Christ pronounceth such blest as hunger and thirst after righteousnesse we say in that sense a sincere desire to pray and believe Ruth p. 14â— is materially and by concomitancy a neighbour and neere a kin to beleeving and praying A verball or seminaâ—â— intention to pray beleeve love Christ do his will is in the seed of praying beleeving c. when the intention is supernaturall and of the same kind with the act as the seed is the tree we say not so of naturall intentions or desires As Abrahams sincere intentions to offer up his sonne was the offring of his son c. But I go to a third consideration Thirdly therefore consider that feeling at the best is but a deceivable and disputable evidence ofttimes conclusions grounded upon sense are false and sink in time If thou judgest thy condition by feeling thou mayest ofttimes think God doth nothing for thee though he be at that instant fully enlivening thee c. and againe think that God is at peace with thee and that hee carrieth thee out to duties c. when there is no such matter and it is nothing but the strength of natuarall parts that carrieth thee out c. Saul thought he had a great deal of feeling 1 Sam. 15. 13. when he came to meet Gods messenger he cryes out Blessed be thou of the Lord I have kept the Commandments of the Lord But yet the following part of that story will tell you that Saul was far enough off from any true feeling of peace and comfort So without question those in Mat. 7. 22. judged themselves to have a great deale of feeling of Gods strength when they had prophesied in Gods name and in his name cast out Devils and in his name done many wonderfull workes yet Christ professeth he would say to many such I never knew you depart from me yee workers of iniquity thou cryest thou dost not feele God carrying thee out in duties as many other Christians are and that which thou callest Gods spirit in them or in thy selfe may be no such matter it is not the courting of God with elegant eâ—â—â—essions that argues the strength of God assisting there is many a stammering non-sence prayer that hath more of the sweet spirit of God in it there may be a full heart though it runs not out of the lips so fast yea oftentimes the fulnesse of the heart causeth the straitnesse of the lips just as the fulnesse of the vessell may occasion the water to run slowly out of the hole for want of vent or wind The Apostle sayes that the Spirit of God helpeth our infirmities with cryes and groanes which cannot be uttered it doth not say it helpeth our infirmities with courtly expressions that cannot be paâ—alleled thou mayest when thou thinkest that God carrryes thee out with more strength and enlargement to duties call and misconstrue that to be the strength and assistance of the spirit of God which is occasioned meerly from thy owne clearenesse of naturall spirit when thou art in a little better vein of Rhetorick then thou wert Mistake not there is a distinction betwixt Praying gifts and Praying graces I observe it is said Iacob wrestled with God by vertue of strength from him subintellige This is the strength of the spirit the spirits worke is not to carry out our tongue in expressions but our heart in zeale and importunity It is not said that Iacob scraped leggs with God no he wrestled wee are but ill ludges of feeling commonly which makes feeling but a deceivable and disputable evidence Fourthly consider that No Christian feeleth alwayes alike yea perhaps hath no cause to feele alwayes aliâ—e God to the best of his dearest servants doth sometimes measure but an Ephah and sometimes but an Omer distinguish alwayes betwixt the truth of Gods love to his deare children and the actings I meane the visible actings of his love that of God which is not seene is alwayes full and certain to Christians I meane his elective love the yernings of his heart towards his deare children there is of God also that may be seen Psal 68. 24. They have seen thy goings O God even the goings of my God in the Sanctuary Gods goings in a poor soule are sometimes very visible to a gracious soule but sometimes his goings are more secret and invisible yet he is alwaies going in acts of love and grace to his poore fervants only his goings are more mysterious and dark God sometimes goes a meere foot pace just sets one foot before another in them and towards them sometimes hee goes faster and more strongly in them and apparently towards them First Gods soft going in the soule may sometimes bee a cause why the soule cannot feel Peter had no reason to feel the strength of God alike when he shamefully denied his Master in the high Priests Hall as when hee durst venture to walke on the Sea towards him Secondly God withdrawes some degrees of his strength sometimes to try whether a Christian can stand upon the true legs of Faith as well as upon the wooden legs of sense the mother withdrawes her hand sometimes to see how the child can goe without trusting to the feeling of her hand guiding and supporting it Thirdly another cause may be in the Christian why he cannot feele God carrying him out to acts of his grace in his strength alwayes alike The soule may possibly have lost its feeling the benummed member doth not feele In sicknesses and deseases of the body Nature may sometimes bee so much infeebled that sometimes the party affected falls into a dead swound wherein he is deiprved for a time not only of the use of his understanding reason and memory but also of his sense motion and vitall functions So it may be with a Christian sin or the violence of some temptations of Sathan may bee such that the Christian cannot feele any thing the soule cast into a swound and deprived of all the spirituall faculties of it faith love life c. no wonder the soule for the present doth not feele the leg of the soule is asleep the whole soule is benummed how should it feel but let it alone a little as such body if not quite dead will quickly returne to its sense again and live and feele and move c. so likewise will the gracious soule quickly come to recover its life and sense and motion againe though the soule seemes to the judgement of sense to have no sap or principle of life in it yet consider it is winter-time with the soule stay but till the spring and summer while the frost hath done nipping and discolouring and the soule will have its sap visible and recover iâ—s beauty againe there is fire in the soule though it be caked up in the night wait but till the morning that the ashes be blown away you shall see the fire of Gods spirit is not extinguished in the soule I sleepe saith the Spouse but my heart waketh
Master Shepheard Ib. Severall directions given by Doctor Preston in this case Ib. 3. Directions given in this case p. 53 1. Consider the nature of thy sinne in 6 particulars Ib. 2. Consider the mercy of God in 3 particulars Ib. 3. Fly to God by Prayer p. 53 54 SERM. III. CHAP. III. HOw to satisfie such Christians as thinke they ought not to beleeve because they doe not know they are elected The Complaint of the troubled soule p. 56 Something spoken to it by way of promise p. 57 The truth concerning Election premised in 5 Conclusions Papists and Arminians wound truth to heale conscience by lying charmes Ib. 8. Considerations propounded for soules thus troubled p. 58 59 c. 1. Consid Faith is not an apprehension of particular Election but an application of generall promises p. 59 60 61 62 2. Consid That thy faith only can discover to thee thy Election p. 62 The Covenant is only shewed by God to his Saints p. 62 63 3. Consider the phrase of Scripture expounding how our Election may be made knowne to us p. 63 4. Thou hast no ground to conclude against thy Election but thy unbeliefe p. 64 65 5. Cons Those that God elects to the end he elects to the means p. 65 66 We must have a sense of faith before we can have a sense of our Election p. 66 6. By this stumbling as we perplexe our selves so we call Gods wisdome in question a wayes and slander the charters of free grace p. 67 7. If we will beleeve Gods decrees cannot hinder us of heaven p. 68 8. Heaven and glory are worth an adventure whether we be elected or no. p. 68 69 Sâ—RM IV. CHAP. IV. HOw to comfort poore soules that dare not beleeve because of their unworthinesse in respect of their many and great sins 7. Considerations to comfort the soule under this affliction p. 72 73 c. 1. Gods grace is full enough of heighth and length and depth and breadth Christ cannot be brought to pant for breath of free grace p. 72 73 74 75 2. Consid There 's no defect of will in God to save the highest or greatest sinners p. 76 77 78 79 There is not only power but eagernesse in Christs will to save the greatest sinners p. 77 75 Christs eagernesse to save sinners proved by 12 particulars p. 77 78 79 1. He speaks 2. He sweares 3. He pleads 4. He expostulates with us upon denyals 5. He appeales 6. He wishes 7. He professeth he knowes not how to destroy them 8. He weeps 9. He invites 10. He comes from heaven to earth on this errand 11. He dyes for great sinners 12. He sends messengers to treat and parly with great sinners p. 77 78 79 3. Consid God hath pardoned and Christ hath washed as great sinners as thou art that were so either actually or habitually p. 80 4. Consid Infinite mercy never did its utmost yet God can pardon greater sinners then he hath pardoned p. 81 82 5. Consid There is as much reason on thy part why Christ should pardon thee as there was in any of the Saints why he pardoned them p. 83 6. Consid God never married any for a portion nor refused any for want of one p. 84 7. Consid Christ shall attaine his designe in pardoning sinners more fully by how much the greater sinner thou art p. 84 85 Christ gets most glory by pardoning great sinners p. 85 1. He glorifies his power and patience and riches of mercy p. 84 2. He gets glory from them They will love much p. 85 3. Others by their example will be perswaded to turne Ib. The whole case concluded with a story out of Eusebius p. 86 87 SERM. V. CHAP. V. HOw to satisfie a soule doubting that it hath sinned the sinne against the Holy-Ghost The complaint stated 89. Something spoken to it by way of premise 90. 1. There is such a sin 90. Why it is called the sinne against the Holy-Ghost 90. 2. It is unpardonable 91. 3. Elect ones cannot commit it p. 91 This scruple proceeds from ignorance p. 91 92 12. Considerations tending to comfort the soule under this wound and to informe us concerning the nature of this sinne p. 92 93 94 95 c. 1 Consid None could ever tell what this sinne was p. 9â— Various opinions of it 92. The Schoolmen and Papists opinion of it 92 Their 6 species of it disproved p. 92 93 How bsasphemy against the Holy-Ghost may be taken p. 93 How far we may discover what this sinne is p. 94 2. Consid None can be guilty of it but such as have had a great measure of knowledge p. 94 95 3. Consid It must be a setled sinne of our owne continued in without repentance not a transient suggested thought for which we grieve p. 96 97 4. Consid Every sin against knowledge is not this sin p. 97 What manner of sinning against knowledge it must be Ib. 5. Consid A bare deniall of the truth of God with which we are enlightened and the grace of God infused into us is not this unpardonable sin p. 98 What manner of deniall of truth is an ingredient into this sin Ib. 6. Consid Every envy at and hatred of our brethren and their goodnesse is not this sin p. 99 What manner of envy and hatred is an ingredient into this sin p. 100 7. Consid It must be joyned with a totall falling away from the truth Religion and profession of Jesus Christ Ib. 8. Consid Others would complaine of it as well as thy self if thou hadst sinned this sin p. 101 9 Consid Thy complaining and grieving for it is a signe thou art not guilty of it Ib. 10. Consid The sin against the Holy-Ghost is not unpardonable in respect of Gods mercy or its greatnesse p. 102 How and why it is said to be unpardonable Ib. 11. Consid It cannot be a block for thee in the way of beleevingly because though it doth take away from thee the power yet it doth not excuse thee from the duty of believing 103 12. Thou canst not conclude thy selfe to have sinn'd this sin if thou hast sinn'd it before thy dying houre Ib. The conclusion of the Case With a generall description of the sinne against the Holy-Ghost p. 104 105 SERM. VI. CHAP. VI. HOw to satisfie such poore soules as are conceited they doe not believe when they indeed doe 2 Causes of such Complaints 1. A mistake in the nature and Acts of faith p. 108 2. A misjudging of the effects of faith Ib. 2 Things propounded in order to satisfaction to such scruples as arise from the first cause Ib. 1 Thing viz. That there are many acts and degrees of faith and every act is not required to justifying faith Ib. 2 Thing That true faith is of so good a nature that it will consist in a soule with many doubts and weaknesses Ib. Various opinions concerning the justifying act of faith Knowledge is supposed to faith no
act of it 109 Assent in the first and lowest act of faith What it is Ib. What manner of assent is an act of faith p. 110 1. It must be stedfast 2. Impartiall 3. Cleare p. 110 111 What manner of assent wicked wretches give to Gods Word p. 112 It is a ravish'd assent of their will p. 113 The second act of faith is Reliance this is the justifying act p. 115 Six words which Master Ball hath noted in Scripture setting out the worke of justifying faith p. 116 The third act of faith is Full Perswasion and Assurance What it is p. 117 This is not necessary but comfortable Ib. This is not that which justifieth but fides justificati Ib. What is good and speciall justifying faith p. 118 How farre perswasion comes into justifying faith 1. There is a difference betwixt a perswasion and a full perswasion Ib. 2. There is a difference betwixt a perswasion relating to the present and a perswasion relating to the future 5 Conclusions from the premises to comfort a soule under this trouble Ib. SERM. VII CHAP. VII HOw to satisfie such Christians as conceit their faith is false because they have many doubts and weaknesses Faith is of so good a nature that it will consist in a gracious heart with many doubts and weaknesses p. 121 122 5 Conclusions of Master Sedgewicks concerning doubts in a gracious soule p. 123 5 Arguments of Master Rutherfords to prove that faith may consist with doubtings p. 124 125 CHAP. VIII VVHat doubtings and weaknesses in respect of Knowledge may consist in a truly beleeving soule with true faith The complaint stated p. 126 It is happy for the soule to complain it knowes nothing Ib. Six conclusions shewing what ignorance may be in a true believing soule p. 126 127 128 c. 1. An ignorance in some points of Religion which in some sense may be called fundamentals p. 127 A distinction of fundamentals p. 127 128 What fundamentals are necessary to be knowne and without which can be no faith p. 127 128 The conclusion proved p. 128 129 130 2 Conc. A Believer may have true faith and yet be ignorant in many circumstantiall points of Religion p. 130 The conclusion proved p. 130 131 3 Conc. A Christian may have true faith and yet be ignorant in the History of the Bible p. 131 4 Conc. A Christian may have true faith and yet be ignorant of the meaning of many places in Scripture p. 131 5. A Christian may be so farre ignorant in those fundamentals that are necessary to be knowne that he cannot make them out and yet be a true believer p. 132 6. A Christian may be so farre ignorant in substantialls that hee cannot make them good upon dispute and yet have true faith p. 133 2 Cautions to be mixed with the premised Conclusions Ib. 1 He must not be content with this Ignorance Ib. 2 Hee must not deny nor revile the truth which he doth not as yet know p. 133 134 135 SERM. VIII CHAP. IX VVHat doubts and weaknesses may consist with true faith in a gracious soule in respect to assent The Complaint stated p. 136 5 Considerations to comfort the soule in severall complaints concerning the weaknesse of its assent p. 136 137 138 c. 1. A true believer may think he doth not assent to the truth of God when indeed he doth p. 137 Our assent is to be judged by our Actions p. 138 139 140 2. A Christian may be a true believer and yet sometimes doubt or indeed rather be tempted to doubt whether the word of God be the word of God or no. p. 140 141 Four notes by which we may know whether our Atheisticall thoughts against the truth of the Scriptures be temptations or no. p. 141 142 143 1 If they be they are ordinarily but disputations and not determinations p. 141 2. If they be but temptations thou strivest against them p. 142 3. If they be but temptations they will not dwell with thee Ib 4. If they be but temptations thou leadest not thy life according to them while thou art under them p. 143 144 3. Conc. A Christian may be a true believer and yet not for the present assent to some particular truth in the word of God p. 144 From what causes such a deficiency in assent may arise viz. 1. Ignorance 2. Weaknesse p. 144 145 146 4. Conc. A Christian that is a true believer may possibly not assent to the true meaning of this or that place of Scripture yea possibly close with a false interpretation of it p. 146 147 148 Every Misbeliever is not an Unbeliever p. 147 148 5. Conc. A Christian may truly believe and truly and clearly assent unto the truth of God though he cannot in all things give a clear evidence for his assent p. 148 149 A Truth is two wayes clear to a Christ First To the eye of his Reason Secondly To the eye of his Faith p. 148 149 Many truths of God are not clear to the Christians eye of Reason all are cleare to his eye of faith p. 149 A Difference of Evidences out of Master Ball. p. 148 149 150 The conclusion of the case with a repetition of the conclusions and an addition of two cautions p. 150 151 152 153 SERM. IX CHAP. X. COncerning those doubts and weaknesses which may consist with true faith in a gracious soule in respect to the justifying act of faith viz. Reliance The Complaint stated of such as conceive their faith and reliance is not true because they cannot think they rely or doe not as they conceive constantly rely or cannot find an equall reliance upon all the promises p. 156 Severall conclusions and considerations to comfort the soule under such scruples p. 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 1. Consid A Christian may truly and wholly rely on Jesus Christ and yet not believe he fully and truly relies p 157 158 2. Consid A Christian may have true faith and truly rely upon Jesus Christ and really think he doth not truly rest and rely p. 159 3. Consid Thou mayest question and doubt thy Reliance and yet truly rely Disputing argues a weaknesse not a nullity of the act p. 160 161 Causes assigned of such conceits in Christians against the truth of their reliances and of such disputes in their spirits concerning it p. 162 c. 1. Cause The remaines of naturall blindnesse p. 162 2. Cause The Devils temptations p. 163 3. Cause The misgiving and suspitious nature of Christians Ib. 4. Cause Mists of Melancholy clouding the soules eye p. 164 5. Cause A Christians wilfulnesse refusing to take any evidence of the truth of faith but from sense Ib. 4. Consid Thou mayest at all times truly rely and yet not at all times with equall confidence rely p. 165 166 5. Consid Thou mayest not so fully and equally rely upon some promises at all times as upon other and yet truly rely upon all p. 167 It is hard
19. 11. By the judgement of the Lord David was made circumspect And Thirdly if we consider that the Christian is not self-opinionated He cares not for false glasses and is more apt to behold his graces in a diminishing then a multiplying glasse the sincere Christian concerning himself is as ready to miscall a mountain a mole-hill as the hypocrite is to misjudge every mole-hill a mountain almost as ready to miscall his good evill as the other to nickname his evill good And for the third Branch of the Doctrine That as it is the duty of Christians to be sensible and groan under the defect of Faith so it is their duty and they will not stand still but strive and pray for an increase of it Much reason might be given for that too As First From the nature of the spirit of God that worketh and dwelleth in them Faith is the spirits work 1 Cor. 12. 9. Flesh and blood never revealed it Now the spirit is a quickning spirit 1 Pet. 3. 18. It is life Rom. 8. 10. Now where there is a principle of life there will be growth It is a working spirit that phrase we have often The spirit which worketh in you c. Now the spirits work is not to undo what it hath done but to work further and more Secondly If we consider The end of the Christian in the acting of all his graces Phil. 3. 13. The Apostle expresseth it fully Perfection is his butt he knows he must draw his bow with all his strength and his arrow to the head if he means to reach the butt and he shall not hit it neither The Christians voice is Heb. 6. 1. Let us go unto perfection It is the hypocrite sets himself bounds in Religion and sayes hither will I go and no further And to adde no more Thirdly The Christian knows that the more he hath of Faith the more he hath of Christ he knows that there is a depth of sweetnesse in Christ that can never be â—adomed something more to be understood when he understands as much as he can of him when the soul hath as much as its narrow hand can grasp of him whole Christ is too big to be enclosed in mortall arms Now the soul knows that Faith is the hand must squeeze that essence of sweetnesse the arm that must claspe him and he knows that the longer his arm of Faith is the more he shall graspe of him though he shall never be able to comprehend immeasurable Christ Eph. 3. 16 17 18. This makes him alwayes complain of his dwarfishnesse that his hand of Faith is not big enough and his arm of Faith is not long enough he cannot get in so much of Christ into his soul as he would do this makes him pray for an increase of Faith and so often complain of the shortnesse of his arm he cannot beleeve as he would This makes him say with our Apostle here Lord increase my Faith I come now to the application and here is matter of Consolation and Exhortation For all Christians 1. Cons especially those that are most sensible of the weaknesse of their Faith There have been and are more dwarfs besides thee Christian Perfection is a white was never hit the best archers come an handfull short It is indeed the mark at which every one ought to levell his arrows but all the souls of Christians like the arrows of Ionathan have flown some over into glory some short some on this hand some on that none hath hit the mark Be of good comfort Christian weak Faith is Faith little ones are true children of the Father that casts none away that comes though creeping to him Heaven hath room for babes as well as men A childe may pull the latch of heavens door and go in and be welcome to the knee of the King of Glory to the bosome of him Isai 40. 11. Who feeds his flock like a shepheard and carries the lambs in his bosome Jesus Christ hath his arms full of tender sucking lambs or at least that were so upon the earth The youngest Christian if he be an heir is of age to take up his land in heaven nonage is no bar The Garden of God hath more slips then old stocks in it now indeed they are become stocks but here they were but tender slips while Christ took them up out of the land of grace and transplanted them But Secondly Eâ—hor Is it so that the best of Christians have but a weak Faith in comparison of that perfection we ought to aspire to and that it is the duty of Christians to be sensible of it and pray and strive against it Let us all then look upon it as our duty Let us pray Lord increase our Faith Let us strive after that we shall never attain to even perfection Heb. 6. 1. Now here many directions might be given The first I will give shall be to remove those things which hinder the growth of it as scruples cavillings c. From hence shall I take my rise for a subject which with the blessing of God I do intend for some time to insist upon to satisfie the souls of some poor Christians in those scruples which may perplex them touching this grace of Faith The removing of which will not a little conduce to the increasing of this grace in their souls I will begin with the first And here though I spend many Sermons I trust I shall not be tedious having intended to make it my work in these Lectures to satisfie doubting Christians in cases of conscience and to begin with those which concern this radical grace at which the Devill bends so much of his force and malice Therefore wouldest thou grow in Faith Direct 1. remove those scruples which hinder the beginning and progresse of Faith in thy soul There are two notes of a weak Faith in a gracious soul 1. A sence of no Faith 2. A fear of a false Faith First A sence of no Faith Many a soul doth beleeve that perswades it self it neither doth nor ought to beleeve you shall often meet with Christians and especially in the beginning of their conversion that will cry out O they cannot beleeve nay what have they to do to beleeve Faith were but a presumption in their soul if they could hatch it up Or if not so Secondly Yet you cannot make them think that they do beleeve no Faith and they are strangers c. Now as it is in the diseases of the body the cure is scarce wrought untill the cause be first discovered and removed so it is likewise in the troubles and disquietments of the soul we shall scarce be able to remove them out of the souls way unlesse we first finde how they came there and if we can but truely understand the cause we shall easily remove the effect In generall we must know these complaints are to be understood concerning the Acts of Faith I dare not or cannot or do
this sin how wilt thou know it is finall before thou diest canst thou not yet repent and beleeve strive then Christian God may give thee power and call thee in at the eleventh hour V. Aust T. 10 Ep. 11. de Verbis Domini p. 46. copiose just at thy dying hour as the theef upon the crosse which if he does thou hast unjustly and cruelly condemned thy self and belyed thy own soul To â—umme up therefore all in a word You hear Christians beleeving yet remains your great duty It stands firm beleeve and you shall be saved You have seen one block more thrown out of your way I have shewed you this temptation or suggestion cannot hinder where by the way you have accidentally heard something of the nature of this unpardonable which being well understood by Christians will be enough to satisfie Christians against this doubt And from all that hath been said concerning this You may gather this discription of the sin against the Holy-ghost which is consonant to the sense of most sober and Orthodox Divines concerning it and conteins the marrow of what most of our Divines have said concerning it Take it thus It is for a man that hath been first enlightened by the Holy-ghost A Discription of the sin against the Holy-ghost With secondly Fundamentall Gospel truths Thirdly 1. A subjecto Distinctly Against first knowledge And secondly Deliberation Thirdly Directly Fourthly From the degree Freely and wilfully Fifthly Openly Sixthly A causa procreante Maliciously Seventhly Desperately Without any provocation but the corrupt wickednesse of his own heart drawn out occasionally upon the making known of some Divine Evangelicall fundamentall truths or propagating of them he himself being convinced that they are the truths of God In his heart to envy the credit of the truth amongst others and out of his malice to God From the acts of it whose the truth is and to the truth because it is true to blaspheme and revile the truth of God and oppose it in others malitiously and to blaspheme those gifts of the Holy-ghost From the object of it and that truth which he had formerly been convinced of and received From the end of it and to set himself in such malicious opposition against it as to desire and do what in him lies to spoil the credit From the consequents of it and extinguish the light of the truth and destroy the friends of it because they are so and in this wickednesse to go on making a generall defection from God and the wayes of God and maliciously persisting in such opposition without any repentance and finally perishing in it despairing of Gods mercy if at any time he should have any kinde of remorse This I conceive is a full description of it which if such Christians as ordinarily complain of this burthen would learn they would quickly finde their complaint groundlesse If any yet remain unsatisfied in I shall refer them to a little but full Book concerning this subject called A Discourse of the sin against the Holy-ghost composed by Master Bradshaw in which they shall finde as much as can be said upon this subject Here I shall break off And now I have done with answering the Scruples of those that think they ought not and pretend they dare not beleeve Either 1. Conceiting they are not enough humbled Or 2. Because they do not know they are elected Or 3. Because they conceive themselves unworthy Or 4. Upon a conceit they have sinned the unpardonable sin against the Holy ghost I should now come to a second note of a weak Faith which is a fear of a false Faith which is ordinarily a note of a true Faith O they are confident they do not beleeve so many are their doubtings so little is their perswasion and assurance so weak the actings of their graces are but of this hereafter SERM. VI. LUKE 17. 5. Lord increase our Faith I Am still upon the work of removing such obstructions as hinder the work of Faith in the soul I have done with those of the first sort viz. such as are praevious that make the soul stumble at the threshold while it conceives it may not and pretends it dare not beleeve I am now come to a second sort that are gone a step further then these they will tell you that they are convinced beleeving is their duty and their great duty and the duty for the omission of which they fear they shall perish But they cannot they do not beleeve they may cheat themselves with a presumption but they want such a certainty of perswasion and such a fulnesse of assurance as is requisite to true Faith they are full of ignorance and weaknesses c. Cap. 6. How to satisfie those that are conceited against the work of Faith in their souls viz. against the truth of it NOw for satisfaction to such Christians let us search out the cause of such complaints I conceive there may be a double cause 1. A mistake in the nature and acts of Faith 2. A misjudging of the effects of Faith First The complaints of such a soul which yet all this time truely beleeves may arise from a mistake concerning the nature and acts of Faith and therefore the way to satisfie it will be rightly to inform it concerning them and to this end I shall but propound to such a soul to consider these two things 1. That there are many acts and more degrees then one of true saving Faith 2. That true Faith is of so good a nature that it will and may dwell with many doubtings and weaknesses in a poor soul These two things cleared I trust many souls will be satisfied for commonly the mistake is grounded upon ignorance conceiving there is no Faith but Faith of assurance and that Faith comes to be no Faith if but a dram of doubting be mingled with it c. Consider therefore I say First That true Faith hath severall acts and severall degrees A fulnesse of perswasion is not the least act or degree of Faith no not of true justifying Faith There are notes under that Ela. There is great quarrelling concerning the nature and essence of true justifying Faith some will have it to be a bare knowledge Thus saith the Apostle The devils beleeve and tremble Some will afford us a little more and tell us that Faith consists in an assent but beyond this they will not stride some in too full opposition to these denying any certainty of perswasion and assurance to be have described Faith by an assurance and full perswasion which is the highest and not the direct but the reflex act of Faith when indeed the very essence of justifying Faith lieth betwixt these in an act of adherence to and reliance upon Jesus Christ To Faith we grant a knowledge is required of Gods word But this we say is rather supposed to Faith then an act of true justifying Faith First The lowest act of Faith
and notwithstanding all this truly and really rely and rest Now these kinds of misgivings may arise from severall causes God may please for his ends to keep the soule in darknesse to keep it humble and to keep it in a strict way of adherence c. But I shall rather meddle with the subordinate and instrumentall causes and assigne three or foure causes The first may be blindnesse and ignorance there may be yea is a great deale of darknesse in the soule there was a thick darknesse surprized Adams understanding when he fell and this still clouds all the children of Adam we are not able to discerne or judge of the nature of the internall acts of the minde we cannot come to a certaine knowledge of them as they are in themselves but as I said before must judge them by the effects the soule doth not understand what affiance is and this makes her question whether she doth rely or no and not think she doth being never ready to think well of her selfe A second cause may be the Devils temptations such winds will make strong houses shake sometimes It is Satans great designe to keep the soule from beleeving and if he cannot keep the edifice of Faith from being built in the soule yet he will keep it if possible from standing sure Luke 22. 31. Simon Simon saith Christ Satan hath desired to winnow thee like wheat the word signifies to shake up and downe as in a fan wheat is used the kernells scarce ever lie still Satan is almost alwayes shaking the Christian by the shoulders he desires to winnow them and as with Iob because he had no power over his life he executed his power to the utmost upon the comforts of his life So he deals with the soule because he hath no power over the life of Faith therefore he will execute his power to the utmost over the soul that it may never come to have the comfortable sense of Faith and no wonder if when he brings his rammes to batter the poor mud wall of a Christian shakes especially considering how smooth an Orator he is to perswade and how subtill a Sophister he is to prove Even as it is as easie with a good Logician to make a poor simple creature beleeve so as he cannot deny that the Sun doth not shine so it is an easie thing with the Devill to perswade the soule that it doth not rest and rely when indeed it doth especially if we consider Thirdly What a misgiving nature and suspicious frame there is ordinarily in the hearts of Beleevers They are alwayes fearing and suspecting lest they should not doe their duty they know that in many things all sinne and they are afraid lest they should cozen and deceive themselves now when Satan takes a flint and a steele and falls a striking and he meets with such a box of ready dry'd tinder no wonder if hee quickly strikes fire Besides A fourth cause may be melancholy cloudy vapours that for the present the soule is darkned with and can see nothing with a cleare sight but is like a man in a phrenzie And a fifth cause may be a Christians wilfulnesse when the Christian will take no evidence of his faith by the effects of it The best evidence that we either have or can have of the truth of our faith and of our justification is the effects of Faith now if it comes to this that the soule will not take any evidence of the truth of the act of Faith but onely under the Broad Seale of Heaven the apprehension and assurance and full perswasion of it the soule may live without comfort a great while if with Thomas it must see the wounds and holes Now here 's many a good soules condition he questions the truth of his Faith we come to him and tell him could there be such an hungring and thirsting after the Word that thy eare is unsatisfied with hearing unlesse thou didst beleeve this was the word of God and rest upon it as the Word of truth Could there be such a care to please Christ and a feare of offending him to be found in thy whole life and conversation if thou didst not rely upon him for salvation Could there be such a willingnesse to part with all thy estate for Christ and rather then thou wouldst deny him or not enjoy him in his Ordinances if thou didst not rely upon God as thy portion No the soule will not look upon this as a sufficient evidence but cryes out All this an Hypocrite may doe sanctification is imperfect mine is hypocrisie No would God seale it to me then I would beleeve it Now where this is found the soule may for a long time sit in darknesse and see no light yea it may be go down to the grave in its owne thoughts like Erasmus hanging betwixt Heaven and Hell But I proceed Fourthly Thou mayst not at all times trust with alike confidence and yet at all times truly trust The truth of trust and affiance is one thing the degrees of it another the truth of Faith never grows more or lesse the degrees of Faith do as the least drop of water is water so the least dram of faith is faith as much as the highest degree of it This the experience of every Christian will tell you sometimes they will say I think if the Devill had hold of me I could trust God for Heaven Though hee kills me saith Iob yet I will trust in him that was not Iobs temper alwayes and yet without question Iob did alwayes beleeve Paul was not in the same temper Rom. 7. that he was Rom. 8. 38. Peters crying Master save me or else I perish did argue his faith was under water more then his head Davids temper Psal 27. 1 2 3. was not the same with his temper 1 Sam. 27. 1. In the first he would not bee afraid of an Host encamping round about no though the Host consisted of ten thousand Psal 3. 6. But in that place 1 Sam. 27. 1. tells us hee was afraid of one Saul and that after many experiences So a poor Christian is ready to think O I do not truly trust and rely upon God c. Sometimes I think if I had not a bit of bread nor a drop of water yet I would not feare my faith should be like that Hab. 3. 17. Another time my heart is so farre from it that though I have for the present enough yet my base heart can hardly keep from covetousnesse sometimes I think that if God would take me away in a massacre I should not yeeld my blood with a repining word another time I so doubt of my interest in Christ that I should not know how to dye upon my bed but am crying Lord take me not away with the wicked Christian thus thou mayest be David Psal 3. would not be afraid of his soules going out of his body if ten thousand swords were ready to cut out a passage for
were in his drowning danger though he be on the shore the terrours had surprized him before are not presently shaken of A second cause may be in regard of some holds that have already failed the soule Faith is when the soule layes hold upon Jesus Christ as the twig of salvation and hangs upon him for life and heaven and happinesse Now the soule hath had many twigs failed It is the nature of man to be timerous and as a drowning man will catch hold upon any thing which comes next hand to save his life on if he catcheth hold on one and that breaks he claps hold on another if that again breaks he claps hold on a third if that also breakes he still claps hold on a fourth beleeving it will hold otherwise he would never lay hold upon it yet so many having failed he cannot but feare lest that should faile him too So it is with a poor soule sin hath almost drowned him in terrour first he claps hold upon moralitie and civilitie resolving to live a sober and honest and vertuous life and thinks this will beare him well this twig breakes and will not hold when God hath a minde to work his work upon the the soule he quickly shewes the soule that this is a bruised reed and broken staffe the soule is plunged into a depth of horror and terror again well then hee claps hold of another twig and that is his duties he prayes and fasts and here he hangs this shall save me saith he this twig also breaks the Lord shews the poor wretch that all its righteousnesse is as a menstruous cloth and as filthy rags in his sight and here the soule is again plunged in feare at last God shews the soule the bough of Jesus Christs Righteousnesse the drowning sinking poor creature layes hold of this but with trembling lest this should also faile at first it feares A third cause may be in regard of the promise Faiths work is to lay hold upon the Lord Jesus Christ but now the soule doth not do this immediately but mediately Christ doth not appear and speak out of heaven to the soule and say I am thy salvation then the work of Faith would be more easie but Christ hath given the soul many both sweet and precious promises and these are the cords that the Lord Iesus Christ throwes out to the soule to pull it to the land with Now the soule takes this but with trembling untill it hath tryed the strength of them in regard it conceives the promises are lyable to many ambiguities bounded with many conditions and limitations and the soule conceives it selfe either not within the bounds of the promise or unable to fulfill the conditions of the promise or that it may make a false application of the promise And hence it is that come to a poor drooping soule that feares its condition and hath a true though a trembling hand of faith for Faith may have the palsey and urge the faithfulnesse of God in promising the surenesse of the promise once made the unchangeable nature of God they will tell you they do not a jot question this they know God is not man that he should lye nor yet as the son of man that he should repent they know that he is both faithfull and true but the promises they feare are not made to them they indeed rest upon them but whether rightly or no God knowes they conceive that either the promises were made to particular persons as to the Nation of the Jewes or they are sure to the particular number of Gods Elect of which they are none c. they will tell you that indeed the promises are true but they are conditionall and they feare that the conditions of the promise are not fulfilled in their soules so that the work lies another way not so much to perswade them of the truth of the promises in generall the cause of their trembling lies not here for feare that the promise should faile those to whom it belongs but for feare that they should misapply and misunderstand the faithfull and true promises of God And now although we must say concerning this trembling this is also our infirmity yet none can deny that it is an hereditary disease to the nature of man and will be in us more or lesse so long as any of us be in the flesh and so long as sinne remaines in our flesh and will be especially and most in those that have lien under greatest feares and terrours and are newly got out of them and begin to have a little of the light of comfort glimmer upon them even as a man that should come out of an horrid and dark dungeon where he hath been in darknesse thick darknesse into the glaring sight of the Sun in the top of the Meridian at the first will be dazeled and rub his eyes and apprehend himself in some darknesse though he be in the light He that had his eyes opened Ioh. 9. first thought he saw men like trees and this trembling may consist with true dependance Iob. 13. 15. Though he kill me yet I will trust in him the last words yet I will trust in him argued faith and a strong faith faith that he would trust a strong faith that yet hee would trust and yet whoso considereth the first words that Iob apprehended himself in a danger of killing will easily think that it was a trembling faith that Iob there acted And as it is ordinary with poor Christians through their infirmity to beleeve tremblingly in the beginning of their conversion so there is also another time when trembling doth ordinarily accompany true faith in the people of God and that is a time of desertion Secondly in time of desertion I think none will deny but Gods children have and act and must act true faith in this saving and justifying act of reliance and dependency but I am sure this they cannot doe without trembling Such was the condition of Iob in that place I before mentioned Iob 13. 15. David did rely and strongly rely in his time of desertion insomuch that in his 6. Psalm v. 8. he speakes confidently of a thing that he beleeved for as if it were already done The Lord hath heard the voyce of my weeping and yet whosoever readeth but the former part of that Psalm will finde that he was in a trembling temper His soule was sore vexed his bones were troubled he was weary with his groaning and he made his bed to swim with his teares c. Now the cause of this trembling ariseth First from the sense of the sinne The sinner saith Ah! the promises did belong to me but I have been a backslider and now what have I to doe with the promises What hath such a wretch as I to doe with these filthy unclean hands of mine to lay hold upon a clean Christ The sense of sin strikes a deep impression upon the soule and puts a shaking into the heart of
God We are not to live by faith upon the incertainty of sense All that that speakes is not Gospel but we have a more sure and certain livelihood even the unchangeable goodnesse and infallible goodnesse of a God that cannot lie nor repent Sense is deceiving truth is infallible doth sense say God doth not strengthen me and doth Gods word say these things I could not doe if God did not strengthen me whither it be now better to believe God or deceivable sense judge thou Fourthly Learn to acknowledged Gods little finger thou doest not finde God lending his whole hand perhaps not strengthening thee in such a measure to act grace in such a degree but know the least stirring of the soul in a spirituall manner to a spirituall action is from God flesh and blood could not doe it find ouâ— out Gods little secret workings look for these thou wilt finde some of them in thy soule Fifthly and lastly Act contrary to thy minde we bid the sick man eat against his stomack thou sayest I cannot pray I cannot believe why I doe not find God giving me an heart to it doe it against thy minde thou shalt finde strength to doe it and comfort from doing of it This learned Mr Rutherford gives great Reason for as 1. Because it is ordinarily seen that a Christian may begin to pray with sad and fleshly complaints of unbeliefe yet going on the breathing of the holy Ghost will fill the sailes c. if we be doing the Lord will be with us 2. Our indisposition is a sinne and doth not free us from our duty 3. Ruth We are to pray against weaknesse and indisposition Christ dying and for strength and freedome of spirit 4. We are commanded in the day of trouble and temptation to pray Psal 50. 15. Math. 6. 13. â— 5. It is a sinfull omission in us not to pray and act not to doe what we can though we feele a weaknesse c. and severall other Reasons he gives p. 486. 487. c. Now doest thou not feele the strengthening influence of Gods Spirit carrying thee on to thy duty yet doe it that is the way to come to have a feeling stirre up the grace of God that is in thee 2. Tim. 1. 6. God complained Esay 64. v 7. That there was none that cal'd upon his name or stirred up himself to lay hold upon him It is the ordinary practice of Free-grace to send in sense and strength upon thy endeavours yet freely not as merited by them And thus I have shortly dispatcht all that I have to say to this scruple of conscience where the soule complaines for want of feeling c. The Fourteenth SERMON LUKE 17. v. 5. Lord increase our faith YOu may remember my design is to direct you to such meanes as may encrease your Faith The first which I propounded was To remove such scruples as hinder the progresse of our souls in the work of believing the soule conceiting either that it ought not to believe or else that it doth not believe The latter sort of which as I have shewed you ariseth either from an ignorant mistake of the nature and act and degrees of faith or from a mis-judging of the effects of faith Where a mistake of the nature and acts of faith is the cause by way of satisfaction I propounded to your consideration these two things 1. That there are divers acts of faith every of which is not necessary to Justification 2. That faith is of so good a nature that it will consist in the soule with many doubtings and weaknesses I have shewed you how true faith will and may consist with many doubtings and with what weaknesses it may consist in respect of knowledge assent reliance and assurance to summe up this businesse fully I have only by way of conclusion to discover to you in what the doubtings which may be in Gods dearest Saints differ from the doubtings of unbelievers and reprobates This is my work at this time Alas saith a poore soule but I am afraid that my doubting is not such a doubting as is incident to the Saints of God but such as Devils and reprobates have doubting of despaire not opposite only but contradictory to faith c. How shall I know whither my doubts bee such as may consist with faith in a gracious soule yea or no c CHAP. XIV How to know whither our doubtings be such as may consist with true faith in a gracious soule IN regard of this it will bee necessary that I should difference doubts and shew you wherein the Christian may be comforted being assured his doubts are not such as are inconsistent with true faith for thy comfort therefore know that there is a vaste difference betwixt the doubts of Gods people and the doubts of reprobates apparent in these five particulars First they differ in their ground and principle from which they arise The principle from which the doubts arise which are in the Saints of God is infirmity Rom. 4. 19. 20. The Apostle sayes Abraham staggered not at the Promise of God through unbeliefe but was strong in faith giving glory to God He doubted not through infidelity saith Mr Ball but he doubted of infirmity when he took Hagar to his bed for the raising of him a seed Gen. 16. v. 2. 3. and God Gen. 15. v. 4. had directly promised him an Heire yea so many children that the Starres of heaven should be a lesser number yea did he not doubt Gen. 17. 17. when the Lord had promised him a sonne hee laughed and said in his heart shall a child be born to him that is an hundred years old and shall Sarah that is ninty yeares old beare I know St Austine sayes Abrahams laughing was risus exultantis non derisio diffidentis the laughing of one that rejoyced and not the scorning of one that distrusted but with all due reverence to that learned and pious man I doe not think that he hath fully solved the knot I doe not think it was a mocking of distrust nor yet that it was a bare laughter of rejoycing I humbly conceive there was an exulting but yet mixt with a little doubting or disputing he rejoyced considering the faithfulnesse of the word but yet his sence through infirmity quarrelled with his faith about it In the joy of his heart he said as Mary upon the like tidings Luk. 1. v 38. Behold the servant of the Lord let it bee now unto me according to thy word and yet through infirmity he said How can these things be and therefore in the very next words v. 18. he sayes unto God O that Ishmael might live before thee which words as they plainely expresse Abrahams good will and wishing to Ishmael yet under correction to better judgements I conceive also from a comparing of the words before and immediatly after that they intimate a kinde of doubting of Gods fulfilling his word As if Abraham should have said Lord I am
in times of apparant danger to rely Ib. Because dangers are obvious to sense The object of faith is out of sight p. 168 Promises where the flesh is concerned where sense failes are harder to be relied on then promises meerly relating to the soule p. 167 168 2. The soule may have more cause to feare Gods fulfilling of promises for this life then it hath or can have to feare the fulfilling of promises for eternall life p. 169 The reason of it p. 169 170 SERM. X. 6. COnsid A Christian may hang tremblingly on the promises and yet truly p. 171 Severall causes of a believers trembling sometimes p. 173 174 c. 1. Cause The deep apprehension of their misery proceeding p. 173 2. Cause The holds that have already deceived the soule p. 174 3. Cause The distance of the promise to sense and the generality of them p. 175 176 4. Cause Desertions p. 177 Whence ariseth trembling in desertion viz. from the sense of sin occasioning this desertion Ib. 2. Cause Why the Believer trembles in desertion is because the very essence of desertions is the withdrawing of the shinings of Gods love which onely can keep the soule from trembling p. 177 178 179 7. Consid Thou mayest truly rely upon Christ and the promises and yet not be able at all times fully and truly to appropriate and peculiarise them to thy selfe p. 180 Severall distinctions of promises and times to be observed for the clearing up the consideration p. 181 182 183 184 2. Distinctions of promises instanced in Temporall Spirituall Absolute Conditionall p. 180 181 1. Temporall promises made to particular Persons and Kingdomes must not be appropriated they are canceld bonds p. 184 2. We may truly appropriate Spirituall promises though we cannot for the present particularly apply temporal bodily promises p. 185 186 What promises are absolute what conditionall p. 181 182 A Distinction of times must be observed there is a difference betwixt the Saints Winter and Summer p. 183 What are the soules Winter and Summer 〈…〉 Ib. The truth of the consideration in certain conclusions 1. Particular promises must not be expected to be peculiarised our name is not in the bonds p. 184 2. At sometimes possibly we may not be able to appropriate temporall promises Ib. Certain such times exprest p. 184 185. 1. A time of extreme want and penury 2. In the darke day of desertion 3. In a misty day of Melancholy 4. In a black day of bodily afflictions 5. It doth not argue a nullity of true faith in spirituall promises not to be able to believe with a speciall faith the promises for this life at any time p. 185 3. Conc. For those that are conditionall promises in darke times the soule may not be able clearly and fully to apply them rest upon them and peculiarly apply them and yet at the same time truly dwell and rest upon them p. 186 4. Conc. In darke times the truly believing soule though it can give no reason for it may not be able to apply the most absolute peculiar promises as its peculiar portion p. 187 This must be cleared by considering what is required for a soule to be able to rest upon any promise as its peculiar portion p. 188 189 SERM. XI A Progresse in the former subject Three things requisite to be found in that soule that peculiariseth any promise so as to say this is my portion p. 189 1. There must be a clear understanding of the promise Ib. 2. A clear understanding of our own condition Ib. 3. A mighty and particular working of God upon the soule Ib. A misunderstanding of the person to whom the promise is made or of the matter of the promise may be a cause of thy non application p. 190 2. Rules for the understanding of the promises in order to our particular application of them p. 192 1. Generall promises are to be particularly applied and particular promises are to be generally applied p. 192 This rule enlarged in 3 branches and opened p. 192 193 2. Rule Whatsoever promises thou findest in the word of God made to any particular Church or People for spirituall and soule mercies we may still apply to the present Church though not the same and any member therof p. 193 3. Things to confirme this 1. God is immutable p. 194 2. The promises were made to them not as such and such people but as Gods people Ib. 3. The promises were made to Christ and the covenant of which they are branches were made to him and his heires p. 195 Many reasons of Master S. Rutherford to prove that the promises and the covenant was originally made to Christ personall not Christ mysticall p. 195 196 Master Rutherfords Distinction of a Covenant and Promises made to Christ some to him alone some part to him and his p. 196 197 What they are in their distinction p. 197 A 3d. rule for the understanding of the promises Conditionall promises require not that we should fulfill the conditions required p. 197 198 199 The 2d thing required to make the soule particularly apply the promises viz. A cleare understanding in the soule of its own condition p. 200 201 The 3d thing required to make the soule particularly apply the promises is a constant wonderfull working of the power of God upon the soule p. 202 This may be sometimes more sometimes lesse p 202 203 SERM. XII CHAP. XII COncerning those weaknesses that may in a gracious soule accompany the bighest act of faith viz. Assurance and how to satisfie the soule that scruples its faith because it cannot be assured at all or if at all yet weakly and inconstantly Severall Conclusions to comfort the soule under troubles of this nature 206 207 208 209 1. Conc. Thou mayest have a true and certain faith and such a one as will richly save thee and yet have no assurance of thy salvation p. 206 Various Opinions concerning Assurance p. 206 207 How farre perswasion comes into justifying faith p. 206 207 208 The 2 former distinctions concerning perswasion repeated and enlarged Ib. Master Burges his 3 Reasons why our sins are not actually and formally pardoned from eternity but onely when we believe p. 209 A fourth reason added to his p. 209 The 4 formerly mentioned conclusions concerning perswasion againe repeated and demonstrated p. 210 211 2. Other Conclusions concerning assurance added and proved p. 211 212 1. That it is false that the Papists say no particular assurance can be procured or ought to be looked after 2. It is as false that Antinomians say that there is no true faith without a fulnesse of perswasion Faith without Assurance may be 1. Saving 2. Strong 3. It may be certain p. 212 213 It is certain in respect of the 1 Object p. 214 2 Event p. 215 2d Concl. Thy assurance may be true though weak and inconstant in degrees p 215 216 What times ordinarily assurance is most strong p. 217 1. Ordinarily it is very high
and strong immediatly after a desertion In desertions ordinarily it is none or but weake p. 217 2. Ordinarily it is very high when his Saints are in greatest distresses call'd to suffer Martyrdome c. p. 218 219 3d. Concl. Thou mayest have had and again have a true assurance and full perswasion though thou for the present hast none at all p. 219 220 SERM. XIII CHAP. XIII HOw to comfort that soule that conceives it hath not true faith because it doth not feele Gods strength carrying it out to those duties and acts of grace which it ought to act A distinction of feeling It may be 1. Of Peace 221 2. Of Strength Ib. Something spoken by way of consolation to poor souls under this scruple of spirit 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 c. 1. Consid Not-feeling doth not argue a not-being p. 223 2d Consid The truth of Gods love to us is not so easily to be discerned in the very acting and working of God as in the effect of such acts and operations p. 235 236 237 3d. Consid Feeling at the best is but a deceivable or a disputable evidence p. 237 238 4. Consid No Christian feeles strength alwayes alike nor hath cause to doe it p. 239 That of God to the soule which is not seen is alwayes alike That which is seen not so Ib. Causes why God is not felt alwayes alike in the soule p. 240 1. Cause His soft goings sometimes in the cause Ib. 2. To trie whether a Christian can stand alone upon the true legges of faith without the woodden legs of sense Ib. 3. The soule may be benummed and have lost its feeling Ib. 5. Consid Gods strength may then be seen in thee when it is not seene or felt by thee p. 241 242 6. Consid It is no argument to warrant thee not to believe because thou dost not feele God carrying thee out by his armes of strength in such a manner to spirituall duties and to the acts of spirituall and saving graces as thou desirest and perhaps expectest p. 242 243 We must believe for strength as well any thing else p. 243 This diâ—â—ers from the Arminian Doctrine of free-will Ib. 5 Directions teaching Christians what to doe under this Affliction p. 244 1. Direct Find out the cause and remove it Ib. 2. Causes may be 1. Gods will Ib. Then submitting removes it Ib. 2. Thy own temper Ib. Under temptations 2. Some known sins 3. Thy expectations may be too high Ib 4. Thy wilfulnesse may be the cause These causes must be removed 1. Faith 2. Loving Expectations 3. Repentance c. 2. Direct Wait forfeeling p. 244 3 Direct Learn to live without bread on Gods Word p. 245. 4. Direct Learn to acknowledge Gods little finger Ib. 5. Direct Act contrary to thy mind Sick men must eat against their stomack p. 245 5 Reasons of Master Rutherfords why we ought to performe duties under an indisposition even against our mind p. 245 246 SERM. XIV CHAP. XIV HOw to know whether our doubtings be such as may consist with true faith in a gracious soule 5 Particulars in which the doubtings of believers differ from the doubtings of Unbelievers and Reprobates p. 248 249 250 251 1. They differ in the Principle unbeliefe is not the Principle of doubting in the Believer but Infirmity p. 249 250 251 The exposition of that place Rom. 4. 19 20. p. 250 251 252 2. They differ in the occasion from whence they arise p. 253 Severall occasions of doubting in Gods people different from the occasion of Unbelievers doubtings p. 253 254 3. They differ in the Object The Object of the Christians doubting is something in himselfe The Object of the Unbelievers doubting is ordinarily something in God p. 254 255 The Reasons of it p. 255 256 257 4. They differ in their duration and continuance p. 257 258 5 Notes concerning believers doubtings p. 259 260 261 1. They are most and strongest in the morning p. 258 2. They may be in the day time p. 259 3. If they be they are fewer and weaker The reasons of it p. 259 260 4. They are transient clouds that passe and return not p. 260 5. They have none but they conquer in fine p. 261 5. They differ in their Effects p. 262 263 The effect of Unbelievers doubting is a forsaking and declination from God p. 261 262 They commonly produce in Gods servants these five effects 1. A complaining unto God p. 263 2. A craving satisfaction from God p. 264 3. A striving against them Ib. 4. A waiting for God Ib. 5. A closer walking with and adhering unto God p. 264 265 LUKE 17. 5. And the Apostles said unto him Lord increase our faith WHen the Jaylor fell down at the Apostles feet Acts 16. 30. and said What shall I do to be saved The Apostle answers Beleeve in the Lord Iesus Christ and thou shall be saved When Ruler feared Christ saith Be not afraid onely beleeve Mar. 5. 36. When the poor man came for mercy for his son Mark 9. 32. Christs tells him If he could beleeve all things were possible to him When we pray if we can but beleeve we shall receive we shall surely not fail Many glorious things are spoken of this mother of graces that faith seems to be the whole duty of man Demosthenes was askt how many things were necessary for an Orator he answers three First action secondly action thirdly action meaning action was more than all And when a certain Prince askt a great Commander what was necessary for War He answers him three things money money money meaning that that is the ligaments and nerves of War And truely if any should ask me what is the unum necessarium the one thing necessary for a Christian I would say faith if he should ask me again I would say faith if the third time still I should say beleeve To the first pray for â—aith to the second use faith to the third grow and increase in faith Faith and beleeving is the whole duty of a Christian in a safe sence for it supposeth humiliation and it commandeth newnesse of life Preparatory qualifications are but faiths harbingers to prepare a room for faith and the works of sanctification are but faiths retinue fed from Faiths table and accordingly maintained as Faith is more or lesse strong and able to maintain them This hath made the Devil more beleaguer the castle of Faith then all the other petty holds comparatively that christian maintaineth against him That as the King of Aram 1 King 22. 31. said to his thirty and two Captains over his chariots Fight neither with small or great save onely against the King of Israel so the Devil seems to make it his great designe to fight and to have given it as his sole or chiefest injunction to the Captains of his Chariots to all his forces and all his instruments to fight neither with small nor great but onely against the King of graces
the Christians Faith Now all of Faith is First either the Doctrine of Faith Or secondly the practice of Faith The Devil hath mustered his forces against both first against the Doctrine of Faith It is a note of Chemnitius as learned an observer of hereticks and heresies as any that there have been more dangerous heresies about the Doctrine of Faith then any one Doctrine in Christian Religion He knows dirt in the fountain will pollute the streams Secondly Nor hath he lesse but indeed far more malice against the practice of Faith he understands well enough that it is not knowing and having but acting Faith that doth the Christian good This makes him do what he can to perswade the soul to rest in a false faith and hinder the soul from beginning to act a true Faith or darken the souls sence of Faith or if all will not do yet he will turn every stone to hinder the growth and increase of Faith that every Christian had need with the Apostles here pray Lord increase our Faith The occasion of these words is an hard lesson that christ had been teaching his Disciples ver 3. 4. concerning forgiving injuries they must forgive four times in a day upon this the Apostles say unto the Lord increase our Faith The words are a prayer in which you may observe 1. The Supplicants the Apostles 2. The Supplicated the Lord. 3. The Supplication increase our Faith We may consider the prayer either in it self absolutely or with the former words relatively Relatively and so we may learn this Doctrine First That hard dutiâ—s and strength to them must be done and got by prayer from God 2. Mark what they pray for as the means to convey strength into their souls to this duty That is Faith note Secondly That Faith in the soul is that which quickens and instrumentally strengtheneth the soul to difficult duties of obedience and especially to this duty of forgiving injuries Thirdly If we consider the words in themselves absolutely as a prayer we may not these things 1. That even the Apostles had need pray they are not got beyond prayer the best of Christians are under the duty of prayer 2. They say to the Lord All our prayer ought to be directed to God 3. The prayer it self is Lord increase our Faith for an increase of Faith in it we have something suggested and implied and that is That they were sensible their faith was weak The best of Christians are and ought to be sensible as of their imperfection in all graces so especially of the graâ—e of Faith 2. We have something here exprest they pray for an increase of Faith First they pray to God to the Lord It is God onely that can increase Christians Faith they pray for it The way for us to have our Faith increased from God is to pray to him Lastly the Apostles pray Lord increase our Faith It is the duty not onely of the weakest but even of the strongest Christians as to be sensible of weaknesse so to labour and pray for the increase of their Faith I intend not to handle all these in their order but to pick out one of them be build a large discourse upon I shall pitch upon the eighth The Apostles praying for their increase of Faith argued their sence of the weaknesse and imperfection of their Faith The Doctrine is this Doctr. That as the best of Christians have weaknesse and imperfection in their Faith and it is their nature to be sensible of it yea and their duty 〈◊〉 so it is also their duty to labour and strive against it This I might make good from Scripture from severall places in the severall Branches 1. They may have weaknesse and imperfection in their Faith Mat. 6. 30. ca. 8. 26. ca. 14. 31. in all which places Jesus Christ checks even those which were his Disciples for their little Faith and yet in checking them for little Faith he acknowledgeth they had some Faith So 2. For the second Branch it were easie to prove that the childe of God will be sensible of the weaknesse of its grace especially this grace of Faith take but one instance of it Mar. 9. 24. Lord I beleeve help my unbelief and so 1 Cor. 13. 9. 12. And for the third Branch that they will labour and strive against it he prayed Lord help my unbelief Mar. 9. 24. The Apostles pray Lord increase our Faith to which we may adde that known place Phil. 3. 13. I count not myself that I have attained to it but one thing I do I forget that which is behinde and indeavour my self to that which is before c. Besides the experience of the children of God is abundant proof for every particular I might also give many reasons First why the Faith of Gods children is weak As First Because the state of mortallity is imperfect 1 Cor. 13. 9 10 11 12. Secondly Because of the inconstant condition of a gracious heart hâ—â—e It is not alwayes high water or full moon in a gracious heart the sun will be in the eclipse sometime and the moon in the wane Now we ordinarily beleeve by sight it is an hard thing to make Faith out-run the eye Ye have seen faith Christ therefore you beleeve Joh. 20. Thirdly Another cause may be the multitude of our renewing corruptions The bowl of Faith runs nimbly if the ground of the soul be even but so long as the ground that it runs on is rugged we must expect Faith should meet with rubs and be a short cast sometimes and sometimes more home Doubts and fears are rubs in the way of Faith and all Christians know that they are the creatures of mortallity and the attendants of corruption There is a great deal of reason you see why the Apostles Faith should be weak In many things we sin all and the more we sin the lesse we beleeve There is much reason too may be given why the weak if true beleever should be sensible of his weaknesse As First If we consider that it is his work to be constantly laying his heart to his eye The workman by laying the timber to his eye often sees how far it differs from the square the Christian by laying his heart to his eye sees the crookednesse of it and how much it wants and the irregularity in the best Christian in not so little but the examining eye will discover it easily Secondly If we consider that as the beleever lays his heart to his eye often so he lays the square to his heart alwayes The Carpenters eye may deceive him if he thinks it doth he lays the square to it and that mends the errour of his eye The square of a Christian is Gods Word the Christian lays it to his heart considering how much faith that requires and discovering how much disagreement there is between his heart and that Psal 119. 105. Thy word is a light to my feet and a lanthern to my paths Psal
not beleeve that is apprehend and apply and rest upon Christ as my Saviour We speak not of Faith as it is an infused habit and the gift of God to us but as it is an inherent grace and operative in us Now then we will 1. Enquire what the causes of such complaints in gratious souls may be 2. We will consider how to satisfie the soul in such troubles and scruples For the first complaint I cannot I dare not rest upon Christ and beleeve in him There are many causes of it which I shall speak to One ordinary cause of it is Scrap 1. The souls to much eying of preparatory qualifications I do not say the souls eyeing but the souls too much eying of them Hence it is that if you ask a poor soul under that trouble what 's the reason thou darest not rest thy self upon Christ Faith is a pretious flower that grows as well in the poorest beggars as the greatest Princes garden The meanest arm may as boldly lean on Christs shoulder as that which is gayed with gold-lace Alas saith such a poor soul Gods justice proceeds according to method First he useth to pull down and then to exalt First to lay the soul low licking the dust then to say to it I am thy salvation Alas I was never enough humbled I never saw hell yet would God rend my heart in pieces I could beleeve he would bind it up would he humble me c. Now in order to the satisfaction of a soul under this trouble it would be first enquired 1. Whether humiliation goeth before Faith or no. 2. If it doth what may comfort a soul under this affliction of spirit and what it ought to do in relation to its peace For the first it is a question variously tossed and determined understood and concluded in these times in which God hath cast our lot some utterly denying any such work some too eagerly contending for measure some limitting Gods dealings others misinterpreting if not wilfully mistaking the terms It will not therefore I trust be a lost labour first to enquire the truth of that question which is ordinarily thus termed Quest Whether Faith goeth before Repentance or Repentance before Faith Now for the fuller determination of it I shall first explane the terms Then conclude the truth and prove it by Scripture and Reason And lastly answer those Objections ordinarily made against it First I will spend a little time to open the terms which when rightly explaned I am confident will put the question out of question to those Christians that have any experience of the Lords dealings for the ambiguity of every term hath onely darkned the clearnesse of this truth First let us understand what is meant by Faith both in the kinde and in the act There are divers kinds and divers acts of Faith There is an historicall Faith which consists onely in the knowledge and assent to the truth of an History There is a Faith of miracles There is a temporary Faith and there is a true justifying Faith The question is onely to be understood of the latter which hath also severall Acts. First 〈◊〉 Secondly Relyance Thirdly Perswasion The question is to be understood of the second Act Whether God gives the soul power comfortably and truely to relye upon Christ and the promises for salvation before he hath wrought repentance in the soul Secondly the term Repentance is subject to ambiguity too Repentance is sometimes taken largely for the whole work of conversion and so Godly sorrow is an effect of it sometimes strictly and when we speak of Repentance in the question we onely understand the first parts of it consisting in conviction contrition and humiliation by which the soul is carried out into a loathing of it self both for its sins and in its righteousness And the question is Whether God doth not work in a soul a sorrow of heart and loathing of it self for sin before the soul hath power to rest upon Christ for salvation and relye upon him as its Saviour Lastly we must safely understand what is also meant by going before First we do not understand by going before a precedency in Gods hidden operation he at once infuseth the habits of grace into the soul But secondly by going before we understand a going before in a gratious Act and in a comfortable apprehension Neither farther is the question to be understood as if we thought Humiliation went before Faith as a work wrought by our own strength We acknowledge Humiliation to be a work of Gods speciall grace in the soul And the question is plainly thus Whether God ordinarily gives a poor soul power to act Faith by relying upon Christ and the promises of life and salvation before in some measure he hath brought the soul to be sensible of its lost and undone condition We say he doth not We will grant to our Brethren that are unsatisfied concerning this truth First That a man must beleeve before he can mourn But how not by any saving act of justifying Faith He must beleeve there is a sin-pardoning Saviour that hath fulnesse and freenesse of mercy and enough in his fulnesse for him and that though he hath sinned yet there is hope in Israel concerning this thing Then he puts his mouth in the dust if so be there may be hope Secondly we will easily grant that a man must have saving and justifying Faith before the work of repentance and humiliation will be perfect in his soul As we maintain it to be a precedent work so we denye it not to be a subsequent effect Thirdly we will grant that it is not a work to be done by our own strength it is Gods work onely our dispute is concerning Gods usuall order in working The same spirit that works a power in the soul of dependence upon Christ takes also away the heart of stone and gives an heart of flesh Fourthly we will grant that the habits of these graces are both together in the soul We onely question which God gives the soul power to act first Fiftly We dispute not concerning the measure but concerning the thing We do not question whether the soul must be thus far or thus much or thus long humbled before God will give it power to act Faith by a comfortable reliance on Christ We onely say it must be humbled Sixtly We do not limit the workings of God and say it is so necessary on Gods part that he cannot give the soul power comfortably to apply Christ and the promises but we say it is not his usuall course and ordinary may of dispensing grace to do it Yet his dealings are various he works not alike to all he may and sometimes doth go out of his beaten road The question is not concerning a necessity on Gods part but onely concerning a necessity on our part not concerning his miraculous power but his gracious will nor concerning any extraordinary operation but concerning his ordinary way of dispensations
and fell down at their feet and said sirs what must I do to be saved Take the great convert Paul Act. 9. what astonishing sorrow was he swallowed up in he was even humbled to the grave before you read of his Faith Let every Christian examine his own experience whether ever he should have received or prized Christ if he had not first been strucken with the sence of his own misery Enough hath been said for it let us hear a little what can be said against it 1. Obj. No man will be humbled except he beleeve what shall make me run to God and mourn except I beleeve he will pardon Answ We do not dispute of any Faith but a justifying Faith To beleeve and be perswaded I may be pardoned is not a distinguishing act of a justifying Faith this was granted before t is one thing to beleeve I may be pardoned so may an hypocrite T is another thing to beleeve I am pardoned or to relye on Christ for pardon this is proper to a justified person nor can he beleeve he is pardoned till he is humbled 2. Obj. Repentance is the effect of Faith now the cause must alwayes go before the effect Answ We distinguished before of Repentance Repentance hath two parts The aversion of the soul from sin and the conversion of the soul to God the latter part of it is onely an effect of Faith the former part of it the turning of the soul from sin is also an effect but not onely an effect it is begun before Faith though it be not ended till our life be at an end Secondly The turning of the soul from sin and the imbittring sin to the soul is an effect of Faith or rather a consequent of Faith viz. a generall common Faith in the beginning but not alwayes a consequent of saving justifying Faith 3. Obj. Christ must work this humiliation or it is good for nothing now if Christ be in the soul working humiliation then there is Faith Therefore Faith must go before humiliation Ans First Though Christ work this humiliation in the soul yet it doth not follow that Christ is in the soul for it may be a work of common grace and Christ is not in every soul upon which his common grace works But secondly to answer more fully I am of the minde of Master Shepheard and Master Hooker that although there be an humiliation which is indeed the work of common grace which an hypocrite may have yet there is an humiliation which is the work of special grace and that this likewise precedes the exercise of Faith And although it is true that Christ cannot be in the soul but in the same instant the soul is in Christ for Faith is the marriage grace yet it doth not follow that the soul is inabled by an act of Faith to apply Christ to it self assoon as Christ is in the soul and the habit of Faith is infused into the soul and therefore the question is stated not concerning the habit of Faith but concerning the act of Faith viz. Whether God gives the soul power to receive relye upon and apply Christ or receive any comfortable apprehensions of Christ and the soul in respect of us who can onely judge of the habit by the act cannot be said to have Faith before it hath acted humiliation or repentance The question is not which the soul must have first in respect of Gods gift but which it acts first for our apprehension 4. Obj. The preaching of this puts souls upon diâ—pair and hinders Faith they do not beleeve because they cannot finde that they are so humbled as God requires Ans 1. The sun must not be hid because it hurts fore eyes What is the truth of God must not be concealed because wicked men and seducers grow worse and worse Secondly No â—oul that is elected can dispaire if God hath given them to Christ the Devil shall never pluck them out of his hand the word must be preached though to some it must prove the savour of death unto death To the Gentiles foolishnesse Thirdly We do not say they must repent to such and such a degree mourn so many tears we dispute not how much sorrow there must be but maintain there must be some Fourthly True sorrow ought not to hinder Faith for the end of it is onely to bring the soul to be willing to exercise the grace of Faith by comming to Christ resting and relying upon him for salvation c. 5. Obj. But God works not his acts of speciall grace after the manner of men he works them together therefore faith and repentance are together wrought Ans We dispute not how God works them but how the soul acts them not which is in the soul first but which appears out of the soul first Iacob and Esau may be twins and in their mothers womb together but shall it therefore follow that they shall come out together may not Esau put out his hand before Iacob and be seen first by the mother and world too 6. Obj. But this is to take away free grace to say God will not save a poor creature before it be thus and thus humbled Ans 1. It is not to take away the freenesse of grace but to teach men to take heed that they do not turn the grace of God into wantonnesse it does not destroy free grace to enjoin qualifications and conditions of Gods own making Secondly You may as well say it destroyes free grace to say none shall be saved but those that beleeve which is the expresse language of Scripture He that beleeveth not is damned already Thirdly Free grace is established hereby For 1. Is it not free grace to give a soul Christ if it will but mourn and be humbled and beleeve is it not a free gift to give a kingdom unto me upon condition I will throw away a knife with which I was about to cut my own throat 2. We do not say that this humiliation and precedent sorrow doth deserve any such free grace for the performance of the action therefore the grace is still free 3. We say that free grace works this humilation a man can as well break a rock as break his own heart without the work of this powerfull spirit and the spirits operations are free even like the winde that blows where it listeth Ioh. 3. 8. We exalt free grace and make it yet more free onely we would not have men turn the grace of God into wantonnesse to their own confusion and therefore their vain objection that this brings us again under the covenant of works do this and ye shall live falls in pieces of it self for we neither hold that it is in the power of any creature to do this to break his heart and mourn for sin nor yet that any shall merit any salvation by doing of it we abhor that doctrine of merits that God justifies either for any works of grace acted of our own or for the
lay with his Fathers concubines Amnon had defloured his sister c. Now David looking upon this personall unworthinesse both of his own person and of his children was humbled for it and in sadnesse of heart saith Although my house be not so ordered with God c. Not so ordered as it should be not ordered according to the mercies that I have received from God Yet see how he casts up another eye and views the covenant of God yet saith he The Lord hath made with me an 1. Everlasting covenant 2. Ordered and 3. Sure for this is my salvation c. Christian do thou the like thou porest upon thy self and readest a great deal of personall unworthinesse seest thousands of sins the least of which might damn thee and damn a world seest much mercy bestowed upon thee by God and all mercies abused by thee to the dishonor of God yet comfort thy self by eying Gods covenant and say Although my heart although my life be not so ordered with God although my soul be not so humbled before God yet the Lord hath made with me an everlasting covenant and a sure covenant the covenant of peace and grace with my soul was from eternity and therefore free and without cause in the creature I had neither an hard heart nor a soft heart when God made that covenant with me and it is a sure covenant as God never made a covenant with me for the softnesse and tendernesse of my heart so neither will he cast me off for the hardnesse of my heart and it is a covenant ordered in all things He hath made a covenant with me as to give me salvation so to give me such an heart as he requires of me in order unto my salvation and for this is my salvation I shall not be saved for the worthinesse of my house nor for the worthinesse of my person nor for the tendernesse of my heart but because he hath made a covenant with me Here is the ground-work here is the cause of my salvation Thus Christian eye 1. The eternity of the covenant 2. The surenesse of the covenant 3. The freenesse of the covenant 4. The particularity of the covenant God hath not made his eternall covenant at random with those souls that shall be broken hearted and shall beleeve No saith David he hath made with me a sure well-ordered everlasting covenant the other is Arminian and licentious Doctrine God hath made a covenant with thee and an everlasting covenant with thee and a sure covenant with thee eye this and say Well though my heart be not so humbled before God as it ought to be though my soul be not so broken though my whole man be not so ordered yet God hath made with me in particular an everlasting covenant sure well-ordered and for this is my salvation Secondly Eye the nature of God and Iesus Christ in the dispensations of his grace more The truth of it is the covenant the eternall covenant that God hath made with sinners is but a declaration of his grace but I conceive there may be a difference conceived between Gods declarations of his grace and his dispensations of his grace though that every dispensation of grace be a declaration of his grace yet every declaration of his grace is not a dispensation Declations of Grace may be generall Dispensations of grace are particular God declared his grace and love to mankinde when he made that promise The seed of the woman shall break the serpents head But now he made a dispensation of his grace when he gives a gracious soul power to draw out its part in this promise Now doest thou sit troubled that thy soul is not thus and thus humbled not enough brought low c. eye the dispensations the particular dispensations of Gods grace Consider to whom God hath made dispensations of his grace 1. In what manner God hath dispensed and revealed the dispensations of his Grace Sit down and think of the Saints of God that God hath dealt out his saving grace too and thou shalt finde them the most worthlesse and vile wretches To Paul the persecuter the blasphemer so hard-hearted that he could spill the blood of the tender-hearted Saints of God yet this Paul the Lord humbled and dealt out his grace to To Manasses so hard-hearted that he filled the land with innocent blood that nothing would humble but a gaole and shackles and setters yet this Manasses tasted of the divine dispensations of grace 2. Consider in what manner God hath dispensed his grace and revealed the dispensations of his grace to these poor creatures Indeed I am apt to beleeve that of all those Saints in Scripture not one saw Christ without a weeping eye a mourning heaâ—â— but yet this is certain that God hath not in his word set out to us the like humiliation of Lydia as of Paul and of the Gaoler Though I am of M. Shepheards minde that Lydia was humbled as well as Paul yet I conceive there are two things that we may gather for a souls comfort from the holy Ghosts so variously setting down Gods dealings with those souls whom he hath brought home to himself so fully and deeply expressing the sorrows of some as of Paul and Manasses and the Gaoler and so tacitely concealing the sorrows of others as of Lydia or so moderately revealing of them as concerning those converted at Saint Peters Sermon concerning whose humiliation we have onely this upon record that they were prickt at the heart I say I conceive there are two things that we may gather from it for a souls comfort under this affliction First That Gods dealings in this particular are not alike with every soul that he humbleth some more and deeplyer some lesse for his own end Which I hinted you before Secondly I conceive we may gather this from that various dealing of the holy Ghost in the word of God in expressing Gods way with his people viz. That it is Gods will that souls should not stumble upon this rock and stick here we are not yet enough humbled not thus and thus humbled we ought to look for some but not to stick at the want of the same measure of humiliation which some of the Saints of God have had Consider these things Christian weigh the reason of Gods so various dealing with his converts and various expressions of his dealing with them in his revealed word and let this comfort and direct thee and raise thee up say with thine own heart My soul why should these thoughts hinder thee from going on Gods dealings with all his converts is not alike and God would have in the same even manner surely have revealed the sorrows and humiliations of all his children as of any if he would have had me stumbled at this and made this a block in my way to him Thirdly Eye Gods nature in his promises Mark how the promises run whether absolutely oâ— conditionally and if conditionally whether upon this
condition that the soul should be thus and thus deeply humbled O saith a gratious soul do you set me to eye them they undo and ruine me I finde the promises of Gods giving Christ to my soul run all upon conditions of hungring and thirsting Isai 55. 1 2 3. Of being weary and heavy laden Mat. 11. 29. Of being lost and undone and this is that which I stick upon I will answer thee in this particular First T is true such is the tenor of the promises they do require hungring and thirsting c. Though not as meritorious conditions yet consider That they require no more then God hath promised to givâ— See this Zach. 12. 10. Ezek. 11. 19 20. and 36. 26 27. Where God hath promised to give that same tender broken contrite heart which other promises require the soul to have that doth apply them to it self Secondly Consider that those promises that seem to require humiliation and brokennesse of heart as conditions or qualifications call them what you will do no where require such and such a measure they require rem but not mensuram Lastly And for thy great comfort consider that those originall promises in which God hath promised to give that tendernesse and brokennesse of heart which he seemeth to require in other promises as a condition and qualification for the soul to whom of due it belongs to apply those promises I say those promises are absolute for this take but two instances Ezek. 11. 19 20. and 36. 26 27. which are much the same And I will give them one heart and I will put a new spirit within you and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh and will give them aâ— heart of flesh that they may walk in my statutes c. As if he should say they cannot walk in my statutes and keep my ordinances untill their stony heart be gone and they have an heart of flesh Secondly They cannot have this heart of flesh till I give it them And thirdly I will give it them Now sit down and eye the promises say thus It is true God doth require an heart of flesh before I can apply the promises of pardon to me but the same God hath promised to give it me and there must there can nothing be done of me in relation to that first gift God hath freely promised to prepare me to apply his salvation and to walk in his statutes by taking away my heart of stone and giving me an heart of flesh and beleeve but this that God will fulfill this free and absolute promise unto mee It is thy duty not onely to beleeve that God will pardon thee but also to beleeve that God will humble thee and not to stick upon I am not humbled enough to apply the promise but to say I will labour to apply the promises of salvation and to beleeve that God will humble me more and make good amongst others that promise to my soul that he hath made to his people that he will take away their heart of stone and give an heart of flesh c. And thus I have done with the first direction to the afflicted soul Eye the nature of God more in his covenant Secondly In the dispensations of his grace Thirdly In his promises I come now to my second direction and that is Secondly Consider the nature of humiliation and this thou mayest consider First In its originall Secondly In the manner of the operation of it Thirdly In its end The two latter I have handled at large in my considerations I propounded to comfort the soul in its affliction I will but name them First Think that thy humiliation may be as great as it should be though not so deep as others have been it may be it hath been longer Secondly It may have a more inward work Thirdly Its working is not done it will have a work as long as thou livest 2. Consider the nature of it in its end First Meditate that the end of thy humiliation is but to bring thee to loath sin secondly Leave sin and thirdly To make thee prize Christ If this be done it hath done its work But this I enlarged my self upon before 3. which should have been indeed first Consider the nature of humiliation in its originall and efficient cause which is God Zac. 12. 10. Ezek. 11. 19. 20. and sit down now and say Certainly God hath a good work begun in my soul otherwise why should sin trouble me at all or why should I be troubled that I am not troubled for my sin and now how unreasonable a thing is it for me to start from applying the promises because in my conceit I am not enough humbled It is God that hath humbled me at all and it is he that must perfect the work in my soul and surely if he sees it is not enough he will work more and he must do it if he will have it for I am not able to humble my soul Thus far my direction hath reached to help thee to ease thy self and direct thee what to do in point of meditation and consideration My third reacheth thy practice Lastly Labour after more and more humiliation Neither keep thy heart from beleeving in infidelity out of a conceit of the want of it nor yet slight and neglect it Both these rocks must be avoided as pernicious rocks for poor souls and between which there is a safe passage Let the world think what they will Sound beleever p. 104. and opinion 〈◊〉 cry down that great work Want of humilitation saith Master Shepheard is the cause of so much counterfeit 〈◊〉 Ib. p. 146. as is in the world and again saith he we shall observe if there be little humiliation there is little of Christ if much of humiliation much of Christ if inconstant humiliation inconstant fruition of Christ if reall humiliation reall possession of Christ if false humiliation imaginary fruitâ—on of Christ Therefore though I would not have thee so weep but thou should I have a spare eye to look up to the free grace of Christ yet I would not have thee so much fix thy eye upon the mercy and free grace of Christ that thou shouldst have never an eye to weep for thy sins Humiliation and Faith are two things that are consistant together That 's the last direction Labour to get the soul more humbled I know thou wilt say how shall I do that truely I might give infinite directions Ib. p. 150. but this is so ordinary a point in which so many pious men have laboured that I shall but name to you some directions that they point out as helps to the soul in this work Master Shepheard gives those helps 1. Remember whose thou art Rom. 9. 20. 2. Remember what thou art a vild wretch Job 40. 1 3 4. 3. Remember what thou hast been and how long thou hast been so and why should God choose thee 4. Remember what thou wilt be Isa
Lord increase our Faith I Am discovering to you upon what grounds many Christians think they have no warrant to beleeve and rest upon Jesus Christ and labouring to satisfie such poor Christians in such cases and under such perplexities of spirit I have shewed you already two usuall causes First A too irregular eying of preparatory qualifications thinking that they are not humbled enough Or secondly A too unwarrantable prying into Gods secrets conceiving they are not elected and upon this score utterly refusing to obey that great Gospel command Beleeve to both these I have spoke something already to the latter the last day I am intended by the blessing of God and as he shall inable me to speak something this day to a third cause commonly alledged by Christians why they conceive they ought not to beleeve viz. Because of their own unworthinesse in respect of the greatnesse and multitude of their sins that have stained and possibly do yet pollute their soul Alas saith a poor soul would you have me lay hold on Iesus Christ what with my filthy hands what can such a rotten sinner that hath been so auncient in sin can I think you have warrant wheâ— I have given the Devill my youth to beleeve Iesus Christ will take the fag end of my life No no call to the young person to beleeve that is not yet withered and rotten with sin call to those that have lived honestly and civilly not to such profane wretches as I have been Now to answer this cavill Let me bend my discourse at this time and propound certain considerations which duly weighed may comfort a soul under this trouble and put it upon its work and duty of beleeving and convince it that it is its duty Cap. 4. How to satisfie a poor soul doubting whether it may beleeve or no because of its many and great sins past or its continuing corruptions and so deemeth it self unworthy FIrst of all consider Gods grace is enough for thee This scruple of thy spirit ariseth from scant streightned thoughts of rich incomprehensible grace Be convinced therefore that there is a fulnesse enough in the ocean of infinite grace to swallow up thy soul however loaded with a burthen of sin observe but how the Scripture setteth out infinite love take one place for all Eph. 3. 17 18 19. That Christ may dwell in your hearts by Faith that you being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the bredth and length and depth and heigth and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge that you might be filled with the fulnesse of God Mark how the Apostle expresseth free grace by all dimensions are thy sins in the heighth there is an heighth of love are they in the depth there is a depth of love are they long broad are they all yet there is mercy enough in this Christ for such is his love that it passeth knowledge are they a mountain why who art thou O great mountain before Zerubbabell thou shalt be made a plain do thy sins cry up to heaven his mercies are above the heavens are thy sins more in number then the haires of thy head his mercies are more in number then the sand which lieth on the sea shore Now this is easie to be conceived if we do but conceive and know that the mercies of God are infinite God is an infinite God and every mercy of his is as inconceivable as himself is His love passeth all understanding saith the Apostle have no low thoughts Christian of the heighth of free grace which reacheth up to the heavens yea and above the heavens Is the filthy garments of thy wickednesse of a larger extent thinkest thou then the long white robe of his righteousnesse Who was made for thee righteousnesse wisdom sanctification and redemption Is the fountain set open for Iudah and Ierusalem for sin and for uncleannes so shallow that thou canst not bath in it Mistake not Christian it is a bath of capacity to hold all filthy souls be their uncleannesse what it will if they will but come and wash and be clean those that have the rottenest wounds the filâ—hiest sores the most unsound â—arkasses may fetch balm from Gilead enough to heal their wounds When Christ was upon the earth the Evangelist tells us Matth. 4. 24. They brought unto him all sick people that were sick of divers diseases and torments and those which were possessed with devils and he healed them When vertue went out from Christ to heal the poor woman 〈◊〉 â—ouched the hemme of his garment it went 〈◊〉 â—im as light goeth out of the sun that there is 〈◊〉 for what goeth out Christ never had any vertue went out of him so as by such emission he lost any How many Saints think you since old Abrahâ—m who was the father of the faithfull to this day have touched the hemme of his garment vertue went out and healed every one and yet his garments are all oily with mercy and grace still How many drops of blood have thirsty Saints had from Davids time to this hour and yet the fountain of cleansing blood hath not a drop lesse in it Grace in Christ is like the heat of the fire or light of the sun take how much you will of either you shall not rob either narrow not the breadth of incomprehensible love when thou hast measured for beleevers ten thousand yards there shall not be a nail lesse on the piece of free-grace The sea though a thing infinite will hardly be measured out by quills much lesse shall the unfadomable ocean of infinite love be measured by drops for the washing poor souls from the stains and filth of their sins The boy could tell the father he would have done emptying the sea into an hole with a spoon before he should have opened the Doctrine of the Trinity And sooner shalt thou get all the light out of the body of the sun and hear out of the fire then put Jesus Christ to pant for his breath of free-grace Oh that sinners had but as willing leggs as he hath capacious arms we see hands are washed every day and have been these thousands of years now how long can we think it would yet be should we get the dirtiest hands we could make before all the seas rivers fountains and streams in the world would be exhausted yea though they should wash seven times a day infinitely sooner Christian then the fountain of free-grace shall be exhausted with all the buckets that come to draw the water of life from it Seest thou a steeple as Pauls in London or the like of a very great heighth seest thou the highest mountain that seems to have married the clouds and sit in their lap Suppose now that mountain or steeple in the deepest place of the ocean how much wouldst thou see on it nay were another on the top of that there would not be a spier of grasse nor a
of glory was there any Esa 43. 25. Esa 43. 25. I saith God am he that blotteth out transgressions for mine own names sake God for his own sake elected them therefore Christ died for them Christ of his own good will powred out his blood for them therefore he gave them power to beleeve and come to him here is all the cause ab extra from without still And is there lesse cause in Christ for thee then there was for them look in his Gospel promises or is there lesse cause in thee then a mere nothing But I shall make this more full in a sixth position which I shall commend to thy consideration which is this Sixtly That God never received any soul because it had a portion to set it off Thou sayest O I cannot beleeve c. why I am not worthy of salvation I am a great sinner I have been an auncient sinner Well then suppose that thou never hadst to thy knowledge committed actuall sins but wert as thou thinkest clean and spotlesse then thou couldst come to Jesus Christ and think he would accept of thee Thy money perish with thee doest thou think that Christ that gift of God can be purchased with the money of thy merits Doth Christ take any souls because they are worthy or doth he therefore take them that he might make them worthy doth Christ therefore take a filthy mired sinner because it is unclean or that he might wash it from it uncleannesse God gives his Son thou mistakest if thou thinkest he can be bought of thee either for love or money canst thou make Christ rich with the coblers ends of thy righteousnesse thinkest thou he that hath the inexhaustible treasury of righteousnesse doest thou think he cares for thy farthings wilt thou bring thy drops to the bottomlesse ocean of his bloody merits Your penny-worths cannot roll about that everlasting wheele of free-grace the decree of election nor bow nor break Christs free-heart to save you more then another The Garden of free-grace Christian hath never a weed of humane merit in it no nor yet is there a space to set it in The Robe of Christs righteousnesse is rich and full enough and needeth not the dunghill patches of thy merits That new-cloth will not endure to be patched with thy old rags Christ is a Noble-Bride-groom that would take a portion with his spouse if she could bring a proportion for him Adam if he could have got it up might have been married to God with a dowry But for as much as now that cannot be perfection is not attainable Christ scorns thou shouldst say Thou hast brought him a farthing The men of the earth shall not make him rich The first marriage-contract God made with man he demanded a portion and proffered the jointure of glory But when man with all his scrapings could not pay it Come saith Christ I will take thee with nothing then Do all or take all is Christs Dilemma to the children of men Lastly Consider That by how much the greater and more abominable sinner thou art by so much shall the Lord Christ attain his ends more fully which he aims at in saving any souls Doest thou ask what that is It is his own glory the glory of his free-grace God when he declares his free-grace to any soul makes a particular Proclamation Come let all the world see the power of my mercy and the good will that is in my bowels that I can wash such a stained soul that is nothing else but sin that I will pardon such an old inveterate sinner Now by how much thy sins are more and greater by so much God more sets out the vertue of his balm in healing such old putrified stinking wounds Secondly God knows such sinners once pardoned and changed will more glorifie him They that have much forgiven will love much Thirdly Luk. 7. 47. God shall have glory from such a sinner in that others by his example shall be kept from despair and quickned to leave their sins and trust in Gods mercy Psal 34. 6. and 51. 13. Come therefore beleeve rest on Christ Let not thy unworthinesse thy great thy many sins keep thee from Christ Eusebius in his third book of Eccles Hist cap. 20. hath a story of Iohn the Apostle who at Ephesus finding a young man of a goodly body gracious face and servent minde commended him to one of the Bishops or Elders to take care of him The Elder accordingly did instruct him and at length baptized him This young man afterwards became very wicked and dissolute seduced by wicked companions First became a companion of their feasts and cups and then of their theeving and robberies at last grew to a very great heigth of disorder and outrage and became a robber on the mountains Eusch Eccles hist l. 3. c. 20. Iohn returning to Ephesus enquiring for the young man of the Elder hears this news Saint Iohn after rebuking the Elder for his negligence rode to the mountain which this young man now grown to be a Captain of robbers kept Saint Iohn being taken of the theevish watch desired to be brought to their Captain and accordingly was when he saw him coming and knew it was Iohn he was stricken with shame and fled away Saint Iohn pursueth after him crying My son why flyest thou from thy father O son tender my case be not afraid as yet there remaineth hope of salvation I will undertake for thee with Christ I will dye for thee if need be as Christ dyed for us I will hazard my soul for thine trust to me Christ hath sent me He hearing this stood still trembled and wept embraced Saint Iohn and wept bitterly The Apostle when he had promised and protested to procure pardon for him of our Saviour prayed upon his knees kissed him and brings him to the Church preacheth to him fasts with him and leaves him not before he had restored him a penitent beleever Is this thy condition Christian hast thou been well principled and hast thou forget all the Sermons and admonitions given or preacht to thee and art thou turnd dissolute disorderly guilty of all wickednesse and now in stead of coming to Christ by Faith doest thou wouldst thou fly from him See thy Christ pursuing thee calling inviting Ah why doest thou fly from me that dyed for thee turn turn beleeve be not afraid as yet there remaineth hope of salvation in my merits I will under-take with my father for thee I have dyed for thee I will hazzard my favour with my father for thine trust to me O now stand still tremble weep pray turn trust in the Lord Iesus Christ Thou art unworthy but Christ is worthy he hath grace sufficient for thee He hath a good will to save thee yea eagerly bent to thy salvation he perswades he swears he pleades he appeals he wishes groaning he professeth he knows not how to destroy thee he weeps over thee he invites thee he
is very busie in such manner of temptations yea even Christ himselfe shall not be without them Mat. 4. 6. he had set Christ upon the pinacle of the Temple and bid him cast himself down for it is written he shall give his Angels charge c. in which words I conceive as the Devill tempted Christ in an unwarrantable way to rest upon the promise so he also tempted him to doubt of the truth of the Scripture As if he should have said If the Scripture be true and you beleeve it try a little throw thy self down thou hast a promise to catch thee Psal 91. 11. Throw thy self down and thou shalt see now how true the Scriptures are c. So the Devill deales with Christians often sets upon them to deny the Scriptures and puts such thoughts into their hearts c. which are but temptations and argue not a nullity of their assent to the Scriptures but an assault made upon their faith by Satan But may a Christian say If I could know this it were something how shall I know whether such thoughts be the spawn of unbeleefe and proceeding from an internall cause my own infidels heart or whether they be as you say meerly the temptations of Satan and assaults upon my faith I shall labour to tell thee briefly First They are ordinarily but Disputations and Queries not determinations Thou oftentimes hast Quaeries in thy soule What should I think are the Scriptures the Word of God or no They have strange things in them one would wonder they should be the Word of Truth thou never commest positively to determine in thy soule Tush they are not the Word of God God gives Satan leave to play the Opponent sometimes to see what a Respondent the Beleever can be but hee alwayes keeps the office of the Moderator to himselfe when they never go beyond a dispute in thy heart that thou dost not determine in thy heart the contrary nor declare with thy lips nor practice with thy life the contrary it is a sign they are but temptations though they argue weaknesse and thou oughtest to bee troubled and humbled for them if they were children of thy owne begetting thou wouldst nourish them better Secondly If they be onely temptations thou findest a striving against them Tell me Christian when thou hast such an Atheisticall thought laid at the doore of thy heart that the Scriptures are not the truth of God what dost thou do with it what dost thou take it and suckle it and rock it and nurse it as thy owne childe Dost thou please thy self with such thoughts and labour to coine arguments to maintaine and hug them This is a note of a base heart Or art thou impatient of it but presently cryest out Ah Lord what a base heart have I And dost thou labour to beat such thoughts out of thy heart and pray against them and never listen to any argument Satan would bring to tempt thee to the beleefe of it I beleeve this is thy tempter and know if it be thou mayest have such thoughts and doubts and yet be a true beleever Thirdly If it be not reall unbeliefe but a meere temptation to unbeliefe thy thoughts will not be long Iames 4. 7. Resist the Devill and he will flee from you The Devill if he be left to stand upon his own legs is as very a coward as lives he will come and tempt a beleever to deny the Scriptures to be the word of truth the beleever findes these filthy thoughts cast into his heart he considers Arguments to resist this temptation cryes and prayes and sayes I beleeve Lord help my unbeleefe Away goes Satan presently will answer never an Argument but yeeld the field and the beleevers heart is fixed presently I mark this in 4. Matth. we read there of three weapons the Devill took up at Christ v. 3. Hee tempteth him to distrust Gods providence Christ resists this v. 4. The Devill hath done with this not a word more to say well he flyes to another v. 5. tempts him to presume unwarrantably upon Gods providence and to deny the truth of the Scriptures Christ resists this v. 7. The Devill durst not reply but leaves this too well he betakes himselfe to another v. 8. Christ resists this v. 10. Satan hath not a word to say but the coward quits the field packs up and gets himselfe away v. 13. Try thy thoughts are they dwelling thoughts or transient if they abide not they are Satans that carries bag and baggage with them when he leaves thee Fourthly Thou mayst know if they be temptations by thy life thou art sometime ready to think that the Scriptures are not the word of truth thou canst not assent to them but at this very time durst thou live contrary to the rule of the Scripture Darest thou now go and be drunk and be unclean for what now should keep thee in awe Darest thou then 't is unbeleefe But at this very time if thou durst not but live according to that Word of Truth which yet thou art in doubt whether it be the Word of truth or no say what thou wilt thou dost assent unto it and Satan would but fool thee of thy faith Thus you have heard how a Christian may doubt or rather be tempted to doubt sometimes whether the Scriptures be the Word of Truth or no and yet have and give a true and firm assent unto it as the Word of Truth and you have heard me giving some notes how a Christian may know whether such thoughts proceed from a principle of unbeleef and dissenting to the Word of Truth or from the temptations of Satan I come to the third Conclusion which is this Thirdly A Christian may be a true beleever and yet not fully assent to some particular truth in the Word of God There are many pieces of Gods Truth in Gods Word The Word is the word of an eternal wisdom and of a depth too deep for us that have but narrow capacities and finite buckets to finde the bottom of it Now I conceive it is not essentiall to a true beleefe and assent that I should assent to every thing in the Word of God nay which of us doe doe it The causes of this may be these 1. Ignorance I shewed you before when I handled that point that there may be a great deal of ignorance consist with true faith ignorance in point of Doctrine and ignorance in circumstantialls ignorance in divers things which are not of absolute necessity to salvation Now I conceive that assent doth alwayes imply knowledge How shall they beleeve on him of whom they have not heard was the Apostles question Now I conceive assenting to a particular truth as the truth of God doth nor consist in a bare negation but hath something positive in it I conceive that I cannot bee said to Assent to all things from which I doe not dissent but if I assent I doe fulâ—y agree and close with something
his soule out of his body Another time hee cryes O spare a little give me space that I may recover strength before I go from hence and be no more and again Take me not away with the wicked One while David is troubled to see the wicked flourish like a green Bay tree and himselfe like a withered tree without a leafe another time hee is not troubled at it but can as well trust God when he sends to Nabal for almes as when he sits at his Kingly Table and yet his faith was alwayes true Faith may be interrupted that the pulse of it cannot alwayes beat alike and yet while there is life the pulse of Faith beates though by reason of some sicknesse in the soule the pulse may beat more faintly and deadly then at other times Corruptions though they are never wholly the Christians Masters yet they may be their Masters sometimes more then others the minde may be more clouded with earthly thoughts the tide of passions may bee higher and the stream of Lusts greater the body may be sometimes sick and lesse active and yet living So the soule may be sick and Faith act more weakly then at other times yet Faith may be alive Fifthly Thou mayest not so fully and equally rely upon some promises as upon other and yet truly rely upon all It is a truth that the true beleever closeth with every promise but it is also true that the best Beleever findes a great deal of difficulty more for his soule to close with and rely upon some particular promises then upon others and a beleever shall finde if he be put to it that it is harder to rely upon God for his promises for this life then for his promises for eternall life God hath made promises for this life Earth is made over by Indenture to the Saints as well as Heaven Mat. 6. 32. God hath made promises of protection in times of danger of sufficiencie in time of peuury now a Christian will finde it harder if he be put to it for want of bread to rely upon Gods feeding promises then upon his promises for eternall life O it is hard for a poor creature to trust God for bread and water Hence comes distrusting and distracting care hence covetousnesse and earthlymindednesse in Gods own people And if a Christian be surrounded with swords and be in the midst of dangers it is a hard thing now confidently and without feare to rely upon Gods shield and buckler and trust himselfe within the Castle of his providence I am confident when David manifested such an evident distrust of Gods promise for protection of him 1 Sam. 27. 1. he did not at all distrust God for saving of him we read not a word of such a distrust Now I conceive the reason of it may be two-fold First Because here the flesh is sensible and concerned in it Dangers are obvious to sense The eye sees swords and trembles it sees present dangers but it sees not that speedy reliefe which the promises hold out it must be the spiritually enlightned eye of the soul must see that Elisha's man could see the mountain about Elisha full of charrets and horses but it was onely Elisha himselfe that could see the power of God assisting and defending Elisha was faine to pray before his man could have the scales fall from his eyes to see that Now for beleeving those promises where flesh and sense have a share and a present share the soule will finde it hard for though the flesh will never help the soule in relying and resting upon any promise yet it will hinder the soul very much and very often I appeal to any of you whether you have not found it an easier thing to rely upon a promise for salvation and strengthning and quickning grace which meerely concerns the soule then when you have been in some bodily straights you have found it to rely upon the promises for succour and support and deliverance As take a married man that hath a minde to the warres possibly the man is a very valiant and couragious man and values his life at as cheap a rate as any but his wife cryes and keeps a stirre that if hee were single though the designe were the same and the danger the same yet hee findes it ten times more hard then if hee were to goe a single man So the soule married to the body is ten times more troubled to close with a promise and venture into thickets of a danger by the bawlings and fearings of the flesh then it would be if it were to act single in statu separato or then it doth when it acts clearly for it self There is also a second reason may be given of this viz. Because wo may have more cause to feare Gods fulfilling his promises for this life and for temporall mercies in this life then it hath or can have to feare his promises for spirituall mercies and for eternall life The soule that findes an heart changed and walkes with God can give no reason why it should not beleeve Gods spirituall promises I meane the promises for spirituall mercies and his promises for eternall life What reason canst thou give why thou shouldest not beleeve Gods promises for pardon of sinnes What because thou art a backslider The promise is made to such Hos 14. 4. Is it because thou hast an hard heart the promise is made to such Ezek. 11. 19 20. But now come and ask the soule when dangers are at hand and the soul is ready to mistrust Gods protecting promises here the soule will tell you Alas I have been a backsliding creature and though the sins and backslidings of Gods people be no sufficient reason to warrant the soules distrust for salvation yet there is a great pretence of reason that the soul hath from hence why it should a little fear Gods wonted dispensations of temporall mercies to it for this is a sure rule that although when God hath elected and justified any he hath made a sure promise they shall never again be cast out of his eternall favour and love yet for their sins he will let them know his anger by withdrawing his temporal dispensations of love and mercy in relation to which are the promises of protection and temporall mercies given to chasten them with the rods of men and with the stripes of the children of men 1 Sam. 7. 14 15. See an experience of this in in David when he had backsliden so far as to commit those two great sins of Murder and Adultery 2 Sam. 12. David testified his repentance and Nathan said to him the Lord hath put away thy sinne thou shalt not dye v. 13. but the sword should never depart from his house v. 10. his wives should be given to be defloured by his Neighbour v. 11. The childe should die v. 15. Now though that David could not reasonably because of this backsliding distrust Gods promise for the pardon of his backsliding yet
he could not reasonably rely upon his promises for the blessing of his house with temporall mercies so as before And thence it is cleare that a Christian may truly rest upon the promises for salvation and pardon of his sinnes though he doth not so easily rest nor so constantly nor fully rely upon him for some particular promises of temporall mercies The sixt is this Thou mayst hang tremblingly upon the promises and yet hang upon them truly And there is a seventh Thou mayst truly rely and dwell upon the promises and yet not truly appropriate and peculiarize them and dwell on them as thy own portion to thy apprehension but of these afterwards The Tenth SERMON LUKE 17. v. 5. Lord increase our faith I Am come now to a sixth proposition which is this A Christian may rely and hang tremblingly upon the promises and yet depend truly a trembling faith is no contradiction faith breeds joy and hence is that of the Apostle The rejoycing of your faith but David hath bidden us Rejoyce with trembling I have read a speech of S. Austine that such as was the degree of sollicitous feare such was the degree of grounded assurance It hath been observed that such men as have had the palsey in their heads have lived to be aged men A Christian I am sure may be a true Christian though the trembling palsey of feare be in him It is the Apostles counsell Phil. 2. â—2 Work out your salvation with feare and trembling Sure I am the work of faith must be done in working out our salvation and this must be done with trembling It is a false and presumptuous tenet that is by some maintained in these times that will banish all feare and trembling from faith as utterly inconsistent with faith and will deny any to have faith but such as have got a confident presumption as if palsied hands were no hands Christ was never so cruell to poor diseased soules as these are Ephraim exalted himselfe by speaking trembling Hos 13. 1. The woman feared and trembled Mar. 5. 33. yet Christ told her that her faith had made her whole Paul trembling said What wilt thou have me to doe Acts 9. 6. And yet I think none in their right wits will deny that the seeds of faith were growing in Pauls heart though the stalk shaked The poor drowning man that catcheth hold of some twig to save his life he knowes he is drowned unlesse he doth it he therefore hangs truly and even casts his whole weight upon it and yet without question his heart trembles for fear though he cannot but think the bough will beare him such is the Beleever the true Beleever is a poor wretch that seeing himselfe undone in a wofull condition sinking to hell even just sinking onely spies a branch of the root of Iesse the Lord Jesus Christ in a promise upon this he claps hold here sayes he I will hang if this promise will beare the weight of a broken undone soule then I am saved if not I perish then the soule considers what burthen it hath to lay upon it and remembers it is the heavy weight of all its originall and actuall sins this makes it tremble and fear I doubt not but Esther when she went in to King Ahashuerosh had very good hopes that she should prevaile and did depend upon that as the last twig of hope she and her people had yet she went in trembling and sayd If I perish I perish Now there may be severall causes alledged for this trembling First It may be the deep apprehension of misery that did precede possibly the poor soule was under a spirit of bondage a long time and shaked in pieces almost with horrour and feare at last God opens a key-hole of mercy and bids the soule look through and see a Christ pardoning all its sinnes and washing it with his precious blood and cancelling all its debts and wiping away its teares the soule at the just opening of this now stands and trembles fearing lest the newes should not to be true and terrified with those late apprehensions not conceiving that hell can be so soon transformed into heaven When Peter had been in the Gaole and the prison and without question full of carnall feares for the next day he was to have been brought out and have been slain and the Lord just in the nick of time sent his Angel and delivered him Act. 12. 9. Peter could not tell what to think of it he wist not that was true that was done by the Angel but thought that he had seen a vision he was fain to stay a while before he came to himselfe V. 11. and said Now I know of a surety that God hath sent his Angel to bring me out So it is with many a poor Beleever he is in Gaole too God hath him in Gaole and the spirit of bondage keeps him in fetters and to his thinking there is scarce a minute sometimes betwixt him and death Alas death were a mercy but he thinks that there is not an haires breadth betwixt him and hell when he lyes downe at night he wonders that he doth not awake in hell in the morning now when under the saddest and deepest apprehensions the soule hath of eternall sinking into hell God beyond all his expectations sends his Angel to knock off these fetters and bring it into the glorious liberty of the Sonnes of God when the soule like Peter is sleeping betwixt two devils as it thinks and is bound with two bellish chaines of terror and feare and the spirit of bondage keeps the prison and the Angel of the Lords consolation comes upon the soule and the light the glimmering glorious light of mercy and consolation shineth into this dark bellish prison and smites the soule and raiseth it up and sayes Soule arise thou art delivered and makes the chaines fall off from the Soule and sayes to the soule Poor soul gird up thy self bind on thy sandalls come stand up from the dead Christ shall give thee light Come come out of this Hell cast thy garments about thee c. no wonder if the soule for a while like Peter wist not that this is true which is done and no wonder if it step a step or two further before its trembling is over especially considering that these terrours seldome are at once but by degrees abated from the soule it passeth like Peter through the first and second ward through one iron gate of feares and then another street of terrours I say considering this it is no great wonder if it be some while before the soule sayes with Peter Now I know of a surety now I know of a surety that the Lord hath sent his Angel and hath delivered me out of the hand of the Devill and from all the expectations of Satan It is an ordinary thing if a man hath been drowning and almost drowned pulld on to the land he trembles and quakes at first as if still hee
the soule yet it layes hold if Christ will not save me saith the poor soule sure I am nothing else can to him I will go and me thinks it goes as the Messengers of Benhadad to Ahab 1 King 20. Behadad there had wrong'd Ahab and through the help of God his Army was routed and Benhadad was glad to hide himselfe in one of Ahabs Townes in an inner Chamber and sends to Ahab his servants v. 31. said to him We have heard that the Kings of the house of Israel are mercifull Kings let us put sackcloth on our loynes and put ropes about our heads and go out to the King of Israel peradventure he will save thy life so they did and said Thy servant Benhadad sayes I pray thee let me live And he said is he yet alive he is my brother the men catcht his words and they said Thy brother Benhadad and he said Go and bring him and accordingly he came and Ahab took him up into his Charriot So it is with the poor soule when the soule hath fought against God by sin the Lord overthrowes it by desertion yet it lives but dare not be seen so openly it is hidden under the dark cloud of desertion it squilks as in an inner chamber it is sensible how it hath deserved death yea ten thousand deaths But the liâ—e of grace being yet in the soule it sayes within it selfe I have heard that the King of Heaven the Lord Iesus Christ is a mercifull Christ come therefore I will send my Messengers of Faith and Prayer they shall put sackcloth-upon their loynes and ropes upon their heads and go out to the Lord Iesus Christ peradventure he will save my soule and I shall live Without question Benhadads servants went with trembling hearts and yet relied upon this as the onely meanes to save Benhadad their Master alive So the soule sends out at such a time a trembling faith and trembling prayers and yet truly relies upon Christs mercy and favour and the soule sayes to God Lord thy backsliding revolting servant sayes Let me live let my backslidings be healed let my renewed sinnes be yet pardoned Christ will say Thou art my brother and take thee into the Charret but yet thy faith trembles and thy prayer trembles And indeed there is very great reason for it if we secondly consider that the very essence of desertions is Gods withdrawing of his manifestative love from the soul that the soul though it be loved with Gods elective love in and under desertions yet it wants the apprehensions and manifestations of his love Now that which onely can keep the soule from its naturall temper of trembling is the apprehended manifestations of Christs love to it which being withdrawn the soule falls a trembling again and yet the life of grace being not extinct it still trusts yea though he kills the soule yet it trusts in him So I have done with the sixth proposition That the soule may depend tremblingly upon the Lord Iesus Christ and yet depend truly I come now to the seventh and last Proposition to shew what weaknesse and doubting may consist with true faith in the soule that I shall doe in a seventh proposition thus Thou mayest truly rely and depend upon the promises of God and upon the Lord Iesus Christ for everlasting salvation and dwell upon them and yet not be able fully and truly to appropriate and peculiarize all the promises to thy selfe and act accordingly to them at all times There are distinctions of promises and distinctions of times from whence will arise distinctions of causes which would be understood To make out this certaine truth 1. You must know that there is a distinction of promises the promises are many wayes distinguished there are generall and particular promises absolute and conditiall promises Promises that concerne some particular people as the people of the Iews and particular persons as to David and Herekiah and other of the people of God which if we should apply we should misapply to our selves I shall not meddle with all the distinctions of these promises but onely with what shall conduce now to my purpose to make out this truth I have laid down in my proposition and so I shall distinguish of two promises two wayes First They are temporall or spirituall Secondly They are absolute or conditionall First there are temporall promises which are or may be called temporall either in respect of the matter of the promise or circumstance of time limited in the promise There are some promises that were made for a certaine time and at the time expired were paid and now the bonds are cancell'd these were particular Such were many promises made to the people of the Iewes and to particular persons amongst them Now these wee must not look to peculiarize and appropriate to our selves they are done with Secondly There are temporall promises so called in respect of the things promised being things temporall for the body or estate for protection of our selves wives estates families Now for these promises thou mayst not peculiarize them and yet have true faith for salvation salvation and heaven being not the thing promised in them and besides there may be cause why thou mayest not have so good ground to rely and confidently rest upon God for the fulfilling of these promises as I shall shew you more when I come to handle the distinction of times and as I shewed you the last time in the case of David 2 Sam. 12. But secondly there is a second distinction of promises I meane of spirituall promises which it is our duty at all times to apply and rest upon yet these are either absolute or conditionall It is a note that I have before somewhere noted that the promises of Gods first mercies in a way of saving grace to the soule are ordinarily absolute I will give and I will give without any praevious conditions to be found in the soule as his promises of inlightning grace Jer. 24. v. 7. I will give them an heart to know me that I am the Lord and they shall be people and I will be their God And for the grace of humiliation Ezek. 36. 26. A new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put upon you and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and will give you an heart of flesh and so for his grace by which he convinceth Ioh. 16. 8. The spirit should convince the world of sinne of righteousnesse and of judgement Now these promises are altogether absolute being the free promises for dispensations of the first graces in order to a poor soules salvation Now there are other promises of God for spirituall mercies in order to the soules salvations which are second dispensations and these are propounded with conditions as the promises of heaven for power to rely on Jesus Christ peace assurance c. Isa 55. 1. Mat. 11. 29. and again to him that overcometh will I give to drink