A Posing Question Put by the Wise Man, Treatise · Chapter 12
CHAP. XII.
2 WE come now to ſhew you, that you are to make a judgment of your condition, by what you make of your condition, and what you have gained by it. The great Queſtion you are to put to your ſelves, is, Whether you are Spiritual gainers or loſers by your condition? The truth is this, Every Temporal condition is Evil for a man, by which he is a Spirituall loſer. In an Afflicted condition, all will confeſs they are Temporal loſers; They will tell you, they have loſt Houſes, and Eſtates, and Wife, and Children, and this, and the other Comfort: But the Queſtion is, Whether you are Spiritual gainers, by your temporal loſſes. I have told you before, An Afflicted condition, is a condition that may be improved to Spiritual advantages: Although it ſeemeth a barren condition, yet it is improveable. Iſa. 41. 19. God ſaid, he would plant in the Wilderneſs, the Cedar, Shittah Tree, and the Myrtle Tree, &c. He ſpeaks there of making the Wilderneſs Fruitful. An Afflicted condition, is a Wilderneſs-condition, and we ſhould ſee what Fruitfulneſs there is in it. It is ſometimes with conditions, according to what the Pſalmiſt ſpeaketh in another caſe, Pſal. 107. 34. He turneth a fruitful land into barrenneſs. And Verſe 35. He turneth a Wilderneſs into Springs of Water. There are ſome conditions, that ſeem outwardly fruitful, (viz.) Proſperous conditions: And theſe ſometimes are turned into barrenneſs; ſome are ſpiritually barren in that condition. Some there are, whoſe condition is a Wilderneſs, and yet this condition is turned into ſprings of water, and is made fruitful. Chriſtians ſhould ſee, Whether they are fruitful in the land of their Affliction. You have a paſſage, in Gen. 41. 52. That Joſeph called his Sons Name Ephraim, For (ſaith he) God hath made me fruitful in the land of my Affliction. Chriſtians ſhould look, what fruit their Afflicted condition beareth, and what they gather from it. It is a condition planted with Thorns and Thiſtles; but I have told you before, That there is a Spiritual Art, of gathering Figgs, from theſe Thorns; and Grapes, from theſe Thiſtles. God, in Afflicting, intends our profit, and gain, and good, Heb. 12. 10. It is our work, to ſee whether we profit by Afflictions. We can never ſay, An Affliction is good for us, till we can ſay, This Affliction is for my profit. And, as David did, It is good for me that I have been Afflicted.
This having been ſpoken in General, I ſhall now come to ſhew you in ſome particulars, how you may know, Whether you are gainers by an Afflicted condition.
Before I come to ſpeak to them; You muſt conſider, under what Notions and Names, the Scripture preſenteth them to us: By which you may ſee, What is God's aime, and end, in ſending them. And wee ſhould ſee, whether the Affliction hath done that work upon us, that anſwers to the Ends and Intentions of God, for which he ſent it. Now that will be diſcovered thus, by conſidering theſe things.
1. Affliction is God's Furnace, Iſa. 48. 10. I have choſen thee in the Furnace of Affliction. Iſa. 31. 9. When God Afflicted Jeruſalem, he is ſaid, To have his Fire in Sion, and his Furnace in Jeruſalem. Affliction is God's Fire and Furnace. Now, what is the Fire and Furnace to do? It is to Melt, and Try; and Refine, and Purify. Chriſtians, in an Afflicted Condition, are to ſee, Whether the Furnace hath done this work upon them? Whether it hath Purified and Refined them? They are to conſider, what they were when they went into the Furnace, and what they are when they come out. We read, Zach. 13. 9. God ſaith, he would bring a third part through the fire, and he would try them as Silver is tryed. Job (chap. 23. 10.) ſaith in his Afflicted Condition, When he hath tryed me, I ſhall come forth like Gold. (i. e.) Pure and Gliſtering. He ſhould come forth better then he went in. This is the great thing we have to do, to ſee whether we come better out of the Furnace of Affliction, then when we went in; whether we come forth like Gold. The Furnace doth two things.
It
1. Melteth.
2. Refineth.
1. It melteth that, that is meltable; And we are to ſee, What melting work Affliction hath done upon us. Some are not melted, becauſe they are as ſtones in the Furnace. Caſt a ſtone into the Furnace, it goeth in a ſtone, and it comes forth a ſtone. It is heated, but is not melted. There are many come out of an Affliction, the ſame they went in. It is ſaid of Pharoah, at the end of every Plague that befell him, That his heart was hardned. He went in hardned, and ſo he came out; he went a ſtone into the Furnace, and ſo he came forth. It is our great work in an Afflicted condition, to ſee how we come forth, to ſee whether Affliction melteth us. There is an expreſſion, Pſal. 107. 26. Their hearts melted becauſe of trouble. We ſhould ſee, Whether Afflictions do melt our hearts? Whether it hath melted a Proud Heart into Humility? An hard Heart into Softneſs? A Rebellious Heart into Obedience? Ephraim confeſſeth, Affliction wrought this work upon him, Jer. 31. 18. Thus you are to ſee, What Affliction hath wrought upon you by way of melting.
2. You are to ſee, What Affliction hath done by way of Refining and Purifying. That is the other work of the Furnace, (viz.) To Refine. It is to ſeparate the droſs from the Silver; and to take away impure mixtures. When you went into the Furnace you went in droſs, but do you come forth as Gold? Some come forth but droſs. The Lord ſpeaks of ſuch, Jer. 6. 29, 30. They went in droſs, and ſo they came out. Verſ. 29. The Bellows are burnt, the Lead is conſumed in the fire, the Founder melteth in vain. The Lord there ſpeaketh of Himſelf, as a Founder that hath taken much paines, to little purpoſe: He had burned his Bellows, but all was in vain, the wicked were not taken away. Verſ. 28. They were Braſs and Iron. God looked that they ſhould have been Silver and Gold, when they were in the Furnace. Gods Furnace of Affliction, is, for a Tranſmutation of Metalls, to turn Iron and Braſs, into Silver and Gold: But they were baſe and corrupt ſtill. At beſt, they were but Reprobate Silver; As the Prophet ſtyles them, Verſ. 30. Reprobate Silver ſhall men call them: Or as it is in the Margin of your Bibles, Refuſe Silver; Such Silver, from which the droſs would not be ſeparated by the Fire of the Furnace of Affliction; ſo they came out of the Furnace as they went in. We read, Ezeck. 24. 12. God had ſet Iſrael on the fire, but yet her great ſcum went not out of ber. It began to boyle up, but it did not boyle out. Verſ. 13. They were not purged. They came off the fire as they went on. The great work you have to do in an Afflicted condition, is, To ſee what Refining work Affliction hath done upon you.
2. Affliction is God's School. Now in a School, there is a Rod and a Book: The one for Correction, the other for Inſtruction. Thus it is in God's School of Affliction, Pſal. 94. 12. Bleſſed is the man whom thou chastenest, and teachest out of thy Law. Whom thou chaſteneſt, There is the Rod: And teacheſt out of thy Law, There is the Book. This we are to do in an Afflicted condition, To ſee what God's Rod hath made us to learn out of God's Book. The Rod cometh for two ends,
1. To drive ſomewhat out of us.
2. To drive ſomewhat into us.
1. The Rod cometh to drive ſomewhat out of us. Solomon telleth us, Prov. 22. 15. Folly is bound (or riveted) in the heart of a Child, but the Rod of Correction drives it away. The Rod is to whip Folly and Stubbornneſs out of a Child; and when it doth this work, then it is good. We are to ſee, What the Rod hath driven out of us. There is folly bound up in all our hearts, and we muſt ſee, Whether the Rod of Affliction hath driven it away. Ephraim makes this confeſſion, Jer. 31. 18. Thou hast chastiſed me, and I was chastiſed; I was as a Bullock accustomed to the yoak, &c. There was an unruly and untamed ſpirit in Ephraim, but the Rod of Affliction ſubdued it: As he acknowledged, Verſ. 19. Surely after I was turned, I Repented. The Rod gave him a Turn, and he was Reformed by it. Our great Work in an Afflicted Condition, is, To ſee what the Rod hath driven out of us; And whether, when we were out of the way, it hath whipped us into the right way. David ſaith, Pſal. 119. 67. Before he was Afflicted he went astray. David was a Rambler till God whipped him. But now I keep thy Precepts. q. d. I was a very careleſs obſerver of thy Precepts, but now thy Rod hath whipped it out of me.
2. The Rod cometh to drive, and beat ſomewhat into us. It comes to ſet on Leſſons and Inſtructions. Correction cometh for this end, To ſet on Inſtruction. You have a paſſage of Elihu, Job 33. 16. Of God's ſpeaking once or twice, and man perceiveth it not. Verſ. 16. Then he openeth the ears of men, and ſealeth their Instruction: (i. e.) When men will not hear, God cometh with Afflictions, and openeth their ears, and ſetteth on his Inſtruction with a Witneſſe. God's Corrections, are to Seal his Inſtructions. Inſtructions many times make no impreſſion, till the Rod comes and Seals them, and puts the Stamp upon them. The queſtion we are to put to our ſelves in an Afflicted Condition, is, What Inſtruction the Affliction hath Sealed to us?
1. Can you ſay, The Rod of Affliction hath Sealed an Inſtruction to you concerning God, What he is? We read of Manaſſeh, 2 Chron. 33. 12. When he was in Affliction, he beſought the Lord his God, and then (ſaith the Text) he knew that the Lord was God. No doubt but he knew it before, but he heeded it not, till the Affliction came and Sealed the Inſtruction to him.
2. What Inſtructions hath Afflictions Sealed concerning your ſelves? Can you ſay, We have often heard, What a Proud, and Stubborn, and Perverſe-Creature, man is; Like a Bullock unaccustomed to the Yoak. Such a creature I my ſelf am, apt to forget my God, and to forget my ſelf: But alas! I took no notice of theſe Inſtructions. But now Affliction hath opened mine Ear, and Sealed this Inſtruction.
3. What Inſtructions hath Afflictions Sealed concerning the Creature? I have often been inſtructed of the Vanity of the Creature, of the Emptineſs that is in all worldly Comforts, of the Uncertainty that is in Riches, and all worldly Enjoyments: And have been called upon, to uſe all theſe things with weaned Affections, and right conſiderations of their Brevity, Mortality, Mutability. But theſe Inſtructions I heeded not in the day of my Proſperity. But now my Affliction hath Sealed theſe Inſtructions. I now ſee what the creature is, and what all worldly things are, (viz.) Vanity and Vexation of Spirit. When Solon the Wiſe, came to viſit Croeſus the Rich, Croeſus ſhewed him his Wealth, and asked him, Whether he thought him not the happieſt man living? Solon anſwered, Nemo faelix ante obitum; Thou mayeſt be unhappy for all this, before thou dieſt. Croeſus did then but laugh at what Solon ſaid. But afterwards, when he had loſt the Battle againſt Cyrus, and had his City taken, and was bound to a Gibbet over a Great Pile of wood, to be burned in the ſight of the Perſians; He cryed out aloud, O Solon, Solon! Cyrus asked him the meaning of it; He anſwered, That Solon had told him this before, but he believed him not. We are to ſee, Whether Affliction hath Sealed this Inſtruction concerning the creature's vanity.
4. What Inſtructions hath Affliction Sealed concerning Sin? Can you ſay, I have been informed of the Evil of Sin, what a bitter thing it is, That though it be ſweet in the mouth, yet it will be Gall and Worm-wood in the end. Theſe Inſtructions I have often heard, but heeded them not. But now Affliction hath Sealed theſe Inſtructions. It hath given me to ſee, The Evil of Diſobedience, Pride, Covetouſneſſe, and of overloving the Creature, &c.
5. What Inſtructions hath the Rod ſealed concerning Duty? I have heard, out of Gods Word, much concerning my Duty, What I ought to do; but I was a careleſs, and forgetful Hearer.
1. I have heard, it was my Duty, In a Good day, to prepare for Evil dayes. But this Inſtruction I heeded not. I could not believe there would be a change in my condition: But now Affliction hath ſealed this Inſtruction.
2. I have heard, that this was my Duty, To pity others in their Miſeries, and to have a fellow-feeling of others Afflictions. But theſe I heeded not. I did not remember the Afflictions of Joſeph. I was not afflicted in the Afflictions of others: But now the Rod of Affliction hath ſealed that Inſtruction.
3. I have been Inſtructed concerning Obedience, viz. That it ſhould be cloſe, and conſcionable: But alaſs! I heeded not the Inſtruction: I was looſe, and formal, and took that liberty to my ſelf, that the Word did not allow. But now the Rod hath ſealed this Inſtruction; It hath taught me to be more ſtrict, and cloſe in my Obedience, as it did David, Pſal. 119. 71.
Thus we are to ſee, Whether the Rod of Affliction hath ſealed theſe Inſtructions, Pſal. 94. 12. Bleſſed is the man whom thou chastnest, and teachest out of thy Law. Then it is right, when with Affliction, and Correction, there goeth Inſtruction; and when the Rod of affliction ſealeth inſtructions out of the Law.
3. We have Affliction preſented to us under another Name and Notion, (viz.) That it is God's Plough, Pſalm. 129. 3. Every Inſtrument in Affliction, is God's Plower: And every Affliction is God's Plough, that makes Furrowes upon our Backs, our Eſtates, and Families. Now conſider, What is the work of the Plough? It is to break up the Ground, and to fit it for the Seed, that it may bring forth a Crop. Now, how ſhall we know it was good for the Land that it was Plowed? but by the Crop it brings forth. If it bring forth nothing but Weeds, or Bryars, or Thorns, we cannot ſay, That it was good for that Land, that it was Plowed. Joh. 15. 1. God is compared to a Husband-man. Now a Husband-man hath two things to look to.
1. His Field.
2. Vineyard.
For his Field, he hath a Plough: For his Vineyard, he hath a Pruning-knife. Afflictions are both theſe.
1. Afflictions are God's Plough for his Field; And whoever are the Inſtruments in Afflicting, they are but God's Plow-men. An Husband-man hath his day-labourers under him: So hath God, ſome that labour about the Ear, the Heart, and the Inward-man: And theſe are his Miniſters, 1 Cor. 3. 9. We are labourers together with God; ye are God's Husbandry, or God's Tillage. And then God hath another ſort, that deal about a mans outwards, and thoſe are, Such Inſtruments as he makes uſe of, in Afflicting. An Husband-man in his Field, hath ſome to Plow, and break up the Earth: And he hath ſome to Sow, and caſt abroad the Seed. Thoſe that Sow, are his Miniſters, who by their Preaching, caſt abroad the Seed, when the Plough of Affliction hath broken up the Ground. It is not the Husband-man's work, to be alwayes Plowing, he hath his time to be Sowing too. As you may ſee, Iſa. 28. 24. God's Afflicting, may well be compared to Plowing, and that in theſe reſpects.
1. Plowing altereth and changeth the face of the Earth. If you Plowe up a green Meadow, you alter the Face of it: It's Verdure, and Greenneſs, and Beauty is gone. The Plough turneth a pleaſant Meadow, into a fallow Field. Thus Affliction changeth the face of a mans condition. It turneth a Naomi, into a Marah, Naomi ſigniſieth, pleaſant, and Marah bitter. Ruth 1. 20. It is ſaid, in Mic. 3. 12. Sion ſhall be Plowed as a Field. Sion had been as a beautiful Meadow, Fair, Green, and Pleaſant; But God by Afflicting her, would make her look like a Fallow-field. Thus, you find the change, God's Plough of Affliction, made in Job's condition: It quite altered the face of it. Job 29. 2, 3, 6, &c. he ſheweth you, how fair and flouriſhing his condition was, before God's Plough went over him: But Chap. 30. He telleth you, what a change it had made of the face of his condition.
2. The Plough overturneth the Earth, and layeth the bottom uppermoſt. It turneth that downward, that was upward, and that upward, that was downward. So doth Affliction, Where that Plough comes, it hideth that that was green, and turns it out of ſight, (viz.) our Comforts, and caſteth earth upon them. As the expreſſion is, Iſa. 24. 1. Behold, the Lord maketh the Earth empty, he maketh it wast, he turneth it upſide down. This the Plough of Affliction doth when it cometh, It turneth our comforts and worldly enjoyments, upſide-down.
3. The Plough where it cometh, maketh furrows: And maketh ſuch marks and prints on the earth, that a man may know where the Plough hath gone: So that we can, for along time after ſay, This ground hath been Plowed. So Afflictions make furrows, and leave marks behind them, upon a mans Eſtate, and Body, and Family, and Relations; that one may ſay, Here hath the Plough of Affliction hath gone. Thus it did upon Shiloh, Jer. 7. 12. Go ye to my place which was in Shiloh, &c. And ſee what I did to it, for the wickedneſs of my people Iſrael. This was a long time after God had inflicted his judgments upon Shiloh, yet ſhe lay as a Fallow-field ſtill.
The great work we have to do, is this, To ſee, What work the Plough of Affliction hath done. You muſt know, Plowing is a relative work; It is in order to ſome other, and ſome further thing, as to Sowing, and to Harveſt. We are to ſee, Whether our Affliction have been followed with a fruitful Crop. I have told you before, The Plough of it ſelf doth no good, there muſt be ſomething elſe, or elſe there will be no Harveſt. There muſt be Sowing as well as Plowing. This we are to do, to ſee, Whether we are Sowed, as well as Plowed. And to ſee, What Crop is brought forth, and groweth in thoſe furrows of Affliction? Whether it be not weeds and hemlock, as the expreſſion is, Hoſ. 10. 4.
4. We are to look upon Afflictions, as God's Phyſick, and as thoſe Phyſical means and remedies, that God uſeth for the curing of our diſeaſes. As Phyſitians have their wayes of curing corporal Diſeaſes, by Diet-drinks, and Sweatings, and Purgations: So the Lord hath his Wayes and Means of curing our Spiritual Diſeaſes. As there are diſeaſes to which our bodies are ſubject, (viz.) Surfets, and Feavers, and Dropſies, and Conſumptions; ſo there are the like in our Spirits. It is the ſaying of one, That there is no Beaſt on the Land, but it hath it's like in the Sea: So, there is no diſeaſe belonging to our Bodies, but our Souls are ſpiritually ſubject to. There is the Tympany of Pride, the Dropſy of Covetouſneſs, the Conſumption of Envy, the Feaver of Paſſion: The Spirit hath it's Surfets and Diſtempers. Now, Afflictions are ſome of thoſe means and remedies God makes uſe of, for the curing theſe Diſeaſes. The great thing we are to enquire after, is, What work the Phyſick of Affliction hath wrought upon us.
1. Afflictions are God's Diet-drink. It is made up with Gall and Wormwood. So the Church telleth us, Lam. 3. 19. So Iſa. 30. 20. we read of the Bread of Affliction, and the Water of Affliction. Pſal. 80. 5. We read of the Bread of Tears, &c. Phyſitians give things to their Patients, that may not be toothſome, yet may be wholeſome. We are to ſee, What Operation this Diet-drink hath had upon us, Whether it hath weaned us from the world. There is a Diſeaſe Phyſitians call Pica, which is a deſire to feed upon Traſh: As ſome Women and Children, will eat Earth, and Coales, and the Clay of Walls. Such a Diſeaſe we are all ſuctject to, having a ſtrong appetite and deſire after low earthly things, too baſe for the Spirit to feed upon. Now can you ſay, This Diet-drink of Affliction hath cured you of this Diſeaſe?
2. Affliction is God's Phlebotomy, his blood-letting. God's Afflicting is His takeing ſome blood from us. And when God doth it, He doth it in the right Veine. When He takes away Riches, and Honour, &c. then he bloodeth us in one Veine. When he taketh away Wife or Children, Then he letteth us blood in another Veine. We are to ſee, What good our Blood-letting hath done us, Whether it hath taken down our high Colour, and our high Looks? We are to ſee, Whether it hath taken away any of our corrupt Blood? Whether it hath cured our Ranckneſs of Pride, and Feaveriſhneſs of Paſſion. There is an Expreſſion, Iſa. 17. 4. That the glory of Jacob ſhould be made thin, and the farneſs of his fleſh ſhould be made lean. (i. e.) God would let them blood by His Afflictions, to cure their Pride, and all their other Spiritual Diſeaſes.
3. Afflictions are God's Purgations, To purge out of us Peccant and Malignant Humours, They come to purge out of us Pride, Covetouſneſs, &c. We are to ſee, VVhether Afflictions have purged us, not only by moving theſe corrupt humours, but by removing of them. Iſa. 27. 9. By this ſhall the iniquity of Jacob be purged. This is our work, To ſee what ſinful humours affliction hath purged away. How many Purges hath God given to ſome by Afflictions, and yet they have not removed Obſtructions. Afflictions are to remove Obſtructions: to make way for the Word to come to the Heart. It comes to the Ear, but the work of Affliction, is, to make way for it to come to the Heart. The great Queſtion, we are to put to our ſelves, is this, VVhether Affliction, hath opened a way for Inſtruction to come to our Hearts? St. Bernard told a brother of his that was a Souldier, and a man of a Diſſolute and Prophane life; When he ſaw him ſleight the good Counſel he had given him, He clapt his hand on his ſide, and ſaid, One day God will make way to this heart of yours, by ſome Spear or Launce. (i. e.) He ſhould receive ſome Wound in the Warrs, and then he would think of his Admonitions: And ſo it fell out.