light of his countenance upon thee? Yes. Well, then, thou mayest be confident that thou hast a secret and blessed presence of God with thee, though God, in regard of his comfortable presence, may be de- parted from thee. Nothing below a secret presence of God with a man's spirit will keep him waiting and working till the Sun of right- eousness shines upon him, Mai. iv. 2. If any vain persons should put that deriding question to thee, Where is thy God? thou mayest safely and boldly answer them, ' My God is here ; he is nigh me, he is round about me, yea, he is in the midst of me : Zeph. iii. 17, ' The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty, he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy, he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with sing- ing.' The bush, which was a type of the church, consumed not all the while it burned with fire, because God was in the midst of it. It is no argument that Christ is not in the ship, because tempests and storms arise.
(5.) Fifthly, Though God begone, yet he will return again. Though your sun be now set in a cloud, yet it will rise again ; though sorrow may abide for a night, yet joy comes in the morning.1 A Christian's mourning shall last but till morning : Micah vii. 19, ' He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us ;' Cant. iii. 4, ' It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth ; I held him, and I would not let him go/ &c. ; Ps. xciv. 19, 'In the multitude of my thoughts within me, thy comforts delight my soul ;' Isa. liv. 7, &, 10, ' For a moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment, but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer ; for the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee ; neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord, that hath mercy on thee.' God will not suffer his whole displeasure to rise upon his people, neither will he forsake them totally or finally. The saints shall taste but some sips of the cup of God's wrath, sinners shall drink the dregs ; their storm shall end in a calm, and their winter night shall be turned into a summer day. There was a woman avIio was thirteen years under desertion, which was so vehement, that for the most part of her time she was fain to keep her bed through weakness. A godly minister, who was affected with her condition, went to comfort her, and to pray with her ; but when he came and offered to do it, she shrieked out, utterly refusing and forbidding him to pray with her, for, said she, I have too many abused mercies to answer for already. Yet he would not be put off, but prayed by her, and so prevailed with God on her behalf, that the next morning she was delivered from all her fears, and had such exceeding joy, that the like hath rarely been heard of. The Lord, that had been long withdrawn from her, returned at length in a way of singular mercy to her.2 There was another precious woman who was several years deserted, and hearing a precious godly minister preach, she of a sudden fell down, overwhelmed with joy, crying out, Oh ! lie is come whom my soul loveth! and for divers days after she was rilled
1 Isa. xvii. 14 ; Ps. xxx. 5 ; xl. 1-3 ; v. 1 1 ; xlii. 5, 8, 9, 11.
2 So Mrs Honeywoofi, Mrs Kutherine Bretti.-r^h, and divers others. [See note ante on Mrs Biettergh, and our Index sub nomine. — O.]
P,S. XXXIX. 9.] UNDER THE SMARTING ROD. 375
with such exceeding joys, and had such gracious and singular ravishing expressions so fluently coming from her, that many came to hear the rare manifestations of God's grace in her. The lowest of her pious ex- pressions did exceed the highest that ever the minister had read in the book of martyrs. But, x
(6.) Sixthly and lastly, God's deserting, God's forsaking of his people, shall many ivays work for their good. As,
[I.] First, God by withdrawing from his people, will prepare and fit them for greater refreshings, manifestations, and consolations : Ps. lxxi. 1 1, 20, 21, ' Saying, God hath forsaken him : persecute and take him ; for there is none to deliver him/ But shall this forlorn con- dition work for his good ? Yes, 'Thou, which hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shall quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth. Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side.' When Joseph's brethren were in their greatest distress, then Joseph makes known himself most fully to them, Gen. xlv. 2-4 ; so doth Christ, our spiritual Joseph, to his people. Hudson the martyr, deserted at the stake, went from under his chain, aud having prayed earnestly, was comforted immediately, and suffered valiantly.1
[2.] By God's withdrawing from his people, he prevents his people's withdrawing from him ; and so by an affliction he prevents sin? For God to withdraw from me is but my affliction, but for me to with- draw from God, that is my sin, Heb. x. 38, 39 ; and therefore it were better for me that God should withdraw a thousand times from me, than that I should once withdraw from God. God therefore forsakes us, that we may not forsake our God. God sometimes hides himself that we may cleave the closer to him, and hang the faster upon him ; as the mother hides herself from the child for a time, that the child may cleave the closer and hang the faster upon her all the day long. God sometimes hid himself from David : Ps. xxx. 7, ' Thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled,' I was all amort.3 Well ! and is that all ? No ; ver. 8, ' I cried to thee, O Lord, and unto the Lord I made my supplica- tion.' Now he cries louder, and cleaves closer to God than ever ; so in that Ps. lxiii. 1, 2, ' O God, thou art my God ; early will I seek thee : my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is ; to see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in thy sanctuary.' Well ! and how do those withdraw - ings of God work ? Why ! this you may see in ver. 8, ' My soul followeth hard after thee/ or as the Hebrew reads it, ' My soul cleaveth after thee.' Look ! as the husband cleaves to his wife, so doth my soul cleave to the Lord. The psalmist now follows God even hard at heels, as we say. But,
[3.] Thirdly, The Lord, by withdratving from his people, will enhance and raise the price, and commend the worth, excellency, sweetness, and usefulness of several precious promises, which otherwise would be but as dry breasts, and as useless weapons to the soul, 2 Peter i. 4. As that Micah vii. 18, 19, 'He will turn again, he will have compassion
1 Clark's ' Martyrologie,' as before, page 499. — Q.
2 Christ, the captain of our salvation, will execute martial law upon them that withdraw from their colours, &c. » ' Dejected.' — <i.
:;7(5 THE MUTE CHRISTIAN [Ps. XXXIX. 9.