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the learned speak. Now, it is most certain, that the more gracious souls are afflicted, the more their graces are exercised; and the more grace is exercised, the more it is increased; as I have sufficiently demonstrated in this treatise already. But,

(2). The longer a gracious soul is afflicted, the more his religious duties will be multiplied, Psal. cix. 4. For my love they are my adversaries: but I give my soul unto prayer;" or, as the Hebrew reads.it, But I am prayer, or a man of prayer. In times of affliction, a Christian is all prayer; he is never so much a man of prayer, a man given up to prayer, as in times of affliction. A Christian is never so frequent, so fervent, so abundant in the work of the Lord, as when he is afflicted, Is. xxvi. 16. "Lord, in trouble have they visited thee; they poured out a prayer, when thy chastening was upon them." Now they do not only pray, but they pour out a prayer; they were freely, largely, and abundantly in prayer, when the rod was upon them. Look, as men plentifully pour out water for the quenching of a fire, so did they plentifully pour out their prayers before the Lord; and as affliction puts a man upon being much in prayer, so it puts him upon other duties of religion answerably. Now this is most certain, that though God will reward no man for his works, yet he will reward every man according to his works, Matth. xxv. 46. 1 Cor. xv. 58. "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedast, unmoveable, always abounding in

the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. 2 Cor. ix, 6. But this I say, He which soweth sparingly, shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully, shall reap also bountifully;" or he which soweth in benedictions or blessings, shall reap in benedictions, as it runs in the original.

It is an excellent observation of Calvin, uponGod's rewarding the Rechabites obedience, Jer. xxxv. 19. God, saith he, oft recompenseth the shadows and seeming appearances of virtue, to shew what complacency he takes in the ample rewards he hath reserved for true and sincere piety. Now, if the longer a Chris tian is afflicted, the more his religious services will be multiplied; and the more they are multiplied, the more his glory at last will be increased: then, the longer a saint is afflicted on earth, the more glory he shall have when he comes to heaven. But,

(3.) The longer any saint is afflicted, the more into the image and likeness of Christ he will be transformed. It is one of God's great designs and ends in afflicting his people, to make them more comformable to his Son: and God will not lose his end; men often lose theirs, but God never hath, nor will lose his: and experience tells us, that God doth every day by afflictions accomplish his end upon his people: the longer they are afflicted, the more they are made conformable to Christ, in meekness, lowliness, spiritualness, heavenliness, in faith, love, self-denial, pity, compassion, &c.

Now certainly, the more like to Christ, the more beloved of Christ; the more a Christian is like to Christ, the more he is the delight of Christ; and the more like to Christ on earth, the nearer the soul shall sit to Christ in heaven. Nothing makes a man more conformable to Christ, than afflictions. Justin Martyr (in his second apology for the Christians) hath observed, that there is scarce any prediction or prophecy concerning our Saviour Christ, the Son of God, to be made man, but the Heathen writers (who were all after Moses) did from thence invent some fable, and feign it to have been acted by some one or other of Jupiter's sons; only the prophecies about the cross of Christ, they have taken for the ground of no fable; they have not, among all their fictions, told us of any one of Jupiter's sons that was crucified, that acted his part upon the cross. Many would wear the crown with Christ, that do not care for bearing the cross with Christ. But,

8. The longer they have been, the greater cause thou hast to be silent and patient: for impatience will but lengthen out the day of thy sorrows: every impatient act adds one link more to the chain; every act of frowardness adds one lash more to those that have already been laid on; every act of muttering will but add stroke to stroke, and sting to sting; every act of murmuring will but add burden to burden, and storm to storm: the most compen'dious way to lengthen out thy long afflictions, s to fret, and vex, and murmur under them.

As thou wouldst see a speedy issue of thy long afflictions, sit mute and silent under them.

9. God's time is the best time; mercy is 'never nearer: salvation is at hand, deliverance is at the door, when a man's heart is brought into such a frame, as to be freely willing that God should time his mercy, and time his deliverance for him. The physician's time is the best time for the patient to have ease. The impatient patient cries out to his physician, Oh, Sir a little ease, a little refreshment; Oh the pains, the torments that I am under! Oh, Sir! I think every hour two, and every two ten, till comfort comes, till refreshment comes: but the prudent physician hath turned the hour-glass, and is resolved that his physic shall work so leng, though his patient frets, flings, roars, tears. So when we are under afflictions, we are apt to cry out, How long, Lord, shall it be before ease comes, before deliverance comes? Oh the tortures! Oh the torments that we are under ! Lord, a little refreshment; Oh, how long are these nights! Oh, how tedious are these days! But God hath turned our glass, and he will not hearken to our cry, till our glass be out: after all our fretting and flinging, we must stay his time, who knows best when to deliver us, and how to deliver us out of all our troubles; and who will not stay a moment when the glass is out that he hath turned? -But

10. Lastly, They shall last no longer than there is need, and then they shall work for

thy good. It is with souls, as it is with bodies; some bodies are more easily and more suddenly cured than others are, and so are some souls; God will not suffer the plaister to lie one day, no not one hour, no not a moment longer than there is need; some flesh heals quickly, proud flesh is long a-healing; by affiction God quickly heals some, but others are long a-healing, 1 Pet. i. 6. If need be, ye are in heaviness, through manifold temptations, or through various afflictions: the burden shall lie no longer upon thee than needs must, thy pain shall endure no longer than needs must, thy physic shall make thee no longer sick than needs must, &c. Thy heavenly Father is a physician, as wise as he is loving; when thy heart begins to grow high, he sees there is need of some heavy affliction to bring it low; when thy heart grows cold, he sees there is need of some fiery affliction to heat it, and warm it: when thy heart grows dull and dead, he sees there is need, of some smart affliction to enliven and quicken it. And as thy afflictions shall continue no longer than there is need, so they shall last no longer than they shall work for thy good. If all along they shall work for thy good, thou hast no cause to complain that thy afflictions are long. That they shall thus work, I have fully proved in the former part of this book. And thus much for answer to the third objection.

Object. 4. "I would be mute and silent under my afflictions, but my afflictions daily multiply and increase upon me; like the

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