is a most happy and blessed condition Wherevnto agreeth that saying of the Apostle Heb. 12.11 No chastising for the present seemeth to bee ioyous but grieuous but afterwardes it bringeth with it the quiet fruit of righteousnesse vnto them which are thereby exercised If a man be truely exercised with affliction hee shall finde great fruit and benefite by it So then heere wee are taught that afflictioÌ„ is very profitable and good for the children of God That God who by his mighty power commaunded the light to shine out of darkenesse 2 Cor. 4.6 hath so ordered the matter in his heauenly wisedome that euen those things which to mans nature and to flesh and bloud are most irkesome and wearisome should bee to his children most beneficiall and wholesome For as the Apostle saith All things worke together for the best vnto them that loue God Rom. 8.28 In that hee saith all things hee excepteth nothing Not onely prosperity but aduersity also not onely good successe but losses and casualties not health onely but sickenes not life but death also make for the good of those that be godly And indeed affliction doth not only minister comfort vnto them in that as we haue heard it is a pledge of their adoption but it produceth also many blessed and gracious effects First of all it is a means to purge out the drosse of that naturall corruption that is within vs. So long as wee enioy prosperity it is with vs as the Prophet saith of Moab Ierem 48.11 Zephan 1.12 wee are like Wine that is setled on his lees and frozen in his dregges and hath not beene powred out from vessell to vessell So wee are full of the dregges of naturall corruption till the Lord by affliction doe refine vs. Affliction as one saith well is vnto the children of God as the flaile is to the corne the file to the yron and the fire to the golde a Si aurum es per ignem purgaris si ferrum es rubiginem amittis As the flaile doth purge the corne from the chaffe which groweth vp with it and as the file scowreth off the rust that sticketh vpon the yron and as the fire purifieth the gold from the drosse So doth affliction by Gods mercie purge away from vs that chaffe that rust and drosse of sinne that is in our nature The Gold-smith taketh not the golde out of the forge till hee see it well and throughly purified In like manner God doth not remooue the afflictions of his children till they be throughly refined In a word affliction is the Lordes pruning knife whereby he cutteth away from vs all withered and vnprofitable branches Secondly affliction that is sanctified doth bring a man to the sight of his sinnes and to godly sorrow and true repentance for the same a Oculos quos culpa claudit poena aperit Greg. in Moral As sinne shutteth vp a mans eyes so affliction openeth them And heereof we haue a worthy example in the brethren of Ioseph For the space of twentie yeares they were neuer touched with any remorse for their vnnaturall cruelty in selling of him to the Ishmaelites till at the last comming into Aegypt to buy corne in the time of the famine and perceiuing Ioseph to speake roughly to them and to charge them to be Spies that came to see the weakenesse of the Land and fearing imprisonment or some other hard measure then they beganne to call their sinne to remembrance and to say one to another Wee haue verely sinned against our brother in that wee sawe the anguish of his soule when he besought vs and we would not heare him therefore is this trouble come vpon vs. Genesis 42.21 As one that is fast asleepe will not awake vnlesse hee be raised by thrusting or by some such violent motion so many lie snorting in the long custome of sinne and neuer thinke of repentance till the hand of God be vpon theÌ„ And as the horse that rusheth into the battell Ierem. 8.6 neither feareth the enemy that commeth against him nor is terrified with the dolefull groanes of dying persons nor with the noyse of the gunnes nor with the shaking of the pikes so wicked men are carried headlong to sinne and neither feare the roaring of the diuell nor are moued with the miserable end of others before their eyes nor terrified with the feare of hell But as the horse running with violence being checked by his rider with a sharpe bridle is enforced to stay his course So when sinners runne into all excesse of riot the Lord in mercie by one affliction or other as it were by strong hand pulleth them backe and causeth them to see their sinnes and so bringeth them to repentance So that wee see that God vseth his corrections as Sermons to call his children from their sinnes which many times are more forcible and effectuall then any verball preaching According to that saying of S. Augustine a Multi cum sentiunt poenam corrigunt culpam in Psal 50 Many men when they feele the smart reforme the falt Now what greater benefite can there be then this for a man to be brought to vnfained repentance for his sins without which there can be no hope of forgiuenes And therefore Bernard saith sweetely b Bene pungeris fi compungeris in Psal 32. It is a good affliction that bringeth a man to compunction and remorse Thirdly affliction is as a notable meanes to humble the children of God and to beate downe their pride So long as all things goe well with vs and we are free from the crosse our flesh is puffed vp and can hardly be kept vnder the leven of old Adam is in vs and maketh vs swell in pride As the moone neuer suffereth eclipse but when she is in the full and then she is alwayes furthest distant from the sun so likewise when we abound in outward prosperitie such is the foolish pride of our hearts we are puffed vp and care least for God till by some affliction or other he humble vs and bring vs downe Thus was it with the Prodigall son Lu 15.17 etc. As soone as hee had got his portion of his father he was all on flaunt knew not himselfe hee could stand on no ground but when he had wasted his substance and was pinched with pouerty and famine his pride was danted hee was glad to come home by weeping crosse Gen. 16.4 9 So was it with Hagar when she had conceiued a child by her master Abraham she was presently so lifted vp with pride that she despised her mistris Sara because shee was barren But afterwards when her mistris had dealt roughly with her and made her run away into the wildernes she cried pâ—ccaui and humbled herselfe vnder her hands Yea Dauid himselfe though otherwise an holy man had a spice of this disease as himselfe confesseth Psal 30.6 7. In my prosperitie saith he I said I shall neuer
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
THE BENEFITE of Affliction A Sermon first preached and afterwards enlarged by Charles Richardson Preacher at Saint Katharines neare to the Tower of London PSAL. 94.12 Blessed is the man whom thou chastisest O Lord and teachest him in thy Lawe LONDON Printed by Lionell Snowdon for W. Butlar and are to be sold at his shop in the Bulwarke neare the Tower of London 1616. ¶ To the right honourable and truly Religious Lady the Lady ELIZABETH Countesse of Lincolne grace and peace be multiplied Right Honourable I First preched this Sermon at the buriall of one M. Brocklesby a Goldsmith in Cheapside who on his death-bed gaue order that this Text might then bee handled And hauing since vpon some other occasion enlarged the same I haue presumed in your Honors name to make it more publike by committing it to the Presse The reason that mooued mee besides mine owne priuate respect wherby I confesse I am bound to doe your Honour all the seruice I can in regarde of the great fauour which for many yeares I haue found at your hands is this because I know the Doctrine of it doeth most properly appertaine vnto you who a long time haue felt these blessed fruits of affliction your selfe in a most plentifull manner Iames 1.4 Rom. 8.37 If euer Patience hath had her perfect worke in anie it hath beene in you who haue not onlie been thereby more then a Conquerour but also haue learned to contemne and despise all outward crosses as not able to come neare your soule beeing mounted vp so high aboue their reach Yea hereby the graces which GOD hath wrought in your Honour haue beene so tried like golde in the furnace as they haue shined forth in such excellent and glorious manner that all that haue knowne you haue beene drawne into admiration thereof For mine owne part I must needes acknowledge that I neuer came to your Honour but I went away ashamed to see my selfe so much inferiour in grace vnto you I haue many times wondred to beholde your exceeding diligent attention in hearing the word your blessed memorie to retaine the thinges which you haue heard and your godlie care to make an holie vse thereof in the whole course of your life And as your desire is great to heare the word in publique so you spend much time in the priuat reading of the same making it your chief delight Psal 1.2 1 Cor. 1.5 Heb. 5.14 to meditate in the Lawe of the Lord day and night whereby you are made rich in knowledge and through long custome haue your witte exercised to discerne both good and euill But you haue not thought it sufficient to bee thus Christianly affected your selfe but your care hath bin likewise extended to your children that they also might be trained vp in sound religion It would do a man good to heare the sweet lessons and gracious instructions which you like another Bath-sheba haue taught your little ones Prou. 31.1 causing them as yong Timotheus did to know the holy Scriptures 2 Tim. 3.15 euen from their cradles Whereby you haue made so deepe an impression of godlinesse in their hearts as I trust the diuell shall neuer be able to rase out Neither hath your goodnes bin dammed vp in your owne priuate familie but it hath also flowed foorth to the good of others For at such time as God denied your Honour that plentifull vse of his word which I know you thirsted and panted after as earnestlie as euer did the Hart after the riuers of water Psal 24.1 whensoeuer you had anie oportunitie of hearing it offered vnto you you did not ingrosse it as worldlings doe their commodities to your owne priuate vse alone but with good Cornelius Acts 10.24 you called together your neighbours and friends that they also might bee partakers of the grace of God with you And howsoeuer you haue not in former times had such means to performe externall works of charitie as God hath afforded vnto others yet to your power 2 Cor. 8.3 yea and beyond your power you haue been willing to do good that way also For you spent not your estate in pride and brauerie for that you neuer affected but your richest dressings and attire were the ornaments of the Apostle as Tertullian saith Your earings were the word of God your neck-laces the yoke of Christ your silken and veluet garments were pietie and holinesse By which meanes you spared much from vaine and idle expences wherein too many of your place doe greatly exceede that you might haue something to giue to such as stand need of reliefe especially to the Ministers of the word which brought vnto you the glad tidings of peace and saluation There is none that hath beene more readie to entertaine them at all times nor to vse them with greater respect then your Honour hath done And as I can witnesse how earnestlie you haue desired that you might but liue to doe more good in the Church of God so I doubt not but God hauing at the last in mercie granted your desire Psa 66.13 14 you will be mindfull to pay the vowes which your lips haue promised and your mouth hath spoken in your affliction I doubt not but with vertuous Ruth Ruth 3.10 you will shew more goodnesse in the latter end then at the beginning that as all that haue knowne you haue hitherto called you The good Lady Clinton so you may now be called The good Countesse of Lincolne You see right Honourable how farre I haue been transported with the admiration of your excellent vertues God is my witnesse I haue not done it to flatter or to giue Titles to your Honour for then my Maker would reprooue me and I know your humilitie is such as you loue not to heare your owne praises But I do it in the sinceritie of my soule that GOD may haue the glorie of his graces and that the Church may be edified by your example I would all the great Ladies in the Land would treade in your steps so should they shine as so many glorious diamonds in the Church of God For it is not the greatnes of their birth nor the eminence of their places that can so ennoble them and make them so trulie honourable in the sight of God and his children as the admirable graces which appeare in you I pray GOD euen from the bottome of my heart to blesse your Honour with many happie daies in this life to perfect the good worke which hee hath begunne in you and in the end to bring you to that immortall inheritance that fadeth not away which is reserued in Heauen for you Your Honours most humbly deuoted CHARLES RICHARDSON To the godly vertuous and religious Ladies the Ladie Katharine Scot the Lady Isabel Bowes the Lady Frances S. Paul and the Ladie Frances Wray increase of grace and fruition of glory Worthy Ladies AS God hath vnited you all in the bondes of nature and alliance so
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
rich gluttō being in hel in torments Son saith he Luke 16.25 remember that thou in thy life time receiuedst thy pleasures and likewise Lazarus pains now therfore is he comforted thou art tormented Fiftly by afflictions wee are made conformable vnto Christ For he was not exempt from the Crosse as one saith wel a Deus filium vnum habuit sine peccato nullum sine flagello Hebr. 5.9 Ma th 3.17 Cal Institut lib. 3. cap. 8. sect 1. God had one sonne without sinne but none without affliction Though he were the author of eternall saluation to al that obey him yet he was consecrate by afflictions Yea albeit he were the beloued Sonne of God in whom he is well pleased yet we see his Father was so far from cockering and pampering of him that we may truely say he was not onely exercised with afflictions whiles he was vpon the earth but his whole life was nothing else but a continuall crosse Iohn 15.20 Why then should we looke to be exempted from that condition which Christ our head was to vndergoe especially seeing hee did vndergoe it for our sakes that in himselfe hee might giue vs an example of patience And therefore the Apostle teacheth vs that all the children of God are predestinated to this end Rom. 8.29 that they might be made like to the Image of him In a word by afflictions the Lord doth seale vnto vs the assurance of our adoption For as the Apostle saith Whom the Lord loueth hee chasteneth He. 11 6 7 8. and he scourgeth euery sonne that he receiueth If yee endure chastening God offereth himselfe vnto you as sonnes for what sonne is it whom the Father chasteneth not If therefore yee be without correction whereof all are partakers then are yee bastards and not sonnes Where wee are taught that wee can gather no greater testimony that wee are the sonnes of God than from the louing corrections which hee layeth vpon vs. Last of all there is a good end of our afflictions in respect of others If wee be constant and couragious vnder the crosse our example is a notable encouragement vnto others to treade in our steppes If wee bee fearefull and faint-hearted others may learne what frailty there is in man Rom. 12.15 Hecr 13.3 and may thereby be moued to pitty vs as if it were their owne case as also to comfort vs and to pray for vs and to watch more carefully diligētly ouer themselues To conclude the way to euerlasting glory is by this meanes as it were chalked out For hereby all men may see that Whosoeuer will liue godly in Christ Iesus 2. Tim. 3.12 must suffer persecution and that Through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdome of Heauen Act. s 14.22 And thus wee see the poynt is sufficiently cleared that afflictions to Gods children are no punishments of their sins but that the Lord sendeth them for many other good ends and purposes Vse 1 The vse of this Doctrine is very profitable First it serueth to teach euery one of vs to iudge wisely as Dauid saith of the poore and those that are afflicted Psal 41 1. There is a corruption in our nature which maketh vs rashly conclude when wee see a man afflicted with some heauie crosse that surely it is GODS iudgement vpon him for his sinne So dealt the Barbarians with the Apostle Paul when they sawe a Viper leape vpon him and hang vpon his hand they saide presently amongst themselues This man surely is a murtherer Acts 28.3 4 whom though hee haue escaped the Sea yet vengeance hath not suffred to liue Yea this corruption will euen creep into the best of vs all if we do not endeauour to keepe it out As wee see in Iobs friends who though they were otherwise men of great knowledge and no doubt godly yet when they saw the strange afflictions that GOD had brought vpon him they by and by with one consent passe their censure vpon him That he was an hypocrite and that GOD had now found him out Iob 8 4 As Bildad telleth him plainely that his sonnes had sinned against GOD and therefore that hee had iustly sent them To the place of their iniquitie Iob 11.6 And Zophar bids him know that God had forgotten him for his iniquitie Yea Eliphaz commeth to particulars with him Is not saith he thy wickednes great and 22.5 6 7 9. and thine iniquities innumerable For thou hast taken the pledge from thy brother for nought and spoiled the cloathes of the naked To such as were weary thou hast not giuen water to drinke and hast withdrawne bread from the hungrie Thou hast cast out widowes empty and the armes of the fatherlesse were broken And where we see he is not afraid to charge Iob with oppression and vnmercifulnes as if these had beene the causes of his calamitie And the Disciples of our Sauiour Christ when they saw a man that was borne blinde they straitway imagined that it was either for his owne or his parents sins But we must know Iohn 9.1.2 that euery crosse is not a pursuing of a man for sinne as our Sauiour teacheth in the Gospel when he said to them that shewed him of the Galileans whose bloud Pilate had mingled with their owne sacrifices Lu. 13.1 2 3 4 5. Suppose yee that these Galileans were greater sinners then all other Galileans because they haue suffered such things I tell you nay c. Or thinke ye that those eighteene vpon whom the Tower in Siloam fell and slew them were sinners aboue all that dwel in Ierusalem I tell you nay c. And therefore if any of vs haue beene foolish this way and haue thought wickedly and vncharitably of our brethren when wee haue seene them visited by the hand of God let vs learne henceforth as Salomon saith to lay our hand vpon our mouthes Pro 30.32 lest we condemne the generation of Gods children Psal 73.15 Saint Augustine hath a most excellent saying to this purpose Although saith hee the godly and the wicked be alike afflicted yet they are distinct the one from the other there a Manet dissimilitudo passorum in similitudine passionum remaineth an vnlikenesse of the sufferers in the likenesse of their sufferings For as vnder one and the same fire golde shineth and glistereth and chaffe smoaketh and vnder one and the same flaile the strawe is broken is pieces and the corne is purged neyther are the lees therefore mingled with the oyle because they are strained out in one and the same presse So one and the same violence rushing vpon the godly and the wicked tryeth b Tantum interest non qualia sed qualis quisque patia ur De Ciu. Dei lib. 1. cap. 8 purifieth and melteth the one but it damneth destroyeth and vtterly vndoeth the other h So great a matter it is not what things one suffereth but how he is qualified that suffereth For
one and the same motion causeth the dung to stincke horribly and the ointment to smell most sweetely So that afflictions are like the red Sea wherein the Aegyptians were drowned and the Israelites saued Vse 2 Secondly it serueth to comfort all Gods children in the middest of the greatest afflictions that can befall them It is the infirmitie and weaknes of our nature to thinke that affliction is a token of Gods anger and that if any extraordinary crosse doe befall vs we presently feare that God hath forsaken vs. But as we heard already though God afflict vs with many and heauie crosses yet we are neuer the lesse deare vnto him neyther doth hee loue vs any whit the lesse An Heathen man that neuer had experience of the loue of God to his children had yet a glimmering of the trueth of this point a Seneca Dc diuin Prouid Dost thou not see saith he that fathers loue their children farre otherwise then mothers doe They would haue their children stirred vp betimes to vndergoe labor toile cause them to sweat yea somtimes to weepe But mothers desire to cherish them in their bosoms to keep them in couert shelter they would neuer haue them weepe they would neuer haue them sad they would neuer haue them take paines In like maner saith he God hath a fatherly affection towards good men and loueth them not effeminately but manfully and exerciseth them with labors with sorrows with losses that so they may gather true strength and hardnesse So that the greater that our afflictions are the better may wee be perswaded of the loue of God yea the more comfort we may take in them For God hauing promised 1 Cor. 10 13 that Hee will not suffer vs to be tempted aboue that wee are able we may assure our selues that God seeth wee haue strength to beare them or else he would not put vs to encounter with theÌ„ When a Captain hath a piece of seruice weighty and full of danger hee will not send a coward or a white-liuered fellow about it but hee maketh choice of those that are stoutest and of whose valour and courage hee hath had most experience and to them he committeth the charge of that busines So dealeth the Lord with vs. In his great wisedome and mercie hee proportioneth his afflictions according to that measure of strength which hee seeth in vs. When a Physition hath to deale with a Patient that is of a strong constitution hee ministreth to him strong purgations But if hee be weake and feeble hee prescribeth for him milder potions In like manner our heauenly Physition maketh the cup of our affl ctions more bitter or more milde as hee knoweth hee hath giuen vs ability to beare the same And so long as hee strengtheneth vs by his glorious power wee neede not care what crosses wee meete withall for wee may be sure they shall not hurt vs. For as so many riuers which daily do runne into the Sea Sen. de diuina Prouid and such aboundance of raine that falleth continually into it from the Cloudes and such a multitude of fountaines that spring from the middle of the earth doe not change no nor any whit abate or diminish the salt sauour thereof so the violence and force of afflictions doth not alter the minde of a violent man but he abideth in his estate and whatsoeuer befalleth hee bringeth it into his owne colour And on the contrarie side there is no greater cause of discomfort then when wee are altogether free from aiflictions And therfore one calleth a secure life which is not subiect to crosses the dead Sea affirming that when a man hath nothing to stirre him vp and pricke him forward nothing to trie the constancie and firmenesse of his minde Non est tranquilitas malicia est Seneca epist 68. but lieth burâ—ed in idlenesse it is not tranquility but a dead calme Againe this is no small argument of comfort that God beholdeth vs in all our troubles and afflictions as it is said of the people of Israel Exod. 2.25 when they groand vnder the bondage of Pharao that God looked on them and had respect vnto them Though they might thinke in regard of the miserable slauery which they indured that God had quite forgotten them and his promise made to them and their fathers yet it was otherwise his eye did still behold them Neithet doth the Lord looke vpon vs as an idle beholder or as one that taketh pleasure to see our misery but with compassion and a tender regard As hee saith in the former case Exod 3.7 I haue surely seene the trouble of my people which are in Aegypt and haue heard their cry because of their taske-maisters 8. and I know their sorrowes Therfore I am come downe to deliuer them c. 9. And loe the crie of the children of Israel is come vnto me and I haue also seene the oppression wherewith the Aegyptians oppresse them Where we see that the Lord taketh to heart the afflictions of his children Iudg. 10 19 zach 2.8 And his verie soule is grieued for their miserie and it goeth as neare him Psalme 56.8 as if a man should touch the apple of his eye He regardeth their sighs and groans Malac. 3.16 and their teares hee putteth in his bottell hee registreth their words and complaints Exod. 2 23 There is a Booke of remembrance written for them that feare him and all their cries come vp to him It is true that the Lord somtimes seemeth to forget neglect his children in the time of trouble As our Sauior Christ being in the ship with his Disciples was asleepe till the ship was couered with waues and they were all like to perish Iohn 11 6 When he heard that Lazarus his friend whom hee loued was sicke he did not presently goe to visite him to coÌ„fort his sisters but abode stil two dayes in the place where he was so as Lazarus was dead buried before he came there But when hee hath sufficiently tryed humbled them he returneth speedily comforteth theÌ„ and so disposeth of their afflictions as hee alwayes enableth them to get the victory For Orig. de prin lib 3. cap. 2. as they that had the ouersight of the wrastlings and combates among the Heathen did not suffer the combatants to begin the conflict hand ouer head nor arme them confusedly all alike but making diligent examination as they saw mens bodies and ages they were carefull to match like with like and to furnish them with weapons fitte for them In like sort the prouidence of God disposeth and ordereth after a most equal maner all those that descend into the conflicts of this life so as one encountreth with the flesh another with pouerty another with sickenes another with infamy another with persecution and putteth vpon euery one of theÌ„ diuers kinds of armor and furnisheth them with greater or lesser strength as
be mooued For thou Lord of thy goodnes hadst made my mountaine to stand strong See how soone a man is apt to forget himselfe Pressuâ—a caruit tumor excâ—euit Aug. in Psal 51. if hee enioy but alittle prosperitie But alas the case was soone altered with him For as he saith in the next words The Lord did but hide his face and bring him into some affliction and straitway hee was troubled And therefore in this respect affliction is very necessary and profitable because it causeth a maÌ„ to know himselfe As we see by common experience when God afflicteth a man eyther with ignominy and disgrace in his name or with pouerty in his estate or with sickenes in his body or with losse of children or any such like crosse and calamity though before hee were neuer so prowd and carried himselfe neuer so high yet then he beginneth to droope and letteth his feathers fall a Plut in Apotheg Reg et Imp. Antigonus though an heathen king when he was taken with alittle sickenesse and had recouered thereof he could make this good construction of it namely that it was well for him that hee had beene sicke and ill for his disease had taught him that seeing hee was but a mortall man hee should not too much lift vppe his Spirite And this is the goodnesse of God towards vs as Saint Augustine saith a August de vera Relig. That because the sweetnesse of earthly blessings doth deceiue vs and puffe vs vp we should be humbled by the bitternes of affliction Fourthly affliction is a meanes to reforme the godly and to make them better That which Salomon speaketh of children is true also of aged persons Prou. 22.15 that follie is bound in their hearts but the rodde of correction shall driue it away from them And therefore the Apostle saith well That when GOD correcteth chasteneth his children it is but to Nurture them as a louing father doth his sonne for their reformation and amendment 1 Cor. 11 32 When we are iudged saith he we are nurtered of the Lord c. The Lord knoweth that a sonne set at libertie runneth into such licentious courses that he is a shame to his father and a griefe to his mother and therefore hee will not suffer his children whom hee loueth most tenderly to goe on in their sinnes lest his name should be dishonoured and his holy Gospel euill spoken of but by corrections and crosses laboureth to reclaime them As Iob saith Iob 33.16 17 Hee openeth the eares of men euen by their corrections which he hath sealed That hee might cause man to turne away from his enterprise c. And Solomon hath a speech to the same purpose Prou. 6.23 that corrections for instruction are the way of life to keepe and preserue a man from whooredome and such like sinnes a Felix necessitas quae cogit in melius De praecepto et dispensat So that this as Bernard saith must needes be a happy and blessed affliction that maketh a man better Fiftly affliction is an excellent means to inforce vs and stirre vs vp to prayer Yea euen they that neuer thought to pray as Atheists and wicked persons when any trouble lyeth vpon them are driuen to pray whether they will or no. As the Prophet saith That such as rebell against God in the time of famine when they want corne and wine will howle vpon their beds Hosea 7.14 And Dauid reckoneth vp a bead-roll of such persons Psal 107.4 5 Some that wandered out of the way in the wildernes and found no citty to dwell in both hungry thirsty their soule fainting in them Others that dwell in darkenesse and in the shadow of death 10. that is poore prisoners being bound in misery and yron Others being cast on their sicke beds 18. whose soule abhorreth all maner of meate and they are brought to deaths doore Others in danger of shipwracke 26 whose soule meltsth for trouble c. Howsoeuer peraduenture in the time of their prosperity they cared but alittle for the Lord yet now they cryed to him in their trouble Verse 6.13 19 28 he deliuered them out of their distresse So that trouble and distresse will make any man cry vnto the Lord and betake him to his prayers So was it with the mariners that entertained Ionah Ionah 1.5 when they were afraid of their liues by reason of the mightie tempest that God sent vpon them they cried euery man to his God And the prowd king of Nineueh with all his people when they heard the sodaine destruction that was threatned against theÌ„ by the preaching of Ionah and 3.8 2 Chro. 33.6 they cried mightily vnto God And that wicked Manasseh who did very much euill in the sight of the Lord to anger him 2 Kin. 21.16 shedding innocent bloud exceeding much till hee replenished Ierusalem from corner to corner yet when God brought vpon him the Captaines of the King of Ashur which tooke him and put him in fetters and bound him in chaines and carried him to Babel then when he was in tribulation he prayed to the Lord his God and humbled himselfe greatly before the God of his fathers Yea the godly themselues are neuer so fit to pray as when they are in affliction Though they be carefull to pray continually 1 Thess 5.17 yet they neuer pray with so great deuotion and feruencie as when some heauy crosse or calamity is vpon them For then feeling their miserie and their owne inabilitie to helpe themselues they more earnestly flie vnto the Lord for succour As the Prophet saith In that day that is Esay 17.7 in the day of trouble shall a man looke to his maker and his eyes shall looke to the holy one of Israel Hosea 5.15 And in their affliction they wil seek me diligently saith the Lord. In our prosperity wee are all of vs both good bad too full of security as thogh we stood no neede of God As the Lord complaineth of Ieconiah saying Ierem. 22.21 I spake to thee when thou wast in prosperity but thou saidst I will not heare c. And so Dauid saith of the wicked that because his wayes alway prosper Psalm 10.4 5 and the iudgements of God are high aboue his sight therefore he is so prowd that hee neuer seeketh after God And the Prophet Ieremiah compareth such persons to the wilde Asse in the wildernesse Ierem. 2.24 that snuffeth vp the winde at her pleasure and it is in vaine to seeke to turne her backe but in her moneth that is in her foaling time then a man may deale with her As the little Chickens when the weather is faire and there is no danger towardes straggle a great waie from the Henne but if any Hayle shewer come vpon them or a Kite houer ouer them then they are glad to runne vnder her wings for shelter And as the Stagge when he
is at liberty will not come neare a man but when hee is hotly pursued with the dogges hee will runne to him of his owne accord for succour So it fareth oftentimes with vs when wee are at ease and nothing doth molest vs wee turne our backes vpon GOD but when wee are brought into distresse or danger we are glad to repaire vnto him for helpe As one confesseth of himselfe and it is our case aswell as his a Si bene essem sine te non venitem ad te If I could be well without thee I would neuer come at thee As the water when it is at large and hath scope enough runneth with a still and silent motion but being brought into a streight it maketh a great noyse In like manner when a man is at large he looketh not much to this duetie of prayer but when hee is in affliction and straites hee will excite and stirre vp himselfe thereunto So did the children of Israel in the time of their bondage they sighed and cryed Exo. 2 23 24 and made their moane vnto GOD. And wee reade in many places of the Booke of Iudges That howsoeuer in their prosperity they were vntoward carelesse of God Chap. 3. and 4 yet when God raised vp any new enemies against them they cryed vnto him And Dauid saith of himselfe that although before while he thought his mountain to be strong enough as we haue heard he was foolish and prowd yet when God hid his face from him Psal 30.2 then hee cryed vnto the Lord and praied vnto him And we may obscrue that the most of his Psalmes were made when hee was in affliction Yea our Sauior Christ himselfe thogh all his lifetime hee was much conuersant in prayer sometime rising earely in the morning before day Mar. 1.35 and sometime spending the whole night therein yet he neuer prayed more earnestly nor more feruently then immediately before his passion when as the Apostle saith Heb. 5.7 he offered vp prayers and supplications with strong crying and teares yea he was so seruent that his sweat was like droppes of bloud trickling downe to the ground Luke 22.44 Wee see then by all that hath beene spoken that affliction is as it were a whet-stone to set an edge vpon our deuotion and sharpen our hearts to prayer Sixtly affliction doth containe the children of God in obedience It is with the best of vs as Agiselaus said of the Athenians that a Liberi maliâ—unt serui boni When they were at libertie they were nought but when they were in bondage they were good so we in our prosperity do start aside like a broken bow but when affliction commeth wee submitte our selues to the Lords yoke The people of Israel when the hand of God was vpon them eyther by warre or famine or any other calamity carried themselues very religiously and walked in obedience vnto his will But when God carryed them vp to the high places of the earth as Moses saith that they might eate the fruites of the fieldes Deut. 32 i3 14 15 when hee caused them to sucke hony out of the stone oile out of the hard rocke when hee gaue them butter of kine and milke of sheepe with fatte of lambes and rammes fed in Bashan with the fatte of the graines of wheate and made them drinke the red liquor of the grape then they that should haue beene vpright when they waxed fatte spurned with their heeles they were fat they were grosse they were laden with fatnesse therefore they forsooke God that made them and regarded not the strong God of their saluation And this doth Dauid confesse of himselfe when he saith Before I was afflicted I went astray Psal 119.67 but now I keep thy word And the Church acknowledgeth that before the Lord corrected her Ierem 31.18 shee was like an vntamed calfe Though man were created after the Image of God and aduaunced to great honour yet if God let him alone Psal 49.20 hee will become like vnto the beasts that perish as Dauid saith And therefore the Lord threatneth the rebellious Iewes Hosea 2.6 that he will stoppe their way with thornes and make an hedge that they should not finde their pathes Where hee sheweth that necessitie requireth that hee should holde them in with seuere Discipline and sharpe corrections comparing them to wanton and vnruly cattell which must bee kept in with thornes and hedges lest they leape out of the pasture and goe astray Seauenthly it helpeth to tame and subdue the vnrulinesse of the flesh that it may be in better subiection to the Spirit The flesh is like an head-strong horse which if he be fatted and pampered in the stable for a while waxeth so frampall as hee can hardly be ruled and brought to acknowledge his rider So this stubborne flesh of ours if it inioy but alitle prosperity it straitway groweth so rebellious that it will not be subiect to the Law of God Rom. 8.7 And as the horse-rider to pull downe the stomacke of such an horse taketh away his prouender and feedeth him with straw and chaffe and if that will not serue handleth him roughly and beateth him So doth the Lord with our flesh hee taketh away those outward blessings which puffed it vp and made it swell and loadeth it with one affliction after another 1 Cor. 9.27 that so he may beate it downe and bring it into subiection And this is a great benefite to haue the flesh with the cursed lustes and affections thereof mortified and subdued in this maner For it is one of those deadly enemies of our soules Galat. 5.17 with which we must fight and incounter while we liue Now as he that were to enter a single combate with an aduersary that were stronger then himselfe would be glad of some bodie would first weaken and foyle him that so he might the more easily ouercome him In like manner the children of God haue cause to reioyce that it doth please the Lord by outward calamities to tame the flesh and to treade it vnder their feete that so they may with lesse difficulty and danger get the maistery of it Eightly it is a meanes to withdraw our hearts from the loue of the world to raise them vp to the desire of heauenly things Such is the corruption of our nature that we doate too much on this world We are like to foolish children that would not willingly be weaned from the breast and therfore their mother annoynteth the nibbles of her breast with some bitter thing to make them out of loue with it So if wee might haue our wills wee would alwayes hang vpon the breasts of the world would neuer leaue sucking if the Lord did not powder our desires with the crosse and make them bitter to vs. The children of Israel though they were grieuously afflicted in Aegypt to make them more earnestly desire to possesse the land of