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Post by Admin on Mar 1, 2024 11:54:22 GMT -5
SATAN'S DEVICES TO DESTROY & ENSNARE ALL SORTS & RANKS OF MEN IN THE WORLD
I. DEVICES AGAINST THE GREAT AND HONORABLE OF THE EARTH
DEVICE 1. His first device to destroy the great and honorable of
the earth is, By working them to make it their business to
seek themselves, to seek how to elevate themselves, to
raise themselves, to enrich themselves, to secure
themselves, as you may see in Pharaoh, Ahab, Rehoboam,
Jeroboam, Absalom, Joab, Haman, and others. Self-seeking, like the
deluge, overthrows the whole world. But were the Scripture silent,
our own experiences do abundantly evidence this way and method of
Satan to destroy the great and the honorable; to bury their souls in
hell, by drawing them wholly to mind themselves, and only to mind
themselves, and in all things to mind themselves, and always to mind
themselves. 'All,' said the apostle 'mind themselves' (Phil. 2:21). That
is—all comparatively, in respect of the dearth of others who let fall
their private interests, and drown all self-seeking, in the glory of God
and the public good.
Remedy (1). The first remedy against this device of Satan is,
solemnly to consider, That self-seeking is a sin which will put
men upon a plethora of sins, upon sins not only against
the law of God, the rules of the gospel—but which are
against the very laws of nature—which are so much
darkened by the fall of man. It puts the Pharisees upon
opposing Christ, and Judas upon betraying Christ, and Pilate upon
condemning Christ. It puts Gehazi upon lying, and Balaam upon
cursing, and Saul and Absalom upon plotting David's ruin. It puts
Pharaoh and Haman upon contriving ways to destroy those Jews
whom God did purpose to save by his mighty arm. It puts men upon
using wicked balances, and the bag of deceitful weights. It puts men
upon ways of oppression and 'selling the righteous for silver, and the
poor for a pair of shoes' (Amos 2:6). I know not any sin in the world
but this sin of self-seeking will put men upon it—though it be their
eternal loss!
Self-love is the root of the hatred of others, 2 Tim. 3:2. First, lovers of
themselves, and then fierce, etc. The naturalists observe, that those
beasts which are most cruel to others are most loving to their own.
Remedy (2). The second remedy against this device of Satan is,
seriously to consider, That self-seeking does exceedingly
abase a man. It strips him of all his royalty and glory. It makes a
man become a servant to the creature, yes, often to the worst of
creatures; yes, a slave to slaves, as you may see in Judas, Demas,
Balaam, and the scribes and Pharisees.* Self-seekers bow down to
the creatures, as Gideon's many thousands bowed down to the
waters. Self-seeking will make a man say anything, do anything, and
be anything, to please the lusts of others, in order to get advantages
upon others. Self-seeking transforms a man into all shapes and
forms; now it makes a man appear as an angel of light, anon as an
angel of darkness. Now self-seekers are seemingly for God, anon they
are openly against God; now you shall have them crying, 'Hosanna in
the highest,' and anon, 'Crucify him, crucify him;' now you shall have
them build with the saints, and anon you shall have them plotting
the overthrow of the saints, as those self-seekers did in Ezra and
Nehemiah's time. Self-seekers are the basest of all people. There is
no service so base, so poor, so low—but they will bow to it. They
cannot look neither above, nor beyond their own lusts, and the
enjoyment of the creature (Rom. 1:25). These are the prime and
ultimate objects of their desires.
Remedy (3). The third remedy against this device of Satan is,
solemnly To dwell upon those dreadful curses and woes
that are from heaven denounced against self-seekers.
'Destruction is certain for you who buy up property so others have no
place to live. Your homes are built on great estates so you can be
alone in the land.' (Is. 5:8). So Habakkuk 2:6, 9-12: 'How terrible it
will be for you who get rich by unjust means! You believe your wealth
will buy security, putting your families beyond the reach of danger.
But by the murders you committed, you have shamed your name and
forfeited your lives. The very stones in the walls of your houses cry
out against you, and the beams in the ceilings echo the complaint.
How terrible it will be for you who build cities with money gained by
murder and corruption!' The materials of the house built up by
oppression shall come as joint witnesses. The stones of the wall shall
cry, 'Lord, we were built up by blood and violence; and the beam
shall answer, True, Lord, even so it is.' The stones shall cry,
Vengeance, Lord! upon these self-seekers! and the beam shall
answer, Woe to him, because he built his house with blood!
So Isaiah: 'Destruction is certain for the unjust judges, for those who
issue unfair laws. They deprive the poor, the widows, and the
orphans of justice. Yes, they rob widows and fatherless children!' (Is.
10:1, 2). So Amos: 'Woe unto them that are at ease in Zion, and trust
in the mountain of Samaria. You push away every thought of coming
disaster, but your actions only bring the day of judgment closer. How
terrible it will be for you who sprawl on ivory beds surrounded with
luxury, eating the meat of tender lambs and choice calves. You sing
idle songs to the sound of the harp.' (Amos 6:1, 3-6). So Micah: 'How
terrible it will be for you who lie awake at night, thinking up evil
plans. You rise at dawn and hurry to carry out any of the wicked
schemes you have power to accomplish. When you want a certain
piece of land, you find a way to seize it. When you want someone's
house, you take it by fraud and violence. No one's family or
inheritance is safe with you around!' (Micah 2:1, 2).
By these scriptures, you see that self-seekers labor like a woman in
travail—but their birth proves their death, their pleasure their pain,
their comforts their torment, their glory their shame, their exaltation
their desolation. Loss, disgrace, trouble and shame, vexation and
confusion, will be the certain portion of self-seekers.
Remedy (4). The fourth remedy against this device of Satan is,
solemnly to consider, That self-seekers are self-losers and
self-destroyers. Absalom and Judas seek themselves, and hang
themselves. Saul seeks himself, and kills himself. Ahab seeks himself,
and loses himself, his crown and kingdom. Pharaoh seeks himself,
and overthrows himself and his mighty army in the Red Sea. Cain
sought himself, and slew two at once, his brother and his own soul.
Gehazi sought change of clothing—but God changed his clothing into
a leprous skin. Haman sought himself, and lost himself. The princes
and residents sought themselves, in the ruin of Daniel—but ruined
themselves, their wives and children.
That which self-seekers think should be a staff to support them,
becomes by the hand of justice an iron rod to break them; that which
they would have as springs to refresh them, becomes a gulf utterly to
consume them. The crosses of self-seekers shall always exceed their
mercies: their pain their pleasure; their torments their comforts.
Every self-seeker is a self-tormentor, a self-destroyer; he carries a
hell, an executioner, in his own bosom.
Adam seeks himself—and loses himself, paradise, and that blessed
image that God had stamped upon him. Lot seeks himself (Gen.
13:10, 11) and loses himself and his goods. Peter seeks to save himself
and miserably loses himself. Hezekiah in the business of the
ambassadors, seeks himself, and lost himself and his life too, had not
God saved him by a miracle.
Remedy (5). The fifth remedy against this device of Satan is, To
dwell much upon the famous examples of those worthy
saints that have denied themselves and preferred the
public good before their own particular advantage. As
Moses: 'And the Lord said unto Moses, Leave me alone so I may
destroy them and erase their name from under heaven. Then I will
make a mighty nation of your descendants, a nation larger and more
powerful than they are.' (Deut. 9:14). Oh! but this offer would not
take with Moses, he being a man of brave public spirit. He is hot in
his desires and prayers that the people might be spared and
pardoned; says he, 'Please pardon the sins of this people because of
your magnificent, unfailing love, just as you have forgiven them ever
since they left Egypt. Then the Lord said, "I will pardon them as you
have requested.' (Num. 14:19-20). Ah! should God make such an
offer to many, I am afraid they would prefer their own advantage
above the public good; they would not care what became of the
people, so that they and theirs might be made great and glorious in
the world; they would not care about others, so that they might have
a Babel built for them, though it was upon the ashes and ruin of the people.
Baser spirits than these are not in hell; no, not in hell; and I am sure
there are no such spirits in heaven. Such men's hearts and principles
must be changed, or they will be undone forever. Nehemiah was a
choice soul, a man of a brave public spirit, a man that spent his time,
his strength, and his estate, for the good and ease of his people. 'I
would like to mention that for the entire twelve years that I was
governor of Judah—from the twentieth until the thirty-second year
of the reign of King Artaxerxes—neither I nor my officials drew on
our official food allowance. This was quite a contrast to the former
governors who had laid heavy burdens on the people, demanding a
daily ration of food and wine, besides a pound of silver. Even their
assistants took advantage of the people. But because of my fear of
God, I did not act that way. I devoted myself to working on the wall
and refused to acquire any land. And I required all my officials to
spend time working on the wall. I asked for nothing, even though I
regularly fed 150 Jewish officials at my table, besides all the visitors
from other lands! The provisions required at my expense for each
day were one ox, six fat sheep, and a large number of domestic fowl.
And every ten days we needed a large supply of all kinds of wine. Yet
I refused to claim the governor's food allowance because the people
were already having a difficult time. Remember, O my God, all that I
have done for these people, and bless me for it.' (Neh. 5:14-19).
Likewise Daniel was a man of a brave public spirit: 'Then the other
administrators and princes began searching for some fault in the way
Daniel was handling his affairs, but they couldn't find anything to
criticize. He was faithful and honest and always responsible. So they
concluded, Our only chance of finding grounds for accusing Daniel
will be in connection with the requirements of his religion.' (Daniel 6:4, 5).
Christ had a public spirit; he laid out himself, and laid down himself
for a public good. Oh! never leave looking and meditating upon these
precious and sweet examples until your souls are quickened and
raised up, to act for the public good, more than for your own
particular advantage. Many heathens have been excellent at this.
Macrobius writes of Augustus Caesar, in whose time Christ was born,
that he carried such an entire and fatherly affection to the
commonwealth, that he called it filiam suam, his own daughter; and
therefore refused to be called Dominus, the lord or master of his
country, and would only be called Pater patriae, father of his
country, because he governed it not by fear but by love; the senate
and the people of Rome jointly saluting him by the name of Pater
patriae, father of his country. The people very much lamented his
death, using that speech, 'Would he had never died.'
So Marcus Regulus, to save his country from ruin, exposed himself to
the greatest sufferings that the malice and rage of his enemies could
inflict. So Titus and Aristides, and many others, have been famous
for their preferring the public good above their own advantage. My
prayer is, and shall be, that all our rulers may be so spirited by God,
that they may be willing to be anything, to be nothing, to deny
themselves, and to trample their sinful selves under feet, in order to
the honor of God, and a public good; that so neither saints nor
heathens may be witnesses against them in that day, wherein the
hearts and practices of all the rulers in the world shall be open and
naked before him who judges the world in righteousness and judgment.
Remedy (6). The sixth remedy against this device of Satan is,
seriously to consider, That self is a great hindrance to divine
things; therefore the prophets and apostles were usually
carried out of themselves, when they had the clearest,
choicest, highest, and most glorious visions.Self-seeking so
blinds the soul, that it cannot see a beauty in Christ, nor an
excellency in holiness; it distempers the palate, that a man cannot
taste sweetness in the word of God, nor in the ways of God, nor in the
society of the people of God. It shuts the hand against all the soul enriching offers of Christ;
it hardens the heart against all the knocks and entreaties of Christ; it makes the soul as an empty vine, and as a
barren wilderness: 'Israel is an empty vine, he brings forth fruit to
himself' (Hosea 10:1).
There is nothing that speaks a man to be more empty and
void of God, Christ, and grace, than self-seeking. The
Pharisees were great self-seekers, and great undervaluers of Christ,
his word and Spirit. There is not a greater hindrance to all the duties
of piety than self-seeking. Oh! this is that which keeps many a soul
from looking after God and the precious things of eternity. They
cannot wait on God, nor act for God, nor abide in those ways wherein
they might meet with God, by reason of self. Self-seeking is that
which puts many a man upon neglecting and slighting the things of
his peace. Self-seekers will neither go into heaven themselves, nor
allow others to enter, that are ready to take the kingdom by violence,
as you may see in the scribes and Pharisees. Oh! but a gracious spirit
is acted quite other ways, as you may see in that sweet scripture
(Cant. 7:13), 'At our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and
old, which I have laid up for you, O beloved.' All the church has and
is, is only for him. Let others bear fruit to themselves, and lay up for
themselves, gracious spirits will work for Christ and lay up for Christ.
All the divine endeavors and productions of saints fall into God's
bosom, and empty themselves into his lap. As Christ lays up his
merits for them, his graces for them, his comforts for them, his
crown for them; so they lay up all their fruits, and all their loves, all
their graces, and all their experiences, and all their services, only for
him who is the soul of their comforts, and the crown and top of all
their royalty and glory.
Self-seekers, with Esau, prefers bowl of pottage above their
birthright, and with the men of Shechem, esteem the bramble above
the vine, the olive, and the fig-tree; yes they esteem empty things
above a full Christ, and base things above a glorious Christ. The
saints' motto is, 'For you, Lord, for you; not unto us, Lord.'
DEVICE 2. By engaging them against the people of God, against those who are his
jewels, his pleasant portion, the delight of his eye and the joy of his heart.
Thus he drew Pharaoh to engage against the children of Israel—and
that was his overthrow. So he engaged Haman against the Jews—and
so brought him to hang upon that gallows that he had made for
Mordecai (Esther 7). So he engaged those princes against Daniel—
which was the utter ruin of them and their relations (Dan. 6). So in
Revelation 20:7-9, "When the thousand years end, Satan will be let
out of his prison. He will go out to deceive the nations from every
corner of the earth, which are called Gog and Magog. He will gather
them together for battle—a mighty host, as numberless as sand along
the shore. And I saw them as they went up on the broad plain of the
earth and surrounded God's people and the beloved city. But fire
from heaven came down on the attacking armies and consumed them."
Remedy (1). The first remedy against this device of Satan is,
solemnly to consider, That none have engaged against the
saints—but have been ruined by the God of saints. Divine
justice has been too hard for all who have opposed and engaged
against the saints, as is evident in Saul, Pharaoh, and Haman 'He
reproved kings for their sakes, saying, Touch not my anointed, and
do my prophets no harm' (Psalm 105:15). When men of Balaam
spirits and principles have been engaged against the saints, how has
the angel of the Lord met them in the way, and jostled their bones
against the wall! How has he broke their backs and necks, and by his
drawn sword cut them off in the prime of their days, and in the
height of their sins!
Ah! what a harvest has hell had in our days, of those who have
engaged against the Lamb, and those who are called, chosen and
faithful! Ah! how has divine justice poured out their blood as water
upon the ground! how has he laid their honor and glory in the dust,
who, in the pride and madness of their hearts, said, as Pharaoh, 'We
will pursue, we will overtake, we will divide the spoil, our lusts shall
be satisfied upon them. We will draw our sword, our hand shall
destroy them' (Exod. 15:9). In the things wherein they have spoken
and done proudly, justice has been above them. History abounds in
many instances of this kind.
Remedy (2). The second remedy against this device of Satan is, To
dwell some time every morning upon the following
scriptures, wherein God has engaged himself to stand by
his people and for his people, and to make them victorious
over the greatest and wisest of their enemies. 'Associate
yourselves,' says the Lord by the prophet, 'O you people, and you
shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all you of far countries: gird
yourselves, and you shall be broken in pieces. Take counsel together,
and it shall come to nothing; speak the word, and it shall not stand:
for God is with us.' 'Fear not, you worm Jacob, and you men of
Israel: I will help you, says the Lord, and your Redeemer, the Holy
One of Israel. Behold, I will make you a new sharp threshing
instrument having teeth: you shall thresh the mountains, and beat
them small, and shall make the hills as chaff. You shall fan them, and
the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter
them, and you shall rejoice in the Lord, and shall glory in the Holy
One of Israel.' 'No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper,
and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment, you shall
condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their
righteousness is of me, says the Lord.' 'Now also many nations are
gathered together against you that say, Let her be defiled, and let our
eye look upon Zion. But they know not the thoughts of the Lord,
neither understand they his counsel; for he shall gather them as
sheaves into the floor. Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: I will
make your horn iron, and I will make your hoof brass, and you shall
beat in pieces many people, and I will consecrate their gain unto the
Lord, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.' 'Behold,
I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round
about, when they shall be in the siege, both against Judah and
against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a
burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it
shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered
together against it.' (Is. 8:9, 41:14, 15, and 54:17. Micah 4:11-13; Zech.
12:2, 3.)
Remedy (3). The third remedy against this device of Satan is, to
consider, That you cannot engage against the saints—but
you must engage against God himself, by reason of that
near and blessed union that is between God and them. You
cannot be fighters against the saints—but you will be found in the
casting up of the account to be fighters against God himself. And
what greater madness than for weakness itself—to engage against an
almighty strength! The near union that is between the Lord and
believers, is set forth by that near union that is between a husband
and his wife. 'They two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but
I speak concerning Christ and the church; we are members of his
body, of his flesh, and of his bones,' says the apostle (Eph. 5:32). This
near union is set forth by that union that is between the head and the
members, which make up one body, and by that union that is
between the graft and the stock, which are made one by grafting. The
union between the Lord and a believer is so near, that you cannot
strike a believer—but the Lord is sensible of it, and takes it as done to
himself. 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute you me?' (Acts 9:4); and
'in all their afflictions he was afflicted' (Is. 63:9). Ah, souls! who ever
engaged against God and prospered? who ever took up the sword
against him but perished by it? God can speak you to hell and
nod you to hell at pleasure. It is your greatest concernment to
lay down your weapons at his feet, and to 'Kiss the Son, lest he be
angry, and you perish in the midway' (Psalm 2:12).
Remedy (4). The fourth remedy against this device of Satan is,
solemnly to consider, That you are much engaged to the
saints, as instruments for the mercies that you do enjoy,
and for the preventing and removing of many a judgment
that otherwise might have been your ruin before this day.
Were it not for the saints' sake, God would quickly make the heavens
to be as brass and the earth as iron; God would quickly strip you of
your robes and glory, and set you upon the ash-heap with Job. They
are the props that bear the world from falling about your ears, and
that keep the iron rod from breaking of your bones. 'Therefore he
said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood
before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should
destroy them' (Psalm 106:23).
Ah! had not the saints many a time cast themselves into the breach
between God's wrath and you, you had been cut off from the land of
the living, and had had your portion with those whose names are
written in the dust. Many a nation, many a family, is surrounded
with blessings for the Josephs' sakes who live therein, and are
preserved from many calamities and miseries for the Moses', the
Daniels', the Noahs', and the Jobs', sakes, who dwell among them.
That is a sweet word (Prov. 10:25), 'As the whirlwind passes, so is the
wicked no more: but the righteous is an everlasting foundation, or is
the foundation of the world.' The righteous is the foundation of the
world, which but for their sakes would soon shatter and fall to ruin.
So the psalmist (Psalm 75:3), 'The earth and all the inhabitants
thereof are dissolved: I bear up the pillars of it. Selah.'
'He could have what he would of God', said one concerning Luther.
Prayer is the gate of heaven, a key to let us into paradise. 'When the
danger is over, the saint is forgotten', is a French proverb and that
which many saints in England have found by experience.
The emperor Marcus Antoninus being in Germany with his army,
was enclosed in a dry country by his enemies, who so stopped all the
passages that he and his army were likely to perish for lack of water.
The emperor's lieutenant seeing him so distressed, told him that he
had heard that the Christians could obtain anything of their God by
their prayers, whereupon the emperor, having a legion of Christians
in his army, desired them to pray to their God for his and the army's
delivery out of that danger, which they presently did, and presently a
great thunder fell among the enemies, and abundance of water upon
the Romans, whereby their thirst was quenched, and the enemies
overthrown without any fight.
Mary, Queen of Scots, was accustomed to say, 'That she feared
Knox's prayers more than an army of ten thousand men.'
I shall close up this last remedy with those sweet words of the
psalmist: 'God is well known in Judah; his name is great in Israel.
Jerusalem is where he lives; Mount Zion is his home. There he
breaks the arrows of the enemy, the shields and swords and weapons
of his foes.' (Psalm 76:1-3)
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Post by Admin on Mar 1, 2024 13:50:23 GMT -5
II. DEVICE AGAINST THE LEARNED AND THE WISE
Secondly, Satan has his devices to ensnare and destroy the learned
and the wise: and that, sometimes by working them to pride
themselves in their parts and abilities; and sometimes by
drawing them to rest upon their parts and abilities; and sometimes
by causing them to make light and slight of those who lack their parts
and abilities, though they excel them in grace and holiness; and
sometimes by drawing them to engage their parts and abilities in
those ways and things that make against the honor of Christ, the joy
of the Spirit, the advancement of the gospel, and the liberty of the
saints. The truth of this you may see in the learned scribes and
Pharisees. (John 5:44; 1 Kings 22:22-25; 1 Cor. 1:18-29.)
Remedy (1). The first remedy against this device of Satan is,
seriously to consider, That you have nothing but what you
have received, Christ being as well the fountain of common
gifts as of saving grace. 'What have you,' says the apostle, 'that
you have not received? And if you have received it, why do you boast
as though you had not received it?' (1 Cor. 4:7). 'Whatever you are,
you owe to him who made you; and whatever you have, you owe to
him who redeemed you' (Bernard).
There are those who would hammer out their own happiness, like the
spider climbing up by the thread of her own weaving. Of all the parts
and abilities that are in you, you may well say as the young man did
of the axe, 'Alas, master! it was but borrowed' (2 Kings 6:5). Alas,
Lord! all I have is but borrowed from that fountain that fills all the
vessels in heaven and on earth. My gifts are not so much mine as
yours: 'Of your own have we offered unto you,' said that princely
prophet (1 Chron. 29:14).
Remedy (2). The second remedy against this device of Satan is,
solemnly to consider, That men's learning and trusting to
their own wits, parts, and abilities, have been their utter
overthrow and ruin; as you may see in Ahithophel, and those
princes that engaged against Daniel, and in the scribes and
Pharisees. God loves to confute men in their confidences. He who
stands upon his parts and abilities, does but stand upon a quicksand
that will certainly fail him. There is nothing in the world which
provokes God more to withdraw from the soul than this; and how
can the soul stand, when his strength is departed from him?
Everything which a man leans upon—will be a dart that will certainly
pierce his heart through and through! Ah! how many in these days
have lost their estates, their friends, their lives, their souls, by
leaning upon their admired parts and abilities! The saints are
described by their leaning upon their beloved, the Lord Jesus (Cant.
8:5). He who leans only upon the bosom of Christ, lives the highest,
choicest, safest, and sweetest life. Miseries always lie at that man's
door that leans upon anything below the precious bosom of Christ;
such a man is most in danger, and this is none of his least plagues,
that he thinks himself secure. It is the greatest wisdom in the world
to take the wise man's counsel: 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and lean not to your own understanding' (Prov. 3:5).
Remedy (3). The third remedy against this device of Satan is, to
consider, That you do not transcend others more in parts
and abilities, than they do you in grace and holiness. There
may be, and often is, great parts and abilities, where there is but little
grace, yes, no grace. And there may be, and often is, a great deal of
grace, where there is but weak parts and abilities. You may be higher
than others in gifts of knowledge, utterance, and learning, and those
very souls may be higher than you in their communion with God, in
their delighting in God, in their dependence upon God, in their
affections to God, and in their humble, holy, and unblameable
walking before God. Is it folly and madness in a man, to make light
and slight of another, because he is not so rich in lead or iron as he,
when he is a thousand thousand times richer in silver and gold, in
jewels and in pearls, than he? And is it not madness and folly with a
witness, in those who have greater parts and abilities than others, to
slight them upon that account, when that those very people that they
make light and slight of, have a thousand times more grace than
they? And yet, ah! how does this evil spirit prevail in the world!
Judas and the scribes and Pharisees had great parts—but no grace.
The disciples had grace—but weak parts. (Luke 11:1; 24:19-28.)
It was the sad complaint of Augustine in his time: 'The unlearned,'
says he, 'rise up and take heaven by violence, and we with all our
learning are thrust down to hell.' It is sad to see how many of the
rabbis of these times do make an idol of their parts and abilities, and
with what an eye of pride, scorn, and contempt do they look upon
those who lack their parts, and who do not worship the idol that they
have set up in their own hearts. Paul, who was the great doctor of the
Gentiles, did wonderfully transcend in all parts and abilities the
doctors and rabbis of our times, and yet, ah! how humbly, how
tenderly, how sweetly, does he carry himself towards the lowest and
the weakest! 'To the weak I became as weak, that I might win the
weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save
some' (1 Cor. 9:22). 'Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is
offended, and I burn not? Wherefore, if food causes my brother to
stumble, I will eat no flesh while the world stands, lest I make my
brother to offend' (1 Cor. 8:13).
But, ah how little of this sweet spirit is to be found in the doctors of
our age, who look sourly and speak bitterly against those who do not
see as they see, nor cannot speak as they speak. Sirs! the Spirit of the
Lord, even in despised saints, will be too hard for you, and his
appearance in them, in these latter days, will be so full of spiritual
beauty and glory, as that they will darken that which you are too apt
to count and call your glory. The Spirit of the Lord will not allow his
choicest jewel grace to be always buried under the straw and stubble
of parts and gifts (Is. 60:13-17).
Remedy (4). The fourth remedy against this device of Satan is, to
consider, That there is no such way for men to have their
gifts and parts blasted and withered, as to pride
themselves in them, as to rest upon them, as to make light
and slight of those who lack them, as to engage them
against those people, ways, and things, that Jesus Christ
has set his heart upon. Ah! how has God blasted and withered
the parts and abilities of many among us, that have once been
famous shining lights! How is their sun darkened, and their glory
clouded! 'How is the sword of the Lord upon their arm, and upon
their right eye! how is their arm clean dried up, and their right eye
utterly darkened!' as the prophet speaks (Zech. 11:17). This is matter
of humiliation and lamentation. Many precious discerning saints see
this, and in secret mourn for it; and oh! that they were kindly
sensible of God's withdrawing from them, that they may repent, keep
humble, and carry it sweetly towards God's jewels, and lean only
upon the Lord, and not upon their parts and understanding, that so
the Lord may delight to visit them with his grace at such a rate as
that their faces may shine more gloriously than ever, and that they
may be more serviceable to the honor of Christ, and the faith of the
saints, than formerly they have been.
Becanus says, that the tree of knowledge bears many leaves, and little
fruit. Ah! that it were not so with many in these days.
III. DEVICE AGAINST THE SAINTS
Thirdly, Satan has his devices to destroy the saints; and one great
device that he has to destroy the saints is, By working them first
to be cold, and then to divide, and then to be bitter and
jealous, and then 'to bite and devour one another' (Gal. 5:15).
Our own woeful experience is too great a proof of this. The Israelites
in Egypt did not more vex one another, than Christians in these days
have done, which occasioned a deadly consumption to fall upon
some. (If we knock, we break. Dissolution is the daughter of dissension.)
Remedy (1). The first remedy against this device of Satan is, To
dwell more upon one another's graces than upon one
another's weaknesses and infirmities. It is sad to consider
that saints should have many eyes to behold one another's
infirmities, and not one eye to see each other's graces, that they
should use spectacles to behold one another's weaknesses, rather
than looking-glasses to behold one another's graces.
Flavius Vespasian, the emperor, was more ready to conceal the vices
of his friends than their virtues. Can you think seriously of this,
Christians, that a heathen should excel you, and not blush?
Erasmus tells of one who collected all the lame and defective verses
in Homer's works—but passed over all that was excellent. Ah! this is
the practice of many professors—that they are careful and skillful to
collect all the weaknesses of others, and to pass over all those things
which are excellent in them. The Corinthians did eye more the
incestuous person's sin than his sorrow, which was likely to have
drowned him in sorrow.
Tell me, saints, is it not a more sweet, comfortable, and delightful
thing to look more upon one another's graces than upon one
another's infirmities? Tell me what pleasure, what delight, what
comfort is there in looking upon the enemies, the wounds, the sores,
the sickness, the diseases, the nakedness of our friends? Now sin,
you know, is the soul's enemy, the soul's wound, the soul's sores, the
soul's sickness, the soul's disease, the soul's nakedness; and ah! what
a heart has that man who loves thus to look! Grace is the choicest
flower in all a Christian's garden; it is the richest jewel in all his
crown; it is his princely robes; it is the top of royalty; and therefore
must needs be the most pleasing, sweet, and delightful object for a
gracious eye to be fixed upon. Sin is darkness, grace is light; sin is
hell, grace is heaven; and what madness is it to look more at
darkness than at light, more at hell than at heaven! (Not race of place
—but grace truly sets forth a man.)
Tell me, saints, does not God look more upon his people's graces
than upon their weaknesses? Surely he does. He looks more at
David's and Asaph's uprightness than upon their infirmities, though
they were great and many. He eyes more Job's patience than his
passion. 'Remember the patience of Job,' not a word of his
impatience (James 5:11). He who drew Alexander while he had a scar
upon his face, drew him with his finger upon the scar. God puts his
fingers upon his people's scars, that no blemish may appear. Ah!
saints, that you would make it the top of your glory in this, to be like
your heavenly Father! By so doing, much sin would be prevented, the
designs of wicked men frustrated, Satan outwitted, many wounds
healed, many sad hearts cheered, and God more abundantly honored.*
Sin is Satan's work, grace is God's work; and is it not most fit that the
child should eye most and mind most, his father's work?
Remedy (2). The second remedy against this device of Satan is,
solemnly to consider, That love and union makes most for
your own safety and security. We shall be invincible if we are
inseparable. The world may frown upon you, and plot against you—
but they cannot hurt you. Unity is the best bond of safety in every
church and commonwealth.
There was a temple of Concord among the heathens; and shall it not
be found among Christians, that are temples of the Holy Spirit?
And this did that Scythian king in Plutarch's book represent lively to
his eighty sons, when, being ready to die, he commanded a bundle of
arrows fast bound together to be given to his sons to break; they all
tried to break them—but, being bound fast together, they could not;
then he caused the band to be cut, and then they broke them with
ease. He applied it thus: 'My sons, so long as you keep together, you
will be invincible; but if the band of union be broke between you, you
will easily be broken in pieces.'
Pancirollus says, 'that the most precious pearl among the Romans
was called unio, union.'
Pliny writes of a stone in the island of Scyros, that if it be whole,
though a large and heavy one, it swims above water—but being
broken, it sinks. (No doubt a volcanic, porous product.) So long as
saints keep whole, nothing shall sink them; but if they break, they are
in danger of sinking and drowning.
Remedy (3). The third remedy against this device of Satan is, To
dwell upon those commands of God which require you to
love one another. Oh! when your hearts begin to rise against each
other, charge the commands of God upon your hearts, and say to
your souls, O our souls! has not the eternal God commanded you to
love those who love the Lord? And is it not life to obey, and death to
rebel? Therefore look that you fulfill the commands of the Lord, for
his commands are not like those who are easily reversed; but they are
like those of the Medes, which cannot be changed. Oh! be much in
pondering upon these commands of God. 'A new commandment I
give unto you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that
you also love one another' (John 13:34). It is called a new
commandment, because it is renewed in the gospel, and set home by
Christ's example, and because it is rare, choice, special, and
remarkable above all others.
'This is my commandment, That you love one another, as I have
loved you.' 'These things I command you, that you love one another.'
'Owe no man anything—but love one another: for he who loves
another, has fulfilled the law.' 'Let brotherly love continue.' 'Love one
another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God,
and knows God.' 'See that you love one another with a pure heart
fervently.' 'Finally, be all of one mind, having compassion one for
another. Love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous.' 'For this is the
message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one
another.' 'And this is his commandment, that we should believe on
the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us
commandment.' 'Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love
one another.' Oh! dwell much upon these precious commands, that
your love may be inflamed one to another. (John 15:12, 17; Rom.
13:8; Heb. 13:1; 1 John 4:7; 1 Peter 1:22, and 3:8; 1 John 3:11, 23; 4:11.)
In the primitive times, it was much taken notice of by the heathens,
that in the depth of misery, when fathers and mothers forsook their
children, Christians, otherwise strangers, stuck one to another,
whose love of religion proved firmer than that of nature. Ah! that
there were more of that spirit among the saints in these days! The
world was once destroyed with water for the heat of lusts, and it is
thought it will be again destroyed with fire for the coldness of love.
Remedy (4). The fourth remedy against this device of Satan is, To
dwell more upon these choice and sweet things wherein
you agree, than upon those things wherein you differ. Ah!
did you but thus, how would sinful arguments be abated, and your
love raised, and your spirits sweetened one to another! You agree in
most things, you differ but in a few; you agree in the greatest and
weightiest things, as concerning God, Christ, the Spirit, and the
Scripture. You differ only in those points that have been long
disputable among men of greatest piety and parts. You agree to own
the Scripture, to hold to Christ the head, and to walk according to the
law of the new creature.
Shall Herod and Pilate agree? Shall Turks and pagans agree? Shall
bears and lions, tigers, and wolves, yes, shall a legion of devils, agree
in one body? And shall not saints agree, who differ only in such
things as have least of the heart of God in them, and that shall never
hinder your meeting in heaven?
What a sad thing was it that a heathen should say, 'No beasts are so
mischievous to men, as Christians are one to another!'
Remedy (5). The fifth remedy against this device of Satan is,
solemnly to consider, That God delights to be styled—'the God of
peace'; and Christ to be styled—'the Prince of peace, and King of
peace'; and the Spirit is a Spirit of peace. 'The fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace' (Gal 5:22). Oh! why then should not the saints be
children of peace? Certainly, men of froward, unquiet, fiery spirits
cannot have that sweet evidence of their interest in the God of peace,
and in the Prince of peace, and in the Spirit of peace, as those
precious souls have, who follow after the things that make for love
and peace. The very name of peace is sweet and comfortable; the
fruit and effect thereof pleasant and profitable, more to be desired
than innumerable triumphs. Peace is a blessing which ushers in a
multitude of other blessings. Where Peace is, there is Christ, because
Christ is peace. (2 Cor. 13:11; Is. 9:6).
The ancients were accustomed to paint peace in the form of a
woman, with a horn of plenty in her hand. The Grecians had the
statue of Peace, with Pluto, the god of riches, in her arms. Ah! peace
and love among the saints, is that which will secure them and their
mercies at home; yes, it will multiply their mercies; it will engage the
God of mercy to crown them with the choicest mercies; and it is that
that will render them most zealous, men invincible, and successful
abroad. Love and peace among the saints is that which puts the
counsels of their enemies to a standstill, and renders all their
enterprises abortive; it is that which does most weaken their hands,
wound their hopes, and kill their hearts.
Remedy (6). The sixth remedy against this device of Satan is, To
make more care and conscience, of keeping up your peace
with God. Ah! Christians, I am afraid that your remissness herein is
that which has occasioned much of that sourness, bitterness, and
divisions that be among you. (There is no fear of knowing too much—
but there is much fear in practicing too little.) Ah! you have not, as
you should, kept up your peace with God, and therefore it is that you
do so dreadfully break the peace among yourselves. The Lord has
promised, 'That when a man's ways please him, he will make his
enemies to be at peace with him' (Prov. 16:7). Ah! how much more
then would God make the children of peace to keep the peace among
themselves, if their ways do but please him! All creatures are at his
beck and check. Laban followed Jacob with one troop. Esau met him
with another, both with hostile intentions; but Jacob's ways pleasing
the Lord, God by his mighty power so works that Laban leaves him
with a kiss, and Esau met him with a kiss; he has a promise from
one, tears from the other, peace with both. If we make it our business
to keep up our league with God, God will make it his work and his
glory to maintain our peace with men; but if men make light of
keeping up their peace with God, it is just with God to leave them to a
spirit of pride, envy, passion, contention, division, and confusion, to
leave them 'to bite and devour one another, until they are consumed
one by another.'
Pharnaces sent a crown to Caesar at the same time he rebelled
against him; but he returned the crown and this message back, 'Let
him return to his obedience first.' There is no sound peace to be had
with God or man—but in a way of obedience.
Remedy (7). The seventh remedy against this device of Satan is, To
dwell much upon that near relation and union that is
between you. This consideration had a sweet influence upon
Abraham's heart: 'And Abraham said unto Lot, Let there be no strife,
I pray you, between me and you, and between my herdsmen and
your herdsmen—for we are brethren' (Gen.13:8). The Hebrew
signifies, 'Oh! let there be no bitterness between us—for we are
brethren.'
That is a sweet word in the psalmist, 'Behold, how good and how
pleasant it is for brethren to live together in unity' (Psalm 133:1). It is
good and pleasant. There be some things that are good and not
pleasant, as patience and discipline; and there are some things that
are pleasant but not good, as carnal pleasures, and voluptuousness.
And there are some things that are neither good nor pleasant, as
malice, envy, and worldly sorrow; and there are some things that are
both good and pleasant, as piety, charity, peace, and union among
brethren. Oh! that we could see more of this among those who shall
one day meet in their Father's kingdom and never part. And as they
are brethren, so they are all fellow-members: 'Now you are the body
of Christ, and members in particular' (1 Cor. 12:27). And again: 'We
are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones' (Eph. 5:30).
Shall the members of the natural body be serviceable and useful to
one another, and shall the members of this spiritual body cut and
destroy one another? Is it against the law of nature for the natural
members to cut and slash one another? And is it not much more
against the law of nature and of grace for the members of Christ's
glorious body to do so? And as you are all fellow-members, so you
are fellow soldiers under the same Captain of salvation, the Lord
Jesus, fighting against the world, the flesh, and the devil. And as you
are all fellow-soldiers, so you are all fellow sufferers under the
same enemies, the devil and the world. And as you are all fellow sufferers,
so are you fellow-travelers towards the land of Canaan,
'the new Jerusalem that is above.' 'Here we have no abiding city—but
we look for one to come.' The heirs of heaven are strangers on earth.
And as you are all fellow-travelers, so are you all fellow-heirs of the
same crown and inheritance. (Rev. 12:7, 8; Heb. 2:10; Rev. 2:10;
John 15:19, 20; Heb. 12:14, 13; Rom. 8. 15-17)
Remedy (8). The eighth remedy against this device of Satan is, To
dwell upon the miseries of discord. Dissolution is the daughter
of dissension. Ah! how does the name of Christ, and the way of
Christ, suffer by the discord of saints! How are many who are
entering upon the ways of God hindered and saddened, and the
mouths of the wicked opened, and their hearts hardened against God
and his ways—by the discord of his people! Remember this—the
disagreement of Christians is the devil's triumph; and what a sad
thing is this, that Christians should give Satan cause to triumph! Our
dissensions are one of the Jews' greatest stumbling-blocks. Can you
think of it, and your hearts not bleed?
It was a notable saying of one, 'Take away strife, and call back peace,
lest you lose a man, your friend; and the devil, an enemy, rejoice over
you both.'
Remedy (9). The ninth remedy against this device of Satan is,
seriously to consider, That it is no disparagement to you to be
first in seeking peace and reconcilement—but rather an
honor to you, that you have begun to seek peace. Abraham
was the elder, and more worthy than Lot, both in respect of grace
and nature also, for he was uncle unto Lot, and yet he first seeks
peace of his inferior, which God has recorded as his honor.
Ah! how does the God of peace, by his Spirit and messengers, pursue
after peace with poor creatures! God first makes offer of peace to us:
'Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did
beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be you reconciled to
God' (2 Cor. 5:20). God's grace first kneels to us, and who can turn
their backs upon such blessed and bleeding embracements—but
souls in whom Satan the god of this world reigns? God is the party
wronged, and yet he sues for peace with us at first: 'I said, Behold
me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name' It is
doubled to show God's exceeding forwardness to show favor and
mercy to them. (Is. 65:1).
Ah! how does the sweetness, the freeness, and the riches of his grace
break forth and shine upon poor souls. When a man goes from the
sun, yet the sunbeams follow him; so when we go from the Sun of
righteousness, yet then the beams of his love and mercy follow us.
Christ first sent to Peter who had denied him, and the rest who had
forsaken him: 'Go your ways, and tell his disciples and Peter, that he
goes before you into Galilee: there shall you see him, as he said unto
you' (Mark 16:7). Ah! souls, it is not a base, low thing—but a God-like
thing, though we are wronged by others, yet to be the first in seeking
after peace. Such actings will speak out much of God with a man's
spirit. They shall both have the name and the note, the comfort and
the credit, of being most like unto God, who first begin to pursue
after peace with alienated mankind.
Christians, it is not matter of liberty whether you will or you will not
pursue after peace—but it is matter of duty that lies upon you; you
are bound by express precept to follow after peace; and though it
may seem to fly from you, yet you must pursue after it: 'Follow peace
with all men, and holiness, without which no man can see the Lord.'
The Greek signifies to follow after peace, as the persecutor does him
whom he persecutes. Peace and holiness are to be pursued after with
the greatest eagerness that can be imagined. So the psalmist: 'Depart
from evil, and do good; seek peace and pursue it' (Psalm 34:14). The
Hebrew word that is here rendered seek, signifies to seek earnestly,
vehemently, affectionately, studiously, industriously. 'And pursue it.'
That Hebrew word signifies earnestly to pursue, being a metaphor
taken from the eagerness of wild beasts or ravenous fowls, which will
run or fly both fast and far rather than be disappointed of their prey.
So the apostle presses the same duty upon the Romans: 'Let us follow
after the things that make for peace, and things wherein one may
edify another' (Rom. 14:19). Ah! you froward, sour, dogged
Christians, can you look upon these commands of God without tears
and blushing?
I have read a remarkable story of Aristippus, though but a heathen,
who went of his own accord to Aeschines his enemy, and said, 'Shall
we never be reconciled until we become a tabletalk to all the
country?' and when Aeschines answered he would most gladly be at
peace with him, 'Remember, then, said Aristippus, that though I
were the elder and better man, yet I sought first unto you.' You are
indeed, said Aeschines, a far better man than I, for I began the
quarrel—but you the reconcilement. My prayer shall be that this
heathen may not rise in judgment against the flourishing professors
of our times, 'Who whet their tongues like a sword, and bend their
bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words' (Psalm 64:3).
Remedy (10). The tenth remedy against this device of Satan is,
For saints to join together and walk together in the ways
of grace and holiness so far as they do agree, making the
word of God their only touchstone and judge of their
actions. That is sweet advice that the apostle gives: 'I press toward
the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus' (Phil.
3:14-16). 'I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly
call in Christ Jesus. Therefore, all who are mature should think this
way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this
to you also. In any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have
attained.' Ah! Christians, God loses much, and you lose much, and
Satan gains much by this—that you do not, that you will not, walk
lovingly together so far as your ways lie together. It is your sin and
shame that you do not, that you will not, pray together, and hear
together, and confer together, and mourn together; because that in
some far lesser things you are not agreed together. What folly and
madness is it in those whose way of a hundred miles, lies 99 miles
together, yet will not walk so far together, because that they cannot
go the other mile together; yet such is the folly and madness of many
Christians in these days, who will not do many things they may do,
because they cannot do everything they should do. I fear God will
whip them into a better temper before he is done with them. He will
break their bones, and pierce their hearts—but he will cure them of
this malady.
And be sure you make the word of God the only touchstone and
judge of all people and actions: 'To the law and to the testimony, if
they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light
in them' (Is. 8:20). It is best and safest to make that to be the judge
of all men and things now, that all shall be judged by in the latter
day: 'The word, says Christ, that I have spoken, the same shall judge
him in the last day' (John 12:48). Make not your dim light, your
notions, your fancies, your opinions, the judge of men's action—but
still judge by rule, and plead, 'It is written.'
When an ignorant man cried out in contest with a holy man, 'Hear
me, hear me,' the holy man answered, 'Neither hear me, nor I you—
but let us both hear the apostle.'
Constantine, in all the disputes before him with the Arians, would
still call for the word of God as the only way, if not to convert, yet to
stop their mouths.
Remedy (11). The eleventh remedy against this device of Satan is,
To be much in self-judging. 'Judge yourselves, and you shall not
be judged by the Lord' (1 Cor. 11:31). Ah! were Christians' hearts
more taken up in judging themselves and condemning themselves,
they would not be so apt to judge and censure others, and to carry it
sourly and bitterly towards others who differ from them. (It is storied
of Nero, himself being unchaste, he did think there was no man
chaste.) There are no souls in the world who are so fearful to judge
others—as those who do most judge themselves; nor so careful to
make a righteous judgment of men or things—as those who are most
careful to judge themselves. There are none in the world who tremble
to think evil of others, to speak evil of others, or to do evil to others—
as those who make it their business to judge themselves. There are
none who make such sweet constructions and charitable
interpretations of men and things—as those who are best and most in
judging themselves. In the Olympic games, the wrestlers did not put
their crowns upon their own heads—but upon the heads of others. It
is just so with souls that are good at self-judging.
One request I have to you that are much in judging others and little
in judging yourselves, to you that are so apt and prone to judge
harshly, falsely, and unrighteously, and that is, that you will every
morning dwell a little upon these scriptures:
'Judge not, that you be not judged; for with what judgment you
judge, you shall be judged; and with what measure you mete out, it
shall be measured to you again' (Matt. 7:1, 2). 'Judge not according to
appearance—but judge righteous judgment' (John 7:24). 'The man
who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and
the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man
who does, for God has accepted him. You, then, why do you judge
your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will
all stand before God's judgment seat. Therefore let us stop passing
judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put
any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way.' (Rom. 14:3,
10, 13).
'We shall all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ. Let us not
judge one another any more—but judge this rather, that no man put
a stumbling-block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.'
'Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord
comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will
expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his
praise from God.' (1 Cor. 4:5). 'Speak not evil one of another,
brethren: he who speaks evil of his brother, and judges his brother,
speaks evil of the law, and judges the law; but if you judge the law,
you are not a doer of the law—but a judge. There is one lawgiver, who
is able to save and to destroy' (James 4:11, 12). 'Who are you that
judges another man's servant? to his own master he stands or falls;
yes, he shall be held up, for God is able to make him stand' (Rom.14:4).
One Delphidius accusing another before Julian about that which he
could not prove, the party denying the fact, Delphidius answers, 'If it
be sufficient to deny what is laid to one's charge, who shall be found
guilty?' Julian answers, 'And if it be sufficient to be accused, who can
be innocent?' You are wise, and know how to apply it.
Remedy (12). The twelfth remedy against this device of Satan is
this, above all, Labor to be clothed with humility. Humility
makes a man peaceable among brethren, fruitful in well-doing,
cheerful in suffering, and constant in holy walking (1 Pet. 5:5).
Humility fits for the highest services we owe to Christ, and yet will
not neglect the lowest service to the lowest saint (John 13:5).
Humility can feed upon the lowest dish, and yet it is maintained by
the choicest delicacies, as God, Christ, and glory. Humility will make
a man bless him who curses him, and pray for those who persecute
him. An humble heart is an habitation for God, a scholar for Christ, a
companion of angels, a preserver of grace, and a fitter for glory.
Humility is the nurse of our graces, the preserver of our mercies, and
the great promoter of holy duties. Humility cannot find three things
on this side heaven: it cannot find fullness in the creature, nor
sweetness in sin, nor life in an ordinance without Christ. An humble
soul always finds three things on this side heaven: the soul to be
empty, Christ to be full, and every mercy and duty to be sweet
wherein God is enjoyed.
Humility can weep over other men's weaknesses, and joy and rejoice
over their graces. Humility will make a man quiet and contented in
the lowest condition, and it will preserve a man from envying other
men's prosperous condition (1 Thess. 1:2, 3). Humility honors those
who are strong in grace, and puts two hands under those who are
weak in grace (Eph. 3:8). Humility makes a man richer than other
men, and it makes a man judge himself the poorest among men.
Humility will see much good abroad, when it can see but little at home.
Ah, Christian! though faith be the champion of grace, and love the
nurse of grace, yet humility is the beautifier of grace; it casts a
general glory upon all the graces in the soul. Ah! did Christians more
abound in humility, they would be less bitter, willful, and sour, and
they would be more gentle, meek, and sweet in their spirits and
practices. Humility will make a man have high thoughts of others
and low thoughts of himself; it will make a man see much glory and
excellency in others, and much baseness and sinfulness in himself; it
will make a man see others rich, and himself poor; others strong, and
himself weak; others wise, and himself foolish.
Humility will make a man excellent at covering others' infirmities,
and at recording their gracious services, and at delighting in their
graces; it makes a man rejoice in every light which outshines his
own, and every wind which blows others good. Humility is better at
believing, than it is at questioning other men's happiness. I judge,
says a humble soul, it is well with these Christians now—but it will be
far better with them hereafter. They are now upon the borders of the
New Jerusalem, and it will be but as a day before they slide into
Jerusalem. A humble soul is more willing to say, Heaven is that
man's, than mine; and Christ is that Christian's, than mine; and God
is their God in covenant, than mine. Ah! were Christians more
humble, there would be less contention, and more love among them
than now is.
Humility, said Bernard, is that which keeps all graces together.
The humble soul is like the violet, which grows low, hangs the head
downwards, and hides itself with its own leaves; and were it not that
the fragrant smell of his many virtues discovered him to the world,
he would choose to live and die in his self-contenting secrecy
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Post by Admin on Mar 1, 2024 13:56:16 GMT -5
IV. DEVICE AGAINST POOR AND IGNORANT SOULS
Fourthly, As Satan has his device to destroy gracious souls, so he has
his devices to destroy poor ignorant souls, and that sometimes, By
drawing them to esteem ignorance, and to neglect, slight,
and despise the means of knowledge. Ignorance is the mother
of mistake, the cause of trouble, error, and of terror; it is the highway
to hell, and it makes a man both a prisoner and a slave to the devil at
once. Ignorance unmans a man; it makes a man a beast, yes, makes
him more miserable than the beast which perishes. (Ignorant ones
have this advantage—they have a cooler hell.) There are none so
easily nor so frequently captured in Satan's snares—as ignorant
souls. They are easily drawn to dance with the devil all day, and to
dream of supping with Christ at night. 'My people are destroyed for
lack of knowledge.' Hosea 4:6. 'You are in error because you do not
know the Scriptures or the power of God.' Matthew 22:29.
Remedy (1). The first remedy against this device of Satan is,
seriously to consider, That an ignorant heart is an evil heart.
'Without knowledge the mind is not good' (Prov. 19:2). As an
ignorant heart is a naughty heart, it is a heart in the dark; and no
good can come into a dark heart—but it must pass through the
understanding: 'And if the eye be dark, all the body is dark' (Matt.
6:22). A leprous head and a leprous heart are inseparable
companions. Ignorant hearts are so evil that they let fly on all hands,
and spare not to spit their venom in the very face of God, as Pharaoh
did when thick darkness was upon him.
Remedy (2). The second remedy against this device of Satan is, to
consider, That ignorance is the deformity of the soul. As
blindness is the deformity of the face, so is ignorance the deformity
of the soul. As the lack of fleshly eyes spoils the beauty of the face, so
the lack of spiritual eyes spoils the beauty of the soul. A man without
knowledge is as a workman without his hands, as a painter without
his eyes, as a traveler without his legs, or as a ship without sails, or a
bird without wings, or like a body without a soul.
Remedy (3). The third remedy against this device of Satan is,
solemnly to consider, That ignorance makes men the objects
of God's hatred and wrath. 'It is a people who err in their hearts,
and have not known my ways. Therefore I swear in my wrath, they
should never enter into my rest' (Heb. 3:10, 11). 'My people are a
people of no understanding; therefore he who made them will have
no mercy on them' (Is. 27:11). Christ has said that he will come 'in
flaming fire, to render vengeance on them that know not God' (2
Thess. 1:8). Ignorance will end in vengeance. When you see a poor
blind man here, you do not loathe him, nor hate him—but you pity
him. Oh! but soul-blindness makes you abominable in the sight of
God. God has sworn that ignorant people shall never come into
heaven. Heaven itself would be a hell to ignorant souls. They must
needs err that know not God's ways, yet cannot they wander so wide
as to miss of hell. 'My people are destroyed for want of knowledge;
because you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you' (Hosea 4:6).
Chilo, one of the seven sages, being asked what God had done,
answered, 'He exalted humble men, and suppressed proud ignorant fools.'
The Catholic Church says that ignorance is the mother of devotion—
but the Scripture says, it is the mother of destruction.
Remedy (4). The fourth remedy against this device of Satan is, to
consider, That ignorance is a sin that leads to all sins. All
sins are seminally in ignorance. 'You do err, not knowing the
Scriptures' (Matt. 22:29). It puts men upon hating and persecuting
the saints. 'They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is
coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service
to God. They will do such things because they have not known the
Father or me.' (John 16:2, 3). Paul thanks his ignorance for all his
cruelties to Christians. 'I was a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and
injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly' (1 Tim.
1:13). (It seems right to note that the apostle does not allege his
ignorance, for which he was responsible, as the ground of the 'mercy'
shown him—but only as the source and explanation of his sin and
violence. The clause, 'but I obtained mercy,' is parenthetic, and it is
of importance to note this.)
It was ignorance that put the Jews upon crucifying Christ: 'Father,
forgive them,' says Christ of his murderers, 'for they know not what
they do' (Luke 23:34). 'For if the princes of this world had known,
they would not have crucified the Lord of glory' (1 Cor. 2:8).
Sin at first was the cause of ignorance—but now ignorance is the
cause of all sin. 'Swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and
whoring abound,' says the prophet, 'because there is no knowledge of
God in the land.' There are none so frequent, and so impudent in the
ways of sin, as ignorant souls; they care not, nor mind not what they
do, nor what they say against God, Christ, heaven, holiness, and their
own souls. 'Our tongues are our own, who shall control us?' 'They are
corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression: they speak
loftily. They set their mouth against the heavens; and their tongue
walks through the earth. Have all the workers of iniquity no
knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not
upon the Lord?' 'Therefore, pride is their necklace, and violence
covers them like a garment. Their eyes bulge out from fatness; the
imaginations of their hearts run wild. They mock, and they speak
maliciously; they arrogantly threaten oppression. They set their
mouths against heaven, and their tongues strut across the earth.
They say—'How can God know? Does the Most High know
everything?' Look at them—the wicked!' Psalm 73:6-12
Aristotle makes ignorance the mother of all the misrule in the world.
They did like Oedipus, who killed his father Laius, king of Thebes,
and thought he killed his enemy.
FIVE MORE OF SATAN'S DEVICES
Whereby he keeps poor souls from believing in Christ, from receiving
of Christ, from embracing of Christ, from resting, leaning, or relying
upon Christ—for everlasting happiness and blessedness, according to
the gospel; and remedies against these devices.
DEVICE 1. By suggesting to the soul the greatness and
vileness of his sins.
What! says Satan, do you think you shall ever obtain mercy by Christ
—you who have sinned with so high a hand against Christ? you who
have slighted the offers of grace? you who have grieved the Spirit of
grace? you who have despised the word of grace? you who have
trampled under feet the blood of the covenant by which you might
have been pardoned, purged, justified, and saved? you who have
spoken and done all the evil that you could? No! no! says Satan, he
has mercy for others—but not for you; pardon for others—but not for
you; righteousness for others—but not for you. Therefore it is in vain
for you to think of believing in Christ, or resting and leaning your
guilty soul upon Christ (Jer. 3:5).
Remedy (1). The first remedy against this device of Satan is, to
consider, That the greater your sins are, the more you
stand in need of a Savior. The greater your burden is, the more
you stand in need of one to help to bear it. The deeper the wound is,
the more need there is of the surgeon. The more dangerous the
disease is, the more need there is of the physician. Who but madmen
will argue thus: My burden is great, therefore I will not call out for
help; my wound is deep, therefore I will not call out for balm; my
disease is dangerous, therefore I will not go to the physician. Ah! it is
spiritual madness, it is the devil's logic to argue thus: My sins are
great, therefore I will not go to Christ, I dare not rest nor lean on
Christ. Whereas the soul should reason thus: The greater my sins
are, the more I stand in need of mercy, of pardon—and therefore I
will go to Christ, who delights in mercy, who pardons sin for his own
name's sake, who is as able and as willing to forgive pounds as pence,
thousands as hundreds (Micah 7:18; Is. 43:25).
Remedy (2). The second remedy against this device of Satan is,
solemnly to consider, That the promise of grace and mercy is
to returning souls. And, therefore, though you are ever so wicked,
yet if you will return, God will be yours, and mercy shall be yours,
and pardon shall be yours (2 Chron. 30:9): 'For the Lord your God is
gracious and merciful. If you return to him, he will not continue to
turn his face from you.' So Jer. 3:12: 'This is what the Lord says: O
Israel, my faithless people, come home to me again, for I am
merciful. I will not be angry with you forever.' So Joel 2:13: 'Don't
tear your clothing in your grief; instead, tear your hearts." Return to
the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful. He is not easily
angered. He is filled with kindness and is eager not to punish you.' So
Is. 55:7 'Let the wicked forsake his ways, and the unrighteous man
his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have
mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon,' or,
as the Hebrew reads it, 'He will multiply pardon.' So Ezekiel 18.
Ah! sinner, it is not your great transgressions that shall exclude you
from mercy, if you will break off your sins by repentance and return
to the fountain of mercy. Christ's heart, Christ's arms, are wide open
to embrace the returning prodigal. it is not simply the greatness of
your sins—but your decided persisting in sin, that will be your
eternal overthrow.
Remedy (3). The third remedy against this device of Satan is,
solemnly to consider, That the greatest sinners have obtained
mercy, and therefore you may obtain mercy. Manasseh was
a notorious sinner. "Manasseh did what was evil in the LORD's
sight, imitating the detestable practices of the pagan nations whom
the Lord had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. He rebuilt
the pagan shrines his father, Hezekiah, had destroyed. He
constructed altars for Baal and set up an Asherah pole, just as King
Ahab of Israel had done. He also bowed before all the starry hosts
and worshiped them. He even built pagan altars in the Temple of the
Lord, the place where the Lord had said his name should be honored.
He built these altars for all the starry hosts in both courtyards of the
Lord's Temple. Manasseh even sacrificed his own son in the fire. He
practiced sorcery and divination, and he consulted with mediums
and spiritists. He did much that was evil in the Lord's sight, arousing
his anger. Manasseh even took an Asherah pole he had made and set
it up in the Temple!" (2 Kings 21:1-7). Ah! what a devil incarnate was
he in his actings! Yet when he humbled himself, and sought the Lord,
the Lord was entreated of him and heard his supplication, and
brought him to Jerusalem, and made himself known unto him, and
crowned him with mercy and loving-kindness, as you may see in 2 Chron. 33.
So Paul was once a blasphemer, a persecutor and injurious, yet he
obtained mercy (1 Tim. 1:13). So Mary Magdalene was a notorious
strumpet, a common whore, out of whom Christ cast seven devils, yet
she is pardoned by Christ, and dearly beloved of Christ (Luke 7:37,
38). So Mark 16:9, 'Now, when Jesus was risen early the first day of
the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had
cast seven devils.'
Jansenius on the place says, it is very observable that our Savior after
his resurrection first appeared to Mary Magdalene and Peter, both of
whom had been grievous sinners; that even the worst of sinners may
be comforted and encouraged to come to Christ, to believe in Christ,
to rest and stay their souls upon Christ, for mercy here and glory
hereafter. That is a very precious word for the worst of sinners to
hang upon (Psalm 68:18). The psalmist speaking of Christ says, You
have ascended on high, you have led captivity captive; you have
received gifts for men; yes, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God
might dwell among them.'
What though you are a rebellious child, or a rebellious servant! What
though you are a rebellious swearer, a rebellious drunkard! Yet
Christ has received gifts for you, 'even for the rebellious also.' He has
received the gift of pardon, the gift of righteousness, yes, all the gifts
of the Spirit for you, that your heart may be made a delightful house
for God to dwell in.
John Godin has a story concerning a great rebel that had made a
strong party against a Roman emperor. The emperor makes
proclamation, that whoever could bring the rebel dead or alive, he
would be rewarded with a great sum of money. The rebel hearing of
this, comes and presents himself before the emperor, and demands
the sum of money. Now, says the emperor, if I would put him to
death, the world would say I did it to save my money. And so he
pardons the rebel, and gives him the money.
Ah! sinners! Shall a heathen do this, who had but a drop of mercy
and compassion in him: and will not Christ do much more, who has
all fullness of grace, mercy, and glory in himself? Surely his
affections do yearn towards the worst of rebels. Ah! if you still but
come in, you will find him ready to pardon, yes, one fully made up of
pardoning mercy. Oh! the readiness and willingness of Jesus Christ
to receive to favor the greatest rebels! The father of mercies did meet,
embrace, and kiss that prodigal mouth, which came from feeding
with swine and kissing of harlots (Col. 1:19; 2:3, 4).
Ephraim had committed idolatry, and was backslidden from God; he
was guilty of lukewarmness and unbelief, etc., yet says God,
'Ephraim is my dear son, he is a pleasant child, my affections are
troubled for him, I will have mercy,' or rather as it is in the original, 'I
will have mercy, mercy upon him, says the Lord.' (Hosea, 4:17; 5:3;
6:8, 11; 12:12, 14; 13:12. Vide Jer. 31:20)
Well! says God, though Ephraim is guilty of crimson sins, yet he is a
son, a dear son, a precious son, a pleasant child; though he is black
with filth, and red with guilt, yet my affections are troubled for him; I
will have mercy, mercy upon him. Ah sinners, if these affections of
mercy do not melt, win, and draw you—justice will be a swift witness
against you, and make you lie down in eternal misery for kicking
against the affections of mercy.
Christ hangs out still, as once that warlike Scythian did, a white flag
of grace and mercy to returning sinners who humble themselves at
his feet for favor. But if sinners continue to rebel, Christ will put
forth his red flag, his bloody flag, and they shall die for ever by a
hand of justice. Sinners! there is no way to avoid perishing by
Christ's iron rod—but by kissing his golden scepter!
Remedy (4). The fourth remedy against this device of Satan is, to
consider, That Jesus Christ has never refused the worst of
sinners who are willing to receive him, to believe in him,
to rest upon him for happiness and blessedness. Ah! sinners,
why should you be more cruel and unmerciful to your own souls than
Christ is? Christ has not excluded you from mercy, why should you
exclude your own souls from mercy? Oh that you would dwell often
upon that choice Scripture (John 6:37): 'Everyone the Father gives
Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never cast
out.' Or as the original has it, 'I will not, no never cast out.'
Well! says Christ, if any man will come, or is coming to me, let him
be more sinful or less; more unworthy or less; let him be ever so
guilty, ever so filthy, ever so rebellious, ever so leprous—yet if he will
but come, I will not, no never cast him off. So much is held forth in 1
Cor. 6:9-11, 'Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the
kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral
nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual
offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers
nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some
of you were! But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were
justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.'
Ah! sinners, do not think that he who has received such notorious
sinners to mercy, will reject you. 'He is the same yesterday, and
today, and forever' (Heb. 13:8). Christ was born in an inn, to show
that he receives all comers; his garments were divided into four
parts, to show that out of whatever part of the world we come, we
shall be received. If we be naked, Christ has robes to clothe us; if we
be harborless, Christ has room to lodge us. That is a choice scripture
(Acts 10:34, 35) 'Then Peter opened his mouth and said—I now
realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts
men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.'
The three tongues that were written upon the cross, Greek, Latin,
and Hebrew (John 19:19, 20), to witness Christ to be the king of the
Jews, do each of them in their several idioms avouch this singular
axiom, that Christ is an all-sufficient Savior; and 'a threefold cord is
not easily broken.' The apostle puts this out of doubt: Heb. 7:25:
'therefore he is able also to save to the uttermost, all who come unto
God by him, seeing he ever lives to make intercession for them.' Now,
he were not an all-sufficient Savior, if he were not able to save the
worst, as well as the least of sinners. Ah! sinners, tell Jesus Christ
that he has not excluded you from mercy, and therefore you are
resolved that you will sit, wait, weep, and knock at the door of mercy,
until he shall say, 'Friends, be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven,
your persons are justified, and your souls shall be saved.'
Remedy (5). The fifth remedy against this device of Satan is, to
consider, That the greater sinner you are, the dearer you
will be to Christ, when he shall behold you as the travail of
his soul (Is. 53:11): 'He shall see of the travail of his soul, and be
satisfied.' The dearer we pay for anything, the dearer that thing is to
us. Christ has paid most, and prayed most, and sighed most, and
wept most, and bled most for the greatest sinners; and therefore they
are dearer to Christ than others that are less sinful. Rachel was
dearer to Jacob than Leah, because she cost him more; he obeyed,
endured, and suffered more by day and night for her than for Leah.
Ah! sinners, the greatness of your sins does but set off the
freeness and riches of Christ's grace, and the immensity of
his love! This makes heaven and earth to ring of his praise, that he
loves those who are most unlovely, that he shows most favor to those
who have sinned most highly against him, as might be showed by
several instances in Scripture, as Paul, Mary Magdalene, and others.
Who sinned more against Christ than these? And who had sweeter
and choicer manifestations of divine love and favor than these?
Remedy (6). The sixth remedy against this device of Satan is,
seriously to consider, That the longer you keep off from
Christ, the greater and stronger your sins will grow. All
divine power and strength against sin flows from the soul's union
and communion with Christ (Rom. 8:10; 1 John 1:6, 7). While you
keep off from Christ, you keep off from that strength and power
which is alone able to make you trample down strength, lead
captivity captive, and slay the Goliaths that bid defiance to Christ. It
is only faith in Christ that makes a man triumph over sin, Satan, hell,
and the world (1 John 5:4). It is only faith in Christ that binds the
strong man's hand and foot, that stops the issue of blood, that makes
a man strong in resisting, and happy in conquering (Matt. 5:15-35).
Sin always dies most where faith lives most. The most believing soul
is the most mortified soul.
Ah! sinner, remember this, there is no way on earth effectually to be
rid of the guilt, filth, and power of sin—but by believing in the Savior.
It is not resolving, it is not complaining, it is not mourning—but
believing, which will make you divinely victorious over that body of
sin that to this day is too strong for you, and that will certainly be
your ruin, if it be not ruined by a hand of faith.
Remedy (7). The seventh remedy against this device of Satan is,
wisely to consider, That as there is nothing in Christ to
discourage the greatest sinners from believing in him, so
there is everything in Christ that may encourage the
greatest sinners to believe on him, to rest and lean upon
him for all happiness and blessedness(Cant. 1:3). If you look
upon his nature, his disposition, his names, his titles, his offices as
king, priest, and prophet—you will find nothing to discourage the
greatest sinners from believing in him—but many things to
encourage the greatest sinners to receive him, to believe in him. (Col.
1:19; 2:3; Cant. 5:10.)
Christ is the greatest good, the choicest good, the chief good, the
most suitable good, the most necessary good. He is a pure good, a
real good, a total good, an eternal good, and a soul-satisfying good
(Rev. 3:17, 18). Sinners, are you poor? Christ has gold to enrich you.
Are you naked? Christ has royal robes, he has white clothing to
clothe you. Are you blind? Christ has eye-salve to enlighten you. Are
you hungry? Christ will be manna to feed you. Are you thirsty? He
will be a well of living water to refresh you. Are you wounded? He
has a balm under his wings to heal you. Are you sick? He is a
physician to cure you. Are you prisoners? He has laid down a ransom
for you. Ah, sinners! tell me, tell me, is there anything in Christ to
keep you off from believing? No! Is there not everything in Christ
that may encourage you to believe in him? Yes! Oh, then, believe in
him, and then, Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white
as snow, though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool' (Is.
1:18). No, then, your iniquities shall be forgotten as well as forgiven,
they shall be remembered no more. God will cast them behind his
back, he will throw them into the bottom of the sea! (Is. 43:25; 38:17;
Micah 7:19).
Remedy (8). The eighth remedy against this device of Satan Is,
seriously to consider, The absolute necessity of believing in
Christ. Heaven is too holy to hold unbelievers; their lodging is
prepared in hell (Rev. 21:8): 'But the fearful and unbelieving etc.
shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone,
which is the second death.' 'If you believe not that I am he,' says
Christ, 'you shall die in your sins' (John 8:24). And he who dies in
his sins must go to judgment and to hell in his sins. Every
unbeliever is a condemned man: 'He who believes not,' says John, 'is
condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the
only begotten Son of God. And he who believes not the Son, shall not
see life—but the wrath of God abides on him' (John 3:18, 36). Ah,
sinners! the law, the gospel, and your own consciences, have passed
the sentence of condemnation upon you, and there is no way to
reverse the sentence but by believing in Christ. And therefore my
counsel is this—Stir up yourselves to lay hold on the Lord Jesus, and
look up to him, and wait on him, from whom every good and perfect
gift comes, and give him no rest until he has given you that jewel
'faith'—which is more worth than heaven and earth, and which will
make you happy in life, joyful in death, and glorious in the day of
Christ (Is. 64:7; James 1:17; Is. 62:7).
And thus much for the remedies against this first device of Satan,
whereby he keeps off thousands from believing in Christ.
DEVICE 2. By suggesting to sinners their unworthiness.
Ah! says Satan, as you are worthy of the greatest misery, so you are
unworthy of the least crumb of mercy. What! do you think, says
Satan, that ever Christ will own, receive, or embrace such an
unworthy wretch as you are? No! No! if there were any worthiness in
you, then, indeed, Christ might be willing to be entertained by you.
You are unworthy to entertain Christ into your house, how much
more unworthy are you to entertain Christ into your heart.
Remedy (1). The first remedy against this device of Satan is,
seriously to consider, That God has nowhere in the Scripture
required any worthiness in the creature before believing
in Christ. If you make a diligent search through all the Scripture,
you shall not find, from the first line in Genesis to the last line in the
Revelation, one word that speaks out God's requiring any worthiness
in the creature before the soul's believing In Christ, before the soul's
leaning and resting upon Christ for happiness and blessedness; and
why, then, should that be a bar and hindrance to your faith, which
God does nowhere require of you before you come to Christ, that you
may have life? (Matt. 19:8; John 5:29). Ah, sinners! remember Satan
objects your unworthiness against you only out of a design to keep
Christ and your souls asunder forever; and therefore, in the face of
all your unworthiness, rest upon Christ, come to Christ, believe in
Christ, and you are happy forever (John 6:40, 47).
Remedy (2). The second remedy against this device of Satan is,
wisely to consider, That none ever received Christ, embraced
Christ, and obtained mercy and pardon from Christ—but
unworthy souls. Pray, what worthiness was in Matthew,
Zacchaeus, Mary Magdalene, Manasseh, Paul, and Lydia, before
their coming to Christ, before their faith in Christ? Surely none! Ah,
sinners! you should reason thus: Christ has bestowed the choicest
mercies, the greatest favors, the highest dignities, the sweetest
privileges, upon unworthy sinners, and therefore, O our souls, do not
faint, do not despair—but patiently and quietly wait for the salvation
of the Lord. Who can tell but that free grace and mercy may shine
forth upon us, though we are unworthy, and give us a portion among
those blessed ones who are now triumphing in heaven.
Remedy (3). The third remedy against this device of Satan is, That
if the soul will keep off from Christ until it is worthy—it
will never close with Christ, it will never embrace Christ.
It will never be one with Christ, it must lie down in everlasting
sorrow (Is. 50:11). God has laid up all worthiness in Christ, that the
creature may know where to find it, and receive it. There is no way
on earth to make unworthy souls worthy—but by believing in Christ
(James 2:23). Believing in Christ—of slaves, it will make you worthy
sons; of enemies, it will make you worthy friends. God will count
none worthy, nor call none worthy, nor carry it towards none as
worthy—but believers, who are made worthy by the worthiness of
Christ's person, righteousness, satisfaction, and intercession (Rev.3:4).
Remedy (4). The fourth remedy against this device of Satan is,
solemnly to consider, That if you make a diligent search into
your own hearts, you shall find that it is the pride and
folly of your own hearts which puts you upon bringing of
a worthiness to Christ. Oh! you would gladly bring something to
Christ that might render you acceptable to him; you are reluctant to
come empty-handed. The Lord cries out, 'Come, everyone who is
thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and
eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost! Why
do you spend money on what is not food, and your wages on what
does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and
you will enjoy the choicest of foods!' (Is. 55:1, 2). Here the Lord calls
upon moneyless souls, upon penniless souls, upon unworthy souls—
to come and partake of his precious favors freely. But sinners are
proud and foolish, and because they have no money, no worthiness
to bring, they will not come, though he sweetly invites them. Ah,
sinners! what is more just than that you should perish forever—who
prefer husks among swine, before the milk and wine, the sweet and
precious things of the gospel, which are freely and sweetly offered to
you. Well, sinners! remember this, it is not so much the sense of your
unworthiness, as your pride, that keeps you off from a blessed
closing with the Lord Jesus.
DEVICE 3. By suggesting to sinners the lack of such and
such preparations and qualifications.
Says Satan, You are not prepared to entertain Christ; you are not
thus and thus humbled and justified; you are not heart-sick of sin;
you have not been under horrors and terrors as such and such; you
must stay until you are prepared and qualified to receive the Lord Jesus.
Remedy (1). The first remedy against this device of Satan is,
solemnly to consider, That such as have not been so and so
prepared and qualified as Satan suggests, have received
Christ, believed in Christ, and been saved by Christ.
Matthew was called, sitting at the tax collector's booth, and there was
such power went along with Christ's call, that made him to follow
Christ (Matt. 9:9). We read not of any horrors or terrors that he was
under before his being called by Christ. Reader! what preparations
and qualifications were found in Zacchaeus, Paul, the jailor, and
Lydia, before their conversion? (Luke 19:9, Acts 16:14, seq.). God
brings in some by the sweet and still voice of the gospel, and usually
such that are thus brought into Christ are the sweetest, humblest,
choicest, and most fruitful Christians.
God is a free agent to work by law or gospel, by smiles or frowns, by
presenting hell or heaven to sinners' souls. God thunders from
mount Sinai upon some souls, and conquers them by thundering.
God speaks to others in a still voice, and by that conquers them. You
who are brought to Christ by the law, do not you judge and condemn
those who are brought to Christ by the gospel; and you who are
brought to Christ by the gospel, do not you despise those who are
brought to Christ by the law. Some are brought to Christ by fire,
storms, and tempests; others by more easy and gentle gales of the
Spirit. The Spirit is free in the works of conversion, and, as the wind,
it blows when, where, and how it pleases (John 3:8). Thrice happy
are those souls that are brought to Christ, whether it be in a winter's
night or in a summer's day.
Remedy (2). The second remedy against this device of Satan is,
solemnly To dwell upon these following scriptures, which
clearly evidence that poor sinners who are not such and
such prepared and qualified to meet with Christ, to receive
and embrace the Lord Jesus Christ; may, notwithstanding
that, believe in Christ; and rest and lean upon him for
happiness and blessedness, according to the gospel. Read
Prov. 1:20-33, and chap 8:1-11, and chap. 9:1-6; Ezek. 16:1-14; John
3:14-18, 36; Rev. 3:15-20. Here the Lord Jesus Christ stands
knocking at the Laodiceans' door; he would gladly have them to sup
with him, and that he might sup with them; that is, that they might
have intimate communion and fellowship one with another.
Now, tell me, what preparations or qualifications had these
Laodiceans to entertain Christ? Surely none; for they were
lukewarm, they were 'neither hot nor cold,' they were 'wretched, and
miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked'; and yet Christ, to show
his free grace and his condescending love, invites the very worst of
sinners to open to him, though they were not such and such prepared
or qualified to entertain him.
Remedy (3). The third remedy against this device of Satan is,
seriously to consider, That the Lord does not in all the
Scripture, require such and such preparations and
qualifications before men come to Christ, before they
believe in Christ, or entertain, or embrace the Lord Jesus.
Believing in Christ is the great thing that God presses upon sinners
throughout the Scripture, as all know that know anything of
Scripture.
Obj. But does not Christ say, 'Come unto me all who labor and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest'? (Matt. 11:28). To this I shall
give these three answers:
(1.) That though the invitation be to such that 'labor and are heavy
laden,' yet the promise of giving rest, it is made over to 'coming,' to
'believing.'
(2.) That all this scripture proves and shows is, that such as labor
under sin as under a heavy burden, and that are laden with the guilt
of sin and sense of God's displeasure, ought to come to Christ for
rest; but it does not prove that only such must come to Christ, nor
that all men must be thus burdened and laden with the sense of their
sins and the wrath of God, before they come to Christ.
Poor sinners, when they are under the sense of sin and wrath of God,
are prone to run from creature to creature, and from duty to duty,
and from ordinance to ordinance, to find rest; and if they could find
it in anything or creature, Christ would never hear of them; but here
the Lord sweetly invites them; and to encourage them, he engages
himself to give them rest: 'Come,' says Christ, 'and I will give you
rest.' I will not show you rest, nor barely tell you of rest—but 'I will
give you rest.' I am faithfulness itself, and cannot lie, 'I will give you
rest.' I that have the greatest power to give it, the greatest will to give
it, the greatest right to give it, 'Come, heavy laden sinners, and I will
give you rest.' Rest is the most desirable good, the most suitable
good, and to you the greatest good. 'Come,' says Christ, that is,
'believe in me, and I will give you rest'; I will give you peace with
God, and peace with conscience; I will turn your storm into an
everlasting calm; I will give you such rest, which the world can
neither give to you nor take from you.
(3.) No one scripture speaks out the whole mind of God; therefore do
but compare this one scripture with those several scriptures that are
laid down in the second remedy last mentioned, and it will clearly
appear, that though men are thus and thus burdened and laden with
their sins and filled with horror and terror, if they may come to
Christ, they may receive and embrace the Lord Jesus Christ.
Remedy (4). The fourth remedy against this device of Satan is, to
consider, That all that trouble for sin, all that sorrow,
shame, and mourning which is acceptable to God, and
delightful to God, and prevalent with God, flows from
faith in Christ, as the stream does from the fountain, as
the branch does from the root, as the effect does from the
cause. Zech. 12:10, 'They shall look on him whom they have pierced,
and they shall mourn for him.' All gospel mourning flows from
believing; they shall first look, and then mourn. All who know
anything about the gospel, know this, that 'whatever is not of faith is
sin' (Rom. 14:33). Until men have faith in Christ, their best
services are but splendid sins!
DEVICE 4. By suggesting to a sinner Christ's unwillingness to save.
It is true, says Satan. Christ is able to save you—but is he willing?
Surely, though he is able, yet he is not willing to save such a wretch
as you are, who has trampled his blood under your feet, and who has
been in open rebellion against him all your days.
Remedy (1). First, The great journey that he has taken,
from heaven to earth, on purpose to save sinners, strongly
demonstrates his willingness to save them. Matt. 9:13: 'I
came not to call the righteous—but sinners to repentance.' 1 Tim.
1:15: 'This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptance, that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.'
Secondly, His divesting himself of his glory in order to sinners'
salvation, speaks out his willingness to save them. He leaves his
Father's bosom, he puts off his glorious robes, and lays aside his
glorious crown, and bids adieu to his glistering courtiers the angels;
and all this he does, that he may accomplish sinners' salvation. From
the cradle to the cross, his whole life was a life of sufferings.
Thirdly, That sea of sin, that sea of wrath, that sea of trouble, that
sea of blood that Jesus Christ waded through, that sinners might be
pardoned, justified, reconciled, and saved, strongly evidences his
willingness to save sinners (2 Cor. 5:19, 20).
Fourthly, His sending his ambassadors, early and late, to woo and
entreat sinners to be reconciled to him, does with open mouth show
his readiness and willingness to save sinners.
Fifthly, His complaints against such as refuse him, and who turn
their backs upon him, and who will not be saved by him, strongly
declares his willingness to save them (John 1:11): 'He came to his
own, and his own received him not.' So in John 5:40, 'But you will
not come to me, that you may have life.'
Sixthly, The joy and delight that he takes at the conversion of sinners
demonstrates his willingness that they should be saved (Luke 15:7): 'I
tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven
over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons
who do not need to repent.' God the Father rejoices at the return of
his prodigal son; Christ rejoices to see the travail of his soul; the
Spirit rejoices that he has another temple to dwell in; and the angels
rejoice that they have another brother to delight in (Is. 53:11).
DEVICE 5. By working a sinner to mind more the secret
decrees and counsels of God, than his own duty.
What need you to busy yourself about receiving, embracing, and
entertaining of Christ? says Satan; if you are elected, you shall be
saved; if not, all that you can do will do you no good. No, he will work
the soul not only to doubt of its election—but to conclude that he is
not elected, and therefore, let him do what he can, he shall never be saved.
Remedy (1). The first remedy against this device of Satan is,
seriously to consider, That not all the angels in heaven, nor all the
men an earth, nor all the devils in hell, cannot tell to the contrary—
but that you may be an elect person, a chosen vessel. You may be
confident of this, that God never made Satan one of his privy council,
God never acquainted him with the names of such that he has set his
love upon to eternity.
Remedy (2). The second remedy against this device of Satan is, To
meddle with that which you have to do. 'Secret things belong to the
Lord—but revealed things belong to you' (Deut. 29:29). Your work,
sinner, is, to be peremptory in believing, and in returning to the
Lord; your work is to cast yourself upon Christ, lie at his feet, to wait
on him in his ways; and to give him no rest until he shall say, Sinner,
I am your portion, I am your salvation—and nothing shall separate
between you and me.
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