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Ivi. 3. "At what time I am afraid, I will trust in thee." Pfal. xviii. 2. "The Lord is my rock, and my fortrefs, and my de"liverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust, my " buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower." This their confidence in God, and reliance upon him, engages him to protect them in their dangers, Ifa. xxvi. 3. All others put themselves out of God's protection, by making flesh their arm, and so giving the honour of God to the creature, Jer. xvii. 5. And thus much for clearing this last proposition also. All that remains, will be dispatched in a brief and close application of the point thus opened and confirmed.

CHAP. ΧΙΙ.

Containing the first use of the point, in several informing consectaries and deductions of truth from it.

Confect. I.

SECT. I.

FROM M the whole of this discourse, we may be informed what a miferable and shiftless people all those will be, in times of trouble, who have no special interest in God, or the promises. Sad and lamentable was the cafe of Saul, as it is by himself expressed, 1 Sam. xxviii. 15. "I am "fore distressed, for the Philistines make war against me, and "God is departed from me, and answereth me no more." It is a wonderful and unaccountable thing, how carnal men and women subsist and bear up, when their earthly props and hopes sink under and fail them; so long as any creature comfort is left, thither they will retreat for relief and fuccour: but if all fail, as quickly they may, whither will they turn for comfort, having not a God nor a promise to flee to? which the people of God can do, when all things else fail them, Heb. iii. 17. Their different conditions in the day of trouble, is clearly expressed in Zeph. ii. 3. 4. "Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, " which have wrought his judgment, seek righteousness, seek " meekness, it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord's

anger." There is God's may-he, which is better security than man's fhull-be, for their temporal deliverance: But what shall become of others, that have no refuge but in the creature ? Why, the misery and shiftlesness of their condition follows in the next words: "Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a de"folation; they shall drive out Ashdod at noon-day, and Ekron "shall be rooted up;" i. e. All their earthly securities shall

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fail them; their strong-holds shall not secure them; they shall find no shelter in the scorching heat of the day of trouble. Moab, Ashdod and Ekron have no more benefit by the promises. made to Zion, than the inhabitants of Rome can claim by the charter of London. If a wicked or hypocritical person cry to God in his distress, he will not hear him, Prov. i. 25, 26. Job. xxvii. 9. but will bid him go to his earthly refuges which he hath chofen. If he go to the promises, knock at those doors of hope, they cannot relieve him, being all made in Chrift to believers; if to the name and attributes of God, all the doors. are shut against them, Plal. xxxiv. 16. There are seven dreadful aggravations of a wicked man's troubles.

(1.) When troubles come upon him, the curse of God follows him into his carnal refuges; Jer. xvii. 5. " Cursed be the

man that trusteth in man, and makerh flesh his arm, and " whose heart departeth from the Lord." Trouble is the arrow, and this curse the venom of the arrow, which makes the wound incurable.

(2.) When troubles fall upon him from without, a guilty confcience will terrify him from within; so that the mind can give no relief to the body, but both fink under their own weights. It is not so with the people of God, they have inward relief under outward pressures, 2 Cor. iv. 16.

(3.) The gusts and storms of wicked mens troubles may blow them into hell, and hurry them into eternal destruction: if death march towards them upon the pale horfe, hell always follows him, Rev. vi. 8.

(4.) If troubles and distresses overwhelm their hearts, they can give them no vent or ease by prayer, faith, and refignation to God, as his people uses to do, 1 Sam i. 18.

(5.) When their troubles and distresses come, then comes the hour and power of their temptation; and, to shun forrow, they will fall into fin, having no promise to be kept in the hour of temptation, as the faints have, Rev. iii. 10.

(6.) When their troubles come, they will be left alone in the midit of them: these are their burdens, and they alone must bear them. God's gracious, comfortable, supporting prefence is only with his own people.

(7.) If trouble or death come upon them as a storm, they have no anchor of hope to drop in the storm; the wicked is driven away in his wickedness; but the righteous bath hope in his death, Prov. xiv. 32. By all which it appears, that a christless perfon is a most helpless and shiftless creature in the day of nouble.

"Confect. 2. Secondly, Hence it follows, That Chriftians ought not to droop like other men' in the day of trouble. A wicked man's boldness, and a Christian's cowardliness, in times of affliction, are alike ungrounded and uncomely. Why should thy heart, Chriftian, despond and sink at this rate, upon the profpect of approaching troubles? Are there not safe and comfortable chambers taken up, and provided for thee against that day? Is not the name of the Lord a strong tower, into which thou mayeft run and be safe? The heart of a good man, faith Chryfoftom, should at all times be like the higher heavens, serene, tranquil, and clear, whatever thunders and lightenings, storms and tempefts trouble and terrify the lower world. If a man have a good roof over his head, where he can fit dry and warm, what need he trouble himself to hear the winds roar, see the lightenings flash, and the rains pour down without doors? Why, this is thy privilege, Christian; " A man (to wit the man Chrift "Jesus) hall be as an hiding-place from the wind, and a co"vert from the tempeft; as rivers of water in a dry place, as "the shadow of a great rock in a weary land," Ifa. xxxii. 2. Art thou in Christ, and in the covenant? give me then one good reason for thy dejections in a day of trouble; or if thou haft none to give, hearken to these reasons against it.

1. If thou be in Christ, thy fins are forgiven thee; and why fhould not a pardoned foul be a chearful foul in adversity? Afflictions may buz and hum about thee, like bees that have loft their sting, but they can never hurt thee.

2. If thou be in Christ, thy God is with thee in all thy troubles; and how can thy heart fink or faint in fuch a prefence? Let them that are alone in troubles fail under them: but do not thou do so, that art furrounded with Almighty power, grace, and love, Ifa. xliii. 1, 2.

3. If thou be in Christ, thy greatest afflictions shall prove thy best friends and benefactors, Rom. viii. 28. Sure then thou art more afraid than hurt; thou mistakest thy best friends for thy worst enemies; thou and thy afflictions mall part more comfortably than you met.

4. If thou be in Christ, thy treasure is safe, thy eternal happinefs is out of the reach of all thine enemies, Luke xii 4. Luke x 42. And if that be safe, thou haft no cause to be sad; to droop and tremble at the hazard of earthly comforts, whilst heavenly and eternal things are fate, is as if a man that had gotten his pardon from the king, and had it fafe in his bosom, should be found weeping upon the way home, because he hath loft his staff or glove. These reasons are strong against the

dejections of God's people under outward troubles; but yet I am sensible that all the reasoning in the world will not prevent their dejections, except they will take pains to clear up their interest in God, against such a day, Pfal. xviii. 2. and will act their faith by way of adherence and dependence upon God, in the want of former light and evidence, Ifa. 1. 10. And lastly, that they keep their consciences pure and inviolate, which will be a spring of comfort in the midst of troubles, 2 Cor. i. 12.

3. Confect. Thirdly, It hence appears to be the greatest folly and vanity in the world, to make any thing but God our refuge in the day of trouble. This practice, as you heard but now, is under God's curse; and that which is cursed of God can never be comfortable to us. It is an honour peculiar to God, the right of heaven, and therefore cursed sacrilege to bestow it on the creature. We read of some that make lies their refuge, and hide themselves under falshood, thinking when the overflowing scourge comes, it shall not come nigh unto them, Isa. xxviii. 15. They will trust to their wits and policies, they will fawn and flatter, lie and dissemble, cast themselves into a thousand shapes and forms to save themselves; but all in vain; the flood shall sweep away their refuge of lies. Others make riches their trust and confidence, Prov. x. 15. "The rich man's wealth is his

strong city." If enemies come, their money shall be their ransom: But oh! what a poor refuge will this be! it may betray, but cannot secure them. "Behold, faith God, I will tir

up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; " and as for gold, they shall not delight in it," Ifa. xiii. 17. Riches profit not in the day of wrath, Prov. xi. 4. Job blessed God in the day of his adversity, that he had not made gold his hope or the fine gold his confidence, Job xxxi. 24. Bless not thou thyself, that thou hast such things to bestow thy hope and trust upon. Others make men their refuge, especially great and powerful men: But to how little purpose is it! " Put not

your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is " nohelp," Pfal. cxlvi. 3, 4. They cannot keep their crowns upon their heads; no, nor their heads upon their shoulders; the greatest men are but dust, and what can dust do to dust? Three things aggravate their misery, who misplace their confidence, by bestowing it on any creature. (1.) That creature will certainly deceive them; men are deceitful men, Pfal. lxii. 9. Riches are deceitful riches, 1 Tim. vi. 17. Every thing you lean, on beside God will start aside like a deceitful bow, Pfal. lxxviii. 57. (2.) The disappointment of your hopes from the creature will enflame your affliction, and greatly aggravate your forrow, 2 Kings xviii. 21. The broken reeds of Egypt will not only fail, but pierce you. (3.) In a word, God will take none into his protection, who make any thing besides himself their hope and confidence; if we fly from God to the creature, God will say, To the creature thou shalt go; except I have thy dependence, thou shalt never have my protection; where I have no honour, thou shalt have no comfort.

Confect. 4. Fourthly, The former discourse yields us also this comfortable conclufion, That whatever confufions, defolations and troubles be in the earth, the church and people of God can never be wholly exterminated and destroyed, feeing fuch a fecure refuge is prepared for them of God, Pial. cii. 28. "The children of thy " servants shall continue, and their feed shall be established be"fore thee." Which is assigned as the true reason of its perpetuity and safety, Pfal. xlviii. 3. "God is known in her palaces for a " refuge." The church's enemies have tried the utmost of their policies and powers in all ages against it, but to no purpose : whilst they have been plotting and perfecuting, the preserved remnant have been singing their song upon Alamoth, even praises to their great preserver; tho' they have no external, visible defence, yet are they as fafe as salvation itself can make them, " for salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks," Ifa. xxvi. 1, 2. Four things are exceeding remarkable in the church's preservation: (1.) No people were ever so fiercely opposed by the powers of this world, "The kings of the earth have fet "themselves, and the rulers have taken counsel together," Pfal. ii. 2. All methods and artifices have been tried, sometimes to jeer and scoff them out of their religion, so did the apostate Julian; and sometimes by cruel tortures to affright them from their religion; the variety, and more than barbarous inhumanity whereof the church-histories give us a sad and amazing account. (2.) Under these cruel persecutions they have seemed to be utterly lost, to the eye of sense and reason; "I am left alone, " faid Elijah, and they feek my life," I Kings xix. 10. " By " whom, Lord, shall Jacob arise, said Amos, for he is very "small?" Amos vii. 2. (3.) Notwithstanding all which, the church hath out-lived all its dangers; it is the true Phoenix which hath out-lived the deluge. (4.) Such deliverances are proper and peculiar to the church alone; no people, befides the people of God, have such salvations upon record. The great and famous monarchies of the world have dashed one another VOL. IV.

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