any humane Intercession He will hear no Intreaty That was an unalterable and inevitable sentence against the house of honest Eli. 1 Sam. 3 14. And therefore I have sworne unto the house of Eli that the iniquity of Elies house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever When the Lord would beginne He would also make an end as it is said v. 12. So Esai 22 v. 14. And it was revealed in mine eares by the Lord of hostes surely this iniquitie shall not be purged from you till ye die There is a time when the end is come and the Lord will judge a people according to their wayes and recompense upon them all their abominations and His eye shall not spare neither will He have pity As Ezek. 7 2. to 10. And the Lord will not againe passe by them any more Amos 7 vers 8. and 8. vers 2. Such a time and dispensation as this cannot but be afflicting and grievous to all that are concerned in such matters And the Consideration of these particulars may manifest how sad it is when the Lord is so provoked against a People as no Intercessions of His most highly honoured Favourites upon whose Intreaties sometime He hath manifested wonderful condescensions of grace will prevail to keep off the stroke no not Moses and Samuel both together 1. That the Lord hath done much at the Prayer and Intercession of these two in particular here mentioned Moses and Samuel For Moses see Exod. 32. where the Lord was so wroth and displeased at the Peoples turning aside so quickly out of the way and making the golden Calf that He said unto Moses vers 9 10. I have seen this people and behold it is a stiff-necked People Now therefore let me alone that my wrath may wax hot against them and that I may consume them And yet upon the Intercession of Moses saying Vers 11 12 13. Lord why doth thy wrath wax hote against thy People which thou hast brought forth out of the Land of Aegypt with great power and with mighty hand c. It is said Vers 14. That the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his People So againe Numb 14 v. 19 20. See Psal. 99 vers 5. and 106 v. 23. In like manner as to Samuel we see 1 Sam. 7. that when the Children of Israel were in great fear of the Philistines they said to Samuel Vers 8. Cease not to cry unto the Lord our God for us that He will save us out of the hand of the Philistines And upon this Samuel cried unto the Lord for Israel and the Lord heard him See also Psalm 99 v. 6. Is it not sad that the Lord who sometime did so much upon the Intreaty of these Persons is now so offended that He would not regard their Intercessions nor spare upon their request 2. That the Lord hath frequently spared and keeped a stroke off His People upon the interposing of others as of Amos. Chap. 7 v. 2 3 5 6. When he had prayed for the People and had said O Lord God forgive I beseech thee by whom shall Iacob arise for he is small The Lord repented and said It should not be And againe the second time he prayed and had the same return So Nehemiah 9. and Daniel Ch. 9. and Asa 2 Chron. 14 v. 11. and Iehosaphat 2 Chron. 20. and others 3. That the Lord hath sometimes forborne to strick when even graceless Persons and such as had no interest in the special favour of God have prayed and humbled themselves as when He spared Ninivee after that natural People had humbled themselves And when that wicked man Ahab that did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him 1 Kings 16 vers 30 33. rent his cloths and put sack-cloth upon his flesh and fasted and lay in sack-cloth and went softly the Lord delayed the stroke and would not bring the evil upon his house in his dayes 1 Kings 21 v. 27 29. How sad must it then be that He who sometime hath turned from the fierceness of His anger and held off the evil threatned upon the crying of graceless Persons will not hear the earnest Intreaties of His greateâ—…st Favourites 4. This dispensation will also appear more sad and afflicting if we confider what an high esteem the Lord hath for the Prayers and Intercessions of His worthies Such an account hath He of them that the expressions thereof are indeed rare and very remarkable Let me alone saith He unto Moses Exod. 32 v. 11. as if Moses had been stronger than He and had bound up His hands or as if God could do nothing without Moses's consent or permission So said He to Iacob Gen. 32 v. 26. when He was wrestling with Him by prayer and supplication Hos. 12 v. 4. Let me go as if He could not have gone without Iacobs good leave and permission And Iacob is said to have prevailed with God as a Prince and hath therefore his name changed into Israel 5. Adde to this end the frequent promises made of the Lords hearing of such in the behalf of others Gen. 20 7. the Lord said to Abimelech Restore the man his wife for he is a Prophet and be shall pray for thee and thou shalt live So Iob. 42 v. 8. The Lord directed Iobs Friends to set him a work to pray for them with a promise of success Go to my servant Iob and offer up for yourselves a Burnt-offering and my servant Iob shall pray for you for him will I accept How sad then must it be when the Lord will not hear such See also Iam. 5 v. 14 15 16. 6. Yea sometimes we read that the Lord hath delivered when there was no Intercessour Esai 59 vers 16 17. And He saw that there was no Intercessour Therefore his arme brought salvation unto Him and His righteousness it sustained Him Must not His anger then be great when He will not pity nor spare even though His worthies whom He highly honoureth were standing before Him and putting up Supplications in the behalfe of a sinful People 7. He hath said Psal. 50 vers 15. Call upon me in the day of trouble and I will deliver thee Is it not then sad when iniquity is come to such an height that the Lord will not onely not hear the People themselves when they cry but also He will not hear the beseechings and intreaties of such as have most prevailed with Him at other times 8. As also if we consider how unanswerable this appeareth to be unto the Title and Stile which He hath gote and the Consideration of which hath encouraged His servants to call upon Him As Psal. 65 vers 2. O thou that hearest Prayer unto thee shall all Flesh come such a Dispensation as this cannot but be sad and grievous If it be enquired when we may apprehend the time to be such as wherein the Lord will hear no Intercessions no Prayers nor Intreaties of
so they determine the manner of the events â—…alling out that Natural Causes shall produce such an event naturally and necessarily and Free and Contingent Causes shall inâ—…vitably produce such an effect but freely and contingently according to their Nature as that the Iewes should kill Christ and do what they did against him but yet through no necessity of nature but freely and of their owne accord out of malice and enmity as also that the souldiers should pierce Christ's side and not break a bone of Him and all that most freely without any compulsion or constraint upon their wils Whereby we might â—…ee if we were compliant with the holy Will Workings of God that the decrees of God are so far from everting destroying the Liberty of the will of man that on the contrary they establish confirme the same But let men imagine it to be never so crooked we must hold by this That God did from all eternity freely unchangably ordaine whatsoever comes to passe even the most contingent things Act. 2 23. 4 27 28. Prov 16 23. 8. So to make the wayes of God straight and even which otherwise men imagine would be crooked Some as our Quakers with others imagine that People may be saved that never heard of Christ by yeelding Obedience to the law and light of Nature or by following the guide of the works of Creation and Providence or a Light within them as they speak But what their condition is who are without Christ the Scripture sufficiently sheweth Ephes. 2 12. they are strangers from the Covenants of promise having no hope and without God in the world And that the light of Nature can only helpe to make Persons without excuse Rom. 1 20. But passing these and the like which are mater of controversie let us mentione some others of God's works which men suppose to be crooked As 1. When it is as Eccles. 8 14. There be just men to wâ—…om it happeneth according to the work of the wicked and againe there be wicked men to whom it happeneth according to the righteous that is when as to the outward things in the world It is just otherwise as we would think should be the wicked prosper and their eyes stand out with fatness they increase in riches and have more then they could wish they are not in trouble nor plagued as other men and there are no bands in their death as it is Psal. 37 3 4 5 12. And upon the other hand the Godly man he is oppressed with Poverty and Affliction plagued all the day chastened every morning This was such a rugged and uneven path that the honest Man of God Asaph could not hold his feet in it but was like to fall and break his neck concluding that it was in vaine to minde piety veriâ—…y said he vers 13 I have cleansed my heart in vaine and washed my hands in Innocency And such a crook was this that he could not get it set straight till he went into the sanctuary of God vers 17 This mistake made Iobs friends go so wilde in their reasonings against him and to conclude him an hypocrite because he met with such hard outward dispensations at the hands of the Lord for they could not see how God should deal with a Godly man as He dealt with Iob that was so crooked a piece of work that they thought God would never have made it But Iob understood the matter otherwise and told them Chap. 9 22. This is one thing therefore I said it He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked So Ch. 12 7 8 9 10 11 12 13. he enlaâ—…geth upon this theame 2. When it is as Eccles. 4 1. So I returned and considered all the oppressions that are done under the Sun anâ—…â—…ehold the tears of such as were oppressed and they had no comforter and on the side of their oppressours there was power but they had no comforter That is when the innocent are oppressed in their Name Goods Rights and Person and made to cry out bitterly because of their oppression and yet have none to take their part or helpe them or speak comfortably unto them noâ—… power to helpe and relieve themselves but on the contrary their oppressing enemies have power and might enough to bear them more downe oppress them This seemeth a crooked piece of work and yet the Lord hath so ordered matters that it is oft so with the innocent We see what Iob was made to say Chap. 6 14. To him that is Afflicted pity should â—…e sheâ—…ed from his friend but he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty 1â—… my Brethren have deaâ—… decâ—…itfully as a brook as the streams of brooks they passe away And How Habbakuk looked upon this Chap. 1 13 14 15 16 17. Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil and canst not look on iniquity wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he And makest men as the fishes of the sea as the creeping things that have no ruler over them c. This seemeth to many to be a very crooked passage of Providence and they think the judge of the whole earth should order matters otherwise and not a few are stumbled hereat and tempted to think that God hath forsaken the earth 3. When it is as Eccles. 7 15. there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness and there is a wicked mâ—…n that prolongeth his life in his wickedness This seemeth also a crooked passage in the Lord's way Work to many who look upon the Lord and his way and working with eyes of flesh How oft hath it thus fallen out Honest Naboth experienced this 1 King 21. So did Ioh Baptist when he was so basely and unworthily cut off and that in his righteousness So also the Martyres of the Lord in all ages Honest Ier miah thought this a secret that he could not be satisfied in and a ground whereupon he would go plead with God Chap. 12. 4. Yea when it is but as Eccles. 9 v 2 3. it seemeth crooked to many who would have a visible difference in external things alwayes put betwixt the Righteous and the Wicked And yet we see the Wise Mans Observation was that no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them All things saith he come alike to all there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked to the good and to the clean and to the unclean to him that sacrificeth and to him that sacrificeth not As the good so the sinner he that sweareth as he that feareth an Oath This is an evil among all things that are done under the Sun that there is one event unto all Our carnal Reason would think that God should so rule and governe the world as that all might be in case to observe a palpable difference betwixt the Godly and the Wicked even in external
faith be acting on God through Christ and resting upon the promises of outgate and of an everlasting recompence and of throw-bearing and the other objects of faith necessary to be eyed in such a day for if this be not even the beleever may fainte and fall backward as we see in Peter Now this present acting of faith being the gift of God through His grace and influences it is manifest that Christian suffering unto which this is requisite must be also His gift 3. Hope is also requisite unto a Christian suffering for hereby must the sufferers head be born-up when he is swimeing thorow the sea of Persecution it is the Souls anchor which must not be wanting in a storme it is his helmet and must not be a missing in the day of battel Now this hope being the special gift of God and his work 1 Pet. 1 3. 2 Thes. 2. vers 13. it is manifest that Christian suffering unto which this hope is so necessary must be His special gift 4. Patience is likewise hereunto requisite for without it there will be nothing but wearying fainting fretting repineing and sinful longing to be from under the Crosse hence there is so great need of patience Heb. 10. vers 36. Luk. 21. vers 19. Iam. 1. vers 4. 2 Pet. 1. vers 6. And it is so much pressed Iam. 5. v. 10 11. 1 Tim. 6 11. And commended 1 Thes. 1. vers 3. 2 Thes. 1. vers 4. Revel 2 2 9. Now this patience is not the work of nature but His work who is the God of all patience Rom. 15. vers 5. And therefore Christian suffering must be His work and gift also 5. Humble submission and calmness of spirit is also requisite unto a right way of suffering for a proud haughty unquiet and undaunted spirit will never take a right lift of the crosse and this must also be wrought by the free and powerful grace of God and must be of Him from whom every good gift and every perfect gift cometh down even of the Father of lights Iam. 1 17. And therefore Christian suffering unto which this is so requisite must be of Him also 6. Such as will suffer Christianly for Christ must have Courage Boldness and Christian Resolution as accounting it their glory and honour to suffer for His sake and as remembering that as on the one hand their cheerful couragious and valiant suffering for the Interest of Jesus is no small encouragment to others to adhere to Him and to His cause so upon the other hand to suffer discouragedly and with a fainting heart is no small disadvantage to the cause Enemies being thereby more hardened and friends discouraged And this Courage and fixed Resolution must only be had from God Nature will not fournish this They must be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might Ephes. 6. vers 10. And as this is from the Lord alone so must the grace of Suffering Christianly be 7. He who would suffer as a Christian must have his Conscience sprinkled God must be pacified all quarrels must be taken out of the way for the sense and apprehension of an angrie God and sin and guilt looking the man in the face will much dash discourage and fainte him in his sufferings Now it is unquestionable that God's manifesting himself satisfied and well pleased with the man is His own free gift it is His proper work to sprinkle consciences from dead works and so must this Christian suffering be from Him which dependeth hereupon 8. When one is questioned for the Cause of Christ before learned and able States-men and Politicians or before learned Church-men he will have need of something wherewith to answere his Accusers and so be in case to give a glorious Testimony to the Truth and the cause of Christ otherwise the adversaries will think they have cause to triumph when he is made speachless though that Christian Martyr-woman who said she could not disput for Christ but she could burn for Him did sufficiently refell all the Arguments of her Adversaries which were but meer Sophismes especially if the maine crime be coloured-over with some alleiged personal fault In this or the like cases it is necessary that the accused have pertinent clear and pungent reasons of his actions in readiness whether to refell what is falsely alleiged or to defend what is just and righteous Now whence shall this be had or from whom is it to be expected but from Him who hath promised that it shall be given them in that hour Mat. 10. vers 19. But when they deliver you up take no thought how or what ye shall speak for it shall be given you in that same houre what ye shall speak And therefore Christian suffering unto which this is so necessary must be given of God also 9. Such as are suffering for Christ's sake had need to be very fixed stayed and stedfast in adhereing to their Principles as unshaken with any winde of temptation for cedeing and yeelding in matters of a Testimony dishonoureth the Lord whose truth is questioned encourageth and confirmeth Enemies and stumbleth and marreth the confidence of others therefore such as would suffer aright must stand to the truth and not yeeld in an hoofe nor sell or give away the least point of truth And this fixed and stedfast adhereing to the truth is of God alone He who stablisheth us in Christ is God 2 Cor. 1 vers 21. And when Paul is pressing the Thessalonians to stand fast 2 Thes. 2. vers 15. He addeth Vers. 16 17. Now our Lord Iesus Christ himself and God even our father Comfort your hearts and stablish you in every good word and work And therefore so must the Christian suffering be of Him alone 10. A Christian sufferer for Christ must have a Christian love to Christ for it is this that maketh the sufferers not count their life dear to the death for Christ and maketh them hazard all for Him they love him better than they love Father or Mother or any thing else in a world and therefore are content to lose all for Him and His sake Now love is of God who is love 1 Ioh. 4. vers 7 8. And it is one of the fruites of the Spirit Gal. 5. vers 22. And must be from the God of all grace for we love Him because He first loved us 1 Ioh. 4. vers 19. And therefore so must this right suffering be from Him 11. Before one can suffer aright for Christ and His cause he must be dead and mortified to this world and to all the Riches Honours and Pleasurs to the lust of the eye to the lust of the flesh and to the pride of life as Iohn speaketh 1 Ioh. 2 16. Yea he must be dead to himself and to his own life otherwayes these will hang as weights upon him and hinder his swimeing through the sea of affliction and persecution Now this self denial being the singular gift of God suffering unto
midst of all persecutions that they meet with they are animated unto the like stedfastness and to resolution in adhering fixedly to the truth such examples will make even a timorous man wax bold and the exemplary carriage of sufferers is very encouraging and comfortable wherefore the Apostle saith 2 Cor. 1 6. whether we be afflicted it is for your Consolation Therefore these Sufferings are much for the advantage of the Church 6. Hereby is the Church awakened from security and made to look out for a suffering lot when thus it is done to the green tree they are made to take Warning Such a dispensation is as the sounding of the trumpet for an alarme and this is no small advantage when she is raised to her feet and put in a postour and made ready for the battel then she needeth not fear a surprisal but hath time to prepare and make ready for the storme In order to the Improvement of this Consideration we would 1. Beware to conclude that all is gone when we hear or see Christs eminent Servants put to sad sufferings We are ready to wonder why the Lord should suffer such and such things to be done why He should suffer such sad things to befall His eminent and useful Servants who cannot well be missed one whereof is worth an hundered so that the Death or Imprisonment of one such threatneth more destruction to the Church than the loss of many But we know not the thoughts of the Lord we know not what He is designing and what He mindeth to effectuat thereby And if we beleeved that even such a dispensation as this could do no harme to the Church how little would we be troubled at it If we saw what an effectual way this were in the steady unerring Hand of God to bring about the spiritual advantage of the Church how would we lay our hands upon our mouth and be silent And though we can not see in particular what advantage the Church is like to get by the taking away of such as were as Pillars of the Church Yet we should by faith rest assured that the Head and Husband of the Church would not suffer such a Dispensation to come if He knew not how to bring good and advantage out of it and that thereby good seed was sowen which though accompanied with teares and bloud yet should yeeld full sheaves at length which should be brought home with Joy 2. We would do well to search ourselves at such a time to see if we as particular members of the Church be reaping any advantage by what we hear and see of the Sufferings of Christs eminent Servants as for example see if thereby the truth of the Gospel become more riveted in our souls we becometh more rooted in the faith and assurance thereof and more fixed in our Resolution to adhere thereunto See if Truth becometh lovely desireable to us upon this account See if grace be growing more within and if our hearts and affections be loosed more and more from the things of a world and we be prepared more to quite all for Christ and His Cause See if by the example of others we be more animated and encouraged to avow and abide by the truth cost what it will See if these newes be raising us out of our bed and making us prepare for the battel and make ready for the approaching storme if we finde any such advantage thereby let us blesse Him who is giving us meat out of the eater and doing us good by the dear cost and charges of others 3. This should comfort such as are called forth to suffer for the Name of Jesus they need not trouble themselves with thoughts what shall become of the Church and Interest of Christ but leave that upon the Lord and beleeve that He shall make it contribute to the furtherance of the Gospel and to the enlairgment of His Kingdom Ministers called to suffer may possibly think Oh what shall become of the poor people we cannot get preached unto them as formerly but what if God make their stedfastness in suffering more advantagious than their preachings would have been What if that edifie more than many preachings did or would do Ought not they upon this Consideration rejoice in their Lot and suffer cheerfully that Christs Interest may prosper more thereby What know they what influence their Christian carriage may have on all On-lookers yea and on Enemies and Persecuters themselves beside what confirmation friends may have thereby CONSIDERATION XVII The Lord Reigneth in Zion BEleevers are not like unto the Subjects of Kings here on earth who may be dethroned and their Crowns may fall from their Heads and the Scepters be taken out of their hands and they may lose all the Ensignes of Royalty and when it falleth out so as is done many a time Subjects have but cold Comfort in looking to the Throne when it hath forsaken him that sat thereon But Beleevers have a King who liveth and reigneth for ever and ever and whose Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom It cannot then but be strange that when Men who have all their temporal happiness hanging upon the standing of Kings of Clay can rejoyce in adversity when they have any hope of their King 's recovering of his lost Throne and Kingdome though the grounds of their Hop be most disputable and uncertaine that the Children of God in the day of their Adversity can draw so little Comfort from the sure and certaine Grounds of Hope which they have to look to If Christs Crown and Throne were not surer than the fading and perishing Regalia of Men what would beleevers do Whither could they go for consolation in the day of their Distress and Anguish But now seing their King is not like the Kings of the Earth why are they so heartless in the day of their extremity Sure the Reason must be because they beleeve not that He is such a King as He is indeed or they know not how to improve to any spiritual Advantage such a noble Ground of Consolation as this is Wherefore it may be useful to speak a little unto this And so we shall first lay down some Propositions clearing up this Truth and next some Conclusions pointing out the improvement that may be made thereof First As for the Propositions take these following 1. The Lord standeth under the Relation of a King to His Church and People He hath taken to himself that Name and Title and accordingly we finde them eyeing this in the day of their Distress So David Psal. 5 vers 2. and 84 v. 2. embraceth Him crying My King and my God and he comforteth himself with this Ps. 10. v. 16. The Lord is King for ever and ever And the Church crieth out Psal. 74 v. 2. God is my King of old and comforteth herself with this Esai 33 v. 22. The Lord is our judge the Lord is our Lawgiver the Lord is our King He will save us So
with their mouth smooth words smoother than butter and softer than oile when war is in their heart drawn swords Psal. 55 21. would not appear But when the Lord hideth himself and goeth out of sight then they say as it is Psal. 71 11. God hath forsaken him persecute and take him for there is none to deliver Because they say in their heart God hath forgotten he hideth his face he will never see therefore their mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud under their tongue is mischiefe and vanity they sit in the lurking places of the villages in the secret places do they murder the innocent their eyes are privily set against the poor c. Psalm 10 vers 8 9 10 11. 2. The Lord maketh choise of this manner of way of appearing and working for His people that Enemies may be judicially hardened in their wicked course of opposition to His Interest and People so fitted for the fatal blow of God's Justice As it was with Pharaoh when the plagues were taken off and God's terrour removed out of sight he became alwayes thereupon more hardened in his wickedness against God and His people and thereafter when he saw that the people of Israel were ensnared betwixt mountains and the sea and so judged that God had left them or could not helpe them then his heart was hardened unto a peremptory resolution to pursue and take them even through the red sea and there the wrath of God fell upon him and all his army 3. The Lord carrieth on His work thus that the ruine of the enemies may be the more signal and remarkable and the hand of God manifestly seen therein when they are puft up with pride and think no hand can reach them they are beyond all hazard no appearance is there of any thing that can put the least demurre unto their wicked proceedings The blow becometh the more remarkable them ore surprizing and unexpected that it is Such was that fatal blow that came on Pharaoh and his hoste and on Belshazzar when ravelling with his Nobles Wives and Concubines and profaning the holy vessels of the house of the Lord Dan. 5. 4. The Lord thinketh good to follow this way That He may the more observably fill the faces of his Enemies with shame and confusion therefore he he will suffer them to carry on their designes to lay their mines close to prepare all so that nothing may seem to remaine but putting fire to the traine that they may blow up the Interest and People of God in a moment and when they think all is ready give them a fearful disappointment and withal let them see that He who is the watchman of Israel hath seen what they have been doing all that time in secret and hath been counter-working their devices and undermineing their mines when he shall cause their mine spring back upon themselves and thus cover their faces with shame and confusion when they shall see that it is the hand of God that hath done it defeating their plots and devices which were laid and carried-on with such secrecy and with such providential foresight and rational security that nothing but the immediat hand of God could frustrat and defeate them Was it not so with Hamans device and bloody plot to cut off all the Iewes And how shamfully came he off Thus the Lord destroyeth the wisdom of the wise Esai 29 14. 5. The Lord taketh this way to the end He may shame if it can be those enemies from their wicked atheistical thoughts concerning Him that they may know that there is a God that ruleth in the earth a God that careth for His people watcheth over his Inheritance or else they may be rendered the more inexcusable in the day of their appearance before God Thus the Lord will consume such as belch out with their mouth have swords in their lips and say who doth hear That they may know that God ruleth in Jacob unto the ends of Earth Psal. 59 7 13. An eminent place for this we have Esai 49. The Lord hid Himself so that his people became a prey and were captives yet saith the Lord vers 24 25 26. Shall the prey be taken from the mighty or the lawful captive delivered But thus saith the Lord even the Captives of the mighty shall be taken away and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered c. And what then And all flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer the mighty one of Iacoh 6. The Lord thinketh fit to follow this way that hypocrites and such as are not heart friends to Him His cause may be discovered may fall off and so appear to be what indeed they are If the Lord were alwayes appearing for His people when ever they began to be in a straite and visibly making bare His arme in their behalfe many hollow hearted false friends would take part with them and stay among them and seem to love and favoure them Therefore that they may be made manifest the Lord hideth himself and appeareth not so openly for his friends but suffereth them to fall under the feet of enemies who oppress them and all that take their part which occasioneth their stepping aside turning away from the Truth as not being reconciled with the crosse nor loving Christ and his People so as to take a share with them in the Affliction and Bondage How many who appeared zealous in a faire day will turn about and side with wicked and evil doers to be free of the crosse and when they see no foot-steps more of the Lords appearing for his Work and Interest On the other hand in the third place the Lord thinks good to follow this way for some good ends in reference to His own people As 1. The Lord doth thus that he may discover the hid Corruption that lurketh in His own people which in a fair day when He is upon their head marching through the host of the Enemie and tradeing them under foot who oppressed His people and keept them at under will lye at the bottome and not appear As 1. Vnbeleefe when the arme of the Lord is revealed they cannot then but beleeve That He is the Lord and the God of his people they cannot then have the least doubt about this But many Doubts Questions Scruples and Hesitations will arise in their soul when the Lord's face is hid and He appeareth not in behalfe of His Afflicted People and Interest The Disciples did openly enough professe their faith in Christ as the Messiah the Son of the living God while was with them He working miracles before their eyes but when once he was crucified dead and buried Thomas would not beleeve no not though the other Disciples had told him that they had seen the Lord nor would he beleeve as he said expresly himself unless he should see in his hand the print of the nails and put his finger in the