tual misery. I would have all of you to think this
to be your only health, wealth, and peace, and your only glory in the
world, to be in covenant with God; and so that ye are the people of God,
I would not have you to count men to be rich and glorious men by their
estates in the world--that he can spend so many chalders of victual
yearly, or so many thousand merks. O, a silly, beggarly glory is this!
Naked thou came into the world, and naked thou must go out of it again.
But see how mickle thou has of the knowledge of Jesus Christ, how far
thou art forward in the work of repentance, faith, &c., and such good
actions. Learn to set your affections on things that are above, and
testify it by your actions.
II. "In the day of Thy power." This is the time when the people of God
sall be willing, even in the day of His power; that is, in the day of
the power of Jesus Christ. The day of His own resurrection from the dead
was one day of His power: He says, "I have power to lay down My life,
and I have power to take it again;" "Destroy this temple, and I will
build it up again in three days;" He meant of the temple of His body:
and indeed there was none who could raise His dead body out of the
grave, but only Himself. A second day of His power sall be the day of
the resurrection of our bodies out of the dust. But there is another day
that is meant of here than any of these, and that is the day of our
first resurrection out of the grave of sin, by the preaching of the
gospel. And there is good reason for it, why this should be called a day
of His power. First, because it is the power of Jesus Christ that brings
the purity of the gospel into a land; and we may indeed say that it was
only His power that brought the gospel into this land. It had not
authority then to countenance it, for all those that were in authority
were against it; and counsel and policy, and all the clergy, and the
multitude, all of them, were against it; and yet, for all that, the
Lord brought in the purity of the gospel into this land, and established
it here against all these. Secondly, when the purity of the gospel is
into a land, it is only the power of God that makes it effectual for
turning of souls unto Himself, and raising them out of the grave of sin,
wherein they are so fast buried. So when the Lord first sends the
gospel, we are lying into the grave of sin; and the devil, and the
world, and all these enemies they are watching the grave, to see that we
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