The Works of Jeremiah Burroughs 9-11, Treatise 3 · Chapter 16
CHAP. XVI.
Of the Excellency of Faith.
Walking by Faith is Excellent: 1 Because it hath higher apprehensions of God than others have. 2 It makes Civil and Natural actions, Heavenly. 3 It brings delight unto the soul. 4 It makes us converse much with God in all things we do. 5 By it we most honor God. 6 The soul is freed from fears by it. 7 It makes us do great things for God. 8 It makes a great progress in the waies of God. 9 It causeth uprightness in the heart. 10 We have Salvation present. 11 It is useful in all conditions. 12 It brings a good report from God himself. 13 It makes us die comfortably.
The Excellency of Faith.
THat walk that is by Faith, hath a great Excellency in it, many waies.
1. First Excellency thus, Because a Saint that walks by faith hath higher apprehensions of God, and the work of God than others have: the apprehensions that others have of God, are very low and mean in comparison of one that walks by faith: One that walks by faith, can see God upon his high Throne; others see but the back parts of God, but one that walks by faith, beholds his Glory with open face: when Moses would see the Glory of God, in Exod. 23. latter end, God said that he should see his back parts; but the Gospel saith, that with open face we behold his Glory; we do not only see the footsteps of God, but see him in his face, see him in his Glory and Excellency upon his Throne on high: and that's a most excellent thing.
2 That Soul that walks by faith, carries on all actions in a high and Supernatural way, makes his very Civil and Natural actions, to become Heavenly and Supernatural; it doth ennoble every work, and puts a price upon every thing that a man doth. I remember Luther hath an Expression concerning poor Milk-maids that are Beleevers, and walk in their Callings in obedience to God, and as a fruit of their faith, they are more glorious actions when they go up and down with their milk-pails, than al the Victories and Triumphs of Alexander, and Julius Caesar, and all upon the Earth; Why? Because they walk by faith; And the Scripture is very famous for this concerning Joseph, in the 11. to the Heb. What was the Act of Joseph that he did, it was the carrying of the bones of his father into the Land of Promise: when his father Jacob died, he would be buried in the Land of Promise, and Joseph carries the bones of his father thither, and that's made an act of Faith; a very low and mean action one would think to go and bury his fathets Bones in such a Ground, yet that's made a glorious Action, and recorded by the holy Spirit as a most excellent Action, Why? Because it was the action of Faith: So the meanest work of your Callings, if it be but done by faith, it's an excellent action, and honorable before the Lord. Now you that are in very low Callings, Servants that are but making clean the house, and doing the meanest works, yet still if it be as a fruit and effect of your faith, and your acting faith in the action, you make it a supernatural and a glorious action that God highly esteems of: Many poor people that are imployed in mean things are discouraged; they think that others that are imployed in the great affairs of the State and Churches that they are happy people; but your faith will make your lowest and meanest actions more glorious than theirs.
3 The Excellencie of walking by faith is this; Faith brings in whatsoever good there is in Christ, in the Covenant of Grace, in the Promi…es, and makes it sweet unto the soul, and now for one to walk up and down in the whol course of his life, and not only to suck in the sweetness that there is to be had from these in his first conversion, but every day to be sucking in the sweetness of the Promises, and to enjoy whatsoever is in Christ and the Covenant of Grace, it must needs be an excellent and a glorious life, and this is the life and the walk of faith: Oh it is a most delightful walk then, the walk by faith; and so far as we exercise faith, so far we bring delights into our souls; if there be any delight and good to be had, either in Christ, and the Covenant, and the Promises, it is enjoyed when we walk by faith: Surely then we need not walk droopingly, and heavily, and sadly like Bennonies, if we had but hearts to exercise faith.
4 Those that walk by Faith converse much with God; as they have higher apprehensions of God than others, so they converse much with God, for faith is that which takes off the heart from the Creature, and presently carries it to God through the Creature: One that hath faith in continual use, when he hath to do wth any Creature, he hath communion with the Creature, but instantly his heart is upon God in it: and …n the use of an ordinance, presently his heart is upon God; it doth not stay in any thing, but flies to God, and nests himself in him, and converses with him; and when he awakes in the morning, presently faith that's acted, and there it converses with God in Heavenly thoughts and meditations, and when it comes to prayer it converses with God, and when it walks up and down in the world, and sees the Sun, and Moon, and Stars, it converses with God in them; and when he hath communion with the Saints, he converses still with God: al that walk by faith they converse much with God, and therfore it's excellent.
5 It's that Grace that in a more eminent way honors God; that I have many times spoken of, especially once handling the preciousness of the grace of faith, it honors God above al other graces, because it attributes nothing to the Creature, but al to God; and it glorifies that in God that God himself most glories in; as the mercies of God, and the faithfulness of God, God glorifies in his mercy and faithfulness in a more special manner; his mercy is over all his works, and faith gives glory to that in a most eminent manner, it gives God the glory of his Power too, and of his Wisdom, and of al his other Attributes; Abraham beleeved, and gave glory to God: they are the men and women that glorifie God, that walk most by faith: You think if your hearts were more holy than they are, and more Heavenly-minded than you are, you should glorifie God; it's true, that would help you, but if you could beleeve more than you do, you would glorifie God more, and the other would follow of themselves.
6 It's an excellent walk, the walk of faith, Because by this the soul is freed exceedingly from fears, from doubts, from misgiving thoughts in the course of it: where faith is not strengthened, a Christian walks as one in the dark, afraid of every bush; so long as a Saint is but little acquainted with this mystery of Godliness in walking by Faith, every day what fears are there? if there be but any stirrings of corruption in his heart, then God's an enemy presently, and I am a Reprobate and a Cast-away; such conclusions are ready to be where there is not the use of faith: and if God seem but to absent himself a little while, he is gone for ever, and never wil come again; and if the heart find temptations to come in strong, one day I shal perish by the hand of this Saul: Oh the fears, and doubts, and the misgiving thoughts, and jelosies that there are in the hearts of Saints, in their walk while they do not walk by faith; how are they bewildred in their course, they go on a little way, and are presently to seek: When the soul walks by faith, it's help'd against al these, fears, and doubts, and misgiving thoughts that some souls (if they had it) would give a world to be freed from; Oh saith some poor soul, if I could be but freed from these, what a happy life should I lead: If thou couldst learn but to exercise thy faith in the course of thy life, these would be despelled ever as the mist passeth away before the Sun; and Temptations they would little prevail with you, as I hinted before of faith, it would quench the fiery darts of the Devil; Temptations would not prevail so as they did, if the sould could but act faith more.
7 Thou shalt do great things for God by walking by faith: you think your grace is but smal, and you shal never do much for God; but faith helps to do great things for God, yea, though Saints graces be but weak for the present: Those men that have the greatest measure of Sanctification, do not alwaies do the greatest things for God; but such men as can act faith most, and have the greatest measure of that, they are those that do the greatest things for God here in the world, his best Instruments.
8 Besides, Thou wilt make great Progress in the waies of God, thou wilt go on apace; those that walk any other way, they walk very slowly, they walk as a sick man with his staff in his hand, he can go on but slowly; but such as can walk by faith, would have no need of the staff of Experience, and the staff of Comfort, and of Reason, and such things, such a one can walk on apace in Gods waies, yea run, if need be: A man that walks in any other walk, if he meets with any stumbling blocks, he knows not how to get over them, but one that walks by faith walks on high above stumbling blocks: if a man walks in the midst of stumbling blocks, he cannot walk fast, but if he can get above them, he rids his way more.
9 What shall I speak more about the Excellency of this? It's that which causes uprightness in the heart, I am God All-sufficient, walk before me and be upright; as much as to say, Abraham, act thy faith upon me as the Al-sufficient God in al thy waies, look not upon the Creature, but upon me, and then walk before me, and be upright: What's the Reason of the unevenness of Saints walking in their way? it's for the want of Faith they walk not by Faith, and therefore if they meet with this and the other difficulty, they wil turn aside out of the way; but where the soul can walk by Faith, it doth walk in an upright line to God, and hath no fetches about one way, nor the other.
10 By walking by Faith we come to have the present enjoyment of the end of our faith, Receiving the end of our Faith, even the Salvation of our souls; it's not only you shall have the end of your faith, but you have it; Receiving the end of your Faith: the Saints have Heaven now in their hearts, every step they set they enjoy the end of it: That's a great Excellency of it, to enjoy the end and reward of all our actions: In the keeping of thy Commandements there is great reward; while I am in action, I have Heaven; I enjoy God, and Heaven, and my last end, I have the blessing, the happiness of my last end in every thing I do: this is to walk by faith indeed: Many walk heavily in their Conversations, and yet have some hopes that at length they may get to Heaven; but by walking by faith, we have Eternal Life now: Its a comfortable walk when a man is walking, and sees the end of his journey before him, that encourages him; but this is more than seeing the end of our journey, it's the enjoying of the fruit of our journey
11 And then the Excellency of it is in this, That it is so useful; in al Estates and conditions we have need of faith: If God puts us in prosperity, if we do not act faith there, our prosperity wil spoil us, and slay us; If God changes our condition into adver…ity, there we must have the use of faith too; if we be in sickness, or in health, faith still; a single estate, married condition, whatsoever our Condition or Imployment is, yet stil faith: The usefulness of it shews the Excellency of this our walk by Faith.
12 It's that which brings a good report too, a good report even by God himself; God commends this Grace above every Grace, in Heb. 11. 2. For by it the Elders obtained a good report; they were spoken ill of by men, but by their faith they obtained a good report, their names were dear and precious in the eyes of God: The Elders obtained, foreign, were attested unto. Faith honors God, and gives him a testimonial, John, 3. 33. such as is that, Deut. 3. 4. God therefore honors Faith; according to 1 Sam. 2. 30. and gives it his testimonial, as here, the Elders are Eternallized in this notable Chapter, this little Book of Martyrs, as one fitly cals it. I beseech you consider of this, you that take care of your names; Oh you cannot tell how to bear the loss of a good name, to be revil'd and contemn'd; here's the way to have a good report, it is by faith: And the truth is, though many will speak ill of you, yet go on in a constant way walking by faith, and the Lord wil cleer your names; trust God for your names and liberties, and comforts, and all, and you shal find your names wil be cleered by God, and kept by God as boxes of precious Oyntment. They al obtained a good report.
13 Lastly, This is the Excellency of it, That it wil make one die comfortably; no such comfortable death to a man as this, When he meets with God in the end of his Walk; when death meets with him in this walk, it can never look terrible: If you have gotten out of the walk of Faith, into the walk of Sence, and the common course and road of the world, Death wil meet you, and be very terrible to you, as the King of terrors; but if death meet with you here, it wil look with a very cheerful and amiable countenance; in Heb. 11. it's said, They died in Faith, not having received the Promises. (Only by the way observe this concerning the last Point, and mark how the Words are twice repeated, For by it (saith the Apostle) the Elders obtained a good report: and then in the 39. verse, And these all having obtained a good report through Faith, received not the Promise; God having provided some better thing for us, &c.) But the main place for our comfort in death is in my Text, and that which follows upon it, For (saith he) we walk by Faith, not by sight: What follows then? we are confident and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord; we walking by Faith, and not by Sight, then we are confident and willing rather to be absent from the Body; let death come when it wil, it shal be welcom, it cannot come amiss because we walk by faith, and not by sight: The great Reason why people are afraid of death, is because they walk by sight so much: The walking by faith, wil make the soul to be willing to be absent from the body, and to let the soul to go freely out: as when a vessel hath no vent, the liquor wil not run out, but give it vent and then it wil run out; so here when the soul is not willing to go out of the Body, let it have but a sight of those heavenly things that faith is able to let in to it, and the soul wil presently be willing to be absent from the body.
Thus then you see the Excellency of a Saints Walk by Faith.