earth have such a power on their sides as the saints have. Consult these scriptures, 2 Kings vi. 16; 2 Chron. xxxii. 6, 7; Isa. viii. 9, 10 ; Num. xiii. 28, 30-33, and xiv. 9. No Christian can look upon the strong and mighty enemies of Zion in a scripture glass, but must behold them as weak and impotent persons. Who could but smile to see weak children to attempt to besiege a wall of brass, or a wall of fire ? Zech. ii. 5 ; as great a folly and weakness it is for wicked men to make attempts upon the saints, who have been to this day, and will be to the end, a trembUng and a burdensome stone to all that gather together against them, Zech. xii. 2, 3. Sense looks upon the powers of the world as strong, mighty, and invincible ; but faith looks upon them as poor, weak, contemptible, gasping, dying men. Thus heroi- cal Luther looked upon them, Contemptus est a me Romanus et favor et furor, I care neither for Kome's favour nor fury ; I am neither fond of the one," nor afraid of the other. It is dangerous to look upon the powers of the world in the devil's multiplying glass ; it is best and safest to look upon them in a scripture glass, and then we shall never fear them, nor sinfully shift them. But,
(5.) Fifthly, If God be signally present with his people, in their greatest troubles, deepest distresses, and most deadly dangers, then know for your comfort, that none can he against you hut they must he against God himself Acts ix. 4-6 ; for God is with you in all your troubles, as a father is with his child, a husband with his wife, a general with his army, and as a confederate with his allies, who is with them offensively and defensively. Hence they are said to rage against God, Isa. xxxvii. 28, 29; and to blaspheme God, 2 Kings xix. 3, 6; and to fight against God, Acts v. 38, 39, and xxiii. 9; Prov. xxi. 30. To fight against God is labour in vain. Who ever fought against God and prospered ? Some think that this phrase of fighting against God is drawn from the fable of the giants, which were said to make war with the gods. The church of Christ always flourisheth most, and increaseth most, when the tyrants of the earth oppose it most, and persecute it most. Diocletian laid down the empire in great discontent, because he could not by any persecution suppress the true Christian religion. The more violent he was against the people of God, the more they increased and multiplied, and the more they were emboldened and encouraged ; and therefore in a rage he throws up all. But,
[1.] First, It is the presence oi an Almighty GtoA: Gen. xvii. 1, 'I am the Almighty God ; walk before me, and be thou perfect,' Gen. xlix. 25, and Num. xxiv. 4. Some derive the word Shaddai, here used from dai, that signifieth sufficiency. God is an all-sufiicient good, and a self-sufficient good ; he is an independent good, an abso- lute good, an original good, a universal good. Some derive the word Shaddai from Shad, that signifieth a breast, a dug, because God feedeth his children with sufficiency of all good things, as the loving mother doth the child with the milk of her breasts. God is the only satisfactory good, and proportionable good, and suitable good to our souls ; as the breast, the dug is the most suitable good to the child's stomach. And others derive the word Shaddai from Shaddad, which signifieth to spoil, conquer, or overcome, and so they say that God did here invert or overcome the order of nature, in causing the barren to
692 THE SIGNAL PRESENCE OF GOD
bear. But most authors do translate it omnipotent. God, then, is called Shaddai, that is omnipotent and all-sufficient, for his omnipo- tency includeth also all-sufficiency.
[2.] Secondly, You have the presence of a loving Godvf\\h you : Isa. xliii. 4, ' Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honour- able, and I have loved thee.' But that this may the better stick and work, you must remember, First, That God loves you with a first love, see Deut. vii. 7, 8 : 1 John iv. 19, ' We love him because he first loved us.' Our love is but a reflex of his. God first cast an eye of love upon us before we cast an eye of love on him, and therefore God is no way indebted to us for our love. Mary answers not Kabboni till Christ first said unto her Mary, John xx. IG. The pure nature of love is more seen in God's first love to us than in ours to him. By nature we were without God, and afar off from God ; we were strangers to God, and enemies to God, yea, haters of God ; and therefore if God had not loved us firstly, we had been done everlast- ingly, Eph. ii. 12, 19 ; Eom. v. 10, and i. 30. Secondly, As God loves you with a first love, so he loves you with a free love : Hosea xiv. 4, ' I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely.' 1 know they are backslidden, but I will heal their backslidings. I know they have broken their bones by their fall, but I will make those broken bones to rejoice. I know there is nothing at all in them that is ex- cellent or eminent, that is honourable or acceptable, that is laudable or lovely, yet ' I will love them freely,' Ex mero motu, of mine own, free, rich, absolute, sovereign, and independent grace. Thirdly, As he loves you with a free love, so he loves you with an everlasting love : Jer. xxxi. 3, ' I have loved thee with an everlasting love ; therefore, with loving-kindness have I drawn thee.' Heb., I love thee with the love of perpetuity, or mth the love of eternity. My love and my af- fections continue still the same to thee, and shall do for ever ; or, as others carry the words, I love thee with an ancient love, or with the love of antiquity ; I love thee still with the same affection that in for- mer ages I bare towards thee. Fourthly, As he loves you with an everlasting love, so he loves you with an unchangeable love : Mai. iii, 6, ' I am the Lord, I change not ; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.' Men change, and counsels change, and occurrences change, and friends change, and relations change, and kingdoms change, and commonwealths change, but God never changes, as Balaam confesses, who was the devil's hackney, and who had a mind to dance with the devil all day, and then sup with Christ at night, Num. xxiii. 10. God is neither false nor fickle ; he cannot, like men, say and unsay ; he cannot alter* his mind nor eat his words. ' The eternity of Israel cannot lie nor repent, for he is not a man that he should repent,' Ps. Ixxxix. 34 ; 1 Sam. xv. 29. Men are so mutable and changeable, that there is no hold to be taken of what they say ; but God is im- mutable in his nature, in his essence, in his counsels, in his attributes, in his decrees, in his promises, &c. He is, as the school-men say, Oonnind immutabilis. Altogether immutable. Fifthly, As he loves you with an unchangeable love, so he loves you with a special love, with a peculiar love, with a distinguishing love, with a superlative love, Ps. cxlvi. 7, 8. The Lord executes judgment for the oppressed;