Principles for fieffer'ng. themout of the prifon, tottered and ragged, and Rand at the Bar, and anfwer for their lives Now you (hall have many poor people, they think these poor creatures that Rand in fuch a mi- ierablecondition to the eye of flesh, that they are in the wont condition, but the others are happy;ô but a Chriftians eye fees quite otheravife, that looks upon the perfecutors as the molt miferable, wretched, forlorn, undone creatures, and look upon the Saints as the moil glorious creatures it's a notable Scrip- ture that you have in the i i of Heb: latter part, Others had tryal ofcruel mock ngs and fè ®urgings yea, moreover of bonds and impri fonment, they were fioned, they were farina f funder,wcre tempted, were Plain with the fword, they wandred about in cheeps- skins, being Agitate, acjtitted,tormented : Were not thefe mi- ferable creatures ? Though flesh and blood would count them miferable creatures, yet mark what the Holy Ghofts judge- ment is of them, ver: 3 1. Of whom the world was not worthy, they were fo hap)y when they wandred up and down in Cheeps skins and goats skins, that the world was not worthy of them, it's not fo of their perfecutors, they were vild, as I remember it's faid of Antiochus Epiphanes,oand in his eflae hailn a d up ei vild peifon, though he was amighty Prince, y per- fecutor of the Saints, he is called a vild prrfon,, and thefe who are thus perfecuted are faid (by the Spirit of God) to be fuch as the world was not worthy of them. Fourthly, That it's a great deal better to fuffer for Chrift, then to fuffer for fin, why now this confideration bath a great deal of power in it, for when thou art called to fuffer any thing in the caufeof Chrift, thou mayeft think thus ; why the Lord might have left me to my felf, that I might have furfered as much for my fin, for my wtckedneffe,as now I am call'd to fuf- fer for Jefus Chrift, I am call'd it may be to fuffer the lone of force part ofmy eftate, why I might have been convented for my fin, andby the hand of Juftice I might have had: my eflate "taken from me, I am in prifon, I might have been it prifon for my wickedneife, I am in danger of my life, God might have given me up to fuch a fin, as I might by the hand of Juftice have had my life taken from me : Now how much better i Bbbb z 555
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