1. Whom you are to obey ; Jesus Christ, the Lord and sovereign of all. Here in his flesh they said, Mat. viii. 27, ' What manner of man is this, that even the winds and seas obey him ? ' And will not you obey him ? It is Christ whom you call your Saviour, and shall he not be your Lord ? He made a plaster of his blood to cure your souls, and endured the curse, that by his obedience many might be made righteous, Kom. v. 19. Christ first obeyed himself, and hath set us so perfect a copy, whose life was religion exemplified, a visible commentary on God's law. He kept his Father's commandments, and abode in his love, John xv. 10, who did ever please God, therefore God was always with him.
2. Wherein you are to obey him. In a thankful acceptance of his benefits, which is faith ; and a hearty return to your obedience and happiness, which is repentance ; and all this verified in a godly, sober, righteous life, which is ordinarily called new obedience.
3. He is your judge. At the last day he will come and see what you have done with his precepts ; he will not be so terrible, but as
VER. 8.] SERMONS UPON 2 THESSALONIANS I. 253
comfortable to the godly. Euge, bone serve — ' Well done, good and faithful servant.'
Use 2. What have we then to do but —
1. To study to know the Lord, that we may choose him for our por- tion, and love him, and be loved by him, serve him, and be happy with him, please him, and enjoy him : ' Let us follow on to know the Lord/ Hosea vi. 3. Here is the root and beginning of all godliness ; if God were better known in his power, wisdom, and goodness, it would draw our hearts more to him, and produce more confidence, obedience, and love. The Lord is for the most part an unknown and a mistaken God in the world ; the more you apply yourself to this, the more you will find. We know God for the most part as a man born blind does fire ; he feels there is something that warmeth him, but knows not how to conceive of it. To press you to this, consider —
[1.] It is your glory and excellency : Jer. ix. 23, 24, ' Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches : but let him that glorieth, glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me.' To conceive aright of God, his nature, attributes, and works, is the per- fection of man ; to know things of so high a nature, the infinite and eternal God ; to behold his wisdom, goodness, and power ; to be led to him by all the creatures, and every act of his providence ; to read his blessed name in every leaf of his sacred word. The dimmest knowledge of God is better than the clearest knowledge of all the secrets of nature.
[2.] This will be our happiness : John xvii. 3, ' This is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.' It is begun by saving knowledge, and is completed by the vision of God ; it is the same God we know and love here and there, and with a knowledge and love of the same nature, but as to degrees it is more perfect ; here we know him and see him as in a glass darkly, hereafter as in his glory, face to face.
[3.] What a shame it is not to know God, who hath so manifested himself to us in his works and word, and is so ready to manifest himself by his Spirit.
(1.) In his works within us or without us ; for the apostle telleth us, Acts xvii. 27, 28, ' He is not far from every one of us, for in him we live, move, and have our being ; ' whose creatures we are, from whom we have all that we have ; and shall we not often think of the God that made us ? Look upon this body or this soul, whose image and superscription doth it bear ? The work will show the workman. God is before thee, behind thee, round about thee, yea, within thee; and shalt thou not take some time to season thy heart with the thoughts of God ? Everything that passeth before thine eyes pro- claimeth an invisible God, an eternal power that made thee and all things else, Ps. xix. 1, 2. Shall the heavens above, and the earth beneath thee say, Kemember God ; nay, every creature and pile of grass thou treadest upon, Remember God ; and shall we be so stupid that God shall not be in all our thoughts ?
(2.) In his word and covenant. There God has provided and pro- mised such plenty of knowledge, that he hath told us, Heb. viii. 11,
254 SERMONS UPON 2 THESSALONIANS I. [SeR. VII.
' They shall not teach every man his brother, and every man his neigh- bour, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know me from the least to the greatest.' This grace shall be diffused among all sorts of people : Isa. xi. 9, ' The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.' As plentiful as water in the sea ; and will you only be strangers in Israel, lose the benefit of the dis- pensation you are under ?