[b]When Munster lay sick
("The Mute Christian Under the Smarting Rod"
or, "The Silent Soul with Sovereign Antidotes"
by Thomas Brooks, 1659, London.)
"Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline."
Revelation 3:19
"The Lord disciplines the one He loves, and
punishes every son whom He receives." Heb. 12:6
All the afflictions which come upon the saints,
are the fruits of divine love.
When Munster lay sick, and his friends asked
him how he did, and how he felt; he pointed to
his sores and ulcers, whereof he was full, and said,
"These are God's gems and jewels with which He
decks his best friends, and to me they are more
precious than all the gold and silver in the world!"
"It was good for me to be afflicted!" Psalm 119:71
God afflicts you, O Christian, in love! Therefore Luther
cries out, "Strike, Lord, strike, Lord! and spare not!"