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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93242	Judgement and mercy: or, The plague of frogges [brace] inflicted, removed. Delivered in nine sermons, by the late reverend and learned divine Mr. Iosias Shute, Arch-deacon of Colchester, and preacher at St. Mary Woolnoth, in London: with his usuall prayers before and after sermon. Whereunto is added a sermon preached at his funerall, by Mr. Ephraim Vdall. Imprimatur. Ja. Cranford. Octob. 29. 1644.	Shute, Josias, 1588-1643.; Udall, Ephraim, d. 1647. Sermon preached at the funerall of Mr. Shute.	1645 (1645)	Wing S3715; Thomason E299_1; Thomason E299_2; ESTC R200245	134,491	230

contemptible creature Thus God hath done oft-times he punished the Egyptians afterwards by lyce the poorest and basest creature of all So he punished Herod by wormes hee that was so proud that he entertained the applause of the paraziticall people The voyce of God and not of man And we read of a Bishop in the Ecclesiasticall story that was punished by rats after he had called the poore people rats and mice So that insolent Pope Adrian the fourth our Country-man God used no other thing to take him away but a flye to choke him Poore things God hath to humble great men of the world and to take downe their pride This the Apostle hath 1 Cor. 1.27 God hath chosen the weake things of the world to confound the mighty and foolish things to confound the wise and base and meane things and things that are not to bring to nought things that are Things that are of no name nor number among the sonnes of men God hath chosen to controll the great men of the world that thinke it an honour to them to fight against God You see how contemptuously and scornfully Goliah looks on David Come and I will give thy flesh unto the fowles of the aire and unto the beasts of the field Yet God ordained that poore stripling to strike downe that great monster and so he did to the honour of God and to the rescuing of the glory and Israel of God Therefore whensoever God laies shame and disgrace on us and punisheth us by creatures that we contemne and scorne reflect on the pride of thy heart that is the reason that God hath inflicted it to abate thy pride the more base the punishment is the more is thy pride that God useth that to bring thee downe The more lofty a mans thoughts be the more base shall the meanes of his humiliation be Secondly Calvin gives another reason why God sent frogs that Pharaoh and his people might understand that all this while they led their lives and enjoyed the latitude of their health and livelihood by Gods meer favour That though they contemned him or at least did not thinke of him yet they should know that he was the God of all the world and that it was he that preserved them all the while for Egypt being a place of a puddle and a standing poole and Nylus but a lake it was apt to breed frogs And there being so much water and innundations and such slime left it might breed frogs in abundance there might be abundance before But God restrained that fertile Country of frogs so that all this while they were not chastised by this judgement they might acknowledge that from God they received this immunity And certainly It is a great mercy for men to be free from the calamity of brute creatures It is a great mercy of God we must acknowledge it his worke and blessing that we are kept free from them For when man was fallen he did not only make God his enemy but every creature that every creature is ready to take the part of God against man for sinne and would fall upon man to revenge the wrath of God but only God restraines them Therefore you shall sinde among the judgements that God threatneth against wicked men Ezek. 14.21 Hee threatneth them with be ests wilde and noysome that they should come and doe mischiefe to the people as well as the plague and famine and sword So we finde it promised as a blessing Iob 5.23 The man that feareth God shall be at peace with the beasts of the field And Hos 2.18 I will make for them a covenant with the beasts of the field and with the fowles of the heaven and with the very creeping things of the earth As if he should say they will not be at peace with those that are sinfull except I restraine them and keep them in or else they will be sure to shew their wrath against man for his disobedience against God It is Gods restraining that keeps them in that else would flye upon man for sinne The Lion devoured not the Asse that devoured the Prophet God would have him goe no further but restrained him from killing him that he was as apt to fall on as the man Therefore in the dangers that we escape from beasts and brute creatures let us give praise to God For as St. Austen said He thanked God not only for the sinnes that he had remitted but those sinnes that he had kept him from So I tell thee we are bound to thanke God for privative favours I meane not only for those afflictions that we are delivered out of but those crosses and calamities that we are kept from that come not into the conceit of a great number of you when you have armed all the creatures against you by your sinnes and yet you go on free and they doe not that that they would but God restraines them You thinke it is no mercy But we must acknowledge Gods goodnesse and favour that he keeps in the creature that else would revenge him give the glory to God How oft have you knowne people some goared with Oxen some killed with Horses some stung with Serpents some torne by Dogs Why hath not all this fallen upon you or me Is it not Gods mercy That the frogs did not doe this to Egypt before was it not Gods mercy And that these creatures are kept from us is it not Gods favour Therefore if others be slaine and touched and smitten let us keep a Passeover let us give glory to God in whom we live move and have our being and let us live to his glory and according to his commandements without whom we cannot live one moment THE SECOND SERMON Vpon EXOD. CHAP. 8. VERS 2.3 I will smite all thy borders with frogs And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly which shall come up into thine house and into thy bed-chamber and upon thy bed c. NOw we come to the amplification of this judgement First from the generality of it in regard both of the persons and the place the King and the Subjects The bed-chamber as well as the common roomes the pastrie and kneading trough as well as other utinsells Secondly from the place from which this mischiefe should come from the River Thirdly from the manner the noysomnesse and irksomnesse of it they should crawle and creep upon them in that manner as was fearfull to behold These things being woven one within another I will not tye my selfe to this strict method I have laid downe but I will gather observations as I goe along and as the clauses present themselves and I will begin where I left It is said here I will smite all thy borders with frogs It is well knowne that Egypt is a large place and full of inhabitants All places and persons that were in Egypt God threatned to smite with this judgement yet you shall finde that Pharaoh was the maine offender it was he that used

so let it urge us to prepare and if we be prepared either we shall be hid in the evill day or the affliction shall be so sanctified that we shall finde honey in that Lion Another thing I would commend to your consideration something of kin to this point in hand Pharaoh holds out God sends a message it will not be God now executes Where words will not serve blows must I shall not need to give instances of this there are enow in Scripture And there is great reason that God should doe it For if he should only content himselfe with words his truth would be called in question as if he had said that that he meant not to performe if that word that he hath spoken shall not take effect Secondly his Justice would be questioned that hee hates not sinne with that hatred that the world is perswaded of Thirdly his Power would be questioned that though he hate sin and threaten it yet he were not able to punish it Lastly his Wisdome and Providence would be questioned for it is not the part of a wise man where there is desert for blowes to content himselfe only with words for this makes reproofe contemptible and all speeches ridiculous and turne againe upon him with disgrace For the Use of it it should teach us to justifie God in all his proceedings ever give glory to God whatsoever falls for certainly God for the contempt of ordinary proceedings is faine to goe to a more severe reckoning with men they justly deserve it therefore God is to be justified Secondly since God is so leasurely and treatable in his pace to vengeance Let us all make use of the deliberate proceedings of God feare Gods word and wee shall never feare his blowes that is true It is a speech of Chrysostome to good purpose Let a man feare Gods word and he shall never need to feare those acts of vengeance Let them feare in Egypt and Rome let him feare and stand in awe that offends If a man be carefull to lead a holy life he need not be afraid though the hills tumble into the sea and the foundations of the earth be rased he shall stand unappaled in the middest of all dangers So that speech of Gregory and it is good counsell that he gives Let us feare when we heare lest we come to feare when we feele which is worst of all For beloved it is hard to be put to the tutorage of that School-mistris experience If a man feare not till hee feele then wrath will fall the heavier The Wise man takes another course Solomon saith A wise man seeth the plague and hideth himselfe but a foole goeth on and is punished he will not be warned and admonished God comes to many men nay to all by the dispensation of his word he tells us what is due to sinne what he will inflict he sometimes by lesse chastisements as his lesser ordnance playes upon us doth not God expect profit by this If we doe not he will inlarge punishments upon people and so much more the blows shal be because of the contempt of his gracious proceedings and then men shall have no body to complaine of but themselves and curse the time a thousand fold that they did not obey the word of God but would needs stand it out till it came to blowes now the fearfull hand of God is fallen upon them It was the complaint of Daniel Dan. 9. We hearkned not to the voyce of thy Prophets now therefore thy wrath is stretched upon us to the full As he saith there Therefore my counsell shall be to feare the word of God and we shall not need to feare his judgements tremble at his threatnings Get the heart of Iosiah to melt when he read the Law of God he had respect to the Word that he trembled at his word and was contrite in that manner that he was deeply cast downe with the consideration of his menacies and threatnings God will be mercifull to such a one and he shall escape in the day of vengeance whereas those that are refractory and contumacious that care not for words till it come to blowes they shall be sure to sucke the dregs of Gods vialls THE FIFTH SERMON Vpon EXOD. CHAP. 8. VERS 5. And the Lord spake unto Moses say unto Aaron Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streames over the rivers over the ponds and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt c. HAving spoken of the denunciation of this judgement I come now to the second thing The execution of it which is laid downe in vers 5.6 where there is First the injunction And then the performance of that injunction The injunction verse 5. God said to Moses say to Aaron stretch forth thine hand with thy rod c. The performance of this verse 6. Aaron did so In the former of these the injunction God spake to Moses say unto Aaron A man might say Why did not Moses take the rod as well as Aaron There are divers reasons given why Moses did not doe it but Aaron rather The Hebrewes they according to their fabulous manner say it was not fit for Moses to smite the river because he was preserved in the water when time was as we read in the story Exod. 2. when he floated in an arke of bulrushes Pharaohs daughter tooke him up Hee should have beene ungratefull to those streames to have smitten them with a plague that were the meanes of his preservation It is true beloved that gratitude works not only towards men but toward the brute creatures even to the place where and instruments by which a man is benefited but this is no solid reason Suppose Moses received never so much good there thankfulnesse to the creature would not beare him out in disobedience to the Creator Another saith that Moses was not to doe it because the Egyptians then would have beene perswaded that he had done it by sorcery and so they would have beene lesse moved and perswaded by it They were so unjust that they conceived of Moses that he was a sorcerer The truth is that he had all the learning of the Egyptians and it is likely that many of them used that Art yet we know nothing of Moses but that he was exercised in those sciences that were justifiable Againe if this were the reason Aaron might have beene suspected for he lived among them a great age and without doubt Pharaoh would have brought it out Calvin gives a third reason God would not have Moses strike the streames and bring the frogs but Aaron that Pharaoh in regard of his pride and insolencie might be handled more contemptibly As if Moses would let him see that be would not trouble himselfe but his servant that was to officiate for him he should doe it There is a fourth reason God hath set downe an order he gives Moses direction what to doe and from him Moses directs Aaron and he executes it

Nay we finde this true by experience let Gods hand be upon a man by a disease that is of an ill kinde and threatneth the life what doth he doe In the first place saith Austen the Physitian is called for and many great rewards are promised if hee be restored to his former latitude of health againe In the last place God is sought unto and it may be the Minister sent for and it may be that meanes would not be used if the other were not despaired of Nay it falls out so in regard of the terrours on mens soules Men that are troubled this way what do they Not seeke to make their peace with God they seeke for humane comforts worldly meanes It may bee they will puzzle themselves in a great number of businesse In ancient time when their children passed through the fire to Moloch they would drownd their crie with loud instruments so they thinke to silence the disturbance of conscience by businesse Others give themselves up to all recreations when they have disturbance of soule to reading of stories that are pleasant and to riding abroad and whyling away the time with telling of tales and by putting themselves into company and going to houses of gaming All these are thought to be excellent receits against spirituall qualmes Some would faine lay these cares asleep by drinking and drowne them there Thus there is no care had of peace-making with God Men are not so sensible of the curing of the wound only they desire to helpe the aking of it As a man that is in debt he takes not care for the discharging of his ingagements but all his study is how he may keep out of the hands of the officers For these let them know that this is a very preposterous course that only becomes such as Pharaoh For there is no evill in the City but the Lord hath done is therefore he must be sought unto and in the first place it is well knowne without him all other outward comforts are unavailable Let Pharaoh send for his Wise-men and do what he can all shall not helpe him till God be intreated If we have all the comforts in the world they will prove insufficient if God put not warmth and life into them therefore let us seeke him Looke in all the examples before and see how unsuccessefull all those comforts were to wicked men Did Cain finde rest when he had built his City he could not rest he was a vagabond for all that Did Saul finde comfort in his musique The evill spirit had the insulting upon him now and then and was fiercer Had hee comfort by the witch of Endor No he made his wound deeper And Ahaziah never came from his bed So we see what poore comfort Iudas had he was turned off with a Looke thou to it So those that neglect to seek God in their sicknesse they trust to the Physitians like Asa and they never recover of their disease And those horrours of conscience when men seeke to silence their cares with delights and pleasures and recreations it falls out as with a man in a hot feaver that hath taken a draught of cold water when he hath dranke it he thinks he hath abated the inward fire but the cup is scarce from his mouth but he complaines of the improvement of the burning disease As money that is taken up for the satisfying of an arrest it satisfies for that time but it bites deeper after A man that is neare drowning will catch at any reed or straw that floats upon the water and thinks to helpe himselfe by it but they prove matter of entanglement Therefore the way for a men to escape this is to goe to the Lord get some of the bloud of Christ that hee may speed better one drop of that is enough to satisfie the soule and to cover all the heat and fervour of it Now let us take it into consideration and ever seek God in the first place but wave all comforts and contentments in the world till God be pacified It is an Ironie that God bestowes upon those Deut. 32.37 Where are their gods the rocke of their strength Let them rise up and helpe them and be their protection So the Prophet saith Call upon your gods now those that ye worshipped and see if they will helpe you in the time of distresse None but God is a sure refuge and all the things of the world shall say to a man then as the King of Israel said to the woman in the famine in Samaria If God doe not helpe how shall I helpe thee So much for that Now we come to the third thing the worke it selfe They did so with the inchantments they wrought Here some questions must be resolved every one of which will yeeld some observations as we passe along The first is this made by Austen in his questions upon Exodus Can they fetch frogs when fetcht they them for all Egypt before was spread over with frogs and by the touching of the waters and the waters crawled abundantly whence had they these frogs Certainly saith Hugo de sancto the Magicians must do it in other waters or else it had beene no glory for that abounded with frogs already Austen for the resolution of it refers us to that he had said before It is said they were furnished with water out of Goshen that was not touched and thence they raised those frogs by smiting of Goshen water But some may say would God suffer Goshen to hee troubled and the Magicians to have their will upon that place I answer not that it was any disturbance to the people of Israel for without doubt their waters were kept sweet though they were touched by the Magicians If frogs crawled out of them it was to Pharaoh to molest them but in Goshen it was done We may observe this that God sometimes suffers the Devill to play his prizes upon his ground for his further confusion As we see here The Church the assembly of Saints are holy we know what reaks the Devill playes among them oft-times The Altar of God was a holy place yet Melitius brought his Idoll and set it upon the very Altar it self As holy as our Lord himself was yet he was carried by the evill Spirit from the pinacle to the mountaine But God suffered it so to be for the further confusion of that adversary God gives the Devill liberty not only to invade the goods but the person of Iob a holy man that was high in Gods affection yet God gave him power against him only preserve his life So we see he suffers sometimes his dearest Saints to bee a kinde of Theatre for the Devill to play his prises upon As wee may observe sometimes in blasphemous thoughts cast into the hearts of Gods deare children not those that are ascending cogitations from the corruption of mans heart but injected cast in by the Devill darted into the soule like lightning and come as thicke as

be removed from me and from my people Why Pharaoh why dost thou not intreat that the judgement of hardnesse of heart may bee removed O why dost thou not pray to Moses to intreat God to give thee a supple spirit that may be apt and fit and pliable for the impressions of grace dost thou not yet confesse thine iniquitie dost thou not yet repent that thou hast stood out so long against the Lord of Hosts If thou wert sensible of this judgment of obduration it is greater then the turning of the waters into blood and then these Frogs or any judgment that was after inflicted Well Pharaoh was not troubled with this Therefore to come to the observation you see what the humour of wicked people is they are more affected with the punishment then with the sinne Remove the judgment O let the Frogs be gone he saith not Remove my sinne take away this heart and give me a new heart The wicked are more affected with the punishment then with the sin and desire more that their bodies should be eased then their soules cured See it in Cain Gen. 4. he cries out My punishment is greater then I can beare The word there used signifies oft in Scripture sinne yet sometimes also punishment divers of the Greek and Latine Fathers tooke it as if hee complayned of his sinne that it was greater then could be forgiven and so make it an evidence of his distrust and diffidence and despaire but our translation renders it My punishment is greater then I can beare Surely he that observes the words following shall easily conceive that it was not the sin that troubled him but the sense of this I shall be a vagabond and a runnagate and every man that meets me shall kill me That troubled and disturbed him not that hee had offended God and exposed and made himself obnoxious to the curse of God that was not it his sin did not trouble him but that this judgement should fall upon him So the like wee see in Esau hee mournes and weeps and howles and keeps a stir but it was onely in the sense of losse not for the prophanenesse of his heart but for the losse he thought hee should sustaine in that his brother was preferred before him it was some disparagement and disgrace to him Surely he mourned not for his sinne because at the same time he resolved to kill his brother If he had mourned for his sinnes hee would never have resolved on so cruell an act So in Saul Samuel expostulates with him he was not so troubled with his finne as with the renting of the Kingdome from him and the shrinking of his reputation in the world Honour me before the people saith hee So Ahab hee puts on Sackcloth and makes a humiliation God knowes for the judgement more then for the sinne for wee see after how ready hee was to imprison Micaiah So Simon Magus in Act. 8. after Peter had threatned him severely O pray for me that none of these things come to me that you have spoken Saith Oecumenius a man would thinke that this were a man that ingenuously confessed his sinnes but saith he it came not from a good resolution And saith Chrysostome it came not from his heart for hee was still polluted in the gall of bitternesse and the bond of iniquitie Therefore the thing he feared was judgement Pray that these things may not come upon me meaning the judgment that Peter had threatned And this is that spirit of bondage that servile spirit that the Apostle speaks of Rom. 8.15 You have not received the spirit of bondage to feare againe This spirit of bondage is in the wicked the feare of a slave that is not so much troubled with the offence of his master as with the whip and lash that shall light on him A wicked man is not so much troubled with the displeasing of God as with burning with the devill in hell I deny not but there may be great use of this servile feare even in Gods owne for when God converts a man hee makes use of this servile feare to breake downe those strong holds those fortifications that the devill hath built in a man to keep out God by improving the Law that is as Cannon shot hee breaks downe this strong building Therefore Austin saith this servile feare is good and profitable like the bristle or needle that though it sew not the cloth it makes way it keeps the heart supple for the impressions of grace and out of doubt God terrifieth before he comforts Nay in growne Christians there is great use of these servile feares I meane to feare the judgments of God for I find it in Gods Saints Josias heart melted at the threatnings of the Law and David was afraid because of Gods righteous judgements Habakkuk saith that his belly trembled and his lips did shake and rottennesse entred into his bones when hee thought of the judgements of God And I desire that the remembrance of hell may keep my selfe and others from sin But I say that is not onely the worke in Gods children I know that punishment makes them not good But there is likewise the love of God which though it appeare not so fully to every body God discernes it And out of doubt Gods children though they were in hell they would bee afraid to offend God out of love And when judgements are inflicted on the Children of God their chiefe care is to make their peace with God for the putishment they respect it not so much they are content to have the judgement lie still so they may receive peace and assurance of reconciliation As David when the hand of God was upon him for numbering the people 2 Sam. 24. O saith he forgive the trespasse of thy servant That is the first thing he deales with God for to forgive his iniquitie his impietie for the judgement he was indifferent Let thy hand be on me and on my fathers house For the use it is a note of tryall and examination There are divers losses and crosses fall upon us sometimes we suffer one way sometimes another It may be God visits us with sickenesse and layes us on the bed of sorrow what doth presently and principally touch us what doe we spend our teares and sighes and prayers on Is it to make our peace with God Is it sinne that troubleth and disturbes us Is that it or is it onely to get from under the flame and to get as Ierome saith from the furnace of tribulation as Chrysostome calls it Is the trouble of the flesh onely a vexation to us Is it so that when we runne our selves into courses that may make us shamefull that all our chiefe care is to patch up our credite with the world with the neglect of our peace with God If it be thus it is fearefull for what are all the torments and diseases of the body to the maladies of the soule What are all the good words and

Saviours So Gods glory is made the last man sets his owne ends first Take heed if God have not his first end in his glory our glory shall be our shame Therefoae let us take heed ever that first our intentions be the glory of God whether we eate or drink do all to his praise and honour and whatsoever wee can doe by any meanes promote it Art thou a Magistrate respect Gods glory in that Art thou a Minister preach not thy selfe but have a care to advance the glory of God and build up the body of his Sonne Art thou a father of children and a master in the nurturing of them look to the glory of God Dost thou desire issue look not so much to have some to perpetuate thy memory but set ke it as a holy seed whereby God may be glorified Art thou a rich man honour God with thy substance Art thou honorable improve thy honour to the glory God What estate soever thou art in looke principally to promote the glory of God It is the end of all things God hath made all things for his owne glory and should it not bee the end of our actions Secondly In him we live move and have our being should not wee live to his glory He is our Alpha from him we came should hee not bee our Omega to whom wee should tend Therefore as all the Rivers come from the Sea and pay all their tribute to that great Lord so let all our actions tend to him Thirdly while wee glorifie God wee honour our selves as Austin observes upon that in the Lords Prayer hallowed be thy name saith he understand it well and thou prayest for thy selfe for when thou prayest that Gods name may be hallowed thou prayest that thy selfe may be sanctified when thou honorest-God thou honorest thy self and those that honour him he will honour Let us look to it and seriously intend it and be farre from doing any thing whereby we may dishonour God It was the fault of David he did that whereby the enemies of God blasphemed It was the fault of those in the time of Christ they dishonored him It is that that Paul layes to the charge of the Jewes they caused Gods name to be evill spoken of among the heathen It is that that I feare many of us are guiltie of that by our lewd carriage we cause Religion and the name of God to be evill spoken of in Gath and in the streets of Askalon Every ingenuous nature is sensible of the house hee springs of and would by no meanes blemish it Shall he abuse our sister as a whore say the sons of Jacob to their father Every good child is sensible of the honour of his father and every subject of the honour of his country and shall not we be of the honour of God He is jealous of his honour and if we suffer it to fall in our hands we shall smart for God can glorifie himselfe in our confusion So much of that Now for the words themselves There is none like the Lord our God A most true saying you have it every where in Scripture Deut. 33.26 There is none like the God of Jeshurun 2 Sam. 22. O Lord thou art great and there is none like to thee 1 King 8.23 saith Solomon There is none like thee O Lord either in heaven above or in the earth beneath Psal 86.8 There is none like thee O God neither are the workes of others like thine Esay 46.9 I am God and there is none like to me Jer. 10.6 7. twise over There is none like the Lord there is none like the Lord Micah 7.18 Who is like to thee So every where the Scripture saith there is none like to God The Maccabees were called so from Judas Maccabeus and he was called so from the letters he carried in his Ensigne and they were Mem Caph Aleph and Jod The meaning of it is this who is like thee O Lord among the Gods there is none So he that strove with the Dragon Rev. 12. Michael the signification of his name is who is like as God There is none like God I could instance in a number of particulars take these foure There is none like him in veritie and truth for he is the onely true God So you have it 1 Thess 1. The Idols of the heathens were but Idols and an Idoll is nothing 1 Cor. 8. that is nothing to that a man conceits him to bee The Hebrewes call them Elilim some say quasi al elohim because they are not Gods but it is better from another word Elili that signifies nothing God is the onely true God Secondly none is like him in unitie The Gods of the heathens were infinite every Citie every Towne every Hamlet had their Gods Ambrose cals them The broode of Gods and that Polytheisme brought Atheisme into the world It is not so with God Heare Israel the Lord thy God is one Thirdly there is none like him in puritie The Gods of the heathens were good followes Who can indure to heare of a God that sometimes would thunder and sometimes commmit adultery The Idols are called sometimes in Scriptures dunghill Gods So the Idolls of the heathen were so obscene and filthy and abominable that they might well be so called It is not so with God he is the holy one of Israel Holy and reverend is his name And the Angels themselves call him Holy holy holy Lord God of Sabaoth and his pure eyes can indure no iniquitie So he is a holy God Lastly none is like him in power The Gods of the heathen and those that worshipped those imaginary deities that men set up they could not defend those that trusted in them nor defend themselves How oft were they carried captive as we read in stories Jacob when he was gone from Laban was pursued with a great deale of hostilitie and his first cry is why hast thou stollen my Gods Proper Gods that might be stollen So it is a good speech Judg. 6. Let Baal plead for himselfe What! is his Image demolished is he not able to revenge his owne quarrell Let him plead for himselfe So Dagon though the great God of the Philistims yet hee could not keep himselfe from being broken by a fall Senacherib found a difference betweene the Gods of those countries that he had subdued and the God of Israel he found hee was such a one as could not be stood against Not to multiply more see the power of God acknowledged in that place 1 King 18. where the contestation was between Elias and the Priests of Baal whose sacrifice should be accepted first The Priests of Baal leaped upon the Altar and as a company of mad-men and bedlams cut themselves with knives till the blood gushed out they cryed and roared till their throats were dry and all would not bring a sparke of fire Eliah prayes to God and it was done and the fire comes and consumes not the sacrifice onely but licks up all