Spiritual Refining, Religious treatise · Section 12 · Sermon 100
SERMON C.
Holding forth the Nature of Vocation, or Divine Calling.
ROM. 8. 30.
Moreover, whom he hath predeſtinate, them he hath called.
THe efficient and inſtrumental cauſe of this Divine Calling mentioned in the Text, hath already been declared. We come now to conſider, The nature wherein it conſiſts; and the terms from which, to which, in it: And firſt for the nature of it, becauſe you heard it was partly external, and partly internal; even as man conſiſts of an external body, and an internal inviſible ſoul; ſo this heavenly calling hath that which is viſible, ſounding into the ear, and that which is inviſible and internal, reaching with a mighty power, even to the heart.
Becauſe, I ſay, it conſiſts of theſe two parts, we muſt conſider the Nature I. The nature of vocation. As external it lieth 1. principally in the preaching of the word.of it firſt as external, and then as internal.
Firſt, And as its external, ſo it doth primarily and principally lie in the preaching of the word: The merciful and gracious invitation of ſinners to come in by the Goſpel, is the very eſſence of external calling: So that the word of God preached to you, whether it be in Commands, Promiſes or Threatnings, is to be received by you as the voyce and calling of God from heaven to you: The Scripture commanding to leave ſuch a ſin, and obedience to ſuch a duty; is as truly the voice and call of God, as any immediate extraordinary call that God ever vouchſafed to any; its as truly and as really, and with as much faith to be obeyed, though it be not ſo immediately and miraculouſly: As for example, Paul had this wonderful voyce from heaven, Paul, Paul, why perſecuteſt thou me? Now every prophane, ungodly man, hath as really Gods voyce from heaven by the word ſpeaking to him, Turn, turn ye, why will ye dye? Its ſaid, when Jeruſalem was ſo near its deſtruction, they had a call from heaven, ſaying, Migremus hinc, Let us depart hence: No leſs doth every ungodly man hear every day, when he is bid to depart from iniquity, and have no fellowſhip with the unfruitful works of darkneſs. Its noted as a great mercy of God to Lot, that he ſent an Angel to call him out of Sodom, when fire and brimſtone was immediately to be poured from heaven upon it; and whereas Lot delayed and delayed, the Angel even pulled him out, who was unwilling for his own good; This is a fit repreſentation of our ſpiritual calling out of ſin; the Angels are the Miniſters of God, that cry daily, Come out of the world, leſt you partake of the judgements of the world; and men are ſo unwilling, they do ſo dearly love their Sodom, though it will coſt them fire and brimſtone, that we are to compel you out of it: This then is a main fundamental principle, introductory to our converſion, when we conſider God as ſpeaking and calling to us by his word, to look upon it as truly and really the call of God, as if there were immediate voyces from heaven ſpeaking to us by name: Heb. 10. Chriſt is ſaid ſtill to ſpeak to us from heaven; And how is that but by the word? and the Scripture is called the The word of God; God ſpeaks it now, as well as at firſt when he commanded it to be written: Oh then tremble, leſt you ſhould be in the number of thoſe who reject God calling of you: Should God ſend innumerable company of Angels from heaven to you, to call you out of your luſts, to the ſtate of grace, it would not be more really (though more immediately) the voyce of God, then what we out of the word declare unto you: This then undoeth you, you do not believe God himſelf by the word ſpeaking to you, you do not think this is Gods voyce, that he ſpeaks thus and thus to me, and therefore you are ſtill ſetled in a willful way of ſinning. Now the word preached is Gods calling:
Firſt, Inſtrumentally, as its the word of God, the word that comes out of his mouth: All the Miniſters of God, faithfully diſcharging their truſt, are voyces crying unto you, Prepare a way for the Lord; and foreign, to preach, is to be the Lords ſolemn Herald, to offer peace to Rebellious enemies, if they will come in; and if not, in a ſolemn and dreadful manner, to denounce his heavy wrath and curſe: Look not then on Miniſters in their Ambaſſage, as weak frail men, ſubject to the like paſſions with others, butas Ambaſſadors, as coming in the name of God, that cry out, Thus ſaith the Lord, Oh thou ſinner, waſh thee from thy iniquity; thus ſaith the Lord, and not man. And
Secondly, The word preached doth call men objectively; the matter of it is ſo precious, good, excellent and neceſſary, as that it doth ſtrongly invite every man. Some Grammarians ſay, That that which is good and excellent, is called foreign, becauſe it doth foreign, it doth call and invite men to be in love with it: This is ſure about the matter of Gods word; How Divine and Supernatural is it? what purity, what heavenly affections doth that require? inſomuch, that no humane precepts concerning piety and honeſty ever came near to the Bible: And than the good things promiſed, are wholly tranſcendent mans capacity; they are ſuch as never entered into the heart of man to conceive: Juſtification, the light of Gods countenance, Eternal happineſs and glory in heaven, were not men ſo bruitiſhly earthly, would raviſh them, and make them run after them; as the Church ſaid Cant 1. 2. Becauſe of the ſavor of thy ointments, therefore do the virgins love thee: If therefore ye would conſider, both how great that infinite majeſty is, who doth call you; and what that bait is he doth invite you to, even great and admirable priviledges, this would excite in you ſuch vehement and impatient deſires after them, that all the luſts and pleaſures of ſin, would be accounted as droſs and noiſom vomit: Oh then think more and more, and conſider of this calling. Shall the Devil and luſts call, and thou runneſt after them, though into hells mouth? but God calleth, and thou refuſeſt him: Come unto me all ye that paſs by, ſaith the whoriſh woman; and in the ſame manner, every kinde of ſin, and how many venture into her ſnares! But come unto me, ſaith Chriſt, all ye that labor, and you ſhall finde reſt unto your ſouls, Mat. 11. in this men are refractory.
In the Second place, The call of God conſiſts in thoſe things that are leſs principal, and ſuch, as without the former, would do no good; but when …oyned 2.with it, is very ſubſervient and inſtrumental. And here we may ſpeak of three tongues calling aloud to us, two without us, and one within us; which I call external, though within us, becauſe of it ſelf it doth not internally change the heart of a man.
And the firſt leſs principal, Is the whole Creation: All the Creatures are like The whole Creation.like ſo many tongues, as they declare the Glory, Power and Wiſdom of God.
As for that dangerous opinion, that makes Gods calling of man to repentance The voyce of the Creatures of it ſelf, not ſufficient to call men to repentance.by the Creatures, to be enough and ſufficient, we reject, as that which cuts at the very root of free grace: A voyce, indeed, we grant they have, but yet they make like Pauls Trumpet, an uncertain ſound; men cannot by them know the nature of God and his Worſhip, and wherein our Juſtification doth conſiſt: Therefore whereas Pſal. 19. the Pſalmiſt had ſpoken of the ſound of the heavens, and how they all declare the glory of God, he comes in the latter part to commend the Law of God, for that which hath ſpiritual effects indeed; viz. To convert the ſoul, and to forwarn from ſin: Thou canſt not then look up to heaven, or down to the earth, but there is ſome imperfect voyce calling on thee to glorifie that great and wonderful Creator, who made all theſe things: But then
Secondly, There are the Judgements and Chaſtiſements of God upon men The Judgements of God.for ſin; theſe have a louder and more diſtinct voyce: Thus the Prophet, Hear ye the Rod, Micah 6. 9. The Rod ſpeaketh: There are no judgements, either publique or perſonal, but by them God calls aloud to thee to leave thy ſins: Every blow-thou haſt, every ſtroke thou feeleſt, ſay, Now God ſpeaketh, Oh let me hearken and hear what God would have me do. Thoſe Pſalms that have this Inſcription, Maſchil, or To give Inſtruction, do for the moſt part contain the Chaſtiſements and Afflictions of God for ſin: And ſo thou mayeſt ſay of every affliction, This is an affliction to give inſtruction; of every loſs, This is a loſs to give inſtruction. Take heed then of that deaf ear, that when God ſmiteth thee once, twice, yea, many times, yet thou heareſt nothing at all; as deaf men do not hear the moſt terrible thundrings that are.
Laſtly, There is a voyce that calls aloud, and that is the conſcience God hath planted in thee; for that is Gods lamp put into thy breaſt: All the bitings The voyce of Conſcience.and accuſings, and ſmitings that gives thee for thy ſins, its no leſs then God calling thee by that; Indeed this is a natural call, and ſo reducible to Gods external calling, yet it is more peremptory, more quick and lively then either the Creatures or Afflictions are: Hearken then to the calls, to the voyce that ſpeaks in thy boſom; How often doth that ſay, O vile and beaſtly ſinner, when wilt thou leave theſe luſts? when wilt thou depart from theſe evil ways? Is it not high time that thou wert changed from theſe noiſom courſes. Take heed of putting out this light, do not ſtop the mouth of it, for it will one day cry louder, That will be the gnawing worm, which will never dye. Thus much for the firſt part.
We come to the Second, wherein the marrow and life of this Holy calling II. As Internal.doth conſiſt; and that is in internal works upon the ſoul, which are carefully to be obſerved; that ſo every man may conſider, whether he be in the number of thoſe called ones or no, that ſhall alſo be glorified; for its no mercy, yea an aggravation of miſery, to be called here outwardly, and to enjoy the priviledges of grace, and hereafter to be damned finally.
Now the firſt particular, wherein this inward calling conſiſts, Is to open the ear of 1. It conſiſts:man, to give him a ſpiritual hearing, ſo that he doth readily cloſe with the call: Every man naturally hath a deaf ear to Gods call: Though he hath a natural ear to hear the ſound of the words, yet he hath not a ſpiritual ear; whence is that phraſe ſo often, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear: So that God in effectual calling of his people to him, doth not onelyonly cauſe a ſound of words, but changeth the ear, ſo that it heareth ſpiritually: This is called An awakened ear, or A revealed ear, Iſa. 50. 4. Men naturally have their ears ſtopt and filled with earthly and mucky luſts: So that as deaf men cannot hear the moſt terrible noiſe of thundrings; ſo neither do ſuch the dreadful voyce of God threatning in his word: So that in this powerful calling, God ſaith Ephaphtha, to every deaf man, Be thou opened. Conſider then with thy ſelf, if thou art thus called, God hath given thee a quick ready ear; no ſooner doth God ſpeak, but thou ſayeſt, Lo here I am, O Lord, to do thy will; and although luſts, and the cares of the world make a noiſe, yet thou heareſt Gods voyce above alll: You may hear with affection, with delight and underſtanding, and yet not have this gracious ear.
Secondly, This effectual calling is opening the heart chiefly, ſo that it gives up it ſelf in obedience unto God: Where there is this calling after Gods purpoſe, there 2.the heart is ſo mollified and ſoftned, that the firſt thing it pitcheth upon, is with Paul, to ſay, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? This is ſo natural a conſequent from ſpiritual hearing, that foreign, hearing, is often put for obedience in the Scripture: Thus, as Paul, I was not diſobedient to the heavenly viſion, Acts 26. 19. ſo is every man when inwardly called, he doth no longer reſiſt and refuſe the gracious offers of God, he ſtands it out no more; yea it grieveth and troubleth him at the very heart, that he hath withſtood the call of God ſo often; it might now be too late, God might juſtly refuſe to hear him, as he refuſed to hear God. Now this obedience unto God calling, hath theſe properties:
Firſt, Its a ready obedience: When once this powerful call manifeſts it ſelf, there is no more diſputing, there is no more arguings; Its God that calls, I muſt obey: Indeed, the outward offer of grace is too often rejected, and many Antecedaneous motions to converſions are ſuffocated; but when God giveth this laſt call, then the dead come out of the grave and live; then ſaith Paul, Immediately I conſulted not with fleſh and blood, Gal. 1. As Chriſt called from heaven to Paul, ſo Paul had fleſh, and blood on earth calling him the clean contrary way. Carnal conſultations, they invited to ſafety, eaſe, pleaſure; but the holy calling of God, to ſelf-denial, zeal, and ſuffering for Gods ſake, prevailed: Behold then the mighty power of God, that as ſoon as his word is out of his mouth, to ſuch a ſoul imbracing and deſiring its old luſts, immediately he throweth all away, though pleaſures, profits, carnal friends, all hang upon him to be the ſame he was once: Thus Matthew the Publican, as ſoon as Chriſt called him, Come and follow me, immediately he leaveth his profit and imployment, going after Chriſt: So that this calling hath a ſpeedy obedience.
Secondly, It hath a chearful and willing obedience: They follow this call with delight, yea they bleſs and greatly praiſe God, that hath made them partakers of this Heavenly calling, as the Apoſtle calls it, Heb. 3. 1. Hence it is that Calling in the Text is reckoned among thoſe other ineſtimable benefits of Predeſtination, Juſtification, and Glorification. How gladly did Zacheus receive Chriſt, when Chriſt called to him! and the Apoſtles whom Chriſt called, how willingly did they part with all to accompany him! So then, if thou art thus effectually called, there is a willingneſs, a delight, and exceeding great joy put into thy ſoul: Oh thou bleſſeſt God that ever he took notice of thee, thou art even raviſhed with the admiration of Gods love and kindeneſs to thee, its no grief or trouble of heart to leave thy former luſts; yea, they are a burthen, a ſhame now to thee. As if a poor Peaſants daughter ſhould be called to marry a great King; how doth this tranſcendently affect her? it doth not trouble her to leave her old Cottage, to put off her old rags, to eat no more of her courſe food, but rather rejoyceth in the change that is made: Thus it is here, when God gives thee this call, then thou abhorreſt the prophane, ignorant, and ungodly life that thou didſt once live: then thou ſayeſt, I have found Manna for thoſe husks I fed upon; I have found gold for that noiſom dung I had before.
Thirdly, Its an univerſal obedience: This effectual calling hath divers duties to which a man is called, and it refuſeth none. When God called Abraham out of his own Countrey, from his kindred, and from the Idolatry he lived in; What an illimited obedience did Abraham demonſtrate? He went, ſaith the Text, not knowing whither he did go, Heb. 11. 8. God called him out of his Countrey, and did not tell him whither he ſhould go, nor what he ſhould do, yet Abrahams obedience is ready to all this: This then cuts off the hopes of hypocrites, who run haſtily after Gods command in ſome particulars, and in ſome duties, where ſelf-advantage, ſelf-intereſt or applauſe may ſhew it ſelf; but univerſally to obey in every command, in every call, that they cannot yield unto.
Laſtly, Its a pure obedience: This calling hath a pure obedience, that is, obedience for obedience ſake, becauſe of the Authority and Soveraignty of God who commands; as you ſee it was in Abraham, in Paul, in Moſes, in the Apoſtles: There was no reaſon in the world of their obedience, but meerly becauſe God called them: And then is obedience acceptable, when it is becauſe God requireth it. But
Thirdly, This effectual calling gives a ſpiritual underſtanding and abilities, to know how to perform the duties and parts of this calling: Hence they are ſaid to be 3.made light in the Lord, Iſa. 4. God never called any man to a particular calling, either in Church or State, but he alſo gave him abilities and fitneſs for it; as Moſes, Aaron, Joſhua, yea Saul had Kingly, though not gracious abilities beſtowed on him: Now God will much more do thus in a general and more noble calling. Oh then conſider, how art thou qualified with abilities to be a Chriſtian, to be a Believer? God hath called thee out of darkneſs, out of prophaneneſs, to be a Saint, to walk as a member of Chriſt; now, haſt thou abilities for this calling? Do you not deride thoſe that are in any calling, and have no abilities for it? do you not think ſuch men unworthy of their place? No leſs art thou of this calling, who knoweſt not how to believe, to pray, to live, to worſhip God as thy calling doth require.
Fourthly, This effectual calling denoteth a ſeparation, or ſetting of a man apart unto that which he is called: So that he muſt not live as he hath done, but he 4.muſt ſolely buſie himſelf in that to which he is called: Thus the Apoſtle ſpeaking of his calling to be an Apoſtle, he ſaith, He was ſet apart: And in all worldly callings, you ſee men are ſet apart betimes unto it, and that they wholly give themſelves to what their calling is; and its a ſure forerunner of poverty, to be negligent herein: And thus it is in our ſpiritual calling, God hath ſet apart the godly man for himſelf, he calls him out of the world, and from all his former luſts, to live wholly unto him: Oh how little do men conſider, that they are ſeparated and ſet apart by their calling, unto God onelyonly, not to live to ſin or the world any more: Thus you have heard wherein the nature of this ſpiritual effectual calling doth conſiſt.
The firſt uſe is of Inſtruction, That moſt men in the Church of God have but an Uſe 1.outward calling meerly, they have no inward at all; for where is the opened ear, the opened heart? where is the ready, ſpeedy and pure univerſal obedience unto all that God calls upon us to do? where is the ſpiritual abilities for all the parts of our Chriſtian calling? where are men ſeparated and set apart from their luſts to holineſs onelyonly? and yet no man is inwardly called, till he have all theſe: Oh then let thy ſoul make bitter lamentations in ſecret, let it pour out tears abundantly, ſaying, O Lord, this heavenly calling hath been no further then hear yet, it hath not gone to the heart; How often haſt thou called upon me to leave theſe ſins, to love thoſe duties, and yet I have wilfully been diſobedient. Oh it is this inward effectual calling, that will onelyonly make thee happy; yet from this very day, from this very ſermon that calleth you at this time, how many will go to their former luſts and wickedneſs? what may not God and his Miniſters ſay, We are weary with calling any more, as God told Ezekiel, Ezek. 3. 6. If he did ſend him to a people of a ſtrange ſpeech, and a ſtrange language, ſurely they would hear, but the Iſraelites would not: So if God ſhould ſend us to call the Heathens and Pagans, ſurely they would regard the call, they would entertain it; but you have lived long under this mercy, and ſo neglect it: Non reſpondere pro convitio eſt, What diſhonor is it then to God, not to anſwer him, calling ſo many years together.