The Mystery of the Holy Government of our Affections, Chapter 6
CHAP. VI.
Of the Benefit of the right vse of holy Affections.
FIrst, Hereby wee shall be sure to profit and thriue in all well-doing: for as the thing is affected, so it is encreased and continued.
Secondly, Hereby wee shal discerne vndoubtedly the true worke of Grace begun in vsus; for as is the Affection, so is the truth of the heart: Looke what we louelove, what we feare, what we reioyce in, what we are sorrie for; these will discerne the vprightnesse of the heart.
Thirdly, Hereby also wee shall approoue our selues in the growth of Grace: for as our Affections are more quickened to holy duties, as we more louelove and reioyce in them, as we more feare and hope in the continuance of them, as wee are more grieued in our selues for our fayling, are more zealous against sinne, more angrie against it; so wee doe thriue in well-doing. And
Fourthly, So also by our Affections wee may discerne our perseuerance, and constancie, in welldoing; each of them being furtherances thereunto, and assurances thereof.
Fiftly, Our Affections rightly ordered, will enable vsus to hauehave more comfortable fellowship with God in Prayer, Meditation, &c. as quickening our zeale of his Glorie, our louelove vntounto his Maiestie; procuring our more free and bold accesse into his glorious presence, our more entire and cheerefull societie with him, our better contentment in his prouidence; enabling vsus with more patience to wait vponupon him, and so to striue more effectually with him, that we may not be sent emptie away.
Sixtly, These also well ordered, will proue gracious helpes for our more comfortable societie with men, to our mutuall profite and aduantage: As whereby,
First, wee are enabled and enlarged to doe them most good.
Secondly, and so hereby fitted to maintaine the fellowship, as being enabled to ouercome whatsoeuer euills may arise, to the breach thereof, with our Patience and Meekenesse: And so fitted to further each other to the Heauenly Communion.
Seuenthly, Especially whereas there are three speciall Times, wherein our Affections are not onelyonly much distempered, but euen quite peruerted, so farre as wee can perceiue, from their right Obiects, and vse; namely,
First, The Time of Desertion; when our God with-draweth the Light of his Countenance from vsus.
Secondly, The Time of violent Distresse; by reason of acute Diseases: as in Feuers, power of Melancholy, &c.
Thirdly, The Time of vehement Tentation; by the Malice of Satan.
In all these, as wee must bee wise to iudge of our Affections, and our selues by them; so wee may reape sound comfort thereby, both to preuent distraction and despaire, as also giuegive hope of recouerie thereout.
As first, generally, That our Affections must not be measured by any of these extraordinarie Conditions; wee may not bee iudged by the distemper of our Affection in them.
First, because the distemper is contrarie to the maine bent of our hearts, in our ordinarie course of Sanctification: and,
Secondly, When wee come to our selues againe, and can iudge rightly of things, wee are the first that iudge our selues, and condemne our folly and ignorance in such distem pers: and Ps. 73. 22.
Thirdly, Our God lookes vponupon vsus, not as wee are transported with these distempers, but as he hath from euerlasting loued vsus in Christ, and in his singular wisedome and merciemercy, hath intended to turne our distem pers, as to the manifestation of our priuie corruption; as it was in Iob, Cap. 3. so to the purging out of more inward and dangerous euils; of Pride, Vaineglorie, &c. And so to the aduancing of his free merciemercy, and goodnesse, not onelyonly in sustayning vsus by his mightie power, in these Desertions; but in ouer-comming our Distempers, by his wonderfull lenitie and goodnesse: as hee dealt with Ionas; and making Ch. 11.way hereby, for the better quieting and settling of our vnruly and carnall heat and affections, for the time to come, by casting vsus wholly out of our selues vponupon his free merciemercy in Christ Iesus, and so renewing vsus in him to more constant and sincere obedience. And so not so much respecting the present disorder of the Affection, as preparing it hereby to that comfortable issue of conformitie to his Will, that so hee may crowne and perfect his owne worke in vsus; meerely, for his owne sake, by his owne mightie Arme, that hee may hauehave the onelyonly glory of all his mercies.
Particularly, We may obserue a speciall hand of God in each of these Occasions:
As first, In the Case of Desertion. And here let the examples of Iob and Dauid be the instance of our Case.
It pleased God for a time to withdraw the sense of his mercy from them, and so to exercise them with contrarie buffettings and sense of his displeasure, Iob. 6. 2. Ps. 38. 4, 5. Ps. 77. 8.
Hereupon followes a strange distemper of their Affections: in stead of Ioy, bitter Sorrow; yea, sorrow prouoking to rage, and Ps. 77.repining against the prouidence of God: whereby they encreased the Iob. 3. Iob. 62. 12.burthen, and were readie to sinke vnderunder the same, by despaire.
Yet we see how mercifully the Lord sustaines them in the midst of these Terrors.
First, It befalls not them as they foolishly feare, and wish.
Secondly, They are kept in some measure of Sobrietie, to leaue the secret worke to God: yea, in some measure of Fatth, as to relye on the power of God: yea, in some measure, nay, in an excellent measure of LoueLove; though hee forsaketh, yet he is still my God, Ps. 22. And therfore Dauid concludeth, Will the Lord forsake for euer? Not so Ps. 77. 7, 9, 10.much doubting, that he will forsake; as wrestling with God by Faith, that hee may not forsake for euer: as gathering from the former times, that he hath beene gracious; and so concluding, from the faithfulnesse of God, that he will not forsake for euer. Yea, victorious Iob professeth confidently his louelove vntounto God, euen in the greatest extremitie, Though he kill me, yet I will trust in him, Iob. 16. 13. And lastly, when the Lord hath tryed them in the Furnace, and their drosse is purged out, their Affections returne to their right kind againe, yea, much more refined; to the denyall of themselues, and so to their more sober and constant furtherance in the worke of Grace, Iob. 42. 2, 3, 4.
Secondly, Concerning the distemper of our Affections in acute Diseases: wherein if Satan hath not vsually an hand, to encrease the fire; yet the violence of the Disease is sufficient to disorder and peruert the Iudgement for a time, and so to distract and distemper the Affections. Yet seeing wee speake and doe that in these extremities, which is contrarie to our former constant course; and when wee are recouered, wee eyther hauehave forgotten what wee did, or spake, or else doe condemne our selues for the same: herein is our comfort, that our God will not impute vntounto vsus what hath fallen out in this case.
And so wee may also conclude of the Time of Tentation, That whatsoeuer distempers fall out in this case, as they are mercifully bounded within the generall Condition, That nothing hath befallen vsus herein, but what is incident to Man; so their disorder shall not be imputed to vsus, but to the 1. Cor. 10. 13.malice of Satan. And the Lord in mercy will giuegive that issue, as that we shall both beare the burthen without groaning vnderunder it, and be freed thereof so farre, as shall make for his Glorie, and our good. But of this else-where, God willing, more at large.
Eightly, Whereas it is a most desperate Policie in Poperie, to detayne vnstable and deceiued soules in their damnable Errors, and so to draw such like Nouices to their Lure: That if it please God to affoord light vntounto any, whereby they hauehave some inckling of their Deceits, and so hauehave some inward motion, or affection, to renounce the same, and embrace the Truth; they presently suggest vntounto them, that this is a dangerous tentation, and diuellish illusion: that so they might hereby deterre them from embracing the same, and so detayne them in their Egyptian Bondage. This triall of Affections will proue an excellent meanes to resolue them herein.
For as by those Rules formerly layd downe, to discerne the Affection from the Tentation, they may easily discerne the truth of Affection from the power of Delusion: so especially, in that sauing knowledge, is layd downe both to bee the ground and bounds of all holy Affections; hereby they shall be sure to discerne the efficacie of Delusion from an vpright Affection.
And so also, by a wise obseruation of these differences, may the weake Christian bee preserued graciously from Apostasie; as hereby knowing what hee holdeth, and so holding that which is good.
To conclude, there is not a better euidence of the sinceritie of the heart, then the well-ordering of the Affections: because howsoeuer wee may bridle from outward grosse Actions, yet our Affections will discouer the corruption of our heart, and in…lination thereto.
And on the other side, howsoeuer wee may be hindered from the outward action of well-doing, by many occasions, as want of opportunitie, violence of tentation, inabilitie, and the like; yet our Affection thereto, either by grieuing that we cannot doe it, or going so farre as our abilitie will serue, or endeuouring aboue our abilitie, is a gracious euidence of the sinceritie of our hearts.
Nay, we shall find, that there is not a better spurre to prouoke vsus to well-doing; not any more effectuall bridle to restrayne from sinne, then are our Affections.
For as if wee doe any good, we must first be affected with the louelove of it, before we can attempt the same: or else if wee doe vndertake it vponupon by-respects, as to please men, to satisfie carnall ends; we shall easily giuegive ouer when these proppes fayle, onelyonly it is the louelove of Goodnesse, for it selfe, will make vsus constant therein: So, on the contrarie, wee shall neuer forsake euill conscionably, vnlesse wee first hate it for it selfe, and loathe as wel the corruption thereof, as feare the danger of the same. If vponupon any other respects wee shall leaue sinne, as for feare of punishment, for credite, &c. these respects will proue meanes sometimes euen to returne to such sinnes, or worse; which hauehave beene the occasions to lay them aside for a season.
And therefore as it is the merciemercy of our God to shew vsus oft times in our Affections what we may doe in our Actions: so it is also his singular goodnesse, to forewarne vsus of many euills which wee may otherwise fall into, euen by the sway of our Affections leading thereunto.
What should I say? Can we hauehave a better Euidence of the truth of our Conuersion, then the alteration of our Affections? Can wee now delight in such thinges, which before wee loathed? And can we grieue especially at that, which heretofore was our principall reioycing? Can we delight in the mortifying of the flesh? and reioyce that wee can sorrow for sinne? and can we so reioyce in all spirituall comforts, as that we can also be sorrowfull for our abuse of them? so that we can be alwayes sorrowing, and alwayes reioycing: reioycing in our God, and his Goodnesse; sorrowing, that wee cannot reioyce as we should; that we cannot doe the good we would: reioycing in this, that wee hauehave got the masterie of some sinnes; and yet sorrowing for our many faylings, and faintings euen in those conquests, & for that body of sin, that hangeth so fast vponupon vsus? Can we discerne our Affections thus turned vpside down? out ioy into sorrow, our sorrow into ioy, that so our carnall ioy in sinne may bee first swallowed vp of carnall sorrow for the punishment thereof: And our carnall sorrow may be preuented of extreame despaire, by the glad Tidings of Gods merciemercy in Iesus Christ, speaking peace vntounto our soules, and breeding spirituall ioy by the euidence of our adoption. And so our ioy in the goodnesse of our God may still worke in vsus a spirituall sorrow and repentance of all our secure wayes, that so wee may cleaue vntounto our God in new obedience: And so still as wee can now reioyce in the truth of our endeuours; so wee can also mourne for the imperfection of them; that so wee may still labour to be found in Christ. Surely, by these changes and contrarieties of our Affections, wee may vndoubtedly conclude a truth of our Conuersion, and proceeding therein.