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no, nor stir out of doors to enjoy an ordinance, &c. ! How many in our days, upon neglecting and despising gospel ordinances, have grown from naught to be very naught, and from very naught to be stark naught. He shall be an Apollo to me that can shew me one man in the world that ever grew better or holier by neglecting or slighting gospel ordinances. Many come to the ordinances, too, like the Egyp- tian dog, which laps a little as he runs by the side of Nylus,^ but stays not to drink. How many in this great city run every Sabbath to hear this man and that ; and here they lap a little and there a little, but never stay to drink — never fix in this congregation or that, this way or that. These persons are neither wise, serious, lovely, nor lively in the ways of God. I think they are judicially blinded and hardened, that are indifferent whether they enjoy ordinances or not, or that can part with ordinances with dry eyes. Surely the child is either very sullen or very sick that cries not for the breast, Zeph. iii. 18. As ever you would enjoy the gracious presence of God with you in all your troubles and distresses, make conscience of sticking close to gospel ordinances. But,
[4.] Fourthly, If you would enjoy the gracious presence of God with you in your greatest troubles, deepest distresses, and most deadly dangers, then, ivhen you are not in troubles, distresses, dangers, dtc, he sure you make much conscience of Jive things, (1.) Of prizing his presence above all other things ; so Moses did, Exod. xxxiii. 13-17 ; so Augustine would willingly go through hell to Christ ; and Luther had rather be in hell with Christ than in heaven without Mm ; and Bernard had rather have Christ in a chimney corner than be in heaven without him. (2.) Of improving this gracious presence against sin, the world, the flesh, oppositions and temptations, &c. (3.) Of walking suitable to this gracious presence. (4.) Of lament- ing and mourning over those that want this gracious presence. (5.) Of holding any secret intelligence or correspondence with the protest and known enemies of Christ. Princes will never vouchsafe their favourable presence to such subjects as hold any secret intelligence with their profest and known enemies, either at home or abroad ; so here. But,
[5.] Fifthly, If you would enjoy the gracious presence of God with you in your greatest troubles, deepest distresses, and most deadly dangers, then, in all your troubles and distresses, &c., maintain up- rightness and integrity of spirit with God, Ps. v. 12: 2 Chron. xvi. 9, * For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards him.' Ps. Ixxxiv. 11, ' For the Lord God is a sun and shield : the Lord will give grace and glory ; no good thing will be withhold from them that walk uprightly.' This is the largest promise we find in the whole book of God. The creature stands in need of two things, provision and protection ; for the first, the Lord is a sun, as full of goodness as the sun is of light. He is a sun, in that he doth enlighten and enliven his church, whenas all the world besides lie under dark- ness and the shadow of death ; and in that he doth cheer, and warm, and comfort the hearts of his people by his presence and lightsome countenance, and is the fountain from whence all external, internal,
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and eternal blessings are derived to them. For the second, a shield, Ps. xviii. 2. Among all inanimate creatures the sun is the most excellent, and among all artificial creatures a shield is chiefest, and was of greatest use in those days. The sun notes all manner of ex- cellency and prosperity, and the shield notes all manner of protection whatsoever, Isa. Ixii. 20 ; Ps. iii. 4. Under the name of ' grace,' all spiritual good things are to be understood ; and under the name of ' glory,' all eternal good things are to be understood ; and under that phrase of ' No good thing will he withhold,' all temporal good things are to be understood, so far as they make for his glory, and his people's real good. Now this choice, this sweet, this full, this large promise, is made over only to the upright, and therefore, as you would have any share in it, maintain your uprightness : Ps. xi. 7, ' His coun- tenance doth behold the upright;' Heh., His faces. Every gracious discovery of God to the upright is his face. God will all manner of ways make gracious discoveries of his love and delight to upright ones. No father can so much delight to behold the countenance of his child, as God delights to behold the countenance of the upright : Ps. cxii. 4, ' Unto the upright there ariseth light in darkness.' Light commonly signifies joy, comfort, peace, help, deliverance, Job xxx. 26 ; Esther viii. 16 ; 2 Cor. vi. 10. The upright man shall have joy in tribulation, plenty in penury, liberty in bonds, life in death, as the martyrs have frequently and gloriously experienced. Sometimes God turns the upright man's adversity into prosperity, his sickness into health, his weakness into strength, his night into day, his storms into calms, his long winter nights into pleasant summer days. Sometimes God hides his upright ones in the hollow of his hand, in his pavilion, in his presence-chamber, Isa. xxvi. 9, 20 ; Mai. iii. 17. When his judg- ments are abroad in the earth he takes special care of his jewels, and many times, when the upright are in darkness and in great distress, God cheers their hearts with the consolations of his Spirit and the light of his countenance, Ps. xciv. 19, and Ixxi. 20, 21. By all which it is most evident that ' Unto the upright there ariseth light in dark- ness.' 0 sirs, do but maintain your uprightness in all your troubles and distresses, and then you will be sure of the gracious presence of God with you in all your troubles and distresses. God values an upright Job upon a dunghill before a deceitful Jehu upon his royal throne. Job i. 8, and ii. 3, 7-9 ; he sets a higher price upon an upright Lazarus in rags than upon a rich Dives in his purple robes, Luke xvi. And therefore when an upright man is in troubles and distresses, God will be sure to keep him company. The upright man's motto is semper idem; he is like the philosopher's die, cast him which way you will, and into what condition you will, he is still upright ; and therefore, of all persons, God loves to grace the upright man with his gracious presence. But,
[6.] Sixthly, If you would enjoy the gracious presence of God with you in all your troubles, deep distresses, and naost deadly dangers, then you must he very earnest and importunate with God not to leave you, hut to stay ivith you, to abide with you, and to diuell in the midst of you, Ps. cxlviii. 18, ' The Lord is nigh unto all that call upon him ;' but,^ to prevent mistakes, I mean, ' to all that call upon him in truth.'
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