Chapter 21

Matthew 5:10. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

We are now come to the last Beatitude, blessed are they which are persecuted, etc. Our Lord Christ would have us reckon the cost (Luke 14:27-28). Which of you intending to build a tower, sits not down first, and counts the cost, whether he has enough to finish it? Religion will cost us the tears of repentance, and the blood of persecution; but we see here a great encouragement that may keep us from fainting in the day of adversity; for the present blessed, for the future crowned.

The words fall into two general parts.

1. The condition of the godly in this life, they are persecuted.

2. Their reward after this life, theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

I shall speak chiefly of the first, and bring in the other in the applicatory.

Doctr. The observation is, that true godliness is usually attended with persecution (Acts 14:22). We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God (Acts 13:50). The Jews stirred up the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul, etc. Luther makes it the very definition of a Christian, a Christian is as one crucified; though Christ died to take away the curse from us, yet not to take away the cross from us: those stones which are cut out for a building, are first under the saw and hammer to be hewn and squared; the godly are called living stones (1 Peter 2:5), and they must be hewn and polished by the persecutor's hand, that they may be fit for the heavenly building; the saints have no charter of exemption from trials; though they be never so meek, merciful, pure in heart, their piety will not shield them from sufferings; they must hang their harp on the willows, and take the cross; the way to heaven is thorny and bloody; though it be full of roses in regard of the comforts of the Holy Spirit, yet it is full of thorns in regard of persecutions. Before Israel got to Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey, they must go through a wilderness of serpents, and a red sea: so the children of God in their passage to the holy land, must meet with fiery serpents, and a red sea of persecution. It is a saying of Ambrose, there is no Abel but has his Cain: Saint Paul fought with beasts at Ephesus (1 Corinthians 15:32). Set it down as a maxim, if you will follow Christ, you must see the swords and staves; put the cross in your creed. For the amplification of this, there are several things we are to take cognizance of.

1. What is meant by persecution. 2. The several kinds of persecution. 3. Why there must be persecution. 4. The chief persecutions are raised against the ministers of Christ. 5. What that persecution is which makes a man blessed.

Showing what is meant by persecution.

1. What is meant by persecution? The Greek word, to persecute, signifies to vex and molest, sometimes to prosecute another, to arraign him at the bar, and to pursue him to the death; a persecutor is a pricking briar, therefore the church is described to be a lily among thorns (Song of Solomon 2:2).

Setting forth the several kinds of persecution.

2. What are the several kinds of persecution? There is a two-fold persecution.

A persecution of the hand. A persecution of the tongue.

1. A persecution of the hand (Acts 7:52). Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted (Romans 8:36)? For your sake are we killed all the day long (Galatians 4:29). This I call a bloody persecution, when the people of God are prosecuted with fire and sword: so we read of the ten persecutions in the time of Nero, Domitian, Trajan, etc. And the Marian persecution; England for five years drank a cup of blood; and lately Piedmont, and the confines of Bohemia have been scourged to death with the rod of the persecutor; God's church has always like Abraham's ram, been tied in a bush of thorns.

2. The persecution of the tongue, which is two-fold.

1. Reviling; this few think of, or lay to heart; but it is called in the text persecution; when men shall revile and persecute you; this is tongue-persecution (Psalm 55:21). His words were drawn swords. You may kill a man as well in his name, as in his person; a good name is as precious ointment (Ecclesiastes 7:21). A good conscience and a good name, is like a gold ring set with a rich diamond. Now to smite another in his name, is by our Savior called persecution: thus the primitive Christians endured the persecution of the tongue (Hebrews 11:36). They had trial of cruel mockings. David was the song of the drunkards (Psalm 69:12). They would sit on their alehouse-bench, and jeer at him; how frequently do the wicked cast out the squibs of reproach at God's children, these are the holy ones! Little do they think what they do; they are now doing Cain's work and Julian's, they are persecuting.

2. Slandering; so it is in the text, when they shall persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely. Slandering is tongue-persecution; thus Saint Paul was slandered in his doctrine; it was reported he should preach, men might do evil that good might come of it (Romans 3:8). Thus Christ who did cast out devils, was charged to have a devil (John 8:48). The primitive Christians were falsely accused for killing their children, and for incest (Psalm 35:11). They laid to my charge things that I knew not.

Let us take heed of becoming persecutors: some think there is no persecution but fire and sword; indeed, there is the persecution of the tongue; there are many of these persecutors nowadays, who by a devilish chemistry can turn gold into dung, the precious names of God's saints into reproach and disgrace. There have been many punished for clipping of coin; of how much more severe punishment shall they be thought worthy, who clip the names of God's people to make them weigh lighter.

Declaring the causes of persecution.

3. Why there must be persecution.

I answer for two reasons.

1. In regard of God.

1. His decree. 2. His design.

1. God's decree (1 Thessalonians 3:3). We are appointed to it: whoever brings the suffering, God sends it; God did bid Shimei curse; Shimei's tongue was the arrow, but it was God that did shoot it.

2. God's design; God has a two-fold design in the persecutions of his children.

1. Trial (Daniel 12:10). Many shall be tried: persecution is the touchstone of sincerity; it discovers true saints from hypocrites; unsound hearts pretend fair in prosperity, but in a time of persecution fall away (Matthew 13:20-21). Hypocrites cannot sail in stormy weather; they will follow Christ to Mount Olivet, but not to Mount Calvary; like green timber, they shrink in the scorching sun of persecution; if trouble arises, hypocrites will rather make Demas' choice, than Moses' choice; they will prefer thirty pieces of silver before Christ; God will have persecutions in the world to make a discovery of men; suffering times are sifting times (Job 23:10). When I am tried, I shall come forth as gold. Job had a furnace-faith; a Christian of the right breed (who is born of God) whatever he loses, will hold fast his integrity (Job 2:3). Christ's true disciples will follow him upon the water.

2. Purity; God lets his children be in the furnace, that they may be partakers of his holiness (Hebrews 12:10). The cross is medicine, it purges out pride, impatience, love of the world; God washes his people in bloody waters, to get out their spots, and make them look white (Daniel 12:10). I am dark, but lovely (Song of Solomon 1:5). The torrid zone of persecution made the spouse's skin dark, but her soul fair; see how differently afflictions work upon the wicked and godly; they make the one worse, the other better. Take a cloth that is rotten, if you scour and rub it, it frets and tears; but if you scour a piece of plate, it looks brighter. When afflictions are upon the wicked, they fret against God, and tear themselves in impatience; but when the godly are scoured by these, they look brighter.

2. There will be persecutions in regard of the enemies of the church; these vultures prey upon God's turtledoves: the church has two sorts of enemies.

1. Open enemies; the wicked hate the godly; there is enmity between the seed of the woman and the serpent (Genesis 3:15). As in nature there is an antipathy between the vine and the bay-tree; the elephant and the dragon. Vultures have an antipathy against sweet smells; so in the wicked there is an antipathy against the people of God, they hate the sweet perfumes of their graces; it is true, the saints have their infirmities; but the wicked do not hate them for these, but for their holiness; and from this hatred arises open violence; the thief hates the light, therefore would blow it out.

2. Secret enemies; who pretend friendship, but secretly raise persecutions against the godly; such are hypocrites and heretics. Saint Paul calls them false brothers (1 Corinthians 11:26). The church complains that her own sons had vexed her (Song of Solomon 1:6). That is, those who had been bred up in her bosom, and pretended religion and sympathy, these false friends vexed her; the church's enemies are them of her own house; such as are open pretenders, but secret opposers of the faith, are ever worst. A wen seems to be a part of the body, but is indeed an enemy to it, it does disfigure and endanger it; they are the vilest and basest of men, who hang forth Christ's colors, yet fight against him.

Showing that the keenest edge of persecution is turned against the ministers.

4. The fourth particular is, that the chief persecutions are raised against the ministers; our Lord Christ turns himself directly to the apostles, whom he was ready to commission, and send abroad to preach; blessed are you when men shall persecute you (verse 11). So persecuted they the prophets before you (verse 12). Take my brothers the prophets for an example of suffering affliction (James 5:10). No sooner is any man a minister, but he is part of a martyr. The ministers of Christ are his chosen vessels; now as the best vessel of gold and silver passes through the fire, so God's chosen vessels pass often through the fire of persecution: all times are not like the silver age in which Constantine lived; he was an honorer of the ministry; he would not sit down in the Council of Nicaea, till the bishops who were convened there, did come and beseech him; he would say, if he saw an infirmity in the clergy, he would cover it with his own purple robe. Ministers must not always look for such shines of the prince's favor, they must expect an alarm. Peter a famous preacher, who knew how to cast the net on the right side of the ship; at one sermon he converted three thousand souls, yet neither the divinity of his doctrine, nor the sanctity of his life could exempt him from persecution (John 21:18). When you shall be old, another shall gird you, and carry you where you would not; it alludes to his suffering death for Christ; he was (says Eusebius) bound with chains, and afterwards crucified at Jerusalem with his head downwards. Saint Paul a holy man, who is steeled with courage, fired with zeal, as soon as he entered into the ministry, bonds and persecutions did abide him (Acts 9:15-16). He was made up of sufferings (2 Timothy 4:6). I am ready to be offered up; he alludes to the drink-offerings, wherein the wine or blood used in sacrifice was poured out, thereby indicating by what manner of death he should glorify God; not by being sacrificed in the fire, but by pouring out his blood, which was when he was beheaded; and that it might seem no strange thing for God's ministers to be under the heat and rage of persecution, Stephen puts the question (Acts 7:52). Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? Ignatius was torn with wild beasts; Cyprian, Polycarp martyred: Maximinus the emperor (as Eusebius relates) gave charge to his officers to put none to death, but the governors and pastors of the church.

The reasons why the storm of persecution has chiefly fallen upon the ministers, are:

1. They have their corruptions as well as others; and least they should be lifted up through the abundance of revelation, God lets loose some messenger of Satan to vex and persecute them. God sees they have need of the flail to thresh off their husks; the fire God puts them into, is not to consume, but refine them.

2. The ministers are Christ's standard-bearers to carry his colors; they are the captains of the Lord's host, therefore are most shot at (Philippians 1:17). I am set for the defense of the gospel. The Greek word alludes to a soldier that is set in the forefront of the battle, and has all the bullets flying about his ears. The minister's work is to preach against men's sins, which are as dear to them as their right eye, and they cannot endure this. Every man's sin is his king, to which he yields love and subjection; now as Pilate said, shall I crucify your king? Men will not endure to have their king-sin crucified; this therefore being the work of the ministry to divide between men and their lusts, to part these two old friends, no wonder it meets with so much opposition. When Paul preached against Diana, all the city was in an uproar: we preach against men's Dianas, those sins which bring them in pleasure and profit, this causes an uproar.

3. From the malice of Satan: the ministers of Christ come to destroy his kingdom, therefore the old serpent will spit all his venom at them; if we tread upon the devil's head, he will bite us by the heel; the devil sets up several forts and garrisons in men's hearts, pride, ignorance, unbelief; now the weapons of the ministry beat down these strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4), therefore Satan raises his militia, all the force and power of hell against the ministry: the kingdom of Satan is a kingdom of darkness (Acts 26:18; Revelation 16:10), and God's ministers are called the lights of the world (Matthew 5:14). They come to enlighten those that sit in darkness, this enrages Satan; therefore he labors to eclipse the lights, to pull down the stars, that his kingdom of darkness may prevail; the devil is called a lion (1 Peter 5:8). The souls of people are the lion's prey, the minister's work is to take away the prey from this lion; therefore how will he roar upon them, and seek to destroy them!

Use 1. It shows us what a work the ministry is; though full of dignity, yet full of danger; the persecution of the tongue is the most gentle persecution that can be expected; it is not possible (says Luther) to be a faithful preacher, and not meet with trials and oppositions.

Use 2. It shows the corruption of men's nature since the fall, they are their own enemies, they persecute those who come to do them most good. What is the work of the ministry but to save men's souls? To pull them as brands out of the fire; yet they are angry at this. We hate not the physician who brings such medicine as makes us sick, because it is to make us well; nor the surgeon, who lances the flesh, because it is in order to a cure; why then should we quarrel with the minister? What is our work but to bring men to heaven (2 Corinthians 5:20)? We are ambassadors for Christ, etc., we would have a peace made up between you and God; yet this is the folly of depraved nature, to repay evil for good. Aristoxenus did use to moisten his flowers with wine, honey, and perfumes, that they might not only smell more fragrantly, but put forth more vigorously: so should we do with our ministers, give them wine and honey, encourage them in their work, that they might act more vigorously; but instead of this, we give them gall and vinegar to drink, we hate and persecute them. Most deal with their ministers, as Israel did with Moses; he prayed for them, and worked miracles for them, yet they were still quarreling with him, and sometimes ready to take away his life.

Use 3. If the fury of the world be against the ministers, then you that fear God had better pray much for them (2 Thessalonians 3:2). Pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men. People should pray for their ministers, that God would give them the wisdom of the serpent, that they may not betray themselves to danger by indiscretion; and the boldness of the lion, that they may not betray the truth by fear.

Showing what that persecution is which makes one blessed.

5. The next thing to be explained, is, what that suffering persecution is which makes a man blessed.

1. I shall show what that suffering is which will not make us blessed.

1. That suffering is not reckoned for martyrdom, when we pull a cross upon ourselves, there is little comfort in such suffering. Augustine speaks of some in his time that were called Circumcellions, who out of an itch (rather than zeal) of martyrdom, would run themselves into sufferings; these were accessories to their own death; like Saul, who fell upon his own sword; we are bound by all lawful means to preserve our own lives. Jesus Christ did not suffer till he was called to it; suspect that to be a temptation which bids us cast ourselves down into sufferings; when men through precipitancy and rashness run themselves into trouble, it is a cross of their own making, and not of God's laying upon them.

2. That is not to be accounted martyrdom, when we suffer for our offenses (1 Peter 4:15). Let none of you suffer as an evildoer (Luke 23:41). We indeed suffer justly. I am not of Cyprian's mind, that the thief on the cross suffered as a martyr; no, he suffered as an evildoer; Christ indeed took pity on him, and saved him; he died a saint, but not a martyr. When men suffer by the hand of the magistrate for their uncleanness, blasphemies, etc., these do not suffer persecution, but execution; they die not as martyrs, but malefactors; they suffer evil, for being evil.

3. That suffering will not make men blessed, when they suffer out of sinister respects, to be cried up as the head of a party, or to keep up a faction. The apostle implies that a man may give his body to be burned, yet go to hell (1 Corinthians 13:3). Ambitious men may sacrifice their lives to purchase fame; these are the devil's martyrs.

2. What that suffering persecution is which will make us blessed, and shall wear the crown of martyrdom.

Answ. 1. When we suffer in a good cause; so it is in the text, blessed are they which suffer for righteousness' sake; it is the cause that makes a martyr: when we suffer for the truth, and espouse the quarrel of religion, this is to suffer for righteousness' sake (Acts 28:20). For the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.

2. When we suffer with a good conscience: a man may have a good cause, and a bad conscience; he may suffer for righteousness' sake, yet he himself be unrighteous. Saint Paul, as he had a just cause, so he had a pure conscience (Acts 23:1). I have lived in all good conscience to this day. Paul kept a good conscience to his dying day; a good conscience will make a man suffer with comfort, it has made the saints go as cheerfully to the stake, as if they had been going to a crown; look to it, that there be no flaw in conscience. A ship that is to sail upon the waters, must be preserved from leaking; when Christians are to sail on the waters of persecution, let them take heed there be no leak of guilt in their conscience; he who suffers (though it be in God's own cause) with a bad conscience, suffers two hells; a hell of persecution, and a hell of damnation.

3. When we have a good call (Matthew 10:18). When you shall be brought before kings, etc. There is no question but a man may so far consult for his safety, that if God by his providence opens a door, he may flee in time of persecution (Matthew 10:23). But when he is brought before kings, and the case is such, that either he must suffer, or the truth must suffer; here is a clear call to suffering, and this is reckoned for martyrdom.

4. When we have good ends in our suffering; namely, that we may glorify God, set a seal to the truth, show our love to Christ (Matthew 10:18). When you shall be brought before kings for my sake. The primitive Christians did burn more in love than in fire; when we look at God in our sufferings, and are willing to make his crown flourish, though it be in our ashes, this is that suffering which carries away the garland of glory.

5. When we suffer as Christians (1 Peter 4:16). If any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed: to suffer as a Christian, is to suffer with such a spirit as becomes a Christian, which is,

1. When we suffer with patience (James 5:10). Take my brothers the prophets for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. A Christian must not repine, but say, shall I not drink the cup of martyrdom which my Father has given me? There should be such a spirit of meekness in a Christian's suffering, that it should be hard to say which is greater, his persecution or his patience. When Job had lost all, he kept the breastplate of innocency, and the shield of patience; an impatient martyr is a solecism.

2. To suffer as Christians, is, when we suffer with courage. Courage is a Christian's armor of proof, it steels and animates him. The three children (or rather the three champions) were of brave heroic spirits; they do not say to the king we ought not serve your gods, but we will not (Daniel 3:18). Neither Nebuchadnezzar's music, nor his furnace could alter their resolution. Tertullian was called an adamant for his invincible courage: holy courage makes us (as one of the fathers says) have such faces of brass, that we are not ashamed of the cross; this is to suffer as Christians, when we are meek, yet resolute. The more the fire is blown, the more it flames; so it is with a brave-spirited Christian; the more opposition he meets with the more his zeal and courage flames forth: what a spirit of gallantry was in Luther, who writing to Melanchthon, said, if the cause we are embarked in is not God's, let us desert it; if it is his cause, and will bear us out, why do we not stand to it?

3. To suffer as Christians, is to suffer with cheerfulness. Patience is bearing the cross, cheerfulness is taking up the cross. Christ suffered for us cheerfully, his death was a free-will offering (Luke 12:50). He thirsted to drink of that cup of blood; such must our sufferings be for Christ; cheerfulness perfumes martyrdom, and makes it the sacrifice of a sweet-smelling savor to God. Thus Moses suffered cheerfully (Hebrews 11:24-25). Moses when he was come to years, chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. Observe,

1. When he was come to years; it was no childish act, it was not in his minority, but when he was of years of discretion.

2. He chose to suffer affliction; suffering was not so much his task, as his choice; the cross was not so much imposed, as embraced; this is to suffer as Christians, when we are volunteers, we take up the cross cheerfully, indeed joyfully (Acts 5:41). They departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. The original says they rejoiced that they were so far graced, as to be disgraced for the name of Christ. Tertullian says of the primitive Christians, they took more comfort in their sufferings, than in their deliverance: and indeed well may a Christian be joyful in suffering, because it is a great favor when God honors a man to be a witness to the truth. Christ's marks in Saint Paul's body, were prints of glory; the saints have worn their sufferings as ornaments. Ignatius' chains were his jewels; never have any princes been so famous for their victories, as the martyrs for their sufferings.

4. We suffer as Christians; when we suffer and pray (Matthew 5:44). Pray for them which spitefully use you and persecute you.

There are two reasons why we should pray for our persecutors.

1. Because our prayers may be a means to convert them. Stephen prayed for his persecutors (Acts 7:60). Lord, lay not this sin to their charge; and this prayer was effectual to some of their conversions. Augustine says, the church of God was beholden to Stephen's prayer for all that benefit which was reaped by Paul's ministry.

2. We should pray for our persecutors, because they do us good, though against their will; they shall increase our reward; every reproach shall add to our glory; every injury shall serve to make our crown heavier; as Gregory Nazianzene speaks in one of his orations, every stone which was thrown at Stephen, was a precious stone, which enriched him, and made him shine brighter in the kingdom of heaven. Thus I have shown what that suffering is which makes us blessed, and shall wear the crown of martyrdom.

Inferences drawn from the proposition.

1. It shows us what the nature of Christianity is, namely sanctity joined with suffering; a true saint carries Christ in his heart, and the cross on his shoulders (2 Timothy 3:12). All that will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution. Christ and his cross are never parted; it is too much for a Christian to have two heavens; one here, and another hereafter. Christ's kingdom on earth is the kingdom of the cross: what is the meaning of the shield of faith, the helmet of hope, the breastplate of patience? But to imply that we must encounter with sufferings. It is one of the titles given to the church, afflicted (Isaiah 54:11). Persecution is the legacy bequeathed by Christ to his people (John 16, last verse). In the world you shall have tribulation. Christ's spouse is a lily among thorns. Christ's sheep must expect to lose their golden fleece; this the flesh does not like to hear of; therefore Christ calls persecution the cross (Matthew 16:24), because it is cross to flesh and blood; we are all for reigning (Acts 1:7). When will you restore the kingdom again to Israel? But the apostle tells us of suffering before reigning (2 Timothy 2:12). If we suffer, we shall reign with him. How loath is corrupt flesh to put its neck under Christ's yoke, or stretch itself upon the cross! But religion gives no charter of exemption from suffering; to have two heavens, is more than Christ had. Was the head crowned with thorns, and do we think to be crowned with roses (1 Peter 4:12)? Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial. If we are God's gold, it is not strange to be cast into the fire. Some there are that picture Erasmus half in heaven, and half out: methinks it represents a Christian in this life; in regard of his inward consolation he is half in heaven, in regard of his outward persecution he is half in hell.

2. See hence that persecutions are not signs of God's anger, or fruits of the curse; for blessed are they that are persecuted: if they are blessed who die in the Lord, are not they blessed who die for the Lord? We are very apt to judge them hated and forsaken of God, who are in a suffering condition (Matthew 26:40). If you be the Son of God, come down from the cross. The Jews made a question of it, they could hardly believe Christ was the Son of God when he hung upon the cross: would God let him be reproached and forsaken if he were the Son of God? When the barbarians saw the viper on Paul's hand, they thought he was a great sinner (Acts 28:4). No doubt this man is a murderer: so when we see the people of God afflicted, and the viper of persecution fastens on them, we are apt to say, these are greater sinners than others, and God does not love them; this is for want of judgment: blessed are they that are persecuted. Persecutions are pledges of God's love, badges of honor (Hebrews 12:7). In the sharpest trial there is the sweetest comfort; God's fanning his wheat is but to make it purer.

Use 2. 1. It reproves such as would be thought good Christians, but will not suffer persecution for Christ's sake; their care is not to take up the cross, but to avoid the cross (Matthew 13:21). When persecution arises because of the word, by and by he is offended. There are many professors who speak Christ fair, but will suffer nothing for him; these may be compared to the crystal which looks like pearl, till it comes to the hammering, then it breaks; many when they see the palm-branches and garments spread, cry hosanna to Christ; but if the swords and staves appear, then they slink away; as King Henry the 4th of Navarre told Beza, who urging him to engage himself in the Protestant religion, said, he would not launch out too far into the deep, but that if a storm should arise, he might retreat back to shore. It is to be feared there are some among us, who if persecutions should come, would rather make Demas' choice, than Moses' choice; and would study rather to keep their skin whole, than their conscience pure. Erasmus highly extolled Luther's doctrine; but when the emperor threatened all that should favor Luther's cause, he unworthily deserted it. Hypocrites will sooner renounce their baptism, than take up the cross; if ever we would show ourselves Christians in earnest, we must with Peter, throw ourselves upon the water to come to Christ. He that refuses to suffer, let him read over that sad Scripture (Matthew 10:33). Whoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

2. It reproves them who are the opposers and persecutors of the saints; how great is their sin? They resist the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:51-52). You do always resist the Holy Spirit; which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? Persecutors offer affront to Christ in heaven, they tread his jewels in the dust, touch the apple of his eye, pierce his sides (Acts 9:4-5). Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? When the foot was trodden on, the head cried out; as the sin is great, so the punishment shall be proportionable (Revelation 16:6). They have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink, for they are worthy. Will not Christ avenge those who die in his quarrel? What is the end of persecutors? Diocletian proclaimed that the Christian churches and temples should be razed down, their Bibles burned; he would not permit any man that was a Christian to hold an office; some of the Christians he cast alive into boiling lead, others had their hands and lips cut off, only they had their eyes left, that they might behold the tragedy of their own miseries, what was the end of this man? He ran mad, and poisoned himself. Felix, captain to Emperor Charles the 5th, being at supper at Augsburg, vowed he would ride up to the spurs in the blood of the Lutherans; a flux of blood came up that night into his throat, with which he was choked; it were easy to tell how God's hand has so visibly gone out against persecutors, that they might read their sin in their punishment.

That Christians should possess themselves beforehand with thoughts of suffering.

Use 3. 1. Let it exhort Christians to think beforehand, and make account of sufferings; this reckoning beforehand can do us no hurt, it may do us much good.

1. The forethoughts of suffering will make a Christian very serious; the heart is apt to be feathery and frothy, the thoughts of suffering persecution would consolidate it; why am I thus light? Is this a posture fit for persecution? Christians grow serious in the casting up their spiritual accounts, they reckon what religion must cost them, and may cost them; it must cost them the blood of their sins, it may cost them the blood of their lives.

2. The forethoughts of persecution will be as sauce to season our delights, that we do not surfeit upon them. How soon may there be an alarm sounded? How soon may the clouds drop blood? The thoughts of this would take off the heart from the immoderate love of the creature. Our Savior at a great feast breaks out into mention of his death (Mark 14:3). She has prepared this against my burial: so the forethoughts of a change would be an excellent antidote against a surfeit.

3. The forethoughts of sufferings would make them lighter when they come; the suddenness of an evil adds to the sadness; this was ill news to the fool in the Gospel, (who reckoned without his host) this night shall your soul be required of you. This will be an aggravation of Babylon's miseries (Revelation 18:8). Her plagues shall come in one day; not that Antichrist shall be destroyed in a day, but suddenly; the blow shall come unawares, when he does not think of it; the reckoning beforehand of suffering, does alleviate and take off the edge of it when it comes; therefore Christ to lighten the cross, still forewarns his disciples of sufferings, that they might not come unlooked for (John 16:33; Acts 1:7).

4. Forethoughts of persecution would put us in mind of getting our armor ready; it is dangerous as well as imprudent, to have all to seek when the trial comes; as if a soldier should have his weapons to get when the enemy is in the field. Caesar seeing a soldier whetting his sword when he was just going to fight, dismissed him; he that reckons upon persecution, will be in a ready posture for it; he will have the shield of faith, and the sword of the Spirit ready, that he may not be surprised unawares.

2. Let us prepare for persecution; a wise pilot in a calm will prepare for a storm. God knows how soon persecution may come, there seems to be a cloud of blood hanging over the nation.

Showing how we may be armed for sufferings.

Quest. How shall we prepare for sufferings?

Answ. Do three things.

1. Be persons rightly qualified for suffering. 2. Avoid those things which will hinder suffering. 3. Promote all helps to suffering.

1. Labor to be persons rightly qualified for suffering; be righteous persons; that man who would suffer for righteousness' sake, must himself be righteous; I mean evangelically righteous; in particular I call him righteous,

1. Who breathes after sanctity (Psalm 119:5). Though sin cleaves to his heart, yet his heart does not cleave to sin; though sin has an alliance, yet no allowance (Romans 7:15). What I do I do not allow! A good man hates that sin to which Satan does most tempt, and his heart most incline (Psalm 119:128).

2. A righteous person is one who makes God's glory his center; the glory of God is more worth than the salvation of all men's souls. He who is divinely qualified, is so zealously ambitious of God's glory, that he cares not what he loses, so God may be a gainer; he prefers the glory of God before credit, estate, relations. It was the speech of Kiliaz that blessed martyr, had I all the gold in the world to dispose of, I would give it to live with my relations, (though in prison) yet Jesus Christ is dearer to me than all.

3. A righteous person is one who values the jewel of a good conscience at a high rate; a good conscience is a saint's festival, his music, his paradise, and he will rather hazard anything than violate his conscience. They say of the Irish, if they have a good weapon they had rather take a blow on their arm, than their weapon should be hurt. To this I may compare a good conscience; a godly man had rather sustain hurt in his body or estate, than his conscience should be hurt; he had rather die, than violate the virginity of his conscience; such a man as this, is evangelically righteous; and if God calls him to it, he is fit to suffer.

2. Avoid those things which will hinder suffering.

1. The love of the world; God allows us the use of the world (1 Timothy 6:7), but take heed of the love of it; he that is in love with the world, will be out of love with the cross (2 Timothy 4:10). Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world; he not only forsook Paul's company, but his doctrine. The love of the world chokes our zeal; a man wedded to the world, will for thirty pieces of silver betray Christ and a good cause. Let the world be as a loose garment, that you may throw off at pleasure; before a man can die for Christ, he must be dead to the world. Paul was crucified to the world (Galatians 6:14). It will be an easy thing to die, when we are dead before in our affections.

2. Carnal fear. There is a two-fold fear.

1. A filial fear; when a man fears to displease God; when he fears lest he should not hold out, this is a good fear; blessed is he that fears always; if Peter had feared his own heart, and said, Lord Jesus, I fear I shall forsake you, Lord strengthen me, doubtless Christ would have kept him from falling.

2. There is a cowardly fear; when a man fears danger more than sin; when he is afraid to be good, this fear is an enemy to suffering. God proclaimed that those who were fearful should not go to the wars (Deuteronomy 20:8). The fearful are unfit to fight in Christ's wars; a man possessed with fear, does not consult what is best, but what is safest. If he may save his estate, he will snare his conscience (Proverbs 29:25). In the fear of man there is a snare. Fear made Peter deny Christ; Abraham equivocate; David feign himself mad; fear will put men upon indirect courses, making them study rather compliance, than conscience. Fear makes sin appear little, and suffering great; the fearful man sees double, he looks upon the cross through his lens twice as big as it is; fear argues baseness of spirit, it will put one upon things most ignoble and unworthy; a fearful man will vote against his conscience; fear enfeebles, it is like the cutting off Samson's locks; fear melts away the courage (Joshua 5:1). Their hearts melt because of you; and when a man's strength is gone, he is very unfit to carry Christ's cross; fear is the root of apostasy. Spira's fear made him abjure and recant his religion; fear does one more hurt than the adversary; it is not so much an enemy without the castle, as a traitor within that endangers it; it is not so much sufferings without, as traitorous fear within which undoes a man; a fearful man is versed in no posture so much as in retreating; oh take heed of this, be afraid of this fear (Luke 12:4). Fear not them that can kill the body. Persecutors can but kill that body which must shortly die; the fearful are set in the forefront of them that shall go to hell (Revelation 21:8). Let us get the fear of God into our hearts; as one wedge drives out another, so the fear of God will drive out all other base fear.

3. Take heed of a facile spirit; a facile-spirited man will be turned any way with a word; he will be worked as wax; he is so tame, that you may lead him wherever you will (Romans 16:18). With fair speeches they deceive the hearts of the simple. A facile Christian is malleable to anything, he is like wool that will take any dye; he is a weak reed that will be blown any way with the breath of men; one day you may persuade him to engage in a good cause, the next day to desert it; he is not made of oak but of willow, he will bend every way: oh take heed of a facile spirit; it is not ingenuity, but folly to suffer oneself to be abused. A good Christian is like Mount Zion, that cannot be moved (Psalm 125:1). He is like Fabricius, of whom it was said, a man might as well alter the course of the sun, as turn him aside from doing justice. A good Christian must be firm to his resolution; if he be not a fixed, he will be a falling star.

4. Take heed of listening to the voice of the flesh. Saint Paul did not confer with flesh and blood (Galatians 1:16). The flesh will give bad counsel; first Saul consulted with the flesh, and afterwards he consulted with the devil, he sends to the witch of Endor; oh says the flesh, the cross of Christ is heavy, there is a nail in the yoke which will tear, and draw blood; be as a deaf adder, stopping your ears to the charmings of the flesh.

3. Promote those things which will help to suffer.

1. Inure yourselves to suffering (2 Timothy 2:3). As a good soldier of Christ endure hardship. Jacob made the stone his pillow (Genesis 28:18). It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth (Lamentations 3:27). The bearing of a lighter cross will fit for bearing a heavier: learn to bear a reproach with patience, and then you will be fitter to bear an iron chain. Saint Paul did die daily; he began with lesser sufferings, and so by degrees learned to be a martyr; as it is in sin, a wicked man learns to be expert in sin by degrees; first he commits a lesser sin, then a greater, then he arrives at custom in sin, then he grows impudent in sin, then he glories in sin (Philippians 3:19), so it is in suffering, first a Christian takes up the chips of the cross, a disgrace, a prison, and then he carries the cross itself.

Alas how far are they from suffering, who indulge the flesh (Amos 6:4)! That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches; a very unfit posture for suffering. That soldier is likely to make but poor work of it, who is stretching himself upon his bed, when he should be in the field exercising his arms. What shall I say says Jerome, to those Christians who make it all their care to perfume their clothes, to crisp their hair, to sparkle their diamonds; but if sufferings come, and the way to heaven has any water in it, they will not endure to set their feet upon it! Most people are too effeminate, they use themselves too nicely and tenderly; those silken Christians (as Tertullian calls them) that pamper the flesh, are unfit for the school of the cross; the naked breast and bare shoulder is too soft and tender to carry Christ's cross; inure yourselves to hardship, do not make your pillow too easy.

2. Be well skilled in the knowledge of Christ; a man can never die for him he does not know (2 Timothy 1:12). For which cause I suffer these things, for I know whom I have believed. Blind men are always fearful; a blind Christian will be fearful of the cross; enrich yourselves with knowledge; know Christ in his virtues, offices, privileges; see the preciousness in Christ (1 Peter 1:7). To you that believe he is precious; his name is precious, it is as ointment poured forth; his blood is precious, it is as balm poured forth; his love is precious, it is as wine poured forth; Jesus Christ is made up of all sweets and delights. He is himself entirely desirable; he is light to the eye, honey to the taste, joy to the heart; get but the knowledge of Christ, and you will part with all for him; you will embrace him, though it be in the fire; an ignorant man can never be a martyr; he may set up an altar, but he will never die for an unknown God.

3. Prize every truth of God; the filings of gold are precious, the least ray of truth is glorious (Proverbs 23:23). Buy the truth, and sell it not. Truth is the object of faith (2 Thessalonians 2:13), the seed of regeneration (James 1:18), the spring of joy (1 Corinthians 13:6). Truth crowns us with salvation (1 Timothy 2:4). If ever you would suffer for the truth, prize it above all things; he that does not prize truth above life, will never lay down his life for the truth. The blessed martyrs sealed to the truth with their blood. There are two things God counts most dear to him, his glory and his truth. I will, says Bishop Jewel, deny my bishopric, I will deny my name and credit, but the truths of Christ I cannot deny.

4. Keep a good conscience; if there be any sin allowed in the soul, it will unfit for suffering: a man that has a boil upon his shoulders, cannot carry a heavy burden; guilt of conscience is like a boil; he that has this, can never carry the cross of Christ; if a ship be sound, and well rigged, it will sail upon the water; but if it be full of holes, and leaks, it will sink in the water: if conscience be full of guilt, (which is like a leak in the ship) it will not hold in the bloody waters of persecution. A house will not stand in a storm, if the pillars of it are rotten; if a man's heart be rotten, he will never stand in a storm of tribulation; how can a guilty person suffer, when for ought he knows he is likely to go from the fire at the stake to hell-fire! Let conscience be pure (1 Timothy 3:9). Holding the mystery of faith in a pure conscience. A good conscience will abide the fiery trial; this made the martyrs' flames, beds of roses; a good conscience is a wall of bronze; with the leviathan, it laughs at the shaking of a spear (Job 41:29). Let one be in prison, a good conscience is a bird that can sing in this cage; Augustine calls it the paradise of a good conscience.

5. Make the Scripture familiar to you (Psalm 119:50). The Scripture well digested by meditation will fit for suffering; the Scripture is a Christian's fortress, his magazine and stronghold; it may be compared to the tower of David, on which there hang a thousand shields (Song of Solomon 4:3). From these breasts of Scripture divine strength flows into the soul (Colossians 3:16). Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. Jerome speaks of one who by frequent studying the Scripture made his breast the library of Christ. The blessed Scripture as it is a honeycomb for comfort, so an armory for strength; first, the martyrs' hearts did burn within them by reading the Scripture, and then their bodies were fit to burn. The Scripture arms a Christian both against temptation and persecution.

1. Against temptation. Christ himself when he was tempted by the devil, ran to Scripture for armor, it is written. Three times he wounds the old serpent with this sword. Jerome says of Saint Paul he could never have gone through so many temptations but for his Scripture-armor. Christian, are you tempted? Go to Scripture, gather a stone from it, to sling in the face of a Goliath-temptation; are you tempted to pride? Read that Scripture (1 Peter 5:5): God resists the proud. Are you tempted to lust? Read James 1:15: when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin, and sin when it is finished brings forth death.

2. Against persecution. When the flesh draws back, the Scripture will recruit us, it will put armor upon us, and courage into us (Revelation 2:10). Fear none of those things which you shall suffer; behold the devil shall cast some of you into prison that you may be tried, and you shall have tribulation ten days: be faithful to death, and I will give you a crown of life. Oh says the Christian I am afraid to suffer; fear none of those things you shall suffer. But why should I suffer? I love God, and is not this sufficient? Indeed, but God will try your love; it is that you may be tried. God's gold is best tried in the furnace. But this persecution is so long. No, it is but for ten days; it may be lasting, but not everlasting: what are ten days put in the balance with eternity? But what am I the better if I suffer? what comes of it? I will (says God) give you a crown of life: though your body be martyred, your soul shall be crowned. But I shall faint when trials come. My grace shall be sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9). The weak Christian has omnipotency to underprop it.

6. Get a suffering frame of heart.

Quest. What is that?

Answ. A self-denying frame (Matthew 16:24). If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up the cross. Self-denial is the foundation of godliness; and if this be not well laid, the whole building will fall. If there be any lust in our souls which we cannot deny, it will turn at length either to scandal or apostasy. Self-denial is the thread which must run along through the whole work of religion; the self-denying Christian will be the suffering Christian; let him deny himself, and take up his cross.

For the further explanation of this, I shall do two things.

1. Show what is meant by this word deny.

2. What is meant by self.

1. What is meant by deny; the Greek word, to deny, signifies to lay aside, to put off, to annihilate oneself. Beza renders it, let him renounce himself.

2. What is meant by self; self is taken four ways.

1. A man must deny worldly self; that is, his estate (Matthew 19:27). Behold we have forsaken all, and followed you. The gold of Ophir must be denied for the pearl of price; let their money perish with them (said that noble Marquess of Vico) who esteem all the gold and silver in the world worth one hour's communion with Christ.

2. A man must deny relative self, his dearest relations if God calls; if our nearest alliance, father or mother stand in our way, and would hinder us from doing our duty, we must either leap over them, or tread upon them (Luke 14:26). If any man comes to me, and does not hate father and mother, and wife, and children, etc., he cannot be my disciple. Relations must not weigh heavier than Christ.

3. A man must deny natural self; he must be willing to become a sacrifice, and make Christ's crown flourish, though it be in his ashes (Luke 14:26; Revelation 12:11). They loved not their lives to the death: Jesus Christ was dearer to them than their own heart-blood.

4. A man must deny carnal self; this I take to be the chief sense of the text.

1. He must deny self-ease; the flesh cries out for ease, it is loath to put its neck under Christ's yoke, or stretch itself upon the cross; the flesh cries out there is a lion in the way (Proverbs 22:13). We must deny our self-ease; they that lean on the soft pillow of sloth, will hardly take up the cross (2 Timothy 2:3). You as a good soldier of Christ endure hardness. We must force a way to heaven through sweat and blood. Caesar's soldiers did fight with hunger and cold.

2. A man must deny self-opinion; every man by nature has a high opinion of himself, he is drunk with spiritual pride; and a proud man is unfit for suffering, he thinks himself too good to suffer. What, says he, I that am of such a noble descent, such high parts, such repute and credit in the world, shall I suffer? A proud man disdains the cross; oh deny self-opinion; how did Christ come to suffer? He humbled himself, and became obedient to death (Philippians 2:8). Let the plumes of pride fall.

3. A man must deny self-confidence; Peter's confidence undid him (Matthew 26:33-34). Though all men shall be offended because of you, yet will I never be offended; though I should die with you, yet will I not deny you. How did this man presume upon his own strength, as if he had more grace than all the apostles besides? His denying Christ, was for want of denying himself; oh deny your own strength; Samson's strength was in his locks; a Christian's strength lies in Christ; he who trusts to himself, shall be left to himself; he who goes out in his own strength, comes off to his own shame.

4. A man must deny self-wisdom: we read of the wisdom of the flesh (2 Corinthians 1:12). Self-wisdom is carnal policy; it is wisdom (says the flesh) to keep out of suffering; it is wisdom not to declare against sin; it is wisdom to find out subtle distinctions to avoid the cross; the wisdom of the flesh is to save the flesh. Indeed there is a Christian prudence to be used; the serpent's eye must be in the dove's head; wisdom and innocency do well, but it is dangerous to separate them; cursed be that policy which teaches to avoid duty; this wisdom is not from above, but is devilish (James 3:17), it is learned from the old serpent; this wisdom will turn to folly at last; it is like a man, who to save his gold, throws himself overboard into the water; so the politician to save his skin, will damn his soul.

5. A man must deny self-will; Saint Gregory calls the will the commander in chief of all the faculties of the soul; indeed in innocency Adam had rectitude of mind, and conformity of will; the will was like an instrument in tune, it was full of harmony, and did tune sweetly to God's will; but now the will is corrupt, and like a strong tide carries us violently to evil; the will has not only an indisposition to good, but an opposition (Acts 7:51). You have always resisted the Holy Spirit; there is not a greater enemy than the will, it is up in arms against God (2 Peter 2:10). The will loves sin, and hates the cross. Now if ever we suffer for God, we must cross our own will; the will must be martyred; a Christian must say, not my will Lord, but your will be done.

6. A man must deny self-reasonings; the fleshy part will be reasoning and disputing against sufferings (Mark 2:8). Why do you reason these things in your hearts? Such reasonings as these will begin to arise in our hearts.

1. Persecution is bitter.

Answ. Oh but it is blessed (James 1:12)! Blessed is he that endures temptation, etc. The cross is heavy, but the sharper the cross, the brighter the crown.

2. But it is sad to part with estate and relations.

Answ. But Christ is better than all, he is manna to strengthen, he is wine to comfort, he is salvation to crown.

3. But liberty is sweet.

Answ. This restraint makes way for enlargement (Psalm 4:1). You have enlarged me in distress; when the feet are bound with irons, the heart may be sweetly dilated and enlarged.

Thus should we put to silence those self-reasonings which are apt to arise in the heart against sufferings.

This self-denying frame of heart is very hard; this is to pluck out the right eye; one says, a man has not so much to do in overcoming men and devils, as in overcoming himself. He is stronger who overcomes himself than he who conquers the mightiest walls. Self is the idol; and how hard is it to sacrifice this idol, and to turn self-seeking into self-denial? But though it be difficult, it is essentially necessary to suffering; a Christian must first lay down self, before he can take up the cross.

Alas how far are they then from suffering, that cannot deny themselves in the least things? In their diet or apparel; who instead of martyring the flesh, pamper the flesh; instead of taking up the cross, take up their cups; is this self-denial, to let loose the reins to the flesh? It is sure, they who cannot deny themselves, if sufferings come, they will deny Christ. Oh Christians, as ever you would be able to carry Christ's cross, begin to deny yourselves; consider,

1. Whatever you deny for Christ, you shall find again in Christ (Matthew 19:29). Everyone that has forsaken houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. Here is a very saving bargain; is it not gain enough to have ten in the hundred, indeed, above a hundred for one?

2. It is but equity that you should deny yourselves for Christ; did not Jesus Christ deny himself for you? He denied his joy, he left his Father's bosom, he denied his honor, he endured the shame (Hebrews 12:2). He denied his life, he poured out his blood as a sacrifice upon the altar of the cross (Colossians 1:20). Did Christ deny himself for you, and will not you deny yourselves for him?

3. Self-denial is the highest sign of a thorough-paced Christian; hypocrites may have great knowledge, and make large profession, but it is only the true-hearted saint that can deny himself for Christ. I have read of a holy man who was once tempted by Satan, to whom Satan said, why do you take all this pains? You watch and fast, and abstain from sin, O man, what do you do more than I? Are you no drunkard, no adulterer? no more am I. Do you watch? let me tell you I never slept. Do you fast? I never eat; what do you do more than I? Why, says the good man, I will tell you Satan, I pray, I serve the Lord, indeed more than all, I deny myself; indeed, says Satan, you go beyond me, for I exalt myself; and so he vanished. Self-denial is the best touchstone of sincerity; by this you go beyond hypocrites.

4. To deny yourselves, is but what others have done before you. Moses was a self-denier, he denied the honors and profits of the court (Hebrews 11:25). Abraham denied his own country at God's call (Hebrews 11:8). Marcus Arethusus who lived in the time of Julian the emperor, endured great torments for religion; if he would but have given a halfpenny towards the rebuilding of the idols' temple, he might have been released; but he would not do it, though the giving of a halfpenny might have saved his life; here was a self-denying saint.

5. There is a time shortly coming, that if you do not deny the world for Christ, the world will deny you; the world now denies satisfaction, and before long it will deny house-room; it will not suffer you so much as to breathe in it, it will turn you out of possession; and which is worse, not only the world will deny you, but Christ will deny you (Matthew 10:33). Whoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

7. Get suffering graces, these three in particular.

1. Faith. 2. Love. 3. Patience.

1. Suffering grace is faith (Ephesians 6:16). Above all taking the shield of faith; the pretense of faith is one thing, the use of faith another; the hypocrite makes faith a cloak, the martyr makes it a shield; a shield is useful in time of danger, it defends the head, it guards the vitals; such a shield is faith, faith is a furnace-grace (1 Peter 1:7). Though it be tried with fire, it is found to praise and honor. Faith like Hercules' club, beats down all oppositions; by faith we resist the devil (1 Peter 5:9). By faith we resist to blood (Hebrews 11:34). Faith is a victorious grace; the believer will make Christ's crown flourish, though it be in his own ashes; an unbeliever is like Reuben, unstable as water, he shall not excel (Genesis 49:4). A believer is like Joseph, who, though the archers shot at him, his bow abode in strength. Cast a believer upon the waters of affliction, he can follow Christ upon the water, and not sink; cast him into the fire, his zeal burns hotter than the flame; cast him into prison, he is enlarged in spirit; Paul and Silas had their prison songs (Psalm 91:13). You shall tread upon the lion and the adder. A Christian armed with faith as a coat of mail, can tread upon those persecutions which are fierce as the lion, and sting as the adder; get faith.

Quest. But how comes faith to be such armor of proof?

Answ. Six manner of ways.

1. Faith unites the soul to Christ, and that blessed head sends forth spirits into the members (Philippians 4:13). I can do all things through Christ, etc. Faith is a grace that lives all upon the borrow; as when we lack water, we go to the well and fetch it; when we lack gold, we go to the mine; so faith goes to Christ, and fetches his strength into the soul, whereby it is enabled both to do and suffer; hence it is faith is such a wonder-working grace.

2. Faith works in the heart a contempt of the world; faith gives a true map of the world (Ecclesiastes 2:11). Faith shows the world in its night-dress, having all its jewels pulled off; faith makes the world appear in an eclipse; the believer sees more eclipses than the astronomer; faith shows the soul better things than the world; it gives a sight of Christ and glory, it gives a prospect of heaven; as the mariner in a dark night climbs up to the top of the mast, and cries out, I see a star; so faith climbs up above sense and reason into heaven, and sees Christ, that bright morning star; and the soul having once viewed his superlative excellencies, becomes crucified to the world; oh says the Christian, shall I not suffer the loss of all these things, that I may enjoy Jesus Christ!

3. Faith gets strength from the promise; faith lives in a promise; take the fish out of the water, and it dies; take faith out of a promise, and it cannot live; the promises are breasts of consolation; the child by sucking the breast gets strength; so does faith by sucking the breast of a promise. When a garrison is besieged, and is ready almost to yield to the enemy, auxiliary forces are sent in to relieve it; so when faith begins to be weak, and is ready to faint in the day of battle, then the promises muster their forces together, and all come in for faith's relief, and now it is able to hold out in the fiery trial.

4. Faith gives the soul a right notion of suffering; faith draws the true picture of sufferings; what is suffering? says faith; it is but the suffering of the body, that body which must shortly by the course of nature drop into the dust. Persecution can but take away my life; an ague or fever may do as much; now faith giving the soul a right notion of sufferings, and taking (as it were) a just measure of them, enables a Christian to prostrate his life at the feet of Christ.

5. Faith reconciles providences and promises; as it was in Saint Paul's voyage, providence did seem to be against him, there was a cross wind that arose, called Euroclydon (Acts 27:14), but God had given him a promise that he would save his life, and the lives of all that sailed with him in the ship (verse 24), therefore when the wind blew never so contrary, Paul believed it would at least blow him to the haven; so when sense says, here is a cross providence, sufferings come, I shall be undone; then says faith, all things shall work for good to them that love God (Romans 8:28). This providence, though bloody, shall fulfill the promise; affliction shall work for my good, it shall heal my corruption, and save my soul. Thus faith making the wind and tide go together, the wind of a providence with the tide of the promise, enables a Christian to suffer persecution.

6. Faith picks sweetness out of the cross; faith shows the soul God reconciled, and sin pardoned; and then how sweet is every suffering? The bee gathers the sweetest honey from the bitterest herb. So faith from the sharpest trials gathers the sweetest comforts, faith looks upon suffering as God's love token. Afflictions (says Nazianzene) are sharp arrows, but they are shot from the hand of a loving Father; faith can taste honey at the end of the rod; faith fetches joy out of suffering (John 16:20). Faith gets a honeycomb in the belly of the lion, it finds a jewel under the cross; and thus you see how faith comes to be such armor of proof; above all taking the shield of faith; a believer having cast his anchor in heaven, cannot sink in the waters of persecution.

2. Suffering grace is love; get hearts fired with love to the Lord Jesus; love is a grace both active and passive.

1. Love is active, it lays a law of constraint upon the soul (2 Corinthians 5:14). The love of Christ constrains me; love is the wing of the soul that sets it a flying, and the weight of the soul that sets it a going; love never thinks it can do enough for Christ; as he who loves the world, never thinks he can take pains enough for it; love is never weary, it is not tired, unless with its own slowness.

2. Love is passive, it enables to suffer; a man that loves his friend, will suffer anything for him rather than he shall be wronged. The Curtii laid down their lives for the Romans, because they loved them; love made our dear Lord suffer for us; as the pelican out of her love to her young ones, when they are bitten with serpents, feeds them with her own blood to recover them again; so when we had been bitten by the old serpent, that Christ might recover us, he did feed us with his own blood. Jacob's love to Rachel, made him almost hazard his life for her. Many waters cannot quench love (Song of Solomon 8:7), no not the waters of persecution; love is strong as death (Song of Solomon 8:6). Death makes its way through the greatest oppositions; so love will make its way to Christ through the prison and the furnace. But all pretend love to Christ; how shall we know that we have such a love to him as will make us suffer?

1. True love is a love of friendship, which is genuine and ingenuous, when we love Christ for himself; there is a mercenary and meretricious love, when we love divine objects for something else: a man may love the queen of truth for the jewel at her ear, because she brings preferment; a man may love Christ for his head of gold, because he enriches with glory; but true love is when we love Christ for his loveliness, namely, that infinite and superlative beauty which shines in him, as a man loves sweet wine for itself.

2. True love is a love of desire, when we desire to be united to Christ as the fountain of happiness; love desires union; the soul that loves Christ, is ambitious of death, because this dissolution tends to union; death slips one knot, and ties another.

3. True love is a love of benevolence; when so far as we are able we endeavor to lift up Christ's name in the world; as the wise men brought him gold and frankincense (Matthew 2:11), so we bring him our tribute of service, and are willing that he should rise, though it be by our fall. In short, that love which is kindled from heaven, makes us give Christ the preeminence of our affection (Song of Solomon 8:2). I would cause you to drink of spiced wine, and the juice of my pomegranates. If the spouse has a cup which is more juicy and spiced, Christ shall drink of that; indeed we can never love Christ too much; we may love gold in the excess, but not Christ; the angels do not love Christ to his worth. Now when love is boiled up to this height, it will enable us to suffer; love is strong as death; the martyrs first burned in love, and then in fire.

3. The third suffering grace is patience; patience is a grace made and cut out for suffering; patience is a sweet submission to the will of God, whereby we are content to bear anything that he is pleased to lay upon us. Patience makes a Christian invincible, it is like the anvil that bears all strokes. We cannot be men without patience; passion does unman a man, it puts him beside the use of reason; we cannot be martyrs without patience, patience makes us endure (James 5:10). We read (Revelation 13:2) of a beast like a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and the dragon gave him his power, etc. This beast is to be understood of the antichristian power. Antichrist may be compared to a leopard for subtlety and fierceness; and on his head was the name of blasphemy (verse 1), which agrees with that description of the man of sin (2 Thessalonians 2:4). He sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God; and the dragon gave him power (verse 2), that is the devil; and it was given to him to make war with the saints (Revelation 13:7). Well, how come the saints to bear the heat of this fiery trial? Verse 10: here is the patience of the saints; patience overcomes by suffering. A Christian without patience, is like a soldier without arms; faith keeps the heart up from sinking, patience keeps the heart down from murmuring; patience is not provoked by injuries, it is sensible, but not peevish; patience looks to the end of sufferings; this is the motto: God will give these also an end. As the watchman waits for the dawning of the morning, so the patient Christian suffers and waits, till the day of glory begins to dawn upon him; faith says, God will come; and patience says, I will wait his pleasure; these are those suffering graces which are a Christian's armor of proof.

8. Treasure up suffering promises; the promises are faith's floats to keep it from sinking, they are the breast-milk a Christian lives on in time of sufferings, they are honey at the end of the rod; hoard up promises.

1. God has made promises of direction, that he will give us a spirit of wisdom in that hour, teaching us what to say (Luke 21:15). I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to contradict or resist. You shall not need to study, God will put an answer into your mouth; this many of God's sufferers can set their seal to; the Lord has on a sudden darted such words into their mouths, as their enemies could easier censure than contradict.

2. God has made promises of protection (Acts 18:9). No man shall set on you to hurt you. How safe was Paul, when he had omnipotency itself to screen off danger? And (Luke 21:18): there shall not a hair of your head perish. Persecutors are lions, but chained lions.

3. God has made promises of his special presence with his saints in suffering (Psalm 91:15). I will be with him in trouble. If we have such a friend to visit us in prison, we shall do well enough; though we change our place, we shall not change our keeper; I will be with him. God will hold our head and heart when we are fainting! What if we have more afflictions than others, if we have more of God's company? God's honor is dear to him; it would not be for his honor to bring his children into sufferings, and leave them there; he will be with them to animate and support them; indeed when new troubles arise (Job 5:19), he shall be with you in six troubles.

4. The Lord has made promises of deliverance (Psalm 91:15). I will deliver him, and honor him; God will open a back-door for his people to escape out of sufferings (1 Corinthians 10:13). He will with the temptation make a way to escape. Thus he did to Peter (Acts 12:10). Peter's prayers had opened heaven, and God's angel opens the prison; God can either prevent a snare, or break it (Psalm 68:20). To God the Lord belong the issues from death. He who can strengthen our faith, can break our fetters; the Lord sometimes makes the enemies instruments of breaking those snares which themselves have laid (Esther 8:8).

5. In case of martyrdom God has made promises of consolation (John 16:22). Your sorrow shall be turned into joy; there is the water turned into wine (Acts 23:11). Be of good cheer, Paul. In time of persecution God broaches the wine of consolation; cordials are kept for fainting. Philip, Landgrave of Hesse, professed he had sensed divine consolations such as the martyrs felt. Stephen saw the heavens opened (Acts 7:56). Glover that blessed martyr cried out at the stake in a holy rapture, he is come, he is come, meaning the Comforter.

6. Promises of compensation; God will abundantly recompense all our sufferings, in this life a hundredfold, and in the world to come life everlasting (Matthew 19:29). This Augustine calls the best and greatest usury; our losses for Christ are gainful (Matthew 10:39). He that loses his life for my sake shall find it. These suffering promises should we treasure up, and by holy meditation suck sweetness and strength out of them.

Set before your eyes suffering examples — look upon others as patterns to imitate (James 5:16): take, my brethren, the prophets for an example of suffering affliction. Examples have more influence upon us than precepts; the one instructs, the other animates. As they show elephants the blood of grapes and mulberries to make them fight the better, so the Holy Ghost shows us the blood of saints and martyrs to infuse a spirit of zeal and courage into us. Micaiah was in the prison, Jeremiah in the dungeon, Isaiah was sawn asunder. The primitive Christians, though their flesh was boiled, roasted, and dismembered, yet like adamant they remained invincible; such was their zeal and patience in suffering that their persecutors stood amazed, and were more weary in tormenting than the martyrs were in enduring. John Huss, when he was brought to be burned, they put upon his head a triple crown of paper printed with red devils; when he saw it, said he, My Lord Jesus Christ wore a crown of thorns for me — why should I not wear this crown, however ignominious? Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, when he came before the proconsul who bade him deny Christ and swear by the emperor, replied: I have served Christ these eighty-six years, and he has not once hurt me — shall I deny him now? Sanders that blessed martyr said: Welcome the cross of Christ; my Savior began with me in a bitter cup — and shall not I pledge him? Baynham said: You Papists who look for miracles, I feel no more pain in the fire than if I were in a bed of down. Another of the martyrs said: The ringing of my chain has been sweet music in my ears; what a comforter is a good conscience! Another martyr, kissing the stake, said: I shall not lose my life, but change it for a better; instead of coals I shall have pearls! Another, when the chain was fastening to him, said: Blessed be God for this wedding girdle! These suffering examples we should lay up. God is still the same God — he has as much love in his heart to pity us, and as much strength in his arm to help us. Consider what courage even the heathens showed in their sufferings: Julius Caesar, when foretold of a conspiracy against him in the Senate house, answered he had rather die than fear. Mutius Scevola, having his hand held over the fire till the flesh fried and his sinews began to shrink, bore it with an undaunted spirit. Quintus Curtius reports of Lysimachus that being adjudged to be cast naked to a lion, when the lion came roaring upon him, Lysimachus wrapped his shirt about his arm, thrust it into the lion's mouth, and taking hold of his tongue, killed the lion. Did nature infuse such a spirit of courage and gallantry into heathens — how should grace much more do so in Christians! Let us be of Paul's mind (Acts 20:24): not counting my life dear to myself, so that I might finish my course with joy.

Lay in suffering considerations — a wise Christian is thoughtful and prepared.

Consider who we suffer for: it is for Christ, and we cannot suffer for a better friend. There is many a man who will suffer shame and death for his lusts — he will suffer disgrace for a drunken lust, he will suffer death for a revengeful lust. Shall others die for their lusts, and shall we not die for Christ? Will a man suffer for that lust which damns him, and shall we not suffer for that Christ who saves us? Remember, we take up God's own cause, and he will not allow us to be losers; if no man shall kindle a fire on God's altar for nothing (Malachi 1:10), then surely no man shall sacrifice himself for God in the fire for nothing.

It is a great honor to suffer persecution. It is a great honor to be singled out to bear witness to the truth (Acts 5:41). They departed from the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. It is a title that has been given to kings: defenders of the faith; a martyr is in a special manner a defender of the faith. Kings are defenders of the faith by their swords; martyrs by their blood. What an honor to be one of Christ's trained band? A bloody cross is more honorable than a purple robe. Persecution is called the fiery trial (1 Peter 4:12); God has two fires — one where he puts his gold, and another where he puts his dross. The fire where he puts his dross is hell; the fire where he puts his gold is the fire of persecution. God honors his gold when he puts it into the fire (1 Peter 1:7). Persecution, as it is a badge of our order, so it is a sign of our glory. What greater honor can be put upon a mortal man than to stand up in the cause of God, and not only to die in the Lord, but to die for the Lord? Ignatius called his fetters his spiritual pearls; Paul gloried more in his iron chain than if it had been a golden chain (Acts 28:20).

Consider what Jesus Christ endured for us; Calvin says Christ's whole life was a series of suffering. Christian, what is your suffering? Are you poor? So was Christ (Matthew 8:20): foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. Are you surrounded with enemies? So was Christ (Acts 4:27): against your holy child Jesus whom you have anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles were gathered together. Do our enemies lay claim to religion? So did his (Matthew 27:6): the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, it is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood — godly persecutors! Are you reproached? So was Christ (Matthew 27:29): they bowed the knee before him and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews. Are you slandered? So was Christ (Matthew 9:34): he casts out demons through the prince of demons. Are you ignominiously used? So was Christ (Mark 14:65): some began to spit upon him. Are you betrayed by friends? So was Christ (Luke 22:48): Judas, do you betray the Son of Man with a kiss? Is your estate seized? Do the wicked cast lots for it? So Christ was dealt with (Matthew 27:34): they parted his garments, casting lots. Do we suffer unjustly? So did Christ — his very judge acquitted him (Luke 23:4): I find no fault in this man. Are you dragged away to suffering? So was Christ (Matthew 27:2): when they had bound him, they led him away. Do you suffer death? So did Christ (Luke 23:33): when they were come to Calvary, there they crucified him. Christ underwent not only the blood of the cross, but the curse of the cross (Galatians 3:13); his soul was exceeding sorrowful unto death (Matthew 26:38). The soul of Christ was overcast with a cloud of God's displeasure; the Greek church speaking of the sufferings of Christ calls them unknown sufferings. Did the Lord Jesus endure all this for us, and shall we not suffer persecution for his name? Say as holy Ignatius: I am willing to die for Christ, for Christ my love was crucified. Our cup is nothing to the cup which Christ drank; his cup was mixed with the wrath of God; and if he bore God's wrath for us, well may we bear man's wrath for him.

Great is the honor we bring to Christ and the gospel by suffering. It is an honor to Christ that he has soldiers enlisted under him who will leave all for him. It proclaims him to be a good Master when his servants will wear his livery, though it be stained with disgrace and lined with blood. Paul's iron chain made the gospel wear a golden chain. Tertullian says of the saints in his time that they took their sufferings more gratefully than if they had received deliverance. What a glory it was to the truth when they dared embrace it in the flame! As the saints' sufferings adorn the gospel, so they propagate it. The zeal and constancy of the martyrs in early times caused some of the pagans to become Christians.

The showers of blood have always made the church fruitful (Philippians 1:13). Paul's being bound caused the truth to spread more widely. The gospel has always flourished in the ashes of martyrs.

It is what we have committed ourselves to in baptism; there we received our commission. We solemnly vowed that we would be true to Christ's cause, and fight under his banner to the death. How often have we in the Lord's Supper taken the oath of allegiance to Jesus Christ, that we would be his devoted servants, and that death should not separate us! Now if when called to it we refuse to suffer persecution for his name, Christ will bring our baptism as an indictment against us. Christ is called the Captain of our salvation (Hebrews 2:10) — we have enlisted by name under this Captain. If for fear we flee from our colors, it is perjury in the highest degree. That oath which is not kept inviolably shall be punished infallibly.

Our sufferings are light (2 Corinthians 4:17): this light affliction. It is heavy to flesh and blood, but it is light to faith; affliction is light in a threefold sense.

Affliction is light in comparison to sin. He who feels sin as heavy feels suffering as light. Sin made Paul cry out: O wretched man that I am (Romans 7)! He does not cry out about his iron chain, but about his sin. The greater noise drowns the lesser; when the sea roars, the rivers are silent. He who is taken up with his sins, and sees how he has provoked God, thinks the yoke of affliction light (Micah 7:9).

Affliction is light in comparison to hell. What is persecution compared to damnation? What is the fire of martyrdom compared to the fire of the damned? It is no more than the pricking of a pin compared to a death wound. Who can know the power of your anger (Psalm 90:11)? Christ himself could not have borne that anger had he not been more than a man.

Affliction is light in comparison to glory. The weight of glory makes persecution light. Chrysostom says if the torments of all the men in the world could be laid upon one man, it would not be worth one hour's being in heaven. Since persecution is light, we should in a manner set light by it. Let us neither faint through unbelief, nor fret through impatience.

Our sufferings are short (1 Peter 5:10): after you have suffered a little while. Our sufferings may be lasting, but not everlasting. Affliction is compared to a cup (Lamentations 4:21); the wicked drink of a sea of wrath which has no bottom and will never be emptied, but it is only a cup of martyrdom, and God will say: Let this cup pass away. The rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous (Psalm 125:3); the rod may be there, it shall not rest. Though persecution has a sting to torment, yet it has a wing to fly. Sorrow shall fly away (Isaiah 35:10); it is but a little while when the saints shall have a grant of ease given them — they shall weep no more, suffer no more. They shall be taken off the torturing rack and laid in Christ's embrace. The people of God shall not always be in the iron furnace — a year of jubilee will come.

While we suffer for Christ, we suffer with Christ (Romans 8:17): if we suffer with him, etc. Jesus Christ bears part of the suffering with us. A believer may say: I am not alone, my Christ is with me, he bears the heaviest end of the cross. My grace is sufficient for you (2 Corinthians 12:9). Underneath are the everlasting arms (Deuteronomy 33:27); if Christ puts the yoke of persecution upon us, he will put his arms under us. The Lord Jesus will not only crown us when we conquer, but he will enable us to conquer. When the dragon fights against the godly, Christ is that Michael who stands up for them and helps them overcome (Daniel 12:1).

He who refuses to suffer persecution shall never be free from suffering.

He faces internal sufferings; he who will not suffer for conscience shall suffer in conscience. Thus Francis Spira, after he had for fear renounced the doctrine he once professed, was in great terror of mind and became a mere skeleton. He confessed he felt the very pains of the damned in his soul; he who was afraid of the stake was set upon the rack of conscience.

He faces external sufferings too. Pendleton who refused to suffer for Christ — not long after, his house was on fire, and he was burned in it. He who would not burn for Christ was afterward made to burn for his sins.

He faces eternal sufferings: suffering the vengeance of eternal fire (Jude 7).

These present sufferings cannot hinder a man from being blessed. Blessed are they that are persecuted (Matthew 5:10). We think: blessed are they that are rich — no, but blessed are they that are persecuted. Blessed is the man that endures temptation (James 1:12). If you suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are you (1 Peter 3:14).

That persecution cannot hinder us from being blessed, I shall prove by four demonstrations.

They are blessed who have God for their God (Psalm 144:15): happy is that people whose God is the Lord. But persecution cannot hinder us from having God for our God (Daniel 3:17): our God is able to deliver us. Though persecuted, yet they could say: Our God — therefore persecution cannot hinder us from being blessed.

They are blessed whom God loves, but persecution cannot hinder the love of God (Romans 8:35): who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall persecution? The goldsmith loves his gold as well when it is in the fire as when it is in his safe. God visits his children in prison (Acts 23:11): be of good cheer, Paul. God sweetens their sufferings (2 Corinthians 1:5): as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds. As a mother having given her child a bitter pill gives it afterward a lump of sugar — persecution is a bitter pill, but God gives the comforts of his Spirit to sweeten it. If persecution cannot hinder God's love, then it cannot hinder us from being blessed.

They are blessed for whom Christ prays, but such as are persecuted have Christ praying for them (John 17:12): keep through your own name those whom you have given me. If persecution cannot hinder Christ's prayer for us, then it cannot obstruct our blessedness.

They are blessed whose sin is purged out; but persecution purges out sin (Isaiah 27:9; Hebrews 12:11). Persecution is a corrosive to eat out the proud flesh, it is a fan to winnow us, a fire to refine us. Persecution is the medicine God applies to his children to carry away their ill humors. That which purges out sin surely cannot hinder blessedness.

The great suffering consideration is the glorious reward which follows sufferings: theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The hope of reward is very powerful and moving (Hebrews 11:26); Moses had an eye on the recompense of reward. A merchant does not mind a few storms at sea, but thinks of the gain when the ship comes home loaded; so a Christian should not be overly troubled about his present sufferings, but think of the rich reward when he arrives at the heavenly port. Great is your reward in heaven (Matthew 5:12). The cross is a golden ladder by which we climb up to heaven. A Christian may lose his life, but not his reward; he may lose his head, but not his crown. If he who gives a cup of cold water shall not lose his reward, then much less he who gives a draft of warm blood. The reward of glory should sweeten all the bitter waters; it should be a spur to martyrdom.

Not that we can merit this reward by our sufferings (Revelation 2:10): I will give you a crown of life. The reward is the legacy which free grace bequeaths. Alas, what proportion is there between a drop of blood and a weight of glory? Christ himself, as he was man only (setting aside his Godhead), did not merit by his sufferings; for first, Christ as he was man only was a creature, and a creature cannot merit from the Creator; second, Christ's sufferings as he was man only were finite, and therefore could not merit infinite glory. Indeed, as he was God, his sufferings were meritorious, but considered purely as man, they were not. This I urge against the Papists: if Christ's sufferings as he was man only — though as man he was above the angels — could not merit, then what man upon earth, what prophet or martyr, is able to merit anything by his sufferings?

Though we have no reward by merit, we shall have it by grace (Matthew 5:12): great is your reward in heaven. The thoughts of this reward should animate Christians. Look upon the crown, and faint if you can; the reward is as far above your thoughts as it is beyond your deserts. A man who is to wade through deep water fixes his eyes upon the firm land before him; while Christians are wading through the deep waters of persecution, they should fix the eyes of their faith on the land of promise. They who bear the cross patiently shall wear the crown triumphantly.

Christ's suffering saints shall have greater degrees of glory (Matthew 19:28). God has his highest seats, yes, his thrones for his martyrs. It is true that he who has the least degree of glory — a doorkeeper in heaven — will have enough. But as Joseph gave to Benjamin a double portion above the rest of his brothers, so God will give to his sufferers a double portion of glory. Some spheres in heaven are higher, some stars brighter; God's martyrs shall shine more brightly in the heavenly horizon.

Often look upon the recompense of reward. Not all the silks of Persia, the spices of Arabia, the gold of Ophir can be compared to this glorious reward. When they threatened Basil with banishment, he comforted himself with the thought that he should be either under heaven or in heaven. It was the hope of this reward which so animated the early martyrs who, when incense was put into their hands and nothing more was required of them for saving their lives than to sprinkle a little upon the altar in honor of the idol, would rather die than do it. This glorious reward in heaven is called a reigning with Christ (2 Timothy 2:12): if we suffer, we shall reign with him. First martyrs, then kings. After the saints' crucifixion follows their coronation — they shall reign. The wicked first reign, and then suffer; the godly first suffer, and then reign. Who would not swim through blood to this crown? Christ says be exceedingly glad (Matthew 5:12); Christians should have their spirits elevated and filled with joy when they contemplate the weight of glory.

If you would be able to suffer, pray much — beg of God to clothe you with a spirit of zeal and magnanimity. It is given to you on behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake (Philippians 1:29). It is a gift of God to be able to suffer — pray for this gift. Do not think you can of yourselves lay down life and liberty for Christ; Peter was overconfident of himself (John 13:37): I will lay down my life for your sake. Peter had habitual grace, but he lacked auxiliary grace. Christians need fresh impulses from heaven; pray for the Spirit to animate you in your sufferings. As fire hardens the potter's vessel, which is at first weak and limber, so the fire of the Spirit hardens men against sufferings. Pray that God will make you like the anvil, that you may bear the blows of persecutors with invincible patience.

Matthew 5:10. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

We have now come to the last Beatitude: "Blessed are those who are persecuted." Christ wants us to count the cost (Luke 14:27-28): "Which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, to see whether he has enough to finish it?" Following Christ will cost us the tears of repentance and the blood of persecution. But here is a great encouragement that keeps us from giving up in the day of trouble: blessed now, and crowned in the end.

The text has two main parts.

First, the condition of the godly in this life: they are persecuted.

Second, their reward after this life: theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

I will address the first part in detail and bring in the second in the application.

Doctrine: The observation is that true godliness is usually accompanied by persecution (Acts 14:22): "We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God" (Acts 13:50). The Jews stirred up the leading men of the city and raised persecution against Paul. Luther defined a Christian as one who is crucified. Though Christ died to remove the curse from us, He did not die to remove the cross. Stones being cut for a building must first pass under the saw and hammer to be shaped and squared. The godly are called living stones (1 Peter 2:5), and they must be hewn and polished by the persecutor's hand to be made fit for the heavenly building. The saints have no exemption from trials. However meek, merciful, or pure in heart they may be, their godliness will not shield them from suffering. They must hang their harp on the willow and take up the cross. The road to heaven is thorny and bloody. It is full of roses in terms of the comforts of the Holy Spirit, but full of thorns when it comes to persecution. Before Israel reached Canaan — the land flowing with milk and honey — they had to pass through a wilderness of serpents and a Red Sea. In the same way, as God's children make their journey to the holy land, they must face fiery serpents and a Red Sea of persecution. As Ambrose said, there is no Abel without a Cain. Paul fought with wild beasts at Ephesus (1 Corinthians 15:32). Take this as a fixed principle: if you will follow Christ, you will see the swords and clubs. Put the cross in your creed. To develop this fully, there are several things we need to consider.

1. What is meant by persecution. 2. The different kinds of persecution. 3. Why there must be persecution. 4. The main persecutions are directed against ministers of Christ. 5. What kind of persecution makes a person blessed.

What is meant by persecution.

First, what is meant by persecution? The Greek word translated "persecute" means to vex and harass — sometimes to prosecute another, to bring him before a court, and to pursue him to the death. A persecutor is a pricking thorn. This is why the church is described as a lily among thorns (Song of Solomon 2:2).

The different kinds of persecution.

Second, what are the different kinds of persecution? There are two kinds.

Persecution by the hand. Persecution by the tongue.

First, persecution by the hand (Acts 7:52): "Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?" (Romans 8:36): "For Your sake we are being killed all day long" (Galatians 4:29). This is what I call bloody persecution — when God's people are pursued with fire and sword. We read of ten such persecutions under Nero, Domitian, Trajan, and others. There was also the Marian persecution, in which England drank a cup of blood for five years. More recently, Piedmont and the borders of Bohemia were scourged to death by the persecutor's rod. God's church has always been like Abraham's ram — caught in a thicket of thorns.

Second, persecution by the tongue, which takes two forms.

First, reviling. Few people think of this as persecution or take it seriously, but the text calls it exactly that: "When men revile and persecute you" — this is tongue-persecution (Psalm 55:21): "His words were drawn swords." You can kill a man's reputation as surely as his body. A good name is like precious ointment (Ecclesiastes 7:1). A good conscience and a good name together are like a gold ring set with a fine diamond. To wound another's reputation — our Savior calls this persecution. The early Christians suffered precisely this kind of tongue-persecution (Hebrews 11:36): "They had trials of cruel mockings." David became the subject of drunkards' songs (Psalm 69:12). They would sit on their tavern benches and jeer at him. How often the wicked shoot their verbal barbs at God's children: "Look at the holy ones!" They have little idea what they are doing — they are carrying on the work of Cain and Julian. They are persecuting.

Second, slander — as the text says: "When they persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely." Slander is tongue-persecution. Paul was slandered in his teaching — it was reported that he preached that people could do evil so that good might come of it (Romans 3:8). Christ, who cast out demons, was accused of having a demon Himself (John 8:48). The early Christians were falsely accused of killing their children and of incest (Psalm 35:11): "They laid to my charge things that I knew not."

Let us take care not to become persecutors ourselves. Many people think persecution only means fire and sword. But there is also the persecution of the tongue. There are many such persecutors today, who by a kind of devilish skill can turn gold into filth — transforming the precious names of God's saints into objects of shame and disgrace. Many have been punished for clipping coins to reduce their weight. How much more severe a punishment do they deserve who clip the reputations of God's people to make them count for less.

The causes of persecution.

Third, why must there be persecution?

There are two reasons.

First, in regard to God.

1. His decree. 2. His design.

First, God's decree (1 Thessalonians 3:3): "We are appointed to it." Whoever delivers the suffering, God sends it. God allowed Shimei to curse David. Shimei's tongue was the arrow — but God was the One who shot it.

Second, God's design. God has a twofold purpose in the persecutions of His children.

First, testing (Daniel 12:10): "Many shall be tried." Persecution is the test of sincerity — it separates true saints from hypocrites. Unsound hearts put on a good show in times of prosperity, but when persecution comes, they fall away (Matthew 13:20-21). Hypocrites cannot sail in stormy weather. They will follow Christ to the Mount of Olives but not to Mount Calvary. Like green timber, they shrink under the scorching sun of persecution. When trouble comes, they will make Demas's choice rather than Moses's choice — preferring thirty pieces of silver to Christ. God allows persecution in the world to reveal what people truly are. Times of suffering are times of sifting (Job 23:10): "When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold." Job had a furnace-tested faith. A true Christian — one born of God — will hold fast to his integrity no matter what he loses (Job 2:3). Christ's true disciples will follow Him even on the water.

Second, purity. God puts His children in the furnace so that they may share in His holiness (Hebrews 12:10). The cross is medicine — it purges out pride, impatience, and love of the world. God washes His people in difficult waters to remove their stains and make them white (Daniel 12:10): "I am dark, but lovely" (Song of Solomon 1:5). The heat of persecution darkened the bride's skin but made her soul beautiful. Notice how differently afflictions work on the wicked and the godly. Afflictions make the wicked worse and the godly better. Take a piece of rotting cloth — if you scrub and rub it, it falls apart. But if you scrub a piece of silverware, it comes out brighter. When afflictions press on the wicked, they rage against God and tear themselves apart in impatience. But when the godly are scoured by these same trials, they shine all the brighter.

Second, there will be persecutions because of the church's enemies. These vultures prey on God's gentle doves. The church has two kinds of enemies.

First, open enemies. The wicked hate the godly. There is enmity between the seed of the woman and the serpent (Genesis 3:15). In nature there is an inborn opposition between the vine and the bay tree, between the elephant and the dragon. Vultures are repelled by sweet smells. Similarly, the wicked have an inborn hostility toward God's people — they hate the sweet fragrance of their graces. The saints do have their weaknesses, but the wicked do not hate them for that. They hate them for their holiness. And from that hatred comes open violence. A thief hates the light and therefore tries to put it out.

Second, secret enemies, who pretend friendship but secretly stir up persecution against the godly. These are hypocrites and heretics. Paul calls them false brothers (2 Corinthians 11:26). The church laments that her own sons had troubled her (Song of Solomon 1:6) — meaning those raised in her bosom who claimed to share her faith and sympathy were actually the ones who vexed her. The church's worst enemies can come from within her own house. A cyst appears to be part of the body, but is actually its enemy — it disfigures and endangers it. Those who wave Christ's banner while secretly fighting against Him are the vilest and most contemptible of men.

Showing that the sharpest edge of persecution is turned against ministers.

Fourth, the chief persecutions are directed against ministers. Christ speaks directly to the apostles, whom He was about to commission and send out to preach: "Blessed are you when men persecute you" (verse 11). "So they persecuted the prophets before you" (verse 12). "Take as an example of suffering, my brothers the prophets" (James 5:10). As soon as a man becomes a minister, he becomes in part a martyr. Ministers are Christ's chosen vessels. Just as the finest vessels of gold and silver pass through fire, so God's chosen vessels frequently pass through the fire of persecution. Not every era is like the golden age in which Constantine lived. He honored the ministry greatly — he refused to take his seat at the Council of Nicaea until the assembled bishops came and invited him to do so. He said that if he ever saw a fault in the clergy, he would cover it with his own royal robe. Ministers cannot always expect such favor from rulers. They must be prepared for an alarm. Peter was a gifted preacher who knew how to cast the net on the right side of the boat. At a single sermon he converted three thousand souls — yet neither the power of his teaching nor the holiness of his life could exempt him from persecution (John 21:18): "When you are old, another will dress you and take you where you do not want to go." This referred to his death for Christ. Eusebius records that he was bound in chains and crucified at Jerusalem, upside down. Paul was a holy man, armed with courage and burning with zeal. Yet as soon as he entered the ministry, imprisonment and persecution awaited him (Acts 9:15-16). His whole life was shaped by suffering (2 Timothy 4:6): "I am already being poured out as a drink offering" — referring to the way sacrificial wine was poured out, pointing to his own coming death, not by fire, but by having his blood shed when he was beheaded. So that this may seem no strange thing for God's ministers, Stephen asks the question (Acts 7:52): "Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?" Ignatius was torn apart by wild beasts. Cyprian and Polycarp were martyred. Maximinus the emperor, as Eusebius records, gave orders to his officers to put no one to death except the leaders and pastors of the church.

The reasons why persecution has fallen hardest on ministers are these:

First, ministers have their own corruptions like everyone else. To keep them from becoming proud because of the abundance of what has been revealed to them, God allows some messenger of Satan to afflict and trouble them. God sees that they need the flail to thresh the husks away from them. The fire He puts them through is not to destroy them but to refine them.

Second, ministers are Christ's standard-bearers — they carry His colors. They are the captains of the Lord's army, and so they are the most targeted (Philippians 1:17): "I am appointed for the defense of the Gospel." The Greek word used there pictures a soldier stationed at the front of the battle, with bullets flying all around him. A minister's task is to preach against men's sins — sins as precious to them as their own eyes. People cannot bear it. Every person's cherished sin is like a king that rules over him, commanding his love and loyalty. And when Pilate asked, "Shall I crucify your king?" — in the same way, people will not allow their ruling sin to be crucified. Since the work of the ministry is to come between people and their lusts — to separate two old friends — it is no wonder it faces such fierce opposition. When Paul preached against Diana, the entire city erupted in an uproar. We preach against people's Dianas — the sins that bring them pleasure and profit — and this causes the same kind of uproar.

Third, from the malice of Satan. Ministers come to destroy his kingdom, so the old serpent pours all his venom on them. If we tread on the devil's head, he will bite our heel. The devil has built strongholds in men's hearts — pride, ignorance, unbelief. The weapons of the ministry tear down these strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4). Therefore Satan raises all his forces — the full strength of hell — against the ministry. Satan's kingdom is a kingdom of darkness (Acts 26:18; Revelation 16:10), and God's ministers are called the lights of the world (Matthew 5:14). They come to bring light to those sitting in darkness — and this enrages Satan. He works to put out these lights, to pull down these stars, so that his kingdom of darkness can spread. The devil is called a lion (1 Peter 5:8). The souls of people are the lion's prey. A minister's work is to rescue that prey from the lion's jaws — so how fiercely will the lion roar and try to destroy them!

Use 1: This shows us what a demanding work the ministry is — full of dignity, yet full of danger. The mildest persecution a faithful minister can expect is persecution of the tongue. As Luther said, it is not possible to be a faithful preacher without meeting with trials and opposition.

Use 2: This reveals the corruption of human nature since the fall. People are their own worst enemies — they persecute the very people who come to do them the most good. What is the work of the ministry but to save people's souls — to snatch them like burning sticks out of the fire? Yet people are angry at this. We do not hate the physician who gives us medicine that makes us feel sick, because we know it is for our healing. We do not hate the surgeon who cuts the flesh, because we know it leads to a cure. Why then should people quarrel with ministers? What is our work but to bring people to heaven (2 Corinthians 5:20)? "We are ambassadors for Christ" — we plead for peace to be made between you and God. Yet such is the foolishness of fallen human nature: it repays good with evil. Aristoxenus used to water his flowers with wine, honey, and perfume so they would smell more fragrant and grow more vigorously. We should treat our ministers in the same way — offer them wine and honey, encourage them in their work so they can serve with greater strength. Instead, we give them gall and vinegar to drink — we hate and persecute them. Most people treat their ministers as Israel treated Moses. He prayed for them and worked miracles on their behalf — yet they constantly quarreled with him and sometimes were ready to take his life.

Use 3: If the fury of the world is directed against ministers, then those who fear God should pray earnestly for them (2 Thessalonians 3:2): "Pray for us, that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly, and that we may be delivered from perverse and evil men." People should pray that God would give their ministers the wisdom of the serpent — so they do not expose themselves to danger through carelessness — and the boldness of the lion, so they do not betray the truth out of fear.

What kind of persecution makes a person blessed.

Fifth, the next thing to explain is: what kind of suffering makes a person blessed?

First, I will describe the kind of suffering that does not make a person blessed.

First, suffering that we bring on ourselves does not count as martyrdom, and there is little comfort in it. Augustine writes of people in his time called Circumcellions who, driven by an itch for martyrdom rather than genuine zeal, threw themselves into suffering and were accessories to their own deaths — like Saul, who fell on his own sword. We are obligated by all lawful means to preserve our lives. Jesus Christ did not suffer until He was called to it. Treat any impulse that urges you to throw yourself into suffering as a temptation. When people rush headlong into trouble through rashness, it is a cross of their own making — not one God has laid on them.

Second, suffering for one's own offenses does not count as martyrdom (1 Peter 4:15): "Let none of you suffer as a criminal" (Luke 23:41). One of the thieves on the cross himself admitted: "We indeed suffer justly." I do not agree with Cyprian's view that the thief on the cross died as a martyr. No — he suffered as a criminal. Christ took pity on him and saved him, so he died a saint. But he did not die a martyr. When people are punished by the civil authorities for immorality, blasphemy, or other crimes, they are not suffering persecution — they are receiving execution. They die not as martyrs but as wrongdoers. They suffer evil for being evil.

Third, suffering driven by selfish ambition does not make a person blessed — for instance, suffering in order to be hailed as the leader of a faction or to keep a party together. Paul implies that a man could give his body to be burned and still be lost (1 Corinthians 13:3). Ambitious people may sacrifice their lives to win fame. These are the devil's martyrs.

Second, here is what kind of suffering does make a person blessed and earns the crown of martyrdom.

Answer 1: When we suffer in a good cause. The text says it plainly: "Blessed are those who suffer for righteousness' sake." It is the cause that makes a martyr. When we suffer for the truth and stand on the side of the Gospel, that is suffering for righteousness' sake (Acts 28:20): "For the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain."

Second, when we suffer with a good conscience. A person may have a good cause but a bad conscience — he may suffer for righteousness' sake while being unrighteous himself. Paul had not only a just cause but a clear conscience (Acts 23:1): "I have lived my life in all good conscience before God to this day." Paul maintained a good conscience to his dying day. A good conscience allows a person to suffer with genuine peace. It has enabled the saints to walk to the stake as cheerfully as if they were walking to receive a crown. Make sure there is no flaw in your conscience. A ship sailing on the waters must be kept from leaking. When Christians sail on the waters of persecution, they must make sure there is no leak of guilt in their conscience. A person who suffers — even in God's own cause — with an unclean conscience, suffers two hells: the hell of persecution and the hell of condemnation.

Third, when we have a clear call to suffer (Matthew 10:18): "When you are brought before kings..." There is no question that a person may take reasonable steps for his own safety. If God opens a door through His providence, he may flee during a time of persecution (Matthew 10:23). But when he is brought before kings, and the situation is such that either he must suffer or the truth must suffer — that is a clear call to endurance. And that is what is counted as martyrdom.

Fourth, when we have the right purpose in our suffering — that we might glorify God, set our seal on the truth, and show our love for Christ (Matthew 10:18): "When you are brought before kings for My sake." The early Christians burned more in love than in fire. When we look to God in our sufferings and are willing to see His crown honored, even if it means being reduced to ashes ourselves — that is the kind of suffering that wins the garland of glory.

Fifth, when we suffer as Christians (1 Peter 4:16): "If anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed." To suffer as a Christian is to suffer with a spirit that becomes a Christian, which means:

First, when we suffer with patience (James 5:10): "Take as an example of suffering and patience, my brothers the prophets." A Christian must not complain bitterly, but should say: shall I refuse to drink the cup of suffering that my Father has given me? A Christian's spirit in suffering should be so marked by meekness that it is hard to say which is greater — his persecution or his patience. When Job lost everything, he held on to the breastplate of innocence and the shield of patience. An impatient martyr is a contradiction in terms.

Second, to suffer as a Christian means to suffer with courage. Courage is the Christian's tested armor — it strengthens and emboldens him. The three young men in the furnace — three champions, really — had a bold and heroic spirit. They did not say to Nebuchadnezzar, "We ought not to serve your gods," but "We will not" (Daniel 3:18). Neither his music nor his furnace could shake their resolve. Tertullian was called a diamond for his unconquerable courage. Holy courage gives us — as one of the early fathers says — faces of brass, so that we are not ashamed of the cross. To suffer as a Christian means to be meek, yet resolute. The more a fire is blown, the higher it flames. It is the same with a brave-spirited Christian — the more opposition he faces, the brighter his zeal and courage burns. What a spirit of boldness was in Luther, who wrote to Melanchthon: "If the cause we are committed to is not God's, let us abandon it. But if it is His cause, and He will uphold us — why do we not stand firm?"

Third, to suffer as a Christian means to suffer with cheerfulness. Patience is bearing the cross; cheerfulness is embracing it. Christ suffered for us with a willing heart — His death was a free-will offering (Luke 12:50). He eagerly desired to drink that cup of blood. Our suffering for Christ must have that same quality. Cheerfulness perfumes martyrdom and makes it a sweet-smelling offering to God. This is how Moses suffered — with cheerfulness (Hebrews 11:24-25): "By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to endure mistreatment with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin." Notice two things:

First, when he had grown up — this was no childish impulse. It was not a decision made in his youth, but as a man of mature judgment.

Second, he chose to suffer affliction. Suffering was not so much his burden as his deliberate choice. The cross was not forced on him — he embraced it. That is what it means to suffer as a Christian: to be a volunteer, taking up the cross cheerfully — even joyfully (Acts 5:41): "They departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they had been counted worthy to suffer dishonor for His name." The original language says they rejoiced that they had been honored — by being dishonored — for the name of Christ. Tertullian says the early Christians found more comfort in their sufferings than in their deliverance. And indeed a Christian has every reason to be joyful in suffering, because it is a great honor when God calls a person to stand as a witness to the truth. The marks of Christ's suffering that Paul bore in his body were prints of glory. The saints have worn their sufferings as ornaments. Ignatius's chains were his jewels. No princes have ever been as celebrated for their victories as the martyrs have been for their sufferings.

Fourth, we suffer as Christians when we suffer and pray (Matthew 5:44): "Pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you."

There are two reasons we should pray for our persecutors.

First, because our prayers may be the means of converting them. Stephen prayed for his persecutors (Acts 7:60): "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." That prayer proved effective in bringing some of them to faith. Augustine says the church of God owed Stephen's prayer a debt of gratitude for all the benefit it received from Paul's ministry.

Second, we should pray for our persecutors because they do us good — even against their will. They increase our reward. Every reproach adds to our glory. Every injury makes our crown heavier. As Gregory Nazianzene says in one of his addresses: every stone thrown at Stephen was a precious stone that enriched him and made him shine more brightly in the kingdom of heaven. So I have shown what kind of suffering makes a person blessed and earns the crown of martyrdom.

Inferences drawn from the proposition.

First, this shows us what Christianity truly looks like — holiness joined with suffering. A true saint carries Christ in his heart and the cross on his shoulders (2 Timothy 3:12): "All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." Christ and His cross are never separated. It is too much to ask for two heavens — one here and one hereafter. Christ's kingdom on earth is the kingdom of the cross. What is the meaning of the shield of faith, the helmet of hope, the breastplate of patience? They imply that we will face suffering. One of the titles given to the church is "afflicted" (Isaiah 54:11). Persecution is the inheritance Christ has left to His people (John 16:33): "In the world you will have tribulation." Christ's bride is a lily among thorns. Christ's sheep must expect to lose their golden fleece — a prospect our flesh does not welcome. That is why Christ calls it a cross (Matthew 16:24) — because it is contrary to flesh and blood. We all want to reign (Acts 1:6): "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" But the apostle tells us that suffering comes before reigning (2 Timothy 2:12): "If we endure, we will also reign with Him." How reluctant fallen flesh is to bow under Christ's yoke or stretch itself on the cross! But the Christian faith gives no exemption from suffering. To have two heavens is more than Christ Himself had. Was the head crowned with thorns — and do we expect to be crowned with roses (1 Peter 4:12)? "Do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you." If we are God's gold, it is no surprise to be cast into the fire. There is a painting of Erasmus that shows him half in heaven and half outside — it seems to me a fitting picture of the Christian in this life. In terms of inward consolation, he is half in heaven; in terms of outward persecution, he is half in the fire.

Second, persecution is not a sign of God's anger or a mark of His curse — for blessed are those who are persecuted. If those who die in the Lord are blessed, are not those who die for the Lord blessed also? We are very quick to assume that those who are suffering must be hated and forsaken by God (Matthew 27:40): "If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross." The Jewish leaders could hardly believe Christ was the Son of God when He hung on the cross — would God allow His own Son to be mocked and abandoned? When the islanders saw the viper on Paul's hand, they concluded he must be a criminal (Acts 28:4): "No doubt this man is a murderer." In the same way, when we see God's people suffering and the viper of persecution clinging to them, we are tempted to say they must be great sinners and that God does not love them. This reveals a failure of understanding. Blessed are those who are persecuted. Persecutions are pledges of God's love and marks of honor (Hebrews 12:7). In the sharpest trial there is the sweetest comfort. When God fans His wheat, it is only to make it purer.

Use 2, first part: This rebukes those who want to be seen as good Christians but refuse to suffer for Christ's sake. Their goal is not to take up the cross but to avoid it (Matthew 13:21): "When persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away." There are many professing Christians who speak well of Christ but will endure nothing for Him. They are like crystal that looks like pearl until it is struck — then it shatters. Many wave palm branches and cry "Hosanna" when Christ comes in triumph, but when the swords and clubs appear, they slip away. King Henry IV of Navarre told Beza, when Beza urged him to commit himself to the Protestant cause, that he would not venture too far out to sea — so that if a storm came, he could retreat to shore. It is to be feared there are some among us who, if persecution came, would make Demas's choice rather than Moses's choice — who would rather keep their skin whole than their conscience clean. Erasmus praised Luther's doctrine highly — but when the emperor threatened all who supported Luther's cause, he shamefully abandoned it. Hypocrites will sooner renounce their baptism than take up the cross. If we want to show ourselves to be genuine Christians, we must, like Peter, throw ourselves onto the water to come to Christ. Anyone who refuses to suffer should read those sobering words (Matthew 10:33): "Whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven."

Second part: This rebukes those who oppose and persecute the saints. How great is their sin? They resist the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:51-52): "You always resist the Holy Spirit. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?" Persecutors insult Christ in heaven. They grind His jewels in the dust, touch the apple of His eye, and pierce His side (Acts 9:4-5): "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" When the foot was struck, the Head cried out. As great as the sin is, so the punishment will be proportionate (Revelation 16:6): "They have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. They deserve it." Will Christ not avenge those who die in His cause? What became of the persecutors? Diocletian ordered that the churches and temples of Christians be razed to the ground, their Bibles burned. He refused to allow any Christian to hold public office. Some Christians he cast alive into boiling lead; others had their hands and lips cut off, leaving only their eyes — so they could witness the full horror of their own suffering. What became of this man? He went mad and poisoned himself. Felix, a commander under Emperor Charles V, was at supper in Augsburg and vowed he would ride up to his spurs in the blood of the Lutherans. That very night a hemorrhage came up his throat and choked him. It would be easy to recount case after case in which God's hand has moved so visibly against persecutors that they could read their sin in their punishment.

That Christians should prepare their minds for suffering in advance.

Use 3, first part: Let this exhort Christians to think ahead and prepare themselves for suffering. Preparing for it in advance can do us no harm and may do us great good.

First, thinking ahead about suffering will make a Christian more serious. The heart tends to be light and shallow. The thought of suffering for Christ would firm it up. Why am I so carefree? Is this a frame of mind fit for persecution? Christians who think ahead grow serious. They reckon what following Christ will cost them and may cost them — it will cost them the blood of their sins, and it may cost them the blood of their lives.

Second, the thought of coming persecution acts as a seasoning that keeps us from overindulging in present comforts. How quickly could an alarm be sounded? How soon could the clouds drop blood? This thought would loosen the heart's grip on an excessive love of worldly things. Our Savior Himself, at a great feast, spoke of His coming death (Mark 14:3): "She has anointed My body beforehand for burial." In the same way, keeping the thought of change before us is an excellent guard against overindulgence.

Third, thinking ahead about suffering makes it lighter when it actually arrives. The suddenness of a blow adds to its pain. This is what made the news so shattering to the foolish man in the parable, who had not counted the cost: "This night your soul is required of you." This sudden shock will add to the terror of Babylon's downfall (Revelation 18:8): "Her plagues will come in a single day" — not meaning Antichrist will be destroyed in a literal day, but suddenly, without warning, when least expected. Preparing your mind for suffering in advance takes away much of its sharpness when it comes. This is why Christ consistently forewarned His disciples about coming trials — so they would not arrive without warning (John 16:33; Acts 1:7).

Fourth, thinking ahead about persecution reminds us to get our armor ready. It is dangerous — as well as foolish — to be scrambling for what you need when the trial comes, like a soldier looking for his weapons while the enemy is already in the field. Caesar once dismissed a soldier who was sharpening his sword just as the battle was about to begin. The person who has already reckoned on persecution will be ready for it. He will have the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit at hand, so he is not caught off guard.

Second, let us prepare for persecution. A wise sailor prepares for the storm while the sea is still calm. God knows how soon persecution may come. There seems to be a dark cloud hanging over the nation.

How we may arm ourselves for suffering.

Question: How shall we prepare for suffering?

Answer: Do three things.

1. Be people rightly prepared for suffering. 2. Avoid the things that will hinder you from standing firm in suffering. 3. Pursue all the things that help you stand firm.

First, work to be rightly prepared for suffering. Be righteous. The person who would suffer for righteousness' sake must himself be righteous — righteous in the gospel sense. Specifically, I call a person righteous if they meet these marks:

First, one who longs for holiness (Psalm 119:5). Though sin clings to his heart, his heart does not cling to sin. Sin may have a foothold but not a welcome (Romans 7:15): "What I am doing, I do not approve." A good person hates most the very sins that Satan most tempts him with and that his own heart most inclines toward (Psalm 119:128).

Second, a righteous person is one who makes God's glory his ultimate aim. The glory of God is worth more than the salvation of all human souls combined. One who is genuinely prepared for suffering is so zealously committed to God's glory that he does not care what he loses, as long as God gains. He puts God's glory ahead of reputation, property, and family. This was the testimony of Kiliaz, that blessed martyr: "If I had all the gold in the world to spend, I would give it to live with my loved ones — even in prison. Yet Jesus Christ is dearer to me than all of it."

Third, a righteous person is one who prizes a good conscience above everything else. A good conscience is a saint's celebration, his music, his paradise — and he would rather risk anything than violate it. It is said that some fighters, when they have a good weapon, would rather take a blow on their arm than have their weapon damaged. I compare a good conscience to that. A godly person would rather suffer harm to his body or his livelihood than see his conscience wounded. He would rather die than violate the purity of his conscience. A person like this is truly righteous in the gospel sense — and if God calls him to it, he is ready to suffer.

Second, avoid the things that will prevent you from standing firm in suffering.

First, the love of the world. God allows us the use of the world (1 Timothy 6:7), but beware of falling in love with it. The person who is in love with the world will fall out of love with the cross (2 Timothy 4:10): "Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world" — he abandoned not only Paul's company but his doctrine. Love of the world chokes our zeal. A person married to the world will betray Christ and a good cause for thirty pieces of silver. Let the world rest on you like a loose garment that you can throw off at will. Before a person can die for Christ, he must already be dead to the world. Paul was crucified to the world (Galatians 6:14). It is easy to die when we are already dead in our affections.

Second, carnal fear. There are two kinds of fear.

First, a reverent fear — when a person fears displeasing God, and fears that he might not hold firm. This is a healthy fear. "Blessed is the one who fears always." If Peter had feared his own heart and prayed, "Lord Jesus, I fear I may deny You — strengthen me," Christ would surely have kept him from falling.

Second, there is a cowardly fear — when a person fears danger more than sin, and is actually afraid to be godly. This kind of fear is an enemy to steadfast suffering. God declared that the fearful were not to go to war (Deuteronomy 20:8). The fearful are unfit to fight in Christ's battles. A person gripped by fear does not ask what is best — he asks what is safest. If he can save his estate, he will trap his conscience (Proverbs 29:25): "The fear of man lays a snare." Fear made Peter deny Christ, Abraham equivocate, and David pretend to be insane. Fear pushes people toward compromise, making them think more about getting along than keeping their conscience clean. Fear makes sin look small and suffering look enormous. The fearful person sees double — he views the cross through a lens that magnifies it twice over. Fear reveals a base spirit. It drives people to the most ignoble and unworthy actions. A fearful person will vote against his own conscience. Fear drains courage just as cutting off Samson's hair drained his strength. Fear causes hearts to melt (Joshua 5:1): "Their hearts melted." When a person's strength is gone, he is entirely unfit to carry Christ's cross. Fear is the root of apostasy. Spira's fear led him to renounce and recant his faith. Fear does more damage than the adversary itself. It is not the enemy outside the walls that is most dangerous — it is the traitor within. It is not outward suffering but inner cowardice that destroys a person. The fearful person has mastered only one posture: retreat. Guard against this — be afraid of fear itself (Luke 12:4): "Do not fear those who can kill the body." Persecutors can only kill the body, which must die soon in any case. The cowardly are listed first among those who will go to hell (Revelation 21:8). Let us fill our hearts with the fear of God. As one wedge drives out another, the fear of God will drive out all lesser, baser fears.

Third, beware of an easily-swayed spirit. A person who can be moved by any word, shaped like wax, led anywhere at will (Romans 16:18): "By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive." A compliant Christian bends to anything — like wool that takes any dye, like a weak reed blown in any direction by whoever breathes on it. One day you might persuade him to commit to a good cause; the next day he has abandoned it. He is not made of oak but willow — he bends with every wind. Beware of a pliable spirit. It is not open-mindedness but foolishness to let yourself be endlessly swayed. A true Christian is like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved (Psalm 125:1). He is like Fabricius, of whom it was said that you might as easily alter the course of the sun as turn him from doing what was right. A good Christian must hold to his convictions. If he is not a fixed star, he will be a falling one.

Fourth, beware of listening to the voice of the flesh. Paul did not consult with flesh and blood (Galatians 1:16). The flesh gives terrible counsel. Saul first listened to the flesh, and then he turned to the devil — he sent to the witch of Endor. The flesh will say: Christ's cross is heavy; there is a nail in that yoke that will tear and draw blood. Be like a deaf snake, stopping your ears to the soothing voice of the flesh.

Third, pursue the things that help you stand firm in suffering.

First, train yourself to endure hardship (2 Timothy 2:3): "Endure hardship as a good soldier of Christ Jesus." Jacob used a stone for his pillow (Genesis 28:18). "It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth" (Lamentations 3:27). Bearing a lighter cross prepares you for a heavier one. Learn to endure reproach with patience, and you will be more prepared to wear an iron chain. Paul died daily — he started with smaller sufferings and, step by step, learned to be a martyr. Just as a wicked person becomes skilled in sin by degrees — starting small, moving to greater, then falling into habit, then growing shameless, then actually boasting in it (Philippians 3:19) — so it is in suffering. A Christian first picks up small pieces of the cross — a disgrace, a brief imprisonment — and then he is able to carry the cross itself.

How far from readiness for suffering are those who indulge the flesh (Amos 6:4): "Those who lie on beds of ivory and stretch themselves out on their couches" — that is a very poor posture for enduring persecution. A soldier who is stretched out on his bed when he should be in the field training will do poor work in the battle. What shall I say, as Jerome asks, to those Christians whose whole concern is to perfume their clothing, style their hair, and show off their diamonds — yet if suffering comes and the road to heaven has any difficulty in it, they will not set foot on it? Most people are too soft. They have handled themselves too gently and delicately. Those "silken Christians," as Tertullian calls them, who pamper the flesh are not fit for the school of the cross. The tender body that has never known hardship is too soft to carry Christ's cross. Train yourself to endure difficulty. Do not make your pillow too comfortable.

Second, be well-grounded in the knowledge of Christ. A person can never die for someone he does not know (2 Timothy 1:12): "For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed." Blind people are always fearful. A spiritually blind Christian will fear the cross. Enrich yourself with knowledge. Know Christ in His virtues, His offices, and the privileges He gives. See His preciousness (1 Peter 2:7): "To you who believe, He is precious." His name is precious — like ointment poured out. His blood is precious — like healing balm poured out. His love is precious — like wine poured out. Jesus Christ is made up entirely of sweetness and delight. He is wholly worthy of our desire. He is light to the eye, honey to the taste, joy to the heart. Come to know Christ, and you will give up everything for Him. You will embrace Him even in the fire. An ignorant person can never be a martyr — he may set up an altar, but he will never die for an unknown God.

Third, prize every truth of God. Even the smallest fragments of gold are precious — and every ray of truth is glorious (Proverbs 23:23): "Buy truth, and do not sell it." Truth is the object of faith (2 Thessalonians 2:13), the seed of regeneration (James 1:18), and the fountain of joy (1 Corinthians 13:6). Truth leads us to salvation (1 Timothy 2:4). If you are ever to suffer for the truth, you must prize it above everything else. A person who does not value truth more than his own life will never lay down his life for it. The blessed martyrs sealed their testimony to the truth with their blood. There are two things God holds most dear: His glory and His truth. Bishop Jewel said: "I will give up my bishopric. I will give up my reputation. But the truths of Christ I cannot deny."

Fourth, keep a good conscience. If any sin is deliberately harbored in the soul, it will make you unfit for suffering. A person with a painful sore on his shoulder cannot carry a heavy load. Guilt of conscience is like that sore — no one carrying it can bear Christ's cross. If a ship is sound and well-fitted, it will sail on the water. But if it is full of holes and leaking, it will sink. If the conscience is full of guilt — like a leaking hull — it will not hold together in the bloody waters of persecution. A house will not stand in a storm if its supporting pillars are rotten. If a person's heart is rotten, he will not stand in a storm of trial. How can a guilty person endure, when for all he knows he may be going from the fire at the stake straight to the fires of hell? Keep your conscience clean (1 Timothy 3:9): "Holding the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience." A good conscience will endure the fiery trial. It was this that turned the martyrs' flames into beds of roses. A good conscience is a wall of bronze — like Leviathan, it laughs at the shaking of a spear (Job 41:29). Even in prison, a good conscience is a bird that sings in its cage. Augustine calls it the paradise of a good conscience.

Fifth, make Scripture familiar to you (Psalm 119:50). Scripture, when deeply absorbed through meditation, prepares you for suffering. Scripture is a Christian's fortress, his armory, his stronghold. It is like the tower of David, from which a thousand shields hang (Song of Solomon 4:4). From these stores of Scripture, divine strength flows into the soul (Colossians 3:16): "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly." Jerome writes of someone who, by constant study of Scripture, made his own heart the library of Christ. The blessed Scripture is both a honeycomb for comfort and an armory for strength. The martyrs' hearts burned within them as they read Scripture, and then their bodies were fit to burn. Scripture arms a Christian against both temptation and persecution.

First, against temptation. When Christ Himself was tempted by the devil, He turned to Scripture for armor: "It is written." Three times He struck the old serpent with that sword. Jerome says Paul could never have made it through so many temptations without his Scripture-armor. Christian, are you being tempted? Go to Scripture. Draw a stone from it to hurl against your Goliath-sized temptation. Are you tempted toward pride? Read 1 Peter 5:5: "God resists the proud." Are you tempted toward lust? Read James 1:15: "When lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death."

Second, against persecution. When the flesh pulls back, Scripture will reinforce us — it puts armor on us and courage into us (Revelation 2:10): "Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life." The Christian says: I am afraid to suffer. Scripture answers: "Do not fear what you are about to suffer." But why should I have to suffer? I love God — isn't that enough? Yes, but God will test your love. "That you may be tested" — God's gold is proved best in the furnace. But the persecution seems so long! No — it is only "ten days." It may feel lasting, but it is not everlasting. What are ten days weighed against eternity? But what do I gain from suffering? What does it lead to? God says: "I will give you the crown of life." Though your body be put to death, your soul will be crowned. But I am afraid I will give way when the trial comes. "My grace is sufficient for you" (2 Corinthians 12:9). The weakest Christian has omnipotence as his support.

Sixth, cultivate a heart that is ready to suffer.

Question: What does that mean?

Answer: It means a self-denying spirit (Matthew 16:24): "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross." Self-denial is the foundation of godliness. If this foundation is not firmly laid, the whole structure falls. If there is any cherished lust in our souls that we will not deny, it will eventually lead either to scandalous sin or to outright apostasy. Self-denial is the thread that must run through the entire fabric of the Christian life. The self-denying Christian will be the suffering Christian. "Let him deny himself, and take up his cross."

To explain this more fully, I will address two things.

First, what is meant by the word "deny."

Second, what is meant by "self."

First, what does "deny" mean? The Greek word means to lay aside, to put off, to treat oneself as nothing. Beza translates it: "Let him renounce himself."

Second, what does "self" mean? It is used in four ways.

First, a person must deny worldly self — that is, his material possessions (Matthew 19:27): "Behold, we have left everything and followed You." The gold of Ophir must be given up for the pearl of great price. As the noble Marquess of Vico declared: "Let their money perish with them who count all the gold and silver in the world worth more than one hour's communion with Christ."

Second, a person must deny relational self — his dearest relationships, when God calls for it. If our closest ties — father, mother — stand in our way and would keep us from doing our duty, we must step over or past them (Luke 14:26): "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children... he cannot be My disciple." Relationships must not outweigh Christ.

Third, a person must deny physical self — his own life. He must be willing to become a sacrifice, to see Christ's crown advanced even if it means his own destruction (Luke 14:26; Revelation 12:11): "They did not love their life even when faced with death." Jesus Christ was dearer to them than their own blood.

Fourth, a person must deny carnal self. This, I believe, is the primary meaning of the text.

First, he must deny ease-seeking. The flesh constantly cries out for comfort. It is reluctant to bow under Christ's yoke or stretch itself on the cross. The flesh protests that there is a lion in the road (Proverbs 22:13). We must deny this craving for ease. Those who sink into the soft pillow of laziness will never take up the cross (2 Timothy 2:3): "Endure hardship as a good soldier of Christ Jesus." We must force our way through to heaven through effort and cost. Caesar's soldiers fought through hunger and cold.

Second, a person must deny self-importance. By nature, every person has an inflated opinion of himself — he is drunk with spiritual pride. And a proud person is unfit for suffering; he thinks himself too good to endure it. He says to himself: I, who am of such noble birth, such ability, such standing in the world — should I suffer? A proud person despises the cross. How did Christ come to suffer? He humbled Himself and became obedient to death (Philippians 2:8). Let the feathers of pride fall.

Third, a person must deny self-confidence. Peter's overconfidence was his undoing (Matthew 26:33-34): "Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away... even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You." How he presumed on his own strength — as if he had more grace than all the other apostles combined! His denial of Christ came precisely from his failure to deny himself. Deny your own strength. Samson's strength was in his hair; a Christian's strength is in Christ. The one who trusts in himself will be left to himself. The one who goes out in his own strength will come back in shame.

Fourth, a person must deny self-reasoning. Scripture speaks of the wisdom of the flesh (2 Corinthians 1:12). Self-reasoning is carnal cunning. The flesh says: it is wise to avoid suffering; it is wise not to speak out against sin; it is wise to find clever distinctions that let you avoid the cross. The wisdom of the flesh is to protect the flesh. There is, of course, a true Christian prudence to be used — the serpent's eye should be in the dove's head. Wisdom and innocence go well together. But it is dangerous to separate them. Cursed is any cleverness that teaches us to avoid duty. That kind of wisdom is not from above — it is earthly and devilish (James 3:15), learned from the old serpent. This cunning will turn to foolishness in the end. It is like a man who, to save his money, throws himself overboard into the sea. The cunning person, to save his skin, will damn his soul.

Fifth, a person must deny his own will. Gregory calls the will the commander-in-chief of all the soul's faculties. In Adam's original state of innocence, the will was aligned with God — like an instrument in tune, it made harmony and moved in step with God's will. But now the will is corrupt, and like a powerful current, it carries us violently toward evil. The will does not merely lack inclination toward good; it actively opposes it (Acts 7:51): "You always resist the Holy Spirit." There is no greater enemy than the will. It stands against God (2 Peter 2:10). The will loves sin and hates the cross. If we are ever to suffer for God, we must go against our own will. The will itself must be put to death. A Christian must say: "Not my will, Lord, but Yours be done."

Sixth, a person must deny self-reasoning — the flesh constantly argues and protests against suffering (Mark 2:8): "Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts?" These kinds of objections will arise in our hearts:

Objection: Persecution is painful.

Answer: Yes, but it is blessed (James 1:12): "Blessed is the man who endures trial." The cross is heavy — but the sharper the cross, the brighter the crown.

Objection: But it is hard to give up possessions and loved ones.

Answer: Christ is better than all of it. He is manna to strengthen, wine to comfort, and salvation to crown.

Objection: But freedom is sweet.

Answer: This confinement opens the way to a deeper freedom (Psalm 4:1): "You have relieved me in my distress." When the feet are bound in chains, the heart can be freely opened and enlarged.

This is how we must silence the self-reasoning that naturally rises in the heart against suffering.

This self-denying heart is very difficult to achieve — it is like plucking out a right eye. As one writer says, a person has more to do overcoming himself than overcoming men and devils combined. The one who overcomes himself is stronger than the one who captures the mightiest walls. Self is the idol. And how hard it is to sacrifice this idol — to turn self-seeking into self-denial! But as difficult as it is, it is absolutely necessary for suffering. A Christian must first lay down self before he can take up the cross.

How far from being ready to suffer, then, are those who cannot deny themselves in the smallest things — in their food or clothing! Those who, instead of disciplining the flesh, pamper it. Instead of taking up the cross, they take up their cups. Is this self-denial — to give the flesh free rein? It is certain: those who cannot deny themselves will, if suffering comes, deny Christ. Christians, if you ever want to be able to carry Christ's cross, begin now to deny yourselves. Consider these two things:

First, whatever you give up for Christ, you will find again — multiplied — in Christ (Matthew 19:29): "Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name's sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life." This is an excellent return. Is it not gain enough to receive a hundredfold — far more than one gave up?

Second, it is only fair that you deny yourself for Christ — for Christ denied Himself for you. He denied His joy — He left His Father's side. He denied His honor — He endured shame (Hebrews 12:2). He denied His life — He poured out His blood as a sacrifice on the altar of the cross (Colossians 1:20). Christ denied Himself for you. Will you not deny yourself for Him?

Third, self-denial is the clearest mark of a thoroughly committed Christian. Hypocrites may have great knowledge and make bold professions of faith — but only the true-hearted saint can actually deny himself for Christ. I have read of a holy man once tempted by Satan. Satan said to him: "Why do you take all this trouble? You watch, you fast, you abstain from sin. What do you do that I do not? Are you not a drunkard or an adulterer? Neither am I. Do you keep watch? I never sleep. Do you fast? I never eat. What do you do more than I?" The man replied: "I will tell you, Satan. I pray, I serve the Lord, and above all — I deny myself." "Indeed," said Satan, "there you surpass me, for I exalt myself." And with that he vanished. Self-denial is the best test of sincerity. By this you go beyond what any hypocrite can do.

Fourth, denying yourself is simply following the path that others have walked before you. Moses was a self-denier — he refused the honors and wealth of the royal court (Hebrews 11:25). Abraham denied his homeland at God's call (Hebrews 11:8). Marcus Arethusus, who lived during the reign of Julian the emperor, endured terrible torments for his faith. If he had given merely a halfpenny toward the rebuilding of a pagan temple, he would have been set free. But he refused — even though that small amount could have saved his life. Here was a true self-denying saint.

Fifth, the time is coming when, if you do not give up the world for Christ, the world will give you up. The world already withholds real satisfaction — and soon it will deny you shelter. It will not allow you so much as to breathe in it; it will dispossess you completely. And worse than that: not only will the world deny you, but Christ will deny you (Matthew 10:33): "Whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven."

Seventh, develop the graces that sustain suffering — three in particular.

1. Faith. 2. Love. 3. Patience.

First, the key suffering grace is faith (Ephesians 6:16): "Above all, taking up the shield of faith." Claiming to have faith is one thing; using it is another. The hypocrite uses faith as a cloak; the martyr uses it as a shield. A shield is valuable in the moment of danger — it covers the head and protects what is vital. Faith is exactly that kind of shield. It is a furnace-tested grace (1 Peter 1:7): "Though it is tested with fire, it is found to result in praise and glory." Faith, like Hercules's club, beats down all opposition. By faith we resist the devil (1 Peter 5:9). By faith the saints resisted to the point of bloodshed (Hebrews 11:34). Faith is a victorious grace. The believer will see Christ's crown advance, even if it means being reduced to ashes. An unbeliever is like Reuben — "unstable as water, he shall not excel" (Genesis 49:4). But a believer is like Joseph, who, though the archers aimed at him, held his bow steady in strength. Cast a believer onto the waters of affliction, and he can follow Christ on the water without sinking. Cast him into the fire, and his zeal burns hotter than the flames. Cast him into prison, and his spirit is set free. Paul and Silas sang in their prison. The promise stands (Psalm 91:13): "You shall tread on the lion and the cobra." A Christian armed with faith like a coat of armor can trample on persecutions as fierce as a lion and as venomous as a snake. Get faith.

Question: But why is faith such proven armor?

Answer: For six reasons.

First, faith unites the soul to Christ, and that blessed Head sends His strength into the members (Philippians 4:13): "I can do all things through Christ." Faith is a grace that lives entirely on what it draws from outside itself. When we need water, we go to the well. When we need gold, we go to the mine. In the same way, faith goes to Christ and draws His strength into the soul — enabling it to both act and endure. This is why faith is such a wonder-working grace.

Second, faith works into the heart a holy contempt for the world. Faith gives us an accurate picture of it (Ecclesiastes 2:11). Faith shows the world as it truly is — stripped of its jewels, seen in its plain reality. Faith makes the world appear in eclipse. The believer sees more eclipses than any astronomer. Faith shows the soul something better than the world. It gives a vision of Christ and glory — a clear view of heaven. Like a sailor who, on a dark night, climbs to the top of the mast and cries out, "I see a star!" — faith climbs above the reach of sense and reason into heaven itself, and sees Christ, that bright morning star. And once the soul has glimpsed His surpassing beauty, it becomes crucified to the world. The Christian says: "Shall I not gladly lose all these things, so that I may gain Jesus Christ?"

Third, faith draws strength from the promises. Faith lives within a promise. Take a fish out of water and it dies. Take faith out of a promise and it cannot survive. The promises are breasts of comfort — and as a baby draws strength by nursing, so faith draws strength by feeding on a promise. When a garrison is under siege and about to surrender to the enemy, reinforcements arrive to relieve it. In the same way, when faith grows weak and is about to give out in the day of battle, the promises rally their forces — all of them come to faith's aid — and faith finds the strength to hold on through the fiery trial.

Fourth, faith gives the soul a true understanding of suffering. Faith draws an accurate picture of what suffering really is. What is suffering? Faith answers: it is the suffering of the body — that body which by the ordinary course of nature must soon turn to dust anyway. Persecution can only take my life. A fever can do as much. By giving the soul a true perspective on suffering and rightly sizing it up, faith enables a Christian to lay down his life at the feet of Christ.

Fifth, faith reconciles God's providences with His promises. Consider Paul's voyage: God's providence seemed to work against him — a violent wind called Euroclydon arose (Acts 27:14). But God had given him a promise that he and all who sailed with him would be saved (verse 24). So no matter how contrary the wind blew, Paul believed it would still bring him to the harbor in the end. In the same way, when our senses say, "Here is a painful providence — suffering has come; I will be ruined" — faith replies: "All things work together for good to those who love God" (Romans 8:28). This providence, however painful, will fulfill the promise. Affliction will work for my good — it will heal my corruption and save my soul. By bringing wind and tide into agreement — the wind of providence and the tide of promise — faith enables a Christian to endure persecution.

Sixth, faith draws sweetness out of the cross. Faith shows the soul that God is reconciled and sin forgiven — and with that assurance, how sweet even suffering becomes. The bee gathers the sweetest honey from the bitterest flower. In the same way, faith gathers the sweetest comfort from the sharpest trials. Faith sees suffering as a token of God's love. "Afflictions," says Nazianzene, "are sharp arrows — but they are shot from the hand of a loving Father." Faith can taste honey at the tip of the rod. Faith draws joy out of suffering (John 16:20). It finds a honeycomb in the belly of the lion and a jewel under the cross. So you can see why faith is such proven armor. "Above all, taking up the shield of faith." A believer who has cast his anchor in heaven cannot sink in the waters of persecution.

Second, the key suffering grace is love. Get your heart set ablaze with love for the Lord Jesus. Love is a grace that is both active and passive.

First, love is active — it lays a compelling obligation on the soul (2 Corinthians 5:14): "The love of Christ controls us." Love is the wing that lifts the soul into action and the weight that keeps it moving. Love never thinks it has done enough for Christ — just as someone who loves the world never thinks he can work hard enough for it. Love is tireless. The only thing that tires it is its own slowness.

Second, love is passive — it enables a person to endure. A person who loves his friend will suffer anything rather than see his friend wronged. The Curtii laid down their lives for Rome because they loved it. Love moved our dear Lord to suffer for us. As the pelican, out of love for her young ones who have been bitten by serpents, feeds them with her own blood to restore them — so Christ, when we had been bitten by the old serpent, fed us with His own blood to restore us. Jacob's love for Rachel made him willing to risk his life for her. "Many waters cannot quench love" (Song of Solomon 8:7) — not even the waters of persecution. "Love is as strong as death" (Song of Solomon 8:6). Death forces its way through every obstacle — and love will force its way to Christ through the prison and the furnace. But everyone claims to love Christ. How can we know whether our love is the kind that will hold firm through suffering?

First, true love is a love of friendship — genuine and open-hearted, loving Christ for who He is. There is a mercenary and calculating love that loves divine things for what they can bring. A person might love truth because it brings him prestige. A person might love Christ because He promises glory. But true love is when we love Christ for His loveliness itself — for the infinite, surpassing beauty that shines in Him — the way a person loves fine wine simply for its own taste.

Second, true love is a love of longing — desiring to be united to Christ as the source of all happiness. Love desires union. The soul that loves Christ actually longs for death, because death brings dissolution of the body and union with Him. Death unties one knot and ties another.

Third, true love is a love of goodwill — laboring, as much as we are able, to lift Christ's name high in the world. As the wise men brought Him gold and frankincense (Matthew 2:11), so we bring Him our tribute of service — willing for Him to rise even if it costs our own fall. In short, the love that is kindled from heaven makes us give Christ first place in our affections (Song of Solomon 8:2): "I would give you spiced wine to drink, the juice of my pomegranates." If the bride has a finer cup, Christ shall drink from it. We can never love Christ too much. We may love gold in excess — but not Christ. Even the angels do not love Christ to the full measure of His worth. When love is heated to this level, it will enable us to suffer. "Love is as strong as death." The martyrs first burned in love — and then in fire.

Third, the key suffering grace is patience. Patience is a grace made and shaped precisely for suffering — it is a sweet submission to God's will, by which we are content to bear whatever He is pleased to lay upon us. Patience makes a Christian invincible. It is like the anvil that absorbs every blow. We cannot even be fully human without patience. Uncontrolled emotion strips a person of his reason. And we cannot be martyrs without patience — patience is what enables us to endure (James 5:10). We read in Revelation 13:2 of a beast like a leopard, with feet like a bear, and the dragon giving it his power. This beast represents the antichristian power — comparable to a leopard for cunning and ferocity. On his head was the name of blasphemy (verse 1), matching the description of the man of sin (2 Thessalonians 2:4): "He sits in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God." The dragon gave him his power (verse 2) — that is, the devil — and it was given to him to make war with the saints (Revelation 13:7). So how do the saints bear the heat of this fiery trial? Verse 10 gives the answer: "Here is the patience of the saints." Patience overcomes by enduring. A Christian without patience is like a soldier without weapons. Faith keeps the heart from sinking; patience keeps the heart from complaining. Patience is not provoked by injuries — it feels them but does not become bitter over them. Patience keeps its eye on the end of suffering. Its motto is: God will bring even these things to an end. As the watchman waits through the night for the first light of morning, so the patient Christian suffers and waits, until the day of glory begins to dawn. Faith says, "God will come." Patience says, "I will wait His pleasure." These are the suffering graces that are a Christian's proven armor.

Eighth, store up the promises that sustain in suffering. The promises are faith's floats that keep it from sinking, the milk a Christian lives on in times of trial, the honey at the end of the rod. Hoard up promises.

First, God has promised wisdom and guidance in that hour — that He will give the right words to say (Luke 21:15): "I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict." You will not need to prepare — God will put the answer in your mouth. Many of God's suffering people can testify to this. God has suddenly placed words in their mouths that their enemies could more easily criticize than actually refute.

Second, God has promised protection (Acts 18:9): "No one will attack you to harm you." How safe Paul was when omnipotence itself was his shield! And (Luke 21:18): "Not a hair of your head will perish." Persecutors are lions — but they are chained lions.

Third, God has promised His special presence with His people in suffering (Psalm 91:15): "I will be with him in trouble." If we have such a Friend to visit us in prison, we will do well enough. Though we change our location, we will not lose our Keeper: "I will be with him." God will hold our head and heart when we are about to faint! What does it matter if we have more affliction than others, if we have more of God's company? God's honor is precious to Him. It would not honor Him to bring His children into suffering and then abandon them there. He will be with them to encourage and sustain them. Indeed, when fresh troubles arise, the promise stands (Job 5:19): "In six troubles He will be with you."

Fourth, God has promised deliverance (Psalm 91:15): "I will deliver him and honor him." God will open a back door for His people to escape from their sufferings (1 Corinthians 10:13): "With the temptation He will also provide the way of escape." He did this for Peter (Acts 12:10): Peter's prayers had opened heaven, and God's angel opened the prison. God can either prevent a trap from being set, or break it once it is (Psalm 68:20): "To God the Lord belong the escapes from death." He who can strengthen our faith can also break our chains. Sometimes God even turns the enemies themselves into the instruments for breaking the very traps they laid (Esther 8:8).

Fifth, in the case of martyrdom, God has promised consolation (John 16:22): "Your sorrow will be turned into joy." Water is turned into wine. Acts 23:11: "Be of good cheer, Paul." In times of persecution, God opens the cask of spiritual consolation. Strong drink is kept for those who are fainting. Philip, Landgrave of Hesse, testified that he had experienced divine consolations such as the martyrs felt. Stephen saw the heavens opened (Acts 7:56). Glover, that blessed martyr, cried out at the stake in a holy ecstasy: "He is come! He is come!" — meaning the Comforter.

Sixth, God has promised compensation. He will abundantly repay all our sufferings — a hundredfold in this life, and everlasting life in the world to come (Matthew 19:29). Augustine calls this the best and most profitable investment possible. Our losses for Christ are gains (Matthew 10:39): "Whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." These suffering promises we should store up, and by prayerful meditation draw sweetness and strength from them.

Set before your eyes examples of suffering — look to others as patterns to follow (James 5:10): "Take, my brothers, the prophets as an example of suffering and patience." Examples move us more than precepts. Instruction tells us what to do; examples stir us to do it. Just as handlers show elephants the blood of grapes and mulberries to make them fight more fiercely, so the Holy Spirit sets before us the blood of saints and martyrs to kindle a spirit of zeal and courage in us. Micaiah was thrown into prison, Jeremiah into the dungeon, Isaiah was sawn in two. The early Christians — though their flesh was boiled, roasted, and torn apart — remained invincible like iron. Their zeal and patience in suffering so astonished their persecutors that the tormentors grew weary before the martyrs did. When John Huss was brought to be burned, they placed on his head a paper crown printed with red devils. Seeing it, he said: "My Lord Jesus Christ wore a crown of thorns for me — why should I not wear this crown, however shameful?" Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, when brought before the proconsul who commanded him to deny Christ and swear by the emperor, replied: "I have served Christ for eighty-six years, and He has never once wronged me — shall I deny Him now?" Sanders, that blessed martyr, said: "Welcome, the cross of Christ! My Savior began with me in a bitter cup — shall I not drink it with Him?" Baynham said: "You who look for miracles — I feel no more pain in this fire than if I were lying in a bed of down." Another martyr said: "The ringing of my chains has been sweet music in my ears. What a comforter is a good conscience!" Another, kissing the stake, said: "I shall not lose my life — I shall exchange it for a better. Instead of coals, I shall have pearls!" Another, when the chains were being fastened around him, said: "Blessed be God for this wedding girdle!" These examples of suffering we should store in our hearts. God is still the same God — with as much love in His heart to comfort us, and as much strength in His arm to help us. Consider also the courage that even unbelievers displayed in their sufferings. Julius Caesar, when warned of a conspiracy against him in the Senate, answered that he would rather die than live in fear. Mutius Scevola held his hand in the fire until the flesh burned and the sinews began to shrink, and bore it with an unshaken spirit. Quintus Curtius records that Lysimachus, condemned to be thrown naked before a lion, when the lion came roaring at him, wrapped his shirt around his arm, thrust it into the lion's mouth, seized the lion's tongue, and killed it. If nature could infuse such courage and boldness into unbelievers — how much more should grace do so in Christians! Let us share Paul's resolve (Acts 20:24): "I do not count my life of any value to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus."

Store up sustaining thoughts about suffering — a wise Christian thinks ahead and is prepared.

Consider who we suffer for: it is for Christ, and we cannot suffer for a better friend. Many people will suffer shame and death for their sinful desires — they will suffer disgrace for a drunken craving, they will face death over a thirst for revenge. Shall others die for their lusts, while we will not die for Christ? Will a person suffer for the very desires that condemn him, yet refuse to suffer for the Christ who saves him? Remember — we are taking up God's own cause, and He will not allow those who do so to come out losers. If no one should light a fire on God's altar without it mattering (Malachi 1:10), then surely no one who sacrifices himself in the fire for God will do so for nothing.

It is a great honor to suffer persecution. It is a great honor to be chosen to bear witness to the truth (Acts 5:41): "They departed from the council, rejoicing that they had been counted worthy to suffer dishonor for His name." Kings have been given the title "defender of the faith." A martyr is in a special sense a defender of the faith. Kings defend the faith with their swords; martyrs defend it with their blood. What an honor to belong to Christ's trained regiment! A bloodied cross is more honorable than a purple robe. Persecution is called the fiery trial (1 Peter 4:12). God has two fires — one where He puts His gold, and another where He puts His dross. The fire for His dross is hell; the fire for His gold is the fire of persecution. God honors His gold by putting it in the fire (1 Peter 1:7). Persecution is both a badge of our order and a sign of our coming glory. What greater honor can be given to a mortal person than to stand in the cause of God — and not merely to die in the Lord, but to die for the Lord? Ignatius called his chains his spiritual pearls. Paul gloried more in his iron chain than he would have in a chain of gold (Acts 28:20).

Consider what Jesus Christ endured for us. Calvin says Christ's entire life was a series of sufferings. Christian, what is your suffering compared to His? Are you poor? So was Christ (Matthew 8:20): "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." Are you surrounded by enemies? So was Christ (Acts 4:27): "Against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, gathered together." Do your enemies claim to be the religious ones? So did His (Matthew 27:6): "The chief priests took the silver pieces and said, 'It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money.'" Godly persecutors! Are you mocked? So was Christ (Matthew 27:29): "They knelt before Him and mocked Him, saying, 'Hail, King of the Jews!'" Are you slandered? So was Christ (Matthew 9:34): "He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons." Are you treated with contempt? So was Christ (Mark 14:65): "Some began to spit on Him." Are you betrayed by a friend? So was Christ (Luke 22:48): "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?" Is your property taken from you — divided among those who oppose you? So was Christ's (Matthew 27:35): "They divided His garments among them by casting lots." Do you suffer unjustly? So did Christ — His own judge declared Him innocent (Luke 23:4): "I find no fault in this Man." Are you dragged away to suffer? So was Christ (Matthew 27:2): "When they had bound Him, they led Him away." Do you face death? So did Christ (Luke 23:33): "When they came to Calvary, there they crucified Him." Christ bore not only the physical agony of the cross, but the curse of the cross (Galatians 3:13). His soul was "exceedingly sorrowful, to the point of death" (Matthew 26:38). His soul was overshadowed by the cloud of God's displeasure. The Greek church, when speaking of Christ's sufferings, calls them "unknown sufferings" — depths no human mind can fathom. Did the Lord Jesus endure all this for us — and shall we refuse to suffer persecution for His name? Say with holy Ignatius: "I am willing to die for Christ, for Christ my love was crucified." Our cup is nothing compared to the cup Christ drank. His was mixed with the wrath of God. If He bore God's wrath for us, surely we can bear the wrath of men for Him.

By suffering, we bring great honor to Christ and the Gospel. It honors Christ that He has soldiers enlisted under Him who will leave everything for His sake. It proclaims Him to be a good Master when His servants are willing to wear His uniform, even when it is stained with disgrace and soaked in blood. Paul's iron chain caused the Gospel to wear a golden chain. Tertullian says that the saints of his time received their sufferings with more gratitude than they would have felt at receiving a rescue. What a glory it was to the truth when they dared to embrace it in the flames! The sufferings of the saints not only adorn the Gospel — they spread it. The zeal and steadfastness of the martyrs in the early church moved some pagans to become Christians.

The showers of blood have always made the church fruitful (Philippians 1:13): Paul's being in chains caused the truth to spread more widely. The Gospel has always flourished in the ashes of martyrs.

Suffering is what we committed ourselves to at baptism — that was where we received our commission. We solemnly vowed to be true to Christ's cause and to fight under His banner until death. How many times at the Lord's Supper have we renewed our oath of allegiance to Jesus Christ — pledging to be His devoted servants, and that death would not separate us from Him? If, when the moment comes, we refuse to suffer persecution for His name, Christ will bring our baptism vow as an indictment against us. Christ is called the Captain of our salvation (Hebrews 2:10). We have signed on and enlisted under this Captain. If we flee from His colors out of fear, it is perjury of the highest order. An oath that is not kept without fail will be punished without fail.

Our sufferings are light (2 Corinthians 4:17): "This light and momentary affliction." It feels heavy to flesh and blood, but it is light to faith. Affliction is light in three senses.

First, affliction is light compared to sin. The person who feels sin as truly heavy finds suffering relatively light. Sin made Paul cry out: "Wretched man that I am!" (Romans 7). He did not cry out about his iron chain — he cried out about his sin. A louder noise drowns out a quieter one. When the sea roars, the rivers fall silent. The person who is truly burdened by his sins — who sees how he has provoked God — finds the weight of affliction bearable (Micah 7:9).

Second, affliction is light compared to hell. What is persecution compared to damnation? What is the fire of martyrdom compared to the fire of the condemned? It is no more than the prick of a pin compared to a fatal wound. "Who knows the power of Your anger?" (Psalm 90:11). Christ Himself could not have borne that anger if He had not been more than a man.

Third, affliction is light compared to glory. The weight of coming glory makes present persecution feel light. Chrysostom says that if all the suffering of every person who has ever lived could be placed upon a single person, it would not be worth one hour of being in heaven. Since persecution is light, let us treat it as such. Let us neither sink through unbelief nor burn with impatience.

Our sufferings are brief (1 Peter 5:10): "After you have suffered a little while." Our sufferings may continue for a time, but they will not continue forever. Affliction is compared to a cup (Lamentations 4:21). The wicked drink from a sea of wrath that has no bottom and will never be emptied. But for us it is only a cup of suffering — and God will say: "Let this cup pass away." "The scepter of wickedness shall not rest upon the land of the righteous" (Psalm 125:3). The rod may rest there for a time — but it will not stay. Though persecution has a sting to wound, it also has wings to fly away. "Sorrow and sighing will flee away" (Isaiah 35:10). The time is coming — and it is not far — when the saints will be given their release. They will weep no more, suffer no more. They will be taken off the torturing rack and laid in Christ's embrace. God's people will not always be in the iron furnace. A year of jubilee will come.

While we suffer for Christ, we suffer with Christ (Romans 8:17): "If we suffer with Him..." Jesus Christ bears part of the suffering alongside us. A believer can say: I am not alone. My Christ is with me — He carries the heaviest end of the cross. "My grace is sufficient for you" (2 Corinthians 12:9). "Underneath are the everlasting arms" (Deuteronomy 33:27). If Christ puts the yoke of persecution on us, He also puts His arms beneath us. The Lord Jesus will not only crown us when we conquer — He will enable us to conquer. When the dragon fights against the godly, Christ is the Michael who stands up for them and helps them overcome (Daniel 12:1).

The person who refuses to suffer persecution will never be free from suffering.

He faces inward suffering. The person who will not suffer for the sake of conscience will suffer in conscience. Francis Spira is a sobering example. After renouncing the doctrine he once professed out of fear, he fell into overwhelming terror and was reduced to a mere skeleton. He confessed he felt the very torments of the damned in his soul. He who was afraid of the stake was put on the rack of conscience.

He also faces outward suffering. Pendleton refused to suffer for Christ — and not long after, his house caught fire and he burned in it. He who would not burn for Christ was made to burn for his sins.

And ultimately, he faces eternal suffering: "suffering the punishment of eternal fire" (Jude 7).

Present sufferings cannot keep a person from being blessed. "Blessed are those who are persecuted" (Matthew 5:10). We tend to think: blessed are those who are rich. But no — blessed are those who are persecuted. "Blessed is the man who endures trial" (James 1:12). "If you suffer for righteousness' sake, you are blessed" (1 Peter 3:14).

That persecution cannot prevent us from being blessed, I will demonstrate in four ways.

Those are blessed who have God as their God (Psalm 144:15): "Happy is the people whose God is the Lord." But persecution cannot take God from us (Daniel 3:17): "Our God is able to deliver us." Though persecuted, they could still say: Our God. Therefore, persecution cannot keep us from being blessed.

Those are blessed whom God loves. But persecution cannot separate us from God's love (Romans 8:35): "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall persecution?" A goldsmith loves his gold just as much when it is in the furnace as when it is in his safe. God visits His children in prison (Acts 23:11): "Be of good cheer, Paul." God sweetens their sufferings (2 Corinthians 1:5): "As the sufferings of Christ overflow into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows." As a mother gives her child a lump of sugar after a bitter pill — persecution is the bitter pill, but God gives the comforts of His Spirit to sweeten it. If persecution cannot cut off God's love, then it cannot prevent us from being blessed.

Those are blessed for whom Christ intercedes. And those who are persecuted have Christ praying for them (John 17:12): "Keep through Your name those whom You have given Me." If persecution cannot stop Christ's prayer for us, then it cannot obstruct our blessedness.

Those are blessed whose sin is being purged out. But persecution purges out sin (Isaiah 27:9; Hebrews 12:11). Persecution is a caustic that eats away proud flesh. It is a winnowing fan, a refining fire. Persecution is the medicine God applies to His children to carry away what is unhealthy in them. That which purges out sin surely cannot prevent blessedness.

The greatest sustaining thought in suffering is the glorious reward that follows: "Theirs is the kingdom of heaven." The hope of reward is a powerful motivator (Hebrews 11:26): Moses had his eye on the recompense of reward. A merchant does not dwell on a few storms at sea — he thinks of the profit when the ship comes home loaded. In the same way, a Christian should not be overwhelmed by present sufferings, but keep his mind fixed on the rich reward awaiting him at the heavenly harbor. "Great is your reward in heaven" (Matthew 5:12). The cross is a golden ladder by which we climb up to heaven. A Christian may lose his life, but not his reward. He may lose his head, but not his crown. If the one who gives a cup of cold water will not lose his reward, then far less will the one who gives a draft of warm blood. The reward of glory should sweeten all the bitter waters. It should be a spur to martyrdom.

Not that we can earn this reward through our sufferings (Revelation 2:10): "I will give you the crown of life." The reward is the legacy that free grace bequeaths. What possible proportion is there between a drop of blood and a weight of glory? Christ Himself, considered purely as man — setting aside His divine nature — did not merit by His sufferings. First, Christ as man was a creature, and a creature cannot merit from the Creator. Second, Christ's sufferings as man were finite, and finite suffering cannot earn infinite glory. As God, His sufferings were fully meritorious. But considered as man alone, they were not. I raise this point directly against the Roman Catholic position: if Christ's sufferings as man — though as man He was above the angels — could not merit anything on their own, then what prophet, martyr, or human being on earth can merit anything by suffering?

Though we have no reward by merit, we will receive it by grace (Matthew 5:12): "Great is your reward in heaven." The thought of this reward should strengthen every Christian. Look upon the crown — and then try to faint. The reward is as far above your thoughts as it is beyond your deserts. A man who must wade through deep water keeps his eyes fixed on the solid ground ahead. While Christians wade through the deep waters of persecution, they should fix the eyes of faith on the land of promise. Those who bear the cross with patience will wear the crown with triumph.

Christ's suffering saints will receive greater degrees of glory (Matthew 19:28). God has His highest seats — even His thrones — reserved for His martyrs. It is true that even the least in heaven — the one who stands at the door — will have more than enough. But as Joseph gave Benjamin a double portion above his brothers, so God will give His suffering people a double portion of glory. Some spheres in heaven are higher, some stars brighter. God's martyrs will shine with greater brilliance in the heavenly sky.

Keep the coming reward often before your eyes. All the silks of Persia, the spices of Arabia, and the gold of Ophir cannot be compared to this glorious reward. When Basil was threatened with exile, he comforted himself with the thought that he would either be under heaven or in heaven. It was the hope of this reward that so energized the early martyrs. When incense was placed in their hands and all they needed to do to save their lives was sprinkle a little of it on an altar to honor an idol, they would rather die than do it. This glorious heavenly reward is described as reigning with Christ (2 Timothy 2:12): "If we endure, we will also reign with Him." First martyrs, then kings. After the saints' crucifixion comes their coronation — they will reign. The wicked reign first and then suffer. The godly suffer first and then reign. Who would not swim through blood for that crown? Christ says: "Rejoice and be glad" (Matthew 5:12). Christians should have their spirits lifted and their hearts filled with joy when they think of the weight of glory awaiting them.

If you want to be able to suffer, pray much. Ask God to clothe you with a spirit of zeal and boldness. "It has been granted to you for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake" (Philippians 1:29). The ability to suffer is a gift of God — pray for this gift. Do not imagine that you can lay down life and liberty for Christ in your own strength. Peter was overconfident about himself (John 13:37): "I will lay down my life for You." Peter had habitual grace, but he lacked the moment-by-moment sustaining grace he needed. Christians need fresh impulses from heaven. Pray for the Spirit to strengthen you in your sufferings. As fire hardens the potter's clay — which is soft and pliable at first — so the fire of the Spirit hardens believers against suffering. Pray that God will make you like the anvil, able to absorb the blows of persecutors with unshakable patience.