And again, 3, aggravating the grievance. As Bildad saith, ' Are the comforts of God light to thee?' Job xv. 11. These are good words, but my discomforts are greater, my malady is greater. So the comforts of the Holy Ghost, the comforts of God's Spirit, seem light to them. Ignorance, and passion, and dwelling too much, makes us neglect comfort. It makes us to see comfort to be no comfort in a manner. Mary, when Christ was before her eyes, they were so blubbered with tears, with fear that her Lord
* Qu. 'seek.' — G.
2 COBINTHIANS CHAP. I, VER. 3. 51
was lost, that she could not see him, even ■when he was before her, John XX. 15. So grief and passion hinder the soul so much from seeing God's comforts, that we see them not when they are before us, when they are present. So men are guilty of their own discomfort. It is their own lault.
4. Again, ofttimes J'orgetfulness. As the apostle saith, ' Have ye for- gotten the consolation that speaks?' Heb. xii. 5. Have ye forgotten that every son that God chastiseth not is a bastard ? Have ye forgotten ? Insinuating that, if they had remembered this, it would have comforted them. ' Have ye forgotten ? '
5. And then one especial cause is, that I spake of before, the looking to things present, forgetting the spring, the well-head of comfort, God himself; the looking too much to the means. Oh ! say some, if they be in distress, if I had such a book, if I had such a man to comfort me, certainly it would be otherwise with me, I should be better than I am. Put case he were with thee, alas ! he is not at the spring ! It is the God of comfort that must comfort thee, man, in all thy distresses whatsoever. Therefore if thou attribute not more to God than to the creature, nay, than to an angel, if he were to comfort thee, thou shalt find no comfort. * I, even I, am he that comforts thee,' Isa. li. 12. I am he that pardons thy sins, which is the cause of all discomfort. That is comfort ! That is the sting of all. ' I am he that pardons thy sins.'
We, as criers, may speak pardon to the soul ; but God must give it. We may speak comfort, but God must give it. He must say to the soul, * I am thy salvation,' Ps. xxxv. 3. When men idolise any discom'se in books, or any particular man over much (though we may value those that are instnimental above others, there may be a difterence of gifts, but), the resting too much in the creature, it is an enemy to comfort ; and some grow to that wilfulness in that kind, that they will neglect all because they have not that they would have, whereas if they would look to God, meaner means would serve the turn ofttimes, if they would go to the God of comfort.
^TERSE 4.
' Who comforteth lis in all tribulation.' AiSictions and crosses, as they are irksome in suffering, so they are likewise disgraceful ; and as it was in the cross of Christ, there were* two things, torment and shame. The one he felt himself, the other he had from others ; those two. Dis- grace is proper to the cross. So it is in all the crosses that we suffer, there is some disgrace with it. Therefore St Paul, to prevent the scandal and disgrace of the cross, as I said before, he doth here begin with prais- ing God even for crosses in the midst of them. ' Blessed be God, the Father of mercies, the God of all comfcn-t ; who comforteth us in all tribu- lations,' &c.
' Who comforteth us in all tribulation.' These words contain a making good of the former title, 'He is a God of comfort, and doth comfort ; he is good, and doth good.' He fills up his name by his works. He shews what he is. The Scripture doth especially describe God, not in all things as he is in himself; but as he is, and works to his poor church. And they are useful terms, all of them. He is ' the Father of mercy,' be- cause he is so to his church. He is the ' God of comfort,' because he * Misprinted ' was.' — G.
62 COMMENTARY ON
is 60 to his people. Therefore he saith here, as he is ' the God of comfort ; ' so he doth comfort us in all tribulation. He doth not say, who keeps us out of misery. Blessed he the God of comfort, that never suffers ns to fall into discomfort ! No ! but ' blessed be the God of comfort, that comforts us in all tribidation.' It is more to raise good out of evil, than not to suffer evil to be at all. It shews gi-eater power, it manifests greater goodness, to triumph over ill, when it [is] suffered to be, and so not to keep ill from us, but to comfort us in it.
He doth not say for the time past, which hath comforted us, or which can comfort us if it please him. No ! He doth it. It is his use.* He doth it alway. It springs from his love. He never at any instant or moment of time forgets his children. And he saith not, he doth comfort us in one or two, or a few tribulations; but he comforteth us in ' all tribu- lations,'' of what kind or degree soever.