And by the way (though it's neither far out of my way nor thine, nor eccentric to my present purpose) let me say, that if the question were moved, how it cometh to pass, that he found so much, and other worthy sufferers also before him, that these things seem almost dreams, & incredible to us? truly (without speaking any thing of the ⟨image 5⟩absolute sovereignty of God, who may do with his own what he will, and dispense as he pleaseth, both as to measure & time) the reason may seem to be very obvious: his, & their witness bearing for Jesus Christ, did every way, & in all respects, exceed our's: They gave to God as Kings [though it was of his own they served him] their Testimonies, against the corruptions of their times, whither in King, or Parliament, or Churchmen, had so much of ministerial faithfulness, so much of freedom, so much of grave & Gospel-becoming boldness in them, so much holy zeal, even for the least of these concernments of the Kingdom of Christ [upon which we are loath to state our sufferings, or for the keeping whereof, we are unwilling to hazard the loss of any thing] that it was apparent, they loved him so well, that they loved not their lives unto the death, and that Christ could require nothing of them, as a signification of their zeal for his interests, which they were not at a point to part with, & were not ready to give away: And he upon the other hand, to make it appear, that they could not serve the Lord for nothing, and to evidence his special complacency in such a zealous frame of spirit, did, not only extraordinarily support them under their trouble, so that they did not sink, even when they seemed to others, to be pressed out of measure, & beyond strength; but did manifest himself in a most familiar manner unto them, so that when they were almost at this, that they had not whereupon to lay their head, they had then free access, to lean it & lay it on his bosom: in a word, God did declare, that he thought nothing too great, nor too good for them, who gave themselves away so entirely to him: so that if the question were asked at God, whence is it, that there is so vast a difference, betwixt his dealing with his former witnesses, & these who now give some kind of testimony to his name?
And by the way (though it's neither far out of my way nor thine, nor eccentrick to my present purpose) let me say, that if the question were moved, how it cometh to pass, that he found so much, and other worthy sufferers also before him, that these things seem almost dreams, & incredible to us? truely (without speaking any thing of the ⟨image 5⟩absolut soveraignty of God, who may doe with his own what he will, and dispense as he pleaseth, both as to measure & time) the reason may seem to be very obvious: his, & their witnessbearing for Jesus Christ, did every way, & in all respects, exceed our's: They gave to God as Kings [though it was of his own they served him] their Testimonies, against the corruptions of their times, whither in King, or Parliament, or Churchmen, had so much of ministeriall faithfulness, so much of freedom, so much of grave & Gospel-becoming boldness in them, so much holy zeal, even for the least of these concernments of the Kingdom of Christ [upon which we are loath to state our sufferings, or for the keeping whereof, we are unwilling to hazard the loss of any thing] that it was apparent, they loved him so well, that they loved not their lives unto the death, and that Christ could require nothing of them, as a signification of their zeal for his interests, which they were not at a point to part with, & were not ready to give away: And he upon the other hand, to make it appear, that they could not serve the Lord for nothing, and to evidence his speciall complacency in such a zealous frame of spirit, did, not onely extraordinarily support them under their trouble, so that they did not sink, even when they seemed to others, to be pressed out of measure, & beyond strength; but did manifest himself in a most familiar manner unto them, so that when they were almost at this, that they had not whereupon to lay their head, they had then free accesse, to lean it & lay it on his bosome: in a word, God did declare, that he thought nothing too great, nor too good for them, who gave themselves away so intirely to him: so that if the question were asked at God, whence is it, that there is so vaste a difference, betwixt his dealing with his former witnesses, & these who now give some kinde of testimony to his name?
