nations of the earth; therefore will I punish you."-Though he pardons their fins, yet he may take vengeance on their inventions. Therefore,

Remark 3. "There are many rods they are visited "with." Sometimes desertion, fometimes affliction, fometimes temptation, fick nefs, death of friends and children; "Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord delivereth them out of them all," Pfalm xxxiv. 19.

Remark 4. "God has glorious and merciful defigns "in afflicting them." Glorious with reference to himfelf; and merciful with reference unto them.-As to himself, it is to clear his juice, and manifeft his equity in the adminiftration of his government, and that the world may not think he bears with fin in his own, cr indulges them in their rebellion; therefore, though David repented of his adultery and murder, and got a pardon; yet becaufe his fin was fcandalous and offenfive, and made the enemies of the Lord to blafpheme; therefore he must be punifhed with the fword of a bloody enemy, and a bloody fword must not depart from his houfe. As to them, it is to do them good, to humble and prove them, to imbitter fin to them, and to make them forfake fin and flee to Christ, and that in their affliction they may feek him early, faying, "Come, let us return to the Lord, for he hath broken, and he will heal us; he hath fmitten, and he will bind us up," Hofea v. 15. and vi. 1. compared.

[4.] We now proceed to give a discovery of these whofe carriage in afflicted circumftances is, indeed, inconfiftent with this complacential love of God.

1. Such as grow worfe by their afflictions, and, inftead of turning unto God, turn from him; that gnaw their tongues and blafpheme, like thefe, Rev. xvi. 10. Is it not with many, as with Ahaz, 2 Chron. xxviii. 20. 21. In his diftrefs he finned yet more? It is to be feared, many are worse instead of being better by

the rod.

2. Such as are neither better nor worse, but rather ftupid and fottifh, never affected though afflicted. A child of God may become, in fome refpects, fenfeless

for

for a little, with the acuteness and severity of his afflic tion; but he comes to his fenfes again, and is stirred up to a fuitable affectedness before the Lord: but it is fad when people are no way touched and moved with the hand of God upon them. It is a ftubborn child that will not weep when the father chaftifes; "Thou haft fmitten them, but they have not grieved," Jer. v. 3. Some are paft feeling, they are, as it were, threshed on, and yet they feel it not.

3. Such as feel their mifery and trouble, but do not fee the cause of it; and therefore never take the right way to be rid of it; but being fenfible of external trouble, look out for external help, as Ephraim faw his wound, and went to king Jarib; but none fays, "Where is God my Maker? Job xxxv. 9, 10. Though they cry, by reafon of the arm of the mighty, yet none faith, Where is God my Maker, who giveth fongs in the night ?" Few prayers to God, little amendment.

4. Such as in their affliction turn to God, but it is not with their whole heart, but feignedly, Jer. iii. 10. They pray and cry fervently for ease and relief, yet hold faft iniquity; or, if they forfake fome fins, yet not all; their main bufinefs is to get eafe from trouble; thus Pharaoh cried, turned, confeffed; " Pray for me, that this death may be removed." Some never defire a prayer to be made for them, till they fear they are on their death-bed: they go to God in affliction, like one that goes to a great man about bufinefs, not about a loving vifit; and if the bufinefs be done, they part and leave him, and perhaps never wait upon him again; they have got their bufinefs done, and they feek no more: fuch are felfifh feekers, that feek Christ only for the loaves.

5. Such as feem to turn cordially, and to return, but it is not to the Moft High: they not only pray that God would remove the outward trouble, but they acknowledge fin, and refolve never to be fo bad again; but it is merely a moral turning, whereby many deceive themselves they think their forfaking of fome things, and reforming of fome things, and performing of fome

duties,

duties, wherein they may be wonderfully affected, that this is true grace, but it is not fo; it is a turning, indeed, but not to the Moft High. Distance from God, is the great evil; and nearness to him, through Christ, is that wherein our great happinefs lies. Now, though men fhould go never fuch a length in reformation, if they live at a distance from God, it will be of little ftead to them; the great defign of the rod is not ob tained our righteoufnefs muft proceed from the influence of another covenant. People may turn to duty, and not to God, and they may turn to God, and yet not to Chrift; or to God in Chrift; as Chrift faid to the difciples," Ye believe in God, believe alfo in me." If we believe in God, and yet not believe in Christ, we believe not in the Moft High; for God is most highly exalted only in Chrift; "He that honours not the Son, honours not the Father." He that turns not to Chrift by faith, never turns rightly to God by repentance.

6. Such as feem to turn to God and Chrift, but turn away from him again, 2 Peter ii. 20,-23. And like thefe, Pfalm lxxviii. 34. 37. "When he flew them, they fought him; yet their heart was not right with God, neither were they ftedfast in his covenant.-If any man draw back, my foul fhall have no pleasure in him." It is true, God's children may have many changes in their frames, and back-drawings in their hearts; but fiill they have a fixed purpose of heart to follow the Lord like the mariner, that fets out for fuch a port, though he may be toffed at fea, and carried backward with contrary winds, yet his fixed purpose leads him to make for the defigned haven, at which he at last arrives. God's children may draw back, but they are not as these that draw back to perdition; "The backflider in heart fhall be filled with his own way.”,

VOL. VI.

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SERMON

SERMON XCIII.

EZEK. xvi. 8.

Now, when I paffed by thee, and looked upon thee; bebold, thy time was a time of love.

AS

[The Third Sermon on this Text.]

Sa throne of grace is erected for a time of need, Heb. iv. 16. "Let us come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need ;" So a time of love is ordered for a time of need, and a time of trouble: and, indeed, as none will apply to a throne of grace, but these that are poor and needy, and are really fenfible of their poverty, and need, and neceflity; fo none will duly value and relish a time of love, but thefe that are brought to diftrefs and trouble, efpecially under apprehenfions of divine anger, wrath, and difpleafure: hence our time of mifery, and his time of mercy, are here joined together; Behold, thy time was a time of love.

We have already improven this fubject in feveral ufes: We shall now proceed to another ufe of the doctrine, and that is of examination. Try then, if your time of trouble and diftrefs, has been a time of love: for I cannot well feparate thefe which the text and context join fo closely.

First, We may view this negatively. There are fome whofe time of trouble is evidently no time of love;

as,

1. Thefe whofe trouble and diftrefs never make them find more of the vanity of the world difcovered to them; nor their hearts ever more feparate therefrom than formerly. If your farms and merchandife, your worldly concerns, (Mat. xxii. 5.) keep your hearts as much away from the gofpel-feaft, or from Chrift, as

ever, thou haft got little good of thy trouble. If trouble in a world was bleft to thee, the world would become more taftelefs to thee; Jer. iii. 22, 23. "Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the Lord our God: Behold, in vain is falvation looked for from the hills and multitude of mountains." Intimating, that as the Lord draws to himfelf, he loofes from the world.

2. Such as were never more awakened by their trouble to a serious concern about fpiritual and eternal matters, furely they cannot read a time of love in their trouble; they continue afleep, ftill fecure and careless; they are so far from being turned to God, that they are not rifen to their feet. See how David in his trouble is awakened to a concern about death and eternity, Pfalm xxxix. He fees his age as nothing, and every man vanity; then he faid, "Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee."

3. Such whofe trouble never put them to pray more frequently and fervently than they were accustomed to do, and in another manner; when there is no change in their prayers. It is true, fome in trouble may turn from fottifhnefs to ferioufnefs; natural ferioufnefs for help and deliverance; but never from natural to fpiritual ferioufnefs, fo as to pray in a fpiritual manner, for fpiritual bleffings, and wrestle with God for the bleffing: it is faid of the hypocrite, that he doth not cry when God enjoins him. See Dan. ix. 13. "All this evil is come upon us, yet made not we our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquity, and understand the truth." And Hofea vii. 7. "All their kings are fallen; yet there is none among them that calleth unto me." When God makes our chief enjoyments fail, and yet we turn not to him by faith and prayer, is it a time of love? Nay, rather of wrath and anger. You may pray indeed, and yet be guilty of this here challenged, becaufe you pray not better than you did. If the Spirit of prayer was poured out upon us in affliction, it would be a fign of love.

4. Such as under trouble have no more hatred of fin, nor heart-parting with it, and heart-exercise about it, cannot fay their time of trouble is a time of love.

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Love