shall not they cannot do it and Hosea 2.19 I will betroth thee unto me for ever yea I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness and in judgment and in loving kindness and in mercy c. I know full well what I do saies the Lord I will betroth thee in judgment I know what the Soul is that I take I take him so as to keep him and to maintain him I will hold him and never lose him I will do it in judgment and it shall be a relation for ever I will betroth thee unto me for ever But now the evidence of the relation that is passable that may be clouded after you have had some clear discoveries of it A Soul that is brought into the light may be turned into the dark again thus it was with Job Job he had a very clear and full sight of his interest at one time that he glories in Christ Jesus I know that my Redeemer liveth and yet the same Job at another time Job 6.4 Tells us that the Arrows of the Almighty did set themselves in array against him the poyson whereof saies he drinketh up my Spirit It was not the terrours of men it was not the terrours of his condition of his poverty or of his sores or of his great disgrace but saies he the terrours of God they are entered into my Soul and so David at one time he rejoyceth in Christ Jesus saies then though I pass through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil Psal 23.4 and another time he cries out Why art thou cast down O my Soul why art thou disquiered within me And in another place hath the Lord forgotten to be gracious are his mercies clean gone he mourns after the Lord and complains as one that was banished from his face though your interest cannot be shaken Christians yet the evidence of your interest may be darkned the love of Christ Jesus to your souls may be so obscured as you may be left without the feelings of it And the Soul that is sometimes under comfortable manifestations and filled with joy with peace and with comfort may at another time be darkned with clouds with vails and with curtains and know not where he is the seal of the Spirit of the Lord may be so defaced as that you cannot tell what to make of it the believer that is built upon the rock can never be washt off the rock yet the wayes may dash against him upon the rock he may be sorely dasht upon the rock though he cannot be washt off though your interest stands sure yet the evidence of your interest is not sure it is a passable evidence 6. Sense of interest is in a soveraign hand and is given out to whom the Lord pleaseth and when the Lord pleaseth The Lord is pleased Soveraignly to act in the sealing and ensuring and comforting of his People sometimes he will come in upon a believer at his first conversion and will fill him with joy and gladness that shall abide upon his Soul many years and sometimes the believer shall wait upon God from ordinance to ordinance and follow him many years in the dark and not have a discovery of his love sometimes the Lord will give a Soul no sight of his interest nor evidence of his relation until he come to die and some believers have walked with the evidence of Gods love in their hearts almost all their daies and when they have come to die they have died in the dark Sense of interest is under a soveraign dispense both as to the persons to whom it is given out and as to the time when and as to the way and manner how 7. Though the interest that believers have and are owned in with the Lord is the same and is not different as to its nature and properties yet the evidence of the interest will admit of degrees in different persons and also in the same Persons at divers times those that are taken into relation with Christ Jesus they are all owned in a near blessed intimate relation as I told you before so that there is no difference in the relation neither is the relation an encreasing relation indeed the benefits of the relation they are encreasing but the relation it 's self is not encreasing A believer is not more a Child of God afterward then he was at first when the Spirit of adoption came upon him but the evidence of the interest that admits of degrees the relation its self is capable of an improvement as to the advantages of it but that is not all but the evidence of the relation is sometimes clearer fuller and more satisfying then at some other times It is said Prov. 4.18 That the path of the just is as the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day A believer hath a little sight of Christ a glimmering of Christ through the cravis this may be improved and it is possible that the Soul may come into a full assurance of its interest in Christ Jesus ay and it is possible you may be assured more at one time then at another Therefore Christian the little joy that thou hast may grow to a great deal and the small apprehensions that thou hast of Christ may greatly encrease in thy Soul and in this respect the day of small things is not to be despised 8. It is possible that believers may disingenuously act upon low principles in their carnest pursuits after sealings and ensurings I pray mark it assurance it is the Flower of Faith it is the growth the improvement the flourishing of Faith it is the fragrancy the odour and the sweetness nay the very brightness of faith the sealings of the Spirit they are the high strains as I may call them of the Spirit in and upon the hearts of believers And yet it is possible that the believer may act upon low principles in his eager pursuits of the sealings of the Spirit that is such an high act Then does the believer act disingenuously in a pursuit after an evidence of his interest when he presseth after the sense of his interest more for peace and comfort then to improve his interest unto more grace and holiness Your interest in Christ hath two streams the one runs with grace and the other runs with peace and comfort now then does the Soul disingenuously act when he presseth more after the stream of peace comfort then he doth after the stream of grace and holiness then is the believer acted upon low principles when he advanceth the sense of interest above the interest or if you will thus when the desires of the sense of interest do over-ballance the desires of more grace and holiness upon the interest Therefore in all your eager pursuits after the sealings of the Spirit consider the principle Christians upon which you act search whether there be no disingenuous actings n your spirits in your eager desires after assurance 9.
the other tends more immediately to thy satisfaction and joy There is more in a little grace than in a great deal of consolation Now it may be the Lord seeth that thou art not fit for comfort nor yet fit for settlement and for peace and therefore he holds thee in the dark Now the heightening of grace will fit thee for the enjoyment of an Evidence The higher grace is in the heart the more fair the Soul lies for an evidence the more grace thou hast the more fit thou art for the joys and consolations of the Holy Ghost Therefore strive to heighten grace and holiness upon the want of an evidence Fourthly Keep in thy way waiting upon the Lord though the Answer is delayed Thou art seeking to be assured and thou art waiting for an evidence of thy Interest and yet it doth not come Well hold on Christian and do not give over until the Answer is given in He that believeth maketh not haste Wait quietly and patiently upon the Lord pressing after him that he would remember his Word from Ordinance to Ordinance but do not give over know that whilst the Lord doth suspend the evidence of your Interest he calls you to abide in a waiting posture and therefore continue to watch and pray Fifthly Diligently attend all discovering Ordinances but bound your desires after a sense of Interest in waiting upon the Lord in the waies that he bath consecrated for the dispense God hath been pleased to appoint many ordinances for us to wait upon him in wherein he is pleased to make known himself Sometimes he doth it in one ordinance and sometimes in another sometimes he will come in in prayer and sometimes in meditation and sometimes he will come in in preaching and sometimes in that great sealing ordinance of the Gospel the Lords Supper Now attend upon the Lord in all sealing ordinances but bound your desires I pray mark I say bound your desires in the waies that the Lord hath consecrated for the dispense do not expect that God should work a miracle to confirm you don't think that there must be a voice from Heaven to settle you and satisfy you don't look for some miraculous expressions or impressions upon you but bound your desires after the sense of your interest in his own way and that which makes me mention it is this That Satan doth rush many Souls upon this they cannot believe an ordinary evidence and a small sign won't serve them but they must have some immediate appearance from Heaven an immediate testimony from Heaven in some miraculous way upon their Spirits or else they cannot think that their state is good and the design of Satan here is to drive you into such a way wherein you shall certainly meet with a disappointment and being under a disappointment then you may more easily and more strongly question your state But we are not to expect revelations nor miraculous operations but to wait upon the Lord in his own consecrated waies that he hath appointed for the dispense of pardon of peace and comfort and an evidence of our interest Sixthly Again Look upon and rejoice in the dawnings of the day when thou canst not see the Sun in its noon day brightness my meaning is bless God for a little let it be never so small that he hath given to thee and wear it with much thankfulness though thou hast not a full assurance of thy interest yet bless God that thou hast a liberty to follow Christ thou hast not a full sight of thy standing in Christ ay but bless God that thou hast a liberty to cry after Christ thou maist cry after Christ though for the present thou canst not rejoyce in Christ well if the Lord hath given thee a heart for this thou should'st magnify his name let the work be never so small that is in thy Soul yet if thou beest in the way to Heaven bless God for this It is matter of comfort to thee in thy present state Christian that though thou hast not yet assurance yet thou art in the way to be assured though thou hast not yet a full evidence of thy interest thou art in the way of following of Christ thou dost not know how soon thou maist have the evidence of thy interest It is a comfort to a Child to consider that though he is in some remoteness from his Fathers House yet he is in his way upon his journey to it So Christian though thou hast not all yet thou art in the way to more thou art in the way to be assured and in the way to the full possession of Christ take notice of this and bless God for it Seventhly Prefer service for Christ before assurance in Christ and esteem duty for and towards Christ before consolation in Christ It argues a very low and mercenary spirit to act only for or towards the Lord upon the feelings of our interest in him or only for the comforts that do attend a sensible interest in him no we must follow Christ wherever he goeth and prefer service for Christ before comfort in Christ and resolve to follow Christ and to serve him whether he do settle us and comfort us or no It is a very filial genuine Spirit in a Child to say well let my Father give me a portion or deny me a portion yet I will serve him though my Father disinherit me yet I will serve him so the believer should say he should prefer a command before a promise and assistance for duty before incomes in duty Now it may be Christian thou hast failed here therefore advance thy esteem of the command and advance the honour of duty and service for Christ and let these things be uppermost in thy heart and in time the Lord may more fully appear to thee to settle thee and to comfort thee whilest thou art serving of him 8. Again upon the rising of new darkness have recourse unto the former experiences that thou hast had of peace joy and comfort in believing God it may be doth with-hold a new word because he would have thee go to the old word that he hath spoken before and God may withhold a new sign because he would have thee go to the old sign that he gave thee for a discovery before now in present daies of darkness often reflect upon what formerly thou hast enjoyed in order to thy hope and confidence and make use of that And then Ninthly In the ninth place Be you kind unto all the Lords mourners that are companions with you in darkness I mean learn to sympathise with those that want the light of Gods countenance The Lord it may be in with-holding a sense of interest doth design to make thee more sensible of anothers condition in the dark that thou mayest know how to sympathise with him in his sorrows and tribulations ay and to comfort others with the consolation wherewith the Lord hath comforted thee Therefore be you kind and affectionate
as it were a Confederacy against us to turn us out of all yet Ego exultabo in Deo I will rejoyce in my God even in the God of my Salvation And Calvin saith My joy is not founded upon the Creature nor upon external enjoyments therefore let all things be brought into confusion here below nay let God himself seem to stand frowning over us yet saies he will I rejoyce in the Lord I will joy in the God of my Salvation Joy is the sweet motion of the Soul in a full contentment of heart and complacency of Spirit upon some good set before it Now here the Prophet sees all discouraging below he turns his Eyes up to Heaven and he sees a certainty there he sees stability there and therefore he rejoyces in the Lord and Joys in the God of his Salvation I will rejoice in the Lord. Who is meant by Lord here I will rejoyce in Jehovah the God of my Salvation Jehovah is a Title given unto God the Father setting forth his self-being and self-sufficiency and giving existence unto all Creatures but the Title Jehovah is attributed also unto the Son and so I understand it here in this Text I will rejoice in Jehovah that is in Christ Jesus who may be called Jehovah not only as he hath a sufficiency in himself but as he gives existence and being unto all the promises of the Covenant of Grace in whom they are yea and Amen and on this account I take it that the Title Jehovah is often given unto Jesus Christ the second Person I will rejoyce in the Lord I will joy in the God of my Salvation that is in my Lord my Saviour my dear Jesus and my Redeemer and so from the words you may observe this proposition Doct. That there is enough in Christ Jesus alone for the Souls full rejoycing and triumph in all cases and conditions Yet I will rejoyce in the Lord I will joy in the God of my Salvation Let things go how they will in the world as to my outward Concerns yet the ground of my joy that is never taken from me Although the Fig-tree do not blossom although there shall be no fruit in the Vine although the labour of the Olive shall fail and the Fields shall yield no meat the Flocks shall be cut off from the Fold and there shall be no Herd in the Stall yet my Joy that abides the ground of my Joy that cannot be taken from me 't is not in the Creature 't is not upon Earth but 't is in Heaven 't is not in Man 't is in the Lord 't is not in the confluence of these things that are coming and going and in an uncertain enjoyment but it is in the Lord who never fails saies David in the 2 Sam. 23.5 Though my House be not so with God my Family is not as I would have it to be I cannot rectify all the disorders of my House and settle things as I would my house is not with God as I would have it according to my hearts desire yet God hath made with me an everlasting Covenant of Grace and this is all my Salvation and all my desire The word that is translated desire here in the Hebrew signifies also delight this is all my Salvation and all my delight as we may read it here is the Joy of my heart my delight is here Gods Covenant of Grace stands sure with me and therein will I rejoyce as if David had said things go ill with me here below the Sword is threatned never to depart from my House while I live that I must be a man of trouble and of war to the end of my daies what breaches may be made upon my Kingdom and what breeches may be made in my Family the Lord only knows yet the Covenant that stands sure and that is all my delight my heart centers here and I will comfort my self in the Lord my God And if we search into the Psalms there we shall find that David does frequently under great disasters make his boast of God Providences were frowning and he seemed to be driven out of all yet saies he The Lord God is my refuge he is the Horn of my Salvation my Sanctuary and high Tower and I will rejoyce and let all the righteous rejoice and be glad in him In the handling of this proposition there are these things that we shall propose to consider and unfold to you First What Jesus Christ is Secondly What he hath and Thirdly What he will do for the believing Soul that the believer may take comfort and rejoyce in him at all times whatsoever his condition is First What Jesus Christ is that the Prophet doth here so comfort himself in and rejoice and make his boast of First He is glorious in his Person a very glorious person he is not one like him in Heaven nor in Earth what is said concerning Saul in the 1 Sam. 9.2 we may in allusion apply unto Christ that he was a choice young man a goodly there was not among the Children of Israel a goodlier Person then he from the shoulders upward he was higher than any of the People I only allude to it Jesus Christ is a most choice excellent one a very goodly and a very lovely Person he is higher both by head and shoulders than any of his Brethren a Person all glorious a Person all over lovely and beautiful in Can. 5.16 His mouth is most sweet yea he is altogether lovely this is my beloved c. But I shall descend into particulars and shew you wherein Jesus Christ is such a sufficient ground of rejoycing and of comfort to the believing Soul that hath an interest in him in all conditions and I shall here shew you wherein it appeareth that the glory of Christs Person is such a ground of rejoycing to us at all times And that will appear in his Mediatory Constitution as God-man in one Person Jesus is a Mediator a days Man an umpire between God and Man one that hath come between God and Man to make peace for us and the glory of his Person lies in his mediatory constitution as he is God-man so he is a most glorious Person Now this Title of Mediator is often given him in Scripture in Heb. 8.6 he is called the Mediator of a better Covenant Heb. 9.15 the Mediator of the New Testament and Heb. 12.24 To Jesus the Mediator of the new Covenant and to the blood of sprinkling So 1 Tim. 2.5 This was such a one as Job wished for in Job 9.33 Neither is there any days-man between us that might lay his hand upon us both Now there are two things that are requisite for the compleating and accomplishing of a Mediator First He must be equally related to the Persons between whom he comes Secondly He must be impartial and faithfully indifferent now both these are found in Jesus Christ First A Mediator I say must be equally stated between and
not thy law and Jeremiah 9.1.2 3. See how the Prophet complains of that which the Lord doth make a complaint of They proceed from evil to evil saith the Lord and O saies he that my Head were Waters and mine Eyes a Fountain of Tears that I might weep for this Hence the Saints are called Mourners in Zion and we read of those that mourned in the midst of the Lords People they mourned sometimes for their own sins as dishonouring Christ Jesus Thus did Peter when he had displeased the Lord and was sensible of it he goes out and weeps bitterly And sometimes they weep for the sins of others that they see the Lord is so much dishonoured and offended by the lives and conversations of Saints Now by this make a judgment of your selves Christians and bring your hearts to this touchstone if that you stand at a distance from the concerns of the honour of Christ Jesus in the world and you look upon the eoncerns of his glory as Alien that you are not concerned in and the dishonours of Christ you are not touched with them they make no impression upon your Spirits truly this speaks very sadly But now on the other hand if that you find your Spirits in fellowship with Christ in all his dishonours if you find that whatsoever doth disturb displease and grieve the Lord is a weight upon your Spirits and that because it is a weight upon the heart of Christ Jesus this is some evidence that you are interested in and united unto the Lord Jesus Eightly Again The Soul that is interested in Christ is restless in all pursuits after Christ until it can compass something of him Christ is the center of the heart and he cannot rest out of Christ neither can he be long satisfied without him but is continually pressing after a sight of and fellowship and communion with the Lord Jesus his heart being as it were swallowed up with him lead him unto other things and they won't satisfy him out of Christ lead him unto ordinances this won't do if Christ be not there advance him unto all Gospel priviledges that give him a name and renown amongst Saints this won't satisfy him if he hath not Christ Jesus there Thus it was with the Spouse she had lost her sight of Christ and now she had her ordinances still and her priviledges still yet this would not satisfy her but she goes from ordinance to ordinance and from priviledge to priviledge to seek after Christ O saw ye him whom my Soul loveth And truly I may say of such a heart as is interested in Christ as Absolom spake in another case when he was well provided for and had royal Princely accommodations O! says he what is all this to me if I may not see the King's face 2 Sam. 14.32 So whatsoever be the outward accommodations that a Soul hath that is interested in Christ still he will be saying O! what is all this if I have not Christ he will be restless in his pursuit after Christ until he can compass something of him Now Christians examine your hearts by this if that you can sit down with something short of Christ if that you can come to an Ordinance and have no communion with Christ in the Ordinance and yet are well satisfied if that you can take up your rest in the priviledges of the Gospel without the Lord Christ himself it is a very shroud sign that you are not yet interested in him but if no Ordinance will please you where Christ is not no enjoyment will satisfie you if Christ be away that your eye is upon Christ in and through all enjoyments as the only rest and center of your Souls this is a good sign of Interest Ninthly In the ninth place The Soul that is interested in Christ makes his preparations and his reformations in his heart which Christ principally respects He that is united unto Christ looks chiefly a the heart which Christ looks chiefly upon and his great care is to have his heart swept cleansed purified sanctified fitted and furnished for the Majesty of Christ Jesus And heart-disturbances and heart-disorders are matters of great grief unto him because he knows that thereby Christ is displeased Jesus Christ takes up his abode with the Soul that is united to him Now Christ's residence is in the heart and the Soul that is united to Christ will principally look to prepare that Room where Christ's residence is to be he will be in the use of all means to bring his heart into some Gospel decency for the entertainment of the Lord Jesus and all that comes from him it comes from the heart The profession that he makes of Christ it is a heart-rooted profession and the change of his life it springs from the change of his heart and the holiness and sanctity that he discovers and manifests is holiness from the heart Now Christians examine your own hearts by this particular also some preparations you make some reformations you are able to shew but are your preparations only life and conversation preparations are they not heart preparations too Or is your reformation only a life reformation and not a heart reformation They they that are not interested in Christ they may prepare and reform but they will look only to the washing of the outside of the Cup and the adorning of the outward man not the inward man but now if your greatest care be upon your hearts and your utmost diligence is to have them thorowly reformed and to have them under a heavenly dispose for Christ to make provision there and to be fitted in the inward man for communion with the Lord Jesus and in all your reformings you first begin there and carry on outwardly as you are able to succeed inwardly This is an evidence of an Interest in the Lord Jesus Christ Tenthly Again The Soul that is interested in Christ lives not upon himself nor upon his own actings but upon Christ unto whom he is joyned The Soul that is brought into union with the Lord Jesus he makes the Lord Jesus his all and he leans upon him and stays upon him and not upon any thing short of him Jesus is full and he lives upon the fulness of Jesus he comes hungry and empty and naked unto Jesus to be satisfied and to be clothed he stays himself upon the merits of Christ and he confides in the faithfulness of Christ and he leans upon the power of Christ and he acts by the strength of Christ he lives in all his whole Christian course upon Christ Says the Spouse Cant. 2.3 As the Apple tree among the trees of the wood so is my Beloved among the Sons I sate down under his shadow with great delight and his fruit was sweet to my tast Here Christ was the Spouse's all she got under his shade and there she rested and she fed upon Christ and lived upon Christ His fruit was sweet unto my tast The true Believer cannot
delights in and as to all Ordinances he values them not but as he meets with Jesus Christ in them if he finds not Christ in an Ordinance he counts the Ordinance as no Ordinance And if a Lord's Day doth pass without some communion with Christ he counts 't is no day to his Soul And the Gospel of Christ Jesus that he prizes so much it is because it is Christ's Gospel and the Truths of the Gospel that are so dear to to him that he can venture all for it is because they are Christ's Truths Now Christians examine your state and condition by this also what is it that you value your selves by Do you value your selves by your bare professions Do you value your selves by your enlargement Do you value your selves by your gifts Do you value your selves by the name that you have amongst men Those that are in Christ do not value themselves thus but by what they apprehend themselves to be in and to have received from Christ Jesus Thirteenthly Again The Soul that is interested in Christ rises and falls in its spirit according unto the sensible manifestations or withdrawings of Christ in his heart he rejoyces as Christ doth appear and he is saddened as Christ doth withdraw and his joy is coming and going as Christ is coming and going in his heart an appearance of Christ makes day in his heart and the withdrawings of Christ makes night in his Soul When there is a Curtain drawn between Christ and him then he is in the dark and then his Soul sits in sorrow then he is covered over with mourning but upon the return of Christ his Soul leaps within him and he is filled and satisfied as with marrow and fatness Isa 61.10 I will rejoyce in the Lord my Soul shall be joyful in my God Why so because Christ doth appear and puts on something of his own clothing and giveth out something of himself to me he comes as a Bridegroom decketh himself with Ornaments and makes me as his Bride and decks me with his Jewels Now this doth cause me to rejoyce in the Lord and makes me joyful in my God Days of communion and seasons of manifestation they are the festival days that his Soul enjoys and nothing causes so great a damp upon his heart as when Christ draws off This was seen in David he rises and falls in his spirit as were the manifestations or the withdrawings of Christ there Lord says he thy loving kindness is better than life Ay there was his joy and gladness And Lord says he at another time thou didst but hide thy face and I was troubled there was his sorrow for Christ's absence And says the Spouse Cant. 1.2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth By kiss here is meant some visible manifestation of Christ unto his Soul some discernable token of his love Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth for thy love saies he is better than Wine Wine you know was to be given to those that were of a heavy heart by Solomons direction Proverbs 31.6 and Psal 104.15 Wine that maketh glad the heart of man and Oil to make his face to shine So as Wine it is to be given to those that are of a heavy heart it is that which is to make joyful and to exhilarate the Spirits Now saies David Lord thy love is better then Wine there is more in a little communication of Christ Jesus then in the greatest refreshment and heart chearing in the world for this love that is better then Wine is not love simply considered but the effects of love in gracicious manifestations as John 14.21 22. He that hath my Commandments and keepeth them he it is that loveth me and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father and I will love him and will manifest my self unto him and saies Judas not Iscariot Lord how is it that thou wilt manifest thy self unto us and not unto the world This love was a love of manifestation now saies he Let him kiss me mith the kisses of his mouth Let love be manifested and this manifesting love is better than Wine O it will make all other things dainties to him and sweets to be bitter in his Spirit this is sweet indeed and an abiding ground of joy and comfort to his Soul upon the evidence of his love and upon the sight of his face and communion with him Now Christians examine your hearts by this if that your joy be determined upon something else then upon Christ and if that the withdrawments of Christ don't cause the greatest sadness unto your Spirits it is a shround sign that you have no interest in Christ But now where Christ Jesus is lookt upon as the very joy of your Souls and you most of all joy in his presence and you are most of all troubled at his departure and at the hidings of his face it is a sign of interest O it is a sign that that Woman doth intirely love her Husband that cannot bear that he should be long absent from her and is most of all pleased in his company so it is a sign that that Soul is married unto Christ Jesus that cannot bear the withdrawments of Christ and that is never so much troubled and tossed and discomforted and afflicted in his Spirit as when Jesus Christ stands behind the Curtain and refuseth to make answer to his Soul when he is crying after him SERMON VIII Habakkuk 3.18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord I will Joy in the God of my Salvation VVE proposed to give you some notes of evidence whereby you may come to know that this Jesus is your Jesus and that you are interesced in him We have already gone through 13 particulars and shall now proceed Fourteenthly The Soul that is interested in Christ hath constraining abiding endearments in his heart unto Jesus Christ so as no discouragement shall turn him off from Christ but he will cut the way through all opposition to come to the enjoyment of him My Friends if you are really interested in Christ and have upon an interest tasted how gracious the Lord is difficulties in your way to Christ will be no difficulties so you may enjoy him the Soul in Christ will be contented to be reproached for Christ so he may enjoy him and the reproaches that he meets withal in the way of Christ will be no great matter to him so Christ and he may keep together You may see what was the Spirit of an old Testament Saint in Heb. 11.24 25. By Faith Moses when he was come to years refused to be called the Son of Pharaohs Daughter chusing rather to suffer affliction with the People of God then to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season v. 26. Esteeming the reproaches of Christ greater riches then the Treasures of Egypt Persecutions won't part Christ and the real sincere Christian but though he shall be persecuted for Christ yet if Christ and he