Use. The use of it may be, to comfort us against evil times, against the time to come. ' Let us cast our care upon God ; he will care for us,' 1 Pet. V. 7. He will be with us and stand by us ; he will never forsake us in the worst times. Nay, his fashion is to deal with his children as becometh his infinite wisdom, that they shall find most comfort and sweetest communion with him in the hardest times. Therefore let us fear nothing that shall befall us with slavish fear, let us fear nothing whatsoever in this world, as long as we are in covenant w-ith God, come what will. It is a great honour to God to trust him with all for the time to come. Let us do our duty, and not be afraid of this or that, as long, I say, as we have God in covenant with us, who is all-sufficient. What should we be afraid of? * Can a mother forget her child?' saith the prophet ; ' If she should, yet will I not forget thee ; thou art written on the palms of my hands,' Isa. xlix. IG. Those things that are in the palms of our hands we have ever
236 TUE RICH ro\Ti;RTY ; or,
in our eye. God hath us in bis eve. He sets his children before him alway. How can he forget them ? How can Christ forget his church ? He carries them in his breast, as the high priest had the names of the twelve tribes on his breast in twelve precious stones, when he went into the holy of holies. Christ carries our names in his heart ; how can ho forget us then '? Let kingdoms dash one against another, and let the world tumble upon heaps ; let there be what confusion of states there will, God certainly will have a care of his jewels. ' I will leave,' in spite of all the world, ' in the midst of thee, an alllicted and poor people,' &c.
Quest. You will say, When is this performed ?
Ans. ' In that day,' saith he in the verse before my text. You must know it is the Scripture's fashion, when it saith, ' In that day,' to take it indefinitely, not to tie it to a certain day ; though there is a certain May wherein there shall be an accomplishment of all prophecies and a perform- ance of all promises, that is, at the last day. In the mean time, there is a gradual performance of promises, and the accomplishment of them is in several knots and points of time, so much as shall give content to God's children, yet always leading to a further and further performance. As, for example, God shewed mercy to these Israelites when they were in cap- tivity. He brought them home again. They were a poor and atilicted people, and were much bettered by their abasement. There was a degree of performance then. And then there was a degree of performance in Christ's time, when he joined the Gentiles to them, and both made one church. There will be a more glorious performance at the conversion of the Jews, when God shall make his people ' trust in the name of the Lord,' and the Gentiles shall come in and join with them, and they with the Gen- tiles. But that which follows in the verse after, ver. 13, ' The remnant shall do none iniquitv, nor speak lies ; a deceitful tongue shall not be found in their mouth,' these things shall have their time, when the people shall be more thoroughly purged than ever they were ; and certainly these glorious portions of Scripture cannot have performance but in such days as are to come. But the accomplishment of all shall be at the day of judgment. Indeed, in the mean time, as I say, there is a comfortable performance, leaving us in expectation of further and further still ; because, while we live here, we are in a life of hope and expectation, and always we are under somewhat unperformed. So much for that.
I come now to the state and condition of these people :
' An afflicted and poor people.'
This is their state and condition, wherein is implied also their disposition. Their state is, they are ' an afflicted and poor people.' So it is answerable to the original, ' an afflicted and impoverished people,' a weakened people. However, God hath a special care of his church in this world. Yet it is with exception of some crosses and afflictions, ' You shall have an hundred- fold,' saith Christ, ' in this life ;' but ' with tribulations and afflictions;' that must come in. But yet, notwithstanding, here is a blessing in this : for howsoever he leave them ' an afflicted and poor people,' yet he leaves them a people ; and though they be a people afflicted and poor, yet they are a people that are rich in God. They shall ' trust in the name of the Lord ;' of which I shall speak afterward. In that he calls them * an afflicted and poor people,' hence we see, in the first place, that,
Doct. The state of God's church and children in this tvorlJ,for the most part, is to be afflicted and poor in their outward condition.