16. From the Word of God as the true fountain of consolation, are to be drawn all the above-mentioned arguments and grounds of comfort; namely, joy and quiet of mind under all kinds of crosses and afflictions. Hence also we must learn how these comforts are to be obtained, namely, by true repentance, a living faith, ardent prayer, and continually praising God.
Chapter XLIX.
The Truth Of God And The Certainty Of His Promises, Ought To Dispose Us To Patience.
I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me. I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness. Then she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her which said unto me, Where is the Lord thy God?—Micah 7:7-10.
We read in the prophet Jeremiah (chap. 9:4, etc.), that before the Babylonish captivity and the destruction of the temple, besides the idolatry that brought that desolation upon them, treachery, lying, falsehood, hatred, and envy prevailed to a high degree; and that charity was quite cold and dead amongst them. For wheresoever these abominations prevail, there, it is plain, God is not; and that he has forsaken not only the city or the kingdom, but also the hearts of those that dwell there; and when God forsakes us, destruction quickly finds us. So says the prophet (Jer. 9:4-8): “Take ye heed every one of his neighbor, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will walk with slanders. They weary themselves to commit iniquity. Their [pg 337] tongue is as an arrow shot out, it speaketh deceit; one speaketh peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his wait.”
2. Here we may see the wretched state of Jerusalem, and what flagrant iniquities they were which hastened its ruin. Treachery and iniquity did so abound, that there was neither truth nor honesty left among the people. Their only aim was to cheat and defraud one another; and their hearts being thus set upon iniquity, they brought on themselves ruin and destruction.
3. Something similar to this, is the complaint of the prophet Micah: “Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape gleanings of the vintage; there is no cluster to eat; my soul desired the first ripe fruit. The good man is perished out of the earth; and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood. They do evil with both hands earnestly. Trust ye not in a friend.” Micah 7:1, 2, 3, 5. When a people or nation are come to this pass, they are industriously digging a pit, into which they design to rush boldly, and with their eyes open. Would to God this were not the case in our own times! We, too, deeply share in their guilt, and we must expect to share in their punishments. For our destruction is of ourselves. O that we could at last awake, renounce our past errors, put off our carnal minds that are at enmity against God, and love the truth and peace. If we do not so, we are condemned already, and cannot receive help.
4. But in order that upright and good men may not be too much discouraged in this sad and dangerous state of things, we must consider by what means the holy men of old supported themselves in such a state of universal corruption. The prophet Micah (Micah 7:7, etc.), pointing out, as it were, with his finger the fountain of true consolation, says, “Therefore I will look unto the Lord: I will wait for the God of my salvation!” That is his first comfort. The second is, “My God will hear me.” The third is, “Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy. When I fall, I shall arise.” The fourth is, “When I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me.” The fifth is, “I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me.” The sixth is, “He will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.” The seventh is, “Then she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her.”
5. First, he says, “I will look unto the Lord: I will wait for the God of my salvation.” In these words is contained the doctrine of faith and hope, which are, as it were, the two watchful, never-sleeping eyes of the soul, by which it constantly looks towards God in the greatest dangers and necessities; the greater the calamity, the stronger ought to be our faith, the more vigorous our hope. Then it is that we should call to mind the words which we repeat at the beginning of the Apostles' Creed: “I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth;” that is, I believe that there is no misery or calamity so great, but God can and will deliver me out of it. Let us learn, therefore, to turn away our eyes from temporal suffering, not regarding it, but God “who worketh salvation in the midst of the earth” (Ps. 74:12), and who alone [pg 338] can and will deliver us according to Psalm 123: “Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens. Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until that he have mercy upon us. Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us; for we are exceedingly filled with contempt. Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud.”