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bids you call him Father, he is Father by creation. Look not upon this or that fin, but go to him and call him Father, as you may call him; fay, Thou art my Father, thou haft given me a being in the church; wrestle with him as you may, though as found Christians, you cannot call him Father. Be weary of your courfes; are you willing to come under God's hands to be fons? you are fons by creation already; offer thyfelf to be of his family for the time to come, and God will give a fweet report to thy foul Stand not out at the ftaves end, "Thou art our Father," Lord. If you have a purpose to live in fin, the devil is your father, and not God, you are of " your father, the devil;" but if we be willing to fubmit, we may fay, "Doubtlefs thou

art our Father."

We are the clay, thou art the potter.

Here is a refignation of themselves to God, in this term, "thou art the potter, we are the clay." Indeed, we are but earthen veffels the best of us, in regard of the bodily life we have; and we are at the liberty of God, to difpofe of us as he pleafeth. So, before they come to put forth this prayer to God, they use this refignation of themselves into the hand of God: we are as clay in thy hands, Lord, difpofe of us as thou wilt: Let us remember this when we come to pray to God, ufe all means of that abasement that can be; lay afide all terms except abafing terms; "we are the clay," and, as Job fays, " I abhor myself in duft and ashes." So the faints have done in all times, “I am not worthy to be called thy fon," and, “ I am less than the leaft of thy mercies." Let us lay afide proud and lofty terms, and caft down our crowns at the feet of Christ, as the faints in Revel, iv caft down all our excellencies; let us have no thought of outward excellencies, of beauty, or strength, or riches, or high dignity: when we come to God, we muft come with low thoughts to the high God-can the creature be too low in his prefence?

And then come with refignation, "we are the clay, thou art the potter," do with as thou wilt; if thou dash us in pieces as a potter's veffel, thou mayeft do it-that is the way to escape. That is well committed that is committed into God's hand. Some men fhift by their wits, and will not truft God with their health and strength; they are double minded, as St James faith, they will have two ftrings to their bow; if lawful means will

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not ferve, unlawful fhall: No, but we "must commit ourfelves to God, as to a faithful creator," and then fee what he will do; then it stands with his honour, he will look to the lowly, "I am the clay, thou art the potter," here I am, do as thou wilt, as David faith; it is a bleffed eftate thus to refign ourselves into God's hands. If the devil and reprobates could be brought to this, they should never come there where they are in terrors of confcience. Let us labour to practife this duty, Lord, I commit to thy hands my body and foul, I caft myself into thy bofom, do with me as thou wilt. Some that have ftood out at the ftaves end with temptations many years, have gotten comfort by this refignation. "We are the clay, thou art the potter," thou mayeft mold and break as thou wilt. The way now to escape the plague is not altogether to use tricks of wit and policy, (though lawful means must be used), but labour to get into Chrift, and refign ourselves into God's hand abfolutely, and fay thus," We are the clay," &c. Lord, thou mayeft dafh us if thou wilt, as thou dost now ny hundreds weekly, thou mayeft dafh us in that fashion if thou wilt: Only we may have a defire that God would make our lives and health precious to him, that we may ferve him as if we were now in heaven, and that we may have grace to make good ufe of all. But if God has determined to take us away, let us refign ourselves into his hands. It is no matter though the body be "fown in difhonour, they fhall be raised in honour." "We are the clay, he is the potter;" let him do what he will with our carcafes and bodies, fo he be merciful to our fouls. The veffels of clay, when they are turned to earth, they fhall be renewed to better ftuff, like the glorious body of Chrift; then our fouls and bodies shall be glorious by him that took a piece of flesh and clay for us: Oh, the humility of Chrift! we wonder that the foul fhould animate a piece of clay, fo excellent a thing as the foul is; much more may we wonder that the Son of God fhould take a piece of flesh and clay upon him, to take our nature of base earth, to make us eternally glorious as himself. Let it comfort us, tho' God dafh our clay in pieces as a potter, yet Chrift, that took our clay to the unity of his perfon, our nature being ingrafted into him, he will make our bodies eternal and everlasting as his own glorious body. Let us refign ourselves into God's hands, as the church here," thou art the potter, we are the clay," and then we fhall never miscarry.

ST.

ST. PAUL'S CHALLENGE.

IN ONE SERMON.

ROM. viii. 30.

"What then fhall we fay to these things? If God be for us, who

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HE words are a glorious conclufion, and triumph of faith : the conclufion upon all the former particulars in the chapter, and the foundation of all the comforts that follow after, to the end of the chapter. They are as the centre of the chapter: all the beams of heavenly comfort in this divine chapter, they meet as it were in one in this fhort claufe, "What fhall we fay then to these things," &c.

In the words briefly, there is, firft, a question, queftion, "What shall we say to these things?"

And then a triumph, " If God be with us, who can be against us?" It is a queftion answered with another question, "What shall we fay to these things?" He answers it with another question," If God be with us, who can be against us?"

What shall we fay to these things?

To these things before mentioned. If we be in Chrift, there is no condemnation to us: if we be led by the spirit; if we be heirs of heaven, and fellow-heirs with Chrift, if we fuffer with him, if we have the spirit of prayer to help our infirmities in the worst conditions, if all creatures groan with us, and if all work for our good; if God from all eternity, hath written our

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in heaven by election, and feparated us from the rest of the world in vocation, and hath fanctified, and juftified us, and will after glorify us—" what shall we say to these things?"

The heart of man is full of doubtings, and misgivings, full of thoughts." According to the multitude of my thoughts, thy comforts refreshed my foul," a multitude of thoughts, and a multitude of comforts; there is comfort after comfort, because there are thoughts after thoughts, and furmifes after furmifes.There is no wafte comfort fet down in this chapter; and when he hath fet down all, he comes, and concludes in a triumphant manner, "What shall we fay to these things?" He propounds a question to himself, he catechifeth his own heart, and others, if these things be fo, what can be said against them? Surely the unbelieving, doubting, dark, rebellious heart of man, hath many things to fay against divine truths; for, though divine truths be brighter than the fun, and there is no greater evidence of any thing in the world, yet they find no place in the unbelieving heart. Let God fay what he will, the doubting heart is ready to gainfay it: but these truths are so pregnant and clear, that it is a wonder that any thing should be said against them"What shall we fay to these things?"

2. Again, he means, what comfort can you have more? what can you defire more? what can be faid more? what use will you make of all that hath been faid? what will you fuck out of it? If all this be true that hath been spoken before, that

christian is fo elevated above the common condition: if God love him from everlasting in election, and to everlasting in glorification; if, in the middle time, all fhall work for the beft, what comfort can the heart of man defire more? and what use can you make of this for courage, and for comfort for the time to come? These things are implied in this question, "What fhall we fay to these things?"

Ufe. It is good often to propound queftions and demands to our own hearts, when we read or hear divine truths, to ask our own heart, you have heard these things, what fay you to them? For, whatfoever God faith in his word, will do us no good, till we speak to our own hearts, and be convinced of it, and fay it is fo: therefore we should fay to ourselves, here are many comforts and duties preffed; but what fayeft thou to it, my heart, doft thou not stand cut against comforts and advice? It is no matter what

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God faith, unless he overpower the unbelieving heart to fay, "what shall I fay to these things? fhall I not agree with God, and his spirit, and his comforts? fhall they be best in regard of an unbelieving heart? oh, no; therefore let our care be, to ftore them in the treasury of our memory, which should be like the pot of manna, to contain heavenly comforts : let us treafure up all the truths we can, all will be little enough, when we fhall need comfort. But when we have them in our memory, let us ask ourselves, are these things fo, or no? If they be fo, believe them, if they be not fo, then let us give liberty to ourselves, and away with hearing and reading, &c. If they be fo, for fhame let me yield to them.

Let us ask these questions with fome fruit, let us deal thus with our own hearts, often call them to account, whether we believe or no; for we have fuch a faculty, and power, we can reflect within ourselves. And we ought to defire of the spirit of God, to teach our hearts, to reflect upon themselves, to examine whether we know, and if we know, whether we believe, and what use we make of these things, and why we should live thus; doth this life and courfe of mine, agree with these prin. ciples? The best of us all are tardy this way; therefore, let not that part go without making fome use of it. But I proceed to that which I will dwell more on.

If God be for us, who can be against us?

Here is first a ground laid, and then a comfort built upon it. The ground that is laid is, "If God be with us?" when he faith," If God be with us?" he doth not put the cafe, but lays it as a ground. "If God be with us?" as indeed he is with all his, in electing them, in calling them, in working all for their good, in glorifying them after," &c. "If God be with us," as he is, then the comfort is built upon this ground, "Who fhall, or can be against us?"

For the first, the ground that is laid, is that,

God is with his children.

Indeed, he is with the whole world, he is everywhere: but he is with his church and children in a more particular manner. The foul is spread in the whole body, but is in the brain after another manner, as it understands and reafons. God is every

where ;

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