Again, the holiness of the righteous is exposed to failure through trials. HERE IS AN ACT OF SACRED RESIGNATION AND CONFIDENCE TO WHICH ALL, AND ESPECIALLY ALL SUFFERERS FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS' SAKE, ARE INVITED. And this the Lord doth out of mercy to His poor creatures, that they might not sink before Him, but gather strength of grace, and be the better fitted to bear further crosses afterwards. It is surely not a presumptuous thing to assert that God has assumed, by the very act of creating us, something like responsibility for our well-being. God has not created sin, but He will triumph over it. Yes, all we have; for that is only well kept which God keeps; but yet in time of suffering we must be at a point with these things. The salvation of sinners is therefore impossible.1. But He exerciseth a more peculiar providence towards mankind; and more peculiar yet towards those who study to please Him by obeying Him and doing His will (Psalm 11:7; Psalm 33:18). He would lead you to Christ or into closer sympathy with Christ.(J. God has so constituted man as to limit Himself to one mode of government over him. Besides this, scandal makes it a hard matter to be saved; to see evil courses and evil persons flourish and countenanced in the world.6. Sibbes.The way to come to salvation is full of difficulties —1. If He crosses your wishes and thwarts your projects, this may be simply because He is unwilling to let you ruin yourself. All the winds which blow upon the earth from all points, stir it not; only that within the bowels of it makes the earthquake. To serve God is doing good, but after their own lusts, is not doing well. In particular, we must do well to them that do us wrong. Ofttimes the affections become unhappily attached, yet the attachment is exceedingly strong, and it shall seem like the sundering of the very heart strings to break it off. It is asked, Where shall the ungodly appear? So likewise in suffering we must commit our souls to God in well-doing in a double regard.1. where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear; if judgment begin at the house of God; if the righteous be scarcely saved?"1. (2) That there must be a careful and attentive mind to pursue this design. On account of its Author.2. First, to prepare for evils before they come; next, to make them welcome when they are come. But the text need not be particularly confined to this sense, but may hold good with respect to eternal salvation.1. He would enrich your whole spiritual nature. But this is not all; for there are many things which make it more difficult to some than others, which are of another nature. It is not enough to go and hear the gospel, to converse about it, to approve it, unless we obey it (Titus 2:11-14).III. Because God will discard hypocrites in this life, who take up so much of religion as stands with their ease and credit in the world, avoiding every difficulty which accompanies godliness, but, so they may swim two ways at once, go on in their lusts still and be religious withal. How to … There is a great measure of self-denial required to be a Christian, especially in matter of revenge, "to pray for them that curse us, to do good to them that persecute us," etc., and so "heap coals of fire upon our enemies' heads" (Proverbs 25:22; Romans 12:20). When the mind gives itself up to self-indulgence, and a host of appetites become clamorous and impetuous, what a labour it must be to bring the soul into harmony with God! How terrible such an influence must inevitably be! Not surely in a saved state. To God. Let the wicked tremble for the consequences of their conduct. God has His providential methods of soul training, and soul enlarging, and soul ripening. 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