A treatise on comforting afflicted consciences - The Digital Puritan

350 INSTRUCTIONS FOR COiMFORTINGexpressed." But now many times this physic whichpincheth only the body, and wasteth us but in things of thisworld, doth not so woik as he would have it, and thereforehe is constrained in love and for nur good to proceed tomore sharp and searching medicines, to apply more strongand stirring purges, which immediately vex the soul ; ashorrible and hideous injections, a spiritual desertion, andother affrighting and stinging temptations. He deals withthem in this case as Absalom with Joab, when he would notcome to him by sending once and again ; he causes hisservants to set his field of barley on fire, and then there wasno need to bid him hasten. When inferior miseries andother means will not do it, God sets as it were their soulson fire with flames of horror in one kind or other, and thenthey look about them indeed with much care and fear,searching and sincerity : they seek him then to purpose,earnestly and early. Tor afflictions of soul aie very sovereign,and have singular efficacy to stir and quicken extraordinarily,to wean quite from the world, and keep aman close and clinging unto God. How many (thoughperhaps they think not so) would grow proud, worldly,lukewarm, cold in the use of the ordinances, self-confident,or something that they should not be, if they werenot sometimes exercised with injections of terrible thoughts?By this fiery dart the devil desires and endeavours to destroyand undo them quite ; but by the mercy of God it isturned to their greater spiritual good. It is in this case asit was with him, " who thrusting his enemy into the bodywith full purpose to have killed him, lanced the ulcerwhich no physician was able to cure, and let out that corruptmatter that would have cost him his life." By representationof such horror out of Satan's cruellest malice,they are happily kept more humble, watchful, earnest inprayer, eager after the means, weaned from the world,compassionate to others, &cc. Hiding of God's face fromhim, and leaving him to the darkness of his own spirit,did put and preserve Mr. Jolin Glover in a most zealous,holy, and heavenly life for ever after. Hear the story —:" This gentleman being called by the light of the HolySpirit to the knowledge of the Gospel, and having receiveda wondrous sweet feeling of Christ's heavenly kingdom ;his mind after that falling a little to some cogitation of hisformer affairs, belonging to his vocation, began by and byto misdoubt himself upon occasion of those words, Heb.vi, 4, " For it is impossible," &c. Upon consideration ofwhich words he was so far deserted as to be persuadedthat he had sinned against the Holy Ghost ; even so much,