'Voices From The Past' Vol. 1 — August 2

It is peculiar to Christians to give thanks in adversity. To praise God for blessings, others can do, but to give thanks in danger is the highest pitch of virtue: ‘I do not see why I should suffer less; these things are very little compared to my sin. I deserve much more at the Lord's hands!' A Christian has taken up his cross. No loss can dishearten him, as the poet says: ‘If the world breaks and falls about my ears, I will not be afraid.’ Afflictions are for our good. They conform us to the Lord, our chief good. They prepare us for communion with the Lord and are fatherly tokens of love. Children must submit to the rod, and kiss it too. The Lord by afflicting prevents and purges sin. Do we not thank the surgeon who removes a damaged limb? Yes, we thank him, and take our bitter pills too. The cross God lays upon us is far below what we deserve. What is a drop of sweetened wormwood to the gall of bitterness? What is a little suffering to the lake of fire? Jesus drank the full cup of suffering for us. He drank it fully—we cannot, we need not. O thank God you have so little a share of it! In affliction we learn what we could not otherwise. Wax unheated will not receive the impression of the seal. Man in affliction will receive the imprint of divine wisdom. It prepares us for glory. The potter beats the clay to make it well-tempered, moulds it on the wheel, and then bakes it in the oven before use. A wooden vessel is turned and cut before it is fit. Gold is heated and pounded before it is complete. So every vessel of mercy must be treated before it is fit for glory. The cross sharpens our faith and sets a sharp edge and lustre upon it. The stone is hewed, cut, carved, and polished. So suffering saints are prepared for the highest degrees of glory.

Devotional Readings taken from Puritan Devotional Readings 'Voices From The Past Vol.1.'
William Cooper, Puritan Sermons 1659-1689, I:423-426
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