should you not therefore rather praise God for what you have, than be discouraged under your opposition.

This is not my case. For I praise God I do not meet with any opposition or persecution from my friends, nor do I need; for my very affliction is an opposition unto what is good, my affliction doth indispose me unto what is good, and expose me unto what is evil, to temptations and many sins; it keeps me from duty, from ordinances and opportunities of doing and receiving good; and therefore I am thus discouraged under my affliction, have I not cause and reason now?

No. For it may be that you are mistaken here and think that you are hindered from the work of God, when indeed you are not. We read of Paul that he was whipped up and down the streets like a rogue, that he was oft imprisoned; and who would not think but that his reproaches and imprisonments should hinder him in the work of his ministry? But he saith that his "sufferings turned to the furtherance of the gospel."

When God leads a man into an affliction, then God doth call him to another work. So long as a man is well and in health, he is bound to go abroad and to hear the word; but when he is sick, then his work is not to hear, but to be patient and quiet under the hand of God; then he is called to that other work which his affliction doth lead him to. It may be, your affliction may hinder you from your former work which God hath called you from, but it doth not hinder you from that work whereunto you are now called by your affliction. And what though my affliction doth hinder me from my former work; yet if God will not fault me for the neglect of that, have I any reason to be discouraged because I do not do it? This is certain, that if God call me to a new work, he will never blame me if I lay by the former. You will not blame your servants if they lay by their former work, when you call them to a new. And when God leads into a new affliction, then he doth call to a new work.

And as for matter of temptation and sin, this is certain, that, that affliction doth never expose a man to a new sin, which doth make him sensible of his former sin. Now, as you have heard, the afflictions of the saints do both discover and heal their sins, making them sensible of them which

they were not before. And if you look into Psalm cxxv. 3, you will find a promise to this purpose: "The rod of the wicked shall not rest on the lot of the righteous, lest the righteous put forth their hands to iniquity." As it is with a master that sets his servant to beat the dust out of his garment, though he cause the rod or stick to pass upon the garment, yet he will not suffer it to rest so long upon the garment, as it shall be torn thereby. Your affliction is God's rod and he suffers it to pass upon your garment. Why? That he may fetch out your dust therewith; but he will not suffer this rod to rest so long upon you as to tear your garment. "Lest the righteous put forth their hand unto iniquity," saith the text.

And if this fear of yours be a good sign of your grace, then why should you be discouraged in this respect? Now what better sign of truth and uprightness of heart have you than this: that you are therefore troubled at your affliction, because it doth expose to temptation and sin, and because it doth hinder you from what is good; do you not say so? Lord, thou knowest I am therefore afflicted under this affliction, not because of the burden of it so much, but because thereby I, am hindered from doing and receiving good, and exposed to such temptations; as for the affliction itself, though it be great, yet Lord, thou knowest I should submit to it and be quiet under it, were I not thereby exposed unto what is evil. Here now is sincerity, here is uprightness, and will you then be discouraged; nay, rather have you not cause and reason to be much encouraged?

This is not my fear, or cause of my discouragement, but I am under a great and sore affliction, so and so afflicted, and I fear I have brought myself into this affliction by my sin : had not my sin been the cause of my affliction, I should not be troubled; but oh, my affliction is great and long, and I am persuaded that my own sin is the cause thereof. Yea, and that which aggravateth the matter is, I cannot find out what the sin is; if God would but discover it to me, I should be more at quiet. But my sin is the cause of my affliction, and I know not what the particular sin is that hath brought me into this affliction. And have I not just cause and reason for my discouragement now?

No; for did not Jonah bring himself into his affliction by

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his sin, and yet when did God more fully appear to him, than when he was in the whale's belly? Did not David bring himself into his affliction by his sin: he sinned in the matter of Uriah, and the Lord said, "The sword shall never depart from thy house;" and what was the sword of Absolom, but an affliction which dropped out of that threatening, brought upon him by his sin: and yet when was David's heart in a better frame? "If (saith he) the Lord have any pleasure in me, he will bring me back to the ark again; if not, let him do with me what seemeth good in his eyes." And when did God more fully appear to David than under this affliction? for he prayed, "The Lord turn the counsel of Ahithophel into folly," and God heard him presently. if ye look into Deut. iv., you shall find a standing promise made for your comfort in this matter: verse 25," If you shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger; I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that you shall soon utterly perish from the land; ye shall not prolong your days; the Lord will scatter you among the nations, and you shall be left few in number among the heathen, and there you shall serve gods, the work of men's hands. But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thine heart and all thy soul." Here was a great affliction, to be driven out into another country. This affliction was caused by their great sins. Yet the promise is, that if from thence, from this valley and bottom, they did seek the Lord, he would shew mercy to them. And all this in the times of the law and is not God as gracious now in the times of the gospel, as then in the times of the law? And what though you cannot find out what the particular sin is, it is good to search, but sometimes it is better for a poor soul that it is not discovered; for if I be under an affliction for some particular sin, and find it out, then I am once humbled for it, and go no further: but if I find it not out, I search and search, and so am humbled continually for many sins. And therefore I say, it is sometimes better that the particular sin is not discovered. Why then should a godly, gracious soul be discouraged in this respect? Surely he hath no reason for it.

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Yet there is one thing sticks with me in regard of personal afflictions, I fear that they do not come from God's love; were I certain that this affliction did proceed from God's love, then I should never be troubled; but I even see the visible characters of God's displeasure and anger, engraven upon my afflictions, and therefore I am thus discouraged : have I not cause and reason now?

No; for if affliction do rather argue God's love, than hatred, then have you no reason to be discouraged. Now though affliction do not argue God's love; yet, I say, it doth rather argue love than hatred. A man may be no father to a child, yet he may correct him: but if two children commit a fault, and a man take the one and correct him, and let the other go, it argues rather that he is his father than not. So, though chastisements do not always argue God to be our Father, yet it doth rather argue his fatherly love than not.

And is there any thing in God, that is not a friend to all the saints? When a man is a friend to another, not only his purse is his friend, his estate is his friend, his staff is his friend; but his sword is his friend. So, if God be a friend to a man, then not only his love is his friend, and his mercy his friend, but his sword is his friend, his anger is his friend. Now God is a friend to all the saints, and therefore his very anger and justice is a friend too. But,

What are those visible characters of love, which are engraven upon an affliction?

If affliction be a blessing to one, then it doth come from love; and if a man can bless God under affliction, then it is a blessing to him. Job's affliction was a blessing to him: why? because he blessed God under it: "The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away, blessed be his name," &c.

If an affliction do end in our love to God, then it comes from God's love to us; for our love is but a reflection of God's love, and it doth flow from his: and if I can say, I love God never the worser for this affliction, then I may say, God loves me never the lesser, notwithstanding this affliction.

If an affliction teacheth the mind of God, then it doth come from love: "As many as he loveth, he chastiseth;" and," Blessed is the man whom thou chastiseth, and teachest out of thy law." So that if affliction be a teaching affliction, then it doth come from love.

If it be laid on in measure, and imposed in due and seasonable time, so as a man may grow thereby, then it doth come from love. When a man intendeth to kill and destroy a tree, or to bring it unto the fire, he cuts it at any time, so as it shall grow no more; but if he cut it in a due time, it argueth that he intendeth it for growth. So when God pruneth and cuts by afflictions, in such a time as men may grow in grace, it argues his love.

When God is especially present in affliction, and more present in an affliction than at another time, it argues that the affliction doth come from love. Now whoever you are that make this objection, and fear the affliction doth not come from love, are you not able to say, Thus I find it indeed, though I have been much afflicted, yet through grace I have been able to bless the Lord under my affliction, and to say, "The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away," &c. I love the Lord never the lesser for mine affliction, and the Lord hath taught me much in this mine affliction; I have gained more by my sickness, than by many a sermon ; yea, and he hath cut me in due time, for if I had not met with such an affliction at such a time, I did not know what evil I should have fallen into. And this I must needs say, I have had more of God's presence in my affliction, than ever I had before. Well then, be of good comfort, though your affliction be very grievous, yet it doth come from love. And thus it is with all the saints and people of God, and therefore why should they be discouraged, whatever their affliction be?

But though a christian have no reason to be discouraged in regard of his own private affliction, yet hath he not reason to be discouraged, when it goes ill with the public? And thus it is now with us; we see how it is with this poor nation, troubles and calamities from every part, therefore I am thus discouraged; and have I not cause to be cast down, and to be much disquieted now?

Indeed, this is a sad thing; and oh, that we could weep day and night, and pray too, for this poor, bleeding nation! If ever God's people, here in England, had cause to be afflicted, troubled and humbled, under the hand of the Lord, and to run together in prayer, surely they have reason now;