remember what Balak king of Moab consuked, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal :' and why should they remember this ? ' That ye may know the righteousness of the Lord ;' that is, that you may know how true and faithful a God I have been to you. Sometimes he makes use of it to provoke them to be sincere to him, as he in that proved himself to them, Josh. xxiv. 9. He tells them how Balak sent Balaam to set God a curs- ing them ; 'but,' saith the Lord, ' I would not hearken to him,' but made him that came to curse you, with his own lips entail a blessing on you and yours ; and why is this story mentioned? see ver. 14: ' Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and truth.' A most natural and reasonable infer- ence from the premises of God's truth and faithfulness. O Christian, wouldst thou have thy love to God made incorruptible ? Embalm it often in thy thoughts with the sweet spices of God's sincere love to thee, which is immortal, and cannot see corruption. Believe God is true to thee, and be false to him if thou darest. It is a solecism and barbarism in love, to return falseness for faithfulness.
Secondly, The love of God to his saints cannot be conquered. That which puts it hardest to it, is not the power of his people's enemies, whether men or devils ; but his people's sins. God makes nothing of their whole power and wrath, when combined together ; but truly the sins of his people, these put omnipotency itself to the trial. We never hear God groaning under, or com- plaining of the power of his enemies, but often sadly of his people's sins and unkindnesses ; these load him, these break his heart, and make him cry out as if he were at a stand in his thoughts, (to use a human expression,) and found it not easy what to do, whether love them or leave them ; vote for their life or death. Well, whatever expressions God useth, to make his people more deeply resent their unkindness shewn to him, yet God is not at a loss what to do in this case ; his love determines his thoughts in favour of his covenant people when their carriage least deserves it, Hos. xi. 9. The devil thought he had enough against Joshua, when he could find some filth on his garment, to carry this in a tale, and tell God what a dirty case his child was in ; he made just account to have set God against him, but he was mistaken, for instead of pro- voking him to wrath, it moved him to pity; instead of falling out with him, he finds Christ praying for him, Zech. iii. Now improve this in a meditation, Christian. Is the love of God so unconquerable, that thy very sins cannot break, or cut the knot of that covenant which ties thee to him ? And does it not shame thee, that thou shouldest be so fast and loose with him ? Thou shouldest labour to have the very image of thy heavenly Father's love more clearly stamped on the face of thy love to him. As nothing can conquer his love to thee, so neither let anything prejudice thy love to him ; say to thy soul. Shall not I cleave close to God when he hides his face from me, who hath not cast me off when I have sinfully turned my back on him ? Shall not I give testimony to his truth and name, though others desert the one, and re- proach the other, who hath kept love burning in his heart to me, when I have been dishonouring hiiu ? What, God yet on my side, and gracious to me, after such backslidings as these, and shall I again grieve his Spirit, and put his love to shame with more imdutifulness ? God forbid ; this were to do my utmost to make God accessory to my sin, by making his love fuel for it.
Section IV. — Fourthly, Bewai'e of presmnptuous sins ; these give the deepest wound to uprightness, yea, are inconsistent with it, Psa. xix. 13 : ' Keep back thy servant from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me : then shall I be upright.' One single act of presumption is inconsistent with the actual exercise of uprightness ; as we see in David, who by that one foul sin of murder, lost the present use of uprightness, and was, in that particular, too like one of the fools in Israel, and therefore stands as the only exception to the general testimony which God gave unto his uprightness, 1 Kings xv. 5 : ' David did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and turned not aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.' That is, there was no such presumption in any other sin committed by him, and therefore they are here discounted, as to this, that they did not make such a breach on his uprightness, as this one sin did. And as one act of a sin, presumptuous, is inconsistent with actual uprightness ;
GIRT ABOUT WITH TRUTH. O'^l