IV. We shall now assign the reasons of the

point.
1^;, Because of the absolute dependence we havo upon God, Acts xvii. 28. As the light depends on the sun, or the shadow on the body, so we depend on God, and without him can do nothing great or small. And God will have us to find it so, to teach us our dependence.
2^/;/, Because his will is irresistible^ Isa. xlvi. 10. " My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my *' pleasure." When God wills one thing, and the creature the contrary, it is easy to see which will must be done. — When the omnipotent arm holds, in vain does the creature draw, Job ix. 4 — " Who *'' hath hardened himself against him and pros- "pered?"
5Q The Crook m the Lot,
Lifercnpel, There is a 77rccwf^y of yielding and submitting under the crook in our lot; for we may as well think to remo\ e the rocks and moun- tains, which God has settled, as to make that part of our lot straight which he hath made crooked.
2. The evening the crook in our lot, by main force of our own, is but a cheat we put on ourselves, and will not last, but like a stick by main force made straight, it will quickly return to the bow again.
3. The only habile way of getting the crook evened is to apply to God for it.
Exhortation I. Let us then apply to God for re- moving any crook in our lot, that in the settled or- der of things may be removed. Men cannot cease to desire the removal of the crook, more than that of a thorn in the flesh ; but, since vve are not able to mend what God sees meet to mar, it is evident wx are to apply to him that made it to mend it, and not take the evening of it in our own hand.
Motive 1. All our attempts for its removal will> without him, be vain and fruit less ^ Psalm cxxvii. 1. Let us be as resolute as we will to have it even- ed, if God say it not, we will labour in vain, Lam- iii. 37. Howsoever fair the njcans we use bid for it, they will be ineffectual if he command not the blessing, Eccl. ix. 11.
2. Such attempts will readily make it worse. Nothing is more ordinary, than for a proud spirit striving with the crook, to make it more crooked, Eccl. X. 8. "Whoso breaketh a hedge, a serpent '* shall bite him." — ver. 9. *' Whoso removeth "stones shall be hurt therewith," &c. This is evident in the case of the murmurers iYi the wilder- ness. It natively comes to be so ; because, at that rate, the will of the party bends fanheraway from
The Cropk in the Lot, 59
it^ aud moreover God is provoked to wreathe the yoke the faster about one's neck, that he will by no means let it sit easy on him.
3. There is no crook but what may be remedied by him, and made perfectly straight, Psal. cxlvi. 8. *'The Lord raiseth them that are bowed down," &c. He can raise the oldest sit-fast, concerning which there remains no hope with us, Rom. iv. 17.' *^ Who quickened the dead, and calleth those things ** which be not, as though they were." It is his prerogative to do wonders; to begin a work, where the whole creation gives it over as hopeless, md carry it on to perfection. Gen. xviii. 14.
4. He loves to be employed in evening crooks, and calls us to employ him that way, Psal. 1. 15. " Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will end, that he may bring us to him on that errand, and may manifest his power and goodness in even- ing of them, Hos. v. 15. The straits of the chil- dren of men afford a large field for displaying his glorious perfections, which otherwise would be wanting, Exod. xv. 11.
5. A crook thus got evened is a double mercy. There are some crooks evened by a touch of the hand of common providence, while people are eith- . r not exercised about them, or when they fret for ihcir removal; these are sapless mercies, and f,hort lived, Psal. Ixxviii. 30,31 — Hos. xiii. 11. Fruits thus too hastily plucked off the tree of pro- vidence can hardly miss to set the teeth on edge, and will certainly be bitter to the gracious soul. But O the sweet of the evening of the crbok got by a humble application to, and waiting on the Lord! It has the image and superscription of di- vine favour upon it. which makes it bulky v.rA val-
fiO The Crook in the Lot,
uable, Gen. xxxiii. 10. — *' For therefore I have '* seen tllj' face, as though I had seen the face of "God,'*&c. Chap. xxi. 6.
6. God has signalized his favour to his dearest rhiUrcn, in making and mending notable crooks in their lot. His darling ones ordinarily have the greatest crooks made in their lot, Heb. xii. 6. But then they make way for their richest experi- ences in the removal of them upon their applica- tion to him. This is clear from the case of Abra- ham, Jacob, and Joseph. Which of the patriarchs liad so great crooks as they ? bat which of them, on the other hand, had so signal tokens of the divine favour ? The greatest of men, as Samson [and the Baptist,have been born of women, naturally^barren ; •JO do the greatest crooks issue in the richest mer- cies to them that are exercised thereby.
7. It is the shortest and surest M'ay to go straight to God with the crook in the lot. If we would have our wish in that point, we must, as the eagle, first soar aloft, and then come down on the prey, Mark v. 36. Our faithless out-of-the-way at- tempts to even the crook, are our fool's haste, that is no speed j as in the case of Abraham's going in to Hagar. God is the first mover, who sets all the wheels in motion for evtning the crook, the which without him will remain immoveable, Hos. ii. 21,22.
Object. 1. 'But it Js needless, fori see, that 'though tlie crook in my lot may mend, yet I will ' never mend. In its own nature it is capable of 'being removed, but it is plain, it is not to be re- ' moved, it is hopeless.'
Ans, That ie the language of unbelieving haste, which faith and patience should correct, Pr.al. cxvi. 11,12. Abraham had as much to b ly for the hope-
The Crook in the Lot, 61
iessness of his crook, but yet he applies to God in faith for the mending of it, Rom. iv. 19, 20. Sa- rah had made such a conclusion, for which she was rebuked. Gen. xviii. 13, 14. Nothing can make it needless in such a case to apply to God.
Object. 2. ' But I have applied to him again and ^ again for it, yet it is never mended.'
A71S. Delays are not denials of suits at'the court of heaven, but trials of the faith and patience of the petitioners. And whoso will hang on v.ill certain- ly come speed at long-run, Luke xviii. 7, 8, 31. *' And shall not God avenge his own elect, which **'cry day and night unto him, though he bear long " with them r" ver. 8. " I tell you that he will a- '* venge them speedily." Sometimes indeed folks grow pettish, in the case of the crook in the lot, and let it drop out in their prayers, in a course of despondency, while yet it continues uneasy to them; but, if God mind to even it in mercy, he will o- blige them to take it in again into them, Ezek. xxxvi. ^7. " I v.iil yet for this be inquired of bv " the house of Israel, to do it for them,'* 8vc. If the removal come, while it is di'opt, there will be little comfort in it : tliough it were never to be re- moved while we live, that should not cut oft^ our applying to God for the removal ; for there are ma- ny pra}ers not to be answered till we come to the other world, and there all will be answered at once, Roin. vii. 24.
62 The Crook in the Lot.
Directions for right managing the application for rcmo'jing the crcok in the lot,
1. PraijioriX^ Ezek. xxxvi. 37. andpray in faith, believing that, for the sake of Jesus, you shall cer- tainly obtain at length, and in this life too, if it is good for you ; but without peradventure in the o- ther life, Matt. xxi. 22. They will not be disap- pointed that get the song of Moses and of the Lamb, Rev. XV. 3. And, in some cases of that nature, extraordinary prayer, with fasting, is very expedi- ent, Matt. xvii. 21.
2. /iTwmf^/c yourselves under it, as the yoke which the sovereign hand has laid on you, Micah vii, 9. " I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because *' I have sinned against him," &c. Justify God, condemn yourselves, kiss the rod, and go quietly under it; this is the most feasible way to get rid of it, James iv. 10. — When the bullock is broken and tamed, as accustomed to the yoke, then it is taken off, the end being obtained, Ps«l. x. 17. " Thou '* wilt prepare their hearts, thou wilt cause thine " ear to hear."
3. Wait on patiently till tjie hand that made it mend it, Psal. xxvii. 14. Do not give up the mat- ter as hopeless, because you are not so soon relie- ved as you would ; " but let patience have her per- " feet work, that ye may be perfect and entire, *• wanting nothing," James i. 4. Leave the timing of the deliverance to the Lord; his time will at length, to conviction, fippear the best, and it will not go beyond it, Isaiah Ix. 22. " I the Lord \nll *' hasten it in his time :" waiting on him, you will Hot be disappointed. '* Yqt they shall not be asha- *' med that wait for me," Isaiah xlix. 23.
The Crook in the Lot. 63
Exhortation 2. What crook there is, that in the settled order of things, cannot be got renioved or evened in this world, let us apply to God for suit- able relief under it. For instance, the common crook in the lot of saints, viz- indwelling sin; as God has made that crook not to be removed here, he can certainly balance it, and afford relief under it. The same is to be said of any crook, while it remains unremoved. In both cases apply yourself to God, for making up your losses another way. And there are five things I would have you to keep in view, and aim at here.
1. To take God in Christ for, and instead of that thing, the with-holding or taking away of which from you makes the crook in your lot. Psalm cxlii. 4, 5. There is never a crook God makes in our lot, but it is in effect heaven's offer of a blest exchange to us ; Such as Mark x. 21. ** Sell whatsoever thou hast, and thou shalt have ** treasure in heaven." In managing of which ex- change, God first puts out his hand, and takes away some earthly thing from us : and it is expected we put out our hand next, and take some heaven- ly thing from him in the stead of it, and parti- cularly, his Christ. — Wherefore, has God emptied your left-hand of such and such an earthly com- fort? Stretch out your right-hand to God in Christ, take him in the room of it, and welcome. There- fore the soul's closing with Christ is called buy- ing, M'herein parting with one thing, we get ano- ther in its stead. Matt. xiii. 45. " The kingdom ** of heaven is like unto a merchant-man seeking ** goodly pearls:" ver. 46. "who, when he had ** found one pearl of great price, he went and sold *' all that he had and bought it." Do this, and you will be more than even hands \yith the crook in your lot?
64 The Crook in the Lot.
2. Look for the streams running as full ffoni him as ever it did or could run, when the crook of the lot has dried it This is the work of faith, confidently to hang on for that from God which is denied us from the creature. " When my father " and mother forsake me, then the Lord will take " me up," Psalm xxvii. 10. This is a most ra- tional expectation : for it is certain, there is no good in the creature but what is from God : there- fore there is no good to be found in the creature, the stream, but what may be got immediately from God, the fountain. And O ! but it is a welcome plea, to come to God and say, Now, Lord, thou hast taken away from me such a creature-comfort, I must have as good from thyself.
3. The spiritual fruits of the crook in the lot, Heb. xii. 11. We see the way in the world is, when one trade fails, to fall on and drive another trade ; so should we, when there is a crook in the lot, making our earthly comforts low, set ourselves the more for spiritual attainments. If our tirade with the world sinks, let us sec to drive a trade with, heaven more vigorously ; see if, by means of the crook, we can reach more feith, love, heavenly- mindedness, contempt of the world, humility, sell denial, &c. 2 Cor. vi. 10. So, while we lose atone hand, we will gain at another.
4. Grace to carry us up under the cro^k, 2 Cor. xii. 8. " For this thing I besought the Lord " thrice ; ver. 9. And he said, My grace is suffi- '' cient for thee.'* Whether a man be faint, and have a light burden, or be refreshed, and strength- ened, and have a heavy one, it is all a case ; the latter can go as easy under his burden, as the for- mer under his. Grace proportioned to the trial is what we should aim at; getting that, though the crook be not evened, we are even hands with itk
The Crook in the LoU 65
5. The keeping in our eye the eternal rest and xueight of glory in the other world, 2 Cor. iv. 17, 18. " For our light afflictions, which are but for a *' moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding "and eternal weight of glor}^ ; while we look not " at the things which are seen, but at the things that '' are not seen." This will balance the crook in your lot, be it what it will ; while they who have no well grounded hope of salvation, will find the crook in their lot in this world such a weight, as they have nothing to counter-balance it : yet the hope of eter- nal rest may bear up under all the toil and trouble met with here.
Exhortation 3. Let us then set ourselves right- ly to bear and carry under the crook in our lot, while God sees meet to continue it. What we can- not mend, let us bear christianly, and not fight a- gainst God, and so kick against the pricks. So let us bear it
1. PatieJitly^ without firing, and fretting, or mur- muring, James v. 7. Psalm xxxvii. 7. Though we lose our comfort in the creature, through the crook in our lot, let us not lose the possession of our- selves, Luke xxi. 19. The crook in our lot makes us like one who has but a scanty cold-rife fire to warm at: but impatience under it scatters it so as to set the house on fire about us, and exposeth us, Prov. XXV. 28. " He that hath no rule over his own *' spirit, is like a city that is broken down and ** without walls."
2. With Christian fortitude^ without sinking un- der discouragement — " nor faint w hen thou art re- " buked of him," Heb. xii. 5. Satan's work is by the crook, either to bend or break people's spirits, and oftentimes by bending to break them: our
F 2
C", The Crook hi the Lot.
work is to carry evenly under it, steering a middle course, guarding against splitting on the rocks on either hand. Our happiness lies not in any earthly comfort, nor will the want of any of them render us miserable. Hub. iii. 17, 18. So that we arc re- solutely to hold on our way, with a holy contempt, and regardlessness of the hardships, Job xvii. 9. " The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he '' that hath clean hands shall be stronger and " stronger.'*
ix^iest. *' When is one to be reckoned to fall un- *' der sinking discouragement from the crook in "his lot?"
Alls. When it prevails so far as to unfit for the duties, either of our particular or Christian calling. We may be sure it has carried us beyond the bounds of moderate grief, when it unfits us for the com- mon affairs of life which the Lord calls us to man- age, 1 .Qor. vii. 24-. It is recorded to the commen- dation of Abraham, Gen. xxiii. 3, 4. Or for the duties of religion, hindering them altogether, 1
Pet. iii. 7 '*" That your prayers be not hindered,
*' (Gi9»eek, cut off, or up, like a tree from the roots,") or making one quite hopeless in them, Mai. ii. to.
3. Projitahbj^ so as we may gain some advantage therebv, Psal. cxix» 71. '" It js good for me that I '^have been afHicted that I mignt learn thy statutes." There is an advantage to be made thereby, Rom.