Counsel to the Afflicted, Question 3 · Section 9 – Section 10
SECT. 9.
9. Render your ſelves to God by way of gratitude for his ſparing of you from this ſore judgment which hath fallen ſo heavily upon others. Your Houſes and Eſtates are too little to give unto God for this mercy; and therefore you ſhall do well to give your ſelves, both body and ſoul, all that you have and are, unto the Lord. When David was debating the caſe with himſelf, what he ſhould render to the Lord for his benefits, he reſolves to give himſelf to God, to be his ſervant, and that not only in profeſſion, but indeed and in truth, Pſal. 116.12,16. What ſhall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me? Oh Lord, truly I am thy ſervant, I am thy ſervant,—2 Chron. 30.8. Be ye not ſtiff-necked,—but yield your ſelves unto the Lord,—2 Cor. 8.5. But firſt gave their own ſelves to the Lord. What the Apoſtle ſaid to the Corinthians, 2 Cor. 12.14. I ſeek not yours, but you: The like may be ſaid of God, He doth not ſeek ours, but us; he is more pleaſed when we give him our ſelves, than with any other gift that we have to give him. As a Chriſtian looketh upon it as the greateſt favour that God can beſtow upon him, for God to give himſelf to him; he prizeth none of Gods gifts ſo much as the gift of himſelf: ſo it is with God, he eſteemeth a mans giving up himſelf to God, above all the gifts that he can give to God. Let therefore the mercies which God hath given you, prevail with you to give your ſelves, your whole ſelves, both body and ſoul unto God. 1. Let Gods mercies prevail with you to give God your bodies, Rom. 12.1. I beſeech you therefore, Brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye preſent your bodies a living ſacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reaſonable ſervice. It may be ſome will ſay, What? Doth God care for our bodies? Will that be an acceptable gift to God? The Apoſtle aſſureth us it will be an acceptable preſent, when they are preſerved holy, preſent your bodies, holy, acceptable unto God. And he telleth us elſewhere, that the Lord is deſirous of our bodies as well as of our ſouls, 1 Cor. 6.13. The body is—for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. Now then we give God our bodies, when we keep our bodies in ſubjection to the will of God, when we rule and govern all the members of our bodies by the Word of God, when we are content to do or ſuffer any thing in our bodies for the ſake of God, that God and Chriſt may be magnified in our bodies, Phil. 1.20. when we do not ſuffer ſin to reign in our bodies, neither do yield the members of our bodies as inſtruments of unrighteouſneſs to ſin, but do readily yield up all the members of our bodies as inſtruments of righteouſneſs to do the will of God; this is to give God our bodies. And this is that which the Apoſtle calls for, Rom. 6.12,13. Let not ſin reign in your mortal body, that ye ſhould obey it in the luſts thereof; neither yield ye your members as inſtruments of unrighteouſneſs unto ſin; but yield your ſelves unto God, as thoſe that are above from the dead, and your members as inſtruments of righteouſneſs unto God. 2. Give God your ſouls as well as your bodies, otherwiſe you do not preſent your bodies to God a living ſacrifice, according to the forementioned exhortation, Rom. 12.1. for, The body without the ſpirit is dead, Jam. 2.26. And if the body be a dead carcaſe without the ſpirit, then we cannot preſent our bodies a living ſacrifice unto God, unleſs we give him our ſouls together with our bodies. The ſoul is that which God deſires above all things, Prov. 23.26. My ſon, give me thine heart.—Matth. 22.37,38. Thou ſhalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy ſoul, and with all thy mind; this is the firſt and great Commandement. And why ſhould any of us ſtick at this, the giving our ſelves both body and ſoul unto God, ſeeing it is our reaſonable ſervice? Let me ſhew you the equity of what I am exhorting you unto, that ſo ſuch of you as have received great mercies from God, may be perſwaded by way of gratitude, to give your ſelves the more cheerfully both body and ſoul unto the Lord.
1. Our bodies and ſouls are not our own, but the Lords; and ſhall we refuſe to give God his own? Shall we be backward to glorifie God with that which is his own? 1 Cor. 6.19,20.—Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price; therefore glorifie God in your body and in your ſpirit, which are Gods. God did not make either our bodies or our ſouls for the ſervice of ſin or Satan, but for himſelf, 1 Cor. 6.13.—Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord,—Prov. 16.4. The Lord hath made all things for himſelf. Rev. 4.11. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour, and power; for thou haſt created all things, and for thy pleaſure they are and were created. Now ſeeing our bodies and ſouls were created for Gods pleaſure; Is it not meet they ſhould be yielded up unto God?
2. The Lord Jeſus gave himſelf both body and ſoul for us. He yielded his body to be crucified for us, which was both a ſhameful and a painful death, 1 Cor. 11.24. This is my body which was broken for you,—1 Pet. 2.24. Who his own ſelf bare our ſins in his own body on the Tree, that we being dead unto ſin, ſhould live unto righteouſneſs; by whoſe ſtripes ye were healed. Iſa. 50.6. I gave my back to the ſmiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked of the hair; I hid not my face from ſhame and ſpitting. Why ſhould we refuſe to give our bodies to be burned, impriſoned, baniſhed, tortured, or to ſuffer any affliction for the ſake of Chriſt, ſeeing he gave his body to ſuffer ſuch a ſhameful and painful death for us? The Lord Jeſus did not only give his body, but his ſoul alſo an offering for our ſins, Iſa. 53.10. It pleaſed the Lord to bruiſe him, he hath put him to grief, when thou ſhalt make his ſoul an offering for ſin, he ſhall ſee his ſeed,—Shall we ſtick at giving our ſouls to Chriſt, when he did not ſtick at making his ſoul an offering for our ſins?
3. It will be much for the advantage both of our bodies and ſouls to give them unto God; for he will ſanctifie them, and make them his Temple, and come and dwell in them, 1 Cor. 3.16. Know ye not that ye are the Temple of God, and that the ſpirit of God dwelleth in you? 2 Cor. 6.16. Ye are the Temple of the living God, as God hath ſaid, I will dwell in them, and walk in them.—Now, who are they to whom the Apoſtle ſpeaks, when he ſaith, Ye are the Temple of the living God, &c. They were ſuch as had given themſelves to God, as you may ſee, Chap. 8.5. But firſt gave their own ſelves to the Lord,—What greater honour or happineſs are our ſouls and bodies capable of, whilſt they are in this world, than to become Temples of the living God? But beſides this, if we give our bodies and ſouls unto God, he will glorifie both our bodies and ſouls in an unexpreſſible manner in the Kingdom of Heaven to all eternity. The Sun is a glorious creature, it dazleth our eyes to behold it; God will give his Saints in Heaven a glory equal to the brightneſs of the Sun, Matth. 13.43. Then ſhall the righteous ſhine forth as the Sun, in the Kingdom of their Father: yea, they ſhall excel the Sun in glory, for they ſhall be equal to the Angels, and the Angels are far more glorious ceatures than the Sun, Luk. 20.36. Neither can they dye any more; for they are equal unto the Angels, and are the Children of God, being the Children of the Reſurrection: yea, they ſhall be made like to Chriſt, their bodies ſhall be made like to his glorious body, Phil. 3.21. Who ſhall change our vile body, that it may be faſhioned like unto his glorious body,—and their ſouls ſhall be made like to his glorious ſoul, 1 Joh. 3.2. —We ſhall be like him, for we ſhall ſee him as he is. We,—that is, not our bodies only, or our ſouls only; but our perſons, both body and ſoul ſhall be like him.
SECT. 10.
10. Render to God the Sacrifices of righteouſneſs. When we have received any eminent mercy from God, he expects that we ſhould offer up unto him the ſacrifice of a righteous and godly life, which will pleaſe him better than all the Sacrifices that were offered up under the Law, Pſal. 4.5. Offer the Sacrifices of Righteouſneſs. Pſal. 51.17,19. The Sacrifices of God are a broken ſpirit, a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not deſpiſe,—Then ſhalt thou be pleaſed with the Sacrifices of righteouſneſs.—When David was wonderfully delivered from the ſnares of death, he determines to offer this Sacrifice to God, namely, to walk humbly and holily before God all the dayes of his life, Pſal. 116.6,7,8. I was brought low, and he helped me: Thou haſt delivered my ſoul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. Then ſee what he renders to God for this mercy; I will walk before the Lord in the Land of the living. I have touched upon this head before, and therefore I ſhall not enlarge farther upon it; only I ſhall add two Scriptures, which do imply, that it is our duty after we have received any eminent deliverances, to labour after a more eminent degree of holineſs than we had before; and are alſo promiſes, that God will ſanctifie our deliverances, for the making of us more holy, Obad. 17. Upon mount Zion ſhall be deliverance, and there ſhall be holineſs. Iſa. 4.2,3. In that day ſhall the Branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the Earth ſhall be excellent and comely for them that are eſcaped of Iſrael. And it ſhall come to paſs, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jeruſalem, ſhall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jeruſalem. In the former Chapter, the Prophet had foretold the ruine of Jeruſalem, and the fall of Judah, Iſa. 2.8. and here he foretells, that a little remnant ſhould eſcape; and promiſeth, that Gods judgments on others, and his mercy in delivering them, ſhould conduce much to the promoting of their holineſs, and cauſe them to prize highly the Lord Jeſus (who is underſtood by the Branch of the Lord, Zach. 3.8.) by whoſe merits and mediation they ſhould obtain their deliverance.