CHAPTER XVIII.—Other grounds of trusting in God, namely, the Promises, and twelve directions about t
CHAPTER XVIII.—Other grounds of trusting in God, namely, the Promises, and twelve directions about the same § I. But for the better settling of our trust in God, a further discovery is necessary than of the nature and providence of God; for though the nature of God be written in the book of the creatures in so great letters, as he that runs may read, and though the providence of God appears in the order and use of things, yet there is another book whereby to know the will of God towards us, and our duty towards him. We must therefore have a knowledge of the promises of God, as well as of his providence, for though God hath discovered himself most graciously in Christ unto us, yet had we not a word of promise, we could not have the boldness to build upon Christ himself.
Therefore, from the same grounds, that there is a God, there must be a revealing of the will of God, for else we can never have any firm trust in him further than he offers himself to be trusted. Therefore hath God opened his heart to us in his word, and reached out so many sweet promises for us to lay hold on, and stooped so low, by gracious condescending mixed with authority, as to enter into a covenant with us to perform all things for our good; for promises are, as it were, the stay of the soul in an imperfect condition, and so is faith in them until all promises shall end in performance, and faith in sight, and hope in possession.
Now these promises are, 1, for their spring from whence they proceed, free engagements of God, for if he had not bound himself, who could? and 2, they are for their value precious; and 3, for their extent large, even of all things that conduce to happiness; and 4, for their virtue quickening and strengthening the soul, as coming from the love of God, and conveying that love unto us by his Spirit in the best fruits thereof; and 5, for their certainty, they are as sure as the love of God in Christ is, upon which they are founded, and from which 'nothing can separate us,' Rom. 8:39. For all promises are
either Christ himself, the promised seed, or else they are of good things made to us in him and for him, and accomplished for his sake.
They are all made first to him as heir of the promise, as Angel of the Covenant, as head of his body, and as our elder brother, &c. For promises being the fruits of God's love, and God's love being founded first on Christ, it must needs follow that all the promises are both made, and made good to us in and through him, who is 'yesterday, and to-day, and for ever the same,' Heb. 13:8.
That we should not call God's love into question, he not only gives us, (1) his word, but a binding word, his promise; and not only (2) a naked promise, but hath (3) entered into a covenant with us, founded upon full satisfaction by the blood of Christ, and unto this covenant sealed by the blood of the Lord Jesus, he hath (4) added the seals of sacraments, and unto this he hath added (5) his oath, that there might be no place left of doubting to the distrustful heart of man. There is no way of securing promises amongst men, but God hath taken the same to himself, and all to this end that we might not only know his mind towards us, but be fully persuaded of it, that as verily as he lives, he will make good whatever he hath promised for the comfort of his children. What greater assurance can there be than for being itself to lay his being in pawn? and for life itself to lay life to pawn, and all to comfort a poor soul?
The boundless and restless desire of man's spirit will never be stayed without some discovery of the chief good, and the way to attain the same. Men would have been in darkness about their final condition and the way to please God, and to pacify and purge their consciences, had not the word of God set down the spring and cause of all evil, together with the cure of it, and directed us how to have communion with God, and to raise ourselves above all the evil which we meet withal betwixt us and happiness, and to make us every way 'wise to salvation,' 2 Tim. 3:15. Hence it is that the Psalmist prefers the manifestation of God by his word before the manifestation of him in his most glorious works, Ps. 19:7.
And thus we see the necessity of a double principle for faith to rely on: 1, God; and 2, the Word of God revealing his will unto us, and directing us to make use of all his attributes, relations, and providence for our good; and this word hath its strength from him who gives a being and an accomplishment unto it; for words are as the authority of him that uttereth them is. When we look upon a grant in the word of a king, it stays our minds, because we know he is able to make it good; and why should it not satisfy our souls to look upon promises in the word of God? whose words, as they come from his truth and express his goodness, so they are all made good by his power and wisdom.
By the bare word of God it is that the heavens continue, and the earth, without any other foundation, hangs in the midst of the world; therefore well may the soul stay itself on that, even when it hath nothing else in sight to rely upon. By his word it is that the covenant of day and night, and the preservation of the world from any further overflowing of waters, 2 Peter 3:7, continueth, which, if it should fail, yet his covenant with his people shall abide firm for ever, though the whole frame of nature were dissolved.
When we have thus gotten a fit foundation for the soul to lay itself upon, our next care must be, by trusting, to build on the same. All our misery is either in having a false foundation, or else in loose building upon a true. Therefore, having so strong a ground as God's nature, his providence, his promise, &c., to build upon, the only way for establishing our souls is, by trust, to rely firmly on him.
Now the reason why trust is so much required, is because, 1, it emptieth the soul; and 2, by emptying enlargeth it; and 3, seasoneth and fitteth the Soul to join with so gracious an object; and 4, filleth it by carrying it out of itself unto God, who presently, so soon as he is trusted in, conveys himself and his goodness to the soul; and thus we come to have the comfort, and God the glory of all his excellencies.
Thus salvation comes to be sure unto us, whilst faith, looking to the
promises, and to God freely offering grace therein, resigns up itself to God, making no further question from any unworthiness of its own.
And thus we return to God by cleaving to him, from whom we fell by distrust, living under a new covenant merely of grace, Jer. 31:3, and no grace fitter than that which gives all to Christ. Considering the fountain of all our good is, out of ourselves, in him, it being safest for us, who were so ill husbands at the first, that it should be so, therefore it is fit we should have use of such a grace that will carry us out of ourselves to the spring head.
The way, then, whereby faith quieteth the soul, is by raising it above all discontentments and storms here below, and pitching it upon God, thereby uniting it to him, whence it draws virtue to oppose and bring under whatsoever troubles its peace. For the soul is made for God, and never finds rest till it returns to him again (h). When God and the soul meet, there will follow contentment. God simply considered, is not all our happiness, but God as trusted in; and Christ as we are made one with him. The soul cannot so much as 'touch the hem of Christ's garment,' but it shall find 'virtue coming from him,'
Mat. 9:20, to sanctify and settle it. God in Christ is full of all that is good. When the soul is emptied, enlarged, and opened by faith to receive goodness offered, there must needs follow sweet satisfaction.
§ II. 1. For the better strengthening of our trust, it is not sufficient that we trust in God and his truth revealed, but we must do it by light and strength from him. Many believe in the truth by human arguments, but no arguments will convince the soul but such as are fetched from the inward nature, and powerful work of truth itself. No man can know God, but by God; none can know the sun, but by its own light; none can know the truth of God, so as to build upon it, but by the truth itself and the Spirit revealing it by its own light to the soul. That soul which hath felt the power of truth in casting it down, and raising it up again, will easily be brought to rest upon it. It is neither education, nor the authority of others that profess the same truth, or that we have been so taught by men of great parts, &c., will
settle the heart, until we find an inward power and authority in the truth itself shining in our hearts by its own beams. Hence comes unsettledness in time of troubles, because we have not a spiritual discerning of spiritual things. Supernatural truths must have a supernatural power to apprehend them, therefore God createth a spiritual eye and hand of the soul, which is faith. In those that are truly converted, all saving truths are transcribed out of the Scripture into their hearts, 'they are taught of God,' Isa. 54:13, so as they find all truths, both concerning the sinful estate and the gracious and happy estate of man in themselves. They carry a divinity in them and about them, so as from a saving feeling they can speak of conversion, of sin, of grace, and the comforts of the Spirit, &c., and from this acquaintance are ready to yield and give up themselves to truth revealed, and to God speaking by it.
2. Trust is never sound but upon a spiritual conviction of the truth and goodness we rely upon, for the effecting of which the Spirit of God must likewise subdue the rebellion and malice of our will, that so it may be suitable and level to divine things, and relish them as they are. We must apprehend the love of God, and the fruits of it, as better than life itself, and then choosing and cleaving to the same will soon follow; for as there is a fitness in divine truths to all the necessities of the soul, so the soul must be fitted by them to savour and apply them to itself; and then from an harmony between the soul and that which it applies itself unto there will follow, not only peace in the soul, but joy and delight surpassing any contentment in the world besides.
3. As there is in God to satisfy the whole soul, so trust carries the whole soul to God. This makes trust not so easy a matter, because there must be an exercise of every faculty of the soul, or else our trust is imperfect and lame. There must be a knowledge of him whom we trust, and why we trust, an affiance and love, &c. Only they that know God will trust in him; not that knowledge alone is sufficient, but because the sweetness of God's love is let into the soul thereby, which draweth the whole soul to him. We are bidden to trust
perfectly in God; therefore, seeing we have a God so full of perfection to trust in, we should labour to trust perfectly a him.
4. And it is good for the exercise of trust to put cases to ourselves of things that probably may fall out, and then return to our souls to search what strength we have if such things should come to pass.
Thus David puts cases. Perfect faith dares put the hardest cases to its soul, and then set God against all that may befall it, Ps. 3:6; 46:8;
27:3.
5. Again, labour to fit the promise to every condition thou art in.
There is no condition but hath a promise suitable, therefore no condition but wherein God may be trusted, because his truth and goodness are always the same. And in the promise, look both to the good promised and to the faithfulness and love of the promiser. It is not good to look upon the difficulty of the thing we have a promise against, but who promiseth it, and for whose sake, and so see all good things in Christ made over to us.
6. We should labour likewise for a single heart to trust in God only.
There is no readier way to fall than to trust equally to two stays, whereof one is rotten, and the other sound; therefore as in point of doctrine we are to rely upon Christ only, and to make the Scriptures our rule only; so in life and conversation, whatever we make use of, yet we should enjoy and rely upon God only; for either God is trusted alone or not at all. Those that trust to others things with God, trust not him but upon pretence to carry their double minds with less check.
7. Again, labour that thy soul may answer all the relations wherein it stands to God, by cleaving to him, (1) as a Father, by trusting on his care; (2) as a Teacher, by following his direction; (3) as a Creator, by dependence on him; (4) as a Husband, by inseparable affection of love to him; (5) as a Lord, by obedience, &c. And then we may with comfort expect whatsoever good these relations can yield; all which,
God, regarding more our wants and weaknesses than his own greatness, hath taken upon him.
8. Shall these relations yield comfort from the creature, and not from God himself, in whom they are in their highest perfection? shall God make other fathers and husbands faithful, and not he faithful himself? All our Comfort depends upon labouring to make these relations good to our souls.
And as we must wholly and only trust in God, so likewise we must trust him in all conditions and times, for all things that we stand in need of, until that time comes, wherein we shall stand in need of nothing: for as the same care of God moved him to save us, and to preserve us in the world till we be put in possession of salvation; so the same faith relies upon God for heaven and all necessary provision till we come thither. It is the office of faith to quiet our souls in all the necessities of this life, and we have continual use of trusting while we are here; for even when we have things, yet God still keeps the blessing of them in his own hands, to hold us in a continual dependence upon him. God trains us up this way, by exercising our trust in lesser matters, to fit us for greater. Thus it pleaseth God to keep us in a depending condition until he see his own time; but so good is God that as he intends to give us what we wait for, so will he give us the grace and spirit of faith, to sustain our souls in waiting till we enjoy the same. The unruliness of a natural spirit is never discovered more, than when God defers; therefore we should labour the more not to withdraw our attendance from God.
9. Further, we must know that the condition of a Christian in this life, is not to see what he trusts God for; 'he lives by faith, and not by sight,' 2 Cor. 5:7; and yet there is such a virtue in faith, which makes evident and present, things to come and unseen; because God, where he gives an eye of faith, gives also a glass of the word to see things in, and by seeing of them in the truth and power of him that promiseth, they become present, not only to the understanding to apprehend them, but to the will to rest upon them, and to the affections to joy in
them. It is the nature of faith to work, when it seeth nothing, and oftentimes best of all then, because God shews himself more clearly in his power, wisdom, and goodness, at such times; and so his glory shines most, and faith hath nothing else to look upon then, whereupon it gathers all the forces of the soul together, to fasten upon God.
It should therefore be the chief care of a Christian to strengthen his faith, that so it may answer God's manner of dealing with him in the worst times; for God usually (1, that he might perfectly mortify our confidence in the creature; and 2, that he might the more endear his favours and make them fresh and new unto us; and 3, that the glory of deliverance may be entirely his, without the creatures sharing with him; and 4, that our faith and obedience may be tried to the uttermost, and discovered) suffers his children to fall into great extremities before he will reach forth his hand to help them, as in Job's case, &c. Therefore Christians should much labour their hearts to trust in God in the deepest extremities that may befall them, even when no light of comfort appears either from within or without, yea then especially, when all other comforts fail, Isa. 5:20. Despair is oft the ground of hope. When the darkness of the night is thickest, then the morning begins to dawn. That which, to a man unacquainted with God's dealings, is a ground of utter despair, the same, to a man acquainted with the ways of God, is a rise of exceeding comfort; for infinite power and goodness can never be at a loss, neither can faith which looks to that, ever be at a stand; whence it is that both God and faith work best alone. In a hopeless estate a Christian will see some door of hope opened, 1, because God shews himself nearest to us, when we stand most in need of him; 'Help, Lord, for vain is the help of man,' Ps. 60:11. God is never more seen than in the mount.
He knows our souls best, and our souls know him best, in adversity.
Ps. 31:7; then he is most wonderful in his saints. 2. Because our prayers then are strong cries, fervent and frequent. God is sure to hear of us at such a time, which pleaseth him well, as delighting to hear the voice of his beloved.
10. For our better encouragement in these sad times, and to help our trust in God the more, we should often call to mind the former experiences, which either ourselves or others have had of God's goodness, and make use of the same for our spiritual good. 'Our fathers trusted in thee,' saith the head of the church, 'and were not confounded,' Ps. 22:14. God's truth and goodness is unchangeable,
'he never leaves those that trust in him,' Ps. 9:10. So likewise in our own experiences, we should take notice of God's dealings with us in sundry kinds; how many ways he hath refreshed us, and how good we have found him in our worst times. After we have once tried him and his truth, we may safely trust him. God will stand upon his credit, he never failed any yet, and he will not begin to break with us.
If his nature and his word and his former dealing hath been sure and square, why should our hearts be wavering? 'Thy word,' saith the Psalmist, 'is very pure (or tried), therefore thy servant loveth it,' Ps.
119:140; the word of God is 'as silver tried in the furnace, purified seven times,' Ps. 12:6. It is good therefore to observe and lay up
God's dealings. Experience is nothing else but a multiplied remembrance of former blessings, which will help to multiply our faith. Tried truth and tried faith unto it, sweetly agree and answer one another. It were a course much tending to the quickening of the faith of Christians, if they would communicate one to another their mutual experiences. This hath formerly been the custom of God's people, 'Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul,' Ps. 66:16; and David urgeth this as a reason to God for deliverance, that then 'the righteous would compass him about,' Ps. 142:7, as rejoicing in the experience of God's goodness to him. The want of this makes us upon any new trial, to call God's care and love into question, as if he had never formerly been good unto us; whereas every experiment of God's love should refresh our faith upon any fresh onset. God is so good to his children even in this world, that he trains them up by daily renewed experiences of his fatherly care; for besides those many promises of good things to come, he gives us some evidence and taste of what we believe here; that by that which we feel we might be strengthened in
that we look for, that so in both (1, sense of what we feel; and 2, certainty of what we look for) we might have full support.
11. But yet we must trust God, as he will he trusted, namely, in doing good, or else we do not trust him but tempt him. Our commanding of our souls to trust in God, is but an echo of what God commands us first; and therefore in the same manner he commands us, we should command ourselves. As God commands us to trust him in doing good, so should we 'commit our souls to him in well doing,' 1 Pet.
4:19, and trust him when we are about his own works, and not in the works of darkness. We may safely expect God in his ways of mercy, when we are in his ways of obedience; for religion, as it is a doctrine of what is to be believed, so it is a doctrine according to godliness; and the mysteries of faith are mysteries of godliness, because they cannot be believed but they will enforce a godly conversation. Where any true impression of them is, there is holiness always bred in that soul; therefore a study of holiness must go jointly together with a study of trusting in God. Faith looks not only to promises, but to directions to duty, and breeds in the soul a liking of whatsoever pleaseth God. There is a mutual strengthening in things that are good; trusting stirs to duty, and duty strengthens trusting by increasing our liberty and boldness with God.
12. Again, we must maintain in our souls, a high esteem of the grace of faith, the very trial whereof is 'more precious than gold,' 1 Pet. 1:7.
What then is the grace of faith itself, and the promises which it layeth hold on? Certainly they transcend in worth whatever may draw us from God; whence it is that the soul sets a high price upon them, and on faith that believes them. It is impossible that anything in the world should come betwixt the heart and those things, if once we truly lay hold on them, to undermine faith or the comfort we have by it. The heart is never drawn to any sinful vanity, or frighted with any terror of trouble, till faith first loseth the sight and estimation of divine things, and forgets the necessity and excellency of them. Our
Saviour Christ, when he would stir up a desire of faith in his disciples, Luke 17:6, shewed them the power and excellency of the