Prophets of the Lord and his holy Ministers beholding the sins which they do daily reprove to come up so fast as though they had never layd the axe of Gods judgment against the root of that corrupt tree the zeal of Gods glory so stirreth them that they cannot hold â—ut they must strike with the sword of the Spirit they must lift up their voices like trumpets they must tell the house of Jacob their sins Jeremy doth expresse this to the life Therefore I am full of the fury of the Lord Jer. 6.11 I am weary with holding in I will pour it out upon the children abroad c. Let not the sensuall and carnall man call our threatnings of sin our own ravings and railings and our comminations of judgment the intemperate issue of our own choler Jeremy calleth it The fury of the Lord. And so long as we reprove justly and mingle none of our own heat with the fire of Gods altar we shall kindle a fire in the bones of the sinner which shall give him no rest but his conscience shall say to him as Nathan said to David Thou art the man 3. In respect of his compassion Do not think that it is any joy to us to reprove or to threaten St. Paul is loth to use the rod. Jonah will rather runne away from God then he will carry the newes to Niniveh that it must be destroyed Many walk of whom I have told you often and now tell you weeping We shall find as soone as we are past this first verse that this Prophet did feel the burthen which he did see and the griefe he took for them turned his Harp into mourning and his Organes into the voyce of them that weep every tender heart avoydeth being a messenger of evil news but their feet be beautifull that bring glad tydings tydings of peace 3. The word of threatning is a burthen to the people to whom it is sent 1. Judaeis non Chaldaeis 1. To the Penitent 2. To the Impenitent 1. To the Penitent it is an heavy burthen to them to think how they have provoked God to anger and have drawn out his sword against themselves They that truly fear God when they hear their sins threatned do retire themselves into their chambers they weep and deplore their iniquities Hezekiah hearing the Prophet threatning his life He turned himself to the wall Isa 38.2 3. he prayed to the Lord and Hezekiah wept sore Never think that you hear the threatnings of God with any profit till you feel the burthen of them oppressing and the edge of them drawing bloud on you Lachrymae be sanguis animae The Lyon roareth and all the beasts of the forrest do tremble a tender sonne that hath done a fault and heareth his father threatning to punish him findeth that threatning so great a burthen to him that he can give himself no rest till he have recovered his fathers favour 2. The very Impenitent who have any sense of the terrour of the Lord feel Gods threatnings heavie it will make Ahab that sold himself to do wickednesse put on sackcloath and crowne his head with ashes and go mourning if he hear that Gods anger is stirred to bring evill upon his house Even Absolon an ungratious son is impatient of living out of his fathers presence and he setteth Joabs corn on fire for neglecting the mediation which might bring him to his fathers face Esau will seek his fathers blessing with tears and what would not Balaam give that he might die the death of the righteous Surely God is a consuming fire and if coals of this fire are kindled in the bosome of the impenitent and their damnation doth not sleep but is awake in them in the accusation of their guilty consciences to begin their hell even here on earth Hab. 1.2 O Lord how long shall I cry and thou wilt not hear even cry out unto thee of violence and thou wilt not save Here this Habakkuk this Wrastler doth begin his wrastling for what is this whole Chapter but a serious Expostulation and complaint wherein the Prophet 1. Contesteth with God himself vers 2.3 4. 2. He bringeth in God denoucing his own intended judgments against Judah and Jerusalem vers 5.6 7 8 9 10 11. 3. He returneth again to expostulate with God vers 12.13 14 15 16 17. 1. He contesteth with God Wherein 1. He chalengeth him for not hearing his prayer vers 2. 2. For shewing to him the sins of the people v. 3.4 In the first observe 1. What the Prophet did 1. He cryed 2. He cryed long 3. He cryed to him 2. What cause he had Of violence 3. What successe 1. Thou wilt not heare 2. Thou wilt not save To give some light to that which followeth let me first admonish you that it may well be gathered by the title that is here given to Habakkuk the Prophet that he was sent by Almighty God to preach to the Iews to reclaim them from their evil wayes and to still the noise of their crying sinnes and prevailing nothing with them to bring them to repentance he prayeth and cryeth to Almighty God for his judgement upon this People to punish their many sins and God not hearing him nor giving way to his anger to correct them the Prophet moved with the zeal of Gods glory wrastleth with God and contendeth with him for his rod upon them 1. What the Prophet did 1. I cry he lifteth up his voice against this People his brethren for it is twice exprest 1. He cryeth then he resumeth it he saith he cryeth out this is a thing that God doth use to take special notice of expectavi Justitiam ecce clamor It is said of Abel that being dead he spake Moses saith it was voxsanguinis a voice of blood God said that voice cryed to him out of the earth for vengeance The Cry of a Prophet one of Gods Secretaries to whom he revealeth his will one of Gods Chaplains to whom he committeth the Ministry of the Revelation of his will one of Gods Saviours to whom he committeth the office of saving his People the crying the vociferation of one of Gods Seers who cries not out of passion or humane perturbation but from a secret inspiration illuminating him and shewing him things to come One of Gods holy ones whom the zeale of Gods glory doth inflame with this earnestnesse the grief of mans rebellion doth provoke to that loudnesse Such a cry cannot spend it self all into aire and Sunne and perish with the noise it makes 2. He was no Sonne of thunder to make some suddain ratling noise and then cease He cryed loud he cryed long How long shall I cry if the weaknesse of his voice could not penet rate the eare of God vi by force here was saepe cadendo by often falling So David got an hoarsenesse in throat with crying loud and long to the Lord and our Saviour hath commanded that kind of importunity in Prayer and
to finish their sins This serveth 1 To settle faith in God and to seeke our repose only in him in all crosse opposals because he is the sunne and shield and there is no rest but in him he only over-ruleth all and evacuateth the counsels and frustrateth the works of wicked men He only shall bring it to passe 2. This serveth to reprove the means that are in use amongst us to reforme sinne as we pretend but they are unlawful and ungodly 1. By publick blazing and detecting of offenders to put them to open shame in the world for the losse of a good name doth more often harden a sinner and cause impenitency then reclaim him for what hath he to boast that hath lost the good opinion of men love covereth a multitude of sinnes and therefore that is an evil tongue that is the trumpet of anothers shame It is charity to make the best of every thing 2. The same offence is committed in private whispers and secret detractions and the fault is aggravated by concealing our selves as unwilling to justifie our accusations 3. By cursing and bitter calling upon God for his vengeance on them that offend if the offence touch us or our friends for God knoweth without us who to manage his judgments and cursing it returneth and smarteth at home For the Apostle saith it twice Blesse Curse not 4. By publike playes and interludes to represent the vices of the time which though it were the practice of the heathen which knew not God but afarre off yet in Christian-states it is no way tolerable nor justifyable to act the parts of evil doers since the Apostle saith it is a shame to name them much more to act and personate them 5. By private conceived libels after divulged by secret passage from pocket to pocket from one bosome to another for which the devisers thereof have no warrant and to which they have no calling 6. By Satyres and Poeticall declamations for who hath sent these into the world to convince the world is it not to put the spirit of God out of office who is sent to convince the world of sinne And who but the Lords Prophets have warrant to lift up their voyces like Trumpets to tell the house of Jacob their sinnes Every Emperique man may not professe and practice Physick There is a Colledge of soule-Physicians who have a calling to this purpose and are sent to heale the soars of the People 1. By their diligent preaching of the World of God to them 2. By drawing against them and exercising upon them the sword of Ecclesiastical discipline 3. By continual prayer unto God to give end to their sinnes whereby they do trespasse God and good men 3. This serveth to discourage men from doing evil for fear of offending the Prophets and Ministers of the Lord whose righteous souls cannot but be vexed to see their good seed cast away upon barren stony or thorny ground For howsoever basely and unworthily we be deemed if the incorrigible iniquity of men do put us to it to move Almighty God by our earnest prayers against them they shall find that as Iob can do his friends good by his intercession because he is a Prophet so the Lords Ministers may awake judgement against such as go on still in their wickednesse and will not be reformed 2. Doctr. Our Prayers must be importunate The Prophet cried yea he cried out to the Lord. This importunity is exprest two ways 1. In the ardency and zeale of his Prayer it was not oratio a Prayer but vociferatio a crying 2. In the continuance of time How long Thus must we pray with fervour of spirit our tongue is the piece of Ordnance our Prayer is the shot the zeale of our heart is the powder that dischargeth it and according to the strength of the charge such is the flight of the shot Niniveh cryeth mightily to God Christ our Saviour cryed earnestly to his father Jou 3.8 yea with strong crying and tears Salomon spred his armes abroad the Publicane beat his breast Christ fell on the ground David said My sighing is not hid from thee Psal 38.9 The Israelites weeping is thus described They drew water and poured it out before the Lord. The Holy Ghost doth not furnish us so much with words and phrases in Prayer as with sighs and grones which cannot be exprost Paul prayed three times against Sathans Angel Abraham moved God six times for Sodome Nehemiah had so spent himselfe in watching and prayer for his People that the King observed his countenance changed Beloved it is not Prayers by number tale as in the Romish Church nor Prayers by rote or by the ear perfunctoriously vented in the Church and for custome said over at home It is not much babling and multiplicitie of Petitions or vain repetitions that will send up our Prayers to heaven Though you stretch out your hands I will hide mine eyes from you Isay 1. and though you make many Prayers I will not heare you The Pharisees wanted powder to their shot for they prayed in their Synagogues and in the corners of the streets but as God saith Quis requisivit ista Who required these things The soule that actuateth and animateth Prayer is fervor spiritus the holy zeal of him that prayeth 2. Duration of time is another testimony of zealous importunity when our prayer is not a passion but a deliberate and constant earnestnesse holding out as the Apostle saith Pray continually not as the Euchites to do nothing else but to entertain all occasions to conferre with God and to prostrate our suites before him Christ spent a whole night together often in prayer Dan. 10. David day and night Daniel 21 dayes together during the time that he ate no pleasant bread and was in heavinesse Jonah three dayes and three nights in the belly of the Whale made it his Oratory and Chappel from whence he prayed to the Lord. If our soare runne so long we can pray whilest we smart or if our necessities do presse us to importunity we can hold out long for our selves But in my Text the cause is Gods zeal and Gods glory cannot contain it self in the cause of God 3. Doctr. the Lords people do break his Law and will not be reformed the Prophet of the Lord cannot stand and look on as in the next verse he doth and see the glory of God thus suffer but he must awake in the cause of God to bring him to correction So David Rise Lord and let thine enemies be scattered let them that hate thee flie before thee And thus for Gods glory sake we may with reservation of those that do belong to the election of grace pray to God earnestly for the confusion of all Sions enemies and of all that would faine see Jerusalem the true Church of God in the dust Shall our servencie and heat be only for our selves if it be the grant of our requests doth quench
up together with the profession of the Gospel which could not be if we had zeal proportionable to our knowledge such as was in David All false wayes Iutterly abhorre We see also great corruptions in manners which holy zeal might soon eat out and without which Religion may bring us to Church and to the Font and to the Lords Table and may rank us with outward professors but till we grow to such an hatred of sin as the very patience and forbearance of God toward those that do abominably and will not be reformed doth disquiet and greive us and make us complain we fail and come short of duty to God 2. Another complaint of the Church is of inordinate zeal Which is 1. Either in Persons without a lawful calling seeking to reform things amisse 2. Or in respect of the things when men carryed with the strong current of opinion find fault where no fault is or make the fault greater then it is 3. Or in respect of times when men prevent the time and exasperate the judgments of God and provoke his justice against their brethren before they have done all that can be done by the spirit of meeknesse 4. Or in respect of time when they expresse their zeale First against those things that may with least hurt to the Church be forborn till more concerning affairs of the Church be advisedly thought upon 5. Or in respect of the measure of zeal if it be more or lesse then the cause of God requireth 6. In respect of the mixture of it if it be commeded with any of our own corrupt and furious perturbations 2. Seeing therefore we may make so boldwith God as the Prophet here doth we are to be taught that God is so slow in the execution of his judgments even upon them that do ill that till he find that his patience is a burthen to his Church and till he be even chidden to it by his faithful ones he cannot strike Wherefore we must both stirre up our selves and our brethren to a serious consideration of this goodnesse of God and that which the Apostle doth call The riches of his patience that we despise it not that we spend not such riches unthriftily but bestow it upon our repentance and making our peace with God 3. Seeing we may thus call God to account as the Prophet here doth and chide his remissenesse let us not take it ill at the hands of God if he chide us for our sins which do well deserve it and he contest with us for our neglect of our duties either to him or our brethren 4. Seeing we have so good warrant for it when we see any unremedied evils which do threaten ruine to our Church or Common-wealth which perchance the Minister may be forbidden to reprove or to disswades uch as these in my text Violence and oppression corruption of Religion and corruption of Courts of Justice which the Minister in general terms may reprove but he must not with Nathan say tu es homo thou art the man to any delinquent in any of these kinds This then is the remedy we may go to God himselfe and chide with him for it without any feare of scandalum magnatum and in holy indignation and zeal of Gods glory laying aside our own corrupt passions we may call him to account for shewing us and making us to see such things And I do not doubt but we shall have as good successe as this Prophet had as the next section of this chapter doth declare Vers 5. Be hold yee among the heathen and regard and wonder marvellously for I will work a work in your days which you will not believe though it be told you 6. For lo I raise up the Chaldeans that bitter and hasty Nation which shall march through the bredth of the land to possesse the dwelling places that are not theirs 7. They are terrible and dreadful their judgement and their dignity shall proceed of themselves 8. Their horses also are swifter then the Leopards and more fierce then the evening Wolves and their horsemen shall spread themselves and their horsemen shall come from farre they shall fly as the Eagle that hasteth to eat 9. They shall come all for violence their faces shall sup up as the East-wind and they gather the captivity as the sand 10. And they shall scoffe at the Kings and the Princes shall be a scorne unto them they shall deride every strong hold for they shall heap dust and take it 11 Then shall his mind change and he shall passe over and offend imputing this his power unto his God THese words are the second section of this chapter and do contain Gods own answer to the former complaint of the Prophet wherein God declareth how he will be avenged on his own People for the oppression and violence which they have used for the corruption in manners in religion and in the administration of Iustice Let us begin at the words Verse 5. and search the will of God revealed therein Behold ye among the heathen and regard and wonder marvellously Here is God himselfe speaking to his sinful people the Iews and awaking them to behold the anger to come Here is first the roaring of the Lion Cap. 1.2 as in Amos. The Lord will roare from Sion and utter his voice from Jerusalem This is the thunder the thunderbolt doth after follow 1. He biddeth them behold that is to take this threatning of Gods judgement and to spread it before their eyes and to peruse the sad contents thereof 2. Behold yee among the heathen He turneth their eyes to the heathen whom God will now make their sharp schoolmasters to instruct them for seeing they will learn nothing by the ministry of his Prophets whom he hath sent to them to chide them and guide them and seeing they are not moved with the lamentable complaints of their brethren groaning under their oppressions and grievances and injustice now he biddeth them to look among the heathen as to the quarter from whence the following tempest is like to arise for by them God intendeth to punish the Iews 3. He addeth Regard for beholding without regarding and taking the matter into due and serious consideration is but gazing As the Apostle presseth an exhortation Consider what I say God had sent his Prophets to instruct them and they heard them but regarded them not Now he will not be so neglected 4. He addeth and wonder maxveilously attoniti este obstupescite Here he prepareth their expectation for some extraordinary judgement this is that which the Apostle doth call Terror domini and ira ventura the terrour of the Lord and the wrath to come 5. He addeth in general terms the matter of their feare and consternation For 1. There is a work to be done 2. God himself professeth to be the worker 3. The time is at hand in your days 4. The wonder is that though God himself foretell them thereof Non credetis
3 Doct. that set prayers are both lawfull and necessary to be used by the faithfull both in their private and publique meetings And this is proved by these examples in holy Scripture God himselfe prescribed to the Priests a set form of blessing the people which they constantly used for God said to them Thus shall ye blesse the children of Israel numb 6.23 c. and say unto them The Lord blesse thee and keep thee The Lord make his face shine upon thee and be mercifull unto thee The Lord lift up his Countenance upon thee and give thee peace The 92. Psal is called a Psalm for the Sabbath The 102. Psal is a prayer for the afflicted when he is overwhelmed and poureth out his complaint before the Lord. Hezekiah the King and the Princes commanded the Levites to praise the Lord with the words of David 2 Chron. 29 3â— and of Asaph the Seer which is the 136. Psal This was also used by Jehoshapht 2 Chron. 20.21 And in the Gospel the Disciples came to Christ and told him that John had taught his Disciples to pray and desired him to teach them and he taught them the Lords Prayer which doth imply in the judgment of the best learned that John had taught his Disciples a set form The reasons are first for hlep of the infirmities of such as have good affections in them but cannot so well express them that they may be directed lest they should utter any thing rashly of themselves For thus the spirit helpeth their infirmities by those who can direct them and in themselves using these set formes This much advanceth the service of God when men before hand have their petitions drawn and shall need nothing but zeal and faith in the delivering thereof to God Herein we are like to poore petitioners that come to the King who not trusting themselves with their own suites do get some wiser than themselves to set down their mindes and then they have nothing to do but to importune the Soverreign Majesty of the King to hear them and to grant their requests This serveth for the maintenance of Unanimity the Congregation knowing before they meet what they shall aske at the hands of God it resteth that they bring affections fit to joyn one with another in supplications This maintaineth outward Uniformity when the whole Congregation joyn together in an outward worship and service of God This admonisheth us 1 To take it for a great blessing of God that he hath provided these helps for our weaknesse Vse 2 It sheweth us that God for our good doth so labour to fit us to his service as that he is pleased that one of us be helpfull to another therein 3 It reproveth those who out of a presumption and overweening of the graces of God in themselves do not onely despise those helps themselves but disgrace them in others in which number we may reckon all the depravers of our Church prayers 4 Here the prayer of the Prophet is used This teacheth that the fittest persons to be used for direction of devotion are the Prophets and Apostles 4 Doct. and Ministers of the word The reason is because they are the most fit to speak to God for us and to teach us how to speak to him who are set apart to speak to us for God and to instruct us from him These are the Phisitians of our souls and should best know our diseases and defects and therefore best able to direct us to the remedy for as in the state of bodily health many superficially in-sighted in some empericall Physick do hurt themselves by being their own Physitians So in the state of the spirituall man many do overthrow their spirituall health by presuming to be their own Divines and trusting too much to their own skill Therefore it is wisedome for the flock to be directed Vse especially in the service of God by their Pastours and to hear his voyce let Habbakuk teach Israel how to pray And for us howsoever the spirit of contradiction which likes nothing long have laboured long to disgrace our publique Service yet because many faithfull and godly Pastours of the Church have zealously joyned their united forces of piety and charity to compose this book and the approbation and authority both of Church and Common-wealth hath commanded it to the use of our Congregations and the malignity of all the times since hath not been able to remove it let us embrace it and use it as Gods ordinance sealed with the seal the double seal both of prescription of time and good successe in the use of this Church of England 2 He putteth this prayer into verse and maketh a song of it and fitteth it to be sung by the Church with an instrument of Musick for so the last verse of the Chapter directeth it to the chief Singer on my stringed instruments This manner of praising God is ancient and of much use in the Church Mr. Beza hath taken the paines to collect fourteen songs eleven out of the old Testament and three out of the new which he hath interpreted by way of Paraphrase and hath annexed them to his Paraphrase of the book of Davids Psalmes and they are translated into English I shall not lose my labour nor you your time to shew you where you may finde them Exod. 1.15 The song that Moses taught Israel to sing to the praise of God for their deliverance from Pharoah and his armies which is of such excellency being a type of the deliverance of the Church from the adversary power of the world and the tyranny of the beast that there is mention of it in the Revelation Rev. 15 3. And they sung the song of Moses the servant of God Deut. 2.32 When Moses drew neer his end he maketh a Propheticall song for the use of the people both to commemorate Gods mercies to them to lay open the judgements of God against them to chide their rebellions and to comfort them with types of grace in the revelation of the Messiah And promising them the gift of the spirit of repentance to returne them into the favour of their God 3 The triumphant song of Deborah and Barak Judg. 5. after the victory of Jabin King of the Cananites 4 1 Sam. 2.1 the song of Hannah the Mother of Samuel in thanksgiving for the blessing of her fruitfulnesse conteining in it both thanksgiving doctrine and prophecy 5 2 Sam. 1.19 the elegie of David bewailing the death of Saul and Jonathan 6 2 Sam. 7.18 A song of David in thanksgiving to God after Nathan the Prophet had from God told him that the Messiah should be the Sonne of David 7 Isaiah 5. Conteining the rebuke of the people which is a Satyricall Psalme 8 Isaiah 26.1 the song of the Church conteining consolation and prophecy 9 The song of Hezekiah when God comforted his sickness with promise of recovery Isaiah 38. 10 The song of Jonah in the belly
vvhose hearts do smite them and vvhose consciences do accuse them that though the zeal of Gods house do bring them to Church yet the fear of their unvvorthiness doth make them stand a far off beating their breasts and not daring to lift up their eyes to heaven These had need of comfort we must labour to put metall into such by telling them that he whose face they seek is God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of mercies 2 Cor. 1.3 and the God of all comfort David is a full example of a distressed man Psal 119.107 fearing and yet praying for he confesseth I am very sore afflicted yet he prayeth God to quicken him he saith My soul is continually in my hand he was even ready to yield it up yet the comfort that he had in God established his heart And herein God is most gratious for when our sins come in our sight and we are horribly afraid of Gods judgments even then God sendeth his Spirit to us not to take away our infirmities quite but to help them not to turne our sorrow into joy but to sanctifie our sorrow and to supply it with sighs and groanes and this addition of fear and grief doth also mend devotion To such we must say that though he to whom we pray be in Heaven yet he is our Father and though great and glorious be his Majesty yet he is the preserver of men David calleth him our Sun and Shield the brightnesse of this Sun may dazle our weak sight but the protection of this shield will save us from danger Be strong then and God shall establish your hearts he shall anoint you with the oile of gladnesse and he shall say to your soul I am thy Salvation 2 Subjectum Vide divis supr Pag. 29. This prayer is for the Church that is for all those that then were the visible society of such as worshiped the onely true God It is the duty of every child of God Doct. and member of the Church to pray to God for the whole body of the Church The Church at this time was within a pale and confined to the house of Abraham not in his whole bloud for Ishmael was excluded in Isaac was the promise not in his whole bloud for Esay was excluded Jacob was Israel and prevailed with God of him came the Fathers and in his seed was the Church continued This Church was now threatned with deportation and sundry great judgments the Prophet teacheth them how to pray one for another To this there are great motives 1 The direction of Christ in the Lords Prayer which calleth God our Father and in the processe of it sheweth that the Church of God is still included Give us forgive us lead us not 2 The content that we give to God in these generall prayers which the Apostle doth well expresse I exhort that first of all prayers c. be made for all men For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour 1 Tim. 2.1 3.4 who will have all men to be saved All are or may be members of the Church of God for ought we know 3 The benefit that we reap hereby is great for thus we come to have our portion in the charitable prayers of others Ambrose Si prote rogas tantum prote solus rogabis Hâ—xam 1. si autem pro omnibus rogas omnes pro te rogabunt 4. It is a true rule that extra Ecclesiam non est salus without the Church there is no salvation Acts 2.47 it is said that God added to the Church daily such as should be saved the reason hereof is because Christ is no where to be found as a Saviour but in his Church and the meanes of salvation Preaching Prayer and Sacraments they are only found in the Church Without are dogs enchanters Revel 22.15 c. Christ is the good Shepheard and he hath his fold all the sheep that are without must be brought to that fold as himself saith alias oves habeo quae non sunt de ovili hoc illas oportet adducere I have other sheep c. they shall hear my voice Joh. 10.16 and there shall be one fold and one Shepheard Therefore there is no safety in singularity they that forsake the Church forsake the fold the unity of spirit not the singularity is the bond of peace We are members one of another the common safety of the body communicateth perticular safety to all the members of the body In the temporall state the peace of perticular persons is included in the peace of the whole kingdome therefore Jeremiah saith to the Church then in deportation Seek the peace of the City Jer. 29.7 whether I have caused you to be carried away captives and pray unto the Lord for it for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace Much more shall we have peace in the peace of the Church seeing Christ bequeathed his legacy of peace not to some parts and members of his Church but to the whole body thereof Joh. 14.27 Pacem meam do vobis I give unto you my peace It must be so understood for as he left his Spirit the Comforter so he left his peace the comfort not to his Disciples onely but to all the Church therefore pray all that it may be well with thee in communi bono in the common good This teacheth us to incorporate our selvs in the communion of Saints per communionem pietatis et charitatis by the communion of piety and charity to be one anothers Orators but especially to study and pray for the peace and welfare of the Church let us consider it is the Spouse of Christ it is a Lilly among thorns it is a flower in the field not only open to all weathers but to the tooth and foot of the beasts of the field Satan going about seeking to devoure it Let our prayers to God resist Satan and fight the Lords battail against him We heare of the troubles of the Church in other countreys we heare of the tyranny of Popery and the oppressions of faithfull professours if we give them no other help yet let our prayers give God no rest till he have mercy on them and give them deliverance This teacheth us to maintain truth and peace amongst our selves let not the wounds and soars of a Church that is heresie and schisme and separation be so much as named amongst us as it becommeth the Saints of God let not the common enemy of our Religion hope to build upon our ruines and to raise up himself by our fall to strengthen his peace by our contentions to be-night our clear and glorious Sun-shine of the Gospel so many happy years crowned with peace and the fruits of peace propagation with his Egyptian and Cymmerian darknesse Let us be of good comfort their darknesse dare not come so near our light for our light will discover it their errour dare
need no other rods to scourge us here no other fewell to enfire us hereafter then our owne sins this is Hilaris insania to make our selves merry with these and to set in the chair of the scornfull 6 Incorrigibility when the gratious warnings of God do not lead them to repentance when the angry threatnings of God do not draw bloud of them when the rods of Gods favourable chastisement doe not smart upon them O Lord saith Jeremy Jer. 5.3 Thou hast stricken them but they have not grieved Correction had wont to be the way to reclaime sinners but when iniquity is come to the full ripeness God may lay on while he will they that have not known the way of peace will harden their hearts as Pharaoh did and correction will but make them curse and blaspheme God to his face This was the full iniquity of these nations whom God threshed and wounded and digged up and cast out that he might plant his Israel therein And it teacheth us to be wise to salvation Vse as the Apostle saith Thou man of God fly these things And let me say to you as Lot to the Sodomites I pray you my brethren do not so wickedly Take heed of Idols Babes keep your selves from Idols Idolatry hath growen bolder of later then heretofore the Factors of Rome are busie amongst us trading for proselites but God stirreth up the spirits of his religious servants to solicite the cause of Religion and the worthies of our land stand up with zealous fervency of spirit for the truth of God This is the light of Israel so long as we keepe the fire of God burning upon our Altars we shall have hope that God is with us and that he will give us his blessing of peace Let us break off our sins by repentance that we may turn away the indignation of God from us let not sin reign in our mortall bodies that we should obey it in the lusts thereof Let us take heed that we give not way to sin either in our selves or in others left it over-grow us but let us examin our own hearts in our chambers and turn to the Lord. And if a brother by occasion fall into sin let them that are spirituall restore him with the spirit of meeknesse Let shame cover our faces for the evils that we have done it is no shame to be ashamed of our evils as there is a godly sorrow so there is a godly shame let us say with Job I covered not my transgression with Adam by hiding my iniquity in my bosome Let it grieve us that wee have sinned and let us not boast thereof but say with Job Peccavi quid faciam tibi with Saul I have sinned and done foolishly Let the remembrance of our sin smite our hearts as Davids heart smote him when he had numbred the people and let us do no more so Let the judgments of God make us afraid Let the corrections of God humble us and cast us at the feet of God that he may shew us mercy and with Paul let us pray three times that the Angel of Satan may be taken from us Then shall we neither feel the flail of God threshing us nor the sword of God wounding us nor the spade of God diging up but we shall rejoyce every man under his own Vine and under his own Fig-tree 2 What he did in favour to his own Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people even for salvation with thine annointed David saith Truly God is good to Israel The everlasting comfort of the Church hath been planted and grounded in the favour of God by the mediation of Jesus Christ his anointed For although Christ were not so manifest to his Church before and in the time of the law as he hath been in the time of the Gospel yet he hath been always the hope of all the ends of the world The reason is Reason because Christ is not onely a Mediatour of intercession to pray for us and a Mediatour of satisfaction to die for us and a Mediatour of salvation to prepare eternall mansions for us but he is and ever was and will be a Mediatour also of temporall protection all to keep and defend us from all evils So that the Sun shal not smite us by day nor the Moon by night For as God created us to his own image so he fitted to his only begotten Son a body in our image he was made of a woman and so soon as his word had made him the promised seed so soon was he crucified for us and was the Lamb slain from the beginning of the World Then did he take his Church into his bosome and married her to himself and they became one body and ever since his Angels have charge over her to keep her in all her ways and this must comfort Israel in Babylon that God vvent before them vvith his anointed to setle them in the promised Land There be no other mercies that vvill tarry by us but those which God doth vouchsafe us by the means of this Mediator He importeth many outward blessings even to the vvicked by the means of his holy ghost For all the knovvledg that they have all the vvisedome in arts and sciences be the gifts of the holy ghost but they have no portion at all in the office of Christ he vvas not anointed for them From hence the Apostle doth conclude that God hath not forsaken the Jevvs but that they shall be called again for he saith Hath God cast away his people he ansvvereth God hath not cast away his people whom he foreknew Ro. 11 1 2. The election of grace vvhich made them his doth confirm them to him forever and therefore they mention his going before them with his anointed to assure them that though they go into captivity and abide a long time there yet they shall not be left in bonds for ever For the spirit of the Lord is upon this anointed to preach liberty to Captives Isal 61.1 and the opening the prison to them that are bound This is now the true comfort of the distressed parts of the Church which groan under the burthen of oppression and bloudy persecution They cry for the help from men and no Nation doth succour them they weep and pray to God and to his annointed and no doubt but in good time he wil come down to them to visit them in his mercy they are Christians and they carry the name of Gods anointed his name is in them and his righteousnesse and truth are their hope and strength It is time for thee Lord to put to thy hand for the wicked sons of Belial the children of Edom cry out against thy Church down with it down vvith it even to the ground The Bishop of Rome abetteth the unchristian shedding of Christian bloud by his letters and disperseth his vvhetstones to sharpen the sword of Gods enemies against Gods Church Let us say vvith old Jacob O Lord