No sooner doth Satan perceive what God is doing with the soul in a
way of grace and mercy, but he endeavoreth what he may, to make the
renewing thereof bitter and wearisome work to the sinner. O what
mists, what mountains, what clouds, what darkness, what objections,
what false apprehensions of God, of Christ, of grace, of the word,
and of the soul's condition, doth he now lay before it, and haunt it
with! whereby he dejecteth, casteth down, daunteth, distresseth, and
almost driveth it quite into despair. Now, by the reason of these
things, faith and all the grace that is in the soul is hard put to
it to come at the promise, and by the promise, to Christ; as it is
said, when the tempest and great danger of shipwreck lay upon the
vessel in which Paul was, "They had much work to come by the boat."
Acts 27:16. For Satan's design is, if he cannot keep the soul from
Christ, to make his coming to him and closing with him as hard, as
difficult and troublesome as he by his devices can. But faith, true
justifying faith, is a grace that is not weary by all that Satan can
do; but meditateth upon the word, and taketh stomach and courage,
fighteth and crieth; and by crying and fighting, by help from
heaven, its way is made through all the oppositions that appear so
mighty, and draweth up at last to Jesus Christ, into whose bosom it
putteth the soul; where, for the time, it sweetly resteth, after its
marvellous tossings to and fro.
And besides what hath been said, let me yet illustrate this truth
unto you by this familiar similitude.
Suppose a man, a traitor, that by the law should die for his sin, is
yet such a one that the king hath exceeding kindness for; may not
the king of his clemency pardon this man, yea, order that his pardon
should be drawn up and sealed, and so in every sense be made sure,
and yet for the present keep all this close enough from the ears or
the knowledge of the person therein concerned? Yea, may not the king
after all leave this person, with others under the same
transgression, to sue for and obtain this pardon with great expense
and difficulty, with many tears and heartachings, with many fears
and dubious cogitations?
Why, this is the case between God and the soul that he saveth: he
saveth him, pardoneth him, and secureth him from the curse and death
that are due unto sin, but yet doth not tell him so; but he ascends
in his great suit unto God for it. Only this difference we must make
between God and the potentates of this world: God cannot pardon
before the sinner stands before him righteous by the righteousness
of Christ; because he has, in judgment, and justice, and
righteousness, threatened and concluded that he that lacks
righteousness shall die.