IL I shall show you what are the grounds and principles for faith, that will bear it up under afflictions.
1. That God hath a hand in all the afflictions that do befall us : Amos iii. 8, 'Is there evil in the city, and I have not done it?' God is not the author of the evil of sin, but there is no evil of punishment but he hath a hand in it : Job i. 23, ' The Lord hath given, and the Lord halh taken.' It is Chrysostom's gloss upon the place : he doth not say the Chaldean hath taken, the Sabean hath taken, but the Lord iiath taken. Job doth not look to the instruments, but to God.
2. That he chasteneth us but as our need and profit requireth. There is a vain conceit that possesseth the minds of men, as if the godhead were envious, and had no })leasure in the happiness of men, and therefore did delight to ci'oss and thwart them. To delov (pOovepov, was a principle among the heathens. Job alludeth to this conceit when he saith, Job x. 3, ' Is it good unto thee that thou shouldst op])ress and despise the work of thine hands, and shine upon the counsels of the wicked ? ' Doth God take delight to torment i)is creature ? or doth it do him good to grieve and afflict his own children? We have hard thoughts of God. The devil seeketh much to weaken the opinion of God's goodness in our hearts ; for if God be not good, he is no longer to be regarded and trusted ; he seeketh to insinuate into our first parents a distaste of God, and so still he doth in us. Therefore it concerneth us to cherish good thoughts of God ; that when he cor- recteth.it is but as our need and profit requireth. Our need : 1 Peter i. 6, ' Ye are for a season, if need be, in heaviness.' All the afflictions that come upon us are needful for us, to reclaim us from our wanderings, and to cut off the provisions of our lusts, and restrain us from doing evil or growing evil. It is a sad and w^oful thing for a child to be left to himself, and to give him the reins upon his own neck ; but more sad for a man to be suffered to go on in sin without any chastisement or cor- rection. Those whom God corrects not he seemeth to cast them oft", and deliverthem totheirown lusts, and then theymust needs perish. And then he correcteth us as our profit requireth: Heb. xii. 10, ' They verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure, but he for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness.' Our earthly parents many times act out of passion, rashly, not consideiing what is meet for their
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children ; their chastenings may be arbitrary and irregular : they for a few days chastened us, or for fancy ; God for the whole term of life, till he hath made us perfect, and done his whole work upon us. His corrections are regulated by his perfect wisdom, issue from the purest love, tend to and end in our highest happiness ; it is no ways arbitrary, for he never chasteneth us but when he seeth cause, and knoweth certainly that it will be good for us — ' He for our profit ; ' not that we may increase in the world ; no, no, but in some better thing, some spiritual and divine benefit. That we may be more like Grod, capable of communiou with him, that is true profit.
3. That the afflictions he bringeth on his people come from love : Heb. xii. 6, ' For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth ; ' and Rev. iii. 19, ' As many as I love I rebuke and chasten :' it is good to see whence our evil cometh. Afflic- tions upon God's own children mostly come from God's paternal love, for mere love, for the increase and trial of grace. God may pimish others, but he chasteneth none but sons ; that is an effect of his fatherly love, or else from meie anger 'an evil, an only evil,' Ezek. vii. 5. In a design of vengeance ; not to fan or purge, but to destroy. So upon the reprobate, all their troubles are the beginnings of sorrow, the suburbs of hell. Or else from anger mixed with love, or fatherly displeasure : as the corrections that follow sin. David's child was taken away, 2 Sam, xii. 10-12. Anger beginneth, but love tempereth the dispensa- tion. Or else from love mixed with anger ; as Job out of love was put upon trial, that his patience and faith might be manifested; but he mingleth corruption, some murmurings, and then God puts in a drachm of anger, and speaketh to him out of the whirlwind.
4. That he corrects in much measure. His love sets him a-work, and then his wisdom directeth and tempereth all the circumstances of the cross, that they may suit the effect which God aimeth at : Isa. xxvii. 8, ' In measure when it shooteth forth thou wilt debate with it. He etayeth his rough wind in the day of the east wind.' God metetli out their sufferings in due proportion, in weight and measure : as physicians in prescribing pills and potions to their patients have a respect to the ability of the patient, as well as the nature and quality of the disease r -Jer. XXX. 11, ' I will correct thee in measure.' This moderation and mitigation of evils is seen, either in proportioning the burden according to our strength, or in proportioning the strength according to the bur- den ; sometimes the one and sometimes the other. By mitigating the temptation according to our strength : 1 Cor. x. 13, ' But God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above what you are able.' A merciful man will not overburden his beast ; so God will not lay a man's burden upon a child's back. Sometimes in proportion- ing the strength to the temptation ; if he layeth on a heavy burden, he will give strength to bear it. He is ready to help us and support us : Eom. viii. 26, ' The Spirit also helpeth our infirmities.' When we begin to sink, the Spirit beareth a part of the burden with us : Ps. xxxvii. 24, ' Though he fall he shall not utterly be cast down ; for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.' He may seem to be pressed down, but not quite lost : Phil. iv. 13, ' I can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth me ; ' bearing strength is there spoken of. So Col.