God's anger

Our comforts vie number with our sorrows, and win the game. The mercies of God passed over in a gross sum, breed no admiration; but cast up the particulars, and then Arithmetic is too dull an art to number them. As many dusts as a mans hand can hold, is but his handful of so many dusts: but tell them one by one, and they exceed all numeration. It was but a crown which King Solomon wore: but weigh the gold, tell the precious stones, value the richness of it; what was it then? Jerusalem was but a city: but go round about it, mark the towers, tell the bulwarks, observe the magnificent buildings: so consider the infinite variety of these comforts! Come, and I will tell you what God hath done for ¹my soul: I never felt that sorrow, for which he gave me not a sovereign comfort. Sennacherib invaded ²Israel with a mighty host; yet the undaunted courage of Hezekiah found more with him, then could be against him: and Sennacherib found it so too, to his cost, when he lost almost two hundred thousand of his army in one night. The Prophets servant rising early in the morning, sees the City besieged with a fearful host of foot, horse, chariots: his eyes could meet with nothing but woods of pikes, walls of harness, and lustre of metals, and he runs in with this affrighting news to his Master, Alas, what shall we do? Quiet Elisha sits in his ³chamber as secure, as if all these had been the ⟨p. 67⟩guard of Israel, sent for his safe protection; Fear not. This was an hard precept: as well might he have bidden him not to see what he saw, as not to fear seeing so dreadful a spectacle. But the task is easy, if the next words find belief; They that be with us, are more then they that be with them. If the eyes of our faith be as open as those of our sense, to see Angels as well as Syrians, to perceive comforts as well as sorrows, we cannot be appalled with the most unequal number of enemies. Many, O Lord, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done for us, they cannot be reckoned. O God, what is man, that then ⁴art so mindful of him? Yea, O man, what is God; that thou art so unmindful of him? All the works of God are excellent, and ought to be had in remembrance: alas, that we should ever forget any of these works, that are of mercy and comfort which he hath done for our souls: For he alone hath done them: that is the next point.