Pfal.51. it cannot be touched, it is not able to ftir. Heal my 8. bones which thou haft broken,faith David in that cafe. Every act of unbelief refufeth great love: & there is nothing makes a heavier accufation, than the refufal of love doth. Never art thou worse, than when thou art taking part with unbelief, or when thou doft not believe. Never art thou I fay worse; for then art thou justifying that which the Lord condemns: He upbraided them because of their unbelief. This indulging, and this making much of doubts, and fcruples, and fears, brings much wrath. Thou oughteft to make a great matter of the leat degree of the fin of Unbelief that thou shouldest de and not to fhew any kindness to thy felf in it. Tender perfons, if they would but ftir, they would work out thofe difeafes, which in a fedentary courfe do faften on them: even as the Green Sick. nefs (which eats into the very spirits) is wafted by walking and the Scurvy, and divers others. So if you would but be stirring, and doing, and chiding, and reproving your Unbelief, it would keep your Unbelief down. When nothing would make the Difciples leave their questioning, Chrift being returned to them, he comes with a frown in his face, and calls them all to nought, as I may fay, as in the text, Luke 24. 25. Ob fooles, and flow of heart to believe. Look to the caufe whence all your doubts come. Its because you would be wife, and order your own doings: and because you are unwilling and backward to come to Chrift: Chrift fayes fo, and with him are the words of truth. You think not to nourish Unbelief: fain you would have Chrift, you fay; but you would not. Either Chrift or you fpeaks true. He faith, O flow of heart to beleeve. He may call again and again, and yet the Soul cannot hear of that ear. It will catch at a word, nay mifplace words it may be to afflict its felf, felf, but to words of Comfort, the head is turned afide. I beseech you beloved know, That you are the greatest fools, and you dull your felves excee dingly, and make your felves extream backward, and remifs, and carelefs, and negligent to every thing that is good, whenas you do not speedily, eafily, and forwardly lay hold by Faith upon all the Conforts and refreshments that are offered to you by the hand of Jefus Chrift. 3 : CHAP. V. The Doctrine. The Reasons of it : 1. Becaufe this Reproof of Christ's is an excellent means to take away Unbelief. 2. Because Unbelief is a great fin: First, Comparatively Secondly, In it felf as being, 1. Directly oppofite to the end of the Law: 2. Oppofite to the Authority of the Lato-giver: 3. Oppofite to the Principle of Obedience, which is Love. Unbelief in a weak degree worse in a Beleever, than in a wicked min in its full power; and that upon feveral T accounts. He Doctrine from thefe words was this: That backwardnefs and unreadiness to believe the great things that Chrift hath done, and will do for believers,& to be comforted in them, is a fin in them which fhall be faved, which Chrift will not bear with, but is very much offended at. Backwardness and unreadiness (I fay) to beleeve the great things which Chrift hath done, and will do for Be leevers, and to receive comfort therein, is a fin even in them that shall be faved,which Chrift will not bear withal, but is very much offended at. These Thefe had faving Faith. They wanted only a readiness of Faith, and a fulness of Faith, and to receive comfort by their Faith, and for that our Lord Jefus Chrift upbraided them. Although Je fus Chrift do love Beleevers, yet he will not bear with fin in them. They are the Members of his Myftical Body, and he will not endure any disease, or any fore, or any diftemper in them, but he will take a courfe with it. The fin of Beleevers deferves the wrath of God, as well as the fin of Unbeleevers do. Their relation makes not their fin a whit the lefs guilty, or their guilt a whit the lefs. The deferts of their fins indeed fhall not be given to them, Chrift will not condemn them. But though he will not condemn them, he will reprove and upbraid them. And the frowns and reproofs of Chrift are as much as Hell its felf to a Beleever: Even as Hell was to them before they beleeved. The Confcience is more wounded by the want of Gods ipecial love, than by Gods hatred as an enemy: The want of Gods fpecial love, is as great a trouble, as Gods being an enemy is : for the love of God makes the heart more fenfible and feeling than felf. love does. If it were poffible for a man to be thrown out of Gods arms of love into the torments' of Hell, Hell would be more to him than to any other. And this made Chrift's Sufferings fo great, because he was fo infinitely loved by his Father. Of all the fins of Beleevers, Chrift will leaft of all bear with their Unbelief. Many faults were in the Difciples befides their Unbelief: How ambitious were they to get the right hand one of another? How carnal were they to think of a Kingdom that did confift in outward pomp, and glory? We thought (fay they, in Luke 24. 21.) that it had been be that would have redeemed Ifrael. But But Chrift he lets all pafs, or elfe he doth reprove all, in reproving of their unbelief; he fhames them for that only. And the REASONS are thefe : REASON I 1. Because this anger and this reproof of Chrift is a good and excellent way to take away unbelief. Although the act of Unbelief was paft, yet the ftain of it remained which would difpofe them to that, or to a greater fin. To prevent that, Jefus Chrift doth reprove them. The reproofs of Chrift are Medicinal, he would not elfe ufe them: And they are then moft Medicinal when they are fharp, Pfal. 14.1.5. Let the righteous fmite me (fales David) and it shall be as a pretious Ointment to me, which shall not break my bead: And yet the fmiting there, is the fame word which is uied concerning Fael, who took a hammer and a nail, and drove it thorow the Temples of Sifera, and faftned him to the ground, Judg. 4. 21. A deadlier blow the could not have given him,than to hit him there. Now (fayes he) let a reproof be fo to me, for it is healing. Reprove them sharply (faith the Apostle) that they may be found in the Faith, Tit. 1. 13. Then Reproofs makes found, when they are fharp. Every victory over a present temptation,it is as it were a new Converfion. Satan (faith our Lord to Peter) hath defired to winnow thee, but I have prayed that thy Faith fail not; and when thou art Converted, frengthen thy brethren, Luke 22. 31, 32. That is, When thou haft power over Satans temptations. Every new degree of Grace, is a new Converfion. Except you be Converted faith our Lord Chrift to his Difciples that were already converted) and become as little Children, you cannot enter into the Kingdom of God, G Luke 18.3. Luke, chap. 18. verf 3. Now it being a new Converfion; as at firft, men are convinced of their finfulness, and of the wrath of God due to fin, and are driven to feek pardon of fin: So the fame courfe must be taken afterwards; and our Lord Jefus Chrift doth take the fame courfe here. As a peremptory den al keeps off temptations, fo a fharp Reproof for fin, doth free from fin, when temptation hath overcome and foyled us. Its faid of our Lord Christ in the word of the Text, Matth. 8.26. That be rebuked the roaring waves of the Sea, and they were still. The Rebukes of Chrift, were a means to ftay the fluctuating of the Souls of the Difciples through unbelief, and therefore Christ ufed it. Do but once convince a godly man of the finfulness of any courfe, and he will depart from it. If you tell him that Chrift will be angry, you take off his heart from any course, though never fo much beloved by him, becaufe his life lyes in Christs love and fin is to him a great evil, and hateful, not only because it is a breach of the law, but because it is an offence of him whont he loves. Of all fins, Unbelief is a fin that is not to be dealt mildly withal, if you mean to be free from it. If you ftop it not at jealoufie, it will grow to difpute, and from difputing to doubting,and from doubting to mif belief, or mif-perfwafion that things are other wife than they are with you, that the word is not so true, as it is: And from that, to unperfwativeness, as the Scripture calls it, that you may as well move a rock, and make the ftones to hear, as you can make a man to perceive, or take any notice of the Grace that is offered. Unbelief is a fin that is not to be spoken unto, or regarded. It's faid of Abraham, Rom. 4. 19. That he did not confider through unbelief the deadneß of his own body, nor the barrenneß of Sarahs Womb. He confidered it not; he flighted |