solemnly to consider, That all the troubles and dangers that do attend the performance of all hoi// duties and heavenly services are but temporal and momentary, but the neglect of them may lay thee open to all temporal, spiritual, and eternal dangers. ' How shall we escape, it' we neglect so great salvation?' J lei), ii. 3. He saith not, it we reject or renounce so great salvation. No ; but if we neglect, or shift off so great salvation, how shall we escape?1 That is, we cannot by any way, or means, or device in the world, escape. Divine justice will be above us, in spite of our very souls. The doing of such and such heavenly services may lay you open to the frowns of nun, but the neglect of them will lay you open to the frowns of God ; the doing of them may render you contemptible in the eves of men, but the neglect of them may render you contemptible in the eyes of God ; the doing of them may be the loss of thy estate, but the neglect of them may be the loss of God, Christ, heaven, and thy soul tor ever; the doing of them may shut thee out from some outward temporal contents, the neglect of them may shut thee out from that excellent matchless glory Hhat eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of men,' Isa. lxiv. 4. Remember this, there is no man that breathes but shall suffer more by neglecting those holy and heavenly services that God commands, commends, and rewards, than possibly he can suffer by doing of them.2
Remedy (4). The fourth remedy against this device of Satan is, to consider, That God, knows hoiv to deliver from troubles by troubles, from afflictions by afflict ions, from dangers by dangers. God, by lesser troubles and afflictions, doth oftentimes deliver his people from greater, so that they shall say, We had perished, if we had not perished ;3 we had been undone, if we had not been undone ; we had been in danger, if we had not been in clanger. God will so order the afflictions that befall you in the way of righteousness, that your souls shall sa}', We would not for all the world but that we had met with such and such troubles and afflictions ; for surely, had not these be- fallen us, it would have been worse and worse with us. Oh the carnal security, pride, formalitjr, dead-heartedness, lukewarmness, censorious- ness, and earthliness that God hath cured us of, by the trouble and dangers that we have met with in the ways and services of the Lord !
I remember a story of a godly man, that as he was going to take shipping for France, he broke his leg ; and it pleased Providence so to order it, that the ship that he should have gone in, at that very instant was cast away, and not a man saved ; so by breaking a bone, his life was saved.4 So the Lord many times breaks our bones, but it is in order to the saving of our lives and our souls for ever. He gives us a portion that makes us heart-sick, but it is in order to the making us perfectly well, and to the purging of us from those ill humours that
1 Kpixbtravrts. Disregard, not care for it.
- Francis Xavorias [Xavkr.— G.J counselled Jolm the. Third, king of Portugal, to meditate every day a quarter of an hour upon that text, ' What shall it profit a man to Lain the whole world, and lose his soul !' 8 Periissem nisi periissom.
4 The 'breaking of his leg' on the way saved the life of the saintly Bernard Gilpin from being sacrificed by Bonner. See Memoir of Dr Airay, prefixed to his ' Philippians,' in the series of ' Commentaries ' issued by the Publisher of this. — G.
2 Cor. II. 11.] against satan's devices. 73
have made our heads ache, and God's heart ache, and our souls sick, and heavy to the death, &c. Oh therefore let no danger or misery hinder thee from thy duty.1
Remedy (5). The fifth remedy against this device of Satan is, solemnly to consider, That you shall gain more in the service of God, and by walking in righteous and holy ways, though troubles and afflictions should attend you, than you can possibly suffer, or lose, by your being found in the service of God. ' Godliness is great gain/ 1 Tim. vi. 6. Oh, the joy, the peace, the comfort, the rest, that saints meet with in the ways and service of God ! They find that religious services are not empty things, but things in which God is pleased to discover his beauty and glory to their souls. ' My soul thirsts for God,' saith David, ' that I might see thy beauty and thy glory, as I have seen thee in thy sanctuary,' Ps. lxiii. 2. Oh, the sweet looks, the sweet words, the sweet hints, the sweet joggings, the sweet in- fluences, the sweet love-letters, that gracious souls have from heaven, when they wait upon God in holy and heavenly services, the least of which will darken and outweigh all the bravery and glory of this world, and richly recompense the soul for all the troubles, afflictions, and dangers that have attended it in the service of God.2 Oh, the saints can say under all their troubles and afflictions, that they have meat to eat, and drink to drink, that the world knows not of ; that they have such incomes, such refreshments., such warmings, &c, that they would not exchange for all the honours, riches, and dainties of this world. Ah, let but a Christian compare his external losses with his spiritual, internal, and external gain, and he shall find, that for every penny that he loses in the service of God, he gains a pound ; and for every pound that he loses, he gains a hundred ; for every hundred lost, he gains a thousand. We lose pins in his service, and find pearls; we lose the favour of the creature, and peace with the creature, and haply the comforts and contents of the creature, and we gain the favour of God, peace with conscience, and the comforts and contents of a better life. Ah, did the men of this world know the sweet that saints enjoy in afflictions, they would rather choose Manasseh's iron chain than his golden crown ; they would rather be Paul a prisoner, than Paul rapt up in the third heaven. For ' light afflictions/ they shall have ' a weight of glory / for a few afflictions, they shall have these joys, pleasures, and contents, that are as the stars of heaven, or as the sands of the sea that cannot be numbered ; for momentary afflictions, they shall have an eternal crown of glory.3 'It is but winking, and
1 Non essem ego salvus nisi ista periissent.— Anaxagoras- Had not these tilings perished, I could not have been safe, said this phliosopher, when he saw great posses- sions that he had lost.
2 Tertul [Han], in his book to the martyrs, hath an apt saying {Negotiatio est aliquid amitlere ut major a lucrerls), i.e. that's right and good merchandise, when something is parted with to gain more. He applieth it to their sufferings, wherein, though the flesh lost something, yet the spirit got much more.