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
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
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
AN EXHORTATION To TRUST in GOD And not to Despair of his HELP And fall from Him in this dark Time of Popery that is coming upon the Church Written by Digby Bull M.A. and late Rector of Sheldon in Warwick-shire LONDON Printed for the Author and are to be Sold by John Whitlock near Stationers-Hall 1695. Isaiah XXVI IV Trust ye in the Lord for ever For in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength SUCH is the uncertainty and instability of this restless world at all times that we can place no Trust and Confidence therein nor in any of our Possessions and Enjoyments here below having but an uncertain Tenure of them at the best and may be soon dispossest and turned out of them And so wavering and unconstant is our Condition here that we must confess with the Patriarchs of old that we are like strangers and pilgrims and wanderers here upon the earth and have no fixed and sure Abiding here or any Rock wherein we may securely repose our Hopes and Confidence Nor does it seem to be the will of God that we should be placed in such a sure and secure condition here lest we should be like the Jews of whom it is said in that Song of Moses Deut. 32.18 Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful and hast forgotten God that formed thee And too great a security here will be apt to make us like them and to do so too For the greater exercise of our Faith and Trust-in Almighty God do we seem to be placed here in a more unsetled and mutable condition wherein we are like some times to be exposed to great Straits and Dangers and Necessities and Wants and wherein we shall stand in great need of the Divine Help and Assistance of Almighty God and are in an especial manner then to call upon him for it and to trust in and rely upon him and shall then be sure to find him ready to succor and help us so far as he sees it to be convenient for us and so far as shall be sufficient for us And through the great wickedness and corruption of Mankind and the sinful Children of this World is our Condition here like to be the worse and we must expect some times to be exposed to great distress and hazards and to have our very Lives perhaps too to lie at the Stake and shall here find no help nor succour to deliver us from our Fears and Dangers but must have recourse to Almighty God alone for help and deliverance from all our Distresses and Hazards whatsoever And now have we cause to expect great Trouble and Perplexity and that we must undergo the peril of losing our very Lives and shall have more than ordinary cause to fly to Almighty God for Refuge and Help and Protection For I am confident that the time is now nigh at hand wherein Popery will prevail over the Protestant Church for a time and we must expect very sharp threatnings from the Papists when they have once gotten the upper hand And therefore have I made choice of these words of the Prophet for the Subject of my present discourse wherein all the true Servants of God are exhorted to put their Trust and Confidence in Almighty God at all times and are assured that they shall find him a never-failing Refuge to all such as have recourse to him and rely upon him Trust ye in the Lord for ever For in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength In these words then we have these two parts I. An Exhortation or Command to trust in the Lord at all times Trust ye in the Lord for ever And II. The reason wherewith this Exhortation and Precept is backed and why we should do so 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 as it is in the margent and in the Hebrew I. An Exhortation and Command to trust in the Lord at all times God requires this of us both as a Duty towards him that we should firmly rely upon his word and prom ses and place our whole Trust in him at all times And also for our own support and comfort and to chear our heavy hearts in all times of Distress especially such as this which is now coming upon us That we should then rest and depend upon him for his divine Help and Assistance and securely place our Confidence in him with full assurance that he will not then forsake and fail us And First We are hereby taught to put our Trust and Confidence in no other and to rely upon and confide in nothing else In being commanded to trust in the Lord Jehovah we are tacitly hereby forbidden to trust in any other God or to place our trust and confidence in any thing else besides him And this is the first Commandment of the Decalogue that we should have no other Gods before him But in placing our chief trust in any thing else we perform an high act of religious duty thereto and give God's honour and due to another and do hereby in a great measure make it a God And we may see that we are forbidden by positive commands to trust in any thing else besides Almighty God and that a Wo and Curse is pronounced against such and that they are like to find no good in so doing We are forbidden to trust in Riches and to place our Confidence in our worldly wealth and earthly treasures Charge them that are rich in this world saith St. Paul to Timothy 1 Tim. 6.17 that they be not high-minded nor trust in uncertain riches but in the living God This is but vain confidence to place any trust in them as the Apostle here sheweth And saith Solomon Pro. 23.5 Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not For riches certainly make themselves wings they fly away as an eagle towards heaven It is great folly as well as sin to rely upon them For as he saith Prov. 11.28 He that trusteth in his riches shall fall And in no stead in the needful time of trouble will they stand him in that relies upon them as Solomon also sheweth Prov. 11.4 Riches profit not in the day of wrath When there is the most need af all these will then signify nothing to a man's safety and security And in this dark time which is coming upon us I conceive that they will rather add to the sorrow and misery than to the comfort and safety of such as are the great Masters of them And to dissuade us the more from trusting in them and to shew us the great mischief in so doing we may take notice of what our blessed Lord hath said viz That such as do so shall very hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven and are in great danger of perishing eternally Mar. 10.23 And Jesus looked round about and saith unto his disciples How hardly shall they that have riches
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
will stand good against him seeing all the wisdom of others is but folly with him and he taketh the wise in their own craftiness and confoundeth the counsels and policy of the Subtle and returneth them upon themselves at his own pleasure This will be a farther ground of our trust and confidence that we are to repose and put in him In trusting in him we trust not in a foolish and unadvised Person that undertakes such a Charge that he does not well understand and is not wise enough to manage and protect But in trusting in the Lord Jehovah we trust in a God that is infinitely wise in all respects and knows how to manage all the Charges and Cares of an universal Patron and Protector and is such a God for wisdom to whom we may well commit the care of our Souls and Lives and all that is pretious and dear to us Thirdly He is a God that is Omnipotent and Almighty and can do every thing and therefore we have the greater reason to trust and confide in him He is no weak and and impotent creature but a God that is armed with all the Might and Power that can be and therefore we may well account him the Rock of our Salvation I am the Almighty God saith he to Abraham Gen. 17.1 walk before me and be thou perfect And in these two respects especially may God be said to be Almighty 1 Because all Rule and all Dominion and Power of Governing all things doth in a most absolute manner belong to him He is the great and only Monarch of all the World and all the Armies and Hosts of Heaven and Earth are under his Authority and Power and at his absolute command He is the Supreme Lord of all and all the Angels above and the Powers of Darkness and all Earthly Kings and Princes are but his Ministers and Servants and must all observe his Orders and obey his word and command For the Lord your God saith Moses Deut. 10.17 is God of Gods and Lord of Lords a great God a mighty and a terrible which regardeth not persons nor taketh reward And saith St. Paul 1 Tim. 6.15 Who is the blessed and only Potentate the King of Kings and Lord of Lords He is the Supreme King over all the Kings and Emperors of the Earth and as he sees fit he exerciseth his Authority and Power in all the Kingdoms of the Earth and placeth and displaceth all Kings and Princes as he sees good This the Prophet Daniel sheweth Dan. 4.17 To the intent saith he that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the Kingdom of men and giveth it to whomsoever he will and setteth up over it the basest of men And ver 25 saith he to Nebuchadnezzar They shall drive thee from men and thy Dwelling shall be with the Beasts of the Field till thou know that the most High ruleth in the Kingdom of men and giveth it to whomsoever he will And saith he Dan. 2.20 Blessed be the Name of God for ever and ever for wisdom and might are his And he changeth the times and the Seasons he removeth Kings and he setteth up Kings And so saith the Psalmist Ps 75.6 For promotion cometh neither from the East nor from the West nor from the South But G d is the Judge he putteth down one and setteth up another He disposeth of the Kingdoms of the World and ordereth whom he pleaseth to rule therein and there is no man can have any Power therein except it be given or some ways granted and allowed him from above as our blessed Lord told Pilate Joh. 19.11 Jesus answered Thou couldest have no power at all against me except it were given thee from above No Man can have any Authority except it be some way allowed him by Almighty God who is the Supreme King and Disposer of all Power and Authority And he is an everlasting King and his Dominion is without end and endureth to all Eternity Jer. 10.10 saith the Prophet there But the Lord is the true God he is the living God and an everlasting King at his wrath the earth shall tremble and the Nations shall not be able to abide his indignation And saith the Psalmist Psal 145.13 Thy Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom and thy Dominion endureth throughout all generations There is no end of his Kingdom and his supreme Power endureth for ever 2 God is Almighty in regard of his infinite Power whereby he is able to effect and bring all things to pass He is Almighty in Operation and there is nothing too hard for him which he cannot do and therefore he may be said to be Omnipotent He hath all power of doing whatsoever he pleaseth and all the Power and Strength that is in all Creatures is derived from him and hath continual dependance upon him and in this respect he may well be said to be Almighty It is in him that we all live and move and have our being as the Apostle affirmeth Acts 17.28 And there is no resisting and withstanding of his Power and nothing can hinder him from doing any thing that he pleaseth to do For the Lord of Hosts hath purposed saith the Prophet Isaiah 14.27 and who shall disanul it and his hand is stretched out and who shall turn it back And saith God by him Is 43.13 Before the day was I am he and there is none that can deliver out of mine hand I will work and who shall let it There is no resisting and withstanding of him but all must truckle and give way to his Omnipotent Power And saith God to Abraham Gen. 18.14 Is any thing too hard for the Lord hereby declaring that all things are possible and feasible to him And this doth Job acknowledg Job 42 2 I know that thou canst do every thing and that no thought can be withholden from thee And saith the Prophet Jeremiah 32.17 Ah Lord God behold thou hast made the Heaven and the Earth by thy great Power and stretched out Arm and there is nothing too hard for thee And the Angel declared this to the blessed Virgin Luc. 1.37 For with God nothing shall be unpossible saith he And this our Lord sheweth Matth. 19.26 But Jesus beheld them and said unto them with men this is unpossible but with God all things are possible He can turn and change every thing at his own will and pleasure He can create and form things that are not out of nothing and annihilate those that be and let them return to nothing again All things that thwart not his justice goodness and truth he can do And his power is an eternal power and will never fail nor decay He is an everliving God and his Arm and Power will never be shortened nor diminished Rom. 1.20 saith St. Paul For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made even his eternal Power and Godhead But we shall the better