The Saints' Everlasting Rest

Answ. 1. For that Duty which tendeth to thy own personal benefit, it doth not disable thee, but is the greatest quickening help that thou canst expect. Thou usest to complain of coldness, and dullness, and worldliness, and security: If affliction will not help thee against all these, by warming, quickening, rousing thy spirit, I know not what will. Sure thou wilt repent throughly, and pray fervently, and mind God and Heaven more seriously, either now or never. 2. And for Duty to others, and for thy service to the Church; it is not thy Duty when God doth disable thee. He may call thee out of the Vineyard in this respect, even before he call thee by death. If he lay thee in the grave, and put others in thy place to do the service, is this any wrong to thee? or doth it beseem thee to repine at it? Why so, if he call thee out before thy death, and let thee stand by, and see others do the work in thy stead, shouldst thou not be as well content? Must God do all the work by thee? Hath he not many others as dear to him, and as fit for the employment? But, alas, what deceitfulness lieth in these hearts! When we have time, and health, and opportunity to work, then we loiter, and do our Master but very poor service: But when he layeth Affliction upon us, then we complain that he disableth us for his work; and yet perhaps we are still negligent in that part of the work which we can do. So, when we are in health and prosperity, we forget the public, and ⟨p. 454⟩are careless of other mens miseries and wants, and mind almost nothing but our selves: But when God Afflicteth us, though he excite us more to Duty for our selves, yet we complain that he disableth us for Duty to others: As if on the sudden we were grown so charitable, that we regard other mens Souls far more then our own! But is not the hand of the fl•sh in all this dissimulation? Secretly thus pleading its own cause? What pride of heart is this to think, that other men cannot do the work as well as we? Or that God cannot see to his Church, and provide for his people without us?

Answ. 1. For that Duty which tendeth to thy own personal benefit, it doth not disable thee, but is the greatest quickening help that thou canst expect. Thou usest to complain of coldness, and dulness, and worldliness, and security: If affliction will not help thee against all these, by warming, quickening, rouzing thy spirit, I know not what will. Sure thou wilt repent throughly, and pray fervently, and minde God and Heaven more seriously, either now or never. 2. And for Duty to others, and for thy service to the Church; it is not thy Duty when God doth disable thee. He may call thee out of the Vineyard in this respect, even before he call thee by death. If he lay thee in the grave, and put others in thy place to do the service, is this any wrong to thee? or doth it beseem thee to repine at it? Why so, if he call thee out before thy death, and let thee stand by, and see others do the work in thy stead, shouldst thou not be as well content? Must God do all the work by thee? Hath he not many others as dear to him, and as fit for the employment? But, alass, what deceitfulness lieth in these hearts! When we have time, and health, and opportunity to work, then we loyter, and do our Master but very poor service: But when he layeth Affliction upon us, then we complain that he disableth us for his work; and yet perhaps we are still negligent in that part of the work which we can do. So, when we are in health and prosperity, we forget the publique, and