God's elect? It is God that justifieth; who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again, &c.". But when his faith is languid, and his evidences are eclipsed; it is not only useless, but dangerous in the extreme, to yield to carnal reasoning about the state of his soul: for then, he is least qualified to take God's part, against the cavils of Satan, and of an evil heart of unbelief. Were a man, in order to try and confirm the validity of his title to an estate, to encourage a suit to commence against himself; he surely would not choose, for that purpose, the time in which, he could not find his evidences of that title. Alas! the time which a good man chooses,, for giving ear to carnal reasoning, is commonly the very time in which, he hath lost his evidences of grace. And it is grievous to see, with what a weak piece of sophistry, the devil will baffle him, at such a time. It is inexpressibly dangerous for a child of light, especially when he is in the dark, to be reasoning with the prince of darkness: he cannot, in such circumstances, be safe, otherwise than by the resolute exercise of prayer, and of that faith, which is above sight, as well as contrary to sense and carnal reason. He should not spend a moment, in framing arguments against himself. Satan will be ready enough to suggest them. And in particular, he ought never to conclude that he is a hypocrite, from such things, as are no where in the Scripture, declared to be marks of reigning hypocrisy. Where, O disconsolate Christain, dost thou read, in the Oracles of truth, That the want ' Rom. viii. 33, 34. of legal terrors in conversion; or, that wandering thoughts, straitness, dulness, and deadness of spirit, in prayer, while thou bewailest them, and strivest against them; or, that the want of present evidences of sincerity, and of those degrees of peace and joy, to which some have attained; or, that some iniquity, for a time, prevailing against thee, notwithstanding thy frequent efforts to resist it ;where, I say, dost thou read that any of these, is an evidence of reigning hypocrisy? Or, where canst thou find, that the presence of hypocrisy in the heart, is the same as the predominance of it? It is no less the duty of the disquieted believer, to distinguish well, between the atheistical and blasphemous thoughts, which are injected by Satan ; and those, which proceed from his own heart. His doing so, will through grace, be a mean of lessening, in no small degree, the anguish of his soul. Atheistical and blasphemous thoughts do sometimes proceed from his own heart: for our blessed Lord saith, "Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts... blasphemies "." And he may charge himself with such thoughts, as having arisen from his own heart; when, instead of resisting them instantly, and with abhorrence, he for a little, yields to them. But if, as is more frequently the case, they come in suddenly and violently upon his mind; if his heart trembles at them, and with holy abhorrence, instantly opposes them "; and, if his being assaulted with them, is very grievous to him; he ought without hesitation, to charge them upon Satan, u Matth. xv. 19. w Ps. lxxiii. 15. and not upon himself. He should, for his comfort, never impute them to himself, as his transgressions, but to the tempter, as his. It is likewise his duty to read diligently, and fre'quently, such passages of Scripture, as are most suited to comfort him. It is not less true than strange, that the believer, under mental trouble, is usually much disposed to read, to remember, and to apply to himself, such passages of Scripture, and of human writings, as are most adapted to increase the trouble and terror of his soul. Such places of Scripture, and of other books, as are arousing and alarming, are indeed very proper for a good man, often to read and remember, when he finds that, carnal security is prevailing against him. But when his soul, is already depressed with terror and dismay, so that, he needs cordials to refresh his drooping spirit; he ought, chiefly and frequently to read, meditate, and believe with application to himself, such passages of Scripture, as are most encouraging and consoling to his fainting soul; especially these referred to at the bottom of this page. Let him resolve firmly, in dependance on proinised grace, and in defiance of his disinclination, to read again and again, those and similar passages, to believe them with regard to himself, and to convert them into matter of ejaculatory prayer. y Ps. xliii. 5. and lxxi. 20–23. Isa. i. 18. and lv. 1-4. Ezek. xxxiii. 11. Hos. xiv. 4-6. Isa. lvii 15. -19. and Ixvi. 13. and xl. 27-31. Isa. xlix. 8--16. and liv. 7-14. and lxi. 1-3. Isa. xli. 10-14. and xliii. 1, 2. Lam. iii. 22-26. Matth. xi. 28, 29. Rev. xxii. 17. John iii. 14-17. John xiv. 15-27. 1 Tim. i. 15. Matth.. ix. 13. Ps. cxxxviii. 3-8. As the dejected believer, is chastened less than he deserves to be, and as it is of the Lord's mercies, that he is not even consumed; let him readily acknowledge this, and see that he express his grateful sense of it, by glorifying the Lord even in the fires. Let him endeavour to glorify the Lord, by being constantly upon his guard, against all manner of sin, and especially, against omitting any knowir duty. He must never take occasion from the uneasiness of his mind, to neglect a single duty, that it is possible for him to perform. It is inexpressibly dangerous for the Christian to be indolent at any time; but especially, when he is under depression of spirit. To conclude: Doth God afflict some even of his own dear saints, with unutterable anguish and terror of soul, when he is only chastening them for iniquity? What exquisite torment then, what direful anguish, awaits impenitent sinners, in the place of torment, where they must lie, throughout eternity, under his vindictive, his infinite, his tremendous wrath! Christ hath given infinite satisfaction to the offended justice of God, for all the iniquities of his children. They love God supremely: they also love his commandments, and study to keep them. They are the objects of his redeeming, of his immense, of his everlasting love; and yet, in chastening them for their iniquity, he, sometimes, afflicteth them with dreadful impressions of his displeasure. Now, if a sense only of his fatherly anger, is so terrible, and intolerable, to them; how wilt thou, O impenitent and careless sinner, be able to endure the fierceness of his vindictive wrath, the heat of his fiery indignation, "which shall burn unto the lowest hell?" If the suffering of that, only for a short season, for a small moment, is so inexpressibly painful to them; Oh! what direful agony, what overwhelming anguish, must thou endure, when thou shalt suffer this, not for millions of ages merely, but through all the endless ages of eternity! Ah! secure sinner, if thou do not flee speedily from the wrath to come, to the great Redeemer, offered to thee in the gospel; "the smoke of thy torment, will ascend up for ever and ever; and thou shalt have no rest, day nor night." We are informed by Him who cannot lie, "That the wicked shall be turned into hell";"" that they shall go away into everlasting punishment";" and," that they shall be cast into a furnace of fire, of everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels" Consider this, thou who livest in sin, and be afraid. Oh! do not continue any longer, in the love and practice of iniquity. Do not, for the momentary and polluted pleasures of sin, persist in exposing thyself to endless wrath. Walk while thou hast the light, lest darkness come upon thee. While thou hast light, believe in the light, that thou mayest be one of the children of light“. a Ps. ix. 17. Matth. xiii. 42. and xxv. 41. a b Matth. xxv. 46. |