An exposition with practical observations continued upon the eighth, ninth and tenth chapters of…An exposition with practicall observations continued upon the eighth, ninth and tenth chapters of…

Job saith not, Lord do not afflict me, do not chasten me, lay not thine hand upon me any more, but Lord do not condemn me. It is infinitely worse to be condemned, then to be chastened, yea then to be killed. Condemnation carries in it an argument of disfavour, and that makes it so burdensome. As the love of God is better to us, then all the good things of this life (Psal. 4.6.) Many will say, Who will show us any good? This is the great query of the world: but what saith David, Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us; thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. And as the favour of God is better to us then the good things of this life, so then life, which is better then all earthly goods (Ps. 63.3.) Thy loving kindness is better then life; Now, I say, as the love of God is better to us then the best things in the world, so the displeasure of God is worser to us then the worst things that are in the world; all the torments and racks, all the sicknesses and distempers, all the reproaches and contempts of men have not so much evil in them to us, as one frown from God. Hence, as when two sore diseases (suppose the gout and the stone) both ⟨p. 434⟩very painful, yet one much exceeding, at once afflict the body, the patient forgets the less: so it is, when inward and outward sorrows at once seize upon one man, when the arrows of God are fastened in his spirit, he forgets the arrow in his flesh. The wounds of the spirit heal all the wounds of the flesh; they make them, as if they were no wounds, or not worth the complaining of.

Job saith not, Lord do not afflict me, do not chasten me, lay not thine hand upon me any more, but Lord do not condemn me. It is infinitely worse to be condemned, then to be chastened, yea then to be killed. Condemnation carries in it an argument of disfavour, and that makes it so burdensome. As the love of God is better to us, then all the good things of this life (Psal. 4.6.) Many will say, Who will shew us any good? This is the great query of the world: but what saith David, Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us; thou hast put gladnesse in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine encreased. And as the favour of God is better to us then the good things of this life, so then life, which is better then all earthly goods (