2. When they are under many grievous temptations, and buffettings of Satan, as Paul, 2 Cor. xii. 7.; and Job, as you read, chap. i.

3. When they are under fad defertion, faying, as Pfal. xxii. I. เ My God, my God, why haft thou forfaken me? How long wilt thou hide thy felf?" Pfal. xiii. 1, 2.

4. When they are under great outward affliction on their perfons, families, friends, names, eftates, or otherwife, Pial. xxxiv. 19. "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth them out of them all. 2 Tim. iii. 12. If any man will live godly in Chrift Je fus, he muft faffer perfecution."

You will, perhaps, fay, Is there no difference between the afflictions of the godly and of the wicked? To this we reply, No difference as to the matter of them, and in their own nature; but vaftly different in their ufe; even as water in baptifm taken out of a well, fo much of the water of that well may be taken for washing the hands, fo much for baptizing; it is the fame water, but the latter is made ufe of as a feal of God's covenant. Thus, when a fever comes, the godly man's perfon, or child, may be as forely handled as the wicked; but the one is bleffed, and not the other; the ufe of affliction to the one, and to the other, is vely different, Jer. xxiv. The prophet here fees a vifion of two forts of figs, the one was good figs, and the other bad, and naughty. And what are thefe but two forts of people, that were carried captive to Babylon? Some of them, as good figs, whom God took a care of when carried away, to whom he fays, that he will have his eyes upon them for good, and not for evil; and that he will bring them again: but as for the other, he fays, that his eyes were upon them for evil and not for good; and that he would pull them down. Thus, all the people go to captivity together; but yet never think he had no more refpect to his own among them, than to others. Afflictions come upon the wicked, feeking fatisfaction; but upon the godly, for correction: God out of love chaflifes them for their faults. There is a great difference when God, with a rod, frikes his enemies out of anger; and when, with that

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that fame rod, he ftrikes his children in love. Therefore, when judgments come upon a land, or a place, let not the godly themselves think they fhall be free; but as when a befom comes to fweep a houfe, if there be drofs and dirt in it, and alfo diamonds and fome gold among it, both of them may be fwept to the door together; but this is the difference, the dirt rots away, but the diamonds or gold remains of as great worth as it was at firft, till it be fought and got again.

The godly may lay their account with fuch troubles and afflictions, as the wicked meet with. Why?

(1.) Thefe who are partakers in fin, must be partakers in punishment; for, though the godly were guiltlefs in mens eyes, yet before God, and in their own eyes, they are guilty, and finful as others are for, it is hard to live with the wicked, and not be infected with their plagues, and fo they must have part of their judgment.

(2.) There is no promise made to any of that fort, as to exempt them from the crofs. Hence the true Ifraelites and Canaanites cannot be difcerned by these cutward things; yet fay not there is no difference between the afflictions of the one, and the other, as I have fhown above.

Queft. 2. What love defigns may be carrying on by thofe wrath-like difpenfations?

Anfw. 1. The first love-defign thereby is to make fin bitter, and bring off their hearts from it, and make them leave it: "Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child," even of God's children, "but the rod of correction drives it off," Prov. xxii. 15. See Jer. ii. 19.

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Thine own wickednefs fhall correct thee, and thy backflidings fhall reprove thee: Know then, and fee, that it is an evil and a bitter thing, that thou haft forfaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, faith the Lord God of hofts. By this fhall the iniquity of Jacob be purged," Ifa. xxvii. 9.

2. The next love-defign is, to heal their hearts: to humble the lofty heart, and foften the hard heart: therefore he puts them in the fire to melt them; they are naturally hard, ftout, light, and proud: God melts

them

them with this fire; "Thou haft tried us with fire, as filver is tried." See Job xiii. 16. "For God maketh my heart foft."

3. The third love-defign is, to make them weary of this world, by finding they meet with fuch bad entertainment in it; "Arife ye, and depart, for this is not your reft, for it is polluted, it fhall deftroy you even with a fore deftruction," Mic. ii. 10. Hence John xvi. 33. "In the world ye fhall have tribulation, but in me ye shall have peace; be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

4. Another love-defign is, to awaken them: but he gives them fomething ado, and keeps them bufy and fighting: "Thefe are the nations God left to prove Ifrael by them; flay them not, left my people forget," Judg. iii. 1. Jer. xlviii. 11. They would flink and corrupt if they were not carried into captivity, and emptied from veffel to veffel.

5. The next love defign is, to exercife faith and patience; Rom. v. 3. "We glory in tribulation, knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope. James i. 2, 3. Count it all jy when you fall into divers temptations ; knowing that the trial of your faith worketh patience: but let patience have her perfect work.”

6. Another love design is, to bring them to themselves, by prayer, and other duties, otherwife they would miftake themselves, Hof. v. 15. and vi. 1. "In their afflictions they fhall feek me early, faying, Come let us return to the Lord, for he hath broken, and will heal." True, indeed, hypocrites may cry, when they are afflicted; "When he flew them, then they fought him; and they returned and enquired early after God :-Yet they flattered him with their mouths," Pfalm lxxviii. 35. 36. But even the children of grace need to be fpurred up by the red; and then they cry to their Father in ano. ther manner than hypocrites, in a kindly and cordial manner, Ifa. xxvi. 19. There it is faid of his people, "Lord, in trouble have they vifited thee; they poured out a prayer when thy challening hand was upon them:" then they visited thee; they were growing firan. gers to God before the trouble came; they made him

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few vifits, and were like to grow out of acquaintance with him; but now they begin to renew their acquain tance with him; they poured out a prayer: formerly, before trouble came, they prayed, but their prayers were but drops; they came but flowly forth, drop by drop, like water out of a ftill; but now their prayers are poured out like water out of a fountain: they pour out their prayers, and pour out their hearts in prayer before the Lord, when his chaftening is upon them; They poured out prayer; in the margin it is a SECRET SPEECH they may meet with God in public duties and ordinances, but especially their main intercourfe with him is in fecret; there they speak with God, and commune with him: and thus by afflictions and chaftifements their communion with God is advanced.In a word, fuch are his love-defigns, by trials and wrathlike difpenfations, that thereby he makes his mercy the fweeter to them when it comes: and their love to God the greater, because of his power and pity manifested to them in their afflictions.

QUEST. 3. What LOVE is there in thefe afflictions, in punishments and chaftifements? What love What love appears in

them?

ANSW. Befides what I have faid, 1. There is love in the measure of the affliction; while it is not in fury, but in measure, and in pity; "Fury is not in me.-In meafure when it fhooteth forth, thou wilt debate with it: He stayeth his rough wind in the day of his eaft wind, Ifa. xxvii. 4. 8. As a father pitieth his children, fo the Lord pitieth them that fear him," Pfal. ciii. 13.

2. There is love in bringing them under one evil, to fave them from a greater; 1 Cor. xi. 32. They are chaftifed of the Lord, that they may not be condemnd with the world. See Heb. xii. 6, 7, 8.

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3. There is love in making them thus fharers of the mercies of the covenant; for, afflictions are a covenantpromise; See 2 Sam. vii. 15. and Pfal. lxxxix. 31, 32. For which the faints have prayed, as Jer. x. 24. " Correct me, Lord, but in judgment; not in thine anger, left thou bring me to nothing:" Thus Pfalm vi. 1. and xxxviii. I.

4. There

4. There is love in that thus he favours and honours them to take them under his correction, and care: See Job vii. 17." What is man, that thou shouldft magnify him? and that thou fhouldft fet thy heart upon him?" Why? how doth he magnify and honour him? It follows, ver. 18. "And that thou fhouldft vifit him every morning, and try him every moment."

5. There is love in his giving fweet cordials betweenhands to bear up their fpirits; particularly, fome cordials of the new covenant; fome words on which he caufes them to hope, Pfalm cxix. 49. "Remember thy word unto thy fervant, upon which thou haft caufed me to hope." Hence it follows, ver. 5o. "This is my comfort in mine affliction; for thy word hath quickened me." He quickens and refreshes with his words of grace.

6. There is love in the conftant prefence of grace that he allows them under their trouble, according to his promife, Heb. xiii. 5. "I will never leave thee, nor for fake thee. Pfalm xci. 15. I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him." When the goldfmith has caft the gold into the fire, he leaves it not there; nay, then he waits beft upon it, that he may fuffer it to get no more of the fire than he fees meet.

In a word, fuch love there is in their afflictions, that he is therein carrying on all the love-defigns that I was mentioning on the former head, and thus preparing them for the heavenly kingdom; "Our light affliction, that is but for a moment, worketh a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory," 2 Cor. iv. 17. They would die and rot in their fins, if they were not poured out from veffel to veffel.

Queft. 4. What leffons may we learn from this inference?

Anfw. 1. That we ought not to feek fo much to be rid of troubles; we ought to fubmit and comply with the troubles that are upon us, feeing they are fuch excellent things, fo profitable and medicinal: we ought neither to lothe at, nor fret under God's phyfic.

1. We ought to accept of the punishment of fin, faying, "I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I