The Principles of Christian Practice, Tract · Point of doctrine 4
Verse 25. For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it.
OUr Lord having informed his Confirmation of the former doctrine by three arguments.Disciples in these difficult principles, doth now confirme them, and addeth strong arguments to enforce them: three,
The first in the words, drawne 1.from the danger of failing in the duties. The failing in them brings the certaine losse of ones life; which is amplified by the contrary: But if any will rather lose his life than his obedience, he shall certainly gaine and save it.
The second reason is drawne from the unprofitablenesse of winning 2.the world with the losse of the soule, which losse can never be repaired or made up, Ver. 26.
The third is drawn from the consideration of the last judgement, 3.in which they shall find the accomplishment of this whole doctrine: for the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, &c. Ver. 27.
This first is very forcible and Danger of failing in those duties.pressing: for it is a matter of life & death; as Moses to his people, so I propound life and death this day unto you, chuse life, do good, deny your selves, take up your crosse, and follow me.
Whosoever shall save his life] the Exposition.word foreign properly signifies the soule, which by a Metonymie is put for the life or the person himself, because the soule is the cause of life: &, Anima cujus que est quis que the soul of a man is properly himself: the saving of the soul is likewise the saving of ones self; charity to the soule is the chiefest.
To save the life] is taken sometime Save life, in a good sense and bad.in good sense, as to preserve it from famine by food, from sicknes by physick, from danger by flight; as Jacob from Esau, David from Saul, Christ from the people that would have throwne him down the hill: but this is not here meant. Sometime in the evill sense: that is, to save & preserve the life by evill means; as Saul by sorcery, David by dissembling, Peter by a lye: so is it taken here, He that will save his life, namely, by denying Christ, by renouncing the truth, abjuring the pure religion, or falling to the world, or false worship: For Christ doth not condemne the saving of life, but the manner and unlawfull meanes of it.
He shall lose it.] Atheists would How a life is both lost & saved.find a contradiction in the speech of Christ, that a man at the same time should find & lose the same life; and naturall reason cannot reconcile it. It is a riddle to flesh and bloud, that the same life should bee both saved and lost: For the resolving whereof wee must know,
1. That there is a two-fold tribunall, 1.Forum coeli & soli, the court of the world, & the court of heaven: and as he that saves himself in the common Law, may be cast in the Chancery; so hee that saves himselfe here in the Consistories of men, may elsewhere lose himselfe, namely, in the court of heaven.
2. There be two sorts of Judges:2.
1. Humane and delegate.
2. Divine and supreme.
A man may by indirect meanes save himself from the sentence of the former, but not of the latter. Joab may escape David, but shall not escape Solomon. And, as him who escapeth the sword of Hazael (1 Kings 19. 17.) shall Jehu slay; so he that by denying Christ and his truth shall save himselfe from a Beare, shall meet with a Lion, and be devoured.
3. There is a two-fold danger, 3.temporall & eternall. A man by evil means may save himself from the former, but by no means from the latter. If the silly fish leap out of the pan, it fals into the burning coales. A man loseth that which above all he would save. And this losse is amplified; 1▪ by the dearnesse of the thing lost, his most precious soule and life: 2. by the duration, it is lost eternally: 3. by the certainty, the sentence is passed, and cannot be repealed.
Object. Peter saved his life by denying and abjuring his Lord, and yet lost it not.
Answ. All the threats of Scripture must be understood with exception of repentance; as all promises See Cyprian de lapsis.with exception of the crosse. Peter upon his repentance saved his lost life; & so doubtlesse many in this land were forced under Antichrist to abjure the truth, who as they fell with Peter, did also rise againe with him.
And whosoever shall lose his life for my sake.] Not he that loseth his life as a malefactor; as Saul, Judas, others: nor those that for vain-glory, or discontent, or hope of bettering their estate bereave themselves of life: But for my sake, that is, 1. For the profession Who lose their lives for Christs sake.of the Gospel, as did innumerable Christians in the Primitive Church, and many in Queen Maries 1.daies, who in love to Christ were prodigall of their lives; if they had had a thousand lives, they should all have gone. 2. For 2.discharge of duty, answerable to that profession; as David, John Baptist, the Prophets, Apostles, Stephen, and others, who suffered for righteousnesse sake, Mat. 5. 10.
He shall save it:] that is, he shall have it returned to him wi…h advantage; of a miserable and temporary life it shall bee changed into an everlasting and blessed life: hee hath suffered with Christ, and hee must reigne with him.
Object. But then martyrdome meriteth eternall life.
Answ. No: for first, the sufferings of this life are not worthy Martyrdome not meritorious.the glory that shall bee revealed, Rom. 8. 18. there being no proportion betweene the body and 1.soule, betweene life temporall and life eternall. Secondly, the promise is made, not to the suffering, but the sufferer, being a member of Christ; and performed, not for any merit (for it is but our duty and a thankfull returne of our lives to him, who gave his for us) but for the faithfulnesse of the promise, apprehended by the faith of Beleevers.
Object. But shall none save Life saved, though not lost, how.his life, but he that loseth it?
Answ. Yes: many of the Patriarkes and faithfull in all ages lived and died peaceably in a good old age. But two rules must bee resolved upon:
1. If occasion be offered, and God call for the life in the witnesse 1.of faith and well-doing, it may not be saved: and now if it be saved, it is lost.
2. If occasion bee not given, yet there must bee an expectation, 2.a resolution, a readinesse of minde to it, whensoever it may bee given. For we reade among the Ancient of mentall Martyrs, or votary Martyrs, without fire or bloud, in whom the readinesse of minde to lose the life for God and his truth, is accepted of GOD as the losing of the life: for, God accepts the will for the deed, and accounts of Abraham as if hee had sacrificed his sonne, and saith of him; hee spared not his sonne, though hee was spared: And of David, that he had built him an house, when hee had it but in his heart to build one: for this built him an house.
Object. But it seemes, if a man to save his life flye in persecution, hee loseth his life by so saving it.
Answ. Distinguish of persons. Some are bound not to flye, and these by saving their lives doe lose them. Others are free, and Who may not flye in persecution. 1.may safely flye. To say something of each of these.
For the former: 1. Some are bound inwardly, by an inward call and voice of the Spirit; as Paul was bound in spirit to goe up to Jerusalem, even to suffer, Acts 20. 22. and was endued with such a spirit of courage and fortitude, that his life was not deare unto him; but he was ready to endure all extremitie; for Christ. Such a spirit GOD gave to Luther, when hee went to Wormes to dispute, that though hee saw nothing but death & danger before him, yet so many Divels as there were tiles on the houses could not turne him off. And to many of the Martyrs in Queen Maries daies God gave in silly bodies noble and stout spirits, to contemne all threats and torments. These may not flye in persecution.
2. Some are externally bound to stand, by vertue either of the 2.generall calling of a Christian, as when by a mans flight the whole Church and truth is indangered, which must be dearer than a mans life: or of the speciall calling, as when by the worke of it GOD may bee more glorified, and the Church edified, I must keep mee in the way, notwithstanding the perill ensuing. For example: If the persecution bee generall and common to the whole Church, the Minister may not flye; for the weak are in great danger, & most need the support of the strong: & now the duty of the calling must be dearer than his life. Whereas if the persecution were personall, & directed against the Pastor onelyonly, hee were in his owne liberty to withdraw himself, only for a time.
3. Some are tyed & bound not 3.to flye, by reason of their present estate, especially in two cases:
First, when God hath cut off all law full meanes and wayes of flying, and a man cannot escape but by unlawfull meanes; as an officious lye, hearing of Masse, equivocations, pealing & discovering the brethren, or the like. Here a man must abide the will of God, who hath called him to stand out, and do no evill to save his life.
Secondly, when a man is in hand or hold under the custody of the Magistrate, though unjustly prosecuted, he may not break prison, nor use violence; but obey the Magistrate in unjust sufferings, alwaies counting it thank-worthy to endure griefe for GOD and Christ wrongfully, 1 Pet. 2. 19.
Quest. But what if the prisondoore be left open, as sometime it may be, or hath been?
Ans. If God open a doore, this is not a breaking of prison. The Apostles (Acts 5. 19.) used no violence to get out; but when the Angel opened the door, they went away & shifted for themselvs: & thus not themselves only, but the Church was preserved in them.
Now all these that are thus brought by God to the wrestlingplace, must strive for the best game, without shrinking or starting away.
But there are a second sort, that And who may.are more free, and have liberty to avoid persecution by flight, in these three cases:
1. If any have not attained 1.strength sufficient to bear the extremity for Christ: our Saviour Luk. 14. 28.would have these costs to bee fore-cast, as in the Parable of the Builder, & of the Captain mustering his forces. Only in not finding strength bewail thy weaknes, & use means of further strength.
2. If the danger be certain and 2.present, not suspected or surmised: for a man may not (as Jonas) by casting feares cast himself out of his calling; but if hee see certaine perill to himselfe, and no great hope of doing good by his stay, he may flye.
3. If avoiding private respects (as loosing himselfe from duty, 3.or out of excessive feare shifting for himselfe) hee ayme directly at the furthering of Gods glory, and Christs Kingdome: for it is a rule, in which wisdom & conscience must over-rule. If it may make more for Gods glory to flie, flie; if to stay, stay: thus seeking Gods Kingdom in the first place.
Quest. But how prove you, that such may flye?
Ans. By the commandement & practice of Christ himselfe, Mat. 10. 23. If they persecute you in one city, flie into another: and so himselfe did. Hee could by miracle have saved himselfe; but for us he would rather humble himself by flying, Matth. 12. 15. And, he was now as strong in spirit, & as ready to dye, as he was afterwards: but Gods time was not yet come.
So did the Apostles. Paul being persecuted at Damascus, was let downe by a basket, and sent to Tarsus, Acts 9.
The commandement (Rev. 18. 4.) flie out of her my people, is of force hereunto. He would rather have commanded to stand out the persecutions of Antichrist, if it had been unlawfull to flye.
After Christ wee reade of Athanasius Euse…. l. 10. c. 18. Trip. hist. l. 5. c. 3.that great light of the world, how being infinitely hated & pursued by the Arrians, he was forced to hide himselfe for sixe yeers in a deep pit, where he saw no sun; which he would not have endured, but to have preserved the Church in himselfe, waiting the time which God afterward gave him at Alexandria many yeers to bee the only hammer of Arrians.
The same of many faithfull men in Queene Maries daies flying beyond sea, who were happily revoked to the great glory of God, and use of the Church, in the most happy daies of Queene Elizabeth.
Ob. But this is to deny Christ, and not c…sse him before men.
Answ. …: to flye friends and countrie is an inferiour confession and suffring for Christ, though in dying is a greater perfection and degree in suffering.
Ob. But we must not fear them that can kill the body: therefore not flye.
Ans. That is, not fear them more than God; not feare so as to apostate or deny faith & good conscience, which is not the feare of them that flye: for, would they deny Christ or his faith, they need not flye at all.
Object. But we must preach & counsell the greatest perfection.
Answ. Yes: but in the severall rankes of beleevers God hath not set all his children in the same degree of grace; some are babes, some young, some old men. It is not greatest perfection for a childe, to offer to run before hee can goe; but boldnesse, which costeth him many knockes and falls. Neither for those of a lower stature in Christ, to cast themselves into danger, before, or further than need shall require: for, when times come that GOD seeth fit for any by death to glorifie himselfe, and edifie his Church, his providence will find meanes without a mans owne presumption to call him thereto.
Now the point issuing out of the words thus expounded, is this:
Whosoever undertaketh the profession Doctr. Maintaine thy holy profession to the death.of Christ, must take his life in his hand if need be, and give it for the Name of Christ: Revel. 2. 10. Bee thou faithfull unto death. Luke 14. 26. If any man come to me, and hate not all, yea even his owne life, he cannot be my Disciple: by hatred hee meanes not that affection simply considered, but in comparison, namely, if the love of God and our selves, the love of Christ and our friends cannot stand together: all naturall affection must give place. Hebr. 12. 4. Yee have not yet resisted unto bloud: as if hee had said, Yee have resisted sinne unto reproach, unto losse of substance, unto bonds, and other evils; but yet it remaines to resist unto bloud, as Christ did. Revelat. 12. 11. they that overcame by the bloud of the Testimony, and the bloud of the Lambe, loved not their lives to the death, that is, doubted not to hazzard them for the truth and faith: so as no torment could drive them from it.
Hebr. 11. 35. Wee have the cloud of witnesses before us in this duty: they were racked and slaine, and would not bee delivered, but refused the offer of life and liberty upon condition of renouncing the Gospel. The Ecclesiasticall History mentioneth one Phileas, a Noble man and Martyr, who going to execution, seemed as one deafe at the perswasions, and blinde at the teares of his friends, moving him to spare himselfe: As the waters use to breake themselves on a rocke, so was hee altogether inflexible. And when one Philoromus defending him, said, How Quomodo potest terrenis lachrymis flecti▪ cujus oculi coelestem gloriam contuentur?can hee bee moved with teares on earth, whose eyes behold the glory of heaven? hee also was taken in, and both presently beheaded.
Amongst our owne Martyrs, when at the stake many of them had letters of pardon offered, they would not looke at them, nor would bee delivered on their conditions. Others absolutely refused them. One said shee came not thither to deny her Lord. Not one of them accepted them, neither would buy deliverance so deare.
For first, if wee looke at Christ, hee is to be loved best Reason 1.of all, and all things must bee accounted drosse and doung in comparison of him, Phil. 3. 7. 8. My welbeloved is the chiefe of ten thousand, Cant. 5. 10. And withall, hee is such a Lord, as hath absolute command and power of foreign. Ignat. ad Polycarp.our life and death: for wee are not our owne, but his; and if hee call and command us to seale our profession with our bloud, wee must bee ready to magnifie Christ in our bodies, by life or death, Philip. 1. 20. not fearing those that can kill the body. Againe, if wee looke on his merit and desert, hee loved not his life to death for us, but readily offered it up on our behalfe, Luke 12. 50. How then should wee hold our selves bound in way of thankfulnesse, if wee had a thousand lives, to give them up for him? shall the Just for the unjust, and not the unjust for the Just?
Secondly, if wee looke to the 2.truth and Gospel: it is far more worthy than all wee can give in exchange for it; it cost Christ deare: hee thought it worthy of his life, and bought it with his precious bloud, which was the bloud of God, Act. 20. 28. & should wee thinke much to buy it with our last bloud? Remember the precept, Pro. 23. 23. Buy the truth and sell it not, no not at any rate. God hath magnified his truth above all things, and so must wee: Shall not Christ shrink from the truth to save his life, and shall we, being called to witness, leave it in the plaine field?
Thirdly, looke on our selves: 3.1. We are souldiers under Christs colours: A souldier in the field sels his life for a base pay, & is ready for his King & Country to endure foreign. Ignat. ad Ephes.blowes) gashes, and death it selfe: How much more ought the Christian souldier for the love of his Captain, & honour of his profession, contemne fears & perils, and thinke his life well sold in so honourable a quarrel and cause as Christs is?
2. This is indeed rightly to love our selves, when wee can rightly hate our selves. We must learn to love our selves by not loving our selves, who indeed hate our selves by loving our selves too well: And this is, if wee beleeve our Lord, to save & preserve our life by thus casting it away. A man that will save his seed, & not cast it away into the grrund, loseth it by such saving; but if hee sowe it, he reneweth it, & multiplies it somtime an hundred fold: So to lose thy self for Christ, is to save thy selfe, and to reap an hundred fold: for it is but sowne to spring out unto the eternall harvest. Ever remember, that the right love of a mans self is in and for Christ.
Ob. You speake of nothing but hindrance & loss, & as if a Christian may not have riches, friends, life, and comforts of it.
Ans. 1. Yes, he may have them, & must save them; but not in Christs cause, when hee is called from them. 2. Divorce not the parts of the text: as there is losse in the text, so there is a greater gain by it; as the harvest makes him a gainer, who in seed-time seemed a loser.
Ob. But that is a long day: we would have something in hand.
Answ. So thou hast in hand, an hundred not for ten, but for one, in this life, with persecution, Mar. 10. 30. for thy father forsaken, thou hast God to thy father; for thy mother, Gods Church; for thy goods, Gods rich graces; for thy friends lost, the favour of God, of his Angels, and all Saints; for thy trouble without, peace of conscience within; for thy lands, the deeds & assurances of an heavenly inheritance; and for thy life temporall, life eternall. Wouldst thou have more in hand?
Ob. Oh but this is a very hard thing to rowe thus against the streame, and do as no body doth.
Ans. Indeed few enter into this narrow way: but it is good going to heaven, although without company. And yet thou wantest no good company, but hast the Prophets, Apostles, Martyrs, and Christ himselfe before thee, who also suffereth and smarteth in all the sorrowes of the Saints.
Object. But is it not hard to be counted & die for an hereticke?
Ans. Not of hereticks: & Christ was counted no lesse for thee.
Ob. But I have wife, children, and friends depending on me.
Ans. The case indeed is heavie, as Christ implied, saying, Wo be to them that give suck in those dayes: but, 1. thou art a saver, if thou savest nothing but Christ: thou lovest well enough, if in case of confession thou lovest nothing but Christ: 2. cast thy care on the Lord, who is wont to save his against all appearance: And, speake not one word for them that depend on thee, and two for thy selfe.
Ob. But it may be I have a flock which will be scattered.
Ans. But thy bloud shed for the truth which thou hast preached, preacheth with much more fruit and furtherance of the Gospel, than all thy life and labours: as in Abel, Stephen, and the Martyrs, whose bloud yet speaketh.
Let all of us therfore, who are Use. Beleeve this doctrine, and obey it.pressed under this banner of Christs holy profession, resolve to do our Master saithfull service, even to the death, and strive to beleeve the words of our Lord, that to lose the life in this cause, is, to winne it in everlasting glory.
Object. But the dayes (thankes bee to God) are peaceable, and there is no great need nor use of this doctrine.
Answ. Yet, 1. a wise Pilot will in peace provide for a storme. 2. Wee know not how soon wee may have use of it; one powderblow from under-ground may shake all our foundations. Little did the Christians in King Edwards daies thinke of such a suddaine change as Queene Mary brought in. 3. Never were Gods people neerer danger, than when they thought themselves furthest off, and cried, Peace, peace. 4. No Christian is well furnished, but hee that in peace hath attained a ready disposition to lay down his life at any warning for the Name of Christ.
Object. But who would not give his life for Christ? all say they are ready.
Answ. Yet first if times should change, would they indeed, who now in daies of protection are ashamed of the Gospel of Christ? would they stick to Christ, crowned with thornes, who when hee weares a golden Crowne, thinke it good policie not to bee seene with him?
Secondly, is it to bring mens lives in their hands, to Christ and his profession, to shrinke now for feare at the name of a Professor, and bee ready to faint to heare a damosell say, Surely thou art one of them?
Thirdly, would they suffer for the profession, that now scoffe & scorne at Professors, under reproachful titles, that now are persecutors themselves, & goe as far in persecuting as they can, and the lawes wil suffer? No, no: those that now robbe them of their good names, while the Gospel is publikely professed & protected, would easily bereave them of their lives, if times would afford them lawes and liberty.
So as the great part of the world is not resolved of this truth, that to lose the life for Christ is to save it; and those that now deny him in the peace of the Gospel, are farre from dying with him in the triall.
Now because this is a building, which requireth great fore-cast, and is above naturall strength, we had need furnish our selves with all the helpes to set it forward, and fit our selves well to the obedience of so difficult a commandement.
Quest. What are they?
Ans. 1. Begin with God: presume I. Practices to prepare for martyrdome.not of thine owne strength, as Peter. It is a worke of sound conversion, and of mighty power by that Spirit of fortitude, by which of weake wee become strong. And therefore wee must pray earnestly, that hee would please to stablish us unto this triall, & strengthen us with all patience, long-suffering, and joyfulnesse, Col. 1. 10. For none have more cowardly lost the field, than such as have most boasted of their valour and strength at home. Pray also for that eye-salve, which may let thee behold the glory of Christ, and thine eternall felicity hid with him: this wil make thee forget thy self (as the Disciples did at Christs Transfiguration) & long after him; and indeed a little taste of his glory wil make us valiant to take the Kingdome by force, as himselfe did for the glory that was before him.
2. Then take thy selfe in hand, 2.and strive daily in thine owne mortification and deniall of thy selfe; beware of self-love, love not Ideò tam pauci illuminati & liberi intus efflciuntur, quiaseipsos ex toto abnegarenesciunt. De imitat. Christi, l. 4. c. 8.the world, nor the things in it: account not of riches & wealth above their worth. If thy life bee too deare to thee, or the world swell in thine eye, or if thou mindest earthly things, or settest too fast a hand on any thing, wert thou never so wise, learned, civil, nay, didst thou follow Christ at heeles, & wert able to worke miracles, and cast out Divels; yet at length thou wouldst play false, & prove an Apostate; as Judas and Demas, who forsook the truth to embrace the present world.2 Tim. 4. 10.
3. Get sound judgement in matters of Faith, firmly and distinctly 3.to beleeve the truth of Religion: for this must be the ground of undaunted profession, 2 Cor. 4. 13. I beleeved; and therefore I spake. He hath begun well, who hath begun in truth, and laid a sure ground. It was soundnesse of Faith, that carried …ent Beleevers through such extremities. They endured racking, & burning, & hewing asunder, & all by faith. The just in Heb. 11. 38.trouble must live by faith, Hab. 2. 4. And every house not founded upon a rocke, when flouds beat & Mat. 7. 27.stormes blow, must fall, and the fall shall be very great.
4. Get sound affection, & grow 4.up in the love of God and Jesus Christ, & then all torments shall be sweet for his sake; as Jacob for Rachel. 1 Cor. 13. 7. love suffereth all things. Cant. 8. 6. love is strong as death: the coales therof are fiery coales, and a vehement flame; much water cannot quench it, nor flouds drown it. Nay, where this love is fervent, it kindleth a flame of zeale, by which if God cannot otherwise be glorified, or rather than God should lose his glory, the Saints would endure even the torments of hell: Moses would rather bee razed out of the Booke of life, and Paul separated from Christ, rather than God not glorified.
5. Christian resignation notably conduceth hereunto. Learne to 5.commit thy soule unto God in welldoing, as into the hands of a faithfull Creatour, 1 Pet. 4. 19. Thus did Paul, 2 Tim. 1. 12. I know whom I have beleeved, and am perswaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him, till that day. A childe that hath any precious thing given him, the best way to keep it, is, to put it into his fathers hands to keep. Thy soule is the most precious thing thou hast, let thy Father keep it, & it shalbe safe whatever befall the body & outward man.
6. Christian confirmation, or corroboration unto all long-suffering 6.and patience with joy, Col. 1. 11. Wee must daily out-grow some weaknesse, and bee adding to our strength, and laying up something to animate and encourage our selves in enduring with Christ, that by no meanes in triall▪ we be wonne to deny Christ and his Name.
Now for our daily strengthening II. Meditations availing thereunto. 1.it will be usefull to meditate daily on some of these things.
1. On Gods eternall decree, who hath appointed an houre for the power of darkness to work; before which time not an haire can fall from the head: Till it bee come, Christ shal withdraw himself from danger; but when it is come, he is not affraid to meet his enemies, to tell them hee is the man whom they seeke, & deliver himselfe into their hands. The enemy can do nothing that God is not aware of, nothing beyond his just and wise permission, nothing but what shall glorifie himself, edifie the Church, and turne to the best, even to us particularly.
2. Meditate on the Word of 2.God, predicting and fore-telling of persecutions for the Name of Christ, Ye shall be hated of all men for my sake: all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution; and, the time commeth, in which they that kill you, will think they doe GOD good service. Which are good admonitions, to keep us in some preparednes, to drink of the same cup with Christ our Lord. Commanding: to hold fast what wee have, and let none take our crowne, Rev. 2. 25. as if hee had said, Hold fast with both hands that faith and grace which is the pledge of a crowne. Promising, and fencing the heart with assurance of his presence, mitigation, deliverance, & honourable recompence, which are all strong & sure foundations grounded in his owne truth and faithfulnesse.
1. He hath promised his presence Promis…s to them that suffer for God. 1.in sixe troubles, & in seven, in fire and water; and, that for their strength & consolation the Spirit of grace and glory shall rest upon them, 1 Pet. 4. 14. And then he doth more for his Saints when he standeth by them, strengthening their faith, to suffer the pangs of death, than when he opened the prisondoors & iron gates to let Peter and Paul goefree. Nay, the same blessed Apostles were as deare to God, and God as neere to them, when they were behcaded by Nero, as when the one by an Angel was led out, & the other had the foundations of the prison shaken, and the gates cast open.
2. He hath promised mitigation: & it is much more, that Christians 2.can with joy clap their hands and sing Psalmes in the flames, & professe as some of the Martyrs, that the fire was to them as a bed of Downe, or sweet Roses, than to be led out of prison by an Angel.
3. He hath promised an happy 3.deliverance: for the fire shall not hurt the gold, but fine it: the flaile shal not hurt the wheat, but cleanse it: the black sope seems to foyle and fowle the cloth, but indeed makes it whiter & cleaner. There is no danger when Gods Battledore come on his children; it serves but to whiten them, and parts them from their foulnesse. All the enemies cannot hinder thy glory, no more than they could Christs: they may sever soule and body asunder, but neither of them from Christ. They may take our soules from our bodies, or our hearts out of our bosome; but cannot take us out of the hand or bosome of our heavenly Father.
4. Hee hath promised a most 4. foreign. Igna. ad Polycar.ample recompence to him that overcomes. I will give him power over the Nations, he shall be a pillar in the house of God, and shall go no more forth: and Christ will Rev. 2. 26. & 3. 12.confesse him before his Father in heaven, Mat. 10. 32. Oh now look often upon this happy end, if thou shalt give thy life in Christs quarrell. Great shall be thy reward in heaven, when a miserable life shall bee exchanged with eternall blessednesse. This of the second meditation.
3. Consider, that thou hast Christ thy companion in suffering; 3.yea, thou hast him an example also, who for the joy set before Heb. 12. 2.him, endured the crosse: Nay, he endured thy crosse, & all thy suffering is but an honest duty of thankfulnesse, and a gratefull part to stick to him in trouble, whom we have followed in prosperity. Polycarp the Martyr at his death said thus, I have served Christ 86. yeeres, and hee never hurt mee, why should I speake evill of him?
Yea, it is but duty to maintaine his cause to death, who by death maintained our cause, & now pleadeth it in the sight of God. Neither is it an unglorious service, but a precious gift, and an honourable advancement, 1 Pet. 4. 14. The Martyr that sate downe with Christ at a bitter breakfast, expected a better dinner, and found it. Oh thinke with thy selfe, what had become of mee if Christ had kept his life so fast from mee, as my corruption would hold my life from him! If I would keep it from him to day, he may snatch it from me to morrow. If I will not give it now to glorifie God, he may take it unto punishmēt. If I give it freely once, it is not to lose it, but to receive it for ever. I see when God called Abraham to sacrifice his Isaac, Abraham by offering him preserved him: The way to preserve my Isaac, my joy, my life, is, to offer it to Christ: for, then it shall not perish, but live and be increased; and for my Isaac and joy, a Ram shalbe sacrified, that is, only my corrupt affections & concupiscence, but my joy shall none take away.