A treatise on comforting afflicted consciences - The Digital Puritan

253 INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMFORTINGthoughts and horrible injections thrown into the mind thatcan be possibly imagined ; nay, that the devil himself candevise. See Matt, iv, 6, 9. What a hell it is to want thecomfortable influence of the Father's pleased face andfavour. See INIatt. xxvii, 46. And therefore he cannotchoose but be "afflicted in our afflictions;" and verysensibly and sweetly tender-hearted in all our spiritualtroubles. They pity us most in our sicknesses, who havefelt the same themselves.*' In that he himself suffered andwas tempted, he is able to sviccour them that are tempted "(Heb. ii, 18). As for the blessed Spirit, it is his properwork, as it were, " to comfort them that mourn in Zion ; togive unto them beauty for ashes ; the oil of joy for mourning,the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness." And yetbesides all this, thy heavenly Father, in the distress of thysoul, sets also on work the church of God about thee ;faithful ministers to pray for, and prepare seasonable andsound arguments, reasons, counsels, and comforts out ofGod's blessed book, to support, quicken, revive, and recoverthee all they can ;private Christians to commend thy caseunto the "throne of grace and mercy;" and that extraordinarilywith mightiness of prayer upon their moresolemn days of humiliation.Thus, and in the like manner, peruse all the compassionatepassages of the most tender-hearted parents to their bestbelovedchildren in all cases of danger and distress ; and soand infinitely more tenderly will our heavenly Father dealwith all that are upright-hearted in all their troubles, trials,and temptations, tor the dearest love of the most affectionatefather and mother to their child is nothing to that, whichlie bears to those that fear him (Isa. xlix, 15; Psalm ciii, 13;Deut. viij, 5),CHAP. VI.A Principle of Conifoit from something within us, confirmed fromseveral Testimonies and Instances of Scripture, and by one Reason.Thirdly. There is a precious principle in the mystery ofsalvation, which, as a comforting cordial water, serves toquicken and revive in the swoonings and faintings of thebody, defection of the spirits, and sinking of the heart ; soit may be sovereign to support and succour in afflictionsand dejections of soul, and weaknesses of our spiritualstate. It is thus delivered by divines :—" A constant and earnest desire to be reconciled to God.