SERMON CXXVIII.
And let me not he ashamed of my hope. Hold thou me up, and I shall he safe; and I loill have respect unto tliy statutes continually. — Ver.' 116, 117.
In the former verse I observed David begs two things — confirmation in waiting, and the full and final accomplishment of his hopes.
Something remains upon the llGth verse, ' Let me not be ashamed of
Vers. 116, 117.] sermons upon fsalm cxix. 199
my hope.' Hope follows faith, and nourishetli it. Faith assures there is a promise ; hope looks out for the accomplishment of it. Now David, having fixed his hope upon the mercies of God, begs, ' Let me not he ashamed ;' that is, that hope may not be disappointed, for hope dis- appointed brings shame. Man is conscious of the folly and rashness in conceiving such a hope : Jol) vi. 20, ' They were confounded, because they had hoped ; they came thither, and were ashamed.' They looked for water from the brooks of Tenia, but when they were dried up they were confounded and ashamed. That breeds shame when we are frustrated in our expectations. There is a hope that will leave us ashamed, and there is another hope that will not lea^'e us ashamed ; for David goes to God, and desires him to accomplish his hope. There is a Christian ho])e that is founded upon the mercies and pro- mises of God, and encouraged by experience of God, that will never deceive us. I shall speak of that hope that will bring shame and confusion ; and that is twofold — worldly hope and carnal security.
1. Worldly hopes, such as are built upon worldly men and worldly things. Upon worldly men, they are mutable, and so may deceive us ; sometimes their minds may change, the favour of man is a deceitful thing. As Cardinal Wolsey said in his distress, If I had served God as diligently as I have done the king, he would not have given me over in my grey hairs ; but it is a just reward for my study to do him service, not regarding the service of God to do him pleasure : ' Let God be true, and every man a liar.' A man makes way for shame that humours the lusts of others and wrongs his conscience ; and first or last, they will find it is better to put confidence in God than the greatest potentates in the world, Ps. cxviii. 8 ; and therefore it should be our chief care to apply ourselves to God, and study his pleasure, rather than to please men, and conform ourselves to their uncertain minds and interests. To attend God daily, and be at his beck, is a stable happiness ; the other is a poor thing to build upon. Men's affections are mutable, and so is their condition too : Ps. Ixii. 9, ' Surely men of high degree are a lie, and men of low degree are vanity.' Whoever trusts in men, high or low, are sure to be deceived in their expectations. And therefore we should think of it before- hand, lest we be left in the dirt when we think they should bear us out: 1 Kings i. 21, 'When my Lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders. When the scene is shifted, and new actors come upon the stage, none so liable to be hated as those that promised to themselves a perpetual happiness by the favour of men. This is a hope that will leave us ashamed. And then worldly things, they that hope in these for their happiness will be ashamed. There are two remarkable seasons when this hope leaves us ashamed — in the time of distress of conscience, and in the day of death. In time of distress of conscience : Ps. xxxix. 11, ' When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth.' When sin finds us out, and conscience goes to work upon the sense of its own guilt, oh ! then what will all the plenty of worldly comforts do us good ! The crea- tures then have spent their allowance, and can help us no more. What good will an estate do ? And all the pomp and bravery of the world
200 SERMONS UPON PSALM cxix. [Ser. CXXVIIL
will be of no more use to ns than a rich shoe to a gouty foot : Prov. xviii. 14, ' A wounded spirit who can bear?' But now he that hath chosen God for his portion, in all distress and calamities can revive liis hopes. So also in the hour of death : Job xxvii. 8, ' What is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God shall take away his soul ?' When God puts the bond in suit, though man hath gained, where is his hope, when God delivers him over to the execu- tioner, to chains of darkness ?
2. Carnal security Avill leave us ashamed. Men living in their sins hope they shall do Avell enough, and expect mercy to bear all and pardon all ; though they be not so strict and nice as othei's, yet they shall do as well as they. This hope is compared to a spider's web, Job viii. 12, a poor .slight thing, that is gone with the blast of every temptation ; when the besom comes, both spider and web ai'e swept away. And it is said. Job xi. 20, ' The hope of the wicked is like the giving up of the ghost ;' and these in a moment take an everlasting fai'ewell of their hopes. So their hopes fail in the greatest extremity. This carnal and secure hope in God, presumption of his mercy, it is but a waking dream, as a dream fills men with vain delusions and phantasms. It is notably set out by the prophet, Isa. xxix. 8, ' They shall even be as when a hungry man dreameth, and behold he eateth ; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty.' There will an awakening time come, and then the dream of a hungry man torments him more. Carnal men are like dreamers, that lose all as soon as they awake ; though they dream of enjoying sceptres and crowns, yet they are in the midst of bonds and irons.' Vain illusions do they please themselves with, that make way for eternal sorrow and shame.