(3.) He that so keeps the word of Christ's patience is always fur- nished with preserving considerations and preserving principles, — moral and real advantages of preservation.
[1.] He is furnished with preserving considerations, that power- fully influence his soul in his walking diligently with Christ. Besides the sense of duty which is always upon him, he considers, —
\st. The concernment of Christ, whom his soul loves, in him and his careful walking. He considers that the presence of Christ is with him, his eye upon him; that he ponders his heart and ways, as one greatly concerned in his deportment of himself, in a time of trial. So Christ manifests himself to do, llev. ii. 19-23. He considers all, — what is acceptable, what is to be rejected. He knows that Christ is concerned in his honour, that his name be not evil spoken of by rea- son of him ; that he is concerned in love to his soul, having that design upon him to " present him holy, and unblamable, and unre- provable in his sight," Col. i. 22, — and his Spirit is grieved where he is interrupted in this work; concerned on the account of his gos-
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pel, the progress and acceptation of it in the world, — its beauty would be slurred, its good things reviled, its progress stopped, if such a one be prevailed against ; concerned in his love to others, who are griev- ously scandalized, and perhaps ruined, by the miscarriages of such. When Hymeneus and Philetus fell, they overthrew the faith of some. And says such a soul, then, who is exercised to keep the word of Christ's patience, when intricate, perplexed, entangling temptations, public, private, personal, do arise, " Shall I now be careless? shall I be negligent? shall I comply with the world and the ways of it? Oh, what thoughts of heart hath he concerning me, whose eye is upon me ! Shall I contemn his honour, despise his love, trample his gospel in the mire under the feet of men, turn aside others from his ways ? Shall such a man as I fly, give over resistings? It cannot be." There is no man who keeps the word of the patience of Christ but is full of this soul-pressing consideration. It dwells on his heart and spirit ; and the love of Christ constrains him so to keep his heart and ways, 2 Cor. v. 14.
2dly. The gi'eat consideration of the temptations of Christ in his behalf, and the conquest he made in all assaults for his sake and his God, dwell also on his spirit. The prince of this world came upon him, every thing in earth or hell that hath either allurement or affrightment in it was proposed to him, to divert him from the work of mediation which for us he had undertaken. This whole life he calls the time of his " temptations;" but he resisted all, conquered all, and is become a Captain of salvation to them that obey him. " And," says the soul, " shall this temptation, these arguings, this plausible pre- tence, this sloth, this self-love, this sensuality, this bait of the world, turn me aside, prevail over me, to desert him who went before me in the ways ol all temptations that his holy nature was obnoxious unto, for my good?"
odly. Dismal thoughts of the loss of love, of the smiles of the countenance of Christ, do also frequently exercise such a soul. He knows what it is to enjoy the favour of Christ, to have a sense of his love, to be accepted in his approaches to him, to converse with him, and perhaps hath been sometimes at some loss in this thing; and so knows also what it is to be in the dark, distanced from him. See the deportment of the spouse in such a case, Cant. iii. 4. When she had once found him again, she holds him; she will not let him go; she will lose him no more.
[2.] He that keeps the word of Christ's patience hath preserving X>rinciples whereby he is acted. Some of them may be mentioned: —
\st. In all things he lives by faith, and is acted by it in all his ways. Gal. ii. 20. Now, upon a twofold account hath faith, when im- proved, the power of preservation from temptation annexed unto it: —
VOL. VI. 10
11 G OF TEMPTATION.
{1st.) Because it empties the soul of its otvn wisdoin, understand- ing, and fulness, that it may act in the Avisdom and fulness of Christ. The only advice for preservation in trials and temptations lies in that of the wise man, Prov. iii. 5, " Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not mito thine own understanding." This is the tvo7-Jc of faith ; it is faith ; it is to live by faith. The gi'eat [cause of] falling of men in trials is their leaning to, or leaning uj)on, their own understanding and counsel. What is the issue of it? Job xviii. 7, " The steps of his strength shall be straitened, and his own counsel shall cast him down." First, he shall be entangled, and then cast down ; and all by his own counsel, until he come to be ashamed of it, as Ephraim was, Hos. x. 6. Whenever in our trials we consult our own understandings, hearken to self-reasonings, though they seem to be good, and tending to our preservation, j^et the principle of living by faith is stifled, and we shall in the issue be cast down by our own counsels. Now, nothing can empty the heart of this self-fulness but faith, but living by it, but not living to ourselves, but having Christ live in us by our living by faith on him.