A DISCOURSE ON PERSECUTION, OR, Suffering for CHRIST's Sake.  
Clearing the Notion of It; AND Making a Discrimination of Just from  Pretensions to It.  
AND Passionately Recommending True Christian Suffering to all Those who shall be Called Thereto.  
Occasionally Representing the Folly and Sinfulness of Illegal, Arbitrary Courses for the Prevention of It, and the Security of our Church.  
By JOHN HOWELL, A M. Rector of Radnor Nova in the County of Radnor.  
LONDON, Printed for Robert Kettlewell, at the Hand and Sceptre over against St. Dunstan's Church in Fleetstreet. 1685.   

To the Worthily Honoured JOHN STONE, Of Brightwel-Place in Oxfordshire, ESQUIRE.  
SIR,  
IT seems very wonderful to me, that after the clear Revelation of Scripture, and the Instructions of Men; after the many Renowned Examples of Christian Suffering, the Repeated Instances of every Age; after all men's Fears and Apprehensions, Reasonable and Unreasonable, (for either of these are apt to awaken, and engage to Consideration) the generality even of Christians themselves should be such utter Strangers (as I find they are) of the True Notion and Nature of Persecution.  
Now to Rectify the Mistakes, and Clear the Understandings of the Ignorant Herein, is the main Design of the ensuing Discourse.  
And truly, I am not out of all hopes of giving some Light to the Doctrine in hand; at least wise, of doing somewhat towards the Satisfaction of Those (if this small Piece shall haply fall into their Hands) who either have not heard of, or have not had leisure to peruse, or possibly have not been able to procure the Larger and more Elaborate Discourses on this Subject. Were I sure it would prove wholly useless, (though I am apt to Hope, and induced by Learned Friends to Believe, it will not) I should wave the Publication of this Address for Your sake, and of the Discourse for my own.  
Sure I am, it can do no harm, nor justly give any Offence, being written with the Faithfulness and with the Tenderness of a Spiritual Chirurgeon. Alas! our Breaches are over-wide already; they need not be widened more by harsh Reflection, and keenness of Expression. Some Spirits are naturally Perverse and Froward, and aught (if possible) to be Corrected and Sweetened, not Exasperated more, not stirred into a greater Ferment.  
Of this I am extremely sensible; and desire not to Provoke, but to Heal. If I were (though, praised be God, I am not) of another Frame of Spirit, I am sure I should take an ill time to show it in, when I address to You; to You (Sir), who seem to be made up of Gentleness and Temper. Your Reasonings with Dissenters (who do therefore choose to apply themselves to You) they are Sedate, and Calm, and full of an Obliging Condescension. Your Delight it is (and You make it Your Business) to Argue Fairly, and Lovingly persuade Men to Conformity. And when all Your Arguments, and Winning Behaviour will not do it, (And who can promise himself a neverfailing Success?) You gain This Point howsoever, They come over to a better Opinion of our Church and Churchmen: They are satisfied by You, that it's the Church's Desire, as it is Yours, to Invite, rather than Compel; to Convince, that it may not Correct them.  
Thus do You discharge Your Duty diligently, and cheerfully, like a True Son of our Church, a Faithful, Exemplary Magistrate, a Loyal Subject, and a Good Christian: I ought to add, like a True Friend of our Clergy; for such do You (I must needs acknowledge it) upon all Occasions approve Yourself: (For of This (to say nothing of others) Your Favours to me, Many and Great, are a pregnant Argument: forasmuch as I can in no wise attribute them to any the least Merit of mine, but to Your Goodness, and Respect to my Gown.) And thus while You temper Your Prudence with Piety, and join Sobriety and Candour, to an inviolable Loyalty, and Reverence to the Church, You stop the Mouths of Gainsayers; and even Those who Suffer under You, cannot be angry. This is certainly the most Christian, and most feasible Course for the filling our Churches; and it is Yours. And if Men will stand out notwithstanding; if they will not learn by Your Example, nor bow to Your Reasons, nor hearken to Your Counsels and Persuasions; they become still the more inexcusable; they may thank themselves for what they endure; and are as far from what may be termed Persecution, as they are from Conformity: unless You will say, they are their own Persecutors.  
I pray God to make 'em sensible of their Errors, and thoroughly satisfied of the High Injustice of arraigning their Governors for that which it is their Duty to do.  
The Subordinate Magistrate is obliged to see that the Laws be put in Execution; and the Supreme is obliged to take care that there be such Laws as are apt and qualified to Engage, and to Preserve Men in Peace, Concord, and Uniformity. The Government itself cannot well, I was going to say, it cannot innocently Tolerate Men in a Schism; certainly it cannot give any Man Licence to sin: neither is it in the Power of any law, or Dispensation, to make that Justifiable and Lawful, which in its own Nature is Evil and Sinful. Such, unquestionably, is all Separation from This, or any other Established Church, that is Sound, and Pure, as Ours is.  
But and if the Government could (as it cannot) make Separation no Schism, and no Sin; yet (I would observe, and I hold myself obliged upon This occasion to vindicate the Proceed of our Governors herein) That neither has the Government any reason to grant, nor our Nonconforming Brethren any reason to expect a Toleration, or Relaxation of the Laws.  
I know, These two things are almost co-incident: however, they will severally admit of a distinct and particular Consideration.  
1. Then, I would observe, That the Government has no reason to grant a Toleration, etc. For if These Men do not Suffer, the Government in all likelihood will; there being nothing more destructive of the Public Peace, than a General Liberty of all sorts of Worship.  
Of This we have had Late and Sad Experience. When every man did that which was right in his own eyes, it was little considered, whether it was right, or not, in the eyes of others. Men abused their Liberty into Defiance of Authority; perfect Lawlessness being the Result. When one Man out of a giddy humour wandered about in search after Truth, another thought he might as easily find it at home: When This Man thought he might serve God in any way, his Neighbour was of opinion, that 'twas altogether as good, and much more easy, not to serve him at all. So then, we may easily divine, by what we have seen and felt, that a Connivance, or Toleration of all sorts of Religion, is the ready way to destroy all that looks like Religion; and that (had it not pleased Heaven to direct our Governors herein) our Nation would have sunk by degrees to downright Scepticism and Infidelity; to as little Sense of Religion, as some of a Neighbouring Country are said to have done, who, by a general Allowance of all sorts of Worship, had made their Consciences so pliable, that they could renounce their Bible, when it served a Turn, and cry, they were Hollanders, and not Christians.  
But, secondly, As the Government has no reason to grant, so, it may be considered further, that our Dissenting Brethren have no reason to expect a Toleration.  
And here I shall not need to mind them of the Old Non-conformists Opinion in the Case; who plainly declared, that to Allow of different sorts of Worship, was inconvenient, unreasonable, and extremely dangerous to Church and State. I would only offer to consideration, Whether We (if We were in Their Circumstances, and They in Ours) might in any reason expect This Liberty from Them. What (would they say) shall we admit of That which we verily believe is unlawful? Would you have us Allow, openly to Allow of That in others, which we cannot Allow in ourselves? Would you have us wanting in our Respect and Care for your Souls, which we are obliged to upon a double account, as Christians, and as Governors? To countenance That which is, or That which is taken for a Sin, is a Sin: And to encourage it by the way of Toleration, is to countenance it with a witness: And how can we do This thing, and sin against God, and our own Consciences? This sure is what every of them would be ready to offer: This is what they with reason might. And now do but invert the Scene, and we have the plain Case between us and them. Our Governors know, and are persuaded, that Separation from our Church is Schism; and that Schism is a very grievous Sin. They cannot unconcernedly see any Persons engaged in it: and for Those who are under their Government and Care, they cannot give them That Liberty, which would prove mischievous in the abuse of it, and is therefore only desired, that it may be abused: So that for them to expect a Toleration, is to expect That which cannot reasonably be expected: it is to expect That which they themselves, if they were in Power, would never grant, or think it reasonable that it should be expected from them: indeed, it is to expect That, which several of them will not at present Allow to their own Children, and Dependants.  
I would not be mistaken: I do not, nor can I approve of Compulsion in all Cases. Religion is such a Worship and Service of God, as supposes the Concurrence of the Will; and now the Will cannot be forced, it is free as Thought, and is persuaded by Words, rather than Blows, as Lactantius well observed: No Humane Laws or Power can possibly take hold of it; it is out of the reach of Fire and Faggot, and all the Affrighting Instruments of Cruelty; so that it is impossible to be Compelled (properly speaking) to any Religion; and therefore it is unreasonable any Man should be Compelled to the Profession of any. Indeed it does not lie in any Man's power to be of what Religion himself pleases, though as to the outward Profession it does: and now no one can be obliged beyond his Power: And certainly it is very hard, that a Man should Suffer for not Professing that Religion, which he cannot hearty embrace, and is therefore obliged not to profess.  
But then I must observe, on the other hand. That there are some Opinions have a natural tendency to Mischief; to Civil Jars, and  Divisions; to Fatal Disturbances in Church and State: And though a bare Dissent in Judgement may not, should not; yet These, wherever they are found, do justly come under the Lash of the Law: and if the Church had no Power to shut out the Refractory and Disobedient; nor the Civil Magistrate any to suppress Heresies, and Schisms, and Disorders in the Church; there were nothing then to be expected, but Anarchy, and Confusion, and every Evil work. Alas! we do not live in a Golden Age, that Men should be supposed Governable without Laws, or Laws available without their Sanctions, Rewards, and Punishments. Some Men cannot, others hardly can, be kept within tolerable Bounds, notwithstanding them. And what would these be, what would they do, if there were none? Conscience is frequently, too too frequently abused, and made a Cloak for all manner of Villainies; at best, 'tis a prevailing Principle with those only who have it: many have it not; and the Magistrate's Sword of Justice has more Rhetoric far, than the Terror of the Lord, to persuade such Men: And Those whom Religion cannot allure or engage, the Gibbet can, and often does Affright into Obedience. Many, who would not stick at Assassinating Princes, Destroying the Church, and Massacring Man, Woman, and Child that stood in their way, are yet kept in by the Execution of wholesome Laws; and he must be a Bigot indeed, of a very lewd Religion too, that shall do these things, when he must run the danger, the immediate danger of his Life for his pains. So then, You see the Necessity of Laws for Societies, and Sanctions for Laws, and may readily guests, how miserable This Church and Nation were, if there were none; or indeed, if those that are, should never be Executed.  
These things considered, I cannot see with what Forehead any Man can blame our Governors, either for Making, or Executing the Laws: especially they have none at all against mere Dissenting; much less any that are Sanguinary, as our Roman Neighbours have: they have none of any kind, that in the least savour of Cruelty or Rigour. They never do, after the manner of Rome, extort men's Opinions from them by Racks and Tortures; and then let lose the Laws upon them, after a Discovery. They are favourable as may be, and slow in inflicting of Punishment: of which This is a fair Argument, That the loud, reiterated Clamours, and Out-cries of the Faction, are not punished at all. These would not, certainly they would not be more favourably dealt with in any Established Church of Christendom; neither could we (as I said before) expect more, or so much Favour from them, if they were (as some of them have been, and have again endeavoured, very lately endeavoured to be) in the Seat of our Governors.  
Surely then it would much better become them, and they would act more like good Subjects, and good Christians, and Men of Reason, if they would consider of things, before they presume to complain of their Governors, and over-liberally promise themselves a Reward for I know not what Services, to I know not whom; I am sure, for none to Christ, and his Religion, when they Suffer (as generally they do) for their Disservice and Disobedience to That Authority which Christ has given to the Higher Powers, and whereto he has very plainly commanded all of us to be Subject. I say, It were Wisdom in them, and it is their Duty, to consider, seriously to consider These things, before they presume to speak evil of their Rulers, and charge them with Rigour, Tyranny, and what not? If they did This, as they ought, they would find, that there are (as I show in the Discourse) certain Qualifications and Conditions requisite to True Christian Suffering; and that without These no Man can justly pretend to It: and if any should challenge the Title, they would certainly miss of the Crown of the Martyr.  
But enough of This; I wish You do not think it more than enough: howsoever it be, I am satisfied of Your Candour and Goodness, and depend upon These, Your Patronage, and Favourable Acceptance I do now stand in need of, and do greatly value, and do here beg. I must confess, I cannot be sorry for what I have done; indeed I must have offered violence to my Nature, and could not have easily excused myself, had I not (now that so fair an Opportunity presents itself) used my Endeavours, my Honest, though Mean, Endeavours, to convince Men of their Errors, and let them see the Injustice of their Clamours against the Easiest and Best of Governments. And why may not the Honesty of my Design bear me out, as well as the bare Pretence of it does others? I must needs say, I see no Reason for it.  
But indeed, the Design is not only Honest; it is Great, and Noble. Loud is the Noise, and Many are the Complaints of Persecution; and, I fear, of dangerous consequence they are, (Complaining of the Government, being a kind of Libelling and Persecuting it:) So that to remove These, is to Ease the Government; to do something towards it, is a proportionably Good and Laudable Office; and even for him who endeavours it only, his Design is as Good and Great, though his Success be not.  
That the several Persons by whom These Offences come, may become daily more and more satisfied of the Gild, and the Vnwarrantableness of them; and that You may long continue among us for This, and other Excellent Purposes: That we may long see (as now we do) the Happy Effects of Your Diligence and Faithfulness in Your Administration of Justice; of Your Care and Prudence in a very Regular Family; and of Your Excellent Example (joined to the vigorous Endeavours of the Worthy Pastor) in a very Conformable Parish: And that Heaven would Bless You, and Yours, with all Health and Happiness, Spiritual and Temporal, is the hearty Prayer of,  
(Honoured Sir) Your most Obliged, and most Obedient Servant, John Howell.   

A DISCOURSE ON PERSECUTION, OR, Suffering for Christ's Sake.  
WHatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, and of good report; if they promise any thing of Satisfaction, of Complacency, and Delight; they are readily observed; they are cheerfully obeyed upon the least Intimation, or slightest Injunction: Men hardly need the Exhortation of a Saviour, or an Apostle, to think of these things. But where there is any thing that suits not with their Interest, or their Natures; where there is any thing clashes with their Temporal Designs, or the Gratification of their Carnal Appetites▪ here they are apt to cry, with the Disciples in the Gospel, This is a Hard Saying; who can hear it? or, with Naaman the Syrian, In This thing the Lord pardon thy Servant.  
The truth is; He that, in stead of Reason, consults only Flesh and Blood, cannot very easily yield to the Hurting of the one, or the Exhausting of the other. To desire the Tortures of the Rack, or the Scorching of the Flames, looks like a ridiculous piece of Gallantry, an Extravagancy allowable only in Romance, or Frenzy: I mean, to the mere Carnalist, to one that sees not beyond the Grave. But whoso looks within himself, and has an eye to the Recompense of Reward, and perceives the Influence, the Aids, and Comforts of the Holy Spirit, and expects more; can (if he would please) defy his Executioner, and dare him into a severer Treatment;  
And indeed, if we consider things as we ought, we shall find, that Happiness and Misery are not to be measured by the Enjoyments or Sufferings of this Life; that a Man may in wisdom prefer a Gibbet to a Crown, and be happy under the Severities even of an Inquisition.  
For though Pains and Tortures are uncouth and irksome; though they grate upon the Flesh, and grieve the Spirit: yet Nature herself recommends them to us, not only as Expedient, but, as extremely Desirable; as those that will work for us a far Greater, a more Certain, and more Durable Good: for Such they will always prove (we may depend upon it) when our God, who desires our Happiness, and is able to procure it, appoints them for us. We readily assent to our Physicians Prescriptions, take Potions though never so Unpleasant, suffer our Members to be Couped, Cauterised, or otherwise Tortured; and all in expectation, or, it may be, but Deluding Hopes of an Uncertain Recovery.  
And yet this is no more than what is reasonable; no more than what Nature prescribes, when she teaches us the Doctrine of Self-preservation, when she inclines us to the love of ourselves, and to the pursuit of our Chiefest Good.  
How much more reasonable therefore is it, how much more a Dictate of Nature, that we should bear a Light Affliction, which is but for a Moment, in order to a Great and Sure Reward; in order to an Eternity of Happiness, the Certain Recompense of Suffering here for Christ; as I shall have occasion to show, before I have done with you? At present it may suffice to observe, That the Apostle looks upon it as an Instance of the Divine Favour; which he could not well do, if there were not a future Reward annexed to it: Unto you it is given (says he) in the behalf of Christ, not only to Believe on him, but also to Suffer for his sake, Phil. 1.29.  
I shall bring what I have to say into this Order.  

1. I shall inquire, When a Man may be said to suffer for Christ's sake?  
2. I shall show, That those among us who renounce our Communion, and suffer for it, do very unjustly pretend to Suffering for Christ.  
3. I shall show, That all those Christians who suffer rather than they will conform to the Church of Rome, do truly and really suffer for Christ: Provided always, that they do not allow themselves in any known Sins; but that they equally, hearty forsake them all.  
4. I shall consider the Excellency and Usefulness of true and real Suffering for Christ.  
5. And lastly, I shall offer some Motives to a resolute and cheerful Suffering, at what time soever it shall please God to call us thereto.   
1. Then, I am to inquire, When a Man may be said to suffer for Christ's sake:  
And that will be found to be then, and only then, when these three Circumstances concur.  

1. When his Cause is good.  
2. When he has a Call.  
3. When he has hearty forsaken all his Sins.   
1. That a Man may be said to Suffer for Christ's sake, 'tis required that his Cause be good. As no Man ought to Die, or think any Suffering acceptable, but when 'tis for a Truth; so all kinds of Truth cannot place him that Suffers for them in the number of the Persecuted, or indeed justify or excuse him that Dies for them. There are many Truths which done't at all concern God, or Religion; and he is accessary to his own Death, who freely offers his Life a Sacrifice for them. To be of opinion that the Earth is Round, and to Die for that Opinion, rather than smother it, though he be in the right that asserts it, yet is it so far from being a Virtue, that 'tis utterly inexcusable: And for him who lost his Bishopric upon such an account, I cannot tell which to accuse most, him of Obstinacy and Folly, or his Adversaries of Tyranny, Ignorance, and incorrigible Stupidity.  
And as those Truths which concern not Religion, cannot justify any Suffering; so neither do I hold him unblamable, that should lay down his Life for some Trifle, some small Puntillo in Religion. We reckon not all that Die in the Field, good Soldiers; and we have as little reason to conclude all that Die in Matters of Religion, Martyrs. We own more Respect to the Commandment of God, and to the Law of Nature of Self-preservation within us, than that we should Destroy ourselves (for so I must style it) upon a Ceremony, or Indifferent Point. He must be of a very untractable temper, who cannot yield to such petty Observances, and wink at those Matters, wherein there is nothing of Impiety, or Immorality; nothing but what he himself adjudges Indifferent.  
But whoso Suffers on a Fundamental Point of Religion, for an Article of Faith, or Matter of Practice, and so for the discharge of a sure and good Conscience; he it is that is Persecuted for Righteousness, for Christ's sake. Whatsoever a Man's Sufferings are, whether they be by the Cross or by the Flames, by Scourge or by Imprisonments, by Slander or by Revile, or but the least Indignity whatsoever; if this be the Cause, our Saviour pronounces him Blessed, and he shall be Blessed: Blessed are ye, says he, when men shall Revile you, and Persecute you, meaning for Righteousness sake, which he expressed before. So that not only he that Dies, but he that is Reviled also, he that is any way Persecuted for Righteousness sake, is so far forth a Sufferer for Christ, a Martyr of his.  
But then, on the other side, he that Suffers upon any any other account, when it lies in his power to avoid it, what Reward or Applauses soever he may receive from his own Party, or Admirers; he must not expect any Reward or Approbation of God; for he obeys no Command, no Injunction of his; and has not the least Tittle in his Word to encourage him thereto.  
2. That a Man may be said to Suffer for Christ's sake, 'tis required that he have a Call. To Suffer for Christ, when a Man is put to the severe Dilemma of his Enemies, either of Denying Him, or Suffering for Him, is Laudable, Glorious, and Honourable; but where This may be cautiously avoided, where Death may be escaped with the security of Religion and Reputation; here Nature, Prudence, and Christianity teach us Preservation of Self. Without God's Command we cannot Suffer Martyrdom: Die we may, but not Martyrs; Suffer we may, but not for Christ's sake: for to Suffer for Christ's sake, is to Suffer when he requires the same; that is to say, when Providence has put us under an unavoidable Necessity either of Suffering, or Transgressing any Command of His: for where there is such a fatal Necessity, there is His Call, His Appointment, His Command to Suffer; and it is This that makes the Martyr: But and if we choose Sufferings in any other Case, we do it for our own sakes, rather than His; for the gratification of a Humour, it may be; not the pleasing Him.  
'Tis our Fault therefore, and not our Duty, to draw down Evils upon ourselves; and These can only entitle us to greater. When we run to the Stake without a Call, we may thank ourselves for the Punishment of our Folly. Christ will say, Who hath required This at your hands? What Commission, what Warrant have you from me? You are your own Executioners, will he say; you are your own Murderers; and who must bear the Blame, the Punishment, but yourselves? 'Tis no part of our Religion (what the Romanists reckon of theirs) to punish our own Iniquity with the Rod, and our Sin with Scourges: We have not so learned Christ. No, 'tis a Call, 'tis a Command that must hollow our Sufferings: without This, we are our own Martyrs, not Christ's; and for any thing we can learn from his Word, those Flames we run into may be but the Passage into Hell Fire.  
I am not ignorant, how that some Primitive Christians have out of great zeal invited their Executioner, nay, forced him, as it were, to do his Office: but this was out of a Zeal not according to Knowledge; and though Infinite Goodness may have pardoned them, their Mistake being unaffected, their Design noble, and their Love pure and Seraphical; I say, though God may, as he is abundantly gracious, have pardoned, accepted the Men, yet we have no reason to conclude them Martyrs.  
3. That a Man may be said to Suffer for Christ's sake, 'tis required that he have hearty forsaken all his Sins.  
'Tis possible some Men, out of a blind mistaken Zeal, would readily Die for God, and Religion, yet very difficultly quit a Lust for them. There may be Those, who can be content to lose their Lives for their Faith; but not to part with a darling Sin: whether it is, that they think their imaginary Martyrdom will atone for all, for all their dearly-beloved Vices; or, that these Bosom-friends cannot hurt them, as being very consistent with God's Grace and Favour: or whether it be, that they are possessed with a sullen Moroseness, an Enthusiastical Temper, an overhasty Desire of Glory, or, perhaps, of an unhappy Mixture of These.  
Now, as to the Case of any such Person, (if indeed there be any such, as I am apt to believe there have been, and therefore may be again) this I do affirm; That whoever he be, he is not a Sufferer for Christ; because he harbours a professed Enemy of His. I say, should any Man Die, and very strongly fancy, that he Dies for Christ; yet if he should retain any one Lust, one Sin, till he Die, (how favourable an Opinion soever others may have of him, or he of himself) I cannot allow him the Crown, nor indeed the Name of a Martyr; no, nor the plain, but honest, Character of a good Christian. And I give this Reason for it; To retain any one Sin, is to retain a professed Enemy of Christ; which it is not the part of a true Martyr, or of a good Christian to do. Indeed, for the same Man to Die in Sin, and to Sin; or, (if you please) to Crucify Christ, (as every one does who wilfully sins against Him) and yet at the same time to be Crucified for him, is as far from being possible, as it is to serve Christ, and Belial; God, and Mammon. In truth, it amazes me to consider, how any Man should fancy, that he Dies to avoid Sin, and yet at that very time entertain and cherish Sin in his Bosom: For is it to be imagined, that he should Die rather than offend God in one Point, when he actually offends him in another? Is't to be imagined, that he should Die for the Love of Christ, when he does not show any Love (where he chief aught) in keeping His Commandments? Or, in other Words, that he should Love the Lord his God with all his Heart, when he suffers Sin to lodge there too? Believe me, vain Man, whosoever thou art, if This be thy Case, thou art under a Delusion: For, alas! one little puny Vice will be enough to keep thee from a Crown; and (which is worse) will be enough to weigh thee down to Hell. For there is nothing can alter the Nature of Sin: no Sufferings, but those of our Saviour, can wash away the Gild of it; and nothing but an unfeigned Repentance, can make even These available to thee; if thou look pleasantly on any one Sin, if thou give it thine Heart, and wilt never shake Hands with it, thy Sufferings will not, Salvation itself cannot, save thee.  
Thus I have given (as I humbly conceive) the true Notion and Requisites of Suffering for Christ.  
And this prepares the way for the second thing proposed, which was,  
2. To show, That those among us, who renounce our Communion, and Suffer for it, do very unjustly pretend to Suffering for Christ.  
And this we shall easily do from the Principles now laid down: For if no Man may be said to Suffer for Christ, but he whose Cause is good, who has a Call, and has hearty Forsaken all his Sins; it is visible to the weakest Eye, that the Persons I am speaking of, do very vainly pretend to it, neither of these being their Case: For,  
1. Their Cause is not good. They do not Suffer for any Article of Faith, nor any Matter of Duty, but, on the contrary, for pure Disobedience to the Laws of the Land. And now These do not require any thing to be Believed, or Done, but what is agreeable with, or not contrary to the Laws of God: and we are in all such Cases to be subject to the Higher Powers; we are to submit to every such Ordinance of Man for the Lord's sake: So that to disobey the Laws of the Land, (those, I mean, which are not purely Penal) is in very deed to disobey the Laws of God: and if their Transgression of those Laws be not, than neither is their Suffering for it in Obedience to the Laws of God: and, if so, we are to look to the Rule; That cannot be Suffering for Christ's sake, which is not in Obedience to some Law of God.  
2. They have no Call.  
They are not under a Necessity of Suffering or Sinning. Themselves do many of them acknowledge, That there's nothing sinful in our Communion; and so many of them I reckon self-condemned: and for the rest, if they know any thing so, let them produce it, let them make it appear: I am sure they cannot; and would they but peruse those Useful and Excellent Discourses, which are lately written for their Satisfaction herein, they must needs see, and, if they have any spark of Ingenuity, yea, or any sense of Religion, (as I hope they have) they must needs acknowledge too, the unreasonableness of such a Charge, and choose, rather than complain of their Sufferings, to repent of the Occasion.  
3. They have not hearty forsaken all their Sins.  
That Schism is a Sin, a great one, is allowed on all hands; and that those who divide and separate from us, are engaged in a Schism, is not to be denied. For Schism, in plain English, is nothing else but Division, or Separation; and, in Scripture-language, is the Division of, or Separation from, the Holy Catholic Church: And to suppose that they do not separate from the Catholic Church, who separate from Ours, which is a sound, a pure, and considerable part of it, is as absurd, as it is to imagine, that the Hand may be divided, cut off from the Arm, and yet continue still a Member of the Body.  
So then, it is very clear, that all those who make a Separation from Our Church, (forasmuch as it must be a causeless Separation) will be found guilty of a very deadly Sin, of a Sin that certainly unchurches them, destroys their Membership, and all their Relation to Christ's Body, the Church: insomuch, that they are very greatly mistaken, who think they may suffer for Him in these Circumstances.  
Indeed, it is impossible, in the Judgement of the Fathers; and so it is in the Nature of the Thing, for a Man who is out of the Church, to suffer in the true Gospel-notion of the Word; for Suffering in the Gospel sense, presupposes Life in the Gospel-sense: That which is dead, being void of Sense, it feels no Pain, apprehends no Evil: And now the Man that is out of the Church, is perfectly dead in the Gospel-reckoning; for he is no Member of Christ's Body, and therefore has no Life, no Vital Sense or Influences from Him: it being with this Mystical Body, as it is with the Natural; its Virtue, and Influence, and Vital Powers are confined to its own Members: and whatsoever is out of the Sphere of its Activity, is dead, and senseless with respect to It.  
So then, the Schismatic (who is never the less out of the Church for his thrusting himself out of it) can never suffer, as Christ and the Gospel account Suffering; because there is no Suffering without Life; no Gospel- suffering without Gospel-life; and no Gospel-life but from Christ, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life: and there is nothing of that derived from Christ, but what is communicated to His Members.  
I shall not dispute the possibility of the Salvation of those who die in a Schism; but this I will say, now that I am slidden into this Argument, (and out of pure Charity and Compassion, out of a tender regard to their poor Souls, I say it) They are out of the ordinary way to Salvation. Whether, or how far they are some of them excusable; (for I am apt to believe, and forward to allow, that some of them are well-meaning, and grossly ignorant:) I say, Whether, or how far the Ignorance, and sincere Endeavours of these will excuse them, I leave (as I ought) to the superabundant Mercy and Goodness of the great Judge of us all; and would only advise them seriously and frequently to cast with themselves, and put it home to their own Consciences, whether they do seek Peace, and ensue it, in good earnest? whether they do endeavour, to the utmost of their power, to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of Peace? whether they do, whereto they have already attained, walk by the same rule, and mind the same thing; conforming to our Church, and communicating with it, as far as their Consciences give them leave? If they did this, (as they cannot deny but they ought to do) we might then hope for a general, a thorough Union, and Conformity; we might then expect their Complaints would cease with their Sufferings, the Occasion of them: for certainly, they that will go as far as they may, in compliance with the Orders and Offices of our Church, can never sit down under a thorough Conformity: there being nothing required, or expected in our Communion, but what is very decent, inoffensive, and orderly; nothing, but what may be to the edifying, and satisfaction of any Man, that has but his Thoughts and Reason about him.  
I proceed,  
3. To show, That all those Christians who suffer, rather than they will conform to the Church of Rome, do truly and really suffer for Christ: Provided always, that they do not allow themselves in any known Sins; but that they equally, hearty forsake them all.  
For the clearing of this Point likewise, I need not say much. An easy Reflection on the Principles foregoing, together with some few Doctrines and Practices of the Church of Rome, will abundantly suffice.  
Be it therefore considered, That where the Laws of any Church, or Society of Men, do clash and interfere with the Laws of God, the Apostolical Rule ought to be ours; we are to obey God, rather than Man. The Reason is plain: The Commands of God are directly, constantly, and universally binding; whereas the Laws and Injunctions of Men do no farther oblige, than as they agree and square with These. If they do, and as far as they do, run counter to the Laws of God, the Matter of them is sinful; and they are, for that Reason, null and void: Neither is it in the power of any Humane Law, or Dispensation, to make them obligatory or lawful.  
And now this is the Case of those Christians, who suffer rather than they will conform to the Church of Rome. That Church requires several things to be believed, that ought not to be believed, as being false and erroneous; repugnant to the Doctrines of Christianity, and the Light of Reason: It requires several things to be performed, that cannot be performed without Sin, without a Transgression of a Divine Law: insomuch that if She should be obeyed, God would be disobeyed; an Universal Obedience to both, being absolutely impossible.  
Let all things be done to edifying, says the Holy Spirit by the Apostle; particularly forbidding all Prayers, and other Public Offices, in an unknown Tongue. Ay, but (says the Church of Rome) you must pray in Latin, whether it be edifying, or no; whether it be a Known, or Unknown Tongue.  
Our Saviour said, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him Only shalt thou serve. As for the worshipping of Angels in particular, an Angel forbade it: See thou do it not, was the Charge of one of them to St. John in the Revelation. And as for Saints deceased, they do not (if we will believe the Scripture), (and it is a part of their Happiness, that they do not) understand the Affairs of the World. Thus Solomon tells us, The Dead know nothing at all; and Abraham is said to be Ignorant of us: And now those that are Ignorant of us, and know Nothing relating to us, must be very improper Objects of our Prayers. But so it is, he that will he a Papist, must worship Angels; he must pray to Gods that neither understand nor hear him; to the Souls of Departed Saints, and of notorious Miscreants; yea, and to such Imaginary Men, as in all probability had never any Being upon Earth; to the verifying of that of the Apostle in the most Literal sense, An Idol is Nothing in the world. Again,  
The Scripture tells us, (and it is a considerable part of our Christian Faith) That Jesus Christ ascended into Heaven, and sitteth at the Right-hand of God the Father Almighty; and that (having continued there till the end of the World) from thence he shall come to judge the Quick and the Dead: And our Reason tells us, that a Body cannot be in two several Places at the same time; insomuch that the Angel's Inference was strong and irrefragable, He is not here, for he is risen. And yet, in contradiction to the Holy Scripture, in contradiction to all Sense and Reason, the Church of Rome doth believe, and doth exact this Belief of all her Members, that he is Bodily present upon Earth, where, and whenever the Priest shall please to command him down; that is to say, as often as he shall think fit to offer the Sacrifice of the Mass; for Christ himself is that Sacrifice, (if you'll believe them) and you must eat Him, Flesh, and Bones, and all; and believe that you do so, at least declare that you believe it, if you would pass for a true Roman, if you would do as they do. And now should you declare your firm Assent to This, That you eat the real Body of the Son of God, and at the same time believe nothing less; why? you'd sin beyond all the Pardons and Indulgences of Rome; and nothing but a sincere Repentance could set you right: Indeed you would make a Declaration against your own Judgement, and be evidently self condemned.  
And now this is the Case of those suffering Christians we speak of. They know, and are assured, that Prayer in an Unknown Tongue is unedifying, and unlawful, forbidden by the Apostle, and unpractised by the Primitive Church. They are fully satisfied of the sinfulness of Saint-worship, and Angel-worship, with the rest of the Idolatrous Practices of the Romish Church. They do steadfastly believe, that their Saviour is in Heaven, there to abide till the Day of Judgement; and therefore not on Earth. They cannot reconcile the several Contradictions of the Bodily Presence in the Sacrament; and being they cannot reconcile them, (and indeed it is impossible they should) they will not, nor can they believe them; and being they cannot believe them, they will not upon any Terms profess that they do.  
These are the Reasons, with many others, (which I forbear to reckon up, because I need not) I say, These are some of the Reasons which prevail with them to stand out against all the Temptations and Terrors of Rome: They cannot comply with That Church, because their Compliance would be sinful; and they therefore suffer, because they cannot comply. They embrace Suffering, not out of choice, not for the love of its self; but out of a Principle of Obedience, out of pure Obedience to plain, particular Commands of God: So their Cause is Good; they would certainly sin, if they did not suffer: And That is their Call.  
4. I am now to consider the Excellency and Usefulness of True and real Suffering for Christ. And this will appear,  
1. In that Persecutions and Sufferings for Christ's sake are so far from weakening and depressing Religion, that they advance and improve it.  
It must be confessed, that Persecutions may, and sometimes do prevail so far, as to debar those that labour under them of Public Prayer, of the Public and Solemn Administration of the Word and Sacraments, and of other outward Exercises of Religion: But these are but Means to promote and encourage, to signify and declare to the World our Faith and Obedience; which two are the only Substantials of Religion. But now no Tyranny, no Rage of Persecutors, can force us to quit These. To Believe, and to Obey, it is the Gift of God, and, thro' his Grace, lies in our own power; so that Religion may be maintained amidst the worst, and most bloody Persecutions, abound and flourish under a Nero, or Diocletian.  
'Tis true indeed, a Public, Solemn Profession of Faith, and the several outward Acts of Religion, are very highly convenient, yea, and necessary too, when Men are at liberty for the one and the other: But where this Liberty is perfectly denied, their Necessity is ceased, and a Dispensation follows of course; God accepts here (we need not doubt it) the Will for the Deed. He knows when, and how far we believe: He knows the Measures of our Obedience, and from what Principle it flows; and where he finds us sound at the Heart, he easily dispenses with the rest. He is infinitely Wise, and sees what we would do: He is infinitely Just, and requires not Impossibilities.  
Thus may our Religion live and stand out, maugre all the Enemy's Batteries against it, maugre all the Powers and Stratagems of Hell called out for its Destruction.  
And indeed, if That must have suffered according as its Professors did, it had been in every Man's power to rob us of it; nay, what thro' the Malice and the Wiles of the Devil, and what thro' the Power and Wickedness of Men, it had been lost, undoubtedly lost, stifled in its Infancy, and we had scarce heard of the very Name of a Christian.  
But (thanks be to God) the Case is quite otherwise: For Christianity flourished most under its heaviest Pressures. The Sufferings of some made others in love with such a Suffering Religion; and for one Martyr, there were gained several Converts to Christianity: for there was a kind of Seminal Principle in the Martyr's Blood, and out of their Graves sprung Christians.  
And truly, I cannot see why Religion may not thrive in the most Troublesome Times. A sound Belief, and a suitable Practice, Piety and an entire Resignation of Mind, Meekness and Sobriety, Justice and Charity, with the rest of the Principal Duties of Religion, may be as religiously exercised, and therefore as well accepted, in Evil, as in Prosperous Times.  
Nay, some eminent Virtues there are which must be reserved for Foul weather, for a day of Adversity; for indeed they can't be exerted at any other time. For instance; To be Patient, presupposes Sufferings, under which we may be so. How can we take up the Cross, unless there be one? How can we forgive Injuries, unless they have been offered us? How can we do Good to our Enemies, if we have none? There must be some that Despitefully use us, and Persecute us, or how can we Pray for them that do so? So that Persecution does Promote the Exercise, and consequently Heighten the Glory of Christianity, and does rather prune than root out its Professors: which is agreeable to that of the Apostle to the Philippians, c. 1, v. 12, 13, 14. But I would you should understand, brethren, that the Things which happened unto me, have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the Gospel; so that my Bonds in Christ are manifest in the Palace, and in all other places; and many of the brethren in the Lord waxing confident by my Bonds, are much more bold to speak the Word without fear.  
Then what if we should suppose our Church to be in danger of Popery? We may not, we must not endeavour to preserve it by any Unlawful means, and with the loss of our Innocence. No; Religion needs not our help, or our defence: at least, it requires not any Irregular course to support it. If the Lord please, he can and will defend it, against all the Oppositions, all the Machinations of its Adversaries: If, on the other side, it be his pleasure to let it fall, (as indeed our Provocations, many and great, give us reason to fear it is) fall it must, notwithstanding all the unjustifiable Proceed and Endeavours of Men. Except the Lord keep the City, the Watchman waketh but in vain: And do we think, that the ready way to engage him to keep it, is to offend him? or that he will take care of us, and our Religion, when we neither care for him, nor his Laws? Or, do we entertain a Fancy altogether as idle, That he must assist us, whether he will or no; that he is under a fatal necessity of giving us his encouraging, his helping Hand? No, certainly: As he is in no wise forced to assist us, so our Presumption, and our other Sins, are in no wise likely to invite him to it: He sees nothing in our Irreligious Practices so pleasing, as to oblige him to look upon us: He sees nothing so inviting as our Resignation and our Obedience. If we Resign up ourselves wholly to him, and Obey him in all his Commands, he can, and he will protect us; for he that putteth his trust in the Lord, shall want no manner of thing that is good. The holy Lives, and the effectual fervent Prayers of the Righteous avail much: but and if those few who mourn in Zion should not, will our Sins be able to preserve us? If Obedience cannot, will Treason and Rebellion secure us? Good God that ever any who pretend to Reason, yea, and Conscience too, should go about to secure Religion by the Violation of it! that ever any should fancy they may be safe in their Sins, yea, and made so by them! Certainly there is somewhat of Witchcraft in Rebellion, and more than a bare Resemblance betwixt them; or Men could never take up such Devilish Resolutions, against all Law, Reason, and Religion; and that too with a private self-flattery, with the leave and with the applause of Conscience.  
Then let us not bow to the sly Insinuations, to the enchanting Delusions of the grand Deceiver. If the Lord be God, follow him, and depend upon him. This is Wisdom's Advice, Commit thy Works unto the Lord, (says she) and thy thoughts shall be established; that is, thou shalt see the Accomplishment of all thy Laudable, of all thy Innocent Designs and Desires.  
Then why should we place our Hopes in our Armies, and an uncertain Multitude, for the Security of our Church; when we may, and aught to look up unto him who is the Author and Giver of all good things? It is better to trust in the Lord, than to put any Confidence in Man: It is better to Trust in the Lord, than to put any Confidence in Princes. If the Lord be on our side, we need not fear what Man doth unto us. Tho all Nations compassed us round about, yet in the Name of the Lord we should destroy them. He can turn the Heart of the most Persecuting Governor, or he can hold his Hand, that he shall not hurt us. Blessed be God, we have no reason to expect or fear any thing like Persecution: but, on the contrary, as we do at present enjoy all the Blessings of an easy Government, and a most Gracious Prince; so we have abundant reason to hope for, and to expect the continuance of them: For Mercy and Smoothness sit triumphant on the Royal Brows; there is something of the Divine Philanthropy runs in the blood, and is adopted into the Royal Line: and it is a symptom of an evil Mind, to suspect any danger of cruelty or severity there, where these good Qualities Reign.  
Let us, however, put the Case, for Argument sake, in the very worst Circumstances, That a Popish and Tyrannical Prince should Reign over us, We must not oppose, and fight against him; for so we should fight against God: For, whatever his Opinions, whatever his Practices be, he is His Vicegerent, he is appointed and substituted by Him. 'Tis not for us then to cry, with the Sons of Belial in the Parable, We will not have This man to reign over us: 'Tis not for us to use any unwarrantable Means to shut him out. No; This were to distrust Providence, and to fight against it, This were to do Evil, that Good might come of it; and we know the Resolve of all sober judicious Casuists in the Point, That we should not commit one single Sin, though 'twere to save the whole World from Destruction.  
Now therefore, if to Distrust Providence, and to Fight against it, be (as we may reasonably conclude it is) a forfeiting all our Title to the Divine Protection; what security, what grounds of Hope can we have, or propose to ourselves, by any Illegal, any  Proceed? What? can we hope to conquer the Almighty with our Armies? or terrify Him into a compliance with our Wishes? Are we stronger than he? David said, My trust hath been in the Lord, therefore shall I not fall: So that, by the Rule of Contraries, we may conclude, That if our Trust be not in the Lord, we shall fall an unpitied Sacrifice to our own Folly, and to an Offended God. And indeed God himself has declared as much; Woe to the rebellious children, (saith the Lord) that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin, Isa. 30.1.  
Then far be it from us to take Ill Courses for the Security of our Religion, seeing all such must of necessity be uneffectual; or, if they were not, yet, that it is more Christianlike, and more Prudent, to engage God in our cause, by an entire Submission to, a hearty Acquiescence in his Dispensations; for so should we Secure our Religion, and our Innocency too; and, come what would, we could but Suffer unto Death; when our Religion would Advance by our Fall; Spring up and Flourish by our Martyrdom: So that it is every whit as Unreasonable, as it is Impious to go about to Secure Religion by the breach of its Laws, to secure it from Persecutions; seeing it is raised, promoted, and ennobled by them. So glorious are the effects, so great is the Excellency, and the usefulness of Suffering for Christ: which yet will appear farther, if we consider,  
2. How that it promotes Peace and Unity amongst ourselves.  
That Peace and Unity are Excellent and Amiable, I presume needs no proof; especially in a Christian Country; these being the proper badges of Christianity.  
How very apt Persecutions are to Cement and Quiet the Minds of Men, let it be our present consideration. And we shall certainly find Them the most practicable, ('tis well if they be not the only) Expedient now left for the bringing back of that Unity, which hath so long withdrawn itself, is so greatly talked of, and yet so little contended for in good earnest by this our Broken, and miserably Divided Nation.  
When he must pass for the best Religionist, whose Tongue, or Pen is keenest, and traduces his Neighbour most according to Art. When it is the diversion of some, the business of others, the Custom of very many, first to create Differnces, and then to maintain them: To sow Divisions, inflame our Disagreements, and to stir up Strife all the day long.  
What cure, what remedy more proper for such Feuds and Animosities among us, than that which diverts our thoughts another way, and employs our Minds in our own concerns?  
Now This is the effect of Suffering for Christ's sake, This the good Office of our most Cruel Persecutors: For while they Persecute us from City to City; they give us little leisure, or opportunity to fall out by the way; whilst they continually Molest and Abuse us, we have little stomach, or occasion to molest, to abuse one another, or to draw (our Pens I mean) unless it be for manifestos of our innocence, and in the defence of our common cause, So that the Pressures of our Enemies (like those on Arched Buildings) make our Union the firmer, and those Storms without us (as it were by an antiperistasis) produce a Calm within.  
We find this experimentally true in former times. When Heathen Persecutors reigned, there was a perfect Harmony and Agreement among Christians. They laid aside all Picques and Anomisities between themselves, and employed their Minds in better thoughts. They were in continual expectation of leaving This World, and therefore in continual preparation for another. The Clouds that hung over their Heads, engaged them, as far as they might, to keep at home: Or if they haply wandered about; 'twas for their own safety; not for the Destruction of their Neighbours, their Friends, and Countrymen, and Fellow-Christians; not for the Destruction of their most bitter Enemies; of those very Enemies, who made them wander.  
Hence was it, that Christians then lived like true Fellow-members of Christ their Head: And as they owned one Common Religion, so they embraced one and the same Fate; and cheerfully marched together thro' the Flames, There were then no Separatists, no Dissenters among them; but and if their Flames (like those of the Theban Brethren) diffused, and spread; 'twas not out of Enmity, or Dislike; but for greater Splendour, for Triumph,  
Let us in the 3d. place consider the Excellency of Suffering for Christ in those four noble Virtues which are its inseparable attendants, namely, Fortitude, Patience, Faith, and Love.  
1. All Suffering for Christ's sake is attended with Fortitude.  
That Christianity obliges us to be Valiant, we may learn from St. Paul, where he sets out the complete Armour of a Christian: He bids us take the Helmet of Salvation, the Word of the Spirit, and the Shield of Faith, with other such like accoutrements; wherewith (says he) you shall be able to quench all the fiery Darts of the Wicked.  
Now what signifies an Armour to a Dastardly Spirit, to one that will not, dares not use it?  
I shall take for granted then, that as we are Christians, we should be Valiant.  
And that those who Suffer for Christ's sake are truly (if not only) so will appear from the formidable Power and Resolution of the Enemies, they encounter, conquer. And they are that terrible Triumvirate, the World, the Flesh, and the Devil, These indeed are the mortal enemies of all Mankind; but they are the most violent opposers of all Suffering Christians: Not that they are against Suffering in general (for that is their aim and endeavour) but against their Suffering for Christ's sake; such as will give them a very clear Title to an infinitely greater share of Bliss.  
Now then let us a little examine the strength of their Forces, that we may more easily guests at the Courage of their Conquerors.  
And first for the World; and that suggests to them the undoubted reality, and experimental sense of Earthly Felicities; displaying its several Pomps and Vanities; and setting them off to the best advantage.  
Thus it represents Honour, as the delight of the Soul, and spring of endeavour; the source of all generous undertake, and the reward of them too: And at the same time insinuat's that Suffering is an argument of an Ignoble Spirit, the sure forerunner of Disgrace: Or, if it does pass (as sometimes it must) for Virtuous and Honourable, the Honour that attends it is but the shadow of Virtue, and less than a shadow the other side the grave.  
To Riches it gives the flattering Title of a God, the certain procurer of all that is needful; of all that makes Men great, or happy; undervaluing, ridiculing Heaven, and its Treasures, the unsearchable Riches of Christ; calling it a Vain Creature of fancy or the imaginary issue of hope.  
Next it proceeds to cry up Pleasure as most friendly to Nature, and most agreeable to Flesh and Blood; the centre of all men's wishes and desires, and the relisher of all conditions. Then does it enlarge upon the free use of the Creatures; averring, that they were made to be enjoyed; and that they then only answer the design of their Being, when they serve to the Delight and Pleasure of Man, to the thorough Gratification of all his Senses.  
In comes the Flesh, and seconds it; asserting upon its own Experience the agreeable sense of Worldly Delights, the pleasing, the ravishing variety of wild Mirth, and more sober Epicurism; and remonstrating the Uneasiness of Self-denial, of Suffering in any way; the rude, and terrible assaults of Pain and Torture, the unmerciful Pangs of a sudden and violent Death; the most exquisite sense of an unnatural hastened Dissolution.  
Nor is the Devil all this while idle: He very well understands, to whom the Crown is promised; even to them that are Faithful unto Death; and These are the prime Objects of his envy; to These he lays the closest Siege. Hence is it that he is always ready to back, and strengthen the others reasons; and to offer new ones of his own: So that we need not wonder if he terms it Folly, Madness, Any thing, to Deny ourselves, and to Suffer freely any way in obedience to we know not what; to an invisible God, and to an unaccountable thing called Conscience.  
These, or such like, may we imagine, are the Arguments made use of, the Spiritual Forces rallied, against Suffering: And though they be in themselves very far from invincible; yet all circumstances examined they will be found very difficultly conquerable: Forasmuch, as besides that the World with its gilded Vanities is present and sensible; and so more apt to affect the Mind; besides that the Devil, such is his Power, has a secret influence on men's Souls and Faculties; and such is his subtlety, is forward to embrace every promising opportunity, and suit his Arguments to the temper of the Persons; a fair way of prevailing: I say, besides all this, there is the Flesh, a treacherous Friend, that is to say, the worst sort of enemies, which opens the Door to the rest, and makes them flexible, inclinable to yield: So that upon all, or either of these accounts we have reason to expect, or a very great Courage, or a very little opposition.  
And yet if we consider farther, how that Self-preservation is a Law, a Principle Implanted in them; and that there is a violence done to Nature in very Suffering, greater or less according as the Suffering is: We cannot but conclude, that these, and the like considerations must work very powerfully upon any Man whomsoever; and consequently (which is the thing I would be at) that That Courage which engages and baffles them all, and buoys Men up against all these Tumults and Disorders of the Mind, must be as truly great, as it is victorious and successful.  
And now This is the Courage. This the Glory of our Suffering Christians, who bravely prefer Torments, and Death itself to the Tempting Vanities of the World; boldly resist the Devil, a powerful and daring, a subtle and a malicious Adversary; and answer withal to the feeling arguments of Flesh and Blood, as the Captain of their Salvation did before them, not my Will but thine be done.  
Now that This Courage so conspicuous in them does truly, and really deserve the name of Fortitude, will appear from the general notion and usage of the Word. For with Moralists the nature of Fortitude consists in a mediocrity between rashness and fear. But now those who Suffer for Christ's sake are equally careful in avoiding the extremes. They will not over-hastily Throw away their lives; they will not Sacrifice them to a Passion or Humour; but consider before hand the goodness of the Cause; when, and how it may oblige them to Suffer; with all the other Circumstances.  
And as for the other extreme of Valour, Fear; they are as far from that, as from an inconsiderate Fool-hardiness: They Fear God indeed; but that is a Fear, that hath no Torment; a Fear, that is consistent with love; They fear Him, and for that reason are uncapable of Fearing Men, uncapable of Dreading even the Tortures of the Rack, or the Tedious Loathsomeness of a Dungeon; because from the Fear of God arises the observance of his Commands: And he that keeps the Commandments of God will not (nor need he) Fear, though the Earth be moved; and though the Hills be carried into the midst of the Sea. So then, they will not be Afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do: Why? Because they Fear him that ought to be Feared; Him, who, after He hath killed, hath power to cast into Hell.  
Thus do they keep the middle way betwixt Rashness, and Fear; thrusting not themselves into dangers, when they need not; and sparing not to show their Valour, when occasion requires.  
2. All suffering for Christ's sake is attended with Patience.  
That Patience is a Virtue is in every Man's Mouth: That Suffering is necessary to the exercise of it, I have already observed. It remains that we consider the Excellency, the Surpassing nature thereof.  
Now the Gallantry of Passive Courage is such, as is beyond the ambition of ordinary men. There are few that have it in that full measure, as to endure the Terrible tests of Torments. By this it is that the Upright Christian Shows, how Great he truly is, Whoso impatiently bears Affliction makes it appear, that they that inflict them are greater than himself; but he, who braves it, shows that 'tis out of the power of any thing but guilt to make him Tremble.  
'Tis Great, and it is Glorious to show a Bravery in the Field, a Fearless daring of the Enemy, and Defiance of danger: And yet this may be owed to the hopes either of revenge or victory; and to the promising probability of an escape. But to behold a necessary, and an unavoidable Grave; to mount the Scaffold with an undaunted Look, and an undissembled Courage, this is most eminently Brave and Noble, I had almost said, peculiar to a Suffering Christian, to a Christian Suffering for Christ's sake.  
3. All Suffering for Christ's sake is attended with Faith.  
The excellency of that Faith for which, and by which we Suffer is evident, in that it transcends our reason, and the Examinations of Sense. To Believe a thing, we see with our Eyes, or fathom with our reason, is not Faith, but knowledge or persuasion; but to Believe that, which neither Eye hath seen, nor Ear heard, neither hath it entered into the Heart of Man to conceive; to Credit that which we could not Believe, but that we Believe withal, that there is an everlasting Being, who can do all things: This is Faith, an Heroic, an Exalted Faith.  
I must confess, I cannot approve of that resolution of Tertullian, Credo, quia est impossibile: I do therefore believe, because it is impossible. No; nor of His, who said there were not Impossibilities enough in Religion for an Active Faith; if he means (as he should) not seeming, but real ImImpossibilities: My reason is This; the very being of an Impossibility implies a contradiction: It supposes a thing to be, and not to be; to be possible, and not to be possible at the same time; which I am sure is impossible to conceive.  
Well; but my Faith will soar thus high: I Believe a thing let it seem never so Strange, (and only not Impossible) to me, because God has said it, who cannot lie.  
And as for Miracles, and the Mysteries of our Religion; I esteem that Faith the noblest, which least concerns itself in prying into them: And like not that slow-paced Faith of Nicodemus, signified by a How can these be? Our Christian Sufferer questions not the truth of any thing his Saviour has told him, though it seem to run almost counter to his reason. That his scattered ashes shall all be reunited, and his Soul recalled to its former habitation; though it be Marvellous, yet he believes it; though he knows not how, and it looks like Impossible, yet he is assured of it as much as if 'twere already come to pass. He is fully persuaded of a Heaven in the midst of the Flames; and though it does not yet appear what he shall be; he is Confident he shall be in a state of Bliss; and convert his Groans into Halelujas. And This I call a Generous; a very Excellent Faith.  
4. All Suffering of Men for Christ's sake is attended with Love; a Love of their Saviour for whom, and a Love even of their Persecutors, by whom they Suffer.  
1. A Love of their Saviour for whom they Suffer.  
They thoroughly contemplate his Love to Them, which was so Great, as to Die for them; and cannot (having an opportunity, and knowing his desire) I say, they cannot but Love Him again, with the same Effects, with Dying for Him. Thus, as one flame enkindles another, does the Love of Christ beget a Love in them, a Love only inferior to His. Thus are they drawn with the cords of a Man; not such Cords as bind and must be born; but such, as, like the Nerves and Ligaments, are endued with a quality, not only of Binding, but of Supporting too. Hence is their Love both firm and noble; a Love, that soothes and ravishes the Heart amidst the acutest pains; for it reconciles Tortures to the most tender Constitution; and is such a Perfect Love, as, according to the Apostles Description, casteth out fear.  
2. Their Suffering is attended with a Love, even of their Persecutors, by whom they Suffer.  
If you Love them that Love you, what reward have you? do not even the Publicans the same? And if you salute your Brethren only; what do you more than others? do not even the Publicans so? There is nothing of Generosity or Gallantry in this above other Men, above the most Barbarous of the Heathen, for they kiss and embrace those that are Nearest and Dearest to them. But to Love your Enemies, to Bless them that Curse you, to do Good to them that Hate you, and to Pray for them that Despitefully use you, and Persecute you, This is Generous, This is Heroic; it is worthy of a Christian, and like one, and truly shows you to be Disciples and Followers of Christ.  
And now our Sufferers for Christ do certainly bear such a Love to their Persecutors; for they would otherwise disobey Christ, who requires it of them. But that a Man should Love Him with All his Heart, (as Suffering for Him does imply) and not keep His Commandments, All His Commandments, is (what I have observed before to be) against his Doctrine, and against Reason.  
If This will not do, we have the Exemplary Love of our first Martyrs for an Argument, a Demonstration of the Matter in hand. How Cheerfully, how Kindly did They take their Sentence of Death? some of them Thanking their Judges, as if 'twere a Favour, as if they had designed to Oblige them by it; all of them expressing an undissembled Love, in an unfeigned Prayer for them: fearful they were, and unwilling, that Misery and Torments should be their Portion, by whom themselves were to be sent to Heaven, to be sent to Heaven in a nearer and more compendious way; by whom (because Persecuted) as they did deserve, so they might expect a greater degree of Bliss.  
5. I come now at length, in the last place, to offer some Motives to a resolute and cheerful Suffering, at what time soever it shall please God to Call us thereto: Of which there are several; but I shall sit down with two or three.  
1. Then, I would have it considered, That all those who are called to It, do meet with extraordinary Encouragements and Assistances of the Holy Spirit.  
We are sure of This, That God will require no more of us, than we shall be enabled to bear, or perform; and where we do want Strength of our own, we may very safely depend upon His.  
And now to suffer is so repugnant to Nature, and so uneasy to the Flesh, that though it be an extraordinary Privilege, yet a Man had need of very great Encouragement to resolve upon it, and greater still to go thorough with it. It must be the Work of that Holy Spirit, which alone can order the unruly Wills and Affections of Men, who worketh in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure, yea, and to suffer also, when he sees it expedient. If we are not sufficient of ourselves to think a good thought, as of ourselves, much less is it in our power to Deny ourselves in this signal manner, in undergoing those Bodily Pains, which the mere Natural Man dreads the thoughts of. We must therefore of necessity recur to a Divine Influence, to the Supernatural Assistance of God's Grace. And indeed, as no Man can Believe at all, unless it be Given him from above, unless God help his Unbelief; so no Man can show his Faith in such an eminent Instance, without a more than ordinary Effusion of that Blessed Spirit, which should actuate his Faith, enlarge his Hope, enkindle his Love, and every way prepare and arm him against the Fiery Trial.  
Whence otherwise could it be, that so many Christian Heroes rejoiced in their Sufferings, and Braved it in the last Agonies of their Souls; when the Devil and his Torturing Instruments did their Worst, and Cruelty displayed itself in the most direful Instances of Pain and Horror? Whence could it be, but from the still small Voice of the Comforter within them, from the Encouraging and Assisting Hand of the Almighty?  
I will instance in one or two, whose Memories are fresh, their Names, among others, generally and deservedly reverenced, and their Cases very remarkable.  
How can we suppose, that Rose Allen should be the Burning of her Hand without any the least complaint, or regret; that she should bid her Tormentor add to her Pains and sing for Joy at the place of her Execution? I say, how can we suppose, that she a poor Maidservant should prove so courageous, did not He, who can do all things Assist her in This; or lessen her Pain, or enable her to bear it  
To what other means, than the Divine Impulse and Assistance, can we attribute the good Bishop Farrar his Wonderful Assurance of his own future Courage and Behaviour, and then his answerable deportment, when the time came, and his Sufferings required it? he declared before hand to a Friend, and (as I have heard) to other spectators also; that if he once stirred in the Pains of the Burning in any irregular way; they should give no credit to the Doctrine he had before Preached to them, and was then about to Die for: And not only so, but (what crowned the rest) he really stood unshaken, undisturbed, and Triumphed rather than Suffered in the Flames; and so he had continued past all Peradventure, but that he was knocked down by a malicious, a Cursed Hand; for Cursed sure was the Hand that dared strike, what the Lord had so plainly so signally upholden: And Cursed was his Family for his sake; for the Family of the Gravels (which was then considerable enough) came quickly after to beggary and want; and (as far as I can learn) there is nothing now remaining of it, but the Name, and one single person (a Manservant) to secure it: And may It never be lost, at least as long as Popery has a being in the World.  
We must, we must ascribe This also to the Finger of God: We must believe it to be the Lords Doing; for it is marvellous in our Eyes. And if this be the Work of the Almighty; we may by an easy, and natural inference conclude the other is so.  
2. Another motive, I would offer to your consideration, is the Example of all those Saints, Confessors, and Martyrs, who have gone before us,  
So great were the Sufferings, those blessed Saints underwent; so bravely did they behave themselves under them; that, as it is our Duty to imitate, so it may be the highest of our ambition to equal them. Whoever sees the list of their Sufferings with the History of their Severe treatment, may be furnished with a Catalogue of well nigh all the Sufferings Humane Wit can devise, or Humane Nature bear. Wild beasts, the Fire, the Scalding Bath, the Scaffold, and the Rack, with the rest of those terrible Instruments of Heathenish Cruelty took away so many of them, that it must have been a Miracle as great as their Patience was, that there was any one Christian left.  
Of all the Apostles, only St. John died a natural Death: nor did he escape without a Miracle: Escape, did I say? he did not escape; unless to Die daily be not to Die at all; unless a long Banishment, and the Scalding Oil, for which he both deserved and had a Church Festival, a Day of Martyrdom, might be termed an escape.  
And so for the rest: There were almost as many Martyrs as Christians; and to be Baptised into the Death of Christ was in effect to resolve to Die as he died; and the day of Martyrdom was in the ordinary account of those times the Birthday of the Christian.  
Wherefore seeing we are compassed about with so great a Cloud of Witnesses; let us lay aside every weight, and the sin that doth so easily beset us; and let us run with Patience the Race that is set before us. We may with much more ease traverse these Rough Paths, as being somewhat plained, and smoothed by the footings of those that have gone before. If so many thousands of Saints have marched before us, and defied all the Threats and Tortures of their Enemies; shall we be afraid to follow after them? We, who are taught by their Example, that there's nothing unsufferable, nothing too hard for a firm Faith, a lively Hope, and a Love that is pure, and obstinately bend upon Duty. Did they hardly allow themselves the Name of Christians, till they were haled to Martyrdom, and had Sealed their Faith with their Blood? And shall we strike Suffering out of the Laws of Christianity, out of the number of Duties? Certainly we have no Reason, no Authority for it: But, and if they bore the Cross, who had especial tokens of God ' Love, it is our part to Bear it too; and Bear it we must, as ever we hope for the Benefits of it. And as Christ suffered for them, leaving them an Example, that they should follow His Steps; so He, and they too in some sense, have suffered for us, leaving us an Example, that we should follow Theirs: Which if we do, we shall arrive at the Haven where They are, and where We would be; we shall receive the same Reward of our Sufferings, the same Crown of Glory they are possessed of; which is another Motive to the Duty I am recommending, to a resolute and cheerful Suffering for Christ's sake.  
And here I shall briefly consider, 1. The Certainty of this Reward. 2. The Greatness of it.  
1. The Certainty of this Reward.  
There is nothing more Certain, (for there is nothing more Clear and Evident in Scripture) than that a constant, sincere, and universal Obedience entitles Men to all the Promises of the Gospel.  
And now Suffering for Christ's sake, does undeniably presuppose, or imply all this.  
It implies a Constancy, or Perseverance unto the end: for if we have forsaken Christ at any time, we have at the same time disowned him, and put our Names out of the List of his Martyrs.  
It implies Sincerity: for what can possibly show the Reality of our Love to, and Affiance in Christ, if Real Pain and Voluntary Suffering cannot do it.  
To conclude: It implies withal an Universal Obedience: for, as I have noted before, the Man that allows of any one Sin, is a professed Enemy of Christ; not a Martyr of His, not a Sufferer for Him.  
But that which puts the Reward of Suffering out of all doubt, is the Word of God, in the most plain, express Terms that can be devised: If you suffer, you shall also reign with (Christ), said the Apostle. Blessed are they that are Persecuted for Righteousness sake: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven, said our Saviour himself. And many other Texts there are to the same purpose, as clear as Words can make them, and withal so commonly known, that I shall not trouble you with the repetition of them; but rather choose to hasten to,  
2. The Greatness of this Reward. And with that I will conclude.  
And here I shall not pretend to describe what hath not entered into the Heart of Man to conceive. I only observe, That as it is above our Conception, so it is beyond our very Wishes and Desires? And what can be offered more Encouraging than This? What can possibly more Cherish our Hopes, and more Animate the Suffering Part of us, than that we shall see, and enjoy for our Suffering here, all, yea, more, infinitely more, than all that we can desire or wish for?  
Yes; there is something more, and greater behind; though I am equally at a loss for Words, and for Ideas of it: For, the lowest Degree of Happiness in Heaven, comes up to all that has yet been offered concerning it. But now the true Christian Martyr is a Star of the First Magnitude there: his Happiness surpasses that of other Saints, as far as his Sufferings did: This Light Affliction, which is but for a Moment, working for him a far more Exceeding and Eternal Weight of Glory.  
FINIS.   

Books lately Printed for Robert Kettlewell at the Hand and Sceptre in Fleetstreet.  

1. THe Measures of Christian Obedience: Or, A Discourse showing what Obedience is indispensably necessary to a Regenerate State, and what Defects are consistent with it, for the Promotion of Piety, and the Peace of Troubled Consciences. By John Kettlewel, Vicar of Coles-hill in , the second Edition Corrected. In Quarto, Price bond 8 s.  
2. A Journey into Greece by Sir George Wheeler, in company of Dr. Spon of Lions, in six Books. Containing, 1. A Voyage from Venice to Constantinople. 2. An Account of Constantinople, and the adjacent Places. 3. A Voyage through the Lesser Asia. 4. A Voyage from Zant through several parts of Greece, to Athens. 5. An Account of Athens. 6. Several Journeys from Athens into Attica, Corinth, Boeotia, etc. With Variety of Sculptures. In Folio, price bound 15 s.  
3. A Vindication of the Primitive Christians, in Point of Obedience to their Prince, against the Calumnies of a Book, entitled, The Life of Julian, written by Ecebolius the Sophist. As also, The Doctrine of Passive Obedience cleared, in Defence of Dr. Hicks; Together with an Appendix, being a more full and distinct Answer to Mr. Thomas Hunts Preface and Postscript. Unto all which is added, The Life of Julian, enlarged. In Octavo, price bound 2 s. 6 d.  
4. A Sermon Preached at the Worcester-Feast, by George Walls Master of Arts, and Student of Christ-Church, Oxon. Quarto, price stitched 6 d.  
5. The Treasures of the Sea, a Sermon preached to the Mariners, by William Thompson. In Quarto, price stitched 6 d.  
6. An Help and Exhortation to Worthy Communicating: Or, a Treatise describing the Meaning, Worthy Reception, Duty and Benefits of the Holy Sacrament, and answering the Doubts of Conscience, and other Reasons, which most generally detain Men from it; together with Suitable Devotions added. By John Kettlewell, Vicar of Coles-hill in . In Twelves, price bound 3 s.  
7. Two hundred Queries Moderately propounded, concerning the Doctrine of the Revolution of Humane Souls, and its Conformity to the Truths of Christianity. In Octavo, price bound 1 s. 6 d.  
8. A Sermon Preached at the Church of St. Bridget, on Easter-Tuesday, being the first of April 1684. Before the Right Honourable Sir Henry Tulse Mayor of London. By George Hicks D. D. Dean of Worcester, and Chaplain in ordinary to his Majesty. In Quarto, price stitched 6 d.  
9 A Spelling Book for Children. In twenty fours, price bound 6 d.  
10. A Good Subject: Or, the right Test of Religion and Loyalty. In a Sermon, Preached July the 17th at the last Summer-Assizes held at Buckingham, for the County of Buckingham. Before the Lord Chief Baron Montague, and Sir Richard Holloway, Knight, John Culling Esquire, High Sheriff. By Lewis Atterbury, D. D.  
11. A Dissertation concerning the Pre-existency of Souls: Wherein the state of the Question is briefly unfolded, and divers Arguments and objections on both sides Alleged and Answered; and a free Judgement concerning the Sum of the Controversy allowed to every one. Being Originally written in the Latin Tongue, several years since, by the Learned C. P. and now made English by D.F. D.P. upon tho recommendation of F. M. H. their Friend. In Twelves, price 1 s.  
12. The History of Isuf Bassa Captain General of the Ottoman Army at the Invasion of Candia. In Octavo, price bound 1 s. 6 d.  
13. Animadversions on Dr. Burnet's History of the Rights of Princes in the Disposing of Ecclesiastical Benefices and Church-Lands. In a Letter to a Friend. In Quarto, price 3 d.  
14. A Discourse Explaining the Nature of Edification. Both of Particular Persons in Private Graces, and of the Church in Unity and Peace. And showing that we must not break Unity and Public Peace, for supposed Means of better Edifying in Private Virtues. In a Visitation Sermon at Coventry, May 7. 1684. By John Kettlewell Vicar of Coles-Hill in . In Quarto, price 6 d.  
15. A Funeral Sermon for the Right Honourable, the Lady Frances Digby, who Deceased at Coles-Hall in , on the 29th of September, 1684. By John Kettlewell, Vicar of Coles-Hill in . In Quarto, price 6 d.