shee highly deserved it as being one of the worst of Haereticks An ingenuous spirit relents with teares Ille dolet quâ—ties cogitur esse ferox Iudgment must bee given with abundance of humanitie and commiseration And now Right Honorable and the rest beloved in the Lord Iesus give me leave for a close of the whole to apply all in a word of exhortation Let mee divide to every one his portion You that sit in Iudgment remember the text Establish judgment Vse for exhortation c. Consider your Authority in what an eminent place you are set lay out your dignity to doe God and your Countrey good service You are a Beacon set upon a Hill the whole country gazeth upon you There are many eyes upon you and if you swerve from the rule of Iustice the people will serve you as the Levite served his Concubine they will quarter your faults and send them up and down the Kingdome with a was it ever thus I commend Jehoshaphats counsell to your serious consideration 2 Chron 19. 6. 7. Hee said to the Judges Take heed what you doe for yee judge not for man but for the Lord who is with you in the judgment wherefore let the feare of the Lord bee upon you take heed and doe it for there is no Iniquity with the Lord our God nor respect of persons nor taking of gifts You are summoned and have a charge given you by the spirit of God Psal 2 10. Bee wise now therefore yee Kinges and bee instructed yee Judges of the earth You have the name Elohim Psal 82. 6. I have said yee are Gods and all of you are children of the most high Doe you as God would doe Hee would relieve the oppressed acquit the innocent condemne the nocent stand for the poore man in a righteous cause Hee would have Achans Zimriâ—s Cosbies Blasphemers Murderers Idolaters Adulterers punished Remember I humbly entreat you that Iustice is God's Legacy and you are Executours and Administratours thereof be carefull to have the will of God performed I beseech your patience in a few humble requests which I shall make unto you before I conclude I intreat you for poore Prisoners for their soules and bodies For To the Judges their soules that they may have some to teach them the Knowledge of God And for their bodies that they may not bee starved in prison lye in a pit wherein is no water Prisons are oft times Nurseries of all wickedness and that which is a place of restraint is imployed in all manner of licentious outrage so that none are more vile and wicked than Iaylours and their Prisoners 2. I intreat you to incourage the faithfull ministry of the Kingdome As for Baals or Bacchus Priests that make God's sacrifice to be abhorred I wish an Ostracisme to them a tumbling out of their places if they evidence not signall Repentance I plead only for men pious orthodox learned help them to bread help them to bookes If the nurse bee starved the child will bee starved Help them to encounter with the mighty who refuse to pay them their dues because they dare not give the Sacrament to them that are Scandalous when as many times such as they refuse are fitter to go a grazing with Nebucadnezzar amongst the beasts of the field Because some Conscientious ministers have refused to give the Sacrament to drunkards swearers and adulterers some have detained their maintenance from them 3. I have a word to speake in behalfe of this University I speak to a Person of learning my argument is maintaine that my Lord which maintaines you Wee desire no Prelaticall Pompe or domination but only our just rights and priviledges that Religion and learning may be countenanced by your Authority 4. I have a word to speak for the Town I beseech you subdue the Ale-houses the Nurseries of the Divell Ther 's a good expedient and a pious worke begun very lately a work-house and some poore are set to worke in it I humbly crave your incouragement and counsell that it may not be crusht in the Bud nor sinke for want of your assistance And you the honourable Bench the Iustices of the County I beseech To the â—onoâ—â—ble bench you to lay forth all your Interests to promote the Kingdome of Iesus Christ Labour to bee as so many instrumentall Saviours for your Countrey punish swearing and blasphemies There is an Act in the beginning of Q. Eliz that such as maintained Heresies condemned by the foure Generall Counsels should be burnt to ashes You have a late Ordinance of Parliament for your warrant nay rather the Ordinance of God Levit. 24. 16. Hee that blasphemeth the name of the Lord hâ—e shall surely bee put to death and all the congregation shall certainly stone him as well the stranger as hee that is borne in the land when hee blasphemeth the name of the Lord shall bee put to death Try your skill and put forth your skill to subdue the lewd Ale-houses Mr Bolton said in an Assise sermon that it was easier to take Dunkirke than put down an Ale-house Dunkirke was not long since taken would the Ale-houses were put downe You must seare these Hydras else new heads will spring up Give not any just cause to any to complaine that the Justice sweares himselfe and will not punish swearing that the Justice is a good fellow himselfe and will not punish drunkenness I hope better things of you Purge your families keep no swearers drunkards adulterers sabath-breakers within your roofe Give them not harbour for secular Interest but resolve that if they will not serve God let them not serve you according to Joshuas practice chap. 24. 15. If it seeme evill unto you to serve the Lord chuse you this day whom you will serve whether the God's which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood or the Gods of the Amorites in whose land yee dwell but as for mee and my house wee will serve the Lord. Set the 101 Ps as a just standard rule to go by TheMaxime of Constantius was He cannot be faithfull unto mee that is unfaithfull unto God Remember the National Covenant taken in a day of distress for which there will bee a day of account to goe before each other in a reall example of reformation That Covenant is not an Almanack out of date but obligeth us as the Tenour runs all the dayes of our life You the learned Lawyers I have a word to say to you To the Lawyers Doe not patronize unrighteous causes Set not your tongues to sale to bolster a bad cause See Isai 5. 20. Woe unto them that call evill good and good evill and put darkness for light and light for darkness that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter Doe not wire-draw Clients suites Doe not snarle and intangle a cause with needless perplexities to tire out the poore Client with tedious attendances Take heed likewise of base mercenarie silence
but when they are got up into the Air. When Gods children are out of their course of duties when they are in Meseck and have their habitation in the Tents of Kedar their spirits are dumpish But when their hearts are set in a right frame when they are exercising holy Duties amongst the society of Saints then are their hearts chearful then are their spirits revived then are they merry indeed 4. Thou complainest of Gods peoples sadness maybe it 's thy company that makes them so They hear thee Swear see thee Drunk O Consid 4. Bad company cause Gods peoples sadness how this troubles them It so troubles the children of God to see any dishonor offered to God as they cannot be merry Psal 119. 136. Rivers of waters run down mine eyes because they keep not thy law But let them come amongst Believers and joyn with them in religious Exercises their wonted joy comes to them again Then their joy is above the joy of Harvest and the dividing of the spoil with the mighty 5. It is not Religion that makes Gods children sad but because Consid 5. Gods people are sad because they are no better they are no more religious They grieve that they can grieve no more They are sorry that they are no more sorry for their sinns They finde many failings they want former Love-tokens and feelings then they mourn and cry out Restore to me the joy of thy salvation They want Gods gracious countenance wherefore they cry out Psal 4. 6. There be many that say Who will shew us any good Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us 6. This Joy is secret an inward thing which strangers shall not Consid 6. Joy is a secret inward thing intermeddle withal A worldly man cannot judge of this Joy Rev. 2. 17. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden Manna and will give him a white stone and in the stone a new name written which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it The joy of the godly is not in outward flashes nor is it to be measur'd by outward aspect This is a hidden thing which so ravisheth their hearts as they cannot utter it Saul could not be merry without a Musitian nor Ahab without Naboth's Vineyard nor Gardiner that bloody Persecutor till he had receiv'd the news of the Martyrs death A godly Mans v Fox Acts and Monum in Q. Mary's Raign joy proceeds from no outward principle A covetous man joys and takes pleasure in his Barns heap'd with Corn and Coffers cramm'd with Gold A voluptuous man joys in Cards Dice Hauks Hounds A Drunkard in his Cups An ambitious man in his Titles Pedegree Preferments But a godly man can rejoyce and be merry without all these His joy ariseth from another principle even the reconciled countenance of God in Jesus Christ Now these Objections being remov'd and my passage thus cleared I come in the second place to prove the truth of the Doctrine 2. The Doctrine proved by particular instances by particular instances And I shall instance in particular Scriptures which give testimony to this truth then in particular persons who by their own experience subscribe to the truth of it And lastly I shall survey the particular ways of godliness and discover the pleasantness of them all and so from an Induction of Particulars sufficiently numbred I shall collect this universal Conclusion That all the ways of godliness are ways of pleasantness 1. For Scripture Testimony meer Quotations would fill a Sermon 1. By Scripture Testimony But I shall gather sparingly from the heap Prov. 22. 17. Bow down thine ear and hear the words of the wise and apply thine heart unto my knowledge for it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee If Pleasure consists in Honors then Wisdom affords it abundantly Prov. 4. 7 8 9. Wisdom is the principal thing therefore get wisdom and with all thy getting get understanding She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee Exalt her and she shall promote thee she shall bring thee to honor when thou dost embrace her Prov. 8. 15 16 17 18 and 31. By me Kings reign and Princes decree Justice By me Princes rule and Nobles even all the Judges of the earth I love them that love me and they that seek me early shall finde me riches and honor are with me yea durable riches and righteousness If Life be a pleasure it 's to be found in Wisdom verse 35. For whoso findeth me findeth life and shall obtain favor of the Lord. If there be pleasure in Singing and Rejoycing it 's promised to the people of God Isa 51. 11 12. Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return and come with singing unto Zion and everlasting joy shall be upon their head they shall obtain gladnâ—ss and joy and sorrow and mourning shall flee away I even I am he that comforteth you who art thou that thou shouldst be afraid of a man that shall die and of the son of man which shall be made as grass I 'le instance in particular Persons who by experience confesse the ways of godliness ways of pleasantness They call the Sabbath a delight Isa 58. 13 14. If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath from doing thy pleasure on my holy day and call the Sabbath a delight not doing thine own ways nor finding thine own pleasure nor speaking thine own words then shalt thou delight thy self in the Lord. Nehemiah accounts the joy of the Lord their strength Neh. 8. 10. Then he said unto them Go your way eat the fat and drink the sweet and sena portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared for this day is holy unto our Lord neither be ye sorry for the joy of the Lord is your strength So Habakkuk cap. 3. 17 18. Although the fig-tree shall not blâ—ssom neither shall fruit be in the vines the labor of the Olive shall fail and the fields shall yield no meat the Flock shall be cut off from the fâ—ld and there shall be no Herd in the stalls yet I will rejoyce in the Lord and will joy in the God of my salvation So David danced before the Ark with all his might He makes it the Character of a blessed Man Psal 1. 2. But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law doth he meditate day and night And his counsel is Psal 37. 4. Delight thy self also in the Lord and he shall give thâ—e the desires of thine heart And his own practice is Psal 40. 8. I delight to do thy will O God yea thy law is within my heart Psal 94. 19. In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul Psal 119. 16. I will delight my self in thy statutes I will not forget thy word ver 35. Make me to go in the path of thy commandments for therein do I
do living without God in the world As one said either this is not Gospell holding up the Bible in his hands or you are not Christians But this is Gospell that if we believe not we shall dye in our sinnes therefore we that live in our unbeliefe are not Christians 4. Infidelity consists in this when we live by sense and not by 4. Infidelity is a living by sense faith we believe no more then what we see if our sense and our reason failes our faith failes as in the case of Thomas Joh. 20. 27. But we ought to live by faith and not by sense Many will believe nothing but what they can give a reason for though the waies of God are most reasonable and religion is a reasonable 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rom. 12. 1. profession and a reasonable service is commanded yet it s above reason and transcendeth the capacity of a naturall man That person must have his senses exercised and a spirituall eye that will discerne the misteries of God see how the Apostle describes faith Heb. 11. 1. To be the substance of things not seen And the Patriarches saw the promises a farre off Heb. 11. 13. What then though sense faile and reason is nonplussed yet the promises of God never faile This sometimes is the fault of Gods own children under desertions who conclude awry and say they have no faith because they want feeling whereas feeling is an after thing Eph. 1. 13. And faith may be in the Root alive though the fruit appeare not presently to the sense There is truth of faith where there may be want of sense and apprehension In so much as faith and doubting may goe togeather as appeares Mark 9. 24. Lord I believe help my unbeliefe This living by sense more then faith is a great peice of Infidelity hence it came to passe that Abraham and Isaac both denied their wifes in them there was sense and fear joyned togeather Sarah laughed at the promise there was sense as appeares by her answer Ge. 18. 12. Sense acted in David and not faith when he said in his heart that he should one day perish by the hand of Saul 1 Sam. 27. 1. Wherefore he betook himselfe immediatly unto the Philistines 1 Sam. 27. 1 2. Here 's the Triall Sense saith no Faith saith yea Sense saith its impossible Faith saith all things are possible to the believer Sense saith its incredible and unreasonable Faith saith I believe though incredible and unreasonable Sense saith and reason pleads we can dispute and argue no longer Faith saith leave of disputing and learne to believe Thus did Abraham and he acted upon a principle of faith Ro. 4. 19 20. 5. Infidelity consists in the Non-application of promises upon 5. Infidelity consiâ—ts in the Non application of promises Gal. 2. 20. the termes of the Gospell for to belive Christ is a Saviour and not my Saviour what comfort can I take in it To believe Christ dyed for sinners and to exclude my selfe from any benefit by his death this is a dreadfull condition Paul applied Christ to himselfe Gal. 2. 20. Who loved me and gave himselfe for me And so did Thomas my Lord and my God Now heares a great difference between presumptuous sinners and poore weak believers Presumptuous sinners are too hasty to apply too much and poore weak Christians are too backward and apply too little Every presumptuous sinner would be blessed and happy and will say Christ dyed for him but he is a stranger and grossely ignorant who they are to whom appertaines blessednesse It 's appropriated Matth. 5. to the poore in spirit to the pure in heart to those that hunger and thirst after righteousnesse but poore weak believers are afraid to lay hold on promises and question their interest in them Now to speak to weak Christians whose faith is true though but little let them know that their little faith is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 like pretious 2 Pet. 1. 1. faith they would faine have more faith they pray for more and they strive for more it 's their griefe and cause of heavinesse that they have no more do you not then whatever you are stand in your own light O therefore tast and see that God is good stay upon his promises and apply your selves unto Christ the poorer you are in your own spirit and the more sensible of your unworthinesse the more fit you are to receive Jesus Christ and if you dare not apply Christs promises unto you be sure that you apply your selves unto Christ and his promises relye stay and leane upon them let them not goe Faith is both a hand and an eye you must lay hold on Christ and look unto him as they did on the brazen Serpent in the wildernesse This faith acts Q. O but I am afraid I tremble I dare not lay hold on Christ I dare not make this application to my selfe Ans To answer hereunto 1. Know a Paralitick trembling hand may receive a pretious pearle 2. Christ invites thirsty hungry poore naked indigent lost creatures such as are undone in themselves to come unto him Art thou sensible of thy poverty nakednesse undone condition thou art invited why then dost thou not make hast unto Jesus Christ 3. Those that come are accepted such I mean who come in faith so Christ declares Joh. 6. 35 37. And the not coming unto Christ damnes multitudes of soules Joh. 5. 40. But I proceed to the second head propounded the proofe of 2. Vnbeliefe hath severall Aggravations the doctrine from Scripture that this sinne of unbeliefe is such a Grand-damning sinne and this will evidently appeare from those severall Aggravations mentioned in the Word of God 1. Unbeliefe maketh the Word of God unprofitable unto us Heb. 4. 2. The word profited not because not mixt with faith We thrive not under Ordinances because of unbeliefe If in our estates we find out that there 's some wastfull licentious course of living that hinders us from thriving and causeth us to grow behinde hand we should carefully avoide that Infidelity hinders our souls from thriving hence comes a leannesse in our soules notwithstanding a fatnesse of Ordinances and great barrennesse and unfruitfulnesse because we believe not the word 2. This sinne causeth Apostacy Heb. 3. 12. Psal 78. 57. 3. It scapes not unpunished in Gods own Children Luk. 1. 20. Zachary was struck with dumbnesse for not believing the Angell 4. Unbelievers are joyned with the most abominable sinners Rev. 21. 8. 5. The Scripture pronounceth damnation to be the portion of unbelievers in the future tense it s said Mark 16. 16. and Joh. 3. 36. He that believeth not shall be damned but in the present tense Joh. 3. 18. They are as sure to be damned as though the were already in hell It 's said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which hath the signification of the present tense as if the unbeliever were actually damned or in a damnable condition 6.
truly of calamities and of their causes shall in silence and with patience worship Gods Justice without any murmuring or scandal David falls not a railing at Shimei he was better instructed then to render railing for railing but he looks at a higher hand and submits So when Iliads of troubles surround thee and one cross follows upon the neck of another as one Wave of the Sea upon another Oh! do not break forth into cursing and reviling but look at the hand of God and say Lord I see thy hand I desire to know thy meaning to be instructed with Ephraim to smite upon my thigh and submit unto thy hand in every thing and I beseech thee what I understand not teach thou me and wherein I have done amiss I will do so no more Job 34. 32. 3. We must wait patiently 3. It 's the nature of Faith to wait patiently This is waiting indeed when with a quiet frame of spirit I expect the fulfilling of the Vision whether it speak good or whether it speak evil I am content my heart is of Davids temper My hâ—art is fixed O God my Psal 57. 7. heart is fixed I will sing and give praise The Husband-man waits for the Harvest so must we wait patiently for the Harvest of deliverance Delay is the sickness of the soul Patience is the cure of it Patience is the very soul and life of waiting Waiting without patience is inraged sury We must bear Gods anger patiently I will Micah 7. 9. bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him until he plead my cause and execute judgement for me He will bring me forth to the light and I shall behold his righteousness We must wait for that we see not If we saith the Apostle hope for that we see not then Rom. 8. 25. do we with patience wait for it Hence are we commanded In your patience Luke 21. 19. pâ—ssess ye your souls There 's a Philosopher that hath this expression if the Gods would grant me my desire and bid me ask what I would have I would ask of them this thing That I might have the spirit of Socrates such a composed spirit as he had It 's observed of him and of Cato likewise that they were in such a quiet composed sedate frame that they never changed their countenances upon any thing that befell them This should stir up Christians to beg of God the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit whereof the Apostle 1. Pet. 3. 4. speaks which is in the sight of God of great price Pray hard for the excellency of a quiet composed spirit Come what will if thou be armed with patience it will ward off the blow 4 It 's the duty and property of waiting Christians to exercise Faith 4. We must exercise faith upon the Divine Promises on the Divine Promises A Heathen out of a Cynical stupidity and by Moral Documents may have patience and pass by injuries but he knows not how to believe against sence he 's a stranger to Faith he discerns no excellency in a Promise he cannot live upon a word he knows not how to relie upon a Crucified Saviour and live by Faith on the Son of God But a true Christian waits believingly he lays hold upon Jesus Christ by Faith and lives upon the Divine Promises and applys them by Faith unto his particular condition Faith gives the soul a firm bottom to stand on a strong foundation to build on which is the Word of God Faith saith the Apostle is Heb. 11. 1. Psal 27. 13. the substance of things hoped for and the evidâ—nce of things not seen There are two great words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I had fainted saith David unless I had beliâ—ved to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of Rom. 8. 28. the living A Believer knows that all things shall work together for good to them that love God to them who are called according to his purpose Mal. 4. 2. Such Scriptures are his strong Rock But unto you that fear my namâ— shall the Son of righteousness arise with healing in his wings and ye shall goe forth and grow up as calves of the sâ—all For a small moment Isa 54. 7. have I forsakâ—n thee but with great mercies will I gather thee A Believer Matth. 28. 20. stays himself upon a promise Loe I am with you alway even unto the end of the world He fears not the opposition of men and devils against the Ministry for he knows Christ will uphold them and vindicate their quarrel A Believer knows that the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the back of the righteous therefore he waits till God take it off He knows that deliverance shall come to the Church that the Lord will build up Zion and appear in his glory that all the enemies shall come and worship before the Churches feet and the shaking of Nations is a harbinger to deliverance Peruse Hag. 2. 7. that great Promise I will shake all nations and the desire of all nations shall come and I will fill with glory this house saith the Lord of hosts A Believer knows that God can bring light out of darkness order out of a Chaos strike a straight line with a crooked stick make the wrath of man turn to his praise and restrain the remainder thereof By Faith Stephen saw Christ when the stones were about his ears And by Faith Job saw a Redeemer upon the Dung-hill And by Faith Moses saw him that vvas invisible amidst Reproaches and Sufferings Faith discerns a Sun-shine approaching amidst cloudyness and dismall darkness Whatever makes against a Believer in a carnal apprehension the spiritual eye of Faith seeth something to make for him So that a Believer hath double nay trebble even multiplyed hopes for single fears It 's the nature of waiting to have Hope for its companion Waiting â— We must wait and hope Lam. 3. 26. Heb. 6. 19. and Hope are conjoyned It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. Hope is the Anchor of the soul both sure and stedfast and which entereth into that within the vail When thou art tossed in the troublesome waves of the World cast anchor and let hope support and stay thy spirit Were it not for hope the heart would break in those days of confusion and misery where there are so many sad thoughts and searchings of heart for the afflictions of Joseph and divisions of Reuben yet we are not without hope Let 's apply that of Ezrah amidst all their sorrows and perplexity Shecaniah the son of Jâ—hiel one of the sons of Elam answered and said unto Ezra We have trespassed against our God Ezra 10. 2. and have taken strange wives of the people of the Land yet now there is hâ—pe in Israel concerning this thing They fall a making a Covenant and O that we would bewail the
have seen this duty tracked by the foot-steps of Gods people let us goe and doe likewise In the third place to give in the demonstration of the Point I shall 3. The Doctrine demonstrated draw a threefold Argument from the necessity equity and utility of the duty 1. From the necessity of the duty Ye have need of patience that Arg. 1. Drawn from the necessity of this duty after ye have done the will of God ye might receive the promise And that is necessary Necessitate praecepti medii For Precepts the Psalmist exhorts Râ—st in the Lord and wait patiently for him freâ— not thy self because of him who prospereth in his way because of the man who bringeth wicked dâ—vices to pass For evil deers shall be cut off but thâ—se that wait upon the Lord they shall inherit the earth And the Prophet Zephaniah exhorts Therefore wait ye upon me saith the Lord until Zeph. 3. 8. thâ— day that I rise up unto the prey for my determination is to gather the nations that I may assemble the Kingdoms to pâ—ur upon them mine indignatiâ—n even all my fierce anger for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousie Wait on the Lord be of good courage and Psal 27. 14. he shall strengthen thine heart wait I say on the Lord. Solomon counsels Say not thou I will recompence evil but wait on the Lord and he Prov. 20. 22. shall save thee David layeth a strict charge upon himself My soul Psal 62. 5. wait thou only upon God for my expectation is from him David could have taken opportunity to have revenged himself on Saul he had him as we say at his mercy but he waited Gods time The Lord 1 Sam. 24. 23. 1 Sam. 26. 23. saith he render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulnesse for the Lord delivered thee into my hand to day but I would not stretch forth mine hand against the Lords anointed David though he had an opportunity yet considered Saul was Gods anointed therefore he would not embrue his hands in his blood 2. Necessitate mâ—dii For waiting is an instrumental means Gods way of obtaining a grant of the thing desired Simeon waited for the consolation of Israel And behold there was a man in Jerusalem Luke 2. 25. whose name was Simeon and the same man was just and devout waiting for the consolation of Israel and the holy Ghâ—st was upon him The sons of God waited for their adoption And not onely they but our selves Rom. 8. 23. also which have the first-fruits of the spirit even we our selves groan within our selves waiting for the adoption to wit the redemption of our body And they wait for the coming of Christ So that ye come behinde I Cor. 1. 7. in no gift waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ Waiting prepareth us for the receiving of a mercy whereas murmuring querulous speeches do indispose us for a mercy Whineing strugling and quarrelling provoke God to lash us more but a quiet composed behaviour an humble submission to the will of God is a ready way to obtain the thing desired even a comfortable fruition of our expectation God is most ready to help his people when their hearts most long after him for so runs the Promise I will pour Isa 44. 3. water upon him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground I will pour my spirit upon thy seed and my blessing upon thine off-sppring After the Church was in pain and travel and endured many throws and hard labor in expectation of deliverance read the gracious answer Thy dead men shall live together with my dead body shall they arise awake and sing ye that awell in dust for thy dew is as the dew of hearbs Isa 26. 19. and the earth shall cast out the dead So that waiting works two things 1. It prepares us for a mercy it seasoneth our hearts and disposeth them for the entertainment thereof so that we are as Vessels throughly season'd 2. It sets a higher price and estimate on the mercy when it comes A mercy beg'd by Prayer waited for with Patience will of all others be the sweetest to us in the fruition Hannah had more children after Samuel but none so valued as Samuel the childe of her Prayers Now if deliverance and settlement to the Kingdom come as an answer of our Prayers O how welcome will the deliverance be It 's a comfortable experience recorded of the Church And it shall Isa 25. 9. be said in that day lo this is our God we have waited for him and he shall save us This is the Lord we have waited for him we will be glad and rejoyce in his salvation 2. The second Argument shall be drawn from the equity of the Argu. 2 Drawn from the equity of the duty duty It 's all the equity and reason of the World that we should wait upon God we are Creatures and is it not equal that the Creature should wait upon the Creator we are Servants and should not Servants wait upon their Masters Behold as the eyes of servants Psalm 123. 2 look unto the hands of their masters and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God until that he have mercy upon us We are children and should not children wait upon their Father These relations intimate the equity of the duty we say that Relations though they be of least entity yet they are of greatest efficacy Doth not the Husband-man wait for the Harvest Doth not the Mother wait for the time of her deliverance Doth not the Patient wait upon the working of the Physick Now God is giving the Kingdom strong Physick a Purge to some a Vomit to others nay have we not just cause to fear that by reason of our Laodicean luke-warmness God will vomit us out of his mouth Let 's wait and see what God will do though we know not yet he knows the reason of his own proceedings God made Nebuchadnezzar a scourage to the Jews and God calls him his servant but because Nebuchadnezzar acted his own malice and revenge God will turn the wheel upon him Jehu was made an Instrument to root out Ahabs Family but because his heart was naught he aimed at the Kingdom for himself God threatens to avenge the blood of Jezreâ—l upon the house Hos 1. 4. of Jehu God may raise up one to punish another and when they have done God may find out a scourge to punish the punishers themselves These are Gods Acts his strange Acts for so are his judgements Isaiah 7. 20. God will have a razor for that purpose In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razour that is hired namely by them beyond the river by the king of Assyria the head and the hair of the feet and it shall also consume the beard And notwithstanding greatness of
David so to be overwhelm'd in sorrovv for Absalom and in Jonah so to lament the loss of his Gourd The loss of Revenues profits in the Trade Liberty Oh how doth it stick near a man But where 's the acting of Faith Now the just shall live by faith and if any man draw back my soul Heb. 10. 38. shall have no pleasure in him A true Believer lives by Faith when Trading decays Lively-hood and Profit decays Now let 's learn to live by Faith Though thou shouldst loose all there is enough in the Promises to make up all with Interest if thou canst but make them thine ovvn by particular Application Much time is thrown away in passing our censures one upon another reviling this or that instrument I plead not in the least for any but utterly abhor any irregular practices or indirect ways but I press patience and submission unto Gods will to look thorow all instruments and secondary causes unto the first cause to hear the rod and who hath appointed it The Lords voice cryeth unto the city and the man of Micah 6 ◠wisdom shall see thy name heare ye the rod and who hath appointed it It 's a doggish quality to snarle at a stone and not look at the hand that throws it Pray then fervently and watch against infidelity and an impatient and murmuring spirit The Lord lay them not unto our charge We might have been in Canaan long ere this had we not been murmurers in the Wilderness I know well that our condition is so lamentable that we can neither bear diseases nor remedies And complaints finde no better entertainment then in those times wherein the best of Historians lived and said in his Presace That complaints Querclae ne tum quidem gratae cum sorsan necessariae Liv. Praef. are not pleasing no not then when they are necessary There 's much bitterness and implacableness upon mens spirits devouring and calumniating one another Such expostulations are rise where is the promise of his coming Where 's the reformation so much spoken of Where 's the removing of the burthens letting the oppressed go free breaking the bread to the hungry cloathing the naked such are peculiar duties for a Fast Is there not rather fasting for strife and debate to smite with the first of wickedness I aggravate these things no further but onely let me tell you as there were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so there are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 spots in your Fasting-days Let 's bewail them with tears of blood let 's fast for our former Fastings and be humbled for our out-side Humiliations and lay to heart our negligent services and deprecate that curse that hangs over our heads for performing the work of the Lord negligently The Lord may call us to an account as justly as he did the Jews Zech. 7. 5. Did ye at all fast unto me even to me In the second place I proceed to an Use of Exhortation Let me Use 2. For Exhortation press home the duty of the Text to wait for the fulfilling of the Vision in these concussions and commotions when men are at their wits end and wonder what vvill be the issue Oh let 's take heed of impatience and murmuring let 's bevvare of tumultuous murmuring spirits of tempestuous affections Though there be a storm abroad vve should endeavour after a serene quiet spirit at home A calmness upon our spirits vvill be of singular use for us amidst the fluctuating condition of the Kingdom Every one will be ready to ask What shall we doe How shall we demean our selves in these dark times Such questions as these require an answer and a word spoken in due season is like apples of gold in pictures of silver I will advise nothing as a States-man that 's out of my Sphere nor as a subtle Politician for such Policy is the bane of Religion but from direct warrant out of the Word of God By way of advice I commend unto your thoughts these ensuing Propositions which I take to be Propositions of Eternall Truth 1. It 's unlawful to do any evill that the least good may come Prop. 1. It 's unlawful to do evil that good may come thereof Rom. 3. 8. thereof And not rather saith the Apostle as we slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say let us do evil that good may come whose damnation is just God needs not our lies to maintain his cause This was Rebockah's and Jacob's fault for the compassing of a good end to betake themselves to indirect means This is a broken refuge Isa 28. 15 17. and will fail Because ye have said we have made a Covenant with death and with hell are we at agreement when the over flowing scourge shall passe thorow it shall not come unto us for we have made lies our refuge and under falshood have hid our selves Therefore thus saith the Lord Judgement will I lay to the line and righteousness to the plummet and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies and the waters shall overflow the hiding place Augustine is resolute that if it was possible by an officious lie to compass the Redemption of the whole World yet so weighty and universal a good must be rather let fall then brought about by the smallesst evil 2. Another Proposition for confirmation is That no good intentions Prop. 2. Good meanings cannot justifie a bad action 1 Chron. 13. 10 and meanings can ever justifie the doing of any evill action Vzzah's intention was good but because against the rule he was punished with death He invaded the Priests Office and therefore the Lord smote him dead upon the place 3. It 's the duty of Christians to walk by rule and keep close to Prop. 3. We must walk by rule Isa 8. 20. it and that 's the written Word of God To the Law and to the Testimony if they speak not according to these it is because they have no light in them Let 's not be a rule to our selves nor follow extraordinary impulses upon our spirits and revelations but bring all to the touch-stone Let 's try all things and hold fast that which is good and let the Scripture be the Umpire let 's acquiess altogether in its determinations As many as walk according to this rule peace be on Gal. 6. 16. them and mercy and on the Israel of God 'T is not any rule but this rule If an Angel from Heaven Preach any other Doctrine then what is contained in the Scriptures let him be accursed Whatever Seekers Familists Enthusiasts c. pretend to live above Ordinances and so they are indeed as much above Ordinances as a Swine is above a Pearl which it tramples under feet I say all their Lights however new are but Ignes fatui false Lights to lead us into dangerous destructive ways Let 's therefore for every action look unto the rule bring every thing to rule and square all by
the lowest Scholar ought to know it And therefore its insufferable that hee who professeth himself a Doctor in the church should be ignorant of that doctrine Cogitemus hic quanta caecitas necessario obtineat in eo populo in quo Doctoribus ipsis Musculus in loc potest objici rerum ad ingressum Regni Dei necessariarum ignorantia so Musculus What blindness must there be in that people when their very teachers are ignorant of the most necessary things These things being pâ—emised for the opening of my text I shall ground my discourse upon this experimental truth of doctrine That There may be and are many men otherwise of great Learning Doct. yet grosly â—gnorant in the maine Fundamentall Doctrine of Regeneration The instance of my Text is instar omnium and it sufficiently proves my assertion yet notwithâ—â—anding I 'le adde thereunto other instances out of the word of God Paul was bred at the feet of Gamaliel of the strictest sect a Pharisee as touching the law blamelesse and yet all this while he knew nothing of Christ and Regenâ—ration until Christ meâ—t with him by the way as he was going to Damascus His confession is upon record That he was a Blasphemer 1 Tim. 1. 13. a Persecuter and injurious 1 Tim. 1. 3. The Pharisees were of great learning and knowledge in the Lawes they stood strictly upon outward washings yet were unacquainted with the washing of the heart Luke 11. 39. The Pharisees were the Rabbies and learned Doctors of their time they boasted much of outward righteousness 1 Cor. 1. 20 21. 1 Cor. 3. 19. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Act. 17. 18. yet their righteousness came short and was exceedingly defective Our Saviour tels them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Matth. 5. 20. Those 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of Greece who attained a great measure of knowledg were ignorant of this great point and therefore their wisdome hath the brand of foolishness put upon it by the learned Doctor of the Gentiles I Cor. 3. 19. 1 Cor. 20 21. Simon Magus did so bewitch the people and was accounted of such great abilities as he was esteemed the great power of God Act. 8. 10. and yet he was a man unregenerate for he was in the Gall of bitterness and Bond of iniquity v. 23. Tertullus was an eloquent Orator yet never did man abuse his parts more then he who pleaded with strength of eloquence in so bad a cause against Paul What need I adde more The Magicians of Aegypt the Wise men of Babylon the old Heathen Philosophers the Epicureans and Stoicks were all ignorant of Christ and the great work of of his spirit to regenerate souls They accounted Paul but a Babler and they would in all probability have asked the same absurd question as Nicodemus did can a man enter into his mothers womb the second time By all their ratiocinations they could never evince a second birth this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This subject came not as a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in their disputations it was beyond their ken and cognizance and this was never spoken of in Aristotles Lycaeum Zeno's Stoa nor in Plato's Academy I shall now descend to the Reasons of the point and then conclude Reas 1. Drawn from the nature of Regeneration with some usefull Application There are 3 Reasons or Arguments drawn a fortiori viz. From the Nature of Regeneration Of unregeneracy and the free working of Gods spirit and in relation to these three you will clearly see the assertion proved abundantly 1. â—et's consider the nature of Regeneration what it is which being discovered it will plainly appear that there may be a great deal of Learning and other kinds of Knowledge even to admiration Jer. 4. 4. Rom. 12 2. Rom. 12. 2. Ephes 4. 23. 2 Cor. 5. 17. 2 Pet. 1. 4. 1 Cor. 5 7. Gal. 4. 19. Joh 3 6. Mat. 3. 11. 1 Pet. 2. 2. of the world whilest in the mean time men may be mere strangers to this great work of Regeneration Let 's enquire how the scripture speakes of Regeneration Sometimes it s compared to circumcision Jer 4. 4. its called the renovation of the mind Rom. 12. 2. The renewing in the spirit of the mind Eph. 4. 23. The new creature 2 Cor. 5. 17. The divine nature 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 Pet. 1. 4. a new Lumpe 1 Cor. 5. 7. The forming of Christ in the soul Gal. 4. 19. To be regenerate is to be born of the spirit Joh 3. 6. to be baptized with the Holy Ghost and fire Matth. 3. 11. And these are new born babes 1 Pet. 2. 2. This gives a man esse supernaturale a supernatural heavenly-born being Regeneration lookes at the inward man the hidden man and there makes a blessed change All the documenta principia 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as they are called of the strictest Philosophers could never bring any to understand what Regeneration meant Their counsells tended only to the reâ—ormation of the outward man to keep men in a decorum and within bounds of morality to follow those dictates which were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but they never aimed at heart-pollution heart-reformation the searcâ—ing out of Spiritual filthiness vain thoughs c. The best of your heathen Philosophers were Mole-ey'd bat-ey'd they could not see nor understand what purification of the heart meant Now then Regeneration being a supernatural work as is forementioned by plain scripture Testimony it s no wonder that many men of excellent parts who act upon dictates and principles of nature only that they are strangers unto this great mystery of the new birth 2. Another argument may be drawn from the nature of unregeneracy Reason 2. Drawn from the nature of unregeneracy The state of unregeneracy is a state of impurity enmity blindness and deadness First it s a state of impurity Original sin is an universal pollution Psal 51. 5. Job 14. 4. An unregenerate man is a compound of all sin he is a Cage of unclean Birds a Sink of impurity He is as a Reverend Divine gives a fit expression A Pitcher of earth fill'd up to the brim with the poysonfull liquor of Hell Originall sinne is Mr. Wheatly of Banbury on the new Birth that spawn whence is multiplied an innumerable fry of actuall rebellions What is corrupt nature but a filthy dunghill of all abominations The heart is the Devills Magazine to store up all manner of wickedness the tongue is set on fire of hell a fountaine of all sorts of evil communication The hand an instrument of deceipt and violence The eyes windowes and thorowfaires to let in all sorts of impurities the feet swift to run the divels errand and the whole life is a continued trade in sin to use the expression of the same pretious Divine now with God The life of an unregenerate man is one continued Webbe of wickedness made up by the divell and the flesh an
up after their deliverance Votivas Tabulas as Monuments of gratitude for their deliverance VVhat are we to offer but Thanksgiving Ps 50. 14. what are wee to render but the Calves of our lips Hos 14. 2. Noâ— if wee thus I bour to eternize Gods name he will have regard unto our names if we honour him he will honour us so he declares Them that honour me I will honour 1 Sam. 2. 30. Secondly a gratefull commemoration of Mercies and Deliverances Reas 2. Thankfulnes is Gods Tribute is that Tribute that God requires that Homage due unto him VVe are all indebted to God nec solvendo sumus whatever we can doe at the best holds no proportion with the mercy received yet the Lord is pleased to accept of a thankfull heart and where it is graciously rewards it VVhat speciall notice doth Christ take of the thankfull Samaritan and the Apostle joynes unthankfull and unholy together what a brand of infamy lyeth on the ungratefull Impudence and Ingratitude goe together How many are like Swine that eat the Acorns but never look up to the Tree what great ingratitude was charged on Ieshurun to forget the Roâ—k that made them and lightly esteem of the Rock of their salvation Now what a poor pittance is this Rent-penny and acknowledgment to vouchsafe unto the father of Mercies Shall we not return a drop of Praises for an Ocean of Mercies where 's Davids Quid retribuam What shall I render c. Psal 107. 8. A third Reason shall be drawn from the excellency of the duty Reas 3. From the excellency of the duty to record Mercies to speak good of God and blesse his name to tell what God hath done for thy self and for others what national what personal mercies he hath heaped on thee and to be exuberant in the praises of the Lord this is an excellent service To set thy Hosannahs and Hallelujahs on the highest Key and to break forth into the praises of God This is a good thing Psal 92. 1. and as it is a good thing so it is a pleasant thing Psal 147 1. further it 's a comely thing to tell of Gods mercies and to say blessed be God is in discourses a comely Parenthesis The Apostle tels us Eph. 5. 14. that filthiness foolish talking and jesting are unseemly and inconvenient but what 's to be used in their room it followeth but rather giving of thanks but adde further praise is permanent for praise is to all eternity we shall for ever be praising of the Lord we shall sing praise honour and glory unto him that sitteth on the Throne and unto the Lamb for evermore David professeth Ps 146. 2. that he will praise God whilst he hath any being we should thus exercise our selves in that language on earth which will be our employment unto all eternity Reas 4. Drawn from many obligations 1 A Bond of Creation A fourth Reason shall be drawn from those many obligations that lye us upon As 1. Vinculo creationis God it is that made us and not we our selves Psal 100. 3. Now we should be to the praise of God and set forth his praise we should be thankfull unto him and blesse his name as Rivers return unto the Sea whence they first came so wee should returne all wee have to the praise and service of God Auius Fulvius said to his Sonne when he found him in Catilines conspiracy Non ego te Catilinae genui sed patriae So doth God say I gave thee not a soul and body to serve sin withall but to serve me withall Quot membra tot ora So many members of our body and so many faculties of our soules are as so many mouths to call upon us to praise the Lord. 2. Vinculo Redemptionis here 's matter of praise for ever and eternity 2 A Bond of Redemption will be too little to praise God for Jesus Christ our Redeemer who hath delivered us from our enemies to this purâ—ose That we might serve him in holynesse and righteousnesse all the daies of our lives Luk. 1. 74 75. So that Thanksgiving is a special service due unto God Quot inimici tot ora so many enemies as we are delivered from by Christs death call upon us to serve Christ for ever and to blesse God for the riches of his mercies in Jesu Christ 3. Vinculo Gratitudinis Quot beneficia tot ora wee receive mercies 3 A Bond of Gratitude at our lying down and riâ—ng up we are compassed about with varieties of mercies mercies on the right and mercies on the left hand mercies for our bodies mercies for our souls so that every mercy is a mouth to call upon us to be thankfull Haman plotted most mischief and was counterplotted and the Jews accounted themselves bound even by the bond of gratitude to keep a solemn remembrance of so great a deliverance so the Romish â—un-powder â—raytoâ—s plotted the destruction of Protestants and layed their designes as low as Hell God hath vouâ—hsafed a gracious deliverance unto the land of our Nativity wherefore the very bond of Gratitude engageth us to keep this day and offer unto God praise and thanksgiving dâ—e unto his name 4. Vinculo gloriae divinae promovendae What lyeth in us we should 4 A Bond to promote Gods glory unite all our members and faculties to advance the glory of God Now this is a way of gloryfying God he is glorysied by the praises of his people â—or he that praiseth God glorisieth him Psal 50. 23. Now put all these together and you 'll conclude what good reason we have to keep in memory divine Deliverances and ascribe unto the Lord the praise and glory of his Deliverances I shall insist no longer in this proof of the Doctrine but make a Applicat seasonable improvement thereof in some usefull Application I shall onely insâ—st on three â—ses for Infoâ—mation Caution and Exhortation and accordingly apply the point unto the solemnity of the day Lend me I pray your patient attention whilst I make a suitable application of all 1. This serves to inform us of the warrantablenesse of our present Use 1. For information meeting upon this day and what good grounds we have to set apart this day for an Anniversary Thanksgiving Gods people formerly upon like occasions kept a day of remembrance so did the Jews here in the Text keep the Feast of Purim and truly we of this Nation have as great cause as ever any had to keep this memorable day wherein the hand of God was eminently seen in our deliverance wherein his own right arme wrought a glorious salvation for us Now to make you more sensible of the greatnesse of the deliverance I conâ—eive it very proper to my businesse that lies before me to make a brief Narrative and acquaint you with the â—istory of this day In pursuance whereof I shall observe two heads into which I shall cast my following Narration 1.
to every one according to the fruit of their doings And Reas 2. Drawn from Gods Justice this is the end of our appearance before Christs Judgement seat 2 Cor. 15. 10. It 's impossible but that the Judge of all the world should doe right secret Murders secret Adulteries secret Thefts secret Abominations secret Cousenage secret malicious Heart-burnings Murtherous intentions secret Back-bitings Detractings Calumniatings all these shall be made manifest at the day of Judgment Now Justice requireth that as the sinner soweth so hee should reap that as he hath sowen seeds of wickedness so he should reap the fruits of destruction 3. The secrets of men shall be judged for the vindicating acquitting Reas 3. For the acquitting of the godly and clearing of the godly What seâ—ret wickednesses are unjustly and falsly layd to their charge What calumnies forgeries are invented to blast the name and reputation of those that feare God The Primitive Christians in their night meetings were slandered and such horrible aspersions cast upon them as the Father of Lyes could invent What horrible slanders have been cast on Luther Calvin and other eminent Pillars of the Church How are the Prayers Fasts strict walkings of Gods children traduced reproached and scandalized How do the men of the world reproach the Saints for hypocrisie false-heartedness but at the day of Judgment the innocency of the Saints will be cleared What hard measure doe the godly meet withall from the wicked of the world They are buffeted tormented slain all the day long All they say think and do are misconstrued and reproached But at the grand day of Accompt God will clear where men have reproached God will justifie where men have condemned so that secret Prayers Fasts Watches secret communion with God will appear and be openly known and made manifest to the honour of the Godly and to the shame and infamy of their malicious enemies 4. The secrets of mens hearts shall be judged for the further Reas 4. For the further condemnation of the wicked condemation of the wicked All their cunning conveyances secret pollutions all the impure abhominations of their hearts shall bee layd open in the sight of men and Angels We read Psal 50. 21. I will reprove and set them in order before thine eyes God will at that day set all a mans secret villanies and closset abhominations in order before him And this will adde further to the condemnation of the wicked that their most secret wickednesses shall be disclosed to their eternal confusion and horrour These things being premised I shall inferre three Uses for Terâ—our unto the wicked Comfort unto the godly and Counsel to both 1. For terrour unto the wicked Is it so that at that day the secrets Vse 1. For terror unto the wicked of all hearts shall be made manifest and judged then in vain doe hypocrites digge deep and seeke to hide their counsell from the Lord as if they thought themselves secure and undiscovered Though no eye of man can see them yet the eye of God which is tenne thousand times brighter than the Sunne will descry and discover all Then will all varnishes painted glosses vain pretences and out-side professions be discovered and all such who plead for them appear in their colours In vain doe Adulterers wait for the Twi-light as Job speaks c. 24. 15. Though the doors be bolted and though it bee dark night yet the All-seeing eye of God findes out all What shall wee say of secret cheating Tradesmen who thinke themselves secure because man cannot find them out Yet let them know that all their mysteries of cousenage in their Trade all their secret fraudulent dealings shall be discovered at the day of Judgement When men professe one thing and practise another pretending friendship with their mouthes but meditating ruine and destruction in their hearts When men make but Religion a stalking-horse for getting a prey and as a cloak to cover wicked projects When men have no regard to the All-seeing eye of God so they can but escape the eye of men what shall we say of them but put them in mind of the words of the Wise man Eccl. 11. 9. But know thou that for all these things God wil bring thee to judgement Then every vain thought every idle word every lascivious glance all mental reservations all hypocriticall collusions all time-serving complyances self-interests ends and aims shall be all called to account and laid open in the sight of men and Angels 2. Here 's matter of comfort to the godly At that day their secret desires breathings longings and pantings after God shall be Vse 2. For comfort to the godly discovered The broken prayers fighs cries inward compunctions of heart shall be all made manifest The imputations scandals ignominies cast upon the Saints shall then be wiped away Many that have been condemned by men shall be at that great day pronounced innocent Holy Martyrs that laid down their lives for Christ against whom the wicked of the world pronounced a sentence of condemnation shall at that day have a sentence of absolution pronounced by Jesus Christ and bee acquitted before that impartial Tribunal It 's a ground of great comfort to Gods children that God knows their hearts how vehemently their desires are towards him as Psalme 42. 1. Isaiah 26. 9. Though the Saints cannot ofttimes expresse how their hearts stand affected and are not able fully to discover themselves and open their condition to man yet God knoweth their inward groanings their secret breathings vehement desires after Christ Now all these are regarded by God for there is not a tear nor a desire nor a sigh which are not taken notice of by the great God of Heaven and Earth The secret closset devotions fastings prayings meditations which the world knows not of nor understand the value of such divine services all these shall be made known at the day of Judgement Thou seest one chearfull thou knowest not why It 's neither corne nor wine nor oyle nor any thing of the world that revives his spirit It 's onely the light of Gods countenance Psal 4. 6. that's the cause hidden to thee but a childe of God knows it Thou seest another sad and troubled though he may have riches and honours in abundance yet there is a secret damp upon his spirit a secret cause of grief It may be God hides his face from him it may be thou art the cause of his grief he seeth and heareth God dishonoured by thee and this is matter of mourning and sadness to his spirit Let then Gods children amidst all sorrows comfort themselves with the consideration of a day of refreshing a day of restitution a day of redemption and consolation which will one day be at the great and general Assize of the just Judge of Heaven and Earth Thirdly Here 's matter of counsel both to the ungodly godly Vse 3. For counsel to the ungodly 1. To the ungodly Will there
unto the soule of man As the King of Israel said to the woman that cry'd out in an extreame famine help my Lord ô King if the Lord saith he do not help thee whence shall I help thee out of the barne flore or out of the wine presse So say I if the Lord be not thy comforter in vaine mayest thou expect any comfort from the Creatures What is the vintage of Abiezer to the gleanings of Ephraim What are the onions and garlick of Egypt to the grapes of Canaan Abana and Pharphar rivers of Damascus to Jordan and the rest of the waters of Israel The waters that flow from the Cisternes of the Creatures are like the waters of Tema which soon vanish away hence is it that the Lord complaines of the peoples grand folly and backsliding Jer. 2. 13. For my people have committed two evills they have forsaken me the fountaine of living waters and hewed them out Cisternes broken Cisternes that can hold no water A miserable choyce worse then that of Glaucus Diogenes taxed the folly of men of his time quod res pretiosas minimo emerent venderentque vilissimas plurimo because they Diogenes would buy pretious things at an under rate and overvalue base things so may I condemne the folly of those who overvalue worldly comforts and in the meane time have a cheape esteem of those things which are above Perhaps God hath given thee a beautifull Child and thou mak'st an Idoll of it he straight way takes it from thee God hath given thee riches thou makest the wedge of Gold thy confidence God therefore blowes upon them Fire or water or perfidious servants are made scourges unto thee Thou art in prosperity and thou hast the world at will and gloriest in thy condition God sends an affliction to make thee know thy selfe and rowse thee from thy security carry it then home with thee for a truth write it with the poynt of a Diamond that however thou may'st flatter thy selfe yet casting the best with the worse thou wilt find all things here below to be but vanity and vexatiof spirit and that there is no sollid joy and contentment under the sun For that 's joy as the Philosopher define it in quo quiescit animus wherein the heart takes up it's rest and this cannot be found but in God alone 3. Amidst greatest crossesse straights and extremities then is 3. Demonst God helps amidst greatest Crossâ—ss Gods opportunity to open his store-house and let downe comforts in abundance In the midst of streights and difficulties when humane policy gives up the bucklers then it 's Gods accustomed manner to manifest himselfe to his servants comfort When Abraham was injoyn'd the hardest service to be his owne sons executioner he went in obedience to Gods command he came to the place made the Altar ready lifted up his hand to give the deaths blow then an unexpected second message comes of deliverance Gen. 22. 12. Abraham Abraham hold thy hand The execution is hindred and the intention of his obedience received a gratious entertainment Now Abraham for this unexpected providence would willingly offer some sacrifice of thanksgiving and speedy provision might be as improbable as was his sons preservation yet then in such a great necessity behold behind him a Ramme caught in a thicket by the hornes a burnt offering of Gods own providing So that the saying is no more common then true Mans extremity is Gods opportunity The example of St Paul is instar omnium very fit for my present purpose the whole story is worthy of perusall that which I shall make use of is described Act. 21. 30 31 32. And all the Citty was moved and the people ran togeather and they took Paul and drew him out of the temple and forth-with the dores were shut and as they went about to kill him tydings came to the chiefe Captaine of the band that all Jerusalem was in an uprore who immediatly took Souldiers and Centurions and ran down unto them and when they saw the chiefe Captaine and Souldiers they left beating of Paul Each passage is of speciall observation 1. A generall insurrection all the Citty 2. Their violent opposition they drew him out 3. Their bloody intention it was to kill Paul 4. The entrance upon execution they were beating him to beat out his life Now in this streight here 's matter for God and none else to shew himselfe Now the divine hand so disposeth that tydings of deliverance come let him alone he hath more work to do Satan and his instruments are chained by God and can go no further then hee 'l permit them In this extremity the divine power was clearely manifested Out of the deep David made his supplication Abyssus ahyssum vocat a depth of misery calls for a depth of mercy Daniel prayed in the Lions Den Jeremiah in the Dungeon Jonah in the Whales belly the Apostles in prison These are Gods times of audience When we are involv'd in miseries and know not how to wind our selves out then God leads us by the hand God hath severall waies to refresh his people as he did Peter when he was a sinking then Christ takes him by the hand God carries his people through thick and thinne amidst their greatest sufferings God hath waies to deliver them God hath a way in the sea to preserve thee in a Shipwrack God hath a way in persecution to stablish his people in the faith and make them of an undaunted courage God hath away in any difference to compose it and cause men to live at peace in one family in one corporation in one Church in one Common-wealth The reason many times why we see not quickly the appearance of a mercy is because matters are not yet brought to such a straight and exigency as all plea of glorying may be took from man and the more praise and glory may redound unto the God of our salvation God saved the Israelites by a few and by improbable meanes as by rammes-hornes empty pitchers c that so they might not vaunt but attribute the victory unto the Lord. Now then in a pinch of need when thou art driven upon pressing exigencies look beyond Hills and Mountaines unto the Lord only whence cometh thy help Cast thy care upon the Lord and he will sustaine thee God made the Ravens to be Eliahs purveyors in a great famine there 's still the same God as good as able as ever although 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Septuagint renders it the labour of the Olive shall lye yet consider God is a God of truth he hath said it I will never leave thee nor forsake thee Heb. 13. 5. When all creature comforts faile thee yet thou hast abundant matter in God to comfort thee who will never faile them that seek him In the mount in thy greatest straights God will be seen to make a provision of comforts for thee and therefore let the Lord be the joy of thy