481 / 1054
The
Excellency
of
Rel;gion,
10
you
under,
and you
goe
on
mourning,
and
through the grace
of(Liod
you can
deny your (elves thofe fenluall
comforts
.hat
others
let
out
their
hearts unto, be not difcouraged but goe
on
and bleffe
thy felfe in thy
God,
bleffe
thy
felfe
in
this,
that
Chrift
bath
laid
concerning
thee
that certainly thou
shalt be
comforted:
----
Thus
I
have
but
run through
the very
heads
of
thofe things
that may
give
a
little
light to the open-
ing
of
theft
words.
But that
which
I
had
thought
to
have
fettled
on
all
thould
have
been
the
application of
it,for
to
have fpoken
to the people
ofîGod,
andtobe
fonae
helti)e
to
their
comfort that Jefus
Chrift
would have
comforted,
for
if
Jefus.Chritl
hathfaid
that th
iy
£hall
be;commforted,itdoth
concerne
all
men
to
comfort
them;
and
efpeciially
the
Miniflers of Chrif},
I
shall
only fpeake
a
word
oriwo
for
theptefent
to that
which concerns
us all
from
what
loath
been delivered.
Firft,
youmay fee
that
there
is
a
great
deale of
excellency
inReligion
and
godlineffe,
why-it
rs
that
that
will
snake
the
tnounâulleftcondition
in
the
world
to
be
çomfortable,
uppoe
aman,or
rs aart
had-loft all
that ever
theyhad, if
they
be
god.
ly, Religionwill
thew
how
they
fhall
be
bled
in this
condi-
tion,
for
they
are bleffed before their comfort comes,,
fo
that
thofe
that
are
godly
their
faddefl condition cannot
hit
çd;
hstit
bleffedneffe, when others
in
the world (hall wring
their
hands
.
for
their
lodes
be
very
fad,thou mayeft be fatisfied in
this,.
I
have
not loftmy
happineffe, thou
mayeftfay,
I
have loft my
eftate,
and
loll
all
outward comforts wherein
I
took
fo
much
delight,
yet
thou
cant}
not
fay
that
thou
haft
loft
thy bleffed-
neffe, thy
blef
ednef e
is
not
in
any
creature comfort, but
it
is
in thy
Gsid_,be-aot
fh_ytherefore and
afraid
pf,Lodty_forzgg
becaufe
it
brings
trouble
and
afie-iion unto thee
;
Be
not
de-
luded
with this
temptation,
for
it
is a
temptation
of
Satan,
whereby
many foules are
kept
in
bondage:, and
Aept
off from
the
wayes
of God,
that therefore
when once
they
come
into,
the
wayes
ofGod, they
think
they !hall never
have
merry
day
aftebit,"bi
t'yef
we
fee
that there
is
comfort,
abundance
of
comfortpronounced
by
Ckria
himfelfe
even
unto that
duty
which