Eighteen Sermons, Sermon 9
SERMON IX.
Glorifying God in the Fire; or, the right Improvement of Affliction.
ISAIAH xxiv. ver. 15.
Wherefore glorify ye the Lord in the fires.
YOU have oft, my dear hearers, let me tell you, met with affliction; and I believe you may perſuade yourſelves affliction is at hand, which makes ſuch deep impreſſions, when ſent and bleſſed by heaven, as to thaw the very heart. Faith, like ſome glaſſes to view objects near us, ſets them in ſo ſtrong a light, that we cannot help being affected with the weight of the impreſſion; hence the prophets, when under a divine impulſe, foreſaw things at a diſtance; ſpoke and wrote of them as though actually preſent. They ſung both of judgment and mercy, in ſuch ſtrong and perſuaſive ſtrains, as to convince of the reality of their exiſtence. Iſaiah, who had a courtly education, being probably brother to a king, ſeems to excel in this kind of ſpeaking; a perſon of good natural, as well as acquired abilities, which being tempered by the Holy Ghoſt, made him a kind of an angel of an orator, of a writer, and a prophet. When he penned this chapter, he probably foreſaw the dreadful calamities coming on the land; and ſo ſtrong was his perſuaſion, that he writes as though he ſaw the things taking place. Behold, ſays he, the Lord maketh the earth empty, maketh it waſte, and turneth it upſide down, and ſcattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. How much is expreſſed in a few words! As with the people ſo with the prieſts, who perhaps on account of their ſituation in the church, might think they ſhould be exempted; but if the prieſts ſin with the people they ſhall be puniſhed with the people. As with the ſervant, ſo with his maſter; as with the maid, ſo with her miſtreſs; as with the buyer, ſo with the ſeller; as with the lender, ſo with the borrower; as with the taker of uſury, ſo with the giver of uſury to him. So you ſee that the viſitation would be univerſal; that it ſhould fall on all forts of people. Ver. 3. The land ſhall be utterly emptied and utterly ſpoiled; probably, by a foreign foe taking advantage of the domeſtic contuſions, who ſhall deſtroy the fruits of the earth. Some may think, perhaps, that this will never come to paſs; but, ſaith Iſaiah, the Lord hath ſpoken it. It pleaſed God the nation ſhould be devoted to a dreadful ſtroke: The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languiſheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languiſh, whoſe crimes, one would think, would never be brought to puniſhment, on account of the eminence of their ſtations; they thought themſelves out of danger, but they ſhall feel the common ſcourge: For the earth alſo, as in the fifth verſe, is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; becauſe they have tranſgreſſed the laws, changed the ordinances, broken the everlaſting covenant. God did not ſtrike without a cauſe; for the earth groaned, as it were, under the ſins of the inhabitants for their neglect of religion, for diſowning God, for turning their backs on the Moſt High. Therefore hath the curſe devoured the earth, (ver. 6.) and they that dwell therein are deſolate. He does not ſay it ſhall be, but it is done. The inhabitants of the earth are burned, with dreadful fire of conſuming vengeance, and few men left. All the mercy hearted, that minded nothing but jollity and mirth, even they do ſigh. The joy of the harp ceaſeth; they ſhall not drink wine with a ſong, ſtrong drink ſhall be bitter to them that drink it. The very great city, the metropolis, is broken down; every houſe is ſhut up, becauſe deſolation is left in it. The inhabitants forſake it, their houſes are left, ſhut up, becauſe they are afraid ſome foreign power ſhould come to their deſtruction. There is a crying for wine in the ſtreets, all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone: no plays, no routs, no aſſemblies now; the city is left deſolate; the court not excepted; deſolation itſelf takes her ſeat and ravages there. The earth ſhall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and ſhall be removed like a cottage; and the trangreſſions thereof ſhall be heavy upon it, and it ſhall fall, and not riſe again. What an amazing ſcene is this! enough to fill us with horror even at this diſtance of time and place! But is there no way for eſcape? is there no light breaking through this dark ſhade? bleſſed be God, there is; look at ver 13, you will find in the midſt of dangers, God ſhall lend his preſence. When thus it ſhall be, pray mind that, in the midſt of the land among the people, what follows? there ſhall be as the ſhaking of an olive tree, and as the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done; there ſhall be a few godly people left, let the devil do what he will; but there will be but few. You know, after the people have gathered the fruits from the tree, they ſhake it to bring down the remainder; and after reaping of corn there are a few gleanings, ſo the Lord ſays, it ſhall deſtroy moſt people, yet in ſo diſcriminating a way, that God's people ſhould be ſafe.
I cannot well recollect how archbiſhop Uſher applies this; but this I am ſure he ſays, there will certainly come a time when the world will undergo the greateſt ſcourge that ever it felt, which ſhall chiefly fall on the outward-court worſhippers, upon thoſe that know not God; God will take particular care of ſecuring his own; and when the wicked are all deſtroyed, the Chriſtians ſhall go to a little city, and there ſhall dwell in Goſhen, till God ſhall call home his ancient people the Jews. So God will take care of his people, that they ſhall be ſafe: pray look to ver. 14, they ſhall lift up their voice; what to cry? no, they have done with prayers, they have done with faſting; they have lifted up their voice, and often exhorted their neighbours to flee from the wrath to come; but now they ſhall ſing for the majeſty of God; when all people are mourning, they ſhall rejoice. And at the great day, when Jeſus Chriſt pronounces the wicked damned, deport ye curſed, God's people will then lift up their voices with majeſty and triumph; which made a good man ſay to his ſon, juſt before he died, I am afraid I ſhall never ſee thee any more till I hear Jeſus Chriſt ſay unto thee, depart thou curſed! Some years ago, being preſent at the trial of a very vile perſon at the Old-Bailey, and being in ſuſpenſe whether he would be brought in guilty or no, when the word guilty came, and the people heard of it, they did in effect give an eclat to it; whether juſt or unjuſt, I thought it was an emblem of that awful day, when all the angels of God, and his ſaints, ſhall ſay Amen; when God conſigns the wicked to hell: God grant this may not be any of your caſe. Says the prophet, they ſhall cry aloud from the ſea: ſome of them may be on the other ſide of the water, gone abroad while others ſtay at home; but whether at home or abroad, though they have been baniſhed by perſecution, though they have been driven to the other ſide of the water, which has been the caſe of many perſons before now, yet they ſhall cry aloud; they ſhall find the ſame God abroad as they did at home. A judge ſaid to a good old chriſtian that was perſecuted in Charles II.'s time, I will baniſh you to America: ſays ſhe, Very well, you cannot ſend me out of my Father's country. They ſhall cry aloud from the ſea, wherefore glorify ye the Lord in the fires: if this is the caſe, the prophet draws the inference; what muſt they do under theſe circumſtances; why, they muſt ſtudy how to glorify God in the fires, not how to eſcape or run away from him, but how to glorify him; wherefore, ſaith he, glorify me, glorify me the Lord, in the fires; not the fire, in the ſingular number, but in the plural number, fires. We are, my brethren, very much miſtaken, if we think we have but one fire to go through.
The words imply, in order to bring them home to ourſelves, that all God's people muſt be put into the fires. Fire ſometimes denotes the love of God, ſometimes the work of the Holy Ghoſt, and very often it denotes affliction; therefore, the apoſtle talks of a fiery trial; and let it be of whatever kind it will, let it be upon mind, body, or eſtate; whether it comes from friend or foe, or whether it comes immediately from the hand of God himſelf upon the ſoul, it may well be compared to fire, for you all know that fire ſcorches; God expects when he ſtrikes, that we ſhould feel. Of all things in the world to be avoided, a ſtony heart, or a ſtupidity under God's afflicting hand, is moſt to be deprecated. I ſuppoſe you have heard of the ſtoics,*They taught that a wiſe man ſhould be free from all affections and paſſions whatſoever. with whom the apoſtle Paul diſputed in the place of public traffic in Athens. Paul did not take a walk to Change to talk on trade, he went to talk about Jeſus Chriſt, if he could meet with one to talk with: I wiſh the clergy took no other walks but theſe. Every thing is to be tried by fire; we may talk what we pleaſe, but we ſhall never know what metal we are made of, till God puts us into the fire. It is very eaſy talking what we can bear, and what we can do, but let God lay his hand on us, and we ſhall ſee what we are. We are apt to find fault, and be peeviſh with our friends and relations under ſuch circumſtances; they are apt to ſay, you ſhould be patient, and patient, and patient; ah! put theſe reprovers into the ſame furnace, and ſee how patient they will be: they ſay, there is no putting old mens heads upon young mens ſhoulders; and there is no putting old heads upon ſouls young in experience. The devil knew very well how it was when he ſaid, Haſt thou not made an hedge about Job, and about his houſe, and about all that he hath on every ſide; thou haſt bleſſed the work of his hands, and his ſubſtance is increaſed in the land; but put forth thy hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curſe thee to thy face; ſo we ſhould all do if God was to leave us to ourſelves, and our faith is not of the right ſort.
How ſhall we know if our faith is good? we often pray, Lord, give us Abraham's faith, but never pray, give us Abraham's trial at the ſame time. I was once in Scotland, at a great man's houſe, where ſeveral rich people were that knew Jeſus Chriſt; God having bleſſed my labours at a former viſit, I was deſired by the nobleman to pray; and I remember I prayed the Lord to give us great faith and patience;—O ſaid Satan, as ſtrong as if he had ſpoke to me, don't pray for that, for thou ſhalt have great trials. O, ſaid I, if that be the caſe, I will turn the devil's prayer againſt himſelf; and I prayed, O Lord, give us great grace, and never mind what trials. Often when we are under temptations, God takes us at our words: O, ſays one, what a prayer I had, I prayed for faith and patience; I was upon the mount, and never thought of coming down, and feeling a ſtorm again.
Fire my brethren, not only burns and purges, but you know it ſeparates one thing from another, and is made uſe of in chymiſtry and mechanical buſineſſes. What could we do without fire? it tries metal to purge it: God Almighty knows, we are often purged more in one hour by a good ſound trial, than by a thouſand manifeſtations of his love. It is a fine thing to come purified, to come pardoned out of the furnace of affliction; it is intended to purge us, to ſeparate the precious from the vile, the chaff from the wheat: and God, in order to do this, is pleaſed to put us into one fire after another, which makes me love to ſee a good man under afflictions, becauſe it teaches ſomething of the work of God in the heart. I remember ſome years ago, when I firſt preached in the north of England, at Shields near Newcaſtle, I went into a glaſs-houſe, and ſtanding very attentive, I ſaw ſeveral maſſes of burning glaſs of various forms: the workman took one piece of glaſs and put it into one furnace, then he put it into a ſecond, and then into a third: when I aſked him, why do you put this into ſo many fires? he anſwered, O, ſir, the firſt was not hot enough, nor the ſecond, and therefore we put it into the third, and that will make it tranſparent. Taking leave of him in a proper manner, it occurred to me, this would make a good ſermon: O, thought I, does this man put this glaſs into one furnace after another, that we may ſee through it; O may God put me into one furnace after another, that my ſoul may be tranſparent; that I may ſee God as he is. My brethren, we need to be purged; how apt are we to want to go to heaven upon a feather-bed; many go lying upon beds of pain and languiſhing, which is the King's highway thither. You know there are ſome ways in London called the King's road, and they are finely gravelled, but the King's road to heaven is ſtrowed with croſſes and afflictions. We are all apt to think well of being chriſtians; it is very pretty talking of being chriſtians, till we are put into one furnace after another; think it not ſtrange, ſaith the apoſtle, concerning the fiery trial which is to try you. What muſt I do? why, ſince I muſt be in the fire, I muſt thank my corruptions for it; God will not put you or me into the fire if there was not ſomething to be purged away; the grand thing is to learn to glorify God in the fire. Wherefore glorify ye the Lord in the fires.
When do we glorify him? when we endeavour to get ſuch grace from the Lord, that we may not diſhonor him when we are under the croſs, and therefore we glorify God in the fire when we quietly endure it as a chaſtiſement for our ſins: If you keep watch now, and live near to God, you will never find that you are put into a fire, but you firſt brought yourſelves into it; and I do verily believe from my heart, that our ſin is always to be ſeen in our puniſhment. If any of you part from a child that he loves dearly, upon examination he will ſay, I find now the creature's gone, that the ivy twined too much about the oak; and then he turns off: ah! ſays he, God has met with me now. And you will find in all the Old and New Teſtament, that the afflictions of God's people were ſuitable to their faults: Jacob was over perſuaded by his mother to get the bleſſing by a lie; but he was a ſimple-hearted poor creature. Some perſons think nothing of a lie; if they can but get by it, they do not mind it; but an honeſt man will ſhun it. Jacob argues with his mother againſt it; O, ſays ſhe, the curſe be on me, my ſon! O dreadful! for a good woman to ſay ſo. Doubtleſs ſhe was perſuaded God would give Jacob the bleſſing, but ſhe took a wrong way to obtain it; ſhe might have waited for the bleſſing to come with a bleſſing. How did God puniſh Jacob? why, in a night afterwards poor Jacob was impoſed upon by a wrong wife, he got a Leah inſtead of a Rachel; the poor creature was impoſed upon there, and ſo all along almoſt to the end of his life; he had a furnace of affliction. Happy they who pray in the furnace, Lord, let me know why thou doſt contend with me. Therefore God ſends this meſſage to Ely by Samuel, the thing that thou knoweſt, ſeems to me to refer to his too great lenity to his ſons: the thing that thou knoweſt; thou doſt not act like a magiſtrate. Theſe ſons were the means of bringing a judgment on his houſe, and breaking their father's neck: God Almighty keep us from bringing a rod upon ourſelves.
We glorify God in the fire when we bear it patiently. It is a dreadful thing when we are ſaying with Cain, My puniſhment is greater than I can bear; but the language of a ſoul that glorifies God in the fire is this, ſhall I, Lord, ſhall I a ſinful man, complain for the puniſhment of my ſins? It is a glorious thing when we can ſay with a good man, one of whoſe particular friends told me more than once, that when he was racked with pain, and groaning all night with trouble, he would often ſay, Lord, I groan; Lord, I groan; Lord, I groan; but, Lord Jeſus, I appeal to thee, thou knoweſt I do not grumble. Then we glorify God in the fire, when, though we feel pain and anguiſh, we at the ſame time ſay, Lord, we deſerve this and ten thouſand times more.
We glorify God in the fire alſo, when we are really and fully perſuaded, God will not put us in the fire but for our good, and his own glory. I am afraid ſome people think God does, as ſome cheating apothecaries, that bring five things when they need not bring but one, eſpecially when they have ſome ſilly patients that love to be taking phyſic; they ſend one after another, when, perhaps, the beſt thing would be to throw them all away; ſo we think of God, but it is a miſtake; he never ſends one but what is neceſſary, and ſomething to be purged away.
We glorify God in the fire when we ſay, Lord, don't let the fire go out till it has purged away all my droſs. Then we glorify God when we wiſh for the good of the fire, and not to have it extinguiſhed; when the ſoul can ſay, Here I am, my God, do with me as ſeemeth good in thy ſight: I know I ſhall not have one ſtroke but thou will give me a plaiſter, and let me know wherefore thou contendeſt with me.
We glorify God in the fire when we are content to ſay, I know not what God does with me now, but I ſhall know hereafter. Do you tell your children that are five years old the reaſon of things, no; and do you think God will tell us? What ſhall this man do? ſaith the diſciples, what is that to thee? ſaith Chriſt, follow thou me. You glorify God in the fire, when you are content to walk by faith and not by ſight.
You glorify God in the fire when you are not grumbling, but humbly ſubmitting to his will; a humble ſpirit walks not in ſulkineſs and ſtubbornneſs: there are ſome ſpirits too ſtout, they will not ſpeak. When that awful meſſage was brought to Ely, what does he ſay? It is the Lord, let him do what ſeemeth him good; let my children be killed, whatever be done it is the Lord's doing; only, Lord, ſave my ſoul at laſt.
We glorify God in the fire, when in the midſt of the fire we can ſing God's high praiſes. Thus the children of Iſrael glorified the Lord; the ſong of the three children in the fiery furnace is a ſweet ſong; as are all that are made in the fire. O all the works of the Lord, praiſe and magnify him for ever! Then we glorify God in the fire when we rejoice in him, when we not only think but know it beſt, and can thank God for ſtriking us; can thank God for whipping us; can bleſs God for not letting us alone: thank God for not ſaying, let him alone: this is to glorify God in the fire. Not only ſo, ſaith the apoſtle, but we glory in tribulation, knowing that tribulation worketh patience.
In a word, we glorify the Lord in the fire when we have in exerciſe, patience, meekneſs, humility; learning more to diſtruſt ourſelves, having a deeper knowledge of our own weakneſs, and of God's omnipotence and grace. Happy when we can look back and ſay, thus have I been enabled to glorify God in the fire. Who can put his hand to his heart and ſay, I have glorified God in the fire as I ought? inſtead of that I am afraid the ſoul muſt ſay, that inſtead of being thankful and reſigned, I have been fretful; and becauſe I will not find fault with myſelf, nor let the world know I find fault with God, I find fault with all about me. Did you never find yourſelf in ſuch a humour when your ſpirits were low? I heard a good man once ſpeak on thoſe words, they ſhall bring forth fruit in old age: O the fruit, ſaid he, is peeviſhneſs; I thought it was the infirmity of old age, the fruit of which ought to be heavenly-mindedneſs, deadneſs to the world, and a livelineſs to God.
My brethren, let us humble ourſelves tonight, and let us be aſhamed and abaſhed before God, and wonder he has not ſtruck us into hell when we have been complaining the fire was too hot, that God ſent us not to the devil. Let us weep, let us weep, let us weep for our ſtubbornneſs. Happy they who are uſed to be put into the fire betimes! It is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth. Some years ago, when I was at the Orphan-houſe, they told me they were going to yoke two ſteers together, one ſturdy and old, the other a little one, on which they no ſooner put the yoke, but he kicked once or twice, and then bore it very well: O, thought I, it is a good thing to have the yoke betimes.
Are any of you now in the furnace, are any of you troubled, or can any of you ſay, I have no trouble; a calm is ſometimes the fore-runner of a ſtorm; thank God, you are not in the fire; ſurely you have been in the fire. There is the devil's fire; the fires of the luſt of the fleſh, the luſt of the eye, and the pride of life: God help you to come out of theſe fires, leſt they damn your ſouls for ever. You muſt be put either in the devil's fire or God's fire, and the devil's fires are hotteſt, becauſe there is no God to ſupport under the trouble they bring upon the ſoul. O what a dreadful thing it is to be in the devil's fire continually, and to go out of the fire of the devil here to burn with the devil in hell hereafter! if there are any of you in this caſe, Lord Jeſus Chriſt ſhorten them, Lord Jeſus Chriſt ſanctify his afflictions to his people, as he did to one of the priſoners laſt Wedneſday: how ſweetly he behaved! while the others were curſing and ſwearing, toſſing up who ſhould ſit on the right hand in the cart, he was glorifying God, thanking God he was ſent there, and going to be executed: God, ſaith he, hath ſtopt me, I might have gone on in ſin to ruin. O ſend to my father, go to him, warn him to flee from the wrath to come: ſomebody went to his parent, and the father ſent back this loving meſſage; tell him to mind his own ſoul, and be damned! O, dear Lord, what lengths has man gone! never was ſuch a meſſage ſent to a ſon before; he bid him mind his own ſoul and be damned! God grant none of you may ever have ſuch a frame of mind as that! O remember fire hardens as well as ſoftens: and if you are not better by afflictions, you will be worſe: and indeed you will know you cannot come out of the furnace as you went in, you will either be hardened or elſe be purified; and if this be the caſe, the Lord Jeſus Chriſt help you to bear the fire now, that you may never be caſt into the fire of hell. God haſte you, haſten you that are out of the devil's fire to flee, flee, ye weary ſouls, to Jeſus Chriſt; fly to the Lamb of God, from hell to heaven, as far as you can from theſe helliſh fires, to the fire of his bleſſed merit and love.
Happy you that have got into Chriſt's fire! happy you that have found his fires in your ſouls! I believe many ſouls have: O Lord Jeſus Chriſt help you to glorify him in whatever fires he ſhall be pleaſed to ſend you, and into whatever furnaces he ſhall be pleaſed to put you: we ſhall then ſing "the church triumphant," much better than we ſing to-night; we ſhall ſee Jeſus Chriſt ready to help us when we are in the furnace: O that this thought may make every poor ſinner ſay, by the help of God I will be a Chriſtian; by the help of God, if I muſt burn, it ſhall be burning with the love of Chriſt. I will ſay then, O Lord, glorify thyſelf by ſnatching me as a brand from the devil's fire. O that this might be the cry of every heart!
I am going to aſk a favour of you to-night which I never did before, and, perhaps, may not again for ſome time: I have had complaints made to me by the perſons that take care of the poor, that the poor's ſtock is very low; though I cannot ſpeak on Sunday night, yet I will ſpeak a word to the poor on Wedneſday evening. There are numbers of poor that are ready to periſh, and if you drop ſomething to them in love. God will take care to repay you when you come to judgment. We ſhall not only glorify God by a ſubmiſſion to his will, when he is putting us in the fire, but in doing any good, when we lay all the glory at the foot of Jeſus; which God grant for Chriſt's ſake. Amen.