Of the
mortification of sin
in believers;
the necessity, nature,
and means of it:
with
a resolution of sundry
cases of conscience thereunto belonging.
By John Owen,
D.D.,
a servant of Jesus
Christ in the work of the gospel.
Prefatory note.
It sheds
interesting light on the character and resources of Owen, if the circumstances in which the following treatise was
composed are borne in mind. It was published in 1656, and its author was at
the time Dean of Christ Church and Vice-Chancellor of the University of
Oxford, restoring it, by a course of mingled kindliness and decision, from
the ruinous condition into which it had lapsed during the civil wars, and
raising it to such prosperity as to extort the praises of Clarendon. He was preaching, each alternate
Sabbath, those sermons which lingered in the memory and strengthened the
piety of Philip Henry. He was frequently
summoned to London on momentous consultations respecting public affairs,
and to preach before the Parliament. As if this amount of toil were not
sufficient to occupy him, — toil so great that, in his noble address on
resigning the vice-chancellorship of the University, he describes himself
as having been “sæpius morti
proximus” — the Council of State had imposed on him the task of
replying to Biddle the Socinian; and he
fulfilled it by the production of his elaborate and masterly work, “Vindiciæ
Evangelicæ,” — a bulwark of the faith, so solid in its
foundation, and so massy in its proportions, that the entire phalanx of
Socinian authorship has shrunk from the attempt to assail it. In the next
year, and but a few months after this great work had appeared, as if his
secular labours in the management of the University, his own heavy share in
the burden of public affairs, and the rough duties of controversy, could
not arrest the progress of grace in his own soul, or deaden his zeal for
the promotion of vital godliness around him, he gave to the world this
treatise, “On the Mortification of Sin in Believers.”
We learn from the preface, that it embodies what he had
preached with such acceptance that “sundry persons, in whose hearts are the
ways of God,” pressed him to publish it. He had a desire also to correct
certain “dangerous mistakes” into which some preachers or writers of that
day had fallen, who recommended and enforced a process of mortifying sin
which was not conducted on evangelical principles, and only tended to
ensnare the conscience, and foster self-righteousness and superstition. The
directions which our author gives in order to subdue the power of internal
corruption are at the farthest remove from all the arts and practices of a
hollow asceticism. There is no trace in this work of the morbid and dreamy
tone of kindred treatises, which have emerged from a life of cloistered
seclusion. Our author’s knowledge of human nature, in its real elements,
and as it appears in the wide arena of life, is only surpassed by his
acquaintance with the truths of the Word, and their bearing on the
experience and workings of every heart. The reader is made to feel, above
all things, that the only cross on which he can nail his every lust to its
utter destruction, is, not the devices of a self-inflicted maceration, but
the tree on which Christ hung, made a curse for us.
After an analysis and explanation of the passage in
Scripture (Rom. viii. 13) on which the treatise is
based, some general principles are deduced and expounded. What follows is
designed — first, to show wherein the real mortification of sin consists;
secondly, to assign general directions, without which no sin can be
spiritually mortified; and, lastly, to unfold at length and in detail
specific and particular directions for this important spiritual
exercise.
The treatise has been so much a favourite, that it passed
through several editions in the author’s lifetime. It is given here as
corrected and enlarged in the second edition (1658), though by some
oversight modern reprints of it have been always taken from the first. The
estimate of its value indicated by the number of the early editions, is
confirmed by the circumstance, that it has since obtained the especial
recommendation of Mr. Wilberforce. (See
his “Practical View,” etc.
p. 392.) — Ed.
Preface.
Christian
Reader,
I shall in a
few words acquaint thee with the reasons that obtained my consent to the
publishing of the ensuing discourse. The consideration of the present state
and condition of the generality of professors, the visible evidences of the
frame of their hearts and spirits, manifesting a great disability of
dealing with the temptations wherewith, from the peace they have in the
world and the divisions that they have among themselves, they are
encompassed, holds the chief place amongst them. This I am assured is of so
great importance, that if hereby I only occasion others to press more
effectually on the consciences of men the work of considering their ways,
and to give more clear direction for the compassing of the end proposed, I
shall well esteem of my lot in this undertaking. This was seconded by an
observation of some men’s dangerous mistakes, who of late days have taken
upon them to give directions for the mortification of sin, who, being
unacquainted with the mystery of the gospel and the efficacy of the death
of Christ, have anew imposed the yoke of a self-wrought-out mortification
on the necks of their disciples, which neither they nor their forefathers
were ever able to bear. A mortification they cry up and press, suitable to
that of the gospel neither in respect of nature, subject, causes, means,
nor effects; which constantly produces the deplorable issues of
superstition, self-righteousness, and anxiety of conscience in them who
take up the burden which is so bound for them.
What is here proposed in weakness, I humbly hope will
answer the spirit and letter of the gospel, with the experiences of them
who know what it is to walk with God, according to the tenor of the
covenant of grace. So that if not this, yet certainly something of this
kind, is very necessary at this season for the promotion and furtherance of
this work of gospel mortification in the hearts of believers, and their
direction in paths safe, and wherein they may find rest to their souls.
Something I have to add as to what in particular relates unto myself.
Having preached on this subject unto some comfortable success, through the
grace of Him that administereth seed to the sower, I was pressed by sundry
persons, in whose hearts are the ways of God, thus to publish what I had
delivered, with such additions and alterations as I should judge necessary.
Under the inducement of their desires, I called to remembrance the debt,
wherein I have now for some years stood engaged unto sundry noble and
worthy Christian friends, as to a treatise of Communion with God, some while since promised to
them; and
thereon apprehended, that if I could not hereby compound for the greater
debt, yet I might possibly tender them this discourse of variance with
themselves, as interest for their forbearance of that of peace and
communion with God. Besides, I considered that I had been
providentially engaged in the public debate of sundry controversies in
religion, which might seem to claim something in another kind of more
general use, as a fruit of choice, not necessity. On these and
the like accounts is this short discourse brought forth to public view, and
now presented unto thee. I hope I may own in sincerity, that my heart’s
desire unto God, and the chief design of my life in the station wherein the
good providence of God hath placed me, are, that mortification and
universal holiness may be promoted in my own and in the hearts and ways of
others, to the glory of God; that so the gospel of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ may be adorned in all things: for the compassing of which end,
if this little discourse (of the publishing whereof this is the sum of the
account I shall give) may in any thing be useful to the least of the
saints, it will be looked on as a return of the weak prayers wherewith it
is attended by its unworthy author,
John Owen.
Chapter I.
The foundation of the whole ensuing discourse laid in Rom. viii. 13 — The words of the apostle
opened — The certain connection between true mortification and salvation —
Mortification the work of believers — The Spirit the principal efficient
cause of it — What meant by “the body” in the words of the apostle — What
by “the deeds of the body” — Life, in what sense promised to this
duty.
That what I
have of direction to contribute to the carrying on of the work of
mortification in believers may receive order and perspicuity, I shall lay
the foundation of it in those words of the apostle, Rom. viii.
13, “If ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body
ye shall live;” and reduce the whole to an improvement of the great
evangelical truth and mystery contained in them.
The apostle having made a recapitulation of his doctrine of
justification by faith, and the blessed estate and condition of them who
are made by grace partakers thereof, verses 1–3
of this chapter, proceeds to improve it to the holiness and
consolation of believers.
Among his arguments and motives unto holiness, the verse
mentioned containeth one from the contrary events and effects of holiness
and sin: “If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die.” What it is to “live
after the flesh,” and what it is to “die,” that being not my present aim
and business, I shall no otherwise explain than as they will fall in with
the sense of the latter words of the verse, as before proposed.
In the words peculiarly designed for the foundation of the
ensuing discourse, there is, —
First, A duty prescribed: “Mortify the deeds of the
body.”
Secondly, The persons are denoted to whom it is
prescribed: “Ye,” — “if ye mortify.”
Thirdly, There is in them a promise annexed to that
duty: “Ye shall live.”
Fourthly, The cause or means of the
performance of this duty, — the Spirit: “If ye through the Spirit.”
Fifthly, The conditionality of the whole
proposition, wherein duty, means, and promise are contained: “If ye,”
etc.
1. The first thing occurring in the words as they lie in
the entire proposition is the conditional note, Εἰ δὲ, “But if.” Conditionals in such propositions may
denote two things:—
(1.) The uncertainty of the event or thing
promised, in respect of them to whom the duty is prescribed. And this takes
place where the condition is absolutely necessary unto the issue, and
depends not itself on any determinate cause known to him to whom it is
prescribed. So we say, “If we live, we will do such a thing.” This cannot
be the intendment of the conditional expression in this place. Of the
persons to whom these words are spoken, it is said, verse 1 of the same chapter, “There is no
condemnation to them.”
(2.) The certainty of the coherence and
connection that is between the things spoken of; as we say to a sick man,
“If you will take such a potion, or use such a remedy, you will be well.”
The thing we solely intend to express is the certainty of the connection
that is between the potion or remedy and health. And this is the use of it
here. The certain connection that is between the mortifying of the
deeds of the body and living is intimated in this conditional
particle.
Now, the connection and coherence of things being manifold,
as of cause and effect, of way and means and the end, this between
mortification and life is not of cause and effect properly and strictly, —
for “eternal life is the gift of God through Jesus Christ,” Rom.
vi. 23, — but of means and end. God hath appointed this means
for the attaining that end, which he hath freely promised. Means, though
necessary, have a fair subordination to an end of free promise. A gift, and
procuring cause in him to whom it is given, are inconsistent. The
intendment, then, of this proposition as conditional is, that there is a
certain infallible connection and coherence between true mortification and
eternal life: if you use this means, you shall obtain that end; if you do
mortify, you shall live. And herein lies the main motive unto and
enforcement of the duty prescribed.
2. The next thing we meet withal in the words is the
persons to whom this duty is prescribed, and that is expressed in
the word “Ye,” in the original included in the verb, θανατοῦτε “if ye mortify;” — that is, ye believers; ye
to whom “there is no condemnation,” verse 1; ye that
are “not in the flesh, but in the Spirit,” verse 9; who are
“quickened by the Spirit of Christ,” verses 10,
11; to you is this duty prescribed. The pressing of this duty
immediately on any other is a notable fruit of that superstition and
self-righteousness that the world is full of, — the great work
and design of devout men ignorant of the gospel, Rom. x. 3,
4; John xv. 5. Now, this description of the
persons, in conjunction with the prescription of the duty, is the main
foundation of the ensuing discourse, as it lies in this thesis or
proposition:—
The choicest believers, who are assuredly freed from the
condemning power of sin, ought yet to make it their business all their days
to mortify the indwelling power of sin.
3. The principal efficient cause of the performance
of this duty is the Spirit: Εἰ δὲ
Πνεύματι, — “ If by the Spirit.” The Spirit here is the Spirit
mentioned verse 11, the Spirit of Christ, the
Spirit of God, that “dwells in us,” verse 9, that
“quickens us,” verse 11; “the Holy Ghost,” verse
14; the “Spirit of
adoption,” verse 15; the Spirit “that maketh
intercession for us,” verse 26. All other ways of mortification
are vain, all helps leave us helpless; it must be done by the Spirit. Men,
as the apostle intimates, Rom. ix.
30–32, may attempt this work on other principles, by means and
advantages administered on other accounts, as they always have done, and
do: but, saith he, “This is the work of the Spirit; by him alone is it to
be wrought, and by no other power is it to be brought about.” Mortification
from a self-strength, carried on by ways of self-invention, unto the end of
a self-righteousness, is the soul and substance of all false religion in
the world. And this is a second principle of my ensuing discourse.
4. The duty itself, “Mortify the deeds of the body,”
is nextly to be remarked.
Three things are here to be inquired into:— (1.) What is
meant by the body; (2.) What by the deeds of the body; (3.)
What by mortifying of them.
(1.) The body in the close of the verse is the same
with the flesh in the beginning: “If ye live after the flesh ye
shall die; but if ye … mortify the deeds of the body,” — that is, of the
flesh. It is that which the apostle hath all along discoursed of under the
name of the flesh; which is evident from the prosecution of the
antithesis between the Spirit and the flesh, before and after. The
body, then, here is taken for that corruption and depravity of our
natures whereof the body, in a great part, is the seat and instrument, the
very members of the body being made servants unto unrighteousness thereby,
Rom. vi. 19. It is indwelling sin, the
corrupted flesh or lust, that is intended. Many reasons might be given of
this metonymical expression, that I shall not now insist on. The “body”
here is the same with παλαιὸς
ἄνθρωπος, and σῶμα τῆς
ἁμαρτίας, the “old man,” and the “body of sin,” Rom. vi.
6; or it may synecdochically express the whole person
considered as corrupted, and the seat of lusts and distempered
affections.
(2.) The deeds of the body. The word is πράξεις, which, indeed, denoteth the outward
actions chiefly, “the works of the flesh,” as they are called, τὰ ἔργα τῆς σαρκός, Gal. v.
19; which are there said to be “manifest,” and are enumerated.
Now, though the outward deeds are here only expressed, yet the inward and
next causes are chiefly intended; the “axe is to be laid to the root of the
tree,” — the deeds of the flesh are to be mortified in their causes, from
whence they spring. The apostle calls them deeds, as that which
every lust tends unto; though it do but conceive and prove abortive, it
aims to bring forth a perfect sin.
Having, both in the seventh and the beginning of this
chapter, treated of indwelling lust and sin as the fountain and principle
of all sinful actions, he here mentions its destruction under the name of
the effects which it doth produce. Πράξεις
τοῦ σώματος are, as much as φρόνημα
τῆς σαρκός, Rom. viii. 6, the “wisdom of the flesh,”
by a metonymy of the same nature with the former; or as the παθήματα and ἐπιθυμίαι, the “passions and lusts of the flesh,”
Gal. v. 24, whence the deeds and fruits
of it do arise; and in this sense is the body used, Rom. viii. 10: “The body is dead because
of sin.”
(3.) To mortify. Εἰ
θανατοῦτε, — “If ye put to death;” a metaphorical expression, taken
from the putting of any living thing to death. To kill a man, or any other
living thing, is to take away the principle of all his strength, vigour,
and power, so that he cannot act or exert, or put forth any proper actings
of his own; so it is in this case. Indwelling sin is compared to a person,
a living person, called “the old man,” with his faculties, and properties,
his wisdom, craft, subtlety, strength; this, says the apostle, must be
killed, put to death, mortified, — that is, have its power, life, vigour,
and strength, to produce its effects, taken away by the Spirit. It is,
indeed, meritoriously, and by way of example, utterly mortified and slain
by the cross of Christ; and the “old man” is thence said to be “crucified
with Christ,” Rom. vi. 6, and ourselves to be “dead”
with him, verse 8, and really initially in
regeneration, Rom. vi.
3–5, when a principle contrary to it, and destructive of it,
Gal. v. 17, is planted in our hearts; but
the whole work is by degrees to be carried on towards perfection all our
days. Of this more in the process of our discourse. The intendment of the
apostle in this prescription of the duty mentioned is, — that the
mortification of indwelling sin remaining in our mortal bodies, that it may
not have life and power to bring forth the works or deeds of the flesh is
the constant duty of believers.
5. The promise unto this duty is life: “Ye shall
live.” The life promised is opposed to the death threatened in the clause
foregoing, “If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die;” which the
same apostle expresseth, “Ye shall of the flesh reap corruption,” Gal. vi.
8, or destruction from God. Now, perhaps the word may not only
intend eternal life, but also the spiritual life in Christ, which here we
have; not as to the essence and being of it, which is already enjoyed by
believers, but as to the joy, comfort, and vigour of it: as the apostle
says in another case, “Now I live, if ye stand fast,” 1 Thess.
iii. 8; — “Now my life will do me good; I shall have joy and
comfort with my life;” — “Ye shall live, lead a good, vigorous,
comfortable, spiritual life whilst you are here, and obtain eternal life
hereafter.”
Supposing what was said before of the connection between
mortification and eternal life, as of means and end, I shall add only, as a
second motive to the duty prescribed, that, —
The vigour, and power, and comfort of our spiritual life
depends on the mortification of the deeds of the flesh.
Chapter II.
The principal assertion concerning the necessity of mortification
proposed to confirmation — Mortification the duty of the best believers,
Col. iii. 5; 1 Cor. ix.
27 — Indwelling sin always abides; no perfection in this life,
Phil. iii. 12; 1 Cor. xiii.
12; 2 Pet. iii. 18; Gal. v.
17, etc. — The activity of abiding sin in believers, Rom.
vii. 23; James iv. 5; Heb. xii. 1 —
Its fruitfulness and tendency — Every lust aims at the height in its kind —
The Spirit and new nature given to contend against indwelling sin,
Gal. v. 17; 2 Pet. i. 4,
5; Rom. vii. 23 — The fearful issue of the
neglect of mortification, Rev. iii. 2;
Heb. iii. 13 — The first general
principle of the whole discourse hence confirmed — Want of this duty
lamented.
Having laid
this foundation, a brief confirmation of the fore-mentioned principal
deductions will lead me to what I chiefly intend, —
I. That the choicest believers, who are assuredly freed
from the condemning power of sin, ought yet to make it their business all
their days to mortify the indwelling power of sin.
So the apostle, Col. iii. 5,
“Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth.” Whom speaks he
to? Such as were “risen with Christ,” verse 1; such as
were “dead” with him, verse 3; such as whose life Christ was,
and who should “appear with him in glory,” verse 4. Do you
mortify; do you make it your daily work; be always at it whilst you live;
cease not a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be killing you.
Your being dead with Christ virtually, your being quickened with him, will
not excuse you from this work. And our Saviour tells us how his Father
deals with every branch in him that beareth fruit, every true
and living branch. “He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit,”
John xv. 2. He prunes it, and that not
for a day or two, but whilst it is a branch in this world. And the apostle
tells you what was his practice, 1 Cor. ix. 27,
“I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection.” “I do it,” saith he,
“daily; it is the work of my life: I omit it not; this is my business.” And
if this were the work and business of Paul, who was so incomparably exalted
in grace, revelations, enjoyments, privileges, consolations, above the
ordinary measure of believers, where may we possibly bottom an exemption
from this work and duty whilst we are in this world? Some brief account of
the reasons hereof may be given:—
1. Indwelling sin always abides whilst we are in
this world; therefore it is always to be mortified. The vain, foolish, and
ignorant disputes of men about perfect keeping the commands of God, of
perfection in this life, of being wholly and perfectly dead to sin, I
meddle not now with. It is more than probable that the men of those
abominations never knew what belonged to the keeping of any one of God’s
commands, and are so much below perfection of degrees, that they never
attained to a perfection of parts in obedience or universal obedience in
sincerity. And, therefore, many in our days who have talked of perfection
have been wiser, and have affirmed it to consist in knowing no difference
between good and evil. Not that they are perfect in the things we call
good, but that all is alike to them, and the height of wickedness is their
perfection. Others who have found out a new way to it, by denying original,
indwelling sin, and attempering the spirituality of the law of God unto
men’s carnal hearts, as they have sufficiently discovered themselves to be
ignorant of the life of Christ and the power of it in believers, so they
have invented a new righteousness that the gospel knows not of, being
vainly puffed up by their fleshly minds. For us, who dare not be wise above
what is written, nor boast by other men’s lives of what God hath not done
for us, we say that indwelling sin lives in us, in some measure and degree,
whilst we are in this world. We dare not speak as “though we had already
attained, or were already perfect,” Phil. iii. 12.
Our “inward man is to be renewed day by day” whilst here we live, 2
Cor. iv. 16; and according to the renovations of the new are the
breaches and decays of the old. Whilst we are here we “know but in part,”
1 Cor. xiii. 12, having a remaining
darkness to be gradually removed by our “growth in the knowledge of our
Lord Jesus Christ,” 2 Pet. iii.
18; and “the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, so that we cannot
do the things that we would,” Gal. v. 17: and
are therefore defective in our obedience as well as in our light, 1
John i. 8. We have a “body of death,” Rom. vii.
24; from whence we are not delivered but by the
death of our bodies, Phil. iii. 21.
Now, it being our duty to mortify, to be killing of sin whilst it is in us,
we must be at work. He that is appointed to kill an enemy, if he leave
striking before the other ceases living, doth but half his work, Gal. vi.
9; Heb. xii. 1; 2 Cor. vii.
1.
2. Sin doth not only still abide in us, but is still
acting, still labouring to bring forth the deeds of the flesh. When
sin lets us alone we may let sin alone; but as sin is never less quiet than
when it seems to be most quiet, and its waters are for the most part deep
when they are still, so ought our contrivances against it to be vigorous at
all times and in all conditions, even where there is least suspicion. Sin
doth not only abide in us, but “the law of the members is still rebelling
against the law of the mind,” Rom. vii. 23;
and “the spirit that dwells in us lusteth to envy,” James
iv. 5. It is always in continual work; “the flesh lusteth
against the Spirit,” Gal. v. 17; lust
is still tempting and conceiving sin, James i. 14; in
every moral action it is always either inclining to evil, or hindering from
that which is good, or disframing the spirit from communion with God. It
inclines to evil. “The evil which I would not, that I do,” saith the
apostle, Rom. vii. 19. Whence is that? Why,
“Because in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing.” And it
hinders from good: “The good that I would do, that I do not,” verse
19; — “Upon the same account, either I do it not, or not as I
should; all my holy things being defiled by this sin.” “The flesh lusteth
against the Spirit, so that ye cannot do the things that ye would,”
Gal. v. 17. And it unframes our spirit,
and thence is called “The sin that so easily besets us,” Heb.
xii. 1; on which account are those grievous complaints that the
apostle makes of it, Rom. vii. So that sin is always acting,
always conceiving, always seducing and tempting. Who can say that he had
ever any thing to do with God or for God, that indwelling sin had not a
hand in the corrupting of what he did? And this trade will it drive more or
less all our days. If, then, sin will be always acting, if we be not always
mortifying, we are lost creatures. He that stands still and suffers his
enemies to double blows upon him without resistance, will undoubtedly be
conquered in the issue. If sin be subtle, watchful, strong, and always at
work in the business of killing our souls, and we be slothful, negligent,
foolish, in proceeding to the ruin thereof, can we expect a comfortable
event? There is not a day but sin foils or is foiled, prevails or is
prevailed on; and it will be so whilst we live in this world.
I shall discharge him from this duty who can bring sin to a
composition, to a cessation of arms in this warfare; if it will spare him
any one day, in any one duty (provided he be a person that is acquainted
with the spirituality of obedience and the subtlety of sin), let him say to his soul, as to this duty, “Soul, take thy rest.”
The saints, whose souls breathe after deliverance from its perplexing
rebellion, know there is no safety against it but in a constant
warfare.
3. Sin will not only be striving, acting, rebelling,
troubling, disquieting, but if let alone, if not continually mortified, it
will bring forth great, cursed, scandalous, soul-destroying sins.
The apostle tells us what the works and fruits of it are, Gal. v. 19–21, “The works of the flesh
are manifest, which are, adultery, fornication, uncleanness,
lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath,
strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings,
and such like.” You know what it did in David and sundry others. Sin aims
always at the utmost; every time it rises up to tempt or entice, might it
have its own course, it would go out to the utmost sin in that kind. Every
unclean thought or glance would be adultery if it could; every covetous
desire would be oppression, every thought of unbelief would be atheism,
might it grow to its head. Men may come to that, that sin may not be heard
speaking a scandalous word in their hearts, — that is, provoking to any
great sin with scandal in its mouth; but yet every rise of lust, might it
have its course, would come to the height of villany: it is like the grave,
that is never satisfied. And herein lies no small share of the
deceitfulness of sin, by which it prevails to the hardening of men, and so
to their ruin, Heb. iii. 13, — it is modest, as it were,
in its first motions and proposals, but having once got footing in the
heart by them, it constantly makes good its ground, and presseth on to some
farther degrees in the same kind. This new acting and pressing forward
makes the soul take little notice of what an entrance to a falling off from
God is already made; it thinks all is indifferent well if there be no
farther progress; and so far as the soul is made insensible of any sin, —
that is, as to such a sense as the gospel requireth, — so far it is
hardened: but sin is still pressing forward, and that because it hath no
bounds but utter relinquishment of God and opposition to him; that it
proceeds towards its height by degrees, making good the ground it hath got
by hardness, is not from its nature, but its deceitfulness. Now nothing can
prevent this but mortification; that withers the root and strikes at the
head of sin every hour, so that whatever it aims at it is crossed in. There
is not the best saint in the world but, if he should give over this duty,
would fall into as many cursed sins as ever any did of his kind.
4. This is one main reason why the Spirit and the new
nature is given unto us, — that we may have a principle within whereby to
oppose sin and lust. “The flesh lusteth against the Spirit.” Well! and what
then? Why, “The Spirit also lusteth against the flesh,” Gal.
v. 17. There is a propensity in the Spirit, or spiritual new
nature, to be acting against the flesh, as well as in the flesh
to be acting against the Spirit: so 2 Pet. i. 4,
5. It is our participation of the divine nature that gives us an
escape from the pollutions that are in the world through lust; and,
Rom. vii. 23, there is a law of the mind,
as well as a law of the members. Now this is, first, the most unjust and
unreasonable thing in the world, when two combatants are engaged, to bind
one and keep him up from doing his utmost, and to leave the other at
liberty to wound him at his pleasure; and, secondly, the foolishest thing
in the world to bind him who fights for our eternal condition, [salvation?]
and to let him alone who seeks and violently attempts our everlasting ruin.
The contest is for our lives and souls. Not to be daily employing the
Spirit and new nature for the mortifying of sin, is to neglect that
excellent succour which God hath given us against our greatest enemy. If we
neglect to make use of what we have received, God may justly hold his hand
from giving us more. His graces, as well as his gifts, are bestowed on us
to use, exercise, and trade with. Not to be daily mortifying sin, is to sin
against the goodness, kindness, wisdom, grace, and love of God, who hath
furnished us with a principle of doing it.
5. Negligence in this duty casts the soul into a perfect
contrary condition to that which the apostle affirms was his, 2
Cor. iv. 16, “Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man
is renewed day by day.” In these the inward man perisheth, and the outward
man is renewed day by day. Sin is as the house of David, and grace as the
house of Saul. Exercise and success are the two main
cherishers of grace in the heart; when it is suffered to lie still, it
withers and decays: the things of it are ready to die, Rev.
iii. 2; and sin gets ground towards the hardening of the heart,
Heb. iii. 13. This is that which I
intend: by the omission of this duty grace withers, lust flourisheth, and
the frame of the heart grows worse and worse; and the Lord knows what
desperate and fearful issues it hath had with many. Where sin, through the
neglect of mortification, gets a considerable victory, it breaks the bones
of the soul, Ps. xxxi. 10, li. 8, and
makes a man weak, sick, and ready to die, Ps. xxxviii.
3–5, so that he cannot look up, Ps. xl. 12,
Isa. xxxiii. 24; and when poor creatures
will take blow after blow, wound after wound, foil after foil, and never
rouse up themselves to a vigorous opposition, can they expect any thing but
to be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, and that their souls
should bleed to death? 2 John 8.
Indeed, it is a sad thing to consider the fearful issues of this neglect,
which lie under our eyes every day. See we not those, whom we knew humble,
melting, broken-hearted Christians, tender and fearful to offend, zealous
for God and all his ways, his Sabbaths and ordinances, grown, through a
neglect of watching unto this duty, earthly, carnal, cold, wrathful, complying with the men of the world and things of the world, to the
scandal of religion and the fearful temptation of them that know them? The
truth is, what between placing mortification in a rigid, stubborn frame of
spirit, which is for the most part earthly, legal, censorious, partial,
consistent with wrath, envy, malice, pride, on the one hand, and pretences
of liberty, grace, and I know not what, on the other, true evangelical
mortification is almost lost amongst us: of which afterward.
6. It is our duty to be “perfecting holiness in the fear of
God,” 2 Cor. vii. 1; to be “growing in grace”
every day, 1 Pet. ii. 2, 2 Pet. iii.
18; to be “renewing our inward man day by day,” 2
Cor. iv. 16. Now, this cannot be done without the daily
mortifying of sin. Sin sets its strength against every act of holiness, and
against every degree we grow to. Let not that man think he makes any
progress in holiness who walks not over the bellies of his lusts. He who
doth not kill sin in this way takes no steps towards his journey’s end. He
who finds not opposition from it, and who sets not himself in every
particular to its mortification, is at peace with it, not dying to it.
This, then, is the first general principle of our ensuing
discourse: Notwithstanding the meritorious mortification, if I may so
speak, of all and every sin in the cross of Christ; notwithstanding the
real foundation of universal mortification laid in our first conversion, by
conviction of sin, humiliation for sin, and the implantation of a new
principle opposite to it and destructive of it; — yet sin doth so remain,
so act and work in the best of believers, whilst they live in this world,
that the constant daily mortification of it is all their days incumbent on
them. Before I proceed to the consideration of the next principle, I cannot
but by the way complain of many professors of these days, who, instead of
bringing forth such great and evident fruits of mortification as are
expected, scarce bear any leaves of it. There is, indeed, a broad light
fallen upon the men of this generation, and together therewith many
spiritual gifts communicated, which, with some other considerations, have
wonderfully enlarged the bounds of professors and profession; both they and
it are exceedingly multiplied and increased. Hence there is a noise of
religion and religious duties in every corner, preaching in abundance, —
and that not in an empty, light, trivial, and vain manner, as formerly, but
to a good proportion of a spiritual gift, — so that if you will measure the
number of believers by light, gifts, and profession, the church may have
cause to say, “Who hath born me all these?” But now if you will take the
measure of them by this great discriminating grace of Christians, perhaps
you will find their number not so multiplied. Where almost is that
professor who owes his conversion to these days of light, and so talks and
professes at such a rate of spirituality as few in former days
were, in any measure, acquainted with (I will not judge them, but perhaps
boasting what the Lord hath done in them), that doth not give evidence of a
miserably unmortified heart? If vain spending of time, idleness,
unprofitableness in men’s places, envy, strife, variance, emulations,
wrath, pride, worldliness, selfishness, 1 Cor. i., be
badges of Christians, we have them on us and amongst us in abundance. And
if it be so with them who have much light, and which, we hope, is saving,
what shall we say of some who would be accounted religious and yet despise
gospel light, and for the duty we have in hand, know no more of it but what
consists in men’s denying themselves sometimes in outward enjoyments, which
is one of the outmost branches of it, which yet they will seldom practise?
The good Lord send out a spirit of mortification to cure our distempers, or
we are in a sad condition!
There are two evils which certainly attend every
unmortified professor; — the first, in himself; the other, in respect of
others:—
1. In himself. Let him pretend what he will, he hath
slight thoughts of sin; at least, of sins of daily infirmity. The
root of an unmortified course is the digestion of sin without bitterness in
the heart. When a man hath confirmed his imagination to such an
apprehension of grace and mercy as to be able, without bitterness, to
swallow and digest daily sins, that man is at the very brink of turning the
grace of God into lasciviousness, and being hardened by the deceitfulness
of sin. Neither is there a greater evidence of a false and rotten heart in
the world than to drive such a trade. To use the blood of Christ, which is
given to cleanse us, 1 John i. 7,
Tit. ii. 14; the exaltation of Christ,
which is to give us repentance, Acts v. 31;
the doctrine of grace, which teaches us to deny all ungodliness,
Tit. ii. 11, 12, to countenance sin,
is a rebellion that in the issue will break the bones. At this door have
gone out from us most of the professors that have apostatized in the days
wherein we live. For a while they were most of them under convictions;
these kept them unto duties, and brought them to profession; so they
“escaped the pollutions that are in the world, through the knowledge of our
Lord Jesus Christ,” 2 Pet. ii. 20:
but having got an acquaintance with the doctrine of the gospel, and being
weary of duty, for which they had no principle, they began to countenance
themselves in manifold neglects from the doctrine of grace. Now, when once
this evil had laid hold of them, they speedily tumbled into perdition.
2. To others. It hath an evil influence on them on a
twofold account:—
(1.) It hardens them, by begetting in them a
persuasion that they are in as good condition as the best professors.
Whatever they see in them is so stained for want of this mortification that
it is of no value with them. They have a zeal for religion; but
it is accompanied with want of forbearance and universal righteousness.
They deny prodigality, but with worldliness; they separate from the world,
but live wholly to themselves, taking no care to exercise loving-kindness
in the earth; or they talk spiritually, and live vainly; mention communion
with God, and are every way conformed to the world; boasting of forgiveness
of sin, and never forgiving others. And with such considerations do poor
creatures harden their hearts in their unregeneracy.
(2.) They deceive them, in making them believe that
if they can come up to their condition it shall be well with them; and so
it grows an easy thing to have the great temptation of repute in religion
to wrestle withal, when they may go far beyond them as to what appears in
them, and yet come short of eternal life. But of these things and all the
evils of unmortified walking, afterward.
Chapter III.
The second general principle of the means of mortification
proposed to confirmation — The Spirit the only author of this work — Vanity
of popish mortification discovered — Many means of it used by them not
appointed of God — Those appointed by him abused — The mistakes of others
in this business — The Spirit is promised believers for this work,
Ezek. xi. 19,
xxxvi. 26 — All that we receive from Christ is by the Spirit —
How the Spirit mortifies sin — Gal. v.
19–23 — The several ways of his operation to this end proposed —
How his work and our duty.
The next
principle relates to the great sovereign cause of the mortification treated
of; which, in the words laid for the foundation of this discourse, is said
to be the Spirit, — that is, the Holy Ghost, as was evinced.
II. He only is sufficient for this work; all ways and
means without him are as a thing of nought; and he is the great efficient
of it, — he works in us as he pleases.
1. In vain do men seek other remedies; they shall not be
healed by them. What several ways have been prescribed for this, to have
sin mortified, is known. The greatest part of popish religion, of that
which looks most like religion in their profession, consists in mistaken
ways and means of mortification. This is the pretence of their rough
garments, whereby they deceive. Their vows, orders, fastings, penances, are
all built on this ground; they are all for the mortifying of sin. Their
preachings, sermons, and books of devotion, they look all this
way. Hence, those who interpret the locusts that came out of the bottomless
pit, Rev. ix. 3, to be the friars of the Romish
church, who are said to torment men, so “that they should seek death and
not find it,” verse 6, think that they did it by their
stinging sermons, whereby they convinced them of sin, but being not able to
discover the remedy for the healing and mortifying of it, they kept them in
such perpetual anguish and terror, and such trouble in their consciences,
that they desired to die. This, I say, is the substance and glory of their
religion; but what with their labouring to mortify dead creatures, ignorant
of the nature and end of the work, — what with the poison they mixed with
it, in their persuasion of its merit, yea, supererogation (as they
style their unnecessary merit, with a proud, barbarous title), — their
glory is their shame: but of them and their mortification more afterward,
chap. vii.
That the ways and means to be used for the mortification of
sin invented by them are still insisted on and prescribed, for the same
end, by some who should have more light and knowledge of the gospel, is
known. Such directions to this purpose have of late been given by some, and
are greedily catched at by others professing themselves Protestants, as
might have become popish devotionists three or four hundred years ago. Such
outside endeavours, such bodily exercises, such self-performances, such
merely legal duties, without the least mention of Christ or his Spirit, are
varnished over with swelling words of vanity, for the only means and
expedients for the mortification of sin, as discover a deep-rooted
unacquaintedness with the power of God and mystery of the gospel. The
consideration hereof was one motive to the publishing of this plain
discourse.
Now, the reasons why the Papists can never, with all their
endeavours, truly mortify any one sin, amongst others, are, —
(1.) Because many of the ways and means they use and insist
upon for this end were never appointed of God for that purpose. (Now, there
is nothing in religion that hath any efficacy for compassing an end, but it
hath it from God’s appointment of it to that purpose.) Such as these are
their rough garments, their vows, penances, disciplines, their course of
monastical life, and the like; concerning all which God will say, “Who hath
required these things at your hand?” and, “In vain do ye worship me,
teaching for doctrines the traditions of men.” Of the same nature are
sundry self-vexations insisted on by others.
(2.) Because those things that are appointed of God as
means are not used by them in their due place and order, — such as are
praying, fasting, watching, meditation, and the like. These have their use
in the business in hand; but whereas they are all to be looked on as
streams, they look on them as the fountain. Whereas they effect and accomplish the end as means only, subordinate to the Spirit and
faith, they look on them to do it by virtue of the work wrought. If they
fast so much, and pray so much, and keep their hours and times, the work is
done. As the apostle says of some in another case, “They are always
learning, never coming to the knowledge of the truth;” so they are always
mortifying, but never come to any sound mortification. In a word, they have
sundry means to mortify the natural man, as to the natural life here we
lead; none to mortify lust or corruption.
This is the general mistake of men ignorant of the gospel
about this thing; and it lies at the bottom of very much of that
superstition and will-worship that hath been brought into the world. What
horrible self-macerations were practised by some of the ancient authors of
monastical devotion! what violence did they offer to nature! what extremity
of sufferings did they put themselves upon! Search their ways and
principles to the bottom, and you will find that it had no other root but
this mistake, namely, that attempting rigid mortification, they fell upon
the natural man instead of the corrupt old man, — upon the body wherein we
live instead of the body of death.
Neither will the natural Popery that is in others do it.
Men are galled with the guilt of a sin that hath prevailed over them; they
instantly promise to themselves and God that they will do so no more; they
watch over themselves, and pray for a season, until this heat waxes cold,
and the sense of sin is worn off: and so mortification goes also, and sin
returns to its former dominion. Duties are excellent food for an unhealthy
soul; they are no physic for a sick soul. He that turns his meat into his
medicine must expect no great operation. Spiritually sick men cannot sweat
out their distemper with working. But this is the way of men who deceive
their own souls; as we shall see afterward.
That none of these ways are sufficient is evident from the
nature of the work itself that is to be done; it is a work that requires so
many concurrent actings in it as no self-endeavour can reach unto, and is
of that kind that an almighty energy is necessary for its accomplishment;
as shall be afterward manifested.
2. It is, then, the work of the Spirit. For, —
(1.) He is promised of God to be given unto us to do
this work. The taking away of the stony heart, — that is, the stubborn,
proud, rebellious, unbelieving heart, — is in general the work of
mortification that we treat of. Now this is still promised to be done by
the Spirit, Ezek. xi. 19, xxxvi.
26, “I will give my Spirit, and take away the stony heart;” and
by the Spirit of God is this work wrought when all means fail, Isa. lvii. 17, 18.
(2.) We have all our mortification from the
gift of Christ, and all the gifts of Christ are communicated to us
and given us by the Spirit of Christ: “Without Christ we can do nothing,”
John xv. 5. All communications of
supplies and relief, in the beginnings, increasings, actings of any grace
whatever, from him, are by the Spirit, by whom he alone works in and upon
believers. From him we have our mortification: “He is exalted and made a
Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance unto us,” Acts v.
31; and of our repentance our mortification is no small portion.
How doth he do it? Having “received the promise of the Holy Ghost,” he
sends him abroad for that end, Acts ii. 33.
You know the manifold promises he made of sending the Spirit, as Tertullian speaks, “Vicariam navare operam,” to do the works that he had
to accomplish in us.
The resolution of one or two questions will now lead me
nearer to what I principally intend.
The first is, How doth the Spirit mortify sin?
I answer, in general, three ways:—
[1.] By causing our hearts to abound in grace and
the fruits that are contrary to the flesh, and the fruits thereof and
principles of them. So the apostle opposes the fruits of the flesh and of
the Spirit: “The fruits of the flesh,” says he, “are so and so,” Gal. v. 19–21; “but,” says he, “the
fruits of the Spirit are quite contrary, quite of another sort,” verses 22, 23. Yea; but what if these
are in us and do abound, may not the other abound also? No, says he,
verse 24, “They that are Christ’s have
crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” But how? Why, verse
25, “By living in the Spirit and walking after the Spirit;” —
that is, by the abounding of these graces of the Spirit in us, and walking
according to them. For, saith the apostle, “These are contrary one to
another,” verse 17; so that they cannot both be in
the same subject, in any intense or high degree. This “renewing of us by
the Holy Ghost,” as it is called, Tit. iii. 5,
is one great way of mortification; he causes us to grow, thrive, flourish,
and abound in those graces which are contrary, opposite, and destructive to
all the fruits of the flesh, and to the quiet or thriving of indwelling sin
itself.
[2.] By a real physical efficiency on the root and
habit of sin, for the weakening, destroying, and taking it away. Hence he
is called a “Spirit of judgment and burning,” Isa. iv. 4,
really consuming and destroying our lusts. He takes away the stony heart by
an almighty efficiency; for as he begins the work as to its kind, so he
carries it on as to its degrees. He is the fire which burns up the very
root of lust.
[3.] He brings the cross of Christ into the heart of
a sinner by faith, and gives us communion with Christ in his death, and
fellowship in his sufferings: of the manner whereof more afterward.
Secondly. If this be the work of the Spirit
alone, how is it that we are exhorted to it? — seeing the Spirit of God
only can do it, let the work be left wholly to him.
[1.] It is no otherwise the work of the Spirit but as all
graces and good works which are in us are his. He “works in us to will and
to do of his own good pleasure,” Phil. ii. 13;
he works “all our works in us,” Isa. xxvi. 12,
— “the work of faith with power,” 2 Thess. i.
11, Col. ii. 12; he causes us to pray, and is
a “Spirit of supplication,” Rom. viii. 26,
Zech. xii 10; and yet we are exhorted,
and are to be exhorted, to all these.
[2.] He doth not so work our mortification in us as not to
keep it still an act of our obedience. The Holy Ghost works in us
and upon us, as we are fit to be wrought in and upon; that is, so as to
preserve our own liberty and free obedience. He works upon our
understandings, wills, consciences, and affections, agreeably to their own
natures; he works in us and with us, not against us or
without us; so that his assistance is an encouragement as to the
facilitating of the work, and no occasion of neglect as to the work itself.
And, indeed, I might here bewail the endless, foolish labour of poor souls,
who, being convinced of sin, and not able to stand against the power of
their convictions, do set themselves, by innumerable perplexing ways and
duties, to keep down sin, but, being strangers to the Spirit of God, all in
vain. They combat without victory, have war without peace, and are in
slavery all their days. They spend their strength for that which is not
bread, and their labour for that which profiteth not.
This is the saddest warfare that any poor creature can be
engaged in. A soul under the power of conviction from the law is pressed to
fight against sin, but hath no strength for the combat. They cannot but
fight, and they can never conquer; they are like men thrust on the sword of
enemies on purpose to be slain. The law drives them on, and sin
beats them back. Sometimes they think, indeed, that they have foiled sin,
when they have only raised a dust that they see it not; that is, they
distemper their natural affections of fear, sorrow, and anguish, which
makes them believe that sin is conquered when it is not touched. By that
time they are cold, they must to the battle again; and the lust which they
thought to be slain appears to have had no wound.
And if the case be so sad with them who do labour and
strive, and yet enter not into the kingdom, what is their condition who
despise all this; who are perpetually under the power and dominion of sin,
and love to have it so; and are troubled at nothing, but that they cannot
make sufficient provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof?
Chapter IV.
The last principle; of the usefulness of mortification — The
vigour and comfort of our spiritual lives depend on our mortification — In
what sense — Not absolutely and necessarily; Ps.
lxxxviii., Heman’s condition — Not as on the next and immediate
cause — As a means; by removing of the contrary — The desperate effects of
any unmortified lust; it weakens the soul, Ps. xxxviii. 3, 8, sundry
ways, and darkens it — All graces improved by the mortification of sin —
The best evidence of sincerity.
The last
principle I shall insist on (omitting, first, the necessity of
mortification unto life, and, secondly, the certainty of life upon
mortification) is, —
III. That the life, vigour, and comfort of our spiritual
life depend much on our mortification of sin.
Strength and comfort, and power and peace, in our walking
with God, are the things of our desires. Were any of us asked seriously,
what it is that troubles us, we must refer it to one of these heads:—
either we want strength or power, vigour and life, in our obedience, in our
walking with God; or we want peace, comfort, and consolation therein.
Whatever it is that may befall a believer that doth not belong to one of
these two heads, doth not deserve to be mentioned in the days of our
complaints.
Now, all these do much depend on a constant course of
mortification, concerning which observe, —
1. I do not say they proceed from it, as though they were
necessarily tied to it. A man may be carried on in a constant course
of mortification all his days; and yet perhaps never enjoy a good day of
peace and consolation. So it was with Heman, Ps.
lxxxviii.; his life was a life of perpetual mortification and
walking with God, yet terrors and wounds were his portion all his days. But
God singled out Heman, a choice friend, to make him an example to them that
afterward should be in distress. Canst thou complain if it be no otherwise
with thee than it was with Heman, that eminent servant of God? and this
shall be his praise to the end of the world. God makes it his prerogative
to speak peace and consolation, Isa. lvii.
18, 19. “I will do that work,” says God, “I will comfort him,”
verse 18. But how? By an immediate work
of the new creation: “I create it,” says God. The use of means for
the obtaining of peace is ours; the bestowing of it is God’s
prerogative.
2. In the ways instituted by God for to give us life,
vigour, courage, and consolation, mortification is not one of the immediate
causes of it. They are the privileges of our adoption made known to our
souls that give us immediately these things. “The Spirit bearing witness
with our spirits that we are the children of God,” giving us a
new name and a white stone, adoption and justification, — that is, as to
the sense and knowledge of them, — are the immediate causes (in the hand of
the Spirit) of these things. But this I say, —
3. In our ordinary walking with God, and in an ordinary
course of his dealing with us, the vigour and comfort of our spiritual
lives depend much on our mortification, not only as a “causa sine qua non,” but as a thing that hath an
effectual influence thereinto. For, —
(1.) This alone keeps sin from depriving us of the one and
the other.
Every unmortified sin will certainly do two things:— [1.]
It will weaken the soul, and deprive it of its vigour. [2.] It will
darken the soul, and deprive it of its comfort and peace.
[1.] It weakens the soul, and deprives it of its
strength. When David had for a while harboured an unmortified lust in his
heart, it broke all his bones, and left him no spiritual strength; hence he
complained that he was sick, weak, wounded, faint. “There is,” saith he,
“no soundness in me,” Ps. xxxviii. 3; “I
am feeble and sore broken,” verse 8; “yea, I
cannot so much as look up,” Ps. xl. 12. An
unmortified lust will drink up the spirit, and all the vigour of the soul,
and weaken it for all duties. For, —
1st. It untunes and unframes the heart
itself, by entangling its affections. It diverts the heart from the
spiritual frame that is required for vigorous communion with God; it lays
hold on the affections, rendering its object beloved and desirable, so
expelling the love of the Father, 1 John. ii. 15, iii 17;
so that the soul cannot say uprightly and truly to God, “Thou art my
portion,” having something else that it loves. Fear, desire, hope, which
are the choice affections of the soul, that should be full of God, will be
one way or other entangled with it.
2dly. It fills the thoughts with contrivances
about it. Thoughts are the great purveyors of the soul to bring in
provision to satisfy its affections; and if sin remain unmortified in the
heart, they must ever and anon be making provision for the flesh, to fulfil
the lusts thereof. They must glaze, adorn, and dress the objects of the
flesh, and bring them home to give satisfaction; and this they are able to
do, in the service of a defiled imagination, beyond all expression.
3dly. It breaks out and actually hinders duty. The
ambitious man must be studying, and the worldling must be working or
contriving, and the sensual, vain person providing himself for vanity, when
they should be engaged in the worship of God.
Were this my present business, to set forth the breaches,
ruin, weakness, desolations, that one unmortified lust will bring upon a
soul, this discourse must be extended much beyond my intendment.
[2.] As sin weakens, so it
darkens the soul. It is a cloud, a thick cloud, that spreads itself
over the face of the soul, and intercepts all the beams of God’s love and
favour. It takes away all sense of the privilege of our adoption; and if
the soul begins to gather up thoughts of consolation, sin quickly scatters
them: of which afterward.
Now, in this regard doth the vigour and power of our
spiritual life depend on our mortification: It is the only means of the
removal of that which will allow us neither the one nor the other. Men that
are sick and wounded under the power of lust make many applications for
help; they cry to God when the perplexity of their thoughts overwhelms
them, even to God do they cry, but are not delivered; in vain do they use
many remedies, — “ they shall not be healed.” So, Hos. v.
13, “Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his wound,” and
attempted sundry remedies: nothing will do until they come (verse
15) to “acknowledge their offence.” Men may see their sickness
and wounds, but yet, if they make not due applications, their cure will not
be effected.
(2.) Mortification prunes all the graces of God, and makes
room for them in our hearts to grow. The life and vigour of our spiritual
lives consists in the vigour and flourishing of the plants of grace in our
hearts. Now, as you may see in a garden, let there be a precious herb
planted, and let the ground be untilled, and weeds grow about it, perhaps
it will live still, but be a poor, withering, unuseful thing. You must look
and search for it, and sometimes can scarce find it; and when you do, you
can scarce know it, whether it be the plant you look for or no; and suppose
it be, you can make no use of it at all. When, let another of the same kind
be set in the ground, naturally as barren and bad as the other, but let it
be well weeded, and every thing that is noxious and hurtful removed from
it, — it flourishes and thrives; you may see it at first look into the
garden, and have it for your use when you please. So it is with the graces
of the Spirit that are planted in our hearts. That is true; they are
still, they abide in a heart where there is some neglect of mortification;
but they are ready to die, Rev. iii. 2, they
are withering and decaying. The heart is like the sluggard’s field, — so
overgrown with weeds that you can scarce see the good corn. Such a man may
search for faith, love, and zeal, and scarce be able to find any; and if he
do discover that these graces are there yet alive and sincere, yet they are
so weak, so clogged with lusts, that they are of very little use; they
remain, indeed, but are ready to die. But now let the heart be cleansed by
mortification, the weeds of lust constantly and daily rooted up (as they
spring daily, nature being their proper soil), let room be made for grace
to thrive and flourish, — how will every grace act its part, and be ready
for every use and purpose!
(3.) As to our peace; as there is nothing that
hath any evidence of sincerity without it, so I know nothing that hath such
an evidence of sincerity in it; — which is no small foundation of our
peace. Mortification is the soul’s vigorous opposition to self, wherein
sincerity is most evident.
Chapter V.
The principal intendment of the whole discourse proposed — The
first main case of conscience stated — What it is to mortify any sin,
negatively considered — Not the utter destruction of it in this life — Not
the dissimulation of it —Not the improvement of any natural principle — Not
the diversion of it — Not an occasional conquest — Occasional conquests of
sin, what and when; upon the eruption of sin; in time of danger or
trouble.
These things
being premised, I come to my principal intention, of handling some
questions or practical cases that present themselves in this business of
mortification of sin in believers.
The first, which is the head of all the rest, and whereunto
they are reduced, may be considered as lying under the ensuing
proposal:—
Suppose a man to be a true believer, and yet finds in
himself a powerful indwelling sin, leading him captive to the law of it,
consuming his heart with trouble, perplexing his thoughts, weakening his
soul as to duties of communion with God, disquieting him as to peace, and
perhaps defiling his conscience, and exposing him to hardening through the
deceitfulness of sin, — what shall he do? what course shall he take and
insist on for the mortification of this sin, lust, distemper, or
corruption, to such a degree as that, though it be not utterly destroyed,
yet, in his contest with it, he may be enabled to keep up power, strength,
and peace in communion with God?
In answer to this important inquiry, I shall do these
things:—
I. Show what it is to mortify any sin, and that both
negatively and positively, that we be not mistaken in the foundation.
II. Give general directions for such things as without
which it will be utterly impossible for any one to get any sin truly and
spiritually mortified.
III. Draw out the particulars whereby this is to be done;
in the whole carrying on this consideration, that it is not of the doctrine
of mortification in general, but only in reference to the particular case
before proposed, that I am treating.
I. 1. (1.) To mortify a sin is not utterly to kill,
root it out, and destroy it, that it should have no more hold
at all nor residence in our hearts. It is true this is that which is aimed
at; but this is not in this life to be accomplished. There is no man that
truly sets himself to mortify any sin, but he aims at, intends, desires its
utter destruction, that it should leave neither root nor fruit in the heart
or life. He would so kill it that it should never move nor stir any more,
cry or call, seduce or tempt, to eternity. Its not-being is the
thing aimed at. Now, though doubtless there may, by the Spirit and grace of
Christ, a wonderful success and eminency of victory against any sin be
attained, so that a man may have almost constant triumph over it, yet an
utter killing and destruction of it, that it should not be, is not in this
life to be expected. This Paul assures us of, Phil. iii.
12, “Not as though I had already attained, either were already
perfect.” He was a choice saint, a pattern for believers, who, in
faith and love, and all the fruits of the Spirit, had not his fellow in the
world, and on that account ascribes perfection to himself in comparison of
others, verse 15; yet he had not “attained,” he
was not “perfect,” but was “following after:” still a vile body he had, and
we have, that must be changed by the great power of Christ at last,
verse 21. This we would have; but God
sees it best for us that we should be complete in nothing in ourselves,
that in all things we must be “complete in Christ;” which is best for us,
Col. ii. 10.
(2.) I think I need not say it is not the
dissimulation of a sin. When a man on some outward respects forsakes
the practice of any sin, men perhaps may look on him as a changed man. God
knows that to his former iniquity he hath added cursed hypocrisy, and is
got in a safer path to hell than he was in before. He hath got another
heart than he had, that is more cunning; not a new heart, that is more
holy.
(3.) The mortification of sin consists not in the
improvement of a quiet, sedate nature. Some men have an advantage by
their natural constitution so far as that they are not exposed to such
violence of unruly passions and tumultuous affections as many others are.
Let now these men cultivate and improve their natural frame and temper by
discipline, consideration, and prudence, and they may seem to themselves
and others very mortified men, when, perhaps, their hearts are a standing
sink of all abominations. Some man is never so much troubled all his life,
perhaps, with anger and passion, nor doth trouble others, as another is
almost every day; and yet the latter hath done more to the mortification of
the sin than the former. Let not such persons try their mortification by
such things as their natural temper gives no life or vigour to. Let them
bring themselves to self-denial, unbelief, envy, or some such spiritual
sin, and they will have a better view of themselves.
(4.) A sin is not mortified when it is only
diverted. Simon Magus for a season left
his sorceries; but his covetousness and ambition, that set
him on work, remained still, and would have been acting another way.
Therefore Peter tells him, “I perceive thou art in the gall of bitterness;”
— “Notwithstanding the profession thou hast made, notwithstanding thy
relinquishment of thy sorceries, thy lust is as powerful as ever in thee;
the same lust, only the streams of it are diverted. It now exerts and puts
forth itself another way, but it is the old gall of bitterness still.” A
man may be sensible of a lust, set himself against the eruptions of it,
take care that it shall not break forth as it has done, but in the meantime
suffer the same corrupted habit to vent itself some other way; as he who
heals and skins a running sore thinks himself cured, but in the meantime
his flesh festereth by the corruption of the same humour, and breaks out in
another place. And this diversion, with the alterations that attend it,
often befalls men on accounts wholly foreign unto grace: change of the
course of life that a man was in, of relations, interests, designs, may
effect it; yea, the very alterations in men’s constitutions, occasioned by
a natural progress in the course of their lives, may produce such changes
as these. Men in age do not usually persist in the pursuit of youthful
lusts, although they have never mortified any one of them. And the same is
the case of bartering of lusts, and leaving to serve one that a man may
serve another. He that changes pride for worldliness, sensuality for
Pharisaism, vanity in himself to the contempt of others, let him not think
that he hath mortified the sin that he seems to have left. He hath changed
his master, but is a servant still.
(5.) Occasional conquests of sin do not amount to a
mortifying of it.
There are two occasions or seasons wherein a man who is
contending with any sin may seem to himself to have mortified it:—
[1.] When it hath had some sad eruption, to the
disturbance of his peace, terror of his conscience, dread of scandal, and
evident provocation of God. This awakens and stirs up all that is in the
man, and amazes him, fills him with abhorrency of sin, and himself for it;
sends him to God, makes him cry out as for life, to abhor his lust as hell,
and to set himself against it. The whole man, spiritual and natural, being
now awaked, sin shrinks in its head, appears not, but lies as dead before
him: as when one that hath drawn nigh to an army in the night, and hath
killed a principal person, — instantly the guards awake, men are roused up,
and strict inquiry is made after the enemy, who, in the meantime, until the
noise and tumult be over, hides himself, or lies like one that is dead, yet
with firm resolution to do the like mischief again upon the like
opportunity. Upon the sin among the Corinthians, see how they muster up
themselves for the surprisal and destruction of it, 2 Epist. chap. vii. 11. So it is in a
person when a breach hath been made upon his conscience, quiet, perhaps
credit, by his lust, in some eruption of actual sin; — carefulness,
indignation, desire, fear, revenge, are all set on work about it and
against it, and lust is quiet for a season, being run down before them; but
when the hurry is over and the inquest past, the thief appears again alive,
and is as busy as ever at his work.
[2.] In a time of some judgment, calamity, or
pressing affliction; the heart is then taken up with thoughts and
contrivances of flying from the present troubles, fears, and dangers. This,
as a convinced person concludes, is to be done only by relinquishment of
sin, which gains peace with God. It is the anger of God in every affliction
that galls a convinced person. To be quit of this, men resolve at such
times against their sins. Sin shall never more have any place in them; they
will never again give up themselves to the service of it. Accordingly, sin
is quiet, stirs not, seems to be mortified; not, indeed, that it hath
received any one wound, but merely because the soul hath possessed its
faculties, whereby it should exert itself, with thoughts inconsistent with
the motions thereof; which, when they are laid aside, sin returns again to
its former life and vigour. So they Ps. lxxviii.
32–37, are a full instance and description of this frame of
spirit whereof I speak: “For all this they sinned still, and believed not
for his wondrous works. Therefore their days did he consume in vanity, and
their years in trouble. When he slew them, then they sought him: and they
returned and inquired early after God. And they remembered that God was
their rock, and the high God their redeemer. Nevertheless they did flatter
him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues. For their
heart was not right with him, neither were they steadfast in his covenant.”
I no way doubt but that when they sought, and returned, and inquired early
after God, they did it with full purpose of heart as to the relinquishment
of their sins; it is expressed in the word “returned.” To turn or return to
the Lord is by a relinquishment of sin. This they did “early,” — with
earnestness and diligence; but yet their sin was unmortified for all this,
verses 36, 37. And this is the state of
many humiliations in the days of affliction, and a great deceit in the
hearts of believers themselves lies oftentimes herein.
These and many other ways there are whereby poor souls
deceive themselves, and suppose they have mortified their lusts, when they
live and are mighty, and on every occasion break forth, to their
disturbance and disquietness.
Chapter VI.
The mortification of sin in particular described — The several
parts and degrees thereof — The habitual weakening of its root and
principle — The power of lust to tempt — Differences of that power as to
persons and times — Constant fighting against sin — The parts thereof
considered — Success against it — The sum of this discourse
considered.
What it is to
mortify a sin in general, which will make farther way for particular
directions, is nextly to be considered.
2. The mortification of a lust consists in three
things:—
(1.) An habitual weakening of it. Every lust is a
depraved habit or disposition, continually inclining the heart to evil.
Thence is that description of him who hath no lust truly mortified,
Gen. vi. 5, “Every imagination of the
thoughts of his heart is only evil continually.” He is always under the
power of a strong bent and inclination to sin. And the reason why a natural
man is not always perpetually in the pursuit of some one lust, night and
day, is because he hath many to serve, every one crying to be satisfied;
thence he is carried on with great variety, but still in general he lies
towards the satisfaction of self.
We will suppose, then, the lust or distemper whose
mortification is inquired after to be in itself a strong, deeply-rooted,
habitual inclination and bent of will and affections unto some actual sin,
as to the matter of it, though not, under that formal consideration, always
stirring up imaginations, thoughts, and contrivances about the object of
it. Hence, men are said to have their “hearts set upon evil,” the bent of
their spirits lies towards it, to make “provision for the flesh.” And a sinful, depraved habit, as in many other
things, so in this, differs from all natural or moral habits whatever: for
whereas they incline the soul gently and suitably to itself, sinful habits
impel with violence and impetuousness; whence lusts are said to fight or
wage “war against the soul,” 1 Pet. ii. 11,
— to rebel or rise up in war with that conduct and opposition which is
usual therein, Rom. vii. 23, —
to lead captive, or effectually captivating upon success in battle, — all
works of great violence and impetuousness.
I might manifest fully, from that description we have of
it, Rom. vii., how it will darken the mind,
extinguish convictions, dethrone reason, interrupt the power and influence
of any considerations that may be brought to hamper it, and break through
all into a flame. But this is not my present business. Now, the first thing
in mortification is the weakening of this habit of sin or lust,
that it shall not, with that violence, earnestness, frequency, rise up,
conceive, tumultuate, provoke, entice, disquiet, as naturally it is apt to
do, James i. 14, 15.
I shall desire to give one caution or rule by the way, and
it is this: Though every lust doth in its own nature equally, universally,
incline and impel to sin, yet this must be granted with these two
limitations:—
[1.] One lust, or a lust in one man, may receive
many accidental improvements, heightenings, and strengthenings, which may
give it life, power, and vigour, exceedingly above what another lust hath,
or the same lust (that is, of the same kind and nature) in another man.
When a lust falls in with the natural constitutions and temper, with a
suitable course of life, with occasions, or when Satan hath got a fit
handle to it to manage it, as he hath a thousand ways so to do, that lust
grows violent and impetuous above others, or more than the same lust in
another man; then the steams of it darken the mind so, that though a man
knows the same things as formerly, yet they have no power nor influence on
the will, but corrupt affections and passions are set by it at liberty.
But especially, lust gets strength by temptation.
When a suitable temptation falls in with a lust, it gives it a new life,
vigour, power, violence, and rage, which it seemed not before to have or to
be capable of. Instances to this purpose might be multiplied; but it is the
design of some part of another treatise to evince this observation.
[2.] Some lusts are far more sensible and discernible in
their violent actings than others. Paul puts a difference between
uncleanness and all other sins: 1 Cor. vi. 18,
“Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he
that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.” Hence, the
motions of that sin are more sensible, more discernible than of others;
when perhaps the love of the world, or the like, is in a person no less
habitually predominant than that, yet it makes not so great a combustion in
the whole man.
And on this account some men may go in their own thoughts
and in the eyes of the world for mortified men, who yet have in them no
less predominancy of lust than those who cry out with astonishment upon the
account of its perplexing tumultuatings, yea, than those who have by the
power of it been hurried into scandalous sins; only their lusts are in and
about things which raise not such a tumult in the soul, about which they
are exercised with a calmer frame of spirit, the very fabric of nature
being not so nearly concerned in them as in some other.
I say, then, that the first thing in
mortification is the weakening of this habit, that it shall not
impel and tumultuate as formerly; that it shall not entice and draw aside;
that it shall not disquiet and perplex the killing of its life, vigour,
promptness, and readiness to be stirring. This is called “crucifying the
flesh with the lusts thereof,” Gal. v. 24; that
is, taking away its blood and spirits that give it strength and power, —
the wasting of the body of death “day by day,” 2 Cor. iv.
16.
As a man nailed to the cross; he first struggles,
and strives, and cries out with great strength and might, but, as his blood
and spirits waste, his strivings are faint and seldom, his cries low and
hoarse, scarce to be heard; — when a man first sets on a lust or distemper,
to deal with it, it struggles with great violence to break loose; it cries
with earnestness and impatience to be satisfied and relieved; but when by
mortification the blood and spirits of it are let out, it moves seldom and
faintly, cries sparingly, and is scarce heard in the heart; it may have
sometimes a dying pang, that makes an appearance of great vigour and
strength, but it is quickly over, especially if it be kept from
considerable success. This the apostle describes, as in the whole chapter,
so especially, Rom. vi. 6.
“Sin,” saith he, “is crucified; it is fastened to the
cross.” To what end? “That the body of death may be destroyed,” the power
of sin weakened and abolished by little and little, that “henceforth we
should not serve sin;” that is, that sin might not incline, impel us with
such efficacy as to make us servants to it, as it hath done heretofore. And
this is spoken not only with respect to carnal and sensual affections, or
desires of worldly things, — not only in respect of the lust of the flesh,
the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, — but also as to the flesh,
that is, in the mind and will, in that opposition unto God which is in us
by nature. Of what nature soever the troubling distemper be, by what ways
soever it make itself out, either by impelling to evil or hindering from
that which is good, the rule is the same; and unless this be done
effectually, all after-contention will not compass the end aimed at. A man
may beat down the bitter fruit from an evil tree until he is weary; whilst
the root abides in strength and vigour, the beating down of the present
fruit will not hinder it from bringing forth more. This is the folly of
some men; they set themselves with all earnestness and diligence against
the appearing eruption of lust, but, leaving the principle and root
untouched, perhaps unsearched out, they make but little or no progress in
this work of mortification.
(2.) In constant fighting and contending
against sin. To be able always to be laying load on sin is no small degree
of mortification. When sin is strong and vigorous, the soul is scarce able
to make any head against it; it sighs, and groans, and mourns,
and is troubled, as David speaks of himself, but seldom has sin in the
pursuit. David complains that his sin had “taken fast hold upon him, that
he could not look up,” Ps. xl. 12. How
little, then, was he able to fight against it! Now, sundry things are
required unto and comprised in this fighting against sin:—
[1.] To know that a man hath such an enemy to deal
withal, to take notice of it, to consider it as an enemy indeed, and one
that is to be destroyed by all means possible, is required hereunto. As I
said before, the contest is vigorous and hazardous, — it is about the
things of eternity. When, therefore, men have slight and transient thoughts
of their lusts, it is no great sign that they are mortified, or that they
are in a way for their mortification. This is every man’s “knowing the
plague of his own heart,” 1 Kings viii.
38, without which no other work can be done. It is to be feared
that very many have little knowledge of the main enemy that they carry
about with them in their bosoms. This makes them ready to justify
themselves, and to be impatient of reproof or admonition, not knowing that
they are in any danger, 2 Chron. xvi.
10.
[2.] To labour to be acquainted with the ways, wiles,
methods, advantages, and occasions of its success, is the beginning
of this warfare. So do men deal with enemies. They inquire out their
counsels and designs, ponder their ends, consider how and by what means
they have formerly prevailed, that they may be prevented. In this consists
the greatest skill in conduct. Take this away, and all waging of war,
wherein is the greatest improvement of human wisdom and industry, would be
brutish. So do they deal with lust who mortify it indeed. Not only when it
is actually vexing, enticing, and seducing, but in their retirements they
consider, “This is our enemy; this is his way and progress, these are his
advantages, thus hath he prevailed, and thus he will do, if not prevented.”
So David, “My sin is ever before me,” Ps. li. 3. And,
indeed, one of the choicest and most eminent parts of practically spiritual
wisdom consists in finding out the subtilties, policies, and depths of any
indwelling sin; to consider and know wherein its greatest strength lies, —
what advantage it uses to make of occasions, opportunities, temptations, —
what are its pleas, pretences, reasonings, — what its stratagems, colours,
excuses; to set the wisdom of the Spirit against the craft of the old
man; to trace this serpent in all its turnings and windings; to be able
to say, at its most secret and (to a common frame of heart) imperceptible
actings, “This is your old way and course; I know what you aim at;” — and
so to be always in readiness is a good part of our warfare.
[3.] To load it daily with all the things which shall after
be mentioned, that are grievous, killing, and destructive to it, is the
height of this contest. Such a one never thinks his lust dead
because it is quiet, but labours still to give it new wounds, new blows
every day. So the apostle, Col. iii. 5.
Now, whilst the soul is in this condition, whilst it is
thus dealing, it is certainly uppermost; sin is under the sword and
dying.
(3.) In success. Frequent success against any lust
is another part and evidence of mortification. By success I understand not
a mere disappointment of sin, that it be not brought forth nor
accomplished, but a victory over it, and pursuit of it to a complete
conquest. For instance, when the heart finds sin at any time at work,
seducing, forming imaginations to make provision for the flesh, to fulfil
the lusts thereof, it instantly apprehends sin, and brings it to the law of
God and love of Christ, condemns it, follows it with execution to the
uttermost.
Now, I say, when a man comes to this state and condition,
that lust is weakened in the root and principle, that its motions and
actions are fewer and weaker than formerly, so that they are not able to
hinder his duty nor interrupt his peace, — when he can, in a quiet, sedate
frame of spirit, find out and fight against sin, and have success against
it, — then sin is mortified in some considerable measure, and,
notwithstanding all its opposition, a man may have peace with God all his
days.
Unto these heads, then, do I refer the mortification aimed
at; that is, of any one perplexing distemper, whereby the general pravity
and corruption of our nature attempts to exert and put forth itself:—
First, The weakening of its indwelling disposition,
whereby it inclines, entices, impels to evil, rebels, opposes, fights
against God, by the implanting, habitual residence, and cherishing of a
principle of grace that stands in direct opposition to it and is
destructive of it, is the foundation of it. So, by the implanting and
growth of humility is pride weakened, passion by patience, uncleanness by
purity of mind and conscience, love of this world by heavenly-mindedness:
which are graces of the Spirit, or the same habitual grace variously acting
itself by the Holy Ghost, according to the variety or diversity of the
objects about which it is exercised; as the other are several lusts, or the
same natural corruption variously acting itself, according to the various
advantages and occasions that it meets withal. — The promptness,
alacrity, vigour of the Spirit, or new man, in contending with,
cheerful fighting against, the lust spoken of, by all the ways and with all
the means that are appointed thereunto, constantly using the succours
provided against its motions and actings, is a second thing hereunto
required. — Success unto several degrees attends these two. Now
this, if the distemper hath not an unconquerable advantage from its natural
situation, may possibly be to such a universal conquest
as the soul may never more sensibly feel its opposition, and shall,
however, assuredly arise to an allowance of peace to the conscience,
according to the tenor of the covenant of grace.
Chapter VII.
General rules, without which no lust will be mortified — No
mortification unless a man be a believer — Dangers of attempting
mortification of sin by unregenerate persons — The duty of unconverted
persons as to this business of mortification considered — The vanity of the
Papists’ attempts and rules for mortification thence discovered.
II. The
ways and means whereby a soul may proceed to the
mortification of any particular lust and sin, which Satan takes advantage
by to disquiet and weaken him, come next under consideration.
Now, there are some general considerations to be premised,
concerning some principles and foundations of this work, without which no
man in the world, be he never so much raised by convictions, and resolved
for the mortification of any sin, can attain thereunto.
General rules and principles, without which no sin will be
ever mortified, are these:—
1. Unless a man be a believer, — that is, one that is
truly ingrafted into Christ, — he can never mortify any one sin;
I do not say, unless he know himself to be so, but unless indeed he be
so.
Mortification is the work of believers: Rom. viii. 13, “If ye through the
Spirit,” etc., — ye believers, to whom there is no condemnation,
verse 1. They alone are exhorted to it:
Col. iii. 5, “Mortify therefore your
members which are upon the earth.” Who should mortify? You who “are risen
with Christ,” verse 1; whose “life is hid with Christ in
God,” verse 3; who “shall appear with him in
glory,” verse 4. An unregenerate man may do
something like it; but the work itself, so as it may be acceptable with
God, he can never perform. You know what a picture of it is drawn in some
of the philosophers, — Seneca, Tully, Epictetus; what
affectionate discourses they have of contempt of the world and self, of
regulating and conquering all exorbitant affections and passions! The lives
of most of them manifested that their maxims differed as much from true
mortification as the sun painted on a sign-post from the sun in the
firmament; they had neither light nor heat. Their own Lucian sufficiently manifests what they all were.
There is no death of sin without the death of Christ. You know what
attempts there are made after it by the Papists, in their vows,
penances, and satisfactions. I dare say of them (I mean as many of them as
act upon the principles of their church, as they call it) what Paul says of
Israel in point of righteousness, Rom. ix. 31,
32, — They have followed after mortification, but they have not
attained to it. Wherefore? “Because they seek it not by faith, but as it
were by the works of the law.” The same is the state and condition of all
amongst ourselves who, in obedience to their convictions and awakened
consciences, do attempt a relinquishment of sin; — they follow after it,
but they do not attain it.
It is true, it is, it will be, required of
every person whatever that hears the law or gospel preached, that he
mortify sin. It is his duty, but it is not his immediate
duty; it is his duty to do it, but to do it in God’s way. If you
require your servant to pay so much money for you in such a place, but
first to go and take it up in another, it is his duty to pay the money
appointed, and you will blame him if he do it not; yet it was not his
immediate duty, — he was first to take it up, according to your direction.
So it is in this case: sin is to be mortified, but something is to be done
in the first place to enable us thereunto.
I have proved that it is the Spirit alone that can mortify
sin; he is promised to do it, and all other means without him are empty and
vain. How shall he, then, mortify sin that hath not the Spirit? A man may
easier see without eyes, speak without a tongue, than truly mortify one sin
without the Spirit. Now, how is he attained? It is the Spirit of Christ:
and as the apostle says, “If we have not the Spirit of Christ, we are none
of his,” Rom. viii. 9; so, if we are Christ’s, have
an interest in him, we have the Spirit, and so alone have power for
mortification. This the apostle discourses at large, Rom.
viii. 8, “So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”
It is the inference and conclusion he makes of his foregoing discourse
about our natural state and condition, and the enmity we have unto God and
his law therein. If we are in the flesh, if we have not the Spirit, we
cannot do any thing that should please God. But what is our deliverance
from this condition? Verse 9, “But ye are not in the flesh, but
in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you;” — “Ye
believers, that have the Spirit of Christ, ye are not in the flesh.” There
is no way of deliverance from the state and condition of being in the flesh
but by the Spirit of Christ. And what if this Spirit of Christ be in you?
Why, then, you are mortified; verse 10, “The
body is dead because of sin,” or unto it; mortification is carried on; the
new man is quickened to righteousness. This the apostle proves, verse
11, from the union we have with Christ by the Spirit, which will
produce suitable operations in us to what it wrought in him.
All attempts, then, for mortification of any lust, without an interest in
Christ, are vain. Many men that are galled with and for sin, the arrows of
Christ for conviction, by the preaching of the word, or some affliction
having been made sharp in their hearts, do vigorously set themselves
against this or that particular lust, wherewith their consciences have been
most disquieted or perplexed. But, poor creatures! they labour in the fire,
and their work consumeth. When the Spirit of Christ comes to this work he
will be “like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap,” and he will purge
men as gold and as silver, Mal. iii. 2,
3, — take away their dross and tin, their filth and blood, as
Isa. iv. 4; but men must be gold and
silver in the bottom, or else refining will do them no good. The prophet
gives us the sad issue of wicked men’s utmost attempts for mortification,
by what means soever that God affords them: Jer. vi. 29,
30, “The bellows are burned, and the lead is consumed of the
fire; the founder melteth in vain. Reprobate silver shall men call them,
because the Lord hath rejected
them.” And what is the reason hereof? Verse 28, They
were “brass and iron” when they were put into the furnace. Men may refine
brass and iron long enough before they will be good silver.
I say, then, mortification is not the present
business of unregenerate men. God calls them not to it as yet;
conversion is their work, — the conversion of the whole soul,
— not the mortification of this or that particular lust. You
would laugh at a man that you should see setting up a great fabric, and
never take any care for a foundation; especially if you should see him so
foolish as that, having a thousand experiences that what he built one day
fell down another, he would yet continue in the same course. So it is with
convinced persons; though they plainly see, that what ground they get
against sin one day they lose another, yet they will go on in the same road
still, without inquiring where the destructive flaw in their progress lies.
When the Jews, upon the conviction of their sin, were cut to the heart,
Acts ii. 37, and cried out, “What shall
we do?” what doth Peter direct them to do? Does he bid them go and mortify
their pride, wrath, malice, cruelty, and the like? No; he knew that was not
their present work, but he calls them to conversion and faith in Christ in
general, verse 38. Let the soul be first
thoroughly converted, and then, “looking on Him whom they had pierced,”
humiliation and mortification will ensue. Thus, when John came to preach
repentance and conversion, he said, “The axe is now laid to the root of the
tree,” Matt. iii. 10. The Pharisees had been
laying heavy burdens, imposing tedious duties, and rigid means of
mortification, in fastings, washings, and the like, all in vain. Says John,
“The doctrine of conversion is for you; the axe in my hand is laid to the
root.” And our Saviour tells us what is to be done in this case; says he, “Do men gather grapes from thorns?” Matt. vii. 16. But suppose a thorn be
well pruned and cut, and have pains taken with him? “Yea, but he will never
bear figs,” verses 17,
18; it cannot be but every tree will bring forth fruit according
to its own kind. What is then to be done, he tells us, Matt. xii. 33, “Make the tree good, and
his fruit will be good.” The root must be dealt with, the nature of the
tree changed, or no good fruit will be brought forth.
This is that I aim at: unless a man be regenerate,
unless he be a believer, all attempts that he can make for mortification,
be they never so specious and promising, — all means he can use, let him
follow them with never so much diligence, earnestness, watchfulness, and
intention of mind and spirit, — are to no purpose. In vain shall he use
many remedies; he shall not be healed. Yea, there are sundry desperate
evils attending an endeavour in convinced persons, that are no more but so,
to perform this duty:—
(1.) The mind and soul is taken up about that which is not
the man’s proper business, and so he is diverted from that which is
so. God lays hold by his word and judgments on some sin in him, galls his
conscience, disquiets his heart, deprives him of his rest; now other
diversions will not serve his turn; he must apply himself to the work
before him. The business in hand being to awake the whole man unto a
consideration of the state and condition wherein he is, that he might be
brought home to God, instead hereof he sets himself to mortify the sin that
galls him, — which is a pure issue of self-love, to be freed from his
trouble, and not at all to the work he is called unto, — and so is diverted
from it. Thus God tells us of Ephraim, when he “spread his net upon them,
and brought them down as the fowls of heaven, and chastised them,”
Hos. vii. 12, caught them, entangled
them, convinced them that they could not escape; saith he of them, “They
return, but not to the Most High;” — they set themselves to a
relinquishment of sin, but not in that manner, by universal
conversion, as God called for it. Thus are men diverted from coming
unto God by the most glorious ways that they can fix upon to come to him
by. And this is one of the most common deceits whereby men ruin their own
souls. I wish that some whose trade it is to daub with untempered mortar in
the things of God did not teach this deceit, and cause the people to err by
their ignorance. What do men do, what ofttimes are they directed unto, when
their consciences are galled by sin and disquietment from the Lord, who
hath laid hold upon them? Is not a relinquishment of the sin, as to
practice, that they are, in some fruits of it, perplexed withal, and making
head against it, the sum of what they apply themselves unto? and is not the
gospel end of their convictions lost thereby? Here men abide and
perish.
(2.) This duty being a thing good in itself, in
its proper place, a duty evidencing sincerity, bringing home peace to the
conscience; a man finding himself really engaged in it, his mind and heart
set against this or that sin, with purpose and resolution to have no more
to do with it, — he is ready to conclude that his state and condition is
good, and so to delude his own soul. For, —
[1.] When his conscience hath been made sick with sin, and
he could find no rest, when he should go to the great Physician of souls,
and get healing in his blood, the man by this engagement against sin
pacifies and quiets his conscience, and sits down without going to Christ
at all. Ah! how many poor souls are thus deluded to eternity! “When
Ephraim saw his sickness, he sent to king Jareb,” Hos. v.
13; which kept him off from God. The whole bundle of the popish
religion is made up of designs and contrivances to pacify conscience
without Christ; all described by the apostle, Rom. x. 3.
[2.] By this means men satisfy themselves that their
state and condition is good, seeing they do that which is a work good in
itself, and they do not do it to be seen. They know they would have the
work done in sincerity, and so are hardened in a kind of
self-righteousness.
(3.) When a man hath thus for a season been deluded, and
hath deceived his own soul, and finds in a long course of life that
indeed his sin is not mortified, or if he hath changed one he hath
gotten another, he begins at length to think that all contending is in
vain, — he shall never be able to prevail; he is making a dam against water
that increaseth on him. Hereupon he gives over, as one despairing of
any success, and yields up himself to the power of sin and that habit of
formality that he hath gotten.
And this is the usual issue with persons attempting the
mortification of sin without an interest in Christ first obtained. It
deludes them, hardens them, — destroys them. And
therefore we see that there are not usually more vile and desperate sinners
in the world than such as, having by conviction been put on this course,
have found it fruitless, and deserted it without a discovery of Christ. And
this is the substance of the religion and godliness of the choicest
formalists in the world, and of all those who in the Roman synagogue are
drawn to mortification, as they drive Indians to baptism or cattle to
water. I say, then, that mortification is the work of believers, and
believers only. To kill sin is the work of living men; where men are
dead (as all unbelievers, the best of them, are dead), sin is
alive, and will live.
2. It is the work of faith, the peculiar work
of faith. Now, if there be a work to be done that will be effected by one
only instrument, it is the greatest madness for any to attempt the doing of
it that hath not that instrument. Now, it is faith that
purifies the heart, Acts xv. 9;
or, as Peter speaks, we “purify our souls in obeying the truth through the
Spirit,” 1 Pet. i. 22; and without it, it will
not be done.
What hath been spoken I suppose is sufficient to make good
my first general rule:— Be sure to get an interest in Christ; if
you intend to mortify any sin without it, it will never be done.
Obj. You will say, “What, then, would you have
unregenerate men that are convinced of the evil of sin do? Shall they cease
striving against sin, live dissolutely, give their lusts their swing, and
be as bad as the worst of men? This were a way to set the whole world into
confusion, to bring all things into darkness, to set open the flood-gates
of lust, and lay the reins upon the necks of men to rush into all sin with
delight and greediness, like the horse into the battle.”
Ans. 1. God forbid! It is to be looked on as a great
issue of the wisdom, goodness, and love of God, that by manifold ways and
means he is pleased to restrain the sons of men from running forth into
that compass of excess and riot which the depravedness of their nature
would carry them out unto with violence. By what way soever this is done,
it is an issue of the care, kindness, and goodness of God, without which
the whole earth would be a hell of sin and confusion.
2. There is a peculiar convincing power in the word,
which God is oftentimes pleased to put forth, to the wounding, amazing,
and, in some sort, humbling of sinners, though they are never converted.
And the word is to be preached though it hath this end, yet not with this
end. Let, then, the word be preached, and the sins of men [will be]
rebuked, lust will be restrained, and some oppositions will be made against
sin; though that be not the effect aimed at.
3. Though this be the work of the word and Spirit,
and it be good in itself, yet it is not profitable nor available as to the
main end in them in whom it is wrought; they are still in the gall of
bitterness, and under the power of darkness.
4. Let men know it is their duty, but in its proper
place; I take not men from mortification, but put them upon conversion. He
that shall call a man from mending a hole in the wall of his house, to
quench a fire that is consuming the whole building, is not his enemy. Poor
soul! it is not thy sore finger but thy hectic fever that thou art to apply
thyself to the consideration of. Thou settest thyself against a
particular sin, and dost not consider that thou art nothing but
sin.
Let me add this to them who are preachers of the word, or
intend, through the good hand of God, that employment: It is their duty to
plead with men about their sins, to lay load on particular sins, but always
remember that it be done with that which is the proper end of law and
gospel; — that is, that they make use of the sin they speak against to the discovery of the state and condition wherein the
sinner is; otherwise, haply, they may work men to formality and hypocrisy,
but little of the true end of preaching the gospel will be brought about.
It will not avail to beat a man off from his drunkenness into a sober
formality. A skilful master of the assemblies lays his axe at the root,
drives still at the heart. To inveigh against particular sins of ignorant,
unregenerate persons, such as the land is full of, is a good work; but yet,
though it may be done with great efficacy, vigour, and success, if this be
all the effect of it, that they are set upon the most sedulous endeavours
of mortifying their sins preached down, all that is done is but like the
beating of an enemy in an open field, and driving him into an impregnable
castle, not to be prevailed against. Get you at any time a sinner at the
advantage, on the account of any one sin whatever? have you any thing to
take hold of him by? — bring it to his state and condition, drive it up to
the head, and there deal with him. To break men off particular sins, and
not to break their hearts, is to deprive ourselves of advantages of dealing
with them.
And herein is the Roman mortification grievously peccant;
they drive all sorts of persons to it, without the least consideration
whether they have a principle for it or no. Yea, they are so far from
calling on men to believe, that they may be able to mortify their lusts,
that they call men to mortification instead of believing. The truth is,
they neither know what it is to believe nor what
mortification itself intends. Faith with them is but a general
assent to the doctrine taught in their church; and mortification the
betaking of a man by a vow to some certain course of life, wherein he
denies himself something of the use of the things of this world, not
without a considerable compensation. Such men know neither the Scriptures
nor the power of God. Their boasting of their mortification is but their
glorying in their shame. Some casuists among ourselves, who, overlooking
the necessity of regeneration, do avowedly give this for a direction to all
sorts of persons that complain of any sin or lust, that they should vow
against it, at least for a season, a month or so, seem to have a scantling
of light in the mystery of the gospel, much like that of Nicodemus when he
came first to Christ. They bid men vow to abstain from their sin for a
season. This commonly makes their lust more impetuous. Perhaps with great
perplexity they keep their word; perhaps not, which increases their guilt
and torment. Is their sin at all mortified hereby? Do they find a conquest
over it? Is their condition changed, though they attain a relinquishment of
it? Are they not still in the gall of bitterness? Is not this to put men to
make brick, if not without straw, yet, which is worse, without
strength? What promise hath any unregenerate man to countenance him
in this work? what assistance for the performance of it? Can
sin be killed without an interest in the death of Christ, or mortified
without the Spirit? If such directions should prevail to change men’s
lives, as seldom they do, yet they never reach to the change of their
hearts or conditions. They may make men self-justiciaries or hypocrites,
not Christians. It grieves me ofttimes to see poor souls, that have a zeal
for God and a desire of eternal welfare, kept by such directors and
directions under a hard, burdensome, outside worship and service of God,
with many specious endeavours for mortification, in an utter ignorance of
the righteousness of Christ, and unacquaintedness with his Spirit, all
their days. Persons and things of this kind I know too many. If ever God
shine into their hearts, to give them the knowledge of his glory in the
face of his Son Jesus Christ, they will see the folly of their present
way.
Chapter VIII.
The second general rule proposed — Without universal sincerity
for the mortifying of every lust, no lust will be mortified — Partial
mortification always from a corrupt principle — Perplexity of temptation
from a lust oftentimes a chastening for other negligences.
2. The second
principle which to this purpose I shall propose is this:—
Without sincerity and diligence in a universality of
obedience, there is no mortification of any one perplexing lust to be
obtained.
The other was to the person; this to the thing itself. I
shall a little explain this position.
A man finds any lust to bring him into the condition
formerly described; it is powerful, strong, tumultuating, leads captive,
vexes, disquiets, takes away peace; he is not able to bear it; wherefore he
sets himself against it, prays against it, groans under it, sighs to be
delivered: but in the meantime, perhaps, in other duties, — in constant
communion with God, — in reading, prayer, and meditation, — in other ways
that are not of the same kind with the lust wherewith he is troubled, — he
is loose and negligent. Let not that man think that ever he shall arrive to
the mortification of the lust he is perplexed withal. This is a condition
that not seldom befalls men in their pilgrimage. The Israelites, under a
sense of their sin, drew nigh to God with much diligence and earnestness,
with fasting and prayer, Isa. lviii.: many
expressions are made of their earnestness in the work, verse
2 “They seek me daily, and delight to know my ways;
they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching
to God.” But God rejects all. Their fast is a remedy that will not heal
them, and the reason given of it, verses
5–7, is, because they were particular in this duty. They
attended diligently to that, but in others were negligent and careless. He
that hath a “running sore” (it is the Scripture expression) upon him,
arising from an ill habit of body, contracted by intemperance and ill diet,
let him apply himself with what diligence and skill he can to the cure
of his sore, if he leave the general habit of his body under
distempers, his labour and travail will be in vain. So will his attempts be
that shall endeavour to stop a bloody issue of sin and filth in his soul,
and is not equally careful of his universal spiritual temperature and
constitution. For, —
(1.) This kind of endeavour for mortification proceeds from
a corrupt principle, ground, and foundation; so that it will never
proceed to a good issue. The true and acceptable principles of
mortification shall be afterward insisted on. Hatred of sin as sin, not
only as galling or disquieting, a sense of the love of Christ in the cross,
lie at the bottom of all true spiritual mortification. Now, it is certain
that that which I speak of proceeds from self-love. Thou settest
thyself with all diligence and earnestness to mortify such a lust or sin;
what is the reason of it? It disquiets thee, it hath taken away thy peace,
it fills thy heart with sorrow, and trouble, and fear; thou hast no rest
because of it. Yea; but, friend, thou hast neglected prayer or reading;
thou hast been vain and loose in thy conversation in other things, that
have not been of the same nature with that lust wherewith thou art
perplexed. These are no less sins and evils than those under which thou
groanest. Jesus Christ bled for them also. Why dost thou not set thyself
against them also? If thou hatest sin as sin, every evil way, thou wouldst
be no less watchful against every thing that grieves and disquiets the
Spirit of God, than against that which grieves and disquiets thine own
soul. It is evident that thou contendest against sin merely because
of thy own trouble by it. Would thy conscience be quiet under it,
thou wouldst let it alone. Did it not disquiet thee, it should not be
disquieted by thee. Now, canst thou think that God will set in with such
hypocritical endeavours, — that ever his Spirit will bear witness to the
treachery and falsehood of thy spirit? Dost thou think he will ease thee of
that which perplexeth thee, that thou mayst be at liberty to that which no
less grieves him? No. Says God, “Here is one, if he could be rid of this
lust I should never hear of him more; let him wrestle with this, or he is
lost.” Let not any man think to do his own work that will not do God’s.
God’s work consists in universal obedience; to be freed of the
present perplexity is their own only. Hence is that of the
apostle, 2 Cor. vii. 1, “Cleanse yourselves from
all pollution of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of
God.” If we will do any thing, we must do all things. So, then, it is not
only an intense opposition to this or that peculiar lust, but a universal
humble frame and temper of heart, with watchfulness over every evil and for
the performance of every duty, that is accepted.
(2.) How knowest thou but that God hath suffered the lust
wherewith thou hast been perplexed to get strength in thee, and power over
thee, to chasten thee for thy other negligences and common lukewarmness in
walking before him; at least to awaken thee to the consideration of thy
ways, that thou mayst make a thorough work and change in thy course of
walking with him?
The rage and predominancy of a particular lust is commonly
the fruit and issue of a careless, negligent course in general, and that
upon a double account:—
[1.] As its natural effect, if I may so say. Lust,
as I showed in general, lies in the heart of every one, even the best,
whilst he lives; and think not that the Scripture speaks in vain, that it
is subtle, cunning, crafty, — that it seduces, entices, fights, rebels.
Whilst a man keeps a diligent watch over his heart, its root and fountain,
— whilst above all keepings he keeps his heart, whence are the issues of
life and death, — lust withers and dies in it. But if, through negligence,
it makes an eruption any particular way, gets a passage to the thoughts by
the affections, and from them and by them perhaps breaks out into open sin
in the conversation, the strength of it bears that way it hath found out,
and that way mainly it urgeth, until, having got a passage, it then vexes
and disquiets, and is not easily to be restrained: thus, perhaps, a man may
be put to wrestle all his days in sorrow with that which, by a strict and
universal watch, might easily have been prevented.
[2.] As I said, God oftentimes suffers it to chasten
our other negligences: for as with wicked men, he gives them up to
one sin as the judgment of another, a greater for the punishment
of a less, or one that will hold them more firmly and securely for that
which they might have possibly obtained a deliverance from; so even with his own, he may, he doth, leave them
sometimes to some vexatious distempers, either to prevent or cure some
other evil. So was the messenger of Satan let loose on Paul, that he “might
not be lifted up through the abundance of spiritual revelations.” Was it not a correction to Peter’s vain
confidence, that he was left to deny his Master? Now, if this be the state
and condition of lust in its prevalency, that God oftentimes suffers it so
to prevail, at least to admonish us, and to humble us, perhaps to chasten
and correct us for our general loose and careless walking, is
it possible that the effect should be removed and the cause
continued, — that the particular lust should be mortified and the
general course be unreformed? He, then, that would really,
thoroughly, and acceptably mortify any disquieting lust, let him take care
to be equally diligent in all parts of obedience, and know that every lust,
every omission of duty, is burdensome to God, though but one is so to
him. Whilst there
abides a treachery in the heart to indulge to any negligence in not
pressing universally to all perfection in obedience, the soul is
weak, as not giving faith its whole work; and selfish, as
considering more the trouble of sin than the filth and guilt of it; and
lives under a constant provocation of God: so that it may not expect
any comfortable issue in any spiritual duty that it doth undertake, much
less in this under consideration, which requires another principle and
frame of spirit for its accomplishment.
Chapter IX.
Particular directions in relation to the foregoing case proposed
— First. Consider the
dangerous symptoms of any lust — 1. Inveterateness — 2. Peace obtained
under it; the several ways whereby that is done — 3. Frequency of success
in its seductions — 4. The soul’s fighting against it with arguments only
taken from the event — 5. Its being attended with judiciary hardness — 6.
Its withstanding particular dealings from God — The state of persons in
whom these things are found.
III. The
foregoing general rules being supposed, particular directions
to the soul for its guidance under the sense of a disquieting lust or
distemper, being the main thing I aim at, come next to be proposed. Now, of
these some are previous and preparatory, and in some of them the work
itself is contained. Of the first sort are these ensuing:—
First.
Consider what dangerous symptoms thy lust hath attending or
accompanying it, — whether it hath any deadly mark on it or no; if it hath,
extraordinary remedies are to be used; an ordinary course of
mortification will not do it.
You will say, “What are these dangerous marks and
symptoms, the desperate attendancies of an indwelling lust,
that you intend?” Some of them I shall name:—
1. Inveterateness. — If it hath lain long corrupting
in thy heart, if thou hast suffered it to abide in power and prevalency,
without attempting vigorously the killing of it, and the healing of the
wounds thou hast received by it, for some long season, thy
distemper is dangerous. Hast thou permitted worldliness, ambition,
greediness of study, to eat up other duties, the duties wherein thou
oughtest to hold constant communion with God, for some long season? or
uncleanness to defile thy heart with vain, and foolish, and wicked
imaginations for many days? Thy lust hath a dangerous symptom. So was the
case with David: Ps. xxxviii. 5, “My wounds stink and are
corrupt because of my foolishness.” When a lust hath lain long in the
heart, corrupting, festering, cankering, it brings the soul to a woful
condition. In such a case an ordinary course of humiliation will not do the
work: whatever it be, it will by this means insinuate itself more or less
into all the faculties of the soul, and habituate the affections to its
company and society; it grows familiar to the mind and conscience, that
they do not startle at it as a strange thing, but are bold with it as that
which they are wonted unto; yea, it will get such advantage by this means
as oftentimes to exert and put forth itself without having any notice taken
of it at all, as it seems to have been with Joseph in his swearing by the
life of Pharaoh. Unless some extraordinary course be taken, such a person
hath no ground in the world to expect that his latter end shall be
peace.
For, first, How will he be able to distinguish between the
long abode of an unmortified lust and the dominion of sin,
which cannot befall a regenerate person? Secondly, How can he promise
himself that it shall ever be otherwise with him, or that his lust will
cease tumultuating and seducing, when he sees it fixed and abiding, and
hath done so for many days, and hath gone through a variety of
conditions with him? It may be it hath tried mercies and
afflictions, and those possibly so remarkable that the soul could
not avoid the taking special notice of them; it may be it hath weathered
out many a storm, and passed under much variety of gifts in the
administration of the word; and will it prove an easy thing to dislodge an
inmate pleading a title by prescription? Old neglected wounds are often
mortal, always dangerous. Indwelling distempers grow rusty and stubborn by
continuance in ease and quiet. Lust is such an inmate as, if it can plead
time and some prescription, will not easily be ejected. As it never dies of
itself, so if it be not daily killed it will always gather strength.
2. Secret pleas of the heart for the countenancing
of itself, and keeping up its peace, notwithstanding the abiding of a lust,
without a vigorous gospel attempt for its mortification, is another
dangerous symptom of a deadly distemper in the heart. Now, there be several
ways whereby this may be done. I shall name some of them; as, —
(1.) When upon thoughts, perplexing thoughts about
sin, instead of applying himself to the destruction of it, a man searches
his heart to see what evidences he can find of a good
condition, notwithstanding that sin and lust, so that it may go well with
him.
For a man to gather up his experiences of God, to call them
to mind, to collect them, consider, try, improve them, is an excellent
thing, — a duty practised by all the saints, commended in the Old Testament
and the New. This was David’s work when he “communed with his own heart,”
and called to remembrance the former loving-kindness of the Lord. This is the duty that Paul sets us to
practise, 2 Cor. xiii. 5. And as it is in itself
excellent, so it hath beauty added to it by a proper season, a time of
trial or temptation, or disquietness of the heart about sin, — is a picture
of silver to set off this golden apple, as Solomon speaks. But now to do it
for this end, to satisfy conscience, which cries and calls for another
purpose, is a desperate device of a heart in love with sin. When a man’s
conscience shall deal with him, when God shall rebuke him for the sinful
distemper of his heart, if he, instead of applying himself to get that sin
pardoned in the blood of Christ and mortified by his Spirit,
shall relieve himself by any such other evidences as he hath, or
thinks himself to have, and so disentangle himself from under the yoke that
God was putting on his neck, his condition is very dangerous, his wound
hardly curable. Thus the Jews, under the gallings of their own consciences
and the convincing preaching of our Saviour, supported themselves with
this, that they were “Abraham’s children,” and on that account accepted
with God; and so countenanced themselves in all abominable wickedness, to
their utter ruin.
This is, in some degree, a blessing of a man’s self, and
saying that upon one account or other he shall have peace, “although he
adds drunkenness to thirst.” Love of sin, undervaluation of peace and of
all tastes of love from God, are inwrapped in such a frame. Such a one
plainly shows, that if he can but keep up hope of escaping the “wrath to
come,” he can be well content to be unfruitful in the world, at any
distance from God that is not final separation. What is to be expected from
such a heart?
(2.) By applying grace and mercy to an unmortified
sin, or one not sincerely endeavoured to be mortified, is this
deceit carried on. This is a sign of a heart greatly entangled with the
love of sin. When a man hath secret thoughts in his heart, not unlike those
of Naaman about his worshipping in the house of Rimmon, “In all other things I will walk with God, but in
this thing, God be merciful unto me,” his condition is sad. It is true,
indeed, a resolution to this purpose, to indulge a man’s self in any sin on
the account of mercy, seems to be, and doubtless in any course is,
altogether inconsistent with Christian sincerity, and is a badge of a
hypocrite, and is the “turning of the grace of God into
wantonness;” yet I doubt not but, through the craft of Satan
and their own remaining unbelief, the children of God may themselves
sometimes be ensnared with this deceit of sin, or else Paul would never
have so cautioned them against it as he doth, Rom. vi. 1,
2. Yea, indeed, there is nothing more natural than for fleshly
reasonings to grow high and strong upon this account. The flesh would fain
be indulged unto upon the account of grace, and every word that is spoken
of mercy, it stands ready to catch at and to pervert it, to its own corrupt
aims and purposes. To apply mercy, then, to a sin not vigorously mortified
is to fulfil the end of the flesh upon the gospel.
These and many other ways and wiles a deceitful heart will
sometimes make use of, to countenance itself in its abominations. Now, when
a man with his sin is in this condition, that there is a secret liking of
the sin prevalent in his heart, and though his will be not wholly set upon
it, yet he hath an imperfect velleity towards it, he would practise it were
it not for such and such considerations, and hereupon relieves himself
other ways than by the mortification and pardon of it in the blood of
Christ; that man’s “wounds stink and are corrupt,” and he will, without
speedy deliverance, be at the door of death.
3. Frequency of success in sin’s seduction, in
obtaining the prevailing consent of the will unto it, is another dangerous
symptom. This is that I mean: When the sin spoken of gets the consent of
the will with some delight, though it be not actually outwardly
perpetrated, yet it hath success. A man may not be able, upon outward
considerations, to go along with sin to that which James calls the
“finishing” of it, as to the outward acts of sin, when yet the will
of sinning may be actually obtained; then hath it, I say, success. Now, if
any lust be able thus far to prevail in the soul of any man, as his
condition may possibly be very bad and himself be unregenerate, so it
cannot possibly be very good, but dangerous; and it is all one upon the
matter whether this be done by the choice of the will or by inadvertency,
for that inadvertency itself is in a manner chosen. When we are inadvertent
and negligent, where we are bound to watchfulness and carefulness, that
inadvertency doth not take off from the voluntariness of what we do
thereupon; for although men do not choose and resolve to be negligent and
inadvertent, yet if they choose the things that will make them so, they
choose inadvertency itself as a thing may be chosen in its cause.
And let not men think that the evil of their hearts is in
any measure extenuated because they seem, for the most part, to be
surprised into that consent which they seem to give unto it; for it is
negligence of their duty in watching over their hearts that
betrays them into that surprisal.
4. When a man fighteth against his sin only with
arguments from the issue or the punishment due unto it, this is a
sign that sin hath taken great possession of the will, and that in the
heart there is a superfluity of naughtiness. Such a man as opposes nothing
to the seduction of sin and lust in his heart but fear of shame among men
or hell from God, is sufficiently resolved to do the sin if there were no
punishment attending it; which, what it differs from living in the practice
of sin, I know not. Those who are Christ’s, and are acted in their
obedience upon gospel principles, have the death of Christ, the love of
God, the detestable nature of sin, the preciousness of communion with God,
a deep-grounded abhorrency of sin as sin, to oppose to any seduction
of sin, to all the workings, strivings, fightings of lust in their hearts.
So did Joseph. “How shall I do this great evil,” saith he, “and sin against
the Lord?” my good and
gracious God. And Paul, “The
love of Christ constraineth us;” and, “Having
received these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from all pollution of the
flesh and spirit,” 2 Cor. vii. 1.
But now if a man be so under the power of his lust that he hath nothing but
law to oppose it withal, if he cannot fight against it with gospel weapons,
but deals with it altogether with hell and judgment, which are the proper
arms of the law, it is most evident that sin hath possessed itself of his
will and affections to a very great prevalency and conquest.
Such a person hath cast off, as to the particular spoken
of, the conduct of renewing grace, and is kept from ruin only by
restraining grace; and so far is he fallen from grace, and returned
under the power of the law. And can it be thought that this is not a great
provocation to Christ, that men should cast off his easy, gentle yoke and
rule, and cast themselves under the iron yoke of the law, merely out of
indulgence unto their lusts?
Try thyself by this also: When thou art by sin driven to
make a stand, so that thou must either serve it and rush at the command of
it into folly, like the horse into the battle, or make head against it to
suppress it, what dost thou say to thy soul? what dost thou expostulate
with thyself? Is this all, — “Hell will be the end of this course;
vengeance will meet with me and find me out?” It is time for thee to look
about thee; evil lies at the door. Paul’s main argument to evince that sin
shall not have dominion over believers is, that they “are not under the
law, but under grace,” Rom. vi. 14. If
thy contendings against sin be all on legal accounts, from legal principles
and motives, what assurance canst thou attain unto that sin shall not have
dominion over thee, which will be thy ruin?
Yea, know that this reserve will not long hold
out. If thy lust hath driven thee from stronger gospel forts, it will
speedily prevail against this also. Do not suppose that such considerations
will deliver thee, when thou hast voluntarily given up to thine enemy those
helps and means of preservation which have a thousand times their strength.
Rest assuredly in this, that unless thou recover thyself with speed from
this condition, the thing that thou fearest will come upon thee. What
gospel principles do not, legal motives cannot do.
5. When it is probable that there is, or may be, somewhat
of judiciary hardness, or at least of chastening punishment, in thy lust as
disquieting. This is another dangerous symptom. That God doth sometimes
leave even those of his own under the perplexing power at least of some
lust or sin, to correct them for former sins, negligence, and folly, I no
way doubt. Hence was that complaint of the church, “Why hast thou hardened
us from the fear of thy name?” Isa. lxiii.
17. That this is his way of dealing with unregenerate men no man
questions. But how shall a man know whether there be any thing of God’s
chastening hand in his being left to the disquietment of his distemper?
Ans. Examine thy heart and ways. What was the state and condition of
thy soul before thou fellest into the entanglements of that sin which now
thou so complainest of? Hadst thou been negligent in duties? Hadst thou
lived inordinately to thyself? Is there the guilt of any great sin lying
upon thee unrepented of? A new sin may be permitted, as well as a
new affliction sent, to bring an old sin to remembrance.
Hast thou received any eminent mercy, protection,
deliverance, which thou didst not improve in a due manner, nor wast
thankful for? or hast thou been exercised with any affliction without
labouring for the appointed end of it? or hast thou been wanting to the
opportunities of glorifying God in thy generation, which, in his good
providence, he had graciously afforded unto thee? or hast thou conformed
thyself unto the world and the men of it, through the abounding of
temptations in the days wherein thou livest? If thou findest this to have
been thy state, awake, call upon God; thou art fast asleep in a storm of
anger round about thee.
6. When thy lust hath already withstood particular
dealings from God against it. This condition is described, Isa. lvii. 17, “For the iniquity of his
covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, and he
went on frowardly in the way of his heart.” God had dealt with them about
their prevailing lust, and that several ways, — by affliction and
desertion; but they held out against all. This is a sad condition, which
nothing but mere sovereign grace (as God expresses it in the next
verse) can relieve a man in, and which no man ought to promise himself or
bear himself upon. God oftentimes, in his providential
dispensations, meets with a man, and speaks particularly to the evil of his
heart, as he did to Joseph’s brethren in their selling of him into Egypt.
This makes the man reflect on his sin, and judge himself in particular for
it. God makes it to be the voice of the danger, affliction, trouble,
sickness that he is in or under. Sometimes in reading of the word God makes
a man stay on something that cuts him to the heart, and shakes him as to
his present condition. More frequently in the hearing of the word preached,
his great ordinance for conviction, conversion, and edification, doth he
meet with men. God often hews men by the sword of his word in that
ordinance, strikes directly on their bosom-beloved lust, startles the
sinner, makes him engage unto the mortification and relinquishment of the
evil of his heart. Now, if his lust have taken such hold on him as to
enforce him to break these bands of the Lord, and to cast these cords from
him, — if it overcomes these convictions, and gets again into its old
posture, — if it can cure the wounds it so receives, — that soul is in a
sad condition.
Unspeakable are the evils which attend such a frame of
heart. Every particular warning to a man in such an estate is an
inestimable mercy; how then doth he despise God in them who holds out
against them! And what infinite patience is this in God, that he doth not
cast off such a one, and swear in his wrath that he shall never enter into
his rest!
These and many other evidences are there of a lust that is
dangerous, if not mortal. As our Saviour said of the evil spirit, “This
kind goes not out but by fasting and prayer,” so say I of lusts of this
kind. An ordinary course of mortification will not do it; extraordinary
ways must be fixed on.
This is the first particular direction: Consider whether
the lust or sin you are contending with hath any of these dangerous
symptoms attending of it.
Before I proceed I must give you one caution by the way,
lest any be deceived by what hath been spoken. Whereas I say the things and
evils above-mentioned may befall true believers, let not any that finds the
same things in himself thence or from thence conclude that he is a true
believer. These are the evils that believers may fall into and be ensnared
withal, not the things that constitute a believer. A man may as well
conclude that he is a believer because he is an adulterer, because David
that was so fell into adultery, as conclude it from the signs foregoing;
which are the evils of sin and Satan in the hearts of believers. The
seventh chapter of the Romans contains the
description of a regenerate man. He that shall consider what is spoken of
his dark side, of his unregenerate part, of the indwelling power and
violence of sin remaining in him, and, because he finds the
like in himself, conclude that he is a regenerate man, will be deceived in
his reckoning. It is all one as if you should argue: A wise man may be sick
and wounded, yea, do some things foolishly; therefore, every one who is
sick and wounded and does things foolishly is a wise man. Or as if a silly,
deformed creature, hearing one speak of a beautiful person, should say that
he had a mark or a scar that much disfigured him, should conclude that
because he hath himself scars, and moles, and warts, he also is beautiful.
If you will have evidences of your being believers, it must be from those
things that constitute men believers. He that hath these things in himself
may safely conclude, “If I am a believer, I am a most miserable one.” But
that any man is so, he must look for other evidences if he will have
peace.
Chapter X.
The second
particular direction: Get a clear sense of, — 1. The guilt of the sin
perplexing — Considerations for help therein proposed — 2. The danger
manifold — (1.) Hardening — (2.) Temporal correction — (3.) Loss of peace
and strength — (4.) Eternal destruction — Rules for the management of this
consideration — 3. The evil of it — (1.) In grieving the Spirit — (2.)
Wounding the new creature — [(3.) Taking away a man’s
usefulness.]
The second
direction is this: Get a clear and abiding sense upon thy mind and
conscience of the guilt, danger, and evil of that sin wherewith thou
art perplexed:—
1. Of the guilt of it. It is one of the deceits of a
prevailing lust to extenuate its own guilt. “Is it not a little one?” “When
I go and bow myself in the house of Rimmon, God be merciful to me in this
thing.” “Though this be bad, yet it is not so bad as such and such an evil;
others of the people of God have had such a frame; yea, what dreadful
actual sins have some of them fallen into!” Innumerable ways there are
whereby sin diverts the mind from a right and due apprehension of its
guilt. Its noisome exhalations darken the mind, that it cannot make a right
judgment of things. Perplexing reasonings, extenuating promises,
tumultuating desires, treacherous purposes of relinquishment, hopes of
mercy, all have their share in disturbing the mind in its consideration of
the guilt of a prevailing lust. The prophet tells us that lust will do thus
wholly when it comes to the height: Hos. iv. 11,
“Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart,” — the heart, that is
the understanding, as it is often used in the Scripture. And as they
accomplish this work to the height in unregenerate persons, so
in part in regenerate also. Solomon tells you of him who was enticed by the
lewd woman, that he was “among the simple ones;” he was “a young man void
of understanding,” Prov. vii. 7.
And wherein did his folly appear? Why, says he, in the 23d
verse, “He knew not that it was for his life;” he considered not
the guilt of the evil that he was involved in. And the Lord, rendering a
reason why his dealings with Ephraim took no better effect, gives this
account: “Ephraim is like a silly dove without heart,” Hos.
vii. 11; — had no understanding of his own miserable condition.
Had it been possible that David should have lain so long in the guilt of
that abominable sin, but that he had innumerable corrupt reasonings,
hindering him from taking a clear view of its ugliness and guilt in the
glass of the law? This made the prophet that was sent for his awaking, in
his dealings with him, to shut up all subterfuges and pretences by his
parable, that so he might fall fully under a sense of the guilt of it. This
is the proper issue of lust in the heart, — it darkens the mind that it
shall not judge aright of its guilt; and many other ways it hath for its
own extenuation that I shall not now insist on.
Let this, then, be the first care of him that would mortify
sin, — to fix a right judgment of its guilt in his mind. To which end take
these considerations to thy assistance:—
(1.) Though the power of sin be weakened by inherent
grace in them that have it, that sin shall not have dominion over them
as it hath over others, yet the guilt of sin that doth yet abide and
remain is aggravated and heightened by it: Rom. vi. 1,
2, “What shall we say then? shall we continue in sin, that grace
may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer
therein?” — “How shall we, that are dead?” The emphasis is on the word
“we.” How shall we do it, who, as he afterward describes it, have
received grace from Christ to the contrary? We, doubtless, are more evil
than any, if we do it. I shall not insist on the special aggravations of
the sins of such persons, — how they sin against more love, mercy, grace,
assistance, relief, means, and deliverances than others. But let this
consideration abide in thy mind, — there is inconceivably more evil and
guilt in the evil of thy heart that doth remain, than there would be in so
much sin if thou hadst no grace at all. Observe, —
(2.) That as God sees abundance of beauty and excellency in
the desires of the heart of his servants, more than in any the most
glorious works of other men, yea, more than in most of their own outward
performances, which have a greater mixture of sin than the desires and
pantings of grace in the heart have; so God sees a great deal of evil in
the working of lust in their hearts, yea, and more than in the open,
notorious acts of wicked men, or in many outward sins whereinto the saints may fall, seeing against them there is more opposition
made, and more humiliation generally follows them. Thus Christ, dealing
with his decaying children, goes to the root with them, lays aside their
profession: Rev. iii. 15, “I know thee;” — “Thou art
quite another thing than thou professest; and this makes thee
abominable.”
So, then, let these things, and the like considerations,
lead thee to a clear sense of the guilt of thy indwelling lust, that there
may be no room in thy heart for extenuating or excusing thoughts, whereby
sin insensibly will get strength and prevail.
2. Consider the danger of it, which is
manifold:—
(1.) Of being hardened by the deceitfulness. This
the apostle sorely charges on the Hebrews,
chap. iii. 12, 13, “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of
you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort
one another daily, while it is called To-day; lest any of you be hardened
through the deceitfulness of sin.” “Take heed,” saith he, “use all means,
consider your temptations, watch diligently; there is a treachery, a deceit
in sin, that tends to the hardening of your hearts from the fear of God.”
The hardening here mentioned is to the utmost, — utter obduration; sin
tends to it, and every distemper and lust will make at least some progress
towards it. Thou that wast tender, and didst use to melt under the word,
under afflictions, wilt grow as some have profanely spoken, “sermon-proof
and sickness-proof.” Thou that didst tremble at the presence of God,
thoughts of death, and appearance before him, when thou hadst more
assurance of his love than now thou hast, shalt have a stoutness upon thy
spirit not to be moved by these things. Thy soul and thy sin shall be
spoken of and spoken to, and thou shalt not be at all concerned, but shalt
be able to pass over duties, praying, hearing, reading, and thy heart not
in the least affected. Sin will grow a light thing to thee; thou
wilt pass it by as a thing of nought; this it will grow to. And what will
be the end of such a condition? Can a sadder thing befall thee? Is it not
enough to make any heart to tremble, to think of being brought into that
estate wherein he should have slight thoughts of sin? Slight thoughts of
grace, of mercy, of the blood of Christ, of the law, heaven, and hell, come
all in at the same season. Take heed, this is that thy lust is working
towards, — the hardening of the heart, searing of the conscience, blinding
of the mind, stupifying of the affections, and deceiving of the whole
soul.
(2.) The danger of some great temporal correction,
which the Scripture calls “vengeance,” “judgment,” and “punishment.”
Ps. lxxxix. 30–33, Though God should
not utterly cast thee off for this abomination that lies in thy heart, yet
he will visit thee with the rod; though he pardon and forgive, he will take
vengeance of thy inventions. O remember David and all his troubles! look on
him flying into the wilderness, and consider the hand of God
upon him. Is it nothing to thee that God should kill thy child in anger,
ruin thy estate in anger, break thy bones in anger, suffer thee to be a
scandal and reproach in anger, kill thee, destroy thee, make thee lie down
in darkness, in anger? Is it nothing that he should punish, ruin, and undo
others for thy sake? Let me not be mistaken. I do not mean that God doth
send all these things always on his in anger; God forbid! but this I
say, that when he doth so deal with thee, and thy conscience bears witness
with him what thy provocations have been, thou wilt find his dealings full
of bitterness to thy soul. If thou fearest not these things, I
fear thou art under hardness.
(3.) Loss of peace and strength all a man’s days. To
have peace with God, to have strength to walk before God, is the sum of the
great promises of the covenant of grace. In these things is the life of our
souls. Without them in some comfortable measure, to live is to die. What
good will our lives do us if we see not the face of God sometimes in peace?
if we have not some strength to walk with him? Now, both these will an
unmortified lust certainly deprive the souls of men of. This case is so
evident in David, as that nothing can be more clear. How often doth he
complain that his bones were broken, his soul disquieted, his wounds
grievous, on this account! Take other instances: Isa. lvii.
17, “For the iniquity of his covetousness I was wroth, and hid
myself.” What peace, I pray, is there to a soul while God hides himself, or
strength whilst he smites? Hos. v. 15, “I
will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and
seek my face;” — “I will leave them, hide my face, and what will become of
their peace and strength?” If ever, then, thou hast enjoyed peace with God,
if ever his terrors have made thee afraid, if ever thou hast had strength
to walk with him, or ever hast mourned in thy prayer, and been troubled
because of thy weakness, think of this danger that hangs over thy head. It
is perhaps but a little while and thou shalt see the face of God in peace
no more. Perhaps by to-morrow thou shalt not be able to pray, read, hear,
or perform any duties with the least cheerfulness, life, or vigour; and
possibly thou mayst never see a quiet hour whilst thou livest, — that thou
mayst carry about thee broken bones, full of pain and terror, all the days
of thy life. Yea, perhaps God will shoot his arrows at thee, and fill thee
with anguish and disquietness, with fears and perplexities; make thee a
terror and an astonishment to thyself and others; show thee hell and wrath
every moment; frighten and scare thee with sad apprehensions of his hatred;
so that thy sore shall run in the night season, and thy soul shall refuse
comfort; so that thou shalt wish death rather than life, yea, thy soul may
choose strangling. Consider this a little, — though God should not utterly
destroy thee, yet he might cast thee into this condition,
wherein thou shalt have quick and living apprehensions of thy destruction.
Wont thy heart to thoughts hereof; let it know what is like to be the issue
of its state. Leave not this consideration until thou hast made thy soul to
tremble within thee.
(4.) There is the danger of eternal destruction.
For the due management of this consideration, observe,
—
[1.] That there is such a connection between a
continuance in sin and eternal destruction, that though God
does resolve to deliver some from a continuance in sin that they may not be
destroyed, yet he will deliver none from destruction that continue in sin;
so that whilst any one lies under an abiding power of sin, the threats of
destruction and everlasting separation from God are to be held out to him.
So Heb. iii. 12; to which add chap. x. 38. This is the rule of God’s
proceeding: If any man “depart” from him, “draw back” through unbelief,
“God’s soul hath no pleasure in him;” — “that is, his indignation shall
pursue him to destruction:” so evidently, Gal. vi. 8.
[2.] That he who is so entangled, as above
described, under the power of any corruption, can have at that present no
clear prevailing evidence of his interest in the covenant, by the efficacy
whereof he may be delivered from fear of destruction; so that destruction
from the Lord may justly be a terror to him; and he may, he ought to look
upon it, as that which will be the end of his course and ways.
“There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus,” Rom.
viii. 1. True; but who shall have the comfort of this assertion?
who may assume it to himself? “They that walk after the Spirit, and not
after the flesh.” But you will say, “Is not this to persuade men to
unbelief?” I answer, No. There is a twofold judgement that a man may make
of himself, — first, of his person; and, secondly, of his
ways. It is the judgement of his ways, not his person, that I speak
of. Let a man get the best evidence for his person that he can, yet to
judge that an evil way will end in destruction is his duty; not to do it is
atheism. I do not say, that in such a condition a man ought to throw away
the evidence of his personal interest in Christ; but I say, he cannot keep
them. There is a twofold condemnation of a man’s self:— First, In respect
of desert, when the soul concludes that it deserves to be cast out
of the presence of God; and this is so far from a business of unbelief that
it is an effect of faith. Secondly, With respect to the issue and
event, when the soul concludes it shall be damned. I do not say this is
the duty of any one, nor do I call them to it; but this I say, that the end
of the way may be provoked to fly from it. And this is another
consideration that ought to dwell upon such a soul, if it
desire to be freed from the entanglement of its lusts.
3. Consider the evils of it; I mean its present
evils. Danger respects what is to come; evil, what is present. Some of
the many evils that attend an unmortified lust may be mentioned:—
(1.) It grieves the holy and blessed Spirit, which
is given to believers to dwell in them and abide with them. So the apostle,
Eph. iv. 25–29, dehorting them from many
lusts and sins, gives this as the great motive of it, verse
30, “Grieve not the Holy Spirit, whereby ye are sealed unto the
day of redemption.” “Grieve not that Spirit of God,” saith he, “whereby you
receive so many and so great benefits;” of which he instances in one signal
and comprehensive one,— “sealing to the day of redemption.” He is grieved
by it. As a tender and loving friend is grieved at the unkindness of his
friend, of whom he hath well deserved, so is it with this tender and loving
Spirit, who hath chosen our hearts for a habitation to dwell in, and there
to do for us all that our souls desire. He is grieved by our harbouring his
enemies, and those whom he is to destroy, in our hearts with him. “He doth
not afflict willingly, nor grieve us,” Lam. iii. 33;
and shall we daily grieve him? Thus is he said sometimes to be “vexed,”
sometimes “grieved at his heart,” to express the greatest sense of our
provocation. Now, if there be any thing of gracious ingenuity left in the
soul, if it be not utterly hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, this
consideration will certainly affect it. Consider who and what thou art; who
the Spirit is that is grieved, what he hath done for thee, what he comes to
thy soul about, what he hath already done in thee; and be ashamed. Among
those who walk with God, there is no greater motive and incentive unto
universal holiness, and the preserving of their hearts and spirits in all
purity and cleanness, than this, that the blessed Spirit, who hath
undertaken to dwell in them, is continually considering what they give
entertainment in their hearts unto, and rejoiceth when his temple is kept
undefiled. That was a high aggravation of the sin of Zimri, that he brought
his adulteress into the congregation in the sight of Moses and the rest,
who were weeping for the sins of the people, Numb. xxv. 6.
And is it not a high aggravation of the countenancing of a lust, or
suffering it to abide in the heart, when it is (as it must be, if we are
believers) entertained under the peculiar eye and view of the Holy Ghost,
taking care to preserve his tabernacle pure and holy?
(2.) The Lord Jesus Christ is wounded afresh by it;
his new creature in the heart is wounded; his love is foiled; his adversary
gratified. As a total relinquishment of him, by the deceitfulness of sin,
is the “crucifying him afresh, and the putting of him to open shame;” so every harbouring of sin that he came to destroy wounds
and grieves him.
(3.) It will take away a man’s usefulness in his
generation. His works, his endeavours, his labours, seldom receive blessing
from God. If he be a preacher, God commonly blows upon his ministry, that
he shall labour in the fire, and not be honoured with any success or doing
any work for God; and the like may be spoken of other conditions. The world
is at this day full of poor withering professors. How few are there that
walk in any beauty or glory! how barren, how useless are they, for the most
part! Amongst the many reasons that may be assigned of this sad estate, it
may justly be feared that this is none of the least effectual, — many men
harbour spirit-devouring lusts in their bosoms, that lie as worms at the
root of their obedience, and corrode and weaken it day by day. All graces,
all the ways and means whereby any graces may be exercised and improved,
are prejudiced by this means; and as to any success, God blasts such men’s
undertakings.
This, then, is my second direction, and it regards the
opposition that is to be made to lust in respect of its habitual residence
in the soul:— Keep alive upon thy heart these or the like considerations of
its guilt, danger, and evil; be much in the meditation of these things;
cause thy heart to dwell and abide upon them; engage thy thoughts into
these considerations; let them not go off nor wander from them until they
begin to have a powerful influence upon thy soul, — until they make it to
tremble.
Chapter XI.
The third direction
proposed: Load thy conscience with the guilt of the perplexing distemper —
The ways and means whereby that may be done — The fourth direction: Vehement desire
for deliverance — The fifth:
Some distempers rooted deeply in men’s natural tempers — Considerations of
such distempers; ways of dealing with them — The sixth direction: Occasions and
advantages of sin to be prevented — The seventh direction: The first actings
of sin vigorously to be opposed.
This is my
third direction, —
Load thy conscience with the guilt of it. Not only
consider that it hath a guilt, but load thy conscience with the guilt of
its actual eruptions and disturbances.
For the right improvement of this rule I shall give some
particular directions:—
1. Take God’s method in it, and begin
with generals, and so descend to particulars:—
(1.) Charge thy conscience with that guilt which appears in
it from the rectitude and holiness of the law. Bring the holy law of
God into thy conscience, lay thy corruption to it, pray that thou mayst be
affected with it. Consider the holiness, spirituality, fiery severity,
inwardness, absoluteness of the law, and see how thou canst stand before
it. Be much, I say, in affecting thy conscience with the terror of the Lord
in the law, and how righteous it is that every one of thy transgressions
should receive a recompense of reward. Perhaps thy conscience will invent
shifts and evasions to keep off the power of this consideration; — as, that
the condemning power of the law doth not belong to thee, thou art set free
from it, and the like; and so, though thou be not conformable to it, yet
thou needest not to be so much troubled at it. But, —
[1.] Tell thy conscience that it cannot manage any evidence
to the purpose that thou art free from the condemning power of sin,
whilst thy unmortified lust lies in thy heart; so that, perhaps, the
law may make good its plea against thee for a full dominion, and then thou
art a lost creature. Wherefore it is best to ponder to the utmost what it
hath to say.
Assuredly, he that pleads in the most secret reserve of his
heart that he is freed from the condemning power of the law, thereby
secretly to countenance himself in giving the least allowance unto any sin
or lust, is not able, on gospel grounds, to manage any evidence, unto any
tolerable spiritual security, that indeed he is in a due manner freed from
what he so pretends himself to be delivered.
[2.] Whatever be the issue, yet the law hath
commission from God to seize upon transgressors wherever it find them, and
so bring them before his throne, where they are to plead for themselves.
This is thy present case; the law hath found thee out, and before God it
will bring thee. If thou canst plead a pardon, well and good; if not, the
law will do its work.
[3.] However, this is the proper work of the law, to
discover sin in the guilt of it, to awake and humble the soul for it, to be
a glass to represent sin in its colours; and if thou deniest to deal with
it on this account, it is not through faith, but through the hardness of
thy heart and the deceitfulness of sin.
This is a door that too many professors have gone out at
unto open apostasy. Such a deliverance from the law they have pretended, as
that they would consult its guidance and direction no more; they would
measure their sin by it no more. By little and little this principle hath
insensibly, from the notion of it, proceeded to influence their practical
understandings, and, having taken possession there, hath turned
the will and affections loose to all manner of abominations.
By such ways, I say, then, as these, persuade thy
conscience to hearken diligently to what the law speaks, in the name of the
Lord, unto thee about thy lust and corruption. Oh! if thy ears be open, it
will speak with a voice that shall make thee tremble, that shall cast thee
to the ground, and fill thee with astonishment. If ever thou wilt mortify
thy corruptions, thou must tie up thy conscience to the law, shut it from
all shifts and exceptions, until it owns its guilt with a clear and
thorough apprehension; so that thence, as David speaks, thy “iniquity may
ever be before thee.”
(2.) Bring thy lust to the gospel, — not for relief,
but for farther conviction of its guilt; look on Him whom thou hast
pierced, and be in bitterness. Say to thy soul, “What have I done? What
love, what mercy, what blood, what grace have I despised and trampled on!
Is this the return I make to the Father for his love, to the Son for
his blood, to the Holy Ghost for his grace? Do I thus requite
the Lord? Have I defiled the heart that Christ died to wash, that the
blessed Spirit hath chosen to dwell in? And can I keep myself out of the
dust? What can I say to the dear Lord Jesus? How shall I hold up my head
with any boldness before him? Do I account communion with him of so little
value, that for this vile lust’s sake I have scarce left him any room in my
heart? How shall I escape if I neglect so great salvation? In the meantime,
what shall I say to the Lord? Love, mercy, grace, goodness, peace, joy,
consolation, — I have despised them all, and esteemed them as a thing of
nought, that I might harbour a lust in my heart. Have I obtained a view of
God’s fatherly countenance, that I might behold his face and provoke him to
his face? Was my soul washed, that room might be made for new defilements?
Shall I endeavour to disappoint the end of the death of Christ? Shall I
daily grieve that Spirit whereby I am sealed to the day of redemption?”
Entertain thy conscience daily with this treaty. See if it can stand before
this aggravation of its guilt. If this make it not sink in some measure and
melt, I fear thy case is dangerous.
2. Descend to particulars. As under the general head
of the gospel all the benefits of it are to be considered, as redemption,
justification, and the like; so, in particular, consider the management of
the love of them towards thine own soul, for the aggravation of the guilt
of thy corruption. As, —
(1.) Consider the infinite patience and forbearance
of God towards thee in particular. Consider what advantages he might have
taken against thee, to have made thee a shame and a reproach in this world,
and an object of wrath for ever; how thou hast dealt treacherously and falsely with him from time to time, flattered him
with thy lips, but broken all promises and engagements, and that by the
means of that sin thou art now in pursuit of; and yet he hath spared thee
from time to time, although thou seemest boldly to have put it to the trial
how long he could hold out. And wilt thou yet sin against him? wilt thou
yet weary him, and make him to serve with thy corruptions?
Hast thou not often been ready to conclude thyself, that it
was utterly impossible that he should bear any longer with thee; that he
would cast thee off, and be gracious no more; that all his forbearance was
exhausted, and hell and wrath was even ready prepared for thee? and yet,
above all thy expectation, he hath returned with visitations of love. And
wilt thou yet abide in the provocation of the eyes of his glory?
(2.) How often hast thou been at the door of being
hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, and by the infinite rich grace of
God hast been recovered to communion with him again?
Hast thou not found grace decaying; delight in duties,
ordinances, prayer and meditation, vanishing; inclinations to loose
careless walking, thriving; and they who before were entangled, almost
beyond recovery? Hast thou not found thyself engaged in such ways,
societies, companies, and that with delight, as God abhors? And wilt thou
venture any more to the brink of hardness?
(3.) All God’s gracious dealings with thee, in providential
dispensations, deliverances, afflictions, mercies, enjoyments, all ought
here to take place. By these, I say, and the like means, load thy
conscience; and leave it not until it be thoroughly affected with the guilt
of thy indwelling corruption, until it is sensible of its wound, and lie in
the dust before the Lord. Unless this be done to the purpose, all other
endeavours are to no purpose. Whilst the conscience hath any means to
alleviate the guilt of sin, the soul will never vigorously attempt its
mortification.
Fourthly.
Being thus affected with thy sin, in the next place get a constant
longing, breathing after deliverance from the power of it. Suffer not
thy heart one moment to be contented with thy present frame and condition.
Longing desires after any thing, in things natural and civil, are of no
value or consideration, any farther but as they incite and stir up the
person in whom they are to a diligent use of means for the bringing about
the thing aimed at. In spiritual things it is otherwise. Longing,
breathing, and panting after deliverance is a grace in itself, that hath a
mighty power to conform the soul into the likeness of the thing longed
after. Hence the apostle, describing the repentance and godly sorrow of the
Corinthians, reckons this as one eminent grace that was then set on work,
“Vehement desire,” 2 Cor. vii.
11. And in this case of indwelling sin and the power of it, what
frame doth he express himself to be in? Rom. vii. 24.
His heart breaks out with longings into a most passionate expression of
desire of deliverance. Now, if this be the frame of saints upon the general
consideration of indwelling sin, how is it to be heightened and increased
when thereunto is added the perplexing rage and power of any particular
lust and corruption! Assure thyself, unless thou longest for
deliverance thou shalt not have it.
This will make the heart watchful for all opportunities of
advantage against its enemy, and ready to close with any assistances that
are afforded for its destruction. Strong desires are the very life of that
“praying always” which is enjoined us in all conditions, and in none is
more necessary than in this; they set faith and hope on work, and are the
soul’s moving after the Lord.
Get thy heart, then, into a panting and breathing frame;
long, sigh, cry out. You know the example of David; I shall not need to
insist on it.
The fifth
direction is, —
Consider whether the distemper with which thou art
perplexed be not rooted in thy nature, and cherished, fomented, and
heightened from thy constitution. A proneness to some sins may
doubtless lie in the natural temper and disposition of men. In this case
consider, —
1. This is not in the least an extenuation of the
guilt of thy sin. Some, with an open profaneness, will ascribe gross
enormities to their temper and disposition; and whether others may not
relieve themselves from the pressing guilt of their distempers by the same
consideration, I know not. It is from the fall, from the original
depravation of our natures, that the fomes and nourishment of any
sin abides in our natural temper. David reckons his being shapen in
iniquity and conception in sin as an aggravation of
his following sin, not a lessening or extenuation of it. That thou art
peculiarly inclined unto any sinful distemper is but a peculiar breaking
out of original lust in thy nature, which should peculiarly abase and
humble thee.
2. That thou hast to fix upon on this account, in
reference to thy walking with God, is, that so great an advantage is given
to sin, as also to Satan, by this thy temper and disposition, that without
extraordinary watchfulness, care, and diligence, they will assuredly
prevail against thy soul. Thousands have been on this account hurried
headlong to hell, who otherwise, at least, might have gone at a more
gentle, less provoking, less mischievous rate.
3. For the mortification of any distemper so rooted in the
nature of a man, unto all other ways and means already named or
farther to be insisted on, there is one expedient peculiarly suited;
this is that of the apostle, 1 Cor. ix. 27,
“I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection.” The bringing of the
very body into subjection is an ordinance of God tending to the
mortification of sin. This gives check unto the natural root of the
distemper, and withers it by taking away its fatness of soil. Perhaps,
because the Papists, men ignorant of the righteousness of Christ, the work
of his Spirit, and whole business in hand, have laid the whole weight and
stress of mortification in voluntary services and penances, leading to the
subjection of the body, knowing indeed the true nature neither of sin nor
mortification, it may, on the other side, be a temptation to some to
neglect some means of humiliation which by God himself are owned and
appointed. The bringing of the body into subjection in the case insisted
on, by cutting short the natural appetite, by fasting, watching, and the
like, is doubtless acceptable to God, so it be done with the ensuing
limitations:—
(1.) That the outward weakening and impairing of the body
be not looked upon as a thing good in itself, or that any mortification
doth consist therein, — which were again to bring us under carnal
ordinances; but only as a means for the end proposed, — the weakening of
any distemper in its natural root and seat. A man may have leanness of body
and soul together.
(2.) That the means whereby this is done, — namely, by
fasting and watching, and the like, — be not looked on as things that in
themselves, and by virtue of their own power, can produce true
mortification of any sin; for if they would, sin might be mortified without
any help of the Spirit in any unregenerate person in the world. They are to
be looked on only as ways whereby the Spirit may, and sometimes doth, put
forth strength for the accomplishing of his own work, especially in the
case mentioned. Want of a right understanding and due improvement of these
and the like considerations, hath raised a mortification among the Papists
that may be better applied to horses and other beasts of the field than to
believers.
This is the sum of what hath been spoken: When the
distemper complained of seems to be rooted in the natural temper and
constitution, in applying our souls to a participation of the blood and
Spirit of Christ, an endeavour is to be used to give check in the way of
God to the natural root of that distemper.
The sixth
direction is, —
Consider what occasions, what advantages thy
distemper hath taken to exert and put forth itself, and watch against them
all.
This is one part of that duty which our blessed Saviour
recommends to his disciples under the name of watching: Mark xiii. 37, “I say unto
you all, Watch;” which, in Luke xxi.
34, is, “Take heed lest your hearts be overcharged.” Watch
against all eruptions of thy corruptions. I mean that duty which David
professed himself to be exercised unto. “I have,” saith he, “kept myself
from mine iniquity.” He watched all the ways and workings of his iniquity,
to prevent them, to rise up against them. This is that which we are called
unto under the name of “considering our ways.” Consider what ways, what
companies, what opportunities, what studies, what businesses, what
conditions, have at any time given, or do usually give, advantages to thy
distempers, and set thyself heedfully against them all. Men will do this
with respect unto their bodily infirmities and distempers. The seasons, the
diet, the air that have proved offensive shall be avoided. Are the things
of the soul of less importance? Know that he that dares to dally with
occasions of sin will dare to sin. He that will venture upon temptations
unto wickedness will venture upon wickedness. Hazael thought he should not
be so wicked as the prophet told him he would be. To convince him, the
prophet tells him no more but, “Thou shalt be king of Syria.” If he will
venture on temptations unto cruelty, he will be cruel. Tell a man he shall
commit such and such sins, he will startle at it. If you can convince him
that he will venture on such occasions and temptations of them, he will
have little ground left for his confidence. Particular directions belonging
to this head are many, not now to be insisted on. But because this head is
of no less importance than the whole doctrine here handled, I have at large
in another treatise, about entering into temptations, treated of it.
The seventh
direction is, —
Rise mightily against the first actings of thy
distemper, its first conceptions; suffer it not to get the least ground. Do
not say, “Thus far it shall go, and no farther.” If it have allowance for
one step, it will take another. It is impossible to fix bounds to sin. It
is like water in a channel, — if it once break out, it will have its
course. Its not acting is easier to be compassed than its bounding.
Therefore doth James give that gradation and process of lust, chap. i. 14, 15, that we may stop at the
entrance. Dost thou find thy corruption to begin to entangle thy thoughts?
rise up with all thy strength against it, with no less indignation than if
it had fully accomplished what it aims at. Consider what an unclean thought
would have; it would have thee roll thyself in folly and filth. Ask
envy what it would have; — murder and destruction is
at the end of it. Set thyself against it with no less vigour than if it had
utterly debased thee to wickedness. Without this course thou wilt not
prevail. As sin gets ground in the affections to delight in, it gets also
upon the understanding to slight it.
Chapter XII.
The eighth
direction: Thoughtfulness of the excellency of the majesty of God — Our
unacquaintedness with him proposed and considered.
Eighthly, Use
and exercise thyself to such meditations as may serve to fill thee at all
times with self-abasement and thoughts of thine own vileness; as,
—
1. Be much in thoughtfulness of the excellency of
the majesty of God and thine infinite, inconceivable distance from him.
Many thoughts of it cannot but fill thee with a sense of thine own
vileness, which strikes deep at the root of any indwelling sin. When Job
comes to a clear discovery of the greatness and the excellency of God, he
is filled with self-abhorrence and is pressed to humiliation, Job xlii. 5, 6. And in what state doth
the prophet Habakkuk affirm himself to be cast, upon the apprehension of
the majesty of God? chap. iii. 16.
“With God,” says Job, “is terrible majesty.” Hence were the thoughts of them of old, that when
they had seen God they should die. The Scripture abounds in this
self-abasing consideration, comparing the men of the earth to
“grasshoppers,” to “vanity,” the “dust of the balance,” in respect of
God. Be much in
thoughts of this nature, to abase the pride of thy heart, and to keep thy
soul humble within thee. There is nothing will render thee a greater
indisposition to be imposed on by the deceits of sin than such a frame of
heart. Think greatly of the greatness of God.
2. Think much of thine unacquaintedness with him.
Though thou knowest enough to keep thee low and humble, yet how little a
portion is it that thou knowest of him! The contemplation hereof cast that
wise man into that apprehension of himself which he expresses, Prov. xxx. 2–4, “Surely I am more
brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man. I neither
learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy. Who hath ascended up
into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who
hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established the ends of the
earth? what is his name, and what is his Son’s name, if thou canst tell?”
Labour with this also to take down the pride of thy heart. What dost thou
know of God? How little a portion is it! How immense is he in his nature!
Canst thou look without terror into the abyss of eternity? Thou canst not
bear the rays of his glorious being.
Because I look on this consideration of great use in our
walking with God, so far as it may have a consistency with that filial
boldness which is given us in Jesus Christ to draw nigh to the
throne of grace, I shall farther insist upon it, to give an abiding
impression of it to the souls of them who desire to walk humbly with
God.
Consider, then, I say, to keep thy heart in continual awe
of the majesty of God, that persons of the most high and eminent
attainment, of the nearest and most familiar communion with God, do yet in
this life know but a very little of him and his glory. God reveals his name
to Moses, — the most glorious attributes that he hath manifested in the
covenant of grace, Exod. xxxiv.
5, 6; yet all are but the “back parts” of God. All that he knows
by it is but little, low, compared to the perfections of his glory. Hence
it is with peculiar reference to Moses that it is said, “No man hath seen
God at any time,” John i. 18; of him in comparison with
Christ doth he speak, verse 17; and
of him it is here said, “No man,” no, not Moses, the most eminent among
them, “hath seen God at any time.” We speak much of God, can talk of him,
his ways, his works, his counsels, all the day long; the truth is, we know
very little of him. Our thoughts, our meditations, our expressions of him
are low, many of them unworthy of his glory, none of them reaching his
perfections.
You will say that Moses was under the law when God wrapped
up himself in darkness, and his mind in types and clouds and dark
institutions; — under the glorious shining of the gospel, which hath
brought life and immortality to light, God being revealed from his own
bosom, we now know him much more clearly, and as he is; we see his
face now, and not his back parts only, as Moses did.
Ans. 1. I acknowledge a vast and almost
inconceivable difference between the acquaintance we now have with God,
after his speaking to us by his own Son, and that which the generality of the saints had
under the law; for although their eyes were as good, sharp, and clear as
ours, their faith and spiritual understanding not behind ours, the object
as glorious unto them as unto us, yet our day is more clear than theirs
was, the clouds are blown away and scattered, the shadows of the night are gone and fled away,
the sun is risen, and the means of sight is made more eminent and clear
than formerly. Yet, —
2. That peculiar sight which Moses had of God, Exod. xxxiv., was a gospel-sight,
a sight of God as “gracious,” etc., and yet it is called but his “back
parts;” that is, but low and mean, in comparison of his excellencies and
perfections.
3. The apostle, exalting to the utmost this glory of light
above that of the law, manifesting that now the “vail” causing darkness is
taken away, so that with “open” or uncovered “face we behold the glory
of the Lord,” tells us how: “As in a glass,” 2 Cor. iii.
18. “In a glass,” how is that? Clearly, perfectly?
Alas, no! He tells you how that is, 1 Cor. xiii.
12, “We see through a glass, darkly,” saith he. It is not a
telescope that helps us to see things afar off, concerning which the
apostle speaks; and yet what poor helps are they! how short do we come of
the truth of things notwithstanding their assistance! It is a looking-glass
whereunto he alludes (where are only obscure species and images of things,
and not the things themselves), and a sight therein that he compares our
knowledge to. He tells you also that all that we do see, δι’ ἐσύπτρου , “by” or “through this glass,” is in
αἰνίγματι — in “a riddle,” in darkness
and obscurity. And speaking of himself, who surely was much more
clear-sighted than any now living, he tells us that he saw but ἐκ μέρους, — “in part.” He saw but the back
parts of heavenly things, verse 12,
and compares all the knowledge he had attained of God to that he had of
things when he was a child, verse 11. It
is a μέρος, short of the τὸ τέλειον· yea, such as καταργηθήσεται , — “it shall be destroyed,” or done
away. We know what weak, feeble, uncertain notions and apprehensions
children have of things of any abstruse consideration; how when they grow
up with any improvements of parts and abilities, those conceptions vanish,
and they are ashamed of them. It is the commendation of a child to love,
honour, believe, and obey his father; but for his science and notions, his
father knows his childishness and folly. Notwithstanding all our confidence
of high attainments, all our notions of God are but childish in respect of
his infinite perfections. We lisp and babble, and say we know not what, for
the most part, in our most accurate, as we think, conceptions and notions
of God. We may love, honour, believe, and obey our Father; and therewith he
accepts our childish thoughts, for they are but childish. We see but his
back parts; we know but little of him. Hence is that promise wherewith we
are so often supported and comforted in our distress, “We shall see him as
he is;” we shall see him “face to face;” “know as we are known; comprehend
that for which we are comprehended,” 1 Cor. xiii.
12, 1 John iii. 2; and positively, “Now we
see him not;” — all concluding that here we see but his back parts; not as
he is, but in a dark, obscure representation; not in the perfection of his
glory.
The queen of Sheba had heard much of Solomon, and framed
many great thoughts of his magnificence in her mind thereupon; but when she
came and saw his glory, she was forced to confess that the one half of the
truth had not been told her. We may suppose that we have here attained
great knowledge, clear and high thoughts of God; but, alas! when he shall
bring us into his presence we shall cry out, “We never knew him as he is;
the thousandth part of his glory, and perfection, and blessedness, never
entered into our hearts.”
The apostle tells us, 1 John iii.
2, that we know not what we ourselves shall be, — what we shall
find ourselves in the issue; much less will it enter into our hearts to
conceive what God is, and what we shall find him to be. Consider either him
who is to be known, or the way whereby we know him, and this will farther
appear:—
(1.) We know so little of God, because it is
God who is thus to be known, — that is, he who hath described
himself to us very much by this, that we cannot know him. What else
doth he intend where he calls himself invisible, incomprehensible, and the
like? — that is, he whom we do not, cannot, know as he is. And our farther
progress consists more in knowing what he is not, than what he is. Thus is
he described to be immortal, infinite, — that is, he is not, as we are,
mortal, finite, and limited. Hence is that glorious description of him,
1 Tim. vi. 16, “Who only hath
immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no
man hath seen, nor can see.” His light is such as no creature can approach
unto. He is not seen, not because he cannot be seen, but because we cannot
bear the sight of him. The light of God, in whom is no darkness, forbids
all access to him by any creature whatever. We who cannot behold the sun in
its glory are too weak to bear the beams of infinite brightness. On this
consideration, as was said, the wise man professeth himself “a very beast,
and not to have the understanding of a man,” Prov. xxx.
2; — that is, he knew nothing in comparison of God; so that he
seemed to have lost all his understanding when once he came to the
consideration of him, his work, and his ways.
In this consideration let our souls descend to some
particulars:—
[1.] For the being of God; we are so far from a
knowledge of it, so as to be able to instruct one another therein by words
and expressions of it, as that to frame any conceptions in our mind, with
such species and impressions of things as we receive the knowledge of all
other things by, is to make an idol to ourselves, and so to worship a god
of our own making, and not the God that made us. We may as well and as
lawfully hew him out of wood or stone as form him a being in our minds,
suited to our apprehensions. The utmost of the best of our thoughts of the
being of God is, that we can have no thoughts of it. Our knowledge of a
being is but low when it mounts no higher but only to know that we know it
not.
[2.] There be some things of God which he himself
hath taught us to speak of, and to regulate our expressions of them; but
when we have so done, we see not the things themselves; we know them not.
To believe and admire is all that we attain to. We profess,
as we are taught, that God is infinite, omnipotent, eternal; and we know
what disputes and notions there are about omnipresence, immensity,
infiniteness, and eternity. We have, I say, words and notions about these things; but as to the things themselves what do we know? what
do we comprehend of them? Can the mind of man do any more but swallow
itself up in an infinite abyss, which is as nothing; give itself up to what
it cannot conceive, much less express? Is not our understanding “brutish”
in the contemplation of such things, and is as if it were not? Yea, the
perfection of our understanding is, not to understand, and to rest there.
They are but the back parts of eternity and infiniteness that we have a
glimpse of. What shall I say of the Trinity, or the subsistence of distinct
persons in the same individual essence, — a mystery by many denied, because
by none understood, — a mystery, whose every letter is mysterious? Who can
declare the generation of the Son, the procession of the Spirit, or the
difference of the one from the other? But I shall not farther instance in
particulars. That infinite and inconceivable distance that is between him
and us keeps us in the dark as to any sight of his face or clear
apprehension of his perfections.
We know him rather by what he does than by what he is, — by
his doing us good than by his essential goodness; and how little a portion
of him, as Job speaks, is hereby discovered!
(2.) We know little of God, because it is faith
alone whereby here we know him. I shall not now discourse about the
remaining impressions on the hearts of all men by nature that there is a
God, nor what they may rationally be taught concerning that God from the
works of his creation and providence, which they see and behold. It is
confessedly, and that upon the woful experience of all ages, so weak, low,
dark, confused, that none ever on that account glorified God as they ought,
but, notwithstanding all their knowledge of God, were indeed “without God
in the world.”
The chief, and, upon the matter, almost only acquaintance
we have with God, and his dispensations of himself, is by faith. “He that
cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them
that diligently seek him,” Heb. xi. 6. Our
knowledge of him and his rewarding (the bottom of our obedience or coming
to him), is believing. “We walk by faith, and not by sight,” 2
Cor. v. 7; — Διὰ πίστεως οὐ διὰ
εἴδους· by faith, and so by faith as not to have any express idea,
image, or species of that which we believe. Faith is all the argument we
have of “things not seen,” Heb. xi. 1. I
might here insist upon the nature of it; and from all its concomitants and
concernments manifest that we know but the back parts of what we know by
faith only. As to its rise, it is built purely upon the testimony of Him
whom we have not seen: as the apostle speaks, “How can ye love him whom ye
have not seen?” — that is, whom you know not but by faith that he is. Faith
receives all upon his testimony, whom it receives to be only on his
own testimony. As to its nature, it is an assent upon testimony, not an evidence upon demonstration; and the object of it is, as was
said before, above us. Hence our faith, as was formerly observed, is called
a “seeing darkly, as in a glass.” All that we know this way (and all that
we know of God we know this way) is but low, and dark, and obscure.
But you will say, “All this is true, but yet it is only so
to them that know not God, perhaps, as he is revealed in Jesus Christ; with
them who do so it is otherwise. It is true, ‘No man hath seen God at any
time,’ but ‘the only-begotten Son, he hath revealed him,’ John
i. 18; and ‘the Son of God is come, and hath given us an
understanding, that we may know him that is true,’ 1 John v.
20. The illumination of ‘the glorious gospel of Christ, who is
the image of God,’ shineth upon believers, 2 Cor. iv. 4;
yea, and ‘God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, shines
into their hearts, to give them the knowledge of his glory in the face of
his Son,’ verse 6. So that ‘though we were
darkness,’ yet we are now ‘light in the Lord,’ Eph. v. 8. And
the apostle says, ‘We all with open face behold the glory of the Lord,’
2 Cor. iii. 18; and we are now so far
from being in such darkness, or at such a distance from God, that ‘our
communion and fellowship is with the Father and with his Son,’ 1
John i. 3. The light of the gospel whereby now God is revealed
is glorious; not a star, but the sun in his beauty is risen upon us, and
the vail is taken from our faces. So that though unbelievers, yea, and
perhaps some weak believers, may be in some darkness, yet those of any
growth or considerable attainments have a clear sight and view of the face
of God in Jesus Christ.”
To which I answer, —
[1.] The truth is, we all of us know enough of him
to love him more than we do, to delight in him and serve him, believe him,
obey him, put our trust in him, above all that we have hitherto attained.
Our darkness and weakness is no plea for our negligence and disobedience.
Who is it that hath walked up to the knowledge that he hath had of the
perfections, excellencies, and will of God? God’s end in giving us any
knowledge of himself here is that we may “glorify him as God;” that is,
love him, serve him, believe and obey him, — give him all the honour and
glory that is due from poor sinful creatures to a sin-pardoning God and
Creator. We must all acknowledge that we were never thoroughly transformed
into the image of that knowledge which we have had. And had we used our
talents well, we might have been trusted with more.
[2.] Comparatively, that knowledge which we have of
God by the revelation of Jesus Christ in the gospel is exceeding eminent
and glorious. It is so in comparison of any knowledge of God that might
otherwise be attained, or was delivered in the law under the Old Testament,
which had but the shadow of good things, not the express image
of them; this the apostle pursues at large, 2 Cor. iii. Christ
hath now in these last days revealed the Father from his own bosom,
declared his name, made known his mind, will, and counsel in a far more
clear, eminent, distinct manner than he did formerly, whilst he kept his
people under the pedagogy of the law; and this is that which, for the most
part, is intended in the places before mentioned. The clear, perspicuous
delivery and declaration of God and his will in the gospel is expressly
exalted in comparison of any other way of revelation of himself.
[3.] The difference between believers and unbelievers as to
knowledge is not so much in the matter of their knowledge as in
the manner of knowing. Unbelievers, some of them, may know more and
be able to say more of God, his perfections, and his will, than many
believers; but they know nothing as they ought, nothing in a right manner,
nothing spiritually and savingly, nothing with a holy, heavenly light. The
excellency of a believer is, not that he hath a large apprehension of
things, but that what he doth apprehend, which perhaps may be very little,
he sees it in the light of the Spirit of God, in a saving,
soul-transforming light; and this is that which gives us communion with
God, and not prying thoughts or curious-raised notions.
[4.] Jesus Christ by his word and Spirit reveals to the
hearts of all his, God as a Father, as a God in covenant, as a rewarder,
every way sufficiently to teach us to obey him here, and to lead us to his
bosom, to lie down there in the fruition of him to eternity. But yet
now,
[5.] Notwithstanding all this, it is but a little
portion we know of him; we see but his back parts. For, —
1st. The intendment of all gospel revelation is, not
to unvail God’s essential glory, that we should see him as he is,
but merely to declare so much of him as he knows sufficient to be a bottom
of our faith, love, obedience, and coming to him, — that is, of the faith
which here he expects from us; such services as beseem poor creatures in
the midst of temptations. But when he calls us to eternal admiration and
contemplation, without interruption, he will make a new manner of discovery
of himself, and the whole shape of things, as it now lies before us, will
depart as a shadow.
2dly. We are dull and slow of heart to receive the
things that are in the word revealed; God, by our infirmity and weakness,
keeping us in continual dependence on him for teachings and revelations of
himself out of his word, never in this world bringing any soul to the
utmost of what is from the word to be made out and discovered: so that
although the way of revelation in the gospel be clear and evident, yet we
know little of the things themselves that are revealed.
Let us, then, revive the use and intendment of
this consideration: Will not a due apprehension of this inconceivable
greatness of God, and that infinite distance wherein we stand from him,
fill the soul with a holy and awful fear of him, so as to keep it in a
frame unsuited to the thriving or flourishing of any lust whatever? Let the
soul be continually wonted to reverential thoughts of God’s greatness and
omnipresence, and it will be much upon its watch as to any undue
deportments. Consider him with whom you have to do, — even “our God is a
consuming fire;” and in your greatest abashments at his presence and eye,
know that your very nature is too narrow to bear apprehensions suitable to
his essential glory.
Chapter XIII.
The ninth direction:
When the heart is disquieted by sin, speak no peace to it until God speak
it — Peace, without detestation of sin, unsound; so is peace measured out
unto ourselves — How we may know when we measure our peace unto ourselves —
Directions as to that inquiry — The vanity of speaking peace slightly; also
of doing it on one singular account, not universally.
Ninethly, In
case God disquiet the heart about the guilt of its distempers, either in
respect of its root and indwelling, or in respect of any eruptions of it,
take heed thou speakest not peace to thyself before God speaks it; but
hearken what he says to thy soul. This is our next direction, without
the observation whereof the heart will be exceedingly exposed to the
deceitfulness of sin.
This is a business of great importance. It is a sad thing
for a man to deceive his own soul herein. All the warnings God gives us, in
tenderness to our souls, to try and examine ourselves, do tend to the
preventing of this great evil of speaking peace groundlessly to ourselves;
which is upon the issue to bless ourselves, in an opposition to God. It is
not my business to insist upon the danger of it, but to help believers to
prevent it, and to let them know when they do so.
To manage this direction aright observe, —
1. That as it is the great prerogative and
sovereignty of God to give grace to whom he pleases (“He hath mercy on
whom he will,” Rom. ix. 18; and among all the sons of
men, he calls whom he will, and sanctifies whom he will), so among those so
called and justified, and whom he will save, he yet reserves this privilege
to himself, to speak peace to whom he pleaseth, and in what degree he
pleaseth, even amongst them on whom he hath bestowed grace. He is the “God of all consolation,” in an especial manner in his dealing with
believers; that is, of the good things that he keeps locked up in his
family, and gives out of it to all his children at his pleasure. This the
Lord insists on, Isa. lvii.
16–18. It is the case under consideration that is there insisted
on. When God says he will heal their breaches and disconsolations, he
assumes this privilege to himself in an especial manner: “I create it,”
verse 19; — “Even in respect of these
poor wounded creatures I create it, and according to my sovereignty make it
out as I please.”
Hence, as it is with the collation of grace in
reference to them that are in the state of nature, — God doth it in great
curiosity, and his proceedings therein in taking and leaving, as to outward
appearances, quite besides and contrary ofttimes to all probable
expectations; so is it in his communications of peace and joy in
reference unto them that are in the state of grace, — he gives them out
ofttimes quite besides our expectation, as to any appearing grounds of his
dispensations.
2. As God creates it for whom he pleaseth, so it is
the prerogative of Christ to speak it home to the conscience. Speaking to
the church of Laodicea, who had healed her wounds falsely, and spoke peace
to herself when she ought not, he takes to himself that title, “I am the
Amen, the faithful Witness,” Rev. iii. 14. He
bears testimony concerning our condition as it is indeed. We may possibly
mistake, and trouble ourselves in vain, or flatter ourselves upon false
grounds, but he is the “Amen, the faithful Witness;” and what he speaks of
our state and condition, that it is indeed. Isa. xi. 3, He
is said not to “judge after the sight of his eyes,” — not according to any
outward appearance, or any thing that may be subject to a mistake, as we
are apt to do; but he shall judge and determine every cause as it is
indeed.
Take these two previous observations, and I shall give some
rules whereby men may know whether God speaks peace to them, or whether
they speak peace to themselves only:—
1. Men certainly speak peace to themselves when their so
doing is not attended with the greatest detestation imaginable of
that sin in reference whereunto they do speak peace to themselves, and
abhorrency of themselves for it. When men are wounded by sin, disquieted
and perplexed, and knowing that there is no remedy for them but only in the
mercies of God, through the blood of Christ, do therefore look to him, and
to the promises of the covenant in him, and thereupon quiet their hearts
that it shall be well with them, and that God will be exalted, that he may
be gracious to them, and yet their souls are not wrought to the greatest
detestation of the sin or sins upon the account whereof they are
disquieted, — this is to heal themselves, and not to be healed
of God. This is but a great and strong wind, that the Lord is nigh unto,
but the Lord is not in the wind. When men do truly “look upon Christ whom
they have pierced,” without which there is no healing or peace, they will
“mourn,” Zech. xii. 10; they will mourn for him,
even upon this account, and detest the sin that pierced him. When we go to
Christ for healing, faith eyes him peculiarly as one pierced. Faith takes
several views of Christ, according to the occasions of address to him and
communion with him that it hath. Sometimes it views his holiness, sometimes
his power, sometimes his love, [sometimes] his favour with his Father. And
when it goes for healing and peace, it looks especially on the blood of the
covenant, on his sufferings; for “with his stripes we are healed, and the
chastisement of our peace was upon him,” Isa. liii. 5.
When we look for healing, his stripes are to be eyed, — not in the outward
story of them, which is the course of popish devotionists, but in the love,
kindness, mystery, and design of the cross; and when we look for peace, his
chastisements must be in our eye. Now this, I say, if it be done according
to the mind of God, and in the strength of that Spirit which is poured out
on believers, it will beget a detestation of that sin or sins for which
healing and peace is sought. So Ezek. xvi.
60, 61, “Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in
the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting
covenant.” And what then? “Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be
ashamed.” When God comes home to speak peace in a sure covenant of it, it
fills the soul with shame for all the ways whereby it hath been alienated
from him. And one of the things that the apostle mentions as attending that
godly sorrow which is accompanied with repentance unto salvation, never to
be repented of, is revenge: “Yea, what revenge!” 2 Cor. vii.
11. They reflected on their miscarriages with indignation and
revenge, for their folly in them. When Job comes up to a thorough healing,
he cries, “Now I abhor myself,” Job xlii. 6; and
until he did so, he had no abiding peace. He might perhaps have made up
himself with that doctrine of free grace which was so excellently preached
by Elihu, chap. xxxiii.
from verse 14 unto 30; but he had then but skinned his wounds:
he must come to self-abhorrency if he come to healing. So was it with those
in Ps. lxxviii. 33–35, in their great
trouble and perplexity, for and upon the account of sin. I doubt not but
upon the address they made to God in Christ (for that so they did is
evident from the titles they gave him; they call him their Rock and their
Redeemer, two words everywhere pointing out the Lord Christ), they spake
peace to themselves; but was it sound and abiding? No; it passed away as
the early dew. God speaks not one word of peace to their souls. But why had
they not peace? Why, because in their address to God, they flattered him.
But how doth that appear? Verse 37: “Their
heart was not right with him, neither were they steadfast;” they had not a
detestation nor relinquishment of that sin in reference whereunto they
spake peace to themselves. Let a man make what application he will for
healing and peace, let him do it to the true Physician, let him do it the
right way, let him quiet his heart in the promises of the covenant; yet,
when peace is spoken, if it be not attended with the detestation and
abhorrency of that sin which was the wound and caused the disquietment,
this is no peace of God’s creating, but of our own
purchasing. It is but a skinning over the wound, whilst the core lies
at the bottom, which will putrefy, and corrupt, and corrode, until it break
out again with noisomeness, vexation, and danger. Let not poor souls that
walk in such a path as this, who are more sensible of the trouble of sin
than of the pollution of uncleanness that attends it; who address
themselves for mercy, yea, to the Lord in Christ they address themselves
for mercy, but yet will keep the sweet morsel of their sin under their
tongue; — let them, I say, never think to have true and solid peace. For
instance, thou findest thy heart running out after the world, and it
disturbs thee in thy communion with God; the Spirit speaks expressly to
thee, — “He that loveth the world, the love of the Father is not in
him.” This puts
thee on dealing with God in Christ for the healing of thy soul, the
quieting of thy conscience; but yet, withal, a thorough detestation of the
evil itself abides not upon thee; yea, perhaps that is liked well enough,
but only in respect of the consequences of it. Perhaps thou mayst be saved,
yet as through fire, and God will have some work with thee before he hath
done; but thou wilt have little peace in this life, — thou wilt be sick and
fainting all thy days, Isa. lvii. 17.
This is a deceit that lies at the root of the peace of many professors and
wastes it. They deal with all their strength about mercy and pardon, and
seem to have great communion with God in their so doing; they lie before
him, bewail their sins and follies, that any one would think, yea, they
think themselves, that surely they and their sins are now parted; and so
receive in mercy that satisfies their hearts for a little season. But when
a thorough search comes to be made, there hath been some secret reserve for
the folly or follies treated about, — at least, there hath not been that
thorough abhorrency of it which is necessary; and their whole peace is
quickly discovered to be weak and rotten, scarce abiding any longer than
the words of begging it are in their mouths.
2. When men measure out peace to themselves upon the
conclusions that their convictions and rational principles will
carry them out unto, this is a false peace, and will not abide. I shall a
little explain what I mean hereby. A man hath got a wound by sin; he hath a
conviction of some sin upon his conscience; he hath not walked
uprightly as becometh the gospel; all is not well and right between God and
his soul. He considers now what is to be done. Light he hath, and knows
what path he must take, and how his soul hath been formerly healed.
Considering that the promises of God are the outward means of application
for the healing of his sores and quieting of his heart, he goes to them,
searches them out, finds out some one or more of them whose literal
expressions are directly suited to his condition. Says he to himself, “God
speaks in this promise; here I will take myself a plaster as long and broad
as my wound;” and so brings the word of the promise to his condition, and
sets him down in peace. This is another appearance upon the mount; the Lord
is near, but the Lord is not in it. It hath not been the work of the
Spirit, who alone can “convince us of sin, and righteousness, and
judgment,” but the mere
actings of the intelligent, rational soul. As there are three sorts of
lives, we say, — the vegetative, the sensitive, and the rational or
intelligent, — some things have only the vegetative; some the sensitive
also, and that includes the former; some have the rational, which takes in
and supposes both the other. Now, he that hath the rational doth not only
act suitably to that principle, but also to both the others, — he grows and
is sensible. It is so with men in the things of God. Some are mere
natural and rational men; some have a superadded conviction
with illumination; and some are truly regenerate. Now, he that hath
the latter hath also both the former; and therefore he acts sometimes upon
the principles of the rational, sometimes upon the principles of the
enlightened man. His true spiritual life is not the principle of all his
motions; he acts not always in the strength thereof, neither are all his
fruits from that root. In this case that I speak of, he acts merely upon
the principle of conviction and illumination, whereby his first naturals
are heightened; but the Spirit breathes not at all upon all these waters.
Take an instance: Suppose the wound and disquiet of the soul to be upon the
account of relapses, — which, whatever the evil or folly be, though for the
matter of it never so small, yet there are no wounds deeper than those that
are given the soul on that account, nor disquietments greater; — in the
perturbation of his mind, he finds out that promise, Isa.
lv. 7, “The Lord
will have mercy, and our God will abundantly pardon,” — he will multiply or
add to pardon, he will do it again and again; or that in Hos.
xiv. 4, “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them
freely.” This the man considers, and thereupon concludes peace to himself;
whether the Spirit of God make the application or no, whether that gives
life and power to the letter or no, that he regards not. He doth not
hearken whether God the Lord speak peace. He doth not wait upon
God, who perhaps yet hides his face, and sees the poor creature stealing
peace and running away with it, knowing that the time will come when he
will deal with him again, and call him to a new reckoning; when he shall see that it is in vain to go one
step where God doth not take him by the hand.
I see here, indeed, sundry other questions upon this
arising and interposing themselves. I cannot apply myself to them all: one
I shall a little speak to.
It may be said, then, “Seeing that this seems to be the
path that the Holy Spirit leads us in for the healing of our wounds and
quieting of our hearts, how shall we know when we go alone ourselves, and
when the Spirit also doth accompany us?”
Ans. (1.) If any of you are out of the way upon this
account, God will speedily let you know it; for besides that you have his
promise, that the “meek he will guide in judgment and teach them his way,”
Ps. xxv. 9, he will not let you always
err. He will, I say, not suffer your nakedness to be covered with
fig-leaves, but take them away and all the peace you have in them, and will
not suffer you to settle on such lees. You shall quickly know your wound is
not healed; that is, you shall speedily know whether or no it be thus with
you by the event. The peace you thus get and obtain will not abide. Whilst
the mind is overpowered by its own convictions, there is no hold for
disquietments to fix upon. Stay a little, and all these reasonings will
grow cold and vanish before the face of the first temptation that arises.
But, —
(2.) This course is commonly taken without waiting;
which is the grace, and that peculiar acting of faith which God calls for,
to be exercised in such a condition. I know God doth sometimes come in upon
the soul instantly, in a moment, as it were, wounding and healing it, — as
I am persuaded it was in the case of David, when he cut off the lap of
Saul’s garment; but ordinarily, in such a case, God calls for waiting and labouring, attending as the eye of a
servant upon his master. Says the prophet Isaiah, chap.
viii. 17, “I will wait upon the Lord, who hideth his face from the
house of Jacob.” God will have his children lie a while at his door when
they have run from his house, and not instantly rush in upon him; unless he
take them by the hand and pluck them in, when they are so ashamed that they
dare not come to him. Now, self-healers, or men that speak peace to
themselves, do commonly make haste; they will not tarry; they do not
hearken what God speaks, but on they will go to be healed.
(3.) Such a course, though it may quiet the conscience and
the mind, the rational concluding part of the soul, yet it doth not
sweeten the heart with rest and gracious contentation.
The answer it receives is much like that Elisha gave Naaman, “Go in
peace;” it quieted his mind, but I much question
whether it sweetened his heart, or gave him any joy in believing, other
than the natural joy that was then stirred in him upon his healing. “Do not
my words do good?” saith the Lord, Micah ii. 7. When
God speaks, there is not only truth in his words, that may answer the
conviction of our understandings, but also they do good; they bring that
which is sweet, and good, and desirable to the will and affections; by them
the “soul returns unto its rest,” Ps. cxvi. 7.
(4.) Which is worst of all, it amends not the life,
it heals not the evil, it cures not the distemper. When God speaks peace,
it guides and keeps the soul that it “turn not again to folly.” When we speak it ourselves, the heart is not taken
off the evil; nay, it is the readiest course in the world to bring a soul
into a trade of backsliding. If, upon thy plastering thyself, thou findest
thyself rather animated to the battle again than utterly weaned from it, it
is too palpable that thou hast been at work with thine own soul, but Jesus
Christ and his Spirit were not there. Yea, and oftentimes nature having
done its work, will, ere a few days are over, come for its reward; and,
having been active in the work of healing, will be ready to reason for a
new wounding. In God’s speaking peace there comes along so much sweetness,
and such a discovery of his love, as is a strong obligation on the soul no
more to deal perversely.
3. We speak peace to ourselves when we do it
slightly. This the prophet complains of in some teachers: Jer.
vi. 14, “They have healed the wound of the daughter of my people
slightly.” And it is so with some persons: they make the healing of their
wounds a slight work; a look, a glance of faith to the promises does it,
and so the matter is ended. The apostle tells us that “the word did not
profit” some, because “it was not mixed with faith,” Heb. iv.
2, — μὴ συγκεκραμένος· “it
was not well tempered” and mingled with faith. It is not a mere look to the
word of mercy in the promise, but it must be mingled with faith until it is
incorporated into the very nature of it; and then, indeed, it doth good
unto the soul. If thou hast had a wound upon thy conscience, which was
attended with weakness and disquietness, which now thou art freed of, how
camest thou so? “I looked to the promises of pardon and healing, and so
found peace.” Yea, but perhaps thou hast made too much haste, thou hast
done it overtly, thou hast not fed upon the promise so as to mix it with
faith, to have got all the virtue of it diffused into thy soul; only thou
hast done it slightly. Thou wilt find thy wound, ere it be long, breaking
out again; and thou shalt know that thou art not cured.
4. Whoever speaks peace to himself upon any one
account, and at the same time hath another evil of no less
importance lying upon his spirit, about which he hath had no dealing
with God, that man cries “Peace” when there is none. A little to explain my
meaning: A man hath neglected a duty again and again, perhaps, when in all
righteousness it was due from him; his conscience is perplexed, his soul
wounded, he hath no quiet in his bones by reason of his sin; he applies
himself for healing, and finds peace. Yet, in the meantime, perhaps,
worldliness, or pride, or some other folly, wherewith the Spirit of God is
exceedingly grieved, may lie in the bosom of that man, and they neither
disturb him nor he them. Let not that man think that any of his peace is
from God. Then shall it be well with men, when they have an equal respect
to all God’s commandments. God will justify us from our sins, but he
will not justify the least sin in us: “He is a God of purer eyes
than to behold iniquity.”
5. When men of themselves speak peace to their consciences,
it is seldom that God speaks humiliation to their souls. God’s peace
is humbling peace, melting peace, as it was in the case of David; never such deep humiliation as when Nathan brought
him the tidings of his pardon.
But you will say, “When may we take the comfort of a
promise as our own, in relation to some peculiar wound, for the quieting
the heart?”
First, In general, when God speaks it, be it when it will,
sooner or later. I told you before, he may do it in the very instant of the
sin itself, and that with such irresistible power that the soul must needs
receive his mind in it; sometimes he will make us wait longer: but when he
speaks, be it sooner or later, be it when we are sinning or repenting, be
the condition of our souls what they please, if God speak, he must be
received. There is not any thing that, in our communion with him, the Lord
is more troubled with us for, if I may so say, than our unbelieving fears,
that keep us off from receiving that strong consolation which he is so
willing to give to us.
But you will say, “We are where we were. When God speaks
it, we must receive it, that is true; but how shall we know when he
speaks?”
(1.) I would we could all practically come up to this, to
receive peace when we are convinced that God speaks it, and that it is our
duty to receive it. But, —
(2.) There is, if I may so say, a secret instinct in faith,
whereby it knows the voice of Christ when he speaks indeed; as the babe
leaped in the womb when the blessed Virgin came to Elisabeth, faith leaps
in the heart when Christ indeed draws nigh to it. “My sheep,” says Christ, “know my voice,” John x. 4; —
“They know my voice; they are used to the sound of it;” and they know when
his lips are opened to them and are full of grace. The spouse was in a sad
condition, Cant. v. 2, — asleep in security; but yet
as soon as Christ speaks, she cries, “It is the voice of my beloved that
speaks!” She knew his voice, and was so acquainted with communion with him,
that instantly she discovers him; and so will you also. If you exercise
yourselves to acquaintance and communion with him, you will easily discern
between his voice and the voice of a stranger. And take this κριτήριον with you: When he doth speak, he
speaks as never man spake; he speaks with power, and one way or other will
make your “hearts burn within you,” as he did to the disciples, Luke
xxiv. He doth it by “putting in his hand at the hole of the
door,” Cant. v. 4, — his Spirit into your hearts
to seize on you.
He that hath his senses exercised to discern good or evil,
being increased in judgment and experience by a constant observation of the
ways of Christ’s intercourse, the manner of the operations of the Spirit,
and the effects it usually produceth, is the best judge for himself in this
case.
Secondly, If the word of the Lord doth good to your souls,
he speaks it; if it humble, if it cleanse, and be useful to those ends for
which promises are given, — namely, to endear, to cleanse, to melt and bind
to obedience, to self-emptiness, etc. But this is not my business; nor
shall I farther divert in the pursuit of this direction. Without the
observation of it, sin will have great advantages towards the hardening of
the heart.
Chapter XIV.
The general use of the foregoing directions — The great direction
for the accomplishment of the work aimed at: Act faith on Christ — The
several ways whereby this may be done — Consideration of the fulness in
Christ for relief proposed — Great expectations from Christ — Grounds of
these expectations: his mercifulness, his faithfulness — Event of such
expectations; on the part of Christ; on the part of believers — Faith
peculiarly to be acted on the death of Christ, Rom. vi.
3–6 — The work of the Spirit in this whole business.
Now, the
considerations which I have hitherto insisted on are rather of things
preparatory to the work aimed at than such as will effect it.
It is the heart’s due preparation for the work itself, without which it
will not be accomplished, that hitherto I have aimed at.
Directions for the work itself are very few; I
mean that are peculiar to it. And they are these that follow:—
1. Set faith at work on Christ for the killing of
thy sin. His blood is the great sovereign remedy for sin-sick souls. Live
in this, and thou wilt die a conqueror; yea, thou wilt, through the good
providence of God, live to see thy lust dead at thy feet.
But thou wilt say, “How shall faith act itself on Christ
for this end and purpose?” I say, Sundry ways:—
(1.) By faith fill thy soul with a due consideration of
that provision which is laid up in Jesus Christ for this end and
purpose, that all thy lusts, this very lust wherewith thou art entangled,
may be mortified. By faith ponder on this, that though thou art no way able
in or by thyself to get the conquest over thy distemper, though thou art
even weary of contending, and art utterly ready to faint, yet that there is
enough in Jesus Christ to yield thee relief, Phil. iv.
13. It staid the prodigal, when he was ready to faint, that yet there was bread enough in
his father’s house; though he was at a distance from it, yet it relieved
him, and staid him, that there it was. In thy greatest distress and
anguish, consider that fulness of grace, those riches, those treasures of strength, might, and help,
that are laid up in him for our support, John i. 16,
Col. i. 19. Let them come into and abide
in thy mind. Consider that he is “exalted and made a Prince and a Saviour
to give repentance unto Israel,” Acts v. 31;
and if to give repentance, to give mortification, without which the other
is not, nor can be. Christ tells us that we obtain purging grace by abiding
in him, John xv. 3. To act faith upon the
fulness that is in Christ for our supply is an eminent way of abiding in
Christ, for both our insition and abode is by faith, Rom. xi. 19, 20. Let, then, thy soul
by faith be exercised with such thoughts and apprehensions as these: “I am
a poor, weak creature; unstable as water, I cannot excel. This corruption
is too hard for me, and is at the very door of ruining my soul; and what to
do I know not. My soul is become as parched ground, and an habitation of
dragons. I have made promises and broken them; vows and engagements have
been as a thing of nought. Many persuasions have I had that I had got the
victory and should be delivered, but I am deceived; so that I plainly see,
that without some eminent succour and assistance, I am lost, and shall be
prevailed on to an utter relinquishment of God. But yet, though this be my
state and condition, let the hands that hang down be lifted up, and the
feeble knees be strengthened. Behold, the Lord Christ, that hath all fulness of
grace in his heart, all fulness of power in his hand, he is able to slay
all these his enemies. There is sufficient provision in him for my relief
and assistance. He can take my drooping, dying soul and make me
more than a conqueror. ‘Why sayest
thou, O my soul, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over
from my God? Hast thou not known, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting
God, the Lord, the Creator of
the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no
searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them
that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and
be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: but they that wait upon the
Lord shall renew their
strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not
be weary; they shall walk, and not faint,’ Isa.
xl. 27–31. He can make the ‘dry, parched ground of my soul to
become a pool, and my thirsty, barren heart as springs of water;’ yea, he
can make this ‘habitation of dragons,’ this heart, so full of abominable
lusts and fiery temptations, to be a place for ‘grass’ and fruit to
himself,” Isa. xxxv. 7. So God staid Paul, under
his temptation, with the consideration of the sufficiency of his grace: “My
grace is sufficient for thee,” 2 Cor. xii. 9.
Though he were not immediately so far made partaker of it as to be freed
from his temptation, yet the sufficiency of it in God, for that end and
purpose, was enough to stay his spirit. I say, then, by faith, be much in
the consideration of that supply and the fulness of it that is in Jesus
Christ, and how he can at any time give thee strength and deliverance. Now,
if hereby thou dost not find success to a conquest, yet thou wilt be staid
in the chariot, that thou shalt not fly out of the field until the battle
be ended; thou wilt be kept from an utter despondency and a lying down
under thy unbelief, or a turning aside to false means and remedies, that in
the issue will not relieve thee. The efficacy of this consideration will be
found only in the practice.
(2.) Raise up thy heart by faith to an expectation of
relief from Christ. Relief in this case from Christ is like the
prophet’s vision, Hab. ii. 3, “It is for an appointed time,
but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, yet wait for
it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” Though it may seem
somewhat long to thee, whilst thou art under thy trouble and perplexity,
yet it shall surely come in the appointed time of the Lord Jesus; which is
the best season. If, then, thou canst raise up thy heart to a settled
expectation of relief from Jesus Christ, — if thine eyes are towards him
“as the eyes of a servant to the hand of his master,” when he expects to receive somewhat from him, —
thy soul shall be satisfied, he will assuredly deliver thee; he will slay
the lust, and thy latter end shall be peace. Only look for it at his hand;
expect when and how he will do it. “If ye will not
believe, surely ye shall not be established.”
But wilt thou say, “What ground have I to build
such an expectation upon, so that I may expect not to be deceived?”
As thou hast necessity to put thee on this course, thou
must be relieved and saved this way or none. To whom wilt thou go? So there are in the Lord Jesus
innumerable things to encourage and engage thee to this expectation.
For the necessity of it, I have in part discovered it
before, when I manifested that this is the work of faith and of believers
only. “Without me,” says Christ, “ye can do nothing,” John
xv. 5; speaking with especial relation to the purging of the
heart from sin, verse 2. Mortification of any sin must
be by a supply of grace. Of ourselves we cannot do it. Now, “it hath
pleased the Father that in Christ should all fulness dwell,” Col.
i. 19; that “of his fulness we might receive grace for grace,”
John i. 16. He is the head from whence
the new man must have influences of life and strength, or it will decay
every day. If we are
“strengthened with might in the inner man,” it is by “Christ’s dwelling in
our hearts by faith,” Eph. iii. 16,
17. That this work is not to be done without the Spirit I have
also showed before. Whence, then, do we expect the Spirit? from whom do we
look for him? who hath promised him to us, having procured him for us?
Ought not all our expectations to this purpose to be on Christ alone? Let
this, then, be fixed upon thy heart, that if thou hast not relief from him
thou shalt never have any. All ways, endeavours, contendings, that are not
animated by this expectation of relief from Christ and him only are to no
purpose, will do thee no good; yea, if they are any thing but supportments
of thy heart in this expectation, or means appointed by himself for the
receiving help from him, they are in vain.
Now, farther to engage thee to this expectation, —
(1.) Consider his mercifulness, tenderness, and
kindness, as he is our great High Priest at the right hand of God.
Assuredly he pities thee in thy distress; saith he, “As one whom his mother
comforteth, so will I comfort you,” Isa. lxvi. 13.
He hath the tenderness of a mother to a sucking child. Heb. ii. 17, 18, “Wherefore in all
things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a
merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make
reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath
suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.” How
is the ability of Christ upon the account of his suffering proposed to us?
“In that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able.” Did the
sufferings and temptations of Christ add to his ability and power? Not,
doubtless, considered absolutely and in it itself. But the ability here
mentioned is such as hath readiness, proneness, willingness to
put itself forth, accompanying of it; it is an ability of will against all
dissuasions. He is able, having suffered and been tempted, to break through
all dissuasions to the contrary, to relieve poor tempted souls: Δύναται βοηθῆσαι, — “He is able to help.” It
is a metonymy of the effect; for, he can now be moved to help, having been
so tempted. So chap. iv. 15,
16: “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with
the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we
are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of
grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
The exhortation of verse 16 is the same that I am upon, —
namely, that we would entertain expectations of relief from Christ, which
the apostle there calls χάριν εἰς εὔκαιρον
βοήθειαν, “grace for seasonable help.” “If ever,” says the soul,
“help were seasonable, it would be so to me in my present condition. This
is that which I long for, — grace for seasonable help. I am ready to die,
to perish, to be lost for ever; iniquity will prevail against me, if help
come not in.” Says the apostle, “Expect this help, this relief, this grace
from Christ.” Yea, but on what account? That which he lays down, verse
15. And we may observe that the word, verse 16,
which we have translated to “obtain,” is λαβωμεν. Ἵνα λάβωμεν
ἔλεον, “That we may receive it;” suitable and seasonable help will
come in. I shall freely say, this one thing of establishing the soul by
faith in expectation of relief from Jesus Christ, on the account of his mercifulness as our high
priest, will be more available to the ruin of thy lust and distemper, and
have a better and speedier issue, than all the rigidest means of
self-maceration that ever any of the sons of men engaged themselves unto.
Yea, let me add, that never any soul did or shall perish by the power of
any lust, sin, or corruption, who could raise his soul by faith to an
expectation of relief from Jesus Christ.
(2.) Consider His faithfulness who hath promised;
which may raise thee up and confirm thee in this waiting in an expectation
of relief. He hath promised to relieve in such cases, and he will fulfil
his word to the utmost. God tells us that his covenant with us is like the
“ordinances” of heaven, the sun, moon, and stars, which have their certain
courses, Jer. xxxi. 36. Thence David said that he
watched for relief from God “as one watched for the morning,” — a thing that will certainly come in its
appointed season. So will be thy relief from Christ. It will come in its
season, as the dew and rain upon the parched ground; for faithful is he who
hath promised. Particular promises to this purpose are innumerable; with
some of them, that seem peculiarly to suit his condition, let the soul be
always furnished.
Now, there are two eminent advantages which
always attend this expectation of succour from Jesus Christ:—
[1.] It engages him to a full and speedy assistance.
Nothing doth more engage the heart of a man to be useful and helpful to
another than his expectation of help from him, if justly raised and
countenanced by him who is to give the relief. Our Lord Jesus hath raised
our hearts, by his kindness, care, and promises, to this expectation;
certainly our rising up unto it must needs be a great engagement upon him
to assist us accordingly. This the Psalmist gives us as an approved maxim,
“Thou, Lord, never forsakest
them that put their trust in thee.” When the heart is once won to rest in
God, to repose himself on him, he will assuredly satisfy it. He will never
be as water that fails; nor hath he said at any time to the seed of Jacob,
“Seek ye my face in vain.” If Christ be chosen for the foundation of our
supply, he will not fail us.
[2.] It engages the heart to attend diligently to all the
ways and means whereby Christ is wont to communicate himself to the soul;
and so takes in the real assistance of all graces and ordinances whatever.
He that expects any thing from a man, applies himself to the ways and means
whereby it may be obtained. The beggar that expects an alms lies at his
door or in his way from whom he doth expect it. The way whereby and the
means wherein Christ communicates himself is, and are, his ordinances
ordinarily; he that expects any thing from him must attend upon him
therein. It is the expectation of faith that sets the heart on work. It is
not an idle, groundless hope that I speak of. If now there be any vigour,
efficacy, and power in prayer or sacrament to this end of mortifying sin, a
man will assuredly be interested in it all by this expectation of relief
from Christ. On this account I reduce all particular actings, by prayer,
meditation, and the like, to this head; and so shall not farther insist on
them, when they are grounded on this bottom and spring from this root. They
are of singular use to this purpose, and not else.
Now, on this direction for the mortification of a
prevailing distemper you may have a thousand “probatum est’s.” Who have walked with God under this
temptation, and have not found the use and success of it? I dare leave the
soul under it, without adding any more. Only some particulars relating
thereunto may be mentioned:—
First, Act faith peculiarly upon the death, blood,
and cross of Christ; that is, on Christ as crucified and slain.
Mortification of sin is peculiarly from the death of Christ. It is one
peculiar, yea, eminent end of the death of Christ, which shall assuredly be
accomplished by it. He died to destroy the works of the devil. Whatever
came upon our natures by his first temptation, whatever receives strength
in our persons by his daily suggestions, Christ died to destroy it all. “He
gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity,
and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works,”
Tit. ii. 14. This was his aim and
intendment (wherein he will not fail) in his giving himself for us. That we
might be freed from the power of our sins, and purified from all our
defiling lusts, was his design. “He gave himself for the church, that he
might sanctify and cleanse it; that he might present it to himself a
glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that
it should be holy, and without blemish,” Eph. v.
25–27. And this, by virtue of his death, in various and several
degrees, shall be accomplished. Hence our washing, purging, and cleansing
is everywhere ascribed to his blood, 1 John i. 7;
Heb. i. 3; Rev. i. 5. That
being sprinkled on us, “purges our consciences from dead works to serve the
living God,” Heb. ix. 14. This is that we aim at, this
we are in pursuit of, — that our consciences may be purged from dead works,
that they may be rooted out, destroyed, and have place in us no more. This
shall certainly be brought about by the death of Christ; there will virtue
go out from thence to this purpose. Indeed, all supplies of the Spirit, all
communications of grace and power, are from hence; as I have elsewhere showed. Thus the apostle states it; Rom. vi.
2, is the case proposed that we have in hand: “How shall we,
that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” — “Dead to sin by
profession; dead to sin by obligation to be so; dead to sin by
participation of virtue and power for the killing of it; dead to sin by
union and interest in Christ, in and by whom it is killed: how shall we
live therein?” This he presses by sundry considerations, all taken from the
death of Christ, in the ensuing verses. This must not be: verse
3, “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus
Christ were baptized into his death?” We have in baptism an evidence of our
implantation into Christ; we are baptized into him: but what of him are we
baptized into an interest in? “His death,” saith he. If indeed we are
baptized into Christ, and beyond outward profession, we are baptized into
his death. The explication of this, of one being baptized into the death of
Christ, the apostle gives us, verses 4, 6: “Therefore we
are buried with him by baptism into death; that like as Christ was raised
up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in
newness of life. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that
the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve
sin.” “This is,” saith he, “our being baptized into the death of Christ,
namely, our conformity thereunto; to be dead unto sin, to have our
corruptions mortified, as he was put to death for sin: so that as he was
raised up to glory, we may be raised up to grace and newness of life.” He
tells us whence it is that we have this baptism into the death of Christ,
verse 6; and this is from the
death of Christ itself: “Our old man is crucified with him, that the body
of sin might be destroyed;” συνεσταυρώθη, “is crucified with him,” not in respect
of time, but causality. We are crucified with him meritoriously, in
that he procured the Spirit for us to mortify sin; efficiently, in
that from his death virtue comes forth for our crucifying; in the way of a
representation and exemplar we shall assuredly be crucified
unto sin, as he was for our sin. This is that the apostle intends: Christ
by his death destroying the works of the devil, procuring the Spirit for
us, hath so killed sin, as to its reign in believers, that it shall not
obtain its end and dominion.
Secondly, Then act faith on the death of Christ, and that
under these two notions, — first, In expectation of power; secondly,
In endeavours for conformity. For the first, the direction given in
general may suffice; as to the latter, that of the apostle may give us some
light into our direction, Gal. iii. 1. Let
faith look on Christ in the gospel as he is set forth dying and crucified
for us. Look on him under the weight
of our sins, praying, bleeding, dying; bring him in that condition into thy
heart by faith; apply his blood so shed to thy corruptions: do this daily.
I might draw out this consideration to a great length, in sundry
particulars, but I must come to a close.
2. I have only, then, to add the heads of the work of the
Spirit in this business of mortification, which is so peculiarly ascribed
to him.
In one word: This whole work, which I have described as our
duty, is effected, carried on, and accomplished by the power of the Spirit,
in all the parts and degrees of it; as, —
(1.) He alone clearly and fully convinces the heart
of the evil and guilt and danger of the corruption, lust, or sin to be
mortified. Without this conviction, or whilst it is so faint that the heart
can wrestle with it or digest it, there will be no thorough work made. An
unbelieving heart (as in part we have all such) will shift with any
consideration, until it be overpowered by clear and evident convictions.
Now this is the proper work of the Spirit: “He convinces of sin,” John xvi. 8; he alone can do it. If
men’s rational considerations, with the preaching of the letter, were able
to convince them of sin, we should, it may be, see more convictions than we
do. There comes by the preaching of the word an apprehension upon the
understandings of men that they are sinners, that such and such things are
sins, that themselves are guilty of them; but this light is not powerful,
nor doth it lay hold on the practical principles of the soul, so as to
conform the mind and will unto them, to produce effects suitable to such an
apprehension. And therefore it is that wise and knowing men, destitute of
the Spirit, do not think those things to be sins at all wherein the chief movings and actings of lust do consist. It is the Spirit
alone that can do, that doth, this work to the purpose. And this is the
first thing that the Spirit doth in order to the mortification of any lust
whatever, — it convinces the soul of all the evil of it, cuts off all its
pleas, discovers all its deceits, stops all its evasions, answers its
pretences, makes the soul own its abomination, and lie down under the sense
of it. Unless this be done all that follows is in vain.
(2.) The Spirit alone reveals unto us the fulness of
Christ for our relief; which is the consideration that stays the heart
from false ways and from despairing despondency, 1 Cor. ii
8.
(3.) The Spirit alone establishes the heart in
expectation of relief from Christ; which is the great sovereign means of
mortification, as hath been discovered, 2 Cor. i.
21.
(4.) The Spirit alone brings the cross of Christ
into our hearts with its sin-killing power; for by the Spirit are we
baptized into the death of Christ.
(5.) The Spirit is the author and finisher of our
sanctification; gives new supplies and influences of grace for
holiness and sanctification, when the contrary principle is weakened and
abated, Eph. iii.
16–18.
(6.) In all the soul’s addresses to God in this condition,
it hath supportment from the Spirit. Whence is the power, life, and
vigour of prayer? whence its efficacy to prevail with God? Is it not from
the Spirit? He is the “Spirit of supplications” promised to them “who look
on him whom they have pierced,” Zech. xii.
10, enabling them “to pray with sighs and groans that cannot be
uttered,” Rom. viii. 26. This is confessed to be
the great medium or way of faith’s prevailing with God. Thus Paul dealt
with his temptation, whatever it were: “I besought the Lord that it might
depart from me.” What is the work of the Spirit in prayer, whence
and how it gives us in assistance and makes us to prevail, what we are to
do that we may enjoy his help for that purpose, is not my present
intendment to demonstrate.