The Right Method for a Settled Peace of Conscience, Direction 22
DIRECTION XXII.
22. My next Direction is this, Spend more of your time and care about your Duty then about your Comforts: and for the exerciſe and increaſe of your Graces then for the diſcovery of them: And when you have done all that you can, for Aſſurance and Comfort, you ſhall finde that it will very much depend on your Actual Obedience.
THis Direction is of as great importance as any that I have yet given you: but I ſhall ſay but little of it becauſe I have ſpoke of it ſo fully already in my Book of Reſt, Part 3. Ch. 8, 9, 10, 11. My Reaſons for what I here aſſert are theſe: 1. Duty goeth in order of nature and time before comfort: as the Precept is before the Promiſe: Comfort is part of the Reward, and therefore neceſſarily ſuppoſeth Duty. 2. Grace makes men both ſo ingenuous and Divine, as to conſider Gods due as well as their own; and what they ſhould Do, as well as what they ſhall Have: ſtill remembring that our works cannot Merit at Gods hands. 3. As we muſt have Grace before we can Know we have it, ſo ordinarily we muſt have a good meaſure of Grace before we can ſo clearly diſcern it as to be certain of it. Small things, I have told you are next to none, and hardly diſcernable by weak eyes. When all waies in the world are tried, it will be found, that there is no way ſo ſure for a doubting ſoul to be made certain of the truth of his Graces, as to keep them in Action, and get them increaſed. And it will be found that there is no one cauſe of Chriſtians doubting of the truth of their Faith, Love, Hope, Repentance, Humility, &c. ſo great or ſo common as the ſmall degree of theſe Graces. Doth not the very language of complaining Chriſtians ſhew this? One ſaith, I have no faith: I cannot believe: I have no love to God: I have no delight in Duty: Another ſaith, I cannot mourn for ſin: my heart was never broken: I cannot patiently bear an injury: I have no courage in oppoſing ſin, &c. If all theſe were not in a low and weak degree, men could not ſo ordinarily think they had none. A lively, ſtrong, working Faith, Love, Zeal, Courage, &c. would ſhew themſelves, as do the higheſt Towers, the greateſt mountains, the ſtrongeſt windes, the greateſt flames, which will force an obſervance by their greatneſs and effects. 4. Conſider alſo that it is more pleaſing to God to ſee his people ſtudy him and his will directly, then to ſpend the firſt and chiefeſt of their ſtudies about the attaining of comforts to themſelves. 5. And it is the nature of Grace to tend firſt and chiefly toward God: and but ſecondarily to be the evidence of our own happineſs. We have faith given us principally that we might believe, and live by it in daily applications of Chriſt: We have repentance that it might break us off from ſin and bring us back to God: We have Love that we might Love God and our Redeemer, his Saints and Laws and waies: We have Zeal that we might be quickened in all our holy duties: and we have obedience to keep us in the way of our duty: The firſt thing we have to do with theſe Graces is to uſe them for thoſe holy ends which their nature doth expreſs. And then the diſcerning of them that we may have Aſſurance followeth after this both in time and dignity. 6. And it is a matter of farre greater concernment to our ſelves to ſeek after the obtaining of Chriſt and Grace, then after the certain knowledge that we have them. You may be ſaved though you never get Aſſurance here, but you cannot be ſaved without Chriſt and Grace. God hath not made Aſſurance the Condition of your ſalvation. It tends indeed exceedingly to your comfort, and a pretious mercy it is; but your ſafety lieth not on it. It is better go ſorrowfull and doubting to Heaven, then comfortably to hell. Firſt therefore ask what is the Condition of ſalvation and the way to it, and then look that you do your beſt to perform it, and to go that way; and then try your performance in its ſeaſon. 7. Beſides, as it is a work of farre greater moment, ſo alſo of quicker diſpatch, to Believe and Love Chriſt truly, then to get Aſſurance that you do truly Believe and Love him. You may believe immediatly (by the help of Gods Grace:) but getting Aſſurance of it, may be the work of a great part of your life. Let me therefore intreat this one thing of you, that when you feel the want of any Grace, you would not preſently bend all your thoughts upon the enquiry Whether it be true or no; but rather ſay to your ſelf I ſee trying is a great and difficult, a long and tedious work: I may be this many years about it, and poſſibly be unreſolved ſtill. If I ſhould conclude that I have no Grace, I may be miſtaken: and ſo I may, if I think that I have it. I may inquire of friends and Miniſters long, and yet be left in doubt; It is therefore my ſureſt way to ſeek preſently to obtain it, if I have it not, and to increaſe it if I have it: and I am certain none of that labour will be loſt: to get more is the way to know I have it.
But perhaps you will ſay, How ſhould I get more Grace? that's a buſineſs of greater difficulty then ſo. I anſwer, Underſtand what I told you before, that as the beginning of Grace is in your Underſtanding, ſo the heart and life of it is in your Will: and the Affections and paſſionate part are but the fruits and branches. If therefore your Grace be weak, it is chiefly in an unwillingneſs to yield to Chriſt and his Word and Spirit. Now how ſhould an unwilling ſoul be made willing? Why thus, 1. Pray conſtantly as you are able, for a willing minde, and yielding inclinable heart to Chriſt. 2. Hear conſtantly thoſe Preachers that bend their doctrine to inform your underſtanding of the great neceſſity and excellency of Chriſt and Grace and Glory; and to perſwade the Will with the moſt forcible Arguments. A perſwading quickning Miniſtry that helps to excite your Graces and draw up your heart to Chriſt, is more uſefull then they that ſpend moſt of their time to perſwade you of your ſincerity, and give you comfort. 3. But ſpecially lay out your thoughts more in the moſt ſerious Conſiderations of thoſe things which tend to breed and feed thoſe particular Graces which you would have increaſed. Objects and moving Reaſons kept much upon the minde by ſerious thoughts, are the great engine appointed both by nature and by Grace to turn about the ſoul of man. Thoughts are to your ſoul, as taking in the Air, and Meat and Drink to your body. Objects conſidered do turn the ſoul into their own Nature. Such as are the things that you moſt think and conſider of (I mean in purſuance of them) ſuch will you be your ſelf. Conſideration, frequent ſerious Conſideration is Gods great Inſtrument to convert the ſoul and to confirm it: to get grace and to keep it and increaſe it: If any ſoul periſh for want of Grace, it's ten to one it is mainly for want of frequent and ſerious Conſideration. That the moſt of us do languiſh under ſuch weakneſſes, and attain to ſmall degrees of Grace, is for want of ſober, frequent conſideration. We know not how great things this would do, if it were but faithfully managed. This then is my advice, When you feel ſo great a want of faith and love (for thoſe be the main Graces for trial and uſe) that you doubt whether you have any or none, lay by thoſe doubting thoughts a while, and preſently go and ſet your ſelf to conſider of God's Truth, Goodneſs, Amiableneſs, and Kindheartedneſs to miſerable unworthy ſinners: think what he is in himſelf, and what he is to you, and what he hath done for you, and what he will do for you if you do but conſent. And then think of the vanity of all the childiſh Pleaſures of this world, how ſoon, and in how ſad a caſe they will leave us; and what ſilly contemptible things they are in compariſon of the everlaſting Glory of the Saints! By that time you have warmed your ſoul a little with ſuch ſerious thoughts, you will finde your Faith and Love revive, and begin to ſtir and work within you: And then you will feel that you have Faith and Love! Only remember what I told you before, that the heart and ſoul of ſaving Faith and Love (ſuppoſing a Belief that the Goſpel is true) is all in this one Act of Willingneſs or Conſent to have Chriſt as he is offered. Therefore if you doubt of your Faith and Love, it is your own Willingneſs that you doubt of; or elſe you know not what you do. Now methinks, if you took but a ſober view of the goodneſs of God and the Glory of Heaven on one ſide, and of the ſilly, empty, worthleſs world on the other ſide; and then ask your heart, Which it will chuſe? and ſay to your ſelf, O my ſoul, the God of Glory offers thee thy choice, of dung and vanity for a little time, or of the unconceivable Joyes of Heaven for ever: Which wilt thou chooſe? I ſay, methinks the anſwer of your own ſoul ſhould preſently reſolve you that you do Believe, and that you Love God above this preſent world! For if you can chooſe him before the world, then you are more willing of him then the world: and if he have more of your will, for certain he hath more of your Faith and Love. Uſe therefore, in ſtead of doubting of your Faith, to Believe till you put it out of doubt: And if yet you doubt, ſtudy God and Chriſt and Glory yet better, and keep thoſe objects by Conſideration cloſe to your heart, whoſe nature is to work the heart to Faith and Love. For certainly objects have a mighty power on the ſoul: and certainly God and Chriſt and Grace and Glory are Mighty Objects; as able to make a full and deep impreſſion on mans ſoul as any in the world: and if they work not, it is not through any imperfection in them, but becauſe they be not well applied, and by Conſideration held upon the heart that they may work. Perhaps you will ſay, that Meditation is too hard a work for you; and that your memory is ſo weak that you want matter to meditate upon; or if you do meditate on theſe, yet you feel no great motion or alteration on your heart. To this I anſwer: If you want matter, take the help of ſome book that will afford you matter; and if you want life in Meditation, peruſe the moſt quickning writings you can get. If you have not better at hand, read over (and ſeriouſly conſider as you read it) thoſe paſſages in the end of my Book of Reſt, which direct you in the exerciſe of theſe graces, and give you ſome matter for your Meditation to work upon. And remember that if you can increaſe the reſolved choice of your will, you increaſe your Love, though you feel not thoſe Affectionate workings that you deſire.
Let me ask you now whether you have indeed taken this courſe in your doubtings? If not, how unwiſely have you done? Doubting is no cure: but actual Believing and Loving is a cure. If Faith and Love were things that you would fain get, but cannot, then you had cauſe enough to fear, and to lie down and riſe in trouble of minde from one year to another. But its no ſuch matter: It is ſo far from being beyond your reach or power to have theſe Graces though you would, that they themſelves are nothing elſe but your very Willingneſs; at leaſt your Willingneſs to have Chriſt is both your Faith and Love. It may be ſaid therefore to be in the power of your Will, which is nothing elſe but that Actual Willingneſs which you have already. If therefore you are unwilling to have him, what makes you complain for want of the ſenſe of his preſence, and the Aſſurance of his Love, and the Graces of his Spirit, as you frequently do? It's ſtrange to me, that people ſhould make ſo many complaints to God and men, and ſpend ſo many ſad hours in fears and trouble, and all for want of that which they would not have: If you be not Willing be Willing now: If you ſay you cannot; do as I have before directed you: One hours ſober, ſerious thoughts of God and the world, of Chriſt and Satan, of ſin and Holineſs, of Heaven and hell, and the differences of them, will do very much to make you Willing. Yet miſtake me not: Though I ſay you may have Chriſt if you Will, and Faith and Love if you Will, and no man can truly ſay, I would be glad to have Chriſt (as he is offered) but Cannot; Yet this Gladneſs, Conſent or Willingneſs which I mention, is the effect of the ſpecial work of the Spirit, and was not in your power before you had it: nor is it yet ſo in your power as to Believe without Gods further help: but he that hath made you willing, will not be wanting to maintain your willingneſs. Though I will ſay to any man, You may have Chriſt if you Will: yet I will ſay to no man, You can be willing of your ſelf, or without the ſpecial Grace of God.
Nay let me further ask: Have not you darkned, buried or weakned your Graces, in ſtead of exerciſing and increaſing them, even then when you complained for want of Aſſurance of them? when you found a want of Faith and Love, have not you weakened them more, and ſo made them leſs diſcernable? Have you not fed your unbelief, and diſputed for your doubtings, and taken Satans part againſt your ſelf; and (which is farre worſe) have you never through theſe doubtings entertained hard thoughts of God, and preſented him to your ſoul as unwilling to ſhew you mercy, and in an unlovely, dreadfull, hideous ſhape, fitter to affright you from him then to draw you to him, and likelier to provoke your hatred then your love? If you have not done thus, … know too many troubled ſouls that have: And if you have, you have taken a very unlikely way to get Aſſurance. If you would have been certain that you Loved God in ſincerity, you ſhould have laboured to Love him more, till you had been certain: And that you might do ſo, you ſhould have kept better thoughts of God in your minde. You will hardly love him while you think of him as evil, or at leaſt as hurtfull to you. Never forget this Rule which I laid you down in the beginning, that He that will ever love God, muſt apprehend him to be Good: and the more large and deep are our apprehenſions of his goodneſs, the more will be our Love: For ſuch as God appears to be to mens fixed conceivings, ſuch will their Affections be to him. For the fixed, deep conceptions or apprehenſions of the mind, do lead about the ſoul, and guide the life.
I conclude therefore with this important and importunate requeſt to you, That though it be a duty neceſſary in its time and place, to examine our ſelves concerning our ſincerity, in our ſeveral graces and duties to God; yet be ſure that the firſt and farre greater part of your time, and pains and care and inquiries, be for the getting and increaſing of your grace, then for the diſcerning it; and to perform your duty rightly, then to diſcern your right performance. And when you conferre with Miniſters or others that may teach you, ſee that you ask ten times at leaſt, How ſhould I get or increaſe my …aith, my love to Chriſt, and to his people? for once that you ask, How ſhall I know that I believe or love? Yet ſo contrary hath been and ſtill is the practice▪ of moſt Chriſtians among us in this point, that I have heard it twenty times asked, How ſhall I know that I truly love the Brethren? for once that I have heard it demanded, How ſhould I bring my heart to love them better? And the like I may ſay of love to Chriſt himſelf.
I ſhould next have ſpoke of the ſecond part of the Direction, How much our Aſſurance and Comfort, will ſtill depend on our Actual obedience. But this will fall in in handling the two or three next following Directions.