and leave the other nine; and fo though there might be ten interpretations prefented to thee concerning Gods waies towards thee, and if but ~ne be good, and nine naught, thou -fuouldetl take that one that is good, and leave the other nine. I befeech you confider, God cloth not deal by you as you deal with him, lhould God make the JVort1 interpretation of all your waies towards him, as you do of his towards you, it would be very ill with you; God is pleafed to manifefi his love thus to us, to make the belt interpretations of what we do, and therefore it is, .that God doth put a fenfe upon the attions of his people that one would think could hardly be; as thu!,. God is pleafed to call thofe_pcrfett that have but any up rigbtneife of heart in them, he accounteth them perfett, B~ ye p~rfeU 11s your ht~~v~nly FAt her is perfe!t; uprightnefs in Gods fenfe is perfeCtion. Now ala!, wfien we look into our own beam, we can fcarce fee any good at all there, and yet God is pleafed to make fuch an interpretation as to fay, it is perfect : When ~ve look into om,ovvn hearts, we can fee nothing but uRcleumefs;God,he calls you his Saints, lle calls the meaneH Chriltian that ha eh the 1eat1 grace under the greatefi corruption, his Saint;. you fay, . we cannot be S1ints here, bttt yet in Gods efleem we are Saints : You know the ufual title the holy Ghot1 gives (in feveral of the Epiflles) to thofc; that had any grace, any uprightnefs, is, To the Saints in fuch a place; you fee vvhat an interpretation God puts upon them,they are Saints to him, and fo I might name in divers other particulars, God makes the bell interpretation of things; if there be abundance of e'il and a little good, God rather paffes by the ·· evil, and takes notice of the good : That fometimes I have made ufe of, which is~ very obfervable place in Peter concerning S~o· r11h; S ~trAh had a fpeech to her husband in Gnufis, :tS. t2..1hecalled her husband Lotd, but there was but that one good word in an ill fpeech, it was an unbelieling fpeecb, but yet when the :ApoflJe mentions that fpeech in I Pet.3.6',the holy Ghofileaves 1111 tbe jll, and commencls her for calling her husband Lor~, for putting a reverent title upon her busband ; thu!; hoiV guuoufiy «f·oth God deal with us? If there be but one good word among a great !I' any iiJ, what an interpretati?n God m~kes ! fo thould ~e do, 1f there be but any one ~ood mterpretat1on that we c~n mak;
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=