persecution that taketh them from you an insufferable thing; nor be impatient to be deprived of them.

12. Had you rather be in the case of the prosperous persecutor, or the persecuted believer? If the former, you are no true Christians: if the latter murmur not when you have that which you prefer. Sure a true martyr at the stake, or with Daniel in the lion's den, would be loath to change states with Nebuchadnezzar or Darius.

13. Do you think Christ loved Stephen the first martyr, or James the first martyred apostle, or Peter and Paul that died for the Gospel, less than he loved those that overlived them and suffered no such thing? Is not the crown of martyrdom the most glorious? Why are they said to live before the rest a thousand years? Had you not now rather have Stephen's place in heaven, than theirs that suffered nothing for Christ? And if it be best at last, is it not most eligible now?

14. Are you afraid of men? You have a greater than man to fear, and greater hurt than man can do you: Fear not them that can kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do, but fear him that can destroy soul and body in hell! Yea, I say unto you, fear him ;" Luke xii. 4. Are you afraid of a prison, or death, or fire? Fear more hellfire and death everlasting. When Bilney burnt his finger in the candle, he remembered that hell-fire was more intollerable.

15. Wherein hath Christ been more an example to you, than in patient or obedient suffering, even unto death, and to the most accursed, shameful death? Do you think that he only suffered to keep us from all suffering? Peter saith, it was to leave us an example; and Paul saith that we must be conformed to him, and partakers of his sufferings. Why else doth Christ call us to bear the cross? And is it not joyful to see the footsteps of Christ in the way we go, and to know that we follow him?

16. Sure that is not a state of greatest fear and sorrow, in which Christ hath commanded us to rejoice with the greatest joy: but so he hath done in the case of persecution; "Blessed are they that are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven;" Matt.

v. 10. 12. "Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial, but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, that when his glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy;" 1 Pet. iv. 12, 13. "They took joyfully the spoiling of their goods, knowing that in heaven they had a better and enduring substance;" Heb. x. 34. So Heb. xi. throughout.

17. God hath promised you that all your sufferings shall work together for your good; (Rom. viii. 28.) and taught you how to make them your exceeding gain. Practise this art, and you will be more patient, when you find the benefit and feel that you are more than conquerors. Our victory is by patient suffering. The worst men may conquer our bodies by force, but our souls are unconquered, and we are conquerors of the temptation and real hurt, while we keep obedient patience. When it is said of Job, "In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly;" satan was conquered, and missed his end, while he seemed to prevail upon his flesh.

By persecution you may learn. 1. What a nature is in lapsed men. 2. That there are devils that keep up a war against Christ. 3. How great their power is in the world, by God's permission over wicked men. 4. How wonderful a work of God it is, that the godly can live in so much peace and safety as they do, among those that are the very servants of the devil; even as Daniel was kept in the den of lions, because God shut their mouths. 5. How great need there is of sanctifying grace? 6. How great a mercy is our conversion, which cureth such a nature in us. 7. It calleth us to continual Christian watchfulness, to beware of men, and especially of their temptations, and to be wise as serpents, and innocent as doves. 8. It driveth us to constant prayer and dependance upon God for help and safety. 9. It teacheth us to keep up faith and hope, as having our eye continually on God, and on the heavenly inheritance, with out which we have nothing to support us. 10. And it as sureth us that there is a day of judgment, in which Christ will call over again in righteousness, all the false judgments and actions of this world.. He that maketh all this use of persecution, will have gain enough to plead for patience.

18. To review this last; if you believe in Christ indeed, you do believe that he will come again to judge the world in righteousness, and to set all straight that here was made

crooked by the falsehood and malignity of men.

And will not the foresight of that resolve you patiently to suffer? Faith may foresee how poor blinded persecutors will then have their eyes opened, and see him with terror, whom they persecuted in his servants, and how he will silence and condemn them, with, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels;" Matt. xxv. 41. 2 Thess. i. 6. 10-12. ii. 12. If the forethoughts of that day do not quiet or resolve you, alas! you have greater matter of fear and trouble than persecution, even your own unbelief. Pray more for faith, than for deliverance from men.

19. Consider comparatively what man is, that hurteth you; and what God is, who hath promised to help you and reward you. Man is a worm, blinded and mad by the deceit of satan. They know not what they are doing against themselves and God, as well as against you: they are all the while going towards the grave, and their souls towards the dreadful bar of God: their bones and dust are no whit terrible. If God will here have mercy on them, he will make them know, who it is they persecute, and how hard a work it is barefoot to kick against the pricks, and make them, as Paul, themselves undergo such persecutions for Christ, as they madly used against others; they will say, as Paul, “ I was mad against them :" And his case tells you, that if the very captain of the persecutors were but converted, though by a voice and miracle from heaven, the rest, instead of taking it for a conviction, would presently persecute him themselves. But if God let them go on, alas! where will they shortly be! O pray, pray hard for your persecutors, as Christ did, before they are past prayers and hope, in hell. But are these poor worms to be much feared? How oft are we charged, not to fear them; Luke xii. 4. Matt. x. 28. John xxiv. 27. Jer. xlvi. 27, 28. ful (that fear men) are numbered with unbelievers, and are shut out among the dogs, if fear prevail against their faith; Rev. xxii.

Ezek. iii. 8, 9.

The fear

And then think what that God is, that hath promised our defence. When Infinite Power, Wisdom and Love, is set against a few wasps and worms, shall our fear of them be greater than our trust in him? If it were but an angel from heaven that appeared for our defence or encouragement, against a dog that barked at us, it were a shame to us not to

trust him. "If God be for us, who shall be against us?" Read Psal. xci. Rom. viii. Matt. vi. See Isa. viii. 13, 14. xli. 10. 13, 14.

20. Can any thing do you greater good, that can outwardly befal you, than that which both assureth you of your right to heaven, and puts you presently in possession of it? And this will be the fruit of martyrdom. O what a change will that day make! from torment to our Master's joy! from the raging army of the devil, to the heavenly choir of saints and angels! A strong faith would make us long for such a day. As children of God, joint heirs with Christ, if we suffer with him, we shall be glorified with him; and the present sufferings are not worthy to be compared to the glory; Rom. viii. 18. 2 Cor. iv. 16. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, our inward man is renewed day by day: "for our light affliction which is but for a moment, worketh out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God, commit the keeping of their souls to him in well-doing, as to a faithful Creator;" 1 Pet. iv. 19.

CASE VII.

Oppression and Injustice by Men of Wealth and Power. Another case that requireth patience, is oppression by men of wealth and power in the world, and injustice of ungodly governors. Justice is so much due to all mankind, and injustice so odious, that we are ready to take it the more heinously when we cannot have our right. Oppressing landlords raise their rents to such a height, that poor men with the most tiring care and labour, can hardly live. And some rich men do think that their wills must be poor men's rule, and that they must deny them nothing that they command; as if the poor were slaves, that had no property or benefit of the law. And worst of all, when in too many nations on earth, rulers are unjust, and haters of just and upright men, and either break all bounds of law to ruin them, or else turn the law itself against them; and when they justify the wicked, and condemn the innocent, yea, when piety, and honesty, and conscience, are made the most intolerable crimes, and

filthiness, and sensuality do pass for works of one that may be trusted; these cases call for extraordinary patience, and it is the more grievous because that magistracy is a special ordinance of God, and the image of his supereminence and governing power shineth in it: and to have satan get possession of it, and turn it against God himself who made it, and make that the plague and calamity of mankind, which was instituted for order, justice and defence, and the upholding of goodness, and suppression of sin, this is a most grievous case. The same I say of cruel masters tyrannizing over their servants, and wicked parents oppressing virtue in their children. Here patience is of great necessity.

And 1. We must here be very careful to distinguish between true power and its abuse, and not to think evil of power itself because it is abused. And this must be the more carefully studied, because here practically to distinguish is exceeding difficult. For the best things when corrupted, are the worst. It is hard to love rain and waters in a deluge, when it drowneth the country, men and beasts. One that had seen the fire of London, or yesterday the burning of Wapping, might be tempted to take fire to be more terrible than amiable. If physicians killed twenty for one they cured, men would grow into a dread or hatred' of their profession and as to rulers, judges, and all sorts of magistrates, the case is the same. They are God's ordinances (in general) and good in themselves, and if well used would be the great blessing of the world; God's ordinary means to protect the innocent, encourage the godly, and bring ungodliness to shame; to keep rich men from oppressing the poor, and the unruly multitude from popular rage against their neighbours or superiors; to keep up equity and justice, and to frustrate treachery, perjury and fraud; in a word, to be God's ministers or officers for the common good, and to see his laws obeyed by the subjects, being themselves the most zealous in obeying them, and to be a terror to blasphemers, fornicators, murderers, thieves, oppressors and other evil-doers, and a praise and defence to them that do well.

There are two cases which are no better than ruin to mankind that is, to have no government, and to have utter tyranny, which designeth the undoing of the subjects, souls and bodies, by forcing them to sin against God to their damation (as far as force can do it), or commonly to die as mar