A Practical Commentary on the Epistle of Jude

2. Hast thou sustained great losses? If God hath lent us blessings, and taken them again, shall we grudge them to the right owner, he took part that gave all.

3. Dost thou endure great pains? there is a gradation in miseries, those that lite upon the estate, do not sit so close as those that lite upon the body, and those that lite upon the body are not so terrible as those that lite upon the soul; a wounded spirit who can beat? bodily pains is the case we now speak too, you are full of pains, but Christ ⟨p. 466⟩on the Cross suffered more; but he was God-man; the Martyrs suffered more, Heb. 11. 35. they were tortured, [Greek or Hebrew], they were stretched out like a Drum; but those were rare instances, and had a singular assistance, Pauls was an ordinary case, his thorn in the flesh, 2 Cor. 12. was some great bodily pain; but Paul was a choice spirit, heathens have born it stoutly; Epicurus was full of solace in a fit of the Colic, ob memoriam inventorum, by calling to mind his inventions in Philosophy; and Tully speaketh of Possidoni•s the Philosopher, that whilst he was under a great fit of the stone, could discourse freely that nothing was good but virtue, nothing evil but vice, and when his pain twinged him, would say, Nihil agis dolor quamvis sis molestus nunquam confitebor te esse malum; Pain thou dost nothing alter my opinion, though thou art troublesome yet thou art not evil; but these were men that obstinately maintained an insensibleness; little children have endured great pains, and wilt thou startle at that which poor little children have suffered? Besides all this, 'tis Gods design to try you; ^*there is a great deal of valour to be showed in the sick bed, either the end of it will be life or death, if death, 'tis the last brunt, bear it patiently, ^*