Messiah. To the same purpose, also, Solomon, whose wisdom eminently qualified him for observing the ways of God, and whose inspiration set him above the possibility of mistake, hath written: My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; "neither be weary of his correction: for whom "the Lord loveth, he correcteṭh, even as a father “the son, in whom he delighteth."* And the apostle of the Gentiles has quoted and confirmed his assertion. The prayer of David, therefore, is not that afflictions may be prevented, but that he may be afflicted in mercy, and not in judgment. "O Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger; neither "chasten me in thy hot displeasure."+ But why does love, which delights in the happiness of its objects, prompt our Maker to afflict his children? It is because he values more their ultimate and eternal happiness, nay, their present real enjoyment, than a deceitful ease, and a dan- · gerous repose. Though life be but the journey of a few days, we are so apt practically to look upon it as a state unalterably permanent, that we stand in need of some rigid monitor, to remind us that we are only travellers, and that it is perilous to loiter. Affliction is this monitor: its voice is distinct; and its admonitions are powerful. It bids us cast our eyes forward to the end of our journey, to that eternal world, whither we are so rapidly carried; and not waste our attention, in culling the fading flowers which grow by the way. It unfits us for any other pleasures, than those which arise from anticipating the happiness of the heavenly kingdom and thus effectually fixes our attention † Heb. zii. 5, 6. * Prev. iii. 11, 12. Psalm vi. 1. on things which are above. It is one of the strongest means, and it is generally the last which God employs, to break those cords which bind our hearts to the world. Thus was Jacob, whose life seemed bound up in that of Joseph, reproved for his partiality, and chastened for his inordinate attachment. Such, in many instances, was the course of providence to David, till he learned to keep the commandments of God: when, tasting the sweets of the fruit of chastisement, he could look back upon his sorrows with grateful joy, and sing," It is good "It "for me that I have been afflicted; that I might "learn thy statutes."* It is in this view of their good effects, that afflictions appear to be evidences of parental care, on the part of our Father in heayen, and causes of rejoicing in those who suffer them. We not only "rejoice," says the apostle, "in hope of the glory of God; but we glory in "tribulations also; knowing that tribulation work"eth patience; and patience, experience; and ex 86 perience, hope; and hope maketh not ashamed."t The patient, labouring under a dangerous disease, rejoices when a remedy is applied, of powerful operation, and healing virtue, however bitter to the taste, or painful in the application. The husbandman, while he shivers in the piercing frost, feels its cold with gladness; because he knows that it mollifies the soil, and destroys the noxious weeds. The soldier, in the day of battle, rejoices in the storm, which is directed in the face of his enemies; even though he himself be not wholly exempted from suffering by its severity. The mariner, when he can confide in the strength of his vessel, and ↑ Rom. v. 2, 5. * Psalm cxix. 71. the skilfulness of its pilot, views with pleasure the approach of the blast, which renders necessary his most laborious exertion; if it bear him from a pursuing foe, and waft him with speed to the desired haven. And is not affliction much more a ground of joy to the christian, when he knows that it is appointed and overruled by his heavenly father, to detach his desires from those transient pleasures, whose end is destruction; and to prepare him for felicity untainted and immortal? to rescue him from adversaries, whose object is his ruin; and to hasten his entrance into life? Again, afflictive dispensations are causes of joy, in as much as they lead us to nearer communion with God; and are generally the occasions, on which it is most sensibly tasted. That the gracious presence of God is equally with his people in prosperity, as in adversity, is probable: but under the latter, certainly they more immediately feel it. "Be hold, I stand at the door and knock," says the Redeemer: "If any man hear my voice, and open "the door, I will come in to him, and sup with "him, and he with me."* The noise of business, the bustle of care, and the movements of passion, render us more deaf to the friendly call, in the day of prosperity and health: but the hour of trouble is the hour of attention: and when the springs of false pleasure are dried up, we are the more inclined to repair to the fountain of life. There are also particular promises of the gracious presence of God, addressed to his people, under the pressure of affliction. "When thou passest through the waters," saith the Lord to his redeemed, "I will be with thee; and * Rev. iii. 20. "through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: "when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt "not be burnt; neither shall the flame kindle upon "thee:"* and the Saviour of the afflicted people, the raiser up of the bowed down, are characters, under which God has been pleased to reveal himself. With what satisfaction does David commemorate the manner in which his soul was drawn out after God in the time of deep distress, the sweet communion with which he was favoured, the help and support which he received! The sor"rows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell got hold upon me; I found trouble and sorrow. "Then called I upon the name of the Lord: O 66 Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my soul! Gracious "is the Lord and righteous, yea, our God is merci"ful. The Lord preserveth the simple. I was brought low, and he helped me: return unto thy 46 rest, O my soul, for the Lord hath dealt bounti 66 แ fully with thee." So powerful did he feel the consolations of communion with God then, so highly precious its joys, that he found, on the experience then vouchsafed, a resolution to maintain that intercourse through the whole of life. I will walk before "the Lord, in the land of the living."§ From the same experience, and his confidence in the gracious characters of Jehovah, already mentioned, he could exclaim, on another occasion, "When my father "and my mother forsake me, the Lord will take " me up." Yea, the sweets of communion he felt sufficient to cheer his soul in the prospect of dissolution, and to support him in his conflict with the Isaiah xlii. 2. ↑ Psalm xviii. 27. and cxlv. 14 Psalm cxvi. 3—7. Ibid. xxvii. 10. $ Ibid. cxvi. 9. last enemy. 66 Though I walk through the valley "of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for "thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they "comfort me."* Christian! how supportable, nay, how comfortable, is the season of distress, when the Lord softens thy bed; and withdraws thy attention from the pains of nature, by filling thy soul with a sense of his gracious presence! How little is calamity to be dreaded, when it opens to thy view the fountain of life, and leads thee to draw happiness from its eternal source! Does not thy whole soul join in the exclamation of the prophet? Although "the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit "be found in the vine; the labour of the olive shall 66 fail, and the fields shall yield no meat: the flocks "shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be "no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the "Lord; I will joy in the God of my salvation."+ I have only to add, and, as a preacher of Christ, I should be to blame, if, in speaking of Providence as a ground of the believer's joy, I did not bring it to your recollection, that it is he, to whom "all 66 power is given in heaven and in earth;" that the "wonderful counsellor," on whose shoulder we called you to rejoice that the government is laid, is our Immanuel, the child born unto us, the son 66 given." The sway of the world, and more peculiarly the care of men, is in the hands of the great Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. As the Creator and Preserver of all, he possesses universal dominion, by eternal right. As the Messiah, he holds it by peculiar claim, as the re Psalm xxiii. 4. Matt. xxviii. 18. § Isaiah ix. 6. |