Use 2. Secondly, We must hereby learn to imitate and be like unto God. If we will needs be now and then angry, let it be quickly gone ; let us spend our anger upon our sins, and not let the sun go down upon our wrath.
But now here ariseth another objection, worse than the former, for the troubled soul might object. Oh ! but I have driven God quite away by my innumerable sins; I have lost my feeling, angered my God, grieved the Spirit, and forced God to depart from me. This is a miserable estate ; but yet the prophet, in the next verse, answereth, for the comfort of such, that he is not quite gone away, *He will turn again,' saith he, 'and have com- passion,' &c. Whence I gather,
Doct. 6. Those who have once had any saving comfort, thetj shall have it again. We see David, he quenched the Spirit, made a foul house, brought all things out of frame ; he kept his union with God, but he lost his com- munion with Christ. The graces of the Spirit were seeming dead in him, yet this man had much comfort again, and did much good to the church, and died in peace and prosperity. So we see, Cant. iii. 1, the church at first quite lost Christ, in a manner; she had no feeling, yet she sought him up and down ; nay, she went through all the means of salvation, yet found not Christ. It seems a strange thing, that sometimes one should use all holy means, and yet find no comfort or feeling ; yet is it most true. But what then ? She went a little further, and then she found him whom her soul loved. So let us always learn this much, that when we have used all the means to find feeling and comfort in vain, yet to go a little further, which is, to wait in patience for God's good time, and to hope above hope, &c., and then we see the issue — we shall find him whom our soul loveth ; yea, then he will enable us to lay surer hold upon him than ever, and also keep him surer. So Peter, he fell for a while, yet we know Christ came again unto him, and made sure work, that he was the stronger for ever. The reasons are plain.
Reason 1. First, Because all God's saving graces be given for everlasting, therefore they shall never be finally taken away from his children, as those outward graces of the Spirit, which were in Saul, was.
Reason 2. Secondly, He will turn again and have compassion, though he turn away his face, because his heart is near unto us ; like unto a mother, who in seeming anger turneth away her face from her child, yet she longeth until she turn again, even so the Lord when his face is turned from his children, he longeth until he turn again and have compassion, &c.
Reason 3. Thirdly, Because of all burdens the absence of God's favour is BO intolerable, which absence Christ himself at that time could not endure, but cries out, 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?' Mat. xxvii. 46. And David, you know, he cries out, ' Thy loving kindness is better than life,' Ps. Ixiii. 3. Therefore, I say, God being a most loving Father unto
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his children, and knowing how precious his favour is unto them, and how grievous his absence, that they cannot live without him, why then, as sure he is God, and goodness itself, no more can he be without them; he will turn again and have compassion, though not in our time, yet in a better time, even in such a time as he shall see fittest ; therefore let us not be dismayed, but redouble our courage.
Use 1. The use hereof is, first, reproof unto such who say, that if their peace be once lost, oh ! they shall never have it again, they shall never have comfort, favour, or feeling of God's love. But mark oar error : we in this case judge God to be like unto a man, who will say, Oh ! I will never again love this man, who hath deceived me. But let us remember that God did foresee all our errors and sins that ever we should commit, before we did commit the same. Now if these our sins, before our calling, which in the course of our life we were to commit, being all before God's face, could not hinder his love unto us, what folly is it to think that now, after our efiectual calling, our sins which he foresaw can stay his mercies from us. This the apostle aimeth at, Rom. v. 10, ' For if, whilst we were enemies, we ■were reconciled unto God by the death of his son ; much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.' So that most certain it is he will turn again and have compassion. For if a father should foresee such and such faults in his son, do you think he would punish his son for those faults which he foresaw would of necessity be in him ? Certainly he would not. Though he seemed angry, yet he would love him still.