5. The great benefit that resulteth thence ; present support and final deliverance.
[1.] Support : Isa. xl. 31, ' They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.'
[2.] Pinal deliverance : Ps. xxxvii. 3, ' Trust in the Lord, and do good, and thou shalt dwell in the land, verily, thou shalt be fed.' Trust is the ready way to have success. Order thy aftars by God's will and command, and thou mayest cheerfully wait for the event.
Doct. 3. That our hope and trust in God should be perpetual,
Israel is bidden to hope in God ' from henceforth and for ever,' Ps. cxxxi. 3. For —
First, It is not enough to hope in God for a while, but we must per- severe in hope as long as life shall endure ; not only to-day, or to- morrow, or for a time, or till our probabilities be spent. No ; we must believe in hope against hope, Kom. iv. 19 ; probabilities or no proba- bilities ,
Secondly, We must persevere to the end and in the end : Heb. vi. 11, ' Show the same diligence, to the full assurance of hope unto the end ; ' 1 Peter i. 13, ' Be sober, and hope to the end ; ' in life and in death. And Heb. iii. 6, ' Keep the confidence and rejoicing of hope firm unto the end.' We may repose our hearts on the fidelity of Christ ;
VeR. 3.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXXXI. 459
he will no ways fail and be unfaithful, but give eternal life, according to his promise.
Thirdly, In all estates and conditions. In prosperity and adversity : Ps. Ixii. 8, ' Trust in the Lord at all times.' It is a duty never out of season. In a time of fear, misery, and distress : Ps. Ivi. 3, ' At what time I am afraid, I will put my trust in thee.' Then is a special season to consider the attributes of God and the promises of God. On the contrary, m a time of prosperity our hearts are secretly corrupted unless we think of God : Ps. xxx. 6, ' I said in my prosperity, I shall never be moved.' He saw a want of his trust then. We are to depend upon God, and make use of him, in all conditions : Ps. xci. 9, ' Thou shalt make the Most High thy refuge, and my God thy habita- tion.' A refuge is a place of retreat and safety in a time of war, and a habitation is the place of our residence and abode in a time of peace ; 80 that, whatsoever our condition be, our dependence must be on God. If things be never so prosperous, he must be owned as the fountain of blessings, and all of them taken out of his hand ; acknowledging that we hold all by his mercy and bountiful providence, because of our forfeiture by sin, and the uncertainty of these outward comforts, and the necessity of his providential influence. Trust is as necessary in prosperity as adversity, lest the heart be enticed into a neglect of God by carnal confidence. Our hearts are very prone to it. Good Paul was in danger : 2 Cor. i. 9, ' But we had the sentence of death in our- selves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in him which raise th the dead.' But then in adversity, when kept bare and low, then is a time to show trust, how hard soever our condition be : Zeph. iii. 12, ' I will leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and a poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord.' When all things go well with us, we think trusting in God easy, because we make it but a notion, for we indeed trust in other tilings ; we eat our own bread, drink our own drink, wear our own apparel, only God carrieth the name of it. But now, when we are cut short, kept hard and low, then to quiet our minds in God is the trial of trust. The creature is blasted that we may look for all in God. David, when he was left alone, refuge failed him : ' No man cared for my soul ; I cried unto thee, 0 Lord, and said, Thou art my refuge, and my portion in the land of the living,' Ps. cxlii. 4, 5. When means fail, God never faileth. When riches take wings and worldly friends forsake us, then is a time for trust, whether the mercy expected be hastened or delayed. Some can trust for a while, if the mercy be not kept off too long ; but then their patience and faith is spent. David's actual possession of the kingdom was delayed, yet he waited. So when God delayeth help, still must we wait. How contrary did that king, 2 Kings vi. 33, ' This evil is from the Lord, why should I wait any longer? ' Must we always wait upon God ? in a passion. Yes; wait and wait still : ' The needy shall not always l^e forgotten, nor the expectation of the poor perish for ever,' Ps. ix. 18. Though God for a while permit his meek and obedient servants to be oppressed and triumphed over, and in the eye of the world to be forgotten, forsaken, and perish, yet if they constantly adhere to him, and contentedly wait his leisure, without relieving themselves by any unlawful means, he will at last return, and save