faithfullnesse else we should perish hourly in our divisions distempers and the provocations wherewith we tempt the Lord We are filled with drunkennesse we dash one against another and yet his eye pitieth and spareth and we are not perished we are divided divisions are multiplied the Kingdome divided within it selfe the Church divided within it selfe and yet behold we stand We read in the word that a Kingdome divided within it selfe cannot stand we read also and who trembles not at the reading It is easier for Heaven and earth to passe then one title of the Law to fail What shall we say hath God revoked his word hath he repealed his sentence surely he suspendeth it and we hope it may passe away unfulfilled England may be the instance of exception from that generall rule a Kingdome divided within it selfe cannot stand Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisedome and knowledge of God how unsearchable are his judgements and his wayes past finding out We are a froward and perverse generation we do not receive correction we are sick of our remedies impatient of our cure discontented with our mercies murmuring at our deliverance lingring back in our hearts to our former bondage not beleeving the Lord for all the signes which he hath shewed amongst us yet the Lord bears with us in great patience forbears to turne our enemy breaketh not in upon us to destroy us but gives us liberty to humble our souls and pray before him and suffers himselfe to be intreated and proclaimes his Name The Lord the Lord gracious and mercifull slow to wrath abundant in goodnesse and truth keeping mercy for thousands pardoning iniquity transgression and sin and that will by no means clear the guilty Oh that we could make haste and bow and worship and glorifie God and be thankfull Truly if we bring all our story into view we shall finde nothing on the part of men but wickednesse or weaknes madnesse and folly and on Gods part nothing but wisedome and power grace and patience mercy and truth met together and justice shining in an infinitie of goodnesse To gather the whole matter into a short summe Confusion hath or might have covered us but together with the smoak of the furnace a lamp hath been seen to walke between the divided pieces many evident testimonies of the goodnesse of our God condescending in the remembrance of his Covenant to walke amongst us in paths of mercy and truth The fire hath broken out into a flame and it hath taken hold upon us round about and we are no better then a dry bush before it and yet by the good will of God abiding among us as when he dwelt in the bush destruction is inhibited intercepted and prevented daily The presence of God in the glory of his majesty hath been so tempered as to us like the spirit moving upon the waters at the creation it is refreshing reviving and we hope refining and reforming or at least preparing for the production of order and peace with truth while to our adversaries set as briars and thornes against him in the battell our God is a consuming fire Now what shall we say to these things Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodnesse for his wonderfull workes to the children of men May I say it again and again treble the repetition as the Psalmist doth on like and lesse occasions Psal. 107. Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodnesse and for his wonderfull works to the children of men Oh that I could lift up my voice as the Angel his trumpet at the opening of the seals and perswade to come and see that we may together magnifie the worke we behold and exalt the praises of our God Come and see the work of the Lord what desolation shall I say nay rather what prevention of desolation what preservation he hath wrought in the Land There is desolation I confesse and great terriblenesse in the desolation but there is abundance of goodnesse outshining it in the extraordinary wayes and workings of deliverance by the good will of our God Come and see the worke of the Lord The worke of the Lord is great done openly before us as on a theatre a manifold worke of mercy done in wisedome fearfully and wonderfully done and is worthy to be sought out and pried into of all them that have pleasure therein there is a mine of blessings folded up in it and there may be a mint of pleasure and profit in the contemplation How precious should the thoughts of God in all of it be unto us Who so is wise will consider these things and he shall understand the loving kindnesse of the Lord Let us make observation of that wherein our God is glorious and we are advantaged of every thing whereby he makes himselfe known and we are or may be made blessed in the course of his extraordinary providence over us for good and pause and dwell upon the contemplation with meditation with deep and serious consideration with all intension and elevation of the heart alwaies Let the worke and praises of God be celebrated with admiration praise him according to his excellent greatnesse indeed there is no praise comely proportionable to the transcendent excellency of Gods majesty but admiration praise waiteth upon thee saith the Psalmist or as the Hebrew more significantly hath it praise is silent or silence before thee it is impossible to comprehend much lesse to expresse all that belongeth to his praise our eyes can as well read and measure the greatnesse and brightnesse of the lights in the firmament of Heaven as our hearts can discerne and display the glory of God Who can utter all the mighty acts of the Lord who can shâ—w forth all his praise as the bright shining of the Sun beams in a reflection by a glasse is far lesse then the lustre of the Sun it self and the return by an Eccho is very imperfect and short of the voice when much is said and many speak together so the glorifying of God by men is infinitely disproportionable to the excellent glory that shines in his marvellous works the best praise of his providence is humble acknowledgement with reverence and adoration Let us therefore praise him according to his excellent greatnesse And let us publish his praises and not hide them in our hearts but together with the burning on the hearth let there be light and heat shed abroad that others also may be provoked to glorifie God and be thankfull I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty and of thy wondrous works I will declare thy greatnesse They shall speak of thy glory and talke of thy power they shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodnesse And as much as in us is let us propagate the glory of God to posterity and ages to come one generation shall praise thy works to another
our Counsels or our Armies either erre or prosper not it is our duty to fall upon our faces and humble our souls and enquire of the Lord and if any that offer themselves willingly be more successefull our hearts may be towards them but Blesse ye the Lord Judge 5. 29. 3. I may adde a third caution to the two former viz. That all pomp and triumph be layd aside in the dayes of our rejoycing and thanksgiving not that I judge it utterly unlawfull but altogether unfit and unseasonable Ringing and Bonefires and such solemnities are for Tear-lesse and bloodlesse Victories over a forreigne enemy rather than in civill war where they that get the day must needs possesse the victory as the eleven Tribes did that over the Benjamites with cryes and tears the conquerors cannot behold the slaughter of the enemy but it must repent them for their brethren because the Lord hath made a breach in their own Nation perhaps their own families nor look upon the gain of the Conquest but as David did upon the water which the Worthies fetched from out of the Well of Bethlehem which was by the gate Is it not the bloud of the men that went in the jeopardie of their lives It would be poured out before the Lord Secondly When all this is done there is yet a further use to be made of this Doctrine for we shall finde that where the man after Gods own heart readeth upon the Law of thankfulnesse He interprets it thus He that offereth me praise glorifieth me and he that ordereth his conversation aright So that God is not glorified unlesse there be a care of composing or disposing our way as well as a sacrificing of Confessions and unto this also the Doctrine is an engagement For if an extraordinary peculiar providence be an extraordinary peculiar blessing then without controversie there is super-induced upon us at this season a very great obligation to walke worthy the Lord to have our conversation according to the way of God in compassion of us For whom much is done of them much is looked for Else we shall return evil for good and may be sure to hear of it as Israel also did Deut. 36. 6. Doe ye thus requite the Lord oh foolish people and unwise Is not he thy Father that hath bought thee hath he not made thee and established thee To say nothing of what we read to this purpose almost every where in the Books of Moses we may hear the Prophet preaching it very plainly both the Duty upon this very ground and the aggravation of the sin in the case of perversnesse and the recompence of the errour upon supposition of the provocation Isa. 63. 8. He said Surely they are my people children that will not lye So he was their Saviour q. d. He took them into Covenant he admitted them into the neerest relations in this case lesse could not be expected then that in all ingenuity they should have abhorred to degenerate into any false way or fail to be an holy people In all the reason of the world one would think they should have reckoned themselves bounden to answer the loving kindnesse and faithfulnesse of the Lord in all holinesse and righteousnesse of conversation before him all their dayes Upon these termes he took upon him their protection So hee was their Saviour That they might observe his Statutes and keep his Lawes for so the Psalmist expounds it and if ye read on to the eighth verse ye will finde the rest But they rebelled and vexed his holy Spirit therefore he was turned to be their enemy and he fought against them The equity is so manifest as nothing more needs to be sayd in it Onely if you desire to know what it is that God requires and we ought to returne you may finde it if you looke in the glasse whereinto the species of the children of Israels face is shed I mean the story of their Rebellions We may read our duty in their perversnesse and see where to wash our selves by their spots Doubtlesse ye have heard of their provocations and the issues of them they are gathered together into very short summe Psalme 95. ye may finde them a little more enlarged and particularized in the 78 and the 106 Psalms Or if ye please that I may run over the History before you in a few words wee shall the more readily discerne what to amend 1. They did not abide in that good disposition wherein they received the first tydings and tokens of Gods good will to them When Aaron had spoken all the words which the Lord spake unto Moses and had done all the signs in the sight of the people The people beleeved and when they heard that the Lord had visited them and looked upon their afflictions then they bowed their heads worshipped But in the next chapter they lightly depart from that acknowledgement upon the first discouragement where they found themselves in an evil case because of their tasks they met Moses and Aaron and sayd The Lord looke upon you and judge because ye have made our savour to stink in the eyes of Pharaoh and his servants to put a sword in their hands to stay us And again at the Red-sea when they saw the great work which the Lord had done upon the Egyptians they feared the Lord and they beleeved the Lord and his servant Moses but they soon forgate his works and his wonders which he had shewed them and trusted no more in his salvation Secondly They bare all difficulties with great impatience and murmured upon every tryall at the increase of their burdens the approach of the enemy the bitternesse of the water the want of bread the want of water when they had not meat for their lust when the Spies brought an evil report upon the Land when the way was tedious and they must go about At every turn upon all occasions they complain and rebell and tempt the Lord Thirdly They quarrell their deliverers while they were yet in the Land and charge the injuries and oppressions done them by their enemies upon their best friends In the Wildernesse they are envious and mutinous even Aaron and Miriam are drawn into the conspiracy They misunderstand and misapply the judgments of God the executions done upon the factious and seditious they impute to Moses and Aaron as bloudshed and murther When the earth had opened and swallowed up Corah and his company the next morning all the Congregation murmure and tell them to their faces Ye have killed the people of the Lord Fourthly They repine at their deliverance even when it was far advanced and despise the salvation of God and made an attempt to return into their old servitude so base were their spirits as they had rather have abidden under nay returned into their cruell bondage so they might have had their fish and their onions then be saved by miracle if they must be
and shall declare thy mighty acts And herein my Lords ye have the advantage of all that hear me this day Ye may command these things to be written even a book of the warres of the Lord for the generations to come that the people which shall be created may praise the Lord Ye may appoint dayes of Thanksgiving when remarkeable passages of providence minister occasion thereto and if the God of our mercies should make the warres to cease and this miserable distration to end in an happy reconciliation and reformation ye may ordain an anniversary remembrance thereof as the Jews did their dayes of Purim that the memoriall of the good will of God in this wonderfull deliverance may not perish from the land and peradventure another age may finde cause to make a Secular commemoration of the multitude of mercies which are forming in the womb of this extraordinary providence and shall in time be brought forth for the advantage of posterity for we hope the foundations are now laying for many generations and the dayes come when it shall no more be said the Lord liveth that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt no nor the Lord liveth that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the North at the least as to that which is already past for we wait yet a further accomplishment of that Prophecie But the Lord liveth that separated his people and brought them up from under the papal bondage and servitude which spiritually is Sodome and Egypt and Babylon and delivered their souls from the fierce anger of the Lord The Lord liveth which hath judged the great whore that corrupted the earth with her fornications and hath avenged the bloud of his servants at her hand Amen Hallelujah Surely the time approacheth when the memory of those wonderfull works shall be swallowed up in the celebration of this and this deliverance and the course of Gods speciall extraordinary providence at this season in favour of his Church shall be esteemed more miraculous then those of old and the glory of this shall dimme the lustre of those The mean while when God appears to us by such signals of his presence as of late and there is occasion either to contemplate or to celebrate such wonderfull manifestations of his good will as this for which we assemble to blesse his name this day let us not forget the admonition which God gave Moses when he turned aside to see this great sight Put off thy shoes from off thy feet a double caveat One to deny our selves not only in curiosity and vanity of minde but in all low earthly sensuall reasonings and passions such as are incident to brutish men who know not and to fools who understand not the deep thoughts and mysterious wayes of God in his judgements so some allegorize the phrase because the shoes go next the earth and gather dirt and to elevate the minde and heart above all that 's common and which a naturall carnall and politick wisedome which is from below would suggest and as if we were in the mount of transfiguration to have high and spirituall and heavenly apprehensions and stirrings of heart in all humble and holy reverence adoring the majesty of God both in that which we behold and that which we cannot yet comprehend waiting till he further interpret himselfe Verily God is with us nigh unto us else how is all this befallen us and whence are all these miracles the miraculous victories beyond all expectation so lately so often given in unto us The marvellous works done before us are apparently wrought out not by the heads or the hands of men but by the finger of God or rather his mighty hand and out-stretched arm and are none other then evident pledges of his nearnesse to us in good will as when he dwelt in the Bush The other is to lay aside all emulation contention vain jangling about the merits of men the praise or dispraise of the men of Gods hand and in all humility to resign up all pretences of claim or interest into the hands of God for in this way of resignation of right we sometimes find this Ceremony used so some understand that expression in Exodus and it may be applied to this purpose viz. 1. That the parties themselves whom God honoureth in the service would give him all the praise and let none of the fat of the peace-offering cleave to their own fingers but cause it to bee burnt on the Altar to the Lord Not unto us not unto us but unto thy name be the praise And to speak plainly for God there is none other cause for what is or hath bin praise worthy besides the successe and who knowes not who sees not that the event is of God When Gideon and his servant heard the Midianite and his fellow tell one another the Dream and the interpretation thereof how a Barley-cake tumbled into the Host of Midian and fell upon a Tent and smote it and over-turned it that the Tent lay along and they saw the carriage of the businesse the next day in the battell to answer it what could they do lesse than wonder and worship well might their hands be strengthned to the war but it had been extream madnesse and impudence to have gloried in themselves and would have been revenged as on Herod The spoyles of a victory may be divided amongst men but the honour of a victory especially such as ours have been of late belong to God alone It is his glory he is a jealous God and will not give it to another It is his Crown he that will set it upon his owne head or will not lay it down before the Throne of God and the Lamb the Lord will loose his shoe from off his foot and spit in his face And secondly That standers by and lookers on doe look off look up above the instruments of Providence to God who giveth victory in the day of Battel neither quarrelling nor idolizing men or means both which are equally sacrilegious and abomination before the Lord Do ye think the Israelites had done well or would it have been accepted of God if they had made odious comparisons between Moses and Ioshua if they had decryed as indeed they murmured at Moses because by his hand they were led about many years in the wildernesse and met with many difficulties and disasters and their carcases fell and they consumed daily and came short of their hopes and on the other hand had lift up Joshua because under his conduct the enemies were over-thrown and their walled Towns and strong holds were gained and they prospered in every undertaking Had this been to acknowledge the hand of God either in judgment or mercy Doubtlesse God is not honoured where there is strife and variance and emulation in such a way as this If there be a miscarriage at any time and
hath done mervailously for the Kingdom exceeding abundantly above all that we have asked or thought Vnto him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus world without end Amen There remaineth yet another Use to be made of this priviledge and advantage of an extraordinary Providence I will briefly dispatch it in a few words of exhortation 1. To contentednesse with cheerfulnesse under the mighty hand of God that ye may possesse your souls in your patience and be able to cleave to the Lord without distraction We may be happy in adversity why should we make our selves miserable by false fears and false apprehensions we cannot run from the fire if we would why do we disquiet our selves in vain were it not better to walk with God in it and follow the Lord fully It is an extraordinary priviledge to live under an extraordinary Providence there cannot be such an extraordinary Providence if all things move in the ordinary way there must bee change and trouble and how shall we hope to receive the good of it at the hands of God if we be unwilling to receive the evil also The worke which the Lord hath begun to do both in Mercie and Judgement is very great and manifold upon what ground or to what end can we thinke or wish it may be finished in a day He that beleeveth maketh not haste God will certainly glorifie himselfe and make his power knowne and get him a great Name why should not we desire to see the glory of God though we therefore must be set in straits and under a cloud and the hand of God be upon us The Lord hath prepared his Throne and hath begun to pull down Babylon and to avenge the bloud of his Saints and of all that are slain on the earth How shall their sin swell up to its fulnesse and they be ripe for the Judgement so as all the World shall confesse True and righteous are thy Judgements oh Lord if the meane while the people of God and the Kingdomes of the World suffer nothing grievous by them who would not be glad to live when God doth this The Lord is refining of his Church as Gold is refined it must be done in the Furnace of affliction He is purging them from their filth and he will do it by the Spirit of Judgement and by the Spirit of burning Now we know that chronicall diseases must have long and tedious cures where they have long been setled upon the lees they must be often rolled from vessell to vessell and when they hang upon the old haunt they must be whipe off and if this may be the fruit of it to take away our sins that we perish not in them wherefore should we make it our feare and not rather count it a mercy to suffer the tryall God is come down to redeem his Church there must be time and occasion for him tobring forth all his great Judgements multiply his wonders that his people may have many testimonies of his neernes to them many pledges of his faithfulnesse for the support of their confidence and hope that they may be convinced of and humbled under their weaknesse unworthinesse wretchednesse and learne to depend on God alone and give him all the glory that they may have the proofe of the grace of God working effectually in them and their patience may have its perfect worke that they may be entire and made fit for deliverance their hearts prepared and established to receive and weare it with all thankfulnesse to the praise of the glory of the grace of God And if this be the good of tribulation why should we not be willing to chuse with Moses to suffer affliction with the people of God or to say with Peter in admiration of the happinesse It is good being here Or at the least to resolve with Micah to bear the indignation of the Lord If we will needs so looke upon it and with Hâ—bakkuk rejoyce in the God of our salvation although we shall be brought into extream desolation and never so great affliction be prepared if haply he will plead our cause and we may be brought forth to the light and shall behold his righteousnesse and walk upon our high-places rather than pray with Pharaoh Let there be no more thundering and haile We have made many prayers and supplications it becomes us now to wait as the Husband-man for the harvest of our hopes and have long patience for the raine as well as the Sun-shine that all things may be the more kindly ripened and the more seasonably gathered in and threshed out and sed upon to the more advantage of our blessednesse and in due time we shall reape if we faint not Be patient therefore and stablish your heares for the comming of the Lord draweth nigh Secondly That we may attain to these things suffer me to adde another word of exhortation and then I shall have done it is to prayer First that the Lord would give us an heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to heare while God dwells amongst us in good will that we may have the happinesse to finde the honey in the carcase the wisdome not to suck the poyson of Malignity and male-contentednesse to our ruine but to extract the sweet the good the righteousnesse that may be learned by judgements for our Reformation and edification unto salvation This would make us count that blessednesse that we now call misery for not affliction but the folly of him that suffers it is evil But we cannot finde out the Riddle unlesse we plough with Gods heifers Wherefore if any man want the Wisdome let him aske is of God who gives to all men liberally and upbraideth not Secondly That while the fire taketh hold upon the Kingdoms The good will of him that dwelt in the Bush may come abundantly upon us who are many wayes separated from other people A motion for prayer is seasonable in a day of thanksgiving This is the day which the Lord hath made we will rejoyce and be glad in it Save now I beseech thee oh Lord oh Lord I beseech thee send now prosperity And truly we shall not pray before we have need I know no reason we have to flatter our selves with a golden dreame of sudden or setled peace I am sure our sins do multiply and increase and so do our dangers too If the sword of Warre were sheathed again we are in hazard to be ruined by that drunkennesse wherewith the Lord hath filled the Land to perish by division schisme and faction in this distemper if we had no warre yet there would be no peace and if he dash us one against another and not pity nor spare nor have mercy but destroy us who can plead against him The Lord knowes how todeliver the godly out of temptation and to reserve the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 iudgement to be punished The Lord knowes how to fulfill all his works