Chapter. 16. To teach us not to be discouraged at this different temper of our Spirits, but to be hu
Chapter 16:
Another Use - Not to Be Discouraged, but to Be Humbled The second use of this point is as follows: If there is such a difference between the hearts of God's people at certain times compared to others, it should encourage the servants of God. Even if they don't always feel their hearts in the same disposition and the same spirit to do good, they should not be discouraged. It is true that they should be humbled for not having their hearts elevated at all times, but they should not be discouraged. This is a common experience even for the most devoted servants of God. So, even if you don't always find your hearts as uplifted as before, do not conclude that there is no good in you. God's people are ready and prepared for every good work, and though your heart may feel dull, heavy, and lifeless, it will not always be so. Don't fear that when you are called to serve God, your heart will always remain in this state and that you will forsake God and betray His cause. Do not reason in a way that discourages yourself by assuming that your heart will always be like this just because it is so at present. There is a significant difference between the spirits of God's people at different times, and therefore there may be a difference in you as well.
To help counter these discouraging thoughts, consider the following:
Firstly, recognize that you are united with a principle that is filled with all Grace, even if you don't always feel its influence in the same way. You have a union with a principle that is so full that you have no reason to determine against yourself.
Secondly, remember that you have promises filled with Grace to encourage God's servants. These promises provide an abundance of good that can be drawn from. Therefore, you cannot determine that it will always be this way for you.
Thirdly, understand that the glory of God is as precious to Him as your own souls are to you. If the cause and honour of God are at stake, know that God will take care of His own honour. You may be afraid of betraying God's cause because of your current state of heart, but what troubles you? You fear bringing guilt, misery upon yourself, and dishonouring God. However, know that the glory of God is precious to Him, and since you are one of His, He will take care of you.
Fourthly, consider how graciously God has come to supply His people in times of need. He has filled their spirits in moments of difficulty when He has called them to do hard work. They have accomplished things they never thought they could do. Similarly, with wicked people, you see some who are so vile and wicked that you could never have imagined it. Likewise, the godly, though their hearts may be down at times, experience moments of assistance, enlargement, and spiritual fullness that one would never have anticipated.
Fifthly, God has made a significant difference in your spiritual condition compared to what it was before. Therefore, why should you not hope that God will bring about a difference between your current
state and what you may become in the future? If God has worked even the slightest degree of saving grace in you, He has made a greater difference between you and someone in their natural state than there is between you and the glorified saints (as mentioned before). If God has made such a tremendous difference, why should you trouble yourselves by thinking that it will never be anything other than what it is now?
Sixthly, I appeal to you: Have you never experienced moments when your heart was uplifted for God? Was there never a time when you felt a quickening and enlargement of your heart, a comfortable readiness for service or suffering?
Objection: I cannot deny that it has happened to me, but those moments have passed, and my heart is down again. Everyone has some fleeting moments and stirrings, some good moods, and mine may be no different from those experienced by someone who has no grace. Grace is a constant thing, and the heart is established with it.
Therefore, even though I feel my heart lifted at times, they are just momentary flashes that anyone could have, even without grace.
Answer: I respond to that by saying that there are some works of grace that are steady and constant, directly flowing from the principles and essence of grace. On the other hand, there are other works of grace that are more distant and not as consistent.
1. There are some works that are steady and constant. Consider God's people in any condition, and if they truly know their own hearts, they will find two things: First, an approval of the life, power, and strictness of godly ways. Secondly, they will have a taste for what is spiritual, whether in ordinances or in God's
people. Even when their hearts are greatly down, they consistently experience these two things.
2. However, when it comes to the ability to perform duties, to serve or suffer, those abilities do not lie as closely to the root of grace.
They are like the leaves, blossoms, or fruit of a tree. While the sap at the root may be constant, the blossoms, leaves, and fruit are not always present.
Objection: But you may argue, even in the case of individuals who have good moods, consider the worst among them. Although their hearts may be wicked at times, their hearts are uplifted at other times. So, instead of encouraging God's servants, are you not encouraging the wicked? They might think, "We hear that there is a difference between God's people, that they are not always the same.
It is the same with me. Sometimes I am troubled, but at other times (thanks be to God) things are better. Therefore, instead of removing discouragement from the weak, this may provide encouragement to the wicked. So, where does the difference lie between the good moods experienced by those who have no true grace and the difference in spirit among those who do possess true grace?"
To that, I answer:
First, a distinction can be discerned based on what has been said.
There is something that is constant. Is that which lies at the root of grace still present in you? If you do not find those two constant things (namely, an approval of the life, power, and strictness of godliness, and a taste for that which is spiritual, whether in ordinances or in God's people), then all the good moods in the world, even if your hearts are uplifted, will not reveal the truth of grace.
Secondly, those who only experience temporary good moods without a foundation of true grace do not feel humbled for what was lacking in them before. Their hearts may indeed be uplifted at times, and they may praise themselves for that. However, this does not make them reflect on their past state and feel ashamed and humbled for the wretchedness and disorders of their hearts in the past. On the other hand, when a heart that possesses true grace is uplifted for God, it uses that experience to be abased and humbled in its own thoughts for the previous deadness and disorders of the heart. The good moods of others tend to inflate them rather than lead to any work of humility regarding the evils that were present in them before. They believe that their current good moods and favourable disposition towards God will satisfy Him for their previous disorders.
However, this is not the case with a gracious heart. When a gracious heart is uplifted, it uses that work of God upon it to be ashamed and confounded by its own past disorders. The more uplifted the heart is, the more it becomes aware of its own baseness, vileness, and wretchedness, which others, when their hearts are uplifted, do not experience.
Thirdly, when the hearts of God's people are uplifted, it brings about gracious revelations of God and of those things that wonderfully spiritualise their hearts. On the other hand, others, even when their hearts are uplifted, only experience certain emotions. In their good moods, they do not have those heavenly revelations of God that purify their hearts, make their hearts more spiritual, and cause their hearts to become more heavenly, as is the case with the godly.
Fourthly, those who only experience good moods without the truth of grace are not carried beyond themselves to a higher principle by those moods. They find satisfaction in the workings they feel in their
hearts. However, when God raises and improves a gracious heart, it is carried beyond itself to a principle that transcends itself. It does not rest in the stirrings and workings it experiences in the present, thinking that it is safe and well solely because of them. Rather, it is carried beyond itself by those stirrings and workings.
Fifthly, in the case of mere good moods without the truth of grace, they do not work in a timely and orderly manner as the breathings of God's spirit in His servants do. The breathings of a gracious heart, which come from the Spirit of God, work seasonably and orderly in their hearts when there is a spiritual purpose for them. As Christ said, "In that hour shall it be given to you," meaning that the Spirit will come upon them when they have the greatest need for it. On the other hand, in the case of others, their good moods work only according to external circumstances and as means present themselves. But at those times when they have the greatest need for them, they are farthest from experiencing those moods.
Sixthly, when the heart is right and truly godly, and God breathes in it more than before, such a person will watch over themselves and not become complacent. However, those who only have moods become less watchful and more secure based on those moods.
Seventhly, those who are truly gracious, even if they do not always find their hearts uplifted in the same manner, consider it a sickness and disease, and it causes disquiet and trouble in their spirits. On the other hand, those who only have some moods are not aware of their hearts being down as a sickness and disease, or as a burden and trouble to their souls.
Lastly, in those who have grace, when their hearts are uplifted at any time, it is only a preparation for further service. On the contrary,