The Dead Saint Speaking to Saints and Sinners Living, Treatise 5 · Character 3 – Character 4
3. Character.
An heart ſincere in Prayer, doth thirſt after Communion with God in Prayer.
If a duty leaves the ſoul on this ſide God, unleſſe it have carried the ſoul over to God, and brought a man to ſome further Communion with him, with his mercy, his love, his grace, his Spirit, the ſoul is not content with duty.
Others they make duty the end of duty, prayer the end of prayer; And therefore if they can but rid their hands of a duty, though they had no communion with God in it, yet they are well enough.
But now a ſincere heart, hee looks above a duty, hee looks upon duty but as a bridge to convey him over to God; as a means to bring God and his ſoul into neerer communion, and if yee have not ſeen God, and found God in a duty, if his ſpirit hath not converſed with God as a Father, as a friend, as a child with his father, as a man with his friend, he hath no content in duty.
Obj. But you will ſay, how ſhall a man know when he hath Communion with God in duty?
Anſw. For the anſwer of this, I muſt firſt tell you, that there is a great miſtake among men and women, of a tender ſpirit about this point, that they think they have no communion with God, unles they have met with God in an heart-chearing, and an heart-comforting way, when God comes in with joy, with comfort, with chearings and inlargements. Then they are willing to grant you, they have had communion with God.
But if God have come in, in an heart breaking, humbling, and caſting down their ſouls in the ſight and ſence of their ſinnes, and imperfections, They do not think they have Communion with God.
And therefore I muſt tell you firſt in the general; That you may have Communion with God, as well in an heart humbling, as an heart reviving, an heart Comforting way.
In the life to come in heaven, all our Communion with God is with Comfort, with fulneſs of joy, At his right hand is fulneſſe, &c. Pſal. 16.11. with thee there is a fountain of joy. Then all tears ſhall bee wiped away from our eyes.
But in this life on earth, we have mixed communion; and have communion with God, as well in humblings, as in comfortings.
You go upon a duty, and you think to meet God one way, and hee comes in another way.
Sometimes you expect God in a comforting, and God comes in, in a quickning way.
Sometimes thou expects God in an heart breaking way, and God comes in, in a comforting way.
As the wind, ſometimes it blows up rain, ſometimes it blows away rain.
So the Spirit of God, which bloweth where, and when, and how it liſteth; ſometimes blows up rain, comes into the ſoul in an heart humbling and breaking way; And ſometimes it blows away rain, and comes into the ſoul in a cheering, and heart comforting way.
In both theſe the ſoul hath communion with God, in joys, and tears, in mournings, as well as comfortings.
And that in the general to anſwer the miſtake of weaker Chriſtians.
Queſt. And now to the anſwer of the queſtion, How a man ſhall know when he hath had communion with God in a duty?
1 I Anſwer, 1 In general, then thou meeteſt with God, and haſt communion with God in duty, when God hath inabled thee to act grace in a duty.
An unregenerate man may act parts, and gifts in a duty, but he cannot act grace, hee hath none to act.
If then God do inable thee to act grace in a duty, to act thy faith to cloſe with promiſes, to act thy repentance for ſinne, to act love to God; All or any of theſe graces, thy ſoul hath then communion with God in duty.
2 Again, When the performance of a duty doth lead the ſoul in better frame, a more humble frame, or in a more watchful frame, when the heart is more quickned, or more broken.
When the heart is farther ſet againſt ſin; more reſolved to walk with God, and obey him, when the frame of a mans ſpirit is changed, or bettered in any of theſe ways, it is a ſign that thou haſt had communion with God in duty, though God hath not come in with fulneſs of comfort, with chearings or joys.
In this life, moſt of our communion lyes in quickning grace.
In the life to come, our communion is riſen up to full comfort, our life then is all joy.
And ſo much ſhall ſerve for the third Character, and the anſwer to the Objection.
4. Character.
A heart ſincere in Prayer, doth riſe up praying from Prayer, hee goes away with the affections of, and affections to prayer, after the Prayer is done.
The Duties of an unſound heart, they come but from a ciſtern, his devotion is a ſtinted devotion; When the Prayer is done, his affections are done alſo, the water is all run out, his affections are then done alſo, perhaps before.
But the Duties of a godly man, they ariſe from a ſpring, a fountain, and his heart is not runne out with his Prayer, hee hath affections of Prayer when the Prayer is done, hee riſeth up praying from Prayer. The much hee hath done, is but a little of that which his ſoul deſires to do.
An unſound mans actions are as big as his heart, perhaps larger; but for a ſincere ſpirit; the heart is ſtill bigger then the action, all he doth is but a little of that hee deſires to do. I ſay where there is ſincerity, there is a deſire of more, all is but a little of that abundance that is in his heart. When hee hath mourned for ſinne, hee wiſheth ſtill he could mourn more. Hee hath an affection of ſorrow within him, larger than any expreſsion of ſorrow hee can ſhew. So you ſee David, Rivers of tears runne down mine eyes becauſe men keep not thy law. Not that David had ſo much moiſture within him as to ſwell a river, poor man! hee had not ſo much moiſture in him; but he had ſuch an affection of ſorrow, that if hee had had as many tears as would have ſwelled a River, made a Sea, they ſhould all have been laid out for ſin.
And indeed if a man had wept a ſea of tears, and his affections of mourning, did end with his expreſsions of ſorrow, hee had not yet wept at all, nor ſhed one true tear of godly ſorrow for ſin.
So again, when hee hath prayed, ſtill his heart is above his action, and hee riſeth up praying from prayer, with a praying ſpirit, affections, when the Prayer is done.
This was that which made Chriſt commend the poor Widdows charity; ſhee gave but two mites, and yet hee ſaith, ſhee had given more than all the reſt. Her heart was bigger than her action, her affections, than her expreſſions of charity. Others they gave, but their purſes were larger than their hearts, they emptied their hearts, but not their purſes. Shee, her heart was bigger than her purſe, ſhee emptied her purſe, but not her heart, thus ſhee gave more.
So this is the fourth; a ſincere heart is larger than his duty, hee riſeth up praying from Prayer, all hee doth is but a little of that hee deſires to do, but a little of that abundance that is in his heart. Others, their actions are as large, nay larger than their hearts, they have little heart to the duty, and their heart is gone, hath done, before the duty bee done. A wicked man doth ſin out of the abundance of his heart; as Chriſt ſaith, out of the abundance of the heart, come, &c. Mat. 12.34. Hee is never weary of ſinning, hee hath a fountain for that; but though hee ſin out of the abundance of his heart, yet hee doth not pray out of the abundance of his heart; his heart …s done, before his Prayer is done, if not, they end together. Well, think of it, hee who yet hath not this Principle which I ſpeak of, hath not yet a Goſpel Principle, though hee do neve… ſo much, hee is not yet under the conditions of Grace and Mercy. Theſe are the loweſt terms of the Goſpel.