winter of captivity to come between the promise and the spring-time of the promise; therefore, to keep their faith aUve in this space, the prophet calls them up to act their faith on God Almighty (ver. 4) : ' Trust ye in the Lord Jehovah, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.' So when his saints are going into the furnace of persecution, what now doth he direct their faith to carry to prison, to stake with them, hut his almighty power? 1 Pet. iv. 19 : ' Let them that suffer, commit the keeping of their souls to him, as to a faithful Creator.' Creator is a name of almighty power. We shall now give some reasons of the point.
Reas. 1. First, Because it is no easy work to make use of this tnith, how plain and clear soever it now appears, in great plunges of temptation, that God is almighty ; to vindicate this name of God from these evil reports which Satan and carnal reason raise against it requires a strong faith indeed. I confess this principle is a piece of natiu-al divinity : that light which linds out a Deity, will evince, if followed close, this God to be almighty; yet in a carnal heart, it is like a rusty sword, hardly drawn out of the scabbard, and so of little or no use. Such truths are so imprisoned in natural conscience, that they seldom get a fair hearing in the sinner's bosom, till God gives them a gaol-delivery, and brings them out of their house of bondage, where they are shut up in imright- eousness, with a high hand of his convincing Spirit. Then, and not till then, the soul will believe God is holy, merciful, almighty ; nay, some of God's peculiar people, and not the meanest for grace amongst them, have had their faith for a time set in this slough, much ado to get over those difficulties and improbabilities, which sense and reason have objected, so as to rely on the Al- mighty power of God with a notwithstanding. Moses himself, a star of the first magnitude for grace ; yet see how his faith blinks and twinkles, till he wades out of the temptation. Numb. xi. 21 : 'The people amongst whom I am, are six hundred thousand, and thou hast said, I will give them flesh that they may eat a whole month ; shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them, to suffice them V This holy man had lost the sight, for a time, of the almighty power of God : and now he is projecting how this should be done ; as if he had said in plain terms. How can this be accomplished ? for so God interprets his reasoning, vei". 23: 'And the Lord said unto Moses, Is the Lord's hand waxed short?' So Mary, John xi. 32 : ' Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.' And her sister Martha, (ver. 39 :) ' Lord, by this time he stinketh.' Both gracious women, yet both betrayed the weakness of their faith on the almighty power of Christ, one limiting him to place — If thou hadst been here, he had not died ; as if Christ could not have saved his life absent, as well as present ; sent his health to him, as well as brought it with him. The other to time — Now he stinketh. As if Christ had brought his physic too late, and the grave would not deliver up his prisoner at Christ's command. And hast thou such a high opinion of thyself. Christian, that thy faith needs not thy utmost care and endeavour, for further establishment on the almighty power of God, when thou seest such as these dash their foot against this kind of temptation ?
The second reason may be taken from the absolute necessity of this act of faith above others, to support the Christian in the hour of temptation. All the Christian's strength and comfort is fetched without doors, and he hath none to send on his errand but faith : this goes to heaven, and knocks God up ; as he in the parable, his neighbour at midnight for bread: therefore when faith fails, and the soul hath none to go to market for supplies, there must needs be a poor house kept in the meantime. Now, faith is never quite laid up, till the soul denies, or at least questions the power of God. Indeed, when the Christian dis- putes the will of God, whispering within its own bosom. Will he pardon ? Will he save ? this may make faith go haltingly to the throne of grace, but not knock the soul oft" from seeking the face of God ; even then, faith, on the power of God, will bear it company thither : ' If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean,' Matt. viii. 2. If thou wilt, thou canst pardon, thou canst piu'ge : but when tlie soul concludes he cannot pardon, cannot save, this shoots faith to the heart, so that the soul falls at the foot of Satan, not able more to resist. Now it grows listless to duly, indifferent whether it pray or not; as one that sees the well dry, breaks or throws away his pitcher.
14 AND IN THE POWER OF HIS MIGHT.