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,