Section 1.68. Of Christ's Forbearing to Hate the Church.
This confirmation of the pattern of a man's self
by a like pattern of the Lord, has relation to both the parts of the
manifestation of a man's love to himself: both to the negative and so it
shows, that—
The Lord hates not his church.
And to the affirmative, and so it shows, that—
The Lord nourishes and cherishes his church.
That difference which is made between Esau a type of the world (Esau have I hated [Rom 9:13]) and Jacob a type of the church (Jacob have I loved [Mal 1:2-3]) shows that the Lord is far from hating his church. The world, not the church, is the object of God's hatred.
Objection. The church herself, [Deut 1:27] and the enemies thereof often conceive by Christ's dealing with her, that he hates her. [Deut 9:28]
Answer.
It is the flesh abiding in them that are of the church which makes them
so to conceive, not the Spirit: and in the enemies of the church the
flesh altogether reigns. But the things of God, and his mind and
affection, nor can, nor may be judged by carnal eyes, eyes of flesh. The
Spirit of God accounts such things evidences of God's love, [Heb 12:6] which flesh judges to be tokens of hatred; namely, corrections.
Reason. It is not, because there is no matter of hatred in the church, that Christ hates it not: for by nature all are of one and the same cursed stock, children of wrath: [Eph 2:3] and after our sanctification is begun, the flesh abiding in us, we daily give much
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occasion of hatred if Christ should take that
advantage against us which he might: but it is that near union which
Christ has made between himself and the church that keeps him from
hating her: he has made her his spouse, and he will not hate his spouse:
all the occasion of hatred that she gives, he will either wipe away or
cover.
Comfort
Use
1. Admirable is the comfort which every true member of the catholic
church may reap from hence: for so long as the wrath and hatred of the
Lord is turned from us, nothing can make us miserable: we may in this
respect rejoice not only in prosperity, but also in all manner of
affliction. No calamity can move Christ to hate his church, but rather
the more to pity it, as we do our bodies. Nay, though by sin he be
provoked, and see it needful to correct his church, yet in love, not in
hatred, in mercy, not in wrath will he correct it.
Encouragement
Use
2. What now if all the world hate us? Seeing Christ hates us not, we
need not fear nor care. The subject which is sure of his king's favor,
little regards the hatred of others. This therefore is to be thought of,
both to comfort us under the cross, and to encourage us against the
hatred of the world. That none may pervert this comfortable doctrine,
let me add two caveats.
1. That men deceive not themselves with a naked name, thinking themselves to be of the church, when they are only in it, such may Christ hate. [Jer 12:8]
2.
That being of the church they wax not insolent, and too much provoke
Christ to anger: for though he hate not such, yet in wisdom he may so
severely correct them as if he hated them: and make them repent their
folly and insolency again and again.
Section 1.69. Of Christ's Nourishing and Cherishing His Church.
2. That the Lord nourishes and cherishes his church,
is evident by his continual providence over her in all ages. When first
he created man, he provided beforehand all things needful to nourish
and cherish him. [Gen 1:28-29]
When he was moved to destroy the earth and all living things thereon,
he had care of his church, and provided an Ark to keep her out of the
waters, and stored up in the Ark all things needful for
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her. [Gen 6:14,27] When he purposed to bring a famine on the world, he sent a man beforehand to lay up provision for his church. [Gen 45:7] When his church was in a barren and dry wilderness, he gave them bread from heaven, [Exod 16:15] water out of the rock, [Exod 17:6] and kept their raiment from waxing old, and their feet from swelling. [Deut 8:4]
After this he brought his church into a land flowing with milk and
honey: and so long as it remained faithful he preserved it in that
pleasant and plentiful land. Thus he dealt with the church in her nonage:
and thus also has he dealt with her in her riper age under the gospel,
as experience of all ages may witness. Neither has he only nourished and
cherished her with temporal blessings, but also with all needful
spiritual blessings: his word and sacraments, his Spirit and the graces
thereof has he in all ages given her for that purpose: yea with his own
flesh and blood has he fed her, [John 6:55] and with his own righteousness has he clothed her. [Isa 61:10]
Ascribe All to Christ
Use
1. Learn we of whom we receive all needful things, both spiritual and
temporal, for soul and body, that accordingly we may give him the praise
of all. And let us not be like the ungrateful Israelites who regarded
not the means of spiritual nourishment, [Ezek 20:11-12] and ascribed the means of their temporal nourishing and cherishing to their idols. [Jer 44:17] In this respect the prophet makes them worse than the ox, and the ass, two of the most brutish beast that be. [Isa 1:3]
Oh take we heed that the like be not upbraided to us. The Lord has not
sparingly, but most liberally and bountifully nourished and cherished us
in this land, and that both with temporal and spiritual blessings, so
as he may justly say, what could have been done more in my vineyard, that I have not done in it? [Isa 5:4]
Depend on Christ For All Things
Use
2. Learn we also to depend on Christ for all things that we want: we
need not fear penury: though we have not that plenty which we could
wish, yet we shall have sufficiency. Christ will not suffer his church
to famish for want of food, nor starve for want of clothing, whether
temporal for body, or spiritual for soul. He that can and will perform
it has said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. [Heb 13:5] Lazarus was not forsaken; witness the angels that carried his soul into Abraham's bosom. [Luke 16:22] If any of Christ's church do perish for want
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of outward means, it is because Christ by that
means will advance them to that place where they shall stand in need of
nothing: so as he does not forsake them.
