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tresses, and most deadly dangers. Now to this question I shall give' these twelve answers : —
(1.) First, The Lord does manifest his favourable, signal, and eminent presence with his people in their greatest troubles, deepest distresses, and most deadly dangers, hy raising their faith to more than an ordinary pitch at such a time : Exod. xiv. 10, ' And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lift up their eyes, and,, behold, the Egyptians marched after them, and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord;' ver. 11, 'And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness ? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth of Egypt ?' ver, 12, ' Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying. Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians ? for it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.' l Thus you see their great troubles, deep distresses, and most deadly dangers, they having a Red Sea before them, and a cruel, bloody, and enraged enemy just at the heels of them. Now in this extremity, see to what a high pitch Moses his faith rises : ver. 13, ' And Moses said unto the people. Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to-day : for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to-day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. '2 He saith they shall never see the Egyptians again, that is, in that manner as they saw them that day insulting against them and pursuing after them, as the Septua- gint do well interpret it, ov rpoirov kcapaKare, ' after what sort ye have seen them,' for they saw them afterward, but drowned, and lying dead upon the shore, Exod. xiv. 30 : ver. 14, ' The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.' A strong faith will help a Christian at a dead lift. Though Moses had received no particular promise how the Israelites should be delivered, yet he rested upon God's general promise before, that he would get himself honour upon Pharaoh and his host: ' The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall be still' As if he had said. Ye shall be merely passive, and do nothing at all towards the subduing of your enemies, neither in words nor deeds ; the Lord shall fight against your enemies, and defeat them himself by a strong hand and an outstretched arm ; compose yourselves, act faith and hope in God, without doubting, murmuring, grudging, fainting, or fretting ; for God deferreth his chiefest aid until man's greatest need. When the enemy is highest, salvation is nearest ; when the danger is greatest, the help of God is readiest, as at this time they found it.
2 Chron. xiii. 3, ' Abijah set', the battle in array, with an army of valiant men of war, even four hundred thousand chosen men : Jero- boam also set the battle in array against him, with eight hundred thousand chosen men, being mighty men of valour.' Jeroboam had two to one : ver. 7, ' And there are gathered unto him vain men, the children of Belial, and have strengthened themselves against Eeho- boam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tender-
1 The faithful cry unto God in their extremities, but the unbelievers become mad. — Pelliran. [Qu., Pellicanus (Conrad) ?— G.] ^ Vide Josephus, lib. ii. cap. (5.
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hearted, and could not withstand them.' Kehoboam was no warrior, he was no expert prince in the use of arms ; he was but young, not in age, but in experience, policy, and valour ; he was hen-hearted, he had no courage, no mettle. i Jeroboam takes hold of these advantages, and gathers eight hundred thousand Bacas, brainless fellows, light and empty, yokeless and masterless persons ; men of no piety, civility, ingenuity, or common honesty. Now see what a mighty spirit of faith God raised in the children of Judah : ver. 17, ' And Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter : so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men.' A monstrous and matchless slaughter, the greatest number that ever we read slain in any battle ; far beyond that of Tamerlane when he took Bajazet, or Atius the '; Koman prefect, when he fought with Attila and his Huns in the I fields of Catalonia, where were slain on both sides ohe hundred sixty- five thousand: ver. 18, 'Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed,' because they relied upon the Lord God of their fathers. Faith at a dead lift never miscarrieth. God never has, nor never wiU, fail those that place their confidence upon him in their greatest dangers.
Esth. iv. 14, ' For if thou altogether hold thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place ; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed : and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this ? ' Their great trouble, their deep distress, and their most deadly danger you have in that, Esth. iii. 13, 'And the letters were sent by the posts into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to parish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, (which is the month Adar,) and to take the spoil of them for a prey.' 2 Haman, that grand informer, with his wicked crew, would have spoiled them of their lives and goods, but that they were prevented by a miraculous providence, as you know. Now in this deep distress and most deadly danger, at what rate doth Mordecai believe ? ' For if thou altogether boldest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement' — [Heb., respiration] — 'and deliverance arise' — [Heb., stand up, as on its basis or bottom, so as none shall be able to withstand it.] This Mordecai speaketh not by a spirit of prophecy, but by the power and force of his faith, grounded upon the precious promises of God's defending his church, hearing the cries of his people, arising for their relief and suc- cour, and grounded upon all the glorious attributes of God, viz., his power, love, wisdom, goodness, and all-sufficiency, &c., all which are engaged in the covenant of grace, to save, protect, and secure his people in their greatest troubles and most deadly dangers. Mordecai's faith in this black, dark, dismal day, was a notable faith indeed, and worthy of highest commendation. Faith can look through the per- spective of the promises, and see deliverance at a great distance, salva- tion at the door. What though sense saith. Deliverance will not come ; and what though reason saith, Deliverance cannot come ; yet a raised
^ 2 Chron. xii. 13. He was one-and-forty years old when he came to the crown. * Here are great aggravations of his cruelty, in that neither sex nor age are spared ; rage and malice knows no bounds.
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