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Show Martyr) we have an iUbreall,-fa]l,'yet we (haU have a good [upper.; what faid our Lord to his Difciples, could Y"' not watch with me one hour 1 Fear not Chrifiian, put on the whole armor of God, dare to own the tnths and ways of God, and to tell a !infui world, thou art a Chriftian; fear not that Winter, which will pafs over, that l{ain which !hall be over; what Husb1nd-man negle8s to fow his feed becaufe a Winter will come? what traveller refuleth to flir out becaufe he hath the prof pee\ of a !howre? what Souldier refuf; th his place becaufe the Bullets will a little. fly about hi~? all of them know thefe things are tranfient, and Wtth that they mcourage rhemfelves, the Husband-man valia~tly fow.s his feed, which be knows the frofi and fnow of the Wmter wtll ntp and keep under for he faith the Winter will over: The Traveller girds up hi~felfto his journey, though he feetha fhowre. The !howre faith he will over. The Souldier girds on his Harnefs, though he knows he {hall meet with a !harpencounter.He confiders it will be but for an Hour or two:Let not the Chrifilan be the only coward. 'Tis true a Winter will come, 'tis ten to one but in thy life it will come, yet fow thy feed ofRighteoufnefs,for that Winter wil.l pafs too. Thou art a Traveller and hall a rough way to go; yet gtrd up thy )oins,O Chrifiian, it will b~ but a fiw~r~ and over. Th~u art Gods Souldier, appomted to tnals and af!lt8tons, do not .qut~ the Field; becaufe thou hall a view of an enemy, be vahant tn Frght, becaufe the time is !hort. The time ofFighting againfi Sin is lhort, Rev. 8. 2, 11. he that overcometh !hall not be hurt of the fecond death; he !hall eat of the tree oflife, of the hiddm Manna, v. 7· 17. he !hall have the white ~one, the nell' name,&c. . · Fourthly, Confider what a medicine here is for impatteHce, l_n pptielfce, faith Chrift, poffefs your Soul~: Oh, how hard a !elf on I£ this to f\e!h and blood ! we can recetve good at the hand of the the Lord and not be thankful but how hard is it to receive evil and not rtpine, and murrnu;? and at leal\ think\ that God ' deals hardly with us, and th•t we have clean fed "" hands m varn 1· David ftumbled at this r\one till he went into the San8uary, chen he underfiood the Clld njtbe wick!d (and all their malicious thoughts peri!h with them) cannot you watch with me one hour (faith our Lord) There are two argm':'e~ts for watchfulnefs. y. It is with me. 2. It ii but one bour. Chnlltans! they ~re ma.ny hours it is a long eternity that you hope \Olive and retgn wtth Ghrifi' havio~ trode all his enemies under his feet? Cannot you ' c • -~ watch, cannot you fuffer, cannot you fight with him one ?o1fr? " It is B'it/1 him , too with him and for him, becaufe tn the owning of his truths and ways;with him, for he that mocks and f\outeth, and (mites you,mocks and flouts at ChriCh he toucheth the apple of his eye, 0 be patient crying out with that Emperour under your greatefi fufferings , 'Ibis is not eternity! 'Tis a Win-ter, and the cold nips fle!h and blood; but 9tis a tranfient Win-ter. 5· Lafily, What an Antidote is here againft de[pondency 1 and Jt'hll enco,.ragement for faith! It is our great infirmity that wherea> we !hould live by Faith, and not by fight, we live by (lght and not by F aitb. Faith is the evidence of things not feen, the fubfi~nce of things hoped for; we live perfe8ly upon what we fee, a~d .Ju.dg ofthings meerly upon what at prefent we fee and feel. Thts ts n~deed the judgment of Children, but not of men, m~c~ lefs.ofChnfiians, not of men. Doth the Husband-man when tt ts Wtnter,fay it will never be fummer more ; the Trees will never !hoot more, the pafiures will never return and be green more ? doth he fay when it rains or lnoweth it will never be fair weather more ? he bath experienced the contrary; be!ides this he hath the word of God that tells him, fo long as the earth remains, Summer and Winter, cold and heat !hall not fall. Not of Chrifiians; for they are particularly obliged to live by Faith. This is their hidden life, this is their peculiar living, by which they !land difiingui!hed from the world: 'lhe juftjhaU live by his faith,( faith the Prophet) bath theChrifiian no word to trufi to,no promife to live uponlhath he no Scriptures fulfilled? Nay, hath he not the. experiences of all the Church of Chrifi, all the Saints of God, whoever lived in the world, they all bad their Winter, they all met with their Rainyweather; why !houldfi thou think that God !hould alter the methods of his providence for thee? or that his faithfulnefs, as to thee alone !hould fail? Lift up your heads therefore for the day of your redemption draweth nigh. 6. what a Law !hould this l•j upon tbofr Sinners in the World, whom the Lord makes the rod of his anger! It is almo£\ all the Service, that God hath from many in the world, that when he will ufe a rod againll his people, they are ready for that work. It is the Devil that hath filled their hearts with malice,firting them for this Service: God only takes offhis refiraint from them,he doth but flip the Chain, and thcfe D0gs naturally run at their prey, and P p 2 ;wouy |