into the Mouth of the Eater But who can overthrow such a Strong-hold as God is that is Almighty Wo be to him that strives with his Maker Use I. If God be such an excellent Strong-hold then see what a bosom you have here to flee unto that whatsoever evil days come yet if you have recourse to him for your Strong-hold you may be sure to be safe and take heed I beseech you that you do not set up your Rest in any thing on this side God When it is a day of Trouble as we are threatned with such a day at this time Counsel and Strength of Men and Horses and Ships cannot be a Strong-hold for us without God See what the Prophet says in the second Chapter of Isaiah Cease from Man whose Breath is in his Nostrils and if Man must be ceased from much rather must the things that Man hath made be ceased from as Ships and pleasant Pictures as the Prophet instances in that Chapter Now there be these three things that may rap off your Fingers from the Creature or making any thing your Strong-hold on this side God Now for this consider 1. The Inutility or Unprofitableness of all Creature-help in the day of Distress in the day of God's Anger for Riches profit nothing in the day of God's Wrath saith Solomon Prov. 11. 4. But they many times make the Owner the more in danger as the Gold Ring hath made some to loose the Finger And what shall it profit a Man says our Saviour to gain the whole World and to loose his own Soul That were a Loss above all other Losses thou hast better lose thy Wife thy Children thy House thy Lands nay thy Life it self than loose thy Soul and yet thus many do to gain the World But what Profit when they come to take away thy Soul The things of this World have not so much Worth in them as to deliver your Souls from Death or Hell or Damnation so that it cost more to redeem one Soul than all the World comes to They have not so much worth in them as to satisfy one of your Debts for no Man knows Love or Hatred by all that is before him they have no power to pacify Conscience in its Distress The things of this World prove many times lothing Torments to dying Christians and they are many times dying Comforts to living Christians 2. The Mutability of the Creature There is a great deal of Mutability in the Creature you cannot say the Moon will shine two days together with the same face so the things of the World are likened to the Moon Rev. 12. 1. The Woman that is the Church is said to have the Moon under her Feet i. e. All worldly things Again They are sometimes likened to the Wind Dan. 7. 2. says the Prophet there I saw the four Winds striving upon the Sea And what were those four Winds but the four Monarchies striving upon the Sea of this World which should be uppermost And so as the Moon doth not shine two days together with the same face no more are you sure the Wind will blow two hours together in the same Quarter The gratest Monarchies and Kingdoms are but so many stormy and violent Winds and will you make that your Strong-hold that is so subject to Alteration and Change In a stormy day will you go to a Shadow for your Refuge or Shelter 3. Besides all this there is a Corruptibility in all these things so the Apostle speaks to this purpose 1 Pet. 1. 19. He calls there Silver and Gold corruptible things which we are apt to account most durable How may all the Glory of the World which we are apt to account most shining and excellent be wink 't into Blackness and Darkness All the Glory of Man is but as the Flower of Grass All Solomon's Glory was but that of the Lilly of very short Continuance the Flower may fade whilst the Stalk yet standeth and yet that within a short while will be cast into the Oven The Flower may be nipt in the Bub but if it be let alone it will fall of it self such are Creature Excellencies and therefore I beseech you do not set up your Cities of Refuge on this side God And for your further comfort consider how God knows such as are in Trouble and trust in him and have Dependance upon him for Safety and Deliverance if God's People could be in Adversity and God not know it then their case would be sad indeed but God knows what all your Ailes and Troubles are and will certainly deliver you out of them all if you depend upon him and trust in him Quest But are there not many that are Believers that are cut off in their Troubles and Straits as good Josiah and others Answ There are seldom any that in the height of their Dependance upon God that have acted Faith and fully relied upon him for Deliverance that have been cut off For you must know that it is one thing to have Faith and another thing to act Faith as it is one thing to have a Sword and another thing to use it Many a one may be cut off for not using of his Sword whereas if he had used it very like he might have escap'd and it is a Saying of the Psalmist concerning the goldly Man Psal 112. 7. He shall not be afraid of any evil tydings Why His Heart is fixed trusting in the Lord. All the while he acts his Faith on God he hath no cause to fear So that this further informs us that the Wicked shall never beat Believers out of heart for in the worst times they have a Strong-hold a good God to run unto and so shall they be saved from all their Enemies When they are in the greatest danger still they have a God that takes Cognizance of them when it may be their Friends and neer Relations will take no notice of them Thou hast known my Soul in Adversities saith David Psal 31. 7. If they could be in Adversities and God not know it it would then be a sad thing indeed but God knows whatsoever Adversities you are in and will doubtless deliver his I but are not many of them cut off by Death I answer God will be so good to them as to deliver them from Death or by Death and therefore the day of Death is better to them than the day of their Birth for when they are born then they come into Trouble but when they die then they come out of Trouble and it is better to come out of Trouble than to come into Trouble This is the Comfort that they have that trust in God God knows them and knows how to deliver them when they do not know how to deliver themselves We know not what to do says Jehoshaphat 2 Chron. 20. 12. I but God knows what to do and how to deliver his and to reserve the Wicked for the day of Wrath For this Knowledg of God
do Well but what is it that we must know of God more especially that we may be brought to trust in him and depend upon him in a day of Distress 1st God's Power that he is able to help and to defend his People whatsoever their Distresses and their Adversaries are you must mightily work this upon your Spirits the Consideration of the Power and Greatness of God therefore you have the Greatness of God wonderfully set out in the foregoing part of this Chapter for God will not imploy his Greatness against his People but for his People's good As also you are to take notice of the All-sufficiency of God how he is able to save to the uttermost all such as put their trust in him When Abraham was as a poor Pilgrim and went from one Kingdom to another People to support his Faith God tells him I am God All-sufficient walk before me and be thou perfect and then he need not be afraid We can never stay our Minds and trust in God so well as we should unless we relie upon God as a God All-sufficient that is able to succour us in every Case and Condition See what supported the three Children as they are commonly called against the Wrath of the great King Dan 3. 17. they stay their Minds greatly on God Our God say they is able to deliver us They did not fear the Wrath of the great King because with Moses by an Eye of Faith they saw him that was invisible they knew they had an invincible Strong-hold to resort unto a good God that was able to deliver them how and as he pleased Now when you distrust God's Power you do as it were tie up the hands of Omnipotency It is said Mark 6. 5. our Saviour could do no mighty Works there because of their Unbelief God doth therefore wonderfully tutor his Children about the Consideration of his Power as you may observe in Scripture When God promises to appear in the way of saving and delivering his People he doth very much insist on this what a powerful God he is able to do above what they are able to ask or think that so their Faith might be well grounded upon a good foundation see for this a place or two Isa 40. 9 10. There the Prophet speaks by way of promise that the Lord God would come i. e. to comfort and relieve his People He tells them he would come with a strong hand and as it were with an out-stretched arm and his arm shall rule for him And he further insists upon this thing and maketh it the great Theam that he goeth upon If you read the 12th Verse of this Chapter you shall find that he had a strong Hand indeed and an Arm stretched out in that he was able to hold all the Waters of the Sea and to measure out Heaven which is locus omnium Spaciosissimus with a Span and that he was able to weigh the Mountains in Scales and the Hills in a Balance Behold saith he the Nations By Nations we are to understand great Countries and Kingdoms What are they but as a drop of the Bucket and as a small dust of the Balance Behold he taketh up the Isles as a very little thing As this Isle which we call Great Britain is a very little thing in the hands of Almighty God and when he comes to the 26th Verse there he calls upon them to lift up their eyes and to behold him who hath created these things so great and so many that bringeth out their host by number He must needs be great himself that hath made so many and such great things And thus he goeth on to set forth the Power and Greatness of God to be a support to the Faith of his People I have wondred saith a Godly and Learned Man that reading of Scripture in my younger years there should be such a suddain Digression to the Power of God as there is and now I see there is a great deal of reason for it to strengthen the Faith of his People that they firmly believe his Promises as you may find if you observe in many other places So you have the Power of God set forth in this Chapter 2dly If you would trust in God and depend upon him in the day of trouble and distress as you must be very well principled in the Power so also in his Willingness and Readiness to succour and to receive you and so to save you in the time of Danger and Distress Some have Power to do good but they have no heart to do it you must consider as there is an Ability in God to do good so there is a Propensity to do good There is a very great Inclination in God to help and to save his afflicted Ones observe I pray how the Scripture speaks to this Psal 46. 1. It was at such a time when there was great Dread upon the face of the Earth The Prophet seems to represent it so as if the Earth should totter and be removed and the Mountains carried into the midst of the Sea and the Waters roar and make a hideous noise and all things in a hurly-bury yet there was no cause for such as trust in God to fear for God is our Refuge and Strength say they our Strong-hold a very present Help in trouble He is not only a Help but a present Help yea a very present Help in trouble The great Willingness of God the Lord to appear for them appears in his Readiness to appear to them if we do but call upon him and cry to him and he can do but little that cannot cry for help Now Psalm the 86. 7. says the Prophet In the day of my Trouble I will call upon thee for thou wilt answer me The God of a true Believer is not like the God of Baal's Priests upon whom they called from Morning even till Noon saying O Baal hear us But there was no Voice nor any that answered no more there would have been if they had prayed never so long if he had prayed till Doomsday it had been all one But no sooner doth the true Prophet pray but presently Fire comes down from Heaven and consumes the Sacrifice for the Confusion of the Churches Adversaries And how doth the Prophet promise to himself in the fore-named place how God would hear him Which he could not have done but that he was assured of his Willingness so to do for he doth not say the Lord can hear me but the Lord will hear me And he saith nothing but what he hath a Promise for upon the Performance of the foresaid Duty Nay further to shew his Readiness and Willingness to hear and help it is said in one place That before they call I will answer and while they are yet speaking I will hear So no sooner did the Leper say Matth. 8. 2. Lord if thou wilt thou canst make me clean but presently Christ replies I will be thou clean as if
he ecchoed back the same words and immediately says the Text his Leprosie was cleansed And that there is a great deal of Readiness and Willingness in God to help you must consider how God doth take special notice of the Trouble and Afflictions that his People lie under and how he is apt to lay it to heart for in all their Afflictions he is afflicted I have surely seen says God the Affliction of my People and have heard their Cry Exod. 3. 7. It is not with him as it is with some that pass by such as are in Misery and take little or no notice of their Trouble as the Priest and Levite that saw the Man wounded and half dead and there let him lye for all them But if God's People are never so little wronged he is presently concerned if they are reproached they are reproached in his sight He takes it as done to himself He that toucheth you says God toucheth the Apple of mine Eye Zach. 2. 8. So he that persecuteth the People of God it is as if he did persecute Christ himself Acts 9. 5. And all the Rage that they express against the People of God it is set down as done against God himself I know says God thy abode and thy going out and thy coming in and thy Rage against me It is all down in black and white what the World doth for or against his Children 3dly God doth not only look on his Peoples Affliction but it is the lovingest Look and with as much Compassion as possible may be imagined as you may see Psal 103. 13. Like as a Father pitieth his Children the like Pity doth the Lord shew to those that are his His Look shews his Love as you may see Exod. 2. 23 25. It pierces his very Heart to hear their Sighs and to see their Miseries So their Sorrows came up when his People were afflicted in Egypt it is said in the place named before that the Children of Israel sighed by reason of their hard Bondage and God heard their groaning and remembred his Covenant which was to be a Friend to their Friends and an Enemy to their Enemies and God looked upon the Children of Israel How I pray did he look Why he had respect unto them though their Enemies did nothing regard them no not so much as a Man would regard his Beast Again God declares his Willingness in regard he commands his People to come to him and call upon him in the day of trouble and tells them withal that unless they do thus they are like to go without his help For thus he tells his own People Ezek. 36. 37. I will for this be enquired of by the house of Israel to do it for them for God would not have his People to seek his face in vain And in another place God complains Thou hast not called upon me O Jacob Isa 43. 21. You know if a Man be not willing to help if he have power yet if he have no mind to help a poor Creature cannot with any face go to him but God is so far from discouraging any from coming to him that he invites them to come and assures them that if they come he will in no wise cast them out And indeed commands them for to come and commands Silence in Heaven till his People tell their Tale and doth bow down his Ear to hear what his People can say for themselves and as a Parent to his Child O! what wouldst thou have If God were not willing to help he would say as he did to the Wicked Psal 50. 16. What hast thou to do With my Word you shall not take my Name in your Mouth or if you do it shall be in vain if you make many Prayers I will not hear you But he readily grants the Requests of his People O! says the Prophet he will be very gracious to thee at the Voice of thy Cry when he shall hear it he will answer thee Isa 30. 19. So no sooner did Daniel 10. 12. set himself to seek God but his words were heard So when we seek God by Prayer as we ought to do God will send Mercy post haste to his People Now would he doth us if he were not willing to help them and to be a Sronghold to them 4thly If you would trust in God aright you must clear up your Interest in God That this God that is thus able and willing to help and defend is your God That you can claim an Interest in him and that you are his That he knows you to be his Friends and Acquaintance by your often coming to him and that you know him to be your Father in Christ You will never come to close with God with any Confidence when you come to have need of him unless you can clear up your Interest in him otherwise here will be apt to come in dismaying Thoughts I know indeed that God can save me and can defend me but can I say upon good grounds as the Prophet did I am thine save me I have so often sinn'd against him that I have great cause to question whether this God be my God this will turn back the Milk in the Breast of the Promise The Scripture doth wonderfully declare this as in the Psalm 48. ult This God is our God as if no others had any interest in him And so Psal 67. 6. God even our own God shall bless us and so Isa 25. 9. Lo this God is our God we have waited for him and he will save us we will rejoice and be glad in his Salvation This was that stayed their Minds up and kept them from despair and so this was that kept up the Spirits of those three Worthies Dan. 3. 17. They first lay claim to God and clear up their Interest in him and then they conclude he will save us out of thine hand O King and so he did So when there was such a mighty Army and great Multitude came out against Jehoshaphat and against his People what do they then but clear up their Interest in God Art not thou our God say they 2 Chron. 20. ver 7. and then ver 12. O our God wilt thou not judge them Which words are to be resolved affirmatively Thou being our God wilt certainly judge them and avenge our cause and so he did So that when you have cleared up your Interest in God in a day of trouble then set Faith on work without Fear labour fully to relie upon God and to trust in him Be the Troubles as many and as great as may be yet believe that you have a God that is able to defend you and to deliver you out of them all Know this that it is the unreasonablest thing in the World after thou hast cleared up that thou hast a real Interest in God to doubt that he will deliver thee or take thy part or be gracious to thee when thou hast made out to thy self that thou hast an Interest