cause is at triall But what cause of his is it that 's particularly meant in this place For if it bee Gods 't is worth the knowing what ere it bee And no cause of his can be heere but Men owe it as well as him some duty And therefore necessary to be knowne that due may be performed vnto it Now the Cause of God meant heere though it bee proposed as Causa vna one cause yet 't is very large and comprehends many particulars vnder it Some directly concerne God and some only by reflex But God is so tender of his Iustice and his Honor that nothing can so much as touch vpon him but 't is Gods cause presently In as much as yee haue done it or not done it to one of these little ones you haue done it or not done it to mee S. Matt. 25. And so goes the Text Gods Cause all and but one whether it be directed against him or reflected vpon him Whether it bee the Reproach which the Sonne of God suffered for vs Or the troubles and afflictions which we suffer for him 't is Gods Cause still and accounted as one As one And yet I find three things agreed vpon to bee principally contain'd in this Cause of God First the Magistrate and his Power and Iustice. And resist either of these and yee resist the power and the ordinance of God Rom. 13. There 's Gods cause plaine And the Eye of nature could see Aliquid diuinum somewhat that was diuine in the Gouernours and Orderers of Common-wealths In their verie Office In as much as they are singled out to be the Ministers of diuiue Prouidence vpon Earth And are expresly called the Officers of Gods Kingdom Sap. 6. And therfore the Schoole concludes that any the least irreuerence of a King as to dispute of his Iudgements And whether wee ought to follow and obey him Sacrilegium dicitur is iustly extended to be called Sacriledge And since all Sacriledge is a violation of some thing that is Holy it is euident that the Office and Person of the King is sacred Sacred and therefore cannot be violated by the Hand Tongue or Heart of any Man that is by deede word or thought But 't is Gods cause and hee is violated in him And here Kings may learne if they will I am sure 't is fit they should That those Men which are sacrilegious against God and his Church are for the very Neigbour-hood of the sinne the likeliest men to offer violence to the Honour of Princes first and their Persons after Secondly the cause of the Church in what kinde soeuer it be Be it in the cause of Truth or in the cause of Vnity or in the cause of Right and meanes 't is Gods cause too And it must needes be so For Christ and his Church are Head and Body Ephes. 1. And therefore they must needs haue one common cause One cause And you cannot corrupt the Church in her Truth or persecute her for it nor distract her from her Vnity nor impouerish and abase her in her meanes but God suffers in the oppression Nay more no man can wilfully corrupt the Church in her doctrine but he would haue a false God Nor persecute the profession of the Church but he would haue no God Nor rent the Church into Sects but hee would haue many Gods Nor make the Church base but he would plucke GOD as lowe Were God as much in his power as the Church is And therefore the Churches Cause is Gods Cause And as Eusebius tells vs when by Stephen Bishop of Laodicea the state of that Church was much hazarded it and the meanes of it were mightily vpheld by God himselfe And Elias Cretensis goes full vpon it in the generall 'T is Gods cause any controuersie that he debates against his Enemies Now this euer holds true in whatsoeuer the Church suffers for the name of God and Christ. And therefore if either State or Church will haue their cause Gods the State must looke their proceedings be iust and the Church must looke their Deuotions Actions be pious Else if the State be al in vvorme-wood Iniustice if the Church sauour of impurity and irreligion If either of these threaten either Bodie neither can call vp God then For sinne is their owne and the diuells cause no cause of Gods who punishes sinne euer but neuer causes it Thirdly 'T is Gods cause which is directly against himselfe when Iniustice that he will not or weakenesse that hee cannot Arise and Helpe are most vnworthily nay blasphemously cast vpon him The very Text you see calls it no lesse then Blasphemie And as S. Basil tells vs 't was audacter effusa most audaciously cast into the face of God But how I pray How why they persecuted the Church of Christ with great extremities and then because God did not alwaies and in all particulars deliuer it Deum vt infirmum traducebant they accused God of Impotencie Rabsaches case before Christ in the flesh which of the Gods haue deliuered the Nations that serue them that the Lord should deliuer Ierusalem 4. Reg. 18. Pilates case to Christ. Haue not I power to crucifie thee and power to loose thee S. Ioh. 19. Iulians case after Christ. For while he raged against the Christians hee turn'd the contumely vpon God And charg'd omnipotence with weakenesse So you see the Cause of God what it is and withall that it is many and but one Many in the circumference of his creatures which fill vp the State and the Church and yet but one in the point of that indiuisible Center which is himselfe Well we haue found Gods cause as 't is tumbled vpon the earth But what is it the Prophet would haue God doe to it What Why that followes Iudica Pleade it Iudge it Maintaine it Lord. For the King and the State For thy Church and Seruice For thy selfe and thine honours sake Thou hast made their cause thine owne therefore maintaine it as thou doest thine owne Now this God is neuer wanting to doe nor neuer will be So far as Iustice and Religion make the cause his hee will Pleade it first and Maintaine it after But yet hee doth not this alwaies with a Iudgement that is visible to vs. Nor with such a one as will make enemies confesse that Gods maintenance is on our part And therefore as Ruffinus thinks these words are not only a Prayer that God would Arise and maintaine his cause but that he would so plead it that hee would make the Iustice and Right of it appeare to Enemies and Opposers and the maintenance euident to friends and defenders of it So maintaine thy Cause is as much in effect as make the world know 't is thine and thou wilt maintain it That from Gods maintenance the cause may haue safety And from our hope of maintenance we may receiue Comfort Why but why should God pleade iudge and
too vvhich is a like true of the Foole at home and the Foole abroad The Prophet pray'd against their Enemies as vve doe now against ours O my God make them as a wheele Psal. 83. And see in what a wheele they are The worst that euer moued For their Blasphemy carries their Wisedome round into Folly And their Folly turnes their malice round into heigher degrees of Blasphemy Thus is this Enemy no sooner a Blasphemer but a Foole And no sooner a Foole but a greater Blasphemer So Blasphemy is punished with Folly and Folly vvith Blasphemy Ther 's the vvheele both in the sinne and the punishment And I pray obserue These Enemies that beset Gods Cause at Ierusalem vvere a Nation And so some reade heere Not the Foolish man but the Foolish People And a powerfull Nation they were were they Babilonians Syrians or Romanes And one of them they were And yet you see the Prophet giues them no other no better name then Foole when they violently persecute Gods Cause Indeed they deserue it And this Sinne is as able to Foole a whole Nation as a particular Man Nay the holy Ghost heere speakes of them as of one Man As if Blasphemie could change a whole Nation into one Foole. And surely 't is no hard thing with God to make the wisedome of the whole world Foolishnesse 1 Cor. 1. And 't is as easie with him to confound the wisedome of a whole Nation as of one Achitophell And see I beseech you how their sins continue Once a Foole in this kinde and an Enemy to Gods Cause and a Blasphemer of his Person euer after without a great deale of mercy And this is noted in the circumstance Tota Die and Quotidie Daily and all the day long at this Blasphemy And 't is vsuall this with Enemies All the day For their Studdie is vpon it And euery day For these Enemies were the same in Blasphemy The day of their preparation The day of their Fight the day of their Victory And Ruffinus obserues that this Blasphemy grew in the continuance And either it derided God in his Seruants or it menaced men for seruing God How it flatter'd it self there while against both Man and God is thus far apparant in the Text That they neuer durst haue bin daily Blasphemers against God if they had not bin Opinators at least that God could neuer haue maintained made good his cause against them It is too much to see the cause of God opposed To heare the Name of GOD Blasphemed were it but once But all the day long and euery day is a Tentation allmost vnsupportable to Christian and religious hearts Yet this wee must bee Inur'd to heare against King and Church and God himselfe if wee take not better course then hitherto wee haue done to keepe out the Enemy and his Blasphemy Against this 't was time for the Prophet and 't is time for vs to pray The Blasphemy of an Enemie is a very vrgent Motiue to make Men pray And the Prayer of the Prophet heere that God would remember the Blasphemer was very feruent For he beginnes this Prayer at Remember the Rebuke of the Enemy verse 20. And hee ends his Prayer with Remember the Blasphemy of this Foole v. 23. Remember and forget it not verse 24. This was the Prophet's Zeale for Gods Cause and you may learne by it that cold Prayers are not they which remoue the Blasphemy of Enemies The Prayers indeed of but one righteous Man doth much but 't is when they are feruent S. Iaco. 5. But you vvill say What needs all this calling vpon God to Remember Is it possible he should forget not possible certainly But then as before Though God cannot sleepe Yet to awaken not him but our poore vnderstanding concerning him the Praier was Arise O God So heere though God cannot forget yet because in his prouidence he somtimes carries himselfe to our sense and apprehension Ad modum obliuiscentis as if hee did forget and threatens that hee will forget Obliuione obliuiscar eorum Ose. 1. Forgetting I will forget them Therfore heere againe the Prayer runnes after the manner of men Arise O Lord yes and Remember too Why but since heer 's Enmity against the Cause of God and Blasphemy against himselfe why doth the Prophet aske no more of God but that he would remember this Why why certainly'tis because there 's aboundantly enough of that He knew if God did Remember he would punish And as S. Ierome obserues hee therefore Remembers that hee may confound in Iudgement And indeede in Gods Language to Marke and Remember is many times to punish and not to Remember is to forgiue sinne If thou Lord shouldest be extreame to marke and obserue that is to punish What is done amisse Psal. 130. And the Church hath learn'd not only to speake but to pray of the Prophet For so the Church praies in the Letanie Not punish not but Remember not Lord our Offences And therefore the Prophets Praier was home enough Remember Lord Yes do but that and we either haue or shall haue enough and our enemies too We I hope of deliuerance and preseruation and they of punishment Thus you haue heard the Prophets praier and I hope made your owne that God would Arise and bestir himself And what he desired God would do both for State and Church when he was Risen That is That hee would pleade and maintaine his owne Cause And Remember that is punish in his owne time the Blasphemy of all them that reproach or detract from it or him One thing yet remaines and 't is fit to be thought vpon this day euerie daie all the day long And that is what it is that makes God a Protector of any King any State any Nationall Church against either in bred or forraine Enemies Against the Fox at home and the Lion abroad And that certainly is for the State to goe on with Honour and Iustice. And for the Church to labour Deuotion as much at least if not more then knowledge For else Gods cause and ours may be two And then God may Arise and maintaine his owne but leaue vs to the Famine to the Pestilence to the Sword to any other Iudgement The onely way to make God Arise as soone as euer we call Nay to preuent our call and come in to helpe before we pray is for both King and People State and Church to weaue their Cause and Gods together To incorporate them so that no cunning of the Diuel may be able to separate them For then the benefit is apparant God cannot Arise and maintaine his owne cause but he must maintaine ours too because 't is one with his And his owne doubt you not he will maintaine against the proudest Enemie that can come against it And certainly the greatest hope and confidence of Gods Assistance to any Nation to anie Man that can preceed deliuerance itself
maintaine his owne Cause Is the Prayer of the Prophet iust Yes no question For the Cause of God is euer iust and therefore ought euer to bee maintained Nor is it any partialitie in God to his owne Cause that hee comes to iudge it But he is forced as it were to the maintenance of it himselfe partly because some men will not and some men cannot defend his Cause And partly because it must be iudged at some Tribunall Now there lye many Appeales in the cause of God And all Appeale is to a superiour Court The highest is Gods Therefore when Malice and Tyrannie hath done what it can to Gods cause if his Seruants doe but Appeale as they euer doe The Cause must in the end reuolue to God himselfe who alone hath no superiour Yet his very Enemies need not feare For he vvill so plead and iudge his owne Cause that their owne Consciences shall tell them his Iudgement 's right Now one thing vvhich laies a kinde of Necessitie vpon God to maintaine his own cause is as I told you that some Men will not and some men cannot maintaine it I find both these touched in the Text. First they that vvill not For these vvords Arise O God and maintaine thine owne Cause are a grieuous taxe vpon all them to whom God hath giuen means ability yet will not stir to succour his cause For'tis as if he had said Men vvil not maintaine thy cause If thou vvilt haue it defended thou must doe it thy selfe The Iewes it seemes vvere now very guilty of this else the Prophet vvould neuer haue runne vvith that earnestnesse to God He vvould haue prayed to God had Men bin neuer so vvilling yes God forbid else but had they done their duty the extremity had not beene fear'd And marke and tremble at the curse of God which vvas called for vpon some of that People for this sinne Iudg 5. Curse yee Meroz saith the Angell of the Lord curse the Inhabitants thereof Why beause they came not vp to helpe the Lord to helpe the Lord against the mighty To helpe the Lord Why What cause of God vvas this What Why'twas his cause of Warre against Sisera as appeares Iudg. 4. Against Sisera yet to helpe the Lord. And certainely 't is a great and a grieuous errour in any People as well as in Israel and in any age of the world as well as in that to fast and pray and call vpon God to Arise and Maintaine his cause and their owne ioyn'd vvith it if in the meane time they vvill put nor hand nor purse to maintaine either their owne or Gods Their owne in the State Or Gods in the Church These Men perhaps are of Tiberius his minde Deorum iniuriae Dijs curae And vvhat that Oracle meant when he writ so to the Senate vvhether It belongs to God to vindicate his owne cause Or God vvill be sure to doe it Or let his cause sinke if he vvill not defend it I am not certaine This I am sure of God can defend himselfe sine Patrocinio nostro without any aide of ours But yet if we come not in to helpe vvhen the Cause of God is deposited vvith vs the feare is and 't is Iust that God vvill Maintaine his cause and leaue vs to maintaine our owne Secondly They that cannot For these vvords Arise O God Maintaine thine owne cause imply disability in Man as vvell as malice For 't is as if hee had said Men cannot at all times maintaine thy cause If thou vvilt haue it defended thou must doe it thy selfe And this is true of the strongest of the Sonnes of Men if they bee left to themselues But this though it puts vs in more feare yet it makes vs not halfe so guilty For Guilt followes malice more then Impotency And our weakenesse and disability is such that we are not able to hold it vp against so many and great Enemies as the cause of God bath This was the case of Hezekiah He durst not trust to himselfe and his owne strength against the Hoste of Assiria Therefore to his Prayers he went 4. Reg. 19. O Lord our God do thou saue vs out of his hand which is all one with the Text. Arise and maintaine thine owne cause But I pray take this with you When Hezekiah pray'd thus the People were in Armes No deserting the cause though no selfe-ability could hold it vp But what Enemies had the cause of God then or hath it at this day that such earnest prayers vvere then and are now made that God would Arise and maintaine it Doe you aske vvhat Enemies I 'le tell you Perhaps I shall not be able to tell you all But what my Text tells me I 'le shew you First the Text tells me the Enemies that came vp against Gods cause were fierce had got some hope of Aduantage Implyed in this that the Israelites were faine to call for maintenance and supply against them Next the Text tells mee these Enemies were thought too cunning too strong for Israel to whom the defence of Gods Cause was then committed Implied in this that they were faine to flie to God and call him in to his owne defence A signe that all seconds were too weak Thirdly the Enemies were many and not like to be beaten or mastered at once And that 's expressed ver 20. A multitude of Enemies And last of all they vvere as cruell as strong and numerous For so vvee read ver 5. Where they are called Roaring Enemies A name vvhich euer had some affinitie with the Diuell 1. S. Peter 5. So in all likelihood nothing remain'd but to get God to be absent and then they might easily swallow his People and his Cause together To preuent this was the Prophets praier and so it is ours this day For so the Psalme begins O God considering how thy cause is streitned Wherefore art thou absent from vs so long And it ends at Arise and maintaine thy Cause against them And the forme of the Prophets Praier is very considerable too and a great example to the Church of Christ. The Prayer is that God would Arise and maintaine his Cause The first thing the Prophet aimes at is the Cause the equity right that belongs to it not the respect it had to Persons And this out of question is the vvay of Iustice to honour the person for the Cause not to esteeme the cause for the person Now men for the most part goe a crosse way to this and therefore vvhen they vvill come into the way of lustice I cannot tell For vsually all businesse is sided into parties 'T is no matter for the Cause let who will maintaine that simply for it selfe If it make for vs and our party so farre vvee vvill maintaine it else be it Gods cause or whose it vvill vvhether it sinke or swimme it shall not trouble vs. And I doubt as the practise of too
many men is so is their Prayer For the Faction and the Party all not the cause either as 't is Gods the Churches or the States And parties are euer priuate ends The Cause as 't is Gods the Churches or the Kingdoms is euer common Euer fit to be made the Obiect of our Prayers Yet this aduantage may heere be had If euer you may safely preferre the person before the cause and yet be iust you may doe it heere God before his owne cause And the Reason is because God as he can neuer tender an vniust cause to his People so is he Iustice it selfe And euer Iuster then any cause of his that is without him Therefore whatsoeuer others doe Arise O God and maintaine thy selfe and thine owne cause Maintaine it euen from heauen ther 's no great trust to the Earth for that is full of darkenesse and cruell habitations verse 21. Now all this while wee haue almost forgotten who 't is that makes this Prayer Saint Hierom tells me and hee is not alone in the opinion the Psalme was Dauids and therefore the Prayer too As a Prophet he foresaw the danger and as a King he went on directly to the highest remedy And though Kings now are not Prophets yet 't is a great blessing vpon any Kingdome to haue the King a Seer so farre as is possible To haue him with both eyes open His right eye open and vp to heauen for God to maintaine him And his other eye downwards but open vpon his People to take care of them and maintaine them with the same support that hee hath receiued from God And herein aboue other Nations we are blessed this day I say againe Aboue other Nations if vve can see our blessing and be thankefull For the King keepes his eye as steddy vpon God as if hee had no helpe below him And yet at the same time as gracious an eye vpon his People to relieue their iust grieuances as if he were more ready to helpe them then to receiue helpe from them Let not your hearts be troubled neither feare S. Ioh. 14. Here are two Kings at once at Prayer for you Dauid and your owne King They are vp and calling vp on God to Arise For shame Lagge not behinde God and your King You haue beene and I hope are a valiant Nation let nothing dead your spirits in Gods your Countries Seruice And if any man drop malignant poyson into your Eares powre it backe into his owne bosome And Sir as you were first vp sumon'd the Church to awake and haue sounded an Alarum in the Eares of your People Not that they should Fast and Pray and serue God alone but goe with you into the House of the Lord so goe on to serue your Preseruer Your Merit and the Noblenesse of your heart will glew the hearts of your People to you And your Religious care of Gods Cause and seruice will make him I doubt not Arise and haste to the maintenance of your Cause as of his owne Only in these and all times of difficultie bee strong and of a good courage keepe close to the Lawe of the Lord. Be full of Counsell and then resolute to Act it Else if you shal not be firme to deliberated Counsells they which are bound to serue you may seeke and finde opportunities to serue themselues vpon you This doe and God Arise and be with you as he was with Moses Ios. 1. This do and as S. Chrysost. speakes Aut non habebis Inimicum aut irridebis eum Either you shall haue no Enemy or you shall be able to scorne him the world ouer The second thing vvhich the Prophet vvould haue God doe when he is risen is that he would Remember how the Foolish man blasphemeth him dayly The Enemies of Gods Truth and of the peace of his People it seemes doe not onely seeke to ouerthrow his Cause but base vnciuilly irreligious as they are they flye vpon his person too For so you see the Text changes from the thing to the person Maintain thy cause but remember the Reproach runs against thy selfe They blasphemethee And by this you may see how dangerous a thing it is for any Men or any States to become Enemies to the Cause of God For sinne will not stay till it haue wrought them farther euen into enmity against God himselfe And therefore this sin here a high and a presumptuous sinne is not called the presumption of them that hate Gods Cause but of them which hate God himselfe Ver. 24. Presumption easily falls to Reproach goodnes itselfe But what Reproach is it these Enemies cast vpon God What Why 't was in the highest degree 'T was Blasphemy For so Saint Basil renders my Text. And so 't is called againe Ver. 11. 19. You may be sure the Prophet mistooke it not It went not single there vvere more then one and Theoderet cals them Execrationes Cursings and Reuilings of God And men of all sorts as vvell as vsurping Enemies had need bee watchfull ouer this sin For a man may quickly be vvithin the borders of it before hee be aware especially if he be bold and busie vvith the Cause of God as it is reserued and secret in himselfe For since all Blasphemie is a Derogation of some Excellencie chiefly in God the Schoole collects and truly That vvhosoeuer denies to God any attribute that is due vnto him or affirmes any of God that is not agreeable to his Nature is within the Confines of Blasphemie Entred though perhaps not so far gone But these Enemies it seems stuck at no degree of Blasphemy Spared God himselfe no more then his Cause And vvhat reason can this State or Church haue to thinke these Enemies or their like that spared not God nor his Cause vvill if they haue power enough spare them or theirs But I pray vvho or vvhat manner of Enemy vvas it that made thus bold vvith God Who vvhy my Text answers that too Sculous fuit it vvas the foolish Man And you may know so much by his boldnesse We find Psal. 14. There was a Foole that blasphemed God But 't was in his heart Out of his mouth hee durst not let it goe not once And this Foole was in the same feare at first For his Blasphemie kept in his heart verse 9. But now hee was growne impudent it brake out at his Lippes For as S. Basil and others obserue he did Palam maledicere Blaspheme at large The Prophet no question knew these Enemies what they were and that they had other names beside Fooles But hee fits them with their Name of Merit That they deserued that he giues them I told you these Enemies vvere cunning subtill Enemies And 't is true But Malignity against Gods cause and Blasphemie against his Person vvill make the greatest Wisedome in the world turne Foole. And Follie dares aduenture any thing against Man Nay against God