Use. First of all you see then, that the state of a Christian in this world is an [impregnable state, and a glorious condition. Here is glory upon glory, from this clause to the end of the chapter : * If God be with us, who shall be against us ? If God gave his Son for us, shall he not with him give us all things else ? ' There is another glorious speech, ' Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's people ? ' Another glorious triumphant speech, another glorious speech, ' Who shall separate us from the love of God founded in Christ ? ' He loves Christ first, and us in Christ as mem- bers ; and as he loves them'"^ eternally, so he loves us eternally too. There- fore you see every way the state of a Christian is a glorious condition. ' Who can be against us ?' You see the state of God's people. It is an impregnable and glorious condition. Then by this means those that are strange paradoxes to flesh and blood, yet they agree in a Christian. He is never alone. When he is alone, God is with him ; the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are with him, angels are with him. God is not only with him, but his guard is with him ; and God's Spirit is with him, and in him victoriously both in grace and comfort. Christ saith to his disciples, when they thought to leave him alone ; saith he, you cannot leave me alone, * my Father is with me,' John viii. 16; and St Paul towards his latter end, that had deserved so well of the Christian world : ' All forsook me,' saith he, ' but the Lord forsook me not, but delivered me out of the mouth of the lion,' 2 Tim. iv. 17. So a Christian is not alone ; he is not left to the mercy of his enemies, but God is with him, and who shall be against him to prevail over him ?
Again, though a Christian be a worm, a person trampled upon, for so the church is the most afilicted part of mankind, yet ' fear not thou, worm Jacob,' Isa. xli. 14. The world accounts them as worms, and they account themselves so. They are trodden on as worms. They are worms upon earth, yet they have a glorious head in heaven, and a glorious guard about them. Strange things agree in a Christian. Therefore let us not stumble, though we see not these things presently. The life of a Christian is a mystery.
Again, hence we see that a Christian profession, to be a sound Christian, to have true faith in Christ, to be one with Christ, and to be taken out of the state of nature, this condition and the happiness of it, it hath the strongest foundation of any life in the world. Christianity is founded upon the strongest and the greatest reasons that can be. Faith stands with
* Qu. ' him ' ?— Ed.
392 SAINT Paul's challenge.
the greatest reason that a thing can do. Why ? The comfort of a Chris- tian is that he hath no enemy that shall prevail over him, and what is the ground of that? God is with him; God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Faith is that that lays hold upon that presence, and promise, and covenant of God. And is not faith well hottomed? A Christian that carries him- self valiantly and courageously, is not his course grounded on sound reason ? Is not God with him ? God the Father is his Father, God the Son is his Redeemer, God the Holy Ghost is his Comforter. There is no other men that have strong reason for their course, for that choice that they make of their religion and of their ways. They prove but fools in the conclusion. Only the sound Christian that by the Spirit of God hath his eyes opened to see the cursed estate he is in by nature, and what it is to be in Christ, and by a Spirit of faith is made one with Christ, he is the truly wise man in his faith and affiance, that the world mocks at, that he hath no common supports in the world, which he cares not for if God be on his side. He cares not what man can do against him, as it is Ps. cxviii. 6. You see on what ground it is founded. God is with him, and none can be against him.
Let us labour to lay up these principles. We work according as our principles are. Principles are the foundation of all conclusions that arise from them. As our grounds are, so are we in our faith, and working, and grace, and comfort every way. If we have rotten principles, if the grounds of our comfort be rotten, our course will be rotten and uncomfortable in the conclusion. Let us build upon the rock, to be well bottomed and founded, that our principles and grounds be strong, and that they be so to us ; for what if God be with his, if he be not so to us ? Let us labour to lay up sound grounds. Grounds have influence into the whole course of our lives. This one text hath influence into all the parts of oar lives, in doing, in suflering, in all conditions. I know not a more pregnant, fruit- ful principle in the Scripture than this, ' If God be with us, who can be against us ? ' It is like a pearl, little in quantity, few in words, but strong in sense, large in the fruit that issues from it. Therefore as we may carry pearls or precious things wheresoever we go, because there is a great deal of worth in them, and they be small in quantity, so we may carry this prin- ciple with us, let us be sure to lay it up and make use of it. There be these two, that there is a God, and that God is with his children, and so with his children that he will subvert and overthrow all their enemies, and all their plots and endeavours, a principle of wonderful comfort.