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works and designs of Providence! And how oft are we forced to retract our rash opinions, and confess our mistakes, acknowledging that if Providence had not seen with better eyes than ours, and looked farther than we did, we should have precipitated ourselves into a thousand mischiefs, which by its wisdom and care we have escaped! It is nothing but pride and arrogance overruling our understandings, that makes resignation so hard. The more humility, the more resignation.-Deeply consider the sinfulness and vanity of torturing your own thoughts about the issues of doubtful providences.-There is much sin in so doing, for what are all our anxious and solicitous emotions, but the immediate issues and fruits of pride and unbelief? There is not a greater discovery of pride in the world than in the contests of our wills with the will of God. It is a presumptuous invading of God's prerogative to dictate to his Providence, and prescribe to his wisdom. And there is also a great deal of vanity in it. All the thoughtfulness in the world will not make one hair white or black; all our discontents will not prevail with God to call back or make void his word, Isa. xxxi. 2.-Set before you the scripture-patterns of submission to the Lord's will, in as deep, yea, much deeper points of self-denial than this before you, and shame yourselves out of this quarrelling temper with Providence. You know what a close trial that providence was to Abraham, which called him from his native country and father's house, to go he knew not whither; and yet it is said he went. Paul's voyage to Jerusalem had a dismal aspect upon himself; he could expect nothing but bonds and prisons, yet he resigns up his will to God's. But what an example has our dear Lord Jesus set before us in the deepest point of self-denial that ever was in the world. When the Father gave the cup of sufferings into his hand in the garden, a cup of wrath, the wrath of the great and terrible God, and that without mixture; the very taste whereof put nature into an agony and astonishment, a sore amazement, a bloody sweat, and forced from him that vehement and sad cry, "Father, if it be possible let this cup pass;" yet still with submission he said, "Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be

done." O blessed pattern of obedience and resignation to the pleasure of God! What is your case to this?Study the singular benefits and advantages of a will resigned up, and melted into the will of God. Such a spirit has a continual sabbath within itself: the thoughts are established, Prov. xvi. 3. And truly, till a man come to this, he doth but too much resemble the devil, who is a restless spirit seeking rest, but finding none. Besides, it fits a man's spirit for communion with God in all his afflictions; and this alleviates and sweetens them beyond any thing in the world. And surely a man is never nearer the mercy he desires, or the deliverance he expects, than when his soul is brought into a submissive temper. David was never nearer the kingdom than when he became as a weaned child.-Think how repugnant an unsubmissive temper is both to your prayers and professions.

How

You pray that the will of God may be done on earth as it is in heaven; and yet when it seems to cross your wills or interests, you struggle against it. You profess to have committed your souls to his keeping, and to leave your eternal concerns in his hands; and yet cannot commit things infinitely less valuable unto him. contradictory are these things! Your profession, as Christians, bespeaks you to be led by the Spirit, but this practice bespeaks you to follow the perverse counsels of your own spirits. O then, regret no more, dispute no more, but lie down meekly at your Father's feet, and say in all cases, and at all times, "The will of the Lord be done."

THE

BALM OF THE COVENANT

APPLIED TO

AFFLICTED SAINTS.

BY THE REV. JOHN FLAVEL.

2 SAM. xxiii. 5.

Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure; for this is all my salvation and all my desire, although he make it not to grow. THESE are part of David's last words. The last words of dying saints, but especially of dying prophets, are ponderous, memorable, and extraordinarily remarkable; and such are these acknowledged to be by all expositors. It is a golden sentence, a divine oracle, fit to be the last words of every dying saint, as well as of David.

They are called his last words, not simply and absolutely, as though he breathed them forth with his last breath, for he spake many things afterwards; but either because they are the last he spoke as a prophet by divine inspiration, or because he had them often in his mouth to his last and dying day. They were his epicedium, his sweet swan-like song, in which his soul found singular refreshment and strong support, amidst the manifold afflictions of his life, and against the fears of his approaching death.

The whole chapter is designed for a coronis or honorable close of the life of David, and gives us an account

both of the worthy expressions which dropped from him, and of the renowned worthies who were employed by him. But all the heroic achievements recorded to the honor of their memories, in the following part of the chapter, are trivial and inglorious things, compared with this one divine sentence recorded in my text; in which we have two things to consider-the preface, which is exceedingly solemn the speech itself, which is exceedingly weighty.

In the preface, we have both the instrumental and principal efficient cause of this divine sentence distinctly set down, ver. 1. and the efficient or author of it, ver. 2.

The instrument or organ of its conveyance to us, was David; described by his descent or lineage, "the son of Jesse;" by his eminent station, "the man that was raised up on high;" even to the top and culminating point of civil and spiritual dignity and honor, both as a king and as a prophet; by his divine unction, "the anointed of the God of Jacob," and lastly, by the flowing sweetness of his spirit and style in the divine psalms that were penned by him, whence he here gets the title of "The sweet psalmist of Israel;""The pleasant one in the psalms of Israel," as some read it.

The principal efficient cause of this excellent passage, is here likewise noted, and all to commend it the more to our special observation and acceptance. "The Spirit of God spake by me, and his word was in my tongue." This stamps my text expressly with divine authority. The Spirit of God spake by David; he was not the author, but only the scribe of it. Thus the ensuing discourse is prefaced.

Let us next see the matter or speech itself, wherein we shall find the maxims and general rules of government prescribed, and the felicity of such a government elegantly described. "He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God." Princes being in God's place, must exalt the righteousness of God in the government of men; and when they do so," they shall be as the light of the morning when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds." What halcyon days shall that happy people see, whose lot is cast in such times and

places! All this is typically spoken of David, and those pious princes who succeeded him; but mystically and eminently it points at Christ, who was to rise out of David's seed, Rom. i. 3, and to sit upon his throne, Acts ii. 30. So that in this David was raised on high to an eminence of glory and dignity indeed. He was so in his ordinary natural seed; a royal race, deriving itself from him, and sitting upon his throne in a lineal succession, till the Babylonish captivity, which was about four hundred and thirty years. And after that, the Jews had governors of his line, at least rightful heirs to that crown, till the promised Messiah came. But that which was the top of David's honor, the most sparkling jewel in his crown, was this, that the Lord Jesus was to descend from him according to the flesh, in whom all the glorious characters before given should not only be exactly answered, but abundantly exceeded. And thus you find the natural line of the Messiah is drawn down by Matthew, from David to the virgin Mary; and his legal line by Luke, from David to Joseph, his supposed father.

Now though the illustrious marks and characters of such a righteous, serene, and happy government, did not fully agree to his day, nor would do so in the reigns of his ordinary natural successors, for his day was not without many clouds both of sin and trouble: yet such a blessed day he foresaw and rejoiced in, when Christ, the extraordinary seed of David, should arise, and set up his kingdom in the world; and with the expectation hereof, he greatly cheers and encourages himself, "Although my house be not so with God, yet hath he made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure; for this is all my salvation and all my desire, although he make it not to grow." In which words four things are eminently remarkable. Here is, 1, a sad concession of domestic evils; 2, a singular relief from God's covenant with him; 3, the glorious properties of this covenant displayed; 4, the high esteem and dear regard his heart had unto it.

1. Here is David's sad and mournful concession of the evils of his house, both moral and penal. "Although

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