The Mute Christian under the Smarting Rod

ALL. AFFLICTED AND DISTRESSED CHRIS-TIANS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.

DEAR BRETHREN,

The choicest saints are born to troubles, as the sparks fly upwards, Psa. xxxiv. 19; Job v. 7; Psa. lxxxviii. 3, 4. Many are the troubles of the righteous. If they were many, and not troubles, then, as it is in the proverb, the more the happier; or if they were troubles, and not many, then the fewer the better. But God, who is infinite in wisdom, and matchless in goodness, hath ordered troubles, yea, many troubles, to come trooping in upon us on every side. As our mercies, so our crosses, seldom come single; they usually come treading one upon the heels of another; they are often like April showers, no sooner is one over, but another comes. And yet, Christians, it is mercy, it is rich mercy, that every affliction is not an execution, that every correction is not a damnation. The higher the waters rose, the nearer Noah’s ark was lifted up to heaven; the more thy afflictions are increased, the more thy heart shall be raised heavenwards.

x author’s preface.

The reasons of my sending this piece into the world are these:

1. The afflicting hand of God hath been heavy upon myself, and upon my dearest relations in this world, and upon many of my precious Christian friends, whom I much love and honor in the Lord; which put me upon studying the mind of God in that scripture, which I have made the subject matter of the following discourse. Luther could not understand some Psalms till he was afflicted. The Christ -cross is no letter in the book, and yet, saith he, it hath taught me more than all the letters in the book. Afflictions are a golden key, by which the Lord opens the rich treasures of his word to his people’s souls; and this in some measure through grace my soul hath experienced. When Samson had found honey, he gave some to his father and mother to eat, Judg. xiv. 9, 10. Some honey I have found in the following text, and therefore I may not, I cannot be, such a churl, as not to give them some of the honey to taste, who have drank deep of the gall and wormwood. Austin observes on Psa. lxvi. 16, “Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.” He doth not call them, saith he, to acquaint them with speculations, how wide the earth is, how far the heavens are stretched out, what the number of the stars is, or what is the course of the sun; but come, and I will tell you the wonders of his grace, the faithfulness of his promises, the riches of his mercy to my soul. Gracious experiences are to be communicated. We learn that we may teach, is a proverb among the rabbins: and I therefore, lay in, and lay up, that I may draw forth again, and lay out for the good of many. When God hath dealt bountifully with us, others should reap some noble good by us; the family, the town, the city, the country, where a man lives, should fare the better for his faring well. Our mercies and experiences should be as a running spring at our doors, which is not only for our own use, but also for our neighbors, yea, and for strangers too.

author’s preface. xi

2. What is written is permanent, and spreads itself further by filr, for time, place, and persons, than the voice can reach. The pen is an artificial tongue; it speaks as well to absent as to present friends; it speaks to them that are afar off, as well as those that are near; it speaks to many thousands at once; it speaks not only to the present age, but also to succeeding ages. The pen is a kind of image of eternity, it will make a man live when he is dead. Though the prophets do not live forever, Zech. i. 5, yet their labors may. A man’s writings may preach, when he cannot, when he may not, and when, by reason of bodily distempers, he dares not; yea, and that which is more, when he is not.

3. Few men, if any, have iron memories. How soon is a sermon preached forgotten, when a sermon written remains! Augustine, writing to Volusian, saith, That which is written, is always at hand to be read, when the reader is at leisure.” Men do not easily forget their own names, nor their father’s house, nor the wives of their bosoms, nor their offspring, nor to eat their daily bread; and yet, ah! how easily do they forget that word of grace that should be dearer to them than all! Most men’s memories, especially in the great concernments of their souls, are like a sieve or boulter, where the good corn and fine flour goes through, but the light chaff and coarse bran remains behind; or like a strainer, where the sweet liquor is strained out, but the dregs are left behind; or like a grate, that lets the pure water run away, but if there be any straws, sticks, mud, or filth, these it holds, as it were, with iron hands. Most men’s memories are very treacherous, especially in good things. Few men’s memories are a holy ark, a heavenly storehouse, or magazine for their souls; and therefore they stand in the more need of a written word. But,

4. Its marvellous suitableness and usefulness under those great turns and changes that have passed upon us. As every wise husbandman observes the fittest seasons to sow his seed; some he sows in the autumn and fall

Xll AUTHOR’S PREFACE.

of the leaf, some in the spring of the year, Isa. xxviii. 25; some in a dry season, and some in a wet; some in a moist clay, and some in a sandy, dry ground; so every spiritual husbandman must observe the fittest time to sow his spiritual seed in. He hath heavenly seed by him for all occasions and seasons, for spring and fall, for all grounds, heads, and hearts. Now, whether the seed sown in the following treatise be not suitable to the times and seasons wherein we are cast, is left to the judgment of the prudent reader to determine.

5. The good acceptance that my other weak labors have found. God hath blessed them, not only to the conviction, the edification, confirmation, and consolation of many, but also to the conversion of many. God is a free Agent, to work by what hand he pleases, and sometimes he takes pleasure to do great things by weak things, “that no flesh may glory in his presence,” 1 Cor. i. 27- 29. God will not despise the day of small things; and who or what art thou that darest despise that day? The Spirit breathes upon whose preaching and writing he pleases, John iii. 8, and all prospers according as that wind blows.

6. That all afflicted and distressed Christians may have a proper salve for every sore, a proper remedy against every disease at hand, Prov. xxv. 11. As every good man, so every good book, is not fit to be the afflicted man’s companion; but this is adapted to his case. Here he may see his face, his head, his hand, his heart, his way, his works. Here he may see all his diseases discovered, and proper remedies proposed and applied. Here he may find argumen s to silence him, and means to quiet him, when it is the wo st with him. In every storm, here he may find a shelter, and in every danger, a city of refuge; in every difficulty, here he may have a light to guide him, and in eve y peril, a buckler to defend him; in every distress, here he may find a cordial to strengthen him, and in every trouble, a staff to support him.

Keep reading