A word in season to this present generation, or, A sober and serious discourse…

Eighthly, will the Lord be signally present with his ¹People in their greatest troubles, deepest distresses, and most deadly dangers, then what a high encouragement should this be to poor sinners to study Christ, to acquaint ⟨p. 156⟩themselves with Christ, to embrace Christ, to choose Christ, to close with Christ, to submit to Christ, ²and to make a resignation of themselves to Christ, and to secure their interest in Christ, that so they may enjoy his signal presence in their greatest troubles, deepest distresses, and most deadly dangers. O how many mercies are wrapped up in this mercy of enjoying the singular presence of the Lord in all the troubles and trials of this life. It is a mercy to have the presence of a Friend, it is ³a greater to have the presence of a near and dear relation with us, in a day of distress, in a day of darkness; But what a mercy is it then to have the presence of the Lord with one in a dark day! That's excellent counsel that the wisest Prince that ever swayed a sceptre gives in that. Eccles. 11. 8. Remember the days of darkness for they shall be many. When light shall be turned into darkness, pleasure into pain, delights into wearisomeness, calms into storms, Summer days into Winter nights, and the lightsome days of life into the dark days of old age and death. O now the singular presence of the Lord with a man in these days of darkness will be a mercy more worth than ten thousand worlds. To have a wise, a loving, ⁴a powerful, a faithful Friend to own us in the dark, to stand by us in the dark, to uphold us in the dark, to refresh us in the dark, to encourage us in the dark, &c. is a very choice and singular mercy: O then what is it to have the presence of the Lord with us in all those dark days, that are to pass over our heads! What David said of the sword of Goliath in another case [There is none ⁵