2. You must go to work evangelically, and with a spirit suiting the gospel. Consider and understand your evidences and graces not in a legal perfection, but as ' sprinkled with the blood of the covenant.' If you should look for love, fear, faith, hope, in that perfection which the law requireth, the heart will still be kept unsettled ; your business is to look to the truth rather than the measure. Usually men bring their graces rather to the balance than to the touchstone, and weigh them when they should try them, as if the quantity and measure were more considerable than the essence and nature. It is good to own grace, though mingled with much weakness : the children of God have pleaded the truth of their graces, when conscious to themselves of many failings : Cant. i. 5, ' I am black, but comely.' There is grace, though under the veil and cloud of much weakness ; so Cant. v. 2, ' I sleep, but my heart waketh :' the spouse hath a double aspect, to what was evil and what was good ; so he in the Gospel could with confidence plead his faith, though Immbled with sad relics and remains of un- belief : ' Lord, I believe ; help my unbelief,' Mark ix. 24. We must not bear false witness against others, much less against ourselves ; and, therefore, own a little good, though in the midst of much evil.
3. You must go to work prudently, understanding the nature of marks, and the time to use them ; everything is beautiful in its season. There are times of desertion, when graces are not visible. In dark-
250 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JaS. II. 21.
ness we can neither see black nor white. In times of great dejection and discouragement the work of a Christian is not to try, but believe : ' Let him stay himself on the name of God,' Isa. 1. 10. It is most seasonable to encourage the soul to acts of faith, and to reflect upon the absolute promises, rather than conditional. The absohite promises were intended by God as attractives and encouragements to such dis- tressed souls. There is a time when the soul k apt to slumber, and to be surprised with a careless security ; then it is good to awaken it by a serious trial. To a loose, carnal spirit, an absolute promise is as poison ; to a dejected spirit, as cheering wine. When the soul lieth under fear and sense of guilt, it is unable to judge, therefore exam- ination doth but increase the trouble. But again, when the heart is drow.sy and careless, trial is most in season ; and it is best to reflect upon the conditional promises, that we may look after the qualifica- tions expressed in them ere we take comfort. When David was under hatches, he laboured to maintain faith, and outbrave discourage- ments : Ps. iii. 2, the enemies said, ' Now there is no help for him in liis God.' He hath fallen scandalously, and that psalm was penned upon occasion of Absalom's rebellion, which was ordered by way of correction of David's sin ; and this made them vaunt, Now God is his enemy. Now David doth not mention the sin, but awakeneth his trust ; in the very face of the temptation he maintaineth his confi- dence : ' But thou art my shield, my glory, and the lifter up of my head,' &c., ver. 3. And elsewhere he professetlithat this was his general practice: Ps. Ivi. 3, ' At what time I am afraid, I will put my trust in thee.' In times of discouragement, and when terror was likely to grow upon his spirit, he would look after arguments and supports of trust and depend- ence. So, on the contrary, when the heart groweth rusty and secure, it is good to use Nazianzen's policy, when his heart began to be corrupted witli ease and pleasure.^ Tol<; 0prjvoi<; crvyyiyvo/j.ai, saith he, I use to read the Lamentations of Jeremiah, or to inure his mind to mattersadand lament- able. In all spiritual cases it is good to deal prudently, lest we put ourselves into the hands of our enemies, and further the devices of Satan. 4. Your great care must be to be Inimbly thankful ; thankful, be- cause all is from God. It is a vain spirit that is proud of what is borrowed, or glorieth because he is more in debt than others : 1 Cor. iv. 7, 'Who made thee differ ? and what hast thou which thou hafrt not received?' Whatever we find upon a search, it must not be ascribed to free-will, but to free grace : ' He giveth will and deed ac- cording to his pleasure,' Phil. ii. 13. Free-will establisheth merit ; free grace checketh it. The sun is not beholden, because we borrow light from it, or the fountain because we draw water. We may all say, as David, ' Of thine own have we given thee ;' Lord, this is tliy bounty. Then humble we must be, because as every good work Cometh from God's Spirit, so it passeth through thy lieart, and there it is defiled ; xjorfm seqidtui^ vcntrem. Our good works have more of the mother in them than the father; and so ' our righteousnesses' become 'dung,' Phil. iii. 8, and 'filthy rags,' Isa, Ixiv. 6. Thus, lest pride taint the spirit by the sight of our graces, it is good to make distinct and actual reflections on God's bounty and our own vileness.