The Dead Saint Speaking to Saints and Sinners Living, Treatise 2 · Consectary 2
2. Conſectary.
If the Heart of Chriſt bee once taken with his Church and People: Then hee will never take his heart off from them. His heart once taken, ſhall never bee taken off. Men may love to day, and hate to morrow: but God cannot: whom hee loves once, hee loves to the end; even to all eternity.
As there was nothing in us, that was the ground of his planting his love upon us: ſo there is nothing that ſhall bee able to over-turn the thoughts of his love, when once they are fixed on us.
Indeed our behaviour may bee ſuch, as may cauſe God to bee angry with us, and correct us ſharply; yea, and make us to know, wee had better never to have tryed concluſions with him: But there is nothing ſhall cauſe him to hate us, and caſt us off. Hee may correct his Spouſe, but hee will not divorce her. The Iſraelites were ſo hard-hearted, that for every trivial fact they would put away their Wives: But the Lord hates putting away, Mal. 2.16.
If ſin fore-ſeen were not able to hinder him from planting his heart on us: but though hee ſaw what wee would bee, yet hee loved us: How then ſhall it bee able to over-turn the thoughts of his heart, when once they are fixed on us?
Men indeed are not able to ſee to the utmoſt of things; they are not able to diſcover and fore-ſee all the inconveniences and evils that may ariſe: and therefore that being diſcovered after, which was not fore ſeen before, may bee a ground to alter their affections, and change their thoughts, when fixed. The leſs Judgement and fore-ſight in men, the more fickleneſs, and changeableneſs in men.
But now God hee fore-ſaw all. Hee fore-ſaw all that, which thou now thinkeſt is a ground for him to alter his mind to thee.
And, if all that fore-ſeen could not hinder him from fixing his love on thee, neither ſhall it bee able to move him to take off his heart, when once his heart is taken with thee.
Hence hee is ſaid to make an everlaſting Covenant with us, and hee will never depart from us. Nay, Hee will put his fear into our hearts, that wee ſhall never depart from him, Jer. 32.40.
And Iſa. 54.9, 10. ſaith the Lord (ſpeaking of the Covenant of Grace, which hee will make with his people.) It ſhall bee as the Waters of Noah unto mee: for as I have ſworn that the Waters of Noah ſhould no more go over the Earth: ſo have I ſworn that I will not bee wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. As if hee had ſaid, this is as ſure as the other: the one as firm as the other. You have experience of the one, beleeve the other. I give you the ſame pawn, the ſame ſeal of Heaven to confirm it.
If Men were as bad as Devils, they ſhould never bring a ſecond flood upon the World; becauſe God hath ſworn never to deſtroy it. And as hee hath ſworn to that, and is therefore ſtedfaſt and immutable. So hee hath ſworn to the other, that hee will never leave you, nor forſake you; and therefore God will not.
Object. But alas! Do wee not ſee that God doth ſometimes forſake his Church and People?
Anſw. Now for the anſwer of this, wee will premiſe theſe three Diſtinctions.
1. There is a ſeeming, and there is a real forſaking.
2. There is a Temporary, and an eternal forſaking.
3. There is a partial, and a total forſaking.
From theſe wee will lay down three Concluſions, in anſwer to the Objection.
1. Concluſion.
God doth ſometimes Seemingly, Deus bonos non negligit, cum negligit.when hee doth not really forſake his people. God doth not really neglect his People, when hee ſeems to neglect them.
Hee ſeemed to neglect and forſake Job, Heman, David, Chriſt himſelf, when hee cryes, My God! My God! why haſt thou forſaken mee?
It was Diſſimulatio, non indignatio, as one ſpeaks. Hee feigned himſelf to bee gone, but was not gone.
The Cloud may take the Sun from our ſight; but not rent it from the Skie. God may ſeemingly bee gone, when hee is really there.
Hee ſeemed to bee gone from Job, but hee was really there. Otherwiſe Job could not have truſted in him, in that great difficulty.
The ſame I may ſay of Heman, of David. Though God ſeemed to bee gone, yet hee was really there. Otherwiſe they could not have prayed, exerciſed their Faith, and ſought after God, as they did.
So alſo was it with the Church in the Canticles, cap. 3.1. cap. 5. beg. And that is the firſt Concluſion, God may ſeemingly, when not really forſake his People.
2. Concluſion. God may partially forſake his People; but hee doth never totally forſake them.
I ſay, God may in part forſake his People, which may bee occaſioned on their part, by ſome freſh and new-acted ſin. As you ſee it was with David, Pſal. 51.1. David had ſinned: God had withdrawn himſelf. God was gone, comfort was gone, light was gone for a time. Works of Darkneſs, and walking in Darkneſs went together. Hee did not follow the Direction, and therefore wanted the Conſolation of the Spirit.
But though hee doth partially ſometimes, yet hee doth never totally forſake his people.
For the clearer underſtanding of this Concluſion, you muſt know there is a threefold Preſence of God
1. Quickening.
1. Comforting.
3. Supporting.
1. God may forſake a man in part, in reſpect of his Quickening preſence, and leave a man to the barrenneſs, flatneſs, deadneſs of his own ſpirit for a time, that the ſoul cannot pray, hear, meditate, do any thing, as formerly it hath done. As it was with Sampſon when his locks were cut, his ſtrength was gone; and therefore though hee thought to go out, and do as hee did in former times, yet hee found there was no ſuch matter; hee was become even as another man: ſo it is here; our ſtrength lyes, not in our hair, but in our head. When God is gone, our Locks are cut, our ſtrength is gone. And though wee may think to go upon duties, as at other times, and meet with thoſe lively and vigorous workings of ſpirit in duty: yet wee ſhall finde no ſuch matter; wee are even become as other men.
Indeed ſo much of his Quickening Spirit God leaves in the worſt of times, as uſually, to keep up the heart to duty. The ſoul will pray, will read, &c. but hee gives not ſo much, as to carry the ſoul through the duty, with that life and vigour of affection, which formerly it had.
Time was, that the ſoul never came to prayer without an inflamed heart, never upon the duty, without a quick and inlarged ſoul. But now the ſpirit is dead in duty, cold in duty, heartleſs in the performance of thoſe things, wherein the heart was ſo much taken.
2. God may forſake a man in reſpect of his Comforting preſence. Though man is not able to rob us of our comforts, and take away our joyes, they are ſuch as the armes of men are not long enough to reach; yet God hee can. Hee may eclipſe our joyes, and damp our comforts, and withdraw the beams of his Countenance from us, and leave us in darkneſs and trouble. I ſay, hee may turn our Day into Night, our Light into Darkneſs, our Comforts into Diſcomforts.
Thus you ſee it was with Job, with David, with Heman, Pſal. 88. who, although they had the Quickening-preſence of God, yet they wanted his Comforting-preſence.
And indeed of the two, it is better to want the Comforting, than the Quickening-preſence. Better to want Comfort than Life; Joies than Graces, or the lively exerciſe of them. The one is the Eſſe, the other but the Bene Eſſe of a Chriſtian. A man may live, and ſerve God, and obey him; and yet want his Comforting-preſence; as you ſee, Iſa. 50.10. But hee cannot live without his Quickenning-preſence.
3. God may forſake a man in part, in reſpect of his Quickening-preſence, and hee may more forſake a man in reſpect of his Comforting-preſence: But God doth never forſake us in reſpect of his Supporting-preſence.
In the ſaddeſt condition, in the darkeſt night, in the ſtormieſt day, the ſoul hath ſtill ſupport from him.
David, Job, Heman, they wanted the Comforting-preſence of God for a time; but yet they had his Quickening, and they had his Supporting preſence.
As hee told Paul, ſo hee did for all. His ſtrength was ſeen in their weakneſs, and his Grace was ſufficient for them. Sufficient to bear them up in the tryal, and ſufficient to bring them out of the tryal. So much for the ſecond Concluſion.
3. Concluſion. God may forſake his People for a time, not for ever.
It is but a Temporary, not a Final, not an Eternal forſaking, Iſa. 54.7, 8, 9, 10. For a moment have I forſaken thee; but with everlaſting kindneſs will I gather thee, have mercy on thee. For the Mountains ſhall depart, and the Hills ſhall bee removed: but my kindneſs ſhall not depart from thee.
And thus much ſhall ſerve for the anſwer of the Objection. And notwithſtanding that, the Concluſion is firm. That if the Heart of Chriſt bee once taken with his Church and People, hee will never take it off; hee will never clean forſake them.
And, as God will not forſake his Church, as Forſaking hath relation to Spiritual caſes, Soul-diſtreſſes: So I might ſhew you at large, to prevent another Objection.
That hee will not forſake his Church, as Forſaking hath relation to temporal and outward diſtreſſes.
You may take his word for it, Joſh. 1.5. I will not leave, nor forſake thee.
It is true, it was a promiſe made to Joſhua in particular; but belongs to the whole Church of God in general.
General promiſes may have particular applications, and particular general.
As general promiſes belong to every paticular Member: ſo particular promiſes may belong to the whole body. And therefore though it was a promiſe to Joſhua; yet the Apoſtle (who knew the mind of God makes it ours, as well as his. Hee brings it into the Common-ſtock, and ſhews it part of our riches, Heb. 13.5. Let your Converſation bee without Covetouſneſs; for hee hath ſaid, Hee will never leave thee, nor forſake thee. In brief; Hee will not forſake his Church;
1. Either hee will protect them from dange…
2. Or hee will deliver them out,
3. Or hee will ſupport them in,
4. Or hee will ſanctifie all to them.
Which is the third Concluſion which flows from this Doctrin.