3. He is the God of comfort, because whom he will comfort, shall be comforted. As he makes men drink the cup of his anger, whether they will or no, so even those humbled souls, who with frowardness and unbelief set themselves against comfort; they do with Rachel refuse all comfort, yet God doth wonderfully bring comfort into their hearts. How subtle and resolute are sometimes Gods own servants, while in darkness, to argue against, and refuse the comfort, that the Ministers of the Gospel bring to them; They will not let the good Samaritans pour oil into their wounds. But when God cometh with comfort, then these boisterous winds and waves will presently be silent. Hence David, Psal. 4. acknowledgeth, ⟨p. 150⟩God had put more comfort in his heart, then they had in the abundance of all earthly joy. God did put it into his heart, even with a kind of holy irresistibleness; when he comforts, neither sin, or the Law, or the Devil can discomfort. Insomuch that it's great matter of praise to God, when the soul hath been at the very borders of hell, and hath been ready to be swallowed up with overmuch grief, that then, even then God hath caused joy to arise in the soul, so that all his doubts, all his darkness, they are dispelled; and as the Church said, When their captivity was turned as the streams in the South, they were like men in a dream. Thus are they even astonished to see what a wonderful alteration God hath made upon them, turning a barren wilderness into a pleasant pool. Thus God comforts, as he teacheth; none teacheth like him; for he doth not only reveal the object to be known, but prepareth and fitteth the subject to understand: whereas man teacheth only by propounding Truths, but cannot give a mind to understand. Thus God also comforteth, as no friend can, no Minister can, because God doth persuade the heart; he can take away the fears and the doubts, and so make all comfort to have an immediate illapse into the soul: whereas even the Ministers of the Gospel, though they bring the glad tidings of peace; Though they have the tongue of the learned to speak a word in season to the afflicted soul, yet they can bring this no further than into the ear, they cannot make it at all descend into the heart; insomuch that Ministers comfort in vain, and the Sacraments they seal comfort in vain, till God do alter and change the heart.
3. He is the God of comfort, because whom he will comfort, shall be comforted. As he makes men drink the cup of his anger, whether they will or no, so even those humbled souls, who with frowardness and unbelief set themselves against comfort; they do with Rachel refuse all comfort, yet God doth wonderfully bring comfort into their hearts. How subtil and resolute are sometimes Gods own servants, while in darkness, to argue against, and resuse the comfort, that the Ministers of the Gospel bring to them; They will not let the good Samaritans pour oyl into their wounds. But when God cometh with comfort, then these boisterous winds and waves will presently be silent. Hence David, Psal. 4. acknowledgeth, ⟨p. 150⟩God had put more comfort in his heart, then they had in the abundance of all earthly joy. God did put it into his heart, even with a kind of holy irresistibleness; when he comforts, neither sinne, or the Law, or the Devil can discomfort. Insomuch that it's great matter of praise to God, when the soul hath been at the very borders of hell, and hath been ready to be swallowed up with overmuch grief, that then, even then God hath caused joy to arise in the soul, so that all his doubts, all his darkness, they are dispelled; and as the Church said, When their captivity was turned as the streams in the South, they were like men in a dream. Thus are they even astonished to see what a wonderfull alteration God hath made upon them, turning a barren wilderness into a pleasant pool. Thus God comforts, as he teacheth; none teacheth like him; for he doth not only reveal the object to be known, but prepareth and fitteth the subject to understand: whereas man teacheth only by propounding Truths, but cannot give a mind to understand. Thus God also comforteth, as no friend can, no Minister can, because God doth perswade the heart; he can take away the fears and the doubts, and so make all comfort to have an immediate illapse into the soul: whereas even the Ministers of the Gospel, though they bring the glad tidings of peace; Though they have the tongue of the learned to speak a word in season to the afflicted soul, yet they can bring this no further than into the ear, they cannot make it at all descend into the heart; insomuch that Ministers comfort in vain, and the Sacraments they seal comfort in vain, till God do alter and change the heart.
