If God be with us, we will be of his side ; and his enemies shall be our enemies, and his friends our friends. He that claims this, that God is with him, he v/ill say, I will be with God and for God. God hath two things in the world that we must have a care of, his church and his cause. Take them out of the world, the world is but a hell upon earth ; a com- pany of miscreants, profane, godless, impudent, poisonful creatures. Take away the cause of God, religion, and the people that aie begotten by reli- gion, and what is the rest of mankind ? The world would not stand, but be all upon heaps, for a company of sinful wretches that will have their wills ; but it is for the church and people of God that the world stands. Now he that hath God with him, and he is in terms with God, that they are friends, as Abraham was the friend of God, he will side with God and religion. God's cause shall be his cause, and God's people his people. He will cleave to God's side as the safest. If he may have never so much preferment in the world, he will not join with antichrist. Pie will not betray the cause of religion if he might have a world for it. Why ? Because he knows if God be with him, who can be against him ? God hath given us understanding and grace to maintain friendship with him, to have common friends and common enemies : therefore, if we stand not for God, let us never talk of God's presence with us. He will be present- to confound us, to overthrow us, and pursue us to hell ; but not graciously present without we labour to maintain the cause of religion as far as we may. ' God is with us, if we be with him,' 2 Chron. xv. 2. If we be with God to take his part, he will be with us to protect and defend us, to guide and comfort us, and to give issue to all our affairs. Not that our being with him is the prime cause of his being with us, but it is an evi- dence to know whether he be with us, as we make profession, when as far as our callings will suffer, we be with him and maintain his cause.
Again, If we would know whether we be with God, and he with us, ask conscience whether it be with thee ; for conscience is God's vicar. Is con- science with thee ? Dost thou not sin against conscience ? What con- science saith, God saith ; and what it forbids, God forbids, especially when it is enlightened by the word. Doth conscience speak peace to thee from the word ? Then thou art with God, and God is with thee. Especially in the great point of justification, doth conscience speak peace to thee in the blood of Christ ? Is thy heart sprinkled with it, that it is not as the blood of Abel, that cries for vengeance ? Hast thou a spirit of faith, to
396 SAINT Paul's challenge.
believe that Christ shed his blood for thee in particular ? Then thou art with God, and he with thee, because God hath sprinkled the blood of Christ upon thy heart.
Quest. What course shall we take to keep God comfortably with us ?
Ans. Look thou he in covenant tcith him, and not only at large in cove- nant; but look that continually itpon all occasions thou renew thy covenant. For sometimes God's children may be in covenant, they may be his chil- dren ; yet because they renew not their covenant, especially after some breaches, God is not with them so comfortably as he would, to free them from their enemies, as we see in the case of the Benjamites, Judges xx. 35. God's people sometimes may have the worst, though they be in covenant, because they have committed some sin, and have not renewed their peace and covenant with God, Therefore, if we would make a comfortable use of this truth, that God is with us, and would find him so in our aflairs and business, let us renew our covenant upon all occasions, and our purpose to please God.
And then look to the cause we take in hand, and to our carriage in that cause. If our persons be good, be in covenant, and the cause good, and our conscience good, and our carriage suitable, then God will be with us. Let us make use of these principles, that we may be in love with the com- fortable secure condition of a Christian. There is no state so glorious, so comfortable, so secure, and free from danger. If we were in heaven, and should look down below upon all snares and dangers, what would we care for them ? Now if he be with us, and we with him, ' God is our habita- tion,' ' we dwell in the secret of the Almighty, he is 'our high tower, the way of wisdom is on high, to escape the snares below,' Ps. xci. 9. There- fore let us raise our souls as high as heaven and God is ; and set our- selves where our hopes are, where our God is, and we have set ourselves in our tower ; that we have set God in our hearts, and set ourselves in him ; then we may overlook the devil, and men, and death, and danger, and all. As a man that stands upon the top of a rock, that is higher than all the waves, he overlooks them, and sees them break themselves upon the rock, so when we see God with us, and ourselves with him, by a Spirit of comfort we can overlook all with a holy defiance, as the apostle saith here, ^ Who can be against us ?' ' What can separate us ?' Oh, the excellent state of a Christian when he is assured of his condition ! Who would not labour for assurance that yields this abundant comfort in all conditions ?