The Art of Happiness, Part 3 · Chapter 2
CHAP. II. How a Man may get this facultie which vniteth Man to God.
BVt Man is brutish and sensuall, both in vnderstanding & will; and so it is impossible for him, while he is such, to discerne a spirituall happinesse, and the meanes of attayning it; and much more hard it is to esteeme and louelove the one or other. Hee beleeues that which hee sees, & he loues that which he tastes and feeles, but his grosse palate doth not rellish this celestiall and vnpalpable happines. Therefore Man must bee lifted vp aboue this low estate of sensuall and carnall knowledge; and to effect this, there needes a second hand of the first Creator. If the bodily sight be extinguished, He which made the first sight, can only make a new, and when the eye of the soule is so farre put out, that it seeth not him that made it, He that made it, only can giuegive it a new sight, whereby himselfe may bee seene. Wherefore if thou which readest thus farre, yet beleeuest not what thou readest, I wonder not, for I know what thou art: I looke not that blindnesse should see, or carnalitie should sauour spirituall ioyes. Thou art bounded with thy owne flesh, which is thy Horizon & limit of discerning. Thy candle cannot see thorow the thicke Lanterne of thy bodie, to perceiue the mysterie of the blessednes of Spirits, nor the glorie that is aboue the vaile of this visible heauen.
But perchance thou wilt aske; If the opening of the eyes be from God alone, to what purpose shall aduice begiuen to thee, in a matter that lyeth not in thee, and which is not effected by aduice, but by supernaturall operation? To this I answere, That although the power that must inlighten thee, doth descend from aboue, yet vsually it doth communicate it selfe vntounto vsus by the seruice of certaine meanes, left with vsus here below. Againe, when grace doth first breathe vponupon vsus, it worketh by degrees; which degrees being by some neglected, or misconstrued, it hath bred vntounto them a greater difficultie & hardnesse of trauaile in the new birth; but being perceiued and duely entertayned, they turne into Testimonials vntounto vsus, yea to incouragements vntounto farther degrees of grace. But if thou aske mee againe, how thou shalt like or vse the meanes, when thou neither seest nor likest the happines intended by the meanes: To this I must reply, That without God, thou canst not so much as louelove the meanes, yet as a naturall man thou mayest consider these things following: first, If thou looke into the best sort of heauenly Philosophers, thou shalt see among them Men wise and vnderstanding, iust & righteous, inioying both wealth and honour; and if thou talke with those Men, they will tell thee seriously, that they most certainly see and feele an estate of happinesse; and that they came to the sight of such an estate, by frequenting the meanes left with vsus here on earth. Secondly, if thou wilt search some special works of men, thou shalt finde Writers of vndeniable worthines, who by Miracles, Prophesies, Oracles, Successe, and Victorie against oppositions, hauehave proued the veritie of Christian learning; it being impossible that a Doctrine, mainly contrarie to flesh & bloud, should be aduanced so much among men, whose very frame is flesh & bloud, without the maintenance of an Omnipotent LORD. Thirdly, doe but consider what this Doctrine, which is the instrument & meanes of Life, proposeth to thee and requireth of thee. It proposeth to thee an eternall felicitie, it requireth of thee Pietie and Puritie, things of themselues desireable & excellent. But thou wilt say, that this puritie will cost thee deare; for it is sure to cost thee all thy sinfull pleasures, and may cost thee much paine, yea thy life it selfe. But to this I may answere, That though it may cost thee something, yet vponupon the matter it loseth thee nothing; for whatsoeuer pleasures of sinne thou canst inioy, being inioyed, they dye, and come to nothing: yea life it selfe comes at last to nothing, & that for nothing: so the condition required of thee, is onelyonly this, That what shall be nothing, if it be, may be nothing, by not being; and to incourage thee herein, thou hast for aduantage an aduenture for Eternitie. In summe, thou art required, at the most, but to lose that which will bee lost, for an happinesse, which may and shall be found for euer. Yea for these grosse pleasures, euen in this life, thou shalt hauehave ioyes vnspeakeable. Howsoeuer, whether thou receiue the meanes of happinesse, or refuse it, certaine it is, that to all those that receiue the Life of blessednesse, the Doctrine of God, left vntounto vsus in writing, and vnfolded by his seruants properly, deputed to this office, is the vsuall conueyance of this life. God alone inuented and conceiued the remedie of Mans miserie, and a way from miserie vntounto felicitie. The same God who onelyonly knew it, could only tell it, and only by telling, can men know and beleeue it, and only by knowing and beleeuing, can men striue toward it, and so finally attaine it. So wee see that men must know and beleeue happines to obtain it, and happinesse must bee taught, if they will know & beleeue it; and to teach this happinesse, there needeth a word of Reuelation; and to reueile this, GOD himselfe must speake vntounto vsus, who alone was the Founder and Knower of this mysterie. Therefore must we esteeme this Word highly, as a great second Mercy, by which the first great Mercy is de liuered to vsus. Before this Doctrine, our happines was lockt vp in Gods vnsearchable purpose: but by this Doctrine, happinesse is reached out to vsus, and issueth from the heart of God into the heart of Man. Wherefore let vsus be farre from accounting it a vaine Word, for it is our life, and the length of our dayes, and by it wee receiue eternall Life from the Ancient of daies. For, while it is taught vntounto vsus without, the Vertue and Spirit of God entreth into vsus within, and makes vsus capable of that happinesse which is taught vntounto vsus.
Now, the degrees by which this Spirit vsually worketh vponupon vsus, are these. First, it causeth vsus somewhat to discerne, & allow the truth of this Word. And next, it moues a desire of more knowledge, and of a greater taste of the Word of Life; which is also made knowne to God in Prayer. And at length, the heart is moued with so seruent a louelove vntounto it, that it desires to be wholly sauoured, salted, and seasoned therewith, that the naturall Man may no longer liue in the heart, but that CHRISTS Kingdome may bee set vp therein. And so the Word, or CHRIST in and by the Word, becomes the Treasure of the heart, and therefore from thenceforth, the heart is euer thinking on his treasure, it thirsts after it, it seekes it with eye and eare.
But that thou maist not be discouraged in thy first beginnings, thou must also know, in what manner and order the Doctrine and Art of felicitie doth present it, selfe vntounto thee. It will first offer to thy knowledge and meditation, the lamentable face of humane miserie, so that thy flesh perchance will feare to goe on, halfe despairing, how thou canst euer come through so great miserie vntounto felicitie. But feare not; the beginning and the end are contrarie. Thy naturall estate is indeede very miserable; And this Doctrine doth not make it to be so; but shewes it to bee so. The corruption of nature made thee miserable, and hid thy miserie from thee, and so made thee contentedly to continue in miserie. But this Doctrine sheweth thee thy miserie, that by shewing it, it may cure it. It shewes thee indeede the vgly face of thy miserie, but not to this end onelyonly, to terrifie thee; but that by terrifying, it may make thee runne a-pace from miserie to felicitie. Wherefore take courage, and come with mee, profitably to behold the countenance of miserie; which (as heretofore hath beene mentioned) presents it selfe in a double aspect; the miserie of corruption, and the miserie of punishment inflicted on this corruption; To discouer thy corruption, thou shalt finde a strict and seuere Law, the Counter-pane whereof is placed in thine owne heart, and when thou comparest thy actions with this Law, thou canst not choose but say thou art a Creature, falne from the dutie of thy Creation, for ill doe thy actions become him, whom the Creator hath appointed to bee his seruant, and the Lord of the World. Now if thy deedes bee so vnrighteous in the sight of thy Maker, how must not that highest Lord be displeased exceedingly with these lower Lords, when hee seeth his perfection and Iustice crossed and contraryed, with their imperfection & iniustice? when hee seeth his Creatures hyred by so many inestimable benefits, only to doe him the seruice of Righteousnesse (which is a thing of it selfe to bee loued) to renounce their allegeance, yea to rebell against their Creator with a course of opposition, and to louelove wickednesse, more then a bountifull God commanding Righteousnesse? Surely, the wrath of the Almightie must needes smoke against such Traytors, and rebellious Runnagates: And if the Lyon rore, how shall not the Beasts of the Forrests bee afraid? Hence therefore the miserie of our corruption, leades vsus to the consideration of the miserie of punishment. And that there is such a connexion betweene sinne & punishment, reason, experience, & Gods owne Word do teach vsus. Reason tells vsus, that hee who hath brought this great frame to an vnitie consisting of disagreeing parts, by proportiō, weight, and measure, is himselfe a God of Wisedome, Order, and Proportion: And if he bee such, hee must needes expect that Creatures of Reason, & Vnderstanding, should also obserue Order, Iustice and Righteousnesse. For to say the truth, as by this harmonie the Word was founded, so by the same is it still preserued. But if these Creatures which hauehave in them a power of resembling, & pleasing their Maker, crosse him with a crosse of contrarie actions, it must needes be expected, that the Lord being crossed by his seruants in disobedience, must also crosse them in punishment, and being mightily inraged, hee will returne the malice of their owne works on their owne heads. Now wee know as the person is, so is his wrath, and as the wrath is, so is the punishment: An infinite person, an infinite Wrath, and an infinite punishment. The very instincts of decayed Nature, hauehave inspired the acknowledgement hereof into the terrifyed hearts of guiltie & selfe-accusing Heathens, who not knowing God but by the knowledge of nature, yet because of their wicked liues, vponupon the hearing of thunder and tempests, hauehave feared and shunned the furie of an Omnipotent Iustice. But now I shall little need to tell thee, what experience hath already taught thee. For I doubt not, but to most that consider the life of Man, it hath appeared that the mayne course of humane life, is a connexion or succession of vnrighteousnesse and wretchednesse. Man liueth as out of the sight of his Maker, and Man liueth as out of the cherishing and fostering of his Maker, being generally thrust out vntounto a warre against brambles and bryers, against the barrennesse and staruednesse of a cursed earth, which he must resist and ouer-come with the sweat of his browes. Yea, each man eateth other men, though not with the teeth of the body, yet with the iawes of a fraudulent ouer-reaching and violent soule. And yet there are further miseries wayting vponupon Mischiefe: for besides visible and palpable examples of sudden iustice, executed, and sent from heauen vponupon diuers eminent and outragious crimes, wee see in generall, that this sinfull life at the best, is but wise vanitie, pleasant vanitie, or glorious vanitie; and at the worst, vexation of spirit, vexation of body, losse of goods, and losse of friends. Yea, Man is but a piece of reasonable miserie; He hath reason to fore-see miserie, and so to take it to his hart: when reason cannot preuent it, reason to fore-see death, but not to auoid it. For as sure as wickednesse is present, so sure shal death be present; for death and sinne, wee see daily, are in eueryevery Man vnseparable. Now the combining of sin and miserie in this bodily life (for this life concernes the body most, & the soule least, and so doth the misery of this life) points our expectation to another life; euen that there shall bee a pursuit of punishment after sinne, in that life which is most proper to the soule, & that then the bodily miseries of this life shall bee seconded with spirituall torments. But if we leaue these darker characters of reason and experience, and come to diuine Reuelations: there wee may reade running the fall and miserie of Man. And these before are described out of the same holy Writings, but here again they must be considered by the Learner of the doctrine of happinesse, that by the full search and tenting of his miserie, his miserie may be cured.
Briefly therefore, to speake what hath beene spoken; hee shall finde in Gods Word, that wickednesse and sinne is the transgression of the Law; that the Law being transgressed and offended, is the ministerie of death: That this death is both of soule and body, in an eternall darkenesse & absence from God, who is Light, yea in an eternall suffering of the fire of the wrath of God. For Gods wrath is a Worme & a Fire, euer feeding on the tormented soules and bodies of disobedient, wicked, and sinfull men. And now when thou hast found thy selfe a sinner, and findest also the terror & wrath of God against sinners, I know thou canst not chuse, but thinke thy selfe awhile the child of death, and thy estate fearefull. Thou wilt cry, Wo is mee, a man of sorrow, and, Wretched man that I am, and call thy body a body of death. But as I told thee before, this terror is but thy way, and not thy wayes end. It is but thy entrance into happinesse, yea it is thy aduancement vntounto happinesse. For the burthen of thy miserie will moue thee to seeke for one to ease and refresh thee. The bitternes of thy wretchednesse will make thee more comfortably to rellish the sweetnesse of a Sauiour; and the fearefulnesse of the Valley of death, will make thee more stedfastly to list vp thy eies to the Hil of God, from whence commeth thy saluation. And surely, this fruit of Humilitie doth God expect before he will exalt. Hee will hauehave vsus confesse our miserie to be fearefull, and desperate in it selfe, he will hauehave vsus to feele it to bee a burthen intolerable; we must tell him in wordes and deedes, that we are weary and ouer-heauy laden, and then is it for his glorie, to helpe confessed-incurable, and desperate miserie. And to this end may we reasonably beleeue, that the fulnesse of time appointed for the cō ming of our Sauiour in the flesh, was so long in fulfilling, and that during the space between the Promise and exhibiting of a Sauior, there was so spare and rare, and secret notices giuen of him; euen that there might be a manifest and confessed neede of him; before hee should be generally & manifestly offered and shewed.
The whole World left to the state of nature, must bee odiously and vnsufferably corrupted; the Nation of the lewes taken out as the top of mankind, and a chief part to conuince the whole, lifted vp, propped, and supported by a cleere reueiled Law, by Statutes, Ordinances, and Ceremonies, and these againe inforced by Prophets, Miracles, and Signes, I say, this Nation must bee laden with iniquitie, and wholly defiled from the crowne of the head to the sole of the foot, and so both among Iewes and Gentiles, there must be none that worketh righteousnesse, no, not one, and then is the fulnesse and fitnesse of time for the comming, and publishing of a Sauiour.
Being thus humbled in our selues, and made both needy and thirstie of saluation, then will God open our eyes, as he did the eyes of despairing AGAR, that wee shall see a spring of waters of eternall Life. Christ Iesus with the beames of his sauing health, will shine in vponupon our vnderstādings, and shew them his beautie, and vponupon our wils through our vnderstandings to comfort, rauish, and draw them, and this will bee doe, iust at that time when we feelingly complaine and find, that we are in the state of darkenesse, and in the shaddow of death. And now, Christ Iesus entring into our souls with free mercy and grace, to heale and refresh them, our soules in faith and feruency claspe the will and affections about him, and lay fast hold on the Lord of glorie and blessednes. And then the soule kisseth him with the kisses of her mouth, and as she needeth him most before she found him, so she loueth him best after shee hath found him. This is the path of Faith: walke therein, and liue for euer.