learne righteousnes Or if the Lord deliver his Church by overthrowing only the plots and conspiracies of the wicked disappointing them in bringing to passe their mischeife yet this also is a thing Reverend it should cause us to reverence him because he is able to confound the wise and to be-foole the wicked with the workes of their owne hands or lastly if the Lord releive his Church by small meanes or by unlikely meanes or by no meanes yet all this should worke reverence in us to feare that God who doth so great things in so great and wonderfull and unexpressible manner doing for his Church above all that we can imagine and thinke of Thus every way God delivers and preserves his Church by terrible things we now see what these are Secondly that God will thus preserve his people by terrible things that is by things striking terror into adversaries and working wonder in his children and which workes or should worke reverence towards him from all sorts three reasons evince 1. God delights to meete with his Churches adversaries in their owne way he will out shoot them in their owne bow They desire to appeare terrible and formidable to it if they can but put men into feare they thinke they shall have the day they triumph if they can raise a terrour and feare in people and therfore God will serve them as they would serve others he will meete with them in a way of terrout searing them and making them slie when none pursues Adoni-bezek confessed that seventy Kings by him had their thumbes and great toes cut off as I have done so God requited me saith he Haman prepares a gallowes for Mordecai and the same gallowes hangs him God will be terrible to those who delight to be terrible The wicked have drawen out the sword and have bent their bow to cast downe the poore and needy and to slay such as be of upright conversation their sword shall enter into their owne heart and their bowes shall be broken Cruell terrible men shalt be dealt with cruelly at one time or other Ebedmelech shewed kindnesse to Jeremiah in prison and therfore God preserved him But the other Princes which had incensed the King against him were given up into the hand of their adversaries God will be terrible to those who seeke to put his people into horror and amazement Pashur smote Jeremiah and put him into the stocks all night he thought to have terrified the Prophet but the Lord threatens him to be terrified The Lord saith Jeremiah from the Lord hath not called thy name Pashur but Magor-missabib for thus saith the Lord behold I will make thee a terror to thy selfe and to all thy friends 2. God will save his people by terrible things because he will shew to all the world how terrible a God he is whom his people so dreadfully and reverentially adore All shall therby understand that he is a God working wonderfully Thou art great and dost wondrous things thou art God alone saith the Psalmist He himselfe challengeth his creatures to doe as he hath done Where wast thou when I laid the foundation of the world c. Hast thou an arme like God and canst thou thunder with his voice The great ones of the earth which cause others to trimble and feare are hurled up and downe as piles of dust in a whirlewinde by the smoake of his nostrills God will have the world to know that he is more terrible then any thing which the world accounts terrible Wicked and sinfull men are many times a great terror But who art thou saith the Prophet that are afraid of man who shall dye and of the sonne of man who shall be made as grasse and forgets the Lord thy maker They may destroy the body but when they have done they can doe no more but feare God who can destroy both body and soule in hell fire Againe death is the terrible of terribles saith the Philosopher adversaries of the Church are so terrible because they come as it were armed with death and are ready to destroy but yet God is more terrible for he only can instict death It is not the rage fury and malice of adversaries which can cause any to die as God gives life so he takes it away he makes alive and he kills Now God will shew himselfe to be more terrible then they though they come armed with death by turning their owne terror death upon themselves He shall bring on them their owne iniquity and shall cut them off in their owne wickednesse yea the Lord our God shall cut them off And 3. God will save his people by terrible things that all the earth may stand in awe of him and feare him and know him only to be God Who would not fear thee oh thou King of nations there is none like thee c. saith the Prophet The Lord is the true God he is the living God and an everlasting King at his wrath the earth shall tremble and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation God would be terrible to Pharoh in his judgments to get himselfe a name in all the world and so he will be to the enemyes of his Church that the world may know that he is a terrible God and that the adversaryes may be compelled to cry out who is able to dwell with the everlasting burning and likewise that his owne people may therby learne to serve him acceptably with reverence and godly feare because our God is a consuming fire Wicked enemies may kindle a fire to scare a Nation and fill therby a Landfull of terror and trembling but yet God can keepe his own so as there shall not passe the small of fire on them for he will be with them when they passe through fire and water How ever the adversaries fire shall not be a destroying fire to Gods Church for when he beginnes to shew himselfe terrible to them he will be unto them a consuming fire and will quench all the fires which they have kindled and so free the Land from all their feare but yet all will be with a terrible destruction to the most terrible ones continuing unrepentant among the adversaries Behold all yee that kindle a fire that compasse your selves about with sparkes walke in the light of your fire and in the sparkes that you have kindled this yee shall have of mine hands you shall lie downe in sorrow Thus the point is cleared Because God will shew himselfe to be a God of terror a God of vengeance a God to befeared respected reverenced and dreaded therefore he will execute terrible things on the wicked and thereby preserve his Church and people by terrible things Thirdly We will now see what for practice may hence be learned And briefely 1. Seeing God will preserve his Church and people by terrible things then surely the world must expect no other but
confidence of the ends of the earth and of those on the sea To this I answer When it is said that God is the confidence of the ends of the earth we must not understand these words of every particular individuall person or nation but of some in all places of some in all nations and so it is very true that his owne people where ever they be make him their confidence They trust in him relye on him depend upon him So that the meaning of these words The confidence of the ends of the earth c. is Gods people in all the earth and on the sea where ever they are make God their confidence though others do not And so it proposes to us this doctrine God is every where the confidence of his people I say of his people of those to whom he is the God of salvation of those whom he answers for whom he workes terrible things in the earth This righteous holy people make God their confidence And that God is the confidence of his people in all places not only this scripture but also others prove Some saith the Psalmist trust in chariots and some in horses but we will remember the name of the Lord our God And from the text let us take notice of the description of this sanctified confiding people 1. They are called the ends of the earth the extremity of the earth as if they were a people shut up in a corner a people driven to the ends or out skirts of the earth to serve God there And moreover 2. They are a people farre off on the sea A people exposed to as great hazards and dangers as can be imagined as if they were a people cut off from others by the sea and destinated to be a people afflicted and continually to be tossed with waves and tempests Yet this people in this condition as it were an outcast driven to all inconveniencies of earth and sea shall still trust in God making him their confidence I know as I said before that this description aimes principally at the universality of the Church which shall extend and spread it selfe farre and neere in all places on the earth to the utmost bounds both of sea and land But yet withall it will imply this that I say that though Gods people be a people as it were shut out from the nations of the earth not reckoned among them though they were penned up in the utmost limits not thought worthy to treade and to live on the earth and therefore contemned of all people and exposed to a thousand miscarriages and hard usages though they be tossed in name in estate in their persons yet shall this godly people this seede which serves the Lord be accounted unto him for a generation And they shall make the Lord their stay and staffe their hope and confidence So saith the text He is the confidence of all the ends of the earth and of all them that are a farre off upon the sea all his people every where in all places in all busines in all hazards in all straites for all comforts do still make the Lord their trust and confidence And thus the first thing the question purposed is resolved how God is said to be the confidence of the ends of the earth c. Secondly consider what this confidence is which all his people every where make him what doth it imply The word here signifying trust or confidence is sometimes put for an hopefull security Ye shall do my statutes and keepe my judgements and do them and yee shall dwell in the land in safety that is in an hopefull confidentiall security Now this confidence is nothing else but a secure resting on God for all manner of succour and security in the good and comfort which we would have God is said to be the confidence of his people in these respects 1. In respect that they hope for all good from him Confidence is not only an expectation of the full fruition of himselfe as our portion but also of all things else together with him and of all things else which are good from him The Lord is my portion saith my soule therefore will I hope in him The soule lookes on all its good and comfort in heaven and earth as from the Lord who is its portion and as to be supplied from him as out of its portion It expects from him life and health and outward comforts friends good name foode rayment yea every thing if these faile it lookes to be supplied from the Lord its portion yea and for all its good spirituall temporall and eternall Not only the pardon of sinne and things spirituall and heavenly but likewise protection provision and things earthly are hoped for from God Whom have I saith the Psalmist in heaven but thee and in earth there is none that I require besides thee 2. God is said to be the confidence of his people in respect of their secure relying on him for security and safety and repulsing all evill from them David to shew that he relied on him for all manner of safety calls him his rock his for tresso his buckler the horne of his salvation and his high tower God was a rocke to him in the seas and waves of his trouble when afflictions like billowes came thick and threefold he broke them and secured him as on a rock And God was a fortresse to him in a siege a a sheild against a storme of darts a shelter against a storme of inconveniences an horne of salvation to push away adversaries and an high tower where he was safe Making God our confidence is a secure relying on him for safety and security against all the evill which is feared or which hath seised on us 3. God is said to be his peoples confidence in respect of their recumbency and dependency on him in all businesses and imployments thorough which they goe in this life A contented acquiescence resting on God relying on him for the bringing to passe according to his will what we have to doe is a true making God our confidence So David Commit thy way unto the Lord trust also in him and he shall bring it to passe And so Solomon Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not to rhine owne understanding in all thy waies acknowledge him and hee will direct thy paths Now this confidentiall trusting to God in all that we have to doe is seen most eminently in one of these three particular acts 1. When men make God their confidence though they have most apparent meanes of effecting or working what they are about yet they will not relie on those meanes but on God his blessing upon it So the Psalmist I will not trust in my bow neither shal my sword save me but thou hast saved us from our enemies and hast put them to shame that hated us And so men make God their confidence when though
disposall to do with them as he sees fit either to bring them into straites or to inlarge them to make them vessells of honour and comfort or to be made broken vessells a people for misery and destruction This trusting in God exceedingly gloryfies his providence and soveraignty over them Confidence in him is a gracious submission to be ordered and desposed of as he sees fit It is a yeelding that he may be gloryfied thorough us whether he breake us or build us wound us or heale us save us or destroy us make us glorious or miserable Confidence in him ever implyes in it an humble acknowledgment that we are but as clay in the hands of the potter to be disposed of as will best sute with his glory 2. Confidence in God giveth unto him the glory of his truth or the glory of his promises it manifests our acknowledging of his faithfulnesse and our depending upon the word of his truth It is a great glory to God that we account him faithfull a God keeping promise with his people and this is done when we confide in him David prayed Let thy mercy come also unto me oh Lord even thy salvation according to thy word and he professes that his soule fainteth for his salvation but I hope saith he in thy word And againe uphold me according to thy word that I may live and let me not bee ashamed of my hope Thus God hath the glory of his truth when we confide in him 3. Confidence in God gives him the glory of his goodnesse it is a reall acknowledgement that the Lord is good and doth good and that we therefore depend upon him as children do on their parents for all our maintenance 4. This our confidence in God giveth unto him the glory of his Godhead Wee then glorifie him when we make him the master of our affections as when we love and feare and joy in him and the like but when we hope and confide in God we then gloryfie him above the glory which we give unto him by our other affections For though in them all the principall stream runs to Godward yet there are rivelets and by currants of these affections permitted to runne to other things As for example we love God and gloryfie him by our love when he only and cheifely is loved by us but yet our love also runnes out to other things to his children for his sake and to our neighbours and to men and to other things subordinately And so we gloryfie God when he is primely and principally our feare and dread but yet he alloweth us to feare the magistrates who beare the image of his majesty and to feare our parents and to feare and reverence others And so we gloryfie him when he is cheifely and principally our delight and joy and when our soules cheare up themselves in his word but yet he alloweth us to joy in other things we may joy and delight in his saints on the earth and in outward mercies blessings and deliverances we may take pleasure in the creatures moderately I might speake the like of all other affections But now in confiding and hoping in God we only gloryfie him The whole streame of our hope is to runne to Godward and to him only When we make him our confidence we trust not in any thing else but surrendring up to him all our hopes we then make him fully and wholy our God and we thereby give him the sole interest and command in our affections and so we hereby gloryfie him Thus the people of God being every way desirous to do so they therefore make him their confidence for confiding in him honoreth him as God 2. Gods people make him their confidence because they see in God an all sufficiency to supply their defects to comfort them in distresses to releive them in their wants and to furnish them with all things which they can desire and would have The sight of this alsufficiency in God to do all this is wrought in them from one or from all these considerations which are the ground of hope and confidence as 1. They know that God himselfe is very powerfull able to helpe and save and therfore they confide in him they know that he is able to give all what they need both in spirituals and temporalls He made and framed all and all is at his disposall and he can dispose of all for their good This the Prophet acknowledges that he made heaven and gives rain and showers and every comfort Art not thou he oh Lord our God therfore we will waite on thee Lord thou hast made all these things Gods people know that he hath power to save deliver them out of trouble and yet though he do not they wil trust in him because he can do it and none else Shadrach Meseck and Abednego said so Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the fiery furnace he will free us out of thy hand oh King that we will not serve thy Gods nor worship the image which thou hast set up A man who hath a strong and powerfull convoy for his safety thorough the dangerous country he travells in will be the more confident knowing that he who conducts him is of power to raise the country for his defence so a Christian in his travell to heaven hath cause to conâ—ide in God for his convoy thither seeing he knowes that God himselfe is powerfull and likewise able to raise the country to call in all the creatures both of heaven and earth for his safe conduct and to make all worke together for his best 2. His people know that Gods only care provides for them and all the world seeing he hath taken on him the care of all things The eyes of all waite on thee and thou givest them their meate in due season thou openest thy hand and satisfies the desires of every living thing and therefore they make him their confidence knowing that they have no cause to distrust him God takes care for oxen much more for his servants he hath besides his generall care in providing for all creatures a speciall care over those of his owne family He himselfe tells some men that they are worse then infidells because they provide not for their owne he himselfe therefore will both thinke on and releive his owne in due time he provides both for their bodies and for their soules and he who gives to the body now a few crummes will never deny unto the soule the crown prepared for it When Gods people do seriously thinke on this they see that they have just ground to confide and trust in God 3. Gods people know that he is so powerfull that though for our good he often imploys instruments and creatures or secondary causes bestowing on them strength and ability to worke for their good yet that these can worke nothing except he concurre with them they are without his