(2.) Consider your sins, and that 'will maJce you contented with your lot. Yea, consider two things in sin. (1.) What it deserves froni God, and, (2.) W^hat it requires to mortify and purge it in you- It deserves from God eternal ruin ; the merit of hell is in the least vain thought ; every sin forfeits all the mercies you have, and if so, rather wonder your mercies are so many, than that you have no more. Besides, you cannot doubt, but your corruptions re- quire all the crosses, wants, and troubles that are upon you, and, it may be, a great deal more to mortify and subdue them. Do not you find, after all the rods that have been upon you, a proud heart still, a vain and earthly heart still ? O how many bitter potions are but necessary to purge out this tough, malignant humour !
(3.) Consider how near you are to the change of your condition. Have but a little patience, and all will be as well with you as your hearts can desire. It is no small comfort to the saints that this world is the worst place that ever they shall be in : things will be better every day with them. If the traveller have spent all his money, yet it doth not much trouble him if he know himself within a few miles of his own home. If there be no candles in the house, we do not much matter it, if we are sure it is almost break of day j for then there will be no use for them. This is your case. " Your " salvation is nearer than when you believed," Rom. xiii. IS.
TUlf MYSTEKY OF PUOVIDEXCE. 433
I have done with the directive part of this discourse i, but before I pass to tlie fifth head, I judge it necessary to leave a few cautions to prevent the abuse of providence, and your miscarriages in your behaviour towards it; And
If providence delay the performance of any mercy to you, that you have long waited and prayed for ; yet see that you despond not, nor grow weary of waiting upon God for that reason. It pleases the Lord oftentimes to try and exercise his people this way, and make them cry, " How long, Lord, how long ?'' PsaL xiii. 1, 2.
These delays, both upon spiritual and temporal accounts, are frequent; and when they befal us, we are too apt to interpret them as denials, and fall into a sinful despondency of mind, though there be no cause at all for it, Psal. xxxi. 12. Lam. iii. 8, 44. It is not always that the returns of prayer are dispatched to us in the same hour they are asked of God ; yet sometimes it falls out so, Isa. Ixv. 24. Dan. ix. 23. But though the Lord means to perform to us the mercies we desire, yet he will ordinarily exercise our pa-* tience to wait for them ; and that for these reasons,
(L) Because our time is not the proper season for us to receive our mercies in. Now the season of mercy is a very great circum- stance that adds much to the value of it. God judges not as we do, we are all in haste, and will have it now. Numb. xxii. 13. " But he is a God of judgment, and blessed are they that wait for « him,^' Isa. xxx. 18.
(2.) Afflictive providences have not accomplished that design upon our hearts they were sent for, when we are so earnest and impatient for a change of them ; and till then, the rod must not be taken off, Isa. x. 12.
(3.) The more prayers and searchings of heart come between our wants and supplies, our afflictions and reliefs, the sweeter are our reliefs and supplies thereby made to us. Isa. xxv. 9. " This " is our God, we have waited for him, and he will save us : this " is the Lord, we have waited for him, we will rejoice and be " glad in his salvation." This recompenses the delay, and pays us for all the expences of our patience.
But thougli there be such weighty reasons for the stop and delay of refreshing, comfortable providences ; yet we cannot bear it, our hands hang down, and we faint : Psal. Ixix. 3. " I am weary " of my crying, my throat is dry, mine eyes fail while I wait for '' my God." For, alas ! we judge by sense and appearance, and consider not that God's heart may be towards us, whilst the hand of his providence seems to be against us. If things continue at
434? DIVINE conduct; or,
one rate with us, we think our prayers are lost, and our hopes perished from the Lord ; much more when things grow worse and worse^ and our darkness and trouble increase, as usually they do just before the break of day and change of our condition, then we conclude, God is an^ry with our prayers : See Gideon's reply. Judges vi. 13. This even staggered a Moses"* faith, Exod. v. 22, 23. O what groundless jealousies and suspicions of God are found at such times in the hearts of his own children I Job ix. 16, 17= Psal. Jxxvii. 7, 8, 9.
But this is our great evil, and to prevent it in future trials I will offer a few proper considerations in the case,
1. The delay of your mercies is really for your advantage- You read, Isa. xxx. 18. " The Lord v/aits that he may be gracious.'* What is that ? Why, it is nothing else but the time of his prepa- ration of mercies for you, and your hearts for mercy, that so ye may have it with the greatest advantage of comfort. The foolish child would pluck the apple whilst it is green, but when it is ripe, it drops of its own accord, and is more pleasant and wholesome.
2. It is a greater mercy to have an heart willing to refer all to God, and to be at his dispose, than to enjoy presently the mercy we are most eager and impatient for ; in that God pleases you, in this you please God. A mercy may be given you as the fruit of com- mon providence, but such a temper of heart is the fruit of special grace: so much as the glorifying of God is better than the content and pleasure of the creature, so much is such a frame better than such a fruition.
3. Expected mercies are never nearer, than when the hearts and hopes of God's people are lowest. Thus in their deliverance out of Egypt and Babylon, Ezek. xxxvii. 11. so we have found it in our own personal concerns : " At evening time it shall be light," Zech. xiv. 7. when we look for increasing darkness, light arises.
4. Our unfitness for mercies is the reason why they are delayed so long. We put the blocks in the way of mercy, and then repine that they make no more haste to us; Isa, lix. 1, 2. " The Lord^s " hand is not shortened, but our iniquities have separated betwixt " him and us.""
5. Consider, the mercies you wait for are the fruits of pure grace ; you desen'e them not, nor can claim them upon any title of desert, and therefore have reason to wait for them in a patient and thankful framcv
6. Consider how many millions of men, as good as you by na- ture, are cut off from all hope and expectation of mercy for ever, and there remains to them nothing but a fearful expectation of wrath. This might have been your case, and therefore be not of an impatient spirit under the expectations of mercy.
TH12 MYSTEilY OF PROVIDENCE. 435
Pry not too curimisly into the secrets of providence, nor suffer your shallow reason arrogantly to judge and censure its designs.