INTRODUCTION. 21 service hath been so sweet to me, that it bath overcome the trou- ble ofconstant pains, or weakness of the flesh, and all that men have said or done against me. But the following crown exceeds this pleasure, more than I am here capable to conceive. There is some trouble in all this pleas- ant work, fromwhich the soul and flesh would rest; and blessed are the dead, that die in the Lord ; even so saith the Spirit ; for they rest from their labors, and their, works follow them. But, O my soul, what needest thou 'be troubled in this kind of strait? It is not left to thee to choose whether or when thou wilt live or die. It is God that will determine it; who is infinitely fitter to choose than thou. Leave, therefore, his own work to himself, and mind that which is thine : whilst thou livest, live to Christ ; andwhen thou diest, thou shalt die to Christ ; even into his bless- ed hands : so live that thou mayest say, " It is Christ liveth in me, and the life that I live in the flesh,- I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me ; " and then, as thou hast lived in the comfort of hope, thou shalt die unto thecomfort of vision and fruition. And when thou canst say, "He is the God whose I am, and. whom I serve," thou mayest boldly add, ' and whom I trust, and to whom I commend my departing soul; and I know whom I have trusted.'
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