Reader, the cure of this must be for thee, if ignorant, to labour after the Knowledge of God, and thy Duty to him. When David leaves his charge with his Son Solomon, to serve and worship the blessed God, as the great business of his life; Mark how he begins with the means thereof, and concludes with the motive thereto. And thou Solomon my Son, know the God of thy Fathers, and serve him with a perfect heart and willing mind: If thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever, 1 Chron. 28.9. As if he had said, Solomon, thou Son of my Love, thou Son of my Vows, I am now dying, and going to my long home; Nature and Grace, my love to ⟨p. 392⟩thee, and to God, do both strongly incline me to desire thy well-fare, and to wish thee well eternally; I know not better how to speak and declare it, than by charging and commanding thee, that what-ever thou omittest or neglectest, thou wouldst adore and worship the God of thy Fathers, and that not formally and customarily, but solemnly and sincerely, with a perfect Heart and willing Mind; and to this end there is a necessity of thy knowing him. Till thou knowest his Grace and Goodness, thou wilt never love him; till thou knowest his Holiness and Justice, thou wilt never fear him; till thou knowest his Promises, and Power, and Faithfulness, thou wilt never trust him; and till thou knowest his boundless Sovereignty and Dominion over, his unquestionable Right and Propriety in the works of his Hands, thou wilt never obey him; therefore study the knowledge of this God of thy Fathers, that thou mayst serve him; for be assured, he will not be mocked: But with the Upright, he will carry himself upright; and with the Froward, he will carry himself froward, ⟨p. 393⟩Psal. 18. If thou livest after the Flesh, thou shalt die; if thou walkest after the Spirit, thou shalt live. If thou seek him in his own way, with all thy Heart, as the great work and business of thy Life, he will reveal himself to thee, and be found of thee in a way of Grace and Favour; but if thou embrace the World, or the Flesh, as thy Sovereigns or Portions, and so cast him off; be confident he will forsake and cast thee off for ever, and then what will Devils do to thee, and what misery will not surprise thee? Friend, God affords thee many helps for knowledge, and wilt thou not labour after it?
Reader, the cure of this must be for thee, if ignorant, to labour after the Knowledge of God, and thy Duty to him. When David leaves his charge with his Son Solomon, to serve and worship the blessed God, as the great business of his life; Mark how he begins with the means thereof, and concludes with the motive thereto. And thou Solomon my Son, know the God of thy Fathers, and serve him with a perfect heart and willing mind: If thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever, 1 Chron. 28.9. As if he had said, Solomon, thou Son of my Love, thou Son of my Vows, I am now dying, and going to my long home; Nature and Grace, my love to ⟨p. 392⟩thee, and to God, do both strongly incline me to desire thy well-fare, and to wish thee well eternally; I know not better how to speak and declare it, than by charging and commanding thee, that what-ever thou omittest or neglectest, thou wouldst adore and worship the God of thy Fathers, and that not formally and customarily, but solemnly and sincerely, with a perfect Heart and willing Mind; and to this end there is a necessity of thy knowing him. Till thou knowest his Grace and Goodness, thou wilt never love him; till thou knowest his Holiness and Justice, thou wilt never fear him; till thou knowest his Promises, and Power, and Faithfulness, thou wilt never trust him; and till thou knowest his boundless Soveraignty and Dominion over, his unquestionable Right and Propriety in the works of his Hands, thou wilt never obey him; therefore study the knowledge of this God of thy Fathers, that thou mayst serve him; for be assured, he will not be mocked: But with the Ʋpright, he will carry himself upright; and with the Froward, he will carry himself froward, ⟨p. 393⟩Psal. 18. If thou livest after the Flesh, thou shalt die; if thou walkest after the Spirit, thou shalt live. If thou seek him in his own way, with all thy Heart, as the great work and business of thy Life, he will reveal himself to thee, and be found of thee in a way of Grace and Favour; but if thou imbrace the World, or the Flesh, as thy Soveraigns or Portions, and so cast him off; be confident he will forsake and cast thee off for ever, and then what will Devils do to thee, and what misery will not surprize thee? Friend, God affords thee many helps for knowledge, and wilt thou not labour after it?
