may be best for our advantage; now there are times wherein the giving
of grace may be best to our advantage; as, (1.) Just before a
temptation comes, then, if it rains grace on thee from heaven, it may
be most for thy advantage. This is like God’s sending of plenty in
Egypt just before the years of famine came. (2.) For God to restrain
that which thou desirest, even till the spirit of prayer is in a manner
spent, may be further to inform thee, that though prayer and desires
are a duty, and such also to which the promise is made; yet God sees
those imperfections in both thy prayers and desires, as would utterly
bind his hands, did he not act towards thee merely from motives drawn
from his own bowels and compassion, rather than from any deserving that
he sees in thy prayers. Christians, even righteous men, are apt to lean
too much to their own doings; and God, to wean them from them, ofttimes
defers to do what they by doing expect, even until in doing their
spirits are spent, and they as to doing can do no longer. When they
that cried for water had cried till their spirits failed, and their
tongue clave to the roof of their mouth for thirst; then the Lord did
hear, and then the God of Israel did give them their desire. Also when
Jonas his soul fainted under the consideration of all the evils that he
had brought upon himself; then his prayer came unto God into his holy
temple (Jonah 2:7; Isa 41:17,18). The righteous would be too light in
asking, and would too much overprize their works, if their God should
not sometimes deal in this manner with them. (3.) It is also to the
advantage of the righteous, that they be kept and led in that way which
will best improve grace already received, and that is, when they spin
it out and use it to the utmost; when they do with it as the prophet
did with that meal’s meat that he ate under the juniper-tree, ‘he went
in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights, even to the
mount of God’ (1 Kings 19:8). Or when they do as the widow did, spend
upon their handful of flour in the barrel, and upon that little oil in
the cruse, till God shall send more plenty (1 Kings 17:9-16). The
righteous are apt to be like well fed children, too wanton, if God
should not appoint them some fasting days. Or they would be apt to cast
away fragments, if God should give them every day a new dish. So then
God will grant the desires of the righteous in that way which will be
most for their advantage. And that is, when they have made the best of
the old store (1 Kings 19:4-8). If God should give us two or three
harvests in a year, we should incline to feed our horse and hogs with
wheat; but being as it is, we learn better to husband the matter.
By this means, we are also made to see, that there is virtue sufficient
in our old store of grace to keep us with God in the way of our duty,
longer than we could imagine it would. I myself have cried out I can
stand no longer, hold out no longer, without a further supply of grace;
and yet I have by my old grace been kept even after this, days, and
weeks, and months, in a way of waiting on God. A little true grace will
go a great way, yea, and do more wonders than we are aware of. If we
have but grace enough to keep us groaning after God, it is not all the
world that can destroy us.[19]
4. Perhaps thou mayest be mistaken. The grace thou prayest for, may in
great measure be come unto thee. Thou hast been desiring of God, thou
sayest, more grace; but hast it not.
But how, if whilst thou lookest for it to come to thee at one door, it
should come to thee in at another? And that we may a little inquire
into the truth of this, let us a little consider what are the effects
of grace in its coming to the soul, and then see if it has not been
coming unto thee almost ever since thou hast set upon this fresh desire
after it. (1.) Grace, in the general effect of it, is to mend the soul,
and to make it better disposed. Hence when it comes, it brings
convincing light along with it, by which a man sees more of his
baseness than at other times. More, I say, of his inward baseness. It
is through the shinings of the Spirit of grace that those cobwebs and
stinks that yet remain in thee are discovered: ‘In thy light shall we
see light.’ And again, whatsoever makes manifest is light. If then thou
seest thyself more vile than formerly, grace by its coming to thee has
done this for thee. (2.) Grace, when it comes, breaks and crumbles the
heart, in the sense and sight of its vileness. A man stands amazed and
confounded in himself; breaks and falls down on his face before God; is
ashamed to lift up so much as his face to God, at the sight and
apprehension of how wicked he is. (3.) Grace, when it comes, shows to a
man more of the holiness and patience of God; his holiness to make us
wonder at his patience, and his patience to make us wonder at his
mercy, that yet, even yet, such a vile one as I am, should be admitted
to breathe in the land of the living, yea more, suffered to come to the
throne of grace. (4.) Grace is of a heart-humbling nature: it will make
a man count himself the most unworthy of anything, of all saints. It
will make a man put all others afore him, and be glad too, if he may be
one beloved, though least beloved, because most unworthy. It will make
him with gladness accept of the lowest room, as counting all saints
more worthy of exaltation than himself. (5.) Grace will make a man
prize other men’s graces and gracious actions above his own. As he
thinks every man’s candle burns brighter than his, every man improves
grace better than he, every good man does more sincerely his duty than
he. And if these be not some of the effects of the renewings of grace,
I will confess I have taken my mark amiss. (6.) Renewings of grace
beget renewed self-bemoanings, self-condemnation, self-abhorrences.
And say thou prayest for communion with, and the presence of God. God
can have communion with thee, and grant thee his presence, and all this
shall, instead of comforting of thee at present, more confound thee,
and make thee see thy wickedness (Isa 6:1-5). Some people think they
never have the presence and the renewings of God’s grace upon them but
when they are comforted, and when they are cheered up; when, alas! God
may be richly with them, while they cry out, By these visions my
sorrows are multiplied; or, because I have seen God, I shall die (Dan
10:8-17; Judg 13:22).
And tell me now, all these things considered, has not grace, even the
grace of God, which thou hast so much desired, been coming to thee, and
working in thee in all these hidden methods? And so doing, has it not
also accommodated thee with all the aforenamed conveniences? The which
when thou considerest, I know thou wouldest not be without for all the
good of the world. Thus, therefore, thy desire is accomplishing; and
when it is accomplished, will be sweet to thy soul (Prov 13:19).
5. But we will follow thee a little in the way of thy heart. Thou
sayest thou desirest, and desirest grace, yea, hast been a thousand
times upon thy knees before God for more grace, and yet thou canst not
attain. I answer,
(1.) It may be the grace which thou prayest for, is worthy thy being
upon thy knees yet a thousand times more. We find, that usually they
that go to king’s courts for preferment, are there at great expenses;
yea, and wait a great while, even until they have spent their whole
estates, and worn out their patience too. Yet they at last prevail, and
the thing desired comes. Yea, and when it is come, it sets them up
anew, and makes them better men—though they did spend all that they had
to obtain it—than ever they were before. Wait, therefore, wait, I say,
on the Lord (Psa 27:14). Wait therefore with David, wait patiently; bid
thy soul cheer up, and wait (Psa 37:7, 62:5). ‘Blessed are all they
that wait for him’ (Isa 30:18).
(2.) Thou must consider, that great grace is reserved for great
service; thou desirest abundance of grace, thou dost well, and thou
shalt have what shall qualify and fit thee for the service that God has
for thee to do for him, and for his name in the world. The apostles
themselves were to stay for great grace until the time of their work
was come (Acts 1:4-8, 4:33). I will not allot thy service, but assure
thyself, when thy desire cometh, thou wilt have occasion for it; new
work, new trials, new sufferings, or something that will call for the
power and virtue of all the grace thou shalt have to keep thy spirit
even, and thy feet from slipping, while thou art exercised in new
engagements. Assure thyself, thy God will not give thee straw, but he
will expect brick: ‘For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be
much required; and to whom men have committed much, of him they will
ask the more’ (Luke 12:48). Wherefore, as thou art busy in desiring
more grace, be also desirous that wisdom to manage it with faithfulness
may also be granted unto thee. Thou wilt say, Grace, if I had it, will
do all this for me. It will, and will not. It will, if thou watch and
be sober; it will not, if thou be foolish and remiss. Men of great
grace may grow consumptive in grace, and idleness may turn him that
wears a plush jacket into rags.[20] David was once a man of great
grace, but his sin made the grace which he had to shrink up, and
dwindle away, as to make him cry out, O! ‘take not thy holy spirit’
utterly ‘from me’ (Psa 51:11, 119:8). Or, perhaps God withholds what
thou wouldest have, that it may be the more prized by thee when it
comes: ‘Hope deferred maketh the heart sick, but when the desire
cometh, it is a tree of life’ (Prov 13:12).
6. Lastly, but dost thou think that thy more grace will exempt thee
from temptations? Alas! the more grace, as was hinted, the greater
trials. Thou must be, for all that, like the ship of which thou
readest, sometimes high, sometimes low; sometimes steady, sometimes
staggering; sometimes in, and sometimes even at the end of thy very
wits. For ‘so he brings us to our desired haven’ (Psa 107:23-30). Yet
grace is the gold and preciousness of the righteous man: yea, and
herein appears the uprightness of his soul, in that though all these
things attend the grace of God in him, yet he chooseth grace here above
all, for that it makes him the more like God and his Christ, and for
that it seasons his heart best to his own content; and also for that it
capacitates him to glorify God in the world.
[THE CONCLUSION.]
Is it so? Is this the sum of all, namely, That ‘the fear of the wicked
it shall come upon him,’ and that ‘the desire of the righteous shall be
granted?’ Then this shows us what is determined concerning both.
Concerning the wicked, that all his hopes shall not bring him to
heaven; and concerning the righteous, that all his fears shall not
bring him to hell. But what a sad thing is it for one to be a wicked
man! Nothing can help him, his wickedness is too strong for him: ‘His
own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden
with the cords of his sins’ (Prov 5:22). He may twist and twine, and
seek to work himself from under the sentence passed upon him; but all
will do him no pleasure: ‘the wicked is driven away in his wickedness.
But the righteous hath hope in his death’ (Prov 14:32). Loth he is to
be righteous now; and as loth he will be to be found in his sins at the
dreadful day of doom. But so it must be: ‘Upon the wicked God shall
rain snares, fire, and brimstone, and a horrible’ burning ‘tempest:
this shall be the portion of their cup’ (Psa 11:6).
‘Woe unto the wicked’ therefore: ‘it shall be ill with him, for the
reward of his hands shall be given him’ (Isa 3:10). The just God will
recompense both the righteous and the wicked, even according to their
works. And yet for all this the wicked will not hear! When I read God’s
Word, and see how the wicked follow their sins, yea, dance in the ways
of their own destruction, it is astonishing to me. Their actions
declare them, though not Atheists in principle, yet such in
practice.[21] What do all their acts declare, but this, that they
either know not God, or fear not what he can do unto them? But, O! how
will they change their note, when they see what will become of them!
How wan will they look! Yea, the hair of their heads will stand on end
for fear; for their fear is their portion; nor can their fears, nor
their prayers, nor their entreaties, nor their wishes, nor their
repentings, help them in this day. And thus have I showed you what are
the ‘desires of the righteous,’ and that the ‘fear of the wicked shall
come upon him, but the desire of the righteous shall be granted.’
FOOTNOTES:
[1] How blessed are those whose light shines so clearly as to be known
and read of all men. A brand plucked from the burning bears the marks
of fire, but is not consuming.—Ed.
[2] ‘A very Abraham,’ or an Abraham cove. Cant terms formerly applied
to poor silly half-naked men, or to sturdy beggars. Thus the fraternity
of Vacabondes, 1575, describes them:—‘An Abraham man is he that walketh
bare-armed or bare-legged, and fayneth hymselfe mad, and caryeth a
packe of wool, or a stycke with baken on it, or suche lyke toy, and
nameth poore Tom.’ Shakespeare alludes to them under the name of Bedlam
Beggars.—Ed.
[3] To possess with or of; to cause to possess or to be possessed with—
‘At the port (Lord) he give her to thy hand,
And by the way possesse thee what she is.’
Troylus and Cressida, act 4, s. 4.
__________ ‘thou hast given me to possess
Life in myself for ever.’
Milton’s Paradise Lost, book iii, 243.
[4] Establishes our opinions, or fixes them in us. ‘Our young men being
principled by these new philosophers.’—Cudworth.
‘A Parliament so principled will sink
All ancient schools of empire in disgrace.’
Dr. Young.—Ed.
[5] Where is the man, except he be a willful perverter of Divine truth,
who can charge the doctrines of grace with licentiousness? All hope of
election or predestination arises from conformity to the image of
Christ. Vain is hope except it is founded upon redemption from the
curse, to walk in newness and holiness of life; equally vain is a hope
founded on the wicked assumption of man to the power of forgiveness of
sin.—Ed.
[6] This is admirably illustrated by the Interpreter in the Pilgrim’s
Progress. He shows Christian a fire burning against the wall, and one
standing by it, always casting much water upon it to quench it, yet did
the fire burn higher and hotter. Christian wonders until he is taken
behind the wall, and sees Christ secretly pouring the oil of grace into
the fire. Before Bunyan had been behind the wall, he was scared by the
father of lies, who suggested to him—‘You are very hot for mercy, but I
will cool you, though I be seven years in chilling your heart.’ Grace
Abounding, No. 118.—Ed.
[7] As we escape a thousand bodily dangers unseen and unknown to us in
time, so, doubtless, acts of grace pass through the soul without our
being sensible of them, although they may be the means of saving us
from severe tribulations. How wondrous will be the review of our lives
when we shall see face to face, and know all things.—Ed.
[8] However disgusting the appearance of a toad may be, this is not the
first time that Bunyan considered sin as rendering its slave more
loathsome even than a toad. ‘Now I blessed,’ said he, ‘the condition of
the dog and the toad, and counted the state of everything that God had
made far better than this state of mine.’ Grace Abounding, No. 104.—Ed.
[9] ‘This inward conflict between opposing principles constitutes the
very distinction between the regenerate and the unregenerate, and forms
part of the recorded experience of the most advanced, and elevated, and
spiritually-minded believers. Freedom from this conflict is not to be
expected here by any child of God.’—Dr. Wardlaw.
[10] This is one of the very few instances, if not the only one, in
which Bunyan’s attachment to believers’ baptism appears, except when
writing expressly upon the subject. Of all men, he was the most eminent
for non-sectarian feelings, arising from his soul being so baptized
into Christ as to leave no room for controversy upon ceremonial
observances. I feel bound to confirm the truth of his observation, for
if ever I enjoyed a heaven upon earth, it was on the Lord’s day
morning, when, publicly professing my faith in the Redeemer, I was
solemnly baptized. Nor have I ever witnessed this ceremony since
without the strongest emotions of love, and joy, and hope.—Ed.
[11] Church fellowship, rightly managed, abounds with blessings, when
the bishops or elders and the people are united in gospel bonds to
promote each other’s peace and holy enjoyments—their great happiness
being to extend the benign influence of the Redeemer’s kingdom. Let
Watchful be the porter; Discretion admit the members; Prudence take the
oversight; Piety conduct the worship; and Charity endear the members to
each other, and it is a house ‘beautiful.’ ‘Christians are like the
several flowers in a garden; they have upon each of them the dew of
heaven, which, being shaken, they let fall at each other’s roots, and
are jointly nourished and nourishers of each other.’ Bunyan’s Pilgrim
and Christian Behaviour.—Ed.
[12] Blessed be God the sword is for the present sheathed. Marvellous
was the indomitable courage of the martyrs under papacy, and, in a
later day, of the Scottish Covenanters. They saw their friends and
ministers tortured and murdered—the pain of the boots must have been
inconceivable—the bones of their legs were crushed between pieces of
iron, and, even when death had released the victim, savage barbarity
was practised upon his mutilated remains; the head and hands were cut
off and exhibited upon a pike, the hands fixed as in the attitude of
prayer, to mock the holiest duty. Can we wonder that lambs became
lions, overthrew the horrid enemy, and drove out State Episcopacy for
ever?—Ed.
[13] The noise made by animals of the stag or hart species is called,
by Goldsmith, bellowing. It strikes the ear as something beneath the
dignity of a hart to bray like an ass. Bunyan found the word in the
margin of Psalm 42:1, ‘The hart panteth.’ Heb. ‘Brayeth, after the
water brooks.’—Ed.
[14] Saffron was formerly cultivated near Bunyan’s residence, but,
although sold at a very high price, it scarcely paid for its expense.
In the flowering season, it was needful to gather the flowers every
morning as they came to perfection.—Ed.
[15] The Israelites entered the wilderness fourteen hundred and
ninety-one years before Christ. The prophecy of Jeremiah was delivered
six hundred and twenty-nine years before Christ. This remembrance was
eight hundred and sixty-two years after that memorable event. With God
there can be no forgetfulness; a thousand years in his sight are but as
yesterday.—Ed.
[16] How striking the contrast, but yet how true! A whip, whose cords
were made of the flames of hell, could no more arouse a sinner dead in
trespass and sins than a crown of glory could allure him. With all the
dread realities of the world to come pressed upon the conscience by a
faithful minister, still, alas! how many maintain their downward
course. The duty is ours to prophesy upon the dry bones. God and his
gracious Spirit alone can raise them up to holy, happy enjoyments.—Ed.
[17] This language is as expressive and original as it is like Bunyan.
Death takes the sinner by the throat, and ‘hands him down stairs to the
grave.’ The indulgence in any sinful propensity has this downward,
deathly tendency. Every lust, whether for riches or honours, for
gambling, wine, or women, leads the deluded wretched votary step by
step to the chambers of death. There is no hope in the dread prospect;
trouble and anguish possess the spirit. Hast thou escaped, O my soul,
from the net of the infernal fowler? Never forget that it is as a brand
snatched from the burning. O to grace how great a debtor.—Ed.
[18] It is not usual to call the rich young man a hypocrite. To outward
appearance he was in earnest. Negatively, he had kept the commandments.
Now he is required to perform positive duties, and to live by faith.
Here the mask falls off, and he concludes that eternal life is not
worth the sacrifice.—Ed.
[19] We have here an additional section to the Grace Abounding to the
Chief of Sinners. The result of long experience convinced him that if
he possessed a spark of grace which impelled him to groan after God,
all the powers of earth and hell could not destroy him.—Ed.
[20] As it is in temporal things, so it is in spiritual. If new
discoveries of Divine love lead to want of watchfulness, trial and
sorrow must ensue. About sixty years ago a next door neighbour, a
hatter, gained a prize in the lottery of ten thousand pounds—he became
intoxicated with his wealth, moved to the fashionable end of London,
went into a large way of business, dissipated his fortune, and died in
a workhouse! Christian, if you have unexpected enjoyments, be watchful;
it is to fit you for trials.—Ed.
[21] This is one of the most decisive proofs of the awfully degraded
state of human nature. Men believe, or pretend to believe, that this
life is but a span in companions with eternity—that there is a heaven
to reward the righteous and a hell to receive the unconverted sinner;
and yet make no personal inquiry at the holy oracles of God whether
they have been born again to newness of life, or whether they remain in
their sins. The great mass of mankind prefer paying their pence to a
priest to mislead them to destruction, than to trouble themselves with
God’s holy Word. O for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, that men may
be released from such bondage and slavery, and enter upon the happy
glorious liberty of the sons of God.—Ed.