FAITHFULNESS UNTO DEATH, CROWNED WITH ETERNAL LIFE.*

REV. ii. 10.

Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

TH

HESE words are a part of the epiftle written from heaven to the church of Smyrna; wherein Chrift forewarns and forearms her, againft further troubles, befides what are mentioned in the preceeding verfe, and exhorts her not to fear, but to be faithful.

More particularly, in the verfe we have thefe four things obfervable, 1. A general warning about approaching trouble, and things they were to fuffer. 2. A particular description of what they were to fuffer; "Behold, the devil fhall caft fome of you into prifon, that ye may be tried, and ye fhall have tribulation ten days."

* At what time, or in what place, this fermon was preached, cannot be pofitively afcertained, nothing being marked relative thereto in the Author's notes. However from feveral paffages in the difcourfe itself, we learn that it was delivered in the year 1742. and a person of undoubted veracity affures us it was at Orwel, on Monday after the celebration of the facrament of the Lord's fupper there.

3. Their

4. The

3. Their duty, not to fear, but to be faithful. ample encouragement here promifed, I will give thee a crown of life.

ift, A general warning about trouble, called, "Thefe things they were to fuffer." What troubles the church of Smyrna were under before, you may fee from ver. 9. “I know thy works and tribulation, and poverty, but thou art rich, and I know the bafphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the fynagogue of Satan." But more trials were yet abiding her. Hence learn, The fufferings of God's people are not foon brought to an end; but, when they have drunk deep in one cup of God's affliction, they have more to drink: change of croffes is fometimes all their refreshment, as it was with Job, chap. i. when one meffenger backed another; fo with David, Pfalm xlii. when deep called unto deep: therefore, lay not your account to want troubles as long as you are in this world; and fee that your trou bles be indeed fufferings, and that affliction and an ill confcience meet not together. Hence alfo learn, Christ foreknows all his people's trials, what they fhall fuffer; therefore he forewarns them, and provides a remedy; hence he has chambers provided, till the indignation be overpaft, Ifa. xxvi. 20.: he has a place, even in the wilderness provided for the woman, Rev. xii. 6. He can make the earth help her, ver. 16.: yea, he can make the enemies friendly, Jer. xv. 11. "The Lord faid, Verily it fhall be well with thy remnant; verily I will caufe the enemy to entreat thee well in the time of evil, and in the time of affliction."

2dły, You have a particular defcription of their trouble. And here there are five things, 1. The notification or certification of it, Behold. 2. The inftrument of it, Satan. 3. The fubject of it, Some of you. 4. The kind of it, namely, Imprisonment; "He fhall caft fome of into prifon." 5. The end and defign of it, that ye may be tried.

you

1. The intimation or notification of it, with a Behold; fhewing, that it was a certain and ferious matter.Hence learn, The particular trials of God's people ought to be observed; and all the particular circumstances

of

of their trial fhould be noticed; becaufe, every circumftance thereof, relating either to the inftrument, time, place, kind, and continuance, are ordered of the Lord: and we ought to behold God therein: "Is there evil in the city, and I have not done it, faith the Lord?" We ought to obferve every circumftance bath of mer cies and croffes that the Lord orders; " Whofo is wife, and will obferve thefe things, even he fhall underfland the loving kindnefs of the Lord."

2. The inftrument of it, the devil. Croffes, when finfully inflicted, by the hands of men, Satan has the chief hand therein; for, he acts in other inftruments: "He works in the children of difobedience," and efpecially in the matter of perfecution. Satan tempts them, in a special manner, as he tempted Judas: the armies again the Lamb are raifed by the devil. If there be any here that oppofe and perfecute God's people, they may look upon themfelves as driven by the devil, and acted by Satan: and, Ah! what a fhame it is to be the devil's flaves and drudges? If you knew, you would think fhame of your employment; the Lord's people need think no fhame of their fufferings, it is Satan that oppofes them.

3. The fubject of the trial, the party-fuffering; Some of you. Obferve, The Lord does not call forth all his people equally to fuffer; nor will he tell them in particular, who are to fuffer, whether they be the perfons or not; for, he can make a warning, relating to fome, to be useful to all; that none may think the ftorm will mifs them, and that all may refolve and lay their account with trials. The Lord has the choofing of fuch as are to fuffer for him; and he will choofe thefe that are fittest: and these who think they are most unfit, he can choose them, and fit them too.

4. The kind of the trouble; it is called Imprifonment, by which is to be underflood, all the fufferings they were to meet with at that time. Obferve, That among other trials of God's people, imprifonment, or reftraint of liberty, is a very fore trial: therefore, let us learn to make better ufe of our liberty, left, like David, you be

be fent to the wildernefs, and be deprived of gofpelliberty and privileges; and left it be matter of a fad challenge, that you made no better ufe of liberties when you enjoyed them.

5. The end of the fufferings, that ye may be tried; that faith, and other graces, may be tried, 1 Pet. i. 7. Hence learn, The Lord difpofes his people's fufferings to his own ends. Though Satan has a chief hand in them, yet the Lord over-rules all as he fees fit; he makes the wrath of men and devils to praife him. Thus he over-ruled Jofeph's fufferings to the good of his bre thren; and Paul's fufferings to the furtherance of the gofpel. Therefore, never look what troubles threaten, but look to God who can bring good out of them, and can make darknefs light, and death life; if you were thus looking to God, great trouble would give little annoyance. Hence alfo learn, That trials are fent to the Lord's people to make proof of their graces: therefore, look on trials as occafions to evidence your graces. There are two furnaces of a believer's graces for trying them the one is, examination; the other is, affliction: if the first be neglected, the Lord will fet up the

other.

6. The continuance of the trouble, you fhall have it ten days; importing a fhort time. Hence learn, That the afflictions of God's children, are bounded and limited of the Lord; Ifrael muft come out of Egypt when the time of their bondage is expired. God is at the helm in the time of the ftorm; and we may fleep quiet, becaufe he awakes. Again, we may here obferve, how the Spirit of God would have us counting the time of trouble, not by years, nor by months, but by days. They are called fometimes but an hour, fometimes but a fhort Art thou under a crofs? Reckon it but from day to day; and that will make a long trouble feem fhort. Time is but days; and days, hours; and hours, moments; and how fmall is that when compared with the eternal crown of glory? Make not your time eternity; but, be numbering your days, and applying your hearts unto wisdom.

3dly, The next thing in the words is, the duty, namely, fear not, but be faithful. Where we may ob ferve two things,

1. What we fhould not do, namely, fear not: "Fear none of these things which thou fhalt fuffer." Hence learn, that flavish fear is to be avoided by all thefe that would ftand up for Chrift. Many a call is given to the children of God not to fear, " Fear not little flock; Fear not worm Jacob, for I am with thee;" and accordingly, many of the faints have got above all their fears, faying, "I will fear no evil, for thou art with me: Wherefore fhould I fear in the day of evil, even when the iniquity of my heels may compafs me about: None of thefe things move me," faid Paul, fpeaking of his fufferings: he got above all fears. Slavifh fear has three great evils in it..

(1.) It apprehends croffes and hardfhips, even where there is none in reality: "Who art thou, that thou should t be afraid of a man that fhall die, and of the fon of man which fhall be made as grafs? And forgetteft the Lord thy maker, that hath ftretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth? and haft feared continually every day, because of the fury of the oppreffor, as if he were ready to deftroy? and where is the fury of the oppreffor?" Ifa. li. 12, 13.

(2.) When troubles are real, it magnifies them, and points them out in the most difheartening and difcouraging colours imaginable. This makes the crofs terrible, when fear gets leave to paint it in the blackeft colour: whereas, when faith looks upon the crofs, it extenuates and fays, they are light afflictions; they are but for a moment, 2 Cor. iv. 17.

(3) This fear flays a man firft, and then the last trouble will kill him outright. The devil fends faithlefs fear first and foremost, and then brings up his army. No trouble has been found to be deadly to God's people till firft flavish fear has killed, wounded, and weakened them. Therefore, our Lord cautions against this killing enemy, flavish fear; "Fear none of thofe things which thou fhalt fuffer."-Thus we have a hint at what we should not do.