VOL. Famine nor the fword; mentions distress also, as II. the fuppofed lot of good men'. But we must understand however only by this, that something may befal a good man which is apt to distress; but is not actually diftreffing, at leaft to that degree as to allow no way of efcape. Then indeed a man would be in real diftrefs, if that were true of him, which his enemies faid of David; Many there be which fay of my foul, there is no help for bim in GOD ". But this is not the cafe; there is no ftate in which a good man may be, wherein there remains no help for him in GoD. It was indeed a diftreffing cafe, which you find Saul was in, when he had caufed Samuel, or fomew hat that appeared like to him, to be called up; who faid unto him, Why haft thou difquieted me, to bring me up? To whom Saul answered, I am fore difireffed, for the Philistines make war against me, and GOD is departed from me, and anfwereth me no more ". This was a grievous diftrefs indeed there was great trouble from without, and GOD was gone. Here then is the vastly different state of a wicked wretch, from that of a godly man under affliction in a time of trouble, and when distress is on every fide; God is gone! GOD is afar off! Befides fuch a one has no dif pofition to take the way that leads to GOD. Thus Elihu fpeaking of fuch diftreffed wicked men, fays; By reafon of the multitude of oppreffions they cry; they cry out by reason of the arm of the mighty. But none faith, Where is God my maker, who giveth 1 Rom. vill. 35. Pfalm 111. 2. 1 Sam. XXVIII. 15. X. giveth fongs in the night? They lie groveling, SER M. and groaning, ready to expire away under their burden; but it never comes into their mind, to inquire after GOD, faying, Where is our GOD? This is a thing unthought of, and therefore theirs is a moft diftreffed ftate and condition; having no fhift left them, nor knowing what to do. But there is always this fhift left to a pious foul, if. there be nothing elfe, namely to look up. We know not what to do, fays Jehoshaphat, but our eyes are up to thee. But when a man hath simply nothing to do, no profpect of relief, then the cafe is very forlorn; and this, at length, will be the cafe of all wicked men. We may easily. guefs, that they have nothing left to do, who' cry to rocks and mountains to fall upon them. This speaks plain defperateness; and yet this will be the cafe one day with those, who find not out in due season, the way of being exempted from diftrefs. Then there will be a great deal of trouble on every fide, when the world will be all in flames; and then it must certainly be distress. There will be, as our Lord informs us, distress of nations with perplexity; the feas and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things that are coming upon the earth: for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, when we fhall fee the Son of man coming in a cloud, with power and great glory; and when the cry fhall go forth, "Lo! • Job xxxv. 9, 10. Luke xx1, 25, &c. 2 Chron. xx. 12. VOL." Lo! he is come, behold his fign in the II. "heavens !" Confider then how we are concerned to make fure of his favour, and to haften to get into that state; wherein, though for a while we may not be exempted from trouble, yet we fhall from diftrefs: I mean from that distress, for which there is no remedy, which can admit of no relief. I THOUGHT to have propounded fomething by way of counsel, in order to fuch a courfe as this. As, 1. LABOUR to be difengaged from all terrene things, the things of this world. If there our life is bound up, if we are troubled there on every fide, we cannot but be diftreffed. But if 1 the world be crucified to us, and we to the world, there can be no diftrefs; the troubles of it cannot be diftreffing to us. Dead things cannot feel, cannot afflict one another. Let us fay then, "The world is dead to me, and I am "dead to it; we are crucified one to another." The dead can lie quietly one by another, without giving mutual wounds. And then too, 2. DRAW nigh to GOD, that large and boundless good, in whom all fulness is. Of them that fear him it is faid, their fouls fhall dwell at eafe". The expreffion in the original, is, their fouls fball lodge, or reft in goodness; for the word there aptly fignifies the quiet rest of the night. We must then draw nigh to God; and stick close to him Pfal. xxv. 13. him in truft, confidence, love, obedience, fubjec- SER M. tion, and by a continual daily course of prayer. For they who are given much to pray will feel little of diftrefs, in comparison of what they are elfe liable to. The Pfalmift speaks of enemies, who were continually defigning evil to him. For my love, fays he, they are mine adverfaries, but I give myself unto prayer. If there be any defign against me, if my enemies are aiming at me, I prayer; for fo the expreffion is in the Hebrew text: that is, I betake myself to prayer, my known and usual resort, and then I fare well. Thus, in fo doing, you will find your foul to dwell at ease, and reft in the goodness of God. A wicked man, in the midst of his fufficiency is full of ftraits; you, in the midst of straits will be in the fountain of all-fufficiency, and have the all-flowing goodness ftreaming on every fide. And in fuch a course you may come to experience what is here faid by the Apostle, so as no longer to look upon this as a paradox, but as that which your hearts can witness to; namely, that though trouble be on every fide, yet, thanks be to GOD, we find no distress. X. Pfal. CIX. 4. SERM. SERMON XI. Preached at Haberdafhers-Hall, JAMES 1. 2. My Brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations. I TAKE it for granted that by temptations here, we are to understand afflictions; fuch as are, for trial's fake, laid upon the people of GOD. And whereas fuch, namely those to whom the compellation of brethren is agreeable, are injoined to count fuch afflictions matter of all joy this plainly implies, that to such persons they are fo. For they are not furely injoined to judge otherwife of the matter than it really is, nor directed to make a falfe judgement of things. Therefore the truth I have to infift upon you may take briefly thus ; THAT the afflictions laid upon Chriftians, for the fake of trial, are to a right and spiritual judgement the matter of joy; even of all joy, as you have it here expreffed. Now |