Moses Choice, Treatise · Part 2 · Chapter 20
CHAP. XX. Perſwaſions to draw to the joyning with the people of God in the neareſt communion.
HEnce then let me ſpeak; firſt, unto thoſe Uſe 1.who yet are not partakers of that good that is to be had with Gods people, I mean in neareſt communion: though we all have the name of God upon us, and have ſome kinde of communion with the people of God; yet, ſeeing there is much good to be had in communion with them further, it ſhould be the deſire of every one, to enjoy the neareſt communion with them that can be; this is a mercy that you ſhould labor to ſeek after: for a good there is here, which none know the ſweetneſs and benefit of, but onelyonly thoſe that do enjoy it, ſeek to have it, for great things are ſpoken concerning it. If there be any realities in the truths that have been opened to you, it cannot but make the communion and joyning with Gods people very lovely; but certainly that which I have ſaid, comes abundantly ſhort of what is in it: for the moſt things that are uſed, for the ſhewing the excellency of this communion, were from ſome expreſſions of God to his people under the Law, and we come ſhort in the underſtanding of them; but if we could underſtand them fully, they come ſhort of the abundance of priviledges that Gods people have under the Goſpel, and the reaſon is, not onelyonly becauſe ceremonies were typical, but Gods dealing with his Church, their way in Church order, and government, was but a typical thing, to typifie the eſtate of Gods people under the Goſpel.
Now we know there is a great deal more in the antitype, then in the type, the type is but a ſhadow of that which is typified; now if the excellency of the eſtate of the Church under the Law, was but a type of the eſtate of the Church under the Goſpel, then all that is ſaid of the excellency of that condition, is but as a ſhadow of that which is now, Heb. 10. 1. The law was a ſhadow of good things to come, and not the very image; The eſtate of the Church now under the Goſpel, is the image of that glory that is to be revealed, but the Law was but a ſhadow of that image: as a Limner, firſt draws a dark ſhadow of a picture in coal, and after makes the Image; look what differenne there is in the excellency of that rude draught by a coal, and the beauty of the Image; ſuch there is between all the excellency of the eſtate of the Church under the Law, and that there is under the Goſpel: and therefore, that which is to be expected now, is a great deal more, and ſhould enflame the deſires of all, to ſeek after ſuch a priviledge.
Conſider, that this good which is to be had in communion with Gods people, is a ſpecial fruit of the loving kindeneſs of God; and would you not all be made partakers of the loving kindeneſs of the Lord? Thriving in your Trades, and outward bleſſings, are a fruit of the common kindeneſs of the Lord, but communion with Gods people, is a fruit of his ſpecialloving kindeneſs: Pſal. 36. 7, 8. How excellent is thy loving kindeneſs, O God! therefore the children of men put their truſt under the ſhadow of thy wings. They ſhall be abundantly ſatisfied with the fatneſs of thy houſe, and thou ſhalt make them drink of the river of thy pleaſures. The ſatisfaction of the ſoul with the fatneſs of Gods houſe, is the fruit of Gods loving kindeneſs, yea, the fruit of Gods excellent loving kindeneſs, and his admirable excellent loving kindeneſs: It is worth the ſeeking after, to be ſatisfied with the fatneſs of Gods houſe: And thou ſhalt make them drink of the river of thy pleaſures: While you ſeek after the comforts of the creature, you ſeek to drink in puddles, but here are rivers of pleaſures.
It is the inheritance of Gods elect ones; Iſaiah 65. 9. I will bring forth a ſeed out of Jacob, and out of Iudah an inheritor of my mountains, mine elect ſhall inherit it. I do not ſay, whoſoever does enjoy communion with Gods people, is elected; but whoſoever does enjoy it, enjoys that which is the inheritance of Gods elect, ſuch a fruit of Gods loving kindeneſs, as comes to the elect by inheritance, though ſome others do get into it, yet none ſhould but onelyonly the elect ones; and therefore if you have any hope to be the elect of God, deſire after this as part of your inheritance; A man would be loath to loſe part of his inheritance. It is an inheritance promiſed to thoſe who truſt in God, and oppoſed to all the vanity of the world; Iſa. 57. 13. Vanity ſhall take them, but he that putteth his truſt in me, ſhall inherit my holy mountain.
Thirdly, it hath been the onelyonly deſire of gracious 3.hearts heretofore; and if God hath wrought any grace in you, ſure your grace is ſuitable to the grace of others, as David, in Pſal. 27. 24. This one thing have I deſired of the Lord, that will I ſeek after, that I may dwell in the houſe of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord: as if there were nothing were the object of Davids deſires, but this one thing. And in Pſal. 84. what abundance of expreſſions have we to ſet out his deſires this way? David was here in his baniſhment; we do not finde him complaining, O my Kingdom that I am like to loſe! my brave Palaces, and my brave Chambers, Gardens and attendance that I am like to loſe; but the houſe of God. And in Pſal. 42. As the Hart panteth after the water-brooks, ſo panteth my ſoul after thee, O God! It was not after the enjoyment of God that he might have in his own ſoul privately, that his heart ſo panted after, but the appearing before the Lord in his houſe.
Fourthly, this is the eſpecial work of wiſdom: if 4.God hath let out any beam of wiſdom into your ſouls, to ſhew unto you any thing of the excellency of Chriſt, this will be immediately deſired; as in that Parable of the wiſe Merchant, as ſoon as he had found the Pearl, he went and ſold all to buy the field: the meaning is, when a ſoul comes to have any knowledge of Chriſt, that Chriſt is the onelyonly Pearl, then it deſires to ſeek to enjoy him, where he is to be enjoyed; it is in the field, in the Church of God, in communion with it; and the wiſe Merchant would part with any thing, that he might have the field, that is, have communion with Gods people in his Ordinances, and ſo come to enjoy the Pearl.
Yea fifthly, the reaſon why God puts any light or truth into the ſoul, is to put forth the ſoul to this, to 5.joyn with his people in this way of communion, Pſal. 43. 3. What was the reaſon why the Prophet would have the light and the truth of God? but to lead him to the holy hill, and to the Tabernacle.
Sixthly, by joyning your ſelf with the Saints, and 6.furthering this work of communion, you ſet up the honor of God much, God is much glorified by this, and will be more and more; Exod. 15. 2. I will build him a Tabernacle, the Septuagint renders it, foreign, I will glorifie him: and it is very obſervable, that as ſoon as Moſes was delivered from the Egyptians, he thinks of, and reſolves, and promiſes, the building of Gods Tabernacle, which was a type of the Church. If God hath delivered you out of any trouble, out of any ſickneſs, in teſtimony of thankfulneſs to God for his mercy, ſet upon this work, to further the building of Gods Tabernacle; Seeing God hath ſpared my life, this ſhall be one of the firſt things I will do, I will put in what I can, to the furthering of the building of Gods Tabernacle.
Seventhly, we finde in Scripture, that there is a 7.fearful threatning againſt all thoſe that ſhall neglect this, Zach. 14. 17. And it ſhall be, that whoſo will not come up of all the families of the earth, unto Jeruſalem, to worſhip the King the Lord of hoſts, even upon them ſhall be no rain; that is, no bleſſing of God. You will ſay, how does this appear to be meant of Gods people now? It appears the holy Ghoſt did intend the eſtate of the Church in the time of the Goſpel, and therefore it follows in the 20. ver. In that day ſhall there be upon the bells of the horſes, Holineſs unto the Lord, and the pots in the Lords houſe ſhall be like the bowls before the Altar. Now theſe expreſſions are ſpiritually to be underſtood of the glorious condition of the Church of God in the time of the Goſpel, and therefore God takes it ill at the hands of any that ſhall not come to joyn with his people.
And further, we have a fearful threat, Iſaiah 65. 11, 12. againſt ſuch as forſake, or forget Gods holy mountain, I will number you to the ſword, and ye ſhall bow down to the ſlaughter: You may think to provide for your ſelves, to live ſecurely, and ſafely, at your eaſe, enjoying houſe, lands, friends, trades; you are loath to hazard your ſelves ſo as others do, to bring your ſelves into ſo much trouble, but as ver. 13, 14. Thus ſaith the Lord, My ſervants ſhall eat, and ye ſhall be hungry, my ſervants ſhall drink, and ye ſhall be thirſty, my ſervants ſhall rejoyce, and ye ſhall be aſhamed.
Eighthly, if any ſoul have any deſire to come and 8.joyn with Gods people in his Ordinances, there is a bleſſing given to that deſire, Pſal. 84. 5. Bleſſed is the man whoſe ſtrength is in thee, in whoſe heart are the ways of them. If the ways of thy Ordinances be but in thy heart, thou art bleſſed, and therefore be very deſirous of this bleſſing, be not ſatisfied that God gives you outward bleſſings, and outward comforts in the world, unleſs you have this; if you know what communion with God in his people means, you cannot but deſire to be with them, there is ſo much of God with them. If you have any ſpiritual life, you cannot but deſire this, becauſe ſpiritual life will deſire to joyn with that which is like to its ſelf.
If you know what the power of any Ordinance means, you cannot but deſire this; There is a great miſtake of people, they think if they can but live in a place where they may hear good Sermons, that is enough: know therefore except you have communion with the Saints this way, though you may hear many good Sermons, yet there is a great deal of difference between your hearing of them, and their hearing who are in communion with the people of God, you only come to be made partakers of a mans gifts, you cannot depend upon the gift of ſuch a one as being in office by God, ſet over you, to watch over your ſouls: There is a great deal of difference between the diſpenſing of a gift by way of gift, and by way of office: there may be the ſame thing done in the exerciſe of gifts, and yet not to be ſo powerful, as when it is done by vertue of an office: the ordinary Officers are Paſtors, and Teachers, for the building up of the Church; therefore if you be acquainted with the way of Chriſt in his Ordinances, for the building up of the body, and if you believe your ſelves to be members of his body, you cannot but deſire thoſe Ordinances that he hath appointed for the building of his body.
The Church is ſet up as a light, or an enſign upon the top of an hill, to draw others that are near unto it, to come under it: And therefore as we have it in Rev. 22. 17. The Spirit, and the Bride ſay, Come; and let him that heareth, ſay, Come; and let him that is a thirſt, come; and whoſoever will, let him take of the water of life freely. The Spirit of God covincing your conſciences, ſays, Come; and the Bride, the Church ſays, Come; and let all that hear, ſay, Come; all that hear what hath been ſaid of communion with Gods people, ſay ye to all your friends, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord. We have a Propheſie, Iſa. 2. 3. that the people of God ſhould encourage one another, and ſhall ſay, Let us go up into the houſe of God, for he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his pathes: O that that Propheſie might be fulfilled now, that you might have ſuch a deſire to the ways of God, as to encourage others to come and walk in them, that your hearts may be refreſhed with the conſolations of God in the way of his Ordinances. And Iſaiah 62. 12. it is propheſied of the Church, that ſhe ſhould be called, Sought out: O that it might be ſo, that we could ſee the hearts of men ſo ſet after it, that we might give it that name (Sought out.)
The bleſſing that the Elders of the City deſired upon Ruth, cap. 4. 11. when ſhe was married to Boaz, was, The Lord make the woman that is come into thine houſe, like Rachel, and like Leah, which two did build the houſe of Iſrael: Why like Rachel and Leah, and not like Rebekah? did not ſhe build the houſe of Iſrael likewiſe? Yes, but all her poſterity was not of the Church of God, there came an Eſau from her, as well a as Jacob; but all the children of Rachel and Leah were of the Church of God, they were Patriarchs, and this was a ſpecial bleſſing upon them; it is therefore to be accounted a ſpecial bleſſing to be in the Church, and to have all our poſterity to be in it.
When you have heard theſe glorious things of the priviledges of Gods people, if you ſhould neglect the ſeeking after, the being made partakers of ſuch things, how will you free your ſelves from the guilt of prophaneneſs, that you ſhould prize outward accommodations, more then theſe ſpiritual things? Eſau was branded for a prophane wretch, becauſe he ſet no higher price upon his birthright, but ſet a meſs of pottage before it: This is greater then the birth-right they had under the Law, and to prize any carnal thing before theſe heavenly priviledges, is to be a prophane Eſau. I meet with one who interprets that place, 1 Chron. 4. 23. Theſe were potters, and thoſe that dwelt amongſt plants and hedges, there they dwelt with the King for his work; to be meant of ſome baſer ſort of the Jews, who when liberty was proclaimed for their return to Jeruſalem, where they might enjoy God in his true worſhip, yet becauſe they got their living by making pots for the King of Babylon, they thought themſelves well as they were, and they rather chooſe to ſtay under the hedges of Babylon, then to go to Jeruſalem; the holy Ghoſt brands them for baſe perſons. God loves the gates of Sion more then all the dwellings of Jacob; take heed you be not found guilty of loving your contentment and gainful dwellings, more then the gates of Sion.