276 DIRECTIONS FOR GETTING AND KEEPING rejoice in any thing of our own; when even rejoicing itself, and delighting and comforting ourselves, is one part of our duty! 8. As God in Christ is the chief object and ground of our com- fort, (so that we must rejoice in nothing but God, and the cross óf Christ, in that kind, or in co- ordination with them;) so it is the office of every grace and holy work, and ordinance, and means, to be subservient to Christ; either for the attainingof Christ,or ap- plying his merits, or they are the effects of his merits. Now, if we must love and rejoice in Christ principally, then must we needs love and rejoice in all those things that stand in a necessary subor- dination to him, in their places. And therefore to say, ' We must rejoice in Christ only, and therefore not in any graces or duties of our own,' is as wise, as if a wife should cast her husband's clothes and meat out of doors and say, ' You charged me to admit none into my chamber butyourself.' Or as if a physician, having told his patients, ' I will cure you, if you will trust me only for the cure;' thereupon the patients should cast away his medicines, and shut the doors against his servants and apothecaries, and say, ' We must trust none but,the physician.' 9. All the failings of our duties are pardoned, and they accepted in Christ; and therefore we may rejoice in them. 10. Our duties have a double tendency to our salvation. (1.) As the condition to which God bath promised it as the crown and reward, (in a hundred texts of Scripture,) and may we not comfort ourselves in that which God promiseth heaven to ? (2.) As a nat- ural means to our obedience and further protection, (as watchful- ness, meditation, &c. tend to destroy sin,) as Paul saith to Timo- thy, " Take heed to thyself, and to thy doctrine, and in so doing, thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee;" 1 Tim. iv. 16. ; and may we not take comfort in that, which tends to save our own and our brethren's souls? 11. We shall be judged according to our works; therefore We must judge ourselves according to our works; and so must judge our state good or bad, according to our works. For can man judge by a righter way than God will? At least is it not lawful for man to judge as God doth? 12. We mast judge of others in probability, according to their external works, even the tree by the fruits; therefore we must judge of ourselves in certainty, according to our internal and exter- nal works together, which we may certainly know. 13. Ifwe may not rejoice in anyof our graces, then we may not be thankful for them, for thankfulness is accompanied with joy; but we must be 'thankful. 14. If we may not rejoice in our duties; we may not repent or
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