About the blefJèdr'refs of ferfecutton. 51 that thou wouldeil be difcouraged, thou thinkeft that others go upon the fame principles Thou art miftaken, their prin- ciples are higher and more noble, and therefore though. perfe- cuttons would difcourage thee, it will not difcourage them, in the z 3. of fer: 27. (faith the Prophet there) which think, to caufe my people to forget my naroe,by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour : He fpeaks here of the.falfe Prophets, and that that s Paid of them, may well be a ed to this cafe, to perfecution, they think to caufe my to . forget my name ; O no, they are miftaken, for their dreams could not make thofe that were true Saints to forget Gods name, fo no fufferings of perfecution can make the faithful( to decline from the wages of God, no, they fee a bleifednefs in their, can you delude them from any way by making them bleffed, why the more you rage againff them the more bleffed , they are. Thirdly, If it be fuyh a bleffed thing to fuffer perfecution, O how bafe and vild are thofe Hypocrites and Apoflares that do decline from God for feare of perfecution, how beneath are they thofe that are true Chriftians ? One rejoyces at it, Wiles God for it, accounts it an addition to his glory, he is fireagthned, incouraged in the wayes of God,and on the other fide thou lookeft upon it as fo great an evil, as thou wilt leave . God, Chrift, thy Confcience, the Truth, thy Profeffion, Saints and all, rather tofuffer in thy eftate, .in thy liberty, in thy tame, but efpecially if the danger be grcacer ; O thou haft a dro`fie and vild fpirit,thou knoweft not the things of God that art to ihy of perfecution, as rather will bofe the greateft rich - es, then to be willing to venter upon God in that that God himfelf faith to be riches, thou mighteft be blefled, by it, and thou wilt rather venter the loffe of thy portion in God, and thine inheritance in the Allmighty, thou wiL rather venter thine own Confcience, and yutting thy felf under the wrath of the eternal God, then thoi wilt venter upon the wrath of man; fuch a one is inraged as tnfl thee, why :to avoid his pro- vocation, and his raging, thou wilt hazard thy foul and body to be under the wrath of the eternall God fo rever. O thou arted 1)ddd 2
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