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are wont to fofter and nourish unbelief; to lay it, as Michael laid David in the Bed upon Down Pillows, 1 Sam. 19.13.

Will you speak Peace, where God hath spoken War? Will you defend that which Jefus Chrift reproves? If to be Chriftians do reprove themfelves for their unbelief, yet they do it as Eli that gave a Reproof to his Sons, not fharply, but foftly. Do you reprove your felves fharply, that you may be found found in the Faith? The word & Toμws, is cuttingly, Tit. 1.13. Say to your Souls as our Lord Jefus Chrift doth here; O foolish! Ofluggifh! O proud heart, that art alwayes thus twifting and knitting of Objections against thy felf, and the grace of Jefus Chrift. As a North Wind drives away Rain, fo doth an angry Countenance a Talebearer, faith Solomon, Prov. 16. 23. I may make ufe of it thus; Temptations to Unbelief, To live without Chrift, To doubt of Chrift, will all be Icattered when they are gathered together like Clouds, and think it will be an ill time with you if you will but thus chide your hearts. Refift the Devil, and be will flee from you, Jam. 4. 7. A gent le denyal is an invitation. Have no friendship faith the text) with an angry man, Prov. 22. 2ífi. So there will be no friendship between you and your fins, between your Spirits, and a temptation, if your hearts be but full of wrath, and indignation, and anger against the leaft motion of it. Do not ftand faying now (as you ufe to do) I may well doubt; and it's enough for me if I have any being in the number of the Saints, any fellowship with Jefus Chrift: Say not there is reafon (if you knew all) why I am thus full of fear. There is reafon I am fure why you should be reproved and upbraided for your unbelief; Chrift elfe would not have done it. But there can be no reafon alleaged or F

you

given

given for Unbelief. O fools, and flow of heart to believe: Luke 24.25. that is, As a fool is without Reafon, fo is alfo Unbelief. You that think that you have so much Reafon not to béleeve, ipeak out your Reafons, and let us fee what they are in the prefence of the Lord. He condemned it as folly. Give it no other name, it will deferve no other when it's tryed.

I know not how to beleeve (faith one) or take in comfort, and to be fò ready at it, for I am thus and thus bad, and have done thus and thus evil. What a fool art thou, to make thy own doings the ground of thy Faith, when thou haft for thy Faith the word of a gracious God, and the mediation of Jefus Chrift.

Is not he a fool that will leave the fecurity of one that is worth thousands, and take the word or Bond of a beggar, and him that is a very Knave,and that doth neither know what truth is, nor will walk faithfully? Thou oughteft to fay as one doth in another cafe, thus, hath the Lord faid, he hath faid it to be beleeved and therefore the ground of it is not upon any thing in the Creature, no more than fupernatural truths are grounded upon Reafon. I fay, That there is the fame proportion be tween the beleeving of truths that are fupernatural, upon reason, and between the beleeving of the truth of the Gofpel upon fome ground in our felves: There is no affinity, no nearnes, they differ wholly; things that are known unto reafon, and things that are revealed fupernaturally, and from above. So they differ in the receiving of them.

But it may be you will fay unto me, I do not fee how it can be, how fuch things ever will be that are spoken of.

And fo did thefe Difciples in Luke 24. 11. when

they

they were told that Chrift was rifen, it feemed to be a very Tale: Their words feemed to them as idle tales, and they beleeved them not. For this thou art to be chid, and upbraided, and herein lies thy folly, that thou wilt not think him that is the firít caufe able to work of himfelf: that thou wilt not truft him out of the courfe of Natural Cauíes, Though there be no Calf in the feall, nor bloffome on the Fig-tree, Hab. 3. 17. Where there is no hope, yet the word of the Lord endures for ever, that thall be accomplished.

If thou fayeft thy Unbelief is not in the main things of Salvation,but in a circumstance, in a matter which concerns thy Comfort, rather than that which concerns thy being in a ftate of Grace.

That is a great fin too, and it was the fin of the Difciples here: for it was not the want of justifying Faith (as you have heard) but a want of cleernefs, and of the comfort of it.

Object. But the Promifes are fo great and excellent things (you will fay) that I know not how to beleeve them, they are too good to be true: I hear fometimes fuch things from the Word, as I know not how to bebeeve, at least to be given to

me.

That was the cafe of thefe Difciples, and yet they were upbraided too, Luke 24. 41. They could not beleeve for joy, because they wondered. That is, the things were beyond their understandings, and fo good that they knew not how to take them in. But I beseech you, if you will refufe Mercies because they are great, mark it,, What doft thou do in this (Othou fool) but measure Gods bounty by thy own narrow heart? Either thou thinkest God is poor, and niggardly, and will not give like himfelf. Either thou beleeveft his infinite goodnefs will not flow forth without Banks or Bounds:

As

Or elfe thou doft not beleeve his infinite Wisdom, but thinkeft that thou art able to order and difpofe him in his diftributions. O Fool, O fool. Judas faid when the Box of Oyntment was opened, It might have been spared, and given to the poor, Matth.26. 9. Fob. 12. 5,6. So thou fayft,fuch choice refreshings and comforts as thefe are; Chrift in Glory, and Chrift to bring news of Hell, and Death to be troden under foot, and to be buried, are truths to be Preached to humble holy ones: But, faith the text, Judas when he fpake of giving to the Poor, it was not because he cared for the poor, but because he did bear the Bag, and was covetous, Job.12.6. Solfay thou fpeakeft this, not because thou careft fo much for Holinefs or Humblenefs, but that thou mayft advance thy felf. For I ask, Whence wilt thou have this Humblenefs, and Holinefs? It must be either from thy felf; (O fool to look for life from death, and goodnefs from evil) orelfe it must be front God: and then thou counselleft him to this order, That thou must be firft humbled, before thou haft comfort. O fool! Doft thou not learn yet, that nothing will melt thy heart fo much as Mercy!

Elfe if thou wilt not have thy Holiness to go in order before his Mercy, yet before thy Faith. Shall that which thon doft by the help of another, accompanied with weakneffes in thy felf, be the caufe of any act in him who is the Caufe of Caufes, and the firft Beginner of all things? Therefore charge your heart home. It's not tendernefs, but hardnefs: It's not providence nor care for your felves, but folly, that is the cause of your Unbelief. Certainly as Chrift cenfures, fo things are, for his judgement is according to truth. He upbraids for any kind of unbelief, and faith, it is folly, and that Soul is hardened that will not beleeve, as I fhall

fhew

fhew you hereafter. You think it is a piece of foftnels of heart to mourn and weep: O it's the greatest part of foftnefs to beleeve. Thou doft think it's a great piece of foftnefs, to be foft in heart: It's the greateft to receive Mercy, and it's the greatest piece of hardness not to fear Unbè. lief.

If thou wilt not deal truly with thy own heart, and chide it, thou shalt be chidden." An angry word of God, is that which cuts deep into the Soul. When I heard thy angry words, they entred into my bones, and rottennefs entred into them. The voyce of God uttered by the Lamb is exceeding cutting. Who fhall hide us from the wrath of the Lamb? Chrift is made up of Love: but your Unbelief turns his Love to Wrath and his love makes him chide publickly, when there was fo many of them together, even at that time when he came of purpofe to bring glad tydings to them. The anger of Chrift will cut: but the anger of Chrift for unbelief goes to the quick, Heb.4. 12. The Word of God (he is perfwading them to believe it, and Jefus Chrift revealed by it) is fharper than any two edged fword, and it will divide between the Soul and the Spirit, and the marrow and the bones. It will cut or divide. It's put for putting to pain, as cutting doth. Your unbelief will put you to pain. Where? In your Soul; that is, in your Affections, and in your Spirit, that is in your understanding: the Understanding will forecaft dreadfully: The Will, that will fear every thing,and be aftonifhed: You fhall have pain in every part. That which should be like bones to you, to fupport you, hall fink and fail under you: and that which should be like marrow to ftrengthen yon, that fhall decay: What a cafe doth an unbelieving Soul bring its felf into? How is it cut and lanced? So fore that

it

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