Bradford was told that his chain was a-buying, and that he must be burnt, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, I thank God for it ; I have looked for this a long time ; it comes not to me suddenly, but as a thing waited for every day, yea, every hour in the day ; the Lord make me worthy thereof. If upon God's warning you will but pre- pare for sufferings, you will never fear nor faint under sufferings, yea, then you will be able under the greatest persecutions to bear up bravely, and with holy Bradford bless the Lord that has called you to so high an honour as to count you worthy to suffer for his name. But, 3. Thirdly, I answer. That all the troubles, ajfflictions, and persecu- tions that do befall you for holiness sake, shall never hurt you nor harm you, they shall never prejudice you, nor wrong you in your main and great concernments : Exod. iii. 2, ' And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush ; and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not con- sumed.' 1 Here you have a bush, a dry bush, a bramble- bush all on a-light fire, and yet not consumed. This burning bush was an excellent emblem of the church in the fire of tribulation and persecution. Though the church may seem to be all on fire by reason of afflictions and persecutions, yet it shall be preserved, it shall not be destroyed. Though God be a consuming fire, yet he will never consume the bramble-bush. The bush was on fire, and yet the fire did not in the least hurt or harm the bush, it did not one whit prejudice or wrong the bush, Deut. iv. 24 ; Heb. xii. 29 : so though the church of God be on fire by the means of fiery trials, yet these fiery trials shall never hurt nor harm the church, they shall never prejudice it nor wrong it : Ps. cv. 12-15, * When they were but a few men in number ; yea, very few, and strangers in it. When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people ; he suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes; saying. Touch not mine anointed, nor do my prophets no harm.' ^ God would not suficr his anointed ones, his sanctified ones, so much as to be touched, hm-t, or harmed by those who had malice enough in their hearts, and power enough in their hands, not only to hurt them, but even to destroy them.3 Sanctified persons are sacred persons, and they that touch them touch the apple of God's eye, and whosoever shall be so bold to touch the apple of God's eye shall dearly smart for it. It was no small affliction to have no settled habitation. To fly from place to place, from kingdom to kingdom, and from nation to nation, was without all peradventure an afflicted condition. Doubtless many fears and frights, many hazards and dangers did attend them, when they considered that they were as lilies among the thorns, and as a few sheep among a multitude of wolves. In the land of Canaan there were seven mighty nations, Deut. vii. 1. Now for the people of God, who were so few in number that they might easily and quickly be told, to sojourn and wander among these, could not but be very dangerous and perilous ; and yet such was the love of God to them, and the care of God over them,
^ The Hebrew word, H^Dj signifies a dry bush, a bramble-bush, and therefore it was the more strange and miraculous that it was not consumed. ' That is, the king of Egypt and the king of Gerar. * Gen. xii. 17, xx. 3, and xxxv. 5j Zech. iL 8.
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that he suffered no man, whether he was high or low, honourable or base, rich or poor, civil or profane, to hurt or harm them : Dan. iii. 25, 27, ' And the king answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt, and the form of the fourth is like unto the Son of God. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.' i Though these holy men were cast into a furnace, into a fiery furnace, into the midst of a hot fiery furnace, yet God will work a miracle, yea, a glorious miracle, rather than the fire shall in the least hurt or harm them. God gives a commission to the fire to burn those mighty men that made the fire, and that cast his children into the fire, and whom the king would have to be spared and saved ; and he lays a law of restraint upon the fire, that it should not hurt nor harm them whom the king would have destroyed. Those whom the King of kings will not have hurt, shall not be hurt, let kings and princes do their worst ; that fire that burnt their bonds had no power to burn, no nor to touch, their bodies. God would not suffer the fire to singe a hair of their heads, nor to change the colour of their coats, nor to leave so much as an ill smell upon his people, that those heathen princes might see how tender he was of them, and how will- ing he was to put forth his almighty power rather than he would see them wronged or harmed. So chap. vi. 21-23, * Then said Daniel unto the king, 0 king, live for ever. My God hath sent his angels, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me : foras- much as before him innocency was found in me ; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.' Holiness, innocency, and integrity will preserve a man even among lions. Daniel preferred the worship of his God before his life. He made no great reckoning of his life when it stood in competition with divine glory, and there- fore, rather than Daniel shall be hurt, God will by a miracle preserve him, he will stop the mouths of the hungry lions, and he will tame their rage, and overmaster their cruelty, rather than a hair of Daniel's head shall perish. When Daniel was taken out of the den, there was no hurt, no wound, no sore, no bruise found upon him. Daniel was a harmless man, and God keeps him from harms in the midst of harms : Acts xviii. 9, 10, ' Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision. Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace : for I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee ; for I have much people in this city.' Paul met with many trials and troubles, bonds and prisons, op- positions and persecutions, and yet none of all these hurt him, but God miraculously preserved him even to old age. Acts xx. 23. All the troubles, afflictions, and persecutions that attends holiness, can never