Works, Part 1 · Spiritual counsels 1 · Counsel 41 – Counsel 48
Haste, how it argueth vnbeliefe: and of Watching and waiting.
1 NOthing more bewrayes vnbeliefe, then not to stay the Lords leisure: as contrariwise, Watching and waiting on the Lord shewes Faith: for those hastie and vnquiet spirits, when they see not speedy redresse according to their expectation, they either murmure in impatiencie, or they will ease their griefe by seeking vndirect meanes. And sure as nothing in prosperitie is a greater token of Gods fauour then to feare our selues: so in aduersitie, this is a pleasant pledge of our patience, when wee can waite and attend on the Lorde, for the time, and the manner, and the measure of our deliuerance.
There be some principall properties of true wayting:1
The first is, to waite in our selues: for manie will not outwardly murmure, and yet inwardlyProperties of constant waiting on God. they boyle and fret in themselues: and manie will abstaine from outward impatiencie, which looke to the inward estate of their hearts but a little. But it is good for vsus to beginne here: for if there bee a quietnes of the heart, there cannot be any great disquietnes2 in the tongue, or in the hand. The second propertie is, to waite on the Worde. Manie will say, they waite on God, and yet they are maruellous impatient, if yee charge them with impatiencie: but weigh their waiting by the Word, and it will not abide the tryall, it will not goe for good. Looke what Faith wee hauehave to waite on God, vnlesse it be taught out of the Word, (which is as true as God himselfe) it is not found. Some will be content to waite on God, but it is not to hauehave their obedience and Faith in the Worde, but to obtaine some thing the sooner, which they desire. This is no true waiting, but to waite rather for our owne profite, then for Gods glorie. Th… third property is, to corti…ue in it. 3EueryEvery man by nature can waite for a while, so he may know a certaine and definitiue time of his waiting: but to offer our obedience in waiting, and not know for how long or how little we shall waite, this is the …ainting of the soule: for if it were determined to vsus how many dayes, or moneths, or houres we should waite, the hope of the profit drawing neere, and of a terme drawing out, would sustaine vsus: but to leaue all moments, and conditions to the Lord, and to bee in a continuall seruice and expectation, this is hard for flesh and blood. We must learne to amend this fault, by considering how iustly the Lord may suspend his answere▪ and helping of vsus, for that our sinnes are not sufficiently bewa…led, or our faith is not sufficiently purified, or his graces not sufficiently wrought in vsus. The4 fourth and last propertie is, to continue waiting with a kinde of vehemencie: keeping vsus from faultring or fainting in our hope, though it be long ere our suite be answered, or our danger be helped. To be vehement a while, or lesse importunate long, is little worth: but to hauehave our affections h…to; and for a good thing, and not to slake the heate in long continuance of time, and not to be made remisse or dead in the suit of our desires, though no appearance of our deliuerance appeare, is hard indeede. And here to meete with an obiection, we say, vehemencie argueth faith, and vehemencie bewrayeth want of faith. Faith, when no deferring of our desire doth breake the power of our zeale: want of faith, when without all hope, we are greedie and rauenous to hauehave our request, or else we cast all off.
Humilitie.
1 MAnie deceiue themselues with a bare opinion of humilitie: therfore this may be a true triall of humilitie, if wee willingly suffer our selues to be taught of our inferiours:Admonition. & if we can patiently abide our selues to be admonished of our faults.
2 Heathen men were humbled by their dreames, wee are not humbled by the Word: they that will not profite by Gods iudgements in others, shall feele them themselues. Wee hauehave no claime to Gods merciemercy offered in the Gospell, v…till we be humbled by the threatnings of the law.
3 Wee must bee like children in three things chiefly, first, like little babes. Secondly,1 how the faithfull must …ee li… little children. …2 1. Pet. 2. 1. like innocents. Thirdly, like them that are growing from childhood. First, babes are neuer quiet, except the p…p be in their mouth, or else hauing late bene at it, they are well fed: so ought we still to desire to lie at the foode of our soules, and to finde vnquietnes in our soules, if we be long from it. Secondly, weaned children, though they are not without naturall corruption; yet this corruption doth rather shew it selfe by imitation, than by action: and if they doe any euill, it is rather violent than permanent. Thus should we be, not making an occupation of sinne, but preoccupated of sinne; not forecasting patternes of sinne, but bending our mindes how we may not sinne; we are violently drawne thereunto by another rather then voluntarily commit it our selues. Thirdly, they that grow out of3 child-hood, doe things beseeming man-hood, rather then childishees: so though babish things both in life and doctrine become vsus being babes, yet hauing past our child-hood,Heb: 5. 12. the Lord looks for more manly ripenesse, both in knowledge & in holines of life, though our perfect age be not consummated before the resurrection. As little children, whether in teachablenes to good, or reformablenes from sinne, are either wo…e by a faire word,Simile. or …llured by a trifling benefit, or awed by a checke, or feared by a frowning looke or stiiled by seeing another beaten before them, or else quieted by the rod: so if we be children, either the promises of God must affect vsus, or the mercies of God must allure vsus, or his threatnings in his word must awe vsus, or his angrie countenance must feare vsus, or his correcting of others must humble vsus; or else the corrections of God vponupon our selues, must pull vsus downe. But as those children are of most liberall & ingenuous nature, who are rather allured with faire words, than driuen to dutie with the rod; so they are most gracious, which are most broken with the conscience of their vnkindnesse, more prouoked by the promises of God: then by all the curses, thunderings, and threatnings of the law: but they that are affected with neither, degenerate as yet from the affections of children.
Hypocrisie.
1 HEe obserued some, who outwardly liued an honest & ciuill life, yet lying hypocriticallyHow the wicked often discouer themselues in their death. in some sinne, were constrained in death, or before, to vtter it to their shame. Which kinde of iudgements are most necessarie, that God might shewe himselfe to be God, and his threatnings to be true, that the wicked might lesse reioyce in their exceeding impietie, and that Gods children might be raised from their securitie.
Iudgement.
1 IN our most earnest matters wee must be zealous ouer our owne heart, and then especiallieAffections. examine and call to account our affections, because that in such a case there is either some speciall worke of God, or else it is some notable worke of the flesh, or of Sathan. And whereas it is a pedagogie of the soule, that in all things we had neede to aske the gouernement of God, by his word and spirit, for that a man knoweth what hee is, but not what he shall be in this or that action. When wee cannot gage the depth of our heart, wee must impute it to want of prayer, and the not trauailing with our heart how to doe the things in wisedome.
2 Though all exercises of pure religion purely vsed, doe both strengthen iudgementWhat exercises … mē & what f…rre v… affection. and whet vp affections, yet reading, hearing, and conferring, do most strengthen iudgement, and in part whet on affections. But praying, singing, and meditation, doe mos… chiefly whet vp affection, but in part strengthen iudgement and vnderstanding.
3 Being desired to giuegive his iudgement of a weighty matter, hee answered: Syr, neither am I able to speake, nor you to heare, for that wee hauehave not prayed, indeede I may talke, and you answere as naturall men; but wee are not now prepared to conferre as t…eSe… Psal. 119 vers. 116. children of God.
4 Hee fatherlie exhorted men to labour for increase of iudgment: first by reason,1 then by example: by reason thus, without soundnes of iudgement, it is a more difficultReasons to labour for increase of iudgement. trauailing for the childe of God with his owne heart to any fruit. Againe, not being stayed in iudgement, one shall be troubled to commit, and afraide to doe many things, which indeede he might lawfully and comfortably doe if he had knowledge. Thirdly, wee shall not without good knowledge satisfie our godlie desire in perswading or dislwading an…e,2 for that we cannot doe so assuredly, substantially and effectually, as wee ought, and would3 doe. By example he exhorted men to consider of the Prophet Dauid, in his Ps…lme …19. hee prayeth for knowledge, hauing no one thing oftner then this, Teach mee O Lorde thy statutes, &c.
Sound ioy.
1 THe more one tasteth of heauenly things, the lesse is his ioy in earthly things: theTriall of our ioy. more one feeleth earthlie things pleasant, the lesse ioy can hee hauehave in heauenlie. Coloss: 3. 1. Phil: 3. 20.
2 Wee must in reading the iudgements of God obserue this rule: If any man will trie conclusions against Gods conclusions, hee shall prooue nothing in the ende but himselfe to be a foole. And if hee faile in his triall, by how much the more he might be admonished, by so much the more hee shall be without excuse. There are many that feare (Psal. 14. 5.) where no feare is: but there are more which reioyce, where no cause of ioy is.
3 Some ioy eueryevery man must hauehave, either carnall or spirituall: and therfore when Cain had lost his title and interest in heauen, hee made himselfe a seate on earth: and when hee had lost the harmony of a good consciēce, his nephew Tubal was faine to inuent Organs, that hee might hauehave some musicke and solace in outward things. And 2. Kings. 11. when the people could not hauehave their owne fond delights, Salomon causeth Apes, Peacockes, and such like, to bee brought from Ophir for them. Men will hauehave ioy …t they cannot hauehave the more solemne melodie by Arte, they will hauehave the common instruments of the Countrey. But the reason is, because the soule is mouldring, and the heart is p…rching drie. But let these sandie mouldring earthly hearts consider, that there is no secure nor true ioy, which either time may loose, or death dismay, or the iudgements of God make afraide. It is no sound ioy that either will leaue vsus, or wee shall be glad to leaue it as an vnprofitable possession.
4 Manie had rather part from all fauour of God, then loose the grace of some wittieIests. speech, which they hauehave deuised: but cursed bee that merriment which respecteth not either dutie to God, or louelove to our neighbour.
Knowledge.
THere are manie who hauehave a generall knowledge of the Truth, but when it comes to particular practise, they are hindred with profites, pleasures,A generall knowledge. and selfeloue.
2 They whose knowledge is in swelling words, and painted eloquence of humane wisedome, being but a doctrine of the letter, in their death they are as if they knew nothing of Christ crucified: and whereof comes it, that there is so much preaching, and so little learning? but because men preach and delight to heare plausible nouelties, to please the eare rather then the simple power of theSimile. Word to pierce the heart: they take the bone, and refuse the marrow: they are content with the shell, but want the kernell: and not onelyonly the law killeth, but also the Gospell:How the Gospell may be said to kill. that is, the letter of the Gospell beeing ministred without the spirite. Aske the wounded conscience, what comfort it is to heare that Christ dyed for our sinnes; Nay, aske if this gall not as much as the lawe it selfe, so long as it is rather conceiued by reason, than receiued by faith.
3 He said, how after hee knew God, hee desired by prayer two things principallie: theLoueLove the Saints. one, that hee might louelove the Saints: the other, that hee might willingly and profitablie beholde the iudgements of God on others: which as God in merciemercy had graunted him, so he confessed this fruite thereof, that vnlesse hee had seene such iudgements, he should hauehave fallen into many troubles, which now through Gods grace he had escaped, by seeing and hearing the causes of these miseries in others. For when hee saw how God dealt with others, hee searched his owne heart, whether he had bene or was such a man: hee perswaded himselfe hee might be such a one hereafter, and therefore hee repented before Gods iudgements came on him, if euer hee had done the like; And so by prayer and good meanes hee was made more carefull for falling into it hereafter.
LoueLove of the creatures.
1 THe louelove of the creatures hindreth vsus in good things, but the vse of them furthereth vsus therein. Gods children looke to the spirituall vse of those things, which the worldlings vse carnally.
2 Then wee hauehave a sure testimonie of our louelove to good things, and of our hatred to euill, when no punishment nor reward can either driue vsus from good, or drawe vsus vntounto euill.
Madnes.
1 A Great cause of madnes is impatiencie of minde, or else the sudden wrath of God vponupon a man, for doing some thing against his conscience.