and fellows (unless they will needs be like wild beasts and are loath to maintain any courtesy among them) nonetheless consider that every man ought to bear with his neighbors. And is not this subjection? We cannot live one with another without forbearance. Now surely, all forbearance implies bondage; therefore, we must serve for necessity's sake.
According to which, it is said in another place that we must owe nothing but what charity binds us to (Romans 13:8). Herein we see what arrogance it is when anyone says, "What do I owe to you?" It is true that men may well upbraid one another that they owe no duty to
them, but they must go further. And that is the reason why Saint Paul sets down the fear of our Lord Jesus Christ, or of God. As if he should say, "If we were here without a God, and every man wanted to get alone by himself, we might well hold scorn for one another and say, 'I care not for you.'" Truly, it would still be a great and intolerable folly to say, "I care not for you." For the richest man that can be devised does nevertheless stand in need of a hundred people's help, yea, of all men's help.
Then it is a great arrogance to thrust away our neighbors after that fashion under the pretext that they can neither benefit us nor harm us. And it is apparent that we are too blind in so doing. But suppose we might say, "I care not for you; I owe you nothing," yet we must come to God, who is our head. For when He put us into this world,
He linked us together and would have us serve one another in charity. And we know there is no other bond of perfection but charity, and charity brings with it a bond.
So then, although I owe a man nothing in respect of himself, yet I owe him something in respect of God. And that is the thing to which Saint Paul brings us back. As if he should say, "Consider with yourselves that you were not created and put into the world but with the condition that you should serve every man his neighbor.
Otherwise, if you shrink away from one another, it is as if you would cut asunder the sinews of the body to the intent it should fall to pieces, yea, and that our Lord Jesus Christ, who is our head, might have no more to do with us."
They then that will play the wild beasts and cannot find it in their hearts to stoop to any subjection to their neighbors must go live in the wild woods, for they are not worthy to live among men. For we see how God has knit us together and thereby separated us from the
brute beasts, yet nonetheless bound us one to another. Now if we will needs shake off this yoke, is it not a plain indication that we think ourselves beholden for nothing to our Lord Jesus Christ, that we are loath to be ruled by His hand or to submit ourselves to the order under which He has put us and which He would have kept without breaking?
So then, forasmuch as each of us is so wedded to himself that we cannot submit ourselves one to another, let us bear in mind what
Saint Paul has set down for us here. For it is the very sauce that will make us find taste in this doctrine, that is to say, that if we fear God and can find it in our hearts to submit ourselves quietly to His will, it must not grieve us, nor must we think it irksome and strange, that each of us should serve those whom he is bound to serve, and by that means so maintain his degree that we may all link together under our head Jesus Christ and attain to the heavenly glory which He has purchased for us.
Now let us fall down before the Majesty of our good God, with acknowledgment of our faults, praying Him to make us so to feel them that it may draw us to true repentance and make us profit in it from day to day, and to examine our miseries in such a way that we may be moved to call upon our God for remedy, that He may cleanse us and defend us from them until He has brought us to the perfection of righteousness, which we ought to labor for, and from which we are yet far off. And in the meantime, may He so bear with us that we may not cease to have the privilege of calling upon Him as His children, and also have reason to thank Him through our Lord Jesus Christ, because He has by His Holy Spirit sealed the adoption in our hearts, whereby He holds us fast to Him, and that we may so persevere in faith and hope as we may ever persist in acknowledging the manifold benefits which He adds one upon another, and learn to receive them