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SLAM.
XXXVII.1
THE
CSIRISTIß.ì'S
TREASURE.
H7.
Read
and
believe
it;
Eph.
iv.
11, 12.
And
he
gave
some
apostles; and
some
prophets;
and
some
evangelists
; and
some
pastors
and teachers
;
f
ór
the
perfecting
of
the
saints,
for
the work
of
the
ministry,
for
o
the
edifying
of
the
body
of
Christ.
.
And
as
the
gifts
and graces
of
the ministers
of
the gos-
pel are
designed for
the benefit of the church,
so
the
outward circumstances
that
attend
them,
their
sorrows,
and
their
joys,
are ordained
for the
advantage
of
chris-
tians:
And
St.
Paul
rejoices in
it;
9
Cor.
i.
S,
4,
6.
Blessed be
God,
even
the
Father
of
our Lord
Jesus
Christ, the
Fattier
of
mercies,
and the
God of
all
com-
fort,
who
comforteth
us
in all
our tribulation,
that
we
may
be
able to
comfort them which are in any
trouble,
by the
comfort wherewith
we
ourselves
are comforted
of
God
;And
whether
we
be
afflicted,
it
is
for
your con-
solation and salvation, which
appears to
be
effectual;
when
ye
endure
the
same sufferings which
we
also suffer.
Or
whether
we
be
comforted,
it
is
for your consolation
and salvation,
that
is,
we
preach more
effectual from
our
own
experience."
Thus
whatsoever be the characters, or the talents,
or
the circumstances
of
life
that
attend your
ministers,
they
are ordained of
God
for
some
valuable purposes to
you.
II.
This
world
is
yours.
Not
only
the ministers
of
the
gospel
but
the
world,
and the things
of
it
are
yours.
It
is
for
your
sakes,
O believers,
that
the world
stands!
For
when sin
entered into
it
by
Adam,
the
first
man,
there
was
a
curse
spread over
it;
and perhaps immedi-
ate
destruction had attended
it,
but
for the sake
of
the
children of
God,
who
were
appointed
to
be
born
in
suc-
cessive ages,
amongst the posterity
of
Adam,
among
the
children
of
men.
It
is
for the sake
of
the
elect, who
were given to
Christ
before
the
world
was,
that
this
earth,
and
these lower
heavens
are
continued in
being.
This
earth abides
as a
stage
of
action,
proper
for
a
state
of trial
for the saints, and when
the last saint
is
born,
and
his
state
of
trial
is
finished,
the world and the works
of it
shall
be
burned up together.
It
is
for
you, O
christians,
that
these
heavens,
or,
shall
I
say,
this globe
of
earth
rolls
round
in
its daily
and
yearly courses,
and the sun and the moon send
out
their,
a3