THE SWORD OF THE WICKED. 115
enough it is not in vain to serve God. God is not a ban-en wilderness, Jer. ii. 31, to those that serve him ; they are not ban-en gi'ound that are careful in his sei-vice. So jon see upon what gi-ound he was thus affected, because God and rehgion were touched in it.
Take away a godly man's religion, and his God whom he serves in religion, you take away his life ; touch him in that, you touch him in his best freehold. Therefore, when these malicious enemies say, Where is thy God ? they could not more touch David than so. Profane men of the world come and tell them of religion and such things. Alas ! they turn it off with scom, for they would have the world know that they are not veiy reli- gious ; they never speak of God and of religion but in scom, or by way of discourse. But a man that is religious to purpose, and makes it his trade, makes it that whereby he hopes to be saved, he takes to heart any thing that is spoken against religion, their words are as a sword in his hones, while they say unto him. Where is thy God ? It is better to be dis- tempered than not to be moved, when God and religion are touched. The Holy Ghost that appeared in the shape of a dove, Matt. iii. 16, appeared at another time in fiery tongues. Acts ii. 3, to shew that the meek spirit of God is zealous other whiles in his children. This was another reason he was thus affected.
And, thirdly, in this reproach of theirs, thus violent, ' "Wliere is now thy God ?' here was a damping of the spirits of all good men in those times, that should hear of this reproach. Words affect strangely ; they have a strange force with men, especially in weak fancies, that are not gi'ounded in their judgment and faith. The spies made a shrewd oration, and brought an ill report on the land : Oh ! it is a land that devours the inhabitants, Num. sdii. 32. It was a speech discomfortable, and it wrought so, that it made them all mm-mm* and be discouraged. It is not to be thought what mis- chief comes fi'om speech cunningly handled. This malicious speech, * Where is thy God ?' and what is become of all thy devotion at the taber- nacle, that thou didst frequent so, and di'ewest others, a great train with thee, what is become of aU now ? When weak men, that had the begin- nings of goodness in them, should see a man reproached for this, question- less it would damp the beginnings of goodness. 0 would not this go to the heart of David, to see insolent men to quench good things in good men with reproaches ! Well, we see what reason the holy man David had to be so sensible of this reproach, for they said unto him daily, ' ^^^lere is thy God ? '
Now, therefore, to make some use of it to ourselves, let us enter into our own souls, and examine with what spirits and feeling we hear God reproached, and religion reproached, and hindered, and disgraced any kind of way. If we be not sensible of this, and sensible to the quick, we may suspect we are not of David's spirit, that was a man after God's own heart, 1 Samuel xiii. 14 ; Acts xiii. 22. It was a cutting of his bones, when they came to disparage his rehgion, and profession, and to touch him in that. ShaU a man see men forsake religion, and go backward, and desert the cause of God, and see it oppressed, and not be affected with all this ? Certainly he hath a dead soul. That which hath no grief, when there is cause of gi'ief, certainly it is to be accounted but as dead flesh. That heart is but dead flesh that is not touched with the sense of religion.
And to come a little nearer to om' times, when we can hear of the estate of the church abroad, the poor chm-ch in the Palatinate, in Bohemia, {d) and those places, you see how like a canker, superstition is grown up amongst
116 THE SWORD OF THE WICKED.
them ; ■when we hear of these things and are not affected, and do not send up a sigh to God, it is a sign we have hollow and dead hearts. No ques- tion but if we were there among those malignant spirits that are there, their speeches are daily such, as these wicked men's were to David, What is become of youi- reformation ? What is become of your new religion ? Where is that now, I pray ? You that do upbraid us with idolatry, what is become of your religion ? No question but they have these sarcasms and bitter speeches daily ; and those that have the Spirit of God, they are grieved to the heart. If we have the Spirit of God and of Christ in our breasts, and anything of the spirit of David and of holy men, we will grieve at this.
The apostle St Paul, when Elymas labom-ed to stop, when one was to be converted, he breaks out, ' Thou child of the devil, and enemy of all good, why dost thou not cease to pervert the right ways of God ?' Acts xiii. 10. A man that is not fired in this case, hath nothing at all in him. When we see wicked men go about to peiwert reUgion, and overturn all, and we are not stirred at it, it is an ill sign.