2. The interpositions of his providence —
[In arduous circumstances, our way is made exceeding- difficult; so that oftentimes we know not what to do: we seem indeed to be shut up in the very hands of our enemies, and to have no way of escape open to us. But it is never in vain to call upon God, who in the very hour of extremity will appear for us, and will rescue us, like Peter, from our prison, when, to all human appearance, there is no longer any hope of escape q. Still is that proverb realized, " In the mount, the mount of difficulty, shall the Lord be seen1." Only cry out, like Jonah, " from the very belly of hell;" and from thence shalt thou be delivered8; and thine enemies, who sought thy life, shall all be turned back*. The whole people of Israel, at the Red Sea, appeared to be already, as it were, swallowed up by their powerful and blood-thirsty enemies : but a way was opened through the mighty waters, which became a path to Israel, and a grave to Egypt. And to us also will God still be known, as the God who " maketh the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over11."]
3. The influences of his grace —
[To the latest hour of our lives we shall need the sancti- fying and saving operations of God's Holy Spirit : and guide us he will in all our ways, till he bring us finally to the possession of his glory x. His blessed Spirit is still as good and gracious and condescending as ever. He will teach us to do God's will, as well as to know it ; and will make all our tribulation a way to his kingdom y, and our sufferings the means of fitting us for the enjoyment of it2.]
Let us then learn, from this subject,
1. How to judge of our state before God —
[It is not by our occasional feelings that we are to judge, but by our abiding taste. You may be fainting, and, in your own apprehension, ready to perish ; and yet be in a state of safety before God : for Heman, Asaph, David, and Job, were all under great distress of mind, and were brought, for a season, to the very brink of despair. But if you are longing for a sense of God's favour as your supreme good, and are desirous to know, in order that you may do, his will, you have nothing to fear. You may be in darkness ; but " light is sown for you ;" and it shall spring up in due season. Your " weeping may endure for a night; but joy shall come in the morning3."]
i Actsxii. 6 — 9. r Gen. xxii. 14. s Jonah ii. 2.
* 2 Chron. xviii. 31. u Isai. Ii. 10. x Ps. lxxiii. 24. y Acts xiv. 22. and Rev. vii. 14.
z 2 Cor. iv. 17. Rom. viii. 28. a Ps. xxx. 5.