Judges 7.20 It puts to flight all those Spiritual Midiâ—nites and Enemies of our poor Souls So Beloved you may sée hereby what a rare thing it is to have on this whole Armour of God it Fortifies a Believer on every hand Secondly By the Example of other precious Servants of the Lord labour to strengthen your graces and nourish every Branch thereof Every tender Plant of Knowledge the Lord bestows upon you nourish it if you be sure it procéeds from a right Principle otherwise if you perceive it is not according to the Mind and Will of God and you have no strength for the same in the Arm of Faith to smite with the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God cast it away have nothing to do with such a Principle as is Erronious and Corrupt First Doth God call you to Exercise your Faith Look upon the Example of your Father Abraham who had many Tryals upon that very account and yet he chéerfully through Faith under-went all until it came to the very touch stone of all Tryals which was the Offering up of his Son Isaac of whom it was said That in Isaac shall thy Seed be called and yet Abraham goes fréely to the Altar accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead Heb. 11.17 18 19. Secondly Doth God call you to Exercise your Hope Consider that Faith and Hope go both together where the one is the other cannot be wanting For Faith is both the Substance and Evidence of our Hope Heb. 11.1 For what can we hope for except we have Faith to believe Thirdly Doth God call you to Exercise your Patience Look back upon the Example of good Job who undergoes the hand of the Lord so chéerfully and patiently that he cryes out at the last Though he slay me yet will I trust in him Job 13.15 If you will but look back upon some of the Lords Servants of old you may learn by them your Duties Learn with Abel to get acceptance with God with Enoch to walk with God with Noah a Preacher of Righteousness to get into Gods protection Learn with Abraham to act your Faith with Jacob to wrastle with God with Joseph rather to submit to Prison then to dishonour God with a lustful Mistris Learn with Moses Méekness with David Repentance with Solomon Wisdom with Job Patience with Jeremiah Lamentation for the Sins of the People Learn of our blessed Saviour Iesus Christ to take up your Cross and follow him séeing the goodness of God hath so appointed it that his People shall never be forsaken Oh! do not you fail in your performances Consider God hath not made his Choice of you in vain he hath Loved you Chosen you Redéemed you taken Care over you made out his Promises unto you and Estéems you above all others therefore labour you every day to be Acting in a way of holy Profession And now Beloved to apply this Truth in a way of Invitation is my whole design at this time though much might be said upon several accounts yet the main end of what I have more to say is To invite poor Sinners to come to Christ by Repentance Sinners you hear God will never leave nor forsake his own people they are his own Inheritance his peculiar Treasure his beloved ones in whom he delights And you will hear that dreadful Sentence passed against you at the last if you do not Repent and come to Christ for Salvation Mat. 25.41 Depart from me ye Cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels Without Repentance there is nothing of Comfort for you but this dreadful Sentence of Depart from me ye workers of Iniquity Matth. 7.23 Luke 13.3 I tell you nay but except you repent ye shall all likewise perish As the joy and comfort the people of God shall enjoy in heaven is beyond the reach of the eye of man to sée the ear to hear the heart to conceive and the tongue of man to express So the misery of the wicked in Hell is beyond both the eye to sée the ear to hear the heart to conceive and the tongue to express Oh Sinners its indurable misery it begins with you with a dreadful Sentence but it will never end when Thousands of years are passed over your misery is never the less your Torments still endure and ye have never less years to spend your Torments will be as fresh as ever they were Oh! therefore I pray you Sinner come to Christ leave of your Sins and beg earnestly for pardon and remission of your sins the Lord hath passed a righteous Iudgement against Sinners you cannot lay the cause of your misery upon another Ezekiel 18.20 The Soul that sinneth shall die the Son shall not bear the iniquity of the Father neither shall the Father bear the iniquity of the Son the Righneousness of the Righteous shall be upon him and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him Nor you cannot lay the cause of your misery upon God Ezek. 33.11 As I live saith the Lord God I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that the wicked turn from his way and live Turn you turn you from your evil wayes for why will you die O House of Israel Oh Sinners Why will you not come to Christ methinks I hear a great Complaint against you from the blessed word of God John 5.40 And ye will not come to me that you might have life Oh Sinners Consider there is no way to be saved but to come to Christ the way to Heaven is by Faith in Iesus Christ Acts 16.31 Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy House Now that you may the better be encouraged to come to Christ and to close with him Consider these few things following First Christ invites poor Sinners to come Mat. 11.28 Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden and you shall find rest for your Souls Sinners be encouraged to close with Christ when ever he calls defer not your times put it not off till to morrow when God calls then is your day when Christ invites be you willing to close with him for then is your acceptable day of Deliverance if you will but diligently obey Be you therefore ready to receive his offer for then is the time of Love Oh! poor Sinners when ever Christ knocks at the doors of your hearts be you ready to receive him and be sure you open to him lest he say at the great day of Iudgement Away from me ye workers of Iniquity I call'd you at such a time and the very checks of your Consciences told you that you were in a way of destruction and if you had then repented and obeyed my voice and opened unto me I would have met you and have opened unto you the everlasting gate of Mercy but now away Depart from me I know you not Secondly Consider Christs Invitation is frée it s upon frée terms Isaiah 55.1 Ho every one that thirsteth Come to the waters and he that hath no Money come ye buy and eat yea come buy wine and milk without money and without price Come along poor Sinners here 's frée Invitation for you from a blessed Master that will ever perform what he saith verse the 7th 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 Dost thou want Faith beg earnestly of God for it say Lord I believe help my unbelief strive with all thy strength to obtain this precious grace of Faith Thirdly Consider poor Sinners Iesus Christ hath promised That whosoever comes unto him he will in no wise cast out Joh 6.37 And you have it here confirmed That God will never leave nor forsake his people Oh! therefore be perswaded to come to Christ and to close with him and do not you think that godliness is a solitary life and dubious unto you if you will but seriously consider there is more true joy in one hour in holy company if they be such as truly serve God in all his wayes and Commands then all the World can afford thée otherwayes Fourthly Consider Sinners as you come to Christ and forsake your sins you come into the Verge of his Prayers Christ prayes for all them that are given him of the Father but he prayes not for the world Joh. 17.9 While you lye in your sins you are as dead men you cannot come to be sharers with any of the Lords Servants in our Saviours Prayers to his Father Oh! therefore be perswaded to come to Christ and to close with him Lastly Consider Sinners what Iesus Christ hath done to Redéem your souls from Hell if you will but come unto him Isaiah 53 5. He was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisment of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed Iesus Christ hath shed his precious Blood to Redéem our Souls from misery Oh Sinners therefore be perswaded to come to Christ leave your former courses destroy that Enemy of your precious Souls and close with this blessed Saviour and he will receive you into his Favour and so you will come to be of that blessed Number that shall never be forsaken To Conclude All at this time which I have to say unto you I beséech you beloved take along with you this excellent Exhortation of our blessed Apostle Paul 1 Thess 5. 21 22 23 24. Prove all things hold fast that which is good Abstain from all appearance of evil And the very God of peace Sanctifie you wholly and I pray God your whole Spirit and Soul and Body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ Faithful is he that calleth you who also will do it For the which Coming and blessed Appearance the Lord for his mercy sake grant we may all be Prepared to receive the swéet Bridgroom of our Souls unto all Eternity for evermore Amen FINIS
SAINTS Blessed for ever OR Gods People never forsaken Asuring every true Believer of their Blessed Estate and Condition very profitable to read and comfortable to every Believing Soul that truly fears God Being a rich Portion of Gods love to his People and worthy to be kept in memory for ever Together with several perswasions to poor Sinners to leave their sins and come to Christ by Repentance By Roger Hough Psal 37.25 I have been young and now am old yet have I not seen the Righteous forsaken nor his Seed begging bread London Printed by E. Crowch for T. Vere at the sign of the Cock in St. Johns-street 1667. Licensed May the 4 th 1667. RIch Treasures wee in earthen-vessels find Oft I have been considring in my mind God his own People never will forsake Eternally them to him he will take Reverend Readers this in mind recall His word shall stand when other things shall fal Oh do not doubt but daily make request Unto the Thrown of Grace with humblness Give God the glory which to him is due His Word and Promises will daily comfort you Saints blessed for ever c. Hebrews 13.5 Let your conversation be without covetousness and be content with such things as ye have For he hath said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee AMongst all other precious promises God hath made to his own poor people this is not the least which is communicated by the Author of this Epistle to the Hebrews so that those whom the Lord hath chosen for his own people by vertue of this Promise may holdly say as in the following verse The Lord is my helper and I will not fear what man shall do unto me In this text of Scripture we have several things considerable as first a double Exhortation branching it self into two Heads first consisting of our Conversation Let your conversation be without covetousness secondly consisting of our Contentment and be content with such things as ye have And then you have the ground or reason of all in this assured Promise of God For he hath said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee For the first Exhortation against the sin of Covetousness ye have the evil of this sin laid out in the words of our blessed Apostle Paul to Timothy Tim. 6.9 10. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition For the love of money is the root of all evil which while some have coveted after they have erred from the faith pierced themselves through with many sorrows Now secondly for the second thing here exhorted unto which is Contentedness you have the good of it laid out in these words as in 1 Tim. 6.6 Godlidess is great gâ—in with contentment And vers 8. And having food and raiment let us therewith be content This lesson our blessed Apostle had learned himself and therefore from experience teacheth it to all that truly fear God Phil. 4 11 Not saith he that I speak in respect of want for I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content The like we read of good Jacob he being blessed by his father and sent to Padannarâ—m there the Lord appear'd to him in a vision at Bethel confirming and making good this very Promise unto him amongst several others Gen. 28. ver 15. Behold I will be with thee and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest and will bring thee again into this land for I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of This good man notwithstanding layes out this his Contentedness in the 20 and 21 verses saying If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go and will give me bread to eat and raiment to put on so that I come again to my Fathers house in peace then shall the Lord be my God Now as touching this assured Promise of God to his people which is the very Ground and Life of all our Performances and Duties and comfortable to the heart of every true Believer is written for our learning in these words For he hath said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee It represents it self unto us in full assurance that Gods people shall never be forsaken of God or thus God will never leave nor forsake his people though they may fall sadly under afflictions and Gods hand of correction may lye upon them yet they shall never be forsaken though Zion may say as in Isaiah 49.14 The Lord hath forsaken me and my Lord hath forgotten me yet the Lord answers vers 15. Can a Woman forget her sucking Child that she should not have compassion on the Son of her womb yea they may forget yet will I not forget thee saith the Lord. These promises of God are in several places of Scripture recorded and all to assure Gods people that they shall never be forsaken God was with good Jacob in his way to Padannaram also with Moses by whom he wrought great signs wonders in the land of Egypt before Pharoah in the red Sea in the wilderness and these precious promises hath ever attended Gods people in their greatest adventures It was made to good Joshua Deut. 31.8 Joshua 1.5 As I was with Moses so I will be with thee I will not fail thee not forsake thee all which compared together holds forth to us the truth of all which is this That God will never forsake his people God will be with them as well in their poverty as prosperity as well in their afflictions and tryals as in the time of their flourishing estate and condition God will be with them in all times of persecution God was with Israel in Egypt with Joseph in prison with Moses at the red Sea and in the Wilderness with the Three Children in the fiery Furnace with Daniel in the Lions den with Jeremiah in the dungeon with Peter and John and with Paul Silas in prison this Promise was renewed made good by our blessed Saviour himself when he gave his Disciples their Commission Matt. 28.20 Lo saith he I am with you to the end of the world Now séeing beloved such precious promises of God are of such concernment to Gods people I shall onely as I have opportunity and room in this small volumn First shew you Who they are that may be owned to be really the people of God Secondly I shall give you some Grounds or Reasons why Gods people shall never be forsaken Thirdly This will aford several Cautions to the people of God to labour and strive to make good their standing in the way of an holy profession whereby they may put on the whole Armour of God and walk by the examples of other precious Servants of the Lord. And in the last place A loving invitation to poor Sinners inviting them to leave their sins and come to
Christ by Repentance And First who they are that may be owned to be the people of God whereby every discerning Soul may come to know his condition Several Particulars I might speak of in their discovery but I shall only name these Thrée following First They that are really the people of God they have a discerning faculty implanted in them by the holy Spirit of God whereby they can discern in part and know the Will of God their Father which gives them a full Assurance that they are the very flock of Christ And first they know the voice of Christ John 10.4 They know when Christ speaks unto them in the purity of the word without any mixture of humane invention or tradition brought in by the will of man and as they know the voice of Christ so the voice of Strangers they will not follow every false way is a stranger to them John 10.5 And a stranger they will not follow but will flee from him for they know the voice of strangers They have therefore a discerning faculty betwixt good and evil whereas the naturalman cannot discern the things of God because they are spiritually blinded 1 Cor. 2.14 The naturalman receiveth not the things of the spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him because they are spiritually discerned But a true believer he can discern and see through such a glass the Will of his heavenly Father Secondly As they have a discerning faculty so they have an assured confidence in God So that a gracious soul can say with chearfulness as in Micha 7.7 Therefore will I look up onto the Lord I will wait for the God of my Salvation my God will hear me A gracious Soul can look through all difficulties dangers in afflictions and though it sées Gods hand lifted up yet it can say as in Habak 3.17 18. Although the figtree shall not blossom neither shall fruit be in the Vines the labour of the Olive shall fail and the fields shall yield no meat the flock shall be cut off from the fold and there shall be no herd in the stalls yet will I rejoyce in the Lord I will joy in the God of my Salvation the Lord is my strength and he will make my feet like Hindes-feet Oh christians its admirable for tongue to speak or heart to conceive the assured confidence that a gracious soul hath in God that rests wholly upon the promises of God made over to them in Jesus Christ It was admirable in Abraham when he went fréely at the command of God to offer his son Isaac that was the only heir of promise of whom it was said Gen. 21.12 In Isaac shall thy Seed be called yet Abraham fréely manifesteth his faith Accompting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead from whence he also receiv'd him as a figure as saith our Author to the Hebrews ch 11. v. 19. this assured confidence is a tryed and precious faith which only appertaineth to true believers 2 Pet. 1.1 Thirdly As they have an assured Confidence in God so they have a Son-like obedience to God Those that are really the Lords people they obey God as their Father in all his cōmands they wil obey his word his ordinances they know the voice of Christ as their shepherd therefore they will follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth you may read the Laws of God imprinted in their hearts by their outward walkings godly conversation they 'l be asham'd to run into any manner of sin either openly or privatly they are such as abhor all manner of sin cannot endure to sin 2 Cor. 3.2 Ye are our epistle written in our hearts known and read of all men They bear the badge and Name of Christ along with them they come fréely in their prayers they put up to the throne of grace call God Father as they are instructed in that blessed form of prayer that our Lord Saviour taught his Disciples to say Mat. 6.9 Luk. 12.2 When you pray say Our Father c. which is the very marrow of all prayers And thus you sée beloved That they that are really the Lords people they have First a discerning faculty whereby they can discern by the eye of faith the will of their heavenly father and Secondly they have an assured Confidence in God and Thirdly they have a Son-like Obedience to God so they own God as their Father by which we may assuredly see God will not leave nor forsake his own people as our Saviour saith Those that come unto me I will in no wise cast off Now there are several Grounds in the Second place Why God will not leave nor farsake his people The First is drawn from the Love of God God hath ever a dear love to his own people though love be a faculty in man yet it 's a property in God 1 Joh. 4 8. He that loveth not knoweth not God for God is love vers 9. In this was manifested the love of God towards us because God sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him and herein is love not that we loved God but that he loved us first The love of God is from all Eternity and to Eternity it is the greatest Matter of Antiquity in the world A Second Reason Why God will never forsake his people is drawn from the Choice God hath made of them God hath chosen them from Eternity Deut. 7.7,8 The Lord did not set his love upon you nor choose you because you were more in number then any people for you were the fewest of all people but because the Lord loved you and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn to your fathers c. Our blessed Apostle so styles them in 1 Pet. 2.9 But ye are a chosen Generation Gods love to his people begets his choice of them they are the chosen of God precious his dearly beloved ones in whom his soul delighteth Joh 15.16 Ye have not chosen me but I have chosen you God hath chosen his people from the foundation of the world and they are his Elect to all eternity for whom he loves once he loves to the end there is no change in God he varies not he is one and the saue yesterday and to day and for ever A Third Ground or Reason Why God will never leave nor forsake his people is drawn from the Consideration of the price of their Redemption God hath purchased them at a high rate as Gods love to his people moves him to choose them so Gods choice of them moves him to redéem them and so they become his purchased inheritance 1 Cor. 6.19 20. And ye are not your own for ye are bought with a price therefore glorifie God in your bodies and in your souls 1 Cor. 7.23 Ye are bought with a price be ye not servants of men 1 Pet. 1.18 19. Forasmuch as ye know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things