Lord calls for it, Benjamin shall not go ; his life is bound up in it, and if God will have it from him, he must take it by force, for there is no hope of gaining his consent. If this is the true picture of thy faith, and temper of thy soul, then verily thou blessest thyself in an idol, and mistakest a bold face for a believing heart ; but if thou art as willing to be faithfid to Christ, as to pitch thy faith on Christ ; if thou countest it as great a privilege, that Christ should have a throne in thy heart and love, as that thou shoiddst have a place and room in his mercy ; in a word, if thou art plain-hearted, and wouldst not hide a sin, nor lock up a creature-enjoyment from him, but desirest freely to give up thy dearest lust to the gibbet, and thy sweetest enjoyments, to stay with, or go from thee, as thy God thinks fit to allow thee, though all this be with much regret and discontent, from a malignant party of the flesh within thee, thou provest thyself a sound believer. And the devil may as well say that himself believeth, as thou presumest; if this be to presume, be thou yet more presump- tuous. Let the devil nick-name thee and thy fiiith as he pleaseth ; the rose- water is not the less sweet, because one writes wormwood-water on the glass. The Lord knows who are his, and v-ill own them for his true children, and their graces for the sweet fruits of his Spirit, tlioiigh a false title be set on them by Satan and the world, yea, sometimes by believers on themselves. The father will !iot deny his child, because he is in a violent fit of a fever, talks idle, and denies him to be his father.
Thirdly, The presumptuous faith is a sapless and unsavoury faith. When an unsound heart pretends to greatest faith on Christ, even then it finds little savour, tastes little sweetness in Christ. No, he hath his old tooth in his head, which makes him relish still the gross food of sensual enjoyments above Christ and his spiritual dainties ; would he but freely speak what he thinks, he must con- fess, that if he were put to his choice, whether he would sit Avith Christ and his children, to be entertained with the pleasures that they enjoy, from spiritual com- munion with him in his promises, ordinances, and holy waj's ; or had rather sit with the servants and have the scraps, while God allows the men of the world their full bags and bellies of carnal treasure ; that he would prefer the latter before the former. He brags of his interest in God, but he cares not how little he is in the presence of God in any duty or ordinance ; certainly, if he were such a favourite as he speaks, he would be more at coiirt than he is. He hopes to be saved, he saith, but he draws not his wine of joy at his tap ; it is not the thoughts of heaven that comfort him, but what he hath in the world, and of the woi-ld, these maintain his joy ; when the world's vessel is out, and creature-joy spent, alas ! the poor wretch can find little relief from, or relish in his pretended hopes of heaven, and interest in Christ, but he is still whining after the other. Whereas true faith alters the very creature's palate ; no feast so sweet to the believer as Christ is ; let God take all other dishes off the board, and leave but Christ, he coimts his feast is not gone, he hath what he likes ; but let all else stand, health, estate, friends, and what else the world sets a high value on, if Christ be withdrawn, he soon misseth his dish, and makes his moan, and saith, Alas ! who hath taken away my Lord ? It is Christ that seasons these and all his enjoyments, and makes them savoiuy meat to his palate ; but without him, they have no more taste than the white of an egg without salt.
CHAPTER XII.
THE saint's enemy DESCRIBED, WITH HIS WARLIKE PROVISION, FIERY DARTS, AND WHAT THEY ARE.
We have done with the exhortation ; and now come to the second general part of the verse, i. e., a powei'ful argument pressing this exhortation, contained in these words : ' Whereby ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.' ' Ye shall be able,' not an uncertain may be ye shall ; but he is pe- remptory and absolute ; ' Ye shall be able ;' but what to do ? ' able to quench,' not only to resist and repel, but to quench ; but what shall they quench ? not ordinary temptations only, but the worst arrows the devil hath in his quiver, '•fiery darts,' and not some few of them, but ' all the fiery darts of the wicked.' In this second general, there are these two particulars.
ABOVE ALL, TAKING THE SHIELD OF FAITH. 475
First, The saint's enemy described. Secondly, The power and puissance of faith over this enemy. First, of the first.