betwixt the Lord and you; that you will neither be boafted nor bribed away from him by the words, the fmiles, the frowns, the reproaches, nor threatenings of the world: Song, viii. 6. 7. “Set me as a feal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm : for love is ftrong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it : If a man would give all the substance of his houfe for love, it would utterly be contemned." Whatever ftorms blow, you are the Lord's, you must not leave him, you must not be offended at his Grofs, but follow the Lamb whitherfoever he goeth, through good report and bad report.-We now proceed, III. To give some reasons, why it is the duty of those who have truly given themselves away to the Lord in his covenant, thus to look on them-felves as his.-They are to do so, 1. Because they are his, in a manner the rest of the world are not. Our Lord has a peculiar title and intereft in all who have honestly entered. into covenant with him, John, xvii. 9. 10. (quoted above; and why should not this be avowed? -They are his, by a new creation: If. xliii. 21. "This people have I. formed for myself; they fhall fhew forth my praife." There is not one foul, which has, in the way of believing, given itfelf to Chrift, but it is made new by the power of regenerating grace. Hence every believer, who receives power to become a fon of God, is faid to be "born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God," John, i. 12. 13. So that the Lord has the fame right to the new creature, which he has to all by their first. creation. Ee 3 creation. Those who are new creatures, are abfolutely his property; what in consequence they are made to be, it is all intended to be for his glory. -Again, they are his by redemption, applied to them. They are bought with a price. Jefus "gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." They were captives to Satan, debtors to the law, and criminals to juftice He has given his life a ransom for them; and thus has bought them to himself. They could contribute nothing to a making up the price, he paid it all; and thus they are, on the beft grounds, his wholly.- Finally, they are his by covenant: Heb. viii. 10. " For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Ifrael, after those days, faith the Lord; I will put my laws into their minds, and write them in their hearts: And I will be to them a God, and they fhall be to me a people." He has offered this covenant to them, they have accepted it; in its nature, it is a marriage-covenant, they are his spouse. They have fubmitted to his royal fceptre, they are his fubjects. They have dedicated themselves to the Lord; they have made a gift of themselves to the Lord. They have thus lifted up their hands to the Lord, and fo cannot draw back, but must in duty confider themselves as his.-They are to do fo; for, 2. The honour of God requires it. Those who are fervants to perfons of high rank, are usually subject to bear the badge of their mafter; and thofe who are the Lord's are in the fame manner bound: Rev. xiv. 1." And I looked, and lo! a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thoufand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads." It is to the dif honour honour of our Lord, when we look on ourselves as our own, or are afhamed of acknowledging ourfelves to be his: This cannot but reflect a difho. nour on him; even as the avouching ourselves to be his tends to his honour before the world.-We fhould do fo; for, 3. Our standing to the covenant requires it: Pfal. cxix. 94. "I am thine, fave me, for I have fought thy precepts." If we do not repent the bargain, but intend to hold by it, we muft of neceffity look on ourselves as his, having given away ourselves to him. If we refuse it, we do in effect retract our confent, recall the gift we have made of ourselves to the Lord, and after vows, make inquiry. We give up with the covenant, and deny our indenting with Jefus Chrift.-We now proceed, IV. To fhew, how it is their intereft to look on themselves as the Lord's. It is fo, Firft, in refpect of fanctification. Secondly, in refpect of confolation. First, In respect of fanctification. If you have given yourselves away to the Lord, you will henceforth look on yourselves as his only, his wholly, and his for ever; and this will be of excellent ufe to promote your fanctification, and fo be a notable mean of real profperity to your fouls.-- As, 1. It will be an antidote against backsliding. The confideration of your being the Lord's will make you say, with Jephthah, "I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back." You will have many temptations to go back to former lufts; both hell's fmiles and frowns will be used for that purpose. And there is a backfliding difpofition in the beft: "My people," fays God, Hof. xi. 7. " are bent to backfliding from me; though they called them to the Moft High, none none at all would exalt him." But O it is dange rous! If any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him," Heb. x. 38. Remember Lot's wife; look on yourfelves as the Lord's. This will be a mean to keep you with him, as the fervant is kept with his mafter, whofe ear was bored, and nailed to his master's door-poft. This will let you fee you may not, you must not go back. 2. It will afford an answer to every temptation. It will make you fay, with Joseph, "How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" Gen. xxxix. 9. As long as you are in the world, you will not want temptations; and there is not a fnare in the world but has fome one friend or other to it in our hearts, fome corruption which is nearly allied to it. And when they meet, it will. be hard to keep the friends from close embraces, unlefs the foul will refolutely fay, I am the Lord's, I am not at my own difpofal; whatever others may do, I cannot comply, for I have given myself away to the Lord, to fight. under his banner, a-gainst the devil, the world, and the flesh. I am married to Christ, and therefore I cannot entertain other lovers. : 3. It will be a fpur to duty, 1 Cor. vi. 19. 20. (quoted already.) If we be the Lord's fervants, we muft ferve him ; if we be married to Christ, wemuft exert ourselves to please our Husband; if planted in the house of God, we must bring forth fruit Mal. i. 6. "A fon honoureth his father, and a fervant his mafter." Our relation to the Lord will make us fee that more is expected and looked for at our hands, than from those who have not entered into his covenant: Matth. v. 48. “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfe&.” 4. It will blow the coal of your zeal for God, and make you of a public fpirit, to devote all you are or have to the promoting of God's honour in the world: Phil. i. 21. “For to me to live is Chrift, and to die is gain." Were the impreffion that we are the Lord's more ftrong on our fpirits, it would excite us effectually to take the part of God more vigorously against an ungodly generation, to ftand up for his honour, his truths, and for the cause of holiness. The fenfe of the obligation of the covenants, by which these lands became the Lord's, wearing off the fpirits of the generation, (though the matter of them, being moral duty, and nationally fworn to, leaves an inviolable obligation on all fucceeding generations), is one great fpring of the lukewarmnefs, the profanity, and backflidings of all ranks of perfons in church and state at this day. And if unto this be added, the weakening of the impreffions of our facramental engagements to be the Lord's, which too evidently appears to take place, we may well fay, What will the generation turn to? Shall men take bonds on them to be the Lord's, and afterwards look on themselves in effect as loofened from them? To this is owing the useleffness of perfons for God, their infignificancy in the world as to any service for God. Some have a tongue which can speak well enough for themselves, but they will not move it in the cause of holiness. Some have authority, credit, and wealth, fomething or other by which they might be useful for God in their families, in their neighbourhood, in their congregation, to fupprefs fin, to encourage piety, to advance Chrift's kingdom, the credit of his word and ordinances; but none of these things are their business. If they had the deep imprefGion of themselves, and all which is theirs, being the |
