Small Offers Towards the Service of the Tabernacle, Discourse 3
The TRYED CHRISTIAN. A Discourse delivered, upon Recovery from SICKNESS
IOB. XXIII. 10.
When He hath Tryed me, I shall come forth as GOLD.
THere was a Man in the Land of Arabia, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright. The Church of GOD is enriched with an excellent History, in an elegant Poesie, relating the great Prosperity, the sad Adversity, and strange Recovery of that perfect and upright man. Tis probable, that he was an Edomite, and the very Iobab whom Esau was Great-Grandfather unto; but this I am sure of, He was an Israelite indeed! From a Rich and Fair estate, He suddenly became, As poor as Iob; and while he was in this poor Condition, his noble Friends gave him their friendly Visits and Respects. Many admirable Dialogues now passed between them; wherein they endeavoured to Accuse and Convince him of some remarkable Iniquity, as the Cause of his Calamity; and he laboured to vindicate himself; to assert his own Integrity and Sincerity.
In our Context here, the good man is expressing his Willingness and Readiness to appear before the Judgement-seat of God; and in our Text, he declares what he expects would be the Result of his Tryals by the Lord. He comforts himself by those two Considerations. First, that God's Knowledge did reach him. He saith, God knowes the way that is in me; q. d. Tho I cannot see God, yet God can see me; and the most inward Purposes or Appetites of my mind, are not concealed from Him. And Next, that God's Tryal would clear him. This is the Article that lyes before us to be Explained and Improved; and the Doctrine, which may guide our Discourse upon it, is,
That Good men come forth as GOLD, under and after the Trials of the Almighty God.
It is by the ensuing Propositions that we may arrive to right thoughts about the Truth before us.
Proposition. I.
There is a various Tryal which the God of Heaven causes to pass upon His people. No Christian can be without his Tryals. But there are especialy two sorts of Tryals which ou… God will subject us all unto. First,
There are the Trials of Divine Examinations, Which will be critical upon us. Tis said in Psal. 11. 4, 5. The Lords eyes behold, and His ey-lids try the children of men; the Lord sounds (as the French Translation hath it) both the righteous and the wicked. Every man in the world falls under the Notice, and so, under the Tryal of the omniscient God. The all-seeing Eyes of God, as it were, Examine us, and His Ey-lids knit themselves for a Scrutiny into our Hearts and lives. The blessed God will pass a Iudgment, after a Trial upon us; whether we truly love Him and seek Him, or no. We are told in Psal. 7. 9. The righteous God trieth the Hearts and the Reins; an Assertion, an Expression, it may be, more than seven times repeted in the Word of God! The Examination and Observation of God, extends it self to the most interior parts of men; the motions of their very Hearts and Reins come under His exactest Cognizance. Every man may so far say after that godly man, in Psal. 17. 3. Lord, thou hast proved my heart, thou hast visited me, thiu hast tried me. To use a Similitude made Legitimate and Canonical by the Apostle himself, in Heb. 4. 13. The Sacrificeing Knife of old, never did penetrate so far into the Bowels of the Creatures it was imployed upon; it never laid them so …aked and open, before the standers-by; as the examining Eye of God makes a discovery of what is in our Souls and our wayes.
Secondly, There are the Trials of Divine Dispensations which we must have Experience of▪ God's Providences are our Probations; by them we are tried what we are. The things which befal us in the world, fetch out of us, those things which manifest what metal we are made of. Particularly, tis said in 2. Cor. 6. 3, 7. We are Approved by things on the Right hand and on the Left.
First, The Merciful Dispensations of God, are Trials of us: these are Trials on the Right hand. It is a sacred Proverb, in Prov. 27. 21. As the Fining-pot for silver, and the Furnace for Gold, so is a man to his praise; or so the mouth which praises any one, is to try him. As when a man is praised by his Neighbour, so when a man is Blessed of his Maker, he is then tried unto the utmost. Honours from below, do Indicare virum; they soon Try & show the man that is perfum'd therewith; and the same is done by Merc…es from above. Therein the Lord brings us, as He did the Souldiers of Gideon, to a River of Plenty, and He saies, as in Iudg. 7. 4. Now I will try them there. The Favours of God, as it were, put us into a Crucible, in a Furnace, where it soon becomes apparent, whether we fear him or no. They are so many Trials, Whether we will hear God speaking to us in our prosperity; or whether when we wax fat, we shall kick against the Lord.
Secondly, The Afflictive Dispensations of God, are likewise Tryals of us. And these are Trials on the Left hand. So much is intimated in 1. Pet. 1. 6, 7. Ye are in heaviness thro' many Temptations, that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than that of gold which perisheth, though it be tried with fire, may be found unto praise. All Afflictions are Tentations; by them we are tried whether we have the Grace of God in us or no. Tis Faith, but not Faith alone, which our Troubles here are the Trials of. A Sick-bed is a Furnace, a Reproach is a Furnace, a Loss, or a Goal is a Furnace, in which tis tried whether we have the spirits, not of Bastards, but of Children in us. Hence we read of A great Tryal of Affliction. Afflicted persons may make that Confession in Ps. 66. 10, 11, Thou, O God, hast proved us, thou hast tried us as silver is tried; thou hast laid Affliction upon our loins. Hereby we are Try'd whether we will despise the Chastning of the Lord, or whether we will faint when rebuked of Him.
Proposition II.
Upon the Trials of God, good men come forth as gold.
There is that in Gold, which good men may be compar'd unto. We read in Deut. 1. 1. about the mountains of Dizahab: that is, the Golden mountains; because Gold was probably dug from thence. The Churches of God in the world, are such Mountains of gold. Every true Believer is a rich lump of Gold before the Lord. Of such persons tis said in Lam. 4. 2. They are the precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold. There are diverse properties in Gold, which a good man will have a blessed Resemblance of. I should offer you not Gold, but Hay and stubble if I should read you here a Lecture of Metallogy, or discourse to you all that I could Philosophize about this King of Metals. Let me only touch on a few common Reflections, As now,
Gold is a pure metal. Hence we read near some scores of times in the sacred Scripture, about pure Gold. It will not readily admit a Mixture▪ or an Alloy with more imperfect Metals; unless with Silver: Especially the Dust-gold of Guinea, Gold whereof Iob saith, tis Dust of gold: wonderful is the Purity thereof! Thus a good man is a pure man; He is one of those that are called in Matth. 5. 8. The pure in heart: He is pure in his Ends, pure in his principles, pure in his practises, pure from the dross of Lust: and he is not so much Nominally as really, A Puritan.
Again▪ Gold is a Ductil Metal. Tis marvellously extensible when beaten into Leaves; twere incredible to tell how far one Grain of Gold may be extended and continued. So dense and compacted, and united, are the parts of it, that an Ounce of it may be beaten (I suppose) into a Thousand Leaves. Thus a good Man can be Drawn forth into large Expressions of goodness and vertue. It was said by such an one in Psal. 11. 3. My goodness Extendeth. He extends his Piety, his Charity, he extends his lnfluence far and near; and he is a Diffusive good.
Once more, Gold is a Beautiful metal. 'Tis called, Aurum, for that very cause; ab Aura, i. e. a Splendore. Tis a shining and glitt'ring thing; and hence things that are very splendid, are said to be covered with …ellow Gold. For this reason, an Hook of it once catch't … by the Lust of the Eye. Thus, a good man has a transcendent Beauty in him. To such an one, twas said in Cant. 6. 4. Thou art Beautiful. There is a Lustre on the Face, and a Lustre in the Walk of such a man; he has even the Splendor of A light in the world.
Furthermore, Gold is a Durable Metal. Tho' the Bible affirms that it is Corruptible, and … kerable, and Perishing, yet there is a mighty Strength to be ascribed unto it. It will endure the hottest Fire with small or no Dimin…on▪ and Aqua-fortis it self will not eat into it. …ch an Enduring thing is a good man. His Character is that in Matth. 24. 13. He shall endure to the end. No Fire, no Water, no Vexation shall consume his Devotion. He is the Overcomer, whom neither the Flattery nor the Fury, neither the Frowning nor the Fawning of any Tempter can dissolve the Religion of.
Moreover, Gold is a Ponderous Metal. Even Lead it self in its weight, is to Gold as far short as Sixty is of an Hundred; if I mistake it not. Such is the Quality, such the Gravity of a good man. A godly man is a Weighty man. Tis said in Prov. 12. 26. A righteous man is more excellent than his neighbour. One such man will weigh down multitudes and myriads of other men. His being a pondering man, it soon makes him become ponderous man. His unconverted Neighbourhood may own of him, Thou art worth ten thousand of us.
Finally Gold is a precious Metal. Its precious for the Vse which tis of in Nature. Rich Cordials and Medicines are to be extracted from it. Its precious also for the Price which tis of in Esteem; the Auri sacra fames, the unhallowed Appetite which men crave it with, prefers it above all common things. Tis in Scripture-phrase a precious thing indeed, of which it might be said, It is more precious than gold. But of a good man might such a thing be spoken: it may be said of such a man, as in Isa. 13. 12. The man is more precious than fine gold; even than the golden wedge of Ophir; [i. e. Peru, as some with much pretense of Reason do conjecture it] A gracious man, is a precious man; all Beholders ought to put a value upon him; he is even, precious in the eyes of the Lord.
Thus like to Gold will good men come forth, under and after the Tryals of the Lord; which comprehends these two Conclusions in it.
Conclusion. I.
A good man is found good by the Examinations of God. When God comes to try a good man, He finds the heart of the man to be right before Him. The good man may say with him in …. Chron. 29. 17. O my God, I know that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness; as for mee, in the uprightness of my heart have I offered. Indeed our God uses not an Extremity of Justice and Rigour in our Trial; He would find a world of Iniquity in us, if He did; and He would utterly consume us. The Lord said in Isa. 48. 10. Behold, I have refined thee, but not like silver. No, the Refiner of gold or silver will not allow the the least measure of Dross therein. But our merciful. G…d overlooks many grains of Corruption many grains of Defilement & of Debasement in us; for we all have our Grains. However upon the Trial of a good man, the good God pronounces this of h…m, This is a d…r Son and a pleas…nt ch…ld, I will surely have mercy on hi…; He pronounces this, I find good metal in the soul of th… …an, and he shall be mine in the day when I make up my Iewels. The Devil, the Satan, who is the Accuser of the Brethren, he may load a good man with Calumnies not a few; that evil spirit will accuse a good man as guilty of Hypocrisie in the power of it; but the Holy God brings it unto a Tryal, and then He pronounces as in Iob. 2. 3. I have tried him; and he is my servant, a perfect and an upright man; One that feareth God and escheweth evil; and still he holdeth fast his integrity.
Conclusion. II.
A good man is made better by the Dispensations of God. It is to him that there is granted the Fulfilment of that promise in Rom. 8. 28. All things shall work together for good. As for the merciful Dispensations of God, these do encline as well as oblige a good man to all manner of Obedience; they cause him to think, What shall I render to the Lord? they cause him to say, I will fear the Lord and His goodness, I will never sin against so good a God as He. Thus we are told in Rom. 2. 4. The goodness of God leadeth to repentance. It even melts and breaks the heart of a good man, so that he cannot find in his heart after such deliverances again to break his commandments. As for the Afflictive Dispensations of God, these also cause a good man more than ever to Abound in the works of the Lord; they put him upon more Thinking on his waies, and upon turning his feet more unto the testmonies of God. It was said in Psal. 119. 71. It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes. A good man gets this good thereby; his Wisdom and his Vertue is thereby augmented; and he Learns Obedience by the things which he suffers.
USE.
There is a two-fold Exhortation which I must now bespeak your earnest Heed unto.
I. Let us approve our selves as Gold under the Examinations of the Blessed God. There are who take notice that the Original in Job. 37. 22. is, Gold cometh out of the North. God grant that the best Gold may here be found in our North! that you the inhabitants of the North may for your Vertues be as Gold before the Lord. Yea, that North-Boston may be like Havilah, and it may be said, The gold of that land is good; or, there are Extraordinary golden and precious Christians there.
Tis a Three-fold Counsel which you may therefore be advised with.
Counsil. I.
Beleeve, and Expect the Trials of the eternal God.
Beleeve that God now does Vnderstand what you are. It was an Article in that famous Prophets Creed, in Jer. 12. 3. Thou, O Lord knowest me, thou hast seen me, and tryed my heart towards thee. O that every one of us were enough sensible of that awful solemn Truth! Tis a common thing to say, God knowes my heart; but who does enough lay that thing to heart? Who reckons any more upon it than the false Gehazi did? It was an Orthodox perswasion in Psal. 139. 3, 2. O Lord thou hast searched me and known me; thou understandest my thought afar off. Tis very certain, that every one of our thoughts are known to the infinite God, even afar off, long enough before they come into our minds. But, O Lord, who has believed our Report? Men and Brethren, do you beleeve it, and apprehend it, and reallize it. Beleeve it, that God is all Eye, and that He needs not a Glass Window in your breasts for the Exploration of you. Beleeve it, that the eyes of the Lord run to & fro, through the whole earth; and that he will not by a Mistake drop a Blessing wrong as blind Isaac did of old. Yea, let it be a frequent Meditation with you, All that I am, and all that I think, is well known unto the Lord.
And Expect that God will one day Discover what you are. There is a Day of Discovery that shall shine upon us all; and, Behold the Day comes that shall burn as an Oven, and all that do wickedly shall be stubble in it.
Expect that the great God will have a Snare in this world, for your Detection. Ever now & then there happen some Discriminating Things, That they which are approved might be made manifest. God will have His Times and His Wayes, possibly to uncase our hearts before all our Neighbours. It was said of that blessed man in 2. Chron. 32. 31. God left him (in one thing) to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart. You may look for some Temptation before you dye, which will make the Inclinations of your souls notorious to the world; especially, If your Hearts be not right with God. It is a Simile us'd by one of the Ancients, for it; You shall have an Ape drest in the Attire of a Man, for a while imitating the Look, and shape, and Gesture of a man: but if a Nutt, or an Apple be thrown before him, he soon showes what he is. Thou Hypocrite, the Lord will have something to throw before thee, which Object will decoy thee into a natural suitable Expression of thy self; and as our Lord speaks, in Rev. 2. 23. All the Churches shall know, that I am He that searcheth the Heart.
Expect also, that the great God will have a Bar for your Detection in another world. Tis confessed by all Christians, as in 2. Cor. 5. 10. We must all appear before the Iudgment seat of Christ. O that we could every one of us now seriously place our selves before the Iudgment seat of God! Remember, O immortal souls, that you must all very shortly appear before a Iudge who hath Eyes like a flame of fire; and you must then be exposed in the full view of Heaven & Earth. Remember that you shall then have no Vizard, no Disguise to cover you, but all men and Angels must hear truly what you are. It was the warning in Eccl. 11. 9.—know thou, that God will bring thee to Iudgment. Even so Know thou, that thou canst not avoid the day when God shall bring every worke into Iudgement, with every secret thing. Know thou, that when the dead, small and great stand before God, then thou shalt stand among 'em! Know thou, that tho' thou shouldst then shriek, O Rocks, hide me, or O Mountains-defend me, the the Rocks and the Mountains would be deaf unto that lamentable cry. Holy Ierom could say, Wherever I am, or whatever I do, Methinks I hear the Alarums of the last Trumpet, Arise ye dead & come to Iudgement. O that you would often Reflect upon the Day, when God shall judge the secrets of men by Iesus Christ.
Counsil. 2.
Cry mightily to God, that He would give you the Gold which will endure all Tryals whatsoever. Our Lord saith unto us in Rev. 3. 18. I counsel thee to buy of me Gold tried in the fire. That Gold is Grace; let us buy that is, let us beg it of Him. Let us make that our servent & our frequent Prayer, in Psal. 119. 80. Let my heart be sound in thy statutes, that I may not be ashamed! Be careful and prayerful, that you may be New Creatures and have the Root of the matter in your souls: Be careful and prayerful, That you may have Oyl in your vessels: Be careful and prayerful, That you may have in you, the well of water which springs up into everlasting life. Let your prayers be restless, till you find that you are indeed Born again, indeed Converted, indeed Sanctified. As for the Grace of God, my son, seek it as silver; for indeed, the Gain of it is better than fine gold.
Counsel, 3.
Often bring your selves to the Tryals of a Self-Examination. Tis the Charge of God, in 2. Cor. 13. 5. Examine your selves whether you be in the Faith; prove your own selves. Your souls are as Vessels, then Pierce them to see what they have. Your souls are as Metals, then Touch them to see what they are▪ Such are the Allusions of the Holy Spirit there. Know thy self, was a golden Rule of Old, and it will make a golden Saint when we make much use of that Rule, Try thy self. We are to use the Word of God as a Glass in which we are to behold our selves; and we are often to compare our selves with what is therein required of us. When we are in a Meditation, as we should every day be upon some Truths of God, we should then examine ourselves, Whether we are moulded according thereunto. And when we are under a Visitation, as we sometimes are, by the Rods of God, we should then Examine our selves, as they that of Old said, Let us now search and try our wayes. Especially when we are approching to the Table of the Lord, Self-Examination is not then to be omitted. So hath the Apostle urged, in 1. Cor. 11. 28. Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. Tis a fearful Impiety and Presumption, for a man to sit down at the Holy Supper without enquiring, Have I a Wedding garment on, or no? Yea tis convenient for a man every Evening, before he sleeps to examine himself and ask, If I dy this night, is my immortal spirit safe? O tremble exceedingly least your doom should be that in Jer. 2. 37. The Lord hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not prosper in them. Therefore be much in Examining your selves.
Examine Whether you have true REPENTANCE.
Wherefore Try whether you are at so much pains for no Outward and Earthly thing, as you are for the mortification of every lust.
And Try whether Afflictions themselves are welcome to you, when you see you sins thereby embittered and subdued.
Examine Whether you have true FAITH.
Wherefore Try whether your Souls are extremely affected with the blessed Fulness & Glory which is in the Lord Jesus Christ. And Try whether your hearts most affectionately close with the Gospel-way of Salvation by Jesus Ch…ist, so as cheerfully to venture the Lives of your souls upon it.
Examine, Whether you have true LOVE.
Wherefore Try, whether any thing that has a Tendency to promote the Honour of God, be readily embraced by you, as a thing more desirable than all the Riches in the world.
And Try whether you count no Service too much to be done for the People of the Saints of the Most High. Put the Question to your selves, and let the Preface of your Answer be that Request in Psal 139. 23. Search me O God, and try me, and help me to know my self.
To be much in such Self-Examination is the way to be a Golden Christian, and indeed, none but such an one will have a Value for the Exercise.
II. Let us also approve ourselves, as gold, under the Dispensations of the Blessed GOD.
Particularly,
First. Let them that are in Prosperity behave themselves well under the Tryals of the Lord. It may be that you are come to have store of Gold; O that you may Be like what you Have! Tis possible that you have been in much Distress and Sorrow: But God has brought you forth, as tis said He brought Israel out of Egypt, in Ps▪ 105. 37. He brought them forth with Gold.
Consider, That God is now Trying of your Faithfulness. No doubt, you have sometimes promised the God of Heaven, That if you might have such a measure of Health and Strength, or, That if you might have such a Degree of Estate and Honour you would glorify God with a wonderful Activity. Well, saith our God, I'll try. God is trying whether you will be true to those Professions and Engagements, which you made before He so smil'd upon you. God is trying whether you will not Confirm that Observation, in Jer. 17. 9. The Heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.
Consider moreover, That God is now trying of your Thankfulness. A very terrible Wrath is denounced against them in Deut. 28. 47. Who serve not God for the abundance of all things. God gives you an Abundance of all things, and it is to try whether you will serve Him, and praise Him for it. God is Trying whether you will now often say, Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me! God is Trying whether you will now think, What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits? Let us be as Gold by affording now a good Experiment.
Secondly, Let them that are in Adversity, likewise behave themselves as under the Tryals of the Lord. We may most or all of us, Lament, I am the man that hath seen Affliction; there is a Variety of Calamity which we are try'd withal. God forbid that we should procure to our selves the Brand set upon that wicked man of old, In the time of his Distress did he trespass yet more against the LORD. Never was there in this world a more doleful sight than that of a Theef on a Cross, yet Neglecting and Affronting the Son of God. We that have been lately under Affliction, (particularly, under that Affliction of Sickness) have as it were lain among the pots; God has as it were laid us by among the meanest Lumps of clay; but O that we may now come sorth Doves, having Wings covered with Silver, and Feathers with yellow Gold! O that we may come forth of our Tryals more gracious, more Savoury, more Heavenly, than ever we were in our lives before; that the Iron-Age of Grief may issue in a Golden-Age of Grace, unto us; that our Adversity may procure more grace to to us, than ever the Prosperity of Solomon did gold to him. Tis to be desired, that the Transmutation of Metals may be Exemplified in us; and that the most exquisite Vitrioli… powder may not be so powerful, to make Natural gold, as the Dust of Affliction may be to make Spiritual gold of our souls. Look to it, Lest our Character be that, Reprchate Silver, which is rejected by the Lord.
The First DESIRE.
Let us come forth more out-of-Love with Gold which perisheth. Our GOD hath taught us that no gold will deliver from Death and Hell; and that no gold can be carried away with, us at our Departure hence. Our God hath told us, That though we should have never so much gold about us, we may in a moment be taken away from all. Wherefore Let us become Indifferent unto gold, and all the Delights of this miserable World. Look, Look upon thy most golden Comforts, and imagine thou hearest that Voice of GOD, in Prov. 23. 5. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? When one of the Martyrs had money proffer`d unto him, he Refused it, saying, The Coyn is not current, in the Countrey to which I am going. O despise all gold but what will be Current there.
The Second Desire.
Let us come forth more Admiring of, more Affected with such things as are better than gold. The Fear of God is one of those things, Whereof tis said it Job, 28. 16. It cannot be valued with the Gold of Ophir. Let it be then our prime and cheef Study, to be daily acting of it; yea, Since we have lately seen Time loudly calling on us to Redeem it, Let a Respect to God now ennoble all the Actions of our Lives. The Word of God is another of those things, Whereof tis said, in Psal. 19. 10. It is more to be desired than much fine Gold.
Let us then set an unspeakable Value thereupon; Yea, since we have lately seen an End of all Perfection elsewhere; Let the Bible of God be now more than ever the Companion of your Solitary Hours.
Finally, The SON of GOD, is the Pearl of great price, which no Gold is to be equaliz'd unto. We read of a Brazen-Serpent [or more truly a Coper-Serpent] marvellously useful to Israel of old, O let us now Esteem the Antitype of that Brasen or Coper Shadow, before the Richest Gold. The holy God has newly sent me back from the Sides of Eternity to tell you, That One CHRIST is worth ten Worlds. Tis a thing whereof you have been heretofore advised with frequent, solemn, lively Warnings, from the Eternal God: As Ioshua could say, in Cap. 24. 27. Behold, this stone shall be a Witness, for it hath heard all the words of the Lord. So may I say, Let this Pulpit, and these Walls and Seats and Pillars Remember, if you have forgotten, That you have been often told, All the gold in the world is not worth one Christ. And behold, I repeat unto you one Warning more. Let this House be a Witness, and be you witnesses of it O ye Angels that are invisible here; That it has been earnestly affirmed in our Hearing, A Christ is better than a Thousand Worlds, and they that sl…ight Him, will be miserable for infinitely more than ten Thousand Ages.