their minds, let them bring their minds to their means ; a little will serve our turn till we get to heaven, till we come to our Father's house : ' For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.' There are five negatives in the Greek ; i I read not the like throughout the New Testament. In that this promise is set down negatively, ' I will never leave thee,' this makes the promise to be of a larger extent ; for it includes all times, all places, all estates, all dangers, all needs, all distresses whatsoever ; as if he had more largely said, thou shalt never stand in need of any of my help and protection, but thou shalt be sure to find it. Affirmative promises are not of that extent as negative promises are ; for if a man should promise to assist, help, succour, or counsel me, if he do it now and then, or upon some special occasions, he has kept his promise ; but negatively for a man to say, I will not fail thee, I will never leave thee, though he should help, assist, succour, or stand by me, a hundred, yea, a thousand times, and yet fail me but once, that negative promise is not punctually kept, it is not perfectly kept. It is further considerable that there is a great emphasis in doubling and trebling a negative particle in Greek. Doubling and trebling negatives in Greek makes them much the stronger. The doubling of the negative particle doth in this place carry the greater emphasis, because, in setting down the same thing, it is not only twice doubled, but in the latter place it is trebled ; so as there are in all five negatives, as I have already hinted. These two phrases, ' Never leave nor forsake,' are so general as they include all the wants, all dangers, all distresses, all necessities, all calamities, all miseries, that can befall us in this world. 2 These two phrases, God's not leaving, God's not forsaking, imply all needful succours. It is more than if he had said, I will supply all thy wants, I will heal all thy diseases, I will secure thee against all sorts of dan- gers, I will ease thee of all thy pains, I will free thee of all thy oppressors, I will break all thy bonds, I will bring thee out of prison, I will vanquish all thine enemies, I will knock off all thy chains, and I will make thee triumph over all thy sufferings ; for these generals comprise all manner of particulars under them : Heb. xiii. 6, ' So that we may boldly say. The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.' In this verse there is an inference made upon the former promise of God's not leaving nor forsaking his ; the con- junction, ' so that,' implieth an inference, and such an inference in this place as teacheth us to make a good use of the forenamed promise. The use here set down is double : the first is confidence in God, ' The Lord is my helper;' secondly, courage against man, 'I will not fear what man shall do unto me.' Assurance of God's presence to help at a dead lift should raise us up above all base and slavish fears of the power of men, of the spoilings of men, of the designs of men, &c. God being with us, and for us, and on our side, we may boldly, safely, and confidently, rest upon it, that he will freely, readily, graciously, afford all needful help, assistance, and succour, when we are in the greatest troubles, deepest distresses, and most deadly dangers. The Greek word /Sot/^o?, ' helper,' according to the notation of it, signifies one that is ready to run at the cry of another. This notation implies
^ ov n-fi ov8' oil /J.7J. * A general promise compriseth all particulars of that kind.
WITH HIS PEOPLE IN THEIR GREATEST TROUBLES. 505
a willing readiness, and a ready willingness in God, to help and succour his people when they are at a dead lift. You know the tender father, the indulgent mother, the careful nurse, they presently run when any of them hears the child cry, or sees the child in any danger or distress ; so when God sees his poor children in any danger or dis- tress, when he hears them complain and cry out of their sufferings, their bonds, their burdens, their oppressions, their dangers, &c., he presently runs to their relief and succour, Exod. ii. 23-25, and iii. 7-10. Ps. xxxiii. 20, ' Our soul waiteth for the Lord : he is our help and our shield:' Ps. xlix. 17, ' Thou art my deliverer: God is the Lord of hosts, with him alone is strength and power to deliver Israel out of all his troubles.' He may do it, he can do it, he wiU do it, he is wise in heart and mighty in strength; besides him there is no Saviour, no deliverer ; he is a shield to the righteous, strength to the weak, a refuge to the oppressed ; he is Instar omnium, all in all.^ Who is like him in all the world to help his people at a dead lift ? when friends cannot help, when power cannot help, when policy cannot help, when riches cannot help, when princes cannot help, when parlia- ments cannot help, yet then God can and will help his people when all human help fails. ' For the Lord shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power,' or hand, ' is gone, and there is none shut up, or left,' Deut. xxxii, 36. When God's people are at the very brink of ruin, then God will come in seasonably to their help ; their extremity shall be his opportunity, to succour his people, and to judge their enemies. No men, no devils, no power, no policy, can hinder God from helping, aiding, assisting, and succouring of his people when they are at a dead lift. But,