PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Whole Works of John Flavel — Volume 3
Flavel, John, 1630?-1691 · 303,410 words · 253 reading sections
Section 121
The fear of caution is a good cure to the fear of distraction ; and the more of that, the less of this ; this fear will cure that, as one fire draws forth another, Heb. xi. 7. " Noah being moved with " fear, prepared an ark." In which he provided as much for the rest and quiet of his mind, as he did for the safety of h…
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death, viz. by the sword ; his heart was brought to that frame, that he could with as much wilhngiiess pour out his blood for Christ, as the priests used to pour out drink-offerings to the Lord. It is true, all the meditations and preparations in the world, made by us, are not sufficient in themselves to carry us throu…
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S. The committing ourselves to God implies the resignation of our wills to the will of God, to be disposed of as seems good in his eyes : So David commits to God the event of that sad and doubt- ful providence, which made him fly for his life, from a strong con- spiracy, 2 Sam. XV. 25. " And the king said unto Zadok, C…
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The more you are mortified, the less you will be terrified : it is not the dead, but the living world, that puts our hearts into such feai's and tremblings ; if our hearts were once crucified, they would soon be quieted. It is the strength of our affections that puts so much strength into our afflictions. It was not th…
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3. Be mortified to the inordinate and fond love of life, as ever you expect relief against the fears of death. Reason thyself into a lower value of thy life. Methinks you have arguments enough to cure your fondness in this point. Have you found it such a plea- sant life to you, for so much of it as is past ? You know h…
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* befal me, being prepared for either event ; either to ruin you, ' to the great benefit of my country, or myself to fall witli a good < conscience ; therefore that you may see with what confidence I * contemn your threats, I do profess myself to be your irreconcil- ' able enemy, whilst ye persecute Luther and such a…
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1. That his living time is his labouring time, but his dying time is his harvest time ; whilst we live we are plowing and sowing in all the duties of religion, but when we die, then we reap the fruit and comforts of all our labours and duties, Gal. vi. 8, 9. As much therefore as the reaping time is better than the sowi…
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Rule 8. Let him that designs to free himself of distracting fears, he careful io maintain the purity of his conscience, and integrity of his ways, in the whole cou,rse of his conversation in this world. Uprightness will give us boldness, and purity will yield us peace. Isa. xxxii. 17. " The work of righteousness shall…
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1. Experience greatly abates the terror of sufferings, and makes them less formidable and scaring than otherwise they would be. Fear saith, they are great waters, and will drown us ; experience saith, they are much shallower than we think, and are safely ford- able ; others have, and we may pass through the Red sea, an…
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4. Jesus Christ hath secured his people by many promises to take care of them, how dangerous soever the times shall be, Eccl. viii. 12. Psal. Ixxvi. 10. Amos ix. 8, 9. Rom. viii. 28. Oh ! if these things were thoroughly believed and well improved, fears could no more distract or afflict our hearts, than storms or cloud…
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_l HE pleas and excuses for our cowardly faintness in the day of trouble are endless, and so would his task be that should under- take particularly to answer them all. It is but the cutting off an Hydrops head, when one is gone, ten more start up ; what is most material I ^^^ll here take into consideration. When good m…
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Plea 2. But my nature is soft and tender, my constitution more weak and subject to the impressions of fear tiian others : some that have robust bodies, and hardy stout minds, may better grapple with such difficulties than I can, who by constitution and education, am altogether unfit to grapple with those torments, that…
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Flea 4. But some will object that they cannot help their fears and tremblings when anv danger appears ; because fear is the dis- ease, at least the sad effect and symptom of disease, with which God hath wounded them : a deep and fixed melancholy hath so far prevailed, that the least trouble overcomes them ; if any sad …
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2. It is not casual for God to estrange himself from his people in trouble, nor to frown upon them when men do. The common evidence of believers stands ready to attest and seal this truth, that Christians never find more kindness from God than when tliey feel most cruelty from men for his sake ; consult the whole cloud…
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That the days are evil, is a truth preached to us by the convincing voice of sense ; and that they are like to be worse, few can doubt that look into the moral causes of evil times, the impudent height of sin, or into the prophecies relating to these latter days ; for whom the sharpest sufferings are appointed to make …
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Against this discouragement a double relief is applied in the fol- lowing verses ; the one is a promise of full deliverance at last, the other an invitation into a sure sanctuary and place of defence for the present, until the time of their full deliverance came. The pro- mise we have in verse 19. " Thy dead men shall …
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2. The other is fitted to work upon their hope, though his in- dignation fall hke a storm, yet it will not continue long ; it shall be but for a moment, better days and more comfortable dispensa- tions will follow. From all which the general observation is this, Doct. That the attributes^ pi'omiscs, and providences of…
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Sect. 2. But of what use soever these national judgments are to others, to be sure they shall be beneficial to God's own people ; when others die by fear, they shall live by faith ; if they be bane- ful poison to the wicked, they shall be healthful physic to the godly. For, 1. By these calamities God will mortify and …
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Sect. 2. This being so, how should all that fear God be affected -with the appearances and signs of his indignation ? So was David, Psal. cxix. 120. " My flesh trembleth for fear of thee, and I am " afraid of thy judgments.'' He that feared not a bear, a lion, a Goliah, yet trembleth at God's judgment. So did Habakkuk,…
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1. Scripture emblems; and among many, I will, upon this oc- casion, single out two or three principal ones. In Ezek. v. 1, 2, 3. " And thou son of man, take thee a sharp knife, take thee a bar- " ber's razor, and cause it to pass upon thine head, and upon thy " beard, then take thee balances to weigh and divide the hai…
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1. All that are preserved are not the people of God. In the ark a wicked Ham was preserved ; and those that were preserved in Egypt, many of them were afterwards destroyed for their unbelief, Jude 5. So EzekieFs vision, a part even of those hairs which were spared were afterwards cast into the fire, Ezek. v. 4. Preserv…
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And when their city and temple were to be destroyed by the Romans, how plainly did Christ foretel them of it by his own mouth ! I^uke xix. 43, 44. " Thine enemies shall cast a trench " about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every " side, and lay thee even with the ground, and thy children witli- " in t…
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sins, and saddest signs upon them. This spirit of enmity sowed by the devil among them, hastened their calamity. If Ephraim ^vill envy Judah, and Judah vex Ephraim, the common enemy shall part the fray : when the whole nation was under water, and the Roman armies under the very walls of Jerusalem, their own historians …
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1. Chamber which comes to be opened as a refuge to distressed behevers in a stormy day, is that most secure and safe attribute of Divine Power : into this let us first enter by serious and beheving meditation, and see how safe they are whom God hides under the protection thereof, in the worst and most dangerous days. I…
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again all the glorious deliverances that ever he wrought for his peo- ple from the beginning of the world ; to do as much for his church now, as he did at the Red-sea ; and upon this ground the churcli builds its plea, Isa. li. 9, 10. " Awake, awake, put on strength, O " arm of the Lord, awake as in the ancient days, a…
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1. To uphold and support them when their own strength fails, Isa. xli. 10. " Fear thou not, for I am with thee, be not dismayed, " for I am thy God : I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee, " yea, I will uphold thee, with the right hand of my righteousness.'' And which of the saints have not sensibly felt these …
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The secret, ■ but the almighty efficacy of providence is also ex- cellently described to us in Ezek. i. 8. where the angels are said to have their hands under their wings, working secretly and un- liiscernibl}^ but very effectually for the saints committed to their charge. Like unto which is that in Hab. iii. 4. where …
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2. Having thus entered by faith into this chamber of Divine Power, the next counsel the text gives you, is, to shut the door behind you ; i. e. after the acting of your faith, and the quiet re- pose of your souls upon God's almighty power ; then take heed lest unbelieving fears and jealousies creep in again, and distur…
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Wisdom comprehends two things, 1. Knowledge of the nature of things which, in the creature, is called science. 2. Knowledge how to govern, order and dispose them, which, in the creature, is cdXled. prudence ; these things in a man are but faint shadows of that which is in God, in the most absolute perfection ; he fully…
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1. By giving knowledge of it to some that are under obligations of duty or affection to reveal it to those that are concerned in the danger. So Paul's sister's son. Acts xxiii. 16. revealed the con- spiracy against his life, and so the plot miscai'ried by revealing it before it was ripe for execution. 2. By the failur…
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Section III. Well then, if the wisdom of God shines forth so glo- riously in the times of his people's trouble, be persuaded by faith to enter into tkis chamber also ; it is a chamber where a believing soul may enjoy the sweetest rest and quietness in the most hurrying and distracting times ; shut the door behind you, …
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1. Absolutely, and so the faithfulness of God is his sincerity, firmness, and constancy in performing his word to his people in all times and cases. So Moses describes him to Israel, Deut. vii. 9- " Know therefore, that the Lord thy God he is God, the " faithful God." And Joshua appeals to their experience for the vind…
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in the promises, to a tittle; for wherever you find a promise of God, you also find the name and honour of God given as a security for the performance of it ; and so his name hath ever been pleaded with him by his people, as a mighty argument to work for them, Josh. vii. 9. What wilt thou do for thy ^reat name^ q. d. L…
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1. There are promises in the word for your preservation from ruin, and what you read in those promises, you daily see the same fulfilled in your own experiences. You have a promise in Psal. Ivii. 3. " He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of " him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth…
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S. You would expect infinite goodness and mercy inclining him to help and save you. Why, so it is here, Psal. cxxx. 7. " Let ^' Is-rael hope in the Lord, for with the Lord there is mercy, and " with him is plenteous redemption." So Moses, Exod. xxxiii. 18. " I beseech thee shew me thy glory." The request was, a view of…
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4. Shut the door against discontents at, and murmurings against the dispositions of providence, whatever you feel or fear : I per- suade you not to a stoical apathy, and senselessness of the evils of the times ; that would preclude the exercise of patience. If the martyrs had all had the dead palsy before they came to …
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Arg. 1. From the perfection of his goodness and blessedness ; God is optimus maximits, the best and chiefest good, and in that sense, " There is none good but one, which is God," Mark x. 18. From whence it is thus argued. If there be any change in God, that change must either be for the better, or for the worse, or int…
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S. The unchangeable God hath promised to maintain their graces, and thereby his interest in them for ever, Jer. xxxii. 40. " And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will " not turn away from them to do them good : But I will put my " fear in their hearts, that they shall not turn away from me.'' Where…
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Sect. III. What remains then, seeing God is unchangeable in his love to his people, pursuing the great ends of all his gracious promises in a steady course of providence, wherein he will never effect, or permit any thing that is really repugnant to his own glory, or their good ; but that we enter also into this chamber…
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4. Live upon the unchangeableness of God under the greatest and saddest changes of your spiritual condition ; God may cloud the light of his countenance over thy soul, he may fill thee with fears and troubles, and the Comforter that should relieve thee may seem to be far off; yet still maintain thy faith in the un- cha…
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3. The dangers and fears of the people of God in this world are many and great ; and were it not for the Lord's assiduous and ten- der care over them, they must necessarily be ruined both in soul and body by them. The church is God's vineyard, its enemies as so many wild boars to root it up : Upon this account he saith…
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5. That their ruin is prevented, when they are upon the danger- ous and slippery brink of temptations, and their feet almost gone, Psal. Ixxiii. 2. Hos. ii. 6. 2 Cor. xii. 7. 6. That they are recovered again after dangerous falls by sin, and not left a prey and trophy to theii' enemy, Hos. xiv. 4. 7. That they are gu…
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6. Lastly, The care of God is engaged to carry his people safe through all the dangers of the way, and bring them all home to glory at last, John x. 28. " I give unto them eternal life, and they " shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my " hand." This care of God, thus engaged for you, is your con…
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But let us enter yet farther into this glorious chamber of Divine love, and more particularly view the admirable properties thereof; though, when all is done, it will be found a love passing knowledge ; our thoughts may admire, but can never measure it. 1. And first, you will find it an ancient love whose spring is in…
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Motive 2. The knowledge and assurance of the love of God is a mercy attainable by a gracious soul, notwithstanding the imper- fections of grace. Peter had his falls and failings as well as other Christians, yet when Christ puts the question home to him, John xxi. 15. " Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than thes…
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terrible day are God's own people, they only are taken into secu« rity, ver. 7. The Lord is good, a strong-hold in the day of trou- ble, and he knoweth them that trust in him, i. e. he so knowetb them, as to care and provide for them in that evil day ; and so throughout the whole scripture, you shall find the promises …
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Containing the first use of the point in several irifbrming consec- taries and deductions of truth from it. Consect. I. jl ROM the whole of this discourse we may be in- formed what a miserable and shiftless people all those will be in times of trouble who have no special interest in God, or the promises. Sad and lamen…
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piness is out of the reach of all thine enemies, Luke xii. 4. Luke X. 42. And if that be safe, thou hast no cause to be sad ; to droop and tremble at the hazard of earthly comforts, whilst heavenly and eternal things are safe, is as if a man that had gotten his pardon from the king, and had it safe in his bosom, should…
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1. By drawing their consciences under guilt, on purpose to de- stroy the liberty, freedom, and child-like confidence of their souls in their addresses to God. This, if any thing in the world, will do it. Job xi. 14, 15. What a loss will that poor soul be at, in times of trouble, whose grumbling and condemning conscienc…
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(2.) Pray indefinitely, that you may be kept from the sins and temptations of the times. O watch and proy^ that you enter not hito temptation ; if you cannot prevail with God to turn away his an- ger, yet be importunate with him that you may be kept from sin ; that if ¥OU lose your outward peace, you may be able to kee…
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{3. The infinite tenderness and compassionateness of our God, is a sweet encouragement to resign and commit ourselves and all we have into his hands ; his mercy is incomparably tender towards his people, infinitely beyond whatever any creature felt stirring in its own bowels towards another that came out of its bowels,…
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2. Another gracious qualification, clearing the soul's title to God's special protection in the worst and most dangerous times, is true humiliation for our own and other men's sins : " Go, set a " mark, saith God, upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and " cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst there…
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* kon, that though divers very valuable men have had remarkable * failings, yet that, upon the whole, it is better they have lived, and * been known in the world, than that they should not have lived, or * have lived obscure. ' The truth is (which we have often considered) that though the * great doctrines of the …
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* all sin, and particularly against sinful aversion from God ; wherein ' lies the very death of the soul, or the sum of its misery ; or to ' strive after perfect conformity to God in holiness, and the full ' fruition of him ; wherein its final blessedness doth principally ' consist. ' It were to teach us to violate th…
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How many senses soever may be given of this word condition, this is the determinate sense in which I use it throughout this con- troversy. And whosoever denies the suspending nature of faith, ■with respect to actual justification, pleads (according to my under- standing) for the actual justification of infidels. And th…
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* Utinam tarn conserlis vtmiibus comperLam comprehensamque t^eriiatcm semel rtiitiere possejnus quam }>rotinus agnitamjestivh ocul-is hilares ciosculabainur. AN EPISTLE TO THE HEAHEll. 425 cd spectator, when challenged and provoked to speak in defence thereof. Is there any thing found in God's covenant with Abraham,…
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An error then is any departure or deviation in our opinions or judgments from the perfect rule of the Divine law; and to this/ all men, by nature, are not only liable, but inclinable. Indeed man, by nature, can do nothing else but err ; Psal. Ivii. 3. He goeth astray as soon as horn ; makes not one true step till renew…
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Some think that reason and natural light is abundantly sufficient for the direction of life ; but certainly nothing is more necessary to us for that end than the written word ; for though the remains of natural light have their place and use in directing us about natural and earthly things, yet they are utterly insuffi…
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Errors, like some sorts of weeds, having once seeded in a field or garden, it is scarce possible to subdue and destroy them ; especially if they be hereditary errors, or have grown up with us from our youth ; a teneris assuescere multum est, saith Seneca ; it is a great advantage to truth or error to have ail early and…
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Opinion (as one truly saith) is but reason's projector, and the spy of truth ; it makes, in its fullest discovery, no more than the dawning and twilight of knowledge ; and yet I know not how it comes to pass, but so it is, that this idol of the mind holds such a sv/ay and empire over all we hold, as if it were all the …
1,230 wordsSource & rights
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.