The Spiritual Favorite at the Throne of Grace, Part 1 – Part 2
THE SPIRITVALL FAVORITE AT THE THRONE OF GRACE. By the late learned, and reverend Divine RICHARD SIBBS Doctor in Divinity. Published by the Authors owne appointment, subscribed with his hand; to prevent unperfect Copies.
Proverbs 29. 26. Many seeke the Rulers favour, but every mans judgement commeth from the Lord.
LONDON, Printed by Thomas Paine, for Ralph Mabb. 1640.
THE SPIRITVALL FAUORITE AT THE THRONE OF GRACE.
NEHEMIAH I. II. O Lord I beseech thee, let now thine eare bee attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants who desire to feare thy name: and prosper I pray thee thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this Man.
IN the ninth ver. the holy man minds God of his promise made to his people, that if they should turne unto him, and keepe his Commandements and do them: though they were cast out to the utmost parts of Heaven, yet he would gather them thence, &c. I will touch a little on them two verses, and then come to that I meane to dwell on, from the words read.
If you turne unto me, No promise of mercy, but to those that re.+turne.and keepe my Commandements. There is no promise of mercy, but to those that turne, the Scripture is peremptorie in deniall of mercy to such as goe on in their sins: Heaven could not brooke the Angels themselves having sinned, and neither such, nor such shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Yet how many are there that blesse themselves, that it shall go well with them, though they cast off all Gods yoakes, and Divine bonds, that might bow them to better courses, as if words were but wind; when we see here God made his word good against his owne deare people, If yee sinne I will scatter you to the farthest parts of the world, wee see in the former verse.
A proud, presumptuous sinful disposition, may slight God, & the messengers of the word and all; now when wee come to threaten: but when God comes to execute, will he shake it off then? will swearers, and blasphemers, and filthy persons shake off the execution as they can the threatnings? God sayth none that are such shal enter into heavē, but his wrath shall smoake against them, and shall be as a fire that shall burne to hell, against such persons as blesse themselves in wicked courses; and when God comes to the execution, they desire the mountaines to fall upon them. There are none more presumptuous against the threatnings, & none more base and fearefull when it comes to execution. As wee see in presumptuous, prophane Belteshazer, that was quaffing in the boules of the Temple, and scorning Religion, and God; when there comes a hand-writing on the wall, his knees knocke together, and his joynts tremble: so let there be any evidence of execution; and wee see all the Tyrants in the booke of God, and that have beene in the world that have trifled at religion, of all men they are most disconsolate and fearefull, as wee see in Belteshazer and others.
I beseech you therfore take heede: God will seale all his threatnings with executions in due time, as he did to his owne people, what is the reason wee should promise our selves more immunitie then they had?
If yee turne and keepe my Commandements, and doe them. Here are three conditions. Though you were were cast to the utmost parts of the world, I will gather you thence.
If you turne. The holy man Nehemiah, puts God in mind of his promise, and his argument is from the like, and indeed from the lesse to the greater: Because, God would rather of both performe his promises then his threatnings; because mercy is his owne proper worke. Now, as he had beene just in punishing his people, so he would be mercifull in restoring of them againe; therefore he saith, Returne and keepe my Commandements and doe them, and though yee were scattered to the utmost parts of the earth, yet I will gather you thence. And hee did gather them thence upon their repentance, he did performe his promise at length.
Beloved, the full accomplishment of this yet remaines; for this people to this day, since the death of Christ, since they drew the guilt of that sacred blood on them, they are scattered about the earth to every Nation, and have not a foot of land of their owne, but are the scorne and hissing of Nations: notwithstanding this promise will bee performed upon their repentance, God will bring them againe, as Saint Paul calls it a kind of a resurrection, the conversion of the Jewes. So it is true of us all, though we were scattered as dust, as wee shall be, in the grave ere long turned to dust, God will gather the ashes, hee will gather all those parts of ours: even as his power gathered his people together, so his power at length will gather us all; we have his promise for the one, as well as the other.
Therfore let us comfort our selves with the performance of this promise, for the performance of the grand promise of the resurrection. Indeede the grand promise of the resurrection, is the ground of the performance of all other promises. As you have it in Ezekiel, concerning the dry bones: saith God, I will cloathe these dead bones with flesh and skin, &c. therefore I will restore you againe. God that will restore our dust, and bring our bodies together, that were scattered here and there, he will restore us out of sicknes and trouble, if it stand with his glory and our good.
Now, after the argument that he useth to perswade God from his word of threatning and promise, he comes to the argument from their relation.
These are thy Servants.
THough sinfull servants, yet they are thy servants: These are thy people, thou hast no other people in the world but these, and thou art their God: He pleads from former favours. Thou hast redeemed them by thy great power and strong hand.
It is a good argument to plead with God by former favors:It is a good Argument to plead with God for former favours. Because there is no shaddow of change in him; he is alway like himselfe, hee is never drawne dry. And it is a great honour to go to him for new favours upon former; because hee hath an infinite supply. We may draw so much from men, as they have not afterwards to make good, but wee cannot honour God more, then to goe to him with a large faith, to fetch large favours from him: the more hee gives, the more he can give, and the more he is willing to give, To him that hath shall be given. We cannot honour God more, then to goe to him upon former favours, and with inlarged desires, thou hast redeemed us and beene gracious to us before.
Wee may much more take this argument in our mouthes, and presse the Majesty of God: Thou hast redeemed us, not out of Egypt or Babylon, the land of the North, but with the blood of thy Sonne, from hell and damnation; and therefore thou canst redeeme us from this petty misery, from these enemies: we may allege that grand favour to all other petty redemptions, whatsoever they are. Hee that hath given us Christ, that hath not spared his owne Son, but gave him to death for us all, how shall he not with him give us all things else? Rom. 8. He that hath been so large and bountifull as to give us his own Sonne, that gift to admiration, So, God loved the world, how cannot we plead with him for all other favours whatsoever, whether they concerne the life of grace or glory, or our present condition while we live in this world? Wee may pleade it much more I say, Thou hast redeemed us. But these things I will not presse further now.
In the eleventh verse he comes to presse it still, and repeates that which hee had said before, Lord I beseech thee, let thine eare bee attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and of thy servants that desire to feare thy Name.
Let thine eare be attentive to the prayer of thy servants. It is a prayer, and thou art a God hearing prayer. They be thy servants, and thou regardest thy servants. Here are but a few petitions in this large request: remember, be attentive, and give me favour. The most of the prayer is spent in a preparative considering the Attributes of God, and in confession, & strong reasons from the Word, of promises and threatnings, and from their relation; and then he makes good the relation, Wee are thy servants, because wee desire to feare thy Name.
To shew that indeed: