such who betake them to his appointed meanes It is a delusion to thinke to come to heaven without walking in the way to it it is as if men expected to reape an harvest and yet never sowed a graine of seede So likewise he never trusts God for outwards who doth not apply himselfe to an industrious way of obteining them why looke yee said Jacob to his sonnes one upon another I have heard that there is corne in Aegypt get yee downe thither and buy for us from thence A confidentiall man will be industrious in the use of meanes 4. He who makes God his confidence will not put forth his hands unto unlawfull means for his helpe David relied on God for the Kingdome of Saul but would not use unlawfull meanes to obteine it Such never trusted God who resolve to steale oppresse defraud lie and flatter and use wicked meanes to gain a penny They trust not God who take a pension from Mammon Nor they who when they misse a thing or when any thing is amisse with them will consult with witches and wizards as once Saul did with the witch of Endor and Abaziah sent to the God of Eknon 5. He who makes God his confidence will be undaunted in any condition Confidence in God makes the heart invincible It is true an holy confiding man when evill comes cannot but see it and be thereof sensible and troubled at it but though he be troubled on all sides as the Apostle speakes yet he is not in despaire though he be sometimes afraid yet with David he can say in this will I be confident in this he is confident that God is his refuge his present helpe in trouble his preserver from the hurt of evill Though I walke saith David thorow the valley of the shadow of death I will feare no evill for thou art with me He may suspect his confidence whose heart in troubles is wholy spiritles and comfortles drooping and dwining away as Naballs did he may feare he is not yet resolved to commit freely his soule into the hands of God who is a faithfull creatour The confiding man will not be heartlesse though an universall death and desolation befall the land because he knowes that by death he shall be translated hence to see the goodnesse of the Lord I had fainted saith David unlesse I had beleived to see the goodnesse of the Lord in the land of the living Thus every one good and bad may try whether they have made the Lord their confidence 2. There are also some signes which may helpe all Gods truly faithfull people to gaine assurance that they have undoubtedly made him their confidence Many of those I know complain of unbeleeving and despairing hearts that they cannot confide and trust in God as they should To whom for comfort I answer that true beleevers may know that they have really made God their confidence if ever the Lord please to bring them to one of these temptations 1. When the promises made by God seeme to be delayed and there is no appearance of their fulfillance then all such who have not made God their confidence will cease expecting and beleeving the word of promise like that prophane man this evill is of the Lord what should I waite for the Lord any longer But if notwithstanding Gods delayes the heart keepe still to the word of truth and is still confident that in time it will be fulfilled it undoubtedly is then an heart confiding in God A waiting heart is a confiding heart So the Prophet I will waite on the Lord and looke upon him A Merchant who rests on his factor for the returne of some commodity which he promised finding that his factour deferres yet will account him faithfull knowing that he on weightier considerations for his Masters greater profit uses not to returne commodities so soone as he expected So the soule which rests on God for the accomplishment of such and such promises will yet wait on him as faithful though they be not presently or so soone performed as wee desire because it is perswaded that God delayes for some further advantage to the soule to humble it or to exalt it more or to make his blessings more acceptable when they come A soule confiding in the delay and unlikelines of the performance of promises that God can and will fulfill his word when it shall be for the best is a soule which hath made God its confidence 2. If the Lord suffers you to be mocked by prophane men if at any time they aske wher is the promise of his comming and what advantage hath piety in these times can your God save you out of the hands of murthering destroying men will you still retaine your integrity do not the most religious suffer as much if not worse then others Now at this time if notwithstanding all these scornes and disheartnings you are willing still to keepe close to God and to passe through good report and evill report and are content to be yet more vile before these men for Gods sake and in Gods cause you have undoubtedly made God your confidence Gods people thus proved that they had done so as it is in the Psalmes All this is come upon us yet have we not forgotten thee neither have we dealt falsely in thy Covenant 3. If ever the Lord bring you into a state that he seemes to be an enemy by visiting the soule wounding the spirit giving it as it were a sight of hell as if he would have no mercy yet in this case you shall know that ye have made God your confidence if you still will waite on God boldly and trustingly reasoning with him as the Psalmist did hath God forgotten to be gracious will he shut up his loving kindnesse in displeasure A soule in the lack of mercy being willing to stay it selfe on God because he will shew mercy being resolved however to dye at the foote of majesty to be crusht by his scepter this is a soul which confides in God And the Lord who knowes the anguish and distresse of this confiding spirit will heale and restore it to strength and comfort It shall be established when all the careles ones of the world shall be terribly shaken and shattered in all their hopes Consider what the Prophet writes Why sayest thou O Jacob and speakest O Israell my way is hid from the Lord and my judgement is passed over from my God c. He giveth power to the faint and to them that have no might he increaseth strength even the youths shall faint and be weary and the young men shall utterly fall but they that waite upon the Lord shall renew their strength they shall mount up with winges as Eagles they shall runne and not be weary and they shall walke and not be faint Thus may every one try and experimentally find whither God is to them as he is to others the only confidence For
CONFIDING ENGLAND VNDER CONFLICTS TRIUMPHING IN THE MIDDEST OF HER TERRORS OR Assured comforts that her present miseries will end in unspeakable lasting mercies to the whole Nation First preached in Bengeo and Hitchin in Hartfordshire and now published for the common comfort of the Nation By IOHN BEVVICK Minister of Bengeo neere Hartford LONDON Printed by I. D. for Andrew Crooke and are to be sold at his shop at the Greene Dragon in Pauls Church-yard 1644. TO HIS Excellency ROBERT Earle of ESSEX Viscount Hereford Baron Ferrars of Chartley Lord Bourchier and Lovain one of His Majesties most Honourable Privy Councell and Generall of the Army raised by the Parliament in defence of the true Protestant Religion his Majesties person the Lawes and Liberties of the Kingdome and the Priviledges of Parliament IT is a lovely thing saith the Philosopher to benefit one but to doe good to a nation it is a thing divine Your Excellencies love to England in not counting your blood your life deare to preserve it the eminencyes in your person of vertue and valour of courage and courtesie of greatnesse and goodnesse of mercy and meeknesse of admirable prudence and unwearied patience the worthy deeds already done unto this Nation by your providence all these obligeth all true English hearts to beare a part in the National acknowledgment of your worth and in accepting what is done by your Excellencie with all thankefulnesse Your noble candor may be pleased then to pardon this presumption of dedication in a stranger to your knowledge but an honourer of your vertues the rather because the obscurest clot upon the fallow reflects something of the sunne beames as well as the mountaines as the whole globe These ensuing meditations are now mustered to attend the Campe and if the banner of your protection overspread them he shall be comforted who by them desires principally to comfort the Natio yea the world For if it be true as Saint Augustine writes that if one drop of the joyes of heaven should fall into hell it would swallow up all the bitternesse of it it may be hoped then that a few drops of heavenly joyes here presented under your Excellencyes countenance to my Countrymen ingulphed in an hell of outward miseries may availe to allay their bitternesse and cleare their eye sight as Ionathans was after his tasting honey to see thorough an hell of horror their heavenly recovery It is Englands present duty to rejoyce in tribulations to triumph under terrors to confide under conflicts to expect salvations to veiw God by the eye of faith as a refuge as interwining us in his everlasting armes of preservation as healing our breaches as stanching our wounds as preparing all rankes among us to enjoy a perpetuall unity peace amity joy and jubilee in despite of hell and Rome All this God will do for us in righteousnes but by terrible things And during his pouring vialls of wrath upon the Antichristians the English Church with the other reformed must stand on a sea of glasse mingled with fire She shall apparantly see as in a glasse Antichristian tumults rising like wave after wave yet Christ calming them and causing all attempts ebbe into emptinesse come to nothing She shall stand on a sea mingled with fire enduring hot service from inward contentions and outward afflictions these a while shall heat her but not fire her scorch her but not rost her bruise her heele perhaps in some losses but they shall not breake her nor crumble her into a totall desolation for the ten Kingdomes must stand by an unalterable decree to undo Antichrist though they a while may seeme to favour and fight for him And she shall stand with the harpes of God singing the songs of Moses songs of judgement praises for every new judgement upon her troublers and destroyers and singing too the song of the lamb songs of mercie prayses for every new deliverance vouchsafed her from on high All blessings from the omnipotent Lambe who warreth against Antichrist and will conquer are craved for your Excellency by all the reall lovers of this Nation among whom I rest the meanest of Christs ministers and to July 20 1644. Your Excellencye most humbly devoted in all Christian service IOHN BEVVICK CONFIDING ENGLAND VNDER CONFLICTS TRIVMPHING IN THE MIDDEST OF HER TERRORS PSAL. 65. 5. By terrible things in righteousnesse wilt thou answer us oh God of our salvation who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth and of them that are a farre off upon the sea THis Psalme is Eucharisticall It is a forme of thankesgiving penned by David for those mercies which God bestowes on mankind The first verse calls on the Church of God to praise him for the things afterward recited Others will take no notice of them or if they doe yet they will not so freely acknowledge Gods kindnesse in them and therfore the Saints the children of Zion must doe it The rest of the Psalme is spent in recounting the benefits both spirituall and temporall which are conferred The spirituall blessings which properly belong to the Church and faithfull people of God are foure 1. Gods hearing of their prayers In the want of defence counsell reliefe in the midst of afflictions and troubles when they are straitned and upon the verge of any extremitie he heareth their prayers Oh thou that hearest prayers to thee shall all flesh come 2. Remission of sinnes is another blessing here recounted though sinne hath raised the storme of afflictions trouble and adversaries yet God will purge away sinne and the cause of these stormes removed there is a calme As for our transgressions thou shalt purg them away 3. The collection of a Church is another blessing here rehearsed And 4. The saving and preserving this Church in a wonderfull and admirable manner so as others shall be driven to joyne themselves to the Church this is another favour from God And these are the blessings spirituall which this Psalme doth mention The blessings temporall are common to the Saints with others yet they are such that none but Saints will take notice to praise God for them and therefore for these also Praise waiteth for God in Zion These blessings temporall are 1. The erection of Kingdomes and Governments in the world It is from the mighty power of God that Common wealths are set on their foundation He by his strength set fast the mountaines By mountaines Common wealths are here to be understood as they are in the latter part of the first verse of the second of Isaiah It would be a terrible sight to see mountaines tumbling and rowling ready to close and breake one another in peices and yet such are all the Common wealths in the world they would totter and tumble and destroy one another but that God hath fastened them their bounds are set and that is one blessing 2. The repression of tumults seditions and conspiracies in Kingdomes which would utterly
God 4. The crowning of his people with everlasting salvation is from God God will give heavenly salvation to those who by patient continuance in well doing seeke for glory and honour and immortality eternall life Thus in respect of the spirituall salvation of his people God may well be stiled the God of our salvation But the text speaks most properly of such things wherby we may more properly here ascribe unto him this title as it hath reference to the temporall salvation or deliverance of Gods people though in the application we shall make use of it both wayes Secondly then this title oh God of our salvation relates to his temporall salvation of his people wherof we will consider 1. The parts of it 2. The reasons of it 1. Temporall salvation hath severall parts or rather it is represented to us severall wayes and God is the Author of every one of them 1. There is preventing salvation when the Lord prevents his peoples meeting with a danger then he saves them If a man upon the way in his journey were told that theeves did lie in waite for him and therupon he turnes aside a little and escapes them this is a danger prevented The Lord doth many thousand times thus save his people thou preventest me saith David with thy goodnesse God was then saving Iacob and his family when he sent Ioseph into Aegypt he then prevented their perishing in the famine He prevented Herods slaying Christ by sending an Angell to forewarne the danger Gods people are oft ignorant that evill is devised contrived prosecuted against them but God prevents it and saves them and afterward they come to understand so much I will say of the Lord he is my refuge and my fortresse my God in him will I trust he shall deliver from the snare of the hunter and from the noisome pestilence 2. There is a preparing salvation which is from God I call that preparing salvation wherby the Lord sits his people to meet with adversaries dangers troubles and perplexites The Lords preparing his people to it is his saving them from it Thou hast saith David girded me with strength unto the battle Thus the Lords establishing the heart with grace to beare a trouble and the Lords giving unto the spirit comfort and consolation in the midst of the thoughts within and the Lords speaking peace to the soule when all the world is in tumults and the Lords feasting the soule and spirit within with joyes and expectations of comfort in himselfe in heaven when the haile rattles on the tiles and there is no peace abroad these a thousand other wayes are part of the salvation which God workes for his people It is his preparing salvation or his preparing them for safety against the trouble which they incounter 3. There is an upholding salvation when any is kept from perishing in a danger or trouble and this is also from the Lord I was sore thrust at that I might fall the Lord susteined me And so the Lord saves when he upholds from perishing If we were let alone the trouble would overmaster the waters are perhaps so deepe they would drowne the fire so raging it would devoure But if God upholds holds us by the chinne that we sinke not if he carrieth us through the fire and water through all and we be preserved then he vouchsafes his up holding salvation wherby we perish not 4. There is an establishing or confirming salvation wherby one is so strengthned that no troubles nor adversaries can out daunt them My arme as it is in the Psalmist shall hold him up and my arme shall strengthen him When a man walkes in slippery dangerous wayes and then is established that he treades confidently and slips not here is salvation troubles crosses afflictions adversaries are occasions of falling but when the Lord notwithstanding this keepeth up our feete that they slip not it is his salvation and a deliverance Thou hast delivered my feete saith the Psalmist from falling The Church is described coming out from the wildernesse leaning on her beloved Gods people may be in many troubles and perplexities in a wildernes at a mase not knowing what way to turne but the Lord upholds and establishes them and brings them out of all but leaning on their beloved The Church partakes of establishing salvation 5. There is also another part or manifestation of salvation which we may call rescuing salvation when the Lord suffers his people to come into danger and trouble and to be as it were in the enemies hand and yet then he snatches them out and rescues them As David did strike in and take a lambe out of the mouth of the lion and of the beare so the Lord strikes in to rescue his servants commanding deliverances for his peeple He suffers them sometimes to come to the mouth but he gives them not up a prey to the teeth but then delivers them 6. There is a crowning salvation or a compassing about with songs of deliverance when God putteth his people into a state and condition of security that no evill shall surprize them to their dammage And this is the highest pitch of temporall salvation and God is the author of it God is my King of old working salvation in the midst of the earth And thus from all these parts or degrees rather of temporall salvation it is plaine that God is the God of our salvation Thus of the parts of it 2. The reason proving that God is the Author of his peoples deliverance is this in stead of many others In him are to be found all those things which are effectuall to worke the salvation of his people out of troubles For in the salvation which he grants to his people are to be seene these footesteps of Gods glory 1. His pitty and compassion towards his people There is in him towards them the sounding of bowells and he will surely have mercy on them Out of his compassion he stands as it were deliberating what to doe How shall I give thee up Ephraim how shall I deliver thee Israell how shall I make thee as Admah how shall I set thee as Zeboim mine heart is turned within me my repentings are kindled together c. And we finde that when the people confessed there sinne saying doe to us what thou pleasest only deliver us this once then the soule of God was greived for Israell his pitty moves him to help 2. God is omniscient he only knowes how to deliver his The Lord knowes how to deliver the godly out of temptation he is only infinitely wise and knowes all purposes policyes engines instruments which attempt any thing against his people he knowes what they can worke to the utmost and he knowes how to defeate their working to insnare them in their owne net He sitts in heaven and sees and laughs the enemies of his Church to scorne He suffers them a while to busie
confidence of the ends of the earth and of those on the sea To this I answer When it is said that God is the confidence of the ends of the earth we must not understand these words of every particular individuall person or nation but of some in all places of some in all nations and so it is very true that his owne people where ever they be make him their confidence They trust in him relye on him depend upon him So that the meaning of these words The confidence of the ends of the earth c. is Gods people in all the earth and on the sea where ever they are make God their confidence though others do not And so it proposes to us this doctrine God is every where the confidence of his people I say of his people of those to whom he is the God of salvation of those whom he answers for whom he workes terrible things in the earth This righteous holy people make God their confidence And that God is the confidence of his people in all places not only this scripture but also others prove Some saith the Psalmist trust in chariots and some in horses but we will remember the name of the Lord our God And from the text let us take notice of the description of this sanctified confiding people 1. They are called the ends of the earth the extremity of the earth as if they were a people shut up in a corner a people driven to the ends or out skirts of the earth to serve God there And moreover 2. They are a people farre off on the sea A people exposed to as great hazards and dangers as can be imagined as if they were a people cut off from others by the sea and destinated to be a people afflicted and continually to be tossed with waves and tempests Yet this people in this condition as it were an outcast driven to all inconveniencies of earth and sea shall still trust in God making him their confidence I know as I said before that this description aimes principally at the universality of the Church which shall extend and spread it selfe farre and neere in all places on the earth to the utmost bounds both of sea and land But yet withall it will imply this that I say that though Gods people be a people as it were shut out from the nations of the earth not reckoned among them though they were penned up in the utmost limits not thought worthy to treade and to live on the earth and therefore contemned of all people and exposed to a thousand miscarriages and hard usages though they be tossed in name in estate in their persons yet shall this godly people this seede which serves the Lord be accounted unto him for a generation And they shall make the Lord their stay and staffe their hope and confidence So saith the text He is the confidence of all the ends of the earth and of all them that are a farre off upon the sea all his people every where in all places in all busines in all hazards in all straites for all comforts do still make the Lord their trust and confidence And thus the first thing the question purposed is resolved how God is said to be the confidence of the ends of the earth c. Secondly consider what this confidence is which all his people every where make him what doth it imply The word here signifying trust or confidence is sometimes put for an hopefull security Ye shall do my statutes and keepe my judgements and do them and yee shall dwell in the land in safety that is in an hopefull confidentiall security Now this confidence is nothing else but a secure resting on God for all manner of succour and security in the good and comfort which we would have God is said to be the confidence of his people in these respects 1. In respect that they hope for all good from him Confidence is not only an expectation of the full fruition of himselfe as our portion but also of all things else together with him and of all things else which are good from him The Lord is my portion saith my soule therefore will I hope in him The soule lookes on all its good and comfort in heaven and earth as from the Lord who is its portion and as to be supplied from him as out of its portion It expects from him life and health and outward comforts friends good name foode rayment yea every thing if these faile it lookes to be supplied from the Lord its portion yea and for all its good spirituall temporall and eternall Not only the pardon of sinne and things spirituall and heavenly but likewise protection provision and things earthly are hoped for from God Whom have I saith the Psalmist in heaven but thee and in earth there is none that I require besides thee 2. God is said to be the confidence of his people in respect of their secure relying on him for security and safety and repulsing all evill from them David to shew that he relied on him for all manner of safety calls him his rock his for tresso his buckler the horne of his salvation and his high tower God was a rocke to him in the seas and waves of his trouble when afflictions like billowes came thick and threefold he broke them and secured him as on a rock And God was a fortresse to him in a siege a a sheild against a storme of darts a shelter against a storme of inconveniences an horne of salvation to push away adversaries and an high tower where he was safe Making God our confidence is a secure relying on him for safety and security against all the evill which is feared or which hath seised on us 3. God is said to be his peoples confidence in respect of their recumbency and dependency on him in all businesses and imployments thorough which they goe in this life A contented acquiescence resting on God relying on him for the bringing to passe according to his will what we have to doe is a true making God our confidence So David Commit thy way unto the Lord trust also in him and he shall bring it to passe And so Solomon Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not to rhine owne understanding in all thy waies acknowledge him and hee will direct thy paths Now this confidentiall trusting to God in all that we have to doe is seen most eminently in one of these three particular acts 1. When men make God their confidence though they have most apparent meanes of effecting or working what they are about yet they will not relie on those meanes but on God his blessing upon it So the Psalmist I will not trust in my bow neither shal my sword save me but thou hast saved us from our enemies and hast put them to shame that hated us And so men make God their confidence when though
disposall to do with them as he sees fit either to bring them into straites or to inlarge them to make them vessells of honour and comfort or to be made broken vessells a people for misery and destruction This trusting in God exceedingly gloryfies his providence and soveraignty over them Confidence in him is a gracious submission to be ordered and desposed of as he sees fit It is a yeelding that he may be gloryfied thorough us whether he breake us or build us wound us or heale us save us or destroy us make us glorious or miserable Confidence in him ever implyes in it an humble acknowledgment that we are but as clay in the hands of the potter to be disposed of as will best sute with his glory 2. Confidence in God giveth unto him the glory of his truth or the glory of his promises it manifests our acknowledging of his faithfulnesse and our depending upon the word of his truth It is a great glory to God that we account him faithfull a God keeping promise with his people and this is done when we confide in him David prayed Let thy mercy come also unto me oh Lord even thy salvation according to thy word and he professes that his soule fainteth for his salvation but I hope saith he in thy word And againe uphold me according to thy word that I may live and let me not bee ashamed of my hope Thus God hath the glory of his truth when we confide in him 3. Confidence in God gives him the glory of his goodnesse it is a reall acknowledgement that the Lord is good and doth good and that we therefore depend upon him as children do on their parents for all our maintenance 4. This our confidence in God giveth unto him the glory of his Godhead Wee then glorifie him when we make him the master of our affections as when we love and feare and joy in him and the like but when we hope and confide in God we then gloryfie him above the glory which we give unto him by our other affections For though in them all the principall stream runs to Godward yet there are rivelets and by currants of these affections permitted to runne to other things As for example we love God and gloryfie him by our love when he only and cheifely is loved by us but yet our love also runnes out to other things to his children for his sake and to our neighbours and to men and to other things subordinately And so we gloryfie God when he is primely and principally our feare and dread but yet he alloweth us to feare the magistrates who beare the image of his majesty and to feare our parents and to feare and reverence others And so we gloryfie him when he is cheifely and principally our delight and joy and when our soules cheare up themselves in his word but yet he alloweth us to joy in other things we may joy and delight in his saints on the earth and in outward mercies blessings and deliverances we may take pleasure in the creatures moderately I might speake the like of all other affections But now in confiding and hoping in God we only gloryfie him The whole streame of our hope is to runne to Godward and to him only When we make him our confidence we trust not in any thing else but surrendring up to him all our hopes we then make him fully and wholy our God and we thereby give him the sole interest and command in our affections and so we hereby gloryfie him Thus the people of God being every way desirous to do so they therefore make him their confidence for confiding in him honoreth him as God 2. Gods people make him their confidence because they see in God an all sufficiency to supply their defects to comfort them in distresses to releive them in their wants and to furnish them with all things which they can desire and would have The sight of this alsufficiency in God to do all this is wrought in them from one or from all these considerations which are the ground of hope and confidence as 1. They know that God himselfe is very powerfull able to helpe and save and therfore they confide in him they know that he is able to give all what they need both in spirituals and temporalls He made and framed all and all is at his disposall and he can dispose of all for their good This the Prophet acknowledges that he made heaven and gives rain and showers and every comfort Art not thou he oh Lord our God therfore we will waite on thee Lord thou hast made all these things Gods people know that he hath power to save deliver them out of trouble and yet though he do not they wil trust in him because he can do it and none else Shadrach Meseck and Abednego said so Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the fiery furnace he will free us out of thy hand oh King that we will not serve thy Gods nor worship the image which thou hast set up A man who hath a strong and powerfull convoy for his safety thorough the dangerous country he travells in will be the more confident knowing that he who conducts him is of power to raise the country for his defence so a Christian in his travell to heaven hath cause to conâ—ide in God for his convoy thither seeing he knowes that God himselfe is powerfull and likewise able to raise the country to call in all the creatures both of heaven and earth for his safe conduct and to make all worke together for his best 2. His people know that Gods only care provides for them and all the world seeing he hath taken on him the care of all things The eyes of all waite on thee and thou givest them their meate in due season thou openest thy hand and satisfies the desires of every living thing and therefore they make him their confidence knowing that they have no cause to distrust him God takes care for oxen much more for his servants he hath besides his generall care in providing for all creatures a speciall care over those of his owne family He himselfe tells some men that they are worse then infidells because they provide not for their owne he himselfe therefore will both thinke on and releive his owne in due time he provides both for their bodies and for their soules and he who gives to the body now a few crummes will never deny unto the soule the crown prepared for it When Gods people do seriously thinke on this they see that they have just ground to confide and trust in God 3. Gods people know that he is so powerfull that though for our good he often imploys instruments and creatures or secondary causes bestowing on them strength and ability to worke for their good yet that these can worke nothing except he concurre with them they are without his
concurrance like broken cisternes or as the brookes of Tema affoording no comfort but soone dryed up The Lord can do with them as he did with the Aegyptian chariots if he take off the wheeles they stand The Apostle tells us that in him we live and move and have our being the Saints considering this make God their confidence Not any creature can hurt or helpe unlesse God concurre A sword may be drawen and strike but it wounds not unlesse God doth give it a commission and put strength into it The Psalmist tells us that God turnes the edge of the sword It may smite but if God blunts its edge there will be no harme Nothing likewise helpes without him cloathes could not warme freinds could not helpe or workes could not prospet unlesse the Lord give a blessing Consider your wayes saith the Lord yee have sowne much and bring in little yee cate but yee have not enough yee drinke but yee are not filled with drinke yee cloath yee but their is no warme and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes yee have looked for much and loe it came to little and when yee brought it home I did blow upon it The heavens over you is stayed from dew and the earth is stayed from her fruits Creatures are no further beneficiall to us then it pleases God to concurre Paul plants Apollos waters but yet God gives the increase The Saints knowing this do therefore see that they have a sufficient ground to make God their confidence 4. Gods people know that he is able to do alone whatsoever any secondary cause doth God can do that thing either with it or without it And this makes them confide in God only The streames depends on the fountaine but the fountaine it selfe can send out its waters some other way by some other channells The creatures depends on God the great creatour and if he but speake a word it is done what he wills he can worke without his creatures for his people and will do so if he see cause and therefore his people see reason to confide in him 5. Gods people know that he hath ingaged himselfe by promise to those that trust in him he is their father and careth for them and though a parent forsake their child yet he will not his people When my father and my mother forsake me then the Lord will take me up Indeed Godâ—â—eople may see there are many improbabilityes of their safety yet seeing God hath promised they see no cause to distrust Abraham knew that he had a dead body yet beleeved because his God was the living God Sarah had a barren wombe yet God was able to make it fruitfull He can turne a wildernesse into a fruitefull feild Though your hearts should be naughty unbelieving misgiving yet hope in Gods promises consider his infinite ability and his undoubted fidelity in keeping promise with his servants and you cannot chuse but trust in him and make him your confidence Upon these grounds or for these reasons Gods people make him their confidence Fourthly this title that God is the confidence of all his people should make us trie our selves whether we are such to whom he is the only confidence And here we will shew 1. Such signes whereby every one good and bad may know it and 2. Such whereby they who are truely Gods people may certainly finde that they do so in some peculiar acts or other 1. The trialls whereby every on may guesse at their owne condition in this respect are these 1. He who truely maketh God his confidence will above all things desire Gods favour and will part with any thing for it No man would be pulled from the hornes of the Altar which while he holdes he is in safety we cannot perswade a company of naked men to forsake the fort wherein they are safe and to commit themselves to the open feild they will desire to keepe where they have confidence thus the man who maketh God his confidence will do any thing for him and part with any thing for his favour Moses forsakes all the treasures in Aegypt and the glory in it for God It is a signe that a man maketh God his confidence when he renounces his sinnes and lusts and is content to be disgraced nicknamed and to suffer the losse of all things gladly for God It is signe that he seeth more in God then others and more in God then he can lose he findes that Christ is all in all But surely they as yet have not made God their confidence who sell God for the world as Demas Christ or the cause of Christ for gaine as did Judas who are content to let gospell conscience goodnesse and all go so they can thereby please such on whom they depend They never trusted God who prizes their sinnes lusts and sinnefull pleasures before him neither will they make him their confidence if troubles should come 2. He truely maketh God his confidence who maketh him an universall confidence and trusteth in him in all things and for all things He comitteth his whole wayes to him his whole person his whole businesse his whole managing he trusts in him in all places at all times in health and sicknes for provision and protection in times of trouble and any danger for Children and for a blessing in every thing He trusts on him for earth as well as for heaven for grace as well as for glory But that man hath not made God his confidence who doth not trust him in all things Some will not trust him with their temporalls they dare not beleive in him to provide for them and theirs after them they depend not on him for their outward estate others will trust him for temporalls but not for spiritualls they are loth to rest on him only for full salvation and pardon They would have something of their owne to justifie them before God And this is all the trouble of many but God will be the sole confidence of his people trust in him for with him there is plentifull redemption He who trusts in God will make him his universall confidence 3. He who makes God his confidence will be industrious in the use of the meanes which brings a blessing on him and which God hath appointed Thus he who confides in God for salvation will diligently search after the means of salvation hearkning and listning after the word of salvation he who confides in him for wordly things will be industrious in an honest calling They trust not God who sit still nor they who set themselves into no good way He trusts not God for salvation who saith if God hath predestinated me to life I shall be saved though I betake my selfe into no such wayes as the Preacher speakes of he considers not that God hath predestinated as well to the meanes as to the end and to the end by the meanes and that he saves only