Gracious affections soften the
heart, and are attended and followed with a Christian tenderness of spirit.
False affections, however persons may seem to be melted by
them while they are new, yet have a tendency in the end to harden the heart. A
disposition to some kind of passions may be established; such as imply
self-seeking, self-exaltation, and opposition to others. But false affections,
with the delusion that attends them, finally tend to stupify the mind, and shut
it up against those affections wherein tenderness of heart consists: and the
effect of them at last is, that persons in the settled frame of their minds,
become less affected with their present and past sins, and less conscientious
with respect to future sins, less moved with the warnings and cautions of God’s
word, or God’s chastisements in his providence, more careless of the frame of
their hearts, and the manner and tendency of their behavior, less quicksighted
to discern what is sinful, less afraid of the appearance of evil, than they were
while they were under legal awakenings and fears of hell. Now they have been
the subjects of such and such impressions and affections, and have a high
opinion of themselves, and look on their state to be safe; they can be much
more easy than before, in living in the neglect of duties that are troublesome
and inconvenient; and are much more slow and partial in complying with
difficult commands; are in no measure so alarmed at the appearance of their own
defects and transgressions; are emboldened to favor themselves more, with
respect to the labor, and painful care and exactness in their walk, and more
easily yield to temptations, and the solicitations of their lusts; and have far
less care of their behavior, when they come into the holy presence of God, in the
time of public or private worship. Formerly it may be, under legal convictions,
they took much pains in religion, and denied themselves in many things: but now
they think themselves out of danger of hell, they very much put off the burden
of the cross, and save themselves the trouble of difficult duties, and allow
themselves more in the enjoyment of their ease and their lusts.
Such persons as these, instead of embracing Christ as their
Savior from sin, trust in him as the Savior of their sins; instead of flying to
him as their refuge from their spiritual enemies they make use of him as the
defense of their spiritual enemies, from God, and to strengthen them against
him. They make Christ the minister of sin, and great officer and vicegerent of
the devil, to strengthen his interest, and make him above all things in the
world strong against Jehovah; so that they may sin against him with good
courage, and without any fear, being effectually secured from restraints, by
his most solemn warnings and most awful threatenings. They trust in Christ to
preserve to them the quiet enjoyment of their sins, and to be their shield to
defend them from God’s displeasure; while they come close to him, even to his
bosom, the place of his children, to fight against him, with their mortal
weapons, hid under their skirts. However, some of these, at the same time, make
a great profession of love to God, and assurance of his favor, and great joy in
tasting the sweetness of his love.
After this manner they trusted in Christ, that the Apostle
Jude speaks of, who crept in among the saints unknown; but were really ungodly
men, turning the grace of God into lasciviousness, Jude 4. These are they that
trust in their being righteous; and because God has promised that the righteous
shall surely live, or certainly be saved, are therefore emboldened to commit
iniquity, whom God threatens in Ezek. 33:13: “When I shall say to the
righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and
commit iniquity; all his righteousness shall not be remembered, but for his
iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.”
Gracious affections are of a quite contrary tendency; they
turn a heart of stone more and more into a heart of flesh. A holy love and hope
are principles that are vastly more efficacious upon the heart, to make it
tender, and to fill it with a dread of sin, or whatever might displease and
offend God, and to engage it to watchfulness, and care, and strictness, than a
slavish fear of hell. Gracious affections, as was observed before, flow out of
a contrite heart, or (as the word signifies) a bruised heart, bruised and
broken with godly sorrow; which makes the heart tender, as bruised flesh is
tender, and easily hurt. Godly sorrow has much greater influence to make the heart
tender, than mere legal sorrow from selfish principles.
The tenderness of the heart of a true Christian, is
elegantly signified by our Savior, in his comparing such a one to a little
child. The flesh of a little child is very tender; so is the heart of one that
is new born. This is represented in what we are told of Naaman’s cure of his
leprosy, by his washing in Jordan; which was undoubtedly a type of the renewing
of the soul, by washing in the laver of regeneration. We are told, 2 Kings
5:14, “That he went down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according
to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh came again like unto the flesh
of a little child.” Not only is the flesh of a little child tender, but his
mind is tender. A little child has his heart easily moved, wrought upon and
bowed: so is a Christian in spiritual things. A little child is apt to be
affected with sympathy, to weep with them that weep, and cannot well bear to
see others in distress: so it is with a Christian, John 11:25, Rom. 12:15, 1
Cor. 12:26. A little child is easily won by kindness: so is a Christian. A
little child is easily affected with grief at temporal evils, and has his heart
melted, and falls a weeping: thus tender is the heart of a Christian, with
regard to the evil of sin. A little child is easily affrighted at the
appearance of outward evils, or anything that threatens its hurt: so is a
Christian apt to be alarmed at the appearance of moral evil, and anything that
threatens the hurt of the soul. A little child, when it meets enemies, or
fierce beasts, is not apt to trust its own strength, but flies to its parents
for refuge: so a saint is not self-confident in engaging spiritual enemies, but
flies to Christ. A little child is apt to be suspicious of evil in places of
danger, afraid in the dark, afraid when left alone, or far from home: so is a
saint apt to be sensible of his spiritual dangers, jealous of himself, full of
fear when he cannot see his way plain before him, afraid to be left alone, and
to be at a distance from God: Prov. 28:14, “Happy is the man that feareth
alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.” A little
child is apt to be afraid of superiors, and to dread their anger, and tremble
at their frowns and threatenings: so is a true saint with respect to God: Psal.
119:120, “My flesh trembleth for fear of thee, and I am afraid of thy
judgments.” Isa. 66:2, “To this man will I look, even to him that is poor, and
trembleth at my word.” ver. 5, “Hear ye the word of the Lord, ye that tremble
at his word.” Ezra. 9:4, “Then were assembled unto me everyone that trembled at
the words of the God of Israel.” Chap. 10:3; “According to the counsel of my
Lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God.” A little child
approaches superiors with awe: so do the saints approach God with holy awe and
reverence: Job 13:2, “Shall not his excellency make you afraid? And his dread
fall upon you?” Holy fear is so much the nature of true godliness, that it is
called in Scripture by no other name more frequently, than the fear of God.[1]
[1]
Jonathan Edwards, A Treatise Concerning
Religious Affections : In Three Parts ... (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research
Systems, Inc., 1996).
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