I beseech you let us look to it in time, that it may not be tinily said to us, by way of upbraiding. Where is now thy God / God may be strange to us indeed ; let us so carry ourselves as that God may own us in the worst times. If they had said this truly, how giievous had it been to David ! but it was more malice than truth. For David foimd experience of God. He might rather have upbraided them. Where is your God ? and there is no wicked man, but a man may in his gi'eatest extremity upbraid him, and that in truth, "Where is yom* God? your riches, honour, and estate? where is all this that you supported yourself with, and bore yom'self so big on, that you despised all others ? what has become of all now ? A man can- not stand in a thing that stands not itself. A man cannot build on that that hath no good foundation. Now aU men that are not truly religious, they have some idol or other that will deceive them. Therefore a man may tnily say to them, that which they falsely and mahciously say to God's people. Where is your God ?
So much for theu' disposition and carriage. Now how stands David affected with this ? that is the second part.
.:1s uith a sword in my bones. It was as a sword to his bones. Now that that toucheth the bones is the most exquisite gi-ief. That that we call the grief of the teeth, you see what an exquisite gi-ief it is in that little member. "When the bones are cut or touched, it is a most exquisite
VOL. I. H
114 THE SWORD OF THE WICKED.
grief. As tilth a sivorcl in my bones, my enemies reiJroach me. What was ttie matter that this reproach, Where is thy God ? touched hun bo to the quick ? What was the cause ? The causes were diverse.
First of all concerning God : for when they said to him, ' Wliere is thy God?'
First, It tended to the reproach of God, as if God were so fickle a friend as to desert his best friends in the time of misery. This touched upon God by way of disparagement, therefore it must needs touch David, who was God's friend.
Then, again, it touched God in another thing, in his manner of provi- dence, as if he had been a God of the hills and not of the valleys ; as if he had been a God for one time and not for another. Where is now thy God ? What is become of him ?
Again, in the third place, it touched upon him in this, as if he had favoured them, being cursed, formal hypocrites, more than David ; as if he had favoured their formal, h}-pocritical, base, dead courses, that were most abominable to God. For these persecutors were Saul's courtiers, and other enemies. Wicked men, they thought to justify their own ways by this re- proach, You see we are as good as you. God respects us ; we fall not into such miseries ; we have recourse to Saul, though he have cast out you and others, &c. So it tended to God's reproach in that, as if God had justified then' com-se, as if they had been dearer to him that were most abominable.
And this is to make an idol of God, to make God justify those courses that he most abhors, as it is in Ps. 1., ' Thou thoughtest I was like unto thee.' Because God lets a wicked man alone, thou thoughtest that I was a companion for thee, and would take thee by the hand ; whereas God wiU not do so.
In these three respects, especially, God was wronged when they said, * Where is thy God ?' as if he had not been a true and faithful fiiend to his children ; and, besides, as if he had not a providence over his children in the worst condition ; as if he had allowed and liked of the base carriage, and condition, and profession of these wretched men as well as of David's. ' Where is 7iotv thy God?' You see God respects us as well as you. But there was no such matter ; he respected David more than a thousand of them.
Again, this touched upon rehgion itself, this reproach, * Where is now thy God ?' where is your goodly profession ? as if it were in vain to serve God, a horrible reproach to religion. It is not in vain altogether to serve the devil ; he bestows somewhat upon his servants. This was a base thought, to think that God would do no good to them that serve him. That is the fountain of all good, that doeth good to his enemies, that suflers his sun to shine upon his enemies. Mat. v. 45. For him to desert his friends, for a man to be truly religious and get nothing by it, this tended to the reproach of religion ; and through David's sides they strike at God and religion, as if it were in vain to serve God, as they said in Malachi's time, Mai. iii. 14. And, indeed, this is in the hearts of men now-a-days. If they see a man that makes care and conscience of his ways, under a cloud, or that he doth not so prosper in the world as others do, they begin to have weak conceits of the profession of religion, as if that were the cause, as if there was nothing gotten by serving of God. But we may be loose professors, and go in a libertine course, and please God as well as others. This is a great grief to God's children. They know well