hee takes it as done to himselfe He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of mine eye Zech. 2.8 The eye is tender and will not suffer to bee por'd at and what hurt is done to the eye is presently at the heart and the tongue complaines Saul Saul why persecurest thou me was our Saviours words Christ was in heaven and Saul on earth yet Saul could not tread on the least Toe of Christs hee could not persecute the meanest Member of Christ but he was sensible of it Christus loquitur Christus patitur quia in Corpore Christi Christus est He speakes because he suffers he is in all his Members so that though he be free from passion hee is full of compassion in regard of that affection he hath to his people in a word wicked men cannot hate the godly but God must needs be sensible of it They cannot lift up their hands against them but they will bee found fighters against God and God hath a time to reckon with them hee will take a time to lift up his hand against them that lift up their hands against his people in regard of that tender affection hee beares to his people and that neare relation that is betwixt him and them And this is the first Reason Reas 2 The Lords hand is lifted up for his people because their hands are lifted up for the Lord. They are ingaged in Gods quarrells and interested in Christs cause The Lord usually takes their parts that takes his and will not suffer the Rod of the wicked to rest alwayes on the backs of those that are righteous in his eyes hee beholds their sufferings and will not suffer them to suffer long Can God who is rich in mercy full of mercy see his Servants his Sonnes and Daughters smitten down to the ground and stand by and not take their parts and right their wrongs and revenge their quarrell and if God owne us and stand for us wee need not feare who comes against us if wee get but him on our side wee need not feare the fraud and force of the most subtile and strongest enemies Reas 3 Gods hand of Justice is lifted up against the enemies of Gods Church and people those that envy them and rise up against them because they are the disturbers of their peace and hinderers of their prosperity Whilst Gods hand lets them alone they are as thornes in their eyes and therefore the fire of his enemies doth devoure them If God should let his hand rest in his bosome still and seeme to sleepe still then the Jesuites and Papists and Atheists and all the Devills instruments would make most miserable havock in the Church of God how would they persecute and destroy and teare in pieces the people of God as so many Beares and Lyons and Wolves and Tigers These wild Boares would speedily root up the prosperous estate of the Church of God But God who loves his Church with his lift up hand breakes their power and strength that thereby his Church might have rest and quietnesse When the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword then there was rest round about which was good ground for Deborah to sing So let all thine enemies perish oh Lord Judg. 5. last verse Till the Besome of destruction sweeps these Church and State troublers out of the Land wee must never look for peace Davids Prayer might seasonably be inserted here out of Psalme 104.35 Let the sinner bee consumed out of the earth and let the wicked be no more Vse 1 1. Since there is a time when Gods hand is lift up for his people then let us examine whether Gods hand hath been lift up for us Certainly every eye that is not blind may see wee have had Gods hand lift up for us in the great works and turnings of these times Let our reasons speak and Religion be silent this last yeare hath been mirabilis ille annus the yeare of Gods wonders hath not the proceedings of every week spoke wonder-working God 1. Was it not the lift-up hand of God that gathered this pious Parliament together at first and hath preserv'd them together to this moment of time 2. Who was it that could discover so many secret Antichristian subtile Diabolicall * For they were hatcht in hell before they were acted on earth Plots against both Houses of Parliament since they first began but the lift-up hand of God 3. Who is it that could cause an Army to stand for Englands Parliament Englands Laws Englands Religion when there was but a handfull but a remnant in comparison of the whole peece and people of the Land 4. Who was it that hath cleared our County and driven out our enemies broken their power abated their pride and put them to shame confusion that mocked us and rose up against us was it not the lift-up hand of God If so much of God hath been seene in the work then the work is Gods And as Moses said to Israel so say I to England Deut. 4.32 Aske from the one side of Heaven to the other whether there hath beene any such thing as this great thing is or hath been heard like it I shall not now lead you abroad to behold a sight of the lift-up hand of God protecting and prospering our Armies both by Sea and Land but I shall keep me within the Confines of this County 1. Looke back into the Infancy of these bloudy times by our unnaturall wars and consider the unskilfulnesse of Commanders and Souldiers being bread in a Land of peace and were ignorant in the policies and stratagems of Warres but Gods lift-up hand which put the worke into their hands put skil into their hands and courage into their hearts at the very first assault of Manchester at which time there appeared such mirth and majesty in our Souldiers such valour and courage in their countenances and all their actions that it did speak aloud to me that God was with them and his lift-up hand for them 2. Look upon the number of our Souldiers at that time not above five hundred fire-men against thousands that came against that then naked and unfortfied Towne of Manchester yet prevailed not but were driven backe with losse and shame and would not see Gods lift-up hand against them though he caused the heavens at that time to weep for them who could not weep for themselves 3. Look upon the little Elbow-roome wee then had in the County for when Gods lift-up hand had appeared gloriously in Saltford Hundred Blackebourne Hundred was the onely other Hundred in the Countie that was most forward and next appeared in the same cause then our Enemies commanded all the Castles in the County had foure Garrisons for one four parts of the County to command two parts and could command as many adjacent Counties for their assistance And was it not Gods lift-up hand which hath driven them out of all Look upon their many meanes and advantages they
had many roaring thundering terrifying Cannons we but one small Peece * Mr. Angeer one said well of them theirs did but play but did no worke whilst the lift-up hand of the God of the Seas was working with the Windes to bring a Dunkirke ship a man of War that came from Spaine furnished with one and twenty Peeces of Brasse and Iron Ordnance fit to supply our present wants and to carry them so * Twirefoot neare our strongest Castle which had no Cannon at all was not this Digitus Dei pointing at the place where they should bee placed 5. And shall wee not remember the hand of GOD in preserving the Castle of LANCASTER after the Cannons were hastily conveyed thither the envy of our Enemies was presently encreased and therefore with much fury and with all their Forces came against the Towne and Castle and were so hot that they quickly fired the Towne and thought thereby to have fired or frighted us out of the Castle and so have gained that which Gods hand had lately given unto us Yet unwilling to fight with our Forces that came to relieve us fearing thereby they should lose their Plunder wherewith they were loaden retreated and took the opportunity to prevaile against Preston which successes surprised the spirits and discouraged the hearts of the chief Commanders in the Castle that they thought the safest way for themselves was to march towards Manchester and quit the Castle And when souldiers were left discontented and without Commanders here yet did Gods hand appeare in moving their hearts to defend that place and those Canons which Gods providence had given unto them Might I speak out without offence or without the censure of arrogating any thing to my selfe I am confident I could cause every Christian present to confesse that at this time the Lords hand was mightily lifted up for us 6. Lastly look upon their persons as well as their actions who rose up against us who were weake and an unworthy people of any protection from God they were Lords Knights and Gentlemen of great personage whose personages were promoted to great places whose places were of great power but now where are the persons where are their places where is their power all vanished by this time they may bee ashamed for their envy at us for firing our habitations the fire of Gods enemies hath met with them and destroyed many of them For Lord when thy hand was lifted up they would not see but they shall see and be ashamed for their envy of the people yea the fire of thine enemies shall devoure them Thus much for the first Use being a Use of examination Secondly suffer a word of Exhortation Is Gods hand lifted up for us hath he extended the lift-up hand of mercy to us Vse 2 Then let us be lifted up in duties to our God shall God do all this for us and shall we doe nothing for our God Hath hee performed his promises to us and lift up the hand of his providence for us let us then labour to performe our duties to God I might herein urge lex talionis the Law of taliation which will require the discharging of our duties to God answerable to the measure of mercies received from God Thus in generall but that I might not speak confusedly and unprofitably I shall digest this Exhortation into these foure branches for your better remembrance The duties are these foure which I urge 1. Lift up your Confidence in God 2. Lift up your Courage for God 3. Lift up your Prayers to God 4. Lift up your Praises of God Duty 1 The first Duty I presse you to is Confidence in God we have experience of him let us put more confidence in him and trust in him and to him We have had plaine experience of his providence towards us his mercies to us his power for us Lift up the hand of Faith now God hath lift up the hand of favour to us what a shame is it for us Christians not to trust God further then wee see him most of us could not believe that God would lift up his hand for us till they saw what his hand had mightily brought to passe for us We will beleeve in and put trust to man and shall we not fix our faith on God wee will say of man he is my old friend and hee never deceiv'd me I dare trust to him he hath promised me and I am sure he will not deceive me and tell me what man can be found or ever was heard of that could say I have trusted in God and he deceived me hath God promised thee protection and shall hee not performe it hath he said it It is easier for heaven and earth to passe Luk 16.17 e then that one little of his Word should faile 1 Kings 8.56 And what the Lord said to his Servant Joshua he seems to speak to all his faithfull people Josh 1.5 I will be with thee I will not faile thee nor forsake thee It is a sad thing that though Gods promises have been made good in his providence to us he hath performed his word in his works yet our faith is so weak that it is not able to carry us from one County to another nay from one Towne to another from one miracle to another his hand is not weakned nor arme shortned but it may it can it will help another County as well as this Let Davids arguments move you to put your confidence in God Psalme 37.3 Trust in the Lord and doe good so shalt thou dwell in the Land and verily thoushalt be fed and look the last Verse see how hee heapes up arguments in few words to urge and force us to trust in God for the Lord shall helpe them and deliver them V. 40. he shall deliver them from the wicked and save them because they trust in him I 'le say no more of this but with the same Prophet They that know thy Name will put their trust in thee for thou Lord hast not forsaken them that seek thee Psalme 9.10 Since God hath not forsaken us but we must confesse hath lift up his hand for us let us make it appeare to the world that wee know him by putting confidence in him which is the first duty required of us Duty 2 Lift up your courage and resolutions for God for Gods hand is lifted up for us in our deliverance and preservation Shall our Spirits be downe when God is up for us It 's a shame that so great and mighty a cause which is prosperously carryed on by the high God should bee managed with such poore low spirited men as we are a good cause and a good courage should alwayes be companions 1. This is Gods precept 2. This is his peoples practice For the first see Josh 1.9 Have not I commanded thee be strong and of a good courage be not afraid neither be thou dismayed for the Lord thy God is with thee
GODS Lift-up Hand FOR Lancashire Presented in a Sermon Preached before the Honorable Committee of the County at Lancaster Upon the 18th of December 1645. Being a Solemne day of Thankesgiving to God for clearing of the County in subduing the enemies thereof By NEHEMIAH BARNET Minister at Lancaster LONDON Printed by W. WILSON for JOHN WILLIAMS and are to be sold at the Crown in Pauls Church-yard 1646. To the Worshipfull Mr. Major The Baylifs and Burgesses of the Towne of Lancaster N. B. desireth their sanctification on earth and glorification in Heaven GENTLEMEN MY thoughts have beene long perplexed to find out some way or other whereby I might returne some acknowledgement of the many expressions of love and underserved favours which I have received from you I dare not deny but I am deeper indebted to you then to any people under Heaven and the debt I owe to you is above my ability not willingness to pay I here tender you earnest let your goodness please to accept of this in part if it may bee in good part till the whole comes I offer herein some of my first fruits unto you and doe earnestly desire you would accept them and wish them safe protection for I dedicate not onely them but my selfe unto you necessitated thereunto by an obliged duty of thankfulnes and receive them as from one that unfeignedly desires the salvation of your soules In the preaching of this Sermon you might perceive I did not seek so much to please as to profit not to informe the judgement as to worke on the affections but till God blessed it in both I never purposed it should have been broached abroad because it might seeme as a candle lighted at noone day it found such approbation that it was thought fit that it should not bee confined within the narrow limits of a Parish but that it should bee communicated to others by these silent speaking characters It is a true saying that Printing is a kind of Preaching though not so * Solet acceptior esse sermo vivus quam scriptus Bern. plausible and prevalent to perswade yet it is of larger extent seeing a man may Preach to more by his pen then his tongue and bee farther heard out of the Presse then the Pulpit for a dead man may live in his bookes and by them preach to the living though unborne when he dieth I would accompt it a double happiness if I could doe good both wayes I am sensible of the curiosity of the times and of my owne insufficiency those small abilities God hath given me to profit others are rather in the Pulpit then the Presse yet for the benefit of sleepy and secure Malignants in the North whereof some received some light from this poore talent of mine therefore it is come to light and for a light that they may see how farre in the day it is that it is time for blind beleevers to awake and behold God every day by his lift-up hand putting matter of thanksgiving both in our hands and hearts It is a part of my prayer that God would winde up our hearts to the right tune of Hallelujahs and that the rest may have as much cause of praysing the the Lord of Hoast as the North hath had that so God might perfect his owne worke of reformation and put a period to our warres and depopulations You know too well how sad and deplorable was the Condition of this ancient Corporation when the common and cruell enemie had plundred your houses and loaden themselves with your Wealth which with much Labour and Sweat all your life time you had beene gathering for you and your posterity and wanting light to steale away what they had possest themselves of therefore their malice set on fire your habitations brought many of them to ashes When your Castle was left carelessely by Commanders that had it not been for Gods lift-up Hand that which was left unburnt had beene at their command and your selves Slaves to those bloudy Towne-Burning Adversaries Then you became the subject of many prayers and object of many teares so that you might have said with Saint Paul 2 Cor. 1.8 9 10 11. Wee were pressed out of measure above strength insomuch that wee despaired even of Life but wee had the sentence of Death in our selves that wee should not trust in our selves but in GOD which raiseth the dead who delivered us from so great a death and doth deliver in whom wee trust that hee will yet deliver us Yea also helping together by Prayer for us that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may bee given by many on our behalfe Hath God raised you out of this wofull condition and doe your dead bones live Let then the language of your praises bee that of DAVIDS Psalme 18.46 47 48 49. The Lord liveth and blessed be my rock and let the God of my salvation bee exalted It is GOD that avengeth mee and subdueth the people under mee hee delivereth mee from my enemies yea thou liftest mee up above those that rise up against mee thou hast delivered mee from the violent man Therefore will I give thanks unto thee O Lord among the Heathen and sing praises unto thy Name * Psal 62.18 19. and blessed be the Lord God of Israel who onely doth wonderous things What misery did formerly befall the Towne by the lift-up Hand of GODS Justice was for sinne And now GOD seemes to smile upon you and is willing to be reconcil'd with you never returne againe to your former folly for new-provoking Transgressions or old unrepented of will procure new depopulations Therefore sinne no more lest a worse thing come unto you Sinne is the ruine of a Town nay of a Kingdome and if that our Enemies did at any time ruinate our estates we may thank our selves Sinne is like a Traitor in our bosomes that will open the gates of the strongest Castle to the enemy Sinne weakens the hands and makes them unapt to fight it was not the strength of AI that overcame the Israelites but ACHANS sinne The sins of LANCASTER were the enemies of LANCASTER these cursed CANAANITES are alwayes rising up against us but it must bee our Repentance that must repaire our Ruines and bee our future Fortress in the dayes of dangers The LORD in mercy destroy our sinnes and not our Townes least our unrepented sinnes force him to fire the remainder of our houses to fire us out of our Formalities and manifold iniquities Let us not provoke GOD any more lest the next blow bee the last blow and the everlasting destruction of us I confesse the course you have lately taken in Reforming the Sabbath hath wrought much good and the executing Justice on prophane sinners hath been a good work and may prove the onely meanes to turne away the wrath of God from us which was increased by drunkenness and prophaneness I beseech you goe on in the worke and way
God withdrawing the spirituall sense of discerning the wayes of his providences and judgements God may deny it to many What Moses said of many in Israel I may say of many in England Ye have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the Land of Egypt unto Pharaoh Deut. 29.2 4. and unto all his servants and unto all his land The great temptations which thine eyes have seen the signes and those great Miracles yet the Lord hath not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and eares to heare unto this day Because God in his just judgement may give them over to the God of this world 3. Reas that Prince of darknesse to be blinded to their destruction of such the Apostle Paul speaks Eph. 2.2 which were amongst the Ephesians who walked according to the course of this world according to the Prince of the power of the aire the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience So that they in a just judgment are blinded that they cannot discerne the wayes of God Of all judgements these spirirituall judgements are heaviest and this judgement is mentioned by the Apostle Paul Rom. 9. v. 8. according as it is written God hath given them the spirit of slumber eyes that they should not see and eares that they should not hear unto this day The Apostle here hath reference to the Prophet Isaiah his prophesie of the obstinacy of the people unto their desolation And he said Esa 6.9 10. Goe and tell this people Heare ye indeed but understand not and see yee indeed but perceive not Make the heart of this people fat and make their eares heavy and shut their eyes lest they see with their eyes and heare with their eares and understand with their heart and convert and be healed The Lord open our eyes and boare our eares and touch our hearts with his gracious Spirit that wee may never fall into these worst of his judgments Vse 1 This informes us of a blinde generation in the world who cannot see and will not see Gods hand lifted up that will not take notice what God is doing in England They are a churlish dogged people that bark and snarle at the works of God that speake the language of Sanballat and Tobiah Neb. 4.2 3. What doe these feeble Jewes do will they fortifie themselves will they sacrifice will they make an end in a day will they revive the stones out of the heapes of the rubbish which are burnt So these say What wil these brain-sick Puritanes and Round-heads doe will they presently build a new Religion will they have a new Discipline c. It 's these our blind Britaines which makes our Parliament Worthies stand in Nehemiah's posture working consulting with the one hand and holding their weapons in the other Vse 2 These wilfull blinde miserable men being discovered to you in the next place I might thunder terrour to them that oppose the hand of God lifted up for the Churches cause Wilt thou goe on to fight against God now his hand is lift up against thee thou wouldst bee ashamed if thou didst perceive and understand what thou art doing thou layest about thee and knowest not who thou smitest thou knowest not what thou dost If God in mercy would open thine eyes thou wouldst see plainly perceive that thou art opposing Gods worke that thou hast lifted up thy hand against God and buffeted him and wounded through the sides of his servants God himselfe Couldst thou see this thou wouldst be ashamed Did Pharaoh see that none of his devices prospered against Israel and that hee could not worke wisely enough to destroy them Did hee see that the more violent hee was the more God took their part and followed him with Plagues so that his servants askt him Exo. 10.7 If hee would see all Egypt destroyed before hee would let them goe yet he would not see but runnes on in mischiefe till the fire of Gods enemies had devoured him Vse 3 Suffer a word of Exhortation and then I shall close it lookes beloved on you whose eyes have seen the great things God hath done for these parts how mercifully Gods hand hath been lifted up for this County You ought now to blesse God that you have eyes that have seen oh blesse God that you were not blinded to your owne destruction therefore now learn to feare the Lord serve him with all your hearts all your dayes It 's the lift-up hand of God that hath crowned this poore County with his blessings in inlarging the borders of our tranquillity so that as Moses said of Israel so may I say of Lancashire Happy art thou oh LANCASHIRE Deu. 33.29 who is like unto thee ô people saved by the Lord the shield of thy helpe and who is the sword of thy excellency and thine enemies shall bee found lyars unto thee and thou shalt tread upon their high places We must all of us confesse with the Prophet David Psal 40.5 That many are the wonderfull workes which God hath done for us and his thoughts which are to us wards they cannot be reckoned up in order If I would declare and speak of them they are more then can bee numbred So that I must conclude this Text at this time with Samuels counsell 2 Sam. 12.14 Onely feare the Lord and serve him in truth with all your heart for consider how great things hee hath done for you Which counsell if it please God to give us grace to follow it will bee a meanes to move God to lift up the hand of his Protection over us and destruction upon our enemies and bring them to shame that envy us and cause the fire of his enemies to devoure them FINIS