SPIRITUAL PEACE AND COMFORT, 383 reward is lost; and consequently all the glorious preparative suc- cesses, as to you, are lost. If once you take yourselves to have nothing to do as rulers for Christ, you cannot promise yourselves that Christ will have any thing to do for you, as rulers, in a way of mercy. This, Mr. Owen hath lately told you in his sermon, October 13, " The God of heaven forbid, that ever all the devils in hell, the Jesuits at. Rome, or the seduced souls in England, should be able to persuade the rulers of this land, who are so deeply bound to God by vows, mercies, professions, and high ex- penses of treasure and blood, to reform his church, and propagate his gospel; that now, after all this, it belongeth not to them, but theyy must, as rulers, be no more for Christ than for Mahomet. But if ever it should prove the sad case of England to have such rulers, (whichI strongly hope will never be,) if my prognostics fail not, this will be their fate : the Lord Jesus will forsake them, as they have forsaken him, and the prayers of his saints will be fully turned against them ; and his elect shall cry to him night and day, till he avenge them speedily, by making these his ene- mies to lick the dust, and dash them in pieces like a potter's ves- sel, because they would not that he should reign over them : and then they shall know whether Christ be not King of kings and Lord of lords." Perhaps you may think I digress from the matter in hand; but as long as I speak but for my Lord Christ, and for doing good, I cannot think that I am quite out of my way. But to return nearer to those for whose sakes I chiefly write, this is that sum of my ad- vice ; Study, with all the understandingyou have, how to do as much good, while you have time, as possibly you can, and you shall find that (without any Popish or Pharisaical self-confidence) to be the most excellent art for obtaining spiritual peace, and a large measure of comfort from Christ. To that end use seriously and daily to bethink yourself, what way of expending your time and wealth, and all your talents, will be most comfortable for you to hear of, and review at judgment. And take that as the waymost comfortable now. Only consult not with flesh and blood; make not your flesh of the council in this work, but take it for your enemy ; expect its violent, unwea- ried opposition ; but regard not any of its clamors or repinings. But know, as I said before, that your most true, spiritual comforts are a prize that must be won upon the conquest of the flesh. I will only add to this the words of the blessed Dr. Sibbs, (a man that was no enemy to free grace, nor unjust patron of man's works,) in his preface to.his "Soul's Conflict:" "Christ is first a King of righteousness, and then of peace!. The righteousness that works by his Spirit brings a peaceof sanctification ; whereby though
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