have been heaped together, and burnt in one fire. They have set upon the servants of God, and compassed the church where they have assembled together to pray unto God, and murdered them in their innocency, while they lifted up pure hands unto God. The French king, by the counsel of such as hate the gospel of Christ, sent his cruel soldiers, and murdered his subjects at Valois.* He overthrew their houses, burnt their towns, destroyed man, woman, and child; spoiled their corn, and rooted up their trees. He wasted, defaced, and unpeopled it, not for that they were thieves or rebels, but because they believed in the name of Christ. Consider how many have been murdered in Flanders, and in the kingdom of France. They are not so far from us, as Judea from Thessalonica. They join next unto us. God is blessed in his saints, and holy in all his works, no cruelty is able to quench his truth. There is no counsel, which shall prevail against the Lord. He giveth increase, and placeth children instead of their fathers. The more are slain by the enemies, the more spring up, by the working of his Spirit. The more are hewn down, the more multiply. We may not be strangers in this case. It behoves us to consider the afflictions of our brethren. They belong unto We must pray to God for them, that he will put an end to their miseries; otherwise, we have not the Spirit of God, we bear no love nor care for his house.

us.

Of your countrymen. This was the greatest and heaviest part of their troubles. For what a heart's grief is it to the Father, if his son rise up against him! or to the son, to see his father ready to betray him, and to seek his blood! Where this is done, he will say, O father, I am thy son; alas! what have I done to have thy displeasure? death is bitter, but thy displeasure is more bitter than death. It were a cruel thing that any man should kill another; what is it then, if thou shouldest kill thine own child? thou art so bent, take my life and spare my conscience; spare my soul, that I may deliver it up into His hands who hath given it me; I would be obedient unto thee, thou art my father, but I may not disobey God. He is the Father of fathers. He hath said, Matt. x. He that loveth father

Yet if

* The Waldenses, had suffered severe persecutions a few years before this was written, and horrid cruelties were at that time perpetrated by the Spanish government upon the Protestants in Flanders. The massacre of St. Bartholomew took place about the same period. The cruel torments mentioned in the preceding page were commonly inflicted by the Inquisition.

It is a

or mother more than me, he is not worthy of me. miserable case when persecution groweth so hot that the child is driven to forsake his father, or the father his child; yet so doth the world blind many, and Satan so possesses their hearts, that he turns their love into hatred, and shuts up their senses, and chokes and dams up the springs of nature. They become so blind and so insensible, that they neither feel their own flesh, nor know their own blood. They think, in so doing, they do God good service! They are enemies to the truth. They are the enemies of the cross of Christ, their end is destruction.

Go

And forbid us to preach unto the Gentiles, that they might be saved. This is the end whereunto the gospel is given, that the people should be saved. St. Paul saith, 1 Tim. ii. God willeth that all men shall be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth. Therefore our Saviour appointed his apostles to this office of preaching his word, saying, Go and preach the gospel unto all nations. unto the lost sheep of Israel. He saith, It is not the will of my Father, that one of these little ones should perish. Whosoever believeth and shall be baptized, shall be saved. St. James exhorteth the faithful; Receive with meekness the word that is grafted in you, which is able to save your souls. By it we hear the sweet voice of our Saviour; Come unto me all ye that travail, and be heavily laden, and I will refresh you, Matt. xi. By it we hear the merciful calling of God; Turn unto me, and ye shall be saved. By it we are warned to depart from the company of such as are enemies to the truth, and to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness; Save yourselves, saith St. Peter, Acts ii. from this froward generation. By it we are taught to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that his name is Jesus, because he shall save his people from their sins, and that there is not salvation in any other besides him. For faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. This is, therefore, the duty of the preacher, to preach unto the people, that so they may be saved; that they may know the ways of God; that they may repent them of their sins, and be renewed unto godliness.

Who would think there were any that would hinder the course of the gospel, or forbid to preach it unto the people? The apostle here lays that fault to the Jews, that they forbid him to preach to the Gentiles. The same fault Christ

found in the scribes and pharisees; Wo be to you, interpreters of the law, for ye have taken away the key of knowledge; ye entered not in yourselves, and them that came in ye forbad.

Such there have been always, and such there are now. Oh! say they, why should the people know these things? What should they meddle with the Scriptures? let them do their business, and apply to their occupations. It is not reason nor fit that every one should be learned; when they think they know somewhat, they become proud, and devise heresies and maintain them. As if God had not left them to instruct the people, or as if the Holy Scriptures, and not the malice of Satan, were the cause of heresies.

But God hath said, Deut. xxxi. Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn and fear the Lord your God, and keep and observe all the words of this law. The prophet David thought it meet the people should know the Scriptures; therefore he said, Blessed is that man whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and in that law doth exercise himself day and night. And again, Wherewith shall a young man redress his ways? In keeping thy words.

When Christ himself came first into the world to plant his church, he vouchsafed to the poor and simple the knowledge of his truth, and showed it first unto them. The first that had tidings of his birth were not scribes and pharisees, but a company of poor shepherds. The first that received his gospel, and taught it in the world, were not doctors or learned men, but fishers, and toll-gatherers, and of base condition. The first that met him with triumph at Jerusalem, and sang Hosanna, were not bishops and priests, but babes and infants. They that followed him most and believed, were not the greatest men of power and policy, but such as the pharisees termed a cursed people, which knew not the law. The first that told the apostles the resurrection of Christ, were not the sagest and wisest men, but two or three simple women.

The first that were converted to the faith after his resurrection, were not any of the great, learned, or otherwise esteemed and known among the people, but about three thousand poor, simple men, so base, and so out of know. ledge, that not one of their names could ever be known.

Why should any man resist the wisdom of God; and

deny the people the bread whereon they should feed, the light by which they may safely walk, the hearing and reading of the word, by which they may be turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God? They have cruel hearts, and are enemies to the glory of God, and to the salvation of his people, who deny them the knowledge of the Scriptures.

To fulfil their sins always. They have refused the word of reconciliation; they are not contented that they have stoned the prophets, and killed them that were sent to them; but they yet resist the holy gospel, and devise means to keep all others from the comfort thereof. This is a token of God's heavy displeasure upon them, that they repent not of their former evils, but grow worse and worse.

When the scribes and pharisees seemed to mislike the cruelty of their fathers, and said, if they had been in their days, they would not have been partners with them in the blood of the prophets; our Saviour made their hypocrisy known that herein they should be like to their fathers, for they should kill and crucify the prophets and wise men, and scourge them in their synagogues, and persecute from city to city, and said to them, Matt. xxiii. Fulfil ye also the measure of your fathers.

The cause of this judgment of God, in giving over the wicked to increase the heap of their sins, the apostle setteth down to the Romans, chap. i. As they regarded them not to know God, God delivered them up to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient. For so he sometimes punishes our sins, and suffers the wicked to heap sin upon sin, that so their damnation may be the greater.

For the wrath of God is come on them to the utmost. Though God be patient and long-suffering, because he would have all men come to repentance, yet in whom his mercy takes no place to work their amendment, upon them he pours out his wrath and indignation to the utmost. He means not, that all the whole nation of the Jews were so cast out of the favour of God, that never any of them shall be saved; for in another place he saith, Rom. xi. Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I myself am an Israelite of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benja min. God hath not cast away his people which he knew before.

But miserable shall be their end, and a terrible damnation shall they have, whosoever withstand the truth of God,

and to the rest of their wickedness join such a hatred and despiteful contempt of the poor and simple sort of the people, that they keep from them the wholesome words of doctrine, and forbid such as are willing, to preach unto them. This is their condemnation; that light came into the world, and they loved darkness better than light. They persecute us, saith St. Paul, and forbid us to preach unto the Gentiles, that they might be saved; to fulfil their sins always; for the wrath of God is come upon them to the utmost. Verse 17. Forasmuch, brethren, as we were kept from you for a season, concerning sight, but not in heart, we enforced the more to see your face with great desire. 18. Therefore we would have come unto you, I, Paul, at least once or twice, but Satan hindered us.

He told them before, how dearly and tenderly he loved them, exhorting, comforting, and beseeching every one of them, as a father his children. He taketh care, lest by any means they should doubt of his great good will towards them; and therefore both witnesses the same, and shows them through what cause he hath staid from them; such a zeal and care had he over the people.

Oh! in what case, then, are they that are careless, and make no regard of the people of God! who hunt after many livings, and bend not themselves to do good; who serve their own bellies, and seek to be rich, and eat up the people of God as if they were bread; they cannot say they have a desire to see the face of their flock, and that their heart is with them.

Howsoever they find time for other matters, they can never take time to know their sheep, and to do the work of their ministry among them. They care not for them, they think not of them, they plant not, they water not, they watch not, they give no warning of the dangers at hand, they teach them not to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly and righteously, and godlily, in this present world.

It were happy if all such were removed out of the church of God. They destroy the souls of many, and lead them to destruction by their negligence. What account shall they give unto God, for the souls of their brethren? Where shall they stand, or what shall they say, when he shall bid them make a strait account of their stewardship?

This is the practice of Satan. He uses all means to