The Touchstone of Sincerity, Chapter 8
CHAP. VIII.
Opening the Tryals of sincerity and hypocrisie sufferings upon the account of Religion.
SECT. I.
WE are now arrived at … la…t tryal of grace propo… ded, viz. bv sufferings for Religion.
Thousands of Hypocrites embarque the… selves in the profession of Religion i… Calm; but if the wind riseth, and the …, and they see Religion will not tra…port them safely to the Cape of their eart… hopes and expectations; they desire to … landed again assoon as may be, for they … intended to ride out a strom for Ch… so you find Matth. 13. 20, 21. He du… for a while, but when tribulation or persecu… ariseth because of the word, by & by he is offen…
But yet it is not every Tryal by sufferi… that seperates gold form dross, and there… my business will be to shew,
1. First, When the fire of sufferings … persecution is hot and vehement enough separate them.
2. Secondly, Why it must needs disco… hypocrisie when it is at that height.
3. Thirdly, What advantages sin… Grace hath to endure that severe and sh… tr…al.
SECT. II.
NOW the fire of persecution or sufferings for Religion may be judged …ense and high enough to separate gold …nd dross.
First, When Religion exposess us to emi…ent hazard of our deepest and dearest in…rests in this world. Such are our liberties, …tates, and lives: now'tis a fierce and fiery …yal indeed. Sometimes it exposes the li…erties of its professours, Revel. 2. 10. The …vil shall cast some of you into prison: some…mes their estates, Heb. 10. 34. ye took joy…lly the spoiling of your goods; and sometimes …eir lives, Heb. 11. 37. They were stoned they …ere sawn asunder, they were slain with the …ord. Whilest it goes no higher than some …all inconveniencies of life, rep…ation & …nse of honour will hold a false heart; …t when it comes to this, few will be found …le to endure it, but those that expect to …ve no …ore by Religion but thei… souls, and …count themselves in good case if they can …t save them, with the loss of all that is dear … them in this world.
Here the false heart boggles, here it usual…ades and fau…ters.
Secondly; The fiery Tryal is then high, …hen there remains no visible ho…es of deli…rance or outward incouragements to sense, that the Scene, will alter: when we see not ou… Signs, there is no more any prophet; nor any tha… can tell us how long, as the case with the Churc… was in Psal. 74. 9. then their hands hang down, and their hearts faint: nor is it to be wondred at, when the length of trouble… prove so sore a temptation even to the up…right, to put forth their hands to iniquity, a… it is Psal. 125. 3. if such a temptation shak… such men as build on the rock, it must qui… overturn those whose foundation is b… sand.
Thirdly, When a false professour is enga…ged alone in sufferings, and is singled o… from the herd as a deer to be run down now it's a thousand to one but he quits Re…ligion to save himself: good company wi… encourag… a faint hearted traveller to jogg … a great way: but if he be forsaken by all▪ … Paul was, no man to stand by him if left …lone, as Elijah was, what can encourage hi… to hold out?
Indeed if they had the same invisible s…ports those good men had, that the Lord w… with them, that would keep them steady but wanting that encouragement from wit… in, and all shrinking away from withou… they quickly tyre downright.
Fourthly, When near relations and in … mates oppose and tempt us. The Prop… speaks of a time When a mans … …hall be the men of his own house, it may be …he wife of his bosome, Mica. 7. 5, 6. O …hat a tryal is that which Christ mentions …n Luke 14. 26. when we must hate Fa…her and Mother, Wife and Children, or quit …laim to Christ and heaven! This is hard …ork indeed.
How hard did that truly noble and re…owned Galeacius Caracciolus find this! O …hat a conflict found he in his bowels! Now …hrist and our dearest interest come to meet …ke two men upon a narrow bridge, if one … forward, the other must go back, and …w the predominant interest can no long… be concealed.
Fifthly, When powerful temptations are …ixed with cruel sufferings, when we are …ongly tempted, as well as cruelly persecu…d; this blows up the fire to a vehement …ight. This was the tryal of those preci…s primitive believers, He…. 11. 35, 37. They …re stoned, they were sawn asunder, they wer… …pted: here was life, liberty and prefer…nt set upon one hand; and death in the …st formidable shape upon the other. This …not but be a great tryal to any: but es…ially when a cruel death, & tender temp…eet; then the tryal goes high indeed.
SECT. III.
ANd that such sufferings as these will discover the falseness and rottenness of mens hearts cannot be doubted, if yo… consider that this is the fire designed b… God for this very use and purpose to sep… rate the gold from the dross, so you will fin… it, 1. Pet. 4. 12. Beloved think it … strange concerning the fiery tyral, which is … try you,(i.e.) the very design and aim … providence in permitting and ordering the… is to try you. The design of Satan is to d… stroy you, but Gods design is to try you. U… on this account you find the hour of pe… … cution (in a suitable notion) call'd the … of temptation, or probation, Rev. 3. 10. … then professours are sifted to the very bra… …earched to the very bottom principles. T… is the day that burns as an Oven, in which … the proud, and all that do wickedly shall be as …ble, Mal. 4. 1. for,
1. First, In that day the predominant …terest must appear, and be discovered: it … be concealed no longer, no man can … two masters, saith Christ, Luke 16. 13. as may serve many masters, if they all comma… the same things, or things subordinate … each other; but he cannot serve two ma…ers if their Commands clash and interf… with each other; and such are the … of Chirst and the flesh in a suff…ing hour: Christ saith, …e thou f…ithful to death; the flesh saith, spare thy self▪ and … the comforts of life. Christ saith, He … … Father, or Mother, Wife or Children, … ands or Inheritances more than me, is not …orthy of me. Flesh saith, he that will grieve …d break the hearts of such dear relations, …d forsake when he might keep such earth… accommodations, is not worthy of them.
Thus the two interests come in sull oppo…ion: and now have but patience to wait little, and you shall discern which is pre…ominant. A dog follows tow men while they …th walk one way; and you know not …hich of the two is his master; stay but a little … their path parts, & then you shall quick… see who is his master. So is it in this case.
2. Secondly, In that day sen…ible supports …l, and all a mans relief comes in by the …re and immediate actings of faith; and …ere it not for those reliefs, his heart would …on faint and dye away under discourage…ents, 2. Cor. 4. 17, 18. We faint not, whilst … look not at the things which are seen, for they … temporal, but at the things which are not seen, … they are External: q.d longer than we …eep our eye intently fixed upon the invisi…e and eternal things in the coming world; … feel our selves fainting, and dying away …der the troubles & afflictions of this world. …ad fainted(saith David) if I had not believed. …ow then suppose ye shall the Hypocrite live … such a time, who hath no fiath to support …m? no relief but what comes in through … senses?
3. Thirdly, In that day all meer Notion and Speculations about Religion vanish, an… nothing relieves and satisfies the suffe…ing soul, but what it really believes, and what … hath satisfying proof and experience of … himself There are a great many p…et… pleasing notions with which our minds a… entertained with some delight in times … peace, which can do us no service at all i… the day of trouble: and for our speculati… unpracticable knowledge of the greate… truths in Religion, as little service is to be ex…pected form them. Except we have bette… evidence and security about them, we shal… beloth to venture all upon the credit of them that's a very considerable passage to this pu…pose in Heb. 10. 34. Ye took joyfully the spoi…ing of your goods, [knowing in your selves.] th… ye have in heaven a better and more enduring substance: this knowing in our selves is by i… ward sensible experience, taste, and feeling which is abundantly satisfying to the soul and …tands opposed to all that tradition… knowledge we receive from others; which as it leaves the mind flucturating, so the hea… also dead and comfortless.
4. Fourthly, In that day the root & found…tion of a mans faith and hope is tryed, a… then they that have built upon the sand mu needs fail: for every thing is as its found…tion is: principles are to us, what a root to a tree; or a foundation to an house, a …aw, or grand defect there ruines all: this we find to be the very scope of those two famous pa…ables, Luke 14. 25. and Matth. 13. 21. lesser troubles shake b…t the branches, but these try the root: if no…hing be found …here but self ends, the force of education, the …nfluence of examples; surely when the winds rise high, and beat upon it, they will quickly lay the lostiest professour even with …he ground.
And thus you see what a Crisis an hour of temptation, the suffering hour is, & what discoveries of Hypocrisie it must needs make; …or now the Hypocrite like Orpha will forsake Religion, but sincerity will make the soul …leave to it, as Ruth did to Naomi.
SECT. IV.
…. WHat advantages sincerity gives the soul for its establishment & perseverance in suffering times, I shall briefly account for in the following particulars.
1. First, Sincere godliness dethrones that Idol the love of this world, in all true Christians; and this is it that makes men shrink and flinch from Christ in a day of suffer…ng I do not deny but even believers them…elves love the world too much, but they …ove it not as their chief good; it is not thier portion or happiness, if any man so love the world, the love of the Father is not in him, 1 Joh. 2. 15. How much soever a sincere Christian loves the world, yet still it is in subordination to the love God, Ioh. 21▪ 15. Sincerity can consist with no other love of the world; it will not suffer such a cursed … to grow under its shadow.
Now, what is it but this inordinate s… pream love of the Creature that makes me… forsake Christ in time of temptation? this was the ruine of that young man, Matth. 19▪ 22. he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. This was the overthrow o… Demas, 2. Tim. 4. 10. he hath forsaken m… (saith the Apostle) having loved this presen… world: the lvoe of this world like sap in green wood will not suffer you to burn fo… Christ; get but the heart mor…ified to the creature, by a discovery of better things in heaven; and it will establish and fix your spirits, that it shall not be in the power o… creatures to shake you off from Christ your foundation.
2. Secondly, Sincerity kni…s the soul… to Ch…ist… and union with him secures us in the grea… tryals: munimur quartenus unimur. The Hy…pocrite having no …nion with Christ, can have no communion with him; nor communications of grace from him; and so that little stock of his own being quickly spent, (I mean natural courage & resoution) and no incomes form Christ, he must needs give up in a short time; but it is with a believer in a day of trouble, as it is with a Garison besieged by Land, buyt free and open to the Sea; whence fresh supplies are daily sent in to relieve it: see 2 Cor. …. 5. as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our con…a…ion also aboundeth by Christ: fresh aides and daily supplyes proportionable to our expences, and decays of strength. So Col. …. …, Strengthned with all might in the inner man, …ccording to his glorious power; unto all pati…nce, and long suffering with joyfulness: and this …s the believers great advantage by his union with Christ in a day of tryal.
3. Thirdly, As sincerity unites the soul with Christ, so it sets the heart upon heaven …nd things eternal, Col. 3. 1. &c. surely no…hing is more conducive to our stability than his, in the hour of temptation.
This is the most effectual preservative from …emptations upon the right hand, and upon …he le…t. Moses could cast a Kingdom at …is heels, despise the riches, pleasu…es and ho…ours of Egypt, whilst his eye was fixed up in him that is invisible; and had respect to …e recompence of reward, Heb. 11. 24, 25, 6. And it was a brave reply of the Forty …artyrs to Valence the Emperour, tempting …em with the preferments and honours of …e world; why offer you these trifles to us, when you know the whole world is contemned by us? And for temptations on the left hand, how little can they move that soul, who realizes the glory of the approaching world, & sees the afflictions & sufferings of this world preparing him for, and hastening him to the enjoyment of it; temptations meet but with cold entertainment from such souls.
4. Fourthly, Sincerity drives but one design, and that is to please and enjoy God; and what can more establish and fix the soul in the hour of temptations than this? The reason why the Hypocrite is unstable in all…his ways, is given us by the Apostle Iames 1. 8. he is a double minded man foreign a man of two souls in one body; as a prophane wretch once boasted, that he had one soul for God, another for any thing: but all the designs of a gracious heart, are united in one: and so the intire stream of his affections runs strong.
'Tis base by ends & self-interests, that like a great many ditches cut out of the bank of a River, draw away the stream out of its proper Chanel, and make its waters fail: but if the heart be united for God as the expre…ion is, Psal. 86. 11. then we may say of such a Christian, as was said of a young Roman, quicquid vult, what he doth, is done with all his might. And this was the ground of valdè valt; that saying, liberet me Deus ab …omine unius tantùm negotii: a man of one only design puts to all puts to all his strength to càrry it: nothing can stand before him.
5. Fifthly, Sincerity brings a mans will into subjection to the will of God; and this being done, the greatest danger and difficulty is over with such a man. This is that holy oyl, which makes the wheels of the soul run nimbly even in difficult paths of obedience, non tardat uncta rota. Let but a man be once brought to that, The will of the Lord be done; as it is, Acts 21. 13. to see the highest reason of cheerful obedience in the holy, just and good will of God; and then the difficulty is over: he can suffer quietly, what men inflict unjustly.
6. Sixthly, Sincerity takes its measures of present things by the rules of fai…h, and e…ernity: it goes not by the same reckoning & account that others do, who judge of things by sense, and the respects they have to the present world: 2 Cor. 4. 18. We look not at the things th… are seen, but at the things that are not seen; and this is there given as the reason of his not fainting under present difficulties: so Rom. 8. 18. I reckon that the sufferings of the present time, are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us: he will not allow himself to undervalue eternal glory by once mentioning present sufferings, in a way of bemoaning himself for them: a steady eye upon the other world makes us more than Conquerours over the troubles of this world.
7. Seventhly, To conclude, Sincerity alone hath all the heavenly aids and assistances to stability and perseverance in suffering times. Upright ones (and such only) have Christs intercession in heaven for them, Rom. 8. 34. The spirits consolation in all their troubles, 1 Pet. 4. 14. the spirit of glory & of God resteth on them: the beneficial ministry of Angels, who are sent forth upon their account, Heb. 1. 14. A stock of Prayers going for them all the world over, Eph. 6. 18. Multitudes of precious promises in the Scriptures, for every line, word & syllable of which the faithfulness of God stands engaged: so that it's impossible such gold can perish in the fire.
And thus of the several ways by which grace is here tryed.