The dead saint speaking to saints and sinners living in several treatisesThe dead saint speaking to saints and sinners living in severall treatises

2. God may forsake a man in respect of his Comforting presence. ⟨p. 65⟩Though man is not able to rob us of our comforts, and take away our joys, they are such as the arms of men are not long enough to reach; yet God he can. He may eclipse our joys, and damp our comforts, and withdraw the beams of his Countenance from us, and leave us in darkness and trouble. I say, he may turn our Day into Night, our Light into Darkness, our Comforts into Discomforts.

2. God may forsake a man in respect of his Comforting presence. ⟨p. 65⟩Though man is not able to rob us of our comforts, and take away our joyes, they are such as the armes of men are not long enough to reach; yet God hee can. Hee may eclipse our joyes, and damp our comforts, and withdraw the beams of his Countenance from us, and leave us in darkness and trouble. I say, hee may turn our Day into Night, our Light into Darkness, our Comforts into Discomforts.

Thus you see it was with Job, with David, with Heman, Psal. 88. who, although they had the Quickening-presence of God, yet they wanted his Comforting-presence.

And indeed of the two, it is better to want the Comforting, than the Quickening-presence. Better to want Comfort than Life; Joys than Graces, or the lively exercise of them. The one is the Esse, the other but the Bene Esse of a Christian. A man may live, and serve God, and obey him; and yet want his Comforting-presence; as you see,