CHAPTER V.—Remedies of casting down to cite the soul, and press it to give an account
that means those two that should be one flesh and spirit are divided, and so made two, and when they should mind duty their mind is taken up with wrongs done by the one to the other.
There is nothing more required for the performing of holy duties than uniting of spirits, and therefore God would not have the sacrifice brought to the altar before reconciliation with our brother,
Matt. 5:24. He esteems peace so highly, that he will have his own service stay for it. We see when Moses came to deliver the Israelites out of bondage, Exod. 9, their mind was so taken up with their grief that there was nobody within to give Moses an answer; their souls went altogether after their ill usage.
Use. Therefore, we should all endeavour and labour for a calmed spirit, that we may the better serve God in praying to him and praising of him; and serve one another in love, that we may be fitted to do and receive good, that we may make our passage to heaven more easy and cheerful, without drooping and hanging the wing. So much as we are quiet and cheerful upon good grounds, so much we live, and are, as it were, in heaven. So much as we yield to discouragement, we lose so much of our life and happiness cheerfulness being, as it were, that life of our lives and the spirit of our spirits by which they are more enlarged to receive happiness and to express it.
CHAPTER V.—Remedies of casting down to cite the soul, and press it to give an account Obs. 1. But to come to some helps:
First, in that he expostulates with himself, we may observe that one way to raise a dejected soul is to cite it before itself, and, as it were, to reason the case. God hath set up a court in man's heart, wherein the conscience hath the office both of informer, accuser, witness, and
judge; and if matters were well carried within ourselves, this prejudging would be a prevention of future judging. It is a great mercy of God that the credit and comfort of man are so provided for that he may take up matters in himself, and so prevent public disgrace. But if there be not a fair dispatch and transaction in this inferior court within us, there will be a review in a higher court.
Therefore, by slubbering over our matters we put God and ourselves to more trouble than needs. For a judgment must pass, first or last, either within us or without us, upon all unwarrantable distempers.
We must not only be ready to give an account of our faith, upon what grounds we believe; but of all our actions, upon what grounds we do what we do; and of our passions, upon what grounds we are passionate; as in a well-governed state, uproar and sedition is never stirred, but account must be given. Now in a mutiny, the presence and speech of a venerable man composeth the minds of the disordered multitude; so likewise in a mutiny of the spirit, the authority that God hath put into reason, as a beam of himself, commands silence, and puts all in order again.
Reason. And there is good reason for it, for man is an understanding creature, and hath a rule given him to live by, and therefore is to be countable of every thought, word, action, passion. Therefore the first way to quiet the soul, is, to ask a reason of the tumult raised, and then many of our distempers for shame will not appear, because though they rage in silent darkness, yet they can say nothing for themselves, being summoned before strength of judgment and reason. Which is the reason why passionate men are loth that any court should be kept within them; but labour to stop judgment all they can. If men would but give themselves leave to consider better of it, they would never yield to such unreasonable motions of the soul; if they could but gain so much of their unruly passions, as to reason the matter within themselves, to hear what their consciences can tell them in secret, there would not be such offensive breakings out. And therefore, if we be ashamed to hear others upbraiding us, let us for shame hear ourselves; and if no reason can be given, what an unreasonable thing is it for a man endowed with reason to
contrary his own principles! and to be carried as a beast without reason; or if there be any reason to be given, then this is the way to scan it, see whether it will hold water or not. We shall find some reasons, if they may be so called, to be so corrupt and foul, that if the judgment be not corrupted by them, they dare not be brought to light, but always appear under some colour and pretext; for sin, like the devil, is afraid to appear in its own likeness, and men seek out fair glosses for foul intentions. The hidden, secret reason is one, the open is another; the heart being corrupt sets the wit awork, to satisfy corrupt will; such kind of men are afraid of their own consciences, as Ahab of Micaiah, 1 Kings 22:16, because they fear it would deal truly with them; and therefore they take either present order for their consciences, or else, as Felix put off Paul, Acts 24:25, they adjourn the court for another time. Such men are strangers at home, afraid of nothing more than themselves, and therefore in a fearful condition, because they are reserved for the judgment of the great day, if God doth not before that set upon them in this world. If men, carried away with their own lusts, would give but a little check, and stop themselves in their posting to hell, and ask, What have I done? What am I now about? Whither will this course tend? How will it end? &c., undoubtedly men would begin to be wise. Would the blasphemer give away his soul for nothing (for there is no engagement of profit or pleasure in this as in other sins, but it issues merely out of irreverence, and a superfluity of profaneness), would he, I say, draw so heavy a guilt upon himself for nothing, if he would but make use of his reason? Would an old man, when he is very near his journey's end, make longer provision for a short way, if he would ask himself a reason? But, indeed, covetousness is an unreasonable vice.
If those also of the younger sort would ask of themselves, why God should not have the flower and marrow of their age? and why they should give their strength to the devil? it might a little take them off from the devil's service. But sin is a work of darkness, and therefore shuns not only the light of grace, but even the light of reason. Yet sin seldom wants a seeming reason. Men will not go to hell without a show of reason. But such be sophistical fallacies, not reasons; and,
therefore, sinners are said to play the sophisters with themselves.
Satan could not deceive us, unless we deceived ourselves first, and are willingly deceived. Wilful sinners are blind, because they put out the light of reason, and so think God, like themselves, blind too, Ps.
50:21, and, therefore, they are deservedly termed madmen and fools; for, did they but make use of that spark of reason, it would teach them to reason thus: I cannot give an account of my ways to myself; what account shall I, or can I, give then to the Judge of all flesh ere it be long.
And as it is a ground of repentance in stopping our course to ask, What have I done? so likewise of faith and new obedience, to ask,
What shall I do for the time to come? and then upon settling, the soul in way of thanks will be ready to ask of itself, 'What shall I return to the Lord?' &c. So that the soul, by this dealing with itself, promoteth itself to all holy duties till it come to heaven.
1. The reason why we are thus backward to the keeping of this court in ourselves is self-love. We love to flatter our own affections, but this self-love is but self-hatred in the end. As the wise man says, he that regards not this part of wisdom, 'hates his own soul, and shall eat the fruits of his own ways,' Prov. 1:31.
2. As likewise it issues from an irksomeness of labour, which makes us rather willing to seem base and vile to ourselves and others, than to take pains with our own hearts to be better, as those that are weary of holding the reins give them up unto the horse neck, and so are driven whither the rage of the horse carrieth them. Sparing a little trouble at first, doubles it in the end; as he who will not take the pains to cast up his books, his books will cast up him in the end. It is a blessed trouble that brings sound and long peace. This labour saves
God a labour, for therefore he judgeth us, because we would not take pains with ourselves before, 1 Cor. 11:31.
3. And pride also, with a desire of liberty, makes men think it to be a diminishing of greatness and freedom either to be curbed, or to curb
ourselves. We love to be absolute and independent; but this, as it brought ruin upon our nature in Adam, so it will upon our persons.
Men, as Luther was wont to say, are born with a pope in their belly, they are loath to give an account, although it be to themselves, their wills are, instead of a kingdom to them, mens mihi pro regno.
Let us, therefore, when any lawless passions begin to stir, deal with our souls as God did with Jonah, 'Doest thou well to be angry?'
Jonah 4:4 to fret thus. This will be a means to make us quiet; for, alas! what weak reasons have we often of strong motions. Such a man gave me no respect, such another looked more kindly upon another man than upon me, &c. You have some of Haman's spirit,
Esth. 5:13, that for a little neglect would ruin a whole nation. Passion presents men that are innocent as guilty to us, facit ira nocentes; and because we will not seem to be mad without reason, pride commands the wit to justify anger, and so one passion maintains and feeds another.
Obs. 2. Neither is it sufficient to cite the soul before itself; but it must be pressed to give an account, as we see here David doubles and trebles the expostulation; as oft as any distemper did arise, so oft did he labour to keep it down. If passions grow too insolent, Eli's mildness will do no good, 1 Sam. 2:24. It would prevent much trouble in this kind to subdue betimes, in ourselves and others, the first beginnings of any unruly passions and affections; which, if they be not well tutored and disciplined at the first, prove as headstrong, unruly, and ill nurtured children, who, being not chastened in time, take such a head, that it is oft above the power of parents to bring them in order. A child set at liberty, saith Solomon, 'breeds shame, at length, to his parents,' Prov. 29:15. Adonijah's example shews this.
The like may be said of the affections set at liberty; it is dangerous to redeem a little quiet by yielding to our affections, which is never safely gotten but by mortification of them.
Those that are in great place are most in danger, by yielding to themselves, to lose themselves; for they are so taken up with the
person for a time put upon them, that they, both in look and speech and carriage, often shew that they forget both their natural condition as men, and much more their supernatural as Christians; and therefore are scarce counselable by others or themselves in those things that concern their severed condition, that concerneth another world. Whereas it were most wisdom so to think of their place they bear, whereby they are called gods, Ps. 82:6, 7, as not to forget they must lay their person aside, and 'die like men,' 2 Sam. 24:4. David himself that in his afflicted condition could advise with himself, and check himself, yet in his free and flourishing estate neglected the counsel of his friends. Agur was in jealousy of a full condition, and lest instead of saying, what have I done? why am I thus cast down,
&c., he should say, 'Who is the Lord?' Prov. 30:9.
Meaner men in their lesser sphere often shew what their spirits would be, if their compass were enlarged.
It is a great fault in breeding youth, for fear of taking down of their spirits, not to take down their pride, and get victory of their affections: whereas a proud unbroken heart raiseth us more trouble often than all the world beside. Of all troubles, the trouble of a proud heart is the greatest. It was a great trouble to Haman to lead
Mordecai's horse, Esth. 6:1, which another man would not have thought so; the moving of a straw is troublesome to proud flesh. And therefore it is good to 'bear the yoke from our youth,' Lam. 3:27; it is better to be taken down in youth, than to be broken in pieces by great crosses in age. First or last, self-denial and victory over ourselves is absolutely necessary; otherwise faith, which is a grace that requireth self-denial, will never be brought into the soul, and bear rule there.
Quest. But, what if pressing upon our souls will not help?
Ans. Then speak to God, to Jesus Christ by prayer, that as he rebuked the winds and the waves, and went upon the sea, so he would walk upon our souls, and command a calm there. It is no less power to settle a peace in the soul, than to command the seas to be quiet. It is