You may take away my life, saith Basil, but you cannot take away my comfort ; my head, but not my crown. Yea, quoth he, had I a thousand lives, I would lay them all down for my Saviour's sake, who hath done abundantly more for me. John Ardley professed to Bonner, when he told him of burning, and how ill he could endure it, that if he had as many lives as he had hairs on his head, he would lose them all in the fire before he would lose his Christ.1 Assurance will keep a man from muttering and murmuring under the sorest afflictions. Henry and John, two Augustine monks, being the first that were burnt in Ger- many, and Mr Rogers, the first that was burnt in Queen Mary's days, did all sing in the flame. A soul that lives in the assurance of divine favour, and in its title to glory, cannot but bear up patiently and quietly under the greatest sufferings that possibly can befall it in this world. That scripture is worth its weight in gold, ' The inhabitants of Sion shall not say, I am sick; the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity,' Isa. xxxiii. 24. He doth not say they were not sick. No. But though they were sick, yet they should not say they were sick. But why shoiild they forget their sorrows, and not remember their pains, nor be sensible of their sickness ? Why ! the reason is, because the Lord had forgiven them their iniquities. The sense of pardon took away the sense of pain ; the sense of forgiveness took away the sense of sickness. Assurance of pardon will take away the pain, the sting, the trouble of every trouble and affliction that a Christian meets with. No affliction will daunt, startle, or stagger an assured Christian. An assured Chris- tian will be patient and silent under all, Ps. xxiii. 1, 4-7. Melancthon makes mention of a godly woman, who, having upon her deathbed been in much conflict, and afterward much comforted, brake out into these words : Now, and not till now, I understand the meaning of these words, ' Thy sins are forgiven ;' the sense of which did mightily cheer and quiet her. He that hath got this jewel of assurance in his bosom, will be far enough off from vexing or fretting under the saddest dispen- sations that he meets with in this world.
(4.) Fourthly, If you would be quiet and silent under your present troubles and trials, then dwell much upon the benefit, the profit, the advantage that hath redounded to your souls by former troubles and afflictions that have been upon you.2 Eccles. vii. 14, ' In the day of adversity consider.' Oh ! now consider, how by former afflictions the Lord hath discovered sin, prevented sin, and mortified sin : consider how the Lord by former afflictions hath discovered to thee the impo- tency, the mutability, the insufficiency, and the vanity of the world, and all worldly concernments : consider how the Lord by former afflic- tions hath melted thy heart, and broken thy heart, and humbled thy heart, and prepared thy heart for clearer, fuller, and sweeter enjoyments of himself : consider what pity, what compassion, what bowels, what tenderness, and what sweetness former afflictions have wrought in thee towards others in misery : consider what room former afflictions have made in thy soul for God, for his word, for good counsel, and for divine
1 Clarke's ' Martyrologio,' as before, pp. 452, 453. — G.
• There was a good man that had got so much good by his afflictions, that he counted it his greatest affliction to want an affliction ; and therefore he would sometimes cry out, 0 my friends, I have lost an affliction, I have lost au affliction !
PS. XXXIX. 9.] UNDER THE SMARTING ROD. 393
comfort : consider how by former afflictions the Lord hath made thee more partaker of his Christ, his Spirit, -his holiness, his goodness, &c. : consider how by former afflictions the Lord hath made thee to look towards heaven more, to mind heaven more, to prize heaven more, and to long for heaven more, &c. Now, who can seriously consider of all that good that he hath got by former afflictions, and not be silent under present afflictions ? Who can remember those choice, those great, and those precious earnings that his soul hath made of former afflictions, and not reason himself into a holy silence under present afflictions thus : O my soul ! hath not God done thee much .good, great good, special good, by former afflictions ? Yes. O my soul ! hath not God done that for thee by former afflictions, that thou wouldst not have to do for ten thousand worlds ? Yes. And is not God, O my soul ! as powerful as ever, as faithful as ever, as gracious as ever, and as ready and willing as ever to do thee good by present afflictions, as he hath been to do thee good by former afflictions ? Yes, yes. Why, why then dost thou not sit silent and mute before him under thy present troubles? 0 my soul ! It was the saying of one, that an excellent memory was needful for three sorts of men : First, for tradesmen ; for they, having many busi- nesses to do, many reckonings to make up, many irons in the fire, had need of a good memory. Secondly, great talkers ; for they, being full of words, had need to have a good storehouse in their heads to feed their tongues. Thirdly, for liars ; for they telling many untruths, had need of a good memory, lest they should be taken in their lying con- tradictions : and I may add for a fourth, viz., those that are afflicted, that they may remember the great good that they have gained by former afflictions, that so they may be the more silent and quiet under present troubles.
(5.) Fifthly, To quiet and silence your souls under the sorest afflic- tions and sharpest trials, consider, that your choicest, your chief est trea- sure is safe ; your God is safe, your Christ is safe, your portion is safe, your crown is safe, your inheritance is safe, your royal palace is safe, and your jewels, your graces are safe ; therefore hold your peace, 2 Tim. i. 12 ; iv. 8.
I have read a story of a man that had a suit, and when his cause was to be heard, he applied himself to three friends, to see what they could do for him : one answered, he would bring him as far on his journey as he could ; the second promised him that he would go with him to his journey's end ; the third engaged himself to go with him before the judge, and to speak for him, and not to leave him till his cause was heard and determined. These three are a man's riches, his friends, and his graces. His riches will help him to comfortable accommodations while they stay with him, but they often take leave of a man before his soul takes leave of his body. His friends will go with him to his grave, and then leave him ; but his graces will accompany him before God, they will not leave him nor forsake him ; they will go to the grave, to glory, with him, 1 Tim. vi. 18, 19.