A Word of Counsel, Showing From What We May Not, as Also From What We May, Judge our Graces to Be Declining 1/2

A Word of Counsel, Showing From What We May Not, as Also From What We May, Judge our Graces to Be Declining

First. A word of counsel to direct the Christian how to judge of the declining state of grace, that he may not pass a false judgment upon himself therein.

How may a Christian judge whether grace be de­clin­ing in him or no?  First. I shall resolve this nega­tively, and show by what he is not to judge his grace to decline.  Second. I shall resolve it positively, and show by what he may certainly conclude a decay of grace.

First. I shall resolve this negatively, and show by what he is not to judge his grace to decline, and that in several particulars.

1. Christian, do not judge grace to be fallen weaker, because thy sense of corruption is grown stronger.  This oft lies at the bottom of poor souls’ complaints in this case.  O they never felt pride, hy­pocrisy, and other corrup­tions, so haunt them as now.  None knows how they are vexed with these and the like, besides themselves.  Now let me ask thee who makest this sad moan, whether thou dost not think these corruptions were in thee before thou didst thus feel them? how oft hast thou prayed as formally, and not been troubled? how oft hast thou stood chat­ting with the same lusts, and thy soul hath not been laid low before the Lord with such abasement of thy­self as now?  Deal faithfully between God and thy soul, and tell not a lie for God by bearing false wit­ness against thyself.  If it be thus, thou hast rather a comfortable sign of grace growing than decaying.  Sin cannot be on the getting hand, if the sense of sin grow quick; this is the concomitant of a thriving soul. None [are] so full of complaints of their own hearts as such; the least sin goes now to their very souls, which makes them think viler of themselves than ever.  But it is not the increase of sin in them, but the advance of their love to Christ, makes them judge so. When the sun shines with some power, and the year gets up, we observe, though we may have frosts and snow, yet they do not lie long, but are soon dissolved by the sun.  O it is a sweet sign that the love of Christ shines with [such] a force upon thy soul, that no corruptions can lie long in thy bosom, but they melt into sorrow and bitter complaints.  That is the decay­ing soul, where sin lies bound up and frozen, [where] little sense of or sorrow for it appears.

2. Take heed thou thinkest not grace decays, be­cause thy comfort withdraws.  The influence of the sun comes where the light of it is not to be found, yea, is mighty, as appears in those mines of gold and silver, which are concocted by the same.  And so may the actings of grace be vigorous in thee, when least under the shines of his countenance.  Did ever faith triumph more than in our Saviour, crying, ‘My God, my God?’ here faith was at its meridian, when it was midnight in respect of joy.  Possibly thou comest from an ordinance, and bringest not home with thee those sheaves of comfort thou usest to do, and therefore concludest grace acted not in thee as formerly.  Truly if thou hast nothing else to go by, thou mayest wrong the grace of God in thee exceedingly.  Because thy comfort is extrinsical to thy duty—a boon which God may give or not, yea, doth give to the weak, and deny to the strong.  The traveller may go as fast, and ride as much ground when the sun doth not shine, as when it doth—though indeed he goes not so merrily on his journey—nay, sometimes he makes the more haste.  The warm sun makes him sometimes to lie down and loiter, but when dark and cold, he puts on with more speed.  Some graces thrive best, like some flowers, in the shade, such as humility, dependence on God, &c.

3. Take heed thou dost not mistake, and think thy grace decays, when may be it is only thy temp­tations increase, and not thy grace that decreases.  If you should hear a man say, because he cannot to-day run so fast, when a hundred weight is on his back, as he could yesterday without any such a burden, that therefore he was grown weaker, you would soon tell him where his mistake lies.  Temptation lies not in the same heaviness alway upon the Christian’s shoulder.  Observe, therefore, whether Satan is not more than ordinary let loose to assault thee—whether thy temptations come not with more force and vio­lence than ever.  Possibly, though  thou dost not with the same facility overcome these, as thou hast done less, yet grace may act stronger in conflicting with the greater, than in overcoming the less.  The same ship, that when lightly ballasted, and favoured with the wind, goes mounting, at another time deeply laden and going against wind and tide, may move with a slow pace, and yet they in the ship take more pains to make it sail thus, than they did when it went faster.

Second. I shall resolve it positively, and show by what he may certainly conclude that grace is declin­ing; and that in a threefold respect.  1. In reference to temptations to sin.  2. In reference to the duties of God’s worship.  3. The frame of thy heart in worldly employments.

1.  In reference to temptations to sin, and that is threefold.

(1.) When thou art not so wakeful to discover the encroachings of sin upon thee as formerly.  At one time we find David’s heart smote him when he but rent the skirt of Saul’s garment; at another time, when his eye glanced on Bathsheba, he takes no such notice of the snare Satan had him in, and so is led from one sin to another, which plainly showed that grace in him was heavy-eyed, and his heart not in so holy a frame as it had been.  If an enemy comes up to the gates, and the sentinel [does] not so much as give an alarm to the city of his approach, it shows he is off his guard, either fallen asleep or worse.  If grace were awake, and thy conscience had not contracted some hardness, it would do its office.

(2.) When a temptation to sin is discovered, and thou findest thy heart shut up that thou dost not pray against it,  or not with that zeal and holy indignation, as formerly upon such occasions, it is a bad sign, that lust hath got an advantage of thy grace, that thou canst not readily betake thyself to thy arms.  Thy af­fections are bribed, and this makes thee so cold a suitor at the throne of grace for help against thine enemy.

(3.) When the arguments prevailing most with thee to resist temptations to sin, or to mourn for sins committed, are more carnal and less evangelical than formerly.  May be thou rememberest when thy love to Christ would have spit fire on the face of Satan temp­ting thee to such a sin, but now that holy fire is so abated that if there were not some other carnal mo­tives to make the vote full, it would hazard to be carried for it, rather than against it.  And so in mourning for a sin, there is possibly now some slavish arguments, like an onion in the eye, which makes thee weep, rather than pure ingenuity arising from love to God whom thou hast offended; this speaks a sad decay, and the more mixture there is of such car­nal arguments, either in the resisting of, or mourning for sin, the greater the declination of grace is.  David’s natural heat sure was much decayed, when he needed so many clothes to be laid on him, and yet he felt so little heat; the time was he would have sweat with fewer.  I am afraid, many their love to Christ will be found, in these declining times, to have lost so much of its youthful vigor, that what would formerly have put them into a holy fury and burning zeal against some sins, such as Sabbath-breaking, pride of apparel, neglect of family duties, &c., hath now much ado to keep any heat at all in them against the same.

2. In reference to the duties of God's worship.

(1.) If thy heart doth not prompt thee with that forwardness and readiness as formerly to hold com­munion with God in any duty.  Possibly thou knowest the time when thy heart echoed back to the motions of God's spirit bidding thee seek his face: ‘Thy face, Lord, will I seek;’ yea, thou didst long as much till a Sabbath, or a sermon-season came, as the carnal wretch doth till it be gone; but now thy pulse doth not beat so quick a march to the ordinances public or secret.  Nature cannot but decay if appetite to food go away.  A craving soul is the thriving soul; such a child that will not let his mother rest, but is frequently crying for the breast.

(2.) When thou declinest in thy care to perform duties in spiritual sort, and to preserve the sense of those more inward failings, which in duty none but thyself can check thee of.  It is not frequency of duty, but spirituality in duty, [that] causeth thriving, and therefore neglect in this point soon brings grace into a consumptive posture.  Possibly, soul, the time was thou wert not satisfied with praying, but thou didst watch thy heart strictly; as a man would every piece in a sum of money he pays, lest he should wrong his friend with any brass or uncurrent coin—thou wouldst have God not only have duty, but duty stamped with that faith which makes it current, have that zeal and sincerity which makes it gospel-weight; but now thou art more careless and formal.  O look to it, poor soul, thou wilt, if thou continue thus care­less, melt in thy spiritual state apace.  Such dealings will spoil thy trade with heaven.  God will not take off these slightly duties at thy hands.

(3.) When a Christian gets little spiritual nour­ishment from communion with God, to what it hath done.  The time had been, may be, thou couldst show what came of thy praying, hearing, and fasting, but now the case is altered.  There is a double strength [which] communion with God imparts to a soul in a healthful disposition—strength to faith, and strength for our obedient walking.  Dost thou hear and pray, and get no more strength to hold by a promise, no more power over, or brokenness of heart under, thy usual corruptions?  What! come down the mount, and break the tables of God’s law, as soon as thou art off the place! as deep in thy passion, as uneven in thy course as before!  There is a sure decay of that inward heat, which should and would, if in its right temper, suck some nourishment from these.

3. The frame of thy heart in worldly employments.

(1.) When thy worldly occasions do not leave thee in so free and spiritual a disposition, to return to the presence of God as formerly.  May be thou couldst have come from thy shop and family em­ployments to thy closet, and find they have kept thee in frame, yea, may be delivered thee up in a better frame for those duties; but now it is otherwise, thou canst not so shake them off but they cleave to thy spirit, and give an earthly savour to thy praying and hearing.  Thou hast reason to bewail it; when nature decays, men go more stooping; and it is a sign some such decay is in thee, that thou canst not, as thou usest, lift up thy heart from earthly to spiritual duties. They were intended as helps against temptation, and therefore when they prove snares to us there is a dis­temper on us.  If we wax worse after sleep, the body is not right, because the nature of sleep is to refresh; if exercise indisposeth for work, the reason is our bodies.  So here.

(2.) When thy diligence in thy particular calling is more selfish.  Possibly thou hast wrought in thy shop, and set close at thy study, in obedience to the command chiefly.  Thy carnal interests have swayed but little with thee, but now thou tradest more for thyself, and less for God.  O have a care of this.

(3.) When thou canst not bear the disap­pointment of thy carnal ends in thy particular calling, as thou hast done.  Thou workest and gettest little of the world, thou preachest and art not much es­teemed, and thou knowest not well how to brook these.  The time was thou couldst retire thyself into God, and make up all thou didst want elsewhere in him; but now thou art not so well satisfied with thy estate, rank, and condition.  Thy heart is fingering for more of these than God allows thee, this shows de­clining.  Children are harder to be pleased, and old men—whose decay of nature makes them more froward, and in a manner children a second time —than others.  Labour therefore to recover thy de­caying grace, and as this lock grows, so thy strength with it will, to acquiesce in the disposure of God’s providence.