Chapter 10
950 Words
But now must this needs be to man an inestimable comfort in all
temptation if his faith fail him not: that is, that he may be sure
that God is always ready to give him strength against the devil's
might and wisdom against the devil's snares.
For, as the prophet saith, "My strength and my praise is our Lord,
he hath been my safeguard." And the scripture saith, "Ask wisdom
of God and he shall give it thee," in order "that you may espy,"
as St. Paul saith, "and perceive all the crafts." A great comfort
may this be in all kinds of temptation, that God hath so his hand
upon him who is willing to stand and will trust in him and call
upon him, that he hath made him sure by many faithful promises in
holy scripture that either he shall not fall or, if he sometimes
through faintness of faith stagger and hap to fall, yet if he call
upon God betimes his fall shall be no sore bruising to him. But as
the scripture saith, "The just man, though he fall, shall not be
bruised, for our Lord holdeth under his hand."
The prophet expresseth a plain comfortable promise of God against
all temptations where he saith, "Whoso dwelleth in the help of the
highest God, he shall abide in the protection or defence of the
God of heaven." Who dwelleth, now, good cousin, in the help of the
high God? Surely, he who through a good faith abideth in the trust
and confidence of God's help, and neither, for lack of that faith
and trust in his help, falleth desperate of all help, nor
departeth from the hope of his help to seek himself help (as I
told you the other day) from the flesh, the world, or the devil.
Now he then who by fast faith and sure hope dwelleth in God's
help, and hangeth always upon that hope, never falling from it, he
shall, saith the prophet, ever dwell and abide in God's defence
and protection. That is to say, while he faileth not to believe
well and hope well, God will never fail in all temptation to
defend him. For unto such a faithful well-hoping man the prophet
in the same psalm saith further, "With his shoulders shall he
shadow thee, and under his feathers shalt thou trust." Lo, here
hath every faithful man a sure promise that in the fervent heat of
temptation or tribulation--for, as I have said divers times
before, each is in such wise incident to the other that the devil
useth every tribulation for temptation to bring us to impatience,
and thereby to murmur and grudge and blasphemy; and every kind of
temptation, to a good man who fighteth against it and will not
follow it, is a very painful tribulation. In the fervent heat, I
say therefore, of every temptation, God giveth the faithful man
who hopeth in him the shadow of his holy shoulders. His shoulders
are broad and large enough to cool and refresh the man in that
heat, and in every tribulation he putteth them for a defence
between. And then what weapon of the devil may give us any deadly
wound, while that impenetrable shield of the shoulder of God
standeth always between?
Then goeth the verse further, and saith unto such a faithful man,
"Thine hope shall be under his feathers." That is, for the good
hope thou hast in his help, he will take thee so near him into his
protection that, as the hen, to keep her young chickens from the
kite, nestled them together under her wings, so from the devil's
claws--the ravenous kite of this dark air--will the God of heaven
gather the faithful trusting folk near unto his own sides, and set
them in surety, very well and warm, under the covering of his
heavenly wings. And of this defence and protection, our
Saviour spoke himself unto the Jews, as mention is made in the
twenty-third chapter of St. Matthew, to whom he said in this wise:
"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killest the prophets and stonest unto
death them that are sent to thee, how often would I have gathered
thee together, as the hen gathereth her chickens under her wings,
and thou wouldst not."
Here are, cousin Vincent, words of no little comfort unto every
Christian man. For by them we may see with what tender affection
God of his great goodness longeth to gather us under the
protection of his wings, and how often like a loving hen he
clucketh home unto him even those chickens of his that wilfully
walk abroad into the kite's danger and will not come at his
clucking, but ever, the more he clucketh for them, the farther
they go from him. And therefore can we not doubt that, if we will
follow him and with faithful hope come running to him, he shall in
all matter of temptation take us near unto him and set us even
under his wing. And then are we safe, if we will tarry there, for
against our will no power can pull us thence, nor hurt our souls
there. "Set me near unto thee," saith the prophet, "and fight
against me whose hand that will." And to show the great safeguard
and surety that we shall have while we sit under his heavenly
feathers, the prophet saith yet a great deal further, _"In
velamento alarum tuarum exaltabo."_ That is, that we shall not
only sit in safeguard when we sit by his sweet side under his holy
wing, but we shall also under the covering of his heavenly wings
with great exultation rejoice.
- Writer
