A Beam of Divine Glory, Part 1 · Chapter 7
CHAP. VII.
Several grounds of humbling from the conſideration of God's Unchangeableneſs, as our unlikeneſs to him therein, our charging him with change, our living ſo little upon his Unchangeableneſs.
AS the Unchangeableneſs of God is very teaching and inſtructive, ſo alſo very humbling, if rightly weighed and improved by us: there are ſeveral things which the conſideration thereof do call aloud upon us to be humbled for, and Oh that we would lay them to heart!
1. Is God unchangeable? Then how ſhould we be humbled for our exceeding great changeableneſs, and therein our unlikeneſs to God, the chief good? The more changeable we are in what is good, the more unlike God we are; and the more unlike God we are, the more cauſe we have of humbling. Oh, how ſhould we loath our ſelves, and be abaſed at the foot of God in the ſenſe of our great fickleneſs and changeableneſs? Alas! how changeable are we in all that is good? how changeable are many of us in our Judgments and Opinions, being like Children toſſed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of Doctrine, as you have it Eph. 4.14. being apt to be ſoon removed from the Faith of the Goſpel, as the Galatians were, at which Paul marvelled, Gal. 1.6. How changeable are we in our affections to God, and the things of God? Now the heart flames with love to God and Chriſt, anon 'tis chill and cold. Now we are full of holy longings and deſires after God, and Chriſt, Grace, and Glory; we can ſay with the Church of old, The deſire of our Soul is unto thee, O God, and to the remembrance of thy Name, Iſa. 26.8. yea, our Soul thirſteth for God, for the living God; Yea, as the Hart panteth after the Water-brooks, ſo panteth our Soul after God, as the Pſalmiſt ſpeaks: Anon there is not any one holy breathing to be found within us: No, we are even made up of worldly, ſinful, unclean deſires; we pant after the duſt of the Earth, as thoſe Amos 2.7. we are athirſt for the Creature, and nothing but that will ſatisfie us. Now we delight in God and his Wayes; We rejoce in the Lord, and our Soul is joyful in our God, as 'twas with the Church Iſa. 61.10. and his Wayes are ſweet and pleaſant to us, his Law is our delight; anon we reliſh no ſweetneſs, we take and excerciſe no joy, no delight, either in the one or in the other; but we drive on heavily, every duty being a burthen to us, and the very thoughts of God a trouble. Now we fear and ſtand in a we of God, not daring to ſin againſt him; we ſtand in awe of his Preſence; we ſtand in awe of his Holineſs; we ſtand in awe of his Goodneſs; we ſtand in awe of his Power, and the like; Anon we are fearleſs and regardleſs of him, boldly venturing upon ſinning againſt him: Now we dread ſin as Hell it ſelf, yea, and worſe too; anon we imbrace it and delight in it. Again, how changeable are we in our holy purpoſes and reſolutions? We take up this and that holy reſolution; we purpoſe to walk ſo and ſo with God, to keep ſuch and ſuch a watch over our ſpirits and wayes; to live more in communion with God; to drive a greater trade and deſign for Heaven, and to haſten more to that better Countrey, and the like; but alas! how do ſuch reſolutions fade, and change, and die within us, not one of many of them ever proves firm and effectual; yea, many times no ſooner are ſuch reſolutions taken up by us, but preſently we run Counter to them, and break with God more than before; the firſt temptation that comes turns us quite beſide our purpoſe, and we miſerably miſcarry in the very things we reſolved about: Our holy purpoſes are for the moſt part abortive, We turn aſide like a deceitful bow (as God complains of thoſe Pſal. 78.57. 'Tis a ſad complaint which I have read in one of the Ancients; Oftentimes (ſays he) have I promiſed & refolved to amend, Multoties permiſi me emondare & nunquam tenut, ſed ſemper ad peocatu redii & prioribus ſeeleribus nova & deterior a conjunxi, nunquam ut debui mores meos in melius mutari &c. Bern. de aſcen. Domini.but I never made it good, but alwayes I returned to ſin, and to my former wickedneſſes; I added new, and worſe, I never reformed as I ought. And who of us may not in a great meaſure make the ſame complaint? Yet once more, How changeable are we in our ways and walkings? How uneven and unconſtant in our goings? We have an heart that loveth to wander, (as God ſpeaks of them of old Jer. 14.10.) O the turnings aſide, and O the turnings back that we are guilty of in our walking with God! Oh the gaps and pauſes, and interruptions that are in our obedience! we ſhould go on in one even conſtant tenure of holy Obedience; but alas! we are in and out, off and on often in the day, yea in the hour; yea many times, ſudden and great changes are found in our ſpirits and carriages God-ward, and that for the worſe. I'le give you one, and but one inſtance of this, and that in an eminently holy Man, an inſtance that may well make all of us tremble, and that is of Jeremiah Jer. 20.13, 14, 15. Sing unto the Lord, praiſe ye the Lord; for he hath delivered the Soul of the poor from the hand of evil doers. Curſed be the day wherein I was horn; let not the day wherein my mother bare me be bleſſed. Curſed be the man that brought tidings to my Father, ſaying, A man-child is born unto thee, making him very glad. Pray mark, what a great change there was wrought in this good man's ſpirit, and that all of a ſudden; in verſ. 13. he looks like one dropt out of Heaven, praiſing God for his Goodneſs and Salvation, and calling upon others ſo to do; but in verſ. 14, 15. he looks rather like one broken looſe out of Hell, curſing himſelf, and almoſt every one about him. In the one he looks more like an Angel than an imperfect Saint; in the other he looks more like a Devil, than a Man; ſo great was the change in his ſpirit, and this ſuddenly made. When he had in verſ. 13. been praiſing God, and was, as it were, taken up to Heaven, the very next news you hear of him is, that he is full of curſing: and truly thus changeable are we all here. O how ſuddenly many times do we change and fall from the beſt into the worſt of frames and carriages before God? from love, to hatred; from faith, to unbelief; from holy fear, to carnal ſecurity; from obedience to rebellion; from delight in God, to a neglect of God, and a weariedneſs of his wayes and preſence. O let us be humbled for this our exceeding changeableneſs, and therein our unlikeneſs to God in his Unchangeableneſs.
2. Is God unchangeable? Then how ſhould we be humbled that we do ſo often wrong God, charging him with unconſtancy and change, as we do? Such, my Beloved, is the emnity and unbelief of our hearts, that we are apt, upon all occaſions, to take up hard thoughts of God, and bring in black charges againſt him: Now we charge him with weakneſs, and anon with folly; now with unfaithfulneſs, and anon with, unjuſtice; now with cruelty, and anon with change; which is a great evil, and calls for great humbling: God is unchangeable, and he ſtands much upon the glory of his unchangeableneſs, and yet we charge him with change: what an affront is this? This the Pſalmiſt, whoever he was, came near unto, Pſal. 77.7, 8, 9. Will the Lord caſt off for ever? And will he be favourable no more? Is his Mercy clean gone for ever? Doth his Promiſefail for evermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? Hath he in anger ſhut up his tender Mercies? What is all this but in effect a charging of God with change? He is here even upon the point of concluding, that God is not the God he was, that he is not ſo merciful, nor ſo faithful, nor ſo gracious, as formerly he was: 'Tis as if he ſhould have ſaid, God was a God of Mercy, Mercy pleaſed him, but now his Mercy is at an end, and he is become all ſeverity; he was faithful in his Promiſes, but now his Promiſes fail, and fail utterly: he was a Gracious God, Grace was his darling Attribute, but now his Grace is forgotten by him: Thus for a time he did charge God with change, though after wards, as the context tells us, his Faith recovered it ſelf, and he came to right thoughts of God again. Job alſo was deeply involved in this guilt, Job 30.21. Thou art turned to be cruel to me (ſayes he to God) thou wert a kind, but now thou art a cruel God to me. The Church alſo is full of this, Iſa. 49.14. and ſhe ſpeaks it out, Sion ſaid, the Lord hath forſaken me, and my God hath forgotten me, q.d. God is ehanged, he is not the God he was: Thus I ſay, though God be unchangeable, yet we are apt to charge him with change; we are apt to think that he is neither what he was, nor where he was; that he is either not ſo good as he was, or alſo not ſo great, ſo powerful, ſo wiſe, ſo holy, ſo faithful, ſo gracious as he was, and the like: Behold (ſayes the Prophet) the Lord's Hand is not ſhortned, that it cannot ſave; neither is his Ear heavy, that it cannot hear, Iſa. 59.1. They thought and concluded that God's Hand was ſhortned, that is, that his Power was leſſened, and that he was not as able to ſave now as formerly; they thought and concluded, that his Ear was grown heavy, that is, that he was not ſo good, and kind, and ready to hear their Prayers now as formerly; he was a God able to ſave, but now, ſay they, he is not, he was a Prayer-hearing God, but now, ſay they, he is not: Thus they were ready to charge him with change: but, ſayes the Prophet, there is no ſuch matter, God is what he was, his Power is the ſame, and his readineſs to hear, and help, and ſave is the ſame that ever it was. There are, among others, two caſes eſpecially in which we are apt to charge the unchangeable God with change; one is, when we change in our carriages and behaviour towards God; the other is, when God's carriages and diſpenſations are changed towards us; for indeed we are apt to meaſure God, and judge of him by his out ward carriage and diſpenſations towards us; and when they are changed, we conclude he is changed: in Gen. 31.2. 'tis ſaid, that Jacob beheld the Countenance of Laban, and behold it was not toward him as before: So we many times behold the Countenance of God, his outward carriage and diſpenſation towards us, and 'tis not towards us as before, his Countenance is chang'd; and becauſe his Countenance is not, we think his Heart is not toward us as formerly, but is changed. O, my Beloved, let us take heed of this grand evil, of charging God with change; 'tis indeed a grand evil, 'tis what is very grievous and provoaking to God, and 'tis what layes the Soul under much deep-dyed guilt; 'tis indeed to rob God of one of the brighteſt Jewels in his Crown; yea, 'tis to un-God him: for if he be changeable, he is not God; tremble therefore, Reader, and tremble, O my Soul, at the thoughts of ſuch a thing as this, namely, to charge the Unchangeable One with change.
3. Is God unchangeable? Then how ſhould we be humbled that we live ſo much upon the Creature, and ſo little upon God; ſo much upon the Creature that does change, and ſo little upon God that changes not? If we reflect feriouſly upon our ſelves, we ſhall find, (at leaſt many of us) that we live more upon the Creatures, than we do upon God; more upon broken Ciſterns, than we do upon this Fountain of Living Waters; at leaſt, the beſt and holieſt of us will find, that we live too much upon the Creature, and too little upon God; witneſs the eagerneſs, ſtrength, and vehemency of our deſnes after the Creature more than after God, and communion with God: Alas! how paſſionately many times do we long, and how vigorouſly do we purſue after the Creature, when we can be content well enough without God and communion with God? Witneſs the frequency of our thoughts and contemplations of and about the Creature, more than of God and about God. Alas! we mind earthly things, as thoſe did Phil. 3.19. but how ſeldom do we think of God, and contemplate God? Now that which is moſt in our thoughts, that we live moſt upon, witneſs our delight and complacency in the Creature, more than in God. O, what freſh, ſpringing, vigorous delights have we many times in the Creature? but when, and how little do we delight our ſelves in God? Now that which we take moſt delight and complacency in, that do we live moſt upon. Witneſs our immoderate griefs, and the bitterneſs of Spirit, we are uſually in for the loſs or withdrawment of the Creatures, more than for the loſs and withdrawment of God and his Preſence from us. Let this or the other Creature-comfort be withdrawn from us, and how do we take on uſually? And what bitterneſs of Soul are we filled withall? Then with Hagar we lift up our voice and weep, Gen. 21.19. How did Jonah, that good Man, take on when the Gourd was withered, Jon. 4.7, 8, 9. But how ſeldom do we grieve, and bleed, and mourn for want of Communion with God? Yea, how, indifferent for the moſt part are we whether we have communion with God or no? And what does this argue, but that we live too much upon the Creature and too little upon God? Thus if we ſeriouſly reflect upon our ſelves, we ſhall find, by theſe, and ſuch like things as theſe, that we live more upon the Creatures than we do upon God; and, O how humbling ſhould this be upon us! The Creatures, they are vain, fading, changeable things, they are even vanity it ſelf, and changeableneſs it ſelf; but God is an eternal unchangeable Good; He is the ſame for ever, an unchangeable Fountain of all Goodneſs, Sweetneſs, Bleſſedneſs, and Delight: Now to live upon theſe changeable Creatures, and not upon this unchangeable God, this is a great evil, and calls for great mourning and humbling at our hands. 'Tis a great ſpeech which I have read in Auſtin, wherein he bewails this very ſin;Bonus eſt qui fecit …e, & ipſe eſt bonum moum, at in hoc peccabam, quod non in ipſo, ſed in creaturis ejus, me atque caeteras voluptates quaerebam, atque it a irruebam in dolores, confuſiones, & errores. Aug. He that made me, is Good, (ſayes he) and he is my Good; but in this I ſinned, that not in Him, but in his Creatures, I ſought my ſelf, and my other pleaſures; that is, I took up my ſolace and happineſs in the Creatures, and not in God; and what then? and ſo, ſayes he Iran my ſelf upon many dolors, errors, and confuſion of Soul: And may not many of us make the very ſame complaint? He that made us is Good, and he is our Good; but in this we have ſinned, and do ſin, that we live upon the Creatures, and not upon Him, and ſo run our ſelves upon many dolors, errors, and confuſion of Soul: We live upon changeable Creatures, more than upon an unchangeable God; and hereby God is diſhonoured, his Spirit is grieved, our Souls are bereaved of Good, yea, the beſt Good, the Good of Grace, and divine diſcoveries and communications; hereby we eat Husks, when we might eat Bread; and we drink Swill, when we might drink Wine in our Fathers Houſe. Hereby we are expoſed to ſorrows, ſnares, and death; yea, and hereby we are in danger of being excluded from God for ever. Oh, my Beloved, let us be convinced of this evil, and mourn over it: for My own part, when I reflect upon my ſelf, I find cauſe to fear that I have lived upon Creatures all my dayes, upon changeable Creatures, to the great, if not total, neglect of the unchangeable God; and believe it, 'tis an hard thing to come off from the one, to live ſo purely and intirely upon the other, as we ought to do: The Lord humble us for theſe things.