THE SEVENTEENTH SERMON. EXODVS 3.13, 14 13 And Mofes faid unto GOD; Behold, when I come unto the Children of Ifrael, and fhall Say unto them; The GOD of your Fathers bath font mee unto you, and they shall (ay unto me, What is his Name? what shall I Say unto them? 14 And GOD faid unto Mofes, I AM THAT IAM, &C. Gaine, if God bee prefent with us, this should stirre us up to walke with him, to be prefent with him. Shall he be prefent with us, where foever we are; when wee goe by: the way, or lye in our beds, or fit in our houses? and fhall not we take notice of his prefence, and direct our thoughts to him, and apply our felves to him? It is an exceeding great difhonor to him; for you know a great man, when he is with you, if you neglect him,and apply your selves to inferiour men, he will take it as a great wrong done unto him, to let him fit alone, and not to regard him: So how can the Lord chufe but be angry, when he is with us,and we will not take notice of him? Let them confider this,that fuffer dayes to paffe without any calling upon the Lord, that never think of him,nor confider that he beholds all that they doe: You know, it was the onely commendation of Enoch, that he walked with God. But you will fay, What is this to walke with the Lord? It is to fee him prefent with us, and to make our felves prefent with him: and what that is, we will eafily find out, when wee confider what it is to be prefent with any one. The prefence of any man is feene in three things: First, A man that fees and hearés all things that we doe, he is faid to be prefent. Secondly, he that fpeakes to us, hee is prefent with us. Thirdly, hee that acts or doth fomething about us or towards us, hee is prefent. In this manner is GoD prefent with us: and fo wee fhould be with him. First, wee must be prefent with him, that is, we muft fee him, as he fees us. Hee that lookes upon the Lord, as beholding him, as knowing all all that hee doth, hee that obferves all the paffages of his providence toward him, and about him, hee makes himselfe prefent with the Lord. hi 2 Secondly, hee that fpeakes to the Lord, and maketh knowne his fecrets to him, and opens By Speaking to to him all his defires, and all his griefes upon all occafions, hee makes himfelfe prefent with him. 3 By doing that that pleateth him. Thirdly, hee that pleaseth God in all his actions,and dothwhat is acceptable to him,that doth what hee hath commanded, and abftaires from what he hath forbidden, he which behaves himfelfe after this manner makes himselfe prefent with the Lord. This laft you may more plainely perceive,if you compare that in Genefis, of Enochs walking with God,with that in Heb.11.5. To make Heb. 11. 5. our actions agreeable to the rule of his will, this is to walke with the Lord: for Enoch is faid to walke with God, in Genefis; and in the Hebrewes hee is faid to pleafe the Lord. Now as we must be thus prefent with the Lord; fo fecondly, we must make him prefent with us. And that first, wee muft looke upon him, as one who obferveth all that wee doe. When a man hath this full perfwafion in his heart, not onely habitually, but actually, that the Lord lookes upon him in all that he fpeakes, and doth, hee makes the Lord prefent with him: Then fecondly, wee muft obferve the LORD fpeaking to us, which a man doth by meditating on his Word. But this is not enough; for you LI muft 2 Make God pre fent with us. I By looking on him feeing all we doe. 2 Obferve bim tpeaking to us. How the Lord fpeakes to us now. 3 To confider what he doth to us. Dan. 5. 220 must observe what the Lord faith to you upon every occafion, and in every paffage of his providence alfo For although the Lord doth not fpeake to us now as he did to the Prophets; yet he doth after a manner fpeake to us. He speaks to our confciences; that is the immediate deputy by which he fpeakes to every man: And alfo hee fpeakes to us by the fuggeftions of the Spirit, and the good motions of it: likewife he fpeaks to us by the good counfell of our friends, of the Minifters, and others; laftly he fpeakes to us by the paffages of his providence, (for a man may make knowne his will by his actions, as well as by his word.) I fay, to obferve what the Lord faith to us in all thefe, is a great part of our walking with him. Laftly, we must confider what he doth, and what the mercies are, which hee thewes to us; what corrections, what judgements, what turnings of his providence, what he doth to thofe that are neere about us; for God would have us to take fpeciall notice of it, as wee may fee Dan. 5.22.) So also observe what is brought to your knowledge; for as the Word of God, fo alfo his workes ought to be fought out by them that belong to him. After this manner wee should walke with the Lord from day to day. And it is one maine thing required,whereof you are put in mind,when you heare that he is every where prefent, you should alfo be prefent with him upon all occafions,and obferve his dealing towards you, and your carriage carriage to him. Every man walkes with fomething continually; now looke what a mans mind is bufied about moft, that he walkes with. And indeed, to walke with any thing, is to give it the honour that is due onely to God. When a man is bufie about what men thinke of him; about his riches and eftate, how they ebbe and flow, about his credit with men, these are the things that a man walkes with. Beloved, you are not to goe à ftep with any thing, except hee send you on fuch an errand, as a Mafter doth his fervant; but you are to walke with him from day to day. We fee it is poffible that a man may bee in company, and his mind bee in another place, bufied about other things; and where his minde is, there hee walkes: So a man may bee in the world, and yet his minde and conversation in Heaven; as Enoch did the things of this life, and and yet hee js faid to walke with God: if thou doeft fo, this is a figne that thou loveft Go D, and delightest in him; for to walke with a thing, it is the best argument that thou loveft it. Let a man profeffe never fo much love to a friend, if hee will not walke with him, it is but in fhew, and not in truth. If thou wouldeft fhew thy love to God, why doeft thou not walke with him? If there bee a friend that thou loveft, docft thou not defire to bee with him? And when thou art in company with many others to fingle out him,is it not a figne alfo of delight in him? As when many are together, all goe to L12 the To walke with love. |