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will. Christ may let some slip through at a cheaper and easier rate; but all must resolve on it. Partly, because this is propounded as the great comfort: "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke xii. 32); and accordingly used by the saints. David in his disappointments, "And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee" (Psalm xxxix. 7). He meaneth the hope of immortality, opposite to that vain show and false appearance which is in worldly things. This was that Job comforted himself with, that ancient believer: " Though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God" (Job xix. 26). And the Maccabees, they "were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection” (Heb. xi. 35). Partly, because that only which God hath promised in the world to come is satisfactory, and able to quiet a man's mind, and make him patiently wait upon God in all his troubles. Here is enough to countervail all difficulties, to support us under them, to recompense us for them: it is not long ere it will come in hand, it cannot enough be desired; it may be hoped for by the righteous in their greatest extremities: "The righteous hath hope in his death" (Prov. xiv. 32).

USE. For instruction. When your souls are apt to faint, let hope look out for better times, or better things.

1. For better times. God will not always chide: "He will not always chide, neither will he keep his anger for ever" (Psalm ciii. 9). Nor shall the rod of the wicked always rest on the lot of the righteous (Psalm cxxv. 3). Therefore rouse up yourselves, and say as David, "Why art thou cast down, O my soul, and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise him," &c. (Psalm xlii. 5.) Let us not always pore on our grievous miseries. Observe the season, when apt to be corrupted with ease and prosperity, and to carry it negligently to God, and proudly and oppressingly to men: there may come a change. So, when apt to faint, seek out arguments of encouragement and hope that God will be good to us : "What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee" (Psalm lvi. 3). That is our business at such a time to strengthen our dependence; for still we must oppose the prevailing corruption.

2. Better things. That is the true Christian spirit, that mainly looks after the world to come; that hope is freest from snares. An earthly hope maketh men carnal, often enticeth them to use ill means to get it accomplished. Desires and hopes of temporal happiness, that the world may smile upon us, do not breed so good a spirit. This hope goeth upon surer grounds, meeteth with fewer disappointments.

Well then, hope for these things. We shall hear of few in whom the former part of the text is verified, if understood of eternal salvation: "My soul fainteth for thy salvation." This temper is very rare, and few that have such a spirit as Paul had: "Having a desire to depart and to be with Christ," &c. (Phil. i. 23.) But all Christians should hope for eternal life, and prepare for it, and make this the great cordial and solace of their souls. God's people do too much please themselves with thoughts of temporal happiness, this is no good spirit. The appetite of temporal honour, wealth, and peace, is natural to us; we should be at a greater indifferency about these things, as not to be very solicitous about them.

DOCTRINE V.-This hope is bred or nourished in us by the word of God. 1. Because that is the law of commerce between us and God, in the promissory part it showeth what salvation and deliverance we may expect

from him; and, in the mandatory part, upon what terms, and who are the persons qualified to receive this deliverance; and, without heeding of these things, hope is a groundless presumption; as if we expect things not promised, or not in the way wherein they are promised. We must have an eye both on the promises and the precepts; the one to encourage us, the other to direct us. It showeth our hope is of the right constitution: "I have hoped for thy salvation, and done thy commandments" (Psalm cxix. 166); The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy" (Psalm cxlvii. 11); and, "Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy" (Psalm xxxiii. 18); as a man that consulteth with his charter and conveyance, is more assured of his right and title. The Scripture is cast into the nature of a covenant, or a mutual indenture drawn up between us and God. There we find God hath deeply and strongly engaged himself to us, and we to him. This we have to show under his hand.

2. We should give such credit to the word of God, as to believe it, when to sense there is no likelihood of the performance of it; for what is impossible to appearance, is not impossible to God; and the certainty of the promises doth not depend upon the probabilities of sense, but the allsufficiency of God. Firmia dicta tanti existimantur, quantus est ipse qui diceret. If God promise anything, who is almighty, and who is faithful, it will be accomplished; and we may rest upon it in the greatest extremities, perplexities, and seeming impossibilities. We must not confine God within the bounds of created power.

3. God's word should be as good as deed; for his word, and the beck of his will, doth all things: "Do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly?" (Mic. ii. 7:) not say good, but do good; when it is said, it may be accounted done, the performance is so certain.

What

4. The best holdfast we can have upon God, is by his word. ever his dispensations be, though he withhold comfort and deliverance from us, yet it will do well in time. Therefore, whether he smileth or frowneth, his word should be our support. His dispensations vary; but

his word is firm.

USE.-Let the promises of God strengthen and revive our hearts.

If God hath said anything, his people should believe him. His word is a word of truth. Sarah's faith was built upon this: "She judged him faithful who had promised" (Heb. xi. 11). His word is a word of power; for he is a God of all power and might. So Abraham's faith: "By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises, offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, that in Isaac shall thy seed be called; accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead" (Heb. xi. 17-19). His power, as is his being, is infinite. Therefore, having his word, this should give us rest and contentment of soul: though there be no appearance of performance, the promise is yea and amen, continueth in one invariable tenour. faith die.

Let not

SERMON XC.

VERSE 82.-Mine eyes fail for thy word, saying, When wilt thou comfort me?

In this verse the man of God expresseth, 1. His earnest expectation of the comfort of the promises. 2. His longing desire after it; as hope is wont to vent itself by serious thoughts, intermixed with strong desires of the blessing promised. His earnest expectation is expressed in the first clause, "Mine eyes fail for thy word;" his longing and strong desire in the following words, "saying, When wilt thou comfort me?"

His earnest hope and expectation is first to be considered; and here his hope is described,

1. By the effect, his looking after the accomplishment of the promise; as, when Sisera's mother expected him, she "looked out at a window, and cried through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? why tarry the wheels of his chariots?" (Judg. v. 28;) and, "The earnest expectaof the creature waiteth," &c. (Rom. viii. 19); άπоKapadokia tñs rtioews, the lifting up or stretching out of the head, as we use to do when we look for anything to see if we can spy it a-coming. "Mine

2. By the incident weakness, because of the delay of help: eyes fail for thy word." He had looked, and looked long, till he was weary of looking; what he said before of the soul, here he speaketh of his eyes. There the object was salvation, here the word.

DOCTRINE I.-Observe, first, that hope keepeth the eye of the soul so fixed upon the promise, that it is ever looking for deliverance and salvation. Hezekiah useth almost the same manner of speech: "Mine eyes fail with looking upward” (Isa. xxxviii. 14); that is, to God for ease and relief: as when we expect anybody's coming, we send our eyes towards the place from whence he cometh. Reasons:

1st, The children of God make more of a promise than others do; and that upon a double account: partly, because they value the blessing_promised; partly, because they are satisfied with the assurance given by God's word; so that, whereas others pass by these things with a careless eye, their souls are lifted up to the constant and earnest expectation of the blessing promised. It is said of the hireling, that he must have his wages before the sun go down, because he is poor, and hath set his heart upon it (Deut. xxiv. 15); or, as it is in the Hebrew, lifted up his soul to it, meaning thereby both his desire and hope. He esteemeth his wages; for it is the solace of his labours, and the maintenance of his life; and he assuredly expecteth it, upon the promise and covenant of him who setteth him awork. So it is with the children of God; they esteem the blessings promised, and God's word giveth them good assurance that they do not wait upon him in vain : "Therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, especially of those that believe" (1 Tim. iv. 10). They know God is good to all, much more to his covenant servants. They value his salvation, and venture their all upon his salvation, and the truth of his word; and therefore lift up their souls to him, in the midst of their pressures and difficulties.

2ndly, It is some satisfaction to enjoy the blessing in idea and contemplation, before we have it indeed. Hope causeth a kind of anticipation,

and preünion of our souls with the blessedness expected; as heirs live upon their lands before they have them. And that is the reason why joy is made to be the fruit of hope, though it be proper to fruition and enjoyment: "Rejoicing in hope" (Rom. xii. 12). It refresheth them in their pilgrimage, and affecteth them in some measure as if it were in hand. So, "The God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost" (Rom. xv. 13); while believing, waiting, hoping, while conflicting with difficulties, they carry themselves as if they had already obtained the thing promised; for, by eyeing the promise, they are cheered and revived. Hope giveth a foretaste, especially when the comforting Spirit addeth his impression

thereunto.

3rdly, The opening of the eye of faith, argueth a closing of the eye of sense, which giveth a double benefit:-first, that we are not withdrawn with vain objects; secondly, not discouraged with contrary appearances.

1. That we are not withdrawn by vain objects. Nothing doth quench zeal and holiness, and joy in the Lord, nor cast water upon that sacred fire which should be kindled and kept ever burning in our bosoms, so much as keeping the eye of sense always open, to behold the lustre and beauty of worldly vanities. Alas! then hope of Heaven, and salvation from God, is a cold, heartless thing; we think of it carelessly, desire and press after it very weakly. But now, when the eye of sense is shut, and the eye of faith kept always open, then hope advanceth itself with life and vigour, and present things seem less, and things to come more great and glorious in our eyes: "Be sober, and hope to the end," &c. (1 Peter i. 13.) Sobriety is the moderation of our affections, in the pursuit and use of earthly things. The delights of the present life burden the soul, glue it to the earth, and to base and inferior objects; but, when our souls are kept in the fresh, lively, and serious expectation of better things, all the things of the world appear more contemptible. It is not for eagles to catch flies, nor for the heirs of promise to be captivated by the delights of sense: so that every day our hope is more certain and powerful, our pursuit more earnest. The mind is not darkened with the fumes of lust, nor diverted from those noble objects.

2. The eye of sense being shut, we are not discouraged with contrary appearances, nor with fears and troubles, and the trials of the present life, because hope seeth sunshine behind the back of the storm. We have a notable emblem of the eye of faith and the eye of sense, in the Prophet and the Prophet's man: "When the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city, both with horses and chariots: and his servant said unto him, Alas! my master, how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not; for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of

the young man; and he saw and behold the mountain was full of horses, and chariots of fire round about" (2 Kings vi. 15-17). Elisha's man is affrighted with the dreadful appearance of enemies, encompassing them round about, and is at his wits' end: "How shall we do?" But his master Elisha had the eye of faith, and could see great preparations which God had sent for their defence, which the servant could not see; therefore encourageth him, and in a prophetical vision, showeth not only more horses and chariots, but chariots of fire, which were no other than the angels of

God come together in the manner of a host, to rescue the prophet of God. What was represented to him in a prophetical vision, is always evident to faith, and to the eyes of a believing soul. They see God and his holy angels set for their deliverance. When God openeth the eyes of the mind, they can see the glory and power of the other world; and then, though "troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed (2 Cor. iv. 8, 9). Though wrestling with difficulties, yea, brought to some extremities, yet this invisible assistance supporteth them; and, though they have little human means, yet God carrieth them on to their expected end and issue.

USE I.-To reprove us for poring so much upon present things, and neglecting those to come, especially the great recompense of reward. Alas! men have either none, or cold thoughts of that blessed estate which is offered in the promises. Our thoughts fly up and down like dust in the wind; they may sometimes light upon good things, but they vanish, and abide not. We may have some cold, ineffectual glances upon Heaven and heavenly things, which fly away, and never leave the soul better. This argueth hope is very weak, if there be any at all; for hope is always longing and looking out for the blessing; sending spies into the land of promise, to bring it tidings thence. It will discover itself, not by glances and wishes; for the worst men may have some of these in their good mood and sober thoughts; but by frequent, deep, and ponderous meditations: you do not eye "the mark" (Phil. iii. 14), nor mind your scope and great end (2 Cor. iv. 18). Certainly that which must be intended in every righteous action, either formally or virtually; that is, by some noted, explicit thought, or by the unobserved act of some potent habit, should be oftener thought of and longed for; you do not live by faith else. For what is living by faith, but withdrawing the mind from present things to things to come? looking beyond and above the world to eternity? (2 Cor. v. 7; Heb. xi. 11.) You are not acquainted with the influence of the Spirit of wisdom and revelation; for he openeth the eyes of the mind. Why? That you may look above the mists and clouds of the lower world, to those good things which we are to enjoy in Heaven (Eph. i. 17, 18, and 1 Cor. ii. 12). Alas! we are taken up with trifles and childish toys, have our thoughts little exercised about these nobler objects. Therefore is it that our diligence is so little; for, if they were oftener minded, they would be more diligently sought after: "I press toward the mark, for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. iii. 14). Therefore is our patience so little; for the bitterness of the cross would be more sweetened, if our minds and meditations were oftener set about Heaven and heavenly things (Rom. viii. 18). Therefore are our conversations so worldly (Phil. iii. 19), our desires and longings so cold and weak, so little mind to get home (Phil. i. 23), πollyš μᾶλλον κρεῖσσον.

USE II. To press us to eye the promised blessedness more than we do. The promise is our warrant, and the thing promised is the comfort, solace, and support of our souls. The promise must be laid up in the heart, with a firm, strong assent, and the thing promised ever kept in view. I shall give you the qualifications of this expectation.

1. It must be a serious and earnest expectation: "According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed' (Phil. i. 20). Earnest expectation is that which exciteth the heart to be

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