ISA. LIII, 1.] THE FIFTY-THIRD CHAPTER OF ISAIAH. 215
justice is to be copied out from God's will ; it is just because God did it.
Secondly, The beauty of God's justice sbinetli ia this, in that the positive cause of unbelief —
[1 .] Is in ourselves, it being through our own blindness and stub- bornness. We ' will not come to him that we may have life.' Hosea xiii. 9, * 0 Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself, but in me is thy help.' God is the positive cause of faith, the privative cause of unbelief. The Spirit's revelation worketh faith ; but in case of the want of it, our own perverse hearts are the cause of unbelief. If the earth be light, it is from the sun ; but if it be dark, it is through the want of the sun, that is from itself : 2 Cor. iv. 3, ' If our gospel be hid, it is hid to .them that are lost.' It is to those that take a course to ruin themselves.
[2.] Men do not their utmost, and therefore are justly punished, because they did not what they were able to do to get faith. He is justly condemned that complaineth of the length of the way, and therefore doth not stir one foot to see whether he shall conquer it, yea or no: Mat. xxv. 26, 'Thou wicked and slothful servant.' Many complain, as if God required brick and gave no straw. They are wicked and slothful ; they do not what they should. Men had rather accuse God than reflect upon their own idleness ; they will not come to him.
[3.] They abuse their parts, and are so far from improving of them to the utmost, that they employ them against God : Jude 10, ' What they know naturally as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.' So 2 Peter ii. 12, it is said, ' They utterly perish in their own corruptions.' There is wickedness enough in them to cause the wj-ath of God to proceed against them. This is the first doubt.
2. The next is (which is somewhat answered out of this) if this be cause — viz., the want of the Spirit's revelation — Why then should we labour after faith ? Our labour will not do without the revelation of the Spirit.
Ans. [1.] We should labour after it, to see our own weakness, that we may look up to God the more earnestly for it. Men think it is easy to believe till they put themselves upon the trial. They do not see a need of the Spirit till they perceive the fruitlessness of their own en- deavours : ' If thou appliest thy heart to understanding, and criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding ; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as hidden treasure ; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God,' Prov. ii. 3-5.
[2.] That we may manifest our obedience to God, and meet him in his own way. He hath commanded us to believe ; let us do what we can towards it. Improve your natural abilities, and use the means that God hath appointed, and refer the success to him : Luke v. 5, ' Master, we have toiled all night, and catched nothing ; nevertheless, at thy command I will let down the net.' Consider God's prei-ogative over you, and make the best of the power you have ; and if for nothing else, yet at his command perform thy duty. God hath enabled you to do somewhat, and he may justly require you should do the utmost of it. Every man hath a command over his locomotive faculty ; he can choose
216 A PRACTICAL EXPOSITION UPON [ISA. LIII. 1.
whether he will come hither or go thither. Every man can ' watch at the gates of wisdom,' Prov. viii. 34, ' and wait at the posts of her door.' Therefore, let the command of God enforce you to do what you can.
[3.] That you may manifest your desires after it. God doth not give Christ to many, because they do not care for him. If a man did care for a thing, he would endeavour after it. Excuses are always a sign of an unwilling heart. Where the desires are vehement, they will not easily be put by: Mat. xiii. 4.5, The merchant that 'fonnd a pearl of great price,' ' went and sold all that he might buy it.' Those that desire not Christ, do not look upon him as a pearl of price ; if tiiey did, their hearts would follow hard after him. Those that say they have no power, it is to be feared they have no heart. It was the slothful person said, 'There is a lion in the way,' Prov. xxvi. 13. Therefore strive after faith, if for nothing else, yet to show that Christ is worth your most earnest seeking and pursuit after him.
[4.] Because though by the using of means we do not get faith, yet without the means we shall not have it. It is conditio sine qua non, though not causa fidei: Rom. x. 14, ' How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard ?' A man hath it not by hearing, nor for hearing, yet he hath it not without hearing. There is not merit nor efficacy in the means, and yet there must be the presence of them, be- cause it holdeth negatively, if ye do not use the means ye shall never believe. The Spirit causeth faith, but it is by the word : see that text, Acts xiii. 46, ' It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken unto you ; but seeing ye have put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.' Men that refuse the means, pass the sentence of condemnation upon themselves, they declare themselves to be those whom God will judge to be unworthy of eternal life — unworthy, because they would not seek after it. When the psalmist describeth desperate men, he represents them to be such as reject the means: Ps. lviii.4, 5, 'They are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear, which will not hearken to the voice of the charmer, charm he never so wisely.' The adder stoppeth one ear with lier tail, and the other lieth close upon the ground. So wicked men, if they come to the ordinances, take care they shall not prevail upon them ; they are not diligent to attend to the word.