(1.) Sometimes God afflicts with pover- ty. The widow had nothing left her save a pot of oil, 1 Kings xvii. 12. Poverty is a great temptation. To have an estate re- duced almost to nothing, is hard to flesh and blood, Ruth i. 20, 21., "Call me not Naomi, but Mara ; I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty." This exposeth to contempt. When the prodigal was poor, his brother was asham- ed to own him, Luke xv. 30., " This thy son ;" he said not, this my brother, but, this thy son; he scorned to call him bro- ther. WJien the deer is shot and bleeds, the rest of the herd push it away ; when God shoots the arrow of poverty at one, o- thers are ready to push him away ; when Terence was grown poor, his friend Scipio
OF THE THIRD PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER.
iO:
cast liim oflF. The muses (Ju|)itcr's daujj^li- ters) the poets feign, had no suitors, be- cause tlicy wanted a dowry.
(2.) God sometimes afflicts with rej»roac]i. Such as have tlic light of grace shining in them yet may be eclipsed in their name. The ])rimilive Christians ivere reproached as if they were guilty of incest, saith Ter- tullian. Luther was called a trumpeter of rebellion. David calls reproach an hcart- l)rcaking, Ps. Ixix. 20. ; this God lets his dear saints oft be exercised with. Dirt may be cast uj)on a pearl ; those names may be blotted, which are written in the book of life ; sincerity, though it shields from hell, yet not from slander.
(3.) God sometimes afflicts with the loss of dear relations, Ezek. xxiv. IG., " Son of man, behold I take away from thee the de- sire of thine eyes with a stroke." This is like pulling away a limb from the body. He takes away an holy child. Jacob's life was bound up in Benjamin, Gen. xliv. 30. ; and that which puts teeth into the cross, and is worse than the loss of children, is, when they are continued as living crosses, — wliere the parents expected honey, there to have wormwood. What greater cut to a godly parent, than a child who disclaims his father's God? A corrosive applied to the body may do well, but a bad child is a cor- rosive to the heart. Such an undutiful son had David, who conspired treason, and would not only have taken away his fa- ther's crown, but his life.
(4.) God sometimes afflicts with infirm- ness of body ; scarce a well day. Sickness takes away the comfort of life, and makes one in deaths oft. Thus God tries his peo- ple with various afflictions, so that there is need of patience to submit to God's will. lie who hath divers bullets shot at him needs armour ; when divers afflictions assaidt, we need patience as armour of yiroof.
3. God sometimes lets the affliction con- tinue long, Ps. Ixxiv. 9. As it is with dis- eases, there are some chronical that linger and hang about the body several years to- gether : so it is with affliction, the Lord is pleased to exercise many of his precious ones with chronical affliction, such as lie upon them a long time : so that in all these
cases we need patience and submissiveness of sj)irit to (iod's will.
U.se Isf. It rej)roves such as have not yet learned this part of the Lord's prayer, " Thy will l)e done:" tliey have only said it, but not learned it. If things be not according to their mind, — if the wind of providence crosscth the tide of their will, — they are discontented and fjuerulous. Where is no^v sul)missi<)u of will to God? To be displeas- ed with God, if things do not j)lease us, is this to lie at God's feet, and acquiesce in his will ? This is a very bad temper of sj)irit, and CJod may justly punish us by lotting us have our will. Rachel cried, " Give me children or I die," Gen. xxx. I. ; God let her have a child, but it cost her her life, Gen. XXXV. 18. Israel is not content with manna (angels' food) they must have quails to their manna; God punished them b\- let- ting them have their will. Num. xi. 31., There went forth a wind from the Lord and brought quails ;" v. 33., ' and while the flesh was yet between their teeth, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a great plague." They had better been without their quails, than had such sour sauce to them. Many have importunately desired the life of a child, and could not bring their will to God's to be content to part with it ; and the Lord hath punished them by lettiiio- fhem have their will ; the child hath lived and been a burden to them. Seeing their wills crossed God, their child shall cross them.