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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	great_a	know_v	life_n	7,935	5	4.3038	3	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A29734	The support of the faithful in times of persecution, or, A sermon preach'd in the wilderness to the poor Protestants in France by M. Brousson ... ; faithfully translated from the French.; Confiance du fidèle persécuté. English	Brousson, Claude, 1647-1697.; Rogers, Timothy, 1658-1728.	1699 (1699)	Wing B5003; ESTC R3102	18,703	32

THE Support of the Faithful IN Times of Persecution OR A SERMON Preach'd in the Wilderness TO THE Poor Protestants in FRANCE By M. Brousson an Eminent Minister who was broke upon the Wheel at Montpelier Nov. 6. N. S. 1698. Faithfully Translated from the French LONDON Printed by Tho. Snowden for Tho. Parkhurst at the Bible and Three Crowns the lower end of Cheapside near Mercers-Chappel 1699. IT is hop'd the Reader will not be displeased with these following Passages as not altogether unsuitable to this Discourse True Christianity is not only the best but the best natur'd Institution in the World and so far as any Church is departed from good Nature and become Cruel and Barbarous so far it is degenerated from Christianity A. B. Tillotson's Sermons Vol. III. 2 Edit p. 26. I have learnt from the antient Fathers of the Church that nothing is more against Religion than to force Religion and of St. Paul The Weapons of the Christian Warfare are not Carnal And great reason for humane Violence may make Men counterfeit but cannot make them believe and is therefore fit for nothing but to breed Form without and Atheism within Besides if this means of bringing Men to embrace any Religion where generally used as if it may be justly used in in any place by those that have power and think they have Truth certainly they cannot with Reason deny but that it may be used in every place by those that have power as well as they and think they have truth as well as they what could follow but the maintenance perhaps of Truth but perhaps only of the Profession of it in one place and the Oppression of it in a hundred What will follow from it but the preservation peradventure of Unity but peradventure only of Uniformity in particular States and Churches but the immortalizing the greater and more lamentable Divisions of Christendom and the World And therefore what can follow from it but perhaps in the Judgment of Carnal Policy the Temporal Benefit and Tranquility of Temporal States and Kingdoms but the infinite prejudice if not the desolation of the Kingdom of Christ The Preface Reader THE Groans of our poor distress'd Brethren in France have for several Years past reached our Ears and toucht our Hearts and I hope many pious Souls have not failed daily and with fervor to commit their sad case to God and to beg of him Support and Consolation for so many miserable People Our Relation to them in the Profession of the same Reformed Religion the common Tenderness of humane Nature and the share that we ought to have in their Sorrows by vertue of that Precept of St. Paul To weep with them that weep do all oblige us to think of them with the greatest Compassion and to pray that either the bitter Cup may pass from them or be sweetned with the Love of God and that when their Tryals are encreased their Faith and Patience may be so too For the Furnace is newly heated and the Cloud over them more thick and dismal as will appear to any one that reads the Declaration given at Versailles the 13th of Decemb. 1698. Tho' these blessed Servants of God are greatly afflicted yet they are not forsaken They have Manna in the Desart of which the Reader has a taste in the following Sermon The Honesty and Sincerity and Love to the Souls of Men which appears in every part of it will make a sufficient Apology for several things that a curious Reader might expect There is in this Discourse a warm Zeal and an Eloquence suited to the Condition of the Preacher and his Hearers People in deep Mourning do not affect Finery but wear a grave solemn Dress The Wilderness has not those Varieties that are to be found in Cities and Courts but the Faithful that are persecuted for Righteousness sake find there sweet Refreshments and Consolations And John the Baptist did not starve when he fed upon Locusts and wild Honey This Sermon was preach'd in the Wilderness by M. Brousson and taken out of a Volume of several Sermons Printed in Holland and approv'd by the French Synod held at Haerlem in the Year 1695. How exemplary the Conversation of this blessed Man was how convincing his Doctrine and how suitable to minister Consolation to his poor Brethren as also with what admirable Zeal and Constancy he triumph'd over all Dangers and over Death its self will appear when his Life is publish'd which is promised to the Publick by those that were acquainted with him we expect with great earnestness as knowing many remarkable and useful things as well as extraordinary must be in the Life of so great a Man who whilst he lived preached under the Cross and died with a Patience and Constancy suited to the chearful Hopes that he had of a glorious Eternity where he now rests from his Labours and his Pains and where all his Tears are wiped away If this Sermon which was translated from the Original in French meet with acceptance the Reader may expect more in due time and methinks such Sermons must come with a peculiar advantage which were preach'd by such an one as seal'd with his Blood the Doctrine that he taught He sat in brightness and has left heat and w●rmth behind him That the Reading of this Discourse may do good to many Souls is the Prayer of Tim. Rogers THE Support and Confidence OF BELIEVERS IN Times of Persecution ISAIAH XLI 14. Fear not thou Worm Jacob and ye Mortal Men of Israel I will help thee saith the Lord and thy Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel My Beloved Brethren in Christ IN the 7th Chapter of The Book of Job that Holy Man says * English Version An appointed time to Man upon Earth That the State appointed for Mortals upon Earth is a state of Warfare and that their Days are as the days of a Hireling And 't is so in effect for Men spend their Time in continual Labour Trouble and Inquietude But if that be true with respect to all Men in general 't is more peculiarly so with respect to the Faithful For their whole Life is but one continued Combate against the Flesh the World and the Devil God makes them very often undergo very rude and severe Tryals Many are the Afflictions of the Righteous says David Psalm 34.19 The Days of the Faithful are few and evil as those of the Patriarch Jacob of old The Faithful are in continual Troubles and Alarums If they were of the World the World would love them but because they are not of the World the World hates and persecutes them They are generally weak and feeble but their Enemies are powerful and terrible after the Flesh and thence 't is that the Righteous are so often oppress'd And the God of infinite Wisdom thinks fit it should be so my beloved Brethren in order to humble us to reduce us from our Wandrings to disengage us from the World to exercise

the assistance of his Holy Spirit that he may make us always walk in his Holy VVays Let us not suffer our selves to be surpriz'd by the specious Pretences of false Teachers They come to us in Sheeps Cloathing but within they are Ravenous VVolves At first sight one would think they had the Sweetness and Charity of Angels but no sooner do the Faithful give them to understand that they will not defile themselves with Idolatry and that they are resolved to serve God with purity according to his Commandments but these false Teachers discover a Cruelty not inferior to that of the most Savage Beasts You will know them by their Fruits says our Saviour Examine well their Conduct and you 'l see that they bear the Image of the Devil The Devil as we said before is a Liar and a Murtherer from the beginning Now these false Teachers are not they Liars like him Do not they teach Errours and Lies And do not they spread Abroad Fables and false Miracles to seduce the Simple and the Ignorant Have they not likewise violated Edicts Treaties of Peace and the most solemn Oaths which are the Pledges and Seals of the Publick Faith On the other hand are not they Cruel and Murtherers as well as the Devil Do not they every day make the Faithful suffer Torments Martyrdoms and horrible Massacres Do not they likewise use on all occasions the two great means which the Devil invented to endeavour to shake the Faith of the Elect Do not they offer to some the Riches and the Honours of this World Do not they propose to them Pensions Offices of the greatest Trust and Dignity and other Worldly Advantages And do not they spoil others of their Goods take away their Children from them and oppress them with a thousand Evils We must therefore my beloved Brethren refuse with horrour to hold Communion with these Ministers of Satan and if it be the Will of God that we suffer for the Interest of his Glory and Service let us submit to his Sacred Disposal and prepare our selves to lose and suffer all things that we may give him a Testimony of our Obedience and Faithfulness Let us remember that we were created for his Glory and that we ought to glorifie him both in Life and Death Let us remember that we ought to love him above all that is dearest to us in the World more than Father Mother Wife Children Lands and Vineyards nay more than Life it self if we would be his Children and desire to partake of his Salvation Let us consider well my beloved Brethren that this Earth is not our Home that 't is a Valley of Tears the place of our Sojourning full of Misery and Trouble and that our True Country is Heaven The Patriarchs whose Children we are had not so much as where to set the Sole of their Feet they were Pilgrims and Strangers upon Earth they sought a City that had solid Foundations whose Builder and Founder is God We must therefore renounce all earthly Things and continually breathe after the Glory and Happiness of Heaven Let us consider again that if God permits us to be persecuted 't is to the end that we may discover to the World our Faith Piety and Constancy and that this Tryal by which God is glorified may also turn to our own Glory Salvation and Comfort Blessed is the Man that endureth Temptation saith St. James ch 1.12 for when he is tryed he shall receive the Crown of Life which the Lord hath promised to them that love him Blessed are they that are persecuted for Righteousness sake says our Saviour Mat. 5.10 for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven Now for a season we are in heaviness through manifold Temptations But as St. Peter says 1 Epist 1.7 8 9. 't is that the Tryal of our Faith being much more precious than of Gold that perisheth may be found unto Praise and Honour and Glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ whom having not seen we love in whom tho' now we see him not yet believing we rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of glory receiving the end of our Faith even the Salvation of our Souls Nevertheless my Friends we must acknowledge that our sins are the cause of all the Evils we suffer The Churches of France were abominably corrupted in their Manners Therefore God has pour'd out his Judgments upon them and his Wrath is still burning against us because our Repentance is not such as it ought to be We must then every one of us turn himself from his evil Course and those that have been so unhappy as to enter into the Communion of Babylon must for ever renounce her Abominations for the time to come We must be possess'd with a Sacred Horrour for our Sins and in a Holy Manner afflict our Souls and humble our Selves at the Foot of the Throne of the Divine Majesty we must have recourse to the Mercy and Grace of God in Jesus Christ who has died for the remission of our Sins We must strive continually with God by our Tears and Supplications and not let him go till he has blessed us and the good God will at last suffer himself to be overcome by our Cries and Supplications Tho' our sins be as Scarlet they shall be as white as Snow tho' they be red like Crimson they shall be as Wool Then will he be mov'd by our Misery to give us Succour and Relief He will bow down the Heavens and come down and deliver us out of the great Waters that surround us Now good Men are oppress'd He that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey Isa 59.15 They that would be true to God serve him with Purity and sing Praises to his Holy Name are afflicted and persecuted whereas Idolaters the perfidious Judas's the Drunkards the Lascivious the Wicked the Swearers and Blasphemers are tolerated and countenanc'd in the World But these disorders shall not always last Yet a little while and he that is to come shall come and will not tarry Let 's take courage then my Friends not suffer our selves to be frighted with the Menaces of the Enemies of the Truth Let us throw our selves into the Arms of our God let us retire under the Shadow of his Wings let us deliver our selves up to the conduct of his wise Providence and put our confidence in him he promises to be our Protector and Deliverer and he is faithful in all his Promises Let us have these comfortable words always in our Thoughts Fear not thou Worm Jacob and ye Men of Israel I will help thee saith the Lord thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel We are but Worms of the Earth in comparison of our Enemies but let us remember that the Lord of Hosts the Great God is our Strength VVe are mortal Men our Life is continually in danger but let us remember that he that has Life and Death in his Power promises to assist and protect us Let us not be afraid

of Christ and therefore we should be all joyn'd together by the Bond of a fervent and unfeign'd Affection For by this says our Saviour Joh. 13.35 shall all Men know that ye are my Disciples if you love one another We may learn also hence That in order to have a part in the promise which God has made to assist us and to be our Deliverer we must be the Spiritual and Mystical Jacob and Israel that is to say we must imitate the Faith and Piety of the Patriarch Jacob whom God himself calls Israel The promises of God my Brethren were made to the Patriarchs and their Posterity and tho' we are not their Posterity after the Flesh yet we are their Spiritual Posterity if we imitate their Faith and Piety Examine your selves therefore by this Rule that you may know whether you are the Children of the Patriarchs and can claim a Title in the favour of God in his Deliverance and Salvation If you bear the image of the Patriarchs if you have their Faith and Piety if you do their Works you are their Children and God will bless you as he did them he will deliver you out of the Hands of your Enemies he will load you with his Favours and Benefits and will one day make you partakers of a blessed Immortality But if you imitate not their Example you are not their Children and have no share in the promises God made to them Abraham when God commanded him to leave his Country and part with his Relations presently complied with the Will of his God tho' he knew not where he was to go And again when God commanded him to sacrifice Isaac his beloved Son he prepar'd himself without any more adoe to execute this dreadful command having this confidence in God that he could even restore his Son to him again by raising him from the dead And in effect the Apostle takes notice that he was indeed restor'd to him again by a kind of Resurrection So Isaac himself submitted to the Will of his God and put himself in a condition to die as a Testimony of his Obedience to him And Jacob was contented to deprive himself of the Food that perisheth in order to obtain the Coelestial and Eternal Inheritance And afterwards he left his Father's House that he might avoid the violence of his Brother Esau who design'd to have kill'd him And so likewise all the Patriarchs did always glorifie God by their Zeal by their Piety and by a Pure Holy and Unblameable Life God sets us these Examples to the end we might square our Lives by them if we would be the Mystical Posterity of these Holy Men and would have a part in the Promises that were made to them Now when God suffers his Church to be persecuted he calls upon us to leave our Country and our Friends to forsake our Goods and renounce our ease and pleasures to suffer the loss of our Children and even to expose our Lives for his Glory and Service Therefore if we desire to obtain his Blessing his Deliverance and Salvation we must submit to his Will as the Patriarchs did of old We must also glorifie him by a Holy Life by our Justice our Zeal our Charity and Piety We must cause our Light to shine before Men that they seeing our good Works may together with us give Glory to God Otherwise we must expect to be treated not as his Children but as Bastards and Unbelievers What can you expect then you miserable Worldlings whose Heart is always bow'd down to the Earth like that of Beasts you impenitent Sinners that always persist in your Vices and Disorders Injustice and Frauds You follow the multitude that is running in the broad way to Hell Therefore if you repent not you must expert to perish with this Reprobate Multitude You are not the Children of the Patriarchs since you do not their Works You do the Works of the Devil that impure Spirit who is the Father of Lies and Impurity of Fraud and Injustice and what can you expect you prophane and rebellious Souls who that you might live at your ease in your Houses and might preserve your Goods your Children and your Repose are revolted from God and continue still in the same Spirit of Rebellion Alas you are not neither the Children of the Patriarchs since you imitate not their Zeal and Piety and are not ready to lose and suffer all things as they were for the Glory of your God You do also the Works of the Devil who was the first Apostate the first Rebel against God Therefore if you repent not you shall be condemn'd with him to the eternal Flames of Hell For you are not willing to follow the Example of two or three hundred thousand Faithful Servants of God who have abandon'd all for his Glory have left their Country and their Kindred and parted with their dearest Friends and have likewise expos'd their Lives to great dangers that they might comply with the Will of their God and have an interest in his Favour and Comfort God has for a great while continued to send his Faithful Servants to you to bring you back to your God and a great many of them have already suffer'd death for your sakes 'T is true you give them a Hearing but a great many among you persist still in your Vices and Backslidings Therefore as many faithful Ministers as have preach'd or do still preach Repentance to them without success shall be so many Witnesses one day in Judgment against them and shall condemn them Oh! wretched Sinners that you are You would enjoy the Pleasures of the World like prophane Esau But you shall be depriv'd one day of the eternal Pleasures of Paradise You would have your Portion in this Life but one Day your Portion shall be in the Lake that burns with Fire and Brimstone You would preserve your ease in this World but you shall be eternally tormented with the Devils in Hell There will be weeking and gnashing of Teeth And these horrid Punishments shall never have an end But as for you Believers that desire to have a share in the promises of your God be ye followers of the Faith the Piety and Holiness of the Patriarchs and you shall receive the Crown of Righteousness which God has prepared for all them that fear him and give glory to his Name Let us not suffer our selves to be tempted my beloved Brethren by the Criminal Pleasures of Sin nor by the Riches and Vanities of the VVorld Let us pray to God without ceasing that he would not lead us into Temptation but deliver us from the wicked One And at the same time let us disengage our Hearts from the VVorld and separate our selves from the Places and Persons that may lead us into sin Let us mortifie our Bodies by Moderation and Sobriety Let us continually read and meditate on the VVord of God that we may become strong in the Faith and let us evermore beg of God