The Governance of Virtue, Part 2 · Section 24
Against the bitter stormes of persecution of Gods worde.
IF at a…y time thorow the frailti of nature thou be troubled in thy minde when the cros …f persecution is laid vponupon thee for the word of God. looke that thou shrinke not backe from the truthe nor discourage thy selfe. but think thy selfe blessed of G…d, call these scriptures that follow vntounto rei membrance for thy comfort.
Sentences out of the old Testament.
THe Lorde killeth and geeueth life again…,1. Reg. … hee bringeth euen to Hell and back agayne.
The righteous cry, and the Lord hearethPsal. 34. them, and deliuereth them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is nigh vntounto them that ar of a troubled heart, and wil saue such as be of an humble spirite.
Great are the troubles of the righteous but the Lord deliuereth him out of thē all
He kepeth all his bones, so that not one of them is broken.
But misfortune shall flea the vngodly, and they that hate the righteous shalbe desolate.
The Lorde deliuereth the soules of his seruauntes, and all they that put theyr trust in him, shall not be comfortles.
For thy sake O Lord are we killed allPsal. 44 the day long, and are counted as shepe ap pointed to be slaine.
Up Lord, why sleepest thou, awake and be not absent from vsus for euer.
Wherfore hidest thou thy face, and for gettest our misery and trouble? For oure soule is brought low euen vntounto the duste, our belly cleaueth vntounto the ground. Arise and helpe vsus, and deliuer vsus for thy mercies sake.
Thou O god hast proued vsus, thou alsoPsalm. 66 hast tryed vsus like as siluer is tryed. Thou broughtest vsus into the snare, and laydest trouble vponupon our loynes. Thou suffredest men to ride ouer our heades, we went thorow fire and water, and thou broughtest vsus out into a comfortable place.
I beleued and therefore hauehave I spokenPsal. 115 but I was sore troubled.
Righte deare in the sighte of the Lorde, is the death of his saintes.
The way of the righteous is iudged toEccle. 2 be vtter destruction, but they are in rest. Althoughe they suffer paine before men, yet is their hope ful of immortality. They are punished but in few things, neuertheles in many thinges shall they be well rewarded.
For God proueth them and findeth thē mete for hym selfe, yea as the golde in the furnace dooth …e try them, and receyueth them as a burnt offring, and when ye time commeth, they shalbe loked vponupon.Sapient. 3
My sonne, if thou wilt come into the seruice of god, stand fast in righteousnes and feare, and arme thy soule to temptation. Setle thine heart, & be patient, …ow down thine eare, receiue the wordes of vnderstā ding, and shrink not away when thou art entised. Holde thee faste vponupon god, ioyne thy selfe vntounto him, and suffer that thy life may encrease at the last.
Whatsoeuer happeneth vntounto thee, receyue it, suffer in heauines, and be paciēt in thy trouble. For like as gold and siluer are tried in fire, euen so are acceptable mē in the fornace of aduersity. Beleue in God, and he shal helpe thee.
For righteousnesse take payne with all thy soule, and for the truth striue thou vntounto death and God shall fyghte for thee against thy enemies.
Examples out of the olde Testament.Ge. 4.
Abell was cruelly slaine of his brother Cayne, whome he neuer offended.Gen. 39.
Ioseph was cast into prison, because he woulde not leane to the fy…thy requeste of his lordes wyfe.
Moses, Aaron, and the Israelites wereExod. 14. greuously entreated & persecuted of King Pharao.
Saule with great diligence soughte to destroy Dauid.…. Reg. 18
Quene Iezabel pursued the Prophete3. Reg. 19. Helias.
Zachary the sonne of Barachias was…. Pare. 2. stoned to death for telling the king truth.
Achymeleche with certayne other holy…. Reg. 22 men of god, was slaine at king Saules commaundement because he shewed kind nes to Dauid the harty beloued seruant of God.
Sydrac, Misac and Abdenago were castDan. 3. into a firye fornace, because they wouldnot worship the golden Image, that king Nabuchodonosor had made, but only the God of Israell.
Daniel was cast into the den of Lions, becauseDan. 6. that contrary to king Darius commaundement he had prayed vntounto his Lord God, the God of Israel.
At an other time also he was caste intoDan. 14. the den of Lions, because he sayde, that Bell and the Dragon were no Gods.
The vertuous and chast woman SusanDan. 13. was at the point to be stoned vntounto death, because she woulde not breake the commaundement of god, and consent to the vn lawfull and filthy requests of the two Elders.
Eleazarus was miserably put to death,2. Mac. … because at the kinges commaundemente he woulde not eate swines flesh, contrary to the lawe of god.
A certaine woman also with her. vii.2. Math. 7. sonnes were with moste extreme cruelty put to death, because they would not obey the wicked precepte of the moste wicked kyng.
The prophets were vnmercifullye slain because they rebuked synne, and taught… the wyll of God.
The most excellent Prophet Esay, for his libertye of speach in re…uking the sins of the princes and of the people and prophe…iyng of Gods vengeaunce to fall vpō the countrye and people, was cut in two partes asunder with a saw, and buried vn der an Oke.
Ieremy after much enprisonment was stoned onto death of his people at Taphu as in Egipc…, because he warned them of their wicked liuing, and exhorted them vn to repentaunce.
Amos at the commaundement of kinge Amassas for his preching was cruelly bea…en and greuously formented. At the laste Ochozias sonne of Amasias caused him to be thurste into the temples with a great nayle, and being half deade he was caryed into his own countrye, where he sone after died.
Micheas was buffeted emprisoned and fed with bread and water.
Examples out of the olde Testament.
BLessed are they that suffer persecutionMathe. 5. for righteousnes for theirs is the kingdome of heauen.
Blessed are ye when men reuile you & perse…ute you, and … speak all eu…l sayings against you for my sake:
Reioyce and be mery, for great is your rewarde in heauen. For so persecuted they the Prophets before you.
The scoler is not aboue the maister, norMath. 10 the seruant aboue his Lorde. If they hauehave called the Father of the housholde Belzebub, how much more shall they so cal them that are of his houshold.
Be not afrayed of them that …il the body, but rather feare him whiche is able to destroy both body and soule in hel fire.
EueryEvery one that shall confesse me before men, I shall confesse him also before my fa ther whiche is in heauen. But whosoeuer shal deny me before men, I shall also deny him befyre my Father that is in heauen.Math. 24
Ye shalbe hated of all men for my sakeMarke. 8
Whosoeuer wil follow me let him forsake him self and take vp hys crosse and folow me. For whosoeuer wil saue hislife shall lose it. But whosoeuer shall lose his life for my sake and the gospelles the same shall saue it. For what shall it profite a man, if he winne all the world and & lose his owne soule, or what shall a man geue to redē his soul wtal agaī: whosoeuer fore shalbe ashamed of me and my wordes in this whorish and sinful generation, of him also shall the son of man be ashamed when he commeth in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
The seruaunt is not greater thē his Lord.…ohn. 16 If they hauehave persecuted me, they will also persecute you.
If the world hate you, know ye, that it hated me before you: If ye were of the world, the world wold louelove that is his. But forasmuch as ye are not of the world but I hauehave chosē you out of the world therfore doth the world hate you.
The tyme shall come, that who so euer…ohn. 16 killeth you, wyll thinke that he doth God seruice.
Ye shal lamēt and wepe, but the world shal reioyce.
In the world ye shal hauehave trouble, but be on a good comfort, I hauehave ouercom the world.
If we suffer with Christ, we shall also be glorifyed together with him.
I suppose that the afflictions of thysRom. 8. life, are not worthy of the glorye whiche shalbe shewed vponupon vsus.
Blessed be God the father of our Lord1. Cor. 1. Iesus Christ, which is the father of … and the God of al comfort, which comforteth vsus in all our tribulations.
As the afflictions of Christ are plenteous in vsus: euen so is our consolation pleuteous by Christ.
We are not weried, but though our out ward man perishe: yet the in ward man is2. Cor. … renued day by day. For our trouble which is shorte and lighte, prepareth an exceding and an eternall waight of glorye vntounto vsus: while we loke not on the things which are sene, but on the things which are not sene: For thinges whiche are seene, are temporal, but things which ar not sene are euerlasting.
We know, that if our earthly mansion2. Cor. … of this dwelling were destroyed, we hauehave a building of God, an habitatiō not made with handes, but euerlasting in heauen.
Unto you it is geuen, not only to beleeuePhil. 1. in Christ, but also to suffer for his sake.
Suffer affliction as a good souldiour of2. Tim. … Christ.
If we dy wyth Christ we shal liue with2. Tim. … him. If we suffer we him, we also shalreig… with him: if we deny him, he will also dny vsus.
All that wil liue godly in Christe Iesu, shall suffer persecutions.
This is thanke woorthy… if a man for conscience toward god, endure grefe and suffer wrong vndescrued.
If when ye do wel ye suffer wrong and take it patientlye, then is there thankes with God, For here vntounto verely were ye called.
Blessed are ye if any trouble happen vnPet. 3. to you for righteousnes sake.
Dearly beloued maruel not that ye arePet. 4. proued by fire (which thing is to trye you) as though some straung thing hapned vntounto you: but reioyce, in as muche as ye are partakers of Christes passion, that when his glorye appereth, ye may, be merye and glad. If ye be railed vponupon, for the name of Christ, happy are ye. For the glory and the spirite of God, resteth vponupon you. On theyr parte, he was euill spoken of, but on your parte he is glorified.
If any man suffer as a christian man, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify god in this behalfe.
Let them that be trooubled according to he wil of god, commit their saules to him with wel doyng, as vntounto a faithfull creatour.Heb. 13.
Iesus to sāctify the people with his own bloud, suffered without the gate. Let vsus go forth therfore out of the tentes, and suf fer rebuk wyth him. For here hauehave we no continuyng city, but we seke on to come.
By many trybulations must we enterAct. 14. into the kingdome of heauen.
The holy ghost witnesseth in eueryevery cityAc. 20. saying, that bandes and trouble abide me. But none of these things moue me, neyther is my lyfe dear vntounto my selfe, that I mighte fulfill my course with ioy, and the ministration of the word whith I hauehave receiued of the Lord Iesu to testify the Gospell of the grace of God.
I am ready not to be bounde only, butAct. 21. also to dy for the name of the Lord Iesu.
Blessed are the deade that dye in theApoc. 1… Lorde, euen so sayth the spirite, that from henceforth they reaste from their labours. But theyr worke folow them.
Examples out of the new Testamen.
IOhn Baptist for truth telling to kingeMath. 1… Herod, was cast into prisō & beheaded.
Iesus Christ our Lord and sauiour afterMath. 2… many blasphemies rebukes, slaunders and bitter tormentes suffered the moste spitefull deathe of the crosse, and so entred into glory.
The holy marter S. Stephen, was stonedAct. 7. vntounto death.
Iames y• brother of Iohn was beheded.Act. 12.
What kindnes Peter and Paule wyth the apostles found at the handes of them whose saluatiō they most diligētly sought, the histories make mencion. Neither I heare speak of those blessed Marters, which sence their dayes hauehave dyed for the confession of gods truthe, so that the gospell is not without a cause called of blessed Paul the word of the crosse.
For all that wil liue godly in Christ IeCor. 1▪ su saith he, shall suffer persecution.
I saw saith Sainct Iohn vnderunder the altar,…poc. 6. the soules of them that were killed for the woord of god, and for the testimony… whiche they had, and they cryed with a loud voice, saying: how longe tariest thou O Lord, holy and true, to iudge and to reuenge our bloude on them that be on the earth? And long white garments were g… uen vntounto eueryevery one of them. And it was said vntounto them, that they should rest a little season, til the nomber of their fellowes and brethren and of them that shoulde be killed as they were fulfilled.