Chapter 6

CHAP. VI.

The place Luke 24:32, "Did not our heart burn," &c. is opened. 2. Believers can tell the history of the actings of the Spirit. 3. Feelings may be strongest after the actings of the Spirit. 4. The differences between literal heat and spiritual heat in many particulars. 5. And between the Spirit's actings with the Word, and enthusiastical raptures. There be other holy dispositions most considerable, specially these. 1. Burning of heart. 2. Enlargedness of heart. 3. Fixedness of heart. 4. Love-sickness after Christ. Besides these there be special dispositions to pray, to praise, to submit to God, to adore, to walk humbly, to walk circumspectly and tenderly, and such like; but most of them may be reduced to these.

Now to speak of the burning of the heart, the place (Luke 24:32) is clear. The two disciples having parted with Christ, now risen from the dead, and not knowing him to be Christ, they say one to another, Did not our hearts burn within us when he spake to us in the way, and opened to us the Scriptures?

In which words the nature of heavenly heart-burning, in the causes and properties thereof, is laid open; and the differences between the heat natural from natural influences, from the lively heat spiritual.

In the words these particulars are to be observed.

1. When the heat is gone and past, they perceive it; they said one to another when he is gone, our heart did burn, in the past or preterite time.

2. They accuse their own stupidity, [illegible], did not our heart burn? Were we sleeping when he burnt us.

3. The Author speaking, Christ, while he spake to us in the way.

4. The fuel that made the fire, and the burning coals, the Scripture opened by Christ.

5. The object of the burning, or the subject recipient, our heart, was burning, as an oven or a furnace.

They said one to another. The coal of fire which Christ cast into the heart, and is now smoking among the firewood, and on the heart, leaves two things behind it.

1. Telling of their experiences one to another.

2. The feeling and perceiving of the heavenly heart-burning, better when it's gone, than when it was on. Then the heart-working of Christ will leave histories behind it; as what is much of Solomon's Song, but a narration of the daughters and virgins one to another of Christ's actings upon the soul, or a chronicle of Christ's love, and the Spouse's sin.

1. Of Christ's dispensation in withdrawing (Canticles 3): I sought him, but I found him not. Canticles 5:6: I opened to my beloved, and my beloved had withdrawn himself.

2. She tells his saving actings upon the soul be like to the virgins (Canticles 1:4): The King has brought me to his chambers. Canticles 2:4: He brought me into his banqueting house, and love was his banner over me.

3. She tells over songs of Christ's loveliness and excellency (Canticles 5:10, 11, 12), of the savouriness of his name, of the memory of his love (Canticles 1:3, 4), of the seat and room that Christ has in her heart, and between her breasts (Canticles 1:13), all the night.

4. She tells of her carnal drowsiness; of her sinful refusing to open, and let in Christ to the heart. So does Jeremiah tell a sad experience of his own; he had quit the prophesying trade, and would speak no more in the name of the Lord; and he was burnt with a fire in his breast, he could not get the word housed in his heart, but it did come abroad. This shall be the first difference between spiritual heart-burnings, and the influences that the Spirit leaves, and the natural heat. The literal burning leaves no work upon the heart, nor any impression of heavenly experiences. Jehu his heat against Ahab and Baal left no impression of God on him to hate the golden calves, or the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin: he did cleave to that way (2 Kings 10:28, 30). Let fiery professors show any influence of a gracious work in the heart: the flaming of thorns under a pot, and the flashes of heat from burning straw leave no fire but ashes, and much cold behind them in the cold winter frost; and the generality of dead professors can say nothing to one another, but I have long heard the Gospel, and yet am without God and without Christ. 2. I am convinced of the excellence of Christ, and there yet is no fire or coal of heart-love to Christ in me; and it were good such a missing there were.

2. Did not our hearts burn?

This is convinced to be a disposition spiritual rather than a habit; it's a burning of heart while Christ speaks, that had a cooling before, though they were believing disciples. But here observe, they feel not so the burning of heart in the mean time as afterward, when Christ was vanished out of their sight and gone (v. 31), now they take special notice, in a feeling way, of the warmness of heart they felt while he opened the Scriptures to them. The Lord preaches in a ladder reaching from earth to heaven; Jacob sleeps, and can give no judgement in the mean time; but when the sweet vision and preaching is ended Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord was in this place, and I knew not (Genesis 28:16). A strong impression of the presence and glory of God sometimes comes on after the Lord is away. David desires and thirsts (Psalm 63:2), says he in the wilderness of Judah, that I may see your power and your glory as I have seen you. The enjoying of Zion and Zion's songs while the people is at home in their own land, has not such influence on their spirit as when the sanctuary's glory is removed; then by the rivers of Babel, there we sat down, yea, we wept when we remembered Zion (Psalm 137:1). While one is in a fever, they may be ignorant that they are in a fever, but when the cooling of health comes, then he well remembers he was sick of a fever. When there is a fever of glory on Peter, he speaks he knows not what (Mark 9:6), yet after (2 Peter 1:16, 17) he makes sweet comfortable use of that glory of Christ on the mount: when the Lord waters the sown seed, and sends down new influences of grace, then does it appear what warming has been in the soul. This is a second difference between literal heat and spiritual burning of heart; literal heat has most sense when it is a-doing; there are no spiritual reflexions upon that burning when it is gone and over, except the Lord give repentance, and that is accidental to all sinful [illegible] and flaming of the flesh, or of a moral gift, it dies with its flaming, as fired powder that endures not long; whereas it is useful to call to mind the gracious burnings of heart, yea, or any of the Lord's ancient paths, according to that Psalm 119:52, I remembered your judgement of old, and have comforted myself. And it is good to receive and lay up influences of heart warmings of Christ (Isaiah 42:23): Who among you will hear this? who will hearken and hear for the time to come?

Did not our hearts burn?

The godly reprove their not knowing and not discerning of Christ in his heart flamings of love; godly and spiritual sense challenges self-dulness (Canticles 5:6): I opened to my beloved, but my beloved had withdrawn himself and was gone. This is a sense of Christ's withdrawing, with a challenge of her refusing to open: Ah! why did I not open while he did lovingly [illegible] knock, and lovingly speak, Open [illegible] my sister, my love, etc. Sense of Christ with [illegible] with tears for [illegible] in the woman [illegible] his feet with tears; sense with faith going along is commendable: it's a spiritual case to [illegible] up our reckonings, what we have profited spiritually by the heart-[illegible] wrought by Christ; and this is a third difference. The moral and [illegible] man [illegible] so reprove his heart, as to call himself to a reckoning; nor [illegible] say, how near am I to God for my stirring and reforming religion? it's kindly life-heat that makes the man more lively and vigorous.

While he spoke. The third particular, who works burning of heart in these men, speaking Jesus Christ; when Christ takes the bellows and the fan and stirs up the fire, it must needs burn boldly; and when Christ casts in a coal in the soul it must make heart-flamings. John 4: I am he that speaks to you, that made a fire in the woman's heart, then she leaves well and water-pot and runs to the city. So with a word he kindles a fire in the breasts of fisher-men, who knew nothing of him before, and has an inward work upon the heart (Matthew 9:9; Matthew 4:20, 21, 22). Canticles 5: He put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him; that was fire in the bowels; and what did Christ here but speak words? And this is the fourth difference, with little pain, but a word speaking he makes a fire. There is a huge deal of violence in Esau's running, sweating, hunting; Jacob stirred not after works, but stayed at home and believed, and faith made him blessed: the spirit drives not, but by the words leading and persuading. But is there no violence in the natural and literal heat? Yes, for Baal's priests to cut and bleed themselves with knives, and cry till noon, and to shout to a deaf God, must have in it much violence; and it's a very unnatural fire, and it's a most unnatural wild-fire heat to slay their young children to Molech. A man who forces a sigh when a sigh forces not him is a sufferer; but what violence is in the constraining Gospel-promise? What compulsion is there in love or love-sickness, when Christ makes love a key that opens all doors? How strongly and how sweetly does the word of promise carried on by the spirit of Christ, force your soul? There is a huge deal of force and violence in [illegible] sickness, as when a man makes and counterfeits distraction and madness, and runs naked.

While he opened the Scriptures.

The fourth particular is the fuel that makes the fire; the Scriptures opened, and opened by Christ's key; Is not my word like a fire? says the Lord (Jeremiah 23:15). Yes, in Christ's baptizing there is fire. John baptizes with water, and no more, as a cold and watery seal; but Christ baptizes with the Holy Ghost and with fire (Matthew 3:11). The word of prophecy was in Jeremiah's bowels, as a fire shut up; and this is the fifth difference between the literal and spiritual heat; the heavenly heart-burning goes along with the Scriptures. 2. With the Scriptures so opened and applied by the spirit of Jesus as by a strong power, burning coals are cast into the heart. As touching the former, the difference between this and the Libertines' spirit, or the Enthusiasts, are to be observed, and the spirit of the children of God.

Christ's spirit extols the Scriptures; "It is written," says Christ against Satan. "Have you not read in the Scriptures," says Christ against the Sadducees (Matthew 22). "Search the Scriptures," says Christ, "they bear witness of me." He taught the multitude and disciples, as it's written in the Scriptures. He rebukes them (Luke 24:25) as fools and slow of heart, for not believing the Scriptures. When he would carry in real influences of grace to the heart, he carries them along by the Scripture, and opens the understanding that they may understand the Scripture (Luke 24:45). That is the spirit of Satan in some, who boast that they are beyond and above the word of the Kingdom, and such must be beyond and on the other side of heaven.

They who wait for the Lord, and whose soul waits for God, they hope in his word (Psalm 130:5, 6). Libertines' souls cannot wait for the Lord as the watch for the morning.

It's a work of the spirit strongly to convince the conscience of not believing in Christ (John 16:7, 8); now to believe in him is the sum of the Scriptures, of the Gospel. Enthusiasts extol persuasions by raptures, according to which the brother kills the brother, as Bullinger relates, in place of the Scripture-convictions of the spirit.

The work of the spirit is to comfort, for it's the spirit's office; and the sound comfort is patience and comfort of the Scriptures bringing hope (Romans 15:4). The spirit of Enthusiasts persuades men of peace and comfort without and beside the promises of the Gospel.

The words of the book of the Law melt the heart of godly Josiah (2 Kings 19:22), and the Lord looks to him that trembles at his word to dwell with him (Isaiah 66:2). The Enthusiasts boldly mock the word as an instrument of carnal and fleshly regeneration, and seek a new birth from a spirit alone separated from the word.

Deep humiliation is wrought by the word (2 Kings 22:14); the pride of Satan reigns in the spirits of Enthusiasts, who despise Scripture humility, and reproach tears and the work of repentance, as a work of the Law and the flesh.

Strong and courageous fighting, even to overcoming, gets for a reward the hid manna, the white stone, and the new name written thereon, which no man can read but he that receives it: now fighting and overcoming is by the word of the spirit (Revelation 2:17; Ephesians 6:17) and faith in the word (1 John 5:4). Enthusiasts tell us of a dumb and Scriptureless persuasion by which men are persuaded they are chosen to salvation, and can know others by the face that are so chosen.

The true spirit leads to all truth (John 16:13) and opens the true sense of the Scriptures, and leads no man by a new wild-fire light; nor does the spirit of God sway and determine a topical conjectural way, while there is a speculative doubting as touching any light from Scripture, whether the course be lawful or warranted by the word or not: for the spirit of God leads by Scripture's infallibility (Isaiah 59:20, 21).

The actings of the true spirit are gentle, civil, human, and he bids us follow whatever is of good report — whatever things are pure (Philippians 4:8, 9). The spirit of Enthusiasts, leaving Scripture, licenses men to abominations which Heathens abhor.

The actings of the spirit of Christ are seasonable (Matthew 10:19): "in that hour it shall be given you; it is not you that speak, but the spirit of your Father speaks in you." Enthusiasts' spirit suggests night-works to be done in day light, and many unseasonable actions contrary to godly prudence, as to read godly treatises when they should hear the Word preached; the spirit that suggests this is not of God, for the spirit of God cannot counter-work himself.

The spirit of God acts the soul and the man within his own orb and sphere of grace. Nature acts not upon the Moon to move it up to the sphere of the Sun, nor could it be called a kindly and connatural motion for the Sun to move down in the orb of the Moon. It's not the spirit of the Lord which acts the plow-man to move out of his element in the throne or in another calling in which God has not placed him: for it is not from the motion of the spirit of sanctification for David to go out of his element of grace, and move in Satan's orb of uncleanness and blood-shed. The spirit of holiness is a friend to the holy Law of God; all influences and actings of the spirit are to be tried by the same rules by which the spirit is tried. Some influences to Scriptural duties are from God and his spirit, other influences from the Scriptureless spirit of Satan, or corrupt man himself; every stirring and impulsion must not be fathered upon the spirit of grace.

The fourth particular is the subject or seat of burning, and it's the heart; did not our hearts burn within us? The heart is the only seat of heavenly burnings; not simply, as the heart of man, which is evil, and only evil by nature in all its out-goings (Genesis 6:6; Genesis 8:21) and supplanted and wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). But the new heart of man (Ezekiel 36:26, 27), the heart in which the love of God, as a flood, is spread abroad by the Holy Ghost (Romans 5:5), the heart and soul that loves the beloved Christ (Canticles 3:1, 2, 3). As for the unrenewed heart it is no more a hearth-stone, or a seat to kindle this fire upon, nor will it burn in this heart, than if you would kindle a fire of coals and fuel and dry timber upon the surface of the ocean sea; for the heart of the unrenewed man would eat up and quench all this fire. The spirit does no more give influences for the heavenly burnings in the heart of an unrenewed man, than he gives influences to the water to burn, and cast out flamings as a huge fire does, or to the midnight darkness to shine as the Moon or Sun: and this is the sixth difference. The renewed heart is only the seat of this fire that comes down from heaven, the natural heart is not capable thereof.

Q. Is there not a heart warmness in the natural and unrenewed man?

Answ. Such as is the heart, such is the heat; such as is the hearth-stone, such is the fire and the fuel that burns on it.

But the differences be these:

1. The heat of the unrenewed man is strong, and cannot be commanded; they hasten as mad men after their idols, who run after other gods (Psalm 16:4). And Paul says of his heat in persecuting the saints (Acts 26:11): I compelled them to blaspheme, [illegible], I was abundantly and exceedingly mad, and frantic, out of my wit, in burning malice against them. Now the mad man can hardly command his madness, yet upon other sinful and mad grounds Paul could have been persuaded on the contrary: as the Pharisees were mad against Christ, yet the fear of the people and of their own [illegible] restrained them long from doing violence to him. And in matters which nearly concern God, the heat of an unrenewed man may be quenched; as a man that counterfeits himself to be mad can command his madness, and one who feigns himself to be sick can command his sickness; but one who is really possessed with a devil and mad, and one who is really sick of a raging fever cannot command either madness or sickness. Hypocrisy has some dominion and empire over its own cursed heat and [illegible]. But say mountains on the love of Christ, love breathes and lives under it: devise torments, [illegible], or in a seething caldron to the martyrs of Christ, in ten days cut off the ten fingers one by one, and so the rest of the members in diverse days, or some [illegible] devise hellish [illegible]; the witnesses of Jesus [illegible] and bound hand and foot (as the word [illegible] is made use of) by the commanding [illegible] sweetly [illegible] love of Christ, to die a hundred deaths [illegible] rather [illegible] deny Christ; for such as so love not [illegible] lives to [illegible], are not their own, nor has a believer [illegible] his [illegible]. Nor can the word, if [illegible] could [illegible] and an earth of the gold of [illegible] of Christ, and the strong influence thereof. So true is that (Canticles 8:7): Many waters cannot quench love. That is a strong fire which all the waters in the sea cannot quench. Nor can the floods drown it. If a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned. Then drowning and burning, death, fair allurements and gifts, cannot counterwork the love of Christ. What? and are love's coals so hot? Yes, he spoke to that (v. 6): Love is strong as death: jealousy is cruel as the grave; the coals thereof are coals of fire, which have a most vehement flame, the flame of God. But natural men for all their heat in the matters of God, can let out and let in, and stretch out the truth for all their heart-burnings, as if it were kid-leather; and they may take and give, and borrow and lend upon Christ's matters, whereas the saints are awed with that, Buy the truth and sell it not. Let indifferent and cold men, who never felt the influences of love's fiery coals, know this. Ah, the interests of Christ have been looked on in Scotland too indifferently and coldly; the coals of self-interest burn strongly.

2. The bare letter of the Gospel wins not in upon the heart, it warms the skin and not the heart; whereas Christ's speaking and opening the Scriptures with his Spirit, and the key of David, casts not fire upon the heart, the heat is all upon the letter and externals, and upon sacrifices, new moons, solemn assemblies, forms without taste. All Paul's heat is about Christ, and the hope of the resurrection; the Jews his adversaries' heat could be nothing of this heart-burning, but for Moses' law in the letter, circumcision, and other ceremonies, now wanting their life Christ. For Christ had now 1. removed from the letter of the ceremonial law, and there is no life there as touching the observance thereof.

But Christ has 2. not departed from, and gone out of the ceremonial law, as touching the doctrinal teaching thereof to lead us to Christ; and therefore that law should be read, preached, believed, and stands clothed with the authority of canonical Scripture, otherwise Libertines must cashier the books of Moses.

3. Nor has Christ removed out of the letter of the Scripture law and Gospel, to teach us no more thereby, but only by the Spirit's instruction; for even the doctrine of the law curses (Deuteronomy 27, Deuteronomy 28) are a part of the immediately inspired word of God shining with the same majesty, holiness, divinity, convincing power, as the letter of the Gospel (Psalm 19:7, 8, 9, 10).

4. Christ has not removed (as Saltmarsh, Dell, and others teach) from the law moral the divine obligation to holiness and righteousness; for it lays the same bands and obligations to the duties of love and obedience to God, and of love, truth, mercy, righteousness, soberness, to man, which was upon us in Moses' time; for that way grace should teach looseness, lawless wantonness, not holiness. We would press good works, holiness, godly walking, on all, as they would see God, and not be trees hewn down and cast in the fire. Suppose we could not with school accuracy rid marches as touching the necessity thereof; but we are to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, justification by works.

5. Christ and the Spirit of Christ dwell in the law, to join gracious influences therewith to humble sinners, to cast them down, to bring them to self-despair, that they may flee to Christ.