Chapter 35: Sixteen several Consolations arising to the Saints from this consideration, That their sufferings are Christ's sufferings

SEcondly, the consideration of this point is of admirable use for the consolation of all the people of God, in all their sufferings and reproaches. If reproaches and sufferings be the reproaches of Christ, Christ is engaged in them more then you; there may be many branches of comfort to Gods people from hence, That Christ is so engaged in all their sufferings, as they are accounted Christs own: it is a great matter, when any one suffers any thing, if they know this, that any great man is engaged in their sufferings: if a subject should have a King so engaged in any thing he undertakes, that he can say, Whatever I suffer in this, is the suffering of the King, this is a great comfort to him; so here there are several branches of comfort that may be drawn from this, Our sufferings are the sufferings of Christ.

First, it is a great deal of comfort, that God does take notice of our reproaches: This was the comfort of the Psalmist, in Psalm 69:19 You hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonor, my adversaries are all before you▪ If a man suffer reproach, and disgrace, and trouble for his friends, while he is abroad from them; O says he, Did but my friends know what I suffer, and suffer for them, it would comfort me: If it be comfort to be known, much more when they shall be accounted their own; Christ is acquainted with all the sufferings of every member: and therefore do not say, I am a poor creature, who takes notice of my sufferings? Heaven takes notice of your sufferings, Christ takes notice of them better then yourselves.

Secondly, if they be the sufferings of Christ, they are no other but such as are predetermined for you from the beginning of the world; for certainly the sufferings of Christ are determined: It may be said of these sufferings, as truly as of those he suffered in his own person, Act. 2:23 They are by the determinate counsel & foreknowledge of God: & therefore it is not in the liberty of man to reproach you as he pleases, but all is by the fore-determinate counsel of God.

Thirdly, certainly you do not want compassion in your sufferings neither; for one to suffer much, and to be reproached, and no body to have compassion, is grievous; but surely you have compassion enough, Christ must needs take compassion on you: and it is not a forced compassion, but a natural compassion: was there ever any that was not sensible of the sufferings of his own flesh, unless it be dead? Indeed if you be a dead member of a Church, it may be Christ does not compassionate your sufferings, but if you be a living member, Christ does compassionate your sufferings, and pity you in every lye and slander that is told of you: many times when we hear of the servants of God (and especially those we know to be godly) to have such strange reports of them, our hearts begin to break, and to yern towards them. If one member have compassion of another, much more the head; the head is more sensible of the evils done to the body, then the other members are.

Fourthly, all these reproaches and sufferings do not argue your rejection, they may stand with the infinite love of God: many of Gods people are ready to draw sad conclusions from their reproaches, surely▪ God would not suffer this if he loved them: they may stand with the same love wherewith the Father loved the Son, for they are the reproaches of the Son.

Fifthly, they must needs be sanctified to you: those that are the sufferings of Christ, are fanctified sufferings; certainly Christ will not suffer them to go away unsanctified; Christ is so holy, that if they come near to him, he will make them holy: and therefore your bodies and souls having union with Christ, they come to be sanctified: so all your conditions and sufferings come to be sanctified by union with Christ: he is the blessed one of God, and therefore all your sufferings must be blessed from him.

Sixthly, if they be the reproaches of Christ, then you are not left to bear the burden of them alone, you have but the lighter end of the staff: if a burden be never so heavy at one end, and a strong man is under that, and the other be light, though a weak man be under that, he does not care: so the weight and burden of reproaches lie upon the shoulders of Christ: and therefore when you think it is hard for one reproach thus to follow upon another, and for one evil to follow another, it will break my heart; ah, if you did bear it alone, but Christ bears the weight of our reproaches.

Seventhly, if they be the reproaches of Christ, then for that part you do bear, although it be but little, you may expect his strength in, you are not left to bear that little by your own strength; Christ gives out his own strength, to bear his own reproaches; if the burden be his you bear, you shall have strength from him to bear it.

Again, this is an eighth stream of comfort, if they be the reproaches of Christ, they are the reproaches of all the members of Christ, who sympathize with you, and help to bear the burden with you.

Ninthly, it may be comfort that your names shall be vindicated, your names are as dear to Christ as his own, and it does as much concern Christ to vindicate your names as to vindicate his own.

Again, if our reproaches be Christs reproaches, and Christ is content to own our reproaches; surely, he will not leave us to take our sins upon ourselves: if his love be such as he will take the burden of our sufferings upon himself; surely his love is such as not to see us sink under the burden of our sins: No, our sins are upon him as well as our sufferings; not that he takes them upon him to be guilty, but only by imputation: the Text says, He was made sin; what abundance of consolation is this, that Christ is willing both to take off our sins and sufferings? there are nothing but these two that should trouble us in the world, our sins and sufferings, and Christ takes them off both.

11. And yet further, if Christ will own our reproaches,proaches, then he will own our services: there is no great difficulty of believing the one, if we believe the other: we may comfortably go to Christ and say, Blessed Savior, will you own upon yourself, the dirt cast upon our faces, and will not own the work of your own Spirit? though we may stain the work of Gods grace by our sin, yet Christ that is so indulgent to take reproaches, will surely own our services; he will own our active obedience, as well as our passive obedience.

Again, then we may be assured there will come good of them, and that we shall be carried through them; consider three or four things here for our help in this, to assure us of a blessing in these our sufferings. First, were it that we only did know that God had a love to us, and were merciful to us, that were enough to assure us. But, secondly, God may have love and not binde himself by promise; but as he has love, so he has engaged himself by promise to help his people in sufferings, and that is more. But, thirdly, we have the experience of Gods dealings with his people, that he never left them in suffering. And fourthly, we may rise higher, it is Gods own case, we have further assurance by this: If a man love me, I hope it will be well with me; if he promise me, that is more; if others have had experience, I am more assured: but if it be his own cause, I am sure enough. If a man go to sea, and he knows the Mariner has skill, and he loves me, and the Mariner promises he will have care, and others have had experience of his care, this is much: but when I consider, my life is the Mariners life, if I perish, he perishes; this assures me, that as far as the Mariner can do it, it shall be well with me. Luther writing to Melancton troubled with fears; If we fall, says he, Christfalls.

Again, here we have a notable ground to go to God in prayer in all sufferings, because we can go with this argument, Lord it is your own Name: that was the plea of Moses, Lord, if you destroyest your people, what will become of your Name? our names are nothing, what though ten thousand such as we are come to nought, and rot? but if God put his name to ours, and twist them together, there is abundance of safety, then our names are a strong argument.

Yea, suppose we be in such a condition as we cannot pray, yet here is comfort in this, our sufferings are the sufferings of Christ; and the sufferings of Christ do present themselves as a mighty prayer to God: The sufferings of Christ, have a mighty cry in the ears of the Father, and they will be heard.

And yet further, if so be our sufferings be the sufferings of Christ, then surely Christs sufferings are our sufferings; if Christ have an interest in our sufferings, then we have an interest in his sufferings: for how come our sufferings to be Christs, but by vertue of our relation to him; and therefore his sufferings must be ours, by the relation of Christ to us.

Lastly, there will be an end of sufferings, they cannot last always, for they are the sufferings of Christ ; and it cannot stand with infinite justice, that Christ which has undertaken for us, should be eternally under suffering; & if he shal not suffer always, we shal not always suffer; for so long as we suffer, he must suffer: the time therefore is a coming, in which Gods people shall be too high for to be reproached, they shall be in such a condition, as it shall be impossible for any to reproach them: for reproach comes from some kinde of apprehension of the reproacher, to be in some measure above the reproached: no man can reproach another for a thing that he fully knows, and certainly believes that he is above him in that thing: and therefore the people of the world do reproach the people of God, because they apprehend themselves to be above Gods people in wisdom, or the like; but time will come, that the dignity of Gods people shall be raised to such a heighth, that though wicked men do hate them, they shall not be able to reproach them, they cannot possibly have a conceit to be above Gods people in any thing.

And these are the consolations that arise from this point, that our sufferings and reproaches are Christs: and these considerations being put together, why should we distract ourselves, and take immoderate care what shall become of us; if we be unbelieving, Christ will count it a dishonor to him, and say, Is it not my case? we need not take any shifting courses to help ourselves; a man that has an enemy surprize him, if he have no weapon in his hand, it may be he will take up stones and dirt, but if he have his weapon, he uses that, and scorns to take up stones and dirt: when people are reproached, that have no interest in Christ, reproaches come upon them and take them unarmed, and they take up any thing near hand, and reproach and revile again: but those that have interest in Christ, have this weapon; they know all their reproaches are the reproaches of Christ, and we shall not need to depend upon any outward comfort for to comfort us; much less have we need to help ourselves by reviling again. The comfort of a Christian, is this, That his reproaches are the reproaches of Christ; this is enough to quiet his heart: you need not comfort yourselves in your parts, or estates; this is enough alone: do but answer all your distractions and troublesome workings of your hearts with this, and this will quiet them.

Quest. But how shall I know that my reproaches are the reproaches of Christ?

Answ. First, if you be reproached for the sake of Christ; though you be not a member of Christ, yet if your adversaries reproach you, because they take you for a member of Christ, there is some comfort in this. Secondly, if you can under all reproaches bring your hearts in subjection unto Christ, and quiet your hearts under reproaches in obedience unto him. Thirdly, if you finde the rule by which you are guided and acted in that condition to be the rule of Christ. Fourthly, if you finde the chiefest comfort that you gather in to help you, to be the comfort of Christ. Fifthly, if you finde the end you do aim at in your bearing them, is the honor of Christ; and that you do desire rather that Christ may be in the conclusion honored, then yourselves cleared. Sixthly, take this as a special note, if you make those reproaches that Christ suffers in his cause, his truth, his people, yours; then he makes yours his: how does your hearts stand affected to the reproaches Christ suffers in others? Zeph. 3. 17, 18. God promises much mercy, to such to whom the reproachof the solemn assemblies were a burden. That heart that is burthened with the reproaches of Gods ways, shall finde ease in the comforts of Gods Spirit. If these things be in you, certainly these come from the Spirit of Christ; and if from the Spirit of Christ, then you are Christs; and if you be Christs, then your reproaches are Christs.

A third Use is this: Seeing Christ suffers for us, and all our reproaches are the reproaches of Christ, Let us take heed that he do not suffer by us. Now Christ may come to suffer by us two ways: First, if so be that we cause the name of Christ to be spoken evil of. Secondly, when we come to be actors ourselves in speaking evil of Christ, or of his people.

First, if we cause Christ or his people to be spoken evil of by any sinful, way of ours, this is the reproach of Christ (but not in that sense I spoke of before.) Christ does not only suffer in you, but he suffers by you. This is the charge that the Apostles lays upon the Romans, For your sake is the name of God blasphemed: we had need look to ourselves in this. Mark what charge the Apostle lays upon women, 1 Tim. 5. 13, 14. that they should take heed of tatling, and carrying themselves unchristianly; and that they give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully. That was the reason why Nehemiah was so careful in his business, in Neh. 5:9 Because of the reproach of the Heathen. And so I say to you that are Gods people, Is it not enough that Christ has suffered for you and in you, but must he suffer by you? O that the fear of God might be upon you, because of the reproach of your adversaries: Is Christ dear to you? did Christ ever do any thing for you? Is it not better a thousand times that you were crost, and your lives were taken away, and you laid rotting in the grave, if your names could wash away any stain that is upon the name of Christ? know there are many that Christ have fuffered reproach by, and you cannot clear yourselves of it, and know what an evil and bitter thing it is, that after all the goodness and mercy of Christ to you, and the near relation that he has taken you into; will you abuse all this mercy, and this near relation? if Christ had never taken you for his own, had you been never so vile, Christ had not suffered reproach by you; but now in regard of your near relation to him, he suffers reproach by you; and is this the use you make of your near relation?

When therefore you finde your hearts begin to stir, and corruption boil; consider the name of Christ lies prostrate before you, and will you trample upon the name of Jesus Christ: if one were set upon going to a place to do mischief, and his Father and Mother should throw themselves in the path, that if he goes on he must tread upon them, and they should say, You shall tread upon the bowels out of which you came, upon the loyns that begat you; this would be a great stop: and so you that are Professors of the Gospel, if you have a temptation to a lust, the name of Christ calls Stay, and says, If you go you shall trample upon me, and my blood, and bring reproach upon me; will not this stop you? Never think that gain that you get by the reproach of Christ. It is true indeed, if we be going on in our duty, and do that we should, though men say the name of Christ shall be reproached, we are to go on, and do our duty, and let Christ vindicate his name if he will: but if it be any thing that concern out selves, and the satisfaction of our own wills and desires, whereby Christ may be reproached, this is a mighty argument to keep us from it: the word has scarce a stronger argument to keep us from an evil way, then this, The name of Christ shal suffer by it: for the people of God to suffer reproach by you, is an evil thing: for a man to have but his kindred ashamed of him, what an evil thing is it; but that it may be said of one that is a Professor of Religion, that he is not only a reproach to the Church of God, but a reproach to Jesus Christ, if you have any ingenuity in you, this might strike to your hearts.

It is reported of Alexander, having a Soldier of his name, and his Soldier being a coward, he came to him, and said, Either leave off the name of Alexander, or be a Soldier: and so we have the name of Christians, but when we are vile in our lives, Christ says, Either leave off your profession, your name, or be a Christian indeed: do not come in amongst the number of Professors, to let profession suffer by you. And so Alexander Severus the Emperor, seeing a company of Christians fighting together, he commanded them to leave off the name of Christians; for says he, You profess yourselves to be Christians, and yet you are thus contending: this is not the spirit of him whom you do profess. It is a lamentable thing that we should profess such a glorious name as we do, and that we should handle the matter so as that it should suffer so much by us. It is said of the high Priest, Numb. 6:7 He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, or for his brother, orfor his sister, because he had the holy oyl upon him, the consecration of his God was upon him: So I may say unto you, You have the holy oyl of the profession of the name of Christ upon you; and therefore take heed what you do, says St. Paul, It were better for me to dye, then to lose my glorying: were it then not better for us to dye, then to have the glory of Christ suffer by us. Know, though the name of Christ be not dear to you, he will defend his name when you shall rot and perish for ever; and though it be defiled by you for the present, he can clear it otherwise: but wo to them that be the causes of reproaches that come thus upon Christ.

But as we must take heed that Christ be not reproached by us in this regard, much more that he be not reproached by ourselves, so as to speak evil of the ways of God: as we may hear it of those that have been forward in profession of Religion, if profession of Religion do not come to serve their turns, they are ready to speak evil of that way, and all the professors of it. Take heed what you do in reproaching of a member of Christ, the name of Christ is upon him; take heed you do not reproach him that the name Christ is upon; the people of God do bear the name of Christ upon their foreheads; take heed you do not spit upon their faces, for it may be you may spit upon the name of Christ: as many unskilful hunters will shoot at wilde beasts, and shooting at random may kill a man; and so many shoot at Christians, but they hit Christ, they reproach Christ.