This is a sad condition indeed to which no promise belongs. I remember Mr. Calvin, upon these words, Isa. ix. 1. " Nevertheless " the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation," &c. solves the doubt, in what sense the darkness of the captivity was not so great as the lesser incursions made by Tiglath Pileser. In the ca}> tivity the city was destroyed, and the temple burnt with fire, there was no comparison in the affliction ; but yet the darkness should not be such, and the reason (saith he) is this, Huic certam promis- sionem esse additam, cum in priorhus mdia csset ; i. e. there was a certain promise made to this, but none to the other.
It is better to be as low as hell with a promise, than in paradise without one. Even the darkness of hell itself would be compara- tively no darkness at all, were there but a promise to enlighten it. Now God hath left many sweet promises for the faith of his poor peo- ple to feed on in this condition : such are these: Psal. xxxiv. 9, 10. <* O fear the I^rd, ye his saints, for there is no want to them that fear *• him ; the lions do lack and suffer hunger, but they that fear the
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«' Lord shall want nothing that is good/' Ps. xxxiii. 18, 19- " The '« eye of the Lord is upon the righteous, to keep them alive in fst- " mine." Ps. Ixxxiv. 11. "No good thing will he with-hold from them « that walk uprightly." Rom. viii. 82. " He that spared not his " own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with " him also freely give us all things ?" Isa. xli. 17. "When the poor " and the 'needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue " faileth for thirst, I the Lord Avill hear them, I the God of Israel " will not forsake them." Here you see, first, their extreme wants, water being put even for the necessaries of life. (2.) Their certain relief, / the Lord will hear them ; in which it is supposed that they cry unto him in their straits, and he hears their cry.
Having therefore these promises, why should not your distrustful hearts conclude like David's, Psal. xxiii. 1. " The Lord is my " Shepherd, I shall not want."
Objection. But these promises imply conditions : if they zvere ab^ solute, they would afford more satisfaction.
Solution. What are those tacit conditions you speak of but these : (1.) That either he will supply or sanctify your wants : (2.) That you shall have so much as God sees fit for you. And doth this trouble you ? Would you have the mercy whether sanctified or no.'* Whether God sees it fit for you or no ? Methinks the appetites of saints after earthly things should not be so ravenous, to seize greedily upon any enjoyment, not caring how they have it.
But oh, when wants pinch, and we see not whence supplies should come, then your faith in the promise shakes, and we, like murmur- ing Israel cry, " He gave bread, can he give water also .''" O unbe- lieving hearts ! When did his promise fail ? Whoever trusted them, and was ashamed ? May not God upbraid thee with thine unreason- able infidelity; as Jer. ii. 31. " Have I been a wilderness unto you ^"^ &c. Or as Christ said to the disciples, " Since I was with you, lacked " ye any thing ?" Yea, may you not upbraid yourselves, may you not say with good old Polycarp, These many years I have served Christ, and found him a good master. Indeed he may deny what your wan- tonness, but not what vour real wants call for. He will not regard the cry of your lusts, nor yet despise the cry of your faith ; though he will not indulge and humour your wanton appetites, yet he will not violate his own faithful promises. These promises are your best se- curity for eternal life ; and it is strange if they should not satisfy you for daily bread : remember ye the words of the Lord, and solace your hearts with them amidst all your wants. It is said of Epicurus, that in the dreadful fits of the cholic, he often refreshed himself, Ob me~ rnoriam inventorum^ — by calling to mind his inventions in philoso^ phy : and of Possidonius the philosopher, that in a great fit of the stone he solaced himself with discourses of moral duty ; and when the pain twinged him, he would say. Nihil agis, dolor ; quamvis sis molestus, nunquam conjiteborte ess^ malum: — Opain, thou dost
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nothing : though thou art a little troublesome, I will never confess thee to be evil. If upon such grounds as these they could support themselves under such grinding and racking pains, and even delude their diseases by them, how much rather should the precious pro- mises of God, and the sweet experiences which have gone along step by step with them, make you to forget all your wants, and comfort you in every strait.
Consid. 3. If it be bad now, it might have been worse ; hath God denied thee tlie comforts of this life? He might have denied thee Christ, peace, and pardon also, and then thy case had been wqful indeed. You know God hath done so to millions in the world : how many such wretched objects may your eyes behold every day, that have no com- fort in hand, nor yet in hope, are miserable here, and will be so to eternity ; that have a bitter cup, and nothing to sweeten it ; no, not so much as an hope that it will be better. But it is not so with you, though you be poor in this world, " yet rich in faith, and heirs of the *' kingdom which God hath promised," Jam. ii. 5. O learn to set spiri- tual riches over against temporal poverty. Balance all your present troubles with your spiritual privileges. Indeed if God had denied your souls the robes of righteousness to clothe them, the hidden manna to feed them, the heavenly mansions to receive them ; if your souls were left destitute as well as your bodies, you might well be pensive ; but this consideration hath enough to bring the considering soul to rest under any outward strait. It was bravely said by Luther, when want began to pinch him, ' Let us be contented with our hard fare (said he,) for do not we feast with angels upon Christ the bread of life ?" " And blessed be God (saith Paul) who hath abounded to us in all *' spiritual blessings," Eph. i. 3.
Consid. 4. This ajfiiction, though great, is not such an ajfflictioTt hut God hath Jar greater, with which he chastises the dearly beloved of his soul in this world : and should he remove this, and inflict those, you would account your present state a very comfortable state, and bless God to be as now you are.