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
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
now to expect and in all perilous and dangerous conditions and circumstances whatsoever are we to trust in his good Providence and Protection and to expect help and relief from him We are not to be afraid for the terror by night nor for the arrow that flyeth by day nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness nor for the destruction that wasteth at noon-day Psal 91.5 6. We are not so to be afraid of these or the like as to despair of mercy and help from Almighty God but at all times and in all places where we are threatned with any dangers we are to have recourse to him in prayer and then to rest securely upon his divine Help and Assistance and to know that he will be a very present help in all our trouble as the Psalmist saith Psal 46.1 And we are further assured of his blessed help at such times in several other places of his sacred word Psal 91.3 saith the Psalmist Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler and from the noisom pestilence He shall cover thee with his feathers and under his wings shalt thou trust And God doth give his People great assurance of his Help and Protection when they have great need of them by his Prophet Isaiah 41.10 Fear thou not saith he for I am with thee be not dismayed for I am thy God I will strengthen thee yea I will help thee yea I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness Behold all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded they shall be as nothing and they that strive with thee shall perish Thou shalt seek them and shalt not find them even them that contended witb thee They that war against thee shall be as nothing and as a thing of nought For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand saying unto thee fear not I will help thee This large exhortation and great encouragement doth God give to his People to rest themselves securely upon him and not to fear their enemies which should thus vanish away and come to nought And if we firmly trust in God we may expect that this promise will be made good to us now and that our enemies shall thus vanish and come to nought And he promiseth to be with his People in all the great dangers that they are brought into Is 43.2 When thou passest thorow the waters saith he 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 And even at the Stake if it should please God to suffer us to be brought thither are we to confide and trust in the Lord Jehovah and to expect that even then he will be a Mighty God and Saviour to us and furnish us with extraordinary help and strength fit for such a Fiery Tryal He that hath promised to be with his People and Servants when they pass thorow the fire and water will be sure to be so with them when there shall be this great occasion for his assistance We are to trust in the Lord for ever and upon no account whatsoever to distrust him and despair of his mercy and succor and help Thirdly We may see that such are blessed and happy that place their Trust and confidence in Almighty God and securely rely upon him and that this will engage him the more firmly to succour and protect them at all times especielly when they most of all want his help and assistance This the Psalmist doth often assert that such are blessed that put their Trust in him Psal 2.12 saith he Blessed are all they that put their trust in him And Psal 34.8 O tast and see that the Lord is good blessed is the man that trusteth in him And Psal 40.4 Blessed is the man that maketh the Lord his trust and respecteth not the proud and such as go about with lyes In these places doth he shew how blessed and happy such men are And saith Solomon Prov. 16.20 Whoso trusteth in the Lord happy is he And saith the Prophet Jeremiah 17.7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord and whose hope the Lord is For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters and that spreadeth out her roots by the river and shall not see when heat cometh but her leaf shall be green and shall not be careful in the year of drought He is blessed because he shall find comfort and refreshment when an evil Time cometh and will not be so shaken and terrified with it as others are like to be And in several places do the sacred Scriptures shew what great good shall be to such as wait and rest upon God and trust in him alone Psal 31.19 saith the Psalmist O how great is thy goodness which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men And Psal 32.10 Many sorrows shall be to the wicked saith he but he that trusteth in the Lord mercy shall compass him about And Psal 34.22 The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate And Psal 125.1 They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion which cannot he moved The Psalms we see are very full to this purpose exhorting men to trust in Almighty God and assuring them that they shall find great benefit and advantage in so doing And saith God by the Prophet complaining of the infidelity of his People towards him Is 57.13 When thou cryest let thy companies deliver thee but the wind shall carry them away vanity shall take them But he that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land and shall inherit my holy Mountain To such doth he promise the inheritance of his land and holy Mountain that make him their Rock and Trust And such as shall now trust in him in this great Day and dark Time that is coming upon us I hope will now be preserved to inherit his land here and holy Mountain This trusting in God is that which alone must afford us comfort and refreshment in the midst of all our sorrows ond miseries that befall us here And this will be sure to do it and will free us the most from all solicitous care and anxious thoughts about the Concerns of this World and set our hearts the most at rest that can be here Such is our condition here in this World that we shall always be lyable to wants and dangers and can have no other security of freedom from them The Revolutions of this World are so various and frequent and our condition here so uncertain that we must of necessity be often exposed to an indigent condition and great hazards and there is no securing our selves against them by all the humane Arts and subtilty that we can use For these are soon frustrated
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
in his almighty Power and Divine Protection went against all the Kings of Canaan and did not fear to encounter and set upon them when they were many of them confederated together and had united their Forces as we may see Joshua 10 Job expresseth very great trust and confidence in almighty God Job 13.14 Wherefore saith he do I take my flesh in my teeth and put my life in mine hand Tho' he slay me yet will I put my trust in him He was resolved still to trust in God and to wait for his salvation notwithstanding he was in such a miserable condition that he seemed almost to be deserted and forsaken of him David also sheweth what great faith and confidence he put in Almighty God When his own Companions were ready to stone him he strengthened himself herewith 1 Sam. 30.6 And David was greatly distressed for the People spake of stoning him because the soul of all the people was grieved every man for his Sons and for his Daughters but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God And often in the Psalms doth he declare his great confidence in Almighty God And saith the Psalmist Is 46.1 God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble Therefore will not we fear tho' the Earth be moved and tho' the Mountains be carried into the midst of the Sea Tho' the Waters thereof roar and be troubled tho' the Mountains shake with the swellings thereof And Ps 118.6 The Lord is on my side I will not fear What can man do unto me And saith the Prophet Isaiah expressing his own confidence in God as he was taught and teaching the People also to do the like Is 12.2 Behold God is my salvation I will trust and not be afraid for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my Song he also is become my salvation The Prophet Habakkuk also is very full to this purpose declaring how he would put his whole trust and confidence in the Lord and joy and rejoyce in him when all earthly comforts and supports were vanished and taken away Hab. 3.17 18. Altho' saith he The Figtree shall not blossom neither shall fruit be in the Vines the labor of the Olive shall fail and the field shall yield no meat the flock shall be cut off from the fold and there shall be no herd in the stalls Yet I will rejoyce in the Lord I will joy in the God of my salvation The totally taking away of all these should not make him to despair but he would still trust in the Living God and expect succour and comfort from him So great was the faith of the three Children that they bid defiance to Nebuchadnezzar the great Babylonian Monarch and all that he could do and slighted all his great Threats of a Fiery Furnace assuring themselves that the God of Heaven in whom they trusted could deliver them even out of the very jaws of Death and out of the Pit of destruction Dan. 3.16 O Nebuchadnezzar say they we are not carefull to answer thee in this matter If it be so that is that thou cast us into the fiery furnace Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and he will deliver us out of thine hand O King But if not be it known unto thee O King that we will not serve thy Gods nor worship thy golden Image which thou hast set up So little did they regard all his terrible and frightfull Threats And with trust and confidence in Almighty God did the Apostles encounter all the Powers and Oppositions and Dangers and Necessities that they met with By these and such examples we may see that this hath been the Resolution and Practice of all pious and religious men to put their trust in Almighty God at all times of great Danger and Need and to rely upon him for this blessed Help and Assistance And this shews that it is our duty to do so and is an encouragement to us to rely upon him for his never-failing Help and Succour when we have no means of helping our selves but are in a most helpless condition as now we are like to be in II. We have here the reason wherewith this exhortation and precept is backed and why we should trust in the Lord for ever and that is because of his sure and certain Help and Assistance at all times For in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength or the Rock of Ages This is an usual thing in the Word of God to call Almighty God a Rock because he is a most sure and firm Refuge to all such as fly to him for succour and help upon all accounts Moses doth often call him a Rock Deut. 32.15 But Jesurun waxed fat then he forsook God which made him and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation And vers 31. For their Rock is not as our Rock even our enemies themselves being judges Hereby meaning that their God and Protector was not like the God that protected and defended the Jews even in the judgment of their Enemies And in several other places in the sacred Scriptures is Almighty God called a Rock And by God's being called the Rock of Ages here we are to know that he will be a most sure and never failing Protector Deliverer and Succourer to all such as have recourse to him at any time for his divine Help and Assistance and that there is no reason to doubt and despair of it if we truly serve him and wait upon him for it as we ought And this I shall endeavor farther to shew by several particulars in shewing that there is in him all that is requisite to make him an Universal Almighty and Eternal Protector and Helper to all such as trust and confide in him And First We have the greater reason to trust in the Lord Jehovah the living and true God because he is Omniscient and knows every thing He is not a God that is short sighted and in a great measure ignorant of the Concerns of this World or of our particular State and Condition here for this would render him unfit for being so certain and sure a Rock of our trust and confidence in all our exigencies and dangers But he cannot be in the least thought deficient herein because he knows all things whatsoever without all exception that are comprehended within the compass of the whole World God saith St. John 1 Jo. 3.2 is greater than our hearts and knoweth all things So universal is his knowledg that nothing is excluded from it His knowledg is general and is extended to all places in the whole World As all the parts of the whole Universe are the work of his hands so all ly naked and open to his view He that fills Heaven and Earth is every where and has all the World plain and clear before his piercing eyes And this is often affirmed in the sacred Scriptures Psal 139.8 saith the Psalmist If I ascend up into Heaven
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
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