Part 5 - SATAN'S SECOND MAIN DESIGN: Is To Accuse, Vex and Trouble The Saint For Sin.

Argument  2.  A second argument Satan useth, is this, He whose sorrow falls short of theirs that never truly repented, he is not humbled enough.  But, soul, thy sorrow falls short of some that never truly repented; ergo.  Well, the first proposition is true, but how will Satan prove his minor?  Thus: Ahab, he took for his sin, and went in sackcloth.  Judas, he made bitter complaint.  O, says Satan, didst thou not know such a one that lay under terror of conscience, walking in a sad mournful condition so many months, and every one took him for the greatest convert [in] the country?  And yet he at last fell foully, and proved an apostate.  But thou never didst feel such smart, pass so many weary nights and days in mourning and bitter lamentation as he hath done, [and] therefore thou fallest short of one that fell short of repentance.  And truly this is a sad stumbling-block to a soul in an hour of temptation.  Like a ship sunk in the mouth of the harbour, which is more dangerous to others than if it had perished in the open sea; there is less scandal by the sins of the wicked, who sink, as it were, in the broad sea of profaneness, than in those who are convinced of sin, troubled in conscience, and miscarry so near the harbour, within sight, as it were, of saving grace.  Tempted souls can hardly get over these without dashing.  Am I better than such a one that proved nought at last?  Now to help thee a little to find out the fallacy of this argument, we must distinguish between the terrors that accompany sor­row, and the intrinsical nature of this grace.  The first, which are accessory, may be separated from the other, as the raging of the sea, which is caused by the wind, from the sea when the wind is down.  From this distinction take two conclusions.

             (1.) One may fall short of an hypocrite in the terrors that sometimes accompany sorrow, and yet have the truth of this grace, which the other with all his terrors wants.  Christians run into many mistakes, by judging rather according to that which is accessory, than that which is essential to the nature of duties and graces.  Sometimes thou hearest one pray with a moving expression, while thou canst hardly get out a few broken words in duty, and thou art ready to accuse thyself and to admire him, as if the gilt of the key made it open the door the better.  Thou seest another abound with joy which thou wantest, and art ready to conclude his grace more, and thine less; whereas thou mayest have more real grace, only thou wantest a light to show thee where it lies.  Take heed of judging by accessories.  Perhaps thou hast not heard so much of the rattling chains of hell, nor in thy conscience the outcries of the damned to make thy flesh tremble; but hast not seen that in a bleeding Christ which hath made thy heart melt and mourn, yea, loathe and hate thy lusts more than the devil himself? Truly, Christian, it is strange to hear a pa­tient complain of his physician, when he finds his physic work effectually to the evacuating his distempered humours, and the restoring his health, merely because he was not so sick as some others with the working of it.  Soul, thou hast more reason to be bles­sing God that the convictions of his Spirit wrought so kindly on thee, to effect that in thee without those errors which have cost others so dear.

             (2.)  This is so weak an argument, that contrariwise, the more the terrors are, the less the sorrow is for sin while they remain.  These are indeed preparatory sometimes to sorrow; they go before this grace as austere John before meek Jesus.  But as John went down when Christ went up, his increase was John's decrease, so as truly godly sorrow goes up, these terrors go down.  As the wind gathers the clouds, but those clouds seldom melt into a set rain, until the wind falls that gathered them; so these terrors raise the clouds of our sins in our consciences , but when these sins melt into godly sorrow, this lays the storm presently.  Indeed, as the loud winds blow away the rain, so these terrors keep off the soul from this gospel sorrow.  While the creature is making an out­cry, ‘it is damned, it is damned,’ it is taken up so much with the fear of hell, that sin as sin, which is the proper object of godly sorrow, is little looked on or mourned for.  A murderer condemned to die is so possessed with the fear of death and thought of the gallows, that there lies the slain body, it may be, before him, unlamented by him: but when his pardon is brought, then he can bestow his tears freely on his murdered friend.  ‘They shall look on him whom they have pierced, and mourn.’  Faith is the eye.  This eye, beholding its sin piercing Christ, and Christ pardoning its sin, affects the heart.  The heart affected sighs. These inward clouds melt, and run from the eye of faith with in tears; and all this is done when there is no tempest of terror upon the spirit, but a sweet serenity of love and peace; and therefore, Christian, see how Satan abuseth thee, when he would persuade thee thou art not humbled enough, because thy sorrow is not attended with these legal terrors.

Part 4 - SATAN'S SECOND MAIN DESIGN: Is To Accuse, Vex and Trouble The Saint For Sin.

Fourth Wile.  A fourth wile of Satan as a troubler, is to draw the saint into the depths of despair, under a specious pretence of not being humbled enough for sin.  This we find singled out by the apostle for one of the devil's fetches.  ‘We are not ignorant,’ saith he, ‘of his devices, II Cor. 2.11, his sophistical reasonings.  Satan sets much by this sleight; no weapon [is] oftener in his hand.  Where is the Christian that hath not met him at this door?  Here Satan finds the Christian easy to be wrought on —the humours being stirred to his hand—while the Christian of his own accord complains of the hardness of his heart, and is very prone to believe any who comply with his musing thoughts; yea, thinks every flatters him that would persuade him otherwise.  It is easier to dye that soul into black, which is of a sad colour already, than to make such a one take the lightsome tincture of joy and comfort.

             Question.  But how shall I answer this subtle enemy, when he perplexeth my spirit with not being humbled enough for sin, &c.?

             Answer.  I answer as to the former, Labour to spy the fallacy of his argument, and his mouth is soon stopped.

             Argument 1.  Satan argues thus.  There ought to be a proportion between sin and sorrow.  But there is no proportion between thy sins and thy sorrow. Therefore thou art not humbled enough.  What a plausible argument is here at first blush?  For the ma­jor, that there ought to be a proportion between sin and sorrow, this Satan will show you scripture for. Manasseh was a great sinner, and an ordinary sorrow will not serve his turn; ‘He humbled himself greatly before the Lord,’ II Chron. 33.12.  Now, saith Satan, weigh thy sin the balance with thy sorrow; art thou as great a mourner as thou hast been a sinner?  So many years thou hast waged war against the Almighty, making havoc of his laws,, loading his patience till it groaned again, raking in the sides of Christ with thy bloody dagger—while thou didst grieve his Spirit, and reject his grace—and dost [thou] think a little remorse, like a rolling cloud letting fall a few drops of sorrow, will be accepted?  No, thou must steep in sorrow as thou hast soaked in sin.  Now to show you the fallacy, we must distinguish of a twofold proportion of sorrow.

             (1.) An exact proportion of sorrow to the inherent nature and demerit of sin.

             (2.) There is a proportion to the law and rule of the gospel.  Now the first is not a thing feasible, be­cause the injury done in the least sin is infinite, because done to an infinite God.  And if it could be feasible, yet according to the tenor of the first coven­ant it would not be acceptable, because it had no clause to give any hope for an after-game by repentance: but the other, which is a gospel sorrow, is indeed repentance unto life, both given by the Spirit of the gospel, and to be tried by the rule of the gospel.  This is given for thy relief.  As you see some­times in the highway, where the waters are too deep for travellers, you have a foot-bridge or causey, by which they may escape the flood, and safely pass on; so that none but such as have not eyes, or are drunk, will venture to go through the waters, when they may avoid the danger.  Thou art a dead man if thou think to answer thy sin with proportionable sorrow; thou wilt soon be above thy depth, and quackle thyself with thy own tears, but never get over the least sin thou committedst.  Go not on therefore as thou lov­est thy life, but turn aside to this gospel path, and thou escapest the danger.  O you tempted souls, when Satan saith you are not humbled enough, see where you may be relieved.  I am a Roman, saith Paul, I appeal to Cæsar.  I am a Christian, say, I appeal to Christ's law.  And what is the law of the gospel concerning this?  Heart-sorrow is gospel sorrow: ‘they were pricked in their heart,’ Acts 2:37. And Peter, like an honest chirurgeon , will not keep these bleeding patients longer in pain with their wounds open, but presently claps on the healing plas­ter of the gospel—‘Believe on the Lord Jesus.’  Now a prick to the heart is more than a wound to the con­science.  The heart is the seat of life.  Sin wounded there lies a dying.  To do anything from the heart makes it acceptable, Eph. 6:6; II Cor. 5:11.  Now, poor soul, hadst thou sat thus long in the devil's stocks if thou hadst understood this aright?  Doth thy heart clear or condemn thee, when in secret thou art be­moaning thy sin before God?  If thy heart be false, I cannot help you, no, not the gospel itself; but if sincere, thou hast boldness with God, I John 3:21.

Part 3 - SATAN'S SECOND MAIN DESIGN: Is To Accuse, Vex and Trouble The Saint For Sin.

Third Wile.  Another wile of Satan lies in cavilling at the Christian's duties and performances, by which he puts him to much toil and trouble.  He is at church as soon as thou canst be, Christian, for thy heart; yea, he stands under thy closet-window, and hears what thou sayest to God in secret, all the while studying how he may commence a suit against thee from thy duty.  [He is] like those who come to sermons to carp and catch at what the preacher saith, that they make him an offender for some word or other misplaced; or like a cunning opponent in the schools, while his adversary is busy in reading his position, he is studying to confute it.  And truly Satan hath such an art as this, that he is able to take our duties in pieces, and so disfigure them that they shall appear formal, though never so zealous; hypocritical, though enriched with much sincerity.  When thou hast done thy duty, Christian, then stands up this sophist to ravel out thy work; there, will he say, thou playedst the hypocrite, zealous, but serving thyself, here wandering, there nodding, a little further puffed up with pride.  And what wages canst thou hope for at God's hands, now thou hast spoiled his work, and cut it all out into chips?  Thus he makes many poor souls lead a weary life; nothing they do but he hath a fling at, that they know not whether [it be] best to pray or not, to hear or not; and when they have prayed and heard, whether it be to any purpose or not.  Thus their souls hang in doubt, and their days pass in sorrow; while their enemy stands in a corner, and laughs at the cheat he hath put upon them; as one, who by putting a counterfeit spider into the dish, makes those that sit at table either out of conceit with the meat, that they dare not eat, or afraid of themselves if they have eaten, lest they should be poisoned with their meat.

             Question.  But you will say, What will you have us do in this case to withstand the cavils of Satan, in refer­ence to our duties?

             Answer 1.  Let this make thee more accurate in all thou doest.  It is the very end God aims at in suffering Satan thus to watch you, that you his chil­dren might be the more circumspect, because you have one [who] overlooks you, that will be sure to tell tales of you to God, and accuse thee to thy own self. Doth it not behove thee to write thy copy fair, when such a critic reads and scans it over?  Doth it not con­cern thee to know thy heart well, to turn over the Scriptures diligently, that thou mayest know the state of thy soul-controversy in all the cases of conscience thereof, when thou hast such a subtle opponent to reply upon thee?

             Answer 2.  Let it make thee more humble.  If Satan can charge thee with so much in thy best duties, O what then can thy God do!  God suffers sometimes the infirmities of his people to be known by the wicked, who are ready to check and frump them for them, for the end of humbling his people. How much more low should these accusations of Satan, which are in a great part too true, lay us before God?

             Answer 3.  Observe the fallacy of Satan's argument, which discovered, will help thee to answer his cavil.  The fallacy is double.

             (1.) He will persuade thee that thy duty and thyself are hypocritical, proud, formal, &c., because something of these sins are to be found in thy duty. Now, Christian, learn to distinguish between pride in a duty, and a proud duty; hypocrisy in a person, and a hypocrite; wine in a man, and a man in wine.  The best of saints have the stirrings of such corruptions in them and in their services.  These birds will light on an Abraham's sacrifice, but comfort thyself with this, that if thou findest a party within thy bosom pleading for God, and entering its protest against thee, thou and thy services are evangelically perfect.  God beholds these as the weaknesses of thy sickly state here below, and pities thee, as thou wouldst do thy lame child.  How odious is he to us that mocks one for natural defects, a blear eye, or a stammering tongue! such are these in thy new nature.  Observable is that in Christ's prayer against Satan, ‘And the Lord said unto Satan, Zech. 3:2, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; is not this a brand plucked out of the fire,’.  As if Christ had said, Lord, wilt thou suffer this envious spirit to twit thy poor child with, and charge him for, those infirmities that cleave to his perfect state?  He is but new plucked out of the fire.  No wonder there are some sparks unquenched, some corruptions un­mortified, some disorders unreformed in his place and calling; and what Christ did for Joshua, he doth incessantly for all his saints, for apologizing for their infirmities with his Father.    

 (2.) His other fallacy is in arguing from the sin that is in our duty, to the non-acceptance of them.  Will God, saith he, thinkest thou, take such broken groats at thy hand?  Is he not a holy God?  Now here, Christian, learn to distinguish and answer Satan. There is a double acceptance.  There is an acceptance of a thing by way of payment of a debt, and there is an acceptance of a thing offered as a token of love and testimony of gratitude.  He that will not accept of broken money, or half the sum for payment of a debt; the same man, if his friend sends him through but a bent sixpence, in token of his love, will take it kindly. It is true, Christian, the debt thou owest to God must be paid in good and lawful money, but for thy comfort, here Christ is thy paymaster.  Send Satan to him, bid him bring his charge against Christ, who is ready at God's right hand to clear his accounts, and show his discharge for the whole debt.  But now thy performances and obedience come under another no­tion, as tokens of thy love and thankfulness to God, and such is the gracious disposition of thy heavenly Father, that he accepts thy mite.  Love refuseth nothing that love sends.  It is not the weight or worth of the gift, but ‘the desire of a man in his kindness,’ Prov. 19:22.

            

Part 2 - SATAN'S SECOND MAIN DESIGN: Is To Accuse, Vex and Trouble The Saint For Sin.

Second Wile.  Another wile of Satan as a troubler, is in aggravating the saint’s sins, against which he hath a notable declamatory faculty—not that he hates sin, but the saint.  Now in this, his chief subtlety is so to lay his charge, that it may seem to be the act of the Holy Spirit.  He knows an arrow out of God’s quiver wounds deep; and therefore, when he accuseth, he comes in God’s name.  As suppose a child were conscious to himself of displeasing his father, and one that owes him a spite, to trouble him, should counterfeit a letter from his father, and cun­ningly convey it into the son’s hand, who receives it as from his father.  Therein he chargeth him with many heavy crimes, disowns him, and threatens he shall never come in his sight, or have penny portion from him; [and] the poor son, conscious to himself of many undutiful carriages, and not knowing the plot, takes on heavily, and can neither eat nor sleep from grief.  Here is a real trouble begot from a false and imaginary ground.  Thus Satan observes how the squares go between God and his children.  Such a saint he sees tardy in his duty, faulty in that service, and he knows the Christian is conscious of this, and that the Spirit of God will also show his distaste for these; both which [reasons] prompt Satan to draw a charge at length, raking up all the aggravations he can think of, and give it into the saint as sent from God. Thus he taught Job’s friends to pick up those infirmities which dropped from him in his distress, and shoot them back in his face, as if indeed they had been sent from God to declare him an hypocrite, and denounce his wrath for the same.

             But how shall we know the false accusation of Satan from the rebukes of God and his Spirit?

1. If they cross any former act or work of the Spirit in thy soul, they are Satan’s, not the Holy Spirit’s.  Now you shall observe Satan’s scope in accusing the Christian, and aggravating his sin, is to unsaint him, and persuade him he is but an hypocrite.  Oh, saith Satan, now thou hast shown what thou art.  See what a foul spot is on thy coat.  This is not the spot of a child.  Whoever, that was a saint, committed such a sin after such a sort?  All thy comforts and confidence which thou hast bragged of, were false, I warrant you.  Thus you see Satan at one blow dasheth all in pieces.  The whole fabric of grace which God hath been rearing up many years in the soul, must now at one puff of his malicious mouth be blown down, and all the sweet comforts with which the Holy Spirit hath sealed up God’s love, must be defaced with this one blot, which Satan draws over the fair copy of the saint’s evidence.  Well, soul, for thy comfort know, if ever the Spirit of God hath begun sanctifying or comforting work, causing thee to hope in his mercy, he never is, will, can be the messenger to bring contrary news to thy soul; His language is not yea and nay, but yea and amen for ever. Indeed, when the saint plays the wanton, he can chide, yea, will frown and tell the soul roundly of its sin, as he did David by Nathan.  ‘Thou art the man’ —this thou hast done.  He paints out his sin with such bloody colours, as made David’s heart melt, as it were, into so many drops of water.  But that shall not serve his turn; he tells him what a rod is steeping for him, that shall smart to purpose—one of his own house, no other than his darling son, shall rise up against him.  [This happens in order] that he may the more fully conceive how ill God took the sin of him, a child, a saint, when he shall know what it is to have his beloved child traitorously invade his crown, and unnaturally hunt for his precious life; yet not a word all this while is heard from Nathan teaching David to unsaint himself, and call in question the work of God in his soul.  No, he had no such commission from God; he was sent to make him mourn for his sin, not from his sin to question his state which God had so oft put out of doubt.            

 2. When they asperse the riches of God’s grace, and so charge the Christian, that withal they reflect upon the good name of God, they are not of the Holy Spirit but from Satan.  When you find your sins so represented and aggravated to you, as exceeding either the mercy of God’s nature, or the grace of his covenant, this comes from that foul liar.  The Holy Spir­it is Christ’s spokesman to commend him to souls, and to woo sinners to embrace the grace of the gospel; and can such words drop from his sacred lips, as should break the match and sink Christ’s esteem in the thoughts of the creature?  You may know where this is mined.  When you hear one commend another for a wise or good man, and at last come in with a but that dasheth all, you will easily think he is no friend to the man, but some sly enemy that by seeming to commend, desires to disgrace the more.  Thus you find God represented to you as merciful and gracious, but not to such a great sinner as you. to have power and strength, but not able to save thee; you may say, Avaunt, Satan, thy speech bewrayeth thee.   

SATAN'S SECOND MAIN DESIGN: Is To Accuse, Vex and Trouble The Saint For Sin.

            

 The second main design in which Satan appears such a subtle enemy is as a troubler and an accuser for sin, molesting the saint's peace, and disquieting the saint's spirit.  As the Holy Spirit's work is not only to be a sanctifier, but also a comforter, whose fruits are righteousness and peace, so the evil spirit Satan is both a seducer unto sin, and an accuser for sin, a tempter and a troubler, and indeed in the same order.  As the Holy Ghost is first a sanctifier, and then a comforter, so Satan [is] first a tempter, then a troubler.  Joseph's mistress first tries to draw him to gratify her lust, [but] that string breaking, she hath another to trounce him and charge him, and, for a plea, she hath his coat to cover her malice; nor is it hard for Satan to pick some hole in the saint's coat, when he walks most circumspectly.  The proper seat of sin is the will, of comfort the conscience.  Satan hath not absolute knowledge of or power over these, [they] being locked up from any other but God, and therefore what he doth, either in defiling temptations, or disquieting, is by wiles more than by open force; and he is not inferior in troubling, to himself in tempting.  Satan hath, as the serpent, a way by himself.  Other beasts [have] their motion direct, right on, but the serpent goes askew, as we say, winding and writhing its body; [so] that when you see a serpent creeping along, you can hardly discern which way its tends.  Thus Satan in his vexing temptations hath many intricate policies, turning this way and that way, the better to conceal his design from the saint, which will appear in these following methods:

          

   First Wile.  He vexeth the Christian by laying his brats at the saint's door, and charging him with that which is his own creature.  And here he hath such a notable art, that many dear saints of God are woefully hampered and dejected, as if they were the vilest blasphemers and veriest atheists in the world: whereas indeed the cup is of his own putting into the sack.  But so slyly is it conveyed into the saint's bosom, that the Christian, though amazed and frighted at the sight of them, yet being jealous of his own heart, and unacquainted with Satan's tricks of this kind, cannot conceive how such notions should come there, if not bred in, and vomited out by his own naughty heart.  So he bears the blame of the sin himself, because he cannot find the right father, mourning as one that is forlorn and cast off by God, or else, saith he, I should never have such vermin of hell creeping in my bosom.  And here Satan hath the end he proposeth, for he is not so silly as to hope he should have welcome with such a horrid crew of blas­phemous and atheistical thoughts in that soul, where he hath been denied when he came in an enticing way.  No, but his design is by way of revenge, because the soul will not prostitute itself to his lust, otherwise therefore to haunt it and scare it with those imps of blasphemy.  So he served Luther, to whom he appeared, and when repulsed by him, went away and left a noisome stench behind him in the room.  Thus when the Christian hath worsted Satan in his more pleasing temptations, being maddened, he belcheth forth this stench of blasphemous motions to annoy and affright him, that from them the Christian may draw some sad conclusion or other, and indeed the Christian's sin lies commonly more in the conclusion which he draws from them—as that he is not a child of God—than in the motions themselves.  All the counsel therefore I shall give thee in this case, is to do with these motions, as you use to serve those vagrants and rogues that come about the country, whom, though you cannot keep from passing through your town, yet you look they settle not there, but whip them and send them to their own home.  Thus give these motions the law, in mourning for them, resisting of them, and they shall not be your charge. Yea, it is like you shall seldomer be troubled with such guests; but if once you come to entertain them, and be Satan's nurse to them, then the law of God will cast them upon you.