IN order to the further opening this text, I shall handle three points -
1. That carnal men may join with the people of God in external duties of worship.
2. Though they do join, yet in the performance of them there is a sensible and manifest difference.
3. This different performance ariseth from the influence and efficacy of faith.
Doct. 1. That carnal men may join with the people of God in external duties of worship.
We see in the first worship upon record there is a Cain and an Abel; so in Christ's parable: Luke xviii. 10, 'Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a pharisee, and the other a publican.' And our Lord saith, Mat. xxvi. 41, 'Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left;' meaning, the one shall be taken by Christ into heaven, and the other left for devils to be carried into hell. It is wonderfully strange that God should make such a distinction; but much more strange that two persons shall be praying at the throne of grace, the one taken, and the other left. The reasons of this point, why carnal men do join in external duties of worship, may be reduced to three heads -
1. Natural conscience will put men upon worship.
2. Custom will direct to the worship then in use and fashion.
3. Carnal impulses will add force and vigour to the performances. Take all together, and then you have full account of a natural man's devotion
First, Natural conscience will put men upon worship. There are some few principles that are escaped out of the ruins of the fall; as Job's messengers, 'I only am escaped alone to tell thee,' Job i. 16. There is a little common light left to tell us that there is a God, and, by consequence, that this God must be worshipped by the creature. Therefore mere natural conscience may suggest worship, and check for the omission of it; especially when we are serious, and natural light is clear and undisturbed, and men give their consciences leave to speak out. The very heathens were sensible of the necessity of worship, and often speak of beginning all enterprises with God, and say men must be praying to God if they would have a blessing upon their affairs. The apostle saith, Rom. ii. 14, the heathens had 'the work of the law written upon their hearts;' that is, the external part of obedience, the outward part of worship, and avoiding gross sins. And the conscience of every natural man is like that of the heathens, only somewhat more enlightened by living in the church. But until they are regenerate they have nothing but the light of nature to guide them, though improved by custom, education and literal instruction; and whatever they do, they do it out of the dictate of natural conscience. Natural men are loth to be wholly without worship. Conscience, like the stomach, must be filled, and have something to pacify it, lest it should bark at us, and reproach us all the day long. Men must put on the garb of religion, or their own conscience will not let them be quiet. Thoughts will excuse or accuse, though blindly, and with much imperfection; and though carnal men are slight in their duties, yet duty there must be.
Secondly, Custom will put us upon the worship then in use and practice. Natural conscience will tell us that God is to be worshipped; but how, it learneth from custom and education: so Ezek. xxxiii. 31, 'They come unto thee as the people come;' that is according to the manner of religion then in fashion, according to the devotion of the times. And therefore carnal men go on coldly in the run and tract of accustomed and practised duties. Non exploratis rationibus traditionis, saith Cyprian: they take up duties upon trust, and they look not so much to the reason and nature of worship, as to the custom and practice of it. Cain went up with Abel 'in process of time,' or at the year's end, the stated time of worship; so do men pray, hear, keep the sabbath according to their light, and when the laws of their country and the awe of their education challenge these duties at their hands: Ephes. ii. 2, 'Ye walked according to the course of this world (kat' aioona, according to the time; the apostle means in gentile worship, as well as in the vanity of their conversations - 'according to the doings, or trade, of Israel,' 2 Chron. xvii. 4. So the Geneva translation and the Hebrew word signifieth.) Men do according to the common trade and rate of duty. All a natural man's religion is but cold conformity to what others practise; and their worship riseth higher and higher according to the rate of their company and education. That custom hath a main influnce upon their acts of devotion and religion is clear, because they do not so much look to the nature of ordinances as to what hath been practised in and about them, and do not regard the reason and occasion of duties so much as use and custom. This is clear by the instance of that case so solemnly propounded: Zech. i. 3, 'Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?' Mark the reason and impulse; for the understanding of which you must know that the Jews in the fifth month kept a day for the temple; for you shall see, 2 Kings xxv. 8, 9, the destruction of the temple happened at that time, therefore every seventh day in the fifth month they kept an anniversary fast in remembrance of the temple; but now they were returned from their captivity, and the temple re-edified, and God's service restored, and yet they make it a solemn case whether they should do it, because they had done it these many years. Men are loth to quit a custom in religion, though the reason of it be gone; for they look more to the practice of men than the nature of the ordinance. As some of our ceremonies were first practised upon special occasion in the primitive church, though others came in afterwards by superstition and corruption, yet when the reason is gone, men would continue the rite, and are loth to quit their old custom, and think worship is suppressed with a vain rite because this is the main principle which puts them upon work, practice, and custom.
Thirdly, Carnal impulses will add force and vigour to the performance. The ordinances of God may conduce to some end that suiteth with corrupt nature, and upon that account and reason men will be earnest and busy.
There are two carnal ends upon which men act in duties of religion - vainglory and secular advantage.
1. Vainglory. Men join with the people of God in actions of worship that they may have occasion to discover their parts with the more applause. The apostle speaks of some that 'preached the gospel out of envy,' Phil. i. 15; to rival the apostle in his esteem, that they might set up their own worth. And that is the reason why the apostle would not have novices or young men called to the office of public teaching: 1 Tim. iii. 6, 'Not a novice, lest, being lifted up with pride, he fall into the condemnation of the devil,' that is, lest, being unmortified, they should debauch the ordinances of God to the service of their own pride and ambitious affectation. That vainglory is a main principle to put men upon praying, preaching, conference, or any duty wherein there is some exercise of gifts, is clear, because in public duties that are open, and liable to the observance of others, men put forth themselves with the greatest vigour, quickness, and strength; whereas in private addresses to God they are more slight and careless. A christian is best tried and exercised in private and secret intercourses between God and his soul; where they spread their own case before God, there they enjoy most communion with God, therefore there they find most quickening and enlargement. A man cannot so well taste his spirit, and discern the working of it in public addresses, because other men's concernments and necessities are taken up in prayer, and he cannot be so affected as in his own case. Besides when the address is directly to God, he should have our best, for certainly he bids most for our affections. What is the applause of men to the inward approbation of God, sealed up to us by the testimony of the Spirit? What is vainglory to eternal glory?
2. Another carnal principle is secular aims and advantages. It is the great wisdom of God to mingle our concernments with his own; else few would mind religion, and exercise their gifts for the benefit of the church. Carnal fuel keeps in the fire of most men's devotions. I say God hath so coupled our interest with his own, that in duties most are swayed with a carnal bias and secular respect, and they go of their own errand, out of a mere carnal respect, to gratify their private interest, when they pretend most to do God's business; as those that 'followed Christ for the loaves,' John vi. 26. Quandoquidem panis Christi jam pinguis factus est, &c. - because Christ's bread is buttered with worldly conveniences, religion hath many to follow it; there are esteem, honour, countenance, maintenance that follow duties of religion, therefore they are merely done with respect to those low and base ends. Duties of the first table are not costly, and most apt to be counterfeited. Christ speaks of some 'that made long prayers to devour widows' houses,' Mat. xxiii. 14. The meaning is, that they might be thought godly and conscientious, and so be intrusted with the estates of widows and orphans, or draw contributions. Many times in holy duties invocation of the name of God is made to serve the concernment of the shop, and religion is pretended to countenance base aims. This is the great difference between a carnal and godly man: the one performs all his civil duties with religious aims ; the other performs all his religious duties with secular aims. Self is the main motive of their respects to God; and as they act in their own strength, so to their own ends.
Use 1. It serves to inform us that the bare performance of the duties of religion is no gracious evidence. Cain may sacrifice as well as Abel. A christian is rather tried by his graces than by his duties; and yet this is the usual fallacy, the paralogism and false reason that we put upon our own consciences. We secure ourselves upon no other grounds but this, because we are conversant in holy duties. All the claim and tithe most men have to heaven is only some external acts of duty; they pray, and hear, and keep the sabbath, as the people used to do: James i. 21, 'Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own souls.' The word is - paralogizomenoi, 'putting a false reasoning upon yourselves. We reason thus, He that hears the word shall be everlastingly happy: but I am a hearer of the word. Oh! saith the apostle, 'be not hearers only.' And though the premisses come last in sight, yet we hold fast the conclusion, and think ourselves to be in a sure estate; and this is all the ground of our confidence, an act of duty. Mat. vii. 24, the foolish builder represents those that lay the ground of their confidence in bare attendance on religious duties. Foolish men will raise a high Babel of confidence upon the weakest foundation that may be; they are apt to rest upon unwarrantable evidences; they think they must needs be saved because they hear the word and pray in the name of Christ. Do but search what are your evidences and foundations upon which you build. Some live only by guess, and devout aims and conjectures, and never consider upon what terms they stand with God others content themselves with very slight evidences, and think their hearts are good merely because they practise some external duties. Thou prayest, so many a pharisee; thou worshippest God in the time of the solemn returns of duty, so did Cain; and therefore build not upon these things. But because this is a conceit deeply rooted in our nature, I shall lay down a few convictive propositions.
1. The bare performance of any outward duty is not enough to endear you to God. God doth not look to the outward acts, but to the frame of the spirit. You may cheat conscience and deceive man by these outward acts of duty, but God is not mocked. When he comes to weigh the action, he doth not consider the fair pretence, but the disposition of the heart: Prov. xvi. 2, 'The Lord weigheth the spirits;' he looks that the aim should be as good as the action, and the principle every way as good as the performance. If we did but go to the balance of the sanctuary and weigh our spirits, we should not be so carnally confident as usually we are. Heathens did regard ergon nomou, Rom. ii. 15, 'Which show the work of the law written in their hearts.'
2. A man may miscarry though he be employed in the highest ministries and duties of religion. You shall see among other things that are pleaded in the day of judgment this is one: Mat. vii. 23, 'We have prophesied in thy name, and in thy name cast out devils;' consider, a man may do great service in the church, and yet come short of heaven; cast out devils, and yet be cast out among devils; a man may not only be a hearer, but a preacher of the word; they may prophesy in Christ's name, and yet he will not own them. O the sad case of such! Like the way-marks set up in high-ways, that direct others to travel, but do not stir themselves; after they have taught others, they themselves are cast-aways: or like those that made Noah's ark to save others, and were drowned themselves in the water: or like the moon which gives light to others, but it hath none rooted in its own body; they may do much service for Christ, yet be in a bad condition.
3. The heart may be somewhat exercised in duty, and yet it is no gracious evidence. There may be an exercise of memory, wit, and invention in and about the service of God, yet all this while the heart not right. Christians are not measured by their gifts, but by their graces. Gifts are for the body, the church; therefore they may be bestowed sometimes upon carnal men, and poured out in a large measure on them: 1 Cor. xiii. 1, 'Though I speak with the tongue of men and angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.' Parts make but an empty sound. That is not the more excellent way.
4. There may be some exercise of affection, and yet men may miscarry; as there may be an exercise of joy in duties, and grief in the defect of duties.
[1.] There may be some kind of joy in duties. The stony ground 'received the word with joy,' Mat. xiii. 20. Men, out of a carnal respect, may delight in the ordinances of God. A judicious man may delight in judicious preaching, and take pleasure in the gifts of the minister and the gracefulness of his utterance, when there is no grace in the heart: Ezek. xxxiii. 32, 'Thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument. They take delight in the tunable cadency of expressions, but yet 'they hear thy words, and do them not.' Men may delight in the carnal part of ordinances when there is no true, real, and spiritual delight in the soul. There is a higher delight than all this, which seems spiritual, but is not, when a man delights and finds contentment in the exercise of his own gifts rather than in communion with God. There is a secret complacency, a tickling of the heart at the conceit of our own worth, in the carriage of a duty, when we come off roundly, when parts have their free course and career; and this not only in public, where we have an advantage to discover our parts with applause, but many times in private intercourses between God and our souls, to which no eye is conscious. When a man is conceited of his gifts and abilities, he may delight in the exercise of them. Whatever we have, the worth of it is known in the exercise; especially gifts, for they are of the nature of those things that are pros allo, not for enjoyment, but use. Therefore a man that hath a high conceit of his gifts for praying, preaching, and conference may take a carnal delight in the exercise of them. Nature takes delight in the exercise of its own gifts; as when parts are vigorous, the tongue can speak much and well, invention is quick and fresh. A man feedeth his own pride by the excellency of speech.
[2.] There may be some grief for the defects of duty which yet is not right: as when the heart is troubled for outward defects rather than inward, for weakness and brokenness of expression rather than deadness of spirit, and we look more to the liveliness and freshness of parts than of graces. It is true God should be served with all we have, with the vigour of parts as well as the exercise of grace; and therefore it is just matter of grief to a child of God when he cannot have his senses exercised, and nature is not ready to serve grace. But I say when we are only troubled for outward defects, for deficiency or lameness of parts and do not look at the exercise of grace, the heart is not right with God. There may be a great deal of hardness of heart and flatness of affections when parts are quick and fresh, but then the heart is not troubled; as a man may be copious in confession, and declaim against sin with much ornament and passionateness of speech, and yet he is not touched, though he findeth no acts of spiritual shame and remorse. Should we but confess half so much to man against ourselves as we do against God, and should we implead ourselves at the bar of men as we do at the bar of God, there would be greater exercise of remorse. But we are not ashamed when we represent our case before God. And if a man should be ashamed of the filthiness of his life, it should be rather in confession before God than man; for man is but his guilty fellow-creature. On the contrary, the heart may be truly affected when the language is troubled and broken, and there may be much vehemency of spirit when we cannot find words to give it vent to God. We read Moses cried to God, and yet of no words he spake, Exod. viii. 12. And the Spirit's assistance is not to give us words, but he helps our infirmities with sighs and groans, Rom. viii. 26. There is a language in sighs and groans; they make the best melody in the ears of God, even when the speech is troubled and broken.
5. It is not enough to make conscience of the duties that we perform. Natural men may engage in the acts of worship upon the mere enforcement of natural conscience; as the mariners in their distress 'called every one upon his God,' Jonah i. 5: it is but a carnal principle and impulse. Now because it is a hard matter to distinguish the workings of natural conscience from the workings of grace, I shall give you some notes. When we work out of natural conscience, it may be discerned several ways.
[1.] It usually smites for total omissions, not for spiritual neglects and perfunctory performances. There will be restless accusations in the heart if a man totally omit duty; but the conscience doth not quite for customariness of spirit in praying and hearing.
[2.] Natural conscience works chiefly by the means of slavish fear, by the terror and awe that it impresseth upon the spirit. Faith works by love, but natural conscience works by fear; and so the working of it may be known, because it is altogether from the threatenings in the word, as faith doth from the promises and mercies of God: Rom. xii. 1, 'I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God,' &c. Natural conscience works from hell, and from our own disquiet. Faith carrieth a man out of himself, and casts all his actions and affections into the mould of the word; but carnal men are forced to it by the rack of their own thoughts, and considerations taken from hell and torment. It is true we must believe the threatenings of the word as well as the promises; but love hath the greatest stroke in all their duties: 2 Cor. v. 11, 'Knowing therefore the terrors of the Lord, we persuade men.' That was one reason which did engage him to faithfulness in preaching the word; compare it with ver. 14, 'The love of Christ constraineth us.'
[3.] Natural conscience doth not do duties out of gratitude or thankfulness, but the great gospel-principle is gratitude. If there were no law to bind a regenerate man, yet he would not be ungrateful to God; but nature is rather prone to a sin-offering than a thank-offering. When our consciences are troubled, that we may lick ourselves whole again, then carnal men would perform duties, but not out of thankfulness to God. Under the law, when they came with then burnt-offering, they were to offer to God a thank-offering Lev. vi. 12. God will have thankfulness attend all our obedience; but nature only performs duties when we are troubled.
[4.] Natural conscience convinceth us of the duty, but not of the goodness of the duty; it shows us the need, but not the worth of worship; therefore there is a rising of heart, and a great deal of prejudice against that we perform. It makes a man to do duties, because he dares not do otherwise. Still the service of God is a burden and a weariness: they look upon God as an austere and hard master, Mat. xxv. 24. They think God is too strict, too exact, and deals with them upon justice; but where love and grace is the principle, there 'the commandments are not grievous,' 1 John v. 3; but we act with a great deal of delight and complacency in them.
[5.] Natural conscience works but at times, when convictions are strongest; it makes us mind duty in a sick qualm. When terror flashes in the face of a natural man, then he will apply himself to God. Usually a natural conscience doth use duties just as we take strong waters, not for a constant drink, - then they would mar the stomach, - but only to help us at a pang; so when we are in trouble, then nature chiefly puts us upon duty, then we are most enlarged and quickened: Hos. v. 15, 'in their affliction they will seek me early;' when distress is laid upon them: Jer. ii. 27, 'in the time of their trouble they will cry, Lord! save us.' All the duties of natural men are forced out of them, like water out of a still, by a sense of wrath; they come not so freely as from a sense of love.
Use 2. If it be so, that carnal men may join with the people of God in duties of worship, here is direction; in all your duties put your hearts to this question, Wherein do I excel a hypocrite? So far a natural man may go. As Christ said, Mat. v. 47, 'Do not even the publicans the same?' When thou art praying and hearing, and thy heart doth not go out with such delight and complacency to God, say, May not a carnal man do this? A christian should do duties in a distinguishing manner, that there should be a sensible difference between them and others.
Ques. But you will say, wherein lies the essential difference between the performances of carnal men and the children of God? This must be the work of the next doctrine.
Hebrews
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