Oh! I beseech you observe this in the first place, This 1is Gods way with his Saints, sometimes with his best and dearest Saints, that when they are in the greatest dangers, and in the greatest afflictions and troubles, God even then comes and seems to be an enemy to them at that ⟨p. 229⟩time; for the time that God came & wrestled with him, and seemed to be as an enemy to him, it was in the time of the greatest extremity that one would think it's possible for a man to be in, you cannot apprehend greater distresses, or greater cause than there was for the distress, of Jacob at this time; A poor man with a few women and children and cattle, and having his brother that owed him a grudge, and had sought his death, to come with four hundred men in an hostile way, and he left alone, and at this time God appears like an enemy to him, this was sad, a very heavy condition indeed. As God did with Jacob, so with Christ himself; when Christ was betrayed, God never appeared in outward appearance against Christ as at that time when his Disciples left him, just in the night when he was to be betrayed then he was in an Agony, and sweat drops of water and blood, yea, and when he was in the hands of his enemies, and lift up to the Cross, and made a decision to all the world, yet then he cries, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Forsaken at that time in so great a distress; Jacob in this was even a type of Gods forsaking Christ in times of such great distress. And so we find in Job, when he was in so great distresses, yet the terrors of the Almighty were upon him. And Heman, with divers others that we might name: 'Tis a point of very great concernment to us; Oh 2be not discouraged, be not discouraged you that are the people of God, if at any time you be brought into his condition, for Jacob was a type of all the people of God in this case, and therefore this story is of very great concernment, Gods ways towards him were a resemblance of what they are like to be to others afterwards, and to the end of the world, namely this; That the most eminent, precious Saints of God must not think to be excused even from this condition, but when they are brought into the greatest outward afflictions that possibly can be imagined, that God even at that time should appear against ⟨p. 230⟩them like an enemy, Oh! this is the saddest condition that can be, to any one that hath any acquaintance with God.
Oh! I beseech you observe this in the first place, This 1is Gods way with his Saints, sometimes with his best and dearest Saints, that when they are in the greatest dangers, and in the greatest afflictions and troubles, God even then comes and seems to be an enemy to them at that ⟨p. 229⟩time; for the time that God came & wrastled with him, and seem'd to be as an enemy to him, it was in the time of the greatest extremity that one would think it's possible for a man to be in, you cannot apprehend greater distresses, or greater cause than there was for the distres, of Jacob at this time; A poor man with a few women and children and cattel, and having his brother that owed him a grudg, and had sought his death, to come with four hundred men in an hostile way, and he left alone, and at this time God appears like an enemy to him, this was sad, a very heavie condition indeed. As God did with Jacob, so with Christ himself; when Christ was betrayed, God never appeared in outward appearance against Christ as at that time when his Disciples left him, just in the night when he was to be betrayed then he was in an Agony, and sweat drops of water and blood, yea, and when he was in the hands of his enemies, and lift up to the Cross, and made a decision to all the world, yet then he cries, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Forsaken at that time in so great a distress; Jacob in this was even a type of Gods forsaking Christ in times of such great distress. And so we find in Job, when he was in so great distresses, yet the terrors of the Almighty were upon him. And Heman, with divers others that we might name: 'Tis a point of very great concernment to us; Oh 2be not discouraged, be not discouraged you that are the people of God, if at any time you be brought into his condition, for Jacob was a type of all the people of God in this case, and therefore this story is of very great concernment, Gods waies towards him were a resemblance of what they are like to be to others afterwards, and to the end of the world, namely this; That the most eminent, precious Saints of God must not think to be excused even from this condition, but when they are brought into the greatest outward afflictions that possibly can be imagined, that God even at that time should appear against ⟨p. 230⟩them like an enemy, Oh! this is the saddest condition that can be, to any one that hath any acquaintance with God.
- 1Use. 1.
- 2Use. 2. Encouragement to the Saints.
