Affliction and Distress Because these are the especial times when Conscience makes such q â—ck Reflections upon Souls Are not such afflictions great Mercies as are sanctified means in the Hand of God to awaken poor guilty Souls Had not you better be awakened by Afflictions than perish in your Sins O how many poor Souls had run headlong to Hell if a Thorn Hedg of smarting Affliction had not stopt them as hath been noted already Are not Afflictions Mercies which are means to awaken sleepy Consciences which otherwise might have slept on to Hell else Is it not a Mercy to be rouzed out of our Security Suppose a Man sleep upon the Bank of the River had not he been better awakened tho it be by pinching than sleep on until he drop in and be Drowned Is not this the Case There are many poor Souls that lie asleep on the brink of the Pit one turn by Death on the other side and the Sinner is gone and gone for ever But me-thinks I hear a poor Soul say What shall I do what Course shall I take The guilt of my Conscience lies like an heavy Load and Weight upon me I am dogg'd with the sense of my guilt Day and Night My Sin is ever before me Let such troubled Consciences take these Directions 1. Freely confess thy guilt to God Thus Joseph's Brethren did in the day of their Distress Thus all Consciences when wounded should bleed by Confession Thus David I have sinned c. Thus the poor Prodigal Father I have sinned against Heaven and against thee c. The Promise runs to confession of Sin Prov. 28.13 He that confesseth and forsaketh his Sin shall find Mercy 1 John 1.9 If we confess our Sins God is Faithful and Just to forgive us our Sins 2. Be much upon your Knees praying for Pardon O what will make a Man pray if sense of Guilt will â—ot Need any put words â—nto the Mouth of a condemned Malefactor to beg the â—udge to be good unto him How ready is he to cry Good â—y Lord have Mercy O â—hat Petitioning will there â—e to the Judge O poor â—uilty Sinner see this Course â—â—ken by David Lord have â—dercy upon me c. 3. O run believingly to â—â—e Blood of Christ Your â—onfessions your Prayers â—ur Tears will not do without the Blood of Christ thou must get further viz. To the Blood of Sprinkling This is the Blood that cleanseth from all Sin and all Unrighteousness Here here is the Fountain for guilty and for filthy Souls to wash in 4. Defer not your Repentance this is dangerous when under sense of Guilt You can say in other Cases there is danger in delays O why do not you say so in this O poor Sinners sleep not in your Guilt A wounded Spirit must be taken betimes aâ— well as a Wound in the Body the Wound will get winâ— else and will fester thiâ— will make dreadful work iâ— once Guilt gangreen and fester O how hard will gangreen'd Conscience be tâ— Cure 5. Direction is Lay hold by an hand of Faith upon your precious Promises in the Gospel held out to you O poor guilty Sinners are all for application of Threatnings and alas this makes the Wound deeper and wider O how do such Sinners when they neglect Gospel-Promises Hath Christ purchased such precious Promises to lie by you O what a sin is Unbelief to null the Promises of God! to make them void and of none effect Are these Cordials provided for Sin-sick Souls and will they not so much as taste of them Will not God take this ill at your Hands Is not a Gospel-Promise a proper Plaster for a wounded Conscience O that all guilty Sinners were well studied in Gospel-Promises Might not they then espie a door of Hope Isa 1. concerning their pardon of Sin and Guilt Yea tho their Sins were as Scarlet such were Joseph's Brethren in my Text yet they should be as white as Snow And the they were as Crimson they should be as white as Wooll O what a Mercy poor Sinners would this be to be awakened by the Reflections of your own guilty Consciences in a day of Affliction and for all to end and issue in Remission and Pardon FINIS
Murder It will out so we may say of other Sins They will out That is a great Text When the two Tribes and an half were to take up their Habitations on the other side Jordan Moses preaches a very home Sermen to them counselling them so and so and concludes But if you will not do so Numb 32.23 behold you have sinned against the Lord and be sure your Sin will find you out A Metaphor Expositors say taken from a Blood-hound that follows the Thief by scent and discovers him Ah Sinners Guilt is a Blood-hound that will pursue you and in time make a discovery of your Sins Psal 40.12 Mine iniquities says David take hold upon me that I cannot look up as a Blood-hound lays hold upon the Thief which hath stolen the Goods or as an Hue and Cry follows the Malefactor and apprehends him upon which he confesses the Fact It was said to Gain If thou dost well shalt not thou be accepted But if thou dost ill Sin lieth at thy Door Lurks as a Blood-hound ready to flie upon the guilty Thief as soon as he appears and many times it lies there a long time together Guilt lay at David's Door three quarters of a Year Considering David was a good Man considering his Fact to be so deliberate as it was it was a long time for such an heinous piece of Guilt to sleep in his Conscience whose Heart was once so tender that it smote him for the cutting off of Saul's Garment his implacable Enemy Conscience may reckon with poor Souls after a long time Christ may reckon with Souls many Years after It is said After a long time Mat. 25.19 the Lord of the Servants reckoned with them Long forbearance as we say is no forgiveness So Conscience may reckon with a Sinner and God may reckon with a Sinner after a long time It is true God may keep silence but yet says he I will reprove thee and set thy sins in order before thee Psal 50.21 viz. Thy Guilt shall come out I will discover all But before we proceed further I shall premise these things 1. Guilt may be hid from the World a long time it may lie incognito a long time the shame of many a Persons nakedness may not appear for many a Year Who can accuse them Many Murders have lain hid a long time together that God hath brought to light afterwards Hidden works of Darkness have been concealed long as here Guilt for many years lay dormant It is said at Paris There was a young Woman Brain'd with a Hammer A Smith from whom the Hammer was stolen was suspected and tortured till he was Lame But twenty Years after the Murderer was Arraigned and Condemned for another Offence and confessed this Murder Twenty years Guilt was here hid Many Instances might be given in our own Country but I forbear 2. Guilt may be hid from Conscience a long time Conscience may be silent stupid and insensible a great while together So was David So were these Brethren of Joseph's several Years This is evident until either God by his Word or Rod awaken Conscience and then it preaches cuttingly to the Soul of a guilty Sinner Didst not thou play the Wretch at such a time and was Drunk at such a time And didst not thou commit Filthiness at such a time O! Conscience is a most faithful Recorder Thy Sins may lie and lurk a great while in secret yet they will speak out one Day 3. Some Mens Sins are not discovered until the Revelation of the Great Day 1 Tim. 5.24 Some Mens Sins go before hand to Judgment and some follow after The Hypocrisy of the foolish Virgins was not discovered until Christ came 1 Cor. 4 5. We reade of the hidden things of Darkness then being made manifest Then are the secrets of Hearts judged Rom. 2.16 4. God when he hath a design of Pardoning-Grace and Mercy upon a poor guilty Sinner he will discover his Guilt 1. Sometimes to the World to shame him in order to humble him And O poor Sinner hadst not thou better be shamed here in order to be humbled than damned hereafter Ah! many Sinners had gone on in Sin to the far end it may be as far as Hell if God had not found them out and shamed them 2. He always when he hath a design of Pardoning-Grace and Mercy discovers hidden Guilt to the Soul it self he searches for it and finds it out For the Lord sets before us even our secret sins Thus now he set the Consciences of Joseph's Brethren at work Now our Work will be to enquire into the grounds to evince this truth That Sin and Guilt often walk in the Consciences of Sinners long after the Fact is committed 2 Rim. 4.2 1. Because when the Fact is committed the Conscience is seared We reade of seared Consciences a Metaphor taken from that part which is Cauterized by an hot Iron and so made brawny and insensible Alas poor Sinner it may be Satan's Searing-Iron hath cauterized thy Conscience Ephes 4.16 that at present it is past feeling as we reade of some and then the Sinner goes on merrily questions nothing all is well with him he is fast sleep like Jonah with all â—s Guilt upon him But now â—â—e Day comes that God hath design of Grace it may be upon him or however a design of Glorifying himself and now he finds out a way â— awaken Conscience to set â—â—s Guilt before it I will set by Sins in order before thee Psal 50.21 and now the Conscience beâ—ins to be tender and relent and confess Sin and say as they in the Text Verily we are guilty concerning our Brother O! now Sin begins to heigh heavy upon the Soul and the Sinner begins to be restless being prickt in the seart Now being prickt in the Conscience O! how it â—leeds 2. Reason is Because when the Sin was committed was in hot Blood as we say O! many a poor Soul committeth that in hot Blood 〈◊〉 repents of in cold By hâ— Blood I mean an Hurry and heat of Temptation â— in the hot blood of Passion Is not this hot Blood In tâ—â— hot blood of Lust Is nâ—â— this hot Blood O! whâ—â— hot Blood was David in wheâ—â— he in Anger boiled so again Nabal And what hot Blood was he in when he boyleâ— so in Lust against Bathsheha But when in cold Blood hâ—â— was another manner of Maâ— Men in cold Blood are confederate compos'd and calâ— in Spirits and Thoughts Now the Guilty Sinner take himself to his second thought and upon a review of the Fact O then Sin begins 〈◊〉 appear in its proper coâ—â—urs and as in Paul's phrase Rom. 7.9 Revives hath a Resurrection in the guilty Man's Consence And now as a pectrum it appears and â—alks and haunts the Sinner â—â—at he cannot be quiet Night or Day It is with Sinners 〈◊〉 this respect as it is with a â—an in a Fight
that gets a â—ot but being warm at preâ—nt feels it not but afterwards the loss of Blood causes â—â—m to faint Persons engaged in their Temptations do â—â—t feel the fiery Darts that â—atan shoots at them O! but in cold Blood how do â—â—ey cry out When they â—ome to a feeling of themselves what they have done against God and against their own Souls Remember Siâ—ners what you commit 〈◊〉 your hot Blood you will 〈◊〉 pent in your cold and it wâ—â— walk in your Consciences afterwards Prov. 28.23 He that rebuketh Man afterwards shall fâ—â— favour more than he that flatereth with his Tongue say Solomon viz. When a Man is in cold Blood composed 〈◊〉 his Spirit then he cousider this friendly rebuke was 〈◊〉 Love 3. Reason Why Guilt often walks in the Conscience after the Fact is committed is Because the custom of Sin takes away the conscience of Sin Custom in Sin is a very hardniâ—â— thing when Sinners have gotten habits of Sin one 〈◊〉 being Drunk another of being Unclean another of being Proud now all sence of Sin is lost Jer. 13.23 Can the Ethiopian change his Skin or the Leopard his Spots No more can they that are accustomed to do evil do good O! but now when the Lord musters up the Sins of a poor guilty Wretch in order to bring him to Repentance then the Lord makes this Sin walk in his Conscience and the other Sin is brought to remembrance O! now the Soul crys out Men and Brethren what shall I do My Sin is ever before me O how was David haunted with his guilt How did it now walk in his Conscience 4. Reason Sinners are ignorant of the sad effects and consequences of Sin until afterwards Alas many times Sinners know not what they do when they commit Sin 1. They know not what they do in sinning against God David in his heat of Temptation did not consider it until afterwards 〈◊〉 then he cried out Psal 50.4 Against thee against thee only have 〈◊〉 sinned The Prodigal did noâ— know what he did in the going from his Father but afterwards how did he cry out Luke 14.21 I have sinned against Heaven and in thy sight Now Guilt did walk in his Conscience Now Sinners cry out with them in the Prophet Isa 59.12 For our Transgressions are multiplied before thee and our Sins testifie against us for our Transgressions are with us 〈◊〉 and as for our Iniquities we know them 2. Now the Eyes of the Sinner being opened he sees the sad consequences of Sin that he hath sinned against his own Soul Pro. 8.36 He that sinneth wrongeth his own Soul O now what work is there in the Conscience when the poor Guilty Sinner sees how he hath wronged his own Soul yea without Mercy from God undone it for ever nay without Repentance thou hast not only wronged thy own Soul but damned thy own Soul O now the Sinner sees the reward and wages of Sin is Death The first Death and the second Death Temporal Death and Eternal Death and now it begins to appear in its proper Colours but alas this is not until afterwards 5. Sin walks after the Fact committed because the aggravations of Sin ordinarily do not appear until afterwards That which makes Sin stand up in the Conscience of a Sinner is the aggravation of Sin which is laid before it usually by Reflecting Acts therefore the work of Repentance is set forth by these Reflecting Acts O says the penitent Sinner Jer. 8.6 What have I done Alas a Sinner in an hour of Temptation doth not take time to deliberate upon it to look into the Aggravations of it but all these come in as After-claps These are Conscience's After-claps Oh! what aggravations undoubtedly did appear in this case of their Guilt against their Brother Joseph 1. They speak like Persons aggravating their Guilt O now they cry out Gen. 37.26 27. We are verily guilty concerning our Brother O now they see the aggravation of their Sin against their Brother against the Law of Relation To make a Slave of a Stranger had been a great Sin but to make a Slave of a Brother this was an higher aggravation and we find this consideration startled Judah Let not our hand be upon him for he is our Brother This was a sin against the Law of Nature and the Law of Relation as well as the Law of Religion 2. They have this aggravation of the matter of Fact it was committed against Warning Thus you see Reuben rubs them with it in their distress Gen. 42.22 Spake I not unto you saying do not sin against the Child and you would not hear therefore behold his Blood is required O now all comes out as we say to sin against Warning is a great aggravation O now says the guilty Conscience once awakened how fairly wert thou warned nay how frequently wert thou warned O says Conscience did not I speak to thee and tell thee solemnly thou shouldst answer for it and God would require it 3. There was this aggravation in it there was Theft yea the highest Theft in it it was Man-stealing as Joseph says himself I was stolen away out of the Land of the Hebrews Gen. 40.15 Now this kind of Theft was punishable by death Exod. 21.16 He that stealeth a Man and selleth him shall surely be put to death And O then what an aggravation of Sin was this to sell their own Brother 4. There was this aggravation of Guilt stood up in their Consciences it was a deliberate Act as was hinted before an Act of Counsel and Conspiracy the Text is express in it And when they saw him afar off Gen. 37.18 even before he came near them they conspired against him to slay him And as they joyned in their Conspiracy now upon guilt walking in their Consciences they in my Text joyn in their Consession O! so it is with Sinners when Sin is laid home to the charge of Conscience O but was it not a plotted piece of Guilt a contrived piece of Guilt a deliberate Act David tells us he said He would confess his Sin and God forgave the Iniquity of his Sin Psal 32.5 viz. The deliberateness of it it may be he points at that particular aggravation 5. Aggravation that stood up in the Consciences of Joseph's Brethren was their hiding of it and this put them upon dreadful Lying and Dissembling with their Father Gen. 37.30 And we will say Some evil Beast hath devoured him This have we found know whether it be thy Son's Goat or no. O what dreadful work was here This is the fruit of Sin to cover and hide all with Lyes to their own Father 6. Aggravation was there Cruelty and Hard-heartedness The Text tells you They would not hear when he besought them And now this cuts them to the Heart So will Conscience one day say to the guilty Sinner O! did not I beseech thee to hearken to me
prove a Remedy Will not this make the Wound to bleed so much the more To run into sinful Company when wounded in your Consciences will not this inflame the Reckoning Is not this to run so much the more upon the score with God O Sinners let me tell you all these Arrears must at the long run be reckoned for 2. Others they run to lawful Comforts and Enjoyments and so labour to stifle the Reflections of their guilty Consciences 3. Others they run to their lawful Employments as Cain did to build Cities so some go to their Trades to their Shops on purpose to drown the convictions of their own guilty Consciences 4. Others go to their sinful Recreations Carding and Dicing and Gaming 5. Others make Charms of their Duties and Forms as Papists go to their Pater Nosters and their Ave Marys nay may not this piece of refined Popery be in the Heart of such as call themselves Protestants But alas all these cannot bear down an awakened Conscience when God sets Guilt on The Third Use Is a word of Exhortation to poor guilty Sinners O! then yield an Ear to the Reflections of your own Consciences Many a Man's Conscience cannot be heard by him it checks him and chides him and reproves him but yet all this while the Sinner stops his Ear as the deaf Adder of which some write That she claps one Ear to the Earth and covers the other with her Tail O hear Sinners then what Conscience hath to say Hearken to the Preacher in your Bosoms Turn you about Sinners once before you die and listen to this Preacher 1. Sinners if you will not hear it now you must hear it whether you will or no hereafter And O how sad will it be to hear it there Where the Worm never dies and the Fire never goes out This Worm is the guilty Conscience which Sinners must hear in Hell if they will not hear it here Guilty Consciences preach in Hell and the Sermon is as long as Eternity it self Maak 9.44 and happy were the Damned if they could run away from these Sermons O Sinners you cannot stop your Ears in the other World against your guilty Consciences as you do in this 2. Sinners hearken to the Reflections of your own Consciences for your hearing them will be in order to the getting of your Sins pardoned Its Reflections are in order to your Repentance and your Repentance will be in order to your Remission They are both put together and preached in the Name of Christ together And would not you be glad to have your Sins pardoned Would not you be glad to have your Sins washed away in the Blood of Christ Would not you be glad to have this heavy and insupportable burden of Guilt removed off the back of your Consciences Are your Sins gone over your Heads as a Burden yea as too heavy a Burden for you to bear and would not you rejoyce to be led to Safety and Rest under all your Loads and Pressures 3. Be sure you attend to the Reflections of your Consciences for the Rod joyns issue with Conscience the Rod sets Conscience on work and they preach the same Doctrine Therefore we are called and strictly charged to hear the Rod. It may be Sinners Mic. 6.9 God hath tried other Preachers and they have done little good to make you sensible of your Guilt then God commissions these Preachers Conscience and the Rod. If a Man cannot come abroad and hear a Minister then Affliction shall preach to him at Home Now the Rod is assistant to Conscience Job 24.13 the Preacher in your Bosoms 4. Sinners be not deaf to the Reflections of your Consciences this is to sin against your Light nay to â—ebel against your Light And is not this sad and the guilt of this Rebellion you will be charged with another day 5. Poor Sinners Be not deaf to the Reflections of your own Consciences usually God follows such with his severest Judgments 1. Sometimes Temporal Many times God makes that threatning good upon such I will wound the hoary Scalp of every one that goes on in his Trespasses Psal 68.21 If Men will walk on in their Sins contrary to all checks and convictions of Conscience let them look for some severe blow of the Hand of God upon them sooner or later for tho the Sentence be not speedily executed it is not said it never shall Tho Execution day be for a while deferred yet it will come 2. Spiritual Judgments which are the worst and saddest of Judgments Many times Sinners deaf to their Consciences are given up to a seared Conscience to a reprobate Mind to vile Affection to their own Lusts to hardness of Heart And is not the judicially hardned Sinner the half-damned Sinner The Second Branch of Exhortation is To such as have Reflecting tender Consciences O then bless the Lord for such awakened Consciences It is a greater Mercy than you think of to have such a Monitor and Remembrancer in your Bosoms 1. Is it not a Mercy to be way-laid in a sinful Course To be prevented in Sin To be stopt in a Carreer and full Gallop for Hell This this is the end why God sets Conscience at work with a poor Sinner Had not many poor Sinners run headlong to utter Destruction and Damnation else May not many a poor Sinner say to Conscience as David did to Abigail Blessed be the God of Israel 1 Sam. 25.32 33. that sent thee this day to prevent me from shedding innocent Blood When thou hast had rebukes of Conscience hast thou not said Numb 22.34 as Balaam to the Angel in his way to stop him If my way be perverse before the Lord and displease thee I will get me back again And is not this a Mercy 2. Is it not a Mercy to be raised to Re entance after falling into Sin The Sinner's Sinning is his Fall the Sinner's Repentance is his Rising And are not all Conscience's Reflections when it is awakened in order to Repentance as hath been already hinted and is not this a Mercy to be pluckt as a Firebrand out of the midst of the burning O! how doth Conscience give many a pull at some Sinners to get them out of the Fire lest it should prove the Fire that never goes out 3. Is not this a Mercy to have thy Soul lie in the way of a Pardon Canst thou O poor Sinner expect Remission without Repentance Hast thou any Promise for it in all the Bible Produce it if thou canst O! whoever told thee so but Satan and thy own deluding Heart Do not all Offenders that receive Pardons from their Princes receive them upon their Knees Whither is it thy awakened guilty Conscience would send thee but to the King of Israel that Merciful King with Sackcloth upon thy Loins and an Halter about thy Neck in order to the receiving of thy Pardon Third Branch of the Exhortation O then bless the Lord for days of
Memory turns over the whole past Life of a Sinner O says Conscience in the day of Distress Didst not thou commit such a Sin at such a time in such a place Dost thou not remember it And didst not thou think thou shouldst never hear of it again though I told thee and warned thee to the contrary but now I am come to call thy Faults into remembrance this day In a day of Affliction Conscience is our Monitor and Remembrancer It remembers the Sinner of two things 1. Of his past Convictions 2. Of his broken Resolutions And it is upon this account that Repentance is called A remembring of our evil ways You have Sinners committed many a Sin and forgotten it and buried many a piece of Guilt in the grave of Oblivion and because you had forgotten these things you thought God had forgotten them too and Conscience had forgotten them but you will find your selves mistaken When a day of Affliction comes then Conscience will remember you of all and set all in order before your Eyes David calls some of his Psalms Psalms of Remembrance To call to Remembrance So Conscience will sing you a sad Song of Remembrance as I may say it will remember some of you how often you were Drunk and where how often others of you have been Unclean and where with all the Circumstances of matters of Fact Secondly Because in a day of Affliction Conscience is awakened at other times it is asleep and so cannot be quick and active Men lull Conscience asleep with their Enjoyments or with their Affairs and Employments but now in a day of Affliction the Lord takes them off these They then are at leisure to reckon with their Consciences as they awake they begin to call themselves to an Account Afflictions are great Awakeners It may be the poor Sinner is like Peter asleep between two Souldiers when the Angel came and smote him So Conscience doth with Sinners O! how quick is Conscience with them when they are awakened O! what a sleepy Fit for three quarters of a Year did David fall into until God made use of Affliction to awaken him Joseph's Brethren what a Lethargy were their Consciences in for many years together until this Affliction awakened them And so How did Manasseh his Afflictions awaken his guilty Conscience Thirdly Because a day of Affliction is a day of serious Consideration Men go on inconsiderately in the Ruffe of their Prosperity while they are as I may say in their hot Blood but when they consider with themselves better then they change both their Minds and Courses I considered my Ways Psal 119.59 and turned my Feet to thy Testimonies But now What brings in this day of Consideration Is it not a day of Affliction In a day of Adversity Eccles 7.14 consider What brought the poor inconsiderate Prodigal to a stand and so to a return was it not a day of Affliction His consideration is exprest by this He came to himself Now Conscience being awakened Sinners begin to come to themselves and then they say Jer. 8.6 What have I done Whither have I been going O! what will follow upon this Course of mine what will be the effects of this Sin and Guilt If Men did consider these things and ask their Souls such Questions how would it be a means to stop them in their carreer and course of Sin O now 1. A Sinner begins to think how he hath dishonour'd God 2. How he hath displeased God 3. How he hath wounded his own Conscience 4. How he hath led others into Sin by his example 5. How he hath aggravated his Sin by sinning against Mercies and Deliverances These and many more Considerations are called over in the Conscience when awakened in a day of Distress and Affliction Fourthly Because a day of Affliction is a Day that puts the Sinner upon a diligent search O how quick is Conscience upon the search Now Sinners are set upon searching trying their ways with the Church Let us search and try our ways and turn again unto the Lord. Lam. 3. This put Heman upon a diligent search I communed with my own Heart Psal 77.5 6. and made a diligent search As the Woman did seek for her lost Groat did sweep the House and lighted a Candle So now the Soul in a day of Affliction seeks and searches for this Sin and the other Surely says the awakened Conscience there is some Provocation there is some Wedge of Gold some allured Thing some right Eye some right Hand which puts the Lord upon contending with me and upon thus afflicting of me Thus Josepb's Brethren they search and find out their Guilt in the day of their Distress and Affliction Fifthly Because a day of Affliction is a Day of plain and impartial dealing with ones own Soul We are prone to be Partial at other times and flatter our selves but now Conscience being awakened it deals faithfully as the Matter requires O! now Conscience in the day of Affliction tells the Sinner a plain story Sinner thou hast sinned and thou canst not deny it and thou must repent of it or else perish to all Eternity Except you repent you shall likewise perish Now this is a plain Sermon and thus did Joseph's Brethren Their Consciences in their Affliction told them a very plain Story We are verily guilty concerning our Brother c. And ah Sinners had not your Consciences better be plain with you now than be plain with you in Hell O what plain Sermons doth Conscience preach to the Damned You will not many of you bear plain Preaching now But O remember what a plain Preacher Conscience will be when awakened in a day of Affliction Now we come to the Improvement of what hath been said upon all the Doctrinal part Application Is it so that Conscience is so quick and active in a day of Affliction Then 1. Learn we hence that many Souls have great cause to bless God for Afflictions They may say with David Before they were afflicted Psal 119.67 they went astray Joseph's Brethren for any thing I know had died under this Guilt if God had not brought them into this Distress Had not Manasseh cause to bless God for his Affliction They were blessed Bryars he was caught 〈◊〉 Hath not the Lord oâ—ened the Ears of many by Affliction and commanded â—hem to return from Iniquity Yea great Persons when they have been bound in Fetters Job 36.8 9 10. â—nd holden in Cords of Affliction then God sheweth â—hem their Work and their Transgressions that they have exceeded O! what a Mercy was it to the Church when God hedged up her Ways with Thorns Is it not a merâ—y to be kept from drowning 〈◊〉 a Pit though it be by a Thorn Hedge How many â—inners had gone on in Sin â—nd had been drowned in â—ell if God had not stopt â—hem by a sharp Thorn Hedg of Affliction O! What would have become of the Prodigal in