That this life of ours, whilst* we come to heaven, is subject to scorchings and many annoyances, and those both outwardly and inwardly, from ourselves and from others.
First, for outward annoyances, how many of them is our poor life subject unto ! and for inward terror and boiling heat of conscience, when God in anger discovers himself unto us, and sets our sins in order before us. Oh then, if we have not a shadow ; if God in mercy tkrough Jesus Christ be not a shadow to keep that boiling heat from us, what will become of the poor conscience ? especially if Satan adds his poisoned fiery darts, poison- ing, inflaming the conscience with temptations to despair, Ps. 1. 21, as if God had forsaken and were angry ; or when God seems angry, then he seems like a consuming fire. Oh, who can abide it, when all these fiery temptations are joined with God's anger ! Yet the dearest of God's saints are subject to these inward boiling heats of God's anger. ' My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me,' said the head of the church himself, Matt, xxvii. 46 ; and see how Job complams, ' Thou hast set me as a butt to shoot at,' Job xvi. 12. And, in regard of this spiritual desertion, David complains much throughout the Psalms. So this our life is subject to out- * That is, ' until.'' — Ed.
400 THE RETURNING BACKSLIDER. [SeRMON XIT.
ward and spiritual annoyances from God, from Satan, and from ourselves and the world ; every way annoyed with scorchings and heat, what need [of) a shadow, a protection, a defence else ? That supposeth this.
If this be so, then consider how fearful the condition of those people is, that are not under the shadow of the Almighty ; who have not God as a fir- tree to shadow and cover them ; that he is not a cloud by day to, and a pillar of fire by night ; that have not him for a hiding-place to spread the wings of his mercy over them. What is the state of such people ? surely howsoever God feed them, and fills their belly with good things in this world for a time ; yet their case will be fearful, when God lets loose con- science, and Satan's fiery darts against them. Judge then hereby what our state is by nature without God. The same sun which cherisheth and com- foi'teth, also tortures and scorcheth us : so God is a sun, a quickening sun to his children, Mai. iv. 2, yea, a vigorous sun, who hath heahng under his wings ; but to the wicked he is a scorching and consuming fire, Heb. xii. 29. ' It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God,' Heb. x. 31, who is so dreadful. He will not be a shadow to the wicked in an excellent man- ner. He indeed permits them to have many shadows in this M'orld, many sweet comforts, and keeps them also fi'om many dangers ; but they have not that worthy portion which Hannah had from her husband, 1 Sam. i. 5, love at the hour of death. And in time of temptation, when these comforts leave them, what shadow have they then ? none at all, but are as naked men in a stoi-m, subject to the fury of God's eternal wrath. The things which are most comfortable to God's people are most terrible to them, as it is said in one of those plagues poured out upon antichrist (for all the vials there spoken of tend to the punishing of iintichrist), there is a vial poured forth upon the sun, Eev. vi. ; which reflecting and lighting upon them, causeth them to blaspheme, they were so scorched with it. The sun, by probable interpreters, is said to be the word of God, which, when it is opened, is sweet and comfortable to God's people, but shining upon men that are naught, especially at the hour of death, in affliction and in dis- tress, it speaks no comfort to them, but causeth them to despair, rage and storm. Nay, profane men, when they are at the best, they rage and storm at the direction of the sun, because it discovers to them that which they would not have known.
Use 1. Now, what use should we make of this ? Will God be a shadow to his people to keep them fi-om all evil, as his promise was to Abraham in the covenant of grace : ' I will be thy buckler,' to keep ill from thee, and ' thy exceeding great reward,' Gen. xv. 1. And in the Psalms, God pro- miseth to be a sun for good, and a shield to keep off all ill, Ps. Ixxxiv. 11. Will God bestow good, and keep oft" ill from us ? Then labour to come willingly under the shadow of the Almighty, to sen^e him, and to make God in covenant our God, that he may be a ' shield and a hidiag-place ' unto us, and a shadow in all extremities whatsoever. Those that attend upon gi'eat persons, they do it upon this hope : Oh, if I belong to such a great person, he will shelter me, that every base person shall not wrong me ; I shall now have some prerogatives. Doth carnal policy teach poor creatiu"es who are subject to abuse it, to get some shelter of great, noble men to be privileged? and shall not spiritual wisdom teach us to get under the great God, imder the shadow of his wings ? None can come near to annoy us without his special will and leave, as in the story of Job. The devil durst not annoy him. Job i. 12, nor enter into the swine, Mat. viii 31, much less hurt God's children. Shall we not, therefore, get under the service of our God ? can