5 28 Ends that. God bath in fuf ering hir Saints tobe perfecuted, lency in the exercife of thefe graces, then there is in the en- joyment' of all the comforts that I had before in the _world, if thou cant/ fay fo, blefled art thou, flesh anct blood bath not re- vealed thefe things unto thee, tby heart is according to the very heart of God, who art taught in fuch a thing as this is,and therefore when thou (halt fuffer.f.om the hands ofGod hirnfelf, yet if it be to exercife grace thou art no loofer and if thou shalt fuller never fuch fore and grievous aficlions from the hands ofmen, yet if thou findefi this effe& of 'all thy fuffer- ings,that God doth thereby draw forththe exercife of thy gra- -ces: Certainly,.thou art bleffed in this, and this is Gods end that he Both aime at,in permitting his people-to be under .per- fecutions. And then a third end, and that's of very great ufe to confi- der of, it is for difcovery of the-hearts of men, if there were nó fuffering, for his name fake, there would be little difcovery between the hypocrite, and between the found profefl-or ; I remember I have read of Pamettrites a Heathen,faith he to the Bishop of Rome,Let me be made a Bifhop,and I' le be a Chriftian, (feeing the honour of the Bifhop)let me but have that and Ile be a Chriaian as well as any : If there were nothing but pro= fperity in the profeffìon of Chrifis Kingdom, how would the truth and fincerity of mens hearts appeare, and how would the hypocrifie ofothers appeare. Fiery tryalls makes great fepara- tnon: and indeed it is to make a difcovery of our own hearts to our felves, before the time of fuffering we do not knowour own hearts, what droffineffe there is in them, but when fuffer- ing comes , we may difcover much drofflneife of our own hearts : --- And to difcover us to others to. In the x Luke 35. fpeaking of the fufferings that (hould follow upon the profefli- on of the Gofpel, he tels the Virgin Mary, ?hat a fivord Avoid pierce through her foul, that the thoughts of many hearts may be difcovered. When as there is fuch hard things following upon the profeilion oftheGofpel, as if a (word did pierce through the foul, then the thoughts of many hearts (hall be difcovered, God intends to difcover the thoughts of mens hearts by per- fecution:tormal profeffors are as withered leaves upon a- tree, now
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