ragement, then, should this be to all that hear the word of the Lord this day, to get faith, to strengthen your faith. Oh, you that have no faith at all, and some such there may be here; you that have no faith at all, get faith, get faith; and you that have true saving faith, improve it to do great things by it; and the truth is, if you have true saving faith, you will do it, and there will be some great things found in your conversation: for you remember the doctrine, true saving faith will do very great things. And thus I have done with the first rank of believers. Their doing is first mentioned, their suffering follows.

SERMON V.

THE GREAT THINGS FAITH CAN SUFFER.

"And others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection: and others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings: yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword; they wandered about in sheep skins and goat skins, being afflicted, destitute, tormented; of whom the world was not worthy, they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth." -Heb. xi. 35.

THIS Xith chapter of the Hebrews, being a chronicle of the Old Testament believers; we find here the report of a doing and a suffering faith. The doing faith is described and commended by several instances at large in the former part of the chapter, and more compendiously and briefly at verse 32: "What shall I say more? for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthah; of David, also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword; out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens, women received their dead raised to life again."

In the words that I have chosen to speak unto at this time,

you have another sort and rank of believers, famous in their generation for their suffering faith. I have spoken unto the former in a neighbouring congregation, having shewed that this faith will do great things. Now in these words we have a suffering faith; for bv faith they should be carried through these sufferings: thus are the words to be understood. Others by faith were tortured; and others by faith had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings; and others by faith were stoned, sawn asunder, &c. It seems, then, that these the apostle here speaks of, were such as lived in the time of the Maccabees; they did not live after Christ, for it is said at verse 39, "They received not the promise;" Christ was not come when they lived. And they did not live in the times of the prophets, or before; for the apostle had brought down his chronicle unto the days of the prophets, as ye read in verse 32. So that these must needs live in the times of the Maccabees. It seems, then, that ecclesiastical histories may at some times be made use of in the preaching of faith.

Now the things that these believers suffered were great, hard, and very many. Here are nine sorts of suffering set down in the text. It is said that they were racked, or tortured: some read it, beaten with clubs, but it comes all to a reckoning; for when they were racked, they were beaten with clubs. And the apostle saith, that "they accepted not deliverance, that they might be partakers of a better resurrection;" upon which words some do think that there are degrees of glory, and that the suffering saints should have a better degree of glory at the resurrection; but the word better, is spoken in comparison with that deliverance that was offered to them. In scripture phrase, afflictions are deaths, and when a man is delivered from an affliction he hath a resurrection. When a man hath been sick, and at the grave, and raised to health again, he hath a resurrection, in scripture language. Now this resurrection or deliverance is refused, hoping for a better resurrection, having an eye to the great, and last, and better resurrection. That is the first; they were tortured or racked. And they had cruel mockings: there is a mocking, and there is a cruel mocking, when a man shall insult over another, and laugh at him in his misery, this is a cruel mocking; as the Jews derided our Saviour on the cross; this is a great aggravation of affliction, this they endured. That is the

And they were

second; they had trial of cruel mockings. scourged, and whipped up and down like rogues, as if the world was too good for them, they not worthy to live. And they were in bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, They were sawn asunder. And they were tempted; some read it, burned, by the change of a letter or two they read it So, " and were burned:" but it seems their afflictions were filled with temptations, and temptation is a great aggravation of affliction; so they were tempted. And they were slain with the sword. And they wandered up and down in sheep skins and goat skins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, in mountains and caves and dens of the earth, driven from their own habitation; and these are such of whom it is said here, "the world was not worthy." And these hard things they endured by faith, saith the apostle. So that here, now, you see what hard things faith will suffer, true saving faith (for of that the apostle speaks here) is a suffering grace, a bearing grace, it will carry us through all afflictions, although they be never so great: and so the doctrine from all the words is this:

True, saving faith can, and will suffer very hard things.

It is that grace that will carry us through all afflictions and sufferings, though they be never so great. True, saving faith can, and will suffer very hard things.

This doctrine lies upon the surface of the words and all the words together speak it; but for the further opening and clearing of it: First I shall labour to shew you that it is possible that a true believer, one very precious in the eyes of God, may meet with most unworthy things from the hands of men. Secondly: That faith will carry through these. And thirdly: How, and by what means, faith will carry a man through these.

First: It is possible that a true believer, one very precious in the eyes of God, may meet with most unworthy usage from the hands of men; these were hard things and unworthy that these believers suffered; yet they were such of whom the world was not worthy. You know there is an old enmity between the seed of the woman, and the seed of the serpent; a malignant disposition in the men of the world against the saints and people of God, they must work as they are; the wicked and men of the world are an unworthy people. But

because you judge yourselves unworthy, saith the text, "Lo, we turn to the Gentiles, because ye judge yourselves unworthy." "Go (saith our Saviour unto his disciples) and preach, and if any be worthy stay;" the men of the world. are unworthy, an unworthy people. Yea, they are an unreasonable people, absurd men, impertinent men that have not faith. They are compared in scripture unto beasts for their unreasonableness; " beware of dogs," saith the apostle. When our Lord and Saviour Christ did send out his disciples to preach the gospel," beware of men," saith he; I do not say, take heed and beware of lions and bears, but beware of men, you shall find such unreasonable dealing by men, therefore beware of men. Now if the men of the world be an unworthy people and unreasonable, will ye wonder that the saints and people of God meet sometimes with unworthy usage from them? It is possible. To raise it a little higher; possibly the more precious a man is, the more unworthy usage he may meet withal. The apostle Paul was a most precious man in his day and generation, and yet what unworthy usage had he? It is said in 1 Cor. iv. 11, “Unto this present hour we both hunger and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling place, and labour, working with our own hands; being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it; being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and the offscouring of all things unto this day." We are the filth, we are made the filth of the world and the off-scouring of all things unto this day. Some think that the apostle here doth relate unto that of one man dying for the people, the guilt of all the people being upon him. Others, that it is a similitude taken from a kind of tumbrel and vessel that goes up and down the city, that ye throw all the filth into. But I rather take the two Greek words, περικαθαρματα and περίψημα to relate unto that in Lament. iii. 45: "Thou hast made us as the offscouring and refuse in the midst of the people." In the Hebrew: "Thou hast made us the off-scouring, and the filth, and refuse in the midst of the people." Thus Paul was made, and yet Paul a precious man; he laboured more abundantly than they all. So that I say, it is possible that the more precious a man is, the more unworthy usage he may meet withal from men.

Yea, to raise it, a little higher; it is possible that a man may meet with most unworthy dealings therefore, because he is precious in the eyes of God; not only in regard of men; but in regard of God: for God doth sometimes so order things in his providence, that he doth put men to suffer hard things, because they are precious in his eyes. "Unto you it is given, not only to believe, but to suffer." Suffering sometimes is a gift, it is a great gift. A suffering gift, saith Chrysostom, is a greater gift than the gift of miracles; for saith he, if God do give me a gift to work miracles by, I am in God's debt; but if God do give me a suffering gift, he is pleased thereby to become my debtor; suffering sometimes becomes as a reward for doing. Ye read of the heifers that brought home the ark out of the Philistines' country, that when they brought the ark home, the Israelites they take the heifers, and they offer up the heifers unto God for a sacrifice. Why so? saith one, it is an ill requital to the heifers. No, the heifers could not have a higher honour put upon them; this their suffering is a reward for their doing. And so what greater honour can a man have after all his doing for God, than to be called forth to suffer, and to bear witness to the truth? Indeed we do not think thus, but you will say, Oh, surely God doth not love me because he puts such hard suffering work upon me. But I pray tell me, suppose that a general should have some great work or service to do, and he should single and pick some half a dozen soldiers for to go upon this work; would these soldiers say, Surely the general doth not prize us, he doth not honour us, nor love us, because he puts us upon this hard service. No, but they will say the contrary; Surely the general prizeth us, loves us, and honours us, because he puts us upon such a hard service as this is. So here, it doth rather argue that the Lord doth honour, love, and prize you, in that he puts you upon a hard work and service. But now, if these things be true, then surely this first branch is sufficiently made out, That a man may be very precious in the eyes of God, and yet meet with most unworthy usage from the hands of men. That is the first thing.

Secondly: You will say, How shall a man be able to go through these hard things and sufferings; what will carry him through them?