I Proceed to those other affections whereby we are to give unto God (so far as Creatures are capable) that honour which is due to those communicable perfections belonging to the Divine Understanding, Will, Faculties of Acting, namely, his Wisdom, Goodness, Power, Dominion, and superiority over us, and his distribution of future Rewards and Punishments; which should respectively excite in us, Affiance, Love, Reverence, and Obedience, both active and passive. And though each of these graces, have sufficient foundation in every one of the Divine excellencies promiscuously, yet there is some more peculiar reference and correspondence amongst them, according to this order.
I purpose to speak to each of them, severally and briefly.
First, Concerning Affiance; by which I mean an acquiescence of the mind, whereby it is supported against all unnecessary doubts and fears, upon account of the Divine All-sufficiency in general, with more special respect to his Knowledg and Wisdom and Providence, whereby he doth take notice of our conditions, and is able to order all things for the best, and doth not permit any thing to befall us without his knowledg of it, and being concerned for it. This Grace, according to its different relations, is usually distinguished into these three branches: 1. As it respects an act of the judgment in assenting to all divine truths, whether discoverable by Reason or by Revelation, so ‘tis styled Faith. 2. As it imports a resting of the will and affections in the Divine goodness, whether discovered to us by the light of nature or by revelation, so ‘tis styled Trust; and according to the greater measure or degree of it, Confidence and Plerophory. So the Heathen, who have no revelation, can support themselves in their sufferings for that which is good, with the consideration that God will take care of them. 3. As it relates to the expectation and desire after some future good which we stand in need of, or the escaping of some evil we are obnoxious unto, so ‘tis styled Hope. But I shall treat of these promiscuously, because they agree in the general nature of Affiance. And how reasonable and proper this affiance in God is, will appear from these considerations.
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‘Tis necessary to our present state in this world, that there should be something for us, to lean upon, and have recourse unto, as our support and refuge.
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God alone is an all-sufficient stay, upon which the mind of man can securely repose it self in every condition.
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‘Tis necessary to our present state in this world, that there should be something for us to lean upon, and have recourse unto, as our support and refuge. This the ancient Poets have signified in their fable of Pandora’s Box, which when Epimetheus had opened, and saw all manner of evils flying out of it, he suddenly closed it again, and so kept in Hope at the bottom of it, as being the only remedy left to mankind, against all those evils to which they are obnoxious. Every man at his best estate, is but a feeble infirm creature; what from the impotence of his mind, and the disorder of his passions from within; together with the troubles and difficulties that he shall meet withall from without; the great obscurity which there is in the nature of things, that uncertainty which attends the issues and events of them; the mutability of all humane affairs, which cannot possibly be secured by all the imaginable wisdom and foresight which men are capable of. From all which it sufficiently appears, that faith and hope and trust are altogether necessary to the state of men in this world; and that they must always be in an unsafe, unquiet condition, unless they have somewhat to support and relieve them in their exigences. ‘Tis observed of the Hopp, and other such climbing Plants, which are not of strength enough to bear up themselves, that they will by natural instinct lean towards and clasp about any thing that is next, which may help to bear them up; and in the want of a Tree or a Pole, which is their proper support, they will wind about a Thistle or a Nettle, or any other Weed, though in the issue it will help to choak and destroy the growth of them, instead of furthering it. The application is easie, All flesh is grass, and the (Isa. 40. 6) glory thereof, as the flower of the field, of a fading impotent condition, standing in need of something without it self for its protection and support. And a mistake in the choice of such helps, may sometimes prove fatal. Our conditions in this world are often in Scripture represented by a state of warfare, wherein the virtues of Faith and Hope are said to be our Brestplate,1 our Shield, and our Helmet, the chief defensive arms, whereby we are to be guarded against all assaults. And sometimes by a state travelling by Sea, wherein Hope is our Anchor, that which must fix and keep us steddy in the midst of all (Heb. 6. 19) storms.
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God alone is an all-sufficient stay, upon which the mind of man can securely repose it self in every condition. For which reason he is in the Scripture phrase styled the Hope of Israel, the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of such as2 are afar off upon the Sea, the God of Hope. Which Titles he hath been pleased to assume unto himself, to teach us this lesson, that our Faith and Hope should be in (1 Pet. 1. 21) God.
The principal conditions requisite in that person, who is fit to be a proper object of our confidence are these four:
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Perfect knowledge and wisdom, to understand our conditions, and what may be the most proper helps and remedies for them.
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Unquestionable goodness, love, faithfulness, to be concerned for us, and to take care of us.
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Sufficient power, to relieve us in every condition.
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Everlastingness, that may reach to us and our posterity to all generations. All which are only to be found in God. From whence it will appear, that as he is the only proper object of our trust, so by not-trusting in him, we do deny to him the honour which is due to these Divine excellencies, and consequently are deficient in one of the chief parts of Religion.
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He alone hath perfect knowledg and wisdom to understand our conditions, and what may be the most proper remedy for them. His understanding is infinite. Our (Psal. 147. 5) most secret thoughts and inward groanings are not hid from him. He knows our diseases, and what Physick is fittest for us, the best means of help, and the most fitting season to apply those means. He is infinitely wise to contrive such ways of safety and deliverance, as will surmount all those difficulties and perplexities which would put humane wisdom to a loss. He doth sometimes accomplish his ends without any visible means; filling mens bellies (Psa. 17. 14) with his hid treasure, making them to thrive and prosper in the world, by such secret ways as men understand not. And sometimes he doth blast the most likely means, so that the battel is not to the (Eccles. 9. 11) strong, nor yet bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but it may happen to them, as the Prophet speaks, that though they sow much, yet they bring in but little, (Hag. 1. 6) they eat and have not enough, they drink but are not filled, they are clothed but not warm, earn wages but put it into a bag with holes. And therefore upon this account, there is very good reason why God should be the object of our confidence.
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He is likewise infinite as to his Goodness, Love, Truth, Faithfulness, whereby he is concerned for our welfare, and doth take care for us. The nearest and dearest relations which we have in the world, in whom we have most reason to be confident, Our father and mother may forsake (Psa. 27. 10) us: And as for such whom we have obliged by all imaginable kindness, they may deal deceitfully with us, and prove like winter brooks, which in wet seasons, (Job 6. 15) when there is no need of them, will run with a torrent, but are quite vanished in a time of drought. Whilst we are in a prosperous condition they will be forward to apply themselves to us, with great professions of kindness and zeal; but if our condition prove any way declining, they presently fall off and become strangers, forgetting and renouncing all obligations of friendship and gratitude, rather than run the least hazard or trouble to do us a kindness. That man hath had but little experience in the world, to whom this is not very evident. But now the mercy and goodness of God is over all his works, and (Psal. 68. 5) more especially extended to such as are in a state of misery, the fatherless and3 widows, the prisoners, the poor, and the stranger. He is the helper of the friendless.4 That which amongst men is usually the chief occasion to take off their affection and kindness, namely, misery and affliction, is a principal argument to entitle us to the favour of God, and therefore is frequently made use of by good men in H. Scripture to that purpose. O go not far from me, for trouble is nigh at hand, (Psal. 22. 11) and there is none to help me; I am in misery, O hear me speedily.
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He is of infinite Power, for our relief and supply in every condition; being able to do whatsoever he pleaseth both in heaven and in earth, and in the sea, and (Psal 135. 6) in all deep places. He is the first cause of every thing, both as to its being and operation. We depend wholly upon his power, not only for the issues and events of things, but likewise for the means. And therefore ‘tis in Scripture made an argument why we should not trust in riches, or in any worldly thing, because power belongs to God. And ‘tis elsewhere urged for a (Psa. 62. 10, 11) reason why we should trust in the Lord for ever, because in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. And upon this consideration (Isa. 26. 4) Abraham is said to have hoped (Rom. 4. 18. 21) against hope, being fully perswaded that what God had promis’d he was able to perform.
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He is everlasting, whereas all other helps and comforts which we can propose to our selves are transient and fading. As for our fathers, where are they? And (Zech. 1. 5) do the Prophets, or Princes, live for ever? Their days upon earth are a shadow that fleeteth away, their breath goeth forth, and they return to the earth, and then all their thoughts perish: Whereas he is from everlasting to everlasting, God blessed for ever; and his righteousness extendeth to childrens children, even to all generations. We see by daily experience, persons of great hopes and expectations, when their Patrons dye upon whom they had their dependance, to what a forlorn and helpless condition they are reduced: But now this can never befall the man who trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. And ‘tis one (Jer. 17. 7) of the greatest priviledges of Religion, that it doth furnish a man with such a sure refuge and support against all kind of exigences, whereby he may bear up his spirit under those difficulties wherewith others are overwhelmed.
‘Tis true indeed, it cannot be denied, but that God doth expect, and the nature of things doth require, that men should be suitably affected with joy or sorrow, according as their conditions are; but yet with this difference, that those who believe the Providence of God, should not be so deeply affected with these things as other men, they should weep as not weeping, and rejoice as not rejoicing. They should not upon any occasion fear or sorrow as men without hope, but should demean themselves as persons that have an higher principle to be acted by, and to live upon, than any of these sensible things.
I cannot omit to suggest one Observation concerning this duty of Affiance, which I have now been insisting upon; That though this particular virtue, and others of the like affinity, be evidently moral duties, our obligation to them being clearly deducible from the light of nature and the principles of reason, and consequently must be owned by the Heathen Philosophers; yet they do in their Writings, speak but sparingly, concerning those kind of virtues which are of a more spiritual nature, and tend most to the elevating and refining of the mind. And on the other side, the Scripture doth most of all insist upon the excellency and necessity of these kind of graces. Which is one of the main differences, betwixt the Scripture and other moral Writings. And for this reason it is, that in speaking of these graces and virtues, I do more frequently allude to Scripture expressions.
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