Suffering and Sovereignty: John Flavel and the Puritans on Afflictive Providence

SUFFERING AND

SOVEREIGNTY

John Flavel and the Puritans

on Afflictive Providence

Brian H. Cosby

Foreword by Gerald Bray

Reformation Heritage Books

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Suffering and Sovereignty

© 2012 Brian H. Cosby

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Direct your requests to the publisher at the following address:

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ISBN 978-1-60178-213-7 (epub)

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Cosby, Brian H.

Suffering and sovereignty : John Flavel and the Puritans on afflictive providence / Brian H. Cosby ; foreword by Gerald Bray.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references (pages ).

ISBN 978-1-60178-197-0 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Flavel, John, 1630?-1691. 2. Puritans—Doctrines. 3. Suffering—Religious aspects—Puritans. 4. Providence and government of God—Christianity I. Title.

BX9339.F53C67 2012

231’.8092—dc23

2012043440

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Contents

Foreword

Preface

1. Toward a Puritan Theology of Suffering

2. Flavel on the Origin and Nature of Suffering

3. Flavel on Divine Sovereignty and Human Suffering

4. Flavel on God’s Purposes in Ordaining Suffering

5. Flavel on the Right Response to Suffering

6. The Assurance of Salvation in Flavel’s Ministry to Sufferers

7. The Cessation of Suffering in Flavel’s Ministry to Sufferers

Bibliography

Index

To

Aaron Little,

Derek Webber,

and J. R. Harris

Co-laborers in the

ministry of Christ

Foreword

When the Christian gospel was first proclaimed, it went to a world that had little or no idea what might happen next. A few scientists had discovered some of the basic laws of nature, and in Babylonia there were astrologers who could predict the movements of the stars with great accuracy. But when it came to the ups and downs of ordinary human life, they were perplexed. How was it that good people often suffered in ways that were unjust and hard to bear, whereas evil men seemed to escape unharmed? What principle governed that kind of universe? Men searched the stars for wisdom, but it eluded them because our fate is not in the stars after all. Even the Jews, who knew that there was one Creator God who had made everything that exists and who kept it in being, asked themselves what the meaning of the hard life we are called to endure really was. Psalm 73 and the book of Job stand as monuments to their reflections on this subject, and they are as relevant today as they were when they were first written.

The Christian message came as a revelation that God had heard the cries of His people, that He had sent His Son into the world in order to suffer and die on their behalf, and that those who believed in Him would one day be taken to heaven, where there would be no more tears and no more suffering. But the questions the psalmist and Job asked were not specifically addressed. Jesus told His disciples that in this world they would have tribulation, but they were not to be afraid of it, because He had overcome the world (John 16:33). A Christian was expected to take up his cross and follow the Savior, counting it a privilege to be allowed to share in His sufferings (Matt. 16:24).

In the seventeenth century the Puritans knew that they had to tackle this question of suffering afresh. Their primary concern was to bring the gospel home to ordinary men and women and explain its relevance to them. The basic issues of life and death had not changed since the time of Jesus, nor have they in the centuries since. Inexplicable suffering is still with us, as is undeserved prosperity. Why God deals with His children in this way is as hard to understand now as it has ever been, and yet the pastoral needs of the church cry out for a word from the Lord.

This is what John Flavel set out to proclaim. He believed in the God of providence, who nurtured the birds and the lilies of the field but who also cared for His chosen people far more than He did for any of them (Matt. 6:25–34). He ministered in a time of civil war and paid the price of those who found themselves on the losing side, so he knew firsthand what it was to suffer. He was called to preach to men and women who had little cause to hope for a better future and good reasons for thinking that worse was yet to come. We who live in affluent, modern societies can scarcely imagine what it was like to live in fear of famine, drought, and plague. We know more about incurable illnesses, which are still with us, and probably a great deal more about psychological trauma and stress-related conditions. Circumstances may have changed somewhat, but the underlying challenge that the reality of suffering presents to the gospel message remains what it has always been.

Jesus came to proclaim good news to the poor, liberty to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and freedom for the oppressed—the time when the Lord would show His favor (Luke 4:18–19). Can we proclaim that message with the same integrity as He did in the synagogue at Nazareth? Or are we destined to be thrown out and rejected, as He was? Who are we to proclaim the unimaginable? And yet…

Brian Cosby is a child of God, a minister of Jesus Christ, and a servant of the gospel. The things of which he writes are not dry words on pages seldom turned for the past 350 years, but realities that are as alive for him as they were for John Flavel, the man who is his subject. Heart speaks to heart, and in this book Brian brings to life a man whom he knows as a brother in the Lord who has gone to glory. John Flavel was famous in his day and widely read for many years after his death, but fashions have changed, and today he has been largely forgotten. Even those who long to revive the Puritan heritage know little about him and wonder how they should pronounce his name! Forgotten he may be, but dead he is not. He is alive with the saints in heaven, and his words still ring with conviction and comfort to those of us who are still waiting with eager longing to join with them in the church triumphant. He speaks to our struggle and understands our sorrows, often in ways that more familiar men of the past do not.

It is my great joy and privilege to be able to commend this book and its author to a wider public. I have known Brian for many years as a student and as a pastor, and it is largely thanks to him that I have come to know John Flavel too. My prayer is that this introduction to his work will be used to bring many to a similar knowledge and understanding of one of the great men of our church and that those called to pastor today will learn from his example and be encouraged by one who suffered the loss of all things so that Christ might reign in splendor in the hearts and minds of the people committed to his care. If you are a child of God, may He do a work in you as great as the one He did in John Flavel, and may you go on your way rejoicing, knowing that in reading these pages, you have been with Jesus.

—Gerald Bray

Research Professor of Divinity

Beeson Divinity School

Samford University

Birmingham, Alabama

Preface

Immediately after catastrophic tragedies—9/11, tsunamis, floods, mass murder, hurricanes, tornadoes—television and radio programs invite religious leaders from a variety of backgrounds to explain why God would allow suffering. Some have said that these events are nothing but natural phenomena, uncontrolled by a loving God. Others explain that these are direct judgments upon the wickedness of mankind. Still others say that these are all signs of Jesus’ impending return. Why does God allow suffering? It’s a good question.

One of the great tragedies of the American story is the loss of a biblical view of suffering, due in part to an ever-increasing belief of entitled health, wealth, and prosperity. We are a nation living from one pleasure high to the next—looking for the next big wave that might take us closer and closer toward the sunny sands of the American dream. The American dream not only has become something we pursue, but also something we feel we deserve. We feel entitled to life, liberty, and continual happiness. But what if the American dream is plunged into a nightmare and dashed to pieces against the rocks of suffering? Is this an act of God?

The effect of this trend is that the church is often like a rudderless boat without direction. The only thing we can think about is dodging the rocks of affliction up ahead or wondering why we have run into so many in the past. But this was not always the case. Various Christian cultures, communities, and movements throughout history have expressed a robust theology of suffering—one that exhibited both a right view of God’s sovereignty and a right view of God’s goodness—and held these two truths together in a harmonious relationship as a foundation for understanding the nature, origin, and purposes of suffering, and a right response to it. One of the clearest expressions of this can be found in the post-Reformation movement in England called Puritanism.

Many of the English Puritans living in seventeenth-century England faced various forms of suffering while also experiencing—to a greater or lesser extent—religious persecution for not conforming to the state church. Thus, much Puritan literature that has been reprinted in modern times contains theological application for the suffering believer.

John Flavel (c. 1630–1691), in particular, wrote extensively on the subject of human suffering and how it relates to divine sovereignty. He himself experienced great suffering through the loss of three wives and a son and continual persecution from state officials. Because many of his writings deal directly with the theme of suffering and because of his own experience with it, Flavel is a significant resource for understanding a Puritan theology of human suffering and divine sovereignty.

Suffering and Sovereignty seeks to examine Flavel’s theology of suffering and sovereignty and how that theology translated into practical application for the suffering believer. This book started as a trimmed-down version of my PhD dissertation at Australian College of Theology and morphed into a book for the church; its aim is to capture both relevant and scholarly elements in order to form a cohesive Puritan theology of suffering.

This book seeks to build an organized structure of Flavel’s theology of suffering—from its origin and nature to God’s sovereignty and design for suffering to how various doctrines might comfort the afflicted. Flavel, then, serves as a representative of a Puritan theology of suffering, not only as one who exhibited all the necessary qualifications of being a Puritan but also as one who wrote extensively on the subject and faced many personal trials.

The Banner of Truth Trust’s 1968 six-volume reprint edition of The Works of John Flavel, originally published by W. Baynes and Son in 1820, will be used throughout unless otherwise noted. Additionally, the original spelling and punctuation of that edition will remain and, when original publication dates of seventeenth-century works are referenced, they are noted as they were originally recorded in the seventeenth century.

This study is the product of nearly six years of research, and many individuals have helped to shape this project through conversation, critique, and encouragement. I would like to especially thank Gerald Bray and John McClean for their feedback and direction. Dr. Bray in particular has been a constant resource of knowledge and support over the years in relation to this study on John Flavel. I am grateful, too, for Sinclair Ferguson, who first introduced me to Flavel and encouraged me to study him. I would also like to thank those who work in the libraries at Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia; Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama; and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. They and the individuals who produce Early English Books Online (EEBO) have been tremendously helpful in finding books and articles related to this study.

I would also like to thank J. R. Harris, Christian George, Aaron Little, Norm Dunkin, Derek Webber, and my parents, who all provided continual support, feedback, and encouragement throughout the development of my research and writing. I am thankful to Adam Embry, Clifford Boone, and Nathan Parker for their correspondence on Flavel. Most of all, however, I would like to thank my wife, Ashley, for her unwavering commitment to me, her love and patience, and her desire to see this work come to fruition.

It is my hope that the content presented will both challenge and comfort the reader, in order to develop a healthier understanding of suffering and encourage the reader to give God praise in both hard times and good times—echoing the words of Job, The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD (Job 1:21).

—Brian H. Cosby

CHAPTER ONE

Toward a Puritan Theology of Suffering

Trying to make sense of suffering, affliction, and trial in light of a biblical worldview is not easy. Many questions emerge as one begins to build a theology of suffering: Is God really in control? If He is, is He morally good? Is suffering a sign of judgment, and is it truly deserved? Why does God ordain it? How should believers respond to suffering? What sources of comfort are found in Scripture for the suffering believer?

Making Sense of Suffering

Some of these questions are not only difficult to answer theologically, but difficult to understand experientially. This study seeks to present a biblical theology of suffering by turning to one of the most influential seventeenth-century Puritans, John Flavel (c. 1630–1691). Flavel, along with his Puritan contemporaries, held a unique place among the expositors of biblical doctrine. Not only did the Puritans inherit the codification and exposition of sixteenth-century Reformed theology (from Calvin, Perkins, and others), but they also had the task of developing Reformed thought by clothing it with pastoral application.1

The Puritans are often referred to as practical theologians, for they combined the glorious riches of biblical and systematic theology with the reality of life experience, like suffering. As Christians today face trials of various kinds, making sense of suffering can be achieved—at least in part—by looking back through the lens of Puritan theology to the biblical text. The Puritans were biblicists who sought to glorify God and enjoy Him forever through a life of faith and repentance. All of life, including suffering, was to be understood coram Deo (before the face of God) and in light of God’s revealed Word, the Bible.

This book aims to present a Puritan theology of suffering by looking at one of Puritanism’s greatest leaders, writers, and sufferers—John Flavel.2 In particular, it will examine Flavel’s theology of suffering within his seventeenth-century context to show his understanding of the origin and nature of suffering, how God is sovereign over suffering, why God ordains suffering, how the believer ought to respond to suffering, and how biblical doctrine can bring comfort and consolation to the believer in the midst of suffering.

Why John Flavel?

Of all of the Puritans who wrote about suffering, why pick John Flavel as a representative Puritan on the subject? It’s a valid question to which we provide at least four answers: (1) Flavel personally experienced severe suffering throughout his life; (2) he was very influential within his own lifetime, locally as a pastor and nationally as a writer; (3) a large portion of his writings pertain to the subject of suffering; and (4) Flavel is relatively understudied compared to other Puritan greats such as John Owen, Richard Sibbes, John Bunyan, Richard Baxter, and Thomas Watson.3

John Flavel was born sometime between 1627 and 16304 in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire. His parents were arrested and thrown into prison for holding an unauthorized worship meeting. While imprisoned, they caught the plague,