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VAV. THE 6. PORTION.
And let thy louing kindnes come vnto me O Lord: and thy saluation according to thy promise.
HE goeth on yet in his prayer, and here beggeth of God two things. First mercie, se∣condly saluation, and both because God had promised them. No maruell if hee de∣sire Gods louing kindnesse. For thy louing kindnesse saith hee is better then life: it were better to be in hel with Gods fauour, then in heauē without it. Mans sauour is mutable, Gods immutable: mans temporary, Gods eternall: mans of desert, Gods free: mans re∣specteth somewhat in man, Gods beholdeth man in Christ. This wee must desire aboue all earthly things.
And thy saluation.) First mercie, and then saluation, the one is the cause, the other the ef∣fect. By saluation, he meaneth, ayde, deliuerance, victorie, and eternall life: this he calleth Gods saluation, because it commeth onely from him.
According to thy promise.) This is •••• which hee ••uer chargeth God with all: it is an easie matter to trust God on his word, in presperitie, 〈◊〉〈◊〉 that can doe so in aduersitie, hee is the man indeede. But what benefit shalt thou haue Dauid, if God bee a mercifull Sauiour vnto thee? &c.
So shall I make answere to my blasphemers, for I trust in thy word.
MAny aduersaries had this holy Prophet, they came about him like bees, they layde to his charge things which hee neuer did, and especially because hee made his boast of God, and trusted to his word, they oftentimes reproached him for it: and when he was driuen to any extremitie they beganue to say, where is now his God? Thus became hee the shame of men, and th•• contempt of the people. All they that sawe him had him inderision: they made mowes, and nod••ea their heads saying; Hee trusted in God, let him de∣liuer him: let him saue him, seeing hee loueth him. Psal. 22. 6. 7. 8. In this hee was a type of our blessed Sauiour who was taunted in the like sort vpon the c••osse. Matth. 27. 39. 40. 41: 42. 43. What now doth this man of God labour for to confute, and put to silence these his blasphemers? Surely the performance of Gods louing kindnesse and saluation, the which it pleased him to make promise of. This, if wee pray for in all our troubles, as the propher here doth in his: this if wee staye our selues vpon, as Dauid euer did; though our enemies hee neuer so many, neuer so mightie, neuer so malitious, wee shall in the ende haue such assured victorie, that wee shall not onely answere our aduersaries; but they with shame shall answere themselues and say, wee fooles thought his confidence sollie, but now wee see that hee is the Lords beloued, and blessed are they that trust in him▪
Obserue. 1, That it is no new thing, for the aduersaries of religiō, to scorne such as trust onely in God, and relie vpon his promises of saluation made vnto thē. These wicked ones knewe no arme, but flesh: no security but in the things of this life: as for such as thinke the name of the Lord to bee the strongest tower, them they haue daily in derision. 2. Not that if we trust in the word of God, we shall be able to answere all our aduersaries, for Christ will giue vs a mouth, and wisedome, whereagainst all our enemies shall not bee able to speake or resist. Luk. 21. 15.
Hugo Cardinalis, obserueth that there are three sorts of blasphemers of the godly, the deuils, heretikes and slanderers. The deuill must be answered by the internall word of hu∣militie: heretiques by the externall word of wisedome, slanderers by the actiue word of good life.