5. But his master-piece of subtility is still behind. Not content to strike at your peace and joy, he will carry his attempts farther yet: he will level his assault against your righteousness also. He will endeavour to shake, yea, if it be possible, to destroy the holiness you have already received by your very expectation of receiving more, of attaining all the image of God.
6. *The manner wherein he attempts this, may partly appear from what has been already observed. For, first, By striking at our joy in the Lord, he strikes likewise at our holiness: seeing joy in the Holy Ghost is a precious means of promoting every holy temper; a choice instrument of God whereby he carries on much of his work in a believing soul. And it is a considerable help not only to inward, but also to outward holiness. It strengthens our hands to go on in the work of faith and in the labour of love: manfully to fight the good fight of faith, and to lay hold on eternal life. It is peculiarly designed of God to be a balance both against inward and outward sufferings: to lift up the hands that hang down and confirm the feeble knees. Consequently, whatever damps our joy in the Lord, proportionally obstructs our holiness. And therefore so far as Satan shakes our joy, he hinders our holiness also.
7. *The same effect will ensue, if he can by any means either destroy or shake our peace. For the peace of God is another precious means of advancing the image of God in us. There is scarce a greater help to holiness than this, a continual tranquility of spirit, the evenness of a mind stayed upon God; a calm repose in the blood of Jesus. And without this, it is scarce possibly to grow in grace, and in the vital knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For all fear (unless the tender, filial fear) freezes and benumbs the soul. It binds up all the springs of spiritual life, and stops all motion of the heart toward God. And doubt, as it were, bemires the soul, so that it sticks fast in the deep clay. Therefore in the same proportion as either of these prevail, our growth in holiness is hindered.
8. *At the same time that our wise adversary endeavours, to make our conviction of the necessity of perfect love, an occasion of shaking our peace by doubts and fears, he endeavours to weaken, if not destroy our faith. Indeed these are inseparably connected; so that they must stand or fall together. So long as faith subsists, we remain in peace: our heart stands fast, while it believes in the Lord. But if we let go our faith, our filial confidence in a loving pardoning God, our peace is at an end, the very foundation on which it stood being overthrown. And this is the only foundation of holiness as well as of peace. Consequently whatever strikes at this, strikes at the very root of all holiness. For without this faith, without an abiding sense, that Christ loved me and gave himself for me, without a continuing conviction, that God for Christ’s sake is merciful to me a sinner, it is impossible that I should love God. We love him, because he first loved us; and in proportion to the strength and clearness of our conviction, that he hath loved us and accepted us in his Son. And unless we love God, it is not possible that we should love our neighbour as ourselves: nor consequently, that we should have any right affections, either toward God or toward man. It evidently follows, that whatever weakens our faith, must in the same degree obstruct our holiness. And this is not only the most effectual, but also the most compendious way of destroying all holiness. Seeing it does not affect any one Christian temper, any single grace or fruit of the spirit, but so far as it succeeds, tears up the very root of the whole work of God.
9. *No marvel therefore, that the ruler of the darkness of this world, should here put forth all his strength. And so we find by experience. For it is far easier to conceive than it is to express the unspeakable violence, wherewith this temptation is frequently urged on them, who hunger and thirst after righteousness. When they see in a strong and clear light, on the one hand, the desperate wickedness of their own hearts, on the other hand, the unspotted holiness to which they are called in Christ Jesus: on the one hand, the depth of their own corruption, of their total alienation from God; on the other, the height of the glory of God, that image of the Holy One wherein they are to be renewed: there is many times no spirit left in them; they could almost cry out, with God this is impossible. They are ready to give up both faith and hope, to cast away that very confidence, whereby they are to overcome all things, through Christ strengthning them; whereby, after they have done the will of God, they are to receive the promise.
10. And if they hold fast the beginning of their confidence stedfast unto the end, they shall undoubtedly receive the promise of God, reaching through both time and eternity. But here is another snare laid for our feet. While we earnestly pant for that part of the promise which is to be accomplished here, for the glorious liberty of the children of God, we may be led unawares, from the consideration of the glory which shall be revealed. Our eye may be insensibly turned aside from that crown which the righteous Judge hath promised to give at that day, to all that love his appearing: and we may be drawn away from the view of that incorruptible inheritance which is reserved in heaven for us. But this also would be a loss to our souls, and an obstruction to our holiness. For to walk in the continual sight of our goal, is a needful help in our running the race that is set before us. This it was, the having respect unto the recompence of reward, which of old time encouraged Moses, 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 of Egypt. Nay it is expresly said of a greater than him, that for the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross and despised the shame, till he sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Whence we may easily infer, how much more needful for us, is the view of that joy set before us, that we may endure whatever cross the wisdom of God lays upon us, and press on thro’ holiness to glory.
11. But while we are reaching to this, as well as to that glorious liberty which is preparatory to it, we may be in danger of falling into another snare of the devil, wherein he labours to intangle the children of God. We may take too much thought for to-morrow, so as to neglect the improvement of to-day. We may so expect perfect love, as not to use that, which is already shed abroad in our hearts. There have not been wanting instances of those, who have greatly suffered hereby. They were so taken up with what they were to receive hereafter, as utterly to neglect what they had already received. In expectation of having five talents more, they buried their one talent in the earth. At least they did not improve it as they might have done, to the glory of God and the good of their own souls.
12. Thus does the subtle adversary of God and man, endeavour to make void the counsel of God, by dividing the gospel against itself, and making one part of it overthrow the other: while the first work of God in the soul is destroyed by the expectation of his perfect work. We have seen several of the ways wherein he attempts this, by cutting off, as it were, the springs of holiness. But this he likewise does more directly, by making that blessed hope an occasion of unholy tempers.
13. Thus, whenever our heart is eagerly athirst for all the great and precious promises, when we pant after the fulness of God, as the hart after the water-brook, when our soul breaketh out in fervent desire, “Why are his chariot-wheels so long a coming?” He will not neglect the opportunity, of tempting us to murmur against God. He will use all his wisdom and all his strength, if haply in an unguarded hour, we may be influenced to repine at our Lord, for thus delaying his coming. At least, he will labour to excite some degree of fretfulness or impatience: and perhaps of envy at those, whom we believe to have already attained the prize of our high calling. He well knows, that by giving way to any of these tempers, we are pulling down the very thing we would build up. By thus following after perfect holiness, we become more unholy than before. Yea, there is great danger that our last state should be worse than the first: like them of whom the apostle speaks, in those dreadful words, It had been better they had never known the way of righteousness, than after they had known it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.
14. *And from hence he hopes to reap another advantage, even to bring up an evil report of the good way. He is sensible, how few are able to distinguish (and too many are not willing so to do) between the accidental abuse and the natural tendency of a doctrine. These therefore, will he continually blend together, with regard to the doctrine of Christian perfection: in order to prejudice the minds of unwary men against the glorious promises of God. And how frequently, how generally, I had almost said, how universally has he prevailed herein? For who is there that observes any of these accidental ill effects of this doctrine, and does not immediately conclude, this is its natural tendency? And does not readily cry out, “See, these are the fruits (meaning the natural, necessary fruits) of such doctrine!” Not so. They are fruits which may accidentally spring from the abuse of a great and precious truth. But the abuse of this, or any other scriptural doctrine, does by no means destroy its use. Neither can the unfaithfulness of man, perverting his right way, make the promise of God of no effect. No: let God be true and every man a liar. The word of the Lord it shall stand. Faithful is he that hath promised: he also will do it. Let not us then be removed from the hope of the gospel. Rather let us observe, which was the second thing proposed, how we may retort these fiery darts of the wicked one: how we may rise the higher by what he intends for an occasion of our falling.