22c?. Consideration, it may rock our hearts quiet in affliction, to consider, that to the godly the nature of affliction is quite chang- ed ; to a wicked man, it is a curse, the rod is turned into a serpent ; affliction to him is but an eff'ect of God's displeasure, the beginning of sorrow ; but the nature of af- fliction is quite changed to a believer, it is by divine chemistry turned into a blessing; it is like poison corrected, which becomes a medicine ; it is a love token, a badge of adoption, a preparatory to glory; should not this make us say, " Thy will be done ?" The poison of the affliction is gone ; it is not hurtful, but healing. This hath made the saints not only patient in affliction, but to sound forth thankfulness. As bells, when they have been cast in the fire, do afterwards make a sweeter sound, so the godly, after they have been cast into the fire of affliction, have sounded forth God's praise, Ps. cxix. 71., "It is good for me that I have been afflicted." Job i. 21., " Blessed be the name of the Lord."
23r/. Consideration, to make us submit our will to God's in affliction, is, to think how many good things we receive from God, and shall not we be content to receive some evil? Job ii. 10., "Shall Ave receive good at the hand of G(»d, and shall we not receive evil ?" In the Hebrew, shall we re- ceive good from God, and not evil ? This may make us say, "thy will be done." How many blessings have we received at the hand of God's bounty ? We have been bemiracled with mercy. What sparing, preventing, delivering mercy have we had ? The honey-comb of mercy hath continually
dropped upon us. Lam. iii. 23., His mer- cies " are new every morning." Mercy comes in as constantly as the tide ; nay, how many tides of mercies do we see in one day. We never feed, but mercy carves every bit to us ; we never drink, but in the golden cup of mercy ; we never go abroad, but mercy sets a guard of angels about us ; we never lie down in bed, but mercy draws the curtains of protection close about us ; nov*-, shall we receive so many good things at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil ? Our mercies far outweigh our af- flictions ; for one affliction Ave have a thou- sand mercies, O then let us submit to God, and say, " Thy will be done." The sea of God's mercy should swallow up a few drops of affliction.
24/A. Consideration, to bring our wills to God in affliction doth much honour the gospel ; an unsubmissive Christian re- proacheth religion, as if it were not able to subdue an unruly spirit. It is weak phy- sic, which cannot purge out ill humours : and sure it is a weak gospel, if it cannot master our discontent, and martyr our wills. Unsubmissiveness is a reproach, but a cheer- ful resignation of our will to God sets a crown of honour upon the head of religion, it shows the power of the gospel, which can charm down the passions, and melt the will into God's Avill ; therefore in scripture submissive patience is brought in as an a- dorning grace. Rev. xiv. 12., " Here is the patience of the saints."
25^/i. Consideration, the example of our Lord Jesus, how flexible and submissive was he to his Father ! He who taught u this prayer, " thy will be done," had learn cd it himself; Christ's will was perfectly tuned to his Father's will ; it was the will of his Father that he should die for our sins, and he " endured the cross," Heb. xii. 2. It was a painful, shameful, cursed death ; he suffered the very pains of hell equiva- lently, yet he willingly submitted, Isa. liii. 7,, " He opened not his mouth." He open- ed his side when the blood ran out, but he opened not his mouth in repining, his will was resolved into the will of his Father, John xviii. 1 1., " The cup which my Fa- tlicr hath given me shall I not drink it ?" Now the more our wills are subject to God's
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will in affliction, tlie nearer we come to Christ our pattern : is it not our prayer we may bo like Christ ? By holy submission ^Ae imitate him; his will was melted into his Father's will.
26///. Consideration, to submit our wills to God is the way to liave our will ; every one would be glad to have his will, — the way to have our will is to resign it, — God deals with us as we do with froward chil- dren,— while we fret and quarrel, God will give us nothing, but when we are submis- sive, and say, " Thy will be done," now God carves out mercy to us. The way to bave our will is t<i submit it. David brought his will to God's, 2 Sam. xv. 26., " Here am I, let him do to me as seems good to him." And after he resigned his will he had his will ; God brought him back to the ark and settled him again in his throne, 2 Sam. xix. Many a parent that hath had a dear child sick, when he could bring his will to God to part with it, God hath given him the life of his child : there's nothing lost by referring our will to God, the Lord takes it kindly from us, and it is the only way to have our will.