A Word to Sinners and a Word to Saints, Part 1 · Chapter 18
CHAP. XVIII. An Exhortation to bless God for the work of Regeneration. And to walk worthy thereof.
II. A Second branch of the Use of Exhortation unto the Regenerate, is To be thankfull unto God for this great mercy. Admire the grace of God, and bless his name for ever. Art thou made alive? Is the life of God begotten in thee? And hast thou evidence of it? O bless God whilest▪thou hast any being. Let thine heart and mouth and life be filled with his Praises. Take up the Psalmists words,Psal. 103.1, 2. Bless the Lord O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name: Bless the Lord O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Wilt thou be thankfull unto God for thy natural birth? And wilt not thou be thankfull to him for thy spiritual birth? wilt thou bless him for that he hath made thee a reasonable creature? And wilt thou not bless him for making thee a new-creature? wilt thou bless him that thou art not a Toad? And wilt thou not bless him, that thou art not a Devil? Is not Regeneration of all mercies the most necessary? And wilt not thou be thankfull for that which is the one thing necessary? If the Children of Israel praised God for their deliverance from the Aegyptian bondage; how much more cause hast thou to praise and magnifie the name of God for thy deliverance from a greater than Aegyptian bondage? It being a deliverance from Satan, the worst of all Tyrants: from hell, of all prisons the most loathsome: yea from sin, death, and the curse of the Law.
The more to stirr up thy self to this duty of thanksgiving for this mercy,
1. Consider the specialty of Gods love, and goodness unto thee therein, in singling thee out from the multitudes that perish, and setting thee apart for life, Hath he dealt by all, as he hath dealt by thee? Oh how many millions of Men and Women hath he suffered to live and dy in their sins, when thy soul liveth? How many for birth more noble, for policy more wise, for riches more wealthy, are let run in their sins, till they fall into wrath, when thou art escaped? when thou considerest that he should pass by them, and set his special love upon thee, if this do not fill thee with love, and with praises, the very stones may cry out against thee. The Psalmist speaketh of it as a great mercy to a godly man, that in a time of Plague and Pestilence a thousand should fall on his right hand, Psal. 91.7.and on his left, and yet it should not come nigh him. But what is that to this mercy, that many thousands should fall into hell on thy right hand, and on thy left, and yet thou preserved?
2. Consider how sad thy condition was before thy Regeneration, being a Child of wrath, a bondslave of Satan, and an heir to hell. And then compare it with thy present state. Behold of a child of wrath, thou art made a Son of God: of a slave of Satan, thou art become Christs freeman: of an heir of hell and damnation, an heir to Heaven, and salvation. And doth not this call for thankfulness?
3. Consider that this mercy is unspeakably greater than all other mercies in the World. This new birth makes a man an ho…ourable person, one of the royal seed, a King and Priest to God. This makes him a rich man; the least degree of this grace is better than all the wealth in the World: this is the true riches, the durable riches, a treasure that faileth not, nor can it be valued. This makes him a joyfull man: there's joy in Heaven at thy conversion, and a foundation of everlasting joy laid in thine own soul: thou maist rejoyce, its meet that thou make merry, for this thy soul was dead, and is alive; was lost, and is found. Theodosius gave God greater thanks that he had made him a member of the Church, than head of the Empire. So bless God more for this mercy, that he hath made thee a member of Christ, than if he had made thee an heir of all the Earth.
What though God hath not abounded to thee in outward honours and estate; yet if he hath abounded to thee in grace, this alone will be matter of eternal praises. Luther hath a notable story which may be useful to this purpose, In the time of the Council of Constance, he tells us there were two Cardinals riding to the Council: and in their journey they saw a Shepheard in the field weeping. One of them pittying him, could not but ask him, why he wept? At first he seemed loth to tell him, but being urged, he told him, that upon the beholding that Toad, which was before him, he considered, that he had never praised God, as he ought, for making him such an excellent Creature as a man: that he had not made him such a deformed Creature as that Toad. Upon hearing whereof the Cardinal was much affected, considering how he had received greater mercies than this poor man, and yet had not returned unto God that praise which was due unto him. And will not this poor man rise up in judgement against many of us? yea have not the best of us cause to be greatly humbled before the Lord, who do not so affectionately remember the grace of God in making us Christians, as that poor Shepherd did, in making him a man. O friend prove thy self to be born again, and then go thy way rejoycing, leaping, and praising God.
III. Hath God by his Spirit Regenerated, and made thee his Child, then walk worthy of this special mercy and dignity, This worthy walking is much pressed in Scripture, as Col. 1.10. walk worthy of the Lord. And Eph. 4.1. walk worthy of the Vocation wherewith y… are called. In these and other-like places the word worthy importeth no matter of m…rit, or condignity, but only a meer meetness, and congruity, or answerableness. The Greek word translated worthy, foreignis in other places turned meet, or as becometh, as Rom. 16.2. Phil. 1.27. And where Iohn Baptist saith, Bring forth fruits worthy of repentance, foreignour new Translations turn it, meet for repentance. So that the meaning of the foresaid duty is, that ye carry your selves in some measure suitable and answerable to your new birth and high dignity. To which agreeth that of the Apostle Peter, 1 Pet. 2.9.Ye are a chosen generation, a peculiar people, that ye should shew forth the praises of him, who hath called you out of darkness into his marv…ilous light. As the Regenerate are more excellent in their state and relation than the carnal and unregenerate: so …ought they to be singular and exemplary in their lives and conversations.
This Christ requireth of every true Christian: for, saith he,Mat. 5.47. speaking to his Disciples, What do ye more than others? As if he had said, you who will approve your selves to be sincere Christians, and the true Disciples of Jesus Christ, must be of a more holy, and heavenly frame, of an higher strain than the rest of men:Phil. 2.15. you must be singular, and shine as lights in the midst of a sinfull, and crooked generation, by living exemplary, and convincing lives; that it may be said of you,Job 1.8. what God said of Iob, There was none like him in all the earth, as for wealth, so for piety, he being by many degrees the highest for grace in his age.
Hath God shined upon your souls by his grace, let your light so shine before men, Mat. 5.16.that they may see your good works, and glorifie your Father which is in Heaven.
The more to quicken you up to a singular and exemplary life, to a life above the rate of carnal and unregenerate men,
I. Consider thy high birth and noble parentage. For being born of the Spirit, thou art thereby made partaker of the divine nature, and art become a Child of God, a member of Christ, and hast blood royal running in thy veins. Thy life ought to be suitable to thy birth, and breeding, aspiring after higher things, than worldly men do, or can do: and avoiding those base and filthy actions wherein carnal men take their chief delight. For know that thy sins go nearer the heart of God, and provoke him more, than the sins of other men.foreign And thou my Son Brutus, art thou one of them? said Iulius Caesar to his Son, when he saw him to be amongst them, that murthered him: that went deeper to his heart than the swords of all his enemies did, or could. In like manner the sins of Gods Children are greater in his sight, and do more grieve him, than the sins of other men.
II. Consider thine high and holy calling. Thou art called out of darkness into light: out of the Kingdom of Satan into the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus. Shall there be no difference betwixt the Children of the Kingdom, and the Children of the wicked one? betwixt Gods servants, and the Devils slaves? Art thou one of the called of God, oh how doth it concern thee to follow the counsel of the Apostle to the Ephesians, namely to walk worthy of the Vocation wherewith thou art called, that is, suitable to the dignity and purity of it?
Phil. 3.14.1. Thy calling is an high calling. And therefore as men called to high places, carry themselves answerably thereunto. In like manner thou being called to be a Christian, it is thy duty (that thou maist not disgrace thy holy profession, and that worthy name by which thou art called) to carry thy self becomingly, and suitably to it, by hating every sin, labouring daily in the mortifying every lust and corruption, keeping thy self unspotted of the World.
2 Tim. 1.9.2. Thy calling is an holy calling: the end thereof is holiness,1 Thes. 4.7. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. Now an holy calling ought to be accompanied with an holy life and conversation. Being called from darkness to light, from sinfulness to holiness, from the flesh to the Spirit, from Satan to God, is it not most meet thou shouldst cast off the unfruitfull works of darkness, and walk as a Child of light? That thou shouldst no more give thy members as Servants unto sin, but as Servants unto righteousness? That thou shouldst no more fulfill the Lusts of the flesh, but walk in the Spirit, after the motions thereof? This is to walk worthy of the vocation whereunto thou art called.
III. Consider the many great and singular priviledges God hath vouchsafed unto you. Being raised above the condition of other men, it beseemeth not you to act as the men of the World, but to live above their rate, to be more Holy and Heavenly in your conversation, more zealous for God, more fervent in the performance of holy and religious duties. The Lord expects greater matters, and other manner of Service from you than from other men, for he hath done more for you, and bestowed more on you, than upon all the World besides. When you call to mind your priviledges, reason thus with your selves: Hath God made us partakers of such and such special mercies, and singular priviledges,2 Pet. 3.11. Oh then what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and Godliness! How ought we to walk worthy such singular priviledges, by singularity of actions! doing some singular things for God who hath dealt so singularly well for us. As God hath abounded to us in his choicest mercies, so he expects we should be abundant in singular duties.