many of his deare children groane under many long and tedious sharp and biting afflictions Answ The Lord hath many ends in dealing thus with his children First because they have been a long time delighted with some sinne which through custome is become as it were naturall and being so will not easily will not quickly be purged out of them That which is gotten to the bone will not easily be had out of the flesh Hard knubbs and knurles must have great and long wedges driven in to them many hard and great stroaks given them before they will yeeld Many hard and stony hearts will not be broken with little and short afflictions some kinde of mettles must be kept a great while longer in the furnace then others or else they will never be dissolved even so it fareth with some natures little and short afflictions work not upon them no whit at all molifie nor soften their hard and stony hearts therfore the Lord is forced to keep them down the longer Many men when any trouble befals them think to out-growe it or to beare it off by head and shoulders and to make as good a shift as they can never looking up to God whom they have offended and provoked by their sinnes but let these know that God will bow them or else he will breake them The Lord is the Lord of hosts he can send crosses thick and three-fold upon us to abate our lofty and proud spirits to break our rocky and stony hearts Gods wrath is answerable to his power as this is infinite so he can make the other insupportable Many are stiffe and stubborn as the Lord complaines They obeyed not neither inclined their eares but made their necks stiffe and would not heare nor receive correction Ier. 17.23 Little and short afflictions will not serve to reclaime such as these are therefore the Lord keeps them longer under his hand Againe the Lord doth thus deale with many of his children to work their hearts to a greater dislike of their sinne as that which hath brought upon them all those troubles which now lye upon them therfore in the time of our affliction we should fall upon our sinne upbraiding it and charging it with all our crosses Ah thou vile and loathsom sinne I may thank thee for this expence for this reproach and shame Ah cursed sin how hast thou heretofore domaniered over me Thou hast hitherto been too strong for me but God by this affliction I trowe will tame and hamper thee Is this the fruit I reape by entertaining thee Oh cursed be the time that ever I knew thee that ever I was ruled by thee The more grievous our affliction is the greater hatred we should beare our sinnes the causes of them and the more fearfull should we be for time to come of medling any more with them We say The burnt child dreads the fire Ephraim had been a long time polluted with idolatry The Lord stops her way with thorns and makes a wall that she may not finde her pathes Hos 2.6 exerciseth her with long affliction untill shee come to say What have I any more to do with Idols Hos 14.9 If I must buy my sinne at so deare a rate if thus long I must be afflicted for my sinne away with all I will no more of it Theirdly the Lord doth oft-times keepe the rod long upon his children for their greater and deeper humiliation Great sinnes must bee greatly repented of Great transgressions require great and long humiliation Davids sinnes of adultry and murder killing the husband with the sword that he might injoy his wife were great sinnes and those which caused the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme therefore the Lord threatned him with long affliction The sword shall never depart from thine house 2. Sa. 12.10 Neither will the Lord give us over or cease to afflict us one way or other untill hee hath brought us upō our knees broken our hard hearts and sufficiently humbled us under his hand For if we walk stubbornly against him he will walke stubbornly against us then their uncircumcised heart shall be humbled and they shall willingly beare the punishment of their iniquity Lev. 26.41 Remembering mine affliction and my mourning the wormwood and the gall my soule hath them in remembrance and is humbled in mee Lament 3.19 20. Fourthly the Lord by continuing his hand of affliction long upon his children doth hereby make known the strength of his Grace which is sufficient to support his children under long and tedious afflictions A wise builder will lay the heaviest burden upon that peece of timber which is most heart and most able to beare it Greatest peeces are put to greatest stresse because little peeces would warpe and yeeld if not break asunder Even so where there is most strength of Grace there the Lord oft times laies on the greatest load of affliction which as it makes for the praise and glory of his Grace so doth it serve much for example unto all that are neer unto them that they may live by faith and hope that if ever they come into the like trial the Lord as he is able to support and strengthen them so he will doe it and graciously stand by them even in long and sharpe afflictions as he hath upheld others in the like case Fiftly and lastly the Lord doth this that so he may afterward replenish the hearts of his children with aboundance of inward and spiritual joy After they have tasted of more gall then others they shall eate of more hony then others Heavines hath some long time sojourned in their hearts but joy and gladnesse followeth after to inhabit in them for ever The spirit of the Lord is upon mee saith Esay to comfort all that mourne appoint unto them that mourne in Sion and to give unto them beauty for ashes the garment of gladnes for the spirit of heavinesse that they may bee called trees of righteousnesse the planting of the Lord that he might be glorified Esay 61.2 3. Yee shall sorrow saith Christ but your sarrow shall be turned into joy Iohn 16.20 If thy sorrows and afflictions have been longer then ordinary they shal make way for more then ordinary joy and thankfulnes for issue and deliverance according to that which the Church uttered Lam. 3.21 22. I consider this in mine heart therefore have I hope It is the Lords mercy that we are not consumed because his compassions faile not Have wee not then good cause to bee patient in afflictions although they bee sharp and tedious seeing they proceed from the hand of our pitifull and mercifull father To helpe forward and further your patience do but consider of these 4. things First how exceedingly we have a long time provoked the Lord by our sinnes amongst which our unbeliefe is that which hath most offended him If the Lord should deale unto us our weight and measure that is punish us according to our deserts what would become of
Christ the only begotten of the Father could not come to glory but through many tribulations and afflictions I hope the doctrine which I have delivered standeth without contradiction and that it is a most undoubted and undeniable truth that None no not the best of Gods children are without their trials and affflictions Reason 1 And if any should demand a reason why the Lord doth thus deal with his dear ones many may be rendered some whereof respect the sinnes of his children either as they are past present or to come Sometime the Lord afflicteth his children that so they may ransack and search their own hearts and consciences and so find out some sinnes which have a long time lurked in their breasts and are not as yet repented of Lament 3.39 40. Man suffereth for his sinne let us search and try our wayes The heart is deep yea deceitfull and wicked above all things who can know it Jere. 17.9 It hath many turnings and secret corners many holes for sinne to sculk and lurk in so as it will very hardly be found out unlesse a privie watch be set a narrow search be made In the examination of a craftie a cunning thief the Justice or Judge had need to gather his wits together and to have his eyes in his head least he be not able to find out that villany which will never be confessed though the evidence be cleer against it Affliction will quicken our wits and cleer our eye-sight so as we shall be the better able to finde out those sins which otherwise peradventure would never have beene discovered That person that cannot by affliction be wrought upon to search what is amisse in him will never do it If the conscience which hath been rockt asleep in the cradle of prosperity cannot bee awakned by affliction it is in a deep if not a deadly sleep Josephs brethren could be touched in their consciences for their unnaturall and cruell usage of their brother when they were in some straights suspected as they conceived to be spies and one of their brethren taken and bound before their eyes Genes 42.21 Whereas for divers yeares before they had no check of conscience for their sinne Iob in the day of his adversitie could call to mind old sinnes afflictions could bring them fresh to his remembrance Thou writest bitter things against me and makest me to possesse the iniquities of my youth Iob. 13.26 Elihu hath an excellent speech to this purpose If they be bound in fetters and tyed with the cords of affliction then will he shew them their worke and their sinnes Teaching us hereby that until such time as the Lord by some affliction or other doth hamper and shackle us wee have no list to finde out our sinnes but had rather cover and daube them over Whereas affliction like unto a prospective-glasse will shew us things a farre off and discover unto us many corruptions which wee have either buried or else slighted over In affliction wee can see our formalitie barrennesse loosnesse dead-heartednesse lithernesse in good duties pride hypocrisie earthly-mindednesse uncharitablenesse and many moe old and new sinnes which before we took little or no notice of Therefore if thou beest now under the rod of God or hereafter mayst be say unto thy heart surely there lieth some wedge of gold or Babylonish garment hid which the Lord would have me search and find out certainly there is some Ionah that hath raysed this storme there is some sinne or other that hath caused all this affliction to befall me which must be found out yea and cast out of my heart as Ionab was thrown out of the ship before this storm will be calme before the Lord will take off his hand from afflicting me Therefore do not repine at the Lords wise and righteous dealing but let thine anget and indignation reflect upon thine own vile heart cast thy selfe with all humilitie at the feet of God begge some of his eye-salve whereby the eyes of thy understanding may be enlightned that thou mayst be the more able to gage and search the bottom of thy heart find out that or those sinnes which have provoked the Lord against thee lest thou perish through impenitency St. Paul writing unto the Corinthians about their prophaning of the Lords ordinance their abuse of the Sacrament telleth them that for this cause many are weake and sick among you and many sleep for if wee would judge our selves wee should not be judged 1. Cor. 11.30.31 implying thus much that Gods hand lay upon them that so they might search out see and confesse their sinnes that so God might pardon them Therefore as at all times so especially in the time of affliction wee should narrowly sift and search our hearts lest any corruption lye lurking there to do us a mischief And if ever we bee brought to a sight and confession of our sinnes it will be while the rod is upon our backe when the Lord had throughly jerked Ephraim he could smite on his thigh bee ashamed and confounded because he did bear the reproach of his youth Jerem. 31.19 Old sinnes could bleed afresh before them when the hand of God did crush them The Lord by the Prophet Ezekiel told Jerusalem that he would judge her after the manner of harlots and would give her the blood of wrath and jealousie Ezek. 16.38 Because thou hast not remembred the dayes of thy youth but hast provoked me with all these things behold therefore I also have brought thy way upon thine head saith the Lord God yet hast thou not had consideration of all thine abominations Vers 43. Teaching us that the end of Gods correcting them was to bring them to a consideration and sight of their sinnes Reason 2 A second reason of the Lords dealing sharply with his children is to purge them and cleanse them from all their filthinesse of the flesh and spirit This appeares by divers places of Scripture I I will turn my hand upon thee and purely purge away thy drosse and take away all thy sinne Esa 1.25 And some of them of understanding shall fall to trie them and to purge them and to make them white Dan. 11.35 And so in Esa 4 4. When the Lord shal have washed away the filth of the daughters Sion and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgement and by the spirit of burning And Esay 27.9 By this shall the iniquitie of Jacob be purged and this is all the fruit even the taking away of his sinne not by justifying but by sanctifying them by the rod of affliction beating sinne out of its old corners for as Elihu said Iob 36.10 He openeth their ear to discipline and commandeth them that they return from iniquity when the Lord doth afflict us he doth really call upon us and charge us to turne from our evill wayes Hee knoweth my way and trieth me saies Iob 23.10 and I shall come forth like
Prophet Jeremiah speaketh Thou hast consumed them but they have refused to receive correction they have made their faces harder then a stone and have refused to return Jerem. 5.3 They were unwilling either to beare their correction or to be bettered by it But let it not be so with any that love the Lord or their own good let both these extremities be avoided of us and let us exercise the golden mean to be sensible of the hand of God and to be cheerfull and thankfull for our affliction seeing as hath been proved so much good commeth unto us by them Object If it be so that afflictions are so profitable then may wee yea ought wee to pray that God would afflict us for may not every one nay should not every one pray for that which may be profitable for himselfe and others Answ Those things which in themselves are evill howsoever by the wise Providence and mercifull disposition of God they may have a good issue and work together for the best to those that love God yet may wee not lawfully pray for such evills to light upon our selves or others upon presumption of Gods goodnesse to turn them to the best The disasters and miserable calamities which for many yeeres together have rent and torn the Church have stirred us up to seek and cry mightily unto â—he Lord and to be humbled with fasting before him may wee therefore pray that the rod of God may still lie upon the backs of his people that ruines and the breaches of Sion may not be repaired Surely no for wee are to pray for the peace of Jerusalem That peace may be within her walls and prosperitie within her pallaces Psal 122.6 7. Death in it selfe is an evill thing for it is the wages of sinne Rom. 6.23 Yet by the infinite power and mercy of God who delights to bring good out of evill it is made the period of all our labors and an entrance into Gods own presence may we therefore being wearle of our lives desire death sooner then the Lord will Albeit afflictions when the Lord sendeth them unto us shall bring good unto his children yet ought wee not either to pray for them or wilfully to cast and plunge our selves into them Therefore Agar praies unto the Lord Give me not poverty nor riches feed me with food convenient for me Prov. 30.8 Wee are to pray for such a condition in which the Lord sees wee shall be best able to honor and glorifie him and procure most good to our selves and others Now whether this will be by prosperitie or adversitie wee must leave it to the wisedome of the Lord who knoweth better then our selves what is expedient and needfull for us Object But if it be so that afflictions are so profitable unto us whether being in them may wee pray for deliverance out of them or no Answ Wee are to pray for deliverance out of them if wee have received that good by them which God intended us otherwise wee are to be willing nay desirous that the Lord would not take off his plaister untill the sore be healed lest it ranckle and grow worse and so wee cause the Lord to apply some sharper medicine to lay upon us some greater affliction Therefore in thine affliction call upon the Lord and say Smite Lord correct me still untill thou hast done me good by thy rod let me have this affliction sanctified else let mee not be eased let it not be taken off me Are there not many delivered oft times out of sicknesse for whom it had been better in respect of their souls they had still continued upon their sicke bed The like may bee said of many other kinde of afflictions and that it had been better for some they had never come out of them Therefore when wee are in affliction let us not pray for freedome and deliverance but conditionally if it be the will of God to inlarge us and if he seeth that deliverance will be better for us Otherwise to desire the Lord to keep us still under and to give us patience and faith to beare his rod and to profit by it But if any shall unwillingly beare the Lords yoke using all means he can to cast it off and to pull his head out of the collar this shewes that such a person doth not desire that the Lord should do him good neither doth hee acknowledge the Lords wisedome and righteousnesse but seemeth to tell the Lord what hee thinkes were better for him And let him know that the Lord will either keep him in affliction longer then otherwise hee would or else that this affliction shall be but a fore-runner of some greater judgement Therefore let us not vexe or disquiet our selves in our afflictions and so make them more grievous unto us then the Lord would have them Lee us cast our selves upon the Lord and resolve to abide his pleasure and assure wee our selves that the longer wee are under his hand the more good he will do us and the better able we shall be to beare his hand You shall heare a new cart in the street which will squeak and make a noise if the least load that can be lie upon it whereas an old seasoned cart will go under a great weight and make no noise even so many a Christian not used to beare affliction will squeak and cry out upon every little trouble whereas hee that hath been seasoned long and exercised with afflictions undergoes many great and grievous ones cheerfully and contentedly Wert thou never in affliction untiil now then look up to the promises of God acquaint thy selfe with them and they will make thee cheerfull and thankfull for thy affliction It is my comfort in my trouble for thy promise hath quickened me Psal 119.50 Say as Sydrac Meshac and Abednego said our God whom wee serve is able to deliver us and hee will deliver us Hast thou been formerly afflicted and delivered let former deliverances confirm and strengthen thy faith in this present or future afflictions as it did Paul wee should not trust in our selves but in God Who delivered us from so great a death in whom we trust that yet hereafter hee will deliver us 2. Cor. 1.10 In the mean time resolve to tarry the Lords leisure consider not what now thou feelest but what good hereafter thou art like to find by thine afflictions Blesse God that hee will take this course with thee as Job said What is man that thou dost magnifie him and thou settest thine heart upon him And dost visit him every morning and triest him every moment We would take it as a great grace and honor if the King should every day send to know how we do but if hee should daily come in person to visit us how highly should wee think our selves honored It is thy case that art afflicted The King of Kings hath sent his servant nay comes with his servant to visite thee when he sendeth affliction unto thee Assure thy selfe he mindes thee nay sets his heart upon thee if he regarded not thy good and welfare hee would suffer thee to take thy swinge in sin but because he loveth thee he correcteth thee It is a truth the Lord hath spoken it As many as I love I rebuke and chasten bee zealous therefore and amend So be it FINIS 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Fervent Zeal what it is Doct. 1. The best have afflictions Affliction findeth out sinnes Iob 36 8 9 Affliction purges out sinne Affliction is physick for the soul Affliction preventeth sinne Affliction teacheth us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Affliction trieth the truth of grace in us Affliction doth fit us for Gods service Affliction teacheth us to prize Gods benefits Affliction weaneth us from the world Affliction stirs us up to prayer 0. Affliction quickneth our devotion Affliction coÌ„formeth us unto Christ Vita crucis vita lucis Affliction prepareth us for glory Censure not the afflicted How are we said to be conquerers when conquered 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Store thy self with comfort out of the word of God Break off thy sinnes by repentance Afflictions of the godly and wicked differ Seek to the Lord by prayer Comfort for the afflicted 1 Sam. 2.17 22. M. Culverwell of faith Desire to be with Christ Death how it may be desired Woe to those that are not afflicted Note Doct. 2. All our afflictions come from God God filleth both heaven and earth Againe it must needs be God worketh all things as he will All creatures are subject unto the Lord. Away with Fortune and luck 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God disposeth of all tempests Patient in afflictions 1 Helps to the patient bearing of affliction Our enemies are but the Lords rods to whip us Comfort for the afflicted God doth order our affliction Note Go to God for issue and deliverance Fero spero Note Vncheerfulnesse doth much hurt Doctr. 3. Perswasion of Gods love will helpe us to beare our affliction Because God will helpe our crosse God intends our good in afflicting us No misery can make Gods people miserable Nothing can separate us from God We learne from hence why we be so troubled with our affliction Note Be perswaded of Gods Love Tokens of Gods afflicting of us in love Note Doct. 4. The chiefe end of Gods afflicting us is the bettering of us By affliction wee come to know our selves Note By affliction wee come to judge aright of sinne Affliction makes us to feare God The feare of Gods is very profitable Wee do not make satisfaction by our afflictions Our stubbornnesse provoketh God to afflict us Amend by little else greater affliction will come Note Adde not affliction to the afflicted but pitty them Live by faith in affliction Be thankfull for affliction Note Dan. 3.17