A Peace-Offering to God A SERMON Preached to the Honourable House of Commons assembled in PARLIAMENT At their publique Thanksgiving September 7. 1641. For the PEACE concluded between ENGLAND and SCOTLAND By STEPHEN MARSHALL Batchelour in Divinity Minister of Finchingfield in ESSEX Psalme 147. Praise the Lord O Jerusalem praise thy God O Sion for he hath strengthened the Bars of thy Gates and blessed thy children within thee He maketh Peace in thy Borders Published by Order of the said House LONDON Printed by T. P. and M. S. for SAMUEL MAN dwelling in St. Pauls Church-yard at the signe of the Swan 1641. TO THE HONORABLE House of Commons assembled in PARLIAMENT THe mercies which God hath shewed to these two Nations of England and Scotland giving us such great cause and matter of Thanksgiving causing our sheafe to arise and stand upright making us with Saul higher by the shoulders then all our brethren these mercies I say deserve so to be recorded that posterity should be compelled to read and admire them but who is sufficient for this thing It was said of Claudian that he wanted matter suitable to the excellency of his wit but where is the head or heart suitable to this matter Who can utter these mighty works of the Lord who can shew forth all his praise For my own part had I put my self upon this work to utter these mean conceptions upon this great subject before so great and honorable Audience I might justly have been condemned for abusing both the one and the other But you were pleased to command my service in preaching on the day of your publique and solemne Thanksgiving it may be because I was then neer at hand and after your Reverent attention had testified that you received them as the counsell of God you were further pleased expresly to desire me forthwith to print and publish what in my weaknesse I then delivered I suppose for the better memoriall of these great deliverances I could have pleaded much why these poore notes should not be exposed to publike view Treatises to be read by all should be long meditated often reviewed Excellent pictures should be engraven in brasse and not cast in clay the setting forth these mercies and quickning up answerable Thankfulnesse are above the Abilities of any man much more beyond the capacity of my self the weakest and unworthiest of many thousands But your Order left me not at liberty to do what I desired you have thus made them your own the more facile I shall hope to finde you and all Ingenuous Readers towards my weaknesses which not presumption but my obedience hath made thus publique This further encouragement I have little things have been accepted with God and man in testimoniall of Thankfulnesse a female a Turtle a handfull of wheat-floure by God himself a handfull of water a bunch of grapes c. by great Kings and Emperours And even under this Notion also I humbly present you with this ensuing discourse I have no more to say for my self but much I have to beg of God that you Noble Senatours and the Right Honorable Lords who joyned with you in this peace-offering may wholly consecrate your selves to advance his glory who hath done these great things for us all that your faithfull endeavours to do what is behind joyning with your Thankfulnesse for what is past the event may be answerable to your desires even the glory of God and the good and safety both of Church and Common-wealth which is the daily prayer of Your devoted servant STEPHEN MARSHALL A SERMON PREACHED before the Honorable House of Commons at their publike Thanksgiving The Preface to the SERMON RIght Honorable and beloved It was a priviledge and mercie which the Lord promised by the Prophet Isaiah That they should reioyce with Ierusalem who had mourned with her This mercie the Lord hath in great degree vouchsafed to my self this day the same good hand that cast it to be my lot though most unfit and unworthie to help this Honorable Assemblie in the day of their humiliation to dig pits in the valley of Bachah hath now designed me to sing with them in the valley of Berochah That after I had helped to carry out their precious seed with teares I should come with ioy and help to gather in their sheaves that after our Lamentations we should together sing Canticles and Halleluiahs unto our God Thus the Lord in mercie mingles rain and sunshine Oh that we had hearts suitable to all his administrations The duty of this day is to reioyce and to give praises unto God a service easier to the flesh then that of fasting and mourning but harder to the spirituall part In a day of humiliation even wicked men have affections stirring in them consciousnesse of evill guiltinesse of minde sense of wrath astonishing and oppressing feares arising from the apprehension of neare and unavoidable danger are naturall meanes to make even Pharaohs Ahabs and Ninevites mourne and humble themselves before God But in keeping a day of spirituall reioycing unto God little or no help is to be expected from the flesh and that is one reason why commonly dayes of thanksgiving are translated with much lesse affection life and savour then dayes of humiliation You should therefore have chosen Asaphs Ieduthuns and Hemans who might skilfully have helped you to lift up the praises of God but it s now no time to complaine of your choice neither will it be needfull if the Lord please to be present who can make the tongue of the dumbe to sing and can ordain his praise out of the mouthes of babes and sucklings trusting therefore his assistance I beseech you attend to his holy Word as you shall finde it written PSALME 124. verse 6 7 8. Blessed be the Lord who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowler the snare is broken and we are escaped Our help is in the Name of the Lord who made heaven and earth I Studied to have found out a Text which might every way have been suitable with the mercies which this day we are to celebrate but I confesse I could not do it and I do greatly question whether GOD ever did such a thing for matter and manner as he hath now done for these two unworthy Nations This Text which I have chosen comes very neare in the matter and way of our deliverance very home to the duty which this day wee are to performe The Psalme is stiled a Song of degrees a title peculiar to fifteen short Psalmes set downe together whether they bee so called because they were to bee sung with an exalted voice or because they were to be sung upon the staires of the Temple where the Singers were to stand or whether for the supereminencie of the matter contained in them they being so full of short grave and
and easie rent of Thanksgiving to men who are but Instruments of mercie how much more to God the welspring and fountain of them all Secondly consider the excellency of the duty what a high and honourable service it is so high that though God be most worthy to be praised yet no creature is found worthy to praise him In our praises we are said to blesse honour exalt magnifie and glorifie God can any creature be thought worthy or able to do this to lift up God to make him a great God to put glory upon God yet God so interprets it he that praiseth me honoureth me Yea so excellent is this duty that it is the onely imployment of all the glorious host of heaven It is said in the Psalme that man did eat Angels food sure I am this is to do Angels work heavens work to bring heaven down to earth and to raise up poore dust to heaven to be enabled to praise the Lord what should I say more this praising of God is by Interpretation the doing of all that God requires Tully said that Gratitude to man is Maxima mater omnium reliquarum virtutum But what ever Gratitude to man be the Scriptures teach us that gratitude to God is the comprehension of all our obedience 3. Thirdly it is the comfortablest duty that ever we can perform partly because it is the sweetest evidence of our sincere love and faithfull dependance upon God we may pray for base self-love when we love not God but his gifts but a cordiall praising of him is a reall expression of our love to him and partly because God graciously accepts what ever comes under the notion of praise a female or turtle a handfull of wheat floure a pepper corn a cup of cold water a sigh or teare is most kindly accepted when presented as a peace-offering I will praise God with a song this shall please the Lord better then an ox or a bullock that hath horns and hoofs Who that loves God would stick at any thing in this duty so acceptable unto him It is pitifull to observe what pains and cost many poore seduced Papists are at out of a false conceit of meriting for themselves and theirs should not love and Gratitude to God and our Lord Jesus who hath merited all for us be more prevalent with us then self-love and blinde superstition in them 4 Fourthly I have one Motive more especially to presse upon you according to the duty of the day the consideration of the wonders I had almost said the miracles of this last yeer Could I lively draw them before your eyes that you might see what this yeer God hath done for you and wrought by you such whose affections are lame among you would leap as an Hart and the tongue of the dumbe would sing This yeer we have seen the three Nations of England Scotland and Ireland in a posture of warre without blood shed Oh wonderfull This yeer we have seen our neighbour Nation come into England in a hostile shew with peaceable hearts oh wonderfull This yeer we have seen the same Nation after all mistakes cleared received into the bosome of their Soveraignes favour their loyalty and faithfulnesse acknowledged and with a friendly aid honorably and peaceably sent to their own homes and the two Nations faster cemented together in a league of love then ever heretofore oh wonderfull Nay yet more this yeer have we seen broken the yokes which lay upon our estates Liberties Religion and Conscience the intolerable yokes of Star-Chamber and terrible High-commission and their Appendances unsufferable pressures to many thousands all eased removed broken and swept away This yeer have we seen the two houses of Parliament and many ten thousands in the kingdome following their example enter into a Protestation promise and vow for defence of Gods true Religion against all Popery and Popish Innovations and superstition This yeer the Complaints of the Imprisoned outcast persecuted and afflicted we have seen and heard tenderly received into the high and honorable Court of Parliament and the faces of many proud enemies covered with shame This yeer for preventing future grievances the Lord hath put it into the heart of our gracious Soveraigne the Lords and Commons all to agree upon a Trienniall Parliament and this present Parliament to continue till all things be rightly established both in Church and Common-wealth that the foundations of the Land may be no more out of joynt that Liberty and Religion henceforth receive no dammage unlesse the State like the foolish woman in the proverbe plucks it down with their own hands Quadragesimus primus mirabilis annus Oh wonderfull yeer and so much the more wonderfull that all these things are done for us when our neighbour Nations round about us see no such dayes when Germany remains a field of blood when their Cities and Towns are desolate their wives ravished their children kill'd when many of them eat their dead carcasses and die for want of food yea when Gods sword rides in circuit round about us these great things are done for us and hopes of greater And which is most wonderfull all this done for the most unworthy and unthankfull Nation in all the world our God hath thus broke in over all the walls of separation which our sins have built up against us and called for vengeance upon us Me thinks Right Honourable and beloved every one of your hearts should say to God as the Prophet to the 〈◊〉 thou hast been carefull for us with all this care what is to be done for thee Lord what wouldst thou have us do to testifie that we are sensible of thy goodnesse Oh praise the Lord 5. And the rather because else God knows whether all these mercies may not be removed and destruction and miserie yet break in upon us When Tamar was to be delivered and twins in her wombe Zarah first put forth his hand and they tyed a scarlet threed about it and said this came out first but his hand was plucked in again and his brother broke out before him So mercie and judgement deliverance and ruine have seem'd to be long strugling in the wombe which should first break out upon us Deliverance hath now put forth the hand and we have tyed our scarlet threed about it and say this came out first Oh that Ingratitude cause not this hand to be plucked back again and destruction yet to break in upon us Ingratitude that Obex Infernalis as Divines call it that hellish stop may interrupt the course of all Gods mercies According to what God hath threatned that though he speak concerning a Nation to build and plant it if that Nation do evill in his sight he will repent of the good wherewith he said he would benefit them Quest What then is to be done or wherewith shall we be thankfull Answ Chrysostome once desired that he had a voice to speak to all the world
low stiles are easily troden down every hawke dare flie at pigeon any wilde beast run at a silly lambe 2. And partly it comes from that inveterate hatred and enmity which God hath put betwixt the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman from which enmitie it comes to passe that the wicked can no more cease to persecute the righteous then the troubled Sea can cease from casting up mire and dirt 3. And partly from the devill who as he reignes in all the children of disobedience so where ever he is he makes it his great work to make warre with the woman and her seed which keep the commandments of God and have the testimonie of Jesus Christ Persecuting men often die often have been reconciled persecuting Kings and Princes have become nursing Fathers and nursing Mothers but Satan never turnes Christian Non semper saeviunt Nerones sed nunquam cessat diabolus The devill ever goes about like a roaring Lion seeking to devoure them 4. Yea God himself hath ordered it to be so for his own glory because he delights to rule amongst his enemies and to make the wrath of man to turn to his praise that he may shew his wisedome power and love in preserving his Lillie among the thornes and to keep his bush though burning from consuming Many are the uses which this lesson might teach us I shall onely name these two as most agreeable to our present businesse First to admire adore and praise the wisedome goodnesse power and care of God in the protection and preservation of his Church and people in the midst of so many and mighty malicious and impetuous adversaries We are prone to wonder why Gods people walking so innocently and inoffensively should meet with so much hard usage but alas could we read what is in the heart and purpose of all our ill neighbours we should rather wonder that there is one godly man left in the world In stead of thinking it strange concerning their fiery trials as though some strange thing happened unto them we should with thankfull hearts daily sing this Psalme were not the Lord himself on our side we should instantly be swallowed up quick the waters would overwhelme us the proud waters would go even over our soul Secondly this may teach us all never to be secure if we have escaped one danger if we be come out of six troubles and the seventh hath not been able to hurt us if whole armies of our enemies be overthrowne let us not hang up our armour upon the wall grow not carelesse because the rod of him that smote us is broken for out of the Serpents root will come forth a Cockatrice and the fruit will be a fiery flying Serpent God hath lately done great things for these two unworthy Nations great enemies are quelld great yokes are broken blessed be his Name for it but our enemies are not all dead our adversary the devill who rules in all the children of disobedience compasseth the earth and goes about like a roaring Lion seeking whom he may devoure Be sober therefore and watchfull and keep on the whole armour of God that we may be able to withstand in the evill day and having done all to stand But though there be cause of watchfulnesse a yet you will see there is no cause of distrustfull fear by that time I have briefly opened the next branch which is the author manner and way of their deliverance God hath not not given us a prey to their teeth c. Where among many considerable things I shall onely commend to you these 2. observations First That they were not made a prey because God would not give them as a prey to their teeth Secondly when they were as birds caught in the net and snared God chose that for his time to break their snares asunder The first affords us this comfortable lesson That how potent soever how cunning or malicious soever the enemies of Gods Church are how great imminent or unavoidable the dangers of Gods people are yet they never can be made a prey unlesse God will give them for a prey All things seeme to meet that might make them a prey yet because God would not give them to be a prey therefore they were not made a prey This is abundantly proved out of the Scripture when ever God told his people they should be spoiled it was added he would deliver them up When at any time they were spoiled God is said to spoil them God sold his people into the hand of Jabin King of Canaan The Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian God sold his people for nought he made them a reproach a scorn and derision he made them turn their backs from their enemie So likewise when they desired deliverance from their enemies they used to beg in these termes that God would not deliver the soul of his turtle unto the multitude of their enemies accounting all to depend upon Gods act if God refused to deliver up his turtle they feared none others catching or shooting his turtle Most remarkable is that place in Deut. 32. 30. The Lord did there in that song tell the people what would betide them for their rebellion afterward they should be scattered into corners and be made a spoile to all their enemies round about them insomuch that two or three of their enemies should chase a thousand of them and a handfull of their enemies should put ten thousand of them to flight Now whereas they might object and say Is this according to thy promise that thou madest in the 26. Levit. That thy people should chase their enemies that five of them should chase an hundred and an hundred of them should put ten thousand to flight how comes it then that one should chase a thousand of thy people Mark what answer God makes them in that 30. verse This could never have been unlesse their Rock had sold them and the Lord had shut them up If God say to one Spoile them shut them up it is done presently If God will not do it all the world cannot do it And the ground of it is plain because God not onely is a wall of fire about them keeps a watchfull eye upon them carries them under his wings and in his bosome but even all creatures all things which might hurt them all their enemies who would hurt them have such a dependance upon God that not onely in him they live and move and have their being but all their motions and operations are but as Tools in Gods hands That although they seem to work from principles of their own yet the truth is they are but meerly as the ax and the sawe in the hand of God who useth them This the Scripture speaks an hundred times The great King of Assyria was but the rod of Gods anger though his heart
upon earth some of the poore that lie in the dust who want bread to keep themselves alive all these shall be counted to the Lord for a generation a seed who shall serve him and what shall this service be even to declare and set forth his righteous works from generation to generation here is all this holy seed hath to do first to seek him then to praise him to enioy him and to glorifie him So that what Solomon said of fearing God and keeping his Commandments this is the whole duty of man The same I may say of thanksgiving praise God and glorifie him for this is the whole duty of the Church in this world And not onely in this momentany pilgrimage but even to all eternitie if you would know what the triumphant Church doth how the glorious Saints and Angels are employed this one word Hallelujah expresseth it fully praise ye the Lord And by this time I hope you see good reason why our praises should succeed our prayers and accompany our deliverances But will some say all this labour might have been spared is there any man who will not praise God Doth the man live who is not willing and ready to give God the praises due unto his Name I answer Indeed if to praise God were no more then most people think it were the most universall common easie cheap and constant duty in the world such who never kept a holy fast in all their life time such who neither pray to God in their family nor in their chamber do yet if their carnall minds may be the iudge praise God an hundred times Every day their ordinary phrase is I thank God I praise God Ask but of their welfare well I thank God they say Enquire of their families all well I praise God Every mouth is filled with the praises of God blessing proceeds out of the same mouth which is full of cursing young men and maids old men and children can all praise God But alas most men are infinitely mistaken in this dutie a thankfull man who can finde there is not in all the world a duty more rare to be found a duty more spirituall more difficult more costly then the duty of praise Let me therefore that we may not mistake when we come to application give you briefly the Institution of a thankfull man according to the word and I will bring it all to these two heads First the qualification of the person of a thankfull man who and what he is Secondly the Ingredients into the duty or what makes it up Who the man is And what his work is First who is the man that may praise God Answ. Onely the godly man True it is all men even the worst are bound to do it it lies upon them as a duty but it belongs not to them as a priviledge it is the priviledge onely of the righteous they may do it Rejoyce in the Lord ye righteous it becomes well the just to be thankfull Let the high praises of God be in their mouthes Their praises please the Lord better then a bullock that hath horns and hoofs Not so the wicked they have a woolfe by the eares in this work if they do it not God will have his glory out of them Pharaoh Senacherib Herod such as proudly seek to rob him of his glory shall yeeld him his glory in their righteous destruction they would not do it with singing they shall do it with howling On the other-side if they bring their peace-offerings God spreads the dung of their sacrifices upon their faces They are an abomination to him See this notably expressed in the 50 Psalme vers. 7. and so forward the Lord shâ—wed how little pleasure he took in the sacrifice of beasts in comparison of the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving Offer unto God thanksgiving and pay thy vows to the most high Call upon me in the time of trouble and I will deliver thee and thou shalt glorifie me This God takes pleasure in Mark now what follows But unto the wicked saith God what hast thou to do to take my covenant into thy mouth who required these things at thy hands so that you see whether wicked men praise God or praise him not they are abhorred by him Just as some great Lord of a Mannour who having an enemy holding lands of him will compell him to do suit and service and yet abhorres him in his suit and service But Israel may rejoyce in God let them praise him in the dance let them sing praises to him with timbrell and harpe for the Lord takes pleasure in his people The second quare what makes up the duty Now you have found the man wherein stands his work Answ. When God appointed the sacrifice of peace-offerings he made it an indifferent thing whether it were a male or female so it were the best they had the best it must be Cursed be that deceiver who hath a male and sacrificeth a corrupt thing unto God Were a female the best it was accepted provided it were a whole one To bring a limbe of a torne beast should I accept this at your hands saith the Lord He will have all or none A whole one then it must be Now this whole peace-offering is made up of these 3. things The first is the soul which is the fat and inwards of it Secondly the tongue which is the glory of it Thirdly the life which indeed is the life of thankfulnesse 1. First the soule the heart and spirit this must chiefly be looked to having to do with the Father of spirits with God the searcher of the heart I will praise God saith David with my whole heart My soule praise the Lord and all that is within me praise his holy Name My heart is fixed O God my heart is fixed I will sing and give praise Now to this soul-praising of God are required principally these three things First A A minde observing the wayes and mercies of God a spirit inquisitive into Gods wayes not out of Athenian curiosity but as Bees flie from flower to flower to gather honey to digest them into matter of praise and thanksgiving God makes it an argument of an unthankfull heart not to consider his wayes nor the operations of his hands And on the other side it is an argument of a thankfull heart to take pleasure in searching out the works of God See how David sets this down in the 68. Psalme ver. 14. They have seen thy goings O God the goings of my God my King in the sanctuary then follows The singers went before the players on Instruments followed after Blesse ye God in the Congregation First they observe Gods footsteps then blesse him in the Congregation And in the 107. Psal. after the Prophet had set down the variety of Gods administrations for which he should be praised he thus