6. Sixthly, I answer. That he shall he sure to suffer from Christ that re/uses to suffer, or that is afraid to suffer, for Christ's sake, or holiness' sake, or the gospel's sake. No man can suffer so much for Christ as he shall be sure to suffer from Christ, if he disdain and refuse to suf- fer for Christ : Mark viii. 35, ' For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it ; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake, and the gospel's, the same shall save it.' He that shall attempt to save his life by crossing his light, by shifting off of truth, or by forsaking of Christ, shall lose it.l He that thinks to shun suffering by sinning, shall be sure to suffer with a witness. It is a gainful loss to suffer for the truth, it is a lossful gain, by time-serving and base complying with the lusts and humours of men, to provide for our present safety, secu- rity, plenty, peace, and ease, &c., either by denying the truth, or by betraying the truth, or by exchanging the truth, or by forsaking the truth. When Henry the Fourth of France had conquered his ene- mies, he turned Papist, and gave this reason of it, ' That he might settle himself in peace and safety.' Ravilliak,^ who slew him as he was riding abroad in his coach to refresh himself, confessed that the reason why he stabbed him was, because he was of two religions ; and thus, by endeavouring to save his life, he lost it. One Philbert Ham- lin, in France, having converted a priest to the profession of the truth, was, together with the priest, apprehended and cast into prison at Bourdeaux ; but after a while, the priest, being terrified with the pri- son and fear of death, renounced Christ, and was set at liberty ; where- upon Philbert said to him, ' 0 unhappy and more than miseraljle man, is it possible that, to save your life for a few days, you should so deny the truth ? Know, therefore, that though you have avoided the cor- poral fire, yet your life shall not be prolonged, for you shall die before me, and you shall not have the honour to die for the cause of Christ, but you shall be an example to apostates ; ' and accordingly, as he went out of the prison, two gentlemen that had a former quarrel with him met him, and slew him ; and thus he also lost his life by endea- vouring sinfully to save it. Though life be sweet, and every creature
^ That husbandman that keeps his wheat loses his wheat, but he that bows his wheat renews his wheat. si Ravillac, as before. — Q.
HeB. XII. 14.] AND BEAUTY OF HOLINESS. 279
makes much of it, from the highest angel to the lowest worm, yet woe to him that is set upon saving of it, when Christ calls upon him to be divinely prodigal of it. No fool to him who thinks to avoid a less danger by running himself into a greater danger, who thinks to save his body by losing his soul, and to save his temporal life by losing eternal life. There is no loser to him who, by sinful attempts to save liis life, shall lose a better life than ever he can save. So ver. 38, ' Whosoever, therefore, shall be ashamed of me, and of my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed when he cometh in the glory of his Father, with the holy angels.' Ah, friends, what are prisons and dungeons, and racks and flames, to Christ's being ashamed of a man in the great day, when he shall be attended with troops of saints and millions of angels ? wlien, in the face of the court of heaven, when all the princes of glory shall sit upon their thrones, Christ shall disdain a man, and scorn so much as to look upon him, or take any notice of him, or shew the least re- spect or favour towards him. Oh, what a sea of sorrow and a hell of horror will this raise in him ! I have readi that when Sapor, king of Persia, raised a violent persecution against the Christians, Ustha- zares, an old nobleman, and one of king Sapor's eunuchs and cour- tiers, being a Christian, was so terrified that he lefb off his profession, and sitting at the court gate when Simeon, an aged holy bishop, was led to prison, and rising up to salute him, the good bishop frowned upon him, and turned his face with indignation from him, as disdain- ing to look upon a man that had denied the faith ; upon this Ustha- zares fell a-weeping, and went into his chamber, and put off his courtly garments, and then brake out into these like words. Ah, how shall I appear before that Grod that I have denied ? with what face shall I behold that God of whom I have been ashamed, when Simeon, my old familiar acquaintance, will not endure to look upon me, but disdains to bestow a civil salute upon me ? If he frown now, oh, how will Grod behold me when I shall stand before his tribunal seat ! And this physic so wrought with him, that he recovered his spiritual strength, and went boldly and professed himself a Christian, and died a glorious martyr. The application is easy. Well, sirs, remember this, it is infinitely better to suffer for God, than to suffer from God : 1 Pet. iii. 17, ' For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.' 2 It is better to suffer for well doing from men, than to suffer for ill doing from God. Cyprian, in his sermon de lapsis, makes mention of divers, who, forsaking the profes- sion of their faith, were given over by God to be possessed by evil spirits, and so died fearfully and miserably. The Angrognians that yielded and complied with the Papists that came against them, were more sadly and cruelly handled by them than their neighbours that continued constant in the truth. Under the fourth persecution there were some Christians who, for fear of torments and death, denied their faith and sacrificed to idols, yet did not their bloody persecutors spare
^ Sozom. Hist., lib. ii. c. 8. You may see the same story in Mr Foxe his Book of Mar- tyrs, fol. 97, 98.
* Non poena, ged causa facit martyrem, It is not the punishment, but the cause, that makes the martyr. — Acts and Monu., fol. 835.
280 THE NECESSITY, EXCELLENCY, RARITY, [HeB. XII. 14.