faithfullnesse else we should perish hourly in our divisions distempers and the provocations wherewith we tempt the Lord We are filled with drunkennesse we dash one against another and yet his eye pitieth and spareth and we are not perished we are divided divisions are multiplied the Kingdome divided within it selfe the Church divided within it selfe and yet behold we stand We read in the word that a Kingdome divided within it selfe cannot stand we read also and who trembles not at the reading It is easier for Heaven and earth to passe then one title of the Law to fail What shall we say hath God revoked his word hath he repealed his sentence surely he suspendeth it and we hope it may passe away unfulfilled England may be the instance of exception from that generall rule a Kingdome divided within it selfe cannot stand Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisedome and knowledge of God how unsearchable are his judgements and his wayes past finding out We are a froward and perverse generation we do not receive correction we are sick of our remedies impatient of our cure discontented with our mercies murmuring at our deliverance lingring back in our hearts to our former bondage not beleeving the Lord for all the signes which he hath shewed amongst us yet the Lord bears with us in great patience forbears to turne our enemy breaketh not in upon us to destroy us but gives us liberty to humble our souls and pray before him and suffers himselfe to be intreated and proclaimes his Name The Lord the Lord gracious and mercifull slow to wrath abundant in goodnesse and truth keeping mercy for thousands pardoning iniquity transgression and sin and that will by no means clear the guilty Oh that we could make haste and bow and worship and glorifie God and be thankfull Truly if we bring all our story into view we shall finde nothing on the part of men but wickednesse or weaknes madnesse and folly and on Gods part nothing but wisedome and power grace and patience mercy and truth met together and justice shining in an infinitie of goodnesse To gather the whole matter into a short summe Confusion hath or might have covered us but together with the smoak of the furnace a lamp hath been seen to walke between the divided pieces many evident testimonies of the goodnesse of our God condescending in the remembrance of his Covenant to walke amongst us in paths of mercy and truth The fire hath broken out into a flame and it hath taken hold upon us round about and we are no better then a dry bush before it and yet by the good will of God abiding among us as when he dwelt in the bush destruction is inhibited intercepted and prevented daily The presence of God in the glory of his majesty hath been so tempered as to us like the spirit moving upon the waters at the creation it is refreshing reviving and we hope refining and reforming or at least preparing for the production of order and peace with truth while to our adversaries set as briars and thornes against him in the battell our God is a consuming fire Now what shall we say to these things Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodnesse for his wonderfull workes to the children of men May I say it again and again treble the repetition as the Psalmist doth on like and lesse occasions Psal. 107. Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodnesse and for his wonderfull works to the children of men Oh that I could lift up my voice as the Angel his trumpet at the opening of the seals and perswade to come and see that we may together magnifie the worke we behold and exalt the praises of our God Come and see the work of the Lord what desolation shall I say nay rather what prevention of desolation what preservation he hath wrought in the Land There is desolation I confesse and great terriblenesse in the desolation but there is abundance of goodnesse outshining it in the extraordinary wayes and workings of deliverance by the good will of our God Come and see the worke of the Lord The worke of the Lord is great done openly before us as on a theatre a manifold worke of mercy done in wisedome fearfully and wonderfully done and is worthy to be sought out and pried into of all them that have pleasure therein there is a mine of blessings folded up in it and there may be a mint of pleasure and profit in the contemplation How precious should the thoughts of God in all of it be unto us Who so is wise will consider these things and he shall understand the loving kindnesse of the Lord Let us make observation of that wherein our God is glorious and we are advantaged of every thing whereby he makes himselfe known and we are or may be made blessed in the course of his extraordinary providence over us for good and pause and dwell upon the contemplation with meditation with deep and serious consideration with all intension and elevation of the heart alwaies Let the worke and praises of God be celebrated with admiration praise him according to his excellent greatnesse indeed there is no praise comely proportionable to the transcendent excellency of Gods majesty but admiration praise waiteth upon thee saith the Psalmist or as the Hebrew more significantly hath it praise is silent or silence before thee it is impossible to comprehend much lesse to expresse all that belongeth to his praise our eyes can as well read and measure the greatnesse and brightnesse of the lights in the firmament of Heaven as our hearts can discerne and display the glory of God Who can utter all the mighty acts of the Lord who can shâ—w forth all his praise as the bright shining of the Sun beams in a reflection by a glasse is far lesse then the lustre of the Sun it self and the return by an Eccho is very imperfect and short of the voice when much is said and many speak together so the glorifying of God by men is infinitely disproportionable to the excellent glory that shines in his marvellous works the best praise of his providence is humble acknowledgement with reverence and adoration Let us therefore praise him according to his excellent greatnesse And let us publish his praises and not hide them in our hearts but together with the burning on the hearth let there be light and heat shed abroad that others also may be provoked to glorifie God and be thankfull I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty and of thy wondrous works I will declare thy greatnesse They shall speak of thy glory and talke of thy power they shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodnesse And as much as in us is let us propagate the glory of God to posterity and ages to come one generation shall praise thy works to another
of the brest and the wombe which are the other part of the legacie of Joseph be all by the good will of God Yet it may well be denied to be the truth held forth in this Text doubtlesse something divers from all those some singular thing in the failing of them supplying their absence recompensing that want is intended by the Holy Ghost here viz deliverance in trouble and deliverance from trouble deliverance wonderfully and fearfully wrought out 1. Else there were nothing here to answer that of Gen. 49. 23 24. support and succour in times of danger and distresse The Archers sorely grieved him shot at him hated him but his bowe abode in strength and the armes of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob 2. The word rendred good will may also signifie any thing whereby God will manifest his grace and good pleasure and so the Septuagint takes it here 3. The other word also translated dwelling may import such a dwelling as when the cloud abode on the Tent of the Congregation and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle a residence in grace and power testified by some open manifestation worthy the majesty of God a neighbourhood or neernesse for protection and safeguard in a glorious way and is so interpreted by the Prophet Isa 4. 5 6. And the Lord shall create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion and upon her assemblies a cloud and smoake by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night for upon all the glory shall be a defence 4. It is a plain allusion to the miracle recorded Exod. 3. A Bramble for such was the bush God made choice of for the more apt expression of the mysterie and manifestation of the miracle A Briar a most contemptible and combustible shrub all on a light flame yet neither withering nor perishing but green and flourishing in the very fire A just embleme both of their low estate in miserable oppressions nigh unto ruine utterly unworthy to be beloved and of the wonderfull worke of God by his great wisedome and power saving them from the mischief of the Aegyptians craft and cruelty and redeeming them from under their hand by great judgements Ye know the vision Exod. 3. 2. and the interpretation thereof vers. 6 7 8 9 10. and the story that we read in the Chapters following what was then shewed what was spoken and what was afterwards done in pursuance and performance thereof Unto that gracious providence figured and promised in that apparition Moses hath an eye in this Text praying the like for Josephs posterity in like case of hazard and danger and bequeathing it to them as the best part of their portion for to strain it to the preservation of the virginity of Mary in the conception and birth of Christ the triumph of our Saviour crowned with thornes or the incorruption of his body in the grave under the dominion of death as the Popish Commentators do or to restrain it to the Prophecie of Ahijah to Jeroboam as some other expositors because he had rule over the charge of the house of Joseph is altogether unwarrantable if not absurd Having thus found the meaning of the Text I beleeve your thoughts out-runne me and take up the doctrine before me A peculiar extraordinary providence in favour of a wretched people in whom is neither might nor worth is an extraordinary peculiar blessing both the whole series and webb of such a providence and every remarkable passage of it Every overture of mercie and grace in a time of trouble every assay of deliverance though the salvation be not presently perfected nay though many crosse providences intervene that raise many difficulties and make the present state more grievous more perplexed yet if God revive his work and there be such things done by his hand as carry in them a testimony of his compassion a pledge of his faithfullnesse an evidence of his neernesse to relieve and rescue it is to be acknowledged a very great happinesse When a nation is not worthy to be beloved and the rod of Gods displeasure is put into the hands of bloudthirsty and deceitfull men and they help forward the affliction and there be little or no probability of better condition by men or means if then the Lord will make offer and tender of his good will and one may discerne in his workes in his waies a gracious propensitie and purpose to redeem though in the prosecution thereof there be such various and uneven dispensations of providence as may give occasion to the enemy to be hardned and insolent and the other side to be discouraged and dejected yet if God so temper his judgements as his own people shall feel the benigne and comfortable and the Adversary the hurtfull and destructive effects thereof he will step in to restrain or inhibit or prevent the fraud or fury of the enemy and take the advantage of their animositie and attempts to glorifie himselfe in shewing forth his wrath and making his power known upon them and the mean-while continue to protect and repeate and multiply wonders in favour of his people to the confusion of the adversary it must be confessed a very great mercy transcending the good of peace and plenty Though that may be doubted which some have affirmed that the brightnesse of the flame of the fire in the bush did darken the brightnesse of the Sunne at noon-day yet this must be believed that the blessing of adversity is better then the blessing of prosperity What ever the opinions of vain men may be concerning this thing yet all those who have stood on the same side with the Spirit and word of God have ever been of this judgement Let us hear two or three speak for all the rest 1. What else can we make of that expression of Ezra words that come from the very heart root and speak affection to admiration And hath given us such deliverance as this Why what was this deliverance that he could not finde words to expresse it 'T was but a deliverance in the shell barely disclosed deliverance in the blade not the ear in the spring not the harvest they could not then eat of the fruit of it as the light in the twilight not the noon neither light nor darke or rather both in a mixture and vicissitude The books of Ezra and Nehemiah will informe you or if it be too much to read the story the Psalme will tell us Their captivity was turned yet so as they needed to pray still turne again our captivity O Lord they were not restored to that from which they were fallen either for number of people abundance of wealth or liberty or beauty of order in the Civil or Ecclesiasticall state more persons had fallen in some one battell before the captivity then were inrolled at their returne from Babylon David alone of his own proper good had contributed more
and Titles that are relative to such a providence and the blessings of it then by any other in another way It s very observeable the Lord delighteth to be known and godly men to acknowledge him He frequently glorieth and they glorifie him in the notion and under the names of Saviour deliverer redeemer and the like Thirdly Many provisions were made by God and good men for preserving and publishing the knowledge and remembrance of such providences and mercies Anniversary festivals were instituted and solemnized divers monuments erected names given to persons and places proverbiall speeches taken up records kept Journals Annals Chronicles written of them the History of the Bible and a great part of the Bible is history what is it but a webb of such wonders like a rich piece of imbroyderie most pleasing to the eye a light worke upon a sad ground of other matters it may be said as of the story of those who gave themselves to mechanick and secular imployments 1 Chron. 4. 22. These are ancient or obsolete things things held unworthy of memory there were no memorials of them but there was a law for the recording of these and all means used to contribute an infinitie an eternity to their fame and the glory of God in them Lastly If the affections of men and their expressions may speak any thing in the praise of this blessing we finde that also in the Scripture for they otherwaies blessed the God of their mercies for these then for other blessings they celebrated the praise of God in these Psalmes and songs of thanksgiving with all largenesse of heart and elegancie of speech It s strange what apprehensions the very Heathens seemed to have of the excellencie and preeminence of this blessednesse and by what fictions they represented their fancies But when the holy men of God made recognition of the wonders and advantages of an extraordinary providence they spake in such straines not of fancie but affection as never men spake no not themselves but at such times and on such occasions Beside the light we have by the testimony of Scripture we may evince and perswade the truth of the doctrine by evidence of reason and experience and truly we need all manner light and proof for it is a Paradox like Sampsons riddle meat out of the eater and sweet out of the strong but we may easily finde it out if we will consider the wayes of God in such a season either in their reference to himselfe or unto his people These two things seriously pondered and without prejudice will clear the truth and perswade an acknowledgement The workes of God in the way of extraordinary providence do make most visible most clearly visible the invisible things of God even his eternall power and God head His workes are wonders wondrous workes mighty acts terrible deeds such as declare his greatnesse as shew the glorious honour of his majesty the glorious majesty of his Kingdome He gives abundant evidences of his presence in dreadfull manifestations so that all eyes are made to behold him and every tongue to confesse to him We may read his Name in Capitall flourishing letters written as with a Sunne beame glorious in holinesse fearfull in praises doing wonders We may behold him as a man of warre in his compleat bright armour as a King in his royall robes glorious in his apparell He saw and there was no man and he wondered that there was no intercessour therefore his own arme brought salvation to him He put on righteousnesse as a brest-plate and an helmet of salvation upon his head He put on garments of vengeance for a cloathing and was clad with zeal as with a cloak We may see that which Moses sings The Lord triumphing gloriously in the greatnes of his excellencie overthrowing those that rise up against him We may see him working all in all a blessed sight and which makes them blessed that have the happinesse to behold it as holding some proportion with that beatificall vision in Heaven where God shall be all in all And this fairly leads up to the other Secondly Then he communicates his goodnesse with his people most eminently then he rides upon the Heavens for the helpe of his beloved and in his excellencie on the skie he discovereth himself openly and seasonably in a way befitting his unsearchable greatnesse for their relief and help He walks amongst them in paths of mercy and truth both his hands full of blessing First In such times he deals out the blessings of the right hand the most sure mercies the light the support the supplies and the comfort of his word and Spirit the triall of grace the increase of grace the fruit of grace blessings much more precious then gold that perisheth though it be tried in the fire then he chuseth his people avoucheth challengeth redeemeth ransometh them and avengeth himselfe upon their enemies Then he lifteth up his hand and maketh himselfe known to them He wakeneth their ear prepareth their heart and fealeth their instruction Then he convinceth and humbleth them purgeth away their drosse takes away their sinne washeth their filth their bloud and refineth them by the spirit of judgement and by the spirit of burning Then he gives a spirit of prayer and supplication and is nigh unto them in all things they call upon him for They shall call on my Name and I will hear them I will say It is my people and they shall say The Lord is my God Then he openeth the book of his remembrance written before him for them that fear the Lord and thinke upon his Name and he maketh them up as his jewels or speciall treasure and spareth them as a father his own sonne that serveth him Never doth the Church and people of God enjoy more of God and more eminently then in the times of their trouble when he comes down to redeem them with great judgements Secondly In that time also the Lord dealeth out the best blessings of the left hand the most beneficiall mercies deliverances indeed all providence in such a season is deliverance so Ezra looks upon it And hast given us such deliverance as this So God himselfe interprets that to which my text alludes I have surely seen their affliction and I am come down to deliver them All the blessings received or possessed in such a season are but the appurtenances and additaments to deliverance and so the Psalmist confesseth in Psal. 136. a Psalme that hath none like it in all the Psalter while he summes up all the story of Gods extraordinary gracious providence in this acknowledgement And hath redeemed us from our enemies for his mercy endureth for ever 1. Now redemption is a most manifold blessing from much evil to much good ye cannot look upon deliverances as single kindnesses they are pregnant mercies full of good have many mercies in the wombe and bring forth abundantly 2. They are the
most acceptable refreshing reviving mercies like a bright shining after rain hot gleams in uneven weather between showres the brightest beams and of strongest influence like the honey Jonathan tasted in the wood he put his hands to his mouth and his eyes were enlightned like the water Sampson dranke in his faintnesse when he had drunke his spirit came again even as life from the dead Grace hath been shewed from the Lord our God to leave us a remnant to escape that our God may lighten our eyes and give us a reviving in our bondage 3 The blessings of such a providence are mercies of the best relish as the fruits in Paradise of Gods own creating farre exceeding any at any time since produced by art or nature as the water out of the rock pleasant as honey and oyl He made them suck honey out of the rock and oyl out of the flinty rock as the wine by miracle at Cana the best wine better then the purest bloud of the grape the master of the feast being witnesse who if any was sober and able to discerne they are more immediately of Gods working and more immediately reached out of his hand and therefore the good that is in them is more pure and heavenly savouring more of his all sufficiencie and more universally answering and satisfying the desires of the soul like the Manna which fell in the wildernesse bread from Heaven Angels food The Jewish tradition saith it was able to content every mans delight and agreed to every mans taste serving the appetite of the eater and was tempered to every mans liking according to the desire of them that had need And the Canonicall Scripture seems to favour it Numb. 11. 8. The taste of it was as the taste of oyl now they that love oyl tell us that pure oyl is to the taste as clear glasse to the eye it receiveth much of its favour from that wherewith it s mingled as glasse doth its colour from that by which it s laid 4. They are the most present convincing testimonies of Gods grace such as bring along with them the clearest and fullest revelation of divine favour for they are wrought out not only in great patience and longsuffering but in tender compassion abundance of goodnesse and therefore more sweetned then other mercies The Lords portion is his people he kept them as the apple of his eye as an Eagle fluttereth over her young spreadeth abroad her wings taketh them beareth them so the Lord alone did lead them in a kinde of sympathy and fellow feeling of their miseries in all their affliction he was afflicted in his love in his pity he redeemed them and he bare them and carried them all the daies of old 5. They are blessings given in in returne of their prayers in answer of their longing desires and earnest expectations the harvest of their hepes and therefore reaped in with great joy and gladnes 6. They are sent as messengers and witnesses of Gods truth and faithfullnesse in remembrance of his ingagements by relations covenant or promise and therefore speaks comfortably to the heart of those that hope in him I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters for I know their sorrows and am come down to deliver them 7. They are intended for pledges in earnest of others to follow them good Osses or Omens of more to come as we finde in the end of the Chapter Happy art thou O Israel saved by the Lord thine enemies shall be found lyars unto thee and thou shalt tread upon their high places like the signes which Moses and Aaron wrought before the Elders of Israel Exod. 4 30. they are dispensed to beget a confident expectation and to keep life in the faith and hope of the poor of his people that wait upon him and therefore make them rejoyce in hope incouraging to look forward with confidence and chearfullnesse He hath delivered he doth deliver in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us 8. They are set off with such a foyle as render them far the more amiable and acceptable viz. the sense of misery the fear of ruine the unquietnes and perplexity of a misgiving minde held in continuall doubt and suspence a very manifold uncomfortable darkenesse which prepares the heart as the rubbing of a bladder to receive good of God with more enlarged affections and dispose the spirit to drinke in the contentment more abundantly and increase and multiply the joy and thankefullnesse in the acceptation 9. Of all blessings these come the lest look'd for and therefore the more welcome for though nothing is more desired yet nothing is more despaired then preservation or deliverance in the needfull time of trouble 10. And lastly which makes the measure heaped and running over in such a season there are multitudes of these mercies of both kindes as we say of stormy weather when the Sunne breakes out between clouds there are many fair daies in one there is a repetition and multiplication of mercies the father of mercies openeth his hands wide and filleth plenteously with good redeeming the lives of his people from destruction He crowneth them with loving kindenesse and tender mercies the God of their salvation daily loadeth them with benefits he dealeth out his blessings as Masons lay their tiles covering and binding down one with another for he sees all their afflictions and proportioneth out consolation though not according to their fond or froward wishes yet according to their infirmity and necessity which by reason of manifold tentations require frequent repeated and multiplied tokens of his dwelling amongst them in good will All these things may be seen by the light of the flame in the bush they may be all read in the story whereof the vision to which the Text refers was the praelude They fall with in the observation of those who are so wise as to consider the works and ways of the Lord and are found in the experience of them who have the happinesse to acquaint themselves with God and to wait for him in the wayes of his judgements And by all these laid together it s very evident that if the good things of prosperity may be wishedâ— yet the excellent things of adversity are and ought to be admited and if there be any thing worth the name of a blessing to be found here below in the valley of change it is then when we are in the valley of straits under a cloud and God covereth us with his hand and sheweth his glory making his goodnesse to passe before us even in troublesome times when the providence of God worketh extraordinarily in favour of us Now what remaineth but that we make improvement of this doctrine for Gods glory and our own edification A doctrine most seasonable for this time and this day a time wherein the Lord of glory
which fled from under their jurisdiction and how nigh we were brought to Rome ere we were aware of it When these things were thus were we able to have rescued our selves from under the hands of those who dealt cunningly with us and evil intreated us and laid those sore burdens upon us Were we worthy that the Lord should look upon our afflictions and send to deliver us Did we so much as understand the drift and depth of those designes then on foot the methods the arts and wiles of those powers and spirituall wickednesses in high places with whom we then wrestled Were we duly sensible of the dangers wherein we were of the hazards which we ranne I beseech you let it not be forgotten how unexpctedly how seasonably how marvellously how graciously the God of our mercies prevented us and visited us to redeem us And as he whose Name is Wonderfull did wonderfully in the first turning of the wheel in like manner he hath wrought gloriously for his Names sake in the whole carriage and advancing of his great worke of preservation and deliverance When God began to worke his signes among us did we understand that he meant to give us such deliverance as this did we imagine those things possible which our eyes have been made to see When the woman took up the stool to cast at the head of the Dean when the Service-book was read at Edenborough did we dream that by that means as was hinted in the morning all the Bishops in the three Kingdomes should be set besides the cushion When our Brethren the Scots began to gather together to consult about and petition against the invading of their priviledges when they were necessitated to take up armes for their just defence did those Incendiaries who blew that coal intend to gather the people of these Kingdomes to the battell of the Lord against Antichrist and his Popish Priests and when there was an appearance of warre was it probable that that little cloud in the North should have risen against the winde and spread so farre and the storme fallen so heavily upon that party who first provoked them to it In the beginning of this Parliament when the manifold oppressions and grievances of the Church and Kingdome began to be represented by petitions who did imagine there had been such a blessing in that cluster that that despised day of small things should have been prolonged and prospered into such a probability of reformation In the beginning of this summer at the time when Kings go forth to battel what likelihood was there of so many daies of rejoycing in so short a space that the daies of publike thanksgiving should strive in number with the daies of solemne humiliation Let us draw yet a little neerer to behold this great sight and see if names and places and such like circumstances being changed the late and present waies of our God amongst us be not like to those which Moses looks at in this Prophecie Or if I may not take the liberty because the time is short to compare particulars yet give me leave to offer these remarkable things to your observation In the generall it must be acknowledged that the Lord hath his way in the storme and his fury is poured out like fire but withall this cannot be denied nay it ought to be confessed to the praise of God that even all that cloud hath been light to us-ward and darkenesse to our enemies we have found by the good hand of God upon us a very great moderation of judgements a marvellous mixture of mercies and therein wide difference put between us and them Hath he smitten us as he smote those that smote us or are we slaine according to the slaughter of them that are slain by us They have been many times lift up for their greater fall but we have been alwaies remembred in our low estate and redeemed from the hand of our enemies we have been at our wits end by the difficulty and perplexity of affairs the Lord hath made the storme a calme and brought us out into unexpected enlargement when we have stood on the brinke and precipice of ruin he hath sundry times snatched us off and set us in more safe estate what we have managed weakly and what they have attempted confidently and watchfully God hath over-ruled for great good and advantage to us and while they are left to themselves to abuse the providences of God to the exciting and inflaming of their own animosity the enraging of their spirits and the hardening of their hearts our God whose dwelling is amongst us in good will offers more grace to us because he hath compassion on his people he hath caused the trumpet to be blown to the solemne assembly and he sendeth his messengers to preach submission and conversion to God repentance and amendment of life and we hope that the names are more then a few that learn righteousnesse and mourn in Sion and wait upon God in the way of his judgements True it is there is no such Prophet amongst us to whom God speaks face to face as he did to Moses that can reveal the secrets of Gods counsel concerning the circumstances of the manner and end of this unnaturall warre but great is the company of Preachers that interpret the revealed will of God concerning our duty and the waies of our salvation which is more necessary and more profitable for us to know neither is there any one singular person that is such an eminent mediatour as Moses was that can fall down before the Lord 40 daies and 40 nights together and neither eat bread or drinke water because of all the sins we sin in doing wickedly in the sight of the Lord to provoke him to anger yet doubtlesse there be many that are afraid of the anger and hot displeasure of the Lord and the spirit of grace and supplication hath been poured upon many and there be many that steppe daily into the gappe and wrestle with God and prevaile The power and the wisedome of God who is wonderfull in counsell and excellent in working hath been very glorious in a world of providences in favour of us every where we may behold with open face the glory of the Lord in a world of wonders oh Lord how manifold are thy works in good will thou hast done them all we may say with amazement what hath God wrought and what Nation is there who hath God so nigh unto them as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for or at any time since the Bible was written hath God assayed to preserve and prepare a people for himselfe by temptations by signes and by wonders and by war and by a mighty hand and by an stretched-out arme and by great terrours as the Lord our God hath done for us in our own land before our eyes The compassions of God fail not they are new every morning great is his