forms : shall it be said that there is any blessedness in these ? Must we not rather say, tliat tlie persons who are called to en- dure such things are in the most wretched state ? Yes, I must confess, as St. Paul himself says, " If in this life only such persons have hope, they are of all men most miserable," and altogether in a most pitiable condition. Nevertheless, whilst \re heartily subscribe to this position of the Apostle, we must still say of the declaration in our text, that,]
Yet it is most true —
[These sufferings must be viewed in their reference to eternity ; and then they will wear a very different aspect from what they do when considered merely in themselves. For, " to those wlio love him and suffer for him, God has promised a crown of life, which they shall receive " at his hands the very instant that their sufferings are finished. Consider, " a crown !" the highest of all distinctions ! " a crown of life !" not a corruptible one, like those which were given to the victors in the Olympic games ; nor a temporary one, Avhich is soon to be transferred to a successor ; — a crown of life and glory, which fadeth not away ! Conceive of the saint as just entering into the eternal world, and ascending to heaven from the flames of martyrdom : what a cloud of witnesses come forth to congra- tulate him on his victory, and to welcome him to those blest abodes ! Behold him welcomed too by his Lord and jMaster, for wliose name he has suffered, and under whose banners he has fought : hear the plaudit with which he is received, " Well done, good and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." See the crown brought forth, and put upon his head ; and behold him seated on the very throne of God him- self, according to that promise, " To him that overcometh, will I give to sit down with me upon my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father upon his throne :" I say, behold these things, and then tell me,Whether the prospect of such glory, assured to him by the promise and oath of God, did not constitute him blessed in the midst of all his sufferings ? Ofmyriads respecting whom it is said, " These all came out of great tribulation," do you suppose there is one who regrets the sufierings he once endured for the sake of Christ ? Not one as- suredly : not one, who does not congratulate himself that he was ever counted worthy to suffer for the Redeemer's sake. But is St. James ])eculiar in his sentiments on this head ? No : our blessed Lord bids all " v/ho suffer for righteousness' sake to re- joice and leap for joy"*:" and to the same effect speak all his holy vVpostles^ Though tlierefore " no sulloring is for the present joyous, but griev<njs," yet, taken iu connexion with their present consolations, and v. ith all the future cons;'r^uences,
they
" Matt. v. 10-12. « Rom. v. 3. 1 I'ct iv. 12— I.
1140.] god's testimony of his tempted people. 25
they may justly be regarded as grounds of self-congratulation and joy ^.]
Such then bemg God's testimony, I proceed to set before you, II. Some instructions arising out of it —
There are in our text several instructive hints, which ought not to be overlooked —
1 . We should so love the Lord Jesus Christ, as to be willing to suffer for him —
[Love, even amongst men, is of little value, if it will make no sacrifices for the object beloved. But the Lord Jesus Christ is worthy of all the love that can ever be exercised to- wards him. Consider only what love he has manifested to- wards us : how he left the bosom of his Father for us, and emptied himself of all his glory, in order to assume our nature, and to expiate by his own blood the sins of the whole world : Is it a mere cold esteem that is a proper return for such love ? When the terms on which alone he could save the world were proposed to him, he said, " Lo ! I come, I delight to do thy will, O God." W^hen he then proposes that we, in testimony of our love to him, should " take up our cross and follow him," shall we draw back, and complain that his yoke is too heavy for us? Of what value v/ill he account such love as that ? Go, he will say, and " offer it to your earthly friend," and see whether he will value it^ : how much less then is it suited to express your obligations to me, who have redeemed you to God with my own blood !