CONFIDING ENGLAND VNDER CONFLICTS TRIUMPHING IN THE MIDDEST OF HER TERRORS OR Assured comforts that her present miseries will end in unspeakable lasting mercies to the whole Nation First preached in Bengeo and Hitchin in Hartfordshire and now published for the common comfort of the Nation By IOHN BEVVICK Minister of Bengeo neere Hartford LONDON Printed by I. D. for Andrew Crooke and are to be sold at his shop at the Greene Dragon in Pauls Church-yard 1644. TO HIS Excellency ROBERT Earle of ESSEX Viscount Hereford Baron Ferrars of Chartley Lord Bourchier and Lovain one of His Majesties most Honourable Privy Councell and Generall of the Army raised by the Parliament in defence of the true Protestant Religion his Majesties person the Lawes and Liberties of the Kingdome and the Priviledges of Parliament IT is a lovely thing saith the Philosopher to benefit one but to doe good to a nation it is a thing divine Your Excellencies love to England in not counting your blood your life deare to preserve it the eminencyes in your person of vertue and valour of courage and courtesie of greatnesse and goodnesse of mercy and meeknesse of admirable prudence and unwearied patience the worthy deeds already done unto this Nation by your providence all these obligeth all true English hearts to beare a part in the National acknowledgment of your worth and in accepting what is done by your Excellencie with all thankefulnesse Your noble candor may be pleased then to pardon this presumption of dedication in a stranger to your knowledge but an honourer of your vertues the rather because the obscurest clot upon the fallow reflects something of the sunne beames as well as the mountaines as the whole globe These ensuing meditations are now mustered to attend the Campe and if the banner of your protection overspread them he shall be comforted who by them desires principally to comfort the Natio yea the world For if it be true as Saint Augustine writes that if one drop of the joyes of heaven should fall into hell it would swallow up all the bitternesse of it it may be hoped then that a few drops of heavenly joyes here presented under your Excellencyes countenance to my Countrymen ingulphed in an hell of outward miseries may availe to allay their bitternesse and cleare their eye sight as Ionathans was after his tasting honey to see thorough an hell of horror their heavenly recovery It is Englands present duty to rejoyce in tribulations to triumph under terrors to confide under conflicts to expect salvations to veiw God by the eye of faith as a refuge as interwining us in his everlasting armes of preservation as healing our breaches as stanching our wounds as preparing all rankes among us to enjoy a perpetuall unity peace amity joy and jubilee in despite of hell and Rome All this God will do for us in righteousnes but by terrible things And during his pouring vialls of wrath upon the Antichristians the English Church with the other reformed must stand on a sea of glasse mingled with fire She shall apparantly see as in a glasse Antichristian tumults rising like wave after wave yet Christ calming them and causing all attempts ebbe into emptinesse come to nothing She shall stand on a sea mingled with fire enduring hot service from inward contentions and outward afflictions these a while shall heat her but not fire her scorch her but not rost her bruise her heele perhaps in some losses but they shall not breake her nor crumble her into a totall desolation for the ten Kingdomes must stand by an unalterable decree to undo Antichrist though they a while may seeme to favour and fight for him And she shall stand with the harpes of God singing the songs of Moses songs of judgement praises for every new judgement upon her troublers and destroyers and singing too the song of the lamb songs of mercie prayses for every new deliverance vouchsafed her from on high All blessings from the omnipotent Lambe who warreth against Antichrist and will conquer are craved for your Excellency by all the reall lovers of this Nation among whom I rest the meanest of Christs ministers and to July 20 1644. Your Excellencye most humbly devoted in all Christian service IOHN BEVVICK CONFIDING ENGLAND VNDER CONFLICTS TRIVMPHING IN THE MIDDEST OF HER TERRORS PSAL. 65. 5. By terrible things in righteousnesse wilt thou answer us oh God of our salvation who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth and of them that are a farre off upon the sea THis Psalme is Eucharisticall It is a forme of thankesgiving penned by David for those mercies which God bestowes on mankind The first verse calls on the Church of God to praise him for the things afterward recited Others will take no notice of them or if they doe yet they will not so freely acknowledge Gods kindnesse in them and therfore the Saints the children of Zion must doe it The rest of the Psalme is spent in recounting the benefits both spirituall and temporall which are conferred The spirituall blessings which properly belong to the Church and faithfull people of God are foure 1. Gods hearing of their prayers In the want of defence counsell reliefe in the midst of afflictions and troubles when they are straitned and upon the verge of any extremitie he heareth their prayers Oh thou that hearest prayers to thee shall all flesh come 2. Remission of sinnes is another blessing here recounted though sinne hath raised the storme of afflictions trouble and adversaries yet God will purge away sinne and the cause of these stormes removed there is a calme As for our transgressions thou shalt purg them away 3. The collection of a Church is another blessing here rehearsed And 4. The saving and preserving this Church in a wonderfull and admirable manner so as others shall be driven to joyne themselves to the Church this is another favour from God And these are the blessings spirituall which this Psalme doth mention The blessings temporall are common to the Saints with others yet they are such that none but Saints will take notice to praise God for them and therefore for these also Praise waiteth for God in Zion These blessings temporall are 1. The erection of Kingdomes and Governments in the world It is from the mighty power of God that Common wealths are set on their foundation He by his strength set fast the mountaines By mountaines Common wealths are here to be understood as they are in the latter part of the first verse of the second of Isaiah It would be a terrible sight to see mountaines tumbling and rowling ready to close and breake one another in peices and yet such are all the Common wealths in the world they would totter and tumble and destroy one another but that God hath fastened them their bounds are set and that is one blessing 2. The repression of tumults seditions and conspiracies in Kingdomes which would utterly
of the Lord perswade your selves and others to be faithfull this is true thankfulnesse Blesse then God for not suffering wicked plots wicked stratagems wicked designes to prosper and take effect If God at any time curbes wicked insolencies observe it Hee sometimes breakes here and sometimes there an arme weakening thereby his Churches adversaries and this is to them terrible but to his servants comfortable and so much the more comfortable it will be if it makes them trust and relye on him onely for helpe True thankefulnesse will not trust on men nor on the sonnes of men for they are vaine England perhaps may heareof so many thousand horse and so many thousand foot of such and such a great fleete of ships which intend to have a-bout with her but let us not be dismaied for the Lord sure hath yet some terrible thing to shew on the adversaries of England and he will come riding on the chariots of salvation to helpe and releive it There are who confidently affirme that by the Laodicean Church spoke of in the Revelation the luke-warm Church the Lord meanes the English Church though I will not peremptorily affirme it yet thereupon I dare boldly make this inference That if the English Church be the Laodicean Church then if it will but heare the voyce of Christ and open the doore to him if it will become an obedient Church and repent of its sinnes and if its children would once cordially and seriously reforme their lives then Christ will come in and suppe with it And we are told what the supper is which the great God hath provided It is in breife what may be read at large the utter destruction in it of the beast and false Prophet and of such who combine with them to set up the tyranny of the Roman Papacy So terrible God will be to such that the very fore-thoughts of it should cheere up our spirits and fill us full of thankefull expectations of helpe from on high that though all nations should compasse us about and it may be they will before all be done attempt it yet repentant England shall in the name of the Lord destroy them all Christ will come and suppe in it and it shall suppe with him He rejoycing at Englands amendment and new obedience and it enjoying his comforts and deliverances The God of our Salvation will thus save and preserve by terrible things in righteousnesse So much of the first observation The Second is this Gods deliverance of his Church and people by terrible things is in righteousnesse The meaning of the point is this God in all the deliverances of his people by terrible things doth therein manifest his righteousnesse He doth therein nothing but what is righteous according to righteousnes and justice To cleare this consider that there is a double righteousnes The righteousnesse of his word which is the righteousnesse of his faithfulnes and the righteousnes of his works or his just acts of righteousnesse And God doth manifest both these in his deliverance of his people by terrible things First God in delivering his people by terrible things doth it according to his righteous word Now there is a double righteousnesse of God in his word There is his righteousnesse of fulfilling his word of promise And there is his righteousnesse of accomplishing his word of threatning And both are manifest in the Churches deliverance by terrible things 1. Gods delivering his people by terrible things is in righteousnesse that is it is according to the word of his promise He is faithfull to keepe covenant with his servants Heaven and earth shall passe but not a word of his promise shall fall in vaine And God hath in many places promised to his people deliverance The last of the quotations in the margent is to be understood of Christ misticall of Christ together with all his faithfull members God delivered Israel out of Aegypt and it was terrible by over-throwing Pharoh and all his hoast and yet in righteousnesse too according to his righteous word as Moses shewes The word of promise is fulfilled when the deliverance is by terrible things it is therefore in righteousnesse And 2. Gods delivering by terrible things is in righteousnesse that is according to his word of threatning that the word of his threatning might come on the adversaries and be fulfilled God in many places hath threatned them He by Jeremiah gives a gracious promise to his Church but a terrible threatning to the enemies of it The words are these All they that devoure thee shall be devoured and all thine enemies every one of them shall goe into captivity and they that spoyle thee shall be spoyled and all that prey on thee will I give for a prey for I will restore health unto thee and I will heale thee of thy wound saith the Lord because they called thee an outcast saying this is Zion whom no man seekes after And that the Lord will accomplish all this in the last dayâ—â— it may be in our times or a very little after us the 23. and 24. verses shewes So that when God delivers his people by terrible things as by confounding and undoing their adversaries and their forces all is but a fulfilling his word of righteousnesse his righteous threats And thus Gods deliverance is said to be in righteousnesse according to his righteous word Secondly God in delivering by terrible things doth it in righteousnesse that is he therein declares his righteous facts that they are very righteous There is a double act of Gods justice or righteousnesse manifest in it 1. His righteousnesse in righting a wronged world And 2. His righteousnesse in revenging it self upon a wronging world or on those adversaries of his people which wrong them 1. God by delivering his people by terrible things doth righteously right a wronged world he therby rights his oppressed wronged people easing and releiving them So the Prophet As for my people children are their oppressors and women rule over them oh my people they which lead thee cause thee to erre and destroy the way of thy paths the Lord standeth up to plead and standeth to judge the people c. and so the Psalmist For the oppression of the poore for the sighing of the needy now I will arise saith the Lord and will set him in safety from him that passeth at him An excellent description of a state wronged Church which is a tree shaken the windes from all corners conspiring to blow it downe it craks and shakes and the enemies like winde puffes and blowes and makes a bussell but the Lord lookes from Heaven he heares the groanes and sighes at last of his afflicted people and at length stills these windes and scatters them and so the Kingdome and Church stands and is in safety As when some honest traveller in his journey falls among theeves they unstrip him and riffle him and are searching him when suddenly while the poore man is in
and weary themselves in plotting and ruining his people and then on the sudden he turnes all upon themselves having them all in derision As when a man overlookes a company of boyes busie in making clay walls and castles and heares them talke that they will destroy hereby any who meddles with them he laughs at them and suddenly comes in and breakes all their workes in peices and sets them all on crying and lamenting even so the Lord is wise to understand fully all the adversaries attempts he laughs at them and suddenly breaks their power and fills them with wailing 3. God is all sufficient to rescue and save his people and deliver them out of all their troubles He only is able to save So he is described by the prophet Who is this that cometh from Edom with died garments from Bozra this that is glorious in his apparell travelling in the greatnesse of his strength I that speake in righteousnesse mighty to save Nothing can withstand his power with a strong hand he brought his people out of Aegypt Deliverances are at his command Knowest thou not said our blessed Saviour to Peter that I can pray to my father and he shall presently give me more then twelve legions of Angells All the Armyes in heaven and earth are commanded by him He is able to raise up and fit instruments to be deliverers of his people from them that spoile and distresse them The Midianites thought to overbeare Israell with multitude and mighty Armies but the Lord raised up Gideon and made him successefull that the Midianites helped to slay one another and so he utterly discomfited them 4. God is very watchfull to do his people good to give deliverance Behold he that keepeth Israell shall neither slumber nor sleepe He will let no opportunity slip to releive The Lord standeth up to plead and standeth to judge the people the Lord will enter into judgement with the Ancients of his people and the Princes therof for yee have eaten up the vineyards the spoile of the poore is in your houses what meane yee that yee beate my people to peices and grind the faces of the poore saith the Lord These footsteps of Gods glory his pitty omnisciency all sufficiency and watchfulnes doth evidence that the salvation of Gods people comes from no other but God He is the God of their salvation From this double salvation of the Church wherof God is the Author and therefore is stiled here the God of our salvation we learne 1. To ascribe both to him 2. To seeke for both from him and 3. To labour to have an interest in the salvation which he workes for his people First let us ascribe all the salvation which is wrought to God only According to the title here given unto him say as the Psalmist Not unto us oh Lord not unto us but to thy name give the glory And this we should do both in respect of the spirituall and of the temporall salvation whereof he makes us partakers 1. We are to ascribe our spirituall deliverance to God only The foure beasts and twenty foure elders fell downe before the lambe saying Thou art worthy for thou wast slaine and hast redeemed us to God by thy bloode out of every kindred and tongue and people and Nation and hast made us unto our God Kings and Preists and we shall reigne on earth All the glory of mans salvation is only to be ascribed to God He contrived the meanes of salvation by Christ and he gave him to worke salvation and to brin̄g his people to it let him therefore have the glory of it By grace saith the Apostle we are saved and as if he had not said enough he addes by grace yee are saved thorough faith and that not of your selves it is the gift of God not of workes lest any should boast It was prophesied that when the temple should be built by Zorobabell the people of God should with on joynt cry say Grace to it and he shall bring forth the head stone thereof with shouting crying Grace Grace to it It was a type of Gods building his spirituall temples by working grace in their hearts and fitting them to be come holy temples an habitation of God through the spirit Indeed there shall be mighty oppositions many difficulties mountaines to be removed but the head stone shal be fetched out Christ the corner stone wch the builders once refused should be laid in the heart and they should all shout Grace Grace to it It is of free grace that the worke is begunne continued and finished the Lord must therefore have the praise of our salvation He brings salvation into the heart he causes it to persevere unto salvation and he only will compleate our salvation and therefore every gracious man must confesse that all of his salvation is only from the God of his salvation And so the Lord will count when he writes up the people that this man was borne there He will count that Christ was formed and framed in the hearts of his people living in this or that Kingdome the Lord keepes as it were a record of all his glorious salvations which he hath wrought in any and he will be glorified by his people for it The glorie then of our spirituall salvation is only to be ascribed to God 2. And so we must ascribe only to him our temporall salvation If he at any time doth deliver or preserve let us say of this his salvation as we did of the other Not unto us oh Lord not unto us but to thy name give the glory And with the Psalmist They got not this or that deliverance by their owne sword neither did their right arme save them but thy right hand and thine arme and the light of thy countenance because thou hadst a favour unto them Say not it was the valour and strength and wisdome of such and such which hath done thus and thus for us but acknowledge that God only was the Author and the other his instruments of the mercies injoyed Many a time from my youth up have they afflicted me may England now say yea many a time have they afflicted me from my youth yet they have not prevailed against me the plowers plowed on my back and made long furrowes but it was the righteous Lord that cut asunder the cords of the wicked It would be a great worke to relate the bare heades of the mercies which from day to day God vouchsafes to his people every day brings out new mercies new kindnesses new helps new succours new escapements sundry sorts of deliverances in on kinde or other England had long before this have bin as Sodom and as Gomorah unlesse the Lord had saved her let us therefore ascribe her salvation unto God only and when at any time the Lord saves any part of it or our selves temporally let this his kindnesse lead us on to repentance Let