Chapter LIV.
Comforts Under Secret And Spiritual Temptations Of The Devil
Behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not; and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.– Luke 22:31, 32.
How great and implacable the enmity of the devil is to all mankind, we are abundantly informed, not only by Scripture (as 1 Pet. 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” Eph. 6:12, and Rev. 12:12, “Woe to the earth, and to the sea, for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time;” and from the history of Job), but also more particularly by daily experience, and the many grievous and dangerous temptations with which he assaults the souls of good men in their spiritual warfare. At one time he assaults our faith, at another time our Christian calling, and then interrupts and disturbs us in the exercise of our devotions; all which is clearly expressed in the history of our Lord's temptation. Matt. 4:3, etc. Hence we may learn that no man is safe from his temptations. For if he spared not Christ our Head, how can sinful men expect to escape him? For which reason our Lord himself advises us, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation.” Matt. 26:41.
2. Among the various temptations with which the devil afflicts the soul, this is one, namely, the tormenting a man with blasphemous, profane, impure, and troublesome thoughts, so as to sink him deep into melancholy and wretchedness. And these abominable suggestions are so crafty, sudden, and violent, that they will not give a man a moment's rest. Upon this account St. Paul calls them, “the fiery darts of the wicked one.” Eph. 6:16. As a public enemy is perpetually casting fire into a besieged town; so the devil is continually vexing such souls with his hellish suggestions. And as the wounds of an envenomed arrow are most exquisitely painful; so the wounds caused by the fiery darts of Satan, are far more sharp and intolerable than the severest bodily sufferings. Wherefore we shall here present some select heads of comfort against these secret and internal temptations, all drawn from the Word of God. First, as to the words prefixed to this chapter, it is plain that they were uttered by our blessed Saviour, with the utmost tenderness, and most ardent compassion. Whence we may gather, that the being afflicted with these temptations, is no mark of God's displeasure, much less that he designs to destroy us thereby, and deliver us up into the hands of the enemy. On the contrary, such a temptation is nothing but a chastising rod, whereby God intends to humble a man, and to draw him to Himself. This appears from the example of St. Peter, whose confidence and self-conceit opened a door to the most grievous temptation, and to the sin which followed. And St. Paul tells us of himself, “Lest I should be exalted (saith he) above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee.” 2 Cor. 12:7-9. From which words we may learn three things: 1. That St. Paul, and all others that are exercised with these trials, are humbled thereby. 2. That all those sufferings come upon us by the counsel of God. 3. That the utmost fury of the devil against a man who is so tempted, cannot exclude him from God's favor, which is expressed in these words, “My grace is sufficient for thee.”
3. The second ground of comfort is contained in these words: “Satan hath desired you.” From these words we may learn, that though the devil is always desirous and ready to cast his fiery darts at us, yet has he no power without the particular leave and permission of God; who never gives him more than a limited permission, beyond which he cannot go. To this belongs that place of St. Paul, “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able.” 1 Cor. 10:13. To which we may add the example of Job, against whom the devil dared not attempt anything, till he had first obtained leave of God; and even that clogged with a limitation. See chap. 1:12.
4. The third consolation arises from these words of our Lord: “I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.” In what manner, and with what affection the blessed Jesus prayed for us to his Heavenly Father, we are told in John (chapter 17), namely, that He would be pleased to keep his faithful servants from the evil of the world; that he would dwell in them, and they in him; and that of those whom he had received of his Father, he might lose none. This prayer, were it but heartily applied to the distressed soul, would support it with a divine courage so as to abide in Christ by faith, not doubting but that Christ in her, by the same faith, would conquer and triumph over all her enemies.
5. The fourth comfort may be drawn from John 17:21, where our blessed Lord prays for us, and begs of his heavenly Father, that we may abide in Christ, and Christ in us. And St. John tells us, that “greater is he that is in us, than he that is in the world.” 1 John 4:4. Christ dwells in every believing soul by faith; and all the assaults of the devil cannot dispossess this illustrious guest. And as Christ himself, in whom God himself, that is, all “the fulness of the Godhead dwelt bodily” and personally (Col. 2:9), was tempted by Satan, thou must not, therefore, think that Christ is not in thee, because thou thyself art likewise tempted. And if Christ be in thee of a truth, thou needest not fear what the devil can do unto thee: for Christ will certainly defend the place of his own residence, against all opposers. Moreover, thou hast within thee the Holy Spirit, who “helpeth thine infirmities, and maketh intercession for thee with groanings that cannot be uttered.” Rom. 8:26. Whensoever thou findest these within thee, thou mayest assure thyself, that the Holy Spirit dwelleth in thee, and he will not forsake thee, as our blessed Lord assures us: “The Father shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever.” John 14:16. Lastly, God has promised, that he will dwell in the humble and contrite heart: “I dwell with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit.” Isa. 57:15; 66:2. And such, undoubtedly, are all those who are tormented with these temptations of Satan.
6. The fifth ground of comfort, is contained in our Saviour's promise: “I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.” O divine comfort! as if our Lord had said: “Your infirmities shall never be so great, but that there shall be some sparks of faith left. Yea, though you feel in yourselves no comfort, and, on that account, are apt to think your faith quite extinct, yet will I never suffer the smoking flax to be entirely quenched.” Isa. 42:3. But, now, if you ask, How shall I know this? I answer, 1. By the earnest longing of your soul after faith. For, to desire and pray for faith above all other things, arises from a living spark of remaining faith. 2. By your resistance of temptation, which is a certain token of the presence of faith; and this resistance and opposition appear plainly in this, that all these wicked and blasphemous thoughts arise in your soul sorely against your will, and that you bear them with more pain, than you would any external violence offered to your body. Now whatsoever a man suffers of this kind against his will, is resisted by faith, and shall never be imputed to him as sin; for nothing but a voluntary violation of the divine law, makes a man sinful in the sight of God. If Adam had not yielded to the suggestions of Satan, he had not had sin; but as soon as he submitted his will to that of the tempter, he fell into the transgression. Whence it follows, that it cannot be sin, which is not attended with the consent of the will. A besieged city cannot hinder the enemy from throwing fire into it, but the inhabitants must endeavor to prevent it from spreading, and burning the town to ashes. So we cannot avoid the fiery darts of the devil, with which he delights to afflict the heart; but as we do not consent to them, but rather resist, they must at last be quenched, and can do us no harm. By such tokens as these we may discover, that our faith, however weak, is not extinct.
7. Being once assured of this, we may likewise certainly depend upon victory; and this opens to us a sixth fountain of comfort. To this, therefore, refers that comfortable saying of our Saviour: “The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.” John 14:30. “Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33. Whatsoever Christ did, he did for our sakes; that he himself, with all his benefits and merits, might be entirely ours. Since, therefore, he has conquered Satan, it follows that he has conquered him not only for himself, but for us also: his conquest is ours. All this was prefigured in the contest between David and Goliath. 1 Sam. 17:8, 9, 50-53. The conditions were, that if Goliath overcame David, the people of Israel should be the servants of the Philistines; but if David overcame Goliath, the Philistines should serve Israel. Now, even as David's victory was counted as the victory of all Israel, so the victory of Christ avails as the victory of all believers. Hence St. Paul says: “Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” Eph. 6:10. And, “Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Cor. 15:57.
8. Seventhly, we ought to be comforted by the examples of the saints, who have also been cruelly tempted. Of these our blessed Saviour speaks, saying, “When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” By these words, our Saviour plainly sends us to be instructed by the examples of our brethren, who have been tempted and persecuted by the devil in like manner with us. Hence St. Peter says: “Knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.” 1 Peter 5:9.
9. Lastly, we ought to be comforted by the example of Jesus Christ himself. Matt. 4:1, etc. Over him, though he was the beloved Son of God, the devil had so much power, as to hurry him from place to place, and use him with so much insolence, that it is wonderful the Son of God should suffer it from that rebellious, apostate spirit. But this was the condition of the humble Jesus, who emptied himself of all his glory and majesty, that he might be tempted as man, and be made like unto his brethren.
Chapter LV.
The Reasons For Which God Sometimes Delays His Comfort And Assistance
For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie; though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Behold, his soul which is lifted up, is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.– Hab. 2:3, 4.
In these words the Holy Spirit comforts us, under the delays of Divine assistance: for so we are apt to call (1) those very methods by which God hastens to help and save us. He has, in his unsearchable wisdom, appointed to every man his cross in weight and measure. He delivers it out to him in meet proportions, sending one affliction after another, till the measure of his sufferings be accomplished; that so, by a gradual conquest, he may at last obtain a complete victory. This dealing of God with us, we are apt to call his delaying to help us; not considering that this is the quickest method of accomplishing the measure of our sufferings, and completing our victory. That which to us seems to be delay, is in the sight of God, making haste to help us.
2. Now he that is refractory and impatient under the cross, has no peace in his soul. For as patience renders the soul easy and quiet, so impatience makes it restless and uneasy. Thus our Lord tells us, “Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Matt. 11:29. And, whereas, the prophet adds, that “the just shall live by his faith;” this relates to the promises of divine grace and assistance, which we lay hold on by faith. And from this consolation the soul derives life and joy; as Hezekiah says: “O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit.” Isa. 38:16. On the other hand, unbelief produces impatience; impatience, disquiet; disquiet, despair; and despair, everlasting death. So that we may most truly say, that “the just lives by faith;” that is, by the grace of God, which he patiently expects and waits for.
3. (2) Solomon tells us: “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.” Eccles. 3:1. Whence we may learn, that crosses and afflictions come not by chance; but that every season of affliction is appointed to us by God. Wherefore, in our troubles let us lift up our eyes unto Him, in whose hand are our happiness and misery, our riches and poverty, our life and death; yea, and every moment of our afflictions. This is illustrated in the case of Joseph, whom, for thirteen years together, God visited with remarkable afflictions (Gen. 37:36; 41:1): “until the time that his word came: the word of the Lord tried him,” as the Psalmist tells us. Ps. 105:19. By his example we may learn how useful and necessary it is for us that God should sometimes delay his help. For when he was sold, he was seventeen years old; and when, by the hand of God he was brought out of prison, he was thirty; and the bearing of his cross all that season, was the very thing that qualified him for the glorious advancement that followed. In that honorable post he continued eighty years; whence we may observe, that his thirteen years of suffering, were recompensed with many years of glory and honor: for he lived a hundred and ten years. Therefore let the devout Christian that suffers imprisonment or any kind of persecution for the testimony of a good conscience, or shame, or sickness, call to mind the wonderful providence of God to Joseph, and satisfy himself that the all-wise God, who has appointed his season of affliction, has likewise determined the set time of his deliverance. For as a skilful builder knows well by what time his laborers will have finished their task, so has God measured out the weight and duration of every man's cross, and appointed the season of his deliverance. As soon as that comes, the light of divine grace will immediately break forth, and will comfort the afflicted soul.
4. (3) As God has determined the number of our crosses; so He has been pleased to conceal from us the time of our deliverance, satisfying us with that declaration of our blessed Lord, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.” Acts 1:7. Agreeably to this are the words of God, who when he had threatened the children of Israel with the Babylonish captivity, adds, “Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures?” Deut. 32:34. Thence we may learn, with what great and unsearchable wisdom God governs and corrects the children of men. To this also may be referred that saying of St. Paul: “God hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation.” Acts 17:26. In these words we are instructed, that not only the period of every man's life, but even the place and manner of it, are appointed by God. And this general determination of time and place, includes in it the crosses and afflictions appointed to every person.
5. (4) And as God has appointed the period, time, and place, of the sufferings of his servants; so has He also of the persecutions and oppressions of the wicked. When these have for a season been breathing out oppressions and slaughter, then that God to whom vengeance belongeth, awaketh and riseth to judgment; according to Deut. 32:35: “To me belongeth vengeance and recompense; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them, make haste.” This is abundantly confirmed by the examples of heretics and tyrants that have most grievously persecuted the church of God; and when the devil has raged long enough, and his time is expired, then has the divine vengeance so confounded him and all his accomplices, that the whole world has been amazed and astonished at the righteous judgments of God. “Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts; for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold the Judge standeth before the door.” Jas. 5:8, 9.
Chapter LVI.
Showing That In Seasons Of Trial The Consideration Of The Exalted Patience Of Christ, And Of The Future And Eternal Glory, Will Alleviate The Burden Of The Cross
Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?– Luke 24:26.
The eternal Son of God, by his most holy incarnation, took upon him all the miseries and calamities of mankind: and this not of compulsion and necessity, but of pure love, that by his example he might teach us patience, and enable us to bear the cross, and overcome the calamities of this mortal life. As he was to become man, so he willingly subjected himself to all those miseries to which man is exposed; and as he came down from heaven for the sake of all, so he took upon him the infirmities of all; so that from the moment of his birth, to the hour of his death, he was, as the prophet truly expresses it, “despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” Isa. 53:3. There was no calamity incident to human nature, which he did not suffer, and, particularly, extreme poverty. He says of himself, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” Matt. 8:20. In the discharge of his office, he underwent the most bitter persecutions, being exposed to hatred, calumnies, and reproaches. In his last days he submitted to the most ignominious sufferings, so that, as the prophet expresses it, “We did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.” Isa. 53:4. His transcendent love met with the highest ingratitude, his illustrious miracles were rewarded with revilings, and his heavenly doctrines with calumnies and lies. And since our blessed Lord suffered all this, why shall we expect to be exempted from sufferings and injuries?
2. Thus the blessed Jesus, by his example, has shown us the true and only path to heaven. 1 Pet. 2:21. Let us therefore tread in his steps, and learn to imitate him in all the different scenes of his most holy and afflicted life. He went before, that we might in holy patience follow him. Whence we may learn, how far they are from the true and right way, who never regard this blessed pattern, but refuse to follow it. If men will still walk on in darkness and shut their eyes against this light, how great must their darkness be! The blessed Jesus himself calls to them, saying, “I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:12.
3. All the sufferings of true Christians in this life, are not worthy to be compared with the eternal glories reserved for them in the world to come; for their temporal afflictions are but for a moment, but their glorious reward shall endure forever. 2 Cor. 4:17, 18. An everlasting possession is well worth contending for. Couldest thou but for a moment behold what eternal glories they enjoy, who in this life were exposed to all torments and sufferings, thou wouldest cheerfully submit to them all, and take up thy cross with joy; thinking all things but as dross, that thou mightest win Christ and be a partaker of his glory.
4. Lift up, therefore, the eyes of thy mind to heaven, and view, with St. John, that vast company clothed in white garments, and following the Lamb, concerning whom this account is given to the inquiring Evangelist: “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple.” Rev. 7:14, 15. Such are the proper meditations for devout souls. Thus we read of Moses, “By faith, Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he had respect to the recompense of the reward.” Heb. 11:24-26.
5. Hence we learn that the saints in all ages have esteemed the reproach of the cross of Christ as their greatest treasure. And we may depend upon it, that no man can be admitted to the joys of the next world, who has not fought manfully under the banner of the cross in this world. How can we imagine that those blessed spirits will own us to be of their company in heaven, if we did not bring with us the sign of the cross? They would not know us, and we would be strangers among them. “He that overcometh,” saith the Lord, “the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life.” Rev. 3:5. And what does St. Paul say? “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” 2 Tim. 4:7, 8.