The Silent Soul, Objections · Objection 3
Object. 3. Oh but my afflictions, my troubles, have been long upon mee▪ and how then can I hold my peace? were they but of yesterday I would bee quiet, but they are of a long continuance, and therefore how can I bee ſilent? &c.
To this I anſwer, Firſt, Thou canſt not date thy affliction from the firſt day of thy pollution; thou haſt been polluted from the womb, but thou haſt not been afflicted from the womb; many havePſal. 51. 5 Rom. 5. 12 been the daies, the years ſince thou waſt born in ſin, few have been the daies, the years that thou haſt experienced ſorrow; thou canſt not eaſily number the daies of thy ſinning, thou canſt eaſily number the daies of thy ſuffering; thou canſt not number thy daies of mercy, thou canſt eaſily number thy daies of calamity; thou canſt not number thy daies of health, but thou canſt eaſily tell over thy daies of ſickneſs.
Secondly, Thy afflictions are not ſo long as the afflictions of other Saints; compare thy winter nights and other Saints winter nights together; thy ſtorms and troubles, and other Saints ſtorms and troubles together, thy loſſes and otherPſalms 77, & 88. Gen. 15. 12, 13. Exod. 12. 40, 41, 42 Jer. 25. 11, 12. Saints loſſes together, thy miſeries and other Saints miſeries together, witneſs the proofs in the Margin; thy afflictions are but as a moment, they are but as yeſterday, if compared with the afflictions of other Saints, whoſe whole lives have been made up of ſorrows and ſufferings, as the life of Chriſt was; many a mans life hath been nothing but a lingring death, Job 21. 25. And another dieth in the bitterneſs of his ſoul, and never eateth with pleaſure. There are thoſe that have never a good day all their daies, who have not a day of reſt among all their daies of trouble, not a day of health among all their daies of ſickneſs, nor a day of gladneſs among all their daies of ſadneſs, nor a day of ſtrength among all their daies of weakneſs, nor a day of honour among all their daies of reproach, whoſe whole life is one continued winters night, who every day drink gall and wormwood, who lye down ſighing, who riſe groaning, and who ſpend their daies in complaining, no ſorrow to our ſorrows, no ſufferings to our ſufferings; ſome there bee who have alwaies tears in their eyes, ſorrows in their hearts, rods on their backs, and croſſes in their hands, but it is not ſo with thee, therefore bee ſilent.
Thirdly, The longer thy affliction hath been, the ſweeter will Heaven bee to thee at laſt; thePſal. 126. 1, 2, 5, 6. compared. longer the Iſraelites had been in the wilderneſs, the ſweeter was Canaan to them at laſt; the longer the ſtorm, the ſweeter the calm; the longer the winter nights, the ſweeter the ſummer▪ daies; long afflictions will much ſet off the glory of Heaven; the harbour is moſt ſweet and deſirable to them that have been long toſſed upon the Seas: So will Heaven bee to thoſe who have been long in a Sea of troubles. The new Wine of Chriſts Kingdome is moſt ſweet toLuk. 22. 18 thoſe that have been long a drinking of gall and vinegar, the Crown of glory will bee moſt delightful to them, who have been long in combating with the world, the fleſh, and the devil. The longer our Journey is, the ſweeter will be our end; and the longer our paſſage is, the ſweeter will our Haven be; the higher the mountain, the gladder wee ſhall bee when wee are got to the top of it; the longer the heir is kept from his inheritance, the more delight hee will have when hee comes to poſſeſs it.
Fourthly, They are not long, but ſhort, if compared to that eternity of glory that is reſerved for the Saints, 2 Cor. 4. 16, 17, 18. If you turn to the words, you ſhallSee this largely opened in my String of Pearls. finde for affliction glory, for light afflictions, a weight of glory, and for ſhort momentany afflictions, eternal glory; there will quickly be an end of thy ſadneſſe, but there will never be an end of thy happineſs; there will ſoon bee an end of thy calamity and miſery, there will never be and end of thy felicity and glory; the Kingdomes of this world are notPſal. 45. & 72. & 89. Iſa. 9. 7. 1 Pet. 1. 4 2 Epiſt. 1. 11. laſting, much leſs are they everlaſting, they have all their climacterical years, but the Kingdome of Heaven is an everlaſting Kingdome, of that there is no end. There were ſeven ſorts of Crowns that were that were in uſe among the Roman Victors, but they were all fading and periſhing; but the Crown of glory that at laſt God will ſet upon the heads of his Saints, ſhall continue as long as God himſelf continues. Who can look upon thoſe eternal Manſions that are above, and thoſe everlaſting pleaſures that bee at Gods right hand, and ſay, that his affliction is long? Well Chriſtian, let thy afflictions be never ſo long, yet one hours being in the boſome of Chriſt, will make thee forget both the length and ſtrength of all thy afflictions.
Fifthly, The longer you have been afflicted, the more in ſpiritual experiences you have been enriched, 2 Cor. 1. 5. For as the ſufferings of Chriſt abound in us, ſo our conſolation alſo aboundeth by Christ. The lower the ebbe, the higher the tide, the more pain, the more gain, the more afflicted, the more comforted, the lower wee are caſt, the higher we ſhall bee raiſed. Of all Chriſtians, none ſo rich in ſpiritual experiences, as thoſe that haveHeb. 12. 11 2 Cor. 12. 9 Job 33. 17,—22 been long in the ſchool of affliction. Oh the bleſſed ſtories that ſuch can tell of the power of God ſupporting them, of the wiſdome of God directing them, of the favour of God comforting them, of the preſence of God aſſiſting them! Oh the love-tokens, the love-letters, the bracelets, the Jewels, that they are able to produce ſince they have been in the furnace of affliction! Oh the ſins that long afflictions have diſcovered and mortified! O the temptations that long afflictions have prevented and vanquiſhed! you ſhall as ſoon number the ſtars of Heaven, and the ſands of the Sea, as you ſhall number up the heavenly experiences of ſuch Chriſtians that have been long under afflictions; the afflicted Chriſtians heart is fulleſt of ſpiritual treaſure; though hee may bee poor in the world, yetJames 2. 5 hee is rich in faith and holy experiences, and what are all the riches of this world to ſpiritual experiences? one ſpiritual experience is more worth than a world, and upon a dying-bed, and before a judgement ſeat, every man will bee of this opinion. The men of this world will with much quietneſs and calmneſs of ſpirit, bear much, and ſuffer much, I and ſuffer long, when they finde their ſufferings to add to their revenues: and ſhall nature do more than grace? It is the common voice of nature, Who will ſhew us any Pſal. 4. …good? how ſhall wee come to be great, and high, and rich in the world? wee care not what wee ſuffer, nor how long wee ſuffer, ſo wee may but add houſe to houſe,Iſa. 5. 8 heap to heap, bagg to bagg, and land to land. Oh how much more then ſhould Chriſtians bee quiet and calm under all their afflictions? though they are never ſo long? conſidering that they do but add Jewels to a Chriſtians Crown; they do but adde to his ſpiritual experiences; the long afflicted Chriſtian hath the fulleſt and the greateſt trade: and in the day of account will bee found the richeſt man.
Sixthly, Long afflictions ſometimes are but preparatives to long liv'd mercies; Joſephs thirteen years impriſonment, was but a preparative to fourſcore years reigning like a King; Davids ſeven years baniſhment, was but a preparative to forty years reigning in much honour and glory; Jobs long afflictions were but preparatives to more long-lived mercies, as you may ſee in that laſt of Job; and thoſe ſad and ſore trials that the Jews have been under for above this ſixteen hundred years, are to prepare them for thoſe matchleſs mercies, and thoſeIſa. 62. 63. and ch. 66 endleſs glories (in ſome ſenſe) that God in the latter daies will crown them with. Iſa. 54. 11, 12, 13, 14. O thou afflicted! toſſed with tempeſt, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy ſtones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with ſaphires. And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuneles, and all thy borders of pleaſant ſtones. And all thy children ſhall bee taught of the Lord, and great ſhall bee the peace of thy children. Inrighteouſneſs ſhalt thou bee eſtabliſhed, thou ſhalt bee far from oppreſſion, for thou ſhalt not fear; and from terrour, for it ſhall not come near thee. Though they have been long afflicted and toſſed, yet they ſhall at laſt upon glorious foundations bee eſtabliſhed; God will not onelyonly raiſe them out of their diſtreſſed eſtate, wherein now they are, but hee will advance them to a moſt eminent and glorious condition in this world; they ſhall bee very glorious, and outſhine all the world in ſpiritual excellencies, and outward dignities, Iſa. 60. 14, 15. The ſons alſo of them that afflicted thee, ſhall come bending unto thee; and all they that deſpiſed thee, ſhall bow themſelves down at the ſoles of thy feet; and they ſhall call thee, The City of the Lord, The Zion of the holy One of Iſrael. Whereas thou haſt been forſaken and hated, ſo that no man went thorow thee: I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many Generations. Ah Chriſtians I do not mutter nor murmure under your long afflictions, for you do not know but that by theſe long afflictions God may prepare and fit you for ſuch favours and bleſſings that may never have end; by long afflictions God many times prepares his people for temporal, ſpiritual, and eternal mercies; if God by long afflictions makes more room in thy ſoul for himſelf, his Son, his Spirit, his Word; if by long afflictions hee ſhall crucifie thy heart more to the world, and to thy relations, and frame and faſhion thy ſoul more for celeſtial enjoyments, haſt thou any cauſe to murmure? ſurely no. But
Seventhly, The longer a Saint is afflicted on earth, the more glorious hee ſhall ſhine in Heaven;2 Cor. 4. 16, 17, 18 Mat. 5. 10, 11, 12 the more affliction here, the more glory hereafter: This Truth may bee thus made out:
Firſt, The more gracious ſouls are afflicted, the more their graces are exerciſed and encreaſed, Heb. 12. 10. Rom. 5. 3, 4, 5. Now, the more grace here, the more glory hereafter; the higher in grace, the higher in glory. Grace differs nothing from glory but in name; grace is glory in the bud, and glory is grace at the full; glory is nothing but the perfection of grace;2 Cor. 3. ult. happineſs is nothing but the perfection of holineſs; grace is glory in the ſeed, and glory is grace in the flower; grace is glory militant, and glory is grace triumphant; grace and glory differ (non ſpecie, ſed gradu) in degree, not kinde, as the learned ſpeak. Now it is moſt certain, that the more gracious ſouls are afflicted, the more their graces are exerciſed; and the more grace is exerciſed, the more it is encreaſed, as I have ſufficiently demonſtrated in this treatiſe already. But
Secondly, The longer a gracious ſoul is afflicted, the more his religious duties will bee multiplied, Pſal. 109. 4. For my love they are my adverſaries: but I give my ſelf unto prayer, or as the Hebrew reads it, But I am prayer, or a man of Pſa. 42. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Pſal. 63. 1, 2, 3, 8. J…r. 31. 18, 19 Hoſ. 5. ult. with ch. 6. 1, 2 Pſal. 116. 3, 4. and Pſal. 143. 6, 7prayer. In times of affliction a Chriſtian is all prayer, hee is never ſo much a man of prayer, a man given up to prayer, as in times of affliction. A Chriſtian is never ſo frequent, ſo fervent, ſo abundant in the work of the Lord, as when hee is afflicted, Iſa. 26. 16. Lord, in trouble have they viſited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chaſtening was upon them. Now, they do not onelyonly pray, but they pour out a prayer, they were freely, largely, and abundantly in prayer, when the rod was upon them. Look, as men plentifully pour out water for the quenching of a fire, ſo did they plentifully pour▪ out their prayers before the Lord; and as affliction puts a man upon being much in prayer, ſo it puts him upon other duties of Religion anſwerably. Now this is moſt certain, that though God will reward no man for his works, yet hee will reward every man according toMatth. 25. 14. 26. God will reward his people, ſecundum labo…em. Bern. works, 1 Cor. 15. ult. Therefore my beloved Brethren, bee yee ſtedfaſt, unmoveable, alwaies abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord, 2 Cor. 9. 6. But this I ſay, hee which ſoweth ſparingly, ſhall reap ſparingly; and hee which ſoweth bountifully, ſhall reap bountifully; or hee which ſoweth in benedictions or bleſſings, ſhall reap in benedictions, as it runs in the original.
It is an excellent obſervation of Calvin upon Gods rewarding the Rechabites obedience, Jer. 35. 19. God (ſaith hee) oft recompenceth the ſhadows and ſeeming appearances of virtue, to ſhew what complacency hee takes in the ample rewards hee hath reſerved for true and ſincere piety. Now, if the longer a Chriſtian is afflicted, the more his religious ſervices will bee multiplied, and the more they are multiplied, the more his glory at laſt will bee encreaſed, then, the longer a Saint is afflicted on earth, the more glory he ſhall have when hee comes to Heaven. But
Thirdly, The longer any Saint is afflicted, the more into the image and likeneſs of Chriſt hee will bee transformed: It is one ofRom. 8. 28, 29, &c. 2 Cor. 1 5, 6, 7 Phil. 3. 10 Heb. 2. 10 2 Tim. 2. 12. Gods great deſigns and ends in afflicting of his people, to make them more conformable to his Son, and God will not loſe his end; men often loſe theirs, but God never hath, nor will loſe his, and experience tells us, that God doth every day by afflictions accompliſh this end upon his people; the longer they are afflicted, the more they are made conformable to Chriſt, in meekneſs, lowlineſs, ſpiritualneſs, heavenlineſs, in faith, love, ſelfdenial, pitty, compaſſion, &c. Now certainly, the more like to Chriſt, the more beloved of Chriſt; the more a Chriſtian is like to Chriſt, the more hee is the delight of Chriſt; and the more like to Chriſt on earth, the nearer the ſoul ſhall ſit to Chriſt in Heaven; nothing makes a man more conformable to Chriſt than afflictions. Justin Martyr (in his ſecond Apology for the Chriſtians) hath obſerved, that there is ſcarce any prediction or prophecy concerning our Saviour Chriſt the Son of God to bee made man, but the Heathen writers (who were all after Moſes) did from thence invent ſome fable, and feign it to have been acted by ſome one or other of Jupiters Sons, onelyonly the Prophecies about the croſs of Chriſt, they have taken for the ground of no fable, they have not among all their fictions told us of any one of Jupiters Sons that was crucified, that acted his part upon the croſs; many would wear the Crown with Chriſt, that do not care for bearing the croſs with Chriſt. But
Eighthly, The longer they have been, the greater cauſe thou haſt to bee ſilent and patient, for impatience will but lengthen out the day of thy ſorrows; every impatient act adds one link more to the chain, every act of frowardneſs adds one laſh more to thoſe that have already been laid on, every act of muttering will but add ſtroak to ſtroak, and ſting to ſting; every act of murmuring will but add burden to burden, and ſtorm to ſtorm; the moſt compendious way to lengthen out thy long afflictions, is to fret, and vex, and murmure under them; as thou wouldeſt ſee a ſpeedy iſſue of thy long afflictions, ſit mute and ſilent under them.
Ninthly, Gods time is the beſt time; mercy is never nearer; ſalvation is at hand, deliverance is at theAct. 27. 13,—ult. door, when a mans heart is brought into ſuch a frame, as to bee freely willing that God ſhould time his mercy, and time his deliverance for him. The Phyſicians time is the beſt time for the patient to have eaſe; the impatient patient cryes out to his Phyſician, Oh Sir! a little eaſe, a little refreſhment; Oh the pains, the torments that I am under! Oh Sir! I think every hour two, and every two ten, till comfort comes, till refreſhment comes; but the prudent Phyſician hath turned the hourglaſs, and is reſolved that his Phyſick ſhall work ſo long, though his patient frets, flings, roars, tears: So when wee are under afflictions, wee are apt to cry out, how long Lord ſhall it bee before eaſe comes? before deliverance comes? Oh the tortures! Oh the torments that wee are under! Lord a little refreſhment; Oh how long are theſePſal. 6. 3. Pſal. 13. 1, 2 Pſal. 94. 9, 10 Rev. 6. 10 nights! Oh how tedious are theſe daies! but God hath turned our Glaſs, and hee will not hearken to our cry, till our Glaſs bee out; after all our fretting and flinging wee muſt ſtay his time, who knows beſt when to deliver us, and how to deliver us ou… of all our troubles, and who will not ſtay a moment when the Glaſs is out that hee hath turned. But
Tenthly and laſtly, They ſhall laſt no longer than there is need, and then they ſhall work for thy good; it is with ſouls as it is with bodies, ſome bodies are more eaſily and more ſuddenly cured than others are, and ſo are ſome ſouls; God will not ſuffer the plaiſter to lye one day, no not one hour, no not a moment longer than there is need; ſome fleſh heals quickly, proud fleſh is long a healing; by affliction God quickly heals ſome, but others are long a healing, 1 Pet. 1. 6. If need bee yee are in heavineſs through manifold temptations, or through various afflictions; the burden ſhall lye no longer upon thee than needs muſt, thy pain ſhall endure no longer than needs muſt, thy phyſick ſhall make thee no longer ſick than needs muſt, &c. thy heavenly Father is a Phyſician as wiſe as hee is loving; when thy heart begins to grow high, hee ſees there is need of ſome heavy affliction to bring it low; when thy heart grows cold, hee ſees there is need of ſome fiery affliction to heal it and warm it; when thy heart grows dull and dead, hee ſees there is need of ſome ſmart affliction to enliven and quicken it. And as thy afflictions ſhall continue no longer than there is need, ſo they ſhall laſt no longer than they ſhall work for thy good; if all along they ſhall work for thy good, thou haſt no cauſe to complain that thy afflictions are long: that they ſhall thus work, I have fully proved in the former part of this book; and thus much for anſwer to the third Objection.