[God has, in this land, a remnant, over whom he watches with the tenderest care, and for whose sake we trust he will spare the whole nation. At all events we may be sure that he will provide a hiding-place for his Church ; so that, whatever be the fate of others, it shall not be overwhelmed k. Let us not then trust in fleets and armies, but in the living God, who is omnipresent to behold, and almighty to defeat, the plots of our enemies : and let our supplications be made with increased frequency and fervour to him, whose past interpositions we have such abundant reason to acknowledge1.]
2. Where to look in the midst of personal troubles —
[That which alone we ought to desire, is, that nothing may " hurt" us. As for the pruning, which may render us more fruitful111, it should be received with submission and gratitude. The evils that tend to our destruction, we may deprecate, with an assurance that our prayer shall be heard and answered. We need not fear the drought which occasions God to water us, nor the weapons that call forth his effectual interposition. Only let us render him fruits suited to the culture bestowed upon us; and nothing shall come upon us without necessity"; nothing which shall not eventually work for our good0.]
recollection — that we have been preserved amidst so many enemies : 2. For humble confidence — that, though God may prune us, no trial shall come, but what he judges necessary, 1 Pet. i. 6. and shall work for our good, Rom. viii. 28.
k Isai. xxvi. 20, 21. > Ps. cxxiv. 1 — 6. m John xv. 2.
n 1 Pet. i. 6. o Rom. viii, 28.