Discovering the necessity of an improved faith for the right manage- ment of sufferings, and directing to some special means for the improvement thereof.
A HE next thing conducing to our actual readiness for sufferings, is the improvement of faith to some considerable degree of strengths
42 PllEPAEATIOXS FOR SUFFERINGS ; OK,
This is the grace that must do the main service in such an hour, and hath the principal hand in supporting the Christian under every burden. This is the grace that crowns our heads with victory in the day of batttle, Eph. vi. 16. "Above all taking the shield of " faith."" It is true every grace is of use, and contributes assistance : Suffering saints have been beholding to them all. But of this we may say, as Solomon of the virtuous woman; "Though many graces have " done excellently, yet this excels them all."' In this grace Paul was very eminent ; it was the life he daily lived. Gal. ii. 20. Oh ? it is a precious grace, 2 Pet. i. 1. So precious, that Christ, who sel- dom admired any thing, yet wondered at this, Matth. viii. 10. A victorious grace it is that overcomes all difficulties, Mark ix. 23. By this sword it was that all those famous heroes Heb. xi. atchieved all those glorious conquests; and in every distress it may say to the soul, as Christ to the disciples, John xv. 5. " Without me ye can do no- " thing."" This is that sicord that hath obtained so many victories over the world, 1 John v. 4. And that trusty shield that hath quenched so many deadly darts of temptation, which have been level- led at the very heart of a Christian in the day of battle. By it a Christian lives, when all outward, sensible comforts die, Hab.ii.4. It is the ground upon which the Christian fixes his foot, and never fails under him, 2 Cor. i. 24. The necessity of it will more clearly appear, by considering how many ways it relieves the soul in trouble, and dis- burdens the heart of all its sinking loads and pressures : There are two things that sink a man's spirit when under sufferings : viz. The greatness of the troubles, and the zceahness of the soul to bear them ; against both which faith relieves the soul, viz. by making a zceaJc soul st7'07ig, and heavy troubles light.
Firsts It makes a weak soul strong and able to bear ; and tliis it doth divers ways.
By purging out of the soul those enfeebling and weakening dis- tempers: not ow\y guilt in general, which is to the soul as a wound upon the bearing shoulder, Rom. v. 1. The removal whereof en- ables the soul to bear any other burden, Isa. xxxiii. 24. But it also remox esj^car, that tyrant passion, that cuts the nerves of the soul. For as faith comes m, so fear goes out: Look in M'hat degree the fear of God is ascendent in the soul, proportionably the sinful fear of the creature declines and vanisheth, Isa. viii. 12, 13. This fear extin- guishes that, as the sun-shine puts out fire, " The righteous is bold as *' a lion,'" Prov. xxviii. 1. The word n'^jii signifies a young lion in his hot blood, that knows no such thing as fear ! And look, how much of the soul is em-ptij of faith, so much it \s filled with fear : « Why are ye fearful, O ye of httle faith r Matth. viii. 26. Cer- tainly, it is a rare advantage, to be freed from the common distrac- tion^ in times of common destruction ; and this advantage the soul hath by faith.
*2. It strengthens the soul to bear afflictions and hardships ; not
THE BEST WORK IN' THE WOKST TIMES. 4'8
only l)y purging out its weakning distempers, but by turning itself to Christ, in whom all its strength lies ; and that suitably to the several exio-encies of the soul in all its distresses. Doth darkness, like the shadow of death overspread the earth, and all the lights of earthly comforts disappear ? then faith supports the heart by looking to the Lord, Micah vii. 7. And this look of faith exceedingly revives the heart, Psal. xxxiv. 5. and enlightens the soul. Doth God pluck away all earthly proyjs from under your feet, and leave you nothing visible to rest upon ? in that exigence faith puts forth a suitable act, viz. Resting or staying npon God, Isa. xxvi. 3. and by this the soul comes to be quieted and established, Psal. cxxv. 1. Do temptations strive to put off the soul from Christ, and discourage it from leaning upon the promise ? Then it puts forth an act of resolution. Job xiii.
15. And so breaks its way through that discouragement ; or hath the soul been long seeking God for deliverance out of trouble, and still there is silence in heaven, no answer comes ; but instead of an answer comes a temptation, to throw up the duty, and seek to deliver itself.'^ Then faith puts forth another act upon Christ, suitable to this distress, viz. An act of •waiting, Isa. xlix. 23. which xcaiting is opposed to that siiiful haste which the soul is tempted to, Isa. xxviii.
16. Or doth God at any time call the soul forth to some difficult service, against which the flesh and carnal reason dispute and plead ? Now faith helps the soul, by putting forth an act of obedience ; and that whilst carnal reason stands by dissatisfied, Gal. i. 16. And hence it is, that obedience carries the name of faith upon it to shew its descent, Rom. xvi. 26. Faith encourages the soul to obey, not only by urging God's command, but by giving it God's zcarrant for its' indemnity, Ileb. xi. 24, 25, 26. Or doth a poor believer find himself overmatched by troubles and temptations, and his ov/n inherent strength begin to fail under the burden ? Then faith leads him to an omnipotent God, and so secures him from fainting under his trouble, Psal. Ixi. 2. In the Lord is everlasting strength. El Shaddai is a name of an encouragement to a feeble soul, Isa. xl. 29, 80, 31. And thus you see the first particular made good, viz. What a strengthening influence it hath upon a weak soul.
Secondly, In the next place let us see how it lightens the Chris- tian's burdens, as well as strengthens his back to bear.
And certainly, this grace of faith doth strangely alter the very nature of sufferings, taking away both the heaviness and horror of them ; and this it doth divers ways :
1. By committing the business to Christ, and leaving the matter with him ; and so quitting the soul of all these anxieties and perturba- tions, which arc the very burden and weight of aifliction, Psal. xxxvii. 5. For certainly that which sinks us in days of trouble, is rather from within, from our unruly, seditious, and clamorous thoughts, than from the troubles themselves with which we conflict: But by committing the matter to God, the soul is quickly brought to rest.
44 PUErARATlOXS FOR SUFFERINGS; OR,
2. By discovering much present good in our troubles ; the mort? good faith discovers in a trouble, the more supportable and easy it makes it to the soul. Now faith brings in a comfortable report, that they are not only evils, as the troubles of the wicked are, Ezek. vii. 5. but have an allay and mixtureof much good, Heb. xii. ] 0. Isa. xxvii. 9-