3 6 Blech. f. 4. Thethornet of Gild(t are the triumph ofour troubIs Apec. r. I. Profperitie the foules bane. God is &I- dome thought vponbut in ourmiferie, Gods loue, fürertoken ef Vpon the Thurfeday after Gods thanProfperity, r Y howmuchmore will God requitéit r Symonswines mother was taken witha great Fewer . Many of the Saints haue beene ata ftand,immaginingwith themielues, That being there is fogreata dif- ference betweenthe OldLawandtheNew,betweene God and God,a God of Vengeance anda GodofMercie, between aLyon and a Lambe; that Chrifts friends fhould haue had a priuiledge , and thatfcarce a houleoftheirs Ihould haue knownwhatfrckenetfe, danger, or death had meant. In the Floud, Noahs houlewas preferued ; in the flames ofSodome, that of Lot ; and in that gene- rallmalfacre of the Firft-borne of /Egypt, thehoulesof the Hebrewes were vntoucht : And God fending theman cloathed with Linnen,whichhad thewri- ters Inkehorne by his fide,to takenotice ofthe peopleofHierufalem, heecom- manded them to fer a marke vpon the forehead of his friends , that heemight ouerskip them,and not touch them in the dayof deftru&ion. But here now, a friends houle is not priuiledged,no not thehoufeof Peter. What fhouldbe the reafonofit ' There aremany;but the main reafonis this,With God,tribulation was euermore agreater tokenofhis loue & fauor,thanprofperity: what Paid Io6 whenhe fatefcrapinghis fores vpontheDunghili Inmy profperitieIonelyb;ard thee;bwtnow inmy affl. Etion ¡fie thee. S.Chryfoftome faith,That Cain inkilling 46e4 thought that Heauen would doe him tholefauours whichit did hisbrother;but he was deceiued, for Goddidbetter louea deadci4bel, thana lining Cain ; Non extrax;fli, fedincembfli.Philon faith, That thefire in the bulbwas fo far from con- fumingor burning ir, that it left it frefher andgreener than it was before. But for all this, our miferies inthe Old Law wereneuer feeneto be fo honourableas.af- rerwards,whenGodhad clapt the thornes ( which were the fruit ofour ffnnes) vponhis owne head, then did they recouer fo higha Being , and grew to that worth, thattheheauier God layes his handvponvs,the more is his loue toward vs. Themarkeof ourhappineffe is the Sonneof God, not glorified,but fcour- ged,fpit vpon,crownedwith thorns,torne withwhips,andnailedto the Croffe; and therefore to beeconformed to the Imageofhis Sonne,is fitting for vs. In the t.4peceilyps, his feetare put into a hotfirie Oucn. Thiswas aritrattoor pi- tlureofhismany troubles : and though this Ouenor fideFurnace rpeake them much ;yet luretheywere farce greater,andbeyond thetongues expref ion.The Angelis did (carter the coles of Godswrath abroad inthe World, fometimes lighting inoneplace, and fometimes inanother ; butwhole coles could bee hotter thanhis,whofe feet, like vnto fineBrafl'e, lay burningas inaFurnace r She war takenwithagreat Fewer . The Euangelift heereamendeth our vfuall mannerof fpeech : for withvs itis commonlyfaid, Tengo grandescatentarea, I haveragreat Fewer, whenas indeed the Feuerhath thee. God often afflicts t::e foule inthe fence,that the foule therebymaybemade fencible. God, like the BridegroometotheSpoufe,fpeakes a thoufandtweet wordsto the Soule, bee courtsher &wooes her withan Aperimihi,furor mea,&c.opento me,myffier,trc. but thismakesher themore to fhutthe dooreagainft him. TheSoule when is inprofperitie,growes proud,it isdeafe,and willnot heare;fheartuft beewrorght vpon inter anQu flias,the mutt feele the rodbefore the will haue any feeling.Plus in theWhales bellie, theProdigall in thepigftie,the Sicke in his Feuer,thínks andcalls vponGod : we liften vnto the Deuill when wee are in themidda of our Feafts,ourBauquets,ourMaskings,ourfports andpaftimes; but onely lear- kenvntoGod interangaftilA,when we areafflitledand inmiferie. Godbeingwil- I ng to curethofe thatwere flungwith the Serpents, madeaSerpent of braffe, and caufed it to befetvp, that by lookingtheron theymight behealed.Gregorie NON
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=