eternal statute of the Lord of hosts, that the just man shall live by his faith; hence it is said, that "As many as were ordained to eternal life believed." And the strong believer has this life in Christ faith; the weak believer has it in Christ by hope; hence hope is called a lively hope; and the word of life is the basis of hope: "Remember thy word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope." And what word was that? why, the promise of life: "This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me." But Job lied against this also: "The waters wear the stones: thou washest away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest, the hope of man," Job xiv. 19. If his hope was destroyed, then he could be in no better state than the poor heathens, who were without God, and having no hope in the word. And for such hopeless souls there can be no salvation; "For we are saved by hope."

Again Job certainly had a right to the kingdom of God; for we are sons of God by faith; and if sons, then heirs; for the kingdom of God is set up in the hearts of all believers; and the empire of grace within is to rain till it waft the soul into glory. There is a glorious kingdom: we shall reign for ever, even in heaven. And Job was a sound believer, for he believed in his heart unto righteousness, and had with his mouth made confession unto salvation: "I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter

zeign

day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me."

Moreover, the kingdom of God was sure to Job by the testimony of God himself. God had borne witness to Job that he was a perfect and an upright man, one that feared God and eschewed evil, and that there was none like him in all the earth, Now, according to this testimony, he had a right to the kingdom; for the reward is promised to God's servants, the prophets, and to the saints, and to them that fear God, small and great. But Job lied against this branch of his right; for he concluded that God viewed him as his enemy: "Wherefore hidest thou thy face from me, and holdest me for thine enemy?" Now heaven is not intended for enemies; all that dwell in those blissful mansions are called God's friends and neighbours: "And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost." He concludes it from my text also, "My wound is incurable without transgression." If there was no cure for his wound he could have no part in the health and cure of the great Physician; and if the broken heart be not bound up, nothing can ensue but remediless grief and desperate sorrow. Job concludes it from the common destruction which he suggests would be

made of all without exception: "This is one thing therefore I said it, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked." In this common slaughter who can escape? He predicts also the dismal end that he should make; not in the enjoyment of perfect day, or in the realms of ineffable light, but the reverse of all this: "Are not my days few? cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little, before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness, and the shadow of death; a land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness," Job x. 20-22. These dismal regions of the shadow of death, without order, and where the light is as darkness, is ten times worse than the grave, and can be no other than hell itself; for as for the grave, Job speaks pleasantly of that: "There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest. There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master."

"But should I lie against my right?" No, I should not. And sure I am that none but the devil would set us at it. But why is it called lying? Why, because there is no truth in it; for not one thing spoken in this unbelieving and perverse way ever came to pass, but all fell to the ground. Furthermore, it is called lying, because Job did not in his heart believe one word of this when his lips muttered it; for Job's faith and confession

contradict the whole of it: "I know I shall be justified." I shall see God for myself.

"He also

shall be my salvation: for an hypocrite shall not come before him;" and, "When he hath tried me I shall come forth as gold." All this was spoken in faith, and by the Holy Spirit; and all this came to pass; but, as for all the rest, he did not believe one word of it when he spoke it, but spoke it in anger and rebellion. It is called lying, because it was contrary to his own spiritual knowledge. He knew that God had borne witness of him, and he knew that his name stood in the Lamb's book of life: "Also now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my record is on high." He knew also that he had the love of God shed abroad in his heart, which is that charity that never fails: "But ye should say, Why persecute we him, seeing the root of the matter is found in me?" "Should I lie against my right?" No, you should not; and none but Satan would set you at it. It is called lying, because Job spoke contrary to his own conscience. Every good man is conscious to himself of his own uprightness; and so was Job: "My foot hath held his steps; his way have I kept, and not declined. Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food." Hence it appears that Job spoke contrary to his faith, contrary to his better knowledge, and contrary to his own conscience; and this, in plain English, is downright lying. And

there is not a little of this scandalous trade carried on to this day among God's people, especially the convicted soul when in legal bondage, and the believer when in the furnace of affliction. The awakened soul in his chains, though at the same time equipped with a firm hope, will bring forth his innumerable fears and doubts, and represent them ten times worse than he either feels them or

fears them; and if he has got treasured up in his own mind ten promises, and a thousand tokens for good, he will keep all these back, except you press him close, and squeeze them out of his heart. And what is this for? Why do they keep back part of the price? Why, this is done to move the bowels of mercy, and to excite your pity; and one half they complain of they do not believe; and though they make their case singular and desperate, they can see through a hypocrite, and censure him highly; and many that seem high in profession they envy not, but prefer their own state much before theirs. But so it is when in the furnace, though we know it is for our good; and experience tells us it ever has been so; yet enmity is so inflamed, hardness of heart and the perverseness of our wills so averse to the cross, and we are so mortified at being stripped of peace and comfort, that our anger resents it, and we seek to be avenged on the Lord himself for his fatherly anger; and we keep back all that we believe, and bring forth that which we do not believe; and thus our lips speak lies, and our tongue mutters per