Doct. 3. At such a time God must be dealt withal about it upon two grounds : —
1. Because God hath a great hand in the judgment. In the out- ward case, want of liberty, nothing falleth out without his providence; he seeth fit sometimes to exercise his people with unreasonable men, for ' all have not faith,' 2 Thes. iii. 2, that obstruct and hinder the course of the gospel ; some that be like Elymas the sorcerer, ' enemies to all goodness,' Acts xiii. 10. And this in ecclesia constituta, in the bosom of the church, where orthodox faith is professed, where magis- trates be Christians, and should be nursing fathers to the church. In Abraham's family, which Paul makes the pattern of our estate to the end of the world : Gal. iv, 29, ' But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the spirit, even so it is now.' These may prevail many times to the great discouragement of the faithful. God may suffer it to be so for the punishing and trying of his people : Acts xix. 9, ' But when divers were hardened and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus.' Then, as to the inward case, he may justly desert us in the time of trial, when we should give a testimony for him, and take the word of truth out of our mouths. All these speeches : ' Hide not thy commandments from me,'ver. 19; 'Incline not mine heart to covetous- ness,' ver. 26 ; and here, ' Take not thy word out of my mouth,' and many such like, relate to God's judicial sentence, in what he doth as a judge. Upon our evil deserving he withdraweth his grace, and then we are dehvered over to our own fears and baseness of spirit. Besides our own fault there is judicial tradition on God's part, which takes away the heart and courage of men : Job xii. 24, 'He takethaway the
VeR. 43.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 467
heart of the chief of the people, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness, where there is no way.' Now none can suspend God's sen- tence but God himself. If he shut who can open ? therefore he is to dealt with,
2. God only can give us a remedy by his grace and power ; there- fore our great business lieth with him, in regard of the power of his providence, by which he can remove rubs and oppositions : 2 Thes. iii. 1, ' Pray for us, that the word of God may have a free course,' 'iva, 0 Xoyo^ Tov 0€ov Tpexo — that it may run as chariot wheels on smooth ground, without rubs and oppositions. There are many times moun- tains in the way, potent oppositions and strongly combined interests, that hinder the liberty of the word ; but God can smoothe them into a plain : Zech. iv. 7, ' Who art thou, 0 great mountain ? before Zerub- babel thou shalt become a plain,' Opposition seemeth insuperable. That great mountain that obstructed the work of God was the court of Persia, instigated and set on by the Samaritan faction — a great moun- tain indeed ; but as great as it is, God can thresh it into dust, when it hindereth his interest. As to the inward case, it is God that giveth a spirit of courage and fortitude, and ' a mouth and wisdom which all the adversaries shall not be able to gainsay or resist,' Luke xxi. 15 ; he will give it us in that hour what we shall say. So God encourageth Moses Avhen he pleadeth his slowness of speech : ' Who hath made man's mouth, or who maketh the dumb or deaf, or the seeing or the blind ? Have not I the Lord ?' Exod. iv. 10, 11. Whatever inclination of heart there be in the creature, it is God must give a spirit and a presence, by the continual influence of his grace. He frees the heart from fears, and ordereth the tongue ; for the power of the tongue is no more in our hands than the affections of the heart : Pro v. xvi. 1, ' The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord,' rrappt^aia, is the gift of God, that we own him and his truth.
Use. Let, then, every person be dealing with God about this case, every single private person for himself; and for public persons the prayers of others are necessary ; it is a common case, wherein all are concerned : Col. iv, 3, ' Praying for us, that God would open to us a door of utterance to speak the mystery of Christ ;' Eph, vi. 19, ' Pray for me that utterance may be given me, tliat I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel.' They that are sensible of the weight of the ministerial charge and their own many infirmities, and how much it concerns us to own all the truths of God in their season, let us beg of God this boldness, and set others a- begging for us.