Eighteen Sermons, Sermon 2
SERMON II.
CHRIST the Believer's Refuge.
PSALM xlvi. I—6.
God is our refuge and ſtrength, a very preſent help in trouble; therefore will we not fear, though the earth be removed, and the mountains be carried into the midſt of the ſea, though the waters thereof roar, and be troubled, though the mountains ſhake with the ſwelling thereof, Selah. There is a river, the ſtreams whereof ſhall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Moſt High: God is in the midſt of her, ſhe ſhall not be moved; God ſhall help her, and that right early.
THERE was a tradition among the ancient Jews, that the manna which came down from heaven, though it was a little grain like coriander-ſeed, yet ſuited every taſte; as milk unto babes, and ſtrong meat to grown perſons. Whether this ſuppoſition be founded on fact or not, the obſervation will hold good in a great meaſure reſpecting the ſayings of David; for if we have eyes to ſee, and ears to hear, if God has been pleaſed to take away the veil from our hearts, we ſhall find, by happy experience, that let our circumſtances be what they will, the book of Pſalms may ſerve as a ſpiritual magazine, out of which we may draw ſpiritual weapons in the time of the hotteſt fight, eſpecially thoſe that are under trouble, when the hand of the Lord is gone ſeemingly forth againſt them; when unbelief is apt to make them ſay, all theſe things are againſt me! if we can have the preſence of mind to turn to the book of Pſalms, we may find ſomething there ſuitable to our caſe, a word to refreſh us in purſuing our ſpiritual enemy. This is true of the 46th Pſalm in particular, part of which I have juſt now read to you, and which I pray the bleſſed Spirit of God to apply to every one of our hearts. It is uncertain at what time, or upon what occaſion, David wrote it; probably under ſome ſharp affliction, which made him eloquent; or when the affliction was over, when his heart was ſwimming with gratitude and love, and when out of the fulneſs of it his pen was made the pen of a ready writer. It was a favorite Pſalm with Luther; for whenever Melancthon, who was of a melancholy turn, or any other of his friends, told him ſome ſad news, he uſed to ſay, come, come, let us ſing the 46th Pſalm; and when he had ſung that, his heart was quiet. May every true mourner here, and afflicted perſon, experience the ſame! I know not when I read it which to admire moſt, the piety, or the poetry; the matter, or the manner; and I believe I may venture to defy all the critics on earth to ſhow me any compoſition of Pindar, or Horace, that any way comes up to the diction of this Pſalm conſidered only as human: he that hath an ear to hear, let him hear, God is our refuge and ſtrength, a very preſent help in trouble. Stop here, my friends, let us pauſe a while, and before we go further, may the Lord help us to draw ſome comfort from this very firſt verſe: for obſerve, it is not ſaid, God is my refuge; David ſays ſo in another Pſalm, but he ſays here, God is our refuge: he ſpeaks in the plural number, implying that this Pſalm was of no private interpretation, but was intended for the comfort and encouragement of all believers, till time ſhall be no more. Obſerve the climax, God is our refuge, is one degree; God is our ſtrength, another; God is our help, and not only ſo, but is a preſent help, yea, is a very preſent help, and at a time when we want it moſt, in the time of trouble. It is here ſuppoſed, that all God's people will have their troubles, man is born to trouble, as the ſparks fly upward; and if we are born to trouble as men, we are much more ſo as chriſtians. We forget ourſelves and the ſtation in which God has placed us, when we ſo much as begin to dream of having much reſpite from trouble while we are here below. The decree is gone forth like the laws of the Medes and Perſians, it alters not; through tribulation, through much tribulation, we muſt all go; but bleſſed be God we are to be carried through it; and bleſſed be God, glory is to be the end of it▪ may God give us to know this by happy experience! In the world, ſays our bleſſed Lord, ye ſhall have tribulation, tribulation and trouble of different kinds; and in another place, if any man will come after me, ſays he, let him take up his croſs daily, and follow me; ſo that the day, when we take up no croſs, we may ſay as Titus did, when he reflected that he had done no good that day, I have loſt a day! But then what ſhall we do, my dear hearers, when trouble comes, when one trouble comes after another, and afflictions ſeem to purſue us wherever we go, ſeem to ariſe up out of the ground, meet us as we are walking along? why bleſſed be God, if we have an intereſt in Chriſt, mind that, if we have an intereſt in Chriſt, God is our help, God is our aſylum, our city of refuge, a place appointed by God himſelf, to which the purſued ſaints may fly by faith, and be ſafe. The wicked have no notion of this; when they are in trouble, what is their refuge? let a ſoul be under ſpiritual trouble, and cry out what ſhall I do to be ſaved? let him go to a carnal miniſter, an unconverted wretch that knows nothing about the matter, he ſhall be told, oh! go, and play an innocent game at cards, and divert yourſelf; that is to ſay, the devil muſt be your refuge. Worldly people have worldly refuges; and Cain would ſeem as if he was in earneſt when he ſaid, my puniſhment is greater than I can bear: what does he do, he goes and diverts himſelf by building a city, goes and amuſes himſelf by building. The devil, my brethren, will give you leave to amuſe yourſelves; you may have your choice of diverſions, only take care to be diverted from God, and the devil is ſure of you; but the believer has ſomething better: faith ſweeps away the refuge of lies, and the believer turns to his God, and ſays O my God, thou ſhalt be my refuge. The devil purſues me, my falſe friends have deſigns againſt me, my own wicked heart itſelf moleſts me, my foes are thoſe of my own houſe; but do thou, O God, be my refuge, I will fly there; by theſe it may be ſaid, God is our refuge. The queſtion is, what ſhall I do to make him my refuge? how ſhall I be helped to do ſo? you bid me fly; you ſay, I muſt fly there, but where ſhall I get wings? how ſhall I be ſupported? Here is a bleſſed word, God ſhall not only be our refuge, but God ſhall be our ſtrength alſo. Strength, what is ſtrength? why, my brethren, to make every day of trouble ſo eaſy to us by his power, as to carry us through it; God has ſaid, and will ſtand to it, as thy day is, ſo ſhall thy ſtrength be. Afflictions even at a diſtance will appear very formidable, when viewed by unbelief. Our fears ſay, O my God, if I come to be tried this or that way, how ſhall I bear it? but we don't know what we can bear till the trial comes, and we do not know what ſtrength God can give us, or what a ſtrong God he will be, till he is pleaſed to put us into a furnace of affliction; and therefore it is ſaid, not only that God is our refuge and our ſtrength, but that God is our help alſo. What help? why, my dear friends, help to ſupport us under the trouble; help ſo as to comfort us as long as the trouble laſts; and bleſſed be God, that the help will never leave us, till we are helped quite over and quite through it. But what kind of a help is it? O bleſſed be God, he is a very preſent help. We may have a helper, but he may be afar off; I may be ſick, I may want a phyſician, and may be obliged to ſend miles for one; he might be a help if he was here, but what ſhall I do now he is at a diſtance. This cannot be ſaid of God, he is not only a help, but he is a preſent help: the gates of the New Jeruſalem are open night and day. We need not be afraid to cry unto God; we cannot ſay of our God as Elijah does of Baal, perhaps he is aſleep, or talking, or gone a journey: it is not ſo with our God, he is a preſent help; he is likewiſe a ſufficient help, that is, a very preſent help; and that too in the time of trouble. It is but to ſend a ſhort letter, I mean a ſhort prayer, upon the wings of faith and love, and God, my brethren, will come down and help us. Now to this David affixes his probatum eſt, David proves it by his own experience, and therefore if God is our refuge, therefore if God is our ſtrength, if God is our help, if God is a preſent help, if God is a very preſent help, and that too in a time of trouble, what then? therefore will we not fear.—Therefore, is an inference, and it is a very natural one, a concluſion naturally drawn from the foregoing premiſſes; for Paul ſays, if God be for us, who can be againſt us? There is not a greater enemy to faith than ſervile fear and unbelief. My brethren, the devil has got an advantage over us when he has brought us into a ſtate of fear; indeed in one ſenſe we ſhould always fear, I mean with a filial fear; bleſſed is the man, in this ſenſe, that ſcareth always: but, my brethren, have we ſtrong faith in a God of refuge? this forbids us to fear; ſays Nehemiah, ſhall ſuch a man as I flee? and the Chriſtian may ſay, ſhall a believer in Jeſus Chriſt fear? ſhall I fear that my God will leave me? ſhall I fear that my God will not ſuccour me? no, ſays David, we will not fear; how ſo? why tho' the mountains be carried into the midſt of the ſea, though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains ſhake with the ſwelling thereof. Where is Horace, where is Pindar, now? let them come here and throw their palms down before the ſweet ſinger of Iſrael. There is not ſuch a bold piece of imagery in any human compoſition in the world. Can any thing appear more great, more conſiderable than this? Imagine how it was with us ſome years ago, when an enthuſiaſtic fool threatened us with a third earthquake; imagine how it was with us when God ſent us the ſame year two dreadful earthquakes; had the earth been at that time not only ſhook, but removed, had the fountains of the ſea been permitted to break in upon us, and carry all the mountains of England before it, what a dreadful tremor muſt we all unavoidably have been in? David ſuppoſes that this may be the caſe, and I believe at the great day it will be ſomething like it: the earth and all things therein, are to be burnt up; and, my brethren, what ſhall we do then if God is not our refuge, if God is not our ſtrength?
We may apply it to civil commotions: David had lately been beſet with the Philiſtines, and other enemies, that threatened to deprive him of his life; and there are certain times when we ſhall be left alone. This alſo, my brethren, may be applied to creature comforts: ſometimes the earth ſeems to be removed, what then? why all the friends we take delight in, our moſt familiar friends, our ſoul-friends, friends by nature, and friends by grace, may be removed from us by the ſtroke of death; we know not how ſoon that ſtroke may come, it may come at an hour we thought not of; the mountains themſelves, all the things that ſeem to ſurround and promiſe us a laſting ſcene of comfort, they themſelves may ſoon be removed out of our ſight, what then ſhall we do: they may be carried into the midſt of the ſea; what is that? our friends may be laid in the ſilent grave, and the places that knew them may know them no more. It is eaſy talking, but it is not ſo eaſy to bear up under theſe things: but faith, my brethren, teaches us to ſay, though all friends are gone, bleſſed be God, God is not gone. As a noble lady's daughter told her mother, when ſhe was weeping for the death of one of her little children, a daughter four years old ſaid, Dear mamma, is God Almighty dead, that you cry ſo long after my ſiſter? No, he is not dead, neither does he ſleep. But here the imagery grows bolder, the painting ſtronger, and the reſemblance more ſtriking, though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains ſhake with the ſwelling thereof; what will not this make us fearful? will not this ſhake us off our bottom, our foundation, and take up the roots? No, no, even then the believer need not fear; why, God is in the midſt of her. Don't you remember God ſpoke to Moſes out of the buſh? did he ſtand at a diſtance, and call to him at a diſtance from the buſh? no, the voice came out of the buſh, Moſes! Moſes! as Mr. Ainſworth, who was a ſpiritual critic, ſays.
Learn from hence, that in all our afflictions God is afflicted; he is in the midſt of the buſh; and oh! it is a ſweet time with the ſoul when God ſpeaks to him out of the buſh, when he is under affliction, and talks to him all the while. Though it was threatened by the fire which ſurrounded it with immediate and total deſolation; yet the buſh burned and was not conſumed. I do not know whether I told you, but I believe I told them at Tottenham-court, and perhaps here, that every chriſtian has got a coat of arms, and I will give it you out of Chriſt's heraldry, that is the burning buſh; every chriſtian is burned, but not conſumed. But how is it the ſaint is held up, whence does he get his ſtrength; or how is this ſtrength, this ſupporting, comforting ſtrength, conveyed to his heart? read a little further, you ſhall find David ſay, there is a river, mind that, there is a river the ſtreams whereof make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Moſt high; need I tell you, that probably here is an alluſion to the ſituation of Jeruſalem, and the waters of Shiloah, that flowed gently through the city of Jeruſalem, which the people found ſweet and refreſhing in the time of its being beſieged. So the rivers run through moſt of the cities in Holland, and bring their commodities even to the doors of the inhabitants. Pray, what do you think this river is? why, I believe it means the covenant of grace; O that is a river, the ſprings of which firſt burſt out in Paradiſe, when God ſaid, the ſeed of the woman ſhall bruiſe the ſerpent's head; then God made this river viſit the habitation of man, as the firſt opening of his everlaſting covenant.
No ſooner had the devil betrayed man, and thought he was ſure to get him into the pit, even when he was laughing at man's miſery, and thinking he was revenged of God for driving him out of heaven; at that very time did the great God open this river, and made it ſlow down in that bleſſed ſtream to mankind, implyed in thoſe words, it ſhall bruiſe thy head. O this is a ſtream which, I pray, may this night make glad this part of the city of God. If by the river we underſtand the covenant of grace, then, my brethren, the promiſes of God are the ſtreams that ſlow from it. There is no promiſe in the bible made to an unbeliever, but to a believer; all the promiſes of God are his, and no one knows, but the poor believer that experiences it, how glad it makes his heart God only ſpeaks one ſingle word, or applies one ſingle promiſe; for if when one's heart is overwhelmed with ſorrow, we find relief by unfolding ourſelves to a faithful diſintereſted friend; if a word of comfort ſometimes gives us ſuch ſupport from a miniſter of Chriſt, O! my friends, what ſupport muſt a promiſe from God applied to the ſoul give? and this made a good woman ſay, I have oft had a bleſſed meal on the promiſes when I have had no bread to make a meal for my body.
But by the river we may likewiſe underſtand, the Spirit of the living God. If you remember, Jeſus Chriſt declared at the great day of the feaſt, if any man believe on me, out of his belly ſhall flow rivers of living water: this ſaith the beloved diſciple, ſpake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him ſhould receive. My brethren, the divine influences are not only a conduit, but a deep river, a river of broad waters. Here is room for the babes to walk, and for the man of God to bathe and ſwim in from time to time; and ſuppoſing that the river means the Spirit of God, as I believe really it does, why then the ſtreams that flow from this river are the means of grace, the ordinances of God, which God makes uſe of as channels, whereby to convey his bleſſed Spirit to the ſoul. Nay, by the river we may underſtand, God himſelf who is the believer's river, the Three-one, Father, Son, and Holy Ghoſt. This river is in the midſt of the city, not at the court-end of the town only, or one corner, or end, but quite through, in a variety of ſtreams, ſo that high and low may come to it for ſupply; and not only be ſupported, but have their hearts made glad daily thereby; God help us to drink afreſh of this river. If this be the caſe, well may David triumph and ſay, glorious things are ſpoken of the city of God; are ſpoken of her, in the feminine gender. The church is ſpoken of in that ſenſe, becauſe Eve, the firſt woman, was the mother of all believers, we may apply this to a ſingle ſaint, as well as to a community, under trouble, ſhe ſhall not be moved; not moved? pray, would you have them ſtupid? do you love when you ſtrike a child, to ſee it hardened and regardleſs? do you not like the child ſhould ſmart under it and cry, and when it is a little penitent you almoſt wiſh you had not ſtruck it at all. God expects, when he ſtrikes, that we ſhould be moved; and there is not a greater ſign in a reprobate heart of a ſoul given over by God, to have affliction upon affliction, and yet come out like a ſoul braved in a mortar, unmoved and hardened. My brethren, this is the worſt ſign of a man or woman's being given over by God. Jeſus was moved, when he was under the rod; he cries, father! if it be poſſible, let this cup paſs from me! he was moved ſo as to ſhed tears, tears of blood, falling to the ground. Woe, woe, woe be to us, if when God knocks at the door by ſome ſhocking domeſtic or foreign trial, we do not ſay, my God! my God! wherefore doſt thou ſtrike? When we are ſick we allow phyſicians to feel our pulſe, whether it be high or languid, and when we are ſick, and tried with affliction, it is time to feel our pulſe, to ſee if we were not going into a high fever, and do not want ſome ſalutary purge. It is expected therefore that we ſhould be moved; we may ſpeak, but not in a murmuring way: Job was moved, and God knows when we are under the rod, we are all moved more than we ought to be in a wrong way; but when it is ſaid here, ſhe ſhall not be moved, it implies, not totally removed; perplexed, ſays the apoſtle, but not in deſpair: perſecuted, but not forſaken: caſt down, but not deſtroyed: therefore removal means deſtruction: when the earth is moved, the mountains ſhake, and the waters roar, where can we flee? what can we ſee but deſtruction all around us? But, my brethren, ſince there is a river the ſtreams whereof make glad the city of God, ſince God is our refuge, ſince God is our ſtrength, ſince God is our help, ſince God is a preſent help, ſince God is a very preſent help in the time of trouble, ſince God is in the midſt of her, ſince God cauſes the ſtreams to make her glad, bleſſed be God, we ſhall not, my brethren, be totally moved; nay, though death itſelf does remove our bodies, though the king of terrors, that griſly king, ſhould come armed with all his ſhafts, yet in the midſt of death we are in life, even then we ſhall not be moved, even though the body is removed in ſleep, the ſoul is gone where it ſhall be ſorrowful no more. One would have imagined that David had ſaid enough, but pray obſerve how he goes on, he repeats it again, for when we are in an unbelieving frame we have need of line upon line, words upon words, God ſhall help her; ah! but when? when? when will he help her? when will he help her? why, right early: God ſhall help her, and that right early. Why ſometimes we knock for a friend, but he will not get up early in the morning, but God ſhall help us, and that right early, in the morning. Ah! but, ſay you. I have been under trouble a long while; why God's morning is not come: you ſaid right early; yes, but you are not yet prepared for it, you muſt wait till the precious right moment comes, and you may be aſſured of it. God never gives you one doubt more than you want, or even defers help one moment longer than it ought to be.
Now, my dear hearers, if theſe things are ſo, who dares call the Chriſtian a madman? If theſe things are ſo, who would but be a believer? who would not be a faithful follower of the Son of God? My brethren, did you ever hear any of the devil's children compoſe an ode, that the devil is our refuge; the God of this world, whom we have ſerved ſo heartily, we have found to be a preſent help in time of trouble? ah! a preſent help to help us after the devil: or did you ever hear, ſince the creation, of one ſingle man that dared to ſay, that all the forty-ſixth pſalm was founded on a lie? No, it is founded on matters of fact, and therefore believer, believer, I wiſh you joy, although it is a tautology. I pray God, that from this time forth till we die, you and I, when under trouble, may ſay with Luther, come let us ſing the forty-ſixth pſalm.
As for you that are wicked, what ſhall I ſay to you? are you in high ſpirits to night; has curioſity brought you here to hear what the babler has to ſay on a funeral occaſion? well, I am glad to ſee you here, though I have ſcarce ſtrength to ſpeak for the violence of the heat, yet I pray God to magnify his ſtrength in my weakneſs; and may the God of all mercy over-rule curioſity for good to you. I intend to ſpeak about this death to the ſurviving friends; but, my dear hearers, the grand intention of having the funeral ſermon to night, is to teach the living how to die. Give me leave to tell you, that however briſk you may be now, there will a time come when you will want God to be your help. Some pulpit may e'er long be hung in mourning for you; the black, the dreary appendages of death may e'er long be brought to your home; and if you move in a high ſphere, ſome ſuch eſcutcheon as this, ſome atchievement may be placed at your door, and woe, woe, woe be to thoſe who in an hour of death cannot ſay, God is my Refuge. You may form ſchemes as you pleaſe; after you have been driven out of one fool's paradiſe, you may retreat into another; you may ſay, now I will ſing a requiem to my heart, and now I ſhall have ſome pleaſant ſeaſon; but if God loves you he will knock off your hands from that, you ſhall have thorns even in roſes, and it will imbitter your comforts. O what will you do when the elements ſhall melt with fervent heat; when this earth, with all its fine furniture, ſhall be burnt up; when the archangel ſhall cry, time ſhall be no more! whither then, ye wicked ones, ye unconverted ones, will ye flee for refuge? O, ſays one, I will fly to the mountains: O ſilly fool, O ſilly fool, fly to the mountains, that are themſelves to be burnt up and moved. O, ſays you, I will flee to the ſea; O you fool, that will be boiling like a pot: O then I will flee to the elements; they will be melting with fervent heat. I can ſcarce bear this hot day, and how can you bear a hot element? there is no fan there, not a drop of water to cool your tongue. Will you fly to the moon? that will be turned into blood: will you ſtand by one of the ſtars? they will fall away: I know but of one place you can go to, that is to the devil; God keep you from that! Happy they that draw this inference; ſince every thing elſe will be a refuge of lies, God help me from this moment, God help me to make God my refuge! here you can never fail; your expectations here can never be raiſed too high; but if you ſtop ſhort of this, as the Lord liveth, in whoſe name I ſpeak, you will only be a ſport for devils; a day of judgment will be no day of refuge to you, you will only be ſummoned like a criminal that has been caſt already, to the bar to receive the dreadful ſentence, Depart, ye curſed, into everlaſting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. There is no river to make glad the inhabitants of hell, no ſtreams to cool them in that ſcorching element: were thoſe who are in hell to have ſuch an offer of mercy as you have, how would their chains rattle! how would they come with the flames of hell about their ears! how would they rejoice even there, if a miniſter was to tell them, Come, come, after you have been here millions and millions of years, there ſhall come a river here to make you glad. But the day is over; God help us to take warning: and oh! with what gratitude ſhould we approach him to night, for bearing with, and for for-bearing us ſo long; let each ſay to night, why am I out of hell? how came I not to be damned, when I have made every thing elſe my God, my refuge, for ſo many years? May goodneſs lead every unconverted ſoul to repentance, and may love conſtrain us to obedience: fly, fly, God help thee to fly, ſinner; hark! hear the word of the Lord, ſee the world conſumed, the avenger of blood, this grim death, is juſt at thy heels, and if thou doſt not this moment take refuge in God, tonight before to-morrow, you may be damned for ever; the arms of Jeſus yet lie open, his loving heart yet ſtreams with love, and bids a hearty welcome to every poor ſoul that is ſeeking happineſs in God. May God grant that every unconverted ſoul may be of the happy number.
But, my brethren, the moſt heavy taſk of this night yet lies unperformed; indeed, if my friendſhip for the deceaſed did not lead me to it, I ſhould pray to be excuſed; my body is ſo weak, my nerves ſo unſtrung, and the heat beats too intenſely on this tottering frame, for me to give ſuch a vent to my affections as I am ſure I ſhould give if I was in vigorous health; you may eaſily ſee, though I have not made that application, with what deſign I have choſe this Pſalm; you may eaſily ſee by the turn, I hope no unnatural one, that has been given to the text as we have paſſed along, that I have had in my view a mournful widow here before me. Did I think when this black furniture was taken from the pulpit when two branches were lopt off within about a year one after another, both lopt off from on earth, I hope and believe to be planted for ever in heaven, little did I think that the axe was in a few months to be laid to the root of the father; little did I think that this pulpit was then to be hung in mourning for the dear, the generous, the valuable, the univerſally benevolent, Mr. Beckman; a benefactor to every body, a benefactor to the tabernacle; he has largely contributed both to the chapel and tabernacle, and, my dear hearers, now his works follow him, for he is gone beyond the grave. Such a ſingular circumſtance I believe rarely happens, that though I was laſt night at near eleven o'clock dead almoſt with heat, I thought if death was the conſequence, I would go to the grave and have the laſt look at my dear departed friend; to ſee a new vault opened; to ſee a place of which he has been, in a great meaſure, the founder; to ſee a place which he was enlarging at the very time he died; too ſee a new vault there firſt inhabited by the father, and two only ſons, and all put there in the ſpace of two years time, Oh! it was almoſt too much for me, it weighed me down, it kept me in my bed all this day; and now I have riſen, God grant it may be to give a ſeaſonable word to your ſouls. Oh! my friends, put yourſelves in the ſtate of a ſurviving widow, and then ſee who is ſecure from cutting providences. The very children when they are young are a trial; but the young man for whom a handſome fortune awaited; for a tender loving father to have his ſon taken away; for the widow to have her huſband taken away ſoon after; indeed, dear madam, you had need read the forty-ſixth Pſalm; you may well ſay, call me no more Naomi, that ſignifies pleaſant, but call me Marah, for the Lord hath dealt bitterly with me. Theſe are ſtrokes that are not always given to the greateſt ſaints. Such ſudden ſtrokes, ſuch blow upon blow, Oh! if God is not a ſtrength and refuge, how can the believer ſupport under it? but bleſſed be the living God, I am a witneſs God has been your ſtrength, I am witneſs that God has been your refuge; you have found, I know you have, already, that there is a river a river in which you have ſwam now for ſome years, the ſtreams whereof make glad your waiting heart. Surely I ſhall never forget the moment in which I viſited your deceaſed huſband, when the hiccoughs came, and death was ſuppoſed to be really come, to ſee the diſconſolate widow flying out of the room, unable to bear the fight of a departing huſband: I know that God was then your refuge, and God will continue to be your refuge. You are now God's peculiar care, and as a proof that you will make God your refuge, you have choſen to make your firſt appearance in the houſe of God, in the Tabernacle, where I hope God delights to dwell, and where you met with God, and which I hope you will never leave till God removes you hence. Whatever trials may yet await you, remember you are now become God's peculiar care. You had before a huſband to plead for you; he is gone, but your pleader is not dead, he lives, and will plead your cauſe; may you find him better to you than ten thouſand huſbands; may he make up the awful chaſm that death has made, and may the Lord God be your refuge in time, and your portion to all eternity; and then you will have a bleſſed change. You are properly a Naomi: I would humbly hope that your daughter-in-law, which ſo lately met with a ſtroke of the ſame nature, will prove a Ruth to you, and though young and having a fortune, ſhe may be tempted to take a walk in the world, yet I hope ſhe will ſay, where thou goeſt, I will go: where thou lodgeſt I will lodge: thy people ſhall be my people, and thy God my God: where thou dieſt, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do ſo to me, and more alſo, if ought but death part thee and me. It is to your honor, madam, and I think it right to ſpeak of it, you had the ſmiles of your departing father-in-law, you had behaved with deference and love; he was very fond of you; God make you a comfort to your ſurviving mother, who has adopted you, and may the Lord Jeſus Chriſt enable you to take God to be your portion.
As for you that are the relations of the deceaſed, there is one of you that has been honorably called to the ſervice of the miniſtry: you, ſir, was ſent for over by an endearing uncle, you have been a ſtranger in a ſtrange land: the Palatines will bleſs your miniſtry; God has, I hope, bleſſed it, and provided you a place to preach in. May God grant that that church may be filled with his preſence and his glory; and you, madam, be made the inſtrument of ſending the news to heaven for your huſband, that this and that man was born of God there. As for you, the other friends of the deceaſed, may God grant that when you die, and when you are buried, the people may follow you with tears as they did dear Mr. Beckman laſt night. I was told by one this morning that walked along with the funeral, that it was delightful to hear what the people ſaid when the coffin paſſed by; they bleſſed the perſon contained therein, Oh! he was a father to the poor. The poor have indeed loſt a friend; and I believe there has not been a man, a tradeſman in London, for theſe many years, that has been more lamented than the dear man who now, I hope, is at reſt. You well know how mindful he has been of you, and that ſoon after the deceaſe of his diſconſolate widow, his ſubſtance will be divided among ſome of you. Give me leave to charge and intreat you, by the mercies of God in Jeſus Chriſt, to be kind to the honored widow. Do not ſay, Mr. Beckman my uncle is dead, come pluck up, let us plague her now ſhe is living, we ſhall have all when ſhe is dead. The plague of God will follow you if you do: if you valued your dear uncle, do all you can to make her life eaſy; pay her that reſpect which you would pay the deceaſed was he now living; this will ſhew your love is genuine, and not counterfeit, and do not lay up wrath againſt the day of wrath. Follow the example of your dear deceaſed uncle; the gentleman was viſible in him as well as the chriſtian; he would be in his warehouſe early in the morning, that he might come ſoon to his country-houſe, and there employ himſelf in his friendly life, and open the door to the diſciples of Jeſus. It is time to draw to an end, but I will ſpeak a word to the ſervants of the family, who have loſt a good and a dear maſter. May the Lord Jeſus Chriſt be your maſter forever, that you may be the Lord's ſervants, however you may be diſpoſed of in this world; that you may meet your maſter, your miſtreſs, and all the family, in the kingdom of the living God, then we ſhall have a whole eternity to reflect upon the goodneſs of a gracious God. O may God help us to ſing the forty-ſixth Pſalm; may we find him to be our ſtrength and our refuge, a very preſent help in the time of trouble: may the river of the living God make glad your hearts, and may you be with God to all eternity; even ſo, Lord Jeſus, Amen and Amen.