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A52288
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The great work of God in this present dispensation of peace consider'd, open'd and apply'd in a sermon preach'd at Havant in Hampshire, on Thursday Decemb. 2d. 1697, being the day of publick thanksgiving / by Charles Nicholetts ...
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Nicholets, Charles.
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1698
(1698)
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Wing N1088; ESTC R41403
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26,958
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29
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great and powerful which if they had still put confidence in we had been farther plung d into the miseries of War Thus God burns the Chariot Thirdly We told you Chariot signifies the Renown and Glory of Warriors Now God burns this Chariot by making Men see a contemptibleness in what was once their Glory and causing them to look down upon what they once so admir'd and were so much taken with Thus we find the Prophet breaking into Lamentation for the sad condition he foresaw Palestina would be in Jer. 9. v. 10. For the Mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing and for the Inhabitants of the Wilderness a Lamentation because they are burnt up so that none can pass through them neither can men hear the voice of the Cattel both the Fowl of the Heavens and the Beast are fled they are all gone That is the Land should be strip'd bare and naked of Cattel and Pasture which was once its Glory and then it should be contemptible in the eyes of all So when men come once to see their greatest glory to be in Peace not in War as it is said of Melchezideck he was King of Salem that is King of Peace Heb. 7. v. 2. And so an eminent Type of the Lord Jesus Christ the Prince of Peace I say when Men come to see this they will then have very low thoughts of what was once their Pride and Glory The Nieghing of the Horses the clashing of the Armour the rattling peals of the Drum and the delightful sound of the Trumpets will then be disrelished and disregarded by them in comparison of the much better and more charming sound of Peace Peace in every corner of the Land and of the true lasting Honour every one shall be crowned with who had a hand in procuring it Thus you see how God burns the Chariot in the Fire But 't is time to make some Application of these things First Then stand off Sinners You have nothing to do with this Work nor no part or portion in the comfort of it The breaking the Bow the cutting the Spear in sunder and the burning the Chariot in the fire will rebound nothing to your advantage None of the Enemies of God as such as live in Sin are shall fare the better for any of these things And therefore I may say to you as Jehu said to the Messenger that Joram sent to enquire about Peace What hast thou to do with Peace 2 Kings 9. v. 18. Thou Swearer Drunkard Sabboth-breaker Ah what hast thou to do with Peace 'T will be small comfort for thee that there is Peace on Earth as long as the God of Heaven is denouncing War against thee God is angry with the Wicked every day Oh hear that and tremble And upon the Wicked he will rain Snares Fire Brimstone and an horrible Tempest this shall be the portion and that for ever of their Cup. Hear how plainly how positively the Prophet declares as from the Lord of Hosts Isa 57. v. 21. There is no Peace saith my God to the Wicked Mark that Chapter it begins with Peace and ends with no Peace Of the good Man it is said He shall enter into Peace they fall rest in their Beds each one walking in his uprightness But here in the close he avers there is no Peace to the Wicked The great God notwithstanding outward Peace will have ways enough to deal with and bring Judgments upon them and therefore they have small cause to rejoyce at this Peace Secondly Oh then 't is Saints only that have cause to rejoyce at this dispensation of peace 't is they and only they shall have the good of it 'T is for their sakes that God makes Wars to cease that he breaks the Bow cuts the Spear in sunder and burns the Chariot in the Fire Indeed Saints have cause to Rejoyce at any thing at every thing for all things shall work together for good to them that Love God 'T is said Psal 97. v. 8. Zion heard and was glad and the Daughters of judah rejoyced because of thy Judgments O Lord. Any news any tidings is matter of Joy to the Children of Zion for they are sure to reap Benefit and Comfort from all God's Dispensations whether of Mercy or Judgment Hence they are meditating day and night on the Works of God and continually enquiring about them So we are told Psal 111. v. 2 3 4. The Works of the Lord are great sought out of all them that have pleasure therein His work is honourable and glorious and his Righteousness endureth for ever He hath made his wonderful works to be remembred the Lord is gracious and full of Compassion When he makes War that is a glorious work to the Saints for they are expecting the Issue of it and when he makes Peace that 's a gracious work to the Saints for they are sure to reap Comfort by it and in War and Peace he will make his Works to be remembred by the Saints for in both he is full of Compassion to them Oh therefore they have ground to rejoyce because their Father is in all things at work for them and they may conclude that from his love to them he hath turn'd about the face of affairs putting an end to a long bloody and terrible War and made the Sun of Peace to shine forth with refreshing rays in the Horizon of Europe Thirdly Then we should cast back our eyes upon the effects of this War and see what lamentable havock has been made in the one and the other Nation How many goodly Towns have been laid in Ashes How many stately Ships of War have been destroy'd How many Thousand Lives have been lost And how many poor Families have been ruin'd and undone For the more we consider this the more we shall be affected with the Mercy of Peace And this we are call'd to do in the words before the Text Psal 46. v. 8. Come behold the works of the Lord that desolations he hath made in the earth And when we dwell awhile on the Melancholly thought of the sad Desolations that have been every where made by the raging War Oh how comfortable and refreshing will this News be to us That he hath now made Wars to cease to the end of our Land that he hath broken the Bow that he hath cut the Spear in sunder and that he hath burned the Chariot in the Fire How Mournfull was the Churches Complaint of the effect of the Babylonian War Lam. 2. v. 2. The Lord hath swallowed up all the habitations of Jacob and hath not pitied he hath thrown down in his wrath the strong holds of the Daughter of Judah he hath brought them down to the ground he hath polluted the Kingdom and the Princes thereof Such Oh such have been the cryes in several places of late years Oh therefore let us look back and 〈…〉 in And how doleful were the resounding Eccho's of want and misery and then we shall
the more prize the present dispensation of Peace Fourthly Oh then we should be looking for and expecting of another War wherein the work will be perfectly done and the great controversy fully determin'd between Zion and Babylon Our Saviour tells us towards the latter days there will be Wars and rumours of Wars And indeed all the Wars among Men are but rumours of Wars in comparison of that great War that shall be waged against Antechrist which the Saints onely shall have the sole Management of And Oh what a War will that be Alas the Men of the World are but Bunglers and Boglers at the Art of War like Mastiff Dogs fight till they are weary and then leave off but when the Saints come to take up the Sword they 'l make a clear riddance and carry all before them This Nation have had a Tast what Work the Saints can make when they are called forth by the Trumpet of the Arch-Angel and Spirited by the Lord of Hosts for Fighting-Work And it will most certainly come to that Exod. 17. v. 15 16. And Moses built an Altar and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi For he said because the Lord hath sworn that the Lord will have War with Amaleck from generation to generation He will publickly declare War and set his Saints in Battel Array against all that take part with Babylon when the time comes Hear what the Prophet says Jer. 51. v. 10 11. The Lord hath brought forth our righteousness come and let us declare in Zion the work of the Lord our God Make bright the Arrows gather the shields the Lord hath raised up the Spirit of the Kings of the Medes for his device is against Babylon to destroy it because it is the vengance of the Lord the vengance of his Temple And as Litteral Babylon was destroy'd by the Sword so must Mystical Babylon and verily the day of her destruction is drawing near Though God does now break the Bow cut the Spear and burn the Chariots of Men yet I must tell you there is a Bow bending that cannot be broken there is a Spear drawing that will not be cut asunder and there is a Chariot preparing that shall not be burnt with fire Oh mark I beseech you First A Bow 1. God's will and purpose shall be accomplish'd and what he hath determin'd concerning Babylon shall surely be brought to pass He hath set his Bow in the Clouds Gen. 9. v. 13. Importing his purpose that Seed-time and Harvest-time Summer and Winter should not cease while the World endures As he Covenanted with Noah and as a Token of the unalterableness of this purpose He hath set his Bow in the Clouds So unalteterable is his decree against Babylon Jer. 51. v. 29. And the Land shall tremble and sorrow for every purpose of the Lord shall be perform'd against Babylon to make the Land of Babylon a desolation without an Inhabitant And therefore there is no preserving Babylon or warding off the Blow from her let all the Sons of Men do what they can Tho 〈…〉 of Hosts concerning her that the Day of her Calamity shall hasten and she shall come down from the heighth of her glory and be sunk as a Milstone in the Sea and all that have taken part with her or have partaken of her sins shall receive of her Plagues and be hurl'd into the same pit of Misery II. God's Word that he hath spoken must and shall be perform'd and this is the Bow that cannot be broken Hab. 3. v. 9. Thy Bow was made quite naked according to the Oaths of the Tribes even thy word Selah Thou didst cleave the Earth with Rivers That is the word which thou speakest concerning thy People was made very plain and every word about his People and relating to the Kingdom of his Son Isa 45. v. 23. I have sworn by my self the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness and shall not return that unto me every knee shall bow every tongue shall swear When he has performed his purpose against Babylon he will make the Nations Bowe unto his Son He shall have dominion also from Sea to Sea and from the River unto the ends of the Earth They that dwell in the Wilderness shall bowe before him and his enemies shall lick the dust The Kings of Tarshish and of the Isles shall bring presents The Kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts Yea all Kings shall fall down before him all Nations shall serve him For this is the word of the great God that changeth not I will overturn overturn overturn till he comes whose right it is and I will give it him And because of this word which is gone out of God's Mouth we find the Holy Ghost expostulating with the Great Ones of the World as a Pack of Fools in thinking to hinder the performance of it Why do the Heathen rage and the People imagine a vain thing The Kings of the earth set themselves and the Rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his Anointed saying Let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us He that sitteth in the Heavens shall laugh the Lord shall have them in derision Then shall he speak unto them ln his wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure Yet have I set my King upon my holy Hill of Zion Oh there is no breaking of this Bow there is no hindring the accomplishing this word III. God's People which he hath Spirited to do his Work they shall prevail and be successful in it They are call'd a Bow Zech. 9. v. 13. When I have bent Judah for me filled the Bow with Ephraim and raised up thy Sons O Zion against thy Sons O Greece and made thee as the sword of a Mighty Man He will bend Judah as a Bow and joyn Ephraim with him that is he will unite his Saints together and Spirit them to fly in the Faces of their Enemies with this Triumph flowing from their Mouths Faith and Revenge And this Motto Engraven on their Breasts Holiness to the Lord. Oh then will they be made as the Sword of a Mighty Man and none shall be able to stand before them And then will that Promise in toto as it has many times already in tanto be fulfill'd Lev. 26. v. 7 8. And ye shall chase your Enemies and shall fall before you by the Sword And five of you shall 〈…〉 your enemies shall fall before you by the Sword Oh Sirs the day is coming and 't is approaching apace when the Enemies of God and of his Christ shall be driven by the Saints as the Dust before the Wind. And then the Saints Mouths as so many Silver Trumpets shall make the Earth Ring with this Glorious Eccho The Lord of Hosts is with us the God of Jacob is our Refuge Selah Secondly There is a Spear drawing out which will not be cut in sunder That is the great and dreadful Appearance of God for his