Chapter IV
We must use our endeavours to believe, being fearful of doing anything to
offend that God upon whose power we depend to work faith and all other
things in us.
2. Fear and trembling here, in relation to God s working the will and
the deed in us, is extended also to fearfulness of offending, of sinning
against that God that must work. So that now that soul that depends
upon the power and good pleasure of God for working faith in him, and
would work in a subordination to this power of God, the law of this de
pendence lays this obligation upon him, that in relation hereunto he should
be fearful even in this respect, of offending or provoking God, upon whom
he doth depend to work in him both the will and the deed. There are, I
536 OF THE OBJECT AND ACTS [PART III. BOOK III.
say, many motives to keep us off from offending God, but especially when the soul hath this consideration in his eye, his being in a continual depend ence upon God for working of faith, or for working out his own salvation. The apostle, James iv. 5, doth give such sinners direction as indeed were fallen back, or had strong lusts to which they were subjected, how they should demean their souls towards God for the giving of them more grace to ^overcome their corruptions. Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, the spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy ? The words are taken out of Gen. vi., for we have them nowhere else in all the Old Testament.
* The imagination of the thoughts of man s heart are evil, and only evil
continually. The apostle here puts in for evil, envy, by a metonymy for all the rest, for that sin these Jews were most guilty of. He therefore instanceth in that peculiarly, as being peculiar to that nation, and he had spoken of enyyings and strifes which they had amongst themselves in the words before. Now, saith he, it is true, this is your nature, and you have
it from the womb, but there is a God that giveth more grace, and it is his
gift : ^But he giveth more grace, saith he, verse 6, that is, he hath grace and power enough to overcome this spirit of envy in you, and he hath pro mised to do it. But then let me tell you this, you must depend upon this God, and you must walk as those that do depend upon God to give more grace to overcome this corruption. Now, what he saith in the general to such, is applicable to the point in hand. Now, what doth he prescribe them ? He prescribes them submission to God, and emptiness in a man s self of all confidence in himself f He resisteth the proud, saith he, and giveth grace to the humble : submit yourselves therefore to God ; resist the devil, and he will flee from you, verse 7. He bids them first submit unto God, as he that was the giver of all this grace, whereby their cor ruptions must be overcome ; that is, give your souls up to him to be wrought upon in his own way, and, although you are to use endeavours, as afterwards he directs them to humble themselves, &c., yet in all, saith he, submit to God, and go to him, and tell him, that he is as free to work or not to work as he pleaseth. Lord, say to him, I urge not anything in myself, I put my mouth in the dust, I present my soul before thee, and submit unto thee. For that is certainly the meaning of it, for he speaks not here in respect of afflictions, but in respect of a dependence upon God for to give more grace, if you mark the coherence. A man should not say, [ have prayed and fasted these many years, and yet God doth not come. 1 Submit yourselves to God, saith he ; acknowledge thine own unworthiness, and thine own vileness, that such is the cursed nature of thine, as it is pure grace to give thee anything, and if it be grace it is free. Why dost thou complain as if God were bound to give it thee ? No, saith he, submit to God. That is one thing, but that which is proper to the second parti cular I mentioned, is what followeth : Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Although the lust of envy rise, saith he, yet it never comes to any act of consent, never breaks forth into any act of consent, never produceth any gross effect, but the devil is in it. Now, then, resist thou the devil. What is the meaning of that ? That thou dependest upon God to subdue this spirit of envy in thee that is still arising, resist the devil. He means this, that the lusts in a man put him not upon a gross act without the devil ; the devil is in it then, therefore resist, keep thy will stedfast against this Satan,
< resist the devil, and he will flee from thee. There is a com pact, as it were, between God and Satan in such cases ; he doth say to Satan, If that soul doth resist thee, thou shalt flee. Even as when Christ was tempted, there was this law of the temptation, that if Christ did resist,
CHAP. IV.] OF JUSTIFYING FAITH. 537
if he stood out from consent, the devil was to leave him. So that in deed
it is this, that
and in truth, the effect of this exhortation, Resist the devil, ^
though these lusts rise again and again, yet they should, in dependence
upon God who gives more grace, not give up their will to the consent,
for the devil can never hurt us without the consent of our own wills. It
is, I say, to take heed of giving consent to a gross sin, when we are in
dependence upon the power of God to give grace or faith, or anything else we
would have of his Spirit. And he mentioneth this, to what end and pur
pose ? Not as if these moved God to work, for a man s fear to offend God
doth not move him to work, but because it is uncomely, it is against the
law of dependence, against the obligation of it, to do otherwise. When a
man depends upon the power of God to work more grace, to work the will
and the deed, for a man then to commit gross sins, is against the law of
dependence. So you have it in Heb. iii. 13, Take heed lest your hearts
be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. As he bids them take heed
of unbelief, so of being hardened with the deceitfulness of sin, it is all one
with resisting the devil in the interpretation I have given ; for as unbelief
makes a man depart from God, so consent to sin keeps men in unbelief,
and so casteth the work behind-hand again and again. Now, though a
going on in a dependence upon God, with a fearfulness to offend God, upon whom a man dependeth, doth not move God to do anything, for what he
doth is of grace, yet, notwithstanding, by way of removing an impediment,
it hath its place, for there would be a hindrance otherwise. As a patient
that takes physic can do nothing to make the physic work, yet_he can
abstain from what shall hinder the working of it, he can abstain from
drinking, or from eating before it, or whatever else is required; and
as a woman, though she cannot conceive, yet she may take heed of
what is any hindrance of conception, of journeys, and violent motions, and
the like ; so it is here, though a man cannot further his own salvation by
working anything at all, simply considered, as what himself doth, and
though a fearfulness to offend move not God simply, yet the contrary would
put God off, that is certain ; and it is against the law of dependence be
tween God and us. Therefore saith the apostle here, while Christ is form
ing in your hearts, take heed of doing anything that will provoke the great
God ; and if you will have more grace, resist the devil, and you will find
this to be true, he will flee from you. So that, though this fearing and
trembling cloth not help forward our salvation, proprie et per se, as they say,
that is, in itself properly, or as if it did reach the effect itself, yet it doth it
per accidens, it removeth that which would be destructive, and would hinder.
Though it doth not move God, yet not to do it may provoke God.
If you ask what sins a man should forbear in dependence upon God, and
upon the power of God in working faith ?
(1.) I may instance even in this of envying, because James instanceth m
it. There are some sins that are more contrary to a dependence upon the
power of God to work in us ; as now to think with one s self, I have waited
thus long upon God, and he doth not answer; I have attempted to believe,
and I know not whether I have true faith in me or no, but others have ; such
a soul was wrought upon but the other day, and he is full of assurance.
Envying at this, and thinking much of this,Us contrary to dependence upon
God. Take heed therefore, lest the devil go and get thy consent to such
envyings; take heed lest thou nourish and cherish them in thy heart;
resist the devil in these, that he may flee from thee ; for these, I say, are
contrary to that dependence thou hast upon the power of God, for is not
his power free ? You lust and have not, saith he, James iv. 2, because
OF THE OBJECT AND ACTS [PART III. BOOK III.
you ask amiss ; and you envy and lust, and have it not while that dis-
position^ is in you. For remember it is grace which is the thing you ask ; arid if it be grace, shall not God do with his own grace what he will ? Therefore if he will give it to another sooner than unto thee, shalt thou envy him ? What art thou depending upon ? Art not thou depending upon the power of God ? And is not that free ? Submit thyself to God, and put thy mouth in the dust. It was Cain s sin, that when he was to deal with God for acceptation, and his brother s sacrifice was accepted and not his, he was wroth and full of envy against his brother ; and that spoiled him, and undid him. It was Esau his sin that he envied, because Jacob was accepted and not he. When thou seest others that have attained to much assurance and to much faith, and still thy spirit is kept under hatches, under temptation, and under much inability to believe, this example of other younger Christians than thou, that have attained sooner than thyself to much assurance, because God flows in upon them, the example of this, I say, should rather encourage thee than cause thee to repine. As beggars at a door, though they are not served first, yet when they see others served they do not repine at this, but they are encouraged to see that still others as they come are served ; so, suppose others are served first, yet God will lift thee up in his due time, as the apostle saith :
< Submit unto God, saith he, James iv. 7, and he will lift thee up in his due time. So Peter also hath it, 1 Peter v. 6. God hath a time to lift thee up if thou wilt submit unto him. You know the example of the woman of Canaan, when Christ saith to her, First let the children be served, she answers, Yea, but dogs may have crumbs when the children are served ; let me but have crumbs while they are eating, or crumbs after they have done, it will serve my turn. She was so far from repining that Christ had children, that he would first give to this and then to that before her, that she says, Lord, I confess I am a dog, give me but the crumbs when they have done. Such a spirit as this, that thus goes forth in a dependence upon God, without repining, and thus submits unto God, with such a spirit will God cowork. Let it be so far, I say, from causing thee to repine, as let it strike thy heart with a sense of thy own unworthiness, and encourage thee to continue in thy dependence.
(2.) So likewise impatience is another sin. When thou hast waited long, Oh, thou criest out, I can wait no longer, as the psalmist said. He spake it in respect of evil doers and their prosperity in temporal things
: Fret not thyself because of evil doers, as being a thing opposite to quietness and trusting in the Lord. For a soul to be thus turbulent, and to be up in arms if God come not presently, this is contrary to dependence. Re member that God
< giveth grace to the humble, grace to those that put their mouths in the dust: Isa. xxx. 7, Your strength is to sit still; and, as Lam. iii. 28 hath it, to sit alone. There is a double sitting alone, or
sitting still : the one is to do nothing at all, and not to stir to lay hold upon God and upon Christ at all. This is not the sitting still or sitting alone the prophet means ; but there is a sitting still in respect of impatiency, of quelling all impatient thoughts, in opposition to turbulency of
spirit which ariseth from a man s self, that if God must not give him what he would have now he can stay no longer. I say the heart must be quiet, it must be sedate, it must submit to God, wait upon God, and he will do it in his due time. And so much for the second direction imported by this fear and trembling.
CHAP. V.J OF JUSTIFYING FAITH. 539