our Faith and Patience to force us to have recourse to him in our Afflictions and to put our Confidence in him to make us taste of the Consolations of his Spirit and at the same time to convince us that his good Providence takes care of his Children in their Streights and Necessities and in fine to make us admire the wonderful Deliverances he vouchsafes to give them when they have profited by his Chastisements and have glorified him in the time of their Tryal And therefore now he says in our Text Fear not thou Worm Jacob and ye Men of Israel I will help thee saith the Lord and thy Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel Now to understand well the Sense of these Words and of the other Prophecies of the old Testament we are to observe that since the Jewish Church was the Type of the Christian and the same things that befel the Jewish Church were to befal the Christian we must observe I say that though the literal Sense of the Prophecies of the Old Testament had respect to the Church of Israel after the Flesh yet their Mystical Sense relates to the Christian Church which is Israel after the Spirit and moreover that those ancient Prophecies have their chief and full Accomplishment no where but in the Christian Church They that take this remark along with them as they read these antient Prophecies will make wonderful Discoveries of what should fall out in the Christian Church In the general they 'l find there that the Christians would be corrupted by Prosperity as the Jews were before them That they would plunge themselves even in the Idolatry of the Gentiles and that afterwards these Idolatrous Christians would for a great while oppress the Faithful Servants of God that Worship him in Purity according to his Word but that God would relieve them at last and deliver them out of all their Troubles And to this purpose God speaks to his destitute People in the Verses afore my Text Fear thou not says he for I am with thee be not dismay'd for I am thy God I will strengthen thee yea I will help thee yea I will uphold thee with the right hand of my Righteousness Behold all they that were incens'd against thee shall be ashamed and confounded They shall be as Nothing and they that strive with thee shall perish Thou shalt seek them and shalt not find them even them that contended with thee They that War against thee shall be as nothing and as a thing of nought For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand saying unto thee Fear not I will help thee Whereupon he adds the Words of my Text Fear not thou Worm Jacob and ye Men of Israel I will help thee saith the Lord and thy Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel I shall confine my self to the Mystical Sense of these Words and only examine them as they may relate to Christians And with the assistance of the Holy Spirit which I have already implor'd and do still with all my Soul I shall consider these two things 1. The Name God calls his Distressed People by Thou Worm Jacob Men of Israel 2. The Consolation he gives them in this their Destitute State Fear not says he I will help thee and thy Redeemer is the Holy one of Israel God grant my Beloved we may all meditate on these things with due attention to the end we may receive that Instruction and Comfort which the Spirit of God holds forth to us in these Words and is so necessary for us in this time of Distress wherein all that will serve God with Purity according to his word suffer a Cruel and Bloody Persecution I. God calls his People here Thou Worm Jacob or Jacob thou art but a Worm Now 1. When God calls his People Jacob he would have us consider them all but as one Man And in effect all the Faithful together compose but one mystical Body whereof Christ is the Head They are all united by the Holy Spirit they are all Members of one another therefore they ought to live in perfect unity and like the Primitive Christians love one another so entirely as to be but one Heart and one Soul 2. True Christians are called Jacob because they are the Posterity of Jacob after the Spirit and Heirs of his Faith and Piety and of the Promises which God made to him of old Jacob parted with the food that perisheth that he might obtain the Blessing of his Father and that of his God together with the Heavenly enjoyments thereto annex'd In like manner the Faithful ought to abandon all Earthly Advantages that they may have a share in the Glory and Felicity of Heaven 3. Believers are call'd Jacob because their condition in this Life is like that of Jacobs For as Jacob who was born after the Spirit was heretofore Persecuted by Esau his Elder Brother that was born after the Flesh So Faithful Christians that are Christians after the Spirit are likewise persecuted by Antichristians who are Christians after the Flesh These wicked false Christians reproach us every now and then that we are but of Yesterday The truth is more Ancient than they But with respect to our Reformation which is our Spiritual Birth we grant they are in a sort older than we as Esau was older than Jacob. But then as I told you before they are born after the Flesh as Esau was and we after the Spirit as Jacob was and that is the reason they persecute us And this is no new thing Abel that was born after the Spirit was persecuted to Death by his Elder Brother Cain who was born after the Flesh The same may be said of Isaac the Heir of the Promise who was likewise persecuted by his Elder Brother Ishmael that was born after the Flesh So likewise the Prophets of old who serv'd God with purity according to his word were persecuted by the Jewish Church when it was fallen into Idolatry We ought not therefore to be surprized that at this time we who adore God in Spirit and in Truth according to his Commandments are in like manner persecuted by a corrupted and Idolatrous Church Moreover the People of God are not simply call'd Jacob but Thou Worm Jacob. And in effect my Friends we are but Worms of the Earth in the presence of our God whose greatness knows no bounds for he fills the Heavens and the Earth Heaven is his Throne and the Earth is his Footstool We are but dust and Ashes in comparison of our great God nay we are less than the small dust of the Ballance Therefore he calls us Worms that we may always remember our misery and nothingness that we may always humble our selves in his sight and never violate that respect which is due to his Sovereign Majesty But evermore be possessed with a Religious awe in his presence Further we are but Worms in comparison of our Enemies For generally the Faithful are weak and despicable
of Christ and therefore we should be all joyn'd together by the Bond of a fervent and unfeign'd Affection For by this says our Saviour Joh. 13.35 shall all Men know that ye are my Disciples if you love one another We may learn also hence That in order to have a part in the promise which God has made to assist us and to be our Deliverer we must be the Spiritual and Mystical Jacob and Israel that is to say we must imitate the Faith and Piety of the Patriarch Jacob whom God himself calls Israel The promises of God my Brethren were made to the Patriarchs and their Posterity and tho' we are not their Posterity after the Flesh yet we are their Spiritual Posterity if we imitate their Faith and Piety Examine your selves therefore by this Rule that you may know whether you are the Children of the Patriarchs and can claim a Title in the favour of God in his Deliverance and Salvation If you bear the image of the Patriarchs if you have their Faith and Piety if you do their Works you are their Children and God will bless you as he did them he will deliver you out of the Hands of your Enemies he will load you with his Favours and Benefits and will one day make you partakers of a blessed Immortality But if you imitate not their Example you are not their Children and have no share in the promises God made to them Abraham when God commanded him to leave his Country and part with his Relations presently complied with the Will of his God tho' he knew not where he was to go And again when God commanded him to sacrifice Isaac his beloved Son he prepar'd himself without any more adoe to execute this dreadful command having this confidence in God that he could even restore his Son to him again by raising him from the dead And in effect the Apostle takes notice that he was indeed restor'd to him again by a kind of Resurrection So Isaac himself submitted to the Will of his God and put himself in a condition to die as a Testimony of his Obedience to him And Jacob was contented to deprive himself of the Food that perisheth in order to obtain the Coelestial and Eternal Inheritance And afterwards he left his Father's House that he might avoid the violence of his Brother Esau who design'd to have kill'd him And so likewise all the Patriarchs did always glorifie God by their Zeal by their Piety and by a Pure Holy and Unblameable Life God sets us these Examples to the end we might square our Lives by them if we would be the Mystical Posterity of these Holy Men and would have a part in the Promises that were made to them Now when God suffers his Church to be persecuted he calls upon us to leave our Country and our Friends to forsake our Goods and renounce our ease and pleasures to suffer the loss of our Children and even to expose our Lives for his Glory and Service Therefore if we desire to obtain his Blessing his Deliverance and Salvation we must submit to his Will as the Patriarchs did of old We must also glorifie him by a Holy Life by our Justice our Zeal our Charity and Piety We must cause our Light to shine before Men that they seeing our good Works may together with us give Glory to God Otherwise we must expect to be treated not as his Children but as Bastards and Unbelievers What can you expect then you miserable Worldlings whose Heart is always bow'd down to the Earth like that of Beasts you impenitent Sinners that always persist in your Vices and Disorders Injustice and Frauds You follow the multitude that is running in the broad way to Hell Therefore if you repent not you must expert to perish with this Reprobate Multitude You are not the Children of the Patriarchs since you do not their Works You do the Works of the Devil that impure Spirit who is the Father of Lies and Impurity of Fraud and Injustice and what can you expect you prophane and rebellious Souls who that you might live at your ease in your Houses and might preserve your Goods your Children and your Repose are revolted from God and continue still in the same Spirit of Rebellion Alas you are not neither the Children of the Patriarchs since you imitate not their Zeal and Piety and are not ready to lose and suffer all things as they were for the Glory of your God You do also the Works of the Devil who was the first Apostate the first Rebel against God Therefore if you repent not you shall be condemn'd with him to the eternal Flames of Hell For you are not willing to follow the Example of two or three hundred thousand Faithful Servants of God who have abandon'd all for his Glory have left their Country and their Kindred and parted with their dearest Friends and have likewise expos'd their Lives to great dangers that they might comply with the Will of their God and have an interest in his Favour and Comfort God has for a great while continued to send his Faithful Servants to you to bring you back to your God and a great many of them have already suffer'd death for your sakes 'T is true you give them a Hearing but a great many among you persist still in your Vices and Backslidings Therefore as many faithful Ministers as have preach'd or do still preach Repentance to them without success shall be so many Witnesses one day in Judgment against them and shall condemn them Oh! wretched Sinners that you are You would enjoy the Pleasures of the World like prophane Esau But you shall be depriv'd one day of the eternal Pleasures of Paradise You would have your Portion in this Life but one Day your Portion shall be in the Lake that burns with Fire and Brimstone You would preserve your ease in this World but you shall be eternally tormented with the Devils in Hell There will be weeking and gnashing of Teeth And these horrid Punishments shall never have an end But as for you Believers that desire to have a share in the promises of your God be ye followers of the Faith the Piety and Holiness of the Patriarchs and you shall receive the Crown of Righteousness which God has prepared for all them that fear him and give glory to his Name Let us not suffer our selves to be tempted my beloved Brethren by the Criminal Pleasures of Sin nor by the Riches and Vanities of the VVorld Let us pray to God without ceasing that he would not lead us into Temptation but deliver us from the wicked One And at the same time let us disengage our Hearts from the VVorld and separate our selves from the Places and Persons that may lead us into sin Let us mortifie our Bodies by Moderation and Sobriety Let us continually read and meditate on the VVord of God that we may become strong in the Faith and let us evermore beg of God
Jacob when he was but young was forc'd to leave his Father's House and to travel all alone into a very distant Country to avoid the fury of his Brother Esau that would take away his Life But the first Night he lay on the Road God appear'd to him in a Dream and told him Behold I am 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 spoke to thee of And indeed God was always with him he conducted him safe in his Journey he blessed Him he blessed his Labour he blessed his Family he brought him again into his own Country and appeas'd his Brother's Anger So Joseph when he was but a Youth of Seventeen Years became the Object of the Jealousie and Hatred of his Brethren One day as he went to see them in the Wilderness they plotted against him to put him to death They threw him into a deep Pit and afterwards took him up again to sell him to the Ishmaelites who carryed him to Egypt and sold him there for a Slave Sometime afterwards being falsly accus'd by his Mistress he was put in Prison and there he lay several Years But God at last had pity on him deliver'd him out of his Distress and made him Governour of all Egypt then a very powerful Kingdom Job who was a Holy Man and one of the greatest Men of the East was spoil'd of all his Goods depriv'd of all his Children and cover'd all over with Ulcers from the Sole of his Foot to the Crown of his Head insomuch that he was forc'd to lie in the Dust In this deplorable Condition he should have received one would think at least some comfort from his Wife and intimate Friends But instead of that they only encreased his Affliction For his Wife tempted him to murmur against God that he might put an end to his Life And his intimate Friends told him That he must have been a Hypocrite and a Wicked Man since God had struck him in so terrible a manner But at last God was mov'd with companion towards him he deliver'd him out of all his Sufferings and Misery restor'd his Health gave as many Children as he had lost and Wealth twice as much as he had before and made him live a hundred and forty Years after his Tryal David who was a Man according to God's own Heart was also persecuted for a great while together by King Saul He was forc'd to leave his Wife and Home and to seek for Refuge in Desarts and Caves and even there he was still pursued by his Enemy He often found himself reduc'd to such Extremities and exposed to such evident Dangers that he thought it impossible for him to escape But he had always recourse to his God and God never forsook him He did wonders to preserve him in the midst of so many Dangers and at last deliver'd him out of all his Troubles and exalted him to the Throne of Israel But above all who would not admire that wonderful deliverance which God wrought for the three young Hebrews whose History we read in Daniel chap. 3. These three faithful Servants of God having refus'd to prostrate themselves before the Idol which King Nebuchadnezzar had made this proud and mighty Prince that had before destroy'd Jerusalem told them that if they would not fall down and worship this Idol he would order them to be cast into a fiery Furnace And he adds further Who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands And they answered him Our God whom we serve is able to deliver out of the burning fiery Furnace and he will deliver us out of thy hand O King But if not be it known unto thee O King that we will not serve thy Gods nor worship the Golden Image which thou hast set up As if they had said We know that our God is Almighty and able to deliver us if it seems good in his sight but if he thinks fit we should die for his Glory we are all ready to submit and die Then this proud and cruel Prince being full of Rage and Fury commanded that they should heat the Furnace seven times more than it was wont to be heat and order'd the most mighty Men that were in his Army to bind them and cast them into the burning fiery Furnace Which accordingly they did but the fire consum'd those that threw them in and on the contrary these three faithful Servants of God fell in the midst of the Flames without receiving the least damage the fire did nothing else but burn their Bonds so that they walk'd in the midst of the Flames without being consumed And besides there appear'd with them a fourth Man whose form was like the Son of God Whereupon this Idolatrous King being amaz'd to see so great a Miracle made them come forth out of the Furnace and gave glory to the God of Heaven who had so miraculously preserv'd them in the midst of the Flames because they had chose to lose their Lives rather than displease their God So Daniel himself because he continu'd to pay to God the Homage due to him when the King by his Edict had forbid it was cast into the Den of Lyons But God was always with him He shut the Mouths of those ravenous Beasts so that they did him no hurt And the King seeing this Miracle commanded him to be fetch'd out of the Den and to throw in his Enemies that accus'd him and they were immediately devour'd by the Lions So when the people of God heretofore groan'd under the Oppression of the Egyptians God smote Egypt with all his Plagues Nay he slew all their First-born and every House in Egypt was in Mourning and had one died out of it So again when the Egyptian Army was in pursuit of the people of God as they were going out of Egypt God covered his people with a Cloud and divided the Red sea to let 'em pass thro' it But when the Egyptians pursued 'em into the middle of the Waters God caus'd the Sea to return upon them and so that great Army was all swallow'd up and not one of them escap'd In short the Holy Scriptures are full of the great wonders that God wrought from time to time for the deliverance of those that fear and put their whole confidence in him Therefore says he in my Text Fear not thou Worm Jacob and ye Men of Israel for I will help thee saith the Lord thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel What we have said is enough for the Explication of the words now let us apply what we have heard to our selves Here we see my beloved Brethren that all the Faithful are represented as one Man and compose but one Mystical Body therefore we ought to live together in Union as being Members one of another We are all animated by the same Spirit to wit the Spirit
the assistance of his Holy Spirit that he may make us always walk in his Holy VVays Let us not suffer our selves to be surpriz'd by the specious Pretences of false Teachers They come to us in Sheeps Cloathing but within they are Ravenous VVolves At first sight one would think they had the Sweetness and Charity of Angels but no sooner do the Faithful give them to understand that they will not defile themselves with Idolatry and that they are resolved to serve God with purity according to his Commandments but these false Teachers discover a Cruelty not inferior to that of the most Savage Beasts You will know them by their Fruits says our Saviour Examine well their Conduct and you 'l see that they bear the Image of the Devil The Devil as we said before is a Liar and a Murtherer from the beginning Now these false Teachers are not they Liars like him Do not they teach Errours and Lies And do not they spread Abroad Fables and false Miracles to seduce the Simple and the Ignorant Have they not likewise violated Edicts Treaties of Peace and the most solemn Oaths which are the Pledges and Seals of the Publick Faith On the other hand are not they Cruel and Murtherers as well as the Devil Do not they every day make the Faithful suffer Torments Martyrdoms and horrible Massacres Do not they likewise use on all occasions the two great means which the Devil invented to endeavour to shake the Faith of the Elect Do not they offer to some the Riches and the Honours of this World Do not they propose to them Pensions Offices of the greatest Trust and Dignity and other Worldly Advantages And do not they spoil others of their Goods take away their Children from them and oppress them with a thousand Evils We must therefore my beloved Brethren refuse with horrour to hold Communion with these Ministers of Satan and if it be the Will of God that we suffer for the Interest of his Glory and Service let us submit to his Sacred Disposal and prepare our selves to lose and suffer all things that we may give him a Testimony of our Obedience and Faithfulness Let us remember that we were created for his Glory and that we ought to glorifie him both in Life and Death Let us remember that we ought to love him above all that is dearest to us in the World more than Father Mother Wife Children Lands and Vineyards nay more than Life it self if we would be his Children and desire to partake of his Salvation Let us consider well my beloved Brethren that this Earth is not our Home that 't is a Valley of Tears the place of our Sojourning full of Misery and Trouble and that our True Country is Heaven The Patriarchs whose Children we are had not so much as where to set the Sole of their Feet they were Pilgrims and Strangers upon Earth they sought a City that had solid Foundations whose Builder and Founder is God We must therefore renounce all earthly Things and continually breathe after the Glory and Happiness of Heaven Let us consider again that if God permits us to be persecuted 't is to the end that we may discover to the World our Faith Piety and Constancy and that this Tryal by which God is glorified may also turn to our own Glory Salvation and Comfort Blessed is the Man that endureth Temptation saith St. James ch 1.12 for when he is tryed he shall receive the Crown of Life which the Lord hath promised to them that love him Blessed are they that are persecuted for Righteousness sake says our Saviour Mat. 5.10 for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven Now for a season we are in heaviness through manifold Temptations But as St. Peter says 1 Epist 1.7 8 9. 't is that the Tryal of our Faith being much more precious than of Gold that perisheth may be found unto Praise and Honour and Glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ whom having not seen we love in whom tho' now we see him not yet believing we rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of glory receiving the end of our Faith even the Salvation of our Souls Nevertheless my Friends we must acknowledge that our sins are the cause of all the Evils we suffer The Churches of France were abominably corrupted in their Manners Therefore God has pour'd out his Judgments upon them and his Wrath is still burning against us because our Repentance is not such as it ought to be We must then every one of us turn himself from his evil Course and those that have been so unhappy as to enter into the Communion of Babylon must for ever renounce her Abominations for the time to come We must be possess'd with a Sacred Horrour for our Sins and in a Holy Manner afflict our Souls and humble our Selves at the Foot of the Throne of the Divine Majesty we must have recourse to the Mercy and Grace of God in Jesus Christ who has died for the remission of our Sins We must strive continually with God by our Tears and Supplications and not let him go till he has blessed us and the good God will at last suffer himself to be overcome by our Cries and Supplications Tho' our sins be as Scarlet they shall be as white as Snow tho' they be red like Crimson they shall be as Wool Then will he be mov'd by our Misery to give us Succour and Relief He will bow down the Heavens and come down and deliver us out of the great Waters that surround us Now good Men are oppress'd He that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey Isa 59.15 They that would be true to God serve him with Purity and sing Praises to his Holy Name are afflicted and persecuted whereas Idolaters the perfidious Judas's the Drunkards the Lascivious the Wicked the Swearers and Blasphemers are tolerated and countenanc'd in the World But these disorders shall not always last Yet a little while and he that is to come shall come and will not tarry Let 's take courage then my Friends not suffer our selves to be frighted with the Menaces of the Enemies of the Truth Let us throw our selves into the Arms of our God let us retire under the Shadow of his Wings let us deliver our selves up to the conduct of his wise Providence and put our confidence in him he promises to be our Protector and Deliverer and he is faithful in all his Promises Let us have these comfortable words always in our Thoughts Fear not thou Worm Jacob and ye Men of Israel I will help thee saith the Lord thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel We are but Worms of the Earth in comparison of our Enemies but let us remember that the Lord of Hosts the Great God is our Strength VVe are mortal Men our Life is continually in danger but let us remember that he that has Life and Death in his Power promises to assist and protect us Let us not be afraid