The following is an extract from a book entitled "An Inquiry into the Scriptural Character of the Revival of 1859" by the Rev. William Hamilton, written between 1859 and 1865 and concerning the Revival that occured then in Northern Ireland. Lord willing I will write a review of this excellent book soon.
This extract is of particular interest due to the prevailing Puritan view of assurance, whereby it is supposedly possible to (savingly) believe in Christ but yet not have assurance.
I am sharing this mainly for my beloved friends who struggle with assurance, of whom there are not a few. May the Lord use this so that you can answer the question, "What is thy only comfort in life and death?" with:
"That I with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Savior Jesus Christ; who, with his precious blood, hath fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, and therefore, by his Holy Spirit, he also assures me of eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto him." (Heidelberg Catechism Q1)
Here, then, is the extract:
[The converts] cry earnestly for mercy, such as, "Come, Jesus." "Lord Jesus, have mercy on my soul;" and they continue in great distress for a longer or shorter time. This is greatly prized by the friends of the movement.
Are we in a dream? What are we thinking of? Where are our Bibles and our Catechisms? Have they given place to the multitudinous publications of "Messenger" character with which the land abounds and the churches are so occupied? But we turn to Scripture; and, first of all, we beg attention to the perfect freeness, as well as fulness, of grace for sinners in such Scriptures as Isa. 55:1 - "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money: come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money, and without price." [all bold emphasis is mine - MK] John 7:37 - "Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink." Acts 16:31 - "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." John 3:14-15 - "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." This emblem being palpable to the senses, a visible and a tangible one - the serpent of brass, by looking to which, without any other ceremony or addition, the wounded one was healed - places the way of salvation in so clear a light that were it not accounted for by the blindness of our fallen nature, the difficulty would be how it could be misunderstood. Further, 2 Cor. 5:18-21 - "God... hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." Lifted up on the cross, as the serpent in the wilderness; the Lamb slain, reconciling the world unto God; and the ministry, since we remember, calling upon us to look and be saved. One feels ashamed to dwell so on these very first principles of our holy religion. It appears like bringing students from college to learn the parts of speech; but the great Revival constrains us. They still cry for mercy.
The true state of the case is this, from our earliest recollection we have been taught - and the crying ones are not an exception - that we are sinners, and also that there is a Saviour able and willing to save, and the blessed God, in infinite grace, freely bestows this salvation; and, as a matter of fact, we have been all of us entreated and urged constantly to accept pardon and salvation, so that even at the very time these stricken ones are crying for mercy, as well as before it, mercy is held forth to them. They cry for mercy, it is all the while being offered; still they cry and shout, and will not accept it.
Take an illustration. A man professes to be perishing from thirst. He cries incessantly for water; but a number of individuals are present, willing and able to give water in abundance, nay, it is being held to his very lips, with many kind words entreating him to drink; still he will not drink, but shout and cry more and more. Is he a hypocrite, or is he insane? Surely he must be the one or the other. And what of those who rejoice in and encourage such scenes? The emblem cannot be refused: it is perfectly Scriptural. The free, full, overflowing waters of life - salvation in Christ Jesus - have been, and still are being, kept before the mind of all our people in the Word and ordinances; and the Spirit's work is to cause the sinner to understand and obey the word that reveals this mercy, and not to plunge him into distress, and keep him crying for a longer of shorter time for that which Father, Son, and Holy Ghost freely bestows on the simple ground, Believe.
We conclude, therefore, that these cries for mercy are not in accordance with the free grace revealed in the Gospel. It may be objected, many true Christians have been in great distress because of sin, previous to believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is easily accounted for, as we hope to make plain when we come to consider the work of the First Person of the Trinity in his distinctive character. Meanwhile, we only affirm, as true of all, that previous to believing, the existing depravity of heart opposes the truth, erroneous teaching and Satanic influence increase the opposition, and the consequence is such as that referred to. The Spirit brings the word to the mind, the mind resists under this threefold influence; hence the inward struggle, which struggle, whatever may be the issue, is itself sinful, because it is resistance to the truth, which ought to be at once received; but in no respect is distress for sin, neither crying for mercy previous to believing, required by our Heavenly Father nor acceptable to him. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and shew forth the sincerity of your belief by your obedience. Such is the way of salvation.
Still some will say, are we not to cry for mercy? Did not David cry in bitterness of heart? Whether we consider David in his typical character, or as an ordinary believer, or indeed the case of any other godly person, there is no difference. All such cases are identical in principle. There is misapplication. The error arises from not understanding, or forgetting, the essential difference between the state of the believer and of the unbeliever. Remember the state of the unbeliever; he is by nature a child of wrath, an heir of misery; but the fulness of salvation is for him. Pardon, peace, eternal life in the Crucified One, these are constantly held forth in the ministry of the Word. He is invited, nay, commanded, to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and in doing so, eternal life is secure. No need, therefore, we say, to cry for mercy; it is freely offered, let it be received as freely, and that free receiving is the best, indeed the only way, under the circumstances, of honouring the gracious bestower.
The state of the believer is, however, very different. He has, by accepting the offered mercy, come into a new relationship. He is a child of God, an heir of eternal life; the inheritance is his. Hence he has come under the discipline of his Heavenly Father, and now, because of his sins of heart and life, he is taught daily to pray, "forgive us our trespasses;" and often is he brought under the rod, and many and sore afflictions lie upon him, the needful chastenings of ever-watchful love; and then, in self-loathing and self-abasement, and in a deep sense of the fearful demerit of his sins in the sight of his gracious Father, he will, and does in bitterness of heart exclaim, Have mercy upon me! Oh have mercy upon me! All the while he has confidence in his Father's love, through the blood-shedding of the Lamb, and he knows, however corrected, however sore or long-continued the affliction, he will not be finally cast away. Blessed be his name for such a hope!
Zec. 12:10-14, has been referred to as an illustration of the state of the stricken ones in their distress for sin; but the least attention to the passage will shew that it is not applicable. It is identical in principle with what we have just stated concerning the believer. It describes, as may be seen from the context, part of the fulfilment of the prophecy of Joel, which had its primary fulfilment, Acts, second chapter, and, as you see from the passage itself, followed their receiving the Man of Nazareth as the Messiah. Even as the descent of the Spirit, in Acts, followed believing, so here, Israel restored, Jerusalem re-built, the nations cut off, the Delieverer having come, the spared remnant are now blessed, and the Spirit of grace and supplication largely poured out upon them, - hence their self-loathing and bitterness of spirit.
The great error is the popular belief that sorrow for sin precedes, whereas it follows, believing, i.e., trusting in the Saviour. It is terror, fear of hell, dread of future misery, that believing, and is in itself the first fruits of the undying worm, which, if grace prevent not, will in course come to its fulness. It is self that is the great concern, the great moving principle; and so in the stricken ones, but not so in the portion before us. They shall look upon me, whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for an only son, and shall be in bitterness for him []. The true believer, the more he advances in holiness the greater the light of the Spirit in his heart, the more he knows of the Word of God and of himself, so much the deeper will be his sense of sin, his hatred to it, his sorrow for it, his sense of his own unworthiness on its account, and his earnest efforts and constant watchfulness finally to overcome, and perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord. So the house of David and inhabitants of Jerusalem are grieved for him, that they had so long dishonoured him, the only Saviour, that he had been so long despised and set at nought by them.
We have dwelt the longer on this part of our subject because it is so popular, so plausible, and yet not true. What is required of the unregenerate is, not to cry for mercy, but to receive mercy. The work of God which they are commanded to do is, to believe on him whom he hath sent, John 6:2, and to continue in his Word, and then are they his disciples indeed.
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