Use 4. See the sinfulness of all those staggering doubts and perplexities wherewith many poor souls have almost all their thoughts taken up. Such as is the root, such is the fruit. If the * tree be evil, so will the fruit be also. Men do not gather grapes from brambles.' What is the root that bears this fruit of staggering? Is it not the evil root of unbelief? And can any good come from thence? Are not all the streams of the same nature with the fountain ? If that
AND SINFULNESS OF STAGGERING. 29l
be bitter, can they be sweet ? If the body be full of poison,' will not the branches have their venom also? Surely if the mother (unbelief) be the mouth of hell, the daughters (stag- gerings) are not the gates of heaven.
Of the sin of unbelief I shall not now speak at large. It is in sum, the universal opposition of the soul unto God. All other sins arise ag-ainst somethino; or other of his revealed will, only unbelief sets up itself in a direct contradiction to all of him that is known. Hence the weight of condemna- tion in the gospel is constantly laid on this sin. * He that believeth not, on him the wrath of God abideth : he shall be damned.' Now as every drop of sea water retains the brack- ishness and saltness of the whole ; so every staggering doubt, that is an issue of this unbelief, hath in it the unsavouriness and distastefulness unto God, that is in the whole.
Farther, to give you a little light into what acceptance our staggering thoughts find with the Lord, according to which must be our esteem of all that is in us ; observe that,
(1.) They grieve him.
(2.) They provoke him.
(3.) They dishonour him.
(1.) Such a frame grieves the Lord. Nothing more presses true love, than to have an appearance of suspicion. Christ comes to Peter, and asks him, 'Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?' John xxi. 15. Peter seems glad of an op- portunity to confess him, and his love to him, whom not long since he had denied, and answers readily, * Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee.' But when Christ comes with the same question again and again, the Holy Ghost tells us, * Peter was grieved, because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me ?' It exceedingly troubled Peter that his love should come under so many questionings, which he knew to be sincere. The love of Christ to his is infinitely beyond the love of his to him. All our doubtings are no- thing but so many questionings of his love. We cry, 'Lord Jesus, lovest thou us ?' and again, ' Lord Jesus, lovest thou us ?' and that with distrustful hearts and thoughts, that it is not, it cannot be. Speaking of the unbelieving Jews, the Holy Ghost tells us, ' Jesus was grieved for the hardness of their hearts ;' Mark iii. 5. And as it is bitter to him in the root, so also in the fruit. Our staggerings and debates,
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292 THE STEADFASTNESS OF PROMISES,
when we have a w ord of promise, is a grief to his Holy Spi- rit, as the unkindest return we can make unto his love.
(2.) It provokes hira. How can this be, says Zechariah, that I should have a son? This shall be, saith the Lord, and thou thyself for thy questioning shalt be a sign of it, *Thou shalt be dumb, and not speak ;' Lukei. His doubting was a provocation. And our Saviour expresses no less, in that bitter reproof to his disciples upon their wavering, Matt. xvii. 17. *0 faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you ? How long shall 1 suffer you?' That is, in this unbelieving frame. Poor souls are apt to admire the patience of God in other matters, that he spared them in such and such sins, at such and such times of danger; but his exceeding patience towards them in their carnal reason- ings, and fleshly objections against believing, this they ad- mire not. Nay, generally they think it should be so, God would not have them one step farther; nay, they could be more steadfast in believing, as they suppose, might it stand with the good will of God ; when all this while this frame of all others is the greatest provocation to the Lord, he never exercises more forbearance than about this kind of unbelief. When the spies had gone into Canaan, had seen the land, and brought of the good fruit of it, then to repine, then to question whether God would bring them into it or no, this caused the Lord ' to swear in his wrath, that they should not enter into his rest.' When God hath brought men to the borders of heaven, discovered to them the riches and excellency of his grace, admitted them to enter as spies into the kingdom of glory, then to fall a staggering, whether he intends them an entrance or no, is that which lies heavy on him. The like may be said of all promised mercies and de- liverances whatsoever. That this is a provocation, the Lord hath abundantly testified, inasmuch as for it he hath often- times snatched sweet morsels from the mouths of men, and turned aside the stream of mercies, when it was ready to flow in upon them. ' If,' saith he, 'you will not believe, you shall not be established;' Isa. vii. 9. The very mercy but now promised concerning your deliverance shall be withheld. Oh, stop not success from Ireland by unbelief.