Discourse Upon Recovery from Sickness

The First Observation. The Forgiveness of Sin is a Blessedness, that may be Attained, and should be Desired, by the Sinful Children of Men.

What the Angel said unto the Shepherds of Bethlehem, is now proper to be spoken unto the Sinners, [And, Ah Lord, Such, even Such we are, everyone of us! ] which are here met before the Lord: Behold, I bring you Good Tidings of Great Joy! Those Good Tidings we have thus Expressed unto us, in Psal. 130.4. There is Forgiveness with thee, that thou mayst be Feared, O Lord.

The Oracles of God assert this Truth a Thousand times over unto us; And, He has Appointed Sacraments to assure us of it. Yea, This most comfortable Truth is Evident from the Religion, wherein' God has commanded Sinners to Draw Near unto Him. 'Twould be to no purpose, for Sinners to be Directed and Invited as they are, unto the ways of Communion with God, if they could not be Forgiven their past Rebellion against Him; or, if His Name were not, as He hath Himself proclaimed it, The Lord Forgiving Iniquity, and Transgression, and Sin.

Let this vast matter of Meditation and Consolation, be with all possible conciseness, now summarily set before us, in Three Conclusions.

I. In the Forgiveness of Sin, the Sinner is not only Absolved, from his cursed Guiltiness, but also possessed of a perfect Righteousness, thro' the Imputation of that Obedience, which our Lord JESUS CHRIST, as our Surety, hath yielded unto God, for his Chosen

Let, first, a few preparatory Assertions, make our Thoughts ready to take in a Right Notion of this Illustrious Benefit, The Forgiveness of our Sins.

It is to be Asserted, That we are all Sinners against the Law of God, & have brought horrible Ruines on ourselves by our Sins. We have this Assertion, in Ro. 3.23. All have sinned, and come short of the Glory of God. We have by our Sins, Forfeited all the Blessings, which the Law of God promised unto the Keepers of that Law; yea, we have by our Sins Incurred all those Wants and Woes, & Plagues, which the Law has denounced unto them that keep it not.

Again; It is to be Asserted, That the Chosen of God, cannot be Rescued, as He has purposed, out of their Horrible Ruines, except the Law of God be Answered. We have this Assertion, in Heb. 1.13. Thou canst not Look upon Iniquity. God by His most wise Law, hath secured the Interests of His Glory; and He is a Judge, that will by no means have the Equity, and the Verity, of His Law, Impeached.

Furthermore; It is to be Asserted, That our Lord Jesus Christ, hath undertaken to Answer the Law of God, as a Surety, on the Behalf of His Chosen. We have this Assertion, in Heb. 7.22. Jesus was made a Surety. The Son of God, assuming our Nature, became a Mediator; and by becoming a man, He became capable of being Responsible to the Law of God, for us; for which cause, He actually put Himself, into the Capacity of our Surety, that by answering the Exactions of the Law, in our Stead, He might Accomplish the Atonement with God, for which He was, as our High Priest concerned: So that He said, unto His Father concerning Us, as Paul, (no doubt with some sense of That! ) said unto Philemon, about his Run away Servant, If he has wronged thee, or owes thee anything, put that on my Account!

Moreover; It is to be Asserted, That it was with a mutual Agreement, between God the Father, and our Lord Messiah, that our Lord Jesus Christ became a Surety, to answer the Law, for His Chosen. We have this Assertion, in Psal. 89.3, 30, 32. I have made a Covenant with my Chosen,— If His Children forsake my Law,—Then will I visit their Transgression with the Rod. God has indeed bound himself by His Law, That He will be Acknowledged, either in the Obedience, or in the Destruction, of His Creatures. But God has not, by His Law, so bound Himself, that He may not Admit of a Surety, whose Obedience may go for ours. Tho' the Old Covenant of Works do not mention a Surety, yet a Surety was mentioned, and engaged and ordered, in the Ancient Covenant of Redemption, whereto That was but Subservient, and wherein God is become, The God of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Finally; It is to be Asserted, That our Lord Jesus Christ, ha's according to Agreement, answered the Law of God, as our Surety; both by Enduring the Penalty of the Law, whereto we had by our Sins Exposed ourselves, and by Fulfilling the Precept of it, in doing the whole will of God. We have this Assertion, in 1 Joh. 5.6. Jesus Christ came, not by Water only, but by Water and Blood. He came, not only with a Purity, and Sanctity, conformed, unto the Law of God, in all things, but also with Expiatory Sufferings, to make Amends for our Breaches of the Law.

Being furnished with these Preparatory Assertions, Let us now see, what is done for us in the Forgiveness of our Sins.

First; In the Forgiveness of our Sins, the God of Heaven, does Release us, from the Guiltiness, wherein we are bound over, to undergo His Infinite Wrath. The Law of God, by a Just Sentence, has condemned us to Endure Endless and Easeless Miseries: But without any prejudice to the Law, God Himself now Acquits us from that Condemnation and Obligation. 'It is said: in Rom. 8.1. There is now no Condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.

Yea, more than so; Secondly; In the Forgiveness of our Sins, the God of Heaven does Invest us with a Righteousness, which is according to Law, the very Condition of Happiness; Even a Righteousness, which the Law has annexed Life Eternal as a Reward unto: a Righteousness, which in all things does come up to the Demands of the Law. 'It is therefore said, in 2 Cor. 5.21. We are made the Righteousness of God.

But, How comes this to pass? Thirdly; In the Forgiveness of our Sins, the God of Heaven, graciously Imputes unto us, the Obedience of our Lord Jesus Christ. There was an Habitual Rectitude of Nature, which our Lord Jesus Christ was Born withal; There was a Course of an Holy Life, which our Lord Jesus Christ Led for many years together; There was, Lastly, the Exquisite Pain, and Shame, and Horror, of the Curse due for Sin, Suffered by our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, God Imputes to us, all this Obedience of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the Forgiveness of our Sins: That is to say; He looks on it, as belonging unto Us, in order to our being Judicially dealt withal, according to the Merit of it. Hence, though' it be our Duty still ourselves to Obey the Law of God, and all our coming short thereof, is a Sin, for which we are to loath and judge ourselves, as worthy of Death forever, yet we now Stand as without Fault before the Throne of God! This 'tis to be Forgiven our Iniquity.

II. By Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and not Without Faith, and not Before Faith, is that Blessedness, the Forgiveness of Sin, to be Attained. In our Bible, which we may call, The Justification-Office, we •• e everywhere told, as we are in Rom. 5.1. We are Justified by Faith. But, Faith! What is That? It is to Receive the Forgiveness of Sin, as the Gift of God, by our Lord Jesus Christ, and Rely upon the Lord Jesus Christ for this Forgiveness. It is heartily to say, with him, in Phil. 3.9. I suffer the loss of all things, that I may win Christ, and be found in Him, not having my own Righteousness, which is of the Law, • ut that with is thro' the Faith of Christ, the Righteousness which is of God by Faith▪ Indeed, Faith does not Justify us, as it is a Work: 'It is but Relatively, and Instrumentally, that it Justifies us. Faith, and only Faith, has the Honor, to Justify us, because it carries us unto our Lord Jesus Christ for our Justification, and ascribes unto the Lord Jesus Christ the Honor of it all. 'It is true, we read, That Faith is Reckoned unto the Faithful for Righteousness. One thing in it, may be; That though' Faith be from the Operation of God upon us, yet God reckons it unto us, reckons it as our own, accepts it as our Act; else it could not bring the Righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, or anything else, to be ours. But when 'tis said, Faith is Reckoned for Righteousness, 'tis the Object of our Faith, which is thereby intended; even the Obedience of our Lord Jesus Christ, on which our Faith is placed. The Sovereign God, has fixed things in this Method; That upon our being Enabled by Him, to Believe on our Lord Jesus Christ, our Lord Jesus Christ Himself becomes ours, and so, His Obedience to God, becomes pleadable by us, as our Title, to all the privileges of the Righteous forever.

Donit Imagine, to have the Forgiveness of Sin granted, Without, or Before, Believing on the Lord Jesus Christ for it. In the Golden Chain of Salvation, the Links have this Connection: Rom. 8.30. Whom He called, them He Justifyed. Now, Faith is given to us, in our Effectual Calling. That we are Actually Justified from Eternity; This is but a vain Imagination! As well say, Sanctified from Eternity, and Glorified from Eternity. Do! go on, and say, That the people of God never were in any State of Sin at all! But the Scripture of Truth, will everywhere confute you, if you say so. What is the State of every man, while yet an Unbeliever? Truly, [Joh. 3, 18, 36.] He is condemned, and the Wrath of God abideth on him. A Rueful State! But how contrary is this, to a State of Justification, I beseech you? Does not the Scripture say of Believers, That once they were [Eph. 2, 3.] Children of Wrath? Now, I pray, when was This? It was Before they were Believers. 〈◊〉 would ask, Whether every Justified man does not please God? Yea; But I am sure, [Heb. 11.6.] Without Faith, it is not possible to please God. Then, Without Faith it is not possible to be a Justified man! What shall I say? If, Justified By Faith, certainly we are not Justified, BEFORE it, or WITHOUT it.

There was a Time, when this Country, was much Infested with Antinomian Errors; but a Synod of our Churches then Damned those Errors, with Deciding;

A Decision worthy to be Held Fast among us!

III. That man who does not account, the Forgiveness of Sin, a Blessedness to be Desired, has Madness in his heart while he Lives, and is going to the Dead. Wonderfully Besotted is that Soul, that Subscribes not unto those Thoughts, in Psal. 32.1, 2. Blessed is he, whose Transgression is Forgiven, whose Sin is covered; Blessed is the man, unto whom the Lord Imputeth not Iniquity. God will one day awaken thy Soul, O man, out of that Besotment!

It is to be Admired, how any man, can well enjoy anything he ha's, till Sin be Forgiven unto him. Ah! what woeful Narcoticks are there in the Pillow, of that man, that can go to Sleep to night unpardoned! Our Good old Mr. Whiting, the Venerable Pastor of Lyn, over heard certain Persons very Merry in a Room of an Inn, by which he had occasion to pass: As he passed by, he just looked in, to let fall that p •••• ge, with much Gravity, upon them, Sirs, If your Sins be all Pardoned, you may very well, be cheerful! And God Thunder-Struck the Souls of some in the Company, with the pungent Remembrance of that passage, all their Days. Truly, Sirs, If your Sins be all Pardoned, You may then, Eat your Bread with Joy, & Drink your Wine with a cheerful Heart; for God Accepteth your Works. But if not, O miserable Soul, then the Almighty God is Angry with thee Every Day, and thy Heart may break, (if it were not harder than an Adament, it would break!) under the Terrors of that Thought, God counts me for His Enemy! A Great Person in the English Nation, being assured, by the Physicians that his Death was unavoidably Near unto him, Cry'd out with Hellish Anguish, Oh! that I might Live, though it were but the life of a Toad; for better that than Hell! Sinner, if thou Dy Unpardoned, the life of a Toad will be a better life than thine, throughout Eternal Ages!

Let me Expostulate with you.

Consider, How much of Sin, how many Talents, how heavy Mountains, of Sin, you have lying on you. You may say, The First Sin of the First man, is become justly mine! You may say, I have an Heart as full of Sin, as a Toad is full of Poison▪ You may say, Ever since I began to Exercise my Reason, I have most Unreasonably broken, everyone of the Holy and Just, and Good Commandments, which my God ha's given me. We may, everyone of us, make that sad Lamentation, in Psal. 40.12. Innumerable evils have compassed me about, my Iniquities are more than the Hairs of my Head.

And Consider, What a Dreadful, what a Doleful, Thing it is, to have Sin Unpardoned. The Apostle spoke it, as the Dismallest Thing that could be spoken, Ye are yet in your Sins! Our Savior uttered it, as the smartest of all his Thunders, Ye shall Dy in your Sins! Never was there a more terrible Commination, than that in Amos: 8.7. The Lord hath Sworn, surely I will never forget any of their Works. Alas, while you are unpardoned, you are in Hourly Danger, of being Siezed by the Eternal Vengeance of God, and of being made a Sacrifice in the Flames of His Infinite Wrath! Sleepy Soul; Thou Sleepest on the Top of a Mast, and this in the midst of an Horrible Fiery Ocean too.

Be persuaded then, to pursue the Forgeveness of Sin, with all Fervency of Soul. As yet, it may be had; yea, for the Blackest, and Vilest Sinner among us all, it may be had! But it will quickly be Too late: God only knows, how soon, it may be Too late. Until it be done, Thy Life hangs in doubt before Thee! Our God will Abundantly Pardon; but then, O Thou Soul in Peril, Seek the Lord, while He may be found! It may be, To Day; but no man alive can say, any Further than, To Day! Wherefore, To Day, To Day, Oh! That you would hear the Voice of God!

We will now pass to,

The Second Observation. The Consideration of Deliverance from Sickness, is particularly to provoke our Diligence in Seeking after such a Blessedness.

Now, there is a CASE, upon which it will be profitable for us, to bestow a few Reflections.

After what manner are we, to Consider the Forgiveness of Sin, in its Relation to a Deliverance from Sickness?

And we will thus Reflect upon it.

I. Let us look upon Sin, as the Cause of Sickness. There are, it may be, Two Thousand Sicknesses; and indeed, any one of them, able to Crush us! But what is the Cause of all? Bear in mind, That Sin was that which First brought Sickness upon a Sinful World, and which yet continues to Sicken the World, with a World of Diseases. Our Sickness is in short, Flagellum Dei, Pro Peccatis Mundi.

First. Remember, That the Sin of our First Parents, was the First Parent of all our Sickness. All our Sicknesses, are but the Execution, of that Primitive Threatening in Gen. 2.17. In the Day, that thou sinnest thou shalt surely Dy, If Crudities, and Obstructions, and Malignities, are the Parents of our Sicknesses, 'tis very sure, that Sin is the Grand Parent of them, and the Sin of our First-Parents is the First Parent of them all. We read, in Eccl. 9.18. of, ONE Sinner destroying much Good. I find, some Jewish Rabbi's take our Father Adam, to be meant by that ONE Sinner. Our Health is no small part of the Good, which ha's been Destroy'd by him. Had our First Parents Eaten of the Tree of Life, doubtless a confirmed State of Perfect Health, both in Themselves and their Off spring, had been the Fruit of it. But ours First Parents criminally applied themselves to the Forbidden Tree of Knowledge: This proved a Tree of Death both to Themselves and their Off-spring; and Sicknesses are among the Punishments of that nefandous Crime. Alas; Our Father Are Sour Grapes, and our Teeth are set on Edge! When that Expression is used about our Lord Jesus Christ, [Heb. 2.9.] He TASTED Death for us; I make no doubt, that it is an Elegant Allusion, unto the Way, whereby Death at first came into the World; This was by Tasting the Forbidden Fruit. As Death, so Sickness, the Inchoation of Death, is but the Bitter Taste of that unhappy Action! Yea, The Breath of the Old Serpent, whereto Mankind in our First Parents hearkened, has poisoned us all. The poison, which that Serpent, who is, The Angel of Death, has insinuated into us, has disturbed our Health, as well as depraved our Heart. Sin, Sin, was that which opened the Flood Gates for a Flood of Wretchedness, to rush in upon the World; and Sickness is one Instance of that Wretchedness. Cursed SIN; I Indict thee, this Day, for Murdering of the World.

Secondly. Remember, That the Sin of every Individual man, does but Repeat and Renew the Cause of Sickness unto him. We are informed, in Psal. 107.17. Pools, because of their Transgression, and because of their Iniquities, are Afflicted, with Sickness. Indeed Sin, sometimes is Naturally the cause of Sickness. A Sickness in the Spirit, will Naturally cause a Sickness in the Body. Inordinate Passions Burn the Threed of Life. Intemperate Courses Drown the Lamp of Life. The Wise man says about Uncleanness, It Consumes the Body Plures Occidit Crapula, quam gladius: The Cup kills more than the Canon. And, multos morbos, Fercula multa faciunt; many Dishes will breed many Diseases. Alas, when will men Believe it! The Board Slayes more than the Sword. And one may say, By S • ppers and Surfeits, more have been ki •• d, than all the Physicians in the world ever cured. The Apostle says about Worldly Griefs and Cares, They work Death. We may add, Ignavum Corru • purt o • ia co • pus. But Sin is oftener a Moral Cause of Sickness. What are Sicknesses, but the Rods, wherewith God corrects His own offending Children? Pious Asa, takes a wrong step, and he is Diseased in his Feet for it; God sends the Gout, upon him. And what are they, but the Vindictive Strokes of Wrath, wherewith God Revenges Himself upon the Children of Wrath? Jehoram did a Bloody Thing; and, Lo, his Bowels fell out by reason of his Sickness; God smites him with a Bloody Flux for it. Hence, our Sicknesses, are in the New Testament, called by a Name, that hath, Scourges, in the Signification of it. [Ponder, at Liesure, Exod 15.26. and Deut. 28.21, 22, 27; 35, 60, 61. And say not, as he to whom the Book of Happiness, was presented, I am not at Liesure! ] Ah! Sin; How mischievous art thou? A man may say of every Sin, when he meets with it, Have I found thee, O mine Enemy! The Soul and the Body constitute one person; and the Body is unto the Soul, the Instrument of Iniquity: hence for the Sins of the one, there come Sufferings on the other. Syrs, Be afraid of Sin: I tell you, 'It is a very Unwholsome Thing. When you are going to drink the Stolen Waters of Sin: There's Death in the Pot.

Thirdly. Hence under Sickness, we should make a solemn Enquiry after Sin. As upon other Disasters, there was that call given, in Hag. 1.5, 7. Consider your ways: 'tis to be heard most sensibly in our Sicknesses. There is a Self Examination incumbent upon All men; upon Sick men, 'tis peculiarly incumbent. Pray, Let our Sickness be itself such an Emetie as to make us Vomit up our Sin, with a penitent Confession of it. A Time there was, when Sacramental Profanations, were Chastized with Sicknesses among the Corinthians; They had not come in an orderly manner to the Body of the Lord, and God Rebuked it, with Disorders upon Theirs. (Compare 2 Chron. 30.20.) Now, says the Apostle, Judge yourselves. Indeed, Sickness does not always come, to manage a Controversy of God with us, for some Iniquity. A Job, that Perfect and Upright man, may have his Ulcera Syriaca, [so tragically described by Aretaeus, and admirably answering the Diagnosticks, which the Sacred Writ has given us of Jobs Distemper:] to Try his Patience. 'It is said, of that Man of God, Elisha, He fell Sick, of his Sickness, whereof he died: It seems he had been Sick sometimes before. Our Lord may have a Lazarus, of whom it shall be said, One whom thou Lovest is Sick. Strange! Diseases may be Love Tokens. A Timothy, that Rare Minister, whom one of the Ancients calls, An Admirable Young man, may be, Troubled with Often Infirmities. Our Lord Jesus Christ is to be visited, in the Sickness, of His Dearest Brethren: (Lord, That ever thou shouldest call them so!) But yet it becomes us, to be very Inquisitive, and Solicitous, lest there be Wrath in our Sickness, and Thoughtful, What is the Controversy? Yea, Be the Sickness never so Light.

Our Excellent Mitchel, being but Incommoded with an Hoarse Cold, wrote thus upon it, in his Diary.

I have somewhere met with the Papers of another, who under the pains of the Tooth-ach, thus expressed himself.

Sirs, How Copious a Theme, is here to be Insisted on! But I must Insist no further.

II. Both Under Sickness, and After it, we should be more concerned for being Saved from Sin, than from Sickness. Our Sins, what are they, but the Terrible Sicknesses, under which our Souls, are fearfully Languishing and Perishing. A Sinful Soul, is a Sickly Soul. Original Sin, is the Plague of the Heart. Every Lust, is a Distemper of the Soul. An Unsteady Soul, ha's a Palsy. A Wanton Soul, ha's a Feaver. A Worldly Soul ha's a Dropsy. An Angry Soul, ha's an Erisypelas. Envy, is a Cancer in the Soul. Whenever we have Sinned, we have cause to say, Lord, HEAL my Soul, for I have Sinned! Now, Sickness is to Awaken our concern, first for the Pardon of such Maladies in our Souls, and so for a Power against them all.

First; Under Sickness, what should be our chief concern? It should be That, in Psal 25.18. Lord, Look upon my Affliction and my Pain, and Forgive all my Sin. If it be then put unto us, What lies heaviest now upon you? Say not, My Sickness: but say, My Sinfulness! That I have done so little Service for my Lord Jesus Christ: That I have misspent so much of my Precious Time: That I have made no more Provision for Eternity: And, That I am still so Selfish, and Slothful, and Sensual, and Carnal, and Alienated from the Life of God! And for to Quicken this our concern under our Sickness, we are to think, What will become of us, if we Dy Unpardoned; what will become of us, throughout Eternal Ages?

Next; After Sickness, What should be our chief concern? It should be That, in Psal. 103.3. Bless the Lord, O my Soul, who Forgiveth all thine Iniquities, who Healeth all thy Diseases. The Iniquities are to be taken away First, and Then the Diseases. Let us not count our Sickness well gone, Except our Sin be gone too. But let us now put this unto ourselves, Am I now more Assured of my being Pardoned, than I was before? Am I in better Terms with Heaven? Can I see and say, It is in Love to my Soul, that God ha's brought me back from the Pit of Corruption? It should now be more of our care, That our Sickness be Removed in Mercy, than ever it was, That it should be Removed at all.

Wherefore, In Fine; To this End, the Sickness which Enfeebles us, must make us Fly more Vigorously than ever, to the Expiatory Sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, for the Forgiveness of our Sin. My Brethren, Our Sickness is utterly lost upon us, if it render not a CHRIST more Precious unto us than ever He was, and instruct us not how to make more Use of Him. As the Sick, in the Gospels, much cried out for, A Christ! So Sickness, is to Teach us, the Worth of a Christ, and cause us more to see, that without a Christ, we are undone forever. There is a Ransom, which a Sick man is to be minded of; that Ransom, in Job 33.34.— He is chastened with pain upon his Bed, his Flesh is consumed away, his soul draweth nigh to the Grave, Then God is gracious to him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the Pit, I have found a Ransom. Sirs, When we are Sick, let us Behold our Lord Jesus Christ, as Going down into the Pit for us, and plead that Ransom that we may not ourselves Go down. In the Directories for Visiting the Sick, used many Ages ago, the Sick were directed to say, Lord, I place the Death of my Savior Jesus Christ, between Thee and my Sins. It is Impossible to say a Better Thing than That!

Upon Sickness, our Addresses must be made unto our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom 'tis said, in Math. 8.17. Himself Bare our Sicknesses. Indeed, we cannot say, That there were any proper Sicknesses, among the Sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ; We do not find, that He was ever properly Sick. His Body being formed, by a Special Efficacy of the Holy Spirit, seems to have been of so Exact a Temper, as to be less liable unto Diseases than other men. But our Lord Jesus Christ Bare our Sicknesses, because, as 'tis else-where said for it, He bare our Sins; which are the Cause of our Sicknesses. Wherefore, In every Sickness, let us repair to the Death of our Lord Jesus Christ, and Struggle with our Unbelief, more than with our Sickness, until we are able to say; Lord, my whole Dependence is on my Lord Jesus Christ, who ha's made Atonement, for the Sins, for which thou hast made me Sick in smiting me!

I will Recite you, a Contempla • ion of the Blessed Austin's, which under Sickness, may be the sweetest Anodyne of our uneasy minds.

III. Being Delivered from Sickness, Let us not be content without the Marks of Sin Forgiven upon us. When we no more say, I am Sick, Let us make sure of those Marks, which will help us with Good Assurance to say, I am Forgiven my Iniquity.

Now the Marks, by which we may discern, that we come out of Sickness, with our Iniquity Forgiven unto us, will be found in our Answering the Ends, for which our Sickness came upon us: And our coming out of Sickness, as Gold out of the Fire. Wherefore, let us thus Question ourselves.

Quest. I.

After our Sickness, do we sincerely set ourselves, to Reform all our Sin, more than ever in our Lives before? It was wholesome Advice unto a Sick man, in Job 34 31. Surely, It is meet to be said unto God, I have born Chastisement, I will •… not offend anymore. Truly, one main Errand of Sickness, is to Embitter our Si •… unto us; the Language of it, is, Thy way, and thy Doings have procured these things unto thee, this is thy Sinfulness, because it is Bitter. As the famous Olevian, upon a Sickness could say, Ex hoc morbo didici quid sit peccatum; By Sickness I have Learned what Sin is! Thus, under our Sickness, we have been worse than Deliriou • if we have not argued at this Rate;

Well then; Are we grown more Sick o •… Sin, by being Laid on a Bed of Sickness▪ Do we see our Commissions of what i •… Forbidden, in the Commands of God, and Reform them? Do we see our Omissio •… of what is Required, in the Commands o •… God, and Reform them? If it be not so Then take, O man, that Awful Warning of Heaven, Thou art made whole, Sin no more, Lest a worse Thing do come unto thee. But if our Sickness, have by an Holy Diaphoresis, carried off our Sin, Then we that no longer say, I am Sick, are, Forgiven our Iniquity!

Quest. II.

After our Sickness, do we more zealously than ever, set ourselves to Glorify our Lord Jesus Christ? One that had been Brought Low, but been helped, thought it Reasonable then to say, in Psal. 116.12. What shall I Render to the Lord, for all His Benefits towards me? Let us not come out of Sickness, without such an Ingenuous, Quid Retribuam? We owe our Lives unto our Lord Jesus Christ; Are we now more studious, How to Live unto Him? Being Rescued from Sickness, do we study to be more Fruitful in our whole Conversation, That our Lord Jesus Christ may be more Acknowledged, by every part of our Good Conversation in Him? And, Do we Study to be more Useful in every Capa • ity, That in every Relation, which we sustain, we may do more Good than ever we did? Yea, Do we Study now, to do some Special Thing for the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ? Of old, They that were Cured of any Sickness, were bound for to pay a price, which they called, a ΣΩΣΤΡΟΝ, unto their Healer. It is our Lord Jesus Christ, that hath been, The Lord our Healer. Do we gratefully think, What special Thing shall I now do, for the Honor of my Healer? Then, we that no longer say, I am Sick, are, Forgiven our Iniquity!

Quest. III.

After our Sickness, are we more Sick of this vain World, than ever we were, since we came into the World? Of the Sick, 'tis said, in Psal. 107.18. Their Soul abhors all manner of meat, when they draw near unto the Gates of Death. Has our Sickness made us to Abhor, or to Despise, those Gratifications of our Flesh, which once were as the chief Good, unto us? As Esau said, when he was Faint, Behold, I am at the point of Death, and what Good will this Birthright do unto me? Thus, has the Faintness of Sickness, brought us to say, Behold, I shall Dy shortly, and what Good is there in all the Pleasures, and all the Riches, and all the Honors of this Deceitful World? And are these Dispositions continued and confirmed in us, after we come • out of Sickness? We are too ready, to account this present Evil World our Home, and promise ourselves Long Rest and Peace, and much Satisfaction in this World. But, This our way is our Folly! And a Fault it is, that our God will never Endure in those, for whom He hath Reserved an Inheritance in Heaven, Uncorrupted and Undefiled, and that fadeth not away. Now, upon our Sickness is this present World, made so Evil unto us, that we are even Sick of being here; and has it filled us with such Thoughts as these:

Then, We that no Longer say, I am Sick, are, Forgiven our Iniquity!

Quest. IV.

After we have been made Low, by Sickness, are we more Lowly, and Humble in our Spirit, than ever heretofore? Morbi Corporis ad Inhibendam Animi superbiam, sunt Accommodatissimi. We are never fit, for either Comfort or Service, but when Lying very Low, before the Lord. Now, we are brought Low by Sickness, that so we may Lay ourselves Low. Is this the Issue of it! When Sickness has been Threatning to Lay us in the Dust, has it caused us, to Lay ourselves there, and made us with Humility to say, with Job, after he had been Sick, Now I abhor myself as in Dust and Ashes? Luther noted it, That when he had any special piece of work to do for the Church of God, some Fit of Sickness usually came to Humble him, and prepare him for it. This, This was the occasion of the Thorn in the Flesh, with which that Great Servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul, was Exercised. [2 Cor. 12.7.] There has been much Asking, What was the Apostles Thorn in the Flesh? There have been some Expositions given of it, which carry in them, an unjust Affront unto that Heavenly and Laborious Man of God. Whereas, there is nothing so probable, as a Fit of Sickness, to be intended in it. I will not be positive, with Austin, and Jerome, That it was a grievous Head ache; or, with Tertullian, That it was a pain from a Cold, in one side of his Head; or with Aquinas, That it was the Iliac Passion: or with some others, That it was the Ephialtes, or the Vertigo, or the Gout. Nevertheless, it seems most probably, to be some sore Sickness upon his Body, that was the Apostles, Thorn in the Flesh. He prayed, That he might be set at Liberty from that Sickness; but God would not wholly set him at Liberty, God would Employ a Sickly man, in the work of the Gospel, and neither his Labor, nor Success therein should be hindered, by his being so Sickly: but his being Sickly, made him so Humble, as to Fit him for his Work exceedingly. Let a man be never so Eminent an Instrument, for the Glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, Sickness will cause him to contemn all the Applause of his Admirers, and it will cause him to Ascribe unto the Lord Jesus Christ, the whole Glory of all that shall be done by him. To make this, the more Efficacious, a Minister of a Pauline Soul, must have, A Messenger of Satan to buffet him, with his Thorn in the Flesh. I suspect, that the Apostle, in that, may allude unto the Story of Micaiah. That Minister of God, had a Rapture into Heaven, where he had a Vision of wonderful Things. After this Abundance of Revelations, he was Buffeted by a Messenger of Satan; A Zedekiah, a man full of Satan, then Smote him on the Cheek. Thus, Quaere, Whether, the Messenger of Satan, accompanying the Thorn in the Flesh, unto this Minister of God, may not be a Wicked man, whom Satan had permission to Possess and Inspire, for the Reproaching of that Faithful Preacher of Christ? I Leave it.

And I only say; Has our Sickness made us more Apprehensive, of our Meanness and Baseness? Being just plucked from the mouths of Worms, whereto our Sickness was casting of us down, do we with an Humble Soul, say, Lord, I am a Worm, and no man! Do we, Like Hezekiah, now Walk softly all our years, in the Remembrance of the Bitterness of our Soul, which we felt in our Bitter Sickness? Are we become Nothing, and is God, and Christ, and Grace, become All to us, by the Sickness, which was bringing us to Nothing? Then, We that no longer say, I am Sick, are, Forgiven our Iniquity!

Yea, Son, Be of Good Cheer, Thy Sins are Forgiven thee.

Quest. V.

Hath God made us careful to ascribe the whole Honor of our Deliverance from Sickness, unto our Lord Jesus Christ alone? It is the property of a man that ha's had many Sins Forgiven him, to Love much the Lord Jesus Christ, through whom it is, that we receive our Forgiveness: But much Love to our Lord Jesus Christ, will teach us to set upon His Head alone, the Crown, as of every other Enjoyment, so of that Cure, wherein any Sickness has been relieved. It is to be hoped, That Before we had our Cure, we placed our Hope on our Lord Jesus Christ alone, for our Help. It was a great oversight of King Asa, when Sick, in 2 Chron. 16.12. In his Disease, he sought not unto the Lord, but unto the Physicians. It ha's been Conjectured, that some of Asa's Ancestors had been Medically disposed, and Students in the Art of Healing. From hence they might have their Name; for Asa, is the Chaldee word for a Physician. Possibly for this Cause, this King had the higher Esteem for those who were skilled in Medicine, and put such Confidence in them, as to neglect, The Lord, the Author and Giver of Health. Be this, how it will; 'tis to be hoped, that, though we have been found in the use of Means for our Health, and prudently made use of the Physician, as an Ordinance of God, yet we have not Relyed upon these Means, but upon the Lord Jesus Christ alone, who is the Health of our Countenance, and our God.

And now, After we have our Cure, Donit we Forget the Hand that hath Healed our Diseases? Are we not like the Nine Lepers, who being brought out of their Sickness, by the Lord Jesus Christ, went away without ever taking anymore Notice of Him? and so, without being Forgiven their Iniquity! Or, donit we come out of our Sickness, instead of being Forgiven our Iniquity, as a Dog Scrambling out of the Water which he has been thrown into, Shaking himself a little, and running away, as much a Dog still as ever?

Sirs, If we come Forgiven, out of a Sickness, we shall be mindful of the Experiences, which we have had, of the Divine Benignity towards us in it. It may be, there ha's been some Remarkable Answer of Prayer, in our Deliverance: It may not be Forgotten. Truly, I cannot without some Delight read one passage, in the Great Austin, upon the occasion of a Malady, so common, that People Scarce count Prayer to have any concernment about it. His words, (in his, Confessions ) are these.

All that I have now to say, is;

Ha's God given us, an Heart, for to Acknowledge the Merit of our Lord Jesus Christ, as Purchasing our Deliverance from Sickness? It is said, in 1 Pet. 2.24. By His Stripes ye were Healed. All we have been like Run away Servants, [and the Apostle is there discoursing to Servants! ] and we deserve Stripes for our thus Running away from the Service of God. In Sickness there are some of our Deserved Stripes laid upon us; but when we come out of Sickness, do we, with a Thankful Soul make this Acknowledgment; My Lord Jesus Christ, ha's felt the Stripes that were due to me, and thus tis, that I am Healed!

And ha's God given us an Heart, for to Acknowledge the Power of our Lord Jesus Christ, as Bestowing our Deliverance from Sickness? It was said in Mal. 4.2. To you that Fear my Name, shall the Sun of Righteousness arise, with Healing in His Wings. In the Eastern parts of the World, it ha's been a Custom among the poor Pagans there, That when they have Ineffectually Tryed all ordinary ways, for the Succor of their Sick Folks, they would Expose them abroad unto the Sun, Expecting that the Beams of the Sun, would perform for them, what could be no other ways obtained. Yea, but instead of this, do's our Soul, now make this Thankful Acknowment; Nothing would Save me out of my Sickness, until that Sun of Righteousness, my Lord Jesus Christ, arose upon me, with Healing in His Wings! Truly, These Dispositions in us will argue, that when we no longer say, I am Sick, we are also Forgiven our Iniquity.

And if this be our Case, how happily are we Prepared, for the Next Sickness that shall Visit us? Perhaps, it will not be long, before another Sickness be upon us; but being Forgiven our Iniquity, We may Refresh ourselves, with such Thoughts, as I find the famous Mr. Cotton, before ever he stood in the Pulpit of the Church, where I now stand, writing to Mr. Nathanael Rogers, when that Excellent than, was discouraged by Sickness often distressing of him.

And then, my Brethren, if our Sickness come upon us, while we have yet Youth or Strength enough in our years, to do anymore work for our Lord Jesus Christ, we may sweetly Express that Lovely Contradiction in Christianity; Vitam habere in patientia, mortem in Desiderio: To say, on the one side, I know that the Hour of my Departure, will be the best Hour that ever I saw: when I Depart, I shall be with Christ, which is by far the best of all: I shall be then Lodg'd among the Angels of God; and I Long to be so! I Long for it, with Joy unspeakable and full of Glory! To say, at the same Time, on the other side, Yet for all this, I ask to Live, that I may Serve Him who is my Life; I am heartily, most heartily willing, to stay among the Bitter Temptations of this Evil World, that I may Serve the dear Name of my Lord Jesus Christ, in a World, where I have Sinn'd against

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