An Expository Comment on 2 Corinthians 1, Exposition · Sermon 71
SERM. LXXI.
Of the Nature, Object and Matter of our Divine Truſt, or Dependance upon God.
2 COR. 1. 9.
But in God.
WE now come to that bleſſed and medicinal effect of the grent trouble which came upon Paul in Aſia, as it is poſitively deſcribed. For we have the ſinfull and unlawfull object of our truſt removed (which is our ſelves,) and the proper adequate, and only object thereof aſſerted, and that is the Lord. From whence obſerve,God alone is the proper object of our truſt.
That God alone is the proper object in whom we are to truſt.
As we are not to believe in any but the omnipotent God; ſo neither to truſt in any beſides him.
Becauſe this Text is ſo proper, I ſhall enlarge my ſelf about this great duty of truſting in God, it being of ſuch great practical concernment. For there is no grace more difficultly and rarely exerciſed than this. There is indeed much preſumption in the world, and carnal confidence, but little ſpiritual dependance upon God alone, and relying upon his promiſe and power, overlooking all means and inſtruments. That therefore we may be fully acquainted with the nature of this grace, and may accordingly exerciſe it all the day long, for every Propoſitions concerning our truſting in God. 1. It is wrought by the Spirit of God.moment, every time we breathe, we have need of truſting in God.
Let us lay down ſeveral Propoſitions. And
Firſt, Conſider, that to truſt in God is a gracious gift wrought in us by his Spirit. No man is able of himſelf, or by himſelf to reſt upon God alone, not regarding or looking above all ſecond cauſes, unleſs he be enabled thereunto by God. For to truſt is an act of faith, as is to be ſhewed: and faith that is in many places made to be the gift of God, and not accompliſhed by our ſtrength. Whereas then you have many people, whoſe mouths are full of truſting in God, you muſt know, that ſuch ſpeak they know not what. For none can truſt in God, but he that is enabled thereunto by the grace of God. For as Peter's body could not walk upon the waters without ſinking, becauſe of the natural weight of the body, unleſſe Chriſt had in a wonderfull manner ſupported it. So neither can a man look higher than means, than inſtruments, unleſſe the Spirit of God lift thy ſoul up. Yea, becauſe man is ſo apt to live by ſenſe, conſiſting of a ſenſible body, and therefore the things of ſenſe moſt affect him; Hence it is, that if there be more difficulty to work one grace than another, becauſe of the more immediate oppoſition of the ſoul againſt ſome duty more than another; We may ſay, that a man is ſooner brought to be juſt, liberal, and to performe the duties of the ſecond Table, yea many duties of the firſt Table, than this. No wonder then it be made a gracious gift of God. Hence
In the ſecond place, There is none can truſt in God, but ſuch as are regenerated, 2. None but the regenerate can act this grace.and are made new creatures. For as none have true ſaving faith but ſuch, ſo none have ſpiritual and heavenly dependance upon God but ſuch. It is an eaſie matter to ſay, We truſt in God, when we have the helpes and ſupply of all creatures; but when all props are removed, then to reſt on God, as ſecurely and quietly, as if thou hadſt all external abundance; this cannot be done but by a gracious heart. Therefore the unregenerate man, he doth but delude himſelf. It is not God that he truſteth in, but his wealth, his power, ſome refuge or other he hath in the creature; neither can he live upon higher principles. Hence we have that place thrice mentioned, The just ſhall live by faith. Faith is truſting there; and it is applied both to our life, in reſpect of temporal things, in afflictions, as Heb. 10. 38. as alſo in reſpect of ſpiritual things, eſpecially our juſtification in the ſight of God, as Gal. 3. 11. It is the juſt man then, and the ſanctified man alone, who can live by truſting on God only. Sinne is ſuch an heavy load, that it preſſeth down, and maketh a man creep upon the ground. Now all thoſe creatures that did ſo, were unclean by the Law of God.
Thirdly, This trusting, it is an act of faith; by that grace we are able to depend upon God alone. Indeed the Papiſts they make trusting to be an act of 3. It is an act of faith.Hope: And it may not be denied, but that faith hath ſome ſuch proportionable act flowing from it; but the truſting that the Scripture ſpeaks ſo much of, is plainly an act of faith. For what the Old Teſtament calleth Truſting in God ſo often, in the New it is, Believing on God, and on Chriſt, foreign, is no more than fiducial recumbency, or reſting of the ſoule upon Chriſt. Though hope therefore hath its truſt, yet faith likewiſe hath its truſt: OnelyOnly hopes object is apprehended as ſuture, and in expectation; but faiths truſting maketh the object preſent, as to apprehenſion: And therefore Heb. 11. 1. it is called, The ſubstance of things hoped for. By truſting then on God, we mean not that act of faith, whereby it knoweth God, nor that whereby it giveth aſſent, that there is a God; but whereby the whole heart is drawne out to depend on God, and reſt upon him, for whatſoever good thing he ſtandeth in need of. And therefore this truſting in God is neceſſarily accompanied with a love of God, and endeared thoughts about him, as a gracious Father, who will mercifully provide for all our wants. As Auſtin of old, Credere in Deum, was Credendo amare. So that here is a great difference between that Hiſtorical and Dogmatical faith which many Chriſtians have, whereby they acknowledge the truths of Chriſt, and this fiducial truſting on God; for this is neceſſarily accompanied with an hearty love of, and delight in God, and cannot be ſeparated from it. Hence the Devil that he may tempt to deſpair, which is a ſinne oppoſite to truſt in God, he labours to keep the diſtreſſed ſinner in hard thoughts of God, as one who is a provoked Judge, and will not ſhew mercy. So that as long as the heart is by theſe ſad temptations kept at a diſtance, and is eſtranged from God, it cannot ſo fully truſt in him.
Fourthly, It's not God abſolutely conſidered that is the object of our truſting 4. It is not God as abſolutely, but relatively conſidered, that is the object of our truſt. 1. As he is an infinite true and everlaſting God.in him. For the Devils and damned in hell, though none need mercy and help more than they doe, yet they cannot truſt in him. Therefore God relatively conſidered, as revealing himſelf to his people, is the object of their hope, and theſe Attributes or Properties do eſpecially ſuſtain our truſting in him.
1. That he is the infinite, true and ever living God. Upon this ground to truſt in Idols, to truſt in riches, to truſt in men, though never ſo great, is forbidden, not only as a ſin, but as a vain thing; uncertain riches they are, Idols are vanities, they are nothing. Man hath his breath in his noſtrils; and therefore it is fooliſh to truſt in ſuch things; but God being the Jehovah, and Eternal, even the Everlasting God, the ſame for ever; therefore it is that he onelyonly muſt be truſted in. Are thy creatures a Jehovah? Have they an infinite being? Are they from everlaſting to everlaſting? No certainly; then it is Idolatry to put truſt in them.
2. God is the Adequate Object of our hope, Becauſe of his Immutability 2. As immutable in his promiſes.on his Promiſes, as well as in his Being. Here are two particulars included in this.
1. A Promiſe. For if God had not revealed to us, what he would doe for us, there could not be any truſting in him. Hence Gods promiſe, and mans truſting, they muſt alwayes go together. To truſt for ſuch things he hath never promiſed, is preſumption, and a temptation of God; and not to truſt for ſuch things as he hath promiſed, though they ſeem never ſo improbable or impoſſible to us, is to limit God, and to meaſure him according to our apprehenſions. This is to make truſting an act of ſenſe or of reaſon, not of faith. The Rule then of our truſting is Gods promiſe. It is not Gods Infiniteneſſe and Eternity as ſuch, but we muſt alſo have a promiſe. Therefore though God be ſo full of Goodneſſe and Mercy, yet the damned cannot truſt in him, becauſe they have no promiſe from God, that he will doe good to them. But though we have a promiſe, yet if it were the promiſe of a man, who is a liar, who is inconſtant and mutable, ready to repent of what he hath promiſed, then our truſting would be weak and uncomfortable; but God is unchangeable in his promiſe, Heaven and Earth ſhall ſooner paſſe away, than this gracious word of God. James 1. 17. With him there is no variableneſſe, nor ſhadow of change. God then being the ſupreame verity, and it being impoſſible for him to lie, as Hebr. 6. 18, 19. No wonder that our hope and truſting in God under all waves of temptations, be a ſure and ſtedfaſt Anchor, as the Apoſtle calleth it. Why then is it, that you ſee even the people of God toſſed up and downe with ſuch uncertain thoughts and workings of heart? Why is it they have not a ſerene and quiet frame of heart all the day long? It is becauſe they let goe this Anchor; They intermit this truſting in God; otherwiſe becauſe God is the ſame, and his promiſe is the ſame, they alſo would be the ſame. You ſee then, why God is the Adequate Object of our truſt, becauſe he hath promiſed, and becauſe he is unchangeable in his promiſe. What folly is it to truſt in any earthly greatneſſe and power? It is but as the ſhadow that paſſeth away. The Apoſtle calleth it, The faſhion of the world, 1 Corinth. 7. becauſe it is ſo tranſitory. Therefore our name we cuſtomarily uſe to expreſſe things by, is moſt abſurd and improper, if we regard Scripture-expreſſion. For we uſe to ſay, A Kingly State, A Chriſtian State; and ſo Statu… Magnatum; Status is à ſtando, and denoteth what is ſtable; whereas all theſe are but a Faſhion, a Shew that paſſeth away. Thus when we would expreſſe the glory of a man, we ſay, he appeared in Great State. Now no word is ſo improper as that; it is as if you ſhould call a ſhadow a ſubſtance, or ſay, the ſubſtance of a ſhadow; or as if running ſhould be called ſtanding ſtill. The Scripture expreſſeth it more fully, when Act. 25. 23. Agrippa and Bernice are ſaid to appear foreign, With great pomp, we tranſlate; in the original it is, With a great phantaſie or apparition. The word foreign is applied in Scripture to apparitions of Spirits, which quickly vaniſh away. Now how contradictory is it to call a phantaſie a State, as if we ſhould call a feather which flieth up and down, a mountain that abideth, and cannot be removed? Seeing therefore all earthly greatneſſe is thus fluid and ambulatory, how can we put any truſt therein?
Laſtly, Therefore is God the ground of our truſting, Becauſe he is onelyonly 3. As he is omnipotent.Almighty and Omnipotent, able to doe of himſelf whatſoever he hath promiſed. For though we had Gods promiſe to doe ſuch things for us, yet if he had not the ſupreame power to order and worke all things when he pleaſeth, but were ſubordinate to ſome higher power, then we could not truſt in him. Hence we juſtly charge the Papiſts with Idolatry for truſting in the Virgin Mary, whom they call their hope in prayer, as alſo in the other Saints. For although they would elude by a diſtinction of truſting in one, as the primary efficient cauſe, and in one as a ſecondary and inſtrumental cauſe, in which latter ſenſe they onelyonly truſt in the Saints, as they would perſwade us; yet that is againſt the very nature of divine truſt, which muſt have for its object onelyonly, that which is ſupreame and omnipotent. So that unleſſe they will diſtinguiſh of a primary God, and a ſecondary God, they cannot ſo diſtinguiſh about truſting in the ſame manner. Even as it is with the other act of faith, as it giveth a divine aſſent to any truth. The Schoolmen generally ſay, That the Ratio formalis fidei, is, Revelatio Divina, and Suprema veritas. So that we cannot with a Divine Faith believe upon any thing, but a Divine Teſtimony. Thus it is in this other act of faith, which we call truſting. It muſt be a Divine Promiſe, a Divine Power, elſe we cannot put this holy and divine truſt in it. As therefore the Pſalmiſt ſaid, Some put their truſt in their horſes, ſome in chariots, but we will truſt in the Name of the Lord, Pſal. 20. 7. Thus let us; Some truſt in Angels, ſome in Saints, ſome in great men, in wiſe men; but we will truſt in the Lord. From hence alſo it is, that we do clearly confute the Socinian, who denieth the Eternal Deity of Chriſt. For if Chriſt were not God, if he were onelyonly the beſt of creatures, yet as a creature, it would be unlawfull to truſt in him, we ſhould be guilty of great Idolatry to put confidence in him. Now it is plainly a duty to truſt in Chriſt, as well as in God the Father, Romans 15. 12. Though the root of Jeſſe, yet in him ſhall the Gentiles truſt; and that is, becauſe he is not a meer man, but God as well as man. Epheſians 1. 12. So they are called, The firſt fruits of Achaia, who firſt truſted in Chriſt. This then is a plain demonſtration of the Godhead of Chriſt, becauſe it is our duty to truſt in him. You ſee by all theſe glorious properties in God, which are the full reaſon of our truſting in him, that it is not lawfull under any nice and ſubtil diſtinctions whatſoever to put our truſt any where, but in the 2. The matter for which we truſt in God is the good thing we want, either ſpiritual or temporal.Lord.
Secondly, As God is the object in whom we truſt, So the matter for which we are to truſt in him, is all the good things we want. There is not any one mercy, whether for ſoul or body, but we are to truſt in God alone for it.
Now the good things we want, empty themſelves in two ſtreames, The ſpiritual mercies, and the temporal mercies; and we are to truſt in God for all theſe. There is not a crumme of bread, or a drop of drinke, but we are to truſt and depend on God for it. We are not to truſt in our labour, in our barne and ſtore, but are to lie in prayer at the throne of grace every day, as Lazarus did at Dives his gate, even for a crum of ſpiritual mercies; and they are of many ſorts:
1. That which is the ultimate and laſt end of all grace and holineſſe here, which is Eternal Life, and Everlasting Glory. The truſting in God for this, is that which ſhould keep up our hearts in all the ſtreights we are to meet with. 1 Corinth. 15. If we had hope onelyonly in this life, ſaith the Apoſtle, we were of all men moſt miſerable. So Titus 1. 2. and 3. 7. there is the hope of eternal life. The truſting by faith, and by hope, are of ſo near union, that one may well be brought to confirme the other. Now let a Chriſtian be frequently putting forth theſe vigorous truſtings in Chriſt for everlaſting glory, what heavenly, joyfull and undaunted reſolutions will it work in him?
2. There are mercies that are the meanes to lead to this end, ſuch as Justification, and Sanctification of our natures, daily remiſſion of ſinnes, and a daily preſervation in the ſtate of grace, that we may never fall away. For theſe things we are certainly to truſt for at Gods hand. We have Gods promiſe for theſe things, and who dare queſtion, whether God be thus able to keep us to ſalvation or no? Thus remiſſion of ſinne is by faith in his blood, Rom. 3. Yea the life of a godly man, as to his ſpirituals and ſupernaturals, is wholly in this truſting. Thus the juſt (you heard) liveth by his faith. And Paul profeſſeth aloud, That the life he did live, (Galat. 2. 20.) though in the fleſh, was by faith in the Sonne of God. Oh that this ſpiritual truth were received and digeſted more by the godly! Doe you not look more into your ſelves, then up to God? Doe you not more live in the thoughts of your owne graces, than of Gods promiſes? Truly the right improving of this Doctrine about truſting in God, it would be like Solomon's North-winde, to blow away the rain, to diſpell all ſinfull ſorrow.