The Works of Jeremiah Burroughs 9-11, Treatise 3 · Chapter 14
CHAP. XIV.
The Saints in all Ages have walked by Faith. 1 Enoch. 2 Noah. 3 Abraham. 4 Jacob. 5 All the Patriarks. 6 David. 7 Jonah. 8 Church, though they had less means, and a less glorious object than we have.
I Might shew you the Examples of the Saints at all times, how they have made their walk a walk of Faith.
1 As Enoch's walking with God was by Faith; that is apparent in Heb. 11. he pleased God; and if you read the Epistle of Jude, there you shall see the walk of Enoch with God, And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his Saints: Enoch that was the seventh from Adam, yet he beleeved the coming of the Lord with ten thousands of his Saints though it were almost six thousand yeers ago, yet Enochs Faith reached to it: Enoch when he saw ungodly men, and heard them speak hard speeches against the waies of God, looked beyond all their prosperity, and as is he should say, it may be they prosper in this world, and they speak hard speeches; Oh the hard speeches that many ungodly men belch out against the waies of God: though they prospered a while, yet Enoch could look beyond all their prosperity, and by his Faith was able to see the coming of Jesus Christ when he shall come with ten thousands of his Saints in all his glory at the great day, and the sight of this made Enoch walk on in his way; as if he should say, let others do what they will, and please themselves in their ungodly waies, and walk according to the Flesh; I dare not walk as they walk, for why? Oh I beleeve the Coming of Christ in all his Glory, Enoch: Enoch that lived almost six tbousand yeers ago, yet he by Faith could behold the coming of Christ, and by that work of his Faith was he kept on in his walking with God; let men do as they please, yet he would keep on constantly in his way, and this Text shews what it was that kept him on in his way.
2 And so Noah, he walked with God in his Generation, surely it was by Faith too; that place in Heb. 11. shews plainly that it was by Faith; By Faith Noah being warned of God of things not seen: Mark, he did not walk by sight, but being warned of God of things not seen as yet; moved with fear, prepared an Ark for the saving of his house, &c. all was by Faith; and indeed that which he did, it could not be by any other Principle but by Faith.
For first, That he was so Godly in his Generation; you read in Gen. 6. that the whol world had corrupted their waies, And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the Earth, and that the very imagination and thoughts of his heart was only evil continually: this was the corruption of the times wherin Noah lived; what kept Noah upright all this time, when mens wickedness was so great, and God was resolved to destroy men from off the face of the Earth; but saith he, Noah found grace in the Eyes of the Lord, and Noah was a just man, and perfect in his Generation, and Noah walked with God; surely it was by Faith: What could it be but a Principle of Faith that should make Noah fall upon building of an Ark one hundred and twenty yeers before? God tells Noah that there should be a Flood come upon the Earth, and therefore bids him build him an Ark: An Ark! we never read of any such vessel to swim in the Water: Noah might have had a thousand Reasonings; What should I that am upon dry Land, and well, must I go and build a Vessel that must carry me in the Water? and I build, what I alone, am I wiser than all besides? they will come and mock, and what new kind of fine thing is this that you are a building? To what purpose should I go to build an Ark? I am no Marriner, and I know not how to mannage it: I but I must build it; and by Faith he went on in his way.
And then suppose that a Flood should come and destroy the whol Earth, is it a likely thing that the Water should come up upon the top of high hills? Yet Noah beleeved this.
And then, All my Neighbors that are about me, may kill me if they please, and put me out of the Ark, and take it themselves: Sence and Reason would tell him so; and yet Noah went on in his way.
Well, But suppose God do put me into the Ark, and keep other men that they should not take it from me, but that I should have the benefit of it: I but then God tells me that there must be in it all manner of Creatures, two and two to come into the Ark, all venemous Creatures, and wild and savage Creatures, they may destroy me? I but Noah beleeved this, that God would preserve him.
Again, I must have an Ark in which may be all sorts of Creatures, and food for all these, what Vessel would be able to hold this: But yet Noah beleeved God.
I but when they are there, surely the very filth that would come from those Creatures, would poyson me: yet Noah still beleeved.
And when I am in the Ark, and all the World shall be covered over with Water, what shall become of me at last? yet he beleeved that God would provide for him.
God put Noahs Faith to it, and by Faith he went into the Ark, and was preserved there: It was the walk of Faith that was Noahs walk in his Generation.
3 I might likewise shew you the walk of the Saints in other times; As of Abraham, how when he first came from his Fathers house, what a walk he took to walk into the Land of Canaan, and then afterwards into Egypt, up and down from place to place, and had not any possession at all but of a burying place, and was in the midst of dangers and oppositions from time to time, and how God tried him in the main thing that he promised him. Oh the walk of Abraham by Faith, was very famous.
4 And then the walk of Jacob's Faith.
5 And of all the Patriarks: the History of the Bible wil discover to you the walk of all their Faith.
6 And the walk of Davids Faith; after the promise of a Kingdom, yet how he was hunted up and down in the Wilderness like a Partridg.
7 And Jonah when he was put into the Whales Belly, yet he still cries to the Lord, and there acts Faith.
8 And the Church of God in general, besides particular Saints: that place in Lam. 3. shews the notable work of Faith in the Church of God when they were in the greatest distress, and under the Captivity of their Enemies; at the 24. verse, The Lord is my Portion, saith my soul, therfore will I hope in him: The Lord is good to them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
The Lord is my portion, saith my soul: As if the Church should say thus, If I should consult what Reason saith, and what Sence saith, and what Temptation saith, and what the World saith, they would all say that God had forsaken me, that God hath left me: But I will not regard what Sence saith, what Reason saith, what Temptation saith, But the Lord is my portion, saith my soul; I will conclude of this in the greatest distress that I am in, yet still the Lord is my portion, saith my soul. Still she holds to this in the midst of all her distresses: and we need not instance in further particulars the 11. chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, is a Comment upon my Text, there you have the walk of the Saints one after another, from Enochs time to the Macabees.
And yet take this one Note, they had not the means of Faith as we have, they had not the object of Faith revealed to them so gloriously as we have: Oh when we read the 11. chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, it should make us ashamed for, and troubled in the consideration of our Unbelief: Oh the glorious work of Faith that was in those Primitive Saints.
The work of Precious Faith in them appeared very gloriously; therefore it should occasion such a Meditation as this:
Oh! Should they that lived in the time of the old Testament, or before the New, yet should they thus walk by Faith? Oh how much more then should we that live in the time of the new Testament! Had they had but the four Evangelists to read over, of Christs being come in the flesh, and the manner of his coming, being born and living; and the Sermons of Christ, had they them but to have read over, and the Stories of his Apostles in the Acts, and the great mysteries of Grace that are revealed in the Epistles that we have; Oh what Faith do you think would there have been in them then! Read but the old Testament, and how little have you there of Jesus Christ, of the Covenant of Grace, and of the things of Eternal Life; no, the Apostle saith, that Glory and Immortality were brought to light by his Gospel; it was little known in the time of the Law, and yet the glimmerings that they had of those Objects of Faith, did strengthen them, and carried them through difficulties and oppositions whereby they were enabled to walk by Faith: And so it is recorded of them for their Honor even to the end of the World; They received a good report by their walking by Faith, to be an Example to us; Oh that we that are Christians, and profess our beleeving in such glorious things as we do, we should be ashamed that we are led so much by Sence and Reason as we are: Oh let us labor above all things to manifest the Glory of Faith, for 'tis this that God especially aims at: 'tis the great design that God hath to lead his people along in such a way as may magnifie this grace of Faith: and therefore those of you do most honor God in the world that do most walk by Faith; not those men and women that have most comforts, they do not most honor God; those men and women that have most honors in the world, and most encouragements in the waies of obedience, these are not them that do bring most honor to God; but those that do walk most by Faith: when the Lord looks from Heaven, and sees a poor Creature that wants Sence, and hath not those encouragements that others have, and it may be thou art not used in such excellent service that others are, and thou thinkest thus; Oh the Lord hath little use of me, I am not imployed in such things as others are imployed in, I do little Service for God in my Generation: I but doest thou exercise Faith in thy afflicted condition, in thy low condition, in that condition of thine where thou seemest as though God did but little regard thee, canst thou beleeve and exercise Faith in such a condition? know that this is acceptable before the Lord, and thou by the exercise of faith in thy low condition, mayest bring more honor to God than many that have excellent parts and gifts, and are imployed in glorious Service for God: But of that we shal have occasion to speak more further when we come to that head of shewing the excellency of Walking by Faith.