Conclusions of Peace, Part 7
Why, My sonne, in the singular number, and not my sonnes.
NOw we will see, why the Lord saith not My sonnes, in the plurall number, seeing as he speaketh to all his childrē, but My sonne, as if it concerned but onelyonly one body. This is partly for the particular encouragement and confirmation of eueryevery one in his duety, and partly for the particular comfort of eueryevery one of Gods children, when he shall be troubled for doing of his duety, for when the Lord in particular shall giuegive eueryevery one his charge, then if any man be offended at him, he may shew his warrant, and say thus, Sir the Lord did not speake generally to all, least one should post it off to another, but he speaketh particularly to me, aswell as to another, and therefore I am discharged: for when the Lord speaketh indefinitly meaning none, he excepteth none. But in this particular kind of speaking, the Lord doth binde eueryevery one of his children in particular, wholy to serue him, and none els, so therewithall he giueth vsus to vnderstand, that he hath a speciall eye and fatherly care ouer eueryevery one in particular, that is his childe, and will surely protect and defend him as his childe against all annoiances watsoeuer, than the which there can be no greater comfort, whensoeuer the crosse shall come.
But we will first see, how they doe binde vsus wholy to God, and afterwarde we will see how God hath bound himselfe to vsus and eueryevery one of vsus, if we be all his children, as I hope we be.
Some thinke it lawfull to serue God and the worlde too, to be of this Reiiglon and of that Religion too, to goe to Bethell the house of God and to Bethauen, the house of Idolitrie. To goe with Barnabas and Barrabas, and to ioyne with Simon Magus as with Simon Peter, & thinking themselues sufficiently discharged, if they serue God a little now and then, or if they keepe their consciences to themselues, and giuegive God their heartes, like Protestantes at large, which thinke they need not heare a sermon, because they heard seruice, or they need not come in the after noone, because they came in the forenoone; or like the most, which think, when they hauehave heard a sermon, they are then at libertie to do what they will, or like those men, which will heare a Masse, and worshippe the crosse at the least, in other countries, that they may get commodities thereby, but they will keep their consciences to themselues, as our church Papists doe here amongst vsus but all these men are deceiued for no man can serue ij. maisters. Therefore my good brother when any such temptations do beginne to fawne vponupon thee. Remember that God doth here call euerie particular member of the church, his sonne, and to thee therfore he saith, My sonne, as if hee should say, None may hauehave any interest in thee, but I. Thou art mine, thou art not theirs, Thy creation is wholly mine, thy redemption is wholly mine, & thy preseruation is wholly mine, and therefore I looke that thy obedience, and thy seruice, and thy worship, and thy bodie, and thy soule, and all should be wholly mine.
And good reason, for do we not owe all to him of whom we hauehave receiued all? Of God we hauehave receiued all that we hauehave: for in him we liue, and moue, and hauehave our being: Act. 17. 28.doe we not therefore owe him our life our mouing, and our being, euē whatsoeuer we are, or whatsoeuer we hauehave? And is it not reason that if a man hath bought a thing wholly, and wholly paid for it, that he shuld hauehave it wholly to himselfe? howe much more ought the Lord to hauehave the whole seruice both of body and soule, seeing hee hath bought all, and paid for all? Therefore nowe, we are no more our owne men, but the Lords: therefore hee saith, My sonne, As if he should say againe; If thou hearkenest to anie, hearken vntounto mee: if thou beleeuest anie, beleeue me: if thou louest anie, louelove me: if thou fearest anie, feare me: if thou obeiest anie, obey me: if thou standest for anie bodies credite or glorie, stand for mine: If thou doest praise anie bodies workes, praise mine: and if thou returnest thanksgiuing to any, returne them to mee, and to my vse onelyonly: for now, by vertue of the league and couenaunt wherinto thou and I be entered, thy hearing is mine, thy faith is mine, thy louelove is mine, thy feare is mine, thy obedience is mine, thy praises are mine: in body and soule, and in eueryevery part and member therof, thou must be wholy mine, and no bodies else, and therefore remember, that I do not call thee, Our son, as though some other were my partner in thee, but I call thee, My sonne, because I Esay 48, 11.will not giuegive my glorie vntounto any other.
Wilt thou bee content that thy wife (as Iob sayth) shall grind vntounto Iob. 31. 10.another, when she is married wholy to thee? Thou wilt not. And will the Lord take it in good part if thou deuide thy louelove betweene him, and another, seeing he hath maried thee wholy to himselfe? No surely, hee will not be serued by the halfes, hee will be a sole father, and a whole father, or els no father, hee will hauehave thee his sonne onelyonly, or els no sonne at all: hee will hauehave all our seruice, or els none of our seruice. And if the diuell hath any interest at all, he shal one day hauehave interest in al, without repētance: for he taketh possession of the whole man by some one member of the body, or by some one affection of the heart, as men take state of a house by the ring of a dore. And hee keepeth possession aswell by the louelove of one sinne (if it raigne in a man) as by a thousand: euen as men keepe possession of a house, aswell by one man within, or a childe, as by a thousand, if they be not expelled.
God hath a remnant in Israel, 1. Kin. 19. 18.more than Eliah knoweth of: but they are such as bow not their knees to Baall, neither doe they kisse him with their mouthes. If we doe but hold vp our hands to an idoll (saith the Church of God in captiuitie) doe wee not deale deceitfully with Gods couenant, and shall not God Psal. 44. 17. 20, 21.search this out? yea though we keep our heartes for God (as wee thinke) so iealous is the Lord ouer his glorie, that hee can abide no halting in religion.
Againe, My sonne, to teach vsus that wee be not our owne men, but our fathers, which is in heauē. If we be not our own men, but the Lords, then we must not be at our own appointment, but at his in eueryevery thing. To eueryevery one of his children, God hath appointed a place, & a stāding, while he liueth in the world; to some in the Church, and to some in the commonwealth. Our whole taske is appointed by God, how much and how long euerie one must worke in his place, God must appoint: looke how farre euerie one is to go by his heauenly fathers direction, so farre must we go & no further. We must tarrie till God doth send vsus, and no longer: and we must speake all that our father in heauen doth bid vsus, but no more.
Moses must keepe sheepe, vntill Exo. 3. 12. 3.God send him to Pharao, and then he must go to Pharao, be hee neuer Exod. 4. 10.so slow of speach: Ionas must not go to Niniuie vntill he be sent; neither may hee go to Tharsis, when hee is sent to Niniuie: Saul must not touch Ion. 1, 2, 3, 4. 1. Sam. 15. 9, 22the Amalekites, vntil he be commanded: but when he hath his commission from aboue, he may not spare Agag though he be a king, neither anie of the cattell, be they neuer so fit for sacrifice. Balaam must not go when God bid him stay, though the Num. 22. 12, 13.king of Moab send for him: neither must he curse, when God doth bid him blesse, if he might hauehave mountaines of gold for his labour.
And when the Lord doth cast any office vponupon his children, then they Psa. 82, 6.are not onelyonly Gods Children, but also Gods officers, I hauehave said yee are gods: that is you are of my appointing, and you are in my stead. And then the Lord saith to one, My sonne, thou art now my Magistrate to rule for me: to another hee saith, Thou art nowe my Minister to teach for me: to another, Thou art nowe my Steward to giuegive for me: to another, Thou art now my Captaine to conduct for mee: to another, Thou art now my Souldiour, to fight for me, &c. But remember that you are mine still, and not your owne, nor at anie bodies appointment, but at mine. And therfore, see that you gouerne as I hauehave taught you: for your gouernment is my gouernment, See that you iudge as I hauehave appointed you: for your iudgment is my iudgment. See that you teach as I hauehave prescribed, for your doctrine is my doctrin: and see that you fight when I bid you fight, for your battailes are my battailes.
When our Sauiour Christ sawe Matt. 22, 21.Caesars marke vponupon Caesars coine, hee bad that Caesar should hauehave his due: but so, as God also must not loose his right. If Caesar must hauehave that which is marked out for Caesar, shall not God hauehave that seruice, that worship, those officers, and such orders as he hath marked out for himselfe? verely if we giuegive them, or chaunge them with the world, or the deuill, which hauehave no right in them, wee shall follow too, if we repent not.
What shall we doe then? why, what if the world say, giuegive mee thy heart? Say, thou mayst not; it is the Lordes alreadie. What if vaine plaies, and filthy speech woulde hauehave mee to lend them my eares? denie them, and say, that they are for the holy thinges of God. What iflying and deceite would hauehave the vse of my tongue, and sit in the dore of my lips? tell them they are be spoken alreadie, and trueth must hauehave the vse of both. What if vncleane thoughtes come a wooing to thy minde? tell them that thy minde is for holie meditations, and therefore there is no place for them. What if vncleannesse her selfe, desire but a nightes lodging in thy bodie, and seate in thy heart, for louelove or for money? Tell her that thy body is the Temple of the holie Ghost, and thy heart is the Lords chaire of state, and therefore let her louelove and her money perishe togither with her selfe. What if couetousnesse, or vsurie, or vaine-glorie come? Whosoeuer come, shape them all the same answere, though they bring their friendes with them to persuade thee, or aucthoritie to commaund thee: euerie one may not come into the kinges Courts: eueryevery one may not presume into the presence Chamber; much lesse into the priuie-Chamber: but none may sit in the Princes chaire of estate, but the Prince only. Neither may the kings officers be at eueryevery bodies cōmandement. Our bodies and our soules be the kinges courtes, all the members of our bodies, and al the powers of our soules, are the kinges officers, wheresoeuer thou art, thou art Psa. 139, 7.in his presence chāber, but thy conscience is his priuy chamber, & thy hearte is his throne of state. Therefore let not euerie one in, but let the feare of God stand in eueryevery corner, and at eueryevery entry, like the kinges guard, and if any offer to come in, which hauehave nothing to doe there, let the guard tell them that there is no place for them, all is taken vp to the kinges vse. If that will not serue the turne, thrust them out by the head and shoulders, and if they turne againe vponupon thee, hew them in pieces, with the sword of the spirite, yea if thou find Iezabell, in the kinges chamber, cast her out at the windowes, and let the dogges eate her, If Haman himselfe be there, couer his face and hang him vp; for what shall such doe, where the Lord of hostes should sit and raigne.
All this is in generall, but now more particularly, suppose I bee a man of wealth and countenance likely to beare office in the church of God, or in the common wealth, what if I be called to the place of a chiefe Maiestrat amongst the people, may I not refuse it? Thou art not thy owne man, but the Lords, the calling is not mans, but Gods, therefore thou maist not refuse it. But what if ease and selfeloue would persuade me to buy it for euer? Tell thy ease and thy selfeloue, that thou art not at their appointment, but at the disposing of thy heauenly father. If this be not sufficient, tell Gen. 25. 30.them that Esau sinned in selling his birthright, and if thou shouldst sell away the gouernement from thy shoulders, thou sellest not thy own right, but Gods right, the churches right, the common wealths right, the Princes right, the poore mans right, with the right of the widowes, fatherles, and Orphans, for when God doth set a man in that place, all these hauehave interest in him, therefore let no man buy it off, but rest vponupon God, least he become more prophane than Esau, but what if trouble and daunger be like to follow? then say as Mordecay saide vntounto Hester, Hest. 4. 14.what canst thou tell, whether God hath aduaunced thee for the deliuerance of his people? & what if thou say, as Hester said to her selfe, I will take it vponupon me, pray you for me, Ver. 16.and if I perish, I perish, I am not at my owne appointment, but at the appointment of my heauenly father.
But suppose, that I be a minister of God, and set ouer Gods people, to teach them the waies of the Lord maie I not turne them ouer to another, if ease or profite doe call me? surely no: for if thou bee at Gods appointment, thou must keep thy stāding, & looke to that flock ouer which the holy ghost hath made thee an ouerseer.Act. 20. 28.
What if mens traditions would borrow a roome in my study? turne them out, and tell them, that thy study is onelyonly for the law of God, but what if popular praise and vain-glory would persuade me to make a shew of painted eloquence, and humane learning, tell them that thou art not set there to seek thy selfe, but Gods people, not thy owne glory, but the glorie of him that sent thee.
But imagine that I am a priuat man, and hauehave a trade to liue vponupon, and a family to looke vntounto? then follow that, but what if I see thinges out of order in the church, may I not helpe to put them in order againe? or may I not leaue my trade and become a minister? Surely by praier and supplication thou maiest help, but keepe thy standing: for thou art not thy owne man to forgoe thy place at thy pleasure. As for the ministery, it is to be born by such as hauehave gifts and calling for it, as the Arke was to be carried by Leuites, and not by Oxen. But what if the Arke be readie to fall, may not I step to and hold it vp? Thou art not thereunto appoynted. Therefore take heed Vzzah, least thou fall thy selfe before the Arke. Therefore let 2. Sam. 6. 6, 7euerie one keepe his place and standing that God hath set him in. And if anie body doe claime anie interest in vsus, more than our heauenly father hath graunted him; let vsus answere him as our Sauiour Christ did the deuill: Auoide, for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, Matt. 4. 10.and him only shalt thou serue. And thus we see how these wordes doe binde vsus particularly, and wholly to our heauenly father, and our discharge when we hauehave done our duetie to God.