tions that the house of Israel committeth here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary?' Isa. i. 2-4, 16, 18 ; Ezek. xviii, 31, and xxxiii. 11 ; Jer. iii. 13, 14. Of all sins, the sin of idolatry drives God farthest off from his sanctuary. When God goes off from a people, he goes not off rashly, he goes not off suddenly, but he goes off gradually ; he removes not at once, but by degrees ; now a step, and then a step, as Lot did when he lingered in Sodom, Gen. xix. 16. Lot was not more loath to depart out of Sodom than God is loath to leave his people.^ He goes first to the threshold: Ezek. ix. 3, ' And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub where- upon he was to the threshold of the house.' Then over the threshold : X. 4, ' Then the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house.' Here is a second step. This is the second time of resting before God departs. The Lord had his ordi- nary dwelling-place in the holy of holies. Now God's first remove was from the most holy place ; his second remove was from the holy place; his third remove was higher towards heaven: ver. 19, 'And the cherubims lift up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight, then to the door of tlie east gate,' or foremost gate, ' of the Lord's house,' to note God's total remove from his house. Then to the midst of the city ; Ezek. xi. 23, ' And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and then he stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city.' This is God's last stop in his departure, by which is signified that he was wilhng to make one trial more, to see if the people would, in this present danger, call him back by invitation and lively repentance. God is greatly troubled when it comes to parting : Hosea xi. 8, ' How shall I give thee up, Ephraim ? how shall I deliver thee, Israel ? how shall I make thee as Admah ? how shall I set thee as Zeboim ? Mine heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together.' This is spoken per anthropopa- theian and not properly, because diverse thoughts and repentance are not incident to God, ' who is without all variableness, or shadow of change,' James i. 17. The Lord seemeth here to be at a stand, or at strife with himself, about the destruction of this people. Howbeit God, in the bowels of his mercy, yearning, and taking pity of his elect amongst them, spareth to lay upon them the extremity of his wrath, and is ready to save them for his mercy's sake. Observe how fatherlike he melts and mourns over them, and how mercy inter- poseth her four several ' hows ! ' Here are four such pathetical inter- rogations as the like are not to be found in the whole book of God, and not to be answered by any but God himself, as indeed he doth to each particular in the following words : ' My heart is turned within me;' that is the first answer. The second is, 'My repentings are kindled together.' The third is, ' I will not execute the fierceness of my wrath.' The fourth is, ' I will not destroy Ephraim.' And why ? First, ' I am God, and not man ;' secondly, ' The Holy One in the midst of thee.' God is mighty unwilling to break up house, and to leave his people desolate. Now is God so unwilling to withdraw his presence ; and shall not we do all w^hat we can to retain him in the midst of us ? When dear friends are unwilling to leave us, we are
^ 1 Sam. iv. 4 ; Ps. viii. 20; Isa. xxxvii. 16.
568 THE SIGNAL PRESENCE OF GOD
tlie more earnest in pressing them to stay and abide witli us. God is marvellously unwilling to go, and therefore let us, with the church, cry out, ' Leave us not,' Jer. xiv. 9. But,
[8.] Eighthly, To move you so to order, demean, and carry your- selves, as that you may enjoy the gracious presence of God with you in your greatest troubles and deepest distresses, consider that troubles will he no troubles, distresses ivill be no distresses, dangers will be no dangers, if you can but secure the presence of God with you. Moun- tains will be molehills, stabs at the heart will be but as scratches upon the hand, if the divine presence be with you. God's signal presence will turn storms into calms, winter nights into summer days, prisons into palaces, banishments into enlargements. The favourable presence of God will turn sickness into health, weakness into strength, poverty into plenty, and death into life. It can never be night so long as the sun shines. No aMctions, no trials, can make it night with a Christian, so long as he enjoys the presence of God with his spirit, 2 Tim. iv. 22. That courtier need not complain that this man slights him, and that the other neglects him, who enjoys the delightful presence of his prince. When Samson had the presence of God with him, he made nothing of carrying the gates of the city, with the posts and bars, to the top of a hill. Judges xvi. 3. So whilst a Christian enjoys the singular presence of God with him, he will make nothing of this affliction and that, of this trouble and that, of this loss and that. This presence makes heavy afflictions light, and long afflictions short, and bitter afflictions sweet, 2 Cor. iv. 16, 17. It was this presence that made the martyrs set light by all the great and grievous things that they suffered for Christ's sake and the gospel's sake, Heb. xi. 33-39. God's gracious presence makes every condition to be a little heaven to the believing soul. A man in misery, without this gracious presence of God, is in a very hell on this side hell. There is nothing, there can be nothing, but heaven, where God is signally present. But,
[9.] Ninthly, To move you so to order, demean, and carry yourselves, as that you may enjoy the gracious presence of God with you in your greatest troubles and deepest distresses, consider that the ivorst of men cannot fasten a curse upon you whilst you keep the presence of God loith you : Num. xxiii. 21, ' The Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them.' There could be no enchantment against them, for the Lord their God was with them,- and the shout of a king was among them, that is, God reigneth as a king among them. Hereby also is meant the faith, joy, boldness, courage, and confidence of God's people in their king. As when a king comes amongst the armies of his people, he is received with joyful shoutings and acclamations, and when he goes forth to battle with them, he goes accompanied with the sound of trumpets and shouts of the people, signs of their joy and courage ; so it fared with the Israelites, because of that signal presence of God that was amongst them, which was evident by his protecting and defending of them : 1 Sam. iv. 5, ' And when the ark of the cove- nant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again.' Here is a valorous shout of a puissant people, encouraging each other to the battle, and a victorious shout as having obtained the victory in the battle. So 2 Chron. xiii.