An Eleventh Plea

But yet there is another reasoning that many murmuring hearts think to feed their humour withal, (say they) If I never had been in a better condition than I could bear this affliction, if God had always kept me in so low a condition I could be content, Oh but there was a time that I prospered more, and I had things at more full hand, and therefore now it is harder to me to be brought low; as in these times, perhaps a man that had five or six hundred a year, but now has had nothing for a great while, if that man had not been born to so much, or never had prospered in any higher degree than now he is in, this affliction had been less, perhaps he has some money and friends to live upon, but if he had never been in a better condition he would not have accounted it so great a matter to have been without it now. This many times is our greatest wound, that once we were in a better condition; and this is the most unreasonable thing for us to murmur upon this ground of any.

For first, Is your eye evil because God has been good to you heretofore? It is an ill thing for us to have our eye evil because God is good to others, but to look upon our condition with an evil eye now, because God was once good to us; has God done you any wrong because he was formerly more good to you than he was to others?

Secondly, Did you heretofore more prosper, did God heretofore give you more prosperity? It was to prepare you for afflictions, we should look at all our outward prosperity as a preparation to afflictions, if you had done so then it would not have been so difficult for you to have endured affliction now; when you had a great estate, yet if you had made use of this mercy of God to prepare you for your afflicted estate, then the change of your estate would not be so grievous. That every Christian should do: have I an estate now? I should prepare for poverty, have I health now? I should prepare for sickness, have I liberty? Let me prepare myself for imprisonment. What know I what God may call me to? Have I comfort and peace now in my conscience, does God shine upon me? While I have this let me prepare for God's withdrawing from me: am I delivered from temptations? Let me prepare now for the time of temptations; If you would do so, the change of your condition would not be so grievous to you: Mariners that are in a calm will prepare for storms, would they say, if we never had calms we would bear storms? But now we have had calms so many years or weeks together, this is grievous: In your calm you are to prepare for storms, and the storm would be less, you should reason quite contrary and say, Now I am in an afflicted condition, Oh but blessed be God I was in a comfortable condition, and blessed be God that he was beforehand with me in the ways of his mercy, this one consideration may help murmuring hearts. Do you murmur because once you were better? Know God was beforehand with you in the ways of mercy, you should rather think thus, I have lived for these many years (forty years perhaps or more) in a comfortable condition, I have lived in health, and peace, and plenty, what though the remaining part of my time have some sorrow and affliction? The Lord has granted to me a comfortable sunshine all the day long till towards evening, and what if at seven or eight o'clock at night it begins to rain? Let me thank God I have had so fair weather all day. You that are going a voyage, if you have a comfortable wind, and very fair for many months together, what if you have a little storm when you are within sight of land, will you murmur and repine? Oh no, but rather bless God that you have had such a comfortable voyage so long: Oh this consideration would help us all; If it were so that now God should say, well, you shall never see comfortable day more for outward things in this world, Oh then you have cause to fall down and bless God's Name that you have had so many comfortable days: Now you reason quite contrary, whereas you should bless God that you have had so much comfort, you make what you have had before to be an aggravation of your afflictions now, and so murmur and are discontented. That which God gave you before, upon what terms did you hold it? Did you hold it so as you have in your writings, To have and to hold for ever? God gives no such thing, God gives to no man (I say) anything but grace to run upon that tenor, there is no such thing in all God's writings for any outward comforts, To have and to hold for you and your heirs. Indeed for grace he does give it to yourselves, to have and to hold for ever, though not for every one that comes out of your loins to have and to hold for ever. God does not give any outward thing so upon no such tenor as that is. If God gives me an understanding of himself, and faith, and humility, and love, and patience, and such graces of his Spirit he gives them me for ever. If he gives me Himself and his Christ, and his promise, and his Covenant, he gives me them for ever, what am I therefore that the Sun should always shine upon me, that I must have fair weather all my days? That which God gives to me he gave it to me as a pledge of his love, let me return it to him as a pledge of my obedience, there is all the reason in the world for it, all that a godly man receives from God he receives it as a pledge of God's love to him, therefore when he comes into an afflicted condition, says God, Return to me as a pledge for your obedience that that you had from me as a pledge of my love. We should cheerfully come in to God and bless God that we have anything to render unto him as a pledge of our obedience, and say, Oh it is thy love O Lord that has given us anything, that does enable us to render a pledge of our obedience to thee. When God calls for your estate or any comforts that you have, God calls for it as a pledge of your obedience to him.

Here is another reasoning that many murmuring hearts use to feed their discontent: "If I had never been in a better condition, I could bear this affliction. If God had always kept me this low, I could be content. But there was a time when I prospered more and had things in greater abundance. That is what makes it harder to be brought low now. Perhaps a man who once had a substantial income has had nothing for a long time. If he had never enjoyed that prosperity, or had never risen above his current state, this affliction would feel less severe. Perhaps he has some money and support from friends to live on — but if he had never been better off, he would not count it such a hardship to be without what he once had. This — that we once were in a better condition — is often our greatest wound. And yet, of all the grounds for murmuring, this is the most unreasonable."

First, is your eye evil because God was once good to you? It is wrong to have an evil eye toward others because God is good to them. But it is equally wrong to look on your present condition with bitterness because God was once good to you. Has God wronged you because He was formerly more generous to you than He was to others?

Second, did God give you prosperity in the past? It was to prepare you for affliction. We should view all outward prosperity as a preparation for harder times. If you had done that then, it would not be so difficult to endure affliction now. When you had a large estate, if you had used that mercy to prepare yourself for a reduced estate, the change would not be so grievous. Every Christian should think this way: I have an estate now — let me prepare for poverty. I have health — let me prepare for sickness. I have freedom — let me prepare for imprisonment. I do not know what God may call me to. I have peace and comfort in my conscience now — while I have this, let me prepare for God's withdrawing from me. I am free from temptation now — let me prepare for a season of temptation. If you had reasoned this way, the change of your condition would not be so grievous. Sailors in calm seas prepare for storms. They do not say, "If we had never had calm weather, we could bear the storm." In the calm you should prepare for the storm — and then when the storm comes, it will be less. You should actually reason the opposite way and say: "Now I am in an afflicted condition — but blessed be God, I once was in a comfortable condition. Blessed be God that He was generous with me earlier in the ways of His mercy." Do you murmur because you were once better off? Remember that God was generous to you first. Think of it this way: I have lived many years — perhaps forty or more — in a comfortable condition: with health, peace, and plenty. What if the remaining portion of my time holds some sorrow and affliction? The Lord gave me a comfortable, sunny day all the way until late evening. What if it begins to rain at seven or eight o'clock at night? Let me thank God for the fair weather all day. If you have been on a voyage and enjoyed a favorable wind and fair sailing for many months, and then encounter a little storm when land is within sight — will you murmur? No — you will bless God for such a comfortable voyage for so long. If God were to say: "You will have no more comfortable days in outward things in this world" — even then you would have cause to fall down and bless God's name for all the comfortable days you have already had. Instead, you reason backwards: you take what God gave you before as something that makes your present affliction worse, and so you murmur and are discontented. On what terms did you hold what God gave you before? Did you hold it as something guaranteed forever? God gives no such thing. In all of God's dealings, there is no promise of outward blessings "to have and to hold forever" for any person. But for grace — for the gift of Himself, of Christ, of His promises, and of His covenant — He does give these forever. If God gives me understanding of Himself, faith, humility, love, patience, and the graces of His Spirit — He gives those forever. What claim do I have, then, that the sun should always shine on me, that I should have fair weather every day of my life? Whatever God gives, He gives as a pledge of His love. Let us return it to Him as a pledge of our obedience. Everything a godly person receives from God comes as a pledge of God's love. So when affliction comes, God says: "Return to Me — as a pledge of your obedience — what I gave you as a pledge of My love." We should come to God cheerfully and bless Him that we have anything at all to render as a pledge of our obedience, and say: "Lord, it is Your love that gave us anything, and it is Your love that now enables us to offer it back to You as a pledge of our obedience." When God calls for your estate or any comfort you have, He is calling for it as a pledge of your obedience to Him.