[1] As God makes use of all the seasons of the year for the
harvest, the frost of winter as well as the heat of summer,
so doth He of fair and foul, pleasing and unpleasing
providences for promoting holiness. Winter providences kill
the weeds of lusts, and summer providences ripen and mellow
the fruits of righteousness. When He afflicts it is for our
profit, to make us partakers of His holiness (Heb.
xii. 10). Bernard compares afflictions to the teasel, which
though it be sharp and scratching, is to make the cloth
more pure and fine. God would not rub so hard if it were
not to fetch out the dirt that is ingrained in our natures.
God loves purity so well that He would rather see a hole
than a spot in His child's garments. When He deals more
gently in His providences, and lets His people sit under
the sunny bank of comforts and enjoyments, fencing them
from the cold blasts of affliction, it is to draw forth the
sap of grace, and hasten their growth in
holiness.--_Gurnall,_ 1617-1679.