Christ the Way and the Truth and the Life, Chapter 24
CHAP. XXIV. How shall the soul make use of Christ, as the life, which is under the prevailing power of unbeleef & infidelity.
THat we may helpe to give some clearing to a poor soul in this case, we shall
1. See what are the several steps and degrees of this distemper.
2. Consider what the causes hereof are.
3. Shew how Christ is life to a soul in such a case: and
4. Give some directions, how a soul in that case, should make use of Christ, as the Life, to the end, it may be delivered therefrom.
And first. There are many several steps to, and degrees of this distemper: we shall mention a few, as
1. When they cannot come with confidence, and draw ou… of Him by faith, what their souls case calleth for; they cannot with joy draw waters out of the wels of salvation, Esai. 12: 3. But keep at a distance, and intertaine jealous thoughts of Him: this is a degree of unbeleefe, making way for more.
2. When they cannot confidently assert, and avow their interest in Him, as the Church did, Esai. …2: 2. saying Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afra…ed; for the Lord Ie hovah is my strength, & my song▪ He also is become my salvation,
3. when they much question, if ever they have indeed laid hold on Christ; and so cannot go to Him, for the supply of their wants and necessities.
4. When moreover they question, if they be allowed of God, and warranted to come to Him, and lay hold upon Him: yea and they think they have many arguments, whereby to maintaine this their unbeleefe, and justify their keeping aback from Christ.
5. Or when, if they look to Him at all, it is with much mixture of faithlesse fears that they shall not be the better: or, at least, doubting whether it shall be to their advantage or not.
6. This unbeleef will advance further, and they may come to that, not only to conclude, that they have no part or portion in Him▪ but also to conclude, that their case is desperat and irremediable: and so say, there is no more hope, they are cut off for their part, as Ezech. 37: 11. and so lye▪ by as dead and forelorne.
7. Yea they may come higher, and vent some desperat thoughts and expressions of God, to the great scandal of the godly, and to the dishonour of God.
8. And yet more, they may come that length, to question all the promises, and cry out, with David in his haste, Psal. 116: 11. that all men are liars.
9. Yea they may come to this, to account the whole gospel, to be nothing but a heap of delusions, and a cunningly devised fable, or but mere notions and fancies.
10. And at length come to question, if there be a God, that ruleth in the Earth.
These are dreadful degrees and steps of this horrid distemper, and enough to make all flesh tremble.
Let us see next, whence this cometh. The causes hereof we may reduce to three heads.
First. The holy Lord hath a holy hand in this, and hath noble ends and designes before Him, in this matter: as
1. The Lord may think good to order matters thus, that He may magnifie his power and grace, in reseueing such, as were returned to the very brinke of hell, and seemed to many to be lost and irrecoverably gone.
2. Tha… in punishing them thus, for giving way to the first motions of unbeleefe, he might warne all to guaird against such an evil, and not to foster and give way to groundlesse complaints, nor intertaine objections, moved against their condition by the devil.
3. To warne all to walk circumspectly, and to worke-out their salvation with fear and trembling, not knowing what may befal them, ere they die.
4. To teach all to walk humbly, not knowing what advantage Satan may get of them, ere all be done; and to see their dayly need of Christ to strenthen their faith, and to keep their grips of Him fast.
5. So the Lord may think good to dispense so with some, that he may give a full proof of his wonderfully great patience and longanimity, in bearing with such▪ and that so long.
6. As also to demonstrate his Soveraignity, in measureing out his dispensations to his own, as he seeth will most glorifie himself.
Next, Satan hath an active hand in this, for
1. He raiseth clouds and mists in the believer, so that he cannot see the work of God within himself, and so is made to cry out, that he hath no grace, and that all was but delusions, and imaginations, which he looked upon as grace before.
2. He raiseth up in them jealousies of God, and of all his wayes, and puts a false glosse and construction on all, which God doth, to the end he may confirme them in their jealousies, which they have drunk in of God.
3. Having gained this ground, he worketh then upon their corruption, with very great advantage; and thus driveth them from evil to worse, and not only to question their present interest in Christ, but also to quite all hope for the time to come.
4. This being done, he driveth the soul yet further, and filleth it with prejudices against God & his glorious truthes; and from this he can easily bring them to call all in question.
5. Yea he will represent God as an enemy to them; and when this is done, how easie is it with him to put them on desperat courses, and cause them speak wickedly and desperatly of God?
6. And when this is done, he can easily darken the understanding, that the poor soul shall not see the glory of the gospel, and of the covenant of grace, nor the lustre and beauty of holinesse: yea and raise prejudices against the same, because there is no hope of partaking of the benefite thereof and so bring them on, to a plaine questioning of all, as …eer delusions.
7. And when he hath gotten them brought this length▪ he hath faire advantage to make them question if there be a God and so drive them forward to Atheisme. And thus deceitfully he can carry the soul from one step to another.
But thirdly. There are many sinful causes of this, within the man self as
1. Pride and haughtinesse, of minde, as thinking their mountain standeth so strong, that it cannot be moved: and this provoketh God to hide his face, as, Psal. 30.
2. Self confidence, a concomitant of pride, supposing themselves to be so well rooted, that they cannot be shaken, whileas it were better for them to walk in feare.
3. Want of watchfulnesse over a deceitful heart, and an evil heart of unbeleef, that is still departing from the living God, Heb. 3: 12. It is good to be jealous here.
4. Giving way to doubtings and questionings too readyly at first. It is not good to tempt the Lord by parlying too much and too readyly with Satan Eva's practice might be a warning sufficient to us.
5. Not living in the sight of their wants, and of their dayly necessity of Christ, nor acting faith upon Him dayly, for the supplying of their wants: and when faith is not used, it may contract rust and be weakned, and come at length not to be discer…ed.
6. Intertaining of jealous thoughts of God, and harkening too readyly to any thing, that foster and increase, or confirme these.
7. Not delighting themselves in, and with pleasure dwelling on the thoughts of Christ, of his offices, of the gospel, and promises; so that these come at length to lose their beauty and glory, in the soul, and have not the lustre that once they had; and this doth open a door to much mischiefe.
8. In a word, not walking with God, according to the gospel, provoketh the Lord to give them up to themselves for a time.
We come now to the Third particular, which is to show, How Chist is life to the poor soul in this case. And for the clearing of this, consider
1. That Christ is the author and finisher of faith, Heb 12: 2. and so, as He did rebuke unbeleef at the first, he can rebuke it againe.
2. That He is the great Prophet, clearing up the gospel, and every thing, that is necessary for us to know, bringing life and immortality to light by the gospel, 2 Tim. 1: 11. and so manifesting the lustre and beauty of the gospel.
3. He bringeth the promises home to the soul, in their reality, excellency, and truth, being the faithful witness and the Amen, Revel 3: 14. and the confirmer of the promises, so that they are all yea and Amen in him, 2 Cor. 1: 20. And this serveth to establish the soul in the faith, and to shootout thoughts of unbeleefe.
4. So doth He, by his Spirit, dispel the mists & clouds, which Satan, through unbeleef, had raised in the soul.
5. And thereby also rebuketh those mistakes of God, and prejudices at Him and his wayes, which Satan hath wrought there, through corruption.
6. He discovereth himself to be a ready help in time of trouble▪ the hope and anchor of salvation, Heb. 6: 19 and a Priest living for ever to make intercession for poor sinners, Heb. 7: 25.
7. And hereby he cleareth up to the poor soul a possibility of helpe and reliefe; and thus rebuketh dispaire, or preventeth it.
8. He manifesteth himself to be the ma…ow and substance of the gospel: and this maketh every line thereof pleasant and beautiful to the soul and so freeth them from the prejudices that they had at it.
2. So in manifesting himself in the gospel, he revealeth the Father, that the soul cometh to the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ, 2 Cor. 4: 6. and this saveth the soul from atheisme
10. When the soul cannot grippe Him, nor look to Him, yet He can look to the soul, and by his look quicken and revive the soul, and warme the heart with love to Him, and at length move and incline it sweetly to open to Him. And thus grippe and hold fast a lost sheep, yea and bring it home againe.
But what should a soul do in such a case. To this (which is the Fourth particular to be spoken to) I answere.
1. They would strive against those evils, formerly mentioned, which procured or occasioned this distemper: a stop should be put to these malignant humors.
2. They would be careful to lay againe the foundation of solide knowledge of God, and of his glorious truthes, revealed in the gospel: and labour for the faith of God's truth and veracity: for till this be, nothing can be right in the soul.
3. They would be throughly convinced of the treacherie, deceitfulnesse, and wickednesse of their hearts, that they may see it is not worthie to be trusted, and that they may be jealous of it, and not hearken so readyly to it, as they have done, especially seing Satan can prompt it to speak for his advantage.
4. They would remember also, that it is divine helpe, that can recover them, and cause them grippe to the promises, and lay hold on them of new againe, as well as at the first, and that of themselves, they can do nothing.
5. In useing of the meanes for the recovery of life, they would eye Christ, and because this eyeing of Christ is faith, and their disease lyeth most there they would do as the Israelits did, who were stung in the eye with the serpents, they looked to the brazen serpent with the wounded and stung eye: so would they do with a sickly, and almost dead, faith, grip Him, and with an eye, almost put out and made blinde, look to Him, knowing how ready He is to help, and what a tender heart He hath.
6. And to confirme them in this resolution, they would take a new vieu of all the notable encouragements to beleeve, wherewith the whole gospel aboundeth.
7. And withal, fix on Him, as the only author and finisher of faith.
8. And in a word, They would cast a wonderderfully unbeleeving, and atheistical soul on Him, who is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working and is wonderful in mercy and grace, and in all his wayes. And thus may He at length, in his own time, and in the way that will most glorify Himself, raise up that poor soul, out of the grave of infidelity, wherein it was stincking; and so prov… Himself to be indeed the resurrection and the life, to the praise of the glory of his grace.
We come now to speak to another case, which is