Though the way to heaven be but one, yet there are many crooked lanes and by-paths that shoot down upon it, as I may say.  And again, notwithstanding the kingdom of heaven be the chief city, yet usually those by-paths are most beaten, most travellers go those ways; and therefore the way to heaven is hard to be found, and as hard to be kept in, by reason of these.  Yet, nevertheless, it is in this case as it was with the harlot of Jericho; she had one scarlet thread tied in her window, by which her house was known:  so it is here; the scarlet streams of Christ’s blood run throughout the way to the kingdom of heaven; therefore mind that:  see if thou do find the besprinkling of the blood of Christ in the way; and if thou do, be of good cheer, thou art in the right way.

XIV.  TRIALS OF THE CHRISTIAN

Affliction—­its nature and benefits.

The school of the cross is the school of light; it discovers the world’s vanity, baseness, and wickedness, and lets us see more of God’s mind.  Out of dark afflictions comes a spiritual light.

In times of affliction, we commonly meet with the sweetest experiences of the love of God.

The end of affliction is the discovery of sin; and of that, to bring us to a Saviour.

Doth not God ofttimes even take occasion, by the hardest of things that come upon us, to visit our souls with the comforts of his Spirit, to lead us into the glory of his word and to cause us to savor that love that he has had for us even from before the world began till now?  A nest of bees and honey did Samson find even in the belly of that lion that roared upon him.  And is all this no good; or can we do without such holy appointments of God?  Let these things be considered by us, and let us learn like Christians to kiss the rod, and love it.

The lamps of Gideon were discovered, when his soldiers’ pitchers were broken:  if our pitchers are broken for the Lord and his gospel’s sake, those lamps will then be discovered that before lay hid and unseen.

People that live high and in idleness bring diseases upon the body; and they that live in all fulness of gospel ordinances, and are not exercised with trials, grow gross, are diseased and full of bad humors in their souls.

The righteous are apt to be like well-fed children, too wanton, if God should not appoint them some fasting-days.

The Lord useth his flail of tribulation to separate the chaff from the wheat.

Observe Paul:  he died daily, he was always delivered unto death, he despaired of life.  And this is the way to be prepared for any calamity.  When a man thinks he has only to prepare for an assault by footmen, how shall he contend with horses; or if he looks no further than to horses, what will he do at the swellings of Jordan?

Oh, when every providence of God unto thee is like the messengers of Job, and the last to bring more heavy tidings than all that went before him; when life, estate, wife, children, body and soul, and all at once, seem to be struck at by heaven and earth, here are hard lessons—­now to behave myself even as a weaned child:  now to say, “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”