- Spiritual joy is a sun that is often clouded ; though it be as precious a flower as most paradise affords, yet it is subject to fade ami wither.
•'■ When one objected to Faninus his cheerfulness to Christ's agony and sadness, he answered, Christ was sad, that 1 might be merry ; he had my sins, and 1 have his right- eousness. [Clarke's ' Martyrologie,1 as before, sub nomine. — G.]
2 Cor. II. 11.] against satan's devices. 109
you shall have them praising and rejoicing, the next day a-mourning and weeping. One day you shall have them a-singing, ' The Lord is our portion ;' the next day a-sighing and expostulating with themselves, ' Why are ye cast down, 0 our souls ?' ' Why is our harp turned to mourning ? and our organ into the voice of them that weep ?' &c.x
Remedy (4). The fourth remedy against this device of Satan is, solemnly to consider, That the causes of joy and comfort are not always the same. Happily, thy former joy and comfort did spring from the witness of the Spirit, he bearing witness to thy soul, that thy nature was changed, thy sins pardoned, thy soul reconciled, &c.2 Now, the Spirit may, upon some special occasion, bear witness to the soul, that the heart of God is dearly set upon him, that he loves him with an everlasting love, &c, and yet the soul may never enjoy such a testi- mony all the days of his life again. Though the Spirit be a witnessing Spirit, it is not his office eveiy day to witness to believers their interest in God, Christ, heaven, &c.
Or, happily, thy former joy and comfort did spring from the newness and suddenness of the change of thy condition. For a man in one hour to have his night turned into day, his darkness turned into light, his bitter into sweet, God's frowns into smiles, his hatred into love, his hell into a heaven, must greatly joy and comfort him.3 It cannot but make his heart to leap and dance in him, who, in one hour, shall see Satan accusing him, his own heart condemning him, the eternal God frowning ■upon him, the gates of heaven #barred against him, all the creation standing armed, at the least beck of God, to execute vengeance on him, and the mouth of the infernal pit open to receive him. Now, in this hour, for Christ to come to the amazed soul, and to say to it, I have trod the wine-press of my Father's wrath for thee ; I have laid down my life a ransom for thee ; by my blood I have satisfied my Father's jus- tice, and pacified his anger, and procured his love for thee ; by my blood I have purchased the pardon of thy sins, thy freedom from hell, and thy right to heaven ; oh ! how wonderfully will this cause the soul to leap for joy !
Remedy (5). The fifth remedy against this device of Satan is, to con- sider, That God ivill restore and moJce up the comforts of his people.1 Though thy candle be put out, yet God will light it again, and make it burn more light than ever. Though thy sun for the present be clouded, yet he that rides upon the clouds shall scatter those clouds, and cause the sun to shine and warm thy heart as in former days, as the psalmist speaks: 'Thou which hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shalt
1 Ps. li. 12, xxx. 6, 7 ; Job xxiii. 6, 8, 9, 30, 31 ; Lamen. i. 16, Mat. xxvii. 4G, Ps. xlii. 5, Lament, v. 15.
2 The Spirit doth not every day make a feast in the soul ; he doth not make every day to he a day of weaving the wedding robes.
3 A pardon given unexpectedly into the hand of a malefactor, when he is on the last step of the ladder, ready to be turned off, will cause much joy and rejoicing. The new- ness and suddenness of the>change of his condition will cause his heart to leap and rejoice ; yet, in process of time, much of his joy will be abated, though his life be as dear to him still as ever it was.
4 Hudson the martyr, deserted at the stake, went from under his chain, and, having prayed earnestly, was comforted immediately, and suffered valiantly. So Mr Glover, when he was within sight of the stake, cried out to his friend, He is come, lie is come, meaning the Comforter that Christ promised to send. [On Thomas Hudson, see Clarke's ' Martyrologie,' as before, pp. 498,499 ; on Glover, ibid. pp. 460-61. — G.]
110 PRECIOUS REMEDIES [2 COR. II. 11.
quicken mo again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth. Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side.' Ps. lxxi. 20, 21. God takes away a little comfort, that he may make room in tin' soul for a greater degree of comfort. This the pro- phel Isaiah sweetly shews : 'I have seen his ways, and will heal him ; I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him, and to his mourners,' Isa. lvii. 18. Bear up sweetly, 0 precious soul ! thy storm shall end in a calm, and thy dark night in a sunshine day ; thy mourning shall be turned into rejoicing, and the waters of consolation shall be sweeter and higher in thy soul than ever -,1 the mercy is surely thine, but the time of "ivin"- it is the Lord's. Wait but a little, and thou shalt find the Lord comforting thee on every side.
The seventh device that Satan hath to keep souls in a sad, doubting, and questioning condition, is,
Device (7). By suggesting to the soul his often relapses i/nto the same sin ivhich formerly he hath pursued with particula/r sorrow, grief, shame, and tears, and prayed, complai/ned, and resolved agamst. Saith Satan, Thy heart is not right with God ; surely thy estate is not good ; thou dost but flatter thyself to think that ever God will eternally own and embrace such a one as thou art, who com- plainest against sin, and yet relapsest into the same sin ; who with tears and groans confessest thy sin, and yet ever and anon art fallen into the same sin.
I confess this is a very sad condition for a soul after he hath ob- tained mercy and pity from the Lord, after God hath spoken peace and pardon to him, and wiped the tears from his eyes, and set him upon his legs, to return to folly.2 Ah ! how do relapses lay men open to the greatest afflictions and worst temptations ! How do they make the wound to bleed afresh ! How do they darken and cloud former assurances and evidences for heaven ! How do they put a sword into the hand of conscience to cut and slash the soul ! They raise such fears, terrors, horrors, and doubts in the soul, that the soul cannot be so frequent in duty as formerly, nor so fervent in duty as formerly, nor so confident in duty as formerly, nor so bold, familiar, and delightful with God in duty as formerly, nor so constant in duty as formerly. They give Satan an advantage to triumph over Christ ; they make the work of repentance more difficult ; they make a man's life a burden, and they render death to be very terrible unto the soul, &c.
Now the remedies against this device are these :