108

THE SPIRITUAL FAVOURITE AT THE THRONE OF GRACE.

it with this circumstance and that; and so bring things to pass. All this is from God. Except we hold this, that God rules all without, and especially the hearts of men, where it is his especial prerogative to set up his throne, we shall never pray heartily or give thanks. And if we do pray and give thanks, he will put thoughts into governors' minds, strange thoughts and resolutions for the good of the church, that we could never have thought of, nor could come otherwise, but from the great God of heaven and earth. We shall see a strange providence concur to the good of all. But I must leave the enlargement of these things to your own thoughts and meditations.*

·

* Here is added,' Imprimatur. Thomas Wykes. August 24. 1639.-G.

NOTES.

(a) P. 96.-'Let a child but cry to the father or mother, there is relief presently for the very cry.' Tennyson has finely put this :

'What am I?

An infant crying in the night,

An infant crying for the light,

And with no language but a cry.'-In Memoriam, liii.

(b) P. 96.-' As Tertullian saith, . . . "When men join together, they offer a holy kind of violence to God." In his 'Apology' the sentiment is found, e.g., c. xxxix.: We are a body united in the profession of religion, in the same rites of worship, and in the bond of a common hope. We meet in one place, and form an assembly, that we may, as it were, come before God in one united body, and so address him in prayer. This is a violence which is well-pleasing to God.' Cf. Temple Chevallier's excellent edition of the post-apostolical Letters and Apologies (8vo, 2d ed., 1851), in loc.

(c) P. 96.-Take away prayer, and take away the life and breath of the soul. Take away breath, and the man dies; as soon as the soul of a Christian begins to live, he prays.' This recalls the beautiful hymn of James Montgomery

'Prayer is the Christian's vital breath,

The Christian's native air,' &c.

G.

THE SUCCESSFUL SEEKER.

THE SUCCESSFUL SEEKER.

NOTE.

The Successful Seeker' appeared originally in Evangelical Sacrifices' (4to., 1640). Its separate title-page is given below. For general title-page of the

volume, see Vol. V. page 156.

* THE SVCCESSEFVLL

SEEKER.

In tvvo Sermons, on

PSALME 27. 8.

BY

The late Learned and Reverend Divine,

RICH. SIBBS.

Doctor in Divinity, Mr. of KATHERINE Hall
in Cambridge, and sometimes Preacher
to the Honourable Society of
GRAYES-INNE.

1 CHRON. 16. 11.

Seeke yee the Lord, and his strength: seeke his face
continually.

LONDON,

Printed by T. B. for N. Bourne, at the Royall Exchange,
and R. Harford, at the guilt Bible in Queenes-head
Alley in Pater-noster-Row. 1639.

G.

THE SUCCESSFUL SEEKER.

When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.-Ps. XXVII. 8.

In the former verse, David begins a prayer to God, Hear, O Lord; have mercy upon me, and answer me.' This verse is a ground of that prayer, 'Seek ye my face,' saith God. The heart answers again, Thy face, Lord, will I seek; therefore I am encouraged to pray to thee. In the words are contained,

God's command and David's obedience.

'Seek my face; thy face, Lord, will I seek.' God's warrant and David's work answerable, the voice and the echo: the voice, 'Seek my face;' the rebound back again of a gracious heart, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.'

'When thou saidst.' It is not in the original. It only makes way to the sense. Passionate speeches are usually abrupt: Seek my face;' thy face, Lord, will I seek.' The first thing that I will observe from the encouragement is, that,

Obs. God shews himself to his understanding creature.

God begins you see, 'Seek my face.' He must open his meaning and shew himself first. God comes out of that hidden light that he dwells in, and discovers himself and his will to his creature, especially in the word. It is our happiness now, that we know the mind and meaning of God. What is the ground of this? What need God stoop thus ?

There is the same ground for it as that there is a God. These things go in an undivided knot, God: the reasonable, understanding creature; and religion, that ties that creature to God; a discovery of God what that religion shall be.

For in the intercourse between God and man, man can do nothing except he hath his warrant from God. It is extreme arrogance for man to devise a worship of God. Do we think that God will suffer the creature to serve him as he pleaseth? No. That were to make the creature, which is the servant, to be the master. It belongs to the master or lord to appoint the service. What master or lord will be served according to the liberty and wisdom and will of his servant? And shall the great God of heaven and earth be worshipped and depended upon as man pleaseth, or from any encouragement from himself? Shall not he design his own worship? He that singles out his own work makes himself master in that. * That is, ' by God.'—G.

Therefore God begins with this command, Seck my face;' and then the heart answereth, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.' God must first discover his mind, of necessity, to the creature.

Scriptures might be forced hence to shew the duty owing from the creature, man, to God. For the creature must have a ground for what he doth. It must not be will-worship, infringit, &c. It is a rule, it weakens the respect of obedience that is done without a cause. Though a man doth a good deed, yet what reason, what ground have ye for this? And that we may do things upon ground, God must discover himself; therefore he saith, " Seek my face.'

It may be objected that everything proclaims this, to seek God. Though God had not spoken, nor his word, every creature hath a voice to say, 'Seek God.' All his benefits have that voice to say, 'Seek God.' Whence have we them? If the creature could speak, it would say, I serve thy turn that thou mayest serve God, that made thee and me. As the prophet saith, the rod and chastisement hath a voice. Hear the rod, and him that smiteth,' Micah vi. 9. Everything hath a voice. We know God's nature omewhat in the creature, that he is a powerful, a wise, a just God. We see it by the works of creation and providence; but if we should know his nature, and not his will towards us-his commanding will, what he will have us do; and his promising will, what he will do for us-except we have a ground for this from God, the knowledge of his nature is but a confused knowledge; it serves but to make us inexcusable, as in Rom. i. 19, seq., it is proved at large. It is too confused to be the ground of obedience, unless the will of God be discovered before; therefore we must know the mind of God.

And that is the excellency of the church of God above all other people and companies of men, that we have the mind and will of God; what he requires of us by way of duty to him, and what he will do to us as a liberal and rich God. These two things, which are the main, are discovered; what we look for from God, and the duty we owe back again to God, these are distinctly opened in the word. You see here God begins with David, 'Seek ye my face.'

Indeed, God is a God of order. In this subordination of God and the creature, it is fit that God should begin. It is God's part to command, and ours to obey. This point might be enlarged, but it is a point that doth but make way to that that follows, therefore I will not dwell upon it:

Again, in this first part, God's command or warrant, Seek ye my face,' you see here,

Obs. 2. God is willing to be known. He is willing to open and discover himself; God delights not to hide himself. God stands not upon state, as some emperors do that think their presence diminisheth respect. God is no such God, but he may be searched into. Man, if any weakness be discovered, we can soon search into the depth of his excellency; but with God it is clean otherwise. The more we know of him, the more we shall admire him. None admire him more than the blessed angels, that see most of him, and the blessed spirits that have communion with him. Therefore he hides not himself, nay, he desires to be known; and all those that have his Spirit desire to make him known. Those that suppress the knowledge of God in his will, what he performs for men and what he requires of them, they are enemies to God and of God's people. They suppress the opening of God, clean contrary to God's meaning: Seek my face;' I desire to be made known, and lay open myself to you.