sinful world, there are many other trials that attend the christian
life. Sorrows and sufferings belong to human nature, in this fallen and
unhappy state: _Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward_; Job v.
7. This earth is designed for a stage of conflict, a scene of probation,
where each of us must act our parts, under the eye and notice of God our
supreme governor, and our final rewarder. He expects that we should put
on a sacred hardiness of soul; he requires that we should not indulge a
spirit of fear, but be armed with power and courage, that we may endure
to the end. And blessed be his name that he hath given us promises to
raise our hope, that as he endued his people in ancient times with his
grace, so he will bestow this spirit of holy fortitude upon us also, and
that as our day is, so our strength shall be.
To cast my discourse into some method, I shall,
_First_, Briefly describe this divine temper of mind. In the next place,
_Secondly_, I would represent the various occasions which we shall find
for the exercise of it. _Thirdly_, I shall mention a few motives to
incite us to acquire this holy fortitude, and to maintain it throughout
our whole course of life. And _Fourthly_, propose some remedies against
a spirit of slavish fear, which is directly opposite to this christian
virtue.
The first thing proposed is, to describe what I mean by fortitude and
courage; and to this end, we must distinguish it into that of the active
and that of the passive kind. Active valour or courage, is such a temper
of soul, as to attempt and venture upon any bold act of duty, which may
endanger our present case, and worldly interest; and prompts us to
pursue it with a becoming steadiness and bravery of mind, undaunted at
every opposition we meet with, and unterrified at all the threatening
dangers that stand in our way. Passive valour is such an habitual
firmness and constancy of soul, as enables us to bear what sufferings we
fall under, without repinings and inward vexations, and without any
outward tokens of sinking and despondency. When we sustain heavy
sorrows, or anguish of the flesh, without any wild and unreasonable
groanings of nature, without rage and unbecoming resentment, without
tumult and confusion of spirit. And this should be the temper of our
souls, and our christian conduct, whether the sufferings which we feel,
arise from the immediate hand of God, or from the injustice and violence
of men.
In the second place, I come to represent the various occasions that we
shall find in the christian life, for the exercise of this holy courage,
and that under both kinds of it, _viz._ the active and the passive, or
that which consists in doing, and that which consists in suffering; and
I shall enlarge upon each of them in a practical way. Active valour is
necessary for a professor of the christian faith: And when and
wheresoever divine providence gives us any just occasions for the
exercise of this sort of fortitude, let no christian refuse them, or
shamefully withdraw from his duty. The occasions we have for it are such
as these:
I. When we are called to profess and practise strict piety, even under
the special view and notice of profane sinners. Perhaps our dwelling may
be cast among profligate wretches, who live without God in the world;
but we must not be afraid to own, that we fear the great God, and that
we worship that awful name, which their blasphemies affront and vilify.
Nor must we be ashamed to let the world know, that we cannot pass a day
without calling upon our God, and that prayer is as necessary to us, as
our daily food. It is strange and monstrous that it should ever be
accounted a matter of shame among creatures to acknowledge the God that
made them, or that it should ever need any courage to profess homage and
adoration to our Creator! What degenerate times do we live in, that it
should require some fortitude to tell the world, that we who are
creatures confess a God! And yet sometimes even this very fortitude is
wanting, and we are contented to look like atheists, lest we should be
thought religious. Base cowardise! and degenerate times indeed!
II. When we happen into the company of infidels and apostates from
christianity, who throw their impious jests on the gospel of Christ, we
may find a plain call of providence to stand up for his name and honour.
It is true, there are few of us who are sent to travel beyond the seas,
and to engage in necessary converse about religion with heathens; but I
hinted before, that infidelity is a growing mischief of the present age,
even in our own land. It seems to be a spreading infection, and how far
the great God may suffer it to prevail, he only knows. There are
multitudes already that have made shipwreck of the faith of Christ, and
betake themselves only to the dim and glimmering light of nature, as a
sufficient refuge for their souls, and their only guide in matters of
religion: A poor doubtful guide, and a dangerous refuge! And yet these
men are continually instructing one another to wage war against the
blessed gospel, and rise in arms of defiance against the only Saviour.
It is proper then for us to enquire, are we ready to declare ourselves
christians if we are called to it, when deists and scoffers surround us
with their abominable jests, or their wanton cavils? For though
sometimes they argue against our creed with calmness and decency, yet it
must be confessed that those are the most common weapons which this sort
of men make use of. Dare we now make a profession of our faith among men
of infidelity, and not value their banter, and their insolent
reproaches? Let us remember, that christian courage must encounter
mockery and slanders as well as other terrors: Courage must guard us
against sinful shame, as well as against sinful fear. Can we glory in a
crucified Saviour as the wisdom and the power of God, if we should be
placed between the Jews on one side, and the heathens on the other, who
load this doctrine with folly and scandal. St. Paul was a brave example;
O that every soul of us could as bravely imitate him! But let us proceed
to some more occasions of courage a-kin to this.
Perhaps we content ourselves to be christians in our closets, and to
frequent the public assemblies of worship without shame or fear, because
our neighbours do the same: But I would enquire of such general
professors of christianity, why are you so backward to give up your
names to Christ, and attend on the special ordinance of his holy supper?
Is it not because you are ashamed to appear in such a strict profession
of godliness, and to be known and observed by the world, as those that
have devoted themselves to the Lord in his church? This is certainly the
case of some younger converts. Let them here be put in mind of their
former neglects, and their present duty. Be strong in the Lord, banish a
shameful shame, and seal your covenant in the blood of Christ, his cross
is your hope, and why should you not make it your glory too?
If you are ashamed of such a public profession in peaceful times, what
will ye do if days of trial should come? Would you be ready to vindicate
your separation from the church of Rome, and all its superstitions?
Would you have courage enough to maintain the purity of your profession,
and your close adherence to scripture, in opposition to all the
inventions and traditions of men? Would your heart be strong to persist
in your peculiar practices of religion, in the most scriptural forms of
it, in an hour of persecution and danger? Blessed be God for a
protestant king on the throne, and a glorious race of protestant princes
to succeed him. May the blessings of heaven from above descend on them
all, and render them in their successions an everlasting blessing to
Great Britain and all the protestant churches! But a christian indeed
should be so formed, and so furnished, as to be ready to profess and
practise his religion in every nation, and in every age, in the midst of
storms as well as under the shining sun.
III. When we are called to practise an unfashionable virtue, or to
refuse compliance with any fashionable vice. This is another occasion
that demands the exercise of christian fortitude. Let us survey a few
instances of this kind.
It is an unfashionable thing now-a-days to introduce a word of practical
godliness into company: The polite world will tell us, it spoils
conversation: Mark, what a silence is spread over the room, when any
person dares to begin so disagreeable a subject; there is none to second
him, he may preach alone, and it is well if he escapes a profane scoff.
This is a very true, but a very shameful account of things, according to
the present mode. Any thing but religion is thought fit to entertain a
friend. Even where persons of piety meet together in their visits, this
sort of language is banished from company and the parlour, and it is
confined only to God and the closet. Alas! we are ashamed to appear
truly religious; but if we had holy courage enough, one person would not
be afraid to begin, nor another to carry on such divine discourse. There
are surely some happy moments wherein an useful word may be introduced
with prudence and decency, to warm each other’s hearts, and to rekindle
the holy fire of love and devotion that is almost expiring.
Again, perhaps we may be much engaged in the world among persons that
make no conscience of speaking truth: But if we would be christians
indeed, we must have courage enough always to shew a hatred of
falsehood, and keep up a tenderness of spirit, lest we be drawn to the
borders of a lie; nor must we be ashamed to let the world know that we
are the devoted servants of truth. When some knavish or unjust practice
has overspread a city or a country, and become almost universal, we must
dare to be honest in a cheating world; we must maintain our
righteousness, and let it shine in the midst of a deceitful age, though
perhaps we may be called scrupulous fools. If we happen to be engaged in
necessary business with persons who drink to excess, we must boldly deny
the imposed glass, we must secure our own sobriety, even in the midst of
drunkards, and as much as possible avoid their society: Nor should any
scandalous names of puritan and precisian affright us from the paths of
strict holiness. When we meet with gross affronts in the world, we may
be made the scorn and jest of all the company, if we decline the modish
customs of satisfaction and bloody revenge; we may be charged with
cowardice among the ruffians of the age; but a man of honour must have
courage to bear this charge, unless he will venture to run upon the
sword of God which is drawn and pointed against revenge, duelling, and
murder.
When the fashion of dress or visits, of salutations or entertainments,
exceeds the bounds of modesty or temperance, or intrenches upon truth or
religion, we must bravely dare to be unfashionable, and _have no
fellowship with any unfruitful works of darkness_; Eph. v. 11. We must
obey the great and holy God, rather than comply with the sinful customs
of men.
“’Tis brave to meet the world, stand fast among
Whole crowds, and not be carried with the throng.”
I grant that religion doth not consist in singularity, but there are
some seasons when we must be singular, if we would be holy, and exert a
sacred fortitude of soul, to secure ourselves from the defilements of
the world. _Come out from among them is the language of God in such
cases, touch not the unclean thing, and be ye separate, saith the Lord_;
2 Cor. vi. 17.
IV. Another instance of necessary courage, is, when we are called to
undertake the cause of the oppressed, to plead for the poor against the
mighty, or to vindicate the innocent against the men of slander or
violence. It is a cowardly spirit, a spirit of shameful pride, or
selfish meanness, to trample upon those that are lying upon the ground,
to tread upon the poor and the distressed, and sometimes through fear of
the mighty, as well as scorn of the poor, to neglect the cries of those
that are injured. This indeed is the custom of the world; but if we be
the disciples of Christ, we must have more courage than this, we must
_open our mouths for the dumb_, and plead the cause of those that cannot
speak for themselves; Prov. xxxi. 8.
When we happen into company that delight in scandal, and the slander
goes round from tongue to tongue, we must first guard our lips from the
infamous compliance, though we cannot defend our ears: And then we
should have some compassion on the absent person, who perhaps may be
loaded with calumny and lies: Nor should we be afraid or ashamed to put
in a relieving word; to support the good name of those that are
oppressed by malicious reproaches. And if the censure be never so just,
yet where providence doth not plainly call us to join in that censure,
let us not betray such an inclination to evil-speaking, nor shew such a
base and mean soul, as to call names for company.
Where the life or the estate of our neighbour is in danger, we must
venture something to secure it, as well as to defend his good name. This
advice is given in Prov. xxiv. 11, 12. _If thou forbear to deliver them
that are drawn out to death, and those that are ready to be slain; if
thou sayest, behold, we knew it not, doth not he that pondereth the
heart consider?_ That is, if there are any persons drawn out to death,
and ready to be slain by sinful oppression, and that thou had a just and
reasonable power in thine hand to preserve them, it is not thy duty to
stand still or hide thyself, and say, _behold I knew it not_. He that
lets the ox or the ass of his neighbour go astray or sink under a
burden, and passeth away regardless as though he did not know it, is
under the censure of the word of God; and much more do we deserve the
censure, if we abandon our fellow-creatures of human nature to perish,
when we are able to save them. The all-wise and almighty God considers
it, and he will not approve of such meanness of spirit, and such a
shameful defect of christian charity.
V. It is a work which calls for courage to admonish our brethren when
they depart from the ways of righteousness, and to reprove sin among
those with whom we converse. The law of God requires it; Lev. xix. 17.
_Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise
rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him._ It is expressed as
though a neglect of reproof, where it is a duty, looks like a sort of
hatred, or want of love. But for the most part it is want of courage
forbids it. Let it be done with holy boldness; but without wrath and
resentment, or selfish revenge; let it be expressed and managed with all
love and gentleness, with all humility and compassion, and with a
becoming exercise of those lovely characters of moderation and meekness,
which I have elsewhere described.
Nathan the prophet ingeniously reproved David the king for his adultery
and murder. And we should learn the most artful and obliging methods,
and the softest language of reproof, that we may practise it with more
courage, security, and success; and the more secret it is, it will
generally be most successful. If at any time we are called by most
evident providence, to give an open rebuke in the face of the world,
together with courage, we must put on all wisdom and humility, lest we
publish our own conceit and pride, and provoke wrath without hope of
success. When we rebuke the profane and impious wretch, for the most
glaring iniquity, we should use our best prudence in distinguishing
proper seasons, _lest we cast a pearl before swine, and it become
useless, and be trodden under foot_; Mat. vii. 6.
Sometimes it is hard to know what is our duty in this respect but thus
far in general it may be said, This should be done whensoever there is a
great and evident probability of doing service to God and souls by it:
Whensoever a vindication of the name of God and his honour requires it,
or when there is any just hope of doing good to men; there is indeed a
time to keep silence in this case, and there is a time to speak. O may
the word and Spirit and providence of God join together to give us
direction in this difficult duty, and courage to perform it!
VI. Reformation of all kinds, whether in families or churches, in
cities, or nations, demands a good degree of resolution and courage. It
is a brave and daring enterprize, to stem the torrent of the age we live
in, and to attempt to change the vicious customs of a city or nation. We
must have a soul inspired with zeal for piety and goodness, if we would
contest the point with the guilty, and cover them with deserved shame,
or bring them to deserved punishment. Blessed be God there are societies
formed in our age for this glorious purpose! May everlasting success
attend their zeal, and may their heads be covered with divine protection
in every hour of danger!
We have need of courage to stand up for truth and purity in the church
of Christ, when it is over-run with corrupt doctrines, wicked heresies,
superstitions, and false worship. We must use our endeavour to root out
these evil weeds by all the sacred influences of reason and scripture;
not by rage and violence, not by fraud and falsehood, not by slander and
scandalous language, not by calling in the power of the magistrate and
the sword of the state to assist us; Christ hath not allowed his
followers such weapons as these against superstition and heresy; _The
sword of the Spirit is the word of God_; Eph. vi. 17. _The weapons of
our warfare are not carnal_; 2 Cor. x. 4.
And when we have endeavoured to reform the offenders by all christian
methods, and find no success, we must dare to separate ourselves from
the many and the mighty, who will not be reformed. This was the glorious
practice of our fathers, the protestants and the puritans, in the
several seasons of their reformation, when they were called to oppose
the greater or the lesser corruptions of the christian church.
If our kindred or families are fallen into any foolish, vain, or sinful
practices, or any civil society to which we belong hath departed from
the rules of justice or truth, it belongs to a christian to become a
public good, by using his influence, as far as it goes, toward the
rectifying of every disorder. He should put on a divine fortitude,
whensoever providence calls him to attempt a reformation amongst them.
There is need of a noble spirit and a pious bravery, to rise up against
any foolish or vicious customs, to combat any rooted principles or
habits of error or iniquity, and to oppose any number of persons that
are engaged in an evil course. Moses forbids us _to follow a multitude
to do evil_; Ex. xxiii. 2. And there are seasons when we may be called
to oppose a multitude of evil-doers: And though no man stand by us, yet
we are bound to stand by the cause of God and goodness. So divine a
cause deserves and demands such divine courage.
How glorious was the character of Caleb and Joshua, who spoke well of
the land of promise, and encouraged the armies of Israel while all the
rest of the spies which were sent _brought an evil report upon the good
land_: Num. xiii. 31, 32. The people believed the evil report, and spoke
of stoning Joshua and Caleb. But the _glory of the Lord appeared in the
tabernacle_, and God himself gave a testimony from heaven to the sacred
courage and honour of these Jewish heroes. What a brave spirit dwelt in
Elijah, who attempted to reform Israel from idolatry! He would not fall
down and worship Baal, though he thought he had been left alone, the
only worshipper of the true God in the nation; 1 Kings xix. 14.
VII. There are some other, and very common occasions for the exercise of
sacred courage, which attend persons especially in the lower ranks of
life: As for instance; when a servant is called by providence to speak
the truth, and yet he dare not do it without offending his master: When
a poor man is required to bear witness in some important concern, and
his rich neighbour frowns and looks sour upon him: When a person of an
inferior character is tempted to join with the mighty in some unjust and
dishonourable practices, and while his superiors invite him to it, his
conscience forbids his compliance. It is a noble act of christian
courage, in such instances as these, to follow truth, equity, and
conscience, wheresoever they lead, in opposition to all the allurements,
the frowns, and the threatenings of persons in an higher station. Let
those who fall under such a temptation remember, _there is an higher
than the highest_, and the great God, the Lord of heaven and earth, is
the patron of truth and righteousness, the guardian of innocence, and
the dreadful avenger of deceit and lying.
I might add other instances of a kindred nature in common life, wherein
christian fortitude is greatly necessary, especially in this corrupt and
degenerate age: As when a trader must look poverty in the face, and meet
approaching ruin in his outward circumstances, unless he make some
inroad upon his honesty, and practise falsehood and deceit. But if the
case be thus, if a christian sees himself sinking in the world, by the
frowns of providence, he must dare to sink rather than cheat his
neighbour, and save himself by any base and dishonest methods. A man of
religion and honour must stand firm to his word, must follow strict
equity in all things, and neither enter into any methods of fraud, nor
of violence, to retrieve his decaying circumstances.
O how many little knavish contrivances do persons often practise to
secure a good bargain to themselves, and sometimes they support their
dying credit in the world at the expence and loss of their innocent
neighbour! They borrow what they know they are not able to pay: They
draw up false accounts of their own estate: They impose upon the
credulous with words of a double meaning, or with downright lies: They
almost forget they are christians, for fear lest they should be undone,
and practise the things at which an heathen would have blushed and
started, because they have not courage enough to be honest and poor.
VIII. Christians have need of holy fortitude, to venture their lives at
the demand of providence, and expose themselves to violence, and to a
bloody death. Sometimes they are called to this glorious service in the
cause of God and his church: So were many of the prophets, the apostles,
and primitive christians, as well as the martyrs of later ages.
Sometimes in the cause of our country, divine providence calls us to
expose our blood, and to assist or guard the nation against invasions
from abroad, or tumults at home, and to quell the rage of a brutal
multitude. In a just and necessary war for our country, or in a defence
of our natural or religious rights, we may fight with christian courage,
when we have well surveyed the justice of our cause, and find it
approved of God. And there are seasons when we may be called to venture
our lives for our christian brethren; 1 John iii. 15.
But perhaps some of these things may come as naturally also under the
head of passive valour and courage: And indeed the most active valour of
the greatest heroes is built upon that which is passive. It is on this
account they dare venture to expose their flesh to wounds, their names
to reproach, or their bodies to death, because they can bear the wounds,
the reproaches, or death itself with a noble serenity and fortitude of
soul. All the active boldness in the world is but rashness and folly
where such a hardiness and patience are utterly wanting. Of this passive
valour I shall mention but two particular cases wherein christians must
exert themselves.
I. When we are called to bear sickness, pain, shame, losses,
disappointments, all the sorrowful changes of life, or death itself from
the mere hand of God. This is to be done with a steadiness of spirit,
with a firmness of soul, with christian fortitude, with a sacred and
serene calm upon all our powers and passions, without fretting or
vexing, or inward disquietude. It is a sign of a weak mind to be overset
with every blast of wind. _If thou faintest in the day of adversity, thy
strength is but small_; Prov. xxiv. 10. We must not indeed _despise the
chastening of the Almighty, nor must we faint when we are rebuked of
him_; Heb. xii. 5.