Of EieUien. ~ in this Difpofttion of Nature a\fo: There fuou\d therefore be a correfpondent BooK V, proportion found in Grace: And look what Nobility would work m Men ~ fprung from Noble Parents, to do beyond others in a Natural way, that let this Royal Priviledge draw from your Spirits in a Spiruu2l way, Be you unto God above others, a Royal Generation , or Kinred , as P•trr fpealiS, I Ptt. 2, 9· and like 'Davids worthies , excelling all his other Soldiers. Reckon your felves to be the Patruij, the Nobles of thi5 King– dom, and behave your felves accordingly. And confider, that your En– gagements aro double, to thofe of other Men: Even as Couniers reckon themfclves to be doubly _the Servants of the King; not as his Subjects on– ly, but as belonging to his Family, in a more proper way: So are you doubly become the Serv.ants of God; and therefore {hould do him double Service.. Thus David having a Godly M?rher reckoned tbat as a fpecial Obligauon btndwg h1m to ferve God. So 'Pjat. 116, 16, Truly Lord I am thy Snvant, I am Ihy Servmtl : he fpeaks it twice, as acknowledging a double Obligation : And what thofe Tyes were, follows; the one Perfonal, Tholl haft !oojedmy Bo11ds; (given me my Life) the other relating to his Parents, I am the Sou if thy Flandmaid. It was the Law , that the Sons of Bondwomen fhould be Servants by Birth ; fo Jjbmaet being begot– ten on a Handmaid, a Bond-woman, was a Bond-Man by Birth ; Gene f. 21. 10, So Exod. t._t. 4• The Law is, that the Children which. a Bond– woman bears be her Mallers: So now doth God challenge a fpecial pro– priety in you. You are doubly his Serrants : Servants in that he bath faved you, loofed your Bands; and Servants in that yr.u arc born to him in his Houfe, and are the Children of his Servants•. You have therefore a double Tie to do double work to what others do: And you fhall have double Wages, and be Bmjami1u. _ Vft 3· This Doctrine may ferve as an Encouragement and Diredion ' alfo, to the Children of Godly Parents, and be exceeding helpful to thelll in their Believing, and coming to Chrill; both at their firft converfion, and afterwards in Temptations. It may ferve to eafe them of much of the difficulty of the work of Believing; and may make that hard labour and travail more gentle, and prevent man-y of thofe Throws which others groan under. To clear which , I will firll fhew , what ingrediency it cught not to have, and what furtherance you are to deny to receive from it-; which a carnal, prefumptuous heart may be apt to do: . And Second– ly , what right and lawful ufe you may make of this Priviledge , and in what llead it may lland you io Believing. '·· You are not to ma](e it a Founnation of your Faith, either bf coming to Chrifi,or beli, ving Chrifi is yours,as the c~rnal_'Trws dtd:[we have/16raham_lo our Fath<r ]Job.8. 39.and therefore have God toour Father,as v~rj 31.For whtlft you have not the Faith and works of /16raham, you have the Devil to your Fa– ther;ver-44·That was the anfwer to them then, ond will beChrifts Anlwer un– to them at the Latter DJy. And if there be any Priviledge, it will be this; that thou remaining Unregenerate, llralt even be d•mned firf/; So Rom, 2. 9- Tribttlation and r111g11ijb /o every Sotd that doth evit, to the _7ew (irf/, a11d a!Jo to the Gmttlt: To the Children of godly Parents firj/, and then unto others of Mankind. Do ycu fiand with me upon your Birth? fays God to the Carnal Jews, Ezek. t6. 3• Thy birth u of thr Land of Canaan: that is, •tis all one to me, as if thou hadft been of the lnhrzbi– tmzts of the Land, that were accurfed, The Seed of Cmzaan, and as if thy F.1ther wrre a11 Amorite, cJ1ld tby Mothrr mJ Hittite. Your Spirits therefore mull be emptied of all fuch Carnal props, as grounds of Belie– ving to build your Fatth upon; and you mull be brought nakedly to clofe with Oods Free Grace alone; and fee God to put forth as free an Act of his Grace, and to be as much at liberty in faving you, or refuli'ng you, as in faving any one tlut is an /1/im from God, ncvef fo mu€h a StraHgtr
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=