to him for succour and help He that is the Father of mercies will not then stop his ears at their cry but will then hear and help them and shew them mercy and kindness By these and such places we see that he is full of pity and compassion and takes no delight to see his People miserable but does greatly commiserate them in their distress and sorrow and is forward to help them and this will give us greater encouragement to trust and rely upon him as the Rock of our Salvation Fifthly For our greater assurance we may see that he is not only a God of love and goodnes but that he doth undertake our protection and is engaged by promise to succor and help us in all our troubles and distressed conditions if we serve him and obey him as we ought and therefore we have the greatest reason of all to trust and confide in him at all times He is a God of truth and faithful in all his promises and he hath promised that he will always watch over us and take great care to preserve and keep us and therefore we have no reason to doubt of his protection and help if we faithfully serve him as we should This Balaam declared that God was true and faithfull and would make good what he had promised Num. 23.19 God saith he is not a man that he should ly neither the son of man that he should repent hath he said and shall he not do it or hath he spoken and shall he not make it good And St. Paul declareth the same to Titus Tit. 1.2 In hope of eternal life which God that cannot ly promised before the world began And saith Moses Deut. 7.9 Know therefore that the Lord thy God he is God the faithful God which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations He is a God of veracity and truth and will not fail to make good his promises And he hath promised that he will never fail nor forsake all such as fear him and keep his sacred Commandments This Moses told the Children of Israel when they were to encounter and engage with their enemies Deut. 31.6 Be strong and of a good courage saith he fear not nor be afraid of them for the Lord thy God he it is that doth go with thee he will not fail thee nor forsake thee And saith the Apostle Heb. 13.5 For he hath said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee And this is God's command that we should call upon him in the time of trouble and he doth promise that he will then deliver us Psal 50.15 And call upon me in the day of trouble I will deliver thee and thou shalt glorify me And God doth give his People great assurance of his Help and Protection in all times of need and danger by the Prophet Isaiah Is 43.2 saith he When thou passest thorow the waters I will be with thee and thorow the rivers they shall not overflow thee when thou walkest thorow the fire thou shalt not be burnt neither shall the flame kindle upon thee For I am the Lord thy God the holy One of Israel This great and gracious promise doth God make to his People of being their mighty Protector and Saviour in all great and eminent dangers And saith he again by the Prophet Is 54.16 Behold I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work and I have created the waster to destroy No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn Both the weapons of War and the waster that destroys are at God's command and shall not prevail farther than he gives them leave And he doth promise that they shall not prosper so far as to destroy his Church and Servants though he may sometimes let wicked men put some of his Servants to death for a testimony of the Truth with whom he will then be in an extraordinary manner by his Grace and Spirit that they shall in a manner even then triumph over them And saith our Saviour Matt. 28.20 And lo I am with you alway even unto the end of the world Amen And we may be sure that he will be with us according to our needs and in an extraordinary manner when there is extraordinary occasion for it By these and such places we see that God doth undertake our protection and doth promise to help and defend us in all our straits and dangers And a watchful care hath he over us at all times as we have seen before 2 Chr. 16.9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro thorow out the whole earth saith Hanani the Seer to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards him And saith the Psalmist Psal 121.3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved he that keepeth thee will not slumber Behold he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep The Lord is thy keeper the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand He continually watches over such as fear him and is never unmindful and regardless of them And how exceedingly his mind is bent towards them and how much his heart is set upon them he sheweth by the Prophet Isaiah 49.15 Can a woman forget her sucking child saith he that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb Yea they may forget yet will I not forget thee So mindful and careful will he be of all his faithful Servants And his Angels shall watch about such as the Psalmist affirmeth Psal 34.7 The Angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him and delivereth them With such a watchful Gard are they always encompassed and protected And to shew the exquisite care of God concerning all things and even the smallest matters that belong to us our Saviour hath told us that the very hairs of our heads are numbered Matt. 10.30 But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered Fear ye not therefore A due regard is had even to the smallest matters that belong to us And the Apostle doth shew that nothing can separate us from the love of God if we do it not by our own wickedness Rom. 8.38 For I am persuaded saith he that neither death nor life nor Angels nor Principalities nor Powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. We are assured of God's truth and faithfulness and we see that he hath engaged and promised to be our Protector and Helper in all our necessities and dangers and that he doth continually watch over us and mind us and therefore there is no reason to doubt of his Almighty aid and help in all our needs and dangers whatsoever if we are careful to
serve and please him as we ought But so long as we go on in a sinful course he is not obliged to be our Protector and Defender By going on in a wicked course of life without repentance we put our selves from under his protection and cause him to cast of his care of us For he hath engaged himself to be a Rock and Shield only to such as fear him and keep his Commandments This is manifest from several places before mentioned He sheweth himself strong but it is in behalf of those whose heart is perfect towards him 2 Chr. 16.9 And saith St. Peter 1 Pet. 3.12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous and his ears are open unto their prayers but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil Such as do evil and go on in a wicked course are not to expect his care and watchful Providence to attend them for good but have cause to expect the contrary and are to know that God will not then be their Protector and Helper but their Adversary But if such repent and return unto the Lord and resolve for the future to keep his sacred Commandments he is gracious and prone to mercy and will then pardon them and receive them into his care and protection Isaiah 55.7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon He will be reconciled to sinners if they will repent and return to him and will then become their mighty God and Protector and will then save and help them as we see he did the Jews when they returned and cryed to him for help Jud. 10.15 If men do serve him as they ought or will return and become obedient to him he will be a most sure Helper and eternal Protector to them and there is no cause that they should doubt of his help and succour at any time Sixthly The extraordinary and miraculous deliverances that God hath wrought for his People and Servants in their straits and distressed conditions when they have had little or no means of helping themselves will be a farther encouragement to us to rely and depend upon him for help and succour at all times when we have no power to help and relieve our selves Seeing God hath stretched out his Almighty Arm to defend and help his Servants in times past we may the more chearfully hope that he will do the like for us now in our great need and helpless condition if we serve him as we ought and rely upon his mercy and goodness for protection and relief For his Arm is not shortened that it cannot save nor will he now be more backward to do it than he hath been heretofore And many and great deliverances and extraordinary Succours and Supports hath God vouchsafed to his People and Servants when there hath been occasion for such some whereof I shall here mention 1 God hath often relieved his Servants and People in their wants and necessities in a wonderful manner with food and such things as they stood in need of He gave the Children of Israel Manna and Quails in the wilderness when they wanted food and began to murmur against Moses and Aaron Exod. 16.12 I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel saith God speak unto them saying at even ye shall eat flesh and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God And for forty years together did he feed them with Manna in the wilderness where they wanted food untill they came into a land that had food sufficient for them And he caused their garments not to wax old in all this time that they might not want raiment as Moses tells them Deut. 8.4 Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee neither did thy foot swell these forty years And when they wanted water he brought them water out of the rock Numb 20.8 Take the rod saith God to Moses and gather thou the assembly together thou and Aaron thy brother and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes and it shall give forth his water and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink And ver 11. And Moses lift up his hand and with his rod he smote the rock twice and the water came out abundantly and the congregation drank and their beasts also God gave Samson water in his great thirst Judg. 15.18 And he commanded the ravens to feed the Prophet Elijah and they did so 1 Kings 17.2 And the word of the Lord came unto him saying Get thee hence and turn thee eastward and hide thy self by the brook Cherith that is before Jordan And it shall be that thou shalt drink of the brook and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith that is before Jordan And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning and bread and flesh in the evening and he drank of the brook And after this was he and the Widow Woman of Zarephath and her House sustained many days with a handful of meal and a little oyl at God's command when the famine was great in the land ver 13 And Elijah said unto her fear not go and do as thou hast said but make me thereof a little cake first and bring it unto me and after make for thee and for thy son For thus saith the Lord God of Israel The barrel of meal shall not wast neither shall the cruse of oyl fail until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah and she and he and her house did eat many days And the barrel of meal wasted not neither did the cruse of oyl fail And when he fled from Jezebel and was in the Wilderness beyond Beersheba in a destitute condition the Angel of the Lord brought him a cake and water to support and strengthen him 1 Kings 19.5 And as he lay and slept under a juniper-tree behold then an Angel touched him and said unto him Arise and eat And he looked and behold there was a cake baken on the coals and a cruse of water at his head and he did eat and drink and laid him down again And when he had eaten again he went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God Such a blessing did God give to it that made it sufficient to sustain him for so long a time When the Hosts of the Kings of Israel and Judah were distressed for want of water they sought to God by the Prophet Elisha and God gave them plenty of water in their great necessity 2 Kings 3.16 And he said Thus saith the
Lord make this valley full of ditches For thus saith the Lord ye shall not see wind neither shall ye see rain yet that valley shall be filled with water that ye may drink both ye and your cattle and your beasts And ver 20. And it came to pass in the morning when the meat-offring was offered that behold there came water by the way of Edom and the country was filled with water And we may see in the Gospels that our blessed Saviour did often feed many thousands with a few loaves and a little quantity of fish when he saw it needful to work such a miracle for them By these and such Instances we see how God hath in an extraordinary manner relieved his People and Servants in their great necessities and supplyed them with food and such things as they stood in great need of 2 We may see also that Almighty God hath often delivered his People and Servants in an extraordinary and miraculous manner from great and eminent Dangers and from such Judgments and Calamities as have befallen others God preserved Noah from that prodigious Flood that swept away the Inhabitants of the old World in his time and drowned all Mankind beside him and his Family Gen. 7.1 He protected Abraham in all his travels and delivered him from all his fears He preserved him from being hurt by the Egytians Gen. 12 And from the hands of the four Kings that took Lot captive against whom he warred Gen. 14 And out of all other straits that he came into did he deliver him He preserved Lot from that dreadful judgment of fire that destroyed the Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah c. Gen. 19. He kept Jacob from being hurt by his Brother Esau when he came out with an Host of 400 men against him and turned his heart so that he did him no harm but embraced him in love Gen. 33.4 He protected Moses from being hurt by Pharaoh King of Egypt when he came to deliver the Israelites out of his hand and armed him with such power of doing wonders that he made him like a God to Pharaoh as he saith Exod. 7.1 And he preserved him all along afterwards in all those dangers that he underwent and from the hands of those Kings with whom he warred over whom he gave him victory And preserved his People Israel from all the dangers that they met with He protected Joshua and his People afterwards from all the Kings of Canaan and gave him victory over them and their Armies as we may see in the book of Joshua The Lord preserved David from all the attempts of King Saul to take away his life and at the last set him upon the Throne of Israel And hereby we may see how vain a thing it is to seek to take away his life whom the God of Heaven will preserve and how those that set upon such enterprizes like Saul and Pharaoh do most miserably fret and gall themselves and that disappointment and grief are the fruits of such sinful attempts In a miraculous manner did the Lord deliver the Prophet Elijah from the two Captains and their men that were sent from the King of Israel to take him and sent down fire from Heaven to consume them 2 Kings 1.9 And from Jezebel and all dangers else did God deliver him The Lord delivered the Prophet Elisha from the Bands of the Syrians and garded him with Horses and Chariots of fire 2 Kings 6.15 And from the King of Israel when he sent to take away his head and from all dangers else did God deliver him The Lord in a remarkable manner delivered Samaria and the Israelites from the Host of Syria 2 Kings 7.6 and frighted the whole Host away and made them to overrun their Tents and Horses through fear The Lord preserved and delivered King Hezekiah and Jerusalem in a miraculous manner from Sennacherib the King of Assyria and sent his Angel to destroy his whole Army 2 Kings 19.35 And it came to pass that night that the Angel of the Lord went out and smote in the Camp of the Assyrians an hundred and fourscore and five thousand and when they arose early in the morning behold they were all dead corpses In a wonderful manner were the three Children preserved and kept from harm even in the midst of the fiery Furnace by the Omnipotent power of God Dan. 3.26 Then Shadrach Meshach and Abednego came forth of the midst of the fire And the Princes Governors and Captains and the King's Counsellors being gathered together saw these men upon whose bodies the fire had no power nor was an hair of their head singed neither were their coats changed nor the smell of fire had passed on them In this extreme danger and hopeless condition to all humane appearance were they thus miraculously delivered and had not the least degree of harm The Prophet Daniel was protected and defended by an Angel in the Lyon's den from being torn in pieces or hurt by them Dan. 6.21 Then said Daniel unto the King O King live for ever My God hath sent his Angel and hath shut the lyons mouthes that they have not hurt me for as much as before him innocency was found in me and also before thee O King have I done no hurt The Lord by an Angel delivered St. Peter out of prison and out of the hands of Herod who was minded to put him to death Acts 12.7 And behold the Angel of the Lord came upon him saith St. Luke and a light shined in the prison and he smote Peter on the side and raised him up saying Arise up quickly And his chains fell off from his hands And the Angel said unto him gird thy self and bind on thy sandals And so he did And he saith unto him cast thy garments about thee and follow me And he went out and followed him By these and such like examples we may see That God hath delivered and protected his People and Servants from very great and eminent dangers in a wonderful and miraculous manner when they have had no power and might to help and defend themselves And from hence we may be the more encouraged to put our trust and confidence in him and hope that he will have pity and mercy upon us and send us help and relief in all our straits and needs and helpless conditions if we have recourse to him and depend upon him for help and protection and relief at all times as we ought We have all the assurance that well can be that God will no ways fail us in the day of trouble And we have as great encouragement as we can well desire to trust in the Lord Jehovah at all times of the greatest Dangers And if we can but believe his sacred and sure Word and rely upon his faithful Promises we need not much to fear in the darkest and blackest Times that can come upon us such as this is like to be If we are not wanting to our selves but will repent
enter into the Kingdom of God! And the disciples were astonished at his words But Jesus answereth again and saith unto them children how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the Kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go thorow the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God By trusting in these men are like to block up the path of Life against themselves We are strictly forbid we see to trust in riches or in any worldly wealth and earthly treasure And we are also forbid to trust in an Arm of Flesh or to rely upon any humane Power We are not to place our Trust and Confidence in any Kings and Princes and great Men of the earth nor in any Armies and Naval Forces and Warlike Preparations The doing of this is sinful and evil and these will prove but weak and helpless Deities to such as rely upon them Psal 146.3 saith the Psalmist there Put not your trust in princes nor in the the son of man in whom there is no help His breath goeth forth he returneth to his earth in that very day his thoughts perish These are of a mortal and perishing nature themselves and cannot preserve themselves and much less then are they able to help and save others that rely upon them And a wo is denounced against such as trust in the help of man Is 30.1 Wo to the rebellious children saith the Lord that take counsel but not of me and that cover with a covering but not of my Spirit that they may add sin to sin That walk to go down into Egypt and have not asked at my mouth to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh and to trust in the shadow of Egypt And we may see in the verses following what help and comfort they were like to find in so doing ver 3. Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame saith God by the Prophet and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion And ver 5 They were all ashamed of a people that could not profit them nor be an help nor profit but a shame and also a reproach Here we see how we are like to speed if we trust in an Arm of Flesh and place our confidence in humane Power we must then expect nothing but shame and reproach and confusion And to this purpose Is 31.1 Wo to them that go down to Egypt for help and stay on horses and trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong But they look not unto the holy One of Israel neither seek the Lord. And what the issue of such trust and confidence is like to be we may also see here ver 3 Now the Egyptians are men and not God and their horses flesh and not spirit when the Lord shall stretch out his hand both he that helpeth shall fall and he that it holpen shall fall down and they shall fail together Such disappointment must men expect from their vain confidence in all humane Force and Power And such as trust in an Arm of Flesh are cursed as God declareth by the Prophet Jeremiah 17.5 Thus saith the Lord cursed be the man that trusteth in man and maketh Flesh his Arm and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath in the desert and shall not see when good cometh but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness in a salt land and not inhabited Such as forsake God and trust not in his Help but place their hopes and confidence in humane Power must expect no good but sorrow and misery to attend them in so doing Nor are we to place our confidence in our wit and knowledg and strength of body c and to idolize them as the Prophet sheweth Ier. 9.23 Thus saith the Lord Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom neither let the mighty man glory in his might let not the rich man glory in his riches But let him that glorieth glory in this that he understandeth and knoweth me that I am the Lord We are not to trust in these nor in any other Idol that we may make to our selves but in the Lord Jehovah the living and true God For to trust in any thing else shews disrespect and infidelity towards him and is a derogation from his infinite Power and Goodness and is sinful and evil and in so doing we shall be miserably deluded and may expect to have our hopes and confidence frustrated and disappointed And such as shall now in this dark Time which is coming upon us betake themselves to Arms on the one hand or fall to Popery on the other hand to secure themselves I fear that such will be in great danger of perishing and losing their Lives But I hope that all those that put their trust in Almighty God and with faith and patience wait for his blessed Help and Protection will be preserved alive notwithstanding their hazard and danger is like to be very great And the more to prevail with us to do so Secondly We may see that we are often exhorted and enjoined in the sacred Scriptures to put our Trust and Confidence in Almighty God at all times and upon all accounts especially when we have the most need of Relief and Protection and that it is our duty to do so The sacred Scriptures do frequently exhort us to trust in and rely upon him and to cast all our care upon him and not to doubt of his help and assistance when we shall stand in great need of it Psal 62.7 8. saith the Psalmist In God is my Salvation and my glory the Rock of my strength and my refuge is in God Trust in him at all times ye people pour out your heart before him God is a refuge for us And Psal 115.9 O Israel trust thou in the Lord he is their help and their shield O house of Aaron trust in the Lord he is their help and their shield Ye that fear the Lord trust in the Lord he is their help and their shield And in many other places in the Psalms are we exhorted to this And this is Solomon's exhortation Prov. 3.5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding And saith the Prophet Is 50 10 Who is among you that feareth the Lord that obeyeth the voice of his servant that walketh in darkness and hath no light Let him trust in the Name of the Lord and stay upon his God In all sad and comfortless conditions are his Servants to have recourse to him and there to rest themselves secure And this we are also exhorted to and enjoined by the Gospel to cast all our care upon Almighty God and to trust securely in him 2 Cor. 1.9 But we had the sentence of death in our selves saith the Apostle that we should not trust in our selves but in God which raiseth the dead And saith
St. Peter 1 Pet. 5.6 7 Humble your selves therefore under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time casting all your care upon him for he careth for you And upon all accounts whatsoever are we to trust in and rely upon Almighty God in all wants and in all dangers both for the obtaining of all such things as are necessary and needful for us and for the avoiding of all such things as are injurious and hurtful to us And 1 We are to trust in and rely upon the Lord Jehovah the living and true God for help and succor in all the wants and needs and necessities that we ly and labor under at any time here in this World We are to rely upon him for a supply to all our temporal wants or food and raiment and of all other necessaries of this life and not to vex and diquiet our selves with carking care and despondent thoughts nor to have recourse to any sinful and unlawful means to furnish our selves with such things as we stand in need of We are to use our own honest endeavours and to call upon him for relief and then to believe that he will supply us with such things as we want so far as he sees it to be needful and convenient for us And this we are more particularly exhorted to in the sacred Scriptures and are therein assured that God will supply us with all such things as we want and have great need of This the Psalmist sheweth Psal 33.18 19 Behold the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him upon them that hope in his mercy To deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine And Psal 34.9 10. O fear the Lord ye his Saints for there is no want to them that fear him The young Lions do lack and suffer hunger but they that fear the Lord shall not want any good thing And again Psal 37.3 saith the Psalmist Trust in the Lord and do good so shalt thou dwell in the land and verily thou shalt be fed Those that do this need not doubt of a supply herein And saith God by the Prophet Isaiah 41.17 18 When the poor and needy seek water and there is none and their tongue faileth for thirst I the Lord will hear them I the God of Israel will not forsake them I will open rivers in the high places and fountains in the midst of the valleys I will make the wilderness a pool of water and the dry land springs of water And our blessed Lord doth exhort us to rely upon God in this respect and dissuades us from all anxiety of mind and carking care about the things of this world assuring us that God will not fail to provide these things for us if we serve him as we ought Matt. 6.25 Therefore I say unto you saith he take no thought for your life what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink nor yet for your body what ye shall put on Is not the life more than meat and the body than raiment Behold the fowls of the air for they sow not neither do they reap nor gather into barns yet your heavenly Father feedeth them Are ye not much better than they And ver 28 And why take ye thought for raiment Consider the lilies of the field how they grow they toil not neither do they spin And yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these Wherefore if God so cloath the grass of the field which to day is and to morrow is cast into the oven shall he not much more cloath you O ye of little faith Therefore take no thought saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or wherewithal shall we be cloathed For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you Our blessed Lord here doth let us know that God having given us life and a body will give us also such things as are necessary for the supporting of them and that he well understands and minds what is needful for us And by God's care of inferior creatures he doth assure us that he will have a greater care of us and will be sure not to fail us herein if we seek his Kingdom and the Righteousness thereof And to this purpose Lu. 12.22 And often are we exhorted by the Apostles to lay aside all solicitous thoughts about these things and to depend upon Almighty God for them It is our duty to trust in God in this respect and if we should be stript of all in this dark Time that is coming upon us we are then especially to put it in practice and to rely upon the good Providence of God and not to doubt but that he will relieve and help us so far as he shall see it to be convenient for us And for a supply to all our spiritual wants and needs are we to rely and depend upon Almighty God We are to make our earnest prayers to him for the assistance of his Grace and Spirit to enable us to do our duty and to overcome all temptations that shall assault us and for all such Graces and Virtues and other spiritual succors that we have need of and then to depend upon him for relief herein And our blessed Lord doth assure us that we shall be sufficiently furnished with divine Assistance if we do so Lu. 11.13 saith he If ye then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children how much more shall your heavenly Father give the holy Spirit to them that ask him And saith St. James 1.5 If any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not and it shall be given him For the blessed assistance of God's Spirit and for all heavenly wisdom and understanding and power to withstand temptations and for all other spiritual aid and help are we to seek to God and to rely upon him for a supply herein and then we shall be sure to be furnished with a sufficiency of them if we seek them as we ought 2. We are to trust in Almighty God in all the Dangers that we at any time shall be exposed to assuring our selves that he will not then be wanting to us And this is the thing which the Text seemeth chiefly to respect as the chapter sheweth We are not rashly and wilfully to run into dangers and so to tempt the Lord but in all the dangers and hazards that we are brought into by the various Revolutions and Vicissitudes of this World or that do any ways casually befal us are we to trust in and rely upon Almighty God for help and deliverance In all times of the Plague and Pestilence and great Sickness and Mortality In all times of War and Bloodshed and great Persecution and Tribulation such as we are
and shattered to pieces by the waves of an adverse Fortune and all'our hopes that depend upon them are then blasted and come to nought And we may see that no man hath ever been placed in such a secure state here but even Kings and Emperors have often been reduced to great necessities and wants and have often had their Lives taken away And this shews that we can have security no where else but in Almighty God In him we shall be sure to find help in the needful time of trouble And hereby shall we be the most freed from all anxious and perplexing thoughts before-hand and have the most peace and satisfaction of mind that can be had at such a time Jo. 16.33 saith our Lord These things I have spoken unto you that in me ye might have peace in the world ye shall have tribulation but be of good cheer I have overcome the world By trusting in God we shall be sure of his blessed and ready help and shall have the peace and quiet of our minds the most of all secured that can be and shall find great benefit and comfort by so doing but yet we must not expect to be wholly freed from trouble when the evil Day cometh nor think that the the Iniquity of the times will be any pleasant spectacle to good men but sorrow and grief to them To trust and rely upon Almighty God in all times of distress and tribulation is a great act of faith towards him and therefore will engage him the more to help and succour us in all our needs and distressed conditions By this do men shew to the World that they do highly honor and magnify him above all and have great and worthy thoughts of him Hereby they make it plainly appear to all men that they do not take him to be a mean and despicable Being that they esteem him to be no weak and helpless Creature that they look not upon him as a fallacious and deceitfull God But that they are fully convinced that he is an Omnipotent and all-wise God that they are well assured of his great Love and Goodness that they doubt not of his Veracity and fidelity that they dare fully rely upon his Word and Promises and dare trust him with their Lives and Souls and all that is dear to them By trusting in Almighty God men do highly honor and magnify him not only in their own hearts and breasts but also in the eyes of the World And for such faith and trust in God is Abraham highly commended in the Word of God Rom. 4. But on the other hand he that trusteth not in him doth greatly debase and Vilify him he sheweth that he is not a God to be trusted in and that he dares not rely upon his Word and Promises and so makes him an unfaithful or helpless God if not both and as the Scripture sheweth 1 Jo. 5.10 doth make him a lyar This is a great act of saith to trust in God in times of great distress and danger and hereby for our greater encouragement shall we engage him more firmly to be our Helper and Protector because we do rely upon him Good men do look upon themselves to be more obliged not to fail such as trust in them and some way or other rely upon them for help and assistance And much more then we may be sure will Almighty God look upon himself to be more obliged to help and succour such as firmly rely upon him alone in all their straits and distressed conditions And the Sacred Scriptures do shew that he will be sure to help such for this very reason because they do faithfully rely upon his Divine Aid and assistance and wait upon him for it This the Psalmist sheweth Ps 37.39 40 But the Salvation of the righteous is of the Lord he is their strength in the time of trouble And the Lord shall help them and deliver them he shall deliver them from the wicked and save them because they trust in him And Ps 91.9 Because thou hast made the Lord which is my refuge even the most High thy habitation There shall no evil befall thee neither shall any Plague come nigh thy Dwelling For he shall give his Angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways And this the Prophet sheweth here Is 26.3 the verse before the Text Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee because he trusteth in thee By trusting in Almighty God we see we shall engage him more firmly to be a Rock of our salvation at all times and he will be sure to save and deliver us in his good time because we trust in him and wait for his almighty Aid And as the Psalmist saith Ps 146.5 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help whose hope is in the Lord his God Fourthly For an exhortation hereto and for our encouragement herein we may see that this hath been the resolution and practice of all good men to trust in the Lord in all the dangers and distressed conditions that they have been brought into When Abraham was commanded to depart out of his own country he obeyed and trusted to the good Providence of God for protection and relief in all the hazardous and necessitous conditions that he should be brought into Gen. 12.1 And saith the Apostle Heb. 11.8 By faith Abraham when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance obeyed and he went out not knowing whither he went He trusted to the good Providence of God in this Pilgrimage that he took in obedience to his command And he always took the Promises of God for truth tho' he could not see how they should be performed And so must we now do if we will be his faithfull and blessed Children Moses put his trust in God and at his command went to redeem and deliver the Israelites out of the hand of a powerful King the King of Egypt Ex. 3 And concerning him saith the Apostle Heb. 11.27 By faith he forsook Egypt not fearing the wrath of the King for he endured as seeing him who is invisible Such was his faith and trust in God that he feared not the wrath of the King but was as couragious as if he had had God visibly by him to help and succour him And this is his encouraging Speech to the Israelites when they were sore afraid being inclosed with the Sea on the one hand and with their Enemies on the other Ex. 14.13 Fear ye not stand still and see the Salvation of the Lord which he will shew to you to day for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day ye shall see them again no more for ever The Lord shall fight for you and ye shall hold your peace And with Faith and trust in God Almighty did he encounter all the oppositions and hazards that he met with afterwards Joshua at God's command and with trust and confidence
thou art there If I make my bed in hell behold thou art there If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea even there shall thy hand lead me and thy right hand shall hold me And saith the Prophet Hanani 2 Chr. 16.9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro thorowout the whole earth to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards him His eyes are employed every where and no place escapes them and with this design too to see what is needful and wanting to all such as have a perfect heart towards him that he may succour and help them And saith Solomon Prov. 15.3 The eyes of the Lord are in every place beholding the evil and the good All places tho' never so far distant and remote from one another ly plain and open before his all-seeing eyes and are never absent from them His eyes and knowledge penetrate thro' all dark and hidden places where secret works are often a hammering out which are concealed from the eyes of the World but are there as visible to him as if they were doing in the open light Psal 139.11 If I say surely the darkness shall cover me saith the Psalmist even the night shall be light about me Yea the darkness hideth not from thee but the night shineth as the day the darkness and the light are both alike to thee Darkness it self will not secure any from his sight and knowledg He by his unconceivable Deity and Godhead fills all places and is every where present and there is no place where any one can hide himself from his knowledg as he himself affirms by the Prophet Jer. 23.24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him saith the Lord Do not I fill heaven and earth saith the Lord There is no place that can be excluded from his eye and knowledg because there is no place whatsoever but he is there And as God's knowledg is extended to all places so is it also extended to all Creatures and to all their works and actions and especially to all the works of mankind There is not one of all his Creatures whereof there are numberless Hosts and Armies that is ever without the sight of his eyes nor is there one action that is done by any of them all that escapes his cognizance but he takes knowledg of it Is 40.25 To whom then will ye liken me or shall I be equal saith the holy One Lift up your eyes on high and behold who hath created these things that bringeth out their host by number he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might for that he is strong in power not one faileth This perfect knowledg hath he of all the Armies of his Creatures And he is privy to all the actions that are done by them all and to all the secret transactions and contrivances that are done or a doing any where through-out the whole earth and to all the secret counsels and retired thoughts and imaginations of mens hearts His eyes are upon the ways of man and he seeth all his goings as Elihu saith Job 34.21 And saith the Psalmist Psal 94.10 He that teacheth man knowledge shall not he know Hereby shewing that it is impossible that he should be ignorant And saith Solomon Prov. 5.21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord and he pondereth all his goings And what the son of Sirach saith to this purpose is very remarkable Ecclus. 23.18 A man that breaketh wedlock saying thus in his heart who seeth me I am compassed about with darkness the walls cover me and no body seeth me what need I to fear The most High will not remember my sins Such a man only feareth the eyes of man and knoweth not that the eyes of the Lord are ten thousand times brighter than the Sun beholding all the ways of men and considering the most secret parts So quick-sighted is he to behold and observe whatsoever is done every where in the most secret and retired corners and all the hidden practices and machinations of men And all men's hearts and private thoughts are all plain and open to his All-seeing eyes It is his prerogative to be the searcher of all men's hearts and to know all that is therein Deut. 31.21 saith God concerning the Israelites For I know their imagination which they go about even now before I have brought them into the land which I swâ—re All things whether past present or to come are perfectly known to Almighty God He is an everliving and eternal God and with his eternity does his knowledg bear proportion He who was and is and is to come knows all things that may be comprehended in these terms There is no such thing as forgetfulness with him and the things that are past cannot be razed and expunged out of his memory but all things that have been done from the very Creation of the World are as fresh and present with him as they were in the very day and moment when they were done For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past and as a watch in the night saith the Psalmist Psal 90.4 And saith St. Peter 2 Pet. 3.8 But beloved be not ignorant of this one thing that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day And saith St. James Acts 15.18 Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world All that has been done from the very Creation of the World remains clear and undefaced before him And all that is to come is clearly seen and known by him Things future are unknown to us and we cannot tell what shall come to pass hereafter except it be some way revealed to us But it is not so with God for he hath all things that are future and to come plain before his eyes This is his peculiar prerogative to have a perfect knowledge of what is to come as the Prophet sheweth Is 41.23 Shew the things that are to come hereafter that we may know that ye are Gods It is God and God alone that knoweth all things future and all that shall be done hereafter even to the end of the World is perfectly seen and known by him And the things too that men would do but shall be prevented and stopt from the doing of them are all within the reach of his sight He knows what they would do if he did not restrain them by his grace and power or prevent them by death He knows all things that can be known and his knowledge is perfect and complete in every respect And this as it ought to make us the more careful what we do because it is done before the All-seeing eyes of God so also will it be a very great ground of our trust and confidence in him For in trusting in the Lord Jehovah we do not
and in one that is able to help and succour us in all our needs and wants and to save and defend us in all our straits and dangers whatsoever and to preserve and bring us to the enjoyment of his Eternal Kingdom in the World to come And therefore we may well trust and rely upon him at all times Fourthly The Lord Jehovah is a God of love and goodness and tender and compassionate of us and therefore we have the greater cause to trust and confide in him at all times His great love and goodness will be a farther assurance to us that he will be a Rock of Salvation to us in all our straits and dangers He is a God of Love and taketh pleasure and delight in all the works of goodness and mercy and is kind and benign to all his Creatures and desireth the good and prosperity of them all especially of all Mankind This St. John affirmeth that God is love 1 Jo. 4.8 He that loveth not knoweth not God saith he for God is love And so again ver 16. And this shews how full of love and goodness he is as if this were all in all And his love and goodness is diffused abroad like the light of the Sun and communicated to all his Creatures Psal 145.9 The Lord is good to all saith the Psalmist and his tender mercies are over all his works And to this purpose Wisd 11.24 For thou lovest all the things that are and abhorrest nothing which thou hast made for never wouldest thou have made any thing if thou hadst hated it His love is universal and extended to all his works and there is none of his numerous Off-spring and Creatures but shall share therein till they exclude themselves from it by their wilful transgressions and provocations and sin against him with a high hand And for all his Creatures doth he provide and take care and feeds them all This the Psalmist sheweth Ps 104.27 These wait all upon thee that thou mayest give them their meat in due season That thou givest them they gather thou openest thy hand they are filled with good And Psal 145.15 The eyes of all wait upon thee saith he and thou givest them their meat in due season Thou openest thine hand and satisfyest the desire of every living thing All his Creatures do experience his great goodness and more especially doth Man do so Our high Creation and the rich preparations that he hath here made for us do shew how full of love and goodness he is towards us And upon this account doth the Royal Psalmist cry out with admiration Psal 8.4 What is man that thou art mindful of him and the son of man that thou visitest him For thou hast made him a little lower than the Angels and hast crowned him with glory and honor Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands thou hast put all things under his feet And he proclaimed himself a gracious and merciful God to Moses Exod. 34.6 And the Lord passed by before him and proclaimed The Lord the Lord God merciful and gracious long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth And this the Psalmist doth often declare Psal 86.15 But thou O Lord art a God full of compassion and gracious long-suffering and plenteous in mercy and truth And Psal 103.8 The Lord is merciful and gracious slow to anger and plenteous in mercy And to this purpose in several other places And saith God by the Prophet Jeremiah 9.24 I am the Lord which exercise loving kindness judgment and righteousness in the earth for in these things I delight saith the Lord. These are the things wherein he delighteth and taketh pleasure And this was the Prophet Jonah's reply to God when he spared Niniveh Jonah 4.2 For I knew that thou art a gracious God and mercifull slow to Anger and of great kindness and repentest thee of the evil And saith St. Paul Eph. 2 4.5 But God who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us even when we were Dead in sins By these and many more places are we taught how full of love and all manner of goodness our God and great Creator is He is no cruel and merciless Being that knows not what belongs to love and goodness but a God of infinite love and kindness and is greatly delighted in doing acts of mercy and beneficence to all mankind For he doth not onely shew himself kind to the good but also to the evil as our Lord hath told us Matt. 5.45 And we may see that he is a God of great pity and mercy and tender of his People in all their sorrows and miseries He takes no delight to see them miserable and to labor and groan under any Affliction and Calamity but is troubled for them and is then forward to help them and therefore we have the greater cause to rely upon him Like as a father pitieth his children saith the Psalmist 103.13 so the Lord pitieth them that fear him For he knoweth our frame he remembereth that we are dust He considereth our weak and frail nature and what need we have of succour and relief and doth pity us as a Father doth his tender and helpless child His bowels will always yearn towards his Servants whensoever they are in any afflicted and suffering condition and he will then pity and help them Psal 12.5 For the oppression of the poor for the sighing of the needy now will I arise saith the Lord I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him And saith he to Moses Ex. 3.7 I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt and I have heard their cry by reason of their task-masters for I know their sorrows and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians Thus did God pity them and was moved with their sorrow and misery and redeemed them with a mighty hand and out-stretched arm And saith the Prophet Zechariah 2.8 For he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye So tender is he of his People And though the Children of Israel did often rebel against him yet so prone is he to mercy and pity that he was ready to help and succour them whensoever they returned and cryed to him for mercy and help This we may see Judges 10.15 And the children of Israel said unto the Lord we have sinned do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee deliver us only we pray thee this day And they put away the strange Gods from among them and served the Lord and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel And saith the Psalmist Psal 106.44 Nevertheless he regarded their affliction when he heard their cry And he remembered for them his covenant and repented according to the multitude of his mercies He made them also to be pitied of all those that carried them captives He cannot shew himself hard-hearted towards his People when they repent and cry
and seek to God and trust in him alone he will never be wanting to us but will be sure to be with us at all times as need shall require And even at the Stake if we should be brought thither will he be with us to support us as he was with St. Stephen Acts 7.55 And even now will the Lord God Almighty assume and take to himself his great Power and will Reign Rev. 11.17 that is will Reign in a magnificent and glorious manner and make mortal men to know in the end that it is He which ruleth in the Kingdoms of men and disposeth of them as he sees good Now will he exert and put forth his Almighty Arm for the protection and defence of his Church and Servants in their forlorn and helpless condition And when we have seen this we are to imitate that Heavenly Assembly of Elders and to sing Alleluja's to him and to return thanks to the Lord God Omnipotent because he hath so visibly set up his Standard here among us and hath Reigned in such a glorious and renowed manner for the preservation of his Church and Servants Now in the end of this dark Time that is coming upon us will the Lord God Omnipotent shake the Earth and the great City too Rev. 11.13 and affright the Inhabitants thereof and make them to give glory to the God of Heaven And then are the Enemies of the Protestant Church to expect that the second dreadful Wo will be executed upon them And in the earth-quake saith St. John were slain of men seven thousand Which number seems to be put not strictly for just seven thousand but for an exceeding great number of men that shall be then slain See the Letter of a Protestant Clergy-man And therefore we had need to take great care that we do not fall to Popery and so perish in this Destruction We ought to take great care that we fall not from God to any sinful practices for hereby we shall do our selves more harm than all our Enemies can do to us By Rev. 11 we may see that Popery shall prevail for three years and an half and that then after this time is exspired the Protestant Church shall be as glorious as ever it was before And from this XI Chapter we have assurance of God's extraordinary help and protection even at this very time that he will in a wonderful manner defend his Church and Servants and fight for them against their Enemies And after this short time of Tryal will exalt them again And this will be an exceeding great Support and Comfort to us in our mournful and forlorn condition to know this before-hand and to be assured of it by Divine Revelation We may even look upon the Divine Consolation that God gave to his People the Jews by the Prophet as spoken to us Is 26.20 Come my People enter thou into thy chambers and shut thy doors about thee hide thy self as it were for a little moment untill the Indignation be over-past With Faith and Patience we may well wait upon God for such a little time when he for wise and righteous ends does permit such a Tragical Scene of affairs to be brought upon the Stage of the world And now to conclude Seeing our God is such a Rock of Salvation against all that can befall us seeing he knows and regards our conditions and all our Dangers and Needs and Wants and is both able and willing to help and succour us upon all accounts seeing he hath given so great Assurance that he will never fail us and be wanting to us if we serve him and trust in him Let us then not be Infidels and Faithless in so clear a Light but let us be prevailed upon to make him and him alone our Rock and Confidence and betake our selves to him at all times of Danger and Distress for help and relief Though we have sinned and been great Transgressors and so given him too great a cause to cast off his protection and care of us yet if we repent and return to him he is prone to mercy and therefore we may chearfully hope that he will yet be our Almighty God and Protector Let us all then bid adieu to all our sinful and evil ways and set our selves seriously and earnestly to seek the Lord of Hosts and then we shall be sure to find him and to find him a Mighty God for us in the needful time of trouble and distress Let us address our selves to him in earnest prayer and fasting that he would be graciously pleased to pass by our Transgressions and to pity and help us in all the perilous conditions and miseries that befal us Let us call upon him with the man in the Gospel Mar. 9.24 to succour and help our unbelief to encrease and strengthen our Faith in him and to confirm our hopes and confidence in his great Mercy and Goodness that we may at all times chearfully depend and rely upon him and never doubt and despair of his Almighty Help and Protection I conclude all with that Collect of our Church ordered to be used upon the fourth Sunday after Epiphany O God who knowest us to be set in the midst of so many and great dangers that by reason of the frailty of our nature we cannot always stand upright Grant to us such strength and protection as may support us in all dangers and carry us through all temptations through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen ERRATA IN the Watchman's Voice P. 19. L. 3. r. forbearance l. 21. r. Romish p. 20. l. 25. r. sinners p. 26. l. 4. r. Jailer l. 15. r. at another p. 43. l. 22. r. we are not In the Letter p. 1. l. 1. r. Laity p. 14. l. 6. r. Angels p. 15. l. 29. r. Papists p. 17. l. 5. r. the Saints p. 22. l. 33. r. that p 23. l. 6. r. Emperors p. 29. l. 18. r. and an half p. 47. l. 6. r. marginal p. 57. l. 6. r. Tranquility p. 58. l. 22. r. of time p. 59. l. 5. r. Rome p. 62. l. 22. r. Providence In the contrariety of Popery c. p. 5. l. 23. r. yea Lord p. 16. l. 2. r. directions l. 26. r. Apostle p. 24. l. 2. r. Not. p. 27. l. 11. r. effected p. 46. l. 16. r. saith he p. 47. l. 5. r. not to marry p. 53. l. 8. r. saith he In the Church's Request p. 5. l. 10. r. Tranquility p. 31. l. 2. r. we were l. 33. r. truly l. 37. r. fulfilled p. 35. l. 5. r. or wise l. 20. r. you p. 36. l. 11. r. confounded In the Exhortation to trust in God p. 9. l. 28. r. thou p. 11. l. 17. r. possess p. 15. l. 38. r. his p. 20. l. 38. r. handy-work p. 22. l. 29. r. subtile P stands for page L for line R for read