In great loffes as of our honours, and preferments of our - libertie, of our wealth, of our dear friends: it is fome time before wee can recover from this shaking fit of feare, that God hath forfaken us, and we fav

why standeft thou so far off, O Lord, and hideft thee in due time, Pfal.19.1. in time of affliction?

But when we remember, thou art with me, it establisheth our footsteps, it strengtheneth our weak knees, and comforteth our forrowfull hearts, and biddeth us, Rejoyce in the Lord, again, it faith, Rejoyce: fo David,

I waited patiently for God: and fo he comforteth his foul. Wait Pfal.43.5.

on God, for I will yet give him thanks, for the help of his prefence, he

is

my

present help, and my God.

So then, if present issue appear not out of affliction, let us not faint in our troubles: but perswade us that God is with us, and the rock of our falvation will not fail us."

2 This sheweth that we need not feek further for falvation, fe 2. then to God himself, and his anointed, seeing they are always with us. It is a foolish and idle superstition and idolatry to feek our salvation, from or by the means of Angels or Saints, or the mother of our Lord, when we have both him and his anointed Meffiah, that is, both the giver and the mediatour of salvation with us..

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This foolish devotion of the Roman Church, of making way by Angels and Saints, hath three great defects, which all the

wit of Rome and hell, could never cover or conceal.

1 It hath no Commandement to require it.

2. It hath no example to lead us to it.

3 It hath no promife in Scripture to reward it.

Whom have I in heaven but thee, and I have none upon earth, Pial, 13.25 that I defirebesides thee?

They be our glorious fellow creatures, we honour God for

the good that they have done in his Church.

We believe that they pray for our happy deliverance

from call amiferies of life, and the fociety of their lives.

We imitate their holy examples and do trive to follow

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them in their vertues, and pray for the graces of God that sanctified them on earth.

But for our falvation, we know that he is always with us, that faveth us, and his anointed doch never forsake us, that keepeth us from evill.

We hear him faying, Come unto me, and he calleth us not to heaven to him, but, Lo, I am with you to the end of the World: he is neer unto all that call upon him, and he is easily found of them that feek him.

3 This doth give us fair warning to take heed that we do not leave our God and live in fin, for he is not so neer us, but that our selves may separate between him and us, for it is alfo true, that God putteth a great deal of difference between an ungodly and godly man, as Solomon saith;

Pro.15.29. The Lord is far from the wicked, but he heareth the prayer of the righteous. And as God is far from them, so is falvation, as David faith. Pfal.119.

Varfe. 55.

Isay 59.1.

Verse 2.

Use 4.

1h. 2.2.

Salvation is far from the wicked.

As we tender the favourable protection and love of God, let us take heed of fin.

Behold, the Lords hand is not shortned, that it cannot Save, nor his ear heavy, that it cannot bear. But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your fins have bid bis face from you, that he will not hear.

4 Seeing our salvation is of him, onely by his anointed, let us remember that we are called Christians after his name, not onely Chriftum: Lo, I am with you, and Spiritum Chrifti, whom I will send you from the father, but we have κρίσμα, the very anointing it self, left and deposited in the Church, as S. John faith.

But ye have an Unction from the holy one. If we keep this Unction, we are fure of this salvation, therefore grieve not the fpirit of God, resist not the holy ghost, receive not the grace of God in vain.

And so let the enemy of mankind, and his agents do their worst to annoy us, our salvation is bound up in the bundle of

life with our God for ever, we may go forth boldly in the strength of the Lord, both against the enemies of our temporall estate, and the spirituall adversaries of our fouls, for who can wrong us, if we follow the thing that is good?

God who maketh in us both velle & facere, to wil and to do, and make us able for this work of our salvation.

Verle 14. Thon didst strike through with his staves the head of his Hab.3.14. villages: they came out as a whirlwind to scatter me: there rejoycing was to devour the poor secretly.

Twords, hath reference to

His, asy ou have heard, before in the exposition of the that victory, which God gave against the Midianites, to his Ifrael. Judg. 7.2.2. wherein the Lord set every mans sword against his fellow throughout all the hoaft, for there he strook them with their own staves, and armed them against themselves to their own ruine.

Wherein consider with me two things;

SI Their punishment.

22 Their fin.

In the punishment we are taught.

That God in his just judgment maketh the ungodly rods to Doct. punish one another of them if they have no other enemies but themselves, they shall go together by the ears amongst themselves, and fmite one another.

This is that which God threatned against the finnes in Ifrael: no man shall spare his brother. He shall snatch on the right l'ai.19.19. hand, and be hungry, and he shall eat on the left hand, and shall not be Satisfied, they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm.

Manaffeh, Ephraim, and Ephraim, Manasseh, and they to

gether ball be against Judah.

This was the burthen of Egypt.

And I will fet the Ægyptians against the Egyptians, and llal.19.2. they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against bis neighbour, City against City, and Kingdome against Kingdome.

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In

f

Reaf. 1.

Reaf.2.

Reaf.3.

In the firft of these two places, the Prophet doth foretell how the Tribes shall fall out among themselves, and how their gres dinesse of wealth and honour thall make them devour one another. For the Apostle giveth warning that we be tender, how we bite one another, Left we be devoured one of another.

This is fin and punishment both, wherein they offend, therein they are punished.

In the fecond example of the Egyptians destroying one another, we behold the uncertainn state of ungodly nations, and people, they can have no constant peace.

1 Because they know not, they serve not the God of peace, and where true Religion dorh not unite hearts, they may cry a confederacie, which may hold fo long, as it may fome private turns, but the next great provocation turns all into fury and combuftion, for there wants the foundation of peace within theth.w

2 Because he would thereby maintain the equity of that naturall law wrften iwevery mans heart by the finger of God, Do as thou wouldest be done to ] 9. di biho

Wouldest thou bee content to be beaten with those staves, that thou hast made to beat others, to be hewed and mangled with those weapons of violence? therefore, God in his juttice employeth this preparation against themselves, and scourgeth them with their own rods.

3 That we may know that all things in the administration of the world are directed by the wifedome and providence of God, who though he be a God of peace, yet he also caufeth divifions and contentions amongst men, and punisheth tranfgressours therewith.

The ten Kings in the Revelation, which are the 10 horns of of the beaft, that is of Rome.

These at first joyn their forces against the Lambe, and fer Revel.17. up the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their strength

13. unto the beast.

Vese 16.

But in the end. And these 10 horns which thou fawest upon the beast, these shal hate the whore and shall make her defolate, and naked,

and

1

and shall eat her flesh, and shall burn her with fire. Fur God hath pist in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to agree, and to give their Kingdom to the beast, untill the words of God ball be fulfilled.

From whence we gather, that that agreement which is mongst wicked men, against Chrift, and against his Church, is strengthened by the will and providence of God for a time, till that time, the confederacies of the ungodly do hold, but when he pleaseth to diffolve them, they end in felf-woundings and inteftine combuftions.

This ferveth to settle our judgments, concerning the combinations of the wicked against the Church, they are of God, and he hath his fecret and just ends therein, either to chaften the errours and tranfgreflions of his people, or to bring their patience and piety to the teft, to try whether any thing will make them forsake their hold, and relinquish their truft in him. Or to bring the greater condemnation upon those, whom he useth as instruments in this tryall of his chofen fervants. Therefore, now, that we both hear the news, and fee the effects of this new bloudy league to destroy the Church, and to root out the Proteftant Religion, whereby much Chriftian 'bloud of Innocents is already shed, more is feared: let it establish our hearts, and fettle our judgments upon this reft. The Lord will have it. A Demino factum est hoc. Tu Domine fecifti: thou, Lord, haft done it.

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Surely, there is much droffe in our gold, which must be purged, we have not fpared one another with fchifmaticall mouthes and pens to break the peace of the Church, and God in his just judgment suffereth the wicked to prevail aga nit us." This comforteth the Church against these tempefts of fu- Use 2. ry, that her enemies do raise against her.

For though they weaken us thereby, and exalt their own horn on high, yet when the waves of the fea do rage horribly; God that is on high is more mighty then they, and he will fmite them with their own staves that supported them, and wound thein with their own fwords, that defended them.