The privy key of heaven, or, Twenty arguments for closet-prayer in a select discourse…The privie key of heaven, or, Twenty arguments for closet-prayer in a select discourse…

Secondly, and more particularly, The Rod is to make the Child sensible of his folly and vanity, Pro. 10. 13. In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but the Rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding. So 'tis here, God takes up the ⟨image 15⟩Rod, but 'tis to make his People sensible of their folly and vanity, 'tis to make them look up to him, and to look into Conscience, and to look out to their Conversations. Schola Crucis, is Schola Lucis. Gods house of correction is his school of instruction; his lashes are our lessons, his scourges are our School-masters, and his chastisements are our advertisements. ¹Hence both the Hebrews and Greeks express chastening and teaching by one and the same word (Musar Paideia) because the latter is the true end of the former, according to that in the Proverb, Smart makes Wit, and vexation gives understanding. Afflictions are a Christians Looking-Glass, by which he may see how to dress his own ²Soul, and to mend whatsoever ⟨image 15⟩is amiss: They are Pills made up by a heavenly hand, on purpose to clear our eyesight. 1 Kings 17. 18. And she said unto Elijah, what have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my Son? If God had not taken away her Son, her sin had not been brought to remembrance. It was the Speech of an holy man in his sickness, In this Disease (said he) I have learned how great God is, and what the evil of sin is; I never knew to purpose, what God was before, nor what sin was before. The Cross opens mens eyes, as the tasting of Honey did Jonathans. Here (as that Martyr phrased it) we are still a learning our A B C, and our lesson is never past Christs Cross, and our walking ⟨image 16⟩is still home by weeping Cross. But,

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