Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness 0f the Loss Thereof; What Shall A Man Give In Exchange For His Soul.92

 

THE CONTENTS OF THIS TREATISE

The apostle's Divine policy, to beget due regard to his Divine doctrine of eternal life.-The apostle's explication of this expression, viz., The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin.-The apostle's exhortation to separation from sin, as a good effect of a good cause, viz., Forgiveness-The apostle's addition, to prevent misunderstanding, viz., We have an advocate with the Father

This brings us to the text, in which are two great truths contained: I. A supposition, viz., That men in Christ may sin. II. An expression, by way of consolation, in case of sin, viz., We have an Advocate with the Father

Two things for inquiry in these truths: first, an inquiry into what our apostle means by sin, which is considered a difference in the person and in the sin. And, Second, An inquiry into what it is for Christ to be an Advocate, viz., To plead for another in a court of judicature

Seven things are supposed to be in the office of an advocate: 1. That God, as judge, is on the throne of judgment. 2. That saints are concerned at that bar. 3. That Christians have an accuser. 4. That sinning saints dare not appear at this bar to plead their own cause. 5. That Christians are apt to forget their advocate and remember their judge. 6. Remembering our advocate is the best way to support faith and hope. When our advocate pleads our cause (though that may never be so black), he can bring us off

The apostle's triumph in Christ on this account is an exhortation to the difficult task of believing.-Christ's advocateship declares us to be sorry creatures

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THE WORK OF JESUS CHRIST AS AN ADVOCATE, CLEARLY EXPLAINED, AND LARGELY IMPROVED, FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL BELIEVERS.

1 John 2:1—"And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."

COURTEOUS READER,

Of all the excellent offices which God the Father has conferred upon Jesus Christ our Lord, this of his being an Advocate with him for us is not the least, though, to the shame of saints it may be spoken, the blessed benefits thereof have not with that diligence and fervent desire been inquired after as they ought. Christ, as sacrifice, priest, and king, with the glories in, and that flow from, him as such, has, God, be thanked, in this our day, been much discovered by our seers, and as much rejoiced in by those who have believed their words; but as he is an Advocate with the Father, an Advocate for us, I fear the excellency of that doth still too much lie hid; though I am verily of opinion that the people of God in this age have as much need of the knowledge thereof, if not more need, than had their brethren that are gone before them.

These words, "if not more need," perhaps may seem to some to be somewhat out of joint; but let the godly wise consider the decays that are among us as to the power of godliness, and what abundance of foul miscarriages the generality of professors now stands guilty of, as also how diligent their great enemy is to accuse them at the bar of God for them, and I think they will conclude, that, in so saying, I indeed have said some truth. Wherefore, when I thought on this and had somewhat considered also the transcendent excellency of the advocateship of this our Lord; and again, that but little of the glory thereof has by writing been, in our day, communicated to the church, I adventured to write what I have seen thereof, and do, by what doth follow, present it unto her for good.

I count not myself sufficient for this, or for any other truth as it is in Jesus; but yet, I say, I have told you somewhat of it, according to the proportion of faith. And I believe that some will thank God for what I here have said about it; but it will be chiefly those, whose right and title to the kingdom of heaven and glory, doth seem to themselves to be called in question by their enemy, at the bar of the Judge of all. These, I say, will read, and be glad to hear, that they have an Advocate at court that will stand up to plead for them, and that will yet secure them a right to the heavenly kingdom. Wherefore, it is more particularly for those that at present, or that hereafter, maybe in this dreadful plight, that this my book is now made public; because it is, as I have shown, for such that Jesus Christ is Advocate with the Father.

Of the many and singular advantages, therefore, that such have by this their Advocate in his advocating for them, this book gives some account; as, where he pleads, how he pleads, what he pleads, when he pleads, with whom he pleads, for whom he pleads, and how the enemy is put to shame and silence before their God and all the holy angels. Here is also showed to those herein concerned, how they indeed may know that Jesus is their Advocate; yea, and how their matters go before their God, the Judge; and particularly that they shall well come off at last, yea, though their cause, as it is theirs, is such, in justification of which, themselves do not dare to show their heads.

Nor have I left the dejected souls without directions on how to entertain this Advocate to plead their cause; yea, I have also shown that he will be with ease prevailed with, to stand up to plead for such, as one would think, the very heavens would blush to hear them named by him. Their comfort also is, that he never lost a cause, nor a soul, for whom he undertook to be an Advocate with God. But, reader, I will no longer detain thee from the perusal of the discourse. Read and think, and compare what thou readiest with the Word of God. If thou findest any benefit by that thou readiest, give the Father, and his Son the glory; and pray for me. If thou finds me short in this, or to exceed in that, impute all such things to my weakness, of which I am always full. Farewell. I am thine to serve thee what I may,

 

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USE SIXTH-USE AND APPLICATION.

Sinners, would I could persuade you to hear me out! A man cannot commit a sin, but, by the commission of it, he doth, by some circumstance or other, sharpen the sting of hell, and that to pierce himself through and through, and through, with many sorrows (1 Tim 6:10) Also, the sting of hell to some will be, that the damnation of others stands upon their score, for that by imitating of them, by being deluded by them, persuaded by them, drawn in by them, they perish in hell for ever; and hence it is that these principal sinners must die all these deaths in themselves, that those damned ones that they have drawn into hell are also to bear in their own souls forever. And this God threatened to the prince of Tyrus, that capital sinner because by his pride, power, practice, and policy, he cast down others into the pit; therefore saith God to him, 'They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas.' And again; 'Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers; for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God' (Eze 28:8,10). Ah! this will be the sting of them, of those that are the principal, chief, and, as I may call them, the captain and ringleading sinners. Vipers will come out of other men's fire and flames, and settle upon, seize upon, and forever abide upon their consciences; and this will be the sting of hell, the great sting of hell to them.

I will yet add to all this; how will the fairness of some for heaven, even the thoughts of that, sting them when they come to hell! It will not be so much their fall into the pit, as from whence they fell into it, that will be to them the buzzing noise and sharpened sting of the great and terrible hornet. 'How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer!' there is the sting (Isa 14:12). Thou that art exalted up to heaven shalt be thrust down to hell, though thou hast made 'thy nest among the stars,' from thence I will fetch thee down; there is a sting (Matt 11:23; Oba 4). To be pulled, for and through love to some vain lust, from the everlasting gates of glory, and caused to be swallowed up for it in the belly of hell, and made to lodge forever in the darksome chambers of death, there is the piercing sting!

But again, as there is the sting of hell, so there is the strength of that sting; for a sting though never so sharp, or venom, yet if it wanted strength to force it to the designed execution, it doth but little hurt. But this sting has the strength to cause it to pierce into the soul; 'the sting of death is sin: and the strength of sin is the law' (1 Cor 15:56). Here then is the strength of the stings of hell; it is the law in the perfect penalty of it; 'for without the law, sin is dead' (Rom 7:8). Yea, again he saith, 'where no law is, there is no transgression' (Rom 4:15). The law then followed, in the executive part of it, the soul into hell, and there strengthened sin, that sting of hell, to pierce by its unutterable charging of it on the conscience, the soul forever and ever; nor can the soul justly murmur or repine at God or at His law, for that then the sharply apprehensive soul will well discern the justness, righteousness, reasonableness, and goodness of the law, and that nothing is done by the law unto it, but that which is just and equal.

This, therefore, will put great strength and force into sin to sting the soul, and to strike it with the lashes of a scorpion. Add yet to these the abiding life of God, the Judge and God of this law will never die. When princes die, the law may be altered by the which at present transgressors are bound in chains; but oh! here is also that which will make this sting so sharp and keen, the God that executes it will never die. 'It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God' (Heb 10:30, 31).

 

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USE SIXTH-USE AND APPLICATION.

Suppose a piece of timber a little bedaubed with oil, and another that has been soaking in it many a year, which of these two, think you, would burn fiercest? and from whence would the flaming flame ascend highest, and make the most roaring noise? Suppose two vessels filled with oil, one containing the quantity of a pint, the other containing the quantity of a hogshead, and suppose that in one place they were both set on fire, yet so that they might not intermix flames; nay, though they did, yet all would conclude that the most amazing roaring flame would be upon the biggest vessel, and would be the effect of the greatest quantity of oil; so it will be with the wicked in hell. The lowest hell is for the biggest sinners, and theirs will be the greater damnation, and the more intolerable torment, though he that has least of this oil of sin in his bones, and of the kindlings of hell fire upon him, will find he has hell enough, and will be weary enough thereof, for still he must struggle with flames that are everlasting; for sin is such a thing, that it can never be burned out of the soul and body of a damned sinner.

But again; having treated thus of hell, we will now speak a word or two of sin, for that is it upon which hell fire seizes, and so on the soul by that. Sin! it is the sting of hell—the sting of death is sin (1 Cor 15:56). By 'death' in this place we must not understand that which is natural, but that which is in hell, the second death, even everlasting damnation; for natural death the saints die, yea, and also many sinners, without the least touch of a sting from that; but here is a death that has a sting to hurt, to twinge, and wound the sinner with, even then when it has the utmost mastery of him. And this is the death that the saved are delivered from; not that which is natural, for that is the end of them as of others (1 Cor 15:55; Eccl 2:15, 16). But the second death, the death in hell, for that is the portion of the damned, and it is from that that the saints have a promise of deliverance—' He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death (Rev 2:11). And again, 'Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no power' (Rev 20:6). It is this death, then, that hath the chambers to hold each damned soul in: and sin is the twining, winding, biting, poisoning sting of this death, or of these chambers of hell, for sinners to be stricken, stung, and pierced with. 'The sting of death is sin.' Sin, the general of it, is the sting of hell, for there would be no such thing as torment even there, were it not that sin is there with sinners; for, as I have hinted already, the fire of hell, the indignation, and wrath of God can fasten and kindle upon nothing but for or because of sin; sin, then, as sin, is the sting and the hell of hells, of the lowest and upmost hells.

Sin, I say, in the nature of it, simply as it is concluded both by God and the damned to be a breach of His holy law, so it is the sting of the second death, which is the worm of hell. But then, as sin is such a sting in itself, so it is heightened, sharpened, and made more keen and sharp by those circumstances that as concomitants attend it in every act: for there is not a sin at any time committed by man, but there is some circumstance or other attends it, that makes it, when charged home by God's law, bigger and sharper, and more venom and poisonous to the soul than if it could be committed without them; and this is the sting of the hornet, the great sting. I sinned without a cause to please a base lust, to gratify the devil; here is the sting! Again, I preferred sin before holiness, death before life, hell before heaven, the devil before God, and damnation before a Saviour; here is the sting! Again, I preferred moments before everlastings, temporals before Eternals, to be racked and always slaying before the life that is blessed and endless; here is the sting! Also, this I did against light, against convictions, against conscience, against the persuasion of friends, ministers, and the godly lives which I beheld in others; here is the sting! Also, this I did against warnings, forewarnings, yea, though I saw others fall before my face by the mighty hand of God for committing of the same; here is the sting!

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USE SIXTH-USE AND APPLICATION.

2. Hell is said to be darkness, and heaven is said to be light; light, to show the pleasurableness and the desirableness of heaven; and darkness, to show the dolesome and wearisomeness of hell; and how weary, oh! how weary and wearisomely, as I may say, will damned souls turn themselves from side to side, from place to place, in hell, while swallowed up in the thickest darkness, and griped with the burning thoughts of the endlessness of that most unutterable misery (Matt 22:13)!

3. Men are said to go up to heaven, but they are said to go down to hell; up, because of exaltation, and because they must abound in beauty and glory that go to heaven; down, because of those sad dejections, that great deformity and vile contempt that sin hath brought them to that go to hell (Eze 32:18).

4. Heaven is called a hill or mount, (Heb 12); hell is called a pit, or hole, (Rev 9:2); heaven, a mount, the mount Zion, (Rev 14); to show how God has, and will exalt them that loved Him in the world; hell, a pit or hole, to show how all the ungodly shall be buried in the yawning paunch and belly of hell, as in a hollow cave.

5. Heaven! It is said of heaven, the height of heaven, (Job 22:12). and of hell, the bottomless pit, (Rev 9:2; 20:3). The height of heaven, to show that the exaltation of them that do ascend up thither is both perfect and unsearchable; and hell, the bottomless pit, to show that the downfall of them that descend in thither will never be at an end—down, down, down they go, and nothing but down, down still!

6. Heaven! It is called the paradise of God, (Rev 2:7); but hell, the burning lake (Rev 20:15). A paradise, to show how quiet, harmless, sweet, and beautiful heaven shall be to them that possess it, as the garden was at the beginning of the creation; hell, the burning lake, to allude to Sodom, that since its destruction is turned into a stinking lake, and to show that as their distress was unutterable, and to the highest amazement, full of confusion and horror, when that tempestuous storm of fire and brimstone was rained from the Lord out of heaven upon them, so, to the utmost degree, shall it be with the souls that are lost and cast into hell.

7. It is said that there are dwelling houses, or places in the kingdom of heaven (John 14: 1-3; Zech 3:7; Isa 57:1,2). And also that there are the cells or the chambers of death in hell (Prov 7:27). There are mansions or dwelling places in heaven, to show that every one of them that go thither might have his reward, according to his work; and that there is hell, and the lowest hell (Deu 32:22; Psa 86:13). And the chambers of death in hell to show there are places and states in hell too, for sinners to be imprisoned in, according to their faults; hence it is said of some, These shall receive greater damnation, (Luke 20:47); and of others, That it shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the judgment than for them, etc. (Luke 10:12, 14).

The lowest hell. How many hells there are above that, or more tolerable tormenting places than the most exquisite torments there, God, and they that are there, know best; but degrees, without doubt, there are; and the term 'lowest' shows the utmost and most exquisite distress; so the chambers of death, the second death in hell, for so I think the words should be understood—' Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death (Prov 7:27). These are the chambers that the chambers in the temple, or that the dwelling places in the house in heaven, are opposed to: and this opposition shows, that as there will be degrees of glory in heaven, so there will of torments in hell; and there is all reason for it, since the punishment must be inflicted by God, the infinitely just. Why should a poor, silly, ignorant man, though damned, be punished with the same degree of torment that he that has lived a thousand times worse shall be punished with? It cannot be; justice will not admit it; guilt, and the quality of the transgression, will not admit it; yea, the tormenting fire of hell itself will not admit it; for if hell fire can kindle upon nothing but sin, and the sinner for the sake of it, and if sin is as oil to that fire, as the Holy Ghost seems to intimate, saying, 'Let it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones' (Psa 109:18). Then as the quantity of the oil is, so will the fire burn, and so will the flaming flame ascend, and the smoke of their torment, forever and ever.

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USE SIXTH-USE AND APPLICATION.

USE SIXTH, I come, in the next place, to a use of terror, and so I shall conclude. Is it so? Is the soul such an excellent thing, and is the loss thereof so unspeakably great? Then this showed the sad state of those that lose their souls. We used to count those in a deplorable condition, that by one only stroke, are stripped of their whole estate; the fire swept away all that he had; or all that he had was in such a ship, and that ship sunk into the bottom of the sea; this is sad news, this is heavy tidings, this is bewailed of all, especially if such were great in the world, and were brought by their loss from a high to a low, to a very low condition; but alas! what is this to the loss about which we have been speaking all this while? 

The loss of an estate may be repaired, or if not, a man may find friends in his present deplorable condition to his support, though not recovery; but far will this be from him that shall lose his soul. Ah! he has lost his soul, and can never be recovered again unless hell fire can comfort him; unless he can solace himself in the fiery indignation of God; terrors will be upon him, anguish and sorrow will swallow him up, because of present misery; slighted and set at naught by God and His angels, he will also be in this miserable state, and this will add to sorrow, sorrow, and to his vexation of spirit, howling.

To present you with emblems of tormented spirits, or to draw before your eyes the picture of hell, are things too light for so ponderous a subject as this; nor can any man frame or invent words, be they never so deep and profound, sufficient to the life to set out the torments of hell.

All those expressions of fire, brimstone, the lake of fire, a fiery furnace, the bottomless pit, and a hundred more to boot, are all too short to let forth the miseries of those that shall be damned souls. 'Who knows the power of God's anger?' (Psa 90:11). None at all; and unless the power of that can be known, it must abide as unspeakable as the love of Christ, which passed knowledge.

We hear it thunder, we see it lighten; yea, eclipses, comets, and blazing stars are all subject to smite us with terror; the thought of a ghost, of the appearing of a dead wife, a dead husband, or the like, how terrible are these things! But alas, what are these? mere flea bites, nay, not so bad, when compared with the torments of hell. Guilt and despair, what are they? Who understands them unto perfection? The ireful looks of an infinite Majesty, what mortal in the land of the living can tell us to the full, how dismal and breaking to the soul of a man it is, when it comes as from 'the power of His anger,' and arises from the utmost indignation? Besides, who knows of all the ways by which the Almighty will inflict His just revenge upon the souls of damned sinners? When Paul was caught up to the third heaven, he heard words that were unspeakable; and he that goes down to hell shall hear groans that are unutterable. Hear, did I say? 

They shall feel them, they shall feel them burst from their wounded spirit as thunderclaps do from the clouds. Once I dreamed that I saw two (whom I knew) in hell, and thought I saw a continual dropping from heaven, as of great drops of fire lighting upon them, to their sore distress. Oh! words are wanting, thoughts are wanting, imagination and fancy are poor things here; hell is another kind of place and state than any alive can think; and since I am upon this subject, I will here treat a little of hell as the Scriptures will give me leave, and the rather because I am upon a use of terror, and because hell is the place of torment (Luke 16).

1. Hell is said to be beneath, as heaven is said to be above; because as above signified the utmost joy, triumph, and felicity, so beneath is a term most fit to describe the place of hell by, because of the utmost opposition that is between these two; hell being the place of the utmost sorrow, despair, and misery; there are the underlings ever trampled under the feet of God; they are beneath, below, under (Prov 15:24)!

Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness 0f the Loss Thereof; What Shall A Man Give In Exchange For His Soul.86

 

USE FIFTH Part 3

Objection 2. But all my discouragement does not lie in this. I see so much of the sinful vileness of my nature, and feel how ready it is to thrust itself forth at all occasions to the defiling of my whole man, and more. Now, this, added to the former, adds greatly to my discouragement.

Answer. This should be a cause of humiliation and of self-abasement, but not of discouragement; for the best of saints have their weaknesses, and these are their weaknesses. The ladies as well as she that grinds at the mill, know what doth attend that sex; and the giants in grace as well as the weak and shrubs, are sensible of the same things, which thou layest in against thy exercising of hope, or as a matter of thy discouragement. Poor David says (Psa 77:2), 'My soul refused to be comforted,' upon this very account, and Paul cries out under sense of this, 'O wretched man that I am!' and comes as it were to the borders of doubt, saying, 'Who shall deliver me?' (Rom 7:24). Only he was quick at remembering that Christ was his righteousness and the price of redemption, and there he relieved himself.

Again; this should drive us to faith in Christ; for therefore are the corruptions by Divine permission still left in us; they are not left in us to drive us to unbelief, but to faith—that is, to look to the perfect righteousness of Christ for life. And for further help, consider, that therefore Christ liveth in heaven, making intercession, that thou mightiest be saved by His life, not by thine, and by His intercessions, not by thy perfections (Rom 5:6–9; Col 1:20). Let not, therefore, thy weaknesses be thy discouragements; only let them put thee upon the duties required of thee by the gospel—to wit, faith, hope, repentance, humility, watchfulness, diligence, etc. (1 Peter 1:13; 5:5; 2 Cor 7:11; Mark 13:37; 2 Peter 1:10).

Objection 3. But I find, together with these things, weakness, and faintness as to my graces; my faith, hope, love, and desires for these and all other Christian duties are weak; I am like the man in the dream, who would have run, but could not; who would have fought, but could not; and who would have fled, but could not.

Answer 1. Weak graces are graces, weak graces may grow stronger; but if the iron is blunt, put it to more strength (Eccl 10:10). 2. Christ seems to be most tender to the weak: 'He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.' (Isa 40:11). And again, 'I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken and will strengthen that which was sick' (Eze 34:16). Only here will thy wisdom be manifested—to wit, that thou grow in grace, and that thou use lawfully and diligently the means to do it (2 Peter 3:18; Phil 2:10, 11; 1 Thess 3:11–13).

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USE FIFTH Part 2

And since the whole world has slighted and despised, and counted foolish the thoughts and cogitations wherewith thy soul is exercised, what strong and mighty supporter is it upon and with which thou bearest up thy spirit, and takest encouragement in this forlorn, unoccupied, and singular way? for so, I daresay, it is with the most; but certainly it is something above thyself, and that is more mighty to uphold thee than is the power, rage, and malice of all the world to cast thee down, or else thou couldst not bear up, now wind and weather, now the stream and the force thereof are against thee.

Objection 1. 'I know my soul is an excellent thing, and that the world to come and its glories, even in the smallest glimpse thereof, do swallow up all the world that is here; my heart also doth greatly desire to be exercised about the thoughts of eternity, and I count myself never better than when my poor heart is filled with them; as for the rage and fury of this world, it swayeth very little with me, for my heart comes to a point; but yet, for all that, I meet with many discouragements, and such things that indeed do weaken my strength in the way.'

But, brave soul, pray, tell me what the things are that discourage you and weaken your strength in the way?

The amazing greatness of this enterprise is one thing. I am now pursuing things of the highest, the greatest, the most enriching nature, even eternal things; and the thoughts of their greatness drown me; for when the heat of my spirit in the pursuit after them is a little returned and abated, I think I hear myself talking thus to myself: Fond fool! canst thou imagine that such a gnat, a flea, or or or a pismire as thou art, can take and possess the heavens, and mantle thyself up in the eternal glories? If thou makest first a trial of the success of thy endeavors upon things far lower, more base, but much easier to obtain, as crowns, kingdoms, earldoms, dukedoms, gold, silver, or the like, how vain are these attempts of thine; and yet thou thinkest to possess thy soul of heaven! Away, away! By the height thereof, thou mayest well conclude it is far above thy reach; and by the breadth thereof, it is too large for thee to grasp; and by the nature of the excellent glory thereof, it is too good for thee to possess. These are the thoughts that sometimes discourage me, and weaken my strength.

Answer. The greatness of thy undertaking does but show the nobleness of thy soul, in that it cannot, will not, be content with such low and dry things as the baseborn spirits that are of the world can and do content themselves with. And as to the greatness of the things thou aimest at, though they are, err, they are true, things that have not their like, yet they are not too big for God to give, and He has promised to give them to the soul that seeketh Him; yea, He hath prepared the kingdom, given the kingdom, and laid up in the kingdom of heaven, the things that thy soul longeth for, presseth after, and cannot be content without (Luke 7:32; Matt 25:14; Col 1:5; 1 Peter 1:4). As for thy making a trial of the successfulness of thy endeavors upon things more interim and base, that is but a trick of the old deceiver. God has refused to give His children the great, brave, and glorious things of this world, a few only accepted because He has prepared some better things for them (1 Cor 1:27; Heb 11:36-40). Wherefore faint not, but let thy hand be strong, for thy work shall be rewarded (Gal 6:9). And since thy soul is at work for soul-things, for divine and eternal things, God will give them to thee; thou art not of the number of them that draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul; thou shalt receive the end of thy faith, the salvation of thy soul (Heb 10:39; 1 Peter 1:8,9).

Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness 0f the Loss Thereof; What Shall A Man Give In Exchange For His Soul.84

 

by Thomas Sadler, oil on canvas, 1684

USE FIFTH, Again, fifthly, Is it so? Is the soul such an excellent thing, and is the loss thereof so unspeakably great? Then this doctrine commends those for the wise ones, that above all business concern themselves with the salvation of their souls; those that make all other matters but things by the by, and the salvation of their souls the one thing needful. But, few will be concerned with this use; for where is he who does this? Solomon speaks of one man of a thousand (Eccl 7:28). However, some there be, and blessed be God for some; but they are they that are wise, yea, wise in the wisdom of God.

1. Because they reject what God has rejected, and that is sin. 2. Because they esteem but little of that which, by the Word, is counted but of little esteem, and that is the world. 3. Because they choose for a portion that which God commends unto us for that which is the most excellent thing—viz., Himself, His Christ, His heaven, His Word, His grace, and holiness; these are the great and most excellent things, and the things that He has chosen that are truly wise for his soul (and all other wise men are fools in God's account and in the judgment of His Word), and if it is so, glory and bliss must need to be their portion, though others shall miss thereof—'The wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the promotion of fools' (Prov 3:35).

Let me, then, encourage those who are of this mind to be strong, and hold on to their way. Soul, thou hast pitched right; I will say of thy choice as David said of Goliath's sword, 'There is none like that; give it to me.' 'Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown' (Rev 3:11). Oh! I admire this wisdom; this is by the direction of the Lawgiver; this is by the teaching of the blessed Spirit of God: not the wisdom which this world teacheth, nor the wisdom which the world chooses, which comes to naught (1 Cor 2: 6). Surely thou hast seen something of the world to come, and of the glory of it, through faith; surely God has made thee see the emptiness in that wherein others find a fulness, and the vanity in that which by others is counted for a darling. Blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.

But who told thee that thy soul was such an excellent thing as by thy practice, thou declared it to be? What! set more by thy soul than by all the world? What! Cast a world behind your back for the welfare of a soul? Is not this to play the fool, in the account of sinners, while angels wonder at and rejoice for your wisdom? What a thing is this, that thy soul and its welfare should be more in thy esteem than all those glories wherewith the eyes of the world are dazzled! Surely thou hast looked upon the sun, and that makes gold look like a clod of clay in thine eyesight.

But who put the thoughts of the excellencies of the things that are eternal—I say, who put the thoughts of the excellency of those things into thy mind in this wanton age?—in an age wherein the thoughts of eternal life, and the salvation of the soul, are with and to many like the Morocco ambassador and his men, men of strange faces, in strange habits, with strange gestures and behavior, monsters to behold. But where hadst thou that heart that gives entertainment to these thoughts, these heavenly thoughts? These thoughts are like the French Protestants, banished thence where they willingly would have harbored them. How came they to thy house, to thy heart, and to find entertainment in thy soul? The Lord keeps them in every imagination of your heart forever and inclines your heart to seek Him more and more.

Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness 0f the Loss Thereof; What Shall A Man Give In Exchange For His Soul.83

 

USE FOURTH Part 2

4. What are the signs and tokens that thou bearest about thee, concerning how it will go with thy soul at last? There are signs and tokens of a good, and signs and tokens of a bad end that the souls of sinners will have; there are signs of the salvation of the soul, (Heb 6:9); evident tokens of salvation; and there are signs of the damnation of the soul, evident signs of damnation (Phil 1:27, 28; Job 21:29,30; 1 Sam 3:9). Now, which of these hast thou? I cannot stand here to show thee which are which, but thy soul and its salvation lieth before thee, and thou hast the book [the Holy Bible] of signs about these matters by thee; thou hast also men of God to go to, and their assemblies to frequent. Look to thyself; heaven and hell are hard by, and one of them will swallow thee up; heaven, into unspeakable and endless glory, or hell, into unspeakable and endless torment. Yet,

5. What are the pleasures and delights of thy soul now? Are they things Divine, or things natural? Are they things heavenly or things earthly? Are they things holy, or things unholy? For look what think thou delightest in now, to those things the great God doth count thee a servant, and for any of those thou shalt receive thy wages at the day of judgment—' His servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness (Rom 16:16).

Wicked men talk of heaven, and say they hope and desire to go there, even while they continue to be wicked men; but, I say, what would they do there? If all those who desire to go to heaven should come thither, verily they would make a hell of heaven; for, I say, what would they do there? why, just as they do here, scatter their filthiness quite over the face of heaven, and make it as vile as the pit that the devils dwell in. Take holiness away from heaven, and what is heaven? I would rather be in hell, where there are none but holy ones than be in heaven itself with the children of iniquity. If heaven should be filled with wicked men, God would quickly drive them out, or forsake the place for their sakes. It is true, they have been sinners, and none but sinners, that go to heaven; but they are washed—' Such were some of you, but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God (1 Cor 6:11). When the maidens were gathered together for the great king Ahasuerus before they were brought to him into his royal presence, they were to be had to the house of the women, there to be purified with things for purification, and that for twelve months together—to wit, six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odors, and other things, and so came every maiden to the king (Esth 2:3,9,12,13). God also hath appointed that those that come into His royal presence should first go to the house of the women, the church, 34 and there receive of the eunuch's things for purification, things to make us 'meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light' (Col 1:12). None can go from a state of nature to glory but by a state of grace, the Lord gives grace and glory; hence he that goeth to heaven is said to be wrought for it, fitted, prepared for it (1 Cor 5:5; Rom 19:23).