SECTION IV. MYSTERIES IN FAITH'S EXTRACTIONS, WAY AND WALK, PRAYERS AND ANSWERS, HEIGHTS AND DEPTHS, FEAR AND LOVE. WITH wasps and bees my busy bill Sucks ill from good, and good from ill: a And pride aspiring lays me low. b flesh. Ver. 31. Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities, and for your abominations. Chap. xvi. 63. That thou mayest remember and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord God. a Rom. ii. 4. Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness, and forbearance, and long-suffering: not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? Chap. vi. 1, 2. What shall we say, then? shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid: how shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? Ver. 15. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Chap. viii. 28. And we know that all things work together for good, to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Phil. i. 12. But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out unto the furtherance of the gospel. Psalm cxix. 71. It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes. b 2 Cor. xii. 7. And lest I should be exalted above measure My standing does my fall procure, c My enmity provokes my love. f through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. Prov. xxix. 23. A man's pride shall bring him low: but honor shall uphold the humble in spirit. 2 Chron. xxxii. 26. Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, (both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem,) so that the wrath of the Lord came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah. c Psalm xxx. 6, 7. And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved. Lord, by thy favor thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled. d Prov. xxiv. 16. For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again. Psalm xxxvii. 24. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. e 2 Cor. xii. 7, 8. And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. Isa. xxvii. 8, 9. In measure when it shooteth forth, thou wilt debate with it; he stayeth his rough wind in the day of the east wind. By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged, and this is all the fruit to take away his sin. f Gal. v. 27. The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. Verse 24. And they that are Christ's, have crucified the flesh, with the affections and lusts. My poverty infers my wealth, g While high attainments cast me down, g Rev. ii. 9. I know thy poverty, but thou art rich. 2 Cor. vi. 10. As having nothing, and yet possessing all things. h Matt ix. 12. They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. Isa. lvii. 17, 18. For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth and smote him: I hid me and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart. I have seen his ways, and will heal him; I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him, and to his mourners. i Isa. Ixiii. 17. O Lord, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways? and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return, for thy servants' sake, the tribes of thine inheritance. j2 Cor. i. 9. But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God, which raiseth the dead. Hos. v. 15. I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early. Chap. vi. 1. Come and let us return unto the Lord; for he hath torn, and smitten, and he will bind us up. he will heal us; he hath k1 Pet. v. 6. Be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility; for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand My best things oft have evil brood, My worst things work my greatest good. m My inward foes that me alarm, Breed me much hurt, yet little harm. n To my chief good they cause me flee.o of God, that he may exalt you in due time. Psalm cxvi. 6. I was brought low, and he helped me. 1 Psalm xxx. 6, 7. And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved. Lord, by thy favor thou hast made my mountain to stand strong thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled. Deut. xxxii. 14, 15. Butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape. But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked; thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness: then he forsook the God which made him, and lightly esteemed the rock of his salvation. Psalm cvi. 7. Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt, they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies, but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red Sea. m Psalm xx. 11. Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness. Rom. viii. 28. See letter a. n Jer. x. 19. Wo is me, for my hurt, my wound is grievous! but I said, Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it. 1 Pet. iii. 13. And who is he that will harm you; if ye be followers of that which is good? * Viz., in themselves, but much evil, 1 Pet. ii. 11. Dearly be They reach to me a deadly stroke, p They make me long for Canaan's banks, r I travel, s yet stand firm and fast; t I run, u but yet I make no haste.v o Psalm cxliii. 9. Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me. p Rom. viii. 13. If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die. q Psalm xviii. 46, 47. The Lord liveth, and blessed be my rock: and let the God of my salvation be exalted. It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me. r Psalm lv. 6. And I said, O that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest: and, cxx. 5, Wo is me, that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar. Rom. viii. 20-23. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope: because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know the whole creation groaneth, and travaileth in pain together until now: and not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we loved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul. James i. 14, 15. But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. |