Use 5. And then here again, you haveaf/round of iinprer/riahle comfort in all temptations whatsoever ; a wondrous comfort, that God will take a course with his to bring them to heaven. What a blessed course is this, thatf the time to come we may take in trust of God, as well as the time past '? That now in the state of grace, rather than he will condemn us, he will take one course or other to bring us to heaven ? Eather than David shall live in his sin, he ■will send Nathan to him ; rather than Peter shall not repent, Christ will look back upon him ; rather than God's children shall go the broad way, God| will send the devij himself to annoy them, and to infest them, and to vex them. God will be sure to lose none of his. What a comfort is this ? and therefore never think that we can be in such a condition wherein there is true ground of despair. No ! W^e cannot. We are under hope in the most woeful condition in the world. We are under hope still ;§ for there is more mercy in God than can be sin and evil in us ; and he is infinitely wise to rule all to his own ends. What if things seem untoward ? They are in his hands ; he hath a powerful hand to manage the worst things|| to good. So gloriously wise and powerful is God, that he sways the worst things. * All things w^ork for the best for those that love God,' Rom. viii. 28, even the worst things in this world.
Obj. Oh ! but profane spirits will object and say, ' If this be so, we may be careless ; if our salvation be made sure, that we shall not be condemned with the world, that God will take care even to bring us to heaven.
Ans. Oh ! but the text takes away that objection of profane spirits that take liberty from this blessed truth of God. For though God do not damn his with the world, yet he sharply corrects them here.^ By a careful sober
* ' Take no offence ' in B, C— G.
t ' For,' and ' we may trust God,' in B, C. — G.
X ' He ' in B, C— G.
§ ' We are under hope still ' not in B, C. — G.
il ' All evil ' in B, C— G.
i ' That by,' &c., in B, C— G.
110 judgment's reason.
life they might obtain many blessings, and prevent many judgments, and make their pilgrimage more comfortable. Therefore it argues neither grace, nor wit to argue so, because God will save me, therefore I will take liberty. No ! Though God will save thee, yet he will take such a course that thou shalt endure such sharpness for thy sin, that it shall be more bitter than the sweetest of it was pleasant. There is no child of God that ever came to heaven, but God hath made their sinful courses more bitter to them than ever they have had benefit by them, though their souls have been safe. Put the case a man were sure not to be executed, yet to be branded, to be stigmatised, or to be disgraced in the country, would he for a paltry thing, not worth the speaking of, do wrong, because he should not be executed, and have friends to keep him from that ? Who would* do such a thing as that, to bring himself to shame for a thing of nothing ? So put the case thou shalt not be damned, thou art sure of that ; yet thou mayest fall into such a course as God may brand thee ; and thou mayest bring disgrace to reli- gion ; and mayest weaken the comfort of thine own soul ; and mayest make Satan rejoice <|i(and mayest grieve the angels about thee ; and mayest vex the Spirit in thee ; we may put a sting to the affliction we suffer, we may deprive ourselves of comfort in the midst of comforts for our boldness. Who, that hath the use of his wits, would do this for the pleasures of sin for a season ?
Oh ! therefore, when you go about to sin, consider what you go about. I go about to grieve God's Spirit, to provoke my heavenly Father ; I go about to force out of his hand some rod, some correction ; I go about to rejoice Satan ; to grieve the angels, that are about me for my custody ; to put a sting to my trouble, and to embitter it. This is the ill of ills, when a man is in affliction ; my own wickedness brought me to this. Let us wisely consider this : though God save our souls, yet he will take such a course in this world, as we shall wish that we had not tried conclusions with God. David gave liberty to his lusts, but he wished (no doubt a thousand times), that he had not bought his pleasure at so dear a rate. Therefore, this I add, to fence this truth from the offence that a carnal heart takes at it. But to come to the proper and native use of it. Con- sider, I beseech you, how this doctrine is a fence against the rock of despair, and against the rock of presumption.