Chapter 1. Of Christian Courage and Resolution, Therefore Necessary, and How Obtained

WE shall wave the Compellation, and begin with the Exhortation: Be strong, that is, be of good courage, so commonly used in Scripture-phrase; 2 Chronicles 32:7. Be strong and couragious. So, Isaiah 35:4. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong: or, unite all the powers of your souls, and muster up your whole force, you will have use of all you can make or get. From whence the Point is this.

The Christian of all men needs courage and resolution. Indeed there is nothing he does as a Christian, or can do, but is an act of valour: A cowardly spirit is beneath the lowest duty of a Christian: Joshua 1:7. Be you strong and very couragious, that you may: what? stand in battel against those warlike Nations? No, But that you may observe to do according to all the Law, which Moses my servant commanded you. It requires more prowesse and greatness of spirit to obey God faithfully, then to command an Army of men, to be a Christian then to be a Captain. What seems lesse, then for a Christian to pray? yet this cannot be performed aright, without a Princely Spirit; As Jacob is said to behave himself like a Prince, when he did but pray: for which he came out of the field Gods Bannarite. Indeed if you call that prayer, which a carnal person performes, nothing more poor and dastard-like. Such a one is as great a stranger to this enterprise, as the craven souldier is to the exploits of a valiant Chieftain. The Christian in prayer comes up close to God, with an humble boldness of faith, and takes hold of him, wrestles with him, yea, will not let him go without a blessing, and all this in the face of his own sins, and divine justice, which let flie upon him from the fiery mouth of the Law; while the others boldness in prayer is but the child, either of ignorance in his minde, or hardness in his heart; whereby not feeling his sins, and not knowing his danger, he rushes upon duty with a blinde confidence, which soon quails, when conscience awakes and gives him the alarm, that his sins are upon him, as the Philistines on Samson; alas, then in a fright the poor-spirited wretch throwes down his weapon, flies the presence of God with guilty Adam, and dares not look him on the face. Indeed there is no duty in a Christians whole course of walking with God, or acting for God, but is lined with many difficulties, which shoot like enemies through the hedges at the Christian, whilest he is marching toward Heaven: so that he is put to dispute every inch of ground as he goes. They are only a few noble-spirited souls, (who dare take Heaven by force) that are fit for this calling. For the further proof of this Point, see some few pieces of service that every Christian engags in.

First, the Christian is to proclaim and prosecute an irreconcileable war against his bosome-sins; those sins which have layen nearest his heart, must now be trampled under his feet: So David, I have kept my self from my iniquity; Now what courage and resolution does this require? you think Abraham was tried to purpose, when called to take his son, his son Isaac,his only son whom he loved, and offer him up with his own hands, and no other, yet what was that to this? Soul, take your lust, your only lust, which is the child of your dearest love, your Isaac, the sin which has caused most joy and laughter; from which you have promised your self the greatest return of pleasure or profit: as ever you lookest to see my face with comfort, lay hands on it, and offer it up: pour out the blood of it before me, run the sacrificing knife of mortification into the very heart of it, and this freely, joyfully, (for it is no pleasing sacrifice that is offered with a countenance cast down,) and all this now, before you have one embrace more from it. Truly this is a hard chapter, flesh and blood cannot bear this saying; our lust will not lie so patiently on the Altar, as Isaac, or as a Lambe that is brought to the slaughter, which is dumb, but will roar and shreek, yea, even shake and rend the heart with their hideous out-cries. Who is able to express the conflicts, the wrestlings, the convulsions of Spirit the Christian feels, before he can bring his heart to this work? or who can fully set forth the Art, the Rhetorical insinuations, which such a lust will plead with for its life? one while Satan will extenuate and mince the matter, It is but a little one, O spare it, and your soul shall live for all that: Another while he flatters the soul with the secrecy of it, You may keep me and your credit also; I will not be seen abroad in your company to shame you among your neighbors: shut me up in the most retired room you have in your heart, from the hearing of others (if you will,) only let me now and then have the wanton embraces of your thoughts and affections in secret; if that cannot be granted, then Satan will seem only to desire execution may be stayed a while, as Jephtha's daughter of her father; Let me alone a monthor two,and then do to me according to that which has proceeded out of your mouth: well knowing few such reprieved lusts, but at last obtain their full pardon; yea, recover their favor with the soul. Now what resolution does it require to break through such violence and importunity, and notwithstanding all this, to do present execution? Here the valiant Swordmen of the world, have showed themselves meer cowards, who have come out of the field with victorious banners, and then lived, yea, died slaves to a base lust at home. As one could say of a great Romane Captain, (who as he rode in his triumphant Chariot through Rome, had his eye never off a Courtizan that walk't along the street) Behold, how this goodly Captain that conquered such potent Armies, is himself conquered by one silly woman.

Secondly, the Christian is to walk singularly, not after the worlds guise. Romans 12:2. we are commanded not to be conformed to this world, that is, not to accommodate our selves to the corrupt customs of the world. The Christian must not be of such a complying nature, to cut the coat of his Profession according to the fashion of the times, or the humor of the company he falls into, like that Courtier, who being ask't how he could keep his preferment in such changing times, which one while had a Prince for Popery, another while against Popery? answered, he was Esalice, non ex quercu ortus: he was not a stubborn oake, but bending osier, that could yield to the winde: No, the Christian must stand fixt to his principles, and not change his habit, but freely show what Country-man he is by his holy constancy in the truth. Now, what an odium, what snares, what dangers does this singularity expose the Christian to? Some will hoot and mock him, as one in a Spanish fashion would be laugh't at in your streets. Thus Michal flouted David. Indeed the world counts the Christian for his singularity of life the only foole; which I have thought gave the first occasion to that nick-name, whereby men commonly express a silly man or a fool: Such a one (say they) is a meer Abraham, that is, in the worlds account a foole. But why an Abraham? because Abraham did that which carnal reason (the worlds idol) laughs at as meere folly; he left a present estate in his fathers house, to go he know not where, to receive an inheritance he knew not when. And truly luch fooles all the Saints are branded for, by the wise world. You know the man and his communication, said Jehu to his companions, asking what that mad fellow came for, who was no other than a Prophet, 2 Kings 9:11. Now this requires courage to despise the shame, which the Christian must expect to meete withal for his singularity. Shame is that which proud nature most disdaines, to avoid which many durst not confesse Christ openly; many lose heaven, because they are ashamed to go in a fooles coat there. Again, as some will mock, so others will persecute to death, meerly for this non-conformity in the Christians principles and practices to them. This was the trap laid for the three children; they must dance after Nebuchadnezzars pipe, or burne. This was the plot laid to ensnare Daniel, who walk't so unblameably, that his very enemies gave him this testimony, that he had no fault, but his singularity in his Religion, Daniel 6:5. 'Tis a great honor to a Christian, yea, to Religion it selfe, when all their enemies can say is, they are precise, and will not do as we do. Now in such a case as this, when the Christian must turn or burne; leave praying, or become a prey to the cruel teeth of bloody men; how many politick retreats, and self-preserving distinctions would a cowardly unresolved heart invent? The Christian, that has so great opposition had need be well lock't into the saddle of his Profession, or else he will be soon dismounted.

Thirdly, the Christian must keep on his way to heaven in the midst of all the scandals that are cast upon the ways of God, by the Apostasie and foul falls of false Professors. There were ever such in the Church, who by their sad miscarriages in judgement and practice, have laid a stone of offense in the way of Profession, at which weak Christians are ready to make a stand, (as they at the bloody body of Asahel,) not knowing whether they may venture any further in their Profession. Seeing such (whose gifts they so much admired) lie before them, wallowing in the blood of their slaine Profession: of zealous Professors to prove, perhaps, fiery persecutors; of strict Performers of religious duties, irreligious Atheists: no more like the men they were some years past, then the vale of Sodom, (now a bog and quagmire) is, to what it was, when for fruitfulnesse compared to the garden of the Lord. We had need have a holy resolution to bear up against such discouragements, and not to faint: as Joshuah, who lived to see the whole Camp of Israel (a very few excepted) revolting, and in their hearts turning back to Egypt, and yet with an undaunted Spirit maintained his integrity, yea, resolved though not a man beside would beare him company, yet he would serve the Lord.

Fourthly, the Christian must trust in a withdrawing God, Isaiah 50:10. Let him that walks in darkness, and sees no light, trust in the Name of the Lord, and stay upon his God. This requires a holy boldness of faith indeed to venture into Gods presence, as Esther into Ahashuerus, when no smile is to be seen on his face, no golden scepter of the promise perceived by the soul, as held forth to embolden it to come near, then to presse in with this noble resolution; If I perish, I perish. Nay more, to trust not only in a withdrawing but a killing God; not when his love is hid, but when his wrath breakes forth: Now for a soul to make its approaches to God by a recumbency of faith, while God seemes to fire upon it, and shoot his frownes like envenomed arrowes into it. This is hard work, and will trie the Christians mettal to purpose. Yet such a masculine spirit we finde in that poore woman of Canaan, who takes up the bullets Christ shot at her, and with an humble boldness of faith sends them back again in her prayer.

Fifthly, the believer is to persevere in his Christian course to the end of his life, his work and his life must go off the stage together. This addes weight to every other difficulty of the Christians calling: We have known many who have gone into the field, and liked the work of a souldier for a battel or two, but soon have had enough, and come running home again, but few can bear it as a constant trade. Many are soon engaged in holy duties, easily perswaded to take up a Profession of Religion, and as easily perswaded to lay it down; like the new Moon, which shines a little in the first part of the night, but is down before half the night be gone; the lightsome Professors in their youth, whose old age is wrapt up in thick darkness of sin and wickedness; O this persevering is a hard word! this taking up the crosse daily, this praying alwayes, this watching night and day, and never laying aside our clothes and armour, I mean indulging our selves to remit and unbend in our holy waiting on God, and walking with God; this sends many sorrowful away from Christ, yet this is the Saints duty, to make Religion his every day work, without any vacation from one end of the year to the other. These few instances are enough to show what need the Christian has of resolution. The application followes.

Use 1 This gives us then a reason why there are so many Professors, and so few Christians indeed; so many that run, and so few obtain; so many go into the field against Satan, and so few come out Conquerours; because all have a desire to be happy, but few have courage and resolution to grapple with the difficulties, that meet them in the way to their happiness. All Israel came joyfully out of Egypt under Moses his conduct, yea, and a mixed multitude with them, but when their bellies were a little pinched with hunger, and their greedy desires of a present Canaan deferred, yea, instead of peace and plenty, war and penury, they (like white-liver'd souldiers) are ready to flie from their colours, and make a dishonourable retreat into Egypt. Thus the greatest part of those who professe the Gospel, when they come to push of pike, to be tried what they will do, deny, endure for Christ, grow sick of their enterprise: alas, their hearts fail them, they are like the waters of Bethlehem; but if they must dispute their passage with so many enemies, they will even content themselves with their own Cistern, and leave heaven to others that will venture more for it. O how many part with Christ at this crosse-way! like Orpah they go a furlong or two with Christ, while he goes to take them off from their worldly hopes, and bids them prepare for hardship, and then they fairly kisse and leave him, loath indeed to lose heaven, but more loth to buy it at so dear a rate. Like some green heads, that childishly make choice of some sweet trade (such as is the Confectioners) from a liquorish tooth they have to the junkets it affords, but meeting with soure sauce of labor and toile that goes with them, they give in, and are weary of their service; the sweet bait of Religion has drawn many to nibble at it, who are offended with the hard service it calls to; It requires another spirit then the world can give or receive to follow Christ fully.

Use 2 Let this then exhort you, Christians, to labor for this holy resolution and prowesse, which is so needful for your Christian Profession, that without it you cannot be what you professe. The fearful are in the forelorne of those that march for hell, Rev. 21. the violent and valiant are they, which take heaven by force: Cowards never wan heaven. Say not, you have royal blood running in your veins, and are begotten of God, except you can prove your pedigree by this heroick spirit, to dare to be holy in spite of men and devils. The Eagle tries her young ones by the Sun, Christ tries his children by their courage, that dare look on the face of death and danger for his sake, Mark 8:34, 35. O how uncomly a sight is it; a bold sinner and a fearful Saint; one resolved to be wicked, and a Christian wavering in his holy course; to see guilt put innocency to flight, and hell keep the field, impudently braving it with displayed banners of open profanenesse; and Saints to hide their colours for shame, or run from them for feare, who should rather wrap themselves in them, and die upon the place, then thus betray the glorious Name of God, which is called upon by them to the scorne of the uncircumcised. Take heart therefore, O ye Saints, and be strong: your cause is good, God himself espouss your quarrel, who has appointed you his own Son, General of the field, called The Captain of our salvation. He shall lead you on with courage, and bring you off with honor. He lived and died for you, he will live and die with you: for mercy and tenderness to his souldiers, none like him. Trajan, 'tis said, rent his clothes to binde up his souldiers wounds; Christ poured out his blood as balm to heal his Saints wounds, teares of his flesh to binde them up. For prowesse, none to compare with him: he never turn'd his head from danger: no, not when hells malice and heavens justice appeared in field against him; Knowing all that should come upon him, went forth and said, Whom seek ye? John 18:4. For success insuperable; he never lost battel even when he lost his life: he wan the field, carrying the spoiles thereof in the triumphant chariot of his Ascension to heaven with him: where he makes an open show of them to the unspeakable joy of Saints and Angels. You march in the midst of gallant spirits, your fellow-souldiers, every one the Son of a Prince: Behold, some (enduring with you here below a great fight of afflictions and temptations,) take heaven by storme and force: Others you may see after many assaults, repulses and rallyings of their faith and patience, got upon the walls of heaven Conquerours; from whence they do, as it were, look down, and call you their fellow-brethren on earth, to march up the hill after them, crying aloud, Fall on, and the city is your own, as now it is ours; who for a few days conflict, are now crowned with heavens glory, one moments enjoyment of which has dried up all our teares, healed all our wounds, and made us forget the sharpness of the fight, with the joy of our present victory. In a word, Christians, God and Angels are Spectatours, observing how you quit your selves like children of the most High; every exploit your faith does against sin and Satan, causes a shout in heaven; while you valiantly prostrate this temptation, scale that difficulty, regain the other ground you even now lost, out of your enemies hands. Your deare Saviour, (who stands by with a reserve for your relief at a pinch) his very heart leaps within him for joy, to see the proof of your love to him, and zeal for him in all your combates; and will not forget all the faithful service you have done in his wars on earth: but when you comest out of the field, will receive you with the like joy, as he was entertained himself at his return to heaven of his Father. Now, Christian, if you meanest thus couragiously to bear up against all opposition, in your march to heaven, as you shouldest do well, to raise your spirit with such generous and soul-ennobling thoughts, so in an especial manner look your principles be well fixt, or else your heart will be unstable, and an unstable heart is weak as water, it cannot excel in courage. Two things are required to fix our principles.

First, an established judgement in the truth of God. He that knows not well what or whom he fights for, may soon be perswaded to change his side, or at least stand Neuter: such may be found that go for Professours, that can hardly give an account what they hope for, or whom they hope in; yet Christians they must be thought, though they run before they know their errand: or if they have some principles they go upon, they are so unsetled, that every winde blowes them down, like loose tyles from the house top. Blinde zeale is soon put to a shameful retreat, while holy resolution, built on fast principles, lifts up its head, like a rock in the midst of the waves. Those that know their God shall be strong, and do exploits, Daniel 11:32. The Angel told Daniel who were the men that would stand to their tackling, and bear up for God in that hour, both of temptation and persecution, which should be brought upon them by Antiochus; not all the Jewes, some of them should be corrupt barely by flatteries, others scared by threats out of their Profession, only a few of fixed principles, who knew their God whom they served, and were grounded in their Religion, these should be strong, and do exploits, that is, to flatteries they should be incorruptible, and to power and force unconquerable.

Secondly, a sincere aime at the right end in our Profession. Let a man be never so knowing in the things of Christ, if his aime be not right in his Profession, that mans principles will hang loose, he'll not venture much or far for Christ, no more, no further then he can save his own stake. A hypocrite may show some mettal at hand, some courage for a spurt in conquering some difficulties, but he'll show himself a jade at length. He that has a false end in his Profession, will soon come to an end of his Profession, when he is pinch't on that toe where his corn is: I meane, called to deny that his naughty heart aimed at all this while, now his heart sailes him, he can go no further. O take heed of this squint eye to our profit, pleasure, honor or any thing beneath Christ and heaven; for they will take away your heart, as the Prophet says of wine and women, that is, our love, and if our love be taken away, there will be little courage left for Christ. How couragious was Jehu at first, and he tells the world it is zeale for God: but why does his heart faile him then, before half his work be done? his heart was never right set, that very thing that stirr'd up hs zeal at first, at last quench't and cow'd it, and that was his ambition; his desire of a Kingdom made him zealous against Ahabs house, to cut off them (who might in time justle him besides the throne) which done, and he quietly setled, he dare not go through-stitch with Gods work, lest he should lose what he got by provoking the people with a thorough information. Like some souldiers, when once they meet with a rich booty at the sacking of some town, are spoil'd for fighting ever after.

We will skip past the address and begin with the exhortation: "Be strong" — that is, be courageous, as the phrase is commonly used in Scripture. "Be strong and courageous" (2 Chronicles 32:7). Similarly in Isaiah 35:4: "Say to those with anxious heart, 'Be strong.'" Or in other words: bring together all the powers of your soul and gather every resource you have — you will need all of it. From this, the point is as follows.

The Christian, more than anyone, needs courage and resolution. In fact, everything he does as a Christian — everything he can do — is an act of valor. A cowardly spirit falls short of even the lowest Christian duty. Joshua 1:7 says: "Be strong and very courageous, that you may" — what? — stand in battle against warlike nations? No — "that you may be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you." It takes more courage and greatness of spirit to obey God faithfully than to command an army of men — to be a Christian than to be a captain. What seems more ordinary than prayer? Yet prayer cannot be performed rightly without a princely spirit. Jacob was said to have behaved like a prince when he did nothing more than pray — for which he came out of the field bearing God's banner. What a carnal person calls prayer, on the other hand, is nothing but poverty of spirit. Such a person is as great a stranger to true prayer as the cowardly soldier is to the exploits of a valiant commander. The Christian in prayer draws near to God with a humble boldness of faith, takes hold of Him, wrestles with Him, and will not let Him go without a blessing — all of this in full view of his own sins and of divine justice, which fires at him from the flaming mouth of the law. The carnal person's boldness in prayer, by contrast, is simply the child of ignorance in the mind or hardness in the heart — not feeling his sins or knowing his danger, he rushes into prayer with a blind confidence that quickly crumbles when conscience wakes up and gives the alarm that his sins are upon him, as the Philistines were on Samson. At that, in a panic, the poor-spirited wretch throws down his weapons, flees God's presence like guilty Adam, and dare not look Him in the face. Indeed, every duty in a Christian's entire walk with God, or labor for God, is lined with many difficulties that shoot at him like enemies through the hedges as he marches toward heaven, so that he must contest every inch of ground along the way. Only a few noble-spirited souls — those who dare take heaven by force — are suited for this calling. For further proof of this point, consider a few specific duties every Christian faces.

First, the Christian must declare and carry out an uncompromising war against his own deepest sins — the sins that have been most dear to his heart must now be trampled underfoot. David said: "I have kept myself from my iniquity" — and what courage and resolution that requires! You may think Abraham was truly tested when he was called to take his son, his son Isaac, his only son whom he loved, and offer him up with his own hands — yet what was that compared to this? "Soul, take your lust — your only lust, the child of your dearest affection, your Isaac, the sin that has brought you the most joy and laughter, from which you have promised yourself the greatest pleasure or gain. As surely as you hope to see My face with comfort, lay hands on it and offer it up. Pour out its blood before Me. Drive the sacrificing knife of mortification into the very heart of it — freely and willingly, for no sacrifice offered with a downcast face is pleasing — and do this now, before you allow yourself one more embrace from it." Truly this is a hard chapter. Flesh and blood cannot bear this word. Our lusts will not lie as patiently on the altar as Isaac did, or as a lamb led to slaughter that is silent. They will roar and cry out, indeed shake and tear the heart with their hideous screaming. Who can fully express the conflicts, the wrestlings, the spiritual convulsions the Christian goes through before he can bring his heart to this work? Who can set out the art, the persuasive arguments such a lust will put forward in pleading for its life? At one moment Satan will minimize and soften the matter: "It is just a small one — spare it, and your soul shall live just the same." At another moment he flatters the soul with the secrecy of it: "You can keep me and your reputation too — I will not appear in public with you to embarrass you before your neighbors. Shut me away in the most hidden room of your heart, out of others' hearing if you wish — only let me now and then enjoy the secret embrace of your thoughts and affections." If that is refused, Satan will seem to ask only for a stay of execution, as Jephthah's daughter asked her father: "Leave me alone for a month or two, and then do to me as you have promised" — knowing full well that few lusts kept on reprieve ever fail in the end to win their full pardon and recover their hold on the soul. What resolution does it take to break through such pressure and urgency, and to carry out the execution at once, in spite of all that? Here the world's most celebrated warriors have shown themselves utter cowards — men who returned from the field with victorious banners and then lived, and indeed died, as slaves to some base lust at home. As someone once said of a great Roman captain who, while riding in his triumphal chariot through Rome, never took his eyes off a woman of loose character walking along the street: "Look at this fine captain who conquered such mighty armies — himself conquered by a single foolish woman."

Second, the Christian must live differently — not according to the world's customs. Romans 12:2 commands us not to be conformed to this world, meaning not to accommodate ourselves to its corrupt patterns. The Christian must not be the kind of person who tailors his profession to fit the fashions of the times or the preferences of whatever company he finds himself in. When asked how he managed to keep his position through such shifting times — under a ruler who was first for and then against a certain religion — one courtier answered that he was not a stubborn oak but a bending willow that could yield to the wind. But the Christian must stand fixed to his principles and not change his colors, freely showing what country he belongs to by his holy constancy in the truth. What scorn, what traps, what dangers does this distinctiveness expose the Christian to? Some will hoot and mock him, just as someone dressed in an old foreign fashion would be laughed at in the streets. Michal mocked David in exactly this way. Indeed, the world counts the Christian a fool for his distinctive way of life — which I have thought gave rise to that common way of calling someone a fool by referring to him as a "mere Abraham." Why Abraham? Because Abraham did what carnal reason — the world's idol — laughs at as sheer folly: he left a secure estate in his father's house to go somewhere he did not know, to receive an inheritance he did not know when. And truly all the saints are branded with that same label by the so-called wise world. "You know the man and his talk," said Jehu to his companions when asking what that wild fellow had come for — and the wild fellow turned out to be nothing less than a prophet (2 Kings 9:11). This requires courage to endure the shame the Christian must expect for living differently. Shame is what proud human nature most dreads — to avoid it, many have dared not confess Christ openly, and many have lost heaven because they were ashamed to travel to it wearing a fool's coat. Furthermore, as some will mock, others will persecute to death — simply because the Christian's principles and practices do not conform to theirs. This was the trap set for the three young men: they must dance to Nebuchadnezzar's tune or burn. This was the plot laid to snare Daniel, who walked so blamelessly that his very enemies could only testify that he had no fault except his distinctiveness in his religion (Daniel 6:5). It is a great honor to a Christian — indeed to religion itself — when all his enemies can say is that he is too strict and will not do as they do. In such a situation, where the Christian must either compromise or burn — either give up prayer or become prey to the cruel teeth of violent men — how many clever retreats and self-preserving distinctions would a cowardly, unresolved heart invent? The Christian who faces such great opposition had better be well-seated in the saddle of his profession, or he will quickly be thrown off.

Third, the Christian must press on toward heaven in the midst of all the scandals thrown in the path of godliness by the apostasy and disgraceful falls of false professors. There have always been such people in the church who, by their sad failures in belief and practice, have laid a stumbling stone in the road of profession. At this stone, weak Christians are apt to halt — as the people halted at the bloody body of Asahel — not knowing whether they dare venture any further in their profession. They see those whose gifts they so admired lying before them, wallowing in the blood of their slain profession: once-zealous professors turned into fierce persecutors; once-strict performers of religious duties turned into irreligious atheists — as unlike the men they were a few years before as the valley of Sodom, now a bog and swamp, is unlike what it was when it was compared for fruitfulness to the garden of the Lord. We need a holy resolution to bear up against such discouragement and not faint — like Joshua, who lived to see virtually the whole camp of Israel revolting and in their hearts turning back to Egypt, yet with undaunted spirit maintained his integrity and resolved that though not a single man would stand with him, he would serve the Lord.

Fourth, the Christian must trust in a God who sometimes withdraws Himself. Isaiah 50:10 says: "Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God." This requires a holy boldness of faith — to venture into God's presence as Esther came to Ahasuerus, when there is no smile on His face and no golden scepter of promise visibly extended to encourage the soul to draw near, and yet to press forward with that noble resolve: "If I perish, I perish." More than that — to trust not only in a withdrawing God but in what feels like a God who strikes; not merely when His love is hidden, but when His wrath seems to break out. For a soul to make its approach to God by resting in faith while God appears to fire upon it and shoot His frowns like poisoned arrows into it — this is hard work, and it will test the Christian's steel thoroughly. Yet we find exactly that bold spirit in the poor woman of Canaan, who took up the sharp words Christ fired at her and with humble boldness sent them back to Him in her prayer.

Fifth, the believer must persevere in his Christian course until the end of his life — his work and his life must leave the stage together. This adds weight to every other difficulty of the Christian calling. We have known many who entered the field and found the soldier's work appealing for a battle or two, but soon had enough and came running home again — few can endure it as a lifelong trade. Many are quickly drawn into holy duties and easily persuaded to take up a profession of religion — and just as easily persuaded to lay it down. They are like the new moon, which shines briefly in the early part of the night but sets before half the night is gone; or like bright-seeming professors in their youth whose old age is wrapped in the thick darkness of sin and wickedness. Oh, this persevering is a hard word! This taking up the cross daily, this praying always, this watching night and day and never laying aside your clothes and armor — never giving yourself permission to relax your holy attention to God and your walk with God — this drives many away from Christ in sorrow. Yet this is the saint's duty: to make religion his every-day work, with no vacation from one end of the year to the other. These few examples are enough to show how much courage and resolution the Christian needs. The application follows.

First application: This gives us a reason why there are so many professors and so few true Christians; so many who run and so few who obtain; so many who go into the field against Satan and so few who come out as conquerors. The reason is that everyone desires to be happy, but few have the courage and resolution to wrestle with the difficulties they meet on the way to that happiness. All Israel came joyfully out of Egypt under Moses's leadership — indeed, a mixed multitude came with them — but when their stomachs were pinched a little with hunger and their eager desire for Canaan was delayed, and instead of peace and plenty they found war and hardship, they were ready like cowardly soldiers to flee their colors and make a dishonorable retreat back to Egypt. In the same way, the great majority of those who profess the Gospel, when it comes to the moment of testing — when they must decide what they will deny, endure, and sacrifice for Christ — grow sick of their undertaking. Their hearts fail them. They are like the waters of Bethlehem — desirable enough in the abstract, but if they must fight their way through so many enemies to reach them, they will settle for their own cistern and leave heaven to those willing to pay a higher price for it. How many part with Christ at this crossroads! Like Orpah, they walk with Christ a little way while He is drawing them away from their worldly hopes and preparing them for hardship — and then they kiss Him and leave, unwilling to lose heaven but even more unwilling to buy it at such a cost. They are like young people who foolishly choose some pleasant trade — like the confectioner's — because they crave the treats it offers, but when they meet the sour sauce of labor and toil that goes with it, they give up and tire of their work. The sweet bait of religion has drawn many to nibble at it who are offended by the hard service it demands. It takes a different spirit than the world can give or receive to follow Christ fully.

Second application: Let this exhort you, Christians, to pursue this holy resolution and courage — for without it you cannot truly be what you profess. The cowardly are first in line among those marching toward hell (Revelation 21). It is the violent and valiant who take heaven by force — cowards have never won heaven. Do not claim to have royal blood in your veins and to be born of God unless you can prove your lineage by this heroic spirit: the willingness to dare to be holy in spite of men and devils. The eagle tests her young by the sun; Christ tests His children by their courage — by whether they dare look death and danger in the face for His sake (Mark 8:34-35). How jarring a sight it is: a bold sinner and a fearful saint; one resolved to be wicked and a Christian wavering in his holy course. Guilt putting innocence to flight, and hell holding the field, shamelessly displaying its banners of open wickedness while saints hide their colors in shame or flee from them in fear — when they ought rather to wrap themselves in those colors and die upon the spot than betray the glorious name of God, which is called upon by them, to the mockery of the ungodly. Take heart, therefore, O you saints, and be strong. Your cause is good; God Himself has taken up your fight and appointed His own Son as general of the field — called the Captain of our salvation. He will lead you on with courage and bring you off with honor. He lived and died for you; He will live and die with you. For mercy and tenderness to His soldiers, there is none like Him. Trajan, it is said, tore his own clothes to bind up his soldiers' wounds; Christ poured out His blood as balm to heal His saints' wounds and used it to bind them up. For courage, none can compare with Him — He never turned His face from danger, not even when hell's malice and heaven's justice appeared in the field against Him. "Knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, He went forth and said to them, 'Whom do you seek?'" (John 18:4). For victory, He is undefeatable — He never lost a battle, even when He lost His life. He won the field, carrying its spoils in the triumphal chariot of His ascension to heaven, where He makes an open display of them to the unspeakable joy of saints and angels. You march in the company of magnificent spirits — your fellow soldiers, every one of them a child of the King. Behold some of them who, enduring here below a great conflict of afflictions and temptations, take heaven by storm and force. Others you may see, after many assaults, setbacks, and rallying of their faith and patience, climbing the walls of heaven as conquerors. From there they look down and call you, their fellow brothers still on earth, to march up the hill after them, crying out: "Press on — the city is yours, as it is now ours. For a few days of conflict we are now crowned with heaven's glory; one moment's enjoyment of it has dried all our tears, healed all our wounds, and made us forget the sharpness of the fight in the joy of our present victory." In a word, Christians, God and angels are watching — observing how you conduct yourselves as children of the Most High. Every exploit your faith performs against sin and Satan causes a shout in heaven — as you boldly put down this temptation, scale that difficulty, and retake ground you had just lost from your enemy's hands. Your dear Savior, who stands by with a reserve force ready for your relief at the critical moment, rejoices at heart to see the proof of your love for Him and your zeal for Him in every battle. He will not forget the faithful service you have rendered in His wars on earth, but when you come out of the field He will receive you with the same joy with which His Father welcomed Him at His return to heaven. Now, Christian, if you intend to press on courageously against all opposition on your march to heaven — as you should — you would do well to build your spirit with such generous and soul-ennobling thoughts. But especially, make sure your principles are firmly fixed — for an unstable heart is weak as water and cannot excel in courage. Two things are needed to fix our principles.

First, a settled judgment in the truth of God. A person who does not clearly know what he is fighting for or whom he fights for may easily be persuaded to change sides or at least remain neutral. There are such people among those counted as professors who can barely give an account of what they hope for or whom they hope in — yet they think of themselves as Christians, having run before they knew their errand. Or if they do have some principles to go on, those principles are so unsettled that every wind knocks them down, like loose tiles blown from a rooftop. Blind zeal is soon put to shameful retreat, while holy resolution built on firm principles stands up like a rock in the midst of the waves. "Those who know their God will be strong and carry out great exploits" (Daniel 11:32). The angel told Daniel who the men were that would stand firm and hold out for God in that hour of both temptation and persecution that Antiochus would bring upon them. Not all the Jews — some would be corrupted by mere flattery, others scared out of their profession by threats. Only the few with fixed principles — those who knew the God they served and were grounded in their religion — these would be strong and do great things: incorruptible before flattery, unconquerable before force.

Second, a sincere aim at the right goal in our profession. No matter how well a man knows the things of Christ, if his aim in his profession is not right, his principles will hang loose — he will not venture much or far for Christ, no more and no further than he can protect his own stake. A hypocrite may show some spirit up close and some short burst of courage in overcoming a few difficulties, but he will prove himself a broken-down horse in the end. The man with a false goal in his profession will soon come to the end of his profession the moment he is pressed on the very point where it hurts him most — that is, when he is called to give up what his corrupt heart has been after all along. At that point his heart fails him and he can go no further. Be careful, then, of that side-glance toward profit, pleasure, honor, or anything short of Christ and heaven — for these things will steal your heart, as the prophet says wine and women do. And if your heart is taken away, very little courage for Christ will remain. How bold Jehu was at first, and he told the world it was zeal for God! But why did his heart fail him before half his work was done? Because his heart was never truly set right — the very thing that stirred up his zeal at first was what quenched and crushed it in the end, and that was his ambition. His desire for a kingdom made him zealous against the house of Ahab, to cut off those who might in time edge him from the throne. Once that was done and he was quietly settled, he dared not finish God's work, for fear of losing what he had gained by provoking the people with a thorough reformation. He was like some soldiers who, once they find rich plunder in the sacking of a town, are spoiled for fighting ever after.