he hath no God to pray vnto that will lend an eare of hearing to the praier hee makes because hee hath sinned against God And yet hee was taught before that leaue was giuen him yea that hee was commanded to pray vnto God euen for the forgiuenesse of those sinnes that made the separation betweene him and his God and also that God had promised to forgiue those sinnes yea all sinnes without exception And whereas he obiected against the commandement of praying for forgiuenesse that it pertained not vnto him that could not call God his father and against the promise of forgiuing that it pertained not vnto him that was no Israelite These things were answred and remoued and it was clearely proued vnto him that God was his father and therefore hee might and ought to pray for forgiuesse and that he was an Israelite of the seed of Abraham and of the houshold of faith and therefore God had promised vnto him forgiuenesse of sin And while these things stand good how can he say that he hath no God that will heare him because hee hath sinned against him Let him remember what Dauid saith vnto God in one of the Psalmes Against thee against thee onely haue I sinned and done euill in thy fight that thou maiest be iust when thou speakest and pure when thou iudgest Here is a true confession that he had sinned against God Doth hee therefore thinke that he hath no God to pray vnto that will lend him an eare of hearing What is that whole Psalme but a praier vnto this God In the first verse hee praieth thus Haue mercy vpon mee o God according to thy louing kindnesse according to the multitude of thy compassions put away mine iniquities In the second verse hee praieth thus Wash mee throughly from mine iniquity and clense me from my sinne In the seauenth verse hee praieth thus Purge me with Hisop and I shal be cleane rash mee and I shall be whiter then snow And so in many other parts of this Psalme So that it appeareth by Dauids practise that our sinners rule faileth pleading that hee hath no God to pray â—…nto that will lend an eare to heare his praier because hee hath sinned against â—…im for Dauid praied vnto that God â—…ot doubting of gracious hearing against whom he freely confessed that he â—…ad sinned and sinned grieuously And whereas in some places of scripture by our afflicted sinner remembred and in diuers other the holy Ghost telleth vs that God will not heare sinners and hideth his face from them they are to be vnderstood as spoken of impenitent sinners that take pleasure in sinne and continue in it refusing to turne from their sinne vnto God and yet presume that all shall be well and that God cannot deny their requests Like them spoken of by leremy the Prophet Will you â—…eale murder and commit adultery and sâ—…tare falsly and burne incense vnto Baal and walke after other Gods whom ye know 〈◊〉 and come and stand before mee in this house whereupon my name is called and say we are deliuered though we haue donâ—… all these abominations And like them spoken of by the Prophet Micha Heare this I pray you ye heads of the house of Iacob and Princes of the house of Israel they abhor iudgement and peruert allequity they build vp Sion with bloud and Ierusalem with iniquity the heads thereof iudge for rewards and the Priests therof â—…each for hier and the Prophets thereof prophecy for mony yet will they leane vpon the Lord and say is not the Lord among vs no euill can come vpon vs. Such men there are in the world that flatter themselues in their sinnes and when they heare the iudgements of God denounced against sinne yet for the pleasure they take in sinne and for the gaine they make of sinne they will continue in it and not leaue it and thinke with praiers and some other outward humiliations to blow away as a fether or some light thing the iudgements and wrath of God These are the men that haue no God because they depart away from God by their owne wickednesse these are the sinners whom God will not heare because they delight more in sin then they do in God But the humble the penitent the broken-hearted sinner to whom his sins are his burden a displeasing burden from which hee desireth to be deliuered as our sinner doth this day He that is grieued for his sins that hateth and abhorreth them and if â—…ee might once get cleere from his sins past intendeth no more to be acquainted with them and esteemeth them as his plague and his death Him the Lord most willingly and with delight hearkneth vnto The Prophet saith The sacrifices of God are a contrite spirit a contrite and a broken heart O God thou wilt not despise So that thou wert neuer so fit indeede to pray as now thou art with thy contrite and broken heart thy praiers now will be a sweet and pleasing sacrifice to him He is thy God and wil most readily heare thee Secondly hee saith hee hath no Mediator in whose name to pray and for whose sake hee may hope to bee heard And yet remembreth the words of Scripture that call Iesus the Mediator betweene God and man Those verie words prooue thou hast a Mediatour euen the same Iesus except thou wilt deny thy selfe to be a man for hee is Mediator betweene God and man and therefore mediator betweene God and thee if thou be a man So that to say thou hast no mediator in whose name to pray and for whose sake thy praier should be accepted is but an vnthankfull speech put into thy head without any good ground for Paul saith of Iesus that hee euer liueth to make intercession for vs. Yet our afflicted sinner thinketh he hath reason to say so because he hath denied Iesus before men And did not Saint Peter deny the Lord Iesus before men and yet hee after praied and was heard in the Mediators name because hee stoode not in his deniall but repented Yet thou hast not denyed him in words before men as Peter did That thou thinkest to bee no aduantage to thee and referrest it to the daies of peace not vrging thee rather then to the constancie of thine own heart thou louest to bee thine owne accuser and what thou hast not done in words thou thinkest that thou hast done in workes by them thou hast denied him while thou didst not liue like á Christian. But must it therefore follow that he is now â—…o Mediator for thee and will deny thee before his Father in heauen Knowest thou not what Iohn the Baptist faith of him Behold the Lambe of God that taketh away the sinnes of the world He himself when as an vnspotted Lamb he was sacrificed for thee tooke away and by the vertue of that sacrifice still taketh and euer taketh away thy sinne where is now that reall deniall of thine when
illustration of the doctrine rising out of these places of Scripture Let me alledge an example or two wherein you shall see the true practise of these holie rules While Abraham hauing left his seruants went with his sonne Isaac to the place where he was commanded to offer him vp for a burnt offering vnto God Isaac spake vnto Abraham his father and said My father and he answered Heere am I my sonne And he said Behold the fire and the wood but where is the Lambe for the burnt offering then Abraham answered My sonne God will prouide him a Lambe for a burnt offering Heere is a notable example of casting our burden vpon God Abraham was a true beleeuer and in a case of no small trouble burden to his soule he faithfully intended to doe as God had commanded him and for the successe of all the businesse he laid all vpon God and left it to the disposition of his good pleasure saying God will prouide so must we doe and this is to cast our burden vpon the Lord. When Iacob to shunne the fury of his brother Esau from whom hee had won his father Isaacs blessing and also to the end that hee might marrie in his kinred and not with a daughter of Canaan as Esau had done was sent by his father Isaac in poore estate with his staffe in his hand toward his vnckle Laban by the way he vowed a vow saying if God will be with me wil keep mein this iourny which I go and wil giue me bread to eat cloths to put on so that I come againe vnto my fathers house in safetie then the Lord shall be my God c. And vpon this vow and praier ma le Iacob went forward Here was a right casting of his burden vpon God while desiring moderatly things necessary for him for his foode for his clothing for his safety and for his returne hee seeketh them by no wrong courses nor afflicteth his soule with care for them but meekly by praier beggeth them at the hands of God When Dauid fled from Ierusalem be cause of the rebellion of his sonne Absolom and it was told him that Ahitophel that great polititian was ioyned with Absolom being then in great heauinesse as hauing a great burden fallen vpon him going vp the Mount of Oliues with his head couered his feete bare and weeping as he went he praied vnto God and said O Lord I pray thee turne the counsel of Ahitophel into foolishnesse And afterward when in his way Shemei had railed vpon him and Abishaâ—… in his heroical indignation would haue taken off the railers head Dauid said to Abishai and to all his seruants behold my sonne which came out of mine owne bowels seeketh my life then how much more now may this sonne of Iemini suffer him to curse for the Lord hath bidden him It may be that the Lord will looke on mine affliction and doe mee good for his cursing this day Here doeth Dauid turne his burden vpon the shoulders of God while he referreth all to his pleasure and maketh request vnto him for helpe vfing in the meane time much patience The places of Scripture before alledged and these examples added for illustration doe teach vs in generall maner for all burdens whatsoeuer that thâ—…s is to put them off from our owne shoulders and to lay them vpon the shoulders of God our strong helper namely if in our troubles wee remember God thinke vpon his couenant and promises his truth and faithfulnesse his wisdome mercy and power and thereupon pray vnto him for his helpe referring our businesse wholy to his pleasure patiently expecting and thankfully accepting what issue he shall be pleased to send Thus much for this point what it is to cast our burden vpon the Lord considered generally without reference vnto any particular branch of our burdens CHAP. VI. NOw we are more particularly to consider of this point of casting our burden vpon the Lord with particular reference vnto those rankes of our burdens remembred before But before I begin with them seeing wee must speake of particulars I will by way of caueat tell you of certaine particular burdens that men doe cast vpon God against his liking and they are not so much burdens lying heauy vpon themselues whereof they seeke to be cased by the strength and mercy of God as they are burdens which with pleasure they binde and cast vpon God to vex him withall Such burdens wee are not here warranted to cast vpon God These burdens are of two kinds by two kinds of men prepared The first kind of these burdens is the ceremonious worship of God not accompanied with true reuerence in our hearts nor with the conformable practise of godlinesse in our liues This burden God doth complaine of by the Prophet Esay saying Bring no more oblations in vaine incense is an abomination vnto me I cannot suffer your new Moones nor Saboths nor solemne daies it is iniquity nor solemne assemblies My soule â—…ateth your new Moones and your appointed feasts they are a burden vnto me I am weary to beare them And when you shall stretch out your hands I wil hide mine eies from you They were formall in the outward seruice of God therein they did well but because they wanted the reuerend feare of God and their hands were defiled with the bloud of their oppressions and cruelties therefore their dutifull formality was abhorred of him that loueth truth in the inward affections though the ceremonies of that formality had been appointed by himselfe This burden is the pleasure of hypocrites and by them prepared to weary the Lord withall by such as feare men more then they feare God and loue the praise of men more then the praise of God and draw neare vnto God with their mouthes and honour him with their lips but they remoue their hearts far from him and are like vnto painted Sepulchers shining without and stinking within so they appeare vnto men to be holy but within they are full of hypocrisie and in secret commit all iniquity This inward and hidden wickednesse is it that disgraceth their otherwise laudable outward and open obedience The second kind of these burdens is an open wicked life when men cast off both the feare of God and also modesty so that they neither make conscience of their doings in regard of God neitheir make dainty of doing open euil for feare of the opinion of men Of this burden the Lord complaineth by the Prophet Amos saying Behold I am pressed vnder you as a Cart is pressed that is full of sheaues If a Cart be ouerladen it lieth heauy vpon the Axeltree that maketh a whining and groning noise and sometime breaketh laying both Cart and loade in the dust So presse they God with the loade of their sinnes vntill hee grone vnder them and complaine by his Prophets and at last ouerthroweth them casting both them and their sins by
thee then as thou desirest an end of the trouble that they put thee to so desire that God will giue them a better and wiser heart This rule is included within that more generall rule of our Sauiour Christ in the Gospell I say vnto you loue your enemies blesse them that curse you doe good to them that hate you and pray for them that hurt you and persecute you If we ought to pray vnto God for all that hurt vs then also for them of our owne house habitation and kindred that hurt vs and so much the rather for those at home and so neere vnto vs because they haue more opportunity to hurt vs then they that are farther of And what are we to begin praier for them Two things one that God would forgiue their fault which we also must forgiue Another that he will giue them a heart to see and to amend their fault God in his holy iustice doth therefore many times stir vp domesticall troubles to men because they are negligent in domesticall praier neuer commēding vnto God either husband or wife child seruant kinsman friend or neighbour neuer making any request for grace and wisedome to bee giuen vnto them When Dauid had brought the Arke of the Lord into the place that he had prepared for it vpon the hill of Sion and had offered burnt offerings and peace offerings it is said that he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hoasts that is he praied the Lord of hoasts to powre downe his blessings vpon them and hauing distributed flesh and bread and wine among them and they therewith being departed home it is said that then Dauid returned to blesse his house that is to pray vnto God for them of his house that they might prosper and that he might liue a comfortable life among them Also Isaack praied vnto the Lord for his wife And Iacob blessed all his sonnes euery one of them blessed he with a seuerall blessing And Booz the Bethlemite comming into the field among his seruants and reapers saluteth them with a praier vnto God for them saying the Lord be with you And Daniels custome was three times a day in his house to pray vnto God who praying in his family could not in his praiers be vnmindful of his family From so holy and worthy examples learne thou to pray for thine while thou enioyest peace with them pray that they may not proue a trouble vnto thee and when thy troble growes from thē pray that God will giue them a mind more agreeable to peace So fit for the ease of thy burden is praier for them by whom thou art troubled Sometime thou art not vnkindly vsed by them yet thy trouble groweth from them while thou art grieued for some calamity hapned vnto them and takest care for ◅he helping of them In this case there is speciall neede of praier to be made for them And it is a speciall point of casting thy burden vpon God God speaking to the Israelites saith of himselfe I am the Lord that healeth thee that is all the health and helpe both of thee and thine must come only from my hand And in another place I kil and giue life I wound and I make whole That is I send sicknesse danger and hurt to make men seeke vnto me and againe I restore health safety and peace when men doe seeke vnto mee And these things being the workes of Gods owne hand they should faile very much of casting their burden vpon God that being burdened with griefe for the sicknesse and calamities of their neighbours friends kinsfolke and family should forget and neglect to pray to God for them Dauid praied for his child in a most humble and earnest manner when it was sicke For Dauid besought God for the child and fasted and went in and lay all night vpon the earth The Centureon whose faith is commended in the Gospell praied vnto the Lord Iesus for his sicke seruant saying vnto him master my seruant lieth sick at home of the palsie and when Herod had cast Peter into prison with purpose after the feast to bring him forth to the people to be slaine earnest praier was made of the Church vnto God for him The saints of God haue alwaies obserued this as a most safe and sure rule of casting their burdens vpon God when they were troubled and grieued for the sicknesse and calamitie of others to pray vnto God for them to restore their health their peace their liberty and their comfort that in the recouered comfort of them that were afflicted they might recouer comfort that were afflicted for them There is therefore in these domestical troubles imploiment for thy praiers to be offered to God for them either by whose meanes thou art troubled or for whose sakes thou art grieued Thirdly thou hast need to offer vp praier vnto God for the rest of thy familie of thy kindred of thy friends and of thy neighbors whether thou be wronged by the vniust and vnkind dealing or else grieued for the calamity and sicknesse of some that neither the sinne of them that wrong thee nor the calamity of them for whom thou art grieued may spread any further to the corruption and damage of the rest If Esau grieue his father Isaack and his mother Rebecca by taking a wife of the daughters of Canaan haue not Isaack and Rebecca cause to pray to God for Iaacob their other sonne that he may not doe as his brother had done when certaine of the followers of the Lord Iesus Christ had left him taking offence at some words of his concerning the eating of his flesh and drinking of his blood which they vnderstood not Iesus said to the twelue will ye also goe away he was carefull that an euill example might not spread like a contagious sicknesse to corrupt the whole company of his disciples And more agreeable to the cause that wee haue in hand when Iudas one of his family the diuell entring into his hart had couenanted with the Priests and pharisies to betray his master into their hands the Lord Iesus heauily charged with a burden of trouble growing from his treason taketh occasion from his wickednesse to pray vnto his father for the rest saying Those thou gauest me haue I kept and none of them is lost but the child of perditiō that the scripture might be fulfilled And now come I to thee and these things speak I in the world that they might haue my ioy fulfilled in themselues c. The child of perdition Iudas the traitor being lost the Lord hath care of the rest and praieth for them that they might euer reioice in him Euen so euery louing man that can take pleasure in the health and honest cariage of his friends neighbours and family when one is ill at ease and when one doth giue offence he will heartily pray to God to preserue the rest that they may
with ioy saying Lord euen the deuils are subiect to vs through thy name And he said vnto them I saw Satan like lightning fall downe from heauen The preaching of the Gospel is a ministerie of power it is the strong arme of God to destroy the kingdome of Satan Where it is preached truely and diligently the walles of Satans kingdome are vndermined and when the people hearken vnto it the deuill is cast out of them and he falleth with violence from his soueraignty ouer them euen sodainly as the lightning which breaking forth in the East is sodainely seene in the Weast Therefore if Satan had that full power ouer thee that thou fearest thy diligent attendance to the Gospel preached will surely worke thy freedome Let Iesus Christ therefore find thee a diligent hearer in the Temple and thou shalt find him a mercifull Sauiour in thy heart and thou shalt bee freed from all power of that aduersary And though he trouble thee with many wicked thoughts yet thou shalt be as a prey plucked out of his pawes And it pertaineth to the casting of this burthen vpon God that thou do attend to the preaching of his word And thereto ioyne thy humble and heartie prayer vnto God and in due time hee will giue rest to thy soule from these euill thoughts CHAP. XXIIII YEt hath not our troubled sinner any constāt peace◅ but hauing his eies fixed vpon the Law of God and hauing no power to looke vp to the Gospel of peace out of his feare he makes a new obiection crying saying Doth not the Law of God accurse euery transgressor that abideth not in all that is written in that Booke to do it And haue not I broken all the commandements of the law Yes I haue broken them in thought word deed and not onely out of ignorance weakenesse or vnaduisednesse but I haue broken them boldely prowdly contemptuously therefore sure I am that Gods curse lyeth vpon me I feele the weight and furie of it and I am no heire of blessednesse Indeede here appeares the great malice and subtilty of Satan which it behooueth all men to looke vnto with great care and to take heede of it in the dayes of our peace and securitie he suffereth vs not to looke into the Law of God lest from thence we might take any direction for the well ordering of our liues but then hee driueth vs forward after the line of our owne lusts And then if we haue any remembrance of God he onely suffereth vs to thinke vpon his mercy and goodnes and beareth vs in hand that we cannot do that euill which hee will not forgiue and therefore wee neede not greatly care what we doe we shall repent in time and all shall be passed ouer in mercie so maketh vs to abuse by contempt the riches of the bountie and patience and long-suffering of God And if wee haue any occasion to thinke vpon the word of God he turnes vs away from the Law and presently thrusteth into our mouths the promises of the gospel and driues vs vpon that rocke of destruction that the Apostle Paul speaketh of in these words What shal we say then shall we continue in sinne that grace may abound The Gospel preacheth the mercy of God in Christ to teach that where sinne did abound deseruing damnation there the grace of God in Iesus Christ aboundeth more by the forgiuenesse of that sinne vnto saluation Heereuppon manie that abuse the grace of God vnto wantonnesse doe resolue to commit sinne more abundantly that so grace in the forgiuenesse of their sinne might more abound This wicked resolution of contemptuous sinners hee reciteth with words of detestation saying God forbid how shall wee that are dead to sinne liue yet therein The true condition of a Christian man that shall find grace to the forgiuenesse of his sinnes is to bee dead to sinne and no more to hearken to and to obey the commandement of sinne then a dead seruant can hearken vnto and obey the commandement of his master but to bee aliue vnto God that is readily to hearken vnto and diligently to obey Gods cōmandements as a liuing seruant hearkneth vnto and obeyeth the voyce of his master And if this be the condition of Christians then how shall they that by their profession are dead to sinne liue in sinne presuming that super abounding grace shal deliuer him from all danger But vpon this rocke in the time of our peace and securitie doth the diuell seeke to throw vs keeping vs from all view and consideration of the Law when wee haue most need to be brideled by it and making vs with the wrong hand to take holde of the Gospel when we haue no need of it nor skill how to make anie right and holy vse of it and by this meanes he doth in those dayes of securitie intangle vs in many sinnes And after when he hath vs fast in his bands hauing made vs guiltie of infinit transgressions then hee seeketh leaue to set our sinnes in order against vs and to raise vp stormes of feare and terrour in our soules And this leaue obtained and these stormes raised then hee withdraweth the Gospell from before our eies and suffereth vs onely to gaze in the glasse of the Law that by sight of our owne deformities hee might altogether confound vs and then he suffereth vs to haue no other remembrance of God but of his iustice and seueritie Then hee presents him vnto vs such a one as Moses describes him saying The Lord thy God is a consuming fire and aiealous God And such a one as the hypocrites in Sion in the day of their feare conceiue him to be when they say Who among vs shall dwell with the deuouring fire who among vs shall dwell with euerlasting burnings And then he suffereth vs not to think vpon any word of God but the condemning Law the accu◅sing Law the killing letter then he remoueth from vs all remembrance of the gracious Gospel of the free liberall faithfull promises and of the mercifull mediator and sweet Sauior Iesus Christ. Then he telles vs we haue no right to any of those things they belong to the Saints to the righteous to penitent sinners not to such bold contemners as wee are And then he maketh vs obiect against our owne soules as the troubled sinner heere doth that the Law without fauour accurseth transgressors that wee without measure haue transgressed the Law and that therefore without remedy we are accursed creatures But let vs see how wee may relieue the affrighted soule of this sinner and against this obiection teach him with comfort to cast his burden vpon the Lord. Thine eie is vpon the Law I mislike it not The Law shall make thee a full amends for al this feare that it puts thee into Paul writing to the Galathians speaketh thus of the Law The Law was ◅r Schoolemaister to bring vs to Christ that we might
pleased either to shew mercie or to execute iudgement so shall euery man stand or fall escape or perish not as either he himselfe or any other shall iudge and pronounce of him Therefore this point of particular reprobation being exempted from mans iudgement for God sheweth mercie and giueth faith and repentance at his pleasure euen while the thiefe hangeth on the tree â—…ust exception lieth against this vnkind obiection Secondly if the matter were such as man might iudge and pronounce of yet I may without offence if I see reason for it deny to credit thy words because as all men are so art thou when thou art in best tune apt to be deceiued and prone to receiue imbrace and deliuer a liâ—… Dauid hath these words in one of the Psalmes I said in my feare all men are liers And what the Prophet spake in feare that the Apostle Saint Paul without feare and in a freer mind hath confirmed saying Let God be true and euerie man a liar as it is written And I am not bound to keepe silence to euerie word that comes from the mouth of a liar when I haue reason to think otherwise then he speaketh as I haue at this time to think otherwise then thou speakest Thirdly and lastly I haue at this time iust cause of exception against thy words because thy present disease thy disquietnes of mind thy feare that thou art in trouble both thy vnderstanding and speech that thou canst neither apprehend things as they are nor pronounce them as thou vnderstandest them And thou laborest vnder a temptation directly bent against thy faith perswading thee those things that are preiudiciall to thy soule And out of some violent fit of that temptation thou makest this vnkind obiection against thy selfe Thus in regard of thee that art the immediat speaker in mine eares I haue iust libertie to reply against this obiection But howsoeuer thou art in mine â—…are the immediate speaker yet in my vnderstanding the words of this obiection haue another a more remote and a more dangerous author The Spirit of GOD which is the Spirite of trueth and leadeth into all trueth is called in the Scripture a Comforter When the Comforter shall come whom I will send vnto you from the Father euen the spirit of truth which proceedeth of the Father he shall testifie of 〈◊〉 This spake the Lord Iesus calling 〈◊〉 Holy-ghost which is the spirit of trueth a comforter But the wordes of this obiection sound not like the words of a Comforter therefore I cannot iudge them to be the words of that spirit that is the spirit of trueth But there is another spirit that as the Lord Iesus saith abode not in the trueth because there is no truth in him when hee speaketh a lie then speaketh he of his owne for he is a liar and the father thereof To that spirit is the name of Satan giuen which signifieth an aduersarie because hee seeketh our hurt and in all things dealeth with vs as a sworne aduersarie of whom vnder the name of an aduersarie Saint Peter warnes vs to take heede saying Your aduersarie the diuell as a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom he may denoure whom resist stedfast in the faith And the words of this obiection were neuer put into thy mouth by any friend And they plaiâ—…ly shew an aduersarie euen that aduersary to be their author and suggester who being himselfe eternally forsaken of God vtterly lost without hope of redemption and a reprobate Angell bound in euerlasting chaines vnder darkenesse vnto the iudgement of the last day would make thee beleeue that thou also art forsaken lost and reprobate in like manner as himselfe Now such an one a lier and an aduersarie being the prompter of these fearefull things vnto thine heart thou oughtest not to giue any the least credite vnto them much lesse to maintaine them against thy selfe He being a lying spirit pietie doth teach thee not to beleeue him and being an aduersarie wisedome if thou haueany persuades to distrust him And both froÌ„ thee the speaker and from him the author of this vngodly obiection I haue much confidence and am much imboldened to make replie And against thy vncharitable affirmation saying I am forsaken I am lost I am a reprobate I will oppose a more charitable negation and say thou art not forsaken thou art not lost thou art not a reprobate And I will see how I can maintaine my saying and ouerthrow thiâ—…e that thou maiest not be ouerthrowne First thou saiest thou art forsaken If by this speech thou meanest that now for the present God hauing laied trouble vpon thee withdraweth his assisting power and hand from thee and leaueth thee vnder the crosse to cry and grone and to take notice of thy infirmitie in this sense I grant thou maiest bee forsaken But this is a temporary forsaking it is not a finall forsaking And to them that aâ—…e so forsaken God after in his time returneth with saluation there is hope for them Hereof let this be an argument vnto thee that the best seruants of God are in this manner forsaken oft times and feele themselues so to be and complaine heauily for it and yet after obtaine helpe So was it with Dauid when he said My God my God why hast thou forsaken mee and art so far from my health and from the words of my roaring If wee should say that these words were words of feare rather then of truth it might be with shew of reason maintained for God was not so far departed from hâ—…m as he feared but grant that they were words of truth and that God was indeed departed from Dauid and had forsaken him did not God returne againe vnto him and had not hee euen then hope of Gods returne did not God receiue him again into his protection and helpe him and had not hee euen then hope of such helpe from God that he had such hope of Gods returne to his helpe hee declareth by his praier vnto God continued in the same Psalme where he saith Be not thou far of O Lord my strength hasten to helpe me Hee that could thus pray wanted not hope of Gods returne to his helpe though hee were for the present forsaken And that God did returne vnto him and helpe him according to that hope of his hee also declareth in that Psalme speaking of himselfe though he vseth the third person as if hee had spoken of others Hee hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the poore neither hath he hid his face from him but when he called vpon him he heard So that though he were forsaken it was but for a time when the Lord was pleased for the exercise of the Prophets faith to hide his face from him The Prophet by his praier quickly found him out where he was hidden and at the crie of that praier he heard and came forth to his succour I might heere adde the example