enter into the Kingdom of God! And the disciples were astonished at his words But Jesus answereth again and saith unto them children how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the Kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go thorow the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God By trusting in these men are like to block up the path of Life against themselves We are strictly forbid we see to trust in riches or in any worldly wealth and earthly treasure And we are also forbid to trust in an Arm of Flesh or to rely upon any humane Power We are not to place our Trust and Confidence in any Kings and Princes and great Men of the earth nor in any Armies and Naval Forces and Warlike Preparations The doing of this is sinful and evil and these will prove but weak and helpless Deities to such as rely upon them Psal 146.3 saith the Psalmist there Put not your trust in princes nor in the the son of man in whom there is no help His breath goeth forth he returneth to his earth in that very day his thoughts perish These are of a mortal and perishing nature themselves and cannot preserve themselves and much less then are they able to help and save others that rely upon them And a wo is denounced against such as trust in the help of man Is 30.1 Wo to the rebellious children saith the Lord that take counsel but not of me and that cover with a covering but not of my Spirit that they may add sin to sin That walk to go down into Egypt and have not asked at my mouth to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh and to trust in the shadow of Egypt And we may see in the verses following what help and comfort they were like to find in so doing ver 3. Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame saith God by the Prophet and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion And ver 5 They were all ashamed of a people that could not profit them nor be an help nor profit but a shame and also a reproach Here we see how we are like to speed if we trust in an Arm of Flesh and place our confidence in humane Power we must then expect nothing but shame and reproach and confusion And to this purpose Is 31.1 Wo to them that go down to Egypt for help and stay on horses and trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong But they look not unto the holy One of Israel neither seek the Lord. And what the issue of such trust and confidence is like to be we may also see here ver 3 Now the Egyptians are men and not God and their horses flesh and not spirit when the Lord shall stretch out his hand both he that helpeth shall fall and he that it holpen shall fall down and they shall fail together Such disappointment must men expect from their vain confidence in all humane Force and Power And such as trust in an Arm of Flesh are cursed as God declareth by the Prophet Jeremiah 17.5 Thus saith the Lord cursed be the man that trusteth in man and maketh Flesh his Arm and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath in the desert and shall not see when good cometh but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness in a salt land and not inhabited Such as forsake God and trust not in his Help but place their hopes and confidence in humane Power must expect no good but sorrow and misery to attend them in so doing Nor are we to place our confidence in our wit and knowledg and strength of body c and to idolize them as the Prophet sheweth Ier. 9.23 Thus saith the Lord Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom neither let the mighty man glory in his might let not the rich man glory in his riches But let him that glorieth glory in this that he understandeth and knoweth me that I am the Lord We are not to trust in these nor in any other Idol that we may make to our selves but in the Lord Jehovah the living and true God For to trust in any thing else shews disrespect and infidelity towards him and is a derogation from his infinite Power and Goodness and is sinful and evil and in so doing we shall be miserably deluded and may expect to have our hopes and confidence frustrated and disappointed And such as shall now in this dark Time which is coming upon us betake themselves to Arms on the one hand or fall to Popery on the other hand to secure themselves I fear that such will be in great danger of perishing and losing their Lives But I hope that all those that put their trust in Almighty God and with faith and patience wait for his blessed Help and Protection will be preserved alive notwithstanding their hazard and danger is like to be very great And the more to prevail with us to do so Secondly We may see that we are often exhorted and enjoined in the sacred Scriptures to put our Trust and Confidence in Almighty God at all times and upon all accounts especially when we have the most need of Relief and Protection and that it is our duty to do so The sacred Scriptures do frequently exhort us to trust in and rely upon him and to cast all our care upon him and not to doubt of his help and assistance when we shall stand in great need of it Psal 62.7 8. saith the Psalmist In God is my Salvation and my glory the Rock of my strength and my refuge is in God Trust in him at all times ye people pour out your heart before him God is a refuge for us And Psal 115.9 O Israel trust thou in the Lord he is their help and their shield O house of Aaron trust in the Lord he is their help and their shield Ye that fear the Lord trust in the Lord he is their help and their shield And in many other places in the Psalms are we exhorted to this And this is Solomon's exhortation Prov. 3.5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding And saith the Prophet Is 50 10 Who is among you that feareth the Lord that obeyeth the voice of his servant that walketh in darkness and hath no light Let him trust in the Name of the Lord and stay upon his God In all sad and comfortless conditions are his Servants to have recourse to him and there to rest themselves secure And this we are also exhorted to and enjoined by the Gospel to cast all our care upon Almighty God and to trust securely in him 2 Cor. 1.9 But we had the sentence of death in our selves saith the Apostle that we should not trust in our selves but in God which raiseth the dead And saith
now to expect and in all perilous and dangerous conditions and circumstances whatsoever are we to trust in his good Providence and Protection and to expect help and relief from him We are not to be afraid for the terror by night nor for the arrow that flyeth by day nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness nor for the destruction that wasteth at noon-day Psal 91.5 6. We are not so to be afraid of these or the like as to despair of mercy and help from Almighty God but at all times and in all places where we are threatned with any dangers we are to have recourse to him in prayer and then to rest securely upon his divine Help and Assistance and to know that he will be a very present help in all our trouble as the Psalmist saith Psal 46.1 And we are further assured of his blessed help at such times in several other places of his sacred word Psal 91.3 saith the Psalmist Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler and from the noisom pestilence He shall cover thee with his feathers and under his wings shalt thou trust And God doth give his People great assurance of his Help and Protection when they have great need of them by his Prophet Isaiah 41.10 Fear thou not saith he for I am with thee be not dismayed for I am thy God I will strengthen thee yea I will help thee yea I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness Behold all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded they shall be as nothing and they that strive with thee shall perish Thou shalt seek them and shalt not find them even them that contended witb thee They that war against thee shall be as nothing and as a thing of nought For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand saying unto thee fear not I will help thee This large exhortation and great encouragement doth God give to his People to rest themselves securely upon him and not to fear their enemies which should thus vanish away and come to nought And if we firmly trust in God we may expect that this promise will be made good to us now and that our enemies shall thus vanish and come to nought And he promiseth to be with his People in all the great dangers that they are brought into Is 43.2 When thou passest thorow the waters saith he I will be with thee and thorow the rivers they shall not overflow thee When thou walkest thorow the fire thou shalt not be burnt neither shall the flame kindle upon thee And even at the Stake if it should please God to suffer us to be brought thither are we to confide and trust in the Lord Jehovah and to expect that even then he will be a Mighty God and Saviour to us and furnish us with extraordinary help and strength fit for such a Fiery Tryal He that hath promised to be with his People and Servants when they pass thorow the fire and water will be sure to be so with them when there shall be this great occasion for his assistance We are to trust in the Lord for ever and upon no account whatsoever to distrust him and despair of his mercy and succor and help Thirdly We may see that such are blessed and happy that place their Trust and confidence in Almighty God and securely rely upon him and that this will engage him the more firmly to succour and protect them at all times especielly when they most of all want his help and assistance This the Psalmist doth often assert that such are blessed that put their Trust in him Psal 2.12 saith he Blessed are all they that put their trust in him And Psal 34.8 O tast and see that the Lord is good blessed is the man that trusteth in him And Psal 40.4 Blessed is the man that maketh the Lord his trust and respecteth not the proud and such as go about with lyes In these places doth he shew how blessed and happy such men are And saith Solomon Prov. 16.20 Whoso trusteth in the Lord happy is he And saith the Prophet Jeremiah 17.7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord and whose hope the Lord is For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters and that spreadeth out her roots by the river and shall not see when heat cometh but her leaf shall be green and shall not be careful in the year of drought He is blessed because he shall find comfort and refreshment when an evil Time cometh and will not be so shaken and terrified with it as others are like to be And in several places do the sacred Scriptures shew what great good shall be to such as wait and rest upon God and trust in him alone Psal 31.19 saith the Psalmist O how great is thy goodness which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men And Psal 32.10 Many sorrows shall be to the wicked saith he but he that trusteth in the Lord mercy shall compass him about And Psal 34.22 The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate And Psal 125.1 They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion which cannot he moved The Psalms we see are very full to this purpose exhorting men to trust in Almighty God and assuring them that they shall find great benefit and advantage in so doing And saith God by the Prophet complaining of the infidelity of his People towards him Is 57.13 When thou cryest let thy companies deliver thee but the wind shall carry them away vanity shall take them But he that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land and shall inherit my holy Mountain To such doth he promise the inheritance of his land and holy Mountain that make him their Rock and Trust And such as shall now trust in him in this great Day and dark Time that is coming upon us I hope will now be preserved to inherit his land here and holy Mountain This trusting in God is that which alone must afford us comfort and refreshment in the midst of all our sorrows ond miseries that befall us here And this will be sure to do it and will free us the most from all solicitous care and anxious thoughts about the Concerns of this World and set our hearts the most at rest that can be here Such is our condition here in this World that we shall always be lyable to wants and dangers and can have no other security of freedom from them The Revolutions of this World are so various and frequent and our condition here so uncertain that we must of necessity be often exposed to an indigent condition and great hazards and there is no securing our selves against them by all the humane Arts and subtilty that we can use For these are soon frustrated
serve and please him as we ought But so long as we go on in a sinful course he is not obliged to be our Protector and Defender By going on in a wicked course of life without repentance we put our selves from under his protection and cause him to cast of his care of us For he hath engaged himself to be a Rock and Shield only to such as fear him and keep his Commandments This is manifest from several places before mentioned He sheweth himself strong but it is in behalf of those whose heart is perfect towards him 2 Chr. 16.9 And saith St. Peter 1 Pet. 3.12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous and his ears are open unto their prayers but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil Such as do evil and go on in a wicked course are not to expect his care and watchful Providence to attend them for good but have cause to expect the contrary and are to know that God will not then be their Protector and Helper but their Adversary But if such repent and return unto the Lord and resolve for the future to keep his sacred Commandments he is gracious and prone to mercy and will then pardon them and receive them into his care and protection Isaiah 55.7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon He will be reconciled to sinners if they will repent and return to him and will then become their mighty God and Protector and will then save and help them as we see he did the Jews when they returned and cryed to him for help Jud. 10.15 If men do serve him as they ought or will return and become obedient to him he will be a most sure Helper and eternal Protector to them and there is no cause that they should doubt of his help and succour at any time Sixthly The extraordinary and miraculous deliverances that God hath wrought for his People and Servants in their straits and distressed conditions when they have had little or no means of helping themselves will be a farther encouragement to us to rely and depend upon him for help and succour at all times when we have no power to help and relieve our selves Seeing God hath stretched out his Almighty Arm to defend and help his Servants in times past we may the more chearfully hope that he will do the like for us now in our great need and helpless condition if we serve him as we ought and rely upon his mercy and goodness for protection and relief For his Arm is not shortened that it cannot save nor will he now be more backward to do it than he hath been heretofore And many and great deliverances and extraordinary Succours and Supports hath God vouchsafed to his People and Servants when there hath been occasion for such some whereof I shall here mention 1 God hath often relieved his Servants and People in their wants and necessities in a wonderful manner with food and such things as they stood in need of He gave the Children of Israel Manna and Quails in the wilderness when they wanted food and began to murmur against Moses and Aaron Exod. 16.12 I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel saith God speak unto them saying at even ye shall eat flesh and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God And for forty years together did he feed them with Manna in the wilderness where they wanted food untill they came into a land that had food sufficient for them And he caused their garments not to wax old in all this time that they might not want raiment as Moses tells them Deut. 8.4 Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee neither did thy foot swell these forty years And when they wanted water he brought them water out of the rock Numb 20.8 Take the rod saith God to Moses and gather thou the assembly together thou and Aaron thy brother and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes and it shall give forth his water and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink And ver 11. And Moses lift up his hand and with his rod he smote the rock twice and the water came out abundantly and the congregation drank and their beasts also God gave Samson water in his great thirst Judg. 15.18 And he commanded the ravens to feed the Prophet Elijah and they did so 1 Kings 17.2 And the word of the Lord came unto him saying Get thee hence and turn thee eastward and hide thy self by the brook Cherith that is before Jordan And it shall be that thou shalt drink of the brook and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith that is before Jordan And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning and bread and flesh in the evening and he drank of the brook And after this was he and the Widow Woman of Zarephath and her House sustained many days with a handful of meal and a little oyl at God's command when the famine was great in the land ver 13 And Elijah said unto her fear not go and do as thou hast said but make me thereof a little cake first and bring it unto me and after make for thee and for thy son For thus saith the Lord God of Israel The barrel of meal shall not wast neither shall the cruse of oyl fail until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah and she and he and her house did eat many days And the barrel of meal wasted not neither did the cruse of oyl fail And when he fled from Jezebel and was in the Wilderness beyond Beersheba in a destitute condition the Angel of the Lord brought him a cake and water to support and strengthen him 1 Kings 19.5 And as he lay and slept under a juniper-tree behold then an Angel touched him and said unto him Arise and eat And he looked and behold there was a cake baken on the coals and a cruse of water at his head and he did eat and drink and laid him down again And when he had eaten again he went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God Such a blessing did God give to it that made it sufficient to sustain him for so long a time When the Hosts of the Kings of Israel and Judah were distressed for want of water they sought to God by the Prophet Elisha and God gave them plenty of water in their great necessity 2 Kings 3.16 And he said Thus saith the