my selfe by giving an answer to Davids demand before I come to the question which is VERSE V. Why art thou cast downe O my soule and why art thou dâ—squieted in me hope thou in God for I shall yet praise him for the helpe of his countenance VVHerein hee makes further declaration of his sorrowfull and perplexed estate that his soule in this time of trouble did pant and thirst and was powred out and cast downe and disquieted not finding release from misery nor evasion out of these calamities Now if the light that is in thee be darknesse Mat. 6.23 how great is that darknesse and if the soule that is in thee be sorrowfull how great is that sorrow Pro. 12.25 When heavinesse in the heart of man maketh it stoupe yea to be cast down as Davids was And yet there is great cause that the soule bee lifted up with joy and not dejected with griefe if wee consider the originall of it Igneus est illis vigor coelestis origo Virgil. that it proceedeth from God himselfe Gen. 1.27 2.7 Psal 8.5 Mortalibus alti quantum coelicolae tantundem animalibus isti praecellunt cunctis Silius Eccles 3.21 12.7 who created us after his own image breathing into us the breath of life whereby wee became living soules So that wee who were made but a little lower than the Angels were made much higher than all other creatures For when the spirit of the beast goeth downeward to the earth our spirit shall returne to God that gave it Also there is cause of ioy unto the soule in regard of the body Deus dedit corpus animae ut illud in coelum eveneret Non dedita animam corpâ—ri ut c. God gave the body unto the soule that it might raise the body unto heaven Hee did not give the soule unto the body that it might presse the soule to the earth Admonet figura c. Boet Shall the body be erect towards heaven and the soule decline towards the earth Let us consider how helpfull the body is to the soule in the worship of God when our eyes wait upon him and our tongue is our glory to praise him and wee lift up pure hands and daily bow our knees before him when our feet doe carry us to his house and there wee prostrate our whole body in his presence Thus in our estate of grace there is an happy union and consent betweene them both But as Eve â—en 2.18 who was made a meete helpe proved a cause of the greatest woe and misery So the body which should assist the soule doth rebell against it and thereby becomes a great annoyance Like that kinde of torment when they did binde the dead and the living together Corpora ca daveribus ad versa adversis alligata Val. Max. So the soule that lives for ever and is willing to doe good is ioyned unto a body that is weake yea even dead to any holy duty And then the servant is upon an horse Ephes 2 5. Eccles 10 7. and the Prince doth walke as a servant upon the earth the hand-maide is advanced Eucherius ad Valeâ—ian and the mistresse brought downe to the foot-stoole The body doth bring the soule into captivity and make it of a king to become a servent Modo rex esâ— modo tyraâ—nus Sence oâ— else a tyrant Wherefore when wee finde a law in our members warring against the law of our minde wee must pray to be delivered froÌ„ this body of death Rom. 7. verse 23.24 It was observed that when the body sleepeth Anima dum corpori vires admâ—nistrat nequaquam vacat sibi c. Hippocrat the soule hath most liberty And wee know assuredly that when our bodies shall bee laid to sleepe in the grave our soules shall bee inlarged Terreno carcere resoluta caelum ibera petâ—â— Boet. and delivered from that earthly house wherein they were long pent and imprisoned Vt novus serpens pofitâ cum pelle senectâ c. Ovid. And as the serpent doth become young againe after it hath cast off the skinne so the soule shall bee clothed with maiesty and glory when this fraile body shall waxe old like a garment and bee folded up as a vesture untill the end of all things and then this vile body shall be fashioned like unto the glorious body of Christ and being reioyned unto the soule shall enter into the ioy of our Master If that father did so reioyce when he saw his sonne to be alive Gen. 46.30 whom hee thought to bee dead then how excellent shall our ioy bee when the body which was dead shall bee alive and they both being knit together shall live in blisse for evermore 29.20 Did those seven yeares seeme to bee but a few dayes 31.40 for the love that Iacob had to Rachel though hee suffered the drought in the day the frost by night and watched both day and night Then how wonderfull ought the love of the soule be to the body cheerfully serving the Lord patiently enduring all tryals and afflictions not being cast downe as if it were without hope but looking for the Saviour who shall unite both soule and body And wee shall be as the Angels of God in heaven Mat. 22.30 Let us now take notice of Davids examination of himselfe that wee thereby may learne to iudge ourselves and wee shall not bee iudged Formerly hee had with his whole heart sought unto the Lord to shew him the light of his countenance He had earnestly desired to appeare before God Hee had humbled himselfe in sorrow for his owne transgressions and the sins of other men Now God accepteth the will for the deed And they that mourne have a promise of comfort Mat. 6. Why then art thou cast downe O my soule and why art thou disquieted in me Psal 4.4 Also hee did commune with his owne heart and was no fugitive from it as many are who have greatest reason to bee sorrowfull and to feare lest their soules should bee cast downe lower than Davids was because they never looke home to examine and prove themselves and to know that Christ is in them 2. Cor. 13.5 except they bee reprobates But David did make diligent search in his owne heart Psal 77.6 and in all things desired the good and comfortable estate of it Then why art thou cast downe O my soule and why art thou disquieted in me Remember the workes of old how graciously the Lord hath dealt with thee Say not within thy selfe that his mercy is clean gone for ever for thou dost stil enioy many blessings and his grace doth now keep thee from fainting Consider that in this chastisement the Lord dealeth with thee as with a childe and it is not his good pleasure that thou shouldest have sorrow upon sorrow but that this light affliction working for thy good may bring thee to an
thirst for the living God and shall thy soule thirst for many gods for dead gods for idols that are no Gods but the works of mens hands Shall he thirst for God who doth satisfie us with all good things and wilt thou desire that thirst whereby thou canst never be satisfied Abstemious men without question For when God hath commanded to keepe a feast they will keepe a fast When God hath given unto all the cup of blessing yet they will refuse it as counting themselves unworthy of so great salvation What can they merit by this their abstinence even to drink of that cup in the hand of the Lord Psal 75.8 which he powreth out for them If they shall plead that the use of the cup is freely given to some of them yet then there must bee a miracle in the change which among the Heathens themselves was thought to bee prodigious Insusum paterae Xerxis vinum in sanguinem conversum est Val. Max. But were not that woman drunken with bloud Revel 17 6. shee could not think that to be bloud which shee drinks 2. King 3. â—3 But now both shee and her followers by thinking that to bee bloud which is not as the Moabites did they run upon their own destruction Now if any shall object that David might well thirst after God who had dealt so bountifully with him who looked upon his poore estate and exalted him when hee was of low degree unto the highest dignity who gave him victory over all his enemies and made a way for him to escape out of the greatest dangers So that it had beene unthankefulnesse in him to have done otherwise As for themselves they desire first to compose their outward affairs settle their estates that they may not appeare to be worse than Infidels and then afterward to devote the remainder of their lives to the service of God Whereunto let mee answer That thy petition is the same with Balaams Let me dye the death of the righteous Thou art therefore unexcusable O man who in thy Testament dost in the first place commit thy soule to God and then dispose of thy estate But in the former part of thy life by a confusion without any good order thy chiefe care hath beene about thy worldly possessions and now in thine end it is not the love of God but the love of thy selfe that constraineth thee to take care of thy soule Whereas such as have alwayes used a cloke of covetousnesse a garment well knowne to Iudas but never worne by S. Paul how can they ever expect to put on the Lord Iesus 1. Thes 2.5 or to be clad with the rich robes of his righteousnesse No that thine unsatiable greedinesse will in the end bee as deadly uncomfortable unto thee as the Babylonish garment was unto Achan Iosh 7 11. And such as addict themselves to voluptuousnesse rejoycing in their youth Eccles 11 9. walking in the wayes of their owne heart and in the sight of their eies but intending to rejoyce in the Lord that their soules shall thirst for the living God in the time of age and trouble when they can find no rellish in vaine delights At last when God doth bring them to judgement can they expect to heare that comfortable saying Well done thou good and faithfull servant enter into thy Masters joy No Luke 16.25 they may feare to bee told that in their life time they received their good things but now there remaines no comfort for them Also such as are ambitious to make themselves a name laying a sure ground-worke as they thinke of honours and titles here upon earth intending with those foolish builders which had begun that they could not finish that the top of their tower should reach up to heaven hoping at last to obtaine a crowne of glory But that their Babel will prove their confusion Gen. 11. for they invert the order of Christ who hath commanded us in the first place to seeke the Kingdome of heaven And as in the creation Gen. 1.1 heaven is named before earth so our best endeavours should be to obtaine that estate of happines not casting our anchor of hope upon earth Heb. 6.19 but into heaven as David here did whose soule thirsted for the living God who did not then begin to serve God when he had received many outward blessings from him Such an objection came from Satan Iob 1. Doth Iob feare God for nought For who ever feared God for nought wee being lesse than the least of all his mercies De antiquâ—s illustrissimus quisque pastor erat Varrâ— But in his first estate in that most ancient kinde of life made famous by so many worthyes as Abel Iacob Moses and the like hee put his whole confidence in the Lord who delivered him out of the paw of the Lion 1 Sam. 17.37 and out of the the paw of the Beare which he remembred with thankesgiving 16.16 And having that leasure which shepheards have Pastor otiosâ—s Otium voluptatis ac lasciviae pater In Scal. he did not abuse it to wantonnesse and folly as they were wont for the most part to doe but being a cunning player on the Harp and a divine Poet Videtur autem modulatâ—o in pastroâ—â—b inventa prâ—mum Id. that art of poetry having its beginning from shepheards as the song of Moses doth testifie who formerly had led the flocke of Iethro Exod. 3.1 who at that time led the people like a flocke Hee composed most heavenly and melodious pastorals in praise of his Creator After that being lifted up by the right of the Almighty who loveth a cheerefull giver and not by his owne pride whereof hee was unjustly taxed by Eliab who foresaw that the elder must serve the younger he kept in tune still and did more excell the best of his nobles in gratitude and zeale than in regall dignity And here in his distresse a time of sufficient triall you see with what patience hee endured the cursing of Shimei and what confidence hee placed in God Hee doth not aske the life of his enemies you know the charge hee gave to the contrary and how hee was blamed for too much love of them 2. Sam. 1â— 6 Hee doth not aske long life that hee might bee restored unto his Kingdome and many yeares added unto his reigne But having a wise and understanding heart hee seeketh for God himselfe his soule thirsted for the living God hee knew if his prayer were acceptable God would give him more than hee asked as hee did afterward to Salomon 1. King 3. â—3 And if God gave himself he would give all things also Wherefore let us bee followers of him as hee was of God Phillip 3.8 And with S. Paul suffer the losse of all that wee may winne Christ It will be our best advantage and greatest gaine by any outward losse or imminent danger to be
in the overthrow of those that are good How did the heart of Herodias dance within her for joy that Iohn was put to death with whose head they sported as with a Tennis-bal How did the fire wherein the Martyrs were burned warme the very hearts of their persecutors unto whom the light thereof seemed more glorious than the Sunne in the firmament Confugiâ—nt ad homines Plini Cantu mulcatur animal stupidum Iul. Scal. Aut pâ—niccae septum formidine pennae Virgil. As the Hart seeketh reliefe from man when it is distressed and is deluded by a pleasant sound and readily driven into the nets and taken so there is nothing more easie than to deceive a good man who many times reposeth confidence in those that prove treacherous unto him in charity believing all things hoping all things not having that worldly wisdome that others have But as the best and surest refuge of the Hart when his might is empaired and hee beginneth to descend and bee spent then to proffer and desire the river so it is thy wisedome in affliction early to seeke unto the Lord who redeemeth thy life from destruction Psal 103.4.5 and satisfieth thy mouth with good things so that thy youth is renewed like the Eagles In the time of our necessity there is no helpe for us but onely in the name of the Lord. All other succour reliefe will prove as weake and impotent as the broken reed of Egypt was to the Israelites or the hornes of the Altar to Ioab where wee may be taken and utterly destroyed If we trust to riches we provide for our selves Luke 12.19 as the rich man did that bade his soule live at ease because hee had plenteous increase of the fruits of the earth whereas the soule of man liveth not by bread therefore being famished may that night bee taken from him If we trust to wisdome and policy when the houre of darknesse commeth wee may with Ahitophel set our house in order but what mansion have wee provided whereinto our soules may bee received In the time of our sicknesse if we seeke to the helpe of man alone as Asa did wee may well expect the same successe that he had If we thinke our house to be our castle to defend us from storme and violence know Iob 1. that Iobs heire had as good an habitation How soone may wee with Nebuchadnezzar be driven away exposed to the dew of heaven Dan. 4.33 Miserable comforters are they all for who is God save the Lord Psal 18 3â— but let my soule long after thee O God Observe the benefit wee have by affliction when the winter of persecution and trouble doth kindlâ— our affection and stirre up in us a desire and appetite towards heavenly things Iâ— poverty was to bee liked because it shewed the fidelity constancy of our friends then may we esteeme this to be a great commodity that wee have by our affliction discovering not other mens but which more neerely concernes us our owne hearts It makes us see our poore weake estate and to seeke for strength and a rich supply of heavenly graces Our want doth cure our wantonnesse and calleth us who are troubled about many things to seeke that one thing needfull which is yet wanting Before wee were afflicted wee went astray like the Prodigall and walked in our owne inventions But when wee come to suffer hardship and are ready to dye for hunger wee begin to thinke of returning to our Father Et sua quemque advigilare sibi iussit fortuna premendo Manil Our calamities lying heavy upon us doe awaken us out of the sleepe of security and are as beneficiall as the mighty tempest was unto Ionah bringing us to true confession of our sins to fervent prayer unto the Lord our God who doth restore us unto the joy of his salvation If our tryalls have this happy and comfortable effect wee may safely conclude It was good for us wee were afflicted as David here who being hunted as a Partridge in the mountain is thereby excited with the more vehemency to seeke after the Lord. To seeke after the Lord wee have great encouragement who is a God nigh at hand ready to heare and deliver us in the day of trouble who is found of those that sought not after him that asked not for him Then doubtlesse will he in mercy reveale himself unto us if we cry unto him And our extremity is Gods oportunity when all other helpe is vaine then we see it to bee the Lords right hand that our soule is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowler Then we are bound for ever to be thankefull unto the Lord who saveth us out of all our troubles Then we are taught to put our whole confidence in him having tasted and seene how good the Lord is in assurance that wee shall not want any good thing if wee seeke him The ungodly are not so but are like the chaffe which the winde driveth away having no harbour of safety being more destitute than any bruit beast The foxes have holes the conyes have rockes the Hart desires the river no creature but hath some place of shelter when it is distressed whereby it is relieved But these men though they have beene unjust with the Steward Luke 16.4 yet wanting his providence have not any house whereinto they may be received living within the reach of Gods might Eucherius ad Valerian out of the protection of his love Being outlawed from his favour and custody they may feare with that fugitive and vagabond Cain Gen. 4. that every one that findeth them shall slay them When the sound of Gods justice shall bee more terrible than the voyce of thunder and their owne guilty conscience like lightening shall strike them with horrour and amazement will they with that unworthy Emperour which hid himselfe under the bed Ad maiora tonitrua fulgura sub lectum se condere solebat Caligula Sueton seeke a covert to keepe them from the presence of the Almighty No their nakednesse and shame will then appeare to God themselves Therefore acquaint thy selfe with the wayes of the Lord seeke him while he may be found let thy heart be fixed and prepared Mat. 25.6 that though at midnight there be a cry made though thy danger and trouble bee both great and sodaine thou maist with the wise virgins bee received into the favour tuition of the most high Art thou oppressed and disquieted by an evill sonne who in stead of fulfilling his name or thy hope in being the Fathers peace proves contrary like Absalom the Fathers war seeking to thrust thee forward unto thine end Eucherius and desires thy death though hee received his life from thee Quis non patrisuo supremum diem ut â—nnocens sit optat c. Senec. Quid enim maius dare numina possunt Iuven. Mat. 8.21 who would willingly joyne
bodily disease looked daily when his panting should have an end and would often say Quousque DomineÌ„ How long O Lord And some space before his death which was just in the same moment when the sunne did set his prayers were nothing else but an expression of his souls panting after the Lord. The death of Coma was thought to be very rare Intra pectâ—s incâ—usa aâ— mafiâ—â—m sâ— repeâ—â— c. Val. Maâ— lib 9. cap. 13. who dyed by his violent retaining holding in of his breath But now there is nothing more frequent than this kinde of death though not of the body yet of the soule in those men which doe never pant after the Lord. Wee thinke it bee the signe of a dying man when his breath growes cold And our coldnesse in seeking after the Lord doth discover that the soule doth languish and is voyd of the life of grace For if our soules were inflamed with zeale the Kingdome of heaven should suffer violence Mat. 11.12 and bee taken by force VERSE II. My soule thirsteth for God for the living God When shall I come and appeare before God IN that expression which David used of panting after the Lord wee may well observe that it was not a weake and faint desire but most strong and forcible Now that wee not thinke it to bee too violent to endure and to passe away as a sodain flame in his outward speech rather than to burn constantly in the holy disposition of his heart it pleaseth God to perfect his owne good work and to give him this heavenly thirst And nothing is more frequent than for these two Aeris alternos angustat pulmo meatus Rescâ—soque nocent suspiria dura palato Lâ—â—an Oraque retro sorbet anhela sitis Statius Panting and Thirst to accompany each other If we take them as perturbations of the body that may be said of them which is spoken of worldly sorrow that they drye the bones and cause death But as in this place being rich endowments of the soule they bring life and peace and joy By those the outward man doth perish by these the inward man is renewed daily There is a thirst which beginneth when we hang upon our Mothers breasts and continues in the strength and vigour of our lives and doth not leave us in the time of old age but even to the very end we hold a just proportion with this last age of the dying world Nec sitis est extincta prius quam vita bibendo Ovid in desiring wine and strong drinke that thereby our vitall heat and radicall moisture may be preserved So that through abuse this vice of intemperate drinking seemeth to have a speciall right in these dayes wherein wee live The uncleane drunkard thinketh there is no other thirst but onely that with which hee is possessed nor any better meanes whereby to obtaine health unto himselfe or to confer it upon others than by profound drinking whereunto he addresseth himselfe as if hee were to encounter with his greatest enemy Persae potum tanquam adversarium aggredâ—entes Aelian and doth more than fill himselfe with strong drinke inflaming wines and hot waters and though improperly drinking more than these only to kindle a desire of drinking more Vt Anglorum corpora in Barbarorum naturam degenerasse videntur Camden in Elizab. I affect antiquity herein and will not name that which I finde was never anciently named Hereby doth hee deprive himselfe of his reasonable soule and becomes voyd of sense and worse than the bruite beasts having no life left but onely that of the plants not being able to move and helpe himselfe And which I cannot mention without horrour how many are pierced with the dart of death as with the javelin of Phinehas in the act of wickednesse Iudg. 4.21 whose end is like unto that of Sisera after he had drunke at the same time to bee smitten in the head and deprived of life And whereas the death of a good man is called a sleepe the death of the drunkard is contrary whose senses being bound in the time of his life that hee could not use them by death hee is awakened Then doth hee see his estate to be miserable by the paines of losse and sense where againe hee thirsteth and cannot obtaine one drop of water to coole his tongue But why doe I speake to him who is not capable to heare whose case is most fearfull For whereas other sinners may bee convinced by reason he by the wilfull losse of understanding hath made himselfe a foole and is in danger of hell fire The contentious man thirsteth after the waters of Meribah and the cruell man for they must bee joyned thirsteth after bloud M. Anten vino gravis sitiebat tamen sanguinem Senec. Cyri caput in Val. Max. wherein is the life Nothing can satisfie him but the fall of his enemy But the bloudy minded man shall not live out halfe his dayes for though the divine vengeance should not overtake him as for the most part it doth with rancor and malice hee consumes himselfe and drinkes his owne bloud whose estate is worse than a Serpents for hee beareth about him such a poyson as doth destroy his owne life The covetous man is thirsty as the horse-leach Pro. 30 15. crying Give Give The adulterer refusing to drinke waters out of his owne cisterne desireth to drink stolne waters 9.17 which hee thinketh to bee sweet And the adulteresse thirsteth for that bitter water which causeth the thigh to rot a common judgement of these times Num 12.18.21 The swearer is so thirsty that he cannot speake without an oath in his mouth whose cursing shall come like water into his bowels Psal 109.18 and like oyle into his bones In a word every sinner thirsteth for the water of Marah which will be as gall in the belly and bitternesse in the later end Of all which I may speake as Samuel of the sons of Iesse The Lord hath not chosen these to obtaine a crowne of life But this holy thirst of the soule for God for the living God And whom should the soule thirst after but God alone For with thee is the Fountaine of life Psal 36.8.9 thou dost make me drinke of the river of thy pleasures 23.5 My cup runneth over 63.5 My soule shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatnesse 65.9 Our gracious God doth visit the earth 104.11 and watereth the ridges thereof abundantly and giveth drinke to every beast of the field Doth God take care for oxen 1. Cor. 9 9. then much more for man 1. Tim. 5.23 to whom hee giveth liberty to use a little wine which makes glad the heart But most of all for the soule of man and therefore he calleth Ho Isai 55.1 every one that thirsteth come yee to the waters and Iohn 4.14 whosoever drinketh of this water that
otherwise than Herod thought to worship Christ Mat. 2.7 when he enquired diligently after him He hoped to have killed the Lord of life and they purpose to doe no lesse comming out with swords Mat. 26.55 as against a theefe though they aime at the members yet they smite the head it selfe in their persecution Act. 9.4 5. What is done to one of those little ones is done unto Christ and what is done to Christ is done to one of them A servant of God cannot heare His holy name which wee ought not to use without great reverence to bee dishonoured but his righteous soule must be vexed thereat It was this which did strike so deepe into David and vexe him so sore See the coherence which hee makes in the same verse Psal 69.9 For the zeale of thine house hath eaten me up and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are falne upon me How free hee was from anger and revenge in his owne particular case may appeare by his carriage when Saul had a quarrell against him For though Saul had so highly offended God by his folly in offering a burnt offering for the which hee was told that his kingdome should not continue God having sought a man after his owne heart And againe hee rebelled by disobedience in sparing Agag the best of the spoile at which time the Prophet threatned him that his kingdome should bee rent away from him And though David was anoynted by Samuel and might have set upon Saul when hee cut the skirt of his robe privily and another time might have suffered Abishai to smite him and make him sleepe his last yet hee would not upon these pretences put forth his hand against him but lamented at his death and calls to the daughters of Israel to weepe over Saul But here when God was contemned he was pricked to the heart and his marrow was turned into the drought of Summer He was upon the racke and all his bones were broken when he heard their evill speeches whereby they infected the ayre and poysoned their owne soules Now between David and most men living in these daies there is as great a difference as betweene the King upon the throne and the meanest subject grinding at the mill Hee had a soveraigne command over him selfe and was slow to anger not sinning by wrath yet most sensible oâ—e malicious words tending to the dishonour of God Whereas many that in Gods cause are like dumbe idols which have eares and heare not as if it did not concerne them being never touched with inward compunction when his name shall bee blasphemed but will rather give some consent thereunto as if they were well pleased with such lewdnesse And yet when their owne reputation shall be brought in question they will whet their tongue like a sword in sharpe invectives and will whet their swords also that they may wash off the least disgrace with the bloud of other men But if God doth whet his glittering sword and his hand take hold on judgement Deut. 32.41 he will render vengeance to all those which are of that mercilesse disposition that Cain was who thought the life of his brother to bee the most acceptable sacrifice VERSE XI Why art thou cast downe O my soule and why art thou disquieted within mee Hope thou in God for I shall yet praise him who is the health of my countenance and my God VVHereas David so often repeateth these words we may observe the manifold troubles which befall us in this life Having mentioned his teates and his banishment in the beginning at the fift verse he rebukes his soule for sadnesse Having rehearsed his other afflictions he now againe chides himselfe for this distrustfull heavinesse As Peter Mat. 14.30 though he began to sinke the first time hee went to Christ upon the water Yet he was not thereby discouraged from casting himselfe into the sea againe Iohn 21.7 and then he passed safely to the shoare where Christ was So though the waves billowes went over David when hee hoped to approch unto God by faith yet here againe hee calls upon his soule and casting himselfe upon Gods mercy he arrives at the port of blessednesse Hee did not overcome these temptations and trialls at the first assault nor yet was he wearied with the continuance of them But whensoever he was molested with any evill he labours to strengthen his confidence in Gods love that he may be restored to comfort As Paul prayed thrice that the messenger of Satan might depart from him 2. Cor. 12. â— So our Author shutting up the next Psalme with the same conclusion doth the third time seek to be freed from this thorne in the flesh this heavinesse that was so offensive unto him By this we may learne that lesson which we shall have cause to remember and occasion to practice That through much tribulation we must enter into the kingdome of heaven Act. 14.22 2. Cor. 7.5 Without are fightings within are feares A wounded spirit who can beare What sorrow so neere what trouble so heavy as this when the soule shall be disquieted with doubt of Gods love or sense of his displeasure And yet wee must not faint and forsake our assurance but continue faithfull unto the death that wee may receive the crown of life In afflictions wee must not thinke some new thing doth come upon us which hath not beene before Wee will not compare our sufferings and trials with those which David endured Wee may take this one Prophet for an example of suffering affliction yet did hee not cast away his confidence but hoped in God therfore let us also hold fast the profession of our faith Iam 5.7 Behold the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth and hath long patience for it untill hee receiue the earely and later raine let us also stablish our hearts that wee may bee refreshed with Gods favour As in water face answereth to face Pro. 27.19 so if wee looke unto the Lord Psal 42.5 we shall praise him for the helpe of his countenance who is the health of our countenance and our God The consideration hereof may be of speciall use and importance in all the casualties of this life but chiefly at the time of death Iob 18.14 when wee are brought to the king of terrors when this earthly house is dissolved we shall be conducted to the kings palace when these old garments be laid aside we shall be arraied in long robes I shall yet praise God yea I shall for ever praise God when I shall alwayes appeare in his presence Who is the health of my countenance who raised me from sicknesse to a sound estate who gave me strength after infirmity who filled me with plenty after adversity who revived me with comfort after sorrow and who will bring me to life after death Being then especially the health of my countenance when hee makes my face to shine as the sunne by beholding his glory And doth change this vile mortall corruptible body into a glorious body The lame man Act. 3.4 who was laid at the gate of the temple looking upon Peter received strength and entring into the temple praised God Though now our soules be cast downe yet if we trust in the Lord all our infirmities shall be cured entring into the holiest place we shall blesse the name of the Lord for evermore Then be not discouraged with present afflictions let thy hope be stedfast and sure Though in tempests sometimes they cut the anchors leave them in the sea Act. 27.40 that the men may be saved yet if we let our hope depart from us we perish The time of our life is but as sixe dayes of labour and sorrow and in this space we have so many nights of quiet and comfort yea we have an evening before the morning a time of strength before a time of triall But in the end there is the eternall Sabbath of blessednesse when we shall for ever magnifie the name of the Lord Amos 8.5 Though the carnall man doth with the Sabbath gone that he may set forth wheate and falsifie the ballances by deceit yet let not beleevers make hast by impatience but waite upon the Lord knowing that by this difficult ascent we come to sit upon the throne FINIS