The Dead Saint Speaking to Saints and Sinners Living, Treatise 3 · Royalty 12
Twelfth Royalty. 12. Faith is a Soul-fatning-Grace.
The beleeving Chriſtian is the thriving Chriſtian.12. Royalty of Faith. In a Soul-fatning-Grace. It is ſuch a Grace as doth nouriſh and ſtrengthen the ſoul. It weakens corruption, but ſtrengthens Grace. It ſtarves the fleſh, but fattens the ſpirit.
It is indeed a ſin-ſtarving-Grace. Faith will not feed and fuel luſt. It will neither entertain nor maintain corruptions. Faith will abridge ſin of that nouriſhment, thoſe dainty bits which it met withall in an unbeleeving heart. It will not lay in proviſion for luſt.
Unbeleef is the Caterer and the Provider for ſin. Sin hath its full deſire in an unbeleeving heart; whatever it luſts after, it ſhall have: nothing ſhall bee wanting to feed luſt.
If a man bee addicted to the luſt of uncleanneſs: there is nothing the luſt doth deſire, but an unbeleeving heart will make a ſupply of. It ſhall have Books, Ballads, Plaies for the purpoſe. It ſhall have obſcene objects, and pictures to gaze upon. There ſhall bee nothing wanting for the fomenting and cheriſhing of the corruption: nothing ſhall bee denied, that may oile and increaſe the flame of luſt. All a man hath, all his power, all his riches, his eſtate ſhall bee laid out for the fewelling of his corruption; and ſo I might ſhew in other luſts.
But now Faith, it ſtarves ſin: it will not hold out the dugg to nouriſh a corruption: It will — not provide for the fleſh to fulfill the luſts thereof: It will abridge ſin, and cut it ſhort of thoſe dainty bits, which formerly it had in the ſoul: It will not afford it a thought, a motion, a look, nor any thing that may fewel it, or feed it.
It is a ſin-ſtarving-Grace. But though it ſtarve the fleſh, it fattens the ſpirit. It is a ſoul-fatning-Grace; which it doth after this manner.
Firſt Preparatory way.1. Per modum removendi. 1. By a Negative way. By deſtroying Soul-conſuming, ſoul-deſtroying, ſoul-pining luſts and corruptions, which will hinder out ſpiritual fatning.
Men uſe to purge, before they go to fatten. Faith muſt give the ſoul a purge: otherwiſe the ſoul would never thrive; though the paſture bee never ſo good. If there bee corruptions in the ſoul unpurged, the ſoul will never grow and thrive.
If a Child do ſecretly feed upon Chalk or Dirt, or ſuch like traſh, it will never grow nor thrive: though the food it eats bee never ſo good and wholeſome meat.
So if the Soul do ſecretly feed upon ſome ſecret luſt or corruption, it will never grow, never thrive, though the food it feeds upon bee never ſo nouriſhing.
And therefore Faith doth purge the heart of luſt and corruption, which may hinder our ſpiritual growth. Faith cuts off the ſuckers from the Tree, which doth eat out the heart of the root, and hinder the growth of the Tree. Faith takes the Child from the Dugge, which conſumes the Parent. Faith will ſeparate a man from his luſt, and will not ſuffer a corruption to hang upon us, to hinder our ſpiritual growth.
2. Faith doth put a man into a Soul-fatning-paſture. The whole Word of God is the Paſture for Faith. The Word of God is objectum Adaequatum, the Even and Adequate object of Faith. There is the only walk of Faith; which, though it bee an incloſed Paſture, a Field incloſed, a Paſture paled in: yet there is enough in it to ſatisfie Faith. Wee ſhall not need to ſtray any whither elſe for want of Paſture; here wee may go in, and go out, and finde Paſture; wee ſhall not need to feed upon ſtubble and ſtraw of humane traditions: here's enough in it to nouriſh us up to eternal life. — The Scriptures are perfect, and able to make perfect the man of God to every good work, 2 Tim. 3.16, 17. Here is Milk for Babes, and meat for ſtronger men. — Here the talleſt Elephant may ſwim, and the pooreſt Lamb may wade. Great and ſmall, ſtrong and weak may finde nouriſhment in the Scripture.Parvali, magni; fortes, infirmi habent in Scripturis undè alantur & ſatientur. Here wee may finde nouriſhment for our Knowledge, for our love, for our zeal, patience, humility, and all our Graces. They are able to make a man wiſe to Salvation. They nouriſh our Obedience.
Would'ſt thou then nouriſh thy Knowledge? Read here. The Scriptures are able to make thee wiſe to Salvation.
Would'ſt thou nouriſh thy Faith? Read here upon thoſe Faith-ſtrengthening Promiſes, God hath made for that purpoſe.
Would'ſt thou nouriſh thy Love? Oh, Read here of the Love of God to thee; that height, depth, that length and breadth of his love in Chriſt; That love that paſſeth Knowledge, And this will bee a burning-Glaſs to kindle love and affections to him. This will bee as the Load-ſtone to draw thee. Read here of the excellencies of God, which may draw thy affections.
Would'ſt thou nouriſh thy Humility? Oh, Read here, what thou waſt by Nature. Look into the Glaſs of the Law. That will diſcover thy vileneſs, lay thee in the duſt. Read Ezek. 16. See what a peece thou waſt, and then bee proud if thou canſt.
Would'ſt thou nouriſh thy Zeal? Read here of the Zeal of others; which may kindle Zeal in thee.
Would'ſt thou nouriſh thy Patience? Read here examples of Patience; in Job, Jeremiah and others, whoſe long ſuffering will ſhame thy ſhort breathed impatience.
Would'ſt thou nouriſh thy fear of God? Why here ſee what is the excellency of fear, &c.
3. Faith feeds upon Soul-fatning-Dainties: meat which the World knows not of, As Christ ſaid, — I have meat, which you know not of: So Faith hath meat, which the World knows not of. As the life of a Chriſtian is an hidden life: ſo the food of a Chriſtian, the meat of a Chriſtian, is an hidden meat, an hidden Manna.
Faith feeds upon Soul-fatning-dainties; choice food; the cream of nouriſhment; and that is
1. Upon the Promiſes.
2. Upon Chriſt himſelf.
1. Faith feeds upon Soul-fatning-Promiſes. Indeed the whole Word of God is food for Faith; both the Precept, and the Promiſe: But Faith feeds chiefly upon the Promiſe, whereby it is inabled to walk in the Precept.
The whole Word of God is ſincere Milk, whereby wee grow: and the Old and New Teſtament may bee called, The Breaſts of Conſolation; but the New is the better Breaſt. More of Gods heart and love runs in the New, than in the Old. The Children of the Bondwoman ſuck at the Breaſt of the Old, at the Law: But the Children of the Free-woman ſuck here, at this Breaſt, the Goſpel.
Thus Faith, feeds, not only upon the Word: but the choice of the Word, the Promiſes. Yea, and not only the Promiſes, but the choice and freeſt of the Promiſes: the Cream, the ſpirits of Nouriſhment.
And according to the proportion of Faiths feeding hereon, ſuch is the proportion of ſtrength and nouriſhment conveyed down into the Soul. Hee that feeds ſparingly, is but a ſpare Chriſtian, gets but little ſtrength: Hee that eats liberally is ſtrongly nouriſhed.
The difference that wee ſee in Chriſtians here; ſome weak, others ſtrong; Some Infants and Babes, others Grown men, ſome thrown down with every blaſt of Temptation, others able to ſtand out all aſſaults: The difference ariſeth hence, that ſome feed more ſparingly, ſome more liberally by Faith upon the Promiſes of Grace: and ſo ſome are ſtronger than others are.
If you grow not, 'tis becauſe you feed not: you play with the Breaſt, you ſuck not daily. A man may have meat before him, and yet dye, if hee feed not. The beſt feeder here is the beſt grower. The Larger the appetite, the ſtronger the Chriſtian. The more the ſoul doth feed upon Promiſe, ſtill the more ſtrength is conveyed to the ſoul, the more the ſoul is nouriſhed.
2. Faith feeds upon a Soul-fatning-Chriſt. The choiceſt diſh that Faith doth feed upon is Chriſt himſelf.
Chriſt is food for the Soul — His Fleſh is meat indeed, and his Blood is Drink indeed. And hee who feeds upon Chriſt moſt, is the moſt living, the moſt growing, the moſt fatning Chriſtian.
Christ is the breeder, and the feeder of ſpiritual life: the begetter and the nouriſher of life in us. Hence hee is call'd —The Bread of Life. Not only bread to beget life in dead men: but bread to nouriſh and increaſe life in living men. And by Faith wee feed upon Chriſt; Faith is the Organ whereby wee feed upon Christ, and gets nouriſhment for it ſelf, and all its fellow-Graces.
When Faith hath had a good meal here, all the Graces of Gods Spirit are bettered by it: our Love, Humility, &c. All are ſtrengthened by it.
Now Faith feeds upon Chriſt
1. In the Word.
2. In the Sacrament.
Chriſt is Bread.
1. Spiritual. Panis Spiritualis.
2. Sacramental. Panis Sacramentalis.
Chriſt is Spiritual Bread in the Word, to beget and increaſe life.
Chriſt is Sacramental Bread in Euchariſt, to nouriſh and augment our Spiritual life in us.
The one is Chriſt, in Ordinary. Chriſt in the Word is the Dayly-Bread for Faith to feed upon.
The other is Chriſt Extraordinary, for Feſtival Gaudy-dayes.
And in this order Faith feeds on Chriſt.
Firſt, Faith feeds upon Chriſt in the Word; and then Secondly, Faith feeds upon Chriſt in the Sacrament.
None feed on Chriſt in the Sacrament, but they who have fed on Chriſt in the Word.
By the one wee have Union, by the other Communion with Chriſt: By the one ingraftment into Chriſt, by the other we have nouriſhment from Chriſt. Chriſtus grandeſcit in SanctisBy the one Chriſt is formed in us; by the other Christ grows up in us, to a perfect man.
Faith thus feeds upon Chriſt, who is the ſumme of all nouriſhing things: who is the heart, the ſtaff of nouriſhment. Hence hee is called Bread, which is the ſtaff of nouriſhment.
Chriſt is the heart of nouriſhment in the Word, in the Sacraments, in every Ordinance: All which are but empty things, convey no ſpiritual ſtrength to us, if wee feed not upon Chriſt in them.
If Chriſt do withdraw himſelf from the Ordinances; If wee feed not upon Chriſt in them, they will do us no good. If wee feed not upon Chriſt in the Word, the Word will not profit. If wee feed not upon Chriſt in the Sacraments, the Sacraments will not nouriſh.
Men may live out their dayes under the Ordinances; come to the Word, and to the Sacraments; and yet, when all is done, bee like Pharaohs lean Kine, never the fatter for all this food, if they feed not upon Chriſt in them.
And it is ſuſpitious, when men live under ſuch precious Ordinances, and yet grow no more, that ſurely they feed not on Chriſt.
Alas! Could wee bee ſo barren in our Graces, ſo lean in our lives, ſeeing wee go in ſuch rich Paſtures, and are fed with ſuch precious dainties, the Word, and Sacraments; if wee fed upon Chriſt in theſe? No, my Brethren, this is the great reaſon why wee have ſuch pined and ſtarved ſouls: This is the reaſon of all our weakneſſes, our ſpiritual faintings, our declinings, our conſumptions under the Ordinances; wee feed not upon the Spirits of nouriſhment; wee feed not upon Chriſt in them:Panem Domini, non Panem Dominum. Purum Elementum non eſt Alimentum. wee let not Faith feed on Chriſt, and ſo are not nouriſhed. Wee eat the Bread of the Lord, but not the Bread which is the Lord: wee feed upon the Elements, not upon Chriſt. It is true here, The pure Elements are no nouriſhment. If Chriſt run not through the Bread and Wine they nouriſh not.
Well then; would you have your Soul nouriſhed? take your fill of theſe Soul-refreſhing-Dainties, whereby you may get ſtrength. Here drink your fill. The beſt meaſure is no meaſure.Bibite, & Inebriamini.
Feed upon the Promiſes, feed upon Chriſt, whereby you may bee nouriſhed. Feed on Chriſt daily. Sometimes wee have ſuch a Feaſt on Chriſt, as, in the ſtrength of which (with Elijah) wee go many dayes. God ſometimes gives ſuch abundance of Refreſhments, that the Soul goes cheerfully a long time. But this is not Ordinary. And therefore there is need of our Daily feeding upon Chriſt. Chriſt muſt bee Daily-Bread for Faith to feed on. And it muſt bee our Prayer for the Soul, as well as for the Body — Give us our Daily-Bread — Bread for the Soul, as well as Bread for the Body.
That Day, wherein Chriſt hath not been fed on, is a Declining-day.