VeR. 81.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 351
stay God's time, for here is fainting and hoping, or, as the apostle saith, hastening to and yet waiting for the coming of the Lord, 2 Peter iii. 12. One is the effect of desire, the other of hope ; desire hasten- ing, and hope waiting.
These things being cleared, let us first apply the words to temporal deliverance. Observe —
Doct. 1. The afflictions of God's people may be long and grievous before any comfort and deliverance cometh. For the affliction con- tinued so long upon David that his soul even fainted.
There are three agents in the afflictions of the saints — (1.) God; (2.) Satan ; (3.) Wicked men.
1. God hath many wise reasons why he doth not give audience, or a gracious answer at the first call.
[1.] Because he will try our faith, to see if we can depend upon him when it cometh to an extremity. Thus by silence and rebukes Christ tried the woman of Canaan, that her faith might appear the more gloriously : Mat. xv. 28, ' Then Jesus answered, and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith.' And by extremities he still trieth his children : our graces are never exercised to the life, till we are near the point of death ; that is faith which can then depend upon God : Job xiii. 15, ' Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him ;' and Ps. xxiii. 4, ' Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil : for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.' Many of his children are reduced to great straits ; there may be no meal in the barrel nor oil in the cruse before God helpeth them. There may be many mouths to eat little food : John vi. 5, 6, when there was a great deal of company, and little provision, Christ asketh one of his disciples, ' Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat ? and this he said to prove him, for he himself knew what he would do.' So many a poor believer is put to it. Children in- crease, trading groweth dead, supplies fail, what shall they do ? They pray, and God giveth no answer. This he doth to prove them. It is a strong faith which can hold out in such straits and difficulties.
[2.] To awaken our importunity: Luke xviii. 1, 'And he spake a parable to them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint:' compared with Luke xi. 8, with the parable ensuing. So again an instance in the woman of Canaan, she turneth discouragements into arguments. When Christ said, ' It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs,' she said, 'Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table,' Mat. xv. 26, 27. So the blind men, Mat. xx. 31, the more they were rebuked, cried the more. Eather than his people shall neglect prayer, or grow formal in it, God will cast them into great afflictions ; as Christ suflereth the storm to continue till the ship was almost overwhelmed, that his dis- ciples might awaken him, Mat. viii. 25.
[3.] To make us sensible of our weakness ; as Paul, 2 Cor. i. 9, ' But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God, which raiseth the dead. We are much given to self-confidence, therefore God will break it, and ere he hath done with us, make us trust in him alone. There is a twofold strength — natural and spiiitual.
352 SERMONS UPON PSALM cxix. [Ser. LXXXIX,
(1.) Natural ; Avliicli ariseth from that courage that is in man as lie is a reasonable creature. This will hold out till all probabilities be spent : Prov. xviii. 14, ' The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity, but a wounded s|)irit who can bear ? ' Till a man be struck at the heart, his reason will support him.
(2.) Spiritual ; faith, hope, patience. These may be spent when the affliction is deep and pressing, and God's help is long delayed. Faith is the strength of the soul ; as faith decayeth or is tired, the soul faints. Faith may be damped, and give up our case for gone, Ps. cxvi, 11 ; Ps. xxxi. 22, they throw up all, and think it is in vain to wait any longer. Thus will God discover our weakness to ourselves ; the weakness of our reason, the weakness of our faith, I remember Solomon saith, Prov. xxiv, 10, ' If thou faintest in adversity, thy strength is small.' Grievous or long afflictions discover our strength or weakness. Some are of a poor spirit, give up at first assault, before theu' strength faileth them ; before the probabilities which sense and reason ofFereth are spent. They are lazy, and love their ease. Some are negligent, do no make use of the helps of faith ; but when evils continue long and sit close, the strongest faith is seen to be too weak ; God by this will humble us.
[4.] God doth this for his own glory, and that his work may be the more remarkable and conspicuous : John xi. 6, 7, ' Jesus loved Lazarus, and when he heard that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.' Little love in that, you will say ; a man would hasten to his dying friend. Christ may dearly love his own, and yet delay to help them even in their extremity, till the fit time come wherein the mercy may be the more conspicuous. It is said, Eccles. iii. 11, ' God hath made everything beautiful in his time.' Before its time, God's work seemeth harsh and rough ; as a statue when it is first hewn out, but in its time it is a curious piece of work- manship. God in his own time and way knoweth best how to comfort his people.