The excellency of holy courage in evil times by Jeremiah Burroughs

It is an expression of Augustine in his Epistle to Honoratus about this argument: When any by fleeing shall do more hurt then he is able to requite by any work in all his life (as the case is so sometimes) then he is bound to venture himself and not to flee. And it doth depend much upon a mans own conscience, and the judgment of others to know this: a man would be willing to favour himself in such a case, but let him be sure he deal uprightly with God and his own soul, and not go only upon his own judgment, but take the judgment of others, and then if conscience shall give him this dictate, his life cannot recompense that hurt he shall do by Fleeing, he is to stay, when he shall see the cause of God shall suffer much in it, and God comes in by some especial assistance helping of him, in a more then ordinary way; he may take it as an item from God, that God hath a special work for him to do. And this was the case of Daniel. He saw the cause of God lay upon that work, and it would suffer if he should baulk his way, and God did come in with especial assistance, and strength to him, and rather then the cause of God should suffer, he would put himself upon that danger: men according to natural discretion would think he might have spared the opening of his window, but his conscience was convinced that his life was not of so much use as his witnessing to ⟨p. 63⟩the cause of God at that time: and especially if we be in such a way, as we find God hemming of us in, and knocking off those things that may further our fleeing, that we cannot flee but we must do something against conscience and do something that is evil; you are to know that God doth call you rather to suffer, and to venture upon him in such a case.

It is an expression of Augustine in his Epistle to Honoratus about this argument: When any by fleeing shal do more hurt then he is able to requite by any worke in all his life (as the case is so sometimes) then he is bound to venture himself and not to flee. And it doth depend much upon a mans own conscience, and the judgment of others to know this: a man would be willing to favour himself in such a case, but let him be sure he deal uprightly with God and his own soul, and not go only upon his own judgment, but take the judgment of others, and then if conscience shal give him this dictate, his life cannot recompence that hurt he shal do by Fleeing, he is to stay, when he shal see the cause of God shal suffer much in it, and God comes in by some especial assistance helping of him, in a more then ordinary way; he may take it as an item from God, that God hath a speciall work for him to do. And this was the case of Daniel. He saw the cause of God lay upon that work, and it would suffer if he should baulk his way, and God did come in with especial assistance, and strength to him, and rather then the cause of God should suffer, he would put himself upon that danger: men according to natural discretion would think he might have spared the opening of his window, but his conscience was convinced that his life was not of so much use as his witnessing to