VeR. 49.] SERMOXS UPON PSALM CXIX. 23
quietly to vra'it God's leisure is a great trial of our patience. Our times are always present "wiili us, when God's time is not come. A hungry stomach would have meat ere it be sodden or roasted, and a sickish appetite must have green fruit ; but to wait, like the husband- man, in all seasons and weathers, till the corn ripen ; and to persevere in hoping and praying, that is that which God requires.
[3.] Our love, though we be not feasted with felt comforts, nor bribed with present satisfaetion and benefits in hand. God will try the deportment of his children, whether they will adhere to him when he seemeth to cast them off. It is not said, ' In the way of thy mer- cies,' but, 'In the way of thy judgments, 0 Lord, have we waited for thee ; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee,' Isa. xxvi. 8. Love for himself, without any present benefit from him, yea, when kept under sore judgments and deep distresses.
[4.] To enlarge our desires, that we may have the greater sense of our necessities, and value for the blessings promised. A sack that is stretched out holdeth the more. Delay increaseth importunity : ' Ask, and ye shall have ; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto you,' Mat. vii. 7 ; Luke xi, 8, ' Though he will not rise and give him because he is his friend, yet Bta rrjv avalSeiav, because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.' And things promised being asked, and at length obtained, are the more valued.
3. That if we yet continue our faith, and heartily believe God upon his word, it is a great encouragement in waiting for the thing pro- mised ; for to believe is a qualification. There are in the word of God promises that we may believe, and then jjromises because we do believe ; promises to invite faith and hope, and then promises be- cause we believe in God and hope in his word ; promises for faith, and fo faith. As for instance, God hath promised to be a defence unto his people : Zech. ii. 5, ' I the Lord will be unto her a wall of fire round about her, and will be the glory in the midst of her.' Now see how David pleadeth : Ps. Ivii. 1, ' Be merciful unto me, 0 God, be merciful unto me ; for my soul trusteth in thee ; yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.' When once we believe, then we have a claim : Isa. xxvi. 3, ' Thou keepest him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee.' Trust giveth us a fresh claim or new interest : Ps. Ixxxvi. 2, ' 0 thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee.' God will not disappoint a trusting soul. An ingenuous man will not fail his friend if he rely on him. We count this the strongest bond ■we lay upon another, to be faithful rfhd mindful of us : I trust you, that you will do this for me. How much more will God do so, —
[1.] For his own honom-, to show himself faithful, willing, and able to succour his people in their distresses. This is the reproach cast upon the worshippers of idols, that they call upon those things Avhich cannot help them nor relieve them in their straits: Judges x. 14, ' Go to the gods whom ye have chosen ; let them deliver you in the day of tribulation.' When you trust God, the honour of his Godhead lieth at stake. By trust you own him for a God : Jonah i. 5, ' Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man upon his god.' By making
24 SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. [SeR. LV.
good your trust he showetli liimself to be a God, that they do not seek to a vain help.
[2.j V/ith a condescension to his people. Nothino^ goetli so near their hearts as a disajipointment of their hope in God. This will mightily damp their spirits, when God spits in their faces, and seemeth to reject their prayers: Ps. xxv. 2, ' 0 my God, I trust in thee, let me not he ashamed ; yea, let none of them that wait on thee be ashamed ; but let them be ashamed which transgress without a cause.' To have hopes fail which were invited and drawn forth by promises is a great temptation.
[3.] With respect to their enemies, who will be sure to cast this in their teeth, if the God in whom they trusted should not send help from his holy place. You will find God's servants often mocked for their trust : Ps. xxii. 8, ' He trusted in the Lord ; let him now deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.' Christ himself was not free from the lash of profane tongues, he was mocked for his dependence on his Father : Mat. xxvii. 43, ' He trusted in God ; let him deliver him now, if he will have him.' The world counts faith but a fancy. Now if God should deny the things promised to his people, it would seem to coun- tenance the slanders of their enemies. Wherefore do the children of God expose themselves to difficulties, and all manner of hard usages, but because of their hope in God ? 1 Tim. iv. 10, ' Therefore we suffer reproach, because we trust in the hving God ;' for that reason, because they look for great things from God ; therefore God hath a great respect for them that trust in him.