A30592:1019
Moses his choice with his eye fixed upon Heaven, discovering the happy condition of…
Moses his choice with his eye fixed upon Heaven, discovering the happy condition of a self-denying heart, delivered in a treatise upon Hebrews II, 25, 26 / by Jeremiah Burroughs.
London: printed by John Field, 1650
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
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 ⟨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 honors us as if it were so.
Secondly, by this we come to be honourable in the eyes of the Churches, and the Saints of God: nothing makes Gods people more honourable in the eyes of the Saints, then when they are called to suffer much for God. And so in the Primitive times, they esteemed much of the Martyrs, even too much. Chrysostom