An Expository Comment on 2 Corinthians 1, Exposition · Sermon 62
SERM. LXII.
How the voice of the Spirit, and the voice of the Fleſh differ in Afflictions: And why it is neceſſary a man ſhould know them aſunder.
2 COR. 1. 8.
That we were preſſed above meaſure,
FRom the Explication of this paſſage, we have obſerved, That it is one thing what a godly man ſpeaketh according to the principle of fleſh and blood within him, and another thing what he ſaith according to faith, and the principle of grace. And becauſe this truth is of perpetual practical uſe, let us a little more dilate upon it. And
Firſt, Let us inſtance in ſome diſcoveries, whereby we may know when fleſh ſpeaketh, and when the Spirit doth. For theſe, though contrary one to another, yet are not diſcerned without ſpiritual illuminations, and ſenſes exerciſed How we may know when faith, and when fleſh ſpeaketh in our afflictions. 1. Fleſh argues from afflictions, that God hath forſaken us.to know things that differ. And
Firſt, The voice of fleſh and blood in ſuch kind of troubles, is to make a final concluſion and ſentence upon our ſelves, That God hath forſaken us, that we are caſt out from his love. Inſomuch that did not the principle of grace in ſome meaſure withſtand, and at ſome times overcome theſe temptations, the ſoul would be ſwallowed up in this whirlpool: but let the godly know, that this is not the voice of Jacob, but of Eſau. The regenerate principle will not, dare not give in ſuch falſe teſtimony, Iſai. 49. 14, 15. Zion hath ſaid, The Lord hath forſaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. But in the next verſe we ſee God expreſly denying it, and that not only, he had not forſaken her, but that he could not forſake her, for his affections were more to her, then any mothers to her ſucking child. The Church then was too haſty and precipitate, ſhe ſhould have conſidered Gods Word, before ſhe paſſed ſuch a peremptory ſentence concerning her ſelf. Therefore when God ſaith one thing, and thy heart another; when the Scripture ſpeaketh one thing, and thy fleſh another thing, which is more to be regarded? See this diſtemper likewiſe in Jonah, Chap. 2. 6. Then I ſaid, I am caſt out of thy ſight. Here the corrupt part in Jonah, made quick his deſperate work, He was caſt out of Gods ſight, but Nubecula fuit, cito tranſivit; it was a little ſtorm, it was preſently over; for immediately he doth (as it were) contradict himſelf, and ſaith, I will look again toward thy holy Temple. So that it was with corruption and grace at this time, as it was with Rebeccah in her child-bearing; the firſt came out red and hairy, but the ſecond came out ſmooth, and holding Eſau by the heel. Thus the firſt motion of Jonah's heart cometh forth red and hairy, bloody and rough; but then faith like Jacob followeth this Eſau immediately, and ſupplants it. When therefore the godly do at any time find ſuch motions, and workings of heart, as if their troubles were a demonſtration of Gods deſertion of them, that if he loved them, he would never let it be ſo with them, rebuke theſe immediately, and be as much affected as Hezekiah was, when he heard Rabſhakeh blaſpheme God. For indeed ſuch thoughts do highly diſhonour God, and repreſent him otherwiſe than he is. For the Apoſtle directed by the Spirit of God, which ſearcheth the deep things of God, ſpeaketh far otherwiſe, making theſe troubles to be an effect of his love, and that if he did not deal thus with us, we might then conclude, we did not belong to him. Heb. 12. 6, 7, 8. If ye be without chastening, ye are bastards, and no children, for whom he loveth he chasteneth. It behoveth thee to make this difference in thy ſelf, elſe thy deſtruction will come upon thee ſuddenly.
Secondly, The voice of fleſh and blood alſo ſpeaketh after this manner in 2. Fleſh ſaith, afflictions will undo us.heavy troubles, That they will unto thee, that there can never come any good out of this to thy ſelf; that it would have been farre better for ſoul and body, if the Lords hand had not been in this manner upon thee. Here alſo that falſe and corrupt principle is a liar within thee. For David, who at ſometimes is apt enough to be caſt down, and exceedingly troubled, yet upon his recoveries can ſay, Out of very faithfulneſſe thou haſt afflicted me; and before I was afflicted I went astray, Pſal. 119. 75, 67. Thou ſhouldeſt therefore do as the Apoſtle in another caſe, making objections againſt Gods diſpenſations, Rom. 3. 5. ſaith, Is God unrighteous? And then correcteth his ſpeech, I ſpeak as a man. Thus art thou alſo bound in all the unſavoury workings and diſcontents of thy ſoul, to rebuke thy ſelf, ſaying, I think now as a man, I ſpeak as a corrupt ſinfull man. Yea David, getting ſome power againſt theſe ſinfull motions within him, abhorreth himſelf in an higher degree, Pſalm 73. 22. So fooliſh was I and ignorant, even like a … before thee. Hearken not then to thoſe tumultuous thoughts and reaſonings within thee, which would perſwade thee, that there can never any good come to thee out of the preſent evil upon thee, that God cannot create light out of this darkneſs. For as Adam was undone by hearkning to Eve, and yeelding to her temptation: Thus fleſh is like an Eve within thee, that will betray and deſtroy all at laſt.
Thirdly, Fleſh and blood under theſe heavy troubles, doth alſo ſpeak ſinfully 3. Fleſh ſaith, our afflictions will never endabout the Perpetuity of them; as if after ſuch a black night, there would never ariſe a fair day. This froward and peeviſh corruption within thee, ſaith, It will never be otherwiſe. Thus it ſpake in David, when he ſaid, I ſhall one day periſh by the houſe of Saul. Yea in ſeveral Pſalms, the Church complaineth, As if God had caſt off for ever, and that he would remember her no more. Thus the corrupt principle lieth continually in thy boſome, not like a Dalilah, enticing and deceiving, but like a thorn in thy ſide daily vexing and tormenting of thee. David being experimentally exerciſed, both in the ſenſe of corruption, and alſo in the ſenſe of grace, we find him ſometimes ſpeaking this voice within him, Pſal. 31. 22. I ſaid in my haſte, I am cut off from thine eyes. Pſal. 94. 18. When I ſaid, my foot ſlippeth, thy mercy, O Lord, held me up. Pſal. 116. 11. I ſaid in my haſte all men are liars. By theſe inſtances we ſee, what an haſty principle a man hath within him under troubles. For, who can expect to have a better heart than David, that was after Gods own heart? and yet we hear him often complaining, that in his haſte he was ready to ſpeak ſuch and ſuch things, eſpecially that there would never come any help to him, and that the Prophets of God were but liars, deceiving him with vain hopes. But the voice of Gods Spirit ſpeaketh farre otherwiſe, in a more calm and ſweet manner. As it was in the viſion to Elijah, God was not in the fire, nor in the tempeſt, but in the ſtill voice: So commonly grace is not ſeen in thoſe haſty, boiſterous, impetuous thoughts, but in a more ſerene and calm way. Now (I ſay) if we ſit ſtill, and hear what God ſpeaketh to his people in ſuch great preſſures, it is the clean contrary, Iſa. 54. 7. As it were for a little moment have I forſaken, but with everlasting kindneſſe will I have mercy on thee. We ſee the holy practice of Harbakkuk likewiſe notably to this purpoſe, Habak. 2. 1, 3. Becauſe God did delay, he would ſtand upon the Tower, and watch to ſee what God would ſay to him. Thus do thou in thy expectations of deliverance.
Fourthly, The principle of fleſh and blood doth notoriouſly preſſe to do any 4. Fleſh would put us upon any means to get out of trouble.ſinfull action, neglect any duty, ſo that we may come out of ſuch troubles. And this affection or ſenſe within a man hath a moſt immediate oppoſition to the work of grace within him. It is with the fleſh in this caſe, as it was with Peter to our Saviour, Master (ſaith he) ſave thy ſelf; But with what indignation did Chriſt rebuke him, ſaying, Get thee behind me Satan? Mat. 16. 23. for thou ſavoureſt not the things of God, but of man. Such a Peter, ſuch a Satan is the fleſh to thee, that ſaith, Save thy ſelf, do any thing to eſcape theſe troubles: It is not any matter for righteouſneſs or holineſs, but look to thy ſafety. When theſe whiſperings are within thy heart, then riſe up in an holy zeal againſt them: Say, Get thee behind me Satan; This is not to ſavour the things of God. Had David been filled with ſuch holy zeal, as he was ſometimes, againſt his wife Michol, deſpiſing him for his adoration of God, then he had not uſed ſo many unlawfull ſhifts as he did to eſcape danger; his counterfeiting himſelf mad, his pretending to joyn with Achiſh, and to fight againſt Iſrael. Theſe were ſad ſnares that he fell into, becauſe he did not ask counſel of the Lord, but conſulted only with fleſh and blood. Do thou then in thy troubles, as Paul in his extraordinary Call, Obeying immediately the heavenly viſion, and not conſulting with fleſh and blood. In thy troubles wait on God, take his way, put not forth thy hand to any ſinne: Say, it is better to have miſery upon thee, then the guilt of ſinne. It was Abrahams defect of faith, though he was the Father of the faithfull, and though his faith ſtaggered not in the trial about offering up of his ſonne, yet in a farre more inferiour, and leſs temptation, there he began to reel out of the way, and from carnal fear did uſe ſinfull equivocation to Abimeleoh, ſaying, Sarah was his ſiſter, when ſhe was his wife. This unlawfull ſhift he uſed to prevent thoſe things he feared. But as Jonah could obſerve by his own experience, Jon. 3. 8. So it will always prove true, Thoſe that obſerve lying vanities, forſake their own mercies; when we take not Gods way, we forſake that mercy we might have had, and ſo make ous ſelves miſerable for fear of miſery. Raynardus the Jeſuite, (Lib. de Mart. part. 1. cap. 21.) reckoning up ſeveral kinds of Martyrs, that may be called ſo in a large, and an improper ſenſe, doth out of Auſtin, and more profuſely out of Chryſoſtome ſhew, That thoſe Chriſtians who lay in great pains, and extream diſeaſes, and yet would not uſe ſuch ſuperſtitious and magical remedies that happily might have healed them, but would die rather than take any one of theſe medicines, highly commending their faith and patience, were accounted Martyrs; he is Martyr in lecto, who dieth of his pain, and his diſeaſe rather than he will uſe magical helps to be cured. It ſeemeth in the dayes of thoſe Fathers, there was that wicked practice, which is now alſo too much uſed by many ungodly wretches, by going to Wiſemen and Wizards, in their diſeaſes, and to make uſe of their ſuperſtitious remedies to cure them. But as the zeal of theſe Ancients did burn like fire againſt ſuch unjuſtifiable wayes, ſo do they highly commend the patience and mortification of ſuch, who would rather die than be healed in this manner, making it in ſome ſenſe an holy Martyrdom. I bring this, not only to put them to confuſion who are guilty of ſuch ſinnes, but to confirm the truth I intended, That whatſoever fleſh and blood doth ſuggeſt, yet faith and grace will make a man go through any troubles, rather than do that which is unlawfull, to come out of trouble.
Laſtly, The fleſh within a man doth only attend to what is troubleſom and grievous, yea aggravateth and heightens every thing, as if there were no promiſe, 5. Fleſh only attends to what is troubleſome and grievous in afflictions.no Christ, no grace, or promiſe from God to relie upon. So that this corrupt principle maketh them like thoſe, who by continual and ſtedfaſt looking upon the water, have their apprehenſions diſturbed, ſo that they know not where they are. It's fleſh and blood in Paul, that maketh him put this hyperbole upon the trouble he was in. For although no doubt, it was in it ſelf very great, and more than ordinary, yet Paul at another time ſaith, I know how to abound, and how to want; I can do all things through Chriſt that ſtrengtheneth me, Phil. 4. 12, 13. Here you ſee he accounteth nothing too great for him, nothing above his ſtrength. Again at another time in this Epiſtle, Chap. 12. 10. he is not afraid to ſay, When he is weak, then he is ſtrong. So that corrupt fleſh is apt to make a man look only at that which is grievous and troubleſome; it maketh a man attend only to the dark and diſpleaſing part in the affliction; whereas faith would ſhew us the clear and comfortable part alſo. The fleſh doth with us, as the Devil with poſſeſſed perſons, he kept the Demoniack alwayes in the Tombs and Monuments about ſad objects. Thus that corrupt part in a man, detaineth us about thoſe things which are ſad and deſolate: And as a man looking upon any thing through water, it ſeemeth as big again, as it would out of water: So every thing to the ſadded and afflicted ſpirit appeareth double or treble to what it is, whereas faith would make us lay all things together; lay the good and the bad together; regard the flowers as well as the thiſtles. And thus much may ſuffice about the tongue of the fleſh ſpeaking in a godly man, while he is under burdens, which like that tongue the Apoſtle James ſpeaketh of, Is an unruly evil, Chap. 3. 6, 7. ſet on fire of hell, full of deadly poiſon.
In the next place, Let us conſider, why it is ſo uſefull for a godly man, exactly Why a man ſhould ſo much ſtudy to diſcern betwixt the fleſh and ſpirit within him. 1. Becauſe otherwiſe he will be apt to paſſe a falſe ſentence upon himſelf.to ſtudy and know himſelf, that he may be able to diſcern between fleſh and ſpirit within him. And
Firſt, If he do not make this diſtinction, He will quickly paſſe a falſe ſentence of condemnation upon himſelf, Becauſe he finds the fleſh ſpeaketh within him after that diſquieting manner, he will conclude that he is nothing but fleſh. It is from want of ſpiritual diſcerning herein, that ſo many tender hearts are diſcouraged and hopeleſs under their troubles. For they ſay, If the Spirit of Chriſt did work and breath in them, how could there be ſuch carnal froward and impetuous riſings of heart? Now all this is, becauſe they give both ears (like an unwiſe Judge) to one party, and do not keep one for the other alſo, to ſee what that can ſay; hear what the groans and deſires of grace ſpeak, as well as the ſinfull motions of the fleſh within thee. Paul, Rom. 7. when he had largely diſcovered this combate of fleſh, and the Law of the mind within him, yet doth never give the fleſh the total predominancy over him; he maketh it but a part, and the inferiour part, I know that in me, verſ. 18. dwelleth no good; but leſt this ſhould be thought his whole ſelf, he telleth us what he meaneth by that me, even my fleſh, and concludeth the Chapter, So then with the mend I my ſelf ſerve the Law of God, but with the fleſh the Law of ſinne. Let the godly ſoul then in all its exerciſes, acknowledge this diſtinction: Do not ſay, thy whole ſelf is carnal, becauſe part is: Say not all the field is weeds, becauſe ſome are in it.
Secondly, Hereby we ſhall be able to prevent the end and drift of Satan, 2. Hereby he may prevent the Devils end in troubling us.who is ſo buſie in theſe troubled waters. For what would he work out of all theſe confuſions in thy ſoul, but to preſſe thee to deſpair, to judge thy condition hopeleſs? Why ſhould I wait upon the Lord any longer? To ſay as Cain, My ſinnes are greater than I can bear; and he indeed doth hotly purſue it, ſaying, Are not ſuch thoughts in thee? Do not ſuch motions work in thee? Canſt thou deny thy heart to be as it is? Now the godly ſoul anſwereth, I cannot deny but ſuch foul ſtirrings of heart are within me: But I deny the conſequence, that therefore I am all over carnal: I diſtinguiſh between that which is ſpiritual abſolutely and compleatly, and that which is gradual, and in ſome meaſure only. It is true, I find the workings of ſinne, but I alſo find the workings of grace. Therefore avoid Satan, though thou mayeſt bruiſe my heel, yet in time, I ſhall break thy head.