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52 - The Good Steward - Sermons on Several Occasions · Wisdom of the Ages Library

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The good steward, give an account of thy stewardship, for thou mayest be
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no longer steward Luke sixteen two. The relation which man bears to God the
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creature to his creator, is exhibited to us in the oracles of God under
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various representations. Considered as a sinner a fallen creature, he is there represented
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as a debtor to his creator. He is also frequently represented as a servant,
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which indeed is essential to him as a creature, insomuch that this appellation
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is given to the Son of God, when in his state of humiliation,
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he took upon him the form of a servant, being made in the likeness
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of men. But no character more exactly agrees with the present state of man
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than that of a steward. Our blessed Lord frequently represents him as such,
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and there is a peculiar propriety in the report present. It is only in
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one particular respect, namely, as he is a sinner, that he is
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styled a debtor, and when he is styled a servant, the appellation is
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genuine and indeterminate. But a steward is a servant of a particular kind,
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such a one as many is in all respects. This appellation is exactly expressive
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of his situation in the present world, specifying what kind of servant he is
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to God and what kind of service his divine master expects from him. It
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may be of use, then, to consider this point thoroughly and to make
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our full improvement of it. In order to this, let us first inquire
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in what respects we are now God's stewards. Let us secondly observe that when
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He requires our souls of us, we can be no longer stewards. It
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will then only remain as we may. In the third place, observe to
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give an account of our stewardship Item one. And first, we are to
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inquire in what respects we are now God's stewards. We are now indebted to
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Him for all we have. But although a debtor is obliged to return what
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he has received, yet until the time of payment comes, he is at
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liberty to use it as he pleases, it is not so with a steward.
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He is not at liberty to use what is lodged in his hands as
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he pleases, but as his master pleases. He has no right to dispose
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of anything which is in his hands. But according to the will of his
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Lord. For he is not the proprietor of any of these things, but
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barely entrusted with them by another, and intrusted on this express condition that he
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shall dispose of all as his master orders. Now, this is exactly the
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case of every man with relation to God. We are not at liberty to
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use what he has lodged in our hands as we please, but as He
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pleases, who alone is the possessor of heaven and earth, and the lord
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of every creature. We have no right to dispose of anything we have,
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but according to his will. Seeing we are not proprietors of any of these
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things, they are all, as our Lord speaks, a latria belonging to
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another person. Nor is anything properly our own. In the land of our
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pilgrimage. We shall not receive tai idia our own things till we come to
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our own country. Eternal things only are our own. With all these temporal
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things, we are barely entrusted by another, the disposer and lord of all,
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and he entrusts us with them on this express condition that we use them
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only as our master's goods, and according to the particular directions which he has
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given us in his word on this condition, he hath entrusted us with our
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souls, our bodies, our goods, and whatever other talents we have received.
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But in order to impress this weighty truth on our hearts, it will
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be needful to come to particulars. And First, God has entrusted us with
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our soul, an immortal spirit made in the image of God, together with
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all the powers and faculties thereof understanding, imagination, memory, will, and
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a train of affections either included in it or closely dependent upon it. Love
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and hatred, joy and sorrow respecting present good and evil, desire and aversion,
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hope and fear, respecting that which is to come. All these Saint
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Paul seems to include in two words when he says, the peace of God
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shall keep your hearts and minds pha. Perhaps indeed the latter word noahmata might
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rather be rendered thoughts, provided we take that word in its most extensive sense.
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For every perception of the mind, whether active or passive. Now,
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of all these, it is certain we are only stewards. God has entrusted
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us with these powers and faculties, not that we may employ them according to
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our own will, but according to the express orders which He has given us,
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Although it is true that in doing his will we most effectually secure our
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own happiness, seeing it is herein only that we can be happy, either
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in time or in eternity. Thus we are to use our understanding, our
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imagination, our memory wholly to the glory of Him that gave them. Thus
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our will is to be wholly given up to Him, and our affections to
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be regulated as He directs. We are to love and hate, to rejoice,
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and greet, to desire, and shun to hope and fear, according
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to the rule which He prescribes. Whose we are and whom we are to
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serve in all things. Even our thoughts are not our own. In this
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sense, they are not at our own disposal. But for every deliberate motion
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of our mind we are accountable to our great Master. God has secondly entrusted
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us with our bodies, those exquisitely wrought machines so fearfully and wonderfully made,
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with all the powers and members thereof. He has entrusted us with the organs
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of sense of sight, hearing, and the rest. But none of these
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are given us as our own, to be employed according to our own will.
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None of these are lent us in such a sense as to leave us
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at liberty to use them as we please for a season. No, we
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have received them on these very terms, that as long as they abide with
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us, we should employ them all in that very manner, and no other,
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which he appoints. It is on the same terms that he is imparted
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to us that most excellent talent of speech. Thou hast given me a tongue,
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says the ancient writer. That I may praise thee therewith for this purpose
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was it given to all the children of men, to be employed in glorifying
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God. Nothing therefore is more ungrateful or more absurd than to think or say,
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our tongues are our own. That cannot be unless we have created ourselves
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and so are independent on the most high. Nay, but it is He
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that hath made us, and not we ourselves. The manifest consequence is that
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He is still lord over us. In this as in all other respects.
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It follows that there is not a word of our tongue for which we are
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not accountable to him. To him, we are equally accountable for the use
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of our hands and feet, and all all the members of our body.
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These are so many talents which are committed to our trust until the time appointed
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by the Father. Until then we have the use of all these, but
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as stewards, not as proprietors. To the end, we should render them
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not as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but as instruments of righteousness unto God.
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God has entrusted us thirdly with a portion of worldly goods, with food
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to eat, raiment to put on, and a place where to lay our
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head, with not only the necessaries, but the conveniences of life. Above
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all, He is committed to our charge that precious talent which contains all the
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rest money. Indeed, it is unspeakably precious if we are wise and faithful
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stewards of it, if we employ every part of it for such purposes as
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our blessed Lord has commanded us to do. God has entrusted us fourthly with
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several talents which do not properly come under any of these heads. Such is
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bodily strength. Such are health, a pleasing person, an agreeable address.
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Such are learning and knowledge in their various degrees, with all the other advantages
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of education. Such is the influence which we have over others, whether by
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their love and esteem of us, or by power power to do them good
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or hurt, to help or hinder them in the circumstances of life. Add
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to these that invaluable talent of time, with which God entrusts us from moment
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to moment. And lastly that on which all the rest depend, and without
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which they would all be curses, not blessings, namely the grace of God,
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the power of Holy Spirit, which alone worketh in us all that is
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acceptable in His sight. Item too, in so many respects are the children
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of men stewards of the Lord, the possessor of heaven and earth. So
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large a portion of His goods, of various kinds hath he committed to their
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charge. But it is not forever, nor indeed for any considerable time.
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We have this trust reposed in us only during the short uncertain space that we
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sojourn here below, only so long as we remain on earth. As this
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fleeting breath is in our nostrils. The hour is swiftly approaching. It is
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just at hand when we can be no longer stewards the moment the body returns
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to the dust as it was, and the spirits to God that gave it,
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we bear that character no more. The time of our stewardship is at
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an end. Part of those goods wherewith we were before entrusted, are now
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come to an end. At least they are so with regard to us,
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Nor are we longer entrusted with them. And that part which remains can no
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longer be employed or improved as it was before. Part of what we were
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entrusted with before is at an end, at least with regard to us.
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What have we to do after this life? With food and raiment in houses
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and earthly possessions. The food of the dead is the dust of the earth.
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They are clothed only with worms and rottenness. They dwell in the house
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prepared for all flesh. Their lands know them no more. All their worldly
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goods are delivered into other hands, and they have no more portion under the
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sun. The case is the same with regard to the body. The moment
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the spirit returns to God, we are no longer stewards of this machine,
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which is then sown in corruption and dishonor all the parts and members of which
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it was composed lie moldering in the clay. The hands have no longer power
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to move. The feet have forgot their office. The foot, bush,
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sinews, and bones are all hastening to be dissolved into common dust. Here
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end also the talents of a mixed nature, our strength, our health,
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our beauty, our eloquence and address, our faculty of pleasing or persuading or
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convincing others. Here end Likewise, all the honors we once enjoyed, all
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the power which was lodged in our hands, all the influence which we once
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had over others, either by the love or the esteem which they bore us.
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Our love, our hatred, our desire, is perished. None regard
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how we were once affected toward them. They look upon the dead as neither
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able to help nor hurt them, so that a living dog is better than
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a dead lion. Perhaps a doubt may remain concerning some of the other talents,
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wherewith we are now entrusted, whether they will cease to exist when the
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body returns to dust, or only cease to be improvable. Indeed, there
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is no doubt, but the kindest speech which we now use by means of
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these bodily organs, will then be entirely at an end when those organs are
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destroyed it is certain that tongue will no more occasion any vibrations in the air.
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Neither will the ear convey these tremulous motions to the common sensory. Even
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the snus excellus, the low, shrill voice, which the poet supposes to
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belong to a separate spirit, we cannot allow to have a real being.
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It is a mere flight of imagination. Indeed, it cannot be questioned.
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But separate spirits have some way to communicate their sentiments to each other. But
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what inhabitant of flesh and blood can explain that way? What we term speech,
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they cannot have, So that we can no longer be stewards of this
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talent when we are numbered with the dead. It may likewise admit of a
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doubt whether our senses will exist when the organs of sense are destroyed. Is
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it not probable that those of the lower kind will cease the feeling, the
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smell, the taste, as they have a more immediate reference to the body,
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and are chiefly, if not wholly, intended for the preservation of it.
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But will not some kind of sight remain although the eye be closed in
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death? And will there not be something in the soul equivalent to the present
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sense of hearing. Nay, is it not probable that these will not only
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exist in the separate state, but exist in a far greater degree, in
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a more eminent manner than now, when the soul, disentangled from its clay,
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is no longer a dying sparkle in a cloudy place, when it no
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longer looks through the windows of the eye and ear, but rather is all
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eye, all ear, all sense, in a manner we cannot yet conceive.
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And have we not a clear proof of the possibility of this, of
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seeing without the use of the eye, at hearing without the use of the
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ear, yea and earnest busness of it continually. For does not the soul
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see in the clearest manner when the eye is of no use, namely in
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dreams? Does she not then enjoy the faculty of hearing without any help from
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the ear. But however, this be certain. It is that neither will
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our senses, any more than our speech, be entrusted to us in the
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manner they are now, when the body lies in the silent grave. How
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far the knowledge or learning which we have gained by education will then remain we
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cannot tell. Solomon. Indeed, says, there is no work, nor
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device, nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave, whither thou goest. But
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it is evident these words cannot be understood in an absolute sense. For it
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is so far from being true that there is no knowledge after we have quitted
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the body, that the doubt lies on the other side. Whether there be
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any such thing as real knowledge till then, whether it be not a plain,
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sober truth, not a mere poetical fiction, that all these shadows which
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for things we take, are but the empty dreams which in death's sleep we
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make, only accepting those things which God himself has been pleased to reveal to
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man. I will speak for one. After having sought for truth with some
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diligence for half a century, I am at this day hardly sure of anything
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but what I learn from the Bible. Nay, I positively affirm I know
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nothing else so certainly that I would dare to stake my salvation upon it.
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So much, however, we may learn from Solomon's words that there is no
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such knowledge or wisdom in the grave as will be of any use to an
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unhappy spirit. There is no device there whereby we can now improve those talents
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with which he was once entrusted. For time is no more the time of
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our trial, for everless, and happiness or misery is past our day.
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The day of man is over, the day of salvation is ended. Nothing
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now remains but the day of the Lord, ushering in wide and changeable eternity.
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But still our souls, being incorruptible and immortal, of a nature little
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lower than the angels, Even if we are to understand that phrase of our
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original nature, which may well admit of a doubt, when our bodies are
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moldered into earth, will remain, with all their faculties, Our memory,
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our understanding, will be so far from being destroyed yea, or impaired by
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the dissolution of the body, that, on the contrary, we have reason
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to believe they will be inconceivably strengthened. Have we not the clearest reason to
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believe that they will then be wholly freed from those defects which now naturally result
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from the union of the soul with the corruptible body. It is highly probable
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that from the time these are disunited, our memory will let nothing slip YEA,
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that it will faithfully exhibit everything to our view which was ever committed to
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it. It is true that the invisible world is, in scripture termed the
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land of forgetfulness, or, as it is still more strongly expressed in the
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old translation, the land where all things are forgotten. They are forgotten,
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but by whom, not by the inhabitants of that land, but by the
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inhabitants of the earth. It is with regard to them that the unseen world
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is the land of forgetfulness. All things therein are too frequently forgotten by these,
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but not by disembodied spirits. From the time they have put off the
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earthly tabernacle, we can hardly think they forget anything. In like manner,
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the understanding will doubtless be freed from the defects that are now inseparable from it.
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For many ages it has been an unquestioned maxim huminum asked errare et nessaree,
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ignorance and mistake are inseparable from human nature. But the whole of this
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assertion is only true with regard to living men, and holds no longer than
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while the corruptible body presses down the soul. Ignorance indeed belongs to every finite
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understanding, Seeing there is none beside God that knoweth all things, but do
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not mistake. When the body is laid aside, this also is laid aside
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forever. What then, can we say to an ingenious man who has lately
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made a discovery that disembodied spirits have not only no senses, not even sight
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or hearing, but no memory or understanding, no thought or perception, not
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so much as a consciousness of their own existence. Yet they are in a
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dead sleep from death to the resurrection, consanguineous lethiosop or indeed, such a
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sleep we may call a near kinsman of death. If it be not the
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same thing, What can we say but that ingenious men have strange dreams,
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and these they sometimes mistake for realities. But to return as the soul will
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retain its understanding and memory, notwithstanding the dissolution of the body. So undoubtedly
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the will, including all the affections, will remain in its full vigor.
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If our love or anger, our hope or desire perish, it is only
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with regard to those whom we leave behind. To them, it matters not
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whether they were the objects of our love or hate, of our desire or
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aversion, but in separate spirits themselves, we have no reason to believe that
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any of these are extinguished, it is more probable that they work with far
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greater force than while the soul was clogged with flesh and blood. But although
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all these, although both our knowledge and senses, our memory and understanding,
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together with our will, our love, hate, and all our affections,
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remain after the body is dropped off, yet in this respect they are as
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though they were not. We are no longer stewards of them. The things
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continue, but our stewardship does not. We no more act in that capacity.
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Even the grace, which was formally entrusted with us in order to enable
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us to be faithful and wise stewards is now no longer entrusted for that purpose.
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The days of our stewardship are ended. Item three. It now remains
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that, being no longer stewards, we give an account of our stewardship.
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Some have imagined this to be done immediately after death, as soon as we
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enter into the world of spirits. Nay, the Church of Rome does absolutely
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assert this. YEA makes it an article of faith, and thus much we
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may allow. The moment a soul drops the body and stands naked before God,
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it cannot but know what its portion will be to all eternity. It
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will have full in its view, either everlasting joy or everlasting torment, as
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it is no longer possible to be deceived in the judgment which we pass upon
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ourselves. But the scripture gives us no reason to believe that God will then
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sit in judgment upon us. There is no passage in all the oracles of
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God which affirms any such thing. That which has been frequently alleged for this
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purpose seems rather to prove the contrary. Namely, Hebrews nine twenty seven.
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It is appointed for men once to die, and after this the judgment.
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For in all reason the word once is here to be applied to judgment as
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well as death, so that the fair inference to be drawn from this very
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text is not that there are two judgments, a particular and a general,
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but that we are to be judged as well as to die once only not
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once immediately after death and again after the general resurrection, but then only when
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the Son of Man shall come in his glory and all his holy angels with
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him. The imagination, therefore, of one judgment to death and another at
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the end of the world can have no place with those who make the written
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word of God, the whole and sole standard of their faith. The time,
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then, when we are to give this account, is when the great
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white Throne comes down from heaven, and he that sitteth thereon, from whose
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face the heavens and the earth flee away, and there is found no place
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for them. It is then that dead, small and great will stand before
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God, and the books will be opened, the Book of Scripture to them
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who were entrusted therewith, the Book of Conscience to all mankind. The Book
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of Remembrance. Likewise, to use an another scriptural expression, which had been
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writing from the foundation of the world, will then be laid open to the
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view of all the children of men, before all these, even the whole
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human race, before the Devil at his angels, before an innumerable company of
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holy angels, and before God, the Judge of All. Thou wilt appear
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without any shelter or covering, without any possibility of disguise, to give a
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particular account of the manner wherein thou hast employed all thy Lord's goods. The
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Judge of All will then inquire, how didst thou employ thy soul? I
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entrusted thee with an immortal spirit, endowed with various powers and faculties, with
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understanding, imagination, memory, will, affections. I gave THEE withal full
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and expressed directions how all these were to be employed. Didst thou employ thy
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understanding as far as it was capable? According to these directions, namely,
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in the knowledge of thyself and me, my nature, my attributes, my
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works, whether of creation, of providence or of grace, in acquainting thyself
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with my word, in using every means to increase thy knowledge thereof, and
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meditating thereon day and night, didst thou employ thy memory according to My will?
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In treasuring up whatever knowledge thou hast acquired, which might conduce to my
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glory, to thy own salvation, or the advantage of others. Didst thou
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store up therein not things of no value, but whatever instruction thou hadst learned
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from my word, and whatever experience thou hadst gained of My wisdom, truth,
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power, and mercy. Was thy imagination employed not in painting vain images,
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much less such as nourished foolish and hurtful desires, but in representing to
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THEE whatever would profit thy soul and awaken thy pursuit of wisdom and holiness.
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Didst thou follow my directions with regard to thy will? Was it wholly given
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up to me? Was it swallowed up in mine so as never to oppose,
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but always run parallel with it? Were thy affections placed and regulated in
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such a manner as I appointed in my word? Didst thou give me thy
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heart? Didst thou not love the world? Neither the things of the world?
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Was I the object of thy love? Was all thy desire unto me
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and unto the remembrance of my name? Was I the joy of thy heart,
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the delight of thy soul, the chief among ten thousand. Didst thou
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sorrow for nothing but what grieved my spirit? Didst thou fear and hate nothing
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but sin? Did the whole stream of thy affections flow back to the ocean
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from whence they came? Were thy thoughts employed according to My will? Not
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in raging to the ends of the earth, not on folly nor sin.
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But on whatsoever things were pure, whatsoever things were holy, on whatsoever was
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conducive to My glory and to peace and goodwill among men. Thy Lord will
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then inquire, how didst thou employ the body? Wherewith I entrusted THEE.
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I gave THEE a tongue to praise me therewith didst thou use it to the
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end for which it was given? Didst thou employ it not in evil speaking
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or idle speaking, not in uncharitable or unprofitable conversation, but in such as
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was good, as was necessary or useful, either to thyself or others,
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such as always tended directly or indirectly to minister grace to the hearers. I
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gave THEE, together with thy other senses, those grand avenues of knowledge,
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sight, and hearing. Were these employed to those excellent purposes for which they
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were bestowed upon THEE, in bringing THEE in more and more instruction and righteousness
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and true holiness. I gave THEE hands and feet and various members, wherewith
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to perform the works which were prepared for THEE. Were they employed not in
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doing the will of the flesh of thy evil nature, or the will of
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the mind, the things to which thy reason or fancy led THEE, but
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the will of Him that sent THEE into the world, merely to work out
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thy own salvation. Didst thou present all thy members not to sin as instruments
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of unrighteousness, but to me alone, to the Son of My Love,
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as instruments of righteousness. The Lord of all will next inquire, how didst
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thou employ the worldly goods which I lodged in thy hands? Didst thou use
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thy food not so as to seek or place thy happiness therein, but so
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as to preserve thy body in health, in strength and vigor, a fit
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instrument for the soul? Didst thou use apparel not to nourish pride or vanity,
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much less to tempt others to sin, but conveniently and decently to defend
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thyself from the injuries of the weather. Didst thou prepare and use thy house
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and all other conveniences with a single eye to my glory, in every point,
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seeking not thy own honor but mine, studying to please not thyself but
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me? Once more, in what manner didst thou employ that comprehensive talent money,
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not in gratifying the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eye,
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or the pride of life, not squadding it away in vain expenses,
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the same as throwing it into the sea, not hoarding it up to leave
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behind thee the same as bearing it in the earth, but first supplying thy
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own reasonable wants, together with those of thy family, then restoring the remainder
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to me through the poor, whom I had appointed to receive it, looking
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upon thyself as only one of that number of poor whose wants were to be
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supplied out of that part of my substance which I had placed in thy hands
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for this purpose, leaving thee the right of being supplied first, and the
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blessedness of giving rather than receiving. Wast thou accordingly a general benefactor to mankind,
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feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, comforting the sick, assisting the
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stranger, relieving thee afflicted, according to the various necessities. Wast thou eyes
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to the blind, and feet to the lame, a father to the fatherless,
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and an husband to the widow. And didst thou labor to improve all
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outward works of mercy as means of saving souls from death? Thy Lord will
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farther inquire hast thou been a wise and faithful steward with regard to the talents
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of a mixed nature which I lent thee? Didst thou employ thy health and
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strength not in folly or sin, not in the pleasures which perished in the
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using, not in making provision for the flesh to fulfill them desires thereof,
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but in a vigorous pursuit of that better part which none could take away from
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Thee. Didst thou employ whatever was pleasing in thy person, or address whatever
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advantages thou hast by education, whatever share of learning, whatever knowledge of things
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or men was committed THEE, for the promoting a virtue in the world,
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for the enlargement of my kingdom. Didst thou employ whatever share of power thou
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hast, whatever influence over others by the love or esteem of THEE which they
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had conceived, for the increase of their wisdom and holiness. Didst thou employ
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that inestimable talent of time with weariness and circumspection, as duly weighing the value
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of every moment, and knowing that all were numbered in eternity above all,
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wast thou a good steward of My grace, preventing, accompanying and following THEE.
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Didst thou duly observe and carefully improve all the influences of my life,
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thy spirit, every good desire, every measure of light, all his sharp
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or gentle reproofs, How didst thou profit by the spirit of bondage in fear,
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which was previous to the spirit of adoption? And when thou hast made
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a partaker of this spirit crying in thy heart, abba Father, didst thou
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stand fast in the glorious liberty wherewith I made THEE free? Didst thou from
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thenceforth present thy soul and body, all thy thoughts, thy words, and
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actions in one flame of love as a holy sacrifice, glorifying me with thy
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body and thy spirit. Then well done, good and faithful servant, enter
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thou into the joy of Thy Lord. And what will remain either to the
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faithful or unfaithful steward, nothing but the execution of that sentence which has been
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passed by the righteous Judge, fixing thee in a state which admits of no
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chain through everlasting ages. It remains only that thou be rewarded to all eternity
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according to Thy works Item four. From these plain considerations we may learn first,
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how important is this short, uncertain day of life. How precious above
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all utterance, above all conception is every portion of it? The least of
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these A serious care demands for though they're little, they are golden sands.
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How deeply does it concern every child of man to let none of these run
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to waste, but to improve them all to the noblest purposes, as long
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as the breath of God is in his nostrils. We learn from hence secondly
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that there is no employment of our time, no action or conversation that is
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purely indifferent. All is good or bad, because all our time, as
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everything we have, is not our own. All these are as our Lord
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speaks to Alatria, the property of another of God, our creator. Now
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these either are or are not employed according to his will. If they are
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so employed, all is good. If they are not, all is evil.
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Again, it is his will that we should continually grow in grace and
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in the living knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Consequently, every thought,
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word, and work whereby this knowledge is increased, whereby we grow in grace,
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is good, and everyone whereby this knowledge is not increased, is truly
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and properly evil. We learned from hence thirdly that there are no works of
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supererogation, that we can never do more than our duty, Seeing all we
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have is not our own, but Gods all we can do is doe to
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him. We have not received this or that, or many things only,
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but everything from him. Therefore everything is his due. He that gives us
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all must needs, have a right to all, so that if we pay
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him anything less than all, we cannot be faithful stewards. And considering every
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man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor, we cannot be
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wise stewards unless we labor to the uttermost of our power, not leaving anything
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undone which we possibly can do, but putting forth all our strength. Brethren,
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who is an understanding man and endued with knowledge among you, let him
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show the wisdom from above by walking suitably to his character. If he so
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account of himself is a steward of the manifold gifts of God, let him
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see that all his thoughts and words and works be agreeable to the post God
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has assigned him. It is no small thing to lay for God all which
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you have received from God. It requires all your wisdom, all your resolution,
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all your patience and constancy, far more than ever you had by nature,
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but not more than you may have by grace, For His grace is
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sufficient for you, and all things you know are possible to him that believeth
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by faith. Then put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Put on the whole
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armor of God, and you shall be enabled to glorify Him in all your
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words and works. YEA, to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience
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of Christ. Edinburgh, May fourteenth, seventeen sixty eight, end of Section
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fifty two.