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
that holy Martyrs and those that have been persecuted for righteousness sake have been able to persevere in bearing witness to the truth notwithstanding all the torments which they did endure from their enemies hands They that were tortured endured with singular patience their Tormentors Cruelties and wearied out those men who were their Executioners Nor were they only the Ministers of Religion who might be supposed to be endued with a greater measure of the Spirit that endured with undaunted resolution but the Lay-people also even Women were able to endure the greatest severities I should be endless if I should go about to tell what great examples we have in former and later Ages upon record to this purpose 2. We need a more than ordinary assistance to support and comfort us under the losses and other afflictions which we meet with in this present life The Comforts of this life what price soever we may set upon them are at best very uncertain to us And we very often out-live those blessings which rendered this present life comfortable to us We are deprived of the delight of our eyes and the labour of our hands and of that which was the joy of our hearts Our dearest Friends are snatcht away from our Embraces our Children and our Relatives are taken from us by a sudden and an unlooked-for death and we are bereft of the plenty and the store which once we did enjoy and are left solitary and there is none to comfort us In this case the devout and pious Christian is of all men in the world the best provided for He hath peace and comfort which the world knows nothing of And that he hath from the Holy Spirit of God which he is endued with In this dry and barren Wilderness he hath his fresh Springs And after all his losses and his toyl he haâ— a Comforter that visits him and abides with him for ever Thus the Promise runs which ouâ— Lord made a little before he lesâ— the World Joh. 14.16 And a most gracious Promise this to us who live in these houses of clay and that are faâ—â— removed from our Country and our Fathers house We shall be sure to meet with tribulations here to hear store of evil tidings and very sad stories of the miseries that befall others and that threaten us Thanks be to God for the comforts of the Holy Ghost It is to be hoped that we shall thereby be soâ— far refreshed and relieved as to support us under all our other sorrows in our way to Heaven This Holy Spirit is like the Rock that followed the men of Israel in the Desert and furnished them with water in a dry and thirsty Land This is that Oyl of gladness that makes us rejoyce in the midst of the sorrows of this mortal life The Seal of God that tells us to whom we do belong and the Earnest of our future inheritance which does ascertain us of a great reward in Reversion And by this means we are upheld by this heavenly Comforter under sickness and poverty pain and reproach confinement and the fears of death till we are set at liberty and placed among the Spirits of just men made perfect 2. I shall lay before you the great assurance that we shall receive this heavenly aid For we cannot but be throughly convinced that this Promise of the Holy Spirit is an exceeding great and precious one We are next to consider what great ground we have to expect that this heavenly gift shall be bestowed upon us So it is that if we look down into our own breasts we shall find our selves in so ill a case that we cannot think them fit Temples for so pure and holy a Being as the Spirit of God Our Souls are like the Earth when it was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the Deep We may soon discover the need we have of this Divine assistance to digest and put in order to cherish and enlighten this dark and confused Chaos But all this while we have no assurance that we shall be thus favoured But blessed be the name of God we have great assurance that he will send his Holy Spirit into our hearts and not forsake us And what that assurance is you may take in the following particulars 1. We have the Promise of God and that to us ought to be enough God had of old foretold Isa 44.3 Joel 1.18 Act. 2.17 that in the times of the Messias he would pour his holy Spirit plentifully even upon all flesh A Promise that was in great measure fulfilled at the day of Pentecost next after the Ascension of the Son of God He did before that command his Apostles Acts 1.4 5. that they should not depart from Jerusalem but wait for the Promise of the Father which saith he ye have heard of me For John truly baptized with water but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence Our Lord had given them before this a great assurance that this Comforter should come and abide with them for ever And we need not doubt but that he that promised would make good his word to us 2. Especially if it be considered how necessary this Holy Spirit is for the compleating and finishing the work of mans Redemption It It is true we were redeemed by the bloud of Christ but then we are renewed by the Holy Spirit and by him enabled to give obedience to his Laws Heb. 5 9â— who is the Author of Eternal Salvation but it is to them that do obey him Since God hath given us his Son we need no longer doubt but that he will with him give us all things especially all things needful for life and godliness We need not doubt of receiving the supports of the Holy Spirit to enable us to profess that truth constantly which the same Spirit dictated to holy men Heb. 2.4 and which was confirmed by Signs and Wonders and divers Miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost There is no room left for doubting but that we shall receive this Holy Spirit if we constantly and fervently implore him 3. Again our Saviour hath given us the utmost assurance in those words where he says Luk. 11.13 If ye then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your Children how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him Parents do not use to deny their Children what is needful for them Nor do they need a positive Law to oblige them to it There is a Law in their nature does direct and determine them in this case And those Parents that are otherwise evil men are yet very prone to bestow good things on their Children Now then who can doubt of Gods readiness to bestow his Holy Spirit upon them that ask him Earthly Parents are evil they are so by nature and more so by custom and a course of sinning But our heavenly Father is
his greatest treasure Here was his heart fixed and this was his great delight And yet in the Psalmists time there was but little of the holy Scripture committed to writing in proportion to what we enjoy The Canon of the Old Testament was far from being finished much less was there any thing extant of the New We have the advantage by much who have not only all the parts of the Old Testament but also an account of our Saviours Doctrine and the Writings of the holy Apostles Now the words of the Psalmist will well become every one of us Psal 119.103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste Yea sweeter than honey to my mouth If a part of it were so sweet what is the whole And if the Law which came by Moses were so great a treasure and a comfort to the afflicted what are then the words of grace and truth which we have by Jesus Christ The Book of Psalms hath always been allowed to be a divine Composure of very sovereign use to the afflicted and the sorrowful pious and dejected men have been unspeakably comforted from thence As when the evil Spirit was upon Saul 1 Sam. 16.23 when David took his Harp and played that evil Spirit departed from him So hath it often been that when men have been dejected and bowed down by an evil Spirit likewise yet they have often been refreshed by this divine and sweet Singer of Israel The Book of Psalms is stored with sovereign Cordials for the dejected and drooping spirit of the pious man But I had rather you should hear one of the Ancients speak of the great usefulness of this Book of Psalms Basil in Psal 1. If says he a man be greatly transported with fury by the melody of a Psalm he is rendred tame A Psalm says he is the calm of Souls the Arbiter of peace who lays the tumultuous and swelling thoughts It softens the fierce and curbs the lascivious It conciliates friendship unites those that were in difference and reconciles those that were at enmity A Psalm puts the Devils to flight and brings to us the assistance of Angels It is a Weapon against our fears of the night and a rest from the labours of the day To Children it is a safeguard to the Adult an ornament and a comfort to old men The most agreeable Ornament of Women It renders the Wilderness inhabited and the Concourse of people sober It is an institution to those who begin an encrease of the Proficients and the stay of them that are perfect and the voice of the Church This gives a gaiety to Festivals and produces a godly sorrow A Psalm brings a tear from an heart of stone it is the work of Angels the Conversation of heaven the spiritual Incense He goes on and tells us what an excellent Store-house this Book of Psalms is from whence we may learn the Majesty of fortitude the exactness of righteousness the venerableness of Temperance the perfection of Prudence the manner of Repentance the measures of Patience Thus does he speak of the Book of Psalms And if one Book be thus useful what are all of them And if this Book be so much to our Comfort how many and great then are the Comforts of the Scripture I shall now shew you how the holy Scriptures make for our comfort and support under the afflictions and sorrows of this present life And this they do 1. As they lay before us the several supports which have been named before namely the Promise of eternal life the Doctrine of Gods particular care and Providence the assurance of the aid of the Holy Spirit the examples of the sufferings of Christ and holy men and the Intercession of the Son of God These things the holy Scriptures plainly teach and by doing so they tend very much to our comfort in the midst of all our tribulations And as these Doctrines are not to be found among the Writings of any of the Heathen Philosophers so it is certain they do contain the greatest ground of comfort under our worldly losses and sorrows And therefore the holy Scripture tends more to our comfort than any Writing or Institution whatsoever It cannot be denied but that many of the Heathens have written excellent things and particularly have employed their pains in writing consolatory discourses for the sake of the afflicted But there are none of them that do suggest those powerful Arguments which the Gospel does contain Here are comforts to be found which they knew nothing of and such comforts also as are very effectual for the gaining the end for which they are brought We are blessed be God better provided for under all the evils which happen to us than the Heathens were And though we be liable to the same evils which they were obnoxious unto yet in this our condition is much better than theirs that we can bear them better than they could We shall in vain search into the Writings of Plato or Epictetus or any other of the Writings of the Heathen for supports under our sorrows The holy Scripture is the Divine Store-house where they are to be found 2. The holy Scriptures make for our support under our sorrows as they do direct us to apply to our selves the helps and assistances which I have named before They do not only contain great helps but they teach us how to use them and use very powerful Arguments with us to this purpose They do not only prescribe the most powerful Cordials but they direct us also in the use of them and not only so but they do also by very moving Arguments awaken our care and our diligence And indeed without this application all the helps and assistances avail us no more than the richest Cordials do the sick man which he keeps locked up in his Closet but does not taste The hope of Eternal life is very powerful to enable us to endure with patience the evils of this short life This is the great comfort under our present sorrows that the blessed time is drawing on upon us when all tears shall for ever be wiped from our eyes But then it is to be considered that the holy Scripture does not barely lay before us the promise of eternal life It is not a bare Map of of that blessed Country which we expect hereafter it is a great deal more than that For besides that the holy Scripture describes that blessed Land it also shews us the way which leads to it calls upon us to set our hearts upon it and very powerfully calls off our affections and desires from the things of this lower world which would entangle us and keep us from minding the things which are above And to that purpose we are warned that the love of this world is inconsistent with the love of God and our pursuit of heavenly things And therefore we are vehemently exhorted to cleanse and purifie our hearts to follow after holiness that we may see God and be
governs the World And it is well for us that so it is We are safer much in his hands than in our own and dearer we are to him than to our selves We rejoyce under the Government of a wise and good King We have greater cause to rejoyce in this that God reigns And that if we consider his infinite Wisdom his Goodness and Almighty Power His Wisdom assures that he will do what is best And we are not fit Judges of that We are not able to see into the secrets of Government It is enough to us that God is infinitely wise and so not only knows what is best but what is best for us and what is the fittest time of helping us But then his Goodness and Holiness give us a full assurance that he will not let them that are truly good and suffer upon that account lose their reward That he will not govern Arbitrarily but will do good to them that are good And since his Power is infinite also we are secure that he will not be defeated in bringing his own Counsels to pass And therefore the holy and pious soul give◠it self up intirely unto Gods disposal being well assured of Gods good will to him and knowing well that his infinite Wisdom cannot be deceived nor his Almighty Power defeated 3. I shall make some Application of this And that I shall do in the following Particulars First This may serve to reprove our murmuring and impatience under the evils which we meet with here below We complain bitterly under our several troubles and afflictions not considering the hand that lays them on us We do not as we ought when we are distressed look up with great reverence to our Creator but we curse our Stars or we are angry with our Brother who is the immediate Instrument of our trouble or we impute our misery to our inadvertence and do disquiet our selves in vain If our Child or Friend die we accuse the Physician or our selves If we suffer in our Goods we quarrel with our Servants or are angry at the Times In a word we are uneasie and restless not considering that God governs the World and that the very hairs of our head are numbred Our Friend did not die without Gods knowledge Our Goods were not lost without his regard And who are we that we should murmur and complain and say unto God What dost thou If God govern the World we may well be shamed to repine and murmur If he disposeth things below we shall be very blameable if we murmur at our own Lot and Portion Secondly Hence we may be seasonably exhorted to acknowledge this great truth by a suitable life and conversation It is a great influence which this belief ought to have upon us It ought to render us contented with our Lot and Portion of things To endue us with courage to encounter difficulties It ought to quicken us in our devotions Let us not faint under the sorrows that overtake us If God govern the World we ought quietly to commit our cause to him and not go about to wrest the Government out of his hand It becomes greatly to trust in him at all times and not to let go our Faith and our Hope whatever troubles befall us in this mortal life 1 Pet. 5.10 11. The God of all grace who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus after that ye have suffered a while make you perfect stablish strengthen settle you To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever Amen CHAP. V. OUr Religion does assure us of the power and presence of the holy Spirit of God under our sufferings for righteousness sake and this is another great support which the sincere disciples of Christ are furnished with 1 Pet. 4.14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ happy are ye for the Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you It is worth our observing by the way that this Spirit is in this place represented to us under the Character of the Spirit of glory and that very fitly also when the Apostle assures those men of this divine assistance who are reproached for the name of Christ The Spirit of glory will sufficiently support good men under the reproach and scorn they meet withal 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vid. N. T. Edit Curcellaei There is a certain Greek Copy that hath it the Spirit of glory and of power I shall not need to contend for that reading being well assured that he who receives the Divine Spirit receives the Spirit of power also as I shall have occasion to shew you afterwards It is to be observed that the Apostle assures them to whom he writes that this Holy Spirit whom he calls the Spirit of glory and of God shall rest upon them He shall not only give them a visit in their sorrows and so leave them but he shall stay and abide with them And this agrees with what our blessed Saviour promised Joh. 14.16 17. I will pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter that he may abide with you for ever Even the Spirit of truth c. But for my more orderly speaking to this matter I shall First Shew you the sufficiency of this divine assistance Secondly I shall lay before you the great assurance which we have that we shall receive this heavenly aid Thirdly The condition on our part required for the obtaining this assistance Fourthly The Application of it 1. I shall shew you the sufficiency of this Divine assistance which God hath made us the Promise of We shall have great cause to believe that our help will bear proportion to our work and that whatever is laid upon us does not exceed the proportion of the strength which we receive to bear it And then we shall have no cause to find fault of our Master or of our work when our help bears proportion to our work and duty Now we need more than an ordinary help in these two Cases First To enable us against persecutions for the sake of our Religion Secondly To support and comfort us under our losses and other afflictions which we shall meet with in this present life I shall therefore shew you that the Spirit of God will afford sufficient help in both these cases 1. We need more than ordinary assistance to enable us against persecutions for the sake of our Religion The Christian hath as quick a sense of pain as other men his Religion does not destroy his flesh and bloud and change it into Brass Heb. 12.11 He is as apprehensive and as sensible of the evils of life as any other man is And besides that he is is by his Profession exposed to all the miseries of humane life To cold and nakedness To hunger and thirst To scorn and reproach To stripes and to buffetings To Wheels and Racks to restraint and to death death it self It were not an easie thing to recount the very many
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