INFLUENCES OF THE LIFE OF GRACE.

BY SAMUEL RUTHERFORD.

CHAPTER X.

Of Sovereignty in bestowing Influences, and of Prayer.

LET it be further considered, how unjust we are, and how free the Lord is.

He that complains of the want of grace, and yet remains in the state of nature, doth close with his want of grace.

The unrenewed man's complaining of the want of grace, is neither in sense or godly feeling, nor in faith and humble believing. Nature can no more complain of the want of grace with any spiritual and godly sense, than a sucking child can weep because he is not an understanding man of thirty years old; for darkness cannot seek after the sunlight, for so, it should desire its own destruction; nor can cold desire heat; nor Satan be divided against Satan; and therefore, these are but feigned and counterfeit bemoanings; for the actings of sinful nature with delight, say, that the man hates grace, which he professeth he so much desires, for only grace can thirst after, and long for grace. (John xv. 24), "If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin, but now they have both seen and hated both me and my Father." Such a hatred of the fulness of grace, Jesus Christ, cannot consist with a lively desire of grace.

It is a right rule, not to separate Sovereignty from the Word, or the Omnipotency of grace from the Promise; otherwise, we make a sort of idol of Omnipotency; seek we then, and pray for, influences of grace, not peremptorily, hic and nunc, to every single acting. (Psalm cxix. 25), "My soul cleaveth to the dust, quicken Thou me according to Thy Word.”

A gracious heart seeks no other out-lettings of grace to this or that duty, but according to the promise. Now the promise is not contrary to the sovereign dispensation, and there is no such sovereignty, but that there are many withdrawings of God, whence follows deadness, and the souls melting for heaviness; nor is there either promise or dispensation, that the believer shall in every moment of time, be lively and vigorous, and have the heart lifted up in the ways of God, except we would say, earth is heaven, and that we are not for a time in heaviness, if need be.

There is a false literal heat and vigour of going about duties that comes not from the Word. The Spirit that speaks in the Word, speaks His own spiritual and lively comforts and actings, not that which

may flow from the mere letter, though even the style, liveliness, majesty, and divinity that may be seen in the letter of the Scripture are eminently above the like in other writers. The Spirit immediately inspiring, and the Spirit quickening in the Word, are both the same Spirit that Christ promised to send (John xvi.), of which Christ saith (verse 14), "He shall glorify me, for He shall receive of mine, (a word most mysterious) and shall shew it unto you ;" and believers are afraid that their hearts receive some other quickening between the sound of the Word and the actings of the Lord upon their hearts, which causes them to pray for no quickening, but according to the Word.

The like may be said of the salvation of the Lord (Ps. xci. 16), "I will shew him my salvation." (Isa. xii. 2), “For the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song, He also is become my salvation." For we are apt to seek strange influences, the like whereof the Lord bestows not upon His people. (Ps. cxix. 132), “Look Thou upon me and be merciful unto me, as Thou usest to do to those that love Thy name," &c.

It is cold comfort, when we reap without the Word. It is true, His omnipotence was eternal before there was a word or promise made to us, but now the Lord will have the Word or promise to be the officina, the work-house of His Spirit, and of the quickening influences thereof.

As also there is a salvation and escape out of prison by keys of our own making, and by putting out the hand to iniquity (Ps. cxxv. 3), and the heart is much for the bulk of a deliverance from hell, and for the body and lump of a mercy, were it heaven and Balaam's paradise, or the end of the righteous, whether it be purchased by the ransom of Christ's blood or no, and through faith laying hold thereon or no.

And we love to have the remission and the righteousness of Christ in His blood separated from holiness and sanctification, but the Scripture conjoineth them, (1 Cor. i. 30; Gal. i. 4; 1 Cor. vi. 11; Heb. x, 10; Heb. xiii. 12, 13; 1 Pet. ii. 24); yea it is a holyjustification (to speak so), the cleanly, kindly, sure absolution of the sinner, for Christ loves not and washes not in His blood, but such as He makes kings and priests unto God (Rev. i. 5); in so saying, I honour good works more than Mr. Baxter doth, who makes them as good as Christ's blood, even the price of pardon (Eph. i. 7; Col. i. 14).

Yea, and some could be satisfied with dumb influences and inspirations contrary unto, and separated from the Word, as Eve (Gen. iii. 4, 5, 6; 1 Kings xiii. 18).

What could the powerful influences of God the creator, separated from Christ the treasure house of love and mercy, do to us? And if

Omnipotency were separated from the promises of the Gospel, could it save us, in the Lord's way, through the blood of Christ; for power in God cannot (to speak so) save men, but by the name of Jesus Christ, the only saving name under heaven (Acts iv. 12); nor can Omnipotence work a redemption now in His Gospel dispensation, but that which is by blood, (Ephes. i. 7; Col. i. 13); and that which is to declare the righteousness of God for the remission of sins. Power acts by way of complete satisfaction, as the exceeding greatness of God's power to usward who believe is of the same size with the mighty power which raised Christ from the dead, and set Him on the right hand of God in heavenly places (Ephes. i. 14-20). The power of translating a sinner from Satan's kingdom to the kingdom of the Son of His love, works righteously to translate no man but the person for whom a ransom of blood is given to justice, as the Prince's right is only for the good of free and legal subjects (Col. i. 11, 12, 13), and that "all power in heaven and earth to save" (Matt. xxviii. 18; John xvii. 2; Matt. xi. 27), and that kingly and royal power "to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins" (Matt. ix. 6), to raise and quicken the dead (John v. 26, 28, 29), is a power (in a way) purchased by the blood of atonement. (Rom. xiv. 9), "For to this end Christ both died and rose, that He might be Lord both of the dead and living." And it is moreover a righteous power over all flesh, and in heaven and earth, though He died not for all flesh; and over all the angels in heaven and all the men on earth. It were strange to say Christ died for the reprobate, and not for their sins and final unbelief and rejecting of Christ, to obtain a power to pardon some of their sins, and not all, and to give them repentance from some dead works, and to purge them from some but not all their sins.

It is most unjust to lay the blame of our sinful omissions upon holy Sovereignty, because He withdraws influences. For that is to reproach God. It is like the malcontentedness of Satan and of hell, for the damned complain that ever they were born, and that they cannot be annihilated, and that hills and mountains cover them not quick in soul and body, yea they storm and rage because God gives them a being capable of eternal woe. The wakened consciences of men out of Christ often fall upon this recrimination; the gnawing of conscience of Judas, is, "I have sinned," and of the young man (Prov. v. 12), "How I have hated instruction; and my heart despised reproof!" Yet it is more commendable complaining, and more hopeful to complain of sinful neglect of means, than of divine permissive providence of sin upon the Lord's withdrawing of gracious influences; but conscience in its kindly acting, is the tormenting worm that eats itself. No devil alleges this. It is

true Satan bites at providence. God hedges about a hypocrite, Job, and God commends him (says the devil). Christ, saith he, torments us before the time. Satan trembles and frets at the existence of God, and that God is above him (Job i. 9, 10; Matt. viii. 29; James ii. 19); and so all his words to Christ speak a barking at providence (Matt. iv). It is wrong, saith he, that the Son of God should want bread. Satan is a better master, who gives all the kingdoms of the world to his worshippers, than God, who denies bread to His own well-beloved Son! Thus doth Satan in another kind fret.

But may not conscience accuse providence in the Lord's withdrawing of grace, especially being wakened?

The conscience of devils and the damned is awakened either penally or sinfully; these may be distinguished here, the conscience as penally awakened by the Judge, primarily gnaws and torments itself for sin, as punished. "I have sinned," saith Judas, and he casts down the seven pieces, feeling the worm, but as the conscience is sinfully awakened by itself in blaspheming the God of heaven (Rev. xvi. 9-11), because of pain, it also frets against providence, but is not pained for the want of saving grace and holy influences which might have prevented sin; yea, their blasphemings of God eternally, is a seal and a closing with the state of unrenewed nature, which is never moved for sin, but wrestles against the providence which sometimes did permit sin, which now hath such tormenting consequences, though the conscience in the mean-time being taken with the lustre and apparent good in sin, did also close with the opportunity of sin, and with providence opening the way to tentations (Prov. vii. 15); and did seek such a providence, (Gen. xxxix. 11, 12,) and embraceth it (Mark xiv. 10, 11); yet is there saving good in a spiritual complaining of the want of saving influence.

So as, (1), They be not looked on as misdeeds of providence; and we say not, the Lord might have lent me the influence to such a selfdenying death as Abraham's journey in aiming to sacrifice his only Son for God, but He would not!

It is good if there be a holy submissive complaining of the want of gracious influences for duties. (Isa. lxiii. 17), "O Lord, why hast thou made us to err from Thy ways? and hardened our hearts from Thy fear?" and if they be not looked on as withdrawings of mere providence; though there be a holy pleading with God. (Verse 19), "We are Thine," yet we are so Thine, as Thy grace is sovereign. "Thou never bearest rule over them, they were not called by Thy name." And yet no praise or thanks to Israel, that they were called by His name rather than the heathen.

We may pray for, and so earnestly suit and desire influences, as "Draw me;" "Quicken me;" "Incline my heart unto Thy

testimonies." Therefore we may pray against withdrawings of influences, as sad privations of dreadful consequent; and so much is held forth in that petition, "Lead us not into temptation."

Yet so, as there is no deserving in us of having eyes to see, and spiritual influences to see, to hear, to perceive with a new heart (Deut xxix. 2, 3); even as it is not the merit of one part of the earth, the south, that it lieth nearer the sun than another northern part, nor the good deserving of one horse that he wears a golden saddle and a silken bridle, rather than another. This should be minded-“ What am I, Lord?" As it was Christ's mind to cry down works in point of salvation, yet not to cry down all actings by way of duty in the new covenant way. Therefore since grace may be desired, (and all gracious influences are grace), so is there a conformity betwixt the believer's will-suiting influences, and the revealed will of God, (I say not His high decree and ordaining will,) for sure New Testament or New Covenant prayers, new oil and new supply of grace, do import a fresh supply and watering of influences, to be furnished to believers; and especially since we may pray, " Hallowed be thy name (in me), thy kingdom come (to me), thy will be done (by me) in the earth, as it is in heaven."

We may, and ought, to suit of God what the Lord promiseth in the covenant of grace, but the Lord promiseth to bestow predeterminating grace in the covenant, as after shall be cleared. Now the faultiness of this, "I will not pray until the Spirit act upon me and move me to pray," is seen in that it importeth that the moral ground of praying is not the command of God, "Pray continually," and again He saith, "Call upon me in the time of trouble," which is most false, for another warrant for all moral obedience, than precept and promise, can no man give; yea it supposeth that the warrant of prayer is the influence of grace. Now, the influence of grace is the efficient helping cause, not the rule, not the objective cause of either our praying or any acts of our obedience; yea, it is the way of enthusiasts to make divine impulsions, and not the word of precept, the rule of our obedience.

There is no warrant to disobey the command, "pray continually," until we have dispositions from heaven, for then might the three disciples in the garden have said to Christ, "Our master bids us pray, but we are heavy with sleep, and cannot pray, and so must be excused." Upon the same account, Simon Magus, and other unregenerate men, should shift the command to pray; for till we be translated out of nature to the kingdom of grace, we want the habit of grace and spirit of adoption, by which alone we can pray acceptably. How unsavoury shall this be! A man falls over a bridge and is