1. The people of God that look upon others in the time of their trouble, they are such as though differenced from them in regard of their outward estate, they may be honourable themselves, and well themselves, yet they have an interest in the same head, and belong to the same body that they do, they are not wooden legs, not glass eyes of that body, but they are real, and true members, they are not in Christ by way of visible profession, but by way of invisible implantation; now, if so, saith the Apostle, If one member suffers, another doth, so that now they are interested in the same common Saviour, and belong to the same common head, and therefore Christ tells you he is called the Saviour of the body, and the head of the whole: And faith that lays hold upon Christ, is called the like precious faith, because the faith of one believer doth as truly lay hold upon Christ, though not so strongly as the strongest faith doth, and in this regard it is that they set such a high valuation upon the people of God: Outward disproportion as to their birth, ⟨p. 262⟩and education, and preferment puts no difference in a spiritual sense between Believer and Believer. A King and a beggar▪ all one in Christ; a Jew, or a Greek; a great Scholar, or a poor ignorant man, as to their spiritual state all one, all made happy the same way: all are of the same head, as to their spiritual relation and condition, they are all under one […] of happiness, though may be on shall have a greater and another a lesser degree, yet they are, as to the kind of it, all m•de partakers of one salvation. And then another thing is this, because they look at spiritual excellencies, and […] able to discern spiritual excellencies: they have a renewed judgement, and a new eye, as they look upon their old sins with new eyes, so they look upon their company with new eyes; those ways and practices that they looked upon before as lovely and excellent, now they look upon as vile and base, Prov. 12. 20. and those that they looked upon as vile and base, they look upon as lovely and excellent: those that they cared not for their company, they look upon as more excellent then their neighbour, as David saith, in Psalm 16. My goodness, Lord, extendeth not to thee, but to the Saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is my delight:
1. The people of God that look upon others in the time of their trouble, they are such as though differenced from them in regard of their outward estate, they may be honourable themselves, and well themselves, yet they have an interest in the same head, and belong to the same body that they do, they are not wooden legs, not glasse eyes of that body, but they are real, and true members, they are not in Christ by way of visible profession, but by way of invisible implantation; now, if so, saith the Apostle, If one member suffers, another doth, so that now they are interested in the same common Saviour, and belong to the same common head, and therefore Christ tells you he is called the Saviour of the body, and the head of the whole: And faith that lays hold upon Christ, is called the like precious faith, because the faith of one believer doth as truly lay hold upon Christ, though not so strongly as the strongest faith doth, and in this regard it is that they set such a high valuation upon the people of God: Outward disproportion as to their birth, ⟨p. 262⟩and education, and preferment puts no difference in a spiritual sense between Believer and Believer. A King and a beggar▪ all one in Christ; a Iew, or a Greek; a great Schollar, or a poor ignorant man, as to their spiritual state all one, all made happy the same way: all are of the same head, as to their spiritual relation and condition, they are all under one 〈…〉 of happiness, though may be on shall have a greater and another a lesser degree, yet they are, as to the kind of it, all m•de partakers of one salvation. And then another thing is this, because they look at spiritual excellencies, and 〈…〉 able to discern spiritual excellencies: they have a renewed judgement, and a new eye, as they look upon their old sins with new eyes, so they look upon their company with new eyes; those waies and practices that they looked upon before as lovely and excellent, now they look upon as vile and base, Prov. 12. 20. and those that they looked upon as vile and base, they look upon as lovely and excellent: those that they cared not for their company, they look upon as more excellent then their neighbour, as David saith, in Psalm 16. My goodness, Lord, extendeth not to thee, but to the Saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is my deligh•:
