A Word to Israel in the Wilderness, Section 3
Uſe 3.
The third Uſe of this Point is for Direction, to teach us how to carry our ſelves whenſoever God brings us into a Wilderneſs.
Firſt, Labour to ſecure God to you be ſure make him yours; renew your choice of him, and perfect your reſolutions of cleaving to him; i… you be clear in the juſtifying Acts o… Fa th, the Comforting Acts will be more eaſie and rational. It is ſad being without God in a Wilderneſs doubts about thy Intereſt in him, can never meet thee more unſeaſonably than now. Moſes underſtood this ſo well, that he would not ſtir out of the Wilderneſs without God, Exod. 33.15. He knew it was better being in a Wilderneſs with God, than in Canaan without him: And if Canaan that flowed with Milk and Hony be ſo uncomfortable without God, what then will a Wilderneſs be, which is barren and deſtitute of all other Comforts.
Secondly, Have an eye conſtantly upon God, to direct your way. The Children of Iſrael were to have an eye upon the Cloud in the Wilderneſs, and to move as that moved, and to ſtand ſtill, when that ſtood ſtill. Acquaint your ſelves with the Word of God, this will give Light to your Paths, in the darkeſt times. Labour to know your Duty, and be found in …t, ſo ſhall the way of Providence be comfortable to you, though you underſtand it not at preſent.
Thirdly, Carry your Bread in your hands with you. The Iſraelites took their Dough in their Kneading-Troughs with them, when they went out of Egypt, Exod. 12.34. But this was ſoon ſpent, but God gave them Bread at the Red-Sea, which was for them to ſeed upon during their Travels, Pſal. 74.14. This Bread which is your experience of Gods Mercy and Truth, you muſt be ſure to keep with you, elſe you will be apt to faint. And beſide this, Take the Bread of Sincerity and Truth, 1 Cor. 5.8. this Bread will not only ſuſtain, but comfort your hearts; it will be a continual Feaſt, Prov. 15.15. By a merry heart is meant here, an upright honeſt heart; for none beſide this can be truly merry, and this ought always to be merry and joyful.
Fourthly, Beware of Preſumption as well as Diſtruſt; As you muſt no… be diſcouraged becauſe you can ſeen… way in it; ſo you muſt not preſume to make your own way out of it.
If God bring you into a Wilderneſs, let him alone to bring you out; only follow him, go his way, wait his time. Take heed of preſuming upon your own ſtrength, and running before the Lord: It coſt Iſrael dear for preſuming to go up without warrant, out of the Wilderneſs againſt the Canaanites in the Mountains, Num. 14.40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45.
Fifthly, Look upon the Mercy you deſire and wait for, not thorow the Providences of God, but thorow the Promiſes, for they may repreſent it as a thing afar off, when the other will tell you it is near. As for the …all of Antichriſt, we would think it …ar off, if we look upon his Pomp, Power, Intereſts, and Councels; but …et us look upon the Word of God, …nd it will tell you, he ſhall fall in an …our, ſuddenly, when he is not a…are of it.
Sixtly, Study Faith and Patience, …e very Exerciſe of theſe are of great advantage to you, if God have no other deſign but to prove and improve theſe, it is worth your going into the Wilderneſs, 1 Pet. 1.7. It is a precious thing, to have our Faith tri…d, though it be by fire, ſays the Apoſtle. But why is it ſo? Becauſe God intends highly to honour the Faith of his people at laſt: He'le praiſe it, yea, which is more, he'le honour it; nay, he'le put the higheſt honour upon it that can be; for he'le put a glory upon it. When God ſhall call the whole world together, he will then tell the ſtory of your lives, before men and Angels; and that which He will inſiſt upon, to magnifie and extol in your lives, ſhall be your Faith. Lo, here is one that followed me in a Wilderneſs, in a Land that was not ſown, that would believe my word againſt all that Men or Devils, could ſuggeſt to the contrary; nay, all that I could do, could not make him diſtruſt what I ſaid. Thus will God honour Faith, when it is found in a VVilderneſs. I might preſs you to ſtudy and exerciſe this, from ſeveral Conſiderations. But Ile but add two,
Firſt, God will take it kindly, yea, exceeding kindly, if thou followeſt him believingly in a VVilderneſs. I do not know any thing that is more acceptable to him, than this: See this in Iſrael, Jer. 2.2. I remember the kindneſs of thy youth, the Love of thine Eſpouſals when thou wenteſt after me in a Wilderneſs, in a Land that was not ſown. The Lord took this ſo kindly, that he is mindful of it many Generations afterwards; yea, he would not forget this at a time, when he was highly provoked, and was about to remove them out of their Land for their Iniquities. Shew kindneſs to God this way, and thou haſt ingaged him to be kind to thee, as long as thou liveſt; nay, it may be remembred to thy Childrens Children.
Secondly, You will not only find God kind to you, but in ſo doing you will be kind to your own ſouls. You will find a believing frame of ſpirit exceeding comfortable: Faith will fetch in thoſe comforts which you want, and put you into the poſſeſſion of thoſe Mercies which you wait for. It will make your Comforts real, and your wants but ſeeming: Mark the Expreſſion of the Apoſtle, 2 Cor. 6.10. As ſorrowful, yet always rejoycing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet poſſeſſing all things.
Our wants and our troubles, ſeem to be great and many, but they are but Shadows and Phantaſms; they exiſt moſt in opinion of others: but our Comforts and Enjoyments are ſubſtantial. Vvhile we ſeem to be ſorrowful, we are alway joyful, and while we ſeem to have nothing, we do really poſſeſs all things, He injoys God in Chriſt who is all in all, and in Patience he poſſeſſeth his own ſoul; and he is content with thoſe things which he hath, and ſo hath as much comfort, as if he had the actual injoyment of all the world. A Believer's injoyments under wants, are more real than an Unbeliever's are in the midſt of all his plenty and fulneſs; for an unbeliever's comforts and injoyments are but ſeeming; he is as if he had al things, but his wants are real, he poſſeſſeth nothing. Therefore walk by Faith, and you will have more comfort in your ſtreights, than other men have in their greateſt abundance.
And as you muſt ſtudy Faith, ſo be ſure to let Patience have her perfect work, Jam, 1.4. for if any thing will perfect you, this wil do it; Patience nouriſhes and cheriſhes every grace in the ſoul, and raiſes them to the greateſt degrees of perfection attainable here. God often times does that by ſtreights and troubles, which would not be effected by all our Liberty and Proſperity, and all other means.
Seventhly, Draw no Concluſion from any Providence, till thou haſt lookt over former times, and compared it with things which are paſt, whether it be Publick or Private, whether it reſpects the Church of God, or thine own Perſon or Family. Suppoſe thou ſhouldeſt ſee the Church of God in great affliction, yet look back and ſee how it was when Moſes was born: Hadſt thou lived in thoſe days, would not thy heart have ſunk with fear much more? There was a deſign to root out Iſrael. Look to the preſent Generation, they were Slaves to the Egyptians; they were wearied with making Bricks, and in the next Generation, their Names were like to be blotted out. The Male-Children muſt be all kill'd, and becauſe the Midwives would not do it, the common people muſt be Commiſſioned for that purpoſe, Exod. 1.22. Wha… fears and cares muſt they needs have whoſe Children lay at the mercy o… every Villain, who might at their pleaſure ſnatch them from their Mothers Breaſts, and daſh their Brains out againſt the ſtones: Here was nothing but Death to be expected for their little ones, and miſerable ſlavery for themſelves. Here was no hope of Freedom from hence; a Baniſhment, though it had been into a howling Wilderneſs, would have been counted a Mercy. Theſe were troubles indeed, yet God delivered his people from theſe; though the Buſh did burn, yet it was not conſumed.
Hadſt thou lived in Jezabels days, What wouldſt thou have ſaid concerning the Lord's Prophet, when ſhe hunted after Elijah's life? Surely they will be all cut off. When the Prophets were to be found in Caves only, (1 Kings 18.13.) hid to ſecure their lives; yet God preſerved them, and fed them with Bread and Water. Or hadſt thou lived in the days of wicked Haman, when the Decree was gone forth againſt all the people of God, and the time to deſtroy and to kill them, was appointed and fixt by an unalterable Decree; and theſe poor people had great and potent Enemies, who waited for the Execution of it, who thirſted for the blood of theſe poor Jews: Wouldſt thou not now, have given up all for loſt? Yet, then God ſteps in, and by wonderful Providences delivers them, and brings their Enemies in their room.
Or for thy own particular; wer't thou ever brought lower than Joſeph was in Egypt? That from a Slave was made a Priſoner, and had, beſide h…s Irons, the weight of a great mans Diſpleaſure laid upon him, and this in a ſtrange Country, where he had none to pitty, or to help him? Yet ſee what Iſſue God gave to his troubles.
Or was it ever ſo bad with thee as with David who was baniſht his own Country, and in a ſtrange Land; is at once ſtript of all he hath; his wives, Children, Goods at once taken away, and that which added to his Affliction, none of the people pitty, him, but loaded him with their Curſes and Threatnings; they talked of ſtoning him, 1 Sam. 30.6. But David incouraged himſelf, in the Lord his God.
What ever thy Condition be, upon inquiry thou wilt ſee, it is no other than what the people of God have paſſed thorow heretofore, and the conſideration that others have paſt thorow it before, is matter of hope to thee. He that hath delivered, can ſtill deliver, his Arm is not ſhortened. Nay, ſhouldeſt thou find any thing that ſhould make thy Condition more ſad and diſmal, than any that thou canſt think upon, yet it will not juſtifie thy Diſtruſts; for doubtleſs Iſrael had no Precedents of any people delivered from ſuch a Bondage, as Egypt, or provided for in ſuch a Wilderneſs as they were to paſs thorow; yet their Diſtruſt was a Provocation. But if thy Condition could be ſingular from all that ever were in the world before thee, then to depend upon God were an honour to your Faith; whereas Dependance in this cauſe where we have Precedents, are but the nobler Exerciſes of Rea…on. Believe once for thy Juſtification, and …hou mayſt reaſon out thy Comfort and Pro…ection; for this follows undeniably, Rom. ….32. If God hath given thee Chriſt, how ſhall he not with him, freely give thee all things. When thou haſt cloſed with Chriſt, and intereſted thy ſelf in God by Faith, it is the work of Reaſon to ſhake off all doubts and fears. Thus did David, Pſal. 42.5.11. reaſon with his heart againſt D…j…ction.
Ask but a Reaſon of thy heart for being troubled, and thy trouble will vaniſh; for thou haſt no more reaſon for thy fears, and diſquiets than a wicked man hath for his hopes and joys; they both ariſe from want of conſideration, Pſal. 116.11. I ſaid in my haſte, all men are lyars. A Chriſtians fears ariſe through haſte, and a due and right exerciſe of Reaſon will quell them all, becauſe there is no Reaſon for them; they cannot indure a ſtrict Examination: And how much better is it to have fears, that are groundleſs, and hopes that are reaſonable (as the Godly have,) than groundleſs hopes, and reaſonable well grounded fears, as every wicked man hath.
Eighthly, Do not onelyonly labour againſt Unbelief and Diſtruſt, but ſtrive for the higheſt acts of Faith, endeavour not only to hope, but to rejoyce; not only to be patient, but thankful; think it not enough that thou doſt eſcape thoſe Rocks upon which the people of God, have been ready to ſtumble in thy Condition; but ſtrive to imitat… thoſe that have excelled, and done worthily in the like caſe: the 11th. to the Hebrews, will afford you many glorious Examples. Remember that God expects more from you, then he did from Iſrael in the Wilderneſs, he calls you to higher and more noble duties, becauſe he hath revealed more Grace, and given greater helps to you: Two things eſpecially God expects from you more than he did from them.
Firſt, All patience, and long-ſuffering with joyfulneſs, Col. 1.11.
Secondly, To give thanks in every thing, 1 Theſ. 5.18. Theſe are difficult, yet theſe are your duties, eſpecially who live under the Goſpel. It was well if Iſrael could bear ſome of Gods Providences, for them to hold up under them without murmuring, was much; but God requires of you not only to ſubmit, but to be thankful, not only to bear Affliction patiently, but joyfully.
Look not therefore on your Afflictions and Troubles, as a way to Heaven, but look for Heaven in them; let your expectations of Glory increaſe with your increaſe of Troubles in the world; look for, labour for, and expreſs a Spirit of Glory reſting upon your ſpirits.
To Conclude, Stand ſtill and conſider, and conſidering admire the goodneſs of God, who hath ſo provided for thee in this world, that thou mayſt be Afflicted and Perſecuted, but thou canſt not be miſerable; there is no Condition in which thou haſt not cauſe of rejoycing: If thou art without Comfort, it is thine own fault, God hath made proviſion that thy joy may be full. Thou canſt not fall ſo low, but thou mayſt hold faſt on the Lord who is able to raiſe thee up; and whatever thy Condition be, it is not only no Preſumption, but it is thy Duty to hope in him, he hath not only allowed, but Commanded thee to hope in him: And believe Chriſtian, a commanded confidence cannot miſcarry; ſuch a hope will not make thee aſhamed.
FINIS.
End of the text · John Chishull, A Word to Israel in the Wilderness (1668)