^ There will come a day when Jews, Turks, and Papists shall pay dear for adding to the Scriptures. * Spelled ' wander.' — G.
• A term of endearment, e.g. Ford. ' I know, quoth I, I am his white-boy.' — Tts Pity, &c., i. 3. Subsequently applied polemically. — G.
TO ALL SUFFERING SAINTS. 431
others, and might eat the fat and drink the sweet, and live at ease, and grow rich as well as others. But some do not love that we should either harp hard or long upon this string ; and therefore,
[7.] Seventhly, They that are assertors of Christ, of the true Messiah, and his glorious gospel and gospel ordinances, in opposition to all such as either deny him or his gospel, or that make head against him or gospel ordinances, gospel administrations, they have a good cause, and if they suffer upon that account, they suffer as Christians for well-doing. The sufferings of the people of God for the first three hundred years, were clearly stated for Christ and the gospel in common. It was the administration of the gospel in the whole and in every part of it, and Grentilism advanced instead thereof, that brought on a warm persecution. Seeing serious Christians are for pure ordinances and pure administrations, and what they have suffered and "do daily suffer upon that account, all that do not wilfully shut their eyes may easily discern. It is sad when such men's mouths must be stopped who are qualified, gifted, graced, and called, both by God and men, to preach the glorious, the everlasting gospel, 2 Cor. iv. 4. But when the devil and his factors have done their worst, the gospel will get ground by all the opposition that is made against it, Kev. xiv. 6. Among many other visions that John had, ' he saw an angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth; and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people ; saying with a loud voice. Fear God, and give glory to him,' &c., Kev. xiv. 7, 8. Now mark what next follows: 'Another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen ; Babylon the Great is fallen.' Now behold the efl&cacy and power of gospel-preaching. Let but the gospel be sincerely preached, and Babylon must down. The devil and Dagon must fall before the ark of God's presence; whatsoever the pur- poses, projects, pretences, policies, conspiracies, combinations, and con- federacies of lewd, superstitious, atheistical, wicked wretches be, yet they shall never be able to stop the stream of God's word, dam up the wells of salvation, or hinder the free passage of the gospel, no more than they are able to bind up the wind in their fists, or stop the sun from running its race, or hinder the clouds from watering the earth, i It is true that the faithful ministers of the gospel may, by the instruments of Satan, be stocked, stoned, sawn asunder, burned with fire, slain with the sword, clapped up in prison, fettered in chains, plundered, &c., yet the gospel may be, nay is, in lively operation, a light that cannot be put out, a heat that cannot be smothered, a power that cannot be broken ; for even then the courageous and constant sufferings of God's faithful ministers, and their cheerful and patient bearing of the cross, doth, as by a lively voice, publish and proclaim the truth of the gospel for which they suffer, and serves to win many to the faith of Christ. Paul's bonds fell out to the furtherance of the gospel, Phil, i, 7, 12-14, 17. Paul's iron chain was more famous and glorious all the world over, than all the golden chains in Nero's palace. Whatsoever persecuting popes and persecuting emperors have attempted against the gospel, Christ
^ The more wicked men rage, the more the gospel spreads, as you may see, Acts v. 40-42, and viii. 1, 3-6, 12, and li. 19-21, 26, and xii, 1-4, 23, 24; Heb. li, 34-36; Kev. ii. 10; Acts ivi. 23-25.
432 A GENEEAL EPISTLE
has turned it all to the furtherance of the gospel. l The pope's bulls, and the emperor's thunderbolts, did not amaze and discourage men, but did exceedingly animate and encourage them to own the gospel, to embrace the gospel, and to stand up in the defence of the gospel. Caesar sending the Protestants' confession abroad to other Christian princes, as desiring their advice about it, dispersed and spread it more in all parts than all the Lutheran preachers could have done ; for which cause Luther laughs not a little at the foolish wisdom of the papists, in a certain epistle of his to the elector of Saxony.'^ Julian, observing that the more ministers and Christians were persecuted the more they increased, he gave over persecution, and spared those whom he could have wished out of the world. And would it not be the wis- dom and the interest of the persecutors in our days to write after Julian's copy ? and if they will not, then let them remember that it is the most effectual way under heaven to propagate those truths, opinions, ways, principles, and practices, which their hearts rise and swell against, by laying them in bonds which stand up most eminently in the defence of those truths, opinions, ways, principles, and practices. The nature of man is very curious and inquisitive. Men, as men, are led by common compassion to desire to understand the grounds of men's sufferings. By this means the sufferings, especially the im- prisonment of the apostles, carried the doctrine of the gospel to many places where the apostles themselves never came, nor perhaps could come ; no doubt but the fame of their suffering went faster and farther too than they could go. But,
[8.] Eighthly, They that are assertors of any one fundamental truth, in opposition to error and heresy truly so called, have a good cause ; and if they suffer upon that account, they suffer as Christians for well-doing. Acts xxiv. 14 ; 1 Cor. xi. 9 ; 2 Pet. ii. 1 ; Gal. v. 20. Such were those Christians that suffered under the Arian emperors, Constantius, Valens, and others, who suffered for maintaining that Christ was co-essential, co-equal, and co-eternal with the Father ; and such were Wickliffe, John Huss, and Jerome of Prague, &c. Are there none this day among us that suffer in their names, in their estates, in their persons, in their liberties, for asserting and maintaining the great truths of the gospel, in opposition to Socinianism, Arianism, Popery, will-worship, &c. ? Are there no Socinian atheists among us who deny with open face the godhead of Christ, and of the Holy Ghost, as if Christ were a constituted God, and not of the same sub- stance with the Father from all eternity ; not a God by nature, but by donation in time ? And though God hath raised up several cham- pions in this his Israel, to disarm them of all their subtilties, and to beat them out of all their trenches, though they were dug as low as hell ; yet, how have they put on a brow of brass, and do all they can to bring on a warm persecution upon their opposers ? Prov. xxvii. 22. But,