(3.) It dishonours God. In the close of this verse it is said, Abraham * was strong in faith' (or staggered not)
AND SINFULNESS OF STAGGERING. 293
'giving glory to God.' To be established in believing, is to give God the greatest glory possible. Every staggering thought that ariseth from this root of unbelief, robs God of his glory.
[1.] It robs him of the glory of his truth. * He that believeth not, hath made him a liar, because he believeth not his record ;' 1 John v. 10. Let men pretend what they please (as most an end we give in specious pretences for our unbelief), the bottom of all is, the questioning of the truth of God in our false hearts.
[2.] It robs him of the glory of his fidelity or faithfulness in the discharge of his promises. 'If we confess our sins, he is faithful to forgive us our sins ;' 1 John i. 9. He hath engaged his faithfulness in this business of the forgiveness of iniquities, he whose right it is ; calling that in question, calls the faithfulness of God in question.
[3.] It robs him of the glory of his grace. In a word, if a man should choose to set himself in a universal opposition unto God, he can think of no more compendious way than this. This then is the fruit, this the advantage of all our staggering ; we rob God of glory, and our own souls of mercy.
Use 5. Be ashamed of, and humbled for, all your stag- gerings at the promises of God, with all your fleshly rea- sonings, and carnal contrivances issuing therefrom. For the most part we live upon successes, not promises: unless we see and feel the print of victories, we will not believe ; the engagement of God is almost quite forgotten in our affairs. We travel on without Christ, like his mother, and suppose him only to be in the crowd ; but we must return to seek him where we left him, or our journey ing on will be to no pur- pose. When Job, after all his complaining, had seen the end of the Lord, he cries out, * Now I abhor myself in dust and ashes.' You have seen the end of the Lord in many of his promises ; oh, that it might prevail to make you abhor yourselves in dust and ashes, for all your carnal fears, and corrupt reasonings upon your staggerings ! When David en- joyed his promised mercy, he especially shames himself for every thought of unbelief that he had whilst he waited for it: ' I said,' saith he, 'in my haste, that all men were liars:' and now he is humbled for it. Is this to be thankful, to forget our provoking thoughts of unbelief, when the mercy
204 THE STEADFASTNESS OF PROMISES, &C.
is enjoyed ? The Lord set it home upon your spirits, and give it to receive its due manifestation.
(1.) If there be any counsels, designs, contrivances on foot amongst us, that are bottomed on our staggering at the promise under which we are, oh, let them be instantly cast down to the ground. Let not any be so foolish, as to sup- pose that unbelief will be a foundation for quiet habitations. You are careful to avoid all ways that might dishonour you, as the rulers of so great a nation; oh, be much more careful about such things as will dishonour you as believers ; that is your greatest title ; that is your chiefest privilege. Search your own thoughts, and if any contrivance, any com- pliance be found springing up, whose seed was sown by stag- gering at the promise, root them up, and cast them out be- fore it be too late.
(2.) Engage your hearts against all such ways for the future. Say unto God, How faithful art thou in all thy ways ! how able to perform all thy promises ! how hast thou established thy word in heaven and earth ! Who would not put their trust in thee ? We desire to be ashamed, that ever we should admit in our hearts the least staggering at the stability of thy word.
(3.) Act as men bottomed upon unshaken things, that are not at all moved by the greatest appearing oppositions. ' He that believeth, will not make haste :' be not hasty in your resolves in any distress ; wait for the accomplishment of the vision, for it will come. So long as you are in the way of God, and do the work of God, let not so much as your desires be too hasty after appearing strengthenings and assis- tance. Whence is it, that there is amongst us such bleating after the compliance of this or that party of the sons of men, perhaps priding themselves in our actings upon unbelief; as though we proclaimed, that without such and such we cannot be protected in the things of God ? Let us, I beseech you, live above those things, that are unworthy of the great name that is called upon us.
Oh, that by these, and the like ways, we might manifest our self-condemnation, and abhorrency, for all that distrust and staggering at the word of God, which arising from un- belief, hath had such deplorable issues upon all our counsels and undertakinscs !