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A76814
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Living truths in dying times: Some meditations (upon Luk. 21.30. [sic]) occasioned by the present judgement of the plague. / By Thomas Blake.
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Blake, Thomas.
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1665
(1665)
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Wing B3146A; ESTC R223024
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90,620
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229
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is also true that God hath a care of his people in all the common calamities that ever come upon the world Thus it it was when God came to sweep away a whole world was there none to be thought of no body to be remembred yes there was a Noah that God could not forget Gen. 6.13 14. Noah might say What the end of all flesh what shall become of me then what shall I do when all flesh is destroyed Why saith God Noah make thee an Aâ—k ver 14. I will not so destroy all flesh but I will remember thee Noah and therefore make thee an Ark and saith God to him in vers 18. With thee I will establish my covenant and thou shalt come into the ark thou and thy sons and thy sons wives with thee Thus it was in the destruction of Sodom God came with resolution to destroy that place Gen. 19.12 13. Great provocations call for great desolation dreadful judgements are the necessary consequents of great preceding iniquities but Lot he must be taken care of and a shelter and refuge must be provided for him Thus in the land of Egypt when the Lord sent his Plagues amongst them ye this very judgement of the Plague I believe that was the judgement and I will give you a Scripture to prove it the threatning was he would destroy all the first-born of Pharoah Exod. 11.5 6 7. Now the question is what judgement it was that he did destroy the first-born of Egypt by I think it was the Plague and that that confirms me in my thoughts of it is that Amos 4.10 where he saith I have sent among you the Pestilence after the manner of Egypt Now I do not know any time when God did send the Pestilence into Egypt unless when he destroyed the first-born and yet at that time when he did destroy the first-born of all the house of Egypt the Lord took care of his people Israel must be preserved not a dog must move the tongue against any of them Gen. 42. when there was a famine in Canaan yea a famine in all lands and a great scarcity grew over the face of the Land of Egypt yet Jacob and his children must be provided for and God must look after them and he bids them go down to Egypt and you find how they were there fed God had by a signal providence sent Joseph before hand as he saith himself to save Jacob and his family alive Jeremiah in the time of captivity and great destruction what must become of him must he perish with the rest No saith God I will deliver thee in that day Jer. 39.17 18. Now this is my first argument to confirm this general truth that in times of common calamity God takes an especial care of his people as is evident from what he hath done 2. From the promise of what he will do he makes special promises to his people of what he will do in such seasonâ— Psal 91.9 10. Because thou hast made the most High thy refuge there shall no evil befall thee neither shall any Plague come nigh thy dwelling Souls that are Saints and Saints in a right spirit here is a promise a singular special promise made to them and so you have it in Isa 3.8 Jerusalem is ruined and Judah is fallen because their tongue and their doings are against the Lord By the way observe God takes notice what we say as well as what we do well what now is â—erusalem fallen and Judah ruined what shall become of the Saints then why saith God Say unto the righteous It shall be well with them vers 10.11 Jerusalem it is true is ruined but why why say to the wicked it shall be ill with them but unto the righteous it shall be well with them Isa 26.21 Behold the Lord comes out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity Doth he so what then what will he do unto his people why if you look vers 20. Come saith he my people enter into your chambers and shut the doors about you hide your self for a little moment untill mine indignation be over-past I am coming to punish the world for their iniquity but my people I have a word for your comfort I will find retiring Chambers for you Hide your self saith he for a little moment untill mine indignation be over-passed So Joel 3.16 He shall roar out of Sion c. the Lord will work for his people and do his people good he will be the hope of his people and the strength of the children of Israel Therefore this is my second argument God makes special promises to his people therefore he will take special care of them 3. He gives special counsel and direction to them what to do in order to their preservation in times of common calamity There are three parts of counsel that the Lord gives to his people in such seasons and he directs them sometimes to one of these things and sometimes to another according as he thinks good in himself sometimes he calls his people out of the places that shall be the seats of his judgements he did so in the case of Sodom and it is worth your considering that you have Luk. 21.20 21. When you shall see Jerusalem compassed with Armies know the desolation thereof is nigh that shall be a sign to you that I am coming against it with a desolating judgement Well what then must be done Let them that are in Judah flye to the mountain and let them that are in the City depart out and let not them that are in the Countries enter thereinto This was his counsel at that time and thus God doth sometimes he calleth some out of the places by the method of his providence he tells them his will and brings them out of the seat of his judgements 2. He calls all in all times in order to preservation from closing with and cleaving to the sins of the places which are to be judged and for which he judgeth and condemneth that one known Text may serve in stead of many Rev. 18.4 Come out of her my peole that is out of Babylon and be ye separate partake not of her sins lest ye also partake of her plagues sin as sinners do and you must expect to suffer as they do 3. He doth direct his people to some special duties that have an especial tendency to preservation sometimes to faith to trust in and dependance upon the Lord and sometimes to prayer and watchfulness as here in my Text to some such special duties that have an especial use in order to the preservation of a people from destroying and ruining calamities Thus I say put these things together what God hath done what he hath promised to do what counsel he gives unto his people in respect to common calamities they are evident tokens of love to his people in times of distresse But now what is the reason wherefore is it that God should especially
forth in such a judgement it seeth it is the hand of the great glorious mighty terâ—ible God and therefore the soul that knows who he is and what he is cannot but have an awe of his judgement resting upon him David was no Infidel yet a man of fear Psal 119.120 My flesh trembleth for fear of thee and I am afraid of all thy judgements David had this and it was no unbecoming fear he had a holy awe of God a dread of the judgements of God upon the soul is so far from being inconsistent with faith that it is a necessary concomitant of it Again 3. Faith cuts not the throat of the use of means but whilst thou believest for preservation thou art waiting on God in the use of that means that he directs thee to faith it puts upon the use of means but doth not call off from it You believe God for salvation What then you wait upon God in the use of Ordinances Now by these things ask your hearts whether you have faith or no. Two or three things more and I have done Is preservation such a mercy I would first say to you Labor then to be Saints in earnest for if you should be preserved and not be Saints you loose the mercy of your preservation Isa 15.4 His life shall be grievous unto him c. The case of evil men is such sometimes that the very living is a burthen to them and such may be the case of a sinner though he may not be cut off their life may be worse to them then cutting off Jer. 8.3 And death shall be chosen rather then life c. the life of a sinner is not worth the living 2. Above all things have as little to do with sin as you can that is one of the best preservatives Job 11.14 If iniquity be in thy tabernacle put it far away from thee 3. And lastly while you are in the world and distress is in the world especially remember and be sollicitous for the Sion of God Oh stand up and plead for the poor people of Sion Jer. 51.50 Let Jerusalem come into your minds Oh my friends while the distresses of this day lasts Let Jerusalem come into your mind If God preserve you I say while he pâ—eserves you think of Jerusalem plead with God for his poor people that that intereâ—t may be secured that the Lord would be to his people the shadow of a great rock in a weary land And thus I have dispatched the third Doctrine namely that it is a great honor and an especial mercy and that that Saints should put out hard for to be delivered in times of common calamity I shall now go on with the fourth Observation from the words That watchfulness and prayer are rare preservatives and excellent means for safety in the time of common calamities I dare not say they are never-failing means but they are the best means and that as seldom fail as any they are the best preservatives you can have and will do you most service of any thing if there be any safety to be had it is in the use of these means That is the note I would spend a little time upon the God of all our mercies knows how to make it of use to us I would treat a little distinctly on each of them and shew how far each of them serve to this design what part prayer hath in it and what part watchfulness I shall begin with the first viz. Prayer and in what I have to say to that I shall propound three things to be treated on 1. Consider a little what prayer is because if we mistake the thing it self we are out in the whole as if a skilful Physician prescribe one potion and it be mistaken and another taken for it instead of doing good it may do much harm therefore it is good to know what prayer is 2. Consider what prayer is wont to do When Physicians prescribe a remedy they will tell you what great cures such medicines have effected and therefore I shall shew you what prayer hath done and then how it comes to be particularly useful in this case of a common calamity For the first then what is Prayer we oft speak of going to prayer but what is praying Why prayer it may be thus described It is the breathing of a gracious soul in the help of the Spirit of Grace whereby it is inabled to go to God in a promise in the Name of Christ to begg suitable mercy as the case may require I will take this description in parts and confirm each part unto you that you may see it is a description consonant and agreeable unto the word of truth First of all I say prayer is the breathing of the soul heartless prayer is no prayer it is the work of the soul the work of the heart and that in which the heart is not is not prayer at all hence you have that expression in Jam. 5.16 The effectual fervent prayer of the righteous availeth much it may be better rendred The Inwrought prayer of the righteous prayer it is an Inwrought thing it is first wrought in the heart before it is brought forth into petitions and if it be not first wrought in the heart before it is brought forth into desires and petitions it is not prayer The heart must go whatsoever is wâ—nting whether you pray with the voice or not you must pray with the heart such a thing you read of in the known case of Hannah 1 Sam. 1.13 Hannah she speaks in her heart onely her lips moved her voice was not heard she spake in her heart her heart was in the prayer and it was a sign it was by the good issue it had David Psal 119. 145. hath an expression that looks that way I cryed with my whole heart Oh Lord I will keep thy statutes If you cry it must be with the heart that must not be wanting for if that be wanting truely the best ingredient of prayer is wanting hence you have that expression in Psal 25.1 I lift up my soul unto thee the meaning is I pray unto thee I call unto thee but he doth express it by lifting up the soul because the soul was ingaged in the work I lift up my soul unto thee the like expression you have Psal 86.4 Now that is the first thing in the description it is the breathing of the soul 2. It is the breathing of a gracious soul it is not every heart but a gracious heart that knoweth how to pray the breathings of a gracious soul and therefore whatever name the desires of a wicked man may have yet alas it doth not amount to prayer Prov. 15.8 The sacrifice of the wicked it is an abomination unto the Lord but the prayer of the upright is his delight A wicked man may bring his sacrifice may think to put up his petition but what is it It is an abomination unto the Lord but the prayer of