صور الصفحة
PDF
النشر الإلكتروني

I'll maintain my affurance and confidence in thee; As for our iniquities, thou wilt purge them away. 3. It is a legal temper, when faith is marred, either by fins or graces, I mean, either by the prevalence of fin, or the pride of grace. On the other hand, when the exercise of faith is marred by the prevalence of fin, when their known fenfe and feeling of out-breakings, either make a man ftand at a diftance from Chrift, or make him run away from him, by finking difcouragement or fecret despair: This evidences much legality. Are you convinced of fin? Why then? You have the more need to come to Chrift, and believe in him, and the lef's need to stay away from him. Peter had a

prayer once, that looked like a fet form of the Devil's compofing, Lord depart from me, for I am a finful man. If it had run in a gofpel form, he would rather have faid, Lord come to me, for I am a finful man. Yet many believers have learned Peter's form of prayer, Lord, I am such a finful man, I dare not come to thee, nor believe that thou wilt come to me. Why? the more finful thou art, the more need thou haft to come to him, and to implore him to come to you, and save you. On the other hand, when the exercife of faith is marred by the pride of grace, this is part of a legal temper; when believers truft more to their graces than to Christ, the fountain of all grace; when they look more to the strength of gracious habits, and truft more to them, than to the grace that is in Chrift, in which they are called to be ftrong: Be ftrong in the grace that is in Chrift: As by meditating on their fins, they are many times led off from clofing with Christ for pardon and cleanfing; fo by meditating on their graces and gracious habits, they are many times VOL. II. Р

led

[ocr errors]

led off from depending on Chrift, for conftant incomes of actual influences. And hence, when a believer is lively, he is ready to think, he will never be dead again; when he is fpiritual, that he will never be carnal again; when he is up in the mount, that he will never be down in the valley again, faying, By thy favour my mountain ftands Strong; he thinks it like mount Zion, that can never be fhaken, and that he will never doubt again; but behold, Thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled: My good frame was changed to a bad one; of a fudden was my mount Zion turned to a mount Sinai, all fears, all frowns, all darkness. Never hath the believer more need to act faith, and close dependence on the Lord, than when his graces and frames are most lively, left felf-confidence creep in, and confidence in created grace, more than in the fountain, out of whofe fulness he is to have grace for grace. Let your frame be ever so good, your faith ever so strong, your grace ever fo lively, at any time, yet look up ftill for new influences; for without momentary fupplies and breathings from heaven, your gracious habits cannot act, and will not hold out a moment. 4. It is a legal temper, when peace is always marred by short-comings, fhort-comings in the exercife of grace, fhort-comings in the mortification of fin, fhort-comings in holiness; when they meditate upon these shortcomings, upon the weakness of grace on the one hand, and the ftrength of corruption on the other, upon fuch a fin and luft that prevails, upon fuch a plague and distemper that affects them, infomuch that they cannot let in a word of comfort, they cannot hearken to the joyful found of the gofpel, like Ifrael, who hearkened not to Mofes, because of the anguifh of their fpirit; they look inward to them

felves,

felves, and finding nothing there but failings, and infirmities, and plagues, inftead of holiness, their peace is wholly demolished, because they do not, at the fame time, look upward to Chrift, and his blood and righteousness, and fulness; this is a legal temper. So alfo, to the fame purpose, when a man's peace and comfort leans only and always uponhis fanctification, as if there were no other ground of joy but a righteoufnefs inherent: Surely, when the joy of fanctification is greater than the joy of juftification, it is an evidence of a legal temper; for the joy of juftification is founded upon a law-biding righteoufnefs, the perfect obedience of the glorious head, which is always the fame unchangeable ground of joy to believers; whereas his fančtification is imperfect here, and cannot afford fuch peace and joy, as faith in a perfect obedience will give. The true circumcifion rejoice in Chrift, and in what they have in him, more than in what they have from him. But behold, even the believer is ready to be more taken up with his fanctification, which is inherent, and fo to be lifted up, when he attains a good gale, a great measure of fanctification, corruption may abuse the privilege, and then he is proud and lifted up. It is true, communion with God, is of a humbling nature, and natively makes a man humble, and lively, and watchful; but when the good frame is creeping off, and corruption beginning to work again, if this nick of time be not obferved, and the believer be not on his guard, a proud thought may enter in, were it even upon a Paul wrapt up to the third heavens.; Left I fhould be exalted above measure, a messenger of Satan was fent; a thorn in the flesh. O how does a legal temper run through every frame!

P 2

When

When a man is dead and dull, then he is in danger of murmuring; and when he is active and lively, then he is in danger of fwelling. 5. It is a legal temper, when a man's expectation of fuccefs is built upon the minifter that preaches; if the minifter hath a weak gift, O they will not hear that man, at least they expect little good of him: If another hath great gifts, and a taking way, O now they expect heaven will come down; why? This is an evidence of a legal temper; for a gofpel temper will expect nothing but in a gofpel way, even by the powerful influences of the fpirit promifed in the gofpel. The gofpel in any man's mouth is but a dead letter, without the Holy Ghoft. 6. It is a legal temper, when the believer is under exceffive difcouragements, on whatever ground; it is an evidence he is too much under the law, for the law can give no encouragement, no fettlement to the confcience; it is only Chrift can give reft; Come unto me all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you reft. What is it that difcourages a believer, when he is under this legal temper? Sometimes he is difcouraged when he performs duty, and cannot find that prefence, that fenfible help he would have. Why then? He is quite difpirited. Indeed he hath ground of mourning, when the Lord is away; he should be deeply humbled for the caufes of it: But when he is fo difpirited, that he lofes his confidence, and is beaten quite away from his faith and hope, queftions his ftate, and gives way to flavish fear, that weakens his hands in duties, and draws his heart from duty, it is a token he is fecretly hankering after the law; for the language of the heart of him is, O if I could pray with as much life, and hear with as

much

much attention, and perform duty with as much vigour, as I would be at! O then I would have a good hope'; and fo it is not Chrift fo much as the law, the old husband, that you defire to place your hope upon, while you are under that legal frame. The apoftle (Gal. iv. 21.) fpeaks of fome believers that defire to be under the law. Sometimes their difcouragements arise from this, that they dare not apply the promises. And why fo? Because they think they are not for fuch as they are; fuch a promife belongs to fuch and fuch a good perfon, it is for a holy man, but not for one like me: What is this but a legal temper, apprehending, that if you had fuch and fuch a legal righteousness, then God would be fome way indebted to give you the promife? But, O is not grace to be glorified in this new and gofpel-way! And therefore, the more of a gofpei fpirit you have, the more cheerfully will you embrace the promise, for this end, that having thefe promifes, you may cleanse yourself, by fucking virtue from the breafts of the promise. 7. It is an evidence of a legal temper, when they are always ftraitned in duty. Sometimes they are difcouraged, because they are fo ftraitened in duty; and they are straitened in duty, because they are fo legal in it. Their dif couragement flows from their ftraitning, and their ftraitning flows from their legal fpirit; for a gofpel fpirit is a fpirit of liberty. When a believer is for the most part straitned, without life, without liberty, it is an evidence of a legal fpirit; for where the fpirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. The law of the fpirit of life in Chrift fefus makes the man free from the law of fin and death, Rom. viii. 2. one is influenced by the covenant of

grace,

When

he runs

« السابقةمتابعة »