. Could we look into the Lake of
Fire by John Macduff? Why should any living man complain? Lamentations 3.39 Man is born to trouble, as the
sparks fly upwards. We are not therefore to think
that any strange thing has happened to us, if sorrow, in any of its
multifarious forms, befalls us here on earth. If you endure
chastening, says the Apostle, God deals with you as with sons. But how should we endure it?
It should be done in an inquiring spirit. We ought to be anxious
to know the cause of the painful visitation. With the patriarch
of old, our language should be, Show me why you contend with
me. It should be done also in a prayerful
spirit. is any among you afflicted, let
him pray. And it should be done especially
in a submissive spirit. We should not merely feel the
chastening rod, but kiss it, instead of cherishing any feelings
of murmuring and rebellion under the afflictive dispensations
of God's providence, We should humble ourselves under his mighty
hand, that he may exalt us in due time. And how many considerations
are there, which should induce and promote such a submissive
spirit towards affliction! 1. If we compare our sufferings
with our deserts, shall we not find abundant reason to banish
every complaint and hush every murmur into silence? Should we
complain of our light and momentary trouble when we deserve to be
tormented in hell for ever? Should we complain of the chastisements
of a gracious Father when we have rendered ourselves obnoxious
to the sentence of a holy and angry judge? Should we complain
that God sits by us as a refiner to purify us when He might be
a consuming fire to destroy us? Should we complain that we have
to pass under the rod of His love when we might have been
set up as a mark for the arrows of His indignation and His terrors
be arrayed against us. Could we look into the lake of
fire and have a sight of the wretched beings who are there
writhing in deathless agonies, we would then thank God for the
most miserable condition on earth if it were only sweetened with
the hope of escaping that place of eternal torment. 2. Let us think, again, of the
many mercies of which we have been, and still continue to be,
the subjects. And shall we receive good at
the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? Should we not
receive our afflictions from the divine hand with similar
feelings? Should we forget our blessings,
which are so many, and dwell upon our crosses, which are so
few? 3. It would be well also for
us to compare our sufferings with what others have had to
endure. The people of God have been in
all ages a suffering people, and many of them could say with
special emphasis, I am the man who has seen affliction. Look
at the godly man, Job. In a single day, he was cast
down from the highest pinnacle of prosperity to the lowest depths
of adversity. In the morning, he was the richest
man in all the East, and with patriarchal dignity he looked
around upon the joyous circle of seven sons and three daughters.
But in the evening, he found himself without flock, or herd,
or child. Oh, what are our troubles compared
with his? And did he murmur? No. He adored
the hand that smote him. Prostrate in dust, he exclaimed. I came naked from my mother's
womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what
I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the
Lord. But let us turn from the servant
to the master, and consider him. What was his condition during
his earthly sojourn? He was a man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief, notwithstanding his infinite dignity and unsullied
purity. Our sufferings are only partial,
but he suffered in every way. Ours are only occasional, but
his sufferings were uninterrupted. They accompanied him from the
manger to the cross. What he endured, especially during
the closing scenes of his memorable career, passes all comprehension. Hear his heart-rendering cry,
my soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death, and being in
an agony, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was as it were
great drops of blood falling down to the ground. Oh, shall
we compare our sufferings with His? To do so would be to weigh
a moat against a mountain. If we desire to bear our trials
with submission, let us think much, then, of what the Saviour
endured for us. Would you, Christian, wish to
fare better than Him? Jesus Christ was a man of sorrows,
and are you not to even taste the bitter cup? He was acquainted
with grief, and would you be a stranger to it? Would you have
nothing but ease, where He had nothing but trouble? Would you
have nothing but honour, where He had nothing but disgrace? Would you reign with Him hereafter,
and not suffer with Him here? O say then with him, The cup
which my father has given me, Shall I not drink it? And as
you drink your cup, O think of his, well may we say, How bitter
that cup no heart can conceive, Which he drank quite up, that
sinners might live. His way was much rougher and
darker than mine, Did Jesus thus suffer, and shall I repine? Now let our pains be all forgot,
Our hearts no more repine, Our sufferings are not worth a thought,
When, Lord, compared with Thine. 4. Another consideration that
should produce a spirit of submission is, that our sorrows are not
to last for ever. Your deliverance from sorrow
is as sure as the purpose, the promise, the covenant, the oath
of God can render it. And not merely is it certain,
but it is near, a few weeks, or months, or years more, and
all will be peace and quietness and bliss for ever. 5. And, it must be added, Christian,
that your end will be unspeakably glorious. God will wipe every
tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow
or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.
There will be no shattered frame, no emaciated countenance, no
furrowed cheek, no faltering voice in those blessed regions. There every eye shall sparkle
with delight, every countenance will beam with ineffable satisfaction,
every pulse will beat high with immortality, and every frame
will be able to sustain without weariness an eternal weight of
glory. O child of sorrow, think of these
things, be anxious to feel their hallowing influence, that resignation
may have her perfect work, and that no murmuring spirit may
be indulged in, even for a moment.