Moses his choice with his eye fixed upon Heaven, discovering the happy condition of…

Secondly, the reproaches and sufferings which we endure for Christ, are riches of preferment. It was a speech of Ignatius, when he was to suffer, It is better for me to be a Martyr, then a Monarch. Epist. 12. ad Romanos, Euseb. l. 8. c. 7. To be preferred to honour, is counted great riches: now there is a preferment of Gods people here, these three or four ways: Basil upon that famous Martyr Bar-aam, says, he rejoiced in stripes as in honours, he exulted in the severest punishments, as if praeclara bravia acceperet.

Secondly, the reproaches and sufferings which we endure for Christ, are riches of preferment. It was a speech of Ignatius, when he was to suffer, It is better for me to be a Martyr, then a Monarch. Epist. 12. ad Romanos, Euseb. l. 8. c. 7. To be preferred to honor, is counted great riches: now there is a preferment of Gods people here, these three or four ways: Basil upon that famous Martyr Bar-aam, says, he rejoyced in stripes as in honors, he exulted in the severest punishments, as if praeclara bravia acceperet.

First, the Saints look upon this as high preferment, because it is a testimony that God hath a high esteem of them: God does not use to call those that are weak and mean to great sufferings, but his servants that are most eminent; God will dispose of the conditions of his people, suitable to their dispositions, therefore he will not call those to the strongest work that are weakest. A Captain does not call out his mean Soldiers to a notable enterprise, but he calls out his most able courageous Soldiers; and the more desperate the enterprise is, the more honour the Soldier thinks it to be called out: so the greater work God calls one to, the more preferment is in it; and we have cause to admire that God should deal so with ⟨p. 447⟩us his poor creatures, rather then others; as if we were fitter then' others: though we cannot say we are fitter, because we are conscious to our selves of so much weakness; but God honours us as if it were so.

First, the Saints look upon this as high preferment, because it is a testimony that God hath a high esteem of them: God does not use to call those that are weak and mean to great sufferings, but his servants that are most eminent; God will dispose of the conditions of his people, suitable to their dispositions, therefore he will not call those to the strongest work that are weakest. A Captain does not call out his mean Soldiers to a notable enterprize, but he calls out his most able couragious Soldiers; and the more desperate the enterprize is, the more honor the Soldier thinks it to be called out: so the greater work God calls one to, the more preferment is in it; and we have cause to admire that God should deal so with