Direction 4
The fourth direction is to make diligent search into, and call to remembrance, what has formerly been between God and you. The remembrance of former things often upholds when present sense fails. This David practiced in the like case in Psalm 77:5-6. When his soul had refused comfort (as I told you in verse 2), yet in the end he began not only to be willing to listen to what might make for him, but set himself to recall to mind, to consider the days of old, to make diligent search — namely into the records and register of God's dealings — to see if there were any record extant that might help him now the devil was pleading against his title. Even as if your houses and lands were called into question you would search over old writings and deeds, so do you in this. 'I considered,' says he, 'the songs in the night' — that is, that joyful communion he had enjoyed with God when God and he sang songs together. 'And I communed with my own heart and made diligent search' — he tossed and turned over his heart to see if no grace had formerly been there, and if no grace at present were there. He searched into what might comfort him as well as into the causes that might provoke God thus to deal with him.
And so Job did when he was thus stricken and forsaken of God. He views over every part of his life; he seeks what dry land he could find to get footing upon in the midst of seas of temptation, recounts what a holy life he had lived and with what fear and strictness he had served God (chapters 29, 30, 31 throughout), and tells them plainly in chapter 27:5-6: 'Let them plead and argue what they could against me, and go about to prove me a hypocrite — till I die I will not remove my integrity from me, nor let go my righteousness.' 'I will never give up my interest in God's mercies, nor the evidences I have to show for them.' And he says in chapter 19:27-28: 'Though my strength is at present consumed, yet the root of the matter is in me' — that is, though God deals thus hardly with me, and though the exercise of grace is much obscured, the sunshine of God's favor withdrawn, and the joyful fruits of righteousness fallen off this now withered stock, yet there is the root of the matter still — a root of faith that does not decay, a constant frame of grace that still remains, which hates sin and loves God. And can you call nothing to remembrance between God and you which argues infallibly his love? Nothing at all? Look again. Did God never speak peace to your heart and shed his love abroad in it? Have you at no time found in your heart pure strains of true love and good will to him? Some pure drops of godly sorrow for offending him, some dispositions of pure self-denial in which you simply aimed at his glory more than your own good? Have you never an old tried evidence which has been acknowledged and confirmed again and again in open court? Not one? And if you can call to mind but one, if in truth, it may support you. For if one promise belongs to you, then all do — for every one conveys whole Christ, in whom all the promises are made, and who is the substance of them. As in the sacraments, the bread conveys whole Christ and the wine also whole Christ, so in the word every promise conveys whole Christ. And if you can say as the church of Ephesus in Revelation 2:6, 'This thing I have — that I hate sin, and every sin as God hates it, and because he hates it' — as Christ owned them for this one grace, and though they had many sins and many failings, yet 'this you have' — if Christ will acknowledge you to be his for one mark of his own; or if he sees but one spot of his child upon you, you may well plead it, even any one, to him. Yes, though it be in a lesser degree, if in truth and sincerity. For God does not bring a pair of scales to weigh your graces and refuse them if they are too light; he brings a touchstone to try them, and if they are true gold, though never so little of it, it will pass current with him. Though it be smoke not flame, though it be but a wick in the socket — as in the original text, likelier to die and go out than to continue, which we are accustomed to throw away — yet he will not quench it but accept it. Yes, and though at present you find in your sense no grace stirring in you, nothing but hardness and deadness, yet if you can remember, 'but this once I had' — as a woman with child, though after her first quickening she does not always feel the child stir, yet because she did feel it stir, she still conceives hopes and thinks she is with child — so think of the new creature formed within you.
These things you are to recall and consider in time of distress — to remember former graces and spiritual dispositions in you, and God's gracious dealings with you. God remembers them to have mercy on you; why should you not remember them to comfort you? Therefore in Hebrews 6:9-10: 'We hope better things of you, for God is not unrighteous to forget your labor of love, to reward you.' And therefore he calls upon them likewise in Hebrews 10:31 to call to remembrance the former days to comfort them — how they held out when their hearts were tried to the bottom, when shipwreck was made of their goods, good names, and all for Christ, yet they made not shipwreck of a good conscience. And if you do thus call to remembrance the things of old and yet can find no comfort at first from them (as often you may not, as was David's case in Psalm 77 — for after his remembrance of his songs in the night, still his soul was left in doubt, and he goes on to ask, 'Will God ever be merciful?') yet have recourse to them again, and then again. For though they yield nothing at one time, they may at another — that it may be seen that God comforts by them, not they of themselves. Have you found a nursing breast of consolation milkless? Try again; comfort may come in the end. If you have empaneled a jury and grand inquest to search, and their first verdict condemns you, yet do as wise judges often do — send them back to consider it again; they may find it the next time. Jonah looked once toward the temple and found no comfort (Jonah 2:4), for he said, 'I will look again toward your holy temple.' A troubled heart is like those double-sided pictures — if you look one way you shall see nothing but some horrid shape of a devil; but go to the other side and look again, and you shall see the picture of an angel or a beautiful figure. So some have looked over their hearts by signs at one time and found nothing, as they thought, but hypocrisy, unbelief, hardness, and self-seeking — but not long after, examining their hearts again by the same signs, they have espied the image of God drawn fairly upon the table of their hearts.
The fourth direction is to search diligently and call to mind what has formerly passed between God and you. The memory of former things often holds us up when present experience fails. David practiced this in a similar situation in Psalm 77:5-6. After his soul refused comfort (as I noted from verse 2), he finally became willing not only to hear what might speak in his favor but actively recalled the days of old and searched carefully — examining the record of God's dealings — to see if there was anything on record that might help him now that the devil was contesting his claim. It is like searching through old documents and deeds when someone challenges your ownership of a house or land. 'I remember my song in the night,' he says — meaning the joyful communion he had enjoyed with God when they sang together. 'I will meditate with my heart and my spirit ponders' — he turned his heart over thoroughly to see whether any grace had once been there, and whether any grace was still present. He searched for what might comfort him, as well as for what might have provoked God to deal with him this way.
Job did the same when he was struck down and forsaken by God. He examined every part of his life, looking for any solid ground to stand on in the middle of the sea of temptation — recounting the holy life he had lived and the fear and care with which he had served God (chapters 29, 30, and 31 throughout) — and told them plainly in chapter 27:5-6: 'Let them argue and contend against me, let them try to prove me a hypocrite — till I die I will not let go of my integrity, nor abandon my righteousness.' 'I will never give up my claim to God's mercies or the evidence I have to show for them.' And he says in chapter 19:27-28: 'Though my strength is spent at present, yet the root of the matter is in me' — meaning: though God deals with me this harshly, though the exercise of grace is largely hidden, the sunshine of God's favor withdrawn, and the joyful fruits of righteousness fallen from this now withered stock, yet the root remains — a root of faith that does not decay, a steady frame of grace that still endures, which hates sin and loves God. Can you call nothing to mind between God and you that argues unmistakably for His love? Nothing at all? Look again. Has God never spoken peace to your heart and poured His love into it? Have you never at any time found in your heart genuine love and goodwill toward Him? Some pure drops of godly sorrow for having offended Him, some moments of pure self-denial in which you aimed simply at His glory rather than your own benefit? Have you no old, proven evidence that has been confirmed again and again? Not one? And if you can call even one to mind — if it is genuine — it may sustain you. For if one promise belongs to you, then all of them do — because every promise conveys the whole Christ, in whom all promises are made and who is their substance. Just as in the sacraments the bread conveys the whole Christ and the wine conveys the whole Christ, so in the Word every promise conveys the whole Christ. And if you can say as the church of Ephesus said in Revelation 2:6, 'This I have — that I hate sin, every sin as God hates it, and because He hates it' — just as Christ acknowledged them for this one grace, and though they had many sins and many failures, He said 'this you have' — if Christ will acknowledge you as His own for one mark of His; or if He sees even one mark of His child upon you, you may well present it to Him. Yes, even if it is present in a small degree — provided it is genuine and sincere. For God does not bring scales to weigh your graces and reject them if they are too light; He brings a touchstone to test them, and if they are true gold, however small the amount, it passes with Him. Though it is smoke rather than flame, though it is only a flickering wick in the socket — which in the original is described as more likely to go out than to keep burning, the kind we would normally throw away — He will not snuff it out but will accept it. And even if at present you feel no grace stirring in you whatsoever, nothing but hardness and deadness, yet if you can remember 'but once I had this' — as a woman who is pregnant, though she may not always feel the child move after the first quickening, yet because she did feel it move she still has hope and believes she is with child — so think of the new creature formed within you.
These are the things to call to mind and consider in times of distress — to remember former graces and spiritual dispositions in you, and God's gracious dealings with you. God remembers them in order to show you mercy; why should you not remember them in order to find comfort? So in Hebrews 6:9-10: 'We expect better things of you, for God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name.' And so He calls on them in Hebrews 10:31 to remember the former days, to find comfort in them — how they held firm when their hearts were tried to the limit, when they lost their goods, their reputations, and everything for Christ, yet did not lose a good conscience. And if you do call to mind the things of old and still find no comfort at first (as is often the case, as it was with David in Psalm 77 — for after remembering his songs in the night, his soul was still left in doubt and he went on asking, 'Will the Lord be favorable again?') — still go back to them again, and then again. Though they yield nothing one time, they may the next — so that it may be seen that God comforts through them, not that they comfort on their own. Have you found a nursing source of consolation dry? Try again; comfort may come in the end. If you have assembled a jury to search and their first verdict condemns you, do as wise judges often do — send them back to reconsider; they may return a different verdict. Jonah looked once toward the temple and found no comfort (Jonah 2:4), which is why he said, 'I will look again toward Your holy temple.' A troubled heart is like one of those pictures that can be seen from two angles — look one way and you see nothing but some horrible shape of a devil; go to the other side and look again, and you see the image of an angel or a beautiful face. So some have looked at their hearts by the signs at one time and found nothing, it seemed, but hypocrisy, unbelief, hardness, and self-seeking — yet not long after, examining their hearts again by the same signs, they have seen the image of God drawn clearly on the table of their hearts.
