Part 4
4. They must carry all their incident needs in new petitions, to the same throne of grace, where the former petition may have been long lying, and still unanswered; and so pursue all together. The latter
must not drive out the former, nor the former keep back the latter. It is one of the ways how the Lord keeps his people hanging about his hand without fainting, by sending them several loads above their burden; which loads he takes off soon at their request; and so makes them go under their burden the more easily. These short incident processes, that get a speedy answer, confirm their faith and hope in waiting on for the answer of the main. I believe it will be found, that the Lord's children, who have had the most tedious process before the throne, have not wanted experience of very quick dispatches in the time, Isa. 65:24, "And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer, and while they are yet speaking, I will hear."
5. They must continue in the faith of the promise, never quit the gripe of it; but trust and believe that it shall certainly be accomplished, though the wheels of providence should seem to drive out over it and in over it, Rom. 4:19, 20, "And Abraham being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb. He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God." Providence is not our Bible; the works of God may be very various, but the word of promise is always the same, it is never moved. Ye have a very poetical passage, Psal. 18:7, and downwards. I think it proceeds upon this view, that though all the confusions of the universe cannot move the promise; yet if hills, earth, fire, waters, heavens, were all standing before it to hinder its accomplishment, it would move them all out of their places, and make its way through them.
6. They must keep up hope of the thing promised over the belly of all improbabilities, 2 Pet. 1:13, "Wherefore gird up the loins of your
mind, be sober, and hope to the end, for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." Faith opening the door of the promise, hope sees the blessed answer to the petition lying at the King's hand, however long it may be ere it be transmitted. That is very pleasing to God, Psal. 147:11, "The Lord taketh pleasure in those that hope in his mercy."
7. Lastly, If at any time they begin to faint, they must wrestle against it, that they go not quite away, Heb. 10:35, "Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward." If faith and hope fail, so will patience: but ye must set yourselves to believe over the belly of sense, and hope against hope.
USE. Christians, communicants, and whosoever of you would have your business go right in heaven, go from this place resolute to hang on about the Lord's hand, and not to faint, whatever ye have met with, or shall meet with from that airth. Have a horror of fainting, giving over, or going back to another door. Consider,
1. If ye faint and give over, your suit is lost, ye have given up with it. And,
1st, If your suit be the main thing, the eternal wellbeing of your soul, which is what we all pretend to; then your soul is lost, Heb. 10:38, "If any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him." Be resolute in religion, as ever ye would not be eternally lost; for none will get to heaven but those that have a brow for a bargain, to yoke with difficulties in the way, and go through them. It is a concerning word, Rev. 21:8, "But the fearful, and unbelieving,—shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone which is the second death." I think it has a view to the fearful and unbelieving
disposition that kept the Israelites out of Canaan, Numb. 13:33, and 14.
2dly, If it be a temporal mercy, ye may get it, but the substance will be out of it, at least till ye repent of your fainting, Psal. 116:15, "He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul."
2. If ye hold on and faint not, be your on-waiting ever so long, it shall not be in vain. Matth. 24:13, "He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." Gal. 6:9, "Let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." God will never put those away empty from him, that hang on, and will not go without the blessing.
3. He is well worth the waiting on. (1.) Though he is infinitely above us, he has waited long on us. (2.) The longer you are called to wait for a mercy, ye will readily find it the more valuable when it comes. The promise uses to go longest with the biggest mercy; witness the promise of Christ, while many lesser promises brought forth. (3.) His time will be found the due time, Gal. 6:9; the best chosen time for the mercy's coming; witness the time of Isaac's birth. (4.) Ye shall be sure of some blessed offallings, while ye wait on, Psal. 27:14, "Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord." and 138:3, "In the day when I cried, thou answeredst me; and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul." Ye shall be sure of some pledge of a good answer, Jer. 52:31, 32.
4. Lastly, They have waited long, that have lost all, by not having patience to wait a little longer, Exod. 32; 1 Sam. 13:8, 10. Therefore "let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and
entire, wanting nothing," James 1:4; "for in due season ye shall reap, if ye faint not," Gal. 6:9.
THE HAPPY ISSUE OF PRAYING
ALWAYS, AND NOT FAINTING
Two Sermons preached, on a Sacramental occasion, at Galashiels, August 12 and 13, 1727.
I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. - LUKE 18:8.
AT a late occasion I spoke to the scope of this parable from ver. 1. The parable itself we have vers. 2–5, the doctrine of it, vers. 6, 7. In the text we have the doctrine of it repeated, amplified, and confirmed.
1. The doctrine of the parable is here repeated, "He will avenge them." Our Lord had already laid it before his disciples, ver. 7, in very strong terms: for it is a point upon the belief of which very much depends; particularly his people's "praying always, and not fainting:" q. d. God will certainly hear them at length; therefore they must hang on about his hand crying, and not faint.
1st, Consider the parties for whom this benefit is secured; them. It refers to ver. 7; and so the parties are, they that "cry unto God night and day; and what that is, appears from the scope: it is even to "pray always, and not to faint;" which I have already explained. So they who having laid petitions for supply of their needs before the Lord, do hang on and insist without fainting and giving over, are assured of
a happy issue of their process, however tedious it may be. This is good news to petitioners at the court of heaven, though their answer may have been so long delayed, that it seems as if they would never be heard: this may make them renew their suit, and pursue as a giant refreshed with wine.
OBJECTION. But it is expressly restricted to the elect; therefore, though I hang on never so long, I am, may be, none of God's elect, and therefore can have no encouragement from it. ANSWER. The scope of the parable looks to men indefinitely, ver. 1, "That men ought always to pray, and not to faint;" and the term elect is no restriction of the criers that are to be heard, as if there were some that cry day and night unto God, that are elect ones; and others that cry night and day unto him that are not elect ones. No; but the crying of the elect day and night in the sense of the text, is proposed as an evidence of eternal election: it is inferred from their so crying, that they are elect ones, and therefore shall surely be heard. Q. d. The unjust judge heard a woman he had no regard for, because she came continually to him: how much more will a just God hear those that are coming continually to him, since they are surely his chosen ones, else they would certainly give it over, and go to another door?
2dly, The benefit secured for them, "He will avenge them;" that is, agreeable to the general scope, he will hear them at length to their full satisfaction; their process shall have a happy issue. But it is expressed by "avenging them," to intimate, (1.) That all the grievances that God's children labour under, and which send them crying to God for relief, arise from their adversaries, temporal or spiritual, without them or within them. (2.) That they are not able to rid themselves of their adversaries, but must grapple with their
burden till another hand take it off. (3.) That God will not only deliver them, but shew them just vengeance on the springs of their grievances.
2. The doctrine of the parable amplified, "I tell you that he will avenge them speedily." Though they think they are put to wait long, yet matters being weighed in an even balance, they shall have a quick return of their prayers.
3. The confirmation of the whole, "I tell you," Our Lord Christ gives his word for it.
The doctrine from the first verse was, that our Lord Jesus Christ has kindly intimated to all that have business at the court of heaven, the necessity of so managing themselves, that they still hang on there, and not faint, whatever entertainment they meet with during the dependence of their process. And, in pursuance of the same scope, from the 8th verse compared with the first, I observe the following
DOCTRINE. To move them that have business at the court of heaven, still to hang on there, and not to faint, whatever hardships they meet with during the dependence of their process, our Lord Jesus hath expressly intimated that such petitioners shall certainly be heard to their heart's content, and that speedily, in reality, however tedious their process may seem to them for the time. Briefly, Jesus Christ has given his word for it, that such petitioners at the court of heaven, as will hang on and not faint, shall certainly be heard to their heart's content, and that speedily.
In handling this doctrine, I shall show,
I. What is that treatment petitioners meet with at the court of heaven, under which they will be in hazard of fainting.
II. Why petitioners are in hazard of fainting from such treatment at the court of heaven.
III. Wherefore the Lord gives such treatment to any of his petitioners.
IV. What is the import of this intimation made for this end.
V. The certainty of such petitioners being heard at length.
VI. How they shall be heard to their heart's content.
VII. How it shall be speedily, notwithstanding the long delay.
VIII. Apply.
I. First, I shall shew what is that treatment petitioners may meet with at the court of heaven, under which they will be in hazard of fainting. I mentioned several particulars at another occasion; I offer now only three things in general.
1. The weight and pressure of their heavy case itself, whatever it is, may be long continued, notwithstanding all their addresses for help, Jer. 8:20, "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." They may come again and again to the throne of grace, with their burden on their back, and as often carry it away with them. And that is faintsome work. A short trial, though it be sharp, is but "running with the footmen;" but a long continued one is "contending
with horses," apt to run one out of breath, Psal. 6:3, "My soul also sore vexed: but thou, O Lord, how long?
2. There may be no appearance of relief, Psal. 74:9, "We see not our signs, there is no more any prophet, neither is there among us any that knoweth how long." A glimpse of an appearance of relief, though yet afar off, would be like a cordial to the weary attendants, howbeit their night may have been long and dark, and yet no sign of daybreak to be discerned. The petitioners are apt to faint, who though they often listen, can hear no voice; though they look oft to the throne, can discern no moving toward their relief, Psal. 119:123, "Mine eyes fail for thy salvation, and for the word of thy righteousness."
3. They may get incident weights laid on them, as a load above their burden, Psal. 69:26, "They persecute him whom thou hast smitten, and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded." These are like drops poured into a full cup, ready to cause it run over; like smart touches on a broken leg, inclining one readily to faint.
II. The second thing to be spoke to, is, why petitioners are in hazard of fainting from such treatment at the court of heaven. Four things concur to it.
1. Natural weakness, Is. 40:6, "All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field. On this very view the Lord "pities his children," Psal. 103:13, 14. We have weak backs, easily bowed down under a heavy burden, Psal. 38:6; weak hearts, Soon damped, where God shews himself our party; weak heads, and are soon brought to our wits end; weak hands, that can do little for
ourselves at a pinch; and weak knees, ready to bow, and let us go to the ground, after long hanging on.
2. Conscience of guilt, Psal. 38:5, 6, "My wounds stink, and are corrupt; because of my foolishness. I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long." Guilt is a mother of fears, and fears cause fainting. The sinner goes to God with his pinching case, he is not answered: presently there is a quarrel apprehended, the man knows he is a criminal, and the guilty conscience whispers in his ear, "There is no hope."
3. Unacquaintedness with the methods of sovereignty, Psal. 77:19, "Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known." The mysteries of the management of providence have perplexed saints of the first magnitude, as Asaph, Jeremiah, &c. We are apt to measure God's ways by our own, which occasions much fainting in trials: whereas they differ as far as heaven and earth, Is. 55:8, 9.
4. A strong bias to unbelief and walking by sense, quite contrary to our duty and interest, 2 Cor. 5:7. We are apt to be impressed more with what we see and feel in providence, than what we hear from the word. And whereas we should expound providence by the promise, the word being our rule, and so get the cordial virtue of it; we expound the promise by providence, and so put ourselves in hazard of fainting: Luke 24:20, 21, 25, 26, "The chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to-day is the third day since these things were done. Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe
all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?
III. The third thing to be considered is, wherefore the Lord gives such treatment to any of his petitioners.
First, Negatively.
1. It is not for mere will and pleasure. Satan will be ready to suggest this, and pose the party with such questions as these, for what use is all this delay? what glory comes to God by it? what profit comes to you by it? Good folk may listen overmuch to it. But it is a lie, that it is for mere will and pleasure, Lam. 3:33, "For he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men."
1. It is not because he has no pity on you, nor concern for you under your burden; though Zion, by the suggestion of Satan, may entertain that jealousy of her God, which he flatly refuses, Is. 49:14, 15, "But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee." Whatever the Lord's way be with thee, it is an eternal scripture truth, "God is love," 1 John 4:16, "gracious and full of compassion," Psal. 111:4. And it is apparent even in this case, in that it is not worse with thee, Lam. 3:22, and that thou art always getting new supports under thy burden, ver. 23.
3. It is not to signify to you that you should give it over, and trouble him no more with your petition; as the hasty unbelieving heart is ready to take it, and to give over duty because there is no sensible appearance of success, Jer. 20:9. "I said I will not make mention of
him nor speak any more in his name." He has signified his will to be the quite contrary, 1 Thess. 5:17. "Pray without ceasing;" and our Lord spoke this parable to prevent that misconstruction.
4. Lastly, It is not because he is resolved not to hear you at any rate, cry as long as ye will. Satan will interpret it that way to you, and there is too much listening to it, Hab. 1:2. "O Lord, how long shall I cry and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of of violence, and thou wilt not save!" He has promised the contrary Psal. 50:15, "Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." Our Lord assures you of the contrary in the text.
Secondly, But positively, in general,
It is for holy, wise, becoming ends; it is necessary for his glory and your case. Believe that on the credit of the word, Deut. 32:4, "He is the rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth, and without iniquity, just and right is he." There is not one random step in his whole way, Lam. 3:33. There is a necessity for what he does.
OBJECTION. I cannot see how my case requires it, or what glory God can have by it. ANSWER. You are no competent judge of what your case requires, and therefore you should leave that to the Lord, Psal. 47:4, "He shall choose our inheritance for us;" Jer. 10:23, "O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." If you are sick, you leave it to your physician how to order your case: if your affairs are perplexed, and you have a plea at law, you leave it to your lawyer: and when you have a process at the court of heaven, will you not leave it to your God?
Ye are as little competent judges of what glory God can have by such and such a management. God can raise glory to himself, where ye can see nothing but dishonour to him: and he will have it, Rom. 11:36, "For—to him are all things." Believe that, and leave the way of raising it to himself. The seed of glory to God in Job's trial, neither he nor his friends generally saw for a long time: yet it sprung up fair at length, and flourishes to this day.
But particularly,
1. It is for the honour of the man Christ. It contributes to it,
1st, In that thereby the petitioners are conformed to his image, in the suffering part thereof. He met with that treatment at the throne, Psal. 22:1, 2, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? O my God, I cry in the day-time, but thou hearest not; and in the nightseason, and am not silent." And for a reward of his bearing it, it is appointed it should be the way of the court ever after. And therefore none of God's children shall miss to share of it, in greater or lesser measure, soon or late, Rom. 8:29, "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son.
2dly, Thereby he gets the more employment as the great Intercessor, and is more earnestly applied to than otherwise he would be. Longsome pleas give the advocates much ado; and longsome processes at the court of heaven bring much business to the Mediator, and so much honour.
3dly, It affords him the most signal occasion of displaying his power in combating with and baffling the old serpent, next to that he had
on the cross, 2 Cor. 12:9, "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." Here Satan and a weak creature is yoked, Heaven standing by and looking on. The poor creature has a burden on his back, he cries, Lord take it off, and cries again, but no answer: Satan takes the advantage, works against him to make him faint; but the combat is maintained, and Satan is baffled, through secret support conveyed to the sinner from Jesus.
2. To shew who are meet to be heard, and who not? who have a due value for the mercy petitioned for, and the God in whose hand it is? Israel wandered in the wilderness till all the despisers of the pleasant land, and unbelievers of the word, dropt off: and Caleb and Joshua, who followed the Lord fully, were brought in. The fainting petitioners either despise the mercy, by dropping it; or God himself, by carrying their process to another.
3. To magnify the promise. Satan, in man's state of innocence, bent his main force against the threatening, to shake man's faith of it. Now he bends his main force against the promise, to make poor sinners quit their grips of it. In such a case there is a solemn struggle about it; faith holds, and the devil draws. The believer sees he is gone if he quit it; it is his all; and therefore, though the floods overflow, he strives to keep the gripe.
4. Lastly, To keep up the mercy, till that time come, that, all things considered, will be the absolutely best time for bestowing it, John 11:14, 15. "Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. I am
glad for your sakes, that I was not there (to the intent ye may believe); nevertheless, let us go unto him."
USE 1. Know then, that trifling and careless management will not do at the court of heaven. Deep earnest ye must be in, resolved not to take a nay-say. Be sincere, prepare, and vigorously press your suits.
2. This may encourage sinners to come to Christ, and to put their case in his hand, and hang on. Particularly back-sliders, and whosoever are fore-boding no good to themselves from him, may be encouraged by this doctrine.
IV. The fourth thing to be spoke to is, What is the import of this intimation made for this end? It imports,
1. That sinners are ready to take delays at the court of heaven for denials. Satan and their own and unbelieving hearts tell them they are so. And therefore, in opposition to this, and to prevent the mistake, our Lord expressly gives his word that it is not so.
2. That importunity and resolute hanging on, and repeated addresses for the supply of the same need, are very welcome and acceptable to Christ and his Father. There is no fear of excess here; the oftener ye come, the more resolute ye are in your hanging on, the more welcome. The intercessor will not weary of your putting your petitions in his hands, nor his Father of taking them out of his.
3. That the faith of being heard at length, is necessary to keep one hanging on without fainting, Psal. 27:13. "I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." Petitioners indifferent whether they be heard or not, may continue
their customary prayers without the faith of being heard: but if men be in deep earnest with their petitions, they will never escape fainting without faith, Rom. 4:18, 19, 20.
4. That the hearing to be got at length at the court of heaven, is well worth the waiting on, be it ever so long. It will more than counterbalance all the fatigue of the process, that is kept longest in dependance. And the faith of this should be kept up, to keep the petitioner from fainting.
V. The fifth thing in the method is, The certainty of such petitioners being heard at length. Here it is necessary to repeat what was said of the duty of hanging on and not fainting, that we may see who they are that are such petitioners.* Now, that such petitoners will be heard, is beyond peradventure, however long they get to wait on, if ye consider,
1. They are doubtless God's own children, elect believers, whatever they think of themselves, Luke 17:7. "And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?" If they were not so, they could never take such a treatment at God's hand, and yet still hang on about it, John 8:35. "The servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever." And will not God hear the cries of his own children at length? certainly he will. The begun resemblance to their elder brother must be complete, 2 Tim. 2:11, 12. "It is a faithful saying, For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: if we suffer, we shall also reign with him, &c.
2. The nature, name, and promise of God, join to insure it. He is good and gracious in his nature, Exod. 34:6–9. He has bowels of mercy
more tender than a mother to her sucking child, Is. 49:15. He is the hearer of prayer, Psal. 65:2 and will he not answer that part of his name? will he not hear his own children, and hear them after they have cried long, and still continue crying? He has bound himself by promise, Psal. 50:15. "Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me:" and 102:17. "He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer." And will he not perform this his promise?
3. Such prayers are the product of his own Spirit in them, and therefore he cannot miss to be heard, James 5:16. "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." Ye say, ye have cried so long, and no answer; and therefore your petitions appear to be the product of nature, not of the Spirit of God. But I say, according to the word, ye have cried so long and no answer, and yet continue crying, and have not fainted, and given over, but stick by it resolutely; therefore your petitioning is not the product of nature, but of the Spirit. For nature's praying is a pool that will dry up in a long drought; but the Spirit of prayer is the lasting spring, John 4:14. If thou art strengthened to hang on, and not faint, it is a token heaven's hand is at thy upholding; as was the case with David, Psal. 138:3, "In the day when I cried, thou answeredst me; and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul."
4. Our Lord Jesus has given his word on it, and so has impawned his honour they shall be heard, "I tell you that he will avenge them speedily." Now, he is the Intercessor at the court of heaven, and his intercession is never baulked there: so the honour of the Mediator, and his people's being heard, are in one bottom to sink or swim
together; and he is able to secure his own honour: and does not that make sure work of your being heard? I proceed to shew,
VI. Sixthly, How they shall be heard to their heart's content.
1. They shall at length see that their prayers have been accepted. I do not say they shall at length be accepted, but they shall see they have been so. Many cannot think those prayers are accepted, that do not come soon back with an answer. But that is a mistake; for the petitions of those that hang on and faint not, proceeding from that disposition, are accepted instantly, though many years should run ere the answer come back, 1 John 5:14, "And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us." God doth with his wrestling children's petitions, as a father with letters sometimes from his son in a far country, he reads them with pleasure and affection always as they come to his hand, and lays them bypast to be all answered at the most convenient time: Matth. 15:28, "Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt."
2. They shall get an answer of their petitions to their heart's satisfaction, Matth. 15:28, forecited. Psal. 9:18, "The needy shall not always be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever." God will tell out to them according to the promise in answer to their prayers; so that they shall change their wrestling note, and say, "I love the Lord because he hath heard my voice, and my supplications, Psal. 116:1, and look on what they have met with as bearing the signature of the hand of a prayer-hearing God. Their burden shall be taken off, and they shall have their petitions in kind, or equivalent to their heart's content, 2 Cor. 12:9, "And he said unto
me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness."
3. They shall be fully satisfied as to the long delay, and the whole steps of the procedure, however perplexing they were before Rev. 15:3, "And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints." Standing on the shore, and looking back to what they have passed through, they will be made to say, He hath done all things well; and they will see that there could have none of it been wanting.
4. They shall get it with increase according to the time they waited on, and the hardships they sustained during the dependence of the process. The fruit of the promise, the longer it is a-ripening, the more bulky it is. Abraham and Sarah waited for the promised child till they were coming into extreme old age, the very next step to death, Gen. 18:11; but they got with it an addition of the renewing of their ages, Gen. 21:7; and 25:1.
5. Lastly, Their spiritual enemies that flew thick and strong about them in the time of the darkness, shall be scattered at the appearance of this light, 1 Sam. 2:5, "They that were full, have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry, ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children, is waxed feeble." Formidable was Pharaoh's host while the Israelites had the Red Sea before them: but when they were through the sea, they saw the Egyptians dead upon the shore, Exod. 14:30. Such a heart-sight shall they that hang on and faint not get of Satan and all his black bands. I proceed to shew,
VII. Seventhly, How it shall be speedily, notwithstanding the long delay.
1. It shall be speedily in respect of the weight and value of it when it comes: so that the believer looking on the return of his petition, with an eye of faith perceiving the worth of it, may wonder it is come upon so short on-waiting. This view of it the apostle takes, 2 Cor. 4:17, "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." And so says Zophar, Job 11:16, "Thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away."
2. It shall come in the most seasonable nick of time it can come in, Gal. 6:9 when it may come to the best advantage for the honour of God and their good: and that which comes in the best season, comes speedily. To every thing there is a season; so fools' haste is no speed. Times and seasons are in the Lord's hand, and all his works are besttimed, Deut. 32:4 and will abide the strictest examination, Eccles. 3:14.
3. It shall come as soon as they are prepared for it, Psal. 10:17. "Thou will prepare their heart;" and if it should come sooner, it would be over soon. And it may take long time to prepare for it; there may be many a lesson to learn, much working on their will may be necessary, ere they be prepared for it.
4. It shall not tarry one moment beyond the due and appointed time, Hab. 2:3, "Though it tarry, wait for it, because it will surely come, it will not tarry;" it will not linger, postpone, or put off beyond that due time. Whatever way the wheel of providence be driving, it is a wheel within a wheel, and so needs spend no time in turning about.
5. Lastly, It will be surprising, as a glaring light to one brought out of a dungeon, though he was expecting it. No doubt the church was expecting the end of their captivity in Babylon toward the end of the seventy years: yet such was the change, it was surprising, they "were like men that dreamed," Psal. 126:1.
USE 1. Let all know that it is not in vain to seek the Lord. God's trust is better than the world's hand-payment. Though waiting on at the court of heaven may be longsome, yet it is a sure way to get our wants supplied.
2. All ye that have now set your faces heavenward, professing your resolution to forsake sin and the world, and to hang on about the Lord's hand for all; do not look back, turn not away from him, Heb. 10:38, "If any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. Remember it is "he that endures to the end shall be saved."
3. Think it not strange if ye meet with treatment at the hand of the Lord, whereby ye may be in hazard of fainting. He loves to try his followers. But be resolute to hang on about his hand, come what will, and ye will be sure to speed at length.
4. Ye that are going away mourning from this communion because of a hiding God, and a hungry meal ye have got; do not despond; but inquire into the causes, mourn over them, and renew your addresses to the throne vigorously; and what ye missed in public, ye may get in secret.
5. Lastly, Ye that are under any pressure, who have been long tossed with tempests and not comforted, nor have any appearance of comfort shewing itself; comfort yourselves with the words of the text,
believing it; while ye can have no comfort from the appearance of providence; and be resolute in hanging on, and faint not. And ye have Christ's word for it, your case shall have a happy issue, though never so desperate like.
And whoever would be kept from fainting, and animated to hang on about the Lord's hand, believe, that hanging on ye shall certainly be heard at length to your heart's content. For so hathour Lord said, "I tell you that he will avenge them speedily."
THE STRENGTH OF CHRIST ILLUSTRATED IN THE WEAKNESS OF
HIS PEOPLE
Two Sermons preached on a Sacramental occasion at Galashiels, July 31, and August 1, 1731.
For my strength is made perfect in weakness. - 2 COR. 12:9.
IN the Lord's leading his people through the wilderness of this world, there are many mysteries of providence which are too high for them to comprehend; so that, after the narrowest scrutiny into them, they must conclude as Psal. 77:19. "Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known." But the light of glory hereafter will satisfy their sense as to all the particular steps therein; and till that time come, there is a light of the word that may satisfy faith as the general design of them; and the text has a beam of such light in it. In the words,
First, Observe the connexion poiuting to the mystery this beam of light was sent to clear; "For," &c. That we may see what this aims at, we must look back to the preceding account; where we find, (1.) Paul wrapt up into the third heavens, while yet alive, ver. 2. (2.) the same Paul quickly after in a kind of hell upon the earth; where instead of the pleasurable glance and taste of the happiness of the heavenly society he had got, he finds himself yoked in close combat with the devil, ver. 7; whom if he did not see with his eyes, he certainly felt the weight of his hands upon his body and spirit; for I think there is no reason to recede from the literal sense of the text. (3.) Paul praying
again and again in this humble situation, to be brought out of it, ver. 8. "For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me." (4.) The answer given to his prayer, whereof the text is a part. And here is, 1st, The precise answer to his petition, "My grace is sufficient for thee;" Wherein there is, (1.) Something implied, viz. that the Lord was not minded to give the riding stroke as yet, but the combat behoved to continue longer, and how long he was not to know. (2.) Something expressed, viz. That he had such a second, that there should be no fear of the issue, "My grace is sufficient for thee." Now, 2dly, Our text is the justifying reason of this answer; not of the expressed part of it, the sufficiency of the Lord's grace; but the implied part, the divine conduct in letting the battle go on, though by this time it was with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood. Q. d. Paul, be not stumbled at this; I have a becoming design in suffering it to go on, and not giving the decisive stroke as yet.
Secondly, The beam of light clearing this mystery in the general to faith: "my strength is made perfect in weakness." Wherein is set forth,
1st, An amicable yoking of divine strength and creature-weakness. There was indeed here a most powerful evil spirit, yoked in a hostile manner with weak flesh and blood; so that had they two, without any interposition from heaven, been left to dispute it, the former had torn the latter in a thousand pieces. But there was an invisible divine hand with the weak party, that supported against the strong.
2dly, The illustration of the glory of the divine strength by this conjunction with creature-weakness; "My strength is made perfect in weakness." Where,
1. Consider whose is this strength. It is the Lord's to whom Paul prayed vers. 8, 9: and that was the Lord Christ, ver. 9. To him Paul prayed, in this combat with Satan, it being he who by his office was to bruise the serpent. Whereby it appears, that he is true God, God, by nature, as being the object of divine worship, and the subject of sovereign divine power, Col. 2:9. "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
2. What his strength is. It certainly comprehends the strength of his grace lodged in him as Mediator, but is not confined to his moral perfections, but takes in the whole divine power, whereby he is able to do all things for the weak creature, whatever its weakness be: for the words are general.
3. One of those fields wherein it exerts itself, viz. weakness. It exerts itself in the strong, both in heaven and earth; and without it the strongest would be weak as water. But on this earth there is occasion for exerting itself in the weak, in their weakness; working in, by, and with the real weakness and felt weakness of the creature.
4. With what advantage it exerts itself in the creature's weakness: it is "made perfect" there. There is a twofold perfecting of a thing; one real, by adding to it something that it wanted to complete it, and the power of Christ being infinite, is not capable of that: another manifestation, whereby that which was vailed before comes to be discovered, like the sun getting forth from under a cloud. Thus Christ's "strength is made perfect in weaknsss:" it shines forth the more illustriously there, that it doth as it were appear alone, unmixed with creature-strength.
DOCTRINE. The strength and power of our Lord Christ, being perfected or illustrated in the weakness of the creature, sufficiently clears the dispensation of his keeping his people, so long as he really doth, struggling in circumstances of weakness in this world.
In handling this doctrine, I shall,
I. Consider this dispensation.
II. The matter clearing it.
III. Apply.
I. First, We shall consider this dispensation. The Father has committed all judgment into the hand of the Son: Christ the Mediator has the charge of conducting all his redeemed ones through the world, to the promised land, John 5:22; Is. 55:4. And here is his conduct in that matter, this is the stated course of his dispensations, keeping them long struggling in circumstances of weakness. And here consider,
First, The place of it. That is only this world. It begins with them as soon as, believing on him, they resign themselves to his conduct: it continues with them all along, while they are on the way: but when he has them at home in heaven, that dispensation is for ever laid aside as to them. It has no place but in this lower world. Paul, from the time he became a Christian, had a continued struggle, till he was wrapt up to the third heaven, Rom. 7:24. While he was there in that case, it intermitted. But when he came back again he even fell into it anew; and the first attack of it was most fearful.
Secondly, The nature of it; which we may take up in these two.
1st, He obliges them to a struggle, Matth, 11:12, "The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." They are not to expect an easy passage through the world to the promised land; but must trust him their desired ease till they come to their journey's end. They are obliged to do it,
1. In that he lays great pieces of work to their hand, doing work, suffering work. He will not have them to be idle: every day will cast up its own piece of work, that unless they fall asleep, they will find their hand filled every day. And if at any time they do fall asleep, when they awaken again, they will find their work increased on their hand.
2. In that he suffers them to meet with great opposition. The wind of providence from heaven, often blows strong in their face for their trial, Gen. 22:1. The wind of temptation from hell, and opposition from that airth never falls, and at times rises very boisterous, and becomes tempestuous, as in the apostle's case here, ver. 7. Meanwhile they must not run in from their work, and take a house till it turn calm; but must hold on their way. This constitutes the struggle, Eph. 6:12, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
2dly, Yet, though he obliges them to this struggling life, he, in the depth of his wisdom keeps them in circumstances of weakness; and these circumstances of,
1. Real weakness; whereby it comes to pass, that they really want within themselves a sufficient stock of ability, to manage their work, and grapple with and force their way through the opposition made them in it. He himself owns this to be the way of his managing his people, that he keeps them from hand to mouth, John 15:5, "Without me ye can do nothing."
2. Felt weakness. They are not strong enough for their work, and he makes them sensible it is so, 2 Cor. 3:5, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves: but our sufficiency is of God." So that both builders and bearers about the temple of the Lord, are obliged with one voice to say, "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain," Psal. 127:1. And if at any time they lose this sense of their weakness, it is his way to leave them to their own weight, till, catching a fall, the smart bring them to themselves, to a sense of their weakness; as in Peter's case.
More particularly, our Lord keeps his people while here,
1st, Always in circumstances of natural weakness; and these,
1. Of pure natural weakness, a weakness that is inwrought with human flesh, though at its prime, Is. 40:6, "All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field." The witnesses hereof are, the need of meat, drink, sleep, &c. wherewith the tabernacles of clay must daily be underpropped. Even this makes God's children objects of their "Father's pity," Psal. 102:13, 14.
2. Of sinful natural weakness; not that he brought them under such weakness, but he suffers them to lie under it. There are remains of
the corruption of nature in them all, which makes them a company of poor groaning weaklings, Rom. 7:24. Grace has got in indeed, but corruption is not yet quite got out. The Canaanites are left in the land, and they are not able to clear the land of them. And this corruption of nature hath a strong bias, in each of them, to some particular evil, according to their various tempers and circumstances, "the sin that easily besets them," Heb. 12:1.
2dly Often in circumstances of accidental weakness, through a variety of afflictions, trials, and temptations, weakening their bodies, or weakening their spirits, or weakening both together; as in Paul's ease here. The particulars of this kind are too numerous to enter into the detail of: physicians and divines have filled books with them respectively.
Thirdly The difficulty casting up about this dispensation. Th is a twofold knot here.
1. The first lies in that he can put them out of those circumstances of weakness, yet he keeps them in them. The former cannot be questioned, since his divine power could have perfected them in the moment of conversion, both naturally and morally: what he will do to their souls at death, to their persons at the resurrection, he could have done in the moment of their union with him. The latter is manifest from the experience of his people in all ages and places of this world.
2. The second lies in the consequences of this dispensation. The weak things act weakly, leaving the marks of their weakness on all they do, and groan under the whole. Here the creature's hardships and pressures are the easiest part; but the sin, and dishonour to God that
eventually attends them under this dispensation, ties the knot straitest, and makes many a weary look for the deliverance.
II. Secondly, We are to consider the matter clearing this dispensation; which is, that the strength and power of Christ is illustrated in the weakness of the creature. And here we would shew, 1. Wherein the strength of Christ is illustrated in the way of this dispensation; and, 2. The becomingness thereof.
First, Wherein the strength of Christ is illustrated in the way of this dispensation.
1. In supporting them under their weakness, 2 Cor. 1:8, 9, 10. The more ready the house is to fall, the more does appear the efficacy of the prop that holds it up. The dispensation of providence towards some of the saints, in supporting them under their pressures, is a train of wonders: the dispensation of grace supporting them all, is a continued miracle, in that the spark of grace is not extinguished, in the ocean of corruption wherewith it is encompassed in themselves and others, put in agitation by the powers of darkness.
2. In doing great things by them, weak and contemptible as they are. How illustriously shines the power of Christ in making "worm Jacob thrash the mountains," Is. 41:14, 15, weak creatures victorious over all the power of the enemy? It is in such Christ chooses to set forth his God-like strength, his divine power, 2 Cor. 4:7. When he set forth with his gospel in the world, Satan had the power of the sword, and the learning in the world, on his side: but Christ, by a few illiterate fishermen, Paul expected, carried his point against Satan with his swordsmen and bookmen too.
3. In strengthening them out of weakness, Heb. 11:34. How often is their case, when at the weakest, nearest to a strengthening; and the fainting saint becomes like a giant refreshed with wine, by a touch of Christ's hand, a word from his mouth! Is. 40:29, "He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might, he increaseth strength. Amos 5:9, "The Lord strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong; so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress." Paul speaks his usual experience of this, 2 Cor. 12:10, "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." He gives strength for a particular effect: when the work comes to the setting to, it comes, according to Matt. 10:19, "When they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak; for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak:" when the work is done, it goes. So the timing and continuance of it, speaks whence it comes, that it is not home-bred, but heaven-bred.
4. Lastly, In bringing the weak things, through all their difficulties, safe home at long-run, Psal. 73:24. O wonderful counsellor, that will guide such a weak company, through all their snares, to glory! how must the power and skill of the pilot shine, in bringing such broken and shattered vessels, amidst so many rocks and shelves, in a tempestuous sea, safe to land! Surely, whatever doubts remain now with them about this dispensation, when they set their foot on the shore, they will sing the song of Hoses and the Lamb, and say of his whole dispensations, "He has done all things well."
Thus do shine forth in this dispensation,
1. The strength of the wisdom of Christ, and it writes his name in legible characters, THE WONDERFUL COUNSELLOR. What wisdom but divine could conduct such a company of weaklings, under such circumstances of weakness, through all the powers of the enemy, so as to lose none of them! Mark that connexion, Is. 40:28– 31, "Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there it no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might, he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength: they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint."
2. The power of his hand, which eminently exerts itself here. To do great things by mighty instruments, is the way of the creatures: but to do great things by weak and contemptible means, is the way of Christ, because he is GOD. To overthrow mountains by earthquakes, is the work of God in nature; but to make a worm thrash mountains small as dust, is his work in grace.
3. The power of his grace, 2 Cor. 12:9. Here it appears an immortal seed; and to be, in its meanest lodging, the heart of a weak creature, impregnable: whence? Not from its own nature, as such a created quality, evident from Adam's case: but that it is the grace of Christ, communicated out of his fulness, and thereby, fed as from a continual spring, John 4:14, "The water that I shall give him, shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."
4. Lastly, The strength of Christ's interest in heaven, which procures the weak ones so many pardons, keeps them in the state of favour with God, and at last gets them, notwithstanding all their weakness and worthlessness, set up vessels of glory in the upper house.
USE 1. Hence we proclaim Jesus Christ a fit support for all weak ones to draw to: come to him then, ye weak creatures, that his power may be displayed in you, to his honour, and your good.
There are other weak ones than the saints, though none so sensible of their weakness as they. Strangers to Christ, ye are weak, deadweak, however strong in your own conceit. To convince you that feel it not,
1. Are ye brought out of the state wherein Adam left you? No, ye are not. Then ye are weak, Rom. 5:6, "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly:" not only weak bodies, but weak souls, notwithstanding all your natural and acquired abilities. And it is owing to the lowness of your case, that ye are not sensible of it.
2. What head can ye make against disease or death? 1 Cor. 15:55, 56, 57. What strength for that encounter? Is. 40:6, All must die, say ye; but the saints through Christ are proof against the sting of it; but what safeguard against it have ye?
3. Are your own legs able to bear you before the tribunal of God? Surely not, Psal. 143:2, "In thy sight shall no man living be justified." Why seek ye not then for shelter under the covert of blood? I say then,
1st, Insensible sinners, come to a sense of your weakness. and under the sense of it come to Christ. Without it ye will not.
2dly, Sensible sinners, let not your weakness scare you from Christ, but rather prompt you not to delay coming, Matt. 9:12. "They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick." They will perish in their weakness that come not.
Let all consider, that whoever they be in whom the strength of Christ's grace shall not be displayed, in a state of union with him, the strength of his hand will be displayed against them for ever, in a state of separation from him, 2 Thess. 1:8.
USE. 2. Communicants may hence be directed in their approach, to come under a sense of their weakness, to receive the seal of God's covenant insuring the strength of Christ to be forthcoming for them under all their weakness. And all that are minded for heaven, may learn to set themselves to submit to this dispensation, and to lay their account to live by faith, not by sense, till they get home.
SECONDLY, The becomingness of this constitution. It will appear worthy of God, and therefore in reason should be satisfying to the creature, if ye consider,
1. That the man Christ is now in heaven, and will be to the end of the world, Acts 3:21. But by this means his divine power is, for his glory, still illustrated in the world. While he was on the earth, he did now and then let out a beam of his divine glory: but he was nevertheless put to an ignominious death in it; and his enemies gave out, that he was swallowed up in death as other men. But by this means there is a continual proof of his resurrection, ascension, and divine power, kept
up and to be kept up in the world to the end, in that continued display of his strength in the weakness of his people, 2 Cor. 4:11. "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." Consider,
1st, His divine power had a vail cast over it, when he was on earth, Phil. 2:7. and in his sufferings, crucifixion, death, and burial, he appeared in human weakness, 2 Cor. 13:4. Is it not worthy of God then, that now, when he is in heaven, his divine power should shine forth in its turn in the world; and that there should be a scene of human weakness, wherein it may to the greatest advantage display itself?
2dly, This display of the strength of Christ in the weakness of his people appears full to their conviction: and the more weak they are, they see it the more clearly while it is exerted in them; as contraries appear best by one another's side. And thus the glory of the power of Christ continually shines in the world, in the eyes of them who feel it.
3dly, While there is a people in the world compassed about with much weakness yet professing their dependance on the strength of Christ, and they are accordingly strengthened, in many instances at least, to the conviction of beholders; this is a sufficient objective evidence of the power of Christ to the world, sufficient to extort a confession of it from them, as Psal. 126:2.—"Then said they among the Heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them." Is. 61:9. "Their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed;" or to leave them
inexcusable. Hence, in all times of persecution, the support from heaven that confessors and martyrs had, hath brought numbers over to their side, so that the blood of the martyrs usually proved the seed of the church.
Hence I conclude, that this constitution and method of providence and grace in the church on earth, is a glorious device worthy of God, for displaying the glory of Christ. There, where he was some time covered over with ignominy, reproach, and disgrace, as weak and contemptible, a worm not a man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people," is his glory displayed, Psal. 22:5.
2. It is agreeable to the method of divine procedure in other things, and so makes the divine conduct to be of a piece. Wherein we may observe, that it is God's ordinary way, (1.) To carry on great works by degrees, and not immediately to bring them to their perfection. So the world was made, first, a confused dark mass of earth and water, and then step by step formed, and finished, and beautified. Was the old creation a work of time, for the more full manifesting of the power of God? it is congruous, that the new creation should be so too, for illustrating the strength of Christ, in and by whom it is done. (2.) From small and contemptible beginnings to raise the most eminent works, and by most unlikely and unpromising means to do great things; because the power of God appears the more clearly in such a situation. From Abraham's body in a sort dead, and Sarah a barren woman, whose womb by age was deadened too, he raised a nation like the stars for multitude, continuing to this day: and looking to their beginning, we see Isaac an only son, on an altar, ready to be sacrificed; and the first-fruits of them long in slavery in Egypt, and, when delivered, wandering forty years in a wilderness.
How congruous is it, then, that the innumerable multitude that shall at length stand on the mount Zion above, round about the throne, in white robes, and palms in their hands, should be brough tthither from lying among the pots, and straggling long in the wilderness?
3. Particularly, it is agreeable to the divine procedure in the ease of Christ himself. And that, (1.) In the constitution of his person as God-man; wherein infinite power and creature-weakness met together as attributes of one and the same person; he who, being true man, was capable of being "crucified through weakness," being also the mighty God, 2 Cor. 13:4 Now, if the divine power was lodged with creature-weakness in Christ personal, how congruous is it that the same divine power should be illustrated in the weakness of his mystical members? (2.) In the conduct of providence about his person. The most signal display that ever God made of his power, was by the man Christ and in him, 1 Cor. 1:24. being "Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." By him as God-man he redeemed the world; the last a greater work than the first, as the giving his own Son was more than the speaking of a word. But how was this work brought about, but by subjecting him to a number of weaknesses for his lifetime in this world, concluded at length with his death? And in these the divine power sent forth its most radiant beams, and by them reared up the new creation. Shall it then be thought strange, that as Christ was in the world, Christians should be ever so too? or that, since the power of God was illustrated in the weakness of the man Christ, the same divine power in the person of Christ should be illustrated in the weakness of his people, while they are here in this world?
4. Lastly. This dispensation tends to the heightening of the glory of the victory of the Son of God against the devil. That proud apostate spirit rose in rebellion against God; and having seduced man, set up a kingdom in the world in opposition to God's. Against him the Son of God, for his Father's glory, and the recovery of fallen man, proclaimed war in paradise, Gen. 3:15. "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel;" and, for his more shameful defeat, encounters him in human nature, a weak one in comparison of the more powerful angelic nature, whereof Satan was; and illustrates his strength against him in the weakness of that nature, as in his natural body, so in his mystical body. The heat of that battle was on the cross, where he was "crucified through weakness," yet triumphed over him. The battle is carried on in his mystical members laden with weaknesses: yet even in them also he defeats him; and sets them off the field conquerors, one generation after another, without the loss of a man. It will last till the end of the world: and then Christ's victory with his weak men will be complete, Satan with his party being chained down under everlasting darkness. So there will be no more occasion for Christ's illustrating his power in weakness: consequently, there shall no more for ever be a weak one among Christ's party; all their weaknesses come then to an end.
USE. This may be of manifold use in the Christian life,
1. As an oracle to satisfy serious inquirers anent the whole of the divine conduct about believers, and particularly as to two difficult questions.
1st, Why the Lord leaves sin in the regenerate? Why though they pant, long, and breathe after perfection, yet they cannot reach it; though they would buy their freedom from sin with ten thousand worlds if they had them, and the bondage of a body of sin cleaving to them makes them long for cold death, to set them free, yet they must wrestle on with it? See what may satisfy. It is that the power of Christ may be illustrated in your weakness; therefore it is that the "wheels of his chariot tarry."
2dly, Why the Lord keeps his people under long and sore afflictions? The reason is the same. Satan might be too hard for the Christian, in a perfect calm of providence about him: yet our Lord will give the Christian a disadvantageous post in a thicket of afflictions and trials, therefore called temptations, James 1:2; and Satan having that advantage of the ground, shall be suffered to attack him, and yet be baffled: to the greater glory of the strength of Christ, and shame of the enemy.
2. As a way-mark, to direct us, if we mind for heaven, unto the King's high-way to it; that is, the way of faith, and not of sense, 2 Cor. 5:7. Whatever sweet clusters of sense the Lord may allow any of his people for their refreshment by the way; the life of sense is certainly reserved for heaven, where all weakness is put off. The life of Christians here is a life of believing, hoping, patient waiting, in a course of doing, suffering, struggling, and wrestling, where Christ's power is illustrated in their weakness.
3. As an interpreter of Christ's mind anent the actings of grace in his people. The carnal world despises these actings as things of no value. A look of a weak creature to Christ, a groan to him for help, believing
of a promise, hoping in his word, some confidence in him that he will at length appear for them, are but trifling things in their eyes. And in the eyes of believers themselves, except when they are bound up from them, they are but of small value, hardly worth their own notice, far less Christ's; especially considering that they are so weak, and so long a time intervenes between them. But certainly Christ notices them all, and looks on them as very precious, else this dispensation, whose end is to draw them out, had never been chosen by him, 1 Pet. 1:7, "That the trial of your faith being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise, and honour, and glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ." Cant. 4:9, "Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck."
4. As a cordial to support, with the prospect of a happy event, all the followers of Christ.
1st, Under their own personal weakness and pressures. He that has brought them under them to illustrate his own strength in them, will surely make a shining morning follow their darkest night.
2dly, Under the low case of the church, whether in point of corruption or persecution. Though she be either of these ways brought to death's door, she cannot die out: for Christ will not let her fall so low, but for the clearer manifesting of his divine strength in her recovery. The utmost point of hopelessness is the usual signal for Christ's exerting his power for his people: Deut. 32:36, "For the Lord shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants; when he seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up, or left."
5. Lastly, As a persuasive to Christians, with a holy submission of spirit to this dispensation, resolutely to wrestle on, till the Lord have fully served the ends of his glory by all their weaknesses. This bids us,
1st, Stoop to the dispensation, and not quarrel; and after he has thus far discovered to us the design of it, to crucify all our hows and whys on the matter; and that both with respect to our spiritual and bodily weaknesses.
2dly, Resolutely to keep up the struggle, to get forward in the way the Lord calls us. What though we be weak? the works of the Christian life are not to be laid aside, but we are to stretch out the withered hand, that his strength may be perfected in our weakness.
Whoso thus struggle resolutely, and yet stoop humbly to the dispensation, shew their concern for his honour, insomuch that they are pleased his strength should be displayed in their weakness. Thus honouring him here, he will honour them in the other world.
THE NECESSITY OF REPENTANCE
Several Sermons preached, at Ettrick, in the year 1717.
I tell you, Nay: but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. - LUKE 13:5.
WHEN we consider the abounding sin and hardness of heart prevailing under a preached gospel, it must needs let us see, that the doctrine of repentance is both necessary and seasonable, to pluck the brands out of the burning; or if that will not do, to leave men without
excuse. Sinners stave off repentance, as if they were resolved to persist in sin come what will, or at least as halting betwixt two opinions: But here is a peremptory decision of the case in this text, "I tell you, Nay: but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."
In these words we have two things.
1. An abuse of a dispensation of providence corrected: "I tell you, Nay." Some had told our Lord the news of Pilate the Roman governor's falling on some Galileans, with his soldiers, and killing them, while they were sacrificing. It seems the tellers of this news, or others in the company, were apt to think, that these were sinners beyond others, because an unordinary judgment had fallen on them. Our Lord tells them, that it would not bear such a conclusion. He puts them in mind of another remarkable providence, viz. the tower of Siloam in Jerusalem its falling on and killing eighteen persons: but here he shews that this did not befal them, because they were greater sinners than all the rest in Jerusalem; nay there were as great sinners as those, which missed that stroke, and others like it too.