the Armie Divisions in Counsells Divisions every where amongst all sorts in the Kingdome Whilst God doth thus divide us and doth in his just judgement give us over thus to make Divisions certainly he meaneth that by our selves we shall be destroyed We would not in time of Peace agree together to serve him with one consent he will therefore that we shall agree in this By our dis-agreements to destroy and consume one another I beseech you take into your serious consideration those Symptomes which argued our utter ruine and destruction to be neere if not speedily prevented as you heard them so you may help your memories if you can gain time to read them in the ensuing Sermon which as it was Preached so now is Printed by your Order Are not gray haires upon us here and there already Hos 7. 9. Is not much of our strength devoured Are we blind Or will we still winke with our eyes and not see And not know all this Doth not our wickednesse which aboundeth more and more in England even while we are under the Rod testifie unto our faces that we do not return to the Lord our God and seeke him with our whole heart for all this When you were pleased to call me to go before you and to bear a part with you in your day of Fast and solemn Humiliation I looked upon our Nation in this ill Condition I knew no better Subject to Treate of to be applyed to your selves and to all that then heard me then to teach you or atleast to remember you of a timely and profitable Use-making of the Rod of God which is now so sore upon us Namely to learn what God teacheth us by it To be shewed our danger in which we are and the neerenesse of our ruine for our sinnes will be no discouragement unto you in the work of standing in the gap and Psal 106. 23. making up the breach in which you have so long stood and which with unweariednesse and undauntednesse you have to your eternall Renown endeavoured maugre all the mountains of opposition and difficulties which you have met withall But it should rather put an edge to your courage as all difficulties do to men of courage and true valour You are Honoured and worthy Patriots the repairers of our breaches under God Be ye Mosesses and Phineasses to our Israel When Israel sinned in the matter of the golden Calf God said He would destroy them had Psal 106. 23. not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach to turn away his wrath lest he should destroy them When Phineas executed Judgement the plague was Psal 106. 30. stayed you are called not extraordinarily as he but in an ordinary way to do it God when he foretold his purpose to destroy the Kingdome of Judah did look for such as you are to make up the hedge and stand in the gap before Ezek. 22. 30. the Lord that he might not destroy it These Worthies by prayer held Gods hands from striking Exod. 32. 10 27. and by executing judgement for him did save the Kingdome did save the people from destruction Whatsoever the event may prove Noble Sirs Let the fear of the Lord be upon you Be strong Let 2 Chron. 15. 7. not your hands be weak deal couragiously The Lord will be with the good and your work shall be rewarded 2 Chron. 19. 11. and you may expect a happy issue But however it is honourable for a Souldier to dye in maintaining or making up the breach and your work shall be with the Lord and if you save not the Kingdome you shal without Ezeck 14. 18 20. fail as it is sayd of Noah Job and Daniel save your own souls and may expect some temporall deliverance Neither should the knowledge of our likelinesse and neerenesse to ruine disanimate any or should it weaken the hands of the people of the Land For when God sent Jeremiah to Prophesie against Jerusalem that he would destroy it and that they should be carried Captive this is the inference from it Therefore amend your wayes Jer. 25. 13. and your doings and obey the voyce of the Lord your God and the Lord will repent him of the evill Jer. 18. 7 8. that he hath pronounced against you Moreover let it be conceived that God is peremptorily determined to destroy a Nation which we cannot be certain of though we can see a Nation deserving it and is neer to it For God is not limitted nor can be prescribed to do what in like case he hath done yet it will be profitable for a people to be warned of it For they that fear God will thereupon endeavour to prevent it or to Ezek. 9. 4. prepare for it That making their own peace with God they may be marked for safety as those in Ezekiel were and may make their adresses to God as to a safe and strong tower thereby entring into the chambers spoken of in Isaiah and shut the doores about them and hide themselves for a little-moment that is cast themselves upon Gods Providence and Protection securing themselves Isai 26. 20. in him untill the indignation of the Lord be overpast No man can apprehend misery and destruction more certainly to come upon a people then the Prophet Habbacuk did at which at the first hearing he was much terrified yet it was much for his good and advantage For it did cause him to humble himself before God and to seek his face That he might rest in the day of Hab. 3. 16. trouble when the Chaldeans should come up and invade them with his Troops Through faith he could see safety and matter of comfort and joy in God so that he could say though he should be deprived of all livelihood and means of subsistance for his person and outward man Yet I will rejoyce in the Lord I will joy in the God Hab. 3. 1â— of my Salvation c. I have here given you some account of the choise of the Subject whereof in my Sermon I spake unto you and have prosecuted more fully something which I did then but hint unto you I take the boldnesse to publish it and put it forth under the shelter of your honourable patronage I have onely this maine suite unto you that you would continue resolute for God and his true Religion for the Kings Majesties just Rights for the Laws of the Kingdome and just Liberties to which we are all born And the Lord of Hoasts and King of kings our good God He blesse and prosper the work in your hands wherewith you are intrusted The Lord prosper your handy work So prayeth dayly The unworthiest of those which you have imployed to serve you in the Lord HENRY SCUDDER A Sermon at the monethly Fast Octob. 30. 1644. BEFORE the Honourable House of COMMONS MICAH 6. 9. The voyce of the Lord cryeth to the City and the man of wisedome shall see thy Name
hear ye the rod and who hath appointed it THe Word of the Lord came to the Prophet Micah in the dayes of Jotham Ahas and Hezekiah Kings of Judah This word concerned Samaria and Jerusalem the head Cities of the Kingdomes of Israel and Judah The word now read unto you concerneth us as well as them being written for our learning and for the admonition Rom. 15. 4. of us upon whom the ends of the world are come according as we are like to them in their sin and in their condition 1 Cor. 10. 11. In this Prophesie the Lord by this Prophet setteth before these Cities and Kingdomes the many and great sinnes which with an high hand they had committed against him And withall foretelleth them of those Judgements which he would certainly bring upon them if they continued in those their sins And that at last both kingdomes should be destroyed and captivated by their enemies the Assyrians and Chaldeans But withall to support and comfort the hearts of the faithfull that were found in those kingdomes he foretelleth the temporall deliverance of Judah out of the Babilonish Captivity also the everlasting deliverance of the Church of God to be gathered out of all Nations through the promised Messiah the Lord Jesus Christ The sins whereof he would convince and for which he denounceth Judgement against these Kingdomes were extream oppression by all from the Prince to the meanest according as they Micah 2. 1 2. had power in their hand The heads thereof judging for reward The Prophets and Priests were prophane and wicked all for their Micah 3. 11. covetousnesse teaching for hire and divining for money They were very licentious promising liberty saying Peace peace to Jer. 6. 13 14. the wicked The Prophets prophesying falsly and the Priests bearing Jer. 5. 31. rule by their means and the people loved to have it so They were also Idolaters Superstitious will-worshippers silencers as much as they could of the good Prophets and Ministers of the Word saying to the Scers see not and to the Prophets Prophesie not unto us Isa 30. 10. right things speak to us smooth things prophesie deceits They did set up and countenance false and wicked Prophets They notwithstanding these sinnes and other their abhominations and notwithstanding the severe threats of God were presumptuously secure because they had the Temple of the Lord a signe of his presence amongst them and because they professed the name and Religion of God having a forme of Godlinesse they promised to themselves impunity and freedome from the destroying Judgement They would yet as the Prophet saith Lean upon the Lord Micah 3. 11. and say Is not the Lord among us none evill can come upon us All which sins of theirs are aggravated by their ingratitude towards God who had been good unto them and had done great and wonderfull things for them from Shittim to Gilgall even Micah 6. 3 â— 5. from the miraculous leading them forth out of Egypt through the Wildernesse till he brought them into the Land of Canaan and untill this day At the time of this Prophesie the Kingdome of Judah was under the rod of Gods Judgements For in the dayes of Ahas Pekah the son of Remaliah King of Israel and Rezin King of Siria were 2 King 16. 5. confederate and came against Judah and came up even to Jerusalem and though they did not prevaile to take Jerusalem yet God delivered him and the people into the hand of the King of Syria so that They smote him and carried away a great multitude of them 2 Chron. 28. â— captive and brought them to Damascus And he was also delivered into the hand of the King of Israel who smote him with a great slaughter for one hundred and twenty thousand of the men of Judah were slain in one day which were all valiant men At which time 2 Chron. 28. 5 6 8. the Children of Israel carried away Captive of their brethren two hundred thousand women sons and daughters and took much spoil from them and brought the spoil to Samaria In his dayes also 2 Chron. 28. 17. the Edomites had come and smitten Judah and carried away captives The Philistims also invaded their Cities and took many of them with their villages and dwelt there God brought Judah very low at that time because they had transgressed sore against the Lord. This I have premised to leade you unto the Text and to 2 Chron. 28. 19. give some light for the better understanding of it Do we not as in a glasse see our selves in this kingdome of Judah wee being too to like them in their sin beginning also to be too like to them nay in a worse condition then they were if the Lord as he hath begun shall go on to powre out his wrath upon us The likenesse of our condition now with theirs then hath given me occasion to make choise of this Scripture to speak of it and to speak to you by it In these words God doth warn and advise his people what they The Text opened should do now they were under the rod of his anger and were like to be more sorely punished according as it had been denounced against them by his Prophets for their sins That whereas he had by fair and loving means spoken to them and warned them by his Prophets and had gently smitten them by the rod of his mouth that he might reclaim them and they were not sensible of his Word to obey it He now thinketh it best to teach and warn them by the rod of his hand and calleth upon them to hear and learn to be reformed by it Now concerning this admonition and Councell given the Prophet doth three things First to gain attention and that this Word might be entertained with the greater Authority he sheweth who it was that spake unto them Secondly who they were that would see God in his Judgements and would hear his voyce and would learn by his correction Thirdly what it is he warneth them of and adviseth them to do Every sentence in this verse is diversly rendred by Translators and Interpretors each of them two or three wayes but they agree in their scope namely That God would have them to hear him and turn to him that the judgement threatned might not come upon them I have diligently considered the severall readings and compared them with the Originall observing the context and scope of the place and do keep to the last Translation as it is now before you If I should rehearse them all and give reason why I make choise of this reading rather than other it would take up very much time and hinder the delivering of things more needfull First then the Voyce of the Lord cryeth to the City in this sentence we are to observe who speaketh and in what manner he speaketh and to whom The Voyce of the Lord that is God by his Prophet Micah uttereth
eyes of the blind as well as to give light to them that see When we are Psal 19. 8. rightly principled by the word we shall learn by it to see God in Psal 19. 7. his works You must first beleeve and then you shall know then it will make you wise Also be you much in observing and considering the works of Psal 107. 43. God and the wayes of Gods Providence the more you exercise your selves therein the more able you shall be to see Gods Psal 64. 9. Name And lastly pray for this Wisdome as David saith Open mine Psal 119. 18. eyes that I may behold wonderfull things out of thy Law so intreate the Lord that you may understand the voyce of his mercies and Judgements what he would have you to learn by them touching Jam. 1. 5. him If any want wisdome let him aske Heare the rod. God would have his people learn by his corrections and by his Judgements Doct. 3. which he bringeth upon them and doth execute amongst them All that are under the rod or that have it shaken over them must learn what God teacheth them thereby The Lord complaines of and sharpely rebuketh the City Jerusalem Reason because she did not Hear and obey his voyce nor receive correction Zeph. 3. 2. Every morning the just Lord did bring his judgement to light but the unjust knew no shame verse 5. He said to her Surely thou wilt feare me thou wilt receive instruction verse 7. This sheweth what men should do when he doth afflict them God expecteth his people should have heard his rod. The Rod of God is doctrinall man may know Gods mind and will and his own duty by it as by the Word God doth Discipline his people by his rod as well as by his Word in the exercise of both he doth Open the eares of men to Discipline and doth seal their instruction as we reade in the book of Job The rod and Job 33. 16. reproof when they go together give wisedome as to a childe in a family in whose heart folly is bound so to such children and servants in Gods great family in the world who will not learn nor be corrected with words Many like Manasses carry a deaf Job 36. 10. care unto nay will not hear the Word yet may be brought to hear the rod he thereby learned to see the Name of God and to know that the Lord was God and did humble himself greatly 2 Chron. 33. 11 12 13. before him The Judgements of God which are his rod they do second his Word and what it spake to the eare they do speak to the other senses with a louder voyce Smart and pain seconding the Word do usually make a deeper impression upon the soules and Spirits of men The Lord never smites but he hath spoken first and warned by his Word and like a father that standeth over his childe when he correcteth him remembreth him of his faults and of his duty When the Lord openeth the eare to discipline with the correction and doth awaken the conscience a wise child will readily know what God meaneth in those his corrections We in this kingdome are under Gods Rod and he is punishing Vse us with the rod of his anger The sorest temporall judgement that can come to a Nation is come upon us We must hearken and learn what God would have us to do now that he is correcting of us we must hear what the rod speaketh unto us If we consult the Word it will tell us what it is that the rod speaketh shewing us why God smiteth us and what he would have us to do now we are smitten and it will tell us what he will yet do unto us if when these his Judgements are upon us we do not learn righteousnesse submit unto him and make our peace with him First it telleth us that this Judgement is come upon us for sin and it being a sore stroak we may learn that it is for our great sins When God was angry with the children of Israel at the siege of Ai the men of Ai smote of them and chased them Josuah 7. 2 3 unto vers 12. from before the gate and slew divers of them and made them turn their backs upon their enemies This caused Joshuah to humble himself before the Arke of the Lord Gods answer unto him was Get thee up wherefore lyest thou upon thy face Israel hath finned and they have also transgressed my Covenant which I commanded them for they have even taken of the accursed thing This sin of one man was accompanied with other sinnes of Rulers and people namely carnall confidence in the Arme of flesh and carnall pollicy following it not asking counsell of the Lord. They thought all the people were too many to go up they presumed that because there were but few men in Ai a party of about two or three thousand men would be enough to take it If thou say in thine heart saith Jeremy to Judah when God should punish Jer. 13. 22. Wherefore come these things upon me the answer is For the greatnesse os thine iniquity are thy skirts discovered and thy heels made bare In all Gods judgements upon a person or people they may hear God telling them that this is for your sin But this is not all it speaketh It secondly doth minde all of searching and trying their wayes to finde out their sins and that they might turn to him that smiteth them This counsell the Prophet giveth after he had said Wherefore doth a living man complain A man for the punishment of Lam. 3. 39 40. his sin Let us search and try our wayes and turn to the Lord c. Come say they in Hosea and let us return to the Lord he hath torn Hos 6. 1. and he will heal us he hath smitten and he will bind us up Thirdly the rod bids men not onely to finde out their sins and confesse them to God but to seek his face and to aske pardon that God may be at peace with them This is one end why God afflicteth men that they might be brought to acknowledge their offence Hos 5. 15. Hos 14. 3. and seek his face In their affliction they will seek me diligently saith the Lord. To say from the heart I have sinned I will do so no more is a good answer to the voyce of the rod upon this ground namely because God had already punished his people and had threatned a great judgement therefore Prepare to meet Amos 4. 12. thy God O Israel saith the Lord. Fourthly the rod teacheth another lesson which is If men do not amend by present Judgements they shall be punished with more and those greater Seven times more for their sin he will Levit. 26. from v. 10. to v. 40. then avenge the quarrell of his Covenant and if yet they shall walk contrary to him he will again and
all guilty of some of the sins before mentioned Therefore the Lord saith to the Prophet Wilt thou judge Wilt thou judge the bloody Citie Thou shalt Ezek. 22. 2. shew her all her abominations He would have the Prophet declare to them that he would punish them more then yet he had done Indeed before he did bring that destroying Nationall Judgement before he brought the Caldeans upon them after he had threatned it he did wait to see whether any would make up the Ezek. 22. 30. hodge and stand in the gap before him for the land that he might not destroy it So if there be amongst us that will indeed get into the breach and in a right way stand in it and make it up namely by prayer executing judgement and reformation we may have hope that God will not destroy us We have reason to blesse God that you our Worthies of the Parliament do endeavour it But if the sinnes of the Land shall be too hard for you because they make breaches faster then you can make them up or if the Lord be not pleased that you shall continue in the breach to perfect the making it up if the Lord be so angry with us that nothing shall prevail in this way then we may fear that now this cloud of blood which hangeth over us and hath fallen in most parts of the Kingdom shall fall in all other parts till it have gone thorow the whole Nation to destroy it 3. That which may cause us much to fear is another Symptome God is now visiting this part of the world bringing the Sword upon it Gods manner is in such visitations to begin with his own people as he did when Jeremiah was to take Jer. 25. â—5 18. the wine-cup of Gods futy and cause all the Nations to drink of it beginning with his own people to wit Jerusalem and the Cities of Judah Thus the Lord hath begun with Bohemia the Palarinate and almost all Germany and other parts of Europe I am perswaded all this part of the world shall drink of it The dregs of this cup as that of Jeremies was reserved for Heathenish Babilon Jer. 25. 15. 18. who drunk of it last so the dreggs of this our cup shall be reserved for Antichrist even for spirituall Babylon for Rome that mother of fornications and for all those that are drunk with the wine of her fornications she happily shall drink last and drink up this cup of the Lords fury It was a great while before we began to drink of it but unlesse by a specialty of humbling our selves before God and turning to God and seeking of him more than ordinarily we do procure that it may passe and God do take it from us as true as God hath threatned such sinners as we are and hath begun to execute it the sword shall not be put up till we be destroyed Our times are very troublous and God useth to build his Dan. 9. â—â— Church as he did Jerusalem in such troublous times we are ready to hope that God will now reforme and build up his Church and make it a glorious Church in this Nation and we would gladly beleeve that these shakings are but preparations to a happy reformation I doubt not but these wars and commotions amongst the true Churches of God are preparations thereunto But whether we of this present generation may not for our sins and for our tryall be much wasted and destroyed with the sword and which is worse be put under the power of those that are for Antichrist we cannot promise to our selves I know that ere long that mother of abhomination with her Rev. 17. 6. children who have been drunk with the blood of the Saints and with the blood of the Martyrs of Jesus shall receive double Rev. 18. 6. In the cup that she hath filled it shall be filled to her double But whether sith the time of Antichrists raign is but short he may not have a lightning before his death as to rise to have so much power added to his malice as to shed more blood that the Lord may take a just occasion by it to execute vengeance upon that State for all the blood shed by it we cannot tell we have some cause to fear it if we do but observe that already the Palatinate and other Churches that were reformed are brought under the power of those that are Antichristian why should we not think that the like may befall us nothing but an unfained turning from our sins unto God and a through reformation which yet we are far from can hinder it I speak not this to discourage any but that we should be prepared for the worst and to put us upon a more through humbling of our selves before God and of getting into and making up the breach which our sinns have made that he may spare us and not destroy us 4. To adde one Symptome more A Spirit of perversnesse a spirit of Division is in the midst of us and is spread through all the Kingdome Divisions in Church divisions in Common-wealth A Kingdome thus divided how can it stand When the Lord is wrath with a people then he mingleth a perverse Isa 19. 13 14. Spirit amongst them he makes their Princes become fools and their Counsellors become brutish destitute of right reason yea he divideth them in their Councels He setteth Ephraim against Manasseh and Manasseh against Ephraim to the making Isa 9. 19 20 21. of a Land dark through miseries when no man shall spare his brother because of the discords and civill wars which God in his wrath should raise amongst them as a just punishment of their not joyning together to serve the Lord with one consent It will not be much out of the place to mention a sin which I omitted before which is the growth of Errours and Schismes in this Kingdome which are so much the more dangerous because this errour also is grown up with them a strong means to nourish them Namely that men must enjoy Liberty of Conscience denying it to be in the power of any no not in the Magistrate to restrain them This is grown to a great height and hath many abettors and pleaders for it Little course is taken to represse it Some to whom it belongs to do it I fear are corrupted with this Errour This is an in-let and ground for the toleration of all Religions Errours and Heresies are Gangrens which if their course be not stopped will increase to the destruction of the whole The Apostle will have that such should not onely be shunned but that their mouthes should be stopped lest they deceive others and it encrease Tit. 1. 11. to more ungodlinesse and he requireth Timothy to 1 Tim. 1. 3. Command that men preach no other Doctrine every one therefore may not teach what Doctrine he pleaseth but if he teach false Doctrine he is to be restrained I know the first way
of stopping the mouths of such is by sound Doctrine to convince them Tit. 1. 9. 11. of their Errour and if they will not be convinced to proceed against them by Ecclesiasticall censure laying a command upon them not to teach such Doctrine but if still they will persist God hath given power to the Civill Magistrate to restrain them For he is to govern so that under him men may live a 1 Tim. 2. 2. godly as well as a quiet life and he beareth not the sword in vaine but is Gods Minister to punish therefore to his power Rom. 13. 4. to restrain him that doth evill And what greater evill can a man do then to seduce his brother But to return where I left be sensible of the divisions that are amongst us if they be not made up but increase we shall Gal. 5. 15. clash one against another that we shall be consumed one of another and confusion will be in the end It doth presage very Jam. 3. 19. much evill to a Land when the Lord shall do with it as he did with the Land of Judah when he shall sill the Kings Priests and Prophets and the Inhabitants thereof with drunkennesse First drunk with Errour and wickednesse which they have drunk in abundantly then God maketh them drink till they be drunk with the wine of his indignation He saith he will Jer. 13. 13. 14 15. dash them one against another even the fathers and the sons together saith the Lord I will not pitty nor spare nor have mercy but destroy them Hear ye and give eare he not proud saith the Prophet for the Lord hath spoken And his councell is to give glory to God namely in confessing and amending their faults and making their peace with him Before he bring darknesse and the Jer. 13. 1â— sha low of death this great destruction upon them Happy should we be if we would take this Counsell We have need of it if ever any Nation was silled with such a drunkennesse certainly at this time this our Land is God saith oft Shall I not be avenged Jer. 5. 9. 29. of such a Nation as this when men grow worse in stead of amending proceeding from evill to evill and will not know God and see his Name when they are under his rod. I speak all this to the end that we may earnestly seek the Lord and cry aloud to him this day for mercy who cryeth to us with a loud voyce To hear the rod and who hath appointed it Jer. 9. 3 4 9 16. Lastly we have oft times fasted and humbled our selves before the Lord yet you see that this great Judgement is not removed but increasing dayly Certainly this is because either we have not been sincere and unfeigned herein which if it be let us afflict and humble our selves this day as we ought to do for our selves and for the Land or else it argueth that God will yet plague us more for our sins and we may fear to our destruction Formall Fasts are just provocations of God against a Land as were the solemn meetings and prayers of the Jews Isa 1. 14 15. whose hands were full of blood and their fastings seperate from Isa 58. 4 5. Reformation It concerneth us to repent of our former Fastings and humblings for in the generality men have not kept such a Fast as God requireth no marvell then if God have not regarded it We have not fasted from our sins we have fasted to strife and Isai 58. 3 4. debate and contention and Schisme and all manner of wickednesse and ungodlinesse We have not been so humbled as to turn from our sins to the Lord as to loose the bonds of wickednesse Isa 58. 6 c. and to walk in the wayes of holinesse sobriety mercy and righteousnesse That Land is in a very sad condition when albeit Fasts are Proclaimed and kept God shall say I will not hear their cry but Jer. 14. 12. will consume them with the sword and with the famine and with the pestilence Yet God forbid that we should give over humbling our selves and our praying unto him his deferring of help may be because he would have us seek him more earnestly and more unfeignedly then we may hope He will be found of us Jer. 29. 12. 13. when we shall seek him with our whole heart And who hath appointed it Namely God hath appointed it we learn hence In all Judgements and corrections of any person or people whatsoever Doct. the rod or instrument may be God is the appointer It is of God it is from him and is ordered by him This is abundantly proved in Leviticus 26. and in Deut. 28. Levit. 26. Deut 28. where God saith I will appoint over you such and such diseases I will send such and such punishments or the Lord shall smite thee thus and thus Is there any evill in the City that is Amos 3. 6. evill of punishment and the Lord hath not done it I make peace and create evill I the Lord do all these things saith the Lord Isa 45. 7. Affliction ariseth not out of the dust Job 5. 6. Punishments and corrections are Acts of Gods vindicative Reas 1. justice which he reserveth to himself as part of his Prerogative belonging to his Soveraignty Vengeance is mine saith the Lord Deut. 32. 35. Rom. 12. 19. God will have the ordering of all corrections All things are of God and in him do consist and there is not Reas 2. any thing but God willeth it to be either by his effecting or permitting What Herod and Pontius Pilate did against Christ was Act. 4. 28. nothing but what his hand and Counsel determined before to be done The creatures and second causes they are all Gods servants to do and to execute his will Man by whom he correcteth any Isa 10. 6. Psal 17. 14. is but his rod or his sword I desire that this truth should be beleeved for then when a Vse man is afflicted and under any judgement he will know and consider That it is God that smiteth it is God to whom he must return it is God of whom he must seek favour and mercy and with whom he must make his Peace This confuteth an Errour and reproveth a great fault in many Vse who look upon the punishments and judgements they feel as upon things that come casually by hap hazzard or ill fortune as they call it or from the malice of men they look no further than to the immediate actors or instruments thereof They do not many will not see the hand of God in it This Atheism is common amongst men beware of it for from hence it is that men in their afflictions are impatient under them and do fret and chafe at the instrument and do studie revenge against men and use indirect means to get them off Let none shut their eyes against