This sorrow and pain is the Curse but it is presently sweetned with a promise of bringing forth So that notwitstanding the danger of this Curse Eve was through Mercy the Mother of many Children and notwithstanding you all inherit the same curse yet you are capable of the same blessing And in a word if you continue in Faith Charity Holiness and Sobriety you shall find that though you are a daughter of Eve yet you shall be saved To which purpose a Reverend Author (a) Bish Hall cont lib. 10. p. 186. hath these words Afflictions have this advantage that they occasion God to shew that mercy to us whereof the prosperous are uncapable It would not beseem a Mother to be so indulgent to a healthfull Child as to a sick It was to Manoah's wife that the Angel appeared not to her husband for that the birth of the child would cost her more dear then her husband As Satan layes his batteries ever to the weakest so contrarily God addresseth his comforts to those hearts that have most need As at the first because Eve had most reason to be dejected for that her sin had drawn Man into the transgression therefore the Cordial of God most respecteth her The seed of the woman shall break the Serpents head Thus far he And surely we cannot imagine any higher reason why God suffered the first sin to be and to bring so much sin and misery upon us but that the more miserable we are the more would the glory of his grace appear in pardoning and saving us in the second Adam And why would God have suffered sin to bring such pain danger upon women in travel but 't was his will that there should ever he while the world stands that most eminent object and instance of his delivering power For thus it hath pleased our Supreme Ruler and Creatour that his servants should be brought low that he may then help them Of this we have plentifull experiments in his providences towards men and women And if you would be armed against despondency and have your trust and hope in God confirmed you must make great reckoning of those happy experiences of Gods seasonable help which he hath at any time vouchsafed to you or others If so be that you have tasted that the Lord is gracious 1 Pet. 2.3 that he hath heard your voice and your supplication what should hinder you from expecting the same mercy from him when you are in the like need if he see it to be for your good You cannot but know that many sinfull weak helplesse women have been delivered even without means have been raised up from the gates of death been satisfyed with long life and have seen their childrens children Whoso is wise and will observe these things Psal 109.43 even they shall under stand the loving kindnesse of the Lord. Tribulation worketh patience Rom. 5.4 and patience experience and experience hope If we have learned patience under former tribulations had experience of Gods remembring mercy in judgement this should produce hope in us of the like help from him for the future What other thing made the Apostle in great afflictions to stay himself upon God Ri. Rogers 7 treatises ch 18 tr 4. P. 518. and cast his care on him but this experience and long proof he had of Gods tender care over him Who delivered us from so great a death and doth deliver us 2 Cor. 1.10 in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us And again I was delivered out of the mouth of Lyon 2 Tim. 4.17 18. and the Lord shall deliver me from every evill work and will preserve me to his heavenly Kingdom Yea long before him we find David thus reasoning 2 Sam. 17.36 37. The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the Lyon and the paw of the Bear will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine And again Because thou hast been my help Psal 63.7 therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoyce Our Fathers trusted in thee they trusted and thou didst deliver them they cried unto thee and were delivered Psal 22 4 5. they trusted in thee and were not confounded Many such excellent passages to this purpose you may observe in other places especially in the Psalms Psal 30. 2 3 4 5 8 9 10 11 12. Psal 31.7 vers 22 23 24. The like passages in the 32 33 and 34 Psalms Josh 1.5 Heb. 13.5 6. as you may see in the places quoted in the margin And 't is observable that David makes his own experiences a ground for others confidence As doth also the Apostle when he quotes that promise made to Joshuah and applies it to every believer He hath said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee So that we may boldly say the Lord is my helper And so St. James Because Elias who was a man subject to like passions as we are was heard for rain and again for dry weather therefore all Christians may expect much benefit in their sicknesse from the prayers of the faithfull Wherefore seeing Eve the first Author of your infirmities and Sarah Rebeccah Hannah Ruth and all others recorded in Scripture were women of like passions and infirmities with you and many of your neighbours who are as great if not greater sinners than your self have this usuall benefit of Gods delivering power and mercy therefore you may undoubtedly conclude and boldly say the Lord is my helper Consider also that God who is over all in all and through all extends his care herein to all his creatures There is nothing so difficult but 't is under his power nothing so small but 't is under his care His providence watcheth over the Fowls of the ayr and the Beasts of the field in producing their young And there is no more clearer argument that there is a providence of God over all the world than the conservation of the species and kinds of all creatures in a continuall succession Insomuch that we find a speciall expresse law in the behalf of Birds in the time of their incubation that while the Dam was sitting upon her egges or young ones Deut. 22.6.7 she must not be taken but let go free and this with a severe charge and promise of much good upon the observation of it And wherefore is such mention made of the Ostrich by the Lord himself Job 39.13 14 15 16 17. which leaveth her eggs in the earth and takes no farther care of them contrary to the nature of all other Birds but exposes them in the warme sand to the benefit of the Sun to hatch them I say Why is this mentioned but to intimate the power and care of God who delivers their eggs and young ones from being crushed and causes those Birds still to increase and multiply Again we find that God hath a care of the Beasts in this condition Therefore he promised the Isralites that
sinful creature and yet a living creature punished not destroyed punished for your iniquities which deserve far worse why should you complain seeing 't is the Lords mercy you are not consumed Suppose a Ship after a long voyage being come into harbour springs a leak the Master is somewhat troubled at it and is never quiet till it be stopped so that it is an evil to him yet he comforts himself in this that it did not happen to him when he was out at Sea that had been a great deal worse and might have proved the ruine of them all So there is this comfort in all our forrows that they happen to us in this life we feel they are upon us but blessed be God they are upon us here in this world so that by a sanctified use to be made of them they shall not be upon us in the world to come Consider also whose hand it is that inflicts these sorrowes upon you Your pangs and throws as they were procured by sin so they are disposed by the Lord. This made Job so patient The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away This made Eli submissive when Samuel told him of the ruine of his family It is the Lord 1 Sam. 3.18 let him do what seemeth him good Yea this made David so silent I was dumb and opened not my mouth because thou Lord didst it So do you reason with your selves shall not I drink of the cup of trembling seeing 't is in the hand of the Lord my God who wil give me onely so much as shall profit me and not destroy me Shall I not stand under that cross that he hath laid on my shoulders and stoop to that yoke that he imposes on my neck Bears and Lions take blows from their keepers and shall not I bear any thing from my keeper and preserver Children take bitter physick from the Mother and hard blows from a Father and shall not I be in subjection to the Father of Spirits and live I cannot I must not contend with my Maker I will therefore humbly bend to him lest he break me and I will not make my cross heavier by impatience then he hath made it by his providence Look also to the examples of patience which are such as will abundantly shame us if we murmure and repine at the hand of the Lord upon us God himself is pressed with our sins as a cart is pressed that 's full of sheaves yet is still patient and long-suffering to us-ward not willing that we should die and perish in our sins but turn and live The Lord Jesus endured innumerable injuries unspeakable agonies and intollerable grievances at his death yet as a sheep before the shearer so opened he not his mouth he did neither strive nor cry neither was his voice heard in the streets And alas what are yon pains in comparison of his The holy Spirit our sanctifier and comforter is exceedingly vexed and grieved at our yielding to many sins and corruptions yet forsakes us not utterly but waits all the day long knocking at the doores of our hearts and patiently expecting our reformation The holy Church of God hath been from the first planting thereof continually tossed to and fro with what tempests Satan could raise against them They have been continually assaulted with the wild beasts of the wilderness Heb. 11.36 37 38. stung with fiery serpents exposed to wants hardships dangers c. They have had trials of cruel mockings and scourgings of bonds and imprisonment They were stoned they were sawn asunder were tempted were slain with the sword they wandred about in Sheep-skins and goat-skins being destitute afflicted tormented of whom the world was not worthy c. Ecclesiastical Histories and Martyrologies are pregnant with most famous instances of the patience of the Saints under such torments as ordinary men have not the hardiness to inflict much less the patience to endure But 't is a tried rule then which none more certain that God never calls his people to any suffering but he will be with them to enable them to bear it But least you should think that the examples are all of the stronger sex I shall mention only a few whereas I could many more of the singular examples of womens patience in such paines as do I think equall the paines in travel Blandina a christian woman being brought before the Heathen Judges Euseb Ecl. Hist lib. 5 â—ap 1. for the Faith of Christ when as all her friends quaked for fear least at the time of her answer by reason of the frailty of the Flesh she should not be constant she was so replenished with grace from above that the Excutioners which tormented her by turns from morning to night fainted for wearinesse and ceased confessing themselves overcome and that they were no longer able to plague her with any more punishments wondring that she yet drew breath having her whole body rent in pieces and the wounds open they confessing withal that one of these torments was sufficient to cost her her life much more so many so great But this blessed Woman like a noble wrestler was renewed at her confession for as often as she said I AM A CHRISTIAN she was refreshed and felt no pain of her punishment Potamena Euseb l. â— c. 7. a chaste and most beautiful Virgin having suffered infinitely for the Faith of Christ last of all after great and grievous torments terrible to be spoken of together with her Mother Marcella was burned with fire Her body was first cruelly tormented with scourges and afterwards boyling pitch powred upon her from the crown of her head to the sole of her feet Quinta for refusing their Idols Cap 40. had her feet bound together and by them trailed and lugged along the streets which were paved with sharpe stones and being beaten against Mill-stones and sorely scourged she was brought to the Place of Execution and there put to death Mercuria an honest Matron Ibidem and Dionisia a very fruitfull women for child-bearing which Children notwithstanding she preferred not before the Lord when they had comfounded the Judge which used all kind of persuasions after they were so tormented that they were past all sence and feeling they were beheaded with the sword But Ammonarion a holy Virgin passed them all notably enduring all kind of torment saith the Author Theodosia a modest christian Maid of Tyrus not fully eighteen years old Euseb lib. 8. cap. 25. came to some christian prisoners who were at their tryal to comfort them and was forthwith haled by the catchpoles before their judge who presently scourged her bare sides with bitter and grievous lashes renting with the whip her white breasts and tender dugs to the bare bones At length this holy Virgin scarce breathing yet patient enough for all these punishments was throne in the Sea and their drowned Ennathus a christian Virgin was cruelly scourged and tormented Idem ib. cap. 27. and patiently
not materiall to the businesse in hand it sufficeth that the expression takes it for granted that to be childlesse was a curse and a reproach in Israel So that 2 Sam 6.25 of Michal the daughter of Saul who mocked David it is mentioned as a memorable and severe judgment that she had no child to the day of her death 6 God hath in his Scriptures ever taken to himself the praise of this work and his people have ever acknowledged it as his gift mercy when they conceived and bare children Thus the wives of Jacob. Thus Jacob himself answering his brother Esau Gen. 30.6.17.22 c. 35.5 these are the children which God hath graciously given thy servant Thus Hannah Elizabeth and others still their phrase is God opened their wombs Psal 113.9 Faecundicas foeminarum casta vota filios desiderantium ad quem pertinent nisi ad Dominum Deum Aug. Enarr in Psal 66. God rolled away their reproach God gave them children c. He maketh the barren woman to keep house and to be a joyfull mother of children Seeing therefore by this cloud of Scripture-testimonies 't is evident that women are not with child but by the mercy and gift of God I must adde a few inferences from what I have said 1 That none be dejected at a state of barrennesse though among the Jews it was esteemed so great an affliction If the age of one or both parties render you not uncapable you may with modesty and moderation make your request known to God and then rest satisfied in his pleasure concerning you For though the posterity of Abraham did all desire that the promised seed might come of them as some do uncertainly conjecture and had also too high esteem of temporal blessings and carnal apprehensions of promised blessings did much possesse the mind of the generality yet we are now under a better testament containing exceeding great and precious promises of things Spiritual If therefore we stick too much on the letter of old-Testament promises we shall commit as great an errour in our faith as the Jews by resting in the bare letter of the precepts ran into gross error in their practice God never delighted in their most glorious and costly ceremonies unlesse they gave him their hearts and now he accepts of internal worship with simplicity and spirituality of mind without any further desire of those pompous observations So let us learn to worship God without their Rites John 4. Rom. 14. and to love God though without their mercies Let us count riches and posterity nothing without God and God sufficient without either of them If Christ be ours every thing needfull is ours If we be the Sons and Daughters of God it shall be no unhappinesse if we have neither Sons nor Daughters of our own There is then no curse in what we have no need of what we have not Dr. Gouge of domest duties a Where naturall impossibilities doe hinder the fecundity of the wombe they should also if known have hindred marriage But when the sterility is meerly accidentall from some such present prevailing infirmity as discomposes the body of either party it may by the blessing of God upon medicinall helps be lawfully and success fully removed But when the cause is unknown and unfruitfullnesse seems meerly judiciall viz. immediately inflicted by the hand of God in that case prayer is the Proper course that he who shuts the womb Luke 1.13 Psal 10.17 Psal 145.19 as he did the wombs in the house of Abimelech would open them again as he did theirs upon the prayer of Abraham It may be he will grant thy petition as he hath done of some that for above twenty years in a state of marriage went childlesse yet at last he made the solitary to dwell in families and gave them children like olive plants round about their table Or perhaps he will not yet answer thee Perkins Cas of consc lib. 2. c. 6. qu. 4. Reinolds on Hos 14.1.2 Serm. 1. p. 53. 1 John 5.15 to exercise thy faith prayer and dependence in waiting upon him or perhaps he will deny thee this mercy at last to exercise thy patient submissivenesse to his Will and thy heavenly-mindednesse and wisdom in seeking some better blessing Sure it is thy prayers shall returne into thine own bosom with some answer of peace and if we aske aright we shall receive (c) Deus non sempèr audit ad voluntatem vel voluptatem at Sempèr exaudiet ad salutem Isidor de summo bono l. 3 c. 3. according to Gods choice if not according to our own He hath variety of blessings which like the stars of heaven differ from one another in glory Therefore blesse his name if by this providence he promote in thy heart humility saith patience or any other grace (d) Ward â—n Mat. 8. pag. 451. seeing its better to be fruitfull in grace then fruitfull in children If he give us his favour (e) Bonus qui non triâ—uit quod â—olumus ut â—ribuat quod malimus Aug. epist 34. that 's a blessing of more value The Angels neither marry nor are given in marriage yet have happinesse enough in God Let him be to thee worth ten Sons In a word I say of these certain cares and uncertain comforts that he who hath none of them hath lesse incumbrance here and lesse to reckon for hereafter 2. T is an an addition to the mercy when God gives children in a state of marriage T is a mercy to be kept in a single estate from the unclean libidinous practices of beastly sinners (f) Mat. 22.30 and to be at last happily entred upon that state of matrimony which God appointed and hath sanctified as his ordinance 1 Cor. 7 2 3 4 5. for preventing of fornication and 't is also I say a greater blessing when he is pleased to Crown the chast embraces of wedlock with a hopefull conception Oh how dreadfull are the scripturee-xamples of many women whom God having partly or totally left to their vile affections and inordinate lusts having prostituted their chastity brought shame upon Israel and disparaged the innate modesty of the female sex grew at last past feeling and spent their life in common whoredome till their sin was come to a ripeness But alas in these last days 2 Tim. 3.1 3. the sin of incontinency is grown more perillous by its commonness and also by the impunity of our intemperate Grandees whose example herein gives a law to others And surely those who are priviledged from punishment here shall find it a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God Heb 10.31 Heb. 13.4 who hath said whoremongers and adulterers I will judge i.e. though the secrecy of their actions the potency of their persons or the negligence of Magistrates may secure them for a while yet there is nothing so secret but is under his eye nothing so great but is under