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Tis most powerfully to live ia him and to him : Col. ii. 6, * As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him ;' ver, 10, 'Ye are complete in him ;' and Eom. vi. 16, ' Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness ? '
Use 2. Exhortation. If we would distinguish ourselves from the carnal world, let us resolve upon a thorough course of Christianity, own- ing Christ's authority in all things.
1. If we be to begin, and have hitherto stood against Christ, oh I let ns repent and reform, and return to our obedience : Mat. xviii. 3, ' Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.'
2. Remember that faith is a great part of your works from first to last : John vi. 27, ' Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.' All the grace and mercy of the new covenant is begun, kept up, and carried on by faith. We are sincerely to believe on him before we can rightly obey him.
3. Your obedience must be delightful, and such as cometh from love: 1 John V. 3, ' For this is the love of God, that we keep his command- ments.' Believers are not called to the obedience of slaves, nor to be acted only by the fear of hell, but to the obedience of sons and children, that you may obey with love and delight. Forced motives endure not long ; fears will abate, and then your duty be neglected. Love should be as a new nature, and the habitual constitution of our souls ; and you should act not as driven to obedience, but as inclined to it, and delighted in it : Ps. xl. 8, ' I delight to do thy will, 0 God ; ' for this is a sove- reignty, not forced upon us, but consented unto.
4. Your obedience must be very circumspect and accurate: Heb. xii. 28, * Having received a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, that we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear.' A kingdom may be received, either by a king to govern, or sub- jects to be governed. A king to govern : Luke xix. 12, * A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive a kingdom.' Or subjects to be governed, when we submit to the sovereign, to enjoy the privileges which belong to that kingdom. So we must serve him with reverence and godly fear ; for boldness in sinning, and coldness in duty, is a depreciation of his majesty. He is ' a great king,' as God pleadeth it when they brought a corrupt thing for a sacrifice, Mai. i. 13. No terrors comparable to his frowns, no comforts to his smiles. So Ps. ii. 11, ' Serve the Lord with fear, rejoice with trembling.' Obey him most circumspectly, with all carefulness, watchfulness and diligence,
. making it your chief business to please him.
5. It is a considerable part of our work to look for our wages, or expect the endless blessedness to which we are appointed: Titus ii. 13, ' Looking for the blessed hope, and the glorious appearance of the great God ; ' Col. iii. 1, 2, ' If ye be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God : set your afiection upon things above, and not upon the earth ; ' Phil. iii. 20, .' But our conversation is in heaven, from whence we look for a Saviour,
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the Lord Jesus Christ/ That we may see that we have considerable motives to do what Christ requireth of us. It is for our master's honour ; and besides, it puts life into our work, and maketh our painful obedience comfortable and sweet to us ; for all this is but the way to eternal life.
6. The reign of Christ doth not only establish your duty, but is the ground of your safety ; for he is set down upon the throne of majesty, to protect his subjects and destroy his enemies. Besides the endless reward in another world, there are many evidences of his goodness, and signal preservations and deliverances in this world ; at least peaceable opportunities of serving him, while he hath a mind to employ us. He can powerfully support us against all our enemies :: Isa. xxxiii. 22, ' The Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king ; he will save us.* As a sovereign protects his subjects that continue loyal to him, so will Christ be our sovereign. Upon this confidence must we carry on our obedience, notwithstanding opposition : 1 Tim. iv. 10, ' For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, especially of those that believe.'
7. One part of our obedience helpeth another, sets the soul in a right posture ; as in the wheels of a watch, the whole motion is hindered by a defect in a part : the less complete you are in all the will of God^ the more difficult will it be.