By this means also ive may try our profession. Do we come by iaiih and religion, with pleasure and ease '? Alas ! this is no sign of any power- ful strong work in us. It is easy to go to church to hear the word or read it, to receive the sacraments. Contrarily, if we find an inward change, that our hearts are so altered as we can overrule our members contrary to our lusts, and contrary to occasions, then ' stronger is he that ruleth in us than he that ruleth in the world,' 1 John iv. 4. It is easy to resist a temptation where none is. The mighty power of Christ is seen, when, being environed with temptations, we are enabled to resist. I pray, saith Christ, that thou should[st] keep them from evil in the world, and not that thou shouldst take them out of the world, John xvii. 15. If we be under crosses, if this Spirit and power of Christ be in us, it will enable us to bear all patiently, it will keep us from murmuring and fretting. It will also convince us of our natural estate, so as we shall see evident necessity of God's almighty power to change us. This made the apostle Paul and the jailor to look about them for help. ' Lord, what wouldst thou have me to do ?' And thus it will make us never to give God rest, nor Christ respite, till that power that shall raise up our bodies do raise up also our souls, and he shine in us by his Spirit that did bring light out of darkness, and fashion us as in his wisdom shall be most meet.
In the next place, the consideration of God's almighty power should teach us not to be dejected or cast doim at the reports of the aJfUetcd state
* That is, as good have no success if we are not to have complete success. — Ed.
152 EXPOSITION OF
of t/te, church abroad. It sliould bring us rather to God, to rely upon his goodness and power, for God is ever God almighty, and the same merciful God that over ho wfis ; and therefore, wo should pray for the church the more instantly, that God would give them beauty instead of ashes. We should urge him with his promise of building up and defending of his church, and destroying of antichrist ; and let us make the resurrec- tion of the body a ground to strengthen us in the belief thereof, as the return of the children of Israel from Babylon was sealed by the resurrection of the dry bones, Ezek. xxxvii. 1, scq. ; as also the apostle, from the resur- rection of the dead, gathereth that God by that power hath and will deliver him, 2 Cor. i. 9, 10.
Furthermore, ichen we are oj^prcsscd icith any extremity, thoiujh never so great, by contimial meditation of his j^yomises, we shoidd strengthen ourselves, and apply them, to our present estate and condition, knowing that he that raised us out of dust will not suffer us to be buried in misery, but will with the trial give us a gracious issue at the last, by raising up our bodies at the last day by his almighty power, which made also the patriarch Abraham to hope above hope. What though our helps be few ? It is no matter what the instrument is, so as Christ is the chief worker.
In the next place, This should encourage ns to stand out stedfast in a good cause for the truth. Do not think with ourselves, Alas ! I am but one, and a weak, silly man : what can I do against a multitude ? Let not such thoughts discourage thee. Think of Luther, a poor monk, who alone set himself against the whole world, and wrought that efiect that we have all cause at this day to honour the memor}^ of him. It is not thou, but God in thee, that is able to confound all thine enemies ; and therefore, with Moses, behold him that is invisible.
Yet further, This should be observed by a Christian, as a ground of his perseverance to the end ; for when we know we are Christians, what can bereave us of our blessings ? what can make our faith fail ? It is God's power that will keep us to salvation, and he that believeth shall have life, and shall not come into condemnation, John vi. 39, 40, 44, 47, and many other places ; and Christ, by his almighty power, sways all our life to our building up to salvation ; and therefore in contraries we should believe contraries, that death will work life, misery happiness, corruption incor- ruption, and this vileness glory ; for it is God's order to work by contraries, that his power might the more appear.
And at the hour of death, then behold him that is thus able and all-suffi- cient ; that shall presently glorify our soul, and at length will raise up our body also, and unite it to our soul, to partake with it in glory and happi- ness ; that will then quit us of all sin, corruption, death, change. All our enemies shall be trodden under our foot, and all this by his almighty power, whereby he is able to do far above that we are able to think ; and therefore let us, with a holy admiration thereof, say with the apostle, Eph. iii. 20, 21, * To him be glory for evermore. Amen.'