their Graces as Faith Hope Love Obedience Patience and Humility 1. Faith is exercised in Affliction by considering the causes of God's Permission and believing most assuredly his Promises concerning our Deliverance We look by an Eye of Faith beyond all outward Helps and Means to that unseen Hand of Power that is able and willing to deliver us and we believe and know it shall be so because of his Word 2. Hope By assuring our selves of the Rewards promised to those that suffer patiently hope keeps our hearts from breaking and it being a well-grounded hope 't is when exercised in the greatest afflictions comfortable 3. Love is exercised in affliction by considering the love of Christ in suffering for us and thereby we are engaged to suffer for him again 4. Obedience by conforming our wills to the will of God Must I suffer well says the soul I am contented seeing it is my Father's pleasure I freely submit because my Lord has taught me so to do and in obedience to God's will the soul will submissively say Not my will but thine be done tho it be never so contrary to nature tho never so hard to bear In the greatest afflictions the Child of God will submissively say Lord this is nothing to what thou didst undergo for me 5. Patience is exercised in affliction by suffering quietly willingly and cheerfully Thus was the Lord pleased to exercise Job's Patience and although God had permitted Satan to tempt him Job 1. his enemies to undo him his Children by sudden death to be taken from him his body to be afflicted with boils and sores having no part free from pain and grief his Wife to be an occasion of offence unto him which in these distresses should have been a comfort yet notwithstanding all this Job sin'd not against his Maker Thus was the Patience of the Apostles and Martyrs tried and exercised namely by and in Affliction who were so far from being impatient and from murmuring that they quietly and chearfully laid down their Lives for the Gospel 6. Humility by abasing our selves in the sight of God acknowledging that these Sufferings these Afflictions are nothing in comparison of Hell which for our Sins we have deserved tho our Affliction may be many times more than we are able to bear yet it is not so much as we do deserve Lastly The Lord suffereth his People to be afflicted that the greatness of his Power and the infiniteness of his Mercy might be shown in the delivery of us You read that when the Disciples ask'd our Saviour the reason why the Man was born blind He tells them Not for his own sins nor for the sins of his parents but that the works of God should be made manifest in him John 9.2 3. from which we may truly gather thus much That the Man was born blind that Christ might have occasion to shew the greatness of his Power in restoring his sight So 't is said of Lazarus Joh. 11.4 that he died to this end that God might be glorified in raising him from the dead Thus have I shewn you for what reasons God suffereth his People to be afflicted Now from all that hath been said we may see that Afflictions are rather helps than hindrances to us in this Heavenly Race therefore be not discouraged because of Afflictions for the Lord in his due time will deliver you out of them all rather pray that God would sanctify your Afflictions than remove them and endeavour to arm your selves with the whole armour of God Ephes 6.13 that so you may not by reason of Satan's Temptations and the prevalency of your own Corruptions fall under them And seeing Afflictions are so convenient for us let us learn to bless God for them for had it not been for these we might have been yet for ought we know in love with the World and Sin which at last would have brought us to Hell Thus by Divine Assistance have I spoken what I design'd on this Subject O that God would now be pleased to make it effectual for you Souls good for the stirring of you up to be more speedy constant and sincere in running your Race O that at the Day of Judgment I might meet you all that are here this day at the Right Hand of Jesus Christ which will be an assurance to us of our entring into Glory for 't is to these he will say Matth. 25.34 Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world Now the little time that remains let us resolve to improve by being more speedy constant and sincere in running our Race O let us be stedfast unmovable 1 Cor. 15.58 always abounding in the work of the Lord forasmuch as we know that our labour shall not be in vain in the Lord. FINIS
Hell which will be most intollerable you will share in the greatest of them The loose and prophane Wretches that lived like Devils Incarnate in the World that spent very little or no time in Prayer or Hearing or any other Duties and that took you always for Saints because of your seeming strictness in the ways of God when they shall see you in the same dreadful Condition with themselves 't will make them if 't were possible laugh in Hell to see that this is the end of your Profession of your strictness in the ways of God of your praying and hearing and the like this will greatly aggravate your Torment O therefore for Christs sake and the sake of your own precious Souls beware of Hypocrisy I would had I time have given you some particular Marks of Hypocrisy at present then make but this out clearly That Hypocrisy is not predominant in you but that in simplicity and sincerity of heart and not with fleshly Wisdom you have your Conversations in the World you may then be sure you are not in the number of those Hypocrites that shall be banished for ever from the Presence of the Lord and turned into Hell I now return to my third and last Doctrinal head namely to speak of the Reward implied in my Text which shall be certainly given to those that run lawfully that run thus speedily and swiftly constantly and sincerely in this Heavenly Race and this Reward is no other nor can be no better than Heaven it self Luke 12.32 'T is your Fathers good pleasure to give you the kingdom Now to speak fully of this glorious place and the Felicities that God hath prepared there for his People is impossible we are not able fully to conceive of them therefore whatever I may now speak concerning the Glories the Felicities of Heaven if you ever come there you will say behold the thousand part was not told me but according to what discoveries the Holy Ghost hath made of it in Scripture we may speak of it and we may see the Glories of it set forth to us by the diversity and greatness of the Names thereof and the Society we shall there enjoy I shall speak to two or three of the Names thereof briefly 1. 'T is called the Kingdom of God and Christ Revel 12.10 Luke 23.42 because Christ having overcome Death Hell and Damnation together with all the Enemies that did oppose and hinder us in our way to Heaven doth rule there and govern his Church Triumphant with Heavenly Peace and Everlasting Tranquility Beverly's Great Soul of Man p. 278. If we could imagine as indeed we cannot because experience so mightily contradicts it that any Prince should live in all those delights and pleasures the most spendid Court affords without any tediousness or satiety ten thousand years what a dark Representation were this of this Kingdom tho he could do and enjoy all he would 2. 'T is call'd by the Name of Paradice Luke 23.43 in respect of the abundant plenty of the greatest of Pleasures which the Saints can either wish for or desire 3. 'T is call'd Eternal Life Joh. 3.15 Matth. 25.46 because there shall be no more Death nor Lamentation nor Sorrow We shall quit a vale of Tears for Rivers of Eternal Pleasures Mr. Silvester's Sermon in the Supplement to the Morning Exercise an Element of Joys succeeds our bitter Cup our Rights can never be invaded there nothing can stain the Comforts of that World no Blots nor Wounds are there contracted or endured no Troubles in that Israel there are no pauses of Astonishment through surprisals of Afflictions Death smites no Corners there Providence makes no Storms there lies that Ark wherein no vile or wicked Cham shall dwell the Glory of that place it knows no Eclipse nor Cloud no dim Discoveries or flat Notes shall be the Exercise or Entertainment of that State I might give you more Illustrations upon the great and glorious Names of this Kingdom but this may serve as a tast of the Glories the Joys of that blessed place by which you may discern the excellency théreof But now as to the Society that there we shall enjoy There we shall have the Company of God and Christ Saints and Angels and all our Godly Friends and Relations and joyn with them in singing Hallelujahs to the Lord God Almighty and to the Lamb his Son that sits upon the Throne for evermore Vid. Mr. Rogers's Practical Discourse of Sickness and Recovery page 97. O how vastly different is that Assembly from such a one as this Here we are with our unbelief with our Fears with our strong Corruptions and with our many Sins whereas they are all perfect and compleat in Holiness We shall then be no more disturbed with the Abuses of the Wicked we shall be no more griev'd with their Oaths and Curses nor troubled with their Company but be in the happy Society of those that will delight us and such as to Eternity we shall enjoy and not only shall our Souls enjoy these Felicities Phil. 3.21 but at the Resurrection our Bodies shall be joyn'd to them and both shall be happy Our Bodies shall not be what now they are foul unactive Lumps of Clay Mr. Silvester's Sermon in the Supplement to the Morning Exercise they are now pierced with Cold and worn with Labours appaled with Griefs and Dangers and grip'd with Pains and macerated with keen and envious Passions and after all mouldred to Dust by Death and Rottenness but there neither Deformity Pains nor Death shall be their fear nor exercise Thus have I briefly shew'd you what this Reward is that that those shall obtain that run as I have shown you in this Heavenly Race and the Happinesses the Felicities the Glories that there they shall injoy And after all I must conclude somewhat like the Apostle That eye hath not seen nor ear heard 1 Cor. 2. ◠neither hath it entred into the heart of man fully to conceive of the things that God hath prepared in heaven for them that love him Having now done what I promised as to the Doctrinal part I proceed to the Application Is it so then that the greatest Speediness and Celerity in the Ways of God must be constantly practised by those that would obtain everlasting Life Then First From hence we may draw a Use of Reproof for those Persons that are creeping as it were to Heaven instead of running swiftly that go as if they did not care whether they came there or no or as if they had an Eternity of Time allow'd them for their Journey What do you mean Sirs Your Sun is setting the Night draws on the Shadows of the Evening have overtaken you stir up your selves O slothful Souls you are upon the very Borders of Eternity your Lives are but as a Vapour James 4.14 and what will become of your Souls if your day is gone before your work be done Are
shall have an Eternal Rest Do you object by way of Complaint I suffer so much by reason of many and great Afflictions and Troubles and by reason of God's taking away my Comforts my Children my Relations and Friends that I find my self greatly hindred in my way to Heaven and I fear that I shall not hold out long I doubt I shall not persevere to the end I shall endeavour to answer you fully and so close You must then believe this as a great truth That Afflictions must of necessity come upon those that run in this Heavenly Race nay 't is impossible to be freed from them all that will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer Persecution for whom God loves 2 Tim. 3.12 he chastens and scourges every son whom he receives We are Bastards and not Sons if we are free from Affliction Those Beasts that are appointed for the Slaughter are let run in Fat Pastures but those that are not appointed for such an end are daily wrought and subject to the yoke The Stones that were for Solomon's Building 1 Kings 7.9 were squared and hewn before they were laid therein and so must every Christian be squared and hewn too by Affliction that is to be a lively Stone in this Spiritual Building Psal 118.22 of which Christ Jesus is the Head Corner-Stone The Lord spareth some for a time that he may punish them for ever and he chastens some for a time that he may spare them for ever Dives that was spared on earth was tormented in Hell and Lazarus that was afflicted on earth was received into Heaven Luk. 16.19 ad finem He that would reign with Christ in the Kingdom of Glory must suffer for him in the vale of Tears He that would obtain Christ must follow him and he that does follow him must do it with his Cross Christ suffered before he entred into Glory and so must Christians before they can be glorified Surely the Servant must not be above his Master If we suffer we shall reign We must not expect to drink of those Rivers of Pleasures that run through the Celestial Paradice unless we are willing to drink of the bitter Cup of Affliction Many are the Troubles of the Righteous one affliction seldom comes alone for God is not like the wasp that having stung once can sting no more but there is a plurality of Crosses with God he can sting agen and agen As one sorrowful messenger came to Job after another even so one affliction visiteth the Christian after another Those therefore that run in the race of Godliness must not think this strange neither must they think to be free from affliction Thus you see that of necessity afflictions must come upon the people of God upon those that run in this Heavenly race You say further that God takes away your Comforts your Children your Relations your Friends and this makes you fear you shall not hold on but rather draw back In answer to this consider Hath God dealt worse with you than with others of his Children that have been as precious in his sight as you and have done as much for his Glory Pray compare your case with Job's read that Chapter seriously at your leisure you 'l there find that God depriv'd him of all his outward Comforts and of his Children too and blessed be God he hath not dealt so severely with you you have yet a great many blessings and comforts that God is yet pleased to continue to you Job 1. and particularly as to Children God has not taken your All and can't you spare God one Lamb or two out of your Flock without repining Observe what Job says when depriv'd of all his outward Comforts The Lord gave Job 1.21 and the Lord hath taken away blessed be the name of the Lord He acknowledges him to be both good and just in all his ways and blesseth him for all whether giving or taking O do you learn Job's spirit But by this time you may readily ask what reasons can be given for God's thus suffering his Children to be afflicted I answer there are many reasons that may be given for this I shall give you a few of them 1. God suffers his Children to be afflicted that he might wean them from the love of this world which we are naturally prone to dote upon but especially in a prosperous state then we are apt and ready to be forgetful of God and of our selves too then the weeds are ready to overgrow the corn and the flesh ready to domineer over the spirit but by affliction we are brought to hate that which before we loved and to embrace that which before we loathed In time of prosperity we are apt to pride our selves in our worldly enjoyments in our Goods and Possessions and to have high and lofty thoughts of our selves as Nebuchadnezzar Dan. 4.30 Is not this great Babylon that I have built for the house of the Kingdom by the might of my power and for the honour of my Majesty But when the Lord takes him to task making of him to live with the beasts of the field and to eat grass like oxen then he was brought to acknowledg one above him Dan. 4.37 to acknowledg that he was able to abase all those that walk in pride By dealing thus with us he brings us experimentally to know that the world and the things thereof are vanity and that they are at his disposal to give and take away at his pleasure Thus therefore does God suffer his Children to be afflicted that he might withdraw their affections from the fading vanities of the world 2ly To draw us to amendment of life Psal 119.67 Before I was afflicted says the Psalmist I went astray but now have I kept thy Word Affliction was the cause of his reformation when we sin and go on therein then God out of love strikes us with the rod of affliction to cause us to remember our sins and to repent of them The affliction of the Body many times proves wholesome Physick for the soul though it wounds the outward man it many times renews the inward man God can't endure to see the blemish of sin upon the faces of his Children but he presently washeth it off with the water of affliction 3ly God suffereth his Children to be afflicted that they might the more earnestly call upon him and the more speedily seek unto him 'T is hard to keep silence when in grievous pain Affliction makes us run to God for help and releasement Jon. 2. thus did Jonah when in the Whale Our requests are then commonly more earnest and fervent how earnest are they in their distress Jon. 1.14 We beseech thee Lord we beseech thee Thus therefore does God many times oppress us that we might cry unto him crying unto him he might hear us and hearing us might deliver us and delivering us he might be glorified of us 4. For the exercise of