saying Slack not thy Hand from thy Servants who are now entred into Covenant with thee but come â—o us quickly and save us for all the Kings of â—he Amorites that dwell in the Mountains are gathered together against us Josh 10.6 c. Upon this earnest and affectionate Message and Outcry General Joshuah immediately comes from Gilgal the place of rolling away Reproach as the word signifies and falls upon the cursed Kings and Canaanites unexpectedly and surprizes â—hem all suddenly Yea and the Lord himself likewise threw down great Hail-stones out of Heaven upon them and â—hereby all those formidable Adversaries were quite destroyed accordingly this is very often our own case Alas how weak â—re our Hearts Ezek. 16.30 when this Strong Man armed maketh his furious Assaults upon us David did acknowledge himself as unable to resist his strong Adversaries when he cried have mercy upon me O Lord for I am weak c. 〈◊〉 Psal 6.2,3,4 as the Gibeonites did tâ— withstand the Forces of the Kings of thâ— Mountains c. much more may we bâ— sensible of our own insufficiency to stand before the violent shoks of this Strong Maâ— Satan no meer mortal man is sufficient oâ— himself for that withstanding work 〈◊〉 not the Innocentest Man Adam nor the Strongest Man Samson no nor the Wisest Man Solomon as elsewhere but trulâ— all our sufficiency is of God 2 Cor. 3.5 and therefore must we send our winged Messengers of fervent Prayers to him and make out our strong Cries unto Christ Jesus as the Gibeonites did unto that great General Joshuah saying oh our dear Lord Jesus slack not thy Hand from thy Servants who are through thy Grace brought into the bonds of the Covenant of Grace with thy blessed self oh make no delay let our extremity be thy opportunity not only the Philistines are faln upon us as upon Samson but even the Kings of the Mountains even Spiritual Wickednesses in high Places called Principalities and Powers do make their furious Assaults upon us We have put our selves oh Lord under thy blessed Protection Therefore hasten to succour us and make no long tarrying oh our good God Psal 40.17 then may we hope to hear the sound of God's goings upon the Tops of the Mulberry-Trees 2 Sam. 5.24 and we may have cause to sing with the Spouse saying 't is the Voice of our Beloved behold he cometh leaping over Mountains and skipping over Hills Cant. 2.8 He is coming he is coming to bring the supplies of the Spirit of Christ to relieve our Souls Phil. 1.19 and he will pour down great Hail Stones out of Heaven upon the Heads of our Spiritual Enemies and discomfit them tho' Satan and a whole Kingdom of Devils be engaged against us This 7 th piece of Armour is called Armatura Armaturae the Armour of Armour named last because it buckles all the rest on and helps to a right improvement of all both for Defence and Offence c. Thus David had such Outcries as these saying This poor Man cried and the Lord heard him and saved him c. Psal 34.6 And thus Paul had such Outcries also saying Oh wretched Man that I am who shall deliver me and then thanketh he his Lord Christ for delivering him c. Rom. 7.24,25 And thus the Betrothed Damsel cried out when she was assaulted by one too strong for her and tho' she found no Deliverer yet is she assured that she shall not die because she crieâ— out Deut. 22.27 But the Virgin Daughter of Sion fared better for she had heâ— Saviour to come and succour her at heâ— Outcries after Him who put a Bridle upon that unruly Beast her Adversary and so comforted her heart as to make her able even to laugh him to scorn c. Isa 37.22,28,29 In short all these premises do abundantly demonstrate the excellency of this last part of the Christian Armour namely Darts of Prayer which drives the Devil out of the Field in our warring this good Warfare and constrains him to flee from us as one conquered by us NB. When our own Prayers prevail not Note well the Prayer of Christ saved Peter from Satan's Snare Luke 22.31,32 more especially if we join Fasting to Praying tho' Homer tellâ— us how Nestor in the Wars of Troy musâ— take his Breakfast in the Morning to animate himself the more for his fighting-work Yet our Lord doth better tell us thaâ— there be some Devils of such a malignanâ—… Nature that they cannot be cast out buâ— by Fasting and Prayer Matt. 17.21 How well therefore doth the Apostle command us to be praying always with alâ— Prayer and Supplication in the Spirit Eph. 6.18 that is all sorts of Prayer yea the best sort of Prayer both that which is edged and animated with Fasting and more especially that of praying in the Holy Ghost Jude ver 20. for fervent Prayer is a clear Stream that flows solely from the pure Spring of the Spirit of Grace c. and that this Praying-work may be the more effectually performed the Apostle subjoins the Duty of watching thereunto with all perseverance c. ver 18. that we may not be surprized at unawares because the Devil watcheth us and walketh his Round Night and Day uncessantly to take us napping 1 Pet. 5.8 seeking whom he may devour as before therefore is watching so necessary that it is so often recorded in Scripture as an universal Duty as above and most needful in praying work Hereupon our Lord joins them both together Watch and Pray lest ye enter into Temptation Matth. 26.41 as the Apostle doth here for if we be not upon our Guard continually and even Watch while we do Pray both over Satan's Temptations without and over our own Corruptions within Satan will be interrupting us as the Pythoness his Instrument did interrupt Paul in his Praying-work Acts 16.16 and as the Fowls of the Air which is the Devil's Territories Ephes 1.2,3 did interrupt Father Abraham in his Sacrificing-work Gen. 15.11 Yea and as the Adversaries Sanballat c. did molest good Nehemiah in his Building-work Neh. 41.3 'T is a certain observation that amongst all Actions Satan will be busiest in the best of Actions and mostly most busie in the best part of that best Action as towards the closure of Prayer when the Heart should be closing it self up with the sweetest comforts c. therefore are we bid to Watch and Pray and to Pray and Watch that Satan may not draw us out of our Trenches as Joshuah did the Men of Ai Josh 8.6 therefore our Lord exhorteth us to abide in the Vine Joh. 15.4,7 and his beloved Disciple saith little Children abide in him 1 Joh. 2.28 that is keep Home keep close under the shadow of your Father's Wing Psal 91.1 Our Lord saith O Jerusalem Jerusalem how oft would I have gathered my Children together even as a Hen gathers her Chickens under her Wings c. Matth. 23.37 which intimateth that those are fond Chickens that
is related by the Holy Ghost and both these were done for the greateâ— Honour of this Lady as Sarah Hebrew signifies who was a Type of the Gospel-Church Gal. 4.22 to 31. and she was the Wife of that greatest of Patriarchs who is called the Father of the Faithful and whose Bosom is the Synonymon with Mansions of Glory Rom. 4.16 Luke 16.22 Yet his mourning for her was moderate and not as without Hope 1 Thes 4.13 Her Death had not made any such divorce from him but there still remained a blessed conjunction betwixt them therefore he calls her his Dead eight several times over in Gen. 23.3 c. to shew he had not lost her nor lost his interest in her and that he had only lent her to the Lord he had only bid her good night in hope to see her Alive again in the Morning of the Resurrection she was only faln asleep in Jesus 1 Thes 4.13,14 the Union was not dissolved by Death As this consideration was comfortable to this Good Old Abraham so it was no less a comfort to that Good Prophet Ezekiel when the Lord took from him the Desire of his Eyes Ezek. 24.16 even that sweet Companion of his Life And this may likewise be the Comfort of all Godly Couples and of Friends also when God is pleased to make a separation one from another 't is only for a time and not for ever Our present meetings together in this World are joyned with some short parting 's asunder but our Hope in the Lord is we shall at last meet together again in a better World so as never to part asunder any more for then we shall be with the Lord for ever and for ever wherefore let us comfort one another with these words 1 Thes 4.17,18 Oh blessed Hour Oh thrice happy Union There is but a Sleep for a Time for a Night of Death only as by Sleep the Body is refreshed so by Death the Body is refined Let it be our care to cleave close to Christ at the instant of Death then shall we sleep in Jesus and he will be our Gain both in Life and Death Phil. 1.21,22,23 After this Night of Sleep comes the Day-Break of Eternal Brightness and after this Union here below cometh an Everlasting Communion in Heaven above Those Scripture Comforts should come home to our Hearts therefore ought we to comfort one another with them by Christian Communication and then may they afford us more strong Consolation than all the Comforts of Phylosophy of which Cicero said on his Death-Bed Nescio quo modo imbecillior Medicina quam Morbus est that is I know not how it comes that the Medicine is too weak for my Disease None can say so of those Sripture Cordials which the Lord doth ordinarily water with the Dews of his Divine Blessing The same Cordial did serve to satisfie Job likewise in the loss of his Children looking upon them not as lost but only lent to the Lord who had before but lent them unto him and had called his own only home to himself He still looked on them as his Dead as well as Living they were still his his Dead as Abraham's phrase was so oft of his Dead Wife after they were Dead and Buried How else could it be said that God gave to Job twice as much of every thing as he had before seeing he had but the same number of Children afterwards that he had before to wit Seven Sons and Three Daughters Job 42.10,13 He reckoned there remained still a blessed Union and Conjunction between him and them which was founded upon his hope of an Happy Resurrection In a word learn we to say our Godly Relations are not lost they are only gone before us and we are hastning after them they are only removed out of one Room into another out of the Out-houses and Kitchin of this World into the Presence-Chamber and Palace of Heaven They have changed their Place but not their Company as Good Dr. Preston said upon his Death-bed They are only gathered like Lillies Cant. 6.2 by the Hand of Christ who hath transplanted them into the Paradise of God Our Lord said to the penitent Thief this day thou shalt be with me in Paradice Luke 23.43 NB. Oh Matchless Love in our Dear Redeemer to speak thus lovingly to this poor Penitent while he was in horrible Torture himself upon the Cross and paying so unspeakably dear for Man's sin yet rejected he not this Malefactor's Petition ver 42. How much more may we now hope he will hear our Prayers and answer them with good words and comfortable Zech. 1.13 seeing the Debt is now all paid and the whole work of Redemption is now finished 3 dly Suppose the Third Natural Evil do come upon us to be as Lamps despised and a scorn to Young Scoundrils c. as Job complained before in our Old Age yet is there a blessed Remedy to this wretched Malady namely that pretious Promise commit thy way unto the Lord c. and he shall bring forth thy Righteousness in which way thou must still be found as the Light and thy Judgments as the Noon-day Psal 37.5,6 that is we must in the first place mind the Condition of this Promise to wit of rolling our selves upon the Lord as the Hebrew word signifies and depend wholly upon him both for safety and for success in all our undertakings Kimchi reads it Volue exonera unload thy self by casting thy Burden upon the Lord as David explains it Psal 55.22 that is ease thy Mind to God by Prayer and resign up thy All by Faith unto his care and conduct Trust also in him this is of the same import with Commit but repeated to take better impression and to beget more incouragement then whatsoever we commit to him he will bring it to pass in the general ver 5. Then follows the particular part of this Promise in the Second Place about Slanders ver 6. saying God will so oyl thy good Name which is as pretious Ointment Eccles 7.1 Prov. 15.30 and 22.1 that no defaming Infamy shall stick to it Dirt will stick upon a Mud-wall but it cannot do so upon Marble Suppose we be slandered without Cause as God tells Satan he slandered Job without Cause Job 2.3 with 1.9 and we lie under those Blacknings for a time but consider how the Earth lieth under Darkness all the Night long yet as the Morning by its sudden arising driveth away that Darkness so shall the Lord clear up our wronged Innocency and as the Moon wadeth from under a Cloud and from under an Eclipse by the interposition of the shadow of the Earth betwixt her and the Sun so shall we in God's time get over all our Evils of this kind or of any other if we still be found in the way of Righteousness God will clear up the innocency of his slandered Servants and bring it to light like the Sun at Noon-day but assuredly this will be done