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What is a calamitous season?

1. When it exceeds the bounds of affliction, or when the dispensations of God's anger in it cannot be reduced to the head of affliction.

2. When judgments fall promiscuously upon all sorts of persons, and make no distinction.

I. HOW WE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; WHAT FAITH WILL DO IN SUCH A SEASON.

1. Faith will give the soul a reverential fear of God in His judgments.

2. It will put the soul upon preparing and providing an ark for itself.

(1) This ark is Jesus Christ.

(2) There must be a door in this ark. To obtain an interest in Christ is the general work of faith in these days.

(3) It will put us upon the search and examination of our own hearts, what accession we have made to the sins that have procured these judgments. The sins which do and have procured these judgments are — open and flagitious sins of the world. And the sins of Churches and professors. These latter include lukewarmness; contenting ourselves in outward order; want of love among ourselves; earthly-mindedness.

II. HOW FAITH WILL CARRY IT UNDER OTHER PERPLEXITIES THAT MAY BE COMING ON US.

1. How we may live by faith under reproaches.

(1) Faith will give us such an experience of the power, efficacy, sweetness and benefit of Gospel ordinances and Gospel worship, as shall cause us to despise all that the world can do in opposition to us.

(2) It will bring the soul into such an experimental sense of the authority of Jesus Christ, as to make it despise all other things. Faith will work this double respect unto the authority of Jesus Christ — as He is the great Head and Lawgiver of the Church, and as He is Lord of lords and King of kings.

(3) Faith will bring to mind, and make effectual upon our souls, the examples of them that have gone before us, in giving the same testimony that we do, and in the sufferings that they underwent upon that account.

(4) Faith will receive in the supplies that Christ hath laid up for His people in such a season.

(5) It is faith alone that can relieve us with respect unto the recompense of reward.

(6) Faith will work by patience when difficulties shall be multiplied upon us.

2. How we may live by faith, under an apprehension of the great and woeful decays in Churches, in Church members, in professors of all sorts; and in the gradual withdrawing of the glory of God from us all on that account.

(1) This is such a time of decay among us. A sense of it is impressed upon the minds of all the most judicious and diligent Christians, that do abound most in self-examination, or do take most notice of the ways of God. They recognise the open want of love among Church members; want of delight and diligence in the ordinances of Gospel worship; and our worldly-mindedness, conformity to the world, and security. A sense of this general decay ought to be an exercise and concern to our minds. God is dishonoured by this general decay. The world is offended and scandalised by it. The ruin of Churches is hastened by it.

(2) What is the work of faith under this condition? It will remind the soul that, notwithstanding this, Christ hath built His Church upon a rock. that it shall not be utterly prevailed against. It will remind the soul that God hath yet the fulness and residue of the Spirit. Faith will cheer us by saying, "Are not all these things foretold thee?" And it will put every soul in whom it is upon an especial attendance unto those duties God calls him unto in such a season. Such as self-examination; great mourning, by reason of God's withdrawing Himself from us; watchfulness over ourselves, and over one another, that we be not overtaken by the means and causes of these decays; zeal for God and the honour of the Gospel, that it may not suffer by reason of our miscarriages.

( J. Owen, D. D.)

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KJV: Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.

WEB: Behold, his soul is puffed up. It is not upright in him, but the righteous will live by his faith.