Moses his prayer. Or, An exposition of the nintieth Psalme.: In which is set forth, the frailty and misery of mankind; most needfull for these times. Wherein [brace] 1. The sum and scope. 2. The doctrines. 3. The reasons. 4. The uses of most texts are observed. / By Samuel Smith, minister of the Gospel, author of Davids repentance and the Great assize, and yet living.

And herein we have

• 1. What they pray for, Comfort:
• 2. That in their comfort, that the Lord would keep some proporti∣on; that as he had a long time afflicted them for their sins; so he

• would in mercy give them an∣swerable matter of comfort and rejoycing.

For this is the Lords manner of dealing with his people, the lower he humbleth any poor soul for their sins, and the deeper sence they have of their misery; the greater measure of joy and of comfort he usually bestowes upon them.

Observe we first of all from the co∣herence of this petition with the for∣mer;

• 1. They pray for reconciliation, verse 13.
• 2. For the feeling of his mercy, verse 14.
• 3. Now for comfort in their misery, verse 15.

From which order in their requests we learn;

That the fountain of all true com∣fort to a distressed soul, [Doct. 1] * 1.1 is our blessed reconciliation to God in Christ, and the comfortable feeling of that love of his to our souls.

For till a man have truly repented of his sins, and comes to be reconciled to

God in Christ, what dram of comfort can such a one have?

When the day begins to break, then we know the Sun will soon arise. In the dark night of affliction, what com∣fort to a distressed soul; but, when the Sun of righteousnesse shall arise, * 1.2 with healing under his wings; and Christ, which is our life shall appear: Here comes true comfort, and the soul is here refreshed, as the Sun-rising doth the world.

It fares many times with a poor soul, * 1.3 as it did with the Disciples in the ship, they tugged all night, but in vain; but, in the fourth watch of the night, Christ came and relieved them, when their hope was almost past. Ja∣cob wrestled all night with the Angell, but about the break of the day, he ob∣tained the blessing. When we have tugged long, and striven hard with God by repentance and prayer, at last he will come, and in an acceptable time he will command salvation to his people: * 1.4 The poor shall not alwaies be for gotten, the hope of the afflicted shall not perish for ever.

Whereas wicked men that are in their sins, and not reconciled to God, they can have no peace, they can have no comfort, * 1.5 There is no peace to the wicked, saith my God. * 1.6 We may see this in King Sanl, what comfort had he in his Kingdome, Wife, Children, Harp, Musick, or what else, so long as God was angry with him, and was with∣out the feeling of his love: all the world could not yield him one dram of comfort, the evill spirit did still tor∣ment him.

A poor condemned Traytor, what comfort can he have in wife, children, gold, silver, &c. nothing will cheer up his spirit but the Kings pardon. So a poor distressed soul, feeling the anger and wrath of God pressing his soul, unlesse God shew his loving counte∣nance in the pardon of sin, can have small comfort.

'Tis true, wicked men may tast of worldly comforts, and they may seem to have much peace in their conscien∣ces, as any of the godly themselves, for so saith Job, * 1.7 Their houses are peacea∣ble, and without fear: And, they a••••

not in trouble as other men are. Thus Saul, when David played upon his Harp, had some kinde of ease, that the evill spirit for that time did not torment him: and thus many wicked men can run to their harps, to their pipes, and to their pots, and to merry company, &c. of whom it may be said, * 1.8 They lay out their labour for that which satisfieth not. A poor comfort to give a Malefactor a cup of sack when he is going to execution. The case of such miserable creatures is well desui∣bed by the Prophet, * 1.9 A man dreameth, and lo he drinketh; but, when he awa∣keth, behold, he is faint, and his soul longeth.

This Doctrine shall hold, when all the seeming joyes of the wicked shall vanish away, that the fountain of all true comfort is our peace with God, when we come to be reconciled to him in Christ.

Because sin breeds enmity, [Reas. 1] and sets God and men at odds; and whilst this enmity continueth, this mans person and actions are hatefull to God, minde conscience, and all is defiled: Now

what true comfort can such a one have, whilst he abides in such a condition; all the curses that are written in the book of the Law do wait upon him, hardnesse of heart, blindnesse of minde, searednesse of conscience, a continuall fear of hell, Gods wrath, and damna∣tion to come; all these doth the guilt of sin contract, and draw upon us, the misery whereof we shall never be set free from, but by our reconciliation to God in Jesus Christ.

The Lord crowns all the sorrowes of his servants, all their tears, [Reas. 2] and pangs of their new birth, whilst Christ is a forming in them with joy and comfort, and all to provoke them to come in to God, and to encourage them in prayer, and seeking of him, I love the Lord, * 1.10 because he hath heard the voice of my weeping. If the hus∣bandman should alwaies think on his seed-time, and of his labour and pains, and never think of the harvest, who would be a husbandman? And what would become of the Christian in the midst of all his watchings, fastings, and temptations, which here he under∣goes,

were it not for this harvest of comfort at last.

Seeing then that all sound comfort flowes from our peace and reconciliati∣on with God, [Use 1] this shewes, that the doctrine of the Church of Rome is most vile hellish, and uncomfortable, who affirme, that no man in this life can know or be assured whether God loves him or no; and that no man can know whether his sins be pardoned, and whether he be reconciled to God yea or no: I will say to them as Job som∣times said to his friends, Miserable comforters are ye. Alas, what comfort can a poor sinner have, or what joy, if it arise not from Gods mercy in the pardon of sin? What is this but to set up a gibbet to torture distressed souls? How can a poor creature have any comfort in the service of God, in pray∣er, hearing, receiving, &c. whilst he cannot tell whether the Lord loves him or hates him? We utterly re∣nounce that cursed Doctrine, and be∣lieve this to be the truth of God that all sound comfort stands in the feeling of Gods love towards us in Christ,

and in the pardon of our sins; and we should never rest, till we be able in some measure to say with Paul, * 1.11 I am perswaded, &c. This will make us cheerfull in prayer, and in all other duties of his worship and service.

Seeing all sound and solid comfort ariseth from our reconciliation with God, and untill then, [Use 2] there can be no sound or lasting comfort; What mad men are they then, that take a pre∣posterous course to raise their comfort? that have the Creator, blessed for ever, and flie to the Creature, run to cards, dice, and merry company, &c. as if a man to escape a burning feavour, should leap into the fire; whereas there is no sound comfort to be looked for, but only from God in Christ: Poor soul, go thou to him, confesse thy sins to him, beg for pardon as for life and death; intreat the Lord that he would according to the multitude of his mercies, do away thy offences; that he would be a reconciled God again unto thee, that he would lay aside his displeasure, and give thee the feeling of his favour and love again;

there is no other way to procure sound comfort to thy soul.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Reconci∣liation the foun∣tain of true com∣fort.
• * 1.2

  Mal. 1.
• * 1.3

  Mat. 14.24.
• * 1.4

  Ps. 9.18.
• * 1.5

  Es. 57.
• * 1.6

  1 Sam. 16.23.
• * 1.7

  Job 2••
• * 1.8

  Es. 55.2.
• * 1.9

  Es. 29.8.
• * 1.10

  Ps. 116.1.
• * 1.11

  Rom. 8.38.