Too Chap. 7. An Expofition upon the Book of O B. Verf ZO. haft thou Pet me at a mark? as if he had faid , if I could but learn this and fee the reafon of ir, Purely I fhould receive thy wounds as krfles, and rake thy flroakes as imbraces. When Gideon few fo many evils and troubles upon ¡fras), pd. 6. and the Angel told him, the Lordwas with him, Then, why it it these ( faith he) Can yougive me a reafon, why God being with us,it is thus wtrh us ? To know the reafon of our pain, it a great raft , and almoft the cure of it. 1t the people God did but know what infinite reafon he hatli ( reafon of the higheft temperament of wifdom and goodnefs) why he laies afli&tion upon them, and makes them as his marks, they would be abundantly fatisfied with ir. What is the reafon why the Saints coming out of great of aion , are willing to confefs, it it good for tes that we were affl.úed, and bleff°ed be God that we were chaflened. It is, becaufe then they fee more cleerly the reafon why God aflli6ted them, and they then begin to call the fruit of thole affli&ioñs. It while the affiiEtions is upon us, we knew what good God mcaneth us, what honour he in. tendeth us, we fhould bear ir, not only with courage and with patience, but with joy. It job had been but fully acquainted with this, that God thereforePet him up as amark to (hoot at, that he might be toall the world a mirror of patience:that God intended him this honour,that his name fhould be upon record in his book fo long as there was a Church , furely he would have born all with more patience than he did ; But he was groping in the dark , and therefore enquires , wherefore ball thou jet me as a mark againft thee ? The words are not only , or not fo much, an ex- poftulation, becaufe he was Pet äs a mark, asan inquifit ion , why he was let as a mark. Thirdlynote, God fmetimes Teems an enemy to his faithful fervantt. For one to be before God as a But continually (hot at, what other in- terpretation can fienfe make of it , but this, that God looks upon him as an enemy ? Yacob faith of Jofepb ( Gen. 49. 23) the ar° sbers have forely grieved hiv , and (het at him, Jofeph was as the comm'ßn mark ,of his Brethrens envy. But in this cafe, as it is laid of Jojep (Gen.42:) when his brethren came to him, he made bimfelf ¡lrange to them.. ( flrained himfelf, and tied his art, to overcome his nature , he made himfeif flrange: Pbfepb was of a meek and lovingdifpofition,and therefore like a Player upon a Stage, he only acted thepart of a rigid ma- ll er or goycrt r.)Tkius many times the Lord rakes upon hire the poftue
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