Two Treatises, Treatise 2 · Chapter 7
CHAP. VII. Five Ʋſes of Exhortation, in walking with God.
Now we proceed. Some Uſe I ſhall make of this (briefly) before I go to the third head, about Evidences of walking with God.
The Firſt Ʋſe.
Firſt, Bleſs God that he will be pleaſed to walk thus with his poor creatures; bleſs the Lord for his goodneſs to us: Happy are the Angels that ſtand before the Lord: How happy are we then that may have this free converſe with God! What, we that were not only ſtrangers but enemies to God a while ſince, now to walk with him. Oh! a bleſſed thing it is: Let God be magnified for this his goodneſs to us, even He that humbleth Himſelf to behold the things that are done in Heaven, do but look upon the things that are done in Heaven, Pſalm. 113. and yet he will condeſcend fo far to His poor creatures even here on earth, as to walk with them; were we indeed wholly freed from ſin it were ſomewhat; but while we are not only ſo mean in our ſelves, but ſo ſinful, and yet that God wi…l ſo walk with us, this we have cauſe to bleſs God for if we ſhould ſee his face hereafter, though we ſhould never ſee him in this world; but that God ſhould not only grant unto us this, That we ſhould hereafter, after a weariſome and tedious pilgrimage here in this world come to ſee His face, but that we ſhould have ſo much converſe with Him here, Oh magnified and bleſſed be the Name of God for this.
The ſecond Ʋſe.
Secondly, What ſtrangers are the moſt part of the world to this that I am ſpeaking of. That which I am ſpeaking of it's a riddle to moſt men in the world, This walking with God is but an empty ſound to moſt men, yea, for the greateſt part of the world they walk (as the Scripture ſpeaks) after their own counſels, you ſhall find divers notable expreſſions in Scripture of the walk of ſinners, of wicked men.
They walk according to their own counſels. They walk after the fleſh. They walk after their luſts. They walk after the courſe of this world. They walk in the vanity of their minds. They walk contrary unto God. They walk according to men.
Yea, That's obſervable unto this, That the holy Ghoſt condemns, not only walking according to the courſe of the world, and as men, But to walk in the way of Kings is condemn'd in Scripture: In 2 Chron. 28. 2. If to follow the courſe of any men one would think it might be moſt cōmendable the following of the King: but here's a charge againſt Ahaz that he walked in the waies of the Kings of Iſrael: and the 2 Kings, 17. 8. They walked in the Statutes of the Heathen: here's to walk as Kings walk, and then to walk in the Laws of Kings, God would not have any men walk in them any further than they are according to his own Statutes. Not to ſay, it's according to Law, and I muſt walk according to Law: No, this is charged to walk according to the practice of Kings, or their Laws being evil. And there's another Scripiure in the I Kings, 15. 26. He did evil in the ſight of the Lord, and walked in the waies of his father, and in his ſin wherewith he made Iſrael to ſin. There's to walk in the way of great men, and that's condemned. Secondly, to walk in the way of the Laws of the places where we live. Thirdly, to walk according to our fathers, that's condemned. And then laſtly, to walk according to the common courſe of the world, that's condemned; and yet this is the walk of ſinners. And further The Scripture ſaith, That wicked men they walk in darkneſs: and they walk after their own imaginations, and in the vanity of their minds, they walk in lies, and their hearts walk after the ſight of their own eyes, and they walk after their covetouſneſs: We might mention neer twenty ſuch kind of expreſſions in Scripture, and theſe are the walks of ſinners: But the waies of the Saints, they are to walk with God, but thoſe that walk in the way of ſinners, that is, in the vanity of their minds according to the fight of their own eyes, after their covetouſneſs, and after the fleſh, and their luſts, and laſiviouſneſs, and vanity, and ſuch kind of expreſſion as we have in Scripture, Certainly they ſhall have the end of their walk to be no other but deſtruction and eternal miſery.
The Third Ʋſe.
Thirdly, What vile hearts are ours that are ſo backward to walk with God, ſeeing God is pleaſed to admit of his Saints to walk with him! even thoſe that are godly are to be rebuk'd from hence that they ſhould be ſo backward to come in to walk with God: It is our glory, That is that that would make our lives comfortable, it would make this wilderneſs of ours to be a paradice, it would make our Gardens to be Edens, it would make our Houſes to be Churches, and make the Church to be a Heaven unto us, and yet we are backward unto this. Oh that we would but conſider of this when we are in our walk & there have vain thoughts: As ordinarily men that are walking in their pleaſant Gardens, or it may be pleaſant Rooms, Oh the vanity and folly of their thoughts! I may ſpeak to you, who do you walk withal all this while; when you are a walking in your Galleries, or Parlours, or Gardens, or alone in the fields, who are you parlying withal? who are you converſing withal? are not you walking many times with the Devil, and making proviſion for the fleſh? you ſhould be walking with God: what are you the Saints of God? doth God offer himſelf to walk and converſe with you, and will you walk with the fleſh, and converſe with the Devil? and be rouling of ſin and wickedneſs up and down in your thoughts? Oh what a vile and ſinful thing is this! The Lord humble you for your ſinful walks, humble you that are Saints, you ſometimes have had ſome walks with God, why is it that you walk no more cloſe with God? you complain ſometimes of your great buſineſs in the world, and occaſions to converſe with the world that you have no time for your Communion with God; and yet when you are off from the world, and when you have time alone wherein you might converſe with God, and when you have walks to the Citie and from the Citie again, what Communion might you have with God! But Oh! how backward are our hearts even unto this that is our happineſſe, and our glory! That's a third Uſe by way of reproof even to the Saints, which is raiſed from the conſideration of the excellency that there is in our walking with God.
The Fourth Ʋſe.
Fourthly, By way of exhortation, Oh let us keep cloſe to God in our walking with him. We reade of Peter, that he ſaw Chriſt walking upon the water, and he would leap to him to walk with him there: though it were in afflictions to walk with Chriſt it ſhould be comfortable to us. We reade of Idolators, that they would have their children p…ſſe through the fire to get to their Idols; Oh let us be willing to paſs through any difficulties to get to God, the Lord is willing we ſhould cōmunicate our ſelves to him, and he is willing to communicate himſelf to us, the Lord would communicate word for word, promiſe for promiſe, imbrace for imbrace, if we would ſpeak to him he would ſpeak to us, if we would let out our hearts to him, he would let out his heart to us, if we would promiſe to him, he would promiſe to us. The Lord doth often call us to walk with him; As ſometimes familiar friends will call one another, Come, let us walk out together, and thoſe that are very familiar and loving: though they may have ſome buſineſs yet they will lay it aſide, ſeeing their deer friends calls them to walk, they take ſo much delight in it: many times God our deer friend cals us, Come, let us walk out together. When God at any time doth dart in a Heavenly thought into your minds, he doth (as it were) call you to walk with him there, and would have you follow that thought, The following that Heavenly thought that's darted into your minds, that's the anſwering of Gods call to walk with him. Conſider of this one note, Oh do not refuſe this, you do not know how your lives may be comforted this way, and your hearts may be ſtrengthened.
The Fifth Ʋſe.
And then the laſt thing that I ſhall name by way of Uſe is this, If there be ſo much Excellency in our walking with God here, what will there be in Heaven then! If our converſe with him in this world be ſo ſweet, Oh how ſweet ſhall our converſe with him in Heaven be! when we ſhall walk with him in white: when we ſhall have our garments glorious indeed, and our ſouls fit to converſe with God. Now the truth is, we are very unfit to converſe with the Lord, becauſe of our blindneſs and darkneſſe, we do not know God. As now, let an ignorant man come to converſe with a learned man, he gets but very little good, for he is not able to put a queſtion to him, nor able to underſtand what the man ſaith, eſpecially if he ſpeaks any depth of learning to him. So, many that are very weak when they are in diſcourſe with thoſe that are ſtrong and godly, they are not able to make that uſe for their diſcourſe as others can, and it's a great excellency for one to be able to improve his converſe with ſome men that have abilities and ſtrength, to be able (I ſay) to improve their Converſe it's a great excellency. Alas! we are not able to improve our converſe with God here: but in Heaven we ſhall be able to improve our converſe with God, We ſhall know as we are known, we ſhall underſtand God, if God doth but communicate himſelf we ſhall be fit to receive all the beams of his glory that he ſhal be pleaſed to let out, Oh! that wil be an excellent thing indeed when we ſhall be alwaies walking with God, and converſing with him continually. Saith Bernard, in the gracious viſitations of the Spirit of God to his ſoul, How ſweet if it were not ſo little! but then it ſhall be conſtant, we ſhall then follow the Lamb whitherſoever he goes, and walk with him in white according as he ſpeaks. Now the Church cries out and ſaith, Oh draw us, and we will run ofter thee. The Spirit of God had need to draw us here; but then we ſhall have no ſuch need of drawing, but we ſhall of our ſelves, from the inclination of our own hearts, be alwaies walking and converſing with God, we ſhall have nothing elſe to do but to walk continually with the Lord, I will walk in thy truth, unite my heart to fear thy Name: Pſal. 86. 11. It's an excellent Scripture, I will walk in thy Truth ſaith the Prophet, Oh unite my heart to the fear of thy Name. As if he ſhould ſay, I find much ſweetneſſe and good in walking in thy Truth here, Oh Lord unite my heart to the fear of thy Name, Lord keep me alwaies here, it's good being here, as Peter ſaid when Chriſt was transfigured in his glory: So, when the ſoul is walking with God, it ſaith, it is good being here: Well, when thou comeſt to Heaven thou ſhalt alwaies be with the Lord as the Scripture ſpeaks, and therefore from the excellency that thou findeſt here, learn to long after Heaven, where thou ſhalt be continually with the Lord; and take only this one note for the ſetting out of the excellency of Heaven, and I confeſſe only ſuch as have had much ſweetneſs in walking with God here, will underſtand what I mean by this; As ſuppoſe that all thoſe ſweet manifeſtations of God to thy ſoul here, and all the dartings in of the Spirit of God, all thoſe ſoul raviſhing joys that thou haſt had, ſuppoſe they were put all together, that thou hadſt them all over again at this inſtant, what a comfortable time would it be! At ſuch a time may ſome ſoul (that knows what the meaning of this point is) ſay, Oh the ſweet communion I had with God! I would give a world to have it again: Well, thou hadſt it once, but it was quickly gone, and thou haſt had it a ſecond and a third time, yea, many times when I have been with God I have had wonderful, & gracious lettings out of God to my ſoul, Oh that I had them again! Well, ſuppoſe thou hadſt now in this one quarter of an hour all the comfort and joy that ever thou hadſt in all thy life put all the times together, what a comfortable quarter of an hour would this be! Now in Heaven to all eternity thou ſhalt have that in a kind infinitely more than that for milions of yeers, even for ever. Oh! what will Heaven be! If I ſhould ſet out Heaven to a carnal man I muſt tell him of Crowns of glory, And there he ſhall ſee glorious ſights, he ſhall be freed from all kind of ſorrows, and there he ſhall have a Kingdom: But if I would ſet out Heaven to a Saint, I muſt tell him this, He ſhall have communion with God, and all thoſe ſoul-raviſhing comforts that he hath had in the preſence of God in this world, he ſhall have them all together, and infinitly more than them, Oh this is that that will make their ſouls long after Heaven, and ſet prize upon it.