Chap .29. ,a a Expofiti0a am the Book of Jos. Verf s. 4y to fay, ii God be with us, why is it tbus?or 'why .bath thisand that and (other cois befallen us? bur may not the Lord fay,feeing I have promifed to be. with you, ;tic!. have fo often fìood by you, wiry is it çhus and thus with you ? why have you thus requited ins pre- tence with you and the puttings forth of mypow( r for you ? are you: pilions and your pridc,and your earthltnefs,and your envie, and your carnality, due returaes for my beingwith you fo long, and my (landing by you fo often ? ISrz'we , Fowttbly, As hypocrites feem to be with the Lord when they are not; yea when they are far from, they teem to cleave inno him and hang about him ; fo the Lord is with the fineere when he feems to be far from them, yea to have laid then quite dide,and to have cat+ them off. And as the Lord is in- deed departed from many who perceive it nor, fo be is with ma- ny who perceive it nor. Fí±stilly, God bath promifed tobe with his people, efpecially when they are in trouble, and therefore they have no reafon to make their troubles an occtfen of queflioning his prefcnce with them, much le:fle an argument that he is withdrawn from them ; yea, heoften fullers evil ro befall - the. -;r ,chat he may have a clearer opportunity to (hew how much heiswith them.For the Lords be- ing with useis as much and as gloriouflyfen in upholding his peo- ple under tryals and cemptationt, as it is, either firfl in prevent- ing them, or fecondly,in delivering us out of them. How glorious is the work of God upon theheart, when we can live by faith, when fenfebath nothing to live upon ! when we can live uponthe word andprotnife of God, even then, when his works andprovi- dencesfpeak nothing but death tous ! Lally, Ianfwer, though the Lord bath promifed, tobe fowith ,his people, that evil (hall not hurt them, nor prevail over them ; yet henever promifed tobe fo with them, that troubles fhould not affault and vex them, yob knew the Lord was with him in the former fenfe, while his fad experience taught bim,ttat he wits not with him in the latter,And therefore be wifhes,0 chat ir. wt re with me as in the dayes when the Almighty was fo with me, that he fuffered no trouble to affault me. lob when it was worth him could fay, be would trail God though it fhould be worfe with hìm(Chap.a3, 15.) 7hougb heflayme I will traff in h%rn, l-e alfs is myfalvatim. But "iris impofsible for any one to fay this in faith Nnnz and 4S9
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