A Fifth Consideration

A further consideration is this, The creatures do suffer for us, why should not we be willing to suffer, to be serviceable to God? God subjects other creatures; they are willing to lose their lives for us, to lose whatever beauty and excellency they have to be serviceable to us. Why should not we be willing to part with anything in way of service for God? Certainly there is not so great a distance between other creatures and Mankind, as there is between Mankind and God. It is an expression of that Martyr Master Hooper, that we read of in the Book of Martyrs, in laboring to work his own heart, and the hearts of others to contentedness in the midst of his sufferings. He has this similitude, and you may be put in mind of that every day, (says he) I look upon the creature, and see what it suffers to be useful to me; as thus, The brute beasts must die, must be roasted in the fire, and boiled, must come upon the trencher, be hacked all in pieces, must be chewed in the mouth, and in the stomach turned to that which is loathsome if one should behold it, and all to nourish me, to be useful to my body. And shall not I be willing to be made anything for God, for His service? What abundance of alterations the creature comes under to be made useful for me, to preserve me! Then if God will do so with me for His use, as He does subject the creatures to me for my use, why should not I rest contented? If God will take away my estate, and make me poor, if God will take away my life, hack me in pieces, put me in prison, whatsoever He does, yet I shall not suffer more for God than the creature does for me, and surely I am infinitely more bound to God than the creature is to me, and there is not so much difference between me and the creature as between me and God. Such considerations as these wrought the heart of that Martyr to contentedness in his sufferings. And every time the creature is upon your trenchers you may think: What! Does God make the creature suffer for my use? Not only for my nourishment, but for my delight; what am I then in respect of the infinite God?

A further consideration is this: created things suffer for our sake — why should we not be willing to suffer in service to God? God subjects other creatures, and they willingly lose their lives, their beauty, and their excellence in order to serve us. Why should we not be willing to give up anything in service to God? Certainly the gap between other creatures and mankind is not as great as the gap between mankind and God. The martyr Master Hooper, as recorded in the Book of Martyrs, used this illustration in working toward contentment in the midst of his own sufferings — and to encourage the hearts of others. He said: I look at created things and see what they suffer to be useful to me. The brute animals must die, must be roasted in fire and boiled, must be placed on the table and cut in pieces, chewed in the mouth, and digested in the stomach into something that, if you looked at it, would be repulsive — and all of this to nourish me, to be useful to my body. Shall I not be willing to be made into whatever God requires, for His service? What a range of changes the creature undergoes to become useful for me, to sustain my life! If God does this with creatures for my use, why should I not rest content when He does something similar with me for His use? Whether God takes away my estate and makes me poor, takes away my life, puts me in prison, or does whatever He will — I will not suffer for God more than the creature suffers for me. And I am infinitely more obligated to God than any creature is to me, and the distance between me and any creature is nothing compared to the distance between me and God. Such reflections worked the heart of that martyr toward contentment in his sufferings. Every time you sit down to eat, you can think: God makes the creature suffer for my use — not only for my nourishment but for my delight. What then am I, compared to the infinite God?