HOW SHALL THE SOUL MAKE USE OF CHRIST, AS THE LIFE, WHICH IS UNDER THE
PREVAILING POWER OF UNBELIEF AND INFIDELITY.
That we may help to give some clearing to a poor soul in this case, we
shall,
1. See what are the several steps and degrees of this distemper.
2. Consider what the causes hereof are.
3. Shew how Christ is life to a soul in such a case; and,
4. Give some directions how a soul in that case should make use of
Christ as the Life, to the end it may be delivered therefrom.
And, _first,_ There are many several steps to, and degrees of this
distemper. We shall mention a few; as,
1. When they cannot come with confidence, and draw out of him by faith,
what their soul's case calleth for; they cannot "with joy draw waters
out of the wells of salvation," Isa. xii. 3; but keep at a distance, and
entertain jealous thoughts of him. This is a degree of unbelief making
way for more.
2. When they cannot confidently assert and avow their interest in him,
as the church did, Isa. xii. 2, saying, "Behold, God is my salvation, I
will trust and not be afraid, for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my
song; he also is become my salvation."
3. When they much question, if ever they have indeed laid hold on
Christ, and so cannot go to him for the supplies of their wants and
necessities.
4. When, moreover, they question if they be allowed of God, and
warranted to come to him, and lay hold upon him; yea, and they think
they have many arguments whereby to maintain this their unbelief, and
justify their keeping a-back from Christ.
5. Or, when, if they look to him at all, it is with much mixture of
faithless fears that they shall not be the better, or at least doubting
whether it shall be to their advantage or not.
6. This unbelief will advance further, and they may come to that, not
only to conclude, that they have no part or portion in him, but also to
conclude that their case is desperate and irredeemable; and so say there
is no more hope, they are cut off for their part, as Ezek. xxxvii. 11,
and so lie by as dead and forlorn.
7. Yea, they may come higher, and vent some desperate thoughts and
expressions of God, to the great scandal of the godly, and the dishonour
of God.
8. And yet more, they may come that length, to question all the
promises, and to cry out with David, in his haste, Psalm c. 11, that
"all men are liars."
9. Yea, they may come to this, to scout the whole gospel to be nothing
but a heap of delusions, and a cunningly-devised fable, or but mere
notions and fancies.
10. And at length come to question, if there be a God that ruleth in the
earth.
These are dreadful degrees and steps of this horrible distemper, and
enough to make all flesh tremble.
Let us see next whence this cometh. The causes hereof we may reduce to
three heads:
_First._ The holy Lord hath a holy hand in this, and hath noble ends and
designs before him in this matter; as,
1. The Lord may think good to order matters thus, that he may magnify
his power and grace, in rescuing such as were returned to the very brink
of hell, and seemed to many to be lost and irrecoverably gone.
2. That in punishing them thus, for giving way to the first motions of
unbelief, he might warn all to guard against such an evil, and not to
foster and give way to groundless complaints, nor entertain objections,
moved against their condition by the devil.
3. To warn all to walk circumspectly, and to work out their salvation
with fear and trembling, not knowing what may befall them ere they die.
4. To teach all to walk humbly, not knowing what advantage Satan may get
of them eve all be done; and to see their daily need of Christ to
strengthen their faith, and to keep their grips of him fast.
5. So the Lord may think good to dispense so with some, that he may give
a full proof of his wonderfully great patience and long-suffering in
bearing with such, and that so long.
6. As also to demonstrate his sovereignty, in measuring out his
dispensations to his own, as he seeth will most glorify himself.
_Next,_ Satan hath an active hand in this; for,
1. He raiseth up clouds and mists in the believer, so that he cannot see
the work of God within himself, and so is made to cry out, that he hath
no grace, and that all was but delusions and imaginations, which he
looked upon as grace before.
2. He raiseth up in them jealousies of God, and of all his ways, and
puts a false gloss and construction on all which God doth, to the end he
may confirm them in their jealousies, which they have drunk in of God.
3. Having gained this ground, he worketh then upon their corruption with
very great advantage; and thus driveth them from evil to worse, and not
only to question their perfect interest in Christ, but also to quit all
hope for the time to come.
4. This being done, he driveth the soul yet farther, and filleth it with
prejudices against God and his glorious truths; and from this he can
easily bring them to call all in question.
5. Yea, he will represent God as an enemy to them; and when this is
done, how easy it is with him to put them on desperate courses, and
cause them to speak wickedly and desperately of God.
6. And when this is done, he can easily darken the understanding, that
the poor soul shall not see the glory of the gospel, and of the covenant
of grace, nor the lustre and beauty of holiness: yea, and raise
prejudices against the same, because there is no hope of partaking of
the benefit thereof; and so bring them on, to a plain questioning of
all, as mere delusions.
7. And when he hath gotten them brought this length, he hath fair
advantage to make them question if there be a God, and so drive them
forward to atheism. And thus deceitfully he can carry the soul from one
step to another.
But, _third,_ there are many sinful causes of this within the man's
self; as,
1. Pride and haughtiness of mind, as thinking their mountain standeth so
strong, that it cannot be moved. And this provoketh God to hide his
face, as Psalm xxx.
2. Self-confidence, a concomitant of pride, supposing themselves to be
so well rooted that they cannot be shaken, whereas it were better for
them to walk in fear.
3. Want of watchfulness over a deceitful heart, and an evil heart of
unbelief, that is still departing from the living God, Heb. iii. 12. It
is good to be jealous here.
4. Giving way to doubtings and questionings too readily at first. It is
not good to tempt the Lord by parlying too much and too readily with
Satan. Eve's practice might be a warning sufficient to us.
5. Not living in the sight of their wants, and of their daily necessity
of Christ, nor acting faith upon him daily, for the supplying of their
wants. And when faith is not used, it may contract rust and be weakened,
and come at length not to be discerned.
6. Entertaining of jealous thoughts of God, and hearkening too readily
to any thing that may foster and increase or confirm these.
7. Not delighting themselves in, and with pleasure dwelling on, the
thoughts of Christ, of his offices, of the gospel and promises; so that
these come at length to lose their beauty and glory in the soul, and
have not the lustre that once they had; and this doth open a door to
much mischief.
8. In a word, not walking with God according to the gospel, provoking
the Lord to give them up to themselves for a time.
We come now to the _third_ particular, which is, to shew how Christ is
Life to the poor soul in this case. And for the clearing of this,
consider,
1. That Christ is "the author and finisher of faith," Heb. xii. 2; and
so, as he did rebuke unbelief at the first, he can rebuke it again.
2. That he is the great prophet clearing up the gospel, and every thing
that is necessary for us to know, bringing life and immortality to
light by the gospel, 2 Tim. i. 10, and so manifesting the lustre and
beauty of the gospel.
3. He bringeth the promises home to the soul, in their reality,
excellency, and truth, being the faithful witness and the amen, Rev.
iii. 14, and the confirmer of the promises, so that they are all yea and
amen in him, 2 Cor. i. 20. And this serveth to establish the soul in the
faith, and to shoot out thoughts of unbelief.
4. So doth he, by his Spirit, dispel the mists and clouds which Satan,
through unbelief, had raised in the soul.
5. And thereby also rebuketh those mistakes of God, and prejudices at
him and his ways, which Satan hath wrought there, through corruption.
6. He discovereth himself to be a ready help in time of trouble, and the
hope and anchor of salvation, Heb. vi. 19; and a priest living for ever
to make intercession for poor sinners, Heb. vii. 25.
7. And hereby he cleareth up to the poor soul a possibility of help and
relief; and thus rebuketh despair or preventeth it.
8. He manifesteth himself to be the marrow and substance of the gospel:
and this maketh every line thereof pleasant and beautiful to the soul,
and so freeth them from the prejudices that they had at it.
9. So in manifesting himself in the gospel, he revealeth the Father,
that the soul cometh to "the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face
of Jesus Christ," 2 Cor. iv. 6. And this saveth the soul from atheism.
10. When the soul cannot grip him, nor look to him, yet he can look to
the soul, and by his love quicken and revive the soul, and warm the
heart with love to him, and at length move and incline it sweetly to
open to him; and thus grip and hold fast a lost sheep, yea, and bring it
home again.
But what should a soul do in such a case? To this, (which is the
_fourth_ particular to be spoken to), I answer,
1. That they should strive against those evils formerly mentioned, which
procured or occasioned this distemper. A stop should be put to those
malignant humours.
2. They should be careful to lay again the foundation of solid knowledge
of God, and of his glorious truths revealed in the gospel, and labour
for the faith of God's truth and veracity; for till this be, nothing can
be right in the soul.
3. They should be thoroughly convinced of the treachery, deceitfulness,
and wickedness of their hearts, that they may see it is not worthy to be
trusted, and that they may be jealous of it, and not hearken so readily
to it as they have done, especially seeing Satan can prompt it to speak
for his advantage.
4. They should remember also, that it is divine help that can recover
them, and cause them grip to the promises, and lay hold on them of new
again, as well as at first, and that of themselves they can do nothing.
5. In using of the means for the recovery of life, they should eye
Christ, and because this eyeing of Christ is faith, and their disease
lieth most there, they should do as the Israelites did who were stung in
the eye with the serpents,--they looked to the brazen serpent with the
wounded and stung eye: so should they do with a sickly and almost dead
faith, grip him, and with an eye almost put out and made blind, look to
him, knowing how ready he is to help, and what a tender heart he hath.
6. And to confirm them in this resolution, they should take a new view
of all the notable encouragements to believe, wherewith the whole gospel
aboundeth.
7. And withal fix on him, as the only "author and finisher of faith."
8. And, in a word, they should cast a wonderfully unbelieving and
atheistical soul on him, who is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in
working, and is wonderful in mercy and grace, and in all his ways. And
thus may he at length, in his own time, and in the way that will most
glorify himself, raise up that poor soul out of the grave of infidelity
wherein it was stinking; and so prove himself to be indeed "the
resurrection and the life, to the praise of the glory of his grace."
We come now to speak to another case, which is,