quarter that my other poor labors have found, not only in this
6. Sixthly, Because every man is that really which he is secretly. Never tell me, how handsomely, how neatly, how bravely, this or that man acts his part before others; but tell me, if you can, how he acts his part before God in his closet; for the man is that certainly, which he is secretly. There are many who sweat upon the stage that are cold in their closets.
7. Seventhly, Though many worthies have done worthily upon all other parts of prayer—yet there are none either of a former or later date, that have fallen under my eye, who have written any treatise on this subject. I have not a little wondered that so many eminent writers should pass over this great and princely duty of closet-prayer, either with a few brief touches, or else in a very great silence. If several Bodies of Divinity are consulted, you will find that all they say clearly and distinctly as to closet-prayer, may be brought into a very narrow compass, if not into a nutshell. I have also inquired of several old disciples, whether among all the thousand sermons that they have heard in their days, that ever they have heard one sermon on closet-prayer? and they have answered, No. I have also inquired of them, whether ever they had read any treatise on that subject? and they have answered, No. And truly this has been no small encouragement to me, to make an offer of my mite; and if this small attempt of mine shall be so blessed, as to provoke others who have better heads, and hearts, and hands, than any I have, to do Christ and his people more service, in the handling of this choice point in a more copious way than what I have been able to reach unto, I shall therein rejoice.
8. Eighthly, and lastly, That favor, that good acceptance and fair quarter that my other poor labors have found, not only in this nation—but in other countries also, has put me upon putting pen to paper once more; and I hope that the good will of him who "dwelt in the bush," will rest upon this, as it has to the glory of free grace rested upon my former endeavors. I could add other reasons—but let these suffice.
Good reader, when you are in your closet, pray hard for a poor, weak, worthless worm, that I may be found faithful and fruitful to the death, that so at last I may receive a crown of life. So wishing you all happiness both in this lower and in that upper world, I rest, Yours in our dear Lord Jesus, Thomas Brooks.
In what respects are afflictions like a
rod?
"The Lord's voice cries unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall hear your name: hear the rod, and him who has appointed it." Micah 6:9
I answer, In these seven respects afflictions are like unto a rod.
(1.) First, The rod is never made use of—but when no other means will prevail with the child. It is so here; God never takes up the rod, he never afflicts his people, until he has tried all fair ways and means to humble them and reform them, 2 Chron 36:15, seq., Matt 23:37-38. And when none of the offers of grace, the tenders of mercy, the wooings of Christ, the strivings of the Spirit, nor the smart debates of conscience, will awaken them, nor work upon them, then God takes up the rod, and sometimes whips them until the blood comes. But,
(2.) Secondly, Parents choose whatever rods they please, to correct their children with. The child shall not choose what rod he pleases to be corrected with. Oh, no! It is the prerogative of the father to choose the rod. The father may choose and use either a great rod or a little rod, a long rod or a short rod, a rod made of rosemary branches or a rod made up of
a green birch. It is so here; God chooses what rod—whatever affliction he pleases, to exercise his people with, Lev 26; Deut 28; Lam 3:9-18. You read in the Scriptures of very many rods— but they are all of God's choosing: Amos 3:6, "Is there any evil in the city, and has not the Lord done it?" Though there be many rods to be found in the city—yet there is not one of them but is of God's choosing. Ruth 1:13, "It grieves me much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord is gone out against me." Ruth 1:21, "I went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty; why then call you me Naomi, seeing the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?" Isa 45:7, "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I, the Lord, do all these things." Mic 1:12, "For the inhabitants of Maroth waited carefully for good—but evil came down from the Lord unto the gates of Jerusalem." David was whipped with many rods—but they were all of God's own choosing, Psalm 39:9; and Job was whipped with many rods—but they were all of God's own choosing, Job 1. But,
(3.) Thirdly, Parents take no pleasure, they take no delight, to use the rod. Every lash the father gives the child, fetches blood from his own heart. The father corrects the child, and sighs over the child; he whips the child, and at the same time weeps over the child. Nothing goes more against the parents' heart, than the bringing of their children under the rod of correction. It is so here, Lam 3:33, "For he does not afflict willingly," or, as the Hebrew runs, "he does not afflict from his heart, nor grieve the children of men." You often read that God delights in mercy, Mic 7:15; but where do you once read that God delights in severity, or in dealing roughly with his people? God very rarely takes up the rod but when our sins have put a force upon him, 2 Chron 36:16; Jer 5:19. It is grievous to God to be a-grieving his people; it is a pain unto him to be a-punishing of them: Hos 11:8, "How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? How
can I make you like Zeboiim? My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused."
My justice, says God, calls upon me to rain hell out of heaven upon you, as once I did upon Sodom and Gomorrah; but then mercy interposes her four several hows: how? how? how? how? how shall I give you up? God puts these four piteous interrogations to himself, because none else in heaven or earth could answer them. The prophet brings in God speaking after the manner of men, who, being provoked a thousand thousand ways by the vanities and follies of their children, think to give them up to take their own courses, and to look no more after them; but then their affections begin to work, and their hearts begin to melt, and they begin to interrogate themselves thus: "How shall we give up these children? for though they be disobedient children—yet they are our children; how can we turn them out of doors? how can we disown them? how can we disinherit them? for though they are rebellious children—yet they are our children, etc.
Afflictions are called God's work, yes, his "strange work;" his act, yes, "his strange act;" as if God were out of his element when he is afflicting or chastising his people, Isa 28:21. But,
(4.) Fourthly, The rod is smarting, grievous, and troublesome; and so are afflictions to our natures. Heb 12:11, "Now, no chastening for the present seems to be joyous— but grievous." Flesh and blood startles and is troubled at the least trouble. Affliction is a sort of remedy which makes most sick. Some write that tigers will grow mad, and tear their own flesh, and rend themselves in pieces, if they do but hear drums sound about them. Were not Job and Jeremiah such tigers, who, in the day of their afflictions, did more than curse the day of their birth? Job 3; Jer 20. Oh what a bitter cup, what a heavy burden was affliction to them! Job 10:1, "My soul is weary of my life." Job 7:15, "My soul chooses strangling and death rather
than life." Psalm 6:6, "I am weary with my groaning." Psalm 69:1-3, "Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me. I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God." Doubtless many good men have sat under Elijah his juniper, 1 Kings 19:4, wishing themselves out of the world, if it might stand with divine pleasure, that they might rest from their sins and sorrows, and be rid of their many burdens and bondages, looking upon life as little better than a hell, were it not for the hopes of a heaven hereafter. But,
(5.) Fifthly, When parents take up the rod into their hands, they will not lay it down until they have subdued the spirits of their children, and brought them to submit and to kiss the rod, and to sit still and quiet before them. It is so here: when God takes up the rod, he will not lay it down until he has brought us to lie quietly at his feet: Lev 26:40-42, "But if they will confess their sins and the sins of their fathers--their treachery against me and their hostility toward me, which made me hostile toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies--then when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they pay for their sin, I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land." When God takes up the rod, his children must either bow or break; they must say, the Lord is righteous; they must kiss the rod of correction—or else destruction will come like a whirlwind upon them, Isa 5:3,6.
It is reported of the lion, that he spares those creatures that fall down before him, and submit unto him; but as for those that endeavor to run from him, or to contend with him, those he tears in pieces. It is just so with the Lion of the tribe of Judah, as you may see in Hos 5:14-15. "For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, like a great lion to Judah. I will tear them to pieces and go away;
I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them. Then I will go back to my place until they admit their guilt. And they will seek my face; in their misery they will earnestly seek me."
King Edward riding furiously after a servant of his that had highly displeased him, with a drawn sword in his hand as purposing to kill him, seeing him submit, and on bended knee pleading for his life, did not only put up his sword—but also spared him, and received him into his favor. The King of kings will never put up his sword when once he has drawn it—until his people fall on their knees, and submit unto him. God never left chastising of Ephraim until he had brought him to his bow, until he had made him submit, and kiss the rod, Jer 31:18-20. But,
(6.) Sixthly, Afflictions are called a rod, in respect to the hand which lays them on. Though affliction be a rod, it is a rod in a Father's hand. The sword is in the judge's hand, John 18:11, and the cudgel is in the master's hand; but the rod is in the father's hand, Heb 12:6-9. When Balaam's donkey offended him, he wished for a sword to slay him, Num 22:29; but so does not God. When we do most highly provoke him, he does not take up a sword to slay us—but only a rod to scourge us and chastise us, as kind fathers do their dearest children. But,
(7.) Seventhly and lastly, Afflictions are called a rod, in regard of the ends to which they serve. A rod is not to kill —but to cure; it is not for destruction—but for correction. When David gave a full commission to his soldiers against Absalom, it was not to slay him—but to restrain him; it was not to ruin him —but to reduce him to his former obedience. The application is easy. We can as well live without our daily bread—as without our daily rod.
God's purpose and end of taking up the
rod
"The Lord's voice cries unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall hear your name: hear the rod, and him who has appointed it." Micah 6:9
Now, God's purpose and end of taking up the rod are these:
[1.] First and more generally, It is for the good of the child, and not for his hurt. It is so here. God takes up the rod—but it is for the good of his people: Gen 50:20, "But as for you, you thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save many people alive." Divine goodness did so overmaster the plotted malignity of Joseph's brethren as that it made a blessed medicine of a most deadly poison. Jer 24:5, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge those who are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good." When Israel was dismissed out of Egypt, Exod 40, it was with gold and earrings; and when Judah was dismissed out of Babylon, it was with great gifts, jewels, and all necessary utensils, Ezra 1. So Rom 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose." This text, like Moses's tree cast into the bitter waters of affliction, may make them sweet and wholesome to drink of. But,
[2.] Secondly, and more particularly, The rod is to make the child sensible of his folly and vanity. Prov 10:13, "In the lips of him who has understanding, wisdom is found; but the rod is for the back of him who is void of understanding." So it is here: God takes up the rod—but it is to make his people sensible of their folly and vanity; it is to make them look up to him, and
to look into conscience, and to look out to their lives. God's house of correction is his school of instruction. His lashes are our lessons, his scourges are our schoolmasters, and his chastisements are our corrections. Hence both the Hebrews and Greeks express chastening and teaching by one and the same word, because teaching is the true end of chastening, according to that in the proverb, "Pain makes wit, and vexation gives understanding." [Isa 26:9; Psalm 94:12; Prov 3:12-13; Job 36:8-10]
Afflictions are a Christian's looking-glass, by which he may see how to dress his own soul, and to mend whatever is amiss. They are pills made up by a heavenly hand on purpose to clear our eyesight; 1 Kings 17:18, "And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with you, O you man of God? Have you come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?" If God had not taken away her son, her sin had not been brought to remembrance. It was the speech of a holy man in his sickness: "In this disease," said he, "I have learned how great God is, and what the evil of sin is. I never knew to purpose what God was before, nor what sin was before." The cross of affliction opens men's eyes, as the tasting of honey did Jonathan's. "Here," as that martyr phrased it, "we are still a-learning our A, B, Cs, and our lesson is never past Christ's cross, and our walking is still home by weeping-cross." But,
[3.] Thirdly, The rod is used to prevent further folly, mischief, and misery. Prov 23:13-14, "Withhold not correction from the child, for if you beat him with the rod, he shall not die. You shall beat him with the rod, and shall deliver his soul from hell." It is said of the ape, that she hugs her young ones to death; so many fond parents, by not correcting their children, they come to slay their children. The best way to prevent their being scourged with scorpions in hell, is to chastise them with the rod here. So God takes up the rod; he afflicts and
chastises his dearest children—but it is to prevent soul-mischief and misery; it is to prevent pride, self-love, worldliness, etc.
Paul was one of the holiest men who ever lived on earth; he was called by some an earthly angel, and yet he needed the rod, he needed a thorn in the flesh, to prevent pride; witness the doubling of those words in one verse, "lest I should be exalted above measure, lest I should be exalted above measure," 2 Cor 12:7-9. If Paul had not been buffeted, who knows how highly he might have been exalted in his own pride? Prudent physicians often give their patients medicines to prevent diseases; and so does the physician of souls to his dearest servants, Job 40:4-5; Hos 2:6-7; Job 33:17,19; "He is chastened also with pain upon his bed, and the multitude of his bones with strong pain, that he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man."
Afflictions are the Lord's drawing-plasters, by which he draws out the core of pride, earthliness, self-love, covetousness, etc. Pride was one of man's first sins, and is still the root and source of all other sins. Now, to prevent it, God many times chastens man with pain, yes, with strong pain, upon his bed: Job 34:31-32, "I have endured my punishment; I will no longer act wickedly. Teach me what I cannot see; if I have done wrong, I won't do it again." The burnt child dreads the fire. Sin is but a bitter sweet; it is an evil worse than hell itself. Look, as salt brine preserves things from putrefying, and as salt marshes keep the sheep from rotting, so sanctified rods, sanctified afflictions, preserves and keeps the people of God from sinning. But,
[4.] Fourthly, The rod is to purge out that vanity and folly that is bound up in the heart of the child. Prov 22:15, "Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child—but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him." The rod is an ordinance, as well as the word; and such parents that use it as an ordinance, praying and weeping over it, shall find it effectual for the
chasing away of evil out of their children's heart. Eli and David were two very choice men, and yet, by their fondness on one hand, and neglect of this ordinance on the other hand, they ruined their sons; and whether they did not undo their souls, I shall not at this time stand to inquire. When Moses cast away his rod, it became a serpent, Exod 4:3; and so, when parents cast away the rod of correction, it is ten to one but that their children become the brood of the serpent: Prov 13:24, "He who spares his rod hates his son; but he who loves him chastens him betimes." Not only the care—but also the cure of the child, so far as the rod will reach, lies upon the hands of the parent.
Now afflictions are like a rod in this respect also, for, as they are sanctified, they cleanse and purge away the dross, the filth, and the scum of the Christian: Isa 1:25, "And I will turn my hand upon you, and purely purge away your dross, and take away all your tin;" Isa 27:9, "By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged, and this is all the fruit, to take away his sin;" Dan 11:35, "And some of them of understanding shall fall" (that is, "into great afflictions"), "to try them, and to purge them, and to make them white, even to the time of the end." All the harm the fire did to the three children, or rather the three champions, was to burn off their cords, Dan 3:23-24. Our lusts are cords of vanity—but the fire of affliction shall burn them up: Zech 13:9, "And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: 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." Sharp afflictions are a fire—to purge out our dross, and to make our graces shine; they are a potion—to carry away ill humours; they are cold frosts—to destroy the vermin; they are a tempestuous sea—to purge the wine from its dregs; they are like the north wind—which dries up the vapors, that purges the blood, and quickens the spirits; they are a sharp corrosive—to eat out the dead flesh. Afflictions are compared to washing—which takes away the filth of the soul, as water does the filth of the body,
Matt 10:38-39. God would not rub so hard, were it not to fetch out the dirt and spots that are in his people's hearts.
[5.] Fifthly, The rod serves to improve that good that is in the child: Prov 29:15, "The rod and reproof gives wisdom—but a child left to himself brings his mother to shame." So afflictions serve to improve our graces: Heb 12:10, "For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure—but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness;" that is, that we might more and more be partakers of his holiness. Heb 12:11, "Now no chastening for the present seems to be joyous—but grievous: nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto those who are exercised thereby." Hence it is that the saints glory in tribulation: Rom 5:3-4, "And not only so —but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation works patience, and patience experience, and experience hope." Grace always thrives most when saints are under the rod. When Christians are under the rod, then their graces do not only bud—but blossom and bring forth fruit, as Aaron's rod did, Num 17:8. The snuffing of the candle makes it burn the brighter. God beats and bruises his children, to make them burn the brighter; he bruises his spices, to make them send forth the greater aromatic fragrance.
Bernard compares afflictions to the teasle, which, though it be sharp and scratching, is to make the cloth more pure and fine. The Jews were always best when they were in an afflicted condition. Well-waters arising from deep springs are hotter in the winter than they are in the summer. Stars shine brightest in the darkest nights. Vines grow the better for bleeding, and gold shines the better for scouring. Juniper smells sweetest when in the fire; camomile, the more you tread it, the more you spread it. O sirs! this is a real and a rare truth—but seldom thought on, namely, that God will sometimes more carry on the growth and improvement of grace by a cross, by an affliction, than by an ordinance, James 1:3-4; James 4:8-9. Afflictions ripen the
saint's graces, 2 Cor 1:5. Sooner or later, God will make every rod, yes, every twig in every rod, to be an ordinance to every afflicted saint.
By afflictions, God many times revives, quickens, and recovers the decayed graces of his people. By afflictions, God many times inflames that love which is cold, and he strengthens that faith which is failing, and he puts life into those hopes which are languishing, and new spirits into those joys and comforts which are withering and dying. Musk, say some, when it has lost its sweetness, if it be put into the sink among filth, it recovers its sweetness again. So does sharp afflictions recover and revive our decayed graces.
I have read a story of a sexton, who went into the church at night to rob a woman who had been buried the day before with a gold ring upon her finger. Now, when he had opened the grave and coffin, and loosed the sheet, he fell a-rubbing and chafing her finger to get off the gold ring; and with rubbing and chafing of it, her spirits returned, she having been but in a swoon before, and she revived, and lived many years after. Sharp afflictions are but the rubbing and chafing of our graces. The smarting rod abases the loveliness of the world, which entices us; it abates the lustiness of the flesh within, which incites us to vanity and folly; all which tend much to the recovering and reviving of decayed graces. But,
[6.] The sixth end to which the rod serves, and that is, To try the child, to make a discovery of the spirit of the child. Some parents never see so much of the badness of the hearts of their children, as they do when they bring them under the rod; and other parents never see so much of the goodness of the hearts of their children as they do when they chastise them with the rod. It is so here. When God afflicts some, oh the pride! the stoutness! the crossness! the hardness! the peevishness and stubbornness of spirit, that they discover! Isa 1:5; Jer 5:3; Exod
5:2; Jer 44:15-19. When he afflicts others, oh the murmuring! the roaring! the complaining! the howling! the fretting! the vexing! and the quarreling spirit that they discover! Amos 4:613; Num 14:27,29,36; Deut 1:27; Isa 58:3-4; Isa 59:11; Hos 7:1415; Jon 4:1-5,8-9.
Sometimes when God afflicts his dearest people, oh what a spirit of faith! what a spirit of prayer! what a spirit of love! what a spirit of patience! what a spirit of meekness! what a spirit of humbleness! what a spirit of submissiveness do they discover! Job 13:15; 2 Chron 16:12; Isa 26:16-17; Hos 5:14-15; Job 1:20-22; Lev 10:1-3; 1 Sam 3:18; 2 Kings 20:16-19. And at other times, when God afflicts his poor people, oh what a spirit of unbelief! what a spirit of slavish fear! what a spirit of impatience! what a spirit of displeasedness, etc., do they discover! Gen 15:2-3; Gen 12:13,19; Gen 20:2,5; Gen 26:7-11; Psalm 31:22; Psalm 116:11; 1 Sam 21:10-15; Job 3:3-13; Jer 20:14-18. By sharp afflictions, God tries the graces of his people, and discovers what is in the hearts of his people, Deut 8:2; Psalm 66:10-11; Rev 3:18; 1 Pet 1:6-7. The fire tries the gold as well as the touchstone. Diseases try the skill of the physician, and tempests try the skill of the pilot. Every smarting rod is a touchstone, both to try our graces and to discover our spirits. Prudent fathers will sometimes cross their children, to try to discover the dispositions of their children, Heb 12:5-21. And so does the Father of spirits deal sometimes with his children.
The manner of the Psylli, which are a kind of people of that temper and constitution that no venom will hurt them, is this—if they suspect any child to be none of their own, they set an adder upon it to sting it; and if the child cries, and the flesh swells, they cast it away as a spurious child; but if it does not nor cry, nor is never the worse for it, then they account it for their own, and make very much of it. The application is easy. But,
[7.] The seventh and last end of the rod, is to prepare and fit the chastised for greater services, favors, and mercies. Many a child and many a servant had never been so fit for eminent services as they are, had they not been under a smarting rod. It is very usual with God to cast them into very great afflictions, and to lay them under grievous smarting rods, that so he may prepare and fit them for some high and eminent services in this world. Joseph would never have been so fit to be governor of Egypt, and to preserve the visible church of God alive in the world—if he had not been sold into Egypt, Gen 41:40-44; if his feet had not been hurt in the stocks, and if the irons had not entered into his soul, Gen 45:7-8. Moses would never have been so fit to be a leader and a deliverer of Israel as he was—if he had not been banished forty years in the wilderness before, Exod 2:15. Nor would David's crown have fit so well, nor so close, nor so long on his head as it did—had he not for some years before been hunted as a partridge in the wilderness, 1 Sam 26:20. Nor would the three children, or rather the three champions, have been fit for so high a rule—had they not been first cast into the fiery furnace, Dan 3:29-30. Nor would Daniel have been so fit for that exceeding high honor, and glory, and greatness to which he was exalted—had he not been first cast among the lions, Dan 6:25, et seq. And so if Esther had never been a poor captive maid, she would never have been a queen, and so would never have been instrumental in the preservation of the church of God in her day. Heman was one of the best and wisest men in the world in his day, 1 Kings 4:31; and this God brought him to by training of him up in the school of affliction, as you may evidently see in Psalm 88.
That verse of the apostle in 2 Cor 1:4, deserves to be written in letters of gold, "Who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, by the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted of God." Mark that word able. Oh, it is one of the hardest and noblest works in all Christianity to be able divinely to comfort others that are in
troubles; and yet by sufferings God fits and prepares his people for this noble and difficult service.
Luther was of opinion that to comfort a distressed conscience was a greater work than to raise the dead to life. And yet by inward and outward sufferings, God fits his people for this great work.
And thus you see in what respects afflictions are compared to a rod.
Twenty special lessons which you are
to learn by the rod
"The Lord's voice cries unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall hear your name: hear the rod, and him who has appointed it." Micah 6:9
The second thing I am to do, is to show you those special lessons that you are to learn by the rod, or if you please, by the raging pestilence which is now in England. Now they are these,
(1.) The first lesson that you are to learn by the rod, or by the raging pestilence, is, to know what the particular message or errand is, which the rod has to deliver to you in the day of your distress and trouble. Your first work is to do as David did, in 2 Sam 21:1. He humbly inquires of the Lord to know the particular reason why he sent a famine among them. You must do as Job does: Job 10:2, "Show me, O Lord, why you contend with me." Job would sincerely know the reason of the controversy between God and him. One well observes on the text, "that Job was very desirous to know whether God afflicted him for sin or for trial—not to satisfy his curiosity—but his conscience." Elihu's counsel to Job must here take place: Job 34:31-32, "Surely it is fit to be said unto God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more. That which I see not, teach me; if I have done iniquity, I will do no more." Job it seems was yet in the dark as to the particular cause or reason why the Lord had so grievously afflicted him; and therefore he is very importunate with God that he would graciously point out the sin for which he had so sorely smitten him. Your proceedings, says Job, to my understanding seem to be very strange and severe. I am more afflicted than others, and yet I do not know wherein I have sinned more than others; why I should
be so condemned; why you are so hot against me, and why you have multiplied so many unheard of miseries against me; and why you have so greatly subjected me to the saddest and sourest censures of others—as if I were the worst of sinners and the basest of hypocrites. I know not; and therefore, O Lord! I humbly desire that you would not deal with me according to your absolute power—but let me know the true grounds and causes of all my heavy sorrows and miseries.
And so he is at it again, in that Job 13:23, "How many are my iniquities and sins! make me to know my transgression and my sin." My plagues, O Lord! are unparalleled; if my sins are such, let me know it, says Job. My calamities transcend the calamities of all others; if my sins do so, let them not be hidden from my eyes, O Lord! My load, O Lord! is heavier than others; and therefore if my sins are greater than others, let me see them, let me understand them. Infirmities and weaknesses, I confess, do hang upon me; they are inherent in me, and they do too often issue and flow from me. But as for enormities or wickednesses, neither my censorious friends, nor yet my worst enemies, no, nor yet my own conscience, will ever be able to make any just or clear proof against me. O Lord! I have many spots upon me—but if there are any upon me which are not the spots of your people, let me see them, let me know them, that I may abhor myself, and justify you, and that I may say my friends are righteous in their censures, and I have done wickedly before the Lord.
Sometimes afflictions are sent only for trial and instruction, and not at all for sin. This is evident in the case of Job, and in the case of the blind man, whose afflictions, though they were very great and grievous—yet were they not for sin but for trial, John 9:1, et seq.
Now, though this is true—yet it must be granted that commonly sin is the meritorious cause, the procuring cause, of all afflictions, Mic 1:5-10, Amos 2:4-6. Sin ordinarily is the original
foundation of all our troubles and chastisements: "If his sons forsake my law and do not follow my statutes, if they violate my decrees and fail to keep my commands, I will punish their sin with the rod, their iniquity with flogging; but I will not take my love from him, nor will I ever betray my faithfulness." Psalm 89:30-33. "Your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you. Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the Lord your God and have no awe of me," declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty." Jeremiah 2:19. "You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities." Amos 3:2
Question. But what course must we take? what means must we use, to find out that particular sin, for which God corrects us, or which has brought the rod upon us?
Answer 1. Observe what that sin is—which your conscience does most upbraid you with, and check you for. Conscience is God's preacher in the bosom, Gen 42:21; Gen 50:15-17. Now, observe what that particular sin is, which conscience does most sharply and roundly correct and chastise you for; for it is ten to one—but that is the sin which has brought the rod upon you. The voice of conscience, and the voice of the rod, do usually echo one to another. It is very rare to find a difference between the language of conscience and the language of the rod. Conscience is God's deputy, God's spy, God's secretary, God's viceroy; and therefore do not despise the voice of conscience, do not turn off conscience, as Felix turned off Paul, Acts 24:25. If the secret cry of conscience is, "Oh, this is for your pride, or this is for your lust, or this is for your self-love, or this is for your earthliness, or this is for your carnalness, or this is for your hypocrisy, or this is for your formality, etc.," it will be your wisdom to apply to the secret cry of conscience. But,
Answer 2. Secondly, Seriously observe what that sin is— which your soul would have spared above all, which
your soul is most unwilling to leave, and bid an everlasting farewell to. Observe what your right hand sin, your bosom sin, your constitutional sin, your complexion sin, is; for it is a hundred to one but that God has sent the rod for the subduing of that very sin, Mic 6:6-7; Esther 5:13. Commonly by the rod God points at the mortifying of that particular sin to which the heart stands most strongly inclined. But,
Answer 3. Thirdly, Observe what that sin is, which does most maim and mar your confidence and boldness in all your addresses and approaches to God. 1 John 3:2021; for doubtless that is the sin which God would subdue and bring under by the rod. But,
Answer 4. Fourthly, Observe what the affliction, what the pain, what the disease, what the punishment is—which you are under; for sometimes a person may run and read his sin in his very punishment. Judg 1:7, "Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have picked up scraps under my table. Now God has paid me back for what I did to them." Now shall Adonibezek, a heathen prince, run and read his sin in his punishment; and shall not a Christian much more? Shall not grace do as much as blind human nature? Look, as a man may sometimes guess at the disease of the patient, by the prudent observing of the physician's bill; so may he sometimes guess at the particular sin that God would have destroyed, by the punishment which is inflicted. God usually, sooner or later, meets with men, and pays them home in their own coin.
Is the judgment shame? Then the sin was pride, Hos 2:8-9. Is the judgment poverty, famine? Then the sin was abuse of abundance. Is the judgment oppression? Then the sin was unmercifulness. Is the judgment loss of children? Then the sin was inordinate love to them. Eli and David were too indulgent to their children; and therefore they were punished in them and by them. Is the judgment sickness or lack of health? Then the sin
was either the abuse of health, or the non-improvement of health. Is the judgment a famine of the word? Then the sin was slighting and loathing of the word. Is the judgment war? Then the sin was abuse of peace. Is the judgment a blind, carnal, profane, formal, selfish, superstitious clergy? Then the sin has been slighting, neglecting, undervaluing, and despising an able, knowing, zealous, spiritual, and powerful ministry. Is the judgment a worshiping of God in a lazy, dry, dull, dead, formal, customary way, according to the inventions and traditions of men? Then the sin has been men's not worshiping of God in spirit and in truth, and with that zeal, spirit, life, warmth, and fervency as he requires, John 4:23-24; Rom 12:11. Is the judgment the breaking of the communion of God's people, and scattering of them into holes and corners, as it was in Ahab's, and Jezebel's, and Gideon's days? Judg 6:1-5. Then doubtless the sin has been a slighting, undervaluing, neglecting, or forsaking of Christian communion, or else a non-improvement of Christian communion. But,
Answer 5. Fifthly, Observe whether you have not been very faulty towards others, in the very things which you now suffer yourselves. Do others wrong you in your names, estates, relations, callings, dealings, etc.? Lay your hands upon your hearts, and ask them whether you have never wronged others, as others now wrong you, Isa 33:1; Rev 13:10; James 2:10; Gen 50:15-17. Do others rashly judge you, and bitterly censure you, and falsely accuse you, and unjustly condemn you? If they do, reflect upon your former behavior towards others. And if you must plead guilty, throw the first stone at yourselves, and say with Adonibezek, "As I have done, so God has requited me." Let every lash of God upon you, put you in mind of your deportment towards others, when God has given them gall and wormwood to drink, Matt 7:1-2. But,
Answer 6. Sixthly, Observe what that sin is—which you cannot endure should be touched, or reproved, or
spoken against. Prov 1:25,30; Prov 12:1; Prov 17:10; Prov 9:8; Prov 15:12. Ah! how proud, how impatient, how passionate, how mad are many—when you come to touch their right-eye sin. When you come to touch them in the tender part, oh! then they fume, and swell, and rage, and carry on like men and women out of their wits; as you may see in the scribes and pharisees, who were so angry and mad with Christ that they sought his death; and all because he was still a-pointing at the toads in their bosoms; namely, pride, vainglory, hypocrisy, and selfrighteousness. Oh! they could not endure that the sharp razor of reproof should come near their sorest part.
Certainly that Christian must be under a very high distemper, who cannot but smite a righteous man with reproach for smiting him with a reproof. Though gracious reproofs are choice remedy —yet few stomachs can bear them. Most Christians are for lenitives, few are for corrosives. David was glad of a healing reproof—but there are but few Davids alive, Psalm 141:5. Who is angry with the physician for prescribing a bitter medicine? And yet, ah! how angry are many Christians when they come to fall under holy reproofs, especially if there is any of that sharpness and cuttingness in them, which the apostle exhorts to in that Titus 1:13. Now, doubtless, the voice of the rod is this, 'Soul! take heed of that sin which you cannot endure should be touched. Labor mightily with God to get that particular sin mortified, which you cannot endure should be reproved." But,
Answer 7. Seventhly, Observe what sin that is—which most hinders you from living upon precious promises, and from improving of precious promises, and from treasuring up of precious promises, and from appropriating of precious promises to your own soul, Psalm 50:16-17. And it is very probable that, for the subduing of that particular sin, the Lord has visited you with his fatherly rod. But,
Answer 8. Eighthly, Observe what sin that is—which did most sting and terrify you in an evil day, as when you past been under some loathsome disease or tormenting pain, Gen 42:21; be it stone, gout, or burning fever, or when you have been in some imminent danger, or when you have had a sentence of death upon you, and there has been but a short step between you and eternity. Doubtless that sin, which has lain as a heavy load upon your conscience in the days of your former distress—that is the sin which God would have conquered and brought under by his present rod. But,
Answer 9. Ninthly, Observe what particular sin is—which does most hinder you in holy duties and services, and which does most interrupt you in your communion with God. Inquire what particular sin that is, which your heart is most apt to run after, when you are on the mount of holy duties, Ezek 33:31. While the disciples were healing diseases and casting out demons, the proud white devil was a-stirring in their own souls, as is evident by that gentle rebuke which our Savior gives them in Luke 10:20, "Don't rejoice that the spirits submit to you." There is no pious duty which a Christian performs—but one white devil or another—one lust or another—will be still dogging and following of him to that duty. There is no public duty, there is no family duty, there is no private duty which a Christian performs—but either that white devil pride, or that white devil hypocrisy, or that white devil vainglory, or else some one or another white devil will follow the soul, near at heel to it. Now, mark what that particular sin is that most haunts your soul when you are in pious duties and services; and it perhaps that is the very sin which God would have subdued by the rod. But,
Answer 10. Tenthly, Observe what sin that is—which the rest of your corruptions are most serviceable to, and which they most attend upon. Mark what sin that is, which all other sins do most bow the knee to. Mark that sin which has a commanding power over all other sins; which says to one 'Go'
and he goes, and to another 'Come' and he comes. Mark what sin that is, which is still uppermost, and which all other sins do most serve. You know when a man has a great wound in his body, all the ill humours will run there. Observe what sin that is, which all the ill humours of the soul do most run after; for it is very likely that that is the very sin that God would have brought under by the rod. But,
Answer 11. Eleventhly, Observe what that sin is—which your hearts are most apt to hide and cloak, and cover over with the most specious and fair pretenses. Saul had a covetous desire, and he covers it over with the fair pretenses that the people would have it so; and that what was spared, was for sacrifice to God, 1 Sam 15:20-21. Caesar's favor was the great darling in Pilate's eyes—but he covers all over with washing his hands, Matt 27:24. The scribes and pharisees were exceeding covetous—but their long prayers, as a cloak, must cover all, Matt 23. Judas also was a man of the same mind and mettle with them: "Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year's wages and the money given to the poor." This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and kept the money bag, and stole what was put therein. Matt 26:8-9; John 12:5-6. Judas, as Tertullian thinks, was pretty honest until he carried the bag; but no sooner was he in office—but he puts conscience out of office—but all must be covered over with a cloak of charity. Observe what sin that is, which you are most apt to cast the silk or the satin mantle over; and it is ten to one but that is the sin that God would have brought under by the rod. But,
Answer 12. Twelfthly and lastly, Observe what that sin is— which you are most easily overcome by. Samson was easily overcome by Delilah; when all the world besides could make no conquest upon him. The apostle bids us "lay aside the sin that does so easily besets us," Heb 12:1. There are some sins that find more easy approaches to us, and more easy acceptance
with us, and accordingly they do more easily captivate us. Observe what that sin is, which you do most readily and easily open the door to; and doubtless that is the sin that God would have mortified and subdued by the rod.
(2.) The second lesson that you are to learn by the rod, or by the raging pestilence, is—deeply to judge yourselves and greatly to humble your souls, for those particular sins which have brought the rod upon you. Thus David did in that 2 Sam 24:10,17. When you have found out the Achan which has brought the rod upon you, stone him to death! and lie humble and low under the rod, and then the Almighty will be graciously pacified and sweetly reconciled unto you.
(3.) The third lesson that you are to learn by the rod, or by the raging pestilence, is—to view the rod on every side. If there are briars on one side of the rod, there is rosemary on the other side of the rod; if there be wormwood and gall at one end of the rod, there is sweet honey at the other end of the rod—as there was at the top of Jonathan's rod, 1 Sam 14:43.
If we should come into a painter's shop, and see a picture half drawn, it might trouble us and startle us, if it did not fright us and amaze us; but yet, when the picture is perfected, completed, and finished—it may prove a very beauteous, lovely, breathtaking piece. The application is easy. Look! as every judgment, every affliction, every rod, has its black, dark side; so every judgment, every affliction, has its bright side too. Now, it is the wisdom of a Christian to look on the bright side of the rod, as well as it is his work to look on the dark side of the rod. When a Christian looks upon the dark side of the cloud, he should be humbled and abased; but when he looks upon the bright side of the cloud, he should be comforted and cheered, James 5:11. He who is still a-looking on the briary side of the rod, will be very apt to fret and faint under the rod; but he who looks on the rosemary side of the rod, as well as the briary side of the rod—he
will bear up patiently, gallantly, and cheerfully under the rod. The voice of the rod is, "Look on both sides, look on both sides!" But,
(4.) The fourth lesson that you are to learn by the rod, or by the raging pestilence, is—to look on the rod in conjunction with the HAND which holds it. Thus Hezekiah did, 2 Kings 20:16-19; thus Aaron did, Lev 10:1-3; thus Eli did, 1 Sam 3:11-19; thus David did, Psalm 39:9; thus Job did, Job 1:20-22; yes, and thus Jesus did, John 18:11, "Shall I not drink the cup that my Father has given me to drink?" Though the cup was a bitter cup, a bloody cup—yet seeing it was put into his hand by his Father, he drinks it off, with a "Father, I thank you." The rod in itself brings nothing but pain to the child; but the rod in the hand of a Father brings nothing but love, kindness, and sweetness. Rev 3:19, "Whom he loves, he chastens." You should never look upon the rod of affliction, but as it is in the hand of your heavenly Father, and then you will kiss it, rather than murmur under it! But,
(5.) The fifth lesson that you are to learn by the rod, or by the raging pestilence, is to cleave and cling close to God under the rod. Oh how does the child cling and hang upon his father when he takes up the rod. Let such a child-like spirit be found in you, when the Father of spirits takes up the rod. When the rod was upon David's back, oh how does he cleave to God, even as the wife cleaves to her husband; "My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me." Psalm 63:8. So when Job was under the rod, oh how does he cling about God! Job 13:15, "Though he slays me—yet will I trust in him." Job will hang upon a killing God; so the church in that Psalm 80:15-18, etc.; so those hundred forty and four thousand who had their fathers' names written in their foreheads, Rev 14:1-6. O friends! you never show so much child-like love, nor so much child-like sincerity, nor so much child-like integrity—as you show when, under the
smarting rod, you are found clinging close to the Lord, and hanging upon the Lord by an exercise of grace.
When Antisthenes held up his staff, as if he intended to beat one of his scholars out of his school, the scholar told him "that he might strike him if he pleased—but he would never find a staff of so hard wood as should ever be able to beat him away." When no staff, no rod, no affliction, can drive us from Christ—it is a sure argument that we have profited much in the school of Christ. But,
(6.) The sixth lesson that you are to learn by the rod, or by the raging pestilence, is—to PREPARE to meet the Lord while the rod is in his hand: Amos 4:12, "Therefore thus will I do unto you, O Israel: and because I will do this unto you—prepare to meet your God, O Israel." Now there is a TWOFOLD PREPARATION.
[1.] The first is a negative preparation: and this lies in taking heed of sinning against light and conscience; for those sins which are against a clear light and an awakened conscience, are most wounding, devastating, terrifying, and damning.
[2.] Secondly, There is a positive preparation: and that consists in repentance and returning to the Lord, and in abasing and humbling yourselves before the Almighty, 2 Chron 7:14. As there is no running from God, so there is no contending with God; for what is the chaff to the whirlwind, or the stubble to a consuming fire? and therefore the voice of the rod is, "Prepare to meet the Lord in a way of faith and repentance; prepare to meet the Lord in an exercise of grace; prepare to meet the Lord with prayers, and tears, and strong cries." But,
(7.) The seventh lesson that you are to learn by the rod, or by the raging pestilence, is—to acknowledge God's sovereign power and authority over the rod—to break it, or burn
it, or take it off, or lay it on--as He pleases., Mic 6:13, Deut 28:58-61. "See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand." Deuteronomy 32:39. All diseases and sicknesses are under the command of God; they are all his sergeants, his servants, to execute his pleasure.
"When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. "Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering." Jesus said to him, "I will go and heal him." The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith." Matthew 8:5-10. But wherein did the greatness of the centurion's faith appear? Why, in this very acknowledgment, that all diseases were to Christ as servants, and that they were as much under the command of Jesus Christ, as any servant is under the command of his master. When Christ bids diseases—'go and afflict such a man,' they go; 'go and torment such a man,' they go; 'go and kill such a man,' they go. When He calls them off--they come off at His call. Dear friends, it is a very great point of faith to believe these five things.
[1.] First, That God is the author of all the diseases, maladies, and sicknesses that are in the world; and that he sets them on and calls them off at his own good will and pleasure: Amos 3:6, "When disaster comes to a city, has not the Lord caused it?" He speaks of the evil of punishment, and not of the evil of sin. It was a mad principle among the Manichees, who referred all calamities to the devil for their
author, as if there could be evil in the city, and the Lord have no hand in it.
[2.] Secondly, It is a great point of faith to believe that all diseases and sicknesses are limited by God, in respect of PLACES. God sent diseases of all sorts into Egypt—but he forbade them Goshen, Exod 8:20-23; Exod 9:23-26. Ponder seriously upon these scriptures. God's shooting his arrows into one town and not into another, into one city and not into another, into one kingdom and not into another, into one family and not into another—does sufficiently evidence that all diseases and sicknesses are limited by the Holy One of Israel in respect of places.
[3.] Thirdly, It is a very great point of faith to believe that all sicknesses and diseases are limited by God in respect of PERSONS. That they are so, is evident in that Psalm 91:3-8; Isa 65:12. But who lives in the faith of this truth? Sometimes in the same house one is infected, and the other is not; sometimes in the same bed the one is smitten, and the other is not; sometimes at the same table the one is taken away, and the other is left, etc.; and this does Soundly evidence and witness that all sicknesses and diseases are limited by God in respect of persons as well as in respect of places. But,
[4.] Fourthly, It is a great point of faith to believe that all diseases and sicknesses are limited by God in respect of the DEGREES to which they shall arise. That God that sets bounds to the raging sea, and that says unto it, "Thus far shall you go, and no farther," that God sets bounds to all raging diseases and sicknesses, and says unto them, Thus far you shall go, and no farther. He sets bounds to the fever; he says to it, Go and scorch and burn up such a body so much, and no more; and to the disease, Go and devastate such a body so much, and no more; and to the raging pestilence, Go and weaken such a body
so much, and no more; and to the stone, Go and torment such a body so much, and no more. But,
[5.] Fifthly, It is a very great point of faith to believe that all diseases and sicknesses are limited by God as to their CONTINUANCE. God says to one disease, Go, hang upon such a man so many years; to another, Go, hang upon such a man but a few years; and to another, Go, hang upon such a man but a year; and to another, Go, hang upon such a man but a few months; and to another, Go, hang upon such a man but a few weeks; and to another, go, hang upon such a man but a few days; and to another, go, hang upon such a man but a few hours, etc. And accordingly it comes to pass. But,
(8.) The eighth lesson that you are to learn by the rod, or by the raging pestilence, is—to get more weaned and more mortified affections to all worldly comforts, contentments, and enjoyments. [Gal 5:24; 1 Cor 7:29-81; Eccles 1:2; Prov 23:5; Jer 45:4-5] A man never comes to experience so much of the emptiness, the nothingness, the uselessness, the vanity, the mutability, the impotency, the insufficiency, and the uncertainty of all worldly comforts and enjoyments—as when he comes to fall under the rod. The constant cry of the rod is, "Be dead to the profits, pleasures, honors, and applauses of the world; be dead to relations, be dead to friends, be dead to everything below a living Jesus!" But,
(9.) The ninth lesson that you are to learn by the rod, or by the raging pestilence is—to get assurance of greater and better things than any this world does afford, Heb 10:33-34. That saying is as true as it is old, namely, that the assurance of an eternal life is the life of this temporal life. But having spoke so much of this particular in my treatise on assurance, which is now in your hands, I shall satisfy myself with this hint at present. But,
(10.) The tenth lesson that you are to learn by the rod, or by the raging pestilence, is—not to despise the rod. Heb 12:5, "My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord." The Greek word which is translated despise, signifies the littling of a thing. Oh! do not little the rod, do not lessen it, do not slight it, do not make a tush at it, do not set light by it, do not say, 'I will not regard it!' He who does, shows himself more of Stoic, than a Christian. Now, because there is such a desperate aptness and proneness in many to make light of the rod, it will be your wisdom seriously to lay to heart these four particulars:
[1.] First, That it is the DIRECT hand of God, Amos 3:6; Deut 28:58-61, and therefore not to be despised. It is a sad and sinful thing to despise the indirect hand of God; but it is more sad and sinful to despise the direct hand of God. But,
[2.] Secondly, It is a MIGHTY hand of God: 1 Pet 5:6, "Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time." Certainly that heart must be mightily wicked, which dares despise the mighty hand of God, Amos 4:10; Ezra 38:22-23.
[3.] Thirdly, It is an ANGRY hand of God, and therefore do not despise it: Psalm 90:7, "For we are consumed by your anger, and by your wrath are we troubled." Psalm 90:11, "Who knows the power of your anger? even according to your fear, so is your wrath." Shall devils tremble under his angry hand? yes, shall they roar as the sea under his wrathful hand, (as the Greek word signifies in James 2:19,) and will you presume to despise his angry hand? The Lord forbid, Num 16:46; Ezra 33:27-29; Deut 29:22-25. But,
[4.] Fourthly and lastly, Consider that it is a HOLY hand, it is a JUST and RIGHTEOUS hand, it is a FAITHFUL hand of God; and therefore do not despise it; Jer 29:17-19; Lev 26:25; Jer 14:12-16; Psalm 119:75, "I know, O Lord, that your
judgments are right, or righteousness, and that you in faithfulness have afflicted me." Psalm 119:137, "Righteous are you, O Lord, and upright are your judgments." Certainly none but unholy people will be so impudent as to despise God's holy hand. Well,
(11.) The eleventh lesson that you are to learn by the rod, or by the raging pestilence, is— not to be discouraged under the rod, Jer 27:13; 2 Sam 24:10,17; Heb 12:5, "Nor faint when you are rebuked of him."
First, It is a rod in a Father's hand; and therefore do not faint under it.
Secondly, God will do much good by the rod, and therefore do not faint under the rod.
Thirdly, You could not have been without the rod; and therefore do not faint under the rod.
Fourthly, The rod which is now upon you, is not according to the greatness of God's anger, nor according to the greatness of his power, nor according to the strictness of his justice, nor according to the demerits of your sins, nor according to the malicious desires of Satan, nor according to the designs, plots, and contrivances of wicked and unreasonable men, nor according to the extensiveness of your fears—for you have feared worse things than you feel—nor according to that sharp rod which has been upon the primitive saints, nor according to that sharp rod which many thousands of the precious sons and daughters of Zion are under in other parts of the world. Therefore do not faint under the rod, do not be discouraged under the rod.
Fifthly, by fainting under the rod, you will gratify Satan, reproach religion, render yourselves unserviceable, and make
work for future repentance; and therefore do not faint under the rod. But,
(12.) The twelfth lesson that you are to learn under the rod, or by the raging pestilence, is—humbly to kiss the rod, and patiently and quietly to lie under the rod, until the Lord shall either give you a gracious, or a glorious, deliverance from it. [2 Chron 32:25-26; Lev 26:40-42; Mic 7:9; Lam 3:30] What is the rod, and what is the raging pestilence, compared to the horrors of conscience, and to the flames of hell, or to an everlasting separation from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power? 2 Thess 1:8-9. And therefore put your mouths in the dust, and be silent before the Lord. He who has deserved a hanging, if he escapes with a whipping, has no cause to murmur or complain. We who have deserved a damning—have little cause to murmur or complain of a whipping, yes, though it should be with a pestilential rod. But,
(13.) The thirteenth lesson that you are to learn by the rod, or by the raging pestilence, is—highly, fully, freely, and signally to justify the Lord, and to think well of the Lord, and to speak well of the Lord under the rod. To that purpose, consult these scriptures, Psalm 119:75,137; Neh 9:33; Ezra 9:13; Lam 1:3,5,7-8,10; Lam 4:15,18; Dan 9:12,14; 2 Kings 20:16-19; Jer 12:1-2; Psalm 119:17-22; Psalm 22:1-3; Psalm 97:2. But,
(14.) The fourteenth lesson that you are to learn by the rod, or by the raging pestilence, is—personal reformation. When the rod smarts, and the pestilence rages—God expects that every man should smite upon his thigh, and turn from the evil of his doings. 2 Chron 7:13-14, "When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land;" that is, "I will
remove the judgments that are upon the land, and I will confer upon my reforming people all those favors and blessings that they stand in need of." Consult these scriptures, Ezra 10:14,19; 2 Chron 30:8-9; and 2 Chron 29:8,10,15-16. But,
(15.) The fifteenth lesson that you are to learn by the rod, or by the raging pestilence, is—to make God your habitation, your shelter, your refuge. Ponder seriously upon those scriptures, Psalm 91:2,9-10; Psalm 90:1; Psalm 71:3; Psalm 57:1. They dwell most safely, most securely, most nobly, who dwell in God, who live under the shadow of the Almighty, and who every day lodge their souls in the bosom of eternal loves. But,
(16.) The sixteenth lesson that you are to learn by the rod, or the raging pestilence, is—to set up God as the great object of your fear: Psalm 119:119-120; Isa 8:7-8,13-14, compared. When the judgments of God are either threatened or executed, feared or felt—it highly concerns us to lift up God as the main object of our fear. We should fear that hand which lays on the rod—more than the rod itself! Job 13:11; Jer 36:24. When God takes up the rod, when he draws his sword, and when he shoots his pestilential arrows among us—oh how highly does it concern us to fear before him with a child-like fear, with a reverential fear, with a fear which fortifies the heart against sin, and with a fear which fits the soul for duty, and which draws, yes, drives the soul to duty. But.
(17.) The seventeenth lesson that you are to learn by the rod, or by the raging pestilence, is—to expect God's singular presence with you, and his admirable protection over you. Consult these scriptures, Isa 43:2; Dan 3:24-25; Gen 39:39-40; Psalm 23:4-5; Psalm 91; Isa 63:9; Isa 26:20-21; Ezek 9:4,6. God is above his people and beneath them, Deut 33:25-27. He is under them and over them, Song 2:6. He is before them and behind them, Isa 52:12, and Isa 58:8. He is on the right hand of his people, and he is on the left hand of his people,
Psalm 16:8; Psalm 121:5; Psalm 118:15-16; Exod 14:22,29. God is round about his people, Psalm 34:7; Psalm 125:2. And God is in the midst of his people, Zech 2:5; Psalm 46:5; Psalm 12:6. Oh, the safety, the security of the poor people of God—for God is above his people and beneath them, he is under them and over them, he is before them and behind them, he is in the front and in the rear, and he is round about them and in the midst of them. But,
(18.) The eighteenth lesson that you are to learn by the rod, or by the raging pestilence, is—to live every day in a fresh, choice, and frequent exercise of grace. Consult these scriptures, Psalm 91:2-4; Jer 39:17-18; Mic 7:7-9; Psalm 40:1-2; Hab 2:1-4; Jer 30:21. That man who lives daily in an exercise of grace—that man lives every day in heaven on this side heaven, whatever affliction or judgment he is under.
(19.) The nineteenth lesson that you are to learn by the rod, or by the raging pestilence, is—to quicken up your hearts to seek the Lord by extraordinary ways and means, namely, by fasting and prayer. Consult these scriptures, Num 16:46, seq.; Psalm 106:23,29-30; Isa 22:2-5,12-13; Jon 3:5, seq.; 2 Chron 12:2-7; 1 Kings 21:21, seq.; Joel 2:12-17. But,
(20.) The twentieth, and so the last, lesson that you are to learn by the rod, or by the raging pestilence, is—to prepare for death; it is to be in actual readiness to die. Ah, friends! every ache, every pain, every disease—is one of death's warning pieces. There is not a headache, not a toothache, not a fever, not a grief, not a fall, not a wrench, not a plague-sore—but is a divine warning to man to prepare to die. It is a solemn work to die; and therefore we had need prepare to die. It is a work that is to be done but once; and therefore we had need prepare to do that work well, which is to be done but once.
In this world we hear often, and pray often, and read often, and meditate often, and eat often, and drink often, and that which is worst, we sin often; but we must die but once, Job 14:14; Heb 9:27. Death will try all our graces, and all our experiences, and all our evidences, and all our comforts, and all our attainments, and all our enjoyments; and therefore we had need to prepare to die. Though there is nothing more certain than death—yet there is nothing more uncertain than:
(1.) the time when we shall die;
(2.) the place where we shall die;
(3.) the manner how we shall die.
As whether we shall die a sudden death, or a lingering death, or a violent death; or whether we shall fall by the sword abroad, or by famine or pestilence at home; or whether we shall fall by this disease or that illness; and therefore we had need be always in an actual readiness to die. No man shall die the sooner—but much the easier and the better, for preparing to die; and therefore let us always have our loins girt and our lamps burning. As death leaves us—so judgment will find us! Therefore we have very great cause to secure our saving interest in Christ, a changed nature, and a pardon in our bosoms, that so we might have nothing to do but to die. Except we prepare to die, all other preparations will do us no good. In a word—death is a change, a great change; it is the last change until the resurrection; it is lasting, yes, an everlasting change; for it puts a man into an eternal condition of happiness or misery; it is a universal change; all people must pass under this flaming sword. That statute law, "Dust you are—and unto dust you shall return," will sooner or later take hold on all mortals, Gen 3:18; and therefore it highly concerns us to prepare for death.
And thus I have shown you these lessons which you are to learn by the rod. The Lord grant that your souls may fall under those fresh, those choice, those full, and those constant influences and communications of his Holy Spirit, as may enable you to take out those twenty lessons that I have laid open before you. I confess the epistle is large—but do but consider your own conditions, and the present dispensations under which we are cast—and then I suppose you will not call it by the name of a tedious epistle
Twenty arguments to persuade you to
closet prayer
These words of our Savior are plain, and to be taken literally, and not allegorically, for he speaks of 'shutting the door' of the chamber. In this chapter there is a manifest opposition between the Pharisees praying in the synagogues and corners of the streets, and others praying in secret.
In the text you have a positive precept for every Christian to pray alone: "But you, when you pray, enter into your closet," etc., as speaking not so much of a joint duty of many praying together, as of a duty which each person is to do alone. The command in the text sends us as well to the closet as to the church; and he is a pious hypocrite, who chooses the one and neglects the other. He who puts on a religious demeanor abroad to gain himself a great name among men, and at the same time lives like an atheist at home, shall at the last be unmasked by God, and presented before all the world for a most detestable hypocrite.
Bellarmine and some others turn the text into an allegory. They say that in these words there are two allegories. First, the chamber door is the sense, "shut the door," that is, say they, your sense, lest vain imaginations and worldly thoughts distract your mind in praying. Secondly, the door, say they, is our mouth, "shut your door," that is, your lips, say they, and let your prayer be like the prayer of Hannah, conceived in your mind— but not uttered with your mouth. It is usual with papists and other monkish men who lie in wait to deceive, to turn the blessed Scriptures into a nose of wax, under pretense of allegories and mysteries. Origen was a great admirer of allegories. By the strength of his mental abilities and wanton wit, he turned most of the Scriptures into allegories; and by the just judgment of God upon him, he foolishly understood and absurdly applied that Matt 19:12 literally, "Some have made themselves chaste for the kingdom of heaven," and so castrated himself. And indeed he might as well have plucked out one of his eyes upon the same account, because Christ says, "It is better to go to heaven with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire," Matt 18:9.
In all ages heretics have commonly defended their heresies by translating of scriptures into allegories. The apostle speaks of such as, denying the resurrection of the body, turn all the testimonies of the resurrection into an allegory, meaning thereby only the spiritual resurrection of the soul from sin, of which sort was Hymenaeus and Philetus, who destroyed the faith of some, saying "the resurrection was past already," 2 Tim 2:17-18. And are there not many among us who turn the whole history of the Bible into an allegory, and who turn Christ, and sin, and death, and the soul, and hell, and heaven, and all into an allegory? Many have and many do miserably pervert the Scriptures by turning them into vain and groundless allegories. Some wanton wits have expounded paradise to be the soul, man to be the mind, the woman to be the sense, the serpent to be delight, the tree of knowledge of good and evil to be wisdom,