2d. Consideration. God hath a special hand in the disposal of all occurrences that fall out. Job eyed God in his affliction, chap. i. 21., " The Lord hath taken away." lie doth not complain of the Sabeans, or the influences of the planets ; he looked beyond all second causes, he saw God in the afflic- tion, and that made him cheerfully submit, " blessed be the name of the Lord." And Christ looked beyond Judas and Pilate, he looked to God's determinate counsel in de- livering him up to be crucified. Acts iv. 27. ; this made him say. Mat. xxvi. 39., Father, " not as I will, but as thou wilt." It is vain to quarrel with instruments : wicked men are but a rod in God's hand, Isa. x. 5. " O Assyrian, tlie rod of mine anger." Whoever brings an affliction, God sends it : the con sideration of this would make us say, " thy will be done ; ' what God doeth, he sees a reason for. We read of a wlieel within a wheel, Ezck. i. 15. The outward wheel, which tiu'ns all, is providence ; the wheel within this wheel, is God's decree; this be- lieved, \vould rock the heait quieL bhali
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we mutiny at that wliicli God dotli ? We may as well quarrel with the works of crea- tion, as the works of j)rovitlciice.
Bd. Consideration, wliich may make us humhly submit to God's will, is, that there is a necessity of affliction, 1 Pet. i. 6., " (if need be) ye are in heaviness." It is need- ful some things be kept in brine : afflictions are needful upon several accounts.
1. To keep us humble. Oft-times there is no other way to have the heart low, but by being brought low ; 2 Chron. xxxiii. 12., when INIanasseh "was in affliction he humbled himself greatly." Corrections are corrosives to eat out the proud flesh, Lam. iii. 19., "Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the Avormwood and the gall, my soul is humbled in me."
2. It is necessary that there should be affliction, for if God did not sometimes bring us into affliction, how could his power be seen in bringing us out ? Had not Is- rael been in the Eg}'ptian furnace, God had lost his glory in their deliverance.
3. If there were no affliction, then many parts of scripture could not be fulfilled. God hath promised to help us to bear afflic- tion, Ps. xxxvii. 24, 39. ; how could we ex- perience God's supporting us in trouble, if we did not sometimes meet with it ? God hath ]n*omised to give us joy in affliction, John xvi. -20. ; how could we taste this ho- ney of joy, if we were not sometimes in af- fliction ? Again, God hath promised to wipe away tears from our eyes, Isa. xxv. 8. ;
• how could God wipe away our tears in hea- ven, if we never shed any ? So that, in several respects, there is an absolute neces- sity that we should meet with affliction. And shall not we quietly submit ? and say, " Lord, I see there is a necessity of it ; ' thy will be done.' "
it/i. Consideration, to make us submit to God's will in affliction, is, that whatever we feel, it is nothing but what we have brought upon ourselves ; we ])ut a rod in- to God's hand to chastise us. Christian, God lays thy cross on thee, but it is of thy own making. If a man's field be full of tares, it is nothing but what he hath sown in it ; if thou reapcst a bitter crop of afflic- tion, it is nothing but wlir.t thou thyself hast sown. The cords that pincli thee aie
of thy own twisting ; jne me ndsum qui feci ! If children will eat green fruit, they may thank themselves if they are sick ; if we eat the forbidden fruit, no wonder we feel it gripe. Sin is the Trojan horse that lands an army of afflictions upon us; Jer. iv. 15., " A voice publisheth afflieti(m ;" v. 18., " Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wicked- ness." If we by sin run ourselves into ar- rears with God, no wonder if he set afflic- tion as a sergeant on our back to arrest us. This may make us patiently submit to God in affliction, and say, " Thy will be done." AVe have no cause to complain of God, it is nothing but what our sins have merited ; Jer. ii. 17., " Hast not thou procured this unto thyself?" The cross, though it be of God's laying, it is of our own making ; say then, as INlicah vii. 9., " I will bear the in- dignation of the Lord, because I have sin- ned against him."
bill. Consideration, to cause submission to God's in affliction, God is now about to make an exj)eriment, he doth it to prove and try us, Ps. Ixvi. 10, 11., "Thou, O God, hast tried us as silver is tried, thou laidst affliction upon our loins." If there were no affliction, how should God have' an opportunity to try men ? Hypocrites can sail in a pleasure-boat, serve God in pro- sperity ; but when we can keep close to God in times of danger, — when we can trust God when we have no pawn, and love God when we have no smile, — here is the trial of sincerity ! This may make us say, " thy will be done !" God is only trying us ;. what hurt is in that? What is the gold, the worse of being tried ?