Chap.I6.Seet 3· ~atnt~ fuffertngi1. · h d'fl race that is call: upon me be to fanctified to me. Again, ami je~red and fcoffcd t ~ ~hy fo was Jefus Chrill when he was in his greatclt extremity, they could put aht · h•'she•d rh. a reed in his hand, and bo10 the •nee br>ore him, and mctk_.him, and lr!ar. 27 · 29 t orns on ... ' v . ~ J ' • . f fay, haile King of the Jews. How then may I attam contentm.ent 1~ the m1dlt o fcoms and jears? By conGdering that Chnlt was ~corned, and by ~ctmg fa1:h upon that wh1.cn Chrill: fuffered for me. \Ve fee many Chnlhans J•e under gnevous pms and .extremities very chearfully and fome wonder at it, why this is the way that they get It, v•z.. by acting their faith upon what pains Jefus Chrifl: fuffercd : are w~ afraid ofdeath? Let us exercife our faith upon the death of Chnll:: are we troubled m foul? Doth God withdraw himfelf from us? Let us exercife our faith upon the fulferings that Chrill: endured in his foul when he was in his agony, and when he fwcat drops of blood. And this will bring contentment to our fouls. . 5 . Let us fetch ll:rength from Chrill: to !;>ear all our burdens. Now this is dot1e by . going out of our felves to Jefus Chrill:, and by acting our faith upcn Ch.rill:, and by bringing thell:rength of Chnfl: mto our fouls.. A man may go very far. With the ufe of reafon alone to help him to contentment, bnt when reafon is at a ncn-plm, then fet faith on work: This is above reafon: It would be a ridiculous thing in the fchools of philofophy to fay, tf there be a b~trthen~tpon yo~t,you n111jf f etchjlrengthfrom another; for another to come , and to fl:and under the bu(then they would eafily grant, but that any one lhou'd be fhengthened by anothers ll:rength, that is not near him in outward view, this they would think moll: ridiculous: 0 but true believers find contentment in every condition by gettmg llrength from another; There IS ll:rength m Chnll:, not only to fanctifie us and fave us, but to fupport us under all our burthen>~nd afflictions. And Chrill expects when we are under any burthen, that we lhould act our faith upon him, to draw venue and ll:rengthfromhim. 0 fweet confolation! If a man have a burthen upon him, yet if he have ll:rength added to him, if the burthen be doubled, yeti f his firength be trebled, the burthen will not be heavier, but lighter then it was before to his naturalll:rength ;· fo if our afflictions be heavy, and we cry out, Oh we cannot be:tr the,n !· Yet if we cannot bear them with our own fhength, why may we not bear them with the ll:rength of Jcfus Chrift? Do we think that Chrill: could not bear them? or if we dare not think but that Chrill: could bear th<;~n, why may not we come to bear them? Some may quell:ion , can we have the ll:rcngth of Chrift? yes; That very firength is made over to us by faith, for fo the Scripture faith frequently, The Lord is ourftrength,God is our ftrength, and Ch-r!{t is o11rj/rength,and therefore is Chrill:s ll:rength ours, made over unto us, that we may be able to bear whatfoever lies upon us. This was Pauls prayer for the Coloflians,. >ha! they might be j/rengthned with a// might, ac– cording to hisgloriou. power nntoall parunce and long fujfering IVith joyfulnefs. I. Here's ftrengthening. z. Here's ll:rengthening wirh a// might. 3· Here's ll:rengthening with all might according to the gloriow power of God in Chrij/. 4· Here's the end, unto what? It is unto all patience and long-fujfering with joyf~tlncfs. Oh you that are now under fad and heavy afflictions more ·than ordinary, look upon'this SGripture, ana confider how it is 111ade goodin you,that fo you may with comfort fay,Through Gads mmylfind that frrcngth commg '6nto me, that z,s herefp(;k.§n ofm thu Scripture. p[alm >8. 7 i'f••lm 42. 2 Pji.fm I I 8. i4 E/ai J2· ' Hco. 3. •9 Colv{,1 , 11 6. Let us fetch Cvnrerttmenr from the Covenant, and from the particular promifes In the Covenant for the fupplying of every particular want. There is no condition that ~godly mim can be in, but there is fome promife or other in the Scripture to help him m that col\dition: and this is the way of his Contmtment to go outto the promife, to plead the promifc, to fetch from the promife that whic.h may fupply. But hath faith warram to ?ciieve wharfoe~er we fin~ in the promife littcrally I dare not fay fo, but howfoever 1nnay aCl upon It, and believe that God will make it good in his _own way. But I am in affii[/ion, andherc is a promife that God will deliver me out ofit, I a[f faith Obje[f. upon rt , ~ut I amnot deliv:ered ;·what good now is there in this promifc to me ? I anfwer , I. Notw1thflandmg our non-qe)iverance, yet now we arc under the protection of God mo:c the~ others are. 2. Notwithll:anding the affliction continues, yet the evil of the afflictiOn IS how taken away. ' 3· Notwithll:anding God makes ufc of.this affliction for Sol. other ends, yet he will make it up to us fome other way, which fhall be as good. q. d. Let me haveyo11r health, yout libeny, yo11r life, you ]hall not lofc by it, I will maizf·it up to youfame other way. 7· Let us by faith realize the glorious things of heaven to us.· Faith (we know) £,· thefobfiance of thmgs hopedfor,and tbcevidencc ofthings mtfeenc. Faith makes the King- Fl'b. n. I y Y dOQ1
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