1. That it is a sore temptation appeareth by the complaints of the saints and servants of God : Lam. iii. 8, ' When I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer ; ' as if God had locked up himself, that their
158 SERMON UPON MATTHEW XV. 21-28.
prayers should not come at him, or find access to him. So ver, 44, ' Thou coverest tliyself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through ; ' as if God had wrapped up himself in a thick cloud of dis- pleasure against our sins, that our prayers could find no entrance. So the spouse : Cant. v. 6, ' I sought him, but I could not find him ; I called him, but he gave me no answer.' That God should refuse and reject our prayers is a grievous trial to the faithful, who value com- munion with God. Nay, this delay may be so long till the cause seem hopeless : Ps. Ixix. 3, ' I am weary of my crying ; my throat is dried, mine eyes fail, while I wait for my God.' So Ps. xxii. 2, ' 0 my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not ; and in the night season, and am not silent.' And all this while God seenieth to forsake them, nor to regard the suit, as if he had no respect to their hard condition. To lose our labour in prayer is one of the saddest disappointments that we can meet with, when our loud and importunate cries bring no relief to us. But —
2. It should not weaken our faith ; for God's delay is for his own glory and our good.
[1.] For his own glory and the beauty of his providence. We read, John xi. 5, 6, ' Jesus loved Martha, and her sister and Lazarus ; and when he heard he was sick' (even to death), ' he abode still two daj's in the same place where he was.' There is little love in that, you will think, to a sick friend who was ready to die. Martha expostulateth with liim about it, ver. 21, 'Lord, if thou hadstbeen here, my brother had not died.' But Christ giveth the true account of it, ver. 40, ' Said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe thou shouldest see the glory of God.' It was more for the glory of God to raise a dead man than to cure a sick man. So when the disciples were in a storm, Christ made a show of passing by : Mark vi. 48, ' He cometh unto them, walking on the sea-side, and would have passed by them.' So Christ delayeth the woman as to appearance, and denieth her, that the glory and great- ness of her faith might be more seen. "Iva a-Te^avwur] ttjv ^waUa, saith Chrysostom, that he might crown the woman as a notable believer.
[2.] For our good, and to exercise our faith, patience, love, and desire.
(1.) Our faith, to wait and depend upon God for things we see not ; for faith is a dependence upon God for something that lieth out of sight. This woman was delayed, but had at last that which she de- sired ; but first her great faith was discovered.
(2.) Our patience in tarrying God's leisure. His dearest children are not admitted at the first knock. David saith in three verses, ' I cried, I cried, I cried,' Ps. cxix. 145-147. Our Lord Jesus prayed thrice before he got any comfort in his agony : Mat. xxvi. 44, ' And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time ; and then an angel appeared to him from heaven, and strengthened him,' Luke xxii. 43. Elijah prayed thrice for the dead child ere he got him to life : 1 Kings xvii. 21, 'And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said, 0 Lord my God, I pray thee let this child's soul return unto him again.' Paul prayed thrice : 2 Cor. xii. 8, ' For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.' The Lord useth the like dispensation to
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ns that are their followers : Heb. vi. 12, ' Be followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.' We are told, Lara, iii. 26, ' It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.' It is bonum honestum et utile. It is our duty, and it is our profit. Our times are always present with us. Hungry stomachs must have the meat ere it be sodden or roasted. We would have our mercies too soon, like the foolish husbandman who would reap his corn and get it into the barn before it be ripened.
(3.) Our love ; though we be not feasted with felt comforts and present delights, or bribed with a sensible dispensation, or indulged with a ready condescension to our requests. God will try the deport- ment of his children, whether we love hirn or his benefits most; whether sensible consolations, especially external, be more to us than a God in covenant : Isa. xxvL 8, ' Yea, in tbe way of thy judgments, 0 Lord, have we waited for thee.' A child of God will love him for his judgments and fear him for his mercies. God will try whether we can rejoice in himself in our greatest wants and destitutions : Hab. iii. 17, 18, 'Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines ; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat ; the flocks shall be cut ofi" from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls ; yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of ray salvation.' A resolute dependence on an unseen God is the power and glory of faith, and a resolute adherence to a withdrawn God is the vigour of love. Lime, the more water you sprinkle upon it, the more it burneth. ' Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it,' Cant. viii. 7.