A treatise on comforting afflicted consciences - The Digital Puritan

20 INSTRUCTIONS FOll COMFORTINGalso of later times be searched, and we shall find from timeto time many renowned worthies to have for ever ennobledthe matchless and incomparabiCjCourage of Christianity withinimitable impressions oi valour and visible transcendency,above all human boldness and alTected audacities of themost valiant pagans. To begin with great Constantine,the first mighty commander of a Christian army, with whatvictorious glory did he confound and cut off many potentheads of Paganism ! Thrice was the whole world most famouslyfougbt for ;between Alexander and Xerxes ; Cesarand Pompey ;Constantine and Licinius. This last wasmost illustrious, wherein Constantine the Great did mightilyconquer and triumphantly carry all before him ; the heroicaland royal spirit of Christianity trampling victoriouslyupon the desperate rage of the most furious fool-hardypagan tyrants.1 might here pass on to Theodosius and his miraculousconque^.ts, and so on ; but the digression would be unseasonable; therefore 1 leave you for the prosecution of thispoint to Anti-Machiavel. Even in later times, wofullyplagued under the reign of Antichrist with a vast degenerationfrom primitive purity and power, the Christian religion,though poisoned with popish superstition, yet didso far inspire its warlike professors with extraordinaryspirits, that in point of manhood they did wonders, to theastonishment of the whole world and all succeeding ages,Godfrey of Bulloigne, that famous warrior, with his followers,conquered in less than four years all the goodliest provincesof Asia, and drove out the Turks. In that dreadful andcruel conflict in Solomon's temple, as himself reports, in aletter to Bohemund king of Antioch, their men, "by thegreat slaughter of the enemy, stood in blood above theancles." At that terrible and bloody battle at Ascalon, itis credibly reported, they slew a hundred thousand infidels,&c.The valour and victories of Huniades, whose mighty spiritand incredible courage have no parallel in any precedingstory, were so great, and did like a violent tempest and impetuoustorrent so batter and beat down the enemies ofChrist, that he was rightly reputed *' the bulwark of Europeand thundering terror of the Turks," amongst whom hisname became so dreadful, it is said they used the same tofrighten their crying children withal. He fought five timeswith the Turks upon one day, and five times foiled and putthem to flight with the loss of three thousand. He killedthat valiant viceroy of Asia, Mesites Bassa, with his sonand twenty thousand Turks ; at that famous battle of Vas-