Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A59581
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The reward of diligence By Lewes Sharpe, rector of Moreton-Hampstead in the county of Devon.
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Sharpe, Lewes.
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1679
(1679)
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Wing S3007D; ESTC R220244
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49,063
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109
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Senses all that I say and do both my Words and Works will be as a thing of naught with you the Doctrine which I preach to you unless you attend and consider it and the miracles which I work to confirm it and to convince you of the truth of it unless you observe and remember them cannot be transferred to their proper use and work any good upon you and when your rational Faculties and Senses are not thus employed they are to you as if you had them not vain and useless Matt. 13.13 Sect. 37. In this consists the great advantage the Christian part of the World hath from the Preaching of the Gospel that by it Life and Immortality is brought to Light 2 Tim. 1.10 That is to partake of a divine Life and to attain immortal Felicity and Glory is distinctly plainly and evidently discovered and manifested by it and withal it is the ministration of the Spirit 1 Cor. 3.8 That is containeth such spiritual Powers such quickening Influences from the Spirit such efficacious Arguments and perswasive Motives as are most apt to affect and incite our Spirits or rational Faculties to the exercise of their proper offices and acts for to embrace and pursue that divine Life and immortal Glory which is so clearly discovered and offered to us by it God knew that Sin had unman'd us lost us the use of our Reason where we had most use for it and therefore he contrived this means both to pardon our Sin and to recover to us our Reason and to make us men againe Yea the very graces of the Spirit are to make us more unreasonable For those inherent Graces of the Spirit which we call sanctifying and saving Graces are a rectifying of our natural rational Faculties and make such impressions on them as bring them into a due order subordinate our Understandings and Reasons to God and our Wills Appetites Affections Passions and Senses to our Understandings and Reasons and that which facilitateth or maketh them fit and ready to operate suitably to the Nature of their proper Objects for all habits whatsoever both Spiritual and Moral are nothing else almost but a facilitation of our rational Faculties and are scarce otherwise distinguished from the natural Powers in which they are than the straitness of a stick from the stick it self or the expansion and contraction of the hand from the hand it self not by a positive absolute Being and Existence of its own but as the modification or odering of a Being after such a manner is distinguished from the Being it self So that the literal Promulgation of the Gospel to us carrieth with it a peculiarity of Favour and Mercy because it is the most excellent Instrument to excite us to a regular use of our natural Faculties and the most efficacious Organ of the Spirit to derive to us a Divine and Heavenly Life Sect. 38. Reas 6. Because God hath rewarded those which have been serviceable to him only for the execution of his Will of Purpose to punish and such as have only hypocritically fulfilled his Will of Command with the highest temporal Rewards and therefore we have good ground to hope more comfortably and confidently that he will reward those more abundantly and excellently even with Spiritual and Special Gifts and Graces which with a moral Sincerity do to the utmost of their Power accomplish and fulfill his Will of Command Behold your heavenly Father saith Christ feedeth the Fowls of the Aire are ye not much better than they he cloatheth the grass of the Field and will he not much more cloath you Mat. 6.26.30 q. d. If things of lesser worth partake of his Care and Bounty things of a greater Excellency shall much more in a higher measure Which speech is reducible to that which is under our Consideration and may in my apprehension be as fitly applyed to it as to that to which it was immediately referred Sect. 39. Nebuchadrezzer King of Babylon and his Army of Caldaeans were the worst of the Heathen as the Prophet saith Ezek. 7.24 And they comparatively but bruta Instrumenta in Gods hand they did not knowingly and designedly from any Conscience of Obedience to God or aim at his Honour and Service execute his Judgments upon his Enemies but did what they did from their own impetuous Lusts to serve their own evil Purposes and Ends and yet because they were subservient to Gods Providence in executing the Punishment he had decreed against Tyrus he rewarded them very highly gave them one of the greatest and richest Kingdomes in the World Son of man Nebuchadrezzer King of Babylon caused his Army to serve a great Service against Tyrus every Head was made bald and every Shoulder was peeled yet had he no wages nor his Army for Tyrus for the Service that he had served against it For when the Tyrians saw their imminent danger they transported as St. Hierome relates their choisest Goods to Carthage and other neighbouring Islands and at length deserted their City and left nothing but empty and ruinated houses and Walls to their Enemies Therefore thus saith the Lord God behold I will give the Land of Aegypt unto Nebuchadrezzer King of Babylon and he shall take her Multitude and take her Spoil and take her Prey and it shall be the Wages for his Army I have given him the Land of Aegypt for his labour wherewith he served against it because they wrought for me saith the Lord. Ezek. 29.18 19 20. Howbeit they meant not to fulfill Gods Will and to execute his Purpose neither did their Hearts think so they had no Apprehensions that they were working for God and serving his design but it was in their Hearts to destroy and cut off as 't is elsewhere Isa 10.5 yet because they were instrumental to execute Gods decreed Punishment and to serve his Ends upon the Tyrians they shall not lose their Labour Sect. 40. So although Cyrus King of Persia were an Heathenish Idolater yet because he performed all Gods Pleasure accomplished all that he purposed as necessary for the Redemption of his People from the Babylonish captivity he held his right hand to subdue Nations and loosed the loins of Kings before him and gave him the Treasures of Darkness and hidden Riches of secret Places Isa 44.28.45.1 2 3 4. Jehu was none of the best for he never departed from the Sins of Jeroboam from the Idolatrous Worship of the Golden Calves in Bethel and Dan and took no heed to walk in the Law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart yet because he pretended a Zeal for the true God in executing the Command of God to destroy Ahabs Family and the Idolatrous Worship and Priests of Baal God rewarded him largely and his Posterity too for his sake Because thou hast done well in executing that which was Right in mine Eyes that is in part that which was Right a thing good in its Kind and Nature being materially agreeable to my law and hast
that is 't is natural to God to be ready to acts of mercy and Mercy so pleaseth him Mic. 7.18 that he looketh out and seeketh for yea watcheth and waiteth for a fair opportunity to exalt his mercy in the gracious succour and relief of poor miserable sinners endeavouring all they can to seeek and find him Sect. 29. Our Saviour exhorting his Hearers in his Sermon on the Mount to pray for the Spirit that is the good Gifts and Graces of the Spirit our Discourse relateth unto encourageth them to believe that their Prayer shall be prevalent and effectual from the consideration now before us viz. that God is their Father that is because their Beings are originally from Him as Children are from a Father And the strength of his Argument standeth in a comparison and is drawn from the less to the greater If ye then saith he being evil that is degenerated in a great measure from that kindness and benignity which was once impressed upon your Natures for Evil here is opposed to a Liberal Disposition and a forwardness to Help and Relieve when requested know how to give good gifts to your children how much more shall your Father which is in Heaven give good gifts another Evangelist saith His Spirit Luke 9.13 unto them that ask him Matt. 7.11 For as the Psalmist reasoneth in another case He that made the eye shall not he see and he that planted the ear shall not he hear Psal 94.9 So shall not God who hath only copied out his own Bowels Love and Goodness in dark Characters upon Men investing their Natures with such Principles which incline and carry them forth to acts of Kindness and Bounty shew Himself to be much more full of Kindness and Bounty and answerably bestow upon all such as diligently and faithfully serve him according to the utmost of their Capacities and Circumstances that which is best for them Sect. 30. Optimus Maximus Most Good or Bountiful and Most Great or Powerful were two Attributes which the ancient Gentiles most especially ascribed unto God and they ever gave from the dictate of Nature his Goodness or Bounty the precedency of his Greatness or Power implying That God principally looks after the manifestation and acknowledgment of That And the truth is God never acts more like himself with greater Royalty and Magnificence than when he gives ample Gifts unto Men and rewards their Services above the strict Worth and natural Value of them for hereby as in a Glass is represented a Scheme of his excellent Greatness and the design he hath to affect us with awful apprehensions of his Greatness and Excellency We say There is no service to the service of a King because such a service is not recompensed in proportion to its proper worth but in proportion to the Greatness and Munificence of the Prince which gives the Recompense As Alexander said when he gave one a greater gift than he desired or expected Non quaero quid te accipere deceat sed quid me dare He considered more what was fit for him to give than what was fit for the other to receive So 't is here when we obtain from God spiritual and special upon the faithful employment of natural and and common Abilities and Graces God gives in a way of proportion to his own unbounded Goodness and Majestick Munificence rather than in a way of suitableness to the nature and value of the thing rewarded That of God to St. Paul may be applyed to the case in hand My strength is made perfect that is declared to be perfect in weakness 2. Cor. 12.9 And elsewhere we have this treasure in earthen Vessels that the Power might be that is clearly appear to be of God and not of Vs 2 Cor. 4 7. so here God hath engaged himself to such a dispensation as we have under consideration that his Love and Goodness Care and Providence Greatness and Munificence towards us may appear and be made know to the World in greater exaltation and splendor Sect. 31. Reas 4. Because God will justifie himself most triumphantly in all the judgments and punishments which he inflicts on obstinate sinners Let God be true saith the Apostle and every man a lyar as it is written that thou mightest be justified in thy sayings and overcome when thou art judged Rom. 3.4 The place refers to Psalm 51.4 where it is thus read That thou mightest be justified when thou speakest and be clear when thou judgest Psal 51.4 which words are to be understood in a forensick sense for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 used by the Apostle for the Hebrew word Titzdak in Kal signifieth that thou may'st appear to be just as one acquitted upon Tryal doth and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth such a contention as a Party in a Law-suit maketh when Judgment ensueth And 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 such a fort of overcoming and victory as a contending Party obtains when he carries the Cause in Judicature And the import of the words is this Suppose God should be questioned concerning his proceedings in his condemnation of impenitent and obdurate Sinners he will so manage his Cause and make such provision against all Inditements and Impleadings that he will be sure to have the better of the day and whatsoever Bills of Inditements he prefers against his Adversaries whatsoever Rebellions he chargeth upon them whatsoever Sentence he passeth against them whatsoever penalty and torments he inflicteth upon them and of what nature soever his proceedings against them be they shall be managed on such unquestionable terms and rules of Equity and Justice that they shall not be able to plead any matter of Defence Apology or Excuse for themselves Sect. 32. Now nothing will render Sinners more inexcusable in the day of Judgment for deserting and refusing the Service of God and more clearly illustrate and justifie the righteousness of that punishment thereupon inflicted on them than this consideration That God had plainly declared that he would not in any degree by any Person whatsoever be served for nought but did constantly from time to time assure them either by his Words or Works or both that their meanest Services the most imperfect and weak should be rewarded with a liberal and full hand exceedingly above the just value of them and did not his Decree promise or bountifulness of his Disposition intervene in his consideration above all reasonable expectation concerning them If men could plead that they had not an Interest of their own to account upon and carry on in their tradings with their Talents or employing their Abilities and Gifts to the purposes for which they have received them they might have some pretence for hiding and suppressing them for Rational Creatures will not think it good for them to be engaged in doing that which will do them no good when it is done but God having inseparably linked our interest to our duties and animated our hopes by our diligence we can find no matter of