136 SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. [SeR. LXVII.
this upon our spirits, then all excuses and delays are laid aside, and we come off readily and kindly in the way of compliance with God's call. This is doctrinally spoken of. Cant. i. 4, ' Draw me, and we will run after thee.' Running is an earnest and speedy motion. From whence comes it ? From drawing ; it is a fruit of drawing, or the sweet and powerful attraction which the Spirit of God useth in the hearts of the elect. Instances I might give you in several calls and conversions spoken of in scripture. When Christ called Andrew and Peter,^ ' They left their father and followed after him,' Mark i. 20. So when Christ called Zaccheus, ' he made haste, and came down from the tree, and received him joyfully,' Luke xix. 6. So Christ to Matthew, ' Follow me, and straightway he followed him,' Mat. ix. 9. Julian the apostate scoffs at these passages, as if it were irrational to conceive such a thing could be, that men should so soon leave their course of gain and calling ; or else that Christ's followers were a kind of sots and fools, weak, and poor-spirited creatures, that upon a word speaking they would come off presently all of a sudden : but impulsions of the Spirit carry their own reason with them, and draw the heart without any more ado. But such as he were not acquainted with the workings of the Holy Ghost in conversion, there- fore scoff at these things. So Gal. i. 16, * Immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood.' When our call is clear, there needs no debate. When men stand reasoning instead of running, there is not a thorough work upon them.
Beas. 2. The sooner we turn to the ways of God the better we speed. How so ?
1. Partly in this, that the work goes on the more kindly, as being carried forth in the strength of the present influence and impulsion of grace; whereas, if the heart grow cold again, it will be the more difficult. A blow while the iron is hot doth more than ten at another time when it grows cold again. So when thy heart grows cold, thou wilt not have that advantage as when thou art under a warm convic- tion. And indeed that is the devil's cheat, to speak of hereafter, to elude the importunity of the present conviction that is upon you. John V. 4, You know when the waters were stirred, then was the time to put in, he that stepped in first had experience of the sanative virtue of the waters ; so when the heart is stirred, we should not lose this advantage, but come on upon that call. There are several metaphors in scripture that do express this ; sometimes, we must open when God knocks, Cant. v. ; we must enter when God opens, lest the door be shut against us, Mat. xxv. ; we must come forth when he bids us, as Lot out of Sodom, lest we perish : when a thing is done speedily and in season it is a great advantage.
2. The more welcome to God the sooner we turn to him. We value a gift not only by its own worth, but by the readiness of him that gives; if we have it at first asking, we count it a greater kindness, and give the more thanks ; so the less we stand bucking with God, and demurring upon his call, the more acceptable is our obedience. Pharaoh did at length let Israel go, but was forced to it, and with much ado, no thanks to him. It is true indeed, if we turn at length
^ Read ' James and John.' — Ed.
VeR. 60.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXTX. 137
seriously, heartily, we are accepted with God, but not so accepted as when we come in at first. Surely the fewer calls we witlistand, the less we provoke God, and the more ready entertainment do we find. The spouse, that would not open at the first knock, but only at length, when her bowels were troubled, when she thought of her unkindness, then she went out to open to her beloved, but then her beloved was gone. You will not find God at your beck when you dally with him. Your comforts will cost you longer waiting for, when you make God wait for entrance, and would not give way to the work of his grace.
3. You speed better, because your personal benefit is the greater, the sooner you turn to the Lord. You have more knowledge, more experi- ence, you get more comfort, you would be more profitable to others, more useful to God. If ever God touch your hearts, and once you come to experiment what an excellent thing it is to live in communion with God, you will be sorry you began no sooner. Paul complains that he was as a man ' born out of due time,' 1 Cor. xv. 8, and so had not the advantage of seeing Christ in the flesh, until he showed him- self to him from heaven in the vision upon his conversion. You lose many a comfortable sight of Christ because you were so late acquainted with him. And it is said of Andronicus and Junius, Eom. xvi. 7, ' they were in Christ before me.' Certainly he that is first in Christ, and sooner called to grace, hath the advantage of us. An early acquaintance with God gives us advantages both in point of enjoyment and service. In point of enjoyment ; peace, comfort, joy in the Holy Ghost. A man would not want these things, they are so valuable in themselves ; the want of them is an incomparable loss to us. Certainly they would have been much better than all those flesh-pleasing vani- ties that you dote upon, and keep you from Christ. A man that hath for a long while wasted his time and strength in driving on a peddling trade, when he is acquainted with a more gainful course, Oh, saith he, that I had known this sooner ! so, none have any taste of the ways of God, but they will wish so; Oh, that I had sooner renounced my carnal delights, and betaken myself to the service of God !