suffered martyrdom in this nation, rejoiced that she might have her foot in the same hole of the stocks in which Mr Philpot's had been before. And Luther reports of that famous martyr St Agatha, that as she went to prisons and tortures, she said she went to banquets and nuptials. Vincentius, laughing at his tormentors, said that death and tortures were to Christians jocularia et ludicra, matters of sport and pastime, and he joyed and gloried when he went upon hot burning coals, as if he had trod upon roses, i Philip Landsgrave of Hesse, being a long time prisoner under Charles the Fifth, it was demanded, what upheld him all that time, and he answered, that he felt the divine consolations of the martyrs. Basil, in his oration for Barlaam, that famous martyr, saith, that he delighted in the close prison as in a pleasant green meadow, and he took pleasure in the several inventions of tortures, as in several sweet flowers. William Tims, martyr, in a letter to a friend of his a little before his death, writeth thus, ' Now I take my leave of you till we meet in heaven, and hie you after ; I have tarried a great while for you, and seeing you are so long in making ready, I will tarry no longer for you : you shall find me merrily singing. Holy, holy, holy Lord Grod of Sabaoth, at my journey's end,' &c. And when they kindled the fire at the feet of James Bainham, ' Methinks,' said he, ' you strew roses before me ; ' and Hawkes the martyr lifted up his hands above his head, and clapped them together when he was in the fire, as if he had been riding in state and triumph ; and holy Mr Saunders, speaking of his consolations in his sufferings, saith, that he found a wonderful sweet refreshment flow from his heart unto all the members of his body, and from all the parts of his body to his heart again.^ By all these instances it is most evident that persecuting- times are the saints' rejoicing-times. God reserves the best and strongest wine of consolation to a day of persecution ; suitable to that 2 Cor. i. 3-5, ' Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercy, and the God of all comfort, who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.' Oh, the sweet looks, the sweet words, the sweet hints, the sweet in-comes, the sweet joggings, the sweet embraces, the sweet influences, the sweet discoveries, the sweet love-letters, the sweet love-tokens, and the sweet comforts that Christians experience in their sufferings for Christ ! In all their afflictions and persecutions, they may truly say, we have sweetmeats to eat, and waters of life to drink, and heavenly honeycombs to suck, that the world knows not of ; and indeed, when should the torch bo lighted, but in a dark night ? and when should the fire be made, but when the weather is cold ? and when should the cordial be given, but when the patient is weak ? and when should the God of comfort, the God of all kinds of comfort, and the God of all degrees of comfort, comfort his people, but under their afilictions and persecutions ? for
^ Fire, sword, death, prison, famine, are all pleasures, they are all delightful to me, saith Basil. Modestus, lieutenant to Julian the emperor, told him, that when the Chris- tians suffered they did but deride them ; and the torments, said he, with which Christians are tormented, are more terrible to the tormentora, than they are to the tormented.
' Clarke, as before, sub nominibus. — G.
292 THE NECESSITY, EXCELLENCY, RARITY, [HeB. XII. 14.
then comfort is most proper, necessary, seasonable, and suitable, and then God will be sure to pour in of the oil of joy into their hearts. And thus you see the great and glorious advantages that will re- dound 1 to the people of God by all their afflictions and persecutions. But,
, 8. Eighthly, I answer, That to suffer affliction and persecution for holiness sake, is the greatest and highest honour that you are cap- able of in this world. The crown of a martyrdom is a crown that the angels, those princes of glory, are not capable of winning or wearing ; and oh, who art thou ! what art thou, 0 man ! that God should set this crown upon thy head ! 1 Pet. iv. 14, ' If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye ; for the Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you ; on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.'^ The very suffering condition of the people of God is at the present a glori- ous condition, for * the Spirit of glory rests upon them,' and they must needs be glorious, yea, very glorious, upon whom the Spirit of glory dwells. The sufferings of ' the three children,' Dan. iii., tended very much to their honour and advancement, even in this world ; and had those vessels of honour slipped their opportunity of suffering, they had lost their glory.3 The apostles all along counted their sufferings for Christ their highest honour. And that is a remarkable scripture that you have in that Heb. xi. 36-38, ' And others had trial of cruel mock- ings and scourgings, yea, moreover, of bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, they were tempted, they were slain with the sword ; they wandered about in sheep-skins and goat- skins, being destitute, afflicted, and tormented.' Oh ! but these were surely the most sad, miserable, wretched, and forlorn creatures in all the world. Oh no ! and that is most evident if the testimony and judgment of the Holy Ghost may be received ; for, ver. 38, ' They were such of whom the world was not worthy.' The persecuting world was not worthy of their love, nor worthy of their prayers, nor worthy of their presence, nor worthy of their fellowship ; and therefore God called them home, and set them down upon thrones by himself. And to me it is very observable, that when that great apostle Paul would glory in that which he accounted his honour, glory, and excellency, he does not glory in his high office, nor in his being rapt up in the third heaven, nor in the interest that he had in the hearts of the saints, nor in his arts or parts, &c. ; but he glories in his sufferings, in that 2 Cor. xi. 23-27, 'In stripes above measure; in prisons more frequent; in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck : a night and a day have I been in the deep. In journey- ing often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by my own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren. In
^ Spelled ' redowne. ' — G.
* To die for Christ is the greatest promotion that God can bring any in this vale of misery unto, said Mr Philpot the martyr.