Riches of mercy to men in misery, or, Certain excellent treatises concerning the dignity…

Now you shall find that in these cases, in case of great affliction, in case of great deliverance, in case of great means; in all these cases the Lord expects great thankfulness. ⟨p. 412⟩When the Lord sendeth afflictions, and we do not make use of them, when we are not drawn in by them, when we are not wrought upon by them: This is a thing that provokes him to anger. You know what is said of Ahaz, that when he was afflicted, he was worse, and worse. This is King Ahaz, he rebelled yet more and more: A brand is set upon him. The Lord looked for fruit from the fig-tree, and when he found it not, he cursed it.

When the Lord shall send such a mercy as he hath now to us, to remove this visitation, be sure the Lord looks now for something more then ordinary at your hands. Consider therefore how you answer his expectation.

And if you say, every one of us hath not such interest in it: Those that have been in the danger, and been in the fire, and have escaped out of it, let them look to it. No, my brethren let us know that every one of us have an interest in it: for let me ask you, When the Lord sends a sickness, and it lights but upon one place of the Kingdom, yet the Lord is at controversy with the whole Nation, he is at war with the whole land. For the end of a plague is to discover the wrath of God, and that he is displeased with the whole people. Now consider with thy self when the Lord hath a controversy with the Land, who is he that should answer this? there is no action of a whole body so considered that can be expected, but every particular man, must take notice of it; and if every particular man why doth it not belong to thee as well as to another? The Lord looks for this at the hands of every man that he should consider his dealing in sending this sickness, and visitation, and that he should consider again his mercy, in removing it to humble himself under the one, and be thankful for the other.