It is trae, that our abihty to stand is not from our own inherent grace ; " For by his strength sliall no man prevail,"" 1 Sam. ii. 9. And yet it is as true, that without grace, both inherent in us, and excited and prepared for a storm, we cannot expect to stand ; For these two, grace inherent in us, and grace exciting and assisting with- out are not opposed, but co-ordinated. Grace in us, is the weapon by which our enemy falls : but then that weapon must be managed by
the hand of the Spirit. Well then, look upon this as a choice
mercy, which tends so much to your stability.
7. A seventh excellency of a prepared heart, is that it is a very high testification of our love to Jesus Christ, when we thus shew our willingness to take our lot with him, and follow him wherever he goes. What an high expression of love was that of Ruth to lier mo- ther Naomi ? " I will not go back, but where thou lodgest I will " lodge, and where thou goest I will go." It is excellent when a soul can say to Christ, as Ittai to David, 2 Sam. xv. 21. '• Surely in " what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or in life, *' even there also will thy servant be." This is love indeed, to cleave to him in a time of such distresses and dangers. This is " love which " the waters cannot quench, nor the floods drown," Cant. viii. 7. Pi^ohatio amoris, est exhibitiooperis: If you love Christ indeed, shew your love by some fruits of it ; and surely this is a very choice fruit, and proof of it. There are many that profess a great deal of love to Christ, but when it comes to this touch-stone, it appears false and counterfeit ; but a mere flourish when no danger is near. But that soul which buckles on the shoe of preparation, to follow him through thorns and briers, and over the rocks and mountains of difficulties and troubles, loves him indeed, Jer. ii. 2, 3. Beloved, it is one of the choicest discoveries of your love to your master Christ, yea, it is such a testification of love to him, as angels are not capa- ble of They shew their love by their readiness to do his will, in the execution of which they fly as with wings, Ezek. i. 21<. but you only have the happiness of testifying your love by your readiness to suf- fer for him, and is not this excellent ?
8. When the heart is prepared for the worst sufferings, it is an ar- gument that your will is subdued to the will of God ; for till this be done, in a good measure, you cannot stand ready to suffer for him. But now, to have the will subdued by grace to the will of God, is a very choice and excellent frame indeed ; for in this the main power of grace lieth : Look in what faculty the chief residence and strength of sin was, in the same chief residence the power of grace, after con- version, is also : Now it is in the will that the strength and power of sin (before conversion) lay. See John v. 40. Psalm Ixxxi. 11. Jer.
24 PllEPAHATIONS FOR SUFFEEIKGS ; OK,
xliv. 16, 1 T. And indeed it was the devil's strong hold, which, in the day of Christ's power, he storms and reduces to his obedience, PsaJ, ex. 3. O what a blessed thing is this ! The will rules the man, it hath the empire of the whole man ; it commands the faculties of the soul, imperio politico ; and it commands the members of the body, imperio despotico. Now to have Christ and grace rule that which rules and commands your inner and outer man too, is no small mercy ; and a better evidence that it is so cannot be given than this, that you stand ready, or do seriously prepare yourselves to suffer the hardest things for Christ : If your will can like that work, it is an argument grace hath conquered and subdued your wills indeed.
9. This preparation of heart to sufferings, is an excellent thing, because God is so abundantly pleased with it, that he often excuses them from sufferings in whom he finds it, and accepts it, as if the ser- vice had been actually done. So Abraham, Gen. xxii. 12. he was ready to offer up his Isaac's life to God ; but God seeing his servant's heart really prepared, and ready for that difficult service, and high point of self-denial, provided himself another sacrifice instead of Isaac. Abraham shall have his son Isaac back again, and that with advan- tage ; for he hath m ith him not only a choice experiment of his love to God, but God's high approbation of him, and acceptation of his offering. It was all one in respect of divine acceptance, as if he had been slain ; and so the scripture represents it. Jam. ii. 21. And in this sense that promise is often made good to God's people who stand ready to give up their Isaacs, their lives, liberties, and dearest enjoy- ments to the Lord : " He that will lose his life for my name's sake, " shall save it," Luke ix. 24.
Now what a blessed thing is this ! you may this way have the crown of martyrdom, and yet not shed one drop of blood for Christ actually. Ah ! how kindly doth God accept it at his poor creatures hands, when he sees how willing they are to serve him with their best enjoyments ! " It is well (saith he to David) that it was in thy heart," 1 Kings viii. 18.
10. And then, lastly, to add no more, it is beyond controversy an excellent and blessed thing ; because should such a Christian, after all his pains and preparations, be overborne, and fall by temptation : yet this preparation of his heart excuses his fall, from those aggrava- tions that are upon the falls of others, and will give him both support under such a condition, and encouragement to hope for a speedy re- covery out of it. Ah ! it is no small comfort when a poor soul that hath been over-borne by temptation, can come to God and say, ' Lord, thou knowest that this was not a w ilful departure from my ' duty but contrary to the bent and resolutions of my heart ; thou * sawest my diligence before-hand to prepare for it ; thou sawest my ' fears and tremblings of heart about it : O Lord, forgive, O Lord, < recover thy servant, wash away this spot, it is one of the spots of thy
THE BEST M^OKK IN TTIE WORST TIMES. 25*
* children, an infirmity, not a rebellion :' This may much stay the soul.