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praises; It was not I, but thou who magnified thy power, in carrying a poor weak thing thro’ such depths, and offered great ones to stagger and fall in the way, thy word was made out in making use of the foolish things of the world to confound the wife, thou hast made thy infinite love to carry thro’ a poor finite creature: How often have I been made to stand, and wonder and admire free love, knowing my own weakness and the many infirmities I am lyable to by a body of sin and death; such was thy love, that thou gave me such courage, that neither the flattering of friends, nor the threats of enemies, could move me to do any thing to truths disadvantage, such was thy love to me. O thy sweet cross! Thy yoak was made easy unto me, and thy burden light. O that any should scar at thy soul instructing rods! How many lessons of Christianity is to be learned under thy rod, and so much comfort and consolation to be found in quietly and calmly acquiescing to his will; that I may say, I shall never have such contentedness, were I to be inheritor of the whole world, as I had under the sweet cross of Christ. O praises! praises to him who made it so. But with what a heavy heart, did I come out of that castle ot Blackness, the Lord did give me such a light of the intricate dispensations, that the church was to meet with by the coming over of the Prince of Orange that instead of being compast about with songs of deliverance, it was attended with great heavines; I could take pleasure in nothing, but in mourning over the sad things that I saw coming on the church: When others were rejoicing, I durst not make mention of my disconsolate care. When they spake of preferment to my family, it was a sword to my heart; I cryed, and the Lord heard me in that, and instead of that, he gave me assurance of the salvation of my dear child William; And gave me full submission to his likeness, which I could never win to before, accompanied with many sweet melting days, which was to me an unexpressible mercy.
Oh then! what did I see next? The work of God betrayed, not by enemies, nor by that party only, that had sitten at their ease, but by these ministers and people, that had jeoparded their lives in the high places of the fields, taking chearfully the spoiling of their goods: These are they that have buried the work of the Lord, sadned the hearts of their poor afflicted brethren, buried the covenant, and the work of reformation, which was the glory
