chain as his fellows did, esteeming this rebuke of Christ more glorious than the ensigns of St Michaers order, i It was an excellent saying of Prudentius, ' Their names/ saith he, ' that are written in red letters of blood in the church's calendar, are written in golden letters in Christ's register, the book of life,' The passion-days of the martyrs were anciently called the Natalitia salutis, the birthdays of salvation, the daybreak of eternal brightness. We count it a great honour to have princes to be our companions ; Christ, the Prince of peace, and the angels, those princes of glory, are our companions in all our sufferings. ^ Such is the honour that God puts upon his suffering saints, that nothing shall hinder him from being their companion in all their sufferings, in all their afflictions, in all their temptations ; and this, believe it, is no small honour. I have read 3 how that, in the primitive times, when some good people came to comfort some of the martyrs that were in prison and ready to suffer, they called them blessed martyrs ; Oh no, said they, we are not worthy of the name of martyrs ! These holy humble hearts thought martyrdom too high an honour for them. And Luther, writing to those which were condemned to death, saith. The Lord will not do me that honour after all that bustle I have made in the world. In the primitive times they were wont to call martyrdom by the name of Corona Marty rii, the crown of martyrdom. We read of a woman-martyr who, having her child in her hand, gave it to another, and offered herself to martyrdom. Crowns, said she, are to be dealt out this day, and I mean to have one. You see what high and honourable thoughts the saints had of their sufferings in those days ; and oh that all suffering saints would labour to write after that noble copy that they have left upon record ! But,
11. Eleventhly, Consider, That suffering saints do put a great deal of honour and glory upon God, Christ, religion, and upon God's truth, tcorship, and ways. What a spreading fame and glory of God did the sufferings of the three worthies scatter all the world over ! Dan. iii. 28, 29. God is acknowledged and adored by Nebuchadnezzar: a decree is made that ' Every people, nation, and language, which speak amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill,' &c. Here God's glory wonderfully shines out of their sufferings ; here this poor, blind, idolatrous heathen prince is forced to confess that there is no God like Israel's God. Basil and Tertullian do well observe of the primitive martyrs, that divers of the heathen, seeing their zeal, courage, and constancy, glorified God, and turned Chris- tians. Religion is that phoenix which hath always revived and flourished in the ashes of holy men ; and truth hath never been so honoured and gloriously dispersed as when it hath been sealed by the blood of the saints. This made Julian to forbear to persecute ; non ex dementia, sed invidia, not out of piety, but envy ; because the church grew so fast, and multiplied, as Nazianzen well observes. We read that sometimes the sufferings of one saint have begot many to the love of the truth. We read that Cecilia,* a poor captive virgin, by
1 Thnan. Hist., lib. xi. Anno 1553.
* Isa. ix. 6, 7 ; Dan. iii. 24, 25; Isa. xliii. 2, and Ixiii. 9.
' Euseb. Ecclcs. Hist., lib. v. * Clarke, as before— G.
TO ALL SUFFERING SAINTS. 443
her gracious behaviour in her martyrdom, was the means of convert- ing four hundred to Christ. Justin Martyr was also converted by observing the cheerful and gracious carriage of the saints in their sufferings. And so Adrianus, seeing the martyrs suffer readily and joyfully such grievous torments, asked why they would endure such misery, when they might, by retracting, free themselves. Upon which one of them cited that text: 'Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him,' 1 Cor. ii. 9. Upon the naming of this scripture, and seeing of them suffer so willingly, cheerfully, and resolutely, such a divine power took hold of his heart, that he was converted, and afterwards became a martyr. Now God, and Christ, and truth, and religion are never more honoured than when poor souls are soundly converted.^ Surely the crown of mar- tyrdom is a glorious crown ; and every soul won over to God by a dying martyr will be as an Orient pearl and precious diamond in his crown, of far more value than that adamant found about Charles Duke of Burgundy, slain by the Switzers at the battle of Nantz, sold for twenty thousand ducats, and placed, as it is said, in the pope's triple crown.2 Oh, what foretastes of glory, what ravishments of soul have many of the blessed martyrs had in their sufferings for Christ ! Holy Lord, stay thy hand, I can bear no more, said one of the martyrs ; like weak eyes, that cannot bear too great a light. Is it not a high honour to a king to have such captains and champions as will not yield to their sovereign's enemies, but stand it out to the uttermost till they get the victory, though it cost them their lives to get it ? yet no mortal king can, as Christ doth, put spirit, courage, and strength into a subject ; only we may well conceive and con- clude that such valorous soldiers as are ready to hazard their lives for their sovereign serve a good master. Thus do suffering Christians and martyrs give persecutors to understand that they serve a good Master, and that they highly prize him, who hath done more, and suffered more for them, than their dearest blood is worth ; and who enables them, with courage, constancy, and comfort, to endure what- soever, for his name's sake, can be inflicted on them ; and therein to be (yirepvtKcofiev) more than conquerors, or above conquerors, Rom. viii. 37. How can that be ? Can a man get more than the victory ? The meaning is, ' we do over-overcome,' supersuperamus — that is, triumph or overcome before we fight We are famous and renowned conquerors, we easily conquer, we conquer by those things which are used to conquer us, we beat our enemies with their own swords, as Julian sometime said, being confuted by heathen learning, 2 Cor. ii. 14. Martyr and Piscator expound it thus, We do more than over- come—that is, we obtain a noble, a famous victory. And is not this a great honour to Christ, the captain of our salvation ? The in- vincible courage of suffering Christians puts life and spirit into others. In an army valorous leaders much animate the rest of the soldiers, and embolden them to follow their leaders, Heb. ii. 10. Now you know the church is an army with banners. Cant. vi. 4, and suffering
' All the preceding names in Foxe and Clarke, as before. — G. * [Foxe,] Acts and Mon., vii. 55-57.
444 A GENERAL EPISTLE