afflictions and discouragements they meet with in the ways of God, and
strong to rejoice under afflictions, strong to perform the most heavenly duties, strong to improve the most spiritual mercies. The ways of the Lord make strong, they confirm such hearts as walk in them.
5. Then, fifthly and lastly, As the ways of the Lord are soulstrengthening ways, so they are afflicted, perplexed, and persecuted ways. Mat. 7:14, 'Strait is the gate,' &c. The original word, τεθλιμμένη, signifies perplexed, afflicted, persecuted; and the way is made strait by afflictions and troubles and persecutions. And so in Acts 19:9, 'This way is everywhere evil spoken of;' and in Acts 24:14, 'In the way that you call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers.' The ways of God are afflicted, persecuted, and perplexed ways. And so much for the second thing.
The third—to make haste to what I chiefly intend—for the reasons why upright hearts will hold on in the ways of God, notwithstanding all the afflictions, troubles, and discouragements that do befall them, are these:—
1. The first is drawn from the nature of a Christian's life, which is a race; and as he that runs a race, if he holds not out, notwithstanding all discouragements, till he comes to the goal, loseth the garland; and as he that faints in wrestling loseth the crown, so do those that hold not out to the end; therefore upright hearts will hold out to the end, notwithstanding all the discouragements they meet with in the ways of God: 1 Cor. 9:24, 'Know ye not that they that run in a race run all, but one receiveth the crown? So run, that ye may obtain.' So in Heb. 12:1, 'Let us with patience run the race that is set before us.'
2. A second ground of their holding out, notwithstanding all the afflictions and discouragements they meet with in the ways of God, and in the ways of well-doing, is drawn from the glorious promises of reward. For mark, as there is a comforting virtue in the promises, so there is a quickening and an encouraging virtue in all the glorious promises, as to warm the heart, so to raise and encourage the heart to run the ways of God's