formally follow Jesus Christ It is but one word but it is big-bellyed with many many mercies Peace crownes the years with goodnesse and her paths drop fatnesse It is or should be the felicity of the Saints on earth and the glory of the Angels in Heaven The Jewes custome was when they wished all happinesse they used onely this expression Peace be with you There is something in this to affect us towards it that all our endevours Councells Examples may act to this end I am sure it was Davids practise to pray for peace for the Church when he might have preferred his own ease and Kingship Psal 51.18 Be favourable to Zion build up the walls of Jerusalem then shalt thou accept the sacrifices of righteousnesse q.d. he will accept of no services in divisions Moses practise was for this Davids counsell Pauls studies were bent to remove divisions and settle order and peace in the Church of God 2 Tim. 2.23,24 Avoyd foolish questions the servants of the Lord must not strive Sathan is best known by his cloven foot And the Pythagorians have set a note of infamy on the figure of two because it first parts from unity To conclude in generall as the life of old Jacob was laid up in the life of the lad Benjamin so all our happinesse is inmantled in this Peace with our God and with one another More Particularly Peace is distinguished by these three notions Externall Internall Eternall It is of very large extent in Scripture First I finde it used to expresse the making up of that great breach betwixt God and Man Christ reconciling us to God is stiled our Peace-maker For he is our peace Ephes 2.14 Who hath made both one 15 having abolished in his flesh the enmity Rom. 5.1 Being justified by faith we have peace with God Secondly For quietnesse in conscience which is a fruit of this peace Rom. 14.17 when the commings of his smiling mercyes on the soule when the storme of our contracted guilt is over and a sweet calme in the Spirit that we may see his face Thirdly For mutuall concord betwixt man and man Phil. 4.2,3 Forbearing one another in Love Indeavouring to Keepe the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace Psal 34.14 Depart from evill doe good seeke peace and pursue it And had I time whilst I am on this subject I could desire to melt into teares and present You with the sad actings of these times obvious to my owne experience Fourthly For the presence of all outward blessings and mercies to a people Ephes 6.23 Peace be to the brethren Which how farre from us we all know and therefore full time to make towards them in the travels of our soules Fifthly For the publicke tranquillitie and quiet estate of a Church when not troubled within by blasphemies schismes and heresies nor without by persecuting enemies Psal 122.6 O pray for the peace of Ierusalem Acts 9.31 Then had the Churches rest or peace throughout all Iudea and Gallile and Samaria were edefyed walking in the feare of the Lord and comfort of the Holy Ghost and were multiplyed Sixtly For the Tranquillity of the State when free from forraigne and civill warre 2 Kings 20.19 said good King Hezekiah is it not good if Peace and Truth be in my dayes Ier. 9.7 seeke the peace of the City c. Seaventhly Security from alarms all Armes and dangerous effects of warre In the peace thereof you shall have peace Eightly For an happy union by way of Covenant before God betwixt the King and his people 2 Chro. 15. And they entred into Covenant to seeke the Lord God of their Fathers with all their heart and soule and all Iudah rejoyced at the oath and he was found of them and the Lord gave them peace round about which the Lord perswade your heart unto this day for Iesus Christ sake And thus have I showne you the spriggs of this branch and the pathway for a sound peace and the extent of Peace in the duty of prayer in this opportunity First Now God be freinds with every one of you in â—esus Christ Secondly The Lord give you peace in conscience a demonstration of it make your conscience freinds with you Thirdly make you friends one with another Fourthly Multiply all blessings on you inward and out ward Fifthly send quieT in the Church Sixtly send quiet in the State and Kingdome from enemies Seaventhly Send freedome from alarms and ease from taxes c. Eightly A mutuall agreement and covenant betwixt King and people And thus have you the spriggs extended I now come to the season fore-goeing all this prescribed Now you may review the Observation That seasonable and importunate prayer to God through Christ is a sure way to obtaine the gift of a firme setled and well grounded peace with God and man You are to know I therefore adde seasonable prayer because there are as well unseasonable as unreasonable prayers abroad in the world it was the folly of the Virgins that they cryed Lord Lord open unto us so late there is a season wherein God gives this gift and there is a season wherin he will not give it There is a time for every thing but there is an end of that time There is a time when God is neere and a time when he is farre off Esay 55 Omnia tempus habent and as true in this season omnis qui querit invenit The Prophet preaching before King Manasses prayes him to seeke while he may be found call whilst he is neere in some time if Moses Noah Santuel should pray he will not grant Oh that we had the art to hit this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this joynt of time I pray consider that place in Luke 19.41,42 If thou hadst knowne even thou at least in this thy day but now these things are hid from thine eyes You cannot have roses in winter when the Angell moved the waters then was the nick of time to steppe in else they might lye long enough for a healing when the Lord said seek my face then King Davids soule Ecchoed Lord thy face doe I seeke To misse a tyde or a winde is to loose a voyage in the 2 Cant. The Church drousily neglecting her season in the 3 Chap. Seekes it night and day but ver 1,2 found him not Stephanus is his apologie for Herodotus reports the practise of the warlike Scythian upon his tender of quarter aptly Truly our season and time of prayer for Peace is but like the Jewes feastes some lasted longer then others yet none all the yeare Sentences have their periods I and ut sententiae sic regna The old world had a season of one hundred and twentie yeares Israell in the Wildernesse but fortie yeares was hee grieved with that generation in Luke 13. but three yeares to the fig-tree under the Gospell so you see as meanes hath been more excellent the season hath been shorter Not that it is in the power of man
to shorten it but in sin to provoke God to doe it Our season hath pantings and yet life in it although not health the Lord heare our prayers to recover it out of its fits of convulsion Is there no Balme in Gilliad that will doe it 2 Chron. 7.14 If my people which are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seeke my face and turne from their wicked wayes I will forgive their sin and heale their land 1. Argument The season of Peace and the seasonable praying for Peace hath been prescribed limited and terminated to all that have gone before us in relation to Persons Kings or Kingdomes Esaus season past he could never get a returne of the blessing although sought with teares The Gadarens could never get Christ over their water more Nor the Iewes a second season as yet to learne Christ loe I goe to the Gentiles Esa 6. Osea 3.4 I have forsaken my house I have left my heritage The Monarchy of the Babilonians and Syrians was transferred to the Medes and Persians The Macedonians to the Romans The Empire of Constantinople to the Ottoman Familie Joshua tooke ten stones out of Jordan and put other ten in the roome of them Secondly It is but just with God if none find any want of this pretious Iewell to shut up his cabinet and see who will seeke after it God alwayes substracts his mercies when they prove not usefull to us or wee ungratefull for them God knowes as well how to take them from us as tender them to us Hosea 2.3.9 Thirdly In relation to the Giver there can bee but a season expected It is the Mighty God King of Kings unto whom all the Nations of the earth are but as a drop of a bucket c. It becomes not Majesty to waite long upon the tender of their favours the Lord will give inward peace and outward peace but he will seasonably be sought to for it It is no dishonour for the greatest Monarch to attend his Majesty but unbecoming him to waite a moment on the greatest earthly Prince David esteemed it the height of his ambition to be a doore keeper under-value not then to be a receiver and in capacitie to enioy his favour Use of Exhortation If this be so that wee have but a Now for it I beseech you support your drooping soules because although neere yet is not our season past for yet wee heare of peace from the cryers of peace in publique God hath not yet forbid us with Jeremiah not to cry peace unto you cry for peace with mee Nay secondly by a strange kind of working on the heart his messengers day and night seeke peace for the three Kingdomes and your Majesty at the throne of grace you are heartily presented by many thousands of religious conscientious holy faithfull Subjects in both Kingdoms for peace to your soul c. nor hath the Lord stopt our mouths as Jeremiah's 11.14 as yet to say to us pray not c. Yea Thirdly the conditions of Peace and the Lords Propositions to be reconciled to him are by his faithfull messengers presented and by many accepted of the Lord incline your Majesties heart to signe for ever his and your Kingdomes good Yea it is your peoples hopes that you will with the Sun of righteousnesse gloriously arise with healing and peace under your wings to your three Kingdomes all sore wounded and in blood This doore of hope opened let all our seasonable prayers be presented for this blessing of Peace ply this work heartily I beseech you 1. Motive you have but a Now sor it much of the season spent a great journey and little time puts upon expedition and designe Davids former experience of the misery of warre puts him upon the designe of of Prayer for Peace Psal 122. O pray saith he for the peace of Jerusalem and he plies it night and day Finis operationis est opus 2 Motive There is yet Peace to be had for his people and although with Joseph for a time he hath spoken ruffely unto us Gen. 45.1 yet I am consident he yernes in his bowells to us he cannot contain himselfe longer ere he reveale himself unto us and although the Cup of affliction hath been for a time inour sacks mouth yet in the end it shall produce good to us Isa 63.8,9 Hee will not cast off his people when they rebelled he was wrath yet he said Surely they are my people I am their Saviour Wherefore I beseech you as the dumb son of Croesus when he saw his Father about to be slain though never before brake silence and cryed out violently the strings of his tongue being loosed Kill not King Croesus so upon the vision of the sad actings of these times breake silence and seasonably every one cry out Now the Lord of Peace himself give you peace alwayes by all meanes Thirdly Because we are all sharers in the Church and Kingdomes peace more or lesse every owner prayes and lookes after the safety of the ship the Church of God is the ship wherein our great joynt stock of Religion is imbarqued and wee all beare a great adventure It is at this day on a hazzardous voyage many seeming friends by their colours ready to betray it and what betwixt the Rocks of superstition and Idolatry and the quicksands of blasphemy schisme and heresie it steeres sadly we nor our posterity cannot stand after the losse it will be their undoing for ever therefore now pray Think it sad to poyson a pond but a river much more Oh think of your posterity what truths streamed to us in our Fathers blood the Martyrs let it run to our posterity in ours or tears and let us protest against blasphemy and errors for jarring in Jerusalem is a sad and prodigeous Omen when the worshippers in Jerusalem were divided the common enemy prevailed Jer. 7.28 This is a Nation that receiveth not discipline truth is perished from them clean gone out of their mouths then read ver 33. Then I will cause to cease from the Cities of Judah and Jerusalem the voyce of mirth and gladnesse the land shall be desolate Jer. 8.19 The cry of the daughter of my people is great for feare of them of a farre Country Nay further that you may see the necessity of seasonable prayer you may observe our Saviour makes it a signe of the eternall ruine of the world Mat. 24.1,2,3 They say Master what signe wilt thou give us Take heed none deceive you for many shall come in my name and deceive many Many shall betray one another hate one another c. See Deut. 28.47,48,49,50 The divisions amongst the Primitive Christians in the Eastern Churches gave the Turk an opportunity to make them his vassals when the Divines of Bohemia and Germany fell to discord it proved a sad time and when the Pelagians had made their faction strong they set the whole Kingdome in a combustion The Lord give us deliverance from all