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faith. Yea, and it is a greater gift than this: to suffer in faith is more than barely to believe.

But by virtue of the covenant, the cross is a blessing. "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake; blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake." Matt. 5:10, 11. Where then is the blessedness; or wherein stands it? It stands in these things: In the separation of the cross from the curse; in the sanctification of the cross to its ends; in the proportioning of the cross to your needs and strength; and in the special comforts of the cross.

1. The cross is separated from the curse. There is something in this. To be able to say under the sorest afflictions, This scourge is no scorpion; this is no curse, it is but a cross. Our Lord bore both the cross and the curse together, and that made his cup so bitter; but now he hath divided them: the curse he hath left upon sinners, and laid only the naked cross on his saints. The crosses of reprobate sinners are all curses. Every affliction is a curse; there is wrath in all their sufferings; there is vengeance in every dart; every rod is a serpent to them. Thou who art of the number of Christ's implacable enemies, when he comes to fall upon thee and to grind thee under his hand, thou wouldest have a word of comfort to be spoken to thee in thy sorrow: no, no, there is no comfort can be spoken; thou mayest say of every dart he smites thee with, This is sent of God to avenge himself upon me. The crosses of the impenitent are all curses; but the

saints' curses are all come to be but crosses.

Though

men curse, the Lord will not curse; whatever troubles come upon thee, though there be vinegar in them, yet there is no vengeance in them; though there be anguish in them, yet there is no wrath in them; though they be ill-looked, yet there is no ill-will in them; they come upon no ill intent, nor shall have any evil issue. The smitings of the wicked are to thee as the smitings of the righteous were to the psalmist, a precious balm. "Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness-it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head." Psalm 141:5. And thou mayest say, Let the wicked smite me with the tongue, with the fist of wickedness, or what they will; it shall not break my head, much less my heart; it shall be a kindness to me, an excellent oil.

2. The cross is sanctified to its ends. It has many holy and excellent ends, and it shall prosper, it shall accomplish its ends. The cross is laid on the saints sometimes to prove them, sometimes to reprove them, to humble them, to purge them; and whatever it is sent to them for, it shall not return in vain. As the word, so the rod shall accomplish that which he pleases that sent it. By this the iniquity of Jacob shall be purged.

3. The cross is proportioned to their needs and strength. "I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished." Jer. 30: 11. Just so much as will serve shall suffice; the wise physician has respect both to the need and to the strength of the patient. "I will not contend for ever,

neither will I be always wroth; lest the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made." Isa. 57:16. The apostle tells the saints that they have need of patience, Heb. 10:36; and their experience tells them they have need of something to exercise their patience. And their needs are different: some are knotty pieces, and need more; others are tender, and upon them less will serve. The stubborn child must have more stripes; the shaking of the rod will do more on some spirits than the smart of it on others, but all need something. Let him only that is without sin say, I have no need of shame and sorrow. The Lord will neither over, nor under do; every one shall have his load, and no more—no more than they can bear, and no less than their need requires. The Lord delights not in his children's tears, he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men; but yet he would rather have them cry than perish.

Wonder not, Christians, that your tender Lord puts you to pain, and that your pains are so sharp and so many; your heavenly Father knoweth that you have need of all these things. It is a mercy that he will chastise; you may put your corrections among your mercies. His breakings of you are his blessings, his woundings are your cures; and by your own, as by your Lord's stripes, you are healed. And when you shall review and read over all his darker providences, and behold the wisdom and tenderness which is mingled with his severities, evinced in his laying on so much, and yet no more than

was needful, you will then acknowledge with the psalmist, "Thou in very faithfulness hast afflicted me."

O, my Lord, let me not want thy staff nor thy rod, neither a friend nor an enemy; neither a calm nor a storm; neither food nor medicine: if my disease be too strong for my physic, let me have yet a stronger potion; if my wanton heart will not yet be tamed, put on more fetters, a heavier load-load upon load, weight upon weight. Let me never be sick of my remedy till I be cured of my disease. Let me rather suffer by the hand of a devil, than perish by the hand of a lust. Spare not, Lord, cease not, Lord, to smite thy servant, till thou hast thereby smitten down all mine enemies. Peace, plenty, ease! what, that I may have to spend upon my lusts; to wax wanton against my God? Such peace I will not have. Pain, trouble, want, any thing rather than peace upon such terms. Correct me, O Lord, yet in judgment, but not in thy fury, lest I be consumed and brought to nothing.

4. The cross hath its special comforts. "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the

same sufferings which we also suffer; or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation : and our hope of you is steadfast, knowing that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation." 2 Cor. 1:3-7.

The comforts of the cross are often the sweetest and the fullest that the saints ever taste on this side the crown. The first draught is often bitter; the green cross is heavy, and it is necessary it should be SO. It must be a heavy yoke that will tame an unruly neck: if it gall not, it will not heal; it is the smart of the rod that stills the child. Think not your burdens will lie easy when first laid on; and think it not much if they do not. The first conflict with temptations may put you to a harder brunt than you are aware. It must be so, that it may be for your good afterwards. "Tribulation worketh patience;" but this it cannot do unless it pains you. It is observable that it is not said that the cross worketh patience, but the tribulation, the pinching of the cross, or the pain the cross puts us to; this is patience, a quiet bearing that pain which the flesh when touched puts us to. When we feel the thorns and the nails, when the iron enters into our souls, when it pricks and smarts, then it will work. The green cross is heavy, a prison or a wilderness will be appalling at the first; but when your Lord comes in and visits you, then the sweet, the pleasure comes; and the more frowns at the threshold, the more kisses you may expect afterwards. Christ does not always meet his saints in the porch the devil's parlor, the inner prison is his ban

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