THE Churches Plea FOR THE Divine Presence To Prosper HUMANE FORCE IN A SERMON Preached June 5. 1689. Being the Day appointed for a General Fast and to Implore the Blessing of Almighty God upon Their Majesties Arms. By T. CRVSO DEUTER 33.7 Hear Lord the voice of Judah and bring him unto his people let his hands be sufficient for him and be thou an Help to him from his Enemies LONDON Printed by J.R. for Iohn Salusbury at the Rising Sun near the Royal Exchange in Cornhil 1689. THE PREFACE IF ever it were Seasonable since we were a people to sanctify a Fast and call a solemn Assembly we must acknowledge it to be Eminently so when the Wisedom and Piety of our Governours lately put us upon that work What King sayes our Saviour going to make War against another sitteth not down first Luke 14.31 and consulteth whether he be able to meet him that cometh against him But the consultation in such cases may be either Prudential or Religious and when the meer Politician upon the prospect of some visible advantages on his own side is ready to cry out with those forward Sons of Zebedee We are able Mat. 20.22 the serious Christian stops a while and looks higher than any thing here below that the strong God may be united with him before he adventures to contend with the weakest Adversary How far the external strictness in most places upon this occasion was accompanied with internal Zeal the searcher of hearts only can determine whether there was an awe upon mens spirits suitable to the reverence of their Behaviour is not known to us Rom. 14.6 But if they who regarded that day regarded it to the Lord and not as an Humane ordinance imposed against their wills we need not doubt of an happy and prosperous event A Fast which God hath chosen that is when our observation is according to his Institution is a fast which God will blesse a day of the aflicting of souls ushers in a day of salvation to Kingdomes though on the other hand all appearances of Repentance if they are no more than appearances make our sin the greater and consequently may make our destruction the swifter mens burning in unmortified lusts while they are covering themselves with ashes turns the solemn meeting it self into Iniquity Isa 1.13 such a people will be brought lower for their pretended Humiliation and their formal Abstinence shall fatten them for Judgment There is nothing which will more betray the insincerity of that day's services than the total discontinuance of them now certainly the work which we were then called to could not be well done by those who thought it the work of a day great congregrations are not the only places wherein the people of God are to pour out their hearts before him nor is prayer at any time to be restrained till God's favourable Answers stir us up to the offering of praise Isa 62.6 You that make mention of the Lord keep not silence should be a continual remembrance to us of our continual duty that as we have mourned together publickly we may now privately mourn apart and follow God as close with our Single Petitions while the cause remains as we did for a few hours with our Joynt-Requests So might the Kingdom of heaven suffer violence as it were from us and neither the Gates of Hell nor any Enemies upon earth be able to stand before us To this end I very willingly bore a small part in the late General solemnity and should be most glad if I could contribute any thing further by the unwilling publication of the following Sermon for I must own my averseness to this as well as my readiness to the other but if that which the urgent intreaties of some whose undeserved affection to my person may I hope procure them some good by my ministry have extorted from me should issue in the awakening of any to their present duty in seeking the Lord and his strength upon so great and important an occasion Psal 105 4. I shall rejoyce on their behalf and be encourag'd to displease my self more for the profiting of others as well as to run the hazard of those Imputations which Ill will is always apt to cast I have nothing more to detain the Reader in this place with but to beg that the Unaccurate manner of handling may not prejudice him against the matter it self and that he would not be offended with the thing for want of acceptable words let all the weaknesses here discover'd be attributed to the man and if there be any thing truly Edifying and instructive let the honour of it be given to God who hath taught me to account my self as one of The meanest of his Servants though in the Noblest Employment T. C. June 19. 1689. The Churches Plea for the Divine Presence to Prosper Humane Force PSALM 108.10 11. Who will bring me into the strong City Who will lead me into Edom Wilt not thou Oh God who hast cast us off And wilt not thou Oh God go forth with our Hosts THis whole Psalm with very little variation of Words and without the least variation of Matter is borrowed from two preceding Psalms The former part of it is compos'd of the latter part of the 57th Psalm from the 7th verse to the end the latter part is taken out of the 60th Psalm from the 5th verse to the end But whereas that last mentioned Psalm is introduc'd with a most sad and mournful Preface holy David begins here in a more chearful strain as more suited to the present dispensation under which he was When that Psalm was penn'd David seems to have been in actual danger at the writing of this he is thought to have received the Mercy which he prayed for before and he now records his own Experience of God's Goodness to him and powerful appearance for him in former difficulties and straits not only as a standing encouragement to himself and other beleivers then but as a Typical pledge Dickson on the Psalms Vol. 3. p. 94. and earnest of that glorious final victory which should be obtained by the true Militant Church over all her intestine and foreign Enemies under the conduct of Christ her exalted Head and Saviour in the Gospel Times What Davids particular Case was we may easily collect from other Scriptures Before the Death of Saul he had the promise from God of succeeding in the Throne and of the prosperity and flourishing of his Kingdom when he had the possession of it many of the neighbouring Princes and Nations set themselves to oppose him among the rest the Philistines did so Psal 83.6 7 8. and the Syrians the Ammonites Moabites and Edomites of whose Confederacy and conjunction in that accursed Cause the Holy Ghost gives us a distinct account David's engagement in these just and necessary Wars against his and Israel's Adversaries which were continued in some measure till the very birth of
of his mighty Arm when we come back to him Sinners whose Transgressions have been visited are of all others the most likely to be pitied when they become penitents The remembrance of former wounds seems to be an encouraging motive to the Church to look for a gracious Cure Come and let us return unto the Lord Hos 6.1 for he hath torn and he will heal us q. d. he will heal the rather because he hath torn us If God had not cast us off before we should have more reason to be jealous that he would do it now III. The Third Thing which I undertook to shew is that God's favourable help is of most importance to be desired and obtained for the making of our Arms Victorious 'T is true that second Causes have their proper Sphere to Act in but the first is infinitely above them God does not accustom himself in these dayes to render means unnecessary by Miracles but he renders them efficacious by the concurrent exercise of his own power As God does not raise up children to Abraham from the stones but propagates an holy Seed in an ordinary way so he does not defend us meerly by Invisible Legions of Angels when there are Men to be employed for such a purpose When God was about to make David King in spite of all his opposers he so turn'd the hearts of the Tribes of Israel 1 Chro. 12.22 that they came to him to help him day by day till it was a great Host like the Host of God. He that rules in the Armies of Heaven makes use of Armies upon Earth too and manages their military acts for the fulfilling of his own ends God speaks of commanding Isa 13.3 4 5. and calling his sanctified ones and mustering them for the battail and making them the weapons of his indignation to destroy the Land of Babylon Josh 5.14 Jesus Christ appeared as chief Captain of the Host of the Lord when Joshua was their visible Leader The sword of the Lord had the preheminence Judg. 7.18 when the sword of Gideon was drawn also Though David went as Champion against Goliah he gives the glory of those Titles to God the Lord of Hosts the God of the Armies of Israel 1 Sam. 17.45 Therefore he cries out here in the Text to God Wilt not thou go forth with our Hosts alluding as some conceive to God's marching before the Israelites in the cloudy Pillar Psal 68.7 which was an Emblem and Token of his presence Indeed 't is the presence or absence of God which makes the event of all Warlike Expeditions either good or bad Deborah animates Barak with this that Sisera would certainly fall into his hand Judg. 4.14 because the Lord was gone out before him and on the other side the Psalmist complains that God made them turn back from the Enemy Psal 44.9 10. because he went not along with them Creatures like our selves have their part to perform but Almighty Aids are the principal thing Upon this account Moses was not contented with the guidance of an Angel without the presence of God himself If thy presence go not with me Exod. 33.15 carry us not up hence implying that it was to no purpose for them to move if they left their God behind them God's going forth with Armies is eminently advantagious to them in several respects which I shall reduce to these four Heads First By enduing them with skill and prudence for their proper work Multitudes of persons are call'd to this service that were never trained up it may be by tedious discipline nor have had opportunity of improving themselves by frequent practise according to the methods and rules of Art whom God nevertheless can instruct to discretion in this employment as he does the Husbandman in his Isa 28.26 He who is wonderful in Counsel v. 29. as well as excellent in working does therefore many times chuse even in this case the foolish things of the World to confound the wise men that have but little experience and as little wisdom of such a sort to foil the greatest Commanders with 1 Sam. 17.33 What was David but a raw stripling that ran from the Sheepfold to the Camp c. 18.5 and in a little while he was set over the men of War and made himself so famous that the slaying of ten thousands was ascribed to him v. 7. and but thousands to Saul the true cause of which is mentioned afterwards v. 12. the Lord was with him And David himself makes a particular acknowledgment of it Psal 144.1 Blessed be the Lord my strength which teacheth my hands to war and my fingers to fight He that understood only how to handle a Crook or play upon a Harp must needs be taught of God when he came to meddle with weapons of War. God can make those men considerable Helpers in a victorious Battel whose Folly and Ignorance we might rather suspect to hinder it Secondly By Inspiring them with Courage That God who hath put such a Nature into the Horse which being a Brute is not capable of the same impressions as a Man that He mocketh at fear Job 39.22 c. and is not affrighted neither turneth he back from the sword c. What a vigour can he easily diffuse by his unseen influence into the spirits of reasonable Creatures It is thought that Balaam refers to this when he says concerning Jacob and Israel Num. 23.21 the Lord his God is with him and the shout of a King is among them The Presence of God with a People creates such an extraordinary chearfulness and joy as when a Just and Gracious Prince comes into the Field and is receiv'd by his Subjects and Souldiers with Universal Acclamations it fills them with such Life that they can look innumerable Deaths in the face without paleness or dejection they value nothing that stands in their way having the Encouragement of such a Leader There is no such fortitude in the World as that which proceeds from this very cause the undaunted Christian Souldier does far exceed the Roman for a Divine Principle and Motive must needs carry men a great deal further than a Moral What hardships will he rejoyce to endure what dangers will he prepare to meet who feels an Immanuel God with him How does this strengthen mens Hearts and Hands and raise them to a more than Heroick pitch This quicken'd Jael one of the feebler sex to do execution upon the mighty Sisera and hath often prompted small Handfuls of men to be the bold Assailants of the most unequal numbers Thirdly by the prevention of Enemies from making any remarkable resistance This God does where he is present two wayes viz. in blinding and terrifying of them First In the blinding of Enemies I do not mean Literally as God did to the Sodomites who would have offer'd violence to Lot and to the King of Syria's Troopers that were sent
thee from every wicked thing i. e. then especially above all other times Thirdly Link your pleas by Faith to the Intercessions of Jesus Christ. Faith ought to be found in all our wrestlings with God and fightings with men or else we shall onely beat the air in both This is that which hath subdued Kingdoms Heb. 11.33 34. and dispersed whole Armies of the Aliens Vnbelief will spoil the good effects of our Repentance and of all our other Duties and endeavours to pacify God or defend our selves Indeed we affront God more by distrusting him than we can any other way Now the best way to support our Faith and to secure the return of our Prayers is to engage Christ as our Advocate with the Father He is that Angel who pleaded for Judah and Jerusalem Zech. 1.12 at the end of the Captivity in Babylon and whom God immediately answered with good and comfortable words Zech. 1.13 If the hands of this Moses be held up in the Mount for our English Israel we shall certainly prevail against the Popish Amalek here in the Valley Fourthly Eye not private Revenge nor personal Safety in your Requests but the Glory of God. A single Eye and a pure intention in the pouring out of Prayer upon such publick occasions is the most material Circumstance Jam. 4.2 3. As men may lust and have not or fight and war and yet have not so they may ask and receive not because they ask amiss God will not work to gratifie our Malice and hatred of others or to indulge our Love of Carnal Ease but for the advancing of his own name Let this worthy end be design'd by us and God will be very ready to listen to what we say and to forward what we do but if instead of being stirr'd up by unfeigned Zeal for God we are transported with heat of Passion and thirst after Blood we may justly look for a disappointment The Temper of David when he prayed with respect to his Enemies is very imitable slay them not Psal 59.11 but scatter them and bring them down O Lord our sheild He did not desire the death of these sinners but onely the subversion of their power so should we be very well contented though God do give our Enemies a longer space of Repenting if he cut off their further opportunities of sinning Self must not be too much concern'd in any of our Petitions we should not aim so much at our own rescue from fear and danger as that the name of God may be lifted up above Blasphemy and Reproach Plead therefore for Victory with him that you may be able to Triumph in his Praise Fifthly Be not too positive and peremptory as to the time and manner of Deliverance from those Enemies whom our Hosts do go against For this is not pleading with God but prescribing to him If we are supplicants for mercy we ought not to be the chusers of our own methods for receiving and enjoying it Such things should be freely left and submitted to God who is best able and hath most right to order and appoint them To say we would have Salvation just now and in such a way whether God judge it expedient or no is not to intreat with Humility but to dictate with Confidence If God Refuse to joyn with some Instruments and will have others put up in their room we are not to murmur with impatience but acquiesce with thankfulness If God do not give in the Victory at the first Assault but will make us wait for it and hold out our expectations till we are almost ashamed we should be satisfied and look upon the Divine will as the fittest rule and measure of our own Particular Events perhaps many times may not be answerable to our desires but yet the final issue may Heb. 11.30 By Faith says the Apostle the walls of Jericho fell down after they were compassed about seven dayes Sixthly Do not forfeit the benefit of Assistance and succor from God by sinful trusting in man. There is a vast difference between making use of Armies and Navies and placing our confidence in them Ships and Souldiers must not be made our Gods for this will provoke the true God to leave us to them and withdraw himself and whoever they are that unite with us or stand up for us it may be truly said Wo unto us Hos 9.12 if he departs from us When we make Creatures the Objects of our Faith they become the occasions of our Misery and when we set them up as the Pillars of our Hope they are turned into the Means of our ruine It is the wretched folly of Mankind that they know not how to keep Creatures in their due place they cannot employ them without depending on them Isa 31.1 Wo to them says God that stay on horses and trust in horsemen but look not to the Holy one of Israel neither seek the Lord perhaps they seek him in appearance while they are observing such days as these but indeed they onely mock him their applications to God are only a formality because they solely expect their deliverance from other hands So commonly do we lose the advantage of the Arm of the Lord and break or wither our Arms of flesh by leaning too much upon them The oftner we have committed this error heretofore the more let us beware of it now Quest. II. The Second Question which I proposed to answer and close this subject with is what encouragements have we to hope that God may go forth with our hosts and bring us into the strong Cities of our Enemies upon our taking of such a course as hath been before directed I shall mention three things to this purpose and Conclude The first ground of hope which we have is this that the people are God's for whom this War is undertaken the body of them are his by Profession and many I doubt not among them are his in reality Our Enemies cannot say so much for they are not of the Church of God but of the Synagogue of Satan as they themselves are bad so their very profession is Anti-Christian We may take with us the words of the Jews in reference to their Enemies we are thine Isa 63.19 thou never barest rule over them They have put themselves under another head who exalteth himself above all that is called God they make mention of the names of Saints and Angels and not of Gods only They are the open Enemies of the true Faith of Christ while we are at least the visible Asserters and maintainers of it Hence we can plead a relation to God which they cannot and we have large experience of His Affection to us beyond most people in the World. There are many things which confirm this truth that the Lord loveth our Nation and therefore we may hope that he will deliver us because he delights in us so that these Kingdoms which have been his rest so long