house of God if he might speed well in his journey What if you Noble Lords should write upon your door The Lord will honour them that honour him If you Worthies of the other house upon your door Salus populi suprema lex And you the Governours of this Citie Jerusalem is a Citie compact c. Your union amongst your selves will turn much to Gods praise And I wish this were written upon the doores of the Assembly If any man list to be contentions we have no such custome among us nor the Churches of Christ I leave these but as intimations or suggestions to your wisdomes lest the day and work we are about do evaporate and come to nothing I wish your children and so ages to come may be taught his praises since you so abound in matter I pray convey it to after ages that they may love the God of their Fathers Tell your little ones this night the story of 45. the towns taken the fields fought tell them of neer 30000 prisoners taken this last year 500 pieces of Ordnance tell them of the little losse on our side be sure to let them know it was for the liberty of the English subjects you fought charge them to preserve the liberties that cost you so dear but especially the liberties purchased by the blood of Christ and above all let them know that the God of heaven is the God of England and hath done all but his name and his Sons name who can tell us I wish we knew God better that we might love him more Oh love the Lord in his praises and praise him for his love In amore divino hic solus inest moduâ— ut siâ— siâ—e modo I dare not adde more time is so exceedingly exceeded You are I understand by the City invited to a feast which I confesse is one piece of this solemnity But what feast shall we call it Shall it be a feast of Tabernacles truly we might have lived in Tents and Booths or by some hedges sides all our dayes had Tyranny and Popery gained the travell of their souls and desire of their hearts you might have been sitting by some rocks sides in the Wildernesse looking sadly back upon poor England or by the river Ahava in the Captivity with Ezra If you like not to call it a feast of Tabernacles will you let it goe under the name of a Marriage-feast it seems to look like that I remember the Espousals of the Parliament and this Citie when yee wore your Protestations upon your Pikes resolving to live and die with the Parliament I hope you will be as good as your words you are upon the close of your work and now you have many causes of further union who have mourned together and now are rejoycing together upon unparallel'd grounds Call it then a feast of love my Text calls for nothing but love and I wish that may be the issue and product of the work and truly for that end I would willingly come from the place where I stand to beg it upon the bare knee and when I speak of love betwixt Parliament and City I do not exclude my Reverend Brethren onely I am afraid of a third State because we have paid already very dear for Clergicall interests And now I think of this further union betwixt you I remember when the Lord closeth with his people in Hosea He will take away the names of Loammi and Lorumah There are two names in this Kingdom I wish they were taken away also or whatever might hinder your nearnesse You worthies of the City look well upon the Parliament and tell me if they be not lovely how could you have been preserved from Anarchy without them where would you have centered had this Basis of the Kingdome been destroyed If the foundations be pluckt up what shall the righteous doe The best now in England could not have lived without a Parliament and the worst but a little time I must professe an Anti-Parliamentary spirit especially in this conjuncture to be the designer of his own ruine and posterity to be the introducer of certain misery to the present age I look upon it as the fruits of much malice or much ignorance and the brat of those mens brains that never lived beyond the view of the smoke of their own Chimnies that measure States and Kingdomes with their interests by their private shop-wands and if they be prest or priested into it by any of my coat which is Satans old method it will argue the more feeblenesse and prove more dangerous Remember friends to beat Religion with Religion is a subtlety as old as Jesuitisme and older Remember the dead and the living You have had their Hambdens Pims Stroudes who if now living would have called this day the Suburbs of their happinesse and you had the blood of some Nobles too that Zealous Brooke and others and these are here this day to joy with you that have mourned with you who have been your watch day and night You know how vain it will be to war abroad nisi sit consilium domi you are now reaping the most glorious fruits of their labours and paines if you have any thing justly to object against them all you can say is they are men yet such men as may not be called to a slight account for their actions but in many cases the wayes of State may run so deep that we can help onely with this Levius fit patientia Quicquid corrigere est nefas To be weary of a Parliament now were to conquer our selves into a new slavery it were to proclaim to the world we are mercy-sick victory-sick and liberty-fick the Lord prevent that portentous mischiefe Yet Goa is good to Israel Let me hope he will not be worse then he hath been Nobles and Gentlemen look upon the Citie these are they that strengthened you with the finews of your war you have not come unto them for any thing and returned empty You may remember the 100000. li the 50000. li the greater the lesser fu 〈…〉 nes for England Scotland and Ireland and I may not forget that 80000. li that oyled the wheeles of this last Army in their first going out The Lord of Hosts requite it to them that offered so willingly I adde you have not only had these helps but their servants yea their children out of their bosomes who now are found the Officers generally in this Army But I might call in much of this again and say the Parliament have had their labour for thâ—mselves and the Citie for themselves and one for the other and all for the Lord and this and other Nations Only I call for love this day I would desire strength in your union The Spirit says two are better then one and gives reasons from cold or fals but addes a threefold cord is not easily broken of which I conceive thus If two be well agreed Jesus Christ will make a third and then
drie unlesse the spring be full Even the youths shall faint and be weary and the young men shall utterly fall But they that waite upon the Lord shall renew their strength they shall mount up with wings at Eagles they shall run and not beweary and they shall walke and not be faint 1. Though meanes gaine strength yet they can act no further then he quickens them It was he that withered Jerobo 〈…〉 hand and knockt off Pharaoh's wheeles and laid six hundred Iron Chariots under the Cataracts of his displeasure He overthrew Pharaoh and his hoast in the Red sea son his mercy endureth for ever 2. Meanes though quickned yet they succeed not nor reach their purposed ends without him The Madianits shall sheath their swords in their own bowels their Webbs shall not become Garments neither shall they cover themselves with their works 3. The Spirit of the Lord can doe what it will without meanes he creates a shadow for thou hast been a strength to the poore a strength to the needy in his distresse a râ—fuge from the storme a shadow from the heate when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storme against the wall and that appeares thus 1. Sometimes against all meanes the waters shall be a wall to Israel and they shall passe through the great deep with dry feet and Jonab shall be kept from drowning in the sea by being thrown into the Sea 2. Sometimes beyond all Meanes else how should one chase a thousand and a fancy put many thousands to flight else how should the shaking of a few leaves and the blowing of Rams-horns do such terrible executions 3. It is the Lord that doth all that is done by meanes walk about Sion and go round about Her tell the Towers thereof mark yee well her Bulwarks consider her Palaces that ye may tell it to the generation following for this God is our God for ever and ever he will be our guide even unto death If you say that money answers all things yet you must heare the Lord say the gold is mine your silver is mine It is not the drug nor the bread that doth the work but the spirit of them both And for the second which is his manner of preserving in order to men yea destroying men his working shews it selfe usually in these four particulars 1. God oftentimes over-awes and overbears them that Laban shall have little to say to Jacob when he overtakes him Balaam had an opportunity and spleen enough against Israel but durst not vent it intreats Balacks Messengers to stay all night would faine be taking money but there was no Incantation against Jacob nor divination against Israel for the Lord was with them and the shout of a King was amongst them Esau shall rather kisse then kill for Jacob was a Prince and had prevailed with God and with man sc. had wrestled through all his fears that his brother must be his Servant the Lord putting a bit into his mouth 2. The Lord often takes away the occasion that the Sons of Belial cannot attempt what they intend If they in the Acts which swore Pauls death had kept their oaths they had never kept their lives but he never came within their reach Ahab sends to all places under Heaven to take Elias but the Lord sends him away before they came He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty 3. Oftentimes the Lord stops them in their practises Jeroboam will needs be striking the Prophet The Lord strikes him who is very sensible of the least touch of his anointed ones or any harme that befalls his Prophets 4. Lastly The Lord works by diversion When Saul thought he had made sure of David the Philistims brake in upon his Countrey and probably had spoyled him in the reare And that I take to be the meaning of the cloud Isaiah 25. 5. Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers as the heat in a drie place even the heat with the shadow of a cloud the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low The shadow of a cloud intervening betwixt the scorching Sun and the weary Traveller in a hot Countrey how doth it refresh God finds his enemies work abroad that his Saints may not be destroyed at home and since the whole world and all the Princes of it are but the servants of a few Saints he can put all into severall postures for his preserving ends To the third Quere Why God thus preserves the Saints I answer in these three particulars 1. Because of his righteousnesse and holinesse in the very dispensations of his judgements which occasioned this large offer to the men of Sodom and caused him to descend so low as ten righteous persons yea though they were but as righteous as Lot who was not without strong corruptions Who can say his hands are clean Yet such are called righteous and faithfull They are called in my Text even such as have candor upon their spirits such as take up and own right principles such as are contented in the main and in the Cause they have in hand to have glasse-windows made to their hearts even such as Heathens named Homines simplices apertos To such he sends his Angels to shew his tender affection which is better then his protection To be faithfull doth intitle us to preservation in the deluge of the greatest judgements that our work will be onely to look to duty which is ours and leave events to God which are his 2. God doth it for the glory of his mercy and therefore sends his Angels to draw forth Lingerers and such is his tendernesse that the righteousnesse of one Lot binds his hands that he can do nothing till the faithfull be preserved Come my people enter thou into thy chambers and shut thy door about thee hide thy selfe as it were for a little moment â—ntill the iâ—dignation be oâ—â—rpast When the birds of prey are abroad the Hen calls her Chickens under her wings When tumults are in the streets the tender Mother gets her Children into the upper chambers 3. Through his wise faithfulnesse or faithfull wisdom the Lord doth thus by his Saints and therefore hee saves every crum Nothing must be lost the Lord knows what to doe with crums and fragments and the saving of what was left must make the miracle If there be but a cluster the branch must not be cut down The Prophet is elegant Thus â—aith the Lord As the new wine is found in the chester and one sayth destroy it not for a blessing is in it so will I do for my servants sake that I may not destroy them all I beleeve a few clusters in the world have preserved such new wine in them that this day we taste the blessing Do not destroy the poore cluster therefore much lesse destroy it because there 's new
work you could not have amended your choise rebus sic stantibus Heraldry did not miscarrie that hath this word for your Chief in his Coat of Honour Fare Fac Say Doe I might adde your Cromwel with many others and know not how to forget our deare Pickering who had as much worth in him as such a parcell of clay could well contain and never left his work till he was called to his account But I forbear Men The LORD hath preserved the faithfull and plenteously rewarded the proud doer And now it will be seasonable to improve what we have said These things are your Honour let not your Duty seem a burden O love the Lord ye his Saints and ye that feel mercy And so I passe in the last place to the first words of my text which will be the reverse or the other side of our present businesse As if the Lord should say Thus and thus I have done for you You have seen the glance of my eye you have seen the smiles of my face what could you desire more that I have not done for you You did but knock and it was opened you sought and found askt and had Go every stage of your latter pilgrimage and tell me if you may not set up a pillar and write upon it Thus far God hath helped us Are not the faithfull preserved and the proud doer rewarded have any of you lost your labour in trusting me and my providence have you not the fulfilling of many prophecies and might you not draw forth more had you more faith Is there any Nobleman here but hath been honorable by me or can he repent of his owning my truth 〈…〉 ath his faithfulnesse proved a burden to him Speak Parliament City Ministery have I not done well by You And me thinks I heare you ecchoing again Lord what would'st thou have from thy servants And I hope you stand as Samuel Lord speak thy servant beares or as Saul after Paul Lord what wouldest thou I should do Yea as he said Da quod jubes jube quid vis David lets you know Gods minde O love the Lord ye his Saints And truly it is one of the hardest skils in the world to use mercy well I remember the old spirit of the Jewes I wish we had never felt it In sad houres they would ever be making great promises and in prosperity they would soon make new gods Beloved I beseech you consider this short duty Love the Lord I will but use a few arguments and then open your duty in the duty and end all 1. I pray consider good Christians how the Lord hath loved you you could never hate him so much as he hath loved you He loved you enemies traitours He loved you unkind to him and cruell to your own soules nay so as he is willing to take the Devils leavingâ— when sin and satan had taken the use of your best strength and time yet he loves wooes and waits yea when you have been proud and scornfull when he had besieged and beleaguered you with love and were loth to hang out the white flag he offers propositions still O love the Lord 2. See if any God be like unto him of all the gods and can doe such wonders at he hath done You remember what Saul said to Davids men in his case If the son of Jesse can give you orchards and vineyards as I can do then follow him If all the Gods of the world can do for you what he hath done can pardon sinne by giving his Son can heale your soules and save them after all Follow them Joshua struck home in that last speech of his I have delivered the Ammonites Hitâ—ites c. into your hand I have sent a hornes before you which drave them out before you even the two Kings of the Ammoni 〈…〉 s c. I have given you a hand for which you did not lab 〈…〉 〈◊〉 Now therefore feare the Lord and serve him in sincerity and truth and put away the Gods your fathers served on the other side the flood and serve ye the Lord And if it seem evill to serve the Lord then chuse whether you will serve the gods on the other side the flood or the Gods of the Ammonites but as for me and my house I will serve the Lord Apply it to your selves and give me leave again to say therefore O love the Lord ye that feel mercy 3. You may be assured without love neither what you are nor what you do shall please him nay this whole dayes work will prove but a mockage Love will carry all home to heaven and gain acceptance Heare what Christ sayes Thou hast ravished me my sister my spouse with one of thy eyes and that was the eye of love I have many times thought of that of the Apostle giving so much to love even putting all upon love Yea though I gave my body to be burnt and had not love c. yea preferring it in some cases to faith truly it is worth your noting the summe of all is Nothing will passe without Love it is your ticket to passe into Heaven by They cry Wepreacht in thy name But wher 's your Passe did you do it in love to me We cast out Divels but was it in love c. Ah my beloved and honoured in the Lord we have prayed wept fasted feasted fought counselled c. but were all these in love to the Lord Jesus I am bold to say to my learned brethren that they shall find it the distinguishing character in their soule-trade I have seen this yeare some of the Enemy before a Councel of war and some of our own Officers upon some offence I have known both pardoned but here lies the difference the enemy pardoned is gone his pardon was all he lookt for but the other mourning what will this pardon do me good if I should leave this Army from which I know not how to live cheerfully It matters not for my lands saies poor Mephibosheth but I shall live in Davids presence and see his face Love makes way to the bosome of Christ incontinently and layes the soule in a bed of roses It is in all the world like Benjamin to Joseph if you bring Benjamin come and welcome I else look upon you but as Spies If this day all your graces were met to make a glorious flame that might reach heaven you shall find Love must doe two things it must put beauty upon all and perfume all Therefore O love the Lord ye his Saints 4. Let this prevaile that mountains of gold and silver are not desired nor fat bullocks and rams but only an affection Love the Lord If he had desired some greater thing of you as Naamans servants said would you not have done it Indeed you cannot bestow it better nor is there any object you call good can so justly claim it bestow this where you will else you shall find the
object mortall short-breathed and short-lived alas what waking dreames are honour beauty friends c Nay you shall find it non-satisfactory all the excellencies under the sun leave the soule to complaints of vanity and vexing and lastly you shall find it but partially not universally good Why will you lay out your money for that which is not bread all these things will but prove gravel under your teeth When David had reckoned mercies not a few he sayes upon the totall I will love thee dearly O Lord my strength I beseech you bethink your selves this day what lesse can you do then kisse the hand that hath preserved you Love climbes after more union with the object would you not be neerer to him who hath made such approaches and addresses to you that who so beholds not with wonder and joy is either stupid or envious Therefore O love the Lord yee his Saints 5. Love is an obliging affection and drawes forth much of God continually to the creature when the Lord by his servant Moses charged that people to love the Lord their God with all their heart and all their might he will fill up all the rest with heaps of promises of what he would doe for them enemies of all sorts should be subdued mercies of all kinds should be brought in deliverances preservations protections illuminations and what not Hosea seemes to delight to particularize the joyncture Gods people shall have in this case And it shall come to passe that I will heare saith the Lord I will heare the heavens and they shall beare the earth and the earth shall heare the corn and the wine and the oyle and they shall beare Jezreel and I will sow her unto me on the earth and I will have mercy on them that had not obtained mercy and I will say unto them which were not my people Thou art my people and they shall say Thou art my God And if that bee too little I will be as the dew unto Israel hee shall grow as the Lilly and cast forth his root as Lebanon his branches shall spread and his beauty shall be as the olive tree and his smell as Lebanon they that dwell under his shadow shall return c. Nothing can greaten a Nation as this nothing can maintaine what you have gotten but this and you will find Non minor est virtus quam querere parta tueri Therefore O love the Lord ye that feel mercy 6. You shall find that this is a strong and powerfull I was about to say omnipotent affection Much water cannot quench love it is strong as the grave If Paul would give an account of some undertakings he will tell you love carries constraint with it it lessens difficulties answers hard questions removes impediments over-powers feares cares doubts dangers makes wash-way of all Upon this the Apostle throwes the gantlet of famine want persecution principalities powers above beneath nay it will wait and serve in heats and colds as Jacob for Rachel I must professe Excellent Senators I know not how you will continue your wearying toyling incessant travels but by this cordiall it is this onely can oyle your wheeles and cheere your hearts pay you your wages after all expences of time estates spirits If a stranger should look upon your travels the bread of carefulnesse you eat your early risings long sittings late goings to bed can you give account of any thing but That you love Truly I know nothing so heavie but love can lift nothing so high but it can reach nothing so deep but it can fathom Love to this Cause I would rather say to this God hath quieted your Army often drawn out the deepest bloud of many emptied the purses of the rich drawn forth the teares of the poor and their sighes to heaven when they could doe no more Union with God the end of this love is the issue of all our labours Therefore O love the Lord yee that feel mercy But you may ask wherein it consists or how would I desire this affection should be manifested I answer 1. There is a love in imitation and indeed those we love most we make our copies to write after Then he pleased to mind the Text again He preserveth the faithful and plenteously rewardeth the proud doer there is your pattern imitation calls upon you to preserve the faithful to reward the proud doer And these two look like the main interests of this State the former a revereÌ„d brother under that name hath commended unto you worthily I am bold to adde the latter to it For if you hear Polititians abroad what they say even Roan to Richlien they tell us of this double interest which some think expired with Queen 〈◊〉 viz. that Wee should have continued the patrons of the Protestant cause as the King of Spain of the Catholique and so have preserved the faithfull which Germany and Rochel would have thanked us for And secondly We should have rewarded the proud i. e. kept our war at a distance even where shee left us ingaged and by this time it may be we might have dried up Eâ—â—phraâ—es I mean possest the whole West-Indies which with little time and help from these parts may bâ— accomplished The words that follow in that Treatise are That England is a great Animal and cannot be destroyed but by it selfe which injury we are still as likely to put upon our selves as any people in the world One Chapter in Amos hath bred me some sad thoughts of heart where he 〈◊〉 you of two Visions the one of G 〈…〉 ppers that devoured every greene thing which made the Prophet cry out By whom shall Jacob arise for he is small and those Caterpillers were swept away The other Vision was a contention by fire for which he useth the same prayer By whom shall Jacob arise for he is small It seems contentions yea fiery contentions may lay a State as low as Caterpillers the Lord sprinkle the bloud of his Son upon this fire and quench it 〈◊〉 Doubtlesse much love of imitation will be shewed to God in recovering these two Interests abroad and if I might not be thought a designer I wish it at home Why should not the faithfull be preserved For the love of God doe it I speake not for my selfe for with Simeon I could even desire to depart in peace now mine eyes have seen so much of the Salvation of God Nor do I bring any Petition from your Army they never have nor ever will be burden some to you by Petitions but since you have trusted them with your own lives and estates they are contented willingly to trust you again with their libertiâ—â— It brings to minde that issue of a Combate whereof Livie is the reporter when the three H 〈…〉 i and the three 〈◊〉 had by the sword decided the quarrell betwixt the 〈◊〉 and their enemies and only one Hâ—â—arius survived 〈◊〉 〈…〉 ning met his sister the wise of one
of the â—â—raâ—ii and she forgetting her selfe to her brother in language fell also by his hand The Senaâ—e would conâ—â—emn to death this Hora 〈…〉 whose father by the Author speaks to this purpose victoria 〈◊〉 vidistis Quiri 〈…〉 s nunc sub furea inter verbera cruciatus videre potestis I lictor obnuâ—e caput liberatoris hujus urbis colliga manus quae paul◠〈◊〉 â—rinatae imperium populo Romano peporerunt c. Can any man binde those hands which lately armed procured the libertie and safety of the Kingdom This I must take boldnesse to say that if this or the next Age shall bury those faithfull ones it must be either here among the Trophees taken from their enemies or abroad in the Country among the sepulchres of Cavaliers and so they will live when ever they die But I have held you here too long and I refer this head to that interest of England That which concerns the rewarding proud doers as the Lord hath gone before you follow after in his name for truly I fear not all the contentions among us but pride I fear the Mother Mid-wife Nurse of all contention I hear much of difference opinions sects heresies and truly I think they would be lesse if we did not think them so many One errour and but one our Saviour gives caution about and lately I have thought much upon He says Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and if we knew what that leaven were it would helpe us in these fearâ— This I suggest therefore Leaven hath three properties 1. It sowres 2. It tuffenâ— or hardens 3. It swels the lump Therefore that opinion which sowres 〈◊〉 spâ—â—its against their brethren and it may be against Authority that swels them and prides them that hardens them and makes tough and not easily intreated beware of that opinion as of the leaven of the Pharisees Errors in us are like corn in the sowing of it if it lie above ground it may be gathered up again but if plowed in and harrowed lie under the clod there is little hope Whilest Errors lie in the understanding Scripture reason argument time sweetnesse and tendernesse may do much to the curet the danger is when they lie under the will when we shall say we will have what we will or all shall crack with Sampson pull down the two great posts that others may perish though we perish with them Beware of this leaven of the Pharisees You shall ever finde pride the fomenter of differences I beseech you therefore reward the proud doâ—â— and sparâ— not But those opinions that find a soule in a lowly frame and after 〈…〉 ved keep the soule so and carry it to Christ they need not trouble State nor Church I long since learnâ—d if we could 〈◊〉 imagination we might soon cuâ—e tribulation But I proceed 2. It will be love to the Lord if we love him in his dispensations when they have their vicissitudes to love him smiling and love him frowning too to love him sitting upon his knee and love him under his lash too to maintain that Compositi jus fasque animi sanctosque recessus Menâ—is To be mediis tranquillus in undis to say the Lord doth well what ever he doth I will love thee though thou kill me and trust in the cries Joh. This looke like love otherwise your mistakes will be many about the creature and the Creator You are now come upon a new triall the Lord outwrastles the temptation for you You may think now the danger little I pray remember Sisera he took a nap after his lordly dish and a womans hand nailed his head to the ground David thought it no danger to take a nap in an afternoon but there he split his soule and hardly made up againe You may think it looks now like the afternoon of the day to you and as if your work were towards an end mistake not I believe you have seen most of the miracles but are not yet over the red sea or if you were over yet love the Lord in this dispensation lest you be brought to tack about two and forty times in the wildernesse It argues much feeblenesse of spirit to change our affections upon changes of Providence he never loved well nay hardly at all that can love no better yea this you shall finde most true that all backslidings from God spring from the change of our opinions concerning God and these we do often from the varieties of his dealings with us as if he were a better God one year than the other and this is often our folly who can easilier look upon the barks and outsides of things than their insides Because he was a Carpenters son therefore a stumbling block to the Jews they could see no further The glitter and glory of a painted world hath made blind the eyes of many Nor is it a small mistake among men when they keep their thoughts upon present things with neglect of future hence the Psalmist concludes the 107. Psalme Who so is wise and will observe these things even they shall understand the loving kindnesse of the Lord Now the infide of all was loving kindnesse and the issue of all will be loving kindnesse to the Saints It concerns you therefore to look to your love in storm and calm in war in peace to love the Lord then is to love him in all changes 3. It appears you love him when you are promoting his ends and ayms thus wives love thus faithfull servants love who stand not in shops to sell Apprentices but their Masters wares not advance themselves but him they serve That humble loving John Baptist I must decrease but he must increase and willing he was Christ should have all and that love discovers it self much when you are ready to live in his will not your own that he may have not onely meat drest but as he pleaseth such Worship as he likes such Governments as he takes pleasure in yea when you will be reaching your duty through the fire even to become fooles that you may be wise in his account If the Lord be gainer what if all the world be losers These are my daily sighs to heaven for you all that he may be lifted up who hath held up your heads above the water that you may hear that Euge at your great accompt Come you blessed and faithfull servants enter into your Masters joy And if you ask me what I conceive the Lords great design is in these dayes that you may attend it I answer Doubtlesse it is to pull down all the glory of the world that his Son may be advanced He is now preaching All flesh is grasse you are certainly upon the edge of the fulfilling very great and glorious Prophecies You see the heathen rage and the people imagine a vaine thing The Kings of the Earth are in Councell Be wise therefore O yee Judges kisse the Son lest be be angry and you
perish in the midway The Lords desi 〈…〉 is the downfall of Antichrist love him in promoting this end and especially let me call for help hereunto from my Reverend and learned Brethren here present Ah Brethren shew your love in this work Be not offended if I leave this caution with you and let this charity begin at home amongst us for ever beware of a spirit of domination truly it is a spirit of Antichrist and it was the first great quarrell the first 300. years after Christ When Constantine had been bountifull to the Church at Rome and after was as noble to that of Bizantium now Constantinople a quarrel grew among the two Pastors of these Churches who should be called Papa which introduced the Proverb Religion begot wealth and the mother devoured the daughter Remember our old complaints against Prelates and how we have filled Parliament eares with our out-cries Let this be often with you my dear Brethren that in all the cracks flaws and ruines of States some priestly thing or other hath had the principall hand mind it in a passage or two good Jeremy past through all guards till he came to Pushur the Priest the Nobility Gentry and others were easily intreated Christ breaks upon the 〈…〉 bes and Pharisees mainly It is considerable that Hâ—sed saith Hear Oye Priests hearken Oye People give ear O house of the King for ye have been a snare c. the poor people are betwixt the Priest and the house of the King but it is to be noted that the Priests are in the first place It lies much upon you to shew your love to the Lord in promoting his great ends 4. This love would 〈◊〉 let out to his Saints of which you have lately heard so much that I shall say but little lesse then this I cannot say No man can love the Father and destroy his children truly I cannot say â—oo much for them because they have done so much for you I pray grieve them not it may be you may grieve the Spirit of God in them do not make them sad whom the Lord would not have made sad be not angry with your deliverance because of the good hand the Lord hath made use of Why should Ezra be angry with Zerâ—â—babel for beginning the work Oâ—Zerâ—â—babel with Nehemiah for ending it You know how well it will be taken in heaven that you use the heirs of that country well upon earth yea you shall do well to love them impartially It is the triall many of the world are put to which they mind not how they will demean themselves towards poor Saints And let it not be forgotten that it will be the word of 〈◊〉 the great day In that you did it not sayes Christ to one of these little ones you did it not to me The Saints may do you much good they can do you no harm I am confident their interest in heaven which they have made use of for this nation hath been a strong ingredient to your preservationâ— and this is your glory and may be your establishment That this Land is sown with such feed which I believe Popery Prelacy and what else is not of God doth come too late to root up You remember that great Emperour who profest he would rather be a Member of a Church of Saints then the Head of the Empire It is taken notice of that you have laid this to heart and the Saints blesse you and carry you and your counsels to heaven with them daily In all the loud cries now about differences this toucheth my heart that some men can trample a poor Saint to the dust and into the grave if they might for a Peccadillo a little distance in an opinion and an open prop 〈…〉 beastly 〈◊〉 drunkard a black-mouthed swearer an enemy to any thing that is good can live quietly and unmolested 5. And above all this love is clothed with all its glory when we shall love him in his Son and greater honour you cannot doe him then to love him in Christ in whom he hath laid up all fulnesse the character and image of all his grace and glory But what he is and how lovely what want you have of him what worth is in him and which is the way to please him is constantly suggested unto you almost from every Pulpit the mystery of Christ now discovering it selfe He is the chiefest of ten thousand his mouth is most sweet yea he is all lovelinesse He is your peace the Prince of Peace the great Peace-maker if you desire peace war must continue he hath an Iron Mace and the Nations will be delivered up unto him a stone cut out of the Mountains shall fall upon the greatest Governours in the world O love the Lord in his Son 6. It concerns us this day that our love appear in our praises and though we have had so many Victories and Mercies that we have even wanted time for our solemn acknowledgements kindnesses have come tumbling in like war one following the other that Finis unius boni gradus est futuri Yet we have wanted â—kill to manifest our love to God in his praises of which you hear much by David who sometimes seems to forget himself in this point he will like a bird having got a note record it over and over Psal. â—36 For his mercy endureth for ever His mercy endureth for ever I shall take leave to commend to you that he hath in another place Prâ—â—ise waiteth for thee silently in Sien though your Translation want the Adverb that gives the Emphasis There is a threefold silence in this waiting upon Gods praises As 1. There is a silence of expectation when the soule waits when to expresse his praises and therefore keeps a private Catalogue of his faithfulnesse and truth 2. A silence of admiration when the heart is even ravished to wonder and sits down silently wondering over every mercy and all his loâ—eâ— 3. A silence of approbation when others shall set forth his praises we approve and allow and can say A 〈…〉 and this is the work at Sion about his praises in the last Psalm there are but six Verses yet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 O love him in his praiâ—â—◠〈◊〉 him for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 him for all your lashes for you could not want a â—â—ig of the rod praise him for his power goodnesse love tendernesse pitty praise him that you are on this side the grave and hell yea above all for his own bosome for his dearest Son who hath hung about our necks often and wept many a compassionate tear upon our cheeks not yet wiped off Let us all take up that of the Prophet My heart is inditing some good matter the word there is the same with the bubling of the oyle in the frying Pan at the Sacrifice Every heart should now be bubling up something every one should be thinking of setting up some monument Jacob promiseth the building of a Bethel a