From Prison to Palace

When brought very low by this world's trials and tribulations, what a comfort it is to consider Joseph, who was brought from the lowest prison to the greatest palace in the land. So shall it be with you, poor afflicted Christian, by the grace of Joseph's God. Consider these words from some of the most eloquent and spiritually gifted writers who charted the pilgrim's progress from prison to palace.

John Bunyan, apart from being the famous author of The Pilgrim's Progress, wrote this sweet meditation ("A Few Sighs From Hell," in The Works of John Bunyan, Vol. 3, p. 707):

Let dissolution come when it will, it can do thee [Christian] no harm, for it will be but only a passage out of a prison into a palace; out of a sea of troubles into a haven of rest; out of a crowd of enemies to an innumerable company of true, loving, and faithful friends; out of shame, reproach, and contempt, into exceeding great and eternal glory. For death shall not hurt thee with his sting, nor bite thee with his soul-murdering teeth; but shall be a welcome guest to thee, even to thy soul, in that it is sent to free thee from thy troubles which thou art in whilst here in this world dwelling in the tabernacle of clay.

George Whitefield wrote to a correspondent (John Gillies, Memoirs of the Rev. George Whitefield, p. 80):

Suffer we must. Ere long perhaps we may sing in prison, and have our feet in stocks. But faith in Jesus turns a prison into a palace, and makes a bed of flames become a bed of down.

The last letter written by Puritan Christopher Love from the Tower of London to his beloved wife contained these words (Don Kistler, A Spectacle Unto God: The Life and Death of Christopher Love, pp. 100-101):

From the Tower of London
August 22, 1651
The Day of My Glorification

My most gracious beloved,

I am now going from a prison to a palace. I have finished my work, I am now to receive my wages. I am now going to heaven where are two of my children, and leaving thee on the earth where are three of my babes. Those two above need not my care, but the three below need thine. It comforts me to think two of my children are in the bosom of Abraham and three of them will be in the arms and care of so tender a godly mother.

I know thou art a woman of a sorrowful spirit, yet be comforted; though thy sorrow be great for thy husband's going out of the world, yet thy pains shall be the less in bringing thy child into the world. Thou shalt be a joyful mother, though thou beest a sad widow. God hath many mercies in store for thee; the prayers of a dying husband for thee will not be lost. To my shame I speak it: I never prayed so much for thee at liberty as I have done in prison.

John Cragge wrote in A Cabinet of Spiritual Jewels (1657):

This then may serve for a ground of comfort to every soul distressed with the tedious bitterness of this life; for short sorrow here, we shall have eternal joy; for a little hunger, an eternal banquet; for light sickness and affliction, everlasting health and salvation; for a little imprisonment, endless liberty; for disgrace, glory. Instead of the wicked who oppress and afflict them, they shall have the angels and saints to comfort and solace them, instead of Satan to torment and tempt them, they shall have Jesus to ravish and affect them. Jospeh's prison shall be turned into a palace; Daniel's lions' den into the presence of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah; the three children's hot fiery furnace, into the new Jerusalem of pure gold; David's Gath, into the tabernacle of the living God.

Jeremy Taylor wrote so eloquently in a sermon ("The Faith and Patience of the Saints; or, The Righteous Cause Oppressed," in The Whole Works of the Right Rev. Jeremy Taylor, Vol. 4, p. 469):

So much, as moments are exceeded by eternity, and the sighing of a man by the joy of an angel, and a salutary frown by the light of God's countenance, a few groans by the infinite and eternal hallelujahs; so much are the sorrows of the godly to be undervalued, in respect of what is deposited for them in the treasures of eternity. Their sorrows can die; but so cannot their joys. And, if the blessed martyrs and confessors were asked, concerning their past sufferings, and their present rests, and the joys of their certain expectation, you should hear them glory in nothing, but in the mercies of God, and in 'the cross of the Lord Jesus.' Every chain is a ray of light, and every prison is a palace, and every loss is the purchase of a kingdom, and every affront in the cause of God is an eternal honour, and every day of sorrow is a thousand years of comfort, multiplied with a never ceasing numeration; days without night, joys without sorrow, sanctity without sin, charity without stain, possession without fear, society without envy, communication of joys without lessening; and they shall dwell in a blessed country, where an enemy never entered, and from whence a friend never went away.

Even Unto Death

The 1561 Belgic Confession speaks of the duty of all Christians to join the true church despite whatever obstacles may providentially stand in the way, even the violent opposition of wicked magistrates, including capital punishment.

Belgic Confession, Chap. 28:

EVERY ONE IS BOUND TO JOIN HIMSELF TO THE TRUE CHURCH

We believe, since this holy congregation is an assembly of those who are saved, and out of it there is no salvation,1 that no person, of whatsoever state or condition he may be, ought to withdraw himself to live in a separate state from it;2 but that all men are in duty bound to join and unite themselves with it, maintaining the unity of the church;3 submitting themselves to the doctrine and discipline thereof; bowing their necks under the yoke of Jesus Christ;4 and as mutual members of the same body,5 serving to the edification of the brethren, according to the talents God has given them.

And that this may be the more effectually observed, it is the duty of all believers, according to the Word of God, to separate themselves from all those who do not belong to the church,6 and to join themselves to this congregation wheresoever God hath established it,7 even though the magistrates and edicts of princes be against it, yea, though they should suffer death or any other corporal punishment.8 Therefore all those who separate themselves from the same, or do not join themselves to it, act contrary to the ordinance of God.

8 Dan. 3:17, 18—If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Dan. 6:8-10—Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree. Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime. Rev. 14:14—And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. Acts 4:17—But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. Acts 4:19—But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. Acts 17:7—Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus. Acts 18:13—Saying, This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law.

Guido de Brès, the author of this confession of, sealed these words with his own blood on May 31, 1567, when he died a martyr's death at a prison in Valenciennes, France. The story of his life and death is a remarkable one, even in an age when many held fast to the faith even unto death itself. Wes Bredenhof, among others, has done a great service through his research and translation work concerning de Brès, and rather than give a biographical sketch of our hero of the faith here, I encourage the reader to tolle lege, take up and read, concerning his life and death, most particularly, a first-hand account of the martyr's death, and de Brès' final letter to his wife, which is comparable to those letters from Christopher Love to his wife (and hers to him) as he likewise awaited death.

The Apostle Paul teaches that "all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (2 Tim. 3.12). It is worth considering if this text speaks truly of us. Yet, not all are called to lay down their lives for the gospel, at least not as martyrs, though no Christian should shrink from the privilege of walking the same path which our Master walked at such a cost if it is given to us to lay down our lives for his sake. We do not choose the age in which we live "but," as Gandalf told Frodo once, "that is not for [us] to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."

As we remember Guido de Brès on the anniversary of his death-day, his entrance into the heavenly reward of the faithful, we do well to consider what William Gouge reminds us, that even in an age of peace and calm for the Church of Christ -- and while it is so in many respects today in the United States, there are places even now where there is great persecution against the saints, and our brethren who suffer for righteousness sake stand in need of our prayers -- it is our duty, and our blessed privilege, to be martyr-minded:

O that all who profess the Faith of Christ were like minded! It well becomes us all to be so minded. And if indeed we be so minded, God who knows the mind, heart, and spirit of a man will answerably account of him, and accept him, though he never be brought to the fiery trial, as if he had been brought to it, and endured it to the very uttermost: The virtues and graces of the mind sometimes are manifested in their deed or work: and sometimes lie hid in their habit, as the virtue of Martyrdom. Many may have the same prowess that Martyrs have, who are not brought to the same proof thereof....As it is therefore needful and useful in the prime and strength of our age, when we have best health to meditate on the sundry kinds of diseases, and manifold casualties whereunto we are subject, and on death, the end of all: so in the most flourishing times of the Church, meditation on the uttermost that may be endured even to the shedding of blood for fast-holding our profession of Christ, is a most meet meditation.

The Times In Which We Live

Matthew Poole, Edmund Calamy the Elder, Jeremiah Whitaker, Simeon Ashe & William Taylor, publishers of the works of Christopher Love, writing in the 1650's, Preface to Love's Heaven's Glory:

These times wherein we live are famous for "a form of godliness", and no less infamous for the want of the power of it. Nothing is more common than for man to hear, pray, and perform the outside duties of religion. Nothing more rare than for men to do these things as becomes the gospel. Men have so inured themselves to dispute about the circumstantials of worship that substantials are lost in the scuffle.

Love's Farewell

Christopher Love, not a Westminster Divine, but a godly Presbyterian Puritan minister, was put to death on charges of treason, from which he vindicated himself, under Oliver Cromwell's authority. While in prison waiting for his execution, he and his wife Mary corresponded and were able to express their affection to one other by letter. One letter from her dated July 14, 1651 reads thus (Source: Don Kistler, A Spectacle Unto God: The Life and Death of Christopher Love, pp. 1-3):

Before I write a word further, I beseech thee think not that it is thy wife but a friend now that writes to thee. I hope thou hast freely given up thy wife and children to God, who hath said in Jeremiah 49:11, "Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive, and let thy widow trust in me." Thy Maker will be my husband, and a Father to thy children. O that the Lord would keep thee from having one troubled thought for thy relations. I desire freely to give thee up into thy Father's hands, and not only look upon it as a crown of glory for thee to die for Christ, but as an honor to me that I should have a husband to leave for Christ.

I dare not speak to thee, nor have a thought within my own heart of my unspeakable loss, but wholly keep my eye fixed upon thy inexpressible and inconceivable gain. Thou leavest but a sinful, mortal wife to be everlastingly married to the Lord of glory. Thou leavest but children, brothers, and sisters to go to the Lord Jesus, thy eldest Brother. Thou leavest friends on earth to go to the enjoyment of saints and angels, and the spirits of just men made perfect in glory. Thou dost but leave earth for heaven and changest a prison for a palace. And if natural affections should begin to arise, I hope that spirit of grace that is within thee will quell them, knowing that all things here below are but dung and dross in comparison of those things that are above. I know thou keepest thine eye fixed on the hope of glory, which makes thy feet trample on the loss of earth.

My dear, I know God hath not only prepared glory for thee, and thee for it, but I am persuaded that He will sweeten the way for thee to come to the enjoyment of it. When thou art putting on thy clothes that morning, O think, "I am now putting on my wedding garments to go to be everlastingly married to my Redeemer."

When the messenger of death comes to thee, let him not seem dreadful to thee, but look on him as a messenger that brings thee tidings of eternal life. When thou goest up the scaffold, think (as thou saidst to me) that it is but thy fiery chariot to carry thee up to thy Father's house.

And when thou layest down thy precious head to receive thy Father's stroke, remember what thou saidst to me: Though thy head was severed from thy body, yet in a moment thy soul should be united to thy Head, the Lord Jesus, in heaven. And though it may seem something bitter, that by the hands of men we are parted a little sooner than otherwise we might have been, yet let us consider that it is the decree and will of our Father, and it will not be long ere we shall enjoy one another in heaven again.

Let us comfort one another with these sayings. Be comforted, my dear heart. It is but a little stroke and thou shalt be there where the weary shall be at rest and where the wicked shall cease from troubling. Remember that thou mayest eat thy dinner with bitter herbs, yet thou shalt have a sweet supper with Christ that night. My dear, by what I write unto thee, I do not hereby undertake to teach thee; for these comforts I have received from the Lord by thee. I will write no more, nor trouble thee any further, but commit thee into the arms of God with whom ere long thee and I shall be.

Farewell, my dear. I shall never see thy face more till we both behold the face of the Lord Jesus at that great day.

On the day of his death, Christopher wrote this to his wife:

My most gracious beloved,

I am now going from a prison to a palace! I have finished my work. I am now to receive my wages. I am going to heaven! Rejoice in my joy. The joy of the Lord is my strength. O, let it be yours also! Dear wife, farewell! I will call you wife no more! I shall see your face no more! Yet I am not much troubled; for now I am going to meet the Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom I shall be eternally married!

Your dying, yet most affectionate friend until death,
Christopher Love,
August 22, 1651, the day of my glorification!