Three treatises of the vanity of the creature. The sinfulness of sin. The life…Three treatises of the vanity of the creature. The sinfulnesse of sinne. The life…

Secondly, labour ever to get Christ into thy ship, he will check every tempest, and calm every vexation that grows upon thee. When thou shalt consider that his truth, and person, and honour is embarked in the same vessel with thee, thou mayest safely resolve on one of these, either he will be my Pilot in the ship, or my plank in the ⟨p. 96⟩Sea to carry me safe to Land; if I suffer in his company, and as his member, he suffers with me, and then I may triumph to be made any way conformable unto Christ my head. If I have Christ with me, there can no estate come which can be cumbersome unto me. Have I a load of misery and infirmity inward, outward, in mind, body, name or estate, this takes away the vexation of all, when I consider it all comes from Christ, and it all runs into Christ. It all comes from him as the wise disposer of his own body, and it all runs into him as the compassionate sharer with his own body: It all comes from him who is the distributer of his Fathers gifts, and it all runs into him who is the partaker of his members sorrows. If I am weak in body, Christ my head was wounded, if¹ weak in mind, Christ my head was heavy unto death. If I suffer in my estate, Christ my head became poor, as poor as a servant, if in my name Christ, my head was esteemed vile, as vile as Beelzebub. Paul was comforted in the greatest tempest with the presence of an Angel, how much more with the Grace of Christ; when the Thorn was in his flesh, and the buffets of Satan about² his soul, yet then was his presence a plentiful protection, my Grace is sufficient for thee, and he confesseth it elsewhere, I am able to do all things³ through Christ that strengthens me. Christs head hath sanctified any thorns, his back any furrows, his hands any nails, his side any spear, his heart any sorrow that can come to mine. Again, have I a great estate, am I laden with abundance of earthly things, this takes away all the Vexation that I have Christ with me; his promise to sanctify it, his wisdom to manage it, his glory to be by it advanced, his word to be by it maintained, his Anointed Ones to be by it supplied, his Church to be by it repaired, in one word his poverty to be by it relieved. For as Christ hath strength and compassion to take of the burden of our afflictions, so hath he poverty too,