refuge for the oppressed a refuge in time of trouble Psal 91. 1 2. He that dwelleth in the secret places of the Most High shall abide under the shaddow of the Almighty with many more words to the same purpose The Lord at that day of indignation from the house of Saul and all the mighty men of Israel against David and such as did adhere to him calling David to retire as into his chambers from the storm that was against him till the indignation was overpast and the Lord hid him from the wrath of man as hath been shewed Of the same import is that word Prov. 11. 10. The Name of the Lord is a strong Tower and the righteous runneth into it and are safe There are three Names of God to which his people in a day of indignation fly unto The name of his Goodness that Name which the Lord made known and proclaimed to Moses after the People of God had sinned and Moses had cryed to him for the forgivenesse of their sin and begs his presence may go with them I will make saith the Lord all my goodness to pass before thee Exod. 33. 19. and chap. 34. 6. The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed The Lord God Merciful and Gracious long suffering abundant in goodness in truth c. So when David pleads with God in his distresse Psal 89. the argument of Faith is v. 5. For thou Lord art good and therefore ready to forgive c. and when he flyes unto God Psal 31. he makes this as the wing of God the Name of his goodness vers 19. Oh how great is thy Goodness thou hast laid up for them that fear thee which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men thou shalt hide them c. And Psal 144. My Goodness my Fortress and my high Tower c. not onely my good good but goodness it self c. Yea this Name of God that he proclaimed to Moses was as the great refuge of the Saints in the day of their distresse and which they urged upon him as Psal 86. and 103. and 145. and Neh. 9. 17. 31 because in all Generations hee would be known to his people by this Name and by Faith they were to live upon it in all their difficulties The Lord abundant in goodness and mercy and truth c. And when Judah was going into captivity the Lord offers himself to them by this Name if they would turn unto him and commands Jeremiah to proclaim it as it was proclaimed it as it was proclaimed before Moses Jer. 3. 12. Go and proclaim these words towards the North and say Return thou back-sliding Israel saith the Lord and I will not cause my anger to come upon you or to settle upon you for I am merciful c. A heart-breaking word if that people had hearkened to it To this Name of the Lord do his people retire for shelter and refuge in an evil day though they have sinned against him we have sinned yet the Lord is infinitely good and therefore ready to forgive Who is like unto him a God pardoning iniquity Micah 7. And therefore where ever the Lord gives out promises of help and deliverance to his People from captivity and destresse hee also annexeth free promises of grace in abundant forgivenesse Esay 43. 16 17. speaking of the glorious Salvation of his people though they had wearied them with their iniquities verse 24. yet I even I am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake and will not remember thy sins see chapter 24. 22. see Jeremiah 33. 5 6 7. Behold I will bring it health and cure and I will cure them though a wounded broken scattered people and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth and verse 8. I will cleanse them from all the iniquity whereby they have sinned against me and I will pardon all their iniquity whereby they have sinned against me and whereby they have transgressed against me though Against me thrice repeated against all my kindnesse to them and my often Salvation of them yet I will cleanse them and though they are become a reproach to all Nations yet it shall be to me a Name of joy a praise and honour before all the Nations of the Earth See Jeremiah 51. 5. for Israel hath not been forsaken nor Judah of his God of the Lord of hosts though their land was filled with sin against the holy One of Israel Under these wings of grace thus spread forth in pretious promises do a poor sinfull broken people shelter themselves in humbling and turning to the Lord and they are safe this being the great Covenant Name of God they fly to and take hold of in all their sins and distresses Secondly the People of God retire into the Name of his Almightiness Psal 91. 1. He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide or lodg as in a house of defence under the shadow of the Almighty c. As a God infinitely able to preserve and keep safe all the concernments of soul and life that his people commit to him able to save in and out of all distresses from every snare of the Devil from the wrath of man as Paul 2 Timothy 1. 12. For I know when I have believed and am perswaded that he is Able to keep what I have committed to him c. Thirdly The Name of the Lords Everlastingness sameness unchangeableness is a Refuge to retire to Abraham called on the Name of the Lord the Everlasting God Genesis the 21. the last verse So the Lord comforteth his people Esay 40. 28. Hast thou not known hast thou not heard that the Everlasting God the Lord the Creator of the Ends of the Earth fainteth not neither is weary c. So the People of God in their Plea Esay 63. 16. Thy name is from Everlasting c. And Psal 102. Where is set forth a day of sore indignation and distresse as verse 10. Thou hast lifted us up and cast us down c. What is their stay and Refuge in such a case why this verse 12. But thou oh Jehovah shalt endure for ever And ver 27. But thou art the same c. And though wee perish thou art the same Thou art the same in thy Covenant mercy is from everlasting and to everlasting c. The same in goodness pity and wisdom and power the faithful God that keepest Covenant and Mercy for ever as good to save as ever thou wast and as able to save so hee strengthens and comforts his People with the discovery of his Name Mallachi 3. 6. For I am the Lord I change not therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed Let the state of the people of God be what it will there is support in this Thou Lord art still the same we have known what thou hast been to thy people in dayes of old and what thou hast done for them Oh where are
vanities men and riches and strength are a lye and they shall not cannot save you in the day of the Lords indignation Oh be convinced of it see the Lord Jesus in his blood righteousnesse free promises of Grace an open shelter where you may fly and be safe Oh get thy polluted guilty betrayed soul into thy shelter make hast to get thy soul washed justified sanctified renewed in the Blood and Spirit of the Lord Jesus get the Mantle of his Righteousnesse over thee and his spirit to quicken thee or thou shalt perish from the way without remedy 2. Doth Jesus Christ call his Saints into his Chambers to retire with him and that for protection and more intimate Communion Oh let this be the Word of the Lord to all the Lambs followers Now Jesus Christ hath for a Moment withdrawn is gon behind the Clouds cry draw us and we will run after thee Now know and see more Experimentally that Name that is indeed a strong Tower that covenanting Name that hath been set before you The Lord gracious and abundant in goodnesse let thy soul say This is my Rock a Gracious Almighty Immutable God in Christ God the same yesterday and to day for ever unchangeable in Grace Goodness Wisdom Power Love and that because of a Covenant built upon the Pillars of Mercy and faithfulnesse that are for ever This is my House of Defence here will I dwell This is my Rock and I shall not be moved Here is your life your strength your safety your all Oh see what an open and sure Refuge Jesus Christ is your sins and guilt cannot enter in with you but you leave them at the door say Ah Lord spread the Mantle of thy Righteousnesse over me let thy banner over me be love and what ever the storm be I shall be safe in the heat of the day under the shadow of this Rock will I sit put me under unchangeable love and grace and Lord I shall be safe say of him Thou onely shalt bee my portion and my refuge into thy Chambers Oh Lord I enter draw me into them under thy wings will I make my Refuge till the Indignation be over past Oh accept me heal me hold me to thy self keep me hide me in thy Chambers of Grace watch over me night and day Yea Lord lead me into a nearer Communion with thee shew me thy Holinesse and thy Glory that I may be yet more vile in my own sight before thee Ah humble me empty me of all new season me new frame me with seven times more holinesse then before Conform me to thy self to purpose and for ever Commune with me Reckon me my dear Lord as thy Friend and Companion as thy sweet acquaintance Oh take my heart fill me with love and let us never never part any more Oh thus should be the breathings and pangs of our souls after our Lord Jesus in such a day This is to enter into his Chambers into his Rest Thirdly As to outward safety Enter into his Chambers say with David Thou shalt hide me in the Secret of thy presence Lord Thou art my hiding place Yea Lord let all thy People be thy hidden ones Call them into thy Chambers hide them from the pride and rage of man Seek the Lord It may be you shall be hid in the day of the Lords anger Zeph. 2. 3. you have at least an It may be for it Who knoweth but the Lord will hide wonderfully for so it must be and keep this Generation of his people though they dwell in the fire wonderful it is to see the Bush burning and yet not consumed The Lord hath gloriously triumphed in the death of some of his Witnesses who by dying have overcome more than by signal battels in the field and it may be hath some more to set to their Seal the same way but this Generation of people shall enter their Chambers and shall yet be further hid till the Lord come out of his place and the earth disclose her blood As I have believed so have I spoken Blessed be the Lord who remembers his people in these poor Nations and will not cast them off For thou Lord wilt bless the righteous with favour wilt thou compass them as with a shield Thou art good and ready to forgive and thou wilt forgive the sin of thy people though they have been a rebellious Seed because they be thy people and thy Name is in them and thy great glory is conferred upon them for the needy shall not alwayes be forgotten nor shall the expectation of the poor fail from before thee And thus much of the first branch of the Proposition We now come to the second thing Viz. The Lord Jesus Christ sometimes calls his Saints to retirement from publike Services and publike Administrations of Worship We would prove this and when the Lord so calls and why he calls them to such a retirement The two great instances of the Old and New Testament do confirm this 1. That of the people of God in Babylon where the remnant of the best people were carryed according to the Word of the Lord to them by Jeremiah and there the Lord promisseth to be a little Sanctuary to them Ezek. 11. 13. but there they had no Temple nor Sacrifices while they were in their captivity but were to live in the Faith of their return from the Captivity when the Temple should be built again and they were to humble themselves to the Lord and to cry to him till it were accomplisht So that here the Lord in that day of distress promiseth to take care of the Remnant Ezek. 11. 13. according to the plea of the Prophet Ah Lord God wilt thou make a full end of the Remnant of Israel And the Lord promiseth to restore them to bring them back to their Land and to give them his Ordinances as in the dayes past Yet during their captivity they were deprived of all positive worship of all publike Administrations but lived in the Faith of their return according to the Word of Lord by his Prophets to them So in the New-Testament times during the Captivity of the true Worshippers and Witnesses of Jesus Christ under the Mystical Babylon The true Church is call'd into the Wilderness where she hath a place prepared of God where she should be fed Rev. 12. 6. where she lieth hid And though there is a Temple measured Rev. 11. 1. yet 't is as shut up till at the pouring out of the Vials the Temple is opened Rev. 15. 5. But especially towards the end of the Beasts reign when the Witnesses have prophesied more openly and have finished a Testimony to all the Offices of Jesus Christ especially that of his Kingly Power over Saints and Nations the Nations that are found in the Spirit of the Beast make war against them and slay them that is lay their Testimony dead as if the effects of it should never appear All publike Prophesying and publike
thy former loving kindnesses c. The Covenant of God with his people is built as upon two Pillars Mercy and Faithfulness Psal 89. 2. For I have said Mercy shall be built up for ever thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very Heavens I have made a Covenant with my chosen c. Under these two doth David shelter as the Wings of the Cherubims 57. 1 2. God shall send forth his Mercy and Truth and shall save me Mercy to pitty and forgive Faithfulness to fulfil his Word here is a safe shelter for Saints in every strait David and other of the people of God get under these Wings of God and are at peace David near twenty times in the Psalms is putting these two together thy Mercy and thy Truth shall prevent me and in them I trust If all the Mercy of God and all the Truth and Faithfulness of God be my portion what need I fear here is sweet and safe retirement for Saints in an evil day But how do poor Souls retire into this Blessed Name of God a Merciful Almighty Unchangeable God as a Rock for them 1. By seeing thorough the Light of the Spirit the Emptiness and Vanity of all other refuges that nothing below an unchangeable God of all Grace through Jesus Christ can be a refuge for a Naked and Forlorne Soul in Psalm 62. David mentions two things which the heart is apt to make a reguge Men and Riches vers 9 10. of both these he saith they are a lie and vanity And if riches increase set not your heart upon them do not think them a meet refuge for you in any day specially a day of distress if neither the sons of men nor riches be a shelter then in God saith David is my Salvation and my Glory the rock of my strength and my refuge is in God Yea He onely is my Rock v. 6. seel Psal 142. 4 5. I looked c. v. 4. And what did he see Why Refuge failed him every refuge was too low too short too weak to shelter him here was conviction of nothing but emptyness in them vanity upon them all What then why vers 5. I said Thou art my refuge and my portion there is that in Jesus Christ to ensafe me and satisfie me the two great ends to which the soul moves in all its desires now I have them not in Creatures they can't be a refuge not a portion but God in Christ is both is All This is a conviction we should pass under every day 2. We retire into this Blessed Name of the Lord by Faith He is a Rock Psalm 62. the Rock of Ages or the Everlasting Rock nothing below himself is so Faith sees him so as a sinking man in the Waters sees a Rock and makes to it and sees him onely he onely is my Rock Now here 's the ensafeing Act of Faith it can lay up all concernments of Soul and Life with an unchangeable God here I adhere fasten cleave Oh O that Blessed Glorious Name a Gracious Almighty or All-sufflcient and Unchangeable Saviour in the day of my trouble Oh set me on this Rock that is higher then I Psal 61. 2. Then let Waves and Billows beat against me they may break themselves but shall never break the Rock I shall not be moved Psal 62. That 's the stability faith gives the Soul let Sins Temptations Troubles beat against me I shall not be moved thus Faith can triumph at all times Trust in him at all times God is a refuge for us In shaking times in dying times all is safe with him yea when the Heart is overwhelmed and desolate Faith thus relieves and fetcheth up the Heart in all its sinkings let the Soul see a storm coming away it hastens into its Refuge into the Chambers of strength and shuts its door till it be overpast Because this is the Work of Saints and the call of the Lord to them at this day Consider it a little further First Jesus Christ presents himself to a poor soul as an open refuge let the sin burden distress inward or outward be what it will this door of Grace stands open the sinners of the World pass by it and will not enter the more their misery but poor souls that are beaten out of one hold after another and see at last this door of hope opened in the valley of Darkness and Fears runs into it unbelief would draw the Soul back Satan would shut the Door against it but the soul ventures and venture it must or sink and perish and gets into Christ and he holds out a hand and bears it up opens Blood and Righteousness and Grace and bids the soul make use of it and here the Soul retires every day under this shelter t is driven and it can be quiet and safe no where else if the heart be stealing out else where to other shelters in the World or of its own Satans World and Conscience set upon it And the Soul flies back and gets into its strong hold again No living safely else where Now Jesus Christ is an open refuge in every precious word of free Grace Esay 55. 1. Rev. 21. 6. 22. 17. c. which words Believers see as a blessed safe Retirement when they are stormd out of every thing else and evidences are bemisted Secondly Jesus Christ presents himself a sure refuge for Souls to Retire into He sprinkles blood casts a Mantle of Righteousnesse a Mantle of Love and Grace and Power over the soul that gets into him and who then can harm it Guilt and Sorrows and Temptations and Pressures can follow the soul to the Door but cannot enter with it He is near that justifieth who then shall contend Esay 50. 8. there is safety T is true the soul is not alwayes apprehensive of its own safety but hath its fits of Fears and Mis-givings through Temptation and Unbelief as in Davids Case and mark it Psal 31. 22. For I said in my hast I am cut off from before thine eyes neverthelesse thou heardest the voice of my Supplication when I cryed unto thee here was sad Apprehension I am cut off though he had words of Promise to the contrary but yet he cryed to the Lord in that distemper but what did the Lord cast him off because of that mixture of unbelief No neverthelesse he heard and saved him a Case of great relief for Dark Doubting Souls So that Jesus Christ is a safe sure strong impregnable shelter all the World can't get a soul out of it all is safe there Obj. But may not my life go for it for all this Answer That which is indeed thy life the life of thy soul the immortal life that is most safe hid or laid with Christ in God Col. 3. 3. Because I live you shall live also John 14. your life is as safe as my life t is bound up with my own yea t is the same with my own the life I live I live in you As