are to set upon when such a dreadful Day of the Lord is apprehended to be coming and near at hand And here the Prophet layeth the Foundation of such a Duty viz. to be moved to Fear and Trembling and this will set us to Repentance and Amendment and to cry mightily to Almighty God for Pardon and Mercy and Help This is one of the first Principles in Wisdom's School Psal 111.10 The fear of the Lord saith the Psalmist is the beginning of Wisdom The fearing of God's great and dreadful Majesty who is a Consuming Fire Heb. 12.29 and the trembling at his terrible judgments and punishments that are threatned against Sinners is commonly the first thing that moveth them to break off their Sins and Wickedness and to set upon a righteous Course of Life When Men are stricken to the Heart with a sense of God's Wrath then will they cry out with great earnestness like the Jailor Acts 16.30 Sirs what must I do to be saved And with such a sense are Men to be touched when a dreadful Day of Judgment is apprehended to be coming upon us and then they will be ready to do what they well can for their own preservation that they may escape God's fiery Indignation And what we are further to do hereupon at such a time we are taught by the Prophet Joel and other places of Scripture And First We are at the apprehension and approach of such a dreadful Day to fast and use some abstinence from our ordinary Food and to refrain from such pleasures and delights and recreations which may be lawful at any other time and to withdraw our Hearts and Minds from too great an Intensness upon worldly Cares and earthly Concerns This is our Duty at other Times but more especially when we are to attone and appease an incensed and angry God and to turn away his Wrath from us and such is our Work when a day of Vengeance is coming upon us And this Duty of Fasting is here enjoined by the Prophet Joel Joel 1.14 Sanctifie ye a fast call a solemn assembly gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God And Joel 2.12 Therefore also now saith the Lord turn ye even to me with all your heart and with fasting and with weeping and with mourning This is here plainly prescribed and commanded by the Prophet that a Fast should be sanctified and set apart upon this very Occasion of the coming of this dreadful Day of the Lord upon them that they should curb and restrain themselves herein and deny themselves something in the ordinary Refreshment of their usual Food And we may see that it hath been a common practice with Men to fast and deny themselves the ordinary Refreshment of Eating and Drinking when they would intercede with Almighty God to avert and turn away his Wrath and procure his Favour and that a good success hath oft attended it When the Israelites would obtain Help of God against the Benjamites by whom they had been twice beaten and a great number of them slain they fasted and after had good Success against them Jud. 20 2â— When Ahab was threatned with evil from the Lord by the Prophet Elijah he fasted and humbled himself before God and obtained a procrastination of the Evil till after his days 1 King 21.27 When Haman had procured of King Ahasuerus to have the Jews destroyed they fasted and mourned and wept seeking to prevent and avoid this destruction that was decreed against them and after did obtain Favour and Help in this Matter Esther 4. And when the Ninevites were threatned with Destruction from God by the Prophet Jonah they used very great fasting Jonah 3.5 So the people of Nineveh believed God and proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest of them even to the least of them And by their Fasting and Repentance c. they obtained a Revocation of this Judgment after it was denounced against them by the Prophet and it was not executed upon them By these and other Examples we may see that this hath been the usual practice of Men when they would turn away some Judgment and obtain Mercy at God's hand to fast and use other austerities towards themselves as to cover themselves with Sackcloth and to lie down in Dust and Ashes or to cover themselves with them and to humble themselves greatly before Almighty God And then are we to withdraw our minds from our pleasures and delights and recreations as not suiting well with a time of Mourning and Fasting And this the Prophet sheweth here Joel 2.16 Let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber and the bride out of her closet And saith God by the Prophet Isaiah complaining of the Fasts of the Jews Isa 58.3 Behold in the day of your fast you find pleasure and exact all your labours And the Instruments of Musick were not brought before King Darius when he fasted for Daniel Dan. 6.18 And then are Men also to withdraw their Hearts and Minds a little from their Worldy Concerns and Earthly Matters and not to be too much taken up with them Luk. 21.34 And take heed to your selves saith our Lord lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and cares of this life and so that day come upon you unawares For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth By these and such places we see that we are to fast and to refrain from our pleasures and delights and to take our Hearts off from too great an Intensness upon worldly Concerns and mundane Affairs when we apprehend a dreadful Day of the Lord to be coming upon us And now especially doth it behove us so to do and to fast frequently upon this account Secondly When such a dreadful Day is drawing near and at hand we are to afflict our Minds as well as our Bodies and to mourn and weep and bewail our own sinfulness and vileness and our great transgressions and provocations which we have committed towards Almighty God We are then to lay aside all high and proud thoughts and vain conceits of our selves and to call all our sins and evil ways to mind and to be deeply humbled for them We are then to be truly sorrowful and grieved at our very hearts that we have so ungratefully broken the sacred Commands of Almighty God and have made so light of them We are then to repent of our sins and forsake them and to undo them as much as we can and to clear our hands and our hearts of all filthiness and vileness and to make satisfaction for all the Injuries and Wrongs that we have done to others This we are to do at all times but more especially when God comes down to Judge the Inhabitants of the Earth in such an eminent and remarkable manner and to make a discrimination and to put a difference between the Righteous and the
King Nebuchadnezzar when he told him that this Judgment should come upon him That he should be driven from Men and have his dwelling with the Beasts of the Field Dan. 4.27 Wherefore O King let my counsel be acceptable unto thee and break off thy sins by righteousness and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity This Counsel doth the Prophet give him to avert the Judgment as much as might be and to prolong his own Tranquillity and Happiness viz. To set upon a righteous course of Life and to shew himself merciful and kind to the Poor And this is the direction of the Prophet Zephaniah which he giveth for a preparation against the day of the Lord's Anger Zeph. 2.3 Seek ye the Lord all ye meek of the earth which have wrought his judgments seek righteousness seek meekness it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger And our blessed Saviour in Matth. 24. where he forewarns his Disciples of that judgment and destruction that was to come upon the Jews tells them that those should be blessed and happy that should then be found imployed in their Master's service and in the works of Righteousness Matth. 24.45 Who then is a faithful and wise Servant whom his Lord hath made ruler over his houshold to give them meat in due season Blessed is that Servant whom his Lord when he cometh shall find so doing Verily I say unto you that he shall make him ruler over all his goods The Servant that is well imployed in his Master's Charge shall be blessed when his Lord cometh But the wicked Servant is then to be cut off and to have his portion with the Hypocrites as it there follows And saith St. Peter 1 Pet. 4.7 But the end of all things is at hand be ye therefore sober and watch unto prayer And above all things have fervent Charity among your selves for Charity shall cover the multitude of sins This Advice doth he give upon the apprehension of the end of all things being at hand that is the Day of the Lord being near at hand That upon this consideration they were to be more sober and temperate and diligent in their Prayers and Services to Almighty God and above all to have fervent Charity and Love among themselves because this would cover a multitude of Sins and qualifie them most and make them fit for Mercy at such a time By these and such places we may see that it is our duty to set earnestly upon the works of Righteousness when we apprehend a dreadful Day of the Lord to be drawing near because such a course is then prescribed upon such occasions That we are then to grow more Temperate and Holy to be more frequent and fervent in our Devotions and Services to Almighty God and are then more strictly to mind all the Rules of Justice and Uprightness and are then to be more liberal and bountiful to our poor and needy Brethren and prone and forward to forgive all the injuries and wrongs that have been done to us by any others This is highly requisite that we should at such a time be full of mercy and kindness to others because we are then in an extraordinary manner seeking for mercy and pardon at God's hand and we can have no ground to hope to find mercy at his hand if we are cruel and hard hearted and will shew none our selves to others Matth. 6.14 15. saith our Lord For if ye forgive men their trespasses your heavenly Father will also forgive you But if ye forgive not men their trespasses neither will your Father forgive your trespasses 2. We may see that the Righteous shall never be forsaken and that it is Righteousness that doth deliver Men at all times of difficulty and danger and this doth farther shew that it is our duty and our wisdom too to set earnestly upon all the works of righteousness that we may be delivered at such a time of danger when a dreadful Day is apprehended to be coming upon us This we may see by several places of Scripture that Righteousness will avail much at such a time and that the Righteous may then expect to be delivered Remember I pray thee saith Eliphaz to Job 4.7 who ever perished being innocent or where were the righteous cut off Hereby shewing that it was very observable how they were delivered and not cut off like the wicked And saith the Psalmist Psal 37.25 I have been young and now am old yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken And v. 27 Depart from evil and do good and dwell for evermore For the Lord loveth judgment and forsaketh not his Saints they are preserved for ever And Solomon sheweth in several places that Righteousness will deliver the Righteous from death when the riches of the Rich will not profit them Prov. 10.2 Treasures of wickedness profit nothing but righteousness delivereth from death And Prov. 11.4 Riches profit not in the day of wrath but righteousness delivereth from death And Prov. 11.6 The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness By these and such like places doth the Wise Man shew that the Righteous shall be delivered in the time of anguish and distress upon the account of his righteousness And God doth shew by the Prophet Ezekiel that Men shall deliver themselves by their righteousness when a day of wrath and destruction is coming upon Men. Ezek. 14.13 And saith the Prophet Isaiah 33.15 He that walketh righteously and speaketh uprightly he that despiseth the gain of oppressions that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil He shall dwell on high his place of defence shall be the munition of rocks bread shall be given him his waters shall be sure So securely is such a Righteous Man like to live and to be set out of the reach of danger and in the fiery day of Vengeance he is like to be safe and secure And saith our Lord Matth. 5.7 Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy And in the gloomy Day and in time of danger there is no question but that they shall find Mercy By these and such places we may see That righteous Men shall be delivered at such times of need and danger and in such Days of vengeance upon the account of their righteousness and this farther shews it to be our duty and our wisdom at such a time to set more earnestly upon a pious and righteous course of Life and especially then to abound more in the works of Charity and Mercy when we are in a more extraordinary way and manner to sue for mercy at God's hand 3. We may see that righteous Men have been delivered when God hath brought a dark and dreadful Day upon Men and that they have been saved and delivered for their Righteousness sake when others
2.17 Let the priests the ministers of the Lord weep between the porch and the altar and let them say spare thy people O Lord and give not thine heritage to reproach that the heathen should rule over them wherefore should they say among the people where is their God The Prophet here doth give command to cry and pray to God upon this very account and doth here give direction in what form and manner the Priests were to address themselves to God wherein the People also were to join viz. To intreat Almighty God to spare them who were his peculiar People and not to suffer them to be made a Reproach by the Heathen and to be domineer'd over by them and to have them to ask others in scorn and derision where their God and Saviour was in whom they trusted And this divine Direction of the Prophet seems to me to be no less adapted and fitted for us at this day than it was for the Jews in the Prophet Joel's time And this was David's Resolution to have Recourse to God and to call upon him in all Distress and Danger 2 Sam. 22.4 I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised so shall I be saved from mine enemies And Psal 55.16 As for me I will call upon God and the Lord shall save me Evening and morning and at noon will I pray and cry aloud and he shall hear my voice And Psal 86.7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee for thou wilt answer me This is the Psalmist's Resolution to make his earnest addresses to Almighty God and hereby he hoped for Mercy and Help in the needful time of Trouble and Distress And this is God's Command by the Psalmist that we should call upon him at such a time and if we do it as we ought he hath promised that he will hear us and deliver us Psal 50.15 And call upon me in the day of trouble I will deliver thee and thou shalt glorifie me We are humbly to sue for mercy at such a time before we are to expect it and after we have received it not to forget to return Almighty God his due laud and praise for the same And Solomon in his prayer in 1 Kings 8. doth shew that it is our Duty in all Distresses to make Supplications to God in an extraordinary manner when he there requesteth that he would hear such prayers and supplications that are made to him by his people in their afflictions and distresses and doth shew that they are like to be heard and relieved when they seek and cry to God with all their Hearts And saith God by his Prophet Jeremiah 29.12 Then shall ye call upon me and ye shall go and pray unto me and I will hearken unto you And ye shall seek me and find me when ye shall search for me with all your heart And I will be found of you saith the Lord and I will turn away your captivity And it is our blessed Lord's Command to his Disciples when he foretold them of that Judgment and Destruction that was coming upon the Jewish Nation to be constant and fervent at their prayers to Almighty God that they might obtain Mercy then and be saved and not perish with the Wicked Luke 21.36 Watch ye therefore and pray always that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass and to stand before the Son of man By Watchfulness and Constancy and Earnestness at Prayer to Almighty God are we to prepare our selves that we may be accounted worthy of Mercy and to escape the Judgments of God and to stand before the Son of God whensoever he shall come in an extraordinary and eminent manner to Judge and Punish the Inhabitants of the World for their great Wickedness By these and such places we may see that it is our Duty whensoever we apprehend a Day of the Lord's Wrath to be coming upon us to cry mightily to Almighty God and to make Supplications to him for Pardon and Mercy and Help and Protection at such a Time when a Day of Wrath and Revenge is coming upon Men. 2. We may see that this hath been the practice of several Persons at such times of anguish and distress to cry to Almighty God and to supplicate his Divine Majesty for mercy and succour and that they have often prevailed hereby and this will farther shew it to be our duty at such a time and a perswasive to it to call upon God in a more earnest and extraordinary manner for the averting of such Judgments as we have just cause to believe do hang over us and are ready to fall upon us and for the procuring of Mercy for our selves When the Fire of the Lord consumed the People Moses prayed unto the Lord and the Fire was stopt Numb 11.1 And when the people complained it displeased the Lord and the Lord heard it and his anger was kindled and the fire of the Lord burnt among them and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the Camp And the people cryed unto Moses and when Moses prayed unto the Lord the fire was quenched When the Children of Israel were sold into the hand of the Mesopotamians for their sin and wickedness which they did in the sight of God in forgetting him and serving other Gods in their misery they cryed to God and he sent them a deliverer Judes 3.9 And when the Children of Israel cryed unto the Lord the Lord raised up a deliverer to the Children of Israel who delivered them even Othniel the Son of Kenaz Caleb 's younger Brother In their distress did God hear them notwithstanding their former backsliding and had respect to their Prayer and this may be an encouragement to us sinners to do the like When the Children of Israel cried unto the Lord when they were oppressed and afflicted by Eglon King of Moab he heard their cry and shewed them mercy and delivered them out of his hand Judg. 3.15 But when the Children of Israel cried unto the Lord the Lord raised them up a deliverer Ehud the Son of Gera a Benjamite When the Children of Israel were sold into the hand of Jabin the Canaanite for the evil which they did in the sight of the Lord they cried unto the Lord in their distress and he delivered them Judg. 4.3 And the Children of Israel cried unto the Lord for he had nine hundred Chariots of Iron and twenty years he mightily oppressed the Children of Israel And God did then deliver them out of his hand by Deborah and Barak as we may there see afterward And several other times did God deliver them when they returned and sought him and cried and made Supplications to him notwitstanding they had often revolted from him When King Abijah and Judah were beset on both sides with their Enemies the Israelites they cried unto the Lord in their distress and he heard their cry and delivered them 2 Chron. 1.14
THE Watch-man's Voice Giving Warning to all Men OF THE Dreadful Day of the Lord Which he apprehends to be at hand That they may take a due Care to save their Souls and Lives that they Perish not therein and that their Blood may not be required at his hand Written by DIGBY BULL M. A. and late Rector of Sheldon in Warwick-shire LONDON Printed for the AUTHOR And are to be Sold by J. Whitlock near Stationers-Hall 1695. JOEL ii 1. Blow ye the Trumpet in Zion and sound an Alarm in my Holy Mountain let all the Inhabitants of the Land tremble for the Day of the Lord cometh for it is nigh at hand I Being set up as a Spiritual Watchman over you tho' unworthy of so high and sacred a Calling do conceive that it is my duty to give Warning whensoever I shall apprehend that any great Danger is at hand or that any great Evil is ready to light upon us And also that it is your duty to hearken to the voice of your Spiritual Watchman and to take warning by him And now I conceive that it is high time or more than time that I give you Warning That I give you Warning That I apprehend that the Enemy is at hand That the days of Darkness are coming upon us That the Romish Religion like a violent Flood is ready to overflow us And that that great Stream if we have not a very great care is like to carry us to Destruction and Perdition in the end I conceive that all the humane Power that can be used at this time is not able to stop it and that nothing but a general Repentance and Reformation of our Lives can prevent and turn away this Judgment of God from us which we by our Sins and great Wickedness have brought upon our selves And because such a general Repentance and Reformation of our Lives is now alas to be despaired of therefore I have thought good to make choice of these words of the Prophet for the Subject of my ensuing Discourse that from them I might warn you of this Judgment which I apprehend and am fully persuaded is coming upon us That we may prepare our selves against it and may be able thro' Divine Assistance in some measure to stand in the Evil Day and not be carried away with the violence of Temptation to the ruin of both Body and Soul in the end But before I proceed to these words of the Text perhaps it may not be amiss to premise this to you viz. That I have not made choice of these words thereby intending to blow up any sparks of Rebellion or to give any encouragement to rise up against Government It is not my Province nor my desire to sound any Classicum for the Field but to give Exhortations and some Instructions for the Closet and for a Spiritual Preparation against this Day of the Lord and to dissuade Men from taking up and medling with any carnal Weapons at this time I have always born a Loyal Mind and never entertained any Rebellious Thoughts so far as I am conscious to my self and thro' Divine help Loyal I intend to be in the blackest of Times And I would have no one to entertain any Prejudice and Jealousie against me for I am in Charity with all the World as I hope and thirst after no ones Blood and Destruction and my Office and desire is to be a Messenger of Peace hereby to all Men without any exception that will hearken to my Voice and take Warning by me I am sensible that the sacred Scriptures do strictly enjoin Obedience to Superiors and Governors and do sharply threaten all such as do rise up against their Lawful Rulers and I would have all others to be so too The great Reason that any may be apt to think that there is at some times to rise up against Authority and Lawful Government will by no means tolerate and make it Lawful so to do but those that do so are like to be sharply punished in the end for such a work Our Lord hath told us Matt. 26.52 That all they that take the Sword shall perish with the Sword And this was spoken when Peter had drawn his Sword to defend his Lord and Master and to save his Life John 18.26 And if our blessed Lord would not suffer him to use his Sword upon this account to save his life but bid him put it up into its place again we may be sure that we ought at no time to rise up against Government If those then that should take up the Sword were like to perish with it we may well expect the same now And St. Paul doth tell us Rom. 13.2 That they that resist the Power resist the Ordinance of God and that they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation And I would not have this to be any of our portion And if this was true Doctrine in Nero's time we may be sure that it is so in ours And saith St. John Rev. 13.9 10. If any man have an ear let him hear He that leadeth into Captivity shall go into Captivity He that killeth with the Sword must be killed with the Sword And so I fear it will be now He that shall unlawfully and unjustly use this Weapon must expect to have it returned upon himself and to have his own blood spilt with it if he use it in an unrighteous way to the shedding of the blood of others From these places we may see what those are to expect that rise up against their Lawful Authority and Government And we may see that we are commanded to be Subject to Kings and all in Authority and that there is no such Exception annexed to such Commands that any time or circumstances will exempt Men from their Obedience to them Rom. 13.1 saith St. Paul Let every soul be subject unto the Higher Powers for there is no Power but of God the Powers that be are ordained of God We are to be Subject and Obedient to these in all things that are good and lawful because they are ordained of God and in so doing we are subject in a remoter degree to God himself From these and other places we may see how clearly our subjection to Kings and Governors is set down and that we cannot resist and rise up against them without transgressing the Divine Commands of Almighty God It is not to promote any sin and wickedness or any disorder in the Nation but to exhort us all to a general Repentance and amendment of our sinful lives and to implore help and assistance against the Evil Time which I am convinced is coming upon us that I have made choice of these words of the Prophet Joel That we all from hence may be warned to call all our Sins and Iniquities to mind and to be deeply humbled for them and for the manifold and great Provocations and Transgressions of the whole Kingdom That we may make our hearty and earnest Addresses to
warning of this Judgment I doubt not but that he should have had warning that he might have been saved and preserved from this Judgment But such are the ways of those that are hardened in their wickedness and have sold themselves to work evil that no warning of Judgment will work upon them as we see it would not upon Lot's Sons in law And saith Abraham in the Parable concerning the Rich Man's Brethren Luke 16.31 If they hear not Moses and the Prophets neither will they be persuaded tho' one rose from the dead And if the contemners of God's Word will not be persuaded to repent by one rising from the dead and warning them of the fearful Judgments of God in another World which he hath been an eye witness of we may be sure that the temporal Judgments of this Life though dreadful enough will not be able to work upon them but that they will be surprized still with them after they have had fair warning as Lot's Sons in law were When God destroyed the Inhabitants of the Land of Canaan they seem to have had warning of it by the Armies of the Israelites approaching towards them and abiding near them and by that fear that God sent upon them And we may see that Rahab the Harlot that feared God took warning hereat and made preparation that she might escape this Judgment of God upon them Joshua 2.9 And she said unto the men I know that the Lord hath given you the Land and that your terror is fallen upon us and that all the Inhabitants of the Land faint because of you for we have heard how the Lord dryed up the water of the Red Sea when ye came out of Egypt and what you did unto the two Kings of the Amorites And upon her hiding of the Spies saith she v. 12. Now therefore I pray you swear unto me by the Lord since I have shewed you kindness that ye will also shew kindness unto my Father's house and give me a true token And that ye will save alive my Father and my Mother and my Brethren And saith the Apostle Heb. 11.31 By faith the Harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not when she had received the Spies with peace The Harlot Rahab sheweth that they had warning of this Judgment of God upon them and she took warning and escaped When God was determined to destroy the Ninevites if they had not repented he sends the Prophet Jonah to warn them that the Judgment of God was coming upon them that they might repent and amend and so prevent their ruin and destruction Jonah 3.1 And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time saying Arise go unto Nineveh that great City and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee So Jonah arose and went unto Nineveh according to the word of the Lord. And v. 4. And Jonah began to enter into the City a days journey and he cryed and said Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown This warning did God give them of their approaching ruin and destruction that they might prepare against it and by a general Repentance and Reformation prevent it And here we may see that the Ninevites took warning and repented and turned from their evil ways and so prevented this Judgment of God from coming upon them after it was denounced against them Jonah 3.5 And if the old World and the Inhabitants of Sodom would have done so there is no doubt but that they might have prevented the heavy Judgments of God that befell them God sufficiently declared his proneness to Mercy in the matter of Sodom when he told Abraham Gen. 18.32 That if he found but ten righteous Men in Sodom he would spare the whole City for their sakes Again we may see that the Jews had warning of that Judgment and Destruction that came upon them after our Saviour's death by the Romans Our Saviour warned them of it when he was with them Luk. 13.1 and told them that they should perish as the Galileans had done if they repented not And in several places we may see that he warned his Disciples of it Matth. 24-32 Now learn a Parable of the Fig-tree when his branch is tender and putteth forth leaves ye know that Summer is nigh so likewise ye when ye shall see all these things know that it is near even at the doors Verily I say unto you this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled And the fiery Sword that hung over them some time before and such signal Acts of Providence did warn them that what our Saviour had foretold was coming upon them And by these and some Divine Admonition which the Christians had as some conceive at the withdrawing of the Roman Armies from Jerusalem the Christians took warning and fled all from thence beyond Jordan and were preserved and there were no Christians in Jerusalem when Titus came against it and besieged it as is reported By these and such Examples we may see that God doth give notice and warning to his People and Servants and such as will take warning and usually to all others when he is bringing any Judgment and Destruction upon a place that they may repent and provide for their Security at such a dreadful time And righteous Men do take Warning and are preserved using the Means that God ordereth for their preservation and some do repent at such a time and so avoid the Judgment that is coming upon them But some will take no warning but still proceed on in Wickedness and after all the Warning that is given them will still through their unbelief be surprized with Destruction before they are well sensible that it is coming upon them And as for our selves besides what I have said before Archbishop Usher that Reverend Prelate hath long since told us what a dreadful Time is coming upon us and the great preparations that are made for War and the Noises of Guns that are heard and the several Attempts that have been made and other Occurrences wherein there seems to me to be something of the Finger of God do admonish and warn us that Misery and Destruction are ready to come upon us and call us all to a speedy and deep Repentance And by all these let us be awaked out of our Carnal Security and Vain Confidence that we may not be surprized like blind Fools but may be wise betimes and provide for our own Preservation and Salvation that we perish not And III. We have here the Duty which the Prophet exhorted them to upon the coming of this Day of the Lord upon them briefly in these Words Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble And this Duty he more largely insisteth on in this Chapter And here we see that the Exhortation is general and all are to be concerned and moved to fear and trembling at the coming of this Day From hence I shall endeavour to shew something of the Duty which we
have been destroyed because they were not Righteous but Wicked And this will farther shew that it is our Duty and will be a great Encouragement to us to set then earnestly upon all the works of Righteousness at the apprehension of a dreadful Day coming upon us that we may then escape and find Mercy This God shews to be the Reason why Noah was to be saved from perishing with the Inhabitants of the Old World because he was righteous before God Gen. 7.1 And the Lord said unto Noah come thou and all thy house into the ark for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation This was the Reason why he was to be saved by the Ark when the rest of the World were to be destroyed by a Flood of Waters because God saw him to be righteous When God destroyed Sodom all the righteous Men were to be preserved and if there had been fifty Righteous yea if there had been but ten righteous Men therein they and the whole City too had been spared for their Righteousness sake Gen. 18.23 And we may see that righteous Lot was delivered at that time and that he was delivered because he was a just and righteous Man S. Peter sheweth 2 Pet. 2.6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly And delivered just Lot vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked for that righteous man dwelling among them in seeing and hearing vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished Here we may see that Lot was delivered because he was a just and righteous Man and that pious and godly Men from this Example and that of Noah are to be encouraged that God will deliver them from Temptations and Trials and Dangers But that the Unjust must expect to be reserved to the Day of Judgment to be punished for their Unrighteousness When the Israelites were to be consumed and to have their Carkases fall in the Wilderness and not to come into the Land of Canaan because they murmured and sinned against God Joshua and Caleb were then delivered from this Sentence because they were righteous and wholly followed God Num 14.20 and Num. 32.10 And the Lord's anger was kindled the same time saith Moses and he sware saying Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt from twenty years old and upwards shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham unto Isaac and unto Jacob because they have not wholly followed me save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite and Joshua the son of Nun for they have wholly followed the Lord. By the Works of Righteousness did the Harlot Rahab escape Destruction and perished not when Jericho was taken and destroyed when she concealed the Spies and sent them away in peace because she believed them to be the Servants of God By faith saith the Apostle Heb. 11 31 the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not when she had received the spies with peace And saith S. James 2.25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works when she had received the messengers and had sent them out another way By Works was she justified and by her works of Piety and Mercy was she saved from this Destruction and perished not with the Inhabitants of Jericho By these and such Examples we may see that righteous Men have been delivered in the Days of Vengeance for their Righteousness sake when others have perished and this may serve as a farther Argument to shew that it then behoves us especially to set earnestly upon the works of Righteousness whensoever we apprehend such a terrible Day of the Lord to be coming upon us And what it is that is Good and God requires the Prophet sheweth Micah 6.8 He hath shewed thee O man what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God These are the things that are Good and which God requires of us at all times but especially at such a time That we should be just and upright in all our dealings with others and do as we would be done by and rather wrong our selves than over-reach and deceive another That we should be so far from grudging at charitable Works like the Miser that we should love them and take delight in all acts of Mercy and Goodness and chearfully communicate to all the Needs and Necessities of others and be joyful and glad when we can relieve and succour them in their Miseries and Wants That we should be prone and forward to forgive all others that have done any Harm or Hurt to us and contentedly to pass by all the Injuries and Wrongs that have been done to us by others without seeking any Revenge and with Good to overcome all the Evil and Malice that is offered to us by any That we should walk humbly before God in a deep Sense of our own Unworthiness and Vileness and of God's great Goodness and Mercy to us and the continual Dependance that we have upon him and of his dreadful and glorious Majesty These are the things which God requires of us and such works of Righteousness and Mercy and Kindness are we especially to set upon when a dark Day is apprehended to be near at hand And then are we to be more frequent and zealous at all our Services and Devotions to Almighty God But Fourthly Then are we also more particularly to cry mightily to Almighty God upon this very account of his Day of Wrath being coming upon us Then are we to make our earnest addresses to Almighty God in this very Respect and to make Supplications to him that he would have mercy upon us and deal with us according to his great Love and Goodness and not according to our Sins and Iniquities That for his own Name sake and for his dear Son Christ Jesus sake he would be pleased to avert and turn away his Judgments and Wrath from us if it may consist with his Divine Will and Pleasure and if not that we may be covered and preserved in the Day of Wrath and sheltered under the Wings of his good Providence and find Mercy and Salvation in that day And 1. That we are to cry and make great Supplications to Almighty God and to seek to attone him and turn away his Wrath from us at such a time by earnest Prayers we may see by several places of Scripture Our own Nature and Reason will dictate this to us and so do the sacred Scriptures This the Prophet Joel prescribes here 1.14 Sanctify a fast call a solemn assembly gather the elders and all the Inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God and cry unto the Lord. And Joel