by weakening the faith itself by which they should believe. Not only blotting Christ's evidence within them, but also blinding their own eyes, and disabling themselves from that act by which it must be discerned. For as all other graces, so faith itself will decay, as the strength of sin increaseth. No wonder, then, if such complain of blasphemous suggestions, and darkness of evidence of the truth of the word, and that they are assaulted with doubtings about it, when they have cast this dust into their own eyes, or drawn this web over them. It must be a clear eye that must discern supernatural mysteries, and the things of another world. Had you obeyed Christ and his Spirit, in holy diligence, and an even conversation, you might have had all your graces thrive, and faith with the rest, and so have been better able to believe; and then that would have appeared an evident truth to you, which now you look at with wavering doubtfulness. 3. When men have taken to a course of wilful sinning, they grieve and quench that Spirit which must help them in believing, and therefore no wonder if they believe but weakly, without this help. I do not here consider the Spirit objectively, as I did before, in the fruits of it, but efficiently or actively, as that which must breathe upon his own graces, and assist the soul in the very exercise of them. How can you look when you have dealt so unkindly with the Spirit, that it should keep back the tempter, or clear your eyes and help your faith? What wonder if that faith be weak which is a fruit of the Spirit, when you have so far provoked the Spirit himself to depart? You make but an ill combat with the tempter, if you drive away this guide. If you defile his house and temple, no wonder if he leave you in the dark. 4. If you once take to a course of wilful sinning, you will contract such a love to your sin, that it will breed an unwillingness in you (so far as it prevails) to believe the word of God to be true; because you would not leave your sin, you will be loth that word should prove true, that would separate you from it. (John iii. 19.) When men's deeds are evil, no wonder if they love darkness rather than light: and your wills do much to master your understanding. 5. By wilful sinning you wound the conscience, and bring yourselves again under the terrors of God, and darken the evidences of your interest in his special love, and bring yourselves into doubting of your own salvation. And all this hath a plain tendency to infidelity: for if once you find your condition so sad, you will begin to wish that God's threatenings were not true, that so they might not fall upon yourself. When you once think, that if God's word be true, you are undone, it will sorely tempt you to wish it were not true. And if you do but once wish it false, the devil may the more easily tempt you to believe it is false: for he hath a great advantage when he hath got so much room in a man's will. And a man will far more easily believe what he would have to be true, than what he would not experience tells us this. It is a great power that the will hath upon the understanding in judging and believing. It will cause a man to study for reasons to delude himself, and take a seeming reason for current, and gladly hearken to any one that will seduce him, by speaking that which he would have to be true. It will make him snatch at any show of an argument, and stop his ears against all that is said against it. It will make him look on the clearest evidence for truth, with so much prejudice and passion, that it will be unlikely to convince him, till God shall set in for the penal manifestation of his justice, or by a gracious conviction for his recovery. Hence it is that we so ordinarily find, that a galled conscience by wilful, heinous sin, is as great a leader of men to infidelity, as the mere force of the most subtile, argumentative deceits. When a man that seemed religious, and believed in a sort that Scripture was true, shall secretly or openly live in whoredom, drunkenness, deceit, and unjust gain, or any the like wasting, crying sin, when conscience is still gnawing him, and frighting him with the thoughts of judgment and everlasting fire; so that the man must needs believe one of the two, either that Scripture is false, or that he is in danger of being undone for ever: no wonder if he choose the former, and turn his ear to seekers and infidels, and pick up some crumbs of comfort from their dung. Men are naturally loth to judge hardly of themselves, or to believe that which is against them, and concludeth them miserable. They first consider what they would have to be true, before they consider what is true indeed; and by such foolish devices they keep up a little quiet in their minds for a while, and keep off the terrors of execution by persuading themselves that there will be no assize. But, O how short, how sad a kind of ease is this! How much better were it, to open the windows of the soul, and freely let in the light of Christ, and patiently consider of the worst, while there is remedy, and believe the threatening, while the execution may be prevented, than to find it all remedilessly true, when it is too late. Ignorance or unbelief of certain danger is a poor way of escape. If it were but a sudden death that made an end of them it were some ease to die unexpectedly, and not to know or believe till they feel the stroke; for then the foregoing fears would be put by; but this will be the increase of a perpetual misery, when men shall have everlasting leisure to review their folly, and to bethink themselves that they might have escaped if they would have believed the danger in time, and so have applied themselves for the prevention. Sect. XXV. Hence, also, you may further see how incompetent judges ungodly men are of the truth of Scripture and christian religion, and how little the contradiction of such opposers should be regarded. You see how incapable an unsanctified heart and a wicked life do make them of a sound, effectual belief, till God set in with his special grace; and, therefore, if multitudes of such, both Jews and heathens, believe not the Gospel, but oppose and persecute it, it is no wonder. If you say, 'This is to disclaim all witnesses but those of your own mind; why may not other men see the truth of your Gospel, if it be true indeed ? ' I answer: it is not to disclaim men because they are not already of our mind, but because, by a vicious heart and life, they made it so easy for themselves to be deceived. If Christ's doctrines were but as the common precepts of philosophy, which man's nature and carnal interest did little contradict, then you might indeed think that one man might as well believe it as another; but Christ comes with his doctrine as a physician, to heal and save men's souls, and therefore finds them all that he comes to, under those diseases which have a contrariety and loathing of his medicines accompanying them. The temper of their corrupted hearts is against his truths. It is no more wonder if such believe not in Christ, than if a sick stomach abhor or cast up its physic. If the philosophers themselves affirm, that young men of untamed passions are unmeet auditors of moral philosophy, we may well say that carnal men of earthly, blinded minds, and unmortified lusts, are unmeet judges of christian verities; and such were all that ever rejected or opposed Christianity. It is true that those which were converted by it were ill judges of this doctrine too, till God enlightened them; but free-grace did, by the word, cause them to believe the word, and so make them more able to discern between truth and falsehood, in matters of that nature, for the time to come. Sect. XXVI. Lastly, it is hence apparent also, that the way to have the firmest belief of the christian faith, is to draw near and taste, and try it, and lay bare the heart to receive the impression of it, and then, by the sense of its admirable effects, we shall know that which bare speculation could not discover. Though there must be a belief on other grounds first, so much as to let in the word into the soul, and to cause us to submit our hearts to its operations, yet it is this experience that must strengthen it, and confirm it. "If any man do the will of Christ, he shall know that his doctrine is of God." (John vii. 17.) The melody of music is better known by hearing it, than by reports of it; and the sweetness of meat is known better by tasting, than by hearsay; though upon report we may be drawn to taste and try. So is there a spiritual sense in us of the effects of the Gospel on our own hearts, which will cause men to love it, and hold it fast against the cavils of deceivers, or the temptations of the great deceiver. So much of this witness within us, as far as concerneth our present design, viz., the strengthening of believers against temptations to infidelity. And oh, that my dear Redeemer would pour out upon my soul a fuller measure of his Spirit, to enlighten and enliven me, and make me more conformable to his image and will, and to keep continual possession within me for himself; that I might always bear about me a living, effectual testimony of Christ in my breast; and may have yet more of this advantage against temptations, which I have here opened unto others: and whatsoever I have spoken mistakingly of this Spirit, or defectively and unworthily of its admirable, curious, and yet unsearchable works, the Lord of mercy forgive it, with the rest of my transgressions, in the blood of his well-beloved! |