peregrinam agere desideramus qui agere debet Theologum agere audet politicum qui privata contentus esse umbra debet publico apricari sole molitur quod non minus creat in hac mundi histrionia incommodi quam si in Comoedia servus agat berum ancillà dominâ—on morio Regem c. Est via ad concordiam quisque faciat in suo vitae genere ad quod Deus eum vocavit suum officium Non extollat se supra alios neque opera alâ—â—râ—m reprehendat sua velut meliora laudet sed alii aliis per charitatem serviant Luther Dissentions of those times wherein he lived said because men do not keep their Places all men were out of their Places I wish I might not say so too We are out of our Places and what Peace or love while men are out of their Places and do not act nor move in their own Sphears Oh! you that are Scholars of Jesus Christ away to your Places your Lord is coming and if he find you out of your Places he will take the rod into his hand But above all things think of this Truth much that is now before ye Lactantius observes that the Heathens accounted it the best Honouring of their Gods to be like them and therefore some would be wicked that they might be like to Jupiter their (c) Mores vitia regis imirari genus obsequii est abjecerunt pietatem ne exprobrare regi Jovi scelus viderentur Lact. God and though it were evil which they did yet they thought they Honoured their Gods in it because they were like to them Ye would all Honour your God labour more and more to be like to him he hath saved delivered and loved you with a Notwithstanding Oh! therefore let us love one another Notwithstanding all our failings and infirmities Ye read of Rebecca that when she was with her Servants she rode on Camels but when she saw Isaac on foot she did alight and walk as he did It may be when you are with your fellow-servants you think it fit to be on horse-back you are High and in your Ruffe But behold our Isaac our Saviour hath condescended to our infirmities Came down walked on foot He hath saved us with a Notwithstanding and why should not all we be contented to walk as Christ walked and to love as he loved he hath loved us with a Notwithstanding so let us do That is the Third Duty 4 Fourthly if the Lord doth sometimes save his People with a Neverthelesse out of meer love Then why should we Despise or Despaire of any though they be never so Vile or Envy at any though they be never so Good Say not saies Austine Num quid Deus correcturus est hominem tam vilem c. Will God Correct and (d) Attende quem rogas non pro quo rogas vides periculum morbi sed non vides potentiam medici fecit resicere potest August Convert a man so vile and so perverse Do not Despair saies he Attend whom thou prayest to not for whom thou prayest You see the Disease of the Patient but not the Power of the Physitian And seeing God works and saves with a Notwithstanding who knows what he will do whose waies are past finding out Joseph was thrown behind for a while and though he had a promise that his sheafe should be higher then the rest of his brethrens yet at the first it was lowest but God took him raised him and made his sheafe higher then all his brethrens So can God do by this or that wicked person though now he stands behind God may take him and set him before for God works freely Oh! therefore never Despise any though they be never so Wicked Nor I say Envy at others though they be never so Good for their Parts Gifts and Abilities God can take you and make you as Good or better For the present indeed you may bemoan your selves and say Is God so good so gracious so free as to save with a Notwithstanding and am I the only wicked man or woman that shall have none of this free love that shall not tast of this rich grace Si impius es saies one If thou beest wicked think on the Publican If Unclean think on Rahab If Injurious think on the Thief If an Idolater think on Abraham If a Blasphemer think on Paul Who would have thought that should have seen Paul trudging with a persecuting Commission that he would ever have been such a famous Preacher of the Gospel but the Lord our Lord works Delivers saves with a Notwithstanding he doth work freely Therefore Despise not any though they be never so Vile Envy not at any though they be never so Good That is the fourth Duty 5 Fiftly if the Lord doth save for his own Namâ—s sake Then let us all be tender of his Name take heed that we do not wrong his Name our only friend in adversity But if we be in any danger labour more and more to ingage his Name in our work and upon all occasions Exalt this Name of the Lord. Abulensis observes that though Moses did strike other things with his Rod yet himself would not strike the waters but spake to Aaron to strike them when they were to be turned into bloud for saies he Moses was preserved in the waters and out of thankfulnesse he would not strike the waters that had preserved him I do not like his reason but I allude 'T is the Name of the Lord that hath preserved you and shall we now strike his Name I say nothing of those that do Swear by his Name their own consciences tell them that they wound the Name of God But how few are there in these daies that are tender of Gods Name If a man a Professor fall and Sin how ready are others to spread and divulge his Sin yea though the spreading thereof be a scandall unto Gods Name As Luther said in his time ob quodcunque erratum for every fault and Errour they presently cry out These are your fruits of the Gospel So now this is the fruit of your Profession and Holinesse But ye see into what times of danger we are now fallen The Name of the Lord saies Solomon is a strong Tower the righteous flie thereunto and are safe or as some read it lift up If a man be in a Tower he may not only Defend himself but offend his Enemy Abimelech and a sorry Woman were too unequally match't What was a weak woman to him Yet Judg. 9. A woman having the advantage of a strong Tower proved too good for him for from the Tower she cast down a great stone upon Abimelech brake his scull and he died Now such a strong Tower is the Name of the Lord though you be so weak as a Woman yet if in-Tower'd in the Name of God you shall be able to cast down milstones upon all your Enemies Who would not therefore
Notwithstanding Notwithstanding the great Sin that Adam and Eve committed in the fall yet saies the Lord The seed of the woman shal break the Serpents head Thus in the Types of Christ There were Three great Types of him in the Wildernesse the Manna the Brasen-Serpent and the Rock but though all these were Types yet the Rock especially and therefore in the 1 Cor. 10. saies the Apostle And that Rock was Christ He had said before They did all eate the same spiritual meat yet he doth not say And that meat was Christ or that Manna was Christ but having said They all drank of the same spirituall Rock he addeth And that Rock was Christ Why but because the Rock and Water was a speciall Type of Christ Now if we look into the History we shal find that the waters of the Rock whereby Israel were saved from death was given with a Notwithstanding They murmured and sinned much through Unbelief yet the Lord struck the Rock and waters came forth like honey yea and the Apostle tels us that the Rock followed them they did not follow the Rock but the Rock went after them And when Christ himself came into the world ye may read in the third of Luke what a pack of wicked men were then in Judea that were in Office Pontius Pilate Herod Annas and Caiaphas yet then even then did Christ come notwithstanding all the malice of those Tyrants and times And if ye look into the 57 of Esay ye may read a clear proof of all this verse the 17 For the iniquity of his covetousnesse was I wroth and smote him I hid me and was wroth and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart What then I have seen his waies at the 18. Verse I will heale him I will lead him also and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners All this is spoken of a people as well as of a particular person Here 's mercy here 's love here 's Pardon with a Notwithstanding So that God doth sometimes save his people with a Notwithstanding all their Sins That is the first Reason Doct. 2 Secondly if God should not show mercy to his people with a Notwithstanding How should the glory of his Mercy appear If a Physician should onely cure a man that hath the Head-ach or Tooth-ach one that hath taken Cold or some small disease it would not argue any great skil and excellency in the Physician But when a man is nigh unto death hath one foot in the grave or is in the eye of reason past all recovery if then the Physiciam cure him it argues much the skil and excellency of that Physician So now if God should onely cure and save a People that were lesse evil and wicked or that were good indeed where should the Excellency of mercy appear but when a People shall be drawing on lying bed-rid as it were and the Lord out of his free love for his own Names sake shall raise and cure such an unworthy People this sets out the glory of his Mercy Read therefore and consider what is said in Psal 87.3 Glorious things are spoken of thee 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 gloriosa dicta in te Ar. Mont. but rather according to the Hebrew In thee O thou City of God What are those glorious things Verse the 4. I wil make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me Rahab signifies Pride and Insolency for Aegypt dealt Proudly and Insolently with the people of God Babylon also opprest them sorely and held them in captivity yet saies the Lord I wil make mention of Aegypt and Babylon to them that know me Yea Philistia and Tyre and Aethiopia men and people that were very wicked shal be found with the Saints the Lord wil take speciall notice of them Vers 4. 5. as of those in Zion What then Then glorious things shall be spoken In thee Mercy is never Glorious but when it is Rich It is never Rich but when it is free and the more free it is and works with a Notwithstanding the more glorious it is Now God who is the God of Glory wil have his Mercy which is his Glory made Glorious and therefore though the Sin of a People be exceeding great and very hainous yet he wil sometimes save them for his owne Names sake with a Notwithstanding all their Sins Application If God doth sometimes save a people with a Notwithstanding all their Sin Then it 's possible I see nothing in the Word contrary to it but that England Scotland Ireland may yet be saved with an outward Salvation Notwithstanding all our fears notwithstanding all our Sins The Lord saved Israel brought them out of Aegypt through the Red sea Notwithstanding all their Rebellion The Lord saved Lot out of Sodome Notwithstanding he saw what he would do with his two daughters afterward The Lord saved Israel out of Babylon Notwithstanding that they were loath to depart and were grown exceeding vile and very wicked there The Jews were a people that were under the Law indeed they were saved by the same Covenant of Grace that we are and by Jesus Christ as we are yet were under the Law for God dealt with them in a more Legall way and manner then he doth deale by us And did the Lords grace and free love so strive upon them as to save them with a Notwithstanding and shall not his grace and love now strive upon his Gospel-People to save and deliver them with a Notwithstanding Were they under the Law and yet saved by Grace Did the Lord save the Mosaicall Israel for his own Names sake with a Notwithstanding and shal he not save Christian Israel in a way of free-love with a Notwithstanding also Surely the Lord is as full of grace now in the times of the New Testament as ever he was in the times of the Old Testament Object But we are a People that have been much defiled with the Superstitions of the former times and the Idolatry thereof Answ And was not Israel so in the land of Aegypt read Ezek. 20. Object Oh! but since the Lord hath been pleased to come among us and make a tender and offer of Reformation we have been unwilling to it Answ True but were not Israel unwilling to go out of the land of Aegypt Object But we are not onely Unwilling but we have risen up against and murmured and chidden with those that would have been our Reformers Answ And did not Israel chide with Moses Object Oh! but we have sinned worse then they for we have sinned greatly in the face of all those glorious mercies which God hath shewed of late among us Answ And I pray consider it Was it not thus with Israel 'T is said in the Verse precedent They rebelled at the Sea even at the Red Sea Or as in the Hebrew even In the Red Sea when the waters stood like walls on both sides of them when they saw those walls of waters
that never people saw before and saw the Power the infinite Power of God leading them through on dry land Then did they Rebel At the Sea Even In the Sea 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Graec. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vulg Lat. in mare Hieron in mâ—ri rubrâ— â—ranâ— in grandi praesenti incuitabili discrimine constituti nam Aegyptii a tergo monitbus impediebantur ne vel ad dextram vel ad senistram declinare mari vero ne progredi possent occludebantur hisce augustiis inclusi murmurabant rebellabam ubi potissimum divinae bâ—nitatis memoria vigere debet Muscul in Nas and yet for all this the Lord saved them he saved them with a Notwithstanding all this And I say shal the Lord put forth so much of grace upon a People that were undeâ— the Law and not put forth much more of his grace upon those that are under the Gospel O England England I cannot write thee lost or forsaken thou maiest yet be saved I speak of Outward Salvation thou maiest yet be saved Notwithstanding all thy Fears and all thy Sins Yea the Lord hath saved us he hath saved us with a Notwithstanding as great and large a Notwithstanding as ever People and Nation were saved with Witnesse the Mercy and Deliverance of this day When the Powder-Treason was on foot what a dark night of security had trodden upon the glory of our English day Then did our strength lie fast asleep in the lap of Delilah What Pride Oppression Court-uncleannesse Supersttions and Persecutions of the Saints then under the name of Puritans Neverthelesse he saâ—ed us and our Fathers And now of late What Bitternesse of spirit among Professors What Divisions Oppressions instead of Justice What new-fangled Prides What unwillingnesse to be Reformed Time was heretofore when we did call for Truth and cried aloud for Truth Oh! that we might know the Truth But now we deale by Truth as the Fryar said the people did by their Holy-water Ye call and cry said he for Holy-water but when the Sexton sprinkles it ye turn away your faces and it falls on your backs So the times were heretofore that we called and cried out for Truth Truth it is now come unto you we would sprinkle it upon you but ye turn away your faces from it and it falls on your backs And is there not as much Swearing Drunkennesse Profanenesse stil as before I read of a street in Rome called Vicus Sobrius the Sober street because there was never an Ale-house to be found in it And upon this account I think there wil be never a sober street in England or very rare As for the precious Ordinances of Jesus Christ never so sleighted and rejected as now Neverthelesse the Lord hath saved us yea he hath saved us with a great Salvation I may say Miraculous Salvation oh if ever people were saved in a way of free love and with a Notwithstanding thus are we saved here in England Quest But suppose it be so That the Lord hath saved us with a Notwithstanding for his owne Names sake out of his mercy and free love What is our Duty that doth flow from hence Duty 1 First if the Lord doth save us with a Notwithstanding for his owne Names sake out of meere grace Then what mighty ingagements are upon us all to become gracious to repent of and turne from our former sins nothwithstanding which he hath saved us An ungracious heart may possibly mourn for Sin that it may be pardon'd but an ingenuous gracious heart wil mourn for sin because it is pardoned Yea and the more he apprehends that his Sin is pardoned the more he will and doth mourn for it We read of David that he had sinned greatly and he lay long therein without testimony of repentance at the last he breaks out into a Penitential Psalm the 51. Psal and there he melts and breaks all to pieces in Repentance When was that Psalm made the Title tels us A Psalm of David when Nathan the Prophet came unto him that is after Nathan the Prophet had come And what did Nathan say to him but thy Sin is forgiven thee whereupon he did melt into that Repentance So now when a person doth truly consider how many Notwithstandings the Lord doth carry his Conversion through then he doth melt indeed if there be ingenuity in him Oh! saies he I was a poor Ignorant man a Drunkard a Swearer an Opposer and a Jearer at goodnesse and good men yet the Lord saved me shewed mercy to me Notwithstanding all this and therefore what infinite cause have I to be humbled for Sin committed here he breaks and melts And if ye look into the 9. of Ezra ye shal find that nothing did so melt and break his heart as this That the people sinned against the free love of God ver 6. O my God I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee my God For now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the Lord our God to leave us a remnant to escape and to give us a nail in his holy place ver 10. And now O our God what shal we say after this for we have forsaken thy commandements ver 13. And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great trespasse seeing that thou our God hast punished us lesse then our iniquities deserve and hast given us such deliverance as this Should we again break thy commandements and joyn in affinity with the people of these abominations O Lord our God thou art righteous for we remain yet escaped behold we are before thee in our trespasses for we cannot stand before thee because of this So say I Hath the Lord shewed mercy to us with a Notwithstanding all our Sins and shall we sin against him Notwithstanding all his Mercies how shall we stand before him because of this Surely the latter end will be sad and smart Ye read of the children of Israel's unbelief and that therefore they fell and died in the Wildernesse They had sinned greatly in Unbelief on the other side the water before they came through the Red sea but God pardoned that but when the Lord had brought them through the Red sea and they had seen God saving them with a Notwithstanding and then fell into that unbelief they died for it Their unbelief on this side the water was at a dearer rate then on the other And so it will be with us Many and great were our sins which we committed before the Lord saved us and if yet we will go on and will not repent of them now they will cost us dear The Lord hath saved us with a Notwithstanding Oh! what a mighty ingagement is this upon us all to leave those sins Notwithstanding which the Lord hath saved us This is our first duty Duty 2 Secondly if the Lord hath saved us with a Notwithstanding out of free love Then let us all walk
Ingage the Name of God more and more in the time of danger And seeing for his own Names sake he hath saved you and your Fathers and Children and Families as it is this day Come now and let us Exalt his Name together The Name of God is Exalted when ye speak highly of his Power Faithfulnesse Mercy free love and grace and of all his Attributes A man Exalts his Name when he ventures upon Great things and Hard things even Lyons in his way upon confidence on the Name of God as David against Goliah The Name of God is Exalted when men yeeld up their Resolutions and Ingagements and that Presently upon the least discovery of Dishonour that may come thereby to this Name of God We Exalt the Name of God when we labour to bear up those Ordinances Waies and Truths of God which the world Decries There is a Verball and there is a Reall Exalting of Gods Name it s not the Verball but the Reall that God expecteth And seeing he saveth us and all Ours hitherto for his own Names sake Why should we not all joyn together in Exalting his Name Oh! you that are Parents call upon your Children to Exalt his Name You that are Governours and Masters call upon your Servants to Exalt his Name Tel them how he hath saved us with a Notwithstanding for his own Names sake and therefore Exalt his Name This is the fift Duty I should now tel you in the Next place That if God doth save us with a Notwithstanding then we should Serve him with a Notwithstanding all Opposition Notwithstanding all Discouragements that we should Believe and Trust in him Notwithstanding all our Fears and Dangers But I hasten to the Next Doctrine which is this Doct. 2 When God doth save his people with a Notwithstanding he doth then leave such Marks and Characters of his Infinite Power upon their Deliverance to Salvation that he may be Fully Clearly Plainly known to the Sons of men Ye shall observe therefore That when God promised any great Deliverance to his people in the time of the Prophets he frequently addeth these words Then shall ye know that I am the Lord or Then shall ye know that I am Jehovah Gods Infinite and Almighty Power is never more seen or legible then when he works in a way of free love And therefore if ye look into the 14. Numb you find that when Moses pleaded with God to pardon and passe by the iniquity of his people to shew forth his grace and love to them he doth then implore and call in the Power the Great Power of God ver 17. it 's said He made the Heavens by his Power but here Great Power is used and expressed for the pardoning of Sin And in Psal 99.8 we find that his free love and Power are knit together Deus fortis condonans c. For he is not onely strong and Mercifull but he is strong in Mercy So that whensoever God doth save his people with a Notwithstanding his great Design is to make known his mighty power unto the Sons of men Quest But it wil be said now We are all convinced and perswaded that the Lord hath saved Us and Ours in a way of free love with a Notwithstanding But what Marks or Impressions of a Deity or of Infinite Power are there upon the Deliverances or Salvations that we have had Answ 1 First it 's onely God himself that can turn the Tyde Poor weak man may turne and divert the stream of a River but it 's onely God and the Infinite power of the Almighty that can turne the Tyde When the Tyde comes in we may Saile up with the Tyde or cast Anchor but none can turne the Tyde but God alone Not long since there was a full Tyde of Superstition and Prelaticall malice coming in upon all Gods people and now of late how hath this Tyde been turned Oh! the Tyde is turn'd 't is turn'd This is the Lords doing and it may be marvellous in your eyes if it be not Secondly when there are such Great things done for Gods people as the nature of the second cause will not cannot beare then the hand and arme and speciall power of God is and may be seen therein Jer. 31.22 I the Lord have created a new thing in the earth a woman shall compasse a man (g) Neque enim simpliciter Propheta hic de viro loquitur sed nominat virum robustum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 enim sumitur a fortitudine cum igitur foeminam viro comparet non dubito quin significet Propheta Israelitas ' qui similes erant foeminis hoc est carebant viribus destituti erant omni auxilio quin dicit superiores sore hostibus suis quorum potentia poterat toti mundo terrorem incuâ—ere Nam 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 significat non amplecti sed obsidere saepenumero multis accipitur scripturae locis in malam partem Hostes circundederunt me Psal 118. Cum igitur noratur obsidio Scriptura hoc verbum usurpat perinde est â—â—si Propheta dixisset redigent foeminae viros in angustias ita ut ipsos captivos teneant Calvin in Ierem. 31.22 'T is ordinarily understood of Christ in the womb of the Virgin Mary But as Calvin doth well observe 't is his Comment not Mine it 's not said That a woman shall compasse a man barely but a Strong one a woman shall compasse a strong one or one that is strong so the Hebrew word signifies And saies he that word which is translated Compasse signifies such a Compassing as Enemies doe use when they lay Siege to a City So Psal 118. They Compassed me about like bees It 's the same word there which is used in a Hostile way And so the meaning is thus Though O ye Israelites ye be as weak as Women and your Enemies strong yet you shal lay Siege to them and take them captive for I will create a new thing When God works Creation-wise then he puts forth his Almighty power and when a Woman or those that are weak shall lay Siege to and take the strong then his Creating hand is at work And hath it not been thus in these Great Deliverances that he hath wrought for us of late We may all say The Lord hath Created a new thing for the woman that is those that are weak have laid Siege to and taken those that are strong Here is Power legible Answ 3 Thirdly the Psalmist doth speak expresly The Lord is known by the Judgement that he executeth The wicked is snared in the work of their own hands When the wicked Plot Consult and Designe upon and against the righteous and they are so snared in their complotments as that the cause of the just and righteous is furthered by their own workings then is the Lord known then and there are the Marks Impressions Characters of a Deity upon that work And hath not the Lord led you in this way all
sanctae Ecclesiae aliarum rerion ab Domine dixi hoc velim ita sieri hoc eventu sed Deus pro sus contrarium faciebat ab eo quod petiveram ibi tum cogitabam atqui meum confilium non est alicuum a gloria Dei sed plurimum facit ad sanctificandum nomen ejus sed risit haud dubic dominus hanc sapientiam dixit age vero novi te esse prudentem cruditum sed mihi nunquam hic mos fuit ut aut Petrus aut Divus Martinus aut alius me doceret non sum Deus passivus sed activus Selamus Deum se abscondere sub specie possimi Diaboli ideo ut discamus bonitatem misericordiam potentiam Dei non posse comprehendi speculando sed experiendo Deus suos humiliat ut exaltet occidit ut vivificet confiendit ut glorificet subjicit ut extollat Nam sic Deus sapientiam nostram mortificat ut homo agrestis mirabilem symphoniam tot votum in orgaâ—is aut Cythara non intelligit propterea quod totius harmoniae rationem ignorat sic nos arbitramur temere omnia fieri diabolum vigilare Deum dormire c. Luther in Gen. Luther If we would see more of God in his works we must understand his waies as distinct from ours Nam ego saith he I often endevoured to prescribe God his way which he should walk in O Lord said I this I would have thus done in this order and with this event but God did the contrary unto what I desired then did I think but my counsell was for Gods glory and did make to the sanctifying of his name sed risit dominus the Lord laughed at my wisdome saying I know thou art a wise man and learned but it is not my manner to do or work or govern as Peter Mar Luther or any other shall teach for I am not a passive but an active God sciamus ergò we must know therefore that God doth sometimes hide himself that we may learn that his goodnesse mercy power is not to be attained by speculation but experience The way to see him in his work is to understand his method in working which nothing can attain unto but faith all men have not faith few that do live by faith Sometimes men are so discontented with what is evill amongst us that for anguish of their souls they cannot see what is good some crum goes awry and so they lose the whole meale of mercy But would you have a true prospect of the great things God hath done for us then let us all go and run unto Jesus Christ to open the mystery and parable of his works he is the Lord that is now at work And as when he lived without a parable spake he nothing so now without a parable works he nothing his works are all parabolicall as his words were We read that when John in Revel 5. met with a sealed Book that had seven seals which neither he nor any could open he fell down and wept but one came to him and told him The Lyon of the Tribe of Judah is worthy to open the book and so he was fully quieted praising the Lord. Now there is a great Folio-book of Providence that is before you indeed it is sealed with many seales but if opened you will find that it is written in every Page Free grace Free love Salvation with a Notwithstanding Would you open this book away then to Jesus Christ and as the Disciples said so do you also Lord tell us the meaning of this Parable tell us the meaning of this Dispensation oh tell us the meaning of this thy Providence Christ is very ready to teach you as a School-master morning by morning teacheth his scholars so Christ Esay 50. 4. And all the worst he will say to you as to Peter What I do thou knowest not now but thou shalt know Quest But suppose we have seen the Lord already the finger hand arme and Almighty power of God for we must all needs acknowledge that the Lord hath done great things for us that we have seen the Marks and Characters of his Almighty power imprinted upon all our Deliverances upon the Deliverance of this day and upon all those Salvations which this age hath brought forth But then what is our work and what returns are we to make unto God again Answ Discovery of Power calls for Feare it must be the song of these latter times Revel 15. Great and wonderfull are thy works O Lord God Almighty Just and true are thy waies who shall not feare thee and worship thy Name Duty 1 But if God hath done Great things for us then are we to do some Great thing for God again God never did any Great thing for his Servants but they did Great things for him So David Paul Zacheus and many others And because Hezekiah did not make answerable Returne of praise though he did praise the Lord for his deliverance God was displeased with him and it cost him deare Now God hath done Great things for us and made known his infinite power in a way of free love to us what Great thing shall we do for God Yea what Great thing shall we not do for God Let us fix here a little First it is in these working busie times a Great thing to sit still and be contented to be without work to be laid by and to be used no more God hath his times for men he uses one to day and another to morrow If a man be used in one service once he thinks he must be used in all things and alwaies and when God laies him by and takes another then like the Elder brother in the parable he murmures and envies at the Yonger brother that is called home to Gods worke It 's an hard thing for one that hath been used to be contented to be used no more oh that Magistrates Ministers Men of service could but be willing to be used no more and to be laid aside if God will have it so A man is never more fit for service then when he is willing to be used no more in service Again Simplicity and Plainnesse in Gods work is a great matter in these Designing times those come nearest to God that are the most simple and without foulds and doubles for Divine nature is simplicity it self A Great thing it is now to do Gods work quickly and with dispatch to shew Mercy readily and to doe Justice speedily without delay There may be and is as much of Gods power seen in the lesser Creatures as in the Pismire Worme and the like as in the Great bodies of the Sun and Moon because though the Pismire be little yet there is life in that and none in the Sun or Moon Now when Justice is executed speedily and Mercy dispensed quickly there is life in it Let Beer or Wine stand a while or till the morning and though it were never so good when