There are four sorts of despair. There is the despair of devils; there is the despair of souls in h.e.l.l; there is the despair that is grounded upon men"s deficiency; and there is the despair that they are perplexed with that are willing to be saved, but are too strongly borne down with the burthen of their sins.
The despair of devils, the d.a.m.ned"s despair, and that despair that a man has of attaining of life because of his own deficiency, are all unreasonable. Why should not devils and d.a.m.ned souls despair? yea, why should not man despair of getting to heaven by his own abilities?
I therefore am concerned only with the fourth sort of despair, to wit, with the despair of those that would be saved, but are too strongly borne down with the burden of their sins.
I say, therefore, to thee that art thus, And why despair? Thy despair, if it were reasonable, should flow from thee, because found in the land that is beyond the grave, or because thou certainly knowest that Christ will not, or cannot save thee.
But for the first, thou art yet in the land of the living; and for the second, thou hast ground to believe the quite contrary; Christ is able to save to the uttermost them that come to G.o.d by him; and if he were not willing, he would not have commanded that mercy, in the first place, should be offered to the biggest sinners. Besides, he hath said, "And let him that is athirst come, and whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely;" that is, with all my heart. What ground now is here for despair? If thou sayst, The number and burden of my sins; I answer, Nay; that is rather a ground for faith: because such an one, above all others, is invited by Christ to come unto him, yea, promised rest and forgiveness if they come; Matt. xi.
28. What ground then to despair? Verily none at all. Thy despair then is a thing unreasonable and without footing in the word.
But I have no experience of G.o.d"s love; G.o.d hath given me no comfort, or ground of hope, though I have waited upon him for it many a day.
Thou hast experience of G.o.d"s love, for that he has opened thine eyes to see thy sins: and for that he has given thee desires to be saved by Jesus Christ. For by thy sense of sin thou art made to see thy poverty of spirit, and that has laid thee under a sure ground to hope that heaven shall be thine hereafter.
Also thy desires to be saved by Christ, has put thee under another promise, so there is two to hold thee up in them, though thy present burden be never so heavy, Matt. v. 3, 6. As for what thou sayst, as to G.o.d"s silence to thee, perhaps he has spoken to thee once or twice already, but thou hast not perceived it; Job x.x.xiii. 14, 15.
However, thou hast Christ crucified, set forth before thine eyes in the Bible, and an invitation to come unto him, though thou be a Jerusalem sinner, though thou be the biggest sinner; and so no ground to despair. What, if G.o.d will be silent to thee, is that ground of despair? Not at all, so long as there is a promise in the Bible that G.o.d will in no wise cast away the coming sinner, and so long as he invites the Jerusalem sinner to come unto him John vi. 37.
Build not therefore despair upon these things; they are no sufficient foundations for it, such plenty of promises being in the Bible, and such a discovery of his mercy to great sinners of old; especially since we have withal a clause in the commission given to ministers to preach, that they should begin with the Jerusalem sinners in their offering of mercy to the world.
Besides, G.o.d says, They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles; but perhaps it may be long first. "I waited long," saith David, "and did seek the Lord;" and at length his cry was heard: wherefore he bids his soul wait on G.o.d, and says, For it is good so to do before thy saints; Psalm xl. 1; lxii. 5; lii. 9.
And what if thou waitest upon G.o.d all thy days? Is it below thee?
And what if G.o.d will cross his book, and blot out the hand-writing that is against thee, and not let thee know it as yet? Is it fit to say unto G.o.d, Thou art hard-hearted? Despair not; thou hast no ground to despair, so long as thou livest in this world. It is a sin to begin to despair before one sets his foot over the threshold of h.e.l.l-gates. For them that are there, let them despair and spare not; but as for thee, thou hast no ground to do it. What! despair of bread in a land that is full of corn! despair of mercy when our G.o.d is full of mercy! despair of mercy, when G.o.d goes about by his ministers, beseeching of sinners to be reconciled unto him! 2 Cor.
v. 18-20.
Thou scrupulous fool, where canst thou find that G.o.d was ever false to his promise, or that he ever deceived the soul that ventured itself upon him? He often calls upon sinners to trust him, though they walk in darkness, and have no light; Isa. 1. 10.
They have his promise and oath for their salvation, that flee for refuge to the hope set before them; Heb. vi. 17, 18.
Despair! when we have a G.o.d of mercy, and a redeeming Christ alive!
For shame, forbear: let them despair that dwell where there is no G.o.d, and that are confined to those chambers of death which can be reached by no redemption.
A living man despair when he is chid for murmuring and complaining!
Lam. iii. 39. Oh! so long as we are where promises swarm, where mercy is proclaimed, where grace reigns, and where Jerusalem sinners are privileged with the first offer of mercy, it is a base thing to despair.
Despair undervalues the promise, undervalues the invitation, undervalues the proffer of grace. Despair undervalues the ability of G.o.d the Father, and the redeeming blood of Christ his Son. Oh unreasonable despair!
Despair makes man G.o.d"s judge; it is a controller of the promise, a contradicter of Christ in his large offers of mercy: and one that undertakes to make unbelief the great manager of our reason and judgment, in determining about what G.o.d can and will do for sinners.
Despair! It is the devil"s fellow, the devil"s master; yea, the chains with which he is captivated and held under darkness for ever: and to give way thereto in a land, in a state and time that flows with milk and honey, is an uncomely thing.
I would say to my soul, O my soul! this is not the place of despair; this is not the time to despair in: as long as mine eyes can find a promise in the Bible, as long as there is the least mention of grace, as long as there is a moment left me of breath or life in this world; so long will I wait or look for mercy, so long will I fight against unbelief and despair.
This is the way to honour G.o.d and Christ; this is the way to set the crown on the promise; this is the way to welcome the invitation and inviter; and this is the way to thrust thyself under the shelter and protection of the word of grace. Never despair so long as our text is alive, for that doth sound it out,--that mercy by Christ is offered, in the first place, to the biggest sinner.
Despair is an unprofitable thing; it will make a man weary of waiting upon G.o.d; 2 Kings vi. 33; it will make a man forsake G.o.d, and seek his heaven in the good things of this world; Gen. iv. 13-18. It will make a man his own tormentor, and flounce and fling like a wild bull in a net; Isa. ii. 20.
Despair! it drives a man to the study of his own ruin, and brings him at last to be his own executioner; 2 Sam. xvii. 23; Matt. xxvii. 3-5.
Besides, I am persuaded also, that despair is the cause that there are so many that would fain be Atheists in the world: For because they have entertained a conceit that G.o.d will never be merciful to them; therefore they labour to persuade themselves that there is no G.o.d at all, as if their misbelief would kill G.o.d, or cause him to cease to be. A poor shift for an immortal soul, for a soul who liketh not to retain G.o.d in its knowledge! If this be the best that despair can do, let it go, man, and betake thyself to faith, to prayer, to wait for G.o.d, and to hope, in despite of ten thousand doubts. And for thy encouragement, take yet (as an addition to what has already been said) the following scripture; "The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy;"
Psal. cxlvii. 11.
Whence note, They fear not G.o.d, that hope not in his mercy: also G.o.d is angry with them that hope not in his mercy: for he only taketh pleasure in them that hope. He that believeth, or hath received his testimony, "hath set to his seal that G.o.d is true," John iii. 33; but he that receiveth it not hath made him a liar, and that is a very unworthy thing; 1 John v. 10, 11. "Let the wicked forsake his ways, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him; and to our G.o.d, for he will abundantly multiply pardons." Perhaps thou art weary of thy ways, but art not weary of thy thoughts, of thy unbelieving and despairing thoughts; now, G.o.d also would have thee cast away these thoughts, as such which he deserveth not at thy hands; for he will have mercy upon thee, and he will abundantly pardon.
"O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!" Luke xxiv. 25. Mark you here, slowness to believe is a piece of folly. Ay! but sayst thou, I do believe some, and I believe what can make against me. Ay, but sinner, Christ Jesus here calls thee fool for not believing all. Believe all, and despair if thou canst. He that believes all, believes that text that saith, Christ would have mercy preached first to the Jerusalem sinners. He that believeth all, believeth all the promises and consolations of the word; and the promises and consolations of the word weigh heavier than do all the curses and threatenings of the law; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. Wherefore believe all, and mercy will to thy conscience weigh judgment down, and so minister comfort to thy soul. The Lord take the yoke from off thy jaws, since he has set meat before thee; Hos. xi. 4; and help thee to remember that he is pleased in the first place to offer mercy to the biggest sinners.
Sixthly, Since Jesus Christ would have mercy offered in the first place to the biggest sinners, let souls see that they lay right hold thereof, lest they, notwithstanding, indeed come short thereof.
Faith only knows how to deal with mercy; wherefore put not in the place thereof presumption. I have observed, that as there are herbs and flowers in our gardens, so there are their counterfeits in the field; only they are distinguished from the other by the name of wild ones. Why, there is faith, and wild faith; and wild faith is this presumption. I call it wild faith, because G.o.d never placed it in his garden, his church; it is only to be found in the field, the world. I also call it wild faith, because it only grows up and is nourished where other wild notions abound. Wherefore take heed of this, and all may be well; for this presumuptuousness is a very heinous thing in the eyes of G.o.d: "The soul," saith he, "that doeth ought presumptuously (whether he be born in the land, or a stranger), the same reproacheth the Lord; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people;" Numb. xv. 30.
The thoughts of this made David tremble, and pray that G.o.d would hold him back from presumptuous sins, and not suffer them to have dominion over him; Psal. xix. 13.
Now this presumption, then, puts itself in the place of faith, when it tampereth with the promise for life, while the soul is a stranger to repentance. Wherefore you have in the text, to prevent doing thus, both repentance and remission of sins to be offered to Jerusalem; not remission without repentance: for all that repent not shall perish, let them presume on grace and the promise while they will; Luke xiii. 1-3.
Presumption, then, is that which severeth faith and repentance, concluding, that the soul shall be saved by grace, though the man was never made sorry for his sins, nor the love of the heart turned therefrom. This is to be self-willed, as Peter has it; and this is a despising the word of the Lord, for that has put repentance and faith together; Mark i. 15. And "because he hath despised the word of the Lord, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off: his iniquity shall be upon him." Numb. xv. 31.
Let such therefore look to it, who yet are, and abide in their sins; for such, if they hope, as they are, to be saved, presume upon the grace of G.o.d. Wherefore presumption and not hearkening to G.o.d"s word are put together; Deut. xvii. 12.
Again, Then men presume when they are resolved to abide in their sins, and yet expect to be saved by G.o.d"s grace through Christ. This is as much as to say, G.o.d liketh sin as well as I do, and careth not how men live, if so be they lean upon his Son. Of this sort are they that build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity; that judge for reward, and teach for hire, and divine for money, and lean upon the Lord; Mic. iii. 10, 11. This is doing things with an high hand against the Lord our G.o.d, and a taking him, as it were, at the catch. This is, as we say among men, to seek to put a trick upon G.o.d, as if he had not sufficiently fortified his proposals of grace by his holy word, against all such kind of fools as these. But look to it.
Such will be found at the day of G.o.d, not among that great company of Jerusalem sinners that shall be saved by grace, but among those that have been the great abusers of the grace of G.o.d in the world. Those that say, Let us sin that grace may abound, and let us do evil that good may come, their d.a.m.nation is just. And if so, they are a great way off of that salvation that is by Jesus Christ presented to the Jerusalem sinners.
I have therefore these things to propound to that Jerusalem sinner that would know, if he may be so bold as to venture himself upon this grace.
First, Dost thou see thy sins?
Secondly, Art thou weary of them?
Thirdly, Wouldst thou with all thy heart be saved by Jesus Christ? I dare say no less, I dare say no more. But if it be truly thus with thee, how great soever thy sins have been, how bad soever thou feelest thy heart, how far soever thou art from thinking that G.o.d has mercy for these: thou art the man, the Jerusalem sinner, that the Word of G.o.d has conquered, and to whom it offereth free remission of sins, by the redemption that is in Jesus Christ.
When the jailor cried out, "Sirs, What must I do to be saved?" The answer was, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." He that sees his sins aright, is brought to his wit"s end by them; and he that is so, is willing to part from them, and to be saved by the grace of G.o.d.
If this be thy case, fear not, give no way to despair; thou presumest not, if thou believest to life everlasting in Jesus Christ: yea, Christ is prepared for such as thou art.
Therefore take good courage and believe. The design of Satan is to tell the presumptuous, that their presuming on mercy is good; but to persuade the believer, that his believing is impudent bold dealing with G.o.d. I never heard a presumptuous man in my life say that he was afraid that he presumed; but I have heard many an honest humble soul say, that they have been afraid that their faith has been presumption. Why should Satan molest those whose ways he knows will bring them to him? And who can think that he should be quiet when men take the right course to escape his h.e.l.lish snares? This, therefore, is the reason why the truly humbled is opposed, while the presumptuous goes on by wind and tide. The truly humble Satan hates, but he laughs to see the foolery of the other.
Does thy hand and heart tremble? Upon thee the promise smiles. "To this man will I look," says G.o.d, "even to him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and trembles at my word;" Isa. lxvi. 2.
What, therefore, I have said of presumption concerns not the humble in spirit at all. I therefore am for gathering up the stones, and for taking the stumblingblocks out of the way of G.o.d"s people: and forewarning of them that lay the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their faces, and that are for presuming upon G.o.d"s mercy; and let them look to themselves; Ezek. xiv. 6-8.
Also our text stands firm as ever it did, and our observation is still of force, that Jesus Christ would have mercy offered in the first place to the biggest sinners. So then let none despair, let none presume; let none despair that are sorry for their sins, and would be saved by Jesus Christ; let none presume that abide in the liking of their sins, though they seem to know the exceeding grace of Christ; for though the door stands wide open for the reception of the penitent, yet it is fast enough barred and bolted against the presumptuous sinner. Be not deceived, G.o.d is not mocked, whatsoever a man sows, that he shall reap. It cannot be that G.o.d should be wheedled out of his mercy, or prevailed upon by lips of dissimulation; he knows them that trust in him, and that sincerely come to him by Christ for mercy; Nahum i. 7.
It is then not the abundance of sins committed, but the not coming heartily to G.o.d by Christ for mercy, that shuts men out of doors.
And though their not coming heartily may be said to be but a sin, yet it is such a sin as causeth that all thy other sins abide upon thee unforgiven.
G.o.d complains of this. "They have not cried unto me with their heart; they turned, but not to the most High. They turned feignedly;" Jer. iii. 10; Hos. vii. 14, 16.
Thus doing, his soul hates; but the penitent, humble, brokenhearted sinner, be his transgressions red as scarlet, red like crimson, in number as the sand; though his transgressions cry to heaven against him for vengeance, and seem there to cry louder than do his prayers, or tears, or groans for mercy, yet he is safe. To this man G.o.d will look; Isa. i. 18; chap lxvi. 2.
Seventhly, Would Jesus Christ have mercy offered in the first place to the biggest sinners? Then here is ground for those that, as to practice, have not been such, to come to him for mercy.