Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n
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A44698
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Two sermons preached at Thurlow in Suffolk on those words, Rom. 6.13 \"Yield your selves to God\" / by J.H. ...
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Howe, John, 1630-1705.
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1688
(1688)
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Wing H3044; ESTC R14684
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27,043
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72
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TWO SERMONS Preached at THURLOW IN SUFFOLK On those words Rom. 6. 13. Yield your selves to God By J. H. Minister of the Gospel LONDON Printed for Tho. Parkhurst at the Bible and Three Crowns at the lower end of Cheapside 1688. To the much honoured Bartholomew Soame of Thurlow Esq and Susanna his pious Consort My Worthy Friends I Have at length yielded to your Importunity and do here offer these Sermons to publick view and your own which were one day the last Summer preached under your roof attributing more to your pious design herein than to my own reasons against it I no farther insist upon the incongruity having divers years ago published a small Treatise of Self-dedication now again to send abroad another on the same Subject For the way of Tractation is here very different this may fall into the hands of divers who have never seen the other and however they who have read the other have it in their choice whether they will trouble themselves with this or no. And tho' your purpose which you urged me with of lodging one of these little Books in each family of the hearers might have been answered by so disposing of many a better Book already extant yet you having told me how greatly you observed them to be moved by these plain Discourses considering the peculiar advantage of reading what had been with some acceptance and relish heard before through that greater vigour that accompanies the Ordinance of Preaching to an Assembly than doth usually the solitary first reading of the same thing I was not willing to run the hazard of incurring a guilt by refusing a thing so much desired and which through God's blessing might contribute something tho' in never so low a degree to the saving of mens Souls I could not indeed as I told you undertake to recollect every thing that was spoken according to that latitude and freedom of expression wherewith it was fit to inculcate momentous things to a plain Countrey-Auditory But I have omitted nothing I could call to mind Being little concern'd that the more curious may take notice with dislike how much in a work of this kind I prefer plainness tho' they may call it rudeness of speech before that which goes for wisdom of words or the most laboured Periods May you find an abundant blessing on your Houshold for the sake of the Ark which you have so piously and kindly received And whereas by your means the parts about you have an help for the spreading the Knowledge of God among them added to what they otherwise more statedly enjoy may the blessing of Heaven succeed all sincere endeavours of both sorts to the more general introducing of the new man which is renew'd in knowledge where there is neither Jew nor Greek Circumcision nor Uncircumcision but Christ is all and in all To whose Grace you are with sincere affection and great sense of your kindness earnestly recommended by Your much oblig'd faithful Servant in Christ John Howe These Books Written by the same Author are sold by Thomas Parkhurst at the Bible and Three Crowns in Cheapside 1. THE Blessedness of the Righteous The Vanity of this Mortal Life On Psalm 17. ver 15. and Psalm 89. 47. 2. Of Thoughtfulness for the Morrow with an Appendix concerning the Immoderate Desire of Fore-knowing things to come 3. The Redeemer's Tears wept over lost Souls in a Treatise on Luke 19. 41 42. With an Appendix wherein somewhat is occasionally discoursed concerning the Sin against the Holy Ghost and how God is said to Will the Salvation of them that perish 4. Of Charity in Reference to other Mens Sins 5. A Sermon directing what we are to do after a strict inquiry whether or no we truly love God. A Discourse of the Saving Grace of God by David Clarkson Minister of the Gospel The Conversion of the Soul to which is added A Warning to Sinners to prepare for Judgment by Nath. Vincent Minister of the Gospel A Discourse of Old Age tending to the Instruction Caution and Comfort of Aged Persons Baptismal Bonds Renewed being Meditations upon Psalm 50. ver 5. By O. Heywood Minister of the Gospel Rom. 6 part of the 13th verse Yield your selves to God. THese are but a few words but I can speak to you of no greater or more important thing than I am to press upon you from them this day We are above taught how absurd it is to continue in sin whereto we are avowedly dead v. 1 2. as is signified by our Baptism together with our entrance into a new state of life and that in both we are to be conformed unto the Death and Resurrection of Christ v. 3 4 5. so that sin ought now no more to have a new dominion over us than Death can again have over him v. 6 7 8 9 10. We are therefore exhorted so to account of our selves and of our present state That we are dead to sin but alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord and thereupon never more to let sin govern us or reign over us or yield to it verse 11 12 13. former part But what then How are we otherwise to dispose of our selves If we may not yield our selves to the service of sin what are we then to do with our selves The Text tells us and the very reason of the thing shews it But yield your selves to God c. The Subject to be discours'd of is an express Precept charging it upon us all as our unquestionable duty to yield our selves to God which therefore it can only be our business in speaking to this Text to explain and apply 1. We are to explain it Whosoever shall charge upon others such a duty not obvious perhaps at the first view in the full extent of it to every ones understanding may well expect to be askt But what do you mean by this Precept or what doth this yielding our selves to God signifie And here are two things to be opened to you 1. How or under what notions we are to consider God and our selves in this matter 2. What our yielding our selves to him so consider'd must include 1. How we are to consider or look upon God in this affair You are to consider him both as he is in himself and according to the relations he bears to you whether before your yielding your selves to him or in and upon your so doing 1. As he is in himself You that have heard or now read what I have said and do write here make a stand and bethink your selves a while What! Are you about yielding your selves to God Sure you ought to be thinking of it as soon as you hear his claim laid to you But do you now know with whom you have to do Too many have the Name of God that great and awful Name in their mouth or ear and have no correspondent thought in their mind it passes with them as a transient sound as soon over as another common word of no
12. 1. Beg earnestly for his own Spirit of life and power that may enable you to offer up a living Soul to the living God. 6. There must be Faith in your yielding your selves For it is a committing or entrusting your selves to God with the expectation of being sav'd and made happy by him So Scripture speaks of it 2 Tim. 2. 12. I know whom I have believed or trusted and that he is able to keep what I have committed to him against that day 'T is suitable to the gracious nature of God to his excellent greatness to his design to the Mediatorship of his Son to his Promise and Gospel-Covenant and to your own necessities and the exigency of your own lost undone state that you so yield your selves to him as a poor creature ready to perish expecting not for your sake but his own to be accepted and to find mercy with him You do him the honour which he seeks and which is most worthy of a God the most excellent and a self-sufficient Being when you do thus You answer the intendment of the whole Gospel-constitution which bears this Inscription To the praise of the glory of his grace c. 'T is honourable to him when you take his Word that they that believe in his Son shall not perish but have everlasting life You herein set to your Seal that he is true and the more fully and with the more significancy when upon the credit of it you yield your selves with an assurance that he will not destroy or reject a poor creature that yields to him and casts its self upon his mercy 7. Another Ingredient into this yielding of your selves must be Love. As Faith in your yielding your selves to God aims at your own welfare and salvation so Love in doing it intends his service and all the duty to him you are capable of doing him You must be able to give this as the true reason of your act and to resolve it into this Principle I yield my self to God because I love him and from the unfeigned love I bear to him to tell the World if there were occasion he hath captivated my heart with his Excellencies and his Love and hereupon having nothing else I tender my self to him to tell himself Lord thou knowest all things thou knowest that I love thee and because I do I present my self to thee 't is all I can do I wish my self ten thousand times better for thy blessed sake and if I had in me all the Excellencies of many thousand Angels I were too mean a thing and such as nothing but thy own goodness could count worthy thine acceptance because I love thee I covet to be near thee I covet to be thine I covet to lead my life with thee to dwell in thy presence far be it from me to be as without thee in the World as heretofore I love thee O Lord my strength because thine own perfections highly deserve it and because thou hast heard my voice and hast delivered my Soul from death mine Eyes from tears and my Feet from falling and I yield my self to thee because I love thee I make an offer of my self to be thy servant thy servant O Lord thou hast loosed my bonds and now I desire to bind my self in new ones to thee that are never to be loosed And you can make no doubt but that it ought to be done therefore with dispositions and a temper suitable to the state you are now willing to come into that of a devoted Servant viz. 8. With great reverence and humility For consider to whom you are tendering your self to the high and lofty One that inhabiteth Eternity To him that hath Heaven for his Throne and Earth for his Footstool and in comparison of whom all the inhabitants of the World are but as Grashoppers and the Nations of the Earth as the drop of a bucket and the dust of the Balance c. Yea to him against whom you have sinn'd and before whose pure eyes you cannot in your self but appear most offensively impure so that you have reason to be ashamed and blush to lift up your eyes before him 9. And yet it surely ought to be with great joy and gladness of heart that he hath exprest himself willing to accept such as you and that he hath made you willing to yield your selves The very thought should make your heart leap and spring within you that he should ever have bespoken such as we are to yield our selves to him when he might have neglected us and let us wander endlesly without ever looking after us more How should it glad your hearts this day to have such a message brought you from the great God and which you find is written in his own Word to yield your selves to him Should not your hearts answer with wonder And blessed Lord Art thou willing again to have to do with us who left thee having no cause and who returning can be of no use to thee O blessed be God that we may yield our selves back unto him that we are invited and encourag'd to it And you have cause to bless God and rejoyce if this day you feel your heart willing to yield your selves to him and become his Do you indeed find your selves willing You are willing in the day of his power This is the day of his power upon your hearts Many are call'd and refuse he often stretches out his hands and no man regards Perhaps you have been call'd upon often before this day to do this same thing and neglected it had no heart to it and he might have said to you Now I will never treat with you more if you should call I will not hear if you stretch out your hands I will not regard it but laugh at your destruction and mock when your fear cometh But if now he is pleased to call once more your hearts do answer Lord here we are we are now ready to surrender our selves you may conclude he hath poured out his Spirit upon you The Spirit of the Lord is now moving upon this Assembly this is indeed a joyful day the day which he hath himself made and you ought to rejoyce and be glad in it When the people in David's days offered of their substance to God for the service of his house 't is said The people rejoyced for that they offered willingly And David we are told blessed God before all the Congregation saying Thine O Lord is the greatness and the power But who am I and what is my people that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort for all things come of thee and of thine own have we given thee If you are this day willing to offer your selves how much is this a greater thing and it comes of him and 't is of his own you are now giving him for he had a most unquestionable right in you before 10. You should do it with solemnity For