5 26 Ends that God bath in fuffering his Saints to be perfecuted. lÿ this oppofition between wicked and Godly men, can never be curd in this world, till God doth take away the Saints from them, or them from the Saints,as there is a naturall of Fofition between the fire & the water,even fo the Godly and the wick- ed there will be an oppofition between them,read the 29.Pro: ul t: There you Thall fee that the righteous is an abomination to the wicked, and the wicked an abomination to the righteous. , I but you will fay, Though the Devil and wicked men be of fuch vild natures as they will hate the Saints , yet Both not God rule over all , doth not the Lord reigne in the world ? I he Both fo, and there is canfe of rejòycing,for were it not that God did reigne by his Allmighty<po :er, wicked men would never fuffer a Saint to be alive in the world, as loon as ever any Godlineffe were but appearing, the father would not fuffer it in his child,nor one neighbour in another,but it's God that keeps in the rage of the Devil! and the rage of wicked men . --- But yet God fuffers his Saints to be under perfe- cution, and he bath many holy ends in the fuffering of it. As firff, To thew forth that great power of his in carrying forth poor weak creatures, through all the fulferings that they meet withall. I remember a Heathen, looking upon the Chri- ffians in the primitive times, fuffering with fo much courage fuch great tortures and torments, he cryes out, :Of a truth the God of the Chriffians is a great God, A great God,that loth in- able thofe that are his woríhipers top through fuch great fuf- ferings with fo much courage and cheerfulneffe. Gods great power is Peen in keeping the graces of the Spirit alive in the hearts of the Saints in the mideff of perfecutions: And then as much of the power of God is Peen, fo there is much of the exercile of grace that God aims at ; therefore in his holy will and counfel he fuffers his Saints to be under per - fecurion, that their graces maybe' exercifed : That their love to himfelf may be exercifed. It was a'boatting of Scipio a Roman, that he had fo many Souldiers, that if he fhould bid them go up upon the top of fuch a Tower, and throw them- felves.downthoy would al be willing to loofe their lives, meetly'
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