XXXIII.

SERM. will keep yours also." And verily, if our Lord Jesus was reproached, afflicted, persecuted, as He was while He lived on earth, it is no wonder if we be so too: for how can we, His servants, expect to fare better in the world, than He our great "Lord and Master" did? And if He, for our sake, underwent all that was laid upon Him, with so much 1 Pet. 2. 23. patience and meekness, that "when He was reviled, He reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not, but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously;" what cause have we patiently to submit to whatsoever God, for His sake, shall see good to lay upon us, without being discomposed in ourselves, or disturbed and vexed at the 2 Tim. 2. 24. instruments of it! How well might the Apostle say, "The servant of the Lord," the Lord Jesus, "must not strive, but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient!" For otherwise he would be far from carrying himself as the servant of such a Lord, and far from doing Him any service; for Rom. 16.18. they "that cause divisions, serve not the Lord Jesus Christ, but their own bellies." Hence also, they who have servants [Eph. 6.9.] under them, remembering that they have so great a Master above them, should learn to be as just and equitable unto their servants, as they desire their Master should be kind and merciful unto them. This is the use which the Apostle makes of this doctrine, saying, "Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in Heaven."

Col. 4. 1.

But that which I would chiefly put you in mind of at present, is the duty which you owe to Christ, as He is your Lord for as such you are certainly bound to carry yourselves towards Him, as becomes His servants in all respects. For, first, is Christ your Lord? Then you must prefer and love Him above all things and persons upon earth; forasmuch as there is no thing, nor person upon earth, that hath so much authority over you, as He hath, nor that expresseth so much love and kindness to you as He doth. It was He [Gal. 2.20.] that "loved you, so as to give Himself for you," on purpose to redeem you to Himself: it was He that "delivered you from the bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the children of God:" it was He that purchased all manner of blessings for you, with the price of His own blood; and

[Rom. 8. 21.]

you.

it is He who conferreth them upon you, and continues them to you so that whatsoever good thing you have, whatsoever blessing or mercy you receive from the hands of God, you are beholden unto Christ for it, and hold it only during the will and pleasure of Him your Lord and Master. For, as God would never have been merciful to you at all, unless Christ had died, so He would not continue any mercy to you, unless Christ your Lord continued to make intercession for What infinite cause then have you to love and value Him above all things, without whom you could have nothing to love or value! Hence it is that our Lord Himself saith, "He that loveth father or mother more than Me, is not Matt.10.37. worthy of Me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me." Whereby He gives us to understand, that he who loves any thing as much, or more than Him, is not worthy to be His servant, or to call Him Lord and therefore we may truly say with the Apostle, "If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be 1Cor.16.22. Anathema, Maran-atha." "But grace shall be with all them Eph. 6. 24. that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity."

23.

Again, is Christ your Lord? What honour and respect then ought you to shew Him upon all occasions! Far more than you do to any creature; yea, the same that you give to the Creator Himself: "For the Father judgeth no man, John 5. 22, but hath committed all judgment to the Son (and so hath made Him Lord of all things) that all should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father." All, not only men, but Angels; for "God hath given Him a Name which is Phil.2.9,10. above every name; that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in Heaven, and things in the earth, and things under the earth." And when He bringeth in the First-begotten into the world, He saith, " And let all Heb. 1. 6. the Angels of God worship Him." And if the Angels themselves worship Him, how much more ought men to do it! especially they who own Him to be their Lord, and profess themselves to be His humble servants, as all here present do! Certainly, whensoever you meet with Him, you ought to shew Him all the respect which is due to so great a Lord, all the while that you are in His presence, as you always are in a special manner, when ye meet together in His name;

XXXIII.

Matt.18.20.

SERM. for He Himself hath said, " Where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there am I in the midst of them." Wherefore, we being here met together in His Name, we may be confident, that He is in the midst of us; more confident than if we saw Him with our eyes: forasmuch as we have His word for it, who cannot lie, nor err, as our senses often do. But is our Lord here present? Is He in the midst of us? How gravely then, how modestly, how humbly, how reverently should we carry ourselves before Him! Let us but remember, that our Lord is with us, wheresoever we meet together in His Name, and we shall need no other [Heb. 12. argument to persuade us to worship Him with reverence and godly fear.

28.]

Moreover, is Christ your Lord? Then ye ought to obey Him, and do whatsoever He commands you. This is no more than what ye expect from your servants, even to do what you bid them; and they are bound by their covenants to do it. How much more are you bound to observe what your Lord and Master, the Sovereign of all the world, requires of you! Besides all other considerations, this very relation you stand in to Him, obligeth you to it; so that it is in vain, it is absurd to pretend that He is your Lord, and yet Luke 6.46. not to obey Him: as He Himself argues, saying, "Why call ye Me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" implying, that they who will not observe His Laws, ought not to call Him Lord: for though they profess He is so with their mouths, in works they deny it, and in effect say, "We will not have this man rule over us."

But I hope better things of you; and that, as ye own Christ to be your Lord, ye are ready to shew it, by doing whatsoever He hath commanded, so soon as it is made known to you. Wherefore, that you may not pretend ignorance, I shall, in His Name and presence, put you in mind of what He would have you all do; and that it may come with the more force upon you, I shall instance only in such things as He Himself was pleased to utter with His own mouth, when He was upon earth. Be it known therefore to you, that Jesus Christ your Lord and Master comMark 1. 15. mands you all "to repent and believe the Gospel;" to John 14. 1. believe in God, and to believe also in Him;" to "love the

Matt.22.37.

34.

Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind;" not to "fear them which kill the body, Matt.10.28. but are not able to kill the soul; but rather to fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell;" "always to pray to God;" and "when ye pray, to say, Our Luke 18.1. Father which art in Heaven," &c. To" seek the Kingdom Luke 11. 2. of God, and His righteousness," in the first place, and "to Matt. 6. 33, take no thought for the morrow;" to "be merciful, as your Luke 6. 36. Father is merciful;" and "perfect, as your Father which is Matt. 5. 48. in Heaven is perfect;" to "beware of false prophets, which Matt. 7. 15. come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves;" to "do unto all men as you would have ver. 12; them to do to you;" to "give alms of such things as ye have, ch. 12. 15. or as much as ye are able;" to "take heed and beware of John 13.34. covetousness;" to "love one another, as He hath loved ch. 15. 12. you;"" to love your enemies, to bless them that curse you, Matt. 5. 44. to do good to them that hate you, to pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you;" to "take His Matt.11.29. yoke upon you, and to learn of Him to be meek and lowly

Luke 11.41.

in heart;" to celebrate the Sacrament which He instituted Luke 22.19. at His Last Supper, in remembrance of Him; to "take Luke 21.34. heed, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and cares of this life." In a word, He commands, "That your light so shine before men, that Matt. 5. 16. they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven." These are the express commandments of the Lord Jesus, and unless you obey Him in such plain and necessary things as these are, you may call Him Lord and Master as often as you please, but He will never own you for His Servants or Disciples, neither have ye any ground to expect Salvation from Him: for though He be the "Author of Eternal Salvation," He is so only to them who Heb. 5. 9; obey Him.

Matt. 7. 21.

Besides that, is Christ our Lord? Then we are His servants; so are all that are called by Him, and own Him to be their Lord; as the Apostle saith, "He that is called in 1 Cor. 7. 22. the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman;" or rather,

is made free by Christ, though not in respect of men, yet in respect of Him, whose service is perfect freedom: "Like

XXXIII.

SERM. wise, he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant." Howsoever free or noble he may be in respect of other men, he is still the servant of the Lord Christ, and is bound to serve Him, and Him only; as the Colossians did, to whom Col. 3. 24. the same Apostle saith, "Ye serve the Lord Christ." God grant, that the same may be truly said of all here present.

1 Cor. 6. 19, 20.

But you will say perhaps, what service can we do for so great a Lord as our Lord is? To that the Apostle answereth in general, where he saith, "Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." God, our Lord and Saviour, hath bought us with a price; and therefore we are not our own, but His, wholly His; both our body and our spirit are His, and we should glorify Him in both. And that is the only way whereby we can serve Him, even by setting forth His honour and glory in the world; which therefore we are bound to do, as much as we can, by confessing Him before men, and owning that He is indeed our Lord and Master; by asserting and vindicating, against all gainsayers, His Divine power and authority over us, and all the world; by waiting upon Him in His House, and at His Holy Table, whensoever He is pleased to call us; by worshipping and adoring Him as our Lord and our God, whensoever we come into His special presence; by celebrating and praising His glory, His power, His goodness, and the wonderful works that He hath done for the sons of men, as we do all along in that Divine hymn, "We praise Thee, O God, we acknowledge Thee to be the Lord:" by putting up all our prayers to God the Father only in His Name, and trusting on Him alone for God's acceptance of them; by comforting His disconsolate, supporting His weak, and relieving His poor members; by reproving such as dishonour His holy Name, and persuading as many as we can to enter into His service, and glorify Him in the world, by observing the rules that He hath set us, and doing all such good works as He hath prepared us to walk in. In a word, as ever we desire to serve the Lord Christ, we must do all we can to shine as lights in