Book I, Part 2, Chapter 11. Of the tenth Privilege of Virtue, which is, the Assistance good Men receive from God in their Afflictions; and of the Impatience, on the Contrary, with which the Wicked suffer theirs

1. Another extraordinary privilege granted to virtue is, its encouraging its followers to bear up against the tribulations they cannot but meet with in this life. For we know there is no sea so tempestuous and inconstant as this life is. Because a man is never so secure of the felicity he enjoys as not to be exposed to an infinite number of such accidents and misfortunes as he never thought of, and which he is, nevertheless, every moment in the sinker's guide. 175 clanger of falling into. It is, therefore, a matter of great consequence to observe with what difference the wicked and the good conduct themselves in all these changes ; for the good, considering they have God for their father, that it is he who sends them this cup as a potion prescribed them by a most experienced physician for their cure, that tribulation is like a file which takes off the rust of sin the cleaner, and polishes it the brighter the rougher it is ; they consider it is this affliction that makes man more humble in thoughts, more devout in his prayers, and gives him a purer conscience. These considerations make them bow down their heads, and humble themselves with cheerfulness, in the time of their tribulation ; they put water in the chalice of the cross, or, to speak plainer, the Almighty himself *puts it in: "For he," as the holy psalmist says, "gives them tears to drink by measure;" Ps. xcvii. 6. And there is no physician so careful in the mixture of his drugs, according to the constitution of his patient, as this heavenly physician is, in the tempering of tribulations, which he sends the just, according to the strength every one has to bear them : and if at any time the burthen should be increased, he increases the assistance he gives them for bearing it, that so the tribulation any man lies under may make him so much the richer, as it is the more painful and troublesome ; nay, wThen his afflictions are tempered thus, he is so far from endeavoring to get rid of them as things prejudicial, that he, on the contrary, longs for them as advantageous and profitable. So that, by the help of all these considerations, good men often bear their necessities, not only with patience, but with pleasure, because they look on the reward, and not the labor, on the crown, and not the suffering, on the health their physic will restore them to, and not on the potion itself, not on the smart of the stroke, but on the love of him that lays it on, who has already said, " that he loves those J,hat he chastises;" Heb. iii. 19.

2. To all these considerations must be added the Almighty's grace, which, as we have shown already, is never wanting to a just man in the time of his tribulation. For God being so true a friend to those who love him, he is never nearer to them than when they are in affliction, though he seems then to be furthest from them. If you doubt of the truth hereof, do but look into the Holy Scriptures, and you will see nothing so frequently repeated or so often promised. Who does the royal prophet mean but God, when he says, "that he is their helper in their necessities and tribulation ?" Ps. ix. 10. Has not he himself commanded all persons to call on him during the time of their affliction, saying, " Call upon me in the day of tribulation, and I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me?" Ps. xlix. 15. Has not the prophet testified this on his own experience, when he says, "When 1 called, the God of my justice heard me, he has enlarged my heart in the day of tribulation"? Ps. iv. 1. Is not this the Lord in whom the prophet placed all his trust, saying, "1 expected him who has preserved me from weakness of spirit and from the storm?" Ps. liv. 9. It is certain, that he does not speak here of any storm at sea, but of that storm, which the heart of a negligent and weak man that is in tribulation is tossed with ; and the more a man's heart is confined, the more boisterously this storm rages, which the prophet often repeats, for the greater confirmation of this truth, and for the strengthening of our weakness. " The salvation of the just," says he, "comes from the Lord, and he is their protector in the time of their tribulation : and he will assist them and deliver them, and rescue them, from sinners, and save them, because they have put their trust in him;" Ps. xxxvi. 39, 40.

3. In another place the same prophet speaks yet plainer, thus: " How great, O Lord, and how many are the joys thou hast laid up for those that fear thee, and put their trust in thee in the presence of the children of men ? Thou wilt hide them in the secret of thy face from the persecution of men : thou wilt protect them in the tabernacle from the contradiction of tongues. Blessed be the Lord, who has showed his mercy towards me in so wonderful a manner, by defending and securing me as if I had been in a fortified town. But the afflictions, which I have been overwhelmed with, have made me cry out, O Lord, I am turned out of thy sight." Ps, xxx. 20, 21, 22, 23. See here how plainly this holy prophet has taught us how God assists the just in their most pressing necessities. But you must here take particular notice of these words, " Thou wilt hide them in the secret of thy face :" for by this, according to a certain interpreter, we are given to understand, that as the kings of the earth, wThen they have a mind to protect any person with a more than ordinary care, keep him within their own palaces, that so not only the royal walls may secure him from his enemies, but that the king's continual presence, and the watchful eye he has over him, may be his security, than which none can be greater : in like manner, this sovereign King uses the same care for the security of those he loves. In confirmation of this, we both see and read, that holy men, even in the midst of the greatest dangers and temptations, still keep the same calmness and evenness of spirit as they had before, without showing the least concern or trouble in their looks, because they knew for certain, that he who protected them wrould be so faithful as not to Ibrsake them, nay, on the contrary, that he would stand the nearer to them if he should see them in any great danger. Just as he did to the three young men wThom Nebuchodonosor commanded to be flung into the fiery furnace of Babylon ; Dan. iii. For the angel of the Lord was seen walking in the midst of them, and changed the violent names into a cool, refreshing air. At which the tyrant, being astonished, began to say, " Were they not three men that we bound and flung into the middle of the fire ? Behold [ see four untied and walking together without having received any hurt, and the fourth of them is as beautiful as the Son of God." Ibid. ver. 24, 25. Do you not see now by this how certain it is, that Almighty God is with the just, whenever they are in any tribulation ; Nor is the care he took of young Joseph after his brethren had sold him, a less argument of this truth. For as we may read in the book of Wisdom, " He went down with him into the prison, and never left him when he was in his fetters, till he gave him the sceptre of Egypt, and power over those persons who had oppressed him: and he proved those to be liars that defamed him, and he gave him eternal glory;" Sap. x. 13, 14. These examples evince the truth of God's promises made to us by the psalmist, when he says, " I am with him when he is in affliction ; I will deliver him and glorify him;" Ps. xc. 15. O how truly happy must affliction be that makes us worthy the company of our God ! Let us all cry out, with St. Bernard, " If these are the effects of tribulations, grant, O God, that I may never be free from them, that so you may be always with me ;" Serm. 17. in Ps. xc.

4. Add to this, the relief and assistance of all virtues which, upon such occasions, come in ready armed to succor the afflicted heart. For whenever the soul is straitened, or in any kind of danger from tribulation, all the virtues immediately run into her, and with what forces they can make, just as the blood does towards the heart whenever it is oppressed. In the first place comes faith, with a certain knowledge of the happiness and miseries of the next life, compared to which, all we can possibly suffer is but a mere trifle. Next comes hope, which makes man bear all his troubles with patience, in expectation of the reward that is to follow. After her comes charity, which makes them even desire to be afflicted in this world, that they may thereby express their affection for God. Then follows obedience and conformity to the divine will, which helps them to receive whatever God sends them with cheerfulness and without grumbling. Patience repairs thither, and it-is her business to keep their shoulders up, lest they should bend beneath the weight. Then humility bows down their hearts, like young trees, by the stormy wind of affliction, teaching them to humble themselves under the powerful hand of God, and to acknowledge that what they suffer is infinitely less than their sins deserve. Another virtue that assists them is, the consideration of what Jesus Christ suffered on the cross, and of what all the saints have endured, which is far more severe and painful than what they sustain.

5. Thus all virtues officiously assist us in such dangerous encounters ; nor do they assist us in their service only, but with their words, if I may be allowed to term it so. For, first of all. Faith tells us, " That the sufferings of this world are not worthy of the glory which will be revealed to us in the next;" Rom. viii. IS. Charity comforts us, saying, It is but reasonable we should suffer something for his sake who had so much love for us. Gratitude tells us, with holy Job, " If we have received good things from the hand of God, why should we not receive bad ones too? Job. ii. 10. Penance says, It is no more than justice that he who has done so much against God's will should undergo something now against his own. Loyalty says, that it is requisite we should, once at least in our life, give some token of our fidelity 'to him, who has been bestowing his favors on us ever since we were born. Patience tells us, " That tribulation produces patience, patience the proof of our faith, faith produces hope, and that hope will not leave a man in confusion." Rom. v. 3, 4, 5. Obedience says, The highest degree of sanctity a man can arrive to, and the most pleasing sacrifice he can offer to God, is to conform in all his sufferings to his will.

6. But that which of all these virtues helps us most on such occasions, and which makes us most resolute in the very midst of tribulation, is a lively hope. It is what St. Paul himself teaches us, for he had no sooner said, " rejoicing in hope," than he adds, " being patient in tribulation." He knew very well that one is the consequence of the other, that is to say, that the strength we get by patience proceeds from the joy hope gives us. For which reason the apostle very elegantly calls this hope " an anchor" (Heb. vi. 19), because this lively hope being fastened strongly to the promises of heaven, it keeps the soul of the just man firm and constant in the midst of the waves and storms of this world, and makes it slight the violence of its winds and tempests, just as an anchor, when it is stuck into the ground, makes the ship ride securely on the water, and keeps it steady, though the winds and waves are continually beating against it. This, they say, was the practice of a certain saint, who, whenever he was in any kind of affliction, used to say, " The happiness I hope for is so great, that all I can suffer is delightful to me."

7. Thus it is that all virtues meet and agree together for fortifying a just man's heart, whenever he is in any tribulation. And if at any time he should lose courage, they come up to him again with much more vigor, and upbraid him after this manner : How now ? what is become of that lively faith and confidence you ought to have in Almighty God, if you begin to shrink at the very time he is going to make a trial of you, and to see what you are ? Where is your charity, your courage, your obedience, your patience, your loyalty, and the fervor of your hope? Is it for this you have so often prepared yourself, and made so many resolutions ? Is this all you have desired so earnestly of God, and prayed so often to him for ? Consider a little, that the duty and perfection of a good Christian does not consist in saying a few prayers, in fasting, in hearing of mass; it is necessary, besides all this, that God should find you as faithful as another Job, or Abraham, in the time of tribulation. Such considerations as these, and the virtues a just man is endowed with, together with the Almighty God's never-failing grace, make him strong enough to bear those bur-thens not only with patience, but oftentimes with thankfulness and pleasure. Holy Tobias's example will suffice at present to prove this: we read of him, that God having permitted that he should lose his sight, after having suffered .many other afflictions, for an example of patience to men in after ages, he was not troubled at all, nor did 'he lose the least part of that fidelity and obedience he paid to God before these misfortunes happened to him. Whereupon the Scripture immediately gives the reason of it, saying, "Having had the fear of God before his eyes from his very infancy, and having kept his commandments, he did not murmur against him, because he had struck him with blindness, but remained immovable in the fear of God, giving him thanks all the days of his life ;" Tob. ii. 13, 14. You see now by this, how plainly the Holy Ghost attributes the patience, with which a man suffers afflictions, to virtue and the fear of God, which, as the Scripture has declared, this holy man was so renowned for. I could bring several remarkable instances of holy men and women, even in our days, who have undergone all the troubles God has sent them with a deal of cheerfulness and love, who have found out honey even in gall, who in a storm had a calm, and have been refreshed and cooled in the very midst of the flames of Babylon.

§ I. Of the Impatience and Rage of the Wicked in their Afflictions. — 8. But, on the contrary, how dreadful a thing it is to see the wicked in any trouble ! to see them without charity, patience, courage, hope or any such virtue ! to see how all their miseries come on them, unarmed and unprepared ! to see how blind they are, and unable to behold that which the just see by a steady faitli ! to consider they have no lively hope to embrace what God sends them, nor have ever had any experience of his fatherly providence towards those who serve him! It is a lamentable thing to see how they are swallowed up in this gulf, without finding any place to rest on, or to lay hold of. What better hopes can a man have of them, than that they should perish in the storm, or be killed in the battle, since they have no kind of assistance to trust to ; because they sail without a rudder, and fight without weapons? What can a man expect, but that the fury of the winds, and the tempest of their afflictions, should dash them against the rocks of anger, pride, dejection, impatience, blasphemy and despair ? Some there are who, through the excess of their miseries, have lost either their senses, their health, or their life, or at least their sight, by their continual tears. So that the just remain sound and entire in the fire of adversity, like fine silver, whilst the wicked, like lead, melt and are dissolved as soon as they feel the heat. Thus, whilst the one cry, the others sing ; whilst the one are sinking, the others pass over dry-shod ; the one, like frail earthen vessels, crack in the fire, whilst the others, like pure gold, are the more refined. So that " the voice of salvation and of joy is continually sounding in the tabernacles of the just" (Ps. cxvii. 15), whilst there is nothing to be heard, in the habitations of the wicked, but the cries of sorrow and confusion.

9. If you would more fully comprehend what I say, do but observe what extravagances several females commit on the death of their children or husbands, and you will find some of them, out of madness, and rage, and the horror they have of their life, precipitate their death: others, that soon end their days with impatience and fury, caused by their grief; and thus a family is ruined and destroyed in a moment. And, what is worst of all, they are not only in a passion with, and cruel to themselves, but pour out horrible execrations against Almighty God, accusing his providence, condemning his justice, blaspheming his mercy, and opening their sacrilegious mouths against heaven, nay, against God himself, till, at length, all their curses fall on their own heads, with many other calamities much more dreadful, wherewith Almighty God punishes them for such horrible blasphemies. This is the reward he deserves, who is so impudent as to spit at heaven itself, and to kick against the spur. Sometimes this proves a complete cure, wrought by the hand of God, who thus diverts their hearts from some extraordinary afflictions, by sending them others that are greater.

10. Thus, these miserable creatures, wanting the rudder of virtue to steer their vessels, are cast away in the storm ; for blaspheming and cursing him, they ought to praise and bless, for being puffed up with pride when they ought to humble themselves, for being stubborn when they are chastised, and growing worse on those remedies which were applied to make them better, which seems to be a beginning of their hell, and a resemblance of what they are to endure in the next world. For if hell be nothing but a place of sin and punishment, why should we not look on this state as a hell, since it has so great a share of both ?

11. But what a pity that still these troubles must be endured, and that, if they were borne with patience, they would become more tolerable, and at the same time more meritorious ; and yet, in spite of all this, wretched man is resolved to deprive himself of the inestimable fruit of patience, and to increase the weight of his burden, by adding the burden of impatience, which alone is much heavier than all the rest of the load. It is a great trouble to labor and toil, to receive no reward, nor know whose account to place it to ; but it is much worse to lose all that is got, and, after travelling all night, to be further from tne journey's end in the morning.

12. By what has been said, we may perceive the difference there is between the use the good and the bad make of their afflictions. With what peace, what joy, and what courage do the good bear theirs, whilst the wicked are quite overwhelmed with grief and trouble ! This was represented to the life, by the great lamentations and complaints which were heard throughout the land of Egypt, when God destroyed all their first-born in one night (Exod. xii.), for there was not a house free from grief and sorrow ; and yet there was no cry heard in the land of Jessen, where the children of Israel lived.

13. Besides this peace, what shall I say of the advantages the just make of tribulations which are so prejudicial to the wicked ? St. Chrysostom says, " that as gold is refined by the same fire which consumes wood, so the just man, like gold, becomes more pure in the fire of tribulation, whilst the wicked, like dry wood, is burned to ashes;" St. Chrysostom, 14. in Matt. 1. St. Cyprian has something to the same purpose : he says, " that as the wind in harvest time blows away the light chafT, but cleanses the corn, so the wind of tribulation blows away the wicked like light straw, but purge's the just, and gathers them together like good wheat ;" Cypr. de unitate Ecclesise. The same is represented to us by the waters of the Red Sea, which were so far from drowning the children of Israel, as they passed through them, that, on the contrary, they served them for a wall on the right hand and on the left : whereas they broke down on and drowned the Egyptians' chariots and all Pharao's army. The waters of tribulation, after the same manner, are a greater security to virtuous men, and serve as the preservatives and trial of their humility and patience ; but are like a tempestuous sea to the wicked, which drowns and buries them in the abyss of impatience, blasphemy and despair.

14. This, therefore, is another very considerable advantage virtue has over vice ; and it was on this account that the philosophers extolled philosophy so much, imagining that the making of a man constant and resolute in all kind of adversities belonged to it. But they deceived themselves in this point, as they did in many others, for neither true virtue, nor true resolution and constancy, are to be found among the philosophers, but in the school of that Master, who, being nailed to a cross, comforted us by his example, and reigning now in heaven strengthens us by his Spirit and encourages us with the hopes of the glory he has promised us of all which, human philosophy is incapable.

182 THE SINNER.'

THE SINNER S GUIDE.