Now, if thou wouldst improve the promises, so as not to be trampled upon by Satan in any distress that comes upon thee, bvit comfortably lift up thy head in hope and confidence above the waves of thy present sorrows, then hearken to what follows. First, Let it be thy chief care to have thy interest in, and right to the promises cleared up. This is the hinge on which the great dispute between thee and Satan will move in the day of trouble. Oh it is sad for a poor Christian to stand at the door of the promise in the dark night of affliction, afraid to draw the latch, whereas he should then come as boldly for shelter as a child into his father's house : — ' Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors aboirt thee ; hide thyself, as it were, for a little moment, until the indigna- tion be overpast,' Isa. xxvi. 20. He that hath his title to the promise proved from the word to his OAvn conscience, will not be wrangled easily out of his comfort. Naboth would not part with his inheritance for the pleasure or dis- pleasure of a king, but stands up in defence of his right, even imto death : and so resolves Job- — 'Till I die I will not remove my integrity from me,' Job xxvii. 5. This was his evidence for heaven, and therefore Satan used his best wits to make him throw it up, but never could efi'ect it. His title was clear, and he will not be disputed out of it by Satan ; no, nor afraid to vouch it before God himself, when God in his providence seemed most to disown him, and to handle him as an enemy, — 'Thou knowest that I am not wicked,' Job. x. 7. He saith not that he hath no sin, but, in a humble appeal to God, defends his state, that he is not wicked. And this kept the chariot of his hope on its wheels all along his sad sufferings, so that it was never quite overthrown, though sometimes it seemed to totter.
Section I. — But how shall I know whether I have a right to the promises? First, Inquire whether thou art united to Christ by faith or no. The promises are not a common for swine to rout in, but Christ's sheep-walk, for his flock to feed in. ' If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to promise,' Gal. iii. 29. The promise is the jointure, and cannot be had but by taking the person of Christ in marriage. And faith is the grace by which the soul gives its consent to take Christ as he is held up in the gospel; called, therefore, ' a receiving of Christ.' There is no doubt but thou hast often been wooed in the ministry of the word by Christ's spokesmen, and that question hath been put to thee for Christ, which was once put to Rebecca concerning her taking Isaac to husband, — ' AVilt thou go with this man ?' They have from the word set him forth in his glories before thee, who he is, and what he brings. Thou hast heard the articles u})on which he is most willing to proceed to marriage, and take thee as his beloved into his bed and bosom. As, First, That thou send away all other lovers which have had any pretensions to thee, for he will endure no competitor with him in thy affections. The name of Baalim must be taken out of Israel's mouth, and then God marries himself to her, Hosea ii. 17, 18. Secondly, That thou like his law as well as his love. Christ will not be husband where he may not be master. Thirdly, That thou take him for better and for worse, with his cross as well as with his crown, to suffer for him as well as to reign with him. Now, what entertainment has this found with thee? Dost thou, upon the discovery made of Christ, take liking in his person ? Is he transcendently amiable in thy eye and precious to thy soid, so as to inflame thee with an insatiable desire of him ? Canst thou freely pack away thy once darling lusts for him, and leap out of the arms of all thy carnal delights and sinful pleasures, to be taken into his embraces? Art thou as willing he should be thy lord as thy love ; and as content to bow to his sceptre, as lie in his bosom ? In a word, art thou so enamoured with him, that thou now canst not live without him, nor enjoy thyself, except thou mayst enjoy him? Thy heart is wounded with the darts which his love and loveliness have shot into it, and he himself carries the balm about him which alone can heal it. Let him now require what he will at thy hands, nothing he commands shall be denied. If he bids thee leave father and father's house, thou wilt go after him, though it be to the other end of the
AND THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT. (315