to be the sufferer so the persons who are appointed to be the rod and sword thereby to afflict withal Thus far therefore the will of God is it that ordereth and disposeth of us and of our sufferings Seventhly As all these pass thorough the hand of God and come not to us but by his will So how long is also as really determined as any of them all 'T is not in man but God to set the time how long the rod of the wicked shall rest upon the lot of the righteous Abraham must be informed of this Abraham says God know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs and shall serve them and they shall afflict them four hundred years Gen. 15.13 So the thraldom of Israel in Babylon was not only in the general appointed but the time prefixt how long Jer. 25.11.12 chap. 29.10 The time of the Beasts Reign and of the witnesses walking in sackcloth are punctually fixed and that beyond which they cannot go Revel 11 12 13. chapters I know these are generals and respect the Church in the bulk of it and not particular persons But as was hinted afore we must argue from the greater to the lesser that is from four hundred years to ten days from ten days to three and so from the Church in general to each particular member and to the time and nature of their sufferings Revel 2.10 Hos. 6.2 Acts 23.11 And thus in a word or two I have finished the first two parts of the Text and shewed you what there is in Peter's counsel and advice and shewed you also to whom his advice is given in which last as you see I have shewed you both what the will of God is and what to suffer according to it And particularly I have in a few words handled this last to shew you that our sufferings are ordered and disposed by him that you might always when you come into trouble for his Name not stagger nor be at a loss but be stayed composed and setled in your minds and say the will of the Lord be done Acts 21.14 I will also say unto you this by the way that the will of God doth greatly work even to order and dispose of the spirits of Christians in order to a willingness disposedness readiness and resignation of our selves to the mind of God For with respect to this were those words last recited spoken Paul saw that he had a call to go up to Jerusalem there to bear his testimony for Christ and his Gospel but those unto whom he made known his purpose entreated him with much earnestness not to go up thither for that as they believed it would indanger his life But he answereth what mean ye to weep and to break my heart for I am ready not to be bound only but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus And when he would not be perswaded says Luke we ceased saying The will of the Lord be done From what has been thus discoursed many things will follow as first that the rod as well as the child is Gods persecutors as well as the persecuted are his and he has his own designs upon both He has raised them up and he has ordered them for himself and for that work that he has for them to do Hence Habakkuk speaking of the Churches enemies saith Thou hast ordained them for judgement O mighty God thou hast established them for correction Hab. 1.12 And therefore they are in other places called the rod of Gods anger his staff his hand his sword Isa. 10.5 Psal. 17.13 14. Indeed to be thus disposed of is a sad Lot the lot is not fallen to them in pleasant places they have not the goodly heritage but the judgments of God are a great deep The thing formed may not say to him that formed it why hast thou made me thus To be appointed to be ordained to be established to be a persecutor and a troubler of Gods Church O tremendous judgment O amazing anger Three things the people of God should learn from hence First Learn to pity and bewail the condition of the enemy I know thou canst not alter the counsel of God appointed they are established they are for their work and do it they must and shall But yet it becomes them that see their state and that their day is coming to pity and bewail their condition yea and to pray for them too For who knows whether it is determined that they should remain implacable to the end as Herod or whether they may thorough grace obtain repentance for their doings with Saul And I say again if thy prayer should have a casting hand in the conversion of any of them it would be sweet to thy thoughts when the scene is over Secondly Never grudge them their present advantages Fret not thy self because of evil men neither be thou envious at the workers of iniquity Prov. 23.19 Fret not though they spoil thy resting-place 'T is God that has bidden them do it to try thy faith and patience thereby Wish them no ill with what they get of thine 't is their wages for their work and it will appear to them ere long that they have earned it dearly Their time is to rejoyce but as in a moment in what thus is gotten by them and then they not repenting are to perish for ever like their own dung Job 20.5 6 7. Poor man thou that hast thy time to be afflicted by them that thy golden graces may shine the more thou art in the fire and they blow the bellows but wouldest thou change places with them wouldest thou fit upon their place of ease dost thou desire to be with them Prov. 24.1 O rest thy self contented in thy patience possess thy Soul and pity and bewail them in the condition in which they are Thirdly Bless God that thy lot did fall on the other side Namely to be one that should know the truth profess it suffer for it and have grace to bear thee up there under to Gods glory and thy eternal comfort This honour have not all his Saints all are not counted worthy thus to suffer shame for his Name Do this I say though they get all and leave thee nothing but the shirt on thy back the skin on thy bones or an hole in the ground to be put in Heb. 11.23 24 25 26. Fourthly Labour to be patient under this mighty hand of God and be not hasty to say when will the rod be laid aside mind thou thy duty which is to let patience have its perfect work and bear the indignation of the Lord because thou hast sinned against him until he please to awake to arise and to execute judgment for thee Mich. 7. But to pass this Secondly Are things thus ordered then this should teach us that there is a cause The rod is not gathered without a cause the rod is fore determined because the sin of Gods
righteousness sake sets himself against God fights against God and seeks to overthrow him Now such an one the Chrian must let alone and stand off from that God may have his full blow at him in his time Wherefore he saith to his Saints and to all that are forward to revenge themselves Give place stand back let me come leave such an one to be handled by me Dearly-beloved avenge not your selves but rather give place unto wrath for it is written Vengeance is mine I will repay saith the Lord. Rom. 12.19 Wherefore the Lord set a mark upon Cain lest any finding him should slay him You must not indeed you must not avenge your selves of your enemies Yea though it was lawful once so to do it is not lawful now Ye have heard that it hath been said to them of old time Thou shalt love thy neighbour and hate thine enemy but I say said our Lord love them bless them do good to them and pray for them that hate you Mat. 5.43.44 Secondly Revenge is of the flesh I mean this our revenge of our selves and it proceeds from anger wrath impatience under the cross unwillingness to suffer from too much love to carnal ease to estates to enjoyments to relations and the like It also flows from a fearful cowardly spirit there is nothing of greatness in it except it be greatness of untowardness I know there may for all this be pretences to justice to righteousness to the liberty of the Gospel the suppressing of wickedness and the promoting of holiness but these can be but pretences or at best but the fruits of a preposterous zeal For since as has been often said in this Treatise the Lord hath forbidden us to do so it cannot be imagined that he should yet animate any to such a thing by the holy Ghost and the effects of the graces thereof Let them then if any such be that are thus minded be counted the narrow spirited carnal fleshly angry waspish spirited professors The professors that know more of the Jewish than of the Christian Religion and that love rather to countenance the motions passions and gross motions of an angry mind than with meekness to comply with the will of a heavenly Father Thou art bid to be like unto him and also thou art shewed wherein Mat. 5.45 46 47 48. There is a man hates God blasphemes his Name despises his Being Yea says There is no God And yet the God that he carrieth it thus towards doth give him his breakfast dinner and supper clothes him well and when night comes has him to bed gives him good rest blesses his Field his Corn his Cattel his Children and raises him to high-estate Yea and this our God doth not only once or twice but untill these transgressors become old his patience is thus extended years after years that we might learn of him to do well Thirdly a professor and unquiet and troublesome discontented and seeking to be revenged of thy persecutors where is or what kind of graces hast thou got I dare say they even these in which thou thus actest are none of the graces of the spirit The fruits of the spirit are love joy peace long-suffering gentleness goodness faith meekness temperance against such there is no Law But wrath strife seditions traitors and inventors of evil things are reckoned with the worst of sins and sinners and are plainly called the works of the flesh Rom. 1.29 30 31. 2 Tim. 3.3 4. Galat. 5.19 20 21. But I say where is thy love to thine enemy where is thy Joy under the Cross where is thy peace when thine anger has put thee upon being unquiet where is thy long-suffering for as thou actest not ought but thy waspishness can be seen where also is thy sweet meek and gentle spirit and is goodness seen in thy seeking the life or the damage of thy enemy Away away thy graces if thou hast any are by these thy passions so jostled up into corners and so pent for want of room and liberty to shew themselves that by the word of God thou canst not be known to be of the right kind what a noise soever thou makest A Christian when he sees trouble coming upon him should not fly in the face of the instrument that brings it but in the face of the cause of its coming Now the cause is thy self thy base self thy sinful self and thy unworthy carriages towards God under all the mercy patience and long-suffering that God has bestowed upon thee and exercised towards thee Here thou mayest quarrel and be revenged and spare not so thou take vengeance in a right way and then thou wilt do so when thou takest it by godly sorrow 2 Cor. 7.10 11. A Christian then should bewail his own doings his own unworthy doings by which he has provoked God to bring a cloud upon him and to cover him with it in anger A Christian should say this is my wickedness when a persecutor touches him yea he should say it and then shut up his mouth and bear the indignation of the Lord because he has sinned against him Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee this is thy wickedness because it is bitter because it reacheth unto thy heart Jer. 4.18 Fourthly What conviction of thy goodness can the actions that flow from such a spirit give unto observers none at all Yea a spirit of unquietness under sufferings and that seeketh to be revenged of those that do for thy faith and the profession thereof persecute thee is so far off of giving conviction to beholders that thou art right that it plainly tells them that thou art wrong Even Julian the Apostate when he had cast away whatever he could of Christ had this remaining with him that a Christian ought to take with patience what affliction fell upon him for his masters sake and would hit them in the teeth with an unbecoming behaviour that complained or that sought redress of them that had abused them for their faith and godly profession What will men say if you shrink and whinch and take your sufferings unquietly but that if you your selves were uppermost you would persecute also much more have they ground to say so when you will fight lying on your backs Be quiet then and if thine enemy strike thee on one cheek turn to him the other and if he also revile and curse thee down upon thy knees and pray for him This is the way to convince thy observers that thou art a godly man Father forgive them for they know not what they do was one of those things that convinced the Centurion that Jesus was a righteous man For he stood by the Cross to watch and see how Jesus carried it in these his sufferings as well as to see execution done Mat. 27.54 Luk. 23.34 47. Fifthly A professor unquiet and turbulent under sufferings and seeking his own revenge cannot be a victor over what he should nor a keeper of
serve him but the Kingdom This is the case Men when they persecute are for the stuff but the Devil is for the soul nor will any thing less than that satisfie him Let him then that is a sufferer commit the keeping of his soul to God lest stuff and soul and all be lost at once Secondly A second conclusion that followeth upon these words is this That sufferers if they have not a care may be too negligent as to the securing of their souls with God even when persecution is upon them For these words as they are an instruction so they are an awakening instruction they call as to people in danger as to people not so aware of the danger or as unto a people that forget too much that their souls and the ruin of them are sought after by Satan when trouble attends them for the Gospel sake As who should say when troubles are upon you for the Gospel sake then take heed that you forget not to commit your souls to the keeping of God We are naturally apt with that good man Gideon to be threshing out our Wheat that we may hide it from the Midianites Judge 6.11 but we are not so naturally apt to be busying our selves to secure our souls with God The reason is for that we are more flesh than spirit and because the voice of the world makes a bigger sound in our carnal mind than the word of God doth Wherefore Peter here calls upon us as upon men of forgetful minds saying Let them that suffer according to the will of God have a care of their souls and take heed that the fears of the loss of a little of this world do not make them forget the fear of the losing of their souls That Sufferers are subject to this may appear by the stir and bustle that at such a time they make to lock all up safe that the hand of man can reach while they are cold chill remiss and too indifferent about the committing of their soul to God to keep it This is seen also in that many in a time of trouble for their profession will study more to deceive themselves by a change of notions by labouring to perswade their consciences to admit them to walk more at large by harkening to opinions that please and gratifie the flesh by adhering to bad examples and taking evil Counsels than they will to make straight steps for their feet and to commit the keeping of their souls to God What shall I say have their not been many that so long as peace has lasted have been great swaggerers for Religion who yet so soon as the Sun has waxt warm have flaggâ—d have been discontented offended and turned away from him that speaketh from heaven All which is because men are naturally apt to be more concerned for their goods carnal peace and a temporal life than they are about securing of their souls with God Wherefore I say these words are spoken to awaken us to the consideration of soul-concerns and how that should be safely lodged under the care protection and mercy of God by our committing of it to him for that purpose by Jesus Christ our Lord. Thirdly Another conclusion that followeth upon this exhortation is this That persecution doth sometimes so hotly follow Gods people as to leave them nothing but a soul to care for They have had no House no Land no Money no Goods no Life no Liberty left them to care for All is gone but the soul. Goods have been confiscated liberty has been in Irons the life condemned the neck in a Halter or the body in the Fire So then all to such has been gone and they have had nothing left them to care for but their soul. Let them commit the keeping of their soul to God This conclusion I say doth naturally flow from the words For that the Apostle here doth make mention only of the soul as of that which is left as of that which yet remains to the sufferer of all that ever he had Thus they served Christ they left him nothing but his soul to care for Thus they served Stephen they left him nothing but his soul to care for and they both cared for that Father into thy hands I commend my spirit said Jesus And Lord Jesus receive my spirit said Stephen Luk. 23.46 Acts 7.59 As for all other things they were gone They parted the very cloaths of Christ among themselves before his face even while he did hang pouring out his life before them upon the Tree They parted my garments among them said he and upon my vesture did they cast lots Mat. 27.35 Mar. 15.24 Joh. 19.23 24. This also has oftentimes been the condition of later Christians all has been gone they have been stript of all nothing has been left them but soul to care for Job said that he had escaped with the skin of his teeth and that is but a little but he doth not escape with so much that loses all that he has life and all we now except the soul. But Fourthly Another thing that followeth from the words is this namely That when the Devil and wicked men have done what they could in their persecuting of the godly they have yet had their souls at their own dispose They have not been able to rob them of their souls they are not able to hurt their souls The soul is not in their power to touch without the leave of God and of him whose soul it is And fear not them saith Christ that kill the body but are not able to kill the soul. Mat. 10.28 This I say lies clear also in the Text for the exhortation supposes that what ever the sufferers there made mention of had lost They had yet their souls at their own dispose Let them that suffer even to the loss of goods liberty or life commit the keeping of their soul to God As who should say though the enemy hath reached them to their all and stripped them of their all yet I know that their soul is not among that all For their soul is yet free from them at liberty and may be disposed of even as the sufferer will Wherefore let him commit the keeping of his soul to God lest he also through his negligence or carelessness be also spoiled of that The sufferer therefore hath his soul at his own dispose he may give that away to God almighty in spight of all that the Devil and the world can do He may indeed see men parting his Land his Houshold stuff yea his very Rayment among themselves but they cannot so dispose of his soul. They have no more that they can do Luk. 12.5 Fifthly Another conclusion that followeth from these words is this That a man when he is a sufferer is not able to secure his own soul from the hand of hell by any other means but by the committing of the keeping thereof to God Do you suffer are you in affliction for your profession Then
keep not your soul in your own hand for fear of losing that with the rest For no man can keep alive his own soul Psal. 22.29 No not in the greatest calm no not when the Lyon is a sleep how then should he do it at such a time when the horrible blast of the terrible ones shall beaâ— against his wall The consideration of this was that that made holy Paul who was a man upon whom persecution continually attended commit his soul to God Acts 20.23 2 Tim. 1.12 God as I shall shew you by and by is he and he alone that is able to keep the soul and deliver it from danger Man is naturally a self deceiver and therefore is not to be trusted any farther than as the watchful eye of God is over him But as to hiâ— soul he is not be trusted with that at all that must be wholly committed to God left altogether with him laid at his feet and he also must take the charge thereof or else 't is gone will be lost and will perish for ever and ever Wherefore 't is a dangerous thing for a man that is a sufferer to be a senseless man as to the danger that his soul is in and a prayerless man as to the committing of the keeping of it to God For he that is such has yet his soul and the keeping thereof in his own deceitful hand And so has he also that stays himself upon his friends upon his knowledge the promise of men or the mercy of his enemies or that has set in his mind a bound to himself how far he will venture for Religion and where he will stop This is the man that makes not God his trust and that therefore will surely fall in the day of his temptation Satan who now hunteth for the precious soul to destroy it has Power as well as Policy beyond what man can think He has power to blind harden and to make insensible the heart He also can make truth in the eyes of the suffering man a poor little and insignificant thing Judas had not committed the keeping of his soul to God but abode in himself and was left in his Tabernacle And you by and by see what a worthy price he set upon himself his Christ and Heaven and all All to him was not now worth thirty pieces of Silver And as he can make truth in thy esteem to be little so he can make sufferings great and ten times more terrible than he that hath committed the keeping of his soul to God shall ever find them A Gaol shall look as black as Hell and the loss of a few Stools and Chairs as bad as the loss of so many baggs of Gold Death for the Saviour of the World shall seem to be a thing both unreasonable and intolerable Such will chuse to run the hazzard of the loss of a thousand souls in the way of the world rather than the loss of one poor sorry transitory life for the holy word of God But the reason as I said is they have not committed the keeping of their soul to God For he that indeed has committed the keeping of his soul to that great one has shaken his hands of all things here Has bid adieu to the world to friends and life and waiteth upon God in a way of close keeping to his truth and walking in his wayes having counted the cost and been perswaded to take what cup God shall suffer the world to give him for so doing Sixthly Another conclusion that followeth from these words is That God is very willing to take the charge and care of the soul that is committed unto him of them that suffer for his sake in the world If this were not true the exhortation would not answer the end What is intended by Let him commit the keeping of his soul to God but that the sufferer should indeed leave that great care with him but if God be not willing to be concerned with such a charge what bottom is there for the exhortation But the exhortation has this for its bottom therefore God is willing to take the charge and care of the soul of him that suffereth for his name in this world The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate 1 Sam. 25.28 29. Psal. 34.22 None not one that committeth his soul â—o Gods keeping in a way of well doing but shall find him willing to be concerned therewith Ay this saith the sufferer if I could believe this it would rid me of all my fears But I find my self ingaged for God for I have made a profession of his name and cannot arrive to this belief that God is willing to take the charge and care of my soul. Wherefore I fear that if Tryals come so high as that life as well as estate must go that both life and Estate and soul and all will be lost at once Well honest heart these are thy fears but let them fly away and consider the Text again Let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him as unto a faithful Creator These are Gods words Christs words and the invitation of the holy Ghost When therefore thou readest them be perswaded that thou hearest the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost all of them joyntly and severally speaking to thee and saying Poor sinner thou art ingaged for God in the world thou art suffering for his word leave thy soul with him as with one that is more willing to save it than thou art willing he should act faith trust God believe his word and go on in thy way of witness-bearing for him and thou shalt find all well and according to the desire of thy heart at last True Satan will make it his business to tempt thee to doubt of this that thy way may be made yet more hard and difficult to thee For he knows that unbelief is a soul-perplexing sin and makes that which would otherwise be light pleasant and easie unutterably heavy and burdensome to the sufferer Yea this he doth in hope to make thee at last to cast away thy profession thy Cause thy Faith thy Conscience thy soul and all But hear what the Holy Ghost saith again He shall spare the poor and needy and shall save the souls of the needy He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence and precious shall their blood be in his sight Psal. 72.13 14. These words also are spoken for the comfort of sufferers ver 12. For he shall delivor the needy when he crieth the poor also and him that hath no helper Wherefore let them that are Gods sufferers pluck up a good heart let them not be afraid to trust God with their souls and with their eternal concerns Let them cast all their care upon God for he careth for them 1 Pet. 5.7 But I am in the Dark I answer never stick at that
perishing for ever When the Jews went to stone Stephen they laid their clothes down at a distance from the place at a young mans feet whose name was Saul that they might not be a cumber or a trouble to them as to their intended work So we when we go about to drive sin out of the world in a way of suffering for Gods truth against it we should lay down our souls at the feet of God to care for that we may not be cumbered with the care of them our selves also that our care of Gods truth may not be weakned by such sudden and strong doubts as will cause us faintingly to say but what will become of my soul When Paul had told his Son Timothy that he had been before that Lyon Nero and that he was at present delivered out of his mouth he adds And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom He shall and will here is a man at liberty here are no cumbersome fears But how came the Apostle by this confidence of his well-being and of his share in another world Why he had committed the keeping of his soul to God compare 2 Tim. 1.12 with chap. 4.18 For to commit the keeping of the soul to God if it be done in faith and prayer it leaves or rather brings this holy boldness and confidence into the soul. Suppose a man in the Country were necessitated to go to London and had a great charge of money to pay in there Suppose also that the way thither was become exceeding dangerous because of the high-way-men that continually abide therein what now must this man do to go on his Journey chearfully Why let him pay in his money to such a one in the Country as will be sure to return it for him at London safely Why this is the case thou art bound for Heaven but the way thither is dangerous It is beset every where with evil Angels who would rob thee of thy Soul What now Why if thou wouldest go chearfully on in thy dangerous Journey commit thy treasure thy Soul to God to keep And then thou mayest say with comfort well that care is over For whatever I meet with in my way thither my Soul is safe enough the Thieves if they meet me can't come at that I know to whom I have committed my Soul and I am perswaded that he will keep that to my joy and everlasting comfort against the great day This therefore is one reason why we should that suffer for Christ commit the keeping of our Souls to God because a doubt about the well-being of that will be a clog a burden and an affliction to our spirit Yea the greatest of afflictions whilest we are taking up our Cross and bearing it after Christ. The joy of the Lord is our strength and the fear of perishing is that which will be weakning to us in the way Secondly we should commit the keeping of our Souls to God because the final conclusion that merciless men do sometimes make with the servants of God is all on a sudden They give no warning before they strike We shall not need here to call you to mind about the Massacres that were in Ireland Paris Piedmont and other places where the godly in the night before they were well awake had some of them their heart blood running on the ground The savage Monsters crying out kill kill from one end of a street or a place to the other This was sudden and he that had not committed his Soul to God to keep it was surely very hard put to it now but he that had done so was ready for such sudden work Sometimes indeed the Ax and Halter or the Faggot is shewed first but sometimes again it is without that warning Vp said Saul to Doeg the Edomite and slay the priests of the Lord 1 Sam. 22 11-19 Here was sudden work fall on said Saul and Doeg fell upon them and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linnen Ephod Nob also the ciâ—y of the Priests he smote with the edge of the sword both men and women children and sucklings c. Here was but a word and a blow Thinkest thou not who readest these lines that all of these who had before committed their Soul to God to keep were the fittest folk to die And immedately the King sent an Executioner and commanded his head to be brought Mark 6.27 The story is concerning Herod and John the Baptist Herod's dancing girl had begged John Baptist's head and nothing but his head must serve her turn well girl thou shalt have it Have it I but it will be long first No thou shalt have it now just now immediately And immediately he sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought Here is sudden work for sufferers here is no intimation before hand The executioner comes to John now whether he was at dinner or asleep or whatever he was about the bloody man bolts in upon him and the first word he salutes him with is Sir strip lay down your neck For I come to take away your head But hold stay wherefore pray let me commit my Soul to God No I must not stay I am in hast slap says his sword and off falls the good mans head This is sudden work work that stays for no man work that must be done by and by immediately or 't is not worth a rush I will said she that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. Yea she came in hast and as hastily the commandment went forth and immediately his head was brought Thirdly Unless a man commits the keeping of his Soul to God it is a question whether he can hold out and stand his ground and wrestle with all temptations This is the victory even your Faith and who is he that overcometh the world but he that believeth c. And what incouragement has a man to suffer for Christ whose heart cannot believe and whose Soul he cannot commit to God to keep it And our Lord Jesus intimates as much when he saith Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a Crown of life Wherefore saith he thus but to encourage those that suffer for his truth in the world to commit the keeping of their Souls to him and to believe that he hath taken the charge and care of them Paul's wisdom was that he was ready to die before his enemies were ready to kill him I am now ready saith he to be offered up and the time of my departure is at hand 2 Tim. 4.6 7 8. This is therefore a thing of high concern to wit the committing of the Soul to God to keep it 'T is I say of concern to do it now just now quickly whether thou art yet engaged or no for it is a good preparatory too as well as profitable in a time of persecution consider it
to suffer for righteousness sake Take heed therefore that some thing else be not an inducement to thee to suffer A man may suffer to save what he has There is credit also and an applause there is shame to conform there is carnal stoutness of spirit there is hatred of persecutors and scorn to submit there is fear of contempt and of the reproach of the people c. These may be motives and arguments to a suffering state and may really be the ground of a mans being in the Gaol though he cries out in the mean while of Popery of Superstition and Idolatry and of the Errors that attend the common modes of the Religions of the World I charge no man as though I knew any such thing by any But I suggest these things as things that are possible and mention them because I would have sufferers have a care of themselves and watch and pray because no man can be upright here that is not holy that cannot pray and watch and deny himself for the love that he has to righteousness I said it before and will say it again 't is a rare thing to be set in down-rightness of heart against sin Secondly Is it for the sake of righousness that thou sufferest Then it is because thou wouldest have righteousness promoted set up and established in the world also thou art afflicted at those advantages that iniquity gets upon men upon things and against thy self I beheld said David the transgressors and was grieved because men kept not thy Law Psal. 119. And again these are they that mourn for the abominations that are done among men Ezek. 9. There is a great deal of talk about Religion a great deal of pleading for Religion namely as to the formalities of this and the other way But to chuse to be Religions that I might be possessed with holiness and to chuse that Religion that is most apt to possess me with it if I suffer for this I suffer for righteousness sake Wherefore say thus to thy Soul thou that art like to suffer for righteousness How is it with the most inward parts of my Soul what is there what designs desires and teachings out are there Why do I pray Why do I read Why do I hear Why do I haunt and frequent places and ordinances appointed for worship is it because I love holiness would promote righteousness because I love to see godliness shew it self in others and because I would feel more of the power of it in my self if so and if thou sufferest for thy profession thou sufferest not only for righteousness but also for righteousness sake Dost thou thus practise because thou wouldest be taught to do outward acts of righteousness and because thou wouldest provoke others to do so too Dost thou shew to others how thou lovest righteousness by taking opportunities to do righteousness How is it dost thou shew most mercy to thy Dog or to thine enemy to thy Swine or to the poor whose naked body hast thou clothed whose hungry belly hast thou fed Hast thou taken delight in being defrauded and beguiled hast thou willingly sat down by the loss with quietness and been as if thou hadst not known when thou hast been wronged defamed abused and all because thou wast not willing that black mouthed men should vilifie and reproach Religion upon thy account 1 Cor. 6.7 He that loveth righteousness will do thus yea and do it as unto God and of tenderness to the word of God which he professeth And he that thinks to make seeing men believe that when he suffereth he suffereth for righteousness sake and yet is void in his life of moral goodness and that has no heart to suffer and bear and put up and pass by injuries in his conversation among his enemies at home is deceived There are some Scriptures that are as if they were out of date amoâ—â— some professors specially such as can for actual holiness and acts of self denyal for God but it will be found at the day of judgment that they only are the peculiar people that are zealous of good works Tit. 2.14 God help us 't is hard now to perswade professors to come up to negative holiness that is to leave undone that which is bad and yet this of it self comes far short of ones being found in practical goodness But this is the man that suffereth when he suffereth for righteousness sake that makes it his business by all lawful means according to the capacity that God has put him in to promote set up and establish righteousness in the World I say this is the man that suffereth for righteousness sake that suffereth for so doing and I am sure that a life that is moral when joyned to the profession of the faith of the things that are of the spirit of God is absolutely necessary to the promoting of righteousness in the World Hence Peter tells them that suffer for righteousness sake that they must have a good conscience a good conscience towards God towards men towards friends towards enemies 1 Pet. 3.14 15 16. Acts 24.16 chap. 23.1 They must have a good conscience in all things being willing ready desirous to live honestly godly and righteously in this world or else they cannot though they may suffer for the best doctrine under heaven sâ—ffer for righteousness sake Heb. 13.18 Wherefore Thirdly Is it for righteousness sake that thou sufferest then thy design is the ruin of sin this depends upon what was said before for he that strives against sin that seeks to promote righteousness he designs the ruin of sin Be not said Paul to the suffering Romans overcome of evil but overcome evil with good Rom. 12.21 To overcome evil with good is an hard task To rail it down to cry it down to pray Kings and Parliaments and men in authority to put it down this is easier than to use my endeavour to overcome it with good with doing of good as I said before And sin must be overcome with good at home before thy good can get forth of doors to overcome evil abroad Abraham overcame evil with good when he quieted the discontent of Lot and his Herdsmen with allowing of them to feed their Cattel in the best of what God had given him Gen. 13.7 8. David overcame evil with good when he saved the life of his bloudy enemy that was fallen into his hand also when he grieved that any hurt should come to them that sought nothing so much as his destruction They rewarded me saith he evil for good to the spoiling of my Soul But as for me when they were sick my clothing was sackcloth I humbled my Soul with fasting I behaved my self as if he had been my Friend or Brother I bowed down heavily as one that mourneth for his Mother This is to overcome evil with good Psal. 35.11 12 13 14. Job saith concerning his enemy that he did not rejoyce when evil found him neither have I said he suffered