A DISCOURSE ON PERSECUTION OR Suffering for CHRIST's Sake Clearing the Notion of It AND Making a Discrimination of Just from Vnjust Pretensions to It. AND Passionately Recommending True Christian Suffering to all Those who shall be Call'd Thereto Occasionally Representing the Folly and Sinfulness of Illegal Arbitrary Courses for the Prevention of It and the Security of our Church By JOHN HOWELL A M. Rector of Radnor Nova in the County of Radnor LONDON Printed for Robert Kettlewell at the Hand and Scepter over against St. Dunstan's Church in Fleetstreet 1685. To the Worthily Honour'd JOHN STONE Of Brightwel-Place in Oxfordshire ESQUIRE SIR IT seems very wonderful to me that after the clear Revelation of Scripture and the Instructions of Men after the many Renowned Examples of Christian Suffering the Repeated Instances of every Age after all Mens Fears and Apprehensions Reasonable and Vnreasonable for either of these are apt to awaken and engage to Consideration the generality even of Christians themselves should be such utter Strangers as I find they are of the True Notion and Nature of Persecution Now to Rectifie the Mistakes and Clear the Vnderstandings of the Ignorant Herein is the main Design of the ensuing Discourse And truly I am not out of all hopes of giving some Light to the Doctrine in hand at least wise of doing somewhat towards the Satisfaction of Those if this small Piece shall haply fall into their Hands who either have not heard of or have not had leisure to peruse or possibly have not been able to procure the Larger and more Elaborate Discourses on this Subject Were I sure it would prove wholly useless tho I am apt to Hope and induc'd by Learned Friends to Believe it will not I should wave the Publication of this Address for Your sake and of the Discourse for my own Sure I am it can do no harm nor justly give any Offence being written with the Faithfulness and with the Tenderness of a Spiritual Chirurgion Alas our Breaches are over-wide already they need not be widned more by harsh Reflexion and keenness of Expression Some Spirits are naturally Perverse and Froward and ought if possible to be Corrected and Sweetned not Exasperated more not stirr'd into a greater Ferment Of this I am extremely sensible and desire not to Provoke but to Heal. If I were tho praised be God I am not of another Frame of Spirit I am sure I should take an ill time to shew it in when I address to You to You Sir who seem to be made up of Gentleness and Temper Your Reasonings with Dissenters who do therefore chuse to apply themselves to You they are Sedate and Calm and full of an Obliging Condescention Your Delight it is and You make it Your Business to Argue Fairly and Lovingly persuade Men to Conformity And when all Your Arguments and Winning Behaviour will not do it And who can promise himself a never-failing Success You gain This Point howsoever They come over to a better Opinion of our Church and Church-men They are satisfied by You that it 's the Churches Desire as it is Yours to Invite rather than Compel to Convince that it may not Correct them Thus do You discharge Your Duty diligently and chearfully like a True Son of our Church a Faithful Exemplary Magistrate a Loyal Subject and a Good Christian I ought to add like a True Friend of our Clergy for such do You I must needs acknowledge it upon all Occasions approve Your self For of This to say nothing of others Your Favours to me Many and Great are a pregnant Argument forasmuch as I can in no wise attribute them to any the least Merit of mine but to Your Goodness and Respect to my Gown And thus while You temper Your Prudence with Piety and joyn Sobriety and Candour to an inviolable Loyalty and Reverence to the Church You stop the Mouths of Gainsayers and even Those who Suffer under You cannot be angry This is certainly the most Christian and most feasible Course for the filling our Churches and it is Yours And if Men will stand out notwithstanding if they will not learn by Your Example nor bow to Your Reasons nor hearken to Your Counsels and Persuasions they become still the more inexcusable they may thank themselves for what they endure and are as far from what may be term'd Persecution as they are from Conformity unless You will say they are their own Persecutors I pray God to make 'em sensible of their Errours and thorowly satisfied of the High Injustice of arraigning their Governours for that which it is their Duty to do The Subordinate Magistrate is oblig'd to see that the Laws be put in Execution and the Supreme is oblig'd to take care that there be such Laws as are apt and qualified to Engage and to Preserve Men in Peace Concord and Uniformity The Government it self cannot well I was going to say it cannot innocently Tolerate Men in a Schism certainly it cannot give any Man License to sin neither is it in the Power of any law or Dispensation to make that Justifiable and Lawful which in its own Nature is Evil and Sinful Such unquestionably is all Separation from This or any other Establish'd Church that is Sound and Pure as Ours is But and if the Government could as it cannot make Separation no Schism and no Sin yet I would observe and I hold my self oblig'd upon This occasion to vindicate the Proceedings of our Governours herein That neither has the Government any reason to grant nor our Nonconforming Brethren any reason to expect a Toleration or Relaxation of the Laws I know These two things are almost co-incident however they will severally admit of a distinct and particular Consideration 1. Then I would observe That the Government has no reason to grant a Toleration c. For if These Men do not Suffer the Government in all likelihood will there being nothing more destructive of the Publick Peace than a General Liberty of all sorts of Worship Of This we have had Late and Sad Experience When every man did that which was right in his own eyes it was little consider'd whether it was right or not in the eyes of others Men abus'd their Liberty into Defiance of Authority perfect Lawlesness being the Result When one Man out of a giddy humour wandred about in search after Truth another thought he might as easily find it at home When This Man thought he might serve God in any way his Neighbour was of opinion that 't was altogether as good and much more easie not to serve him at all So then we may easily divine by what we have seen and felt that a Connivance or Toleration of all sorts of Religion is the ready way to destroy all that looks like Religion and that had it not pleas'd Heaven to direct our Governours herein our Nation would have sunk by degrees to downright Scepticism and Infidelity to as little Sense of Religion as some of a
It implies a Constancy or Perseverance unto the end for if we have forsaken Christ at any time we have at the same time disown'd him and put our Names out of the List of his Martyrs It implies Sincerity for what can possibly shew the Reality of our Love to and Affiance in Christ if Real Pain and Voluntary Suffering cannot do it To conclude It implies withal an Vniversal Obedience for as I have noted before the Man that allows of any one Sin is a profest Enemy of Christ not a Martyr of His not a Sufferer for Him But that which puts the Reward of Suffering out of all doubt is the Word of God in the most plain express Terms that can be devis'd If you suffer you shall also reign with Christ said the Apostle Blessed are they that are Persecuted for Righteousness sake for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven said our Saviour himself And many other Texts there are to the same purpose as clear as Words can make them and withal so commonly known that I shall not trouble you with the repetition of them but rather chuse to hasten to 2. The Greatness of this Reward And with that I will conclude And here I shall not pretend to describe what hath not entred into the Heart of Man to conceive I only observe That as it is above our Conception so it is beyond our very Wishes and Desires And what can be offered more Encouraging than This What can possibly more Cherish our Hopes and more Animate the Suffering Part of us than that we shall see and enjoy for our Suffering here all yea more infinitely more than all that we can desire or wish for Yes there is something more and greater behind tho I am equally at a loss for Words and for Ideas of it For the lowest Degree of Happiness in Heaven comes up to all that has yet been offer'd concerning it But now the true Christian Martyr is a Star of the First Magnitude there his Happiness surpasses that of other Saints as far as his Sufferings did This Light Affliction which is but for a Moment working for him a far more Exceeding and Eternal Weight of Glory FINIS Books lately Printed for Robert Kettlewell at the Hand and Scepter in Fleet-street 1. THe Measures of Christian Obedience Or A Discourse shewing what Obedience is indispensably necessary to a Regenerate State and what Defects are consistent with it for the Promotion of Piety and the Peace of Troubled Consciences By John Kettlewel Vicar of Coles-hill in Warwick-shire the second Edition Corrected In Quarto Price bound 8 s. 2. A Journey into Greece by Sir George Wheeler in company of Dr. Spon of Lyons in six Books Containing 1. A Voyage from Venice to Constantinople 2. An Account of Constantinople and the adjacent Places 3. A Voyage through the Lesser Asia 4. A Voyage from Zant through several parts of Greece to Athens 5. An Account of Athens 6. Several Journeys from Athens into Attica Corinth Boeotia c. With Variety of Sculptures In Folio price bound 15 s. 3. A Vindication of the Primitive Christians in Point of Obedience to their Prince against the Calumnies of a Book entituled The Life of Julian written by Ecebolius the Sophist As also The Doctrine of Passive Obedience cleared in Defence of Dr. Hicks Together with an Appendix being a more full and distinct Answer to Mr. Thomas Hunts Preface and Postscript Unto all which is added The Life of Julian enlarged In Octavo price bound 2 s. 6 d. 4. A Sermon Preached at the Worcester-Feast by George Walls Master of Arts and Student of christ-Christ-Church Oxon. Quarto price stitcht 6 d. 5. The Treasures of the Sea a Sermon preached to the Mariners by William Thompson In Quarto price stitcht 6 d. 6. An Help and Exhortation to Worthy Communicating Or a Treatise describing the Meaning Worthy Reception Duty and Benefits of the Holy Sacrament and answering the Doubts of Conscience and other Reasons which most generally detain Men from it together with Suitable Devotions added By John Kettlewell Vicar of Coles-hill in Warwick-shire In Twelves price bound 3 s. 7. Two hundred Queries Moderately propounded concerning the Doctrine of the Revolution of Humane Souls and its Conformity to the Truths of Christianity In Octavo price bound 1 s. 6 d. 8. A Sermon Preached at the Church of St. Bridget on Easter-Tuesday being the first of April 1684. Before the Right Honourable Sir Henry Tulse Mayor of London By George Hicks D. D. Dean of Worcester and Chaplain in ordinary to his Majesty In Quarto price stitcht 6 d. 9. A Spelling Book for Children In twenty fours price bound 6 d. 10. A Good Subject Or the right Test of Religion and Loyalty In a Sermon Preached July the 17th at the last Summer-Assizes held at Buckingham for the County of Buckingham Before the Lord Chief Baron Mountague and Sir Richard Holloway Knight John Culling Esquire High Sheriff By Lewis Atterbury D. D. 11. A Dissertation concerning the Pre-existency of Souls Wherein the state of the Question is briefly unfolded and divers Arguments and objections on both sides Alledged and Answered and a free Judgment concerning the Sum of the Controversie allowed to every one Being Originally written in the Latin Tongue several years since by the Learned C. P. and now made English by D.F. D.P. upon tho recommendation of F. M. H. their Friend In Twelves price 1 s. 12. The History of Isuf Bassa Captain General of the Ottoman Army at the Invasion of Candia In Octavo price bound 1 s. 6 d. 13. Animadversions on Dr. Burnet's History of the Rights of Princes in the Disposing of Ecclesiastical Benefices and Church-Lands In a Letter to a Friend In Quarto price 3 d. 14. A Discourse Explaining the Nature of Edification Both of Particular Persons in Private Graces and of the Church in Unity and Peace And shewing that we must not break Unity and Publick Peace for supposed Means of better Edifying in Private Virtues In a Visitation Sermon at Coventry May 7. 1684. By John Kettlewell Vicar of Coles-Hill in Warwick-shire In Quarto price 6 d. 15. A Funeral Sermon for the Right Honourable the Lady Frances Digby who Deceased at Coles-Hall in Warwick-shire on the 29th of September 1684. By John Kettlewell Vicar of Coles-Hill in Warwick-shire In Quarto price 6 d.
Neighbouring Country are said to have done who by a general Allowance of all sorts of Worship had made their Consciences so pliable that they could renounce their Bible when it serv'd a Turn and cry they were Hollanders and not Christians But secondly As the Government has no reason to grant so it may be considered further that our Dissenting Brethren have no reason to expect a Toleration And here I shall not need to mind them of the Old Non-conformists Opinion in the Case who plainly declar'd that to Allow of different sorts of Worship was inconvenient unreasonable and extremely dangerous to Church and State I would only offer to consideration Whether We if We were in Their Circumstances and They in Ours might in any reason expect This Liberty from Them What would they say shall we admit of That which we verily believe is unlawful Would you have us Allow openly to Allow of That in others which we cannot Allow in our selves Would you have us wanting in our Reâ—pect and Care for your Souls which we are oblig'd to upon a double account as Christians and as Governours To countenance That which is or That which is taken for a Sin is a Sin And to encourage it by the way of Toleration is to countenance it with a witness And how can we do This thing and sin against God and our own Consciences This sure is what every of them would be ready to offer This is what they with reason might And now do but invert the Scene and we have the plain Case between us and them Our Governours know and are persuaded that Separation from our Church is Schism and that Schism is a very grievous Sin They cannot unconcernedly see any Persons engag'd in it and for Those who are under their Government and Care they cannot give them That Liberty which would prove mischievous in the abuse of it and is therefore onely desir'd that it may be abus'd So that for them to expect a Toleration is to expect That which cannot reasonably be expected it is to expect That which they themselves if they were in Power would never grant or think it reasonable that it should be expected from them indeed it is to expect That which several of them will not at present Allow to their own Children and Dependents I would not be mistaken I do not nor can I approve of Compulsion in all Cases Religion is such a Worship and Service of God as supposes the Concurrence of the Will and now the Will cannot be forc'd it is free as Thought and is persuaded by Words rather than Blows as Lactantius well observ'd No Humane Laws or Power can possibly take hold of it it is out of the reach of Fire and Faggot and all the Affrighting Instruments of Cruelty so that it is impossible to be Compell'd properly speaking to any Religion and therefore it is unreasonable any Man should be Compell'd to the Profession of any Indeed it does not lie in any Mans power to be of what Religion himself pleases tho as to the outward Profession it does and now no one can be oblig'd beyond his Power And certainly it is very hard that a Man should Suffer for not Professing that Religion which he cannot heartily embrace and is therefore oblig'd not to profess But then I must observe on the other hand That there are some Opinions have a natural tendency to Mischief to Civil Jars and Vnchristian Divisions to Fatal Disturbances in Church and State And tho a bare Dissent in Judgment may not should not yet These whereever they are found do iustly come under the Lash of the Law and if the Church had no Power to shut out the Refractory and Disobedient nor the Civil Magistrate any to suppress Heresies and Schisms and Disorders in the Church there were nothing then to be expected but Anarchy and Confusion and every Evil work Alas we do not live in a Golden Age that Men should be suppos'd Governable without Laws or Laws available without their Sanctions Rewards and Punishments Some Men cannot others hardly can be kept within tolerable Bounds notwithstanding them And what would these be what would they do if there were none Conscience is frequently too too frequently abus'd and made a Cloak for all manner of Villanies at best 't is a prevailing Principle with those only who have it many have it not and the Magistrate's Sword of Justice has more Rhetorick far than the Terrour of the Lord to persuade such Men And Those whom Religion cannot allure or engage the Gibbet can and often does Affright into Obedience Many who would not stick at Assassinating Princes Destroying the Church and Massacring Man Woman and Child that stood in their way are yet kept in by the Execution of wholesom Laws and he must be a Bigot indeed of a very lewd Religion too that shall do these things when he must run the danger the immediate danger of his Life for his pains So then You see the Necessity of Laws for Societies and Sanctions for Laws and may readily guess how miserable This Church and Nation were if there were none or indeed if those that are should never be Executed These things consider'd I cannot see with what Forehead any Man can blame our Governours either for Making or Executing the Laws especially they have none at all against meer Dissenting much less any that are Sanguinary as our Roman Neighbours have they have none of any kind that in the least savour of Cruelty or Rigour They never do after the manner of Rome extort Mens Opinions from them by Racks and Tortures and then let loose the Laws upon them after a Discovery They are favourable as may be and slow in inflicting of Punishment of which This is a fair Argument That the loud reiterated Clamours and Out-cries of the Faction are not punish'd at all These would not certainly they would not be more favourably dealt with in any Establish'd Church of Christendom neither could we as I said before expect more or so much Favour from them if they were as some of them have been and have again endeavour'd very lately endeavour'd to be in the Seat of our Governours Surely then it would much better become them and they would act more like good Subjects and good Christians and Men of Reason if they would consider of things before they presume to complain of their Governours and over-liberally promise themselves a Reward for I know not what Services to I know not whom I am sure for none to Christ and his Religion when they Suffer as generally they do for their Disservice and Disobedience to That Authority which Christ has given to the Higher Powers and whereto he has very plainly commanded all of us to be Subject I say It were Wisdom in them and it is their Duty to consider seriously to consider These things before they presume to speak evil of their Rulers and charge them with Rigour Tyranny and what not If
they did This as they ought they would find that there are as I shew in the Discourse certain Qualifications and Conditions requisite to True Christian Suffering and that without These no Man can justly pretend to It and if any should challenge the Title they would certainly miss of the Crown of the Martyr But enough of This I wish You do not think it more than enough howsoever it be I am satisfied of Your Candor and Goodness and depend upon These Your Patronage and Favourable Acceptance I do now stand in need of and do greatly value and do here beg I must confess I cannot be sorry for what I have done indeed I must have offer'd violence to my Nature and could not have easily excus'd my self had I not now that so fair an Opportunity presents it self us'd my Endeavours my Honest tho Mean Endeavours to convince Men of their Errours and let them see the Injustice of their Clamours against the Easiest and Best of Governments And why may not the Honesty of my Design bear me out as well as the bare Pretence of it does others I must needs say I see no Reason for it But indeed the Design is not only Honest it is Great and Noble Loud is the Noise and Many are the Complaints of Persecution and I fear of dangerous consequence they are Complaining of the Government being a kind of Libelling and Persecuting it So that to remove These is to Ease the Government to do something towards it is a proportionably Good and Laudable Office and even for him who endeavours it only his Design is as Good and Great though his Success be not That the several Persons by whom These Offences come may become daily more and more satisfied of the Guilt and the Vnwarrantableness of them and that You may long continue among us for This and other Excellent Purposes That we may long see as now we do the Happy Effects of Your Diligence and Faithfulness in Your Administration of Justice of Your Care and Prudence in a very Regular Family and of Your Excellent Example joyn'd to the vigorous Endeavours of the Worthy Pastor in a very Conformable Parish And that Heaven would Bless You and Yours with all Health and Happiness Spiritual and Temporal is the hearty Prayer of Honour'd Sir Your most Obliged and most Obedient Servant John Howell A DISCOURSE ON PERSECUTION OR Suffering for Christ's Sake WHatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest whatsoever things are just and of good report if they promise any thing of Satisfaction of Complacency and Delight they are readily observ'd they are chearfully obey'd upon the least Intimation or slightest Injunction Men hardly need the Exhortation of a Saviour or an Apostle to think of these things But where there is any thing that suits not with their Interest or their Natures where there is any thing clashes with their Temporal Designs or the Gratification of their Carnal Appetites here they are apt to cry with the Disciples in the Gospel This is a Hard Saying who can hear it or with Naaman the Syrian In This thing the Lord pardon thy Servant The truth is He that in stead of Reason consults only Flesh and Blood cannot very easily yield to the Hurting of the one or the Exhausting of the other To desire the Tortures of the Rack or the Scorchings of the Flames looks like a ridiculous piece of Gallantry an Extravagancy allowable only in Romance or Phrenzy I mean to the meer Carnalist to one that sees not beyond the Grave But whoso looks within himself and has an eye to the Recompense of Reward and perceives the Influence the Aids and Comforts of the Holy Spirit and expects more can if he would please defie his Executioner and dare him into a severer Treatment And indeed if we consider things as we ought we shall find that Happiness and Misery are not to be measured by the Enjoyments or Sufferings of this Life that a Man may in wisdom prefer a Gibbet to a Crown and be happy under the Severities even of an Inquisition For tho Pains and Tortures are uncouth and irksom though they grate upon the Flesh and grieve the Spirit yet Nature her self recommends them to us not only as Expedient but as extremely Desirable as those that will work for us a far Greater a more Certain and more Durable Good for Such they will always prove we may depend upon it when our God who desires our Happiness and is able to procure it appoints them for us We readily assent to our Physicians Prescriptions take Potions tho never so Vnpleasant suffer our Members to be Coup'd Cauteriz'd or otherwise Tortur'd and all in expectation or it may be but Deluding Hopes of an Vncertain Recovery And yet this is no more than what is reasonable no more than what Nature prescribes when she teaches us the Doctrine of Self-preservation when she enclines us to the love of our selves and to the pursuit of our Chiefest Good How much more reasonable therefore is it how much more a Dictate of Nature that we should bear a Light Affliction which is but for a Moment in order to a Great and Sure Reward in order to an Eternity of Happiness the Certain Recompence of Suffering here for Christ as I shall have occasion to shew before I have done with you At present it may suffice to observe That the Apostle looks upon it as an Instance of the Divine Favour which he could not well do if there were not a future Reward annex'd to it Vnto you it is given says he in the behalf of Christ not only to Believe on him but also to Suffer for his sake Phil. 1.29 I shall bring what I have to say into this Order 1. I shall inquire When a Man may be said to suffer for Christ's sake 2. I shall shew That those among us who renounce our Communion and suffer for it do very unjustly pretend to Suffering for Christ 3. I shall shew That all those Christians who suffer rather than they will conform to the Church of Rome do truly and really suffer for Christ Provided always that they do not allow themselves in any known Sins but that they equally heartily forsake them all 4. I shall consider the Excellency and Usefulness of true and real Suffering for Christ 5. And lastly I shall offer some Motives to a resolute and chearful Suffering at what time soever it shall please God to call us thereto 1. Then I am to inquire When a Man may be said to suffer for Christs sake And that will be found to be then and only then when these three Circumstances concur 1. When his Cause is good 2. When he has a Call 3. When he has heartily forsaken all his Sins 1. That a Man may be said to Suffer for Christ's sake 't is requir'd that his Cause be good As no Man ought to Die or think any Suffering acceptable but when 't is for a Truth so all kinds of