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be most displeased with them, and to turn his back upon them. Though God's dispensations may be changeable towards his people, yet his gracious disposition is unchangeable towards them. When God puts the blackest veil of all upon his face, yet then his heart is full of love to his people, then his bowels are yearning towards them, Jer. xxxi. 18, 19, 20. “Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still; therefore my bowels are troubled for him: I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord." The mother's bowels cannot more yearn after the tender babe, than God's do after his distressed ones. As Moses's mother, when she had put him into the ark of bulrushes, Exod. ii. wept to see the babe weep, and when she was turned from him, she could not but cast a weeping eye of love towards him: so when God turns aside from his people, yet he cannot but cast an eye of love towards them, Hos. xi. 8. "How shall I give thee up, O Ephraim !" &c. Here are four several hows in the text, the like not to be found in the whole book of God. I am even at a stand; justice calls for vengeance, but mercy interposeth; my bowels yearn, my heart melts, Oh! how shall I give thee up? Oh! I cannot give thee up, I will not give thee up. God's love is always like himself, unchangeable; his love is everlasting; it is a love that never decays, nor waxes cold; it is like the stone asbestos, of which Solin

writes, that being once hot, it can never be cooled again.

4. Though the Lord hath hid his face from thee, yet certainly thou hast his secret presence with thee, Psal. xxiii. 4. Psal. cxxxix. God is present when he is seemingly absent "The Lord was in this place, and I knew it not," saith Jacob, Gen. xxviii. 16. The sun many times shines when we do not see it, and the husband is many times in the house, when the wife doth not know it, God is in thy house, he is in thy heart, though thou seest him not, though thou feelest him not, though thou hearest him not; Heb. xiii. 5. "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee:" or as it may be rendered according to the Greek, "I will not not leave thee, neither will I not not forsake thee." Art thou not now drawn out to prize God, and Christ, and his love above all the world? Yes. Art thou not now drawn out to give the Lord many a secret visit, in a corner behind the door, in some dark hole, where none can see thee, nor hear thee, but the Lord? Yes. Are there not strong breathings, pantings, and longings after a clearer vision of God, and after a fuller fruition of God? Yes. Art thou not more affected and afflicted with the drawings of Christ, than thou art with the greatest afflictions that ever befel thee? Yes. Austin, upon that answer of God to Moses, "Thou canst not see my face and live," Exod xxxiii. 20. makes this quick and sweet reply, "Then, Lord, let me die, that I may see thy face," Psal. xxx. 6, 7. Dost thou not often tell God,

that there is no punishment to the punishment of loss, and no hell to that of being forsaken of God? Yes. Dost thou not find a secret power in thy soul, drawing thee forth to struggle with God, to lay hold on God, and patiently to wait on God, till he shall return unto thee, and lift up the light of his countenance upon thee? Yes. Well then, thou mayst be confident, that thou hast a secret and blessed presence of God with thee, tho' God, in regard of his comfortable presence, may be departed from thee; nothing below a secret presence of God, with a man's spirit, will keep him waiting and working till the sun of righteousness shines upon him. If any vain persons should put that deriding question to thee, Where is thy God? thou mayst safely and boldly answer them, My God is here, he is nigh me, he is round about me, yea, he is in the midst of me, Zeph. iii. 17. "The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy: he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing." The bush, which was a type of the church, consumed not all the while it burned with fire, because God was in the midst of it. It is no argument, that Christ is not in the ship, because tempests and storms arise.

5. Though God be gone, yet he will return again; though your sun be now set in a cloud, yet it will rise again; though sorrow may abide for a night, yet joy comes in the morning. A Christian's mourning shall last

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but till morning; Micah vii. 19. "He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us." Cant. iii. 4. "It was but a little that I sed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him and I would not let him go, &c." Psal. xciv. 19. "In the multitude of my thoughts within me, thy comforts delight my soul." Isa. liv. 7, 8. 10. " For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee; neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord, that hath mercy on thee." God will not suffer his whole displeasure to rise upon his people, neither will he forsake them totally or finally; the saints shall taste but some sips of the cup of God's wrath, sinners shall drink the dregs; their storm shall end in a calm, and their winter-night shall be turned into a summer's day. There was a woman, who was thirteen years under desertion, which was so vehement, that, for the most part of her time, she was fain to keep her bed through weakness: a godly minister, who was affected with her condition, went to comfort her, and to pray with her; but when he came and offered to do it, she shrieked out, utterly refusing, and forbidding him to pray with her; for, said she, I have too many abused mercies to an

swer for already: yet he would not be put off, but prayed by her, and so prevailed with God on her behalf, that the next morning she was delivered from all her fears, and had such exceeding joy, that the like hath rarely been heard of; the Lord, that had been long withdrawn from her, returned at length in a way of singular mercy to her. There was another precious woman, who was several years deserted, and hearing a precious godly minister preach, she of a sudden fell down, overwhelmed with joy, crying out, O! he is come whom my soul loveth! and for divers days after she was filled with such exceeding joys, and had such gracious and singular ravishing expressions so fluently coming from her, that many came to hear the rare manifestations of God's grace in her; the lowest of her pious expressions, did exceed the highest that ever the minister had read in the book of martyrs. But,

6. Lastly, God's deserting, God's forsaking of his people, shall many ways work for their good. As,

(1.) God, by withdrawing from his people, will prepare and fit them for greater refreshings, manifestations, and consolations, Psal. lxxi. 11, 20, 21. "Saying, God hath forsaken him, persecute and take him, for there is none to deliver him.". But shall this forlorn condition work for his good? Yes. "Thou which hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth. Thou shalt increase my greatness

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