to do God good service Phil. 3.6 Concerning zeal persecuting the Church And Saul out of a blinde zeal to the children of Israel and Judah slew the Gibeonites for which sin though done in zeal the whole Land was punished with three years Famine 2 Sam. 21.1,2 2. Look that your zeal for God be true and real and not pretended Jehu pretended great zeal for God 2 Kings 10.16 Come with me and see my zeal for the Lord But it was rather a zeal to establish the Kingdom to himself than any true zeal for God 3. Let your zeal be chiefly exercised in those things wherein the life and power of godliness consisteth in the essential and fundamental matters of Religion and not in circumstantials Pharisaical zeal that was punctual in tything Mint and Cummin and Annise and neglected the weightier matters of the Law as Faith and the love of God Judgment and Mercy was disallowed and condemned by Christ 4. Look that your zeal be not for a fit while the sence of your affliction is fresh upon your spirits but let it be constant Gal. 4.18 It is good to be zealously affected alwayes in a good thing 3. God aims at the making of you partakers of his holiness by this affliction Heb. 12.10 He chasteneth us for our profit that we might be partakers of his holiness These persons to whom the Apostle writes this Epistle had been chastned with the loss of their Goods Heb. 10.34 and this chastning was for this end that they might be partakers of Gods Holiness They were holy before the Apostle calls them chap. 3.1 Holy brethren partakers of the heavenly calling They were such as had been sufferers for Christ and had suffered joyfully they had attained to assurance of their salvation chap. 10.32,33,34 Yet these persons were chastned that they might be made more holy Now seeing Gods design in this affliction is to make you partakers of his holiness let this affliction stir you up to follow after holiness if you had only a form of godliness a shew and appearance of holiness before now follow after the power truth reality of godliness if you had true holiness before labour now to be more holy be more holy in your hearts in your thoughts in your affections in your speech and discourse with all men be more holy in all manner of conversation 1 Pet. 1.15 As he which called you is holy so be ye holy in all manner of conversation This exhortation though it belong to all Gods called ones is more especially directed to such as are in affliction for to such this Epistle is directed as you may see ver 1 6. Let your sufferings excite you to do the works of your Callings in a more godly sort and to perform your Closet and Family Duties in a more holy manner to be more holy in your relative Duties to be more holy in your converses with all sorts of men and to express more of the power of holiness in all manner of conversation 4. God aims at the stirring of you up to a more close and humble walking with himself and to deal justly and mercifully with all men Micah 6.8 He hath shewed thee O man what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God This God required at such a time as he was pleading a controversie with his people as you may see ver 2. The Lord hath a controversie with his people and he will plead with Israel And while he was pleading his controversie he destroyed Jerusalem the chiefest City of the Jews chap. 3.12 Zion shall be plowed as a field and Jerusalem shall become heaps And Samaria which was one of the principal Cities belonging to the ten Tribes Isa 7.9 The head of Ephraim is Samaria Micah 1.6 I will make Samaria as an heap of the field I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley and I will discover the foundations thereof Now when God had a great controversie with Israel and Judah for this Prophet was sent to both Kingdoms chap. 1.1 and was laying waste their chiefest Cities that which he required from the inhabitants with whom he was pleading his controversie was that they should do justly and love mercy and walk humbly with their God 5. God aims at making of you more fruitful by this affliction that you may bring forth both more and better fruit John 15.2 Every branch that beareth fruit he purgeth it that it may bring forth more fruit When great wrath was coming upon the Jews and the axe was even laid to the root of the tree John the Baptist giveth them this exhortation Mat. 3.8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance Now if you would know what it is wherein God would have you more fruitful in you may be resolved from such Scriptures as these Gal. 5.22,23 The fruit of the Spirit is love joy peace long-suffering gentleness goodness faith meekness temperance Phil. 1.11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God Col. 1.10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing being fruitful in every good work If then you would comply with Gods ends in your present affliction labour to be filled with the fruits of righteousness abound in all the fruits of the Spirit which are as you heard before love joy peace long-suffering gentleness goodness faith meekness and temperance Labour to be fruitful in every good work only remember in so doing that you bring forth your fruit to God and not to your selves Rom. 7.4 That we should bring forth fruit unto God for what fruit is brought forth for selfish ends God accounts next to none Hos 10.1 Israel is an empty vine he bringeth forth fruit unto himself SECT 7. 7. The losses and other afflictions which you have sustained by this dreadful Fire should stir you up to glorifie God Isa 24.15 Wherefore glorifie ye the Lord in the Fires even the name of the Lord God of Israel In the former part of the Chapter the Prophet speaks of a time of great desolation as ver 1. Behold the Lord maketh the earth empty and maketh it waste and turneth it up-side down and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof ver 3. The land shall be utterly emptied and utterly spoiled ver 11 12. All joy is darkned the mirth of the land is gone in the City is left desolation and the gate is smitten with destruction and then tells them what use they should make of these sore Judgments Glorifie ye the Lord in the fires When God is executing any remarkable Judgments it should awaken all men to glorifie God Rev 15.4 Who shall not fear thee O Lord and glorifie thy name for thy judgments are made manifest We read Rev. 14.6,7 That when it was an hour wherein God was executing his Judgments that an Angel cryed to every nation and kindred and tongue
day and after his sickness he composed a Song or Psalm to set forth Gods praise and resolved to sing this Song in the house of God all the dayes of his life Isa 38.9,20 The writing of Hezekiah King of Judah when he had been sick and was recovered of his sickness then follows the Song it self to the 20. verse where he expresseth his resolution by way of gratitude to sing this Song all the dayes of his life The Lord was ready to save me therefore we will sing my Song to the stringed Instruments all the dayes of our life in the house of the Lord. Yet notwithstanding all this Hezekiah is taxed with not returning according to the benefit done unto him 6. They whose Houses and Estates have been preserved from this dreadful Fire may know what they ought to return to God for this great deliverance by observing what the Servants of God have returned unto the Lord at such times as God hath vouchsafed unto them any eminent deliverances though it were not a deliverance from Fire but from some other evil and also by considering what special duties God calleth for in his holy Word from such as have escaped those judgments that have fallen upon other men or have received any other signal mercy from the Lord. These things being premised I shall now answer the third Question SECT 1. 1. Render to God your love for his great mercy in preserving your houses and substance from being consumed by this Fire God deserves to be loved by all those whom he preserveth from any evils Ps 31.23 O love the Lord all ye his Saints for the Lord preserveth the faithful When David was in a wonderful manner delivered from the hands of his enemies he resolves with himself that he would love God with an entire and an endeared love for the deliverances he had received from him Psal 18. ver 1. compared with the title of the Psalm A Psalm of David the Servant of the Lord who spake unto the Lord the words of this Song in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul and he said I will love the Lord my strength The Hebrew word that is used in this place signifieth more then barely to love it notes an inward entire cordial love it is translated by Junius and also by Piscator Exintimis visceribus diligam te And at another time when David was communing with his own heart about what return he should make to God for delivering him from the gates of death upon his crying to him Ps 116.3,4,12 he determins to give God his love verse 1. I love the Lord because he heard my voice and my supplications That thing which a Christian prizeth most and desireth of God above all other things is his love Cant. 1.2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth for thy love is better than wine Psal 63.3 Thy loving kindness is better than life So it is with God that which he prizeth most from us and that which he desireth above all other things is that we should give him our love Deut. 10.12 And now Israel what doth the Lord thy God require of thee but to fear the Lord thy God to walk in all his wayes and to love him and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul Cant. 4.10 How fair is thy love my Sister my Spouse how much better is thy love than wine and the smell of thine oyntment than all spices If any ask which way shall we express our love to God for this great deliverance I answer 1. By hating and abhorring all evil and endeavouring to root out all manner of sin both from your selves and your families Psal 97.10 Ye that love the Lord hate evil Sin is an abominable thing in the sight of God and therefore he entreateth us that if we love him we would not do that which his soul hateth Jer. 44.4 Oh do not this abominable thing that I hate 2. Express your love to God by being careful to keep his Commandments John 14.15 If ye love me keep my Commandments 2 John 6. This is love that we walk after his Commandments God accounted obedience of his Commandments a truer token of love than the offering of a multitude of sacrifices in those times when sacrifices were in use 1 Sam. 15.22 Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord Behold to obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of Rams 3. Express your love to God by doing all the service you can for his Saints and Servants You cannot be any wayes beneficial to God but you may be to his people Psal 16.2,3 My goodness extendeth not to thee but to the Saints that are in the earth and to the excellent in whom is all my delight And what you do for them the Lord will account of it as done unto himself Math. 25.40 Verily I say unto you inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren ye have done it unto me Three times our Lord Jesus calls upon Peter to express his love to him by doing good to his members Joh. 21.15,16,17 Jesus said to Simon Peter Simon son of Jonas lovest thou me more than these He saith unto him yea Lord thou knowest that I love thee He saith unto him Feed my Lambs He saith unto him the second time Lovest thou me He saith unto him yea Lord He saith unto him Feed my Sheep He saith unto him the third time Lovest thou me Feed my Sheep SECT 2. 2. They that have sustained little or no loss by this dreadful fire wherein so many thousands of persons and families have suffered very deeply have great cause to give thanks unto God for sparing and delivering their substance and their houses from this devouring Fire The Prophet Isaiah having mentioned altime of great desolation wherein a little remnant should escape telleth us what this remnant should render unto the Lord Isa 24.13,14 When thus it shall be in the midst of the Land among the people there shall be as the shaking of an Olive Tree and as the gleaning Grapes when the vintage is done they shall lift up their voice they shall sing for the majesty of the Lord Four times in one Psalm doth the Holy Ghost call upon the children of men to praise the Lord for delivering them out of their distresses Psal 107.8,15,21,31 O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men When David was delivered from the hands of violent men he was much affected with the mercy of God and determines to give God hearty thanks for it Psal 18.48,49 Thou hast delivered me from the violent man therefore will I give thanks unto thee O Lord among the Heathen and sing praise unto thy Name To be delivered from the violence
Children did formerly give them to him Job 1.21 The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away blessed be the name of the Lord. 2. It is God that is Holy There is nothing of wrong no injustice no iniquity in this dispensation as it proceedeth out of the hands of God Psalm 145.17 The Lord is righteous in all his wayes and holy in all his works When God cometh forth in fiery dispensations we should be so far from murmuring that we should give thanks at the remembrance of his Holiness because we know him to be Holy in all his Works Psal 97.3,12 A fire geeth before him and burneth up his enemies round about Rejoyce in the Lord ye righteous and give thanks at the remembrance of his Holiness The with-drawing of Gods Blessed Presence from our souls is a far greater loss than the losing of our Estates or any thing that we enjoy in this world for there is nothing in the whole world yea there is nothing in heaven it self which a godly man esteemeth so much as he doth the enjoyment of God Psal 73.25 Whom have I in heaven but thee and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee Yet we finde David quieting himself upon the account of Gods Holiness when he apprehended himself forsaken of God and the Lord came not to him though he cryed and roared after the Lord Psal 22.1,2,3 My God my God why hast thou forsaken me why art thou so far from helping me and from the words of my roaring O my God I cry in the day time but thou hearest not and in the night season and am not silent But thou art holy If David was stayed from repining against God when he apprehended himself forsaken of God and thought God rejected his Prayers by considering that God that dealt thus with him was an holy God then surely the consideration of Gods Holiness may quiet your mindes under the loss of any worldly things what ever they be When the labourers that had born the heat of the day murmured because others that had wrought but one hour were made equal to them the housholder stilled their murmurings by saying to one of them Friend I do thee no wrong Mat. 20.11,12,13 If you finde any murmurings in your mindes at Gods taking away your Estates when others enjoy theirs still endeavour to silence your murmurings by saying unto your souls O my soul God is a just and holy and righteous God he hath done thee no wrong why then dost thou murmur against him 3. It is God that hath a Sovereign Power over you to do with you and all that belongeth unto you whatsoever seemeth good in his sight Job 9.12 Behold he taketh away who can hinder him who will say unto him what dost thou Jer. 18.6 O house of Israel cannot I do with you as this potter saith the Lord behold as the clay is in the potters hand so are ye in mine hand O house of Israel Such is the Sovereign Power of God that he disposeth of all his Creatures both those that are in heaven and all that are in all places of the world Psal 135.6 Whatsoever the Lord pleased that did he in heaven and in earth and the seas and all deep places If the Lord disposeth of all things in heaven and earth as he pleaseth shall any particular person fret and think much to have all his concernments disposed of at the pleasure and by the order of the great God When the Lord maketh such desolations in any Nation as that the report of them goeth throughout all the world this must still and quiet our minds that it is the great and Sovereign God that doth these things Psal 46.8,10 Come behold the works of the Lord what desolations he hath made in the earth Be still and know that I am God To murmur at Gods fulfilling his own will is a practical denying his Sovereignty and to deny the Sovereignty of God is to deny his Deity He should not be God if he were not our Sovereign Lord his Sovereignty is essential to his Deity 4. It is God that loveth you and is the best friend that you have in all the world that laid these rebukes upon you and hath taken away your Estates by this Fire Every godly man hath God for his Friend Cant. 5.16 This is my beloved and this is my friend And when God rebukes any of his Servants in their Names Estates Bodies or Souls it is out of love Rev. 3.19 As many as I love I rebuke and chasten Prov. 3.12 Whom the Lord loveth he correcteth even as a Father the Son in whom he delighteth Will you take any thing amiss that cometh from so good a friend as the Lord is especially that which cometh from this friend in love We are wont to take rebukes that come from friends in good part though they be such as wound and pierce us to the soul Prov. 27.6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend Psal 141.5 Let the righteous smite me and it shall be a kindeness and let him reprove me and it shall be an excellent oyl which shall not break my head Shall we esteem it a kindeness to be smitten and reproved by righteous men and fret and be angry when we are smitten and reproved by the righteous God 5. It is God who is your Father that hath done these things Never any man drank such a bitter cup as was mingled for our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ if we consider all the ingredients that were put into it yet because it was his Father that gave him this cup he took it cheerfully John 18.11 The cup which my Father hath given me shall I not drink it We submit our selves to our earthly Parents when they correct us how much more ought we to be subject to our heavenly Father when he chastneth us seeing he hath more power over us than they have and aimeth more purely at our good than they do Heb. 12.9,10 We have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us and we gave them reverence shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of Spirits and live for they verily for a few dayes chastned us after their own pleasure but he for our profit that we might be partakers of his Holiness 6. It is God who is pleased with all his own works Psal 135.6 Whatsoever the Lord pleased that did he in Heaven and in Earth and in the Seas and all deep places God calleth the judgements that he executes upon his enemies his pleasure Isa 48.14 He will do his pleasure on Babylon Yea even those afflictions which God sendeth upon his own children are the good pleasure of his will The Prophet speaking of the sufferings of Christ saith Isa 53.10 It pleased the Lord to bruise him Our sufferings are in some respects said to grieve the Lord Judges 10.16 His soul was grieved for the misery of Israel But on another account as they are a fulfilling of his eternal
me in the day of his fierce anger Dan. 9.12 Under the whole Heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem yet Ezra confesseth that all that they had suffered was far less than they deserved Ezra 9.13 After all that is come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great trespass seeing that thou our God hast panished us less than our iniquities deserve Our sins deserve eternal damnation Ezek. 18.4 The soul that sinneth shall die They deserve to be punished with the loss of God and the loss of the Kingdom of Heaven to all eternity 1 Thess 1.9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord Matth. 7.23 Depart from me ye that work iniquity Now what are the losses and crosses that we meet with in this world compared with the eternal loss of God and the Kingdom of Heaven and with the torments of Hell that must be endured to all eternity 2. What ever we suffer for our sins we our selves are the causes of those sufferings and therefore have no reason to blame the Lord but our selves for provoking the Lord to lay such afflictions upon us Jer. 2.17 Hast thou not procured this unto thy self in that thou hast forsaken the Lord that led thee by the way Hos 13.9 O Israel thou hast destroyed thy self Jer. 30.15 Why cryest thou for thine affliction because thy sins were encreased have I done these things unto thee SECT 6. 6. Consider what abundance of mercy you have enjoyed in former times as well as what afflictions you under go at present this was one argument wherewith Job quieted himself and wherewith he laboured to quiet his wife when she advised him to curse God and die Job 2.10 What shall we receive good at the hand of God and not evil As God in the way of his Providence intermingleth prosperity with our adversity and sets the one against the other that no man may find out any cause of complaining against the Lord Eccles 7.14 In the day of prosperity be joyful but in the day of adversity consider God also hath set the one against the other to the end that man should find nothing after him So should we for the taking away of all occasions of murmuring under our afflictions set our mercies against our crosses our former and present mercies against our present afflictions and that will convince us that we have much cause of thankfulness but no cause to murmur under our greatest afflictions For 1. We may wonder more that God bestoweth one mercy upon us than at his sending of a thousand afflictions for we are altogether unworthy of the least of all Gods mercies Gen. 32.10 and have deserved all sorts of judgments Dan. 9.7 To us belongeth confusion of faces 2. Though we deserve all kinds of misery and no mercy yet they that have met with most and greatest afflictions if they take a view of Gods dealings with them from the day that they were born to this present time shall find that their mercies have been far more and greater than their afflictions Do we meet with some cross or other every day if we do yet the mercies of the day are greater than the crosses for God sends new mercies every day Lam. 3.23 They are new every morning We enjoy so many mercies every day that we are said to be loaded with them Psal 68.19 Blessed be the Lord who dayly loadeth us with his benefits Have our afflictions lyen long upon us Gods mercies have been of a longer date than our afflictions Psal 103.17 The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him There are intermissions in our afflictions He doth not alwayes chide Psal 103.9 but there is no intermission in Gods mercies there is not one moment all our life long but he is conveying some good things to us Isa 27.3 I will water it every moment Lam. 3.22 His compassions fail not 3. Every affliction that we meet with in this life is allayed and tempered with mercy yea the bitterest cup that ever Gods people drink of hath more of mercy than it hath of judgment Psal 145.9 His tender mercies are over all his works Psal 25.10 All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his Covenant and his Testimonies If we consider the sharpest affliction that God lays upon his servants in their procuring cause which is sin if with the good intended by them if in the principle from which they flow which is Gods love to their souls we shall be easily convinced that there is more of mery than severity in them and so consequently that we have much cause in every thing even in every affliction to give thanks but no cause at all to murmur at the hand of the Lord. SECT 7. 7. Consider that it is the will and command of God that we should be content with such things as we have Heb. 13.5 Let your Conversation be without Covetousness and be content with such things as ye have for he hath said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee It was but little which those persons possessed to whom the Apostle wrote this Epistle for they had suffered much for Christ their goods were spoiled and taken from them as we may see Heb. 10.34 yet he telleth them it was the will of God that they should be content with such things as they had If we have nothing more than food and rayment we ought to be content 1 Tim. 6.8 Having food and rayment let us be therewith content It is not said having dainty meat and rich attire let us be therewith content but having food and rayment though never so plain and mean we ought to be therewith content Though you have lost much and have very little left yet there are weighty reasons that may perswade you to be content with such things as you have As 1. Though you have very little left you have more left than you brought with you into the world and more than you can carry with you out of the world 1 Tim. 6.7 For we brought nothing into this world and it is certain we can carry nothing out Job 1.21 Naked came I out of my mothers womb and naked shall I return thither 2. Though you have very little you have as much it may be more than Christ or the Apostles of Christ had when they were in the world Our Lord Jesus Christ lived in a very poor condition when he was in the world 2 Cor. 8.9 Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich yet for your sakes he became poor that ye through his poverty might become rich He was so poor that he had not an house to dwell in Mat. 8.20 The Foxes have holes and the Birds of the air have nests but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head His diet was mean when he had nothing but barly bread and two small
without reflecting upon Christ for he is in himself a consuming fire But when we look upon God in and through Jesus Christ then we may see him to be a reconciled Father 2 Cor. 5.19 and to be the Father of Mercies and the God of all comfort 2 Cor. 1.3 3. If we would take up our rest in God we must labour to get and to keep Gods Presence with our Souls When we enjoy Gods gracious and blessed presence we finde that in God that giveth us rest and satisfaction under our greatest troubles Exod. 33.14 My presence shall go with thee and I will give thee rest Moses had been brought up by the space of forty years in Pharaohs Court where he had fared deliciously every day and he was now in a dry barren solitary Wilderness which afforded nothing that was good but was attended with many evils as Serpents and Scorpions c. What manner of place this Wilderness was we may see Jer. 2.6 Deut. 8.15 Here he was to continue and wander up and down by the space of forty years and that in the midst of a perverse and froward people that in all their straits did murmur against him for bringing of them out of the Land of Egypt his troubles sometimes were so great that we finde him praying to God to kill him out of hand and to make a sudden dispatch of him that he might not see his wretchedness Numb 11.15 Yet though the troubles he met with in the Wilderness were exceeding great and many and of long continuance viz. forty years his soul had rest in God by vertue of the Divine Presence that went along with him We may see also the virtue and power that is in Gods Presence to quiet and satisfie the Soul in the times of greatest trouble in Jer. 46.27,28 Jacob shall return and be in rest and at ease and none shall make him afraid fear thou not O Jacob my servant saith the Lord for I am with thee In the former part of the Chapter the Lord had threatned very sore calamities that they should be compassed about with fear on every side ver 5. that the Sword should devour round about and be satiate and made drunk with blood ver 10 14 c. and though these calamities should fall most upon other Nations Jacob was not to go wholly unpunished but was to have a share therein yet Jacob having a promise of Gods presence should thereby have rest and ease in all his troubles 4. We must maintain and keep our communion with God The oftner we draw near unto God the oftner we shall finde him drawing near to our souls according to what we finde James 4.8 Draw nigh to God and God will draw nigh to you and the oftner God draws nigh to our souls the more delight and contentment we shall finde in him The Psalmist speaking of such as approach unto God saith they shall be satisfied with the goodness of Gods House Psal 65.4 Blessed is the man whom thou choosest and cansest to approach unto thee that he may dwell in thy courts we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house even of thy Holy Temple There is much in conversing with good men for the filling and satisfying the spirit of one that is truly gracious he hath his greatest delight in the company of the Saints and Servants of God Rons 15.24 If first I be somewhat filled with your company Psal 16.2,3 My goodness extendeth not unto thee but to the Saints that are in the earth and to the excellent in whom is all my delight If there be such delight and satisfaction in conversing with good men there must needs be much more in conversing with the great God One main cause of the disturbance of our mindes when we meet with crosses is immoderate thirsting after the things of this world communion with God will take off this kinde of thirst from the souls John 4.14 Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life The oftner we go to God the more we shall ask and crave of him and the more we ask of God the more and better things we shall receive from him in order to the satisfying of our souls Psal 105.40 The people asked and he satisfied them with the bread of heaven Were but our desires after God greater we should finde more abundant satisfaction in him for He satisfieth the desire of every living thing Psal 145.16 5. If we would take up our rest and satisfaction in God we must set our love upon him As it is between a man and his Wife if a man have an entire love to his Wife he will be so satisfied in her that he will have no hankerings after any other women so much is implyed Prov. 5.18,19 Rejoyce with the wife of thy youth let her be as the loving hinde and pleasant roe let her breasts satisfie thee at all times and be thou ravisht alwayes with her love So it is between a man and God when a man hath an entire love to God he will be so abundantly satisfied in God that he will have no great desire after any other thing besides God compare Psal 18.1 with Psal 73.25 I will love thee O Lord my strength Whom have I in heaven but thee and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee When God hath set his love upon his people he resteth satisfied in them Psal 87.2 The Lord loveth the gates of Zion The Lord hath chosen Zion This is my rest for ever Psal 132.13,14 Zeph. 3.17 He will rejoyce over thee with joy he will rest in his love he will joy over thee with singing So also it will be with us when we have set our love upon God we shall then take up our rest in God 6. We must labour to get good evidences of Gods love to our souls and get our interest in God made clear Clear and well-grounded apprehensions of our interest in God and of Gods love to our souls do tend much to the bringing of our souls to take up their rest and satisfaction in God Deut. 33.23 O Naphthali satisfied with favour Psal 90.13 O satisfie us early with thy mercy that we may be glad and rejoyce all our dayes John 14.8 Shew us the Father and it sufficeth us When we know the Father and know him to be our God and Father in Christ we have enough we have that which sufficeth us 7. If we would take up our rest in God and abide satisfied in him when ever any thing disquiets our mindes and we have any load and burden upon our Spirits we must repair to Jesus Christ and cast our selves and our burdens upon the Lord Jesus in so doing we shall finde grace and vertue coming out of the Lord Jesus to preserve and sustain our souls in a quiet peaceable satisfied frame in all
admiration of Gods goodness ver 19. O how great is thy goodness which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee And Psal 73.1,10 Truly God is good to Israel God is good to them when they are forced to wander up and down and are full of affliction ver 10. His people return hither and waters of a full cup are wrung out to thems When Doeg the Edomite had accomplished his mischievous design in causing the Priests of the Lord to be slain for entertaining of David which could not but be a great grief to David yet still he extols Gods goodness Psal 52.1 Why boastest thou thy self in mischief O mighty man the goodness of God endureth continually When the Jews that were carried captive into Babylon had lost all their substance and met with such sorrows that they thought none ever met with the like they notwithstanding all their afflictions think honourably of Gods goodness Lam. 3.25 The Lord is good unto them that wait for him unto the soul that seeketh him 3. When you are ready to have hard thoughts of God because of your afflictions turn your eyes from looking at Gods Providences and look upon his Promises they represent God to be full of love when his Providences represent him to be terrible There is a thousand times more sweetness in the Promises than there is shapness in your afflictions David viewing his afflictions cryed out Psal 60.3 Thou hast shewed thy people hard things thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment But when he turns his eye to the Promise he forgets his sorrow and is filled with joy ver 6. God hath spoken in his holiness I will rejoyce 4. When hard thoughts of God arise in your minds because of your afflictions behold God as he hath manifested himself in and through Jesus Christ and there you shall see him to be a God of unspeakable love God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son John 3.16 When you look upon God in Christ you shall finde him without fury towards such as believe in his Son when he is executing his greatest judgments Isa 26.21 Behold the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity Fury is not in me And to whom is it that he saith Fury is not in me it is to such as take hold of his Son who is his strength ver 5. When you look upon God in Christ you may behold him a reconciled Father a God pardoning iniquity transgression and sin 2 Cor. 5.19 a God that hath blessed you with all spiritual blessings Eph. 1.3 a God that will deny you nothing that is good on t will give you all things freely Rom. 8.32 Did he pass by the fallen Angels and look upon you and yet will you not have good thoughts of him Can you harbour any hard thoughts of God whilst you look upon him in Christ Jesus Shall some light and short afflictions make you overlook all the spiritual and eternal blessings which God hath treasured up in Jesus Christ for you If you say this helps me but little because I cannot make it out that God hath given Jesus Christ to me if I could see that God had given Christ to me I think I should never entertain an hard thought of God any more I answer God hath made a free offer of his Son Jesus Christ with all his benefits unto your soul as well as to any other ever since you have heard the Gospel and doth still continue to offer him to you and calls upon you by his Ministers and by his Holy Spirit to come and take him freely Mark 16.15 Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel unto every creature Rev. 22.17 The Spirit and the Bride say Come and let him that heareth say Come and let him that is a thirst come and whosoever will let him take the water of life freely By the water of life is meant Christ and life through him Christ and all his saving benefits and the Spirit of God who searcheth the deep things of God and knoweth the minde of God and of Christ assureth us that whosoever will may come and take this water of life freely 5. When you finde hard thoughts of God arising in your mindes by reason of your affliction call to minde what God hath been doing for you from all eternity and what he will do for you in heaven to all eternity God hath been setting his wisdom on work from all eternity to make you happy in the enjoyment of himself and he hath prepared such things for you in heaven as eye never saw the like neither hath ear heard neither can it enter into the heart of man to conceive the worth of them When David in time of temptation was ready to think hardly of God and of his wayes Psal 73.13,14 After he had overcome the temptation he saith ver 28. It is good for me to draw near to God and what caused him to take up this conclusion among other things this was one he had his eye upon that blessedness he should enjoy with God in heaven to all eternity ver 24. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel and afterwards receive me unto glory 6. If you would keep up good thoughts of God in your afflictions observe what goodness God manifests to you in your affliction and what good he designs to you by your afflictions If you did observe the dealings of God with your inward and outward man you might see much of the love and meroy and goodness of God in your greatest afflictions The people of Israel met with variety of afflictions when they were in the Wilderness yet there was much of the love and goodness of God in all his dealings with them Isa 63.7,9 And as for the ends and designs of God in out afflictions if you consider what they are you shall finde that in every affliction God aimeth at your good Heb. 12.10 He chastneth us for our profit Rom. 8.28 We know that all things work together for good to them that love God And as you should keep up good thoughts of God so also keep up good thoughts of his Service and believe firmly in your greatest sufferings that it is not a vain thing to wait upon God and this you will easily do if you keep up good thoughts of God so that there is little need of adding any thing more concerning this temptation I shall therefore but briesly hint two or three things and then proceed to the next temptation 1. It is very unreasonable to think that there is no profit comes by walking in the wayes of God when as the Scripture assure us that Godliness is profitable unto all things having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come 1 Tim. 4.8 God never did stir up any man to seek his face in vain Isa 45.19 I said not unto the seed of Jacob seek ye me in
Christ Gal. 3.7,9 Know ye that they which are of faith the same are the children of Abraham So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham 2. Though your Estates be gone and your outward comforts be taken away God himself will stand by you Though your Estates may fail and your Calling may fail and your Friends may fail and forsake you God will never fail you nor forsake you Heb. 13.5 He hath said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee He hath said Who is that God who is a God of truth a God that cannot lye a God that changeth not the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation he hath said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee and why should that man be cast down that hath the God of all consolation continually with him yea though not only Estate and Calling and Friends fail but your hearts fail you also yet God will not fail you but will be yours for ever Psal 73.26 My flesh and my heart faileth but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever But I am afraid my trials will be so great that my faith will fail me and what can I expect then but that God should fail me also Answer 1. The Lord Jesus will take care of your Faith that it shall not totally or finally fail Luke 22.31,32 Simon Simon Behold Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat but I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not 2. Though there may be some partial failings in your faith yet God will not fail to fulfil his promise wherein he standeth engaged not to leave nor forsake you 2 Tim. 2.13 If we believe not yet he abideth faithful he cannot deny himself therefore when fears and discouragements begin to seize upon you remember that God calleth to you Isa 41.10 Fear thou not for I am with thee be not dismayed for I am thy God I will strengthen thee yea I will help thee yea I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness Isa 43.1,2 Fear not for I have redeemed thee thou art mine when thou passest through the waters I will be with thee and through the rivers they shall not overflow thee when thou walkest through the fire thou shalt not be burnt neither shall the flame kindle upon thee Though the fire be long since quenched yet it may be you will feel the sad fruits and effects of this Fire as long as you live but if you should be not cast down but look upon God that he according to his promise will be with you to strengthen and support you when you pass through the fires 3. You are as dear to God as ever he loves you now you are poor as much as he did when you were rich Psal 40.17 I am poor and needy yet the Lord thinketh upon me Though your Estates be gone yet Gods love remains firm to your souls and shall continue stedfast towards you although you should meet with greater mutations in your estate and condition than you have done to this day Isa 54.10 The mountains shall depart and the hills be removed but my kindenss shall not depart from thee neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee Whatever dangers or troubles compass you about you are and alwayes shall be compassed about with the loving kindness of the Lord Psal 5.12 Thou Lord wilt bless the righteous with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield Now this is a ground of everlasting comfort and may cause us in all conditions to shout for joy to understand that we are in the love and favour of God as is evident from the 11. verse Let all those that put their trust in thee rejoyce let them ever shout for joy because thou defendest them let them also that love thy Name be joyful in thee Three times the Psalmist calls out to the Servants of God to rejoyce Let them rejoyce let them be joyful in thee let them ever shout for joy and why what is it which may be a ground of everlasting joy to them in all estates and conditions Many times they are poor and under great afflictions what reason then have they to shout for joy for ever He renders the reason why a godly man may and ought to be alwayes joyful ver 12. For thou Lord wilt bless the righteous with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield That Gods love is a ground of everlasting comfort in all estates and conditions is evident from 2 Thess 2.16 Our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God even our Father which hath loved us and hath given us everlasting consolation 4. Though your Houses and Estates be consumed and your Trading fail and your Friends should turn away from you and stand aloof from your sore God will not turn away from doing of you good as long as you live Jer. 32.40 I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them to do them good but I will put my fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from me When you are in trouble and have no friend in the world to go to if you go to the Lord he will be your refuge and succour and comfort you in all your straits Psal 9.9 The Lord will be a refuge for the oppressed a refuge in times of trouble Isa 66.13 As one whom his mother comforteth so will I comfort you and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem When the Jews were in the Wilderness God followed them with a constant supply of all their wants The pillar of fire and the cloud never departed from them Exod. 13.21,22 The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud to lead them the way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light to go by day and night He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night from before the people And though they sinned against God yet he forsook them not as Nehomiah confesseth Nehem. 9.19 Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsockest them not in the Wilderness the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day to lead them in the way neither the pillar of fire by night to shew them light and the way wherein they should go And as God guarded and guided them by night and by day so whereever they were he rained down Manna upon them and gave them water to drink he never failed them of a seasonable supply of their wants forty years together Nehem. 9.20,21 Thou gavest also thy good Spirit to instruct them and with-heldest not thy Manna from their mouth and gavest them water for their thirst yea forty years didst thou sustain them in the Wilderness so that they lacked nothing their clothes waxed not old The Manna did not cease till the day that they entred into Canaan
which every day bringeth forth would fit us for greater tryals Lam. 3.27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth If we would know what good cometh by an early accustoming our selves to bear the cross the following verses shew that it will make him patient and silent under his sufferings ver 28. He sitteth alone and keepeth silence because he hath born it upon him It will make a man suffer humbly ver 29. He putteth his mouth in the dust It maketh him suffer willingly ver 30. He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him Our Lord Jesus exhorts us to take up our cross dayly Luk. 9.23 He said unto them If any man will come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross dayly and follow me If we did practice this counsel if we did every day expect crosses and quietly submit our selves under such crosses as every day bringeth forth if we could but deny our selves and resign up our wills unto Gods will this would prepare us to undergo any tryal that the Lord shall see meet to lay upon us 10. A well grounded hope of eternal life will help us to bear all the troubles of this life cheerfully A Christian that hath good hope through grace that he shall go to Heaven when he dieth may by vertue of this hope rejoyce and glory in the midst of his greatest tribulations Rom. 5.2,3 We rejoyce in hope of the glory of God we glory in tribulations It was this carried Moses through all the difficulties he met with in leaving Pharaoh's Court in wandering among the Israelites by the space of forty years in the Wilderness Heb. 11.24,25,26 By faith Moses when he was come to years refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's Daughter choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt for he had respect unto the recompence of reward The hope of the reward that he should have in heaven caused him to make light both of the good and evil things of this world Hope of salvation is like an helmet which is of great use for our preservation 1 Thes 5.8 putting on for an helmet the hope of salvation Hope is of the same use to the soul in afflictions that the Anchor is to the Ship in a storm which keeps it from perishing by being driven upon the Rocks or Sands Heb. 6.19 Which hope we have as an Anchor of the Soul both sure and stedfast which entereth into that within the vail Therefore if we would prepare our selves for afflictions we must get a solid and well grounded hope of eternal life 11. Let us consider what it is which we have found in our own experience hath made our yoke heavy and also what we have observed either in reading or by discourse hath made the yoke of affliction heavy and hard to be born by others and let us take care to prevent those things As for instance 1. We may observe that the want of Gods presence in the time of affliction hath made affliction very burdensom and hard to be born 1 Sam. 28.15 I am sore distressed for the Philistines make war against me and God is departed from me and answereth me no more When Saul's Enemies came against him and God was departed this put him into such distress that he knew not what to do When God withdrew from Job in his affliction the want of Gods presence made his affliction very bitter Job 23.2,8,9 Even to day is my complaint bitter my stroke is heavier than my groaning Behold I go forward but he is not there and backward but I cannot perceive him on the left hand where he doth work but I cannot behold him he hideth himself on the right hand that I cannot see him When David was in trouble he tells God if he did hide his face from him he should be like a dead man Psal 143.7 Hide not thy face from me lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit Therefore it is our wisdom to do what in us lyeth to get and keep Gods presence with our souls as was hinted before 2. A galled and guilty Conscience When David was under the sense of guilt in the time of his sickness it was such a burden that he was ready to sink under it Psal 38.3,4 There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sins for mine iniquities are gone over mine head as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me 3. When we promise our selves a setled course of prosperity and do not look for trouble this makes affliction dreadful and terrible Isa 64.3 Thou didst terrible things which we looked not for Psal 30.6,7 In my prosperity I said I shall never be moved thou didst hide thy face and I was troubled 4. When we have not learnt to deny our selves and to resign and to submit our wills unto the Will of God It is very irksome to self-willed persons and such as abound with self-self-love to meet with crosses Our Lord Jesus exhorts us to deny our selves before he exhorts us to take up our cross Mar. 8.34 Whosoever will come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross which implyes that no man can bear affliction with a chearful contented mind but such as have learnt to deny themselves 5. When God doth not only withdraw his presence of which I spoke before but sheweth himself terrible to us in an evil day this maketh affliction very irksome to the soul This the Prophet prayeth against Jer. 17.17 Be not a terror unto me thou art my hope in the day of evil This made the calamity of the Jews exceeding heavy and hard to be born that God set himself against them in the time of trouble Lam. 3.3,7 Surely against me is he turned he hath made my chain heavy 12. Treasure up in your hearts the promises of God which relate to an afflicted condition It is a great help to the bearing of affliction to be well acquainted with the promises that God hath made to his people that are in an afflicted condition David found great comfort from Gods promises in his afflictions Psal 119.49,50 Remember thy word unto thy servant upon which thou hast caused me to hope this is my comfort in mine affliction When he met with such hard tryals that he stood astonished to see how God dealt with him he was filled with joy when he called to minde the promise of God Psal 60.3,6 Thou hast shewen thy people hard things thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment God hath spoken in his holiness I will rejoyce He telleth us elsewhere if it had not been for the comfort that he found in Gods word he had perished in his afflictions Psal 119.92 Vnless thy Law had been my delights I
themselves in vain Psal 39.6 Surely every man walketh in a vain shew surely they are disquieted in vain he heapeth up riches and knoweth not who shall gather them If this be the nature of riches if they be like thorns deceitful things not worthy the fixing of the eye upon them c. Why should you be perplexed in your minds for the breach which God hath made upon your Estates SECT 3. 3. Consider that God hath wise and gracious and merciful ends in this dispensation and intendeth you much good by taking away your estates from you When David was robbed of all that he had and his City of refuge was burnt with fire by the Amalekites he found that this as well as his other afflictions wrought for his good Psal 119.61,71 The bands of the wicked have robbed me It is good for me that I was afflicted that I might learn thy Statutes There is much mercy to the people of God in those paths that carry the greatest appearance of severity Psal 25.10 All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth to such as keep his Covenant and his Testimonies It is an unquestionable truth that God designs the doing his people good in every affliction which he layeth upon them Rom. 8.28 We know that all things work together for good unto them that love God And if all work together for your good then also your late losses though very great shall work for your good And is it not an unreasonable thing that you should be discontented when God dealeth mercifully with you that you should be discontented when God is doing you good What though you cannot see for the present how your losses should work for your good you may see it hereafter Joh. 13.7 What I do thou knowest not now but thou shalt know hereafter God may have several merciful ends and design your good several wayes in taking away your estates I will hint three or four gracious ends of God in cutting of his people short in outward things in order to their spiritual good and leave it to you to judge which of these God designs in your losses 1. God sometimes diminisheth his peoples wealth because he seeth that if he should have continued them in the enjoyment of their estates it would have been for their hurt Eccles 5.13 There is a sore evil which I have seen under the Sun namely riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt Riches may be hurtful several ways As 1. when they make us high-minded and rough in our speeches and carriages towards the poor This sin is very incident to rich men Prov. 18.23 The rich answereth roughly 1 Tim. 6.17 Charge them that are rich in this world that they be not high-minded 2. When they draw off our hearts from God and cause us to set them upon our riches then they prove hurtful Now the more we have of the world the more apt we are to set our hearts upon the world Psal 62.10 If riches increase set not your heart upon them 3. When they hinder our trusting in God and living by faith and we by reason of the multitude of our riches trust in them Now the more riches we have the more apt we are to trust in them Psal 52.7 But trusted in the abundance of his riches 1 Tim. 6.17 Charge them that are rich in this world that they trust not in uncertain riches but in the living God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy 4. When they fill our minds with cares and disturb our peace and this is usual with many rich men to have their minds disturbed about their estates both day and night Eccles 5.12 The abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep 5. When they draw a man to or drown him in any sinful lusts as idleness sensuality pride security c. they become hurtful 1 Tim. 6.9 They that will be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition Now if God foresaw that your estates would have been hurtful to you any of these wayes or any other way and thereupon took them away that they might not do you hurt you have no cause to complain but rather to be thankful If you say there is no fear that a good man should be hurt by his riches I answer Agur was a good man yet he was afraid lest riches should cause him to deny the Lord Prov. 30.8,9 Give me neither poverty nor riches lest I be full and deny thee and say who is the Lord. Is it not better that God should deny us the enjoyment of riches than leave us in process of time to deny him 2. God sometimes diminisheth our estates and brings us low because he intendeth to call us to great sufferings even to forsake all that we have The more a man hath of the world the harder it will be to part with all that he possesseth for Christ Mar. 10.21,22 Go thy way sell whatsoever thou hast and give to the poor And he was sad at that saying and went away grieved for he had great possessions The Apostles who were poor and had but little to leave at the call of Christ immediately left all and followed him Matth. 4.20 Luke 5.28 This forsaking of all for Christ is so necessary when we are called to it that without it we cannot be Christs Disciples Luke 14.33 Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath he cannot be my Disciple Suppose God foresaw that if he had not brought you into a low condition you would rather have forsaken Christ than your Estates Hath he not dealt mercifully with you in taking away your Estates which would have hindred you from becoming Disciples of Christ 3. Riches oft times prove great hinderances to our salvation and God takes them away that he may make our passage to Heaven more easie Matth. 19.23,24 Jesus said unto his Disciples Verily I say unto you that a rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven And again I say unto you It is easier for a Camel to go through the eye of a Needle than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God Suppose God saw your riches to be clogs to you and that they would have hindered your salvation Was it not good for you that God should take them away Is it not better that you should lose your Estates than lose the Kingdom of Heaven 4. God diminisheth our Estates that he may encrease our Graces Heb. 12.10 He chastneth us for our profit that we might be partakers of his holiness Ordinarily poor men are richer in grace than great men Jam. 2.5 Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith Grace is better than riches and have they then any cause to complain whom God maketh poor that he may make them rich in grace and holiness 5. God diminisheth our outward worldly comforts that he
may encrease our inward spiritual comforts Hos 2.7,14 I will take away my corn and my wine and my wooll and my flax I will allure her and bring her into the Wilderness and speak comfortably unto her I might mention others of a like nature but I forbear by these you may see that God may intend his people much good when he depriveth them of their estates SECT 4. 4. Consider that though God hath taken much from you he might with equity and justice have taken away a great deal more from you and therefore you have no cause to repine that God hath taken away so much but rather to be thankful that God hath taken away no more from you For 1. God might have taken away your lives as well as your estates When Sodom was burnt Lot lost his house and his goods as may be gathered from Gen. 19. It was evening before the Angels came to him Vers 1. and in the morning about the time that the Sun rose God rained fire and brimstone upon the City Vers 23. Some time was spent in entertaining the Angels in going to his sons in law to acquaint them with the purpose of God to destroy Sodom in fleeing to Zoar so that he saved very little if any of his goods for what could a man that had such short warning of Sodom's destruction and was forced to flee for his life carry along with him Besides the loss of his goods and his house he lost his wife V. 26. and his sons in law and his daughters that were married to them V. 14. only Lot and his two Daughters that were unmarried got to Zoar yet he doth not murmur at his losses but looketh upon it as a great mercy that God had spared his life Gen. 19.19 Behold now thy servant hath found grace in thy sight and thou hast magnified thy mercy which thou hast shewed unto me in that thou hast spared my life When the Jews were carried captive into Babylon and Jerusalem was burnt with fire though they had lost their liberties and their dwellings were consumed they did not murmur because of their losses but looked upon it as a great mercy that themselves were not consumed also Lam. 3.22 It is of the Lords mercies that we are not consumed because his compassions fail not And notwithstanding their sufferings were very great such as could scarce be paralled by any that lived in former ages as we may see Lam. 1.12 yet they acknowledge that they had no cause of complaining seeing God had spared their lives Lam. 3.39 Wherefore doth a living man complain When the Ship in which the Apostle sailed was cast away and all the goods were lost he makes a light matter of their losses seeing their lives were preserved Acts 27.22,25 I exhort you to be of good cheer for there shall be no loss of any mans life among you but of the Ship Wherefore Sirs be of good cheer He calls upon them twice notwithstanding their losses to be of good cheer because their lives were preserved 2. God might have taken away your souls and cast them into everlasting burnings for you have sinned and The wages of sin is death Rom. 6.23 The Angels are more glorious creatures than man yet assoon as they had sinned God cast them into Hell 2 Pet. 2.4 God spared not the Angels that sinned but cast them down to Hell and delivered them into chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgment Now if God had dealt thus with you if instead of burning your houses he had taken away your souls and cast them into everlasting burnings your loss would have been incomparably greater than now it is though you had been owners of the whole world For what shall it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul Mark 8.36 5. God might have taken away his loving kindness from you as he did from the Jews Jer. 16.5 I have taken away my peace from this people saith the Lord even loving kindness and mercies Now that would have been a far greater loss than the loss of your estates yea than the loss of your lives for Gods loving kindness is better than life Ps 63.3 Because thy loving kindness is better than life my lips shall praise thee David spoke this when he was in the Wilderness of Judah as appears from the title of the Psalm and in this Wilderness he was destitute of all wordly comforts as appears by calling this place a drie and thirsty land where no water is yet enjoying Gods love in this desolate Wilderness he doth not murmur for want of what he enjoyed whilest he lived at home with his father or in Saul's Court but praiseth God for the sweetness and satisfaction which he enjoyed in the sense of Gods love And as David did so may we bless God if he hath not taken away his loving kindness from us whatever it be which God hath taken from us because his love is better than all other things SECT V. 5. Consider how you have sinned against the Lord and what you have deserved for your sins The reflecting upon your sins will make you patient under this and all other sufferings Micah 7.9 I will bear he indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him Lam. 3.39 Wherefore doth a living man complain a man for the punishment of his sins The calling to remembrance our sins may cause us to take patiently and contentedly the greatest afflictions on several accounts I will mention two 1. How great soever our sufferings are they are far less than our sins have deserved God never punisheth any man in this world either the godly or the wicked according to the desert of their sins Psal 103.10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins nor rewarded us according to our iniquities Job 's sufferings were very great he was the greatest man that lived in the Eastern part of the world and had all his estate taken from him in one day he did not only lose his estate but his children also his body was smitten with painful and noysome boyls and sores his soul also was full of trouble as he himself expresseth it Job 6.4 The Arrows of the Almighty are within me the poyson whereof drinketh up my spirit the terrors of God do set themselves in aray against me yet Job's sins had deserved greater things from God than what God was pleased to lay upon him Job 11.6 Know that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth The afflictions which the Jews endured at the destruction of Jerusalem and during the time of their captivity in Babylon which lasted 70. years were exceeding great so great as scarce any people in the world endured the like as we may see by these two Texts of Scripture Lam. 1.12 Is it nothing to you all ye that pass by behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow which is done unto me wherewith the Lord hath afflicted
and more excellent than ever we saw or heard of or can conceive in our minds 1 Cor. 2.9 Eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him Such is the excellency of those things which God hath laid up in Heaven for us that the thoughts and hope of enjoying the glory and joys of heaven may fill our hearts with joy and comfort under all the losses and crosses that we meet with in the world Rom. 5.2,3 We rejoyce in hope of the glory of God and not only so but we glory in tribulations also 1 Pet. 1.3,4,6 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us unto a lively hope by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an Inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in Heaven for you wherein ye greatly rejoyce though now for a season if need be ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations Though a servant of God hath lost never such a fair Inheritance on Earth yet he hath more cause of rejoycing in that incorruptible Inheritance that fadeth not away which is reserved for him in Heaven than of being troubled for the loss of his earthly Inheritance SECT 10. 10. Consider what a great evil it is to murmur and to be discontented at your losses and how pleasing and acceptable it is unto the Lord that you should be content and patient under this affliction which it hath seemed good unto the Lord to lay upon you The Israelites went through many difficulties whilst they wandered up and down by the space of forty years in the Wilderness and because they murmured multitudes of them were destroyed neither the greatness nor the long continuance of the affliction did excuse them from punishment and this example of Gods justice on them is set down for an example to us that we might for ever be deterred from murmuring under any of our afflictions 1 Cor. 10.10 Neither murmur ye as some of them murmured and were destroyed of the destroyer To murmur because God hath taken away our Estates is the ready way to provoke God to take away our lives Psal 106.25,26 They murmured in their Tents Therefore he lifted up his hand against them to overthrow them in the Wilderness There is more evil in one repining discontented thought than there is in all your losses though they be very great for the one hath only the evil of punishment the other hath in it the evil of sin And there is more of evil in the least sin than in the greatest punishment All Gods dealings towards his people are managed with infinite wisdom and infinite love in order to the promoting of their good and his own glory and what an hainous sin and how offensive to God is it for a man to murmur when God is doing of him good and bringing glory to his Name seeing also that whatever way God takes to bring about our good is contrived with infinite wisdom and is accompanied with infinite love And as it is is a great evil to be discontented at any of Gods dealings so it is an excellent heavenly frame of spirit and that which is highly pleasing to God for a man in all things to submit himself to God and to lie at his foot and to be content with his will and to say in his heart It is the Lord let him do what seemeth him good That is of great excellency which is an ornament to a man in the judgment of a wise holy judicious man that may be deemed more excellent which is accounted an ornament by the Angels of Heaven but that is most excellent which is an ornament in the sight of God and of this nature is a meek and quiet spirit 1 Pet. 3.4 The ornament of a meek and quiet spirit which is in the sight of God of great price When the Lord hath brought us to lie at his foot he is so pleased with this submissive frame of spirit that he is wont to bestow very great blessings on such as are brought to his foot and are content that he should do what he pleaseth with them Isa 41.2 Who raised up the righteous man from the East called him to his foot gave the Nations before him and made him Ruler over Kings Contentment under the cross makes great afflictions to seem but small ones and small afflictions none at all The Apostle went through very great sufferings as we may see 1 Cor. 4.9,10,11,12,13 2 Cor. 11.23,24,25,26,27 yet having learnt in every estate to be content Phil. 4.11 he maketh a light matter of all his afflictions 2 Cor. 4.17 Our light affliction c. Rom. 8.18 I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us But a discontented mind thinketh small afflictions great and intolerable burdens The loss of a gourd which sprang up in a day and withered in a day was but a small loss yet Jonah being under a discontented mind is so troubled at this loss that he faints under it and wisheth that he might die and is angry with God and justifieth himself in his frowardness and saith I do well to be angry even to the death Jonah 4.7,8,9 Discontent is like a nail in a yoke which frets and galls and pains the neck far more than the yoke it self doth When God layeth the yoke of affliction upon us discontent troubles and perplexeth the soul far more than any affliction can do SECT 11. 11. Consider how patiently and contentedly others of Gods servants have endured and gone through far greater losses and sorer troubles than you have met withal Job lost a very great Estate and seven Sons and three Daughters even all that he had in one day yet all these losses did not provoke Job to repine or speak one foolish word against God or do any other iniquity but he bore all with such a quiet spirit that in stead of fretting and repining he blesseth God Job 1.21,22 The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away blessed be the Name of the Lord in all this Job sinned not nor charged God foolishly When David was driven from Jerusalem by his son Absolom who conspired against him to take away not only his Crown and Kingdom but his life also this was a very great affliction and it was the more heavy because it was his own son that came sorth of his bowels that sought to take away his life 2 Sam. 16.11 and this affliction came upon him for his sin in killing Vriah which he knew very well being foretold of it by Nathan the Prophet 2 Sam. 12.9,10,11 yet he submits himself to God under all that was come upon him and is willing that the Lord should lay whatever else he saw meet though he should say of David I have no delight in him 2
our troubles Psal 55.23 Cast thy burden upon the Lord and he shall sustain thee Mat. 11.28 Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest 8. We must take up our dwelling in God He must needs dwell at ease who dwells in God Cant. 2.3 I sate down under his shadow with great delight Setting implieth continuance When we do not only come to Christs shadow but sit down under it that will bring great delight to our souls What is said of Gods dwelling in Zion Psal 132.13,14 The Lord hath chosen Zion he hath desired it for his habitation This is my rest for ever here will I dwell The like may be said of the people of God when they have chosen God for their habitation and taken up their dwelling in God he will be their rest for ever If any say when may we be said to take up our dwelling in God I answer 1. When we live and walk and dwell in love then we dwell in God 1 John 4.16 God is love and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and he in him 2. When we believe in Jesus Christ and confess Christ before men then God dwelleth in us and we in him Eph. 3.17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith 1 John 4.15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God God dwelleth in him and he in God Understand this of such a confession of Christ as is accompanied with a hearty belief in him Rom. 10.9,10 And of such as are not afraid to confess Christ in the face of dangers for it did expose a man to great dangers and sufferings to confess the Lord Jesus to be the Christ in the first breaking forth of the Gospel as we may see John 9.22 3. We take up our dwelling in God when we maintain an obediential frame of heart and have respect to his Commandments 1 John 3.24 He that keepeth his Commandments dwelleth in him and he in him The Commandments which the Apostle doth chiefly hiâ—… at in this place are faith and love as appears from ver 23. 9. When we feel our souls wandering from the Lord and seeking their rest in other things besides God we should say to them as the Prophet said to the Jews Micha 2.10 Arise ye and depart for this is not your rest And we should call upon them to return unto God and seek their rest in him only Psal 116.7 Return unto thy rest O my soul Psal 37.7 Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him 10. We must labour after Gods Image and likeness to be holy as God is holy and merciful as God is mercifull and pure as God is pure for the more like we are to God the more satisfaction we shall finde in God Psal 17.15 I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness 11. Let us urge God with his promises where he hath promised to cause us to take up our satisfaction in himself Jer. 31.14 My people shall be satisfied with my goodness saith the Lord which promise implyeth that when we have the good things of this world we shall not take up our rest in them and when we want them we shall not be disquieted for the want of them but our souls shall rest satisfied with the goodness of the Lord whether we want or enjoy the good things of this world Isa 65.16 He who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth which implyeth that God will give his people such a spirit that they shall not count themselves happy and blessed because of their prosperity or any outward enjoyments but in their enjoying the true God for their portion and if they shall account themselves blessed in the enjoyment of God then they may bless themselves in all estates and conditions for God is their portion for ever Psal 73.26 I might quote more promises to this purpose that God will cause his people to take up their satisfaction not in any creature comforts or enjoyments but in himself as Psal 36.8 They shall be abundantly satisfied with what with corn and wine and oyl with riches and preferments no but with the fatness of thy house thou shalt make them drink of the rivers of thy pleasures Isa 58.14 Thou shalt delight thy self in the Lord But these may suffice SECT 7. 7. Give your selves unto Prayer When ever you feel any troubles or burdens upon your mindes repair to the Throne of Grace and lay open your hearts and all your maladies and grievances before the Lord and crave his assistance that will bring speedy relief to your souls and keep them in a quiet peaceable contented frame in all conditions Phil. 4.6,7 Be careful for nothing but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God And what shall we get by so doing A settled abiding peace as the following words hold forth And the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and mindes through Christ Jesus When we are compassed about with many sorrows by Prayer we shall have all our sorrows dispelled and our hearts shall be filled with joy John 16.24 Ask and ye shall receive that your joy may be full In the 21. verse Christ faith to his Disciples Ye shall weep and lament ye shall be sorrowful and then tells them ver 24. how they should get their sorrows turned into joy Ask and ye shall receive that your joy may be full Much of the disquietment of our miâ—… ariseth from troubled thoughts Dan. 5.6 His thoughts troubled him Now committing of our selves and our affairs to God by Prayer is a great means of establishing our mindes and quieting all troubled thoughts Prov. 16.3 Commit thy works unto the Lord and thy thoughts shall be established SECT 8. 8. When we finde any discontent or disquietness arising in our mindes we must search into the grounds and reasons thereof and endeavour the removal of those things which are the causes of our discontent David took this course to quiet his spirit when it was in a disturbed condition he enquireth into the cause and reason of that dejection which was upon his soul Psal 42.11 Why art thou cast down O my soul and why art thou disquieted within me hope thou in God I might here instance in several things which do cause murmurings under affliction I will mention two or three 1. Pride of Spirit Our contendings with God and quarrelling at his Providences as well as our contention with our fellow creatures come from the pride of our hearts Prov. 13.10 Only by pride cometh contention If our discontent when God taketh away any mercy or layeth any affliction upon us do arise from the pride of our hearts the way to remove it is to look upon our selves to be unworthy of the least of all Gods Mercies and to judge our selves to have deserved the greatest and severest of all Gods Judgements We
upon it as Gods minde that you should embrace it for Gods distributing of abilities for an employment is one principal ingredient in those things which concur to the making out of our call to that employment 1 Cor. 7.17 As God hath distributed to every man as God hath called every one 3. Consider how God enclines your heart after you have sought him for Gods call to an employment may be gathered by his inclining of the heart unto it as in the case of the Levite Deut. 18.7,8 The ardent desire of his minde was one way of evidencing his call to Ministers in the Name of the Lord his God 4. Observe Gods providence which way that guides and leads you whilest you are waiting upon God for counsel for that is one way by which God guides and directs us namely by his providence Ps 32.8 I will instruct and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go I will guide thee with mine eye By the eye of God with which he will guide us we may understand his providence for so the eye of God is oft-times used to signifie his providence as Psal 34.15 Psal 33.18,19 It is true many men run into great mistakes by pretending to follow providence but this doth dot hinder but that such as regulate their lives by the word of God may in many cases receive light and direction from his Providence 5. Consider what Calling hath least temptations and snares in it and chuse that rather than a calling where you are like to be exposed to many temptations We ought as much as in us lieth to avoid temptations else why do we pray Lead us not into temptation Mat. 6.13 SECT 11. Obj. 11. I am afraid this Judgment came in wrath and that God is angry with me because he hath consumed and burnt all my Estate and that is it which most of all disquiets and troubles my minde namely that I look upon this Judgment as coming in wrath and do apprehend God is angry with me Answ 1. When God sends such great and dreadful Judgments upon any place as the late Fire was it is a token of his fierce anger and of his hot displeasure Psal 78.21 The Lord heard this and was wrath so a fire was kindled against Jacob and anger also came up against Israel Isa 66.15 Behold the Lord will come with fire to render his anger with fury and his rebuke with flames of fire 2. If this Judgement did come upon you in wrath yet you must bear it with a patient submissive spirit Micha 7.9 I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him To free or murmur at the taken of Gods wrath is not the way to appease but to increase the indignation of the Lord. 3. If you conceive that God is angry with you do what you can to pacifie his anger Solomon observes Prov. 16.14 The wrath of a King is as messengers of death but a wise man will pacifie it The wrath of God is more dreadful thâ—n the wrath of all the Kings in the world and therefore if you do apprehend God to be angry with you endeavour to get the Lords anger pacified and turned away from you If you ask How shall we get Gods anger pacified and turned away from us I answer 1. Turn from your sins and God will turn away his anger from you Jonah 8.9 Let them turn every one from his evil way and from the violence that is in their hands who can tell if God will turn and repent and turn away from his fierce anger that we perish not Jer. 3.12 Return thou back-sliding Israel saith the Lord and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you When the people of Israel did at the call of God turn from their sins God saith of Israel Mine anger is turned away from him Hosea 14.1,2,4 2. Turn to the Lord Jesus embrace and lay hold on Christ by a lively Faith and then Gods anger shall be turned away from you and the Lord will be at peace with you Isa 27.5 Let him take hold of my strength that he may make peace with me and he shall make peace with me By Gods strength here understand Christ who is called 1 Cor. 1.24 Christ the Power of God and the wisdom of God By taking hold of Gods strength understand believing in Christ if then you desire to make your peace with God follow the counsel which God himself giveth you to this purpose namely take hold of his strength for upon so doing you shall make peace with him God testifieth concerning Christ Mat. 3.27 This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased If you flee for refuge from the wrath of God unto Jesus Christ and cast your selves into his armes the Lord will be well pleased with you 3. Yield your selves to God to do and suffer his will what Solomon saith Eccles 10.4 Yielding pacifieth great offences 't is true in this case though you have greatly offended God if you yield your selves unto the Lord he will be pacified towards you and turn away his wrath from you 2 Chr. 30.8 Be ye not stiff-necked as your fathers were but yield your selves unto the Lord and serve the Lord your God that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you 4. Though this Judgment be the effect of Gods wrath yet there may be much love in it to many persons that have been great sufferers by this Fire The Lord sheweth love when he takes away our outward comforts and enjoyments and chastneth us with his rod as well as when he loadeth us with his benefits Heb. 12.6 Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth Psal 107.39,43 They are minished and brought low through oppression affliction and sorrow who so is wise and will observe these things even they shall understand the loving kindeness of the Lord. Now if you would know whether this affliction whereby you have been deprived of so great a part of your Estates came in love I will mention two or three things whereby you may know this and they will be of use to you in other afflictions also 1. Such afflictions as draw your souls nearer to God come from love for it is Gods love which causeth him to draw our souls to himself Jer. 31.3 With loving kindeness have I drawn thee Hosea 11.4 I drew them with cords of a man with bands of love Now how do you finde it with your selves in this respect do your losses put you upon seeking reconciliation with God do they stir you up to seek communion with God do they cause you to live and depend more upon his providence and promises if in any respect you finde them drawing your souls nearer to God you may conclude that God hath taken away your Estates out of love to your souls 2. Such afflictions as make us zealous in renewing our repentance come from love Rev. 3.19 As many as I love I rebuke and chasten be zealous therefore and repent 3.
Such afflictions as make us more humble more heavenly minded or any other way promote the holiness of our hearts and lives come from love Heb. 12.10 He chastneth us for our profit that we might be partakers of his holiness The Apostle speaketh of such as are chastned out of love as we may see ver 6. Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth whence it appears that such chastenings as make us partakers of Gods Holiness come from his Love SECT 12. Obj. 12. My loss hath been so great that I am thereby disabled from giving any thing to the poor and this troubleth me very much that I am by this providence cut off from exercising Charity and that I cannot relieve the poor as I was wont to do heretofore Answ 1. Though you have lost much yet if you have any thing left you must will be doing good according to your ability Heb. 13.16 To do good and to communicate forget not for with such sacrifices God is well pleased This is spoken to such as had suffered the spoiling of their goods Heb. 10.34 and notwithstanding their sufferings the Apostle tells them they must not forget to do good and communicate to such as were in greater distress than themselves Such as have nothing to live upon but their labor should give something out of their earnings Eph. 4.28 Let him labour working with his hands the thing that is good that he may have to give to him that needeth Acts 20.35 If any say but if I that have but little should give any thing to the poor I may come to want my self I answer Never fear being brought to want by doing acts of Charity Prov. 28.27 He that giveth to the poor shall not lack If any reply the times are like to prove bad and hard and therefore I that have but little had not need give away any thing but rather ought to lay up all that I can against an hard time Answ The uncertainty of the times and the evils that are like to come upon the earth should not hinder our Charity but make us more abundant in works of Mercy Eccles 11.2 Give a portion to seven and also to eight for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth Loâ— here the Holy Ghost would have us give frequently and give bountifully a portion and that not to one or two but to seven and also to eight when any evils are like to come upon the earth 2. Though you have lost much and have but little left you may give as much as you did before I mean that which God will count as much The widow that gave but two mites cast more into the Treasury in Christs account than those rich men that cast in abundance Mark 12.41,42,43 Jesus sate over against the treasury and behold how the people cast money into the Treasury and many that were rich cast in much and there came a certain poor widow and she threw in two mites which make a farthing and he called unto him his Disciples and saith unto them Verily I say unto you that this poor widow hath cast more in then all they which have cast into the treasury God looks at the heart more than the gift and the more freedom of heart and willingness of minde there is in our gifts the better they are accepted with God A man of a mean estate may give with as free an heart as a Prince 2 Sam. 24.23 All these things did Araunah as a King give unto the King Yet he was but a mean man compared with David he called David his Lord and stiles himself Davids servant ver 21. both he and his Sons were at hard labour when David came to them they were threshing wheat 1 Chron. 21.20 The Churches of Macedonia were very poor and under many afflictions and yet in the depth of their poverty and their greatest afflictions they abounded in liberality 2 Cor. 8.1,2 We do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the Churches of Macedonia how that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality 3. Be not discouraged from acts of Charity because you can give but very little in comparison of what you did before for the least and smallest acts of Charity done in a right spirit shall have a great and glorious reward What a small matter is it to give a cup of cold water yet such as give a cup of cold water only having nothing more or better to bestow shall in no wise lose their reward Mat. 10.42 Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a Disciple verily I say unto you he shall in no wise lose his reward Our Saviours rule is Give alms of such things as you have and behold all things are clean unto you Luke 11.41 They that have much must give much and they that have but mean things must not be discouraged because it is but little and inconsiderable that they can do but must give alms of such things as they have If there be a willing minde to give much God accepts of a mans willing minde though he be able to give but very little 2 Cor. 8.12 4. If your losses be so great that you are able to give nothing to the poor yet you are not disabled from exercising of your Charity You may pitty them as much as ever you did and it is said Prov. 19.17 He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord. You may draw out your souls to them which shall not go unrewarded Isa 58.11 If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry and satisfie the afflicted soul then shall thy light rise in obscurity and thy darkness be as the noon day You may pray for them you may stir up others to relieve them You may give much spiritual almes when you are so low in the world that you have not one penny of money to give as Peter said Acts 3.6 Silver and gold have I none but such as I have give I thee So though you have no silver nor gold to give yet you may give that which is far better Though you be poor you may enrich your Families and your Relations and your Neighbours with spiritual riches 2 Cor. 6.10 As poor yet making many rich By your godly discourse you may minister grace to those that hear your discourse Eph. 4.29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth but that which is good to the use of edifying that it may minister grace to the hearers To minister grace to any man is a thousand times better than to minister the good things of this world to him It is said Prov. 10.21 The lips of the righteous feed many and ver 20. The tongue of the just is as choice silver When you have not bread to feed the hungry withal feed as many as you can with the
countenance was so sad seeing he was not sick he replyed Neh. 2.3 Why should not my countenance be sad when the City the place of my Fathers Sepulchres lieth waste and the Gates thereof are consumed with fire We have many instances of Servants of God lamenting Gods judgments on others though they themselves have escaped Isa 22.4,5 Look away from me I will weep bitterly labour not to comfort me because of the spoiling of the Daughter of my People for it is a day of trouble and of treading down and of perplexity by the Lord God of Hosts in the Valley of Vision It was not his own loss or damage that the Prophet thus lamented but the spoiling of the Daughter of his people so Jeremiah bemoans the sufferings of the Jews as if they been had his own Jer. 8.21 For the hurt of the Daughter of my People am I hurt I am black astonishment hath taken hold on me He did not only weep for the miseries of the Jews his Country-men but even for the Moabites when God was sending great judgments upon them Jer. 48.31,32 Therefore will I howl for Moab and I will cry out for all Moab mine heart shall mourn for the men of Kirheres O Vine of Sibmah I will weep for thee with the weeping of Jazer 2. Though we may and ought to mourn yet we must not repine at the desolations that are come upon this famous City or at the sufferings that any Persons or Families or the Nation in general hath sustained or may sustain by this fire but we must all acquiess in the will of God and to promote our submission to God under this dreadful judgment I will suggest some few considerations and so conclude my Answer to the first Question 1. It is God that hath done this great work the hearing whereof maketh our ears to tingle and therefore though it cause never so much sorrow to our selves or others we must not say one word by way of murmuring and complaint against God Isa 38.15 What shall I say he hath both spoken unto me and himself hath done it I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul Psal 46.8,10 Come behold the works of the Lord what desolations he hath made in the Earth Be still and know that I am God The reason that made Eli submit when God did to his particular family such things as made both the ears of every one that heard thereof to tingle It is the Lord let him do what seemeth him good 1 Sam. 3.11,18 The same should make us submit when such things befall a City or Nation as maketh the ears of all that hear thereof to tingle It is the Lord let him do what seemeth him good 2. God will bring glory to his Name by this sore judgment which he hath brought upon this great City Isa 25.2,3 Thou hast made of a City an heap and of a defenced City a ruine Therefore shall the strong people glorifie thee the City of the terrible Nations shall fear thee So also Isa 5.16 in some of the former verses the Prophet had been speaking of Gods judgments as Vers 9. Many houses shall be desolate even great and fair without Inhabitant And Vers 13 15. Their honourable men are famished and their multitude dried up with thirst the mean man shall be brought down and the mighty man shall be humbled then he tells us that all these judgments should make for the exalting of Gods glory Vers 16. But the Lord of Hosts shall be exalted in judgment and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness Now the exalting of Gods glory is of more concernment than all the Cities or Kingdoms of the whole world All things are and were created for Gods pleasure and therefore it is meet that he should glorifie himself by and with all persons and things as seemeth good in his sight Revel 4.11 Thou art worthy O Lord to receive glory and honour and power for thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created We should yield up all that we have and are unto God to be disposed of by him as he pleaseth so he will but glorifie his own Name Joh. 12.27,28 Now is my soul troubled and what shall I say Father save me from this hour but for this cause came I unto this hour Father glorifie thy Name 3. Though this be a very sore and dreadful judgment and many persons fearing God have suffered deeply by it yet truly God is and still will be good to Israel even to such as are of a clean heart When Jerusalem the chief City of Judah was ruined and Judah's fall followed upon Jerusalems ruine yet God commandeth his Prophet to tell the righteous in the midst of these desolations it should go well with them Isa 3.8,10 Jerusalem is ruined and Judah is fallen because their tongue and their doings are against the Lord to provoke the eyes of his glory Say ye to the righteous it shall be well with him for they shall eat the fruit of their doings When God visited Ariel with flaming fire and other dreadful judgments he promiseth to comfort and support his own people in the midst of those troubles Isa 29.6,19 Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of Hosts with Thunder and Earthquake and great Noise with Storm and Tempests and the Flame of devouring Fire The meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord and the poor men among shall rejoyce in the Holy One of Israel God will make this dreadful judgment so far from hurting any of his servants that it shall conduce to the good of all that love his Name throughout the whole Land Rom. 8.28 We know that all things work together for good to them that love God to them who are the called according to his purpose 5. Whatever this great City was before its desolation to its own Inhabitants or to any of Gods servants in any parts of the Nation all that God will be to his own people now that it is laid wast I shall instance in some particulars Was this City the glory of England the Crown of the Nation and are we ready to say with Phinehas his wife when we behold the ruines of this City The glory is departed from England or with the Jews when Jerusalem was burnt with fire The Crown is fallen from our head Lam. 5.16 yet let us remember what God promised when he destroyed the glory of Ephraim Isa 28.4,5 The glorious beauty which is on the fat Valley shall be a fading flower In that day shall the Lord of Hosts be for a Crown of glory and for a Diadem of beauty unto the residue of his people and what is promised Isa 60.19 The Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light and thy God thy glory and Isa 62.3 Thou shalt be a Crown of glory in the hand of the Lord and a Royal Diadem in the hand of thy God Was this City a place of great
well as for those that are endued with greatest discretion 3. There is a special Providence of God which watcheth and taketh care of such as are simple and shiftless Psal 116.6 The Lord preserveth the simple I was brought low and he helped me Who are more shiftless than strangers widows and fatherless children and we find that God taketh a special care of such as these Psal 146.9 The Lord preserveth the strangers he relieveth the fatherless and widow Were not the Disciples of Christ shiftless when they were sent forth as Sheep in the midst of Wolves Matth. 10.16 and yet had neither money in their purses nor staves nor scrip Vers 9 10. but for all this they wanted nothing as you heard before from Luk. 22.35 4. Though you are friendless as well as shiftless let not this discourage you as long as you have a God in Heaven that taketh the care of you you are well enough though you have no friends on earth to look after you 1 Pet. 5.7 Casting all your care upon him for he careth for you When David was in distress and had no friend that took any care of him he stayed himself with this that he had a God that was his refuge who would not only give him Heaven when he died but also be his portion and take the care of him in the land of the living Psal 142.4,5 I looked on my right hand and beheld but there was no man that would know me refuge failed me no man cared for my soul I cryed unto thee O Lord I said thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living The fewer friends you have in the world and the less help and relief you are like to have from men the more you shall have from God for he is wont in an eminent manner to take care of such as are friendless and helpless Psal 27.10 When my Father and my Mother forsake me then the Lord will take me up Jer. 30.17 I will restore health uno thee and I will heal thee of thy wounds saith the Lord because they called thee an out-cast saying this is Zion whom no man seeketh after Psal 10.14 The poor committeth himself unto thee thou art the helper of the fatherless Object 3. But I can't work my age may one say my sickness and other infirmities may another say do disable me from working and how then shall I be able to live in these hard times when I can't work to get my living Answ 1. It is the will of God that as long as we have ability we should work for our living for by that way God is wont to supply our needs namely by industry and diligence in our imployments 1 Thess 4.11,12 That ye studdy to be quiet and to do your own business and to work with your own hands as we commanded you that ye may walk honestly towards them that are without that ye may have lack of nothing The promise of being fed runs on these tearms Trust in the Lord and do good and verily thou shalt be fed 't is not said trust in the Lord and then though you live idly you shall be fed but do good and thou shalt be fed Idleness will bring a man to want Prov. 19.15 Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep and an idle soul shall suffer hunger 2. If you would work but cannot because you are disabled by age or sickness or some other infirmity this should not hinder you from trusting in God to maintain you For 1. When you can't work you can pray and if you pray God will stir up some or other to relieve you he will by his Providence send in a supply of your wants so that you need not fear want as long as you can pray Psal 34.10 They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing 2. When you can't work God can and will work for you though God ceased from the works of Creation on the seventh day yet he still continueth to work for his people in the way of his Providence Joh. 5.17 My Father worketh hitherto and I work 3. The Lillies cannot spin or do any other work yet the Lord sends upon them rain in due season whereby they are nourished and clotheth them in a very glorious manner Matth. 6.28,29,30 and why should you fear that God will not nourish and clothe you though you should be able to do no work What could you do when you lay in your Mothers womb and for some years after you were born into the world If the Lord provided for you when you could do no work for him or for your generation because of your infancy why should you distrust him for Provision when you are disabled from working by sickness or old age Object 4. But I begin to be in want already I that have lived plentifully heretofore have not now wherewithal to supply my personal and family necessities and it peirceth my heart to see my children orying about me and I have not wherewithal to relieve them Answ 1. If it be so that you are sometimes pinched with hunger yet remember 1. That better men than you are have been exercised with this tryall the Apostle Paul speaking of himself and the other Apostles saith 1 Cor. 4.11 Even unto this present hour we both hunger and thirst and are naked and have no certain dwelling place Yea Jesus Christ himself was tryed with this affliction of hunger and when he was hungry he sought for relief from the trees of the field and was disappointed of his expectation Mar. 11.12,13 When they were come from Bethany he was hungry and seeing a Fig-tree a far of having leaves he came if haply he might find any thing thereon and when he came to it he found nothing but leaves At another time being weary and thirsty in his travel he asked a draught of water of a woman of Samaria and was denyed it Joh. 4.6 when he was upon the Cross full of pain and anguish which made him very thirsty when he cryed out to those that stood round about him I thirst No body gave him any thing to drink but Vinegar which encreased rather than mitigated his torment Joh. 19.28,29 Jeremiah one of the Lords Prophets was ready to die for hunger Jer. 38.9 They have cast Jeremiah into the Dungeon and he is like to die for hunger 2. This affliction of hunger as well as other afflictions is a fatherly chastisement and comes from fatherly love and is sent with a design to do us good Deut. 8.3,5,16 He humbled thee and suffered thee to hunger Thou shalt consider is thine heart that as a man chastneth his son so the Lord thy God chastneth thee that he might humble thee and that he might prove thee to do thee good at thy latter end 3. The grace of God will enable a man to suffer hunger or any other affliction contentedly Phil. 4.12,13 I know both how to be abased and I know how to abound every
we take that we may obtain riches from God I answer 1. Let your first and principal care be to get heaven and the grace of God that may make you meet to enjoy his Kingdom and when you do thus God will not only give you heaven when you die but will add also as much of this world as he seeth to be good for you Matth. 6.33 Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you When men are over-eager in seeking after the world they oft-times miss both of heaven and the world also Prov. 28.18 He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him 2. Embrace by faith and set your love upon Jesus Christ he promiseth to fill their treasures that love him Prov. 8.20,21 I lead in the way of righteousness in the midst of the paths of judgment that I may cause those that love me to inherit substance and I will fill their treasures 3. Repent of your sins and turn to the Lord and then though you be brought low he will build you up again and will give you plenty of such things as he seeth to be good for you Job 22.23,24,25 If thou return to the Almighty thou shalt be built up thou shalt put away Iniquity far from thy Tabernacles then shalt thou lay up Gold as dust and the Gold of Ophir as the stones of the Brooks yea the Almighty shall be thy defence and thou shalt have plenty of silver 4. Walk in the fear of God and be careful to keep his Commandments Prov. 22.4 By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honour and life 2 Chron. 17.4,5 Jehoshaphat sought to the Lord God of his Fathers and walked in his Commandments and not after the doings of Israel Therefore the Lord established the Kingdom in his hand and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents and he had riches and honour in abundance 5. Follow your employments with diligence There is a blessing of God goeth along with diligence and industry in our Callings Prov. 10.4 He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand but the hand of the diligent maketh rich Prov. 22.29 Seest thou a man diligent in his business he shall stand before Kings he shall not stand before mean men 6. Seek after knowledge and manage all your affairs with wisdom and discretion Prov. 24.3,4 Through wisdom is an house builded and by understanding it is established and by knowledge shall the Chamber be filled with all precious and pleasant riches 7. Be faithful and upright in all your dealings Prov. 28.10,20 The upright shall have good things in possession A faithful man shall abound in blessings Psal 112.3,4 Wealth and riches shall be in his house Vnto the upright ariseth light in darkness 8. Shun those vices that bring men to poverty and hinder their thriving in the world such as prodigality and love of pleasure Prov. 21.17 He that loveth Pleasure shall be a poor man he that loveth Wine and Oyl shall not be rich Idleness and drowsiness a negligent and sluggish management of our affairs Prov. 6.9,10,11 How long wilt thou sleep O sluggard when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep yet a little sleep a little slumber a little folding of the hands to sleep so shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth and thy want as an armed man Prov. 18.9 He that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster Gluttony and Drunkenness Prov. 23.21 The Dunkard and the Glutton shall come to poverty and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags 9. Be liberal to the poor there may be a liberal soul where there is but a small estate and the more liberal any man is the more likely he is to be a rich man Prov. 11.24,25 There is that scattereth and yet encreaseth and there is that with-holdeth more than is meet but it tendeth to poverty The liberal soul shall be made fat and he that watereth shall be also watered himself He that sheweth mercy to the poor honoureth the Lord with his substance Prov. 14.31 And when a man honoureth the Lord with his substance God will multiply it greatly Prov. 3.9,10 Honour the Lord with thy substance and with the first fruits of all thine encrease so shall thy barns be filled with plenty and thy Presses shall burst out with new Wine 10. Be content with what God giveth you and then though you have never so little you are a rich man 1 Tim. 6.6 Godliness with contentment is great gain SECT 15. 15. If it should not seem good unto the Lord to make up your losses by giving you as much riches as he hath taken from you there is a better way of having your losses made up and that is when God shall make his Providence instrumental to convey those mercies and blessings to your souls which are of more worth than all the riches of the world and this may be done several wayes As 1. If God by this Providence shall teach you wisdom that wisdom which is from above and bring you into more acquaintance with himself and into more acquaintance with the state and condition of your own souls if you gain any degree of heavenly wisdom by your losses then your losses though they have been very great are abundantly made up for wisdom is far better than all the riches of the world Prov. 16.16 How much better is it to get wisdom than gold and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver Prov. 8.11 Wisdom is better than Rubies and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it Prov. 3.14 2. If God by your losses shall make you partakers of the fruits and graces of his Spirit if he beget or encrease in your souls humility or heavenly mindedness or self-denyal or patience or any other grace then he doth abundantly make up all your losses for the fruits and graces of the Spirit of God are infinitely better than all the riches of the world Prov. 8.19 My fruit is better than gold yea than fine gold and my revenue than choice silver you may see this cleared by instancing in particular graces as Faith 1 Pet. 1.7 Your faith being much more precious than gold that perisheth Humility that also excels all riches Prov. 16.19 Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly than to divide the spoil with the proud the like may be said of all other graces 3. If God under this affliction shall clear up your right to his Promises if he give you an heart to understand believe obey and delight in his Word if he gives in Promises to your souls out of his Word to stay and comfort and support you then he doth make up all your losses in a gracious manner When God gave in a sutable promise to David in his distress he joyed in it as much as in all riches
and did eat of the corn of the land Josh 5.12 The Manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land The water also that came out of the rock followed them up and down in all places whereever they went to give them drink 1 Cor. 10.4 Now as it was with the Israelites whilst they were in the Wilderness so will God deal with all his servants whilst they are in the Wilderness of this world he will guard them and guide them by night and by day he will send in a suitable and seasonable supply of all their wants Isa 27.3 I the Lord do keep it I will water it every moment lest any hurt it I will keep it night and day Isa 49.10 They shall not hunger nor thirst neither shall the heat nor Sun smite them for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them even by the springs of water shall he guide them When your wants are many and you know not how or which way they shall be supplyed remember what is said Phil. 4.19 My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus And be assured of this that God who hath been good to you will follow you with goodness and mercy as long as you live Psal 23.6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the dayes of my life It may be you will say I have enough to comfort me if I were but sure that goodness and mercy should follow me all the dayes of my life but though David was sure of this it doth not follow that I may rest assured that it shall be so with me I answer They that come to and close with Jesus Christ shall be blessed with the same mercies that God bestowed upon David Isa 45.3 Encline your ear and come unto me hear and your souls shall live and I will make an everlasting covenant with you even the sure mercies of David 5. Great calamities are oft-times followed with great mercies and this is true both as to Nations and particular persons when those Nations and persons are humbled and brought nearer to God by their afflictions Jobs afflictons were exceeding great both in respect of what he met with in his soul body name estate and relations yet God turned the captivity of Job and made his Estate more glorious and prosperous than ever Job 42.12 The Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning I will instance in some mercies which God is wont to bestow upon his people either in or soon after they come out of great troubles 1. God is wont at such times to give his people greater and stronger consolations than at other times Psal 71.20,21 Thou which hast shewen me great and sore troubles shalt quicken me again and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth Thou shalt encrease my greatness and comfort me on every side Psal 66.3,5,6 How terrible art thou in thy works Come and see the works of God he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men he turned the Sea into dry land they went through the flood on foot there did we rejoyce in him When God is doing terrible things he is making way for his peoples joy After David had spoken twice of Gods being terrible in his doings he adds there did we rejoyce in him In the night of affliction God puts such comforts into his peoples hearts as makes them sing for joy Job 35.10 None saith Where is God my maker who giveth songs in the night When they are deprived of outward comforts and are in a solitary straitned condition he giveth them internal and spiritual comforts Hos 2.14,15 I will allure her and bring her into the Wilderness and speak comfortably unto her and I will give her her Vineyards from thence and the Valley of Achor for a door of hope and she shall sing there as in the dayes of her youth and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt When our troubles abound he causeth our consolations to abound also 2 Cor. 1.5 As the sufferings of Christ abound in us so our consolation also abounded by Christ 2. Great troubles are oft-times followed with great pourings out of the spirit and great measures of grace The Prophet Joel having foretold times of great distress Chapter 1. Chapter 2. to the 12. verse tells us what God would do for his people after those great calamities Joel 2.28 It shall come to pass afterward that I will poor out my spirit upon all flesh The Prophet Zephaniah also having foretold great judgments promiseth that they should be followed with great measures of grace Zeph. 3.8,9,13 My determination is to gather the Nations that I may assemble the Kingdoms to pour upon them mine indignation even all my fierce anger for all the Earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousie Observe now what mercies follow these judgments Then will I turn to the people a pure language that they may all call upon the Name of the Lord to serve him with one consent The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity nor speak lies neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth see also Isa 32.10,15 Many dayes and years shall be troubled until the spirit be poured upon us from on high After the Jews had been under sore troubles by their long captivity in Babylon what an encrease of grace and other choice mercies doth God promise them Ezek 36.25,26,27,28,29 3. In times of great trouble God is wont to afford his people more clear manifestations of his love and to give them more communion and fellowship with himself than at other times Zech. 13.9 I will bring the third part through the fire they shall call on my Name and I will hear them I will say It is my people and they shall say The Lord is my God In the day time the Lord went before the Israelites in a pillar of a cloud but in the night by a pillar of fire Divers of Gods servants that are much clouded in the day of prosperity have clear and bright discoveries of Gods love to their souls in the night of adversity When the three Children were in the fiery furnace the Son of God was so evidently with them that their adversaries themselves could not but take notice of it When the Spouse was as a Lily among Thorns compassed about with sharp afflictions the Lord Jesus conversed with her in a very familiar manner He put his left hand under her and embraced her with his right hand Cant. 2.2,6 And as it is thus with particular persons so also with Nations after God hath afflicted them with great judgments he is wont to bestow upon them great mercies when his judgments lead them to repentance After Judea which was like the Garden of Eden was by Gods judgments made like a Wilderness Joel 2.3 The Inhabitants of the Land being brought to repentance
abide in thy Tabernacle for ever I will trust in the covert of thy wings Psal 4.5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness and put your trust in the Lord. God was much displeased with the Israelites when they did not trust in him notwithstanding he had done great things for them Psal 78.21,22,23,24 Anger came up against Israel because they believed not in God and trusted not in his salvation though he had commanded the clouds from above and opened the doors of heaven and had rained down Manna upon them to eat see also ver 32 33. For all this they sinned still and believed not for his wonderous works therefore their dayes did he consume in vanity and their years in trouble We render that which is very pleasing and acceptable to God when we put our trust in him for The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him in those that hope in his mercy Psal 147.11 If you ask For what should great and remarkable deliverances cause a man to trust in God I answer 1. When a man hath had any remarkable deliverance out of any trouble it should encourage him to trust in God under all his straits and troubles that come upon him all the dayes of his life Psal 18.50 Great deliverance giveth he to his King and sheweth mercy to his anointed to David and to his seed for evermore This Psalm was penned upon the occasion of that deliverance which God gave David out of the hands of Saul as you may see in the title of the Psalm and from this deliverance he concludeth that God would deliver him for ever Psal 6.9 The Lord hath heard my supplication the Lord will receive my Prayer see the fore-quoted Scriptures 1 Sam. 17.37 2 Cor. 1.10 But some may say How can this be That deliverance from one trouble or calamity should cause us to trust in God for deliverance from another when as we see they that escape one judgment are cut off or suffer deeply by another I answer 1. When God cuts off and destroys those whom he hath formerly delivered it is usually such as distrust him and turn away from him Jude 5. The Lord having saved the people out of the land of Egypt afterward destroyed them that believed not Josh 24.20 If ye forsake the Lord and serve strange gods then he will turn and do you hurt and consume you after that he hath done you good 2. When God brings his servants who trust in him into new troubles their faith is not vain but brings down a great blessing for when they are not delivered from troubles they are delivered in trouble and are kept from the evil of trouble that it doth not hurt them and this is a great deliverance Job 5.19 He shall deliver thee in six troubles yea in seven there shall no evil touch thee 2. Deliverance from temporal evils should encourage the servants of God to trust in the Lord for deliverance from spiritual evils and the bestowing upon them spiritual blessings As for instance 1. When they have had deliverance out of trouble they should conclude that God will also deliver them from all their sins and preserve them in a state of grace till he hath brought them to himself in glory Thus Paul concludes from his deliverance that he had from Nero that God would deliver him from every evil work 2 Tim. 4.17,18 I was delivered out of the mouth of the Lion and the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom 2. The servants of God that have escaped great calamities and been delivered from great dangers should trust in God for a broken heart to mourn for their sins for God promiseth this mercy to such as escape great judgments Ezek. 7.16 They that escape of them shall escape and shall be on the Mountains like Doves of the Valleys all of them mourning every one for his iniquity 3. When the servants of God escape out of great troubles it should cause them to trust in God to deliver them from the deceit of their own hearts and to direct the work of faith and repentance in truth in their souls Isa 10.20,21 The remnant of Israel and such as are escaped of the House of Jacob shall no more again stay upon him that smote them but shall stay upon the Lord the Holy One of Israel in truth the remnant shall return even the remnant of Jacob unto the mighty God This remnant unto whom God promiseth faith and repentance in truth are such as should escape the great calamities that were coming on the Jews as you may see ver 21 22. 4. When the servants of God have received any eminent deliverances they should be encouraged thereby to trust in God for power and strength to walk before God in holiness and righteousness as long as they live Psal 56.13 Thou hast delivered my soul from death wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling that I may walk before God in the light of the living If any say What grounds have the servants of God to take encouragement from temporal deliverances to trust in God for all spiritual blessings Amongst others that may be named I will mention these two 1. Redemption from outward troubles is given to the servants of God by vertue of the Covenant of Grace as well as spiritual blessings Psal 111.9 He sent redemption unto his people he hath commanded his covenant for ever Psal 106.44,45 Nevertheless he regarded their affliction when he heard their cry and he remembred for them his Covenant Now when we finde God remembring his Covenant in one kinde it may encourage us to trust in God for all the other blessings which are promised to us in Gods Covenant 2. Redemption from outward troubles is given to the servants of God from the same love of God that spiritual blessings are bestowed upon them Isa 63.9 In all their afflictions he was afflicted and the Angel of his presence saved them in his love and in his pity he redeemed them and he bare them and carried them all the dayes of old Isa 38.17 Behold for peace I had great bitterness but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption Psal 18.19 He brought me forth into a large place he delivered me because he delighted in me Now even outward deliverances being tokens of Gods love to his Servants they may thereby be encouraged to trust in God for spiritual blessings Psal 36.6,7,8 There is much of Gods love seen in his preserving our persons and goods O Lord thou preservest man and beast how excellent is thy loving kindeness his loving kindness should cause us to trust in him therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings And this loving kindeness of God should cause us to trust in him not only for outward but also for spiritual blessings as appears from the eighth verse SECT 12. 12. Let this deliverance cause you to prepare
whom resist stedfast in the faith knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world Fear weakens the heart and makes it faint at approaching troubles Luke 21.26 Mens hearts failing them for fear Now Faith conduceth much to the fixing and establishing the heart against fears Psal 112.7 He shall not be afraid of evil tydings his heart is fixed trusting in the Lord. Psal 56.11 In God have I put my trust I will not be afraid what man can do unto me And therefore it conduceth much to the preparing of a man to undergo his afflictions I might shew you here what you should believe in reference to your afflictions to enable you to bear them with chearfulness among many things that might be instanced in I will mention only these three 1. Believe that no affliction doth or ever shall befal you but by the wise and gracious providence of God and that not only every affliction but every circumstance in every affliction is ordered and disposed by the infinite wisdom of God This is agreeable to such Scriptures as these Rom. 11.36 Of him and through him and to him are all things Ephes 1.11 Who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will Amos 3.6 Shall there be evil in a City and the Lord hath not done it Matth. 10.30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered The believing that Gods hand is in our afflictions will bow our hearts and make them stoop and submit to God though it be a smarting Rod wherewith the Lord corrects us They were dreadful judgments which Samuel denounced against Eli yet he submits himself readily to it because it came from God 1 Sam. 3.18 It is the Lord let him do what seemeth him good 2. Believe that in every affliction God designeth the bringing glory to his Name and the doing good to your own souls you have good ground to believe this for the Scriptures do assure us that God aims both at our good and his own glory in all our afflictions Heb. 12.10 He chastneth us for our profit Rom. 8.28 We know that all things work together for good to them that love God 2 Cor. 4.17 Our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory Rom. 11.36 To him are all things All things are not only of God as the efficient but they also tend to him as their end Isa 5.16 The Lord of Hosts shall be exalted in judgment This made the Apostle joyful in his afflictions that they did illustrate the glory of God 2 Cor. 12.9,10 Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in mine infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me therefore I take pleasure in infirmities in reproaches in necessities in persecutions in distresses for Christs sake He rejoyced also in his afflictions because they did promote the good of his soul When some preached Christ out of contention with a design to add affliction to his bonds Phil. 1.14 Was he troubled at the affliction they created to him No for he saith I therein do rejoyce yea and will rejoyce ver 18. And what made him to rejoyce herein He gives us the reason of his joy ver 19. For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your Prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ 3. Believe that you shall be delivered out of your troubles this will be a means to support you under them Psal 27.13 I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living You have good ground from the Word of God to believe that you shall be delivered out of all your troubles though they be very many Psal 34.19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivereth him out of them all And though they be great as well as many such as you never met with or heard of the like yet you may rest upon God that he will deliver you out of them Jer. 30.7 Alas for that day is great so that none is like it it is even the time of Jacobs trouble but he shall be saved out of it What is your affliction Is it the rod of men God will not suffer it to lye over-long upon you Psal 125.3 The rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous lest the righteous put forth their hand unto iniquity Is it the Rod of God that is upon you Do the arrows of the Almighty stick fast in your soul doth he contend with you This will not last alwayes Isa 57.16 I will not contend for ever neither will I be alwayes wrath for the spirit should fail before me and the soul which I have made Doth the Lord do more then contend with you doth he seem to reject and cast off your soul you may be assured that he will not deal thus with you alwayes because he himself hath said it that he will not cast off for ever Lam. 3.31,32 The Lord will not cast off for ever but though he cause grief yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies Is it a temptation of Satan that disquiets you wait but a while on God and he will tread Satan and all his temptations under your feet Rom. 16.20 The God of Peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly Is it some sin that vexeth and troubleth your soul wait a while upon God and he will deliver you from your sins as well as your other troubles Mich. 7.19 He will turn again he will have compassion upon us he will subdue our iniquities Psal 130.7,8 Let Israel hope in the Lord for with the Lord there is mercy and with him is plenteous redemption and he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities When David was under many sorrows that disturbed and cast down his soul he bore up himself with hope of a better state that though for the present he was in a mourning condition the time would come wherein he should praise God for helping him out of his troubles Psal 42.5 Why art thou cast down O my soul and why art thou disquieted within me hope thou in God for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance 3. If we would be prepared to undergo every affliction that God shall lay upon us we must labour to get Gods strength engaged with us for us Though of our selves we can do nothing yet through the help of God we shall be able to do and suffer great things Psal 60.11,12 Give us help from trouble for vain is the help of man Through God we shall do valiantly Psal 18.29 By thee have I run through a Troup and by my God have I leaped over a Wall By the help of God we may do and suffer every thing Phil. 4.13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me If a man have God for his strength he
and when God calleth his righteousness his right hand it may imply that Christs Righteousness which is oft called the Righteousness of God as Rom. 1.17 Rom. 3.22,23 is the chief and principal means for the strengthning and upholding of our souls David found great support in all his troubles by looking to this righteousness Psal 71.16 I will go in the strength of the Lord God I will make mention of thy Righteousness even of thine only It is recorded of the servants of God mentioned in the Revelation who went through great tribulations that they were carried through their sufferings by looking and adhering to the sufferings of Christ Revel 7.14 These are they which come out of great tribulation and have washed their Robes and made them white in the bloud of the Lamb. Rev. 12.11 They overcame that is the Devil who raised up persecutions against them as you may see ver 17. by the bloud of the Lamb and by the Word of their Testimony and they loved not their lives unto the death 6. Let us get good evidences that we are in the love and favour of God Well-grounded apprehensions of Gods love to our souls will help us to bear up cheerfully under the greatest trials as Persecution Sword Famine c. and enable us to overcome them all Rom. 8.35,37 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ shall Tribulation or Distress or Perscution or Famine or Nakedness or Peril or Sword Nay in all these things we are more than Conquerours through him that loved us The apprehensions of Gods love to us will cause us to love God 1 Joh. 5.19 We love him because he first loved us And when we love God we shall bear any thing that comes from him Love to men will make us bear with all things that we meet with from them The Apostle speaking of love saith It beareth all things beliveth all things hopeth all things endureth all things 1 Cor. 13.7 How much more will love to God cause us to bear and endure all things that we meet with from God Love will carry us out to suffer all afflictions even death it self Cant. 8.6,7 Love is strong as death Many waters cannot quench love neither can the flouds drown it When it was a time of great affliction with the people of God they pray hard for the light of Gods countenance and if they could but obtain that they would account themselves in a safe and happy condition notwithstanding all their troubles Psal 80.4,5,6,7 O Lord God of Hosts How long wilt thou be angry with the Prayers of thy People Thou feedest them with the bread of tears and givest them tears to drink in great measure Thou makest us a strife unto our Neighbours and our enemies laugh among themselves Turn us again O God of Hosts and cause thy face to shine and we shall be saved 7. We must get and keep Gods presence with our souls that will fortifie our souls to undergo any troubles with courage and chearfulness Psal 23.4 Yea though I walk through the Valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for thou art with me Isa 50.7,8 The Lord God will help me therefore shall I not be confounded therefore have I set my face like a flint and I know that I shall not be ashamed He is near that justifieth me who will contend with me Psal 46.2 We will not fear though the Earth be removed and though the Mountains be cast into the midst of the Sea And why What put such courage into them they had Gods presence with them ver 5 7. God is in the midst of her she shall not be moved God shall help her and that right early the Lord of Hosts is with us the God of Jacob is our refuge This upheld Christ and carried him comfortably through all his sufferings who went through greater sufferings than ever any man met with all Act. 2.25,26 I foresaw the Lord alwayes before my face for he is on my right hand that I should not be moved therefore did mine heart rejoyce and my tongue was glad moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope As Gods presence with Christ upheld him so it will also uphold us in all our sufferings If any say It is true Gods presence with a man will help him to do great things but God is departed from me How shall I gain his presence again I answer Gods departing from us usually aristh from our departing from him and if after we are departed from him and he is departed from us we return to him he will return again unto us Zech. 1.3 Turn unto me saith the Lord of Hosts and I will turn unto you saith the Lord of Hosts Mal. 3.7 Even from the dayes of your Fathers ye are gone away from mine Ordinances and have not kept them return unto me and I will turn unto you saith the Lord of Hosts After we are returned to God and he is returned to us if we keep with him he will keep with us 2 Chron. 15.2 The Lord is with you while ye be with him Joh. 15.4 Abide in me and I in you 8. We must get our hearts weaned from the world if our affections be set inordinately on any earthly things we shall find it an hard matter to bear up under our afflictions Jer. 45.3 Thou didst say Wo is me now for the Lord hath added grief to my sorrow I fainted in my sighing and I find no rest And what caused Baruch to faint under his tryals we may see the root of his distemper ver 5. Seekest thou great things for thy self seek them not Though Baruch was a good man his affections were carried out too much after great things in the world and that made affliction very burdensom to him The Apostle Paul who was crucified to the world was prepared and ready to suffer whatever God should call him to Gal. 6.14 The world is crucified unto me and I unto the world Acts 21.13 I am ready not to be bound only but also to die at Jerusalem for the Lord Jesus We must not only set loose to all worldly things but to our own lives also when we are willing to yield up our lives to God we shall not be much moved by any troubles that come upon us for the Lords sake Acts 20.23,24 The Holy Ghost witnesseth in every City saying that bonds and afflictions abide me but none of these things move me neither count I my life dear unto my self Rev. 12.11 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their Testimony and they loved not their lives unto the death 9. We must accustom our selves to bear our lesser tryals with patience and submission to the wil of God and that will fit and prepare us for greater There is scarce a day passeth over our heads wherein the Lord doth not in one kind or another try our patience and submission to his will now the right bearing of those crosses
should then have perished in mine affliction It was by the help of the word of truth that the Apostle went through his manifold troubles with great patience 2 Cor. 6.4,5,7 Now there are variety of promises which do relate to an afflicted condition which may be of great use to us in our afflictions which we shall do well to store up against an evil day I will mention some of them 1. God hath promised to moderate our afflictions and to lay no more upon us than he will enable us to bear 1 Cor. 10.13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man but God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able but will with the temptation also make a way to escape that ye may be able to bear it Isa 27.8 In measure when it shooteth forth thou wilt debate with it he stayeth his rough wind in the day of his East wind Jer. 15.11 The Lord said Verily it shall be well with thy remnant verily I will cause the enemy to entreat thee well in the time of evil and in the time of affliction This promise is added after the mentioning of Gods unalterable purpose to send four sore Judgments upon the Jews Death the Sword Famine and Captivity verse 1 2. So also after mention of a time of trouble such as there had not been the like God comforts his people with his promise that he would not correct them out of measure though he suffered them to partake of the common calamity Jer. 30.7,10,11 Alas for that day is great so that none is like it it is even the time of Jacobs trouble Yet the Lord encourageth Jacob not to be afraid Fear thou not O my servant Jacob saith the Lord neither be dismayed O Israel for I am with thee saith the Lord to save thee though I make a full end of all Nations whether I have scattered thee yet will I not make a full end of thee but I will correct thee in measure and will not leave thee altogether unpunished 2. God hath promised us his presence in our afflictions Psal 91.15 He shall call upon me and I will answer him I will be with him in trouble Isa 43.1,2 But now thus saith the Lord that created thee O Jacob and he that formed thee O Israel Fear not When thou passest through the waters I will be with thee and through the rivers they shall not overflow thee when thou walkest through the fire thou shalt not be burnt neither shall the flame kindle upon thee This promise hath dependance on the last verse where the Prophet telleth us what calamities were come upon Israel He hath poured upon him the fury of his anger and the strength of battle and it hath set him on fire round about and then addeth but now thus saith the Lord Fear not When thou passest through the waters I will be with thee God would not have his people fear any trouble because he will be with them in all their troubles in one as well as another and that not only when they first enter into them but till they are safely passed through all the troubles of this life 3. God hath promised to strengthen and support and uphold us in all our troubles I have mentioned several promises to this purpose already as Joel 3.15,16 Isa 41.10 I will add two or three more Nahum 1.7 The Lord is good a strong hold in the day of trouble and he knoweth them that trust in him Psal 37.39,40 The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord he is their strength in time of trouble And the Lord shall help them and deliver them he shall deliver them from the wicked and save them because they put their trust in him Isa 41.14 Fear not thou worm Jacob and ye men of Israel I will help thee saith the Lord and thy redeemer the Holy One of Israel see also Isa 25.4 4. God hath promised to comfort and revive our souls when we are in affliction Psal 138.7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble thou wilt revive me thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies and thy right hand shall save me Micah 7.8 When I sit in darkness the Lord shall be a light unto me Psal 71.20,21 Thou which hast shewn me great and sore troubles shall quicken me again and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth thou shalt encrease my greatness and comfort me on every side Isa 66.13 As one whom his mother comforteth so will I comfort you and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem John 14.18 I will not leave you comfortless I will come to you 5. God hath promised to sanctifie our afflictions and he hath promised they shall purge out our sins and make us more holy and shall be all of them so blessed unto us that they shall work together for our good Isa 27.9 By this shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged and this is all the fruit to take away their sin Zech. 13.9 I will bring the third part through the fire and will refine them as silver is refined Rom. 8.28 We know that all things work together for good to them that love God to them who are the called according to his purpose 6. God hath promised in due time to deliver us out of all our afflictions 1 Pet. 5.6 Humble your selves under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time Job 5.19 He shall deliver thee in six troubles yea in seven there shall no evil touch thee Psal 34.19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivereth him out of them all God hath promised when he seeth it to be most for our good and for his own glory to preserve us from afflictions Psal 121.7 The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil he shall preserve thy soul Psal 32.7 Thou art my hiding place thou shalt preserve me from trouble thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance but when he doth not preserve us from trouble he hath promised to deliver us out of trouble Psal 50.15 Call upon me in the day of trouble I will deliver thee and thou shalt glorifie me SECT 13. 13. Endeavour to demean your selves in such sort towards God that you may prevail with him to continue still to watch over and preserve both your persons houses and substance If you ask what you should do that you may engage the Lord to continue his preservation of your persons and substance I answer 1. Walk in the fear of the Lord and serve him with an upright and sincere heart Satan saith of Job who was an upright man one that feared God and eschewed evil Job 1.9,10 Doth Job fear God for nought Hast not thou made an hedge about him and about his house and about all that he hath on every side Thou hast blessed the work of his hands and encreased his substance in the land Prov.
are not greater than our Father Jacob yet he saith of himself Gen. 32.10 I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth that thou hast shewed unto thy servant We are not better than those Jews that were captives in Babylon for there were many of Gods precious Servants as Ezekiel Daniel Hanniah Mishael and Azariah who chose rather to be cast into a fiery Furnace than to fall down before an Image Nehemiah Ezra c. yet they acknowledged that they had deserved all the evils that they suffered and a great deal more and that it was meerly from the mercy of God that they were not consumed Daniel acknowledged the sufferings they met with to be so great as that they could not be parallel'd Dan. 9.12 yet he saith ver 14. The Lord our God is righteous in all his works The Prophet Jeremiah lamenting the great evils that were come upon the Jews acknowledgeth that though their sorrows were such as scarce any met with the like Lam. 1.12 Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow Yet he saith Lam. 3.22 It is of the Lords mercies that we are not consumed If we were fully convinced that we are less than the least of all Gods Mercies we should not repine when God taketh away our Estates our Health our Friends or any other mercies from us And if we were fully convinced that we have deserved to be destroyed and cast into everlasting burnings we should not repine when God sends poverty sickness or any other evils upon us 2. Mis-judging of the nature and quality of Gods Providences and of the ends and designs of God in afflicting causeth some to murmur and rep ne at those Providences for which if they understood them aright they would bless and praise God Gods bringing Israel out of Egypt by the hand of Moses was a great mercy his leading them through the Wilderness was to bring them into the Land of Canaan and the straits they met with in the Wilderness were to humble them and prove them and do them good in their latter end Deut. 8.15,16 Yet because they judged amiss of this Providence of God and thought they were brought into the Wilderness to be slain when they were in straits they murmured against the Lord Numb 14.2,3 Exod. 16.2,3 If our discontent spring from this root the way to remove it is 1. To judge nothing before the time but to wait with patience till we have seen the end as well as the beginning of our afflictions Gods dispensations towards Job were very terrible at the first coming of his troubles but the end of them was very comfortable and full of mercy Jam. 5.11 Ye have heard of the patience of Job and have seen the end of the Lord that the Lord is very pittiful and of tender mercy 2. We must judge of our afflictions by Faith and not by sense we must judge of them according to that sentence which is given of them in the Word of God and not according to the opinion of the world or of our own corrupt mindes Sense saith it is a miserable thing to be in affliction but the word saith Job 5,17 Behold happy is the man whom God correcteth James 1.12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation for when he is tried he shall receive the Crown of life which the Lord hath promised to them that love him Sense looketh upon afflictions as hurtful things but faith judging according to the word saith Psal 119.71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted that I might learn thy Statutes 3. We must look at the wholesome fruit of afflictions as well as their present smart Heb. 12.11 No chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous but grievous nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them that are exercised thereby As the cloud that parted the Israelites from the Egyptians had a dark side and a bright side Exod. 14.20 so have our afflictions now if we would not sink under our tryals we must look at the bright side as well as the dark side of them at the spiritual and eternal advantages that we reap by our troubles as well as the smart and inconveniences that our outward man sustaineth by them 3. Unbelief and distrust of God is another cause of murmuring when we are brought into straits Ps 106.24,25 They believed not his word but murmured in their tents If our discontent arise from unbelief the way to remove it is to do what we can to strengthen our Faith in the Attributes Providence and Promises of God for if we can but stay our mindes and rest our souls upon God he will keep them in perfect peace Isa 26.3 I might instance in other grounds and causes of discontent but because they will fall more properly under the next head I shall now proceed to the third and last branch of my answer to this question which is The answering of those Reasonings and Objections that arise in the mindes of those that have suffered loss in their Estates by the late Fire which hinder them from sitting down contented under this hand of God Objections that hinder the contentment of those that have suffered loss in their Estates removed SECT 1. Object 1. My loss is exceeding great I have lost thousands of pounds if I had lost but a small matter I could have born it but in regard my loss is so great it troubleth my minde exceedingly and I know not how to bear it with patience Answ 1. Your loss is not greater than Jobs who was the richest man in the Eastern part of the world and lost all his Substance and his Children too in one day yet he did not repine at the greatness of his loss but quietly submitteth himself to God Job 1.21 The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away blessed be the name of the Lord. 2. How much soever it be that you have lost God is able to give it you again and much more also 2 Chron. 25.9 But what shall we do for the hundred talents God is able to give thee much more than this Though God took a great Estate from Job yet it is said Job 42.10,12 The Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before The Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning Though you should be brought to poverty yet God oft-times raiseth poor men to such an high degree that he maketh them equal to Princes Psal 113.7,8 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust and lifteth the needy out of the dunghil that he may set them with Princes even with the Princes of his people 3. It may be God saw that you had too much and therefore out of his infinite Wisdom and Love he hath brought you low There is danger in having too much as well as too little Agur prayeth against too great riches as well as against poverty Prov. 30.7,8 Give me not riches lest I
be full and deny thee and say who is the Lord. God brought Gideons Army of two and thirty thousand to three hundred and gave this reason they were too many for him to give the Midianites into their hands lest Israel should vaunt himself saying Mine hand hath saved me Judges 7.2,3,4,7 Possibly for some such reason God hath lessened your Estates lest you should vaunt your selves or think that you were maintained by your Estates and not by the Providence of God It may be God saw that your Estates were so great that they would have hindred you entrance in at the strait gate Mat. 19.23,24 and therefore he lessened them that you might have a safer and more easie passage into the Kingdom of Heaven Would you be angry with that Physician that should draw away a great quantity of blood when as it did endanger your lives you have far less cause of being angry with God for taking away a great part of your Estates when they did endanger the salvation of your souls 4. Though your losses have been very great yet take heed of murmuring and repining against God lest he take away greater things from you By murmuring you will provoke God to take away your lives 1 Cor. 10.10 Neither murmure you as some of them murmured and were destroyed of the destroyer Now to lose life is a far greater loss than to lose an Estate By murmuring you are in danger to lose the favour of God Numb 11.1 When the people complained it displeased the Lord and the Lord heard it and his anger was kindled To lose Gods favour is more than to lose our lives for Psal 63.3 Thy loving kindeness is better than life SECT 2. Obj. 2. I have lost all that ever I had and am quite undone though my losses had been great if I had any thing left I should have been contented but will you blame me for being discontented when I have lost all that I was worth in the world and am quite undone Answ 1. God saw it was needful and expedient for the accomplishing of his designs in order to the promoting of your good to take away all that you had for God sends no more of any affliction than we need 1 Pet. 1.6 for a season if need be ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations It may be God saw nothing less than the taking all that you had would take off your affections from the world or lead you to repentance or put you upon living by Faith you may be assured that upon some account or other God saw it needful to take away your whole Estates from you else he would not have dealt thus with you 2. By undoing you God aims at saving of you He hath undone you in your outward Estates that he may save your Souls 2 Cor. 1.6 Whether we be afflicted it is for your consolation and salvation which is effectual or as it is in the Margin is wrought in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer The Apostle telleth us here that the Corinthians enduring the same sufferings which he suffered was an effectual means of working out their salvation Now a great part of the Apostles sufferings lay in the suffering the loss of all things Phil. 3.8 It is Gods design to prevent our being undone to all eternity when he chastneth us in this world 1 Cor. 11.32 When we are judged we are chastned of the Lord that we should not be condemned with the world Hath that man any cause to complain whom God undoeth here to prevent his being undone to all eternity 3. If ever you forsook any of your enjoyments for Christ or gave any thing to the poor Members of Christ or any other poor people for Christs sake then you have not lost all for whatever you have given to the poor or forsaken upon the account of Christ or the Gospel all that is yours still it is money laid up in a safe hand which shall be returned to you with an hundred fold encrease Prov. 19.17 He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord and that which he hath given will he pay him again That which is given to the poor is not lost it is but lent and it is lent to one that will pay what is lent with interest You that could not see the poor lack when you had wherewithal to relieve them God will not suffer you to lack any thing that is good for you Prov. 28.27 He that giveth to the poor shall not lack And what is said of that which is given to the poor the same may be said of that which hath been forsaken upon the account of Christ and the Gospel it is not lost but put out to interest and shall be rendered to us again with an hundred fold encrease if not in the same kinde in some other thing as good or better Matth. 19.29 Every one that hath for saken houses or Brethren or Sisters or Father or Mother or Wife or Children or Lands for my Names sake shall receive an hundred fold and shall inherit everlasting life And that this hundred fold is not meant of the recompence that we shall have in heaven but of that reward that we shall have in this present life besides eternal life in the other world is evident from Mark 10.29,30 Luke 18.29,30 4. Though you have lost all that you had yet you have not lost any of the Promises or the Providence of God You are as rich in promises as ever You have God in many Bonds which are of more value than the whole world Though the Fire had consumed all your Goods yet it hath consumed none of your Bonds I mean none of the Promises wherein God hath bound himself by promise that you shall want no good thing but that he will stand by you all your dayes and supply all your needs I will put you in minde of two or three of those many promises that the Lord hath made to this purpose which are more worth than all the Gold and Silver of the world Phil. 4.19 My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Jesus Christ Heb. 13.5 Let your conversation be without covetousness and be content with such things as ye have for he bath said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee Mat. 6.33 Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you All these things that is food and raiment and all things that are necessary for this life of which Christ was speaking in the foregoing verses And as you have not lost the promises of God so neither have you lost his providence he will take as much care of you now your Estates are gone as he did when you enjoyed them 1 Pet. 5,7 Casting all your care upon him for he careth for you It is not said who did care for you but he careth for you implying that God doth and ever