[2.] To try our faith in more particular promises. The Lord hath promised to provide for the health and credit of his people ; so far he hath promised for their safety, and their daily bread' for their main- tenance, and any earthly blessing that is good for us. Now the Lord will see if we can trust him Avith our credit as well as for other things '. Ps. cxix. 42, ' So shall I have wherewith to answer him that re- proacheth me ; for I trust in thy word.' I say, the Lord hath in his covenant undertaken to preserve a Christian in all his interests and concernments, so far as shall be for his glory and our good, and so far we receive it. And a Christian, when he gives up himself to Cod, gives up everything he hath to Cod in a way of consecration to Cod's use. God is the guardian of my body and soul ; I give up my estate and life that he may watch over me night and day, and I give up my name and credit : Ps. xxxi. 20, ' Thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues ;' that the Lord may take a charge of our names as well as our persons and estates. Now, the Lord requires a trust in us according to the extent of the covenant, that is to say, a waiting, a confidence, that our lives are not in man's power, that he can turn the hearts of men, and give you favour in their eyes, when it is for his glory and your good : Ps. xxxvii. 5-7, ' Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him; commit thy way unto the Lord ; trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass.' There is the trust that is required. Oh ! many times we seem to lose our estimation amongst men, and to be buried under calumnies and reproaches ; but it will not be long. Your person and cause may be obscured, it may have a winter night of trouble ; but a morning of resurrection, both of persons and names, will come ; it will be brought forth as the noon-day. The Lord is able to do this ; the integrity of your hearts will be made known, and you will be absolved by God. Our Lord Jesus was a pattern to us of this. Christ, when foul crimes were laid to his charge by his slanderers — they had charged him with compliance with Satan, with blasphemy and sedition — what doth he do ? The apostle will tell you: 1 Peter ii. 23, 'He committed himself to him that judgeth righteously.' There is the faith of Christ ; and therefore God will try this faith, whether we can with confidence and willingness deliver our- selves to the will of our heavenly Father and righteous Judge ; Avhether we can resign up ourselves to him, to be disgraced or honoured as he shall think fit. When we commit and submit, perfectly resign up ourselves to the will of God, in confidence of his righteousness and faithfulness in Christ, then we behave ourselves as Christians.
[3.] God will try our faith in the eternal recompenses, whether we do so believe the glory of heaven, the glory which shall be revealed in us in the other world, that we can be contented to be humbled and
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418 SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. [SeR. XLIV.
prepared for it by the reproaches of the present world: Mat. v. 11, 12, 'Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake/ Why ? ' Kejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven/ Oh ! it is enough we shall have glory hereafter. Your time is now to be tried with dishonour, reproach, contempt, but hereafter to be honoured. And the heirs of promise are desciibed to be those who, ' by patient continuance in well-doing, seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life/ A Christian is not destitute of natural affections ; he prizeth honour, but he prizeth it at the lowest rate ; he looks for the glory, honour, and immortality that is in the other world, not in the fleshly vain respects of this world ; and therefore now we are tried whether it be enough to us that we shall have glory hereafter, and here we are willing to take what the world will afford us. Thus God will try our faith.
2. God will try our mortification and deadness to worldly credit. The heart is never sincere with God until it be so. Hypocrites are proud, self-conceited, they must be honoured among men. Now this is such an evil spirit, that Christ makes it incapable of faith ; for, John V. 44, ' How can ye believe, that seek for glory one of another ? ' when we must have glory one from another, else our hearts are ex- ceedingly troubled. Oh ! it shows we are not so dead, at least as we ought to" be, to credit in the world, to have the glory that comes from God only, his image implanted in us, the testimony of his love to our souls all clear between God and our souls ; and he is not upright whose peace and tranquillity of spirit doth depend upon man's speeches and judgment rather than God's, ' For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth,' 2 Cor. x. 18. Men can- not defend thee if God will condemn thee; they cannot condemn thee if God acquits thee. They that run a race regard not what the standers-by say, but the agonothetes, the great judge of the sports, he that was to give them the garland, what he w^ould determine and de- cide in the case. So it is in your running, w^orking, and striving ; no matter what the world saith ; their applause will not shelter you from God's judgment, nor will their condemnations or reproach expose you to God's wrath. Look to the Judge of all things ; and we should be content with that, ' He is approved whom the Lord approves ; ' 2 Cor. i. 12, ' For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our con- science.' What is the great matter of joy to him ? The good word of men ? No ; he hath studied to approve himself to God, therefore should not be troubled overmuch. Peace of conscience is better than the applause of the world ; certainly a man is not fit to have so divine a plant grow in his soul till he come to live in his privilege. He lives not to opinion, but lives to God's approbation.