Caryl - Houston-Packer Collection BS1415 .C37 v6

696 Chap. 2 i. An Expo.titian upon the Book of J o a, Verf. t 5. rants? What wages (hall we have, or what preferment can he give us ? as it followeth by and by. To ferve God, or ro be a fervant to God, is a comprehenfive terme, taking in all the dutyof man inholineffe. I andmy houfe ( faith lofhrea,Chap. 2q. j.) will ferve the Lord. And fuch is the refolution of every Godly man ; but againft this the wicked are refolved while we hear them putting the queftion, What is the Almighty that weJhouldferve hint ? As if they b4 laid, he is fuch a Matter (or let him be what he will)that will not fente him.To ferve God is to give him all the duties Both ofnaturali and of infti- tuted worfhip; We ferveGod whilewe love him, while we feare him , while we believe in him, while we truft upon him ; yet all thefe have diftinct and proper refpe&s to God.We truft God is he is faithful!, we believe on him as he is true, we feare him as he is great, we love him as he is good, we fente him as he is fovereigne and Lord of all. Thou 'haltTear the Lord thy Godandhim onlyfhalt thou ferve,(Deut. 6. i 3. ) There is a fer- vicedue from man to man, but comparatively to our fervice of God, we mutt not be the fervants ofmen ( Cor. 7.23.) we ought to ferve men heartily, but we mutt fervenone but God with all our hearts. And if God be not ferved with all, he counts himfelfe not at all ferved. A wicked man may poffibly ferve God with his tongue and hands, with words and out- ward workes, but he never ferveth him with his heart, and molt ufually they edit off the fervice ofhand and tongue, ufing both to his dift rvice.In this large fence ofobferving we may expound this Text, and apply it to the greateft number ofwic- ked men, and in that ftricter fence 'cis true ofthem all a They fay ; What is the e/flmighty that we fhorildferve him ? Hence obferve; Firft, wickedmen have low andHeight thoughts of Cod.T1Oeir mifdome ( the belt that is in them) is b,tt the wifdomeof thefle¡hh, and that, at the bet, is enmity againft Cod(Rom.8. 7.)and can theydoe.otherwife then lightly efteem him, with whom they are at enmity? Theywho knownot the worthand excellency ofa perfon, cannot have high thoughts of him, wicked men one & other,know not God(chat is the definition,which Bildad givech,of them; Chap.aR, ü.) How then cam they duelyprize him

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