We are servants and not lords. I see never a word in this text, nay, nor in all the scripture that the Master of the feast sent out lords to woo home his bride; He "sent out His servants," but not His lords. Read all the Bible from the beginning to the ending, you shall not find it. Daft men may dispute, and by respect may carry it away; but read all the Old and New Testament both, and let me see if ever this lord prelate, or that lord bishop, was sent to woo home his bride.
Object. 1. We have our prerogative from Aaron, from Moses, from the apostles, from Timothy. Ans. I trow ye be like bastard bairns that can find no father. So they shall never be able to get a father, for man has set them up, and man is their father.
Object. 2. Find we not the name of bishop under the New Testament? Ans. Yes; but not the bishop of a diocese, such as my Lord Glasgow, and my Lord St. Andrew's; but we find a pastor or a bishop over a flock. It is a wonderful matter to me, that men should think to reason this way; for in the Old Testament there is not an office, nor an office-bearer, but is distinctly determined in the making of the tabernacle; there is not a tackle, nor the quantity of it, not a curtain, nor the colour thereof, not a snuffer, nor a candlestick, nor a besom that sweeps away the filth, nor an ash-pan that keepeth the ashes, but all are particularly set down; yet, ye will not get a bishop, nor an archbishop, nor this metropolitan, nor that great and cathedral man, no not within all the Bible. The Lord pity them; for indeed I think them objects of pity, rather than of malice. Christ is a perfect king, and a perfect prophet. Thou canst never own Him to be a perfect priest and king, that denies Him to be perfect prophet; and a perfect prophet He can never be, except He has set down all the offices and office-bearers requisite for the government of His house; but so has He done, therefore is He perfect.
Obj. 3. But they will call themselves servants. Ans. 1. The fox may catch a while the sheep, and the Pope may call himself servus servorum, the servant of servants: and they will call themselves brethren, when they write to us; but they will take it very highly and hardly, if we call them brethren, when we write back to them again: but men shall be known by their fruits, and by their works, to be what they are, and not what they call themselves. But if they will be called servants and yet remain lords, let them take heed that they be not such servants, as cursed Canaan was, "a servant of servants shall he be." Take heed that they be not serving men's wrath and vengeance, and not servants "by the grace of God, and by the mercy of God," as they style themselves. 2. Let them take heed that they be not such servants as Gehazi was; he was a false servant, he ran away after the courtier Naaman, seeking gifts, and said his master sent him, when (God knows) his master sent him not; at the time he should have been praying to the Lord, to help his poor kirk and comfort her; the curse and vengeance of God came upon him, and he was stricken with leprosy for his pains; such servants are these men who now sit down on their cathedral nests, labouring to make themselves great like Gehazi: let them take heed that their hinder end be not like his. 3. Let them take heed that they be not such servants as Ziba was to Mephibosheth, who not only took away what was his by right, but also went to the king with ill tales of poor cripple Mephibosheth: such servants are these who not only rob the church of her privileges and liberties, but also run up to the king with lies and ill tales of poor Mephibosheth, the cripple kirk of Scotland. 4. Let them take heed that they be not such servants as Judas was, an evil servant indeed; he sold his Master for gain, as ill servants do. Or like these that strike the bairns when they are not doing any fault: and they are ill servants who busk their master's spouse with antichrist's busking. Wo unto them, and the man who is the head of their kirk, whose cross and trumpery they would put on the Lord's chaste spouse. But if they will call themselves servants, and yet remain lords, let them take heed that they be not of this category that I have reckoned up. The Lord make us faithful servants, and the Lord rid His house of them.
Time will not suffer me to go through the rest of the text, only I will take a glance of some things which make for your use at this time.
Quest. How are their servants treated? Ans. Some of them get nolumus upon the back of their bill: some of them are beaten, and spitefully used and slain. Dear hearts, know ye not how Moses was used? how Aaron and Jeremiah, &c., were used? how Zechariah was slain between the porch and the altar? how Jeremiah was smitten; and he that did it, got his name changed into Magor Missabib, terror round about? Know ye not that Zedekiah struck Micaiah; and how his threatenings against him came to pass? Always we may learn from this, that the Lord's best servants have been, and will be abused, and spitefully used? This is a great sin lying upon Scotland, England and Ireland. Many faithful servants in the three kingdoms have been spitefully used; their cheeks burnt, their noses ript up, their faces marked; some of them put into a stinking prison, where they had not an hour's health, and many of them rugged from their flocks, and their flocks from them. Look over to the kingdom of Ireland, the many desolate congregations that are there; many a dear one there, that would have had a blyth soul, to have had your last Sunday, or seen it, or to have assurance of such a day before they come into Heaven. Pray for the peace of Zion, and pity those poor things who would be content to go from one sea-bank to the other, to be in your place to-day. And truly the blood of these poor things is crying for vengeance to light where it should light; for the blame lies upon none but the proud prelates. If I would pose you with this question, as you will answer to God, Who have been the instruments of all this mischief? I am sure the most ignorant among you can answer, None but the proud beasts the prelates. The Lord give them repentance.
I know not how you have handled your pastors in this town, because I am but a stranger; but trow ye that two silly men that came among you can do any thing, if your own pastors had not laid the foundations: but, for God's sake, honour and respect your pastors, I mean those of them that keep the covenant of Levi. And ye that have broken it, and will not come to renew it again, shame and dishonour will be upon you for evermore. I have my message from the 2nd of Malachi, "I will pour contempt upon them who have broken the covenant of Levi." Therefore let pastors and people enter both within this covenant; for it is the sweetest thing in the world, to see pastors and a people going one way. Therefore come away all of you unto the wedding, come and subscribe the contract, put your heart and hand to it. Blessed be God for what already ye have done.
Some of the servants got a nay-say, and some of them were beaten; hence we learn, that every minister will not be beaten, nor will get the stroke to keep; but if a minister get a nay-say, it will make him as sad as if he had gotten sore strokes. If a minister get a nay-say that has been travailing these many years in the ministry, and yet cannot get one soul brought unto the Lord, that will make him as sad as sore strokes will do. When an honest minister has laboured many years painfully in the sweat of his brows, and has never had another tune, but, Come away, come away unto the marriage; and when he walks among them, and sees never one coming in, nor never one that has on the wedding garment, what will be the complaint of the poor man? O then he will cry out with Isaiah, "Lord, who believes my report, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been made naked? Lord, I have laboured in vain, and spent my strength for nought." What will come of me, after so many years' travail in the ministry? I have not brought forth one child. The Lord forbid that ye our people break your ministers' hearts. And as for you, brethren, be more watchful over your flocks, be more busy in catechising and exhorting them. And urge the duty of the covenant upon them, and when they are on foot, hold them going; lead them to the fountain and cock-eye. Lead them to the well-spring; and make meikle of them; feed the Lord's lambs, as Christ said to Peter, "If thou lovest Me, feed My sheep; lovest thou Me? I say, feed My sheep." Minister, lovest thou me? feed my bais'd sheep: lovest thou me? feed my lambs. You must be feeders, and not fleecers; pastors, but not wolves; builders, but not destroyers; and come away, and help up the broken-down wall of Jerusalem. For if one of you can bring timber here, another bring mortar, a third bring stones, and make up a slap in Zion; and I hope we that came here shall go home with blyth news to our congregations, that we cannot say we have got a cold welcome; so I hope ye will think it your greatest comfort, and your greatest credit also. Venture in covenant with God, and whosoever thou be, that wilt not enter in covenant, we will have thy name, and we will pour out our complaints before God for thee; for we that are ministers must be faithful to our Master; and I take you all to witness, that we have discharged our commission faithfully; and I hope the blessing of the Lord shall be upon them that have given us an invitation of this kind: and it may be your greatest comfort, that now ye may go homely unto the Lord, being formerly in covenant with Him; and your greatest credit also, for ye never got such a credit, as to lend your Master's honour a lift. We come to the excuses.
"But they went their way, one to his farm, and another to his merchandise." Luke is more large in this, and saith, "I have bought a piece of ground, and must needs go see it;" another said, "I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them;" and the third said, "I have married a wife and therefore I cannot come." 1. We learn here, that never a man refuses Christ but from some by-respects, such as a farm, oxen, and marriage. I never saw a man staying back from the covenant, but from some by-respects; either some respect to the world, or to men, or to the court, or such bastard by-respects to some statesmen, or to a prelate, or to the King himself, who, we trust, ere it be long, shall think them the honestest men that came in soonest; therefore cast away all by-respects. The apostle John includes their excuses under three different expressions, "The pride of life," including the farm; "The lust of the heart," including the merchandise; and "The lust of the flesh," including the marriage. Therefore let every soul that would love and follow Christ, deny himself, and lay aside excuses. Deny thy own wit, will, and vanities, and lay aside all by-respects, and I shall warrand thou shalt come running, and get Christ in thy arms. 2. Is it a respect to prelacy that hinders thee, O Scotland? cursed be the day that ever they were born. 3. Is it a respect to the novations already come into Scotland? I may say cursed be these brats of Babel. It had been best to have rent them at the beginning, for many woful days have they brought on, and woful divisions have they brought in, and woful backslidings have they occasioned. Therefore away with these by-respects. 4. Is it a respect to the king? The Lord bless our king. Says not the covenant enough for the maintenance of the king? As for the word which they call combinations, it reserves always the honour of God, and the honour of the king; protesting, that we mind nothing that may tend to the diminution of the king's greatness and authority. Yea, I know no other means under heaven to make many loyal subjects, but by renewing our covenant.
I would have had the men that made these excuses framing them another way; I would have had him that married the wife, saying, My wife has married me; and he that bought his oxen, saying, My oxen have bought me; and he that went to his farm, saying, My farm has bought me. And if ye will mark the words, ye will find them run this way. 1. Marriage is lawful; but when a man beasts himself in his carnal pleasures, then the wife marries the man; "therefore let them that have wives, be as though they had them not, and them that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not." 2. Buying of farms is lawful, but when a man becomes a slave to his own gain, it takes away the soul of him, the farm buys the man; likewise husbandry is lawful, but when a man yokes his neck under the world, it trails and turmoils him so, that he cannot take on the yoke of Jesus. 3. Thus also the merchandise buys the man. Then, for Jesus Christ's sake, cast away all excuses, and come away now, and marry Christ. 1. Away with thy bastard pleasures. 2. Away with thy bastard cares, and come away to Christ, and He shall season all thy cares. 3. Away with thy falsehood, thy pride, vanity, &c. Away with thy corn, wine and oil, and come to Christ, and He shall lift up His countenance upon thee. The Lord give thee a blink of that, and then thou wilt come hopping with all thy speed, like unto old Jacob, when he saw the angels ascending and descending, then he ran fast, albeit he was tired, and had got a hard bed, and a far harder bolster the night before, yet he got a glorious sight, and his legs were soupled with consolation, which made him run. Lord blink upon thy lazy soul with His amiable countenance, and then thou shalt rise and run, and thy fainting heart will receive strength, when the Lord puts in His hand by the key-hole of the door, and leaves drops of myrrh behind Him, then a sleepy bride will rise and seek her Beloved. But to our point.