He Himself sets us an example, of which, the Garden of Gethsemane was a memorable witness.* And, in addition to his abounding exhortations to continual, persevering prayer, St. Paul fails not to confirm his precepts by his practice; for he tells us, that on a certain occasion he besought the Lord thrice. Oh! then faint not, desist not; ask, until it be given; seek, until you find; knock, until it be opened unto you; for he that asketh in faith, in due time, receiveth; he that seeketh earnestly, in due time, findeth; and he that knocketh with lawful importunity, in due time shall gain admission. Be assured, (for on the authority of God's Word, I speak, and which bids me speak thus boldly) be confidently assured, that if you "continue instant in prayer," you shall, by the influence of the same Holy Spirit, be enabled to "be patient in tribulation, and rejoice in your hope." * Matthew xxvi. 36-44. II Cor. xii. 8. XIV. PROVERBS XXIV. 10. IF THOU FAINT IN THE DAY OF ADVERSITY, THY STRENGTH IS SMALL. THIS is the testimony of that Heavenly Comforter, by whose inspiration these words were put into the mouth of the royal author; of that gracious Comforter, by whom strength is supplied to those who do not faint in the day of adversity; it is therefore a true testimony; and as the verse contains an express declaration, and a direct accusation, it may, by the blessing of God, be profitable for us to meditate upon it. We have before us a test of our faith, a trial of our confidence in God, and as such, the words are important. Let us then consider these two things: First, we ought not to faint in the day of adversity. Secondly, if we do, what are the causes of our fainting. I. We ought not to faint in the day of adversity! Why? Because the Lord has so placed every man in this vale of tears, that trials and sorrows are common to all; from "the bread of affliction, and the water of affliction" none are exempt; not one, since " man (i. e. the whole race of man) is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward,"* and therefore all ought to be prepared to expect it: but with this curse entailed upon us by Adam, the blessing of the gift of faith, and the promise of strength under the infliction of this curse, are proclaimed in and by the second Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ; so that, although we deserve nothing at the hands of God, but endless misery, yet we are not left to be "the sport of fortune," (as is the language of the worldly and profane) or at the mercy of our arch enemy; if wounded, the same hand that sent the affliction, will send also deliverance; if persecuted, the same power which allows us to be persecuted, is ready to be stretched out in our defence; if in danger of sinking, the same eye which sends and sees the coming storm, is ever watching to afford us aid, the same attentive ear is ever open to our cry; the "Lord save or I perish" of drowning Peter, is also the Christian's panoply: Yes, He that wounds, is alone able to heal: "behold" (says Job) "He breaketh down, and it cannot be built again; He shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening."+ But moreover, there is another reason why we ought not to faint in the day of adversity; not only because we have One to apply to, who is greater than all who can be arrayed against us, but because there is, what is not unaptly called, "a need be" for every affliction, i. e. "that the trial of our faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, may be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ."* And in unison with this, is the prophet's call to the people of the Lord to glorify Him in their tribulation, "Wherefore, glorify ye the Lord in the fires, even the name of the Lord God of Israel in the isles of the sea."+ Now this is evidently our duty, because it is not for His own pleasure, or because He delights in our sorrows, that the Lord visits us with them; truly no-the testimony of David, one of the most experienced in the school of adversity, is this, "I know, O Lord, that Thy judgements are right, and that Thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me." And no less explicit is the declaration of Jeremiah, "Though He cause grief, yet will He have compassion according to the multitude of His mercies. For He doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men." Seek you now any further reason why you ought not to faint in the day of adversity? I will not force upon you the harsh, forbidding truth, that God is our Sovereign and our Ruler, and therefore has a right to do what He wills with us; nor will I insist on the no less fundamental truth, that we are all sinners by nature and by daily practice, and therefore deserving infinitely more punishment than we actually do, or possibly * 1 Peter i. 6, 7. Isa. xxiv. 15. Psalm cxix. 75. can receive; I will not, I say, thus deal with you, because I have more encouraging assurances to give you this indeed is my earnest desire and endeavour, in dependance on the Spirit's blessing, in collecting together from the bread of life,* these crumbs of comfort for your support in this the day of your adversity, in these, the hours of your sadness.-Let us inquire then, if we do faint in the hour of our trial, what are the causes of our fainting? They appear to me to be two; one is, because we have no strength to bear up against it; the other is, because our strength is small. I have here no need to say any thing on the former deficiency, since the words, 'thy strength is small,' pre-suppose that there exists a portion, or at least a desire to attain a sufficiency, of strength; and likewise my chief object is to assist such characters, that is those who are seeking, not despising the Heavenly consolation. Why then, Christian friend, is your strength small? if it be not for want of asking, it is for want of asking earnestly and constantly; it is through lack of faith: He who soweth sparingly, must he not expect to reap sparingly? he who seeks for little, must not be surprised if he find but little or it may be, "you ask and receive not, because you ask amiss :"+ it may be, that you depend partly on Divine aid, and partly on your own, or some earthly source; there is probably too much self-confidence; or like Job, you may be skilled : *See Deut. viii. 3, Job xxiii. 12, II Cor. ix. 10. |