The Sixth Plea
Oh! but it is very great, my affliction it is exceedingly great, says one, and however you say, we must be contented, it is true, you may say so that feel not such great afflictions, but if you felt my affliction that I feel you would think it hard to bear and be content.
To that I answer, Let it be as great an affliction as it will, it is not so great as your sin, He has punished you less than your sins.
Secondly, It might have been a great deal more, you might have been in Hell. And it is (as I remember) Bernard's speech, (says he) It is an easier matter to be oppressed than perish. You might have been in Hell, and therefore the greatness of the thing should not make you murmur, grant it be great.
Thirdly, It may be it's the greater because your heart does so murmur: for shackles upon a man's legs, if his legs be sore it will pain him the more, if the shoulder be sore the burden is the greater; it is because your heart is so unsound that your affliction is great unto you. And that's the sixth reasoning.
"But my affliction is very great — exceedingly great. You say we must be content, and that may be easy to say when you do not feel what I feel. If you suffered what I am suffering, you would find it hard to bear and hard to accept."
To that I answer: let the affliction be as great as it may — it is still not as great as your sin. "He has not punished you as much as your sins deserve" (Ezra 9:13).
Second, it could have been far worse — you might have been in hell. Bernard expressed it well: "It is easier to be pressed down than to perish." You might have been in hell, and therefore the greatness of your affliction is no reason to murmur — even granting that it is great.
Third, the affliction may feel greater because your heart is murmuring. Chains on a person's legs will hurt all the more if the legs are already sore. A burden on a bruised shoulder is heavier. It is because your heart is in such an unsound condition that your affliction feels so great to you. That is the answer to the sixth plea.
