And every day in the church God is raising the dead spiritually. The dead hear the voice of Christ every day. When the ministry is in power, ■when there is a blessing upon it, conveying it to the heart, then he is rais- ing the dead. So ' wisdom is justified of her children,' Mat. xi. 19. The gospel is justified to be a powerful doctrine, ha\ing the Spirit of God cloth- ing it, to raise people from the dead, those that are dead in sin.
There are none that ever are spiritually raised, but those that see them- selves dead. And that is the reason why we are to abhor popery, because it teacheth us that we are not dead in ourselves, and then there can be no resurrection to gi-ace ; for the resurrection is of the dead. The more we see a contrariety in natm'e to grace, the more fit objects we are for the divine power of God to raise. ' He raiseth the dead.'
Thus we see how to go along with this. In all troubles God will raise the dead, therefore he will bring me out of this trouble, if he see it good. Therefore in extremity let us thus reason with ourselves. Now I know not which way to turn me ; ' there is but a step between me and death,' 1 Sam. XX. 3. If God have any purpose to use my ser^^ce further, he that raiseth the dead will raise me from the grave ; ' to him belong the issues of death,' Ps. Ixviii. 20. He can give an evasion and escape if he will ; if not, if he wiU not deliver me, then I die in this faith, that he will raise me from the dead.
This is that that upholds a Christian in extremity. This made the martyrs so confident. This made those three young men so resolute that were cast into the fieiy furnace. What was their comfort ? Surely this, God can deliver us if he will, say they. He is able to deliver us now ; but if he
* 'Alas!' The peciiliar use of this interjection by Sibbes has elsewhere been noted. It will be frequently met with thus used in the present volume. — G.
IGO COMMENTAEY ON
will not do this for us, he will raise our bodies. If he will not deliver them here, there will be a final deliverance at the resurrection.
So in Hob. xi. IG, those blessed men, ' they hoped for a better resurrec- tion,' and this made them confident.
This makes us confident to stand out against all the threatenings and all the crosses of the world, that we may hold our peace with God, notwith- standing all the enticements and allurements to the contrary, because we trust in God that raiseth the dead.
Again, let us learn to extract contrary principles to Satan out of God's proceedings. What doth he reason when we are dead, either in sin or in misery ? What hast thou to do with God ? God hath forsaken thee. No ! saith faith, God is a God raising the dead. The more dead I am in the eye of the world, and in my own sense, the nearer I am to God's help. I am a despairing' sinner, a great sinner ; but the more, God will magnify his mercy, that ' whei-e sin hath abounded, grace may abound much more,' Rom. V. 20. Retort home the argument, di'aw contrary principles to him. This is a divine art which faith hath.
Oh, but then you may presume, and do what you list.
Not so, retort the argument again upon him ; if I do so, God will bring me to death, he will bring me to despair ; and who is it that delights to have that course taken with him, to be brought so low ? So every way we may retort temptations from this dealing of God. If I be careless, he wiU bring me as low as hell. I shall have little joy to try conclusions with him.
And if thou be low, despair not, thou art the fitter object. God raiseth the dead, therefore I will not add to my sins legal. I will not add this evangelical sin, this destroying sin of despair and unbelief; but I will cast myself upon the mercy of God, and believe in him that raiseth the dead ; and desire him to speak to my dead soul, which is as rotten as Lazarus's body, which had been so long in the grave, that he would say to it, ' Come forth' of that cursed estate. It is but for him to speak the word, to bless his word, and then it will come out by faith. It is the art of faith to draw contrary arguments to Satan, and those that belong to God do so in aU temptations. But those that do not, they sink lower and lower, having nothing to^uphold their souls. They have not learned to tnist in God that raiseth the dead.
God is the God that raiseth the dead. Therefore let us oft think of this ; think what God means to do with us, that we may carry ourselves answerably, ' I trust in God that raiseth the dead.' Therefore let us honour God while we live, with that body that he will raise ; let us be fruitful in our place. St Paul draws this conclusion, 1 Cor. xv. 58, from the resurrec- tion, ' Finally, my brethren, be constant, unmoveable, alway abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.' Especially considering that he will raise the dead bodies after a more glorious manner than they are now, he will make a more glorious body. For alway God's second works are better than his fii'st. He raiseth the dead, and will make our bodies like the glorious body of Christ.