And all this must be in every Christian before he come to heaven ; for God never brings a man of years to heaven but he gives him cause to see why he would be out of this world, either by long sickness or affliction, or by one thing or other. He makes them see that it is better to be there than here ; and if it were not for crosses, who would be of that mind ?
Therefore, have we not cause to suspect ourselves that we are in smooth ways and find no crosses ? God doth give respite to his chikben. They have breathing times. They are not alway under crosses. He is merciful. Perhaps they have not strength enough. He will not bring them to the lists,* to the stage, because they are not enabled, they have not strength enough. But they that have a continual tenor of prosperity may well sus- pect themselves. If one have direction to such a place, and they tell him there are such ways, deep waters, that except he take heed he will be drowned, and step into holes, and they are craggy ways ; and if he meet with none of these, he may well think he is not in his way. So the way to heaven, it is thi-ough afflictions. We must endm-e many afflictions, saith the apostle here, ' Salvation is wrought by enduring the same afflictions * That is, ' barriers.' Cf. liicLardson, sub voce—Q.
104 COMMENTARY ON
that you see in us.' Now, if I suffer and endure nothing, if I cannot en- dure so much as a filip, a disgrace, a frown, a scorn for Christ, if the way be over-smooth, it is not the way to heaven certainl)'. The way is not strewed with roses. We nmst havo our feet ' shod with the preparation of the gospel,' Eph. vi. 15. They must ])c well shod that go among thorns ; and they had need to be well fenced that go the way to heaven. It is a thorny, rugged way. But it is no matter wliat the way be, so it brings us to heaven ; but certainly, if the way bo too smooth, we ought to suspect ourselves.
Now, because it may be objected, many will say, alas ! What do we suffer '? and, therefore, our case is not good.
I answer, every Christian sufiers one of these ways at one time or other, nay, at all times, cither by sympfithy with the church [or otherwise.]
1. Put the case we have no alilictions of our own, do we not sjjinpathise with the church beyond the seas ? When thou hearest ill news, if thou be glad to hear it, certainly thy case is bad. There is a suflering by sjth- pathy, and that suffering is ours.
2. Then again, there are aiflictions and sufferings that arise upon scandals, that men run into before our eyes, which is a great grief. ' Mine eyes gush out with rivers of waters, because men keep not thy law,' saith David, Ps. cxix. 13G. Is it not a matter of suffering to a Chiistian soul to see that he would not see, and to hear blasphemies and oaths that he v.'ould not hear ? to have the understanding forced to understand that he would not, living in a world of iniquity, in the kingdom of the devil '? It is a great grievance. ' Woe is me that I am forced to dwell in Meshech, and to have my habita- tion with the tents of Kedar,' Ps. cxx. 5. It is a pitiful affliction to the saints of God, to him that hath the life of grace in his heai't, to have the wicked as ' goads and thorns,' as the Scripture saith the Jebusites should be to the Israelites, Num. xxxiii. 55 ; to have thoughts forced upon us and things forced upon our souls that we would not see nor think nor hear of, that which shall never be in heaven.
3. Again, every one suffers the burden of his calling, which is a gi'eat suffering. A man need not to whip himself, as the Scottish papists do [q), if he be but faithful in his calling. It is a notable means of mortification. God keeps a man from persecution many times because he hath burdens in his calling to exercise him. He hath many crosses in his calling. God hath joined sweat to labom*, and trouble, and pains ; and there is no man that is faithful in his calling as he should be, but he shall find many crosses.
4. And then, that which afilicts most of all, the affliction of all afflictions, the inward combat between the flesh and the spirit, which God usually takes up in persecution and outward troubles. God's dear children in persecu- tion find little molestation from their corruptions, because God will not lay more upon them than he will give them strength to bear ; and now, when he singles them out to outward crosses, he subdues their corraptions, that they do not vex them as before.
In the time of peace he lets loose their corruptions, sometimes anger, sometimes pride, sometimes one base affection, sometimes another ; and think you this is no grief to them ? Oh, yes ; it grieves them, and humbles them more than any cross would do. St Paul was grieved more at this than at all his sufferings. It made him cry out, ' Oh, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death ? ' Rom. vii. 24. He doth not say. Oh, wretched man, who shall deliver me from crosses and afflic- tions ? Though they made him wretched in the eye of the world, yet he re- joiced in those. But his grief was, that he could not do the good that he