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470 THE SIGNAL PRESENCE OF GOD
(3.) Thirdly, The Lord doth manifest his favourable, his signal, his eminent presence with his people, in their greatest troubles, deepest distresses, and most deadly dangers, hy raising, str-engthening, and acting,'^ their suffering graces — viz., their faith, hope, love, patience, prudence, courage, boldness, zeal, constancy. Thus in the text, ' The Lord stood by me, and strengthened me.' He put new life, and strength, and vigour into all my graces. Although there are habits of grace always resident in the hearts of the saints, yet those habits are not always in exercise. The habits of grace cannot act of themselves, there must be renewed strength imparted to set them on work. ' Make me to go in the path of thy commandments, for therein do I delight,' Ps. cxix. 35. Though David had a spirit of new life within him, yet he could not actually walk in the path of God's precepts, till by an additional force he was set agoing: Cant. iv. 16, 'Awake, 0 north wind, and come thou south wind, blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out.' 2 By the garden we may safely under- stand a sanctified soul, and by the spices in this garden we may understand the several graces planted in the soul. Now these spices can never flow out, and send forth their fragrant smell, till the north and south wind blows upon them. Habitual grace cannot operate, and dilate, and put forth itself into exercise, till by the concurrent presence and assistance of Christ it is educed into act. No saint can act that grace he hath received, by his own strength, without the presence and assistance of Christ: 1 Cor. xv. 16, 'But by the grace of God, I am what I am ; and his grace, which was bestowed upon me, was not in vain, but I labour more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God, which was with me.' He does not say, the grace of God which was in me, that habitual grace which I had ; but the grace of God which was with me. So then it is not the strength of habitual grace that will carry a man through doing or suffering work, but the auxiliary, the assisting, the conquering grace of Jesus Christ. It is his grace with us, more than his grace in us. So John xv. 5, ' With- out me ye can do nothing.' Ye that are my disciples, ye that have the Spirit of Jesus Christ, ' Without me ye can do nothing.'^ The habits of grace, the actings of grace, and the perfecting of grace, are all from Jesus Christ. It is more emphatical in the original, for there you have two negatives, ' cannot do nothing.' He does not say, ' Without me ye cannot do many things,' but, ' Without me ye can do nothing ; ' nor he does not say, ' Without me ye can do no great thing,' but, ' With- out me ye can do nothing;' nor he does not say, ' Without me ye can do no difficult thing,' but, ' Without me ye can do nothing;' nor he does not say, ' Without me ye can do no spiritual thing,' but, ' With- out me ye can do nothing.' Whatever a saint may do by the power of gifts, or habits of grace received, yet he can do nothing in a lively spiritual acceptable way without the presence of Christ, without a con- stant dependence upon Christ, without a sweet and special communion and fellowship with Christ. If we cannot put forth a natural action
^ 'Causing to act,' as, on a little, 'actuated.' — G.
' Christ is tlie divers winds, both cold and hot, moist and dry, binding and opening, . north and south ; and therefore what wind soever blows, it shall blow good to his people.
' X"^^* f/ioO, separate from me, or apart from me. Erasmus, sine me. Beza, seorsim a • me. Members divided from the head cannot live ; so here.
WITH HIS PEOPLE IN THEIR GREATEST TROUBLES. 471
without him — for in him we live, move, and have our being, Acts xvii. 28 — how much less can we perform a spiritual action, in a spiritual manner, without his presence and assistance ? Let the king sit but at his table, and then our spikenard will send forth a sweet smell. Cant. i. 12 ; that is, let Jesus Christ be but present with us, and then our graces, which are compared to spikenard, will send forth a sweet smeU. Sit- ting at the table with King Jesus intimates the sweetest friendship and fellowship with him. It was held a great honour and happiness to stand before Solomon, 1 Kings x. 8 ; what is it then to sit with Christ at his table? ' My spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof;' that is, My faith is actuated, and all my other graces are exercised and in- creased. Christ's presence puts life into all our graces : Isa. xli. 10 ; Luke xxi. 14, 15, ' Fear thou not, for I am with thee ; be not dismayed, for I am thy God ; I wiU strengthen thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness :' 2 Cor. xii. 10, 'When I am weak, then am I strong.' When I am weak in myself, then am I strong in Christ. If the sun shine upon the marigold, how soon does the mari- gold open ; so when the Sun of righteousness does but shine upon a Christian's graces, how do they open and act ! Mai. iv. 2. To shew how the presence of Christ has acted the faith, love, courage, boldness, and patience, &c., of the saints in the Old and New Testament, the primitive Christians and the martyrs, in the latter ages of the world, when they have been in their greatest troubles, deepest distresses, and most deadly dangers, would take up more than a little time ; besides, in my other writings I have opened these things more fully to you, and to them I must refer you. And therefore,
(4.) Fourthly, The Lord doth manifest his favourable, signal, and eminent presence with his people, in their greatest troubles, deepest distresses, and most deadly dangers, hy laying a law of restraint upon every wicked man, and by bridling and checking their fury and inso- lency, that they shall not add afflictions to the afflicted, as otherwise they luould; as he did upon Laban: Gen. xxxi. 24, r', And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and saidiiunto him. Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob, either good or bad.' Ver. 29, ' It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt; but the God of your fathers spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob, either good or bad.' See what a law of restraint God laid upon Esau, Gen, xxxiii. 1-4 ; and upon Abimelech, Gen. xx. 6-8, 17, 18 ; and upon Benhadad, 1 Kings xx. 1, 10, 29, 30; and upon Haman, as you may see by comparing the 3d and 6th chapters of Esther together; and upon Pharaoh, Exod.xv. 9, 10; and upon Senna- cherib, Isa. xxxvii. 28, 29, 33-36 ; and upon Herod, Acts xii. Maxi- minus set forth a proclamation engraven in brass for the utter abolishing of Christ and religion : he was eaten up of lice. Valens being to sub- scribe an order for the banishment of Basil, was smitten with a sudden trembling of his hand that he could not subscribe the order ; afterwards he was burned to death by the Goths, i