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DAVID'S CONCLUSION;

OR,

The Saint's Resolution.

IN ONE SERMON.

PSALM lxxiii. 28.

"But it is good for me to draw near to God."

THIS pfalm is a pfalm of Afaph, or a pfalm of David, and committed to Afaph the finger; for Afaph was both a feer, and a finger. Those pfalms that David made, were committed to Afaph, so it is thought to be a pfalm of David; and if not of David, yet of Afaph, who was likewise a finger in the houfe of God.

The pfalm reprefents to us a man in a spiritual conflict; by a difcovery of the cause of it, and a recovery out of the conflict, with a triumphant conclufion afterwards.

He begins abruptly, as a man newly come out of a conflict"Truly God is good to Ifrael" as if he had gained this truth in conflicting with his corruptions, (and fatan, who joins with corruption in oppofing :) fay the flesh what it can, fay fatan what he can, fay carnal men what they can, yet, "God is good to Ifrael."

2. After this conflict, he fets down the difcovery, first of his weakness, and then of his doubting of God's providence; and then the cause of it, the profperity of the wicked, and God's contrary dealing with the godly; then he discovers the danger

he was come to. Ver. 13. "Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency," &c.

3. And then the recovery, in verfe 17. "I went into the fanctuary, and there I understood the end of thefe men." The recovery was by going into the fanctuary; not by looking upon the prefent condition, but upon God's intention, what should become of fuch men, and there he had fatisfaction.

4. Then his victory, and triumph over all, ver. 23. "Nevertheless I am continually with thee." It was a fuggeftion of the flesh that thou waft gone far from me, by reafon of the condition of carnal men that flourish in the eye of the world. No: "Thou art continually with me, and thou holdest me by my right hand;" thou upholdest me, I should fall elfe. But what, would God do fo for the time to come?" He will guide me by his counsel," while I live here. And when I am dead, what will he do for me after?" He will receive me to glory:" whereupon faith he, "Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none in earth that I defire befides thee." Therefore, though for the prefent my flesh fail, yea, and my heart fail; yet, "God is the ftrength of my heart, and my portion for ever." We fee here his victory fet down; and he gives a luftre to it, by God's contrary dealing with the wicked for, lo! they that are far from thee, fhall perish: thou haft deftroyed all them that go a whoring from thee." Now, in the words of the text, you have this conclufion upon all this, "Neverthelefs it is good for me to draw near to God."

This is the conclufion upon the former principles; this is, as it were, the judgment upon the former demurs; the fum of all comes to this: Let all things be weighed, and laid together, I an fure this is true," It is good for me to draw near to God." So he ends where he began, "God is good to Ifrael," There. fore becaufe God is good to Ifrael," it is good to draw near to God." So you fee in what order the words come: they are the words of a man got out of a conflict after he had entered into the fanctuary; and after he had confidered the end of wicked men, at whofe profperity he was troubled, and took scandal.

Before I come to the words, it is not amifs briefly to touch thefe points, that I am to deliver.

First, God's dearest children are exercised with sharp fpiritual conflicts.

God

God fuffers their very faith in principles fometimes to be fhaken. What is more clear than God's providence? not the noon-day: yet God fuffers fometimes his own children to be exercifed with conflicts in this kind, to doubt of principles written in the book of God, as it were, with a fun-beam; that have a luftre in themfelves. There is nothing more clear, than that God hath a particular fpecial providence over his; yet God's ways are fo unfearchable and deep, that he doth fpiritually exercise his children; he fuffers them to be exercifed, as you fee here, he comes out of a conflict: "but it is good for me to draw near to God." I will but touch it; therefore I will extend it only to God's people, that (if by reafon of the remainders of corruption, God fuffer their rebellious hearts to cast mire and dirt, to caft in objections that are odious to the fpiritual man, that part that is good), they may not be caft down too much, and dejected. It is no otherwife with them, than it hath been with God's dear children; as we fee in Jeremiah, Habakkuk, and others. It is a clear truth, I only point at it, that we might have it ready, to comfort ourselves when fuch things rife in our fouls it is no otherwife with us, than it hath been with others of God's dear children.

The fecond point is, that God's children, when they are in this conflict, recover themselves.

God fuffers them to be foiled; but then they recover themfelves. First, there is a conflict, and then often times the foil. A man is foiled by the worst part in him; and then after a while he recovers; and then, (as in other conflicts), there is triumph and victory as we fee here, his conflict and recovery.

For God's children go not far off from him, (as it is in verse 27. "Lo, they that are far off from thee fhall perish)," they may have their thoughts unfettled a little concerning God's providence; but they run not far off, they go not a whoring, as carnal men do. They begin to flip, but God hath a blessed hand under them, that they do not fall away, that they fall not foully. They may flip, and fall a little, to ftand better, and furer after; but they go not far off, as wicked men do: they never flip fo low, but God's goodnefs is lower to hold them up: he hath one hand under them, and another hand above them, embracing them, fo they cannot fall dangerously. This is the fecondfrom this that we fee here, he recovers out of this conflict.

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Ufe. Which may ferve to difcern our estate in grace; if we belong to God, though fuch evil imaginations rife, yet notwithstanding there is a contrary principle of grace always in God's children, that checks them, at least afterwards, if not presently. Such noifome thoughts as these rule and reign in carnal men; for they take fcandal at God's government, and they judge indeed, that the ways of wicked men are happy: they have falfe principles, and they frame their courses to fuch false principles and rules; from cherishing atheistical doubts of God's providence, and the like. It is far otherwife with God's children : there are conflicts in them; but there is a recovery, they check them prefently: they have God's fpirit, and the feed of grace in them, which is never extinct.

The way of recovery is to enter into God's fanctuary: for we must not give liberty to ourselves to languish in such a course, to look to present things too much; but look into God's book, and there we fhall fee, what is threatened to fuch and fuch ill courses; and what promises are made to good courfes and then apply God's truth to the example. See how God met with wicked men in their boafting, and advanced his children when they were even at the brink of despair. Examples in this kind are pregnant, and clear, throughout the feripture. The Lord faith," It shall go well with the righteous;" and it fhall not go well with the wicked, let him escape a thousand times. "Doubtlefs there is a reward for the godly." Let us look in the book of God, upon the predictions, and fee the verifying of those predictions in the examples that act the rules, and bring them to the view-let us fee the truths in the examples. This entering into God's fanctuary, it is the way to free us from dangerous fcandals, and to overcome dangerous conflicts: for the conclufions of the fanctuary are clean contrary to sense and carnal reafon. Carnal reason faith, Such a one is a happy man, fure he is in great favour, God loves him: O, but the fanctuary faith, It fhall never go well with fuch a man. Carnal reafon

would fay of Dives, O, a happy man: but the fanctuary faith, He had his good here, and Lazarus had his ill here. Carnal reafon faith, Is there any providence that rules in the earth? is there a God in heaven, that fuffers thefe things to go fo confufedly ay, but the word of God, the fanctuary faith, there is a providence that rules all things fweetly, and that all things are beautiful in their time.

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We must not look upon things in their confufion, but knit things. Mark the end, mark the end of the righteous man," Pfal. xxxvii. Look upon Jofeph in prifon, here is a horrible fcandal; for where was God's providence to watch over a poor young man but fee him after, the second man in the kingdom. Look on Lazarus at the rich man's door, and there is fcandal : but fee him after in Abraham's bofom. If we see Christ arraigned before Pilate, and crucified on the crofs; here is a fcandal, that innocency itself should be wronged: but ftay a while, see him at the right hand of God, ruling principalities and powers, fubjecting all things under his feet.

Thus the fanctuary teacheth us to knit one thing to another, and not brokenly to look upon things prefent, according to the dreams of men's devices; but to look upon the catastrophe, and winding up of the tragedy. Not to look on the present conflict, but to go to the fanctuary, and fee the end of all; fee how God directs all things to a sweet end. "All the ways of God (to his children) are mercy and truth, though they feem never so full of anger and displeasure. Thus you fee God's children are in conflict oft times, and sometimes they are foiled in the conflict; yet by way of recovery they go into the fanctuary, and there they have fpiritual eye-falve; they have another manner of judgment of things, than flesh and blood hath.

Again, we fee, when he went into the fanctuary, the very fight of faith makes him draw near to God. Sometimes God reprefents heavenly truths to the eye of fenfe, in the examples of his juftice." We fee fometimes wicked men brought upon the ftage: God bleffeth such a fight of faith, and fuch examples, to bring his children nearer to him: as we fee immediately before the text-" thou wilt deftroy all that go a whoring from thee; and then it follows," it is good for me to draw near to God." So that the fpirit of God in us, and our spirits sanctified by the spirit, takes advantage when we enter into the fanctuary, (and fees the divers ends of good and bad), to draw us clofe to God.

Indeed that is one reafon why God fuffers different conditions of men to be in the world, not so much to fhew his justice towards the wicked, as that his children feeing of his juftice, and his mercy, and the manifeftation and discovery of his providence, in ordering his juftice towards wicked men, it may make them cleave to his mercy more, and give a luftre to his

mercy,

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