Suffering and Sovereignty: John Flavel and the Puritans on Afflictive Providence by Brian H. Cosby

Author:Brian H. Cosby [Cosby, Brian H.]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2012-12-25T16:00:00+00:00

Fellowship through the Word

Flavel held that all believers should study the Bible because it is the Christian’s guide and directive: “Study the word more, and the concerns and the interests of the world less. The word is a light to your feet.”128 Flavel points his reader to “the scriptures, wherein are treasured up all the cordials and soul-reviving comforts.”129 Turning to the Bible, according to Flavel, should be both a preventative against sin as well as a balm to heal the wounds of sin. He explains, “Furnish your hearts richly with the word of God, which is their best preservation against sin. Keep the word, and the word will keep you.”130

Turning to the Word—not just for knowledge and study, but for communing with God—is especially important during times of suffering. Flavel exhorts a mother grieving the loss of her son to “read frequently, ponder seriously, and apply believingly these scripture consolations and directions…and the God of all consolation be with you.”131 God applies His Word to the believer’s soul in affliction so as to “sanctify” it. This is Flavel’s view of what he called “sanctified afflictions.” He explains, “We may call our afflictions sanctified, when divine teachings accompany them to our souls.”132 The promises made to the believer in God’s Word may increase the faith of the sufferer during times of affliction. In this way, the Christian can come closer to God in fellowship. He writes, “Faith engages the presence of God, to be and abide with the soul in all its solitudes and sufferings: It lays hold upon the promises made to that purpose.”133 Thus we can see that Flavel believed the Scriptures should be applied to the sufferer for fellowship and for comfort: “[The Word] must be applied for our comfort in all inward and outward troubles.”134

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