15. Dividing Distempers: The Lusts of Men's Hearts
Chapter Fifteen Dividing Distempers: The Lusts of Men's Hearts T hese divide us not only from God but from one another. "This I learn," says Luther, "from my own experience, that I have more cause to fear what is within me than what is without." Whatever others do to divide us would prevail little if not for the lusts within our hearts. Vapors within the earth cause earthquakes; they rend and tear. The winds, storms, and tempests outside never move it. Ill humors within the body disturb more than the air outside. James 4:1 asks, "Whence are wars and fightings among you? Are they not hence, even from your lusts?" Where do they come from? The answer is soon made: Do you not see plainly that they come from your lusts? Yet if this question were put to some of us—Whence are all our divisions?—some would answer that certain kinds of men cause them, while others would say different men are responsible. We all deflect the cause of our divisions from ourselves; few would give Saint James's answer: They are from hence, even from our lusts. There would not be such evil distillations from the head if not for the malignant vapors arising from the stomach. Curing the heart will sooner cure the head than curing the head will cure the heart.
Whence are wars? Even from your lusts. The Apostle does not condemn wars simply; this was the error of the old Manichees, revived by some among us, especially as wars are viewed under that notion—raised for religion. They seek to weaken our hands in these wars by telling young people who have newly given their names to Christ and therefore desire to be guided by the Word in all they do—whom God has used under Himself to be the strength of these wars—that they have no warrant to fight for religion. To whom our answer is that we have a civil right to the outward peaceable profession and practice of our religion; we have the laws of the land for it, and for maintaining this right we fight. There can be no reason why our civil right to our religion may not be maintained by the sword as well as our civil right to our houses and lands. This answers all objections against maintaining religion by the sword from the practice of Christians in primitive times who never sought to maintain religion thus. We say their case was not the same as ours; they never had any civil right to profess and practice their religion in the countries where they lived, as we have.
The wars meant in this text are contentions, quarrels, and divisions among Christians; though they did not take up swords against each other, there were many quarrels and divisions among them—these came from their lusts. The lusts of men's hearts are very quarrelsome. Storms and tempests occur below in this impure muddy part of the world; in higher parts, all is serene, calm, and clear. 1 Corinthians 3:3 states: "For ye are yet carnal."
How does he prove that? "Whereas there is among you envying, strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal and walk as men?" Strifes and divisions manifest men's hearts as very carnal.
Augustine comments on Genesis 15:10 where God required Abraham to take beasts and birds for sacrifice; the beasts were divided, cut asunder, but
not the birds. Thus (he says by way of allusion), carnal brutish men are divided from one another, but not the birds—not those who are more spiritual and celestial.
"You walk as men," says the Apostle; you should not walk as men but as it becomes those whose condition is raised above that of men—as it becomes Christians, the redeemed ones of the Lord. You say, "Can flesh and blood endure this? Can any man living bear this?" What if flesh and blood cannot? A Christian can—a member of Jesus Christ who is God-man can.
Chrysostom in one of his sermons to the people of Antioch brings in God's gracious dealing with Cain as an example for them to imitate in their conduct towards those who behave ill towards them. He also brings them in replying that God indeed was gentle and patient toward Cain because He is
God—He is above all passion—but we are but men. He answers them:
Therefore did the Son of God come down that He might make you as near as may be to being God-like.
The Scripture says, the Saints are made partakers of the divine nature; therefore, do not say, "We are but men." You must not walk as men, but as those who are endowed with the Divine nature. It is a great charge that the Holy Ghost lays upon the Corinthians, that they walked but as men; yet many fall short of the lives of men: they rather walk as dogs, as tigers, as wolves.
Galatians 5:20 lists the fruits of the flesh: hatred, variance, emulation, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings. All these are the causes or workings of divisions. Surely our divisions are the fruits of the flesh. We see it in nature: the more spiritual anything is, the more it unites; and the grosser the substance of anything is, the less it unites. The beams of the Sun are of a kind of spiritual nature; therefore, thousands of them will unite in a
point, but it's not so in other things. Spiritual hearts are like the Sun's beams; though thousands of them live together, they will unite in one as long as they remain spiritual.
The three thousand converts in Acts 2 joined with one accord, with one single heart. We find it now by experience: as long as there are but a few in a Church, they agree well, but usually when they become numerous, dissensions arise among them. This is an argument that the hearts of men are not spiritual; still much flesh remains. Brackish water ascending to the Heavens is sweetened; it comes down sweet from there. Thus, those things which have trouble and an aptitude to breed divisions, yet spiritual heavenly hearts dealing with them, turn their nature and work spiritual advantage out of them.
The higher fire ascends, the more it unites; the flame that is broad at the bottom, as it grows high, unites to be as the point of a needle. When the hearts of Christians keep low and have a great deal of smoke among them, they do not unite; but when they can rise high, oh what close, single-hearted union is there! A crooked and a straight line cannot join, but two straight lines will join at every point.
The lusts of men's hearts cause divisions in many ways:
First, they are men's own; therefore, they will contend for them. Nothing is a man's own so much as his lusts; man aims wholly at himself in satisfying his lust. A dog will bark and bite and fly in a man's face to preserve his own pups.
Secondly, men's lusts blind their judgments. "Perit judicium cum res transit in affectum" (Judgment perishes when emotion takes over); when the heart is tainted, the judgment is soon blinded. If the beam of the scale you weigh by is not straight, the scale with the lighter weight may weigh down
the heavier. If our hearts are crooked, warping to any sinful lust, whatever weight there may be in any arguments to convince, the scale will go according to the warping of the heart; the conclusion will follow the worse part.
Thirdly, men's lusts weaken their spirits so that they are not able to bear anything that comes across them. Women, children, sick people—who are weakest—fall out most with one another. Things that are rotten cannot hold together; every little touch breaks them apart. That which is sound has strength to hold one part to another.
Fourthly, in men's lusts there is confusion; they cannot be kept in order; therefore, they must cause disturbance not only in men's own spirits but to all who deal with men acted by them. Where there is confusion, there cannot be union. When there is right order in an army, though the men be ever so numerous and differing in other respects, yet if they keep their ranks they are all but one. But if put to a rout and confusion, then the bond of unity is broken and every man divides from another to shift for himself.
In men's lusts there are contradictions; no virtue is contrary to another, but vices have nothing but contrarieties and contradictions in them. Men's lusts oppose and fight against one another in men's hearts; no wonder then when there are such stirrings within that they break forth into quarrels and contentions without. If a man is quarrelsome in his family, no wonder if when he comes abroad he quarrels and contends with his neighbors also.
Sixthly, in men's lusts there is violence; violence and peace cannot stand together. Isaiah 60:18 promises peace and promises that violence shall be no more heard in their land. Men's lusts are boisterous and unruly, especially when they have been acting for a while; at first venting they
seem fair, but after a while they grow outrageous. Violent and boisterous dispositions are unfit for society.
You shall find in experience men who seem to be of weak spirits and soft tempers, very remiss in what they ordinarily do; yet let the lusts of these men be engaged in any cause or side—oh how violent and impetuous they will be! They care not what they say or do; they will divide from God, from the public, from their dearest friends, from their nearest relations, from what they themselves have professed before—from their credit and profit, from their own peace—from anything and all to serve a lust engaged in such a business. It is a dangerous thing to have a man's lust engaged; nothing can stand against an engaged lust. A man runs headlong; he will break his conscience; he will desperately endanger his eternal breaking to maintain the engagement of his lust.
Seventhly, in the lusts of men's hearts there is an antipathy against God, against His ways, purity of His ordinances, His Saints. Genesis 3:15 says: "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, between thy seed and her seed."
In antipathy, the opposition is:
1. In the nature of things; therefore it's deeply rooted; it does not come accidentally. You may find two sheep fighting upon some accident, but their natures are not opposite like the wolf and the sheep.
2. The cause of this opposition is secret; wicked men have their spirits rise against the godly, but they are not able to say why. The husband loved his wife while she was carnal; now God has turned her heart, she is more obedient than ever, she seeks to give him content in all things more than before, she is more useful to him on all occasions, more faithful, every way more lovely than before. Only she is godly now, and was not so before. But
his heart is now quite off from her; he dares not say that it is for her godliness, if he has any conviction himself, but so it is that now he looks upon her with an evil eye and an estranged heart.
Similarly, a wicked father or mother who loved their child exceedingly before God was pleased to work upon him, now finds the child more dutiful than he was. Yet the heart of the father or mother is taken off from him, can hardly endure him, and is ready to take any exception against him. Their countenances are lowering and sad towards him; they can give no reason for this change, but as they were wont to say of Christians, "Such a man is a good man, but he is a Christian." Bonus vir Caius Seius sed Christianus, non amo te, I love you not, but I can give no reason; Hoc tantum possum dicere, Non amo te, all that I can say is this, that I do not love you.
3. It is a settled, constant opposition: This has been in all generations the great cause of division between the men of the world and the Saints, and still it continues the same. You may see the same spirit of the old opposers of godliness and godly men working in our days; the names of things may be changed, but the same kind of men for the same things are opposed and hated now in the same manner as in former generations.
4. It is very strong; ungodly men are exceedingly embittered against the Saints. Ezek. 26:6: Because thou hast clapped thine hands, and stamped with the feet, and rejoiced in heart with all thy despite against the Land of Israel. This spirit of bitterness and indignation that was in them against the people of God is seminally at least in all wicked men.
5. The enmity of antipathy is incurable; it can never be taken away except one ceases to be in its nature what it was. There can be no compounding things that are so contrary; one of them must cease to be or be turned into another nature, or else the opposition will be everlasting.
The great divisions amongst us are those that are between the seed of the woman and the seed of the Serpent. Some divisions there are between those who are the seed of Christ, but the great stirrings in the Kingdom come from the evil spirit there is in the seed of the Serpent against the godly in the Land. In the beginning of the Parliament when men's liberties and estates being involved in one, there was good agreement; all men rejoiced, generally the countenances of those who were not popish and Prelaticall were serene, they had comfortable aspects one upon another. But when those whose spirits were opposite to the power of godliness saw how the godly amongst them rejoiced, how their heads were lifted up, how their hearts were filled with hopes of good days wherein Religion should be countenanced and honored; that antipathy that was in their hearts against the ways of God boiled in them. Though they were glad that they should be freed from some burdens, yet to see those whom they hated in their hearts rejoice so much, they could not bear it. Their spirit rose against them, and in opposition to them they have raised these stirrings; they have made these woeful distractions that are amongst us.
Lastly, the lusts of men's hearts are the cause of our divisions because God requires every man according to his place to make opposition against them. The cause of the strife lies not in those who oppose them; they do but their duty. But in those who nourish such lusts within them; yet we find it ordinarily that those who are most corrupt will cry out against those who oppose them in their wicked ways as the cause of strife and divisions, as if they were the troublers of Israel. Whereas indeed themselves, the wicked lusts of their own hearts are the troublers of Israel; those who oppose their lusts desire all good to their persons.
I remember Augustine in his book about the unity of the Church has this passage: The son does more grievously persecute his father by living naughtily than the father him by chastising him duly. Sarah's maid did more trouble her by her wicked pride than she her maid by her deserved correction. Those men who are most faulty are the men who are to be charged to be the greatest troublers in Church and State.
Thus in general, men's lusts are the cause of divisions; but let us inquire into the particular lusts of men which we may also charge: We shall find these dividing distempers to be as many as the dividing principles: As the philosopher speaks of four cardinal virtues, so the first four that I shall name I may call the four cardinal vices: these are Pride, Self-love, Envy,
Passion or Rebelliousness. All other distempers that cause divisions have the poison of these four at their root. These are the chariot wheels of the Furies or the four horses that draw them up and down hurrying from place to place.
Chap. XVIThe Pride of men's hearts: The great dividing distemper.* Pride is the greatest master of misrule in the world; it is the great incendiary in the soul of man, in families, in towns, cities, in all societies, in Church and State: This wind causes tempests to arise. Prov. 13:10: Only by pride comes contention. The Holy Ghost singles out pride as the only cause of all contentions because it is chief; though there be many in a riot, the whole usually is laid upon the ringleaders. Pride is the ringleader to all riots, divisions, disturbances amongst us. Prov. 21:24: Proud and haughty scorner is his name who deals in proud wrath. Pride may be well indicted for being a great common barrator in all towns, cities, and kingdoms; it makes woeful troubles wherever it comes.
Mathematicians make this a rule to know when a thing is exactly round and when it is exactly plain; round things will not touch but at a point; if you lay plain things together, they will touch in every part of them. Proud hearts will join only in some things that concern themselves, but plain hearts will join in everything wherein God may have glory and their brethren good.
Gouty swollen legs keep at a distance from one another; bladders that are blown up with wind spurt away from each other and will not close. But if you prick them and let out the wind, you can pack a thousand in a small space. We find this by experience: when God gives us the most success in our armies, we become most divided. Then every man begins to look high and to be self-serving; and when the Lord disapproves of our armies and brings us low, we think and speak of ways of reconciliation. We then lament our divisions with some brokenness of spirit.
It is like soldiers fighting against a common adversary; they can agree well enough, but when it comes to dividing the spoils or being stationed in garrisons, they fall out. When we lie under the danger of the same common calamity, we can agree, but when we come to share for ourselves, our spirits swell against one another.
We read in Scripture about the manna that God gave His people. Its nature was such that the heat of the sun melted it. You might ask, how could it then endure the heat of the oven? For they baked it in the oven. Yet it was of a strange kind of nature that it could bear the heat of the oven but not the heat of the sun. Our hearts are of a similar temper; the heat of the sun of prosperity dissolves us and causes us to run from one another, but the heat of the fire of affliction bakes us, brings us together, and settles us. It makes
us one, takes away our rawness, consumes many of our ill humors, and composes our spirits into unity.
The stupidity of our hearts is such that we do not make our brethren's case, who suffer the rage of these wars, our own. But we, for the present having some more liberty than formerly, are lifted up and in the pride of our hearts push at our brethren and smite our fellow servants. If the dogs are at a little distance from us, though we even hear the cries of our brethren who are worried by them, we foolishly bless ourselves in our present ease, enjoyments, and hopes as if our flesh must be spared, our estates, liberties, and enjoyments must be continued or even raised, no matter what becomes of others. Oh sinful vain spirits, fooled and hardened by their pride!
But what are the several workings of pride that cause such a stir in the world?
First, a proud man thinks himself too great to be crossed. "Shall I bear this? I will make you know what it is to do such things against me." He thinks it a great dishonor to bear anything; therefore, he must quarrel and contend, if only to show what a man of spirit he is or to demonstrate that he is a man of such worth that whatever others bear, it is not fit for him to bear it. It is reasonable that such a man should make those who presume to cross him yield to him and stoop under him. Now when one proud man thinks it a dishonor to put up with wrongs from another who may be as proud as himself, and he thinks it a dishonor for him to put up with wrongs; what peace can there be? Some wrongs must be endured, but proud men will never agree on who should begin.
Secondly, because his spirit swells so big, he thinks everything that crosses him is very great; his sufferings are great to him according to how highly he thinks of himself. According to the excellence or meanness of any
person, so are his sufferings reckoned. Sufferings of a man in eminence are judged according to his eminence and place; if a mean man suffers the same things, they are not considered as great. Now whether a man is great really or in his own perception, it's all one in regard to his esteem of his sufferings; he thinks them intolerable because they are against himself.
In Daniel 3:14: "Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? Do not you serve my gods?" That which you have in your books: Is it true? Arias
Montanus translates it as "Nunquid desolatio": What, is there desolation made? What, you oppose the command of a king? If this is suffered, what desolation must follow? And indeed the root from which the word comes signifies "desolari," to make desolate. Why? Was it desolation that these three poor innocent men made because they would not—nay, they could not —do as this proud king would have them? What made him thus aggravate the offense but merely the pride of his heart? He thought that anything contrary to his command was a most heinous offense, a thing most horrid in its very mention, no less than the utter undoing of all things. Pride always aggravates anything done against its own mind.
This in Daniel that Montanus turns "Nunquid desolatio," Buxtorfius translates as "num de industria"; what on purpose? You do it on purpose to provoke me; thus proud men and women in their families say: "Whatsoever children or servants do amiss; what? You do it on purpose to anger me, do you?" When the wind comes across the stream, the waters rage; so do the will and affections of a proud heart when anything crosses it.
Thirdly, pride makes men swell beyond their bounds; the way to keep all things in union is for every man to keep within his bounds. Swelling beyond tends to breaking all into pieces. Habakkuk 2:5: "He is a proud man who neither keeps at home nor enlarges his desire as hell and cannot be
satisfied." If any humor of the body goes beyond its bounds, it brings much trouble to it; the health and peace of the body consist in keeping every humor within its vessel and due proportion.
Fourthly, pride hardens men's hearts. Daniel 5:20: "His mind is hardened in his pride." If you would make things cleave together, you must have them soft; two flints will not join. The Spaniard has a proverb: Lime and stone will make a wall if one is hard; yet if the other is yielding, there may be a joining and good may be done—not otherwise.
Fifthly, pride causes men to despise the persons' actions and sufferings of others; nothing is more insufferable to a man's spirit than being vilified. A proud man despises what others do and others what he does; every man next to his person desires the honor of his actions. If these two are contemned, his sufferings will likewise be contemned by the proud. This also goes very near to a man; one man thinks what another suffers is nothing—no matter what becomes of him; another thinks his sufferings are nothing—no matter what becomes of him. Oh, at what a distance now are men's hearts from one another!
Sixtly, pride causes every man to desire to be noticed and to have prominence in something or other. If he cannot be eminent on one side, he will seek it on the other; he must be noticed in one way or another. When he is in a good and peaceable way, God makes some use of him. Yet, because he is not observed and regarded as eminent, he will rather turn to some other way—to contend, strive, oppose, or anything—so that he may be noticed as somebody and not leave the world without some noise. "What, shall such a man as I, with such parts, such approved abilities, so endowed by God to do some eminent service, be laid aside and nobody regard me? I
must embark on some notable work, something that may draw the eye of observance upon me."
I have read of a young man who set Diana's Temple on fire, and when asked the reason, he said it was so that he might have a name and people might talk of him. Because he could not be famous by doing good, he chose to be by doing evil. Proud spirits will risk setting the Temple of God, even
Church and State, on fire so that they may have a name. Whatever they do or suffer, to get a name they will rather venture than die in obscurity; that is something they cannot bear.
7. A proud man would have others under him; and others, being proud too, would have him under them. He would have others yield to him, and others would have him yield to them. Where will the agreement then begin?
What has rent and torn the world in all ages, bringing woeful distractions, perplexities, confusions, and miseries in all countries by wars, but the pride of a few great ones seeking to bring one under another? Those wasting wars of the Romans between Sylla and Marius, Caesar and Pompey—were they not from this? It is hard for men in great places and of great spirits to accord long. Melanchthon in his comment upon Prov. 13:10 says concerning such men there was once this proverb: "Duo montes non miscentur," meaning two mountains will not mix together.
Eighthly, a proud man makes his will the rule of his actions and would have it be the rule for other men too. Other men, being proud too, would have their wills as the rule of their actions and his too. Thus the blustering wind of pride in men's hearts causes them to jostle against one another and so split themselves upon each other; just as where many ships lie together, a violent wind breaking their anchor cables causes them to dash against one another and make shipwreck even in the haven.
9. A proud man opposes others because they have begun such a work; and others who are also proud oppose him because he has begun it. The Senators of Rome could have been content to admit Christ among their gods but refused only because the motion did not begin with them. Many among us have no other reason for opposing good motions but because they were not first in them. They are loath to break the ice or begin a good work if they see any difficulty in it. Yet the cause of God must not go on; Christ must not be admitted if they were not at the beginning. Like two men carrying a long piece of timber through a narrow passage—one man will go before, and the other will go before—they can never carry it in because they cannot agree who shall go foremost.
10. One proud man is conceited about what he does because it is his own way; another proud man is conceited about what he does because it is his own way. Thus men draw diverse ways, and the public cause of God and His people must give way to their conceitedness. Pride makes a man drunk with his own conceits. Hab. 2:5 says the proud man is like one who transgresses by wine; and drunkards, you know, are quarrelsome. Do not wonder at any absurd thing in a proud man, for pride makes him drunk.
Prov. 13:10 says proud men who cause contention are opposed to the welladvised: "But with the well-advised (cum consultis) is wisdom." The Septuagint reads it as "The wise are such as know themselves," but the proud do not.
11. Proud men will venture upon things unseemly, thinking their esteem and greatness will bear them out; others who are proud will venture upon the like for the same reason, for every man is ready to have high thoughts of himself. Psal. 19:14 says, "Deliver me from presumptuous sins," translated by some as "from proud sins" or "from insolent sins." Pride makes one
insolent. A proud man, says the philosopher, is a pretender of boldness and valor and therefore will foolishly venture upon anything.
12. If there is anything to be done that is considered mean and low, a proud man will seek to put it upon others; others who are proud will seek to put it upon him. If it is a work of credit, then he seeks it for himself, and others seek it for themselves; hence arise jarrings and divisions.
13. If there is any good success in anything, pride makes one man attribute it to himself and another man attribute it to himself; if the success is poor, then one shifts blame from himself and another from himself, thus raising and fomenting quarrels and contentions.
14. One proud man thinks himself the only worthy one to have his counsel followed and his desires satisfied; another thinks himself the man whose counsel should be followed and desires satisfied; thus men struggle and oppose one another.
Lastly, one proud man is very discerning in discovering pride in another; though he entertains it in his own bosom, he hates it in others wherever he sees it. This is a peculiar curse upon this sin: one drunkard loves another; one whoremaster loves another; but one proud man hates another. This is exemplified notably in Boniface II, Bishop of Rome. He says of Aurelius
Bishop of Carthage and those present at the Sixth Council of Carthage that through the instigation of the Devil they swelled with pride against the Roman Church—meaning against its supremacy—spoken upon Eulalius
Bishop of Carthage's submission to the Chair of Rome. Behold the proud Bishop of Rome who would have all preeminence himself swells with pride against the pride of others.
Here we see what a troublemaker pride is. What Tertullus said to Felix in Acts 24:2 is true of humility: "By thee we enjoy great quietness." But the
contrary is as true of pride: "By thee are made woeful divisions; by thee we suffer miserable disturbances." Though there be no occasion for quarrel, yet pride will make some; only by pride comes contention, as before in Prov.
13:10. Though there be nothing else but pride—and in Hebrew it is יתן מצה (Dabit jurgium), meaning "give contention"—if there be no cause given, it will make it.
Now let every man look into his own heart and see what pride has been, and still is there, and be humbled before the Lord for this. All you contentious, rebellious, quarrelsome people, you are charged this day from God to be men and women of proud spirits, and the evil in our sad divisions is greatly caused by that pride in your bosom. St. Paul did beat down his body, lest after he had preached to others, he should become a reprobate.
Let us all, and especially ministers, labor to beat down our spirits, lest after all our profession and glorious shows, we at last become reprobates, or at least such as God may cast out for the present in this world, taking no delight in making use of us. What is it in such times as these to have hearts swollen and lifted up in pride? God is now about staining the pride of the earth. How unseasonable and dangerous is it for a mariner to have his topsails up and all spread in a violent storm? It is time then to pull down all, lest he be sunk irrecoverably. The point of a needle will let the wind out of a bladder, and shall not the swords of God, the swords of war and plague that have got so deep into our bowels, let out the windy pride of our hearts? The haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone will be exalted. May the Lord humble us so that He may reconcile us not only to Himself but to one another.