SPIRITUAL PREACE' AND COMFORT. 395 bloodthirsty, nor took any pleasure in the creature's suffering. How can yod think, then, that he will take pleasure in your con- suming and destroying your own bodies? It is as unreasonable as to imagine, that he delights to have men cut their own throats, or hang themselves for pining and consuming one's self is self-mur- der as well as that. Yet I know no man should draw back from a painful or hazardous work, when God calls him to it, for fear of destroying the flesh; but do not make work or, suffering for your- selves. God will lay as much affliction on you as you need, and be thankful if he will enable you to . bear that ; but you have no need to add more. . If yourselves make the suffering, how can you, with any encouragement, beg strength of God to bear it? And if you have not strength, what will you do? Nay, how can you pray for deliverance from God's afflictings, when you make chore ofyour own? And thus I haáeshowed youthe danger of overdoing, and what hindrance it is to a settled peace, both of church (state) and soul; though perhaps it may not condemn a particular soul so certainly (in most parts of it) as doing too little will. 5. The next part,ofmy Direction (first expressed) is, That you avoid causeless scruples, about doctrines, duties, sins, or your own state. These are also engines of the enemy, to batter the peace and comfort of.your soul; he knows that it is;cheerful. obedience, with a confidence of Christ'smerits and mercies, that God accepteth ; and therefore if he cannot hinder a poor soul from setting upon duty, he will hinder him ifhe can, by these scruples,from a cheer- ful and prosperous progress. First, if he can, he will take in scru- ples about the truth of his religion, and showing him the many opinionsthat are in the world, he will labor to bring the poor Chris- tian to a loss. Or else he will assault him by the men of some particular sect, to draw him to that party, and so bycorrupting his judgment, to break his peace ; or at least to trouble his head, and divert his thoughts from God, by tedious disputes. The Papists will tell him, that they are the only true Catholic church, as if they had got a monopoly or patent for religion, and had confined Christ to themselves, who are such notorious abusers of him; and as ifall the churches of Greece,. Ethiopia, and the rest of the world, were unchurched by Christ, to humor Master Pope, though they be far more in number, and many of them sounder in doctrine, than the Romanists are. Those of other parties will do the like, each one to draw him to their own way. And the devil would make him believe that there are as many religions as there are odd opinions, when, alas !. the Christian religion is one, and but one, consisting, for the doctrinals, in, those fundamentals contained in our creed. And men's lesser erroneousopinions are but the scabs that adhere
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