Sermons Volume 4, Sermons on Hebrews · Sermon 3
SERMON III.
HEB. VI.18.
—We may have strong Consolation, &c.
Doct. II. THat the Fruit of this Certainty and Assurance which we have by God's Word and Oath, is strong Consolation.
To make way for the discussion of this Point, and to open the Words which the Apostle here useth, I shall,
I. Enquire what is meant by strong Consolation.
II. How this strong Consolation ariseth from the Certainty and Assurance we have by God's Word and Oath.
III. How it is dispensed on God's part, and how far it is required on ours.
I. What is meant by strong Consolation, foreign. There are two Terms, Consolation, and strong Consolation.
First; Consolation. There are three words by which the Fruits and Effects of Certainty and Assurance is expressed, which imply so many degrees of it. There is Peace, Comfort, and Joy. Peace, in the Scripture-Dialect, notes Rest from Accusations of Conscience. Comfort, notes a temperate and habitual Confidence. Then Joy, notes an actual Feeling, or an high Tide of Comfort, or a lively Elevation of the Saints.
1. Peace. That we have as a Fruit of Justification; Rom. 5.1. Being justified by Faith, we have Peace with God. There are no actual Doubts, though we cannot say we have absolute Assurance. This is the lowest degree of Assurance, and it is a Fruit of the Holy Ghost; as many of the Children of God have Encouragement to wait upon God, though they cannot for all the World say they have an absolute Interest in Christ.
2. Then there is Consolation and Comfort, which notes an habitual Perswasion of God's Love; there is an habitual Confidence, a serenity and chearfulness of Mind: Though there be not high Tides of Comfort, there is Support, though not Ravishment. It is called Everlasting Consolation, 2 Thess. 2.16, 17. Now our Lord Iesus Christ himself, and God even our Father, who hath loved us, and given us Everlasting Consolation, and good Hope through Grace, comfort your Hearts, and establish you in every good Word and Work. There is a settled Comfort, and he prayeth for the continuance and increase of it. When the Heart is lightned or eased in Duties or Troubles, it is bewrayed by a constant Chearfulness and Alacrity in God's Service, and Support in Troubles.
3. Then there is Joy, or an high and sensible Comfort: Rom. 15.13. Now the God of Hope fill you with all Ioy and Peace in believing, that ye may abound in Hope through the Power of the Holy Ghost. This abides not always, it is a Festival Dispensation, wherewith God entertains the Soul in the Day of his Royalty and Magnificence, he useth it but now and then. We have this high Joy, either after the Pangs of the new Birth, when deep Sorrows were occasioned by the Spirit of Bondage. When David's Bones were broken, then make me to hear Ioy and Gladness, Psal. 51.8. Then we have the highest Comfort. John 16.21. A Woman, when she is in Travel, hath Sorrow, because her Hour is come; but as soon as she is delivered of a Child, she remembreth no more the Anguish, for joy that a Man is born into the World. Then our Apprehensions of Christ are most fresh; Comfort, being a strange thing, is most welcome. Trouble makes way for more Comfort; for as our Trouble is most vehement, so is our Comfort enlarged. Or upon the solemn Exercise of Grace, when we are carried on in high Assistance, in Meditation, Prayer, receiving the Supper, and the Word is revived upon the Conscience: Or else in times of Suffering and Self-denial, for God will always be even with a Believer; 2 Cor. 1.5. For as the Sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our Consolation also aboundeth by Christ. A Man is no loser by Christ; but according to the Ebb of outward Comforts, so is the Tide and Overflow of inward Comforts: And when we have Experience of Christ's Sufferings, we also have Experience of Christ's Comforts, that at the same time God may have an Experience of our Faithfulness, and we of his. So that Comfort is a middle degree of Assurance between Peace and Joy; a temperate Confidence and Support, though we do not feel Ravishment and actual Sweetness; as a Child doubteth not of his Father's Affection, tho he doth not actually smile upon him.
Secondly; The next Term is strong Consolation. Why is it so called?
1. It is called so, either in opposition to worldly Comforts, which are weak, ravishing and washy. The Consolations of the World seem to be strong, till they come to be tried. Carnal Joy makes a great noise, but is soon gone. As the crackling of Thorns under a Pot, so is the laughter of the Fool, Eccles. 7.6. None seem to lead such merry Lives as carnal Men; but when it comes to the Trial, when their Joy is put to it by Sickness, Trouble, Pangs of Conscience, or Death, it is soon spent. Take away the Creature, and it is gone, it dependeth upon somewhat without them: Or if the Creature continueth, it availeth not; before it cometh to trial, wicked Men tremble at the very thoughts of Eternity. Outward things cannot ease the Conscience; if they could satisfy the Heart, they cannot buy a Pardon. Jer. 17.11. As the Partridg sitteth on Eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth Riches, and not by Right, shall leave them in the midst of his Days, and at his End shall be a Fool. Prov. 11.4. Riches profit not in the Day of Wrath. Carnal Mirth is a merry Madness, as a Bird in the Powler's Snare. Prov. 9.17, 18. Stollen Waters are sweet; and Bread eaten in secret is pleasant. But he knoweth not that the Dead are there, and that her Guests are in the Depths of Hell; a stollen fit of Mirth when Conscience is asleep. Carnal Mirth intangleth us; the more dreggy Delights oppress Reason, wound Conscience, and so make way for Sorrow.
2. Or else it is called strong Consolation in comparison with it self, with respect to less or more imperfect degrees of Comfort. There is a Latitude in Comfort, some have more, and some less; some have only weak Glimmerings and Drops, others have strong Consolation, Ioy unspeakable, and full of Glory, 1 Pet. 1.8. Now a Christian should aim at the highest Degree; the stronger your Consolation, the better is Christ pleased with it. John 15.11. These things have I spoken unto you, that my Ioy may remain in you, and that your Ioy might be full. This makes the Heart of Christ glad, when our Counsels are more able to swallow up our Sorrow, and revive the Soul in the midst of Trouble: In some this Confidence is accompanied with more sensible Doubts, Staggerings and Weaknesses, though Comfort gets the upper hand; in others it is more strong, clear and lively, and they act in the Ways of God with greater Encouragement.
3. It may likewise be called Strong, in regard of its Effects.
(1.) It marreth Carnal Joy, it puts the Soul quite out of taste with other things. Men used Acorns, till they found out the use of Bread. We content our selves with Husks, till we taste of the fatted Calf in our Father's House. The Soul must have some Oblectation, Love cannot lie idle; we are taken with Garlick and Onions, till we taste Manna. When once we have tasted of the Love of God, other things will not be so sweet. Cant. 1.4. We will be glad, and rejoice in thee; we will remember thy Love more than Wine.
(2.) It is stronger than the Evil which it opposeth; it swalloweth up all our Sorrows, whatever they be. Look, as we say of Wine, or of any Spirits, it is very strong, when a few Drops can change a great deal of Water into its own Nature: So because it overcometh the greatest Evils, Terrors of Conscience, worldly Miseries, and the greatest Anguish and Distress which may befal us, therefore it is called strong Comfort. A mighty Joy, a sense of God's Love in Christ, swalloweth up all our Sorrow whatever. The Wrath of God is a dreadful thing, we can hardly think of it without amazement. The fear of Hell, Death and Judgment to come, these are wont to raise a great Storm in the Conscience, but spiritual Joy can only allay it. As a wounded Conscience can say, there is no Sorrow like unto my Sorrow; so a peaceable Conscience can say, there is no Joy like unto my Joy. Phil. 4.7. The Peace of God, which passeth all Vnderstanding, shall keep your Hearts and Minds, through Iesus Christ. The strength of this Joy is seen by Experience rather than Expression. In outward Troubles, they can take pleasure in Infirmities, 2 Cor. 12.10. Glory in Tribulation, Rom. 5.3. The more the Devil seeks to trouble the Saints, they have the more Joy, and are more than Conquerors, Rom. 8.37. and all by the Power of this Joy; as the more we seek to wrest a Staff out of a Man's Hands, he holds it the faster. Tribulations, Anguish, Distress, Fears, Torments, Difficulties, they are all overpowred by this Joy.
II. How this strong Consolation ariseth from Assurance and Certainty.
To establish Joy and Comfort, two things are necessary; Excellency and Propriety. The thing in which I rejoice, it must be Good, and it must be Mine. Sutably here in the Text, there is an assurance of excellent Privileges; and then there is a Qualification annexed, that we may understand our own Interest. God by his Oath assures us of excellent Privileges in Christ, and that's a ground of strong Consolation. Then he requireth a Duty of us, that we fly for refuge to take hold of the Hope set before us.
1. For the Excellency of our Privileges. You know, that which will minister solid Comfort to the Soul, it had need be Excellent. A small Matter, though never so sure, will not occasion a strong Consolation; the Joy is according to the Object. Now whether a Christian look backward or forward, there is Matter of Rejoicing to the Heirs of Promise. Backward, there is the Immutability of his Counsel; Forward, there is a Hope set before us. From one Eternity to another, may a Believer walk, and still find cause of rejoicing in God. If he looks Backward, there God reveals to him the unchangeable Purposes of Grace before the World was. If he looks Forward, there is an eternal Possession of Glory, when the World shall be no more. It is sweet to know what's past, and what's to come; there's naturally a Curiosity in us which would be satisfied. We know what God was doing before the World was, and what he will do when the World shall be no more. We may know, for our comfort, God was treating and dealing with Christ about our Salvation, putting it into an unchangeable course; and he hath for ever provided for the Comfort and Welfare of our Souls, that we may enjoy him, love him, and delight in him for evermore. Man, out of a natural Curiosity, hath a great delight both in History and Prophecy, to read what is past, and to fore-know what is to come, especially what concerns his own Destiny. Now God in condescension tells us, under the assurance of an Oath, what he has done for us, what Thoughts of Love he had towards us from Eternity, what he will do, and how happy our Estate shall be for ever. God doth not only satisfy the Curiosity of our Nature, that desireth Knowledg, but the bent of it, that poiseth us to our own Happiness. It is sweet to read our Names written in the Book of God's everlasting Decree; Luke 10.20. Rejoice because your Names are written in Heaven: That God hath set us down as Heirs of all that Grace and Mercy he hath dispensed in his Covenant. It is sweet and pleasant to reflect upon his antient Purposes of Grace; and by the Eye of Faith to read our Names written and recorded in the Rolls of Heaven. When you hear any Offer in the Gospel, to say this was God's Purpose and eternal Counsel to bestow this upon me before all Worlds; he thought of me then. And then there is an Hope set before us, thy Lot is fallen to thee in a fair Ground. O what Joy is this to Believers, that their Souls are fully provided for for ever and ever, and they shall have what infinite Mercy can bestow, and what infinite Merit hath purchased.
2. Another Cause of strong Comfort is Interest and Propriety. Besides the Excellency of the Privilege, there must be the Clearness of our Interest. The Object of Joy is not only good in common, but our Good, foreign. That which is a Man's own, is sweet to him. It doth not enrich a Man to hear there are Pearls and Diamonds in the World, and Mines of Gold in the Indies, unless he had them in his own possession: So it doth not fill us with Comfort and Joy, to hear there are unchangeable Purposes of Grace, and that there was an eternal Treaty between God and Christ about the Salvation of Sinners, and that there is a possible Salvation; but when we understand this is made over to us. When God led Abraham through the Land of Promise to view the Breadth and the Length of it, and see the Goodness of it, he saith, All this will I give thee, Gen. 13.15. So here we speak of rich Comforts, but happy is the Man that can apply them: We speak of abundance of Comfort, but it is to those that have an Interest in it, not to those that live in their Sins. Here is a description of the Parties, which must be regarded, if we would establish this Comfort. When once we take Sanctuary in Christ, and run to him as our City of Refuge, then God saith, All this will I give thee; this Hope is thy own, and you are those to whom belong these unchangeable Purposes of Grace; otherwise it is but a Joy in fancy and conceit. It is said of David, 1 Sam. 30.6. But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. He comforted himself not only in God, but in the Lord his God. That God is ours, this is a Ground of Comfort. As the Father said, Tolle meum, tolle Deum; Take away mine, and take away God: So the Church, Hab. 3.17, 18. Altho the Fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall Fruit be in the Vines, the labour of the Olive shall fail, and the Fields shall yield no Meat, the Flock shall be cut off from the Fold, and there shall be no Herd in the Stall; yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my Salvation.
III. How it is dispensed on God's part, and how far it is required on ours; because every Heir of Promise cannot speak of these lively Comforts, those sweet and strong Consolations of the Spirit.
First, On God's part. There is a great deal of difference between Christians in respect of God's Dispensations.
1. Consider, Christ, though he loved all his Disciples, yet he did not use them all alike familiarly; some were more intimate with him, and were more in his Bosom. In his Transfiguration he takes with him Peter, Iames and Iohn, Mat. 17.1. And when his Agonies came upon him in the Garden, he took the same Disciples with him, Mat. 26.37. Tho they were all dear to Christ, yet these were chosen out above others to be Witnesses of his Agonies and Transfiguration. So though all the Elect are dear to Christ, yet there are foreign, the Elect of the Elect, some chosen out above others, with whom God will be more intimate and familiar. All the Saints, with respect to the substance of the Covenant, are alike beloved. Those poor Christians who were scattered throughout Pontus, Asia, Galatia, Cappadocia, and Bithynia, had foreign, like precious Faith with Peter the Apostle, 2 Pet. 1.1. A Jewel in the hand of a Man and of a Child is of the same value, though a Man holds it more firm and faster: So Faith being conversant about the same Object, the Righteousness of Christ, as to Acceptance with God, is alike precious; tho because some have a greater Faith, and hold the Jewel faster, God may more manifest himself to them, and be more intimate and familiar with them. We are all saved by the same Mercy, redeemed by the same Merit, and called to the same Grace and Glory for the substance of it; yet in degrees of Grace, and dispensations of Comfort, there is a vast difference: some are feasted with Loves, while others are exercised with Sorrows, trained up in a way of Duty without Comfort, their Apprehensions being more sad and doubtful, and their Comforts more dark and litigious: For Comfort is not absolutely necessary to Salvation, tho we should all aim at it. The highest degree of Comfort pleaseth Christ best; when our Joy is full, then Christ's Heart is most delighted; Iohn 15.11. These things have I spoken unto you, that my Ioy might remain in you, and that your Ioy might be full: tho we may go to Heaven without it. Look as many carnal Men go to Hell, and die away without any actual sense of Wrath to come; so I am perswaded it is possible, that some Christians may neither in Life nor Death have any feeling of Comfort and Joy. Certainly we find some have it not all their Lives, till Sickness and the Hour of Death, and they are even in the Borders and Suburbs of Heaven; their Pulses of Desire and Love beat vehemently after Christ: when they are in the end and close of their Lives, then their Hearts are filled most with Peace and Joy; as natural Motion is swiftest, the nearer the thing moved draws to its Center. Again, others have Comfort, and may lose it again: these spiritual Swavities are liable to change, and such Dispensations may be removed. The 5th of Canticles begins with a Feast, and ends with a Story of Desertion. There are many ups and downs in a Christian's Comfort; and after great Enlargements, when a Soul hath been feasted with the Loves of Christ, there may be a sad Suspension; and our Gourd, which seemed to cast a comfortable Shadow upon the Soul, may be devoured and eaten up by the Worm of Conscience. If our Joy were always full, we should look for no other Heaven. Thus there is a great deal of difference, in regard of God's Dispensation, without any breach of Faithfulness; he doth not break his Oath in not ministring to us this strong Consolation, for God hath not absolutely promised Degrees of Comfort.
2. Tho God deals here with great difference, yet it is usual with the Lord to give most Comfort to three sorts of Persons.
(1.) To the Poor in Spirit. Look as Parents use their weak Children with most Indulgence and Fondness; so poor weak Christians, that are sensible of their Weakness, Wants and Sins, have that Comfort which is denied to Persons it may be of greater spiritual Ability. Comfort is promised to Mourners, and Blessedness to the Poor in Spirit; Mat. 5.3, 4. Blessed are the Poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of God. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Their Interest many times is most sensibly cleared up, and they feel the greatest Elevation of Joy and Comfort. It is God's wonted Method to revive the Spirit of contrite ones, and to bind up broken Bones; Isa. 57.15. For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth Eternity, whose Name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy Place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble Spirit, to revive the Spirit of the Humble, and to revive the Heart of the contrite ones. God loves to comfort poor, humble, afflicted Believers; whereas others that are full of themselves, and of their own Abilities, are carried on in a more dark and low way. A broken Vessel is fitter to hold the Oil of Gladness than a full one, I mean such who are empty and broken, and possessed with a sense of their own Wants. Thus our Lord saith, Mat. 11.5. The Poor have the Gospel preached to them. We translate it too feebly; in the Original it is foreign, the Poor are Evangeliz'd; it is such a form of Speech as notes a deep Reception, they are all to be Gospelled. The poor, not in Purse or Estate, but poor broken-hearted Sinners, they are drenched in Gospel-Comfort, and most filled with the good News and glad Tidings of Salvation, and a sense of God's Love in Christ.
(2.) Tho God is at liberty, yet usually he fills those which are exercised with hard and long Conflicts with their Corruptions. Comfort is Christ's Entertainment for those that return from Victory over their Lusts: Rev. 2.17. To him that overcometh, that is, the Enemies of his Salvation; he that hath been long wrestling with the Powers of Darkness, and the Inconveniencies of the World, and Corruptions of his own Heart, and can persevere notwithstanding Assaults and Temptations, to him I will give to eat of the hidden Manna; that is, feast him with inward and spiritual Refreshments, figured by Manna; and I will give him a white Stone; which some say was a Token of Election: a white Stone they gave in their Suffrages for Choice of a Magistrate, to manifest they had chosen him; or else white Stones were given to Wrestlers as a Token of Victory: or, as among the Romans, a black Stone with a Hole in it was a Sign of Condemnation, a white Stone of Absolution; or in Lots, a white Stone was a Token of good Luck and Happiness, a black Stone of Misfortune. Take it either way, Christ will give it to him that overcometh; they shall have the Comfort of Pardon, and free Justification with God, and till then a Man is not fit for Comfort.
(3.) Those that are called forth to great Employments and Trials are seldom without Comfort, and this strong Consolation, that they may behave themselves worthy of their Trial. Look as Men victual a Castle, when it is in Danger to be besieged; so God layeth in Comfort aforehand, when we are like to be assaulted. This we have in the Example of our Lord himself; just before Christ was tempted, he had a solemn Testimony from Heaven; Matth. 4.1. Then was Iesus led up of the Spirit into the Wilderness, to be tempted of the Devil. Every Circumstance of Scripture is notable, and when the Spirit of God notes the time, it is to be regarded: Then, it looks back to the Words before, chap. 3.17. Lo a Voice from Heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased: And after this solemn Assurance, Then was Iesus led up by the Spirit into the Wilderness, to be tempted by the Devil. Certainly somewhat there is in that, that the same Apostles must see the beaming out of the Divine Glory of Christ, and afterwards see his Agony, as Peter, Iames and Iohn, first his Glory in the Transfiguration, and then his Agony in the Garden; to shew, that when once we have had Experience of the Glory of Christ, when he hath given us any Signification of his Love, any Fore-sight of Heaven, and of our Interest in the Comforts of the Covenant, then most commonly we are called out to suffer Agonies and bitter Conflicts. God's Conduct is gentle and faithful, he drives on as the little ones are able to bear; he doth not lead into great Temptation, until he hath given the Advantage of great Comforts; first he stores the Hearts, and lays in sweet Consolation, and then calls out to Trial.
Secondly, On our part. It is not absolutely required that we should enjoy it, but only to seek after it; and if we want it, to submit to God's Pleasure. Comfort is seldom with-held when it is long sought and highly prized. I cannot say he is no Child of God that hath not a feeling of this strong Consolation, but he is none that doth not seek after it, and that hath low and cheap Thoughts of the Consolations of God; Iob 15.11. Are the Consolations of God small with thee? We are absolutely bound to Communion with God in point of Holiness, and to seek after Communion with God in point of Happiness: but Rewards differ from Duties, and they must be left to God's Pleasure. There is a Difference between Comfort and Grace; Comfort is a mere Dispensation, and is to be referred to the Pleasure of God; but we cannot be without Grace without Sin, the one belongeth to Communion with God in point of Holiness, and the other to Communion with God in point of Happiness; and God hath the dispensing of our Happiness: the one concerneth our Being, the other our Well-being; Grace makes us living, Comfort makes us lively Christians. On God's part, if he doth not give us sensible Consolation, he is only bound to give us Sustentation and Support; and there is no Breach of Duty on our Part to want Comfort, provided it be not despised, and we do not neglect to seek after it. To want Grace or any Degree of it, though it be God's Gift, is a Sin, because the Creature is under a moral Obligation; but to want Comfort is no Sin, because that's a thing given, not required. Grace is given and required; Comfort is required that we should seek after it, but for its Attainment we must leave that to God's Pleasure, and tarry till the Master of the Feast bids us sit up higher, and till then we must be content with our Measure and Degree. And this is God's Course, he gives less Comfort, that we may look after more Grace; and in the Decay of Comfort a Christian many times doth receive a greater Increase of Grace: as you know a Summer's Sun that is clouded, yields a great deal more Refreshment and Comfort than a Winter's Sun that shineth. It is an Advantage to be kept humble, and therefore we must submit to God's Will, and be contented with unutterable Groans; tho we have not the unspeakable Ioys of the Spirit, 1 Pet. 1.8. Rom. 8.26. we must be satisfied with a lower Dispensation.
Vse 1. Information, in these Branches.
1. That Comfort is allowed to the Saints. I observe it, because we are nothing, and deserve nothing unless it be Misery, Torment, Bondage, and so out of Guilt we entertain Comfort with Jealousies and Fears. Dolorous Impressions are most natural to a guilty Conscience; we suspect Comfort, and in deep Distresses we refuse it; Ier. 31.15. A Voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation and bitter Weeping; Rachel weeping for her Children, refused to be comforted for her Children, because they were not. And Psal. 77.2. My Soul refused to be comforted. This was his Infirmity. God hath made you a good Allowance, take heed of refusing Comfort upon God's terms. God alloweth it, it is made a part of our Work; Phil. 4.4. Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, Rejoice. We serve a good Master. Christ hath purchased it, and the Spirit worketh it, for he is the Comforter; Rom. 14.17. The Kingdom of Heaven is not Meat and Drink, but Righteousness and Peace, and Ioy in the Holy Ghost. Nay it is not only God's Allowance, but his great Aim; the solemn Assurance that is given by his Covenant, is, that you may grow up in believing to a strong Consolation, and be able to laugh at Fears and Sorrows.
(1.) You may pray for it when you want it; Psal. 90.14. O satisfy us early with thy Mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our Days.
(2.) Nay, when you have lost it by your Default, it is not Boldness to ask Grace and Comfort again; when you have wasted Conscience, and weakned your Hopes; as David, Psal. 5.12. Restore unto me the Ioy of thy Salvation. When your Candle is put out, you may get it lighted again.
(3.) You may wait for Comfort, and still continue your Attendance upon God; Psal. 85.8. I will hear what God the Lord will speak; for he will speak Peace to his People and to his Saints.
(4.) You may entertain it when it comes. Comfort is a Fruit of the Spirit as well as Grace; he which is the God of Grace, is also the God of Consolation; and the same Spirit which works Grace, witnesseth for our Comfort; and it is as great a Crime to smother his Witness, as to resist his Work. Whatever we think, God would have us not only to be holy, but to be chearful. Would you make the Heart of Christ glad? See Iohn 15.11. These things have I spoken unto you, that my Ioy may remain in you, and that your Ioy may be full. Christ rejoiceth most in his Heritage, when they live up to the Provision and Preparation he hath made for them in the Gospel. The Devil envieth our Comfort, he knows how useful it is in the Christian Life, to make us thankful for Mercies, chearful in his Service, to wean us from carnal Delights, and make us willing to do and suffer for God; he seeks to weaken our Confidence, as knowing the Joy of the Lord is our Strength; he would either keep us from Grace, or from a Sense of it; and make us either wicked or sad, and keep us from a comfortable Feeling and Apprehension of Grace.
2. If strong Consolation be a Fruit of Certainty upon God's Oath; then it informs us, that it is a false Comfort and Peace which is not the Fruit of Certainty and Confidence in Christ, which ariseth either from a Neglect of Duty or carnal Pleasure; and all that wicked Men have, comes from one of these Grounds. It is good to look to the Fountain and Spring of our Joy and Comfort, that we may be able to say with the Psalmist, Thy Comforts delight my Soul, Psal. 94.19. We should look to the Ground and Reason of our Peace and Security; Why am I thus quiet? Is it because God is reconciled to me in Christ? because of Assurance from him, under his Oath, upon my taking Sanctuary in Christ? The Devil …ulls Men asleep by other means. Carnal Men their Comfort ariseth from Carelesness and Negligence in the spiritual Life; they do not trouble the Devil, nor he them. When a strong Man armed keeps his Palace, his Goods are in Peace, Luke 11.21. The Devil lets us alone, when we let him alone, when we do not exasperate Lusts, nor trouble his Kingdom in our Heart. Look as the Sea is very calm when Wind and Tide go together; so when our Corruptions and Satan's Temptations run the same way, all is calm and quiet. As a Man feels not the Sickness that grows upon him▪ till the Humours are stirred by Exercise: So when there is a Spirit of Slumber and Security, and Men are neglectful and careless in the spiritual Life, and let Satan alone to possess the Heart, they sleep, but their Damnation slumbers not. Then for carnal Pleasure, this will not give them leave to think of their Condition▪ Their whole Life is nothing but a knitting of Pleasure to Pleasure, and a Diversion from one Contentment to another; so they put far off from themselves the Thoughts of their own eternal Condition. The outward Man is gratified, and the inward Man hath no time; they fill the Soul with Work; that it may not fall upon it self, as a Mill grinds not it self as long as it hath something to work upon: as the Prophet observes of those that drink Wine in Bowls, and put far away the evil Day, Amos 6.3. They melt away their Days in Pleasure, and charm and lull their Souls into a deep Sleep with the Potion of outward Delights, lest Conscience should awake and talk with them: Therefore look to the Ground of your Comfort and Security, whence it cometh, Psal. 94.19. Thy Comforts delight my Soul. Ever now and then we should be making Experiments, and try the Strength of it; Can you venture your everlasting Estate upon the present Confidence? Would I be thus found of God? 1 Iohn 2.28. Little Children, abide in him, that when he shall appear, we may have Confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his Coming. In Afflictions and Sickness Men are wont to be serious; Is your Faith found to praise and honour?
3. It informs us, that the State of a Believer is far better than the State of those that flow in worldly Delights. A Man of a great Estate, and that abounds in all the Comforts of this Life, may seem to live a merry Life; O but a Believer hath strong Consolation, such as when it is put to the Trial, will bear him out in Life and Death. Wicked Men may rejoice, as a Bird sings in the Fowler's Snare; they may take Comfort in their Portion for a while, but in their latter End they will be Fools. Alas, your Comforts cannot ease you of the Colick or Head-ach, nor give you a good Night's Sleep: Small Comfort! that can neither satisfy the Heart in any Distress, nor ease the Conscience. Solomon saith, Prov. 11.4. Riches profit not in a Day of Wrath. Take it for Man's or God's Wrath. In Man's Wrath, Riches many times prove our Burden; and none lie so obnoxious to publick Displeasure as rich Men: the Comfort is soon lost, it lieth without us. An Estate cannot be carried about you, though it be in Jewels, it is liable to hazard. The rich Jews were carried captive, when the Poor were left to till the Land. So in the Day of Man's Wrath, it falls most upon worldly great Men; they have poor Comforts which will not bear them out: but we read of those which took joyfully the spoiling of their Goods, knowing in themselves that they have in Heaven a better and an enduring Substance, Heb. 10.34. Though with Ioseph they lose their Coat, yet they keep a good Conscience, and this makes amends for all their outward Losses. But I take the Place rather for God's Wrath, there is the Trial in Trouble of Conscience, and in the Pangs of Death. Christian, as sure as the Lord liveth, there will a time come when the Strength of your Comforts will be tried. Here you sit a brooding upon Wealth, as the Partridg upon rotten Eggs; and what then? At his latter End he shall be a Fool, Jer. 17.11. Why at his latter End? Then he shall be so in the Conviction of his own Conscience, his own Heart will call him Fool; O Fool! O mad Man that I was, in lavishing out my Time, Strength and Care upon that which will yield me no Comfort! Mr. Fox tells us of a rich Cardinal, when about to die, cried out, And must I die that am so rich? Will not Death be bribed? Will Money do nothing now? This will be your Case and Condition when you come to die, if you get not an Interest in this strong Consolation: As that Pagan Emperor warbled out to his Soul, O animula blandula vagula, quo nunc abibis? &c. O where is this Soul of mine going? You that now shine in Bravery, that eat of the fattest, and drink of the sweetest; when your Day is gone, what will become of you? you must die and go from all this: Nothing then but Peace of Conscience and spiritual Comfort will serve the turn: O for one Dram of this Comfort then when Death is nigh, and God is angry! Men keep a great deal of Bustle now to get Honour, and break through all Restraints of Honesty and Conscience to work themselves into worldly Greatness: O but when they come to die, how will this be upon their Heart? What would they give then for Peace of Conscience, and this strong Consolation which God vouchsafeth to the Heirs of Promise? But then no Price will be given to God: That look as a Husband when he surprizeth his Wife in her Adulterous Imbraces, He will not spare in the Day of Vengeance; he will not regard any Ransom; neither will he rest content, tho thou givest many Gifts, Prov. 6.34, 35. So when God hath surprized you in the midst of your Whoredoms, when you have diverted your Respects from, and been disloyal to him, it is the Day of his Vengeance, and he will take no Ransom: What will a Man give in Exchange for his Soul? There will be such a dying-hour, which thou must expect, it is hard by: Christians! have you Comforts strong enough to encounter the Terrors and Horrors of Death? within a little while you will be put to trial.
4. It informs us, that Christians put a Disparagement upon their Comforts, when they are dejected with every Fear and Trouble. This is much beneath God's Oath, the Merit of Christ, and the Joy of the Holy Ghost, and all the Provision the three Persons have made. As for Instance.
(1.) When your Comforts are too weak, as you fain in every Affliction, Prov. 24.10. If thou faint in the day of Adversity, thy Strength is small. Thou hast small Comfort, if it will not bear thee out in outward Trouble. God and Christ, and the Spirit, they are as it were trying their Skill (I would speak it with Reverence) to raise up a Confidence in Believers, that shall be Affliction-proof; now if you are presently gone when put to trial, you disparage this strong Consolation, and frustrate all the Provision they make for you. Many a Heathen would do better upon moral Principles, and behave themselves with a greater Generosity and Bravery of Spirit. You know that Question, Iob 15.11. Are the Consolations of God small with thee? the meaning is, Is all the Provision of Comfort, and Grace, and Joy in the Spirit too slender to bear you up in this Affliction? What do you expect, Christians? Would you have better Provision than God hath made? Dost thou expect greater Promises, surer Mercies, and a more able Christ to bear up thy Heart? Are not all the Consolations of God able to raise you up? Thus when you are overcome in every Trial.
(2.) When you are full of Doubts, Bondage and servile Fears, you disparage God's Consolation. As for Instance, when you cannot think of the Judgment without Horror, Acts 24.25. As he reasoned of Righteousness, Temperance, and Iudgment to come, Felix trembled: or of Death without Bondage, Heb. 2.15. Through fear of Death they were all their Life-time subject to Bondage. Christians! now and then we should be making Experiments, and trying the Strength of our Comforts, and say thus, Can I venture my everlasting Estate upon this Confidence? Would I be thus found, if Christ were coming to Judgment? 1 John 4.17. Herein is Love made perfect, that we may have Boldness in the Day of Iudgment. Take it for God's Apprehensions of his Love to us, or our Apprehensions of our Love to God; we should still be providing for that Day, and citing our selves before Christ's Tribunal, that we might see of what Strength our Consolation is.