Preparation For Suffering Chapters 1 and 2

A modernized text: In the first two chapters of Preparation for Sufferings, John Flavel uses the Apostle Paul's resolute journey toward imprisonment and death in Jerusalem (Acts 21:13) to establish that it is a profound blessing for believers to have their hearts spiritually prepared for whatever severe trials God calls them to endure. While God takes no pleasure in afflicting His children and delays judgment as long as possible, He nonetheless calls them to suffer whenever His providence hedges them in so tightly that sin is the only escape. Ultimately, God ordains these painful seasons for two overarching purposes: to display His own glory by upholding His righteousness and miraculously preserving His Church, and to advance His people's true spiritual good—mortifying inner sin, proving genuine faith, purging hypocrites, uniting believers in shared hardship, and awakening them to fervent prayer.