heart and tongue of a Christian Vse 2 Againe this doctrine meets with another error too rife and ranck amongst us In the time of any great tempests especially if they bee such as cause any spoile or havock at sea or upon land by and by many mouths are opened and this they suppose to bee the work of some conjurer As if the Lord as Eliah ironically said to the Priests of Baal of their god were all this while asleep or sate still and did nothing If there bee any great winde blowing hard at sea The Lord sends that great winde into the sea and he raiseth every mighty tempest Jonah 1.4 If there be any winds or stormes upon rhe land the Lord raiseth them For the Lord hath his way in the whirlewind and in the storme Nah. 1.3 God alone is the Lord both of sea and land and by his over-ruling hand and power he ordereth and disposeth of all particulars whither in the seas or upon the earth For he commandeth and raiseth the stormie winde and it lifteth up the waves thereof Psal 107.25 They cry unto the Lord in their trouble and then he bringeth them out of their distresse But how doth he this It follows in the 29. vers He turneth the storme to calme so that the waves thereof are still for he ruleth the raging of the seas Psal 89.9 So that if there be storme or tempest it is evident God causeth and ceaseth all Object But is there not conjuring sometimes Answ Very like there is for men and devils do many times compact and joyn together for the doing of some mischiefe But are not men and devils under the rule and command of the Almighty It is true that the devill hath a large walke even the whole earth which he compasseth Job 2.2 Yet hath he his bounds and limits set him which he cannot exceed Although he be full of malice and spight and takes pleasure in doing evill and working of mischiefe and therefore hee is called the evill spirit Act. 19.16 Yet can he not hurt so much as one swine untill the Lord give him commission Mat. 8.31 Hee and his wicked instruments may vaunt it as Pilate did Have I not power c. but wee may say of them as Christ answered Pilate Thou couldest have no power against me except it were given thee from above John 19.11 Consider what Satan said to the Lord Iob. 2.5 Stretch now out thine hand and touch his bones and his flesh by which words it is evident that whatsoever power and libertie Satan had over Iob was no other then Gods hand Vse 3 Is it so that God hath his hand in all our afflictions let us then be patient in time of affliction because wee are then under Gods hand who intendeth not our hurt but our good in afflicting us Hee that hath any dangerous wound or sore upon him will patiently endure the surgeon to cut and search his wound unto the quick though strong eating plaisters or powders or any sharpe corrasives he applied he beares it out with a manlike courage because hee beleeveth that otherwise hee cannot be cured Though it be more then ordinary torment to be cut for the taking out of the stone yet a man will suffer himselfe to be bound hand and foot the searching instrument to bee put into his body that so he may prolong his life Shall these exquisite paines and grievous tortures which man doth oft put us unto be indured of us for the good and welfare of our bodies and shall wee not as willingly and patiently lie under the hand of God and beare that affliction which he layes upon us for the good of our souls Bee wee therefore patient first in respect of God and secondly in respect of any of those instrumentâ— to which God shall use in afflicting us We must be patient in all our afflictions first because they be messengers sent unto us from God our Father our pittifull Father Shall I not drinke of that cup which my Father hath given me John 18.11 We have had the Fathers of our bodies which corrected us and wee gave them reverence should wee not much rather bee in subjection unto the father of spirits that wee may live Heb. 12.9 Do wee not daily pray that the will of our father might be done then bee we patient in our afflictions because it is our fathers will by these to exercise us This was the ground of Davids patience Psalm 39.9 I was dumb and have not opened my mouth because thou diddest it It was dreadfull newes which Samuel told Eli How that the Lord would visit his house for ever for the iniquity of his sonnes and he staied them not now therefore the iniquitie of Elies house shall not bee purged with sacrifice nor offring for ever 1. Sam. 3.13 14. At the hearing whereof Eli answers verse 18. It is the Lord let him doe what seemeth him good Oh admirable patience and obedience well beseeming the antient judge and aged president of Shiloh who had sacrificed his heart to that God whose justice had refused to expiat his sinne by sacrifice Although Eli shewed himselfe to be an ill father unto his sonnes yet he proves a dutifull and obedient sonne to God being willing to kisse the rod he shall smart withall It is the Lord whom I have alwaies found most holy and just and gracious and he cannot but be himselfe let him doe what seemeth him good for whatsoever seemeth good to him must needs be good howsoever it seemeth to me Thus patiently did Eli expose himselfe to Gods afflicting hand and kneels to him that severely scourgeth him So good king Hezekiah Esay 38.15 What shall I say for he hath said it unto me and he hath done it Againe wee should be patient in our afflictions because they come from the hand of a pitifull father In bodily deseases wee are the more content to endure that paine which our Surgeon shall put us unto if we beleeve and know him to be a pittiful and tender hearted man How much more ought we to be patient under the hand of our heavenly Father for the Lord is very pittifull and mercifull or of tender mercy as the new translation hath it Jam. 5.11 The Prophet David having abundantly made experience of the Lords goodnesse tels us in very many places that the Lord is a pittifull God slow to anger and great in kindnesse and truth Psalm 86.15 And Psalm 131.4 The Lord is mercifull and full of compassion So full that howsoever for a moment he may hide away his face from us in a little wrath yet with everlasting mercy he will have compassion upon us Esay 54.8 Hence it is that speaking of his people it is said Esay 63.9 In all their affliction he was afflicted in his love and in his pitty he redeemed them Object Here some will bee ready to object If God be so pittifull and takes no pleasure in afflicting us how is it that
and safety Who can say that Abrahams heart at the first smote him not for this evill Yet it is evident that hee fell into the same sinne againe Hee that peruseth the book of the Judges shall find Israel fallen into idolatry and upon correction humbled and penitent and yet afterwards againe and again fallen into the same wickednesse they had formerly repented of Was not Jonas thinke you thorrowly humbled for his sinne of stubbornnesse and disobedience when hee felt the smart of it in the Whales belly yet for all this when he saw the Lord so mercifull as to spare Ninivie upon her humiliation and repentance how angry was he with God justifying his former sinne which in effect and before God was all one to have committed the same sinne againe yet the Lord forgave these and received them againe to mercie Doth not the Lord enjoyne us to forgive our brother offending us daily even unto Seventy times seven times if hee repent Matth. 18.22 And will the Lord enjoyn us that act of mercie and compassion wherein himselfe will not be exemplar unto us Is there any drop of pittie or kindnesse in us which comes not out of that bottomlesse sea of love and mercie in the Lord if wee must forgive our brother so many times in the day no doubt but the Lord in whom is the fulnesse of goodnesse and compassion will receive humbled sinners as often as they returne unto him There is no sinne but blasphemie against the holy Ghost which upon repentance shall not be pardoned If residnation and relapsing into the same sinne may bee repented of questionlesse it may it shall be pardoned at Gods hand And whereas some may think that true grace will preserve any from falling into the same sinne againe whereof hee hath formerly repented it is a fond error for if the Lord leave any unto themselves they will be as ready nay more ready to fall into the old sin then into a new the disposition and naturall temper being more inclinable to that evill then any other and Satan knowing which way the poore sinner hath been most foiled will that way most strongly againe assault him It is therefore a binding of the Lords hands a confining and limiting of his boundlesse mercie and compassion yea an undervalewing of the all-sufficiencie of Christ his merit and passion to say that relapsing into former sinnes is a thing unpardonable or that a person so offending was never in the state of grace or can be a true member of the Lord Christ The covenant of grace excludes none but impenitent and unbeleeving persons Truth it is that the burnt child dreads the fire and it is not an ordinary thing for the childe of God in the state of grace to fall back againe to his old byas but that it is not possible for him it God leave him so to fall or that true grace will not admit of any such falls is more then can be warranted or proved by the Word of God I speak not this God knowes to countenance or bolster any in their sinne but partly to magnifie the boundlesse and unlimited patience and mercy of our good God and partly to underlay and comfort that poore afflicted soul wounded conscience who through his owne pride selfe confidence or securitie and Satans pollicie hath been againe intangled in that snare out of which by former repentance hee hath been delivered This is the childrens bread it belongs not unto dogs Impudent and impenitent sinners can claim no interest in this comfort it is baulme to heale onely wounded consciences whom I would not have to be so strongly deluded by satan as to be beat off from repentance and the throne of grace or to think that they never had any true grace or that their former repentance was ever sound because old sores are againe broke out in them they have relapsed into old sinnes The worke of grace doth not wholly take away all sinne nor free us from it but only weakens it and workes the heart to a hatred and detestation of it And know that if thy sinne when thou wert Gods enemie could not prevent his love much lesse shall it now thou art reconciled Object But by my relapsing I have made the Lord such a gracelesse requitall of his former love and kindnesse as I know not how to look him in the face againe yea I begin to feare I shall never againe recover that which I have so wretchedly lost Answ I pitie thee Doth thy heart faint hath thy faith lost its former feeling or working in thee dost thou now behold Gods angry countenance bent against thee hath the Lord as thou concievest set thee up as a spectacle for men and Angels to wonder at throw thy self prosttate at Gods feet let not thy soul leave cleaving to the dust never leave knocking at the dore of his goodnesse and compassion intreat him to look upon thee a poore confounded wretch beseech him to behold thee in the face of Christ tell him here lyes a miserable caitiffe a forlorn creature a wounded and forsaken sinner one that resolves to lye and dye at his feet one that will set down at the threshold of his tender mercyes and never depart without some almes some crums of mercy to revive and refresh thy languishing soul withall and my life for thine in due time the Lord will satiate thy heart with comfortable tydings from Heaven of his reconciliation and of the pardon and forgivenesse of all thy sinnes Object There were some hope if I had not gon on so long in my sinne as I have done there was a time I am perswaded when I was capable of mercy but that time I feare is gon and past Gods mercy is out of date with me and therefore I am undone for ever Answ No no the Lord waites that he may have mercy upon thee and therefore will he be exalted that he may have compassion upon you Isa 30.18 The Lord hath proclamed himself to be abundant in goodnesse reserving mercy for thousands Exod. 34.6 7. Hee hath mercy in store for thee as well as for others if thou canst truly repent thee of thy former wickednesse The Lord forgiveth iniquity transgression and sinne Ez. 34.7 It would highly derogate from the Lords power from his all-sufficiencie and boundlesse goodnesse and mercy it he should not forgive capitall and foul sinnes as well as petty and small sinnes Consider what the Lord hath promised Ezek. 18.21 22. None of all his transgressions shall be mentioned And againe verse 23. Hath the Lord any desire thou shouldest perish or shalt thou not live if thou returne from thine owne wayes It is not any sinne but the love of sinne and the going on in sinne that seperates betwixt God and a poore sinner Now then cheer up thy drooping spirits stand it out no longer against the Lord and his goodnesse lay downe not only thy weapons of disobedience but also all carnall reasonings captivate thy will
are mercy and truth Therefore most true it is that whosoever in affliction offereth praise doth glorifie God Psalm 5.23 Men may be thankfull for peace plenty seasonable times deliverances and the like in selfe-love but for troubles and afflictions crosses and losses to bee thankfull this manifesteth our love to God which none can shew untill hee bee beloved of God Thankfulnesse in affliction is a notable soule of faith for faith will tell as that nothing can befall us which shall either lessen Gods love or encrease our hurt yea faith perswades us that God in afflicting of us loveth us though the affliction bee unto death and hence it comes that wee are thankfull for afflictions and patient in the bearing of them Now lay all these together Art thou willing to kisse that rod wherewith thou art beaten Canst thou cheerefully say as it is Mic. 7.9 I will heare the wrath of the Lord because I have sinned against him Art thou taken off from thine old courses thine old consorts thine old comforts and brought neerer unto God Is thy heart dissolved into teares of contrition for thy sinnes and transgressions Dost thou cordially unfainedly blesse God that ever hee took thee to do that ever he laid his hand upon thee then is it as evident as the Sun at noon day that God in afflicting of thee loves thee because hee hath taught thee to make so good and holy use of thy affliction For afflictions of themselves and in their own nature are fruits of the curse and such as being unsanctified will make us storm and rage and beat us further off from God but when wee feel and find them to worke contrary to themselves their nature altered and changed this is a most evident and infallible signe of Gods love and mercie extracting Treacle out of this ranck poison and good out of this evill Thou mayst hold it as a certaine truth that God in afflicting of thee loveth thee Now I come to the latter part of the verse the drift and end of Gods afflicting us in these words Be zealous therefore and amend I purpose not to make any discourse upon Zeal or Repentance for then I should go out or my intended course which tendeth wholy to the setting forth of the necessity and utilitie of Afflictions The Lord having said As many as I love I rebuke and chasten addeth by way of exhortation these words Bee zealous therefore and amend from which words wee may gather this conclusion The chiefe and speciall end of Gods afflicting us is the bettering and amending of us The Lord knows that grace is beter for us then great possessions and a healthfull soul is more to be desired then a strong and lusty body and therefore for the good of the soul doth many wayes afflict the body That ground from which wee expect and desire good wee digge or plough and harrow but that ground which wee regard not wee meddle not with it wee take no paines about it but let it lie waste Even so dealeth the Lord with man Hee lets the wicked alone hee looks for no good from them but hee ploweth over his children and harroweth them with affliction that so they may be fruitfull that in their lives they may bring forth a rich and plentifull crop of grace and godlinesse Why do we beat our wall-nut trees Why do wee prune and cut our vines is it not to make them more fruitfull So deals the Lord with his children hee breaks and cuts off many superfluous evils with the pruning knife of Affliction that so they may grow more fruitfull in well doing The end of Gods correcting of us is not as some may think to avenge himselfe upon us for those evils which wee have committed against him nor yet to please himselfe in our smart as if hee took delight in our punnishment and sorrow but it is for the bettering of us Moses tells the Israelites that the Lord was their guid in the great and terrible wildernesse to humble them and to prove them that he might do them good at their latter end Deut. 8.16 Hee chasteneth us for our profit that wee might be partakers of his holinesse Heb. 12.10 Hee woundeth us that hee may heale us A legge that is crooked and groweth awrye must bee broken before it can be made right and streight If the Lord should not break those crooked and perverse wills of ours they would never be rectified The Lord useth to beat out one evill with another the evill of sinne with the evill of punishment There is a great deal of folly in the hearts of his wisest children they are slow of heart to beleeve and practise that which will make for their good this folly the Lord in wisdom drives away from them by the rod of correction By this shall the iniquitie of Jacob be purged and this is all the fruit the taking away of his sinne Esa 27.9 Naturally wee sport with sinne and make it a pastime to do evill Prov. 10.23 Many drink iniquitie like water Job 15.16 Wickednesse is sweet in our mouths and wee are loth to part with it untill the Lord in love doth administer unto us some affliction or other which like unto Stibium shall make us to vomit up these sweet morsells and make us out of love with our former evill wayes and courses as things not only unpleasing and distastfull unto the Lord but such as are noxious and hurtfull unto us Therefore for the preventing of that evill which sinne may bring upon us and for the bestowing upon us that good which the love and practise of sinne would hinder us of the Lord doth afflict and chastise us How did his people Israel go a whoring from him they were set upon gadding yea madding after sinne and therefore the Lord was constrained to fetch them back againe by his judgements Wee are as ready to wander out of the way as sheep going astray so that the Lord must send some affliction or other after us to call us back again as David Psal 119.67 Before I was afflicted I went astray The prodigall in the Gospel turnes his back upon his father and takes his journey into a farre countrey where he consumed and wasted his goods with riotous living but having spent all and being pinched with penury he could then mind home and returne againe unto his father with griefe and shame which had not affliction been no doubt hee would never have done The like may be said of many moe who for ought wee know to the contrary had perished if they had not been afflicted So that few or none of Gods children but can say It had been wrong with them if they had not been afflicted for by afflictions they have been much bettered Reason And that first of all because by affliction they have been brought to know themselves and to see and acknowledge the damnable estate whereinto they were by sinne plunged Hence is it said That the prodigall