3 ® Faiths Triumph; T by yGod lay: n als , on ittong hralians. deaf.r, Secondly, the ftrength of a trial may çonfrítintilenearnefs ofan obje&,when the trial is not that which rends the garment, but rends the heart ; for a woman to lofe her ring,is not fo much,btt tolofe her husband,thisjs much more ;,for a man to lofe anoutward thing is fomething,but to lofe a child is muchmore; this many times is the renting ofthe loyna afu»der,for David to lofe a fervent is not fo,much,but when Davidlofcs e.dbfalom, then hecries out, OAbfalom, myton, would God»haddiedfoe thee. O Abfalommyfn, myfan. God is plcafed many times to try hisfervants,by taking arraythe delight oftheir get, and thejoy of their heart, and the hope of their lives. Thirdly, theltrength ofatrialmay conftft in the nearnefs ofa comfort;. a trial is ftrgngeft whenit feems to pluck away the thing That is neareft the heart, whenCod plucks away aChild fucking at the breaft,whenhe takes away that whereon our de- light is fixed ; when God on afudden,doth take away and confume the Gourd that fhadowed fonah, when he fnatches away the thing that we take content in ; Q this will enter to the quick,andgreatly amaze us, when ouraffe&'ion isplaced,and felled in a deigned obje&, in a perfon that we nearly love, and now to take away that comfort, andas it were to diverfe the heart from the heart ; O this goes near us,this Both exceedingly, trouble a perfon. ... , Fourthly,the ftrengthofa trial may confift in thefuddennef ofit,to enjoya tom. fort; andon a fudden to have it taken awayas it were in a mans fleep, fucha thing that he didnot dreamof, when hedidnot expe& that fuch a thingwouldbefal him, if a man had heard fomething before hand, he might have been better fitted for it; When the Prophet taw theCloud afcendout of the Sea,being warnedofabundance ofrain, be battened to efcape. So ifa perfonhave fore-notice ofSuch a croft that would fall upon him, he might be fomewhat armed and prepared, he might infome meafure be able to bear his ,trial , like a little Boat well mannaged maymeet with lofty waves, but when the of li&ion fhall take amanatunawares, when it takes uí before wecan gather our !elves together,beforewe can put out ourfelves in prayer; for a Man to goforth, and come homeand finda wifedead, and for aWomanto go forth, and come home andfindher Husband dead: for a tenderMother tokifs her child,and lay it down to relt,and thenext turnto findher chilidead; this isa great trial. . Fifthly, the ftrength ofatriall is in tine fuccefïivenefs ofa trial,therepetition ofa trial,when Jobsmeffengerscome with newsofoneafihi&ion,having fcarce delivered their melfage, and theirerrand, but another comes,when thereis a courfe of trials one after another; Thou, OLord, haft'fit me as a mark, faithyob t Why a mark? why God had, as it were, fiugled him a man for forrowand trial, onearrow hadno fooner lighted on him, but another comes and pierces him s Now this dothdeeply prove our patience, and makes us fometime wonder, that the Lord fhóul'd give us noreft, when one afhiCtion Shall fucceed another, without anyCordial; when the handkerchief !hall no fooner wipe offone tear, bùtprefentlyanotherdiffillscrown: Herein is a great ftrength oftrial, theheart is-wonderfullycaft down. Sixthly,the{trengthofa trial may confiff in theftrangenefs of ourobedienceto it aswhen a matter is putupon us as a duty to be obeyed,and hath fore coitträdi&ion to the preceptofGod: when a trial doth crofs the precept ofobedience, and jufsle againft the pronoife ofGod, that a man can hardly obeyGod,but hemuft make God alyar. Abraham couldnot haveobeyed God in killing his Child, balmmutt run againft that othercommand, forbiddingnturder; he couldnot deferit, but he muft Violate hisfaith ; Now this doth exceedingly diftra& the Soul vvith a great trial, the more contrary the trial is to the precept ofobedience, the greateris the trial, and themorenear to the perfon. But Iproceedto the nexty,ueftion. Why the Lorddoth impofe great trials upon great mitts, the aeafons ofit may be there Firft, greatgí'acevvill beobfcure,andvvill fcarce film it felf,únlefsthere begreat trials; and therefore S. Paulvvhenhevvas liftup to the thirdheavens,left he íhould be exaltedabove meafure, therevvas given hima thorn in the fefh,he is beatendovvti vvithtemptation, that the grace ofGod might the moreappear." GodBoth hereby revent
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=