---- CHAPTER III: The uses of the doctrine.
CHAPTER III
The uses of the doctrine.
We should consider faith on the Lord Jesus as a matter of the greatest importance, since all the persons of the Godhead concern themselves in it.—We should not neglect this great business of believing.—We should glorify all the three persons for the great things which they do for us at the time of our believing.
The doctrine which I have explained and proved in the former chapter, affords us these great and useful inferences.
1. You see that salvation is no slight thing, and that believing and turning to God is no slight matter, when all the three persons do thus concur in it. The converting and drawing of a soul to believe is a business of infinite moment; and why? Because all heaven, and all hell, and oftentimes earth, or much on earth, are stirred about it, even as they use to be at great transactions. What a stir there is in the spirits of men when a great transaction falls out in state affairs!
There is much more in this. All in heaven are stirred, for you have seen that the three persons move in it; and Christ tells us there is joy in heaven even amongst the angels when a soul is turned to God. And all in hell are stirred about it too, for all the devils rage and come forth, and are all in arms. The strong man, when he is bound and cast out, is in a rage, and therefore pours forth all the floods of persecutions, and disgraces, and temptations, and violence upon the soul. And earth is stirred about it too, for you shall have carnal friends and companions, and this world, stand amazed at it, and think it strange, as the apostle saith. Herein the soul is conformed to the image of Christ himself. When Christ was born, they were all stirred at it. Heaven was stirred at it, for the Father sent the Holy
Ghost down; and the angels came and sung the news of it, and the shepherds come and bring the news of it; and 'Herod was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him,' Mat. 2:3, Luke 2. It is a great business,
and God gives evidence of it that it is a great business; for all heaven (I say), and earth, and hell are stirred when God doth thus bring a soul home to Christ.
2. We therefore should not neglect the great business of salvation, nor the time of God's stirring of us. Though God offers Christ at all times in the ministry of the word, yet you never come actually to believe till all three persons thus concur in it, and till they join in a special concurrence together for your turning and conversion.
Consider with yourselves, you that think you can believe and repent when you will, can you call this great council together in heaven? Can you appoint God the time when it shall be done? No. 'It pleased the Father,' saith the apostle, 'to reveal his Son in me.' It is the Father draweth, and it is the Son that must take hold of you, and it is the Holy Ghost that must come down into your hearts. And it is not in man's power to call this great assembly together, thus to join votes together. Is it in the power of subjects to call the three estates, of king, and both the other estates when they please? No. So neither is it in the power of any creature to call together this great council of heaven. You may as well order the conjunction of the stars, and call the planets together when you will, which is impossible, Job 38:31.
He speaks under the very allusion that I now mention it for: 'Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide
Arcturus with his sons?' He meaneth stars, which have these several names given them. 'Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? Canst them set the dominion thereof in the earth?' that is, canst thou appoint when the stars shall meet, and by their conjunction have great influences upon men? can you go and set that clock? No, saith he, you must wait upon God at his time to do it. When therefore the Spirit of God moves you, then think, Now I will follow, and now it may be is the time that God will reveal his Son to me; and because thou knowest not the time, therefore, I say, wait upon God at all times. Though God in the ministry of the word offers at all times, and stands ready to bestow (if thou couldst come) faith upon thee, and to draw thy heart, and actually to bestow Christ upon thee, yet for this there is a fulness of time, a special time, which thou must wait for,
even as the world waited for the fulness of time when God should send his Son in the flesh. This conjunction is not towards the elect at all times, it is but then when the fulness of time comes in which God means to turn them. And this is the reason why the elect, though they are moved often beforehand, and have many motions in their hearts, yet there is not an effectual faith wrought till such a time appointed by the Father. And this should make no man neglect, but stir him up rather, because salvation is so great a business, and the time is not in our own hands. Canst thou move God to give his Son to thee actually when thou wilt? Or canst thou move Jesus Christ to come and take possession of thee when thou wilt? Or canst thou move the Spirit of God to come and give thee faith when thou wilt?
No; all these are in the gift of the three persons; and no man receiveth anything except it be given him from above, John 3:27.
Therefore you should wait upon the Lord, and observe his time, and that with fear and trembling (if I may so express it by the contrary).
They that serve the devil, as conjurors and witches, wait for the falling of fern seed, as they call it, night after night, when it is told them it is in the possession of such and such angels; which, when they have got, they think they can do great wonders by it. Are they in this dependence upon their head, Satan, that damneth and undoeth them? How should we then wait upon God for the droppings and influences of heaven, and for the sending of the Holy Ghost into us to work faith in us?
3. Thou that art a believer, do but look back upon the work in thy conversion and turning to God; though perhaps thou canst not tell the timewhen it was done, yet it may be thou canst tell when it was not done. Do but think with thyself (I say) what great matters were done for thee in heaven, when thou wast first brought to Jesus
Christ, which it may be thou never takest notice of. Perhaps thou hast been searching into the work of God within thee, and thou hast done well so to do; and it may be thou hast seen and took notice of the great difficulty of that work, and what a great many lifts were put to thy heart, and a great many knocks, before such time as it was driven home to the Lord Jesus. But hast thou withal considered that
there was as great things actually done for thee then in heaven as when thou wast first chosen, or as when Jesus Christ hung upon the cross? The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost were all set on work to make up the marriage between thy soul and Christ; and they all set providences on work to that purpose. If a condemned man were not to have a pardon till three kings met, and there were no more but three kings in the world, and these must all concur together for the sealing and signing of it, how would he value that pardon! Thou lookest, it may be, on the difficulty of the work in thine own heart only, and how thou wentest from one ordinance to another, and what rubs there were in the way, and thou hast considerations what was done upon earth in thy own heart; but look up higher, and consider what was done in heaven as the original of all, and let that be the thing for which thou praisest and blessest God. Go home, and down upon thy knees, and thank these three persons that have done all this for thee, though thou sawest it not, when thy heart was first drawn to Christ. For God doth give thee assurance, that all the three persons concur, 1 John 5:7, 8. There is the Father from heaven, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and all these give a testimony; and the truth is, a testimony is to be had distinctly from all these apart, for the apostle would never have mentioned them there unless the witness both of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost was to be given apart; even as water, and spirit, and blood are distinct, though they all concur, so are the witness of all these three persons in giving assurance.
I have known them who, when they have been turned to God, have looked back upon the greatness of the work to be such, as that for ten hundred thousand worlds they would not have it to be done again.
Why? For fear it should not be wrought. I would not have you to do so, for that God who did work it out of his eternal love, he repents not, and therefore he would do it again if it were not done, or if it were to do again, so well he loveth you. Only in this imitate them, to set an high price and value on it, and consider that ere this match was made, the Father said Amen in heaven, and the Son said Amen, and the Holy Ghost said Amen, before ever thy heart said Amen. And
withal consider that all the three persons are likewise engaged, and will everlastingly carry on this work.
4. You see the reason wiry, though the gospel is preached, and sets forth Christ the great object of faith, yet all do not believe. Our
Saviour resolves it even into this, that the three persons do not concur in the doing of it, as you may observe it here in John 6, ver.
36, 37, 'I said unto you,' saith he, 'that ye also have seen me, and believe.' What is the reason? Look the next words, 'All that the Father giveth me shall come unto me;' and the reason why you do not come is, because my Father hath not bestowed you upon me. And therefore he goes on in like manner, ver. 44, 'No man can come to me, except the Father draw him;' which he brings in to answer the murmuring of the Jews (for, ver. 41, it is said they murmured amongst themselves), and to shew the reason why they did not believe; 'No man can come to me,' saith he, 'except the Father draw him.' And so likewise afterward, ver. 64, he gives the reason why, when he had twelve disciples, yet one of them believed not: 'For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and he said,
Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.' You shall see it evident, saith he, amongst yourselves, all among yourselves do not believe. Why?
Because those only believe that are drawn by the Father, and are given to me by the Father, and to whom the Father doth give power to believe.
5. Therefore by this also magnify the free grace of God in calling you, and in working faith in your hearts. Do not only consider that you had the three persons thus concurring, but likewise that they have called you out, and not others; and that though the same gospel is preached to others that is preached to you, who come and hear the same sermons which you do, yea, and it may be their hearts are mightily moved by the Holy Ghost, yet thou hast faith wrought effectually in thee, which is not in them. What is the reason? Because that was done in heaven for thee by all three persons, which was not done for them; and they were not given to Jesus Christ by the Father,