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
this World Why Because I know and feel That 1. God is mine by his own Act and Deed not only of Creation as he is to all but of Redemption as he would be to all if they would take it and is to all that do embrace it to whom he therefore giveth power that they should be called the Sons of God And then God's Work is done 2. I am God's by my own Act and Deed not only by owning my self to be the Work of his Hands but covenanting with him to do and suffer his Will in and upon me and to trust to him that he will be my exceeding great Reward And so I may call God Father And then my work is done While a Soul is abstracted with mutual Enjoyments Studies and Raptures with God no worldly Grievances can affect such sublime Spirits as they do those that grovel upon the ground in the concerns chiefly of the Flesh and of the World 'T was said of Archimedes that his Mind being intent upon Demonstrations when the City was besieged and the Enemy broke in upon him he perceived not the Danger of his Death till it seized upon his Contemplations Death it self is not fear'd nor felt so much in the Flesh to a man that is mortified to the Flesh before-hand from the Corruptions and Lusts thereof waiting all the days of our appointed time till his change do come looking for after this earthly house of his Tabernacle is dissolved to have a building of God an house not made with hands eternal in the Heavens but groaning earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with his house which is from Heaven that being clothed he shall not be found naked not for that he would be unclothed but clothed upon so that mortality might be swallowed up of life desiring not in the Flesh but in the Spirit to be dissolved and to be with Christ which is far better Other thoughts and cares are eating fretting and consuming but these are healing comforting and reviving caring for God how we may please him that cares for us By these the Soul is upheld from sinking into despair when the Flesh the World and the Devil are alltogether about our ears Thus we bear up against the Waves because our Stern is good or Keel is sound and our Pilot steers a right Course Do not therefore break my heart with worldly fears I have a mind to hope as well as fear I have crowded my Head already among the Stars I may be vex'd in my Body but that also being ioyn'd to the Head will follow after it by degrees and Christ which is my Head will draw my whole Body Soul and Spirit after him with whom I am already in Faith in Heavenly places My Tribulation worketh in me patience and patience experience and experience hope and I shall never be ashamed So I encourage all Sufferers Durate rebus vosmet servate secundis Dabit Deus his quoque finem Virg. Upbraid me not but pity me for I am resolved and therefore tempt me no more it is enough that I suffer I murmure not let me alone Oro miserere laborum tantorum miserere animi non digna ferentis They that sow in tears shall reap in joy and bring their Sheaves with them after a few days I shall find the comfort of it An humble Soul aims high God and my Right but all in Christ God be merciful to me a Sinner for his free Grace in Christ Jesus only Amen If in this Life only we have hope we are of all men the most miserable It is so short and miserable that in our Extremities we look one upon another and know not what to do What shall we do in Death That puts an end to all worldly Extremities eases the poor Captive in the Dungeon from his Bonds and the oppressed from all Tyranny and is too often wished for in the error of our Life but is a beginning of endless Extremities to them that have no hope We that could not tell what to do in Life what shall we do in Death When the naked Soul sits trembling upon the pale lip to be plunged into the bottomless Abyss of Eternity But if in this Life our hope be full of a Glorious and Blessed Immortality we know what to do there is hope in Death When the Body goes to the Dust the Soul returns to God that gave it to the God of Abraham and of Isaac and Jacob who is not the God of the Dead but of the Living for they are all alive in the Spirit with God and shall live with him in the Body when the times of Refreshment shall come from the Lord. My Son if thou come to serve the Lord prepare thy Soul for Temptation set thy Heart aright and constantly endure and make not hast in time of trouble Cleave unto him and depart not away that thou mayst be encreased in thy last end Whatsoever is brought unto thee take chearfully and be patient when thou art changed to a low estate For Gold is tried in the Fire and acceptable men in the Furnace of Adversity Believe in him and he will help thee order thy way aright and trust in him Ye that fear the Lord wait for his Mercy and go not aside lest ye fall Ye that fear the Lord believe him and your reward shall not fail Ye that fear the Lord hope for good and for everlasting Joy and Mercy Look at the Generations of old and see Did ever any trust in the Lord and was confounded Or did any abide in his Fear and was forsaken Or whom did he ever despise that called upon him For the Lord is full of Compassion and Mercy long suffering and very pitisul and forgiveth sins and saveth in time of Affliction Wo be to fearful hearts and faint hands and the Sinner that goeth two ways Wo to him that is faint-hearted for he believeth not therefore shall he not be deseded Wo unto you that have lost patience and what will ye do when the Lord shall visit you They that fear the Lord will not disobey his Word and they that love him will keep his ways They that fear the Lord will seek that which is well-pleasing unto him and they that love him shall be filled with the Law They that fear the Lord will prepare their hearts and humble their Souls in his Sight saying we will fall into the hands of the Lord and not into the hands of Men for as his Majesty is so is his Mercy Blessed be God even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of Mercies and the God of Comfort who comforteth us in all our tribulation that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we our selves are comforted of God For as the Sufferings of Christ abound in us so our Consolation also aboundeth by Christ and whither we be afflicted it is for our Consolation and Salvation which is effectual in the enduring of the
A SERMON Preached on the Fast-Day December 22. 1680. IN THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF ROCHESTER By ROBERT DIXON D. D Vice-Dean of the said Church LONDON Printed by S. Roycroft for Robert Clavel at the Sign of the Peacock in St. Paul's Church-yard 1681. A SERMON Preached on the Fast-Day c. II CHRON. XX. 12. Neither know we what to do but our eyes are upon thee SECTION I. THE Children of Ammon and Moah Coherence and Mount Seir whom God would not let the Children of Israel invade when they came out of the Land of Egypt but they turned from them and destroyed them not rewarded them so ill for their forbearance when it was in their power to have destroyed them that they came up with a mighty Force against them to cast them out of their Possession which the Lord had given them to inherit Then Jehoshaphat feared and took the right course and set himself to seek the Lord and proclaimed a Fast throughout all Judah And Judah gathered themselves together to ask help of the Lord even out of all the Cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord. Then as Kings and Prophets and some few Others in those daies had the Spirit of Prayer In the Gospel times the Spirit is poured out more plentifully upon all Flesh Jehoshaphat stood in the Congregation of Judah and Jerusalem in the House of the Lord before the New Court and uttered an ingenious Prayer in which he briefly declared the Justice of their Cause and their Confidence in God Then after him upon the Spirit of Jahaziel the Son of Zechariah a Levite of the Sons of Asaph came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the Congregation and encouraged them not to be afraid or dismayed of those Ammonites Moabites and Idumaeans which were so great a Multitude because the Battel was not theirs but Gods bidding them stand still and see the Salvation of the Lord and that the Lord would be with them Because they believed in the Lord their God and his Prophets therefore they should prosper and accordingly it came to pass for their Enemies destroyed one another and their dead bodies fell to the Earth and none escaped and they took the spoil in great abundance and they returned to Jerusalem to give thanks to the Lord for their great deliverance This course our Gracious King and his whole Kingdom have taken against Their implacable Enemies both at home and abroad and we pray as they did this day with one mouth Behold how they reward us to come to cast us out of thy possession which thou hast given us to inherit O our God wilt thou not judge them for we have no might against this great Company that cometh against us Neither know we what to do but our eyes are upon thee SECT II. The Subject is Last Resolution The Points are 1. Extremity We know not what to do 2. Remedy But our eyes are upon thee Extremity a helpless Condition Extremity when all outward hopes fail when Sins are upon us and Enemies upon our back the World the Flesh and the Devil all for mischief and utter ruine There are several kinds of Extremities as of Sins and of Miseries 1. Personal Extremities of Sins and Miseries that is such as we bring upon our selves by wilful disobedience Personal 2. National Extremities of Sins and Miseries that is which a whole People bring upon their Nation by their wilful Rebellion National 3. Church Extremities of Sins and Miseries that is which they bring upon the whole Church by their wilful disobedience Ecclesiastical In all these Distractions and Confusions we know not what to do we are at the last cast finding no help from our selves or any other Creature Angels or Men our Eyes are only upon God So we are the Causes of our own Extremities upon our selves and upon the whole Nation and upon the whole Church So Others are the Causes of our Personal Extremities And Others are the Causes of our National Extremities And Others are the Causes of our Ecclesiastical Extremities So we are the Causes of Personal Extremities upon Others And we are the Causes of National Extremities upon Others And We are the Causes of Church Extremities upon Others So we do our selves Harm and we do others Harm and others do us Harm And then we fly to God to do us Good and others fly to God to do us Good and we fly to God to do others Good II. Remedy Remedy Faith in God Bodily Extremities we must fall into Soul Extremities we may avoid Deus Providebit God will secure us from both Want of Care brings all these upon us Care remedies all these In God's Ark we may be safe in our Persons Nation and Church when in the Devil's Ark all the World is drowned There is therefore a Time to unite all Personal Forces Wit There is a Time to unite all National Forces Arms. There is a Time to unite all Church Forces Prayer 1. Wicked men run headlong into straits as the Horse rusheth into the Battel or an Ox goeth to the slaughter as a Bird hastneth into the Snare as a Fool runneth to the Correction of the Stocks not knowing it is for their lives As the Fish swimmeth playing through the Waters of Jordan into the Dead Sea Preying greedily on the pleasant Bait swallows therewith the deadly Hook There is poyson of Death in the Pot before they know it They go down into Hell in a moment before they know where they are No fore-cast no fore-sight at all embrace present things not regarding futurity Eat and Drink and die to morrow Dance delicately into the Grave Sail fairly into Gulphs Rocks and Quicksands O Navis quò te referent in mare novi fluctus c. A short life and a pleasant Crown themselves with Rose-buds before they be withered fill themselves with costly Wine and Ointments and let no flower of the Spring pass by them The Prodigal spent his Estate upon Harlots and came to Swines and Husks From Liberty me run into Licentiousness and fall together by the ears and of Freemen become Slaves Run in Debt into a Gaol to die Rob and Kill and come to the Gallows Drink drunk and stagger into their Graves Stab Pistol Poyson one another suddenly they perish and come to a fearful end 2. Righteous men are never forlorn Troubled on every side yet not distressed perplexed but not in despair persecuted but not forsaken cast down but not destroyed I never saw the Righteous forsaken nor their Seed begging their bread the Lord careth for the Righteous he is their helper and delivereth them out of all their Troubles The Wicked in their fury lay on sore strokes upon them if God be angry but a little they will be sure to help forward the affliction all they can taking more leave than is given them to shew their Malice till God burn that Rod in the fire that would lie longer upon the Back of the Righteous
than it should do Rejoyce not against me O my Enemy for though I fall yet shall I rise again The Bush burneth but is not consumed The Lord knoweth how to uphold and comfort and deliver No body knows the Comforts and the mighty Assistances that flow from the Divine Spirit upon the Spirits of afflicted Servants and Children of God making ample satisfaction for all the Sufferings of this life superadding the Assurance of everlasting Salvation into which through many Afflictions we must enter The Righteous suffer justly from God but wrongfully from the Sons of Men they have deserved it from God but not from Men. They are basely betrayed and abused even for Well-doing Christ was numbred among this Transgressors but he was innocent and had done nothing amiss The two Thieves had their deserts He was betrayed with a Kiss of his Servant that did what he listed with the Purse and eat of his Masters Bread and dipt his Morsel in his Dish Joab took Abner aside to speak with him quietly he thinking no harm and smote him under the fifth Rib that he died not as a Fool died bound hand and feet that he could not help himself but unawares as a man falleth before a Treacherous Enemy Such usage the best of Men find of whom the World is not worthy Let us oppress say they the poor Righteous man and not spare the Widow nor reverence the ancient Gray-hairs Let our strength be the Law of our Justice for that which is feeble is found to be nothing worth Let us lay wait for the Righteous because he is not for our turn and he is clean contrary to our doings he was made to reprove our thoughts He is grievous unto us even to behold for his life is not like other men his ways are of another fashion If the Just man be the Son of God he will help him and deliver him out of the hand of his Enemies Let us examine him with despitefulness and torment that we may know his Meekness and prove his Patience But the Souls of the Righteous are still in the hand of God whatever becomes of their Bodies and there shall no torment touch them Though they be punished in the sight of God yet their hope is full of a glorious and blessed Immortality And having been a little chastised they shall be greatly rewarded for God proved them and found them worthy for himself They that put their trust in the Lord shall understand the Truth and such as be faithful in Love shall abide with him for Grace and Mercy is to his Saints and he taketh care for his Elect. These are the Sufferings and this is the perfecting of the Patience and Faith of the Saints even unto the death of the Body and after death the Patience of their Souls continueth waiting and crying from under the Altar Lord how long how long O Lord holy and true dost thou not judge and avenge our Blood on them that dwell on the Earth While they lived the eyes of their Faith were upon God an Evidence of their deliverance not seen and the Substance thereof hoped for If they fail in the Flesh they never fail in the Spirit if they fail in the false Honours and Riches they never fail in the true Honours and Riches For them to live is Christ and to die is gain and whether they live or die they are the Lords Whatever their Beginning be their End is Peace A bed of Thorns is to them a bed of Roses The Wicked kiss a painted Jezabel ravish a Cloud tantalize Chimera's desperate trying all their Wits using all means but the true which is Repentance from dead works to serve the living God instead of which they die in their sins cursing God and blaspheming cursing the Stars and the Fates and what not so they go to their place Such shame have all God's Enemies and such honour have all his Saints SECTION III. I might here make a Metaphysical Discourse of Spiritual Desertions and Streights that they say Spiritual Desertions God puts his People into and leaves them in for a time and times hiding his face and again looking upon them casting them down and lifting them up Like Parents leaving their Children to cry and want and then satisfying their wants I am not certain that these are the usual waies and methods of God's dealing with Souls God's waies are in the Deep and his paths are in the great Waters and his footsteps are not known I find it was the way of God's proceeding under the Old Testament in Legal dispensations of Judgments and Mercies but I do not find it is so now I find the Spirit is called the Spirit of comfort and when in seems to depart fear not for it is not departed as to the comforts of the Body much more of the Soul And that God delighteth not in grieving the Sons of Men nor doth he fright-Mortals into Regeneration for though there be fear in the Flesh which is weak yet there is joy in the Spirit which is willing all along under various Dispensations and Measures creating hope above hope and contrary unto Hope which is the Anchor of the Soul The Messenger of Satan hath been miraculously sent to buffet some great Saints in the Body here to try their Faith that the Soul might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus St. Paul was in a great strait but it was of Love between two that is betwixt his own and his Disciples happiness whether it were best for him to live or die he had a desire to both but did not well know which to choose though the one were better for him than the other To depart and to be with Christ was far better for him but to stay among his Disciples was better for thein A great contest and striving of Love as in another place he saith He could wish himself accursed for his Brethren his Companions sake the Jews rather than they should be cast away The like Spirit we find in Moses in a Rapture of Love wishing to be blotted out of the Book of Life rather than the People should perish David was brought into a great strait which to choose for one he must of the three Judgments of Pestilence Famine or the Sword but he chose the last and least because it was better to fall into the hands of God than of men for with God there was mercy but with men there was none Job complained in the errour of his life cursing the day of his birth and wishing for death Elijah in distress prayed that he might die Jonah was angry even unto death for a small matter of the shadow of a Gourd and because his Prophecy came not to pass Thus for want of Faith in Extremities of Sufferings many fools in all hast would go down to the Grave to secure themselves there and many of them died indeed by their own hands in a mad mood and wished themselves alive again when it
impossible to be done Elijah prayed for Rain and had it Manna came down from Heaven The Syrians Army smitten with blindness at the Prayer of the Prophet Elisha The Thundring Legion by Prayers got Rain when the Romans fainted for thirst Jobs latter end was greater than his beginning Jeremiah was drawn out of the stinking Dungeon The Israelites were saved in the Plagues and brought out of Egypt with a strong hand and a stretched out Arm and walled on both sides in the Red Sea while their Enemies sank like Lead in the mighty Waves They were secured by a Pillar of Fire by Night and a Pillar of a Cloud by Day The Jews returned from Seventy years Captivity Christians secured at Pella and elsewhere from the Destruction when Jerusalem was taken The Ten Persecutions ceased and the Blood of the Martyrs was the Seed of the Church Satan bound for a Thousand Years Hitherto he must go and no further Manna and Quails rained from Heaven Water gushed out of the Rock and God prepared a Table in the Wilderness David was delivered from Cruel Saul and overcame Goliah with a Staff and a Sling Isaac was snatcht from the sharp Knife ready to cut his throat Noah c. escaped from the Flood Elijah was left alone and preserved from them that sought his life to take it away was fed by Ravens Hezekiah was healed of his Plague Sore and his days lengthned The Widdow of Sarephath had but a little Cake and a Cruse of Oyle and two Sticks all multiplied to save her life and to pay her debts Nebuchadnezar from a Beast became a man again The Shunamit's Son was raised to life Jonah was delivered out of the Whales belly Nineveh to be destroyed at Forty Days end was saved Lazarus after four days raised from the Grave Paul was let down in a Basket to save his life and many times saved beside both at Land and Sea especially from false Brethren Christ in his Agony was strengthned in the Garden as the Angels of God had ministred unto him in the Wilderness after the Devils Temptations Christ commended his Spirit into the hands of his Father after he uttered that bitter cry My God my God why hast thou forsaken me He trod the Winepress of God's Wrath alone and when he looked round about him and saw one to help him he wondred that there was none to uphold therefore his own Arm brought Salvation to himself and all his People The Invincible Navy of Spain in 88. was scattered with the Winds and broken in pieces after they had divided the Lions Skin before he was dead Twenty years Rebellion and Murder of Charles the First and the greatest and best of his Subjects and Devastation of Church and State was Seconded by such a miraculous Restauration of all things as the World hardly ever knew the like and Posterity will as hardly believe it and the Authors of these mischiefs that survived are as little sensible of it though so much for the Glory of God and the good of the Kingdoms and the strengthening of the Protestant Cause is for their own safety if they had hearts to understand it The Gunpowder Treason makes honest mans hearts ake to this day to think of it and the Devil and the Pope were shamefully foyled on that day Black to them but Glorious to us and our Posterity for ever The last Plot was come to the Birth but wanted strength to bring forth It is gon back into the Womb of Hell where it was hatched and we trust it shall be condemned to everlasting darkness and never O never see the Light All these Comforts and Examples and many more were written for our Instruction that we through Patience and Comfort of the Scriptures might have Hope Wherefore seeing we are compassed about with so great a Cloud of Witnesses let us lay aside every Weight and the Sin which doth so easily beset us and let us run with Patience the Race that is set before us looking unto Jesus the Author and finisher of our Faith who for the Joy that was set before him endured the Cross despising the shame and is set down at the Right hand of the Throne of God for consider him that endured such contradiction of Sinners against himself lest ye be wearied and faint in your Minds ye have not yet resisted unto Blood striving against sin and ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto Children My Son despise not thou the chastizing of the Lord nor faint when thou art rebuked of him for whom the Lord loveth he chastneth and scourgeth every Son whom he receiveth If ye endure chastnâ—ng God dealeth with you as with Sons For what Son is he whom the Father chastneth not But if ye be without chastisement whereof all are partakers then are ye Bastards and not Sons Furthermore we have bad Fathers of our Flesh which corrected us and we give them reverence shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of Spirits and Life For they verily for a few days chastned us after their pleasure but he for our profit that we might be partakers of his Holiness Now no chastning for the present seemeth to be joyous but grievous Nevertheless afterwards it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of Righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby Wherefore lift up the Hands which hand down and the feeble Knees and make strait paths for your feet lest that which is low be turned out of the way but let it rather be healed Think it not strange concerning the fiery Tryal which is to try you as the same strange thing hapned to them But rejoyce in as much as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings that when his Glory shall be revealed ye may be glad also with exceeding Joy If ye be reproached for the name of Christ happy are ye for the Spirit of Glory and of God resteth upon you on their part he is evil spoken of but on your part he is glorified But let none of you suffer as a Murderer or as a Thief or as an evil doer or as a busy body in other mens matters for if any man suffer as a Christian let him not be asham'd but let him glorify God on this behalf wherefore let them that suffer according to the Will of God commit the keeping of their Souls to him in well doing as unto a faithful Creator We know not what to do one way and yet we do know what to do another way For the Divisions of Reuben there are great thoughts of heart For the Union and Communion with God there are greater thoughts of heart 1. For our sins we cannot expiate the guilt of them Divisions we cannot explicate our selves from the miseries of them we shall be left in the lurch for them we shall be taken in their snares be lost and be at our witts end Because our sins are ripe at the full height Because our Consciences do sadly accuse us and
you some courage too as well as you and are not idle neither to look out for help as well as you and are resolved to try and lawful means as well as you but we will not trust in them as you do we hope we trust in better means than the World hath to trust unto We have Meat and Drink which you know not of the carnal man understandeth not the things of God neither can he because they are spiritually discerned When ye have done all you can without God you must come to a Recantation at last The Righteous man shall stand in great boldness Recantation before the face of such as have afflicted him and made no account of his Labours When they see it they shall be troubled with terrible fear and shall be amazed at the strangeness of his Salvation so far beyond all that they looked for and they repenting and groaning for anguish of Spirit shall say within themselves This was he whom we had sometimes in derision and a Proverb of Reproach We Fools counted his Life madness and his End to be without Honour How is he numbred among the Children of God and his Lot is among the Saints Therefore have we erred from the way of Truth and the Light of Righteousness hath not shined unto us and the Sun of Righteousness rose not upon us We wearied our selves in the way of Wickedness and destruction yea we have gone through Deserts where there lay no way but as for the Way of the Lord we have not known it What hath Pride profited us Or what good hath Riches with our vaunting brought us All those things are passed away like a Shadow and as a Post that hasted by and as a Ship that passeth over the Waves of the Water which when it is gone by the trace thereof cannot be found neither the Path-way of the Keel in the Waves or as when a Bird hath flown through the Air there is no token of her way to be found or like as when an Arrow is shot at a Mark it parteth the Air which immediately cometh together again so that a man cannot know where it went through Even so we in like manner as soon as we were born began to draw to our End and had no sign of Virtue to shew but were consumed in our Wickedness For the hope of the ungodly is like Dust which is blown away with the Wind like a thin Froth that is driven away with the Storm like as the Smoak which is dispersed here and there with a Tempest and passeth away like the Remembrance of a Guest that tarrieth but a Day But the Righteous live for evermore their Reward also is with the Lord and the Care of them is with the Most High Therefore shall they receive a Glorious Kingdom and a Beautiful Crown from the Lords Hand for with his Right hand shall he cover them and with his Arm shall he protect them Obj. All these are vain Hopes there is no certainty in them Sol. So the Heathens derided the Christians for relying on a Crucified God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Staked Sophister So did the Jews deride Christ himself He saved others he cannot save himself If thou be the Christ come down from the Cross and we will believe He trusted in God let him deliver him if he will have him So did the Devil If thou be the Son of God cast thy self down headlong Command these Stones to be made Bread c. But for all this Christians glory in nothing so much as in the Cross of Christ This is Spes sola Christianorum The only Hope of Christians even the Hope of the Resurrection that being crucified with Christ we shall be glorified with him Conformity with Christ for it behoveth us to suffer and be made conformable with Christ Crucifixa Membra sub Crucifixo Capite Crucified Members correspond with a Crucified Head Delicate Membra non decent sub Crucifixo Capite But Delicate Members no way agree with a Head crowned with Thorns Ridemur Debacchamur We are counted Fools for Christs sake but being reviled we bless being persecuted we suffer it being defamed we intreat we are made as the Filth of the World and are as the off-scouring of all things a Spectacle of Angels and Men. Our Faith and Patience in all the Persecutions and Tribulations that we endure are a manifest token of the Righteous Judgment of God that we may be counted worthy of the Kingdom of God for which we suffer seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompence tribulation to them that trouble you and to you that are troubled Rest When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with his mighty Angels in flaming Fire taking Vengeance of them that know not God and obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ where shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the Glory of his Power when he shall come to be glorified in his Saints and to be admired in all them that believe on that Day God will render to every man according to his Deeds Tribulation and Anguish upon every Soul of Man that doth evil of the Jew first and also of the Gentile But glory honour and peace to every man that doth good of the Jew first and also of the Gentile for there is no respect of persons with God This is an Account of the Hope that is in us Obj. These are but words and words are but wind Sol. Such words as will prove deeds at last whither you think so or no you will be convinced of them when you see them Obj. Let us alone till that day for we shall never see it Sol. What if you do live to see that day of deliverance And what if you do not live to see it It may be because you have not deserved to see it because you will not believe it Obj. Shew us the Father and it sufficeth us to come to our help Sol. He that hath seen Christ hath seen the Father Obj. All things turn about as from the beginning We are born at all adventure and we shall be hereafter as if we had never been our Body shall be turned into Ashes and our Spirit shall vanish as the soft Air. Let us eat and drink for to morrow we dye Our time is a very Shadow that passeth away and after our End there is no returning for it is fast sealed so that no man cometh again Come on then let us enjoy the good things that are present for it is our portion and our Lot c. Sol. Be not deceived God is not mocked Evil Communications corrupt good Manners Awake to Righteousness and sin not for some have not the Knowledge of God I speak this to your shame Such as perfect Atheists let them alone More Evidences and Demonstrations of Gods Providences here and his Rewards hereafter cannot be given than have been given And therefore they that
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.