An expository comment, doctrinal, controversial, and practical upon the whole first chapter to the…An expository comment, doctrinal, controversal, and practical upon the whole first chapter to the…

Fourthly, As you have need of patience under these exercises, So let it ¹have its perfect work, because of the unspeakable good that will redound to thee hereby. If this be duly weighed, thou wilt bless God for thy sufferings more than for all thy mercies and outward safety; thou wilt see, that to lose father, and mother, and life it self, is to win them. God doth by these sufferings bring in Novum & inauditum modum salutis, interire ne poreas, a new and unheard of way of safety, by making thee to die, that thou mayest not perish. We might heap up many places of Scripture that demonstrate the benefit of such sufferings. So that the opinion of the Gnostics, which Tertullian confuteth, was directly opposite to Scripture. It seemeth the Gnostic was an hater of Martyrdom, and accused Christ of severity and cruelty for requiring such things at the hand of his followers; he thought Christ was injurious to his people, if he expected such hard things from them; but this made them charge Christ thus foolishly, because they did not consider that those sufferings were advantages, that it was no more a loss to the godly, then it is to the grains of corn, when thrown into the earth, and die (as it were) there; unless you do so to the corn, it cannot bring forth fruit. Thus the godly, except they are thus afflicted, except they have these trials, they are great losers, and that in a two-fold respect. For

Fourthly, As you have need of patience under these exercises, So let it ¹have its perfect work, because of the unspeakable good that will redound to thee hereby. If this be duly weighed, thou wilt blesse God for thy sufferings more than for all thy mercies and outward safety; thou wilt see, that to lose father, and mother, and life it self, is to winne them. God doth by these sufferings bring in Novum & inauditum modum salutis, interire ne poreas, a new and unheard of way of safety, by making thee to die, that thou mayest not perish. We might heap up many places of Scripture that demonstrate the benefit of such sufferings. So that the opinion of the Gnosticks, which Tertullian confuteth, was directly opposite to Scripture. It seemeth the Gnostick was an hater of Martyrdome, and accused Christ of severity and cruelty for requiring such things at the hand of his followers; he thought Christ was injurious to his people, if he expected such hard things from them; but this made them charge Christ thus foolishly, because they did not consider that those sufferings were advantages, that it was no more a losse to the godly, then it is to the grains of corn, when thrown into the earth, and die (as it were) there; unlesse you do so to the corn, it cannot bring forth fruit. Thus the godly, except they are thus afflicted, except they have these tryals, they are great losers, and that in a two-fold respect. For