The Dead Saint Speaking to Saints and Sinners Living, Treatise 3 · Royalty 4
Fourth Royalty, Faith is an Heart-quieting Grace, an Heart-calming and ſtilling-Grace.
It is a Grace thay layes all the tumults in the Soul: all the inſurrections in the Soul.Fourth Royalty of Faith. Its an Heart-quieting-Grace. When Paſſions are up, and unruly Affections do ſtir, Faith doth allay and huſh them. When Paſſions of Fear are up, Faith laies them; will not ſuffer unruly fears to come into the Throne, to command the Soul.
When Paſſions of Anger are up, Faith doth quench their heat: when Grief ſtirs, Faith doth bridle and moderate this: when Diſcontent is up, and the Soul is ready to murmur and quarrel againſt God, and his dealings; Faith doth lay all theſe riſings. Faith hath a ſpecial art to ſtill the Soul, to ſtrike it dumb in theſe caſes. Hence you ſee David. — I was dumb, and opened not my mouth, becauſe it was thy doing. — Faith ſtruck him dumb.
Wee read indeed Zacharie was dumb; but Infidelity ſtruck him dumb. — David ſaith here — hee was dumb, but Faith ſtruck him dumb. The former was a Penal-dumbneſs: God ſilenced his Tongue, becauſe hee ſuſpended his Faith: But this latter was a dutiful-Dumbneſs; ſuch a Dumbneſs as Faith hath cauſed in the Soul; which ſhut up his lips, from murmuring, not from praying, Pſal. 39.9. hee praies there, — I was dumb, and opened not my mouth; and yet — Take thy Plague from mee, I am conſumed by the ſtroke of thy hand, &c.
The like power of Faith you ſee in the caſe of Aaron, when it ſilenced his Soul, in ſuch a ſad condition, Levit. 10.3, 4. — And Moſes ſaid unto him, This is that, the Lord ſaid, &c. And Aaron held his peace. Why, what was his tryal? why it was the loſs of his Sons, the loſs of his Eldeſt Sons, when they were young, and without poſterity; in the firſt day of their Miniſtration; in the ſight of all the Congregation, and by ſo fearful a Judgement, as fire from the Lord; and in the act of their ſin, offering ſtrange fire: Nay, and which (ſome think) was joyned with Drunkenneſs too: whereupon immediatly follows the prohibition of Wine. So that the Congregation might ſuſpect, they went but from fire to fire; from a deſtruction by fire, to a preſervation in fire; from a temporal, to an eternal burning.
Yet now in all this mark the Power of Faith. Moſes having declared the Author God; the cauſe, their ſin: It's ſaid, Aaron was dumb, and held his peace: Auditâ voluntate Dei ſilet: having heard the Will of God, hee was mute and ſilent; his Tongue was chained up, hereby confeſſing, ſaith Calvin, Juſto Dei Judicio extinctos eſſe: That they were ſlain by the Juſt Judgement of God.
The like you ſee in Eli, when Samuel had declared what God had ſaid to him concerning the deſtruction of his houſe: why, ſaith he, — It is the Lord, let him do what pleaſeth him, 1 Sam. 3.18.
And remarkable was that in Job. — You may read in the firſt Chapter, how one wave came upon the neck of another.
1. The Sabeans fell upon his Oxen, and his Aſſes, and ſlew his Servants.
2. Another comes and tells him, — Fire from Heaven had burnt up his Sheep.
3. A third tells him, — The Caldeans had taken away his Camels.
4. A fourth hee comes and tells him, — His Sons and his Daughters were eating and drinking, and a wind blew down the houſe on their heads; and buried them all in one grave. His whole ſtock was loſt in one day. Nay, Hee loſt not his ſtock of Cattel only, but of his Children alſo.
My Brethren theſe were great trials, enough to put a man out of patience; enough to make the moſt compoſed man beſides himſelf: To loſe his goods, his Cattel, his Subſtance, and all in a day: Nay, to loſe his Sons and his Daughters, which were his whole Poſterity, the ſtay and hope of his Family: yea and all at once, at one clap: and that ſo ſuddenly; yea, and in the midſt of their merriments.
Theſe were great Tryals: where Yeſterday it might have been ſaid, who ſo rich as Job? now to day, who ſo poor as Job?
Yet mark here now the Power of Faith; how it ſilenced the Soul. In ſtead of murmuring, hee fell down, and worſhiped and ſaid, The Lord hath given, the Lord hath taken away. Bleſſed bee the Name of the Lord. Thus you ſee the Power of Faith.
And, my Brethren, you had need of Faith. As the Apoſtle ſaid of Patience: So I of Faith: — You have need of Faith. As you walk in the way of this life, you ſhall meet with ſuch things as will move you, as will put you beſides your ſelves: If Faith do not ſettle and compoſe you; you cannot bee undi que ſurſùm (like a Dye) light upon your ſquare: if Faith bee not your bottom.
You may have croſſes and loſſes before you die. You may loſe your Husbands, your Wives, your Children, your Goods. Jobs lot may befall you.
And every one of theſe may cauſe a man to riſe up againſt himſelf, may cauſe an uproar in the Soul. Wee are not Stoicks, wee are not without Paſſions, nor ſinfull-Paſſions, mutinous-Affections: And therefore wee had need of ſomething in the Soul to ſway and keep down theſe unruly diſtempers. And this is only Faith which can ſtil, and calm the ſoul in all ſtorms, and tempeſts.
A man without Faith in ſuch a caſe as this, is like a naked man in a ſtorm; like an unarmed man in a battel; like a Ship unballanced, and unanchored in a Tempeſt. A man without Faith is under no command. Paſſions of Anger, Fear, Grief, and all command him. And Paſſion without Faith is violent, breaks down all banks, drowns, overwhelms, and deſtroies the Soul. And therefore you had need of ſomething to ballance the Soul, to charge the Soul, to calm and ſtill the Soul, in ſuch a condition.
Now you ſee Faith is an Heart-calming, an Heart-quieting, and ſtilling-Grace; which it doth after this manner.
1. Imperiouſly.
2. Perſwaſively.
1. Sometimes Imperiouſly; and that either
1. Commanding, or
2. Checking the Soul.
1 Imperiouſly commanding the Soul. Laying charge on the Soul to bee quiet, to bee ſtill. — My Soul, bee ſilent to Jehovah, ſaid David.
As Chriſt did the Waters and the Wind. — Peace, and bee ſtill, and there was a great calm: So here, when the Waves are up, and threaten to overflow the banks, to overwhelm the ſoul; Faith laies her command upon the ſoul. — Peace, and bee ſtill. No more words. Leave your murmurings. Leave your impatiency. Thus ſometimes Faith calms the ſoul.
2. Imperiouſly checking the the ſoul. — You do not well to bee angry. You do not well to grieve. You do not well to bee diſcontented, to bee impatient. You offend God, cauſe him to ſcourge you more, to lay more load upon you; ſeeing you bear this ſo impatiently.
As the Town-Clerk of Epheſus ſtilled that uproar with theſe words, Act. 19.40. — Wee ſhall verily bee called in queſtion for this dayes uproar, ſeeing there is no cauſe can bee given-of this concourſe: So Faith doth ſometimes lay the tumults in the ſoul. — You ſhall verily bee called in queſtion one day, for this Paſſion, this Diſcontent, this Murmuring, this Uproar: ſeeing no cauſe can bee given, that you ſhould quarrel with God, as you do.
2. Faith doth ſometimes calm the Soul, in a Mild, and perſwaſive-way; wherein it reaſons with the Soul — Why art thou ſo much caſt down, oh, my Soul! Why art thou ſo troubled! ſo diſquieted within mee! In which reaſoning, Faith will take an Argument of Patience.
1. From the Author of Afflictions. That is God. Afflictions, troubles ariſe not out of the duſt, but from God, which was the ground of Davids patience. — I was dumb, &c. Becauſe it was thy doing. So of Jobs, — The Lord hath given, the Lord hath taken away. So in caſe of Shimei his curſing David. David did not bite at the ſtone, and never minde the thrower: but hee looks up; diſcovers the hand, as well as the ſtone. — Let him alone. It may bee God hath bid him go forth, and curſe David.
2. Sometimes from the ground of Gods dealings; and that is ſin. Faith produceth ſin to bee the cauſe. For this cauſe; and this ſtops the mouth. Pſal. 51. That thou mayeſt bee juſt when thou judgest. This laies a Soul in the duſt; makes a man accept of the puniſhment of his iniquity. As you have the phraſe, Levit. 26.41. That is, lye down, juſtifie God, clear God in all his dealings: bee ſo far from murmuring, that the Soul will take Gods part in all; clearing God, and condemning it ſelf.
Thus you ſee the Church — Wherefore doth a living man complain? A man for the puniſhment of his ſin? — it is his mercy that wee are not conſumed.
Thus Faith brings to remembrance our ſins. Such a time: ſuch a place, &c.
It laies the finger on the ſore place, diſcovers the cauſe, which cauſes a man to make himſelf the ſubject of Gods anger: and turns a mans anger againſt himſelf.
This was ſome ground of Davids patience; when Shimei curſed. — Go up thou Bloody man. — It made him ſmel his own ſin, his Blood, and ſo became patient.
3. Sometimes from the end of Gods dealings.
1. In general. And that is for good; though it be not bonum, yet it is in bonum: Though it bee not good, yet it is for good. It is a Chaſtiſing-mercy: not in vindictive-Juſtice.
There is a Miſericordia-puniens: and there is a Juſtitia-parcens▪ A puniſhing-Mercy, and a ſparing-Juſtice.
As God doth exerciſe his Sparing-Juſtice towards the wicked, when hee ſuffers them to go on in ſin; and doth not puniſh them, as wee read, Hoſ. 4 14. — I will not puniſh your Daughters when they commit Whoredome; nor your Spouſes, when they commit Adultery. the like, Ezek. 16.42. — I will cauſe my fury towards thee to reſt, and I will bee quiet, and will bee no more angry. Upon which one ſaith, — Solo auditu tremiſco; I tremble at the very hearing. For, if God will correct no more, then hee will deſtroy next. This is a Sparing-Juſtice. And, as God doth exerciſe this towards the wicked: ſo hee exerciſeth a puniſhing-mercy toward the good. Hence the Apoſtle, 1 Cor. 11.32. — Wee are chaſtiſed of the Lord, that wee might not bee condemned with the World.— That wee may not bee condemned with the World, Hee ſuffers the World to condemn us. That wee may not love the World; hee ſuffers the World to hate us. That wee may bee crucified to the World; hee ſuffers the World to crucifie us. Therefore wee meet with Crcroſſes, with abuſes in the World, becauſe hee will not have us periſh with the World.
God takes liberty to chaſtiſe our carkaſſes, to heal our conſciences: to afflict our bodies, to ſave our ſouls. And wee have oftentimes occaſion to bleſs God more for croſſes, than for comforts.
As there is a curſe hid in the beſt things to the wicked: ſo there is a bleſſing hid in the worſt things to the Godly. There is a bleſſing in ſickneſs, a bleſſing in croſſes, in loſſes, &c.
Hence,— All his wayes are wayes of mercy. His correcting, and comforting wayes: His ſcourging and ſolacing wayes. The wayes of health, and the wayes of ſickneſs; wayes of proſperity, and wayes of adverſity. All are in Mercy — All things ſhall work together for good unto them that love God.
Thus in the general, Faith doth clear to the ſoul, whereby it doth poſſeſs the Soul with patience under any evil, and laies the tumults and quarrels of the Soul.
2. In particular, Faith diſcovers at what end God aims.
1. It may bee the trial and exerciſe of our Graces; as in Job.
2. It may bee for the Deſtruction of ſin, and ruine thereof. Either Pride, Worldly-mindedneſs, Adherency to the Creature, with many more. To humble us, to wean us, to win us, to make us more thankful, with many ſuch ends. All which diſcovered and cleared by Faith to the Soul, do exceedingly calm and ſtill the heart in every condition.