their sufferings and of his leaving of them; and upon the thoughts hereof their hearts were so filled with sorrow, that they could not so much as say, 'Master, whither goest thou?' ver. 6. But now, souls strong in grace will hold on in holy and gracious actings in the very face of the gi-eatest discouragements, as those in Ps. xliv. 19, ' Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death, yet our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from thy ways.' And so the three children, they hold up in the face of all discouragements. And so those brave worthies, of whom this world was not worthy, Heb. xi., their hearts were carried out exceedingly, notwithstanding all discouragements, to hold on in ways of holiness, and in their actings of faith upon God, in the face of all dangers and deaths that did attend them.^
When Henry the Eighth had spoken and written bitterly against Luther, saith Luther, Tell the Henries, the bishops, the Turks, and the devil himself, do what they can, we are children of the kingdom, wor- shipping of the true God, whom they, and such as they, spit upon and crucified.^ And of the same spirit and metal were many martyrs. Basil affirms of the primitive saints, that they had so much courage and confidence in their sufferings, that many of the heathens, seeing their heroic zeal and constancy, turned Christians.
[12.] Twelfthly, Weak saints "mind their wages and veils more than their work.
Their wages, their veils,^ is joy, peace, comfort, and assurance, &c. ; and their work is waiting on God, believing in God, walking with God, acting for God, &c. Now, weak saints' minds are more carried out, and taken up about their wages, about their veils, than they are about tlieir work, as experience doth abundantly evidence.* Ah! Christians, if you don't mind your wages more than your work, what means the bleating of the sheep, and the lowing of the oxen? 1 Sam. xy. 14. What means those earnest and vehement cryings out and wrestlings for joy, peace, comfort, and assurance, when the great work of believing, of waiting, and of walking with God, is so much neglected and disregarded? But now strong saints are more mindful of their work than they are of their wages. Lord! saith a strong saint, do but uphold me in a way of believing, in a way of working, in a way of holy walking, &c., and it shall be enough, though I should never have assurance, comfort, peace, or joy, till my dying day. If thou wilt carry me forth so as thou mayest have honour, though I have no comfort ; so thou mayest have glory, though I have no peace, I will bless thee, Rom. iv. 18-20. I know, says such a soul, though a life of comfort be most pleasing to me, yet a life of believing, abstracted from comfort, is most honourable to thee, and therefore I will be silent before thee. Lord ! do but help me in my work, and take thine own time to give me my wages, to give^ me comfort, joy, peace, assurance. They are none of the best servants* that mind their wages more than their work, nor they are none of the
' Such a spirit shiiied in Chrysostom when he bid them tell the enraged empress Eudoxia, Nil nisi peccatum timeo, I fear nothing bat sin.
- ' Table Talk,' as before, with reference to Henry Stli's ' Assertio Sacramentornm adversus Lutherum,' 1521, which won for him from the pope his title of ' Defender of the Faith.'— G. 3 . Presents.'— G.
* Children mind more play-days than they do working-days, or school-days.
60 THE UNSEARCHABLE [EPH. III. 8.
best Christians that mind their comforts and their in-comes' more than that homage and duty that they owe to God.
Before I come to the second thing premised, give me leave to give you this hint ; viz., that there is no such way to joy, peace, and assur- ance, as this, to mind your work more than your wages. Ah ! had many mourning, complaining Christians done thus, their mourning before this had been turned into rejoicing, and their complaining into singings. Christians, the high way to comfort is to mind comfort less, and duty more ; it is to mind more what thou shouldst do, than what thou wouldst have, as you may see in Eph. i. 13, 'In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of faith, the gospel of your salvation : in whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise."
The original runs thus, ^v cL xa/ 'jriGn'oeavnc, in whom believing, ye were sealed. While faith is busied and exercised about Christ, and those varieties of glories and excellencies that are in him, the Lord comes, and by his Spirit seals up the life, and love, and glory of them.
Thus by divine assistance I have despatched the first thing, viz., the deciphering of weak Christians.
II. The second thing that I propounded for the further opening and clearing of this point was, to liold forth to you those things that tend to support, comfort, and uphold weak Christians. And truly I must needs say, that if ever there were a time wherein weak Christians had need of support, I verily believe this is the time wherein we live, for by the horrid profaueness of men on the one hand, and the abominable, loose, and rotten principles of others on the other hand, the hearts of many Aveak Christians especially are sadded, that God would, not have sadded, and their spirits wounded and grieved, that God would have comforted and healed ; and therefore I shall dwell the longer upon this second thing.
And i\ie. first thing that I shall lay down by way of support is this.
Support 1. Tliat the weakest Christians have as much interest and 2')ropTiety in Christ, and all the fundamental good that comes by Christ, as the strongest saints in the ivorld have.^
Weak vsaints are as much united to Christ, as much justified by Christ, as much reconciled by Christ, and as much pardoned by Christ, as the strongest saints. It is true, weak Christians cannot make so much im- provement and advantage of their interest in Christ, as strong saints can ; they have not that power, that wisdom, that spiritual skill to make that advantage of their interest and propriety in Christ as strong saints have ; yet have they as much interest and propriety in the Lord Jesus, and all the fundamental good that comes by him, as the strongest saint that breathes. The sucking child hath as much interest and pro- priety in the father, and in what is the fatlier,^ as the child that is grown up to age, though the young child has not tiiat skill, nor that power, nor wi.sdom to improve that interest to his advantage, as he that is grown up in years hath. It is just so here; a soul weak in grace hath
' = ' Incomings' of the Spirit of graces. — G.
* He tliat looked upon the brazen Herpcnt, though with a weak siglit, was heah^d as thoroughly as he that looked ujiou it with a stronger sight. A weak I'aitli is a joint pos- suBsor, though no faith can be a joint purchaser of Christ. ^ Qu, ' father's 'V— Ed.