do many truths there are that I cannot assent unto and those which I doe assent to sometimes me thinks I do assent to them and sometimes again no and when I am at the best my assent is so misty and dark that I almost assent to I know not what Now I shall shew thee how much weaknesse and doubting in relation to this act of faith may yet be consistent with true justifying saith in thee I shall shew it for thy direction and establishment in these particulars First of all A Christian that is a true beleever may think that he doth not assent unto the Word of God when indeed he doth It is a known maxime in Divinity That faith may be true without sense of faith True Faith is one thing and sense of faith is another and as it is with the other acts of faith so it is with this also As a man may cheat himselfe that he doth assent and consequently truely beleeve though all the world may see that he doth nothing lesse by his irregular walking contrary to his professed assent So it is as true that a Christian may truly assent unto the truth of God though he conceits he doth not assent wee are ordinarily ill Judges of the acts of our mind because they are secret and occult acts which traffique between the soule and Heaven in an invisible way and therefore the truth or falshood of these acts is ordinarily discerned by the outward acts of our body as if I hear a man professing that his soule doth assent and close with that portion of Gods Word 1 Cor. 6. 9. Neither fornicators nor idolators nor adulterers nor effeminate persons nor abusers of themselves with mankind nor theeves nor covetous persons nor drunkards nor revilers nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God yet at the same time see he lives in them very sinnes he shall pardon me if I do think that he doth not assent and whatsoever his tongue speaks yet his heart doth not close with it as a truth of Jesus Christ So on the contrary if I heare a true Christian complaining that he cannot get his heart to close with the Word of God and what ever the world thinks hee doth not assent to the truth yet if I see this man fearing to sin against God and trembling at the threatning Word of God and walking as even as he can set his feet according to the directive part of Gods Word that as David he makes the Word of God a light unto his feet and a lanthorn unto his paths Let them think what they will they shall give me leave to think that they doe assent unto and close with the Word of God Take a proof of it Ionas 3. v. 5. Ionas there had preached against Nineveh Ion. 3. v. 4. yet 40 dayes and Nineveh shall be destroyed v. 5. So the people of Nineveh beleeved God that is gave a full assent and â—redence to the Word of God were perswaded that that which Ionah spake to them in the Name of the Lord was true But how shall we know that the Holy Ghost tells us it was evident by the effects they proclaimed a fast and put on sack-cloth from the greatest of them to the least it was manifest by their actions in relation to this Sermon studying and labouring what they could to pacifie the wrath of God before the 40. dayes were come about that they did verily think it was a word of truth that Ionas spake to them and that they were perswaded and from this assertion of the Holy Ghost we may certainly conclude that when we see men living and acting according to the Word of God and squaring their lives by the compasse of it they do beleeve that is assent unto it as a word of truth whether they will confesse so much or no As when we see a man build houses purchase lands give great portions to his children keep a great house we may conclude he is rich though he goes as if he were not worth a groat and though he will tell you he is not worth a groat The heart is the seat of assent and the throne of faith confession is not essentiall nor sense materiall to it Sense of faith is comfortable but truth and sincere reality of faith is that which is necessary Confession of faith with our lips brings glory to God externally but it is the reality of faith in the heart which brings glory to God internally It is he that doth assent that doth the will of God not he alwayes that saith he doth it or thinks he doth it Mat. 21. 28. We have a parable propounded by Christ to his Disciples it was of a man that had two sonnes and hee came to first and said Son go work to day in my Vineyard he answered and said he would not but yet hee repented and went And he came to the second and said likewise and he answered and said I go Sir and went not whether of the twain saith Christ did the will of his Father They said unto him The first To apply it God sayes unto all men Beleeve and close with and be perswaded of my truth One sayes I do beleeve and assent but his irregular life is such that all the world â—ees he gives his tongue the lye Another sayes Lord I doe not assent to and beleeve it yet he dares not swerve a foot from it Which of these do you think does the will of Christ Surely the latter though he will not say nor think that he doth it but suffers his tongue to give his heart the lye indeed sense and perswasion of faith is that which we ought to strive after to be perswaded that we do close with the truth of Christ but yet many a one doth that which he doth not know he doth the Christian is his own worst Judge and doth and will do more a great deale for God then he will speak of But I hasten to the second Secondly A true beleever may sometimes doubt whether the Word of God be the Word of God or no or indeed may be tempted to do it rather then do it this is that which troubles many a gracious Christian Alas they do not beleeve the Word of God they are troubled with many Atheisticall and blasphemous thoughts that they cannot tell what to think whether the Word be the Word of God or onely as Atheists dreame a modell of Scripture drawn by some to keep mens consciences in awe c. and this makes them conclude Tush I cheat my own soule to think I have faith when I question even the principles of Christianity c. and shake the foundation with one shake and yet at the very same time they live close to the rule of it and it hath a strict and severe command over their consciences Now this I say is rather a temptation to doubt of the truth of Gods Word in their soules then a reall and positive doubt The Devill
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
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
as a truth and it hath the attest of my heart Now in this regard a Christian cannot be properly and positively said to assent unto any truth of God which he doth not know though it be contained in the Word of Truth to which hee doth fully and firmly assent As for example it was a truth that the beleeving Romanes were not after Christ was come tyed to dayes and meats it was a truth of Gods Word yet it is cleare â—4 Rom. 4 5 6. c that they did not know and were not convinced of this truth and so consequently did not could not assent unto this particular truth though in Gods Word yet it is clear that they were true beleevers and so consequently did assent unto the whole word of truth conjunctim though not to every particular portion and piece of truth contained in that word divisim Phil. 3. 15. there is a further revelation of truth for beleevers If any saith the Apostle be otherwise minded God shall reveale this to him but till that revelation there cannot be expected a full assent onely thus farre The Christian that is the true beleever doth not dissent from any truth in the Word of God but prayes for the increase of knowledge that so his faith also may increase in the closing with the truth and giving full assent unto the Truth of the Lord Jesus Christ 2. It may be occasioned through weaknesse Possibly something may be taught from the Word of God which is the Truth of God that I heare and cannot altogether and firmly assent unto and close with for truth As put case it be the baptizing of infants without question it is the truth of God and a truth revealed in his Word that infants ought to be baptized and it is a robbing of the child of its right not to bring it to that holy Sacrament yet through weaknesse some that yet do assent to the Word of God and would gladly close with every portion of truth revealed in it dare not assent to this particular portion of Truth but are grieved for their weaknesse in it and desire to walk up to every portion of truth they know in the word shall wee say their faith is not true in any clearely revealed piece of truth because to this they cannot declare a full assent though even froÌ„ this they do not dissent so as to deny this to be a truth but labour after a more cleare manifestation of it God forbid hee that conceales the Truth in unrighteousnesse indeed cannot bee said to beleeve but he that to some particular portion of truth not absolutely necessary to salvation is a debtor through weaknesse I conceive cannot come alwayes within the censure of an infidell 'T is one thing peremptorily to deny any particular portion of truth and another thing not to subscribe to it and by a present assent not to close with it Fourthly A Christian that is a true beleever may possibly not assent to the true meaning of Scripture yea close with a false meaning in this or that particular place Beleevers judgments are not all of a Last and many a one that doth fully and firmly assent to every tittle of Gods Word doth not cannot alwayes subscribe to the judgement of this or that man or to the ordinarily received opinion of godly men concerning such or such a portion of Scripture Scripture is very deep who can finde it out and though the Holy Ghost hath left some shallowes that the meanest Christian may wade through yet there are also some depths which are past finding out places about which the learned in the world have posed themselves VVe see it an ordinary experience even in the dayes wherein we live such or such an Exposition hath been received almost of all former Writers yet when one of us cometh to examine the grounds of such or such a sense and to weigh the context and compare it with other places of Scripture though we assent to the truth if it be one as wrapt up in some other portions of Scripture yet we cannot assent to it as the truth of that place and yet possibly it may be too that theirs is the truth of it and ours is the errour Every misbeleever is not an unbeleever nay yet further A man may misunderstand some places of Scripture and thereupon hold that to be truth which is not so it be not in the points that are necessary and fundamentall to salvation and yet have true faith and yeeld true assent unto the Word of God Every particular imperfection in a righteous mans life will not argue that a man is an unrighteous man in the generall nor every deviation from truth argue a man an heretick nor every mistake of truth argue that a man doth not assent unto the truth of Gods Word The Disciples did verily beleeve that Christ should have a reall Kingdome upon the face of the earth that should break in pieces all other Kingdomes and consume them utterly Acts 1. 6. as is cleare Acts 1. 6. They asked of him Wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel And the mother of Zebedees children was speaking for Courtiers places for her sons which was but a plaine and cleare mistake of that place in the 2 of Daniel 44. yet who durst but say they had true faith 2 Dan. 44. So many in these dayes do clearly beleeve that Christ shall reign personally here upon earth a thousand years with his Saints it is the Millenaries opinion which for my part I do not think it is true and I think that is the opinion of the most and I think it is a cleare mistake of that place Rev. 20. 4. and other places Revel 20. v. 4. yet I would be loth to say that one cannot assent and truly assent to the Word of God that runs upon this mistake surely such an opinion is consistent with true faith indeed if a man doth not fully assent to those truths revealed in Scripture that hold the foundation of faith firm and stedfast then you may suspect the truth of his pretended faith I come to the last Conclusion Fifthly A Christian may truly beleeve and truly and clearly assent unto the truth of God though he cannot in all things give a cleare evidence for his assent This is that which puzleth many a Christian Alas I cannot clearly discern the truth of God in his Word I may think I assent but can I be said to assent to that which I cannot clearly see and comprehend and make out Yes without question there are but very few truths of God which the Christian hath a clear and full sight of and gives a cleare assent unto for a clearnesse of assent must proceed from a clearnesse of knowledge Now a truth may be cleare to a mans soule two wayes 1. To the eye of his Reason 2. To the eye of his Faith There are some truths which are clear even to the naturall man to
decipere quia quicquid non intelligit plus miratur I would saith he that thou shouldst so preach in the Church not that the people should be provoked to humming but sighing that the tears of thy hearers may be the praise of thy Sermon The Sermon of a Minister saith he should be seasoned sale Scripturarum with the salt of Scripture he doth not salibus with idle querks And he goes â—n I would not have thee like a declamer in the schools or a brawler or one that should have a great deal of expression without the substance of reason but one that should be skild in the Word and Ordinances of God In short saith he It is the trick of dunces to rumble over words and by their meer expressions make people admire him For there is nothing so easie as to deceive a poor unlearned people with a voluble tongue for they by how much the lesse they understand by so much the more they admire Thus he And yet was not this the designe of our old Cathedrall and University Preachers nay is it not yet of many in this City that have not left making use of the Pulpit to tell us what they have of Greek and Latine Fathers in their common place book A generation of the worst of men Ministers of the Gospel I should lye to call them that go about to convert and heal souls as the Devil heals diseases by charms that the Patient understands not Their whole designe is to make people admire them To this end they preach as if the dayes of Pentecost were still continued The men are Galileans and their hearers too yet if Parthians Medes Elamites and the dwellers in Mesopotamia were there they might hear something of their own language and something possibly that neither the Preacher nor the hearers understand They are admired Verily they have their reward Observe how these men court an humme with their jests and spittings how ambitious they are to smooth up their sentences with an esse posse videatur Such Pulpit-monkies that bring the Ordinance of God into contempt and make the Word of God of none effect They may well be stiled opprobrium Evangelii Thus saith the Lord unto the shepheards Ezra 34. 2 3. Should not the shepheards feed the flock wo be to you shepheards that Feed your selves then that â—at the fat of applause and cloth your selves with the wooll of admiration The diseased have yee not strengthened neither have you healed that which was sick neither have you bound up that which was broken neither have you brought again that which was driven away neither have you sought that which was lost You shall one day without repentance for these Sermons hear your reward in plainer English Mat. 25. 41. While these wretches vend themselves the poor hungry soul starves at meat crying out Death is in the Pett These unnaturall Fathers while poor souls cry for Bread cheat them with Stones and while they call for Fish they beguile them with Scorpions My heart bears me witnesse that in these following leaves I have laboured not to smooth but to settle thy soul which must be by putting thee on to trust in the Lord. Isai 50. 10. If thou mislikest these Sermons for their plainnesse know that I had rather displease thy tast and teach thee to rectifie thy pallate then by studying to please thy childish tooth lose the advantage of speaking to many an others heart Read it thou shalt not leave it without learning something if thou gettest no good in relation to the intended end thou shalt learn yet a lesson of the poor creatures nothingnesse and give glory to God by looking to him and trusting in him for thy souls peace If from any thing in these Sermons thy soul by the blessing of God gets any comfort and settlement Let thy and my God have the glory and his soul the benefit of thy tears and prayers who is and shall be for ever The Worthlesse Ambassadour of Iesus Christ for thy souls good and peace IOH COLLINGS From my study in Chappel-field-house in Norwich August 17 1648. A short Table of those severall Cases of Conscience which in the following Treatise are spoken to more fully or Collaterally the Letter of which are noted with an Asteriske Ser. I. 1. VVHether it be necessary that humiliation should in a soule goe before faith Ser. II. 2. Whether I may refuse to beleeve because I thinke I am not enough humbled Comfort and direction for a soul under that affliction Ser. III. 3. Whether I may refuse to beleeve because I know not whether I am elected or no How to satisfie a Christian under that affliction Ser. IV. 4. Whether I may refuse to beleeve because I am a great sinner and as I thinke too unworthy of mercy How to satisfie a Christian under that affliction Ser. V. 5. Whether I may refuse to beleeve upon a conceit that I have sinned the sin against the Holy-Ghost How to ease a spirit under that burthen Ib. * 6. Whether every sin against knowledge every denying of Christ every hating our brethrens goodnesse be this sin or no Ser. VI. 7. Whether a Christian may conclude he doth not beleeve because he cannot act every act of faith Ser. VII 8. Whether true faith may consist with doubting and how in the same soule Ib. 9. Whether a Christian may conclude he hath not true faith because for the present he is ignorant 1. in circumstantiall points 2. in the history of Scripture 3. in some fundamentals yea 4. in the necessary points of salvation so far as that he cannot make the generals out by particulars nor maintaine them upon dispute Ser. VIII 10. Whether a Christian may conclude his faith is not true because he thinks he doth not assent to the whole Word of God * 11. Whether the true beleever can at any time doubt whether the Scripture be the Word of God or no * 12. Whether a Christian may not be tempted to doubt it and yet not doubt it and how to know such a temptation from our owne corruption * 13. Whether a Christian can have true faith and not assent to every particular truth in the word of God nor to the true meaning of this or that portion of Scripture Ser. IX 14. Whether a Christian may truly relye upon Jesus Christ for salvation and yet doubt whether he doth relye or no and not know he relyes but be strongly conceited he doth not * 15. Whether a Christian may truly relye upon Christ and yet find an abatement sometimes of the strength of his relyance and to his owne thoughts relye sometimes more sometimes lesse * 16. Whether a Christian may truly relye upon Christ and the promises and yet not at all times find an equall reliance upon all the promises but that he can at somtimes as he thinks more adhere to some promises then other and in generall better depend upon Gods spirituall promises for grace and heaven then his
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
hearts of such Christians as yielding to this temptation have troubled and perplexed their own spirits First of all consider That as it is a certain truth that there is such a sin commissible that a creature may be guilty of yet it is as incertain what this sin is None ever could yet determine it or if they have done it it hath been unwarrantably I mean for the specificall â—in Innumerable almost have been the opinion of the Antients Some have thought it to be malice against the Brethrens-graces others Finall impenitency others despair of Gods mercy The Papists make six species of it 1. Impenitency 2. Despair these two seem to be but consequents of it 3. Obstinacy in wickednesse All obstinacy in wickednesse cannot be and how high what degree of obstinacy constitutes it they leave us to seek 4. The resisting of a known truth This comes nearest it but yet for the heighth and degree of resistance they also leave us in the dark and every resistance is not 5. The malice against our Bretheren for grace and goodnesse This hath something in it tending to it but reacheth not the full neither 6. A sinning out of presumption of Gods mercy That presumption is an ingredient in this sin is certain Aq. 22â— q. 14. Att. 2. and that the sin against the Holy-ghost is a sin of presumption but every sinning upon presumption of Gods mercy certainly is not unpardonable It is certain that blasphemy against the Holy-ghost may be variously taken First Lâ—terally when any blasphemous speech is spoken against the Holy-ghost As if any should maintain the Holy-ghost is not God c. So many of the antient fathers took it Secondly It is sometimes and so we take it to be meant here for a sin against the Holy-ghosts proper operations and workings as his enlightening grace c. Heb. 4. 6 7. For whosoever sins the first way sins not unpardonably Aus T. 10. though dangerously as Saint Austine largely proves Serm. 11. de Verbis Din. p. 47. Copiose tractat that the Texts Mat. 12. 31. c. are not to be meant of every blasphemous word but there is quadam blasphemia quoddam verbum a certain word and a certain kinde of blasphemy Now what this is that we are in the dark for nor have any except the Papists unwarrantably dared certainly to define or describe it so as to say This is the unparponable sin Now therefore Christian upon what ground doest thou say Thou hast sinned the sin against the Holy-ghost when neither thou nor any other can say this or that is the sin against the Holy-ghost why doest thou accuse the soul of thou knowest not what Judge if this be not an irrationall yielding to a groundlesse temptation But saith a poor Christian I have refused the enlightening spirit I have refused instruction and hated counsell and what is this but the impardonable sin or have â—inned against knowledge such and such a truth I have denied disputed against it c. To make therefore a little progresse though positively it cannot be said nor specifically determined what the sin against the Holy-ghost is that is unpardonable for it is certain that every sin against the Holy-ghost is not unpardonable A lye against knowledge is a sin against the Holy-ghost Act. 5. 3. yet not unpardonable Jacob committed it for the blessing Yet 1. It may be shewen negatively what it is not 2. Severall ingredients may be discovered that must be in this compound of iniquity And in relation to thy complaint consider Secondly That none can be guilty of it but such as have had a great measure of knowledge of Gods truth Heb. 6. 4 5 6. They must be such as have been enlightned that is such as the Gospel hath been preacht too and receive by so that it hath cleared up his understanding from that darknesse and mist of naturall blindnesse and ignorance in which Adams fall left us Secondly Such as have tasted of the heavenly gift that is Faith saith Pareus such as having heard the word have not onely been convinced of it but given a firm assent of Faith to it for it can onely be understood of a temporary Faith of assent not of true justifying Faith for that in whomsoever it is is kept by the power of God to salvation 1 Pet. 2. 5. Thirdly Such as have tasted of the good word of God Such as have had the Gospel preacht to them and have apprehended it good and sweet received it with joy Heb. 10. 26. Heard it gladly as Herod Heb. 10. 26. They must be such as have received the knowledge of the Truth It must be a defection and a declination from knowledge and a profession as is clear from that place Heb. 10. 26. from whence is plain that a naturall man that never was enlightned or an heathen that never heard the word of God or those that though they have heard yet have not had hearts to regard and received what they hear and give assent to it These cannot be guilty of this unpardonable sin why doest thou therefore trouble thy self that thou hast refused the Gospel and therefore thou hast sinned the sin against the Holy-ghost When the Gospel was never made known to thee so far as to enlighten thee possibly thou heardst the word but understoodst not regardest nothing Those that crucified Christ were converted at Peters Sermon Act. 2. have thine ears been stopt to the means of grace be humbled for it but dispair not because of it though thou beest called at the ninth hour yet if thou wilt come in at the eleventh thou shalt be received and welcome onely come God winked at the time of thy ignorance Act. 17. 30. Act. 17. 30. This sin must be against the word heard received tasted c. It is not a bare piece of originall corruption consisting in a privation of knowledge or aversenesse unto knowledge or vanity of heart in not regarding knowledge but it is the highest piece of actuall rebellion not for a while to stand at a distance from a pardon offered but to begin to reach out an hand to take it and then draw back and spit in the face of that God that offers thee This is plain for it is a blasphemy against the Holy-ghost in his workings now the spirit doth not alwayes work with the preaching of the word much lesse is the law of nature the work of the sanctifying spirit But the work of illumination and sanctification those are the spirits works in which we must take heed of opposing him This sin is not petty-iarceny but high-treason against God But alas will a poor Christian say yet I fear for I have received and tasted the word of truth and I have made a shew of rejoycing in the good word of God and after this have I been in my heart thinking to deny Christ to be the Saviour of the world to deny the word to be the word of truth and
is an assent a yielding in thy soul to the word of God an agreement to the truth of it Exod. 14. 31. Israel beleeved the Lord and his servant Moses viz. gave credence and assent agreed that it was just and good and true that the Lord spake and relied upon the authority of him that spake it So by this act of Faith doth the beleever when he hears the word of God revealed concerning his salvation he closeth with it as suppose that Ioh. 3. 16. God so loved the world that he gave his onely begotten Son that whosoever beleeves in him should not perish but have everlasting life Or that of the Apostle There is no other name under heaven whereby a man may be saved but the name of Iesus or that again This a faithfull saying and worthy of all acceptation that Iesus Christ came into the world to save sinners Faith now doth not onely know this but closeth with God in these truths And so concerning the promises of salvation when God sayes Though your sins were as scarlet I will make them as snow though they were as crimson yet they shall be white as wooll Faiths work now is to perswade the soul to an assent to and credence of the truth of this good word of God yea and it is not every assent that is an act of Faith neither First It must be a stedfast assent The beleever doth as verily beleeve the promise of God as that he doth live he sayes in his heart and with his whole heart First The word that tells me this is the world of an ever-living and unchangeable God and it is undoubtedly his Word Secondly It is the word of a true and faithfull God The Apostle calls Gods Word The word of truth And it is the word of truth either materially the matter of it is truth or objectively the object of it is truth It hath the God of truth for the Author It is whole truth for the matter And this the beleever gives full and stedfast credit unto Secondly Yea and he gives credit to every truth that the word of God holds out to him as truth Faith quickens the soul to thirst after full discoveries of truth and quickens the soul to receive every beam of the light of truth that shines into it The Hebrews say That there is not the least tittle of the law upon which great mountains do not depend The beleever saith there 's not the least jot in the word of God upon which great mountains of truth do not depend not any leaf but the God of truth is wrapt up in I remember that it was Gods command in the 28. cha of Deut. That when the severall curses were read all the people should say Amen and that not to this or that curse but at the denuntiation of every curse all the people said Amen I do not reade the like command when the blessings were pronounced yet without question their assent was required to them as well as the other But our hearts are ready enough to say Amen to blessings and promises but we would not say Amen to threatnings and curses Now the beleever gives assent and credence to the word of God V. Balls Treat of Faith 1. p. even there where it seemeth most to strike at his own interest and happinesse he beleeves all things that are written in the law and the Prophets Acts 24. 14. Yea and he gives thirdly a clear assent to the word of God and every portion of it He is not like him that saith Amen to any thing he will give his assent to every piece of the word of God and yet not a blinde assent to any piece of it but every truth that he assents unto shines into his soul with a light as clear as the suns at high-noon-day As Christ told the woman of Samaria Ioh. 4. 22. You worship you know not what but we know what we worship The discourse had been very high about very great mysteries Christ had told her of a strange gift he would give her Living water v. 10. That should have a strange quality even a quality to quench thirst for ever v. 14. She gave some assent to this the water pleased her tast but it was but a blinde assent for she dreamed of such a water as might satisfie her bodily thirst that she might no more come thither to draw And v. 20. When she made a confession of her Faith to Jesus Christ that it was just of the same length bredth of her fathers not an inch longer nor shorter a Faith of the same last with most now a dayes Christ told her that in the dayes to come there should be a strange kinde of worshipping the Father Neither at Ierusalem nor yet in that mountain Ye worship saith he you know not what but we know what we worship Many assent this day to the word of God They assent to it that there is a Christ come into the world to save sinners c. None will deny this but it is in their brains but as a dark notion or else they have received it as a tradition of their fathers Our forefathers religion is a great plea in these dayes The Samaritans they worshipped they gave a kinde of a blinde credence and assent to some things that were truths in the word But alas they worshipped they knew not what they had no clear distinct knowledge of those truths that they made an orall profession of and with their mouths did pretend assent to So wicked and profane men now a dayes give a kinde of an assent to the word of God and to the Doctrine of Jesus Christ but it is far from the meanest and lowest act of true Faith When they hear or have received it from tradition that Christ was born of a Virgin or that Christ though eternall God yet was also perfect man that he died for sinners c. The wretches will tell you they beleeve these things But alas they assent not to them as clear distinct truths made out evidently and convincingly to their souls they say they professe they worship they know not what They understand not these things The natural man receiveth not the things of God for they are foolishnesse unto him 1 Cor. 2. 14. nor can he know them for they are spiritually discerned He gives his blinde assent and perhaps will set his hand to them but he doth but set his hand to a blank if he does Nor can it be otherwise for the carnall man hath nothing but the bucket of carnall reason to draw with out of the unfadomable depth of the mysteries of salvation and while he hath nothing else thus reason disputes and cannot but dispute in his soul If Christ be God How could he be born or dye reason cannot answer these questions therefore they seem dark to the poor blinde wretch and though he professes he gives credence to the word of God in these particulars Yet his assent
is but a dark and forced act of his will not a voluntary and clear act of it closing with the truth and embracing of it nor can it be because as I have shewed his assent of his will cannot proceed from a well enlightned understanding without the precedency of which the will is but ravished into an assent The understanding is that which holds the candle to the will in the soul Now the assent and credence which every true beleever gives to the word of truth though it be an act of the will for it is the wills act to delight in and close with and â—eal yet it proceeds from a spiritually and clearly enlightened understanding for it is the understandings office to dictate to the will Now assent in the wicked man is but an act of his will without any clearnesse in the understanding the understanding onely presenting the truth as a notion or tradition or commonly received opinion this is far from an act of Faith but such as the devils have It is like the Athenian devotion Paul coming to Athens Act. 17. 23. found an Altar with this superscription 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 To the unknown God Their worshipping argued some assent of the will and the will alwayes following the dictate of the understanding It is certain that there was some knowledge the truth was this Their understanding had gathered up some generall notions of the Deity That there was a God c. and these might be seen by the light of nature or heard from their forefathers and suckt in by tradition And it is plain it was no more for they ingenuously confesse that the God whom they worshipped was unknown to them they knew that there was a God and possibly that this God was a spirit and that this God must be worshipped Naturall eyes discern all this but it was not a clear and distinct knowledge and assent they worshipped they knew not what their Altar was to the unknown God As many name-Christians beleevers at large now a dayes mutter over their common-prayers to their unknown God and come to Church to worship an unknown God onely their fathers or mothers have told â—hem there is a God and a Christ and this â—â—rist came into the world to save sinners and they must be good Church-men and serve God c. But now where this is an assent in the soul to a truth as an act of true Faith it is out of a distinct and clear understanding It conceives a great deal of reason why it should beleeve such a truth close with such a promise assent to such a word and the soul so clearly and brightly sees the truths that it sets its hand and heart unto that it wonders at the blindenesse of carnall men that they should not see it as clear as they do but yet be blinde to the things of God when for their parts they are as clear to their souls as the sun when it shineth at bright noon-day And therefore Faith is called Heb. 11. 1. The evidence of things not seen The word translated evidence is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies a convincing demonstration it commeth of the Greek verb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Leigh critica which signifies say criticks so to convince and bring evidence and reason for a thing and prove it by demonstration so clearly that no man can either deny it or object against it or so much as pretend an objection against it Such is Faith to the gracious soul it perswadeth the soul so to assent that the soul is clearly convinced of the thing to be assented to Faith hath so fully perswaded the soul of the word truth promise that it desires its hand and heart to that the soul is fully satisfied in it and is clear in it Though the beleeving soul neither doth see nor expects to see the brightnesse of sublime mysteries by the eye of carnall reason yet it sees by another eye and so clearly every thing that it assents to that it conceives there can be no darknesse in it no reason nor objection pretended against it but frivolous and vain and of no value This is Faiths first act stedfast clear assent Now in this the soul may possibly deceive it self The second Act of Faith which we ordinarily say is the very marrow and essence of justifying Faith is reliance and dependency upon Jesus Christ when the soul having been perswaded of the word of truth and assented to it doth in the next place hang and depend upon it as the word upon which it must live and commits his soul to Christ and hangs upon him as the Christ by which he onely can be saved This I say is that Act which justifieth A learned Author hath noted six words in Scripture Ball in his Treat of Faith by which the Holy-ghost doth expresse to us the nature and work of beleeving First Faith exprest by six words Beleeving put in opposition to fainting Psa 27. 13. I had fainted unlesse I had beleeved Secondly Trusting put in opposition to fearing Psal 78. 22. They trusted not in his salvation they were afraid of the Canaanites Thirdly Betaking to as to a castle Psal 2. 12. Our translation reades it Blessed are all they that trust in him But Mollerus saith it signifies Protectionis causâ aliquò confugere se recipere verbum appositum saith he to fly to some place for protection as to a castle in a time of danger Fourthly By a word that signifieth To lean and relye upon as an old man leaneth on a staff 2 Chron. 16. 7 8. Because thou didst relye upon the Lord he did deliver them into thy hand verbatim say Expositors because thou didst lean upon him as thy staff Fifthly By another word That signifies to stay up the minde as with a prop Esau 48. 2. You stay your selves upon the Lord from fearing despairing from sinking dejections c. A sixth word by which it is exprest is rolling and hanging upon as a drowning man on a boy Psal 37. 5. So that we may say That the very essentiall act in which consists the marrow of justifying Faith is this When the soul being perswaded of the truth of Gods eternall word gives a fâ—ll and fixt assent and credence to it to every curse and threatning as well as to every promise and yet doth not faint nor sink in despair nor drown in sorrow but in this apprehension of its lost and undone condition runs to Iesus Christ as a safe castle and hangs upon him committing the whole burthen of its soul unto him and stayes there leaning upon him and the promises of life made in him to the soul This is now justifying Faith which afterwards creates in the soul a quiet â—esting in God a sweet delighting in God a stedfast hope in him and a patient waiting for him and at last a confident assurance of him But this is certainly Faith so far as is upon pain of damnation necessary
and preach what need men in naturall condition have of Jesus Christ what a wofull condition they are in without him what a readinesse there is in Christ to save them and upon this presse faith doe you think it is not possible that some soule may be startled and run out of it self and rest truly upon Christ and yet not be for the present so well instructed as to give you an account of the Trinity of persons And yet without question it is a truth and a fundamentall truth too Acts 19. v. 2. Paul came to Ephesus and found certain men that were Disciples v. 1. He asks them if they had received the Holy Ghost they ingenuously confest that they were so farre from receiving the gifts of the Holy Ghost that they had not so much as heard whether there was an Holy Ghost or no I know most of expositors construe it of the gifts of the holy Ghost but for my part I cannot subscribe to their opinion but think the latter clause hath more then the former and that there is an emphasis in their answer and so Ioh. 20. v. 9. we find the Disciples of Christ ignorant in the point of Christs Resurrection from the dead and Christ chides his Disciples for their ignorance in this point The Disciples were ignorant concerning the Father Ioh. 14. 8. Lord shew us the Father and it sufficeth us Luk. 24. v. 5. The very Apostles were ignorant in the point of Christs Kingdome and rule and dreamt of Christs restoring the temporall Kingdome to Israel Act. 1. v. 6. This is the case of many a poor Christian it may be it cannot read or it hath not lived where there hath been any faithfull powerfull soule-enlightning preaching but when Gods time comes he brings the soule to heare and it doth possibly heare of its poor naturall undone condition and that there is none other name by which the Christian may be saved but onely the Name of Jesus yet this now being the work of Gods Spirit the spirit carries on its own work and creates faith in the soule brings the soule to trust and rely on Iesus Christ There may be divers fundamentall points that the soule all this while hath not heard a word concerning as how many yeare sometimes doth a Minister preach and not directly meddle with the Doctrine of the Trinity c How many weeks and not preach the Doctrine of the Resurrection But here is now the condition of such a Christian after the Spirit of God hath enlightned him and convinced him c. the poor soule that regarded not instruction before now begins perhaps to learn to read pray now he heareth the Word more enquireth concerning God more c. and every day discovers more truth then other to which the soul by nature was blinded then begins Satans work the soule reflects upon it self and begins to say now Wo is me I have my work still to begin I have made my self beleeve I have been a beleever so long and alas I have been a poor blind ignorant wretch blind to the truths of Iesus Christ c. how could I beleeve while I knew so little Yes Christian thou mayest be a Scholler though thou beest but in thy Accidence there are some truths which are the Credenda ad salutem the very foundation upon which salvation standeth Now true faith is not consistent without these I cannot rest upon Christ and Christ onely for salvation and yet not know that there is a Christ nor what this Christ is how proportionate a Saviour for me without question the knowledge of the Doctrine of faith in Iesus Christ the Son of God and the Saviour of man what he is what he hath done what need we have of him what a fulnesse there is in him what a sufficiencie of salvation for every soule that beleeveth c. is so much knowledge as is absolutely necessary and without which no soule can be saved yet this must not be understood without some caution as I shall shew you anon for though it be truth such a blind soule may be enlightned so far as truely to beleeve yet if so it will deny no truth but labour and thirst after the knowledge of every truth A man may be a Grecian and yet not know every word in the Greek tongue no not every Radix Beleevers shall not bee saved by their Book Secondly A Beleever may be ignorant in many circumstanciall points of Religion and yet be a true Beleever this is clear from many examples in Scripture Peter himself did not know he might eat those birds and beasts Acts 11. which to the Iewes were unclean The beleeving Romanes did not know their liberty in point of holy-dayes Rom. 14. and eating of meats first offered to Idolls Gal. 4. which maketh the Apostle take a great deale of paines for setting Rules to strong Christians how to carry themselves in relation to their weak brethren Gal. 5. whose consciences were stumbled at their eating both in the 24. Chap. of his Epistle to the Romanes and also in his Epistle to the Corinthians he harps upon the same string again The Churches of Galatia and Colosse were ignorant about the point of Christian liberty The indulgent Master will not throw away the childs Exercise for want of a Comma Christ rejects not the Christians Faith because it is not fringed with a knowledge in every circumstantiall in Religion I call no truth circumstantiall as by a slighting and neglective terme for it is a beame of God but as comparatively though they be truths to be known embraced loved practised yet they touch not the vitals of salvation as I may say They are not necessary to be known ad esse to make a true beleever Thirdly a Christian may be ignorant in the History of the Bible and yet have true justifying faith Every Scholler is not a Chronologer nor an Historian no more is every beleever I may know what Christ was though I know not what Moses and Aaron were I may know which way Christ took to bring my soule out of darknesse into marvellous light though I do not know which way Moses took to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt I may know there is but one King of Kings though I do not know how many Kings there were of Israel and Iudah The Disciples did not know all the Prophets had spoken Luk. 24. 25. Fourthly a Christian may be a true beleever and yet not know the meaning of many places in Scripture God would never have appointed expounders of the Law if every Christian qua Christian were to have been a generall Commentator That Well is deep and every one hath not a Bucket to draw There are that tell us that â—e Spirit reveales the meaning of Scripture to the beleever and would thence evince that whoso hath the Spirit must needs bee fit to unty every knot and unriddle every mystery of Scripture but every one that hath
the Spirit hath not the Spirit of prophesie For those Scriptures which it is necessary in point of salvation every beleever should know every beleever understands the nature of them God hath made the water shallow that the Lambs may wade but for those places through which the beleevers passages do not lie to Heaven in which the Elephants may swim God doth not require that every Lambe should sound those depths Fifthly A Christian may be so farre ignorant in the fundamentalls as that he cannot make them out and yet be a true beleever he may be ignorant in the particulars by which the generals are demonstrated as for example he may know that Christ dyed for him and rest upon the merits of his death for eternall life and so truly beleeve and yet not be able to make this out by reason of his ignorance how Christ being God should be capable of death how the humane and divine Nature were conjoyned hee may know that Christ satisfied by his active obedience for his actuall sinne and yet not perfectly understand how Christ being man should be free from sinne being conceived by the Holy Ghost The boyes Exercise may be true Latin though he cannot pierce every word The Disciples were beleevers yet were ignorant concerning the Resurrection yea concerning Christs union with the Father Luk. 24. 25. Ioh. 14. 4 5 6. The knowledge may bee cleare to them in the generall though through their infirmity and ignorance they be not able to cleare it up in the severall particulars Lastly They may bee so farre ignorant in the substantialls of Religion as that they cannot dispute them The faculty of beleeving and the art of disputing are two things I may know and beleeve that which I cannot maintaine upon dispute It is a knowne speech of that female Martyr I cannot dispute but I can dye for Christ if she had not beleeved she would not have dyed she could maintain her faith with her blood which shee could not maintaine with her tongue As every Scholler so every beleever is not a disputant It is good Logick in Divinity for the Christian to hold the conclusion though he knowes not what to say to the Sophisters premises But lest now some should thinke and say that I have laid Heaven a little too wide open I must limit what I have said with two Cautions To satisfie the poore doubting Christian in point of ignorance I have laid downe the truth in these Conclusions and shewed you how farre it is possible that a man may bee ignorant and yet a true Beleever But First It must bee provided hee bee not content with this ignorance but useth the meanes to increase knowledge searcheth the Scripture and heares the Word that this ignorance proceeds meerly out of infirmity not of wilfulnesse otherwise this knowledge will not bee sufficient It is given as the character of unbeleevers 2 Pet. 3. 5. 2 Pet. 3. That they were willingly ignorant Wee have an High-Priest who can have compassion on the ignorant and on them that are out of the way for as much as hee also was compassed about with infirmity Heb. 5. 2. But for the wilfully ignorant the High-Priest was to offer no Sacrifice Know therefore Christian that thou canst have no comfort that thou beleevest though thou beest ignorant unlesse appealing to thine owne heart thou canst say I have done what I can to dispell these mists of ignorance and learne the whole truth of God Christ Jesus will take the blind man by the hand Mar. 8. 23 24 25. if he beseecheth him to touch him provided hee be willing to receive his sight And as hee did not cast off the blinde man that at first saw men walking like Trees So hee will not cast off the Christian that at his first illumination sees divine truths like Trees not clearely distinctly and fully but as he dealt with that blinde man hee left him not there but hee put his hands againe upon him and made him see every man clearly So if thou belongest to Christ hee will put his hands againe upon thee and make thee see every portion of his divine truth more clearely hee will make thy dawning twilight be growing up to a mid-day of knowledge â— Pet 3. 18. Therefore Saint Peter layes it as his necessary injunction upon Beleevers That they should grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Iesus Christ That 's the first Caution Secondly this gnorance may bee consistent with true Faith in thee provided thou dost not deny the truth that thou dost not know Thou mayest have faith though thou dost not know what the Trinity is or how it is but if thou denyest the Trinity I make a question of thy truth of faith or possibility of salvation Ignorance of some truths is not damnable but the denyall of every truth when reveaâ—ed is damnable want of a cleare knowldge is not damnable but denyall of the truth because thou canst not clearely make it out is damnable Speak not evill of what thou knowest not but wait untill and pray that God would reveale it unto thee 1 Tim. 5. 8. 1 Tim. 5. 8. He hath denyed the Faith and is worse then an infidell There was a great difference betwixt the Disciples that had not yet learnt and the Sadduces that denyed the Resurrection I never yet learnt or read that any of the latter were beleevers the Disciple had not yet known the Father nor yet the son well Ioh. 14. 7 8 9. Io. 14 7 8 9. But the Apostle sayes He is Antichrist that denyeth the Father and the Sonne Ignorance of truth will be borne with but denyall of truth shall not Take heed of denying the truths thou dost not know Thus I have shewed you how true Faith may consist with doubtings concerning the point of knowledge which though it be not properly called an act of faith yet it is supposed in the lowest act and to satisfie you I have shewed you what ignorance may be consistent with true Faith and what not and with what Cauâ—ions a Christian may bee comforted concerning his faith notwithstanding his ignorance in some truths and some things not unnecessary to be known The Eighth SERMON LUKE 17. v. 5. Lord increase our faith CHAP. 9. Concerning those doubts and weaknesses which may consist with true Faith in respect to its act of Assent and how to comfort a soule under such troubles I Shall now go on to shew you what doubts a Christian that truely beleeves may have consistent with his Assent which I laid down as the first act of faith for knowledge is rather supposed to faith then an act of it You may remember I told you Assent is an act of faith whereby the Beleever doth firmly fully and clearly agree to the truth of God revealed in his Word Now sayes the doubting Christian Alas I have no faith I scarce assent to the Word of God at all or if I
the eye of his reason as that there is a God that we are all gone a stray from the wayes of God in which we were first see to these even the carnall man may give a cleare attest for he sees a great deal of reason that demonstrates these and such like truths unto him But now there are some truths which to the eye of Reason are as dark as midnight as Christs assuming the humane nature and the Doctrine of the Trinity and the sublime Doctrine of Christs union with the soule c. Now these also in some manner are cleare to the spirituall mans eye of Faith in regard that he doth beleeve the Word of God and that so plainly holds out these divine truths it is clear to him that they are truths he sees a great deale of reason for him to beleeve contrary to reason but yet when he comes to think how should these things be and so puzle his faith with reason he doth not clearly then see that upon a particular enquiry which in a generall notion seemed very cleare unto him as in particular that truth concerning the essentiall and reall union betwixt Jesus Christ and the soule the true Beleever thinks he sees it very clearly and beleeves it very stedfastly while he onely considers the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of it and looks upon it as it is a truth but now when he comes to consider how should this be there that knowledge which seemed cleare before appeares very dark and misty and so concerning assent which followes the knowledge of any truth I remember a passage of a Reverend Divine of our owne There is a manifestation of things by reason and by revelation an evidence direct and not direct and evidence direct and by consequence an evidence of the thing in it selfe and by the effect matters of faith are manifest by revelation but in reason insearchable and incomprehensible The Divinity of the Scripture is in it self evident to the spirituall man so is it that there is a providence other things are evident from this ground Ball upon faith p. 22. thou mayest not judge that thou hast no faith or that thou dost not assent to the truth of God because every truth in the Scripture is not in it self evident unto thee so as thou canst give a cleare and rationall assent unto it it may be a clear assent to the truth in generall though not in the particulars there it may be dark as in that Doctrine of the Trinity I may be perswaded and clearely to my thinking see that there is a Trinity it may be a notion as cleare as the Sunne unto me because I take the witnesse of Gods Word as a sufficient evidence to me but yet if I will go pose my Faith with Reason I shall not be able from an evidence of Reason to give direct assent unto that truth It may be cleare as any thing to my faith That Gods essentiall presence is wholly every where yet when I come now to look to see this with reason how the incomprehensible God should be wholly in this or that roome when I come neer I have a very dark sight and my assent is scarce clear to this truth Some Pictures the further you stand off them the more you see of them it is a clearer sight that you have of the picture at a distance then close by it So it is with some divine truths they seem very cleare to the Christian aloofe off while he onely views them with the eye of his faith and does not come neer them with the feet of his reason but if once he drawes neer with those earthy feet to them they seem very dark And thus I have shewed you what doubts a Christian may meet withall in relation to his assent what weaknesses may be incident to it and consistent with it though arguing imperfection and weaknesse 1. He may doubt whether he doth assent or or no and yet at that time truly assent and close with the Word of Truth 2. He may doubt whether the Scriptures be the Word of God or no or at least may be tempted to doubt and there I have given some marks by which a Christian may distinguish a temptation to doubting from a reall doubting proceeding from unbeleefe 3. Hee may doubt concerning some particular truths in the Word of God and through ignorance or weaknesse not fully assent to them and yet fully close with the Word so farre as is revealed to him 4. He may doubt concerning the meaning of this or that portion of Scripture and dissent from the ordinarily received truth of it and yet truely assent to the Word of God yea he may mistake a Scripture and hold that as a truth from that Scripture upon his mistake which is indeed an errour and yet savingly assent to the Word of Truth so it be not in necessary fundamentals Lastly he may not clearely by an evidence of Reason or a direct and distinct evidence of Faith assent unto severall truths which are in the Word of God and yet truly assent unto the Word Thus you see true Faith may consist with much weaknesse and doubting as with much imperfection and ignorance in respect of the required knowledge so with much imperfection and doubting in relation to the act of assent Make use of this to see Gods goodnesse that wil take such sacrifices at our hands not to presume to hug these imperfections but be alwayes striving against them 1. Caution provided we alwayes strive against them that thou dost not wilfully cherish any of them there are many and may bee many deficiencies in the understanding that God will passe over but if they come to bee the rebellions of the will thou shalt know hee is angry It is said Rom. 4. 19. 20. that Abraham staggered not through unbeleefe Abraham doubted through infirmity though when he lay with Hagar and bid Sara say she was his sister Strive against these weaknesses and let them be thine meerly through weaknesse if they be not of wilfulnesse meerly of infirmity not through unbeleef and the Lord is mercifull and thy faith may be true If thou dost stedfastly assent to all the Truth of God that is the foundation of faith and necessary to salvation and fully and impartially close with the whole Word of God and every particular portion of truth in it when it is once cleare to thee that it is a syllable of that Word of Truth and livest a life answerable to it though for the present thou thinkest thou dost not assent and though thou mayest be tempted sometimes to doubt of the whole Scripture and though thou mayest doubt concerning some particular truths that are taken for truths and are so and concerning this or that portion of Scripture and mayest take up that as a truth which is an errour from it and though thou mayest not for the present by a cleare evidence of reason or a direct and distinct evidence of faith assent
unto severall truths which are in the word provided 1. That thou assentest to all truths that are necessarily to be beleeved to salvation and the foundations of Faith 2. Provided thou strivest against other doubtings and labourest to get a sense of Faith and a strength to resist the Devils temptations and to be convinced of every particular truth and of thy errour if it bee one which thou hast taken up from some mistaken portion of Scripture and labourest for a more cleare and distinct knowledge of every truth that so thy assent may be more cleare every day than other The Ninth SERMON LUKE 17. v. 5. Lord increase our faith I Am shewing you what doubts may consist in a gracious soule with true faith I have already shewed what weaknesse may consist with faith in respect of knowledge and what doubts in relation to the meanest and lowest act of faith which is assent It is my task at this time to shew you what doubts and weaknesses may consist with saving faith in a gracious soule in relation to the second act which is indeed the essence and marrow of justifying faith that is the act of adhering the soules rolling relying and wholly depending it selfe upon Jesus Christ for salvation for although the soules assenting to the promise and being perswaded of the promise as a sure and stedfast word of truth be an act of faith yet it is concluded by most or all godly and sober Divines that it is not the act of faith that justifies but as it is concluded against the Antinomians and Libertines on one side that it is not faith of assurance that onely justifies so it is also concluded against the Papists on the other side that it is not an assent to and perswasion of the truth of the Word that justifieth the soule but that true justifying faith though it doth suppose both knowledge and assent yet it doth especially consist in the soules rollings and throwing it selfe upon the Lord Jesus Christ for eternall salvation and adhering to the promises as its portion And therefore it is observed by learned and gracious Mr. Ball 1 Par. p. 24. in his Treatise of Faith that there are six words in Scripture by which the Holy Ghost doth in Scripture expresse to us true and saving faith This I have noted before every one of which doth denote unto us that the very essence and marrow of true and saving faith is a reliâ—nce and dependance of the soule upon Christ The first is Beleeve opposed to fainting Psal 27. 13. it argues a staying of the soule upon something when it was falling swooning fainting c. The second word is Trust his heart is fixed trusting in the Lord. A third word is translated trust but signifies to betake to as a Castle Psal 2. 11. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him A fourth word signifies to leane upon as a man leanes himselfe upon a staffe 2 Chron. 16. v. 7 8. A fifth word signifies to stay and rest the minde upon Isa 48. 2. They stay themselves upon the God of Israel A sixth word signifies to roll a mans selfe upon a thing as a man in danger of drowning catcheth hold of a Willow and hang upon it all which words denote to us that the true and proper distinguishing act of true justifying faith is the soules rolling it selfe upon the promises of life and upon Christ for eternall salvation I take true justifying faith so far as it is the soules act by the vertue and strength of the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ infused in relation to this act to be this for a soul wholly and stedfastly and solely and obediently to rest and roll it self upon the Lord Iesus Christ for eternall life Now in this act of true and saving faith there may be a great deale of weaknesse and it may be accompanied with a great deale of doubting CHAP. X. Concerning those weaknesses which may consist with true faith in a gracious soule and how to satiisfie the soule that conceives it doth not truly rely upon Christ because it doth not finde that it can rely so fully and constantly as it desires nor upon all the promises alike ALas sayes a poor soul I cannot think that I do really rest and râ—l my self upon Iesus Christ and the promises for eternall life when I do rest as I think I am ready again to think I doe not and if I be in a frame of heart one day that I think that now I can roll my self upon Christ and trust his promises another day again I can trust nothing if sometimes I do cleave to the word of life as sweet and pretious and imbrace it as true and prize Christ and value his Word above all sensuall delights whatsoever and hunger and thirst after it and after Christ another while again I cleave to a sensuall good more then to a spirituall promise or an heavenly Christ and besides I cannot rely upon God for the fulfilling of every promise there are some of Gods promises that I think I could rest upon God for fulfilling of others again I cannot for my life though I am perswaded that they are equall words of truth with the other trust God for nor can I be fully perswaded that the promises do really and peculiarly belong to me Now to satisfie the soule in this particular I will shew you what doubtings and weaknesses may be in the soule and yet the soule at that time may have received and may rest and rely and roll it self upon the Lord Iesus Christ for the promises of salvation and may at the same time have true saving justifying faith this is my work to which I am to addresse my selfe Know for thy comfort First Thou mayest fully and wholly rely thy soule upon Iesus Christ and yet not beleeve thou dost fully and wholly rest Reliance and dependance is necessary to Faith not full perswasion of such a reliance I meane justifying faith Reliance is a necessary act of Faith full perswasion of such a reliance is a comfortable act of Faith depending and relying is the act of this hand helped by Gods Spirit full perswasion of this reliance is more the shining of Gods face then the act of our soules Labour more to get evidences of the truth of thy act of faith then of the degrees of it Christ may be in the room and yet not seen he may be in the midst of thy heart and saying Peace be to this soule and yet the doores of thy sense be shut Heaven is a thing unseen and he that measureth his faith by his eye may call an Ephah an Omer especially if thou wilt not think that thou hast faith unlesse thou canst see a truth of the very act and refuse to take an evidence for thy sense from the effects of faith The acts of the minde are secret acts of which as I said before we are very ill Judges Resting and relying upon Christ is
an act of the minde and is an hidden and mysticall act which we cannot weigh in any scales to try whether it be full weight yea or no here 's the trouble of many Christians ask them whether they rest and rely upon Jesus Christ for salvation yea or no they will tell you they cannot think they do yet they will confesse that if they do not rely upon him they rely upon nothing their sinnes and duties their morality and civility they have utterly disclaimed and will cry out of these as menstruous clothes and filthy rags yea and confesse that they would not they durst not sin against God for a world yet they cannot think they rest truly upon Christ for salvation though they will confesse they desire it and hope they do it and they make the Law of Christ the rule of their lives and they have a secret soule-enflaming love to Christ but because they cannot understand the secret mystery of the internal act therefore they will not they cannot flatter their souls into a faith and apprehension that they do truly beleeve when indeed there is no act of the mind the nature of which and truth of which we can discover from the knowledge of it clearly in it selfe but must be forced to examine the truth and falshood of it by the effects and it must be the infinite and rare work of God to perswade our sense of the truth of our faith may it not be possible think you to finde one that is beautifull very beautifull and yet all her friends shall not perswade her that she hath any beauty at all we may have that which we will be not known of The woman hath seen her face in a false glasse or doth not know what beauty is and therefore will not be perswaded by other mens eyes to rectifie her owne judgement So it is with Beleevers they may have a beautifull face of faith and yet not thinke so Secondly A Christian may have a true faith and truly rely upon Christ and really think he doth not at all trust and rely upon Iesus Christ Sense in a Christian may not onely have a mist cast before its eyes but have its eyes clearly put out Suppose a man had put up a Petition to the King for some place of honour and trust this Petition lyes unanswered a great while at last the King answers this Petition and grants that place or dignity to him the Subject being at a distance from the Prince may have this place or honour conferred and yet not know of any such matter but verily beleeve his Petition lies like a cast paper hath he not his dignity because he knows it not Christians are misjudging creatures and too ready to suspect their owne happinesse they may call their resting and beleeving presumption their faith boldnesse The Hypocrite calls his drosse Gold his Alchymie Silver and the self-suspecting Christian is as ready on the other hand to call his Gold Brasse and his Silver Lead It is a rare thing to finde a Christian that will look his gracious face in a true Glasse the modest creature is afraid he should be proud if hee should look upon his beauty Heaven may bee hid under the dark and cloudy apprehensions of a terrible dismall hell Christ may be saying in Heaven Thou art saved Thou art saved while thou art saying upon earth O I am damned I am damned The Angels may be keeping holy-day for thee there while thou art keeping Fridayes here There may be joy in heaven for the same cause and at the same time for which and in which there may be sorrow on earth thou mayest have more friends in Heaven then thou knowest of Christ at that very time may be pleading hard at Heavens Barre for thee while thou art thinking he is reading an Enditement against thee thou mayest at that time have Christ in thy armes when thou thinkest he is as far from thy soule as Heaven from Hell Fâ—om hence will follow Thirdly Thou mayest question and doubt whether thou doest truly rest or no and yet truly rest Disputing argues weaknesse of the act and want of sense but not a totall want of the act This is lesse then the other but I have mentioned it because I have found this to be the temper of many Christians pinch upon that piont ask them whether they wholly rest and rely upon Christ for salvation they dare not tell you they think they do not nor they think they doe but they cannot tell what to think they kâ—ow not whether they do or no though they dare not conclude the falshood and nullity yet they dare not assert the reality and verity of any act of Faith in their soules they live at great incertainties and this makes them think they do not beleeve They are sure disputing is no beleeving To this I answer in this conclusion That thou mayest make a question whether thou beleevest or no and yet truly beleeve It is true disputing is no beleeving but though they be not things of the same nature yet they are not so ill neighbours but they may dwell under the same roof of the soule First Thou mayest doubt whether thou beleevest or no and yet beleeve this is not a question about the object of faith in which thou mayest for all this remaine unshaken but meerly about thy act of faith thus disputing thou dost not dispute whether the promise be true or no but whether thou art as thou shouldest be perswaded of the truth of it and dost as thou oughtst rest upon it for a word of truth and yet some disputes and doubtings about the object are not inconsistent with faith as I have shewed before It is a soule-destroying opinion which some Libertines have hatched in these dayes that a Christian ought not to question the truth of his Faith Such an unbeleefe shuts not men out of Heaven nor argues a nullity of Faith Paul was wrapt up into the third Heaven whether in the body he could not tell or whether out of the body he could not tell yet without question Paul was wrapt up in the body if wrapt up at all The Beleever may be in the like doubt concerning his Faith that S. Paul was concerning his rapture and yet have reall true Faith though we ought not to content our selvs with it yet we may know for our comfort that we may go disputing our faith to Heaven and many a one hath such an hot dispute with his own soule that his death is forced to prove the Moderator when he receives his end of his Faith even the salvation of his soule And thus I have shewed you in three particulars how the Christian may doubt concerning his resting and relying upon Christ and yet truly rely 1. He may question whether he truly relies or not 2. He may not be able to affirm nor think that hee doth truly relie yea further he may through a misjudging himselfe think he doth not rely
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
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
overjoyed and know not how to believe this glorious word I trust God will be as good as his word but yet to make sure Oh that Ishmael might live before thee This I conceive wee may see is intimated partly by comparing the words with the former God had just then promised him a Sonne by Sarah vers 16. and upon it he uttereth this speech secondly by comparing the words with those that immediatly follow as Gods reply upon that desire of Abraham v. 18. And God said Sarah thy wife shall beare thee a sonne indeed and thou shalt call his name Isaac As if God should have said Art thou disputing Abraham Indeed my words shall come to passe I am not in jest with thee nay more to confirme thee thou shalt call his name Isaac God addeth two things in his reply to confirm Abrahams faith 1. The word indeed 2. He particularizeth his Sonne by name which he should have So that it is plain he doubted yet saith the Apostle he staggered not through unbeliefe unbelief was not the predominant principle for he did believe it but infirmity was the principle from whence his doubting flowed Let us a little consider the words of the Apostle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. and they will fully open this particular Rom. 4. 20. He staggered not at the promise of God through unbeliefe but was strong in faith giving glory to God 1. He staggered not at the promise did not quarrell at the truth of Gods word that he believed was true and faithfull his doubt was from himself he was a hundred years old and his wife ninty indeed it is said v. 19. That he did not consider his own body now dead I conceive it is to be understood in fine he did not so consider it as to let it conquer his faith in the promise 2. He staggered not at the promise through unbeliefe That was not the principle a totall unbeliefe it was weaknesse for the present not unbeliefe Thirdly it was not such a donbting but hee gave glory to God in resting upon his word as a true and faithfull word and waiting upon him for the accomplishment Possibly there may be some thing in that distinction which some of the Schoole-men make betwixt disceptatio and dubitatio to our purpose Abraham did a little too much dispute with his sense upon this and said to his flesh a little too loud How can these things be otherwise he would never have gone in unto Hagar his maid his sense of weakenesse said what shall I thinke shall this come to passe it is out of the course of nature but he did not doubt of unbelief I conceive doubting doth argue a more settlednesse of thought in the negative then a meer disputing doth when a man is almost confident of a thing yet hath some scruples against it I might further add that the word in the verse translated unbeliefe is by Criticks noted to signifie rather a perfidiousnesse and rebelling against and falling away from God then a bare not believing of his promises fully for the present and therefore the Schole-men make a great distinction betwixt incredulity and infidelity Abraham was for the present incredulus but not infidelis he did not doubt with such a doubting as is the doubting of an Infidell that beleeved not the word of God but was for the present incredulous in respect of his â—nfirmity now on the contrary the Reprobates doubting proceedes meerely from a root of unbeliefe he beleeves not that the God that hath promised is faithfull and just to performe but secretly denieth God in his heart and doth not indeed so much disceptare or dubitare as apertè negare not so much dispute or doubt as openly and plainly deny Gods truth in his word Now examine thy doubtings by this marke from whence are they do they arise from unbeleef or from infirmity as for example suppose that promise Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden and I will ease you concerning this thou doubtest now whether this promise belongs to thy soule or may be applied by thy particular soule yea or no and thou thinkest he that doubts this is damned But peace Christian whence springs this thinkest thou The promise is this in substance that Christ will ease those weary and heavy-laden soules that come unto him doest thou not now beleeve this yes but thou doest not beleeve the promise doth belong to thee and why Oh! thou art not weary and heavy-laden thou art not in this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 one that doubts about the Promise of God but one that disputes his owne basenesse and in regard of that doest not so fully beleeve Thou wilt say Ah! I know that that word is a word of truth whose matter is truth and whose Author is truth but I doubt whether the truth of that word doth belong to me and this is the truth of thy heart which doth not doubt of the truth of the promise to those to whom it doth belong but of thy interest in it I say this doubting may be in the dearest Saint of God the unbeleever he doubts the truth of the promise he will not plainly say so with his mouth but in his heart he altogether denies God and denies his word So that thou â—eest here is a great difference betwixt the one and the other in respect of the Principle from which the doubtings of each spring Secondly there is a great difference betwixt their doubtings in respect of the occasion upon which they spring in eithers soule The occasion in the Saints of God may be various 1. Sathans temptations Sathan is alwayes desiring to winnow us like wheate if â—e hath the fanning of us it is no wonder if our hearts be shaken with doubting hence often what the child of God hath firmely and sted fastly believed a great while al upon the suddain he doubts such a sudden doubting now contrary directly to the former temper of our mind is most like to be a temptation of Sathan when it is I say sudden and contrary to a firme Faith precedent and subsequent 2. When thou doubtest only in respect of thy selfe that Sathan cannot prevaile with thee so much as to have a dishonourable thought of God or Iesus Christ or the promises of the Gospel Sometimes the occasion of thy doubtings is thy present sense of thy unworthinesse either thou hast been a great sinner or since repentance thou hast been a backslider or thou findest a continued dulnes and deadnesse and indisposition of spirit Sometimes again the occasion of thy doubting may be a divine desertion God hath left thee in the dark and now thou criest where is my God become sometimes the occasion again of thy doubting may bee a totall absence of sence when God takes away sense altogether and oppresseth thee with a present danger This was Peters case Matth. 14. 28. he was sinking overwhelmed with a present danger These are now the occasions with