A65285:1787
A Body of Practical Divinity
A body of practical divinity consisting of above one hundred seventy six sermons on the lesser catechism composed by the reverend assembly of divines at Westminster : with a supplement of some sermons on several texts of Scripture / by Thomas Watson ...
London: printed for Thomas Parkurst, 1692
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
2. For Purgation: To purge out Corruption, Ardet palea, purgatur aurum, Isa. 27.9. And this is all the Fruit to take away his sin. The Eye though it be a tender part, yet when it is sore we put sharp Powders and Waters into it, to eat out the Pearl: Though the People of God are Dear to him, yet when Corruption begins to grow in them, he will apply the sharp Powder of Affliction to eat out the Pearl in the Eye. Affliction is Gods Flail to thresh off our Husks: It is a means God useth to purge out Sloth, Luxury, Pride and Love of the World: Gods Furnace is in Zion, Isa. 31.9. This is not to consume, but refine: What if we have more Affliction, if by this means we have less Sin?
2. For Purgation: To purge out Corruption, Ardet palea, purgatur aurum, Isa. 27.9. And this is all the Fruit to take away his sin. The Eye though it be a tender part, yet when it is sore we put sharp Powders and Waters into it, to eat out the Pearl: Though the People of God are Dear to him, yet when Corruption begins to grow in them, he will apply the sharp Powder of Affliction to eat out the Pearl in the Eye. Affliction is Gods Flail to thresh off our Husks: It is a means God useth to purge out Sloath, Luxury, Pride and Love of the World: Gods Furnace is in Zion, Isa. 31.9. This is not to consume, but refine: What if we have more Affliction, if by this means we have less Sin?
3. For Augmentation: To increase the Graces of the Spirit: Grace thrives most in the Iron Furnace: Sharp Frosts nourish the Corn; so do sharp Afflictions Grace: Grace in the Saints is often as Fire hid in the Embers, Affliction is the Bellows to blow it up into a Flame: The Lord makes the House of Bondage a Friend to our Grace: Now Faith and Patience act their part: The darkness of the Night cannot hinder the Brightness of a Star: So the more the Diamond is cut the more it sparkles: And the more God afflicts us, the more our Graces cast a sparkling Lustre.