which the Christian's burdens are canied, and hope the pillow between the back and the burden to make it sit easy. Now patience hath two shoiUders ; one to bear the present evil, and another to forbear the future good promised. And as hope makes the burden of the present evil of the cross light, so it makes tlxe longest stay of the future good promised, short ; whereas without this, the creature could have neither strength to bear the one, nor patience to wait for the other; Lam. iii. 18, 'And I said. My strength and my hope is perished from the Lord;' implying thus much, that where there is no hope, there is no strength ; the soiil's comfort soon gives up the ghost, where all hope fails. God undertook for Israel's protection and provision in the wOderness; but when their dough was spent, and their store ended, which they brought out of Egypt, they fall foul with God and Moses; and why, but because their hope was spent as soon as their dough? Moses ascends the mount, and is but a few days out of their sight, and in all haste they must have a golden calf; and why? Because they never hope to see him more. This is the reason why God hath so few serv^ants that will remain faithful to him, because he makes them wait for what he means to give, and they are impatient and cannot stay. You know what Naomi said to her daughters, Ruth i. 12, 13 : ' If I should have a husband, and should also bear sons, would you tarry for them till they were grown ? Would ye stay for them from having husbands ?' The promise hath salvation in its womb ; but will a soul without heavenly hope stay till the promise ripens, and this happiness be grown up ? No, surely, they will rather make some match witli the beggarly creature, or any base lust which will pay them in some pleasure at present, than wait so long, though it be for heaven itself. Thus, as Tamar played the strumpet, because the husband promised her was not given her so soon as she desired, Gen. xxxviii. ; so it is the undoing of many souls, because the comfort, joy, and bliss of the promise is withheld at present, and they are made to wait for their reward ; therefore they throw themselves into the em- braces of this adulterous world : ' Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world,' 2 Tim. iv. 10. The soul only that hath this divine hope, will be found patiently to stay for the good of the promise.
Section I. — God often stays long before he fulfils his promise to his people. The promise contains the matter of all our hopes, called, therefore, ' The hope of the promise.' To hope without a promise, is to claim a debt that never was owing. Now the good things of the promise are not paid down presently ; in- deed then there would not be such need of promises. What need of a bond where tlie money is paid down ? God promised Abraham a son, but he stayed many years for him after the bond of the promise was given. He promised Canaan to him and his seed, yet hundreds of years interposed between the promise and performance : Esau was spread into a kingdom before the heirs of the promise had their inheritance ; yea, all the patriarchs, who were the third generation after ' Abraham, died, and received not the promise,' Heb. xi. 13. Simeon had a promise that he should not see death till he had seen the Lord's Christ, Luke ii. 26 ; but this was not performed till he had one foot in the grave. In a word, those promises are the portion of all the saints, and may be claimed by one as well as another : their date is set in the book of God's decree, when to be paid, some sooner, some later, but not expressed in the promise. He hath engaged to answer the prayers of his people, and fulfil the desires of those that fear him, Psa. cxlv. 19; but it proves a long voyage sometimes before the praying saint hath the return of his adventvire. There comes often a long and sharp winter between the sowing time of prayer and the reaping. He hears us, indeed, as soon as we pray, but we often do not hear of him so soon. Prayers are not long on their journey to heaven, but long coming thence in a full answer. Christ at this day in heaven hath not a full answer to some of those prayers which he put up on earth ; therefore he is said ' to expect till his enemies be made his footstool,' Heb. x. 13. Promises we have for the subduing sin and Satan under our feet, yet we find these enemies still skulking within us, and many a sad scuffle we have with them before they are routed out of our hearts. And so of others : we may find sometimes the Christian, as great an heir as he is to joy and comfort, hardly able to shew a penny of this heavenly treasure in his purse. And for want of well pondering this one clause poor souls are often led into temptation, even to question their saintship. Such
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