Another consideration here suggested is, that all resistance is vain; “the mighty hand of God” is uncontrollable. Utterly weak and fruitless were all the assembled powers of the universe, combined against His wall: what can a frail creature do, child of the dust, akin to the worm? If God strikes, who shall stay or avoid the blow? Whatever visitation He is pleased to send, to a family or to an individual—of sickness, of calamity, of death—there is no keeping it out of the dwelling; it may be softened by resignation, it may be removed, and even blessed, by prayer; but we cannot hinder the accomplishment of God’s will. In the language of the pious Hannah, “The Lord killeth and maketh alive; He bringeth down to the grave and bringeth up—He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and He hath set the world upon them. He will keep the feet of His saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.” { 161a}
Yes truly; the afflicting hand of God is mighty in operation, both to the wicked and the good; the former are constrained to feel, though they will not heartily or practically acknowledge, that there is no dependence to be placed on the schemes or exertions of man; no trusting, that “to-morrow will be as this day and much more abundant.” { 161b} When “riches shall have made themselves wings and have flown away;” { 161c} when the favourite or the friend have been cut off; when the bodily frame is under the influence of alarming disease; then the sinner, if he be not spiritually humbled, will, at least be made sensible, that there is a power which can lay him low; the conviction is forced on his mind, though he may refuse to act upon it; his conscience is smitten, though he will not obey its emotions; it assures him of the vanity of human devices, of human dependencies and strength, though it fail to incline him to his God.
How blessedly different the effect of the mighty hand of God upon the sincere Christian! Even the heaviest affliction, the most untoward or adverse occurrence, produces, when he comes to reflect, a salutary influence on his mind and heart. Perceiving that it is the natural tendency of a smooth uninterrupted course, to make him rest satisfied with earthly enjoyments, and draw aside his attention from the sublimer delights and the more substantial interest of heavenly things, he acknowledges, not only with acquiescence, but with gratitude, the severer dispensations of providence; he knows, that his faith must be tried and his patience made perfect; it is the very object for which he is placed in this transitory state of existence; he therefore implores his gracious Father, to sanctify to him the crosses and disappointments below, and make them minister to the completion of his happiness above; whatever they are, they are less than his transgressions deserve; whatever they are, they are “of God’s sending,” to lead him to reflection and repentance; and very efficacious are they for the fulfilment of this merciful purpose; perhaps the only means by which he could have been preserved from falling, amidst the snares and temptations that surround him. The Christian is ready to confess, and many we have heard with thankfulness confessing, that of all the mercies received from the hands of God, the most distinguished, because the most effectual for his salvation, are the vicissitudes and troubles of life: how many a sincere believer, by the discomfiture of his earthly prospects, has been led to fix his heart more intently and stedfastly, upon the unchangeable felicity of heaven; how many, at the death of a friend, have sought more earnestly and experienced more abundantly, “the power of the spirit of consolation;” and have thereby been led to transfer their affections to that blessed world, where christian friends shall meet, and never separate again. How many, by the infirmities of the body, have been admonished and persuaded to make a better provision for the health and well-being of the soul! The hand of God has been mightily laid upon them, to rescue them from the tyranny of sin and Satan, to place them in the enjoyment of “the perfect law of liberty,” manifested in the gospel; to save their souls alive.