3. And then when we believe in Christ, we ofier and sacrifice ourselves to God ; in which respect we must, as it were, be killed ere we be ofiiered. For we may not ofier ourselves as we are in our lusts, but as mortified and killed by repentance. Then we ofier ourselves to God as a reasonable and living sacrifice, when we offer ourselves wholly unto him, wit, understand- ing, judgment, afiections, and endeavour ; as Paul saith of the Macedonians, ' they gave themselves to God first, and then their goods,' 2 Cor. viii. 5. In sum, it is that sacrifice Paul speaks of, ' to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,' &c., Rom. xii. 1. For a Christian who believeth in the Lord Jesus is not his own, but sacrificeth himself to him that was sacrificed for him. As Christ is given to us, so he that be- lieves in Christ gives himself back again to Christ. Hereby a man may know if he be a tiTie Christian, and that Christ is his, if he yields up him- self to God. For ' Christ died and rose again,' saith the apostle, ' that he might be Lord both of quick and dead,' Rom. xiv. 9. 'Therefore,' saith he, ' whether we live or die, we are not our o\vn,' Rom. xiv. 8. What we do or sufier in the world, in all we are sacrificed. So saith a sanctified soul. My wit, my will, my life, my good, my afiections are thine ; of thee I received them, and I resign all to thee as a sacrifice. Thus the martyrs, to seal the ti'uth, as a sacrifice, yielded up their blood. He that hath not obtained of himself so much as to yield himself to God, he knows not what the gospel means. For Christian religion is not only to beheve in Christ for forgiveness of sin ; but the same faith which takes this great benefit, renders back ourselves in Ueu of thankfulness.
So that, M'hatsoever we have, after we believe, we give all back again. Lord, I have my life, my will, my wit, and all fi'om thee ; and to thee I retm'n all back again. For when I gave myself to believe in thy dear Son, I yielded myself and all I have to thee ; and now, having nothing but by thy gift, if thou wilt have all I wiU return all unto thee again ; if thou wilt have my life, my goods, my liberty, thou shalt have them. This is the state of a Christian who hath denied himself. For we cannot believe as we should unless we deny ourselves. Christianity is not altogether in beUeving this and that ; but the faith which moves me to believe forgiveness of sins, carries us also unto God to yield all back again to him.
4. More especially, among the sacrifices of the New Testament are alms, as, * To do good and to communicate forget not, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased,' Heb. xiii. 16.
6. And among the rest, the sacrifice of praise, which is in the same chapter, verse 15. First, he saith, By him, that is, by Christ, let us ofier the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips : which is but an exposition of this place, which, because it is especially here intended, I will a httle enlarge myself in.
The ' calves of our hps ' implies two things :
Not o?ily thankfulness to God, but glorifying of God, in setting out his praise. Otherwise to thank God for his goodness to us, or for what we hope to receive, without glorifying of him, is nothing at all worth. For in glorifying there ai'e two things.
HOSEA XIY. 2.J THE KETUENINa BACKSLIDEE. 271
1. A supposition of excellency. For that cannot be glorified, which hatb no excellency in it. Glory in sublimity hath alway excellency attending it. And
2. The manifestation of tJiis glory.
Now, when all the excellencies of God, as they are, are discovered and set out, his wisdom, mercy, power, goodness, all- sufficiency, &c., then we glorify him. To praise God for his favours to us, and accordingly to glorify him, is ' the calves of our lips ; ' but especially to praise him. Whence the point is —
That the yielding of praise to God is a wondrous acceptahle sacrifice.
Which is instead of all the sacrifices of the Old Testament, than which the greatest can do no more, nor the least less ; for it is the sacrifice and j&Tiit of the hps. But to open it. It is not merely the sacrifice of our hps ; for the praise we yield to God, it must be begotten in the heart. Here- upon the word, Xoyog, speech, signifieth both reason and speech, there being one word in the learned language for both.- Because speech is nothing but that stream which issues from the spring of reason and under- standing : therefore, in thanksgiving there must not be a lip-labour only, but a thanksgiving fi-om the lips, first begotten in the heart, coming from the inward man, as the prophet saith, ' Bless the Lord, 0 my soul ; and all that is within me, bless his holy name,' Ps. ciii. 1. Praise must come from a sound judgment of the worth of the thing we praise for. It must come from an afi'ection which desires that God may have the glory, by the powers of the whole inward man, which is a hard matter, to rouse up our- selves to praise God with aU the powers of our soul, ' all that is within me, praise his holy name,' Ps. ciii. 1. There goeth judgment, resolution of the will, strength of afi'ections, and all with it.