Spiritual Peace and Comfort. 24 5 and loft thy greateft and deareft friends, becaufe thou wouldft not forfake Chrift and his fervice, or deal fatly in force Caufe that he bath miffed thee in : haft thou not come off with the blefiïngof Peace ofConfcience ? Nay, when thou haft denied thy molt importunate it ppetite, and molt croffed thy lulls, and moll humbled and abafed thy felf for God, and denied thy credit, and taken fhame to thy felf in a free confefsingofthy faults, or patient- ly put up the greateft abufes, or humbled and tamed thy flefh by neceffary abftinence, or any way aloft difpleafed it, by crofsing its intereft, by bountiful' giving laborious duty, dangers or fufferings for the fake ofthe Lord Jefus, his Truth and People :hath it not been far better with thee in thyPeace and Com- forts then before ? I know force will be ready to fay; That may be fromCarnal Pride in our own doing or fuffering. I anfwer : It may be fo ; And therefore let all watch againPt that. But I am certain that this is Gods ordinary dealing with his people,and therefore we may ordinarilyexpel it: It is for thir encourage- ment in faithful dtty ; and I may truly fay, for their Reward, when himfelfcals that a Reward which he gives for a cupof water. Lay well to heart that Ex- ample of Abraham, for which he is fo often extolled in the Scripture,viz, his readinefs to facrifice his only Son : This was a dear Obedience : And, faith God, Recaufe . (mark Recatefe) thou haft done ail thing, än blefn I Will blefs thee, &c. David would not offer to God that whichcoil him nothing,z Sate. 24, 24. z Chron, 31.24. God will have the beft of your hearts, the beft ofyour labours, thebe of your estates, the heft ofall or hewill not acpt it. T 3 44els
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