The next shall be the great doctor of the Gentiles, St Paul : 2 Cor. xii. 7-9, ' And for this I besought the Lord thrice ;' he knocked thrice at the throne of grace, as Christ prayed thrice, and Elijah prayed thrice for rain. Well, but the Lord made him no answer, ' But my grace is
Acts XXI. 14.] the fifteenth sermon. 335
sufficient for thee.' The thorn in the flesh, some painful disease or affliction, must continue. And what saith Paul P ' Most gladly, there- fore, will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me ; therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions for Christ's sake.' He doth entertain it with some kind of cheerfulness and thanksgiving, if he may have ex- perience that the grace and power of Christ may rest upon him ; it is enough that God's will is fulfilled, though it be with our pain and loss.
IsTow let us consider : — I. Wherein this submission consists.
II. Upon what grounds we ought to submit.
I. Wherein this submission consists.
Negatively, it is not to be insensible. Godliness doth not teach men stoicism, to harden themselves under the rod of God. The Lord complains. of that, Jer. v. 3, 'I have stricken them, but they have not grieved,' &c. We must lay his hand to heart as well as his word. We are not to be like the corner-stone which bears the whole weight of the building and feels nothing. There are two extremes — slighting the hand of God, or fainting under it, Heb. xii. 5 ; and slighting is worse than the other. There is no patience where there is no sense and feeling. Certainly there can be no improvement where there is not a feeling the rod of God, the strokes of his correcting hand upon us.
Biit affirmatively, there is in it: —
1. A work of the judgment, which subscribes to the justice and goodness of the dispensation, that it is just : Dan. ix. 7, ' 0 Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of face,' It is a smart and dreadful correction, but the Lord is righteous. And to the goodness of it, Isa. xxxix. 8, ' Good is the word of the Lord.' Though it was a terrible word, yet the submission of a sanctified judg- ment calls it good.
2. The act of the will is accepting of it : Lev. xxvi. 41, 'If they shall accept of the punishment of their sin.' There is a consent and choice of the will ; such a perfect correspondence between the temper of a gracious heart and the will of God, they take it well and kindly from God that it is no worse, as a patient takes bitter pills for his good. There are some kind of reluctances of nature, but their overpowering judgment and will doth approve and accept. Afflictions are to be taken as a potion, not as a drench, not forced upon us whether we will or no ; we must accept of them, take them down ourselves ; it is a bitter cup, but it is of our heavenly physician's tempering. Seneca, a heathen, could say, Deonowpareo, sed assetiiio ex animo — I do not merely sub- mit to divine providence, but consent to it. A strange thing that a heathen should say so. It is good, and so we accept it ; not barely out of necessity and by a patience perforce, but there is a willing submis- sion to what the Lord ordereth concerning us.
3. There is a command reached out over the affections of anger and sorrow. ( 1 .) Anger, that we may not fret against the Lord : Ps. xxxvii. 1 , ' Fret not thyself against evil-doers.' Many times when words are kept in there is a secret rising and swelling of heart against God's providence ;
336 THE FIFTKENTII SERMON. [ACTS XXI. 14.
as an oven stopped up is the hotter within. So thon,2:h it may be words do not break out, yet the heart boils, riseth, and dislikes God's dealing : Ps. Ixii. 1, ' i\Iy soul, keep silence to God ;' not only my tongue, but my soul. Thoughts are as audible with God as words ; therefore there is a command upon our anger and indignation, that it may not swell antl rise up against God's providence. (2.) Upon our sorrow, that it may not run into excess, causing disorder. We are allowed to grieve, but with temper and moderation. To be horny, flinty, dead, and sense- less, whatever breaches are made upon us, doth not suit with the teni- ])er of a Christian. Christ hath legitimated our tears and sorrows, for in the days of his flesh he had his tears, sorrows, and groans ; there- fore, 1 Cor. vii. 31, mourn we should, but as we mourned not. If the affection be stubborn and boisterous, it must be cited befoi-e the tribu- nal of reason. We must give an account of it : * Why art thou cast down, 0 my soul ? hope thou in God,' Ps. xlii. 5. The upper part of the soul checks the excesses of the lower part when its commands are slighted.
4. The tongue is bridled, lest discontent plash over ; as * Aaron held his peace,' Lev. x. 3. It was a sad stroke, but it was the Lord He kcyit his tongue from murmuring against God. If there be a fire kindled in our bosoms, we should not let the sparks fly abroad. Mur- nuuing is a taxing of God, as if he dealt hardly and unjustly with us ; and if it vents itself, it is more to his dishonour : Job xl. 4, 5, ' Behold I am vile, what shall I answer thee ? I will lay my hand upon my mouth. Once I have spoken, but I will not answer ; yea twice, but I will proceed no further.' Job was resolute enough before to fill his mouth with arguments ; if once he could meet with God, he would reason the case with him, but presently is damped at God's appeai'ance ; and when his passions were a little calmed, he renounceth liis former bold resolutions, and would no longer give vent to his dis- temper, and is resolved to be silent before God, and to give over his plea, and bury all his discontented thoughts in his own bosom. As if he had said, Once in my foolish passion I was complaining of thee, and desirous to dispute with thee ; it is time to give over that debate, and humbly to submit.