What fruit can we have in those things whereof we shall one day be ashamed 2. We believe Extremities recoverable Rejoyce not against me O my Enemy for tho I fall yet I shall rise again God brings to the gate of the Grave and brings back again he kills and maks alive he raiseth up the poor out of the dust and setteth him among the Princes of the Earth He raiseth up light out of darkness Order out of Confusion Plenty out of Want Health out of Sickness Truth out of Error Peace out of War Life out of Death and he only can doe after this fashion What is it that God cannot do Is any thing too hard for the Lord The Heathens cryed to their God's and cut themselves with Launces till the blood gushed out saying O Baal hear us but there was no Answer nor any that regarded God only is the God that heareth Prayers and unto him must all Flesh come And whither should we go but unto him that hath the words of Eternal life Whither should Children fly but to their Parents Servants but to their Lords Sheep but to their Shepherds Subjects but to their Princes and all Clients but to their Patrons Guardians and Protectors All lack a Saviour in distress All cry what shall we do Whither shall we go Who will shew us any good Lord save us we perish our eyes are only upon thee from whom only cometh our Salvation Whom have we in Heaven but thee and who is there on Earth that we can desire in comparison of thee The eyes of all things look up unto thee and thou givest them their meat in due season thou openest thine hand wide and fillest every Creature plentifully with thy blessings the young Ravens call upon God and are fed by him Doth God take care for Revens How much more of us O we of little Faith Our Fathers hoped in thee and thou didst deliver them they put their trust in thee and were not confounded Fear not little Flock for it is your Fathers pleasure to give you a Kingdom Let not your hearts be troubled the World shall hate you but it hated me before it hated you and if they have done these things to the green Tree well may they do them to the dry The Servant must not be above his Master it is well that he be as his Master In the World ye shall have tribulation but be of good cheer I have overcome the World I have sent you forth as Sheep amongst Wolves who shall come to you in Sheeps clothing and wear a rough Garment to deceive therefore be wise as Serpents and innocent as Doves 'T is hard to avoid a Hypocrite a false Brother Against a professed Enemy we stand in defiance upon our Guard and we expect no good but harm from such but a Hypocrite kisses and betrays embraces and cuts your throat None of these are to be trusted especially they that call us Heretical doggs Dross and Vermin Reprobates and Castaways and out of the Pale of the Church They are utterly deceitful upon the Balance they are lighter than vanity it self their throat is an open Sepulchre they flatter with their lips but dissemble with their double heart their words are softer than butter smoother than Oyle and sharper than a two edged Sword therefore trust them not What trust can there be in those men who maintain false Principles and Practices They are Giants the Sons of Anak their Walls are mounted up to Heaven They have great might and exceeding Malice but the Lord from Heaven is mightier He beholds the tears of the oppressed how they run down their cheeks every day and there is none to comfort them He sees and smiles and laughs them to scorn when they laugh his Servants to scorn while they come about them like Bees and would eat them as they eat bread and are confederate against them they shall be extinct as the Fire among the Thorns suddenly do they perish and come to a fearful end In the mean time great is the patience and comfort of the Saints their Soul is among Lions Briars and Thorns tare them they fly to the Rocks and cling to the ragged Rocks for want of a covering and no man careth for their Soul but God careth for them and his Grace shall be sufficient for them The Lord is on our side we will not fear what man can do unto us We call upon the Lord in our distress and he heareth us and sets our feet in a large room The Lord taketh our part with them that help us therefore shall we see our desire upon them that hate us It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man it is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in Princes All Nations may compass us round about but in the Name of the Lord we shall destroy them they may thrust soar at us to make us fall but the Lord will uphold us He is our strength and our song and is become our salvation the right hand of the Lord bringeth mighty things to pass We shall not die but live and declare the works of the Lord the living they shall praise him as we do this day O let us live that we may praise thee The Lord hath chastned us sore but he will not give us over unto death The Stone which the builder srefused is become the head stone of the corner Save now we beseech thee O Lord O Lord send us now Prosperity O give thanks unto the Name of the Lord for he is good for his mercy endureth for ever 3. God suffereth his People to be brought into Extremities and delivereth them looking up unto him with the eye of Faith when all other hopes fail Instances SECT VIII Adam and Eve hid themselves from God for shame after they had fallen and were driven out of Paradise and kept out by a flaming Sword till by Repentance they recovered and kept the favour of God Lot was saved out of the flames of Sodom The Three Children were untoucht in the midst of the fiery Furnace Susanna rescued from the Unrighteous Judges Daniel was safe in the hungry Lyons Den. Jews saved from the destruction plotted by Haman Joseph was brought out of the Pit and from the Prison and advanced to honour and greatness Prophets hid by fifty in a Cave Seven Thousand reserved in Israel that bowed not their knees unto Baal and whose mouths had not kissed him Above Forty Conspirators that vowed they would not eat nor drink till they had killed Paul Moses and Aaron saved from the Conspiracy of Corah Dathan and Abiram Aaron offered Incense and stood in the Gap between the living and the dead and the Plague ceased David built an Altar and the Plague stayed Sennacheribs Host destroyed by an Angel and Hezekiah saved Egypt saved from famine by Josephs care Sudden plenty in Samaria after sudden famine as if the Windows of Heaven were opened as
them what the true meaning of them is more then any other Man Who perhaps hath better eyes and a quicker Judgment then they They must think well that we are not Fools altogether and that they must produce better Principles of their Art then they have yet done before they can convince learned Searching men of the Truth of their bold Assertions What shall we think of that great and wonderfull Change and Revolution of State after Twenty years Destruction in which time hapned that most horrid Parricide of King Charles the First that ever hapned in the World by the Restauration of Charles the Second in peace and honour Was this so much as dream'd of by all the privy Counsellors to the Stars Is not this enough to prove the Divines mad that could perceive nothing at all in all the Heavenly Indications of this great matter And how many more Instances might be given to the same purposes of secrets kept in the brest of God that neither Angels nor Devils nor Stars not Meteors had the least knowledge of them beforehand Who then should we look unto but to God in these and all other causes SECT VI. The Spanish Armada Christn'd Invincible was broke in pieces notwithstanding all the Popes blessings Consecrated Swords Banners Daggers Pistols Agnus Dei's Cruzado's are meer Toys and Trifles They fly to their Saints and Angels as Heathens did to their Idol God's but we seek to the true God They come unto us with Sword and Spear but we come unto them in the Name of the Lord and he will save us for his great Name sake They trust as the Jews did in an Arm of Flesh but we trust in God alone God is our present help in time of trouble God is the hope of all the ends of the Earth and of them that remain in the broad Sea others pur their trust in Horses and in Chariots but we in the Name of the Lord our God The Lord's Arm is not shortned that he cannot save neither is his strength abated We live by Faith and not by sense We live above the World looking from all help and comfort in God Put not your trust in Princes nor in any Child of Man for they are utterly deceitful We have been delivered from many extremities but this is the most Universal that ever came upon this Church and Kingdom If the Lord had not been on our side may Israel now say if the Lord himself had not been on our side when men rose up against us they had utterly swallowed us up before now they were so wrathfully displeased at us Never more numerous powerful and implacable Enemies then now In perils at home in perils abroad in perils by Land in perils by Water in peril amongst false Brethren We can never trust them that profess never to keep faith with us but continually ly in wait to deceive by Mental Reservations and AEquivocations of all sorts that the wit of Man can invent O let us fall into the hands of God for with him there is mercy but not into the hands of men that know no mercy but their very tender mercies are cruel O Lord put a Hook into the noses and a Bridle into the lips of such men and curb their barbarous and monstrous malice that it may enlarge it self no further Discover the depths of Satan and bring to light the hidden works of darkness that are contrived secretly in the bosom of Hell it self against thy holy Child Jesus and against the Annointed of the Lord and this Church and Kingdom that they may come forth into the light of the open Sun who is ready to hide his face from seeing them We are as the Apple of God's Eye and as the Bracelets upon his Right Arm. Tender and dear in the sight of the Lord is the death of the Saints Touch not mine Annointed and do my Prophets no harm If the Lord were pleased to kill us he would not have accepted of our Sacrifices neither would he have discovered unto us all these Mysteries of Iniquities nor as at this time have told us such secret Plots of Murders and Assasinations as these are Still we cry out Lord save us or else we perish And still our ship lives and bears up against those roaring Surges and stands off from these fearful Rocks and Quick-sands that wait for her Witches Comets Polices Lyes of all sorts even unto death shall not plague us into dispair God hath raised up the Spirits of the best of the Nation as one Man to stand up and defend the Truth with might and main This is the Gift of God and its marvelous in our Eyes and we have cause to thank God for it A Gospel Faith a Gospel Love is a security above all Let the Earth be removed if it will and the Mountains fall into the midst of the Sea Tho the Plowers plow upon our backs and make long furrows tho we put our mouths into the very dust tho we are gon down to bottoms of Mountains into the belly of Hell and the Earth with her bates about us for ever and the Weeds of dispair are wrapped about our heads yet will wee look once more to the Holy Temple of the Lord. We will believe above hope and contrary unto hope and the gates of Hell shall never be able to prevail against us For we know on whom we do believe and he will never fail us Did any that trusted in him ever fail Tho he hide his face 't is but for a time tho he be angry he will not keep it in everlasting displeasure he will come he will not tarry with healing in his wings We shall one day say doubtless there is a God that Judgeth the Earth Stand still and see the salvation of God Let the Nations of the Earth gather themselves together they shall be broken in pieces No Weapon formed against God shall ever prosper It is in vain to fight against God it is in vain to kick against the Pricks O tarry the Lords leasure his time is the best time Stay and see what the Lord will do with us and what he will do for us When the Lord in the year 1660 brought again our Captivity out of Babylon then were we like unto them that dream We should utterly have fainted unless we had believed verily to see the goodness of the Lord in the Land of the living the living the shall praise thee as we do this day O let us live and we shall praise thee O tast and see how good the Lord is all ye that put your trust in him He will never leave us nor forsake us SECT VII 1. We know by woful experience that our unthankfulness and unfruitfulness for former mercies have brought these new extremities upon us We are at a loss as to humane Policy and strength What will all our Rebellion profit us It will be bitterness in the latter end And what shall we do in the end thereof
God or man except our hearts rely upon God alone and our Consciences are pure from the blood of all men I Communicate my thoughts to the World to comfort them under God with such Comforts as I have received from God if they will imbrace them if they find fault let them produce better if they can if they do I shall not find fault but thank them Si non his utere mecum I have embosomed my own Soul my heart is enlarged I am filled as the Moon at the full O si esset fenestratum pectus It is my love and goodness not to be despised from the menarest Swain These good thoughts come into my mind in these distracted times and surely the worst of trouble occasion and stir up the best of thoughts and such ages by the good hand of God have produced most excellent of men I take it for a great mercy that there are such rare Saints and Servants of God that keep themselves unspotted from the World in the midst of a crooked and perverse Generation hating the Garments spotted by the Flesh abounding so much more in Grace and Goodness as the World abounds in Sin and Wickedness of whom the World is not worthy nor am I worthy to pour water on their hands or carry their Books after them but desire to sit at their feet to learn and imitate their great Learning and Piety whom God preserve These things comfort me till deliverance come and will comfort me if it were come because I believe that the Grace of God is sufficient for us all though the Thorn be in the Flesh and the Messengers of Satan be sent to buffet us Let the Reader pardon me for this largeness in so sad a season and upon so solemn an occasion of Fasting and Praying in our greatest extremity I shall ask his pardon but this once I will trouble him no more in this kind I hope I shall never have the like occasion the Storm will blow over I have told him my mind in this matter if he pleases to hear it if not I am where I was and he is where he is let him use his discretion But whether he will pardon me or no for 't is hard to please I may pray for him though he be my deadly Enemy and that will not hurt him tho he would hurt me except he refuses to pray for himself SECT XIV I conclude with the word of God and Prayer Famous are the Examples of Noah Abraham Jacob Joseph Moses c. Who through Faith subdued Kingdoms wrought Righteousness obtained Promises stopped the Mouths of Lions quenched the violence of Fire escaped the edge of the Sword out of weakness were made strong waxed valiant in Fight turned to flight the Armies of the Aliens Women received their dead raised to life again and others were tortured not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better Resurrection others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings yea moreover of Bonds and Imprisonment They were stoned they were sawn a sunder were tempted were slain with the Sword They wandred about in Sheep-skins and Goat-skins being destitute afflicted tormented of whom the World was not worthy they wandred in Deserts and in Mountains and in Dens and Caves of the Earth And these all having obtained a good report received not the Promise God having provided some better thing for us that they without us should not be made perfect Consider what I have said and the Lord give you understanding in all things A PRAYER O Thou that hearest Prayers unto thee shall all Flesh come We bow the Knees of our Hearts to thee the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ of whom the whole Family in Heaven and Earth is named that thou wouldest be pleased to grant unto us according to the Riches of thy Grace to be strengthned with might by thy Spirit in the Inner Man that Christ may dwell in our Hearts by Faith that we being rooted and grounded in Love may be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height and to know the Love of God which passeth all knowledge that we may be filled with all the Fulness of God through Jesus Christ our Lord and unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think according to the Power that worketh in us even unto him be Glory in the Church of Christ Jesus throughout all Ages World without End Amen For whose sake we pray for the whole World especially for those that have remembred thee their God and are entred into Covenant with thee against the World the Flesh and the Devil that they may continue thy faithful Servants unto their Lives end and that the Gates of Hell may never be able to prevail against them And more especially we pray for that part of thy Church which thou hast planted in these Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland and peculiarly for thy Servant our most Dear and Dread Soveraign Lord CHARLES by thy Grace and amazing Providence of England Scotland France and Ireland King Defender of the Faith and in all Causes and over all Persons as well Ecclesiastical as Civil in these his Majesties Realms and Dominions next and immediately under Thee and thy Son Christ Jesus Supreme Head and Governor Give him the precious things of Heaven for the Dew and for the Deep that coucheth beneath and the precious Fruits brought forth by the Sun and the precious things put forth by the Moon and the chief things of the Ancient Mountains and the precious things of the lasting Hills and the precious things of the Earth and fulness thereof and the good Will of him that dwelt in the Bush come upon the Head of Joseph and upon the top of the Head of him that is separated from his Brethren that he may be unto them a nursing Father the Light of Israel and the Breath of their Nostrils Endue his Soul with Princely Virtues and everlastingly reward him Grant him a long life a happy Reign a glorious Victory over all his Enemies and a happy Succession after him Let his Enemies be clothed with shame and let confusion of Faces for ever fall upon them Smite through the Loyns of those that hate him and Plague all those that offer to rise up against him Let an Excellent Spirit from the Most High God always rest upon him Make him Wise and exceeding Valiant and Couragious even as an Angel of God able to go in and out before this Mighty Stubborn Divided and Discontented People committed to his Charge Guard him with Holy Angels and Loyal Subjects that the Sons of Violence may not come near to hurt him but upon his own Head and the Heads of his Posterity let the Crown flourish so long as the Sun and Moon shall endure Bless His Royal Consort Queen Catherine the Illustrious Prince James Duke of York and all the Royal Family Bless the Lords and Others of
his Majesties Most Honourable Privy-Councel together with all the True-hearted Nobility Gentry and Commons of the Land that they may be Obedient to thee their God Loyal and Faithful to their Prince truly loving and honest one to another Remember this whole Kingdom and save us from the noisome Pestilence from the hurtful Sword from the devouring Fire from the overflowing Waters from Storms and Tempests and all fatal Changes and Chances good Lord deliver us that we may lead a healthful and a quiet and a peaceable life before thee in all Godliness and Honesty that there may be no more decay no more leading into Captivity nor no more complaining in our Streets Happy O happy are the People that are in such a case yea blessed are the People which have the Lord for their God O do thou deliver us and be merciful unto our crying sins for thy Great Names sake that though heaviness have endured upon us for a long and dark and dismal night yet Joy may come unto us in the Morning that we may see the Salvation of our God in the Land of the living the living the living they shall praise thee as we do this day O let us live that we may praise thee Bless all those that wait at the Altars of Religion and Justice by what names or titles soever they be dignified or distinguished the most Reverend the Archbishops the right Reverend the Bishops and all the inferiour Clergy together with the Reverend Judges and Magistrates of the Land And that there may never want a continual supply of able Men fit to do thee true and faithful service both in the Church and State Bless all Schools and Nurseries of Religion and Learning especially the two famous and flourishing Vniversities of this Land Cambridge and Oxford that from those two Fountains may be derived such pure streams as may make glad and refresh the City of our God that we may never want a faithful Prophet nor a Religious Seer nor a Learned Guide to go before us such as may be able to divide the word of God aright like workmen that need not to be ashamed shewing both in their Doctrine and in their lives uncorruptness gravity and sincerity and Men of Wisdom and Courage to execute true Justice and Judgment that Justice may run down like Water and Judgment like a mighty Stream that the blind may no longer lead the blind lest they both fall into the Ditch Remember the Afflictions of Joseph for they are many Comfort the comfortless bind up the broken hearted confirm the weak hands and strengthen the feeble knees uphold all them that stand and lift up all such as are down Remember the Sons of Sorrows and the Daughters of Mourning and Lamentation those that feed upon the Bread of Anguish and drink the Water of Bitterness every day those that are fast bound in Misery and Iron into whose very Soul the Iron enters those that fly to the Clefts of the Rocks for safety and cling to the top of the ragged Rocks for want of a covering that hide themselves in Caves and Dungeons of the Earth and wander about in Deserts and Mountains Clothed in Sheep-skins and Goat-skins being afflicted destitute and tormented that cry mightily unto God in the bitterness of their Souls and no man heareth them nor regardeth them of whom the World is not worthy Remember those that are forgotten by the Sons of men whose wants are never known and whose complaints are never heard those that mourn in secret and have not to comfort them Behold the Tears of them that are oppressed how they run down their Cheeks every day and there is none to comfort them Behold how on the side of those that do oppose them there is great might and exceeding Malice but as for thy Servants there is none to comfort them Arise O God defend the Poor maintain the cause of the helpless help all those to fight that suffer wrong and punish thou the wrong doer O Thou that knowest the wants of all men and understandest all their complaints and art only able to relieve and comfort them O thou that art rich in mercy and abundant in tender compassions and loving kindnesses towards the Sons of Men. Sprinkle thy favours we beseech thee upon the several objects of Misery that are abroad in the World according to the several necessities and extremities which they are in for the Lord's sake Give unto thy Servants the Spirit of Faith and Patience and Perseverance and Assistance and Assurance and of the fear of the Lord and when the great Lord pleases and how the great Lord pleases Open thou the Door of Hope and Comfort unto them if it be thy will in this life that they may see the salvation of the Lord in the Land of the living and praise thee in the great Congregation and declare what thou hast done for their poor Souls Because they are but Dust and the Breath is in their Nostrils and are but of Yesterday and to Morrow shall not be therefore be not always chiding lest the Spirits of Men should fail before thee and the Souls should dy and perish which thou hast Created Nevertheless not their Wills nor our Wills nor the Wills of Angels or of Men be done but thy Will be done even thine O Lord our God who dost all things according to the Course of thine own Will and wilt make every thing to work together for thine own great Glory and for the good of all those that fear thee and as for us we will be doing good and wait upon God and hold our peace for 't is good to wait upon God and they that wait upon God shall not be ashamed for the patient expectation of the meek shall not perish for ever and through the tender compassions of our God we even we shall never miscarry And for the Publick good and welfare of this Church and Kingdom O Lord discover the depths of Satan and bring to light the hidden work of Darkness that all the misterious contrivances of wickedness which are secretly formed in the bosom of Hell it self against Thee and thy Holy Child Jesus and the Annointed of the Lord and all the Reformed Protestants here and beyond the Seas may be brought forth into the light of the open Sun that the hopes of Hypocrites may perish and the expectation of Deceivers may be cut off as the Spiders Web before thee But that all those that fear thee in the honesty and simplicity of their Souls and desire to be obedient in the Land may be glad in thee and rejoyce in thy Salvation and may say evermore the Lord be praised O put a Hook into their Nose and a Bridle into their Lips and curb their Barbarous and monstrous malice that it may enlarge its self no further tho the Waters rage and swell and rore and threaten to swallow us up command them to be quiet and stop them in their full carere and say it is enough so we that be thy People and the Sheep of thy Pasture shall give thee thanks from day to day and will be shewing forth thy praise from Generation to Generation The living the living they shall praise thee as we do this day O let us live that we may praise thee Remember our Friends our Kindred and all our acquaintance all that are near and dear unto us whomsoever in our hearts we do remember or whomsoever we are bound to remember the Lord God in mercy remember them all for good and do them good abundantly above all that we are ever able to ask or think Lord be gracious to our Enemies and turn thou their hearts and deliver us and ours and all thine out of all the Snares and Cruelties and Treacheries of wicked and ungodly Men and send us Health Peace and Truth in our days and for ever through Jesus Christ our Blessed Lord and only Saviour to whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost be all Honour and Glory World without end Amen FINIS Advertisement THere is lately published by the Author a Book in Folio entituled the difference between the OLD and NEW Testament Concerning Things Commanded to be done and Concerning Things promised to be had in them Demonstrating the High Dispensation of the GOSPEL above the LAW In two Volumes To be sold by Robert Clavel at the Peacock in St. Pauls Church-yard 1681.