70

than others. When pride maketh men suffer, they are partly the devil's martyrs though the cause be never so good. Though it is much more ordinary for pride to make men suffer rejoicingly in an ill cause than in a good; the devil having more power on his own ground than on Christ's. But it is the love of Christ, and the belief of the reward, and the humble neglect of the mortified flesh, and the contempt of the conquered world, that maketh the Christian suffer with so much joy; for he seeth that the Judge is at the door, and what torments the wicked are preparing for themselves; and that as certainly as there is a God that governeth the world, and that in righteousness, so certainly are his eyes upon the righteous, and his face is set against them that do evil (1 Pet. iii. 12), and though "sinners do evil a hundred times," and escape unpunished till their days be prolonged, yet vengeance will overtake them in due time, and it shall be well with them that fear the Lord; and that he keepeth all the tears of his servants till the reckoning day. And if "judgment begin at the house of God, and the righteous be saved through so much suffering and labor, what then shall be their end, that obey not the Gospel? and where shall the ungodly and sinner appear;" 1 Pet. iv. 17, 18. Eccles. viii. 12. Prov. xi. 31. xiii. 6. lvi. 8. Deut. xxxii. 35. James v. Psal.

9.

2. And the weak Christian is one that will forsake all for the sake of Christ, and suffer with him that he may be glorified with him; and will take his treasure in heaven for all; Luke xiv. 26. 33. xviii. 22. But he doth it not with that easiness, and alacrity, and joy, as the confirmed Christian doth. He hearkens more to the flesh, which saith, favor thyself.' Suffering is much more grevious to him; and sometimes he is wavering before he can bring himself fully to resolve, and let go all; Matt. xvi. 22.

3. But the seeming Christian looketh not for much suffering: he reads of it in the Gospel, but he saw no probability of it, and never believed that he should be called to it in any notable degree: he thought it probable that he might well escape it, and therefore, though he agreed verbally to take Christ for better and worse, and to follow him through sufferings, he thought he would never put him to it. And indeed his heart is secretly resolved, that he will never be undone in the world for Christ. Some reparable loss he may undergo,

but he will not let go life and all. He will still be religious and hope for heaven; but he will make himself believe (and others if he can) that the truth lieth on the safer side, and not on the suffering side; and that it is but for their own conceits, and scrupulosity, that other men suffer who go beyond him; and that many good men are of his opinion, and therefore he may be good also in the same opinion (though he would never had been of that opinion, if it had not been necessary to his escaping of sufferings) what flourish soever, he maketh for a time, "when persecution ariseth he is offended and withereth;" Matt. xiii. 21. 26. Unless he be so deeply engaged among the suffering party, that he cannot come off without perpetual reproach; and then perhaps pride will make him suffer more than the belief of heaven, or the love of Christ could do. And all this is, because his very belief is unrooted, and unsound, and he hath secretly at the heart a fear, that if he should suffer death for Christ, he should be a loser by him, and he would not reward him according to his promise, with everlasting life; Heb. iii. 12.

XXIX. 1. A Christian indeed is one that followeth not Christ for company, nor holdeth his belief in trust upon the credit of any in the world, and therefore he would stick to Christ, if all that he knoweth or converseth with should forsake him. If the rulers of the earth should change their religion, and turn against Christ, he would not forsake him. If the multitude of the people turn against him; nay, if the professors of godliness should fall off, yet would he stand his ground and be still the same. If the most learned men, and the pastors of the church should turn from Christ, he would not forsake him. Yea, if his nearest relations and friends, or even that minister that was the means of his conversion, should change their minds, and forsake the truth, and turn from Christ, or a holy life, he would yet be constant, and be still the same. And what Peter resolved on, he would truly practice: "Though all men should be offended because of thee, yet would not I be offended. Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee;" Matt. xxvi. 33. 35. And if he thought himself, as Elias did, left alone, yet would he not bow the knee to Baal; Rom. xi. 3. If he hear that this eminent minister falleth off one day, and the other another day, till all be gone, yet still the founda

6

tion of God standeth sure; he falleth not because he is built upon the rock; Matt. vii. 22, 23. His heart saith, Alas, whither shall I go, if I go from Christ? Is there any other that hath the word and Spirit of eternal life? Can I be a gainer if I lose my soul?' John vi. 67, 68. Matt. xvi. 26. He useth his teachers to bring him that light and evidence of truth, which dwelleth in him when they are gone and, therefore, though they fall away, he falleth not with them.

2. And the weakest Christian believeth with a divine faith of his own and dependeth more on God than man: but yet if he should be put to so great a trial, as to see all the pastors and Christians that he knoweth, change their minds, I know not what he would do: for though God will uphold all his own, whom he will save, yet he doth it by means and outward helps, together with his internal grace; and keepeth them from temptations, when he will deliver them from the evil; and therefore it is a doubt, whether there be not degrees of grace so weak, as would fail, in case the strongest temptations were permitted to assault them. A strong man can stand and go of himself, but an infant must be carried; and the lame and sick must have others to support them. The weak Christian falleth, if his teacher or most esteemed company fall: if they run into an error, sect or schism, he keeps them company. He groweth cold, if he have not warming company: he forgetteth himself, and letteth loose his sense and passion, if he have not some to watch over him and warn him. No man should refuse the help of others, that can have it; and the best have need of all God's means: but the weak Christian needeth them much more than the strong, and is much less able to stand without them; Luke xxii. 32. Gal. ii. 11—14.

3. But the seeming Christian is built upon the sand, and therefore cannot stand a storm; he is a Christian more forco mpany, or the credit of man, or the interest that others have in him, or the encouragement of the times, than from a firm belief and love of Christ, and therefore falleth when his props are gone; Matt. vii. 24.

XXX. 1. A strong Christian can digest the hardest truths, and the hardest works of Providence he seeth more of the reason and evidence of truths than others; and he hath usually a more comprehensive knowledge, and can reconcile those truths which short-sight

persons suspect to be inconsistent and contradictory, and when he cannot reconcile them, he knoweth they are reconcilable: for he hath laid his foundation well, and then he reduceth other truths to that, and buildeth them on it. And so he doth by the hardest providences : whoever is high or low, whoever prospereth or is afflicted, however human affairs are carried, and all things seem to go against the church and cause of Christ, he knoweth yet that God is good to Israel, (Psal. lxxiii. 1, 2.) and that he is the "righteous Judge of all the earth;" and that the "righteous shall have dominion in the morning," and "it shall go well with them that fear the Lord;" for he goeth into the sanctuary, and foreseeth the end; Eccles. viii. 11-13. Psal. lxxiii. 17. cxv. 11. 13. xxxi. 19.

2. But the weak Christian is very hard put to it, when he meeteth with difficult passages of Scripture, and when he seeth it "go with the righteous according to the work of the wicked, and with the wicked according to the work of the righteous;" Eccles. viii. 14. Though he is not overturned by such difficulties, yet his foot is ready to slip, and he digesteth them with much perplexity and trouble.

3. But the seeming, unsettled Christian is often overcome by them, and turneth away from Christ, and saith, 'These are hard sayings, or hard providences, who can bear them ;' John vi. 60. 66. And thus unbelief thence gathereth matter for its increase.

XXXI. 1. A Christian indeed is one that can exercise all God's graces in conjunction, and in their proper places and proportion, without setting one against another, or neglecting one while he is exercising another. He can be humbled without hindering his thankfulness and joy; and he can be thankful and joyful without hindering his due humility: his knowledge doth not destroy, but quicken his zeal his wisdom hindereth not, but furthereth his innocency. his faith is a help to his repentance, and his repentance to his faith: his love to himself doth not hinder, but help his love to others; and his love to God is the end of both. He can mourn for the sins of the times, and the calamities of the church, yea, for his own sins and imperfections, and yet rejoice for the mercies which he hath in possession, or in hope. He findeth that piety and charity are necessarily conjunct; and every grace and duty is a help to all the rest. Yea, VOL. II.

10

he can exercise his graces methodically, which is the comeliness and beauty of his heart and life; 1 Thess. v. 12, 13. 16–21. ii. 17.

1 Pet.

2. But the weak Christian, though he have every grace, and his obedience is universal, yet can he hardly set himself to any duty, but it hindereth him from some other duty, through the narrowness and weakness of his mind. When he is humbling himself in confession of sin, he can scarce be lively in thankfulness for mercy: when he rejoiceth, it hindereth his humiliation; he can hardly do one duty without omitting or hindering another: he is either all for joy or all for sorrow; all for love or all for fear; and cannot well do many things at once, but is apt to separate the truth and duties which God hath inseparably conjoined.

3. And for the sceming Christian, he exerciseth no grace in sincerity, nor is he universal in his obedience to God; though he may have the image of every grace and duty.

XXXII. 1. A Chistian indeed is more in getting and using his graces, than in inquiring whether he have them: he is very desirous to be assured that he is sincere, but he is more desirous to be so: and he knoweth that even assurance is got more by the exercise and increase of grace, than by bare inquiry whether we have it already : not that he is a neglecter of self-examination, but he oftener asketh • What shall I do to be saved?' than How shall I know that I shall be saved?'

2. But the weak Christian hath more of self, and less of God in his solicitude: and though he be willing to obey the whole law of Christ, yet he is much more solicitous to know that he is out of danger, and shall be saved, than to be fully pleasing unto God; and therefore proportionably, he is more in inquiring by what marks he may know that he shall be saved, than by what means he may attain more holiness, and what diligence is necessary to his salvation.

3. But the seeming Christian is most careful how to prosper in the world, or please his flesh and next how he may be sure to escape damnation when he hath done; and least of all, how he may conform to Christ in holiness.