JDoct. That it greatly concerneth Christians to consider upon what they bestow or employ their time, service, and obedience.
This will be evident by these considerations —
1. That the great business which belongeth to our duty is the choice of a master, or to consider to what we must addict ourselves, and upon what we bestow our minds and hearts, our life and love, our time and strength : 1 Kings xviii. 21, ' How long halt ye between two opinions ? If the Lord be God, follow him ; but if Baal, then follow him.' He brings the business to a trial, not to give them liberty to be of what religion they pleased, but on deliberation to choose the best. So Josh. xxiv. 15, ' If it seem evil to you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom you will serve.' He doth not leave it to their liberty to choose God or idols, but would have them to compare the best with the worst, the service of God or the service of devils ; which will be life and which will be death, which will be good and which will be bad for them ; not as if it were doubtful which to choose, for that is evident to any man in his right wits ; nor to blunt their zeal by any
310 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SeR. XVII.
demurrer in tlie case, Lut rather quicken and hasten their choice ; but chiefly that they might choose freely, and be more firm and constant in their covenant, and to shame them, that they might be more inex- cusable, if, pretending to God, they divert their obedience from him to other things. Well, then, whom will you serve and love ? To whom will ye give up your minds and hearts, and whole man? To do what God requireth, or to serve and please your lusts ? Make a right choice, and then be firm and true to it. Will you pretend to be servants to God, and do nothing for him ?
2. The considerations which must guide us in this choice are two — (1.) Right and interest ; (2.) The good or hurt that we all get by it ; for there are wages proportionable and suitable to every work.
[1.] Where lieth the right to command, and who hath the best title to us; justice is to give every one his own: 'Give unto Caesar the things that are Ceesar's, and to God the things that are God's.' Surely sin is a usurper, but God is our rightful Lord, for he made us, and to liim we must give an account of our time, strength, and employments : Acts xxvii. 23, ' There stood by me this night an angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve.' And —
[2.] His service turneth to the best account. Our apostle telleth us, Eom. vi. 23, ' The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eter- nal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.'
3. That in a moral consideration there are two masters — sinful self, and the holy God. This distribution comprehendeth all men ; either they are servants of sin, or servants to God : whosoever yieldetli his consent or obedience to sin doth thereby make himself the true and proper servant of sin ; and whosoever yieldeth his obedience to God is the servant of God. If you deliver up yourselves to serve God, to obey his commands, you will be reputed as his servants, and so accepted of the Lord ; therefore one of them you are, a servant of sin or a servant of the Lord. I shall prove it by these considerations —
[1.] That all men are either good or bad, carnal or regenerate; there is no middle state. All that can make us demur upon this must be either this objection, that all sinners are not alike vicious, but they are all sinners : Isa. liii. 6, ' All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one into his own way.' As the channel is cut, so doth corrupt nature vent and issue forth. Some serve one sin, some another ; but if you give up yourselves to any sin to serve that, you are slaves to sin: Ps. cxix. 133, ' Order my steps in thy word, and let not any ini- quity have dominion over me.' It may be you are no adulterer, no drunkard, yet you have your way of sinning, or some great drain into which all your corruption emptieth itself. Or this objection, that some are inter regenerandum, upon regeneration, as being under some common work of the Spirit, which, if God bless, may be the beginning of a new estate ; as, for instance, take that scripture. Mat. xiii. 45, 46, * The kingdom of heaven is like to a merchantman seeking goodly pearls, and when he had found one of great price, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.' The seeking of goodly pearls is the inclination of nature to happiness ; the finding one of great price is common grace, which implieth knowledge, some kind of faith and esteem of Christ ; but his going and selling all to buy it is special and