APYLICATIONT TO THE AFFLICTED, f10 load of greater sorrows than even any saint bore, God the father condeninedhim a,t the same time he contended with hirn ; ":It pleased. God to make him sin for us who knew no sin ;" and it was that hernight contend with vs without condemnation : let this thought then live upon your minds, that there is no reason for him to contend . but there is the same to condemn, and wonder at his. grace that distinguishes between these two. á. Under afflictions plead hard with God for the con - vincing spirit ; cry to God as Jobdid, "Shew me where- " fore thou contendest with me ;" " discóver; to me whether it be for sin or no, or whether to exercise some " grace, whether to discover me to myself; onto manifest " thyself to me in away ofsovereigntyand majesty, to teach " me tó be humble, to learn the lesson thou wouldest " teach nie ;" and let us not hide ourselves from the con- vincing Spirit if he speaks a. word to our souls in the preaching of his gospel, or in his providences by way of instruction; let us not contradict our own prayer. If we pray that God would discover to us the reason of our afflictions, we ought to lay our souls open and search them, and see where the light of the Spirit of'Geddirects us to discover sin. If we have any guilt that is manifest to our consciences by his providence under afflictions, let us endeavour to pursue this discovery, and see whether it be not the true reason of God's contention, for it is by such methods as this that God's Spirit often reveals sin to us. 3. If sin be revealed to us under sorrow, henceforth and for ever avoid that sin ; maintain a sense of it always, and return not to the commission of it again. " I will hear what God the Lord will speak," (Ps. lxxxv. S.). He complains before Of the many sorrows the Church was under, he prays for deliverance, he waits to hear what God will return as an answer; his faith trusts God will speak peace, and the inference he makes is, " let " them not return to the same folly again :" It may not be useless on this account-to write down the experience we have had of the carriage of God towardsus, that God convinced us of such a sin under such an affliction, that we may not forget the sense we have had of it. We ought to endeavour to retain it, for it is a means whereby we shall be made to walk humbly with our God all our days.
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