it be once committed perhaps it doth not kill presently but there is death in the Pot thou art a child of death as soone as euer thou hast committed sinne as Salvian saith well thou perishest before thou perish the sentence is upon thee thou art a dead man God to wait for thy repentance prolongs thy dayes but as soone as thou hast sinned without repentance thou art a child of death and as Poyson that workes secretly a while yet in time it appeares so at last the fruit of sinne will bee death Sin and death came in together take heed of all sinne it is no dallying matter Their soule abhorres all manner of meate THIS is one branch of the extremitie of the sicknesse the loathing of meate for God hath put a correspondencie betweene food that is necesary for man and mans relish for man being in this world to be supported the naturall moysture being to be supplied and repayred by nourishment as it is spent by the naturall heate which feeds upon it therefore God hath put a sweetnesse into meate that man might delight to doe that which is necessary for who would care for meate if it were not necessary Therefore being necessary God hath put delightfull tasts in meates to draw men to the use of them to preserve their being for the serving of him Now when these things savour not when the relish of a man is distempered that he cannot judge aright of meats when the palate is viciated there must needs follow sicknesse for a man cannot doe that that should maintaine his strength he cannot feed on the creature therefore the Palmist setting downe the extremity of sicknesse he sayth their soule abhorreth all manner of meate This the great Phisitian of heaven and earth sets downe as a symptome of a sick state when one cannot relish and digest meat experience seales this truth and prooues it to be true You see then the happines of Epicures how vnstable and vaine it is whose chiefe good is in the creature God by sicknesse can make them dis-relish all manner of meate and where is the summum bonum then of all your belly-gods your sensuall persons Againe in that he saith Their soule abhorreth all manner of meate it should teach us to blesse God not only for meate but for stomacks to eate it is a blessing common and therefore forgotten It is a double blessing when God provides dayly for our outward man and then gives a stomack to relish his goodnesse in the creature sometimes a poore man wants meate and hath a stomacke sometimes a rich man wants a stomacke when hee hath meate they that haue both haue cause to blesse God because it is a judgment when God takes away the appetite that men abhorre and loath all manner of meate Therefore if we would maintaine thankfulnesse to God labour to thanke God for common blessings what if God should take away a mans stomacke we see his state here he is at the gates of death therefore thanke God that he maintaines us with comforts in our pilgrimage and withall that he gives us strength to take the comfort of the creature Wee fee here againe one rule how to converse with them that are sicke blessed is hee that understands the estate of the afflicted and sicke not to take it ill to see them wayward it comes not from the mind but from the distemper of the body as wee beare with children so we must beare with men in those distempers if they have foode and yet loath it you see how 't is with men in that case Their soule abhorreth all manner of meate It should teach us to sympathize with those that are sicke if we see them in these distempers The next branch of the extremitie is They draw neere the gates of death DEATH is a great Commander a great Tyrant and hath gates to sit in as Iudges and Magistrates used to sit in the gates There are things implyed in this phrase First They draw neere to the gates of death that is they were neere to death as he that drawes neere the gates of a Citie is neere the Citie because the gates enter into the Citie Secondly gates are applyed to death for authoritie they were almost in deaths jurisdiction death is a great Tyrant hee rules over all the men in the world over Kings and Potentates over meane men and the greatest men feare death most hee is the King of feares as Iob calls him I and the feare of Kings Yet death that is thus feared in this life by wicked men at the day of judgement of all things in the world they shall desire death most according to that in the Apocalips They shall desire death and it shall not come to them they shall subsist to eternall myserie that that men are most affraid of in this life that they shall wish most to come to them in the world to come Oh that I might die What a pittifull state are wicked men in therefore it is called the Gate of death it rules and over-rules all mankinde therefore it is sayd to reigne Rom. 5. Death and sinne came in together sinne was the gate that let in death and ever since death raigned and will till Christ perfectly tryumph over it who is the King of that Lord and Commander and hath the key of hell and death To wicked men I say hee is a Tyrant and hath a gate and when they goe through the gate of death they goe to a worse to a lower place to hell it is the trappe-doore to Hell Thirdly by the gate of death is meant not onely the authority but the power of death as in the Gospell The gates of hell shall not prevaile against it that is the power and strength of hell so here it implies the strength of death which is very great for it subdues all it is the executioner of Gods justice If death have such a Iurisdiction and power and strength let us labour to disarme it before hand it is in our power to make death stinglesse and toothlesse and harm lesse nay wee may make it advantagious for the gate of death may become the gate of happinesse let us labour to have our part and portion in Christ who hath the key of hell and death who hath overcome and conquered this tyrant Oh death where is thy sting oh grave where is thy victory 1 Cor. 15. Thanks bee vnto Ged who hath given vs victory through Iesus Christ our Lord that now wee need not feare death that though death have a gate yet it is a gate to let us into heaven as it is a doore to let the wicked into hell So much for that In the next place wee come to their carriage in their extremity They Cryed to God in their trouble THIS is the carriage of man in extreame ills if hee haue any feare of God in him to pray and
that wander in the wildernes hungrie and thirstie vers 4. They cry and God regards them The second is in verse 10. They that sit in darkenesse and in the shadow of death bound in iron They cry and the Lord heareth them The third is in the words of the text Fooles for their transgressions are afflicted their soule abhorreth all manner of meate him instanceth in sicknesse the most ordinary affliction and shewes that God hath a most particular providence even in that The fourth is in vers 23 Those that goe downe into the Sea they see experiments of Gods particular providence Since the fall the life of man is subject to a wondrous many inconveniences which wee have brought on us by our sins now in this varietie it is a comfortable thing to know Gods care of us in our wandrings and imprisonments in our sicknesse c. But to omit the other 3. and to come to that that is proper to the place that is the instance of Gods providence in sicknesse Fooles because of their transgressions and because of their iniquities are afflicted c. In these words you have First the cause of this visitation and of all the greivance he speaks of Transgression and iniquitie And then the kind of this visitation sicknesse And the extremitie in two branches Their soule abhorreth all manner of meate and secondly They draw neere to the gates death And then the carriage of the affected and sicke parties They cry unto the Lord in their distresse And the remedie of the vniversall and great Physitian He saves them out of their distresse And the manner of this remedie Hee sent his word and healed them his operative and commanding word so as it workes with his command Lastly the fee that this high Commander askes for all the tribute or reward that he expects is Praise and Thankesgiving Oh that men would therefore praise the Lord for his goodnesse and his wondrous workes for the children of men c. So you see this Scripture conteines several passages betweene God and man in misery and in deliverance In misery God afflicts man for his sinne the passage of man to God is hee cryes to God Gods passage backe againe is his deliverance and then his returne backe againe must bee Thankesgiving So here is a double visitation in justice God correcting sinne and then a visitation in mercie upon their crying and praying God restores them and then mans dutie Thankesgiving But to proceed in order Fooles because of their transgressions c. HERE you have first the qualitie of the persons set downe Fooles Wee must understand by fooles wicked fooles not such fooles as are to be begged as we say that are defective in their naturals but the wise fooles of the world they are the cheife of fooles how ever in the Courts of men they be not found fooles yet they are fooles in Gods esteeme who is Wisedome it selfe those that thinke themselves wise that are conceitedly wise they are these fooles here In the phrase of Scripture and the language of the Holy Ghost every sinner is a foole It were a disgracefull terme if any man should give it but let no man stumble at it it comes from the wise God that knowes what wisedome is and what is folly If a foole shall call a man foole hee doth not regard it but if a wiseman especially the God of wisedome call a man foole hee hath reason to regard it who can judge better of wisedome then God who is onely wise Why are wicked men fooles and Gods children so farre as they yeeld to their lusts In divers respects First For lacke of discerning in all the carriage and passages of their lives You know a foole is such a one as cannot discerne the difference of things that is defective in his judgement discerning and judgement that especially tries a foole when he cannot discerne betweene pearles and pebbles between Iewels and ordinary base things so wicked men are defectiue in their judgments they cannot discerne aright betweene spirituall and heavenly things and other things all your worldly fooles he hunts after and placeth his happinesse in things meaner then himselfe hee takes shadowes for substances A foole is led with his humour and his lust even as the beast so there is no wicked man that shakes of the feare of God which is true wisedome but hee is led with his humour and passion and affection to some earthly thing Now a man can never bee wise and passionate unlesse in one case when the good is so exceeding that no passion can be answerable as in zeale in divine matters that will excuse all exorbitant carriage otherwise When David danced before the Arke a man would thinke it had beene a foolish matter except it had been in a divine businesse when the matter is wondrous great that it deserues any pitch of affection then a man may be eager and wise but for the things of this life for a man to disquiet himselfe and others to hunt after a vaine shadow as the Psalmist saith after riches and honour and to neglâ—ct the mayne end of a mans life it is extreame folly a man that is passionate in this respect cannot be wise all fooles are passionate and wicked men have their affections set deeply on somewhat else besides God Because passion presents things in a false glasse as when a man sees the sunne through a cloud he seems bigger when men looke not on things in the judgment of the scripture and the spirit of God and right reason but through affection things appeare to them otherwise then they are and themselues afterwards see themselues foâ—les Take a worldling on his death bed or in hell hee sees himselfe a foole then when his drunkennesse is past when hee is come to himselfe and is sober he sees that he hath catched all his lifetime after shadowes wicked men that are carried with their lusts to earthly things they cannot be wise therfore the rich man in the Gospell is called a foole and in Ier. 17. hee speaks of a man that labors all his life time and in the end is a foole Is not he a foole that will carrie a burthen and load himselfe in his journey more then hee needs and is not hee a spirituall foole that loads himselfe with thick clay as the Prophet calls it and makes his pilgrimage more cumbersome then hee needs Is not hee a foole that layes the heaviest weight on the weakest that puts off the heaviest burthen of repentance to the time of sicknesse and trouble and death when all his troubles meete in a center as it were and hee hath enough to doe to conflict with his sicknes Againe hee is a foole that will play with edge-tooles that makes a sport of sinne hee is a foole that provokes his betters that shootes up arrowes and casts up stones that shall fall on his owne head hee that
was at the Baptisme of Christ so euery infant that is baptized is the Child of Christ. And it is a speciall thing that we should meditate of We slight our baptisme and thinke it needlesse you see the holy woman here would bee baptized presently shee would haue the seale of the covenant There are many that are not booke-learned that cannot read at least they haue no leasure to read I would they would read their booke in their Baptisme and if they would consider what it ministers to them upon all ocasions they would be farre better Christians then they are Thinke of thy Baptisme when thou goest to God especially when hee seemes angrie it is the seale of the covenant bring the promise Lord it is the seale of thy Covenant thou hast prevented mee by thy grace thou brough test mee into the Covenant before I knew my right hand from my left So when we goe to Church to offer our seruice to God thinke by baptisme wee were consecrated and dedicated to God we not only receiue grace from God but we giue our selues to God Therefore it is sacriledge for persons baptized to yeeld to temptations to sinne we are dedicated to God in baptisme When we are tempted to despaire let us thinke of our baptisme wee are in the Covenant of Grace and haue receiued the seale of the Covenant baptisme The divell is an vncircumcised damned cursed spirit hee is out of the Covenant but I am in the Covenant Christ is mine the holy Ghost is mine and God is mine therefore let us stand against all the temptations of that vncircumcised vnbaptized damned spirit The thinking of our baptisme thus will help us to resist the Devill he is a coward if hee bee resisted he will flee and what will better resist him then the Covenant of grace and the seale of it When we are tempted to sinne let us thinke what haue I to doe with sinne by baptisme I haue union with the death of Christ he died to take away sin and my end must be his I must abolish sin in my nature Shall I yeild to that that in baptisme I haue sworne against And then if we bee tempted to despaire for sin let us call to mind the promises of grace and forgiuenesse of sins and the seale of forgiuenesse of sinnes which is baptisme For as water in baptisme washeth the body so the blood of Christ washeth the soule Let us make that use of our baptisme in temptations not to despaire for sin And in conversing among men let us labor to maintaine the vnitie of the spirit in the bond of peace to live peaceably Christians must not fall to jarre why There is one faith and one Baptisme have wee not all one father one inheritance one baptisme one Religion and shall wee breake one with another for trifles they forget their Baptisme that are so in quarrells Thus if wee would thinke of it it is such a booke as would be readie at hand for all services And then for our children those that God hath committed to us let us make use of baptisme do they die in their infancie make this use of it I have assured hope that my child is gone to God he was borne in the Covenant and had the seale of the Covenant baptisme why should I doubt of the salvation of my child If they live to yeares of discretion then be of good comfort he is Gods Child more then mine I have dedicate him to God and to Christ he was baptized in the name of Christ Christ will care for him as well as for me If I leave my Children behind me they are Gods and Christs children they have received the seale of the Covenant baptisme Christ will provide for them and he that provides heaven for them will provide all things in the way to heaven necessarie God hath said I will be the God of thee and of thy children they are in Covenant thine they were Lord. A man may commit his Children to God on his death-bed thou gavest them me and I commit them to thee againe as before I did by baptisme All this wee have by thinking of our baptisme If we looke no further as prophane spirits doe not then the water and the elements we can have no comfort by these things but wee should consider Gods blessed institution and ordinance to strengthen our faith And to our children when they come to yeares baptisme is an obligation to beleeve because they have received the seale before hand and it is a meanes to beleeve Shee was Baptized And her houshold SO good is God where the governour of the familie is good he gives all the familie good because he makes conscience in governing and instructing them God crownes their indeavours with successe that they shall be all good As we see Abraham and his houshold the Gaoler and his houshold Zacheus and his houshold Oh! it is a a blessed thing to be a good governour in a familie he brings a blessing upon his house the Church of God is in his house There cannot be a more honorable title to any house then to say it is the Church of God that the Governour of the familie brings all in subjection to God that as he will have all serve him so he will have all serve God that he will not have a servant but he shall be the servant of God nor a child but he shall be the child of God and he labours to make his wife the Spouse of Christ. Thus it should be said of every Christian familie and then they are Churches Alas in many places now they are hells because there is little regard had of instructing of them Beloved many poore soules have had occasion to blesse God forever that they haue bin grafted into such good families And put case sometimes thou hast instructed them and taken paines and there is no good done When thou art dead twenty yeares after it may come to their minds all those instructions when they are in worse families Oh! in such a place with such a Master I had such instructions but I had no grace to take good by them but now I call them to mind so the seed that was sowen long before may take effect then This should incourage those that are Governours of families to be good Lydia was baptized and her houshold And she besought them saying if you have judged me faithfull to the Lord come to my house and abide there HEre is the fruit of Lydia's conversion when shee was converted and baptized shee intreated the Apostles to come to her house and abide there and she prevailed shee constrained them by a morrall kind of violence they suffered themselves to be overcome If you have judged mee faithfull c. Come to my house and abide there Here is her invitation and the argument that she forceth it by If you have judged me faithfull to Christ then come to my house To speake a
God they are the three issues of a gracious beleeuing heart and where they are not there is no faith at all I beseech you let us imitate this blessed woman You see here the name of Lydia is precious in the Church the name of Lydia as it is sayd of Iosiah it is as a boxe of oyntment powred out the name of Lydia cannot bee named in the Church but there is a sweete sauour with it As soone as shee beleeued the Holy Ghost the spirit of GOD blowing upon the garden of her heart where the spice of Grace was sowed stirred vp a sweete sent of faith and of bountie and liberalitie in the cause of Christ. Let not this bee in vaine to us but euery one of us labour to bee like Lydia you see what loadestone drew PAVL heere to goe unto her house shee had Faith and shee expressed it in loue Let us labour to haue faith and to expresse it in loue to GOD vnto CHRIST to his people and word and ordinances that haue his stampe on them and let us boldly owne the cause of CHRIST let us not regard the censures of vaine men that say thus and thus Faith and loue forget danger it is bold Shee forgot all the danger that shee was in by countenancing Paul and such men Let us labour for faith and loue and wee shall not say this and that There is a Lion in the way but wee shall goe on boldly vntill wee doe receiue the end of our faith and loue the salvation of our soules FINIS The Table A. Abasement part page CHrists word powerfull in his abasement 2.92 Affections Affections to Religion strong in women 1.9 Affliction Affliction why sent of God 2.58 Prayer a remedy in affliction 2.60 Angels Praise a duty fit for Angels 2.108 Appetite To blesse God for appetite 2.46 Spiritual appetite how recovered 2.140 Attend Attention God opens the heart to attend 1.46 Attention necessary 1.54 Directions to attend on the Word 1.57 Trials of attending aright 1.69 Attire Selling and wearing rich Attire lawfull 1.17 Atheisme see Nature B. Baptisme Baptisme a seale of salvation 1.76 How to thinke of our Baptisme 1.78 Beginning Great things from small beginnings 1.11 Boldnesse see Sinceritie C. Callings Callings allowed of God 1.14 Censure Censure of wicked men not to be regarded 2.24 Command Command of God over all things 2.84 Commerce Commerce lawfull 1.15 Confirme Approbation of strong Christians confirmes the weak 1.95 Crie Gods children crie in afflictions 2.57 D. Death Gates of death what 2.49 Death how to disarme it 2.53 Deferre God why hee deferres helpe 2.81 Dishonour Only wicked men dishonour God 2.104 displease To take heed of displeasing God 2.87 Distemper What to doe in spirituall distempers 2.141 Divinitie Divinitie transcends other Arts. 2.37 E. End Fooles forget their End 2.17 Epicures Happinesse of Epicures unstable 2.45 Extremitie see Crie F Faith Faith trialls of it 1.104 Fooles Folly Wicked men fooles 2.9 Why they are fooles 2.10 Folly in Gods children 2.25 Fruitfull True faith fruitfull 1.101 G. Garments Garments the use of them 1.16 Gates see Death God God to bee sought in trouble 2.35 Gospell Gospell the ground of faith 1.50 H. Heathen God heares the prayers of the Heathen 2.21 Heart Heart opened by God 1.32.34 Heart what meant by it 1.40 Humiliation Ground of humiliation of wicked men 2.21 I. Iesting Iesting with sinne a signe of folly 2.16 Invitation Lydia's invitation 1.99 Iustifie To justifie God in his judgements 2.33 L. Labourers Labourers to be prayed for in Gods harvest 1.52 Love Trials of faith by love 1.104 M. Meanes God brings the elect under meanes 1.29 Mind The mind must be sanctified to attend to the Word 1.43 Miserie Miserie of wicked men 2.50 Why God suffers men to fall into great miserie 2.55 Murmuring Murmuring in trouble the cause of it 2.39 N. Nature Atheisme against nature 2.57 Notice God takes particular notice of his 1.7 O. Open. Trials whether the heart bee open 1.46 See heart Passion Wicked men fooles for their passion 2.12 Passion how it presents things 2.13 Patience Patience to others the ground of it 1.38 Patience in our selves 2.34 People People of three sorts before Christ. 1.19 Pestilence To praise God for deliverance from the pestilence 2.129 Physitian God the best Physitian 1.71 Power Powerfull Gods word Powerfull 2.83 Incouragements to pray from Gods power 2.89 See Abasement Poyson Sinne as poyson 2.41 Prayer What state we are fit to pray in 2.62 Prayer to God successefull 2.73 See affliction Praise All men to praise God 2.99 Other creatures how they prayse God 2.102 Prayse the end of all we doe 2.109 Helps and meanes to prayse God 2.113 Preached The Word preached the usuall meanes of faith 1.51 Preaching how to be prized 1.54 Preparation Workes of preparation necessary 1.20 Preparation from God 1.21 Preparations remove hindrances 1.22 Progresse of preparation 1.24 Preparations not to bee rested in 1.31 Providence Instances of Gods providence 2.3 R. Rod. Sinne puts a rod into Gods hand 2.40 S. Sicknesse Sinne the cause of sicknesse 2.32 Sicknesse how from God 2.38 Extremitie of sicknesse 2.43 Naturall cause of sicknesse 2.44 How to converse with the sicke 2.47 To have recourse to God in sicknesse 2.73 Sight Foure things requisite to sight 1.55 Sinne. Aggravation of sinne 2.22 Vnhappy succession of sinne 2.31 Beginnings of sinne to bee avoided Ibid. Particular sinnes to be searçhed out 2.34 What sinnes hinder prayer 2.82 Sinceritie The boldnesse of sinceritie 1.95 Soule God by his Word heales the soule 1.137 T. Table Whence the breach of the second Table comes 2.27 W. Waiting Waiting after prayer necessarie 2.79 Weake How to judge of weake Christians 1.77 Wisdome Spirituall Wisdome to bee begged 2.23 Wittie Wicked men wittie in their Generation 2.18 Women See Affections Word See Power Worldling The course of Worldlings 2.35 Wound Fooles wound themselves 2.20 FINIS A Rescue from DEATH with a Returne of Praise PSAL. 107.17 c. Fooles because of their transgressions and because of their iniquities are afflicted c. THis Psalme containeth some passages concerning Gods particular sweete Providence not onely to the Church but to other men for Hee that created all things even the meanest creature must haue a providence over all things his providence must extend it selfe as large as his creation for what is providence but a continuance of creation a preservation of those things in being that God hath given to have a being The Prophet here of purpose opposeth the profane conceits of them that thinke God sits in heaven and lets things goe on earth as if he cared not for them it was the fault of the best Philosophers to ascribe too much to second causes The Psalmist here shewes that God hath a most particular providence in every thing First hee sets it downe in generall and then hee brancheth it out into particulars especially foure wherein hee specifieth Gods providence The first instance is of those
then prayers are cries they are darted out of the heart as it were to heaven It is sayd Christ made strong cryes in extremity prayers are cries hence I observe breifly these things That God suffers men to fall into extreame ills even to the gates of death that there is but a step betweene them and death Why To weane them perfectly from the world To make them more thankfull when they recover for what is the reason that men are so sleight in thanksgiving Usually the reason is they did not conceive that they were in such extreame danger as they were Likewise he suffers men to fall into extreame sicknesse that he may have all the glory for it was his doing there was no second cause to helpe here for their soule abhorred all manner of meate and they were even at the Gates of death Now when all second causes fayle then God is exalted therfore he suffers men to fall into extreamity the greater the maladie the more is the glory of the Physitian The second thing is this as God brings his children into extremity So Gods children in extremity they cry to him EXtremity of afflictions doth force prayers In their affliction they will seeke me early When all second causes faile then we goe to God nature therfore is against atheisme as one observes that naturally men run to God in extremity Lord helpe mee Lord succour me so especially in the Church in extremitie Gods people cry to God and as afflictions so pâ—rticularly this of sicknesse of body drives men to God God should not heare of us many times unlesse he should come neere us by afflictions and deepe afflictions Out of the deepe haue I cryed God brings us to the deepe and then we crie Our nature is so naught that God should not heare of us as I sayd unlesse he send some messenger after us some affliction to bring us home as Absalom dealt by Ioab when hee fired his corne In the Gospel Christ had never heard of many people had it not beene for some infirmity but blessed are those sicknesses and infirmities that occasion us to goe to God that makes us crie to God It was the speech of a Heathen we are best when we are weakest why as hee saith very well who is ambitious voluptuous or covetous for the world when he is sick when he sees the vanity of these things This should make us submit more meekly vnto GOD when wee are vnder his hand when we are his prisoners by sicknesse when he casts us on our sicke beds because GOD is working our good hee is drawing us neerer to him Then they cryed to him So we see then that prayer it is a remedie in a remedilesse estate when there is no other remedy and this one difference betweene a child of GOD and another In extremitie a carnall man that hath not grace he hath not a spirit of prayer to goe to GOD but a child of GOD he cries to GOD hee had acquaintance with God in the time of health therefore he goes boldly to GOD as a father in the time of extremity Gods children can answer Gods dealing for as he brings his children to extremitie when there is no second cause to help so they answer him by faith in extremitie when there is nothing to trust unto they trust him when there is no physick in the world that can-charme the disease they have a spirit of faith to answere Gods dealing in the greatest misery as Iob faith though he kill me yet will I trust in him For GOD is not tyed to second causes and therefore if hee have delight in us and if he have any service for us to doe he can recover vs from the gates of death Nay from death it selfe as we see Christ in the Gospell raysed from the dead and at the resurrection he will rayse us from death much more can he rayse vs from the gates of death when wee are neere death Therefore considering that praâ—er is a remedy in all maladies in a remedilesse estate Let us labour to haue a spirit of prayer and to be in such a state as we may pray What state is that First take heed of being in league with any sinne If I regard iniquitie in my heart God will not heare my prayer nay he will not heare others prayers for us oh what a pittiful state is it when God will not heare us nor others for us Pray not for this people saith God to Ieremiah and if Noah Daniel and Iob stood before mee they should but deliver their owne soules If a man be in a peremptory course of sinne and will not be reclaymed but is like the deafe Adder that will not bee charmed God will not heare prayers for him will God heare a rebell when he comes to him for mercie and is in a course opposite to Gods will As if a Traitor should come to sue for pardon with a dagger in his hand which were to increase the treason So when a man comes to God and cryes to him and yet purposeth to live in sinne and his conscience tells him that hee offers violence to GOD by his sins and lives in rebellious courses GOD will not heare his prayers Againe if we would bee in such a state as God may accept us when wee come to him let us heare GOD when hee cryes to us hee cryes to us in the ministrie of the word Wisedome hath lift up her voyce and this is GODS course hee will heare us when wee heare him Hee that turnes his eare from hearing of the Law his prayer shall bee abhominable Those that doe not attend upon Gods ordinances that will have a kind of devotion private to themselves avoid the publike ordinance that feare perhaps they shall heare somwhat that would awaken their conscience and they would not bee tormented before their time Let them consider it is a terrible speech of Salomon Hee that turnes his eare from hearing the Law his prayer shall be abhominable Let us take heed it is a fearefull thing to bee in such an estate that neither our owne prayers nor others shall bee regarded for us and let any man judge if wee will not heare GOD speake to us is it fit that hee should heare us speaking to him And before I leave the point let mee presse it a little further at this time wee have cause to blesse GOD for the deliverance of the Citie Oh! but let all that have the spirit of prayer that have any familiaritie with GOD improve all their interest in heaven at this time doe wee not conceive what danger wee are in What enemies wee have provoked What if wee be free from the sicknesse are we not in great danger of worse matters thâ—n the sicknesse Is it not worse to fall into the hands of our enemies Have wee not great provoked cruell Idolatrous enemies therfore let us joyntly now all cry