God-praising heart are a greater blessing then fulness with an unthankful spirit and it is a greater mercy for God to give a thankful spirit in a low condition then to advance a man to the highest pinnacle of outward prosperity in the world This I say is a blessed relief that causeth the soul to bless God in the want of all outward comforts 3. When God is pleased to strip a Christian of all his outward comforts he gives in a greater measure of faith that he may depend upon God for a supply So that though he hath nothing to live upon yet he is sure he shall not want for true faith looks not at secondary causes so much as at the word of promise and therefore if all means fail yet as long as the promise fails not a believing soul knows that it shall have a supply although it cannot imagine how or which way she shall have it Now inward supports in time of want and secret intimations of a supply from God in his own way and time are a sweet relief to the soul in that condition So saith David I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living Psal 27.13 True faith in God will keep the heart alive when a man hath nothing to live upon and 't is Gods way to fix a Christian most upon the objects of faith when the objects of sense are removed from him when a Christian lives least by fight then he lives most by faith Now as a Christian believes so comfort flows in to him Faith is to a Christian in stead of all things for it is the substance of things hoped for Heb. 11.1 What ever a man wants yet if he believes truly he hath the substance of that which he hopes for A Christian hopes for great things greater comforts more enlargments and heaven at last Why faith is the substance of all He that lives by faith hath the substance of heaven to live upon and that must needs be a sweet relief to the soul in a time of need It is the Christians comfort that he hath a durable and a lasting state that will never fail him and that he hath a God to go to that will not fail him but will give him such an allowance as shall maintain him till he comes to his journeys end where he shall be put into a full possession and fruition of it 4. Those small repasts which come from the hand of Divine Providence to uphold a Christian under his wants are filled so full of Divine Blessing and strength that he can truly say I have enough A man would think that pulse and water would afford but little nourishment I but Divine Blessing filled it full of strength that Daniel felt no want of better chear Let a Raven be the Prophets Caterer and if Divine Blessing attends the provision as it did he shall walk in the strength thereof forty days and not faint Though poor Christians in these days do not live upon Divine miracles yet they live upon Divine wonders that makes them sometime wonder how they live they cannot but see a Divine hand in giving what they have and then in blessing it beyond expectation for though they want much of that which others do enjoy yet they enjoy that which others want and this makes them healthful and chearful in their wants There is many a poor Christian that hath more joy in one day then thousands that enjoy the treasure of the earth and why It proceeds from this very ground the good mans little is given in love with a heart-chearing blessing while the wicked mans plentiful estate is given in wrath and with a curse upon it hence is that of Solomon Prov. 15.16 Better is a little with the fear of the Lord then great treasure and trouble therewith i. e. they that fear the Lord have not that trouble with their little which they that do not fear the Lord have with their great treasure and therefore the good mans little is better then the wicked mans great treasure The good mans little comes with a blessing for a blessing rests upon a good man and all that he hath be it little or much Now a Divine blessing ever gives strength and vertue to any means Let it be never so poor and weak of it self yet Divine Blessing makes it mighty and efficacious so that it is no matter what a Christian hath to live upon if the blessing of God goeth along with it 5. When God strips a good man of all he hath he then pours forth a mighty spirit of prayer for a fulness of grace to maintain the life of holiness in this estate He that hath nothing without to live upon and but a small stock of grace within will have much ado to rub through and a gratious soul is sensible hereof and therefore God is pleased to draw out the desires of his soul after a greater measure then yet he hath attained and indeed when outward wants meet with a soul that is full of grace they do not make such an impression upon it as when they meet with one that hath but little the empty vessel makes the greatest noise and empty Christians are fullest of complaints until a spirit of prayer is poured forth upon them whereby they attain an inward fulness and this keeps and maintains a spirit of holiness in them I confess he that prospers and thrives in the world stands in need of a large measure of grace to keep his heart holy in that estate and so he that is low in the world stands in need of a great measure of grace also or else he may miscarry There is one eminent rock upon which poor people are very apt to split and hazzard their immortal souls and that is the use of indirect and unlawful means for their relief and subsistence in the world Hence is that prayer of Agur Prov. 30.6 7 give me neither poverty nor riches feed me with food convenient for me least I be full and deny thee and say Who is the Lord Or least I be poor and steal and take the name of my God in vain Mark this least I be poor and steal Noting out that poverty hath this temptation attending it if grace prevents not poor men will be prompted to use some indirect course for their subsistence they 'l steal rather then want what they desire I but a good man dare not do thus This in him would be not only a breach of the eighth command but also of the third It is a taking the name of God in vain for this is a certain truth that whosoever takes upon him the profession of Christian Religion and yet departs not from iniquity he takes the name of God in vain now a true Christian in whom the fear of the Lord is planted dreads this and therefore crys mightily unto God to keep and preserve him that he may not do so unworthy an
interest in God And therefore do not conclude against thy self for though thy hand of faith be grown so weak that it can't take fast hold on God yet Gods hand is strong and that will hold thee fast So saith the Prophet nevertheless I am continually with thee thou hast holden me by my right hand vers 23. God held him fast when he was ready to drop from God He had lost the sense of his interest in God I but his interest in God was not lost God was his God though he did not know it And so God may be thine thou mayst have a sure interest in him although thou canst not find the prints of Gods feet in thy soul nor trace him in his ways of goodness towards thee And know this that it is better for thee to have an interest in God although thou knowest it not then to have strong presumptions and be deceived The want of sense and feeling of our interest in God is no sin though it be a great affliction Christ himself was without sense I he was so deep in it that when he was upon the cross he cried out Why hast thou forsaken me I but a groundless presumption is a sin and leads to eternal ruine None ever perished for want of faith of evidence but hundreds perish for want of faith of adherence Oh blessed is the man who believes and sees not that can say with Job Though he slay me yet will I trust in him Though my flesh fails and my heart fails yet I will believe that he is my strength and portion for ever Thus I have answered this case and so made way to application Vse 1. Hence we may infer the sad and woful condition of those who have no interest in God for they that have no interest in God can expect no relief from God in a time of necessity Wicked men have their failings their flesh fails them sometimes and their hearts fail them but no relief comes from God at those times Of all men they are most to be pityed for there is no help no relief for them If I be wicked saith Job woe unto me Job 10.15 i. e. If I be wicked I can expect no mercy no comfort from God Nay hear what God saith himself to such Esay 65.13 Therefore thus saith the Lord behold my servants shall eat but ye shall be hungry behold my servants shall drink but ye shall be thirsty behold my servants shall rejoyce but ye shall be ashamed behold my servants shall sing for joy of heart but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart and shall bowl for vexation of spirit The meaning is God will not afford them any comfort or relief in times of distress When God invites his own servants to feast with him they must be shut out And if God helps not who can No without me ye shall bow down saith God Esay 10.3 The wounds of the wicked are desperate wounds there is no cure for them Mark that of Job for what portion is there from above and what inheritance of the Almighty from on high is not destruction to the wicked and a strange punishment to the workers of iniquity The latter verse is an answer to the former and the sense is this all the portion and inheritance that the wicked can have from God above is destruction and a strange punishment Job 20.2 3. God is the strength and portion of a godly man when his flesh and heart fails him but the wicked have no other portion from God then utter destruction a strange punishment So Job 20.27 28 29. The heavens shall reveal his iniquity and the earth shall rise up against him the increase of his house shall depart and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath This is the portion of a wicked man from God and the heritage appointed to him by God Here is heaven and earth set against him the heavens shall reveal his sin and the earth shall punish him for his sin But is there no relief for him in God No This is the portion of a wicked man from God The case of such a man must needs be very black and dismal when heaven and earth and all the creatures therein are armed against him and mustred up by a Divine Hand Where can he have any relief then If God were for thee 't is no matter what sets it self against thee But if God be against thee 't is no matter what is for thee it will not help thee If misery and destruction be all the portion that God will allow thee there is nothing then can save thee If this be all thou hast to live upon to eternity thou wilt have a miserable living of it Vse 2. Hence all those that have interest in God may fetch comfort here is a well out of which all good men may draw the water of consolation with joy And what can afford greater comfort to you then this Doctrine doth that divine relief shall be administred unto you in time of your necessity when your flesh fails and your heart fails God will be the strength of your heart It is a great comfort to a Merchant-adventurer to have an assurance from the Ensuring Office that his Adventure at Sea shall be made good to him in case the Ship miscarries Even so it may be to a childe of God to have an assurance given him that if all fails him without and within he shall have relief from God Why this Text and Doctrine gives thee an assurance hereof and therefore as Job said hear it diligently and let it be your consolation You may take comfort in your greatest discomforts that you shall have comfort If there be enough in God to relieve and help you you shall not want relief Obj. But the doubting Christian may say I could take comfort in this truth had I not walked so unworthy of that former relief I have received from God I can truly say the Lord hath magnified the riches of his grace upon me but I have abused it and it may be just with him to cast me off for ever He hath helped me when I was in a low condition he hath strengthened me when I was in a weak state but I have not made suitable returns thereunto and therefore how can I expect relief Ans Now to such I have five things to say 1. The unsuitableness of a believer to and his unworthiness of relief cannot stop the current thereof As divine relief is not administred to us upon the account of our worthiness as if we did merit it so our unworthiness of it nor unsuitableness to it shall not prevent it Thy miscarriages may cause God to correct thee with failing of thy flesh and of thy heart but cannot cause God to cast thee off if thou hast an interest in him No that love that moves him to correct thee for thy good will also move him to relieve thee when thou art under the rod of correction
can't and one can suffer that which another can't one goeth heavily and drooping under his burden when another sings and is merry with a burden that is far heavier One can slight a temptation and resist it allthough it be very great and another is overcome when it is small I 'le give you some Examples hereof First Compare the first Adam with the second the first was suddenly overcome with a temptation and fell from a state of happiness into a state of misery because he had not Divine influence to support him and keep him from falling his strength was placed in himself and not in God But the second Adam stands his ground and keeps the field against Satans strongest attempts and batteries yea beats him with his own weapon and forces him to retreat because the God-head dwelt bodily in him and in him dwelt all fulness Again Compare Lot and his wife with Abraham in point of trial when God would have Lot and his wife deny themselves and leave their pleasant habitation of which it is said that it was even as the garden of the Lord you shall find Gen. 19.16 that Lot and his wife were loth to obey God herein 't is said he lingred c. But now when God tried Abraham in a far greater matter see how willingly he obeyed God therein so you may see Gen. 22. Rom. 4.20 The strength of a Christian lies not so much in his inherent Principles as in his assisting influences a Christian is strong as they flow in As a child in his fathers hand may do that which one of larger growth cannot do of himself so a young Christian in the hand of Christ can do that which old Adam could not do in innocency when left to himself A weak bearer with strong supporters may hold a greater weight than a stronger bearer without supporters A weak Christian underpropt and upheld by Divine strength may undergo and bear more then one that hath a larger measure of inherent grace This is that which makes a Christian differ from himself at one time very weak and at another time very strong as buds open in the day and shut at night as a man fasting and full differs in strength We see David at one time is afraid of a little 1 Sam. 27.1 1 Sam. 30.6 and at another time fears nothing At one time he concludes that one day he shall perish by the hand of Saul and yet not near him at another time when his own people spake of stoning him he takes courage in the Lord his God An army of flies will terrifie a Christian at one time when as an army of Giants can't daunt him at another Sometimes he can do nothing at other times he can do all things Sometimes he doth but creep at another he runs towards heaven Full is that Ephes 1.19 we believe according to the working of his mighty power much or little a little power put forth will produce but a little faith a great power will produce a great faith So that this is clear that according to a Saints Communion with God and Gods influence into him such is his strength as a man receives from God such is his power and ability the whole strength of a Christians heart depends upon the enjoyment of God 4. According to the fulness and extent of grace promised in the Covenant of grace such is Gods influence into the hearts of his people for their strength The Covenant of grace is full and large proportioned to the eternal love of God and the weak state of fallen man So that there is no condition into which a Saint can fall but there is a proportionate and suitable good promised and Covenanted to it The Covenant is Gods dispensative wherein all receits for all Spiritual weaknesses is held forth there is not a heart failing but there is a receit for it some promise that is suitable thereunto Now Gods strength passeth from God through the word of promise As God speaks the word so Divine influence flows into the soul The words that I speak saith Christ are spirit and life Joh. 6.63 The Lord is therefore pleased to set forth the power and life of his promise by a lively similitude Esay 55.10 11 12 13. Even as the rain and snow gives strength to the earth to bring forth and to bud and makes it fruitful so doth the word of grace give strength to a weak heart to bring forth grace and comfort and makes it full of goodness David had experience of this and therefore saith In God I will praise his word Psal 56.4 10 i. e. This is my strength God speaks the word and it is done comfort and courage help and salvation flows in through the word of promise Alass I were not able to stand if I had not this supporter to bear me up So you may see Psal 21.13 I had fainted unless I had believed God doth not only strengthen his Saints according to his word but he strengthens them by his word This is the medium through which all Divine strength passeth into the hearts of Saints for the strength of God is in his word of promise as its proper life and virtue this makes it enlightening enlivening strengthening encouraging comforting and sanctifying Hence is that of the Apostle Peter 2 Pet. 1.3 4. He that takes hold on the Covenant and on the promises of grace therein takes hold of Divine strength and as it is said of Sarah shall receive strength to conceive and to bring forth the image and life of God in his soul and conversation When God seemeth to stand at a distance from the soul that she can't see him nor find him out yet if the word of promise be nigh her and in her she can't want strength for the strength of God is in it and have you not found it thus sometimes that upon the reading or hearing of a gratious promise of God held forth in the Scripture such a clear light hath shined into your souls and such a strength hath flowed in therewith as to raise you up and to work a mighty change in you 5. According to that mutual transact that is between God the Father and his Son Christ Jesus both on Gods part and on the believers part so doth the Covenant give forth its virtue and grace to the believer You heard before that the Covenant of grace is Gods means whereby he strengthens his people there is the strength of God laid out now this means works not but as it is moved it gives forth nothing but as it is set on work Though there were healing and strengthening virtues in the pool of Bethesda yet they could not put forth themselves until the Angel moved the waters so it is here the Covenant of grace is Gods strengthening pool I but the virtue thereof is not put forth without a motion these waters are set on work by a mutual transact between the Father and the Son First Therefore God
all goes yet the heart is born up in the enjoyment of God as Habakkuk was Hab. 3.17 And also when all is enjoyed Deut. 3.8 10 11. God may have the glory and praise of all Deut. 6.9 10 11. O Beloved maintain a constant sense of Divine fulness upon your spirits 't is not enough for a Christian to make God his All and to know him to be so but to present God thus always to his mind and spirit What is it for a man to be worth a vast estate if he be unmindful of it though he be never so rich yet he looks upon himself as poor and so lives a dejected and a disconsolate life Thus it is with a Christian though he makes God his portion yet if he be unmindful of God his comfort will fade and fall And so on the other side when he is full of the creature his heart will be too much elevated and puffed up if he forgetteth him who filleth all in all forgetfulness of God either raiseth a man too high or else casts him down too low he that forgets God will either be proud or else despondent 2. Is God your portion then be content with such things as you have Heb. 13.5 What though thou hast not enough in the world yet thou hast enough in God and though thou hast not a self-sufficiency yet thou hast an All-sufficiency God is thine All. Let not this trouble thee that the world can't be a God unto thee or that thou hast not all that the world can afford thee in kind for thou hast more in God Remember this that the life of man consists not in the abundance of riches Luk. 12.15 Thou canst neither live upon them nor prolong thy life by them thou canst neither comfort thy self with them if God withdraws nor increase them without his word of blessing but contentation with a little is great riches if God presents himself to thee in it as thine All. O therefore murmure not repine not fret not thy self because the stream is low when as thou hast the fountain that can never be drawn dry 3. Be not solicitously or distrustfully careful for what you want the presence of God will fully supply the absence of any creature thou hast enough to live upon when all created comforts fail thee Hence is that of the Apostle Phil. 4.6 God will not suffer thee to want any good that is needful for thee Psa 34.9 10. What thou canst not enjoy in the creature thou shalt enjoy in God himself A Christians motto may be this Nil habeo nil careo nil curo I have nothing self-denyal hath outed me of all all is to him as nothing I want nothing for he hath all in God I take care for nothing for he looks upon God for his provision A carking solicitous man takes Gods office out of his hand for God hath made it his work to take the care of his people and hath made it their duty to be careful for nothing 1 Pet. 5.7 There is a double care 1. Cura officii 2. Cura eventus First There is a care of duty and so every man is bound to labour in that calling wherein God hath set him carefully and industriously 'T is not only lawful but our duty to make provisions for back and belly for our selves and others So Rom. 12.17 1 Tim. 5.8 Secondly There is a care of event and so we ought to be without care we are to look at God for the event and issue of all and for a blessing upon all conscience of duty and faith in God are to be inseperably conjoyned we must use the means and yet look beyond it Neglect of means is disobedience and distracting care about the issue is infidelity two rocks on which the soul is apt to split if not rightly steered by a Divine hand 4. Is God your portion then above all be thankful for the enjoyment of God every gift that cometh down from God requires thanks but much more when God gives thee himself in every thing give thanks saith the Apostle 1 Thess 5.18 For this is the will of God but how much should our hearts be enlarged with thanks and praise for the incomes of God himself as the enjoyment of good is the object of thanks so our thanks should be proportioned to the good enjoyed the highest good should have the highest praise So David Psal 118.28 Thou art my God I will praise thee thou art my God I will exalt thee SERMON II. PSAL. LXXIII XXVI My flesh and my heart faileth but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever WE have raised two Doctrines out of these words 1. That God is the Rock or Strength of an Israelites heart and his portion for ever 2. That Divine relief flows from God to his people according to their necessity We have dispatcht the first of these and shall now proceed to the Second That Divine relief flows from God to his people according to their necessity When flesh and heart faileth then God is the strength of their heart and portion When the old stock is almost spent God renews it again When the fire is almost out he throws on new fewel When the old house is falling upon our heads he underprops it When the Cistern fails the Conduit shall run In plain English when a Christian stands in greatest need of relief and help God will communicate the most of himself to him God oftentimes leads his people as he did Abraham to the top of the mount of trials temptations and afflictions and then appears to them in grace and goodness that they may set up their stone and write Jehova Iireh upon it the Lord will be seen Now for the more methodical handling this Doctrine I shall do these three things 1. Consider the particular cases wherein a Christian stands in need of relief 2. Shew you how relief flows from God to Christians in those cases 3. Give you the grounds and reasons thereof First For the cases wherein a Christian stands in need of relief and these are reducible to two heads according to the Prophet here in our Text. 1. Failing of the flesh 2. Failing of the heart First Failing of the flesh and this is twofold 1. When the comforts of a mans life fail him 2. When the strength of the outward man fails Secondly There is a failing of the heart and that is threefold 1. When the faculties of the soul fail and cannot perform their due offices either by way of apprehension election or retention 2. When the acquired or infused habits of the heart are weakned or indisposed to act 3. When the animal spirits are expiring and even breathing forth This as I hinted at the first in opening the Text was the Prophets case who pen'd this Psalm He was brought very love even to the very pit ready to die soul and body failed all without and all within failed and then God was the strength of
be able to withstand a temptation then he saw the uncleanness of his heart and therefore cried to God to wash him and cleanse him and it is as if he had said Lord I see now what a filthy and unclean Spirit dwelleth in me Lord do thou purge it out and cleanse me from it If any one had gone to David and told him that at such a time he should be overcome by such a temptation and commit two great sins he would hardly have believed that his heart had been so bad But after wards his expeperience taught him 2. Hereby God teacheth the Soul where its strength lieth and on whom its grace depends The decay of grace shews that the strength thereof is not in man nor in grace it self but like the Vine it must have a supporter Grace can't live nor thrive without constant influences I but good men are too apt to depend upon their grace and not to go to him for strength in whom it lies Now when a Christian feels the decay of his grace and his own insufficiency to relieve and strengthen it this drives him out of himself to Christ This is one main difference between the total want of grace and a sense of decay in grace The total want of grace drives men from Christ but a sense of the decay of grace drives men to Christ So it did David his weakness brought him upon his knees 3. The falls of Christians through the weakness of grace and the power of sin are made notable antidotes and preservatives against final Apostasie For as there is nothing that estrangeth the heart from God as spiritual pride and self-confidence so nothing keeps the heart so close to God as a filial fear of offending God So you may see Jer. 32.40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them to do them good but I will put my fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from me This is that which hemms in the Soul that it cannot go astray Now the falls of Christians provoke and draw forth this filial fear into act The burnt child dreads the fire and he that hath been stung with a Serpent will shun his hole so it is here None so fearful of falling into sin as they that have fallen None so wary and watchful none so resolute and stout against temptations and occasions of sin as those who have been at a time overcome 4. These falls and decayes are like mighty winds to the Oak that settles him faster and make him root deeper in Christ As the more the Oak is shaken if it falls not the faster and deeper it is rooted in the earth So when a Christian hath been shaken with the winds of temptations and corruptions the faster hold he layeth upon Christ and the deeper he is rooted in him For 1. His experience of Christ's faithfulness in keeping him from falling finally and totally strengthens his faith in Christ 2. His experience of Christ's pardoning love knits and unites his heart close to Christ First His experience of Christ's faithfulness in keeping him from falling totally and finally strengthens his faith in Christ As 't is a notable trial of Christ's faithfulness to keep Saints from falling away finally when they fall souly so experience of Christ's faithfulness is a notable strengthener of a Christians faith in Christ They that know thy name will put their trust in thee saith David Psal 9.10 A friend that keeps close to a man in time of need may well be trusted Even so 't is here Christ keeps close to a Christian even at that time when he deserves to be cast off and is both a shame and a grief to Christ Surely the experience hereof must needs be a great incouragement to a Christian to trust him for ever He seeth that Christs strength never fails although his own strength fail He seeth that there is grace enough in Christ to support him in the weakest condition and to raise him up when he is at the lowest Nay further he finds this strength put forth upon him according to the word of promise and though he is unbelieving yet Christ abides faithful to him And therefore he cannot but conclude from hence that Christ will be his strength for ever and will never fail him Secondly A Christians experience of the fulness and continuance of Christs pardoning love knits and unites his soul faster to Christ then ever this doth endear Christ to the soul exceedingly tryed love is an endearing love and if any thing will draw out the souls affections unto Christ and confirm them against all future assaults it is the renewing of pardons upon the renewal of offences When the soul shall hear Christ say as he doth Esay 43.24 25. Thou hast brought me no sweet cane with money neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities I am he that blotteth out thy transgression for mine own sake and will remember thy sins no more I say when the soul shall hear this it must needs be deeply affected herewith What! Will the Lord be gratious to such a vile wretch as I am Will he pardon a backslider Will he forgive the sin of one that hath made him to serve with his sin and wearied him with iniquities O here is wonderful love this is transcendent love and shall not I love him that hath loved me thus Yet Lord thou knowest that I love thee 't is true I have backslidden and grievously offended but I will do so no more Thus God sometimes doth the soul much good by that which in it self doth him the greatest hurt as pain easeth a Christian death revives him dissolution unites him so corruption clarifies him and this is a most gratious relief But before I leave this particular I must enter four cautions 1. That no man take up the better opinion of sin hereby for as darkness is nevertheless an evil though God bring light out of darkness so sin is nevertheless an evil though God is pleased to bring good out of it Poison is destructive although a Physician can so correct it as to make it medicinal and so is sin and the better opinion thou hast of sin the more evil and mortal it will be to thee 2. Take heed of lying in sin with hopes of a relief from God watch against it pray against it that thou mayest not be overcome of it but however if thou art overcome by a temptation if Satan hath tript up thy heels get upon thy feet again assoon as possibly thou canst if thou fallest with Peter weep with Peter and labour to find as much bitterness in sin as thou hast found of a seeming pleasure in it Remember this that more have fallen into sin with hopes of rising again then have risen after they have fallen Many sin with Peter but few repent with him
And so in respect of suffering let the providence of God support and comfort you I have read this of Chrysostom that when Eudoxia procured his banishment He said thus None of these things trouble me but I said within my self if the Queen will let her banish me the earth is the Lords and the fulness thereof if she will let her saw me asunder Isaiah suffered the same if she will let her cast me into the Sea I will remember Jonah if she will let her cast me into a fiery furnace or amongst wilde beasts the three children and Daniel were so dealt with if she will let her stone me I have Stephen and the Baptist for my blessed companions go tell her nil nisi peccatum timeo Thus should we support and comfort our hearts by the providences of God exercised towards others and especially by the comforts that others have received from God in the same sufferings and torments that we at any time do or may endure Bishop Ridley writing to Latimer in Prison saith ever since I heard of our dear Brother Rogers his stout confession and departing I never felt any lumpish heaviness in my heart as sometimes I did before And further when you hear or read of the providence of God in preventing evil determined by evil instruments against his Church and people this should raise your spirits to a greater pitch of consolation and holy courage And indeed how many wonders hath God at all times wrought in preserving and hiding his Saints and people from intended and designed plots of mischief and ruine is almost incredible I remember what is recorded in the life of Dionysius Areopagita that when he was caused by Sifinius the Prefect to be thrown to hungry wilde beasts they would not tear him and into an hot Oven it would not burn him The like is reported of S. Ambrose for a certain wizard sent his spirits to kill him but they returned answer that God had hedg'd him in as he did Job another came with a sword to his bed side to have killed him but he could not stir his hand until repenting he was restored by the prayer of S. Ambrose to the use of his hands again So the Circumcellians being not able to withstand S. Austins preaching and writing sought his destruction having beset the way wherein he was to go his visitation but by Gods Providence he missing his way escaped the danger And one saith of Luther That Luther a poor Frier should be able to stand against the Pope was a miracle that he should prevail against the Pope was a greater and after all to die in peace having so many enemies was the greatest of all When this was represented unto Moses in a type it did much affect his heart Oh saith he I will turn aside and see this great sight Exod. â— 2 3 4. It was a great and glorious sight to see the bush in the fire not consumed but more to see the Church under great persecution and yet not destroyed the people of God maligned and opposed and yet to live this is a miracle a soul comforting providence But oh then what a surpassing comfort doth the consideration of Gods improving providences afford to the Saints those providences I mean whereby he doth extract the best good out of the worst evil So that the soul may say as S. Paul of a great evil I know that this shall turn to my salvation Phil. 1.19 And therefore I rejoyce So 2 Cor. 12.9 10. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in mine infirmities And again Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities in reproaches in necessities in persecutions in distresses for Christs sake for when I am weak then am I strong S. Pauls weakness was converted into strength he never was so strong in the inward man as when he was weakest in the outward and herein he rejoyced God doth ever bring about some glorious design as it were at a back door and a contrary way that the wrath of man shall praise God And doth not this speak comfort and courage to the people of God in all their dark and cloudy fits surely it doth and that which kills the hearts of others may be the greatest reviver of their hearts For their greatest sorrows shall turn to their greatest joy and their extremity of miseries shall prove their highest glories their Winter shall bring forth a flourishing Spring and their mournful Seed-time a most plentiful Harvest And therefore let me exhort you in the words of the holy Apostle Heb. 12.12 Lift up the hands which hang down and the feeble knees Be not dismayed or discouraged at any thing that falleth out For know that there is a wheel within a wheel that worketh and moveth in all things yea that ordereth and disposeth them so that not one iota or tittle of Gods counsel shall fail of accomplishment Melancthon knowing the rage of the Papists and Cesar's threats was much troubled and gave himself wholly up to grief sighs and tears Whereupon Luther writes to him thus I extreamly dislike your excessive cares with which you say you are almost consumed If the cause be bad let us revoke it and fly back If it be good why do we not trust God in his promises If Christ be the Conquerour of the World why should we fear it as if it would overcome us As for Luther himself he had an undaunted Spirit For when our King Henry the eighth had written bitterly against him He makes this Answer Let the Henries the Bishops the Turk and the Devil himself do what they can we are the Children of the Kingdom worshipping and waiting for that Saviour whom they and such as they spit upon and crucifie The truth is there is no condition whereunto the Church of God in general or any Christian in particular can fall but they may hold up their heads and lift up their hearts to an high pitch of consolation therein if they do but lay the providence of God to heart and consider how that works in all to bring about the will of God They may say as Shecaniah said to Ezra There is yet hope in Israel concerning this thing And as Mordecai to Hester Comfort and deliverance shall come And as Saint Paul to the Corinthians in the temptation God will make a way for an escape He hath delivered he doth deliver and in him we trust that he will deliver What though Satan and all the confederates of darkness were now at work to destroy one Soul and to pluck it out of the hand of Christ yet providence will preserve it What though Antichrist and his adherents are combining and plotting against Christ and his members his truths and ordinances yet providence will over-shadow them And Beloved if every Errour in the Nation were an hundred and every Heretick a thousand yet truth and the professors thereof shall prevail Acts 5.38 Providence hath her secret waies of working that cannot be found out and though
under a pretence of acting for God Wicked men will do so but you must go beyond them You must do more then they can do 3. In living by faith upon God 2 Cor. 5.7 We live by faith and not by sight A Christian ought not to hang by the eye-lids eying and looking at external wheels and second causes only but to exercise faith upon the wheel within the wheel This is that which must actuate and inliven all second causes or else they cannot work What is it that thou dost desire this must bring it to pass Not by might nor by power but by my Spirit Zech. 4.6 Would'st thou have thy corruption mortified thy temptation conquered thy graces strengthened thy comforts enlarged thy fears prevented thy prayers heard rest not upon the external wheels but upon the wheel within the wheel Means must be used but not trusted in God alone is the object of a Christians faith Say therefore In vain is salvation hoped for from the multitude of hills and mountains but in the Lord our God is salvation Jer. 3.23 And let it be said of you as it is of Abraham Ro. 4.18 19. Who against hope believed in hope When all instruments are dead Ordinances dead Comforts dead Graces dead heart even dead yet give glory to God by believing in him who never dies And for this end follow the example of the Prophet Psal 77.10 11 12. I will remember the years of the right hand of the most high I will remember the works of the Lord surely I will remember thy wonders of old I will meditate also of all thy work and talk of thy doings Yea wouldst thou set this internal wheel on work wouldst thou move that Why then set faith on work this is that whereby divine providence suffers it self to be moved How came Abraham to be the Father of many Nations but by the movings of this internal wheel and what set that a going but the faith of Abraham And therefore it is said that he believed in hope that he might become the Father of many Nations Beloved if ever you would set any instrument or inferiour wheel on work you must move the greater wheel So it is here 't is God that must move and you must set God on work by faith An active faith will not let God alone it gives him no rest untill he hath set all second causes on work and accomplished the desired mercy Now in this you go beyond all moral men they may make use of means I but they can't believe they can't set the great wheel on work 4. In fixing your hearts upon things that are above Let the constant openings of your Souls be for the entertainment of Heavenly enjoyments And this is a wonder Rev. 12.1 A Christians heart should be in Heaven and the world under his feet The Earth is Gods and a good mans foot-stool thou mayest walk upon it but not be buried in it Most excellent is the Apostles Rule 1 Cor. 7.29 30 31. But this I say Brethren the time is short It remaineth that both they that have wives be as though they had none and they that weep as though they wept not and they that rejoice as though they rejoiced not and they that buy as though they possessed not and they that use this world as not abusing it for the fashion of this world passeth away And this was the Apostles glory that the world was crucified unto him and he unto the world Gal. 6.14 He looks upon all as so many dead corps and carkases Fourth and last Inference If this divine wheel be so admirable and glorious then this teacheth you to maintain a constant communion with it For you are little wheels I but what will you do if this divine wheel be not as a wheel in the middle of a wheel what shall act and move you in order to your comfortable winding up Sure I am you will be like Sampson when his Lock was cut off Your strength is departed from you and you like Instruments laid aside and of no use I but if God be in you and with you then you shall go forth in the strength of an omnipotent power and be admirable in working yea you shall have cause to admire the wheel within the wheel and sing with Moses Who is a God like our God glorious in holiness fearful in praises doing wonders Yea with the heavenly Quire saying Amen blessing and glory wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be unto our God for ever and ever Amen FINIS A Divine Paradox OR A PRISONER at LIBERTY AND HIS JUDGE IN BONDS Being a Subject Treated of before the Right Honourable the Lord Chief Justice Hales at an Assize holden at Saint Edmunds Bury In the County of Suffolk March 27. 1669. By Samuel Blackerby Minister of the Gospel at Stow Market LONDON Printed for Nevil Simons at the Princes Arms in S. Paul's Church Yard 1674. Acts 24.25 And as he reasoned of righteousness temperance and judgement to come Felix trembled THat I may observe the watch-word given and confine my discourse to the time alotted for it I shall at present wave my usual course and lay aside the threds by which I was resolved to have steer'd my passage to the Text And yet before I can attempt to anatomize and breath any vein of truth therein I must crave leave to strip it of a double paradox which at first view it secmeth to be drest up in For 1. Here is a Prisoner in liberty 2. A Judge in bonds Saint Paul the Prisoner and Felix the Judge the one we meet with in the entrance into the Text the other in the close and both afford us matter of admiration First The liberty of St. Paul the Prisoner for here we find him at liberty to preach and preaching with liberty 1. At liberty to preach That an Apostle should be a Prisoner is much but that he who was imprisoned upon the account of preaching should have liberty whilst a Prisoner to preach and that before his Judge this is more Not many daies before he was accused by a famous Oratour and libell'd against with a deep charge of high misdemeanours and capital crimes and that with so much artifice and subtilty that it is a wonder that a sentence of death had not passed upon him according to the malevolent expectation of his malicious enemies and he for ever deprived of his liberty to preach any more and yet to speak in the Ciceronian Dialect Vivit imo vivit in Senatum venit He lives yea he lives to preach And that 2. With liberty I 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with much liberty and boldness For neither the grandeur of the Auditor nor the experience that he had of a former durance no nor his fear of future had any such influence upon him as to seal up his lips or tempt him to play the Sycophant or flattering Courtier that thereby he might have gained an enlargement