Chapter 37: Seeing Christ makes our sufferings his, we should make his sufferings ours

FIfthly, if Christ will take our sufferings and our reproaches, and make them his; then we are to take Christs sufferings, and Christ reproaches, and make them ours. It was the burning love of Christ, and his zeal to his people, that made him take the reproaches of his people to himself; and so our burning love to him, and zeal for him, should make us take his reproaches upon ourselves. Christ is many ways reproached in the world, not only in his person, when he lived upon the earth, and in his people; and so we are not only to take the reproaches of Christ upon us in these regards, but in any particular, whatever reproach falls upon Christ any way, let us account of it as our own: When the Doctrine of the Gospel is reproached, then he is reproached; when the ways and light that God has discovered to his people is reproached, he is reproached; when the Ordinances are slighted, when as the blood of Christ is counted a common thing, and every base lust is preferred before it; when as the blessed authority of Christ is villified and slighted, either when it is slighted openly or secretly, if the authority of Christ be cast off, then he is reproached, Numb. 15. 6, 30. When you put a reed into the hand of Christ, and bow to him, and say, Hail King of the Jews: when you shall profess obedience and subjection unto Christ, and in stead of a Scepter, put a reed into his hand, then he is reproached. Again, when Gods people walk unworthy of Christ, then Christ is reproached. And when Christ is reproached in any of these, let us take them to heart, as throughly, as if we were reproached; yea, take them more to heart, because the reproaches of Christ are far worse then our reproaches: Those that are first upon Christ, and then upon us, are worser then those that are first upon us, and then upon Christ: To spit upon the face of a man, is more reproach to the body, then to spit upon some other member of the body is a reproach to the face; and so the reproach of Christ that is the face of the Church, is more then the reproach of any other member: And therefore confider, whether your hearts be more broken when Christ is reproached, then when you yourselves are reproached, this is a good sign of grace. And if you demand what should be the behavior of a gracious heart, when he is in any company that he hears Christ reproached in;

I answer, First, your spirit should rise in indignation against such desperate evils and wickedness as this, that any should dare to be so bold as to reproach the holy One of God, such a blessed one as Christ is, that is so infinitely dear to your soul, and has done so much for your soul; though in our own causes we may be quiet and give way, yet when it comes to the cause of Christ, it is good for the heart to rise. It is the speech of Oeclampadius to his fellow Minister, Let our Zeal be hot and burning, not when scorns and reproaches are cast upon us, but when the truth is endangered, and the name of God is blasphemed. Ye have heard that of King Croesus his son, who though he were dumb all his life, yet when one would have struck at his Father, the affection to his Father broke the bars of his speech, and he said, Take heed of killing the King: And so though we be dumb in things that concern ourselves, yet when Christ comes to be reproached, let our hearts swell in us and break out.

Again, look upon them with trembling hearts, that ever the patience of God should suffer such wickedness as this: As they did admire at Mordecai, when he would not bow to Haman, they held their peace, and wondered what would become of that matter.

Yea, we should, if it were possible, labor to wipe off all the reproach of Christ, and take it upon ourselves that we might rather be spit upon and contemned then Christ. It was a brave speech of Ambrose, he wished it would please God to turn all the adversaries from the Church upon himself, and let them satisfy their thirst with his blood: This is a true christian heart. And therefore if it be for our sakes, and we have any thing in the business by which Christ is reproached, we should be willing rather to sacrifice ourselves, then that Christ should be reproached: And as Jonah, when he knew that the tempest rose for his sake, says he, Cast me into the sea: And so Nazianzen, when contention rose about him, says he, Cast me into the sea, let me lose my place, rather then the name of Christ should suffer for me.

Again, the behaving of a Christian should be this, it should take his heart from his own name, so long as Christ is reproached: What though I have esteem? Christ is not esteemed, he is contemned. I have these comforts, and I through Gods mercy want nothing, and my friends cleave to me, and prize me; but Christ is not cleaved to, he is not prized: and what are all my comforts to me? they are Ichabods, the glory of all is departed from me.

And further, we should be willing to interest ourselves in the cause of Christ: when we hear any of Gods people reproached, we should not say, What have we to do with them, let them clear themselves? but be willing to interest ourselves in it, and take it upon ourselves, as if our own name were to be cleared.

And lastly, we should labor to wipe away the reproach of Christ, in laboring to express the convincing power of that grace which is contrary to their carriage for which Christ is reproached: Such a one is scandalous, and Christs name suffers in that, let me labor to make up the breach in being so much the more faithful, and walking in the contrary grace: Such a one is proud, let me be more humble; such a one is covetous, let me be more liberal, that there may be somewhat to answer: As it is said of the wise son, when his father is reproached, he carries himself so as his father has wherewithal to answer from his good carriage, Prov. 27:11 So let Christ have wherewithal to answer his reproaches from your godly convincing conversation. Suppose others have cast an aspersion upon the ways of godliness, because such are false and covetous, yet walk you in the contrary, that Gods people may answer, Though such and such be so, what say you to such an one? is not the breach made up in those? And so much for that Use.

Sixthly, we must not only labor to wipe away the reproach of Christ: But if Christ have suffered so much in us and for us, let us labor to honor Christ as much as we can in the world, and set up the name of Christ, as much as others pull it down. How are we to set up the name of Christ?

First, in holding forth the beauty and glory of the Spirit of Christ in our lives, that though Christ be reproached in others, he may be glorified in us: Others may be forced to say in their consciences, Blessed be God that ever I saw such men: I never saw the graces of Christ shine more brightly in any, then in them. And then set up Christ, in speaking all the good we can of Christ, in bringing others in love with him: As they in the Canticles said, What is your beloved more then another beloved? says she, My beloved is the chiefest among ten thousands. Again, let us set up the Ordinances of Christ, therein appears the honor of Christ, and let the beauty of his holiness appear in his Ordinances, that men may say, Blessed are the people that are in such a case. Fourthly, let Christ have the honor of our names, and of all our comforts: Surely if he have the shame of our reproaches, he should have the honor of our honors: If he have the pain of our sufferings, surely he must have the praise of our comforts: Christ has a share in our sorrows, shall he not have a share in our comforts? when we are reproached he is reproached; when we are honored, let him be honored too. What a sad thing will it be, that when you go out of the world, it should be said, Christ has had more dishonor by you, then he has had honor?

Seventhly, If Christ suffers in all our sufferings, hence we learn not to rush into sufferings, before we be called to them, nor to withdraw from sufferings, when we are called to them. Christ suffers in all our sufferings, then it is not in our liberty to rush into sufferings when we please, though it should be in the cause of Christ. Indeed if we suffered alone, we might venture, but because Christ is interessed in it, we must stay till we know whether Christ be willing to suffer; though our time be come, yet it may be Christ will say, My time is not yet come; because it is in a good cause you think you may suffer in it, but consider, is Christs time come? In Proverbs 10:10 it is said, He that winketh with the eye causes sorrow, but a prating fool shall fall. when a man is loth to stand for those truths of God that shall bring him into suffering, he winks: He that winketh with the eye, causes sorrow, he will bring sorrow to his heart. But others will say, We will not wink with the eye, it is the cause of God, and we will stand for it, but a prating fool shall fall. A true man may ride in the rode, and fear no danger, yet he will not willingly ride into dangerous places, and so a man is not to ride into danger. As now if you be partners with another, you cannot give what you will, because it is not your own, but it is your partners too. If a man have a cottage of his own alone in a field, he may set it on fire, but if he set his own house on fire in the town, it may cost him his life, because others are interessed in the damage as well as himself. Again, if Christ do call, we must go freely, because they are the sufferings of Christ, It is reported of Peter in Ecclesiastical Story, that he was coming out of Rome for fear of suffering; and as he was coming out of the gates, he met Christ, and he asked Christ therefore he came; says he, I come to be crucified, then he thought Christ came to be crucified in him, and therefore he went back and resolved to suffer, and so he was crucified. And so though we be shy of suffering, yet if we know Christ calls to it, we must yield, as being willing to suffer in us.

But when are we called?

There is an ordinary call, and an extraordinary call. The extraordinary call is by the Spirit: And that is first, when there are none that will stand for the cause of God in an ordinary way. Secondly, those that God calls extraordinarily, are such as have extraordinary graces: They act not their own natural boldness, but are carried beyond it by a mighty work of Gods Spirit: And therefore you mayest suspect yourself, that you art not called extraordinarily, but after much humiliation, and much abilities to deny yourself.

But for an ordinary call▪ First, then we are called when if we do not suffer, Gods cause will suffer. Secondly, when God does take away the means and helps of delivering us from suffering. Thirdly, the more helps are taken from us, the more we finde the consolation of Gods Spirit come into us.

But when helps are taken away, and the Spirit of God does absent it self, shall we fear then that we are not called?

Some think, surely they must not suffer, then they shall betray Gods cause: If they do, because they do not finde God present with them: If God do give you a fair way to escape when his presence is gone, you may take it; but if he shut you up that you cannot escape, you may comfortably go on; though now he be gone, he will return again; as it was with Mr. Glover, who wanted the presence of God even till he came to the Stake, and then he clapt his hands and cryed, He is come, he is come.

The last Use of the point is this, If Christ suffer in his people, and if all the evil you cast upon Gods people is Christs, then all the good you do to them is Christs: If when you speak evil of Gods people and reproach them, you reproach Christ; then when you speak well of Gods people, you speak well of Christ: If when you persecute Gods people, you persecute Christ; then when you relieve Gods people, you relief Christ; Christ will own the good that is done to his people, as well as the evil: And therefore as the argument once was, Relieve all strangers, for some unawares have done good to Angels; So now, do all the good you can to Gods people, for unawares you may do much good to Christ. And thus I have finished the second point from this Verse, That the reproaches of Gods people are the reproaches of Christ. Now we are to proceed to the third.