Englands sickness, comparatively conferred with Israels Divided into two sermons, by ThoEnglands sicknes, comparatively conferred with Israels Diuided into two sermons, by Tho

These Sicknesses may afflict a Church inwardly. She may be sick outwardly. 1. by the persecution of man. 2. by the affliction of God.

These Sicknesses may afflict a Church inwardly. Shee may be sicke outwardly. 1. by the persecution of man. 2. by the affliction of God.

By persecution of man, I need not call your thoughts back to elder times, & weary you with antiquities, to justify this assertion. This Church of ours so well remembers this sickness in Q. Mary's days, as if she were but newly recovered; whence descended those evils, but à culmine Pontifieio, as one calls it, from the top tower of the Pope: yet the Romists stick not to answer this laid to their charge, by averring paradoxically, that their persecution was in love, as Sarah to Hagar. In love they tyrannized, slandered, beat, imprisoned, manacled, massacred, burned us; all in love. As Philippides cudgelled his father, & pleaded it was in love. If this were charity, then sure the very mercies of the wicked are cruel: their love is worse then others hatred, ⁱNunquid ovis lupum persequitur aliqnando? non, sed lupus ovē. Quem videris in sanguine persecutionis gaudentē, lupus est, saith Chrysost. doth the sheep ever persecute the wolf? no, but the wolf the sheep? whom thou seest delighting in the blood of persecution, let him plead what he will, he is a very wolf We tell the Papists, as Augustine told the Donatists, notwithstanding their distinguishing by tenses and pretences, that their persecution exceeded in cruelty the very Jews. For the Jews persecuted (Christicarnem ambulantis interra: these Christi evangelium sedentis in caelo.²) the flesh of Christ walking on earth; the Papists the Gospel of Christ sitting in heaven. But their cruelty is our glory, we have sprung up the thicker; for their cutting us down, ^kPlures efficimur, quoties matimur: Contrary to the rules of Arithmetic, our subtraction hath been our multiplication: The Church of God (