S. You would expect infinite goodness and mercy inclining him to help and save you. Why, so it is here, Psal. cxxx. 7. " Let ^' Is-rael hope in the Lord, for with the Lord there is mercy, and " with him is plenteous redemption." So Moses, Exod. xxxiii. 18. " I beseech thee shew me thy glory." The request was, a view of God's glory : The answer is, mi/ goodness shall pass hcflwe thee; which liints to us, that though all God's attributes be glo-
THE IIIGIITEOUS MAM's REFUGE. 371
Jfioup, yet that which he most glories in, is his* goodness. And then, 4. You would expect that none of his promises were ever blotted or stained by his unfaithfulness at any time; and so it is here, Josh, xxiii. 14. Not one thing kath failed: all are come to pass, all ages have sealed this conclusion, Thy word is truth, thy word is truth.
Arg. 2. Besides all this, you have the encouragement of all for- mer experiences, both of others and of your own, as a second argu- ment to press you to enter into this chamber of safety, the faithful- ness of God.
1. You have the experiences of others. Saints have reckoned the experiences of others that lived a thousand years before them, as excellent arguments to quicken their faith : So Hos. xii. 4. he had power over the angel, and prevailed ; he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us. Remember there was a Joseph with us in prison, a Jeremiah in the dungeon, a Daniel in the den, a Peter in chains, an Hezekiah upon the brink of the grave ; and they all found the help of God most faithfully protecting them, and saving them in all their troubles. Suitable to this is that in Psal. xxii. 4, 5. " Our fathers trusted in thee ; they trusted, and thou deiiveredst " them ; they cried unto thee, and were delivered ; they trusted in '' thee, and were not confounded."
2. Your own experiences may encourage your faith : So David'6 did, 1 Sam. xvii. 37. " The Lord that delivered me out of the " paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver " me out of the hand of this Philistine." So did Paul's experience encourage his faith, in 2 Cor. i. 10. " Who delivered us from SO " great a death, and doth deliver; in whom we trust that he will " yet deliver us." Thus enter into the faithfulness of God by faith.
2. Let me beg you to be sure to shut the doors after you, against all unbelieving doubts, jealousies, and suspicions of the faithfulness of God ; the best men may find temptations of that nature ; so did good Asaph, though an eminent saint, Psal. Ixxvii. 78. " Will the " Lord cast off for ever : and will he be favourable no more : Is *' his mercy clean gone for ever ? doth his promise fail for ever- " more ?" These jealousies are apt to creep in upon the minds of men, especially when,
1. God dela3^s to answer our prayers as soon as we expect tlie return of them ; we are all in haste for a speedy answer, forgetting that seasons of prayer are our seed-times ; and when we have sown that precious seed, we must wait for the harvest a« the husbands man doth. Even a precious Ileman may find a faint qualm of un, belief and despondency seizing him by the long suspension of God's answers, Psal. Ixxxviii. 9, 10, 11.
S72 THE RIGHTEOUS MA^'s B,EFUGE.
2. It will be hard to shut the door upon unbelief, when all things in the eye of our sense and reason seem to work against the promise ; it will require an Abraham's faith at such a time to glo* * rify God by believing in hope against hope, Rom. iv. 18. If ever thou hopest to enjoy the sweet repose and rest of a Christian in evil times, thou must resolve, whatever thine eyes do see, or thy senses report, to hold fast this as a most sure conclusion ; God is faithful and his word is sure ; and that although " clouds and darkness be " round about him, yet righteousness and judgment are the habi- " tation of his throne,'' Psal. xcvii. 2.
Oh ! that you would once learn firmly to depend on God's faith- fulness, and fetch your daily reliefs and supports thence, whenso- ever you are oppressed and assaulted, either,
1. By spiritual troubles. When you walk in darkness and have no light, then you are to live by acts of trust and recumbency upon the most faithful one, Isa. 1. 10. Or,
2. By temporal distresses ; so did the people of God of old, Heb. iii. 17, 18. He lived by faith on this attribute, when all visible comforts and supplies were out of sight.
But especially, let me warn and caution you against five principal enemies to your repose upon the faithfulness of God, viz.
1. Distracting cares, which divide the mind, and eat out the peace and comfort of the heart, and which is worst of all, they re- flect very dishonourably upon God who hath pledged his faithful- ness and truth for our security ; against which, I pray you bar the door by those two scriptures, Phil. iv. 6. " Be careful for nothing, " but in every thing by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiv- ^' ing, let your requests be made known unto God." And that in 1 Pet. V. 7. " Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for " you."
2. Bar the door against unchristian despondency, another enemy to the sweet repose of your souls in this comfortable and quiet chamber of Divine faithfulness : you will find this unbecoming and uncomfortable distemper of mind insinuating and creeping in upon you, except you believe and reason it out, as David did, Psal. xlii. 11. " Why art thou cast down, O my soul.? and why art thou " disquieted within me ? Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise " him."
8. Bar the door of your heart against carnal policies and sinful shifts, Mhich war against your own faith, and God's faithfulness, as much as any other enemy whatsoever. This was the fault of good David in a day of trouble, 1 Sam. xxvii. 1. " And David *' said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of " Saul ; there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily ^' escape into the land of the Philistines." Alas, poor David ! nothing
THE RIGHTEOUS MA>j's REFUGE. ST3
better tlian tlils ? Time was when tliou couklst think on a better way, when thou couldst say, at what time I am afraid I will trust in thee. How dost thou forget thyself in ihis strait ! doth thy old refuge in God fail thee now ? can the Philistines secure thee better than the promises ? wilt thou fly from thy best friend to thy worst enemies ? but what need we wonder at David, who find the same distemper almost unavoidable to ourselves in like cases,