Two Treatises, Treatise 2 · Chapter 10
CHAP. X. An Objection concerning Gods hiding of his face, Anſwered in ſix Particulars.
IF it be a ſpiritual diſcertion, if the Lord ſeems to withdraw himſelf from the ſpirits of his ſervants, What Rules ſhould be given there, for one yet to walk with God in the time of Spiritual diſcertion?
I have divers things to ſpeak to thoſe that God hath ſeemed to withdraw himſelf from.
Object. You will ſay, You have told us of the excellency of walking with God, and we account it the happineſs of our lives to walk with him; Oh but God will not walk with me, but withdraws himſelf from my ſoul ſo that I cannot ſee him, and hides himſelf from me.
Now I have divers things to ſay to thee:
In the firſt place, Be of good comfort; It's a good ſign, that God hath made thee know what it is to walk with him, that canſt be ſenſible of his withdrawings; there is a generation of people in the world that go on in a ſlight kind of way in the profeſſion of Religion, and they know not what it is to be ſenſible of any of Gods withdrawings from them, you never hear them complain of any ſuch thing, they know not what it means; therefore (I ſay) it's a good ſign that thou knoweſt what it is to walk with God becauſe thou art ſenſible of any of Gods withdrawings from thee.
Secondly, Examine whether thou haſt not ſometimes ſhut out God from thee, when God hath offered himſelf to walk with thee. Hath not God ſometimes tendred himſelf, and even taken thee by the hand to walk with thee, and thou haſt not bin at leaſure then, thy mind hath been about ſomewhat elſe? Oh! therefore be humbled before him for all thy unworthy dealings with him, and for all thy declynings from him; Know, God calls thee to this, There hath been many wandrings of thy ſpirit from God, Oh that thou couldſt but ſay in reſpect of thy ſpiritual wandrings, as the Prophet David ſaith in reſpect of his wandrings, in Pſal 56. 8. Thou telleſt my wandrings, put thou my tears into thy bottle, are they not in thy book? Oh that thou couldſt but ſay ſo! Lord, there hath been many wandrings of my ſpirit, but Lord, put my tears into thy bottle; ſutable to my wandrings ſo are my tears, Oh! it grieves me to the ſoul that ever I have grieved thy Spirit; when thy ſpirit hath even taken me by the hand to walk with thee I have withdrawn my ſelf, and upon that thy Spirit hath been grieved; Oh it grieves my ſoul! Oh Lord, thou haſt taken notice of my wandrings, take notice of my tears that are ſutable.
Thirdly, It is better that God withdraw, than that we withdraw. I beſeech you obſerve it: If God withdraws from you it is your affliction: but if you withdraw from God, it is your ſin; and ſin is worſe than affliction, better bear any affliction, yea ſpiritual afflictions than commit ſin; and that you ſhould labor to be ſenſible of: you that complain of God's withdrawing from you, and that God will not walk with you; Be you more ſenſible of your own withdrawings as a greater evil to you than Gods? It's true, Gods withdrawing from me it is a ſore affliction above all that ever befell me in this world; but my withdrawing from him it is a greater burden to me. And it may be if God did not withdraw from thee, thou wouldſt withdraw from him: And many times God doth withdraw from his people to prevent his peoples withdrawing from him. As many times the mother will withdraw her ſelfe from the child that the child may not be wandring from her. And this may be the very end why God withdraws, he ſees thy heart begins to be looſe, wanton, ſlight, and vain, and therefore it is that he hides himſelf, that thou maieſt be awakened and ſenſible of the danger that thou art in by withdrawing thy ſelf from God; that ſo thou maieſt cleave to him the more fully, and that thy ſoul may follow more after him, that thou maieſt lift up thy heart and cry more earneſtly after God. But now, if God be withdrawn, & the ſoul be not ſo ſenſible as to cry after him, or if it ſhould leave off crying; then ſuch a one is in a dangerous condion indeed. As if a poor child had loſt the father or mother and were crying after them; at length comes ſome begger with an apple or plumb and ſteals away the child, and then the child is quiet for the preſent; Oh take heed of that, depart not from the Lord, keep crying after him in all his withdrawings.
Fourthly, Gods withdrawing of comfort is not alwaies the withdrawing of his preſence: Thou maieſt miſtake, thou thinkeſt that God is withdrawn, why? becauſe he hath withdarwn comfort; there may be a great miſtake in this: God (I ſay) may withdraw comfort, and not withdraw his preſence, take this for a certain rule and make much uſe of it, when comforts are gone: Do not ſay when comforts are gone, therefore the preſence of God is gone, there may be as ful and as gracious a preſence of God when comforts are gone as ever there was: he may be preſent with his graces and ſupport; as in Pſal. 63. 8. My ſoul followeth hard after thee, thy right hand upholdeth me; though thou ſeemeſt to be gone. So, God may be preſent to uphold thee, and to ſtrengthen thee, and to exerciſe thy faith in him, and that may be as acceptable to God: The exerciſe of faith in the want of comfort may have as much of God in it as all the comfort that ever thou hadſt in all thy life; and therefore do not ſay, that Gods preſence is gone becauſe comforts are gone: The beams of the Sun in the winter time is not ſo effectual as the influence of the Sun when it is in a cloud in the ſummer time: Is the preſence of the Sun gone in the ſummer becauſe there's a cloud between the ſun and you? It may be a child will think, Oh the Sun is gone out of the firmament becauſe there's a cloud: I but I know there's the Sun ſtill, for there's the influence of the Sun, there's ſome heat in the day, and there's ſome light wherby I may ſee to do my work, though I have not that luſtre as before; Now when the Sun ſhines in winter it ſhines bright but there's not that influence of the ſun upon the earth as makes the plants grow: So, ſometimes the beams of Gods preſence may be clouded to a Chriſtian by reaſon of outward afflictions, and yet there may be more of Gods preſence than at another time, when it ſhall ſhine in the beauty of it in the comfotrs of a Chriſtian for ſo I compare the ſhining of the Comforts of a Chriſtian to the ſhining of the Sun in the winter, that ſometimes have no influence to ſanctifie the heart, As in winter times the Sun hath not that influence to fructifie the ground, but at other times though the Sun be clouded yet it hath influence to make the ground fruitful; ſo though God may not ſhine upon thee in regard of outward comforts, yet he may ſhine in upon thy ſoul and make thee to increaſe and grow in goodneſs more than ever before.
Fifthly, If thou canſt not ſee Gods face, yet hearken and ſee if thou canſt not hear his voice, and follow that. Doeſt thou come to the Word and there hear his voice? Is not God pleaſed to ſpeak to thy ſoul out of his Word? Thou goeſt perhaps into thy cloſet and canſt not ſee his face there as thou wert wont to do, yet bleſſe him that thou canſt hear his voice, and follow his voice though it be in the dark. As now, if a child be going with the father and it be loſt, yet if the child cries, and the father or mother ſpeaks, that quiets the child very much; ſo it is with the children of God, when they cannot ſee Gods face, yet they may hear Gods voice: They cannot have thoſe comforts from God as ſometimes they have had; thoſe ſweet manifeſtations of the love of God ſhed abroad into their hearts; but when they come to the Word, they cannot but ſay that they hear their fathers voice; Perhaps the word is not a comforting word to thee as hereto fore, I but is it not a directing word, an inſtructing word, an inlightening word? Oh this now ſhould ſupport thee for the preſent.
Sixthly, All that I will ſay further is this, Keep thy ſelf in a waiting frame for God: Do not determine that becauſe the Lord is gone he will ever be gone; Oh no, but keep ſtill in the waies of God waiting for him, reſolve, that though God leaves thee, yet thou wilt not leave the path in which God was heretofore: I am ſure that God was once here, Oh then keep the path wherein thou wert wont to meet with God, for thou ſhalt meet with him again: It's better to keep the path, the ordinary high-way of God, for you are more like to meet with God there than if you ſhould go out of the way: I'le give you a Scripture or two for that and ſo conclude. The firſt is in Pſal. 101. 2. I will behave my ſelf wiſely in a perfect way, Oh when, wilt thou come unto me! That which I quote this for is this, the reſolution of David to behave himſelf wiſely in a perfect way, together with his panting after the preſence of God, Oh when wilt thou come unto me! as if he ſhould ſay, Lord, Thou art abſent from me now, but Lord, I will not go out of the way wherein I was wont to find thee, Oh when wilt thou come! I will not determine that I ſhall never ſee thee in this way as heretofore I have done, no, but I hope I ſhal afterwards meet thee. And ſo in the 119. Pſalm, 8. verſe, I will keep thy Statutes; what then? Oh forſake me not utterly. It ſeems that the Lord for the preſent to Davids apprehenſion had forſaken him: but what was Davids reſolution? God hath forſaken me and I'le forſake him? Oh no, But I'le keep thy Statutes, and Oh! leave me not utterly. So keep on in the waies of God ſtill, go on in his way and wait for the preſence of God until he come; and conclude this, Surely, he will come. Be not like to children, that becauſe they ſee the Sun going down, therefore they conclude that the Sun is gone, and will never come again. Though God ſeems to withdraw the light of his face from thee, do not conclude and determine, well, I ſhall never have thoſe comforts from God, in communion with God, in walking with God, as once I was wont to have; do not ſay ſo, but go on, and keep in the waies of God, wait upon him and look up towards him, and ſo thou maieſt come to have as much Communion, Sweetneſs, and Joy in God as ever thou hadſt in all thy life. And now know, that God cals for the work of faith in ſuch times as theſe are, now God calls thee to walk by faith and not by ſence.
FINIS.