or a month hence but take now he was to set upon the work without delay 5. God calleth upon us with great earnestness to prepare our selves to undergo such afflictions as he shall lay upon us Amos 4.12 Thus will I do unto thee O Israel and because I will do this unto thee prepare to meet thy God O Israel Jer. 46.14 Declare ye in Egypt and publish in Migdol and publish in Moab say ye Stand fast and prepare thee for the sword shall devour round round about thee This exhortation to prepare for approaching judgments is pressed with great earnestness it is ushered in with a four-fold call Declare ye publish publish say ye What is it must be declared and published with such great earnestness Stand fast prepare thee see also ver 19. O thou danghter dwelling in Egypt furnish thy self to go into captivity 6. If afflictions come upon us before we are prepared for them we shall be in danger to sink under our burdens but if we be well provided before-hand we shall go cheerfully through whatever it seemeth good unto the Lord to lay upon us Psal 57.7 My heart is fixed or as it is in the Margin My heart is prepared O God my heart is prepared I will sing and give praise David was fled into a Cave when he penned this Psalm as you may see by the title of it and was surrounded with great calamities as you may see ver 1 4. In the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge until these calamities be overpast My soul is among lions and I lie even among them that are set on fire even the sons of men whose teeth are spears and arrows and their tongue a sharp sword Yet in the midst of his troubles he sings for joy and praiseth God and what helped him to bear his troubles so cheerfully His heart was prepared for them My heart is prepared I will sing and give praise Joseph who had prepared for seven years Famine lived comfortably and felt no great inconvenience by it other persons that had laid up nothing before-hand would have fainted and dyed had not Joseph relieved them The Apostle was so far from being discouraged at his sufferings that he joyed in the greatest of them even to lay down his life for the Gospels sake Phil. 2.17 Yea and if I be offered upon the Sacrifice and Service of your Faith I joy and rejoyce with you all And how came he to do thus he was ready and prepared to suffer any thing for the sake of Christ and the Gospel Acts 21.13 I am ready not to be bound only but also to dye at Jerusalem for the Name of the Lord Jesus Now having given you some reasons why we should prepare our selves for all sorts of afflictions I shall in the next place answer a weighty and necessary case of Conscience viz. What shall we do that we may stand prepared to undergo any affliction that the Lord shall be pleased to lay upon us Ans 1. We must give our selves much unto prayer we must pray before our afflictions come and pray in our afflictions we must not pray in a cold manner but cry mightily to God to strengthen and support us in our troubles By prayer we shall obtain from God an heart prepared to undergo any troubles Ps 10.17 Lord thou hast heard the desire of the humble thou wilt prepare their heart thou wilt cause thine ear to hear Psal 57.2,7 I will cry unto God most high unto God that performeth all things for me And what did David get by crying unto God an heart prepared to bear his afflictions as you may see ver 7. My heart is prepared O God my heart is prepared The Apostle adviseth Christians that would be able to stand in an evil day to be much in prayer Ephes 6.13,18 Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand praying alwayes with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all Saints Observe how the Apostle multiplieth words to excite us to prayer he doth not barely bid us pray but pray alwayes and as if that were not enough he adds with all prayer and supplication and not only so but he bids us watch thereunto watch with perseverance yea with all perseverance And adds that this duty must be performed in a spiritual manner With all prayer and supplication in the spirit if we do not pray with our hearts and spirits as well as with our lips yea if there be not the graces of Gods Spirit exercised in prayer as well as the actings of our own spirits our Prayers are worth little in Gods account The Apostle joyns these two together Patient in tribulation continuing instant in prayer Rom. 12.12 Implying that such as desire to be patient in all their tribulations must be and continue instant in Prayer 2. Endeavour as much as in you lieth to strengthen and encrease your Faith Faith is the chiefest piece of the spiritual armour which above all the rest will help us to stand in an evil day The Apostle would not have us neglect any piece of the spiritual armor all must be put on but Faith above all the rest Eph. 6.13,16 Take unto you the whole armor of God that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand Above all taking the shield of Faith wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked By faith a man may be able to do and suffer all things Mark 9.23 All things are possible to him that believeth The Apostles did and suffered great things for God and how it was through faith 1 Tim. 4.10 Therefore we both labour and suffer reproach because we trust in the living God The servants of God have endured all sorts of tortures and the most painful deaths that their enemies could inflict upon them and all other afflictions by the help of faith Heb. 11.35,36,37 Others were tortured not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection and others had tryals of cruel mockings and scourgings yea moreover of bonds and imprisonment They were stoned they were sawn asunder were tempted were slain with the sword they wandered about in sheeps skins and goats skins being destitute afflicted tormented and that they endured all these things through faith you may see ver 33. Whatever difficulties snares or discouragements a man meets with in the world either in respect of the good things or the evil things of the world faith will overcome them all 1 John 5.4 This is the victory that overcometh the world even our faith Faith will enable a man to resist and overcome all the temptations of Satan whereby he endeavoureth to disturb and foil us in times of affliction 1 Pet. 5.8,9 Your adversary the Devil as a roaring Lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour