under the rod.^ When the child is f reward under the rod, the father withdraws ; so here, Isa. Ivii. 17, ' I was wroth, I smote him ; I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart ;' Isa. xlvii. 6. Though I manifested my displeasure by giving them up to their enemies, and by laying them under the tokens of my anger, ' they persisted in their own cross, crooked, and rebellious courses, re- fusing to repent and turn to the Most High ; and therefore God changes his countenance* hides his face, and withdraws his presence from them : Deut. xxxii. 20, 'And he said, I will hide my face from them, for they are a very fro ward generation.' Heb., A generation of perversenesses. When the sick man is froward, friends withdraw and leave him alone : Ps. xviii. 26, ' With the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward/ God will meet with froward persons in their own way, and make them reap the fruits of their own doings. God will walk ,cross and contrary to the froward, opposing and crossing them in all they do. God has no ddight to grace froward persons with his presence. When men begin to be froward under a divine hand, God commonly hides his face, and turns his back upon them. Men sick of impatiency are no fit company for the God of all patience. Men that are peevish and pettish under the rod will always see a cloud upon the face of God ; and thus you see that there are ten things that you must carefully take heed of, as you would enjoy the gracious presence of God with you in your greatest troubles, deepest distresses, and most deadly dangers, Eom. XV. 5 ; Prov. xi. 20. But,
2. Secondly, As there are many things to be avoided, so there are several things to he put in practice, as you would enjoy the gracious presence of God with you, in your greatest troubles, deepest distresses, and most deadly dangers. Let me glance at a few : —
[1.] First, Be sure that you are brought under the bond of the cove- nant. This gracious signal presence of God with his people, under their greatest troubles, and deepest distresses, is peculiar to those that are in covenant with God.^ Noah was in covenant with God, and God was with him, providing an ark for him, and preserving of him from drowning in the midst of drowning. Lot was in covenant with God, and God was with him, and secures him in Zoar, when he rained hell out of heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah. Joseph was in cove- nant with God, and God was with Joseph in prison. Jeremiah was in covenant with God, and God kept him company in the dungeon. The three children, or rather champions, were in covenant with God, and God was signally present with them in the fiery furnace. Daniel was in covenant with God, and God was wonderfully with him in the lions' den. Job was in covenant with God, and God was with him in six troubles, and in seven, Job iii. 18, 19. David was in covenant with God, and God was with him in the valley of the shadow of death, Ps. Ixxxix. 33, 34, and xxiii. 4. Take not up in a name to live, nor in a form of godliness, nor in common convictions, nor in an outwai'd reformation ; take up in nothing below a covenant-relation, as you would enjoy the precious i^resence of the Lord with you in your greatest
^ See my 'Mute Christian under the Smarting Rod.' [Vol. i. p. 285, seq. — G.] « Ezek. XX. 37 ; Ps. xxv. U, and ]. 5 ; Jer. xxxii. 40, 41 ; Gen. vi. 8, 18, xix. 20-26 and xxxix. 20-22 ; Jer. i. 17-19, and xxxvii. 15, seq. ; Dan. iii. 23-25, and vi. 22, 23.
WITH HIS PEOPLE IN THEIR GREATEST TROUBLES. 579
troubles, and deepest distresses, Deut. xxvi. 17-19. If you choose him for your Grod, you shall then assuredly find him to be your God ; if he be the God of our love and fear, he will be the God of our comfort and safety ; if God be your God in covenant, then in distress the cities of refuge are open to you ; he will stick close to you, he will never leave you nor forsake you, Heb. xiii. 5-7 ; you have a Father to go to, a God to flee to, a God that will take care of you : ' Come my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee, hide thyself, as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be over- passed.' Here are chambers, with drawing-rooms provided, not open chambers, but with doors, and doors shut round about, intimating that guard of protection, which the people of God shall find from him, even in a common inundation. But,
[2.] Secondly, If you would enjoy the gracious presence of God with you, in your greatest troubles, deepest distresses, and most deadly dangers, then look to the practical part oflioliness, keep up the power of godliness in your hearts and lives : 2 Chron. xv. 2 ; John xiv. 21, ' He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me ; and he that loveth me, shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him :' ver. 23, ' If a man love me, he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.' He that frames his heart and life according to Christ's rule, shall be sure of Christ's presence. Ezekiel was a man that kept up the power of holiness and godliness in his heart and life.i And oh ! the glorious visions, and deep mysteries, and rare discoveries of God, and of his presence, and of the great things that should be brought about in the latter days, that was discovered to him ! Daniel kept up the power of holiness and godli- ness in his heart and life ; and oh, what secrets and mysteries did God reveal to him ! Many of those great and glorious things, which concerns the destruction of the four last monarchies, and the growth, increase, exaltation, flourishing, durable, invincible and unconquer- able estate of his own kingdom, was discovered to him. Paul was a person that kept up the power of holiness and godliness in his heart and life ; and oh, what a mighty presence of God had he with him, in all^ his doing, suffering, and witnessing work 1 And oh, what glorious revelations and discoveries of God had he, when he was caught up into the third heaven, into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, or wordless words, such as words were too weak to utter, such ' as was not possible for man to utter,' and that either because they transcended man s capacity in this life, or else because the apostle was forbid to utter them, they being revealed to him not for the public use of the church, but only for his particular encouragement, that he might be the better able to encounter with all hardships, difficulties, dangers, and deaths that did or might attend him in his ministerial work, 2 Cor. i. 7-10. Some of the ancients are of opinion that he saw God's essence, for, say they, other things in heaven might have been uttered, but the essence of God is so great and so glorious a thing that no man or angel can utter it. But here I must crave leave to enter my dissent from these learned men, for the scripture is express in this, ' that no