[2.] ^Secondly, God, by severe providences and by fiery trials, designs a further exercise of his children s graces. Sleepy habits bring him no glory, nor do us no good. All the honour he has, and all the
1 Lib. dc Aiichorat. - 1 John iii. 9, 11 ; Hcb. viii ; 1 Pet. i. 5 ; John .\. 28-31.
^ As a njan may take infection, or get some inward bruise, or spring a vein, and yet not know of it.
ISA. XLII. 24, 25.] THE LATE FIERY DISPENSATION. 43
advantage we have in this world, is from the active part of grace. Consult the scriptures in the margin. l There is little difference — as to the comfort and sweet of grace — between grace out of exercise, and no grace at all. A man that has millions, but has no heart to use what he has, wherein is he better, as to the comfort and sweetness of his life, than a man that hath but a few mites in the world ? Eccles. vi. 1-4. ' How is it that you have no faith ? ' saitli Christ to his dis- ciples, when they were in a dreadful storm, and in danger of drown- ing, and so stood in most need of their faith, yet they had then their faith to seek. They had faith in the habit but not in the exercise, and therefore Christ looks upon their faith as no faith, Mark iv. 40. How is it that you have no faith ? what is the sheath without the knife ? the scabbard without the sword ? the musket without the match ? the cannon without the bullet ? the granado without powder ? no more are all your graces when not in exercise. The strongest creature, the lion, and the subtlest creature, the serpent, if they are dormant, are as easily surprised and destroyed as the weakest worm ; so the strongest saints, if grace be not in exercise, are as easily surprised and captivated by sin, Satan, and the world, as the weakest saints are. 0 sirs ! if Christians will not stir up the gi-ace of God that is in them, if they will not look to the daily exercise of grace, Grod, by some severe providence or other, by some fiery dispensation or other, will stir up their graces for them, Jonah i. 6, Ah sluggish, slumbering Chris- tians, who are careless as to the exercise of your graces, how sadly, how sorely do you provoke the Lord to let Satan loose to tempt you, and corruptions grow strong to weary you, and the world grow cross to vex you, and friends turn enemies to plague you, and the Spirit withdraw to discomfit you. Lam. i. 16, and fiery trials to break in to awaken you 1 And all this to bring you to live in a daily exercise of grace. God was fain to be a moth, a worm, a lion, yea, a young lion to Ephraim and Judah, before he could bring them up to an exer- cise of grace, Hosea v. 12-14 ; but when he was all this to them, then they fall roundly upon a lively exercise of grace. Hosea vi. 1-3, ' Come, let us return unto the Lord : for he hath torn, and he will heal us ; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us : in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. Then shall we know, if w^e follow on to know the Lord : his going forth is prepared as the morning ; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.' Here you see their faith, their repentance, their love^ their hope, all in exer- cise. When a soldiers courage, mettle, and gallantry, lies as it were hid, his captain will put him upon such hardships, hazards, and dangers, as shall rouse up his courage, mettle, and gallantry ; if a scholar has excellent acquired parts and abilities, and will not use them nor improve them, his master will put him upon such tasks as shall draw out all his parts and abilities to the height : so when the Lord has laid into the souls of his people a stock of grace, and they grow idle and careless, and will not improve that stock for his glory and their own good, he will then exercise them with such severe pro-
1 Job XV. 3 ; 2 Chron. xx. 12, 13 ; James i. 4, and v. 11 ; Hab. ii. 3, 4 ; Micah vii. 7-9 ; Rey. xiii. 10 compared with chap. xiv. 12.
44 London's lamentations on [Isa. XLII. 24, 25.