will ruine the best Cause in the World This common and open Prophaneness does not only provoke God's Wrath against themselves but against their Governors if they only reprove and make Proclamations in detestation of them Old Eli did thus much to his debauch'd Sons but for want of a severer Discipline God punish'd him and his House for ever This Leven must be purged out and cashiered or else it will leven the whole Lump It is no surprize therefore to thinking men to hear of vast Fleets put to Sea with vast Expence and vaster Hopes yet without Success whilst men thus impudently and openly from the First Rate Ship to the Tender from Stem to Stern from the Captain to the Cook swear and curse like Devils and therefore most unfit to play the men for our People and the Cities of our God None therefore can be greater Enemies to Their Sacred Majesties and so good a Cause the best Cause in the World in this Juncture than these damning cursing cursed and swearing Libertines that cannot truly and faithfully honour their King if they fear not God For such I 'll pray though as we do over the Doors of them that have the Plague Lord have mercy upon these Wretches or in the words of Moses O that they were wise Deut. 32.29 30. that they understood this that they would consider their latter end How should one chase a thousand and two put ten thousand to flight If therefore a Souldier love his God his own Soul his King his own Honour and Welfare his People and the Cities of our God let him so live that he may not be afraid to dye and then his good Conscience will add to his Valour and make a man of good courage and able to play the man 3. A third cause of additional Valour is valiant Leaders by their couragious Words and Deeds 1. First by their Words adding Courage to their Souldiers by such brave Speeches as this in the Text. The first and bravest Emperor Julius Caesar was very happy both in Arts and Arms a good Oratour and a good Captain and was addicted to these Harangues to cheer up his Souldiers when ready to come to the Push as may be seen in his own Commentaries No man spoke better no man fought better both he and Joab in the Text had as all valiant men have a great presence of Mind had their Wits about them in the midst of Dangers they did almost what they list and could say what they lift tho' what they said was but little yet they spoke much in little being happy both for the Pen and the Pike 2. But the brave Deeds of a Commander is far more efficacious than brave Words a couragious Leader like the Sun-beams influences all that see him with Spirit and Heat and Life For as Cowardice is infectious a few Cowards if not timely knock'd down are enough to ruine a whole Camp so Courage also spreads it self and there 's none so timerous but will be ready to follow their Leader if a brave man at Arms. 4. A fourth cause of additional Valour is good Arms and good Armour Those will put Courage into a Coward and those daunt the bravest Enemy that fights unarm'd A Souldier may with as much reason flight all his Garrisons ruine the Bulwarks of his strongest Forts and cut down his Palasadoes as fight without his Armour The Prince of Poets the first in Time as well as Exoellence never sights his Champion Achilles till he has first buckled on him his Armour of Proof Nor does our * Sir Philip Sidney who was elected to be K. of Poland but refused English Homer so famous for but less happy in his Pike than his Pen yet as terrible to his Enemies abroad as amiable to his Friends at home that accepted the Lawrel but refused the Diadem in his English Arcadia ever sight his Knights to beat the Giants till he has first brought them the best Horses the best Arms and Armour that he could imagine nay he spares for no Costs to furnish them with And neglected by none but Braggadochios especially since the Invention of Gunpowder Is Valour any Fence against a Bullet That dismounts the Highest's Courage in its full Careir tho' shot by the most feeble Arm. The Wonders done by a late Hero in England Scotland and Ireland in a had Cause was truly attributed to his care of good Armour for that cause sirnamed Ironside If good Armour has done so great things in a bad Cause what Wonders may it not do in our Cause at this day the best Cause in the World In defence of our People and the Cities of our God from the Ravage of a merciless and bloody Foe the Common Enemy of Mankind the Turks and Mahomet only excepted This harden'd Enemy wonted to spoil cannot be oppos'd in humane probability by a Militia that has no other Armour than Feathers and Scarfs as if a muster of Men when three Kingdoms lye at stake and rais'd and maintain'd at a vast charge to their Country were nothing but a Morris-dance that their Women out of their Windows might admire in the Street the goodly menage of the gay Puppit that belongs to their House No other reason can be given why at this day the Militia-Captains clude and frustrate the Statute that commands Back Breast and Pot for the Horse and Corslet for the Pikes now chang'd forsooth into a Leather Jacquet nick-nam'd a Buff Coat and into a Red Coat and Byonet Or is it because some Feather-bed Captains sell such Ware Oh! but Armour is wearisome and heavy Yes so also is the whole Duty of a Souldier but it is the Occupation he has undertaken and by which he gets his Livelihood and Can a Workman work without Tools Or is he asham'd like other Workmen to carry them on his Back Let a Souldier be asham'd of being beaten of being a Captive or running away but let him never be asham'd of the Tools of the Trade by which alone he stands fair for the Victory But say some This Armour speaks Fear and Timerousness Does it so Then be it so Fear that makes a Centinel or a Guard more watchful is a due Ingredient of true Valour Was there ever any wise or successful Generals but fortified their Camp When the Spade and the Pickax are the Souldier's Armour yet this is really fear of Surprizal but not Cowardice but the greatest Wisdom The great Alexander Caesar Pompey and generally the Grecians and Romans were no Cowards for they conquer'd the greatest part of the known World yet they never engag'd but in bright-shining Armour especially their Horse except some light-armed Horsemen with us called Dragoons that are not intended to abide the shock but in a Battel to be here and there and every where as occasion serves being Mars's Hermaphrodites neither right Horse nor right Foot yet both these and of extream use and behoof in a Camp A Souldier may as well dismantle
General Joab had said Let us play the men for our Countrymen whether they be good or bad people they have Lives and Estates and Liberties in the defence whereof our Swords are drawn they have also religious Liberties in the true Service and Worship of God in the Cities of our God in defence of which good Cause too we must play the men For all the Cities of the World as inhabited by God's Creatures might as well be called the Cities of our God as well as the Cities of Israel if the true Religion and Worship of God in those Cities be not meant by this Phrase The Cities of our God Thus St. Augustine stiles his Books concerning the Church of God as Joab in the Text de civitate Dei Obj. But some may say That this War when Joab made this Speech was not a defensive but offensive War an invasion of the Country of the Ammonites and the Battel was fought at the Gate of one of the Cities of the Children of Ammon ver 8. Ans I answer That notwithstanding this Invasion this War was purely defensive For the Ammonites had abus'd King David's Ambassadors which were sent in kindness to condole the death of Hyram their late King which was in effect the abuse of the King that sent them And this abuse of Ambassadors has always by the Law of Nations been reckoned a just Cause of War For this cause alone the Romans waged War with the Corinthians the Tarentines and Illyrians and this was once the cause of War betwixt the Emperor of Germany and the Port. And the Ammonites here did resolve upon a War and to that purpose hired Souldiers of Fortune the Syrians for Money to fight for them against the Israelites whereupon K. David like a wise General since fight they must he would not be behind-hand with his Preparations nor stay till the Ammonites should come into his Country and make Israel the Seat of War but by wise Conduct meets the coming Storm and in defence of his People and the Cities of his God carries the War to the Enemies Cities where our valiant General exhorts his valiant Brother to be of good courage c. The first Ingredient of true active Valour is a good courage which is threefold supernatural natural additional 1. First Courage supernatural which appears when God makes men more than men by infusing his Spirit of Courage nor was there ever a great Conqueror but he alwaies had this Spirit of God which has been given both to good and bad men Christians and Heathens This was so visible even to the Heathens that they all built Temples to Fortune which we call Providence Nemo vir magnus sine afflatu divino such was Alexander and Scypio Caesar Pompey Marius c. And the Heathen Historian observes that an Athenian General Themistocles as I remember never won a Battel after he had braggingly told his Countrymen after a great Victory This I did and in this Fortune had no power The Souldiers of the famous Marius thought he spoke in the fight with more than human voice when he fought and conquer'd that Inundation of Men the Amnons and the Cymbers that came to swallow up his Country When Gideon was to be a Jesus a Saviour to Israel 't is said The spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon Judg. 6.34 the same Spirit sometimes called Faith or good Confidence made Baruch and Sampson Jeptha David and Samuel Heb. 11.32 33. to play the men above common men who through Faith subdued Kingdoms As for instance in David Tho' in prudent and wise conduct he could not have encountered Goliah with any weapon better that a sling and a stone to enter that forehead where alone the Giant was unarm'd and little expected such an Encounter yet it was a bold Faith and Trust in the Name of the Lord that made his Heart strong and his Hand steddy And it was usual in those days with a Sling and a Stone before the use of Guns to hit at an Hairs breadth so dexterous I had almost said were those left-handed Benjaminites Judg. 20.16 Judg. xx For how big soever the Giant was David was neither longer-liv'd than we nor bigger nor stronger if so strong as we are but the Spirit of God put into him a supernatural and superlative courage to play the man for his people and the Citys of his God 2. Secondly Good Courage is natural the Bounty of Nature for which a man is indebted as Goliah was to the firmness of his Limbs the goodness of his Complexion and his happy Stars to make him martial strong and of good courage such were these two Sons of Zerviah in the Text 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 says the Septuagint whom David confesses to be his overmatch and too hard for him For to his Brother Abishai this Speech is made tho' our English Translation only says He said but the Septuagint adds He said to Abishai Such men as are of a faint and timerous Complexion naturally have got a Caveat enter'd by Nature in their Bosoms against being listed for Souldiers Such men may be useful for the Plow or to wrap themselves in a Gown and serve well in the Pulpit or to make a noise at the Bar but the thundering of Guns and Drums will give them an Ague and put them into a Fit of trembling It is tempting of God and bidding Defiance to his Handmaid Nature for such effeminate Constitutions of all Employments to turn Souldiers let them leave the rugged and boysterous Wars to rugged and rocky Complexions and Constitutions Some men have stiled a Souldier a necessary Evil but I think under Heaven a good Souldier is one of the most necessary good things For as the World goes we should lose all other good things if it were not for those brave Souls that play the men in defence of the innocent Infants the weaker Sex and weaker Men still they are our People and a brave Souldier is their Rampart their Bulwark their Life guard the only Safeguard under God of our People and the Cities of our God Without these Protectors the Pulpit would be a Cypher an empty place the Bar unfrequented and our Lives and Estates at the mercy of a merciless Tyrant But there are but few of these Worthies Souldiers of Natures making yet a few of them are enow to put Courage into Cowards which is done by 3. Thirdly Additional Valour which has many causes as First a good Cause it will make a Coward fight to think that he fights for God for his People and for the Cities of our God as we usually and truly say That one honest man will beat two Thieves because the guilty Conscience makes a great Thief a great Coward and his Villany and Roguery makes him a timerous Villain and a fearful Rogue whilst he that fights in a good Cause fights for God and God fights for him This made little David boast so triumphantly Psal 17.3
Tho' an Host of men encamp against me my Heart shall not fear Saith he They compassed me about like Bees Psal 118. but in the name of the Lord will I destroy them Yet there are three sorts of Fighters at this day that play the men in a bad Cause which I cannot dismiss without a severe Repremand from this Text as 1. First Souldiers of Fortune such as was these 33000 Syrians that ran away and fled before Joab v. 13. they were Hackney-souldiers hired as Hackney-horses for such a Journey such an Expedition Here 's your Money These Souldiers of Fortune that fight without examining the cause and march with the first Chapman are the basest of Butchers for other Butchers get a greasie living by killing Beasts but Souldiers of Fortune live by killing men and are meer Cannibals and Men-eaters who like the Bravo's in Spain and Portugal have no other Trade or Profession but Hackney Butchers of Men any Men without any other cause than that of the Switzers they kill any body for the l'Argent What will ye give me saith Judas and I will betray and be guilty of Innocent Blood What will ye give me a day and I will kill ravish burn and murder saith the Souldier of Fortune And all this without any remorse custom of Sin hardens his callous Heart and makes him pittiless and without any Bowels of Humanity as if he had a Commission from Heaven as Peter had in another case Arise Peter kill and eat Of these St. James speaks from whence come Wars and sighting among you meaning the Factions of Judas Galiloeus Jam. 4 1 2. and also the other Jews then in war against the Samaritans and fought bloodily for the Money-business come they not hence even from your Lusts of Avarice and Ambition ye fight and war ye kill and desire to have that ye may consume it upon your Lusts For a Souldier of Fortune usually consumes in Debauchery what he gets by this inhuman Butchery Thus this Devil incarnate like his Father the Devil goes about like a roaring Lion from Country to Country seeking whom he may devour A Prince that has a good Cause may notwithstanding make use of these Man-slayers or Slaughter-men as Clyents sometimes see their Advocates not so much to be for them as that they be not hired against them though these Fellows are seldome either faithful or truly valiant for he that will sell his Soul or his Life for Money will not fear for Money to betray and sell his Prince But since they are kept like Cocks of the Game that are good for nothing in Nature but to fight these Forlorns will serve for a Forlorn and to blunt the Enemy's Swords for if they will not fight they are good for nothing but like the Locusts of Aegypt to eat up every green thing If these be Cowards they must be punisht as all Cowards are in a well-disciplin'd Army with present Death For plow they cannot work they will not fight they dare not for they are alwaies unsit to dye and therefore must be afraid to dye This Locust like other Locusts is one of the Plagues of Mankind good for nothing whilst it lives but Mischiefs and therefore though unfit to dye yet unfit to live These are the men that nourish and foment Wars in Europe War is their Trade their Commodity and can you blame them if they make the utmost penny they can of their Trade and Profession But as bad as this Caterpillar is I have another in the 2. Second place to expose that always fights in a bad Cause and therefore is worse if worse can be than a Souldier of Fortune for this Man-slayer fights as seldom as is possible since he does not love fighting but as lazy men love Work they must starve without it he fights to eat and if he could eat without fighting it would be the camest Brute alive But in the next place I must shew you a Hector that loves fighting and killing in a bad Cause as he loves his Life nay more than his Life or his Salvation I mean the Duelist that thinks himself a tall fellow if he has killed his Man though thereby guilty of a double Murther 1st of his Adversary 2dly of himself So unhappy is this Man of Blood if he dies in his Blood and breathes Revenge to his last Breath then it is a fearful thing to think of his fatal Doom and if he kills his Adversary 't is Odds but he is hang'd especially if all King's have such a Conscience as K. Charles I. that never would pardon a Murtherer saying The Almighty God has enacted that He that sheddeth man's blood by man shall his blood beâ—shed And who am I that should pretend a Prerogative to dispense with the Laws of the King of Kings Obj. But may some say would you have a Gentleman whose Honour is dearer to him than his Life put up an Affront especially since the neglect of demanding Satisfaction that 's the word is not interpreted Conscience but Cowardice and invites a second Affront and happy the Coward that can but come near so tame a thing that he may safely kick it Ans To which I answer That I knew not which is better Death or Life they are indifferent things and only good or bad as they are circumstantiated a man of Honour will either live in Honour or dye in Honour But by Honour I mean not that Puff or Blast or Vapour which has no affinity with Reason Honesty and a good Conscience a truly valiant man is a truly virtuous man and a truly honourable man a truly honest man but he can neither be a good man nor a brave man that is not a rational man Now I am content to give my man of Honour a Dispensation to answer any Challenge so that he retain his Reason and his Honesty But 1st Is it reasonable and equal that a Gentleman of a vigorous Health and a plentiful Estate for his Heirs and Heirs for his Estate should venture his Life against a Beggarly Hector that perhaps is weary of his Life thro' Poverty and Diseases the loathsom consequences of his Lust and would be beholden to that charitable Hand that would cut the rotten Thread of his Life rather than suffer it miserably and gradually to rot in pieces But 2dly What answers all other Challenges a Duel can never be fought with Honesty because it is point-blank a Defiance and Breach of the Laws of God and the King And therefore let no man pretend to any point of Honour that is inconsistent with his Allegiance to God and the King the only Fountain and Measure of Honour And if Hotspur dislike this my Decision as too sage and cold yet in his softer minutes he will thank me as fiery David did his Cooler Abigail when he was upon the Road in all haste to kill Nabal that Churl saying to her 1 Sam. 25.32 33. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel which
all his Forts and scorn to fight within a Portcullis and Castle-walls Gabions Perupets and Bastions as to scorn to sight within his Armour Victory is not got but many times lost by Bravadoes and I can scarce pity that Rhodomantade that dy'd upon the point of that Sword that he had once gain'd from his baffled Foes but return'd it in flanting Bravery to play the Game over again and lost it after he had fairly won it Let then our wiser Souldiers ride in Armour that they may ride in Triumph adorn'd with the Spoils and Trophies of the slaughtered Enemy whilst the unarm'd Captives follow the Wheels of our armed Chariots and let them laugh in their Sleeves at the Cowardice of their armed Conquerors in surprizing a sleepy negligent and unarmed Foe on unequal terms The slaughter'd Dead cannot and the Living dare not call their Conquerors Cowards Arm your selves therefore when near an Enemy left you pay for your Folly and Credulity as Abner did who came into his Enemy's Quarters without his Aylet Shirt privy Armour or Coat of Mael which had certainly sav'd his Life Died Abner as a Fool dieth I care not how rich and glittering my Souldiers Armour is so it be of Proof let him be proud on 't and he 'l joy in it and though a little irksome at first yet Vse will facilitate it I speak experimentally and Custom will make it natural and easie The Porcupine never marches but with his Arms ready fixt the Crocodile never marches nor swims but in his Armour of Musquet-proof and Shall Man who is made by GOD the Master of all other his fellow-Creatures lay by his Armour when he goes to fight To what purpose has GOD and Nature furnish'd Men with better Brains to invent and Hands to forge good Armour if they play the Fool in the neglect of it and dye as a Fool dyeth when they should play the men for our people and the Cities of our God Did ever any wise Souldier accuse Hannibal of Cowardice tho' he fought cunningly most commonly with his Brains to spare his Mens Lives by laying Ambushes Bribery and Surprizals Even the vapouring and flashy French have now at length learnt this Wit and so they conquer they care not what men say or think Dolus an virtus quis in hoste requirit was an old Proverb in the Roman Camp But say some Goliah was arm'd Cap-a-pee yet he was kill'd Yes he was so but it was digitus Dei the Finger of God killed him as it did Ahab that Cuirazeer hitting him in the Joints of his Harness which otherwise it was a thousand to one but they had both been invulnerable Not that I would have a man manacled in his Armour that he cannot use his Arms 't is enough probably for Armour keeps no Assurance Office to secure the noble parts the Head and Heart from mortal wounds let the other take their fate The Militia of England are numerous and strong but the Statutes that well forms them are at this day generally eluded by the Levity of such fresh-water Officers that never saw a Sword drawn in Anger and fit themselves and their Souldiers rather for a Dance than a Fight and rather light to run away nimbly than abide the Shock and Brunt of a Battel by arming their Men as the Law requires and enjoyns the better to play the men for our people and the Cities of our God There are many other causes of Additional Valour as Despair Custom and Vse of Wars or any thing that cheers or exhilarates the drooping Spirits which I leave to Men of War And thus much for Good Courage The method of my Text invites to speak next of Good Conduct And perhaps some that know me may think that this is a Province as fit for me to undertake as most other of my Coat But to do it now from a Text would be as impertinent and pragmatical as that of Phormio the Peripatetick Philosopher Cicero de oratore who took upon him to read a Lecture of the Duty of a Chieftain and good Conduct in the presence of Hannibal the bravest General in the World Therefore I 'll wave it now and also the treating of a good Cause because I have said a great deal to it and of it already under another Head and speak a little and but a little in the last place of the second-general part of the Text Passive Valour the most difficult and most divine part of Valour Yet many men have attained to this Good Courage in Passive Valour that never were famous for Active Valour Any Man nay Woman that is a good Christian may learn to bear and be couragious in passive Valour which is nothing else but a quiet and serene temper in the greatest Straits and under the greatest Pressures and Difficulties Losses and Crosses that can possibly befall Mankind being very well pleas'd with whatsoever pleases God to send according to his good pleasure as he has predestinated and pre-ordain'd Not but that it is not only lawful to pray against all Temptations and to be delivered from all Evil and not only pray against the Plots and Devices of the Enemy and counterplot them use all Stratagems Ambuscades and whatever the mischievous Wit of Man has invented for destruction of our Enemies but when we have done all that active Valour can instruct and all will not do when we meet with Losses Deseats Captivity or Death then a divine Souldier must quietly submit to the good pleasure of him that rules the World and will do what pleaseth him in Heaven and in Earth Will we will we it is a Sin nay a Folly to repine but serenely say with our Blessed Saviour If this cup may not pass from me except I drink it not my Will but thine be done Thus Holy David prayed and fasted and used all means to save the Life of his beloved Son the fruit of his Sin but when God had declar'd his Will by the death of the Child he cheered up and call'd for good Chear On this score it is that St. Paul exhorts the Philippians to be careful for nothing meaning for nothing that is past That care alone is sinful which is Janus-like and which looks both backward and forward forward it may look forward it must look by way of prevention For so our Saviour and the Apostle frequently inculcate this Care or Heed that looks forward Luke 21.8 Take heed that no man deceive you let him that standeth take heed lest he fall 2 Cor. 7.22 That we should care for our selves and for one another 1 Cor. 7.32 And yet saith St. Paul I would have you without carefulness for what is past and your care may hurt you macerate you deject you but cannot possibly help you therefore use the means and when you have done what you can you have acted all your part the next is Godâ—s part I mean the Event the Issue the Success for that trouble not your
encounter with that Expression Isa 41.14 Fear not thou Worm Jacob. One would think if Jacob be a Worm had more cause to fear than any other Creature under Heaven a Lion has Strength a Worm has none the Dove is fearful but she has Wings the Hare the Deer are timerous but they have swiftness of Foot to fly from Danger a Snake has none of these Advantages yet she has a Sting But a Worm what Creature so despicable so subject to the tread of every Foot She has no Wings to fly no Sting to make them stand off yet Fear not thou Worm Jacob. And why the Reason follows in the next words For I am with thee saith God And if God be for us who can be against us And here I shall baulk my Discourse and the Text if Id o not shew Q. 1. First How God may be said to be for his People when the Lord does what seemeth him good in prospering them as he did Joab in the Text with Victory Or how God may be said to fight for his People Q. 2. And secondly How long he will fight for them 1. First I answer that God visibly fights for his People four several ways all applicable to this Text and these Times for which I purposely chose this Text and if I should conclude my Discourse on this Text only with shewing what we should do in case of Death Defeat or any other sinister event a Consideration very useful and necessary yet it would be a Contemplation too melancholly and ominous to conclude with Passive Valour in active and victorious times such as this of Joab in the Text a Victory sultable and parallel to ours in this Juncture For in the Verse next following the Text we hear the good News that the Idolaters are run for it the Syrians fled before Joab And when the Children of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fled then fled they also before Abishai Almighty God then gives Victory and visibly fights for his People when they fight in a good Cause four several ways He did it for Israel Great Britain and Ireland 1. First God is said visibly to fight when he raises up a Hero a Worthy by endowing him with the Spirit of Courage as he did Gideon Baruk Jephtha Sampson David Samuel and that I forget not Moses and Joshua But of this I have spoken fully already under that Head of Supernatural Courage But if I should only remember those famous Worthies so long ago and so remote my Memory would be as ungrateful as treacherous if I should forget what all the World at present admires and Posterity will much more His Sacred Majesty King WILLIAM whom GOD has raised up to be a Deliverer to us in the day of our distress and to rescue us from Popish Tyranny and Superstition and all those Miseries and Calamities which were ready to break in upon us I am upon a Subject uncapable of Flattery or Hyperbole but surely I cannot say less upon so great and Fair Occasion than to say my Prayers I only repeat the daily Prayers of the Church of England In raising up thy Servant King William to be a Deliverer to us in the day of our Distress c. When God's Hand is lifted up they will not see saith Isaiah but they shall see Isa 26.11 and be ashamed for their Envy c. We have still many Envious Souls amongst us it spites them to the Heart to see what God has done for these Kingdoms and yet they clap their Hands before their Eyes and will not see what all others in the World see What 's the Reason The Prophet says For their Envy c. Let them go on and let them go to their Idolater their Idol if they please or dare let the Blind lead the Blind till they both fall into the Ditch I mean the French and the Frenchified English Frenchified English There 's a word unknown to our Forefathers We used to be such Apes as to take Laws from France for Feathers and Lace and Top-knots but the English for 500 years and upwards have been a Terrour to France And are these Frenchified-English Natives then And do they know to whom they truckle and why I cannot say less on this ungrateful Subject and I will not say more especially at this time and on this occasion I am very ready at another time to speak more home to our silly fellows at home 2. Secondly God fights for his People by sending his Fear and Terrour Amazement and Astonishment into the Hearts of the Enemy This in Scripture is called God's Hornet which like Beasts stung with a Garabee or Hornet made Men run they did not know whither and they did not know why nor where to be safe they were in such a Consternation Deut. 7.20 21. Amazement and Fear And so is the word interpreted Thus when the cowardly Spies Cowards all but Caleb and Joshua went to spy out the Land of Canaan the poor Hearts were out of Heart when they saw the Giants the Children of Anak Num. 13.32 33. and that all the People were men of great stature But we say they were in our sight as Grashoppers and so we were in their sight But little men may look up to Heaven little men may cry I hope and call to GOD for help the less Ability they had in themselves Therefore saith God Josh 24.12 I sent my Hornet before you which drove them out from before you but not with thy Sword nor with thy Bow Yet they had both Sword and Bow in conquering Canaan but to little purpose if God had not sent his Hornet before them to sting the Enemy to the Heart and to leave the Lubbers like ominous Beasts for Sacrifice without a Heart And to apply it What account can be given in human Reason why Ten of our men lately in Ireland would usually make an Hundred to fly Was it because we were bigger or taller or stronger-limb'd than the Irish or French No such matter But all the reason that can be given is this they were stung with Dread Horrour and Amazement run like Beasts stung with a Garabee they did not know why nor whither nor where to hide God sent his Hornet before us and to him be the Glory not with thy Sword nor with thy Bow Nor can it be said that our late Deliverance and Redemption three years ago was wrought or brought about with Sword or Spear To see such an Army treble the number of our Deliverer none better mounted nor better arm'd to see a Navy well equipp'd Men of War well rigg'd and all these to melt away and scatter no man pursuing them What 's the matter God sent his Hornet before them Not but that it spoke both natural and supernatural Courage in a superlative manner to attempt so bravely and through Faith to subdue Kingdoms but it was digitus Dei the Hand of God was visible in it to him be the Glory not with