in the purity and power of the same and become a quiet habitation which we also dare assure Gods people of when once or it may be after and upon some new and sharp handling we shall be sincerely humbled and purely purged from our dross This doubt removed concerning the authority by which the Prophet did denounce this judgment 2 The Authority by which the judgment cometh We may secondly take notice of the authority by which this judgment of the sword cometh or of that soveraign power by which the sword cometh again upon them or of the Original or efficient cause of war begun or renewed and whence it is that enemies were to return again To which I answer Answ 1 Negatively It is not from Enemies themselves who cannot though they were most malicious yea powerful The sword comes not by mans will Non enim passant quod non sivumur essicere as is Satan him elf do what they would but what God wills they must do all by permission yea commission from God so that if God be ours and we in Covenant with him and he with us we need not fear what men or devils can do unto us neither should they brag of their power or threaten or tell us what they will or can do Only if God be not with us or that we return not to him or keep not close with him it s not for us to trust to our own strength policy yea goodness of our cause in the general or to â—ormer good success Why It is God we have to deal withal who if he be not our friend we can want no Enemies It is he that commands and orders the battel All must and shall be as he will and according to his appointment and command And therefore it is here said But secondly by Gods command I will command saith the Lord and cause them to return to this City c. Now God doth this by his secret providence so procuring and ordering things and so disposing of the thoughts and counsels of Enemies as if he had given them some command so to do So he is said to bid Shimei curse ' David 2 Sam. 16.10 See 2 Kings Chap. 24. Vers 1 2 3. 2 Chron. 36.17 Jer. 49 14. 50.21 Note God the Lord of hosts Note God commander in caief of all â—rmies Deut. 28.50 51 52. is Commander in chief of all the Armies under heaven He is that great Centurion who at his only pleasure bids go and come and is obeyed It is only the Lord that sends a Nation against his people The Lord shal bring a Nation against thee from far and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates until thy high and fenced walls come down wherein thou trustest c. This was the case of * Newcastle this place a while ago and may it not be so again with us and other Cities and Towns God is the same stil in his judgments where men are the same in sin He therfore is also said to call for sword Jer. 25.29 to give the sword a commission and to say sword go through the Land Ezek. 14.17 to muster the host of the battel Isa 13.4 The Lord appoints it for all circumstances beginning continuance Jer. 47.6 7. Has 11.6 and ending Psa 46.9 It will be our wisdom then not to provoke this great Commander and glorious God from whom there is no fleeing as no resistance against him Amos 4.11 12 13. It s good having him on our side Usâ— Not to provoke him and having any way provoked him betimes to meet him or to send before us our prayers tears c. while he is yet far off and so to agree with him our Adversary which is the way to prevent the sword or if it be upon us to quiet it which will not be till God discharge it Jerem. 47.6 7. But what doth God command 3 What doth God command The return of enemies and do I will cause them the Chaldaeans to return Note 1. When one danger is past it 's not safe to be secure it or the like yea much worse may and will in case of impenitency return Danger is not always past when it seems over Many are for present respited Note 1. Dangers return to the impenitent reprived preserved from common danger but where pardon is not timely sought by them or the same or other sins returned unto their Preservation proves but their Reservation to greater and more remarkable judgments The former may be from Gods Patience and other * See my Newcastles Call in the Preface ends the latter from Gods Justice and Holiness Vse 1. It 's not for any then to dally with God or to presume on his Patience by abusing his sparing mercies his pardoning mercies in Christ would especially be sought 2. We are neither simply to beg a removal of the evil which presseth us nor to take the removal of it as a mercy unless sin be first or withall removed 2. 2 How faâ— Gods providence is in evil mens actions I will command and cause them to return c. Surely these Babylonians had no intention to fight Gods Battels or to serve under him but had ends base and bad enough different from Gods as Isai 10.5 6 7. we might here note how far generally God â—ath an hand in evill mens actions and how far they do his will when he sends them to an hypocritical nation to be his executioners For in war Gods Intentions and Purposes are one and mens grounds ends and ayms another God by them may justly punish an unthankful people for their sins against him when they shall sin by taking up arms against such as have done them no wrong out of their own ambition covetousness contrariety and madness against the Truth of God professed outwardly by his people And sometimes God intends good to his people by so scourging them a while to bring them to repentance amendment and Reformation and so in the end to beautifie them by deliverances to make them for midable to all about them as 2 Chron. 17.11 20.29 30. to bind them the more in thankfulness to himself yea for his own greater glory and the greater shame and confusion of his and his peoples enemies Psal 9.16 17 18. Rom. 9.17 or Exod. 9.16 Josh 11.19 20. Enemies by Gods just Providence often rise up against Gods People that they may fall before men c. As then the wise Physitian applying his Leeches to the Patient intends health thereby whereas the Leeches seek only to glut themselves with blood so God lets his people blood by war for their good and his own glory though the other think not so 3. To this City i. Jerusalem to this City not that 3 Gods judgments come with choyce at least to this now and not to that till a fitter time Note God sends the sword with choyce as to Jerusalem of Judah and not as yet to
others sin and causes at least occasions of their punishments Such general Desolations are the fruit of sin persisted in against former mercies and lesser chastisments from God Desolation Which is a fruit of haâ—dness of heaâ— Psal 107 34. unto which sencâ—less sinners are at length given over God is provoked at length to turn a fruitful Land into barrenness for the wickedness of them that dwel therein As sin dispeopled the whole world in the flood and the paradise of the world the Land of Iudah for now was accoâ—plished that wrath â—olong foretold by the Prophet Isâ—â—â— in the desolationâ—o this people for their obstinacy Their hearts were made fat to that the word in the Ministry of it had no saving effect on the most of them Isai 6.10 11 â—â— 13. 〈◊〉 which their obstinacy was to continue so long until their Cities be wasted without inhabitant and the houses without man and the land be utterly desolate desolate with desolation and the Lord have removed men far away and there be a great forsaking in the Land Such desolations must they expect at length who neglect lesser warning and who harden themselves against the word mercies judgments and forget their vows promises and Covenants with God and man For this is that sin here which added to their former sins made them ripe for destruction and for which this great desolation by the return of the Babylonish Army came upon them Now from the whole Verse observe Doctrine Breach of Covenant is an haynous sin which God will by no means pass by in his people unpunished It causeth The main Doctrine from the whole verse as here irrevocable judgments Where I speak not of unlawful or sinful Covenants which are better broken by repentance and pardon begged of God for that rashness which was in the making of them Such was that of those Iews who more then fourty of them Breach of Covenant punished by the sword banded together to kill Paul Acts 23.12 But of lawful Covenants whether only 1. Civil Whereby men ingage themselves one to another in civil respects only as when Abimelech and Abraham covenanted and sware one to another at Beersheba Covenants distinguished or the well of the oath Gen. 21.27 30.31 And when Iacob and Laban covenanted at Galeed Gen. 31.44 52. Or 2. Religious To yeeld obedience to God according to his will or to seek God as when Iehojada made a Covenant between him and between all the People and between the King that they should be the Lords People 2 Chron. 23.16 And so when Ezra made a Covenant for himself and the people with God to put away all their strange wives c. Ezra 10.3 See also Nehem. 9.38 10.1 c. 29.30 c. Or 3. Mixt Such was that also of Iehosaphat which was made not only between the Lord the King and people but between the King also and the people 2 Kings 11.17 And of this nature is our national Covenant Now God will severely punish the breach of all these sorts of Covenants And God puniâ—heth breach of Covenants of all sorts for so he hath done 1. For Civil As that made Ezek. 17. between the King of Iudah and the King of Babylon 1 Civil against whom after he had taken an oath he rebelled in sending his Embassadors into Egypt that they might give him horses and much people But what saith God Shall he prosper Shall he escape that doth such things Ezek. 17 15 16 19. Or shall he break the Covenant and be delivered As I live saith the Lord God surely in the place where the King dwelleth that made him King whose oath he despised and whose Covenant he brake even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall dye c. See also 2 Sam. 21.1 2 3. c. with Iosh 9.15 2. For Religious Covenants Thus Isai 24.1 2. 2 Religious the Lord threatneth doleful judgments to fall upon the Land Behold the Lord maketh the earth empty and maketh it wast and turneth it upside down and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof c. The Land shall be utterly emptied and utterly spoiled c. But why is all this Isai 24 1 2 3 4 5 6. Because they have transgressed the Laws changed the Ordinance broken the everlasting Covenant therefore hath the curse devoured the earth and they that dwel therein are desolate So the Army of Israel could not prosper at Aj nor stand before their enemies though Gods promise was to be with them Why Josh 7 11 12. Because Israel saith the Lord hath sinned and they have also transgressed my Covenant and yet it was but one man Achan with his family that had taken of the accursed thing and stollen who accordingly were destroyed So for profanation of the Sacraments signs of the Covenant and of holy things see how God takes such wicked ones up Psal 50.16.17 What hast thou to do to declare my statutes or that thou shouldest take my Covenant in thy mouth c. 3. So for Mixt Covenants 3 Mixt. In King Asa his days they bound themselves by a renewed Covenant to God and one to another that they would seek the Lord God of Israel and so by mutual covenanting to destroy Idolatry and the groves and superstitious worship they bound themselves and submitted to the penalty of death 2 Chron. 15.13 14. c. So acknowledging that not only Idolatry and breach of mens general Covenant with God deserved death but that they by vertue of this their covenanting one with another which they did to shew their thankfulness to God for that late great victory were bound without any pity or partiality to see Gods Will and Law ' Deut. 13.1 2 3 4. c. in such case executed and fulfilled But especially the Instance in my Text is remarkable King Zedekiah had made a Covenant with all the people which were at Jerusalem to proclaim liberty unto them as Jer. 34.9 10. But afterwards they turned and caused the servants and handmaids whom they had let go free to return and brought them into subjection c. verse 11. Therefore thus saith the Lord verse 18. I will give the men that have transgressed my Covenant which have not performed the words of the Covenant which they had made before me even the Princes of Judah and of Jerusalem the Eunuchs and the Priests and all the people of the Land which passed between the parts of the Calf I will give them into the hand of their enemies and of them that seek their life And then as in my Text I will command and cause them to return to this City and they shall fight against it and take it and burn it with fire c. Where we may observe God verse 18. cals that his Covenant which the King and Princes had made with their servants before him i. in his presence taking him to witness so when men Covenant one with another by
the Return of the Sword whether from the North or from among our selves again or from forraign Nations God opens our mouths to speak of such things and we find like grounds in Scripture by which now he chiefly speaks to us Heb. 1.11 Opâ—â—ge de sulâ—â—â— consuitant qu◠〈◊〉 futuâ—â—um eaâ—mpâ—aex pratâ—â—itis â—ament from like threats for like sins which he hath fulfilled and so from like examples of like wrath as here for the same and like sins as we see as particularly here we have the Return of the Sword denounced for mens return to their former sins by breach of Covenant with God and man And so going upon such grounds and seeing God is ever and in all ages like himself we though no extraordinary Prophets yet as Prophets in a larger fence and interpreters of Gods mind and will made known to us in his Word and to us more then to others do still and can give warning and foretel according to the rules of Scripture and method which there God useth and partly by experience what God will do with such a people nation yea and person for we see and observe there how God useth to second and follow former and lesser judgments with greater and at length in case of impenitency to cut off Not to say how God minding to destroy a Nation or to bring evil upon a place seldom if ever doth it indeed till he give warning by his Prophets and by a more peculiar providence both inlighten and excite them to take and give notice of the same that so if men perish they may not say it is because God took them at the worst or watched for occasion against them but that he fairly warned them and that their perishing is on their own head according to that shall there be evil in a City and the Lord hath not done it Amos 3 6 7. Surely the Lord God Will do nothing but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the Prophets So that by more then bare conjectural Application we can shew men what will be and give warning thereof according to our duty and in so doing we may and ought to say Thus saith the Lord. And God thus confirming his Word spoken by us weak men doth both honor his own truth holiness and justice Psa 145.17 Ezek. 14.23 as also his faithful servants and Ministers thus both proving and approving of them as true Prophets and all other to be time-servers â—ust 〈◊〉 take warning being threatned and not to sâ—ost Jer. 28.8 9. It will father concern us all of this Nation from the experience we have had of the truth of such forewarnings of the Sword now fulfilled and come to pass whereby he hath confirmed the word of his servants and vouched them to be true Prophets though for their faithfulness in this kind their mouth have been stopped and they forced by the tyrannical power of the high Commission and otherwise to keep silence for any publick discharge of their duty I say now that the evils foretold are come to pass and the mouthes of Gods faithful ones are opened again as Ezekiels was upon the taking of Ierusalem or the news of it it will concern us to give more diligent heed to such forewarnings as are given us by them of the Return of the Sword or of the continuance or renewing of it and to seek by renewing and keeping our Covenants with God and man to prevent the same lest otherwise as Ezekiel having formerly foretold the taking of Ierusalem and thereupon had his mouth stopped yet when upon the news of taking the City his mouth was opened as God had foretold him See and compare Ezek. 3.25 26 27. with Eze. 24.26 27 ch 33.21 22 24 c. to the end he prophesied the destruction or desolation of the whole Land and Gods judgments upon such as mocked him and made light of his prophesie which accordingly came also to pass so Gods true Prophets now having by his mercy their liberty of prophesying restored and foreshewing further judgments the Lord by confirming their word and when such things indeed come to pass do make it fully known and convince such as are now secure and incredulous that he hath not been wanting to them neither first nor last but that a Prophet hath been among them This need not be so strange to us Especially if guilty of like sins that Gods further displeasure in the continuance or renewing of the Sword seems to threaten not the City only but the whole Land especially in these Northern parts when we consider our great security and self-confidence especially upon former good successes whereby among other sins of mocking and despising if not misusing the Prophets of God and faithful Ministers of Christ who are dayly less esteemed then before c. We stand upon our multitude and upon our sword as the Iews did though otherwise we stand still guilty of many pollutions licentious living yea doctrines Ezek. 33.24 25 c. careless performance of vows promises covenants with God and man if not in a manner disavowing the same So that in this our present case of impenitency and that we fully turn not to him that hath smitten us We without presumption or rashness may say that the anger of the Lord is not yet turned away but his hand is stretched out still Seeing Gods method of proceeding with a Nation or City is such as where we profit not by former or present judgments we must expect greater wrath till we perish as Isa 9.11 12 with 13. and as I more fully shâ—w in Divine * Preachâ—d 1625 1626 ' Prognosticks on that text Only in case of a Nations returning to God by Repentance and Humiliation 2 Upon taking warning to hope the evils threatned will beâ—al oâ— enemies together with Reformation of life and conversation of Church and State according to Gods Word and true submission thereunto we can both hope and also assure you in the name of God that God will take the cup out of our hands and make the enemies the Popish and Antichristian party especially drink the dreggs of it by turning the dint of the sword and by making war against the beast that as we were the last being with Ireland the remotest Westward who felt the fury of the beast as it was only the last of ten persecutions sc that under Dioclesian which found us out in this Land and reached us for we only for a long time looked on and were spectators of the troubles wars and combustions in all other Kingdoms so if once we were but truly humbled and reformed by occasion of our late troubles and the sword amongst us The devil beast and false prophet having spit out their whole malice throughout the Christian world and ending with us should soon fed the power of Christ or the wrath of the Lamb and be consumed more then ever by the same whilest we should injoy peace with the Gospel
the flesh in all the carnal desires of it Who keep not Covenant with him And men generally would needs be admitted Christians under the signal of the Cross binding themselves manfully to â—ight under Christs banner against all these Enemies and to continue Christs faithful soldiers and servants Fâ—ther General Now how we have kept this Covenant in this our nation generally whether better then those hypocritical and carnal worshippers who had made a Covenant with God by sacrifice against whom God himself became judg testifying against them for their hypocrisie in worship for their disobedience in practise and for prophaning his Covenant and casting his words behind them the whole world that knoweth how it hath been with us especially of latter years and our own consciences can easily witness and judg How light have we made of Christ the Lord who was given us by a Covenant of his faithful Ministers the messengers of his Covenant and of their mâ—ssage and ministry whom we silenced As doing contrary to the practise of the good 〈◊〉 of Israel 2 Chro. â— 4.2 3 5 chap. 15.8 16. molested banished what some godly Kings of Judah did by way of Reformation when in thankfulness for great mercies they renewed their Covenant with him and with one another we were such as did the quite contrary King Asa with his covenanting demolished Idolatry as formerly in Judah so also in Israel yea deposed his own mother because she had made an Idol We have sought to bring Idolatry and Popish superstition into the Land again and have given way too far to the practise of it by Papists and such as were Popishly affected King Asa restored Gods true worship in both Kingdoms Chap. 14.4 15.8 Israel and Judah renewing the altar of the Lord We sought to pull down and corrupt Gods true Worship in both Kingdoms England and Scotland and to rear and set up Idolatrous altars to a breaden God Ch. 15.3 with vers 8 9. He set up in Israel a teaching ministry as other good Kings and Governors did 2 Chron. 17.4 6 7 8 9. We have endeavored yea actually have pulled down and taken away many Lectures and afternoon Sermons and silenced or driven away such Ministers as were most faithful painful and constant in preaching yea even in that regard And was it not time for God by sending the sword to avenge the quarrel of his Covenant Not to speak of the prophaness of most mens lives contrary to their Covenant in Baptism as if indeed they had made a covenant with the devil to do all his works instead of forsaking them with the world to follow the vain pomp and glory and covetous desires of it and with the flesh to be led by the carnal desires of it And the sword being come how have men sided not only Papists but others in forsaking the banner of Christ and fighting for Antichrist and under colour of fighting for Queen Elizabeths Religion have fought for Queen Maries Religion and against the true orthodox and sound Religion and Worship Was this that which their Baptism under the sign of the Cross bound them too Oh! It s a dangerous thing either to forsake the Covenant of God Ier. 22.7 8 9. or to oppose it by fighting or being against it as was Antiochus Epiphanes Dan. 11 28-30 And howsoever our Parliament hath given us and doth stil give us good hopes of a Reformation according to Gods Word and a bringing us back to the Covenant of our God both in matter of doctrine discipline and a more holy life yet whilest this main work of God goeth so slowly forward whilest discipline is not yet settled or so bounded as it should be and whilest such connivence if not in effect a toleration is suffered for men to speak hold write and do what they list that men may make themselves vile and yet at least as yet by no law established or executed be restrained or frowned upon by such as should restrain them we have no cause to be secure but to fear the return of the sword out of some quarter of the world or other or from within our selves as formerly God will not be dallyed withal And if God so judg us as he did old Eli and his house 1 Sam. 3 13 14 and that our sins be not purged with sacrifice or offering and that our monethly Humiliations prove rather as they are kept provocations we have none to blame but our selves Gods ways and judgments will ever appear to be righteous 2. And if we look to particular Vows and Covenants dayly broken by all sorts must not all justifie God 2. Particular as holy and righteous in such evils as have befaln them or may yet befal them Oh what vows and promises do men make to God in time of their troubles fears and dangers and yet how soon broken and forgotten when these are over What protestations imprecations taking heaven and earth to witness our sincere intentions and yet how little conscience made of performance Are not men yet sensible of these things If God make such men yet to smart must he not be acknowledged just What cause even the better party in the Land have to be humbled and to fear sharper rods upon this ground of careless keeping our late Covenant and national League we shal enquire into and examine anon 2. In the mean time 2. To be excited and incouraged to keep Covenant with God 2 Châ—â— 13 9 10 11 12. it would be much to the abatement of our fears and to our incouragement and hopes of good success in all our undertakings especially when we have to deal with a Malignant party and these are such as we have most cause to fear if we could truly reason as King Abijah against King Ieroboam making War with him have not ye cast out the Priests of the Lord the sons of Aaron and the Levites and have made you Priests after the manner of the Nations of other Lands But as for us the Lord is our God and we have not forsaken him and the Priests Which minister unto the Lord are the sons of Aaron neither Baals Priests nor Priests of their own making We keep the charge of the Lord our God but ye have forsaken him And behold God himself is with us for our Captain ver 17 18. â—ight ye not against the Lord God of your fathers for you shall not prosper Neither did they prosper there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men The blessings hereof c. and the children of Iudah prevailed because they relied upon the Lord God of their fathers and kept the Covenant made with their fathers Howsoever God would be some way or other with us if we were with him 2 Chron. 15.2 At least whatsoever our case should be we might hence be comforted in our troubles and in like integrity say and appeal to God Psa 44 17 18 as the