Tribulation Worketh Patience

"I will not leave you comfortless." —John 14:18 [KJV]

We are born into this world crying; we live in it complaining; and we go out of it sorrowing, for any comfort it can yield us. When cardinal Woolsey was cast off by his king, he said, 'Had I served my God as faithfully as I have my prince, he would not have treated me thus.' The more we know of this world the more we see of its folly and vanity. The more we enjoy of its smiles and friendship, so much the more sorrow and reluctance we have in leaving it. But with our heavenly Friend it is quite otherwise. "He never leaves nor forsakes: whom He loves, He loves unto the end."—Nor will He ever leave His dear disciples in a comfortless state of sorrow and dejection: like poor orphans, cast upon a wide world of sorrow and woe, without any kind heart to pity them, or kind hand to relieve them: for when all other comforts forsake us, still Jesus abides by us: His Spirit comforts us, by shewing what He is to us; what He has done, is doing, and will do for us. The apostles had full experience of the promise of their gracious Lord. "He comforteth us in all tribulations,"—II Corinthians 1:4. "In Me ye shall have peace." And why doth our Lord also assure us, "In the world ye shall have tribulation!"—John 16:33— truly He loves us too well to suffer us to take up our rest in it. If with Paul at Ephesus, "after the manner of men, we fight with beasts,"—I Corinthians 15:32—all this is suffered to render the world more inhospitable; to make us loathe swine's food, the husks of this world; that the bread of life, the comforts of Jesus, may be more sought after and enjoyed. Why is sin suffered to dwell in us, and to make us groan, and distress us? To make it more hateful to us; to put us out of conceit of ourselves and our own righteousness; and to endear the atonement and righteousness of Jesus to our souls, that all our comfort should spring from Him. Why is Satan suffered to harass and perplex us? That as the sheep of Christ's pasture we should keep close to our Shepherd; or like frighted children, when surly dogs bark at them, fear keeps them near their Father's protection and within the bounds of His habitation. So we find the comforts of living near our Saviour. Do we carry about a weak disordered body? Here is our comfort, "We faint not, knowing that the outward man decayeth, yet the inward man is renewed day by day,"—II Corinthians 4:16. Thus, glory to our loving Lord! "He comforts us concerning our faith, and causes us to rejoice in hope of the glory of God; and to glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, patience experience, experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost,"—Romans 5:2-5.

-preacher William Mason (1724-1797 A.D.)