So let us trust him, as he will be trusted. For grace and spiritual things, all shall be for our good without fail ; but for the things of this life, either he will give them, or else graces.
Let us trust God, therefore, as he will be trusted in his word and promises.
Now this trusting of God (to speak a little to the present purpose, because St Paul was now in great affliction. When he learned to trust in God, he was in fear of death), let us see how we are to exercise this trust in great crosses, and in the hour of death. St Paul was in these two.
The point is very large, and I will take it only according to the present scope.
How doth a Christian exercise trust in extremity, in extreme crosses ? for then he must go to God ; he hath none else to go to.
1. He is beaten from the creature; and, as I said before, the soul will have somewhat to go to. The poor creatures, the silly conies, they have the rocks to go to, as Solomon saith, Prov. xxx. 26. The soul that hath greater understanding, it is necessitated to trust in God in afflictions. Then the soul must say to God, ' Lord, if thou help not, none can,' as Jehosha- phat said in 2 Chron. xx. 12, ' We know not what to do, but our eyes are to thee.' In great afflictions we exercise trust, because we are forced.
2. And because then we are put to this, ice put the promises in suit, the pi'omises made to us for extremity.
(1.) He hath promised to be with us ' in the fire, and in the water,' Isa. xliii. 2. There is a promise of GocVs presence, and the soul impi'oves that. Lord, thou hast promised to be present in great perils and dangers, as
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there are two of the greatest specified, fire and water. Thou hast promised thou wilt he present with us in the fire, and in the water. Now, Lord, make good thy promise, he thou present. And when God makes good this promise of presence, then the soul trium2:)hs, as in Ps. xxiii. 4, ' Though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I will not fear, because thou art with me, Lord.' Ho in Ps. xxvii. 1, he begins triumphantly, ' The Lord is my shield, whom sluill I fear ? of whom shall I be afraid V ' Let us exer- cise our trust this way in extremity. ' God is with us, and who can be against us'?' suith the apostle, Rom. viii. 31. Thus the Christian soul lives by trusting in God. In all extremity of crosses whatsoever, the soul is forced to God, and claims the promises of presence.
And not only the promise of his presence, but
(2.) The ])Yomiso of suppo)i and wwfnrt, and of mitir/atio7i. There is a promise in 1 Cor. x. 13, ' God is foithful, and will not sufier us to be tempted above our strength.' Here faith is exercised. Lord, I am in a great cross now, I am in affliction ; thou hast promised that thou wilt not suffer me to be tempted above that I am able to bear.
Now make good this promise of thine, be present, and be present by way of mitigation ; either pull down the cross, and make it less, or raise up my strength, and make that gi'eater. For thou hast promised that thou wilt not suffer us to be tempted above our strength.
3. And then the soul lives hj faith of the issue in great extremities. I am in great extremity, but I know all shall end well. Thus we trust in God in all extremity of afflictions whatsoever ; in the hour of death, when we receive the sentence of death, how do we then exercise trust in God ! In Ps. xvi. 9, ' My flesh shall rest in hope, because thou wilt not suffer thy Holy One to see corruption.' Because God did not sufler Christ to see corruption, who is our head, therefore my flesh likewise shall rest in hope, when I die. Our Head triumphed over death, and is in heaven, and I die in faith ; I trust in God that raised him from the dead, who was my Surety. I know my debts are paid ; my Surety is out of prison. Christ, who took upon him to discharge my debts, he is out of the prison of the gi'ave, he is in heaven, therefore my flesh shall rest in hope. [We could not thus speak] if it were not for this, that Christ were risen. When we have the sentence of death, we overlook the grave, we see ourselves in heaven, as David saith, ' I should utterly have failed, but that I looked to see the goodness of the Lord in the laud of the living,' Ps. xxvii. 13. Then faith looks beyond death, and beyond the grave. It looks up, and with Stephen it sees Christ at the ' right hand of God,' Acts vii. 56. We see Christ ready to receive our souls.
Then we trust in God that raiseth the dead ; nay, we see ourselves, as it were, raised already.