So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.
— Jonah 1:6
And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul’s neck, and kissed him,
— Acts 20:37
Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?
— 1 Samuel 1:8
But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
— Acts 20:24
According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
— Philippians 1:20-21
I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
— 1 Corinthians 15:31
Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you. We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak; Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
— 2 Corinthians 4:10-17
Going out of Ourselves and Depending as Constantly and entirely Upon the Spirit, by John Flavel. The following contains Chapter Thirteen of his work, “Preparations for Sufferings, Or, The Best Work in the Worst Times, Wherein the Necessity, Excellency, and Means of Our Readiness for Sufferings Are Evinced and Prescribed; Our Call to Suffering Cleared, and the Great Unreadiness of Many Professors Bewailed.”
Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep, and to break my heart? For I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.
— Acts 21:13
Wherein is shewed the necessity of going out of ourselves, even when our habitual and actual preparations are at the greatest height; and depending as constantly and entirely upon the Spirit, who is Lord of all gracious influences, as if we had done nothing: Together with the means of working the heart to such a frame. Thus, you have seen your habitual and actual readiness for sufferings, and blessed is the soul that gives diligence to this work: But now lest all that I have said and you have wrought, should be in vain; I must let you know, that all this will not secure you, unless you can, by humility, faith, and self-denial, go out of yourselves to Christ, and live upon him daily for supply of grace, as much as if you had none of all this furniture and provision for sufferings. I confess grace is a very beautiful and lovely creature, and it is hard for a man to look upon his own graces, and not doat upon them. But yet know, that if you had all these excellent preparations that have been mentioned, yea, and all angelical perfections superadded, yet are you not complete without this dependence upon Christ, Col. 2:10. Whenever you go forth to suffer for Christ, you should say at the head of all your excellent graces, duties, and preparations, as Jehoshaphat did, when at the head of a puissant and mighty army, 2 Chron. 20:12. “O Lord, I have no might nor strength, but my eyes are unto thee.” This is one thing in which Paul excelled, and was a special part of his readiness. See 1 Cor. 15:10. What a poor creature is the eminentest saint, left to himself in an hour of trial? the hop, the ivy, and the woodbine, are taught by nature to cling about stronger props and supporters: What they do by nature, we should do by grace.
The necessity and great advantage of this will appear upon divers considerations.
Considerations
Consid. 1. The Christian’s own imbecility and insufficiency, even in the strength and height of all his acquirements and preparations; what are you, to grapple with such an adversary? Certainly you are no match for him that conquered Adam hand to hand in his state of integrity. It is not your inherent strength that enables you to stand, but what you receive and daily derive from Jesus Christ, John 15:5. “Without me,” or never so little separated from me,”ye can do nothing; all your sufficiency is of God,” 2 Cor. 3:5. Upon this very consideration it was, that the apostle exhorts the Ephesians “to be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might,” i.e. not to depend upon their own stock and furniture; but Divine assistances and daily communications; “For we wrestle not with flesh and blood, but principalities and powers,” Eph. 6:10, 12. In his own strength shall no man prevail.
Consid. 2. It is the great design of God in the gospel to exalt his Son, and to have all glory attributed and ascribed to him,”That in all things he might have the pre-eminence,” Col. 1:18. That Christ “might be all in all,” Col. 3:11. Hence no saint must have a self-sufficiency, or be trusted with a stock as Adam was, but Christ being filled with all the fulness of God, and made the πρωτον δεκτικον, or first receptacle of all grace; “For it pleased the Father, that in him all fulness should dwell;” all the saints are therefore to go to him for supplies, and of his fulness to receive, John 1:16. This fulness being a ministerial fulness, like that of the sun, or of a fountain, intended to supply all our wants. And hence it is that faith, a self-emptying and denying grace, is appointed to be the instrument of fetching our supplies from Christ. All must be derived from him, that all the praise and glory may be ascribed to him, Phil. 4:14. And this is a most wise and congruous ordination of God, for hereby not only are his people the better secured, but by this also the reproach that lay upon Christ is rolled away. He was reproached on earth, as barren, empty, weak; “Can any good come out of Nazareth? He was looked upon as a Root springing out of a dry ground,” but by this shall his reproach be wiped away: So that unless you will go about to cross the great design of God, in the exaltation of his Christ, you must go out of yourselves, and humbly and constantly rely upon supplies from Christ and his grace to help in the times of need.
Consid. 3. A Christian is constantly to depend upon Christ, notwithstanding all his own preparations and inherent qualifications: because the activity even of inherent grace depends upon him. Inherent grace is beholden to exciting and assisting grace for all it is enabled to do. You cannot act a grace without his Spirit, 1 Cor. 15:10. 2 Cor. 3:5. John 15:5. It may be said of grace in us, as it was of the land of Canaan, Deut. 11:10, 11, 12. “It is not as the land of Egypt, whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs: but a land of hills and vallies, drinking water of the rain of heaven; a land which the Lord thy God careth for: his eyes are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even to the end of the year.” As the life and fragrancy of vegetables depend on the influences of heaven, so do our graces upon Christ. And hence he is called, (1.) A root, Isa. 11:10. (2.) An head, Col. 1:18. (3.) A sun, Mal. 4:2. (4.) A fountain, Zech. 13:1. All which comparisons do fully carry this truth in them.
Consid. 4. Lastly, In this life of dependence lies your security; and indeed this is the great difference betwixt the two covenants. In the first, Adam’s stock was in his own hands, and so his security or misery depended upon the unconstrained choice of his own mutable and self-determining will. But now in the new covenant, all are to go to Christ, to depend upon him for supplies, and are so secured against all destructive dangers, Jude 1. 1 Pet. 1:5. Should you go forth in your own strength against a temptation, either your grace would fail, and you fall in the conflict; or if you obtain any victory over it by your own strength, yet it is a thousand to one but your pride would conquer you, when you had conquered it: Like him that slew an elephant, but was himself slain by the fall of that elephant which he slew. But now, by this way, as God hath secured you against the dangers without; so also the frame and constitution of this new covenant is such as prevents the danger arising from our own pride too. Not Ego et Deus mens: I and my God did this; as was once said by a profane mouth; “but self is abased, and the Lord lifted up in his own strength,” 1 Cor. 5:7. And thus I have briefly evinced the necessity of this daily dependence.
But next it concerns you to know what this dependence we speak of is: this also I shall briefly open to you, laying down somewhat negatively, and somewhat positively about it.
Negatives
1. Negative. It is not to deny the grace wrought in us by the Spirit; this were both injustice and ingratitude; we may know our own graces so as to be thankful for them, though not so as to be proud of them, 1 Cor. 15:10.
2. Neg. It is not a lazy excuse from our duty: you do not depend, but rather dishonour Christ, by so doing; you must not say, because Christ must do all, therefore I must do nothing: but rather work out your salvation, because it is he that worketh both to will and to do, Phil. 2:12, 13. These are not opposed, but subordinated.
But then positively, it lies in three things.
Positives
1. Positive. In seeing and acknowledging the infinite sufficiency and fulness that is in Christ: to acknowledge him to be all in all: not only by way of impetration procuring all, Heb. 9:12 but also by way of application, bringing home to the soul all the blessings purchased by his blood, and settling us in the possession of it, John 14:3. And so from first to last to eye him as the author and finisher of our faith.
2. Posit. In seeing the necessary dependence that all our graces have upon him. So that as you see the stream depending on the fountain, the beam upon the sun, the branch upon the root, the building upon the foundation, even so do our graces upon Christ: on him they live, and cut off from him they die. “Our life is hid with Christ in God,” Col. 3:3. When you see this, and also see that all your activity, and striving, is but as the hoisting up of the sails, in order to the motion of the ship, which can do nothing till there come a gale; when you look upon your grace as a creature that must be upheld, fed, acted, and preserved by Christ, Col. 2:19 then you are prepared for this act of dependence: As for instance, you can never depend upon Christ for the acting of that grace of hope, until you see Christ to be the prop and foundation of it, and that it depends upon him, as upon its cause, 1 Pet. 1:3 as upon its object, Heb. 6:19 and as upon its foundation and ground work, Col. 1:27.
You can never depend upon Christ for your joy and comfort, until you see what a necessary dependence this also hath upon him, Phil. 3:3 and that, both as to its being and acting, John 16:22.
You can never depend upon him, for strength in any duty, until you see how your duties depend upon Christ, not only for the strength by which they are performed, John 15:4, 5 but also for acceptation when they are performed, 1 Pet. 2:5. It were easy to instance in any other grace.
(3.) It lies in* looking off from your own grace whenever you are put upon the acting of it, (I mean in regard of any dependence upon it) and looking by an eye of faith for acceptation to Christ, Heb. 12:2. To the putting forth of which act of dependance upon Christ, holy ejaculations in our own on-sets upon duty, or those quick and vigorous liftings up of our souls to God that way, are of special use, it being a duty fitted for the purpose, when there is no room for set and solemn prayer. And thus briefly of its nature.
And to urge you to this duty, I shall offer these seven considerations: which, oh, that they might prevail upon your hearts, and make you for ever to clasp and cling about Christ more than ever you have done.
Considerations
Consideration 1. You have little reason to rely upon the strength of your own graces, for you may be easily deceived in that matter, and think you have much more grace than you have. How often are the common gifts of the Spirit mistaken for his special graces! the sixth chapter to the Hebrews is able to make a man tremble in this thing.
Consid. 2. Suppose you have much grace, yet have you not strong corruptions, and may you not meet with strong temptations also? He that hath less of other graces than you, may have more humility and self-denial than you, and so may stand when you fall. Great enlargements are often attended with great temptations of pride, &c.
Consid. 3. Whatever measures of grace you have arrived at, yet all is not able to secure you from falling, if God withhold or withdraw his aids and influences. Abraham had more faith than you, and yet he fell into a sin contrary to that very grace wherein he so excelled others, Gen. 20:2. Job had more patience than you; which of you could behave yourselves as he did, had you been in the like circumstances as he was? chap. 1:2 he is renowned for it in the scripture, James 5:11. yet he fell into that sin which is contrary to this grace also, chap. 3. Moses had more meekness than you: “Now the man Moses was the meekest man upon the earth.” If you be but reproved, and that justly for your faults, how waspish are you? Yet see how this grace failed even in him, in an eminent trial of it, Numb. 11:13, 14, 15. Adam was much more advantaged in this respect than you, being made upright, and no corruption inherent in him, yet he fell; the angels more again, yet they fell. Oh when will you learn the vanity of self-dependence.
Consid. 4. Nothing more provoketh the Lord to withdraw his Spirit, and let you fall, than this sin of self-confidence doth, Luke 14:29, 30, 31. God will teach you by sad experience your own weakness, and what frail and vain things you be, if you will learn it by no other means.
Consid. 5. If God permit you to fall, (as doubtless he will, if you be self-conceited,) then the more eminent you have been, or are for grace, the more will the name of God be reproached by your fall. This will furnish the triumphs of the uncircumcised, and the lamentations of your brethren, and make them say,”How are the mighty fallen!” What dismal consequents will attend your fall.
Consid. 6. Have you not sad experience of your own weakness from day to day in your lesser trials? Have you not said in some smaller conflicts, as David once did,”My feet had well nigh slipt.” O methinks this should teach you to look more to God, and less to self. “If you have run with footmen, and they have wearied you in the land of peace, think sadly how you should contend with horses in the swellings of Jordan.” Do not you see that you are but feathers in the wind of temptation? Consult your former experiences, and they will tell you what weaklings you are.
Consid. 7. Lastly, Hath Christ given you more grace than others, then how much more hath he obliged you to honour him thereby? And is this your requital of his love! What! to take the crown from his head, and put it upon your own! Certainly a greater injury cannot be done to Christ than this.
Well then, by all this be persuaded to cease from yourselves, yea, from your religious selves; and to all your other preparations, add this as a choice one; if you do these things, you shall never fall. And thus you see the complete Christian in his equipage for sufferings.
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