172 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SeR. XXXIV.
seeking after him, that we should look back upon the time already spent out of communion with God as very long, too long for the good of our souls. It should be a grief of heart to us to think of pleasing the flesh, or living in a state of estrangement any longer. Otherwise, we do in effect say, We have not taken time enough to dishonour God and destroy our own souls : Luke xiii. 25, ' When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us ; he shall answer and say unto you, I know ye not, whence ye are ; ' John vii. 34, ' Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me/ Most men think Christ a thorn in their side, and that it will never be well till he be gone ; but then they shall seek him, and shall not find hira, though they would have him. Though they put away Christ and his truth, yet in ensuing calamities they as earnestly beg for their Messias. So Hos. V. 6, ' They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the Lord ; but they shall not find him ; he hath withdrawn himself from them.' Men contemn the ofi'ered grace. The foolish virgins sought when it was too late : Mat. xxv. 11, ' Lord, Lord, open to us.' Therefore early, while God stretcheth out his arms, let us not receive his grace in vain.
[2.] Seek him with all the heart, not with a double heart, or a divided heart : James i. 8, ' A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways ; ' their hearts hang between two objects— God and the world ; the conscience is for God, and the heart for the world : Ps. cxix 10, ' With my whole heart have I sought thee : ' when the prevalency of our affections carrieth us to God, and we seek him for him- self.
[3.] Seek him earnestly. Carnal men will now and then throw away a prayer. Our affections are strong for earthly things, why not for God ? Ps. xxvii. 4, ' One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after ; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my lite, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his tem- ple : ' this is our great business,
[4.] Seek him constantly and unweariedly ; do not give over till you enjoy God. You must not be discouraged with every disappointment. When God seemeth to put us off : Luke xi. ' Because of his impor- tunity, 8, 8ia rrjv dvaiSeiav, he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.' God hideth himself many times, that we may the more earnestly seek after him ; as Cant. iii. 1, 3, * By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth ; I sought him but I found him not. I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad- ways, I will seek him whom my soul loveth ; I sought him, but I found him not,' &c. The woman of Canaan that came to Christ would not be put off; the lord maybe hidden to influence our desires ; the children of God are never satisfied while they are in the world : 2 Cor. v. 6, ' Whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord : ' we cannot have complete fruition till we be where God is.
VeB. 7.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. 173
SEKMON XXXV.
By faith Noah, heing icarned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an arh to the savijig of his house : by the which he condemned the icorld, and became heir of the righteous- ness ichich is by faith. — Heb. xi. 7.
In the history of faith the apostle passeth from Enoch to Noah. He is fitly subjoined as being the next person of eminency in the line of the church. Enoch was famous for walking with Grod, and so was Noah : Gen. vi. 9, ' Noah was a just man, and perfect in his 'generation ; and Noah walked with God.' Enoch received a testimony that he pleased God, and so did Noah ; he is said, ' to find grace in the eyes of the Lord,' Gen. vi. 8. And therefore Noah is the fittest instance that could be mentioned, next to Enoch, as being the inheritor and successor of his graces and privileges Besides, the former verse spoke of the respects of faith to the rewards of religion, ver. 6, ' He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.' Therefore now the apostle would bring an instance of the respects of faith to the threatening and commination of the word — ' By faith Noah,' &c. The person then whose faith we are now to consider is Noah, the true Janus, with a double face, looking forward and backward ; the last of the patriarchs of the old world, and the first of the new. In the commendation of his faith we may take notice of many circumstances —