CHAP V
Adverſity a Furnace to try our Graces.
4CHAP.
V Shewingwhat probation adverſity makes of the fincerity or unfoundness of our hearts.
SECT.
HAT adverſity is a furnace to try of what metal our T hearts are, none can doubt, that hath either ſtudied the ſcuptures, or obſerved his own heart under afflictions.
When the droſs and ruft of hypocrify and corruption hadalmoſteaten out the heartof religionamong theJews, then faith
God, " I will melt them, and try them; for what ſhall Ido " for thedaughter of my people ?" Jer ix. 7. Here affliction isthe furnace, and the people are the metal caſt into it, and theend of it is trial.
I will melt them, andtry them , what other courſe ſhall I take with them ?
If I let them alone, their lufts, like the ruſt and canker in metals, will eat them out.
Profperity multiplies profeffors, andadverſitybring them tothe test; thenhirelings quickly become changlings. The guilded potſherdgliſters till it come to ſcouring. The devil thoughtJob had been fuchaone, and moves that he may be tried this way; being confidenthe wouldbe foundbut droſs inthe trial,
Job i. 11. But though the furnace ofaffliction discovered ſome droſs inhim (as it will in the beſt of men) yet he came forth as gold.
In this furnace alſo grace is manifeſted: it is ſaid, Rev. xiii.
10. " Here is the faith and patience of the faints ;" i e. here isthe trial anddiſcovery of it in theſe days of adverſity.
It was aweighty ſaying of * Tertullian to the perfecutors of the church inhis days, Probatio innocentiae noftrae, eft iniquitas veftra; Your wickedneſs is the trial of our innocency.
Conſtantius, the father of Conſtantine, made an exploratory decree, that all who would not renounce the Chriſtian faith, ſhould loſe their places of honour and profit.
This preſently ſeparated the droſs from the gold, whichwas hisdeſign; for many renounced Chriſtianity, and thereupon were renounced byhim ; and those thatheldtheir integrity, were receivedinto favour.
Intime of profperity, hypocrify lies covered in the heart like neſts inthe greenbushes ; butwhenthewinter of adver- * Tertul. inApol.
Adverſity a Furnace to try our Graces. fity hath made them bare, every body may ſee them without ſearching.
But to fall into cloſer particulars ; it will be neceffary toenquire what effects of adverſity are commontoboth the found and the unfound; and then what are proper to either inthis cloſe trial by adverſity.
SECT.
II.
ITwill beexpedient tothedeſign I manage in this diſcourſe, to ſhew in the firſt place what are the common effects of adverſity toboththe godly and ungodly; for in ſome things they differ not, but as it is with the one, ſo alſo with the other : As,
1. First, Both the godlyand ungodlymayfear adverſity before it comes : to be fure a wicked man cannot, and it is evident many godly mendonot, come up to the height of that rule, James i. 2. " To account italljoywhen they fall into di- " verſe temptations," or trialsbyadverſity.
It is faid, Ifa. xxxiii. 14. " The finners in Zion are afraid; " trembling furprizeth the hypocrite ;" namely, under the apprehenfion of approaching calamities; and it is true alſo, the \ faints in Zion may be afraid : "My fleſh trembleth for fear of " thee; and I am afraid of thy judgments," said holy David,
Pfal. cxix. 120. and Job iii . 23. " The thing which I greatly " feared(faith thatupright foul) is come upon me." There isa vaſt differencebetwixt a ſaint's firſt meeting with afflictions, and hispartingwiththem; he entertainsthem ſometimes with trembling; he parts with them rejoicing, ſmiling onthem, andbleffingthem in the name of the Lord. So that by this the upright, and the falſe heart, are not diſcriminated; even ſanctified nature declines ſuffering and troubles.
2. Secondly, Both the godly and ungodlymay entertain afAictions with regret and unwillingness when they come. Affictions and troubles are wormwood and gall, Lam. iii. 19.
Andthat goes notdownpleasantly with fleshandblood, Heb. xii. 11 .
No affliction for the preſent ſeemeth joyous, but " grievous ;" he means toGod's own people ; they are in heavineſs through manifold temptations or trials bythe rod,
1 Pet. i. 6.
WhenGodgives the cup of affliction into the hands of the wicked, how do they reluctate and loath it ? Howdotheir ſtomachs riſe at it ? Andthoughthe portion of the faints cup bemuch ſweeterthan theirs,(for that bitter ingredient ofGod's vindictive wrath is not in it), yet eventhey ſhrink from it, and loth theyare to taſte it.
Adverſity a Furnace to try our Graces.
3. Thirdly, Both the one and other may be impatient and fretful in adverſity; it is the very nature of flesh andblood to be fo.
" The wicked are like the troubled ſea, which cannot 65 reft, whoſe waters caſt forth mire and dirt," Ifa. lvii. 20.
It is an alluſion tothe unſtable and ſtormy ocean : you know there is naturallyan eſtuation andworking inthe fea, whether itbe incenſedbythe wind or no; but if a violent windblow upon the unquiet ocean, O what a raging and foaming is there ! what abundance of traſh and filth doth it at ſuch times caft out!
Now, though grace make a great difference betwixt one and another, yet I dare not ſay, but even a gracious heart may be very unquiet and tumultuous in the day of affliction.
Sanctified fouls have their paſſions and lufts which are too little mortified; evenas ſweat-briar andholy-thiſtles have their prickles, as wellas the worthless bramble.
Jonah was a good man, yet his foulwas ſadlydiſtempered by adverſe providences ; Jonah iv. 9.
" Yea, (faith he, and that tohisGod) Ido well to be angry, "evenuntodeath."
4. Fourthly, Both theone andthe other maybe weary of the rod, and think the day of adverſitya tedious day, wiſhing it wereonce at an end.
Babylon ſhall beweary of the evil that Godwill bring upon it, Jer. li. ult. AndO that none of Zion's children were weary of adverſity too! How ſad a moan doth
Job make of his long continued affliction, Job xvi. 6, 7.
" Though I ſpeak, my grief is not aſſuaged ; and though I " forbear, what am I eaſed ?
But now he hath made me " weary."
And if you look into Pſalm vi. 3, 6. you may fee another ſtrong Chriſtianeven tired intheway of affliction : "My foul
(faith David in that place) is ſore vexed, butthou, O Lord, " how long ? I am weary with mygroaning."
5. Fifthly, Both the one andthe othermay bedriven totheir knees by adverſity.
Lord, in trouble have they viſited thee; theyhave poured out a prayer when thy chaſteningwas upon them," Ifa. xxvi. 16.
Not that agodly perton will pray no longer than the rod is at his back ; Ono, he cannot live without prayer long, howfew calls foever he hath to that duty
" by the rod ; butwhen the rod is on his back, he will be more frequently and more fervently upon his knees; indeed many graceleſs hearts are like childrens tops, which will go no longer than they are whipt; they cannot find their knees and their tongues, till God find a rod to excite them. A dangerous ſymptom. The fameaffliction may put a gracious, anda grace-
Adversity a Furnace to try our Graces. leſs ſoul to their knees ; but though in the external matter of duty, and in the external call oroccaſion of duty, they ſeem to agree, yet is there a vaſt difference inthe principles, manner, and ends of theſe their duties; as will evidently appear in its proper place in our following diſcourſe.
But bywhat hath been ſaid in this section, you may ſee how in ſome things the holy upright foul acts too like the unſanctified, and in other thingshow much the hypocrite may act like a faint; he may be externally humbled, ſo was Ahab ; he may prayunder therod, Mal. ii.
3. yea, and request others topray forhim, ſodid Simon, Acts viii. 24.
SECT.
III.
BUT though the found and unfound heartdiffer not in ſome external carriages under the rod, yet there are effects of adverſitywhich are proper to either, and will difcriminate them.
To which end let us firſt ſee what effects adverſity is usually followed withal in unfound and carnal hearts ; and we shall find among others, theſe five ſymptoms of anaughty heart appearingundercroſſes and afflictions.
1. First, Agraceleſs heart is not quickly and easily brought to ſee thehand ofGod in thoſe troubles that befal it, and be duly affected with it; Ifa. xxvi. 11. " Lord, when thy hand is
" lifted up, they will not fee:" when it has ſmitten, or is lifted up to ſmite, they ſhut their eyes ; it is the malice of this man, or the negligence of that, or the unfaithfulness of another, that hath brought all this troubleuponmc.
Thus the creature is the horizon thatterminates their fight, and beyond that they uſually fee nothing.
Sometimes indeedthe hand ofGod isfo immediately manifeſted, and convincingly discovered in afflic tions, that they cannot avoid the fight of it, and then they may, in theirway, pour out a prayer before him; but ordinarily they impute all to ſecond cauſes, and overlook the firſt cauſe of their troubles.
2. Secondly, Nor is it usual with theſe men under the rod to retire into their cloſets, and fearch their hearts there, to find out the particular cauſe and provocation of their affliction :
" Noman repented himof his wickedneſs, ſaying, What have " I done ?" Jer. viii. 6.
What curſed thing is there with me, thathath thus incenſedthe anger ofGod againſt me ! God vi fits their iniquities with afflictions, but they viſit not their own hearts by ſelf-examinations. God judges them, but theyjudge not themselves: He ſhews their iniquities in a clear glaſs, but none faith, What have I done ?
This phrafe, What haveI
Adverfity & Furnace to try our Graces.
done? is the voice of one that recollects himself after a rath action; or the voice of a man aftoniſhed at the discovery afflictionsmake of his fins , but no fuch voice as this is ordinarily heard among carnal men.
3.Thirdly, An unfoundprofeffor, if lefttohis choice, would rather chuſe ſinthan affliction ; andfees more evil in that, than inthis.
And it cannot be doubted, if we confider the principleby whichallunregenerate menare acted, is ſenſe,notfaith. Hence
Job's friends wouldhave argued his hypocrify, Job xxxvi. 21.
And had their application beenas right as their rule, it would haveconcludedit; This (viz. fin) hast thou chofen, rather than affliction.
Idonot ſay that an upright man cannot commit a moral evil, to eſcape a penal evil. O that daily obſervationdid not tooplentifully furnith us with fadinſtances of that kind ! But uprightonesdo not, dare not, uponaſerious deliberate difcuffionanddebate, chuſe ſin rather than affliction ; what they maydo upon ſurpriſals, andin the violence of temptation, is of another nature.
Buta falfe andunfound heartdiscovers itself in the choice it makes upon deliberation, and that frequently when fin and troublecome in competition.
Put the cafe, faith Auguſtine, a ruffian ſhould with one hand fetthe cup of drunkenneſs to thy mouth, and with the otheradagger tothy breaſt, and fay, drink or die; thou ſhouldeſt rather chuſe todie fober, than to liveadrunkard: Andmany Chriſtians have reſiſteduntoblood,
Ariving against fin, and, with renownedMoſes, choſenafflic. tion, the worst of afflictions, yea, death itſelf in the moſt for midableappearance, ratherthan fin; andit is the habitual temperand reſolution of every gracious heart ſo to do, though thoſeholy reſolutions are ſometimes over-borne by violence of temptation.
But the hypocritedreads leſs the defilement of his foul, than the lofs of his eſtate, liberty, or life.
Ifyou ask uponwhat groundthendoth the apoſtle ſuppoſe, 1 Cor. xiii. 3. a man may give his body to be burnt, and not have charity; that thesalamander of hypocrify may live in the flame of martyrdom? The answer is at hand; They that chuſedeath in the fenfeof this text, donotchuſe it toeſcape fin, but tofeedand indulge it. Thoſe ſtrange adventures (ifanyfuch be) are rather to maititain their own honour, and enrol theirnames among worthyandfamous perſons topoſterity; or out of ablindzeal
VOL. VII.
Adverſity a Furnace to try our Graces. to their eſpouſed errors and miſtakes, than in adue regardto thegloryofGod, andthe preſervation of integrity. ' I fearto
• ſpeak it, but it must be ſpoken, (faith * Hierom), That even • martyrdom itſelf, when ſuffered for admiration and applauſe,
*profits nothing, but that blood is thed in vain.'
4. Fourthly, It is theproperty of an unregenerate ſoul, under, adverſity, toturn from creature tocreature for ſupport and comfort, and not from every creature to God alone.
So long as their feet cantouchground, I mean, feel any creature relief or comfort under them, theycan ſubſiſt and live in afflictions ; butwhenthey loſe ground, when allcreature refuge fails, then their hearts fail too.
Thus Zedekiah, and the ſelf-deceiving Jews, when they faw theirown ftrength failed them, andthere was little hope left that they ſhould deliver themſelves from the Chaldeans, what. dothey in that ſtrait ? Do they, with upright Jehoſhaphat ſay,
" Our eyes are unto thee ?"
No, no, their eyes were upon Egypt for fuccour, not uponHeaven; well, Pharaoh and his aids are left ſtill, all hope is not gone, Jer. xxxvii. 9.
See the like in Ahaz, in a fore plunge and diſtreſs he courts the king of Affyria for help, 2 Chron. xxviii. 22, 23. Thatproject failing, why then he will try what the gods of Damafcus cando for. him; any wayrather than the right way, Flecterefinequeam fuperos, Acheronta movebo.
So it is with many others : if one childdie, whatdo they do, run toGod, and comfort themselves in this, the Lord liveth, though my child die.
If an eſtate be loſt, and a family ſinking, do they with David comfort themselves in the everlaſting covenant, ordered and fure ? No, no ; but if one relation die, there is another alive ; if an eſtatebe loſt, yet not all; ſomething is left ſtill, and the cafe willmend.
As long as ever tuch men have anyviſible encouragement, they will hang upon it; and not make up all in Chrift, and encouragethemſelves in the Lord. To tell them of rejoicing inthe Lord, when the fig-tree bloſſoms not, is what they cannot underſtand.
5. Fifthly, To conclude; an unfoundheart nevercomes out ofthe furnace of affliction purged, mortified, and more fpiritual andholy than whenhe was caſt into it; his ſcum and droſs isnot there ſeparated from him ; nay, the more they are afflic- * Times dicere, feddicendum eft; martyrium ipfumfiideo fiat ut admirationi et laudi habeatur a fratribus : fruftrafanguis effufus eft. Hier.
Adverſity a Furnace to try ourGraces.
" ted, the worſe they are.
Why ſhould ye be ſmitten any " more ? ye will revolt more and more," Ifa. i. 5. And, to keep toourmetaphor, confult Jer. vi. 29. Godhadput that incorrigible people into the furnace of affliction, and kept them long in that fire; and what was the iſſue ? Why, faith the prophet, " The bellows are burnt, the lead isconfumedof the " fire, the founder melteth in vain, &c. reprobate ſilver ſhall
" men call them, becauſe the Lordhath rejected them."
If the fire of affliction be continually blown tillthe very bellows be burnt, that is, the tongue, or rather the lungs of the prophet, which have ſome reſemblance tobellows; though theſe beevenſpent in reproving, and threatening, anddenouncing woeuponwoe,and judgment upon judgment, andGod fulfils his wordupon them; yet ſtill they are as before; the droſs remains : though Jerusalem be made a furnace, and the inhabitants the fleſh boiling in it, as is noted (pertinently to my diſcourſe) in Ezek. xxiv. 6, 13. the fcum remains with them, and cannot be ſeparatedby the fire; and the reaſon is plain, becauſe no affliction in itſelf purges ſin, but as it is ſanctified, and works in the virtue of God's bleſſing, and in pursuance of the promises.
O think on this you thathavehadthousands of afflictions in one kind and another, and none of them all havedone you good; they have not mortified, humbled, or benefited you at all: And thus you feewhat the effects of adverſity are, when it meets with agraceleſsheart.
SECT.
IV.
Y this time, reader, I ſuppoſe thou art desirous toknow meetwith anhonest and fincere heart : Only, before I come to particulars, I think it needful to acquaintthee, that the fruits of afflictions are moſtly after-fruits, and not ſodifcernableby theChriftian himself under the rod, as after he hath been exercifed by ir, Heb. xii. 11. and calmly relects upon what is paſt; nor doth every Chriſtian attain the fame meaſure and degree ; ſome rejoice, others commonly ſubmit; but I think theſe ſeven effects are ordinarilyfound in all upright hearts that paſs under therod.
1. First, The fincere and upright foul betakes itſelf toGod -in affliction ; Job i. 20. When God was ſmiting, Job was praying; when God afflicted, Job worſhipped:
So David, Plalm cxvi. 3, 4. " I found forrow and trouble, then called I U2
Adverſity a Furnace to try ourGraces.
"upon the name of the Lord." And whenthe meſſenger of Satanbuffered Paul, " For this cauſe(faithhe) Ibefought the " Lord thrice," 2 Cor. xii. 8. Alas ! whither ſhould a child go indiſtreſs, but to its father ?
2. Secondly, He fees and owns the hand of God in his afflic tions, howmuch or little foever of the inſtruments of trouble appear.
The Lordhath taken away, taith Job, Job i. 21. God hath bidden him, faith David, 2 Sam. xvi. 10.
If the blow comefrom the hand of a wicked man, yet he fees thatwicked hand inGod's righteous hand, Pialm xvii. 14. And this apprehenfion is fundamental to all that communion menhave withGod in their affl étions, and to all that peaceableneſs and gracious fubmiffion of their ſpirits underthe rod : Hethat lees nothing ofGod in his troubles, hath nothing ofGod in his foul.
3. Thirdly, He can juſtityGod in all the afflictions and troublesthat comeupon him, be they never ſo levere. " Thou
" art ju in all that is brought upon us," ſaith Nehemiah, Neh. ix. 33. " Thou hast puniſhed us leſs than our iniqui- " tiesdeferve," ſaith Ezra, Ezra ix. 13. " It isof the Lord's
" mercy we arenotconfumed," faith the church, Lam. iii. 22.
Arewe in Babylon ? It is a mercy we are not inhell.
IfGod condemn him, yethe will justifyGod; if God caſt him intoa ſea of trouble, yet he will acknowledge, inall that feaoftrouble, there is notonedrop of injustice. If Ihave notdeferved fuch uſage from the hands of men, yet I have deſerved worſe than this at the hands of God.
4. Fourthly, Afflictions use to melt and humble gracious hearts; there is an habitual tenderness plantedintheir ſpirits, andajuſt occafion quicklydraws it forth : And ſo uſual a thing it is for gracious hearts to be humbled under the afflictings of God, that affliction isuponthat ſcorecalled humiliation : effect putforthe cauſe, to ſhew where one is, the other will
The be, 2Cor. xii. 21. MyGod will humble me, i. e. he will afflict mewith the fight of your fins anddisorders ; and if agracious foulbe ſo apttobe humbled for other mens ſins, much more forhis own.
5. Fifthly, The upright foul is inquiſitive under the rod, to findout thatevil for which the Lord contendswith him by affliction ; Job x. 2. " Shew me wherefore thoucontendeſtwith
" me:" And Job xxxiv. 32. " That which I ſeenot, teach thou me :
If Ihavedone iniquity Iwilldo no more." So Lam. iii. 39, 40. " Letus ſearch and tryour ways, andturn a- "gain to the Lord." In afflicting,God ſearches them, andupder affiction theyſearch themselves : Willingtheyare tohear
Adversity a Furnace to try our Graces.
thevoiceof therod, and glad of anydiscovery it makes oftheir hearts.
Sixthly, The upright heart chuſeth to ly under affliction, rather than to be delivered from itby fin.
I ſay, this isthe choiceandreſolution of everyupright heart, howeverit maybe ſometimes over-borne bythe violence of temptation, Heb. xi.
35. Notacceptingdeliverance, viz. upon finful terms andconditions.
They are ſenſiblehow the fleſh ſmarts under the rod, buthad rather it ſhould finart, thanconfcience ſhould smart underguilt.
Affliction, faithan upright foul, grieves me, but fin willgrieve God; affliction wounds my fleſh, but fin will wound myfoul.
Deliverance I long for, but I will not pay ſo dear for it, how much ſoever Idefire it : Nolo tanti emere poenitentiam : Outward eaſe is ſweet, butinward peace is ſweeter.
7. Seventhly, He prizeth the ſpiritual goodgottenby afflietion, above deliverance from it, and can bleſsGod from his heart for thoſe mercies, howdear ſoever his flemhath paid for them; Pfalm cxix. 67, and71. " Itis good for me that Ihave
" been afflicted."
Such is the value the people ofGodhave for ſpiritual graces, that theycannot think them dear, whatever their fleſh hath paid forthem.
The mortification of one luft, one discoveryof fincerity, one manifeſtation of God to their fouls, doth much more than makeamends for all that they haveenduredunder the rud.
Is patience improved, ſelf-acquaintance increaſed, the vanity ofthecreaturemore effectuallytaught, longings after heaven enflamed ? O bleſſed afflictions, that are attended with ſuch bleſſedfruits !
Itwas the ſaying of a holyman, under a fore trouble for thedeath of anonlyfon,when inthatdarkdayGod hadgraciouslymanifeſtedhimself tohis foul ;
'O, (faith he) I 'wouldbecontented, if itwere poſſible, to layanonly fon in thegrave everyday I have to live inthe world, for one fuch
*diſcoveryof the love of Godas Inow enjoy.'