Christ to send the Christian Religion among us Christ made haste to convert England Some say that James the brother of John some Sâ—…mon Zeâ—…tes some that Peter and Paul but all agree that Joseph of Aâ—…imathea preached the Gospell here and here he died And that which makes much for the mercy of God to this happy Island the first Christian King that ever was in the world was King Lucius a Britaine and the first Christian Emperour was borne in England even Constantine the Great And when wee came afterwards to be wofully drowned with Popish heresies and Idolatry the first King that ever shooke off subjection to Antichrist after he was discovered by Luther was King Henry the eighth and the first King that ever wrote in Print that the Pope was Antichrist was King James of famous memory God hath made us not only Protestants but reformed Protestants We have enjoyed the Gospell of peace and the peace of the Gospell for almost an hundred yeares In this Century God hath multiplied deliverances upon deliverances we have had our 88. and our Gunpowder deliverances but as Benjamins messe did exceed all his brethrens and as Josephs shease was lifted up above the sheaves of his brethren so the mercies of these two last yeares do farre exceed all the mercies that ever this Nation did receive since the first Reformation mercies that deserve to be ingraven in every one of our hearts And if Achilles was happy in Alexanders judgement because he had a Homer to record his fame It would no doubt be a great honour to this Kingdome if it had a better Homer to Chronicle the passages of these late yeares Give mee leave to name and but to name some few of them First The bappy Pacification betweenâ—… Scotland and England God hath freed us from Civill warres which of all warres are most uncivill from intestine warres warres that would have eaten out our owne bowels from warres of Protestant with Protestant which of all warres are most cruell Odia proximorum sunt acerrima Secondly The mighty turne that God hath made in this Kingdome for the better for wee were all upon the Tropicks turning to Popery as some that are most moderate do now confesse The ill affected party had got a mighty faction men in authority power pits were digged for the Righteous Gallowses provided for Mordecai because hee would not bow to Haman dens of Lions for Daniel because he would not leave praying fiery furnaces for the three children because they would not worship the golden Image dungeons for Jeremy because he would preach the truth with boldnesse We were like firebrands in the fire like birds in the snare but God Almighty hath made a blessed turne of things for the better the enemies are throwne into the dens dungeons they prepared for the godly the pits they digged for others they themselves are fallen into the enemies of the Church hang downe their heads and the godly begin to lift them up Our Isaacs are delivered and the Rammes are caught in the bush and as the Wiseman saith The Righteous is delivered out of trouble and the wicked commeth in his stead The wicked shall be a ransome for the righteous and the transgressours for the upright Thirdly The Protestation against all Popery and Popish Innovations next to that Protestation from which we beare the name of Protestants the greatest mercy God hath brought a great deale of good to this Kingdome by it Fourthly The great hope we have of a reformation of the Church and State We may now say in some good measure as it is Canticles 2. 11. The winter is past the raine is over and gone the flowers appeare on the earth the time of the singing of birds is come You know the birds sing early in the morning at the break of day and the flowers appeare at the beginning of the Spring Blessed be God here is a faire spring towards the day begins to dawne Reformation begins to blossome and we hope that the winter of adversitie is past and gone unlesse our new sinnes do provoke God to repent of the good he intends to do unto us as hee dealt with Saul for his new transgression after hee had thought to have established him King 1 Sam. 13. 13 14. Fifthly The many grievous yoakes that God hath freed us from so many as that the day would hardly suffice to repeat them God hath delivered us from Civill yoakes and from Spirituall from Monopolies from the late Canons mounted up against all good men but now turned against themselves from the Star-Chamber and from the terrible High Commission that wrack and torture of conscience and conscientious men which was appointed like the dogs in the Capitoâ—…l to scare away theeves but hath for the most part barked onely at honest men from those two terrible Oathes the Oath ex Officio and the Oath of the late Canons whereby the Prelaticall party thought for ever to rivet themselves into the Kingdone and to be above the hurt of the King and Parliament this Oath is now made the great Canon to shoot them downe Sixthly The discovery of the secret underminers that have for these many yeares laboured to blow up our Religion and under the name of Puritan to scare all men from being Protestants God hath done to us as he did to Ezekiel he hath opened a doore in the wall to behold all the trecheries that are plotted in secret there is nothing devised against Church or State but God raises up one Eâ—…isha or other to discover it in so much as we may say of England as Balaam of the Israelites Surely there is no â—…nchantment against England neither is there any divination against the Houses of Parliament Here are six mercies Now there are also divers circumstances with which these mercies are apparelled that are as remarkeable as the mercies themselves as we say of some things that the curious workmanship of them is more worth than the things themselves as in a Watch or Clocke so these circumstances are as glorious and as observable if not more than the mercies themselves and these are likewise six First for God to doe all this for England and to doe it in a legall way in a Parliamentary way This is the first Circumstance It was that which our enemies did much threaten that wee should never see Parliament more but blessed be God we doe see it to our great joy and comfort It was the happines of England that in her first reformation she was acted by authority Our reformation began from the head and not from the feet And it is now no little blessing That this second reformation beginnes from the heads of our Tribes in the old and good way of a Parliament and not by a popular tumult Secondly to doe it in a peaceable way It is with us as it was in the building of Solomons Temple Here is no noise of hammers or axes but all in a quiet
of God but the hand even the right hand the aâ—…me even the strong arme of Jehovah the onely wonder-working God in Englands mercies and this will appeare If either you consider the mercies themselves Or the time when we received them Or the manner how we received them First If we consider the mercies themselves they are so super-superlative as that we may say of them as Protogâ—…es did of a curious line which he saw drawne in a Painters shop None but 〈◊〉 could draw this line so none but a God could doe such great things These mercies declare the glory of God and these deliverances sâ—…ew forth his handy workes workes worthy of a God Secondly If we consider the time when we received them for God suffered us to be at the very pits brinke and betweene the very teeth of the Lions as Daniel was and like Isaac ready to be slaine even Tantum nâ—…n and then he came from heaven to help us O beatos articulos temporis O happy articles of time When my enemies came up against me saith David then and not before God fought for me Thirdly The manner how God hath brought about these mercies is so rare as that we may not onely say as David to the Woman Is not the hand of Joab in all this but we may certainely conclude The hand of God is most conspicuous in all Englands mercies Never since the first day of the creation of the world when God brought light out of darknesse hath God more appeared in the workes of his providence in bringing good out of evill than in these last yeares wherein he hath suffered the enemies of the Church and State to dig pits and then he hath caught them in the pits that they themselves have digged In the net which they bid is their owne foot taken the wicked is snared in the workes of his owne hand Higgaion Selah As Christ whipped out the buyers and sellers by a whip made of their owne cords which they brought to tye their beasts withall so God hath whipped out the enemies of this Church and State by whips of their owne making He hath taken them by their owne iniquities and hath held them with the cords of their owne sinne Goliah is killed with his owne sword Hâ—…man hanged upon his owne Gâ—…llowes All that our enemies have done these many yeares hath beene but as the weaving of a spiders web and the hatching of Coâ—…atrice egges for they have consumed their bowels by what they have weaved and they are destroyed by the egges which they have hatched God hath delivered us not onely by little meanes by unlikely meanes but by contrary meanes he hath brought unity out of division The indeavours to divide the Nations of England and Scotland have beene the meanes of their farther union we have indeed a saying Omne malum ab Aquilone but we may well turne it and say Omne bonum ab Aquilone for Scotland hath beene the cause of a great deale of good to England God hath brought liberty out of oppression If things had not beene so bad they would not now have beene so good if mans wickednesse had not beene so evident Gods goodnesse had not been so transparent God hath made our enemies Preservatives to be their Destructives and hath ruinated them by what they thought to be established their very rising hath beene their ruine and by indeavouring to bring themselves too high they have overgrasped themselves and almost lost all In all those things wherein they dealt proudly God was above them God hath made all our Destructives to be our Preservatives and by those wayes by which they thought to destroy us they have preferred us and all this hath beene done not so much by the wisdome of the Parliment nor by the graces of his Children as by the very lusts and pride of the Adversaries This is the Lords doing and it is marvellous in our eyes and we may safely say with David Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee and the remainder of wrath shalt thou restraine Give mee now leave right Honourable to make two uses of these two Doctrines If these mercies come from God Let God have the glory of all his mercies And glory with all his mercies Let God have the glory of all his mercies let us say with David Not unto us O Lord not unto us but unto thy name wee give the praise Not unto us because not by us let us give the praise and the whole praise to God The nature of man is wonderfull prone to sacrifice to his owne net and to ascribe the glory of deliverances to himselfe Nebuchadnez zâ—…r spake and said Is not this great Babell that I have built by the might of my power and for the honour of my Majesâ—…y and Moses himselfe spake unadvisedly with his lips when he said Shall we bring water out of this Rocke c as if he had done it by his owne power and therefore let us take heed of this sin There are two things in every mercy First the comfort and benefit of the mercy Secondly the praise and glory of the mercy Now God giveth us the comfort and benefit but the praise and glory he reserveth to himselfe this is like Potiphars wife that Joseph must not meddle withall Zâ—…latur Deus propter gloriam This I speak the rather because I preach to them whom God hath made one of the Instruments of all our mercies You are the golden pipes through which these mercies come to us and you must be as golden pipes in suffering the praise to passe through you not reserving any to your selves you must sing the Angels song Glory be to God on high in earth peace and say with Bernard Mihi plaeet distributio Angelica Gratanter accipio quod reâ—…inquis relinquo quod retines abjuro gloriam ne amitterem pa em It was that which the King of Sweden did often complain of and much bemoan saying That God would surely take him out of the worâ—…d before his worke was done because people did idolize him and ascribe too much unto him May we not give praise and thankes to the Parliament that hath taken such indefatigable paines for our good Yes certainly but not as to the first Authors and Fountaines but onely as to the Messengers of the good things we eâ—…joy as when a great Lord sends a gift by his servant we may thanke the servant for his paines in bringing the gift and give him a reward for his paines but the whole praise for the gift is to the Lord that sent it so it is here the great God hath made you right Honorable his Servants and Embassadors to bring great blessings to us And we thanke you for your cost and care and paines and the Lord reward you a thousand fold But the mercies are not yours but Gods And therefore Not unto you not unto you but unto God be all the praise
silken halters to hang himselfe withall and ponds of sweet water to drowne himselfe withall gilded poysons to poyson himselfe withall O let not your honors and riches c. be silken halters to strangle your soules let not your pleasures be ponds of sweet water to drown your soules let not your preferments be gilded poysons to poyson your soules Say as Nabal did but in a better sense shal I take my health which God hath given me to sin against my God with it God forbid Shall I take the wit that God hath given me to plot against God and his cause with it God forbid 3. Consider the patience of God towards us This is an argument that should drive us to repentance Rom. 2. There is no sin but it is committed in the very bosome of God For God fils Heaven earth and sees all your curtaine abominations And he is able to destroy you he is just and must wound the bairy scalpe of those that goe on in their wickednesse and he is a holy and a pure God that hates your iniquities from his very heart And yet behold how patient this God is towards you At such a time when thou wert in the act of adultery he might have sent thee to hell in the very act he might have made thy tongue to rot the last oath thou sworest Nothing with-held him but pure mercy O let this melt our hearts What a mercy is it to be out of hell Many in hell have not sinned the sinnes that we have done It is his free grace that we are delivered We might have been weeping in hell at this instant And then our teares should have beene our hell but now they will prove our heaven if God worke them in us 4. Consider the Lord Jesus Christ and his love in dying for thee If thy heart be as hard as an Adamant the blood of this scape Goate will soften it There were five men met together that asked one another what meanes they used to abstaine from sinne The first answered That he continually thought upon the certainty of death and the uncertainty of the time of death and that made him live every day as if it were his last day The second meditated of the severe account he was to give at the day of judgement and of the everlasting torments of hell and this kept him from sin The third of the vilenesse and loathsomenesse of sin and of the excellency and beauty of grace and this made him abhorre sinne The fourth of the everlasting rewards and pleasures provided for those that abstaine from sinne and this prevailed with him The fifth and the last continually meditated of the Lord Jesus Christ and of his love and this made him ashamed to sin against God This last is the greatest motive of all If the pacification betweene the two Nations of England Scotland will not affect us let the great pacification that Christ hath made for thee between God and thy soule move thy heart to be ashamed to offend God It is the greatest argument I can use to say For Jesus Christ his sake be ashamed and confounded for your evill waies 5. Consider the long enjoyment of the Gospel the powerfull and plentifull preaching of it joyned with peace and plenty And let us mourne for our Gospel sins for our unprofitablenes and unfruitfulnesse under such fruitfull meanes that we have beene like a barren ground which no plowing will make good Let us mourne for our unbeliefe and impenitency Let Gospel sins produce Gospel sorrow Teares are made onely for sin If we mourne our eyes out for worldly losses we cannot profit our selves But if we weep for sin this will quench the fire of hell There are 2 sorts of sins and 2 sorts of curses legall sins Gospel sins legall curses and Gospel curses Legall sins will bring legall curses But Gospel sins unlesse there be Gospel sorrow will bring a Gospel curse which is above al legal curses Of this curse the Apostle speaks 1 Cor. 16. 22. If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ let him be Anathema Maranatha that is accursed for the present reserved for the vengeance which Christ will render to all unbelievers when he comes to judgement This is curse upon curse And this is the curse due to them that abuse mercies The Lord deliver us from this curse 6. Let every man consider the personal mercies that God hath bestowed upon him in particular take all these mercies lay them to his heart they wil dissolve the stone in his heart let our hearts be as wax these mercies as the sun to melt them into godly sorrow Make a double Catalogue One of thy sins The other of Gods mercies to thee binde them about thy heart to bring it into a religious frame Thus I have named six other mercies My humble suit is That you would pâ—…nder consider seriously what hath been said unto you Consider what I say saith the Apostle and the Lord give you understanding The Thessalonians had never understood what Paul had said if they had not considred it No more shall we profit by this Sermon if we do not consider what hath bin said And this consideration must have foure ingredients 1. We must consider these mercies distinctly and deliberately If a man hath a sweet Cordiall in his mouth and swallow it downe whole he wil not taste the sweetnes of it but if he chew it by degrees it wil be very pleasant to his taste So these mercies will doe us no good if we swallow them down without serious meditation But if we chew them and consider them distinctly and deliberately one mercy after another they will exceedingly affect us 2. We must consider them with reflexion upon our selves and application to our selves As it is reported of Plato that when he did walk in the streets if he saw any man disordred in his speech or any other way he would say to himselfe Num ego talis Am I such a one as this is So must we say Num ego talis Have I abused these mercies Have I sinned with these mercies And as the Apostles severally asked Christ Master is it I So mâ—…t we aske our hearts Am not I the man that ought to be ashamed and â—…nfoundid for my sins against mercies 3. We must consider these mercies in as neere a propinquity as we can possible It is a true saying of the Philosoper Things that are seen far off are as if they were not A great man a far off seems little or nothing An enemie a farre off or a serpent a farre off doth littâ—…e trouble us So it is with mercies If we looke upon them at a distance they will seeme little and little affect us but if we take them neere to us they will seeme as they are very great and will mightily worke upon us 4. Consider these mercies devoutly with prayer unto God to make them heart-melting