hundred times and his years be prolonged yet surely I know it shall be well with them that fear the Lord which fear before him It shall be well with them in as much as besides the advantage they have an of inward Tranquility Peace and Satisfaction of Mind under all Events they are moreover entitled to an Interest in the Divine Providence which gives them just grounds to look that even their greatest crosses shall be turned to their benefit And of this the holy Psalmist was so fully satisfied that a great part of this Book of Psalms is spent in declaring his sense of it †Psal 27.1 The Lord saith he is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear the Lord is the strength of my life of whom shall I be afraid ‖ v. 5. In the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavillion in the secret of his Tabernacle shall he hide me he shall set me up upon a Rock * 62.1 2. Truly my Soul waiteth upon God from him cometh my Salvation he only is my Rock and my Salvation he is my Desence I shall not be greatly moved †59.16 17. I will sing of thy power yea I will sing aloud of thy Mercy in the Morning for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble Unto thee O my strength will I sing for God is my defence and the God of my mercy * 9.9 10. The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed a refuge in times of trouble And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee for thou Lord hast not forsaken or as it is in our old Translation hast never failed them that seek thee †18.1 2. I will love thee O Lord my strength The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer my God my strength in whom I will trust my buckler and the horn of my Salvation and my high Tower ‖ 62.7 In God is my Salvation and my Glory and the rock of my strength and my refuge is in God With multitudes of other like expressions Nor doth he only proclaim his own confidence in God but invites others also to the like Trust in him at all times ye people pour out your heart before him God is a refuge for us And affirms moreover for their encouragement That * 33.18 19. the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him upon them that hope in his mercy to deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine And again saith he †34.6 7 8 9 10. That poor man cried and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles The Angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him and delivereth them O taste and see that the Lord is good blessed is the man that trusteth in him O fear the Lord ye his Saints for there is no want to them that fear him The young Lions do lack and suffer hunger or as these words are render'd in the Septuagint 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the rich are impoverished and brought to beggary but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing But I forbear to multiply Texts of Scripture in so clear a case and shall choose rather to make some Reflexion upon what I have hitherto been discoursing and so proceed to my next Head And to this end I come to summ up and apply what hath been offered in these following Corollaries Wherefore supposing us to be of the number of those to whom the Promises of God are made such as are careful to please and honour him and are ready to cast their Care upon him for to such only this Argument is directed supposing us I say to be thus qualified 1. We may hence inferr for our Consolation in all Conditions that whatever our estate be how dangerous or how dolorous soever we need never question a deliverance if it be for our good to be deliver'd For that we cannot be mistaken in this is manifest in that our gracious God has passed his word for it and * Num. 23.19 that he is not as man that he should lye or as the Son of man that he should repent hath he said and shall he not do it or hath he spoken and shall he not make it good His Faithfulness is engaged on our behalf and he will so certainly fulfill what he has undertaken that it is impossible he should do otherwise †S. Matt. 24.35 Heaven and Earth we may assure our selves shall sooner pass away than one jot or tittle shall fail of all that is gone out of his mouth For ‖ 2 Cor. 1.20 all his promises are Yea and Amen they are unquestionably true and shall in his due time be infallibly made good to all that don't incapacitate themselves for them 2. And therefore if at any time we be not delivered according to our expectation we ought to do both God and our selves the right to believe that it is then best for us that we should not * Si aliquid contra quà m oramus acciderit hoc potius oportuisse quod Dei non quod nostra voluntas habuit minimè dubitare debemus D. August Epist 121. c. 14. it being out of love to us that God is pleased to deny us our Requests because he sees them not proper to be granted us This is a natural deduction from the former and which cannot be questioned without impeaching the Divine Veracity as though he who is Truth it self and can no more deceive than he can be deceived would not be mindful to perform his Promises For one of these two Constructions must necessarily be made of God's suffering the Righteous to be at any time in a state of Affliction either that he doth not watch over them according to his word or else that it is out of kindness to them that he lets them be in this condition And since the former of these is by no means to be imagined concerning a God of infinite Mercy and Truth the other therefore must be owned as the true cause of their Grievances namely that God in his infinite Wisdom observes it to be for their benefit that they be exposed to Tryals and outward Inconveniencies And by consequence they ought in this case to rest satisfy'd that though themselves do not yet God Almighty certainly knows the denying their Requests will be a greater favour to them than the granting them would be Whence again we may observe 3. What Opinion we ought to have of our Afflictions namely that we are to look upon them as the necessary Chastisements of an Indulgent Parent who would not send them unless our Case called for them and who will however be ready to turn them into Blessings to us if we but mind to bear them as we ought And if he let us lie under them only at such times when they may be advantageous to
‖ Psal 33.18 19. the eye of the Lord to be upon them that fear him and put their trust in his Mercy to deliver their soul from death and to feed them in the time of dearth He proclaims him to be * Psal 17.7 the Saviour of them that put their trust in him He urges it as an Argument for inclining Almighty God to hearken to him and grant his Requests that †Ps 7.1 16.1 25.20 71.1 c. his trust was stedfastly placed in him He blesses himself in the security he found from his continual Dependance upon God to take care of him ‖ Ps 26.1 whereby he was set above the danger of miscarrying And again he praises and admires the great Goodness of God which had been extended not to himself only and his Contemporaries but to their Ancestors who had left them many remembrances of his Mercy to such as had applied to him in their streights and had been helped by him They cried unto him and prevailed They were confident he would be their Defender and their hope had not made them ashamed * Ps 22.4 5. Our father 's trusted in thee and thou didst deliver them They cried unto thee and were delivered they trusted in thee and were no◠confounded From all which and divers other like passages in the Book of Psalms it is easie to collect that this Vertue shall not go without its Reward in this present life besides the unconceivable Recompence that shall be allotted it in the other It is a sight highly pleasing to God to behold his poor Creatures sensible of their own insufficiency and flying to him for shelter and his Bowels are presently moved towards them And if their Case be pressing and themselves lay no impediment in the way he will find out a Method for their relief as he did for * 2 Chron. 13.17 18. Abijah and the Men of Judah who when the Army of the Israelites came upon them both before and behind to have cut them off obtained a Victory over them meerly by his Assistance and because they relied upon the Lord God of their Fathers Because they looked up to him in their Distress as their best Safeguard against all their Fears and Dangers and cast themselves wholly upon his Protection this wise Behaviour of theirs engaged his Providence on their side which therefore wrought much more successfully for them than all their own Conduct or Strength or Courage could be supposed to have done Thus it is recorded also of Job that †Job 1.14 c. when it had pleased God to bring him into a very low condition having deprived him of his Children and his Wealth and his Health and soundness of Body so that ‖ c. 2.8 he took a potsheard to scrape himself withall and sat down among the ashes until * c. 30.1 he became a derision to them whose fathers he would have disdained to set with the dogs of his flock as himself expresseth it Still he was not discouraged but professes that though †c. 13 15. God should slay him yet would he trust in him though he were at the point of death and had no appearance of recovery to depend upon this should not make him cast away his Confidence in God but he would still hope for good from him And behold the wonderful effect of this his resolute affiance in God * c. 42.10 The Lord turned the captivity of Job and gave him twice as much as he had before And †v. 16. after this he lived an hundred and forty years and saw his sons and his sons sons even four generations Another very remarkable Instance we have to this purpose in the three Jewish Captives who with undaunted boldness declared before King Nebuchadnezzar what assurance they had that God would rescue them out of his hand ‖ Dan. 3.17 Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and he will deliver us out of thine hand O King Which confident Assertion of theirs was soon after verified to his great astonishment when the more effectually to defeat their Expectation he had commanded them to be cast into the burning Furnace and burning in a very unusual manner * v. 19 20. being purposely heated seven times more than it was wont to be upon other occasions but presently he beheld them †v. 25. walking in the midst of the fire without any manner of hurt and the Angel of God with them And when they came out it was visible to the King and all his Courtiers ‖ v. 27. That the fire had no power upon their bodies nor was an hair of their head singed neither were their coats changed nor had the smell of fire passed on them So miraculously did the Goodness of God exert it self for their Deliverance But not to insist upon particular Instances the Son of Syrach appeals for the proof of this Truth to the Experience of many Ages directing to * Ecclus 2.10 look at the generations of old and see did ever any trust in the Lord and was confounded or did any abide in his fear and was forsaken or whom did be ever despise that called upon him Which direction whosoever duly follows will find no difficulty in assenting to the following words that †v. 11. the Lord is full of mercy and compassion long-suffering and very pitiful and forgiveth sins and saveth in time of affliction and that as his Majesty is great so is his Mercy He has always been mindful of them that have fled to him in their distress and been ready to proportion his Assistance to their affiance in him In like manner when Maximin the Tyrant had made a Vow to Jupiter That if he got the Victory over Licinius he would utterly extinguish the Christian Name and came on flushed with hopes of an easie Conquest and with a full expectation of putting this impious and bloody Design in execution upon the earnest Prayers of Licinius and his Army ‖ Summe Deus te rogamus Omnem justitiam tibi commendamus salutem nostram tibi commendamus imperium nostrum tibi commendamus Per te vivimus per te victores foelices existimus Summe sancte Deus preces nostras exaudi Brachia nostra ad te tendimus Exaudi sancte summe Deus Lactant. de Mort. praefect c. 46. begging of God to be their Saviour and Protector ascribing all their Power to him and humbly recommending their Safety and their Empire to him and when their General had tried to persuade the Tyrant to a peaceable accommodation but to no purpose his mighty Army was soon overthrown by a very unequal number of these Supplicants and himself forced to fly for his life and thenceforward he found all his attempts to regain his former Station in vain till being at length seiz'd with severe pains even to distraction and having lost his sight in this miserable
take away his sense of the many other Favours that he yet enjoys especially seeing these are ordinarily many more much greater and more lasting Whereto if I add the numerous Evils from which we are each day delivered forasmuch as we have no security that the next House we come into shall not fall and bury us in its Ruines the next bit of Meat we eat shall not choke us the next breath of Air we take shall not breed some mortal Distemper in us the next unruly Beast we meet with shall not prove our Executioner but only from God's good Providence watching over us and those other more imminent dangers which we ever and anon narrowly escape by Day and by Night at Home and Abroad by Sea and by Land in War and in Peace together with our divers recoveries from very dangerous and even desperate Diseases I need say no more to evince the continuance of God's immense Goodness to our Church our Nation and our Selves and the Care he daily takes of us And now what return shall we make to the Lord for all his Mercies shall we senselesly question his farther Loving-kindness or shall we not rather fix our hope upon him as our best defence in all times of difficulty and danger A steady Dependance upon him for the future is so naturally consequent upon a serious remembrance of his Protection hitherto that nothing can excuse our want of it Had he only promised to * Psal 50.15 sustain men when they cast their burden upon him we ought certainly to have believed him but when besides his Promises of this nature he hath actually wrought very powerfully in our behalf this must necessarily be a very considerable aggravation of the sin of not heartily trusting in him And the holy Psalmist therefore held himself concerned to make a very different use of this Reflection not suffering himself to doubt any longer whether God would condescend to supply his future wants when he called to mind how largely he had already tasted of his Goodness †Ps 3.4 5. I cried unto the Lord saith he with my voice and he heard me out of his holy hill I laid me down and slept I awaked for the Lord sustained me And now behold the comfortable and dutiful result of this his Meditation in the next words ‖ v. 6. I will not be afraid of thousands of the people that have set themselves against me round about This was his support that how many or how powerful soever his Enemies might be the Lord who dwelleth on high and who had hitherto been infinitely propitious to him was mightier than them all by far whose wonted Goodness had encouraged him to believe that he should not fail of being rescued out of the hand of whomsoever that might rise up against him And at another time * Ps 23.1 c. The Lord saith he is my shepherd I shall not want He maketh me lie down in green pastures he leadeth me beside the still waters He restoreth my soul he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake And then it follows Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil He could not think that God would ever suffer him to be overwhelmed with any kind of Misery since he had all along been thus gracious to him and had made such ample provision for him And once more to omit multitudes of other like passages in the Book of Psalms †Ps 118.5 6 7. I called upon the Lord in distress the Lord answered me and set me in a large place The Lord is on my side I will not fear what man can do unto me The Lord taketh my part with them that help me therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me Nor were these bare words but his Practice was accordingly For when he went forth to encounter the mighty Goliah his Confidence was this ‖ 1 Sam. 17.37 The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the Lion and out of the paw of the Bear he shall deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine And the Apostle S. Paul makes the same Inference from the Consideration of God's Mercy in the preservation of himself and his Fellow-Disciples declaring how when they were encompassed with many and dreadful terrours which would otherwise have inevitably driven them past all hope of escaping they found the remembrance of God's former Protection a Cordial sufficient to bear up their Spirits that they should not sink under the weight of the worst of Evils that might befall them though it were even the cruellest sort of death * 2 Cor. 1.10 Who hath delivered us saith the Apostle from so great death and doth deliver us in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us And at another time he speaks to the same purpose with a more particular respect to himself and the success of his Doctrine †2 Tim. 4.17 18. Notwithstanding the Lord stood by me and strengthened me that by me the preaching might be fully known and that all the Gentiles might hear and I was delivered out of the mouth of the Lion and the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work And thus ought every good Christian to encourage himself in his God by calling to mind the many signal instances of his willingness to take care of himself and others in their distress A sense of his marvellous Loving-kindness both in this and other respects should engage persons faithfully to depend upon him as their best security in the time of trouble It should dispose us all to weigh seriously with our selves how unequal a return it is for all his Favours to let them slip out of our minds and leave us in fear least he should no longer take care of us And accordingly we should rather argue thus with our selves Whatsoever our present fears or troubles are have we never known any in as bad a condition whom God hath yet of his infinite Mercy delivered from it Nay possibly this may not be the first time that our selves have been reduced to these streights and yet at length the Storm has blown over the Air cleared and we have had a way made for our escape and perhaps with that advantage that we have found our selves in better circumstances than ever before as Trees are ordinarily observed to settle the firmer and take the better root for being shaken by the Winds and a broken Limb when set again is generally reported to be stronger than if it never had been amiss How then can we be so ungrateful so undutiful to our merciful Deliverer as to refuse to put our Trust in him still How should we dread the thoughts of making no better a Return for all his excessive Loving-kindness It were certainly a much properer course more reverent and becoming in relation to Almighty God and tending more to our own security whatever we suffer whatever we
cc. 2 3. the Jewish Historian also acquaints us Who tells likewise L. 20. c. 6. of certain Magicians and Impostours about the same time that led the people out into the Wilderness upon pretence of shewing them great signs and wonders wrought by the finger of God but who being seized by Felix the Governour 's order were made to suffer for their presumption As also he makes mention of another L. 20. c. 7. who had deceived the people with promises of Safety and Deliverance from all their evils so they would but attend him into the Wilderness and hereby brought destruction upon himself and his deluded followers As Buxt Synag Jud. c. 50. Barchocabh and others did afterwards Which it is very reasonable to suppose they would not all have done but that they were encouraged to it by the disposition they found in the people at that time to hearken to every one that set up for the Messiah whom they were eagerly waiting for And the best account therefore of these several pretences was that which the fore-cited Josephus gives of their War with the Romans that they were tempted to it by the information their Sacred Writings gave them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 De bello Jud. l. 6. c. 31. of one to be born amongst them at that time who should be Ruler of the whole habitable World And for the further confirmation of this opinion the learned Buxtorf recites a Tradition amongst them that erred not much in this point Prisci Judaei ante Christi nativitatem non procul a termino aberrarunt quum Elias dixit Mundam sex mille annos duraturum nempe per duos mille annos mundum fore 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 inanem vacuum hoc est absque lege Divinâ per duos mille annos 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sub lege reliquos vero duos mille fore 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dies Messiae Synag Jud. c. 50. dividing the Space of this World's duration into three parts each consisting of two thousand years the one before the Law the next under it and the other in the days of the Messiah Which plainly discovers that from their several Prophecies relating to the coming of the Messiah the properest time they could fix upon for it was about the four thousandth year of the World the very year in which Archbishop Annal. Tom. poster Vsher places our Saviour's Birth This was the time when the Gen. 49.10 Scepter was upon departing from Judah now were Dniel's Dan. 9.24 weeks either fully compleated or at least drawing near a conclusion and now was the Temple yet standing to which the Prophet Malachi had foretold Mal. 3.1 The Lord whom they sought should suddainly come and which was to be made Hag. 2.0 more glorious than the former as the Prophet Haggai had foretold namely by his Presence in it for in all other respects it was far inferiour And this therefore was the time when the Jews most reasonably might and when in fact they certainly did expect the promised Messiah howsoever because he came not with that pomp and splendour they had hoped for but on the contrary put on a mean garb and was attended with a small and very ordinary retinue and exposed to the most ignominious of deaths that of the Cross they would by no means own him for the person they had waited for However their incredulity is no confutation of the truth of what was thus signally accomplished our blessed Lord S. Matt. 1.18 19 20. S. Lu. 1.34 35. condescending to be born of a Virgin as had been Isa 7.14 foretold of him and at the time as I have shewed and in the very S. Matt. 2.5 6. S. Luk. 2.11 place pre-signified S. Matt. 11.14 having had the promised Elias for his fore-runner that is to say John the Baptist who was S. Luk. 1.17 to go before him in the spirit and power of Elias having S. Joh. 7.16 S. Lu. 4.43 44. preached his Father's Will to Mankind and having in all points lived and died as had been before declared concerning him as might easily be shewn Here is such an admirable complication of Events in the accomplishment of divers sorts of Prophecies as can never be hoped for in any one besides And by consequence we have here a very peculiar and unquestionable proof of that divine Providence I have undertaken to assert Especially considering that this our Saviour's appearance at the time pointed at in these Predictions that is to say that he lived and died a little before the dissolution of the Jewish Polity and Temple is testified not only in Scripture but which perhaps may signifie more with some Men by Antiq. l. 18. c. 4. Josephus the Jew who in his relation concerning him questions Whether he may call him a Man or not if that passage in him be genuine as Catal. Scriptor Eccles S. Jerome supposes and Dr. De Sibyll orac c. 11. Vossius has undertaken to prove it is and by Impulsore Chresto Suet. in vit Claud. c 25. Sic etiam Perperam Chrestianus pronunciatur Tertull Apol. c. 3. Suetonius and Auctor nominis ejus Christus qui Tiberio imperitante per Procuratorem Pontium Pilatum supplicio affectus erat Tac. Annal. l. 15. Tacitus And our selves who bear his Name and make profession of his Religion are a notorious instance of the Belief of it But to make the matter yet more plain to the conviction of the most incredulous I will descend a step lower and only demand that the holy Scriptures be admitted not to have been any late fiction but to have been written about the times they are ordinarily ascribed to the Old Testament before the time of our Saviour Jesus Christ's appearance in the World and the New during the Lives of his Apostles For even so I may observe two farther Prophecies the visible and lasting accomplishment whereof is a manifest token of their coming from God and so at once proves the divine Authority of the Scriptures and that which I now produce them for an over-ruling Providence 1. The former is the Pre-assurance that was given of the vast Extent of our Saviour's Kingdom which he was to erect in the World Psal 2.8 The heathen were to be given him for his inheritance and the utmost parts of the earth for his possession Isa 2.2 Mic. 4.1 The Mountain of the Lords house was to be established in the top of the mountains and to be exalted above the hills and all nations to flow unto it Mil. 1.11 From the rising of the Sun unto the going down thereof his Name was to be great among the Gentiles and in every place incense to be offered in his Name and a pure offering Isa 42.4 He was to set judgment in the earth and the Isles were to wait for his Law Ver. 6 7. was to be given for a covenant of the people for a light of the Gentiles to open the blind eyes to bring out the prisoners from the prison and
who deny a Providence and choose rather to ascribe all events either to Chance or Mechanism than to the hand of God And the same Prediction our blessed Saviour repeated assuring them that their magnificent Temple wherein they so highly gloried S. Matt. 24.2 should not have one stone left upon another that should not be thrown down and that S. Luk 1943 44. their Enemies should cast a trench about them and compass them round and keep them in on every side and should lay their City even with the ground and its Children within it and as to the time of this vengeance that it was not to be deferred beyond the present age For so saith our Saviour S. Mat. 24 34. Verily I say unto you this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled A Prediction as true as it seemed to the Jews to be improbable For 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Orig. c. Cels l. 4. not many years had passed after they had barbarously put to death the Lord of Glory when whilst part of that Generation were yet alive Titus Vespasian the Roman General came against them and cut them off with a very great slaughter as De bello Jud. l. 4. c. 21 c. Josephus their own Historian reports at large their Temburied in its ruines At which time L. 7. c. 17. were slain by the Enemy no fewer than eleven hundred thousand persons and ninety seven thousand carried captive besides the vast numbers that had perished before by the famine and the pestilence and the intestine fury of their fellow-citizens and country-men And that which makes the completion of this Prediction the more remarkable is what L. 23. Ammianus Marcellinus has recorded concerning Julian's fruitless attempt for rebuilding this Temple thus destroyed namely that when Alypius of Antioch with the assistance of the Governour of the Province had undertaken it fearfull balls of fire issuing forth near the foundation and sometimes burning the work-men rendered the place inaccessible and constrained them to desist from their enterprize The very same account that is given both by Hist Eccl. l. 3. c. 20. Socrates and Hid. Eccl. l. 5. c. 22. Sozomen except that the former of them differs in this circumstance that he speaks of the fire 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not as arising from the foundation but descending from above and the other adds a material intimation omitted by other Authors that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 what they did in this case was done on purpose to deseat our Saviour's Prophecy And Adv. Judaeos l. 2. S. Chrysostome together with this mentions also two other attempts to this purpose the one under Adrian the other under Constantine which both proved likewise abortive though not interrupted in so miraculous a manner And though there was a City built by the Emperour Aelius Adrianus in the room of Jerusalem yet neither was it called Jerusalem but Aelius Adrianus à quo postea de ruinis Hierusalem urbs Aelia condita est D. Hieron in Dan. 9. ult 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Euseb Hist Eccl. l. 4. c. 6. Aelia from the Emperour who built it nor was it ever the Metropolis of the Jews as Jerusalem was but on the contrary had a Baron Annal. To. 2.137.2 3. Sow and Pigs set over its Gate towards Bethlehem as it were in direct opposition to the Jews nor was it ever famous for any thing besides our Saviour's Tomb there 2. The Dissolution of the Jewish Polity and Dispersion of the Jews into all parts to continue a lasting Monument of God's just vengeance upon them for all their impieties and especially for their intolerable rage and malice in procuring the crucifixion of our ever-blessed Saviour S. Luk. 21.23 There was to be great distress in the land and wrath upon this People Ver. 24. They were to fall by the edge of the Sword and to be led captive into all Nations and Jerusalem to be trodden down of the Gentiles untill the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled according to our Saviour's Prediction And thus much Adv Jud. l. 2. S. Chrysostome urges to have been declared by the Prophet Daniel and admitted for truth by Josephus in that the Prophet from the information of the Angel Gabriel fore-telling their Captivity by Antiochus Epiphanes limited it to a certain time after which they should be delivered from his Tyranny as they had also long before had a time prefix'd for their Deliverance out of Egypt and had been delivered accordingly but in this Prophecy of the overthrow of their City and Nation by the Romans he makes no mention of any recovery but affirms at large that their City and Temple should be destroyed acquainting them with the Sufferings that were to come upon them but giving them no encouragement to hope for a release from them Which it might have been expected that he would have done if he had foreseen that they should be delivered again as they had been formerly Dan. 9.27 ch 12.11 The Sacrifice and Oblation was also utterly to cease Mal. 1.11 and a pure Offering to succeed instead hereof a more holy and spiritual Worship supplying the place of their Carnal Ordinances and Legal Offerings And to this purpose our Saviour informed the Woman of Samaria S. Joh. 4.21 23 24. that the wonted Ceremonious Worship should have an end there should be no Sacrifice in Jerusalem no Image at Samaria no Ephod at Jerusalem no Teraphim at Samaria as the learned Third part of the Harmony of the four Evangelists Dr. Lightfoot comments upon our Saviour's words but that those places and that manner of Worship should fall and be abolished and that it was therefore needless for her to enquire whether Jerusalem or Gerizim were the more eminent place of Worship for the time was just now in coming when neither the one nor the other should be the place of Worship at all Woman believe me saith our Saviour the hour cometh when ye shall neither in this Mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father The hour cometh and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth for the Father seeketh such to worship him God is a spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth And not only their Worship but their Polity too was to have a period put to it by the just Judgment of God upon them for their sins Gen. 49.10 The Scepter was to depart from Judah and the Law-giver from between his feet He that had the Dominion was to be taken away from Judah and the Scribe from his Children's Children as the Chaldee Paraphrast expounds this Prophecy Or as the Jerusalem Targum has it to the same effect Kings or as Jonathan's Kings and Princes or Presidents were to cease from the House of Judah and Doctors that teach the Law from his Children's Children This indeed was not to be accomplished till the coming of the Shiloh †‑ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Messiah says
parts of the Creation * S. Matt. 6.25 c. Take no thought for your life saith our Saviour what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink or for the Body what ye shall put on for these following Reasons 1. Because the Life is more than Meat and the Body than Raiment Whereby is intimated that God who hath already vouchsafed us the better will not refuse us the less having given us life he will not deny us those things which are requir'd for its support He spake the word and we were made he commanded and we were created and dare any say that he will not condescend to order a due provision for those to whom he hath thus bountifully given a Being It is easie to believe that his intent in producing us was not that we might pine away with insuperable hunger or parch with insupportable thirst or that we might starve for want of something to shelter us from the cold and that therefore he will not let us languish under any of these Inconveniencies longer than he sees very good reason for it Having bestowed upon us Life which is a much greater blessing than Meat for it and a Body which is far more valuable than the Raiment we put upon it and the production whereof was a far greater work of his Omnipotence than a supply of these things is there is no cause to fear that these shall not also be added to those other in a due proportion 2. Because he takes care of the Birds to give them their Meat in due season For so it follows Behold the fowls of the air they sow not neither do they reap nor gather into barns yet your heavenly Father feedeth them are ye not much better than they As much as to say Since you are certainly of far more account with God than the Fowls and yet he makes such plentiful provision for them your own Reason will enform you that he will much less neglect your selves 3. Because his Providence extends it self to the Flowers of the Field as well as to the Birds for these also are delicately cloathed by him Consider the Lilies of the Field how they grow they toyl not neither do they spin and yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these Wherefore if God so cloath the Grass of the Field which to day is and to morrow is cast into the Oven shall be not much more cloath yeu O ye of little faith Where our Saviour still proceeds à fortiori as in the former case only that he doth it with more advantage arguing that the Wisdom and Goodness of God manifested in this lower rank of Creatures ought to convince every one what reason there is to conclude that he will much rather multiply his Blessings upon Mankind whom he hath created of a nobler Race and to whom he hath all along professed much greater kindness And indeed it is not conceiveable that he will take care not only of the Beasts but of the Birds too and even of those little inconsiderable Birds the Sparrows as I noted before that * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 D. Chrysost in loc not one of them falls to the ground or is ensnared and perishes without his Providence and of the Flowers to array them in such gorgeous Attire and that he will yet be regardless of Man the master-piece of this lower World It is not to be thought that he will have a constant respect to the Creatures that were made for our sake and †Psal 8.6 put in subjection under our feet and will neglect us for whose sake they were made and to whom they were thus subjected The consideration of a general Providence sustaining these inferior Beings is on the contrary a powerful Argument for engaging Men to hope for a greater Interest in his care because of the nearer relation they bear to him And what our Saviour here proves by a very rational method of deduction the holy Scriptures at other times expresly affirm declaring That * 1 Tim. 6.17 God giveth us all things richly to enjoy †Act. 17.25 giveth us life and breath and all things ‖ S. Ja. 1.5 giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not that is that he giveth all necessary things and this not with a sparing Hand but bountifully richly and liberally and not to some select number of Favourites only but to all men of whatsoever Age Language Nation or Religion that it is in him or by his assistance that * Act 17.28 we live move and have our being and again That if †S. Matt. 7.11 we being evil know how to give good gifts unto our Children our Father which is in Heaven will much more give good things to them that ask him And again That he ‖ Job 5.11 setteth up those that be low and those that monrn he exalteth to safety * v. 18. He maketh sore and bindeth up he woundeth and his hands make whole †v. 20. In famine he redeemeth from death and in war from the power of the sword Sometimes he represents himself ‖ Exod. 15.3 as a man of war and the Lord of hosts is his name and again * Psal 46.9 he maketh wars to cease unto the ends of the earth he breaketh the bow and cutteth the spear in sunder and burneth the chariot in the fire †1 Sam. 2.6 He killeth and maketh alive bringeth down to the grave and bringeth back ‖ Psal 146.7 8 9. 107.9 and 68.5 He executeth judgment for the oppressed suiting his Relief to theirs as he doth also to other Men's Necessities If People be hungry he giveth them Food if Prisoners he looseth them from their Confinement if blind it is he that openeth their Eyes if bowed down he is ready to raise them up nor is he wanting to preserve the Stranger or to help the Fatherless and Widows in their streights When any are in the wost disconsolate condition to all outward appearance and are neither able to help themselves nor have any Friend that will stand by them and assist them they have yet this comfort left that the God of Heaven sees their Distress and hears the Sighs and Groans which they send forth in the anguish of their Souls and when * Psal 27.10 Father and Mother forsake them and all other hope fails he will take them up and will provide for them Neither are they only matters of greater concernment that he attends to as Balbus in †Magna Dii curant parva negligunt De nat Deor. l. 2. c. 66. Tully supposes of the Heathen Deities but those likewise of least importance even the very ‖ S. Matt. 10.30 Hairs of our Head all which our blessed Saviour assures us are numbred by him There is nothing about us that escapes his notice nothing in all our Affairs that he is not privy to or wherein we may not
picturis ostroque rubenti Jactaris quà m si plebeia in veste cubandum'est Lucret. l. 2. will not reach to all Cases nor administer a Salve for all Sores a cure for all Maladies nor is it any kind of Relief against divers of the severest Afflictions whereto Mankind are liable The greatest Treasures cannot prevent a fit of the Gout or Stone or Cholick or Fever nor remove any other Distemper of the Body nor heal a wounded Conscience nor recover a lost Member nor deliver from Death nor profit in the day of Wrath. Riches are a great Blessing of God and for the most part tend considerably to facilitate the Owner's passage through this World and the greater share therefore any have of them the more cause they have to be thankfull for them But seeing there are great troubles of different kinds for which these afford no remedy it is a necessary piece of Prudence to look after some other more substantial Support that may stand us in stead where these fail 2. Where a Man's Wealth is most helpfull it is but a very uncertain Comfort because he knows not how soon he may possibly be deprived of it * Prov. 23.5 Riches make themselves wings and fly away as an eagle towards heaven They are a transient deceitfull Possession that like the Apples †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Joseph 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 l. 4. c. 27. Duo ibi oppida Sodomum nominatum aiterum alterum Gomorrum apud quae pomum gignitur quod habeat speciem licet maturitatis mandi tamen non potest Solin Polyhist c. 48. Edit Basil of Sodom seem beautifull and enticing at a distance but being handled turn presently into Dust or Smoak and so do us many times little or no good ‖ Quicquid longa series multis laboribus multâ Deûm indulgentiâ struxit id unus dies spargit ac dissipat Senec. Epist 91. After a Man has undergone a course of hard labour for many years together has busied his Brain in designing and his Limbs in acting that if possible he might advance himself and perhaps has at length had the good fortune to obtain his aim he knows not how soon he may be reduced to his former or a worse condition If his Soul be not immediately required of him as the rich Man 's in * c. 12.16 c. S. Luke's Gospel was when he had been just now contriving to enlarge his Barns and take his ease and enjoy himself yet all his store upon which he so highly values himself may be taken away from him and he may have but little profit of all the labour that he hath taken under the sun Instances †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Max. Tyr. dissert 35. are numerous in all Ages of persons who from the greatest plenty whether by the immediate hand of God against them for their Sins or by the malice or treachery of other Men or by their own Luxury and Imprudence have been strangely reduced to a low state to the great amazement of the Beholders Fires losses at Sea or miscarriage at home the wickedness of a perjured Villain the rapine of an Enemy some flaw in a Title some part of an Estate unjusily detained or some extravagant Humour of his own is enough to impoverish a Man in a little time though at present he seem to be as far from it as any But * Nempe dat quodcunque libet fortuna rapito Irus est subito qui modo Croesus erat Ovid. Trist l. 3. cl 7. where these and other like Causes concurr as oftentimes many of them do though one had the Wealth of Croesus he could not prevent his own ruine Thus it pleases God †S Luk. 1.51 52 53. to shew strength with his arm and to scatter the proud who are pussed up at the thoughts of their large Estates in the imagination of their hearts putting down the mighty from their seats and exalting them of low degree filling the hurgry with good things and sending the rich in the mean time empty away 3. A plentifull Fortune is not only an imperfect and uncertain Comfort to the Owner but it is many times an apparent means of his Ruine ‖ Eccles 5.13 14 15 16 17. There is a sore evil saith Solomon that I have seen under the sun namely riches kept for the Owners thereof to their hurt but those riches perish by evil travail and he begetteth a son and there is nothing in his hand As he came forth of his mother's womb naked shall he return to go as he came and shall take nothing of his labour which he may carry away in his hand And this also is a sore evil that in all points as he came so shall he go and what profit hath he that he hath laboured for the wind All his days also he eateth in darkness and be hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness Where the Preacher not only declares that the rich Man's Wealth shall not accompany him into the other World but affirms moreover that in the mean time it frequently creates him a great deal of Care and Anxiety and Fear and Danger and * Nam illud praetereo quà m multi perierint possessionum aut opum gratiâ Lactant. de mort persecut c. 7. perhaps is the cause of his death at last exciting Thieves or his own Servants or it may be his Children or other his Relations to dispatch him out of the way to the end they may divide the Spoil amongst themselves Or else it exposes him to the Malice or Covetousness of some great Person whom he is in no capacity to withstand Which was the case of †1 King 21.4 v. 9 c. Naiboth the fairness and convenience of whose Vineyard made Ahab uneasie for want of it and thereby put Jezebel upon contriving his death to obtain it So ‖ Jussuque Neronis Longinum magnos Senecae praedivitis hortos Clausit egregias Lateranorum obsidet aedes Tota cohors Juv. Sat. 10. Longinus's plentiful Revenues and Seneca's stately and pleasant Gardens cost each of them his life which they lost only by having so tempting a Bait for the greedy Tyrant And thus it often happens that an * Sed plures nimiâ congesta pecunia curâ Strangulat Ibid. overgrown Estate raises the Envy of some and works upon the Avarice of others and so the Possessor comes to pay dearly for it For in the conclusion either he is secretly murdered or which is worse is taken †Ubicunque cultiorem agrum viderat Dioclesianus aut ornatius aedificium jam parata Domino calumnia poena capitalis Lactant. de mort persec c. 7. Cum opus esset Maximiano Herc. non deerant locupletissimi senatores qui subornatis indiciis affectasse imperium dicerentur ita ut effoderentur assiduè lumina Senatus Ibid. c. 8. off by false Accusation and a pretence of Justice and so is
* 1 S. Pet. 4.15 let none of you suffer as an evil-doer in any Case because so all your Sufferings will lie wholly at your own Doors For it is not the weight of any one's * Cum martyrem non faciat poena sed causa D. August Epist 61. Epist 167. Cont. Crescon l. 3. c. 47. Nam si poena martyres faceret omnia metalla martyribus plena essent omnes catenae martyres traherent omnes qui gladio feriuntur coronarentur Id. in Psalm 34. Non ergo qui propter iniquitatem propter Christianae unitatis impiam divisionem sed qui propter justitiam persecutionem patiuntur hi martyres veri sunt Epist 50. Sufferings but the Righteousness of his Cause that makes the Martyr Men may have imbibed false and perhaps very pernicious Principles and Notions and if these bring them into trouble they may suffer only as Hereticks or Schismaticks or Traytors not as faithfull Disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ Or if their Principles be right and Orthodox but they think to express their Fidelity to them by a lewd and vicious tumultuous or other immoral Behaviour and hereby bring themselves into Difficulties this is not yet to suffer as Christians not God but themselves not their Religion but their own Folly being the occasion of what Inconveniencies befall them in this case †1 S. Pet. 2.20 But to do well to keep within the bounds of Duty both to God and Man and yet to suffer patiently for so doing this is acceptable with God Wherefore it very nearly concerns persons in all places and upon all appearances of trial to see that they be rightly principled and have due Notions and Apprehensions of things before they venture to suffer for them least otherwise they offer the Sacrifice of Fools bearing only the due demerit of their own Guilt or at least the natural effect of their Imprudence instead of honouring God by a faithfull Confession of him But being once well assured in this point and having duly informed themselves of the Justice of their Cause and the necessity they are under of being true to it they must proceed vigorously against all the Difficulties that can attend it as not fit to be put in the Balance with that far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory which is promised to them that come off Victors in this Spiritual Warfare It is infinitely beneath the hope of an heavenly-minded Christian to stick at such Rubs as these and not rather to make his way courageously through all the transitory Impediments wherewith he finds himself beset * Justum tenacem propositi virum Non ardor civium prava jubentium Non vultus instantis Tyranni Mente quatit solida Hor Carm. l. 3. Od. 3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Just Mart. c. Tryph. No Threats or Frowns of the greatest Tyrant much less the insults of those of meaner Quality should ever drive him out of his Road or incline him to do any thing unbecoming his Character †Quà m pulchrum spectaculum Deo cum Christianus cum dolore congreditur cum adversum minas supplicia tormenta componitur cum strepitum mortis horrorem carnificis irridens insultat cum libertatem suam adversus reges principes erigit soli Deo cujus est cedit Min. Foel Octav. He should continually encourage himself by revolving in his Mind how pleasing a sight it is in the Eyes of the Almighty to behold his faithfull Servants struggling with Griefs bearing up against the severest Menaces and Punishments and triumphing over the noise of Death and the dread of the merciless Executioner and keeping themselves free from the unjust Commands of Kings and Princes that they may be at liberty to serve and obey their God only should constantly remember that God is the Supream Lord of all and ‖ Act. 4.19 c. 5.29 his Laws are therefore above all to be attended to and * Da veniam tu carcerem ille gehennam minatur D. August de verbis Domini Serm. 6. that his Terrours are infinitely beyond all that the most exquisite Malice backed by the greatest Power can possibly inflict here in this World And indeed they that labour not to bring themselves to that pass that they can readily undergo the greatest Indignities for their Saviour's sake shew but a mean respect to him and that they undeservedly bear his Name For who is there would not willingly serve him so long as it costs him nothing Who would not profess himself his follower whilst he finds it for his present advantage But to continue faithfull to him when it cannot be done without apparent and very considerable damage to persevere in our Duty to him in times of sore Temptations conscientiously and strictly to observe his Commands when we are like to pay dear for it this is the truest Criterion of our Love to him * In tribulationibus quis sit fidelis agnoscitur Sext. Pythag. Our Fidelity is best tried in troublesome times and always appears most illustrious when exposed to the greatest Hardships and forced to undergo the sharpest Conflicts and if it will not hold out in these Circumstances there is too apparent cause to question its Sincerity And I cannot therefore but think it a great mistake in any of us at any time to terrifie our selves and each other with a frightfull Scene of Persecution as though it were an intolerable burden and not rather to fix our Meditations on the other hand upon the admirable Comforts that usually accompany it and the unspeakable Benefits that will at length arise from it Instead of thus dressing up the Miseries of a Suffering Estate in all the most unagreeable Circumstances enough to transport us too often beyond the bounds of Patience we should do far better service to God and our holy Religion and take a much more effectual course for securing our own Eternal Welfare if we would make it our care to form to our selves a compleater and less partial Character of those Sufferings to which our Religion may at any time expose us not harping only upon the Prisons and the Fetters and the Gibbets and the Tortures the Reproaches the Banishments the Wants the Degradations the Confiscations and the Flames of Martyrdom which we are generally too too apt to be affrighted at but labouring to make our selves truly sensible on the other side of the admirable Consolations that mightily abate its Terrours which if duly attended to would make People almost in love with it * Bonum agonem subiturae estis in quo Agonothetes Deus vivus est Xystarches Spiritus Sanctus corona aeternitatis brabium angelicae substantiae politia in coelis gloria in saecula saeculorum Tertull. ad Martyres c. 3. that it is a Service highly pleasing to God and for the Benefit and Honour of his Religion and its Profesfors and that it wants not the support of his holy Spirit for