brought into firm ground, and would grow up into Chrift.--I now proceed to, 2dly, An use of comfort. This is comfortable to humble fouls, This (1.) In the cafe of the church of God. church is very weak at this day; fhe is weakened by mischiefs eftablished by laws, by divifions, but, above all, by the provocations of her members against the Lord; she is caft into a decay of true tenderness, and practical godliness; fhe is far gone on in it; he has many enemies powerful and fubtile, and there are few to ftand against them, a weak company, weak heads, hearts, and hands; never fewer, perhaps, of the Nobles and gentry of Scotland to take her by the hand, than at this day. But it is very like fhe will be weaker yet, ere the recover ftrength, and many fhe trufts to now will leave her, that her army, like Gideon's, may be brought to a small remnant, ere the tents of Midian fall. But the farther the arm of flesh goes from the church of God, the nearer is the arm of God drawing to her.There is comfort, (2.) In your own cafe. It is no doubt the perplexing queftion of ferious fouls, How will I go cleanly through? Religion is no easy work at any time, but it is like to be harder than ordinary in our time. How will we get the Lord's way kept? Chrift's cross born? If we faint at little trials, what fhall we do under greater ones? But remember, when you are weak, then are you ftrong.-I fhall only add, 3dly, An ufe of exhortation. I exhort you to keep up a due fenfe of your own weakness, and ruft for your through-bearing in the Lord. (1) Keep up a fenfe of the weakness of your heads, and lean not to your own understanding in the point of fin and duty; but be much hanging about about the Lord's hand for light to clear your mind as to the way in which you are to walk. (2.) Keep up a fenfe of the weakness of your hearts, and depend not upon your own strength for carrying you on in the way of duty when known, but go to the Lord for ftrength. In order to prevail with you, I mention the following MOTIVES. [1.] This is neceffary, to evidence your fincerity in what you have been doing. You have been taking a guide, profeffing yourselves incapable to guide yourselves, and a fupporter, be cause you are unable to fupport yourselves. Honour him, follow him, and depend upon him. [2.] You will have need of strength; be fure you will be tried; public trials feem to be abiding us, private trials you may lay your account with particularly; Satan is most busy at such a time. [3.] You will never get through in your own strength; you have no reason to truft to yourselves, whatever the prefent frame and purposes of your hearts be. For, ft, Many fad inftances have been of those who have got the flip of their own hearts, that thought they had as good reason to be confident as you, that they would never go back; witness Noah, Lot, David, Solomon, and Peter. 2dly, Many that pretend fair are real nothings. We have need the Lord would hold the glass before our eyes, that we may see ourselves, our ftate and frame. 3dly, The best have very deceitful hearts: Jer. xvii. 21. "The heart is deceitful: above all things, and desperately wicked, who can know it?" And it is a general maxim, "He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool," Prov. xxviii. 26. We are very much unacquainted with ourfelves, with our own hearts, we know not what manner of spirits we are of, Luke, ix. 55. The root of wickedness lies within us. Laftly, Laftly, Keep up the fenfe of your weakness, and truft to the Lord alone, and you will be strengthened with all might, fo that you can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth you, Phil. iv. 13. I fhall offer fome confiderations to imprefs this on your fpirits. 1. You will have need of ftrength, if you intend to reach heaven. Indeed, if you have taken your last fight of Immanuel's land, and have no mind for the Lord's work, but to turn your back on his way, and go with the stream, you may fit at your own eafe, Satan will fee to your swift progrefs, and will not leave you till he have you caft into the oven of God's wrath. But otherwise you must go against the ftream, and you must have Arength: (1.) Strength for the duties of religion, and thefe are as large as the law, which is the rule of duty, and it is exceeding broad. Thou muft now fet thyfelf to internal and external obedience, thy duty to God and man; give the obedienee of heart, lip, and life; thou must be univerfal in obedience, otherwife thou art. hypocritical in it, and fo rejected; thou must have an holy converfation; thine eye must ever be on the Lord, and his holy law; holiness must go through all your actions, your religious actions, your civil and natural actions. "Whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God;" and furely for all this you need ftrength. (2.) Strength for temptations. You must now resolve to enter the lifts with a fubtile devil, that has now more than five thousand years experience in the art of tempting. How will you ftand? With his agents in the world, he will fight against you with tongue, feet, and hands, and that too may be ere long; and your most dangerous enemy is within ; you have innumerable tempters within you: Jam. i. 14. "Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own luft, and enticed." There are many fnares in the world, but none fo dangerous as the corruption that is within each of our own hearts; this will ever be ready to break out, and embrace its friends whenever they come near. (3.) Strength for the crofs. Have you engaged with a crucified Chrift? You must take up your crofs, and bear it; and this will require strength, Go times (1.) To bear your every day's cross. as they will, you will find every day will have the evil thereof. (2.) Your holiday's cross, in the church's troubles: "Thou haft (fays Jeremiah) called, as in a folemn day, my terrors round about," Lam. ii. 22. and how heavy that may be, we know but if the devil's time be short, he will We have had a be fure to have great wrath. cheap religion of it for many years, and therefore it has got many cuftomers; but if the after reckoning were come, which feems to be making haste, it is to be feared that many of us will throw it down again, and fay, We never intended to have it at that rate. not 2. You have no ftrength in yourselves answerable to that work; and therefore, without doubt, you will never be able of yourselves for the leaft of it: 2 Cor. iii. 5. "Not that we are fufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourfelves; but our fufficiency is of God." Two things evidence this. (1.) Our stock of ftrength was spent ere ever it came to our hands. The first Adam got it, Ecclef. vii. 29. God hath made man upright, and he by falling left us without ftrength, Rom. v. 6. And thus the unregenerate world lies in wicked nefs, nefs, unable to recover themfelves, but are held captive by Satan in chains of lufts, not to be broken by the power of nature. (2.) Though, fince Adam fell, God has given ftrength to his people, yet fince that time God never trufted any mere man with his own stock of ftrength; but he has put a common stock of it into the hand of the Mediator, to be diftributed by him according as the duties of his people require, and as they make application to him for it; and no man can come, faying with the younger brother, Luke, xv. 12. "Give me the portion of goods that falleth to me," intending to fet up and ftand by himself. But he must come to stay at home, and receive his daily provision at his Father's table, and out of his hand, according to his neceffities. The believer, being first by faith united' to Chrift as the head of influences, wherein all fulness dwells, must depend on him as the members on the head, the branches on the stock, and by faith derive ftrength from him continually, which cannot be, but under this fenfe of weakness which we prefs upon you, John, i. 17. 1 Cor. i, 30. John, vi. 57. Therefore I fay confidently, that, be ye faints or finners, ye have nothing in you to truft for the work of religion, if it be not Chrift in you; and, be your stock always what it will, it is a very weak one, and you must not trust to it. Lastly, You fhall get enough of strength in Chrift, if you take this way to it, living, and going out of yourselves, under a sense of utter weakness, to the Lord Chrift, as the head of ftrengthening influences. If you afk, What is that? I anfwer, It is the foul's difcerning an utter inability in itfelf for any spiritually good action, but withal believing that God has treasured up fufficient strength |