God would have things in the church done by such people. The very building of the tabernacle was done by such voluntary people, that brought in as God moved their hearts. Oh, beloved, a Christian knows what it is to have a royal spirit, a free spirit. David knew it. When he had lost it by his sin, he prayed that he might have a free spirit, a cheerful spirit, in the service of God, and in his particular calling, for sin darkens and straitens the soul. ' Thy face will I seek.' His heart was weary and pliable now, as God would have it.
So should our hearts be ; and they will be so, if we have the Spirit of God, ready and cheerful. God hath none to fight his battles against Satan and the kingdom of darkness, but voluntaries. All God's people are volun- taries. They are not pressed soldiers ; I mean, not against their wills, in that sense. Indeed, they have press-money in baptism, to fight against the world, the flesh, and the devil ; but they are not pressed, they are voluntaries. They know they serve a good general, that will pay them abundantly ; therefore they labour to be voluntary. It is a good saying, There is no virtue in men that do things against their wills ; for that is virtue and grace that comes from a man from his own principles, from cheerfulness : ' God loveth a cheerful giver.' I might enlarge this, but I do but take it as it may strengthen the point. Our obedience to God, it must be pliable, and cheerful, and voluntary.
3. Again, Obedience, if it be trufe, it ispeifect and sincere, looking to God : ' Thy face. Lord, will I seek.' We must eye God in it, and God's com- mandment, and not have a double eye. We must not look to our own selves. It must be perfect obedience ; that is, opposite to that which is hypocritical. That is the best perfection. For the perfection of degrees is not to be attained here, but this perfection of soundness is to be laboured for ; as we see here it was a sound obedience : ' Thy face. Lord, will I seek.' I will not seek thy favours and blessings so much as thy face. It was perfect obedience, as perfection is opposed to unsoundness.
4. It was likewise a .jiwfessed obedience be/ore all the world, in spite of
* That is, ' drew back from,' = delayed. — G.
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Satan : ' Thy face will I seek.' Let the devil and the world do what they can ; let others do as they will ; but as Joshua saith, ' If you will worship other gods,' if you will fall away, do ; ' but I and my house will serve the Lord.' AVhat if his house will not serve the Lord ? If my house will not serve the Lord, I will. So we should all be of Joshua's mind, * I and my house will serve the Lord,' Josh. xxiv. 15, let the world go which way it will. In blessed St Paul's time. Oh, saith he, ' There are many of whom I have told you often, and now tell you weeping, who are enemies to the cross of Christ, whose end is damnation, who mind earthly things,' Philip, iii. 18. What doth Paul in the mean time ? Oh, but ' our conversation is in heaven.' We swim a contrary way. We care not to let the world know it. Our conversation is another way. So our obedience must not only be present, and pliable, and perfect, but a professed obedience : that is, to break through all the oppositions of the devil and the world ; with an invincible resolution to break through all difficulties, and scandals, and examples of great persons, and of this and that, if we will go to God, and say truly, ' Lord, thy face will I seek.' Let other men seek what they will : let them seek the fixce and favour of others ; ' Thy face will I seek.' Thou shalt be instead of all to me, as indeed he is.
5. Again, As it is a professed, so it is a continued, a perpetual obedience. He is resolved for the time to come. ' Thy face will I seek :' not only now, and then turn my back upon thee afterwards ; but I will seek thy face, till I see thee in heaven. I see thy face in thine ordinances, in the word, in thy people ; where two or three be gathered, thou art among them, Mat. xviii. 20. I will see thy face as I may, till I see it in heaven. So here is a perpetual resolution : ' Thy face I will seek.'
6. Lastty, There is one thing more in this obedience and answer to God's command, that his answer to God is an answerable answer ; that is, the answer and obedience is suitable to the command. God's command was, ' Seek my face.' His answer is, ' Thy face. Lord, will I seek.' So the point is, that
Obs. Our obedience to God vutst he proportionable to that that is commanded.
It must not be this or that devised by men. W^hen the Lord's eye is on you in this place, and gives you a charge to do thus, the obedience must be suitable. When he saith, ' Seek my face,' we must obey : ' Thy face. Lord, will we seek.' Therefore it may, in some poor sense, be compared to an echo. We return obedience in the same kind. The Spirit of God teacheth the children of God to do so, to answer God in all the things he doth. I know not a better evidence of a child of God, than this answering spirit. How shall I know that God loves me ? I love him again ; there- lore I know he hath loved me first. It is an undoubted argument. How shall I know that God hath chosen me ? I choose him : ' Whom have I in heaven but thee ? and what is there in earth in comparison of thee ? ' Ps. Ixxiii. 25. It is an undoubted argument : Shall I be able to single out God, to be instead of all to me ? and hath not he chosen me first ? Can there be anything in the current, that is not in the spring before ? It is impossible. I know God ; I look on him as my father : certainly he hath shined on me first. I have said to him, ' Thou art my God ; ' certainly he hath said before, ' Thou art my servant.' If I say to him, ' Thou art my God,' certainly he hath said before, ' I am thy salvation.' He hath begun. For this is the order : God begins. He saith, ' Seek my face ; ' then if we have grace to return answerable obedience to God, ' Thy face, Lord, will I seek.' When thou biddest me, Lord, I will love thee, I will