Chapter II
Discouragements against using our endeavours to believe, which arise from the
thoughts of the difficulty offaith, as being above our own power, considered and answered.
I come now to answer the discouragements of poor souls that even lie at
the brink of believing, as I may so express it, who yet being sensible of
their own inability to believe, and that they are not able to attain Christ without Christ and faith, are therefore apt to sink into discouragements, and to think it is in vain to attempt it, to practise or to go about believing, or to put forth any act of faith at all, especially if they have done it, and
felt no comfort in their own sense, nor felt any power coming in beyond what in an ordinary way doth assist men. I say, in that case, they are
apt to be discouraged, and to give it over as in vain, and not to set upon
it. Now, for their sakes, I shall do two things
1. I shall remove their discouragements. 2. I shall give what directions are suitable unto such souls, which indeed, in the close, will be this (as you shall see afterwards), to put them upon
believing, and upon exercising the acts of faith continually, for so Christ
did, and so did the apostles.
1. I will first remove their discouragements; and to such souls as are
sensible of their own inability, the first thing I shall say, as in relation to
their discouragement, is this, that to be cast down in the sense of thine own
inability and insufficiency to believe, or to act any spiritual good as of thy
self, is a great part of faith. It is the negative part, it is the emptying
part, as I may so call it, as the other is the filling part ; it is part of that
poverty of Spirit which Christ makes the promise to in Mat. v. 3. Now,
if the sense of thy own inability be kept within its own bounds, and thou
carriest this principle continually along with thee in thy heart, the more thou hast of it the better it is, for still, as God digs deeper in discovering this unto thee, the higher he builds in the work of faith and believing, and he will certainly do it ; and so far it is but a foundation of giving all unto God. And let me say this to you, God s end in bringing men to salvation
that way, viz., to take all power from them of what is in themselves, it was not that any should be discouraged, but that they might go out of them
selves unto him for help ; and, therefore, now to maintain a constant sense thereof is one direction which I shall afterwards give you. But I will now
speak to the discouragement itself. When your souls are brought to this
emptiness as in yourselves, for you upon this to be discouraged, and to
give over the work, do but consider the ground of this, and consider the
sinfulness of this. For a man to be discouraged, and to give over the work, either because he cannot do it, or because he thinks it will never be done, and therefore he will do nothing, no not that which he finds his heart
strengthened to do, because he knows not whether it be the power of God
in it, yea or no ; for a man, I say, thus to be discouraged, is to despair of the power of God ; it is to add to the sense of thine own inability, a despair of the power of God too. You must know it is a peevishness if a man doth not wait upon the power of God in its way, as it is, on the con
trary, a meek and humble temper to wait upon the free grace of God in the freedom of it. Yea, the truth is, the ground of this discouragement is the
highest pride ; for when a man hears that he can do nothing of himself, though withal he hears that God is able to work faith, and to work it
CHAP. II.] OF JUSTIFYING FAITH. 557
instantly, if therefore he will sit still and do nothing, the ground, I say, of this is the highest pride. For the true reason of this discouragement, if you resolve it into its causes, is indeed this, that men would have their own endeavours to be means to compass grace. This is the way of nature. Now, although thou seest thine own inability, yet thy nature riseth up with another corruption ; and because thou canst not have it by thyself, and because thou canst not prevail by thy own strength, when it is once disco
vered, therefore thou wilt do nothing at all. This, I say, is the working of
pride one way, even as to be conceited of a man s own strength, till he is sensible of his own inability, is the working of it another way. It is all but pride working two several ways, that because a man findeth that it is not in his own power to attain unto faith, to attain the Lord Jesus Christ, and that he cannot compass it to himself in his own way, even as men do
wealth, therefore he will sit down in a pet discouraged, and fling off all.
It is not therefore the doctrine that we can do nothing, and that God must do all, that discourageth, but it is the pride and the corruption that is in the spirits of men. For would flesh reject and renounce using endeavours as in its own way, and use them in a way of subordination unto God and to his power, a man would be so far, if he come once to this, from being discouraged, as there is nothing more will quicken. As when a man comes
to submit unto God, when his heart is brought to lie down at the feet of
free grace, instantly he hath peace ; so when the heart is once brought to renounce seeking salvation in a man s own strength, and not only so, but
to set upon the business in a subordination to the strength and power of God, the strength and power of God falls upon that man.
2dly. Let me speak to this discouragement by way of removal or taking of it away. In the way of believing there are two eminent discouragements
: the one is concerning the will of God, whether he will accept me into
grace and favour ; and this ariseth from the doctrine of election, that seeing salvation and the free grace of God is pitched but upon a few, how there can be an object of faith propounded to the sons of men, and a ground for them to believe, that do not know whether they be elected, yea or no ; or how do I know whether this Christ is mine or no, whom you bid me to
believe upon ? And unless I be elected, all that I do will be in vain, and
all will be frustrate. But, besides this, there is another discouragement, and that is concerning the power of God, that is requisite to the working of
faith ; because we are unable of ourselves to believe, will some say, and it
is God that worketh faith in us, therefore I will not pat forth any act of
faith until I feel the power of God in my own sense coming upon me, over
powering me, and drawing my heart to believe. The truth is, that both
these objections or discouragements do in a manner come to one, at least
wise there is a great deal of parallel betwixt them, and the same thing that
answers the one will answer the other. I will afterward answer the first
objection, by shewing, that election is so far from being a discouragement, that it is the greatest encouragement to any soul in the way of believing that can be. But now I shall only make a parallel of this objection with
the other, and so shew you how the discouragement may be taken away by the same reason or consideration in the one, that it is removed and taken
away in the other. I say, both these discouragements are alike, and they come all to one ; for a soul that doth not know whether it is elected or no, whether God will accept it, doth but venture its faith, and its going to God, and to Christ, in a subordination to his free grace, upon God s good pleasure, and the freedom of his will ; and one that is sensible of his own insufficiency, doth but venture his believing, and endeavoureth in a subordination to the
558 OF THE OBJECT AND ACTS [PAKT III. BOOK IV.
power of God, so as the thing comes all to one ; yea, so far as any man may have hope and ground to think that God may accept of him (which may be the ground for faith notwithstanding election), so far may that man
have a hopefulness that the power of God will accompany him in the exer
cising of faith. And the reason of it is clearly this, because the power of God is set a-work by his will, and both these are commensurable and pro
portionable ; and so far as the will of God goes, so far his power goes ; and so far as I have hope, and have ground to hope that God may accept me, so far I have ground also to wait upon him, to put forth that power to
accompany me, and to strengthen me, and enable me in believing, and in
all the acts of it. As therefore men do make a venture upon the will of God in casting themselves upon it to save them, and accept them (and it is
the best venture that ever was made), so far men ought to attempt the
exercise of faith without discouragement, in a way of subordination unto the
power of God, and to put themselves into the stream of it. The truth is, when all is done, God will be trusted in both.
3. Join but these two following things together, and do but consider what a great encouragement this doctrine is, that it is God only that must work in us, rather than a discouragement. I say, join but these two things
together, which are both true : first, that God doth all, which is the
objection ; but, secondly, take this in too, that this God who doth all, useth
graciously to come and join with men while they are acting and exercising of faith, and his power raiseth them to believing savingly and spiritually ;
if you consider these two things together, then instead of a discouragement,
it is the greatest encouragement that ever was or could be supposed to be. Now thus it is, only God will be free, he will take his own time, he will shew his liberty in the time as well as in the person. But when we take
the pen in our hand, and often attempt to write after the copy, though of
ourselves we know not how to write a letter, yet in obedience to him, going about to do our duty, he takes us by the hand, and strengthens and enables
us to do it. The poor impotent man at the pool of Bethesda, that attempted to go in, and cried out to go in, and could not for thirty years, yet at last
the poor man having continued thus long lying there, Jesus Christ came and healed him ; not because he lay there, but to shew that he blessed his
waiting on him. In that James iv., what says the apostle ? James iv. 8, Draw nigh unto God, and he will draw nigh unto you. To draw nigh unto God is to draw nigh unto him, as in putting one s self under ordinances and means (as of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, it is said they did draw
nigh unto God), so by believing. Let us draw nigh, saith he, with full
assurance of faith, Heb. x. 2. And when men put themselves under such means where God s presence useth to be, then doth God use to draw nigh unto them, Draw nigh unto God, saith he, and he will draw nigh unto
you. I could give you a multitude of places, as Prov. i. 23, I will pour out my Spirit upon you ; and Mat. vii. 7,
* Seek, and you shall find ; and Luke xi. 13, He will give the Spirit unto them that ask. Thus God,
though he doth all, yet he is graciously pleased to join with us (and how,
I shall shew you by and by), and to act us through his strength acting of us, and to come in and work that for us which we aim at. And if so, then it
is the greatest encouragement to us which can be, that God doth all. If
that God should have said to you that are the sons of men, I will give you
assisting grace, which yet I leave to the liberty of your wills to join withal,
or not to join withal ; in this case all the sons of men, when it had been
thus of themselves and their own power, would have fallen off from God, and would have turned this grace into wantonness. But if God shall say,
CHAP. II. ] OF JUSTIFYING FAITH. 559
I will not deal with you according to the way or the will of the creature, but whilst I assist your will to do thus and thus, I will come in with a farther power, and I will do all for you and all in you, and so draw the creature to wait upon an higher power, and to act in a subordination there
unto, this way of salvation is the greatest encouragement that can be ; and why is it so ? Because that in this case God undertakes to do all, and it is better to wait in a way of uncertainty (if I may so express it, though it is not so), in a dependence upon the power of God this way, than
to have gone the other way as Adam did, and as all legal Christians do ; for what saith the heart ? Here is my comfort, that that God, in depend ence upon whose power I act, still so far as he assisteth, and depend upon his power to work all in me, he is able, and nothing is too hard for him. I have an hard heart, a base unbelieving heart, apt to depart from the
living God ; but I depend upon the power of God to overcome this hard
heart, to draw me in to the Lord Jesus, and there is nothing too hard for his engagement. I say, to depend upon such a power, whenas you have that power also that doth engage itself, that when he doth give a will to use
such and such means, he often and ordinarily comes in ; to depend, I say, upon such a power is the greatest encouragement that can be.
I shall make a parallel of it now, with the throwing of a man s self upon the free grace of God to save him in the way of election. Men usually say, that election is the most discouraging doctrine in the world ; but really whosoever throws himself upon the riches of the free grace of God, and
depends upon such a love as God manifesteth to the elect to save him, will
find all objections are answered, whether they be taken from unworthiness, or any other reason, they do all vanish before it, only this one remaineth, whether thou art the person or no. And for that I say, there is an easy answer, that the indefinite promise, as I shall in the sequel shew you, is the ground of faith. So now when you come to depend upon the power of God, faith doth as it were make but one venture, and that is at first ; for
if once you find that power of God to be engaged, it is so engaged as that
it will for ever do all in you, and carry it on for ever afterward, and that you may be sure of. So that indeed all the venture you make is at first to
get this faith wrought in you ; but if this power be once engaged, it will go on, it will everlastingly save you ; and therefore Christ still makes an
encouragement of it. When he had said, Mat. xix. 24, how hard it is for a
rich man to enter into heaven, as hard as for a camel to go in at the eye of a needle, the disciples, the text saith, were discouraged ; What man then shall be saved ? say they. It was merely because they did dream of
being saved by something in a man s self. How doth Christ answer ? With man this is impossible, saith he, but with God all things are
possible. He tells them this to raise up their hearts again ; therefore, saith
he, do but you venture upon the power of God, though the work be thus
difficult, and that will overcome your lusts, and that will subdue the hardest
heart, and strongest earthly mind. Christ, I say, in that place, makes it an encouragement, and indeed it is the greatest.
4. The next thing that I would say for the encouragement of such, is this, that if God do give thee an heart to labour and to endeavour still to renew
thy faith, and thou dost renew thy faith continually upon it, God will bestow and doth bestow usually the thing in the end. In Luke xi. there
is a parable exceeding clear to this purpose. Christ there exhorts them to
pray, and to continue to pray, and he doth it upon this ground, by the
parable of a man s friend coming to him, whom in the end he heareth, because of his importunity, ver. 8. Now though God doth not hear for
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thy importunity, yet when he gives thee a heart that doth in a way of im
portunity and constancy exercise acts of faith, never stand disputing whe ther they be true acts of faith. Suppose thou hast not true faith at pre
sent, suppose thou shouldst not have it, suppose thou be but a temporary
believer, if he enable thee to continue thus, he doth usually join with the
believer in the end. And so Christ concludeth that parable, and bids them seek and they shall find ; for, saith he, he giveth the Spirit unto them that ask him, ver. 13.
5. Though God doth all, yet he doth it usually in the use of means, and
in them useth to come. When we have the pen in our hands, and offer to
write, though we make never a true letter, yet he often takes a man by the hands, and guides and strengthens it. The man that lay at 4the pool, when, though impotent, he still attempted to go in, though he could not, John v. 7, yet he still lying at the pool, Christ comes and heals him. Yea, though the principle out of which they use the means be not spiritual but
natural, yet God takes the advantage of it to work. It was not a right ground moved Naaman to wash in the waters of Jordan, and yet God healed him, using the means, which else he would not have done.
6. Though some should have failed that have used the means (as believers themselves sometimes), yet this should not discourage men to neglect them.
It discourages not in other things. Men forbear not procreating, because
it is God puts in a soul, and the dependence is well nigh as great in the
first as in the second birth. Men forbear not to sow because some years have proved barren. We forbear not to preach, because every sermon takes not effect ; we are not discouraged, because God hath bidden us wait
if at any time he will give men repentance, 2 Tim. ii. 25. If preachers wait for the salvation of others, then men ought to do so for their own ; and so much more should they, whose salvation it is, be content to ven
ture endeavours, because, says the apostle, Philip, ii. 13, it is their own
salvation. Men will venture journeys for their own preferment. 7. That some have missed, should quicken us the more to the more
heed-taking ; for they failed because they put not more strength to the
work, but grew slothful and negligent. Upon this ground our Saviour
: Luke xiii. 24, Strive, saith he, to enter
Christ provoked his disciples
: for many shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able. That which these men would use as a discouragement, Christ turns into a
into the strait gate
reason, therefore do you strive or wrestle, or put to your utmost strength, for many have striven, and faintly endeavoured, that came short, therefore lose it not for a little more pains. So the apostle in 1 Cor. ix. 24, because many run that miss, therefore he exhorts them to endeavour so to run that they may obtain, to endeavour to make all sure ; so do I, says he ; I there
fore so run, not as uncertainly, that is to say, this consideration quickens me to use my utmost care and endeavour.
8. That God doth all, should so much the more quicken us also ; so the
: Philip, ii. 13, Work you out your salvation with fear and
apostle argues
trembling, for it is God works in you the will and the deed, i. e., seeing this great work depends upon God, to work how and when he will of his good
pleasure, let not us think therefore to be idle, but set ourselves to the use
of those means with the more fear and trembling, which God hath declared
his pleasure is that we should use, as those that wholly depend upon his
working all in all, and therefore fear to provoke him and put him off, tremble to neglect any means or opportunity he hath appointed.
9. If God give men a heart to continue endeavouring, though he gives it
not therefore, yet it is a sign he means to bestow grace on them. It is his
CHAP. II. J OF JUSTIFYING FAITH. 561
bounty and mercy to set thy heart a-work about salvation, and it is a mercy which he affords to few ; be thankful for what thou hast received, and not discouraged, and God may give thee more. There are but a few in the world that do seek him, and if he should turn away any that do, he would have fewer.
10. The ground why men are discouraged is, because they would have their endeavours a means to compass grace, and think by their own strength to prevail, which when it is discovered to them that it is bootless to
endeavour, then they sit down discouraged, and sit down in a pet, and fling all away, because they cannot have grace in their way. But if that be the root of the discouragement, it is pride and corruption, and not the doctrine that God doth all, which discourageth. For would flesh renounce the
opinion of its own strength, and its using endeavours its own wav, and use them in subordination to God as means appointed by him only, then this doctrine would discourage no man, but quicken him. So that endeavours are not spoken against, but this way and ground of endeavouring, as
thinking by what we do to obtain mercy ; and it is not this doctrine that God doth all which discourageth, but pride and corruption, which because it hears it can do nothing, therefore it will do nothing ; for there are other motives enough to persuade a man to endeavour, as that it is a man s duty, &c.
Obj. But you will say, If I should act faith upon God and Christ, I should do it all in a natural way, it would be a natural act, and not a
spiritual act ; and cloth God in such cases come and join with men by his
almighty power, working faith in them ? To that I answer, that some times God doth do so. I will give you but an instance of it, parallel thereunto ; it is of Naaman the Syrian. He came not out of his own country in a way of faith, but he had a providential hint given him by a maid that lived with him, that was a Jew, that if he went into the land of Israel, he should be cured by a prophet that was there. And w
rhen he came into
Judea, and had spoken with the prophet, he had a reproof from one of his
servants, that told him it was but a very small matter he was bid to do, and it was no great business for him to try. Upon this he went and tried, and upon no other ground but this, yet you see God cured him, and cured both his body and soul at once. When the woman of Samaria came to the
Samaritans, she brought abundance of them unto Christ, and her speech did beget a kind of faith in them ; but when they came to Christ him self, then say they,
* Now we believe, not because of thy saying, but for his own word. So that in deed and in truth, though God begins to act a man s
spirit, suppose in a natural way first, yet he doth turn it into a spiritual way in the very act. When thou takest a pen in thy hand to write, then God takes thee by the hand, and writes for thee. It is in this as it is in prayer ; a man goes to prayer, puts himself into the presence of God, and the Holy Ghost falls upon him, and he not knowing how nor what to
ask, he teacheth him what to ask with groans that are unutterable, as the
apostle speaks.
11. Let me say this to you, it is encouragement enough to you to act and exercise the way of believing (as I shall shew you afterwards) ; it is, I
say, encouragement enough that God may thus join with you, although neither I nor all the world can give thee any certain evidence that he will.
I dare not say (not for all this world, as some do), that if a man useth such abilities as God giveth him well, then God will certainly give him
faith if he go on so to do. To make a certainty of it, I say I cannot. But it is encouragement enough, though there cannot be a certainty made VOL. VIII. N n
562 OF THE OBJECT AND ACTS [PART III. BOOK IV.
out, that God oftentimes doth so, and it may be the ground of a thousand
duties. Thou art a poor soul, and knowest not whether thou hast faith or
no, yet thy soul desires to receive the Lord s supper, and art in question whether thou shouldst or no. Why, if there be that work which thou hast
reason to judge may be grace, it is a ground for thee to perform that duty, for otherwise none can go to the Lord s supper but those that have assur
ance. And answerably to this, What knowest thou, saith the apostle Paul, but that thou who art a believing wife, staying with thy husband that is
otherwise troublesome to thee, mayest convert him ? and upon this What
knowest thou? though thou art not at a certainty God will, there is a ground of staying with thy husband, and of using all means to bring him unto
God, and it is encouragement enough. Though, then, you have acted
faith, and still you find not the power of God come upon you in your sense,
drawing you to believe so as you aim at, this, I say, ought not to dis
courage you. Why ? Because you ought to do as much for your own salva
tion as you would do for another s, or as ministers, or as a godly people are
to do for the salvation of another. We forbear not to preach because
every sermon taketh not effect ; because in 2 Tim. ii. 25, God hath bid us
wait if at any time God will give such an one repentance. Now, if that be
a motive and an encouragement strong enough, that God may do it, then
it may be encouragement and motive strong enough to thee, that God may
at last strike in and give thee power to believe. It is the apostle s own words (I quote it as comparing it with what a man may do for his own
salvation, upon the like ground he is to do for the salvation of another) in
* Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it
Phil. ii. 12,
is God that worketh in you both to will and to do. I put the emphasis upon the words your own. If men are to wait thus for the salvation of
others, because God may peradventure give them repentance, much more,
then, though God doth all, art thou to wait, and in the mean time to act
faith, and to work out thy own. Why? Because it is thy own salvation. And that others have missed who have endeavoured, is not a discouragement
neither, so much as an encouragement, for there are thousands that have
obtained. I have known some souls that have gone to God, and have
taken Jesus Christ tremblingly, and the word hath stuck in their teeth
whilst they were giving thanks unto God for giving them Jesus Christ, and God hath fallen upon them, and given them full assurance of his love before
they had done. I say thousands of souls have gained this way, as well
as some have missed. We, of his fulness, saith the apostle in John i. 13, have received grace for grace. Therefore, as men coming from a dole, who have gone there and have obtained, are examples of encouragement unto others, so should the example of all such who have obtained faith and
salvation encourage thee. Let me say this to you, faith is the greatest venture in the world, so I use to express it ; and when all is done, you must make a venture upon it. You make a venture upon God s will when
you throw yourselves upon it to accept you ; and you make a venture upon his power when you act faith with a subordination thereunto to work faith
upon you. You must resolve to cast away your own endeavours for the
glorifying of his power, as you must cast away your own righteousness for
the glorifying of his free grace, and to be glad to put your mouths in the
dust ; and yet if there may be any hope, and if there may be faith, you ought to work out your salvation, because he worketh in you both the
will and the deed. In all things else men do so. Husbandmen cast the
seed into the ground, and wait for the increase, because it is God that
giveth it, and men do the like for preferment. In all such natural things,
CHAP. III.] OF JUSTIFYING FAITH. 568
I say, men do act upon a dependence and in a subordination to the power of God, and should they not do so in matters of salvation ?