do it how much more when he saith Believe and ye shall be saved and He that believeth in him shall not be confounded To the other Proposition The strength whereby true Christians stand in the favor of God and the expectation of heaven is greater and better then all the strength of nature even taken at the best and strongest When the likeliest faint and are weary yet they shall renew their strength mount up with wings run and not be weary walk and not faint Where we have both a plain affirmation of renewing their strength and a borrowed speech of Eagles who cast their Bill when they be old and so get to be lively again when their crooked Bill is put away they take in their meat as before and grow as strong as ever All noting the perpetuity of the estate of grace wherein when the Elect fail at any time through mercy they recover all and hold out to the end of their course They are strong in the Lord and the power of his might On him they wait in the use of means and of him the receive strength a new to be constant He strengthneth they with strength in their soul Psal 138.3 Amidst many occasiom of fainting their inward man is renewed day by day 2 Cor. 4.16 They call in fresh supplies by prayer and so are strengthned with might by the Spirit in the inner man Eph. 3.16 And the prayer of other Believers sends in those fresh supplies Col. 1.11 That ye may be strengthned with all might according to his glorious power unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness Certain it is that the Lord hath undertaken to be the strength of his people The rock of their salvation the strength of their salvation the horn of salvation which he raised up in the house of his servant David and as much as the Creator is mighty above the creatures so is a godly man above himself and all his natural abilities In and of God he receives such puissant vertue and so may grow confident Esa 26.4 Trust ye in the Lord for ever for in the Lord Jehova is everlasting strength In special Christ himself is the strength of his chosen ones He gives them his flesh which is meat indeed and his bloud which is drink indeed He makes then a banquet at his own cost and with his own merits to feed them unto eternal life that though the old Israelites in the wilderness did eat Manna and dye after it yet so shall not they And as his merit is so efficacious so his Spirit abides with them for ever guides leads into all truth brings all things to their remembrance and establisheth their hearts in this their gracious and blessed estate There is a vertue in his death that they can dye no more in their sins and a vertue in his resurrection which makes them living members of his body and living branches of the true Vine to draw sap and juice from him and be still pruned that they may bear more fruit Further proofs of this unvanquishable strength of Believers One Scripture saith of the godly The righteous is an everlasting foundation Prov. 10.25 He in Scripture is called righteous who is justified and sanctified and he is called a foundation to note his firm and stable condition and as a foundation he bears up the pillaâ—s of the eâ—rth both Church and State Another Scripture saith God who hath begun a good work in his people will finish or perform it untill the day of Jesus Christ Phil. 1.6 When the work of conversion unto God is once well done it is done for ever it is as he said of his History 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an everlasting possession for God who is the Alpha is also the Omega Another Scripture saith Christ having loved his own which were in the world did love them unto the end John 13.1 and he saith himself chap. 10.28 I give unto my sheep eternal life and they shall never perish neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand no nor Devil but in him that loved them they are more then Conquerors Other Scriptures sound forth priviledges The righteous shall hold on his way and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger Job 17.9 They that are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God and still bring forth fruit in old age Psal 92.14 They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Sion which cannot be removed but abideth for ever Psal 125.1 The fear of the Lord is so put into their hearts that they shall not depart from him Jer. 32.40 Their house is built upon a rock so as it shall not fall though the winds blow strong and the waters flow a main Mat. 7.25 with other firm and undeniable grounds of persevering in grace which follow afterward all proving that true Believers shall still renew their strength and not faint nor be weary Here it may be asked How doth the Lord renew strength to his people The answer is He renews their strength in the use of holy means appointed thereunto namely those sacred Ordinances which he hath set apart first and last to carry on the work of grace in the hearts of his Chosen which that they may indeed obtain he puts them into a frame of waiting on his Majesty in his own way wherein he will meet them and bestow a blessing on them as he hath promised 2 Cor. 5.5 Now he that hath wrought us for the self same end thing is God who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit So at the Text it stands as a Description of the godly They are such as wait upon the Lord they must know they are Servants and need dependance on the heavenly Master and as Servants must wait till they receive mercy at his hands and so they shall be sure to speed of their suit Lam. 3.25 The Lord is good unto them that wait for him to the soul that seeketh him A Princes good Servant ever stands in the way of preferment and so for Christianity To speed of strength and every comfortable supply we must be careful to be found in the way of faith and obedience Here note these phrases of Scripture 1. Wait at the Posts of his doors Prov. 8.34 Blessed is the man that heareth me saith Christ the wisdom of God watching daily at my gates waiting at the posts of my doors Thriving Christians must diligently attend when a good Sermon is to be heard or a Sacrament to be received or a Fast to be kept or else a day of Thanksgiving They must come both preparedly and forwardly neither be absent nor yet backward but come upon the wing as Doves to their houses when pursued by a bird of prey Esa 60.8 swift to hear Jam. 1.19 Cornelius and his Company when Peter was coming to preach were ready beforehand to hear what he should say Act. 10.33 We are all here present before
courage of mind with assistance of Arts and Parts and alliance of Friends and all encouragements that are to be had yet in the Event all prevailes not to attain the desired end Even the youths shall faint and be weary and the young men shall utterly fall The race is not to the swift nor the battel to the strong neither yet bread to the wise nor yet riches to men of understanding nor yet favour to men of skill Eccl. 9.11 It is true by those accomplishments nature may attain to live long in the world to rise high in the world to get a great Estate to have great Victories over enemies with other great matters which Weaklings may not once think to attain But beside the sad disappointments which these sometimes meet withall even amidst all their bravery they commit foul errours they shorten their dayes by Intemperance they fall into Consumptions or at best the longer they live the nearer they draw to their end and it is seen ordinarily that the Bell rings out and the Grave opens for young ones as well as for the old few now-a-days come to the Age set in Moses time of threescore and ten or fourscore The reason is by the fall sin hath disabled our nature both in powers of the body and mind and so ministers occasion to the great God of heaven to cut us short of our hope and possibilities Our sins withhold good things from us Jer. 5.25 And the Lord will have the finest Naturalists see that not by might or power but by his spirit great things are to be accomplished He takes the wise in their craftiness he turns their counsel into foolishness he shews strength with his arm he scatters the proud in the imagination of their hearts he puts down the mighty from their seats and exalteth men of low degree he filleth the hungry with good things and the rich he sends empty away Application make thus 1. See what a poor happiness the happiness of worldlings is When they are at their height and in the best estate they can be in here below or desire to be in with a real and regular desire so that their Neighbours take them to be happy creatures and they think no less of themselves yet indeed they fall much short of the true happiness and godly men shall not change Estates with them though poor and miserable as to the world Why because the best and most complete attainments they have are but fading Commodities the one stroke of Death cuts the thred of their whole happyness there comes a Fever or other mischievous Disease and so an end of the man and all his braveries So that neither himself hath cause to vaunt or please himself in his fine condition nor others to envy his prosperity while it holds most together It is but as the green Bay-tree flourishing in present but soon blasted or cut down and the place of it shall know it no more 2. Let godly Christians bless the Lord who hath laid their happiness in things of another nature and endurance namely spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus that though they be poor or weak or otherwise low in the world yet in the best matters through rich mercy they are highly exalted none so happy as they indeed none but they Therefore not only be contented with your short pittance but thankful that your lines are fallen unto you in pleasant places and ye have a goodly heritage Psal 16.6 Had your lot fallen otherwise to you you had been of all men most miserable Think of Dives tormented in those flames and of the rich Churl whose soul in a night was taken from him and so an end of all his plenty and jollity Think how David blessed himself from faring as worldly-minded men shall fare Let me not eat of their dainties Psal 141.4 and again Deliver my soul from the wicked from men which are thy hand O Lord from men of the world who have their portion in this life and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure they are full of Children and leave the rest of their substance to their Babes Then refer all to the happiness that shall be revealed at the last day as the Prophet there concludes As for me I will behold thy face in righteousness I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness Psal 17.14 15 16 17. 3. If all present comforts be so weak and fickle Let not the strong man glory in his strength nor the rich man in his riches nor the wise man in his wisdom Jer. 9.23 Fine accommodations these are and conduce much to make ones life comfortable and he that is a wise Master of them may do much good in his place and Generation and greatly further his accounts in the day of accounting with God But alass they are but moth-eaten and poor comforts in themselves very like to Jonahs Gourd which came up in a night and perished in a night When we think we have them safest and take most pleasure in them they dye in our hands as flowers which we gathered â—rewhile and we our selves pass away with them we know not how soon And the wise Salomon hath said Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not for riches certainly make themselves wings they fly away as an Eagle toward heaven Prov. 23.5 and Paul said by the wisdom given unto him Rejoyce as not rejoycing and in all your enjoyments be as if ye had them not 1 Cor. 7.30 Remember Christians and not over-joy in a lusty Child a setled estate of health tallness comeliness or properness of the body the increase of a wealthy estate a great inheritance either by descent or purchase There is death in the pot a secret worm lies at the root and bites shrewdly and all the joy may quickly be mar'd and then the more joy was the greater will be the grief at parting and shame for the former boasting to see things turned to the quite conâ—rary 4. If natural comforts be turned upon such a wheel then trust not in an arm flesh Put not your trust in Princes nor in the son of man in whom there is no help His breath goeth forth he returneth to his earth in that day all his thoughts perish Psal 146.3 4. Nor may Princes trust in mighty and puissant armies horses warlike provisions multitude of an hoste or the best counsel they can take all these have failed some that relied on them and may fail others who rest on them as able to save Nor may we rest upon potent friends who are able to do much themselves and use their interest in others for raising a party Nor upon health and strength of body nimbleness or other natural perfections Nor upon a strong wit a deep reach a firm and retentive memory eloquence in discoursing fitness of expressions with other gifts of the mind All compared to a staff of reed whereon if a man lean he may get a fall
tribulation yet in him they shall have peace and ought to be of good chear and Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivereth them out of all And if deliverance be delayed yet by the assistance of Christ and his Spirit the afflictions are sweetned and the heart supported and all the suffering sanctified that in time the Christian shall say It was good for me to be afflicted that I might learn thy statutes And remember that when the troubles last longest yet all the while the Christian Traveller is getting nearer and nearer to his Fathers house so that Yet a little while and he that shall come will come and his reward is with him In the Mount it will be seen 5. Other Believers who complain not of troubles in things of nature or the world yet trouble themselves much about the welfare of the Church which they see endangered by enemies some undermining others infected with errors and heresies and scattering their poison far and near Oh what will become of poor Sion which is so hated or defaced many enemies and but few real friends Answ Bear up chearfully it is a good sign in thee that thou art so tender of the Churches well-doing thou hast a promise They shall prosper that love Sion and all they that mourn for her shall be glad and rejoyce with her Esa 66.10 And as for the Church it self remember though lovest it well yet God loves it better and knows better how to provide for its safety and chiefest welfare Psal 87.2 The Lord loveth the gates of Sion more then all the dwellings of Jacob. As for the enemies secret or open let the King of Sion alone to deal with them for their conversion or confusion or to raise up friends as need shall require and he sees expedient that the Captivity may be turned and great gifts bestowed for the beautifying of Sion 6. Others know not what they shall do if persecution should arise for the Gospels sake they are fainty enough under the persecution of the tongue or in smaller tryals and they doubt they shall fall utterly if fire and faggot should come in use again But remember here who brought the Martyrs through the flames to give testimony to the truths of the Gospel They were flesh and bloud as we are and yet were strengthned to pass through the fire after Jesus Christ and they had relations and advantages to leave for the truth as near and dear as we have and yet by grace were enabled to part with all yea rejoyced that they were accounted worthy to suffer for the Name of Christ And ye may observe in reading the Histories of the Martyrs how they that were very timorous for a while yet coming in sight of the stake they have waxed joyful and confident as Mr. Glover to his friend who knew his fears O Austine He is come he is come meaning the Spirit of strength and comfort Remember too that the Lord hath continued his Church and brought it through persecuting times as well as times of prosperity yea the Primitive Church was planted and watered and thrived best in the persecution of the first three hundred years The bloud of the Martyrs proved the seed of the Church to propagate and make glorious the Kingdom of Christ Therefore faint not nor be weary for any persecution felt or feared 7. A Believer may say Death is the King of terrors and I fear I shall not dye with any patience or comfort I know not what kind of death I shall dye or where or with what Company it may be by the Pestilence or by the Sword or by some tormenting Disease or a lingring Disease I know not what but I doubt I shall faint at the last and then where is all my hope and reward Answ Remember what hath been said This God is our God for ever and ever he will be our guide even unto death Psal 48.14 And not only unto death but in dying Jesus Christ will be gain unto us Phil. 1.21 And not only Angels are ours with other good creatures but even death is a Friend though he come in a Mourning Gown 1 Cor. 3 22. And ye know how death is out-braved from doing us a mischief chap. 15.55 O death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory the sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law But thanks be to God who hath given us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord. As for the sad Harbingers and Messengers of death the Lord is able and hath promised to give a proportion of strength and comfort that when we faint and the outward man decays yet the inward man shall be renewed day by day and by rich mercy ye may come to fear nothing even when ye walk in the midst of the valley of the shadow of death And for the kind of Death Company Place Time and all circumstances it is best for the Child of God to submit to the will of his heavenly Father who hath said and would have us to rest in what he hath said My grace is sufficient for thee Only continue in a waiting condition as Job all the days of thy appointed time till that great change shall come thou shalt find it worth while to have so waited But because this waiting may be long and there go many things to waiting as the good servant who made all ready against the coming of his Lord I shall produce certain Motives as so many encouragements to the faithful servants of God who do so chearfully and constantly attend their God in those duties and those his Ordinances Many are the benefits of a due waiting 1. This at the Text they shall be enabled and blessed by this their waiting To renew their strength and hold out in the good ways of God unto glory Though there be divers weaknesses in themselves and discouragements in the world yet through rich mercy they shall run and not be weary walk and not faint A singular priviledge above all Apostates who have fallen away and come to nothing 2. They have hereby a note of true grace upon them that they are the Children and Servants of God in sincerity and not only in a general and common profession Our Text useth this Periphrasis or Description of the godly They that wait upon the Lord shall do thus and thus And it is a Description of the Gentiles conversion Esa 42.4 The Isles shall wait for his law with chap. 51.5 They shall wait upon me and on thy Name shall they trust and 60.9 Surely the Isles shall wait for me It is an ordinary Inquiry among tender spirits Whether am I indeed converted and brought home unto God or no The solution may hence be taken If ye wait on the Lord in the way and manner before described ye are indeed converted and need not trouble your selves any more 3. Another benefit is that these Waiters shall not in any thing be utterly disappointed so