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cause_n	know_v	lord_n	sin_n	2,663	5	4.6166	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A71022	Some notes or heads of a preface and of a lecture Preached at Distinckorn--Hill, in the parish of Gaastoun. April 15. 1688. By master Alexander Shields preacher of the gospel.	Shields, Alexander, 1660?-1700.	1688 (1688)	Wing S3435B; ESTC R184108	30,397	24

SOME NOTES OR HEADS OF A PREFACE AND OF A LECTURE PREACHED AT DISTINCKORN-HILL IN THE PARISH OF GAASTOVN April 25 1688. By Master Alexander Shields Preacher of the Gospel Psalm 〈…〉 Samuel 〈◊〉 Cha●● from the 〈◊〉 Verse to the 〈◊〉 April 25 1688. Some Notes or Heads of a PREFACE Preached at Distinckor● Hill in the Parish of Gaastoun by Mr. Alexander Shields Preacher of the Gospel The 79 Psalm being Sung. ALL our Songs this Day may be Sad Lamentation for if we understood the Place where we are It is by the Rivers of Babylon and we ought to hang our Harps on the Willows and our Songs ought to be Songs of Mourning and our Voice the Voice of Weeping And this is a very pertinent Song of Lamentation which we have bee●●singing Psalm 79. and very appostle and proper for the Case of our Day when the Heathens have entred into onr Sanctuary and laid Jerusalem on Heaps and the Gentiles are treading down our outer Courts And this will always hold true so long as bloody Papists do so much prevail and the Blood of the Lord's Servants that aim at Faithfulness and contends for GOD is shed like water and runs down like a River about our Jerusalem We are become a Reproach to our Neighbours and made a corn and a Derision to them that are round about us And this may be matter of Lamentation to us but if it were only so with us the matter were 〈◊〉 But not only we are made a Reproach and a Derision but the Word of GOD and the Cause of CHRIST and the Covenanted Work of Reformation is Reproached and made a Lud●brium and a Laughing stock to the Heathen round about us To Papists Atheists Prelats and Malignants and Enemies one all hands And when we look on the cruelty of Papists and Malignants and upon our dastardly Yeildings our foolish Yeildings Turn which way we will look before us look behind us look on every hand we see matter of sad Lamentation and lad Significations of the Lord's Displeasure against us And this we must make mention and take notice of when we come before His Presence Who is this day not only a Holy GOD but an Angry GGD who is sh●wing His Wra●h in Characters of Blood. Ye may Remember the last time I was in this Country we did hear a very sad Subj●ct suitable to Reflect upon Which was our sears did then come upon us and are come upon us since I had News to tell you then and if a right use hath not been made thereof they will be sadder and sadder still We say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 have not been affected rightly and concerned with them but have been ●ghting and not taking it to heart they will be sadder still Then we were Alarmed with the sad and sudden surprising Report of the Apprehending and taking of two Faithful Servants of JESUS CHRIST who were contending for the Prerogatives of the Prince of the Kings of the Earth and the Concerns of all the Churches and the Depositum of the Church of Scotland who were let fall into the Enemies hands and given up into the Holy all-overruling Providence of GOD to the Power of their murdering Enemies One thereof his Blood has been shed like Water since which make this Song that we have been singing very pertinent and which may make all our Songs Songs of Mourning For his Blood hath a crying Language and I fear that many hath forgotten it that seemed to be affected with it then and many is even despising it But I say that the Blood of that Faithful Servant of JESUS CHRIST Mr. James Renwick hath a Cry to the H●avens against this Generation And we shall shew some things that is the Language of it For we ought not to forge● it for it is precious in the ●ight of GOD and it ought to to be so in our ●ight also For if we forget it it will Cry against us as well as others we o●ght to enquire into the Language of such a Dispensation for it hath a very loud Cry to op●n Ears and w●akened Consciences And First It crys to us That there is a dreadful day comingon this Generation when the Godly man perisheth and when the Righteous and Merciful Men are taken away it is always an Insallible Symptom of Wra●h to come Isa 57. 1. We have all the Symp●oms of approaching Wrath that ever a Generation had for there are many Righteous Men taken away by bloody Violent Men who we●e Righteous in th●ir state Righteous in their course and Righteous in their Cause Many also merciful Men are taken away merciful Men who would ●ain have had the Generation brought off from the evils of the Generation and did spend their time and strength for them that did not pity themselves those were merciful Men and it 's so much the more a Symptom of Wrath that those Tokens are not taken notice of but are despised and made light of and this does speak out a surp●ising stroak and the near approach of it when People are crying Peace then behold sudden destruction according 1 Thess 5. 3. And are not the generality crying peace and safety and what may we expect but sudden Destruction For O! it 's an unhappy Peace unhappy it's nature and unhappy in it's effects For it 's peace with the Enemies of God yea we have all the procu●ing causes that ever brought down the Wrath of God on any Generation 2dly I 'll tell you what the blood of that Martyr crys and it is this that there is not only Wrath and Anger impendent and hanging over our heads but it is also incumbent and lying on us already and that his anger is not turned away but his hand is stretched out still and it is even against us in particular who are the persecuted party and this calls us to search and try our ways that we may know what it is that the Lord contends with us for And indeed we may find in a very slight and overly search and enquiry many procuring causes of it on our part O it says we have slighted many Warnings The Lord hath been sending his Servants rising up ●aily and sending them and many of them have spent their blood and for the most part it seems to have been in vain as to us he hath sent one still after another but we d●d not receive th●ir Message as we should hav● d●ne and we may fear that he will cease to contend any more with us but will say to us they are joined to their Idols let them alone For many to this day have discove●ed a grea● deal of their incorrigibl●ness as the Lord before the Flood gave Warning to the Old World by the Preaching of N●ah He set a day to their Repentance One Hundred and Twenty Years and after that they should get no more time to repent It c●m●s to this at leng●h that he says I will no more strive with them I 'll say no more to them let them

And they required your help and supply to get this wicked turn done which I dare aver in the sight of Heaven ye are Christs Murderers and the Murderers of all the Saints that has been Murdered since For you have bought the Swords that did it and you have bought the Ropes that hanged them and if you had not been the Hangmen your selves you could have done no more for it was told you that it was for that end Then again in the Paying of it it hath this Aggravation that it is against Light Ye are convinced it is a Sin For many of you if we come to you and speak about it ye will confess it is a Sin and yet ye go on in the Paying of it without any Excuse O that is dreadful will Ye but consider the sinfulness of it You dare not deny but it is a Breach of Covenant and that it is against the Acts of our Ass●mblies and the Word of GOD condemns it And yet Ye pay it that Ye might keep Your Houses and enjoy Your Land. O there shall be a Curse lying on Houses and that have preferred them to the Blessed and Glorious Gosp●l the Cause of a Ma●llings broken Covenant the Blood of his Murdered Servants and the Guilt of crucifieing of CHRIST afresh shall ly on You and the Blood of this Martyr that Suffered last who Testified against that sin cryes for Vengeance against You for it was never before Sealed with Blood and that gives us to Mark it the more And if You will not hear and forbear it an Europe shall hear of the Terrible Judgements that shall come upon You for the promoting Maintaining and Helping forward this Heaven-daring-revolt against the SON of the Most HIGH Now I would have You to consider what his Blood cries to You for and say it to Hear● for it call● You to Esteem Love and conteud for those Truth● which he Sealed with his Blood For they are worthie of the Lives of Thousands Yea ev●n of all the Wo●ld The least of Christ's Truths is worth the Lives of all the World much more such great Truths I thought I would tell You this in the Entrie Now let us compose our selves and 〈◊〉 our selves in the Sig●t of this Great GOD and beg His Presence and Assistance to what we are about Let us pray April 15. 1688. Some Notes or Heads of a LECTVRE Preached at Distinckorn-Hill in the Parish of Gaastoun by Mr. Alexander Shields Preacher of the Gospel Vpon 1. Samuel 15. Chap from the 13 verse to the 24 THe People of Ireal and the People of Scotland a●e very like other they have been equal in ●rivileges and they have been equal in Sin● They were a special privileged people as war in all the World. They were a Covenanted people a peculiar people They were likewise a very treache●our people and guilty of many breaches of Covenant They were unsteadfast changeable they could not stay long at one thing and they were a very Loyal people Yea and sometimes a wicked Loyal people They would have a King like the rest of the Nations Well the Lord gave them a King in His Anger and took him away in His Wrath. They might well have wanted a King for they had a very good Government before They had the Lord to be their King And He raised them up Judges fi●ed for Governing and Ruling aright Therefore because they desired this Change The Lord says unto Samuel hearken unto them for the● have not rejected thee but they have rejected Me that I should not Reign over them Well the Lord gave them one but such an one that made the Child to weep that was unborn Well he began right well And the Lord is here taking a Proof of him whether he would perform Obedience to his Command or not and he puts him on this piece of Service to go and Execute Vengeance on Amalek which was a Necessar Duty a Moral Duty for they were to have War with Amalek for ever For the Lord had given a particular Charge to the Children of Is●ael Deut 25 and last verse To blot ou● the Remembrance of Amalek from under the Heaven and not to forget it And the Lord pu●s this in the hands of Saul to discover his Hypocrisie I shall go no further on the Introduction but to lead to ●he Application to our Case We have Amalek to deal wi●h for Amalek does Typifie all the Enemies of the Church in general and hath a Reference to them in these Words that we have Read There is these six or seven Things contai●ed There is First the Meeting of Samuel and Saul together in that 13● verse and that Me●ting was little for Saul's profit Poor Samuel in the Night before when he heard that he disobeyed the Command of the Lord had been Weeping and Crying all Night to GOD for him And he●e he comes to him and he came with an Intention to be free with Saul We have Secondly Sauls accosting the Prophet he took the first word and spoke wherein are two things First Sauls Hypocritical Salutation of Samuel and Saul said unto him blessed be thou of the Lord. 2ly his Vaun●ing of his Performances I have performed the Commandment of the Lord He began to justifie himself We have Thirdly The Prophets Challenging of him in the 14 verse as if he said have ye done so have ye performed the Commandment of the Lord What means then the bleating of the sheep and the l●wing of the Oxen in mine ears For you get a Commission to go and Destroy these and cursed Am●lekites and all that appertained to them G●d's Command was to cut off all and if ye have done it what means all this Din then Every Rout of the Oxen and every Bleat of the sheep declares you to be a Rebel against GOD. Fourthly We have 〈◊〉 Excuse and Extenuation of his sin It was the people that did it not I and they d●d it for a good End viz. That they might take of those sheep and oxen to Sacrifice unto the Lord in Gilgall Fifthly We have the Prophets pressing home the Charge with many aggravating Circumstances to the 16 17. 18 19. verses As if the Prophet had said well you Excuse your self but I must be free with you remember this that y●u may see the Aggravation of your sin Remember what you were when God advanced you Ye were little in your own fight when you were An inted King over I●rael And further you were then put in a Capacity to do the Will of God and 〈◊〉 Obey His Command And then the Lord was very particular with you To go and destroy and root cut these Cursed Amal●kites but ye have not obeyed His Voice but have Rebelled against him Sixthly We have Saul's persisting in his justifying of himself in the 20 verse Yea I have Obeyed the Voice of the Lord and have gone the Way that the Lord sent me and I have brought Agag the King of Amalek and have