3. The third consideration is this, providence must not be viewed by halves, but in its whole frame and connection. Do but wait a little, and you shall see God will show himself a righteous God. When we view the dealings of God by pieces, we are apt to break out into those complaints : Ps. Ixxiii. 11, 12, ' Doth the Lord see ? how doth God know ? is there knowledge in the Most High ? Behold, these are the ungodly who prosper in the world, they increase in riches,' &c. Ay I but stay a while, and you will see, ' There is a God that judgeth in the earth,' Ps. Iviii. 11. I remember the poet Claudian, who had a little tincture of Christianity, though a heathen, as appears by his words, when he saw drones and unworthy men greater than the worthy^ and vex the pious, kdos diu florere nocentes vexarique pios, doubted num inesset rector, &c., whether there were any governor of the world, any judge that took notice of things here below, et incerto fiorent 7nortalia casu, and thought all things were delivered over to blind chance ; but, saith he at length, abstidit hunc tande?n Ruffini p)aina — ahsolvit Deos, tolluniur in altum, ut lapsu graviore ruant. The gods- were absolved, for they are lifted up on high, that their fall may be the greater. Men give another judgment of the work of God when it is brought to perfection than what they do when they see the begin- ning of it. Alas ! at first, when we see the beginnings of God, we are apt to say, There is no profit to serve the Lord. Ay ! but at length. Verily there is a reward for the righteous. And therefore let us not be rash and hasty, until God hath put his last hand to his work. They are impatient spectators that will not tarry till the last scene of the tragedy, till the Lord brings forth his last work. Our hastiness and impatience will betray us into many foul thoughts of God and his providence.
4. That the solemn triumph of God's justice will be at the last day.
VeK. 137.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 447
If God should punish no sin liere, no man would believe a God ; if he should punish all here, no man would be afraid of a future judgment. Now is the day of his patience, and all taste the effects of his common goodness : Acts xvii. 31 , ' He hath appointed a day wherein he will judge the world ;' that is the great day of assizes for all the world, when the great judge shall appear in his royalty. Now God only keeps a petty sessions ; now and then he seizeth upon the hairy scalp of a sinner ; but the general assizes is then. In the day of trial it is not fit we should live by sense, but by faith ; but hereafter in the day of recompenses all shall be open and clear : Eom. ii. 5, ' Thou trea- surest up wrath against the day of wrath, and the revelation of the righteous judgment of Christ.' There is a day that will reveal the justice and righteousness of God, a black day to the wicked it will be, and to God's people a day of redemption. Now his justice is mani- fested on a few here, then on all. Now God's children have their sentence of absolution from sin in private, in foro conscientice, their justification and assurance of eternal life ; and wicked men have their woful doom in the stings and horrors of their own conscience, they are self-condemned, Titus iii. 11 ; but then sentence will pass publicly. The equity of God's dealings is not now so fully seen, but then the causes will be opened ; when the secrets of all hearts shall be mani- fested, then we shall see how justly God accepted one to salvation, and rejected another to damnation. God's justice is seen by the present government of the world, but not so clearly. Here justice is mixed with mercy to the godly in their afflictions, and mercy is mixed with justice to the wicked in their temporal blessings ; but when the Lord shall stir up all his wrath, then we shall see clearly God is a just God, and will keep punctually to the law he hath made for the government of the world.
SEEMON CLIV.
Righteous art iliou, 0 Lord, and upright are tMj judgments. — Ver. 137.
For the other part of the objection, that those which desire to be most faithful with God are calamitous and afflicted, as Lazarus lay in poverty and rags while the rich man surfeited in all manner of luxury, I answer —
1. God having an absolute right and dominion over us and our comforts, may give and take them away according to his own plea- sure : Job i. 21 , ' The Lord hath given, and the Lord hath taken ;' abstulit, sed et dedit ; they are his own he gave at first. If he hath, lent us anything for his service and our comfort, he may command it again when he pleaseth, and none can commence a suit against his providence. Whatever straits and poverty we are reduced to, we were poorer than ever we can be made by providence. We came into the world naked. If God should strip us of many comforts, we are not so poor as when we were born.