4. It is a reviving comfort, which quickeneth the soul. Many times we seem to be dead to all spiritual operations, our affections are damped and discouraged ; but the word of God puts life into the dead, and relieveth us in our greatest distresses. Sorrow worketh death, but joy is the life of the soul. Now when dead in all sense and feel- ing, ' the just shall live by faith,' Hab. ii. 4 ; and the hope wrought in us by the scriptures is ' a lively hope,' 1 Peter i. 3. Other things skin the wound, but our sore breaketh out again and runneth ; faith pene- trates into the inwards of a man, doth us good to the heart ; and the soul reviveth by waiting upon God, and gets life and strength.
Secondly, The provision which the word hath made for our com- fort ; it might be referred to four heads.
1. Its commands.
[1.] Provisionally, and by way of anticipation. The whole scripture is framed so that it still carrieth on its great end of making man subject to God and comfortable in himself Our first lesson in the school of Christ is self-denial : Mat. xvi. 24, ' If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.' Now this seemeth to be grievous, but provideth for comfort ; for self- denial plucketh up all trouble by the root ; the cross will not be very grievous to a self-denying spirit. Epictetus summed up all the wisdom that he could learn by the light of nature in these two words, uve-xpv Kol dirixov — bear and forbear ; to which answereth the apostle's ' temperance, patience,' 2 Peter i. 6. Certainly were we more morti- fied and weaned from the world, and could we deny ourselves in things
32 SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. [SeR. LYI.
grateful to sense, we should not lie open to the stroke of troubles so often as we do. The greatness of our aifections causeth the greatness of our afflictions. Did we possess earthly things with less love, we should lose them with less grief. Had we more entirely resigned our- selves to God, and did love carnal self less, we should less be troubled wdien we are lessened in the world. Thus provisionally, and by way of anticipation, doth the word of God provide against our sorrows. The wheels of a watch do protrude and thrust forward one another ; so one part of Christian doctrine doth help another : take any piece asunder, and then it is hard to be practised. Patience is hard if there be no thorough resignation to God, no temperance and command of our affections ; but Christianity is all of a piece ; one part well received and digested befriendeth another.
[2.] Directly, and by way of express charge, the scripture requireth us to moderate our sorrow, to cast all our care upon God, to look above temporal things, and hath expressly forbidden distracting cares, and doubts, and inordinate sorrows : 1 Peter v. 7, ' Cast all yom* care upon God, for he careth for you ;' and Phil. iv. 6, ' Be careful for nothing.* We have a religion that maketh it unlawful to be sad and miserable, and to grieve ourselves inordinately : care, fear, and anguish of mind are forbidden, and no sorrow allowed us but Avhat tendeth to our joy : Isa. XXXV. 4, ' ISay to them that are of fearful hearts. Be strong, fear not ;' Isa. xli. 10, ' Fear not, I am with thee ; be not dismayed, I am thy God.' To fear the rage, and power, and violence of enemies, is con- trary to the religion which we do profess : ' Fear not them which can kill the body,' Mat. x. 26, 28. Now surely the word, which is full fraught with precepts of this nature, must needs comfort and stay the heart.
2. The doctrines of the word do quicken and comfort us in our greatest distresses, all of them concerning justification and salvation by Christ ; they serve to deaden the heart to present things, and lift it up to better, and so to beget a kind of dedolency and insensibility of this world's crosses ; but especially four doctrines we have in the word of God that are very comforting.
[1.] The doctrine concerning particular providence, that nothing falleth out without God's appointment, and that he looketh after every individual person as if none else to care for. This is a mighty ground of comfort ; for nothing can befall me but what my Father wills, and he is mindful of me in the condition wherein I am, knoweth what things I stand in need of, and nothing is exempted from his care, ordering, and disposal. This is a ground both of patience and com- fort : Ps. xxxix. 9, ' I was dun.b, and opened not my mouth, because thou didst it.' So Hezekiah : Isa. xxxviii. 15, ' What shall I say ? He hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it.' It is time to cease, or say no more ; why r.hould we contend with the Lord ? Is it a sickness or grievous bodily pain ? What difference is there between a man that owneth it as a chance or natural accident, and one that seeth God's hand in it ? We storm if we look no further than second causes ; but one that looketh on it as an immediate stroke of God's providence hath nothing to reply by way of murmuring and expostulation. So in loss of good children ; how do we rave against