The Door of Salvation Opened by the Key of Regeneration, Treatise · Subject 5
The fifth ſubject of Conſideration, The Equity of Regeneration or living to God.
FIfthly, Conſider the Equity and reaſonableneſs of that which God requireth of thee. I ſhall now appeal to thine own conſcience whether there be not all the reaſon in the world, that thy main work night and day ſhould be to pleaſe and glorifie the Lord; if all come from him, ſhould not the honor of all be given to him? if he be infinite in wiſdom, ſhould he not in all his providences be adored? if he be infinitely faithful, ſhould he not in all his promiſes be beleived? if he be the firſt cauſe, ſhould he not in all his precepts be obeyed? if he be infinitely holy, ſhould he not in all our approaches to him be reverenced? if he be infinitely juſt and powerful, ſhould he not in all his threatnings be feared? if he be infinitely gracious and perfect, ſhould he not be heartily loved?
Religion is the higheſt reaſon, therefore converſion is called conviction, Joh. 16.10. When a mans mouth is ſtopped, and his mind fully ſatisfied of the reaſon of living to God, that he hath nothing to object againſt … then he is convinced. Rom 12.1The offering up… thy ſoul and body unto God as a living ſacrifice, is called rational or reaſonable ſervice.
I ſhall offer thee three or four Queſtions, and I do verily beleive that if thou ſeriouſly conſider them, thou canſt not but be convinced, that there is all the reaſon in the world that thou ſhouldſt preſently turn from ſin unto God.
Firſt, Is there not all the reaſon in the world, that the work ſhould be for the ſervice and honor of the workman? that he who planted the vineyard, ſhould eat of the fruit of it? that he who made thee, ſhould be ſerved by thee? he who oweth the ground and buildeth an houſe, may rationally expect the benefit and uſe of it; may not God thy Landlord who hath reared and ſet up thine earthly Tabernacle, appoint what conditions he pleaſeth in the Leaſe which he granteth thee, how his own houſe ſhould be imployed, not to ſuch and ſuch ſordid ſinful uſes, but to the ſervice and glory of his Majeſty? is it rational that Gods houſe ſhould be imployed to the Devils uſe?
Thy creation is ſuch a tie to ſubjection that thou canſt never anſwer it; Pſ. 100.22.Serve the Lord with gladneſs; he hath made us, and not we ourſelves; Davids prayer is to this purpoſe, Thine hands have made me and faſhioned me, O give me underſtanding that I may keep thy commandments, Pſa. 119.77. and 95.6. Iſa. 43.7. Let thy conſcience be judge, wouldſt not thou eſteem it injuſtice for another to have the honor and uſe of thy works, or of thine houſe? the Law which is built upon reaſon, gives thee the ſervice of thine own goods, houſes and lands; and why ſhall not God have thy ſervice? with what face canſt thou deny him that ſowed, liberty to reap?
Secondly, Is there not all the reaſon in the world, that he who lives wholly at anothers coſt and charge, that is fed, cloathed, preſerved night and day, protected at home and abroad, ſupplied with all neceſſaries, relieved in all his exigencies, delivered in all his extremities by another, ſhould live wholly to him and do him ſervice?
Doſt thou not know that thy being, and all thy comforts depend on God every moment? that every bit of bread, every breath of air, every hours ſleep, nay every minutes abode on this ſide hell is altogether from his bounty and mercy; that thou canſt not ſpeak a word, nor think a thought, nor lift an hand, nor ſtir a foot, nor open thine eyes to ſee, or thy mouth to eat or drink without him? Tis his viſitation that preſerveth thy ſpirit. Job 10.12. In him thou liveſt, moveſt, and haſt thy being; He is thy ſhield to defend thee from evil, many miſchiefs would daily befal thee; men would kill thee, devils would drag thee to hell (O how they long for thee, and how ready they are to ſeiſe thee!) did not the Lord curb and reſtrain them. Alexander told his Souldiers, I wake that ye may ſleep; Sure I am, he that preſerveth thee never ſtumbereth nor ſleepeth; The Lord is the Captain of thy Life-guard, to protect thee, and thy Sun to refreſh thee, and therefore doſt thou not owe him the glory of thoſe mercies, which his free grace beſtoweth on thee! Thou doſt a little under God, for the feeding and cloathing of thy children and ſervants, and therefore thinkeſt that no duty, no ſervice, is great enough for thee. O how infinitely art thou bound to God for all thy time, health, ſtrength, food, raiment, houſe, friend, and every good thing that thou enjoyeſt! and yet may not God look that thou ſhouldſt make it thy buſineſs, to ſerve, pleaſe and glorifie him! Twas a good vow of holy Jacob, If the Lord will be with me, and keep me in the way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, ſo that I come again to my fathers houſe in peace, then ſhall the Lord be my God. Gen. 28.20, 21. Truly do thou ſay as he did, Since the Lord is the God, that keepeth me in all my wayes, that gives me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, he ſhall be my God. O do not give him ever cauſe to complain, Hear O heaven, and give ear O earth, I have nouriſhed, and brought up a child, and he hath rebelled againſt me, Deut. 32.15.
Thirdly, Is there not all the reaſon in the world, that wares, or houſes, or any other thing ſhould be for the uſe, and ſervice of him that paid a dear price for them! If thou ſhouldſt buy a beaſt at an high rate, thou wouldſt think thou couldſt never have ſervice enough of him. Friend, Thou didſt coſt the blood of the Son God, Jeſus Chriſt bought thy ſervice at a dear rate. Thou art not thine own, thou art bought with a price; therefore glorifie God in thy body and ſpirit, for they are his, 1 Cor. 6.20. Thou needſt not grudge the Lord Jeſus thy time, and talents, thy thoughts, and words, and eſtate, and the utmoſt which thou art able to do. Alas he paid dearly for it, He died that he might be Lord of dead and living, that whether we live we ſhould live unto the Lord, or die, we ſhould die unto him. Rom. 14…, 8. O how little is thy ſervice worth, that Chriſt ſhould purchaſe it with ſuch an infinite ſum!
We ſay of ſome children, they had need to be dutiful children, they coſt their mothers dear; many ſharp throws, and great danger of death. O how dutiful hadſt thou need to be, who didſt coſt Chriſt ſuch hard labour, ſuch throws from God, and men, death and divels! thou art never able to conceive what a price thy Redeemer paid, what pain he ſuffered to procure thy ſervice, and wilt thou deny the Lord that bought thee? Plinie ſaith that blood will quench fire; ſhould not the blood of Jeſus Chriſt quench the fire of thy luſts? In all countries, the ranſomer of a bondman is to be his Lord; no ſlavery ſo great as thine was, no price ever paid ſo great for liberty; therefore no ſervice ſo great as that which thou oweſt. If thou hadſt done all that he commandeth thee, thou hadſt done but thy duty, and mightſt ſay thou wert an unprofitable ſervant; what art thou then that never didſt any thing? O think of it ſeriouſly; Redemption by the blood of the Saviour, is a bloody obligation to ſervice, and if thou continueſt a rebel, twill be a bloody aggravation of thy ſin. What evil hath Chriſt done to thee, that thou walkeſt contrary to him? Ah friend, to render good for evil, is divine; but to render evil for good, is diveliſh.
Fourthly, Is there not all the reaſon in the world, that he who hath bound himſelf Apprentice to a Maſter, promiſed ſolemnly to be his faithful ſervant, ſealed Indentures before witneſs, engaged himſelf by vows, covenants, proteſtations and oaths, ſhould perform his promiſes, and walk in every thing anſwerable to his bonds and obligations? Waſt not thou in Baptiſm ſolemnly dedicated to the ſervice of God? Did not thy parents ſeal the Indenture on thy part before the Lord, Angels, and Men, that thou ſhouldſt live according to the Laws, and for the glory of the Father, Son, and Holy-Ghoſt? Haſt not thou liſted thy ſelf under the colours of Chriſt the Captain of thy Salvation, and ſacredly tied thy ſelf to obey his commands, and to fight under his banner againſt the devil, world, and fleſh? and wilt thou run from thy colours, and turn to thine enemies, and conſpire and fight againſt Jeſus Chriſt? It was a cuſtom in the Primitive times, that ſuch as were baptized, did wear a white Stole (a ceremony ſignifying the purity of life which the baptized were to lead) Now there was one Elpidophorus, Fulgentes animas veſt…s quoque candida ſignat.who after his baptiſm turned a perſecutor; Muritta the Miniſter who baptized him, brought forth in publick the white Stole which Elpidophorus had worn at his baptiſm, and cried unto him, O Elpidophorus! This Stole do I keep againſt thy comming to Judgement, to teſtifie thy apoſtacy from Chriſt. So be thou aſſured, the water with which, the Miniſter by whom, the people before whom thou waſt baptized, will riſe up againſt thee in Judgement, if thou doſt not walk in newneſs of life. Luther ſpeak of one, that when tempted by the devil to ſin, anſwered, that ſhe was baptized, and could not yield to him. Remember that thou haſt received thy Saviours preſs-money, and therefore mayſt not fight Satans battels. Waſt thou never partaker of the Lords Supper? Didſt thou not then with John ſtand by the croſs of Jeſus Chriſt, and behold his bleſſed body bleeding under the knife of his Fathers wrath? how 'twas wounded for thy tranſgreſſions, bruiſed for thine iniquities, when thou didſt take a ſacred oath to be the death of thoſe ſins, which were the death of thy Saviour, and to live to him that died for thee; when thou didſt eſpouſe Chriſt and his quarrel to thy ſelf, and engage to live and die with him; and canſt thou like a diſhoneſt wife, run a whoring after thy heart-idols, and forget the Covenant of thy God?
Was there not a time when thou didſt lie upon a ſick bed, and in thine own apprehenſion waſt nigh the gate of death? when thy ſinful fleſhly life began to flie in thy face; and O the thoughts which thou hadſt concerning thine appearance before God in the other world, and thine endleſs eſtate there when thou didſt pray hard, O ſpare me a little, Lord, ſpare me a little, that I may get ſome grace, ſome ſpiritual ſtrength before I go hence and be no more ſeen: when thou didſt promiſe, O if God would then hear thee, and try thee a little longer in this world, thou wouldſt turn over a new leafe, lead a new life, forbear thy former corruptions & evil companions, mind the ſervice and glory of the infinite God, and thine own eternal good? And is all this nothing, now God hath heard thee, and delivered thee, ſhouldſt not thou now hear him, and obey him? Did thy ſik-bed promiſes die when thou didſt recover? Pſal. 66 13, 14. & 116. 3, 4, 9.O follow Davids practice, I will go into thy houſe with burntofferings: I will pay thee my vows which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath ſpoken when I was in diſtreſs.
Theodoricus Archbiſhop of Colen, Aen…d. Sylv lib 2. com. de reb. Alphon.when the Emperor Sigiſmund demanded of him the moſt compendious way to happineſs, made anſwer, in brief, thus, Perform when thou art well, what thou didſt promiſe when thou waſt ſick. Friend, look back upon the time when the guilt of thy ſins perplexed thee, the fear of death ſurpriſed thee, and the horror of Hell began to lay hold on thee, and remember the promiſes which then thou didſt make; and as ever thou wouldſt have God truſt thee again, be true to thy word; be not as the marble, watry and moiſt in ſuch ſtormy weather, and yet ſtill retain thine hardneſs.
Theſe are I ſuppoſe, rational queſtions; and ſurely thou canſt not but be ſatisfied of the equity in them. Well, art thou reſolved to the obey the counſel of God, and to live like a rational creature? Surely, here is a threefold, nay, a fourfold cord, which is not eaſily broken. Canſt thou ſlip thoſe oaths as eaſily as Monkies do their collars and break theſe bands in ſunder, as Sampſon did his cords? O conſider that man was poſſeſſed with a devil, whom no cords could hold; and without queſtion thou art alſo, if ſuch bonds, oaths, obligations as theſe are, cannot hold thee, do not draw thee to the Lord, and binde thee to his commandments.
To end this firſt help to holineſs, which is ſerious conſideration, I muſt requeſt thee to read it again, and weigh the particulars which I have offered to thee. If thou wilt ever be taken, I ſhould think that one of theſe baits ſhould catch thee; either that the neceſſity of Regeneration ſhould drive thee, or the felicity of the regenerate draw thee, or the miſery of the unregenerate affright thee, or the equity of regeneration perſwade thee unto holineſs. Here are all ſorts of arguments imaginable; if thou art ingenuous, here is love and mercy to melt thee; if thou art ſtubborn, here is endleſs and eaſeleſs miſery to move thee; if thou art for the beſt things, here is excellency for to allure thee; if thou art rational, here is equity to prevail with thee.
Friend, what ſhall I ſay to thee? or wherewith ſhall I overcome thee? Hath not the world conquered thee with arguments which had not the thouſandth part of that weight which the leaſt of theſe hath? and ſhall not thy Maker, Preſerver, Redeemer, prevail with thee by ſetting before thee, the horror of hell, the happineſs of heaven, the beauty of his image, the reaſonableneſs of his ſervice, and the indiſpenſable neceſſity of thy being his ſervant? Is it poſſible that thy ſoul, ſo cloſely beſieged round about, with fear, and fury, and fire on the one ſide; with favour, and love, and life on the other ſide, ſhould not ſurrender unto Chriſt? What objection canſt thou have which here is not anſwered? What good canſt thou deſire, which here is not offered? and why wilt thou not yield?
It is thy priviledge that thou art a ſubject capable of Gods image: It was mans primitive purity, Gen. 1.26. oh. 3.6. Gen 6.9. Col. 3.10. Pſa. 17. ult.that he was adorned with the image of his Maker; (Ah, what a glorious ſhining piece was he when he came newly out of Gods Mint!) it is mans unſpeakable miſery that he hath loſt Gods image; his recovery here conſiſteth in having Gods image imprinted on him in part; and his felicity and pefection hereafter, in having this image ſtamped on him fully and compleatly. And canſt thou then be unwilling to be made like unto the bleſſed God? Surely, ſin hath bound thee ſtrongly, and Satan poſſeſſed thee ſtrangely, if none of theſe things overcome thee. Friend, Art thou not deſirous to fare well in the other world? then ponder theſe Subjects of conſideration ſeriouſly and frequently, when thou lieſt down, and when thou riſeſt up; when thou goeſt out, and when thou comeſt in; thou little thinkeſt what ſuch ſerious frequent thoughts may produce. Whilſt David was muſing, a fire was kindled within in him, Pſal. 39. Conſider what I have ſaid, and the Lord give thee underſtanding in all things.