Jonah cries, ii. 4, * I am cast out of thy sight :' there is smoke ; ' yet will I look again to thy holy temple :' there is light.
' 0 miserable man that I am,' Rom. vii. 24, saith St Paul upon sense of his corruption ; but yet breaks out into thanks to God thi'ough Jesus Christ our Lord.
' I sleep,' saith the Church in the Canticles, 'but my heart wakes,' Cant. v. 2. In the seven Chm-ches, which for their hght are called ' seven golden candlesticks,' Rev. ii. iii., most of them had much smoke with their light.
The gi'ound of this mixture is, that w^e cany about us a double principle, grace and nature. The end of it is especially to preserve us from those two dangerous rocks which our natm'es ai'e prone to dash upon, security and pride ; and to force us to pitch our rest on justification, not sanctification, which, besides imperfection, hath some soil.
Our spiritual fire is Uke our ordinary fire here below, that is, mixed ; but fire is most pure in its own element above ; so shall all our graces be when we are where we would be, in heaven, which is oiu' proper element.
Use. From this mixture it is, that the people of God have so diflferent judgments of themselves, looking sometimes at the work of grace, sometimes at the remainder of corruption, and when they look upon that, then they think they have no grace ; though they love Christ in his ordinances and children, yet dare not challenge so near acquaintance as to be his. Even as a candle in the socket sometimes sheweth its light, and sometimes the show of light is lost ; so sometimes well persuaded they ai'c of themselves, somctunes at a loss.
* ' As tlio least drara of graco is' in A and B. t ' Perform,' in A and B.
AND SMOKING FLAX, 51
[Chapter VII. — Christ iv'dl not quench small and iveak beginniiu/s.]
Doct. Now for the second observation, Christ vill not quench the smokiufj flax. First, because this spark is from heaven, it is his own, it- is kindled by his own spirit. And secondly, it tendeth to the glory of his powerful grace in his children, that he preserveth light in the midst of darkness, — a spark in the midst of the sweUing waters of corniption.
There is an especial blessing in that little spark ; ' when wine is found in a cluster, one saith. Destroy it not ; for there is a blessing in it,' Isa. Ixv. 8. We see how oiu' Saviour Chiist bore with Thomas in his doubting, John XX. 27 ; with the two disciples that went to Emmaus, who staggered ' whether he came to redeem Israel or no,' Luke xxiv. 21 : he quenched not that Uttle hght in Peter, which was smothered : Peter denied him, but he denied not Peter, Mat. xxvi. * If thou wilt, thou canst,' said one poor man in the gospel, Mat. viii. 2 ; ' Lord, if thou canst' said another, Mark ix. 22 ; both were this smoking flax, neither of both were quenched. If Chiist had stood upon his own gi-eatness, he would have rejected him that came with his //", but Christ answers his if with a gracious and absolute gi'ant, ' I will, be thou clean.' The woman that was diseased with an issue did but touch, and with a trembling hand, and but the hem of his gannent, and yet went away both healed and comforted. In the seven chm-ches. Rev. ii. and iii., we see he acknowledgeth and cherisheth anything that was good in them. Because the disciples slept of infirmity, being oppressed with gi'ief, our Savioiu- Chiist frameth a com- fortable excuse for them, ' The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak,' Mat. xxvi. 41.
If Christ should not be merciful, he would miss of his own ends ; ' there is mercy with thee that thou mayest be feared,' Ps. cxxx. 4. Now aU are willing to come under that banner of love which he spreadeth over his : ' therefore to thee shall all flesh come,' Ps. Ixv. 2. He useth moderation and care, ' lest the spirit should fail before him, and the souls which he hath made,' Isa. Ivii. 16. Christ's heart yearned, the text saith, ' when he saw them without meat, lest they should faint,' Mat. xv. 32 ; much more will he have regard for the preventing of our spiritual faintings.
Here see the opposite disposition between the holy natm-e of Chiist, and the impm-e natm-e of man. Man for a little smoke will quench the light ; Chiist ever we see cherisheth even the least beginnings. How bare he with the many imperfections of his poor disciples. If he did sharply check them, it was in love, and that they might shiue the brighter. Can we have a better pattern to follow than this of him by whom we hope to be saved ? ' We that are strong ought to bear with the infii-mities of them that are weak,' Rom. XV. 1. 'I become all things to all men, that I may -nin some,' 1 Cor. ix. 22. 0 that this gaining and winning disposition were more in many ! Many, so far as in us lieth, are lost for want of encom-agement. See how that faithful fisher of men, St Paul, labom-s to catch his judge, ' I know thou behevest the prophets,' Acts xx\i. 27 ; and then wisheth all saving good, but not bonds ; he might have added them too, but he would not discourage one that made but an offer, he would therefore wish Agiippa only that which was good in religion. How careful was our blessed Saviour of little ones that they might not be offended, Mat. xii. xiii. How doth he defend his disciples from malicious imputations of the Pharisees ! How careful not to put new wine into old vessels, Mat. is. 17, not to aUenate new beginners