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Matt. v. 12. And to believe God to be a rewarder, is to lay hold on his covenant, wherei. he promiseth so to be: I will be thy God, "thy shield and thy exceeding great reward," Gen. xv. 1. The sum of the covenant is, I will be thy God: what is that but this, I will be all that to thee, and I will do all that for thee, which a God can be to thee, and do for thee. I will be a sun and a shield to thee, Psal. lxxxiv. last. I will give thee grace and glory, and will withhold no good thing from thee. I that am the infinite first and best being of all things, the living fountain of all mercy, the original of all power and goodness; I will be a God to thee, thy God, thy father, if thou wilt take me for thy God, and place all thy happiness in me, and wilt become my servant, and give up thyself sincerely to me, to serve and obey, to love and fear, and trust me only. This is to believe in God, to accept of God for our God, and to yield up ourselves to him to be his people, Isa. Ivi. 46. to chuse the things that please him: to give him our hearts, and become his servants, as Deut. xxvi. 17, 18. And so God proposed himself to Abraham, when he called him, Gen. xii. 1, 2, 3. as a rewarder; and more fully, Gen. xv. 1. "I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward;" and so Abraham's faith was to act on God so manifested: and, Gen. xvii. 1. I am God all-sufficient; all-sufficient to support thee in thy way, and work, and all-sufficient to reward thee in the end; therefore,

be thou upright and faithful; let not thy heart be troubled, whatever dangers and difficulties thou meetest with in my way and work, and what losses soever thou sustainest for my sake, believe, I am God all-sufficient; I will sufficiently reward thee,, thou shalt be no loser by following and serving me. Also "Moses his faith had an eye to the recom pence of reward," Heb. xi. 26.

And that you may see that this is not legal and mercenary, our Lord Jesus proposeth this as an encouragement to his people, Mat. v. 12. Great is your reward in heaven. And he himself took encouragement from it, as Heb. xii. 1, 2. for the joy that was set before him, &c.

So that this is to believe in God, to believe that God is really and truly, he is all that which he hath revealed himself to be, and to believe that he is a rewarder, &c. This faith in God, Christ took for granted that his disciples had; ye believe in God; ye believe that God is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. And if ye believe this, let not your hearts be troubled; be not afraid nor dejected, but act your faith in God, and seriously consider what God that is in whom you believe; and believing also your interest in that God, that he is your God, this God all-sufficient is your God, you will have no cause to be troubled. Your acting of faith on God, your God, will prevent and cure your heart trouble, and that these several ways.

First, more generally.

He that believes in God as his God, believes God is always present with him, according to his promises. In the worst times God is present with his people. And can there be any cause of heart trouble to such souls as have always the presence of God with them, whose presence makes heaven, and in whose "presence is fulness of joy, and at whose right hand are pleasures for evermore?" Ps. xvi. 11. Sure, ly, beloved, this will prevent heart trouble, when a soul can act his faith and firmly believe it. God is always present with his people, and that for gracious purposes, (and not as a bare spectator;) as to proportion and measure out their afflictions to them, that they may not be above their strength, nor more than need, 1 Cor. x. 13. 1 Pet. i. 6. All the afflictions of God's people are measured by the hand of the most wise, most merciful and gracious God: all the malice of men and devils cannot add a drachm to the weight, nor a drop to the measure, beyond God's appointment. He is present to order and fix the time of our sufferings, it is an hour of temptation, Rev. ii. 10. It is our loving father that sets up the glass of the time of our troubles; he appoints their beginning, their duration, their end; he holds the glass in his own hand. All the powers on earth cannot bring trouble on us, till the hour come, till the appointed time, nor continue our troubles longer than his time; The rod of the wicked shall not rest on the

lot of the righteous," Psal. cxxv. 3.

God is

present to mix some comforts with the cross, thereby to allay the bitterness of it, present to support the soul with inward strength; Psal. cxxxviii. 3. "Thou strengthenest me with strength in my soul: present to sanctify af-. flictions for good, and at length in his good time, which is the best time, when he hath perfected his own work in his people, he is present for their full deliverance.

A true believer in God hath always a God to go unto: O what a comfort, what an happiness is that! He dwells in the love of God as well in affliction as out of it; he may be cast out of his happy condition in the world, but never out of the favour of his God: this believed by us, will cure heart sorrow, heart fear, heart care, all despondency, dejectedness, disquietments and distractions whatever. Faith acted on God, the almighty, all-sufficient God, and our God, always present with us, is the sovereign antidote against, and the best cure of all heart trouble, Psal. cxlii. 1, 2, 3, 4, there are the Psalmist's troubles; and ver. 5. there is his cure; "I cried unto thee, O Lord, thou art my refuge, and my portion in the land of the living." So, Ps. cxliii. 4, 6. 8. his spirit was overwhelmed with trouble; but he cried to God, and trusted in him, and that was his relief; his trusting in God was an high exercise of his faith. This kept David from sinking under his great distress: 1 Sam.

xxx. 6. "He encouraged himself in the Lord his God." Thus in general.

More particularly I shall endeavour to shew what there is in God that a believer's faith fetcheth virtue from to cure his heart trouble in his greatest distress, even under the loss of the personal presence of his best and dearest friends on earth; for such was like to be the case of the disciples in the text.

First, That in God which faith looks unto, and fetcheth comfort from, is his sweet and gracious nature. God is love, the very element of love, 1 John iv. 16. and his gracious name, which discovers his nature; Exod. xxxiv. 6. The Lord, gracious and merciful. When he gives to his people, he gives in love; when he takes, he takes in love. Now when a soul believes that all is from love, and all in love, he is supported. When a man can believe that all his troubles come to him from the father of mercies, and his father in Christ, he cannot but bear them patiently. Ye believe in God, said Christ, ye believe that God loves you, therefore, let not your hearts be troubled.

Q. But how shall I know that God loves me when he afflicts me?

I answer, when we can discern that we have received any spiritual benefit by any affliction, we may certainly conclude that the love of God was in that affliction. Fury is not in God towards his people, Isa. xxvii. 4. And he intends nothing but our profit; all his ends are for our good: to purge away our

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