First, That though God love his people, yet that doth not necessarily infer he must keep them from all misery in this world, and place them immediately in happiness with himself. This is good to be taken notice of, for we are ready to think, that if God love his children, he should presently do that for them, which will be their chiefest happiness, especially this being in his power to do it when he will; to suffer his children to be grappling and conflicting with troubles in this world, when it's but his word speaking, and crowns of glory may be set upon their heads, seemeth inconsistent with Gods love, as she argued to Sampson, How canst thou love me, and hide any thing from me? So saith humane reason, ⟨p. 440⟩How can God love me, when yet he keepeth Heaven and eternal glory from me? But Gods love, and his children's calamities in this world may well agree together. You see our Saviour when he intended the greatest good for his Disciples in his Petition, yet corrects and moderateth his prayer, not as if he would have them mediately translated to glory, he is content they should be awhile in the fire, to have their dross purged away; God could do many things for his people, which yet he will not, he could immediately upon their conversion crown them with eternal glory; or else give them perfect and throughly sanctified hearts, that they should not complain and groan under any distemper of soul, he could make the world to be a Paradise to them, so that the way to Heaven should be no longer straight, and narrow, but broad and easy. Thus God could do, but it pleaseth his wisdom to take another course, and to appoint a Wilderness to go through, ere we can enter in Canaan.
First, That though God love his people, yet that doth not necessarily inferre he must keep them from all misery in this world, and place them immediately in happinesse with himself. This is good to be taken notice of, for we are ready to think, that if God love his children, he should presently do that for them, which will be their chiefest happinesse, especially this being in his power to do it when he will; to suffer his children to be grapling and conflicting with troubles in this world, when it's but his word speaking, and crowns of glory may be set upon their heads, seemeth inconsistent with Gods love, as she argued to Sampson, How canst thou love me, and hide any thing from me? So saith humane reason, ⟨p. 440⟩How can God love me, when yet he keepeth Heaven and eternal glory from me? But Gods love, and his childrens calamities in this world may well agree together. You see our Saviour when he intended the greatest good for his Disciples in his Petition, yet corrects and moderateth his prayer, not as if he would have them mediately translated to glory, he is content they should be awhile in the fire, to have their drosse purged away; God could do many things for his people, which yet he will not, he could immediately upon their conversion crown them with eternal glory; or else give them perfect and throughly sanctified hearts, that they should not complain and groan under any distemper of soul, he could make the world to be a Paradise to them, so that the way to Heaven should be no longer straight, and narrow, but broad and easie. Thus God could do, but it pleaseth his wisdome to take another course, and to appoint a Wildernesse to go through, ere we can enter in Canaan.
