The Works of Jeremiah Burroughs 9-11, Treatise 3 · Chapter 3
CHAP. III.
Shewing the great evil of walking by Sence. 1 It is beneath a rational Creature, who hath his Reason given him to correct Sense in Natural things; and in things that concern his everlasting Happiness also, at least negatively, to shew him wherein his felicity doth not consist. 2 It is infinitely beneath the Spirit of Wisdom. 3 They who are acted by Sence, are liable to continual temptations, because the Devil gets into the Rational Soul by the Sensitive first. 4 Men living by Sence, are besotted and without God in the world, very unlikely to come to good because the way of Gods bringing to eternal Life, is above Reason, and above and contrary to Sence; and they who never mind an higher end in the way of their lives shall perish.
NOw this is a very great Evil, for men to have their hearts taken by what they see with their eyes, and by what their Sence tels them to be pleasant and delightful to them: Oh that I could but make you see the evil of this; abundance of good might come of it, for certainly it's this that is the undoing of thousand thousands of souls: This thing that I am here treating about, is the undoing almost of all the world, The walking by Sight and by Sence. Oh how many have been deluded this way, and at length they have come by their woful experience to see the evil of this! When they have been upon their sick bed, and death bed, what hath been that which they have cried out of most? Oh such things were so pleasant to Sence, and me thoughts they were so fine and brave to mine eyes, and I was carried by that, and now God shews them otherwise to me. Oh that we could but apprehend things now as one day we shall apprehend them: that man or woman hath received great merciemercy from God, that hath now the same apprehension of things as one day they shall have. There's a great evil in this, To go according to the Sight of our eyes.
1 For this is beneath a Rational Creature; What hath God set Reason in Man for, but to correct their Sence, and especially in matters that do concern their chief good? I beseech you observe it, Reason is a great help to correct Sence in many things.
As you know in Natural things, Reason can correct Sence there: A Country man that is only carried by Sence, he thinks that the Sun is no bigger than his Cart Wheel, by Sence it appears no bigger: But those that understand the Principles of Astronomy, they can by Reason demonstrate as plainly as twice Two is Four, That the Sun is bigger than the whol Earth: Reason will correct Sence in Natural things; Reason certainly will help much to correct Sence in things that concern mans happiness, and mans everlasting Good, especially when it comes to be Sanctified: But Reason at least negatively, will shew a man wherein his happiness doth not consist; it will tell us certainly, That the Happiness of one that hath an immortal soul, it's not the same happiness that a …ruit hath, to eat and drink, it's not to play, certainly God hath not given a man a Rational and Immortal Soul meerly that it should be serviceable to the Body, to be (as the Phylosopher saith of the soul of the Swine) as Salt to keep the F…esh from stinking; Reason wi… …el a nian that there is a higher good that man is capable of, than Sence, …or that's but common with a …ruit Beast; therefore it's a great evil to be acted by Sence.
2 Then if it be below a Rational Creature, Oh how much is it beneath the holy Spirit of God, that is the Spirit of Wisdom and Holiness! And if thou beest guided by Sence;
First, Thou wilt have Heathens to be witnesses against thee, that are acted by a higher way, By Reason.
But then thou art infinitely beneath those that are acted by Gods Spirit: Art thou the man or woman that hast the Spirit of God dwelling in thee to be thy guide continually? If ever thou beest sav'd, I say thou must be Acted and Guided by the Holy Spirit of God.
Further, Whosoever walks by Sight, they are liable to thousand thousands of Temptations continually; Oh the danger that they are in of temptations, what a snare do they walk upon! The Sences of men are the wide doors by which the Devil comes into their souls, he doth come into the Rational Soul by the Sensitive first, and if he gets into the Sence, and prevails there, he will get into Reason and prevail there: The Eyes, Oh what Casements are they to let in the Devil by; how many men and women (as the Scripture speaks) have eyes full of Adultery, that cannot cease from sin? Saith Christ, when thou lookest upon a woman to lust after her, thou hast committed Adultery in thy heart: Oh those Casements let in wonderful evils into the soul: What was that which let in the first temptation that ever was in the World? It was the Sight of the Eyes: Eve saw the Fruit, she saw it was desirable for Knowledg: the first temptation that ever was in the world, was let in by the Sight of the Eyes. Oh Brethren, take h…ed of the Sight of the Eyes, the Devil comes in there; you are not willing to leave open your Doors and Casements in the night where Theeves may come in, but you bolt and shut them, and have wooden windows to keep your Casements that they come not in there: Oh we had need be careful of our …yes, and had need have somthing to shut them that the Devil comes not in there; Oh the wonderful uncleanness and filthiness that comes in by the sight of the Eyes, and so at all other Sences, there comes in a great deal of Evil: And so when the Devil sees that a man or woman is carried by Sence, he can easily prevail with Temptations: Oh it's a dangerous thing for people to live by Sence.
In the next place, If thou livest by Sence, thou art very unlikely ever to come to good; for the way of God in bringing men to Eternal Life, is a way high above Reason, as shall be shewed; but much more above Sence: It is not above only, but Contrary to Sence, and therefore if thou beest a man that art given to thine Appetite, given to follow the sight of thine Eyes, given to Sence, it's very unlikely that thou should'st come to any thing that's good: And hence it is that those that are led by Sence, have very slight thoughts of the waies of God, and they are the great scorners and enemies of Religion, as we reade in Philip. 3. 18. For many walk (he speaks of those that walk by Sence) who are they? They are Enemies to the Cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose God is their Belly, and whose glory is their shame, who mind Earthly things: These are they that are enemies to the Cross of Christ; for Sence hinders Reason, much more hinders Grace: In Hosea, 4. there you read of those that liv'd according to Sence, at verse 11. Whoredom and Wine, and new Wine take away the heart: they are not capable of receiving Good while they live according to Sence: I will not enlarge my self to treat of a Sensual Life, but only touch it, to shew the evil of living according to Sence.
It besots men extreamly; such men as live according to sence, they have extream miry and besotted spirits: we read of those Waters in Ezek. 47. the Waters of the Sanctuary, that they had power to heal, but in vers. 11. The miry places thereof, and the marishes thereof, shall not be healed, they shall be given to salt. The miry places: These may fitly resemble sensual men; they have miry hearts, they are like the Marishes that are not heal'd by the waters of the Sanctuary: The Word of God doth little good to sensual people.
Further, Those that live according to Sence, live without a God in the world, they give themselves up to lusts with greediness, and as for a God, and a Deity, they mind not him: They live as a Godless, Christless people.
And they shal die and perish, their end is destruction: And you know what the Apostle saith in Rom. 8. 13. He that lives after the flesh, shall die; that is, he shal perish eternally. It's a most dreadful Text, and I admire that those men that are led according to sence in the course of their lives, how they can read that Scripture without horror of conscience, in verse 8. and 13. In the 8. So then, they that are in the flesh, cannot please God; it's cal'd flesh because that sin is acted so much by the sensitive part: and then in the 13. verse, If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: Now to live after the flesh, it is to live after the Sensitive pleasures, that give content to the flesh, and those things that are sutable to the flesh: Now how do most men in the course of their lives act? nothing but flesh, and that which is sutable to flesh, that they bless themselves in: they have more to give content to the flesh than others have. As now, take some men that have a good estate, and live on their means; what's their lives better than others? the flesh indeed hath more pleasures than others, they have finer Houses, or sweeter Gardens, or softer Cloathes; and then the Appetite is more pleased, they have better Food, and can eat and drink more delicately than others, which they account their happiness: here's a man that lives by Sence, and this man is like to perish for ever. If you come to know no higher good, and you do not mind in the way of your lives any higher end than that which is according to sence, you are those that shall perish eternally. Indeed the Walk of Sence is very pleasant, but it's a dangerous Walk, and the end of it certainly wil be death: Oh that you would consider of this, and be humbled for walking according to the sight of your eyes: Oh look back to the vanity of your Youths; Yong people usually walk so: Oh look back, get alone and examine your hearts and lives: why Lord am not I toucht by this Word? did it not concern me? I find that men of the world they walk according to Sence, and that which is pleasant to sence; Oh Lord, it hath been my way for a great part of my life: and any of you that do thus walk to this day, Oh that the Lord would smight you, that you might come to see the evil of it, of walking according to the sight of your eyes: Your eyes wil be opened one day to see the evil of it, if they be not now.
And no mervail though the Word doth so little good to many people, the ground is because they walk according to the sight of their eyes, according to their sence: lay to thy heart that Scripture that was named in the 11. of Eccles. If thy heart he set according to the sight of thine eyes, God wil bring thee to Judgment: For all those pleasant things that hath delighted thy sences in the course of thy life, the Lord wil bring thee to Judgment: That man or woman that hath had the greater pleasure to sence, shal have the greater account to give the Lord; thou must give account of all thy sweet morsels, and of all thy stoollen waters one day, and therefore be careful now to give way no further to thy Sence than that thou maiest be able to give a comfortable account of, if thou wert call'd before the Lord the while this Book is in thy hand, and thou a reading of it.