Symptomes of growth & decay to godlinesse: in LX. signs of a living and dying Christian. With the causes of decay, and remedies for recovery. / By Francis Smith.

CHAP. XXII. Containing in it an Assertion of the Causes of Affliction; and that without great provoca∣tion God is not wont to afflict his people; and though provoked, very unwilling to extremi∣ty: With four Objections that seem to com∣plain against this Doctrine, Answered.

SIGN. XXII. VVHen you are mighty careless to In∣quire after the spiritual cause of Affliction, and mighty careful to Inquire after the natural cure.

The more or less spiritual any man is, may be easily discovered under this Tryal; Affli∣ction being of that piercing kind, that other tryals are not, because of the great influence it hath upon the sensitive part of man, where ever it comes, while sense remains, it makes the person restless, either to find out cause, or cure, or both. We may therefore first in∣quire after the word Affliction, what that meaneth; to afflict, is to lay some burthen

upon a person, that is not ordinary, Gen. 15. 13. There they shall afflict you four hundred years: this is opened in, Exod. 1. Israel is made to serve with rigor, Lam. 1. 4. 5. The wayes of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts: all her gates are desolate, her Priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness. I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people, which are in Egypt, by reason of his task-master, Acts 3. 34. By these Texts it appears, that affliction mean∣eth any grief or trouble, that cometh upon soul or body, name or estate, for the punish∣ment of sin, or the tryal of faith; so that sickness, and diseases, as feavor, and ague, con∣sumption, inflamation, & the like, are all com∣prised under this word affliction; it will there∣fore be necessary to open the word Spiritual cause, it being in the Sign oposed to natural cure: by spiritual cause, is to be understood, some provoking God in the subject afflicted, to the procuring this affliction, nothing some cause or other, why the Spirit suffers it to come upon us.

Now every body will be ready to grant, that these things before promised, may be tru∣ly called affliction, but not grant that there can be such a spiritual cause in themselves, and so make the Sign of no force.

Now to clear up this doubt, let us make this inquiry, whether any affliction, or death it self, come upon any man, but for some cause or o∣ther from the man, (active or imputive) that is, he either so acted in his particular per∣son, or some body else in his general relation, and on him it is righteously come: For the re∣solution of this question, let us inquire what causes in Scripture the righteous God assigns afflictions or death unto, Gen. 3. 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. Who told thee thou wert naked, hast thou ea∣ten of the Tree I commanded thee not to eat: the things in this Chapter considerable are these, vers. 14. the Serpent must go upon his belly, eat dust, and be curst above every beast of the field, vers. 16. to the woman he saith, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow, and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children: and to Adam he saith, Cursed is the Ground for thy sake, Thornes and Thisles it shall bring forth to thee; dust thou art, and to dust thou shalt return; you see in these verses, misery both upon the woman and the man, is brought, & the reason by God assigned, vers. 17. Because thou hast done this, in hearkning to thy wife, cursed is the ground for thy sake: so also Josh. 7. 7. Israel, Gods prevailing people, that by day had a pillar of a cloude, and by night a pillar of fire ministring unto them;

now cannot stand before their enemies; Jo∣shua that at another time commands the Sun, and Moon, and they obey him; now by pray∣er cannot prevail, for Israel Gods people, a∣gainst the cursed Nation; But what is the matter? vers. 11, 12. Israel hath sinned and cannot stand, neither will I be with them any more, except they put the accursed thing from among them, Lam. 3. 1, 13. I am the man that have seen affliction, vers. 39. Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punish∣ment of his sin? 1 Cor. 11. 3. For this Cause ma∣ny are sick, and weak, and many sleep, 1 Thes. 2. 11. For this Cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they all might be damned that believed not the truth, but had pleasure in un∣righteousness: and let all the House of Israel know, that without a Cause, I have not done all that I have done, saith the Lord, Ezek. 14. 23. Much more might be said, as to afflictions, that attend both the body and mind, together with the Causes; and this left to consideration, whe∣ther if Hell, condemnation, the highest of affli∣ction, be the fruit or reward of sin and unbe∣lief; much rather sickness, and diseases with death it self, which are the least afflictions, must come from Creature Causes: now if any man can assign any other Cause than God doth here assign, let him do it; if not by all

this comparing of it with the eighth Sign of dying to Christ, in which I have been more large upon affliction, inward and outward, with their Causes; I shall therefore proceed to some Objections, that seem to complain a∣gainst this Doctrine.

Object. 1. The first Objection is grounded upon, 2 Sam. 12. 14. The Child that is born to thee shall surely die: David is threatned with death in the child that hath not offended, con∣trary to this Doctrine.

Answ. This act of God to take away Davids Child, if considered, will be found mercy mixt with justice, David by the Law was to die for the matter of Ʋriah; now God in respect he bare to David for what good he had done, and further were like to do, being a man so af∣ter Gods own heart, goes out of the ordinary way, spares the person of David, and imputes it upon the relation of David, viz. his Child; so in Davids seed he punished Davids person; this is Gods usual way in Scripture, and sets his Majesty out, to be full of mercy in the mid∣dest of Justice, he will take away the first born in Egypt, that had not sinned, and therein plagued Pharaoh and their Fathers that had sinned; That this is mercy, consider if David the sinner be cut off for his sin; there was then no room left to manifest repentance either in

David or the Egyptians, yet death must come that God may be just; and though nothing but Justice must take place, yet in that he will be as merciful as possible to stand with Justice; Therefore there is truly a Cause, for God to impute death to Davids Child, for Davids sin.

Object. 2. The second Objection is ground∣ed upon Job 2. 3. which seems also to com∣plain against this Doctrine in these words; Thou hast moved me against Job without a Cause, he is a perfect and upright man, one that feareth God, and hateth evil.

Answ. God goeth in this out of his ordi∣nary way, as in the case of St. Pauls conver∣sion, Acts 9. It will not be safe to imagin, that others are unconverted because God meets not others so, sometime God doth things to shew his Power, and Majesty, and greatness over all, and his using instruments in an ex∣traordinary case, as his raising Lazarus from the grave, and from death the widdows Son, and others, is no warrant for us to allude to cases ordinary.

Secondly, here was a cause if not in Job, and indeed necessity that this should come upon him, if we consider, Chap. 1. 9. There is none like Job, saith God; doth he serve thee for naught? saith Satan, put but forth thy hand &

he will curse thee to thy face. Now that Job did not serve God just because God had dealt so well with him, but would do it if God dealt o∣ther wayes with him, shall now appear, and the accuser of the brethren be put to the worst, who complains against Job, as envying his prosperity.

Thirdly, in the strictest sense this carriage of God to Job, can hardly be tearmed afflicti∣on, but rather some gratious condition by God made with Job to this purpose; Job thou art an upright man, thou fearest me, and hatest e∣vil, and Satan is still complaining on thee, be∣cause he envies thy prosperity, and tels me thou wouldst prove another man, then I take thee to be, if I should try thee by adversity, and take from thee thy prosperity; Now lets stop the mouth of this great adversary, and lend me thy Oxen, and thy Asses, thy servants and thy Cammels, thy Children and all thy substance, and thy body for my service, I will pay thee with great advantage, as appears by this following; So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning, for he had fourteen thousand sheep, & six thousand Cam∣mels, and a thousand yoak of Oxen, and a thousand shee Asses, and had also seven sons and three daughters; so that the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before, Job 42. 10, 11, 12.

Object. 3. The third Objection is grounded upon Isa. 57. 1. The Righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: Good men here are taken away by death, and no cause shewed; they have the testimony of good men, and yet taken away: It will be granted, they might have lived much longer for age, the text im∣plies it, and the Objection is the stronger by it; for it would be no matter of complaint, had they lived till very age had took them a∣way, for then we know all must die.

Answ. The time these good men lived in, was a very evil time, and God takes them a∣way:

• First, in judgment to the People.
• Secondly, in mercy to themselves.

First, in judgment, Isa. 5. 6, 7, 10. 11, 12. He hath called upon them by the Righteous, and warned them, but it would do them no good; now he will take away the Righteous from them, to see if they will lay it to heart.

Secondly, in mercy to themselves, they are taken away.

First, Because by long living with such, they must needs be a weary even of their lives, and their souls vexed from day to day, Psal. 120. 5. Wo is me that I dwell in the Tenis of Ke∣dar. So Jer. 4. 14. My bowels, my bowels, I am pained at my very heart, my heart maketh

a noise within me, because thou hast heard in Jerusalem the sound of the Trumpet, the A∣larm of war.

Secondly, in mercy to them, because the continuance of this temptation upon them, may at last so weary them out, as they may give up all as Solomon did, 1 Kings 11. 4. When he was old, his Wives turned away his heart after other gods. So Mat. 24. 21, 22. Then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world, nor ever shall be; except those dayes shall be shortned there could no flesh be saved; but for the elects sake, it shall be shortned: Even as our Proverb is, A continual dropping will wear a hole in the stone: so a continual oppression may turn the wise man out of all; see for this, Jer. 20. 14, &c. He curseth the day of his birth, and the man that brought tidings to his Father; wisheth his Mother had been alwayes great with him, saying, Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and sorrow, and that my dayes should be consumed with shame? Clearly noting, that any zealous heart, is sore∣ly touched, when all he can do will not keep God from dishonour; O blot me (saith Mo∣ses) out of thy book. By this it may appear, that Gods afflicting men, is for some cause or other in them.

Object. 4. Fourthly, another Scripture that seems to complain by way of Objection is, John 9. 1, 2, 3. in these words; Who did sin this man or his Father, that he is born blind?

For answer to which Christ saith, Neither this man nor his Father, but that the power of God might appear; yet it is clear, the Disci∣ples understood this affliction in common must come for sin; and Jesus Christ in his re∣ply notes the case more than common, saying, He was born for this purpose, that the work of God should be manifested in him; It was mer∣cy he was born, and he was born that a won∣der of heaven might be shewed upon him; therefore we must distinguish between a case that is extraordinary, and one that is com∣mon.

Again, from the unwillingness that is in God to afflict; as a confirming Answer to all the Objections, it appears, that high provo∣cations in us, procure Afflictions to us; for till Justice cals so loud, that God cannot be just except he doth afflict, though in compas∣sion he mixeth all with abundance of mercy, 2 Chron. 36. 15, 16. The Lord God of their Fathers sent to them by his Prophets, rising up betimes and sending them, because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place: That is, he was very pittiful, loath to

grieve or afflict them, till there was no reme∣dy, Justice called so long and loud for venge∣ance upon them, as Psal. 106. 54. They did not destroy the Nations, but were mingled a∣mong them, and learned their works, and ser∣ved their Idols; therefore was Gods wrath kindled, in so much that he abhorred his Inhe∣ritance: Nevertheless he regarded their af∣fliction, when he heard their cry, and did pitty them. Hosea 6. 4. compared with Chap. 11. 7, 8. How shall I give the up? what shall I do to thee? What less doth all this signifie than thus much? that though God be so provo∣ked, that nothing but Judgment must come, yet like a tender Father to an unruly Child, mourns over him, while he corrects him. We shall leave what hath been said to considera∣tion, and pass to the Twenty third Sign of dying to Christ.