and a sufficient support even in that case Our Religion were a very mean Institution if it would not bear a man up against the fears of death I shall to what hath been said above add some things to your farther consideration to encourage you to give up your life rather than to deny your Religion and wrong your Consciences And I. That it cannot be supposed that death can hurt a man If death have any evil belonging to it it is owing to our own folly It is our sin only that gives it a sting It is impossible it should hurt him that is sincerely good Socrates told the Athenians that they would rather hurt themselves than him by taking away his life and that for his Accusers he did not believe they could do him hurt he not thinking it reasonable to believe it in the power of evil men to hurt the good It is indeed in their power to kill it is not in their power to hurt them that are good That death can do us no hurt that hath had a good life gone before it The worst of men desire to die the death of the righteous Of all men those that are good have least cause to fear dying For they have placed their happiness beyond this world And death is to them unwelcom that live at ease here II. That it is very certain that many men have overcome the fear of death from a mean and low Principle compared with that of the Christian who suffers for righteousness sake Death I grant strikes a dread upon Mankind It is that which we commonly startle at It comes to take us apieces to remove us from our Friends and Familiars that for some time we have conversed with And hence it is that men generally fear death and decline it what they can But yet we know that many have overcom this fear of death some of them from a mean and others from an evil Principle Death is formidable and a good man is not quite rid of all the fear of death yet there are many considerations that make death seem desirable Revenge triumphs over it Love makes light of it Honour is ambitious of it fear of disgrace chooses it Sorrow runs after it it Fear prevents it A weak and foolish Passion a trifling and a faulty Principle reconciles men to death Some have thrown away their lives others have given them up many have parted with them upon trifling accounts and sometimes upon evil ones They have been contented to part with their lives from an evil Principle or from a trifling one How many have proved Martyrs to their Lusts How many to gratifie their Lust and their Revenge have brought upon themselves a lingring or a sudden death How many have fallen Sacrifices to their Luxury and Intemperance their Pride and Lust Pudeat semper tantum in vobis posse turpes causas nil posse pulcherrimas Petrarch And is it not a great shame that we should stick to do that from a good Principle which others do from a faulty one Is it not a shame that the Lusts of men should prevail more than the Laws of Christ And that men should make themselves miserable at that expence which they refuse to be at in order to their happiness There have been those who have died for a silly Woman for a point of Honour for their Fame and for their Country These things have prevailed with them to endure torments and devote themselves to destruction So much have these things prevailed with them Tanti vitream Quanti veram Margaritam Tertul. ad Martyr that their lives were not precious in their own eyes It is a great reproach to us if we refuse to suffer that for the sake of Christ and his Gospel which others have suffered for the sake of this World The Heathen could not but take notice of this speaking of death Senec. Ep. 4. Seest thou not says he upon what frivolous accounts it is contemned One hangs himself at the door of his Mistris Another throws himself headlong from the house top to avoid a churlish and unquiet Master Another stabs himself that he may prevent his return home Dost thou not think that vertue might have done that which an excess of fear hath done Shall a foolish Lust and an impotent Passion have more force than the sense of our duly and the well grounded hopes of eternal happiness We read in our Books of some that have sacrificed their lives to their Fame or thrown them away in compliance with the foolish customs of their Country or from a Principle of Superstition M. Anton. l. 5. se 14. It is a very astonishing thing says one of the Heathens that Ignorance and Ostentation should be more powerful than Wisdom We have a story in the Acts of our Church of a man in Queen Maries days who when he was put in mind to suffer for that truth which he had for some time professed replied that he could not burn Nor did he burn for his Religion But in the days of Queen Elizabeth this man's house was on fire and then to save his Goods he adventures into his house and he and his Goods were burnt in the same flames He that would not burn to save his Soul ventures into the fire to preserve his Goods And then he lost his Goods and his Life and it is to be feared his Soul also III. The good man does not want very considerations to perswade him to quit this present life for the sake of a better He is well assured that by thus losing his life he shall save it That he shall be assisted in his conflict and rewarded when he hath finished his course He is not left without a Comforter and he is assured of a plentiful Reward He knows in whom he hath believed and can commit the keeping of his Soul unto God as unto a faithful Creator 1 Pet. 4.19 He does but put off his flesh and knows that he shall be cloathed with life and immortality He does but part with an earthly Tabernacle for a building not made with hands And by his constant sufferings he glorifies God spreads his truth confirms his Servants and makes way for a greater glory to himself Do not then fear to follow your Lord and all those blessed Souls that have led the way When your Lord commands make no demur but follow him chearfully though it be to the place of skulls It is not worth your while to preserve your life with the loss of your innocence Gods favour is more than life and that will stand us in stead when this life shall be no more It is a madness to forfeit our eternal hopes that we may live here a little longer especially when our life will be but a plague and burden to us when we have purchased it with the loss of our innocence We shall find the horrours of a guilty mind more painful than the flames and much more lasting
yet I shall shew the reasonableness of it And to that purpose shall commend to your serious consideration the following particulars First Let us consider whose Law this is and we shall find that the Author of the Law does greatly recommend it to us How hard soever it may otherwise seem yet that it is the command of our Lord Jesus Christ that consideration is of great moment to reconcile us to it We ought not to think any thing unreasonable or hard which our Blessed Lord and dear Redeemer lays upon us For we are well assured of his great love and affection towards us He hath given us great proof that he loved us when he was content for our sakes not only to become a man but to die a shameful and painful death to bring us unto God Let us stay a while upon this consideration and meditate upon the unheard-of love of our Lord Jesus and we shall soon see great cause to think him a good Master even then when he does oblige us to die for his sake If our hearts be cold and chill if we find them dampt and sinking let us then meditate of our Lords love and that will be of great use to inflame them and give them spirit Does Jesus say that we must not fear them that kill the body that we must hate our own lives if we will be his Disciples Good is that word of our Dearest Lord will the pious Soul say Death shall be welcome when ever it comes and it will be not only our duty to die when our Lord would have us but our honour and great Priviledge to be thought worthy to die for him who was contented to die for us Alas this is but very little to what our Lord and Master hath done for us He was from everlasting the eternal Son of the Father He was happy and glorious and yet for our sakes he was content to stoop from Heaven to Earth from the happiness and glories above to the pain and contempt of this lower world He that was the brightness of his Fathers glory was willing to be eclipsed and obscured with our flesh and with our infirmities He that upheld all things by the word of his power was yet contented to be inclosed in the Womb of a Virgin to be wrapt up in swadling cloaths to lie in a Stable to be subject to his Creatures to be tempted by the Devil to be hungred and thirsty to be buffeted and hanged on a Tree that he might save lost Mankind He was at these pains for the helpless and for sinners for Caitiffs and Rebels for them who had dishonoured his Father and ruined themselves Here is a love without a Parallel a love that passeth knowledge a love that is stronger than death and that surpasseth the love of women Here are all the dimensions of love here is height and depth a length and breadth Jesus did that for his Enemies which rarely hath been done for the greatest Friends and Benefactors Greater love than this hath no man that he should lay down his life for his Friend This is the highest flight of friendship and we have but few examples of it Our Lords kindness rose higher by far He died for the ungodly for the weak and them that were without all hope Who can seriously think of this and not find himself constrained by the ove of Jesus to be willing to die for him It is an easie task that lies upon us to love him that hath first loved us and to die for him that died for us This is very reasonable and a most gentle command to lay down our life for him who first laid down his for us We see some Servants will hazard their lives for the sake of their Masters Loyal Subjects will not stick to shed their bloud in defence of their King and Country There are those would dare to die for a good man or for a faithful friend My Lord must needs be dearer to me than any of my Relatives or my fellow Creatures I must be very ungrateful if I forget his love But that which still does farther recommend this Law to us is this That our Saviour commands no more than what he himself did He would we should die in bearing witness to the truth It is fit we should do it and he led us the way He hath recommended this Precept to us not only by his Doctrine but by his Example also Indeed our Lord was silent when he was reproached and inconsistently accused but he was not so when he was adjured by the High Priest to tell him whether he were the Christ Mat. 26.63 64. the Son of God or not He witnessed a good Confession before Pontius Pilate and tells him To this end was I born Joh. 18.17 and for this cause came I into the world that I should bear witness unto the truth Our Lord sealed the truth with his own bloud and does not put his Followers upon that which he declined himself This Example of our Lord does give great force to his Law And it is very reasonable we should do what the great Captain of our Salvation hath done Every where we judge this very reasonable The Souldier thinks himself obliged to shew courage when he sees his General expose himself to the thickest of the danger And the Servant thinks himself well dealt with when his Master commands no more of him than what he is willing to do himself The Disciple is not above his Master nor the Servant above his Lord. That is not thought an hard Law which the Law-giver suffers himself to be concluded by 2. Let us consider the command it self and that is that we should rather part with this life than to deny our Lord and forfeit our hopes of a better life This may at first sight seem a very hard saying but when we draw near and consider it well we shall find it a very reasonable Law and that it is no objection against what our Lord hath said when he tells us that his yoke is easie and his burden light The truth is we disquiet our selves in vain and as our happiness is but phantastick and imaginary so is a great part of our misery also We make a false judgment of things and set a very unequal rate and price upon them And this we commonly do in the account we make of life and death For as we esteem of this life at a greater rate than we ought so we judge death to be a greater evil than indeed it is I desire that you would under this general head consider well the following particulars And 1. That barely to live is not in it self a thing of any vast moment It is no high Prerogative and unvaluable peculiar For the smallest Mite or Ante the vilest Worm or Serpent live as well as we When Marcellinus was sick all that were about him flattered him and said that which they thought would please him most Every man
and indifferent the loose and the profane Let us then be exhorted to ask and seek and knock Let us now fervently implore this Holy Comforter this Spirit of truth and power I need not tell you what great need we have of power from above We are weak Creatures full of our fears exposed to many evils and sufferings and need an help from above to confirm and strengthen us We know not how soon we may be called forth to suffer the extremest evils or may be stript and deprived of all our worldly Goods and Possessions We cannot tell how soon we may lie upon our dying beds when our Soul shall sit ready to take its flight from our trembling lips when our Flesh shall fail us and we shall be abandoned by our earthly comforts and supports Whither shall we go for comfort then What will support us under these trials but the sense of Gods love and the Joy of the Holy Ghost This Comfort will reconcile us to Prisons and to Poverty and to Death it self We shall then have hope even in Death it self Rom. 5.5 And such an hope as maketh not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us CHAP. VI. I Shall in the next place consider the Example of Christ and of holy men who have suffered the greatest evils which this world could inflict upon them And for the better speaking to this I shall First Take notice that the Holy Scripture calls upon us to reflect upon these Examples under our afflictions Secondly I shall give you a very short account of their sufferings Thirdly I shall shew you the great usefulness of these great examples unto us 1. I shall take notice that the holy Scripture calls upon us to reflect upon these examples under our afflictions The Author of the Epistle to the Hebrews gives us a large account of the sufferings of holy men And then subjoyns Chap. 11. Heb. 12.1 2. Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of Witnesses let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us and let us run with patience the Race that is set before us looking unto Jesus the Author and finisher of our faith Who for the joy that was set before him endured the Cross despising the shame c. He animates them by these great examples which they were therefore obliged to keep in their eye And they are at once put in mind to reflect upon the exemplary sufferings of holy men and of our blessed Saviour To the same purpose St. James exhorts those to whom he writes Jam. 5.10 11. Take my Brethren the Prophets who have spoken in the name of the Lord for an example of suffering affliction and of patience Ye have heard of the Patience of Job and have seen the end of the Lord. i. e. as ye have read or heard of the Patience of Job who lived many Ages before and probably suffered before the Law of Moses was given so ye have many of you seen how patiently our Lord Jesus suffered It was one end of our Lords sufferings that we might learn patience from his example 1 Pet. 2.21 For even hereunto were ye called because Christ also suffered for us leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps And indeed the holy Scripture is very large and very particular in giving us an account of the sufferings and of the patience of Christ and of holy men that we might learn to write after so fair a Copy and imitate them in patience and resignation to the Will of God which in them was so exemplary For whatsoever things were written afore time Rom. 15.4 were written for our learning that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope 2. I shall give you a very short account of their sufferings And First Of the sufferings of Jesus the Author and the finisher of our faith His whole life was little else than a continual suffering And he was a most unparallel'd example of Innocence and of suffering and not only of sufferings but of the greatest meekness and exemplary patience under them He was born in a Stable and died upon a Cross Born among Beasts and died among Malefactors He was persecuted as soon as he was born and when he was capable of doing no evil he was hunted after as a Malefactor His Persecution began from Herod an Idumaean it was carried on by the Jews his Countrymen and compleated by Pilate the Roman And though he hurt no man yet he was pursued by all His great Poverty did not protect him from Envy His profound Meekness did not preserve him from the Contradictions of Sinners And his known Innocence did not save him from the Sentence of Death His body was like one of ours He was as sensible of pain as we are And certain it is that his Enemies loaded it greatly What part of him was exempt His Head was Crowned with Thorns his Hands and Feet were pierced with Nailes his Side was goared with a Spear his Shoulders loaded with a Cross He was spit upon buffeted and scourged And at last hanged on a Tree without regard and pity His Soul was afflicted greatly Mat. 26.37 38. Mar. 14.33 He was sorrowful and heavy and that even to death He was sore amazed Luk. 22.44 and very heavy He was in an Agony and sweat as it were drops of bloud Psal 22.14 His heart was like Wax melted in the midst of of his Bowels At length he is forced to bear his Cross on that he is hanged there he bleeds and there he cries out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me But as he endured the Cross so he despised the shame For his death was ignominious as well as painful He died among Criminals and the death of the worst and vilest of men Thus did our Saviour suffer Thus entred he into his glory And all this he bore with invincible patience He did not want power to rescue himself and to punish his Enemies nor did he want the greatest provocation He was innocent and had lived an useful life But for all this he is not provoked against his Enemies nor does he complain against God For as he prays for his enemies so he resigns himself unto God Secondly For the sufferings of Holy men both before and since our Saviours death I must not undertake to give you an account It would fill some Volumes to be particular in this Argument We read of those before our Saviours sufferings of whom this world was not worthy that had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings Heb. 11.36 of bonds and imprisonments That were stoned and sawn asunder tempted and slain with the Sword that wandred about in Sheep-skins and Goat-skins being destitute afflictted tormented They wandred in Deserts and Mountains and were in Dens and Caves of the Earth And for the
as far as he is able And whatever his sin hath been he ought to confess it and to shame himself for it and to give all the possible proofs of a through and hearty and particular repentance as far as his time and ability will reach and he must to this purpose call in Gods help and implore his grace and mercy in Christ Jesus And then if afterward he give his body to be burnt as a farther token of his Contrition he will not lose his reward There is a fond opinion among the Jewish Writers that the death of a Criminal expiates for his Crimes But yet one of their wises Writers tells us Maimon H. Teshub c. 1. that neither the Sacrifice which the sinner brought nor the death which was inflicted on him did make expiation for him unless he did repent 5. They that now make this Objection ought to make the right Use of it That is they ought forthwith to set upon an holy life upon crucifying their lusts and killing their sins that so they may not be afraid of death in what form soever it shall present it self They ought to provide for sufferings and especially for death before it makes its approach unto them CHAP. X. I Shall now proceed to shew what preparations we ought to make against Sufferings and how we are to demean our selves under them We ought to consider before-hand that we may meet with great trials and exercises in our way to to heaven And it very well becomes us to provide against the worst of things And this is very reasonable because if we should not be called out to suffer for our Religion yet we shall be sure to die and it is our duty as well as our interest to provide for death And therefore what I have to offer cannot be unseasonable because it will serve to prepare us for our other sufferings and for the stroke of death though we should not be persecuted for righteousness sake And it is a foolish thing not to prepare for death in the time of our prosperity and our health I shall therefore recommend to you some particulars which will be of great Use to us to prepare us for our bearing all sort of afflictions and particularly tend to deliver us from the fear of violence and death it self And to that purpose 1. Make it your care to bear witness to the Truth by your lives and this will be a great preparation against all evils and even against death it self In this sense we may all be Martyrs though we do not shed our bloud For we may bear witness to the Truth by our life as well as by our death And the doing it by a good life is the best preparative to the other Martyrdom of bloud 1 Pet. 2.15 We may by well-doing as well as by suffering well put to silence the ignorance of foolish men If there be no Tyrant Cyprian de dupliei Martyria says one of the Ancients no Tormentor no Plunderer yet there will be Concupiscence giving us daily matter of Martyrdom Besides the evils of this mortal life that are common to the good and bad will afford us the Crown of Martyrdom if we bear them with alacrity and thanksgiving Who dares deny says he Abraham and Isaac and Job to be Martyrs What Racks did ever torment the body more than natural affection tortured the mind of that Patriarch when he in compliance with Gods Command was ready to offer up his Son his only and beloved Son in whom was the hope of Posterity What was wanting to the making Isaac a Martyr who without murmuring suffered himself to be bound and laid upon the wood Whose Martyrdom may we compare with the things which Job suffered The same Author does well observe that in that Catalogue of Saints and holy men Heb. 11. though there were but few of them died a violent death yet to let us see that we might be Martyrs by an exemplary life it is said of them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that by faith they obtained a good report To which I add Heb. 11.2 that they are all called Martyrs or Witnesses afterward Ch. 12.1 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 We shall have fair occasion to shew our Courage our Patience our Resignation and our Faith though we do not suffer upon a Wheel or at a Stake And he that bears all his other troubles well is in a great preparation to suffer death also Whereas those men that are impatient and peevish under every little sorrow and cross have much to do before they will be fit to endure the severest torments If then we would be able to endure a violent death for the sake of our Saviour let us set upon the practice of the hardest of his Precepts Let us cut off our right hands and pluck out our right Eyes part with our most beloved lusts and crucifie the desires of the flesh Let us mortifie our inordinate Anger destroy all wrath and bitterness all our covetous desires and sensualities Here is a great and difficult task before us if we do this death will not much astonish us We shall not be greatly afraid of death when we see our sins and lusts dead before us Those lusts which made death a formidable evil to us No man is so fearless of death as that man that is crucified to the world and hath mortified his inordinate desire of worldly things If in the whole course of our life we give up our selves to the Laws of Christ if we exercise our selves to patience and self-denial to meekness and long-suffering to Temperance and Chastity to contempt of the world and an heavenly mind we shall find it a very easie task when we shall be required to resign up our mortal life for the sake of our Lord Jesus He that obeys Christ in all his holy and strictest Precepts will be in great readiness and preparation of mind to lay down his life for him He that dares kill his Lusts and crucifie the old man will not think much to resign this mortal life that he may be cloathed with Immortality When one bid Socrates prepare for his trial He asked him whether he thought he had not done that all his life-time But then again he asked Socrates 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Arrian Epict. l. 2. c. 2. what preparation he had made He told him that he had done what was in his power to do He asked him How Socrates told him he had never done an unjust action publickly or privately If we would prepare for sufferings and for death let us do it by a good life 1 Pet. 4.19 and commit the keeping of our souls to God in well-doing 2. Entertain your selves with the thoughts of troubles and the frequent thoughts of death before they come nigh you It is of great moment that we be not suprized by the evils which we meet withal It is a great astonishment to us to meet with evils which
we thought not of before He is a very miserable man indeed who promised himself pleasure and meets with sorrow and so is he that meets with some misery that he never expected It is a great piece of wisdom to suppose the worst which may happen Death does greatly astonish the man that thought of living long and pleasantly of going to such a City and buying and selling and getting gain 1 Pet. 4.12 The Apostle would not have them to whom he writes look upon the fiery trial as some strange thing If we would bear our troubles let us expect them that when they come we may not be surprized When we have often thought of them before we shall in great measure despise them whereas if we be surprized we shall be astonished with a small evil Much of our misery arises from our inconsideration Men that go to Sea ought not to promise themselves a Calm and a good wind They ought to suppose they may meet with Tempests and contrary Winds Why should we suppose our selves exempt from the common condition of mankind We are born to troubles and must certainly die and may die a violent death This we ought to think of frequently If we bury our friend We knew he was mortal before and we never expected immortality from a mortal Creature You lose your goods perhaps But you should have considered that those external things were subject to this loss That they were things which Moth might corrupt or Thieves might steal It will not become a wise man in these cases to say that he did not think that such things could have hapned to him For whatever hath hapned to another may also happen to me And I may as well admire that what is brittle should break or what is combustible should burn as that what is mortal should die or what is without me should be taken from me We should prevent much of our trouble if we would but expect it before hand and look for it And to think very often and seriously of death would deliver us in great measure from the fears and terrours of it Familiarity even in this sense breeds contempt The Fox in the Fable was greatly afraid when he first saw a Lion but less afraid the second time and after that was so far from fear that he came near him and conversed with him The frequent thoughts of death will rid us of much of our fears of it And it must needs be so because they tend very much to prepare and dispose us for it For these thoughts are apt to awaken in us a care to live well and that is a mean to deliver us from our slavish fears It was wisely said by the Son of Syrach Ecclus. 7.36 Whatsoever thou takest in hand remember the end and thou shalt never do amiss The due consideration of our death is one of those things which an Ancient Jew tells us will keep men from transgression Pirke Avoth c. 3. m. 1. To think of death is a great instrument of Vertue and true Wisdom It will help to slake our lusts bridle our desires of wealth and honour and stop our course of sinning It will serve to quicken our devotions to wean us from this life and to excite us to well-doing It is of great moment towards our resisting temptations which now gain upon us and the putting us upon the careful spending the several portions of our time Epictet Enchir. c. 28. Let death be always before thine eyes says the Heathen and thou wilt not mind any low or mean thing nor greatly desire any thing III. Use your selves to labour to a severe course of life Do not indulge your appetite and your sloth but give up your selves to great diligence and industry He that would endure the greatest pain and torment must harden and prepare himself by degrees and inure himself to bear the Yoak betimes A soft and sensual life will render us very unfit for a fiery trial And he that knows not how to deny his licentious appetite what it at any time craves will be very unfit to be a Martyr It will well become us to keep under our bodies and to withdraw from them some of those Supplies which it craves that we may be the better prepared to endure greater hardships Let us learn to contemn sensual pleasures and to deprive our selves of some of our liberties that we may the more patiently bear the being totally deprived Let us strip our selves of some of our conveniencies of life and we shall the more patiently bear the being stripped of all the rest Miles supervacuo labore lassatur ut sufficere necessario possit Sen. Ep. 18. They that run in Races were wont to exercise before And the Souldier is trained and used to labour and weariness before he comes to the battel They did this that they might be able to overcome when they were put to the trial They that indulge themselves in a delicate and soft life will be very unfit for great severities Woe be to them that are at ease in Zion We shall be afraid of dying if we give up our selves to a sensual life Sensual pleasures do much indispose us for the business of this as well as for the bliss of a future life Luke 21.34 Take heed to your selves lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and cares of this life and so that day come upon you unawares Death and sufferings will be a great surprize and terrour to all them that have lived at ease Oh death Ecclus. 41.1 how bitter is the remembrance of thee to a man that liveth at rest in his possessions IV. Make it now your constant care to resign up your Will to the Will of God Let this be your daily exercise as it is your Prayer By this means you will be wonted to that Lesson which makes way for a patient suffering even death it self whenever it shall please God to call us to it You will be very unfit to resign your selves up to death it self if you have not formerly made it your great care to bring your own Wills to a compliance with the Will of God We are never safe till it is thus with us and when ever we are arrived to this we are secure and sufficiently prepared for all events of things Nothing now will be able to make us miserable because nothing can possibly befall us against our wills For as nothing can make us happy but God so nothing can make us miserable but our own Will and that does never hurt us but when it runs Counter to the Will of God This is the way to peace and rest to part with our own Will and to suffer it to be guided and governed by the Divine If it be thus with us we shall be quiet and still under every Calamity safe under every stroke and fitted for what ever may happen to us Thus it was with our
the Atheist hath to Wit who is for all his pretences but a Fool. â—titer ille facit qâ—i miser esse potest He is a man of true courage that can endure the greatest misery For the following Discourse I am very sensible of its defects and know very well that the Argument required a more skilful hand But be it as it will I have the satisfaction of a sincere intention of doing well And as I bless God I am competently weaned from popular applause so I do not find my self much concerned at the censures of uncharitable men And if I have done any thing amiss in publishing the following Papers though I could justly divide the blame between my self and some other person who is much wiser yet I shall be content to bear it all my self I am very well assured in the mean time that the several grounds towards our support laid down in the following Discourse are such as our Religion hath suggested and such as are only able to bear us up But the Reader is to be put in mind thet it is equally his interest and his duty to dispose himself for all events of things by an useful and holy life Godliness is accompanied with unspeakable advantages and he that makes Religion his care and his delight will find Joy and Peace which the world knows not of and grace to help in the time of need As we grow in grace our fears will abate and as we make Progressions in true piety so will our strength and courage increase at the same time If we spend much time in abstractions from the world in subduing our irregular desires and in a faithful discharge of our duty we shall be in great measure delivered from the slavish fear of death whatever shape or form it shall appear in If our disquiet and trouble were traced to its original it would be found that most of it would flow from the neglect of our duty And we can never take a better course to rid our selves of our uneasiness and our fears than by a diligent betaking our selves to our neglected duty Who is he that will harm us if we be followers of that which is good I have nothing farther to request of the Pious Reader than that he would pray for him that hath made these Papers publick and especially that he may succeed in his endeavours of doing good to the Souls committed to his charge These following are the greater though not the only faults of the Press which are not to be imputed to the Author he not having a sight of the Sheets as they were wrought off PAge 29. line 10. read pray for p. 77. l. 1. r. yet in l. 5. r. pursue p. 82. l. 5. r. Theocrasie p. 91. line the last r. it is p. 93. l. 16. r. assures us p. 100. l. 20. blot out death p. 103. l. 9. r. shall this p. 110. l. 9. r. this is p. 113. l. 19. blot out it p. 177. l. 18. blot out And. p. 196. r. a good man p. 201. l. 12. r. very great p. 222. l. 13. r. they crave CHAPTER I. THough Christian Religion will not allow any of its followers to do any injury nor yet to return or revenge any yet it directs and it enables them to bear them It does not keep off the affliction but yet it gives them strength to bear it The sincere Christian is liable to persecution and violence as well as any other man but then his Religion affords him supports beyond any Philosophy or Institution whatsoever His Religion does not protect him from reproach and from pain from rude usage and a violent death But then it secures him from sinking under his burden and from receiving any hurt from it If is my intention in the following discourse to represent the aids and supports that our Religion does afford to them that are afflicted and persecuted for righteousness sake And this I shall do for the sake of those who are prone to be amazed and astonished at those evils which they suppose they may be exercised withal Amongst which because a violent death is one of the most astonishing I shall therefore have a particular respect unto that and it will be very well worth our while to apply our selves to the serious consideration of those things which will be of use to us against so great an evil But before I come particularly to consider the aids which our Religion affords against the greatest evils of this world I shall premise some things for the better making way to my following discourse And since it is here supposed that good men are exposed to severe afflictions and violent death as well as other men I shall before I go any farther First consider how the sufferings of Holy and good men in this world are reconcileable to the care and good Providence of God For some men may hence be tempted to think that there is either no God at all or that he does not concern himself in the government of the world when the most God-like and best of men are observed to meet with the worst of things We are obliged by our Religion to believe the particular care and Providence of God He that denies this hath advanced far towards Atheism than which there cannot be a more foolish or uncomfortable belief we shall soon question the being when once we do deny the Providence of God Mihi enim qui nihil agit esse omnino non videtur Cicero de Natur. deorum l. 2. The very heathen could say that To him He that doth nothing seemed not to be at all The denial of Gods care and Providence subverts all Piety and true Religion This puts a bar to all vertue and real Godliness He that comes to God must believe not only that he is but that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him Were it not for this belief I do not see how there could be any such thing as a pious man For he that doth deny Gods care and government destroys all the motives to and foundations of true Piety Were it not for this belief men would want a ground for their devotion and their patient suffering of persecutions for righteousness sake We should have small encouragement to pray to Him that does not hear and regard us we shall return him cold thanks for the mercies we enjoy when we do not believe they came from him And shall be tempted quickly to forget him whom we do not think concerned in any of our affairs It is not likely we should support with courage under our evils when once we judge that God concerns not himself in what passeth here below This opinion will soon Cramp us it will enfeeble and dispirit us and we shall not abound in the work of the Lord unless we first be-believe that our labour shall not be in vain in the Lord. This world is now an uncomfortable place but then it would scarce be
a ditch It is the Crime not the kind of death that makes death dishonourable He falls well whatever hand pull him down that falls in a good cause Our Lord died upon a Cross His was a painful and the most shameful death It was the punishment of Slaves and the most infamous Criminals Now it is said of our Lord Heb. 12.2 that he endured the Cross despising the shame The pain was very afflictive to his flesh but yet such was his love that he endured that But then his death was as shameful as his Enemies could have devised but the shame our Lord despised 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 M. Antonin l. 7. 2.23 And sure if our Lord did this for us well may we do it for him Well may we glory in that Cross which our Lord hath born But then for the pain of a violent death we shall not need much to disquiet our selves we affright our selves without cause and we do disquiet our selves in vain We think of Racks and Wheels of fire and faggot when we think of our Enemies from whom we expect no mercy But it is certain that we often torment our selves with evils that shall never overtake us But yet we will suppose that we meet with great pain What then This pain will be tolerable or not If it be tolerable we may endure it if not we shall not be long troubled with it That will end or we shall We cannot last long under extreme pain Besides it is not unlikely but a disease may put us to sharper and longer pains than a Tyrant will ever do A Calenture may be more troublesom to us than fire and faggot and the flames of a Fever may scorch us more severely than other flames And they that have felt the extremity of the Gout and Stone will easily grant that it is a favour to die by the Sword of a Tyrant Quid refert in Equuleum an in lectulum torquendus ascenderis Petrarch Arrian Epictet l. 2. c. 6. We do not know but we may be tortured on our Beds and what great matter is it whether we be exercised upon a Bed or upon a Wheel It is very likely that a Tyrant will sooner release us than a disease What needest thou care says the heathen Philosopher what way thou goest into another World They are alike But yet if thou art willing to know the truth that is the shortest which a Tyrant sends Never was any Tyrant six months in killing any man A Fever hath often detained men a whole year What is it then that we fear Is it the Sword of an Enemy But are we sure we shall die an easier death Perhaps this Sword may may rescue us from greater pains and miseries Arrian l. 4. c. 7. When once I had learnt says the same Philosopher that he that is born must also die I am indifferent whether I die by a Fever or the fall of a Tile or I be killed by a Souldier But if I must compare I know that a Souldier will destroy me with the least pain It is very inconsiderable since we must die after what manner we do it And if there be any difference perhaps this way of dying by a Tyrant may be the gentler 4. That the life which we part with when we die for our Reliligion is not worth the keeping upon those terms upon which alone we have the liberty to preserve it Life I grant is a very valuable thing Especially the life of a man But let us consider a while what that is that makes it so It is not because it gives us the opportunity of eating and drinking and sporting our selves in the World This is the life of a Brute and not the life of a man much less of a worshipper of God But our life is desirable as it relates to a better life and it serves the purposes of Eternity They are the causes or ends of life which make it desirable So long as they continue life is not only a blessing but a most unspeakable one The great ends of life are the service of God and doing good to one another in order to a future glory and immortality It is here we lay a foundation for a future bliss and happiness This life is the Stage on which we act our parts well This is the state of trial and this life is very valuable considered with its reference and subordination to that glory which we expect hereafter We know there is a reward for the righteous and out of respect to that it is that we strive to abound in all the fruits of righteousness and perfect holiness in the fear of God Whiles our life serves so great an end it is worth the preserving but without this it is nothing worth For barely to live is not the happiness and perfection of a man If then it come to this that we must lose our life or prostitute our Consciences and deny the faith our life is not worth the keeping upon these hard terms For when the end of life is gone what is life it self but a burden and reproach to him that hath it In other things we judge thus We value things by their end and usefulness And when they are rendred unfit for their end we value them not any longer Who regards any thing any farther than as it answers its end Who regards an unfruitful and dry Vine or Fig-tree Who values adulterate Coin or useless Beasts It is the end and usefulness of things that sets a rate and price upon them We reject those things that are useless as we do Salt that hath lost its savour But nothing is more vile and contemptible than our life when it is deprived of its end A man that hath Shipwracked his Faith and prostituted his Conscience to save his goods and his life is of all Creatures in this lower world the most deplorably miserable He lives indeed but he is an uneasie burden to himself and a cumber to the Earth He lives but his life is nothing worth when he is bereft of his integrity and hath forfeited his future hopes Life is not worth any mans keeping upon such terms as these are Plat. Ap. Socr. Socrates told the Athenians that if they would offer him his life upon condition that he should no longer Philosophize he would thank them indeed but not accept of life upon those terms And adds that he would rather obey God than them Hence it was that the first Christians would rather die than do that which was evil And some of the honester Heathens did thus also Arrian Epictet l. 1. c. 8. Priscus Helvidius was a Senator of Rome and considered the duty of his place The Emperour sent to him and forbid him to come into the Senate Priscus told him It was in his power to remove him from being a Senator till that was done he would go into the Senate Then the Emperour commanded him if went into the Senate to
hold his peace But Priscus told him that he would speak what he thought was just and right But Priscus added If you say you will kill me when did I affirm that I was immortal Do you your part I will do mine It is your part to kill It is mine to die undauntedly It is your part to banish it is mine to go away without grief Our life is worth preserving but not with the loss of our integrity It is its end and its relation to a future state that gives it value 3. Let us consider the ground or reason of this command of our Lord. The truth is our Lords will in this case ought to be ground enough to us It should be enough that our Lord hath said it it will not become us to dispute our Saviours Law But yet our Saviour deals with us with great condescension he does not govern us after an arbitrary manner His Laws are founded upon Justice and do carry with them a great conviction that they are just and reasonable And as it is thus every where else so it is in the matter that lies before us Our Lord requires us to part with our lives but it is upon a good account that he requires it And we cannot but judge this very reasonable when it is considered that when our Lord requires this he does it only then when by our obedience we are assured to avoid a greater evil than what we suffer and to attain a greater good than we forego By our obedience to this Law we are sure to avoid a greater evil than that is which we suffer And this will be evident if we will but take the pains to consider what it is we suffer and what evils we avoid by it For our suffering it can amount to no more than the loss of this present life This is the utmost that we can suffer No force or malice can reach any farther than this comes to Let us make the most of it it will not be much we lose And whatever evil the loss of this life is yet it holds no proportion at all to the evils which by this means we avoid And they are these two 1. We avoid the horrors and clamours of an accusing Conscience Say that we decline our suffering and deny our Religion that to avoid death we wrong our Conscience Do not think your trouble is now at an end when you have taken this course and that you shall live pleasant days for the future This is but as if a man did flee from a Lion Amos 5.19 and a Bear met him Or went into the house and leaned his hand on the Wall and a Serpent bit him Alas poor man thou dost but run from one evil into another and which is the saddest from the least into the greatest From bodily pain into the horrors of a guilty mind And sure I am there is no compare between the one and the other There is no sorrow like that of a wounded Spirit Others may be avoided or they may be cured they may be diverted and they have been born But a wounded spirit who can bear This is an evil from within a perpetual disquiet at home The other evils are but foreign and from without There is no plague like that of the heart All other strokes they do but batter the out-works this throws down the main Fort. Greater madness cannot be than to wrong our Consciences that we may save our lives To wound our Souls that we may keep our Skin intire This is to regard the Garment more than we do what it covers What is it that bewitches us Can we meet with any evil in this world to be compared with the guilt and horrors of our own minds Will any thing comfort us when our own minds upbraid us Will any thing be able to hold us up when our hearts sink within us Surely all other sorrows are very trifling things to this one sorrow of a guilty and unawakened mind For we find that it is this that makes our other sorrows sharp and poinant it is this that gives them a keen edge and makes them pierce deep Guilt renders even our outward Crosses and sorrows double It is this that presses and weighs us down under our other burdens We run into a greater evil than we run from when to escape a suffering we commit a sin We do but divert the blow from our body and receive the deadly stroke upon our souls For sure I am that Fire and Faggot Wheels and Gibbets all the Instruments of cruelty and death are very gentle Evils to the horrors and lashes of a guilty and accusing Conscience But then 2. We avoid by this means an eternal and unspeakable misery The flames of Hell I mean which opens its mouth to receive those profane sinners that choose that everlasting burning before the sufferings of this present life What proportion is there now between a Temporal and an Eternal death Between the sorrows of this present time and those everlasting sorrows Is there any burning to be compared to that fire which never goes out Any Dungeon or Prison fit to be compared with those chains of darkness Does not that worm that never dies speak infinite more terror than any Crâ—â—â—â— or Gibbet any pain or torment here below Can we conceive what it is to die eternally Is there any evil like unto this Is any sentence so formidable as that of Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels Mat. 25.41 Certainly the parting of the soul from the body is but a small thing to the parting of the soul from God the fountain of its being and happiness We look upon death as formidable which strips us of our worldly properties divides us from this body and from this world but what is it then to be eternally separated from our God To depart from God to depart with a Curse to depart into everlasting fire to depart into the portion of Devils and apostate Fiends is more than can be expressed in time My God my God why dost thou part from me Was such a grief as cannot be The Son of God cried out when he was for a while deprived of a sense of Gods favour when he was in that agony which he underwent upon our score But who can tell nay who can think how sad this will be when God will be merciful to a man no more When we die for our Religion it is that we may not die eternally When we lose our life here it is that we may not die the second death Having premised these things I shall now proceed to lay before you the helps and assistances that our Religion does afford us against the severest trials that we shall meet with in our Christian Course and Warfare CHAP. III. FIrst Our Religion lays before us the hope of eternal life for our support under the sufferings and calamities of this short life Rejoyce says
miseries with which holy men have been persecuted Apostles and Prophets wise and holy men men of whom this World was not worthy have been sawn asunder stretched upon the Rack tormented on the Wheel exposed upon Gibbets torn apieces by violence rosted upon the fire and taken off by death that hath been not only violent but merciless Now these trials require a mighty aid and no less than an heavenly and a divine assistance It is an easie thing for us to despise the danger that is at a distance To speak big words when we know the Enemy is afar off To profess that we will rather die for Jesus than we will deny him Our Lord hath many such forward Disciples as these who give him their word that they will not forsake him and yet for all their good words they deny him in a time of danger And indeed so it is that we shall then need a great assistance Nor can we tell how soon we may be put to the trial It is much for our Interest to discern whence our strength is to be expected The Holy Spirit is able to strengthen us to undergo undantedly all these evils And no aid less than that of the Holy Spirit would be sufficient It must be a power from above an help from God that can enable us to stand up against all the Wit and Malice the Craft and the Cruelty of men and Devils Indeed we are very apt to despond and our hearts fail within us We fear we shall never hold out under great pains and torments and we do much disquiet our selves about it But here is an help at hand and we shall find that he that is in us is greater than he that is in the world And this will appear if we consider the following particulars 1. That this Spirit is a Spirit of power and that power is Divine also The Holy Scriptures give us a large and very particular account of this matter and therein we have a full assurance that by the help of this heavenly aid we may be able to do more than we can think He that hath this Spirit of God is endued with a mighty power from above a power that is sufficient against all the powers of darkness When the Virgin asked the Angel who had told her she should conceive and bring forth a Son How this be seeing I know not a man Luk. 1.35 We find what answer he made viz. The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee and then it follows Ver. 37. For with God nothing shall be unpossible The Holy Spirit is called the finger of God Luk. 11.20 And the great and mighty works which Jesus and his followers did were wrought by this Holy Spirit of God And these works are an irrefragable proof of the mighty power of the Spirit of God To this purpose we read of the demonstration of the Spirit 1 Cor. 2.4 and of power And where in one place St. Act. 6.5 8. Stephen is said to be full of the Holy Ghost in the other place he is said to be full of Power He that receives the Spirit receives Power 2 Tim. 1.7 God hath not given us the Spirit of fear but of Power St. Peter says 1 Pet. 3.18 That Christ was put to death in the flesh but quickened by the Spirit St. Paul expresseth the same truth in other words and that Variety confirms the truth of what I am now asserting St. Paul says That he was crucified through weakness 2 Cor. 13.4 yet he liveth by the power of God Here can be no defect of Power then where the Holy Spirit is The mighty works wrought by this divine Spirit sufficiently declare that no Power is wanting where he does assist And therefore why should we distrust and despond when we have the promise of this Power from on high We shall not need to fear even death it self if we be possessed of this heavenly help Rom. 8.11 If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you We have just cause to distrust our selves indeed and we may well suppose that we cannot be able to stand upright but what shall be too hard for us when we have received that Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead Well may God lay on us what he thinks fit when he thus assisteth us with his Divine Spirit 2. This Holy Spirit is promised to this end to help us in these straits and necessities Luk. 12.11 12. And when they bring you into the Synagogues and unto Magistrates and Powers take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer or what ye shall say For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say It is enough and we ought to think it so that we have this assistance when we need it and are to use it And the Apostle tells us that we are happy even then when we are judged most miserable by the World 1 Pet. 4.14 when we are reproached for Christs sake because the Spirit of God and of glory resteth on us God hath provided well for us under the Gospel which is the ministration of the Spirit that he has promised a more than ordinary assistance in cases that are extraordinary 3. Besides we have sufficient proof that this heavenly assistance hath not been wanting to others in these difficulties We have to this purpose very great examples of those that were assisted by this holy Spirit in all their sufferings and persecutions They were by the Holy Ghost enabled under all that pain and suffering which they endured to glorifie God in the day of Visitation And whereas before they were weak and feeble as other men had the same fears and despondencies which other men are importuned with yet when they were assisted by this good Spirit of God they were full of Courage and undaunted amidst the severest trials which they underwent We know that St. Peter before the descent of the Holy Ghost was so fearful that he denied his Master when he was questioned by a silly maid But after the Holy Ghost descended he was bold as a Lion and durst confess him before all the House of Israel Acts 2.36 Now those men that were ready to forsake their Lord before they do not only own him publickly but they departed from the presence of the Council Act. 5.41 rejoycing that they were counted worthâ— to suffer shame for his name Nor was this Divine and supernatural assistance a Peculiar belonging to the Apostles and first Preachers of Christianity nor was it limited to those early days of Christianity It was continued in the Church of Christ and does still continue according to the Promise of our Lord and Saviour Joh. 14.16 And hence it came to pass
fit for that blessed immortality which is brought to light through the Gospel The particular care and Providence of God is another very powerful Argument to quiet and ease our minds under all events oâ— things This Doctrine the holy Scripture does not only teach buâ— directs us to the right use and application of it to our selves and very frequently calls upon us to make the right use of it Hencâ— it is that we are so frequently exhorted to be careful for nothing tâ— trust in God to cast our care and our burden upon him To acknowledge him in all our ways And wâ—â— are also frequently called off from all self-confidence or trust in any Creature whatsoever We are warned not to trust to our own Wisdomâ— our Riches our Allies and Worldly assistances And the holy Scripture does upon all occasions expose the Vanity of those men whâ— trust in any thing but God and it represents upon all occasions how inconsiderable the best of the Creatures are Again The Promise of the Holy Spirit is another great support to us and a strong consolation under the sorrows and difficulties of this mortal life Now the holy Scripture does not only contain such a Promise but also puts us upon that course in which we shall not fail to receive the comforts and assistances of this divine Spirit We are assured that God will give his holy Spirit to them that ask him and the holy Scripture which gives us this assurance does also with great vehemency put us upon begging of God this heavenly assistance It puts us upon asking upon seeking and knocking upon all Prayer and Supplication It also puts us upon purity of heart that we may be disposed to receive this Holy Spirit and warns us that we do not by our lusts and foolish practices grieve or quench this holy Spirit of God And now if we be perswaded to follow this advice we shall not fail of help and of comfort and of peace and joy that passeth understanding We shall be able to bear up under the greatest sorrows and pressures of this lower world Psal 23.4 Yea though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we shall fear no evil But then it becomes us at all times to implore this Spirit of God and to pray with the Psalmist Psal 50.10 11 12. Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a right Spirit within me Cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy holy Spirit from me Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation and uphold me with thy free Spirit The example of Christ and holy men who have suffered for the truth are not barely laid before us in the Scripture but we are also directed in our afflictions to keep our eye upon these great examples and if we do that we shall be greatly encouraged to persevere in our Christian course and tread in the steps of those glorious examples The Disciple is not above his Master and we shall find it no hard thing to suffer if we consider whose Servants we are If they did such things to the green tree why should we think much that men should do so also to the dry Hence it is that the Holy Scripture puts us upon looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of the Faith which we profess and upon considering the Examples of the Prophets who have spoken in the name of the Lord and have been very exemplary for suffering and affliction and for patience Again The intercession of the Son of God is a most comfortable Doctrine of the Scripture But it does not only teach us this but directs us also to the use of it For the holy Scripture does now send us to God by Jesus Christ and puts us upon going to the throne of grace with a becoming boldness and assurance that we shall now be accepted through him who died for us and ever lives to make Intercession for those who come unto God by him III. The holy Scriptures tend very much to our comfort under all our sorrows as they are the instrument of conveyance of the greatest blessings to us They are Gods act and deed and on Gods part a great assurance to us of those blessings which are only able to make us happy and are able to make us so in spight of all the miseries that can befall us in this present life The Scriptures are not only to be considered as a Map and draught of our Inheritance which we hope for but as a Testament and declared Will which give us a right and title to and consequently a full assurance that we shall indeed enjoy those things which we find presented to us there They do not only lay them before us but they are by these divine Writings made over to us We are by our blessed Saviour no more Servants but Sons Gal. 4.7 and if we be Sons we are also Heirs of God through Christ But then the holy Scriptures are the Deeds and Conveyances of this Estate And as they are so they tend greatly to our comfort and support under the afflictions of this life and in the Midst of them we may now justly esteem our selves happy as having so full an assurance of a future inheritance Our Deeds and Writings for our worldly Estate we value greatly because they shew our Title and our Right and therefore we preserve them with great care and please our selves that they are good and well attested It is no little blessing and ought to be no small comfort to us that we have the holy Scriptures which are a declaration of Gods favour and good will towards us It was the great Priviledge of the Jews that God had given them his Law He shewed his word unto Jacob Psal 147.19 20. his Statutes and his Judgments unto Israel He had not dealt so with any Nation and for his Judgments they have not known them The Apostle reckons it a Priviledge which the Jew enjoyed above the rest of the world that they had Gods Law among them Rom. 3.1 2. What advantage then hath the Jew Or what profit is there of Circumcision Much every way chiefly because that unto them were committed the Oracles of God This one thing did very much exalt the Jewish People above their Neighbours And their Law gave them their Title to their Country and was the Instrument of Conveyance of their Inheritance to them And hence we find their Law is sometime called their Inheritance Dent. 33.4 Moses commanded us a Law even the Inheritance of the Congregation of Jacob. Indeed their Law was their Charter and Instrument that contained their Title which they had to their Possessions And the Land which they possessed was a Type of Heaven Heb. 10.1 and their Law and their Service was a shadow of good things to come But thanks be to God the case is well mended with us now We have the substance clearly revealed of which they had the shadow
also Alas we do but run our selves into eternal horrors to avoid a short affliction There is a Worm that dies not and a Fire that goes not our If we suffer for righteousness sake happy are we We shall not want the supports of the Spirit the Ministry of Angels the powerlul Intercession of the Son of God the peace and quiet of our own minds and shall in a little time be received into unspeakable Joy In the mean time it is but little we lose a short life a strait and uncertain one That which was always burdensom full of care and uneasie through hope and fear of what was to come We lose our life indeed But alas What is that It is but a vapour and a dream That which we could not long have kept A disease a Tile from an house a fall from a Horse a thrust of an Enemy the smallest matter might have taken it away the next moment We lose our life But we lose it honourably and so we cannot properly be said to lose it We die for Christ that died for us For the sake of him who thought nothing too much for us For the best person that ever appeared in humane nature and one that hath deserved the best of us We die But it is for our greatest Friend for our Lord and King For him that is at Gods right hand and gone thither to prepare a place for us We die But it is that we may live for ever and we do but exchange our mortal life for glory and immortality On the other hand suppose we should draw back and to save our lives wrong our Consciences What shall we gain by this We shall lives a while longer enjoy our Preferments and our outward Comforts But alas Whither shall we cause our shame to go When we have out-lived our Innocence prostituted our Conscience and made ship wrack of our Faith what good will our life do us It only keeps our bodies from putrefaction and respits a little our eternal misery our joy and our strength is gone when we have denied the Faith and now we are justly detested by God and good men and are but a burden and terror to our selves And as we are uneasie to our selves now so when death approaches us for we shall not long stave it off then our unspeakable misery begins Then death will be more terrible to us than ever it was before and yet we must submit our necks whether we are willing or not Object But some will object perhaps that they have lived at a trifling rate and they do therefore much doubt of their future state And though they be assured of the goodness of their cause and are not much afraid of death yet they fear something beyond death because they have not lived so exactly as they ought Such men as these are in a strait like that of the Israelites who were placed between the persecuting Egyptians and the Red Sea and will be tempted rather to return into Egypt than adventure themselves upon the violent floud of waters Now in answer to this Objection I shall desire them that make it to consider the following particulars I. That by declining to suffer in this case they do but render their Salvation the more hazardous and doubtful so far are they from securing themselves and their main concern For they run into a known sin and consequently hazard their Salvation for which they pretend at the same time to be sollicitous There is no doubt but such a man may flee from the Persecution if he can but it can never be safe for him to renounce his Religion and deny his Saviour before men We allow sick people when their case is doubtful some things which we do not advise them to but no man in his wits will let them drink Poyson or take in any thing that commonly destroys the life of a man Our Religion does not allow us to do evil that good may come And a certain sin cannot tend to the securing but does always and directly tend to the destruction of our Souls It is certain what ever pretence we make we have no regard as we ought to have for our Souls when we willingly commit a sin against God For by committing a known sin we do but run into that evil which we pretend we fear and would decline 2. And therefore I add that we ought to suffer and commit our selves unto God notwithstanding the doubt and fear we are under For this is certainly our duty and no matter of question and therefore we ought not to demur Our duty is plain and our doubt arises not from what we are to do but from the effects of what we have done We cannot give a better testimony of our sincere repentance for what hath been done amiss than by giving our selves up to the will of God Whereas by declining to suffer and choosing to sin we withdraw our selves from Gods protection and proclaim our selves not only sinners but Impenitents also And it is a sign that we are not much concerned for our former sins when we dare add to their number so great and hainous an one Whereas on the other hand when we give up our lives to God notwithstanding our fears and doubts of our future state we give the greatest demonstration of our sincere repentance for our sins past and take a direct course to obtain our pardon and remission In this case to give up our lives is the greatest expression of a sincere repentance and of a stedfast faith in God It is a great wisdom in us in this case to choose to fall into the hands of that God whose mercies are above all his works And we can never consult better for ourselves than by doing our duty whatever pain or loss it do expose us to 3. That among the Ancient Writers of the Church we have a very favourable opinion relating to this matter And it was this Aug. de Civitat Dei l. 13. c. 7. that Martyrdom was a kind of Baptism by which remission of sins was obtained and which did supersede the indispensable necessity of that Sacrament serving in the room and stead of it This St. Id. de Eccles Austin reckons among the opinions of the Church I shall not examine the grounds and foundations of this opinion but this I shall say that as it was a general opinion among the Ancients who notwithstanding maintained the necessity of an holy life so it does as it is laid down by the Father above-named deserve at least a favourable regard especially since he grounds it upon that promise of our Saviour Mat. 10.32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven 4. It is very advisable that he that hath done amiss should by all the ways possible testifie the sincerity of his Repentance If his sins have been against his Neighbour he ought to be reconciled and to make restitution
a thief or as an evil doer or as a busie-body in other mens matters It is the cause not the suffering which makes the Martyr We are happy if we suffer for righteousness sake Rebellion and Treason against our Prince cannot make men Saints and Martyrs These men are evil doers whatever ever tokens of fortitude they seem to shew I now proceed to shew how we ought to demean our selves under our sufferings And that you may take in the following particulars which concern us as we stand related to God to our Neighbour and to our selves And I. As to God whose hand we must look at we must suffer without murmuring and repining We must entirely resign up our selves unto God and imitate our blessed Saviour when he said Not my will but thy will be done Our Lord went like a Sheep to the slaughter he opened not his mouth It becomes us to refer all to Gods wisdom and disposal not to choose the kind and form of our sufferings but to leave all that to him and depend intirely upon him It is the Lord we ought to say let him do what is good in his own eyes II. As to our Neighbour and especially those who are the instruments of our sufferings we are to shew the greatest meekness and charity In this our Saviour was a great pattern 1 Pet. 2.22 23. Who did no sin neither was guile found in his mouth Who when he was reviled reviled not again when he suffered he threatned not but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously It becomes us to imitate this glorious example us it becomes who are vile sinners and have deserved our sufferings from Gods hand though we suffer in a righteous Cause Father forgive them says our dying Lord for they know not what they do Our Lord did not threaten his enemies No he pitied them and he prayed for them And so must we do also if we would suffer as Christians We must forgive our Enemies pity them as we do people that are blind or delirant Their folly and their rage and madness call for our compassions and our hearty Prayers for their precious and immortal souls De dupl Martyr Thus St. Cyprian describes the manner of Christians sufferings We see not says he that placid and meek and sublime temper of mind joyned with humility unless it be in the Martyrs of Christ They do not look upon the Executioner with fierce eyes they do not threaten the Tyrant They are more grieved for their blindness than for their own afflictions Even Christ cries in them Father forgive them c. They look at nothing but heaven where their hope is laid up c. III. As to our selves that we undergo our sufferings undauntedly and with constancy that we do not any thing unbecoming our Christian Profession It is not to be imagined but that the Christian hath as quick a sense of pain as any other man he is not stupid and unconcerned all that is required is this that he hold out with courage and Christian Fortitude and be not betrayed by his fear It is not necessary that he should be rid of all fear It is enough that it do not prevail upon him so far as to cause him to distrust God or deny the Truth It is not every one that can triumph in Flames and shew tokens of joy upon Racks and Wheels It is not every Martyr that can express great exultation of mind 2 Cor. 7.5 Some fear is very consistent with the greatest Sanctity He is not to be deprived of the glory of Martyrdom that continues constant under his sufferings though he went to them with fear and suspicion of himself THE General CONTENTS CHAP. I. THe Introduction and design of the following Discourse The necessity of believing the particular Care and Providence of God The Evils which befal good men are reconcileable with the Providence of God A more particular consideration of the Persons to whom these Evils befal of the Evils themselves of their usefulness and the supports which good men are furnished with Page 1. CHAP. II. That it is very reasonable that in obedience to Christ's Law we should suffer even death it self A more particular consideration of the Law-giver the Equitableness of the Law it self as also of the ground and reason of it p. 31. CHAP. III. The first great support under our sufferings is the hope of eternal life A more particular consideration of the greatness of the reward the clearness of its revelation and its fitness to work upon us p. 63. CHAP. IV. The consideration of Gods particular care and Providence another great support under our afflictions A more particular consideration of the assurance which the Gospel gives us of Gods special Providence How much this tends to our support The Application p. 79. CHAP. V. The Assistance of the Holy Spirit another support A more particular consideration of the sufficiency of this Divine assistance The great assurance we have of receiving this heavenly aid The condition on our part for the obtaining this Assistance p. 97. CHAP. VI. Of the Example of Christ and holy men who have suffered the greatest evils That we are obliged to place their example before our eyes A short account of their sufferings The usefulness of these examples to us p. 124. CHAP. VII The support we receive from the Intercession of the Son of God That Christ is now in heaven That he is there concerned on our behalf How this tends toward our support under the afflictions and sufferings of this life p. 140. CHAP. VIII Of the Comfort of the Scriptures A more particular consideration how the Scriptures tend to our comfort under our sufferings p. 165. CHAP. IX An Exhortation to use these helps and not to be dismayed at death it self for righteousness sake The reasonableness of this Exhortation farther considered Advice to those who are afraid to suffer death because they have not lived as they ought p. 195. CHAP. X. Of preparing for sufferings and for death A more particular consideration of what we are to do toward the fitting our selves for what ever evils may happen especially for death and the severest persecution for righteousness sake How we are to demean our selves under our sufferings p. 212. THE END