02.02. FAITH.

2. FAITH.

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me." John 14:1

These words form part of the heart-affecting discourse which our blessed Lord addressed to his disciples when he had now the near prospect of being separated from them, and of being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Knowing that "their hearts would be troubled," he prescribes an infallible antidote — and that antidote is faith. For all trouble of mind, faith in God and Christ, is the sovereign cure.

You are aware that the word here translated "believe," is sometimes employed to denote the assent which is yielded to the truths of religion, and sometimes to denote the trust or confidence which is reposed in God or Christ. The former is the first in the order of nature — a believing apprehension of the truth being the ground and warrant of that trust which is its proper and immediate effect. But although they admit of being distinguished, they cannot be separated from one another, and are generally combined in the same state of mind. It matters little which of the two ideas we attach to the word, provided always that the belief of the truth be such as is accompanied or followed by trust in God himself; and, provided also, that this trust in God is the fruit of correct and Scriptural apprehensions of the truth respecting Him. The grand general doctrine which we learn from the passage is: That faith in God, and faith in Jesus Christ, is at once the sovereign comfort, and the immediate duty of all his people in the time of trouble.

I. Faith in God ought unquestionably to be to all intelligent creatures, a source of comfort. To every mind that has not been disordered in its noblest faculties — the idea of such a Being must be an elevating and consoling one. And as dark as is the human understanding, and disordered as are its noblest powers — we cannot fail to acknowledge that the existence, the perfections, the providence, and the government of God, ought to minister comfort and satisfaction to our hearts.

Let us form a distinct conception of God as a Being infinite, eternal, and unchangeable; self-existent, omnipresent, omniscient. Let us add to these, His natural and unchangeable perfections, the attributes of holiness, justice, goodness, and truth — which are the special elements of his moral character. Conceive of such a Being, as actually existing, as seated on the throne of this vast universe, and exercising a most provident care over all its provinces. Conceive of Him governing by his sole will, and controlling by his divine perfections — every order of created beings, and every factor of all events. Conceive of Him as extending the same care alike to the seraphs which worship around his throne, and to the sparrows that fall to the earth. Let any human mind, however darkened and debased, take in that one simple, but grand conception — and he cannot fail to acknowledge that, however for other causes it may fail in imparting real comfort — it ought at least, and is fitted to do so. Were there no reason, arising out of our present state and character, for our being afraid of such a being — could we calmly and dispassionately contemplate all his divine perfections, and reflect on . . .
his constant presence with us;
his perfect knowledge of our circumstances;
his benevolent interest in our welfare;
and his power to help and support us
— then assuredly our faith in God would minister comfort in every time of trouble. Our believing apprehension of these momentous truths would produce and sustain a habitual trust and confidence in him.

If, in our present condition, we cannot, from our own experience, speak of the sustaining power of this great truth, let us endeavor to aid our conceptions of it by considering the feelings which it must awaken in the bosoms of perfectly holy and happy beings. Let us conceive of the angels in the upper sanctuary, who have seen the Lord’s glory, who have a clear and certain knowledge of his character, and whose daily employment brings them into immediate converse with him — and can we fail to acknowledge that to such holy spirits — the existence, the perfections, the providence, and the government of God, must afford materials for the profoundest admiration, and that God must be their chief joy? Their hearts are not troubled, just because they believe in God. But take the alternative supposition — suppose that they had lost all knowledge of his divine perfections, and all faith in his being and providence. Suppose, if that were possible, that they should come to live, as too many on earth do live, without God. Oh! what a change would then be wrought in all their views and feelings! What a dreary desolation would spread over the face of the universe which heretofore had been supported by the power, and regulated by the wisdom, and gladdened by the smile of the presiding Deity! With God disappearing from their view — the moral world would become dark and cold, just as the natural world changes its whole aspect on the disappearance of the sun. The light and joy of their immortal life would depart, and they would fall into the very same state of doubt, and misery, and hopelessness, in which men have involved themselves in this fallen and sin-ruined world. Their case may help us to conceive aright of our own. For in so far as we resemble them in point of intelligence, and in the capacity of knowing and believing in God — in the same proportion we ought to derive comfort and satisfaction from the consideration of his being and perfections. And although many of us may have had but little experience of the actual influence of this faith — none can fail to see that a realizing and habitual belief in God is in its own nature fitted to sustain, and cheer, and elevate the soul. Is there one man on the surface of this earth to whom it is a matter of perfect indifference whether there is a God or not? There are many, alas! who seldom or never think on the subject of God! There are many more who content themselves with very vague and indistinct notions respecting him. But when they do think upon it so as to form any correct notion at all, all men must feel in their inmost souls, that the existence, the character, the providence, and the government of God, are topics of supreme importance, bearing, not only on the duties and responsibilities of life — but also on their present comfort and their eternal welfare.

Although they have had no experience of the unspeakable peace which God’s people enjoy in seeking his counsel, in leaning on his arm, in committing themselves to the care of his watchful providence, and in walking in the light of his countenance — yet they can and do see that God’s existence is the best security for the order of the universe; that his divine perfections ought to be a source of satisfaction; that the protection of his providence is a desirable, and, in times of danger, a most needful defense; and that in the long run, they are and must be a "happy people whose God is the Lord."

Some such convictions and feelings must often have occurred to every reflecting man, especially in those seasons of peril or of trial, when he was most sensible of his own weakness, and of his dependence on a higher power. At such seasons, when the heart is troubled by the apprehension of danger which no human power can avert, or by the pressure of anxiety respecting the dark and uncertain outcome of events which have an important bearing on our welfare — but which no human forethought can regulate or control — everyone must be sensible that a firm belief in Almighty God, and in his presiding providence, can alone sustain the mind, and ought to be sufficient for that end. Yet, that he should be regarded by all intelligent creatures as the fountain of joy and blessedness — as their refuge and defense, their surest support, and their sweetest portion — is not more certain than is the fact, that, in the actual experience of mankind in their fallen state, he is the object of their fear, distrust, and jealousy.

Insomuch that while his existence, and providence, and infinite moral perfections are generally admitted — these considerations, so far from relieving their minds from sorrow, are felt to be the occasions of deep depression or alarming fears! The idea of God, when it does occur to the unsaved mind, is often fraught with terror. Many a man might say with the Psalmist, "I remembered God and was troubled! I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. I am so troubled that I cannot speak!" And with Job, "Therefore am I troubled at his presence, when I consider — I am afraid of him, for God makes my heart faint, and the Almighty troubles me." "For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinks up my spirit! The terrors of God do set themselves in array against me." Our Lord says to his disciples, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God" — plainly representing faith in God as an antidote or remedy for trouble of mind. Yet Job and the Psalmist, and many of God’s tried and afflicted people, as well as multitudes of the ungodly, have been troubled mainly by the remembrance of God.

Why is this? Is it because faith in God is not naturally fitted to minister comfort and joy — let the experience of unfallen angels answer the question. They will testify that all their felicity depends on him who is thus a terror to sinful men. Is it, then, the result of an unenlightened superstition — is it a blind and groundless fear? By no means. Great and majestic, and gracious as is the character of God — yet both Scripture and conscience concur in testifying that he is a just Governor and Judge. So being conscious of our sinfulness, we cannot regard God, in that character, without many misgivings and fears. We must feel, if we think at all, that he may have grounds of accusation against us, and reasons for manifesting his holy displeasure.

These suggestions of conscience are amply confirmed by our present experience, seeing that God’s judgments are so numerous and so severe. In these circumstances, it is not astonishing that our belief in God should fail to relieve our hearts of trouble, so long as we consider him only as he stands revealed in the light of nature. Nay, the more profound and the more correct our knowledge of God becomes — the more reason shall we discover, for admiring indeed the excellency and the greatness of his character — but, at the same time also, for apprehending the certainty of his displeasure on account of sin. Thus all the comfort which innocent and holy beings might derive from the contemplation of his divine perfections — may, in the case of fallen and sinful creatures, be superseded by a fearful apprehension of his wrath and curse. When our Lord says, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me" — he plainly intimates that a believing knowledge of the truth respecting himself must be added to our faith in God, in order that we may be delivered from mental trouble. And this is necessary, first, Because in its own nature faith in Christ is fitted to relieve the mind of its most depressing anxieties and cares. And secondly, Because it is the means of qualifying us for enjoying that full peace and comfort which faith in God ought to impart. In its own nature, faith in Christ is fitted to relieve the mind of its most depressing anxieties and cares. This faith has reference to all those grand truths which stand connected with the method of redemption. It apprehends the meaning and acquiesces in the certainty of such statements as these — that "Christ came into the world to save sinners!" That "he came to seek and to save the lost!" That he is "the Mediator between God and man," "The atoning sacrifice for our sins," "The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" That "he died, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us unto God," that "he was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities, that the chastisement of our peace was laid upon him, and that by his stripes we are healed," that "he has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us," that in consequence of his vicarious obedience and sufferings, whereby the law was magnified and made honorable — God is now "the just God and the Savior," that in token of his approbation and acceptance of Christ’s work, "God raised him from the dead," and has "exalted him as a Prince and Savior, to give repentance and the remission of sins," and that now, "whoever believes in him shall not perish — but shall have eternal life!"

These are some of the truths which faith in Christ necessarily involves, and when these truths are correctly understood and sincerely acquiesced in — they produce a habitual trust and confidence in Christ, as an all-sufficient Savior — as a Savior "able to save unto the uttermost all who come unto God by him." That a believing apprehension of such precious truths, and a personal trust and confidence in such a Savior — should be a remedy for all mental trouble, must be evident to every reflecting mind. But faith in Christ is not only fitted in its own nature to comfort us — it is also the means of bringing us into a new relation towards God, whereby we are qualified for enjoying to the full, all that peace and satisfaction which the consideration of his divine perfections, his almighty providence, and his moral government, is fitted to impart. And this effect of faith in Christ, in enlarging, strengthening, and sweetening our faith in God himself — is well worthy of your serious consideration.

We have already had occasion to observe, that a belief in the existence, perfections, providence, and government of God, apart from the revelation of his character in the Gospel of Christ — although it ought to minister comfort and joy to all his intelligent creatures — is nevertheless insufficient to remove those anxieties and fears which a sense of guilt must awaken in the bosoms of fallen men. That it leaves unresolved, some of the most serious questions which can occur respecting his dispensations towards the guilty, and their prospects under his righteous government. But if we believe in Christ, all these difficulties, whether relating to his purpose towards us, or our relation towards him, are at once removed. For "God in Christ" is revealed as "reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing unto men their trespasses." Christ brings us to God, not as an avenging Judge — but as a forgiving Father! We are reconciled to God by the death of his Son, and enabled to look up to him without one misgiving or fear — nay, with filial confidence and affection as our Father in Heaven.

Thus liberated from our fears by the faith of Christ, we may enjoy all the comfort which faith in God can impart. We are no longer under the necessity of overlooking any part of his glorious character, in order to preserve our inward peace. We may dwell with devout admiration on each one of his attributes, even on such of them as heretofore had excited our uneasiness or awakened our fears. We may seek to acquire larger views of their transcendent excellence, in the firm assurance that so far from weakening the grounds of our hope and comfort — they will only strengthen them the more. For now through Christ, every perfection of the Divine nature becomes a new pledge of the believer’s safety and peace! His faithfulness, his unfailing truth, his very justice and holiness itself — is a new reason for the believer’s joy. It is thus, that through Christ we come to enjoy and to delight in God himself, and that the faith of Christ enhances and sweetens that faith in God, which is our support in every hour of danger, and our solace in every time of sorrow. And thus, we realize the full blessedness which Christ proposes to his disciples, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me."

2. While faith in God and Christ is the spring of all spiritual comfort, it is also the special duty of the afflicted — a duty to which they are expressly called by God’s dispensations, and on the observance of which the sanctified use of affliction mainly depends. The Lord’s words direct us to faith, not only as a spring of comfort — but also as a seasonable duty in the time of trouble. Sometimes by providential afflictions, at other times by spiritual trouble — he teaches us to live a life of faith. In such circumstances, we are made to feel that we have no refuge but in God, and no refuge in God himself but through Jesus Christ the Lord. The dispensations of his providence, and the spiritual discipline to which we are subjected, are both designed for this end; and if they are suitably improved, we shall be ready to say with the Apostle, "The life which I live in the flesh, is by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." That affliction is both designed and fitted to call us to the exercise of faith is evident, as well from the general scope of Scripture, as from the experience of every believer. The chief evil of our present condition is, that we are so prone to live under the influence of seen and temporal things, to the neglect of things which are unseen and eternal. But when affliction comes — when we are either disabled for enjoying, or deprived altogether of the means of earthly happiness — when our sky is overcast with clouds, and our worldly prospects are dark and dismal — we are glad to look above the world, and beyond it, for some better and more enduring portion. This may not be the immediate effect of every affliction. On the contrary, the sufferer may for a time seek relief from other quarters, as we learn from the case of backsliding Israel, "When Israel saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound — then Ephraim went to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb — yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound." (Hosea 5:13.) But even in regard to them, the same discipline of affliction which had in the first instance failed to produce its full effect, was to be continued as a means of ultimately reviving their faith in God. "I will go, and return to my place, until they acknowledge their offence and seek my face; in their affliction they will seek me early." (Hosea 5:15.) And accordingly it follows, "Come and let us return unto the Lord, for he has torn, and he will heal us; he has smitten, and he will bind us up." (Hosea 6:1.)

Sometimes affliction is the means of convincing men that they are destitute of true faith, as when a prosperous nominal Christian is suddenly, by severe trials, thrown back for support on those religious principles which he had long professed — but which now, in this the hour of his need, he feels to be too slight and superficial to sustain him. At other times affliction is the means of invigorating a faith which, under the malignant influence of worldly views and feelings, was ready to die. And universally, affliction is designed for the trial and exercise of faith, wherein consists a principal part of our moral probation in this state of discipline.

God is often pleased to place his people in circumstances in which . . .
they feel that they are shut up to the exercise of faith;
that they are in a labyrinth from which no human wisdom can deliver them;
that they have no outlet by which they can escape, unless God himself clears their way before them;
and that they must look to him solely, and trust in him simply, and follow the leadings of his providence, as it were, blindfold!

They must trust God in the darkest hour of providence, holding fast by the simple word of promise, which is their only light in a dark place. When, to the eye of sense, all is obscure and gloomy — the eye of faith must be their guide. When God’s providence is so mysterious that the believer is ready to exclaim, "Your way is in the sea, and your path in the great waters, and your footsteps are not known!" — yet, recollecting the facts and promises of the Sacred Record, he is able to add, "You lead your people like a flock."

When, like David, "his foot had well-nigh slipped," he is recovered by his faith: "I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord." And while many transpose these two things, and seek present sensible experience as the ground and support of faith — he does not, in such circumstances, seek to see that he may believe — but he believes to see. His language is, "I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me. Rejoice not against me, O my enemy: when I fall, I shall arise. When I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me. I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me. He will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness!"

Wherefore, "Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty — yet I will rejoice in the LORD! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign LORD is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights!" Habakkuk 3:17-19 As faith is a seasonable duty in the time of trouble — so it is the means not only of procuring that comfort which may cheer us under it — but also of fulfilling, in our experience, the grand moral design for which it is sent. As "without faith, it is impossible," in any circumstances, "to please God" — so without faith it is impossible to reap the precious fruits of affliction. It is not the trial of our rational nature, nor the trial of our tempers — but "the trial of our faith, which, being much more precious than of gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire, shall be found unto praise, and honor, and glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 1:7

It is only through faith, that temporal evil is productive of spiritual good. Disease, bereavement, bankruptcy, cannot sanctify us if we cherish an unbelieving frame of mind. It is God’s truth, revealed in the Word, clearly understood by the mind, and firmly apprehended by faith — which exerts a moral influence on the heart, and thus fulfills the design of affliction. "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth!" John 17:17 Is affliction designed to raise our thoughts above the world, and to fix them on God and Heaven? Then it is by faith that this purpose is fulfilled; for "faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen." Is affliction designed to refine and purify our moral affections? Then it is by faith that this purpose also is fulfilled; for "God purifies our hearts by faith." (Acts 15:9.) Is affliction designed to break the spell of the world’s enchantments, and to raise us to a noble superiority over all its ensnaring pleasures? Then it is by faith that this purpose also is fulfilled, "for this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith." (1 John 5:5.) In a word, the whole moral and spiritual benefit of affliction depends on the exercise of faith. The apostle tells us, that "faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen;" and that, "by faith, Moses endured, as seeing him who is invisible." In other words, faith realizes unseen and eternal things; and in proportion as it is exercised, makes the believer to live . . .
as if he saw God beside him;
as if he saw Heaven above, and Hell beneath;
as if he beheld Christ on the cross, or
as if he beheld invisible eternal realities.

Faith . . .
brings a sublime class of objects to bear on the mind;
it widens the range of our vision;
it lifts our eye from the things of time and sense;
it brings us under the powers of the world to come;
it changes our view of everything on earth, by teaching us to consider them in connection with the things of God.

We now see that we have higher objects of thought, and greater interests at stake, and a loftier destiny before us — than this world affords. And thus, when we have seen, in the light of God’s truth, the glory of things unseen and eternal — we are worldlings no longer. Faith has broken the charm by which the world enslaved us, and we begin to feel and to act as subjects of God’s universal government, as heirs and expectants of immortality. But especially is it faith in God and Christ that has this effect. In Christ’s cross, we see a monument of the world’s vanity — but also a monument of the worth and value of the soul. We see God in human nature suffering for some great design, and that design, once understood, casts every earthly thing into the shade. And just in proportion as we enter into that glorious scheme, which has its origin in Heaven, its execution on earth, and its consummation in eternity — will we feel that our faith is loosening from around us the fetters of the world, and that by Christ’s cross, which exhibits the sum and substance of all revealed truth, "the world is crucified unto us, and we unto the world."

Faith changes our view of everything pertaining to this present world, and it enables us especially to look on affliction in a new light. It regards this world as but a scene of preparation for Heaven — and views the events of time in their connection with the destinies of eternity. Having "respect to the recompense of reward," it teaches us not only to submit to self-denying sacrifices, with a view to everlasting happiness — but even deliberately "to choose," as Moses did, "rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season."

Great must be the power of that faith, which has sustained the martyrs and confessors of God’s truth in all ages, "who submitted to be tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection; who had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yes, moreover, of bonds and imprisonments; they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, they were tempted, they were slain with the sword; they wandered about in sheep-skins and goat-skins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented; they wandered in deserts and in mountains, in dens and caves of the earth." And if faith were thus able to resist and overcome all the terrors of persecution, and to quench those fires which it had been the occasion of kindling — should it have less power to sustain us under the more common afflictions of life, which come to us in the ordinary course of providence? Or if it was the duty of the martyrs and confessors to exercise an unshaken faith, and to maintain their constancy in the trying and terrible circumstances of their times — can it be that we are guiltless, if, in the more common tribulations of life, we cherish an unbelieving and distrustful frame of mind? Is it not our blessed privilege, as well as our clearest duty, to exercise . . .
a simple, unwavering, and confiding faith;
a faith grounded and settled on the word and faithfulness of God;
a faith embracing the whole substance of his testimony;
a faith recognizing God in his revealed character as God in Christ;
a faith trusting in him absolutely, and, without fear, committing everything to his care;
a faith regarding spiritual things revealed as most certain, solemn, and eternal realities;
a faith cleaving to the word of promise in the darkest hour;
a faith realizing our eternal prosperity as its ultimate object;
a faith producing inward holiness and comfort as its present fruits, and a pledge and confirmation of our future hopes;
a faith viewing every change on earth, and every succession of private or public events — as only a new manifestation of God’s sovereign will, and a fresh illustration of that stupendous providence by which, in all ages, and through the most complicated agencies, he is steadily advancing for his people’s good — that one grand scheme of grace, which will soon terminate in glory. In the time of trouble, we are called . . .
to a special exercise of faith in regard to the events of Providence,
to trust his heart — when we can’t trace his hand,
to confess the rectitude of his procedure,
to recognize his holy design,
to adore his unsearchable wisdom, and
to acknowledge his loving-kindness in all our trials. But before illustrating these special exercises of faith, I would earnestly solicit your attention to the important reflection, that you cannot exercise this special faith in God’s providence with advantage and comfort — unless you believe in God, and believe also in Jesus Christ. It is the truth revealed in Scripture, and especially the truth respecting God in Christ, that is the comprehensive object of faith. And it is by the belief of that truth that you may be prepared for viewing the events of Providence in a scriptural light, and for deriving spiritual benefit from them.

Unless by faith you regard God in his scriptural character,
unless by faith you embrace God’s scheme of redemption,
unless by faith you enter into a state of reconciliation with him, and repose your personal trust and confidence in him as your covenant God,
unless by faith you are united to Christ, so as to have a saving interest in all the privileges which he purchased, and in all the promises which he has made — you cannot exercise faith in reference to the events of Providence or the afflictions of life. The latter is only a special act or exercise of a general and comprehensive principle, which embraces the whole truth of God, and applies it to all the various exigencies of our condition — in prosperity and adversity, in health and sickness, in life and death.