A cordiall for a fainting soule, or, Some essayes for the satisfaction of wounded spirits labouring under severall burthens in which severall cases of conscience most ordinary to Christians, especially in the beginning of their conversion, are resolved : being the summe of fourteen sermons, delivered in so many lectures in a private chappell belonging to Chappell-Field-House in Norwich : with a table annexed, conteining the severall cases of conscience which in the following treatise are spoken to directly or collaterally / preached and now published ... by John Collings.

CHAP. X.

Concerning those weaknesses which may consist with true faith in a gracious soule, and how to satiisfie the soule that conceives it doth not truly rely upon Christ because it doth not finde that it can rely so fully and constantly as it desires, nor upon all the promises alike.

ALas! (sayes a poor soul) I cannot think that I do really rest and r••l my self upon Iesus Christ and the promises for eternall life; when I do rest, as I think, I am ready again to think I doe not, and if I be in a frame of heart one day, that I think that now I can roll my self upon Christ and trust his promises; another day a∣gain I can trust nothing; if sometimes I do cleave to the word of life as sweet and pretious and imbrace it as true, and prize Christ, and value his Word above all sensuall delights whatsoever, and hunger and thirst

after it and after Christ; another while again I cleave to a sensuall good more then to a spirituall promise, or an heavenly Christ; and besides I cannot rely upon God for the fulfilling of every promise; there are some of Gods promises that I think I could rest upon God for fulfilling of; others again I cannot for my life (though I am perswaded that they are equall words of truth with the other) trust God for, nor can I be fully perswaded that the promises do really and peculiarly belong to me. Now to satisfie the soule in this particular, I will shew you what doubtings and weaknesses may be in the soule, and yet the soule at that time may have received, and may rest, and rely, and roll it self upon the Lord Iesus Christ for the promises of salva∣tion, and may at the same time have true saving justifying faith; this is my work to which I am to addresse my selfe.

Know for thy comfort.

First, Thou mayest fully and wholly rely thy soule up∣on Iesus Christ, and yet not beleeve thou dost fully and wholly rest: Reliance and dependance is neces∣sary to Faith, not full perswasion of such a reli∣ance, I meane justifying faith; Reliance is a ne∣cessary act of Faith, full perswasion of such a reliance is a comfortable act of Faith; depen∣ding and relying is the act of this hand (hel∣ped by Gods Spirit;) full perswasion of this reli∣ance is more the shining of Gods face then the act of our soules; Labour more to get evidences of the truth of thy act of faith then of the degrees of it; Christ may be in the room, and yet not seen, he may be in the midst of thy heart, and saying, Peace be to this soule, and yet the doores of thy sense be

shut: Heaven is a thing unseen, and he that mea∣sureth his faith by his eye, may call an Ephah an Omer, especially if thou wilt not think that thou hast faith, unlesse thou canst see a truth of the very act, and refuse to take an evidence for thy sense from the effects of faith: The acts of the minde are secret acts, of which (as I said before) we are very ill Judges; Resting and relying upon Christ is an act of the minde, and is an hidden and mysticall act which we cannot weigh in any scales to try whe∣ther it be full weight yea or no; here's the trouble of many Christians; ask them whether they rest and rely upon Jesus Christ for salvation yea or no, they will tell you, they cannot think they do; yet they will confesse, that if they do not rely upon him, they rely upon nothing; their sinnes and duties, their morality and civility they have utterly dis∣claimed, and will cry out of these as menstruous clothes and filthy rags, yea and confesse that they would not, they durst not sin against God for a world; yet they cannot think they rest truly upon Christ for salvation, though they will confesse they desire it, and hope they do it, and they make the Law of Christ the rule of their lives, and they have a secret soule-enflaming love to Christ; but because they cannot understand the secret mystery of the internal act, therefore they will not, they can∣not flatter their souls into a faith and apprehension that they do truly beleeve, when indeed there is no act of the mind, the nature of which, and truth of which, we can discover from the knowledge of it clearly in it selfe, but must be forced to examine the truth and falshood of it by the effects; and it

must be the infinite and rare work of God to per∣swade our sense of the truth of our faith; may it not be possible, think you, to finde one that is beau∣tifull, very beautifull, and yet all her friends shall not perswade her that she hath any beauty at all? we may have that which we will be not known of: The woman hath seen her face in a false glasse, or doth not know what beauty is, and therefore will not be perswaded by other mens eyes to rectifie her owne judgement: So it is with Beleevers, they may have a beautifull face of faith, and yet not thinke so.

Secondly, A Christian may have a true faith, and truly rely upon Christ, and really think he doth not at all trust and rely upon Iesus Christ. Sense in a Chri∣stian may not onely have a mist cast before its eyes, but have its eyes clearly put out. Suppose a man had put up a Petition to the King for some place of honour and trust, this Petition lyes unanswered a great while, at last the King answers this Petition, and grants that place or dignity to him; the Sub∣ject being at a distance from the Prince may have this place or honour conferred, and yet not know of any such matter, but verily beleeve his Petition lies like a cast paper, hath he not his dignity be∣cause he knows it not? Christians are misjudging creatures, and too ready to suspect their owne hap∣pinesse, they may call their resting and beleeving, presumption; their faith, boldnesse: The Hypo∣crite calls his drosse Gold, his Alchymie Silver, and the self-suspecting Christian is as ready on the other hand, to call his Gold Brasse, and his Silver Lead: It is a rare thing to finde a Christian that

will look his gracious face in a true Glasse, the mo∣dest creature is afraid he should be proud, if hee should look upon his beauty: Heaven may bee hid under the dark and cloudy apprehensions of a terrible, dismall hell: Christ may be saying in Heaven, Thou art saved, Thou art saved, while thou art saying upon earth, O I am damned, I am dam∣ned! The Angels may be keeping holy-day for thee there, while thou art keeping Fridayes here: There may be joy in heaven for the same cause, and at the same time for which and in which there may be sorrow on earth; thou mayest have more friends in Heaven then thou knowest of; Christ at that very time may be pleading hard at Heavens Barre for thee, while thou art thinking he is reading an Enditement against thee; thou mayest at that time have Christ in thy armes, when thou thinkest he is as far from thy soule as Heaven from Hell: F••om hence will follow:

Thirdly, Thou mayest question and doubt whether thou doest truly rest or no, and yet truly rest; Dispu∣ting argues weaknesse of the act, and want of sense, but not a totall want of the act. This is lesse then the o∣ther, but I have mentioned it, because I have found this to be the temper of many Christians: pinch upon that piont, ask them whether they wholly rest and rely upon Christ for salvation; they dare not tell you they think they do not, nor they think they doe; but they cannot tell what to think, they k••ow not whether they do or no; though they dare not conclude the falshood and nullity, yet they dare not assert the reality and verity of any act of Faith in their soules, they live at great incertainties, and

this makes them think they do not beleeve. They are sure disputing is no beleeving.

To this I answer in this conclusion;

That thou mayest make a question whether thou beleevest or no, and yet truly beleeve. It is true, dis∣puting is no beleeving; but though they be not things of the same nature, yet they are not so ill neighbours but they may dwell under the same roof of the soule.

First, Thou mayest doubt whether thou beleevest or no, and yet beleeve; this is not a question about the object of faith in which thou mayest for all this re∣maine unshaken, but meerly about thy act of faith; thus disputing, thou dost not dispute whether the promise be true or no, but whether thou art (as thou shouldest be) perswaded of the truth of it, and dost (as thou oughtst) rest upon it for a word of truth; and yet some disputes and doubtings about the object are not inconsistent with faith, as I have shewed before. It is a soule-destroying opinion which some Libertines have hatched in these dayes, that a Christian ought not to question the truth of his Faith: Such an unbeleefe shuts not men out of Heaven, nor argues a nullity of Faith: Paul was wrapt up into the third Heaven, whether in the bo∣dy he could not tell, or whether out of the body he could not tell, yet without question Paul was wrapt up in the body, if wrapt up at all: The Beleever may be in the like doubt concerning his Faith that S. Paul was concerning his rapture, and yet have reall true Faith; though we ought not to content our selvs with it, yet we may know for our comfort, that we may go disputing our faith to Heaven, and

many a one hath such an hot dispute with his own soule, that his death is forced to prove the Mode∣rator when he receives his end of his Faith, even the salvation of his soule. And thus I have shewed you in three particulars, how the Christian may doubt concerning his resting and relying upon Christ, and yet truly rely.

1. He may question whether he truly relies or not.

2. He may not be able to affirm nor think that hee doth truly relie; yea further, he may through a misjudging himselfe think he doth not rely, and notwithstanding all this truly and really rely and rest. Now these kinds of misgivings may arise from severall causes: God may please for his ends to keep the soule in darknesse, to keep it humble, and to keep it in a strict way of adherence, &c. But I shall rather meddle with the subordinate and in∣strumentall causes, and assigne three or foure causes:

The first may be blindnesse and ignorance, there may be, yea is a great deale of darknesse in the soule; there was a thick darknesse surprized Adams under∣standing when he fell, and this still clouds all the children of Adam; we are not able to discerne or judge of the nature of the internall acts of the minde; we cannot come to a certaine knowledge of them as they are in themselves, but as I said be∣fore, must judge them by the effects; the soule doth not understand what affiance is, and this makes her question whether she doth rely or no, and not think she doth, being never ready to think well of her selfe.

A second cause may be the Devils temptations; such winds will make strong houses shake sometimes: It is Satans great designe to keep the soule from beleeving, and if he cannot keep the edifice of Faith from being built in the soule, yet he will keep it (if possible) from standing sure. Luke 22. 31. Simon, Simon, (saith Christ) Satan hath desired to winnow thee like wheat; the word signifies to shake up and downe as in a fan wheat is used, the kernells scarce ever lie still: Satan is almost alwayes sha∣king the Christian by the shoulders, he desires to winnow them, and as with Iob, because he had no power over his life, he executed his power to the utmost upon the comforts of his life: So he deals with the soule, because he hath no power over the life of Faith, therefore he will execute his power to the utmost over the soul, that it may never come to have the comfortable sense of Faith; and no wonder if when he brings his rammes to batter, the poor mud wall of a Christian shakes, especially con∣sidering how smooth an Orator he is to perswade, and how subtill a Sophister he is to prove: Even as it is as easie with a good Logician to make a poor simple creature beleeve, so as he cannot deny that the Sun doth not shine; so it is an easie thing with the Devill to perswade the soule, that it doth not rest and rely, when indeed it doth; especially if we consider,

Thirdly, What a misgiving nature and suspicious frame there is ordinarily in the hearts of Beleevers. They are alwayes fearing and suspecting, lest they should not doe their duty, they know that in many things all sinne, and they are afraid lest they should

cozen and deceive themselves; now when Satan takes a flint and a steele, and falls a striking, and he meets with such a box of ready dry'd tinder, no wonder if hee quickly strikes fire; Besides,

A fourth cause may be melancholy, cloudy vapours, that for the present the soule is darkned with, and can see nothing with a cleare sight, but is like a man in a phrenzie.

And a fifth cause may be, a Christians wilfulnesse, when the Christian will take no evidence of his faith by the effects of it: The best evidence that we either have, or can have of the truth of our faith, and of our justification is the effects of Faith; now if it comes to this, that the soule will not take any evi∣dence of the truth of the act of Faith, but onely un∣der the Broad Seale of Heaven, the apprehension and assurance, and full perswasion of it, the soule may live without comfort a great while, if with Thomas it must see the wounds and holes; Now here's many a good soules condition; he questions the truth of his Faith; we come to him and tell him, could there be such an hungring and thirsting after the Word, that thy eare is unsatisfied with hearing, unlesse thou didst beleeve this was the word of God, and rest upon it as the Word of truth? Could there be such a care to please Christ, and a feare of offending him to be found in thy whole life and conversation, if thou didst not rely upon him for salvation? Could there be such a willing∣nesse to part with all thy estate for Christ, and rather then thou wouldst deny him or not enjoy him in his Ordinances, if thou didst not rely upon God as thy portion? No, the soule will not look upon this as

a sufficient evidence, but cryes out, All this an Hy∣pocrite may doe, sanctification is imperfect, mine is hypocrisie; No, would God seale it to me, then I would beleeve it. Now where this is found, the soule may for a long time sit in darknesse, and see no light; yea, it may be, go down to the grave in its owne thoughts, like Erasmus hanging betwixt Hea∣ven and Hell. But I proceed.

Fourthly, Thou mayst not at all times trust with alike confidence, and yet at all times truly trust. The truth of trust and affiance is one thing, the degrees of it another; the truth of Faith never grows more or lesse, the degrees of Faith do; as the least drop of water is water, so the least dram of faith is faith as much as the highest degree of it: This the ex∣perience of every Christian will tell you; some∣times they will say, I think if the Devill had hold of me I could trust God for Heaven. Though hee kills me (saith Iob) yet I will trust in him; that was not Iobs temper alwayes, and yet without question Iob did alwayes beleeve. Paul was not in the same temper Rom. 7. that he was Rom. 8. 38. Peters cry∣ing Master save me, or else I perish, did argue his faith was under water more then his head. Davids temper, Psal. 27. 1, 2, 3. was not the same with his temper, 1 Sam. 27. 1. In the first he would not bee afraid of an Host encamping round about, no though the Host consisted of ten thousand, Psal. 3. 6. But in that place, 1 Sam. 27. 1. tells us hee was afraid of one Saul, and that after many expe∣riences. So a poor Christian is ready to think, O I do not truly trust and rely upon God, &c. Some∣times I think if I had not a bit of bread, nor a drop

of water, yet I would not feare, my faith should be like that Hab. 3. 17. Another time my heart is so farre from it, that though I have for the present e∣nough, yet my base heart can hardly keep from co∣vetousnesse; sometimes I think that if God would take me away in a massacre, I should not yeeld my blood with a repining word; another time I so doubt of my interest in Christ, that I should not know how to dye upon my bed, but am crying, Lord take me not away with the wicked. Christian, thus thou mayest be. David, Psal. 3. would not be afraid of his soules going out of his body if ten thousand swords were ready to cut out a passage for his soule out of his body. Another time hee cryes O spare a little, give me space, that I may re∣cover strength before I go from hence, and be no more; and again, Take me not away with the wicked. One while David is troubled to see the wicked flourish like a green Bay tree; and himselfe like a withered tree without a leafe; another time hee is not trou∣bled at it, but can as well trust God when he sends to Nabal for almes, as when he sits at his Kingly Table and; yet his faith was alwayes true. Faith may be interrupted, that the pulse of it cannot alwayes beat alike, and yet while there is life the pulse of Faith beates, though by reason of some sicknesse in the soule the pulse may beat more faintly and deadly then at other times; Corruptions, though they are never wholly the Christians Masters, yet they may be their Masters sometimes more then others; the minde may be more clouded with earthly thoughts; the tide of passions may bee higher, and the stream of Lusts greater; the body

may be sometimes sick and lesse active, and yet li∣ving: So the soule may be sick, and Faith act more weakly then at other times, yet Faith may be alive.

Fifthly, Thou mayest not so fully and equally rely upon some promises as upon other, and yet truly rely upon all. It is a truth, that the true beleever closeth with every promise; but it is also true, that the best Beleever findes a great deal of difficulty more for his soule to close with and rely upon some par∣ticular promises then upon others; and a beleever shall finde, if he be put to it, that it is harder to re∣ly upon God for his promises for this life, then for his promises for eternall life; God hath made promises for this life, Earth is made over by In∣denture to the Saints as well as Heaven, Mat. 6. 32. God hath made promises of protection in times of danger, of sufficiencie in time of peuury; now a Christian will finde it harder, if he be put to it for want of bread, to rely upon Gods feeding promises, then upon his promises for eternall life; O it is hard for a poor creature to trust God for bread and water. Hence comes distrusting and di∣stracting care, hence covetousnesse and earth∣lymindednesse in Gods own people. And if a Chri∣stian be surrounded with swords, and be in the midst of dangers, it is a hard thing now confidently and without feare to rely upon Gods shield and buck∣ler, and trust himselfe within the Castle of his pro∣vidence. I am confident when David manifested such an evident distrust of Gods promise for pro∣tection of him, 1 Sam. 27. 1. he did not at all dis∣trust God for saving of him; we read not a word

of such a distrust: Now I conceive the reason of it may be two-fold:

First, Because here the flesh is sensible and concerned in it. Dangers are obvious to sense; The eye sees swords and trembles, it sees present dangers; but it sees not that speedy reliefe which the promises hold out; it must be the spiritually enlightned eye of the soul must see that: Elisha's man could see the mountain about Elisha full of charrets and horses; but it was onely Elisha himselfe that could see the power of God assisting and defending; Elisha was faine to pray before his man could have the scales fall from his eyes to see that; Now for beleeving those promises where flesh and sense have a share, and a present share, the soule will finde it hard; for though the flesh will never help the soule in re∣lying and resting upon any promise, yet it will hin∣der the soul very much, and very often; I appeal to any of you, whether you have not found it an easier thing to rely upon a promise for salvation and strengthning and quickning grace which meerely concerns the soule, then when you have been in some bodily straights, you have found it to rely upon the promises for succour, and support, and deliverance: As take a married man, that hath a minde to the warres, possibly the man is a very vali∣ant and couragious man, and values his life at as cheap a rate as any, but his wife cryes, and keeps a stirre; that if hee were single, though the designe were the same, and the danger the same, yet hee findes it ten times more hard, then if hee were to goe a single man: So the soule married to the bo∣dy, is ten times more troubled to close with a

promise, and venture into thickets of a danger, by the bawlings and fearings of the flesh, then it would be if it were to act single in statu separato, or then it doth when it acts clearly for it self.

There is also a second reason may be given of this, viz. Because wo may have more cause to feare Gods fulfil∣ling his promises for this life, and for temporall mercies in this life, then it hath, or can have, to feare his promises for spirituall mercies, and for eternall life. The soule that findes an heart changed, and walkes with God, can give no reason why it should not beleeve Gods spirituall promises; I meane the promises for spiri∣tuall mercies, and his promises for eternall life. What reason canst thou give, why thou shouldest not beleeve Gods promises for pardon of sinnes? What? because thou art a backslider? The promise is made to such, Hos. 14. 4. Is it because thou hast an hard heart? the promise is made to such, Ezek. 11. 19, 20. But now come and ask the soule when dangers are at hand, and the soul is ready to mistrust Gods protecting promises; here the soule will tell you, Alas! I have been a back∣sliding creature, and though the sins and backslidings of Gods people be no sufficient reason to warrant the soules distrust for salvation, yet there is a great pre∣tence of reason that the soul hath from hence why it should a little fear Gods wonted dispensations of tem∣porall mercies to it; for this is a sure rule, that although when God hath elected and justified any, he hath made a sure promise they shall never again be cast out of his eternall favour and love, yet for their sins he will let them know his anger by withdrawing his temporal dis∣pensations of love and mercy, in relation to which are the promises of protection and temporall mercies given

to chasten them with the rods of men, and with the stripes of the children of men, 1 Sam. 7. 14, 15. See an experience of this in in David, when he had backsliden so far as to commit those two great sins of Murder and Adultery, 2 Sam. 12. David testified his repentance, and Nathan said to him, the Lord hath put away thy sinne, thou shalt not dye, v. 13. but the sword should never depart from his house, v. 10. his wives should be given to be defloured by his Neighbour, v. 11. The childe should die, v. 15. Now though that David could not reason∣ably, because of this backsliding, distrust Gods pro∣mise for the pardon of his backsliding, yet he could not reasonably rely upon his promises for the blessing of his house with temporall mercies so as before. And thence it is cleare, that a Christian may truly rest upon the promises for salvation, and pardon of his sinnes, though he doth not so easily rest, nor so constantly, nor fully rely upon him for some particular promises of temporall mercies.

The sixt is this, Thou mayst hang tremblingly upon the promises, and yet hang upon them truly. And there is a seventh, Thou mayst truly rely, and dwell upon the pro∣mises, and yet not truly appropriate and peculiarize them, and dwell on them as thy own portion, to thy apprehension; but of these afterwards.