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in him—not in wrath for the purpose of destroying him, which he probably apprehended when under the pressure; in faithfulness, that thus he might bestow upon him the most glorious blessings; although it seemed to him at the time that he was being led to destruction; in faithfulness, in order to heal him of his many infirmities; whilst his iniquities pressed hard upon him, and unrighteousness seemed to have increasingly the upper hand of him; in faithfulness, since he secretly held him fast and supported him; for though the Lord lays a burthen upon us, he also helps us to bear it; whilst he at one time thought the Lord was no longer his help; but then again perceived the hand of the Most High; in faithfulness, as long as it was needful to abase him, however much he might pray, cry, sigh, and complain against it, and say, 'Is thy mercy clean gone for ever? but not a moment longer did the time of suffering last, and then appeared his powerful aid. The Lord afflicted him in faithfulness to the degree which was requisite, so that he went bowed down, and bent beneath it, and the burden continued to increase until it became too heavy to be borne; but that very moment it was changed in such a wonderful manner, that it might be said, 'Who redeemeth thy life from destruction, who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercy;' whilst even under his burden he also thought he should yet praise him; faithful in attacking him just on that side where it certainly pained him the most, but where it was also the most necessary; although he might probably think, Ah, if it were only any thing else but that; and yet

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just that was requisite for him, whilst something different was required for other patients. In short, it is in faithfulness that God afflicts and humbles his children. Formerly they went astray, and with the best will and intention, began the work improperly; but their conduct is now conformable to the rule of the word. Certainly, he that has already passed through the furnace, may boast and declare the judgments of the Lord to be right. Let us be satisfied that we have an unspeakably faithful Lord and Master; and may this also become more apparent to us from the meditation we are at present about to resume on the subject.

We proceed with the consideration of Jacob's conflict, and its results; after having, on a former occasion, made ourselves somewhat more acquainted with the two combatants.

'When the Son of God saw that he could not prevail over him'-such is the continuation of the wonderful narrative—victory declared itself for Jacob, and the Son of God is obliged to yield! Nor is this any wonder, since he had bound his own hands by the promise, 'I will do thee good; and thereby pointed out to his Omnipotence the direction it ought to take. It was able to clear away those things which were a hindrance to Jacob, but not to accelerate his destruction; it was able to pour out benefits upon him, but not to divest him of them. Omnipotence is the minister of Divine truth, and could do nothing against, but every thing for the truth. It could have rent heaven and earth asunder; but it was under the necessity of preserving Jacob unconsumed. Omnipotence is a Divine

attribute, the exercise of which depends upon the will of God, who can therefore exert or restrain it at his pleasure. But with his truth the case is different; for it is a constituent part of his being, and it is impossible for him to act contrary to it, or he would cease to be Jehovah-that is, to be what he is. He has often entirely renounced his Omnipotence; so that nothing but weakness was visible in him. Where was his Omnipotence, when he fled into Egypt before the face of Herod? What—is this the man who intends to save his people? Is this he who is to overcome the strong man armed, and bind him? Is this the child who is the mighty God? Where was his Omnipotence, when he was bound, and nailed hand and foot to the cross, and when he was laid in the sepulchre? He still indeed possessed it; but he restrained it for the truth's sake, as he himself says, that the Scriptures might be fulfilled. There was a necessity for it; for Omnipotence cannot be exercised against the truth, since God is willing to employ it only in favor of the truth. He had said of his sheep, 'No man shall pluck them out of my hands; the power of God was therefore obliged to be immediately exerted, when it seemed as if Jesus's assertion was about to be put to shame in the case of Peter, who denied his Master even with oaths and curses; the Lord then turned and looked at Peter, and regarded Satan, who was sifting him, with an omnipotent look: Omnipotence then became the servant of truth.

No one comprehended better than Abraham, Jacob's grandfather, what he possessed in Divine truth, and

what he might risk and expect, when he had the word of God on his side. A posterity had been promised to him in Isaac, which should be blessed and made a blessing. Yet him he was commanded to sacrifice. He boldly seized the knife, most firmly convinced, that God must keep his word, because he was able to do so; and thus he expected that his Omnipotence would minister to his truth, and that Isaac, though slain and burnt to ashes, would be raised from the dead, sooner than that God would suffer himself to be made a liar, for that was impossible; but otherwise every thing was possible with God, and through him, to him that believeth.

Jacob understood this also. The Lord had promised him, saying, 'I will do thee good.' Hence his Omnipotence could only be exercised towards him in so far as it was in accordance with this promise; and because ne adhered to it, the Almighty was unable to expel him from the place, but succumbed in the conflict.

Where is there a God like unto him, and how does Eternal Wisdom sport with his children! We may well pray with David (Psalm cxix. 38), 'Stablish thy word unto thy servant.' We should then see the glory of God, and find in it a consolation which does not suffer us to perish in our misery. Has he not promised us every thing requisite for our salvation, joy, and prosperity? And is it not made doubly sure to us by letter and seal, by Baptism and the Lord's Supper? What more can we desire? Will he not forgive transgression and sin? Why do we therefore suffer anxious fears to perplex us? The devil, and our own deceitful hearts, may murmur against it as much as they please. Will

he not give us a new heart, and make such people of us, as shall walk in his commandments, keep his statutes, and do according to them? And yet we are foolish enough to fear that we shall be obliged to retain our depraved hearts, because we cannot change them ourselves. Christ himself has engaged to be made unto us wisdom; can it be possible, therefore, that we should always continue foolish? He has undertaken our sanctification, and can we continue impure? In reality, we ought justly to feel much astonished at not being perfect saints: for what is the reason that we are not so? I think the chief cause of it lies in this, that we are too proud and self-righteous to expect every thing from pure grace, and for the sake of the word and promise of God; and are still desirous of accomplishing too much of ourselves, and of becoming too much in ourselves. Does not the true and faithrul Word tell us that the Lord careth for us, and enjoin us to cast all our care upon him? But who believes this cheering truth? He that does so, finds rest and peace and refreshment when he is weary. But almost all refuse to listen to it, and care for themselves instead of believing. Hence they experience so little of the glory of God, and torment themselves in vain with a burden which they have not strength to bear. We think it rational to trust to the creature, but absurd to hope in the living Creator. O what fools we are to act thus, seeing that we cannot change a single hair white or black! How happy we might be did we believe the words, He careth for you;' therefore cast all your care upon him, both externally and internally. Were

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