doth it only to his iron into our flesh and bodies, he As long as the physician hath any hope of the recovery of his patient, he assayeth all manner of means and medicines with him, as well sour and sharp, as sweet and pleasant; but as soon as ever he beginneth to doubt of his recovery, he suffereth him to have and to take all manner of things whatsoever the patient himself desireth. Even so the heavenly Physician, as long as he taketh us Christians for his, and hath any hope to recover or to heal us, he restraineth us from our will, and will not always suffer us to have what we most desire; but as soon as he hath no more hope of us, and giveth us over, then he suffereth us for a time to have and enjoy all our own will and pleasure. This similitude and comparison is taken out of the fifth chapter of Job: "If the Lord God doth wound, then doth Job v. 18. his hand heal again," &c. Furthermore, when a horse-breaker giveth unto a lusty fresh young horse too much of the bridle, he is wild and wanton, and goeth not well as he should do, and by chance in a slippery and sliding place he might fall headlong over and over: even so, if our Creator and Maker should suffer us overmuch, and give us too large liberty, we should soon wax wild, and proud thereof; and it might happen that we should undo and destroy ourselves; therefore he giveth us a sharp bit in our mouths, and helpeth us to bridle and to tame our flesh, that the noble and precious soul perish not. Again, like as the carter or poor man jerketh his horses with the whip, and striketh them sharply when they will not draw nor go forward, and yet favoureth and spareth them also, that he may enjoy them the longer; even so God striketh and whippeth us, when we do not right as we should do, and yet nevertheless spareth us, and will not make utterly an end of us. [COVERDALE.] God a shep herd. God a husbandman. Like as the poor shepherd also, when his foolish sheep stray abroad in the wild wilderness among the wolves, driveth them from strange ways into the right way, and hunteth them into their sure sheepfold, where they may be in safe-guard; even so we likewise, forasmuch as we mix ourselves ofttimes among the worldlings, and have fellowship with those that are enemies unto our christian and true religion, therefore God cometh unto us, and driveth us with sorrow and repentance from them, that we should not be destroyed and perish together with them. The herdman will suffer such calves as are appointed shortly to the slaughter, to run and spring about in the pasture at pleasure; and again, such as are reserved to labour are kept and used under the yoke: even so Almighty God doth suffer and permit unto those ungodly persons, whose destruction is at hand, to have all pleasure and lust upon earth, and to fulfil and accomplish their pleasures and desires; but the godly, whom he will use to his honour and glory, those keepeth he under the yoke, and restraineth them from the pleasant lusts of the world. A wise and skilful husbandman doth not cast nor sow his seed in a field or ground that is not broken, ploughed, and tilled as it ought to be, but he spanneth his oxen, and goeth to the field, and casteth up the earth with his ploughshare, and so tilleth and harroweth it; and then first of all he soweth it, that if any rain fall, the seed may be saved, driven into the earth, and take hold and wax 1 Cor. iii. 9. therein. Even such an husbandman is God, and we are his tillage. (1 Cor. iii.) And he bestoweth not his Spirit and truth upon such as are wild, and past all fear of God. Moreover, like as the gardener hedgeth his garden round about, and fenceth it with thorns and briers, that no beasts nor noisome cattle hurt it; even so God defendeth, keepeth, and preserveth us from evil company, and from all manner of sin, through thorns and briers, that is to say, through the cross and afflictions, as Hosea saith, (chap. ii.): "I will beset their ways with thorns, and their footpaths will I hedge." If the gardener cut off the knobs and the crooked boughs from the trees in his garden, and loppeth them a little, yet as long as the roots remain, the trees are never the worse, but wax nevertheless, and bring forth fruit even so doth God lop and hew the crabby old Adam with the cross, not to the intent to hurt or harm us, but to keep us in awe, and to teach us godly manners. And surely, as long as the root of faith remaineth with us, though we be spoiled and destitute of all riches, and of all manner of worldly and bodily comfort, yet shall we bring John xv. 8. forth good fruits to the high honour and glory of God's holy name. (John xv.) Christian men without the cross are like unto grapes, which hang upon the vines, and have the fruition of the open air, and remain still upon the stock unfruitful, and no man is the better for them. Wherefore the heavenly vine-man bringeth the Christians unto the wine-press, where they are beaten, pressed, stamped, and broken, not to their destruction, but that they may be delivered from the corruption and infection of worldly lusts, and may bring forth sweet wine, and bear pleasant fruits. smith. The goldsmith casteth a lump of gold into the oven God a goldand into the fire, not to consume it away with the fire, but to purge it from the corruption that is in it, and that all that hangeth about it, and is no gold, should be burnt away with the fire, and consumed unto ashes: even so is God the goldsmith, the world the oven, affliction the fire, the faithful Christians the gold, and the filth and corruption is sin. Now will God purge and make clean those that belong unto him from all manner of blots, blemishes, and cor- 1 Pet. iv. 12. ruption, and make them glorious and beautiful unto him. The free-mason heweth the hard stones, and heweth off here one piece, and there another, till the stones be fit and apt for the place where he will lay them: even so God, the heavenly free-mason, buildeth a christian church, and he frameth and polisheth us, which are the costly and precious stones, with the cross and affliction, that all abomination and wickedness, which do not agree unto this glorious building, might be removed and taken out of the way. (1 Pet. ii.) Again, as the dyer bleacheth, or the laundress washeth, beateth, lumpeth, and clappeth the foul, unclean, and defiled clothes, that they may so be white, pure, and clean; even so doth God some time handle and deal with us, to make us pure and clean. (Dan. xi.) 1 Pet. ii. 5. Dan. xi. 35. CHAPTER VII. Matt. x. 22; xvi. 24. Mark viii. 34. Luke ix. 23. John xii. 25. TROUBLE AND AFFLICTIONS DO SERVE TO PROVE AND TROUBLE and afflictions do prove, try, instruct, confirm, and strengthen the faith, provoke and stir. up prayer, drive and force us to amendment of life, to the fear of God, to meekness, to patience, to constancy, to gentleness, to soberness and temperance, and to all manner of virtues; and are the occasion of exceeding much good, as well transitory as eternal, in this world as in the world to come. By affliction and trouble will God and prove mark and spy, how assay, deep thy heart hath entered with God, how much thy faith is able to suffer and to bear, whether thou canst forsake both thyself and all other creatures in the world for his sake. In sum, to be short, he will try how thou wilt behave thyself, when he taketh utterly from thee and out of thy sight that wherein thou most delightest and hast any pleasure upon earth. God knoweth well enough before, how thou wilt take it and behave thyself; but he will shew and declare to thyself and to other also, what is in thee: for oft-times people do so extol a man, and make such boast of him, to be the wisest, most circumspect, manly, and honest man in a country; but when the time of trial cometh, there appeareth no such thing in him, as was thought and looked for. A man cannot learn to know a lusty and a stout man of war in the time of peace, but best of all in the time of war, when the cruel and fierce enemies do invade and assault his captain. When a great tempest ariseth in the sea, then doth it appear whether the shipmaster be cunning in ruling the stern or no. Again, those are the most honest and most chaste matrons, which being sore tempted, assaulted, and provoked unto wickedness, do nevertheless keep their spouse-faith towards their husbands undefiled. Even so can no man know nor prove perfectly, how the christian church keepeth her spouse-faith and fidelity towards her spouse and bridegroom Jesus Christ, until such time as antichrist assaulteth and tempteth her with false doctrine, tyranny, and persecution. Such trees as have strong and deep roots and sufficient natural sap, can no violent heat of the sun hurt nor harm; but such as are felled and cut down, are soon dried up with the heat of the sun, like as the grass also that is mown down doth soon wither: even so likewise such faithful persons as are rooted in Christ Jesus, cannot troubles nor afflictions hurt, they grow and wax green notwithstanding; but the unfaithful do betray themselves, and shew what they are, as soon as they see any heat of trouble or persecution coming. With one flail are both the stalks and ears of the corn beaten, and also the corn itself threshed and purged out: even so with one manner of trouble and affliction are the faithful purged and provoked to pray unto God, and to laud and magnify him, and the unfaithful also to murmur and curse; and so are they both tried, proved, and known. When the corn is threshed, the kernel lieth mixed among the chaff, and afterward are they dissevered asunder with the fan or windle: even so the people in the church do first hear the preaching of God's word; now some stumble, repine, and are offended at it, and other are not offended, and yet they dwell together one with another; but when they are fanned or windled, and when the wind of trouble and affliction beginneth once a little to blow, then is it easy to sunder and to know the one from the other, the faithful from the unfaithful. Art thou pure corn? What needest thou then to fear either the flail or the wind? In the threshing and in the wind thou shalt be delivered and sundered from the chaff, and shalt be made more pure than thou wast before. Let them fear that are chaff, which are not able to abide the wind, but must be blown away, and so cast out for ever. A rotten and an old weak house standeth awhile for a time; but as soon as a wind cometh and bloweth, it appeareth unto all men, how feeble the foundation and stay of it was. Even so are there such christian men without ground or foundation, which so long as all things go well and prosper with them, they are good Christians; but in the time of trouble and persecution their dissimulation is known and breaketh out. "As gold is tried in the oven, wherein it is molten; Wisd. iii. 10. even so hath God tried and purged them." Now if thou be |