in the life to come without all question they shall finde the truth of that comfortable promise deliuered by the Apostle 2 Cor. 4.17 Our light affliction which is but for a moment causeth vnto vs a far more excellent and eternall weight of glorie Vse 3 Thirdly this Doctrine serueth to admonish vs that seeing affliction is the lot and portion of Gods children in this life that therefore wee should prepare for it before it come The Lord will not haue his children come to Heauen in a pleasant way that is strewed with rushes as it were but through many tribulations wee must enter into his kingdome Act. 514.22 As Bernard saith well a Non est idoneus ad proemium qui nondum paratus est ad patibulum De coena Dom. Ser. 6 He is not meet for the crowne that is not yet prepared for the crosse And therefore it is good for vs to arme our selues before hand that when they come they may not hitte vs on the bare Wee must bee carefull to store vp grace and comfort against a rainie day that whatsoeuer shall befall vs wee may bee prouided to beare it In our best estate wee must put our selues in a readinesse to suffer aduersitie whensoeuer GOD shall send it In our greatest abundance it is good for vs to thinke of want in our prosperitie it is good to looke for calamitie and in our perfectest health to remember that sickenesse may come There is nothing that maketh all affliction more bitter and grieuous vnto vs then because it taketh vs many times on the blind side before we see it or dreame of it Whereas miserie that is fore-seene and premeditated doth little hurt vs. Affliction is like the Basiliske of which it is written that if it see a man before hee see it it killeth him but if hee see it first it hath no power to hurt him So affliction is most terrible to those whom it findeth vnprepared Seneca though an Heathen man hath spoken well to this purpose a Si non quicquid fieri potest pro futuro habes das in te vires rebus aduersis quas infregi quisquis prior videt de tranquâ—l cap. 11 If saith hee thou doest not make account that whatsoeuer can befall may come vnto thee thou giuest aduersitie power and strength against thee which whosoeuer seeth first hath weakened and abated And in an other place b Sapiens assuescit futuris malis et quae alii diu patiendo leuâ—a saciunt hic leuia facit diu cogitando Epi. 77 A wise man accustometh himselfe to future euills and those things which other men make easie by long suffering hee maketh easie by foreseeing Fourthly it teacheth vs to be patient in all the afflictions that God layeth vpon vs because they are his louing corrections in regard of our daily falls and infirmities We may not say with Iob Iob 6.2 3 Oh that my griefe were well weighed and my miseries were layd together in the ballance and 34.6 For it would now bee heauier then the sand of the Sea And my wound is grieuous without my sinne But rather acknowledge that we haue deserued farre greater punishment as Dauid saith Psalme 130.3 If thou Lord straitly markest our iniquities O Lord who shall stand If God should deale with the best of vs according to our deserts we were neuer able to abide it And therfore as Bernard saith well a Sustinete virgam corripientem ne sentiatis malleum conterentem In ps 91. serm 9 It is good for vs to beare the rodde of correction lest we feele the hammer of confusion The more wee struggle and striue vnder the hand of God the lesse we preuaile and the more we prouoke him to displeasure cause him to vse harder courses against vs. As a father hauing an vnruly sonne that will not take correction binds him to a forme But the sooner wee yeelde and submit our selues to his will and kisse his rod the sooner we shall be deliuered Last of all it serueth to reprooue the Vse 5 profane wretches of the world who insult ouer the children of God in their miseries and doe not sticke blasphemously to say Mal. 3 14 15 What profite haue these holy fellowes by keeping Gods commandements or by walking humbly before the Lord of Hostes Wee neuer regarded Gods seruice but haue wrought wickednesse Ierem. 12.1 and tempted GOD all our liues and yet we are set vp and deliuered Wee haue rebelliously transgressed euen from our cradles and yet our wayes doe prosper and we haue wealth at will But let all such vngodly persons know first that it is a grieuous sinne to adde affliction to those that are in miserie For howsoeuer God do many times seuerely correct those that transgresse his Lawe though they be neuer so deare vnto him yet hee will not allow the wicked to insult ouer them no more then a father that whippeth his sonne for his faults will suffer his seruants spitefully to taunt and reproach him Againe the children of God though they walke neuer so vprightly before the Lord yet their reward is not in this life 1 Iohn 3.2 2 Tim. 4.8 It doth not yet appeare what they shall be But there is a crowne of righteousnes laide vp for them against the day of Iudgement when Christ which is their life shall appeare Coloss 3.4 then shall they also appeare with him in glory And for themselues though their prosperitie bee neuer so great for the present yet it is inconstant shall not indure Psalme 73.18 The Lord setts them in slipperie places casteth them down into desolation sodainly are they destroyed perished and horribly consumed For euen in the midst of their wealth they are but fatted prepared for the day of slaughter Ierem. 12.3 And thus much shall suffise for the first point which I haue the loÌ„ger insisted on because it is so necessary for vs. It is good that I was afflicted This must be vnderstood of crosses that are sanctified when GOD giueth grace to make an holie vse of them It is true affliction in it owne nature is euill and a â—ag of Gods vengeance a punishment for sin But as the bitter waters Exod. 15.25 which the Israelites complayned of in the wildernesse were made sweet by a tree which Moses by Gods direction cast into them so the Crosse of Christ hath seasoned and sweetened all afflictions to the children of God which haue grace to profite by them so that now the nature of them is changed and altered that they are no more a punishment of sinne but a medicine for the sinner According to that excellent speech of Dauid a Non poena sed remedium delinquentium Psal 94.12 Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest O Lord and teachest him in thy Law If the Lord do ioyne his teaching to his correction to cause a man wisely to make vse thereof it
but a wounded spirit who can bear Iob was not only afflicted in his body and outward estate but also troubled and wounded in his cōscience with the fearful apprehension of Gods wrath And therefore hee complaineth Iob. 6.4 that the arrowes of the Almightie were in him the venime or poyson whereof did drinke vp his spirit and the terrours of God did fight or set themselues in array against him And Dauid cryeth out Psal 22 1. My God my God why hast thou forsaken mee and art so farre from my health and from the words of my roaring And in another place he saith and 32.3.4 When I held my tongue my bones consumed when I roared all the day long For thy hand was heauie vpon me day and night and my moysture is turned into the drought of summer And in another place he maketh such a lamentable complaint as if hee had beene brought to the very pit of desperation and 38.2.3.4.5 6.7.8 Thine arrowes saith hee sticke fast in me and thy hand presseth me sore There is nothing sound in my flesh because of thine anger neither is there any rest in my bones by reason of my sinne For mine iniquities are gone ouer mine head and as a mightie burden they are too heauie for mee My wounds stincke aad are corrupt because of my foolishnesse I am bowed and crooged very sore I goe mourning all the day For my reines are full of burning and there is nothing sound in my flesh I am weakened and sore broken I roare for the very griefe of my heart c. And againe and 130.1 Out of the deepe places haue I called vnto thee O Lord as if hee had beene euen in the bottome of hell In a word Hezekiah that good King complaineth that besides the sicknesse which God laid vpon his bodie that brought him euen to deathes dore the Lord had broken al his bones like a lyon Isa 38.13.14 and from day to night he made an end of him and that he chattered like a crane or swallow and mourned as a doue By this we see that euen the children of God doe many times wrastle with desperation it selfe and the Lord doth so long hide his face from them as they seeme vtterly to be forsaken and beginne to thinke that his mercie is cleane gone for euer as Dauid saith and that hee will bee fauourable no more And therefore the Church of God is compared to a lillie among thornes to giue vs to vnderstand that though it be very louely beautifull in the sight of God yet it is subiect to many miseries and accombred with many molestations But here it may be some will obiect if the case bee so that the children of God be subiect to so many great afflictions then it seemeth that either their sins are not fully forgiuen them or else that God is not iust in inflicting such punishments vpon them To this I answer Psal 103.3 Col. 2 13 1 Iohn 1 7 that first for the sins of Gods children they are all absolutely forgiuen The hlood of Christ as the Apostle saith Isa 1 8 doth clense vs from al sin So that though they be as scarlet yet the Lord maketh them as white as snow thogh they be red like crimson hee maketh them as woll and 44 22. Yea the Lord putteth away our transgressions like a cloud and our sinnes like a mist Mich. 7.19 he subdueth our iniquities and casteth them into the bottome of the Sea So as they shall neuer rise vp in iudgement against vs to accuse or condemne vs. Againe the Lord is righteous in all his waies Psal 145.17 holy in all his workes and being Iudge of all the world as Abraham said he must needs do right Gen. 18 25 And forasmuch as our Sauiour Christ hath satisfied Gods iustice for our sins 1. Pet. 2.24 hath borne them in his bodie on the crosse feing the Lord hauing punished them once in Christ Non his punitur in idem cannot iustly punish thē again in vs therfore it must needs follow that the miseries wherunto the children of God are subiect are not punishments of their sins but the Lord hath other ends for which he afflicteth them Now the ends are many but for order sake we will refer thē to three heads Some of them are in respect of Gad some in respect of vs some in respect of others The end that God aimeth at in respect of himselfe is twofold First therby to manifest set forth his owne glory As our Sauiour said cōcerning the man that was borne blind Iohn 9 2 3 that that affliction was laid vpon him neither for his owne sinnes nor for his fathers sinnes but that the workes of God might be shewed on him And indeed no small glory redoundeth vnto God by the afflictions of his children As the power of God is more magnified and declared in aduersitie then euer it could be in prosperitie For that which the Lord said to the Apostle Paul concerning outward afflictions 2. Cor. 12.9 My power is made perfite through weakenesse For when we are in prosperitie see no euill we seeme not to stand need of Gods helpe But when God deliuereth vs out of troble then is his power manifested and then haue we occasion offered to glorifiie him Psal 50.15 As it is said in the Psalme Call vpon me in the day of trouble and I will deliuer thee and thou shalt glorifie mee Yea though the Lord for causes best knowne to himselfe doe not deliuer his children out of their miseries and tribulations yet this is no small matter of glory vnto him 2. Cor. 1 4. 1. Pet. 1.8 that in the middest of them all he ministreth comfort vnto them and maketh them cheerful and causeth them to reioyce with ioy vnspeakeable and glorious Secondly to declare his anger and indignation against sinne that when the wicked shall see that Gods dearest children if they take libertie to sinne doe not escape the rod they may know what themselues are to looke for at his hands according to that speech of the Apostle Peter If Iudgement first begin at the house of God 1. Pet. 4 17. what shall bee the end of them that obey not the Gospell of God The ends that God aimeth at in respect of vs are diuerse First to correct and chasten vs for our faults As the Apostle saith When we are iudged we are chastened of the Lord. 1. Cor. 11.32 As a father that hath care of his childe if he see him take euill courses will correct him to bring him to amendment so our most mercifull father will not suffer his children to continue in sinne Heb. 12 6. but vseth corrections to reclame them Secondly to try and exercise the graces that are in them and to make them more conspicuous Not as though the Lord were ignorant of them For he that made them
may inable them to ouercome the enimy that is appointed for theÌ„ For God is not like the master of the games before spoken of who when hee hath armed the parties departeth out of the wrastling place to behold the combat with the rest But the Lord standeth by them still and aideth and assisteth them at euery turne and continually succoureth them that are weaker with greater strength And heerein the Lord dealeth with his children as Ioseph dealt with his brethren when they came into Egipt to buy corne For as Ioseph himselfe was many wayes tried of the Lord before he was made Ruler of the Land so he likewise many wayes tryed and exercised his brethren before hee would make himselfe knowne vnto them or acknowledge them to be his brethren First he tryed them Genes 42.7 et cetera ad 24. whether they had truly repented and were touched with remorse for the iniury they had done to him in that so cruelly and vnnaturally they solde him into Aegypt Secondly hee tryed them whether they had attempted any such thing against Beniamin his brother German Ibid. ver 20 in that hee enioyned them to bring him with them the next time that hee might see him Thirdly Gen 43.34 when they had brought him hee shewed extraordinary kindenesse to him aboue the rest giuing him fiue times so great a portion as hee did any of them and all to trie whether they did enuy him or no Fourthly he tryed them whether they loued their brother Beniamin so well that when hee alone was detained Gen. 44.1 et cetera ad 14 and 33. they would all for his sake come backe againe from their iourny Last of all he tried them whether they loued their fathet so intirely as that they would not return home without Beniamin Ibid. verse 17 et cet which they knew would be intollerable griefe vnto their father All this while no doubt his brethren were in great perplexity much troubled and still Ioseph made as though he had not regarded them But his bowels did earne within him towards them and his heart was asmuch grieued as theirs insomuch as twice he was constrained to turne from them and weep Gen. 42.24 and 43 30 and 45.1 2 3 And at the last he could refrain no longer but he cried out I am Ioseph your brother So likewise Christ Iesus our blessed Sauiour Matth 28.10 Heb. 2.11 who is not ashamed to call vs his Brethren doth suffer vs to be exercised with many grieuous afflictions and seemeth sometimes as though he cared not for vs but yet in the meane while Hos 11 8 his repentings are rolled together and at the last when he hath sufficiently tryed vs hee will manifest himselfe vnto vs to our vnspeakeable comfort According as himselfe saith Hee that loueth mee shall be loued of my Father Iohn 14.21 and I will loue him and will shew mine owne selfe to him That is as one well noteth I will loue him by trying his loue and patience and when I haue tryed him I will manifest my selfe vnto him And though peraduenture this manifestation shall not bee by anie outwatd deliuerance in this life yet at the day of Iudgement hee will acknowledge them openly in the sight of men and Angells Then hee shall not be able to containe himselfe anie longer but shall say vnto vs with a loude voyce so as all the world shall heare I am Iesus your Brother Come yee blessed of my Father inherite the Kingdome prepared for you from the foundations of the world Matt. 25.34 For as the Aegyptians and all the house of Pharaoh heard the voyce of Ioseph when hee reuealed himselfe vnto his Brethren Genes 45.2 So in the day of Iudgement when Christ shall manifest himselfe to his brethren heauen and earth and all the Angells in heauen shall heare his voyce yea all the damned the whole house of hell shall heare it and shall gnash their teeth for anger and gnaw their tongs for griefe of heart to see those whom they sometimes had in derision and in a parable of reproach whose life they thought to be madnes and their end without honour Wisd 5.3 4 5 to be now counted among the children of God and to haue their portion amongst the Saints Finally this is another argument of vnspeakeable comfort to the children of God that the greater their afflictions are the greater shal their glorie be 1 Pet. 4.14 As the Apostle Peter saith If ye be rayled vpon for the name of Christ and it is true likewise of all other afflictions blessed are yee for the Spirite of glorie and of God resteth vpon you And heereof we haue a worthy example in Ioseph before named For after the manifold and great calamities which he indured so many yeares he was exalted by Pharaoh and as himselfe confesseth Gene. 45.8 was made Lord of all his house and Ruler through all the land of Aegypt And it is worthy to be noted that for some thirteene yeares wherein he was afflicted he was exalted and ruled in Aegypt for the space of fourescore yeares as may easily be gathered out of the Story Gen. 37.2 and 41.46 For hee was seauenteene yeares olde when his brethren solde him away and 50.22 hee was thirtie yeares olde when hee was aduaunced by Pharaoh and he liued Gouernour of the land of Aegypt till hee were an hundred and ten yeares olde Besides such was the goodnesse of God vnto him that for the seueral miseries which hee suffered hee receiued a seuerall reward For the hatred of his brethren hee obtained the fauour of the King and his Nobles Gen. 37.19 For the contempt and scorne which his brethren heaped vpon him calling him Dreamer c. and 42.6 he was worshipped of them with their faces downe to the ground For the particoloured coate which they stript him of Gen. 37.23 when they cast him into the pit he was arayed by Pharaoh with a princely roabe of fine linnen and 41.42 In stead of the fetters wherewith he was bound in prison Pharaoh put his own ring on his hand and a chaine of golde about his necke In steade of the prison and dungeon where he lay he was set vpon the Kings best Chariot saue one and carried in great pomp throughout the cittie Whereas before he was contemned of all men as a stranger as a seruant and a prisoner hee is now honored of all men by bowing the knee at the Kings commaundement In a word in steade of his fathers house from which he was exiled and banished he had dominion in all the land of Aegypt So true is that saying euen of an heathen man a quanto plus tormenti tâ—nâ—o plus erit gloriae Seneâ—a de diuin Prouid The greater torment a man indureth the greater shall be his glory afterwards But howsoeuer the Lord doth not alwayes deale thus with his children in this life yet