[10.] Tenthly, ' If God be with us, who can be against us?' I answer, None, so as to hinder the springs of joy and comfort from rising and flowing in their souls : Ps. Ixxi. 20, ' Thou which hast shewed me great and sore troubles shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth;' ver. 21, 'Thou, shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side.' The psalmist was in those desperate dangers, that he seemed to be as a man that was dead and buried, and yet he had faith enough to believe that God would surround him with cordials, and supply him with comforts from all sides. There is no true comfort to be drawn out of the standing pools of outward sufficiencies, but out of the living fountains of the all-sufficiencies of the Lord Almighty. ' Thou shalt comfort me on every side.' Ps. xciv. 19, ' In the multitude of my thoughts within me,' or of my careful, troubled, perplexed thoughts, as the word properly signifies, ' thy comforts delight mv soul.' As the psalmist always found God a present help, so he alwa} t: found him a present comfort in the day of troubles. God never did, nor never will want a cordial to revive and keep up the spirits of his people from fainting and sinking in an evil day. When the psalmist was under many griefs, cares, fears, and perplexities of spirit, God came in with those comforts that did delight his soul, and cheer up his spirits, Ps. cxix, 49, 50. The word of the Lord is never more a word of comfort, nor the Spirit of the Lord is never more a Spirit of com-
^ Ps. ix. 7, 8 ; Isa. xliii. 11 ; Ps. v. 12, and xxii. 12 ; 2 Kings vi. 26, 27.
506 THE SIGNAL PRESENCE OF GOD
fort, than when the saints are in their deepest distresses and sorest per- plexities: John xiv. 16, 'And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another comforter, that he may abide with you for ever ;' ver. 26, ' But the comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Fa- ther will send in my name.' Hudson, the martyr, being at the stake, he went from under his chain, and having prayed earnestly, he was so comforted and refreshed by the Holy Spirit that he suffered valiantly and cheerfully. The Holy Ghost is called again and again the com- forter, because his office is to work consolation in the hearts of God's people in all their troubles and distresses. Spiritual comfort is there- fore called 'joy in the Holy Ghost,' because the Holy Ghost doth create it in the soul, Kom. xiv. 17. When a man suffers for right- eousness' sake, God comes- with his cordials in the very nick of time, 1 Pet, iv. 13. When a man's suffering is upon the account of Christ, God seldom fails to send the comforter for the refreshing and relieving of his spirit. When a man is under bodily confinement for the cause of Christ, God will never fail to be a spring of life, a well of salvation, and breast of consolation to him, Isa. xii. 3, and Ixvi. 11. When a Christian is brought to ' a piece of bread,' then is the season for God to feed him with heavenly manna. I have told you of Mr Glover, who found no comfort in the time of his imprisonment, but when he was going to the stake, he cried out to his friend, ' He is come, he is come,' meaning the comforter. Hab. iii. 17, 'Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines ; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat ; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls;' ver. 18, 'Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.' In these words you have these two parts: (1.) A sad supposition, 'Al- though the fig-tree shall not blossom,' &c. ; (2.) A noble and com- fortable resolution, ' Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.' Let me first hint a little at the sad supposition, . ' Although the fig-tree should not blossom,' &c.
[1.] First, Though there should be a famine in that land, that of all lands ivas the most plentiful and fruitful land, yet Habakkuk would ' rejoice in the Lord, and joy in the God of his salvation.' The land of Canaan, of all lands, was the fruitfuUest. It was as the garden of God. It was a land that ' flowed with milk and honey,' a land of vineyards, the best of all lands, as Moses describes it ; a land that brought forth to Isaac no less than a hundredfold. It was so rich a land that it was the granary of otlier neighbouring cities and countries. It had not only plenty for itself, but bounty for others. Yet now, when God shall turn a paradise into a wilderness, Habakkuk will rejoice in the Lord, and joy in the God of his salvation, Deut. viii. 7-9, and xxxii. 13, 14 ; Gen. xxvi. 12; 1 Kings v, 11 ; Acts xii. 20. But,
[2.] Secondly, When the anger and lorath of God shall cause a dearth in those fruits that naturally are most yielding and pleasant, yet then Habakkuk would rejoice in the Lord, and joy in the God of his salvation. The fig-tree, of all trees, is most fruitful, bringing forth of its own accord, with the least care and culture, fructifying in the most barren and stony places, bearing twice a year, soonest ripening, and rarely failing. So the vine, that is a fruitful plant, is made the
WITH HIS PEOPLE IN THEIR GREATEST TROUBLES. 507
emblem of plenty and fruitfulness. Now when there shall be a dearth upon these pleasant fruits, yet then Habakkuk will ' rejoice in the Lord, and joy in the God of his salvation.' But,
[3.] Thirdly, Another print of divine displeasure in the scarcity threatened is, that it is a national famine, a general famine, an over- spreading famine. Usually, if one part of the land suffers scarcity, other parts abound with plenty ; but when God calls for a famine, he turns a whole land into a desert, into a barren wilderness. ' Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth,' Ps. cvii. 33, 34 ; Nah. i. 4. These were the richest soil of all the country, yet these were parched up and fruitless by his displeasure, and yet for all this Habakkuk will ' rejoice in the Lord, and joy in the God of his salvation.' But,