Tribe of Benjamin was cut off and destroyed that the other Tribes came to the House of God and abode there untill even before the Lord and lift up their voices and wept sore saying O Lord God of Israel why is this come to passe in Israel that there should be this day one Tribe lacking in Israel and the children of Israel saith the Text repented them for Benjamin their brother and said There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day We are met Beloved at this time in Gods house to humble ourselves and what cause of mourning have we for this Nation wherein I will not say one Tribe is cut off already but many of the heades and chosen men of every Tribe and the whole remnant of this once populous flourishing Kingdome is ready to be destroyed by the bloody sword of an intestine dissention 2 Châ—on 20.23 while we like those earth-borne Thebans or cursed Cananites help to kill and destroy each other When Ziglag was burnt with fire at the very sight of it David and his men wept so much that they could weepe no more 1 Sam. 30.3 what greater reason have we to weepe at the sight of the generall conflagration of our owne Country Were there nothing to be lamented by us in this day of our Fast but the publique miseries of this poore Kingdome with how loud and fearefull a cry doe they call every one of us to mourning Ye daughters of England weepe over me who cloathed you with scarlet 2 Sam. 1.24 and sed you with the flower of wheate How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the Battaile how are not only the weapons of warre but all the abundance and delightes and glory of your peace perished What cause have we I say not only with good Nehemiah to have our countenances sad Nehem. 1.4 and to sit downe and weepe and mourne and fast and pray before the God of heaven but to wish with Jeremie O that our heads were waters Jer. 9.4 and our eyes a fountaine of teares that we might weepe day and night for the slaine of the daughter of our people A second cause we have to humble our selves at this time is the consideration of every one of our owne sinnes and the sinne of the Nation the guilt and provocation whereof have drawne downe upon our heads the great wrath and indignation of our God Teares were made only for sin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. God saith Saint Chrysostome hath implanted in us the passion sorrow for no other thing in the world but sinne Hon. 7. ad pop Antiochenuâ—â— in our Calamities we should looke with the eye of contrition more upon our sinnes then our sufferings and be more afflicted that we should deserve afflictions then that we should endure them A Pharaoh will cry out of the Plague and pray for the taking away of the death repenting Israel prayes for the removall of their sinne Take away all our iniquity Hos 14.2 and indeed all other Calamities to this are in the same Fathers words but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 bare names of Calamity 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. sin is only truly so Ibid. Whatsoever bitternesse is in any affliction is put into it by the malignity of sin and therefore the Godly who are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 men of teares in their weeping have alwayes most lamented their sinnes When Gods wrath was incensed against Israel to have destroyed them for the golden Calfe Oh saith Moses this people have sinned a great sinne and yet now if thou wilt forgive their sinne c. Exod 32 31. O my God saith Ezra in the great distresse of his people I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee O my God for our iniquities are increased over our heads and our trespasse is growne up unto the heavens Ezra 9.6 the same course is held by Nehemiah and Daniel in their supplication King David when the destroying Angel is sheathing his sword into Jerusalem cries out I have sinned and I have done wickedly 2 Sam. 24.17 Mine heart saith Ieremy within me is broken because of the Prophets my bones shake I am like a drunken man like a man whom wine hath overcome because of the Lord and because of the wordes of his holinesse for the Land is full of Adulterers for because of swearing the Land mournes the pleasant places of the wildernesse are dryed up and their course is evill and their force is not right Ier. 23.9.10 O for some Jeremies to lament this over againe for this nation Teares that are shed for sinne are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 commendable teares Orat. 21. as Nazianzen tearmes them The Philosopher tells us that the dew of heaven and the raine from above is farre more fertile then the waters from the fountaines and rivers below and so are those teares for sinne then those that are for affliction And if ever people had cause to be humbled to have their hearts broken and their eyes run downe with rivers of waters for their owne sinnes and the sinnes of their Nation then have we certainly this day That we should sin away our peace and those blessings which made us glorious in the sight of the Nations that we should sin our selves into all these miseries that are now upon us The greatnesse of our present distresse testifies to our faces the greatnesse of our sinnes God that never afflicts willingly Lam. 3.33 and when he doth punishes citra condignum lesse then the desert of our sinnes Job 11.6 hath declared unto us the enormity of our sinne by the extremity of our punishment Ierusalem hath greivously sinned Lam. 1.8 saith the Prophet And therefore is she removed We may say too this day England hath greivously sinned therefore is she greivously afflicted her glory is removed and departed from her But yet this is not all the sinnes whereby we first drew downe this great wrath upon our selves are not all the cause we have to be humbled at this time no there is something more for which were it but throughly resented all our hearts should melt all our bowells tremble and all our Livers be poured out on the earth like water before the Lord this day and that is that we still sinne under Judgements that we have not humbled our selves as yet under Gods mighty hand that we have contracted the guilt of many new greivous sinnes even since the time that Gods hand hath beene upon us in so terrible a Judgement Great cause hath every one of us to sit downe and take up a Lamentation over his owne hard heart Alas What stone is my heart made of The hardest marble will weepe when the heaven is blacke with tempests above though great clouds of Gods anger have hung a long time over our heads and many stormes of wrath fallen upon us yet my heart mournes not The Adamant that they say will onely expell vaine feares no
reall feares no terrour of present Judgements can make any impression of feare upon my heart The Naturalist tells us too that the Adamant is broken with Goats bloud but neither the bloud of Jesus Christ that scape-Goate nor that of so many thousands of our brethren that have beene slaine have melted my heart into teares of Contrition What is it a rocke why the rocke when strooke but twice by the rod of Moses sent forth waters abundantly saith the Text Num. 20.11 But God hath often smitten us with his rod and yet no waters of repentance flow from my hard impenitent heart Oh this sets our condition in the very depth of misery and almost beyond the hopes of recovery that we sinne still that we repent not under Judgements What flouds of teares are sufficient to deplore this impenitency O our God saith Ezra what shall we say after all this for we have forsaken thy Commandements Ezr. 9.10 This is that which Daniel insisteth upon as the maine aggravation of the sinne of Judah Dan. 9.12 that though the like had not beene done under heaven as had beene done upon Jerusalem Though saith he all this be come upon us yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God that we might turne from our iniquities and understand thy truth Oh Beloved let this consideration be like Moses rod to strike water out of our stony hearts that the plague of sinne is upon us while we sigh and groane and dye under the plague of Judgements Let us lament that we have not lamented for our sinnes and say The Lord pardon our Impenitency the Lord forgive the sinnes we have committed since the time that his Iudgements have beene upon the Land Let it be the marke of the beast and the badge of the Kingdome of Anti-Christ when the Angell hath poured out the viall of wrath upon them to gnaw their tongues for paine and blaspheme the God of heaven because of their sores and torments and not to repent of their evill deeds Rev. 16.10 But let us whom God hath yet reprived from the two deaths of warre and sicknesse which have beene so long upon the Kingdome be on the mountaines like doves of the valleys every one mourning for his own iniquity Ezek. 7.16 I have now dispatcht the three questions and have done with the doctrinall part Let your patience I beseech you hold out a little longer while I close up all with a seasonable application In the first place the Text riseth with full force against the most of us I feare there are very few that can wash our hands of the guilt of this sinne which stands here charged against the Jewes They are not humbled even unto this day We find by wofull experience that this day to make use of our Saviours words this Scripture is fullfilled in our eares Though the wrath of God be in a high measure upon us and hath long continued upon the Land Yet where are the Jeremie's that mourne the Daniel's that fast the Nehemiah's and Ezra'es that pray the Preists that weepe betweene the Porch and the Altar and say Spare thy people O Lord the Moseses that by the humiliation of themselvs labour to stand in the gap If there be but one house on fire in the Towne there 's a generall cry and running to helpe every one carryes water to quench it Now that the whole Kingdome is all on a Flame and that cryes to every one of us Water water ôh for some such water as the children of Israel poured out before the Lord in Mizpeh 1 Sam. 7.6 fasting and crying out mightily we have sinned ôh for buckets of teares penitent teares to quench a flaming Kingdome ôh that every head were full and every heart a Fountaine of those waters that we might draw thence to extinguish the devouring fire of Gods wrath but alas woe is me woe is this whole Nation every one brings fuell to increase the flame few or none labour to quench it I know all that have any sense of our present miseries cannot but resent it with greife doe ye not observe a deluge of sinne upon the Kingdome as well as a floud of wrath which hath broken downe all the bankes of the feare of God and the reverence of man Salvian complaines in lib. 6. of the City Triers Assiduitas calamitatum illic augmentum criminum fait iis ipsis quibus coërcebantur scelera plagis erescebant ut putares poenam ipsorum criminum quasi matrem esse vitiorum I would our practice did not make it speake English Could you ever have thought impiety should have risen to so prodigious an height is there any wickednesse dares not shew it selfe in publicke The Licentious leudnesse of uncleane persons which heretofore abhorred the Light feare and shame made them put on a vaile then now dares the day all rapine and spoile and violence legitimated under the name of Plundering the worst kind of Robbery Oppression and unjust dealing improv'd by all the Art deceit can invent as if all Conscience as well as Lawes were asleepe if not quite dead Heart-burnings and malice in every Towne and village triumphing even over our common miseries as if nothing could reconcile us but onely utter ruine and the grave It was the observation of Augustus Casar Conviviorum vestium luxus agrotantis labentis imperii signa esse praenuncia That excesse and riot in diet and apparell was a signe and forerunner of a languishing and expiring Kingdome Was ever nation more guilty of these two sinnes then ours of late nay doe we abate now that God calls us to fasting and sackcloath Are not our Tables as full as heretofore if not are not our Tavernes and Ale-houses so those 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 watry places where as Evagrius was wont to say the Devill most of all delighteth to haunt It is methinkes a very sad story which Salvian tells us of Carthage Alii foris jugulabantur alii intus fornicabantur l. 6. degub at a time when warre was even at their City Gates That while the enemy acted the Butchers upon their brethren without they played the Beasts in uncleanenesse within both Captives at the same time they to the Barbarians these to their Lusts these revelling in the City while they were groaning out their last in the Feild these wallowing in their filth while they lay weltring in their owne bloud their case was much like ours I would our course were not so like theirs Was there ever a greater riot in Cloathes among all sorts of people then now Ez. k. 16.51 England as well as Judah may seeme in her pride to justify Sodom a sinne committed with an high hand as it were in contempt and despight of heaven Cast your eyes about you and see Nunquid hae Tunicae plangentium Is this the habit and attire this the garbe of mourners Are not many arrayed as in the day of the Solemne Feast and triumph of
Gods they had chosen and let them deliver them in the time of their trouble In this case what ground had faith upon which to stirre up importunity to aske or hope to expect salvation and deliverance when as God had flatly answered them that he would deliver the mno more Why yet this hope they have still The Lord is mercifull he hath beene intreated to forgive when he hath purposed to punish and to save when he had resolved to destroy It may be their sighes and teares and prayers may overcome Gods resolution and move him to deliver them though he hath said he will deliver them no more How e're they are resolved to throw themselves at his feete if they must die they 'le die there if he will not helpe them in their distresse they cannot finde any fault with him they have deserved no favour at his hands if he will see them destroyed he may but their hope is that notwithstanding they have been a disobedient people yet the Lord will looke upon them now as an humbled people and have compassion upon them And they said unto the Lord we have sinned doe thou unto us as seemeth good unto thee deliver us onely we pray thee this day And to their humiliation they adde reformation for it followes They put away their strange Gods from them and now marke the successe with God why his heart is as it were melted into pity towards them for saith the Text His soule was greived for the misery of Israel and against his former declaration crownes their submission with a glorious victory In the last place it will appeare evidently as a truth written by a beame of the sunne that there is great cause why a people when Gods hand is stretch't out in wrath against them should humble themselves if we doe but consider how glorious and dreadfull that God is whose hand is exalted in Judgment and how vile creatures we are and what a terrible thing his wrath is and how impotent we are to stand against it His Majesty is so excellent that the most glorious Seraphinis dare not behold it but thorow the vayle of their wings and then too dazelled with admiration cry Holy Holy Holy Lord God of Hosts the whole earth is full of his glory Isa 6.3 Never yet had mortall man even the most innocent any glympse of that glory but did presently humble and abhorre himselfe Woe is me saith the Prophet Isaiah at the 5. vers of the Chap. for I am undone because I am a man of uncleane lipps and I dwell in the midst of a People of uncleane lipps for mine eyes have seene the King the Lord of Hosts Much more cause then have a sinfull people to be abased to be astonish't and to tremble to meet him in the way of his judgements the infinite depth of whose wrath no created understanding is able to fathom The wrath of a King saith Solomon is as the roareing of a Lion when the Lion roares who will not tremble Prov. 19.12 Yea but this is the wrath of a God this speakes an immensity an infinitenesse we cannot conceive Judg. 8.21 As the mans is so is his strength as God is so is his wrath it is a wrath that doth virtually and eminently containe all the terrors of the Creature We read of strange exquisite torments the Cruelty of Tyrants have invented these all are but shadowes to the effects of his wrath The scripture gives us some adumbrations of it by such resemblances as speake it to be a most terrible wrath It is compared to fire the most active and terrible creature the Philosopher tells us that nothing can live in that Element and our fire in respect of that is but like the fire that is painted upon the wall and yet the poore creature must live for ever in it God upholding it that it may feele the power of his wrath Isay 30.33 to a River of fire and brimstone that carries something more with it The deluge of water was very dreadfull it drowned a whole world but such a flood of fire and brimstone how horrible would that be and what are the proudest sinners to stand before it who are but as stubble why it carries away gates and walls and Castles and Kingdomes and Heaven and Earth and all with it The earth shooke and trembled the foundations of heaven moved because he was wroth 2 Sam. 22.8 and shall poore man that is crushed before the moth be able to oppose himselfe against it Can thine heart endure or thine hands he strong in the day that I shall deale with thee EZek. 22.14 Hast thou a hand to resist it or an heart to beare it one drop of that wrath falling upon them will turne the sunne into darkenesse and the moone into blood and make the starres drop downe from heaven one sparkle thereof shall set on fire the Heavens and the earth Matt. 24.29 the whole frame of nature and burne downe to the bottom of Hell Lord who knowes the power of thy wrath For according to thy feare Deut. 32 22. so is thy wrath saith Moses Psal 90.11 Melancholy apprehensions will fancy strange feares but imagination it selfe falls infinitely short of the power of Gods wrath shold God take and set a man upon hells brinke that he might se the torments and heare the cries of the damned there his understanding certainely would be much inlarged to conceive but yet never able to know what is the power of Gods wrath O consider this and tremble ye that do not onely sinne downe but pray downe this wrath upon your selves by those fearefull imprecations God damne me and The Divell take me Little do these poore soules thinke what it is to be damned Isay 33.14 Who can dwell with devoureing fire who can dwell with everlasting burnings And yet this they must upon whom God shewes forth the power of his wrath in their damnation What ever vaine people now conceite of it the time shall come when Kings and great men and rich men cheife Captaines and mighty men Rev. 6 1â—.16 shall petition the mountaines and the rocks to hide them from this wrath Thou O Lord even thou art to be feared Psal 7â— 7 and who may stand in thy sight when thou art angry Now since Gods wrath is so terrible when it beginnes to grow hot against a people there is more then cause it 's high time for them to humble themselves I have done with the 2 first Queres I descend now to the last which brings the point nearer home to shew what cause we of this Kingdome and particularly wee of this place have to humble our selves I cannot point at all particulars I shall onely touch these three The first is the great distresse that is this day upon the whole kingdome this is a Lamentation and should be for a Lamentation we read in the 21. of Iudges that when by the sword of Civill warre the
the Church and Kingdome rather then the time of the great perplexity and distresse of both the very names of our womens tackling would fill up the whole third Chapter of Esay Neither Gods Ministers nor yet his Judgements can preach downe this sinne no not so much as their blacke spots and their paintings Is it such a blackensse as this thinke ye that the Prophet Ioel speakes of Ioel 2.6 All faces shall gather blackenesse Consider that and be affraid ye know not how neare that day is and remember the fate of painted Iezabell Hath it not beene almost the Eccho of every Sermon against oathes and blasphemies and those cursed imprecations Oh doe not this abhominable thing that God bates and indeed should we be silent the very stones in the streetes would speake and the timber out of the house would answer them yet the wicked know no shame those sinnes are growne to a presumption both against God and the King The children of Israel faith God could not stand but turned their backe before their enemies because they were accursed Jos 7.12 Alas then how shall these stand in the day of battaile that doe so often curse and confound themselves It is said of the Thracians that when it thunders they shoot up their Arrowes as it were in defiance against heaven these men their oathes and execrations That excellent Law we have against this sinne hath beene strengthened by two pious Proclamations of late Oh that there were a like care and zeale in the execution Honourable and Beloved let me in the name of God and in the behalfe of this poore Kingdome beseech you as the Father in the Gospell sometimes did our Saviour for his child possessed with an uncleane spirit If you can doe any thing have compassion on us and helpe us I would I could say with our Prophet Mark 9.12 Surely those are poore and foolish they know not the way of the Lord nor the Iudgements of their God Jer. 5.4 5 I will goe to the great men and speake unto them for they have knowne the way of the Lord and the Iudgement of their God Oh ye heads of our Tribes 2 Chron. 28.10 and ye the sonnes of Levi as the Prophet Oded sometimes spake are there not with you even with you sinnes against the Lord your God Pardon me I beseech you if I speake freely The Sacrifice of this day is a sinne offering and 't is Gods expresse command Lev. 5.11 that neither oyle nor frankincense be put upon it it is a sinne offering Lay your hand upon your heart and tell me what Reformation doe you find every one in his owne heart what one sinne have you forsaken of which before you were guilty what one duty doe you now make conscience of which you formerly neglected doe you find a Frame of spirit in your selves answering the sad and trembling condition of the Land in a word are ye humbled even unto this day I would I could heare a good answer from you that I might yet hope for better times as your persons are representative so are your sinnes too your sinnes are the sinnes of a whole Towne a County a Diocesse and so should I account your humiliation I doubt not but here are many which are exil'd from their houses and â—ifled of their Estates your condition is sad but let me put the Question to you Are your hearts humbled O Humiliation Humiliation what 's become of thee where shall I finde thee that thou mayst be a Pella a City of refuge to protect us from the Avengers of bloud a Noahs Arke to save a sinfull nation from the flood of Gods wrath The City says she knowes thee not the Court complaines thou art a stranger there and the Country cries thou art gone out of the Land Though the two great destroyers the Red the Pale horses have march't through the whole Land multitudes of people every day swept away the cries of our oppresed wounded spoyled undone freinds Fathers Brothers kinsmen sound every houre in our eares the sighes and teares and groanes of our dying nation are fresh and loud the ruine of the Kingdome and desolation as it were in sight yet are not most of us like that stupid judge in the Acts Act. 11.17 And Gallio cared for none of these things The truth is when these cloudes first began to gather together there was much perplexity amongst us where the tempest then hanging over our heades would fall we were all in great feare what the event of those distractions would be but now that our feares are come upon us we cease to be affraid like those Froggs in the Fable when Jupiter threw downe the logg amongst them it put them in a great fright for a time so that they held their croaking but after a while when the feare was a little over they came neare to the Log and leapt upon it The most of us seeme to be sicke of Ichorams disease 2 Chron. 21.15 our bowells of compassion to others nay which is yet more of pitty to our selves are fallen out We relent not at the murther and undoing of so many thousands of our brethren we can heare the passing-bell tole and see the panges of death upon our owne Country with dry eyes and unhumbled hearts and not so much as say Alas my mother what Jeremy nay what seas of teares even teares of blood are sufficient to lament this obstinacy Jonah 4.11 Should I not have compassion on a great City wherein are six hundred thousand soules that know not the right hand from the left the greatnesse of the multitude was a motive that prevailed with God to spare Ninive and should not this be an Argument as prevalent with us to withdraw us from sinne and to perswade us this day every one to humble himselfe Exod. 10.3 O my wretched heart How long Pharaoh like wilt thou refuse to humble thy selfe If thou hast no pitty upon thy selfe yet shouldst thou not have compassion upon a perishing Kingdome Shall I carry to my grave nay to Hell with me the guilt of the bloud of so many thousand Innocents Those 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 men that walke in their sleepe they will venture upon dangerous precipices because they know not their danger but when they are awakened and come to see what they have done they are astonish't and even strooke dead with the apprehension of the danger escaped it is a wonder to see that men awakened by the loud cries of Gods judgments or if we be asleepe still we are in a dead sleepe should dare to go on in such desperate wayes as many of us do that we should have our eyes open and see our danger and yet not be affraid that the wrath of God should be so long upon the Land and we not humbled even unto this day In a word to close up all I have already tyred both you and my selfe as Jotham sometime spake to the men
of She-â—hem Jndg. 9.7 Hearken I beseech you unto me that the Lord may hearken unto you I know the desire of your soule is to doe good to your poore Country your hearts cannot but yearne towards your distressed mother and I hope with many of you as this is the time of Jacobs trouble so 't is of Iacobs wrestling too Hos. 12.4 by strong cries and teares that the Lord would turne away from his fierce wrath compose our bloudy distractions and heale our Land Do you desire that God should heare you Why then hearken unto him 1 Pet. 5.6 Humble your selves under the mighty hand of God he will heare the prayer of the humble and what ever our present condition be he will exalt us in due time Ps 10.17 if your owne hearts tell you that you have not beene humbled even unto this day why then write the name of this day let your hearts be humbled before the Lord this day God forbid that any one of us should carry an unhumbled heart out of this house of mourning but when we are gone hence let us enter every one into his owne Closet and there powre out his afflicted soule in sighes and groanes and teares and prayers before the Lord for his owne sinnes and the sinnes of the Kingdome Oh let us make this day a day of Attonement for our selves and this whole nation When Benhadad was quite vanquish't By Ahab he sent his servants with sackcloth upon their loynes and ropes upon their necks which came to the King of Israel and said Thy servant Benhadad saith 1 Kign 2â— 32 I pray thee let me live the incouragement they had to do this was because they heard the Kings of Israel were mercifull Kings Let us do so this day humble our selves in fasting and teares and begg our lives and the life of this poore Kingdome at Gods hands he is a mercifull God say unto him This expiring Church and dying Kingdome say we pray thee let us live O let us not deferre any longer to humble our selves I have heard of thee by the hearing of the care saith Iob but now mine eye seeth thee Job 42.5 6. wherefore I abhorr my selfe in dust and ashes we have heard long since by the hearing of the care what destructions God hath wrought upon the Earth we have heard of the Desolations of Jerusalem and many other Cities and Kingdomes of old and of Germany and Ireland of late the report is still bleeding new Oh distressed Ireland and happy had we beene had their examples awaked us that we our selves might not have beene made an History to others but now that we have seene him by the eye in the way of his judgements what will become of us if we do not humble and abhorre our selves It is sayed Rev. 9.20 That though the third part of men were killed yet the remnant that were not slaine by the plagues repented not of the workes of their hands neither repented they of their murthers nor of their sorceries nor of their fornications nor of their thefts O let it not be sayd of us of this Nation us of this place that though the sword and the sicknesse have slaine shall I say a 3d part of the Kingdome we know that many thousands are already fallen in England the sword is not yet put up into the sheath nor the coÌ„mission to destroy taken from the pestilence O let it not I say be sayd of us that are as yet spared from destruction that we have not repented of the workes of our hands much lesse let that be verified of us which is spoken of the Nations Rev. 16.8 9. That when the fourth Angel had poured out his viall upon the Sunn and power was given him to scorch men with fire the men were scorched with great heate and blasphemed the name of God which hath power over those plagues and they repented not to give him the glory The destroying Angel hath poured out the viall of Gods wrath upon the Sun of our peace former prosperity Through the anger of the Lord of Hosts is the whole land darkened the fire that is kindled in all our dwellings hath scorched some of our persons consumed many of our estates the Lord forbid that this great affliction should enrage our spirits to blaspheme the name of that God who hath power over those plagues or that this great sin should be laid to the charge of the inhabitants of this Kingdome that notwithstanding all the judgments upon them yet they repented not to give God the glory But let us rather make them our patternes who are propounded to us as examples of repentance in times of distresse and wrestle with God this day by unfained contrition for that blessing which we cannot obtaine at the hands of men Oh what would many of us give had we it to give for that blessing which lately was as a price in the hand of fooles Now what more doth God require of us for the redemption of this inestimable Pearle but onely this that we should humble our selves Honourable and Beloved there have beene many hopefull wayes taken for the recovery of our lost Peace your endeavours have exprest your hearty desires to compose our unnaturall divisions by an happy accommodation the Royall tongue hath prevented me in the acknowledgement of your paines this way the Lord reward it unto you and all those that are thus minded and the blessing of the Peace-makers ever rest upon you But the many and great sinnes of this Nation have blasted the successe and as yet hid these good things from us What remaines now but that Ye and We and all of us by uncessant prayers and teares importune the throne of grace and humble our selves before the God of peace for the blessing of peace Oh but methinkes I heare some say Alas my heart notwithstanding all that hath beene said is yet hard and unhumbled Can you give me some receit that may break it and melt it into teares of Repentance Take this breise prescription and carry it home along with thee in the first place Zech. 1â— 10 pray to God that he would poure out upon thee the spirit of grace and supplication Begge a looke from Christ there is a vertue in Christ his looke to peirce the hardest heart Luke 22.61 62. Respice Domine Iesu ut sciamus nostrum de â—lere delictum Ambrose Psal 147.18 Ios 15.19 and to soften it into godly sorrow and remorse for it's sinnes Jesus looked backe and Peter went out and wept bitterly The fountaine of penitent teares is in heaven our hearts are naturally dry like the desarts of Arabia untill he that turnes the wildernesse into a standing poole and the dry ground into springs of waters causeth his spirit to blow up on them and then the waters shall flow Goe to God with that request which Achsa did to her Father Give me O Lord the springs of water the upper and the nether springs that I may weep for our distresse but more for our sinnes In the next place raise up thy soule upon the wings of heavenly meditation and fly up to Mount Golgotha and there looke upon him whom thou hast peirced Consider him in his bitter agony sweating drops of bloud trickling downe to the ground In those consternations of spirit trembling under the unsupportable burden of his Fathers wrath hanging upon the Crosse nail'd hands and feet forsaken of men and in his owne sense of God too breathing out his afflicted soule in a loud cry And then reflect upon thy selfe not onely as the Author of all Heb. 6.6 but also as one that by thy knowne wilful presumptuous sinnes hast often crucified him afresh and put him to an open shame The fountaine of bloud opened in Christs side for the expiation of sinne will open a fountaine of teares in thy heart for the commission of it They shall looke upon him whom they have peirced and they shall mourne for him as one mournes for his onely sonne and shall be in bitternesse for him Zech. 22.10 as one is in bitternesse for his first borne Now the Lord in mercy bring home and settle that which hath beene spoken at this time upon every one of our hearts Amen FINIS