jct in prison, for Christ,) ?ay, ' Such an liour it is as angels are not permiltecl to have, therefore God forgive me mine iinthankfulness.' Now, when Satan can- not scare a soul from pri&on, yet then he will laboin- to puff him np in prison; when he cannot make him pity himself, then he will flatter him till he prides in himsi.>lf. Affliction from God exposeth to impatience ; for God, to pride ; and therefore. Christians, labour to fortify yourselves against this temptation of Satan. How soon you may be called to suflering work, yoxi know not ; such clouds oft are not long arising. Now, to keep th}' heart humble, when thou art honoured to sufl'er for the truth, consider,
First, Though thou dost not deserve those suIFerings at man's hand, (thou canst and ma3'est in tliat regard glory in thy innocency ; thou sufferest not as an evildoer,) yet thou canst not but confess it is a just affliction from God in regard of sin in thee ; and this methinks should keep thee hmnble. The same sutlering may be martyrdom in regard of man, and yet a fatherly chastising for sin in regard of God. None suilered without sin but Christ ; and therefore none may glorj- in them but he ; Christ in his own, we in his. ' God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of Christ.' Gal. vi. This kept Mr. Bradford humble in his suft'erings for the truth : none more rejoiced in them, and blessed God for them, yet none more humble under them than he. And what kept him in this humble frame ? Read his godly letters, and you shall find almost in all how he bemoans his sins, and the sins of the Protestants under the reign of King Edward : — ' It was time,' saitli he, ' for God to put his rod into the papists' hands ; we were grown so proud, foimal, unfiuitful, yea, so as to loathe and des})ise the means of grace, when we enjoyed the liberty thereof; and therefore God hath brought the wheel of persecution on us.' As he looked at the honom-, to nuike him thankful ; so to sin, to keep him lumable.
Secondly, Consider who bears thee up, and carries thee through thy s\ifl'erings for Christ. Is it thy grace, or his, that is sufficient for such a work ? thy spirit, or Christ's, by which thou speakest, when called to bear witness to the truth ? How comes it to pass thou art a sufferer, and not a persecutor ; a confessor, and not a denier ; yea, a betrayer of Christ and his gospel .' This thou owest to God ; he is not beholden to thee, that thou wilt part with estate, credit, or life itself for his s;ike. If thou hadst a thousand lives, thou wouldst owe them all to him ; but thou art beholden to God exceedingly, that he will call for these in this way, which has such an honour and reward attending it. He might liave suft'ered thee to live in thy lusts, and at last to suffer the loss of all these for them. Oh, how nuuiy die at the gallows, as martyrs in the devil's cause, for felonies, rapes, and murders ! Or he might withdiaw his grace, and leave thee to thy own cowardice and vmbelief, and then thou wouldst shew thyself in thy colours. The stoutest champions for Christ have been taught how weak they are if Christ steps aside. Some that liave given great testimony of their faith and resolution in Christ's cause, even to come so near dying for liis name, as to give themselves to be bound to the stake, and fire to be kindled upon them, yet then their hearts ha'. e failed; as that hoi)' man, Mr. Benbridge, in our English martyrology, who thrust the faggots from him, and cried out, ' I recant! I recant!' Yet this man, when reinforced in his faith, and endued with power from above, was able, within the space of a week after that sa 1 foil, to die at the stake cheerfidly ; Qui pro nobis mortem seviel v'lcit, semper in nobis vincil ; he that overcame death for us, is he that alwajs overcame death in us. And who should be thy song, but lie that is thy strength ? Applaud not thyself, but bless him. It is one of God's names ; he is called the ' glory of his people's strength,' Psa. Ixxxix. 17. The more thou gloriest in God that gives thee strength to suffer for lum, the less thou wilt boast of thyself. A thankful heart and a pi-oud cannot dwell together in one bosom.
Thirdly, Consider what a fou! blot pride gives to all thy suilerings, where it is not bewailed and resisted ; it alters the case. The old saying is, that it is not the pimislnnent, but the cause makes the martyr : we may safely say further, it is not barely the cause, but the sincere frame of the heart in suf- fering for a good cause, that makes a man a martyr in Ciod's sight. Though thou shouldstgivc thy body to be biu'ned, if thou hast not nn humble lieart of a sufl'erer for Christ, thou turnest nu'rchaut for tliyself. Thou denicst but one self, to .set up another; runnest the hazard of thy estate and life to gain some
150 AGAINST SPIRITUAL WICKEDNESS.