THE MOURNING CHRISTIAN’S HEAVENLY CORDIAL

(Continued from June issue)

2. But especially the reelings and staggerings of the mind are occasioned by the inordinate and irregular workings of its own thoughts. Were it but possible to keep the mind in a serene, sedate and ordinate frame, our burdens would be comparatively light to what we now feel them to be; but the falling of the thoughts into confusions ishment, from their effects upon the mind; for under a great and sudden stroke of God, it is like a watch wound up above its due height, so that for a time it stands still; neither grace nor reason move at all; and when it begins to move again, O how confused and irregular are its motions! It is full of murmurs, disputes and quarrels; these aggravate both our sin and misery. It is our own thoughts which take the arrow God shot at us (which did but stick before in our clothes, and was never intended to hurt us, but only to warn us), and thrust it into our very hearts.

and great distractions spoils all. Upon this account it is, that afflictions are compared to a stupifying doze, which casts the soul into amazement. “Thou hast showed thy people hard things; thou hast made us drink the wine of astonishment.”—Psalm 1x. 3. Afflictions are called the wine of astonishment from their effects upon the mind; for under a great and sudden stroke of God, it is like a watch wound up above its due height, so that for a time it stands still; neither grace nor reason move at all; and when it begins to move again, O how confused and irregular are its motions! It is full of murmurs, disputes and quarrels; these aggravate both our sin and misery. It is our own thoughts which take the arrow God shot at us (which did but stick before in our clothes, and was never intended to hurt us, but only to warn us), and thrust it into our very hearts.

For thoughts, as well as poinards, can pierce and wound the hearts of men. “A sword shall pierce through thine own soul;” Luke ii. 35. i. e. thy thoughts shall pierce thee. They can shake the whole fabric of the body, and loose the best compacted and strongly-jointed parts of the body. “His thoughts troubled him, and the joints of his loins were losed.”—Dan. 5:6. And thus a man’s own mind becomes a rack of torment to him; a misery which no creatures, except men and devils, are subjected to. O how many bodies have been destroyed by the passions of the soul! they cut through it, as a keen knife through a narrow sheath. “Worldly sorrow works death.” — 2 Cor. 7:10.

Proposition II.—The merciful God, in condescension to the weakness of his people, hath provided the best supports and reliefs for their feeble and afflicted spirits.

“In the multitude of my thoughts within me, thy comforts delight my soul.” — Psalm xciv:19. Carnal men seek their relief, under trouble, from carnal things; when one creature forsakes them, they retreat to another which is yet left them, till they are beaten out of all, and then their hearts fail, having no acquaintance with God, or special interest in him; for the creatures will quickly spend all that allowance of comfort they have to spend upon us. Some try what relief the rules of philosophy can yield them, supposing a neat sentence of Seneca may be as good a remedy as a text of David or Paul; but alas; it will not do: submission from fatal necessity, will never ease the afflicted mind, as Christian resignation will do. It is not the eradicating but regulating of the affections, that composes a burdened and distracted soul. One word of God will signify more to our peace, than all the famed and admired precepts of men.

To neglect God, and seek relief from the creature, is to forsake the fountain of living waters, and go to the broken cisterns, which can hold no water. The best creature is but a cistern, not a fountain; and our dependence on it makes it a broken cistern, strikes a hole through the bottom of it, so that it can hold no water. “I, even I (saith God) am he that comforteth thee.”—Isa. lvii:12. The same hand that wounds you, must heal you, or you can never be healed. Our compassionate Saviour, to assuage our sorrows, hath promised “he will not leave us comfortless.”—John 14:18. Our God will not contend for ever, lest the spirit fail before him, Isa. lvii:16. He knew how ineffectual all other comforts and comforters would be, even physicians of no value, and therefore hath graciously prepared comforts for his distressed ones, that will reach their end.

Proposition III.—God hath gathered all the materials and principles of our relief into the covenant of grace, and expects that we betake ourselves unto it in times of distress, as to our sure, sufficient, and only remedy. As all the rivers run into the sea, and there is the congregation of all the waters; so all the promises and comforts of the gospel, are gathered into the covenant of grace, and there is the congregation of all the sweet streams of refreshment that are dispersed throughout the scriptures. The covenant is the storehouse of promises, the shop of cordials and rare elixirs, to revive us in all our faintings; though alas! most men know no more what are their virtues, or where to find them, than an illiterate rustic, put into an apothecary’s shop.

What was the cordial God prepared to revive the hearts of his poor captives groaning under hard and grievous bondage both in Egypt and in Babylon? Was it not his covenant with Abraham ? And why did he give it the solemn confirmation by an oath, but that it might yield to him, and all his believing seed, “strong consolation,” Heb. 6:17, 18; the very spirit of joy amidst all their sorrows.

And what was the relief God gave to the believing eunuchs that kept his sabbaths, took hold of his covenant, and chose the things in which he delighted. “To them (saith he) will I give in my house, and within my walls, a place, and a name better than that of sons or of daughters.”—Isa. lvi:4. Though they were deprived of those comforts other men have in their posterity, yet he would not have them look upon themselves as dry trees; a covenant-interest would answer all, and recompense abundantly the want of children, or any other earthly comfort.

Certainly therefore, David was at the right door of relief and comfort, when he repairs to the covenant, as here in the text, “Yet hath he made with me an everlasting covenant.” There, or nowhere, the relief of God’s afflicted is to be found.

Now, to make anything become a complete and perfect relief to an afflicted spirit, these three properties must concur and meet in it, else it can never effectually relieve any man.

1. It must be able to remove all the causes and grounds of troubles.

2. It must be able to do so at all times.

3. It must be capable of a good personal security to us.

For if it only divert our troubles (as creature-comforts use to do), and do not remove the ground and cause of our trouble, it is but an anodyne, not a cure or remedy. And if it can remove the very ground and cause of our trouble for a time, but not for ever, then it is but temporary relief; our troubles may return again, and we left in as bad case as we were before. And if it be in itself able to remove all the causes and grounds of our trouble, and that at all times, but not capable of a personal security to us, or our well-established interest in it, all signifies nothing to our relief.

But open your eyes and behold, O ye afflicted saints, all these properties of a complete relief meeting together in the covenant, as it is displayed in the text. Here is a covenant able to remove all the grounds and causes of your trouble, for it is ordered in all things, or aptly disposed by the wisdom and contrivance of God, to answer every cause and ground of trouble and sorrow in our hearts. It is able to do this at all times, as well in our day as in David’s or Abraham’s day; for it is an everlasting covenant; its virtue and efficacy is not decayed by time. And lastly, it is capable of a good personal security, or assurance, to all God’s afflicted people, for it is a sure covenant. The concurrence of these three properties in the covenant makes it a complete relief, a perfect remedy, to which nothing is wanting in the kind and nature of a remedy. These three glorious properties of the covenant are my proper province to open and confirm, for your support and comfort in this day of trouble.

(To be Continued)

Deze tekst is geautomatiseerd gemaakt en kan nog fouten bevatten. Digibron werkt voortdurend aan correctie. Klik voor het origineel door naar de pdf. Voor opmerkingen, vragen, informatie: contact.

Op Digibron -en alle daarin opgenomen content- is het databankrecht van toepassing. Gebruiksvoorwaarden. Data protection law applies to Digibron and the content of this database. Terms of use.

Printen