A Saint Indeed

3. Quest. Is not the public interest of Christ and religion infinitely more, then any private interest of my own? Tis a famous passage that of Terentius Captain to Adrian the Emperor, he presented a petition to Adrian that the Christians might have a temple by themselves to worship God apart from the Arians: the Emperor tore his petition and threw it away, bidding him to ask somewhat for himself, and it should be granted: but he modestly gathered up the pieces of his petition again and told him, if he could not be heard in Gods ca•se, he would never ask any thing for himself: Yea even Tully, though an Heathen could say, ne immortalitatem quidem contra rem publicam: he would not accept even of immortality it self against the Common-wealth. O if we had more public, we should not ⟨p. 167⟩have such cowardly spirits.

3. Quest. Is not the publick interest of Christ and religion infinitely more, then any private interest of my own? Tis a famous passage that of Terentius Captain to Adrian the Emperour, he presented a petition to Adrian that the Christians might have a temple by themselves to worship God apart from the Arrians: the Emperour tore his petition and threw it away, bidding him to aske somewhat for himself, and it should be granted: but he modestly gathered up the pieces of his petition again and told him, if he could not be heard in Gods ca•se, he would never ask any thing for himself: Yea even Tully, though an Heathen could say, ne immortalitatem quidem contra rem publicam: he would not accept even of immortality it self against the Common-wealth. O if we had more publick, we should not ⟨p. 167⟩have such cowardly spirits.

4. Qu. Did Jesus Christ serve me so? when for my sake he exposed himself to far greater sufferings than can be before me? His sufferings were great indeed, he suffered from all hands, in all his offices in every member, not only in his body, bu in his Soul; yea the sufferings of his Soul, were the very Soul of his sufferings: witness the bloody sweat in the garden, witness the heart melting and heaven rending outcry upon the crss, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? and yet he flinched not, he endured the cross, despising the shame. Alas! what are my sufferings compared with Christs? he hath drunk up all that vinegar and gall that would make my sufferings bitter. When one of the Martyrs was asked, why he was so merry at his death? Oh said he! it is because the Soul of Christ was so heavy at his death: did Christ bear such a burden for me, with unbroken patience, and constancy? and shall I shrink back for momentary and light afflictions for him?