Sibbes - Houston-Packer Collection BX9339.S5 B6 1641

_ s4_1 . h . . h' h hI fleedp. h. ~rh·-~ SEa. Ill. 1st eg1Vtng 1m t- e onour ue trJ r; n.ame. ·-ts friendfhiP'muO: be maintained by due refpett on our parts. As he is our friend.Jo he is our King, and knows how to correCt us ifwe forg et our di– fi.ance.Ifhe here feeme to ufe us hardly~ it is that he may ufe us the more kindly after : he fuffers much for us, therefore we may well allow him the liberty of feafonablecorrecting ofus. He thatinfpireth fri.end!l1ip iflto others, will undoubtedly keep the }awes of friendfh ip him-– felfe, will count our enemies his enemies. The enemies of the Church !lull one day know that the Church is notfriendleffe. And as his friend{hi~ isfweet,fo con{l:ant in ail ' conditions ; he ufeth not his friends as we doe flowers,regard them onely whenthey are frdh ; but he breeds that in us, that may make us fuch as he may flill delight in us: if other friends faile (as friends may faile) yet this friend will never faile us:Ifwe benotaflumed ofhjm, he will ne:i ver be a!hamed ofus. How·comfortable would our life be,ifwe could draw out the ·comfort that this title offriendaffoordeth: It is acomfortable, afruitfull,an eternall fri~Adibip. · I Jleep }ut my heart 1vaketh. Here the Church exprelfeth a changeable p:dfage of her fpirituall condition, after {he had recovered her felfe out ofa former defertion,ex– preffed in tne beginning of the third Chapter, and enjoyed a comfortable intercomfe with Chrift, n0w 1he falleth intoadeeper defertion and temptation, from the remainder of corruption .

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