Every moment, Lord, I want
The merit of thy death:
But likewise, in the full assurance of faith,
Every moment, Lord, I have
The merit of thy death!
For by that faith in his life, death and intercession for us, renewed from moment to moment, we are every whit clean, and there is not only now no condemnation for us, but no such desert of punishment as was before, the Lord cleansing both our hearts and lives.
5. By the same faith, we feel the power of Christ every moment resting upon us, whereby alone we are what we are, whereby we are enabled to continue in spiritual life, and without which, notwithstanding all our present holiness, we should be devils the next moment. But as long as we retain our faith in him, we draw water out of the wells of salvation. Leaning on our Beloved, even Christ in us the hope of glory, who dwelleth in our hearts by faith, who likewise is ever interceding for us at the right hand of God, we receive help from him to think, and speak, and act what is acceptable in his sight. Thus does he prevent them that believe in alltheir doings, and further them with his continual help, so that all their designs, conversations and actions, are “begun, continued and ended in him.” Thus doth he “cleanse the thoughts of their hearts, by the inspiration of his holy Spirit, that they may perfectly love him, and worthily magnify his holy name.”
6. Thus it is, that in the children of God, repentance and faith exactly answer each other. By repentance we feel the sin remaining in our hearts, and cleaving to our words and actions. By faith we receive the power of God in Christ, purifying our hearts and cleansing our hands. By repentance we are still sensible that we deserve punishment for all our tempers and words and actions. By faith we are conscious, that our Advocate with the Father is continually pleading for us, and thereby continually turning aside all condemnation and punishment from us. By repentance we have an abiding conviction, that there is no help in us. By faith we receive not only mercy, but grace to help in every time of need. Repentance disclaims the very possibility of any other help. Faith accepts all the help we stand in need of, from him that hath all power in heaven and earth. Repentance says, Without him I can do nothing: faith says, I can do all things through Christ strengthening me. Through him I cannot only overcome, but expel all the enemies of my soul. Through himI can love the Lord my God, with all my heart, mind, soul and strength: yea and walk in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of my life.
III. 1. From what has been said we may easily learn the mischievousness of that opinion, that we are wholly sanctified when we are justified: that our hearts are then cleansed from all sin. It is true, we are then delivered (as was observed before) from the dominion of outward sin: and at the same time the power of inward sin is so broken, that we need no longer follow or be led by it. But it is by no means true, that inward sin is then totally destroyed, that the root of pride, self-will, anger, love of the world is then taken out of the heart, or that the carnal mind and the heart bent to backsliding are entirely extirpated. And to suppose the contrary is not, as some may think an innocent, harmless mistake. No: it does immense harm; it entirely blocks up the way to any farther change. For it is manifest, they that are whole do not need a physician, but they that are sick. If therefore we think we are quite made whole already, there is no room to seek any farther healing. On this supposition it is absurd to expect a farther deliverance from sin, whether gradual or instantaneous.
2. On the contrary, a deep conviction that we are not yet whole, that our hearts are notfully purified, that there is yet in us a carnal mind, which is still in its nature enmity against God; that a whole body of sin remains in our heart, weakened indeed, but not destroyed, shews beyond all possibility of doubt, the absolute necessity of a farther change. We allow, that at the very moment of justification, we are born again: in that instant we experience that inward change, from darkness into marvellous light; from the image of the brute and the devil, into the image of God, from the earthly, sensual, devilish mind, to the mind which was in Christ Jesus. But are we then entirely changed? Are we wholly transformed into the image of him that created us? Far from it: we still retain a depth of sin: and it is the consciousness of this, which constrains us to groan for a full deliverance, to him that is mighty to save. Hence it is, that those believers who are not convinced of the deep corruption of their hearts, or but slightly and as it were notionally convinced, have little concern about entire sanctification. They may possibly hold the opinion, that such a thing is to be, either at death, or some time, they know not when, before it. But they have no great uneasiness for the want of it, and no great hunger or thirst after it. They cannot, until they know themselves better, until they repent in the sense above described, until God unveils the inbred monster’sface, and shews them the real state of their souls. Then only, when they feel the burden, will they groan for deliverance from it. Then and not till then will they cry out, in the agony of their soul,