Row.l.r. ---..,.----An holy P aneg)ri~4: _ _ _ with oformall flouri!h of that, \1 hich our heart teis us we arer.ot, ifwe fcarerl him? 1 A Dmft we beChriflians or Church, Mammonifis at home, ifwe fear<d him? Pardon me, ifin aday ofgrarulation I hardly temper my ton~ue fn;>m reproofe: fo~ as the J ewes had ever Come malefallor brought lorth to themmthmgreat featl: (o rrlhall be the happiefi pcece ofour triumph and folernnity,ifwe can bring forth that wicked profonmdfe,wherewirb we have difhonoured God, and bl<mifilt hisGr,fpell, to be fcourged and difmifled with all holy indignity. From this fearc,let us p•ffe as bri<fly, throegh ;hat which wemufi dwell in all our lives; the fervicc ofGod. This is the fubjell ofall Sermons, mine fhall bur touch at it. You fhallfee how I ha(\en to that difcourfe which this day and your expeClarion callsme ro. Divine Phi!ofophy teachesus toreferre~notonly our fpecularions,but our affcllions ro at:lion.As therefore our fervice mutl: be grounded upon fiare,(o our fcaremu(\ be reduced to fervicr. What ftrength can thefemafculin difpoGrions ofthe foul yeeld B us,ifwith the I fraelit<s brood they be (mothered in the birth? Indeed theworl! kind ofjw·e,isthatwecall fcrvile: bur the beftfiare,is thef earecffcrvanrs: For there isno fervantofGod, butfearesfilially. And againe, God hath no fonne bur he ferves. Even the natural! fonne ofCod,was (o in the forme ofa fervant,rhat he ferved indeed; and (o did heferve,that he endured all forrow,and fulfilled all righteoufn~s.So every Chri(\ian is a (on and heireto the King ofheaven,and his word muCl be,J fe•ve. We all know what fervicemeans. Forweall are,or were(l imagine) either fervantsof ma(lers, or krvanrsofthe publike, ormafl:ers offervams, or all thefe. We cannot therefore be ignorant eitherwhat we require oTours, or what ourfuperiours require ofus. Iffcrvice conGCled onely in wearing ofliveries, in takin~~: ofwages, in making ofcurreGes, and killing ofhands, there were nothing more ea(ie, or more common. Allofus wear the cognizance ofour Chriftianiry inour Baptifme,allliveupon Gods C rrencher inourmainrena11ce, all give him the complementsofa fafhionable profefGon. But, be not deceived, the life of ferviceiswork; thework ofaChrifiian is obedience to the LawofGod.The Cenrurion,when hewould defcribe his good fervanr in the Go(pell, reeded fay nomore but rhis; I bid himdoe this, and hedoth it. Service then briefly is nothing but a readinefle to doe as we are bidden;and thereforr both salomon, and he that was greater than Sakmo~, defcrbes it by keeping the corn· mandements: and the chofen veffell gives an everlafting rule: Hk fervAnll 7eare to rrhom ytoheJ.Now I might diflinguith this fervice,into habiruall & 2crual!. Habituall; for as rhefervant,while he eats or flcep,·s,is in fer vice ftill; fo are we toGod. ACluall, whether univerfall in the whole cariage ofour lives(which Zach~rie tels us is in holi neffe,and righteoufneffe; holineffe to God, righteoufireffe tomen) or particular, either in the dutieswhich are proper to God,Invo:ation and Attendance on hisor- D dinance (which by an excellence is termed his fervice) or in thofe which are proper to us, aswe arepeei:esofa Family, Church, Common-wealth; the ftarions where· ofGod bath fo difpofed, that wemay [erve him in ferving oneanother. And thus you fee l mip.ht make way for an endleffe difcourfe; but it fhall content mee (paffing over this world ofmatter) to glance onelyat the generality cifthis infinite theme. As every obedience ferves God,fo every Gn makes God ferve us: One faid wittily, rhattheangry man made himfelfthe Judge,andGod the execorioner. There isno fin that dorh not the like. The glutton makes God his eator, and himfdfethe guell, and his belly hisGod, efpecially in the new-found feafts ofthisAge, wherein pro· fufeneffe and'profanenefl'e firive for the tables end. The lafciviousman makes him· LuJ. P'i•" "' felfe the lover, and (as F'IVeJ faies of M•homet )God thePander. Thecovetous man E w,;,. ••~<!J+ makeshimfelfe theUfurer,and God the Broker. The ambitiousmakesGod kis Clale, ' f'1·+J· •+ and honour his God. Ofevery Goner do~od fay ju(lly, Servire me ficijli; ThoH h•fl made meto Jervt with th1fm. Trere cannot be agreaterhonor for us than to fervefuch a mafler, as commands heaven, earth, and hell : whom ir is both difhonour and N"'"l"u"' bafenefl'e not to ferve. The highe(l ftile rhat King D4vid could devife to give himfelf ., ~;;;;:n:{td (not in the phrafe ofa frivolous French complement, but in rhe plaine fpcech ofa "'"'"''"'·" ' ·-· trueIfraelite )was,Bthold I am lhJ f<TV4111;and he that is Lordofmany fcrvanrsofrhe I ta,q~~td ;pftd'¥: Devill,
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