as silver nor gold from your vain Conversation received by tradition from your fathers but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot Therfore séeing here the unsearchable riches of Gods love to his people Oh! let us glorifie God in our members and double our diligence in his service The Fourth Ground or Reason Why Gods people shall never be forsaken is drawn from the great care God hath over them God hath purchased them at a very high rate and that which a man buyes dear he will be very unwilling to cast away God therefore sets a continual guard over them Psal 91 11. to the end He shall give his Angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy wayes they shall bear thee up in their hands least thou dash thy foot against a stone c. Gods care over his people is such that they that will but truly rest upon him he will not suffer an hair of their heads to perish as you may sée Mat. 10.30 Acts 27.34 Beloved God hath ever béen his peoples kéeper He that keepeth Israel never slumbreth nor sleepeth Psal 121.4 Isa 27.3 He ever taketh care of his own Inheritance The Fifth Ground or Reason Why God will never leave nor forsake his people is drawn from the Promises of God made over unto them God hath promised his Presents to be with them to the end of the world Mat. 28.20 God hath promised them deliverance from trouble Job 5.19 He shall deliver thee in six troubles and in seven no evil shall touch thee Gods promises to his people are either absolute or conditional those which are conditional God looks that believers should fulfil the conditions close with the promise it is to believers only that the promises are made Acts 2.39 For the promise is to you to your children to all that are afar off even as many as the Lord our God shal call The Sixth and Last Reason Why God will never leave nor forsake his people is drawn from the high esteem God hath of his people He values them at a high rate they are his own peculiar treasure Fxod 19.5 Psal 35.4 For the Lord hath chosen Jacob to himself Israel his peculiar treasure God esteems them above all people of the earth Deut. 10 15. They are his Jewels Mal 3.17 They are his precious ones in whom he delights And therefore God hath a high Estéem of them they are his beautified ones in whom he sées no deformity Cant. 4.7 Thou art all fair my Love and there is no spot in thee The Lord Iesus Christ sées a Beauty in them and so he estéems them And thus you sée it 's plain God will never leave nor forsake his people that wait upon him as it appears First In respect of his Love to them Secondly In respect of his Choice of them Thirdly in respect of the price of their redemption Fourthly In respect of his special care over them Fiftly In respect of his Promises made over unto them Lastly In respect of his great Esteem of them Lēt us now therefore with all diligence set about to make our Calling and Election sure 2 Pet. 1.10 Let us take our blessed Apostles Counsel laid out for our instruction 2 Cor. 7.1 Having these Promises dearly beloved let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness of flesh and Spirit perfecting Holiness in the fear of God Oh Souls let it be all your care and endeavour to honour your Heavenly Father Consider seriously beloved you can never do too much in the Service of God live up every day in new obedience to God God hath given you a sure word of Promise Oh! do not loyter in the Lords Vineyard hath God Chosen you for his People Oh! up and be doing the work of the Lord Consider seriously our God is a Holy God he cannot endure the unfruitful works of darkness let not any Afflictions you méet with in the Body or Estate draw you from God upon any accompt Satan is very full of policy and a most cunning Sophister Wherefore that you may be the better enabled to encounter with him in the first place take unto you the whole armour of God and Secondly by the examples of other precious servants of the Lord labour to strengthen your graces and build up your selves every day as objects to follow such examples First take unto you the whole armour of God which Armour is recorded Ephesians 6.13 14 15 16 17. And indéed every piece of this Armour is precious tryed mettel the which being cloathed with makes the Soul beautiful in the sight of God and will make you able to stand in the evil Day For if you but seriously Consider it here is first Truth to you presented in the Form of a Girdle Truth is that that should be the very girdle of your Loyns it is that that makes you like to your Heavenly Father it imprints the Image of Iesus Christ upon you John 14.17 17.17 And Secondly The brest plate of righteousness is a most famous and rare piece of Armour and turns back all those bolts fiery darts of Satan from the heart of a true Believer this imprints in you the name of a precious Redéemer who is called the Lord our Righteousness Thirdly There is another piece of this armour for the féet having your féet shod with a preparation of the Gospel of Peace so that we must be active in this our spiritual Warfare with all our members our féet must be made swift and prepared to run in all the wayes of Gods Commandements until we come to this everlasting Prince of Peace In the Fourth place here is the great weapon of our Warfare the Shield of Faith which we are Commanded above all others to take 't is that whereby we are made able to quench all the fiery Darts of the wicked as Faith is the most rarest and excellentest above all other Graces so it s a weapon that will not be turned back as saith the Author to the Hebrews 11.1 Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen Fiftly Here is the Helmet of Salvation which is a most rare piece of Armour for a Believer to put on and to close with Iesus Christ who is the Salvation of his People Luke 2.30 And Lastly Here is the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God to attend this great Weapon of your Warfare the Shield of Faith which is that Weapon you should Continually gird upon your Thigh alluding to that in the 45 Psalm the 3 and 4 verses Gird thy Sword upon thy Thigh O most mighty with thy Glory and Majesty and in thy Majesty ride prosperously because of Truth and meekness and Righteousness and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things This Sword of the Spirit is a most prevalent Weapon and Beloved may sometimes be alluded to the Sword of the Lord and of Gideon
SAINTS Blessed for ever OR Gods People never forsaken Asuring every true Believer of their Blessed Estate and Condition very profitable to read and comfortable to every Believing Soul that truly fears God Being a rich Portion of Gods love to his People and worthy to be kept in memory for ever Together with several perswasions to poor Sinners to leave their sins and come to Christ by Repentance By Roger Hough Psal 37.25 I have been young and now am old yet have I not seen the Righteous forsaken nor his Seed begging bread London Printed by E. Crowch for T. Vere at the sign of the Cock in St. Johns-street 1667. Licensed May the 4 th 1667. RIch Treasures wee in earthen-vessels find Oft I have been considring in my mind God his own People never will forsake Eternally them to him he will take Reverend Readers this in mind recall His word shall stand when other things shall fal Oh do not doubt but daily make request Unto the Thrown of Grace with humblness Give God the glory which to him is due His Word and Promises will daily comfort you Saints blessed for ever c. Hebrews 13.5 Let your conversation be without covetousness and be content with such things as ye have For he hath said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee AMongst all other precious promises God hath made to his own poor people this is not the least which is communicated by the Author of this Epistle to the Hebrews so that those whom the Lord hath chosen for his own people by vertue of this Promise may holdly say as in the following verse The Lord is my helper and I will not fear what man shall do unto me In this text of Scripture we have several things considerable as first a double Exhortation branching it self into two Heads first consisting of our Conversation Let your conversation be without covetousness secondly consisting of our Contentment and be content with such things as ye have And then you have the ground or reason of all in this assured Promise of God For he hath said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee For the first Exhortation against the sin of Covetousness ye have the evil of this sin laid out in the words of our blessed Apostle Paul to Timothy Tim. 6.9 10. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition For the love of money is the root of all evil which while some have coveted after they have erred from the faith pierced themselves through with many sorrows Now secondly for the second thing here exhorted unto which is Contentedness you have the good of it laid out in these words as in 1 Tim. 6.6 Godlidess is great gâ—in with contentment And vers 8. And having food and raiment let us therewith be content This lesson our blessed Apostle had learned himself and therefore from experience teacheth it to all that truly fear God Phil. 4 11 Not saith he that I speak in respect of want for I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content The like we read of good Jacob he being blessed by his father and sent to Padannarâ—m there the Lord appear'd to him in a vision at Bethel confirming and making good this very Promise unto him amongst several others Gen. 28. ver 15. Behold I will be with thee and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest and will bring thee again into this land for I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of This good man notwithstanding layes out this his Contentedness in the 20 and 21 verses saying If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go and will give me bread to eat and raiment to put on so that I come again to my Fathers house in peace then shall the Lord be my God Now as touching this assured Promise of God to his people which is the very Ground and Life of all our Performances and Duties and comfortable to the heart of every true Believer is written for our learning in these words For he hath said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee It represents it self unto us in full assurance that Gods people shall never be forsaken of God or thus God will never leave nor forsake his people though they may fall sadly under afflictions and Gods hand of correction may lye upon them yet they shall never be forsaken though Zion may say as in Isaiah 49.14 The Lord hath forsaken me and my Lord hath forgotten me yet the Lord answers vers 15. Can a Woman forget her sucking Child that she should not have compassion on the Son of her womb yea they may forget yet will I not forget thee saith the Lord. These promises of God are in several places of Scripture recorded and all to assure Gods people that they shall never be forsaken God was with good Jacob in his way to Padannaram also with Moses by whom he wrought great signs wonders in the land of Egypt before Pharoah in the red Sea in the wilderness and these precious promises hath ever attended Gods people in their greatest adventures It was made to good Joshua Deut. 31.8 Joshua 1.5 As I was with Moses so I will be with thee I will not fail thee not forsake thee all which compared together holds forth to us the truth of all which is this That God will never forsake his people God will be with them as well in their poverty as prosperity as well in their afflictions and tryals as in the time of their flourishing estate and condition God will be with them in all times of persecution God was with Israel in Egypt with Joseph in prison with Moses at the red Sea and in the Wilderness with the Three Children in the fiery Furnace with Daniel in the Lions den with Jeremiah in the dungeon with Peter and John and with Paul Silas in prison this Promise was renewed made good by our blessed Saviour himself when he gave his Disciples their Commission Matt. 28.20 Lo saith he I am with you to the end of the world Now séeing beloved such precious promises of God are of such concernment to Gods people I shall onely as I have opportunity and room in this small volumn First shew you Who they are that may be owned to be really the people of God Secondly I shall give you some Grounds or Reasons why Gods people shall never be forsaken Thirdly This will aford several Cautions to the people of God to labour and strive to make good their standing in the way of an holy profession whereby they may put on the whole Armour of God and walk by the examples of other precious Servants of the Lord. And in the last place A loving invitation to poor Sinners inviting them to leave their sins and come to
Judges 7.20 It puts to flight all those Spiritual Midiâ—nites and Enemies of our poor Souls So Beloved you may sée hereby what a rare thing it is to have on this whole Armour of God it Fortifies a Believer on every hand Secondly By the Example of other precious Servants of the Lord labour to strengthen your graces and nourish every Branch thereof Every tender Plant of Knowledge the Lord bestows upon you nourish it if you be sure it procéeds from a right Principle otherwise if you perceive it is not according to the Mind and Will of God and you have no strength for the same in the Arm of Faith to smite with the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God cast it away have nothing to do with such a Principle as is Erronious and Corrupt First Doth God call you to Exercise your Faith Look upon the Example of your Father Abraham who had many Tryals upon that very account and yet he chéerfully through Faith under-went all until it came to the very touch stone of all Tryals which was the Offering up of his Son Isaac of whom it was said That in Isaac shall thy Seed be called and yet Abraham goes fréely to the Altar accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead Heb. 11.17 18 19. Secondly Doth God call you to Exercise your Hope Consider that Faith and Hope go both together where the one is the other cannot be wanting For Faith is both the Substance and Evidence of our Hope Heb. 11.1 For what can we hope for except we have Faith to believe Thirdly Doth God call you to Exercise your Patience Look back upon the Example of good Job who undergoes the hand of the Lord so chéerfully and patiently that he cryes out at the last Though he slay me yet will I trust in him Job 13.15 If you will but look back upon some of the Lords Servants of old you may learn by them your Duties Learn with Abel to get acceptance with God with Enoch to walk with God with Noah a Preacher of Righteousness to get into Gods protection Learn with Abraham to act your Faith with Jacob to wrastle with God with Joseph rather to submit to Prison then to dishonour God with a lustful Mistris Learn with Moses Méekness with David Repentance with Solomon Wisdom with Job Patience with Jeremiah Lamentation for the Sins of the People Learn of our blessed Saviour Iesus Christ to take up your Cross and follow him séeing the goodness of God hath so appointed it that his People shall never be forsaken Oh! do not you fail in your performances Consider God hath not made his Choice of you in vain he hath Loved you Chosen you Redéemed you taken Care over you made out his Promises unto you and Estéems you above all others therefore labour you every day to be Acting in a way of holy Profession And now Beloved to apply this Truth in a way of Invitation is my whole design at this time though much might be said upon several accounts yet the main end of what I have more to say is To invite poor Sinners to come to Christ by Repentance Sinners you hear God will never leave nor forsake his own people they are his own Inheritance his peculiar Treasure his beloved ones in whom he delights And you will hear that dreadful Sentence passed against you at the last if you do not Repent and come to Christ for Salvation Mat. 25.41 Depart from me ye Cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels Without Repentance there is nothing of Comfort for you but this dreadful Sentence of Depart from me ye workers of Iniquity Matth. 7.23 Luke 13.3 I tell you nay but except you repent ye shall all likewise perish As the joy and comfort the people of God shall enjoy in heaven is beyond the reach of the eye of man to sée the ear to hear the heart to conceive and the tongue of man to express So the misery of the wicked in Hell is beyond both the eye to sée the ear to hear the heart to conceive and the tongue to express Oh Sinners its indurable misery it begins with you with a dreadful Sentence but it will never end when Thousands of years are passed over your misery is never the less your Torments still endure and ye have never less years to spend your Torments will be as fresh as ever they were Oh! therefore I pray you Sinner come to Christ leave of your Sins and beg earnestly for pardon and remission of your sins the Lord hath passed a righteous Iudgement against Sinners you cannot lay the cause of your misery upon another Ezekiel 18.20 The Soul that sinneth shall die the Son shall not bear the iniquity of the Father neither shall the Father bear the iniquity of the Son the Righneousness of the Righteous shall be upon him and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him Nor you cannot lay the cause of your misery upon God Ezek. 33.11 As I live saith the Lord God I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that the wicked turn from his way and live Turn you turn you from your evil wayes for why will you die O House of Israel Oh Sinners Why will you not come to Christ methinks I hear a great Complaint against you from the blessed word of God John 5.40 And ye will not come to me that you might have life Oh Sinners Consider there is no way to be saved but to come to Christ the way to Heaven is by Faith in Iesus Christ Acts 16.31 Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy House Now that you may the better be encouraged to come to Christ and to close with him Consider these few things following First Christ invites poor Sinners to come Mat. 11.28 Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden and you shall find rest for your Souls Sinners be encouraged to close with Christ when ever he calls defer not your times put it not off till to morrow when God calls then is your day when Christ invites be you willing to close with him for then is your acceptable day of Deliverance if you will but diligently obey Be you therefore ready to receive his offer for then is the time of Love Oh! poor Sinners when ever Christ knocks at the doors of your hearts be you ready to receive him and be sure you open to him lest he say at the great day of Iudgement Away from me ye workers of Iniquity I call'd you at such a time and the very checks of your Consciences told you that you were in a way of destruction and if you had then repented and obeyed my voice and opened unto me I would have met you and have opened unto you the everlasting gate of Mercy but now away Depart from me I know you not Secondly Consider Christs Invitation is frée it s upon frée terms Isaiah 55.1 Ho every one that thirsteth Come to the waters and he that hath no Money come ye buy and eat yea come buy wine and milk without money and without price Come along poor Sinners here 's frée Invitation for you from a blessed Master that will ever perform what he saith verse the 7th 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 Dost thou want Faith beg earnestly of God for it say Lord I believe help my unbelief strive with all thy strength to obtain this precious grace of Faith Thirdly Consider poor Sinners Iesus Christ hath promised That whosoever comes unto him he will in no wise cast out Joh 6.37 And you have it here confirmed That God will never leave nor forsake his people Oh! therefore be perswaded to come to Christ and to close with him and do not you think that godliness is a solitary life and dubious unto you if you will but seriously consider there is more true joy in one hour in holy company if they be such as truly serve God in all his wayes and Commands then all the World can afford thée otherwayes Fourthly Consider Sinners as you come to Christ and forsake your sins you come into the Verge of his Prayers Christ prayes for all them that are given him of the Father but he prayes not for the world Joh. 17.9 While you lye in your sins you are as dead men you cannot come to be sharers with any of the Lords Servants in our Saviours Prayers to his Father Oh! therefore be perswaded to come to Christ and to close with him Lastly Consider Sinners what Iesus Christ hath done to Redéem your souls from Hell if you will but come unto him Isaiah 53 5. He was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisment of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed Iesus Christ hath shed his precious Blood to Redéem our Souls from misery Oh Sinners therefore be perswaded to come to Christ leave your former courses destroy that Enemy of your precious Souls and close with this blessed Saviour and he will receive you into his Favour and so you will come to be of that blessed Number that shall never be forsaken To Conclude All at this time which I have to say unto you I beséech you beloved take along with you this excellent Exhortation of our blessed Apostle Paul 1 Thess 5. 21 22 23 24. Prove all things hold fast that which is good Abstain from all appearance of evil And the very God of peace Sanctifie you wholly and I pray God your whole Spirit and Soul and Body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ Faithful is he that calleth you who also will do it For the which Coming and blessed Appearance the Lord for his mercy sake grant we may all be Prepared to receive the swéet Bridgroom of our Souls unto all Eternity for evermore Amen FINIS