and he may be apprehended to glance at man in the sixth verse of the thirtieth Psalm In my prosperity I said I shall never be removed The ground of this is because Saints are sometimes led by sense carnal men are wholly sensual therefore is their hope answerable to their present visible help if there be more with them then against them they become confident of success if they march with Twenty thousand against him that comes forth but with Ten thousand they are ready to make their boast of Victory Eccles 9.11 But because the Race is not to the Swift nor the Battel to the Strong therefore saith the Spirit Cease from man whose breath is in his nostrils for wherein is he to be accounted of It is the Churches Duty and it will be the wisdom of her Enemies in the day that the Lord ariseth to shake the earth Doctrine to cease from man O Israel trust thou in the Lord he is their help and their shield O house of Aaron trust in the Lord he is their help and their shield Ye that fear the Lord trust in the Lord he is their help and their shield Psa 115.9 10 11. It is better to trust in the Lord then to put confidence in man It is better to trust in the Lord then to put confidence in Princes Psal 118.8 9. Put not your trust in Princes nor in the son of man in whom there is no help Psal 146.3 It will appear to be the Churches Duty to cease from man upon a three-fold Account The first Reason is founded upon the Relation in which the Church stands to God Reason 1. All her relations oblige her to cease from man and to put her confidence in God To instance but in two as he is her Lord as her Husband First as her Lord If I be a Master where is my fear Mal. 1.6 Confidence in God is an especial part of that fear the service which he requires at the hands of those that make profession of him as their Lord and Master Now unless we cease from man we can never give God that fear which he challengeth The Lord Christ tells us Mat. 6.24 No man can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or else he will hold to the one and despise the other He that holds to God despiseth man He that cleaves to man despiseth God Secondly As her Husband God hath married the Church unto himself every Believer is espoused to God by the Ministration of the Gospel I have espoused you to one husband 2 Cor. 11.2 'T is the first and great part of the wives conjugal duty to cease from all other men The Law of Marriage runs thus A man shall leave his Father and Mother and cleave unto his wife and they shall be one flesh Genes 2.24 As therefore a wife deals treacherously when she departs from her husband and cleaves to another man so are the Lords people said to deal very treacherously with him when they put their confidence in any thing but him Jerem. 3.20 compared with verse 23. At the twentieth As a wife treacherously departeth from her husband so have you dealt treacherously with me O house of Israel saith the Lord. Wherein her departure from God consisted is made manifest by her return at the 22th verse Behold we come unto thee for thou art the Lord our God And how come they In an humble Acknowledgement of their folly in cleaving to the Hills confiding in the multitude of Mountains Truly in vain is Salvation hoped for from the Hills and from the multitude of Mountains truly in the Lord our God is the Salvation of Israel That 's the first Account upon which it appears to be the Churches Duty to cease from man viz. because of the relation she stands in to God A second Accompt is Reason 2. that which is generally laid down by the Prophet because there is nothing in man to be accounted of nothing in man that you may rationally account a Ground of Confidence There are two things in man that pass for a sure foundation upon which others may build their Confidence in man his Wisdom his Strength his Wisdom to prevent dangers and inconveniences his Strength to repel them Thus Rabshakeh to Hezekiah Thou sayest I have Councel and Strength for the War 2 Kings 18.20 But I shall endeavor to render both these sandy foundations upon which the house that is built will not stand The wisdom of man first is not a sufficient foundation for us to build our Confidence on him The Spirit of God tells us That vain man would be wise Job 11.12 Caryl in loc It is not his vanity that he would be wise but that he would be thought wise that he affects the reputation of wisdom more then the reality of it There is a natural itch in man to be thought wise even fools would be judged wise and the wisest reputed wise beyond the line of what they have attained to And as it is natural with man earnestly to desire this so he cannot want those who will be exceeding prone to impute it to him very ready to set this Crown upon his head If a man be able to see any thing at a greater distance or in a clearer light then vulgar and common eyes do he apprehends himself and is judged by others to see beyond the Moon Irrefragable irrefutable invincible Doctor are but modest Epithetes Angelical and Seraphical are affected by and vainly attributed to some men One says of Thomas Aquinas h Cujus nomen non tam hominis quam sapientiae nomen est Strada prolus. Acad. l prol 4. That the Name which expresseth him might but serve to set forth wisdom And the same Author of Jerom That i Eo praeconio exornatus est ut diceretur Ab nullo hominum sciri quod Hieronymus ignoraret Idem l. prolus 1. the industry of a man could not attain the knowledge of that which he was ignorant of And the Lord Montaigne hath exalted Turnebus above the rate of Mortality when he leaves him under this character A man who knew all things But the spirit of God speaks of mans wisdom in a lower key Job 11. vers 12. Vain man would be wise Caryl in loc though man be born like a wilde asses colt The best have somewhat of the beast in them Every man is brutish by his knowledge Jeremy 51.17 and we experience it daily that it is with the greatest wits as with k Statium inter Poetas magnas virtutes magnis vitiis adaequasse Strada l. 2. prolus Acad. 2. Statius among the Poets or Alexander among the Heroes they miss as oft as his and the number of their follies are at least answerable to their rational productions and this comes to pass because strength of parts is accompanied with strong temptations lusts are not weakned or subdued wholly by the power of Nature hence
and I will destroy the strength of the Kingdoms of the Heathen and I will overthrow their chariots and those that ride in them and the Horses and their Riders shall come down every one by the sword of his brother Hag. 2.22 Thus you have a second Account upon which it appears to be the Churches Duty to cease from man Man is not to be confided in Reason 3. because his breath is in his nostrils They that by Man in the Text understand the Man Christ must by the breath in his nostrils understand also something to render him not despicable but terrible n Magnanima ira indignatio vindicta quam in suos hostes Christus exercet Menochius in loc So Origen Hieronym Alvarez and most of the Popish Writers By the breath in his nostrils is meant saith one the magnanimous anger the fierce indignation of Christ with which he shall blow upon his Enemies in the day of vengance but as we do not entertain their sense of man so we shut the door against such an interpretation of the breath of his nostrils and following our late learned Divines who render it Whose life is so frail that if his nostrils be but stopt that he cannot breath freely he dyes whose life as a puff of winde passing through his nostrils may be very soon and suddenly gone So also the learned Grotius whose o Cujus spiritus c Vita ejus ab aere pendet quo intercluso peribâ—t Grot. in loc Sec Job 27.3 life depends of air which failing he returns to his dust We use it as an Argument to dehort from Confidence in Man whose breath is in his nostrils Were the wisdom or strength of man in themselves a foundation of Confidence which yet they have appeared not to be this were enough to destroy that foundation His breath is in his nostrils he is subject to diseases and infirmities When you expect the man to go forth with your Forces a fit of the Gout or Stone hath rendred him unserviceable There are a thousand Infirmities incident to mans body Physitians reckon two hundred diseases belonging to the eye his best state is not a state of certainty but of danger p Ipsam quoque 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 periculo vacare medici negant Grot Epist 81. B. Maurerio Verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity Psal 39.5 Yet take him with all his infirmities could he live ever there were some ground upon which the foot of a mans Confidence might stand but his breath is in his nostrils and thus he stands in slippery places that confides in an hourlydying creature Tumor momento enascens momento evanescens we laugh at the folly of our little ones when we see them rejoyce in or grieve for signs they set their hearts upon them the bubbles that are born and die in a moment The Spirit of God is very copious in describing the brevity of mans life Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth are not his days also like the days of an hireling Job 7.1 Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble 14.1 Man dieth and wasteth away yea man gives up the ghost and where is he 10. As for man his days are as grass Ps 103.15 He is called Corruptible man Rom. 1.23 And as his breath is in his nostrils so there are many ways of stopping it various means of depriving him of it heat cold drought moisture a prick of a pin a stone of a grape an hair any thing nothing Some have died sneezing yawning weeping laughing q Mille viae lethi Strad 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cur Steruuentessalut Unus introitus innumeri exitus Zeuxes died laughing at the picture of an old woman which he drew with his own hand Sophocles was choked with the stone in a grape Diodorus the Logician died for shame that he could not answer a joculary question propounded at the Table by Stilpo Joannes Mathesius preaching upon the raising of the woman of Naim's son from the dead within three hours after died himself 'T is folly then to put our confidence in him of whom if he be but a days journey from us we cannot be confident that he is alive Thus you have the first Branch of the Doctrine made good It is the Churches duty And it will be the wisdom of the Churches Enemies to cease from man The Spirit of God tells you there is no king saved by the multitude of an host A mighty man is not delivered by much strength an Horse is a vain thing for safety neither shall he deliver any by his great strength Psal 33.16 17. and the same Spirit dehorts you from confiding in the sons of the Mighty Put not your trust in Princes nor in the son of man in whom there is no help Psal 146.3 You have doted upon the name of a King you have idolized Kings The Book of Sports you have prefer'd them to God himself when God hath commanded one thing and your King another r Si aliud Deus aliud Imperator ju beat contempto hoc obtemperandum est Dâ—â— August contemning the Commandment of God you have yielded obedience to man and therefore the Lord hath poured contempt upon them brought them down from the Throne into the dust The name of King is swallowed up in victory by the Parliament of this Commonwealth It is become a name that will devour the man and his fathers house that openly makes mention of it in this Land Cease therefore from man Had the Churches Enemies a Spring of Wisdom in themselves or were they wiser then God then you might rationally say a Confederacy to them that say a Confederacy had the Enemy an Independent unlimited infinite strength were his arm stronger then the Arm of the Lord then you might securely cleave to him own him confide in him but since their Counsels have been infatuated their Power is limited and the Lord hath them as he hath the Devil in a Chain Cease from man Depart I pray you from the Tents of these wicked men and touch nothing of theirs least ye be consumed in all their sins Numb 16.26 The Lord hath begun to break the arm of their Power The Earl of Derby routed and he hath set it upon the hearts of his People to believe that he is at hand to accomplish his work in righteousness Having thus endeavored to make good the Doctrine the Improvement of it will be directed to the Church in a double Exhortation First to the practice of the Duty to Cease indeed from Man Truly the Lord is worthy to be wonderful in our eyes in two things restraining the growing Power of the Enemy and causing the Horn of his Servants to flourish For the first the Enemy did and might very rationally expect that if he could set the sole of his foot his wearied foot upon English ground his strength would take root downward
and bring forth fruit upward it could not but be expected on all hands that the further he roll'd the greater strength he would gather that before he had passed through one Countrey he would become a mighty Mountain yet behold and admire God though at his entrance he leave our Army Fourscore Miles in his Rear their flesh wearied and their spirit almost languishing through the continued difficulties they met with in a strange Land though he appear in a County very fond of him that invited him in where the Design was laid he coming in according to the cue that he had from hence though he strike many f Facile ignem concipiunt quae paulo ante extinctae sunt faces Strad de Bello Belgic sparks among Brands lately quenched that are but too prone to take fire and though he march with an Idol in the head of his Army The name of a King to which the generality of this Nation are very superstitious too ready to bow down to it and submit their necks to a Tyrants feet four Circumstances that were each of them big with the ruine of all that is dear to us yet behold I say the Cords of his Tent through the goodness of God are not stretched out his Horn is not exalted there are no considerable Cubits added to his Stature his Strength is at a stand much about the same scantling it was when he fled out of Scotland And for our Armies though they were scattered here and there not onely in the corners of our own but the most considerable part of them in a Forraign Land the Lord hath gathered them together with his Arm united them in a Body made them to increase with the increase of God and given them to overtake the Enemy I beseech you therefore since the Lord hath done this for us made us strong and not suffered the strength of the Enemy to increase do not you spoil the Friends of their strength or clothe the Arm of your Enemy with might by placing your confidence in man O think you hear the Army of your Friends that have been wont to Conquer who scarce know how to flye before an Enemy speaking in your ears to this effect We are going up this day in the Name of the Lord against a Potent Numerous Skilful Revengeful Bloody Enemy were thier Power Number Skill doubled were their Rage and Fury seven times hotter yet would we not be dismaid we would not stop our ears against the Lords call nor withhold our hands from his work t Ego nihil mihi tribuo sed nee valde mihi metuo a tali Antagonista Lips adver Dialogist we are not in the least afraid of Enemies but we are afraid of you our Friends fear hath taken hold upon our hearts lest you should fight against us by putting your confidence in us lest by looking upon us as your present help in trouble you should provoke the Lord to withdraw his presence from us we are confident notwithstanding all our unworthiness and your vain confidence this precious Cause of the Lord shall prosper but our Lives may be Sacrificed upon the account of your folly and the Lord may chastise your fleshly confidence by breaking the arm of flesh in pieces if you do not cease from us for what are we to be accounted of and is not our breath in our nostrils the Lord may refuse to go up with us and then we shall be weak even as a company of other men we shall turn our backs in the day of Battel yea we shall flie when no man pursueth we beseech you therefore by all our Watchings and Fastings by all the hunger and cold that we have undergone for you by all our Blood that hath been spilt as water by the Scars of all those wounds which we have received for you Cease from man By all your Enjoyments by all your Relations Wives Parents little Ones by your Liberties Temporal Spiritual Cease from man As you love Zion as you value the Gospel as you prize your Priviledges as the glory of the Lord is dear to you Cease from man we are not worthy to say for our sakes but for Sions sake and for the Gospels sake yea for your Souls sake and for the Lords sake we beseech you Cease from man And I beseech you hear them in that which they ask at your hands since all that is dear to you is concerned in it And that I may fasten this duty upon your hearts I shall make use of three Considerations as Nails Consider first Consider 1. That the end for which the Lord shakes the Earth why he humbles the lofty ones and bows down the haughtiness of man is That the Lord alone may be exalted The lofty looks of man shall be humbled and the haughtiness of man shall be bowed down and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day Isaiah 2.11 and again ver 17. Now when we place our confidence in any thing but God we exalt it into the Throne of God the Lord may and doth delight to use Instruments not out of necessity but in a way of good will he may and doth put much honor upon those he makes use of as the Hinges upon which a State turns but he will never endure that the honor which is due unto his Name should be given to any Instruments whatsoever The Brazen Serpent when the People burn Incense to it must though set up by the especial appointment of God be broken in pieces Golden Instruments in the Lords hand are rendred Nehushtan a piece of brass by putting our confidence in them We might have enjoyed to this day those dear Names White and Pym and Hamden and Brooks and Rainsborough and Thornaugh and Ewres and Graves c. had not our confidence in them been a Dart through their Liveâ— u Magister est hodiernus hesternus Error Bel. Belg. Homines post damna prudentiores sunt ac docent plerumque quae nocent Idem be wiser for the future and that you may enjoy your Worthies Cease from them We should Proclaim our selves unworthy of such Instruments did we not thankfully acknowledge to the Lord his singular goodness in raising up seven Shepherds and eight Principal Men for us in the Parliament and Councel of State in filling their hearts with Courage and Zeal to take the Lyon by the Beard to execute Justice upon the head of the great Offender we have great cause to acknowledge to the Lord their faithfulness when we have w Mont. Essays beheld many survive their own Reputation seeing with their own eyes the honor and glory buryed which they had formerly purchased yet the Lord hath not raised them up that they should exalt themselves or be lifted up into the room of God by us but that they should be an higher Scaffold for the building up of his glory Your hearts cannot but rejoyce before and to the Lord in behalf of the General that the Lord