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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A66979	A sermon preach'd at Salters-Hall to the Societies for Reformation of Manners, May 31, 1697 by John Woodhouse.	Woodhouse, John, d. 1700.	1697 (1697)	Wing W3463; ESTC R26398	23,244	66

2. 18. From this Day will I bless you Chap. 2. 19. I am with more Regret taken off from a due Enlargement on this because I verily fear it is too much our Case May God put it into the Heads and Hearts of Governours Supream as well as Subordinate that we might tho' it be late begin at the right end recover those faulty Steps we have taken to bring us into this State of Things both at Home and Abroad Does not every one feel and as feelingly complain of the Judgments we have and yet do labour under Our unparallel'd Calamity in and about our Coyn our Loss of Trade by Land our Losses by Sea our Expence in the War the Treachery of some intrusted Nay where do Complaints end And notwithstanding that so good a King I think it no Flattery to say the best I hear of now in the whole World and some excellent Men that are nearest to him can do to ease us we are but where we feel our selves What Fatigues do they endure What Hazards doth he run And how little comes in by all It 's blown upon it 's blown away One inveighs against one Instrument another against a second but who looks into our unreformed State as the truest Cause of all this Or who endeavours a National Reformation from which we might date our wished Retrieve The Retrieve of our Trade at Home and Abroad of our abated Successes by Sea and Land Nay how many Hands are yet unimploy'd in this narrower Reformation you have so happily set a going Let me speak freely that as the Sins of some Kings have had a ruining Influence upon their People so the Sins of many a wicked People have had a hand to weaken disappoint if not ruine good Kings Kings better than their People So that if you would shew your selves Friends to Caesar Friends to so good a King this is one of the best ways you can take truly to serve him Is it not pity so Heroick a Prince one on whose Life so much depends should do so much hazard himself so often by Sea in the Camp and in the High-places of the Field put himself so frequently amongst the hottest Firings to secure our Properties and Liberties our Religion and Lives and have it all blown upon and blasted for our Sakes for our Sins If you will not up to your Work for God's sake for your Neighbour's sake for your Nation 's sake for Posterity's sake do it for the King's sake For if we still do wickedly Both we and our King shall perish However let me leave this with you as the most hopeful way to prevent his and our bodeing Ruine and to render us yet again a flourishing and happy Nation such as a holy God may with Honour own and stand by and save thô in a way of Prerogative For I know not any other way in which 't is to be done I am loth to leave you almost perswaded and yet my prescribed Minutes forbid me to add much more However let me try the Motive in the Text the last in our proposed Order Lastly Consider God will be with you So indeed the Prophet said to Zerubbabel and his Helpers And it was no doubt their great Encouragement and would be yours if I could make out your Title to his Presence as he did theirs In this you will reckon I must make great Abatement And I at first thought I must have made greater than now I see I need to make For tho' I am neither Prophet nor Prophet's Son pretend to no immediate Commission from Heaven yet I find to your Encouragement and mine that tho' this looks like a peculiar personal Promise not to be extended to any other Persons in any other thô like Cases yet I think it will not be found so For I find this very Promise made to Joshua by Moses Deut. 31. 23. And I will be with thee meaning God not Moses And v. 6. He will not fail thee nor forsake thee And Josh 1. 5. God himself repeats it to Joshua I will be with thee I will not fail thee nor forsake thee And if this be Exegetical of the former we find this particular Promise extended to all that are good Men Heb. 13. 5. It 's used as an Argument for Content to all that need it For he hath said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee So that we may boldly say The Lord is my Helper A Helper to every one in particular as well as to all in general Mark the turn the change of the Number We say my Helper Now if God be with good Men with every good Man in every good Work and here 's no restriction I may say after all this struggle as the Prophet The Lord will be with you nay is with you in your Work for it 's his Having clear'd up your Title to the Promise let us see what is in it what the better you shall be for it It hath all in it that is possible to be in a Promise to have a God with us that is All-sufficient it is enough What would you wish for more I who am wise enough to counsel thee able enough to afford thee inward Support and outward Assistance and an abundant Recompence I will be with you engaged for you nay for my self it 's my Work as well as yours it 's only yours because it 's mine I hope you have and will look to your own Hearts that they be right with God to see you be of upright Hearts as well as blameless Conversation do more at Home than you can hope to do Abroad And if so this great God will be with thee to every gracious Purpose And one encouraging Word I have for you when disappointed of the Success you aimed at your Reward shall not be lost tho' your Work succeed not to your desired End Suppose after all thy Endeavours thy hardned Neighbours should remain as wicked as thou foundest them No Shame no Pain no Punishment will reclaim them and leave thee Reason only to lament that all as to God to Them to the King and Kingdom is lost and in vain yet I tell you to you it shall not be in vain As it is with us in our discouraging Function so I find it was with good Josias that Reforming Prince And so I verily reckon you will find it tho' I want time to open the Grounds on which you may hope for it only read for us Isai 49. 5. 2 Cor. 2. 15 16. For Josias read 2 Kings 22. 19 20. And consider with your selves tho' Duty be yours Success is his and your Reward will be according to your Work not according to his Christians may I reckon of you as Persons honestly devoted to do the Will of God to work Righteousness to have Respect to all the Commands of God I have not given you your right Character if I may not Now how can you maintain this Character towards God the World or your own prying Conscience that Spy that dogs you and of whom you will certainly hear one of these Days if you dare statedly continue in the daily neglect of so plain a Duty and of such momentous Concernment to God and the World Is not this the best Characteristick thou hast to try thy Sincerity by And darest thou leave thy self to the Assaults that Satan nay thy own Conscience may truly attack thee with in a dying Bed What partial in the Law and yet sincere Thou Hypocrite may they say how can this be And what wilt thou answer Do not for any Reasonings I have not time to obviate arm the Devil and thine own Conscience with such an Evidence of thy Hypocrisie for God is greater than thy Conscience Well Sirs we must part I should be glad to bring to you some issue What will you now do Now I say without delay I was not without Fear before I appeared before you least I should not be able to prevail with you to engage in a Work so unacceptable to Flesh and Blood And are there no Causes for such Fears yet to be found amongst this great Assembly Let me freely tell you that these Fears drew Tears from mine Eyes more than once before I came hither if I should manage this Matter so as to leave my Hearers as I found them What shall I say either for mine own mean Performance or their Refusal How loth shall I be to bring in Evidence against any one of you when this Sermon must be heard again and reckoned for I ought not I think to let thee know this but in hopes to prevent that Well once for all Up and be doing embrace nay seek out Opportunities to rebuke and reclaim remaining Debauchery And if this be thy plain Duty capable of being so powerfully imprest upon thee if God and Conscience have let thee know what he expects from thee have a Reverence for both tho' thou art excited to it by no better a Hand than this Awake Rouze up Be strong O Zerubbabel saith the Lord and be strong O Joshua Son of Josedech the High-Priest and be strong all ye People of the Land saith the Lord and work For I am with you saith the Lord of Hosts FINIS ERRATA Page 15. l. 10. for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉

Work calls for more inquisitive Search and private Application than was needful when Immorality walk'd barefac'd was seen in every open Place might be found without looking for And more Hands are on that Account yet necessary the Lord awaken us to use them and to help you with them III. Thirdly Consider by way of Inforcement to a vigorous Activity herein the great Benefit and Advantage that hath and may accrue from what is and may yet be done in this Matter if you respect 1. The Interest and Honour of God which is so daringly run upon by the Wickednesses you are endeavouring to reform When these Vices bid Defiance to God affront and pour Contempt upon his Laws and Government they make the Great GOD seem mean and look contemptible as the last of the Prophets hath abundantly shewn Now hath this Father any Child here that is unconcern'd for his Honour and Interest It may be a Bastard it cannot be a Legitimate Son If therefore you have any Deference for God any hearty Concern for his neglected Interest and Honour any Good-will to his Name that is blasphemed his Sabbaths which are profaned his other Laws that are openly and contemptuously violated Sure you will up and be doing Is not this God your Owner your daily Benefactor Are not you his Stewards his accountable Stewards And will you not stir at such a time in such a Case as this that so nearly concerns your God and Father Will you pretend Reverence to your Father and yet suffer his Honour to be thus troden in the Dirt 2. If you respect the Good of so great a part of Mankind now sunk into Brutish Sensuality Who knows but it may be a Means to recover them out of this Snare of the Devil who are taken Captive or taken alive as in the Margin by him at his Will 2 Tim. 2. 26. The Word we translate Recover signifying to recover from Madness 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Shame may bring him to a right Mind and to awake out of a drunken Sleep 〈◊〉 They are dosed stupified Shame and Punishment may rouze them of which we have frequent Examples if this were a place for them However we may reasonably expect a Threefold Advantage to our debauched Neighbours from hence It may prevent 1. The present Ruine of his Body 2. The necessary Ruine of his Estate 3. The aggravated Ruine of his Soul at least Need I tell them or you that Drunkenness Whoredom and such-like Immoralities have a Natural Tendency as well as a Moral procuring Efficacy to ruine both Body Soul and Estate How oft have the Diseases of a macerated Body and the small Remains of a wasted Estate told the World what these Sins bring to The Marks of the Sin are legible in the Punishment And is it nothing to save him from ruining Poverty and Rottenness in his Bones and that increase of Torment which multiplied Sin would lay him under Is this thy Kindness to thy Friend to thy Neighbour His Case the Case of his Family calls for Help and Pity And hast thou no Bowels 3. If you respect the Good and Welfare of the Nation and of this great City of which you are Members If you had never seen your Bibles had read only the Roman Histories you might see to what a glorious Height severe Vertue advanced them and how soon their Prowess Courage Success and Grandeur sunk to nothing when they let loose to the Debaucheries so long countenanced and practised amongst us By Vertue they advanced 'till they were the Envy of the World by Vice they sunk 'till they became the Contempt of all And this was in the Nature of the Thing as well as from a Judicial Act of God Vice did it as well as provoked God to do it Our Bibles that teach us better Things than their Twelve Tables are not sparing in this Discovery Is the Old World is Sodom are the Canaanites ruined Is Samaria Judah Jerusalem to name no more weakned impoverished and brought low You are Strangers to your Bibles if you know not that Sin was the Cause Si● is the Shame and Reproach of any Nation it bringeth it into Reproach and into a State fit to be despised When as Righteousness greatens heightens and exalteth a Nation Prov. 14. 34. God will not long honour them with happy and felicitating Circumstances that pour Contempt and Dishonour upon him and his righteous Laws This Prophet furnisheth us with a Passage highly adapted to our present Case Hag. 1. 2. The People had discharged themselves from the Lord's Work The time is not yet This is not a favourable Juncture for Reforming Attempts they will suffer Irreligion and Immorality to take their Swinge not but that they intend better Things in better Times This was their Course towards God provoking enough What was God's towards them How prospered they in their Trade and Commerce Were they in a thriving way whilst unreformed and void of Care about it Hear the Prophet Ver. 6. Now therefore consider your ways or set your Heart on your Ways as the Hebrew hath it q. d. and it was from the Lord he said it you take your selves for wise and great Politicians no doubt you think your selves altogether in the right against me after all my Prophets can say to bring you to a better Course such a one as that wherein you might prosper But pray observe what you see and feel without seeing the Cause Ye have sou n much and bring in little ye eat but you have not enough ye drink but ye are not filled with Drink ye cloath you but there 's none warm and he that earneth Wages earneth Wages to put it into a Bag with Holes Or as the Hebrew piersed through Ver. 9. Ye looked for much and lo it came to little when you brought it home I did blow upon it Or as it may be read I blow'd it away it came to nothing it did you no good I may not stay to Paraphrase these and and several other Verses of the same import scattered here and there in this Prophecy chap. 1. and chap. 2. ver 10 11. But they plainly notifie the unprosperous and calamitous State they were in under that Curse of God which their neglect of Reformation had brought them under As he plainly tells them chap. 2. v. 16 17. And the way to have it better 18 19. And bids them consider it again and again that tho' his Hand had been upon them and they had felt it every way so heavy yet they had not so much as thought of that Sin which procured it upon them Things went ill but Sin was not the Cause Things happen by Chance ill Conduct And how can we help it past Cure past Care yet Sin the procuring and God the efficient Cause of their bad Case were overlook'd However if now after all they will set about God's Work he will prosper them he will not be behind hand with the● no not a Day Chap.