The Works of Jeremiah Burroughs 9-11, Treatise 3 · Chapter 10
CHAP. X.
The Danger of mens walking by Reason. 1 The way of the Gospel is above Reason, Rhetorick, and Logick. 2 Reason is excellent, but if we walk according to it, it hardneth against God. 3 The Word works upon weak men sooner than wise, because they cannot fence off the Truth, as wise men with corrupt hearts. 4 It makes men slight in Spiritual Duties, without Communion. 5 They will not go through with a Duty, but start aside at every difficulty. 6 If God work Grace upon them, they will be fuller of doubts than others in whose understanding the Devil hath no forge.
FIrst in this, That the way that God hath set for your eternal Life is a way above Reason; and it's a special design of God for to befool the Wisdom of the World, and to take the wise in their own craftiness; this is that God aims at: If you read the first Epistle to the Corinthians, Chap. 1. Verse 17. and so on, there saith the Apostle, Christ sent me not to Baptize, but to preach the Gospel; not with wisdom of words, lest the Cross of Christ should be made of none effect: It was Christs charge, that when I came to preach the Gospel, I should not go in that plausible way of Reason as others do, in a Rhetorical and Logical way, and to manifest Art so much; it's true, there's use to be made of Arts & Sciences that may be understood by the light of Nature; yet the way of the Gospel must be that which is above them, and it must be delivered in a way above the way of Reason, therefore saith he, I came not with wisdom of words, which yet Paul could have done as wel as another, witness his Artificial undoing of the Orators Speech, Act. 26. but he liked not to put the Sword of the Spirit into a velvet Scabbord that it could not pierce, to speak floride potius quam solide, as those self-seekers at Corinth did, that sought more to tickle the ear, than to affect the heart, to please, than to profit: But the Apostle purposely waved all gaudy, Court-like preaching, lest the Cross of Christ should be made of none effect; for the preaching of the Cross is to them that perish, foolishness; but unto them that are sav'd, it is the power of God: They see no wisdom in it; then in the 19. verse, For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the Wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the Prudent. The way that God hath to bring men to Life, and to Salvation, is to make them fools first in their own apprehensions, to convince them of the corruption that there is in their understandings: And then in the 20. vers. Where is the wise (the Teacher of Traditions?) where is the Scribe (or Text-man?) where is the Disputer of this world (the Teacher of Allegories and Mysteries?) Hath not God made foolish the Wisdom of this world? and so he goes on: For after that, in the Wisdom of God (not by all their Natural Reason) it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that beleeve: For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after Wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks, foolishness: But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the Power of God, and the Wisdom of God: Even Christ and the great things of the Gospel are foolishness to those that walk according to the sight of Reason: for saith he, The foolishness of God is wiser than men; he speaks here in the apprehension of the world, that is, the great things of God are accounted by the men of the world but foolishness, I but it's wiser than their wisdom, and therefore you see your calling Brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world, to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not (that are nought set by) to bring to nought things that are. You may see by this Scripture (read it at your leisure) how Gods design is to blast the wisdom of the World, and to befool al worldly excellencies; and he hath so set things in the way of Salvation as those that will stick according to the rules of their own Reason, must perish and be undone eternally: they shall never come to know the things of God.
It's a dangerous thing further (yet Reason, take it considered without the corruption of it, is an excellent thing) but walking according to it, it turns that which is an excellent thing in its self to be a mischief to thee, to be a means to harden thee against God and his waies, and to be a means to put off the Truths: A man that hath strong Natural Parts, deep Reason, and yet a corrupt heart: Oh how can this man fence off the Truth of God when others cannot: And hence it is that many times the Word works upon those that are weaker in Natural Parts than upon others, because when the Word of God comes to such a one, he hath nothing to fence off the Truth, whereas another man that is subtil, and hath strong Natural Parts, he will have this and the other Objection against it; and surely this cannot be so, because of this reason▪ and the other reason; and so seems to baffle the Truths of God when indeed he doth but baffle his own soul; and so he ble…es himself that he hath baffled it, and fenc'd it off, when as it is but for his own ruine: And hence it is that when Christ came to preach, where do you hear of Christs converting any Scribes and Pharisees which were the learnedst men o… the times: And you read of Paul that was for a long time together at Athens, yet you never read that there was a Church set up at Athens; there was a Church set up at Ephesus, and Galatia, and Colosse, and Philipi: Now Athens was the Ʋniversity, was the place where the Scholers and Learned men were, and they derided Paul, and jeer'd at him, and so the Pharisees they derided Christ, because they by the strength of their parts could put off the Truths of God, Oh it's a miracle to see a man that hath strong Natural Parts, and a corrupt heart conver…ed, of all men, if God doth convert them, they have cause to bless God abundantly: Oh they will then see how their Natural Parts we…e opposite to the work of Conversion, and stand and wonder how God did over-power their Objecting hearts.
And by the way, you that have weak Natural Parts be not discouraged, for perhaps if you had had greater Natural parts, you might never have come to the understanding of Spiritual things as now you have: You reade in Scripture of the women that followed Christ and his Apostles; And when as Paul was sent to preach at Macedonia, and he had a vision in the night, saying, Come over▪ to Macedonia and help us: we find that there were but few women that came to hear Paul, and amongst the rest God opened the heart of one Lydia a seller of purple. Men of strong natural parts, they fence off the Truths, and keepeth then at arms end; but men of weaker parts have received them: And now this will be the glory of God to al eternity when you come to Heaven, that God should chuse you to reveal himself to, rather than the great ones of the world; and therefore be not discouraged for the weakness of your Natural parts: There's a great deal of danger in walking according to the sight of mens Knowledg and Reason.
Again, Ther's this further evil in it, That it makes men very slight in Spiritual Duties: Men that have nothing but Reason, they will perform Duties, but there's no life nor vigor at all, no warmth of their hearts, no communion with God in them; I appeal to your Consciences, many of you that have gone but meerly in a fair Rational way before the world, though you do pray, and come to the Word, yet I appeal to you, What Communion with God have you? Those that walk according to Sight and Reason, are far from enjoyment of Communion with God, their hearts are very slight and dead in things that are Spiritual and Heavenly; all their Services that they perform are meer Natural, and therefore in a very low and mean way that they do them: you shall have those that are far beneath them in Natural Parts, when they come to pray, Oh there's a Spiritualness and Heavenliness in their Prayers; you shall have many poor people of very weak parts sending up groans and sighs in Prayer; but come to some that are Schollers, and they will have fine quaint Prayers, and set Phrases, but no warmth at al, no heat, no spiritualness at all that there is in them, because they go according to Reason, and act no higher but meerly the Principles of Reason.
Moreover, Those that go according to the Principles of Reason, may make an onset upon some work that God sets them about, but a thousand to one but they will never go through it; if there come any difficulty in the way they will quickly be carried off: there is no way to persevere in Godliness, but by being principled meerly by a Principle of Faith; if you be principled meerly by a Principle of Reason, you will never go through a Duty, but you wil faulter in it when you meet with any difficulty, or start aside like a broken Bow.
Again, There is this evil in it, That if ever God work Grace upon any, they will be fuller of doubts, and fears, and perplexities than others are, ordinarily it is so; there is this evil in the remainer of corrupt Reason, and I have seen it by the examples that I have known of many men of excellent parts, they being converted have had more doubts about the Mysteries of Religion, more troubled with thoughts of Atheism, more perplexed in many things, and more followed with fears about their own Estates, they having been so addicted unto Reason, there doth remain so much strength of it, after their Conversion as their Reason doth puzzle them extreamly: whereas you have many of the meaner sort of people when God works Sanctifying Grace in their hearts, they never have any such doubts and fears, they look at nothing but in the morning to commit their souls to God, and read the Word; and when they meet with a Promise, their souls close with it, and blesse God for it, and so go about their business with comfort and joy, and never call any thing so into Question; the Devil hath not a forge in their understandings fit for his turn: but certainly a mans understanding that is of a large Capacity and not perfectly Sanctified, the Devil can make a great use of the unsanctified part of it to forge a great many questions and doubts that wil puzzle and perplex the soul: So far as thou walkest according to Reason, so far thou wilt be brought into perplexity, and therefore there is a great deal of danger in walking according to the sight of thine eyes.
Wherefore by way of Application.